X leaned against a wall and watched the boy with spiky brown hair run past him. A dog and duck struggled to keep up with him. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. The Nobodies target and his loyal companions.

"Sora, not so fast!" The duck, Donald, X believed, yelled.

"We don't have time, they've got Naminé! We gotta rescue her!" Sora, the boy, replied.

Donald and Goofy looked at each other worriedly.

"Gosh, Sora sure does seem like he's upset," Goofy said thoughtfully.

"You'd be too. He just remembered his friend but found out she's in trouble." Donald said.

"Good point. I guess if we heard the king was in danger we'd be really upset about that too." Goofy agreed.

X sighed and shook his head. "Don't you think it's a little weird?" X asked. Sora, Donald, and Goofy turned to face him shocked. They hadn't noticed him. X sighed again, he'd just hope it was because he was wearing white and the walls were white.

"What's a little weird?" Sora asked.

"You didn't remember Naminé until this Castle, but-" X was cut off by Sora.

"Don't you dare suggest Naminé isn't real!" Sora yelled at X.

X glared at Sora silencing him. "I never planned on it. I was just wondering if you remember who you came here for in the first place."

Sora looked confused. "Naminé, right?" He said.

X snickered. "Interesting. You should be careful when showing such loyalty. The organization will take advantage of that." X said casually.

"The organization? What are you talking about?" Sora demanded.

"The Nobodies, Axel, Larxene, them. They plan to use Naminé to control you." X explained walking away from the wall.

"Who are you? How do I know you're telling the truth?" Sora asked drawing his keyblade. X walked past him not giving him a second glance.

"Now you ask the right questions. It's a wonder you're a keyblade wielder, you seem so stupid." X said casually.

"Hey! Just answer the questions." Sora demanded.

"Who am I, hm. What a good question. Now tell me, how do you define who someone is?" X asked turning back around to face the trio. Sora stared at him dumbstruck. Donald and Goofy were thinking.

"What?" Sora asked confused.

"What defines who someone is? What makes them, them? What prevents them from being someone else?" X asked. Sora seemed extremely dense. Maybe this was too much for him.

Sora stared down at the ground. His key hung loosely at his side. "I've never thought about that. Is there an answer?" He looked up at X. His eyes held a curious light.

"But how do you know I'm telling the truth?" X asked with a false frown.

"Well, you haven't tried to kill us yet. And you seem to be trying to help. In the most annoying way possible." Sora replied after a second. X smirked.

"Alright then. It's a simple answer really." X said. Sora brightened up hearing X say that. "It's what this Castle holds so dear."

Sora's face fell. "What this Castle holds so dear?"

"To pass through the halls of this Castle you must pay a toll. For every floor, you advance you lose a certain amount of something. That something makes you, you." X explained hoping someone in the group would catch on.

"You mean our memories?" Goofy asked.

X applauded sarcastically. "One of you finally got it right."

A cricket jumped up onto Sora's shoulder. X raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Now I get it!" The cricket exclaimed.

"Get what Jiminy?" Sora asked.

"What that Axel fellow meant when he said by going through this we might no longer be who we are now," Jiminy said.

"Wow, Axel mastered riddle speak. I'll have to congratulate him." X said sarcastically. Sora gave him a weird look.

"But then, how do our memories define us?" Sora asked confused.

"What makes you search for Naminé?" X asked.

"Because she's my friend, and I promised to protect her!" Sora said.

"Ok, ok, no need to yell. Now, what if you didn't remember that promise? What if you didn't remember Naminé?" X proposed. Sora stared at the ground thinking.

"I wouldn't be looking for her." Sora stated, "I would be helping these two find the king and Riku."

"The chain of memories that resides in your heart is a strong one. It ties you to others and that, in turn, makes you, you. You act upon these ties and remember the things you believe in. Trust me, I've seen someone with no memories. They're practically a zombie. Can barely respond to anything." X explained. Sora nodded slowly.

"So then, if we keep going, will we lose all our memories?" Goofy asked sounding scared.

"No. At least I don't think that's their plan. You'd be useless then." X replied.

Beside X from the ceiling, a bolt of lightning came down. Sora and his friends jumped back surprised, their weapons raised. X looked down at the floor then slowly raised his gaze to the ceiling.

"Looks like I got Larxene mad. I must be saying too much." X commented.

"What do you mean?" Donald asked though X had difficulty understanding him.

"I wasn't supposed to get in the way. But the Nobodies annoyed me enough I decided to interfere anyway. You needed to know more." X explained.

"What's a Nobody. I know examples of them but what are they? Why aren't you referring to them as normal people?" Sora asked.

X opened his mouth to answer but another bolt of lightning cut him off. He glared up at the ceiling.

"I hear you. I'm leaving. Chill out." He said, knowing Larxene was listening. He turned to walk away. "Well, I've detained you long enough. Good luck Sora." X said waving over his shoulder.

"Wait! What's your name?" Sora asked.

"Finally another right question. The name's X. Naminé's on the thirteenth floor. Better hurry." X replied as he stepped into a dark corridor. "Oh, and here," X said stopping and throwing a card at Sora which he caught. "You sort of need that," X stated as he vanished. Sora stared after him.

"Hey, Jiminy," Sora said.

"Yeah, Sora?" The cricket replied.

"Can you put an entry in the journal?" Sora asked still looking at where X had vanished.

"Sure, what do ya need?" Jiminy responded pulling out his journal.

"Trust X." Sora said simply.

*<3*

Riku looked around the white room he had just entered. It looked just like all the others he had been in already. His aqua eyes scanned the area looking for immediate threats. He could sense darkness in this room. Like a large Heartless was close by.

"About bloody time you get here. I was wondering if that idiot had killed you." A young woman's voice said causing Riku to turn quickly raising his blade.

The girl leaning against the wall was in her late teens. Her hair was a dark red, tied in a ponytail on the top of her head. Her gold eyes locked onto Riku. A small smile played on her lips. She was tossing dice up into the air and catching them.

"Who are you?" Riku asked.

"Not really that important, but if you insist upon knowing, my name is Aryum." The girl answered.

"What do you want?" Riku asked. He could feel the darkness radiating off of this girl. It was like being in a room with Ansem.

"Well isn't someone a bit testy. I mean no harm, I just want to see how the cards have been dealt. Maybe pull a slight of hand, switch the cards around." Aryum said with a grin. She lifted her head a little, giving the appearance she had to look down at Riku. Her white coat looked like the black coat one of the people he had met had been wearing.

"What do you mean?" Riku asked. His eyes narrowed at the redhead.

"I mean what I say. I want to help you. In a way." Aryum replied still grinning showing she was not afraid of Riku.

"Why? What do you have to gain?" Riku asked suspiciously.

"If I play my cards right I could cash out and win big." Aryum replied calmly. She stopped tossing the dice in the air and started inspecting one. "It all depends on how this round plays out."

"Will you stop with the metaphors and just speak English?" Riku demanded.

Aryum rolled her eyes. "No fun at all. In your terms, I can gain a lot from this. Mess with someone who ruined my life, freedom from the tyrant controlling me, and maybe even go back to the way things were." She said bitterly.

"And what does any of that have to do with me?" Riku asked.

"I can accomplish two of those things through you. The third requires assistance from a friend of yours." Aryum said. "I'm making a big bet here so don't prove me wrong. I hate when I have to fold." She pouted slightly.

"How does it help me?" Riku asked. All he seemed to do was ask this girl questions. Maybe if she would be clear they wouldn't have these issues.

"You get some memories you lost. Remember an old friend. The darkness has already weakened the bonds holding those memories." Aryum explained.

"An old friend I've forgotten?" Riku asked slowly lowering his blade.

"Ah, I see now I've perked your interest. Yes, the memories of her were stolen before your home fell into darkness. She herself was taken two years prior. Or that's what I have my munny on at least." Aryum said.

"And if you're wrong? What if she never existed?" Riku asked.

"Oh, she most definitely exists. It's just the question of whether she's met you or not. If she hasn't I fold and you walk away unharmed. There's nothing to lose." Aryum said finally moving away from the wall, stepping towards Riku. Riku's guard went up again.

"What is this doing for you? How is helping me going to get you to your goals?" Riku questioned stepping back a bit.

"The one who took your memories ruined my life. He has such a delicate plan in place. Pull out the right piece and it will fall apart. And if you remember the others will follow and that will let her remember. Once she remembers she will be able to fully understand what she is and kill the tyrant controlling me. I hit the jackpot with one simple move." Aryum said. Her eyes held a glow that looked dangerous, like a wild animal ready to break out.

Riku looked at her coldly. For a teenager, she was vicious and intelligent. Older than her years. Maybe that's what it was. Maybe she was older than she appeared.

"What are you? How do I know you're trustworthy?" Riku asked.

Aryum stopped to think. She tilted her head to the side considering her options. She only spoke after a few minutes of thinking.

"I'm a monster born from darkness who seeks the light. Just like the lessers of my kind." Aryum said. She held up her left hand the back facing Riku. Tattooed on the back was the Heartless emblem, but it was silver outlined in gold. Riku took another step away from her raising his blade to his fighting stance.

"Heartless." He said bitterly.

"Unfortunately. But I swear by Kingdom Hearts, and the heart that was once mine, I mean you no harm. I just want to be whole again." Aryum said. Her voice pleaded with Riku. Her gold eyes were afraid.

Fear. That was an emotion was it not? Maybe this girl was more human than other Heartless. She was fearing for her life. And swearing upon Kingdom Hearts was a big deal for Heartless. It was like a human swearing to heaven, or maybe hell.

"Fine. You can do what you have to. I'll give you this one chance." Riku agreed. Aryum smiled brightly.

"Brilliant. I don't have to do much. Really it's quite simple." She said. She pulled out a deck of playing cards and held them fanned out in front of Riku. "Pick a card."

Riku stared at the cards skeptically. He lowered his blade slowly and stepped forward studying the cards. They all looked the same. Black with the heartless emblem drawn on the back. Riku reached out and picked a random card. Before he could look at it Aryum snatched it from his hands. She looked at the cards and grinned.

"Thirteen of Heartless." She announced then flicked the card at Riku. "Just as I thought."

Riku caught the card and looked at it. It had the image of two keyblades crossed. One was black the other silver and blue. Behind the keys was a blue shard of something that looked like glass. The Heartless emblem was in two corners diagonal from each other with a thirteen in the other corners. It didn't seem special.

"What does it mean?" Riku asked glaring up at Aryum.

"That this might play in my favor. That's her card. That and I've mentioned her to you. That should be enough to trigger your memories." Aryum said still grinning.

"You mean if I didn't agree your little plan would have worked?" Riku asked angrily.

"That's the thing most people don't get. When you gamble be sure you can always win. But to be sure the memories are triggered. She came with Kairi. She was your age." Aryum said before she snapped her fingers. "Bye now." She waved as she vanished.

"Wait!" Riku yelled to no avail. She was gone, leaving him to stare at the card and wonder who the girl he had forgotten was.