Chapter Six: Radiant Garden

"Would the three of you care to explain to me how you failed to capture two vulnerable children?"

Xigbar, Marluxia, and Xaldin stood looking rather defeated and humiliated in front of Organization XIII's stand-in leader. He wore the signature black cloak, and his long blue hair outlined his face, which was easily recognized by an X-shaped scar. His name was Saix, No. 7, the Luna Diviner.

"It's like we said," Xigbar half-shrugged in an irritated voice, "Flamesilocks showed up outta nowhere just when we were about to take 'em from those woods."

"There was nothing we could do," Xaldin added in a calmer voice.

"We were unaware that he had even returned from the darkness," Marluxia agreed.

Saix sighed in frustration. "I expected better from you. Don't disappoint me again." The Diviner's voice remained as calm as ever, but his amber glare could burn a hole through steel. The only reply he received were some irritated grunts from the trio before they walked away.

"I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of capturing two stupid little boys," a woman's bored voice rang out through the room. "If we can bring everybody back from nothingness like this, why do we even need them?" She walked lazily past Saix and flopped down on one of the gray couches. Her blonde antennas swayed gently as she walked.

"Have you not been paying attention, Larxene?"

"How can I? Every meeting it's the same thing. 'We must find them to return the Superior to full power and obtain Kingdom Hearts.'" The Savage Nymph emphasized her point by deepening her voice to imitate the Diviner's, and using many dramatic hand gestures. Returning her voice to normal, Larxene glanced at him. "I don't see why we need them at all. With Sora slaying Heartless with that Keyblade of his, we should be able to finish Kingdom Hearts in no time. Especially since Roxas is back in the picture now. We'll get it done twice as fast!"

Saix shook his head. "We need to extract Sora's heart to cover all the worlds in darkness – the darkness of Kingdom Hearts. But to do that, we need everyone in the Organization to help resurrect the Superior. That includes Roxas."

"Then we should worry only about Roxas for the time being," a new voice chimed in. Saix and Larxene turned to face its owner.

"Vexen. Have you been able to bring back any other members?" Saix asked the fourth member. The Chilly Academic nodded.

"Numbers Six and Nine have returned. We will soon have thirteen members once more. However, I am having some difficulties in bringing Numbers Five, and Ten back. I will need some time to work out the issues."

Saix nodded. "Take whatever time you need. You are right. We have to bring Roxas here to help the Superior return from the darkness."

"And Axel? I don't think he's looking to do you any favors, Saix," Larxene inquired. For once, Saix ignored her disrespectful attitude and simply answered her question.

"If we obtain Roxas, it should be very easy to convince Axel to come along. After all, he wouldn't want anything to happen to his friend, now would he?"

"Sora will be of no use to us until the Superior returns," Vexen added. "His capture is unnecessary at the moment."

Saix nodded and silently summoned all members to the Grey Area.

~.~.~

This was probably the most awkward moment in Risa's life. Axel didn't seem that affected, though. He just stood staring at the others in the Usual Spot, his grip on Risa's waist tightening a little. The only one not looking at them confusedly was Haru, because he knew about her losing her heart and her relationship with Axel. She'd told him everything upon returning to the Islands. She knew she couldn't keep such a big secret by herself, so she had entrusted Haru to carry part of the burden for her, which he had done without a second thought. But now, she was starting to think it would've been a good idea to tell Sora, Riku, and Kairi about it, so they could've avoided this moment…

"… Risa… mind explaining what's going on?" Sora asked. "How do you know Axel and…" Sora seemed to hesitate briefly. "Did you really lose your heart?"

Risa lowered her head, and Axel looked down at her encouragingly. "C'mon, Xar, I think they deserve an explanation." Axel cajoled her.

Risa tensed, her hair falling around her face to cast it in shadow. She leaned more heavily into Axel, an unconscious effort to hide.

Giving a deep breath, she began. "The Heartless took my heart a year ago, the night the Islands were destroyed. Xaris is my Nobody. Xemnas tried to get her to join the Organization, but she refused." Risa smiled, her eyes soft. She lifted her head, looking right at Sora. "She didn't join because she wanted to watch over you, Sora."

"M-me?" The Keyblade Master stuttered upon hearing this. He knew Risa loved him, but he never knew that it was so powerful that her Nobody would take a bullet for him if necessary. Roxas was just as surprised as his Somebody.

"Didn't think I'd let you wander all over the worlds unsupervised, did you?" Risa joked.

"Hey, I had Donald and Goofy with me, didn't I?" Sora was aware that this was a rather feeble argument, but he wasn't about to let her have this one.

Axel and Haru exchanged amused glances as Sora and Risa playfully argued over the matter, while Roxas just smiled at his older sister. As the mockery of an argument died down (Risa being the victor) Sora turned to the confused Twilight Town trio, explaining about the Heartless and how people who lost their hearts could become Nobodies.

"So that's what happened to you and Risa?" Olette asked, her eyes wide.

Risa nodded. "Yep. Wasn't a pleasant experience, either."

"So, how'd you and Axel meet? And how'd you get your heart back?" Amaya asked, clearly curious.

Risa opened her mouth to answer, but Axel beat her to it. "We met in Deep Jungle." Risa jabbed him with her elbow, glaring at him. Apparently, she didn't like being interrupted. Axel just laughed and pulled her closer. "She had just seen Sora, and she was acting kinda weird-"

"- it's called being relieved, Axel-" Risa grumbled.

"-so I decided to go and see what was wrong with her, and she told me Sora's her little brother. Then I told her about the Keyblade, Kingdom Hearts, the Organization's plan… you know, that type of stuff." Axel shrugged as if it were no big deal. "And then we found ourselves meeting at the Station Tower every evening for ice cream… it was nice."

"But then I had to go and get my heart back." Risa said, sounding almost as if she wished she never did reclaim her heart.

"So that's what happened," Sora murmured to no one in particular.

"Sounds like she really cares for you," Amaya smiled.

"Hey, you're her sister too, ya know," Sora returned the smile. "Risa may seem really scary sometimes, but she's always there when you need her."

"And don't you forget it, Sora," Risa winked and gave his chestnut hair a good ruffle (which really irritated him.) Amaya backed up a bit as she watched the two of them playfully duke it out again, her smile never faltering.

"Yup, that's Xaris, alright," she heard Axel sigh to himself as he observed the siblings with her. Amaya couldn't help but notice some slight adoration in his voice. His jade eyes had a distant look to them, as if he were lost in thought.

"Hey Axel," Amaya inquired, receiving a quiet "hmm?" to let her know he was listening, "how is it that you can love Risa? From what you guys have told me, it's impossible to feel without a heart."

"I don't need a heart," he replied. At the sight of the younger girl's confused expression, he continued. "As long as I have Risa's heart, I don't need mine."

"You must really care for her then..."

"Hey, don't worry about it," the Nobody gently ruffled Amaya's chocolate-colored hair upon detecting a hint of sadness, "you'll find somebody too. Heck, maybe you already have." He shot a smirk toward Riku, who simply answered with an embarrassed look of confusion. Axel winked before returning his attention to Sora and Risa.

"We should probably go," Sora suggested. "Other worlds might need our help."

"Already?" Pence was disappointed that his friends were leaving so soon.

"You'll come back, won't you?" Olette asked. She, too, was sad to see them go, but she knew that they had to sooner or later.

"Of course," Roxas smiled reassuringly. "We came back during our last adventure, right?"

"That's true," the brunette girl chuckled.

"Just don't kidnap anybody this time," Hayner warned Axel, though everybody could tell that he was joking.

"Deal," the redhead replied with exasperated amusement.

"It was nice to finally meet you all," Olette said to Sora's siblings and Riku as they all boarded the Gummi Ship.

"Take care of yourselves," Pence added.

"Show those Organization punks who's boss!" Hayner chimed in as the trio waved goodbye.

~.~.~.~.~

Amaya was the first to leave the Gummi Ship and step onto the pale blue cobblestone of Radiant Garden's Central Square. The pastel colors of pink, blue, white, and the occasional orange seemed to glow almost under the darkness of the night sky. The navy blanket, studded with billions of tiny stars always brought a sense of calm to the town. The quiet rush of the twin fountains was pleasantly familiar to her ears. The only artificial lights came from a few illuminated windows nearby.

"I know this place," Kairi mumbled to herself. "Have I . . . been here before?"

Amaya's sapphire eyes fell on a nearby flower bed and a wave of nostalgia overcame her for a moment. She had spent many childhood days picking flowers with her friend Aerith and another girl whom she had long since forgotten. All Amaya really remembered about her was that she had shoulder-length red hair.

"Well, the restoration's come a long way," Sora remarked. This was true, many of the fallen buildings had been restored, or were nearly completed. Hollow Bastion itself was still something of a ruin, but it looked about ten times better than it had during Sora's last quest. Amaya looked around. Some smaller processes of the restoration had been finished in the time she was gone. Her face lit up with surprise as she realized where she was standing.

"This is where I was attacked by those Heartless the other day," she whispered to herself. Axel's keen ears picked up the sound, however, and he began to panic inside.

Uh-oh! If she finds out . . . if they find out . . . He looked to the brick pathway to avoid meeting her eyes, but he knew it was too late. The questions would surely start any second.

"Heeey!" A girl's voice pierced through the quiet nighttime air and reached the eight adventurers. Everyone strained to find the owner in the darkness, and finally saw the figure of a girl, probably around Risa's age, bounding over towards them. She landed perfectly on her feet next to her old friend.

"Yuffie!" Sora greeted the ninja and introduced her to his friends and older siblings.

"Oh, Risa and Haru. Merlin did mention them during your first visit," The raven-haired ninja said, recalling the old wizard informing them of Sora's family on the islands after he'd gone to the Bailey with Leon.

"And there's one more we just learned about." Sora stepped aside and opened his mouth, but was immediately silenced by a relieved cry from the teenage ninja.

"Amaya! You're safe! When Leon saw that group of Heartless jump you, we thought you were done for!"

As Yuffie launched herself at the brunette, Amaya returned the sisterly embrace. "No, I'm fine. I don't know how it happened, but I was transported to Sora's island just in time." She glanced at Axel once more, but, much to his relief, didn't press the issue any more.

"That's great! We were so worried…" Stepping back, Yuffie gave Amaya a once-over, as if she were searching for any wounds, and not finding any, she smiled and bounced back a few feet. "But, why did appear on Destiny Islands? What connection do you have there?"

Amaya was about to answer, but Haru was faster. "She's our long-lost sister. Sora's twin."

Yuffie's eyes widened, clearly surprised. "Twins? Are you serious?" It seemed Yuffie wanted to confirm for herself, so she grabbed Sora and Amaya and pulled them close to her, and began to compare the two – It was slightly awkward for the twins, but did the hyper-active ninja care? Nope.

After a good few seconds of Yuffie scrutinizing Sora and Amaya, an excited smile bloomed on her face. "Wow! You're right, these two are twins!" Then she bounced back, giving the twins room to breathe. "Why didn't I notice it before…?" She seemed to be asking herself more than the others.

Sora and Amaya looked at each other and shrugged – they both knew what Yuffie was like.

"Come on, let's go! The others will wanna know you're okay!" Yuffie grabbed Amaya's hands and led her for a moment before breaking into a jog towards Merlin's house.

Everyone else shared only momentary glances before running after the hyperactive ninja and Amaya.

Author's Note: Holy crap! O_O it's been a YEAR since this was updated! That's just… Wow… Sorry 'bout that… But I've decided that writer's block has a vendetta against me, so I had a hard time writing – if it weren't for Dark Maiden95, who wrote a very good chunk of this chapter, it never would've gotten out…

And, by the way, Vampire Countess changed her pen name – she's now Dark Maiden95.