Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own any of the Kingdom Hearts series. This is pure fan work even though some scenes from the actual games will be used.

Rating: M

Pairing: Axel/Roxas

Spoiler Warning Real events will be used from the series, mostly Chain of Memories and KH2.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This fic is going to tie in (as best it can) to the actual series, and stick as close as possible to the characters' personalities (meaning Roxas is an asshole while in Organization XIII, because he was in the game). If you have any complaints on a personality of a character, go ahead and email me, I'll give you my proof.

And now to the fic:)

Prologue

The boy awoke slowly, groggy, his mind feeling like it was stuffed with cotton. Why was he so cold? Why did he feel so... empty? Where was he? Who was he? But most importantly, why couldn't he remember anything before now?

He opened his eyes. At first he was overwhelmed by the sight of the swirl of dark colors around him. Blue, black, and purple all dipping and swirling, mixing together... and at the same time, not. It made him dizzy. He closed his eyes and curled his body into a ball, trying to regain his bearings. Still the colors swirled behind his shut lids, but at least it wasn't sickening anymore. He also realized why he was so cold.

He was naked.

He opened his eyes again and found he was getting use to the swirls. He tried to sit up, and managed. At least his body wasn't damaged...

But... why was he here? And just where was here?

He looked around him in all directions. There was nothing but the swirls all around. No apparent entrance or exit. No signs of life...

Just then an egg-shaped portal of darkness appeared before him, and a figure in a hooded black coat slipped out. The boy backed away, attempting to cover his nakedness, so as not to feel vulnerable to the cloaked stranger. Until he knew whether it was friend or foe, he was in trouble. And if it the stranger was a foe, he had no weapon to fight with.

The stranger in the coat seemed taken aback at the sight of the naked boy in front of him, but he quickly recovered. "My, my, what do we have here?" the stranger asked.

The condescending tone in the stranger's voice annoyed the boy. "Who are you?" the boy demanded.

The stranger chuckled. "Firey, I like that. And as for who I am boy, I am like you. Just a Nobody."

"A... Nobody?" the boy asked.

"A Nobody," the stranger confirmed. "We are the leftover bodies and souls of those who have had their hearts lost to the darkness. With no hearts we are neither light nor dark. We exist inbetween. We exist in twilight. In essence, we should not exist, but still do. Thus, we are Nobodies."

Beings that shouldn't eixist? No heart? the boy thought. Yes, that seemed right. Inside he was... empty. He had no real emotion. He was... detached. There was a hole inside his chest.

Emotion. He could remember the word. Remember the words that went with it. Happy. Sad. Other words... But what did it feel like? He couldn't remember anything.

"Tell me, boy, what is your name?" the stranger asked.

The boy looked away. Something dark bubbled up inside him. Rage, he recognized. He was angry that he couldn't remember something so simple. Shouldn't the body and mind know its own name?

But wait! Wasn't anger a type of emotion? Yes, he could remember that. That and... it was such a dark emotion. Dark like the hole inside him.

Was that it then? Could he only feel dark emotions?

Or was it that he was only tricking himself into thinking he was feeling anything at all? The mind and body's pre-programmed reactions to what was happening around him.

The boy shook his head. Thinking was getting him nowhere. He needed answers.

"Was that a no, you do not know your name?" the stranger asked.

"...No," he shook his head again. "No, I don't know my name."

"Do you have any memories at all of who you were before?"

"...No."

"Very well... You know, only those of us who had strong hearts in our last life are blessed with our humanity in tact. We are the most powerful of Nobodies. We can control the lesser Nobodies to help us gain our hearts back."

The boy's head snapped up. "We can get our heart's back?"

"That is what my organization is dedicated to." The stranger spread his arms wide. "If you join us, we can help you. You are like us. You have retained your humanity."

The boy was suspicious. Could it be this easy to get the answers? "I feel a 'but' coming..."

The strangers arms dropped back to his side. "All I must do is test your strength."

"How do you do that?"

"Like this..." He waved a hand and suddenly five white... things appeared. Humanoid things with electricity running up their sides. They moved back and forth in a graceful, hypnotic, gyrating dance. Their "lips" unzipped, revealing rows of sharp teeth. The boy recognized them for what they were: lesser Nobodies. It seemed that after meeting the stranger, and learning what he really was, he could recognize others like him. There was a connection between Nobodies. Like, a mental radar.

"What do I have to do?" the boy asked the stranger, still looking at the lesser Nobodies.

"Defeat them," the stranger said simply.

"How am I supposed to fight?" the boy whirled around to face the stranger, practically yelling. "I don't have a weapon!"

The stranger shrugged. "A strong heart in your last life. A warrior. You think of something."

Finally, the boy snapped. He'd had enough of the stranger's indifference. The condescendence. So what if he didn't have any memories? So what if he didn't know who he was? The stranger knew. He felt it in his bones. The stranger had the answers, and he wouldn't give them up. Fine, he would just have to fight the stranger for them. He wouldn't let anyone stand in his way. The boy crouched in a fighting stance that felt familiar to his body.

Dammit! I need a weapon... And then, he felt it. In the back of his mind, a little 'click,' similar to a lock being opened. Something he still had from his past life. He latched onto that something and pulled... but... but it was stuck!

Inside the hood of his coat, unbeknowest to the boy, the stranger was smiling.

NO! the boy's mind screamed. You are mine! You are my past, and dammit, you will come to me! He gave a final mental tug, and the something was free. In the physical world the force of the freed something caused him to stumble. He looked down at the something from his past. A weapon had appeared in his hands. It was a blade in the shape of a key.

"The keyblade," the stranger said.

The boy looked at him, momentarily dumbfounded. "The wha-?" And it was then that the lesser Nobodies lost patience, leaping onto the boy.

They were easy to dispose of. A couple hacks at each one and they simply vanished in a puff of darkness.

The stranger applauded.

The boy whirled around (retaining his battle stance), the battle having sweapt away the momentary confusion replacing it with the determination to get answers out of the stranger at any cost once again. "I want answers, and I want them NOW!"

This time the stranger laughed outright, but it was a hollow, bitter sound. The sound that comes from those without a heart. The boy flinched at the sound. It hurt his ears. "You can have your answers, boy, but you must join us first." The stranger held out his hand.

If all the members of this stranger's "organization" were like him, the boy was probably better off on his own. However, he wasn't sure how strong he was yet, and he had no idea just how many others were in this "organization." Reason prevailed. He took the stranger's hand and shook it.

He couldn't afford the enemies... yet.

The stranger pulled his hand away first, shadows entwining around it. He threw the shadows, now a coat similar to his, at the boy.

The boy caught it and stared at it. Just for now, he thought. Once I have my heart, I'm doing things my way. He pulled the coat on and zipped it up.

"So, boy, what is your name?"

The boy thought a moment, letters slipping past, the shadows of a name. He grasped the letters, mixing them up in the process. "Roxas. My name is Roxas."

The stranger pulled back his hood, revealing a man with long silver hair. "Welcome, Roxas, the Key of Destiny, to Organization XIII. I am Xemnas, the Superior."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: There was a subtle hint in Xemnas' last line saying "Bow to me bitch." Just so you're aware ;)