Nyzol snatches the locket from my hand. He reaches past me and grabs his ragged, brown cloak from the ground. "You have no right to look through my things." He turns his back to me while he puts his cloak on.

"But you are. You're Sora father, aren't you? That's him in the picture, isn't it?"

He lowers his head and slips the locket around his neck. "Yes. Sora is my son. This picture was taken not long after he was born."

"But I don't understand. You just told him about knowing his parents. Why did you lie to him?"

"I told him what he needed to hear. He must not know the truth."

"Why?"

Nyzol starts to walk away from me. "It's a complicated situation, Dexlin. There are many reasons which you could not understand."

I chase after him and grab his shoulder. "Then explain it to me."

I don't know why this is so important to me. I guess it has something to do with the fact that we've all been orphans together for the past couple of years. A chance to find a parent, even if it's not mine, is an opportunity I can't pass up.

Nyzol meets my eyes. They are hard and determined. But I meet his stare. Finally, he blinks and looks away. "Sora was born near the end of the war, along with Kairi and Riku. They were supposed to be children of hope, a reason to fight and win the war. Things didn't go as expected. We lost and the three of them became targets. Hubrin felt that as long as the three of them survived, people would still resist him. We did what we had to do to protect them. Sending them away was the only way that we could ensure their survival."

This is something I can relate to. Finding out the past is completely wrong and things are not nearly what they seem. How will those three react to the news?

"We knew that we could not go with them. Hubrin would only use us and follow the trail to our children. We had to choose people from our armies to raise them on Destiny Island. They were never to know that these soldiers were not their real parents. Unfortunately, Kairi's adoptive parents were killed on the journey. The plans changed and Kairi was sent to Radiant Garden to live under the care of Ansem the Wise. When the Heartless gained power, he made the decision to send her to Destiny Island where he thought she would be safe with Sora and Riku." Nyzol sits down on a very large rock. "So many things didn't work out as planned."

"Don't you think that you should tell him? Sora doesn't talk about it much, but without his parents, even with us there, he still feels lonely. You could save him from that."

"Dexlin, I have spent the last seventeen years on the outskirts of history. If anyone knows loneliness, it is me. Having part of my family back would give me the greatest joy, but I can't. He must not know who I am."

"Why not?"

"Because Hubrin does not know that Sora is my son. He has not made the connection that Sora, Riku, and Kairi are the three children that he marked for death years ago. All he knows of Sora is that he is a Keybearer. He knows nothing of his true origin. For a while that will keep Sora safe. Hubrin will not harm a Whole until he is pushed enough to break his own edicts."

"So you would rather argue with him incessantly than let him know that he still has family in the worlds?"

"Sora resents and distrusts me from a place that he doesn't quite understand yet. Revealing the truth may just feed his anger towards me. I will not allow my only son to hate me."

I prop myself against the rock that Nyzol is sitting on. "He may not hate you."

"I am not willing to take that chance with him. You must keep this to yourself."

Every bone in my body is shouting for me to tell him no. Sora would want to know about this. He needs to know about this. But maybe now is not the time. Not when we are facing the most dangerous battle of our lives. Perhaps we should save the worlds first.

"I will."

He puts a comforting hand on my back. "Thank you, Dexlin."

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"Lyx's temple is not as heavily guarded as the other ones. The only thing of value there is Lyx himself, so Hubrin does not feel that extra forces are needed for his protection. Especially since Hubrin does not tend to share his secrets with anyone, even his second in command. But you must not let this give you a false since of security. Just because guards are not posted there, you should not assume that his spies aren't there as well."

We've been at this for hours. All around our little circles are maps drawn in the dirt, detailed diagrams of the inside of Lyx's temple. It's all very overwhelming. It's a very complex building for being just one of the smaller temples.

"Won't you be able to show us some of these things when we get there?" Watching Nyzol and Sora next to each other has become an entirely different experience now that I know what I know. They are so very similar. How did I not pick up on it before?

"I won't be joining you on this mission." Nyzol doesn't look up when he says this. I guess he just doesn't want to see the look on all of our faces.

"What do you mean? You have to come with us."

"I can't, Sora. I will not be able to step foot in that temple without being recognized. For almost twenty years, Hubrin has trained anyone in his empire to know the faces of all those left who are loyal to the Creator. I'll be spotted within seconds and that will endanger the whole mission. You may still have a chance to get through. Chances are good that he hasn't had people on the lookout for you."

"But how are we going to do this without you? You are the one with all the knowledge."

"You will do the best that you can with the tools that you are given. This is not the final battle. I am confident that you have the skills to take on this mission without me."

"And if we don't."

"Then Hubrin wins. I think that is enough incentive for you to succeed."

I'm debating easing the tension by bringing up my idea about opening the prison again, but I'm not sure. Everyone seems pretty convinced that I'm reaching with my theory. And maybe I am, but at least it would give Nyzol and Sora something to agree on and they would stop fighting for five seconds.

I decide to keep my mouth shut and squeeze Roxas's hand a little tighter. I think he can sense exactly how scared I am and he feels it too.