"A scattered dream that's like a far-off memory."

"A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream."

"I want to line the pieces up, yours and mine."

Why was that voice so familiar? Roxas had heard it in his sleep more than once, but as far as he could tell, he had no idea who it belonged to. As he dragged himself out of bed, he forced the strange, yet familiar voice out of his mind. Roxas was fifteen years old, lived in Twilight Town, attended Twilight High School, like any boy his age, and had three friends; their names were Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

Hayner was lean and agile with dull blond hair and brown eyes. He was highly competitive and irritable. He was also steadfast and determined. Once he got an idea, he had to see it through, and when there were negative consequences, he faced them without regret.

Pence was a short, heavy, dark-haired boy with brown eyes. He was very laid-back and insightful. He didn't care much for academics, but had plenty of street smarts and extraordinary problem-solving skills. Pence was labeled a "geek" by the majority of his peers. He had an affinity for comics, trading cards, and action figures of all kinds.

Olette was a happy-go-lucky tomboy with brown hair and vivid green eyes. She was very book smart and committed. She got easily annoyed when Pence and Hayner didn't take school seriously. Olette was thoughtful and considerate and tried to have a positive effect on Hayner, who was more impulsive and aggressive.

As Roxas made his way down Market Street, he turned into a back alley where he found his friends in their favorite hangout. Hayner seemed to be having a heated discussion with Pence and Olette.

"Have you ever been this pissed off? Cuz I haven't!" Hayner ranted, before turning to acknowledge Roxas. "Nice of you to join us." he said curtly. "We have a situation."

"What situation?" Roxas asked complacently.

"You know how stuff's been going missing around town?" Olette asked and Roxas shook his head. "Well, apparently Seifer's been putting the blame on us."

"He's been going around telling people that we're thieves!" Hayner added, derisively.

"We all know Hayner's had a grudge against Seifer for a while." Pence pointed out, (Hayner hissed something under his breath) "So, if Seifer wants to think that we did it, I guess I can understand. Not that I'm trying to justify what he's doing." he was quick to add.

The three of them began contemplating what to do and Roxas assumed that they expected him to do the same. Thinking independently was never Roxas' strong point. For as long as he could remember, he had been a follower. But finally, he conceived an idea of his own.

"We could find the real thief." he said.

His three friends stared at him for a moment, making him wonder if what he said sounded stupid. Hayner was the first to stand.

"The first thing we should do is hear other people's viewpoints." He said.

Hayner lead them to the town square, where they questioned a few of the shopkeepers. Everyone reported the same thing, that their ****** had gone missing.

"So the thief's been stealing ******." said Olette.

"My ****** are gone too!" Pence piped up. "I thought I mighta just misplaced em', but it looks like the thief got them too!"

Now came the part everyone (except Hayner) dreaded most, confronting Seifer. Olette and Pence could see a savage eagerness in Hayner's eyes that concerned them. When they got to the sandlot, they found Seifer's teammates, Fuu and Rai. Rai was a large, strong, simple-minded boy. He was more brawn than brain, but he brought intimidation to the team. Fuu was a petite girl with white hair. She hardly ever spoke, and was the only person in the whole town who was less emotional than Roxas.

"Thieves!" she called, pointing to Hayner.

"That was low even for you, y'know?"

"We didn't steal anything, okay?" Hayner barked.

"Don't give us that!" said an obnoxious voice.

Seifer strolled over like he owned the place and came to a halt between Fuu and Rai. Seifer was nearly as tall as Rai, but leaner. He had green eyes, blond hair covered by a black tuque, and a sleeveless white coat.

"Those ****** prooved that we owned your asses! So, what did you do, burn em'?" he demanded. "Not that we need some ****** to prove that you're losers!" he added with a chuckle.

"Replay." said Fuu, with a wry smile.

"Now you're talkin'!" Seifer cackled. "I guess if you get on your knees and beg I'll let it slide."

To everyone's surprise, Roxas was the first to approach Seifer. It was the first time anyone would have seen him genuinely annoyed. Indeed, Roxas was annoyed. Seifer's arrogance stirred something within him, something he couldn't explain or identify.

"What, you got something to say?" Seifer demanded.

Roxas didn't say a word, but picked up a nearby struggle bat.

"Roxas!" he heard Olette gasp.

Seifer regarded Roxas for a moment before snatching a bat from Rai.

"Alright, kid!" he growled. "You asked for this."

Seifer began his assault, but Roxas was familiar with all his moves. He evaded or parried all of Seifer's attacks with ease.

"C'mon! Quit playin' around an-"

Before Seifer could finish his sentence, Roxas landed a blow to his jaw, and then another to his shoulder, knocking him down. It was a decisive defeat.

"Seifer's not feelin' so hot, y'know?" said Rai, rushing to Seifer's side.

"Shaddup, Rai." Seifer growled. "You beat me, but I'd still like to know what happened…"

Without warning, something small and grey streaked across the group, snatching Pence's camera.

"The thief!" Pence gasped

Roxas took off after the thing. He pursued it through the town square as it slithered, just inches above the ground. He chased it through the woods and it came to a sudden stop at the gates of the old mansion. As he examined the strange creature, he found that it was somehow familiar. It was small, grey, and fleshy. It had pointed, fin-like arms and legs, and had no face. Some sort of light grey symbol was emblazoned on its head; the symbol resembled an upside down heart with three spires protruding from it.

"We…come…Roxas…"

The whisper seemed to come from the creature.

"What are you?" Roxas asked.

The creature did not respond but dropped the camera, rushed forward, and swiped at Roxas with its long arms. Roxas struck it with the bat, but the creature wasn't even phased. It swung its legs and knocked Roxas back. It then stretched all four limbs and wrapped them around Roxas' wrists and legs. Some kind of black hole appeared behind it and it glided back, trying to drag Roxas inside. The creature was almost as strong as Roxas, but he was able to struggle and keep from being pulled into the hole. He continued to struggle for an unknown length of time, but just when he was starting to tire out, there was a flash of light and Roxas' bat transformed into a silver key. It was about as long as his arm, with a square yellow hand guard, and an orange ball-shaped keychain attached to the bottom. Clutching it seemed to restore his strength. The arm he clutched the key with broke free of the creature's grip and he swung it, severing the creature's other arm, then its legs. The creature retreated into the black hole, which closed, and the key transformed back into the struggle bat. Roxas picked up Pence's camera and noticed four…photos…lying on the ground. The creature must have dropped them.

"Roxas!"

Hayner was rushing up to him from the woods. Pence, Olette, and Seifer weren't far behind him. Roxas handed Hayner the photos and told him about the creature, though he didn't mention the strange key.

"So how are we gonna prove we weren't the ones who took these?" Hayner snapped.

"We all saw the creature." Pence reminded him. "Of course none of us got a good look at it like Roxas did."

"But no one's gonna believe us!" snapped Hayner.

"They'll believe me." said Seifer, snatching one of the photos from Hayner. "I'll take care of things…" he pointed at Roxas. "…but you owe me a rematch."

With that, he whirled around and stormed away.

"So, anyone else notice that the photos are all of Roxas?" asked Pence.

"Me?"

Hayner showed Roxas the three remaining photos; the first was of him and Biggs (Roxas was his first customer), the second was of him and Jessie, and the third was of him, Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

"The photo that Seifer snatched, Rai took it when Seifer beat you that day." Hayner added

"Wouldn't it be weird if the thief wanted to steal the real Roxas?" Pence wondered.

"Who'd wanna steal a bonehead like Roxas?" Hayner joked.

DiZ sat at his computer, observing Roxas. The incident that just transpired was troubling him. Roxas could use the Keyblade again, he wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. Standing behind him was Ansem, the self-proclaimed "Seeker of Darkness."

"Why would a Nobody steal photographs?" he asked.

"Who knows? Maybe their simple minds can't tell the difference." DiZ replied sardonically. "In any case, tell Namine to pick up the pace."

Ansem nodded and strode out of the lab. DiZ continued to monitor Roxas and the comatose Sora. He was certain that Roxas and Sora could be reunited, he had no evidence, but he was confident in this hypothesis. He just needed to determine how, and he needed to decide how to best make use of Sora when he awoke.

Axel stood on a balcony overlooking a large assembly line, not far from the castle. Hundreds of Dusks were hard at work, branding newly captured Dusks with the organization's logo and fitting them with the cybernetics that gave them the strength to perform the tasks given to them. A portal opened and a Dusk (which he presumed to be the one he sent out on recon) emerged. One of its arms and two of its legs were missing.

"What happened?" he muttered.

"Roxas…Twilight Town." The Dusk whispered.

Note: I have entrusted "Chain of Animemories" and "Birth by Anime" to my good friend ShaD.23. Keep an eye out for them on his profile, he will start them when he is ready.