This is the author, talking about her story. You can ignore this if you want.

I told you last chapter that the prologue and the first chapter had little to no relation to each other. You will see that this is true.

These lovlies aren't mine. Many thanks to my fabulous cousin Taaya for prodding me into writing/posting this!

I'm actually kind of nervous about posting this. I hope you all like it! Please tell me what you think!

Chapter 1

The boy stared blankly at the rising sun as the dawn breeze ruffled his longish blue hair. He tugged his knees to his chest for just a tiny bit more warmth—the chilly pavement had sapped most of the heat from his eleven-year-old body. Absently, he wondered if he'd be able to find his way back home—it seemed unlikely, since he saw no familiar landmarks anywhere. He knew he shouldn't have run so far last night, but running was so fun that he'd completely lost any common sense he possessed.

He heard footsteps coming around the corner, most likely around five or six people, but ignored them. Probably just a group of friends coming home from a night on the town or something. He stared blankly at his knees, knowing that they'd just pass him by.

He was proven wrong on both counts when the footsteps paused just before him. He glanced up and saw a group of boys, the eldest around fourteen and the youngest maybe a year older than him.

One of them stepped forward. Though not the oldest of the group, he was clearly the leader. He had strangely white hair and amber eyes that matched the younger boy's own.

"I'm Xemnas. What are you doing out and about so late—or, rather, so early?" he asked.

The blue-haired boy met his gaze calmly. "I'm lost," he answered flatly.

Xemnas smiled. "Is that so?"

The blue-haired boy nodded mutely. He wasn't sure about this Xemnas person. He seemed friendly, but so did a lot of other people, including his current set of foster parents. Thinking of them, he wasn't so sure he wanted to find his way back home.

"In that case, would you like to come along with me and my friends? I assure you, we're quite friendly. What's your name, anyway?"

"It's Isa," the boy in question answered quietly. "And I don't particularly mind being lost. It's not like I have much of a place to return to." Why had he said so much?

Xemnas turned to his friends. "Does anyone have any objections to Isa here joining us?"

Head-shakes and blank stares all 'round. Xemnas turned back to Isa.

"Welcome, then…Saïx," he declared, holding out his hand. The newly-named boy took it and was pulled to his feet.

Saïx, recently Isa, stared at the group he was now apparently a part of. One by one, at their leader's command, the boys introduced themselves: Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion.

Saïx's mind flashed to his friend Lea, back at the foster home. "I have a friend," he began cautiously.

Xemnas turned to him. "And? Did you want to invite them to join us or something?"

Keeping his eyes fixed firmly on his leader's shoes, Saïx nodded.

"We don't need more people," Xigbar objected.

Xemnas shrugged. "We'll see. Number VII, is your friend useful?"

Saïx looked confused by the method of address.

"We're also called by numbers," Zexion explained. "For example, I'm Number VI. Xemnas is Number I. You're the seventh member to join our group, thus Number VII."

"I see. Yes, he is useful," Saïx answered. "He has a sort of…flare for lighting things on fire."

Vexen scoffed. "That's not useful, that's just destructive."

Xigbar shrugged. "It could be useful. Fire is very warm, after all."

"No duh." Xaldin rolled his eyes.

"Let's not bicker amongst ourselves," Xemnas soothed. "Number IV, sometimes useful and destructive are one and the same. Number II…don't state the obvious. Number III, there's no need to be sarcastic. Now, I am your leader, so I make all of the decisions, yes? And I have decided that we do need more people, and this friend of Number VII's sounds…interesting, if nothing else. Number VII, can you lead us there?"

"I'm afraid not, sir," Saïx answered. "As I said before, I'm lost. I seem to have gotten turned around somehow, and I have no recognition of this part of town. I apologise, sir. Perhaps if I saw a familiar landmark, I would be more able to locate my previous place of residence."

Xigbar muttered something uncomplimentary relating to long words and the people who used them. Saïx flashed him a death glare and a quiet growl, but backed down when Xemnas shot him a warning glance.

"That can be arranged," Xemnas said calmly, ignoring Xigbar's irritated mutterings. "Lexaeus knows this city like the back of his hand."

Lexaeus shrugged. "I'm a competent navigator," he admitted, "though I'll need a place to begin—or, rather, a destination."

"The park at the corner of 12th and Starstruck," Saïx answered immediately. He knew he'd be able to find his way from there. "Thank you," he added belatedly.

"It's no difficulty," Xemnas assured him. "Which way, Number V?"

Lexaeus closed his eyes briefly, then pointed. "That way."

XIII

The smell of smoke was detectable from the park, at least to Saïx's keen nose. He didn't mention it, thinking it was just another of Lea's pranks.

When the cloud of smoke became visible, still several blocks away from the house, Saïx started to worry. He broke into a run, not even particularly caring if the other boys followed or not.

When he arrived at the place where the house should be, he saw only a pile of charred rubble and ash. His eyes widened.

"Lea!" he called, running towards the wreckage as fast as his legs would carry him. "Lea!" He knew his friend was there—Lea's scent hung in the air, and there was very little of the coppery tang that meant blood.

"Isa?" a voice called faintly back. Lea's voice. "Is that you? Where were you this morning? Are you all right?"

"Yes, it's me, I was taking a walk, and I'm perfectly fine, Where are you?" Saïx responded.

"I'm stuck under this stupid board!" Lea called. "Just look for red hair. Got it memorised?"

"This is no time for your lame catchphrase!" Saïx yelled. "Now shut up a moment." He closed his eyes, trying to pinpoint Lea's location. Once he'd ascertained this, he opened his eyes, turned, and started picking his way over the ash-coated rubble. Eventually, e spotted a familiar spiky puff of red hair, poking out from under an enormous board. "Hang on a moment, Lea," he reassured him. "I'll just get this board off—" He hooked his small fingers under the edge of the board and pulled up with all the strength in his body—which wasn't much, admittedly, but it was enough to shift the board a few inches. He tugged on it again, causing it to shift another few inches. In this method, bit by bit, he managed to move the board enough for Lea to slide out from under it. Only then did Saïx remember about Xemnas and the others, and he glanced around in slight panic.

"Thanks, Isa," Lea said. "Hey, whatcha lookin' for?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing in particular," Saïx dismissed. "What on Earth did you do this time, to make the house explode like that?"

Lea's brow furrowed. "I'm…not entirely sure," he admitted. "I just…got really mad, and I blacked out. Next thing I knew, that board was squishing me. Where'd you go on that walk, anyway? You missed breakfast."

Saïx shrugged. "To steal your phrase, I'm not actually sure. I got lost, but I met some people and they helped me find my way back here." At the mention of breakfast, his stomach gurgled plaintively.

Lea laughed. "Hah, even the mighty Isa needs to eat, just like the rest of us mortals. So, those people you mentioned—they what you were lookin' for?"

Saïx ignored the snarky comment and simply answered Lea's question. "Yes, they are." He glanced back to look for them again, and spotted Xigbar approaching at a jog, trailing the rest of the group behind him.

"Oy! Saïx! The hell was up with that?" Xigbar yelled. "The Devil on your heels or something?"

"Don't be stupider than you can help, Xigbar," Xaldin ordered. "He was probably running from your ugly mug."

"Why, you—!" Xigbar began, going for Xaldin's throat. Lexaeus caught him by the collar and held him a few inches off the ground.

"Xigbar, don't kill Xaldin," Lexaeus ordered. "Xaldin, don't provoke Xigbar. Can't you two stop fighting for one second?"

Xigbar and Xaldin exchanged a glance. "No," they said in unison.

Zexion, who had caught up, sighed.

"Isa?" Lea muttered in an aside to his friend. "Would these…people be the ones who got you un-lost? And why the hell are they calling you Saïx?"

"Yes, these would be those people," Saïx answered. "They invited me to join their group and I accepted—their leader gave me that name."

Lea raised an eyebrow. "You just…joined? No questions asked? And you let them take your name from you?"

"They seemed like trustworthy people," Saïx protested. "And I have a good feeling about their leader."

Lea watched the chaos unfolding on the sidewalk—Vexen trying to kill Xigbar, Lexaeus holding them apart, Xemnas trying to get them to calm down, Xaldin snickering at Xigbar's plight, and Zexion ignoring it all—for a few seconds, then turned back to his friend. "I think your Isa-senses must be broken. There's no way these loonies are trustworthy."

"Well, whether you like it or not, I trust them," Saïx stated. "And I'm going with them. You can stay or come along, as you please, though I might remind you that your home is nothing more than ash, now. This group's leader has already offered you a place in their ranks—all you need do is say the word, and you can come along."

Lea considered the proposal, arms folded, brow furrowed, lip bitten. He hesitated. It was clear he was debating the pros and cons of either option internally. "Well," he said finally, "the people seem like loonies, but I don't really have anywhere else to go. And we promised each other we'd stick together forever, right?"

Saïx nodded.

"Let's just get one thing straight: No matter what weird crap they do to my name, we call each other Isa and Lea. Got it memorised?"

Saïx smiled, a rare sight. "Got it memorised. I'll go talk to the Superior."

XIII

Saïx and the newly-named Axel trailed behind the group as they made their way to the group's hideout. When they arrived at an abandoned warehouse, they stopped.

"Welcome to the Warehouse That Never Was But Will Hopefully Still Be Here Tomorrow," Xemnas announced. "Sometimes also known as Home. Numbers VII and VIII, follow me—there's some space for you to stay. Everyone else, do as you please without killing each other or destroying anything."

"Yes, sir," Xigbar muttered sarcastically.

XIII

For once in their short lives, Saïx and Axel were in separate rooms. Saïx was grateful for this—Axel snored like a chainsaw—but the redhead himself was less so.

"I'll miss you, buddy," Axel wailed dramatically, clinging to Saïx with all his might.

"Get off," Saïx growled.

Axel grinned and let him go. "Sure thing, buddy."

"And stop calling me that."

"Sure thing, buddy."

"Lea, I swear to whatever higher power is watching us, one day I will kill you."

"Sure thing, buddy."

Saïx stormed off, determined not to kill Axel just yet—it would probably look bad if he strangled his friend on their first day in this organisation. Hopefully things would be less chaotic from here on out.

XIII

Saïx's hope was in vain, particularly the day Number IX joined their ranks.

"He didn't have anywhere else to go!" Zexion, who had brought the stray home, protested.

"Zexion…" Xemnas sighed.

"Please, Superior?" Zexion begged, putting his best puppy eyes to good use.

Xemnas sighed again. "What's his name?" he asked wearily.

"It's Myde," the soon-to-be Number IX answered hopefully.

"Demyx, then," Xemnas said. "Welcome to the Organisation, Number IX."

The newly-named Demyx whooped in joy and tackled Zexion with a hug. "Awesome!"

Watching from behind a corner, Saïx disagreed. More loud people meant less peace and quiet. Less peace and quiet was not optimal.