Undying Hearts:

The Revenant Saga

This is actually the chapter you will need an open mind for. Forget what I said last time – this is the one you will need to be lenient for.

First off, I'm really, really sorry about how late this chapter is. Life, other fandoms and writer's block get in the way, y'know? From this point on, though, new chapters should hopefully get more frequent again. Anyway, I've put more of an author note at the end... I'd refer to that if you're confused about anything. Again, it's got some important stuff in it.

Can I also note that any missed spaces between commas and words isn't my fault – it's the formatting's fault! It looks fine on the raw document, but as soon as I upload to the internet, the spaces get missed out. But I try to fix as many of these errors as possible!

Right... So... Onwards, my dear readers!

Chapter Nine

It took Vexen a couple of moments for him to manage to tear his hand out of Axel's tight grip. He rolled his eyes and gave an aggravated grunt, before shaking his head, as the red-head continued to smile, beginning to look conceited again.

"Don't think I won't remember those words, Axel." The blonde said, pivoting and heading for the collection of items he left on the staircase, and taking them with him as he left abruptly through the front door, slamming it behind himself.

"So, you're going to the station now, are you?" Aerith asked, approaching the red-head.

He looked at her, frowning in thought.

"You're going with Vexen and Larxene, right?" She continued upon seeing his expression.

"Oh, right. They're leavin' Radiant Garden today."

The brunette nodded. "Just for the day. Well, only for a few hours in fact, but you should be back by this evening, in our time."

"We're comin' back?" Axel's eyebrows raised a little, as did his tone of voice.

Aerith chuckled gently.

"You say that like you don't want to!" She joked. "Well, as you know, Vexen and Larxene work for Cid. He runs a delivery business, normally transporting resources and materials to other worlds that have been damaged by Heartless. It's actually Larxene's job, but Vexen owns the Gummi Ship."

"Huh. Didn't know that." He told her, giving a shrug. "Sounds kinda selfless, especially for those two."

She just smiled in response. "Anyway, this is the last delivery they have, and it's a couple of days behind schedule; Cid's been irritating everyone about it since Larxene got ill."

"So, I'm going with them?"

The brunette nodded.

"I think so. Vexen probably went ahead just now." She said. "I'll go with you to the station. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." He told her, flashing an ironic smile.

"Alright then!"

Aerith made her way over to the coat rack, but then paused for a moment, and turned back.

"Oh, by the way, can I ask you something?" She said, her voice becoming quieter.

"Sure?" Axel responded, raising an eyebrow again in question.

She took a pale pink-coloured coat off the rack (even if she hadn't have done so, based on the colour and style there would have been no doubt that that one was her coat amongst the other darker and more plain coats).

"Well... It's about... Someone from the Organization." She said, holding the garment over her shoulders like a shawl.

He folded his arms. He'd half expected her to be asking about that subject again. "Hm?"

The brunette seemed quite uncomfortable as she opened the front door and walked out, turning back once outside, waiting for him. "Umm... Well, you see..."

She proceeded to shut the door behind him once he had also stepped outside into the bitter winter air, as he waited for her to continue.

"Um, I know a little about Castle Oblivion... Riku told us some, and Vexen and Larxene... Well, you know how they are."

"Oh, yeah, you said so, yesterday." He rolled his eyes a little.

"I know it's all part of a past you all want to forget, but..."

"Look." He told her bluntly. "Are you sure Vexen wants you to know anythin' more than he's already told you?"

Aerith looked up at him, her eyes a little widened and her lips parted. He frowned back, and then, at a slow pace, her head dropped.

"No, but, please... I'd like to know."

Still unsure, Axel sighed, stepping forward past her. "Let's walk and talk."

"Oh. Sure." She said, shuffling quickly along the cold ground to his side.

"Weeeeelllll, like I said, I really shouldn't be telling you anything about the Organization you don't already know." He said, as they made their way into the maze of winding streets ahead. "But, I guess it depends on what you want to know."

As they turned a corner around a dwelling on their way out of the borough, she responded. "I'd like to know about Marluxia."

At that moment, the red-head felt that, despite how cold the day was, and despite how much warmer Leon's clothing was than his own (although it still didn't count as appropriate winter clothing), the temperature around them dropped. And his heart sank deep into his stomach, like it had done when the brunette had first mentioned Larxene on the former day, but also much more painfully so, deeper and sharper, like he'd been stabbed with a dull knife.

His mouth and throat turned dry at that instant also, and he frowned, but carried on walking, managing to mutter out, "...Oh."

The young woman frowned too, but hers was more of concern.

"I'm sorry." She said, looking up at him, her tone sympathetic. "I guess he's... Sort of a touchy subject, right?"

He was forcing himself inside his mind, whilst she was speaking, not to remember him. Not to remember his face, not to remember his voice, not to remember anything. But try as he might, he came back to him, flooding back in the same gut-wrenching way that Larxene had when she'd been mentioned the previous day, but more so. Much more so.

"S'fine." He said, trying to at least keep his facial expression unmarred by the topic. "What did you wanna know?"

Radiant Garden was silent. Horribly silent. Pacing through the winding streets, their footsteps and their conversation seemed too loud. Axel was scanning the ground for traces of blood from when his nose had been broken – an attempt to think about something else whilst Aerith mused on the subject for a short while.

Moments later, she had her answer. "He's the reason you went after Vexen, is that right?"

The red-head scratched the back of his head.

"Well... Depends how you look at it." He told her, not liking the sound of where the discussion was going. "Y'see, Marluxia wanted the Organization, and Vexen, bein' one of the senior members, got in his way."

The brunette looked bemused. "But, weren't you the one who...?"

Her voice had trailed off, but he knew what she meant.

"Yeah." He gave a heavy shrug. "I played all sides. That's what made me the real traitor of the Organization."

"Oh... So then..."

"I'm not proud of it, but, it was hell there. Wasn't much of a friendly bunch. Seemed like everyone was allied on the surface, but you'd always be lookin' over your shoulder for someone who'd gladly stab you in the back. Can't trust anyone who doesn't have a heart. The only thing that kept any 'order' was the price to pay for treachery."

The young woman's eyes were filled with fascination and curiosity. Here he was, talking about how he'd betrayed the Organization – Vexen and Larxene included – and yet, instead of being repulsed, she was intrigued, and wanted to know more.

"What price?" She enquired, tilting her head a little. "Death?"

"Nah. Death would mean you were useless to 'em. The price was gettin' turned into a Dusk; lesser Nobody. So it'd basically make you pretty much useless."

'Sure, but I'm not getting turned into a Dusk for...'

"Hm... Say..."

The red-head's own words repeated through his mind, instead of what Aerith was saying.

'...Wait a sec, you remember now!'

"...If you're alive, and Vexen and Larxene are alive..."

His thoughts were wandering again. Back to him.Back to Roxas. Back to memories of his best friend – memories of the time they had spent with one and other – memories that seemed to radiate a rare warmth; a pleasant warmth, very different to the searing flames that Axel was used to. It was much more akin to the warmth experienced on a summer's day in Twilight Town, and perhaps it was the lazy afternoons they spent there, the vast view of the whole world beneath them from the heights of the bell tower, with nothing to do after their missions but watch the golden hues of the town pass them by as they devoured sea salt ice cream that linked the sensation to the memory.

Or perhaps it was something more... Perhaps it was always just Roxas.

It was a strange occurrence for the red-head – a creator and wielder of excessive heats through pure fire – that whenever he recalled these memories, he didn't feel so cold any more.

"...Then I suppose Marluxia would be, too?"

"Huh?"

Aerith came to a halt when they had reached the courtyard in front of the Gummi ship station at the bottom of the marketplace, and hence Axel also stopped in the familiar surrounding. It was familiar in the sense that it was mostly the same as it had been the previous days; how he had observed it to be when he had been sat alone in front of the station doors, but there were a few noticeable differences that day – for one, there were no townspeople going about their lives, which was understandable, despite the large population increase in that world. Though no one was directly told to stay indoors after the Heartless attack, the people wanted to take this precaution. This caused the dead quiet that spread across the whole communal area of the world. The air was different too; instead of the still, sharp and frosty atmosphere that would create the glistening ice on the pavements, there was a cold, empty wind – and apart from that, everything was silent.

She put her hands on her hips after not receiving a feasible response from him.

"Were you listening?" She asked in a playful manner, her eyebrows raised.

"Eh, sorry." He said, shrugging a little.

The brunette didn't chide him; instead, she began to look around the courtyard, examining it like she'd never been there before. Then, she sighed.

"...Radiant Garden..." She said quietly. Her vision moved towards the stone steps on the opposite side of the courtyard that lead up towards the main section of the marketplace. "It's become a ghost town..."

The red-head glanced at her. "Isn't there any authority in this world? Y'know... A mayor, or a President? Someone who can 'reassure the people'?"

She shook her head.

"No... There hasn't been a leader in Radiant Garden since Ansem the Wise..." She replied, turning to face him. "Technically, we – the Restoration Committee – hold the most authority."

"Then... Why don't you do somethin'?" He said unrhetorically, shrugging.

She brought her hand to her chin in thought for a moment, before simply smiling at him.

"Mmm, that's right." She nodded. "We should do what we can... I should do what I can."

Aerith then glanced around the area. Axel wasn't sure why at first, but after doing so himself, he realised Vexen and Larxene had already disappeared through the station doors.

"You should go." The brunette said, smiling like she would start giggling again. "They can both get impatient, so you shouldn't keep them waiting."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." He muttered. He didn't really care if he was keeping them waiting or not, and this was apparent; she could see this, and it didn't seem to surprise her at all.

"I should get back too. I guess I'll see you when you come back, hmm?" She continued, turning in the direction of the way back to the borough, but not before giving him a quick wave. "Take care, Axel. Goodbye!"

"...See ya." He said, as she jogged off, waiting until she was out of sight before moving.

He turned, and looked through the glass doors of the station. Though it was hard to see anything through them, there was one thing he noticed right away – there was no one inside. Like Aerith had said, following the Heartless attack, no one wanted to leave their homes, let alone take the transit system. He was also pretty sure that the doors had opened automatically before, so he presumed, whilst taking the cold metal handle and pulling it open, that the station wasn't open to the public anyway.

The stench of glossair fuel still lingered inside, but the station was otherwise hollow. The door made a loud noise when it shut, which resounded throughout the main hall, and every footstep Axel took inside seemed to crack against the floor ten decibels higher than intended.

Vexen and Larxene were both silent. Incredibly silent. Which made it worse. The station had many long, vast hallways that lead to separate, and often specific gates or ships. They were stood at the one nearest to the front doors on the right hand side of the colossal building – above which was a large, bold sign that read: 'Hangars S-Z'. Axel approached them, noting that they were stood at least four metres apart from each other, too. And he didn't know if that should have surprised him or not. But he had little time to think about it; as soon as he advanced the threshold between the separate areas, Larxene turned and walked down the hallway.

"I assume you came to Radiant Garden aboard a Gummi ship, correct?" Vexen asked.

Trying not to take much notice of the blonde woman as she left the scene quickly with a blank expression, the red-head looked straight at the older man when he spoke up.

"Yeah, but I came on the transit system. Must be different having your own ship."

The blonde said nothing in response. Instead, he pivoted, and walked at a steady pace. Axel dragged his feet along the carpeted flooring a step or so behind him.

"So all the ships come and go through that huge gate on the side of the world, right?" He half-mumbled, just trying to find something to ask to make the current situation less awkward.

"The master gate, yes. However, below this hallway is a collection of underground passageways, leading from separate gates and hangars to the master gate." Vexen explained.

"Sounds like a crackpot idea. Who thought it up?"

"The invention was collaborated. A businessman residing within Radiant Garden had partial influence, and is also currently funding the entire project. The intention was to link the worlds that were formerly isolated from each other due to certain circumstances – the Heartless, for example."

The red-head smirked a little. "So, why're you in on it?"

Vexen's voice seemed to waver as he responded. "...It... Is none of your concern."

"So, you actually fly this ship, or what?" The younger man changed the subject to a considerably more interesting one (in his opinion) when his yawn had ceased.

The blonde shot him what appeared to be an offended glare over his shoulder.

"What the hell else do you think I do with it?"

In response, Axel rolled his eyes and sighed. "...Actually, I didn't know you were able to fly Gummi ships."

"Yes. It was something I learnt in my life as my Other." The blonde said, turning his head back to face forward.

The red-head pondered aloud, "Hey, didn't the Organization have a Gummi ship?"

He earned a nod in confirmation.

"The Dreadnought... It was obsolete, there was – in fact – no need for it. After all, what need is there for a vessel when we could use the darkness to move between worlds in mere seconds? I don't recall it ever having a real name, either."

At the end of the hallway was an elevator. They came to a halt, and the blonde pressed the round button at the side of the elevator doors with the pad of his thumb.

It took a few seconds, but the red-head smiled. "Interesting."

The elevator pinged aloud, and the doors opened swiftly. They both stepped in, and the blonde proceeded to push the button labelled U.

As it descended, the elevator buzzed over the prolonged silence that followed. The awkward seconds spent in there seemed to drip past like minutes. Occasionally, Vexen would glance up at the screen that showed the current hangar, but he mostly kept his eyes on the floor. The younger man, however, continually watched the red block letters run through the alphabet. S... T... U.

It came to a halt on U, and the doors opened again, onto another short corridor, otherwise completely cold and dark if not lit by bright strip lights across the ceiling, which made sense. They were underground, now, though Axel didn't quite know how far underground. He wasn't sure how far down 'U' was, so he raised the question as they both stepped out.

"Just how far down are we?"

"I can only estimate. I should think at least three hundred meters below the surface." The older man replied.

At the other end of the short corridor was another doorway. The glossair smell was dense, much more so now than above ground. When he reached the door, Vexen heard a couple of familiar voices coming from inside. He wasn't very surprised when he opened the door to find Larxene and Cid inside the large hangar, both of whom came to abrupt halts in their banter (which usually consisted of 'y'damn Bimbo' and 'old man', and vice versa) and looked towards him.

When the red-head stepped in the room after his counterpart, he was astounded. Very much so. The hangar consisted of mostly dull, plain metallic walls, floors and other articles; one wall was, in fact, a massive doorway, apparently to the underground passageways that lead to the master gate, if Axel were to take a guess based on what Vexen had told him. But lit up in the strobe lighting was a huge Gummi ship, at least as big as the some of the smaller transit ships that he'd seen (the bigger ones that were built to carry hundreds of people at a time were colossal, and probably wouldn't even fit in that hangar, which was at least fifty metres high and wide, if not more), formed from bright blue Gummi blocks, with vast bright yellow wings on either side. The Teeny ships, positioned at least ten yards at either side of the vessel, were almost exact scaled down versions of the main ship, but certainly not as impressive. Cid, meanwhile, had just finished refuelling the ship with fuel through a pipe that had been connected to the side of one block. He closed the block and was recoiling the pipe.

"Cid wants to check the Teeny ships over. We're leaving them behind." Larxene told Vexen plainly.

The blonde man nodded once in response, watching her as she tossed her hair.

"We're ready to leave, once the traitor stops gawking."

Once he came to the realisation that he was being spoken of, Axel snapped out his short trance that the ship had seemed to put him under. Larxene glowered at him, and signalled towards the ship's entrance with her thumb.

He scowled in return and mumbled as he staggered towards the steps that seemed to form the door of the ship, "Yes, 'Ma'am'."

"Okay, kiddos." Cid growled, his arms folded across his chest. "Everythin's done. She's all yours."

He walked off without another word. To this, Larxene proceeded up the steps to the doorway after Axel. She said nothing as she pushed past him on the way to the ship's bridge. He frowned, shifting out of her way as she did so, and only followed when they were a safe distance from each other. The bridge was fairly dark, and lit up only by artificial lights; various neon-coloured lights created by the controls and a dim main light overhead. She removed Vexen's coat and slung it over the back of what was clearly the pilot's seat, front and centre, before taking the seat to its right.

Behind were four much smaller seats arranged in two rows with an aisle down the middle that lead in and out of the bridge. In a cautious manner, the red-head made his way into what could only be described as the blonde woman's den in that current state. When she noticed his presence, she stood from her seat and pointed to the back seats, as if instructing a dog.

"I swear, traitor – If you come near The Famfrit's controls, I'll neuter you."

There was a seat to the direct left of the pilot's, which had nothing in front of it but an empty dashboard. Axel took this seat instead.

"The Famfrit, huh? Nice contraption." He came across as sarcastic, but he was actually pretty impressed by the ship. Though the lack of windows, along with the poor lighting and cool room temperature in the bridge reminded him of Vexen's laboratories back in the Organization's castles (somewhat unsurprisingly). Looking around the bridge, he also noted that it seemed to be quite small. And the ship was fairly big, so there must have been a few other rooms on board, at least. He considered giving himself a tour when their backs were turned, but, of course, he had to put it off for the time being.

She continued pointing in a frantic manner. "Move, traitor!"

He crossed his legs and folded his arms, making himself more comfortable on purpose. Just as Larxene opened her mouth to order him to move again, Vexen entered the bridge, making his way to the central seat and pressing on a couple of the controls to close the entrance. After it was secure, the bridge doors also shut with a hiss. When he seemed to take no notice of where Axel was seated, the young woman frowned, and sat back down again.

"The last outstanding order..." She said.

The blonde man sighed whilst taking his own seat. "Your point being?"

"Hmm? It hasn't processed yet?" She snorted in response, tapping a few commands into the small screen on her dashboard. "This means my debt's repayed and I can leave the Restoration Committee."

Vexen took a few sheets of paper that were above the set of controls in front of him, sat back in his seat and proceeded to flick through them.

"And where, may I ask, do you plan on going?"

"Well, no where until the deal with the traitor's over."

"...Interesting." The older man responded whilst reading through the paperwork. "Especially since you despise it so much here and no one has stopped you from leaving already."

"Wow, you really have forgotten. Cid told me once I filled enough orders, he'd find me a ship of my own."

"...To make more deliveries, of course."

"That's what he thinks."

Vexen grumbled. "How like you. Perhaps I'll inform him of your plans when we make our return."

Larxene snorted. "Snitch."

"Whore."

"Fucker."

Axel, although he was quite enjoying their argument, suppressed his laughter and spoke up. "Now now, children. Haven't we got somewhere to be?"

The blonde man cleared his throat, ignoring the young woman as she shot yet another harsh glower at the red-head, whom had a strained smirk pasted on his face. "I believe so."

"So how do you fly this thing?" The younger man asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Easy enough, traitor, even for you." Larxene responded, without hesitation, even though Vexen was also about to answer; jabbing her finger at the screen on her dashboard again. "You input coordinates on this system here, then you sit back and let the old man over there pretend he's doing all the work!"

Whilst Axel merely shrugged and said 'Oh, I see' in a way that sounded like he didn't quite believe her, the blonde man groaned again.

He was perfectly sure that what was, in reality, only a twenty minute flight, was going to seem like hours.

A silence, an empty silence, much emptier than even Radiant Garden could have ever been on that day, was abrupted.

The great white throne room had almost been destroyed due to the castle's pseudo-destruction in the former year (not that time passed exactly in that world, for it was a world of nothingness and the things that only really 'existed' were physical, something time was not), but whereas twelve of the tall, pillar-like seats had toppled and crumbled inwards onto the central platform, shattering it, and outwards to the blank white non-existence that encased the room, one still stood – once the highest of all of them, now the highest of all of them, forever and always to be the highest of all of them.

And in the seat of the unflawed throne was a man clad in the now infamous black cloak of the Organization, the hood pulled all the way up. But even though his face was hidden under the shroud, it was obvious from the broadness of his shoulders, the upright manner in which he sat – his back straight and his legs uncrossed, and the dominating presence of both these factors, whom he was, unless, of course, one knew nothing about the Organization whatsoever.

He didn't even flinch when noise occurred, however – when a swirling black portal that had opened upon the pile of fallen pillar thrones that buried the room's central platform. The darkness seethed and swished and soon faded away, to reveal another man wearing the same trademark black coat, his hood also covering his face. But this man was smaller and slimmer in frame than the man seated above him, with shoulders that were much more sloped, making him difficult to identify.

"It is done, Superior." He said in a calm, smooth, but clear voice, raising his head under his hood to look straight upwards.

The seated man said nothing, but slowly moved his head a little to look down on the other. A long silence followed. The man perched upon the pile of fallen thrones had expected to be dismissed, but wasn't, and so in the end spoke up again.

"Was there something else you wanted?" He asked in a strange sort of politeness, almost suspiciously so.

Again, no spoken response came. However, the Superior raised his hand, his movements still very slow, and behind the other cloaked man another dark portal whooshed into appearance. Said man glanced over his shoulder at the portal, a smile forming on his shaded lips.

He looked back upwards to speak again. "As you wish."

But despite his words, he walked into the portal blindly, not knowing where it lead. It was pitch black, and the snarling and hissing of the darkness was loud as it closed in behind him. Yet he walked, and walked, as he had done many times before through the darkness, and soon the black abyss of nothing flickered away and revealed a golden light...

...An unmistakable golden light, the one that belonged only to a certain world – Twilight Town.

Little had changed in the sleepy little hamlet. It was always the kind of world that was relaxed and went at a snail's pace, and when the cloaked man stepped out, he was greeted by the warmth of the sun and the scent of the ocean.

But none of that was of any concern to him. He was there to do what the Superior wanted him to do... Even though he had to figure it out first.

He pondered that matter whilst walking away from the disappearing portal, away from the station plaza where he had come into the world and through the yellow-brick streets that wound in between quaint, angular houses, very much like the ones in Radiant Garden, but sloped because the town had been constructed on a hill; the station at the very top of said hill and town.

He noted very little about the town though, asides from the fact that it was completely empty. He brushed off this matter, figuring it was probably very early in the morning there, not that it was easy to tell since the world seemed to constantly be at 'twilight'. His mind was more focused on why he was there, of all places. There had to have been a good reason.

It started to get on his nerves, after he had searched the sandbox and the tram common over. All the nooks and crannies of Twilight Town didn't seem to have the answer he was looking for. And after he spent at least an hour doing the same in the underground tunnels, it got inane.

There were no people in the world, no Heartless or Nobodies either, and nothing of particular interest, so why was he there? He continued to wonder this as he walked through the crack in the wall of the tram common that lead into the bordering forest. At this point he figured the answer was at the abandoned mansion within the forest, but he was already quite irritated by the fact he was made to search the rest of the world first.

And he was right.

There was clinking and grinding beyond the wooded area, in the direction of the mansion. A familiar clinking and grinding that was well-known to any member of the Thirteenth Order. And as he got nearer, the clinking and grinding got louder, and he could hear a young voice yelling and panting and screaming and grunting in conjunction with the noises.

Heartless – so the man judged from the dark shadows that were collapsing beneath each swing of the ornate Keyblades.

Heartless, and a young man in a black coat.

Now it became perfectly clear why he was there.

The young man wore his hood up, but the other cloaked figure, whom now approached him from the shadows of the woodland, knew exactly who he was. He stood by the massive iron gate of the mansion, the Keyblades firmly in his grip, but he was panting heavily, his body loose and stooping.

The older man stepped across the grass to where he was.

"Well done." He said, his voice shocking the young man so much he jerked upwards as if he'd had a heart attack.

"Wh-Who're you!"

It was definite from his voice and his body language whom he was – he remembered him quite clearly.

"A friend." The older man replied, putting his polite tone on again and offering his hand, whilst looking downwards into the hooded shroud from his own.

The younger hesitated, and turned his head away, repeating in a stammer, "A... 'F-Friend'?"

"Yes, of course." He told him, smiling beneath his hood.

Despite this, the younger man seemed reluctant and hostile, though it didn't come as a surprise the older.

"What's... A 'friend'?" He enquired, which wasn't a surprising question, either.

"You've forgotten what it is, and you've forgotten many other things too... But don't worry. You'll find out soon enough."

The younger man seemed to flinch a little, his hostility not disappearing.

"We're wearing the same coats..." He muttered, as if he'd only just noticed.

"Yes, because you and I are the same, Roxas."

The older man's smile widened even more when the younger's hooded countenance looked back up at him quickly with another flinch.

"R-Roxas...? Is that...? Am I...?"

"You must have a lot of questions." The older stated, raising his hand up further. "I'd be happy to answer them."

The younger looked downwards again, and light glinted in his hands as he dismissed the Keyblades. He only looked back at the other to speak up.

"So... You know who I am?"

"Well. That depends."

"On what?"

"On how you would define 'who you are'." There was no response to this statement, and so the older man spoke again, "Would you like to know who you are?"

"I don't know." Came the prompt reply.

Chuckling, he put a firm hand onto the younger's cloaked head, giving it a shake as if he were ruffling his hair through the hood.

"I just woke up here just now, then those creatures came and attacked me!" He went on to say, after the other had removed his hand.

"The Heartless?"

"...The 'Heartless'..." He repeated.

"You really don't remember anything, do you?" The older man continued to chuckle, his tone still soft.

The younger gave a shrug. "Sorry?"

"Memories are fickle things, aren't they? You shouldn't worry."

Another pause.

"You've gotten taller since I last saw you, Roxas. You must be sixteen now."

Another shrug.

"I wouldn't know..."

"Then... We'll go back. So that you can remember."

Roxas let his head stoop even further down into his shoulders, and the other hooded man used the silence to think for a moment. His show of emotion through his body language and tone of voice was unbecoming, but perhaps that was to be expected. Roxas was no ordinary Nobody – not last time, not this time, not ever. Unless like Nobodies often would do, the emotion was a façade, a mere reflection of his persona apparent through the shell of his body. Yet again, he wasn't normal, which made it doubtful. But still, his memory seemed to be completely blank, at least at that time, which was the interesting part. Normally, Nobodies would remember at least something from their past life, but like before, he didn't seem to recall anything. Surely, the Superior must have known why. Just then, near the bordering trees, a dark portal suddenly burst open. The younger jumped at the echoing whoosh that came with the black swirls, his vision darting straight to his right.

"Come." The older man said, having glanced briefly at the darkness, unphased by its appearance, before looking back at Roxas and noticing his jaw was wide open under the shade of his hood. He turned to face the portal and put his hand on the younger's shoulder again. "There's somewhere you must be."

"...B-But I..." He gasped from his dry mouth in response.

"It's alright. I know you must feel unsure. But if you don't come, you'll be wandering and fighting alone, without need; without purpose."

The taller figure smiled at the irony of the words he spoke. The boy was a Nobody, and technically shouldn't have been able to 'feel unsure', and would have no real 'purpose' no matter where he went or what he did. Yet again, the boy was a conundrum, a unique Nobody because of the Keyblade he wielded and the heart of his Other it had chosen.

Again, Roxas hesitated. But he drew in a deep breath, and began to walk towards the portal in a confident stride, like he knew what lay on the other side of the swirling vortex of black; like he knew it was safe and he would get the answers he wanted... Like he was as easy to convince as ever.

The other figure followed him. Now they'd found Number XIII, everything was going to plan.

A/N: What is this! A chapter! FINISHED! LE. GASPE.

Okay guys, thanks for all your feedback so far. Updates should get a LOT quicker now. Like, not... Every year and a half. Or else I'll be dead before this fic's finished.

What else can I say? Hmm... Hope this chapter is intriguing and not too 'filler'-ish. It's shorter than the last chapter but still a bit longer than some of the earlier ones. Anyway. I've also had words with Lusky and we're thinking of scrapping her side of the story, as in, the side that was supposed to be centric around Sora, Riku and Kairi. The reason for this is that we felt, among other reasons like us not having an awful lot of time, as well as other fandoms, that having that series parallel to this one would most likely spoil the surprises in one or the other. So it might be better, and indeed quicker for updates on this story, if we worked together on just this instead.

Otherwise, I'm giving the earlier A/Ns a clean-up, and that's about it, I think!

So, down there's the review button I keep reminding you all of! Don't hesitate to leave comments, suggestions, critique, anything and everything you've gotta say in your review, please! And thanks for so many favourites and alerts, I'm really glad people are enjoying this.

TTFN! Luff and fluff!

Nweezle