CHAPTAH TWO! I'm going to revise the first one, and add a little bit more detail about Annika's life and the fight between her and her parents. There's a lot of comedy in this chapter . . . I like that. . Sometimes a funny chapter is needed to round out the angst, drama, and romance. o.O

Luxord - You need rounding out . . . +whispers under breath+ cow . . .

rainbow ninja - +thumps Luxord in the forehead+ SHADDUP, BRITTY! On with the fanfiction, bitches!

Chapter Two: "Zero Hour"

Waking up, Annika felt her temples throbbing like mad. The pain she felt from the waist up was unbearable, as if she had been hit by a freight train. She rolled over onto her stomach, not wanting to move another inch until she saw fit. But, what she saw took her by surprise. Her home, Carcassonne, was in shambles. The slums looked even worse than they originally did. Some buildings that once stood in their grotty glory were no longer. "Mom, where are you?" Annika heard a tone in her voice even she didn't recognize. It was a mix of confusion, anger, and terror. "F-Father?" The only thing that responded was the howl of an empty and dark wind, brushing through her silver hair as if saying 'there is nobody here for you'. She bit her lower lip and took in a deep breath, fighting back the urge to scream at the top of her lungs. Sitting up, she was astonished to see that the streetlight was still behind her. She closed her eyes and held her hands over her ears, rocking back and forth. "I'm at home. I'm at home. I'm at home," she breathed, trying to bring a small amount of comfort to herself.

"I'm in my room reading. This is all just a nightmare!"

Stopping, Annika felt a certain force around her. She had finally figured out what had protected her! An invisible shield made of dark energy surrounded her and everything around her. Probably something she put up unconsciously as self defense. But, what was this other feeling? Standing up shakily, her gray eyes started to scan the area suspiciously. Another feeling narked her, but she just could not put her finger on what exactly it was. "Is," she began, "Someone here?" Only the howling wind answered her call. "It's okay, I won't hurt you!" She called out. Something began tickling and sliding up her leg. "Wha?" Looking down, Annika let out a shriek and started to panic. Little black shadows were circling her. Their eyes were glowing gold, full of no type of emotion or feeling. "Angel Tamer!" She summoned her weapon and began lashing at the dark creatures, destroying them all with only a couple of lashes.

"Ooo, how weird."

She shivered lightly, her thoughts still in disarray. Walking down the street, she encountered more of the strange little creatures. Fighting them off, she broke out into a run. "Ah, gotta get the hell outta here!" As she picked up speed, she noticed one of her shoes slip off. Slip ons, of course, were not good running shoes. Annika turned around to retrieve it, but the little monsters chased after her even more. "Okay, okay! You can keep the damn shoe!" With just one shoe, the poor girl must have ran no less than a mile across Carcassone without stopping. The shadows kept multiplying, getting closer and closer to her. Running out of breath, she desperately tried to seek a safe place to duck and cover. "Aha, portal!" A dark hole was only a few yards away, and a man wearing a black coat was stepping into it slowly. "Outta the way!" She grabbed the hooded person and threw them out of the way, quickly dashing into the portal.

"What the hell, man!"

The cloaked being chased after her, infuriated.

XXX

"This is certainly not what I expected." She was surrounded by . . . Whiteness. The floors, the wall, EVERYTHING. The area she stood in was large and had plenty of windows, and little interior decor. "I thought MY house was empty," she laughed.
"What in the blue hell do you think you're doing, throwing me out of my own escape route?" The cloaked person fumed, stomping up to her demandingly

"What in the blue hell do you think you're doing, stepping up to me like you're all that and a bag of chocolate chips?" She countered.

Finally revealing themselves, the person wearing black removed their hood. He had green eyes and blond hair styled in a way that reminded her of a pimped out mullet. "Who are you!" Annika furrowed a brow and replied, "Your mom!" The blond young man looked at her, surprised by her sharp tongue. "Just joking. I'm Annika," she held out a hand. He stared at her momentarily before shaking hands with her. "I'm Demyx," the boy replied, grinning. "Why're you in that silly black bathrobe? You look like a rapist."

"Now you're just pushing, lady!"

Annika laughed and patted him on the shoulder in a friendly manner. Demyx just stared at her, dazed and confused +as usual+. "What is this place?" Demyx stepped away, afraid that she will randomly go berserk and punch him in the face. "The World That Never Was. Stronghold of Organization XIII." The silver haired female tilted her head to the side, speechless. "Uh . . . You know. A group of strong Nobodies?" Annika's expression spaced out even more, as if he were speaking Russian to her. "We're collecting hearts released by the Heartless."

"Uh . . .?"

Demyx slapped himself in the forehead. "Kill me," he sighed. "I can't help it! It's like your speaking Russian! Heartless and Nobodies? Organs of XII?"

"Organization XIII!"

"Stop that!"

"STOP WHAT?"

"Stop correcting me, blondie!"

The glared at each other and Annika stuck her tongue out at him, he exchanged the gesture with a silly face of his own. "Now, explain all of this cock-and-bull once more," she said. Demyx showed her a toothy grin and replied, "Okay. But it'll take a while." Annika giggled and muttered, "Sounds like shit to me. How long can it possibly take to explain?"

X TWO HOURS LATER X

"Oh . . . my god."

". . . And that is our main goal."

Annika was leaned against the wall, half asleep. A small amount of saliva dripped down her chin as Demyx started up again about the Organization's plans for Kingdom Hearts and whatnot. "Enough, ENOUGH," She gasped. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" Annika lost control of her now numb limbs and fell onto her side, absolutely bored out of her ever loving mind. "Take me to your leader. This . . . Xemnas character."

"Okay. Heh, I think he intended on seeing you anyway."

"I see."

Walking down the long and desolate white halls, the gray eyed hair stopped. Deep in thought. Demyx rolled his eyes and bothered to ask, "What is it now?" Annika whispered, "When you take the name . . . Xemnas, and mix up the letters . . . You get 'Mansex'."

Demyx couldn't help but to laugh.