Xigbar groaned as his boots squished into the slimy mud that made for ground; now he had to clean those when he returned... He heard Roxas make a disgruntled noise and he looked back to see the teenage scowling.

"Sucks, huh?" Xigbar stated, summoning his guns in a flash of purple.

"Yeah..." Roxas trailed off as he sunk into the mud."We better start moving..."

"Guess we can report that Fantasia is muddy as hell." Xigbar gave a tiny, triumphant smirk as Roxas laughed at his remark; At least he made Roxas laugh a little, that was a decent start for a friendship. 'Heh, look at me, he thought with a chuckle, tryin' my hardest to get a friend... Lame...' Subconsciously, he shook his head ay himself, scratching the nape of his neck. He looked around and was greeted by thick, jungle foliage; Plants with massive deep green leaves, and grass the color of the darkest cobalt, and towering trees whose many leaves masked the sky, leaving enough space for raindrops to filter through. If hadn't have been raining and obscenely muddy, Fantasia might have been a nice place...

"Where do we even start?" Roxas sighed, confused and slightly annoyed at his already soaking wet bangs sticking to his forehead, kicking thick mud from his path so he wouldn't sink into it... He already had the disgusting substance up to his ankles.

"Uhh...How about we go... I guess, like north from where we're standing, kid?" Xigbar suggested, moving forward slightly; Even he was starting to sink. "How 'bout you go in front? You can chop down the leaves and crap while I'll watch out backs. Guns don't chop too well, eh?"

"I guess not, haha." Roxas smiled at the much taller man, summoning his Keyblade. He began to slash down the thick leaves and wines that draped from the trees, making it a lot easier for the two to make there way through the jungle. Their boots squished the soaking grass, and the scurrying of small animals and amphibians made the undergrowth quiver, thunder rumbling in the distance. Fantasia seemed a calm and quiet world, seemingly the entire place being covered in a thick, tropical jungle. No animals had approached them, so all they could report on currently was that Fantasia was indeed alive with creatures beside Heartless, but Xigbar was sure some random Heartless or something was going to try and attack them sooner or later; the exact reason he let Roxas go ahead of him. There was no telling whether the creatures here were intelligent or not, meaning they might be able to think enough to reason that sneaking up behind was a decent strategy. Whether he admitted it or not, Xigbar didn't want Roxas to get hurt, and would rather he himself be mauled.

What seemed like a few hours had passed, and Xigbar groaned. They didn't appear to be getting anywhere, and there wasn't anything that could be used as a landmark, not even a tree stump or mossy rock.

"I think we're lost..." Roxas had stated the obvious, sighing as he sat on a damp rock, not caring whether the seat of his pants and cloak got wet; they were already soaking.

"Yeah, let's take a break.." Xigbar twirled one of his guns and let it rest over his shoulder, a little less straining than simply carrying it. He let his back rest against a tree trunk, waist length hair plastered to his wet cloak and small strands of it coming a loose from it's tie and finding a way to stick to his neck. This mission was turning out to be a whole lot of nothing; A rainy as hell world with a confusing jungle; It was like they were rats in some maze built by scientists, except they couldn't find anything, not even a single Heartless. Xigbar scoffed to himself: If he was a Heartless, he wouldn't come near this world...

"I say we go back to the castle now..." Roxas groaned, and he could already feel that it was starting to rain, but a taller form stood next to him, blocking most of the rain. "Thanks..."

Roxas stared up into a golden orb, and he couldn't see anything in it, not the slightest trace of emotion. If only... He quickly snapped from his slight trance, blushing softly. He was thankful that the rain and lack of light masked his reddened face. Every time he looked at Xigbar... he couldn't see anything. No emotion or anything... He didn't truly expect that there would be any emotion seeing as they had no heart, but the sniper exhibited so much emotion, like Axel or Demyx... He was hoping he would see something there... but he could wait a little longer; Then again...

"We should go find some shelter, kiddo..." Xigbar trailed off at Roxas' saddened look, wondering what was wrong. Maybe all the rain was getting to the kid.

II~XIII~II~XIII

Something unseen and something secret

And maybe someone quite conceited

Waiting, waiting... hoping something caves

Someone can't face what he craves

II~XIII~II~XIII

It had been hours, and Xigbar was completely sure of it. They had walked and walked... and all they found was a small clearing with a lake. He was even sure they had passed the same spot three times. They might as well just return to the castle. He sighed as he sat on damp and freezing cold rock, resting next to Roxas who shivered. Within a few hours, it had went to light rain and distant thunder to a full brown thunder storm with lighting streaking across the sky and the heaviest downpour Xigbar had ever seen, and even in those short hours, it had turned from day to night, and back again!

He heard Roxas sneeze, and he moved a little closer to keep the tiny teenager warm. The cold was really getting to Roxas, much worse than him, and their soaking cloaks weren't helping.

"C'mon, kid." Xigbar de-summoned his guns, standing and brushing himself off slightly, before offering a hand to Roxas."Ya look like your about to die."

Roxas almost protested, saying that he didn't want a lecture from Xemnas, but technically, they had done their job; They examined the new world and had enough for a small report. And he certainly didn't want to stay here in the rain and get sick.

"A-Alright," He took Xigbar's hand, letting the larger male pull him to his feet, where he opened a portal for the two.

"After you, kiddo," Xigbar gave a small grin, a smirk pulling on the corners on his mouth, hoping to cheer Roxas up, at least a little bit; A smile was earned in return, before it's owner exited Fantasia through the portal.