Thought I'd try something new. Well, actually, it's not really that new because I've had it in my head for a very long time, but whatever. I'm hoping that this will be good, because my pathetic attempts at other things will be nothing like this. So read, enjoy (or not) and review.

This takes place before Kingdom Hearts 1 in the World That Never Was.

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Verlorene Liebe

It was dark. It was always dark when you were an unknown. Zexion hated the darkness, even though that was part of what he was. He was a being between the light and darkness- a nobody. He couldn't remember what it was like to be alive. He couldn't remember the feeling of wind that blew across his face or the refreshing feeling you got when you jumped into the ocean on a hot day. Hell, he couldn't even remember his own name.

He walked along the deserted streets of Deep Dive City, not feeling the cold rain that fell like bullets shot from the clouds. It always rained here, every single day. There had not been a single day without rain since he first got here two years ago. He was one of six beings without hearts that resided here. Their leader, Xemnas, believed that there were more specimens out there like them, and every day they all searched a special part of Deep Dive, in hopes of finding something like them lying on the deserted streets. After all, that was where all of them were found.

Each one of them had to be taught how to talk and fight again once they arrived in this place. None of them had remembered anything about their past. All they could tell you was their old name scrambled up with an added 'x' in it. And then that would be their new name. Zexion highly doubted that anyone would find another unknown on the street somewhere. In his beliefs, the six of them were one of a kind.

Zexion's area for searching today was the area around Memory Skyscraper. There was nothing around here, as usual, and he decided that he should go back to his room and give up for the day. But just as soon as he opened up a portal to head back, he heard a soft wail behind him. Dismissing the portal, he went in the direction of where he heard it. A second, louder wail came from that direction, making Zexion walk faster in curiosity. Just as he turned the corner, he saw a man huddled up behind a crashed semi-truck. He was only wearing a pair of jeans and the rest of his body was a pale white.

His eyes were the same neon orange color as Xemnas's, and his hair was an electric blue. It was spiked slightly on top and then as it went down it curved straight in the shape of the man's neck. He looked oddly feminine to Zexion, but he could tell that this nobody was male. His face was smoother than most, except for the fact that there was an X-shaped scar in between both of his eyes. What intrigued him the most was that his ears were pointed like an elf's, with one pearl earring on the right ear.

'Well I'll be damned. Xemnas was right.'

Zexion slowly walked over to this strange new being, extending a hand towards it. The man dejected his offer and scuttled more over to the wall, curling himself tighter into a ball. Maybe if he tried talking to him it would help.

"It's okay," said Zexion calmly. "I'm only here to help. I won't hurt you."

The blue-haired man tucked his head in between his legs and hid himself from Zexion, as if he was afraid. Of what, Zexion had no idea.

"Grab my hand," said Zexion, extending his arm towards him again. This time he walked a little closer to him. The man still scooted away, frightened.

'I'd better have Xemnas take a look at this,' thought Zexion as he summoned a portal around the man that lead to Xemnas's room. Zexion followed shortly after by summoning a portal of his own.

He was glad to see that the elf had made it to Xemnas's room with him, and he saw Xemnas get up from his desk and walk over to him.

"What is this?" he asked.

"I believe this is another nobody," said Zexion. "I found him by Memory Skyscraper. I thought that you might like to see him and evaluate him."

"He is quite interesting," said Xemnas, going over to put a hand on the man's shoulder, who immediately swatted it off defensively. "Has he said anything yet?"

"No. He only whimpered a few times."

Xemnas seemed to contemplate on this as he stared down at the man that looked so much like him. Finally he spoke up.

"Interesting. I might run a few tests on him. Thank you, Zexion."

"You're welcome, sir. Does this mean I get tomorrow off?"

Xemnas turned his gaze towards Zexion.

"Of course," he said. "Now go get some rest. I want you to be ready to help me with him if I need you."

"Yes sir."

Zexion summoned a portal and stepped inside it, watching Xemnas try to soothe the elf.

'Maybe there are more out there…'

He walked forward more and wound up in his room, which was just as dark as the outside. Grateful for the day off, he collapsed onto his bed and sunk into his mattress, actually smiling for once. The same thought ran through his head, pulling him into the realm of the sleeping.

'Maybe there are more out there…'

And then he fell asleep, more content than he had been in over two years.

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Vexen wandered around the laboratory, searching for his test results from last week from the experiment with the Dusk. Xaldin was searching too, but it seemed that their efforts were hopeless.

"Where the hell are those papers?" asked Xaldin aloud, opening up the drawers in Vexen's desk. "I just saw them yesterday!"

"I really wish I could tell you," commented Vexen. "If we don't find them, that means we've lost nearly one month's full of research down the drain."

Vexen slammed his fist onto the counter he was looming over in frustration.

'All that data is lost!'

Suddenly Xemnas teleported into the lab, catching both Vexen and Xaldin by surprise. It was then that they both noticed that he was carrying what looked like a human.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Xaldin.

"I believe so," answered Xemnas, setting the unknown down onto the examination table and strapping the man down with the iron shackles attached to it. "I need you to run some tests on him."

Vexen walked over to the table and looked at the man, who was now sleeping.

"He looks quite strong," said Vexen, resting his hand on the elf's shoulder and looking at the rippling, lean muscles that ran across the man's chest. Xemnas immediately lifted Vexen's hand off with his own.

"Don't touch him," he ordered. "He can get violent with human contact."

He pulled down the collar of his robe to reveal a bite mark, freshly dripping with blood. Vexen and Xaldin looked at it with fear.

"I only grabbed his hand and he did this to me," said Xemnas. "So consider it a warning. Be careful with this one."

"Don't worry," said Xaldin. "We will. How did you get him asleep?"

"Sedative," answered Xemnas.

"That's what I figured," said Xaldin. "We'll run some tests, then and find out if he belongs here."

"Good. This one seems quite special."

"Aren't we all?" asked Vexen, getting a few chuckles out of Xaldin and Xemnas.

Just as Xemnas was about to leave, Xaldin spoke up again.

"I have just one question," asked Xaldin. "Where was he found?"

"Memory Skyscraper, behind a crashed semi-truck," answered Xemnas. "Zexion said he was curled up in a dark corner, next to some shattered glass. He said he was scared to death."

"Zexion found him?" asked Vexen, looking back at the now peaceful face of the unknown, who probably didn't even know he was strapped down to a table to be experimented on.

"Yes," said Xemnas. "Why?"

"Just wondering," said Vexen, taking his tools out to begin the experiment. "I want to congratulate him sometime."

Vexen took a long needle filled with a considerable amount of novacaine and injected it into the man's left arm, which twitched slightly and soon fell limp.

"We'll tell you what results we get," said Xaldin, putting on a pair of latex gloves.

"Thank you," said Xemnas. "It's hard to believe that I once did this to you two."

Vexen and Xaldin looked at each other with as Xemnas opened a portal and stepped through it, leaving them alone with the new nobody.

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Was it really necessary to sleep if you couldn't get tired?

Zexion awoke to the sound of the black curtains swishing back and forth across his large French windows. The light of Kingdom Hearts cast an eerie glow across the room, causing the shadows of the curtains to become dark and foreboding, despite the fact that they were transparent. Zexion's eyes were still heavy from his nap, and he opened them with a groan of disgruntlement. He smiled as he gazed at the omniscient shape of Kingdom Hearts, giving him hope that at least maybe one day he would become a whole being again. He always wondered how the heart-shaped moon could glow in so many different colors. Sometimes a pink light surrounded it, making it radiate in a rose light as it was cast down upon the city. But most of the times it was outlined in a beautiful sky blue color, almost creating an artificial sky as one looked up at it.

The Shadow Walking Tactician wondered how long he had been sleeping. Since nobody could tell the time here, it was hard to keep track of it. He slowly hauled himself up, yawning and stretching as he did so. He started to wonder about the unknown he found on the street. Had he learned how to speak yet or was he totally useless? Wanting to find it out almost immediately, he summoned up a portal that lead to the laboratory, which was where he assumed Xemnas took the blue-haired man. Cracking his neck, he stepped through it, finding himself alone in the lab with the man lying down on a cot, strapped down with metal shackles. Having some curiosity, he walked over to him and looked down at his long, peaceful face. He was fast asleep, much to his disliking. He wanted to try and talk to the man again, just to see if he wasn't scared of him anymore.

Slowly he took the glove off of his left hand and placed it underneath the man's jaw, stroking his cheek with his thumb. It was as smooth as the man's milky skin. He saw the man's lips curl up in a small smile as Zexion calmed him like this. But suddenly the man groaned and his eyes burst open, making Zexion jump back, afraid.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I won't hurt you. I was only trying to enlighten your current situation."

The man seemed to understand this and gave him a weak smile. His muscles, which were tensed, relaxed and fell down onto the metal cot. Zexion smiled as he saw this. It meant the man was getting used to other people around him. Or maybe he was just getting used to him…

Zexion slowly walked over to the man once more and bent over him, noting that the man didn't fidget at all. Neon orange eyes looked into his navy blue eyes, probably asking a million questions that raced inside his mind as he wondered what was going on. Zexion stared deeper into his bright orange ones, taking his hand and running his middle and pointer fingers along the crease of his neck, directly below his jaw. The man seemed okay with this. The man whimpered a little because he was trying to get his hand free of the metal shackle that was holding it down to the bed.

'He wants to touch me back,' thought Zexion. 'It wouldn't hurt if I let that hand go. Or maybe he's being tricky and wanting me to release him?'

Zexion kept his eyes locked on the man's delicate face and noticed that his features were quite different from when he had first seen him. His eyes had lost some of their frightening intensity and were a cooler shade of orange now. His body looked extremely relaxed, even for being strapped down onto a bed, and his once frightened grimace had turned into an almost loving smile.

'I guess he's toned down a bit,' Zexion finally concluded. 'I don't think he'll hurt me if I let only one hand go.'

Zexion looked around for the keys and saw them on the counter next to him. Picking up each cool piece of metal, he started trying every one of them on that shackle, finally breaking it open after trying seven times. He saw the man smile at him, like a silent thank you, and lifted his hand up to touch his face. At first, Zexion thought it was a bit intrusive, but then he started enjoying another person's touch against him. The marble skin of this man's hand felt good as it stroked curiously against the smooth surface of Zexion's cheek. For some reason, he was strangely attracted to this man.

He had never thought about his sexual orientation, but he supposed that if he was attracted to this man, he was probably a homosexual. Or maybe it was the man's feminine features that made him think of the new unknown as more of a woman than a man. Feeling a bit more comfortable, he bent down further and brushed his lips against his, feeling the somewhat chapped skin tickle the delicate area of his lips. Surprisingly, the man didn't fidget or move. It was like he was actually enjoying this. But all of a sudden, a smell entered his nostrils. It was the smell of Xemnas, and he was coming this way.

Quickly he let go of the elf lying on the table and put his hand back into the iron shackle, locking it up as fast as he could. The man seemed confused about this and gave him an innocent "What's going on?" look. Zexion couldn't help but smile as he saw this. It actually looked cute. He changed his expression to one of compassion to try and tell the man that nothing bad was going to happen.

All of a sudden he heard the familiar sound of a portal being opened and out popped Xemnas, who walked over to him. Xemnas stood and looked down at the blue-haired man in a loving way, like a father would look at his son.

"Has he made any progress?" he asked.

"Well, I think he's starting to understand what people say," answered Zexion. "But so far he hasn't said a word."

The man grunted as if he had understood that they were talking about him. Xemnas had refocused his attention to the new unknown after this small grunt, and soon realized that he had stopped in mid sentence and was keeping the conversation silent for a while.

"I see," he continued on slowly. "Have you tried asking him what his name is yet?"

"No, sir. I think it would be best if we just let him mature on his own time."

Xemnas looked at Zexion.

"I don't think we'll have the time to do that," he said. Zexion could feel those orange eyes look straight into his skull. He turned and looked at Xemnas.

"Why won't we, sir?" he asked. He didn't want to rush this nobody. It would cause too much confusion for him.

"Because Kingdom Hearts doesn't wait," answered Xemnas, in a dream-like tone. "Don't you want to be real again, Zexion?"

"Yes, sir. It's just that this unknown seems very……special to me. I don't want him ending up confused because we rushed his training."

Xemnas eyed the elf that was lying on the table. His eyes were still open, and somehow, it seemed like he knew exactly what they were saying. It seemed that he knew they were talking about him. Xemnas sighed and thought about what Zexion had said.

'Maybe he really is that special. After all, he seems very smart, and he does have a muscular sort of build. He might be a good fighter.'

"Zexion, have I ever told you the story about when I found you?"

That was rather off subject.

"Um….no sir," was his quiet reply. "Is it important?"

"Yes. When I found you, you reminded me of this man here. You were a quick learner, very smart, and you looked somewhat strong. In fact, you matured much faster than any of your comrades. But still, I thought that if I had taught you faster, you still would've learned as much as you know now, and you could've been number two in the Organization."

"But I would be too weak to be number two," said Zexion.

"No, you wouldn't. You may be weak when it comes to fighting, but you are probably the strongest out of all of us. Your mind is what makes you strong, Zexion. Out of all of the people here, you think about things the most. You think about the consequences of your actions and also you think about the smartest way to do things, whether it would take longer or not. For that, I admire you."

Zexion had no idea anybody liked him that much.

"Thank you, sir. Nobody has ever talked about me like that before."

Xemnas smiled and put an arm around his shoulder.

"That's because they are jealous," he whispered into his ear. "And plus, they don't know you like I know you."

Zexion smiled at this comment. He remembered when Xemnas took him in under his wing and taught him everything he knew. Xemnas never allowed anyone to go near him while he was teaching, and only for a very special reason. While he was trying to get Zexion to tell him (or demonstrate for him) his abilities, Zexion did something quite extraordinary and nearly killed him. Only Xemnas knew what this was, however, and everybody else in the Organization thought that Zexion was a pathetic little wimp that couldn't kill a shadow if he wanted to. But they were so terribly wrong. They just didn't know what he could do….yet. Warping his mind back to his current conversation, he gave Xemnas a reply.

"I know, Xemnas," he said, looking into his orange eyes. "I know."

With that said, Xemnas slipped his arm off of Zexion's shoulder and walked over to a newly summoned portal. Zexion turned back around to the elf, who had fallen asleep during their discussion. He was somewhat disappointed, but he knew that he needed his sleep and wouldn't disturb him. He still smelled Xemnas in the room. He turned back around to see that Xemnas was still gazing at him.

"I knew you smelled that I was still here," he said almost lovingly. This caused Zexion to smile a little. "I want you to meet me in my room after about an hour has passed in here. For now, just work with this new nobody and see if anything happens."

"Will do, sir," answered Zexion quickly.

He turned around once more, but he heard Xemnas pipe up once again.

"By the way, Zexion…."

He turned around.

"My name is Xemnas, not 'sir'."

Zexion's cheeks turned slightly pink, and he had no idea why.

"I'll remember that," he replied.

Xemnas stepped into the portal and left Zexion alone once again with the new unknown.

Zexion just sat back and watched the blue-haired beauty's chest fall up and down as he breathed. Zexion smiled and closed his eyes.

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An hour had passed since Zexion had fallen asleep. He had awoken to the whines of the man on the bed, who was apparently trying to get out of his captivity. Zexion quickly got up from the floor where he had fallen over and gone to sleep and went over to him, stroking his face to try and calm him down.

"It's okay," he whispered. The man started to take deeper breaths and he eventually calmed down. Zexion bent down and hugged him.

He saw him slowly drift to sleep again as his arms unwrapped themselves from his body. Zexion looked down at him and smiled, thinking about what it would be like to kiss him again.

'He seems so peaceful,' he thought. 'I think it would be okay if I left him alone while I went to see Xemnas.'

He kissed the sleeping man on the head as gently as he could, as if not to wake him. The man's lips curled up at the edges and formed a smile. Zexion looked back with admiration once more and then stepped into a newly summoned portal that lead to Xemnas's room.

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Xemnas was writing out reports when he heard the familiar sound of a portal opening. Feeling the darkness that emanated from it, he noticed that it came from behind him. Turning around, he saw Zexion step out of the portal, which had just diminished. He motioned for the Cloaked Schemer to sit down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Zexion did as he was told and sat down, waiting for his Superior to talk.

"Has he made any progress?" he asked.

"No, sir-I mean Xemnas," answered Zexion. "He's sleeping right now."

"Hmmm. I see. I bet you were sleeping too, right?"

"Yes, I was. How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

"Oh. I figured as much."

The room was silent for a while. Zexion was starting to wonder why he was really summoned here.

"Do you like the new nobody?" Zexion asked suddenly.

Xemnas looked directly at him and answered.

"Why do you ask?" he asked.

Zexion looked straight into his eyes.

"I was just wondering," he answered. "I mean, after all, he is going to be in your Organization."

"How do you know that?" he asked suspiciously.

"I've foreseen it," he answered simply.

Xemnas nodded. He knew Zexion was capable of having visions.

"Do you like him?" Xemnas asked. His gaze still wasn't broken from the other man's.

"Uh…..yes, I do," answered Zexion after a while. He saw Xemnas crack a smile.

'He knows…'

Xemnas chuckled to himself as he saw number Six's cheeks flush into a scarlet red. He knew how Zexion felt about this new Nobody – he had seen it in his eyes. If there was one thing that gave away Zexion's feelings, it was his startling blue eyes. Somehow, Xemnas had always been able to tell what Zexion felt by simply looking into his soft navy blue eyes. Everything else that was visible on his body never gave away anything. Only his eyes would do that trick. He saw Zexion staring at him and saw that his cheeks were still red, obviously embarrassed about this whole situation.

Xemnas leaned forward in his chair and looked at him back, noticing how he didn't flinch or move when he did this. All of the other Organization members would do this whenever Xemnas stared long enough.

"You are dismissed," he finally said, waving a hand toward the door.

"That's all you wanted me for?" asked Zexion.

"Yes," answered Xemnas. "Now go take your day off before I change my mind about it."

Zexion got up as quickly as he could and walked over to the door. He didn't feel like teleporting.

"Thank you very much, Xemnas," he said courteously. "If you ever need me to help with the new unknown, you just call."

"Absolutely," he answered, smiling as he thought of why Zexion was so eager to help out.

Zexion closed the door and headed to his room, anticipating another lovely nap.

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Well, that's the first chapter. I hope it didn't suck as much as I'd thought, but you never know.

Please review! I'll give you a cuddly Zexion plushie!