{I actually have a lot to say about this piece here, but rather than swamp chapters with false word count, I've moved all the details over to my profile page. If you're curious about something, you can go there. I suggest you read the story first though, some spoilers may occur. With that in mind, let's begin.}

The sky is a truly lazy entity; day in and day out it passes through its lethargic motions. A man could invest just as much effort laying down and scatching his ass; ironic that both of them are aided greatly by the law of gravity. So, me being me, a person who shares the name "Sora" with that entity, I take it for granted that I can be an especially lazy person. Call it an excuse, call it whatever you wish, I'm probably too relaxed to notice your critique.

Today is not much of an exception to that rule; I guess you could argue I'm quite active just walking the long distance to school. I'd shrug that off though, not much effort applies to an action this rehearsed; I'm practically flying on autopilot. When you can multitask day-dreaming with anything, you know it takes no concentration what-so-ever.

Even walking up this ridiculous staircase, where looking towards the top can give you the most severe case of vertigo imaginable, is just one of those things that comes and goes. I'm sure any outsider, any non-native to my homeland, would be knocked off their feet by the idea that every student has to essentially climb a mountain to get to school. That's both going over and coming down. Every day, twice a day… plus most of us walk in from town before hand so add about a twenty minute trip in there somewhere.

Yeah, we'd put Balboa to shame.

You'd think they'd build a tunnel or something to make it more convenient. No dice; I think the mayor feels it helps "build character" for all the lack of sense that makes. I swear, Miyagi fans astound me. But, so long as town budget stays low and no righteous Samaritan decides to call "child cruelty", nothing's going to change anytime soon. Guess we'll just be cursed to grow as adults with legs of iron. Oh the horror…

I'm over the top now, heading down the stairs. Not surprisingly, I'm alone. Most people don't start out for school at mid-day; I however make it out to be a weekly ritual. Thank God it's Friday, right? On a normal day, walking through here is like being part of some exodus, just a marching swarm of people. I can't take the pacing really, too many bodies shoving you forward and demanding passage. I mean really, what the hell are they in such a hurry for?

Ah, the base at last, the schoolyard lies out before me. More of a cathedral than a school really, all the arcing passageways and spire-capped towers have that real "In the name of God!" atmosphere. No stained glass though, but the spider-webbed window frames are just as insane with detail. The place had been run down and vacant for years, taking up some prime scenery. And we, like the good little recyclers we are, all lent in a hand to rebuild the place. We're an island community, things like this are our life-blood.

But I look upon this place with a deal of pride. I don't think I've ever really made something with that kind of… weight to it. Something that felt like it had purpose, something that we, as one people, built side by side with one another. I think that's called "nostalgia" or something similar. I'll never be the scholarly type, but the thought that this place was raised by my hands gets me through the day just fine.

I make my way around the left side of the building, into the high arc halls of the North Wing. To my right lay the building face, dotted with off-shoot halls that lead into the actual school; to my left spread the Great Lawn, sectioned off from this walkway by a low wall of alabaster marble and the occasional pillar that held the ceiling. I do like that lawn though, the field of blue grass reminds me of the sea. How many times have I complimented Kairi on that?

And then it comes, so sudden I almost jump at the shockingly not-so-odd entrance. Yes, someone like me is rather used to portals of flowing shadow popping into existence before him, hell I'm probably the cause in one way or another. I'm a little out of practice with the sensation though; it's been a while since my last encounter. Hmm, if I count it out on my fingers… maybe a bit more than a year?

This kinda thing's like riding a bike though, you never really forget. Summoning the Keyblade comes as second nature to me as I await my mindless quarry, perhaps a score of Shadows or maybe the more challenging Neo-types? The True Kingdom Key glows golden in my grasp, eager for some action after so long a dormancy. King Mickey must have had the disposition of a saint to wield a weapon with such a bad temper…

That temper flares ten-fold moments before my new adversary makes his slow, dramatic… and solo entrance. Just one Heartless? When had that become a trend? More so, the damn thing couldn't be much taller than myself, a midget compared to someone like Riku. Were they actually spread this thin or was this particular being just that ignorant of precisely who was standing right in front of it?

That said though, this was one odd Heartless. For one, it had no waist… not like skinny, it literally had no waist. In place there was a black diamond, floating in empty space between the torso and thighs. All in all, its body was a mix-match of angular and rounded shapes. Its shoulders were simple spheres, as were its kneecaps which each lay situated between an eight-sided… tube-shaped-thing for thighs and a pointed cone that comprised the shins and feet. The arms were two conjoined diamonds: short and thick at the elbow (probably joined together by some kind of hinge-thingy), long and thin towards the finger-tips and shoulder-joints.

The body… okay, imagine a big triangle… now cut a rhombus out of the top… okay, now invert it and make it 3-D, kind of like a turtle shell; bulging towards the chest and honey-combed with crystal plates. That's pretty much the body, a little odd but it kept itself in theme. The head though, the most important part as it was the one I took extra care to aim for, was the most unique. It was bullet-shaped with a pointed spire at the top, like a knight's helmet complete with flip-visor. But there was no recess for a face though, just the shape of a heart carved in its place. Atop the pointed crest hung a ring, too small for any finger to go through, but just big enough for a line of thread to slip in. The white ribbon, in sharp contrast to its dark bearer, flowed elegantly in some imaginary breeze.

Overall, it had the look of some kind of armored puppet, a hodge-podge of obsidian crystal forged into even shapes and then crudely meshed together. I felt as though I'd gazed upon a "creation" of some kind, a person's hard work realized in the form of this figure, this marionette of darkness.

Oh I do love that word: Marionette! I never really get to name these things now that I think about t… I now officially dub thee "The Marionette"! I can't believe how thrilling that was!

And as I mused on my new-found joy, the ever stoic Marionette (oh I love that!) began to circle…