Jade positioned her red hair neatly and accurately in the mirror. Her prized possession, a single flower pendant, was attached to her new crème blouse. She tugged on her long ponytail, which started with a tight bun on her head and ended just under the midpoint of her back, and smiled.

The day was going to be perfect, just perfect. First, she would walk downstairs like a model on a runway and act surprised as her family and friends all greeted with delight. Then she would giggle and talk about how this birthday party was a complete surprise to her. After all, what girl would actually plan her own 16th birthday party? After the celebration, her father would announce on their intercom that there was a gift waiting outside for her. It was all just perfect.

But perfect wasn't Jade's life. She blinked in the mirror and laughed out loud. "I may be getting a car, and my father may have planned all this out… but still…" Her eyes lowered to her nightstand. A small card lay open, with one neat line scribbled on it.

'Happy 16th Birthday. Sorry for not being there.

Love, Mother.'

There was only one person who she wanted to attend. But Jade's mother, Lorena Nightingale, has never been to a single birthday party in her life. Currently, she was in Japan on a solo project for work. That day, May 25th, wasn't even Jade's birthday. It was the 26th. But having a birthday party on a Sunday would be "atrocious." At least, that's what her father, Sean Nightingale, had said. So Jade did a little twirl, watching her knee-length crème colored skirt flow around her perfectly tanned legs, and walked out of the room. As her high heels made loud clicking noises, she could hear the excitement downstairs. 'Shh' and 'Here She Comes!!' erupted as she took the first step on her large twirling staircase. All of the lights in her house, which could be argued as a mansion, clicked off. The sudden darkness shocked Jade's eyes and she tripped on the next step.

A rush of anxiety flew through her, but instead of hitting the floor, she felt something soft and bubbly. Jade looked around, but all she could see was black. She felt the floor, which began to harden under her. Slowly, Jade stood up and called out quietly.

"Hello?" She whispered with no answer. She began to call out louder, but the ground shook. Dozens of white doves flew from under her, cascading the sky with bright lights. The ground sparkled and shone with gold trimmings. She knelt towards it and felt the glass floor. She looked for any drawings or pictures, but the floor was transparent. She saw the other side, and gasped. It looked almost like a black hole. Her knees grew weak, and her eyesight became blurry. She felt her body being sucked in, and eventually fell into the black abyss.

You Are The Last Key

"Jade!" Jade felt her body being carried somewhere. She opened her green eyes and saw a familiar blue pair of eyes looking down at her worried.

"Dad." She whispered. "You can out me down." But she didn't give him a chance to reply. She hopped out of his arms and held on to the nearest wall. "Where did everyone go?" She noticed that her party was empty.

"It's almost 12 am, you were unconscious for a while, so we decided to end it early."

"Oh." Jade said. What happened to her 'perfect day'?

"But… we have to talk." Her father sat down on a chair. "You're now 16. So… you need to know something."

"Oh no! Don't tell me I'm adopted!" Jade mocked. It was well known that she wasn't their blood-child.

"It has something to do with that…" But her father never finished. The house began to shake uncontrollably. Jade yelped and reached out for her father, who pushed her away. "You have to get away!" He yelled. Jade screamed, as a chunk of the roof fell not even five feet away from her. "Upstairs!" Her father pushed her up the staircase.

"Why are we going-" But someone appeared at the top of the stairs. His long, almost blue, hair fell loosely around his shoulders. She looked into his eyes, but saw no pupil. It was empty of everything, but darkness.

"Lucifer." Her father whispered in horror.

"Ah, that was my name, but I would much rather have you call me X." X, who stared straight into Jade's eyes, said.

"Get out of my house." Sean took a few steps closer to Jade. "And stay away from my daughter."

"Your daughter?" X laughed. "She is far from that." He vanished, only to reappear behind Sean. "You know what she is."

Sean pushed Jade, who ran the remaining steps up the stairs. "Run!" He yelled. X grabbed Sean by the throat and threw him down the stairs.

"Let her run. She will end up in the exact same place."

But Jade ran anyway. She ran towards the last door in the hallway and threw it open. It was the bathroom. Quickly, she closed the door and locked it, not sure if it would do any good. She heard distant screaming, but ignored it. Jade unlocked the window and pushed it open. The door was struggling to open. Jade carefully put one foot outside, followed by the other. She was on the roof, but her hands held on to the bathroom window cautiously.

"Stop." X stood on the roof, holding her limp father in his hands.

"Dad…" Jade whispered. "Leave him alone!" She yelled.

"If you are so insistent on saving his life, why did you run in the first place?" X asked.

Jade paused. She had no idea what made her run. It was almost as if her body moved on it's own. And now, when all she wanted to do was go back for her father, her legs began to move in the opposite direction.

"Still running?" X's booming voice was clearly heard and she ran off the roof and jumped. Some point during midair, Jade realized that she had just jumped off a 4-story house, but it was too late.

The impact with the ground made her body go numb. She felt dirt in her mouth, and knew that her clothes were covered with grass stains. As she stood, her shoulder stung with an odd pain. She looked at it, and saw one clear cut, still oozing with blood. The sight made her want to vomit.

"That made everything so much easier." X said once she stood straight up. "Heartless. Go."

Black, stringy creatures walked towards her from all sides. She could hear small laughing noises from their throats, but wasn't sure so if they were truly laughing.

"X!" Another voice, loud and demanding, interrupted his fun. "Leave her." The voice calmed her nerves, and she felt as if she recognized it from somewhere.

"Fine." X disappeared, but didn't bother on calling off the heartless. Jade felt something slimy catch her arm. She struggled to get the thing off her, but she fell. Once her head hit the ground, the black monsters attacked her. She felt no pain. She felt dizzy, but numb. She sensed darkness before it came to her. And the last thing she felt was sorrow, she was sad. She knew something was leaving, and she wanted to say goodbye to it. But what was leaving her? Herself?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you plan on doing with her?" A woman asked. A man, wearing a long white cloak, chuckled.

"Remember project 13? And how it failed?"

"Yes. I remember clearly, it was because his heart wasn't strong enough to satisfy all 7 bodies." She said.

"His heart was strong. But Namine's interference weakened it. She is the outcome of this horrible tragedy. But… she may be the best thing that has happened."

"So now what? You're just going to give her to them? We've done this before. It didn't work out. Remember? He turned against everything he was about. That damn spoiled brat Roxas."

"Her memories can tell us everything. But they are locked. She only remembers her human self."

"So? You think it's that hard to unlock a couple of memories? Why must they become involved?"

"Without Kairi, we have no Namine. Now stop complaining." His voice was sharp.

"Yes, I'll deliver her at once."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A short beginning. : )

But it'll get better!

Tell me if I should continue!!

Lpreki93