Yuki cautiously walked through the forest of Twilight Town, looking around her slowly. She could tell she was being watched. She had been being watched by someone since she began her mission to clear the Heartless from the forest, but she didn't know who or what it was watching her.

Yuki had finished the mission for the day. There weren't many Heartless in the forest surprisingly. Only a few that seemed to be stragglers. Something else had already gotten rid of the Heartless. And that was what was worrying Yuki. If something was clearing out the little Heartless it wasn't likely to be very tolerant of the elites.

Yuki was almost out of the forest when she heard a sudden rush of air. She turned around, barely in time to block a blow from a strange weapon in the hands of a silver-haired boy wearing a blindfold. Yuki jumped back trying to make it to the town, but the boy jumped behind her. Yuki turned to face him, blocking his strike as it came down. She jumped back again going deeper into the forest.

The boy had paused giving Yuki time to study him. He looked to be a little taller than her, with silver hair that was passing his shoulders. His weapon was a sword, Yuki decided. Though the design was strange. It resembled the wing of a demon with a clear blue eye in the hilt. The boys face held no emotion. But that might have been because she couldn't see his eyes. He was wearing the same cloak the Nobodies did. He must have been the imposter that had been causing so much trouble.

"Why are you attacking me?" Yuki asked, holding her keyblades at the ready. "I haven't done anything." She insisted. The boy didn't reply and just shot forward to hit her once again. Yuki blocked his blow and swung at his side with her other keyblade. The boy jumped back to avoid the blow. Yuki jumped back as well, putting more distance between her and the boy.

"All Heartless need to be cleared out of this area." The boy suddenly said. Yuki looked at him in shock. She hadn't expected him to answer her question. Before Yuki could reply to his reasoning the boy attacked again. He moved so fast he was a blur. Yuki decided to take up the defensive side, only blocking his hits and attacking to get him away from her. She slowly backed up, inching ever closer to the mansion at the other end of the forest.

"You know, if you weren't attacking me I would have left and there would be no Heartless here." Yuki said through gritted teeth as the boy tried to strike her once more.

"I was asked to ensure you didn't leave." The boy said. Yuki frowned pushing the boy back with her keyblade. She had heard his voice somewhere before. But she couldn't place where.

Before Yuki could ask who asked him to ensure she didn't leave the boy kicked her in the chest, sending her into the clearing in front of the manor. Yuki skidded on the ground, coughing as she tried to regain her breath.

"Well, done. Go handle the puppet now." A voice said. Yuki froze in fear. She definitely knew this voice. It was the man that had been with Naminé in Castle Oblivion. So that meant the boy was the one Aryum had spoken to, the intruder on the lower levels.

"Her name is Xion." The boy said. Yuki watched him open a dark corridor and vanish into it. Behind her, the man gave a short laugh.

"Her name is of no importance. She is just an annoyance." He said. Yuki grit her teeth together and tightened her grip on her keyblade. She swung her arm back trying to hit the man. She heard movement that told her he had dodged. Yuki forced herself to her feet and turned to face the man.

"Don't talk about my friends like that." Yuki hissed, glaring at the man. He wore primarily red, white, and black, though there were accents of other colors. His robes were black with white and yellow designs. He had a red cape and a red scarf wrapped around his face leaving only one eye visible. That eye was a golden yellow.

"A creature with no feeling can't have any friends." The man said looking at Yuki with contempt. Yuki's glare deepened.

"Shut up! What do you know?!" Yuki shouted at the man. He laughed, mostly to himself, as he looked over Yuki in interest.

"I suppose you are right. I know very little about your organization. It's far older than the one my foolish apprentices started." He said stepping towards Yuki. Yuki stepped back to keep the distance between them. She didn't like this old man, he set her on edge. "But I know that Heartless are empty creatures with no mind. Yet before me, you stand, an exception to that rule. I'd be better off to put you back to sleep and hide you away again." He continued.

Yuki lowered her keyblade by a millimeter. Her glare softened into a look of confusion.

"You-you're the one," Yuki said in a whisper. "Why did you take my memories? Why did you make me sleep like that?" She asked. She raised her keyblade up to its original position. Her eyes became firm, refusing to show her thoughts.

"Well little queen, I have my reasons. Perhaps I will answer you if you answer me." The man said. He stepped forward again. This time Yuki didn't back away from him. "What is your organization planning? Is organization 14 finally stepping out of the shadows?"

Yuki's keyblade faltered as she took a step back. Her mind raced. What was the organization planning? Was it really just to get Kingdom Hearts? Was there some other goal? Were they done hiding in the shadows? Zakey had said that it was likely they would be making their move soon. And that Tayressa was caring less and less about remaining unseen.

"I-I," Yuki stuttered as she stepped back again. "I do- I don't know!" Yuki said forcefully. She dropped her keyblades into the grass and held her head in between her hands. The man seemed amused by her reaction. He did nothing but watch.

"I see." The man said. "You were awakened only to be another puppet in their game. Not to fulfill your true role. Perhaps I should put you to sleep again." He said. He moved towards Yuki slowly. He watched her cautiously like she was some type of wild animal that might lash out at any second. Yuki backed away, trying to keep as much distance between herself and the man as possible.

"Just stay away from me!" Yuki ordered not looking at the man. He ignored her, still coming closer. Before he could get close enough, small pockets of darkness opened around her. Heartless came out of the pockets and massed around her, protecting her from harm. The man stopped approaching her in wonder. Behind her, a large ball of darkness appeared in the air. From the darkness, Phoenix appeared. It landed on the ground and protectively wrapped its great black and white wing around Yuki.

The man suddenly laughed. "The legion comes to protect their monarch." He said. Yuki tightened her hands over her ears.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" She yelled. The man began laughing loudly. This all was amusing to him. "Go away!" Yuki yelled. The force behind her voice sent all the Heartless into a panic. They began to disappear just the way they had come. Before long Yuki stood alone again shaking in exhaustion.

"You can not control your abilities. That is dangerous." The man said simply.

"Shut up." Yuki whispered meekly before collapsing on the ground. The man took a step towards her but was stopped by a chakram thrown at his feet.

"I think you've done enough." Axel said as he walked into the clearing. Following behind him was X, who was glaring at the man. The blonde Heartless crouched beside Yuki, checking for injuries. Axel glanced over his shoulder at him.

"I'll make this simple," X said looking up at the man. "If you ever lay a finger on her, you'll lose that finger and all the others." He stood up and snapped, summoning a dark corridor and multiple Neoshadows. The Neoshadows picked up Yuki and took her through the dark corridor. X turned away and followed the Heartless through the dark corridor. Axel turned away from the man and pulled his chakram from the ground. He gave a mock solute before he too went through the dark corridor.

*<3*

Day 173- The Man in Red,
I don't remember today's mission all that well. I was clearing out the forest in Twilight Town but was attacked by the people who were with Naminé. I don't remember exactly what they said, but it bothered me. I passed out for some reason too. X says I summoned a ton of Heartless, but I don't remember. I only made it back because X and Axel found me.
I think I'm scared of that man in red.

*<3*

Yuki was the first to make it to the clock tower the next day. She sat alone, staring off towards the manor, looking for any sign of movement. She didn't know why, but she wanted to know if the imposter and the man in red were still there. Nothing could be seen from the clock tower, however, leaving her question unanswered.

"Yuki!" She glanced over her shoulder to see Roxas standing in shock. She smiled at him and waved as he walked over sitting beside her. He left a gap between them like he always did. A spot for Xion. "Where have you been the past few days? I've been worried you might have collapsed." Roxas asked. Yuki smiled a little.

"Just busy. Though I did collapse yesterday, I'm fine now." She said. Her eyes again wandered to the manor. Bits and pieces of the mission had come back to her memory. She didn't remember everything the man in red had said word for word, but she remembered the overall meaning of it.

"Oh," Roxas said. He glanced at her then looked down. "Has anyone told you about what happened to Xion?" He asked. Yuki turned and looked at him quizzically.

"No," she said thinking. "I didn't know anything had happened. Is she alright?" She asked. She looked back to the forest. The man in red had told the imposter to deal with the puppet, which the imposter identified as Xion. Did he hurt her in some way?

"She collapsed on a mission a few days ago. She hasn't woken up from it yet." Roxas replied. Yuki frowned. The last person to collapse like that was Roxas. That had been a long time ago though. But the similarities between the two just seemed to be mounting. Was there a reason for this?

"Does anyone know why?" Yuki asked. Roxas shook his head.

"If they do they aren't saying anything. I'm pretty sure Saix knows, but there's no way he'd tell me anything. Axel tried to figure it out and he didn't find out anything." He explained. Yuki nodded, not asking any further questions. It was all so strange. Was there more meaning than she had originally thought to Xion being called a puppet? Where had Xion even come from?

Before she could put too much thought into it Axel, X, and Y arrived. They took their places and the conversation shifted to where everyone had been that day. Roxas had been to Neverland from the sounds of it as he was claiming to have flown. The twins hadn't gone any place special, nor had Axel. It was a quiet, normal day.

*<3*

"You have been drawing this girl a lot lately." The man in red said. He was holding one of Naminé's drawings. It was of the ravenette girl that had been in the forest the day before. It was of her just before the Heartless had come to protect her. "Is there a reason for this Naminé?" The man asked.

"He's supposed to remember her, but he doesn't. I want to try and fix everything, for both of them." Naminé replied, looking down at her clasped hands. She shifted nervously under the man's gaze.

"I'm sure he can survive without these memories. He has for some time now." The man said calmly, setting the picture down. He looked at Naminé with interest, like she was no more than a specimen in a lab. The blonde Nobody continued her nervous fidgeting.

"Yes, but, but what if, what if he needs her help?" Naminé said, tripping over her words. "She, she could be very important later. If they don't remember each other, it could ruin everything." She continued to elaborate, refusing to look up.

"Naminé, what do you know that I do not?" The man asked forcefully. Naminé looked up at him shyly.

"If she doesn't remember, she could kill him."

*<3*

Day 174- Puppet,
I talked to Roxas on the clock tower today. Xion collapsed on a mission a few days ago. I'm kinda worried.
I remembered some of yesterday's mission. The man in red had mentioned Xion was a puppet. He called her an annoyance. It makes me wonder if any of this lines up.