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.

43. A Walk Down Memory Lane Literally

We have returned at last and will not dilly on your dally as you rally to read.

Let's get to it.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

I'm Nobody Chapter 43: A Walk Down Memory Lane. Literally.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts I: Hollow Bastion-

"Great, this place again." Riku wryly said, a deadpan look on his face as he and the others stood within a familiar chasm, looking up at a castle made of contraptions.

"Hollow Bastion." Sora said aloud, standing next to his best friend.

Behind them all, Axel stood arms crossed, expression unreadable yet a tension he was glad nobody could see.

"Gawrsh, what are we gonna find here, Riku?" Goofy asked, he and Donald remembering their first journey with Sora and the madness this place provided for them to tackle.

The castle was a damn maze they had to navigate through with Heartless swarming them at almost every turn. They were confident in their own abilities but even they were aware that this place was something special. Which was why having someone like the Beast as their ally and friend in this World was Kingdom Hearts sent, his natural power cutting through practically everything they ran across.

"I somewhat hope it's not a revamp of what I went through last time." Riku continued. "Remember what I told you previously, my time on the floors showed my loneliness with Maleficent and her allies mocking me. This is all due to me ignoring and casting everyone else aside for my goals. More than likely, we're just gonna have to fight Maleficent again."

"Yeah, like that was easy." Donald retorted with a roll of his eyes.

"But we have more people here this time around." Goofy added in. "With all of us, I know we can beat her easily."

"Was she that strong?" Xion asked, having only vague recollections of Maleficent through her connection with Sora.

The brown-haired teen shrugged. "Yeah, we fought her but man she was a pain. First time was one thing but then Ansem went and made her into a dragon."

Sora didn't see Riku clench his fists tightly, eyes temporarily glazing over at the mention of the seeker of Darkness whom he once willingly allowed to be possessed by.

"So many of my feathers got burnt." Donald squawked indignantly, the harrowing battle leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

"And she nearly stepped on me." The Captain of the Guard of Disney Castle moaned, rubbing the top of his head.

"Yeah, well, that ain't gonna happen this time." Axel spoke up, confidently strutting forward and standing in front of everyone. "I say we go in and smoke that old memory of that hag and move on, no muss, no fuss."

"Will it really be that easy?" Roxas inquired, No. VIII rolled his eyes at him.

"Well duh, not that easy." The redhead freely admitted, making the sandy blond jolt at his bluntness. "But all we gotta do is just watch each other's backs and it'll all be over in a cinch. Let's just hope I ain't jinxin' myself in saying that."

The group all chuckled slightly at that and began to move forward save for Riku who took a moment to stay behind.

His eyes were focused on the castle, a clench in his heart at all the memories that came rushing back to him.

"Hey."

The teen blinked, looking to his left to see Namine having stayed by his side, a look of concern for him to see.

"Are you alright?" She softly asked, hand reaching up to her chest.

He stared at her for a good few seconds before he shook his head.

"I dunno." Riku stated earnestly. "I thought after my time here, I'd be able to face these memories no problem… but I guess… even after conquering your demons, some things that are broken can't always be fully fixed."

Namine frowned, looking down slightly. "It's hard to escape from your past, more so if you let it haunt you constantly."

The platinum blond then gained a determined face, turning to Riku with a fierce glint in her eyes.

"But you're not facing it alone this time, Riku." She declared. "You have me and Sora and everyone else here to help you. We'll tackle everything our way together."

Riku blinked at her declaration, a small smile worming its way onto his face.

"Where'd this fierce side of you come from?" He cheekily asked. "I kinda like it."

She jerked upon hearing this, her face coloring considerably much to her embarrassment and his amusement.

"S-Sorry." Namine squeaked out, hands over her face, hearing Riku laugh.

"Hey, you don't gotta apologize for nothin'." He assured, placing a hand on her shoulder, a grateful smile for her to see. "I'm glad you're here by my side, Namine. It means a lot."

She only felt her face heat up more but still managed to smile bashfully in his direction until they heard Axel calling out to them.

"Hey! You can have your moment later, we're burning whatever counts as daylight in these memories."

Now both teens sported matching blushes, running to catch up with their friends. Once they had all gathered together, they were taken on the small gondola that took them up to the Castle's entrance.

Upon entry, Heartless surrounded them, with the team springing into action.

Like before, from their memories, the Heartless here were at their strongest so that meant heavy hitters like Shadow Balls, Neo Shadows, Wyverns, Wizards, Defenders and all.

But this time, there were a lot more of them than before.

Working like a well-oiled machine, our group of heroes cut through the Heartless like they were butter, executing combo attacks that took out swaths of them.

Navigating the Castle, however, proved to be as tedious as it was the first time for Sora. For Riku, he was able to navigate through the structure far more than his fellow islander. With him living here since Destiny Islands fell all that time ago, Riku practically became the group's impromptu guide.

With him, it was thankfully a much easier trek through the castle now, with only an occasional wrong turn here and there.

No one was perfect.

Eventually, though, they reached one of the deeper parts of the Castle, one that was familiar to those that had been here before.

"We finally made it." Sora complained aloud, walking toward the large swarming heart of darkness up the steps.

It was where the Seven Princesses of Heart were kept in stasis during their imprisonment in this World, the Grand Hall.

"Wait, are we supposed to be here?" Goofy asked, looking around. "I know we didn't fight Maleficent here."

"Yes we did. Our first time fighting her before she ran off to lick her wounds." Corrected the Court Magician.

"No we didn't." Sora argued. "We fought Ansem when he possessed Riku here. This is where we found Kairi."

"Wait, why are we here then?" Xion spoke up. "Shouldn't we be going there?"

"We will." Riku asserted, a look of concentration for the group to see. "But first, there's something we gotta check here."

Though it was hard to notice, there was a twitch of the nose from the young teen, something Axel immediately picked up on.

"Is there someone else here?" Axel asked straight away, now on guard.

Riku sneered slightly. "Yeah, another scent here. One I know wasn't here in any previous times I could remember."

"Who?"

The silver-haired teen didn't answer, instead turning to have his eyes focus on the large heart that served as this room's centerpiece.

"He's waiting for us." Riku ominously said, with the group now wary about who was up there.

Walking up the steps on both sides, being instructed by Riku to do so, they made sure no unseen surprises might be waiting for them until they reached the top. At first, they found nothing waiting for them, most looking around in confusion.

All but Riku and Axel, the pair picking up on the scent of an outlier in the memory.

They craned their heads up and there, seated atop the machinery was an all too familiar face.

"Bout time you got here." The figure drawled lazily, gaining the attention of the entire team now. "Been waiting for a while now. What took you bozos so long?"

Sora's eyes widened. "Wait, Riku… is that-?"

"No, it's not me from when you were here." His best friend cut him off. "It's my replica."

That incensed Riku Replica who now stood at the top of where he was, glaring venomously down at the man he was copied from.

Seeing him like this, the original smirked mockingly.

"Hey Fake," Riku spat out, satisfied at the flash of growing anger on his copy's face. "Is that what you're gonna do now? Position yourself high above everyone else to make yourself feel better?"

"High talk coming from a weakling still frightened by the dark. And you're one to call another fake considering how many surround you." Riku Replica shot back.

"Who, these guys?" Riku asked in faux disbelief. "Roxas, Xion and Namine? Who all have their own names, weapons, identities and aren't rip-offs of Sora? I'm the one suffering here ya know, knowing that an emo version of me is running around out there."

"I don't go by your name anymore." The Copy retorted heatedly. "I have a name of my own now. Kirux."

"...Gotta be weird to enunciate that." Namine couldn't help but say.

Axel held nothing back when he heard the name. "Woooooow, Kirux? Really? That's what you went with? Least Roxas flows better, yours just sounds like you reshuffled Riku's name around till you found the one that sounded the least stupid."

To say that Kirux was angry would be an understatement considering the blazing fury seen in his eyes coupled with the literal wisps of darkness radiating off of him.

"Oh, he seems upset." Axel taunted, throwing his arms out slightly, his chakrams appearing.

The rest all called for their weapons, Namine being the only one to hesitate as she glanced at her hand with a measure of uncertainty.

Kirux, all the while, felt a maddening rush of anger surging through him. His eyes darted around the group but still settled upon the one whom he shared his face with.

"You think you get to just strut around here, thinking that you're cleansed of your sins?" The rage in his tone was palpable. "Then let me remind you that what you want is impossible."

Conjuring his copy of Soul Eater, Kirux jumped from on high, darkness now exploding around him as he plummeted down at them.

Everyone jumped away just as the Replica slammed down where they all were, a plume of darkness erupting from his landing.

"Come on!" Kirux roared aloud, jumping right at his mirror.

Riku threw up his own Soul Eater in time, just as his Replica collided with him and he grits his teeth. There was a considerable degree of strength behind that attack and it was then that Riku noticed a change in his copy he didn't notice initially.

'He's gotten stronger.' The young teen thought. 'A lot stronger.'

These thoughts were quickly picked up by Kirux, smirking dangerously at him.

"Noticed, have you?"

Before Riku could form a response, Sora came in, landing a powerful strike across Kirux's stomach. The Organization member sailed back, clutching his stomach in pain when he detected movement.

Roxas appeared above him and he hastily had to block No. XIII's Oblivion that met his Soul Eater in an ear-splitting clash of metal.

Just as Kirux was sent careening back, a small portal of Darkness appeared from behind him and from it came a book.

One immediately recognized by the former members of the Organization.

The book expanded in size, opened up and caught Kirux within its pages before vanishing.

"Zexion." Roxas, Axel and Xion all said aloud simultaneously.

No sooner did they say the name did the man appear from a Corridor of Darkness. His visible eye stared intently at the group, primarily on who he would call his former teammates.

Yet rather than a glare or a look of spite, there was something else to his gaze. Something they couldn't quite discern.

Regardless, he still summoned Kirux back with a flick of his hand, his Lexicon appearing beside him and allowing the replica to step out.

"You didn't have to come." Were his ungrateful words, causing No. VI to scoff.

"You need to learn when to obey orders. Are you really that bullheaded in thinking that you can fight everyone here on your own?" Zexion rhetorically asked, seeing Kirux open his mouth. "Don't answer that. The point is clear and you know it."

"Are you just trying to be his crutch or attempting to be the crux of the present matter?" No. VIII inquired, twirling his chakrams in his hands.

"I'm more of his leash and harness if you must know." Said Zexion. "He defied orders to remain still. Yet he decided to ignore them and go after the one who he's based on."

"Figured as much." Was all Axel said before he glided forth, his weapons alighting with flames.

Zexion, however, figured this would come.

Throwing his arms out, multiple books appeared and were sent forward to every member of the team.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, Xion and Axel were quickly snatched up by books but Riku, having already fought Zexion in the past, expelled several Dark Firagas that prevented him and Namine from being taken.

For his Replica, this was all he wanted, the copy grinning madly as Darkness began seeping off him once more.

"You need to learn restraint." Zexion chided, standing next to the unhinged Replica, his Lexicon in hand.

Kirux only rolled his eyes at the man, getting into the exact pose Riku had.

Just as he was about to go on the offensive, his eyes shifted over to the platinum blond standing close to, almost behind the subject of his ire.

Namine appeared hesitant and unsure of her place here, almost wishing she wasn't.

Not that she wasn't confident in her skills, but thanks to Master Yen Sid and Donald, she's expanded much of her magical prowess under their tutelage.

No, her lack of confidence stemmed from feeling inadequate to stand alongside Riku at this moment. Much as she may have learned, Riku was still leagues ahead of her and in Namine's mind, she felt herself to be a burden at this point in time.

Something Kirux instantly picked up on.

In a sudden burst of speed, the Replica zoomed right past Riku with the original's eyes widening as he knew who his copy was going for.

Turning as fast as he could, Riku swung his Soul Eater in vain as Namine was already gone from his side and had the back of her neck held by Kirux.

"Namine!" He yelled out in terror and anger, clutching his weapon tightly whilst Kirux sneered derisively at him.

"Should've started with this." Kirux spat out, a manic grin in place. He held Namine forward, tightening his grasp on her neck, making her yell out in pain.

Riku's eyes shifted from anger to unadulterated fury, a light Darkness emanating around him now. In an instant, he transformed into his Dark Mode, going into a spin to rip apart several Lexicons that Zexion sent at him.

"Let her go NOW." Riku all but roared, his gaze near murderous whilst Kirux laughed mockingly.

"I knew you were pathetic and weak but this just proves it." He taunted, holding his Soul Eater up to Namine's neck. "I mean, seriously? Her? You care about this thing? I mean, a Nobody is one thing, they actually have someone to stem from. Me as a Puppet, well, that's my own problem. But this is less than that. She was born with nothing and is just a witch who controls memories. What's so special about that? All she was when she came into being was a tool for the Organization. How fitting that she'll be my tool in getting rid of you."

Hearing this, the girl in his grasp felt a sudden change in her.

She locked eyes with Riku and in an instant, she was awash with a feeling of horror, anger and shame.

Horror at the thought of her being the reason that Riku might be destroyed here and now.

Anger that this damned Replica would use her to get to him.

And shame at being so weak before someone she cared so deeply for.

She paused at that.

Thinking about it now, since leaving the Castle with the others, she had made many friends in a short amount of time.

One of which was Riku who she had spent time with practically every day. And in the time spent together, Namine felt an undeniable bond form with the silver-haired, aloof teen.

He confided in her about his weariness of the Darkness that remained in his heart as did she when she felt like a burden that they had taken upon themselves.

He was the one that told her to never look at herself in that regard. He was the one who encouraged her to get strong, not just for him and her friends but also, for herself. He was the one who told her that no matter what if she didn't believe in herself, he would.

She… she cared for him.

And she wasn't going to let that belief that he had for her be misplaced.

Tightening up her face to ignore the pain, Namine managed to turn and glare at Kirux. The copy was slightly startled by her look and was unprepared for what came next. Throwing her hand out and from her palm came a flash of light. There was a crackle of electricity followed by a sound of thunder as Riku Replica was struck by a five-pointed, electrified object.

He winced, jumping away from the platinum-blond Nobody, clutching his arm that had some sparks flicker around him.

Looking up at the girl who hit him, Kirux saw that she was no longer unarmed.

In her slender hands was a staff that crackled with power, one matched by the soft determination she now possessed.

The staff had a long, blue handle with a bronze, conical pommel and a thick, orange stripe near its tip. The head of the staff displays a square, faded green pedestal and a short brown rod that connects to a yellow five-pointed star that looks exactly like Namine's personal charm.

"You're not gonna take him away." Namine declared in a powerful voice. "I won't let you use me to get to him."

Surprised by such a declaration, Riku's stunned face morphed into one of confident admiration, jumping toward Namine and standing. He looked between Zexion and Kirux before his eyes settled on hers.

He gave her a cocky grin, nudging her with her elbow.

"Ready to kick some ass?"

Namine, still off the rush of her recent attack, shakily nodded and gave him her best confident smile.

With a quick twirl of her staff, Namine conjured a rain of lightning around them.

Kirux and Zexion either dodged or deflected the bolts, their concentration on defending themselves the opportunity needed for Riku to go on the attack.

Sending a torrent of Dark Firaga's at Zexion before dashing forward and clashing his Soul Eater with his Replicas, the battle commencing in full swing.

All the while, the rest of the team had been transported away, courtesy of Zexion's Lexicon and were trying to figure out where they wound up.

For those with the Keyblade…

"Huh? What the- This place?" Sora said aloud, having managed to free himself from the book he was trapped in.

Looking around, he immediately saw Roxas and Xion with him, the trio of Keyblade Wielders having ended up together.

"What's this place?" Xion asked, turning her head in all directions to get a bearing on where they were.

Sora took a glance at the place, recognizing it a second later.

"This was where Donald, Goofy, Beast and I fought Maleficent when she became a dragon."

"So this is where we should expect to fight her now." Roxas said, re-summoning Oathkeeper again, Xion calling forth Seashell Resonance.

Sora copied their motion, having summoned his Kingdom Key.

"What about the others?" Xion said. "Shouldn't we find them?"

Sora looked over, remembering there to be a dark orb that he and his party used to get in and out of this place last time.

He let out a frustrated sigh. "It's not there."

"What is?"

"Our way out. It vanished when we fought Maleficent."

"So that means we're gonna be in a fight then." Xion stated then asked.

The trio was prepared for anything, keeping their observations at an all-time high.

And they waited…

And waited…

And waited some more…

And…

"Where is she?" Roxas ended up asking after a few moments of tense silence. "I remember that she can turn into a pretty big dragon. How is she not here?"

"Did we come too soon?" Xion found herself asking. "Are we not doing things like we're supposed to?"

"I… don't know." Sora said with a frown. "This is supposed to be Riku's memory. Maybe we should be here with him to get the next part of it going."

"Then let's go get him." Roxas stated, ready to summon a Corridor. "He needs our help with his replica and Zexion."

Xion nodded in agreement but for Sora, a stray memory came to mind.

It was at this point did the islander realize something rather important about the room they were in.

"You know…" Sora had a look of concentration momentarily, recalling that he didn't just fight a dragon here. "Actually… Oh yeah! There was someone else we fought here."

Numbers XIII and XIV paused in their actions, turning towards the islander.

"...You fought someone else here?" Was the former's query.

Sora rapidly nodded his head. "Yeah, Yeah, he was," A look of realization then dawned on him, "Actually… he wore your coat. He had his hood over his face and-"

"Guys!" Xion exclaimed, having spotted something, or rather, someone behind Roxas and Sora.

They all turned to see who it was, the boys freezing up upon seeing the newcomer.

The one who had the same black coat as Roxas and Xion.

The person was glitching in and out of reality as they walked forward. Both Somebody and Nobody were too slow to move out of the way when the taller individual walked through them.

The moment this occurred, the duo were assaulted with a litany of images and voices. Everything familiar to them in their respective fashion.

The two Keybearers stumbled in their step before balancing themselves out. Looking back, they gazed at the new arrival who now stood at the center of the chamber.

"The pieces have come together." The person said with a baritone voice. "Yet they aren't fully whole, quite yet. Thus are incomplete."

Hearing this person set Xion and Roxas on edge, which Sora was quick to notice.

"No… it can't be." No. XIII whispered nervously.

"Do you know who he is?"

Xion squirmed where she stood. "Yes… our Superior…"

"Xemnas." Roxas finished for her, teeth clenched at the hooded figure that slowly turned towards them.

The tall individual reached up and pulled down his hood to reveal his features to the three.

"Roxas." No. I's deep baritone sent a shiver down their spines. "Xion. Why are the two of you here?"

"That's what we should be asking you."

"I? I am here for him." Xemnas pointed at the brown-haired teen of the trio.

"Wait a second, what's going on here?" Sora said nervously. "How does he know you two? What's going on here? Isn't this a memory? Riku's memory? Axel said it's based on our memories, one person at a time. How is my memory here? And how is he here like this? Is this even a memory?"

"Maybe there's more to it than that with this castle." Xion warily said, tightening her hold on her Keyblade. "Axel did tell us the Castle wasn't fully understood."

"We can talk about that later." Roxas quickly cut in, lowering into his battle stance. "Here he comes."

Xemnas' hand sparked to life, a litany of lightning danced across its surface. And as fast as lightning, a magical equivalent to Force Lightning shot out of his palm and went straight towards the Keybearers.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts 1.5: Disappeared-

Like before, Sora blocked the blast with his Keyblade and held it as long as possible. Yet he was being pushed back considerably.

Would've fallen over and taken a big hit if it weren't for Roxas and Xion dashing in and swiping their weapons across the stream. Disrupting the electrical current caused an explosion, having smoke encompass them before Xion cast Aero to clear it up.

"This isn't the real Xemnas, only a manifestation of the castle." Said No. XIII.

"How can you be so sure?" Sora asked, holding up his Keyblade defensively.

"If he were here, we'd probably get destroyed in a few seconds." The sandy blond reasoned, though even he was still unsure. "Axel said he's the strongest member of the Organization."

Xemnas moved forward, sending out several orbs at the Keyblade Wielders. Xion jumped away whilst Roxas and Sora swatted them back. The orbs then erupted into small domes with energy surging within.

No. I rapidly phased around the room before stopping at Sora.

He reeled back, hastily throwing up his Keyblade to block the lightish red energy saber Xemnas summoned from his hand, slashing at the boy.

Sora blocked several of them until the last one swatted his Keyblade down, leaving him wide open for attack.

Thankfully Roxas came in, throwing Oblivion in a Strike Raid that Xemnas easily dodged, teleporting away.

Roxas didn't relent, constantly throwing his Keyblade with all his might.

The Superior of the Organization either dodged them or conjured hard light shield walls that blocked the Oathkeeper.

Xion sent a wave of water from her Keyblade, Xemnas throwing out more energy balls that turned into additional shields that sent the water cascading around him.

With a flicker of his image, Xemnas appeared in front of Sora and Roxas, throwing his arms out in an upward X-slash. His ethereal blades were blocked but the force behind the strikes sent both boys hurtling back and crashing down hard on the ground.

"Roxas! Sora!" Xion was about to run for them when Xemnas teleported behind her, a spinning kick to her back that flung her to her downed friends.

"Xion." Roxas grunted out, reaching out to clasp her hand to make sure she was alright.

She let out a whimper of pain but fought through, giving Roxas a nod that she was still good to fight.

Sora grit his teeth, his arms vibrating from that deflection. "You know, you can say whatever you want about him being a memory, he sure seems rather real to me with that."

"Yeah, yeah." Roxas grumbled, forcing himself to his feet, helping Xion and Sora up a moment later.

"Allow me… to test your strength."

The trio said nothing in response, instead simply preparing themselves for the fight they had to face now.

The Enigmatic leader of the Organization began warping to and from around the chamber, firing off magical blasts left and right.

Sora, Roxas and Xion found themselves scattering about the chamber, each of them either fending off a magical attack or avoiding it altogether.

In this flurry of attacks, Xemnas flickered about, taking turns in who he targeted. At first, he seemed to primarily focus on Sora but as time went on, he started splitting himself between all three of them as Xion and Roxas fought against him quite viciously.

"Impressive." From his electrified hands came long red energy blades which hovered over his palms, blocking Roxas and Xion's Keyblades. "But so unwise."

Pushing them back, rather than the usual barrier he summoned coming out slowly, this one came out and exploded into multiple hard light cubes. The squares battered the two Nobodies, both cringing in pain, the angles of the cubes in particular cutting into them.

"Guys!" Sora yelled out, gritting his teeth in anger at the sight and glowing briefly.

Leaping up into the air, he held his Keyblade up in front of him, concentrated on his power and channeled it to the tip of the Kingdom Key for a Shotlock attack.

"Ragnarök!" Sora shouts, unleashing thirteen beams of light that swarmed after the leader of the Organization.

He summoned another shield in response but the thin particles weaved around the barrier and managed to land several hits on the Superior.

The tanned Nobody grunted though remained composed, summoning his ethereal blades again to swat aside the remaining beams. As he did so, his head tilted ever so slightly, spinning around a split-second later to block Roxas from attacking from above.

No. I used both of his blades to hold No. XIII back, surprised at the grin the younger Nobody had.

A moment later, Xemnas was struck in the gut by a corkscrewing Xion, water and wind rippling around her.

"Rippling Cyclone!" Xion exclaimed, her spinning form digging into her former superior's stomach.

The man released an audible grunt, shifting into a black, coagulating mass with a glowing center that floated away from them to regroup.

Upon reforming, he jumped back again with thirteen glowing spheres being made in his wake, all firing laser bolts at the trio.

Crossing his arms, his blades appeared again and Xemnas leaped forward, entering into a flurry with the three Keyblade wielders. They fought him off as best as they were able to but each blow they deflected rattled their arms, this memory of Xemnas holding nothing back.

Clashing with Sora momentarily, No. I leaned his head back as Xion went for a horizontal swipe at him, throwing his other arm up to block Roxas from hitting him.

Surrounded, Xemnas encompassed himself in a sphere of energy and unleashed beams in all directions, causing the three to jump and roll about to avoid getting struck by one.

Not letting up on his attack, No. I jumped a foot off the ground and began gliding in an arching motion. From his hands came multiple spheres of energy that were like turrets as each one fired off red bolts from them though each disappeared after XIII shots.

Xion made sure Roxas and Sora were close to her before she thrust her Keyblade forward.

"Reflera!" She shouted, a hexagonal domed shield surrounding the three of them just as the laser bolts assailed them.

The beams bounced off the barrier she made until her shield burst around her, sending the last of the laser bolts back at Xemnas.

He casually raised his hands and caught the ones that came close to him, making them disappear in an instant.

"Ok, that was just him being a showoff." Roxas said under his breath, only being heard by Sora and Xion.

"He wasn't this strong before." The former remarked.

"He was probably gauging your strength back then, Sora." The latter commented, feeling her anxiousness rising as the fight went on. She was always well aware of the power Xemnas possessed but to consider that this was just a memory representation of him and he was giving them this much trouble?

Fighting the real Xemnas made her shudder.

"With us present, this memory manifestation has stepped up its game." Roxas surmised.

"I still don't get how this works or how it's even possible." Sora said with frustration. "This was supposed to be Riku's memory but this psycho is here and he knows both of you."

"We're connected, remember?" Xion stressed out. "Our connections and memories are probably feeding into each other and we don't even know it."

"Urgh, why does this all have to be so confusing?!"

"Talk later." Roxas said aloud as Xemnas was on the attack again.

He warped right in the center of the trio, spinning about gracefully, his blades striking them all. They were all thrown back yet managed to remain standing as they knew more would come.

And right they were as more bolts were sent flying their way.

"You will be disposed of and worked back from square one."

"Too early to say such things." No. XIII fiercely rebuked, his body flashing briefly. He clasped his Keyblade with both hands and shot forward with a Sonic Blade.

Xemnas deftly avoided the first attack but Roxas pursued him with several more thrusts, the last two managing to strike the leader of the Organization.

No. I appeared to barely register the attacks, only reacting to a minuscule degree.

"So much left to learn." Xemnas remarked, floating above them all. "Not that you'll have the opportunity."

"We're not gonna give up." Sora stated. "Ansem thought he could talk down to me and I took him out with Donald and Goofy. You'll be no different."

"How confident." No. I sent more beams from his hands, the teens all jumping and gliding around to avoid them.

Roxas and Sora went in for a combo Strike Raid whilst Xion twirled her Keyblade above her head, creating a flurry of snow that she hoped would obscure Xemnas' vision.

The Greater Nobody simply flicked his hand, disappearing whilst a large sphere took the place of where he once was, firing laser bolts in all directions.

He then appeared in front of Xion, the girl being startled by him but still, her reflexes kicked in and she swung her Keyblade at him.

Without even moving from his spot, his hand shot forward and caught her Keyblade in his hand.

"A puppet such as you shouldn't have acted out of order." He coldly said. "Rebelling against your superiors. Not knowing the place in which you belong."

"Too bad. I had people cut my strings from your control." Said Xion, defiantly glaring at him now.

Xemnas began to chuckle. "If only that were true. You are a truer Nobody than all of us. You stem from data, meant only to be a backup in case of anything happening to Roxas. What would a Keyblade or even a Heart serve to you?"

"Even if your apparent plan of getting us Hearts was legitimate, we'd acquire ones of our own in our own way." Roxas boldly proclaimed, rushing forward to help Xion. "We didn't need you then and we don't need you now!"

"How unwise." Xemnas remarked in faux disappointment.

"Shut up!" Sora shouted, now getting annoyed by the man's attitude. "We do things our way!"

"Childish." The Superior-in-between said dismissively. "One's who do not grasp what is before them."

"We don't have to." Roxas shot back. "All we need to do is beat you bastards back."

The amber-orange eyes stared at Roxas' crystal blue with a piercing gaze, one the younger Nobody refused to back down from.

"Can you?" He rhetorically asked. "You who have only just begun grasping at their own existence. Or lack thereof."

"SHUT UP! They exist!" Sora shouted with a ferocity that surprised Roxas and Xion. "They're just as real as anyone else and deserve to have lives of their own. You never had any right to take that from them and you never will again."

There was a palpable silence in the air, tension thick until a small huff of amusement came from the Organizations Superior.

"Impressive." Xemnas conceded. "Your words hold fire. Can you prove your actions are stronger than words?"

"Every step of the way." Roxas declared, snapping out of his moment of shock from Sora's moment.

His former leader only hummed in response. "We shall see."

The manifestation of Xemnas began flickering in and out of existence before he disappeared in its entirety.

His created purpose from the castle was over.

There was a moment of silence until all three Keyblades flashed out of their hands and they all collapsed to the ground.

"Jesus." Roxas said aloud, a verbal tick he recalled from the humans of the Milky Way. "You fought him like that before?"

Sora shook his head. "Now that I look back at it, I think he was just toying with me. I just… I dunno. I feel like he wanted to see what I could do back then. He let me walk away."

"If only facing the real Xemnas were that easy." Xion murmured, pulling her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "If that could even be called easy."

Despite his exhaustion, No. XIII managed to get back up to his feet and walk over to No. XIV, kneeling down to her.

"All we can do is get stronger and wiser till the day comes for us to take him down." He assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We've gotten this far right? So let's keep goin' and we'll beat him eventually."

Xion stared at her friend for a few seconds before smiling at him, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

"Thanks Roxas." She softly said, her hand reaching for his, placing it on top and squeezing it lightly.

He smiled back, helping her up before the pair did the same for Sora.

"Thanks." The teen earnestly said, patting some dust off. "Now what?"

"We've gotta find everyone else." Xion stated. "Where do you think they are?"

The boys both shrugged.

"No clue." They said at the same time.

"Zexion could have sent them anywhere." Roxas said with a frown, scratching his head.

Meanwhile…

"Keep moving!" Axel shouted, gliding through green flames while dodging two large clawed feet that attempted to crush him.

"WAAAACK!" Donald yelled, jumping at the last second to avoid the shockwave that came from the clawed hands smashing on the ground.

"Axel, watch the tail!" Goofy shouted, seeing the dragon form of Maleficent spinning about to try and crush her enemies with her additional appendage.

After Zexion's interference in the fight instigated by Kirux, he had sent the team all scattering throughout the memory world of Hollow Bastion.

It was a struggle for a moment but Axel, Donald and Goofy escaped the Lexicons they were trapped in and found themselves in a darkened chamber with a green hue to it.

At first, this oddball group was confused as to where they were and where the rest of their friends wound up. But that changed upon seeing the memory manifestation of Maleficent appear before them.

She mocked and ridiculed them, questioning who they were until they had no choice but to face the Dark Fairy Witch turned dragon rather unexpectedly.

It was a hectic fight from the start.

Donald and Goofy knew how to fight together but they were unfamiliar with how to work with Axel.

Sure they had fought together to a degree on the first floor but that was with everyone else fighting as one.

This was a different sort of team-up.

For the court wizard and knight, they weren't as fully in sync with Axel as he was with them as they didn't have that silent understanding with each other.

Sora, Donald and Goofy fought together, becoming far more coordinated and team-oriented as time went on, knowing how to play off each other with single callouts for moves and maneuvers.

With Axel, he used to be fine working on his own on the field. This changed a bit when began doing missions with Roxas and Xion more and more over time. Then a drastic leap occurred once drafted into the Normandy crew.

That was a complete shock to his system, so to speak, in needing to practically always be in a team-oriented situation in a fight.

Goes to show they needed to be flexible in how they work with others.

Which was why Axel was quick to take command, always making sure to call out movements and attacks for the other two with Donald and Goofy picking up on his tactic.

They too joined in, making sure to keep Axel aware of their moves and positions in the chamber that Maleficent was frankly tearing apart due to her size and attacks.

"Goofy, I need a boost." No. VIII yelled out, rushing right at the Captain of the Guard.

The anthropomorphic dog simply nodded, holding his shield up at an angle just as Axel jumped and landed on it.

With Goofy's push and Axel's own jump, the redhead jumped into the air, wisps of fire surrounding him.

"I need an oomph here, Donald." Axel called out to him once reaching the optimal height.

"Yeah!" Donald exclaimed, throwing his staff up.

All around Axel, dozens upon dozens of small fireworks appeared in the air and once they had all formed, No. VIII threw his fiery chakrams, lighting the wicks all at once.

His weapons returned to his hands, becoming literal disks of fire before he flung them at Maleficent with all the fireworks beginning a seemingly endless barrage upon the dragon.

She roared and screeched out in pain, thrashing about, which did little in stopping the onslaught.

In that time, Donald conjured a large firework rocket that was strapped to Goofy's back. Upon landing behind the knight, Axel held a wide grin, simply holding up his hand with his hand in a gun formation.

"Bang." Was all Axel said, a small tuft of flames lighting up the firework.

"Hyuck." Goofy remarked jovially, his shield over his head.

Just as the barrage of Axel's Chakrams and Donald's fireworks ended did the one strapped to Goofy lit up.

It launched him into the air, the knight flying around randomly until he began smashing into the body of Maleficent.

"YAAAA-HOOO-HOOO-HOOOOEEEEY!" Goofy yelled in the only way that he could, bashing into the dragon from all over whilst clinging onto his shield.

Maleficent could only scream in defiance until the killing blow came when her head was smashed upwards with Goofy coming down for a crushing blow right between her eyes.

The Knight sprawled onto the ground, his eyes swirling whilst Maleficent hovered her head up for as long as she could until her body gave out.

She collapsed, her draconic body slamming down to the ground, the whole place shaking as she did so and she lay there, unmoving.

Green flames engulfed her entire body, ashes floating off her body until what remained was nothing more than a black stain on the ground.

Donald slumped forward, arms and head hanging as his magic staff vanished.

"Finally." He let out, shaking his head.

Axel rolled his shoulders before massaging one of them. "Rather rough, but a decent starting point."

"Reminds me of when we first joined Sora." Goofy commented.

"Happens with every group on their team-ups." Said the Nobody. "Which we'll need to begin working on in the upcoming floors."

"And once we're out of this castle." Donald added in.

"Which can't be any sooner." The redhead said, shaking his head.

Just as he was about to speak again, they all paused upon seeing a portal appear on the far end of the chamber.

They tensed up, anxious for another fight when three familiar faces appeared.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy joyously said at the same time.

"Donald, Goofy!" The teen said in return, running to them.

Axel simply grinned at Roxas and Xion, the latter running over to him and hugging him, the man ruffling her hair in return.

"So," He said conversationally, patting Roxas on the shoulder. "Who'd you guys end up fighting?"

Sora let out a long, withering sigh. "I don't even wanna… Wait, where's Namine and Riku?"

"Probably still fighting that knockoff of Riku and Zexion." Donald said. "Come on, we shouldn't be far from them. Look, that pathway appeared like before."

"It should lead us back to that place Riku took us to earlier." Goofy added on.

"Come on, we'll talk later." Axel declared and everyone simply agreed, all running out of the hall to get back to the rest of their friends.

Said friends were winding down from their own fight with Kirux and Zexion, the former on one knee whilst the latter stared down at the copy in an unamused manner.

"Well? Is this what you wanted?" He asked irritably. "To be beaten back soundly once more."

"Shut," The Copy coughed. "Up." The replica struggled to stand. "One more round and I'll prove it."

Zexion rolled his eyes at the boy's unwarranted bravado.

"Make me or are you not strong enough to do it yourself." Riku taunted.

This form of speech was frankly beneath him but the Cloaked Schemer couldn't help himself with this impatient boy.

"Is that all you got?" Riku called out to them, his taunting grating on Kirux's nerves. The Replica seemed poised to explode until Zexion summoned a barrier between them. "Or do you want me to give you another thrashing?"

"We're leaving, now." No. VI declared.

Riku Replica snapped his head up in defiance. "But-"

Zexion didn't wait for a further response, interrupting Kirux by summoning a Dark Corridor and shoving him through.

"Apologies." Was all Zexion said to Riku and Namine before he too departed through the Corridor as it dispersed, leaving the pair in a bit of a confused state.

"Apologies?" Riku parroted. "The hell is he apologizing for?"

Namine shrugged, breath a bit winded. "I dunno. Or… I would probably say the same if I had to deal with someone like him."

Riku blinked at that before a teasing smirk made its way onto his face. "Oh, so I'm that annoying huh? Need to say sorry for everything I do?"

The platinum blond stammered, trying to make up some form of a rebuttal when Riku laughed, patting her shoulder.

"Just messin' with ya, Namine." He remarked, enjoying her flushed state. "I know what ya meant. Still though, if I ever act like that, you can bonk me over the head if needed 'cause they sure as hell don't do it on him."

Namine stared at the silver-haired teen before falling into a fit of giggles.

"Well, if you say so."

Riku gave her a look. "Oi, I don't mean it literally you know."

She only wagged her finger at him, dismissing her magical staff. "Ah, ah, ah, the offer has been made. Therefore, it can't be taken back."

"Now you're just being unfair."

Namine's bright smile dispelled any "annoyance" Riku may have had, making him smile back.

"You did good, Namine." He quietly said, making her stare at him in confusion for a moment. "You've gotten a lot stronger. Pretty soon, I know you'll be able to beat anyone alone."

Namine shook her head. "In time. I barely made it through as this was my first fight."

"But you did." Riku stressed. "That counts for something. You're a lot stronger than you know, Namine."

Hearing this, Namine couldn't help but look away bashfully, rubbing her arm with her cheeks heating up at such praise.

"Thank you." She murmured, Riku barely heard it but he grinned all the same.

"Come on." He gestured his head to the side. "We gotta find-"

"Riku! Namine!"

No sooner was he about to suggest looking for their friends did they appear, running up the steps and right to them.

Xion immediately threw her arms around Namine, the two girls hugging each other tightly.

"Are you guys ok?" No. XIV asked straight away, not pulling back from her friend.

"Yeah, we're good." Riku answered with a thumbs up. "How bout you guys? You look frazzled."

"We had fights of our own." Roxas replied, releasing a tired sigh.

"We took out Maleficent." Goofy said, rubbing his head. "I was turned into a rocket."

"And we faced someone from my memories here." Sora chimed in, a slightly disturbed look on his face.

Hearing this made those most familiar with Castle Oblivion frown.

"I didn't know that was possible." Axel muttered, deep in thought now.

"There's a lot about this Castle that even the Organization couldn't understand." Namine spoke up. "From what I remember, Vexen talked about the whole memory floor aspect being like a defense mechanism. Like this Castle has a will of its own."

Several moments of silence washed over the group before they more or less exhaled a drawled, collective sigh.

"Welp, we greatly derailed this floor." Riku commented, arms being thrown up and down. "Let's go find the exit now before another memory decides to mess with us."

-Scene Cut-

"What in blue blazes were you thinking?!"

"He wasn't. That's the problem."

Kirux stood in silence as both Vexen and Zexion berated him for his actions.

No. IV was ready to pry out his long, blonde hair out of frustration.

"We were meant to observe their actions and memories, not act like fools and rush in with a death wish!"

The Replica's fists were clenched tightly, restraining the building anger he had at his scolding.

"I would've gotten stronger-"

"If you stayed here a bit longer. Now we have to start the process all over again." Vexen cut him off, an urge to slap his creation arising. "Are you so single-minded in your petty want to destroy the original that you blind yourself to your own impulses?"

Kirux said nothing in response, only glaring down at the ground with Vexen continuing his dressing down of his actions.

"Need I remind you that you are no longer just some Replica to be used and thrown aside but now a fully-fledged member of the Organization? It means your value has increased, your purpose has increased and so should your intellect but it seems that that has taken a backseat for your own personal grudges of which are meaningless in the plans of the Organization."

"Who said I even wanted to join you, jokers?" Kirux fired back.

"You did, the moment you accepted the coat and Xemnas' invitation, of which he personally gave you." Zexion drawled out, feeling a headache coming on from this discussion.

"You subjected yourself to our ranks and therefore need to remember your place."

"What place? I don't even have a Number."

"That does not matter here!"

"Enough." A strong, stoic voice cut into the argument.

Looking over, they saw a Dark Corridor appear and disappear with Lexaeus now present in the room.

"Lexaeus." Vexen coolly greeted. "I understand you may not know the full gravity of-"

"His loss is punishment enough as is. We need not linger on the topic. If he acts out again, he will face the consequences. For now, we do not need to act on his impulse." The Taciturn Stalwart cut him off. "Fighting amongst ourselves serves nothing for our goals. Unless necessary, drop this issue.

"Feh." Was all Kirux let out, turning away from them all, arms crossed childishly. No. IV merely rolled his eyes at his Replica's behavior but remained silent.

"They already know we know of their presence here so their guard is now up so the element of surprise is gone." Said Zexion. "For now, stick back to the previous objective: observe and collect."

His gaze shifted over to Kirux. "Additionally, confine him here until further notice."

"Hold on-"

"I second that notion." Said Vexen.

"As do I." No. V stepped forward, his imposing figure towering over the Replica.

"Back to the pod you go." No. IV tacked on, actually startling his creation.

"What?" He said in a small panic.

"No." Lexaeus shook his head. "If he has such a wild temperament, it needs to be let out. Leave him with me. I shall deal with it."

"I'd like to see you try." Kirux said challengingly, whipping out Soul Eater in the process.

No. V said nothing to this when his hand blurred.

The Replica didn't even register what happened until he felt a sharp pain in his neck and his world going black a second later.

"Fool." Zexion insulted, watching Kirux fall forward for Lexaeus to catch.

"His chances of succeeding were slim to none." Another voice stated, having a Dark Corridor erupt and dissipate to reveal Luxord. "Even with whatever data eventually uploaded into him, he still has years to match up to the likes of Lexaeus in single combat."

"Years if we were to take the long route," Vexen dismissed. "But we're not utilizing such means. Our work can't afford such durations. But enough of that. Luxord, since you were the only one who actually did what was originally planned, tell us, what did you see in the memory?"

"Much, to be sure." No. X stated, a look of intrigue for them to see. "So much that I was certainly not expecting."

"Is it captured?" No. VI asked, the Gambler of Fate nodding in his direction.

"Yes. Whilst you and the Replica were dealing with Riku and Namine, the others fought the memory manifestations of what they had faced in Hollow Bastion before." Luxord then had a near-face-splitting grin. "Here is where things got interesting. Axel with Sora's companions fought Maleficent. But said Keyblade master with our two traitors fought someone not of Riku's memory but of Sora's. Lord Xemnas himself."

This caused the other members to freeze in stunned silence. "Excuse me, how?"

"We don't know the goings and actions of our enigmatic leader." Said Luxord. "After all, would you want to spend all day, every day, holed up at the same place and never go anywhere else?"

Some of the others looked at Vexen as this was said.

"What are you looking at me for?"

"You never leave your labs or even the castle unless you are on an assignment." Lexaeus commented.

"Yes but that is due to my research and constant work." Vexen countered. "I do what is asked of me and you can ask Zexion for my knowledge of the whereabouts of Lord Xemnas when I need him."

At that, Zexion couldn't help but nod, knowing all too well how often Vexen had requested just where Xemnas had gone off to. Thinking more about it, he found himself with a deeper frown.

Xigbar…

Whenever anyone asked where Lord Xemnas was, Xigbar was always close by or eavesdropping on such a topic. He always acted coy and aloof but he constantly questioned where No. I always went to.

But not in the manner that many of the others ask but in the "what do you think he does when he goes out?" kind of way that left more questions than answers.

It was like he always knew something they didn't. Frankly, the possibility was quite likely given how Xigbar acted around Xemnas when they were both still Somebodies.

Once again, these thoughts plagued his mind but now wasn't the time for such a thing.

The schemer gave out some thoughts. "Xemnas probably goes out and 'sight sees' the various Worlds without drawing attention from others. After all, can we really track all of his movements?"

"He is our leader." The tallest of the group stated. "He is privy to his own secrets."

"But what if those secrets are ones that need to be shared with us?" No. VI inquired, though he was certain no one would provide an answer.

"Here's what is most interesting, my dear comrades," Luxord leaned in, with the others save for Lexaeus, subconsciously doing the same. "Whilst this was a memory that stemmed from Sora, the memory of Xemnas acknowledged Roxas and Xion."

The others began to ponder about this.

"That's rather unusual. Such a thing shouldn't have been possible." The Chilly Academic remarked. "We have tested the capabilities of this castle before and every floor aligned itself with the memory of the one leading the group. Other memories can't play a role in the manifestation of the other."

"We don't know the full scope of this place." Luxord reminded. "Many mysteries still lie within its foundries. Remember, this Castle was found, not formed from the nothingness as our headquarters did."

"Still doesn't explain how the memory manifestation changed in such a way." No. V reminded, arms crossed, eyes closed in reflection of this information. "Doubt it's from outside tampering."

"May've happened if Namine was still under our employ or was more involved." Zexion suggested.

"Or it could be the connection shared between Sora, Roxas and Xion coming into play." Vexen noted, arms crossed in thought. "Whatever it could be requires intensive studying. Something like this is not to be disregarded as an afterthought."

"I agree. Thus another thing we'll need to focus on. Not just of their time here but beyond the castle's borders." No. X stated, flicking cards out of nowhere. "Now, to which goes such a responsibility?"

"I shall do it." Zexion said without missing a beat. "Other than yourself, I can watch them without getting detected."

"Axel and Riku have learned how to pick up your scent." Lexaeus countered.

"Something I have been working on remedying." No. VI said, turning to the taller Nobody. "Vexen in the meantime can work on the data Luxord has acquired. Perhaps a backup Replica may be in order if Kirux continues to malfunction."

"Got your hands full on this one." Luxord said cheekily.

No. IV merely glared and grumbled.

"We shall leave you to it, Zexion." Lexaeus said as a farewell, calling for a Corridor before vanishing a moment later.

"I shall put in a report in the data banks for now." No. X said, flicking dice in his hands now. "Lord Xemnas will be most intrigued by our findings once we return to HQ."

Numbers VI and X left to do their own assignments in Castle Oblivion after a moment. The only ones left in the present room were Vexen and the unconscious Kirux with the latter currently being worked on.

As for Zexion, he went down to one of the lower levels of the Castle to contemplate on his next moves alone.

One of extreme risks.

He knew this to be a dangerous ploy but it is one he needed to do. He hoped his time here before Axel's betrayal would give him the chance to go unseen and speak with No. VIII and the other defectors.

His long conversations with Saix coupled with increasing bouts of deep reflection on his previous life were beginning to make him rethink everything he knew.

There was so much confusion leading up to him becoming a Nobody, so much chaos before he woke up as the empty shell he currently was.

For so long, Zexion has always obeyed Xemnas and held absolute loyalty to the Organization but recently?

His aqua-colored eyes narrowed as he began formulating his plan.

-Scene Cut-

Back with Sora, Roxas and the rest of the gang, they had left "Hollow Bastion" and moved onto the next floor.

It was Xion who took the lead this time, utilizing a card that led them into the World of Wonderland.

Only it wasn't the Wonderland Sora, Riku and everyone else had experienced at one point.

No, this time they had to navigate through the distorted, darkened version of this once vibrant World but thankfully, in a more condensed manner.

It was bittersweet seeing Alice again for those who knew her and for Sora, Donald and Goofy, it was an especially startling sightseeing the Princess of Heart appearing far more fierce but also morose and depressed.

"Now you see how we went through most of this mess." Was Axel's comment upon the madness he had to re-experience with Xion and Roxas and for what the rest went through for the first time.

They really hoped that things were better now in the real Wonderland after reliving the madness.

Currently, they now found themselves on the fourth floor.

"Urgh, I can't believe how much I prefer these bright white halls compared to that version of Wonderland." Were Sora's first words upon exiting the memory.

"Do you remember what Master Yen Sid told us?" Namine spoke up. "About how the changes in the Worlds can likely be caused by the influence of the Milky Way Galaxy and the connection it shares here?"

"Gawrsh, does that mean all the Worlds might get corrupted like that?" Goofy asked nervously, thinking of home.

"Depends on how severe they are." Axel said. "It can be a whole range of things really, something we can't really pinpoint or predict."

"That's reassuring." Riku dryly said.

"Aurgh, my head hurts again." Sora moaned aloud.

"What is it this time?" Donald asked.

"Just all this." The brown-haired teen lamely said. "The Organization, the thing with me Roxas and Xion, the Worlds in danger, the influence of the Milky Way, the Reapers, the Heartless still being a problem. Can we handle all that?"

Roxas looked conflicted about what he was about to say but knew it needed to be said.

"Well… Jane always told us that we have to handle things one at a time." He said, knowing Xion and Axel were looking at him now. "Shepard knew that there was a lot that was always needed to be done but trying to do all of it at once, you will burn out and lose. We'll tackle these problems one at a time."

Axel said nothing, instead walking up to Roxas and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Well said, zombie." He lightly said. "She'd be proud to hear that from you."

No. XIII gave a pained smile in return.

"Yes, quite the change in demeanor since I last saw you, Roxas."

Immediately, the entire group tensed, only further going on edge from the Corridor of Darkness that appeared in front of them.

It subsided to reveal Vexen, gazing at them with a skewed gaze and sinister smirk.

"Most impressive, Roxas," No. IV tauntingly praised. "To hear such mature thoughts from you at such a short amount of time in your existence. I would applaud you more if you weren't such a traitor."

"Well~ I guess you need to talk out your ass hasn't changed much, has it, ice cube?" Axel yawned dramatically, walking to stand between Vexen and his friends behind him.

"And I see you've only fallen further into this crass nature in which you speak now." Vexen sneered in return. "Such a shame. Meddlesome as you were, you at least held a modicum of vernacular class."

"Oh no, it's still there.." No. VIII was pretending to pick his ear, appearing bored as he spoke with his former comrade. "I just know it annoys you that I don't talk like that to you."

Vexen's nose and lip twitched angrily at the disrespect being thrown his way.

"You must have a death wish, Vexen." Riku spoke up, stepping forward with his Soul Eater summoned to his hand. "Last time, you had your little experiment but if you think you'll get away this time, you got another thing coming."

"Ah, Riku." Was Vexen's snide greeting to him. "Still as boorish as ever I see. One would think you would at least have some level of an aged mentality but it appears you are still a bullheaded young man. I see where my failings in your Replica stem from. One I'll need to rectify."

"What do you want, Vexen?" Roxas challenged, Oblivion being called to his hand.

"What I want is of no concern to you traitors." No. IV spat out, holding his hand out. Ice, wind and snow swirled around his arm until his shield formed, the Nobody holding it in front of him. "What matters is you fools needing to be reminded of your place."

"Oh boy." Axel rolled his eyes at him, summoning his own weapons. "Here we go with the numbers again."

"Do you really think you can take us all on alone?" Xion couldn't help but ask in disbelief.

"I don't need any sort of lecture from a puppet who has forgotten her purpose and foolishly continues living a lie." Vexen barked venomously, getting a startled, almost hurt reaction out of Xion until she glared right back at him.

"I'm NOT a puppet!" She roared back, Seashell Resonance in her hand. "You may have thought I'd be one forever but not anymore. I'm my own person and you can't take that away from me."

"Oh, how fascinating this would have been had you not betrayed us." The Chill Academic mocked, the temperature in the room lowering. "But enough of this idle chatter."

Without warning, No. IV threw both hands up and the floor became encased in ice.

"BURN!" Was Axel's immediate counter, throwing an inflamed chakram into the ground, expelling the ice on the floor and going on the attack.

Roxas and Riku were right behind him.

Vexen glides back, several walls of ice forming as he flees. With a hidden flick of his hand, multiple sharp icicles were sent after the group.

Axel, Roxas and Riku slashed through them whilst the ones coming after the rest of the team handled it with a quick use of fire magic, melting or shattering the ice.

"Come on." Sora shouted, rushing in to catch up with the ones ahead, the others joining in as they all rushed Vexen.

The scientist grimaced, seeing them come from all sides. Throwing his shield up, permafrost began exuding around him, a cold air that actually caused them to slow down within his vicinity.

Axel was the one that was the first to counter this, countering this move with his own fire and he clashed his Chakrams with Vexen's shield.

"You always were at a disadvantage with me, Vexen." The fiery Nobody taunted. "No matter how many times we've spared, you always came up short."

The green-eyed Nobody sneered angrily at that but put on a taunting smirk a moment later.

"Oh, you simple-minded fool." Vexen said in return. "If you really think I've been stagnant since your departure from us, then you've truly forgotten the purpose in which a scientist serves for the collective and themselves."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Progress."

Several ice-shaped diamonds appeared behind him and fired multiple lances of pure ice at Axel and the rest of the team.

Seeing that they were still slowed down to the permafrost field they were caught in, No. VIII unleashed a blaze from himself, expelling the effects of the ability.

Yet the ice spears remained, untouched by the flames and sharp as they were.

Gritting his teeth, Axel spun about with his arms outstretched, his weapons swatting away several of the spears. He actually found his arms ringing slightly, the spears proving to be far more dense than anticipated.

The others experienced their own issues with the spears, finding them to be equally as difficult to take out.

Riku held one back with Sou Eater which nearly caused him to falter.

Roxas used up a good chunk of his strength to shatter the spear once it got close.

Goofy used his shield to block several spears but the force with which they impacted him caused him along with Sora and Donald that took cover behind him to go flying back.

Xion used a more creative means of avoiding the spears, utilizing a full-body Aeroga that sent any near her flying about.

Those that were avoided or deflected embedded themselves into the walls, floor and ceiling of the room, cracks forming around the spears.

It was a bit of a startling sight but Axel remained unperturbed.

"You know Vex, I do admit, that's a pretty impressive move ya got there."

Vexen had a manic grin on his face, holding his shield up in front of him.

"But there's one issue with your little "progress" statement."

"And what would that be?" No. IV challenged.

"You can learn all the new moves in the books but-" Axel vanished in a blur of fire.

Vexen's eyes widened considerably, looking around desperately until he heard a flicker behind him. The Chilly Academic couldn't move fast enough as the sharp pain of being cut on top of burnt came from behind.

He let out a strangled cry, falling to his knees, his shield vanishing a moment later.

"Your moves don't do jack shit unless you change yourself." Axel coldly said, raising his Chakram over his head, the tips of each blade alight with flames.

Vexen vainly held up his hands defensively yet that didn't stop No. VIII from bringing his weapon down. No. IV gasped, the pain almost not even registering with his expression conveying all Axel needed to see.

Darkened wisps began rolling off of him. Moments later, his form was encompassed by said wisps.

To some, they thought Vexen was making an escape. To others, they believed they finally took down No. IV of the Organization down for good.

Yet something was wrong.

Instead of seeing Vexen destroyed and return to nothingness, once the darkness dispelled around him, all that remained was an odd blank mannequin wearing the Organization coat. Upon taking a closer look, there were some markings on the head labeled "44".

There was a brief pause of complete and utter confusion as to what just happened and what they were now all looking at.

"Wha-What the hell?" Axel said in genuine bewilderment, standing over the unmoving mannequin, focusing on the number on its forehead. "The hell is this? 44?"

"Is that supposed to happen?" Sora quietly asked, nervously looking between the thing that was Vexen and the Nobodies of the team.

"This looks like… like a doll." Namine quietly noted, perturbed by what she and the others were looking at.

"A doll…" Xion blankly parroted, eyes becoming glazed slightly at the sight of it.

There was some sense of familiarity about it, which unsettled her deeply.

Immediately, Axel was on guard again, holding his chakrams up.

"It's one of his damned experiments again." He quickly said. "That's just some decoy or doll of his."

"Some doll…" No. XIV was in a state of disorientation.

Her vision was tilting yet somehow remained focused on the doll that lay before her.

"What is this, Axel?" Roxas asked, standing beside him.

"Damn trick of his." Axel said, eyes ablaze with anger as out of the corner of his eye, he saw the state Xion was in. "Another experiment."

Riku twitched at hearing this, eyes narrowing now.

"Alright you bastard, come out!" Riku shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls. "We know you're still watching."

There was a moment of silence, everyone was still on edge until a Dark Corridor appeared once more and from it, Vexen(?) appeared.

Upon his entry, he raised a hand in the direction where the doll lay and sent it away a second later.

"Didn't expect to see this one last long, only serving its purpose in this encounter." Was his dismissive comment. "Still, data is an invaluable tool."

The entire team glared at the man, the mannequin that vanished appeared in front of him a moment later.

There was a tense silence, an unspoken question that the Chilly Academic picked up on with a sinister grin. Grasping onto the prone object, Vexen lifted it up before him with the mannequin's feet dangling.

"Yes, this is what a Replica originally looks like." He casually said. "Your true face, if you would, Xion."

The girl visibly paled and No. XIII felt something snap within him upon hearing this.

"SHUT UP!" Roxas bellowed, a feeling of rage exploding out of him. "SHE IS NOT A PUPPET OR A DOLL AND SHE NEVER WAS!"

"Oh my." Vexen chuckled, sending the doll away. "How uncouth. You sound convincing there, Roxas. Have you been practicing?"

"You're just asking to get beaten up." Sora now spoke up, getting considerably annoyed at Vexen's demeanor toward his friends.

"Am I?" No. IV asked in a dismissive fashion. "And who is to administer such beatings? You, I take it?"

"That's the idea." Riku said, an eager edge to his tone as he leveled an intense gaze at the icy Nobody.

"Well, you're all as impatient as ever." Vexen said with a roll of his eyes. "Still, I got what I'm here for."

With the Replica doll in hand, Vexen used a Dark Corridor to disappear from the area.

"That jerk." Sora said aloud, stomping his foot. "Wish he would've been stupid enough to stay and fight."

"Yeah, he needs to answer for how he talked to Xion." Donald proclaimed, jumping up and down angrily.

Said girl was standing in a bit of a daze, eyes downcast, her Keyblade having been called away. She had her hands raised slightly, looking at them as though she wasn't certain that they were real. That they were her own.

"Xion." Namine softly said, standing next to her friend. "Are you alright?"

They all turned to the girl who was now hugging herself. The ravenette shuddered, tears peeking out of the corners of her eyes and she shook her head.

"I… I'm not sure." She whispered quietly. "I don't know anymore. I'm… am I… am I really just a-"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence." Axel interjected, walking up to her, and firmly grabbing her shoulders with a slight shake. "Get those thoughts out of your head. You know that everything he just said is absolute garbage."

"He's only doing that to mess with you." Said Donald. "Can't let that bully get in your head."

"Remember what Shepard once told you," Roxas quietly stated. "Those tears of yours, they're real. You're real. You're not a doll but Xion. Our friend."

Xion was at a loss for words, her face scrunching up as she freely cried. She went up to Roxas first and hugged him tightly, sobbing on his shoulder as she held onto him.

"Thank you, Roxas." She stammered out, shaking uncontrollably.

There was an odd sensation that went through the sandy-blond Nobody but he ignored it as right now, someone dear to him needed comfort. He hugged her back, the two staying like this until she pulled back with a strained smile, moving onto Axel next who simply placed his hand on her head.

"We got ya, Xion." He murmured. "We'll always have your back."

There was a moment of silence shared between them all, the group allowing Xion to go about hugging each of them, finishing on Namine until Goofy crossed his arms, humming aloud.

"Something on your mind, Goof?" Axel said, looking at the knight expectantly as the anthropomorphic dog tapped his chin in thought.

"You know, I've been thinkin' bout what we just saw and it makes me wonder. If that Vexen feller is makin' these dolls out of data, does that mean he may have data on other folks other than us? Like the rest of the Organization?"

Everyone glanced at each other, not exactly sure where Goofy was going with this.

"Just think. Xion here came from Roxas and Sora cuz of data copied from them by the Organization. That Replica of Riku is the same thing. And we just saw a copy of Vexen as well." There was still a sense of confusion from the Knight's words. "We'd probably face more of them in the future. Taking on the faces of people who'd be our friends and loved ones, but under the Organization's control."

"That's… not exactly something to look forward to." Riku muttered, disturbed by such a notion.

"But we can also use that against them." Goofy declared, surprising them.

"Whaddya mean, Goofy?" Sora asked on behalf of everyone.

"Just think. If Xion came from here -possibly I reckon- then that means there's a whole bunch of computers and data filled with not just her, but us and the Organization. Data we can get our hands on and use against the Organization. Learn how to beat each one of them at their own game. I betcha there's other stuff here that we didn't even know of earlier that we can take back with us."

There was a palpable realization that came over the team upon hearing this.

"Hey~~, yeah!" Riku had a roguish grin on his face. "We can totally do that."

"Another objective during our time here." Donald looked over to Axel. "Any idea where they'd be keeping it?"

"Top floor. But I wouldn't put it past them in having other places like Vexen's lab back at the old HQ."

"We still need to focus on the real mission." Namine spoke up. "Making sure Sora, Roxas and Xion aren't siphoning power from each other."

"Now that ya mention it…" Roxas crossed his arms. "Uh… how're we supposed to do that?"

"Ya know," Sora sheepishly scratched his cheek. "I don't think we really thought about that."

"Hyuck, I think it should be too hard." Goofy confidently said, the same goofy smile in place.

"What do ya mean?" Riku inquired and it appeared that Goofy was almost expecting him specifically to be the one to ask.

"Well, Riku, when your Replica was made, did you ever have any dreams, memories or feelings that weren't your own?"

The silver-haired teen had a thoughtful frown as he mulled over Goofy's question. Now that he really thought about it, he was surprised he never did consider the link he may have shared with his Replica but when he focused on it, no, there was none. Nothing but the fact that his copy was just there and that's it.

"No… no, I never had that." The Islander remarked, making Goofy 'Hyuck' once more.

"Then I betcha that we can find that data that shows how Vexen was able to make you both separate without affectin' each other and find a way to do the same for our pals." Goofy cheerfully said. "Nope, I know we will. Vexen knew what he was doing when he did both of these "copies" so that means there's gotta be a way to cut the link Xion has with Roxas and Sora without hurting any of them."

There was a considerable amount of stunned silence before Namine beamed at the knight.

"You're absolutely right, Goofy." She declared joyfully.

Axel sported a near ear-splitting grin now. "There's no way that egghead doesn't have that kind of data. He's too much of a scientist not to have something like that."

Xion smiled tearfully at the captain of the guard. "You're really smart, Goofy. Thank you."

"A-Hyuck, aw shucks, you're gonna make me blush." Goofy bashfully said, looking away from everyone, all of them laughing at his reaction.

"Don't praise him too much." Donald said good-naturedly. "You'll mess up the group dynamic."

"And what would that be?" Sora asked with a huff of amusement.

"Him being a big palooka."

"But Donald, aren't I always gonna be like that?"

The group all laughed at that, whatever somber demeanor they had evaporating in moments, a joyful but also determined air coming over them.

While there was a goal they had in coming here, there was a missing tangible piece that made their journey here feel incomplete.

Now, with this new revelation, a proper sense of purpose came over them. They already knew what was needed to be done but with Goofy's words, there was a reframing of focus that they now possessed.

As they moved forward, ready to take on the next memory World, one of them stopped, a look of concentration appearing.

He wasn't quite sure what was happening but…

What…

What is this feeling?

Something was… there's something here…

In the Castle…

He had felt it before, on the first floor when he first stepped inside before he and the others proceeded into the memory world of Traverse Town.

What was that?

"Roxas."

The boy jolted out of his stupor, seeing the rest expectantly waiting for him.

"What's wrong man?" Axel asked, eyeing him curiously.

"Oh uh… I'm… I don't know." Roxas admitted. "I can't figure it out yet but… I don't know. It's weird but I'll tell you guys later. When I can make sense of it."

The others were unsure of this but nodded all the same.

Axel flicked his hand in the direction of the staircase "Well come on then, you're up."

He nodded. "Right."

Making it to the other room, Roxas stepped forward to face the door. From there, the doorway opened for them to enter.

-Scene Cut-

"Feels odd being here."

"It does."

"Just the three of us and none of the others."

There was a grunt followed by a longing sigh. "I miss em… god I miss em."

Garrus Vakarian, Kaidan Alenko and Ashley Williams all released simultaneous sighs, sharing the feeling of old.

They were at the ramen bar -Stand- having a late-day meal, reminiscing about the "good old days" that didn't happen all that long ago.

Just to them, it really does feel like a different lifetime now.

Being swept up in one, two, three galaxy adventure that started when they all hopped aboard the Normandy and…

Now it was over.

Shepard was gone, a bitter pill they still couldn't swallow.

Wrex took up the responsibility of uniting the Krogan under one banner after the multitude of threats ranging from the Heartless, Reapers and the thought of literal extinction presented themselves to the aged Battlemaster. Every now and then, if they ever encountered a Krogan "reasonable" enough to converse with, the three of them would direct him back to the Tuchanka, helping their friend from afar however they can. A small favor if you will.

Tali had to return to the Flotilla, her pilgrimage having been completed some time ago and her duty to her people calling to her. She sent them messages every now and then, keeping them updated on her progress on top of anything they needed and vice versa.

Liara was all over the place, being on Mars, going back to multiple Prothean sights and now… well, she's been a bit elusive really, not in terms of keeping in touch with them it's just…

She hasn't really told them what she's been up to exactly. Just that she's doing things she never once even considered but will do so for their sake, for the memory of Shepard and to make sure they're ready for the threats that are coming.

Stitch, haven't heard from the furball in a while. He just up and left them with a slobbering lick and a tight hug before he vanished. They knew the little psycho was tough as all hell and could dish out punishment. Still didn't exempt them from worrying about him.

Joker, he's been doing what he can to keep in touch. Last they heard, he's been flying some Gummi-ships Mr. Scrooge McDuck sent over to the Alliance recently, yet he complains they ain't the Normandy. Regardless, Gummi-ships were on the way, a huge boon to come for the Systems Alliance and the rest of the galaxy.

Other than that, it was just the three of them and not even they were able to work together all the time.

The Citadel was a big place and them being the professionals in terms of combatting Heartless, at times, they had to be pulled away to different locations and even off the Citadel itself.

Other planets were being attacked by the dark creatures. While not on the scale of the invasion of the Citadel, they still needed to be handled.

"Things have been harder lately." Alenko grumbled.

"The missions or the Heartless?" Ash asked, hands crossed on the table they were sitting at, head resting on her arms.

"Both."

"Forget I asked." She mumbled.

"Only gonna get harder, unfortunately." Garrus commented, idly fiddling with the scope he usually wore. "Call it a gut feeling."

"We're well aware, Vakarian." Ashley dryly said, lifting herself up to lean back in her chair and have her head lazily look up. "Case you forgot, death in many forms is coming."

"It's inevitable with what we know."

"We know, Kaidan, I just said that."

"Just makin' sure."

There was a brief pause between them, Alenko taking a nibble of the food in front of him.

"Is it weird I don't have an appetite anymore?"

"You got those L3 implants, remember?"

"Yeah but I still ate like I used to with L2 after every fight. Today I just… I dunno."

"Don't worry," Garrus said. "I think we know how you're feeling."

Much of one's enjoyment is lacking. Hunger and thirst aren't as tasteful or appetizing, merely bland. Certain activities felt meaningless.

Without the others around… a lot felt pointless if one could describe it.

When they were all together, they felt invincible. Anything that came their way, they could take on with no issue or setback. The ten of them fighting side by side made them feel unstoppable.

Now though?

They were strong, that was for certain. The power Master Yen Sid had bestowed on them had been manifesting in their own ways, making them stand out from their peers, more than they already do.

Garrus' eyesight became sharp to the point that when he concentrated, any target in his sight would be eliminated as soon as he pulled the trigger. He felt his breathing improve, which was a much-needed asset to a sniper. Not to mention his unique "detective vision" as he calls it, which has been rather helpful on several Citadel assignments.

Ashley felt a lot more durable, faster, stronger, tougher, the whole nine yards. She found herself getting less and less winded after every fight with the Heartless and whenever she trained in basic PT, it was as if she was just warming up, if only barely.

Kaidan's body had also adjusted in ways to his Biotics he didn't quite understand yet. The way the dark matter flowed around his fingertips felt more natural than breathing sometimes and his control was uncanny. When he asked Liara about her Biotics, she was met with the same result, a feeling of greater control or more "oomph" one could say behind their Biotics.

Then came the moments of crazy displays of physical abilities or literal magic. More on the latter since Kaidan had frozen a criminal in solid ice with his Biotics once and electrocuted a small gaggle of Heartless with lightning in another instance. Liara had told them of her Biotics coming out like a literal tsunami when she had a run-in with a particularly large Heartless that turned into air, cutting into her foe.

To say they were shocked would be putting it mildly. They almost couldn't believe what had happened.

It seemed their strength was truly beginning to flourish.

Yet these new enhancements needed new refinements and training. Thus they had to go through a metaphorical boot camp once more.

As to how that boot camp would work… they're still trying to figure that out. How does one train with abilities, enhancements and powers they've only heard of in stories?

Really, most of their development has been trial by fire.

They need to reach out to Yen Sid somehow. Get some pointers from the guy. Only normal basics and self-training can only go so far.

"I think a vacation is in order for us." Ashley stated, rubbing her drowsy eyes with her palms. "A serious, really, really long one."

"We've had vacations." Kaidan idly said.

Williams only wagged her finger at him. "No, we've had breaks. Small moments to rest up. A vacation is five days or more, no less."

The Major nodded in understanding. "We can ask Hackett and Anderson for some time off. We've been running ourselves ragged."

"Will they let you though? Would they let us?" Garrus wryly asked. "Last I checked, we're Spectres in training and the Heartless "experts" now that the real ones are back at their home galaxy."

"We could if we ask nicely."

"Be serious, Ash." The Turian deadpanned.

"I am." She childishly said. "What happened to a good old fashioned, please? Is that no longer in style? Is that too much to ask for?"

"We need some serious R&R." Kaidan remarked.

"Will be hard for me, given my placement in C-Sec."

"The Council can override C-Sec. Get through them and you'll have your break from your day job. Besides, you're a Spectre in training. Doesn't that like, supersede your duties at C-Sec?"

"Yeah but I don't wanna leave the guys high and washed up."

"High and dry." Williams absentmindedly corrected.

"Yeah, that. But if we did perhaps have time off, where'd you go?"

"Home, back on Earth." Kaidan said straight away. "Good go for an old-school Canadian steak."

"Same." Was Ashley's quick response, snorting at Alenko's choice. "Well, just with my sisters. Been a while since I took them out."

"Palaven for me." Said the detective. "Been a while since I've been there." He gave a small chuckle. "My little sister would love to have me back. She's been dying to hear all of our missions -since joining the Normandy- in person." Soon a puff of exhaustion came out. "While my father would maybe get a migraine once mentioning I'm a Spectre in training."

"With what you told us about him, I can only imagine the full scope of that reaction." Kaidan said sympathetically.

The Turian gave a nod as he tried to finish more of the meal before him.

Ashley then let out a hum, closing her eyes as she replayed several memories from the past year of action they had endured.

"Where'd all this craziness begin? Like really really for all of us?"

"Well… first time we saw the Heartless was here in the lower wards." Garrus recounted. "Where we met Tali and Roxas. Then we had to find and ended up rescuing Liara from that bubble she got trapped in."

"But with where all of us on the ground team had to take part…"

"Feros," Alenko answered. "The first mission where all of us had to be together while searching for Saren."

"What about Xion and Axel?"

"Oh yeah, good point." The Biotic said, pointing at Garrus. "They came after Noveria."

"Weird really." Ashley said, voice low. "Feels like it was a lot longer than that. Way longer."

"Is it weird that it all kinda blurs together but also has a timeline?" Vakarian asked, his friends shaking their heads.

"Nah, that honestly feels natural." Kaidan said with a tired sigh thinking about their time on the Normandy. "God, it's like a blur you can see clearly. All of it. Every single moment."

"How a lot of the struggles and hardships stemmed from certain encounters."

"We are gonna have some insane stories to tell our kids, that's for certain." Ashley quipped, eliciting laughs from the other two.

Silence fell upon the group as they continued eating the rest of their meal.

"You know what the weirdest thing about today was?" Garrus abruptly asked, a strange tinge to his tone. "When we ran into those Heartless, I felt… I felt the others were right there with us. They fighting alongside us and… it felt-"

"Like they were just out of reach but we just couldn't see them." Kaidan interrupted, making the Turian gaze intently at him.

"Yes, exactly that." Garrus stated. Yet he wasn't bewildered or even thrown off by what the Major just said.

In fact, that made more sense to him than anything else they discussed or did today if that was to be believed.

Ashley frowned at this, thinking back to the fight and squirmed whilst Kaidan continued on.

"Happens with us when we're lonely. Having a bond with them, feeling like their phantom is right there with you."

"No." Williams murmured. "It wasn't all of them. Well, yes and no."

Garrus and Kaidan gazed at her as she attempted to formulate her thoughts properly.

"It was more like… like Roxas, Axel and Xion. Like them specifically. They were right next to us while we were fighting the Heartless. Not Wrex, not Tali, Liara, Stitch or even Shepard. The three of them were the ones that came to mind."

From the expressions she saw her two friends have, it was easy for Ash to surmise they had the same experience.

"What do you think it means?" The marine quietly asked.

"Honestly," Garrus placed a hand over his chest, where his heart would be. "There was something weird about what I felt today. All I can say or think honestly is… they're likely in some deep shit right now."

"What do you think it is?" Kaidan asked, almost sounding nervous. "And how would we even feel that?"

"Maybe it's that sappy crap they talked about once." Ashley said. "The connection between hearts and all."

"But they told us they don't have a heart."

Williams scoffed. "Yeah, like I believe that bullshit after everything we've been through."

Kaidan pondered for a moment before voicing a thought. "Merely a Link of a Chain that binds us together."

"Huh… that was oddly poetic of you… I'm suing you for gimmick infringement." Ash deadpanned.

"Since when were you a poet?"

"Since always, ding dong."

Garrus chortled to himself as Kaidan and Ashley now bickered like siblings would, all while thinking about their friends in the Ōkoku galaxy.

He wondered and hoped they were doing alright and prayed to the Spirits there would be a better tomorrow for them all.

-Scene Cut-

"Do you think they're alright?" Sora quietly asked Riku from the front of the group.

The Islanders did a subtle look back to the Nobody's of the team, the three of them in a state of bittersweet sullenness.

The memory World they had just come from was one from the Milky Way Galaxy.

Feros.

Though Xion and Axel were not there at the time when Roxas was, for them, it didn't matter.

They were back with the Normandy squad and due to the memory link they all shared together, it didn't take long for the crew to recognize them all.

But it wasn't the real version of them.

Just a damned, falsified World for them to forge through.

Phantoms and ghosts haunting them.

Shepard especially.

Xion couldn't contain herself and neither could Roxas. The moment they saw her, the memory manifestation of Shepard got a tackling hug from the two, bewildering the figments of the Normandy crew.

To the memory projections, Axel and Xion were complete strangers to them. Such a thing greatly hurt them until, like with the Leon of Traverse Town, they were "remembered". Their names were recognized but not the memories that would come after.

It was… almost too much to bear.

When they bade them goodbye as they finished the mission on Feros, Roxas and Xion had to hold back tears from seeing Shepard walk away. Even Axel had a glazed look in his eyes.

The others that were with them helped push them out of the memory World, knowing the longer they stayed, the more the pain would fester.

They just never knew the full scope of what reliving such memories entailed with those who are no longer alive. How recovering from grief became opened once more and made things possibly worse.

"Let's just not bring it up for now." Riku murmured. "The last thing they need is to talk about that again."

Sora silently nodded, glancing back to see Namine walk between Roxas and Xion, holding their hands in a comforting manner. They held strained smiles, appreciating her gesture but remained downtrodden.

"Of all the memories," Sora grimaced, shaking his head. "I could do without those plant-based zombies."

"Did you see them through Roxas?" Riku murmured.

"Fragmented. Thought they were just an odd, random nightmare before figuring out our connection."

"With what he and the others faced at the time, I wouldn't blame you."

"But I don't care about those Plant freakshows," Sora had a saddened demeanor, something his best friend wasn't used to seeing. "I just hate how they had to see her again."

Riku held a solemn gaze, momentarily glancing over to Axel having gone over to a wall, crossed his arms and leaned his back on it with his eyes closed.

Donald went to approach him but Goofy stopped him, shaking his head silently.

The whole group stopped for a moment, Roxas and Xion joining their friend. The latter walked up to him, her head falling forward on him. He moved his arms out of the way, allowing her forehead to rest on his chest, placing his hand on her head.

She began to shake, tears falling from her eyes as her feelings for Shepard came spilling out.

Roxas sat down on the floor, pulled his knees up and draped his arms over them before leaning his head down. They saw him trembling and an audible sniffle was heard, the boy shaking like a leaf for several minutes.

Nobody said anything. Everyone simply waited for their three friends to let it all out of their system and even then they knew it wasn't enough.

The cold reality of Shepard being gone still weighed heavily on their beings and seeing her again as she was only expedited their feelings about her death.

They remained there for a time, several minutes, moments, who knows as none really wanted to address it.

Eventually, the trio got it out of their system, the rest of their friends simply making sure they were alright to continue.

Though the murmurs of "yes" and "yeah sure" didn't really do much in terms of a convincing argument, no one offered a rebuttal of any kind. Everyone simply moved on to the next floor in silence.

Normally, they would have some kind of discussion of what they saw or what their next move should be but frankly, the others knew now wouldn't be the time.

It was better they simply kept going forward.

"I got this."

This time Axel stepped forward before the floor door.

"Are ya sure?" Namine asked worriedly.

Despite his mood, he managed up a familiar smirk, ruffling her blond hair.

"Don't you worry 'bout me, Namine." He assured her.

He then faced the door as a card was produced, the world of memory being filled into it. No. VIII grabbed it out of the air and flicked it at the door, the card vanishing into the doorway before opening up in a shining light.

The light soon engulfed them all as they stepped through the door.

Once the light subsided, they all took a moment to gather themselves as they now stood in an alleyway.

"Uh… where are we?" Roxas asked quietly.

Axel said nothing at first, eyes narrowed, a look of concentration for the others to see as he contemplated on where they could have possibly appeared.

"Feh." He suddenly let out, turning to walk out of the alleyway.

The rest were momentarily thrown off by this reaction, scrambling slightly to catch up to him.

Once they exited where they appeared, the group now stood in a decorative and large plaza, surrounded by houses and other buildings. It was a rather beautiful place yet strangely… there was something familiar here.

"Axel." Xion softly said, turning everyone's attention back onto the Flurry of Dancing Flames standing in the center of the plaza.

There was a far-off, distant look on his visage. One which was reminiscent of like when seeing Shepard again yet was lessened due to him being used to something in particular.

"Axel." No. XIV said again, standing next to him, wondering what he was looking at until everyone looked up.

Their eyes widened at what they saw, which was a gargantuan castle structure.

One that was eerily familiar to them.

"Should've figured we'd come here." No. VIII said in a low voice, grimacing at the sight.

"Where are we?" Namine asked, turning to Axel for answers yet he didn't respond, instead releasing a tired sigh.

"Wait… that castle," Sora squinted at the large building that seemed to be at the center of this World. "Is that… are we in Hollow Bastion?"

Some of the architecture was reminiscent of what they knew of Maleficent's base of operations. But instead of it being all dark, decrepit and depressing, there was much life to the surrounding areas. It felt more… whole?

Axel shook his head. "Close. We ain't at the castle, but the actual World it resides in."

The others looked at him in confusion.

"How would you know?" Donald asks accusingly.

"Because this was the World I once lived in."

This reveal was quite surprising for the group to hear.

"Wait," Riku tilted his head at him. "You're from Hollow Bastion?"

"Was it obvious?" Axel rhetorically asked, turning his gaze back onto the castle. "Surprised they opted for the original look. How it used to be. Last time I was here, it was closer to how it looked before the Heartless turned this place into one of their strongholds."

The group looked around the large plaza, giving it an inspection.

"Nice place." Roxas remarked, liking the aesthetic and overall air here.

"It's rather pretty." Namine noted, taking note of some flowers with Xion.

"It is real nice." Riku commented, looking at everything around the plaza. "Makes ya wonder how'd this place become how it is today."

"That's easy. Ansem the 'not so' Wise." Answered the redhead, his tone derisive and harsh. It was certainly not one they were used to hearing from him.

"Come on," Axel gestured for them to follow. "Just need to figure out what point in time back then we're in now."

"Where are we going?" Xion asked, jogging up to him who simply pointed at the castle.

"That place holds all the answers we need." He then turned back to the team. "But fair warning. You're gonna see a few… things here that may cause you to do something you might regret. Remember, this is a memory, not who they really are."

"Wait, are there other people here we know?" Sora asked in anticipation.

Axel's expression was unreadable, turning away as he moved to stay ahead of the group.

"Wouldn't say for certain. For present circumstances, let's just assume, no. But also… yes. Just wait, you'll see."

"You're not making any sense."

"This place doesn't make any sense." Axel shot back, the others looking at each other.

That is true but the way he was behaving was off-putting. Why was he acting like this?

Something was up.

They didn't bring this up now, only surveying the area.

Despite the small handfuls of individuals, they walked past, the place was relatively deserted. They couldn't tell for certain, given this floor was based on Axel's memories.

Walking through several streets and landmarks, No. VIII gave them a tour of what he could recall back then. From the fountain areas, the gardens, the shops. Everything he could bring up of the town they were traversing through. Of course he spoke of the underground areas along with the crystalline territories outside of the town, but going to such locations would've diverted from their main objective.

"So what're we gonna find in the castle, Axel?" Goofy inquired, something that most of the team had thought of. "Is it something important?"

Axel didn't answer at first, everyone seeing only his back.

Frankly, that was the main thing they all saw.

His back.

He kept his face almost out of sight. If he wanted to, he would have thrown up his hood but he didn't.

Whenever anyone did see his face, he would either turn away or keep it stoic and unreadable. Even his eyes had a more hardened edge to them.

It took a while for him to let it loose from his lips finally.

"There's… someone I'm hoping to see. In the Castle." Axel's voice was barely heard. "We had a friend here back then. Someone Saix and I grew close with. I wanna see if this memory took us back to when she was still there."

That was a bit of a surprise, especially the mention of someone like Saix growing close to someone.

"When we found out about her, the two of us would spend every day trying to see her. She was trapped in the Castle for a reason even that jackass Ansem wouldn't tell us. He kept her away from us but we always found a way to her. We were her friends. We weren't gonna abandon her."

This was certainly surprising but hearing the loyalty he held wasn't all that surprising.

"What's her name?"

Axel snorted. "That's the thing, we never knew and neither did she."

"Huh?" Was the collective response.

Goofy tilted his head in confusion. "Whatcha mean? Did ya never ask?"

The redhead shook his head. "It's not that. She had amnesia, a very bad case of it." He had a wry grin. "You can't imagine how that peeved my pet. But yeah, didn't know how she got here. What her history was, let alone her name." Explained No. VIII. "Ansem soon named her Subject X."

"That made it sound like she wasn't a person, but a thing." Xion said with a deep frown, seeing her friend hold up his hands.

"Don't get angry at me. I don't know why he named her that. We wanted to figure out her name but… just never could, no matter how hard we tried."

"Couldn't you have given her one?" Namine said, Axel just snorting in response.

"Oh, believe me, we tried. Isa had a whole list of it but she never liked 'em. Neither did I really." He shook his head, a wistful smirk of exasperation. "She just accepted being called Subject X."

Whilst most of the group had their attention on this mystery girl that was Axel's friend, one name stuck out to Roxas.

"Isa?" He said aloud. "Who's that?"

Axel's demeanor fell to a degree, a more troubled look for the group to see as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a hint of disappointment and irritation.

"...Saix. It was his name before becoming a Nobody."

Roxas and Xion were certainly surprised to hear this as was Namine. This was rather interesting to learn about No. VII of the Organization.

They were aware that there was a familiarity between Saix and Axel but… now that they thought about it, he never really expand on what their relationship was.

"Wait, so…" Sora scrunched his face up. "If you're saying Saix was once called Isa, what was your name?"

The rest were equally as curious whilst the man in question fell silent for a few seconds. He seemed to be debating on whether or not he should say anything until he released an annoyed breath.

"...Lea. That's who I once was." Axel said before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter now. I've moved past it. Axel is who I am now. Got it memorized?"

"Are ya sure?" Donald asked, the redhead shaking his head. "What's wrong with calling you that?"

"Need I remind you that taking out the X in Roxas' name, once rearranged spells Sora, you wanna have two Sora's?"

"Don't we technically have three with all this copycat business?" Voiced Goofy. "Though Xion is more towards Kairi…"

"And Namine also looks like Kairi." Donald pointed out.

"So does that mean I have sisters or something?" Xion asked with genuine curiosity.

"I hate Vexen." Was Roxas' abrupt deadpan, gaining a migraine as they thought about all this.

"Yeah, all this talk about clones and everyone looking alike is giving me a headache." Muttered Namine.

"Just the Sora I know already gives me one." Riku said with a frown while fighting the urge to smirk. "Having three would give me an aneurysm."

Sora whirled at his old friend in an affronted manner. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! You're no walk in the park yourself, tough guy!"

Shaking his head at his Somebody's behavior, Roxas looked towards Axel. "Back with Subject X, what happened to her?"

His friend threw his hands up in frustration.

"We have no clue. She just disappeared one day. Might've been due to the Heartless or got out on her own somehow." Axel shook his head as they were walking through a street. "Don't know if Castle Oblivion is a blessing or a curse in having us recall this particular time period on this World. Taunting us with a part of our lives where the World became overrun with Heartless due to Ansem's actions. A blessing to perhaps find clues to what we've missed or overlooked back then. Though I bet it'll just pull the rug out from under us."

"I can probably understand how it is." Goofy lamented. "Visiting old places you haven't returned to for years makes it hard to recall the correct moments. The castle is making the opportunity a reality." The captain of the guard soon pondered for a moment. "Or is it unreality in this instance?"

"So… do you think we'll find anything if we go into the castle?" Xion warily asked.

"Some familiar faces, more than likely." Was his enigmatic answer. "Let's stay out of sight for now."

"Why?"

"Just," Axel held up a hand. "Trust me on this guys. It's better to stay out of sight and mind for this World."

Though they were curious as to why they acquiesced to his request and followed his lead as he led them along a path that seemed abandoned by the city.

Before long, they appeared at some laboratory or facility.

"How are we supposed to hide here?" Xion asked, looking at multiple test tubes, and papers with equations and notes on them.

Axel smirked, walking over to a nearby wall and pressing on part of it that revealed a secret corridor.

"Back when I was still Lea, Isa and I found this passage when we were checking this castle out. This place has so many secrets that I don't even think the guys working here knew all about them. It's how the two of us always made it past Ansem to get to our friend."

"Whoa~" Roxas said in awe. "That's awesome."

"It is, isn't it?" Axel cheekily said. "Now come on, we can see on the other side."

Just as they did so, the door to the lab opened and in walked…

"Isa." Was Axel's immediate response.

"Wait, so that's Saix before he was a Nobody?" Xion asked in astonishment, seeing No. VIII nod.

Roxas tilted his head in bewilderment at who they were all looking at. "Never imagined Saix so…"

"Short." Xion remarked.

"Less intimidating."

"But hang on a sec," Namine turned to Axel. "If this is your memory, your time in your childhood, shouldn't you be here too?"

Axel shook his head. "Not exactly. Even though I figured I would be here, I never did show up. But the first time I was here, Isa did recognize me but called me Lea. I think from his perspective, I still looked as I did before the two of us became Nobodies. There is also the factor of the memories seeing you as you were back then and not of the present."

"Then we won't see younger you." No. XIV stated more than asked, her tone one of clear disappointment.

Hearing this, Axel grinned. "Yeup."

Her cheeks puffed out before deflating dramatically. "Aw."

No. VIII snorted, giving Xion a small noogie. "Tough shit. Only the worthy get to see me in my young spunky glory."

Before they were able to comment any further on this, a number of individuals soon entered in after Isa, all of whom were quite familiar to several in the team, more so for the former Organization members.

"Vexen, Zexion, Xaldin, Lexaeus, Xigbar." Roxas listed off, honestly shocked at seeing them without the black cloaks and distinctly different in appearance. Well… some of them were different.

"Even, Ienzo, Dilan, Aeleus, Braig." Axel named them in order to how his friend called them out. "These were their names before the fall." Looking over, he spotted a particular someone and chortled. "Damn, forgot how tiny he was. Little Ienzo."

Focusing on the particular individual, they saw how child-like Zexion looked. Or rather, how he was outright a child, looking a bit out of place standing in the midst of the other grownups.

Sora, Roxas and Riku snorted.

"That's Zexion?" Roxas rhetorically asked. "You've got to be joking."

Donald laughed. "He's so small."

The girls, on the other hand, had a different reaction.

"Aw~" Xion and Namine couldn't help but gush. "He's adorable!"

"You do know he tried to kill me several times now." Riku deadpanned. "And you guys too."

"Oh come on Riku, look at that face!" Namine squealed. "How can you say anything against him? Look at his little lab coat. He looks so cute."

Riku rolled his eyes at her. "Girls."

"Hyuck, come on Riku, he's harmless." Goofy chuckled. "He reminds me of Maxie when he was younger."

"Yeah, for now, he is," Riku muttered under his breath. "Just wait till we get outta here."

"Ammunition to use against him." Sora jokes, nudging Riku with his elbow.

Donald joined in. "Yeah, we can beat him with embarrassment."

At that, the silver-haired teen was unable to hold back, guffawing slightly at the thought of it.

"Alright, scuse me one sec." Riku held up his arm, his Omni-Tool flaring up and he zoomed in on Ienzo, snapping a picture.

"Please, send that to me." Axel immediately requested. "I could use a good laugh every now and then."

Riku grinned at the man. "Later."

"Who's that?"

Looking over, they saw a pair of individuals enter the room.

The first was quite tall with slightly tanned, olive skin and silver hair. His eyes were a unique shade of yellow to finish off his cold, stoic appearance. His attire was nicely tailored with a large, yet loose lab coat.

The other was a relatively old man with combed-back blonde hair reaching towards the end of his neck with a matching, thin beard. His eyes were orange and he wore a lab coat and a particular red scarf worn around the neck with a posture of hands folded behind his back.

"That is Ansem the Wise." Said Axel with a small frown. "The other is Xehanort, who Xemnas used to be before his fall."

"Whoa~" Sora's eyes widened. "So that is the real Ansem?"

"Yeah." No. VIII's posture was tense, eyes boring into the man he once apprenticed under.

By now, he along with King Mickey and Yen Sid had told them all of the real identity of Ansem and of how it was stolen from him by someone else.

Sora, Donald, Goofy and Riku reeled in shock at this and all couldn't help but wonder just what could've happened to the real Ansem.

Looking at the person who later became the leader of Organization XIII, Roxas felt an odd scratch in his head.

For the briefest of moments, he saw someone similar in height and appearance. Though his hair was different as were his clothes, eyes and overall demeanor. Instead of silver hair, it was chocolate brown like Sora's. His skin was lighter and his eyes were blue instead of golden yellow.

He felt a swell in his chest, the change becoming far more focused from his perspective.

But when recalling the person's name being Xehanort, another person was seen in Roxas' perspective. Someone that was in his 80s or perhaps 90s in a semi-hunchbacked stance. His attire was drastically similar to Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness. He was dark-skinned with sinister yellow eyes, bald and had a goat-styled silver beard.

Just seeing this person drew a cold shiver down his spine.

As this went on, with everyone else keeping their gazes locked onto the former lives of the Organization, Axel took a step back and looked behind him.

His mind wandered to the lower recesses of the Castle and thought of one room.

A lone cell.

And in it, a friend he and Isa worked so hard to save and after learning of her disappearance, one day find.

That was the whole reason they joined the Organization.

Not for power or the want to rule over the dominion of nothingness and the Worlds. They just wanted to find their lost friend.

That thought alone was something that always bugged him, much as he tried to ignore it. If they were Nobodies, those with no Hearts, why was it that he and Saix joined the Organization for the sake of a lost friend?

Is that not an action driven by emotion?

Did they truly not have Hearts?

Or did they simply do it off the memory they had of her?

He shook his head.

These thoughts did little in helping him in this case.

And then he froze.

'She… is she down there too?' He internally asked himself. 'This is my memory, right? She has to be down there. She has to.'

The thought alone threatened to overwhelm him when he recalled the floor they went through not a short while ago.

The memory of Feros and with it, seeing old friends and one they had lost.

'No…' Axel mentally told himself. 'No, seeing one lost friend is enough for today… Kingdom Hearts knows how many times I'll have to see Shepard again in this damned Castle. Last thing I need is more bad memories. Seen enough already.'

With a shake of his head, he coughed into his hand, getting his friends to look over at him.

"C'mon, exit is this way." He casually said, thumbing behind him.

None in the group questioned Axel as he led him through the pathway of this memory. As much as the others wish to observe the surroundings, they kept up with the tall redhead.

"You know, going through this place, I would've thought we'd be fighting some Heartless at some point." Commented Goofy before letting out a small laugh. "Hyuck, it's a literal breeze."

"Well… that's 'cause it wasn't always like this." Axel quietly said.

"Huh?" Donald squawked. "What does that mean?"

"In my time, before I became a Nobody, there were threats, yes, but Heartless were a rarity, a myth to some even." The surprise by all was evident for him to see.

"A time without the Heartless…" Sora muttered, almost not believing in such a thing.

"Whatever Heartless did show up, we had our defense force. This whole World lived in blissful ignorance of them. Yet they too failed when our World fell."

"So they came after you fell?" Riku surmised.

Axel nodded, rubbing his chin. "I never was as smart as most of the other guys in the Organization but if I were to hazard a guess, Hollow Bastion was among the first Worlds to fall to the Heartless. It's probably why it became such a fortress for them. That and Ansem's insane experiments probably were no help. Were likely, no, definitely the cause of them coming here and taking it over."

"Urgh." Sora grumbled aloud. "All this talk of what was before, after, Ansem, the Heartless, the Organization and all just makes my head feel like a tornado going through it."

"Normally I'd call you an idiot but can't deny you being right." Riku said with a shake of his head. "Every time we learn something new, there can't be one or two new questions but a hundred, bare minimum."

"Do you think we'll find out anything at the end of all this?" Xion murmured, unsure if she should even ask such a thing.

"Well, we probably will." Axel said with a shrug. "Just be ready to write down all the new questions that come with it."

"I think we just have to accept that by this point." Goofy said, the team all murmuring in agreement.

"Yeah, let's get goin' already." Roxas said. "This place is starting to bug me."

Hearing no arguments from the rest of the group, they soon made it out of the memory World of Axel's version of Hollow Bastion, moving onto the next floor.

AN

Back again with this one, not as long a gap as last time.

Still, we got a lot done and way more to do.

Getting through this arc has been… well, it's hard to describe it being a breeze since we take such breaks between each chapter but the funny thing is, whenever me and Jebest hop on a new chapter, we kill it in like two-three days to a week at most.

This is a story of two franchises the two of us understand on a microscopic level so when doing a chapter, we just go through it with a lot more speed cause each character, each scene, each everything really has been planned, both on doc and in our minds cause this, when we planned it out, it was the most in sync Jeb and I ever were really.

Ok, exaggerating on everything being planned cause there's always room for more additions, takeaways and edits but this is a story the two of us just fundamentally understand what we want and how we're gonna do it.

Honestly, we maybe, not sure yet, but maybe this will be the first story Jeb and I complete. Even before Infinite Wars and Age of Remnant. But the future is full of uncertainties and surprises.

Still, thanks for always being so patient so stay tuned for more.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.