"Ven, you hopeless sleepyhead! It's time to get up!"

Lazily, Ventus opened one eye, and then the other. Everything was groggy at first, but he could make out the ceiling, and the blob of blue hair in front of him. He smiled broadly and stretched, groaning tiredly as he did so.

There was a laugh.

"I don't see how you can be so tired after all this time!" Aqua giggled as she came clearly into view. "Haven't you slept enough?"

Ven laughed quietly as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head and trying to get his mess of blonde hair to not be quite as spiky and unruly as it usually was. He looked around the now-familiar room, with its brown-orange walls and strange ornaments sitting on every desk, filled-to-the-brim bookcase, and table. Someday he would ask Master Yen Sid what those things were, but until then he would just be thankful the sorcerer had given him and his friends a place to stay. There were tall windows in this room, too, which reminded him of his room back at the Land of Departure, but outside was the vastness of space, as though the tower was suspended in the Lanes Between and not a world of its own.

"Sorry, Aqua," Ven replied, looking back at her. "I guess it's a hard habit to break!"

"Well, you better start working on it. You can't be a Keyblade Master if you sleep all the time."

Ven and Aqua looked to the doorway to see Terra had appeared, and he had an amused, but impatient, look on his face.

"Terra!" Aqua exclaimed brightly. "You're one to talk! I was coming to wake you next!"

"I've been up since way before you," he replied with a smirk. "I was just taking a nap after morning warm ups."

"Mm-hmm, sure," Ven chuckled. "Just like me, right?"

"Just like you," Terra said, still smiling. "Now, c'mon. The others are waiting for us. Today's the day we get finally caught up on all the stuff we missed."

Ven let out an excited laugh and popped right out of his bed. He had mixed feelings hearing about all the stuff he had missed while he'd slept for a decade; he couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was partly his fault, and partly the fault of his friends, but at the same time it was exciting. Once they were all caught up, he and the other Keyblade wielders were going to finally put an end to Xehanort and save the worlds for good. They had been listening to stories about other worlds and epic battles for the past couple of days, the narrator jumping from Sora, to Riku, to Mickey, back to Sora again. The stories were everywhere, but it was enough to keep him at the edge of his seat and eager to hear more. The more he knew, the sooner he could help.

Throwing on his jacket and snapping his armor to his arm, Ventus was the first to race out of his room and up the stairs toward Master Yen Sid's room. Aqua and Terra tagged along closely behind, talking about how the only thing that could move him faster than this was the promise of a really big breakfast.

"There's gonna be breakfast, too?" Ventus exclaimed and indeed his pace picked up. He shoved open the final doors at the top of the staircase so quickly that he nearly plowed over someone.

"Whoa!" Sora gasped, jumping back as the doors nearly whacked him in the face. "Oh, there you guys are! I was just coming down to get you!"

"Only because you just woke up yourself," Riku chided from behind him. "If there's anyone in the worlds who can sleep like you, it's those guys."

"Hey, I've been up since before the sun!" Terra frowned.

"He really hasn't," Aqua giggled.

The three friends filed into the room and came into line next to Riku, Sora, and Kairi, who waved at them as they walked in. Behind the desk stood Master Yen Sid, who looked at them all with the same solemnity and wisdom Ventus recalled from years ago. Any shuffling or muttering silenced when they found his eyes upon them, and soon everything in the room was still.

"I'm glad to see you have all finally decided to join me this morning," he said, his voice deep and stern. "Today, as you know, is very important. Not only will we at last conclude the story that has brought us all here, but we will also be introducing our newer Keyblade wielders to their Keyblade Gliders."

"Really?!" Sora exclaimed. Riku also looked surprised, as did Kairi, but Sora's outburst made everyone laugh. "Sorry," he managed between chuckles.

"I understand your excitement," Master Yen Sid smiled softly. "Learning to fly on a Keyblade Glider and experience the Lanes Between on your own accord is a large stepping stone on the way to becoming a true Keyblade Master, Mark of Mastery or not."

"But it won't be easy," Aqua warned. "It took Terra and I days to figure it out, much less get good at it."

"Then there's Ven, who fell off more often than he stayed on for the first week," Terra smirked.

"Did not!" Ven argued. "And it's not like I had a bike like you! Skating is a lot more difficult!"

"But once he did get the hang of it, he was the best of all of us," Terra continued. "So what I was trying to say is, don't get discouraged if you can't do it right away."

"Oh." Ven reddened slightly. "Thanks Terra."

"Either way, I can't wait to see what our Gliders look like," Kairi mused. "They resemble our Keyblades, right? I wonder what mine will be…"

"How about we stop talking about it and get to trying it out?" Riku suggested. "Unless there was anything else you wanted to tell us, Master Yen Sid?"

"Just a reminder to not fly out of this world unless you've activated your armor," Yen Sid said. "Other than that, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus will be your teachers today. Heed their words."

"Yes, Master!" the six said, snapping to attention and saluting the sorcerer. He nodded to them and then they dispersed back down the staircase they had come up.

"Do you think we should split up when we're practicing?" Ven asked. "I could work with Sora and—"

"Let's see what their Gliders look like first," Terra suggested. "Then if we see any similarities, we can split up based on that."

"This is gonna be so cool," Sora said, mostly to himself, though he couldn't contain his excitement. "I hope I get something like a light cycle!"

"Like that thing from the Grid?" Riku asked. "I hope you don't. I don't want to imagine the chaos you'd cause on one of those things."

"Hey, I'm a good driver! Just ask Donald!"

"You'll get to show us if that's true yourself," Kairi giggled. "Now hurry up before the others leave us behind!"

The Keyblade wielders piled outside of the Mysterious Tower, the three newer ones lining up and waiting intently for directions from the others. Terra and Ven began to look around, making sure there was enough space for safe crash landings, and Ven found himself hoping that no one would accidentally fly through a window.

This place wasn't as big as it looked from the inside, and it certainly didn't have as much space as the Land of Departure. He wished they could go there, but they would be easy targets if they set foot in that place again. The abundant shrubbery and endless abysses around the edges of the tower would have to do for now.

"Alright," Aqua began as Terra and Ven continued their scouting, "the first thing we have to figure out is how you summon your Gliders. Usually it helps to summon your armor first, so go ahead and do that."

Ven spun around to watch as Sora, Riku, and Kairi punched a button on the side of their arms, and the armor there expanded. He couldn't help but beam as he admired their new looks, remembering the first day he figured out how to use his armor. Sora was covered in brilliant golds and reds, Riku in a chilling combination of blues and purples, and finally Kairi in a radiant pink and fuchsia. They certainly looked like Keyblade Masters donning that armor. Ven hoped he, Terra, and Aqua looked that impressive when they wore theirs, too.

"Ven, what are you waiting for?" Terra asked, coming up behind him. It took the blonde a moment to process that Terra, too, was already in his armor.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, I guess I got distracted," he chuckled. With a flick of the wrist, his armor appeared around him and he walked over to where Aqua was still instructing the others.

"…and once you think you've got that, you just let your Keyblade loose and see what happens," she was saying. "Terra, Ven, and I can demonstrate for you."

"Please do!" Sora exclaimed.

Aqua laughed and equipped her armor as the other two summoned their Keyblades.

"Ven, why don't you go first?" Terra suggested.

Ventus nodded and his fingers tightened around his Keyblade. He felt its warmth spread from his palm to the rest of his body, making him smile. Spinning the blade around, he let it loose and it flipped into the air and disappeared into the sky. He heard the surprised gasps from Sora and Kairi and smirked. If they were impressed by that, then they just had to wait and see.

There was a twinkling sound, and then a birdlike vehicle came swooping back toward him. Ven leapt up and landed gracefully aboard his Keyblade Glider, mounting it like a skateboard. With a shift of his weight, he began to zoom around, and he let himself show off, flipping this way and that, flying all over and whipping his way around the Mysterious Tower.

Within seconds, Terra and Aqua had joined him, and they whisked around each other in dazzling patterns, laughing at the near misses and the tag-like game Terra and Ven got themselves into. Ven was so wrapped up in their game that he almost didn't notice Aqua had gone back down to the ground to speak with the other three. He paused a moment, looking up only to see Terra screech to a halt in order to not hit him.

"Check it out," Ven said, pointing. "They're going to try to summon their Gliders!"

Sure enough, Sora was the first to step forward. His Keyblade flashed into his hand and he focused for a long time. Suddenly, he spun the weapon around and then tossed it into the air, where it too disappeared into the distance. The same ping sounded and there was a whirring as Sora's Keyblade returned to him, but not as it had left him.

Now, the Keyblade had reformed itself into something like a raft, with its crown like a sail and its hilt a large platform.

"Cool!" Sora shouted, hopping on and nearly flipping himself over. "It's like a sailboat!" He stood on it much like Ven had mounted his own Keyblade Glider, leaning to the side as he gripped the King's seal that was attached to the shaft. The power in the Glider surged to life and Sora rocketed off in surprisingly good control.

"He must have learned that from you," Terra chuckled. "You guys are so alike. It's almost scary."

"Yeah, and you and Riku are a lot alike, and Kairi's a lot like Aqua," Ven agreed. "I guess it just makes sense, seeing how much we all did for one another."

"You make a good point. Now look, it's Riku's turn."

Riku had already released his Keyblade by the time Ven had turned his attention to him. It was returning to him in the form of something like a bike, and he heard Sora over his shoulder shout "No fair!" The Glider itself looked like the eye on Riku's weapon's hilt, and the boy slung his leg over it to get settled. Each side of the Glider came up like a barrier, one side in the shape of the bat wing of the Keyblade, the other like the angel wing. A perfect balance of light and darkness, and a perfect match for Riku.

"Beggars can't be choosers, Sora," Riku called up to him, and at once was able to blast over to him.

"I wasn't begging about anything!" Sora argued. "I just said I wanted a light cycle!"

"Well, instead you got a raft. Want to trade?"

"…No."

Sora zipped back down to the ground and landed very sloppily by tripping on himself and nearly falling over.

"Alright Kairi, you can do it!" he encouraged nonetheless.

"Yeah Kairi!" Ven called after him. "Show us how it's done!"

Kairi laughed sheepishly but summoned up her blade. She was still for a moment, as though she was trying to find the perfect memory to use to fuel her Glider. In a flash, the Keyblade had left her hand and sailed into the sky, and within seconds it came back much different from all the rest.

A large flower was at its base, its petals spinning around like a propeller. An open heart floated above it, and Kairi slipped into its middle.

"Like this?" she asked, turning to see Aqua had already called her own Glider over to show Kairi how to use hers.

"Exactly!" Aqua smiled. "Now just follow my lead."

The two girls slowly made their way around the grounds, Riku following patiently behind. Sora, meanwhile, had gotten too excited and was falling all over himself as he rushed to get back on his Glider. Ven noticed he wasn't trying to balance like he was before, just trying to get back in the air as quickly as possible. The way he was going about it, he was never going to get there.

Ven zipped down to Sora's level, laughing.

"Sora, you gotta take it slow," he explained.

"I did it fine before," the brunette grumbled.

"Yeah, and now you're rushing," Ven scolded. "Just take a breath and focus on finding your balance. Then you can catch up, easy. Our Keyblade Gliders are a lot alike. It might take us a little longer to get on them, but once we do, we're a lot more agile and quick than theirs are."

"Right…"

Sora stepped back and took a deep breath. He looked at his Keyblade Glider for a moment, then gave a confident nod and lowered himself. With a large jump, he landed squarely on his Glider and wiggled a bit, but after repositioning his feet, he was able to balance it out.

"Perfect!" Ven exclaimed. "Just like that!"

"Thanks Ven," Sora grinned. "Now, how about we show the others just how much cooler our Keyblade Gliders are!"

It was on days like this when Roxas wasn't sure if he'd slept for years, or not at all. The first thing he remembered was staring at the ceiling of his room in The Castle That Never Was. That wasn't surprising; it was how he started every day ever since he'd come back to the Organization. He didn't remember coming back into his own body, in fact he didn't remember much from being one with Sora, either. None of that mattered now, though; he was part of Organization XIII again and he had to do what they said.

At least, that's what he was telling himself. He could leave, he reminded himself daily, but he never did. Now, he had Axel again. That was better than the nothing he had before. He could scarcely recall his days in the digital Twilight Town, but all of that was fabricated. What he had here was real, or at least as real as anything could be for a Nobody.

Groggily, Roxas kicked his feet out of bed and forced himself to sit upright. Everything was so quiet here. No birds, no kids running out on the street, no bells tolling or trains screeching. Occasionally he could hear a Dusk materialize or muffled voices come out from the Grey Area, but compared to the busy streets of Twilight Town, The World That Never Was was silent.

Putting a hand on his forehead as he shook off the thoughts, the blonde got to his feet and wobbled over to the hall. He might as well see if there was anything to do yet, he figured.

"Good morning, lazy bones."

Roxas gave a bit of a start when a voice sounded right beside him as he stood in his doorway. Looking up and to his right, he smiled when he found a familiar redhead smirking down at him.

"Axel," he laughed breathlessly. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Heart attack?" Axel repeated. "That's a good one."

"You know what I mean." Roxas rolled his eyes. "If I had a heart, it would've probably just stopped."

"Good thing you don't, then. You sure have a capacity for sleep though."

Roxas just shrugged and started walking down the hall. Axel was quick to follow. When they were walking side by side like this, it felt as though nothing had ever changed.

"Did you hear the news?" Axel asked after a moment.

"News?"

"Of course, you were sleeping until now." Axel shook his head. "Anyway, apparently Xion will be back tomorrow."

Roxas stopped dead in his tracks.

"Xion!?" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "What are you talking about? How?"

"Apparently that's been the Organization's top priority lately. Vexen has been working nonstop to recreate her, memories and all. Didn't you wonder why you could remember her name so suddenly?"

To be honest, Roxas hadn't thought about it. Until that moment, he hadn't even remembered Xion existed, which he supposed was Axel's point. However, now that he was actively thinking about her, it was like she had never left his memory.

"That doesn't explain how," he said after a length. "Or why."

"I dunno," Axel shrugged. "My guess it has something to do with heart collection. Two Keyblades are better than one, after all."

"But why keep her memories intact?"

"Maybe it's a gift."

Roxas snorted, glaring at the ground. Yeah, a gift from the Organization. He highly doubted it.

"I'm serious," the other continued. "We're under new management, remember? Maybe the 'new Superior' wants to get on our good side."

"Since when has Saïx ever wanted to be on anyone's good side?" Roxas questioned. "Especially ours?"

Roxas looked up a bit too late, realizing as soon as he'd finished speaking that Saïx himself was just a few paces up ahead. Axel looked mildly embarrassed – as embarrassed as Axel could look, anyway – but Roxas maintained his grumpy expression.

"Need I remind you of our goals?" Saïx asked calmly.

"Collect hearts, I get it," Roxas replied shortly.

"Precisely. And we need your Keyblade – and Xion's – to accomplish that goal. What better way to motivate you than to kindle the false friendship you so stubbornly cling to?"

"It's not a false friendship."

"You don't have a heart, Roxas. It can't be a real one."

Roxas fell quiet.

"Back to business, then," Saïx said, his tone still as even as always. Something about that bugged Roxas to no end. If he was going to be a jerk, then why couldn't he sound like one? "Now that you've finally awoken, we can send the two of you out on your missions."

"Alright, bringing back the dream team, I see," Axel grinned and began stretching out his arms. "What's the assignment today, Captain?"

"You will be sent on a reconnaissance mission with Xaldin," Saïx answered. "He's waiting for you in the Grey Area and has details about your goals for today."

"Wait wait wait, hold up," Axel frowned. "You get me all hyped up to get back to work and then you don't even send me on a mission with Roxas? What gives?"

"It seems as though you both are having memory problems today. If I recall correctly, the two of you deserted the Organization in its previous incarnation. Sending the two of you on the same mission raises the chances on you deserting again. That isn't something that is in our best interest."

"Okay, I get all that, but putting me with Xaldin? And for reconnaissance? What am I, four?"

"You know as well as I do the current state of things. Staying under the radar as far as the forces of light and darkness is one of our topmost priorities. We need to be aware of what they are doing, so we can plan to avoid it."

"So what are you doing with me, then?" Roxas demanded.

"You will be collecting hearts, of course. Zexion will be joining you in Radiant Garden."

Roxas groaned. Zexion was definitely better than some of the alternatives, but he wasn't the most exciting person to be paired with.

"And I will be accompanying you to his lab," Saïx continued. Roxas groaned again. Even better. "Axel, you have your assignment. Go to the Grey Area."

"Sure thing, Mr. Boss Man," Axel sighed. He looked down at Roxas for a moment then lazily saluted him as he turned away. "Later, Roxas."

"Bye, Axel," Roxas replied quietly. His eyes were fixated on the ground. He heard Saïx begin to walk away and knew he was supposed to follow, but he hesitated. Truly, what was stopping him from running out right now? He had already proven he could overpower Saïx or anyone else in the Organization. If he could make it until tomorrow when Xion would be ready, he could grab her and Axel and run.

Expressionless, the blonde followed behind Saïx and they walked silently down the hall. Roxas had no idea where the labs even were in The Castle That Never Was, so he couldn't walk ahead of Saïx to make a point. He tried his best to be completely silent, his footsteps hardly making a sound as they wound down and around the white hallways.

"I see you are going to continue to hold on to the differences we had the last time you were in the Organization," Saïx said at a length. Roxas gave a start, but he knew the Superior's goal was to get him to talk, and he wasn't going to let him win. He just maintained a blank face and kept walking, though he slowed his pace so that he would get even further away from the other.

"If I had a heart, I would be amused that you're holding on to such 'hard feelings'," he continued. "But I don't, and neither do you, so this is just a charade you're performing."

"I could just leave, you know," Roxas snapped, though his voice was still quiet. Saïx always rubbed in the fact they didn't have hearts. It was almost as if he was expecting an emotional reaction, although according to him that was impossible.

"But you won't."

This made Roxas stop completely. He glared up at the other Nobody, his hands tightening into fists and he gritted his teeth.

"What makes you so sure of that?" he demanded. "I did it before, and I could just as easily do it again! I bet Sora and the others would love to have me on their side!"

"I'll give you one very good reason: Axel."

Every tense muscle in Roxas's body went from bracing itself for a fight immediately released. He slumped slightly, trying as hard as he could to not let the truth show on his face, but Saïx was right. Axel was the one reason he couldn't leave the Organization, even if he brought his best friend with him.

"You see, while collecting hearts to create a new Kingdom Hearts would do nothing for you, it would help Axel significantly," Saïx continued. "Completing a new Kingdom Hearts will allow us to go in and find our true hearts, the ones that once belonged to us when we were human. Axel will once again become whole, along with every other member in the Organization. Every one, except you."

"And Xion," Roxas muttered. "She never had a heart to begin with, and mine… is forever stuck inside of Sora."

"Exactly. So yes, Roxas, you could run away and help the heroes, but I can assure you they won't help you create a new Kingdom Hearts. In fact, they'll do anything in their power to stop you. So you can either do your job here in a place that needs you, or you can go play with the heroes and leave Axel to rot as a heartless husk for all eternity."

"You really don't care about anything but your own goals, do you?" Roxas growled. "You're just selfish."

"I have my reasons," Saïx replied evenly. "As do you. It's not as though you claim to care about anyone here outside of Axel, isn't that right? That sounds to me like you're the selfish one, if a Nobody can even be called as such."

There was a pause, and Roxas could neither move nor talk back. He hated that Saïx was right. He was no better than him, if all he wanted to do was help Axel. Did he even want to help Axel, or was he doing it out of the fact that he couldn't help himself? Was Axel just an excuse to make it seem like everything he was fighting for had a purpose?

He closed his eyes, trying to force the thoughts from his mind. Instantly, behind his closed eyelids, he could see a sunset melting gold on tall buildings, and he could feel a light breeze rustling his hair. The smell of summer, and the salty sweet taste of ice cream.

No, he wasn't doing this just for giving himself purpose. He wanted to help his best friend.

"Let's continue," Saïx said, forcing Roxas's eyes open. The other had never turned to face him, and already he was continuing down the hall.

Well, thought Roxas, the sooner I complete Kingdom Hearts, the sooner I can get out of here.

This was going to be a very long mission.