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In the shadows stood two figures. The taller, older of the two had the hood of his cloak over his head, but a few peeks of fire red could be seen, even in the dim light. His green eyes flashed, making the red beneath them stand out even more, and there was a grin of such exhiliration and recklessness on his face, quite apart from his usual uncaring smirk, that anybody who knew him might have been fooled.

The other figure's blonde spikes of hair were visible even under the hood, and his deep blue eyes seemed thoughtful, as always. But his lips were twisted into such a grin that quite betrayed his excitement, which was just as much as his red-haired best friend.

Everything about them was different on the outside; hair, blonde versus red, eyes, angry green into drowning blue, even their height. Except for one thing, which was the identical expressions on their face, and made you think that if you could see beneath those different exteriors, you would see the exact same thing. If you could see inside their hearts (even though they had none), they would be twins.

"Ready?" whispered Axel, his gloved hands clasped together eagerly.

"Yeah," replied Roxas, grinning even more widely, his fingers twitching to summon his Keyblades. "Let's do it."

Stealthily, the two crept closer to the door. They could hear the Superior droning on in one of his many lectures about hearts, Kingdom Hearts, hearts, darkness, hearts, nothingness, and not to forget his favorite subject, hearts. The senior members were all gathered in this room, they knew, as tall Axel peered out from the small window. Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, and Saix, all of their favorite victims. Demyx was too caught up in his music to pay attention to anything; Luxord in his games; Marluxia in his gardening, and let's just say that messing with Larxene does not increase your life expectancy, but the senior members (not necessarily older, as in the case of Zexion) were definitely fun.

Operation False Alarm was a go.

Axel summoned his chakrams, and Roxas his Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The redhead flung his weapons into the room as Roxas opened the door and began hitting the walls with the Keyblades. The plan so far was going perfectly.

Xemnas froze in the midst of his lecture. Xigbar leaped from his chair, ready to assault the intruders. Xaldin's lances whirled around him, still seated, searching for a target. Vexen let out a high shout, jumped down, and raised his shield, while Lexaeus heaved his enormous tomahawk across the room, where it buried itself dangerously near Roxas's hooded head. Zexion remained in his chair, his lexicon resting gently on his lap.

Axel teleported to the other side and began beating the wall with his chakrams as though he was struggling to enter. The members were starting to turn very pale; never had the Castle that Never Was been assaulted.

Now Roxas dug into his cloak for the "borrowed" spare kunai that he'd sneaked out of Larxene's room while Axel distracted her. If it placed the blame on her, so be it. He tossed them rapidly, if clumsily, towards Vexen, who raised his shield confidently and blocked the blow, although his eyes were wide.

Axel teleported again, near Vexen's chair, and began hitting it with the chakrams. As soon as the other members turned, he vanished over to the chair that Luxord usually occupied, and then (this was risky) right behind Xemnas, where his gloved hand reached out (without the chakram) and grabbed at the air. Zexion disappeared, and began trying to follow Axel around the room.

This could mean trouble.

Roxas pulled out the rest of the kunai, threw them in every direction, and then signaled to Axel, who rejoined his best friend and partner in crime and they left the meeting room in chaos.

They grinned at each other as the shocked yells of the members reached their ears.

"They'll never know what hit them," muttered Axel. And, of course, he's right. Because who would think that the twins, so very different on the outside, would be just alike on the inside?

And as Larxene screams for her kunai and they break into a run, the trick is finished. And they run and run and run...

But it was worth it, think the twins, worth it, because this is teamwork, and this is what being a friend, a best friend, an inside twin, is all about.