Chapter 2

~Riku~

"Okay Sora, what's wrong?" I asked him as soon as we got home.

My brother dropped his bag by the door and looked at me with a sad expression. "I was thinking about her again."

I sighed inwardly. We've had this conversation before. Memories of her brought back memories of our time at…the labs. But no matter how hard we tried to shut the memories out, the shadows of pain and torture kept haunting us.

"Sora, she's gone and in a better place now. There's nothing we can do to bring her back." The truth hurts, no matter how many times you hear it, and it must've felt like I was punching my brother in the face. While holding a bowling ball.

Sora started to sob. A few years ago I would've told him to toughen up, but the experiments have damaged him in more ways than one. He's been through more nightmares than anyone could ever dream of. "But we could've saved her, Riku! I had the chance and I just-"

I held his shoulders. "Listen to yourself, Sora! We were all weak from experimentation. Things were happening that were beyond our control. We couldn't save her."

I watched the tears fall from Sora's eyes as I softened my voice. "I know how much you miss her, and I do too. But right now, we need to focus on the present because that horrible past is behind us."

Sora nodded. Without another word, he went to his room and closed the door.

~Sora~

"Oh, you found a WINNER stick. That means you can get one for free."

I could've gotten that free ice cream for her. We could've laughed and watched the sunset together. We could've finally been free…If we had ever escaped from the labs together in the first place.

I collapsed onto my bed and put my head in my hands.

A suppressed memory from the labs forced its way into my mind…

Riku and I were in our separate cells in the labs, extremely worn out from that day's torture. I was sick and tired of the white walls, locked cells, and countless experiments that Xehanort performed on my body. I just wanted it to end so badly, but he wasn't ready to kill any of us. At least, that's what I thought.

The overhead speakers crackled, and Xehanort's dreaded voice drifted through the air. "Experiments 5 and 6, you will be escorted to the Final Destination Room. If you try to resist your escort, you will be severely punished."

5 and 6- the numbers assigned to me and Riku. The numbers that stripped away our names and made us generic test subjects.

I thought about what Xehanort had said. Final Destination Room?

Before I could even contemplate what the name might mean, my cell door opened and there stood Vanitas, my evil other half that Xehanort had created using my DNA. He looked exactly like me, except his hair was black and his eyes yellow. Every time I saw him it was like looking into a sick, twisted mirror.

"Get up," he ordered, his voice slightly deeper than mine.

I couldn't move. My body was too weak. "I…can't…" I managed to choke out. I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep forever and never wake up to this harsh reality I had to call life.

Vanitas looked over his shoulder and ordered someone to carry me. Riku slowly walked into the room, his face pale and weary. He could still stand, unlike me. It amazed me how much he could endure without giving up. He picked me up in his arms, trying to support my weight and his own.

"Hang in there, Sora," he encouraged me.

Vanitas walked down the hall, and Riku had no choice but to follow. We had tried to resist Xehanort and his servant more times than once. Saying that it never turned out well was an understatement.

We passed various rooms, some marked "Endurance Testing" or "Reprogramming Room". I shivered just thinking about what were behind those doors. From my experience, it had to be something painful.

Vanitas stopped in front of the door marked "Final Destination" and opened it. We walked inside. The room contained a circular raised platform encased in a clear glass and a single high chair. I don't mean a baby chair high chair, I mean a 30 ft. high in the air chair. And just who was sitting in that chair? None other than Xehanort- the mentally demented "scientist" who brought us here and ruined our lives. He was smirking down at us.

"Glad to see you could make it." He said in a gravelly voice.

"Like we had any choice!" Riku yelled, holding me tighter in his arms. He was always defiant toward our captors, no matter what torture they put us through afterwards.

"Careful, now. Besides, I'm sure your friend wouldn't want to see you so uptight."

Our friend? My heart started to pound. No, please not…

Xehanort gestured to the black-haired boy. "Vanitas, allow them to see our guest." Vanitas walked over to the wall behind us, which contained an electric panel filled with different buttons. He punched some of them, and a hole opened up on the floor of the platform.

I gasped. "Kairi!" I felt Riku's body tense beside me.

Very slowly, Kairi rose up out of the ground. She had on a blindfold and her wrists were tied behind her back. She still had the bruises all over her arms since the last time I saw her. "Sora? Riku?" she called, trying to feel along the clear glass. It wasn't soundproof.

"We're here, Kairi." Riku assured her. His breath was coming in short bursts. He still wasn't fully recovered from the last experiment. It seemed like we never were.

"What…are you going to…do to…her?" I asked Xehanort wearily. I was surprised he even heard me.

Xehanort placed his hand against his cheek. "Patience, my boy. As you already know, I have made countless clones from all of you."

I gritted my teeth. No kidding. Repliku was created from Riku, Vanitas was created using my DNA, and then a girl was made from Kairi. When Xehanort started his hybrid experiments, Xion was created from me and Kairi, and Roxas was derived from me and another boy I've never met. I didn't get why Xehanort used me to make so much clones. It's not like I wanted to see Riku and Kairi get hurt, but it wasn't fair that they only went through this kind of thing once or twice. Seeing another living version of yourself walking the planet seriously messes you up.

Xehanort spoke again. "You- Experiments 5 and 6- have proved quite useful according to my research. But this little brat," he gestured to Kairi. "She is not stable, and therefore cannot produce useful subjects. I am no longer in need of her."

Kairi opened her mouth in shock, ignoring his name-calling. "So…I can finally go home?" she asked hopefully.

Xehanort almost laughed. Almost. "No. You will be terminated."

I stopped breathing. Kairi? Killed? But she was so full of light…When she was first brought here, Riku and I had already lost hope of going back to our home. Kairi, on the other hand, was persistent. No matter how many tests she went through, she still had hope. Nothing fazed her, and she was always determined not to let Xehanort change who she was.

"Don't hurt her!" Riku yelled. Not that the stupid old man would listen to him.

I was right. Xehanort ignored him. "Vanitas, you know what to do."

"Yes, Master. But first…" Vanitas turned and looked straight at me. His amber eyes bored into mine with a fiery intensity. My head started to pound.I soon realized what he was doing with a sickening feeling in my stomach.

When Vanitas was made, Xehanort programmed him to have a "special", seriously disturbing connection to me. He was able to make me see and feel things from his perspective without my consent. I didn't know if I could do this back to him yet, but I definitely didn't want him in my brain. I mentally struggled against his will, but he was too strong.

No…!

"Sora!" Riku yelled anxiously as I went even limper in his arms, my eyes partly open. But I couldn't see through my own eyes anymore. I was looking through Vanitas'.

Riku rested my body on the floor and tried to stop Vanitas. I heard Vanitas- or rather myself- talking. "Remember, if you hurt me, you also hurt Sora." Riku clenched his fists, knowing he was right. I wanted to tell him to go ahead and stop Vanitas, to do anything to save Kairi, but I couldn't talk through my clone in this state. I couldn't control him. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything.

Xehanort flicked his wrist and a cage sprouted up around Riku. "Just in case you get any ideas," he said to him. "Enjoy the show."

Vanitas-or rather I- walked up to the glass panel and slid a hidden door open. Kairi turned towards the sound, a look of pure fear on her face. I heard Riku pleading for Xehanort to stop me. I stepped onto the platform towards Kairi.

"Hello, Kairi," I said, ripping her blindfold off. I saw her beautiful blue eyes. They were filled with extreme terror.

She cowered, tears filling her eyes. "Vanitas, please-"

I grabbed her tied wrists and turned her back to me, making her face Riku and my half-conscious body. I reached into one of my pockets and pulled out a long, gleaming knife. "Any last words to your friends before I take your life?"

Kairi shivered, but she also stood tall. Although she knew her time had come, she wouldn't admit defeat. "Sora, Riku, you two will always be my light. You're both my best friends. Never forget. That's the truth." A single tear slid down her cheek.

And then I was stabbing her in the heart. As I pulled out the knife her unconscious body fell to the ground. Xehanort smiled. Riku shouted and cried. I felt a triumphant smirk spread across my face, but inside, I was dying.

"Red is the color that travels the farthest…"

Red.

Kairi's hair was red.

So was her blood.