I'm gratified at the response this has gotten. It'll be a while before it's published (assuming it gets that far), but it's looking pretty good.

Anyway, before we get onto the next chapter, I'd like to say that I've posted a new poll on my profile. Once more, it's one trying to see which franchise people would like to see me do a fic for next, either pure or crossover. While the winner won't necessarily be the one that gets it, it'll help me determine which franchises are more popular. It's also worth pointing out that there's nearly 40 options to vote for, and you can vote up to four times. So...go nuts. But vote on the profile, and don't bother telling me what you voted for in reviews, okay?

Anyway, enjoy.

HOLLOW HEROES

CHAPTER 2:

TWO DIFFERENT CHOSEN ONES

Sora stared at Harry, who was sitting across from him as they travelled on the train out of Twilight Town. "Let me get this straight. You guys are all what they call Nobodies, beings without a Heart, but you're on our side, and three of you can wield Keyblades. Some Nobodies, part of this Organization XIII, trapped me in a castle, tampered with my memories with Naminé's help, and when they were defeated, Naminé wanted to restore our memories back to the way they were."

Harry nodded. "That's about the size of it."

"You made the choice to discard your memories of what happened in Castle Oblivion, to retain your old memories," Naminé said quietly.

"And you're a Nobody of Kairi?" Sora asked. And then he pointed to Roxas and Xion. "And you're my Nobodies?"

Roxas nodded wearily. "It's a very long and complicated story. I wouldn't even be here as my own person if it weren't for Harry. Same for Xion. We'll probably have to go our separate ways after we return to Hollow Bastion. Organization XIII will be trying to eliminate both of us. I'm a traitor to them, and Xion outlived her usefulness."

"Gawrsh, it's very tricky. And I didn't even think that the Ansem we met had stolen the name of the real Ansem!" Goofy remarked.

"The real Ansem is only our ally insomuch as he wants to see the Organization taken down," Harry said. "But he wants to destroy all Nobodies. Guilt by association, mixed in with revulsion at our very existence. He doesn't even want to believe that we can regain our Hearts, after a fashion. It took a while for the guys at Hollow Bastion to get used to me, never mind Yen Sid, but DiZ, he's so rabidly anti-Nobody…he wanted Naminé dead once her use was ended."

"And Riku?" Sora asked.

"He's against Organization XIII, not Nobodies," Harry said. "He's still alive, but he's working with the King behind the scenes. He made Mickey promise to not tell you what happened to him. Let's just say he looks different. Very different. He was in Castle Oblivion at the same time as you, apparently, and things went wrong. Anyway, Roxas, while he knows the identities of the members of Organization XIII, doesn't know what their plans are."

"About that, how did Roxas survive when his memories were grafted back onto Sora?" Donald asked.

"I don't know, exactly," Harry said, summoning his Keyblade to his hand. "But my Keyblade, Phoenix Rebirth, might have had something to do with it. All I know is, Roxas and Xion, for now at least, effectively count as familiars to me, my magic is keeping them in existence, a bit like the summon magic of these worlds. So does Naminé, but she doesn't need as strong an anchor to keep her in existence. Just enough so that, once we see Kairi, she doesn't merge with her. Anyway, I'm not complaining about a best case scenario happening. Or at least close enough."

"Are you gonna be helpin' us on our journey?" Goofy asked.

"Not directly. Once we're back at Hollow Bastion and I've left Naminé in the care of Leon and the others, Roxas, Xion and I are going to take the fight to Organization XIII. While going into the World that Never Was will be risky, there are other places affected by the Organization. Your task is to concentrate on the Heartless incursions, while we're dealing with whatever Organization XIII is cooking up, as well as investigating the labs Ansem the Wise used, seeing if there's any useful data he left behind, or his impostor. We'll probably encounter each other a few times, though."

Roxas nodded. "Our first port of call is to the Beast's Castle. I know Xaldin had plans involving the Beast."

Sora shook his head. "This is a lot to take in. And you said you were famous on your own world? What was that like?"

"Like shit," Harry said bluntly. "Imagine only learning you're famous at the age of eleven, and having people turn on you just as much as they'd want to praise you. And having no parents. I mean, I'd go back if I can, but…only long enough to stop Voldemort…"

Not long afterwards, they ended up at Yen Sid's tower. To their shock, one of Maleficent's minions, Pete, was there. They disposed of the Heartless Pete summoned, and then, entered the tower, going up.

They eventually reached the top of the tower, and found themselves in the presence of Yen Sid. Harry remembered this wizened old wizard as being the one from The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of Fantasia. Yen Sid had taken time to warm up to Harry, what with Harry being a Nobody, but he came round in time.

After briefing Sora, Donald, and Goofy on what Harry and the others hadn't covered, he sent them through to another room, to get new clothes. Harry knew that the fairy godmothers from Sleeping Beauty were there. He then turned his attention to Harry. "What am I to do with you?" he remarked. "You go to Twilight Town to find out what this DiZ is up to, only to come back with three more Nobodies, including two ex-members of Organization XIII."

"DiZ was going to force the erasure of Roxas, and ordered Naminé's execution," Harry said. "Xion coming back into existence was a happy accident. I'm not sure what happened, only that my Keyblade and my magic were involved."

Yen Sid nodded sagely, even as they heard the fairies bickering in the other room. "As I discussed with you before, I have heard rumours that each of the members of Organization XIII have an attribute, an element if you will, attached to them. With Roxas here, I can tell his element is Light. Yours, Harry, appears to be Life/Death, symbolised by the Phoenix Rebirth Keyblade, the one that formed from your former wand. You have given life to these Nobodies beyond when their time was due to pass. Not quite resurrection, but rather, a sustainment. Still, the fact remains that Organization XIII will be tracking down Roxas to eliminate him, and I doubt that Xion or Naminé are free from danger."

"I've agreed to stay at Hollow Bastion once we reach there," Naminé said. "My abilities in combat are close to nothing. My power is through changing the links of memories."

"It's still a potent power, especially if not confined to Sora," Yen Sid said. "Roxas, Xion, are you willing to face your former allies?"

"They're no allies of mine," Roxas said grimly. "I'd try to get Axel to our side, and maybe Demyx, but everyone else, well…"

Naminé nodded. "Of the thirteen members, five of them are dead: Number 4, Vexen, Number 5, Lexaeus, Number 6, Zexion, Number 11, Marluxia, and Number 12, Larxene. That means there are seven left, not counting Roxas. Or Xion."

"And you do not know of the Organization's main plan?" Yen Sid asked Roxas.

"Only that it involves Sora, the Keyblade, and Kingdom Hearts," Roxas said. "I was pretty low on the pecking order in Organization XIII."

"Indeed." Yen Sid smiled sadly. "Did my former student ever tell you you resembled someone I've met?"

"Yes, he said something about me looking like someone called Ventus," Roxas said.

"Indeed. Ventus was the ward and student of Master Eraqus, one of the finest Keyblade Masters to ever live, even if he was somewhat quixotic, and obsessed with darkness needing to be eradicated. It is true that the darkness is harmful, but to completely eliminate darkness is to eliminate the light as well. Ventus…lost his Heart after a gruelling battle. Eraqus himself perished not long beforehand, and his students have all disappeared too."

"Mickey said he met Aqua while travelling through the Realms of Darkness," Harry said. "She saved him and Riku from a bunch of ornery Heartless."

"Then that is some good news, at least," Yen Sid said. "I feared the worst when Aqua disappeared..."

Not long afterwards, Sora emerged. Harry had to admit, his new outfit was pretty snazzy, even if it had way too many belts and buckles. Then again, that seemed to be the norm in this universe he had ended up in.

Yen Sid gestured them over, and pointed out the window. The distinctive colourful blocky shape of a Gummi Ship rose up nearby. He then explained how Sora, Donald and Goofy would be able to travel between worlds.

"Hang on a moment," Goofy mused, tapping the side of his head. "The Gummi Ship held the three of us no problem. But what about Harry, Roxas, Naminé, and Xion?"

"Nobodies can utilise Corridors of Darkness with ease," Harry said. "Well, with relative ease. Mickey and Riku know how to use them, but they're dangerous. Nobodies have less of a problem usually, but we wear these coats to protect us from the worst effects of the darkness within these corridors."

"And Naminé?" Sora asked.

"I'll be fine," Naminé said with a smile. "I'm only making the one trip with them…"

The trip through the Corridor of Darkness was, thankfully, uneventful, though Harry, Roxas, and Xion made sure they kept Naminé between the three of them. Harry had passed through the Corridors of Darkness enough times to know that Heartless and Nobodies had a tendency to attack. And that was without going into the corrosive nature of the darkness within these domains.

Harry had travelled these realms more than a few times. It had become, rather disturbingly, second-nature to him. Then again, becoming a Nobody meant he was caught between the darkness and the light. A twilight existence where he was a hollow man, stuffed with straw. Ironic that a Heartless was actually a Heart, consumed by darkness and malevolence, while a Nobody had a body, but no Heart.

It was even more of a surprise when his emotions seemed to come back to him…and naturally, at that. It felt less like he was imitating emotions, and more like he was expressing them again.

Of course, with that came the guilt. It had been several months since he fell through the Veil, and Merlin had been unable to witness more than fragments of events back home (this had been a problem since a number of his magical items had been stolen by Heartless years ago). Merlin had no idea of how the war against Voldemort was going, and they had no idea how Harry could get back. The Keyhole for Lost Avalon had been locked long ago, with Heartless incursions rare on that world. But it meant he had no way of knowing what had happened to the Weasleys, Hermione, Luna, Sirius and Remus, Tonks, Neville and his other friends and allies. The last time he saw Ron, he was being molested by those weird brain things, and Hermione had gone down with a curse to her torso.

It had taken the cavalry long enough to get there. Snape must have taken his sweet time. But the anger he felt towards Snape and Umbridge (and Dumbledore, for that matter, for being at his most ineffectual that year) was almost matched by Harry's own guilt and self-reproach. He should have realised that it was a trap, one he had waltzed right into.

Still, there had been plenty who helped him work through the pain and misery as he regained his memories. The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee were his key helpers in that regard. Well, Cid was a bit gruff, and Leon, whose real name was apparently Squall, was a bit hands-off, even if he was genuinely compassionate. And there was the somewhat sparing sympathy of Cloud Strife, an acquaintance of theirs who was something of a loner, obsessed with his own inner darkness. Merlin and Aerith helped counsel Harry more, Merlin drawing on his experience of counselling people like King Arthur, while Aerith just had a generally kind nature.

Probably one of his biggest helps, though, was Yuffie. After a rocky beginning, the two developed a friendship of sorts, initially based around mutual snark, but eventually growing into something more. Yuffie reminded him a little of Ginny, albeit without the fangirl tendencies. She had the same spunk and fire, though she also liked to refer to herself as 'the Great Ninja Yuffie'. Then, a couple of months ago, they started dating, going out for dinner, walking around Hollow Bastion, and killing Heartless that decided to play gooseberry.

Still, it was interesting having a ninja as a girlfriend. And they had admitted recently that they actually were boyfriend and girlfriend. Aerith had been ecstatic, while Leon and Cid had taken Harry aside and threatened him with a shallow grave if he ever hurt Yuffie. Leon effectively was her adoptive big brother, and Cid her adoptive father, when they all fled Hollow Bastion for Traverse Town years ago.

As he exited the Corridor of Darkness, Harry found Cid typing at his computer terminal, while Aerith and Leon looked on. "Hey," Harry called out. "Where's Yuffie?"

"She's out on patrol. There's increased Heartless activity throughout the town. It's been setting off the automated defence systems," Leon said, looking over to them, and noting the new arrivals. "Care to explain these three?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Long story. Short version? Sora's awake. And Roxas and Xion are basically his Nobodies. Naminé is Kairi's. It's a very long story, but Mickey and Yen Sid have vouched for them. Roxas and Xion are defectors from Organization XIII. Anyway, Sora, Donald and Goofy should be here soon by Gummi Ship. Any luck on accessing Ansem's lab?"

"Workin' on it," Cid said. "Ansem was pretty paranoid, locking everything up. Even a Keyblade can't unlock it, and that's pretty impressive. And annoying. It'll take a week longer. Maybe less if we're lucky."

"I ran into the real Ansem, not that impostor Sora defeated," Harry said. "He's fallen pretty far."

"Sounds like quite the story," Leon said. "I'll want to hear it later."

"What actually happened to Ansem?" Aerith asked.

"He hates Nobodies," Roxas said with a shrug. "Even if they don't want anything to do with Organization XIII."

"Anyway, we were going to leave Naminé here for safekeeping, and then head out to try and find out more about the activities of Organization XIII," Harry said. Then, a smirk touched his lips. "And trolling them. I nearly got caught the last time I was in the World that Never Was, but it was worth it."

"…Wait…were you the one who knocked out Saïx, glued werewolf prosthetics to his face, and left…some sort of medicine by his bedside?"

Xion snickered. "It was medicine for relieving period pain, Roxas."

Aerith looked at Harry, raising an eyebrow, and looking torn between laughing and being put off. Aerith, for all her demure nature, had an impish streak a mile wide. "Rather crude of you, Harry, even by your standards."

"Hey, that idiot pissed me off by harassing me, trying to conscript me into Organization XIII while I was trying to have a date with Yuffie on the beach near Twilight Town," Harry said. "I told him to put that damned war hammer where the sun didn't shine, and he took issue with that." His smirk widened into a vicious grin. "Say what you like about the spells of my world, with the mangled Latin, but he wasn't expecting a quick Apparition and a Stunner. I used a Memory Charm or two as well, to make him forget about coming after me, given how he threatened Yuffie. I wish I used more, so he forgot other things. Like his toilet training."

"And what you did to DiZ?" Naminé asked, a wry smirk touching her own features.

"Hey, he sounded like Christopher Lee, he deserves looking like some ripoff of Dracula," Harry snarked(1). "And to have bowel troubles for the next couple of weeks. Given that he tried to kill you and Roxas, and seemed to consider doing so to me, despite my being Mickey's ally, it's more than he deserved. I only went easy on him to teach him a lesson, and because he was once Mickey's friend. Next time, I'm dragging him through that Corridor of Darkness Cloud showed me to Olympus Colosseum, and having him do the Phil Workout Special(2). And THAT'S if I'm feeling merciful. Speaking of which, Hades is well overdue for having another bucket of ice water poured over that burning scalp of his."

"Didn't you say your school motto translates to 'never tickle a sleeping dragon'?" Leon asked.

"I've never been one to take good advice," Harry remarked.

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry and the others have filled in Sora, Donald and Goofy, and are back in Hollow Bastion.

1. Considering that the late, great Christopher Lee did voice DiZ in Kingdom Hearts II and 358/2 Days, I thought I'd make a reference to that.

2. Something Aqua and Xion/Tania did to many students, especially Ron Weasley, in sakurademonalchemist's Memories of Nobody.