I want to thank everyone for taking the time to review!

Sora for the delay. I think we can all agree that this quarantine is kicking names and taking ass. You can also fully blame my absence for the past few weeks on Final Fantasy VII Remake. I adore the game, and as far as I'm concerned, Papa Nomura has hit it out of the park once again! Anyways, back to my Top 10.

Number 7, Riku: Some of you may be surprised that he's so low on this list, considering how much of a fan favorite he is, but I have a lot of mixed feelings towards Riku. Way back when I first played Kingdom Hearts, I very quickly grew to despise him. In the eyes of eleven-year-old me, betraying Sora and taking the Keyblade had been unforgivable. Even helping to close the Door to Darkness, thereby sacrificing himself, failed to soften my heart towards him. I did play Chain of Memories when it originally came out for the Gameboy Advance. I remember only managing to clear a little bit of Riku's story, but his locked Deck was too frustrating to work with so eventually I gave up, thus missing out on his redemption arc.

The next time we see Riku is Kingdom Hearts II in 2005, where he is mysteriously missing throughout the storyline. When we do start catching glimpses of him, he's always running away, which in turn hurt Sora's feelings, which only pissed me off more because he'd yet to redeem himself (to me). We finally see him at the end of the game trapped in the form of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Frankly, I really enjoyed that plot twist. Wouldn't it have been mind-boggling to have future adventures with Riku-Ansem at our side? In any case, it was clear that he felt super guilty for the shit he pulled in KH. At the end of the game, I'd grown indifferent towards him.

It was only when I played Re:Chain of Memories and completed his story that my feelings began to take a more positive turn. He was such a sad sack, which slowly earned my forgiveness as I watched him deal with the consequences of his actions. In 358/2 Days, we see him struggle in new ways. He has to take Xion and Roxas in order to get Sora back, and even though he never vocalizes his doubts, we know he counts his actions towards the two Nobodies as more sins to carry. With this new information, I saw his avoidance of Sora in KHII coming from a place of shame. He didn't want his friend to see how far he'd fallen. While I personally view Chain of Memories as his redemption, Riku clearly thought he still wasn't worthy, which follows into his journey in Dream Drop Distance. It's the first game we play where he isn't bogged down by so many negative emotions and it's a refreshing change of pace. We can see that Riku has overcome his past and is now stronger for it.

To be honest though, my fondness for him mellowed out with the events of KHIII. He just seemed so… bland? Maybe that's too harsh a word, but there was a definite lack of interest in his character. He's made peace with himself, and I'm happy for him, but now he handles most of his challenges with a such calm attitude that he almost comes across as flat. There are a few moments when he rises above this, but most of the time he just seems too boring for my tastes.

Organization XIII Excerpt No. X: Crimson Eyes

Number XIII is a curious addition to our group. She is quiet and reserved, characteristics that often leave one to be overlooked. Yet she is constantly watching—always observing those around her. I know this because I am the same.

Xigbar has been assigned her mentor, whether it's a punishment or an attempt to teach the Freeshooter responsibility, it's hard to say. Perhaps Saïx really is as petty as Xigbar claims. In any case, in the past week I have seen Number XIII study her mentor closely and has even begun to mimic some of his mannerisms. It is a distantly familiar scene, one that reminds me of times when Zexion was an impressionable young boy who had acted similarly. It's difficult to determine how I'd feel if I still possessed a heart… but perhaps bittersweet is the emotion I'm looking for?

Another person I've seen Number XIII pay particular attention to is Axel, although I cannot surmise why. From what I've seen, she never interacts with him, only ever acknowledging Axel with slight nods and that two-fingered wave she favors. And yet every morning her eyes find him as soon as he enters the kitchen and lingers.

Perhaps he reminds her of someone?

–Lexaeus

Chapter 7: The First Mission Part II

"Hey, quite gawking and c'mon already!" Xigbar called from where he stood at the doors of the castle. Hexerath jerked out of her thoughts, aware that she had succumbed to another phantom feeling of anxiety, and immediately made her way towards her teacher. "Now's not the time to be spacing out."

"Sorry." She apologized, recognizing the offhand remark for the reprimand that it was.

"Is the castle that intimidating?" He asked with a growing smirk and the younger Nobody merely shook her head. "Then what was with the face?" She glanced up at him questioningly. "You looked like you just remembered something awful."

"…It's nothing." Hexerath replied, her throat going oddly tight at the realization that she'd already done something to make herself look suspicious. She had to give a more solid excuse. Xigbar would only become more dubious if she tried to brush aside her sparse reactions. "It's just, this place…" She trailed off weakly, her mind racing for a believable lie.

"Huh? What about it?"

"There's something off…" She muttered, aiming for vague. "It feels odd."

"What do you mean?" He asked, and there was a sharp look in his eye, even though rest of him remained lax and uninterested. It was the opposite of what she wanted, and Hexerath had to push away the echoes of panic that began clamoring in the back of her head. Instead, she closed her eyes and forced her face to shift into something contemplative.

"I don't know. It's hard to explain." The following words that spilled out of her mouth came without any forethought, and they surprised her just as much as they did Xigbar. "It's almost like there's a secret here—like something is muttering to me, but I can't understand what's being said." There was a beat of silence and Hexerath opened her eyes to see that the Freeshooter was staring at her closely. She tried to look up at him in bemusement, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

"More than you might think." The man muttered under his breath. Hexerath wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear that or not, so she merely focused on keeping her face set in confusion. "So, this secret, you got any clue as to what it might be?" Hexerath pretended like she was listening to something that wasn't there, while rapidly reviewing the information she had of Castle Oblivion.

This world been the Land of Departure before Aqua had changed it. Ven was still sleeping somewhere inside the castle. Axel would be ordered, whether by Saïx or Xemnas, to find the room Ven was tucked away in—the Chamber of Waking—as Xigbar had once called it in a shady conversation with Zexion. So… should she try to find the Chamber? Hexerath dismissed that thought as soon as she had it. No, doing so could change too much for her to predict. Besides, Ven's heart resided within Sora, meaning they were connected. Sora was likely the only person capable of waking the sleeping Keybearer at this point.

Wait, hearts and connections. She could use that! Inspiration struck once again, feeling a little less muted than it had days ago when she'd told her lie about Terra. The Nobody actively had to stop her eyes from widening as excitement began to–

No, she was just remembering what excitement felt like. Ideas like this had never failed to get her Somebody's heart racing.

"There's nothing specific." Hexerath uttered lowly while shaking her head. She paused for effect as well as taking the time to choose her words carefully. "It's like something is trying to latch onto me, but…" She placed a hand on her chest, trying to sound as if she'd just stumbled onto an epiphany. "But it keeps missing… because there's nothing to connect with." She peered back up at Xigbar, almost faltering under the intense look in his eye. It was the same expression he'd given her after their assessment spar. Something akin to a shiver traveled down her spine, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "Whatever's inside this castle, I think it's trying to call out to my heart, but since I don't have one…"

"Makes things a little moot, huh?" The Freeshooter sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. The ominous aura he'd been exuding vanished so quickly, she nearly thought she'd just imagined it. The only proof that it had happened was the tension that remained in her body. "Still, if you sense anything different while we're inside, don't hesitate to speak up, got it?"

"Understood." Hexerath answered with a firm nod, a distant sense of relief filling her. She was beginning to suspect that turning into a Nobody may have been her saving grace. She couldn't even begin to think of the sort of follies she would've committed if she still had access to unfiltered emotions.

Xigbar turned away from her and, with a slight grunt, pushed open the thick doors to Castle Oblivion. Hexerath followed through the slim space he'd made, red eyes darting over the new area. As opposed to how it looked on the outside, the long hallway that greeted them matched what she had seen in Re:Chain of Memories, updated textures aside. It was still a white room with soft gray accents. White columns lined the walls, each pillar being evenly spread out by several feet, and in the space between was a sigil on the wall. Hexerath gazed at the sigil for moment, making sure to keep her face blank, and forced herself to move on despite how she wanted to linger. It wasn't a winged crest or a shield-like motif she vaguely remembered from the games.

No, it was a symbol the fandom had coined as Terra's Mark—but it shouldn't be here—or at least, it hadn't existed in Canon.

Hexerath shut her eyes briefly, feeling a brief flicker of frustration. More types of Lesser Nobodies, domains, the Moogle's treasure chest, and now Terra's Mark. All these things were a blaring sign that she couldn't fully trust what she knew. She could only hope that the discrepancies continued to remain as minor changes.

"Sense anything different?" Xigbar asked and Hexerath shook her head.

"No, nothing's changed."

"Hhm." The Freeshooter hummed as he took a moment as well to glance over the hallway before turning back to her. "I guess I should warn you before we go any further that this castle tends to mess with people."

"…How so?"

"It makes you see things, puts you in your own memories. These hallways are fine, but they're just the entrance to the actual floors." He pointed at the pale gold door at the top of a small staircase at the end of the hallway. "That's where all the weird stuff happens. Luckily, we can use the Corridors to travel to the hallways on other floors, skipping the numerous trips down memory lane. There are twenty floors in total—seven levels below ground and thirteen above. Both the lowest basement level and the highest floor are the only ones that don't shove you into your memories. Don't know why, but that's the way it is."

"Thirteen floors above… and seven below…" Hexerath muttered to herself. The first part sounded right, but she's pretty sure Riku had to advance through thirteen levels as well. 'More deviations. At this rate I'll have to make a list to keep track of them all.'

"Which level do you want to hit first? Top or bottom?" Xigbar asked and the younger Nobody shrugged.

"The 13th Floor seems like an apt place to begin, considering…" She gestured to herself and the Freeshooter scoffed a laugh.

"Heh, good point." He raised an arm, summoning a new portal, and motioned for her to go through first. "After you." After a brief walk, they reappeared in a hallway nearly identical to the one they'd just left. The only difference was that there was a set of stairs behind him that lead downwards into wall of white light. "Let's get this over with." He moved forward, pushing the pale gold door open. Hexerath had to stop herself from asking about the cards the game used and silently hoped that wasn't a mechanic she would have to deal with.

From there they walked through room after room that vaguely resembled the final floor Sora traveled through in Chain of Memories. Instead of the straightforward duplicated layout, the rooms they traversed were far more elaborate in that they were like something derived from M.C. Escher's Relativity lithograph. To quote Willy Wonka, the staircases went sideways, and slantways, and longways, and backways, and frontways, and every other way imaginable.

One moment they'd be moving normally—upright and forwards—then they'd be traveling down the underside of the stairs like David Bowie in Labyrinth. Several times Hexerath grew dizzy or lost track of her position, the endless steps blending and blurring before her eyes.

Xigbar showed no hesitation however, keeping his same lax posture as they were subjected to three sources of gravity, each being orthogonal to the two others. She suspected his indifference was born from the abuse of his Space attribute. The man could go from right side up to upside down in an instant without batting an eye.

In the moments where Hexerath stumbled or was left dazed by the maze-like environment, the Freeshooter never failed to make a taunt at her expense. And as they continued onwards with no visible progress, Xigbar's boredom grew more apparent. In response, he would sometimes take a corner or reach the landing of the stairs and then promptly Warp away, leaving Hexerath to fumble around for a few minutes before reappearing. He'd tell her to keep up, or to pay more attention, all the while wearing that stupid grin of his. She tried to not to react to his baiting, because both knew that was the point of his antics, but she couldn't refrain from scowling at him after the fourth incident.

When Xigbar disappeared on her for the seventh time, Hexerath was far too annoyed to care about where she was going. Several minutes passed, but when Xigbar failed to reveal himself, she merely huffed and just kept moving, choosing to enjoy her reprieve from her mentor's immaturity. She passed under archways and traversed even more stairs, occasionally coming across short hallways decorated with ornate white vases sitting on ivory pedestals. Terra's Mark was borne on almost every other wall and she traced the insignia only once before quickly moving on. The repetitive architecture was eventually broken when she came upon a pale golden—nearly gate-like—door.

Hexerath's footsteps seemed to echo and tapper off as she stopped before the door, wondering if it was the same one they came through. Of course, there was no way tell just by looking, not in this place where everything was purposely designed to further confuse trespassers. And there was no mistaking that that transforming the Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion was a defense mechanism. Aqua's last resort to protect Ven in case she failed and Master Xehanort came looking for the fabled "χ-blade".

Dismissing such thoughts as idle musings, Hexerath pushed the golden door open and was met with the identical hallway that lead to every floor. Would this take her back into the Castle, to the 12th Floor? Or could this path possibly lead to Ven's chamber? Truthfully, the more she thought on it, she suspected that only somebody with a Keyblade would be able to find the chamber. With that theory in mind, Hexerath crossed the length of the hallway, pausing at the staircase to peer down into the white void below. She dithered only for a moment longer, debating both pros and cons, before entering the rather uninviting void.

Had she been the type of person who glanced backwards, Hexerath would have seen Xigbar reappear in the middle of the hallway, looking rather satisfied with himself.

"Told you not to wander off, bright eyes." He summoned a Corridor and quickly traveled through it, arriving in the Viewing Room. It was located on the 13th Floor, with a twin room located on the 7th Basement Floor. It was plain in appearance—like everything else in this forsaken Castle—looking not much different from the hallway he'd just vacated. The only thing of real note was the large crystal ball resting in the center of the room. Xigbar approached it with a gleam in his eye, tracking the image of Hexerath's slim form as she was confronted with her memories. "Now, let's see if we can find out why you're sensing things you shouldn't be."

A flash of light blinded Hexerath after a couple of steps down the stairs. She raised a hand to shield her eyes, but it faded as quickly as it appeared, leaving the Nobody to squint at her surroundings. She stared unblinkingly as she looked at her surroundings. Gone was the 3D animation she'd been submerged in for the past two weeks, replaced with the real world once more. She almost thought for a second that everything had been a dream, but a quick glance down showed that she was still wearing the Organization's coat. She stared at her gloved fingers, basking in the visuals for a moment, before glancing around her again.

Her crimson eyes widened as she recognized the street she was on. Brik Street, her childhood neighborhood. Sure enough, she spotted the red-bricked apartment building she used to live in at the end of the block. Next to it was the hair salon her mom had always taken her to and across the street was the liquor store Mr. Clive ran. Graffiti marked the walls of most buildings, some being complicated tags while others were less artistic and more along the lines of petty vandalism. The sidewalk, though cracked and uneven in some places, was relatively clean of trash and weeds. To her left was the old playground she and her best friend had always hung out at. It was a sad little thing, squished in between Harford & Sons' Attorney & Law and the local deli shop. It consisted of one rickety tin-plated slide that stood on its own, a rusted over dome jungle gym, and a metal swing set made for three.

Hexerath felt herself freeze as she spotted the girl on one of the swings. She pumped her legs back and forth, gaining momentum with each motion, heedless of the nasty screeching protest coming from the metal chains. The girl couldn't have been older than twelve, with black hair pulled up into a loose ponytail. Her tan cheeks were flushed a little while her green eyes were set in a determined frown. Her clothes were a mesh of yellow and black. A yellow shirt under a black unzipped hoodie with washed out black skinny jeans and dirty yellow sneakers cutting through the air.

"You're late." The girl announced without glancing at Hexerath. The Nobody didn't say anything. She couldn't. Her tongue felt like lead in her mouth. The girl quirked an eyebrow at her. "Well? Are you gonna stand there all day?" Hexerath forced herself to move, feeling as stiff and uncoordinated as the day she woke up as a Nobody. She paused by the empty swing on the girl's right before sinking into it. Unconsciously, her hands wrapped around the chains, but her feet stayed firmly on the ground. "What's up with you? Not in the mood to swing?"

Hexerath could only shake her head as she continued to watch her younger companion. The black-haired girl shrugged and continued uninterrupted. The pre-teen's height grew higher and higher with each turn until the swing set itself started to raise off the ground with her. With one last kick she jumped off at the height of her momentum, which was several feet in the air, and gave a thrilled yell as she fell. Her knees buckled when she landed, sending her crashing into the ground, but the girl hardly seemed to care as she burst into laughter.

"Did you see how high I was Heather? I definitely beat your record!"

"You think so?" Hexerath replied flatly, pushing past the dregs of shock and grief that her mind was trying to force upon her. She had no heart. She felt nothing.

"I mean, it only makes sense." The girl continued as if she hadn't spoken. "With legs as short as yours, it's amazing you can even get your swing going."

"Clearly the extra height came from all that air in your head." She retorted automatically, a small smile curving along the lines of her mouth. "No brain to weigh you down."

"Oooh, sick burn. Did you spend all night thinking up that comeback?"

"Unlike you I don't need to prepare in advance for a battle of wits. I'm always armed."

"Please, nine times out of ten you shoot blanks. I've read better insults off the back of cereal boxes."

"Glad to see you know what your reading level is at." Hexerath snarked back, a large grin spreading unknowingly across her face. The black-haired girl was wearing a similar expression. "Maybe in a few years you'll advance to actual books."

"Ha-ha, alright, you win this round." The pre-teen said as she gave a few chuckles before retaking her spot on the swing. "But don't think that means you're off the hook. How come you're late?"

"…I just got… tied up at home." Hexerath replied slowly, instantly losing the short burst of humor.

"Oh no, did your parents find out what you did to Joey?" The Nobody had to search her memory for a moment before things clicked into place. She'd gotten into a fistfight with Joey Matthews when they'd been eleven. The boy had been one of her biggest bullies up until middle school.

"No, not yet at least." Her mother had found out eventually. Hexerath remembered that she ended up being grounded for a month.

"They probably won't find out. Not unless, Joey wants the whole school to know that you beat him up."

"The brat deserved it." She grumbled and the girl laughed.

"Maybe next time he'll think twice before picking a fight with you." Hexerath glanced at the brick wall across from the swings, a brief self-satisfied smirk slipping onto her face. If she recalled correctly, she'd given the boy a black eye and a bloody nose. Joey Matthews had never bothered her again after that. "Are you really not gonna tell me why you were late?"

"…I was drawing." She said after a moment, the words coming on their own. "I lost track of time." Hexerath blinked at herself, eyebrows furrowing slightly. She didn't remember this conversation, not at first at least. It was like the more she engaged, the more clearly her memory became. A conversation that happened well over a decade ago now surreally felt as if it were happening in the present.

"I should've figured that was the reason." The pre-teen snickered, drawing the Nobody from her thoughts. "Everyone knows you want to be an artist when you grow-up."

"Yeah…" Hexerath muttered, not letting her mind linger on the sketchbooks stuffed at the bottom of her closet back home, or how she hasn't touched a paintbrush in years.

"It's good to see you again, Heather. Although, I guess that's not really your name anymore, is it?" Her head jerked back so hard she felt something in her neck give a painful twinge. The girl was looking up at the sky now, which was covered in dark grey clouds. "…I'm not really here, you know that." She did, but Hexerath hadn't realized that the manifestation of her own memories could acknowledge its own impermanence. One would think that diving into their own memories would mean that such interactions would be—scripted, stagnant, and unchangeable.

Then again, didn't people often remember things differently? Didn't memories change over time? Didn't we fool ourselves into feeling inversely about past instances or recall certain things with rose-tinted glasses? Not to mention the Mandela Effect, where groups of people all believed that an event occurred when it did not actually happen.

"Right." Hexerath said after a few minutes, releasing a low sigh as her own gaze dipped towards the ground. "You're just a memory."

"Ouch. That's a bit heartless, don't ya think?" Frowning, she peered sideways at the pre-teen, who now wore a sly smile.

"Really? A heart joke at my expense? Classy."

"Only the best for my best friend." Hexerath closed her eyes, letting that declaration settle over her. It had been so long since she'd heard her best friend's voice. She wondered if she could just stay here in this pleasant little memory forever… "You can't." The memory said, her mirth replaced with something far more somber. "I know it would be easy, but you can't stay here, Hexerath." For some reason, the use of her new name jolted her, and she immediately felt severed, disconnected.

This girl—her best friend had been Heather, and she was no longer that person.

"I shouldn't be here." The Nobody uttered as she slowly stood from the swing, now refusing to look at the pre-teen. "These recollections no longer carry any worth." Unnoticed, the black-haired girl flinched as a remorseful grimace formed on her face.

"The past," The memory began softly. "it should stay in the past. You can't keep dwelling on it. Please, you need to move on." Number XIII said nothing for a long moment, oblivious to the earnest green eyes that stared up at her.

"…Your words are wasted on a Nobody like me." Hexerath replied lowly, not seeing how the girl slumped in defeat. "I'm not the one who couldn't let go." Without so much as a backwards glance, because she'd always been too brash to look back, she departed from the park. The Nobody wore a blank expression as she passed building after building, never lingering on the familiar faces that greeted her and never answering the voices that called out to her. She passed her old home, unable to stop herself as she hesitated in the shade the building cast upon the street. She wondered if her parents were sitting inside their apartment right now. Were they expecting her to show up? Were they even doing anything productive? Or were they just staring at the walls unresponsively, like NPCs waiting for the player to start the next sequence?

The analogy made her stomach churn uncomfortably. Hexerath shook her head, trying to rid herself of that invasive thought, and continued walking through the neighborhood. She came upon an empty pothole ridden parking lot, the adjacent building was a shoe making store that had gone out of business several decades ago and had since fallen into major disrepair. In reality, the building had been torn down six years ago.

When she'd been a kid, it had been the local hangout for troubled youths and wannabe punks trying to look cool. The weathered brick wall of the shoe store had a few pieces of graffiti here and there. Names and declarations of love stained it in messy scribbles and tacky caricatures, however there was one portion that was not nearly as amateurish. Black and white tones were added for shading and lighting respectively to create greater details. Bright blue wings with soft green undertones were sprayed with care and precision.

Out of habit, Hexerath glanced around the area, but no one was nearby. She slowly made her way over to the wall where she traced the blue bird painted there. If she headed to the edge of the building, there'd be a little spot where she could pull the bricks away to reveal a secret hidey hole filled with the spray cans she'd bought with her allowance. Under the blue bird was her tag, a purple star with a distinctive yellow x laid over it to make it stand out. She pulled away after a minute before continuing onwards.

As she rounded the abandoned shoe store, Hexerath paused when she spotted a familiar door that wasn't a part of her memory. It was situated at the back of a dead-end alleyway, the golden finish sticking out like a sore thumb when compared to its grimy surroundings. Seizing the opportunity to leave, she immediately shoved the gate open. Light spilled over her, blinding Hexerath for only a moment, and she nearly sighed in relief. The white hallway of Castle Oblivion was almost a comfort to what she'd just experienced.

As the door audibly shut behind her, the Nobody wondered what she was supposed to do now. She didn't know how to summon her own Corridors, so Hexerath was essentially trapped unless she wanted to brave her memories again—which she had no intention of doing. Just as she began to seriously consider shouting for Xigbar, a Corridor appeared some few feet away from her.

"Didn't I tell you not to stick close?" Xigbar had the nerve to actually wag his finger at her like she was an errant child.

"You're hard to keep track of." Hexerath answered tersely while staring hard at the wall to keep herself from scowling at the man. Unfortunately, she could still see most of the Freeshooter's leering expression in her peripheral.

"Ready to move onto the bottom floor then?" He asked cheerily and Hexerath shut her eyes in silent consternation.

"…Might as well." She moved towards the portal but paused beside her mentor to aim a pointed look his way. "Ditch me again and I'll make you regret it."

"Heh, I'd like to see you try." Thankfully, Xigbar seemed to have gotten his fill of amusement and the rest of the mission progressed without further incident. The 7th Basement Floor had the same confusing layout as the 13th Floor, with the only difference being that everything seemed to be covered in pervasive shadows. "Sense anything different from earlier?" Xigbar asked sometime later, although whether it was a few minutes or a few hours, Hexerath couldn't rightly say. It was… strangely difficult to judge how much time had passed since stepping into Castle Oblivion. Disconcertingly, it was not unlike how the Realm of Darkness felt—a pervasive timelessness that existed on the edge of her awareness. Had Aqua somehow put this world into a state of suspended animation when she converted it?

"No." She answered lowly, no longer in the mood to play up her lie. "Nothing new or different. Whatever I'm sensing, it's still vague and indistinct."

"No point in hanging around here then." Xigbar announced as he waved his hand and summoned another Corridor. "I'd say this mission is complete. Congratulations!" He gave a mockingly slow clap with a smirk plastered on his face. "Aw, what's with the frown? You did a good job." Hexerath passed by him, her response only making his grin stretch wider.

"Searching empty rooms is hardly a chore. I didn't do anything of note." As she made her way through the dark void, Hexerath was certain her success was a hollow victory. She wondered if that was because she herself was just as empty. If she still had a heart, would she have felt like she'd accomplished something?

Stepping out of the Corridor, Hexerath's shoulders slumped at realizing that they had RTC'd to Elusive End. She whirled around towards her mentor as he chuckled behind her, the Corridor closing behind him and disappearing without a trace. Xigbar summoned his weapons, shilloettes of light spanning out to form his Arrowguns while he casually took aim. She needed no further prompting to draw forth her own weapons, and the solid metal of her Knuckledusters embraced her hands with familiarity.

"Well, back to the grind, right bright eyes?" She threw a punch at his face instead of answering verbally. The frustrating man merely laughed as he dodged.

Organization XIII Excerpt No. XI: Connected?

I took Hexerath out on her first mission to Castle Oblivion. Seemed like a good idea at the time. There's nothing there for her to fret, no enemies to fight, and a successful mission should sate her suspicions. My turn at searching the castle for the Chamber was coming up anyways. At least with bright eyes tagging along, I could get some amusement instead of staring at the same stupid walls. Win, win.

Only, something weird happened before we could even get inside the castle. Hexerath claimed she could sense "something". She claimed that "something" was trying to connect with her heart but couldn't for obvious reasons. Does she have ties to what Castle Oblivion once was? Is she something to do with the kiddo that sleeps inside? She saw Terra years ago. It's possible she might've met the other Keybearers. My little apprentice just keeps getting more interesting.

I passed on her reaction to Castle Oblivion in my report but kept my thoughts to myself. No doubt Xemnas will come up with a few theories of his own.

–Xigbar

So, I fiddled a lot with Castle Oblivion. I think it's fair to say that Papa Nomura, great as he is, did not plan for Castle Oblivion to be the Land of Departure all along. Ergo, there are naturally some things that don't fit quite right, which commonly happens with stories this expansive. Let's quickly summarize some of these changes just so we're all on the same page.

Firstly, the number of floors in Castle Oblivion. Now Canonically, there are 13 basement floors as well as 13 regular floors. However, I found this to be odd, even back when I first played the Gameboy Advance version. I fully believe Riku never visited worlds such as Atlantica or Wonderland, yet Riku played through them in CoM. I figure the development team was like, "Well, we have these models, why not use them?" Instead, there are only 7 basement floors now to compliment the upper 13 floors. Seems like a good ratio to land on, considering how these numbers play into the storyline.

Secondly, the 13th Floor and 7th Basement Floor are not subjected to the memory thing Castle Oblivion has got going on. These "regular floors" are where the two respective groups of the Organization hangout as Sora and Riku do their thing. The "Viewing Rooms" I've created can be found here, but they were also inspired by the final floor Sora explored before facing Marluxia. I was always left a bit unimpressed with how… simple and clean the 13th Floor looked in Chain of Memories. (You see what I did there?)

I was inspired to go with the Escher layout from the cinematic opening of KHII, where we get the scenes of Sora and Riku running up and down the spiral staircase that is supposed to represent climbing Castle Oblivion.

–Hexalys