Shiro: Hey all! Wow, it sure took us a while to get this up, huh? Sorry about that. Here it is! We hope you enjoy it!

Riku's P.O.V.

I struggled against the man above me as I felt his hands roam across my body. I cried out for someone to help me as I tried to fight the man. I felt tears begin to fall as my clothing was removed. Everything became blurry. Next, I watched as a black haired boy and a blond boy were injected with some sort of serum by the same man, and I couldn't help but let tears fall. I looked away as I heard the blond cry out and other boy yell curses and threats at the man. Everything blurred again. Then I stared at the man, my eyes wide with fear as he stepped closer to me. I let my gaze stray to the bloody knife in his hands and looked at the bodies I saw behind him. I looked at him scared as I tried to back further into the wall. I screamed as he grabbed hold of me.

My eyes snapped open and I jolted up in my bed. It was just a dream. I held my face in my hand as my breathing steadied. It figures that on the first night sleeping in this crapy place I'd have nightmares. I sighed and stood up. A glance out the window told me the sun was only just rising. I had never woken up so early on my own before. I remembered that I was hungry since I didn't have any dinner before I crashed, so I decided to go down to the kitchen to find some food and water. It seemed like every other step I took made the floors creak. Could this manor get any creepier?

Sora's P.O.V.

I awoke the next morning and sat up slowly as I looked around the room. I noticed that Vanitas had fallen asleep and Xion was still sleeping peacefully. I looked at Roxas and Ventus' beds and saw that neither of them there. I began to grow worried as I realized they must not have returned last night.

I got up and slowly floated through the door and up the stairs to the mansion. I knew if I was caught by Vanitas or the others I might be in trouble, but I had to make sure Roxas and Ven were safe.

As I floated through the secret doorway I saw no one in the bedroom. The bed was empty, but not made so I guessed the silver haired boy only just awoke. I saw no sign of Roxas or Ven anywhere. As I moved to the door I heard a noise from behind me and froze. I turned around slowly, my eyes wide.

I relaxed and had a small smile as I laughed quietly to myself. There was Roxas leaning on the wall sleeping in the chair. He was fast asleep and silently snoring. How Riku had been able to sleep through this I had no idea.

I walked over and watched Roxas with a smile. At least he was safe and sound, that's all that mattered. Before I could do anything else I heard laughter coming from another room down the hall. I shook my head as I heard it.

Ventus' P.O.V.

I turned a page of the book I was reading as the two on the bed slept quietly. I had been watching them since they fell asleep and had grown bored, but I found a book to read so I wouldn't fall asleep. I looked up as I heard someone shift on the bed.

I watched as the man, Terra I believed, snored loudly in his sleep and the woman, Aqua, tossed and turned. I saw her sit up awake and stiffened but she only glared at the man and kicked him before going back to sleep. I blinked at this odd action and let a quiet laugh escape.

I went back to reading my book and a few minutes later I was disturbed by yet another one of them stirring. I looked up and watched as Aqua again kicked Terra to stop him from snoring before going back to bed.

This action happened several times and finally after it happening for the fourth time I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing so hard. I was having trouble breathing so I quietly set the book down as I struggled to keep my mouth closed. I exited the room and went to another room down the hall.

I entered it and flew into the safe that was situated inside the room. As soon as I was safely inside the locked safe I removed my hand. I began to laugh as I remembered what I had just seen several times. I laughed so hard and long that if I was alive I would have felt a pain in my side and had difficulty breathing.

Riku's P.O.V.

I nearly dropped my glass when I heard the laughing. It didn't sound like either of my parents' laughs, so it freaked me out. Then I remembered what Tifa had told me. "The laughing safe…one of the Wonders of Nibelheim…" I set down my glass of half-drunk milk and headed up the stairs. It sounded like it was coming from one of the rooms on the left side of the hall. I stepped as quietly as I could and couldn't help but wonder how my parents weren't woken up by the laughter. When I reached my parents' room I found my answer. My dad's snoring was as loud as usual. I rolled my eyes and turned to the room across from theirs.

I pushed open the door and immediately spotted the black safe sitting right across from the door. I walked over to it and knelt by it. I could clearly hear laughing coming from it. I looked at the dial. "Hmm, if only I knew the combo." The laughing stopped, as if whatever it was had heard me. "It's probably just some mice who have a nest behind it." I stood up. "Though, it would be interesting to see what's inside. I wonder if my mom knows the combination." I walked out of the room and looked at my parent's door. "I'll ask her when she wakes up."

I went down to the kitchen to finish my snack, and then decided to get a little more sleep in my room. When I opened the door to my room I froze. There, by the chair near my bed, was a floating book. It was as if someone invisible was holding it. A page flipped, and then I lost it.

Sora's P.O.V.

Riku shouted and backed up against the wall. I jumped as I heard Riku shout and dropped the book in fear as I turned to him.

Roxas jolted awake. "Huh, wha?"

I stared at Riku, frozen, as Roxas woke up; Riku was pressed against the wall by the door. He was staring at me, and I just stared back, petrified. Roxas looked at me, and then saw Riku. He grabbed my arm and quickly took me through the secret door. I allowed myself to be pulled along.

"That was too close." Roxas said as he pulled me down.

"Thanks..."

"What were you thinking? You shouldn't have been up there!"

"I'm sorry...I was looking for you and Ventus...then I wanted to read..."

Roxas sighed, "Well, if you don't tell Vanitas I fell asleep on lookout, then I won't tell him you went up there."

"Deal."

Roxas laughed, "The look on his face was awesome. He was completely freaked!"

"Yeah..." I said, feeling bad.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel bad..."

"Bad? Why?"

"He looked so freaked out...I didn't want to scare him..."

"Didn't want to scare him? That's kind of the point. We scare them out so they never come back. That's how it's always been."

"Why do we do that though? They never did anything bad to us."

"Well...hmm, now that you mention it, I don't know."

"Did you ever think they might like us? I don't think they're dangerous..."

"We scare them because the living can't be trusted." Vanitas' voice said from behind us, making both of us jump. "They can never be trusted. Especially spawn of Xehanort."

We turned to Vanitas. "How do you know they can't be trusted?" I asked.

"Did you forget who killed us? Who they are offspring of?"

"You can't blame the actions of one on another if you don't know the other." I argued.

"I don't care! Look, if he is dead and we still haven't passed, then that means someone else needs to die before we can rest. And if that means killing his whole family, then so be it."

"What if that's not why we haven't passed! If you kill innocent people because you assume, then you're no better than him!"

Vanitas was taken aback by what I had said. He looked surprised, but then glared at me and turned away from Roxas and me. He floated away from us, and I looked down hurt, but still angry.

"That was kinda harsh, Sora." Roxas said.

"How was it harsh? It's the truth! What would have happened if we did kill them and we still didn't pass? Does that mean we killed innocent people?" I looked at my brother, "Wouldn't you feel guilty for killing them?"

"Yeah...I think we just need to let Vanitas cool off."

"Whatever..." I floated away from Roxas and headed towards the room, stopping at the door. I just stared at it, afraid and sad.

Should I go in? I thought.

"Sora." Roxas said as he caught up to me.

"What?"

"I don't want to kill them either, but I won't go against Vanitas. It's your choice if you want to let them live." I watched him go into the room.

"My choice? But if I got against Vanitas...neither choice is pleasant..."

Riku's P.O.V.

"Riku, breakfast!" My mom called from the kitchen. I hadn't slept at all since I saw...I can't deny it anymore...a ghost. I rolled out of bed and started for the stairs. Most ghosts don't harm the living; that's what I had to tell myself so I wouldn't freak out. Whatever it was just wanted to read quietly in the corner, right? God, I hoped so.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I felt something push me hard from behind, causing me to lose my balance. As I fell I put my hands in front of me instinctly, but it didn't help at all. I cried out and fell down the stairs. Pain shot up my leg when I landed, and I reached for it, shouting in agony. I looked up at the stairs; for a split second I saw the form of a spiky haired boy laughing at the top.

"Riku!" My mom ran out of the kitchen and knelt beside me. "What happened?"

"Obviously he fell down the stairs." Dad said as he walked over to us. "This is an old house; one of the steps must have broken or something."

"No… I was pushed…" I tried to sit up, but a fierce pane shot through my leg, causing me to sit back down.

"That's impossible." Dad leaned down and picked me up. Normally I would have complained being carried like a girl, but the pain shut me up. "Let's get him to the doctor."

I was surprised that such a backwater town had a good sized hospital. Well, I wouldn't really call it a hospital, but it was too big to be called a doctor's office. I got my leg X-rayed, and the three of us were waiting for the doctor to tell us my leg had to be amputated, or something like that. That's me, ever the optimist.

The doctor looked at the X-rays, and then turned to us. "Well, it looks like it's just sprained, but I'd be very careful if I were you. Just because it's not broken doesn't mean it can't be further injured."

"We understand." Mom told her. "We'll make sure Riku's more careful."

"It wasn't my fault…" I mumbled.

"Riku, we'll discuss this later, not here." Dad warned me.

"Fine…"

"Thank you, Dr. Kadowaki. Let's go home, you two." Mom turned to dad and me.

"Thanks, doctor." Dad said with a slight bow.

"Do you want some help, Riku?" Mom asked me.

"No, I got it." I leaned against my crutch. "Let's get out of here."

"All right." Dad agreed, leading us out and back to our house.

When we got inside, mom went to the kitchen to warm up breakfast, leaving dad and me in the entryway. I could sense the awkward conversation forming already.

"All right, you can say what you want now." He crossed his arms and turned to me.

"Dad, I swear I saw someone on the top of the stairs after I fell. I was pushed."

"Riku, that's impossible. We're the only ones in the house."

"You have heard, haven't you? The entire town calls this the 'haunted mansion'. It was a ghost."

"There are no such things as ghosts. Even if there were, why would it harm you?"

"I don't know. I just know what I felt."

"Riku…" Dad sighed, "Just stop it. We're not leaving this house."

I sighed as well. "Whatever. I'm going to my room." I began to limp to the stairs.

"Riku."

I stopped and turned around. "Yeah, dad?"

"Try and get used to the house. I know it's new, but we should try to make it work. It's the last thing left of your grandfather that your mother has."

"I know…" I started to climb the stairs again.

"Thank you." I could feel him watching me in case I needed help. I did struggle, but I managed to get to the top of the stairs. I sighed and limped to my room.

I kicked open the door with my good leg and sighed again as I entered my room. "Man, now what do I do?" I looked at the bookcase. "Maybe I can read something…" I limped over to it and looked at the volumes on the shelf. A lot of them were books I had back home, books that didn't make the move. I smiled despite myself.

The shelf began to tilt, and I took a reflexive step back, on my bad foot. It gave and I fell back as books began to hit the floor as the shelf began to fall towards me. I closed my eyes and raised my arms in front of me, expecting to be crushed. Only, I didn't. Slowly I opened my eyes and saw the shelf stopped a few inches above me. I quickly crawled out of the way, and as soon as I reached my bed it fell to the floor with a loud thump.

I could only stare at it with wide eyes. "What the…what the hell…?"

"Riku?" I heard my dad run into the room, but I couldn't look away from the shelf. "What happened?" He asked in a panic.

"Th…the bookcase…fell."

"Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah." I finally looked at him. "Before it fell on me it…it stopped…"

"Stopped?"

"Yeah. It stopped in midair…and I was able to get out of the way."

"Riku, that's impossible." Dad sighed and rubbed his temples.

"But it-" I froze in midsentence when I spotted a figure with spiky hair sitting on the floor in front of the bookshelf.

"Riku?" Dad asked, concerned.

"Th…there! The ghost!" I pointed at the figure. Dad turned to where I was pointing, but when he turned back to me he looked confused. The ghost looked as shocked as I felt before disappearing. "It…he was there, I swear."

"I think you're just tired, son."

"…Maybe. Is breakfast ready?"

"Yeah."

"Can you bring mine up here?"

"Sure." He quickly rubbed my head and stood up.

"Thanks." I said as he left. I pulled myself up on my bed and shook my head. "It's like this house is trying to kill me…"

Shiro: There's a lot more attempts on Riku's life in the next chapter! Keep reading and reviewing! Again, sorry this took so long. We had thought we lost all of this when my computer was taken away, but we found it!