Darkness swirled about, masking the war that took place below. Creepers took on Dusks, Dusks took on Assassins; all manner of Nobody and Heartless fought for control. For their master's sake; for control of the Core world.
The normally docile shadows became savage and clawed at their enemies with sharp claws.
Their masters watched with an impassive air, the death of their underlings was insignificant in sight of the greater goal: undisputed control of the Organization, or what was left of it.
Their faces were obscured, but they recognized each other. The Flurry of Dancing Flames, the Melodious Nocturne, the Cloaked Schemer, the Graceful Assassin, the Silent Hero, the Savage Nymph, the Gambler of Fate, the Chilly Academic, the Luna Diviner, the Whirlwind Lancer, the Freeshooter. All knowing of the other's presence, all choosing to ignore the others. It wouldn't pay to become loyal to a potential enemy.
They focused, instead, on the battle before them, each silently spurring their mini- army on.
One by one their armies fell. Snipers, Berserkers, and Dragoons fought for control of the battleground. Light arrows and shockwaves tore up the surrounding buildings.
It was then he decided to attack. With a wave of his hand he summoned his Heartless.
It looked at him with its intelligent, pale green eyes.
"Go," he said, steely eyes flashing in the gloom.
The Heartless turned from his master and morphed into a dark tiger before silently stalking into the battle.
He smiled ruthlessly, his victory assured.
With silent movements, the Heartless jumped into the center of the destroyed square, catching the others by surprise.
It pounced on the nearest Nobody and tore at it with razor sharp teeth.
By now the others became aware of his presence and awaited their master's commands.
It took advantage of their confusion and nearly half of them were destroyed before they attacked.
The dark tiger jumped back to avoid the shockwaves as the Berserkers dropped from the sky, momentarily forgetting about the Snipers.
With a stab of pain, it realized its mistake. The Snipers took aim while he tried to regain his footing.
A stream of arrows shot out, but he had already melted into the Darkness.
Behind the Sniper, a Portal opened and the tiger tore it in half before clawing at its companion.
He paused, Darkness pouring from his wounds, as the scene before him changed.
Instead of facing a sea of Berserkers and Dragoons, his master stood before him. "Go," he said, "We'll take them latter."
The tiger nodded and opened a Portal.
Then he put two and two together. His master never once told him to retreat. Quickly he changed where the Portal would open and stepped into the Darkness.
He recognized that magic.
He reappeared on a nearby rooftop, behind someone all in black. He growled and the figure spun around.
He lunged, clawing at the book in the other's hand, ripping through the pages; rendering it completely useless.
He heard the cry of outrage as Zexion realized his loss.
He smirked as he reentered the fight, swarms of lesser Heartless circling the remaining Nobodies. They made quick work of the Berserkers and Dragoons.
The tiger suddenly became aware of the pain along its body, of the cold liquid that ran from the wound in his chest.
He sank to the floor and whimpered as pain shot through its body, vision blurring.
He waited. Waited for his master to claim him from the Darkness.
But it was not his master's hand that stroked his head. It was not his master's hand that reached toward his chest.
He bit the hand. Hard.
Instead of yanking it away, the man took advantage of his distraction and quickly pulled the still glowing arrow from his wound.
The tiger roared. The roar became a whimper as he collapsed into the arms of the last person he wanted to see.
The man pulled the glove off his mangled hand with his teeth, holding back a stream of curses by pure will alone.
He closed his hand slowly; at least nothing was broken. Yet.
The Heartless was farther gone than it wanted him to think.
He didn't know why he did it. Didn't know why he reached back into the wound to look for the last shards of glass. Didn't know why he cared in the first place.
Perhaps, he mused, it was the scientist part of him. The tiger felt familiar; he knew he had met its Other at one point, but who that was baffled him.
He summoned the Darkness.
The Heartless stirred.
"You're not going anywhere," he said in a low hiss, "You owe me. For this-" he held up his torn hand, "- this, and the book."