It was dark…so dark I thought I might drown in it. I felt like I was losing myself in that darkness, being carried away by the waves that dragged me further and further past the point of no return. But I remember feeling something… something... What was it?

Oh, it's light.

The boy's eyes fluttered open to a bright room. Everything was white but the figure standing in front of him, dressed down in a black coat. He was leaned over him, his stark green eyes piercing down into his, as if he had just been waiting for him to wake up.

"Rise and shine, Roxas! We're supposed to meet in the round room today." The man was casual with his speech to an almost flippant degree and talked fluidly through his hands as he hung over the boy on the bed who blinked a couple times before parting his lips to speak.

"Rox…as? Is that me?"

"So, you can speak now! I was beginning to wonder if your lights were ever gonna turn on." He tapped the side of his own skull with a leather-gloved finger. "Took you long enough too, I've been dragging your zombie-like carcass all over the place for the past week now. It's been a week right?" The man paused for a moment to really think about it. He threw one hand behind his head and ran it through his fiercely red lion's mane of hair.

"Time flows so differently here compared to out there. Don't know if we're goin' fast, or they're goin' slow." He stopped to think on it again which gave the boy time to come to his senses.

He felt like he'd been sleeping for an eternity, or at least a week like the man had said. Roxas… Was that his name? It sounded so unfamiliar, as if it wasn't his. He took a few deep breaths to wake himself up and rubbed his eyes open. His body felt light, but his head was too heavy—it hurt. The pounding sensation in his mind was enough to make him want to close his eyes for another seven days—maybe more.

"So you remember your name, how about mine?"

The boy thought to correct him—he didn't remember his name he was just told it now, but he was too tired to argue. His eyes slowly closed as he searched his mind for the man's name. Picturing his long face, his lean composure, his casual smile and attitude…it was on the tip of his tongue. He remembered.

"Lea…?" He mumbled, pulling out the first name that could come to his mind. His voice sounded so far away, as if that didn't belong to him either. The man looked at him wide eyed and stunned. Did he get it wrong? His stomach grumbled at the awkwardness, stiff in the air.

Just then another man came knocking on the door. He was older than the one he'd been talking to, with a wide eyes and long platinum hair.

"Axel! Quit lollygagging. Did you not hear? We're supposed to meet in the round room today. Hurry up, and bring Number XIII with you!" He snapped.

Number Thirteen? Did he mean him? He thought he was Roxas. He shut his eyes, the pain in his head growing.

"Anyway," Said the man with red hair. "Name's Axel, got it memorized?"

"Ax…ess"

"—el!"

"…el."

It'd taken a lot of energy still to pull him out of bed and guide him down the long blank hallways. Nearly every step made Roxas feel as though he was about to fall over.

The meeting room was as its name described—a small round room, blank white with chairs stuck to the walls at different degrees of height. There was no dicernable way to reach the ones that sat higher than anyone's head. Other people entered the room then, only to disappear into a corridor of darkness they summoned and appear seconds later on their chair, each one higher than the next. They looked impressive all the way up there and Roxas thought that if he had to get on one of those chairs he might fall off. As Roxas's vision scanned up to the tallest chair, a loud voice boomed overhead.

"Good tidings, friends. At last we have been joined by our long-awaited thirteenth member. The keyblade's chosen...Number XIII, Roxas."

Roxas's head wobbled on his shoulders. All this unfamiliarity, these new words that he had no clue what they meant. Keyblade? It…sounded familiar enough, though he was sure he'd never heard the word before. His hands grew clammy and it was then he looked down to notice he too was wearing a long black coat like the man. And it wasn't just them, each and every other person in this place dawned the uniform. The older man with the blond hair appeared before them then to steady Roxas's wobbling, but unhelpful as he appeared to be looming over both Roxas and Axel.

"My, my. If it isn't the keyblade's chosen, Number XIII." He said as though he'd not just seen them a moment before in Roxas's bedroom. He tried his hardest to look cool or better yet intimidating, but Axel took Roxas by the arm and shuffled passed him, triggering a lecture from the older man.

"How dare you ignore me!"

"Ah? Huh? What?"

"When you pass by one of your elders, you are to acknowledge them with a proper greeting! That's just common sense, don't you agree? Don't you?"

"Oh Vexen, hi…haven't seen you in a while. I thought you'd gotten yourself killed." Axel said snidely before walking off. Vexen grumbled something about Axel. Something about Axel thinking he was better than the rest because he'd been chosen to look after the keybearer. Roxas still didn't know what this meant and tugged on Axel's hand, wanting to ask him a question about it—a few actually.

"What is it, boy? Have to use the restroom?" Roxas shook his head, he was having a hard time getting out his words, even earlier the only sounds that came from his mouth were broken and slow. He raised his free hand and pointed to himself.

"Key…"

"Uhh…right. You're the keybearer. It's your job to—" More bodies shuffled into the room. There were three in total and they were even more obnoxious than Vexen.

"Yo! Mister babysitter!" Called one.

"Shut up," Axel called back.

"Ugh, this is so annoying." Groaned the second.

"Axel may look like a tough guy, but he's really a big softy," claimed last one. Axel grumbled then and picked Roxas up by the under arms and set him on the lowest of the chairs which was much larger than Roxas had thought. The chair swallowed his small body, his legs not long enough to even reach over its massive ledge, it almost made him look like a doll or a puppet of some sort.

"Now c'mon and sit down. Don't fall!" Axel said noticing Roxas's dizzy behavior. But Roxas thought maybe the chair was too big to fall from now.

"Key…" Roxas said again, and Axel nodded. Two figures across the room were murmuring to each other, their eyes fixed on Roxas.

"Number XIII still isn't fully conscious?"

"It's not surprising, but at least he's up now, not locked away in his room sleeping."

"This is actually the first time I've seen him…I didn't expect him to be so small."

"I believe it's just because you're built like a tank, Lexaeus."

"But he still is quite young, almost your age, Zexion."

"Almost. He seems a few years younger than I am."

"But it's not just his age that makes him different, I heard that unlike the rest of us…he doesn't have any memories from before he became a nobody."

"Oh? No wonder it's taken so long for him to wake up. And although he's walking around now, with no heart and no memories…it'll take some time before he learns how to react to anything. The rest of us are lucky enough to have just one of the two to guide us."

Lexaeus and Zexion made their way to their seats through a single corridor of darkness, they appeared on a couple of chairs next to each other, their eyes looking up towards the superior, the man in the highest chair, Number I, Xemnas. They waited calmly for him to begin his speech. When he did, he spoke clearly, slowly, but without hesitation. His voice boomed around so that all in the room could hear him.

"Good tidings friends. Today is a momentous day. I am pleased to announce that a new comrade has been chosen to wear the coat…."

The new member entered the room, their footsteps echoing off the walls as the room watched. They were smaller than Roxas, their face hidden with their coat's drawn hood.

"Number XIV… Let us all welcome one of the keyblade's chosen."

Roxas was one of the keyblade's chosen. Maybe this was why, even through the shadow of their hood, Roxas could tell that the new member was staring at him.

There were whispers of the fact that two new members had joined only moments apart, and how odd it was that they were both keyblade wielders, but no one seemed to mind much beyond the idea as gossip as this was more so something that was great for the organization.

Everyone clapped, their black gloves slapping together for the new member—everyone except for Roxas, who sat still in his chair. "Number XIII and Number XIV have been blessed with a great power, they are able to wield the keyblade. I'm sure you all know what this means for us…"

Roxas did not know what this meant, and through the cheering and the buzzing that was already sounding around in his head he lost track of what Xemnas was saying and sank into his thoughts.

The one thing Roxas did know was that in the seven days since his arrival, his name and the number thirteen were the only thing he had. Who the people around him were, what they wanted, or what they were trying to do, he had no idea…

"C'mon Roxas! Man, this was easier when you were asleep." Axel's voice calling for him snapped him back to. Roxas wanted to respond but the only thing he could do was let out an incoherent jumble of sounds. This prompted a sigh from his care-taker. "Weren't you listening to anything Master Xemnas said?" Roxas slowly but surely shook his head, bringing out another long sigh from Axel. "C'mon, I'll explain on the way."

"C'mon…" Roxas breathed, and Axel blushed realizing just how many times he'd said the phrase today. The boy felt uncomfortable, like someone was watching him, and he turned his head, meeting a pair of yellow eyes just before rounding the corner.

"One last time—your name is Roxas, the thirteenth member in the organization, so get it memorized."

"Key…"

"Yeah…right, you hold the power to the wield keyblade—which is mucho importante. You see, Organization XIII—that's us—are a group of nobodies—the better nobodies I might add, which means none of us have hearts, so none of us have feelings. But how do we behave like we have feelings you might ask? Good question! We're really acting out our emotions based on the memories we have from when we were human."

Axel paused after that and he tone reflected a more longing and serious one. Roxas supposed this was acting.

"Among all of us here in the Organization, there is just one thought that we all have in common. It's what brought us all here to this castle under Master Xemnas…and that is 'I want a heart'. With a heart, we'll finally be able to feel real again."

"Key…?"

"Yeah, you see the keyblade is the only thing that can release hearts. While the rest of us can fight off the monsters that steal hearts—the heartless—we can't free the hearts they hold… so they just keep coming back and coming back, and man, is it a pain." Axel ended his words with a long groan, breaking himself out of what seemed like a touchy topic. He returned to speaking with a bit of a swing in his tone.

"So that's where you and that new member come in. With those trusty keys of yours, we'll finally be able to free a bunch of hearts and they'll come together to complete Kingdom Hearts—the thing that's gonna give us hearts of our own. So with your key—your uh…Roxas, where's your key?"

"Key…"

"Yeah,where is it?"

"Key…"

To be honest, Roxas had no idea what he'd been talking about this entire time and he sure had no recollection of ever owning a 'key' of any sort. He pointed to himself again, shaking his head and muttering the word 'key'.

"You're like a broken record, aren't ya? Let's see if we can't get some help with that."

They spent most of the day wandering around, talking to other members. Roxas tried to get to know them but he just wasn't in the mood. The day started off as a blur but as it went on Roxas seemed to gather more understanding which was a relief to Axel who thought he was going to be a zombie for the rest of his life.

There seemed to be a total of thirteen members, hence the name, "Organization XIII," though there was a mention here and there about whether or not they'd have to change their name now that there were fourteen members, as that mysterious new member had joined earlier.

Towards the middle of their day there was man who'd stopped them to pass along orders. His voice was slow and careful, as though he was trying hard to hold back something. He was explaining something to Axel and though Roxas kept his eyes on the ground he could feel an unexplained tension in the air. It tugged at the back of his neck and soon he felt so uncomfortable he began to shift his eyes around, resting them on the small hooded figure in the corner of the room. How long had they been there?

"A mission!?" Cried Axel.

"Orders from The Superior. Besides, I can't have him standing around staring into space all the time."

"He's not staring off into space all that much now, Saïx. I'm introducing the other members to him. The kid just woke up. I know I wouldn't want to be thrown into a mission after just waking up."

"Good, because you will be going with him."

"What!? I just said I wouldn't want to—"

"Everyone else is busy, you're the only one left for the job."

"The only one, huh?" A faint strumming of an instrument was heard behind the three as Axel eyed Demyx, one of their members goofing off with his music.

"Fine. C'mon, Roxas… huh? What's wrong?" Axel noticed Roxas staring at the figure in the corner. "You worried about the new kid?"

Axel tugged on Roxas's hand, trying to get him to follow but the boy stayed stood, facing the new member who swayed along to the tune of Demyx's sitar. Saïx's brow furrowed, studying Roxas and finding to where his gaze was resting. The corners of his nose stuck up and his voice shot out at the two of them.

"Get going!" Saïx growled.

"Hold on a sec," said Axel. "This is the first time Roxas has shown interest in anything. What was that name again?" He asked Saïx, nodding to the unassuming figure.

"Number fourteen, Xion." He answered. "Remember?"

"Right, I knew that. Got it memorized, Roxas? It's Xion. Now let's go!" Axel said as he dragged they boy through a corridor of darkness he had just summoned. It was just as they left through the portal that Saïx shook his head, knowing well that Axel hadn't paid attention to anything master Xemnas had said at the meeting this morning.

Both Roxas and Axel found themselves in an empty corridor, it was pale and moving in on itself, swirling like they were caught under a wave. The symbols of Nobodies floated through currents around them. Axel had to squint for a moment, as he felt around the nothingness with his hand out in front of him. His other hand was wrapped tight around Roxas' arm. Saïx would have his head if the Organization's precious 'key' went missing under his watch, but Roxas didn't fidget in Axel's grip much to his relief as he began to mutter to himself.

"Now where is… I'm certain it was around here… Ah! Here we go."

The corridor warped around them, and a portal of darkness appeared. Roxas stared into the dark, unbeknownst to himself that a spark of something was igniting in the back of his eye. He couldn't seem to shake that new member from his head, their name hanging clearer in his head than his own—Xion. Where Roxas was first feeling blank and lost, he now felt pulled in several different directions like a stiff candy, somehow becoming more of what he should be the more his mind was stretched. Maybe that's what was causing all the headaches.

If he had a heart, it'd be beating so fast.

He thought he might rupture, but instead he just pulled apart father.

His head hurt.

"I can never really follow anything Xemnas says, y'know? Oh, excuse me, I meant Master Xemnas." Axel said, off in his own little world of complaint. He adjusted his grip on Roxas and pulled him through the dark portal and their surroundings shifted around them.

The stagnant air became cozy, the sky opened up around them and suddenly it was brighter than daytime. Melting sun dripped over the entire sky and its rays reached across the entire town, lighting every corner—twilight. Roxas's eyes glimmered at the glowing horizon, the puffy clouds out there distracting him from the thoughts that had just filled his mind.

The clouds rolled through the blazing sky, creating different distracting shapes that Axel seemed to pay no mind to. He was scoping out the area, looking for something or someone when he finally called out to Roxas.

"Listen up, Roxas. This is where it begins. The mission we have for you is to collect hearts."

"Hearts…?"

"First you'll need your keyblade."

Roxas's hands began to tingle with noise as the word keyblade ran throughout his mind and his grip became tight almost on cue with the word. It felt automatic. And then it was there. Its shiny silver shaft sparkled as it appeared in a burst of light, the handle a brilliant gold that rivaled regality and a keychain on the end that seemed to wink at him. They keyblade suited him, it felt like an extension of his own arm and so natural to hold, though he was sure this was the first time he'd ever seen the thing in his short week of a life.

"There ya go," said Axel. "Out of the whole organization, you and Xion are the only ones who can use one of those. That makes you pretty special."

Roxas face turned red at his last words and he scratched his head. Special? He wanted to shake his head with a bit of embarrassment. Axel saw this and began to laugh, placing a firm hand on the boy's back, nearly knocking him forward.

"Are you blushing? That's pretty good, when'd you learn to do that?"

Roxas's mouth fell open to answer Axel, but the two questions collided, crashing in his mindscape. His knees hurt as he suddenly hit the ground. His key clattered against the ground and his hands gripped tightly at his head, digging into his hair. Instead of any answer, Roxas groaned painfully.

"Hey what's going on? Are you okay?"

Two more questions he was asked… and Roxas struggled to answer, even in his mind. He felt terribly dizzy and he couldn't focus on anything other than the pounding sensation in his head, whether it was from the strain of him pulling on his own hair or something else... This day had been a struggle.

"Roxas!" Axel shouted. "Roxas, what wrong?"

Another question that he didn't understand the answer to. Axel kept calling his name.

"Roxas! Roxas!"

But he didn't feel like Roxas…certainly. It was on the tip of his tongue—his true name.

Roxas looked up at Axel, a blurry mess of worry and red hair. He was sure his eyes were still open, at least a little bit, but his vision started to grow dark in different places. He felt cold.

"Heartless!" Axel hissed. "They're everywhere!"

The sound of whipping flames and clashing metal filled the space they were in, echoing off the nearby towers and ringing back directly into Roxas's ears. Why was everything so familiar and yet so strange? He couldn't shake it…Axel, Xion, the keyblade, clashing metal, even those yellow eyes he'd seen back at the castle—he'd have sworn he'd seen them before. Before… Who was he before they told him he was Roxas. The only thing he didn't seem to find an echo in his mind to was his name. What was his name? He almost had it.

He heard Axel call him once more.

"Roxas, are you alright? I got rid of the heartless but they'll be back soon enough. Roxas? Can you hear me? Roxas!"

"…tus," he slurred out.

"What's that? Roxas, can you hear me?"

"…tus," even fainter this time.

"Do you… You remember, don't you?"

"My name, it's…"

Someone's words rang out in the back of his mind.

Do you remember?

It wasn't Axel's voice…

Why was everything so familiar?

It's all so strange…

He felt so sleepy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is where the story began to get written into a corner that ultimately led to important characters being ERASED from the fiction's arc and possibilities. From this point on is where I hope to make some major changes to the chapters I have in my backlog to bring something familiar and also strange to the fanfiction community, as quite as the Kingdom Hearts one may be these days—It's still my home and we're always right around the corner with something new to hang on to.