Well, here’s another update for you guys! This chapter is, more or less, and in between chappy to fill in some little spaces for a nice transition. Also, I put a little bit of Org interaction at the end.

Chapter 12: Corruption

Sora sniggered as he made his way towards the Usual Spot. His eyes still beamed with a yellow gleam, and he still kept his cynical simper. Strangely enough, his hair had darkened in shade just slightly, going from a chestnut color to a dark, almost blackish brown. His Keyblade was grasped tightly in his clutches, for no apparent reason, and, in general, there was just something peculiar about him. Then again, Vexen had corrupted him, so this was a give in. Anyway, he by now, he stood just outside the Usual Spot, listening to the quiet conversation. He could easily make out the voices of Hayner, who was ranting, as usual, while Olette and Pence remained seemingly silent.

It seemed that there was no problem with a simple intrusion. The trio within the Usual Spot was already friends of Sora as it was. Surely, they would welcome him with open arms, correct? This all made sense to the corrupt Keybearer, who, hiding his weapon made his way inside. His cold, monotone footsteps caught the attention of the trio, who turned from whatever activity they were engaged in to see the Keybearer. Judging by the look of Hayner, who seemed to have something wrapped around his waist, at least from the slight distortion beneath his shirt, he had been injured in some way recently. Pence and Olette, on the other hand, looked unchanged from the last time Sora had been in town.

His angered grimace shifting to a simple grin, Hayner exclaimed, “Hey, man! Didn’t expect to see you here so soon.” Being oddly friendly, the hot tempered teen ambled towards his rather new friend, looking at him strangely. “You look…different. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s just something about you that’s weird. Did you get contacts or something?” He stopped for a moment to snigger at the mere thought. Meanwhile, Olette simply shook her head at Hayner’s antics. If there was one thing about Hayner that got on her nerves, it was his cocky attitude. Some things never changed.

Pence too was glad to see a familiar face, though he just ignored his friends’ reactions for his own sake. Instead, he simply said in a rather casual tone, “Oh, hey, what’s up? I didn’t expect to see you around here so soon. Where’re Donald and Goofy?” It didn’t take long for the somewhat pudgy teenager to realize that Sora’s two traveling companions were absent. That, to him, stuck out far more than his amber colored eyes and darkening tuft of spikes. Surely there had to be an explanation.

Sora narrowed his eyes. Already the three were catching onto his little weirdness. He’d have to think up an excuse in order to remain safe from any more suspicion. Blabbing something as quick as possible, the Keybearer lied, “Donald and Goofy said that I needed some time to visit some friends. I guess they think all this adventuring is getting to my head. Heh, they need to stop being so paranoid.” This lie, despite the simplicity, seemed to prove decent enough. After all, not one of the trio of Twilight Town questioned him. In fact, if anything, they easily seemed to buy this excuse.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Olette chirped in a sweet tone, “it’s great to see you again. Sorry if Hayner starts going on about Seifer, though… he’s so immature.” Immediately, Hayner gave his companion a sneer, growling in annoyance. Whenever Olette went on about his little temper problems, it got on his bad side, to say the least. Her response to the cocky teen, however, was nothing short of a stern glare, which had “Shut. Up. Now.” written all over her face. This whole time, Sora stood, back arched, awaiting the moment when he could return to Anti Form, while Pence just shook his head at this little display. Nothing was too peculiar. This little squabble would cease soon enough.

In actuality, the argument abruptly halted when Hayner finally shouted “Look! We can deal with this some other time. Sora’s probably tired of just standing there, anyway. …Right?” A simple nod was the response in which the Keybearer gave to senior shouts a lot. After enduring hordes of heartless, meeting up with the Organization, and being torched in the back, there wasn’t a lot that was tough for Sora to handle. However, Hayner’s temper was another story. So, knowing that the fifteen year old had grown bored of this, the leader of the Usual Spot threesome bellowed, “Maybe we should take Sora into town… At least it’d give him something to do. I can own Seifer later, anyway.”

There he went, starting about Seifer again, though, at least he had thought up a fairly decent idea. Going into town would be a relaxing way to spend time, and, at least for Sora, there would be plenty of opportunities to get a decent “meal.” Twilight Town was rather populated as it was, meaning several hearts. This thought brought a smile to the corrupt hero’s face. All he needed to do was hang out with these three for a brief amount of time, and then he would be ready to strike. It was a foolproof plan, or at least, it seemed to be so. So, with that settled, he whispered, a scratchy tone in his voice, “I think a trip around town would be pretty neat. I haven’t gotten to see much of this world… Let’s go!”

“Alright then,” replied Pence with a smile of sorts, clasping both of her hands together. “We’ll give you the grand tour!” That was all that needed to be said for the moment, as the trio, along with Sora, headed out the door, into the back alley. The sun gleamed up from above, while the warm breeze blew through the air. Station Heights would be the closest part of Town from Here, as it was just uphill. Therefore, the group began a leisurely stroll in that direction. Little did Hayner and the gang realize, this was all a rouse. Their very hearts were in danger, and their insolence was preventing them from seeing the truth in this matter.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

The Castle That Never Was

CRAAAAASH! The dark portal Roxas had used had indeed worked to its fullest. The whole entire Gummi had indeed been warped to the World that Never Was. What was once the sheer tranquility of a peaceful fortress was now filled with hubbub as the vehicle collided within Vexen’s lab. Bottles of chemicals were flung against the walls, breaking upon impact. The very table within was knocked to the ground. Even the Chilly Academic himself was blown backwards. Yes, things had worked well, spare the fact that now the Organization was well aware of the presence of their enemies, along with the traitor.

A cloud of dust filled the inside of the ship. Rubble coated the cockpit window, and it was very difficult to see. Coughing and wheezing, the fowl magician known only as Donald pushed himself to his feet, observing the mess within. Several items had been sent to the floor. The radar was bleeping out of control, and the warning signal was going off once again. Brow furrowed, the poultry mage stomped back a bit further, searching for his fellow passengers. With luck, he managed to find both Goofy and Roxas, who, at the moment, were piled atop each other, eyes rolling with dizziness. A nice coat of dust accompanied their normal attire. Donald’s first reaction was rather simple, really. Taking his staff, he gave both of his traveling buddies a nice WHACK on the head.

“Get up!” he snapped, frustration overtaking his body. His feathers were red with rage, while steam blew out of his beak. His expression was nothing short of a sneer, and obviously he wasn’t in the best mood. “We need to investigate where we’ve landed!” he added in an incensed tone, ready to bang his weapon once again. Luckily, the whole notion was unnecessary, as both Roxas and Goofy got back to their feet, rubbing their heads uncomfortably. For such a small little featherbed, one had to admit that when he got in one of his bad moods, his wrath stung HARD. Surely the bruises would remain for quite some time.

“Gawrsh…” Goofy whimpered, adjusting his hat, which had been tossed askew after this little collision course. “Where do ya think we landed?” It did indeed seem that neither he nor his feathered companion knew of their current location. The mystified looks on their visages accompanied by all this hustle and haste proved this so. Then again, this had to be the third time their Gummi had crashed during all of this adventuring. Either way, Roxas simply stood still, peering out the debris covered window, while Sora’s flunkies conversed.

Donald stroked his chin as he pondered over Goofy’s notion. The radar had indeed gone insane. Several items were visible now, each moving about whatever location this was. From the looks of things, the strange blinking items were alive, as they kept moving in unpredictable patterns. As for location, the screen had a big “???” on it, as if this world was completely uncharted and unknown. Though, this made sense, as the nobody realm was between the realms of light and darkness. Finally, the fowl uttered, “It looks like we’re in some unknown place…but how? And why?”

“Because,” intruded Roxas, who was wearing a somber look, “this is the World that Never Was. It’s the realm between all existences…the base of Organization XIII.” At this little explanation, both the defender and the royal magician’s gazes lit up. Shock and surprise were written all over them, as this was the place they had least expected to end up at, at least for a while. All the same, it did make sense for the radar to look all messed up if this world was between all of reality itself. Roxas just shook his head and sighed. “You do realize that just standing here is going to make us fair game for the Organization. We’d better get moving and…find Sora.”

“Fine,” replied the feathery being in a coarse manner, “you’re probably right. Still, you seem to know an awful lot about this Organization. It’s suspicious, but, you probably more than even me. So, c’mon and get goin’!” By now, it could be assumed that the oversized dinner had finally accepted Roxas, despite the fact that he had, though unknown as of yet, warped them far from Sora’s location. He gave a huff before turning away from Goofy and the blondey. All he wanted was to rescue Sora before anything nasty happened. Shrugging, Goofy abruptly followed behind, carrying his shield and, for once, looking actually close to intelligent. This left Roxas, who reluctantly picked up the pace. Deep down, he knew that he had done the wrong thing, but he just couldn’t risk anything for his own sake. It’s not like they’d find out, anyway.

So, now that everything necessary had been said, the temperamental aquatic bird and master of magic stumbled towards the Gummi door. Due to its current position, there had been some junk tossed about, but at least the vehicle hadn’t exploded, unlike the last time there was an accident. Once he was clear from any pieces of worthless stuff, he simply kicked open the entrance with his large, webbed foot. Upon seeing the sight before him, though, his face lit up in utter surprise, and maybe a bit of fear. Before him stood Vexen, IV of Organization XIII, arms crossed and an agitated gleam upon his mug. Upon reaching his compadré, Goofy also buzzed out. Vexen was clearly the closest to irritated that a nobody could get. Eyes narrow, he started to step forth to ‘greet’ the intruders. By the time Roxas had stumbled out the door, the Academic’s discontent had reached its peak.

“Well, well,” spat IV sharply, “it seems that the King’s fools…and the little traitor have arrived to rescue poor, miserable Sora.” Both of the King’s lackeys drew their weapons, as Vexen came closer. They knew a fight was inevitable by now. Roxas, on the other hand, remained still, trying not to arouse any more distrust for the time being. It was bad enough that Vex had called him a traitor! “You, sadly, are too late to help,” Vexen snarled. “The boy has already endured the experiments, and now…he’s likely out causing chaos while assisting the Organization. I do suppose that my little mishap does have its rewards.”

That was enough to light the fowl’s fuse. In a surge of rage, Donald blasted at the top of his lungs, “WHAT?! You mean to tell me that you…he…GAH! That’s IT!” There was no sense in holding back the duck now. He had kept in a majority of his rage buried inside for far too long. Now was his chance to unleash his potential, and Vexen just happened to be his target. Yes, in all this frustration, he lifted up his wand and shouted, at the top of his breath, “Thunder….thunder….WAA! TAKE THIS!” A sudden stream of sparks was unleashed from the tip of the mage’s staff. The voltage itself was steaming hot and ready to give IV a nice, relentless shock. And so the bolt shot directly at the Chilly Academic, sending him flying towards his monitor. Even more surges were triggered from the computer itself. All Goofy and Roxas could do is stare in awe at the sudden chain of outbursts. Even Vexen himself hadn’t expected this in the least.

As soon as the voltage wore off, IV slid down from the monitor, his cloak coated in ashes at that. All the same, he wasn’t too phased by Donald’s literally shocking maneuver. His element was ice, meaning that the weakness would be flame and not thunder. Nevertheless, it was apparent that the threesome wished to resolve things through violence. So, in a flat resonance, he announced, “Well, it appears that you fools seek a violent solution. As a member of Organization, I simply cannot be lenient on this situation as it is…so it could be assumed that I accept your humble challenge.” He lifted up his arm, a blue glow surrounding his very hand. In a matter of seconds, his large, blue shield began to materialize.

Without any hesitation, both Donald and Goofy rushed towards their foe. Their weapons were ready to strike, and determination was gleaming from their appearance. Roxas also prepared his Keyblade, though he took a more subtle approach by idly waiting for IV to strike. Right before the defender and the magician could reach Vexen, the Academic gave a snap, creating a puddle of ice in their path before warping away. Failing to expect this, the two slid forward and into the wall. At least there wasn’t electricity lining everything this time, however. Roxas, as he did when fighting Larxene, kept watch for any slight movement, so he could strike Vexen down. This was a more strategic approach that would surely prove more useful. Barging in would simply lead to more crashes, anyway.

Whoosh, Vexen reappeared right on schedule, ready to pull another fast one. However, Roxas wasn’t as easily tricked as his fellow fighters, and therefore, he took this moment and put it to use. Just as he had done with Larxene, he dove forward, jamming his Keyblade in Vexen’s gut. This caused IV to jolt back at his monitor, and get hit by another steam of shocks. Voltage coursed through his very being, as if he were a piece of a circuit, temporarily stunning him and leaving him open for more attacks. This is where Donald and Goofy came in. First, the poultry mage jumped forward and sent a nice stream of fire towards the already ash coated cloak. The burning embers met with the volts and more than doubled the pain, as fire proved to be IV’s weakness. Adding onto the pain was nothing short of Goofy’s shield, which had been tossed like a Frisbee, ricocheting off the lab walls all before making contact with Vexen’s face.

Once the flames dimmed, and Vexen slid back to the floor again, it was apparent that he had taken quite the beating. His face was coated in even more ashes then before, not to mention bruises from the shield, and his cloak was tattered in some places. Arrogantly, he lifted his own shield up and began to hover ever so slightly above the ground. Of course, the trio of heroes didn’t hesitate to make another attack. Goofy again shot his weapon upward, but it was countered by the large blue shield. Vexen’s response afterwards was a snap of the fingers, as suddenly icicles started to fall from the ceiling. Rapidly, the defender ran, making circles across the room, as did his comrades, though Roxas was trying to keep his eyes peeled for an attack opportunity, while Donald kept on recklessly shooting fire balls, which bounced off of the shield of the Chilly Academic.

When the icicles vanished, XIII headed back towards Vexen, his key-shaped weapon held forward. He managed to come incredibly close to the scientist before he was caught in a trap of sorts. You see, by the time Roxas had come a decent distance to his foe, said nobody sent a cold spell through his body, trapping him in a solid block of ice. Roxas had been hindered in a matter of moments. This didn’t settle with Donald and Goofy, who then tried to fight back, only to find that IV had warped himself before they could make any contact with his being, or lack thereof. Irritated by the constant warping, a certain fowl quickly pondered over his options before waddling out of the way to avoid any sudden maneuvers. Upon his reappearance, Vexen repeated his tactic with the icicles falling from the ceiling, leaving the two remaining fighters with no choice but to run around in circles, while the Chilly Academic laughed with a high pitched squeal. A few hits were actually made on the two lackeys of the King, while Vexen relatively went unharmed.

Within a few minutes the ice surrounding Roxas’ being cracked open, leaving XIII cold and damp. Shivering, he picked up his Keyblade and headed over to assist Donald and Goofy only to find that the duo had become extremely exhausted. Not only had they ended up dodging several icicles, but Vexen had also caused them to slip a few times on some icy puddles. Beads of sweat coursed down their visages, and it was apparent that they had been weakened. Despite his wayward and frail appearance, IV had proved himself a very tricky foe. Even then, though, Roxas wasn’t tuckered out, and so he darted at the warping fiend, an orange glow surrounding his weapon. Startled, Vex, who had just reappeared after warping, prepared to transport himself away, but he was too late. Flinging out from the tip of the Keyblade was an orb of fire, ready to scorch an ice loving nobody.

The immense heat of this orb of embers was incredible, and it sent several surges of pain through IV’s body. He could only wince in agony as he was devoured by the heat. Whatever the cause, Roxas had indeed used magic. The sheer fact that he did it without even the smallest consent was the unusual part. Not that it really mattered, as the flames, either way, caused maximum pain for the scientist, who, at this point, was on his knees, cringing in maximum pain. His whole face was contorted, and it was plainly obvious that he had enough. “Al…right…” he whimpered, coughing out dark smoke, “I think you’ve all proven your point. Let this madness cease!”

Reluctantly, Roxas vanished the Keyblade with little to no effort. Despite the fact that it would prove more intelligent to simply eliminate IV, there really was no need. For the time being, he would let Vexen off. As for Donald and Goofy, the duo was currently recuperating from the little rumble, panting heavily at that. Both of them had put their weapons away for the time being. During this whole charade, not one bit of information involving Sora had been revealed. In truth, this whole thing had been somewhat useless. Heck, all it really had been good for was a workout…a rather hectic one at that.

Pulling himself back to his feet, Vexen explained in a somber tone, “You three do realize that Sora is far from this castle, correct? If anything, he could be anywhere from Hollow Bastion to Land of Dragons!” Both Donald and Goofy, overwhelmed by surprise, gave a “WHAT?!” look to the academic, who simply shrugged it off. He really couldn’t care less about Sora’s location, as he lacked any real ability to do so, as opposed to the King’s minions of sorts.

“Gawrsh,” Goofy sighed, stroking his nose with a gloved finger, “I guess that means we came all this way for nothin’, huh? Guess we’d better get outta here…” This news wasn’t thrilling in the least, and it only proved bothersome to the defender and his feathery partner. They had just taken on a nobody, for crying out loud, and not one bit of useful information had been given! Donald also was rather annoyed by this notion, especially with his short temper. Of all things troublesome, this had to take the cake…at least for the day.

Angrily, Donald picked up his staff and headed towards the Gummi. He had enough of this little rendezvous, and by now he just wanted to get to Sora and get back to business! Frustration overtaking him, he spat, “Great, that’s just great! We came all this way for nothing! Gah! Sora could be…anywhere, and we’re not helping a bit!” Growling, he stomped his large, webbed foot, all while turning towards the Gummi. It seemed that Donald had been ticked off several times in such a short period, now included. All the while, Roxas simply frowned upon the situation. To be simple, he felt as if he had been incredibly evil by warping Donald and Goofy all the way to the castle.

He brushed his hand against his blonde tuft of spikes before stepping towards the angered fowl. Despite the fact that seeing Sora was the least of his priorities, he knew that hiding would only add to his suspicion. Sighing, he said in a bland tone, “Donald, I know where Sora is…” At those words, the poultry mage cocked his head towards XIII in much interest. From there Roxas continued, “He’s…he’s in Twilight Town. I know how to get you there too…but you’ll have to trust me…”

“If you can get us to Sora and fast that’s good enough for me!” retorted the featherbed eagerly. “I don’t care how you do it at this point. Just make it quick, ok?” Arms crossed, Donald gave a rather impatient look. Goofy as well seemed as if he had wanted to leave as soon as possible, as he was making his way back towards the Gummi Ship. Staying in the castle would only make them more likely to be caught by the Organization, anyway, especially with Vexen hearing every little word they said. Leaving was the best option.

There wasn’t any reason for Roxas to hold back now, since the King’s followers appeared ready to hit the road, so to speak. All he would really need to do now would be to warp the Gummi Ship and D & G…not to mention himself. If he could pull it off once, what was keeping him from doing it again? This in mind, he lifted up his hand, as the ground around him and the others became engulfed by an aura of blackish purple darkness. As it grew larger, everything within its span began to sink into the shadows. Surprise overtook the defender and the magician at this sight. They would be sure to question XIII when they had the chance…not only because of this, but also due to the fact that Vexen had deemed him traitor. Questions aside, though, it didn’t take long for the trio and the Gummi to vanish from sight.

Vexen simply sniggered to himself. “Twilight Town,” he pondered in a nearly inaudible tone, “how intriguing. I shall have to look into Sora and his progress. Perhaps not all is lost.” Turning to the damaged monitor of his computer, he swiftly pressed a few little keys, as the screen lit up, although a tad crackly. It was time to check up on the corrupt Keybearer.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Twilight Town

Sora’s laughter could be heard from all around. He truly had lost it. All around him, citizens of Twilight Town fled in fear. Mothers held their children tight, while shop keepers closed down their stores. Surrounding him were many a heartless, each one craving the same exact thing as he, namely, fresh hearts. Already the Keybearer had extracted some captured hearts from the dark pests, while freeing others. Instead of being a hero with a strong heart, he had become a vicious maniac. Why oh why had Hayner and his friends trusted him? Why had they led him into the more social areas of Twilight Town?

“You see,” cackled the now Anti Sora, diving forward at a shadow heartless, “you shouldn’t have trusted me… Now I’ve got everything I need. You really are quite foolish, especially you…Hayner…” Twitching, he leapt away from the now vanishing shadow and scampered towards the camo-clad teenager, digging deep into his consciousness with those pools of amber. “Now, I am going to take your heart, and I am going to enjoy every moment of your screaming. Thank you, Hayner. Heheheh…”

Nervously, Hayner backed off, though he remained in front of his two friends, Pence and Olette. The expression planted on his mug was a mixture of fear and determination. Angrily, he spat, “I can’t believe you! You’re not Sora! You’re just some freak that looks like him! Heck, you’re worse than Seifer! What’s wrong with you, man?!” Sora simply sniggered in response. Had his facial features been visible, a widespread grin would have been plain to see. Slowly, he made his way closer to Hayner, his arms reaching out for his chest. All the hot tempered teen could do was slowly back off, as he had no weapon at his disposal.

“Face it,” bellowed the Keybearer insanely, “you cannot run, and you cannot hide. You haven’t a weapon. You and your friends are hopeless. So is this whole town. Do you not see these heartless before you? The only one who can stop them is me, and I’m hungry…for hearts.” His arm inched closer to Hayner’s gut, his claws ready to reach in and grab the prize inside. The stench of fear filled every inch of the defenseless teen’s being. He was about to take the heart too. Everything seemed flawless. However, one did have to account for a certain pyromaniac with a pair of relatively dangerous chakrams.

Chink! Sora’s arm was met by the sharp edge of a certain throwing disk, causing the corrupt hero to leap back, squealing in pain and annoyance. In doing so, however, he had given Hayner and company the perfect opportunity to make their escape, and so they did. Yes, it was quite fortunate that Axel had arrived on the scene once again, despite the little fact that he didn’t quite enjoy playing hero. All the same, Axel stood in the middle of the Station Heights, his weapons in hand, staring straight at Sora and the small heartless which scampered through the streets, chasing after the fleeing citizens. All the Keybearer could do was sneer viciously at this sight.

“Well, what do we have here?” mused VIII in a rather sinister manner. “Have you been a good little boy?” At this, Sora snarled, diving forward. How unorthodox of him. Not that this was a problem for Axel, of course. After all, he was a nobody, meaning that he didn’t need to play by the rules. Instead of standing there helplessly, he warped behind the spiky haired bundle of corruption all before giving him a swift kick in the back. This caused Sora to fly forward, landing right on top of a nearby soldier heartless. Snickering, Axel added, “By the way, you might want to lighten up a bit. Got it memorized?”

Grumbling, Anti Sora pushed the heartless out of his way. At the present moment, he had no time to deal with dark cretins like that. Besides, he could destroy that pest before it even got a hand on his heart, so why bother? Axel was the main target for now, and so he leapt forth once again, this time with his Keyblade, ready to strike. Yawning, Axel apathetically stuck out a single leg in an attempt to trip the rushing teenager, and it actually ended up working pretty well. Instead of actually causing VIII damage, Sora ended up landing face down on the ground, while a certain fire loving nobody continued his taunting.

“Oh come on,” he teased, crossing his long, skinny arms, “this is easier than breathing. Give me something with a little more pizzazz. You know what I’m saying?” The teasing itself didn’t really brighten Sora’s sprits as much as it gave him more motivation to lunge head first at the pyromaniac. Once again, this didn’t really phase Axel, who simply stepped out of the way, causing Sora to collide with yet another wall. In reality, the Keybearer was proving to be the complete opposite of a challenge, at least, in Axel’s standards.

“Quit wasting my time!” snapped Anti Sora viciously, getting back up to his feet. His blank face looked as angry as physically possible. “You’re with the Organization, so you have nothing to offer me! What purpose do you have in saving innocents? Are you not the enemy?” Slowly but surely, Anti Sora picked up his pace, clutching his weapon tightly. He was seemingly angered by Axel’s playful nature, not to mention the fact that he was being taken down with little effort. This whole fight was a disgrace to the darkness consumed fifteen year old.

Sniggering, Axel simply retorted, “Look, kid, I don’t play by the rules. Organization XIII…well, it just wasn’t my style. Got it memorized?” He quickly made a gesture, pointing his index finger at his head in a matter-of-fact manner. “Besides, you’re better off playing hero than pretending to be evil. Leave that to the experts, kiddo.” Only more aggravation was caused by Axel’s taunting. By now, he was driving Sora insane. A thought of another attempt at mauling came over the corrupted Keybearer, though that wasn’t exactly a smooth move. The spiky haired backstabber didn’t even have a heart, so why waste any more time on him?

As Axel stood there, expecting another futile attack, he was surprised to see Anti Sora turning around and charging towards whatever heartless had remained in the area. Mind you, there weren’t all that many, seeing as the instinctive beasts only stayed where there were hearts worth taking. As he charged on, he stuck his claws into a few shadows, impaled several soldiers with his Keyblade, and laid waste to mere Dark Balls. This whole Time Axel did not fight back. There was no real need. Besides, he wasn’t going to go soft or anything. That just wasn’t in his nature. Heck, the only reason why he was being heroic in the first place was because he had pity.

As opposed to chasing after the messed teenager, Axel decided to do something else. It was high time for him to get back to tediously waiting for Roxas to show up. Sure enough, his best friend had been taking his sweet time with showing up, and that was getting on the flame head’s nerves, to say the least. All the same, he would find Roxas, and he would help him. Heaving a sigh, he simply paced back towards the wall in which he had been sitting for the past few hours, completely ignoring whatever heartless were left, which, mind you, were few. It was only when he had gotten comfortable that he heard a loud CRASH in the distance, along with a few yelps. One of which sounded awfully familiar.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

The Castle That Never Was

“Now, this is rather intriguing, my Superior…”

In the halls of the Castle that Never was stood Vexen, Lexaeus, and none other than Xemnas himself. The three had been, for the past few minutes, discussing the current state of the Keybearer. This brought up much interest between numbers V and I, who were very surprised, or to the extent a nobody could be, at the sudden change in Sora. Plus, Vexen had indeed proved to be a success in his experimentation, which was an added bonus. Yes, all seemed well as far as Sora’s current state was. He would be bringing out much chaos, no doubt about that.

Crossing his arms, Lexaeus bellowed, “It is rather fascinating, I admit. You truly have outdone yourself this time, Vexen. But, what bothers me is this: what if Sora goes out of hand? Couldn’t this prove to be rather problematic?” Cackling, IV shook his head in defiance and pure pride. Obviously, he didn’t agree with Lex’s logic, being somewhat stuck up.

“Now, Lexaeus,” explained the Chilly Academic somberly, “Sora will be unable to go any farther than needed. Despite his intelligence, he still craves hearts, which will lead him to the heartless. From there, he will destroy the heartless, and, well…you know the rest.” Tossing his bangs aside, he added, “This is where Maleficent and Pete could prove useful. As of now, those two are spreading heartless, while our own members handle any necessary alliances. If we can somehow lure Sora out of Twilight Town then perhaps those two imbeciles can handle the rest…”

“You have my trust, Vexen,” alleged the Superior in a bland tone of voice. “I am certain that your knowledge will surely lead to obtaining Kingdom Hearts.” His visage remained blank, devoid of any interest at all as he listened to the conversation. “All the pieces are coming together. Soon we shall all be complete.” Yes, it was true. Everything seemed to be going according to plan for the Organization. With the return of the four formerly deceased members and Zexion, the Org itself was almost complete, bar two traitors.

Appearing out of nowhere came Saïx with no real explanation. He clutched his claymore in hand and wore a scowl of sorts. Stepping towards Xemnas, he uttered, “Xemnas, I am afraid that Pete has made a fool of himself over in Halloween Town. He almost gave away our true motives in the form of a monologue. That imprudent imbecile.” Had he the opportunity, the Lunar Diviner would have surely thrashed the blubber known as Pete for hours on end for the mere pleasure of hearing him scream, well, if he could feel pleasure at all.

Seeing VII join the rendezvous, Xemnas sighed, “All in due time, Saïx. For now, we must focus on our main priority: Kingdom Hearts. Remember, it is the one way we shall be complete.” Grumbling, the Lunar Diviner forced a nod. He wanted to be complete just as much as any member, it was just… he was a berserk sort by nature. Shaking his head, the Superior added, “Perhaps you would like to do something productive. I hear that the King has been spotted in Traverse Town. I would think that you should look into that, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Understood, sir, understood.”

End of Chapter

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AN: Woo, so as you see, Sora, unlike his anti form in KH2, is actually able to speak and use the Keyblade. We’ll see more of him in upcoming chapters too. Also, I do realize that the Axel scene was more or less him simply toying with Sora, but there wasn’t a real need for a full blown battle.

I do hope that I wrote the Vexen fight decently, as I have never actually PLAYED CoM. I simply read the script and the manga. Well, enough rambling for now! Reviews are encouraged and appreciated!