Guest: This soon enough? :)

Supersonicfan7: Thanks! I'll try to keep at it!

The Keeper of Worlds: Thanks! I'll try to include as much as I can without overwhelming everyone with detail! :)

Chapter 3

Xion glanced over at the blonde-haired boy sitting beside her. They had made it to the place where the exam was going to take place, the size of the room surprising the black-haired girl, even though they were a bit late. Two older teens stood farther away from them, in front of where three thrones sat.

"See, those are my friends!" Ven stated excitedly, pointing to one each in turn. "Aqua and Terra!"

The black-haired girl nodded, a smile on her face as she glanced at the two teens. Dark blue hair that trailed just past 'Aqua's' chin along with an outfit consisting mostly of blue hues. While Ventus' other friend, 'Terra', wore mostly earthy tones. They had yet to notice that the two had arrived, that or they were really into the ceremony and weren't allowed to look their way. Flashes of what she thought might be memories appeared in her mind, vanishing a moment later, but through them she thought she recognized the two people. From what Ventus- despite his allowing her to call him Ven, she found the action strange- had said about how they found her, the two older teens had been the ones who carried her to the room.

"Friends… do you think… I could be a friend too?" The words that she had said to Roxas back when they had just recently met crossed her mind, causing the young girl to glance away from the two. To keep herself occupied, the Nobody glanced once more around the large enclosure. The stained glass that adorned the various windows still caused something akin to awe from the young girl, something that she had only seen at the Beast's Castle when she was going on missions for the Organization…

I wonder what world we are on...? The thought crossed her mind before she realized that she thought 'we' not just her. She glanced over at the blonde next to her, ignoring most of what the older man was saying to the participants. It wasn't much of a stretch for her to think that he was Roxas, but just the similarity caused her pain…

No… not pain. I don't have a heart to feel pain with… She told herself, remembering briefly what Axel had told them about Nobodies. The fact that they were just 'acting' based on previous memories that allowed them to pretend they had hearts. But my memories… they aren't mine… they're Sora's…

"Hey… are you ok?" The question from Ven caused her to break out of her thoughts, as she glanced over to see the worried look in his eyes. She nodded slowly, a small smile forming on her face.

"Just… thinking is all…" She broke off as he nodded, a slightly confused look on his face as he continued to stare at her, as if he didn't completely believe her.

"Ok… it's just that you look like you're in pain…" He glanced back at his friends before back over to Xion, his brow creasing as he shifted. "Maybe bringing you here wasn't the best idea…" He offered her his hand as he stood up. She stared at him, glancing back at his two friends.

"But your friends…"

"It's fine. They'll understand." She nodded, getting ready to take his hand and allow him to help her up but stopped when she felt a familiar shift in the air.

"Then let the examination begin!"

With that sentence, orbs of light appeared around the center of the room, causing Xion to go on guard.

What?

"Whoops… looks like it's begun…" She glanced over at Ventus, seeing the sheepish look on his face. She became puzzled when she noticed how relaxed he was, not the slightest bit on guard. Was this a normal occurrence in this world?

"What's-?" Xion began to ask but stopped short when she glanced at Ventus' friends' hands, her face going pale with shock.

Keyblades?! The design wasn't the same as her and Roxas' keyblades, but the face remained that they were in fact, that same weapon. Her mind began to race with questions that went unanswered. How was it that others beside Roxas and her could use Keyblades? The Organization had said that they were special… the only ones who could capture hearts but if there were others then…?

"Xion?" A hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts, causing her to jump lightly. The worried look on the other teen's face was more pronounced now, as she stared back and forth between her new friend and his. "Maybe you should sit down? You don't look so good…"

"How is it that they have Keyblades?!" The question came out of her quickly, her panicked look increasing as she watched them attack the orbs of light, oblivious to the two's current situation. Backing up, causing the blonde's hand to drop from her shoulder, she hit a pillar behind them. She couldn't stop the words that tumbled out next in her panic. "Roxas, you and I are the only ones who are supposed to be able to wield them! The Organization said that we were special! If they find out that there are more-!"

"Xion calm down! It's fine-!" The sixteen year old cut off before suddenly tackling Xion to the ground the next moment. "Look out!"

Xion let out a gasp as her body roughly hit the ground, Ven's body crashing down onto hers as he let out a grunt. In the corner of her vision, she could see the orbs take on a darker hue, some of them coming at the two younger teens.

"Ven!" Two voices she didn't know called out the name of the younger boy. Causing him to glance up at his two friends, before back down at her.

"We're fine!"

'We"? The word caused her to realize that despite his friends' concern for his own safety that he had included her too…

"Sorry. Are you ok?" She nodded at his question, watching as he suddenly lept up, a flash of light causing a Keyblade to appear in his hand as well. It wasn't the Kingdom Key that she had been so used to seeing Roxas wield, another stark reminder that this wasn't her friend. "I'll try to explain later, ok?"

She merely nodded in shock, watching as he too, charged at the orbs coming at them, trying to deflect them so that they couldn't reach the girl. Each orb was covered in a veil of Darkness, the light within barely shining through.

Could it be the Heartless…? That thought alone caused the girl to attempt to get up. She let out a small gasp as pain lanced through her chest, glancing down at her hand to see some blood seeping through her coat once more. She took a deep breath before using the wall to brace herself as she stood up. No time to be resting…

Casting a quick cure spell, shaking off the dizzy spell that hit her as she did, she got into her natural fighting stance. She watched the orbs' movements as they focused less of Aqua and Terra and more on the two youngest in the room. The blonde was clearly putting up a good defense, but Xion knew that it would only be a matter of time before one slipped past him and came towards her.

And when it does… She glanced down at her hand, praying that the Keyblade would answer her call once more. She could distantly feel its presence, but that didn't guarantee that it would appear when she called. Her gaze wandered towards the two older occupants of the room. The man with black hair and white robes looked ready to leap to the younger students help if they needed it but the oldest man sitting in the chair was merely watching with interest. His gaze particularly drawn to where her and Ven were…

What's he so interested in…? The question was left unanswered as she noticed one of the orbs slip past Ven's guard. Figuring that now was her chance, she rushed towards it, dashing just past the orb before turning back towards it. She outstretched her hand, seeking the familiar weapon. She could feel the familiar warmth and glanced over to see light gathering in the shape of the weapon. Figuring that it would appear in a moment, she rushed back towards the orb, swinging her arms in a slashing arc. What confused her though was the lack of impact on the 'enemy' causing her to glance back at her hands, watching as the light sputtered and faded, not fully forming her Keyblade.

"Xion!" Her gaze turned towards Ventus, his enemy vanishing into nothing as he rushed towards her. She readied a fire spell, figuring that if she didn't have her Keyblade, that she could at least fall back on her magic. What neither of them anticipated was what the other was going to do. Xion released a fire spell at the enemy at the same time that Ven released a wind spell. While the ensuing explosion did more than enough damage to destroy the orb, Xion was caught unprepared, thrown back into the pillar, being knocked out before she even hit the ground.

So… another chapter? :) I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep this up though since I didn't realize how hard it would be to write 'What Purpose?' at the same time as 'A Twist in Time'. The situations are almost parallel with each other, since both Xion and Ephemera are both in the Birth by Sleep Timeline, although things go quite different for each of them. They are also almost exact opposites in the way they react to situations though. Still, it is quite fun to write two different situations in the same timeline. :) Hopefully you all still enjoyed it despite it being a shorter one this time!

-AnimeWolfGirl16