Saxs carefully approached the metal doors, Keyblade in hand. Noa and the other four followed, giving him a few feet of space. The blonde boy looked back at his party members and nodded before raising his leg.

"Don't even think about it, Saxs!" Heather yanked Saxs back, causing him to stumble. "If they're in there, they'll know we're here if you kick the door down."

Saxs gestured with his hand towards the doors. "Perhaps you'd like to do the honors then?"

Heather's eyes widened for a moment before stepping back. "M-me!?" Heather puffed her cheeks a little before muttering, "Fine…."

Heather slowly walked over to the door after Saxs moved aside and gently poked the opened door with the tip of her Keyblade. Saxs gave her a cynical look that silently spoke, "Seriously?" Heather slowly ducked her head between the rusted doors, her small frame quivering in the feeble light. After a long moment, she slowly stepped back.

"Well?" Saxs crossed his arms. "What did you see?"

"Oh," the white-haired girl blinked a few times, "it was too dark to see anything."

Almost in unison, Saxs and Remnant both facepalmed and looked up at Heather. The girl looked at them for a moment before snickering.

"Hey!" Remnant frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing!" A sly grin played across Heather's lips.

Noa sighed, her lips twisted into a small scowl and her eyes carrying dark bags. "Heather, you might want to take another look."

"No need."

A sudden chill in the air made the five look back at the doors to see Bael emerge from the dark hallway. Remnant felt a chill go down his spine. I hate it when he does that….

"Ah! Milord Bael," the leader smiled, "what did you find?"

The young man lowered his head for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

Maya walked up to Bael, her steps hesitant and imprecise. "Is Maru…?"

Bael looked up at the girl for a moment before turning his head. "It's…better to see for yourself."

The brunette started to run past Bael, anxious to reunite with her brother, but jerked to a stop as the dark veteran tightly grabbed her wrist. "Wait."

For a moment, Maya glared into Bael's eyes. Her expression slowly changed from determined, to fearful, and finally to bitterly sorrowful. Tears quickly welled up in the girl's aquamarine eyes as realization dawned upon her. Remnant slowly walked behind Maya and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort the girl. He looked up into the man's steely eyes and studied them for a moment.

"What did you do to her…?" Remnant barely whispered.

Bael locked eyes with Remnant. He slowly released Maya, watching the girl fall into the boy's blue-cloaked arms. Maya softly cried as the former leader turned to Noa.

"They're in there," Bael explained, "…but so are our friends. They aren't in one piece anymore…"

Remnant, Saxs, Noa, and Heather all looked at Bael, disbelief in their eyes. For a few minutes, only Maya's gentle sobs could be heard through the corroded walls. Finally, the young leader took a deep breath, breaking the silence.

"Milords….miladies…" Noa spoke, her voice wavering. "We cannot delay here. Our job remains the same. Even if we've lost some of our own today, we can't let these monsters rest while we mourn. We must strike back and show them that we will not hold back just because we're smaller in number!"

The others looked at Noa, who seemed to radiate with a new sense of courage. Noa's warm presence felt comforting as she spoke. Even Maya had stopped crying!

"I know that this is hard for each of you," Noa slowly walked around to each of them. "This is not something to be taken lightly, but we can't give the Black Bloods the opportunity to recuperate." Noa stopped a few feet away from Remnant and held her hand out to him.

"Milord Remnant. When you witnessed parties abandon you, you didn't give up, did you?"

Remnant paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No, milady."

Noa squatted down and smiled at Maya. "Maya, when you and Maru fought that Darkside with Keksis, you didn't leave your brother, did you?"

Maya looked up at Noa and quickly shook her head. "I would never!"

The exuberant woman stood back up and turned to the others. "We can't give up on our friends now! If we were in their places, they would keep going until the Black Bloods paid for what they did to us. This is not the time to be afraid milords and ladies. If we hesitate now, they'll only come back to attack us. I need all of you with me now more than ever." Noa lifted her fist into the air. "Now who's with me?!"

The other five raised their hands in unison. Remnant smiled. There's the leader we know and trust.

"We're with you all the way, honey!" Saxs grinned wildly.

Remnant helped Maya to her feet as Noa looked at Bael. "Milord Bael, since you already scouted the area, do you think you could lead the way?"

Bael gave a quick bow. "It would be my pleasure, milady."

The veteran leader turned and started to walk into the shadowy corridor with the others close behind him.

(End of Part 4)

A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR: I'm sorry this chapter took a little longer to upload. At the time I was working on this, a lot of stuff was happening IRL, from working on scholarships for my next semester to even getting a job today! There were also some...personal struggles with a party in KHUX. Current members of the Heaven's Knights understand what I refer to. However, things have been…sorted out, more or less. Although the sequence of events was a bit stressful, I was able to continue on with this. I wish the best to the Heaven's Knights, and I thank every one of you for being so supportive of me! I'd like to give my Beta Reader an even bigger thank you for all she's done to help me! She's helped me to grow as a writer in ways I couldn't have done on my own. It's been an honor to work with the MistressOfBetween, and I look forward to continuing to work with her!

…and no, I am not ending the story here. There is plenty more to Mutilated Melancholy in the future!

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR: Hello, everybody~! It's Tenshi, the one and only Mistress of Between (or, as some may be more familiar with, Lady Nutcracker)! I was granted a gracious opportunity to speak to the author's readers. I just want to say that it's been an honor to be chosen as the beta reader and mentor for one of my best friends in the party. Writing has always been a big part of my life, so being able to share my experience and advice to a fellow writer is one of the greatest feelings. I enjoy being the first reader of every chapter and offering suggestions so the rest of the world can enjoy its perfection (by the way, work faster, Remnant!). I hope you all continue to enjoy his hard work!