I'm Nobody

by free man writer

He didn't have anything when he was born. Just a name and number. But over time, what he had grew. He, with his friends began to understand that there was more to their existence then just their name and number. They will prove that they were meant to be real. To exist. To become something more than just a Nobody. Co-written and created with Jebest4781. Fem Shepard. Now on Ao3.

23. Back Where it Began

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Things are ramping up now everyone!

Hope you're ready for this and the next chapter cause this is where shit starts getting interesting and crazy here.

Even though that's what I've been saying for the last 12 chapters overall cause I can't contain myself.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

I'm Nobody Chapter 23: Back Where It Began.

The Normandy crew was once again back at the Citadel, only this time, it was not one of relaxation.

Though they haven't been all that present, the return of the Heartless made the team snap quickly into action with them taking out the dark creatures in rapid succession.

It was a decent wave of them, a few dozen at most with the team taking them out in a united effort.

"So, it looks like they feel comfortable enough to show themselves again." Shepard noted, resting her gun against her shoulder.

"Wonder what took them so long?" Tali inquired, looking to the Heartless experts of the group. "Any ideas guys?"

Axel let out a shrug, his Chakrams vanishing in a burst of flames.

"My best guess has to do with us taking out Saren and Sovereign." No. VIII surmised. "They were a pair of Heartless conduits of sorts when the Spectre accepted the Darkness into his Heart. As for Sovereign, well, you probably have a small idea.

"So an anchor?" Kaidan asked. "But the Heartless were showing before him. Why'd they suddenly reduce in numbers?"

"The Heartless are always drawn to the Keyblade." Roxas said. "For most of the time, the Heartless appeared only because I was around."

"But after Saren gained command over them, they had a more free range of being able to appear more freely across the galaxy." Xion said.

"And then we took him and Sovereign out." Garrus stated.

"Thus reducing their presence here for the time being." Axel said.

"So why are they back now?" Liara asked.

"It's inevitable." Axel said with a shrug. "They're always going to be around."

That didn't really sit well with the natives of this galaxy. The idea of facing a perpetual enemy that would never go away?

"There isn't a way of beating them permanently?" Kaidan asked.

"Is there a way of preventing time from flowing or space from existing?" Axel asked rhetorically. "Sure there's Time spells and all but it always flows in the end. We can only theorize at this point. The Heartless have always been a mysterious bunch."

"Well that just settled all of our worries and concerns." Came Ashley's sarcastic voice.

Roxas pondered a little as his mind briefly flashed to parts of Sora's adventures.

"It might be a bit of a stretch of halting their numbers in coming here, but it might be a stretch." He spoke up, gaining the group's attention.

"Which would be what exactly?" Shepard asked.

"Finding the Keyhole to this galaxy." Roxas stated gaining nothing but confusion from the others save for Xion and Axel.

"I'm sorry, a Keyhole?" Garrus said.

"To this galaxy?" Wrex tacked on.

"What's that supposed to do?" Ashley asked.

"Where we come from, a Keyhole is… I guess you could call it the access point to the Heart of the World." Roxas elaborated. "You get to the Heart of the World and… well, honestly I don't know what would happen if any normal person would find it. But with the Heartless, it means they could swallow up and consume the World into Darkness."

Ashley pondered this for a moment. "Like what was going on with the Citadel when we were fighting Sovereign?"

"Sorta." Roxas said giving an iffy hand gesture. "The Citadel I think is a bit of a different case and really, this whole galaxy is. It doesn't operate on the laws that our Worlds do."

"But what would happen if this place, say, did have a Keyhole?" Liara brought up. "What would you do with it if you find it?"

"Finding the Keyhole and locking it up will prevent the Heartless from consuming the world and letting it fall into darkness. But so far we haven't heard any reports of any worlds in this galaxy disappearing out of the blue or any catastrophic ones." Roxas answered.

"Hopefully, it stays that way." Ash murmured.

"I think that's highly unlikely." Axel said. "Again, like Rocky said, this Galaxy operates on a different set of laws from what we have."

"I think there's a serious problem with us tempting fate like this." Kaidan stated. "Like we're really asking for just something bad to happen to us."

"You do know that we all possess hazardous occupations right?" Shepard asked rhetorically. "Most of which we signed up for willingly."

"Still, we-"

"Excuse me?"

The group turned over to see a human woman with a drone hovering over her shoulder and an expectant look directed at one Spectre amongst the team.

Jane exhaled a sigh and muttered under her breath. "Oh not her again."

"Who's she?" Xion asked, gazing over at her.

"A major pain in my ass." Shepard stated, glaring at the woman out of the corner of her eyes. "Take five people. I'll handle this."

Whilst the most the team left the Commander, Jane felt someone's elbow leaning on her shoulder.

Looking over, she saw Axel casually leaning against her while looking up at the skies above in disinterest.

"Axel?"

"Hmmm? Oh, what, you say something?" Axel asked conversationally.

"Axel, what-"

"You really think you should be left alone with a reporter? Those guys are jackasses to the highest degree." Axel cut her off. "You're not facing this one alone."

"Not all of them are." Jane defended.

"Really? Then what was that face you made when you saw her?"

Shepard's brow twitched at the mention of the reporter standing a few feet away from them. "This woman's different."

"Right~ clearly."

The Spectre let out a sigh. "Come on, I'd rather get this over with."

The two redheads walked over to the woman who briefly gazed at Axel before turning back to her main target.

"Commander Shepard, a pleasure to see you again."

"What do you want, Khalisah?" Shepard asked bluntly, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"I believe you should know the answer to that already, Commander." The reporter stated with a wry smile.

Jane is very much not in the mood. "You tried to make me look bad by having me appear that I was selling out to the Council."

"And yet you've proved me wrong." The reporter countered smoothly.

"Then why are you here for exactly?"

"Getting some information cleared up after what happened in the attack last week." Khalisah activated her hover drone right after. A blaring light quickly appeared, making Jane squint for a little moment before adjusting her sight.

"Sources claim you were at the heart of the Presidium during the Battle of the Citadel. It's fair to say the course of the battle hinged on your words."

"Yes, I was."

"How was it that you arrived in time when other sources cite the Normandy departing from the Citadel?"

"Let's just say it was a convoluted mess and leave it at that." Shepard said with a tone that brokered no argument. "All that mattered was my team and I made it here in time to prevent Saren and Sovereign from taking over the Citadel."

"Of course." Khalisah said. "Am I also to understand that you had a direct hand in saving the Council that was aboard the Destiny Ascension correct?"

"More or less." Shepard said, eyes narrowing.

"If this is all true, you told Admiral Hackett to assist the Destiny Ascension, costing hundreds of human lives and securing the continued dominance of the Citadel Council."

"The Turians lost twenty cruisers, each had a crew of around three hundred. The asari dreadnought we saved had a crew of nearly ten thousand." Shepard countered.

"But surely the human cost-"

"I'm well aware of the cost that humanity suffered that day. The Alliance lost eight cruisers, Shinyang, Emden, Jakarta, Cairo, Seoul, Capetown, Warsaw, Madrid and yes I remember them all as I wanted to know who we lost that day." Shepard said firmly. "The Alliance owes them all more than medals. The Council owes them a lot more than that. Their sacrifice assured their own survival. But to state that we were the only ones that had lost lives would be incredibly selfish on our part. The Turian fleet suffered tremendous losses as well with the number I mentioned earlier."

"But many are still-"

"Ma'am, you are not a soldier." Shepard cut her off once again. "You do not understand the intricacies and hard choices commanding officers and basic foot soldiers have to endure. While men and women go out there to openly throw their own lives out for the safety and sake of others, you get to talk about from the comfort of your own home and spin the story into something that would crank up your ratings rather than show them the truth."

"I'm merely doing my job, Commander."

"Yeah, well, so am I."

Jane's patience was wearing thin, something which Axel took note of.

"Okay, we're done here." Axel declared

Khalisah took better note of the dark suited redhead when he jumped in to seemingly end the interview.

"Ah, one of her team I presume."

Axel crossed his arms with an unimpressed look being directed at her. "Yes I am."

"Some people claim that you two are an item."

"...I'm sorry what?" Jane asked after a moment.

"Some people?" Axel quirked a brow. "Or just you cause you need shitty tabloids."

"Oh, so you're not a couple?"

"No." they both answered flatly.

"I think I've had enough of your "interview" ma'am." Jane said with a small glare. "You're disingenuous insinuations coupled with your trying to pry into my personal life is rather unbecoming of a reporter."

"Couldn't agree more, Commander." No. VIII proclaimed with a devious smirk and thought appearing.

With his hand held low, Axel snapped his finger.

In an instant, the drone beside Khalisah suddenly combusted into a ball of flame.

"NO!" the reporter cried out in abject shock and horror at the sight of her drown falling apart as the fires consumed it.

"Oh no." Axel said in false concern. "Whatever happened to your little buddy?"

Jane barely held back her laugh at the sight of Khalisah falling to her knees before the scrapped metal of her drone.

"It's gonna come out of my salary for a replacement!"

Axel softly grasped Jane's arm and muttered loud enough for her to hear. "We should skedaddle."

"Yes we should."

Silently moving away from the scene, they soon bled into the nearby crowd so the one news reporter wouldn't be able to find them. Before long, they would be absent from the area.

"You did something to that drone." Jane stated rather than asked.

Axel shrugged noncommittally. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

Jane only smirked, bumping her elbow against him. "Nice work."

"What was the deal with that bitch anyway?" Axel asked, thumbing back to her. "What'd she do to you last time?"

"A news reporter trying to hastily up her ratings by seeking out 'good stories', instead of steadily climbing with normal ones." Jane spat out. "Really, she is just a bitch."

"That's what I just called her."

"And in case you forgot on what I said to her, she tried to make it seem I was backstabbing my people and sucking up to the Council." She said. "In all honesty, I was being professional so I won't make humanity look bad and yet…"

"Eh~" Axel said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Not much you can do about crooked little assholes like her."

Jane snorted. "It's a bit of a contradiction of her name. Her attitude, I mean."

"Why's that?"

"Khalisah in the Arabic language means sincere and pure."

Axel blinked before releasing a snort. "Yikes. She doesn't embrace her namesake at all. Instead she only embodies smear campaigns for her journalism."

"Exactly."

"And where'd she get the idea that we were a couple."

"Who knows."

"Ah come on darling." Axel drawled out, throwing his arm over her. "Can't you see what we have is special?"

"Fuck off." Shepard laughed, shoving him off.

The Nobody laughed in return.

As they kept on walking, Axel remembered something she mentioned earlier.

"Didn't you say that not all reporters were bad?"

"I did, why?"

"Who was it?"

Shepard blinked before the metaphorical lightbulb in her head lit up.

"Emily Wong." Shepard said with a fond nod. "She's a good reporter. And better yet, a good person."

"Really now? Good how exactly?"

"The complete opposite of the bitch." Was the response. "Emily is a professional and didn't push the wrong buttons. Actually wanted to get onto real topics that would benefit the Citadel's populace and the like. She even asked me to plant a bug in the Citadel control center so she can tap into a number of things to get accurate data for her reports. Checked up on them and they were legit. Not once did she break away on what we agreed on."

"Sounds like she has a good Heart." Axel murmured.

The Spectre had her gaze linger upon the Nobody until she cleared her throat to continue on.

"In fact she does." Shepard then adopted a thoughtful look. "Speaking of… I should probably get in contact with her."

"Why's that?"

"Promised her an interview when my investigation with Saren was over." She informed him. "It's been a week now and things are finally settling down, more or less, on the Citadel."

"Then what are you waiting for? Call her up."

With how well Shepard's speaking highly of this reporter, he wanted to see if she was the genuine article instead of having his leg pulled.

He wanted to witness good journalism at its finest.

Nodding, Jane pulled out her Omni-tool and scrolled down her contacts. Once finding it, she made the call and set up the meeting.

-Scene Cut-

Liara and Ashley were walking together, the duo walking around the Presidium Commons with the two trying to find a place to eat.

They had settled for the Apollo's cafe, the two ladies enjoying a simple and quaint meal until…

"Hmm?" Ashley heard a ping from her Omni-Tool, bringing it up.

"What is it?" Liara asked. "Is something wrong?"

Ash took a moment to read the message she had just received only for a smile to spread across her face. "No, just my sisters."

"What about them?"

"They decided to show up on the Citadel for a surprise visit." She exhaled a small sigh. "Yet they have no idea where to find me to spring the 'surprise'."

"Oh? That sounds delightful." Liara said. "They came to see you."

Ash had a bashful look appear now. "Yeah, my little bunch of troublemakers."

"Did you inform them on your promotion?" Liara asked.

"You kidding? It was the first thing I told my family after we left the Arcturus Station." Ashley chuckled out. "They thought I was joking until I showed off my new rank over a video-call and they utterly flipped."

"So they came here to celebrate with you." Liara said, knowing this to be true.

A loving smile was present on the promoted Marine's expression.

"Basically yes."

"Then go see them."

"Huh?"

"They're waiting for you aren't they."

"Wha- Liara, I'm spending time with you right now." Ash countered. "That's rude just to leave you like that."

"Ashley, it's fine. Be with your family." Liara insisted.

"You sure? I don't wanna-"

"I could play my mother card you know."

"What?" Ash said in utter bewilderment.

"Oh you know, how tragic it was that I didn't spend as much time as I could have with my mother and you should take advantage of the time you-"

"Ok, first of all, that is some cold shit right there Liara." Ash cut her off. "Second, you've been spending time with Wrex and Axel, haven't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ash gave her friend a flat look that devolved into a small chuckle. "Okay. I'll head off. But I swear I'll make up for this."

"We'll have all the time we need afterwards."

"See ya later, Liara."

Liara nodded as she saw her friend leave their table and make off to where her sisters were presently waiting for her.

With her by herself now, the small smile she wore waned a little.

All that talk of family…

She looked down to her arm opposing where her own Omni-tool resided. There she saw her mother's Omni-tool, the last thing she has left of her.

Despite already reading through the entirety of the device's contents -painstakingly memorizing everything there is in there- she still kept it for sentimental reasons.

"Well now, this is a pleasant surprise."

Liara blinked and turned over to see-

"Zo?"

The silver-grey haired man gave a small nod to her, a cup of tea in hand. "A pleasure to see again, Ms. T'soni. I hope you are doing well."

"Well enough." Liara said neutrally to the man sitting at the table beside hers. "And the same goes for you, perhaps?"

The man before her merely shrugged. "It is as well as it can be, Ms. T'soni."

"Please, call me Liara." The Asari politely said with the silvery-grey haired man nodded in acceptance.

"Is this seat taken?"

The Prothean expert merely gestured silently for the man to occupy the chair which he did.

"It seems I caught you at a bad time."

Liara tilted her head. "What makes you say that?"

"You seemed to be rather troubled by something when I saw your face." Zo pointed out. "Is there something amiss?"

"Nothing bad, I assure you." Liara said. "Just… thinking on past matters."

"It seems to have quite the effect on you." Zo murmured, crossing his arms with one hand up to his chin.

Liara didn't respond, her eyes gazing back down to her mother's Omni-Tool.

"You could say that."

"What is it?" Zo asked softly. "If you don't mind me asking. I do not wish to infringe upon it if it is… personal."

Liara gazed up at the silver-haired human, gazing at his aqua-colored eyes.

They were highly unusual to her but… she couldn't quite place it.

She couldn't deny that they were rather uncomfortable to look at due to them being a bit distant.

Liara wasn't the most sociable person in comparison to a majority of her friends but she figures she has at least learned a decent amount in terms of social interactions.

And with Zo's eyes… there was something off putting about them.

Still, Liara had learned that it was better to sometimes just talk about what troubles her rather than hold it in.

Even if it was to complete strangers.

"I am… thinking about my mother." Liara admitted after a few seconds.

"Your mother?" Zo said in intrigue.

"My mother was… distant as years went by." Liara gazed back at her mother's Omni-tool. "Never really understood the reason why, no matter how much I looked into it as of late. I assume it was due to a series of mistakes she made throughout her life."

"And this drove a wedge between you both I take it?"

Liara nodded. "We didn't see each other for years, close to two decades."

"Two decades?" Zo said in surprise. "How is- Ah, yes, apologies for my lack of awareness. I had forgotten the longevity that your species possesses."

"Years can go by in a blink for an Asari." Liara said with a small, humored voice. "But with my mother… it was strange how it felt far longer and drawn out."

Zo gazed upon Liara intently.

"Were you able to make up in the end?"

She sighed, slouching back into her chair. "...Not exactly. But she did tell me that she does love me and heavily regrets not being there for me prior to her passing."

"Did that… assuage any regrets you yourself may have had?"

"Regrets? No, I'm not truly sure." Liara said earnestly. "But… I just wished that I had known what caused our rift. What caused her divergence to wind up…"

She left that last comment unfinished, prompting Zo to give his own reasoning.

"Neither of you two bothered to get in contact with each other. A normal circumstance in your given situation."

"It's not as simple as that." Liara stated, tone sharp now.

"Apologies, but I'm just stating a small fact. Most people try not to speak with each other when their paths tend to branch off from one another."

Liara gave him a hard stare until she let out a sigh.

"I guess I never really tried to make amends with her."

"And neither did she." Zo said. "Nothing to be ashamed of in that regard."

"But I should have at least tried to." Liara argued back.

"What of your father?" Zo inquired.

"We never talked about her." Liara said quickly.

The human man was certainly confused as to what she had just said. "Her? You mean-?"

"My 'father' was an asari."

Zo hummed aloud. "And… is this an… unusual topic?"

"Are you familiar with the Asari and the means in which my kind reproduces?"

"Can't say I have." Zo admitted.

"If you'll indulge me." Liara said with Zo simply nodding for the go ahead.

"We are a monogendered race who can mate and successfully reproduce with any other gender or species through a form of parthenogenesis. Yet our reproduction is very different from the norm. We provide two copies of our own genes to the offspring, one of which is passed on unaltered. The other is during our melding process."

"And how does that work, if you don't mind?"

"In the melding, the asari consciously attunes their nervous system to the partner's, sending and receiving electrical impulses directly through the skin for a more direct means during their brief time of being more intimately unified. Through that particular melding, the mother can procure the best genetic informational traits of the father to help create the child."

"Then I assume the father is the one who doesn't give birth to the child. And said child will always be an asari." Zo surmised in a hum.

"Correct on both counts."

"Then what of your parentage of both being asari? Didn't you say asari can procreate with other races?"

"They do, yet it's suggested we try not to mate with our own kind."

"How so? From what you told me; wouldn't it be beneficial in having two of your best procreate in having a child that holds the best traits from both parents?"

Liara actually smiled at that. "I wish it were as simple as you say. Growing up, it was a little difficult. Other asari who knew how I was conceived labeled me a 'pureblood', a slur that has gone on for centuries."

Zo frowned at this moniker. "I don't understand why that's a problem?"

"My people believe it's best to… procreate and birth newer generations with other species. If we were to mate with our own kind, our children have a higher risk of developing… issues."

Zo could tell the present topic was difficult for Liara to continue on. Something else about it was a little unsettling to dwell even further so he decided to change things up.

"Then… what did you do in response to all of this?"

"Threw myself entirely into my research of the Prothean Empire." Liara freely admitted. "I had always held a deep fascination in the histories of civilization and the Protheans were the crown jewel for all to uncover. Isolating myself in my studies and education in my field."

Zo found himself staring at the Asari, completely fascinated by her now.

"I never really knew my parents." He revealed to her. "Or at least I might've but forgotten when I was a young child."

Liara was certainly thrown off by this admittance but then she took a moment to gaze at his eyes.

There was… something different about them now. They held a spark to them that showed there was more to this man than just his calm and collected visage he appears to always portray.

"I had tried for many years to recall them yet… I never could, no matter how hard I tried." Zo murmured. "What I do remember about them is that they cared for me. That is good enough for me."

Liara found herself fascinated now. "What happened to you afterwards?"

"I was taken in by a man who I would eventually grow to call 'father', a man who became a great mentor of mine as years went on." Zo said.

"And how was he a mentor to you?"

"Taught me everything I know, the many fields of science, philosophies, etc. etc." Zo recollected. "He… fed my insatiable want for knowledge, encouraged it even. And though I was just a boy he… he even took my own suggestions and opinions into account to further our studies and research."

Zo's entire demeanor had changed with Liara comparing it to what he had earlier. Before, he appeared very reserved and calm with a very stoic and cool aura that seemed unshakable.

Yet now, it appeared far more relaxed and perhaps a bit more jubilant, if she dared to call it that.

"What happened to this mentor of yours?" Liara found herself asking.

In an instant, Zo's mood fell and reverted back to what he had when he first sat down with her.

"There was… a falling out over about a decade ago. We haven't seen -let alone contacted- each other since." Zo said bitterly.

"What happened?" Liara asked.

"He was not the man he appeared to be." Zo's tone was cold now, sending a shiver down Liara's spine. "He lied and betrayed me and the other apprentices under him and…"

The silver-haired man stopped himself, clamping his mouth shut.

"Forgive my rambles, it's a topic that-"

"No, no, no need for that." Liara quickly said. "You listened to me when I spoke of my parents. It is only fair that I do the same with your parental figure."

Zo nodded with a soft exhale as he clasped his hands together. "It's just a sensitive subject to dwell upon. A hard time of my… existence."

The Asari in front of him momentarily squinted at the last word he spoke, gaining a strange feeling of familiarity.

He appeared to still be greatly troubled about what he had spoken of.

"I just wish I could understand what led him to turn against us all."

"You never found out?"

Zo was silent, his expression blank but Liara saw a sudden haunting look of realization in his eyes. As a matter of fact, she had seen the same look once before on her own face after what had happened on Noveria.

Letting out an understanding sigh, she gave the man a sympathetic look. "In the past few weeks Zo, I have learned from my own mother and the friends I've made that nothing is as always as it seems."

He seemed to realize he hadn't responded, clearing his throat a moment later. "Seems that topic is in repetition."

"Pardon?"

"Sorry, a spoken thought, nothing more." Zo waved off.

A momentary silence hung between the two with Zo taking the chance to sip his tea.

"What have you been doing since we last spoke?" He asked.

"I went to a Prothean site recently and I enjoyed it immensely."

Liara wasn't lying when she said that. In fact, it was a mere sliver of how she felt when she made her proper return to Ilos.

Despite the details on the full reason for the Normandy's venture to the Prothean planet, she learned so much more about the dead civilization than she did prior.

Asides from what she and her friends were able to keep from their findings, the rest were silently given to a number of individuals and groups so the media wouldn't be heavily stirred for a massive public announcement.

No one on the Normandy wanted to get more attention aimed towards them after what happened with the Battle of the Citadel.

"Did you get something good from out of it?"

"I most certainly did. Asides from the contributions made as of late, I did keep a number of things." Liara said with a pleased expression.

"Like what?"

Liara quickly chose her words wisely. "One of which was a painting."

"Beg your pardon, Liara, but a painting?" The Silver-haired man said for clarity.

"Not just any painting, but one that was still intact after 50,000 years."

Zo hummed. "Interesting. What is the painting of exactly?"

Liara bore a bright, soft smile. "A view of Ilos' landscape when it was still prosperous. A rather beautiful one."

"And where is it now?"

"A place where I'm keeping it safe for the time being until I properly find my own place to settle down." Liara said. "Would you like to see it, if given the chance?"

"I shall hold you to that." Zo said. "I do not wish for you to go out of your way and leave your tea unfinished."

Liara found herself chuckling and nodded, taking a sip of her own tea as they were silent for a few moments.

"And what of you, Zo?"

The silver-grey haired man was silent for a brief moment. "I was just carrying out my work and studies."

"Studying what?"

"Behavior." Zo revealed. "Interactions between individuals depending on circumstance, scenario and the relationships that had been developed."

"Oh~" Liara found herself fascinated by such a concept. "What have you learned?"

Zo was silent for a brief few moments until he let out a 'hmph' of amusement.

"Things are always far more complicated than they seem." Zo stated. "Sentient life continues to be something we perhaps may never truly fathom to understand."

Liara nodded as she was silent throughout his discussion.

Despite his tone of voice, the asari could feel how passionate he was in his field of study. Dwelling into such things that could be arguably overlooked by many.

Time passed between the pair as they went back and forth in expanding their own studious research.

Eventually topics shifted which they found quite enjoyable. Stories of travels and experiences each other had to a number of other situations.

"I have to thank you, Liara." Zo stated the Citadel station shifted to a darker setting. "This has been a refreshing change of pace from what I am usually doing and it was a pleasure speaking to you again."

"I must thank you as well, Zo." Liara said truthfully. "I did not realize that I perhaps needed something like this."

Zo gave her a small smirk that appeared genuine. "Perhaps… we may speak again. I find myself enjoying our talks, few times as they may have been."

"I would like that very much."

The silver-grey haired man nodded as he soon left the table. With a simple handwave, he vacated the area to head off to his own devices.

Liara watched as he walked away until he was out of sight with her finishing her tea and departing shortly after.

She didn't know what Jane thought of her warning towards Zo. The asari archaeologist thought he was quite pleasant and held nothing nefarious about him.

-Scene Cut-

Jane Shepard stood at the far end of the cafeteria with Garrus and Tali by her side as this trio observed the Nobody Trio currently seated at their own table.

Well, seated would be putting it politely.

More like the trio was strewn about the table with Axel leaning his head back over his seat with his arms hanging by his sides in a posture that conveyed utter boredom.

Roxas had his face planted on the table and Xion had her arms crossed with her head placed upon them, half-lidded eyes.

"And they've been there for how long now?" Shepard asked the two by her with Garrus holding up his Omni-Tool.

"About… two hours by this point."

"Stitch came by earlier and he couldn't get any of them to eat the brownies he made." Tali pointed out.

Jane sighed aloud. "Alright. Guess there's only one way to find out then."

She promptly marched over to them with Tali and Garrus on her heels.

Arriving at the table, she seated herself by Axel, Tali by Roxas and Garrus by Xion.

None of them responded to their arrivals making Shepard role her eyes.

"Alright, theatrics aside. Stating the obvious here, but is there something the matter?"

Roxas raised his head, chin resting on the table as he gave her a dull look.

"I… don't… know…"

"Yes we do, Roxas." Xion said, voice muffled as her face was now in her arms.

"You guys are the epitome of dreary boredom." Garrus stated. "I feel like if I stay here too long, I might catch what's wrong with you all."

"Come on." Tali lightly shook an unphased No. XIII. "What's the matter guys? You can talk to us."

The Nobodies collectively groaned aloud at once with Jane now laughing.

"Ok, that was boredom in stereo."

"There's honestly nothing going on now." Axel complained. "No real destinations to venture towards and nothing interesting happening since Della left along with Kaidan's and Ashley's promotion."

"Well… what do you guys normally do?" Tali asked.

"Besides eating Ice cream." Garrus quickly chimed in just as he saw their mouths collectively open.

"Well there goes half our usual plan." Roxas remarked.

"What's the other half?" Jane inquired.

There was a brief pause from the Nobodies until their eyes all began to widen in realization.

"Wow… we've been so busy with everything we've done we completely forgot about that." Axel groaned, palming his face.

"Huh?" Tali said.

"For those of us who aren't you guys, care to explain?" Garrus asked.

Xion held a longing gaze in her eyes as she spoke. "We normally watch the sunset at the end of a mission or workday."

Shepard, Tali and Garrus exchanged looks with each other.

"Well… sunsets are relaxing, I guess." Shepard said.

"More than that actually." Tali suddenly said with a happy tone.

Roxas only shook his head. "Any normal sunsets are fine, but it's the location of the sunset in particular. Everywhere else seems to pale in comparison."

As this was spoken, Roxas' eyes momentarily flashed back to when he and Tali were on Rannoch the other day. He could call himself blasphemous in thinking such a thing, but Rannoch's sunset was… beautiful and possibly equal to or better than the one he yearned to see once more.

"And where would that be?"

A solemn gaze fell over the young boy as he took a second to answer. "Twilight Town."

Hearing this, Tali spoke. "I remember you telling me that once a while back."

"Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?" Roxas said with a fond smile.

"You were rather passionate about it if I remember it correctly." Tali noted.

"So this Twilight Town is supposed to have the best sunset around?" Garrus asked with the Nobodies nodding. "What makes it so special?"

"Well if we told you, that would ruin the surprise." Axel remarked cheekily. "You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Garrus gave the fiery redhead a dry look with the man returning it with a wide grin.

"Then this Twilight Town is a "World" I take it back in your galaxy?" Jane inquired with Tali and Garrus now greatly intrigued by this prospect.

"Yeah, basically." Xion confirmed.

"You know, that's actually the World where the Organization found Roxas." Axel revealed, making everyone turn their heads towards him.

"Oh yeah, it was." Roxas confirmed.

"So you guys… do you… wish to return to this Twilight Town?" Shepard asked.

"We could, but we don't know if our presence there will tip off the Organization." Axel pointed out grumpily.

"They are still searching for us." Xion murmured worriedly.

Shepard frowned when she heard this.

It was strange to consider the fact that technically, the Normandy was harboring three fugitives from another galaxy from a group of superhumans that defy the laws of nature.

Some of the ground team, outside of the Nobody trio, already has experience with their brief encounter with Marluxia and he can be said to be terrifying in his own right.

"I think we should go." Shepard declared after a few moments, surprising them.

This got the three Nobodies to look at her in some respective bits of surprise.

"Huh?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Jane said firmly. "Hey, it's either we go there or we just sit around and wait for another mission to come our way. And who knows when that will happen."

Hearing Shepard say this did give a good argument.

After some moments talking to each other, the three Nobodies addressed the Normandy's Commander.

"Alright, we'll go."

"Good." Said Jane. "I'll get the ship ready for a jump."

"You got it."

"Shepard, you sure about this?" Garrus asked.

"Absolutely not." Jane admitted, nearly causing the Turian to fall to the ground at such a statement. "But frankly, I can't help myself. We have the chance to go to another galaxy and this time intentionally. And I'm pretty sure Ash, Wrex and Liara would be all for it since they missed out on it last time."

"Last time was an accident. Things happened when he had to escape Virmire." Tali reminded them.

"Yeah, but this time, it's intentional like Shepard said." Roxas stated with a wide smile. "Come on, let's go."

"You heard him folks." Shepard declared. "To Twilight Town."

Once the Normandy departed from the Citadel, Xion and Roxas had their Keyblades out. Pointing their respective weapons onward from the ship's helm, a beam was formed at their tips and shot out through the window.

Reaching a certain distance away, a pathway opened up with the swirling mass of light forming before them.

Having everything at the ready, Joker maneuvered the Normandy to traverse through the Lane before the doorway closed right behind the Alliance ship.

-Scene Cut-

An array of lights went by with two large T's appearing before a glowing light formed into a city known as…

Twilight Town

-Insert Kingdom Hearts II: Lazy Afternoons-

Roxas walked forward in the Market Street of Twilight Town, an overwhelming wave of nostalgia washing over him when he gazed upon the World that he was "born" in.

A wide smile found its way on the young Nobody with him feeling Axel place a hand on his shoulder whilst Xion leaned slightly upon him.

"It's good to be back." Axel stated, unable to contain his own smile at being back here.

Xion blinked slightly, reaching up to wipe her eyes with her sleeve whilst sporting a beaming grin the entire time.

The others of the Normandy ground team looked at the sky above to see the orange-yellow hue it bore.

To Kaidan, it reminded him of a perpetual sunset, something that occurred in some parts of Canada back home; especially when getting closer to the northern area of Alaska.

Ashley found herself feeling a strange sense of comfort and laziness that washed over her yet there was a jittery feeling at the fact that she was in another galaxy. She could barely contain herself from just running forward and just taking it all in.

This feeling was shared with her by Liara who was equally as enraptured with the fact that they were in another World and other Galaxy.

Garrus and Tali shared the same thoughts as their asari friend. Even if he didn't show it, Wrex had a similar feeling.

Jane was just surprised at how smoothly they had gotten here without much fuss and that this truly was possible.

The air here was calm and soothing with Shepard feeling herself relax entirely.

Stitch had joined them and quickly sniffed about in the air before going off in the direction that caught his scent.

Without warning, Roxas ran forward with Xion going right after him.

"Hey, Roxas, wait!" Tali said, rushing after the two. "We don't know this place like you do!"

As those three ran off, Wrex simply walked off into a random direction to look around for himself.

"Where do we even-"

"This way." Axel gestured for them to follow after him.

Walking through Market Street, they saw a train car moving along the tracks. The group stood back as some took note of them, especially the non-humans.

"You don't see those every day." Ash muttered.

"You mean, you don't see those at all." Kaidan stated. "Only see those on some parts of Earth, even then they're a rarity outside of museums."

"What are those things again?" Garrus asked.

"Train cars." Shepard simply said. "An early mode of transportation in our history."

Breaking their attention away from the train car, the group traversed further through the town.

"I find it really strange that I'm only seeing humans here." Ash admitted, rubbing the top of her head.

"And yet none of the natives are really surprised to see us here." Garrus noted.

"I have been seeing some occasional glances, but nothing too out of place." Liara murmured.

"This is a World that rests within the realms between." Axel said. "It's a special World. And strange appearances are a common occurrence here."

"That literally explains nothing." Shepard deadpanned.

Axel merely shrugged. "World order."

"That doesn't help at all." Ash exclaimed in disbelief. "How are you the smart one out of you three?"

"Cause I just am."

Eyerolls were then made.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Jane said, reaching up to pat the man's head with him lightly swatting her hand away.

"Hey, don't mess with the hair." Axel said in a joking serious tone.

The group continued on as those freshly new to this world were given a tour by the three Nobodies.

"Where's this lead?" Kaidan asked, standing in front of a large gate with the number 4 above it.

"That's the underground concourse of the Town." Axel stated. "Connects the whole town together and can lead you to every corner of this place."

"Should we-"

"If you wanna get lost for a while."

"Alright then." They walked away from the underground gate.

"So where should we go then?" Jane asked.

"Let's grab a bite to eat." Axel said. "I know a place around here with some juicy steaks that's to die for."

Back with Roxas, Xion and Tali, the trio got some food together with Tali being unsure of whether or not her body would be capable of consuming this since it wasn't dextro.

Roxas merely replied to her that the magic of this World would most likely allow for her to consume this without any issue.

Unsure at first, she decided to trust in Roxas' words and ate her food and she was pleasantly surprised that she had felt no negative reactions from the food. They enjoyed their little meal, walking around the Town all the while. Roxas and Xion spoke of one last destination they needed to go to and that was the train station of Twilight Town.

The trio walked through the Sandlot on their way to head over to Station Heights when the group was nearly run over by a trio of teenagers.

"Oops." said a sheepish female voice. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah, we were rushing to our usual spot." said an apologetic male voice.

Roxas, Xion and Tali turned to see a group of three teenagers all around Roxas and Xion's age.

The one in the center had spiky blond hair with brown eyes wearing baggy camo-capris pants, a short sleeveless grey vest and black muscular T-shirt that had a crudely drawn on skull and crossbones.

To his left was a girl with green eyes and brown hair, wearing an orange tank-top with a white floral design at the bottom, khaki-colored capri pants, and orange socks with white hems. She also wears cream shoes with black and yellow accents and black laces.

The third member of this little group was a heavy-set boy with brown eyes and black hair that was held up by a headband. He wore a short-sleeved, white shirt with dark cuffs underneath a red jersey with black and white lining. The jersey sports a black silhouette of a seemingly skeletal dog with three bones above it. The phrase "Dog Street" is printed along the left side in large, white letters. He also wears blue pants, blue and white shoes with grey soles, and a purple bandana around his neck.

"No worries." Xion quickly said. "Sorry we didn't notice you."

The lead teen of the group before them smiled until he scrunched up his face in thought as he got a good look at them.

"Say~ are you guys new here?" The blond asked. "We've never seen you around here before."

"Uh, yeah, we're not from around here." Roxas answered.

"Out of town?" the Brown haired girl asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Tali muttered.

The three natives to this world blinked in confusion as they took note on how that was spoken.

"Huh, that sounded exactly what they said." the headband wearing teen remarked.

"What now?" Roxas said.

"Some others we've met recently." The Brown haired girl stated.

"Well it's nice to meet you guys." The lead teen of the Town natives said politely. "I'm Hayner."

"Hey there, name's Pence."

"And I'm Olette. Welcome to Twilight Town."

"Thanks. I'm Roxas."

"I'm Xion."

"Tali." The Quarian was rather surprised at how casually she was being addressed by these teens. She had also noted how she didn't get that much of a reaction out of the inhabitants of this World. Just a few glances but nothing over dramatic.

"So how are you guys liking Twilight Town?" Pence asked.

"It's nice here." Xion said. "We've been here before but we never had the time to enjoy it."

"Glad you're able to this time." Olette said cheerfully. "Much as we'd like to talk more, we've got Homework to do."

Hayner let out a loud groan, slumping forward with his arms hanging down. "Aw come on, Olette, why'd you have to go and remember that?"

"No excuses this time, Hayner." Olette said with her arms crossed. "The teacher knew you cheated off me last time so you have to do it on your own."

Pence laughed at Hayners expense only for the boy to get caught in a headlock courtesy of his blond friend.

"Laugh at me will you." Hayner growled comically. "Looks like I know who's going to help me this time."

Pence could only flail in a vain attempt of escape being dragged away by Hayner.

Olette giggled at her friend's antics, looking over to the trio in front of her with a smile.

"Nice meeting you all."

She then went to catch up with her friend's, leaving them there.

"They seemed nice." Xion said.

"I wish more people were friendly like them." Tali commented.

"There you guys are."

The trio looked over behind them to see Wrex approaching them.

"Hey Wrex." Xion greeted.

"Liking your little exploration so far?" Roxas asked.

"It's alright." He gruffly said. "Very little selections of ware from the shops around here."

"Not much to be found here." Roxas shrugged. "It's not like Traverse Town."

Wrex only huffed. "Not much to do around here anyway."

"Well come on then." Roxas said. "There's one place Axel, Xion and I always go to here."

Leaving the Sandlot, they were back at Market Street and spotted Axel with the others eating a meal together. Stitch had also joined them with a stack of cakes he was devouring at a record rate.

Once reunited with them, the large group departed from the Market Street and followed the three Nobodies.

They all went up the streets of the Town, passing by people here and there.

Eventually, they reached the Station Heights and the group soon came across the Nobody's' intended destination.

"Here it is, Twilight Town's Clock Tower." Roxas said with a wide grin.

The Normandy ground team -save for Stitch- took note of the piece of architecture as they vaguely remember seeing it. Not personally, but through the stained glass platform they were on through the accidental asari mind meld a while back.

Seeing it plastered on a piece of artwork was one thing but seeing it in person was another as more details were seen on the beautifully constructed clocktower with roman numeral on the clock face.

"This is the place then?" Ash said, hand over her eyes as she gazed high up at the clocktower.

"So where exactly do you watch the sunsets again?" Tali asked, looking around. "I don't see anywhere accessible to get a good view."

"Are you sure we have to go here?" Liara inquired.

"We most certainly do." Axel said.

"Then where is this "amazing spot" you guys talked about?" Shepard said with Axel smirking at her, tilting his head up.

The rest soon followed with several mouths opening slightly.

"Wait, up there?" Ash pointed to the top of the tower.

"Yeah, where else would we go?" Roxas asked rhetorically, already walking towards the building.

"Wait, isn't that a bit-"

"If you're about to say dangerous then you should really rethink your career path, Kaidan." Axel interrupted, following after Roxas with Xion having already joined him.

Hesitant at first, the rest soon followed after them.

Around the side of the building, the group made inside a worker's entrance. Once climbing up the flights of stairs, they went through another door to exit the building.

When they reached the top, they finally found the location as to where the three Nobodies occasionally hung out at, at the end of each mission.

"Whoa." Was the first words out of Shepard mouth upon standing at the top of the Clock Tower of Twilight Town.

"This is where you guys used to go after your missions with the Organization?" Ash asked, equally as enraptured with the vibrant setting sun as the rest of the team was.

"Huh, you know, I'm not usually up for shit like this but…" Wrex held an expression that was a rarity for the Krogan Battlemaster. A feeling of content.

Axel had already plopped himself down in his usual spot with Roxas and Xion doing the same.

"Man, I didn't realize how much I missed this." Axel stated with a fond grin in place.

Shepard took a seat by Axel with Ash on the other side. Tali sat by Xion followed by Garrus, Liara, Wrex and Kaidan.

Stitch opted to rest himself atop Roxas's head, his four arms each holding an Ice Cream bar.

The Nobody trio also had Sea-Salt ice cream in hand with the rest of their friends staring at them dryly while the three had handed out the ice cream to them.

Ash stared down at her bar. "How do you guys-?"

"Shhh~" Axel said. "Just enjoy the sunset."

The newly promoted Chief gave the man a flat look but sighed and opted to look upon said sunset and without even realizing it, found herself relaxing as the sun's rays washed over them.

"Alright… can't deny it." Garrus spoke up. "This is… really peaceful."

"I can see why you all come up here so often." Liara commented. "The sunset is beautiful."

Wrex only hummed, finishing his ice cream rather quickly. Within his mind, he would never let any other Krogan see him enjoying something like this but with these people…

Tali herself was greatly enraptured by the brilliant picture-esque sight before her until she reached a mental snag.

The Quarian was finding herself at a difficult choice in picking out which place had the better sunset.

Here? Or Rannoch?

While at first, her natural gut would go to her homeworld Tali can't deny the sublime beauty that this sunset presented before her.

It was a really hard choice but eventually, Tali opted to go with her first choice of Rannoch but Twilight Town was an absolute close second. Literally off by a decimal point.

Axel hummed aloud in amusement.

"What's up, Axel?" Roxas asked.

"Bet you guys don't know why most Sun's always set Red." Axel stated, earning confused looks from the others.

"What do you mean?" Xion inquired.

"You see, light is made up of lots of colors," Axel spoke confidently. "And out of all those colors red is the one that reaches the farthest."

To emphasize this, he brushed one of his hands through his hair whilst lifting one finger up to conjure a small red flame.

The small flame was promptly blown out by Shepard.

"Like we asked, know-it-all." Shepard remarked making Axel grin.

"Glad to see you know who's the smartest of us here."

"I'd beg to differ." Liara sarcastically said which made the group share a laugh together.

The group stayed there for a time until Roxas took a moment to look down at his stick.

He saw that it didn't have "Winner" on it but there was something else to be seen. Looking past the ice cream stick and down to the plaza below were three very familiar figures walking towards the train station.

"Is that…" Roxas squinted, leaning down a bit.

"Roxas?" Xion looked at him.

A moment later, Roxas's eyes widened with a small smirk appearing.

"It is." Roxas proclaimed.

"What?"

Without warning, Roxas jumped up to his feet before literally jumping off the edge of the ledge. Stitch, who was still resting atop his head, let out a strangled cry and clutched onto his seat.

"ROXAS?!" the others exclaimed in complete and utter horror until they saw him miraculously land on his feet with no sign of collapse or hearing any cries of agonizing pain.

…..

…..

…..

"...I keep forgetting he can't get hurt through normal means." Garrus muttered out, facepalming as he spoke.

Wrex let out a bellow of a laugh. "Runt still has quads in making quite the jump."

"Please don't follow his example." Ashley pleaded to the Krogan, knowing the reptilian alien would do such a thing.

"Please do, you say?" Axel said before pushing himself forward.

"Axel, wait!" Xion said, following after him as the duo fell down below and they to landed on the ground with little to no issue.

….

….

…

Shepard sighed aloud. "Alright, come on guys, let's head down."

-A few moments earlier-

Sora was walking back to Twilight Towns train station with his two friends Donald and Goofy by his side.

"Gawrsh Sora, you think they're actually here?" Goofy asked, the trio walking up to the Station Heights.

"Positive." Sora declared, hands resting behind his head.

"How can you be sure?" Donald inquired.

Sora hummed to himself in thought. "I dunno. Call it a feeling really."

"Is cause ya think-"

Goofy didn't have time to finish his line of questioning as suddenly, someone in a black coat landed before them with a blue fur ball atop his head.

At first, the trio tensed but upon seeing who it was a moment later.

"Roxas?" Sora said pleasantly surprised at seeing him.

"Hey, Sora. Good to see you again." Roxas greeted. "Hey Donald, Goofy."

Not long after, another pair of familiar faces landed on the ground not far away.

Sora stepped back in surprise in seeing them. "Axel? Xion?"

"Sup."

"Hello."

Sora proceeded to smile widely at them all. "Good to see you guys again."

Goofy 'hyucked' as he waved at them. Donald, however, merely gave them a nod.

"Where'd you guys even come from?" Sora asked, looking up at the tower.

"We… literally dropped in." Roxas stated.

"Huh?"

"Jumped off the Clocktower." Axel clarified.

"Oh."

They soon heard gibberish of some kind coming from No. XIII

"Who's this guy?" Sora asked, looking above Roxas' head.

Roxas blinked in confusion before he soon remembered who was hitching a ride on him.

"Oh, this is Stitch." Roxas said, the blue alien squinting at Sora, Donald and Goofy.

He jumped off Roxas and went over to them and took a moment to inspect them all before stopping at Sora. After a few seconds of gazing at the boy, Stitch proceeded to give him a good slobbering.

"AH!" Sora tried desperately to pull him off. "Stitch, Stitch, please!"

Before long, Stitch left Sora before repeating the same process on Goofy, albeit briefly. Though it was Donald who received the most, much to his utter annoyance.

"Get off me!" Donald flailed before unleashing an angry series of squawks.

Stitch rolled up into a ball and rolled away from the Wizard, going to Xion who scooped him up.

"There there. The angry duck man won't hurt you." Xion said gently.

Stitch mockingly sniffled, rubbing his head against Xion's hand.

"Hurt him?" Donald said incredulously.

Stitch then looked back at Donald and blew him a raspberry, earning another angry outburst.

Axel snorted out loud with Roxas merely chuckling beside Sora and Goofy.

"Roxas, for God's sake."

The group looked over to see Shepard and company walking over to them.

"Hey Shepard." Roxas waved before he was trapped in a Biotic pull and was promptly flung towards a waiting Ashley Williams who grabbed his head and proceeded to dig her knuckles into his head.

"AGAIN!"

"Yes again!" Ash proclaimed. "If you just told us what you do half the time."

"I'm sorry! Let me go!"

"Fine, it's Xion's turn anyway."

Xion's expression blanched. "What?"

Axel laughed aloud while Stitch was quick to vacate Xion's grasp as the dark haired girl was quickly embraced by Ashley, who soon delivered the same treatment as previously.

"Don't think you're escaping punishment." Shepard said in a false-threatening tone.

"Really? And how are you gonna do-"

In an instant, he was sent flying to the nearby wall via biotic throw.

"...Like that can really hurt me, you know." Axel soon said as he gazed at the Spectre from his position on the wall.

"I know it can't." Shepard said with a bland look. "It's the action that counts."

"Uh-Huh." Axel expunged a small burst of fire that freed him instantly from the Biotic grasp. He dusted himself off while returning the bland look towards Jane.

"I didn't know you could do that." Shepard murmured.

"Neither did I." Axel stated. "First time for everything I guess."

It was at this point that the others then turned their attention to the "matter" at hand so to speak.

"So," Garrus turned to the trio in front of them. "Who are these guys? Guess they must be important since your three jumped off a building for them."

"We're friends of Roxas, Axel and Xion." the Brown haired teen said with a friendly smile. "I'm Sora and this is Donald and Goofy.

Liara took note of the anthropomorphic two and was able to recognize them. Not just because of the odd mind meld some time ago, but through a series of conversations.

"Hello there, Goofy." Said the asari. "And you too, Donald. I'm Liara."

The captain of the guard blinked in surprise. "You know us?"

"Sora just introduced us, ya big palooka."

"A-Hyuck, oh yeah." Goofy said, rubbing his head.

"But in all honesty, I do know you a bit more Donald."

"Huh, how?"

"Your sister Della spoke about you quite often."

This time the court wizard jumped in utter surprise. "Wait, you know Della?!"

"Yeah, she's a good friend of ours." Tali answered.

"Where is she?" Donald asked worriedly. "How is she? Is she alright?"

"Back home with her sons and your uncle Scrooge back on Disna."

"...Wait. How do you know that?" Donald said accusingly.

"We got to really know her when she spent time with us."

"Oh yeah, prove it."

"Your nephews are named Huey, Dewey and Louie." Liara answered before a mischievous smile graced her lips. "And she spoke about the time you went on a date with your "special sweetheart" Daisy to your favorite restaurant on your fifth anniversary and-"

"WHACK!" Donald grew bug-eyed as he instantly held a look of horror. "Okay! Okay! I get it, you know her! JUST SHUT UP!"

"Wait, what happened on your fifth anniversary, Donald?" Goofy asked in utter curiosity.

"None of your beeswax, ya big palooka!" Donald exclaimed until he slumped over with a small smile appearing on his face. "I'm just happy to know she's ok."

Jane smiled at that comment. "She was a real big help to us on our missions. We were sad to see her go home but…"

"Yeah, Della can't stay rooted in one spot for long." Donald said understandingly.

"Wow, it's really great to meet you all after all this time." Sora said cheerfully. "You're Commander Shepard right?"

The team was a bit surprised as to how quickly Sora pointed her out.

"Uh… yeah…" Shepard looked at the teen in bewilderment. "And how do you know that?"

"That's…" Sora had a sheepish look. "A bit of a complicated story really."

"You're telling us." Donald said, looking to Roxas in particular.

Roxas instead kept his eyes on Sora.

"I get it." he nodded. "I got your message, Sora."

"You did?" Sora said in surprise before grinning a moment later. "That's great. Yen Sid was right!"

"Who now?"

"Wait… that name sounds kinda familiar." Garrus murmured.

"You guys have been studying under him, right?" Xion asked.

"Sorta." Sora admitted. "Actually, it's a good thing you guys did come here. Yen Sid wants to meet you, Roxas and Axel."

"Really?"

"Wait, hold on a second." Jane spoke up. "Everything here is happening a bit too fast for my liking. Can we back up a bit and talk about whatever it is that's going on here?"

"Yeah, I'm kinda confused about what's going on." Tali admitted.

"Then come with us to Yen Sid's Tower." Goofy said. "That way, we can all talk about everything we need to."

"Yen Sid mentioned that we should bring you all as well." Donald said, speaking primarily to the Milky Way Galaxy residents.

"Huh? Us?" Ash said, gesturing to the seven of them getting nods out of Sora and co.

"What does this guy want with us?" Garrus asked.

"Better yet, how does he even know about us?" Wrex inquired with a suspicious look to his eyes.

"That's kind of… also a long explanation." Sora admitted sheepishly.

"You know, you're not all that helpful right now." Shepard said flatly.

Sora visibly deflated. "Hey, I'm trying here."

The Spectre couldn't help but snort at the boys antics when she frowned a bit.

It was strange to her but… talking with Sora… kinda felt like she was talking to Roxas.

What she didn't realize was that underlying sentiment was shared by the rest of the group as they watched how Sora spoke.

He was a lot more animated in talking but there was just this bizarre familiarity they felt with him.

Suddenly, all around them plumbs of silvery-white vapors started appearing around the assembled group.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts II: Tension Rising-

And from the silvery-white vapors, a number of Nobodies appeared all around them.

Surrounding them were a number of Dusks and Creepers and they appeared without Roxas, Axel or Xion doing anything about it.

"Uh guys…" Shepard said warily. "Did you summon them?"

Axel frowned, clenching his hand for a moment. "No we-"

A moment later, several other Nobody types that the Milky Way Galaxy natives had never seen before appeared a moment later.

The first were thin, dragon-like creatures with silver and purple skin. Their hands only have two distinct digits while it's feet have three long, purple toes each with the shared Nobody emblem seen on their thighs. They also have a thin, purple tail and sharp, white wings with purple tips lined with spikes. Their upper bodies and necks are covered in magenta straps and in their grapes were long, stylized lances.

The second were a bunch of large humanoid beings with long yellow spikes for hands and feet. They wore dark grey body suits with white straps wrapping around their chests. Their sleeves flare out wide and end in a pointed fringe. They have gray hoods with the Nobody emblem on the front and a white scarf around their throats. They wore a gray sash belt that drapes down at the front. And above their spiked feet, they wear dark gray chaps with portions of the emblem fading from yellow to white.

The third floated in the air were humanoid beings dressed in a primarily purple bodysuit. On their heads, there was a black eye patch over on the right side. From below their elbows appeared they wore massive gloves with the Nobody logo emblazoned on the right one. And they wielded large crossbows.

The last of them were a pair of floating humanoids in a full body light grey robe. The sleeves of their arms never parted ways from the connection they made in front of them with only a blackened gap in between them. Their heads sport a black cross pattern that wraps around the back. The lower half of the robe-like body is mostly featureless, except for the few stray black markings and the white Nobody emblem at the bottom.

These were the Dragoons, Snipers, Ninjas and Sorcerers, respectively.

"No, no we did not." Axel sharply declared, his Chakrams appearing in his hands whilst Roxas and Xion summoned their Keyblades.

"They're from the Organization." Roxas exclaimed, ready for battle.

Sora, Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons with the rest of the Normandy team pulling out their own.

There was a quick swishing sound from above, with Xion looking up in time to see several lances above them.

"Look out!" Xion cried out and the group all dove out of the way as the lances came down.

However, there was a particular split within the group that happened.

Shepard, Ash, Kaidan, Garrus, Tali, Liara, Wrex and Stitch were on one side.

And Roxas, Xion, Axel, Sora, Donald and Goofy on the other.

In an instant, a hexagonal barrier appeared that separated the groups from each other.

"What the hell is this?!" Shepard yelled, banging her fist against the barrier.

Wrex headbutted the barrier to no avail.

"What's going on?" Tali asked, gazing upon Roxas who had his back to her as he swatted away a Dusk.

"Guys, we need to focus!" Kaidan said aloud, Biotics flaring up as he was fighting the small contingent of Nobodies that had them surrounded.

Back with Roxas and company, they were fighting off the Nobodies until more began appearing, forcing them back slightly.

Though they were outnumbered, they were undeterred by their enemies as they readied themselves once more for battle.

"Alright." Sora declared, Keyblade in hand. "Let's do this."

The six stood back-to-back in a circle with the Nobodies surrounding them.

Axel went on the offensive first, stringing together a quick succession of strikes and throws with him taking out several Dusks.

Sora and Goofy charged forward, the former grabbing the outstretched hand of the latter and throwing him forward with the thrown having his shield up. Sailing high into the air, Goofy dragged Sora long for the ride before the previous action repeated itself. This time, however, Goofy was on his own as he brought his shield down to strike the enemies down below. Once the impact occurred, a small shockwave went out as a number of Nobodies were destroyed while others were thrown back.

Donald quickly cast a quick series of shielding Aeroga's on the team, swirling twisters around them all as a defensive measure before casting Thundaga to clear the area around them.

Xion immediately went into a corkscrew thrust, slicing through a Ninja before bashing a creeper down and destroying a Dusk.

Roxas jumped high into the air to meet with the Dragoons, clashing slightly with their lances. He broke through them after several strikes, casting a Gravity spell to bring them down.

Once they were brought down, Goofy's form flashed.

"Come on!" he yelled out, sliding forward and bashing through the Dragoons, taking out several of them.

Sora ran up behind Goofy and jumped, using his friend's shoulder as a platform to get higher into the air before coming down to cleave through another Dragoon.

Axel threw his inflamed Chakram at several of the Snipers, catching two of them as the others shifted about in the air with ease to avoid his attack.

Out of utter instinct, the three present Keybearers dropped and slid around the incoming Dusks and Creepers to appear right behind them.

Disoriented and thrown off balance with the enemy Nobodies looking around in utter confusion; Sora, Roxas and Xion went on the offensive.

With a series of vicious strikes, the Dusks and Creepers before them were dispelled, bursting into silvery-white vapors.

Despite them leaving, neither Keybearer stopped their attacks there and then. Joining the rest as they fought their present opponents.

On the other side of the barrier, Shepard and co were finding themselves struggling a great deal more with these enemies compared to previous creatures of unusual size and powers.

It appears that Nobodies were more durable then Heartless, having the need for more strength being used in taking them out.

Luckily for everyone else, they've been constantly combatting Heartless for the past few months now.

Still, their movements were difficult to predict and attack patterns were proving to be much more hard to block. With how fluid their movements were, a new challenge presented itself to them.

"Back off!" Kaidan growled out, thrusting a Biotic thrust to disorient the Nobodies closing in on him.

Somehow, only a portion of their bodies got caught up in the Biotics. Those freed sections of their bodies proved to be the means in which they used to escape from the Biotics, bewildering the team.

"What the fuck?" Ashley said in bewilderment.

"Ok, didn't know they could do that."

Wrex growled, clutching his gravity hammer as he ran at a Dragoon. The Nobody shifted out of the way yet Wrex easily adjusted himself.

Managing to catch the Dragoon by the neck, Wrex proceeded to repeatedly bash his hammer down against it which took a while as this damn thing was way more durable than any Heartless he had faced.

All the while, Vakarian was having trouble of his own as he was attacked by the Sniper Nobodies.

Rolling out of the way, Garrus opened fire on the hovering Snipers as they were quick to evade his hits coming from his assault rifle. Gritting his teeth, the Turian had to quickly evade the energy darts rapidly being fired upon him. Even from a high distance, they were narrowly making their mark as his kinetic shields were rapidly flaring.

"Okay, let's see which Sniper is the best one." Garrus snarled, switching his assault rifle for his trusty sniper rifle.

Activating his visor, he focused on not just the hovering Snipers but also the airborne Dragoons as he had to quickly run over the impromptu battlefield. Once getting a lock on them, Garrus thrusted his sniper rifle into the air and fired a compressed shot. A stream of energy fled out of the barrel and broke apart and struck the Snipers down.

Unfortunately, the blasts they took wasn't enough to properly end them, making Garrus grit his teeth out.

Luckily for him, Wrex was there to come on swinging his gravity hammer to crush them to the ground to help finish the job.

The Turian gave the Krogan a thankful nod as they went back to work.

The Dragoons flew upwards with their lances raised in attack with the Ninjas leaping back for a swift series of strikes.

Ashley and Tali gritted their teeth as their present opposition. They were surrounded from above and were trying their best to avoid these foes.

A biotic blast was able to help clear the space around them. The pair didn't pay attention to who gave them the breathing birth, but neither cared right now as they quickly moved out of the way in order to properly act on their assault.

Tali thrusted her Omni-tool out and fired off a stream of lightning before quickly firing her shotgun at a recently paralyzed Nobody. It didn't do much work as she now had to flee as the paralysis soon ended with the Ninja throwing a volley of yellow kunai at the Quarian. She yelped in both surprise and shock as once the weapons struck her, she was getting electrocuted. Before long, she was struck in the abdomen and sent flying back some distance away.

While on the ground, the Quarian quickly pulled out a breakable Potion and crushed it in her hand so she could heal accordingly. The green energy swept over her body, allowing her to get back up again.

When the Dragoons tried to strike her down, she miraculously backflipped out of the way and fired a shotgun blast at the Nobody directly at its head. On the first blast, not much really worked, but the next one further down did as it disappeared in a plum of vapors.

"... Ok… didn't know I could do that." Tali muttered though she couldn't dwell on it any further as Creeper that shape shifted into its sword formation began swinging at her, causing her to dodge and flee.

Ashley quickly threw some mines on the ground as the Ninjas and Dusks chased after her. Most of the Nobodies fell to the quickened trap as explosives did some damage to them. The others, however, quickly maneuvered out of the way as they resumed their chase at the Alliance Chief.

Seeing the chase occur, Liara and Kaidan rushed forward and fired off a combined Biotic warp to throw off those on Ashley's tail into the air. Not wanting them to quickly escape, they fired off another warp before firing off a volley of biotic rounds. One by one, the Ninjas and Dusks were destroyed just prior to the Warps no longer being present.

After that, the trio went to assist the struggling Quarian, who soon joined Shepard and Stitch in fighting off their own grouping of Dragoons and Creepers.

With the others, they were beginning to whittle down the endless stream of Nobodies with several of them having "learned" a few techniques that they utilized against certain Nobodies in particular.

The three Keybearers high above in the air with their bodies angled downward. They proceeded to slam down and through their respective Dragoons, with a wave of energy pulsing out from the spot they landed.

The energy wave knocked the Ninjas and Creepers back and momentarily disoriented. It was enough for Donald and Goofy to openly attack and finish them off.

As this went on, the strange sound was heard in the battlefield as the Keybearers would occasionally appear right above another Dragoon and lancing right through their next target. It was as if they were "jumping" all over the place, destroying the last of them until more showed up to replace them.

"Confounded Nobodies!" Donald proclaimed, throwing his staff up. "Magnera!"

Right in front of Donald, a vortex of swirling mass and energy appeared and in an instant, multiple Nobodies were pulled into it.

Axel zipped around the area, over to where the Nobody cluster was and threw his Chakrams forward with fire damaging them until a pillar of fire engulfed them entirely.

Over with Goofy, he had just finished a spinning Tornado to clear the surrounding area of Nobodies around him and Xion.

Landing next to her, he held up his shield and Xion promptly swung her Keyblade and struck Goofy's shield forward.

It smashed into a Sniper and destroyed it with the shield reappearing in Goofy's hand a moment later.

Sora and Roxas were fighting side-by-side, swatting away Nobodies left and right when they were bashed away by a series of red cubes.

Looking at the source, they saw the Sorcerers hovering overhead as they fired off more reddened cubes down below. Retaliating, Sora and Roxas fired off a number of Blizzards and Fires at them, yet the reddened cubes quickly blocked the casted spells before being sent out once more to crush them both.

They bore down upon the two when Axel appeared behind one of them and smashed his fiery weapons down upon it.

The Sorcerer Axel struck crashed down to the ground with Xion jumping forth into a front spin with her Keyblade being surrounded by thin flowing strips of wind and water.

She sliced through the Sorcerer, destroying it.

Roxas and Sora pounced upon the other Sorcerer.

In a quick aerial reversal, Roxas appeared behind the Sorcerer and bashed his Keyblade against it. It was sent flying towards Sora who proceeded to swat it back and the two proceeded to smack it around until Sora cleaved through it to finish it off.

When the last of the Nobodies fell, the barrier around the area came crashing down. With nothing separating them now, the two groups convened in the middle of the impromptu battleground outside of the Clocktower.

The Normandy crew was panting heavily, greatly spent by that battle.

"Jesus." Ash said. "I… never realized *pant*... how lucky we were… with our Nobodies."

Stitch merely collapsed onto the ground with his tongue hanging out as he panted out rather loudly.

"Your Nobodies?" Sora said, slightly breathing hard himself.

"We were once part of the Organization, remember?" Axel said. "Those Nobodies you just fought that weren't the Dusks and Creepers? They each answer to a specific member."

"And you guys have your own?" Goofy asked.

"Bingo." Axel said. "Me and Roxas here. Got it Memorized?"

Xion said nothing as she didn't know if she actually has a type of her own. Being a puppet and all.

"We never fought guys like those." Kaidan murmured, getting his breath under control. "I figured they'd be strong but…"

"We shouldn't stay here any longer." Donald declared.

"Yeah, if we stick around, more Nobodies could appear and maybe even the Organization." Roxas surmised in concern.

"Then where do we go now?" Tali asked.

"To Yen Sid's place." Sora answered.

"And where's that?" Garrus asked aloud.

"We'll show ya." The brown-haired Keyblade wielder gestured for them to follow him and his party into the train station.

Entering the train station underneath the Clocktower, they eventually came to a number of train cars situated on a number of rails.

Those that weren't Sora, Donald and Goofy wondered why they needed to be here and how to get to Yen Sid in the first place.

Yet they soon came across something clearly out of place.

"So we're going to Hogwarts or something?" Kaidan commented.

The train before them was quite… strange to be putting mildly.

"Are you sure this wasn't vandalized?" Garrus asked, taking a look at the very, very purple train in front of them.

There were specs of blue with yellow and white stars painted along the train car and situated on the top was a blue traffic cone like hat with yellow stars and a crescent moon seen across its surface.

"This'll take us right to Yen Sid's tower." Donald explained, walking directly to it with Sora, Goofy, Roxas, Axel and Xion going over to it themselves.

Stitch gave off a few tentative whiffs before nodding to himself and running over to join them.

Upon seeing that, the rest really didn't see a point in arguing with them.

"...If you say so." Shepard muttered, being the first to step forward to the bizarre train.

A moment later, the rest quickly followed suit and the large group of fourteen people were in the train. Once the last of them entered the car, the doors quickly shut themselves before the mode of transportation took off.

Most took seats while a few opted to stand and look outside the windows of the train as they passed on through Twilight Town.

After a couple of moments, a bright light appeared from the windows, causing the others to momentarily be on guard.

It was when the light died down did they see something unexpected.

Instead of the twilight of colors of the sky, they saw a swirl of green, blue, purple and pink polar lights all over as far as their eyes could see.

"What the-?" Ashley spoke up. "What happened?"

"Where are we?" Tali asked a moment later.

"We're on our way to the Tower." Goofy said.

"Yeah but…" Shepard tried craning her head to see the bottom of the tracks. "Are… are we even on train tracks?"

Those that were still trying to get adjusted to all this (you know who it is) were now trying to see exactly what Shepard was talking about and lo and behold…

"So… this is a magic train." Garrus summarized in the blankest tone he could muster.

"Yeah, it is." Sora said with a bright smile.

The Normandy crew, save the Nobody trio and Stitch, sighed in resignation.

"And where is this Yen guy supposed to be?" Wrex asked. "In another dimension or something?"

"You'll see soon enough." Donald said.

Eventually, the train came to a halt before a literal floating piece of land in the middle of this rather cosmic setting.

When they deposited themselves from the train car, they all looked at the large gothic styled tower with dark cream bricks and green tiles for the coned roofing. There were other small towers branching off the central one as a number of clouds were covering most of the architecture to enhance its mysterious appearance.

They looked up at it in wonder with Sora, Donald and Goofy already going forward.

The rest however took a moment to get their bearings as to where they were.

Looking over the edge, Garrus and Kaidan stepped back as they felt rather nervous now.

"Are we on a floating island?"

"Hovering above god knows how far above the ground?"

"Yeah, we are." Sora said nonchalantly.

"By the Goddess." Liara whispered in stunned awe when she momentarily looked down to see the swirling clouds in twilight colors.

"Keelah, and I thought the Etherium was crazy." Tali added on.

"My family is never gonna believe me about all this." Ash said. "Which is why I gotta record it all."

"Good idea." Kaidan said. "I want my future kids to know their old man went through some crazy shit."

Seeing the Omni-tools out, Sora looked back at Roxas.

"Hey, where are those Omni-tools you promised us?!" Sora asked with a huff and a pout.

"Huh? Oh yeah, right, right." Roxas shrugged. "We forgot."

Sora, Donald and Goofy dramatically deflated at that.

"Well, we honestly didn't expect to see you all." Xion admitted.

"Aw man." Sora bemoaned.

"But I promise I'll get some ready for when we see ya next." Roxas assured.

"They know about the Omni-tools?" Shepard found herself asking.

"Had to show off mine a while back when playing the recording I got on Xemnas and Xigbar." No. XIII explained.

"Sora! Donald, Goofy, you're back!"

The group all turned their heads to see a young teenage girl with platinum blond hair walking out of the tower and with her was another slightly older teen boy with silver hair.

"Hey Sora, what took ya- who are all these guys?" The Silver haired teen asked aloud, only recognizing three of them. "Roxas? Axel and Xion too? What are you guys doing here?"

"Hey Namine, Riku." Xion said towards the pair.

"Xion!" Namine said aloud as she rushed forward and hugged her friend, who returned it in kind. "I've missed you. It's so good to see you again."

"It's so good to see you too, Namine." Xion said happily as the two girls hugged each other tightly.

"Oh, so Xion gets that type of greeting, but I don't?" Axel said in a mocking disappointed tone.

"It's great to see you too, Axel." Namine said happily, breaking away from Xion and going over to her tall friend and hugged him around his waist.

Axel gave her a fond smile, ruffling her hair as he did with Roxas and Xion.

"Yeah, you too Namine."

With the others, a couple of them were having a conversation on what they were witnessing.

Garrus squinted at Namine before looking over to their richly dark brunette teammate speaking animatedly with the platinum blond haired girl.

"Is it just me or does she look very similar to Roxas and Xion to some degree."

Jane took a moment to look between them. "You know you're right."

"Though I do think she might look more like Roxas' sister." Tali commented.

"You kidding, with how she and Xion look, I think it's them who are the sisters." Ash pointed out.

"I could see that." Garrus agreed.

Stitch soon came up to Namine and greeted her.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-HIIII!"

On the side, Axel had the sense of Deja vu all over again when he saw the sparkles in Namine's eyes. Seeing what was about to happen, he clapped his hands over his ears and was ready for the inevitable.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~!"

The platinum blonde haired Nobody then latched onto the blue furred alien and let out the loudest 'squee' she could ever muster.

"What the hell!"

"Make her stop!"

Stitch feared for his life as once more he was being squeezed with all of Namine's strength. He then limped in her embrace as the platinum blonde rubbed her cheek against him.

"HE'S SO CUTE!"

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!"

"Oh god, they really are sisters." Ash said, rubbing her ringing ears.

"Jeez, I didn't know Namine had that in her." The silver haired teen stated.

"Me neither."

The silver haired teen chuckled before his gaze turned back to the newcomers.

"Hey Sora, you never answered my earlier question. Who are they?"

"Oh right. These are the guys Yen Sid wanted to talk to." Sora said. "We can trust them Riku. Otherwise, why would Yen Sid wanna see them."

Riku took a moment but he nodded all the same.

"Alright. I'm Riku. Nice to meet you all."

The Normandy crew all introduced themselves a moment later.

"Now if ya'll follow us…" Goofy said, walking over to the front door of the Tower.

Opening the tower's entrance, they all filed themselves inside.

"Huh, bigger on the inside." Tali commented.

"Like the Tardis." Kaidan said with a small grin.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Let's go." Sora said. "Yen Sid's at the top of the tower.

When getting onto the winding stairwell, the group momentarily looked up and saw that it seemed to never end.

"Uh…"

"It's not as bad as it looks." Riku quickly said. "Come on."

"You say that now 'cause I don't believe my legs can survive the trek." Ash said dryly.

"That's just a security measure Yen Sid has on this place on any intruders." Donald said.

"What kind of security measure is that?" Tali asked in bewilderment though her question went unanswered as they began walking up the steps.

Reaching a certain point in the stairwell, a green portal opened up before them all. Those new to the place hesitantly moved onward after seeing those familiar with the place traverse through it with no problem.

Once through, they saw they were now in a large room with a couple of doors surrounding the space.

Riku went to the one on the far off wall and opened it up to reveal an office on the other side.

"Come in, come in." Spoke an elderly voice. "I've been expecting you all."

Before long, everyone entered the office space with the door closing up behind them.

The Normandy crew stood before an aged individual in blue robes and pointy wizard top hat and long grey beard sitting in a chair with a large backrest.

Standing not far away from him was an anthropomorphic mouse wearing a red outfit with a pair of yellow footwear.

"Master Yen Sid." Sora, Donald and Goofy said with a snap salute. "Your Majesty."

Mickey smiled at his friends before turning to the others present in the office space.

The Master simply nodded his head before turning to the eleven newcomers.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all at last." Yen Sid's voice was deep and baritone, conveying power and wisdom that resonated with them.

"I understand that you've been waiting for us?" Commander Shepard spoke first.

"I have." Yen Sid nodded. "Originally, I had wished to speak with Roxas, Xion and Axel here. But after a development regarding Sora and forces beyond our understanding, I knew I had to speak with all of you."

"So then… where do we begin?" Roxas asked.

"Let us begin with you, Roxas." Yen Sid said, making the boy straighten up slightly. "I believe it is important we understand the connection and relationship you have with Sora. Otherwise, he would not have been able to tell me about your time with Shepard and the rest of your friends here."

"What does that mean?" Wrex asked. "Some kind of magic crap we don't understand?"

"Perhaps." Yen Sid said enigmatically.

Wrex squinted his eyes at the wizard who was nonplussed by the gaze as he returned his gaze to Roxas.

"Roxas." Yen Sid spoke slowly. "From speaking with Sora prior to you all coming here, he told me of something truly strange. About how at times, when he sleeps, he sees visions and memories that are not his own. Of places he has never been to and people he has never met in person up until now."

No. XIII only shifted about, briefly looking over to and locking eyes with Sora for a moment.

This was sounding a bit too familiar.

Shepard, hearing all this, found herself frowning in thought.

She momentarily thought back to a previous conversation she had with Roxas about him having trouble sleeping.

"And unlike passing dreams, these were very descriptive with details rather that most would miss." Yen Sid went on.

"Ok, so we're here to talk about Sora's… Dreams?" Ash asked. "I don't think we travelled all the way over her for that."

Yen Sid nodded and turned to the aforementioned teen. "Sora, if you would. Recount specific details that you have heard and seen in your visions."

Sora crossed his arms, closing his eyes in thought.

"Ashley has three sisters…"

The Alliance Chief blinked, slightly startled at the precise number he rattled off.

"Garrus has a habit of saying calibrating often."

The Turian blinked.

"Wrex is 700 years old."

The others, minus those aware of this, were certainly surprised.

"Liara is a Prothean expert."

The Asari in question gazed at Sora in bewilderment.

"Kaidan has a habit of cooking steaks. Stitch loves his Elvis music. Shepard wants to get a hamster and Tali drinks not out of a straw but an induction port."

The Normandy crew all stared at Sora in slight shock, before looking to Roxas, Axel and Xion.

"Have you guys been in contact with them or something?" Ashley asked suspiciously.

"Only Roxas has been in contact with Sora." Yen Sid spoke up, getting their attention again. "And not through conventional means."

"Cause Roxas and all of you guys are anything but conventional." Shepard couldn't help but point out.

"To you, yes." Yen Sid said in good humor. "But even to us, this is certainly a unique case."

"So then what is it?" Tali asked. "From what you're saying it has to do with Roxas and Sora."

"Right you are, Ms. Zorah." Yen Sid nodded. "Now, before that, I must ask. Are you familiar with the Heartless and the Nobodies?"

The group all murmured that they are.

As they did so, two magical projections of a Shadow and a Dusk appeared next to the desk of Yen Sid, startling a few.

"As you should know then, when a person with a strong heart is lost to the Darkness, two beings are formed. As you see before you now."

The group nodded.

"But since you are travelling with some, there are some individuals that possess such extraordinary gifts, powers, strength of will and heart that even after losing their Heart hold the capacity to retain their body and will after the loss of a Heart."

The two projections vanished to be replaced with one of several individuals in familiar black cloaks with their hoods up covering their faces.

"Organization XIII." Yen Sid said gravely. "A group of powerful Nobodies that seek to bring back Kingdom Hearts. In their efforts and pursuit of such a goal, the Heartless have been unleashed upon countless Worlds once more bringing danger to all. Something all of you have now been facing constantly."

The entire group all nodded grimly.

"And this is where the uniqueness of Sora and Roxas come in to play." Yen Sid stated, looking to them both. "When a Nobody and a Heartless is created, the original being is meant to disappear into the Darkness unless they can be saved. But Sora is a special case. When he lost his Heart, rather than being consumed by the Darkness, he was saved and brought back as he was by his dear friend Kairi."

They looked to him who looked a bit sheepish.

"But, regardless of his return, Sora's Nobody was indeed created." Yen Sid said. "A unique circumstance that is difficult to comprehend. A Nobody that was born without any memory or thought of who he once was. And an appearance different to his original incarnation."

As he spoke, an unusual dawning began to occur.

"A Nobody separate from his original self that has attained their own sense of individuality."

By this point, it was all too clear as to who it was that Yen Sid was referring to.

"So, you're telling us…" Shepard said slowly. "That Roxas is the Nobody of Sora?"

Yen Sid nodded and Roxas held a slightly melancholy look to him.

"You're not surprised, Roxas?" Tali asked in worry.

"No, not at all." Roxas stated. "I guess… I should have known from the get-go really."

"Then what does this all mean exactly?" Garrus asked the old Master. "And what does this have to do with us?"

"I shall get to that in time." Yen Sid said patiently. "But first, we must discuss this unique situation. Roxas. Sora. The two of you share this connection due to the former coming from the latter. With this, we have the fortunate circumstance of having an additional Keyblade wielder that can combat the coming Darkness. But it may come at a cost."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ashley asked.

"A Heartless and a Nobody are two parts of a whole. One cannot be completed without the other." Yen Sid elaborated. "But Sora is here and now without his Nobody. A piece of him is missing. Half of his whole making Sora incomplete."

A feeling of dread began washing over the Normandy crew as Yen Sid went on.

"In order for Sora to become complete once again, his Nobody must return from whence he came."

"And what does that mean for Roxas?" Kaidan asked, tone sharp and dangerous.

"I believe you are intelligent enough to come to your own conclusions." Yen Sid said plainly.

"What happens to Roxas?" Tali's voice held a threatening edge to it.

Yen Sid closed his eyes with a frown marring his face.

"Roxas would fade away from existence, returning to where he had come from originally."

Now that certainly got the Normandy crew on edge.

"If you think we came all this way over to this little galaxy just to see the runt go, then you've got another thing coming ya old shit." Wrex growled out savagely.

Those not used to this sort of vernacular visibly winced as the rest of the Normandy crew began to grow defensive with them all leveling glares at the aged Wizard.

Yen Sid however took it in stride, raising a calming hand.

"I have no intention of doing so." Yen Sid said. "The choice is entirely up to Sora and Roxas, but the former had already made his choice on the matter."

Roxas turned to see Sora giving him a friendly smile.

"There's no way I could ask you for something like that." Sora said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You're your own person. Even if you're my Nobody, you're Roxas, not Sora. And there's only room for one of me."

"Yeah, otherwise the World would explode." Riku quipped, making Sora round on him.

"Like you're any better."

Riku only let out an amused 'hmph', shooting a cocky smirk at his friend.

Roxas only stared at Sora in disbelief. "You… don't want to do that?"

Sora turned to him in confusion before gaping in shock.

"Wha-What?! No! That's horrible!" Sora declared without an ounce of reservation. "How can I do that to you when you have your own life to live? That wouldn't be fair at all. You have your own friends and life now."

The Nobody couldn't help but gape now in astonishment at how blunt his original self was before he found himself smirking. Of course he'd tell him this.

"Then that settles it." Yen Sid with a pleased smile. "In doing so, we have now one more Keyblade Wielder in our ranks. But I must ask something personal to you Roxas."

Roxas straightened up as Yen Sid addressed him directly.

"You are half of Sora but are a unique case." Yen Sid stated. "Due to having your full autonomy, I ask this. When the time comes, will you come to our aid in bringing down the Organization."

"I have no choice really." Roxas said without missing a beat. "I left the Organization because they lied to us about the whole purpose for us being a part of it. And I know they won't stop until they bring me, Xion and Axel back and will continue threatening the Worlds. They've already targeted my friends. We have to bring them down."

The former Keyblade Master gave the boy a satisfied smile, looking back to the rest of the Normandy crew.

"Now, there is much that we have to discuss with the seven of you from outside our collection of Worlds."

The seven in question returned their gaze to the aged wizard who held out his hand.

On his table, a magical projection of the Milky Way Galaxy appeared with another galaxy popping up though it was unusually shaped. They couldn't quite distinguish it.

"Now, as you are already aware, we reside within two different galaxies separated by vast distances and other means unknown to us for centuries." Yen Sid began. "Similar to the barriers that separate the Worlds here yet also one that has yet to be explained. There are many questions that we all seek answers to. Unfortunately, not all will be discovered for quite some time. If at all for that matter."

"So then what exactly can we know?" Shepard inquired. "There's honestly a lot that doesn't make sense to us to begin with."

"Like humans being in other places that don't originate from Earth." Kaidan stated.

"And how exactly the laws of these "Worlds" even operate." Garrus brought up.

Yen Sid nodded in agreement as he displayed multiple Worlds now. Worlds Sora and company have been to.

"What you see before you are the representation of many Worlds that Sora, Riku and their friends have travelled to on their adventures." Yen Sid began. "As you can see, they are a great deal more different than what all of you are used to."

"You could say that again." Jane commented.

"How do these… Worlds even function the way they do?" Liara inquired in wonder and confusion.

The Worlds weren't shaped like anything they were familiar with. It was certainly a bizarre sight to say the least.

"We were once separated." Yen Sid. "But now, due to what has transpired in these last few months, many things have changed."

The magical displays vanished to be replaced by three galaxies.

"Though it was inadvertent, Roxas' accidental foray into your galaxy as well as the Etherium has inexplicably linked them all together now." Yen Sid explained. "Very soon, all that once was will not be as has been in the past."

"And what does that mean?" Ash asked in complete and utter loss of this all.

"Elements that have been uniquely found in both our realms shall now be affecting one another, changing the foundation of our realities in ways we cannot comprehend." Yen Sid stated.

"That doesn't really explain much." Jane said wryly.

Goofy hummed aloud in thought. "You know, maybe it has to do with our laws and such."

"Whaddya mean Goofy?" Namine asked.

"Commander Shepard." Goofy looked at the Spectre. "Before any of you met Roxas, did you ever even see stuff like the Heartless or magic?"

Shepard shook her head. "No, none of that sort."

The rest of them murmured in agreement.

Sora spoke up. "So that means, Roxas appearing there drew the Heartless to your galaxy."

"And without realizing, changed a lot in how your galaxy operates." Riku surmised.

"So it was Roxas' fault then, huh?" Shepard said with a flat look making the boy jolt back.

"Wha- hey! I didn't know that. How could I? I came to the Citadel without even trying to."

"Yeah, the Heartless did that." Xion said quickly after. "I saw them do it, but… I never could figure out why."

"And the changes have already begun." Yen Sid said calmly. "Though most of you probably don't see it, but you have all been affected by this change. And it will continue on well after even if you no longer associate yourselves with Roxas, Axel and Xion here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tali asked nervously.

"It means that no matter what happens after, our galaxies have been inexplicably changed." Yen Sid said.

"Ok, I get us and all." Garrus said. "I mean with our weapons and such but how are we gonna affect this place? Magic is outside any of our understanding cause that's what feels like what is dictated here."

"It is subtle and unseen, but there is a steady influence beginning to be seeped in." Yen Sid said.

"I hadn't noticed it at first." King Mickey spoke up for the first time in this conversation. "But there's been a shift in things around here. The barriers that once separated the worlds aren't what they used to be."

"What do you mean, Mickey?" Riku inquired.

"It was subtle at first and you might miss it if you don't look carefully enough but…" The King of Disney Castle hummed aloud in contemplation. "The best way that I could describe it really are these "holes" that are appearing in between the barriers. And they're reshaping into something else entirely. I just don't know what it is."

"Something to investigate, then." Garrus stated. "And has any of the well-known scientists come up with anything here, King Mickey?"

"That is where we're at a bit of an impasse." Mickey said with a sullen look. "Many of our best, most brightest minds vanished. We could only guess for the most part."

"Who do you and your people need to look for?" Liara inquired.

"Aside from Master Yen Sid here and maybe Merlin… the only other person who may have any idea as to what is happening is Ansem the Wise."

When hearing the name Merlin, a couple of the present humans from the Milky Way blinked in wondering if it was a coincidence… or...

"Wait, wait, wait, slow down a second." Ashley held up her hands into a T-shape. "Merlin? You mean Merlin the Wizard? The same Merlin from the Arthurian legends?"

"You know him?" Mickey said in surprise.

"But what's this about Arthurian legend?" Goofy asked.

Kaidan explained in summarized detail. "Back home on Earth, Merlin is an extremely famous person in a string of fairy tales. Essentially a major part with him being King Arthur's mentor throughout his life and his chief advisor after he pulled Caliburn from the stone. For years Arthur recruited the best of the best to help form the legendary kingdom, Camelot, a utopia beloved by all. Yet a string of events eventually lead to Camelot's downfall, like Merlin's disappearance for one example. Later King Arthur perished in battle by the hand of his son, Mordred, due to the machinations of Arthur's half-sister, Morgan Le Fay."

"Golly." Mickey crossed his arms. "Merlin never spoke of being a mentor to a King Arthur of sorts. Nor about him being in any World called Camelot and this Morgan Le Fay you mentioned. He always told me that Hollow Bastion was his Homeworld."

"Maybe we could ask him next time we see him." Donald suggested. "Clarifying details and all."

As they spoke on this topic, Axel crossed his arms with a deep frown appearing on his face.

"Ansem the Wise…"

Hearing Axel say this from his lips drew attention from the others. He practically spoke of the man with a slight sneer being visible for all to see.

"Axel?" Jane said in surprise at seeing such an expression on the normally laid back redhead.

"You know him?" Mickey said in surprise.

"You bet I do." Axel stated. "I was apprenticed to him before my World fell to the Heartless."

"Really/What?!" Many of those, save for the Normandy crew exclaimed in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sora asked.

Axel scoffed, turning away from the group. "Didn't seem important at the time. And I'd rather not really talk about that guy, honestly."

"Axel, this is serious." Mickey said, voice conveying a stern edge to it. "Ansem the Wise is someone who would understand exactly as to what's happening or at least have an idea on it."

"Well couldn't really tell ya much to begin with." Axel rebuked. "I got no idea what happened to that old coot. One minute, Isa and I are apprenticing under Ansem the Wise and then next thing I know, we're both waking up as Nobodies and being thrown into the Organization."

"You don't remember anything else?" Mickey asked with his expression falling.

"Nadda."

Hearing this, Namine pondered. "Perhaps… your memories were altered."

"What now?"

"Altered memories?" Liara murmured. "How is this possible?"

Namine shifted in her spot in the office space. "I have a unique ability to see a person's memories. And if I focus hard enough, I could manipulate them."

That certainly garnered everyone's undivided attention save for those who were already familiar with this ability.

"Wait, what?" Shepard said. "You can change people's memories?"

Namine nodded with a glum look upon her face.

"It was a reason why Xemnas took a lot of interest in me shortly after finding me at Castle Oblivion. More so with Marluxia, especially when he wanted to use me for his plans with Sora." Namine said. "But… before all that, I remember when Xemnas first found me, he asked me to delve into the memories of the first six members of the Organization that came after him and Xigbar. And he asked me to make sure nothing was out of place."

"What was he looking for?" Axel asked now, eyes wide and disturbed.

Namine shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't detect anything out of the ordinary honestly. Just that nothing was out of place when he asked me to."

"Did you do anything?" Xion said.

"No, just that. I made sure everyone's memories were in place and that nothing was changed or rearranged." Namine said. "But… I don't know. Xemnas perhaps was looking for something or rather… someone."

The trio of Nobodies all frowned, thinking about how it was the first six members after Xemnas and Xigbar that had their memories looked through.

Turns out Xigbar knows more than he's letting on.

But as for the possibilities of memories being manipulated, the idea did waft in the air.

"Just asking this on the fly, but given you were looking into their memories, do you possibly know those Organization members more than they do?" Riku asked.

"More or less." Namine said with a shrug.

"Why'd you comply with all that?" Roxas couldn't help but ask.

"Finding my purpose." Came Namine's response which surprised Roxas.

That… felt a lot like the same reason why he had joined up with the Organization to begin with. Because he was born without a purpose.

"I was more or less a blank slate as I had no idea on what to do, no drive at all. Xemnas gave me one after he asked me to do a couple of tasks in order to figure out what to do with me. So I only obeyed and sought nothing else." Namine elaborated.

Axel raised a hand to his chin, tapping it slightly. "Hmm… Would explain the notes I found in Vexen's lab on the Replica Project."

"Vexen did visit me the most when he was researching memories back at Castle Oblivion." Namine revealed. "That was… before Marluxia took over for a time."

"Then what changed?" Xion asked.

"I can thank you, Xion, for that."

The brunette girl blinked at that answer. "Me? Why?"

"Not just you, but Axel as well. You two helped me start feeling something I never really thought on having before: a sense of yearning." Namine said happily. "It's cause of you two I was able to get out and get even more friends. I owe you both everything."

Xion only beamed whilst Axel glanced away at the girl with a bashful expression.

His cheek was soon tugged on with him lightly glaring at Shepard who turned away whistling innocently.

"Urgh." Wrex groaned aloud. "Save me from the sappiness of this all."

Yen Sid chuckled at this.

"Much as there is more to discuss, I believe now isn't that time." Yen Sid stated. "There is much to be done in preparation as Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Namine and King Mickey deal with things here. The rest of you must return to your own home galaxy and be prepared for the coming dangers of what you call the Reapers."

A grim feeling befell the Normandy crew at the mention of the race of hyper-advanced AI.

"When Sora had told me of the vision he saw with all of you combatting the one called Saren being possessed by the Darkness of the Heartless, this in turn leads me to believe that if the Heartless can appear and influence your galaxy…"

"The Reapers can come here and do the same." Shepard said in a dark tone.

The thought alone was not pleasant for those within Yen Sid's office.

"Wait, but shouldn't that be impossible?" Liara asked. "Would the Reapers not need the capabilities of travelling here via Mass Relay or another form of FTL?"

"The Heartless can travel between the Worlds with their own methods outside our controls." Yen Sid stated. "And they have influenced The Reapers thus, giving them new paths in getting around previous obstacles."

"And I saw how bad it is taking on One Reaper." Sora said looking greatly uncomfortable at the mention of this matter.

"Your galaxy would be unmatched, let alone unprepared. It'll be a one sided slaughter." Tali muttered out in dread.

"Maybe, maybe not." Yen Sid said. "Though the Reapers are undoubtedly formidable in their own right, if they fully accept the Darkness, it will come as a double edged sword."

"Huh?" Was the collective response from the group.

"They will either risk destroying themselves with the Heartless consuming them..." Riku theorized aloud.

"Or, they can be taken out by people of Light." Sora declared, calling forth his Keyblade.

"I don't think we fall into the category of people of Light with our professions." Ashley dryly pointed out.

"Perhaps." Yen Sid nodded. "But that does not mean you all can't be given a fighting chance."

"We'll be ready, sir." Shepard said firmly. "The Alliance and the Council are already making preparations for their arrival as we speak."

"Yes, but please, if you'll allow me." Yen Sid closed his eyes and outstretched both hands towards them.

His form glowed in an ethereal light which were channeled into his hands before out came seven orbs of pure light that hovered before Shepard, Kaidan, Ash, Garrus, Tali, Liara and Wrex.

"What's this supposed to be?" Jane asked, gazing at the glowing orb before them.

"A little insurance, if you will." Yen Sid said. "Taking them into you will unlock the latent potential for greater power that you all have yet to achieve."

The Normandy all gazed up at the Wizard in confusion.

"Yet to achieve?" Tali parroted. "What's that mean?"

"With what you already have in terms of your tools is a great benefactor to combatting forces beyond your own current strength." Yen Sid stated. "Eventually, however, overtime you would all have gained a greater degree of power due to your prolonged battles with the Heartless and the Nobodies. But time now, is of the essence. There are multiple grave dangers assembling on many ends. Which means we need to speed up the process for all of you."

"So what does it mean if we are to take these… things into us?" Jane asked, cautiously raising her hand up to the orb in front of her.

"If I'm guessing this correctly…" Axel said aloud. "Basically, you'll be able to do the cool shit Roxas, Xion and I do a lot more freely."

"Huh?!"

"You-you mean like magic and all that?!" Tali asked excitedly.

"And those crazy moves you guys always pull off?!" Garrus said, vibrating with excitement.

"That and more." Yen Sid confirmed. "Taking these into you will accelerate your abilities tenfold and you will all develop your own sets of skills and abilities.

The seven individuals from the Milky Way Galaxy gazed upon their orbs for a brief moment. After a few seconds, they together reached out and the orbs of light entered into their hands.

All seven of them glowed alight with small winds kicking up around them.

Wrex was the first to respond after the aura died down.

"I don't feel any different."

"Same here." Muttered the Alliance Chief.

Yen Sid raised a calming hand. "Give it time and it will be noticeable. These are abilities that will be brought out naturally through combat and practice."

"Figured it wouldn't be instantaneous." Shepard said expectantly.

All the while, as they were looking upon all this, Riku held a neutral look to this all until he flinched with a small grunt escaping his lips. A hand shot up to his chest, the young teen steadying his breathing.

He managed to go unseen for the most part save for two who had heard him.

Mickey… and Namine.

They both turned to him and looked at him in concern but he gave them a look as to not say anything.

Reluctantly, they acquiesced to his silent plea and turned back to the others.

"Alright, so now what?" Shepard asked. "We came here to speak with you and all but you said there's other matters to attend to."

"Yes." Yen Sid nodded. "Whilst you and your companions must return home in preparations for the Reapers, Sora, Riku and company must remain behind to deal with the Heartless that have been unleashed upon the Worlds here."

"But how do we get back to our ship?" Ashley asked. "The train."

Yen Sid smiles slightly. "I have that matter taken care of."

Suddenly, they heard their Omni-tools go off.

Blinking, Shepard activated hers and heard a familiar voice through the comms.

"Commander, you there?"

"Joker?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Where are you?"

"That's the thing, have no idea where we're at. One moment was minding my own business when this flash of light came about and next thing I knew we were… somewhere else."

"Yeah, you and me both, Joker." Shepard remarked. "We're about to-"

"Oh, wait, I got a ping on where you… guys are… is that a floating island with a… what is that? A tower?" Came the response of the pilot of the SR1.

The group heard the familiar engines sounds of the Normandy from outside the Tower.

Rushing over to the nearby crescent moon and star shaped windows, the Normandy team saw their ship was hovering outside.

"There she is." Shepard said in relief.

Sora and the others were next to follow.

"WHOA! That's your ship!?" Sora exclaimed.

"Unreal!" Riku said aloud in absolute awe.

"Golly, sure puts our ships to shame." Mickey stated in wonder.

"Wanna check it out?" Roxas suggested, getting the others to nod their heads rapidly.

"You kidding? Of course I wanna!" Sora cheered out.

"Della did get in contact with Scrooge with technology and ship designs from our galaxy." Liara informed the Ōkoku natives. "So you and your people could make ones of your own… in time."

Soon, a lot of people filed out of the office space and made their way towards the Normandy outside of Yen Sid's Tower.

As they had all quickly vacated the room and Tower, only King Mickey and Yen Sid remained behind.

"Well, that went better than expected." King Mickey said cheerfully with his former master nodding in agreement. "But… what do you think?"

Yen Sid closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"It is as you said, he is a spitting image of Ventus."

Mickey nodded his head. "Yeah. Golly, you have no idea how shocked I was when I first laid eyes on him."

"I share this sentiment, my old protege." Yen Sid stated. "But I never would have expected to see Ventus yet it turns out not to be him."

"That's what my Heart told me." Mickey said, placing a hand over his chest. "The minute I saw him, I thought of Ventus but my Heart… it told me that wasn't the case."

"As did mine."

"Still… why not speak to him about it?" Mickey asked.

His former Master shook his head. "There is enough that we have already discussed for today as is. Anymore and we would be here for a prolonged time trying to sift through all this confusion. And in that time…"

"Worlds are still being threatened by the Heartless the Organization unleashed." Mickey finished for him, the Wizard nodding in agreement.

"The next time we see them, shall speak with him on this matter." Yen Sid said.

"Do you think we'll find out anything?" Mickey asked.

"More questions than answers. Hopefully, in time, they too will be brought to light."

AN

Well now, this was certainly a big chapter don't you all agree?

The Normandy crew meets Sora and co with Yen Sid and they get a small inkling of an idea as to what's going on and what's coming. And hey, look at that, Roxas knows where he comes from now, look at that.

Jebest4781: With Roxas' reaction of knowing Sora is his Somebody, you would think we're downplaying his reaction. Sure that is indeed the case, but it's to be expected as the events of Chain of Memories went into play which eventually led to his self-identity crisis.

FMW: Then again, I do remember a reviewer talking about how Roxas should have easily figured out that he was Sora's Nobody but kinda agree and disagree. Agree cause Roxas has actually been stated to be a bit more intelligent than Sora in some fields but I think him denying it primarily comes from how he sorta does and doesn't look like Sora.

Jeb: It is one of those subjects that is a little touchy to dwell into. Blame Nomura for how he originally wrote that out.

FMW: But other than that, love the enthusiasm for Hojo's reveal and the anticipation you guys are showing off for the coming arcs. Trust me when I say this, J and I have something very special in store for you guys. It's gonna be a fun time for us all. And the Normandy crew got "little" power boosts that are gonna be very fun to explore later on and I can't wait to show off what they're gonna be capable of later on down the line.

So yeah, another chapter is done with A LOT of crazy shit to come within the gap between this and KH2/ME2. We have so much shit that's been planned for this period that will shake things up greatly for the rest of the story.

Hope you're all ready for it.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.