A/N: Ok, I am going to admit that Hope will not be around to see Axel kill Zexion, which wont exactly happen until the next chapter. Ok, so I didn't really want to do this, but I wanted to follow the same storyline as the games, which is why I just had to let *sniffle* Zexion go. But…hehe you really shouldn't worry, because I have a plan! A brilliant plan I believe, which I'm not sure I should tell you guys, unless you want me to ruin the story for you. So, unless you beg for me to tell you, I'll send you a private message, ok? Now, go and read this new chapter!

Dear diary,

I am sad to say that Zexion will be no more much longer. His fate…is inevitable, and fate is something I cannot alter, no matter how hard I tried. I have come to terms that Axel is the one that will ensure that Zexion suffers his fate, but I'm not angry at Axel, no. It's his job to eliminate traitors…but I don't see how Zexion falls into this category exactly. But maybe…I can try to stop him and convince him not to do it. Maybe…there's still hope for a second chance.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Two days later-

Axel, Hope, Namine, who was sitting off in the corner, Larxene, and Vexen all stood in the room, starring at the crystal ball. They watched in silence as the Riku Replica retreated from battle, causing Larxene to smirk, her being the first one to speak. "So, what's going on, Vexen? Your Riku was supposed to counter Sora." She pointed out, causing Vexen to shoot an angry glare her way, "What's he waiting for, where is he?"

Axel smirked, "He's hiding somewhere to lure Sora deeper into the Castle, right? I suppose we should just leave it at that, you know." Axel explained, his smirk widening.

Larxene smirked in realization, "Aha, oh, I see now! I would've never guessed that! So sorry, Vexen!" Larxene cooed.

"Silence!" Vexen yelled angrily, causing Hope to jump in surprise.

Larxene gave him a bored look. "Predictable response. Forget it, men without hearts are so boring."

"You're one to talk! As if you have such a heart to speak of yourself! The only in this room that would have the right to say that would be Hope!" Vexen exclaimed angrily. Through all of this, Hope remained silent, not wishing to be yelled at by the scientist. She knew he could be quite scary when he was angry, which was why she would always avoid making him mad.

"That's enough." Marluxia's voice echoed through the room, causing every to turn their attention from behind Vexen. A dark portal appeared, and out walked a hooded Marluxia.

"Marluxia…" Vexen mumbled in surprise.

Marluxia lifted his hood up, small flower petals flying out of his hair as he did so. He frowned at Vexen as he moved forward, "Vexen, the simple fact is that your project was a failure. You'd best not disappoint us again." Marluxia warned.

"Disappoint you? You go to far! In this organization, your number 11. I'm number 4, and I will not have you-" He was cut off by Marluxia summoning his scythe and directing it right at Vexen.

Marluxia smirked at Vexen, "I've been entrusted this castle and Namine by our leader. Defying me will be seen as treason against the organization."

"Traitors are eliminated. I believe that's what the rules say…" Axel stated.

"Who needs a half baked good for nothing anyway." Larxene said, causing Vexen to growl slightly.

"Vexen, you cannot win against Sora." Marluxia stated.

Vexen smirked, "Pity to be so ignorant. As you're only able to see the surface of things, I should not expect you to appreciate my true might."

"Oh?" Marluxia recalled his weapon, "Then let us watch as you prove it."

"What?" Vexen mumbled in disbelief.

Marluxia smirked, turning around to let them stare at his back, "None of us wish to be suspicious of a comrade."

Vexen summoned a portal, disappearing into it while saying, "Your insincerity is comforting."

Once he was gone, Axel spoke up. "You give a challenge like that to Vexen and he'll…" He paused, thinking off how to word it, "seriously want to eliminate Sora."

Marluxia smirked, "That would be an unfortunate dénouement." Marluxia stated, moving off to stand next towards the seated Namine, who had not been paying attention to the events that had just occurred. He placed a hand on her shoulder, surprising her a bit, bending down to her level. "What to do? Your hero is soon to be wiped from existence. But I believe there is a certain promise that he made you. Isn't that right, Namine?"

Namine nodded her head sadly, "Yes."

Marluxia smirked, moving away and back to the middle of the room, where Larxene, Axel, and Hope were watching Vexen get defeated by Sora with ease. The first one to comment on something was Axel.

"If Sora disappears…that would mess up the Organization's plans."

Marluxia's face remained expressionless. "I trust that you know what you need to do."

Axel smirked, turning around to have his back facing Marluxia, waving a hand around. "Haven't a clue, really. Maybe you could spell it out for me?"

"Vexen has clearly committed a treasonous act against the Organization." Marluxia paused, letting a smirk appear on his face, "You must eliminate the traitor."

"…No taking that back later." Axel stated, looking over at Hope and giving her a quick wink before disappearing into the portal.

Hope frowned to herself. Why did Vexen have to be eliminated? What had he done that was so wrong to be considered a treasonous act against Organization XIII? She shook her head sadly as the memories of Vexen's somebody, Even came back to her. He had been her friend, and she used to hold high respect for him, but now…he seemed to be obsessed with science. It was apparently his life now…Perhaps it was his failed test subject that was leading to his ever close fate? Yes…that was most likely it. His mind had been so overcome with theories of science, that Vexen forgot to look past the theories and at reality. Either way, she was not going to go and stop Axel from his job. Why save someone who had been responsible in destroying her home?

Vexen did his best to stand up straight, but only ended up swaying around as he attempted to do so, laughing as Sora demanded he put Riku back. "Put him back? The Riku you speak of…Has but one fate to sink into the darkness," He said, breathing heavily as he spoke, "And you will share that fate, Sora!" He pointed a finger at the Keyblade master. "If you continue to seek the girl, Namine, the shackles will tighten, you'll lose your heart and end up becoming Marluxia's pawn!"

"Marluxia?" Sora repeated, looking at Vexen in confusion, "What does Namine have to do with-" Before he could finish his question, a flaming Chakram flew right by Sora, hitting Vexen dead on, causing Sora to gasp in surprise. Sora stared for a few seconds at the fallen Vexen, before turning around and gasping when he saw- "Axel!"

Axel stood straight, his hands on his hips and a smirk on his face. "Yo, Sora! Did I catch you at a bad time?"

Weakly, Vexen sat up an rolled over onto his hands and knees, "Axel….why?"

Axel crossed his arms across his chest, "I came to stop you from talking too much…" He paused, a smirk appearing on his face, "by eliminating your existence."

Vexen whipped around, standing up better than he had been earlier, "No! Don't do it!"

"We are just Nobody's who have no one to be, yet we still are. But now you can be nothing instead of just being a Nobody," He paused to smile, "You're off the hook."

"No! Please don't! Think of what the princess would do if she found-"

"Oh, don't worry about that! She's not going to come save you, because she doesn't have any reason to!" Axel explained.

Vexen put his hands in front of his face, "I don't want to-"

"Goodbye!" Axel said, snapping his fingers. Vexen was consumed by flames, disappearing into nothingness, Sora watching in shock.

"What are you- WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE?" Sora yelled, whipping around and glaring at Axel.

Axel looked off to the side, a smile on his face, "Hmph, don't know…I wonder about that myself." With that said, he disappeared, leaving Sora to dwell on what the occupants of the castle exactly were, and who the princess was.

Axel portaled back into the room that everyone was in still. Larxene turned to look at him, a smirk on her face. "Nice work! I say good riddance to that blabber mouth."

Axel ignored her compliment, turning his attention to Marluxia, "Marluxia, you used Vexen to test Sora's strength, didn't you?"

Larxene smirked, placing a hand on her hip, "Not just Sora's, it was yours too. We weren't sure if you actually had it in your bones to take out a fellow member." Hope watched the blond move over to stand right next to Axel, placing a hand on the red-heads shoulder. "Well, I guess you did! It's time to join up. Taking over the Organization will be like child's play with the four of us!"

Hope contained a growl as she watched Larxene get up in Axel's face. "So, that's where Sora comes in…" Axel stated in realization.

"Of course! He wants to see Namine, so why don't we just give him what he wants?" Larxene asked Marluxia.

Marluxia smirked, turning around to look at Namine, "Rejoice, Namine. The time is near for you to meet the hero you've been longing for."

Larxene moved over to Namine, while Hope moved to stand by Axel, who flashed her a quick grin before the two of them turned their attention back to Namine. "I'm…glad."

Larxene bent down to the girls level, "But I'm warning you! You better not do anything to betray Sora's feelings. Do you understand, little one?"

Namine nodded once, looking back down at her lap sadly, "I understand…"

"All you need do is layer Sora's memories…and bring his heart closer to you." Marluxia explained, before he and Larxene both portaled out of the room, leaving behind Axel, Hope, and Namine.

Axel had his arms crossed across his chest and his eyes closed, while Hope had a frown settled towards the ground. Their attention was caught when they heard Namine speak, "Sora…" Namine was staring down at her tablet which had a picture of Sora drawn on it, her gaze meeting it sadly, "even if you come for me…What then?"

Hope stared at Namine with pity and sympathy. Everyone here treated her so cruelly, aside from Hope and Axel, though he really never paid too much attention to her. Hope shook her head sadly, "It's not fair…" She mumbled, catching Axel's attention. Quietly, she turned around and exited the room.

Axel frowned at the lilac eyed girls sudden change of mood before moving over towards Namine. "You're all that he's got left…So then, if you don't stop this, no one will."

Namine gasped in surprise, only to sigh sadly and stare back at the floor, "But I…It's too late."

Axel shook his head, "You shouldn't give up just yet." He turned around and began to walk away, only to stop. "Say, Namine? Have you noticed. Marluxia doesn't seem to be around."

Namine looked over at him, "What are you…saying?"

Axel glanced over his shoulder at her, "Just that there's no one here who would want to get in your way." Namine thought for a moment before standing up and gasping, staring at the exit for a moment before running towards it. As she ran to it, Axel spoke up again. "Just make it count." Namine didn't reply, only opened the door and ran out. Once he heard the door closed he smirked, "Now, this- should be interesting! Try and make it enjoyable, Sora. It's the least you could do for me, you know." He began to chuckle, only to stop and gasp, placing a hand on his chest, "Hey, wait…I'm enjoying this. You guy's are something else!"

Hope was in the room below the one Sora was currently on, continuing her endless search for the chamber Xemnas wanted found. After being here for what seemed like close to a month, Hope was beginning to think that such a chamber did not exist, or let alone, in this particular castle. Had Xemnas even bothered to check for any type of clue that suggested there was one here?

"I told you, I don't care if he left us behind or not! Sora's our friend, and friends stick together!" The voice caused Hope to turn around and towards the entrance of the door, where she saw Goofy and Donald running in. "Sora might be in trouble, and remember what you said?"

"That we'd protect him!" Donald exclaimed.

"That's right! That's why we have to…Look, it's Hope!" Goofy exclaimed, pointing over at the girl.

Hope smiled and waved, "Hi, Donald, Goofy. What're you two doing all the way down here while Sora's all the way up there?" She asked pointing above her.

Donald frowned, "None of your business!"

Hope sighed, "You're right, it's not. But…you better hurry up to the next floor."

"Why do you say that?" Goofy asked.

"Your friend needs your help, even though he may think that he doesn't, he does. If you don't go now, Larxene will chop him up into Sora pieces."

"WAAHH! Goofy, we have to hurry!" Donald exclaimed, heading for the stairs.

"Hey, wait for me!" Goofy called after Donald, running after him, not bothering to thank or say goodbye to Hope.

Hope smiled to herself before pulling out a piece of paper and a pen from her pocket, sitting down on the floor and placing the paper down on it, putting the pen to it and beginning to write on it. Once she was done, she folded it up and cast some magic on it, transporting it to another room in the castle. She got up and headed upstairs once she was sure Sora and Larxene's fight was over, and Sora was already gone. As she entered, the first thing she saw was Namine sitting on the ground, watching over the Riku Replica.

"Namine, are you ok?" Hope asked the girl as she approached her, kneeling down next to her.

Namine had a smile on her face, causing Hope to smile as well. It was the first time she had ever seen the girl smile so happily. Namine opened her mouth to answer Hope's question, only she was interrupted by someone portaling into the room. Namine and Hope both turned around, and Namine's eyes grew wide, and Hope glared at the person.

"Namine, you have disobeyed orders." Marluxia said, shaking his head. "You realize that you will have to be punished?"

Hope growled, standing up and getting in front of Namine, holding her arms out from her sides in a defensive manner. "Marluxia, you will do no such thing to Namine."

Marluxia turned his gaze to the brunette in front of him. "You were going to let her escape. That would be defying the Organization, meaning you would have to be eliminated just like Vexen."

"Vexen's elimination was inevitable. It was his own hunger for science and experiments that caused him to meet his demise. I have done nothing wrong at all in my book." Hope said, her tone strong and defiant sounding.

Marluxia smirked, "Oh, really? Because if you are part of this organization, then you would be helping us taking it over like you agreed to when Axel did. But you were helping Sora." His smirk only widened when he saw how Hope's expression wavered. "You weren't supposed to make it easier to reach his goal, you were supposed to make it harder."

"I'm not part of this Organization. You see, I'm not a Nobody like the rest of you are. I still have my heart. The only reason I'm even with you people is because I don't exactly have a choice."

"True, you may have your heart still, but that doesn't change the fact that you're defying my orders. In case you forgot, the superior made me in charge of this castle, so if you're refusing to obey my orders, princess, then that means you have committed treason. Now, I am willing to spare you if you step aside and give Namine back to me."

Hope glanced back over her shoulder to find Namine cowering behind her in fright. Namine was frightened of Marluxia and that much was clear. If Namine didn't want to go back with him to the thirteenth floor, then she didn't have to. She glanced back at Marluxia, a determined look on her face, lowering an arm to her side and raising one into the air. A light flashed and Hope's sky appeared in her hand in all its glory.

"Get back, Namine…" Hope quietly ordered, and the younger girl did as she was told, moving off to the far side of the room.

Marluxia smirked at Hope. "You'd rather die than give her up? You're a very foolish girl." He summoned his scythe.

Hope shrugged her shoulders, a smirk on her face as she got into a stance, her sword pointing out at Marluxia. "Call me foolish if you want, but you've never gone up against me in battle, Marluxia. Consider yourself lucky if you live."

"I'll be sure to remember that." He ran forward and brought his scythe down upon her, only to have it blocked by her sword. She didn't move from her spot or break a sweat as she did so, and easily pushed him back, flipping back gracefully several feet.

"You should probably know, I was trained by someone that could take you down with one strike." Hope informed before jumping into the air and throwing her sword at him with strike raid. Marluxia deflected it, causing it to go flying back into the wall. He saw Hope as being weaponless an opportunity, so he charged towards her, trying to slash her. Hope jumped up and onto his scythe, and was thrown off of it and towards the wall.

She easily landed on it and grabbed her own sword, jumping off the wall and flying towards Marluxia. He blocked her, but she managed to knock his scythe out of his hands. She quickly grabbed it and jumped up higher, and threw his scythe back at him, knocking him down successfully. She let herself fall back down towards him, sword and all ready. Just as she approached him, he brought his scythe in front of him, blocking her. Hope landed and stumbled backwards a little but quickly regained her balance. Marluxia jumped up and threw his hand out towards Hope, sending a flurry of blossoms at Hope. Hope was pushed back a few feet, but not affected too badly by it. She looked at Marluxia, only to find that he was no longer where he once stood. Hope frowned, looking around carefully. He came out of nowhere from behind, bringing his scythe down on her. She ducked down just in time, her hair flying up as she did so, and Marluxia's blade slashed it instead, chopping off her almost waist length hair, leaving it all uneven at her shoulders. Marluxia landed a kick to Hope's back sending her flying. He threw his scythe at her and hit her dead on.

"AH!" Hope screamed, landing on the ground with a loud thud. She managed to lift her head up to see her once long hair on the ground a few feet away from her. Slowly and painfully, she lifted her entire form back off the ground, holding her side where Marluxia's scythe had landed it's blow. She used strike raid and threw her sword at him, only to have it blocked again. She caught it as it came back, and staggered forward. "You…think that you can take me down that easily, huh?" She asked him, a smirk forming on her face, "Well, you're wrong." She recalled her sword, leaving her weaponless. She got back into her battle stance, her fists raised into the air.

Marluxia smirked and lunged at her once more. Hope rolled out of the way, and blocked him, moving her body with ease each time he tried to land a blow. She jumped into the air and disappeared, causing Marluxia to come to a stand still. He looked around for Hope, beginning to think she left for good. He was proven wrong when she came from behind and grabbed him by the hood and ran around, hitting him against the floor a few times before throwing him into the wall. During all of this, Namine watched in utter fear as the battle raged on between Hope and Marluxia. For once, Namine felt as if she had to do something, but what? She had no weapon to fight with to help.

Marluxia's scythe began to glow a blackish purple color and he smirked at Hope from where he stood. Suddenly, he jumped up into the air and slammed his scythe onto the ground, creating a massive shockwave. Because Hope was becoming exhausted, she wasn't able to get out of the way, resulting in her being hit repeatedly by each shockwave Marluxia's scythe produced. He stopped beating the ground and raised his hand and shot out another flurry of flower petals, much more stronger than before. Hope was knocked backwards into the air, speeding towards a wall.

'Ugh…AXEL!'

Before her body could come in contact with the wall, a dark portal appeared on it, and Hope flew into it, the portal closing behind as soon as she did. Marluxia smirked, recalling his scythe and moving towards Namine, grabbing her and pulling her out of the room with him.

'Piece of cake…'

A/N: Ok, so the past few chapters went by kind of fast, I know, but it's only because I don't like writing with the COM plot. Ok, so, you'll find out what happened to Hope next chapter! LATER TATERS!