Woot! chappy four is up... and early too. this is my gift to all of you on my birthday! woot (again) 17! so i hope you enjoy this. after this chapter, updates are going to be a little slower, most likely about one a week instead of this three in one week thing. (these chapter were already written but the rest aren't so work with me here)

this chap is dedicated to AkuDemyfan who had reviewed all the chapters this far! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I guess this would be appropriate time to tell you that this is an au story if you hadn't figured that out. Also, i got a review with criticism in it... much thanks! said person said that they thought the story was moving a bit fast so i would love your thoughts on this.

on that note, please enjoy!

Chapter Four: Say What?!

"We have to go back to our room to get my video camera and our digital cameras," Sora announced to the rest of the group. The four were on the main road again, bypassing where they had seen the ghosts. Neither he nor Demyx had pointed the location out to the other two. That didn't mean they hadn't been planning on it.

When they were about to reach the point, Demyx had been about to blurt the whole thing out when Zexion had raised a hand to silence him. He had informed them that he liked to know the bare minimum about an investigation before entering the site and with the explanation the two had given in class, he knew more than he would have liked.

"We only have one video camera and I wanted us to split into two groups so we could cover more ground. Do either of you have your own cameras?"

"I have both," Roxas said. "Can we stop at Rodney to pick them up?"

"Sure," Demyx called to the back seat. He changed lanes and glanced at the other boy in the backseat. "What about you Zexion? D'you have a camera?"

He nodded. "I live at Rodney as well, in building E so you don't have to worry about going to far out of your way."

Roxas turned and grinned at the boy sitting next to him. "Me too!" He turned back to face the front. "Alright driver. One stop at Rodney then on to Smyth."

About thirty minutes later, the group arrived at Rodney Hall, building E. Demyx eased the car into one of the few parking spaces, and the minute the car stopped moving, the other three bolted, running towards the building. Demyx hurriedly locked the car and sprinted after them. When he reached the door, he saw Roxas fumbling with his passkey before it finally registered on the hidden scanner by the door.

"What floor are you on?" Roxas asked Zexion as he pulled the door open.

"One."

"No way? Me too."

With that, they threw open the entrance door and sprinted down the hall, the two freshmen leading the way. Surprisingly, the two stopped at two doors right next two each other. They looked at each other, as though they were wondering why the other was there.

"You're room 108?"

"Yes. Who would have thought we were in rooms right next to each other. This will make the investigation much easier. We can discuss it whenever we need to," Zexion said in his quiet voice.

The two started to laugh, Zexion, quiet and reserved, Roxas with a soft laugh that shook his shoulders.

"If you two are done, please get a move on. We still have to get to Smyth, remember?" Sora implored, appearing between the two.

"Right." They nodded in unison and disappeared into their respective rooms. When the doors closed, Demyx grabbed Sora's arm and pulled him across the hall.

"Is it just me or is Roxas acting strange."

"It's not just you. I was thinking that too. He hasn't acted all giggly or happy in a long time."

"And Zexion too. I mean, I know we haven't even known him one day but, I just don't think he has been this open in a long time. He was glaring at me this morning when I first saw his tattoo."

Sora looked at him for a minute with a funny expression.

"You know, I think Zexion might be good for him, you know, a good friend, like we are to each other. He hasn't been the same this past year, since Hayner died at the end of summer last year. Zexion seems to bring out what they brought out in him."

"Yeah. Zexion better not do something like that too him, he saw too much sadness last year. Leukemia right?"

"Yeah, he was so sad it hurt everyone around him. Then when Olette and Pence skipped town, he just shut down. They were pretty much his only friends, you know that. It hurt to see him so empty. But you know, ever since then, he's been acting wacky."

"What do you mean? Wacky how?"

"I don't really know. After that whole deal, he was all the sudden extremely connected to everyone's emotions. Like, take this summer. You know that one day you were really sick? Well, I went to Wawa that day with Roxas to get a milkshake. Well, he was inside making the shakes when Seifer and I got in a huge fight. We were outside, so I doubt that he could have heard us, when he came running out and punched Seifer right in the jaw. I know that may not be strange, they hate each other, but he just kept hitting him again and again, and you know he would never do that."

"Well, he could have just slipped over the edge. You and I both know he has a big temper. I don't see what's so strange."

"That's because I haven't told you yet. The thing is, everything he was yelling at Seifer was exactly what I was feeling. I felt so angry and he was portraying that anger. I swear to you, if I had been the one yelling, it was to a T what I would have been saying."

Demyx just stared at him. Sora frowned and looked at the floor.

"I knew I was crazy. Its nothing. I was just over thinking it."

"What? No, no," Demyx said, snapping back to reality. "It's just, I think I may know what's up with him. I was doing some research over the summer and I found some information on empaths. They can feel the emotions of those around them, in some cases they have been known to act on them as well. The passage was really interesting so I decided to research more, thinking it could come in handy. Turns out, there are a few documented cases where the person isn't born with that ability; it was caused by a large amount of emotional trauma. That may be what happened with Roxas."

"You may be on to something. Come to think of it, his emotions have been a little strange and everywhere lately."

"Sora! Do you know what this means? Your brother may be able to connect with an imprint of an entity and we could find out what it was feeling at that place and time. This could be key to our investigation!"

"Alright. We should probably tell Ansem tomorrow at-"

"Tell Ansem what?"

Demyx and Sora jumped at Roxas' and Zexion's sudden appearance.

"Uh, um, just tell him that we're separating into two groups," Sora stuttered. He cast a pleading look at Demyx and the blonde sophomore immediately grabbed Roxas' wrist and the back of Zexion's pullover, effectively pushing them down the hall.

"Yeah. We just need to tell him that Larx and them are researching while we're doing field work."

"If you say so." Roxas pulled his wrist away from Demyx and pushed the older blondes hand away from Zexion.

As they passed him, heading for the exit, Zexion swung his head around to stare at Demyx for a small second before Roxas reclaimed his attention. Demyx felt himself start to sweat along the nape of his neck. The younger male seemed to know they were hiding something and he did not approve; it was evident in his icy eyes.

Sora quickly walked up behind him and pushed him forward.

"Thanks for the save back there."

"Don't thank me yet. Zexion knows more than he lets on. I swear he knows that we are keeping something from them. I don't know whether to call his insightfulness a blessing or a curse.

Sora shrugged and picked up his pace to catch up with the younger teens.

"I don't know. They shouldn't be too mad. I mean, it's nothing major. Once we tell Ansem, we'll tell them. No harm done."

Demyx shrugged and gave a noncommittal shrug with his head. He didn't want Zexion to turn Roxas against them because he felt they weren't being honest.

His fears were confirmed, however, when they reached the car. It was evident that Zexion had filled the blonde in on his suspicions as they were both glaring at the two sophomores.

They all got into the car in silence and it hang in the air as they drove away, heading to Smyth hall.

Sora glanced at him nervously out of the corner of his eye and Demyx shook his head the barest inch, showing that he had no clue what was going on either. Sora huffed, crossed his arms and hunched down in the seat.

Demyx tightened his hands on the steering wheel and barely contained and agitated sigh. It was going to be a long day.

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"This is getting ridiculous. We haven't been able to stay in one place for more than a minute."

"I know. You'd think he would have given up by now."

"Maybe we should go back to the road. You know, where we were attacked this morning."

"Why? So we can be attacked again?"

"No. Well, there may be a chance of it but I was thinking maybe those guys from earlier will show back up."

"Why do you want to see them again?"

"I don't want to see them, I want them to see us."

"Ok, now you've lost me."

"Well, you saw the way they reacted earlier. I was thinking about it this whole time. Why would they have slammed on the brakes if they hadn't seen us?"

"You know what, I think your brains are growing back, Axel. That has to be the smartest thing you ever said, dead or alive."

"Okay, stop with the sarcasm short stuff."

"I am not short! I'm 5'8"! You're just unreasonably tall!"

"I'm 5'10"! That's hardly unreasonably tall."

"You are impossible. Back to the point. You're right though. Maybe they could see us and maybe they'll come back. I guess it's worth a shot."

"Great. Lets go. And watch your back for those shadows."

"Right. You too."

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"Alright. You two wait in the car and we'll go grab our stuff. Please don't drive off or break something okay?" Sora called to the two in the back seat as he closed the car door. They had reached Smyth and they decided that just he and Demyx would run up to the room and back without the other two to slow them down.

"Whatever, Mom. Just hurry up. I want to get back there."

Demyx nodded and sprinted towards the dorm.

"Did you remember to bring them?"

"Of course So. We spent so much money on them, I would have to be more air-headed than you to forget."

Sora grinned and pushed the door open. They ran down the hall to their room and pulled the door open.

"Alright. You get the cameras and video cameras and I'll hunt for the special equipment."

"You got it Mr. Demyx."

A minute later, the duo was running back to the car. As they got closer, they could see two heads in the back seat bent close to each other. They looked as though they were having an argument and didn't realize how close they were. Sure enough, as Sora and Demyx got closer, they could hear raised voices coming from the car. The two looked at each other and slowed their pace so they'd be able to catch the last bit of the conversation.

"- he would tell me!"

"Are you sure? How do you know he isn't keeping something from you? Both of them."

"Because, Zexion. Sora is my brother and Demyx is as good as, I've known him almost my whole life! And you've only known them a few hours and you're already claiming they are keeping things from me."

"How can you explain how they all of the sudden stopped talking about whatever they were talking about and Sora started stumbling over his words when you ask him what they were talking about. I'm telling you Roxas, as a friend; they are keeping something from you."

"And I'm telling you, they would never do something like that." Roxas silenced any further arguments from the other boy by sending a chilling glare.

Demyx and Sora took this as their cue to get into the car. When Demyx turned the key in the ignition, he looked in his rear-view mirror at the two. Roxas was glaring at his lap, obviously trying his best to ignore the young man next to him. Zexion was switching between looking pissed off and regretful that he had told the blonde anything. Slowly, he turned his head to look at Sora, his eyes falling on the equipment in his lap.

"I thought you were only getting cameras. What are those things?" he asked the brunette.

"What? These?" he asked, holding up a small device. "These are EMF detectors. Demyx bought them this summer so we wouldn't have to worry about barrowing Ansem's. They are used to detect magnetic and electronic energy in the site of a suspected haunting. They are really useful though sometimes a little unreliable."

"I see."

Sora nodded and silence enveloped the car. The tension in the back seat was like tangible electricity; if you were to poke the air between the two in the seat, you would most likely receive a very painful shock.

Demyx looked over at his best friend and one look told him that he was not happy. His expression kept switching from anger, to annoyance to guilt; he was probably blaming himself for potentially ruining a friendship for his baby brother.

Demyx released an exasperated sigh as he hunched back into his seat. The hour's drive was going to seem like an eternity.

Sure enough, an hour later, Demyx was relieved to finally reach the road where they had seen the two figures. Their class had ended about twenty minutes ago making the road clear.

As the four climbed from the car, Demyx took a mental note of how Roxas seemed to cling to Sora, leaving Zexion high and dry.

Putting momentarily from his mind, Demyx gathered the others around him. "Alright, lets split into two groups and fan out. We have to meet Xiggy and them in a few hours for lunch. Tradition," he added at the sight of Roxas' confused face.

"I'll go with Roxas," Sora spoke up linking his arm with his brothers. "One new person to each experienced one."

"Okay then, I'm with witch boy here." Ignoring Zexion's complaints that he was Wiccan not a witch thank you very much, Demyx pulled the equipment from the car. "Each group needs one person to man the video camera and watch the time and the other person needs to man the digital camera and the EMF detectors."

"What about the other two cameras?" Roxas asked.

"Those are in case the first run out of batteries or memory. Electronic stuff tends to act strange in supernatural situations. Oh, and on that note, cell phones and all that other stuff, turn them off and only use them for emergencies. Good? 'Kay, fan out troops!"

Sora took his gear from Demyx and handed Roxas the video camera. As the two started walking into the fields surrounding the buildings, Demyx turned and walked in the other direction, calling for Zexion to follow him.

They stopped at the edge of the woods running parallel to the road.

"Alright, you, man the camera. Keep it running and around where I am. If you see or hear something, do not react. However, if you feel something abnormal, use your judgment.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are Wiccan, so obviously you have to have some sort of connection with spirits or the spirit realm. If you feel anything, tell me."

"You have my word."

The two turned on their assorted equipment and began slowly walking along the edge of the woods. When they had gone about twenty feet, the EMF detector started going crazy and Zexion gasped and put a hand on his chest.

Demyx hurried to his side and put a hand on the hunched over teens back.

"Zexion? Are you okay?" Mentally, he kicked himself. 'Stupid question you idiot,' he admonished himself. 'Obviously he isn't okay."

"Yeah, I'm alright," the teen wheezed. "I just felt something. It was like something all the sudden just jumped on me and pulled at my chest. Whatever it is, it's still here, though its weaker, I can barely feel it."

A soft breeze blew between the two and a sudden chill settled in. Once again, the EMF detector beeped in such rapid succession, it sounded like one continuous sound. Demyx looked at Zexion in confusion.

"There are two now, one helping the weaker one, the one that caught my attention." Demyx nodded and Zexion trained the video camera in his hand on he space between them. He fixed the zoom and focus before looking up at Demyx.

"Maybe we should try and talk to them and see of we can catch anything on the camera."

"Right." Demyx collected himself then asked in a loud voice. "Who are you?"

He heard nothing with his hears but silently hoped that camera was picking something up. He allowed a small silence before continuing, pausing slightly in between each question.

"How old are you?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Are you the same spirits we saw earlier?"

"What do you want?"

As the last question fell from his lips, Demyx heard Zexion gasp again and saw his stumble to his right; in the direction of the woods.

"They want us to follow them."

"Demyx nodded but before he could move, the air dropped even farther and an angry gust of wind flew around them. Zexion cried out in pain and almost fell completely sideways.

"We have to go. Something must be coming; they're pulling stronger than any entity I have ever felt."

Demyx heard a rustling behind him and turned. His breath caught in his chest when he saw a shadow, twisting, evil and alive, rushing toward them.

"And with good reason. Run!"

Demyx shoved Zexion forward as they struggled to increase the distance between themselves and the encroaching shadow. As they entered the woods, Demyx allowed the younger teen to lead, seeing as he had a connection to whatever spirits were leading them, he only hoped they were leading them somewhere safe.

They flew deeper into the woods, Zexion changing their path every fifty feet or so. When Demyx looked over his shoulder, he willed himself to go faster. The shadow seemed to be growing stronger if its increase in size was any indication. He looked ahead of him again and saw that they were nearing a small cabin that was sitting on the back of a small stream they had been following.

When they got within about thirty feet of the cabin, the shadow emitted a long shriek that made Demyx and Zexion cover their ears. They both stumbled and reached the entryway of the cabin. Zexion put a hand on the handle only to jerk his hand back.

"There's a charm on the door. A Wicca charm."

"Can you get past it?" Demyx asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"I should. It's a simple charm. All you have to do is say the counter charm. Any Wiccan knows it." He looked back down at the knob and reached his hand over it. "Deschis în numele a Zeita. Vă spun nici un rău."

The lock swung open of its own accord as the last syllable left Zexion's lips. He turned and sent Demyx a small half smile. Lets go. They already went inside." He walked through the open door and waited just inside the entry for Demyx. The door slammed shut behind them and Demyx heard the distinct sound of the lock snapping into place.

"What did you say?"

"Open in the name of the Goddess. We mean no harm."

"Romanian?"

Zexion nodded.

"I really have to learn that. Then I don't have to keep wondering."

Zexion shrugged. "maybe I will have to teach everyone. Then you be able to say a few charms or at least use them and you could protect yourselves."

"That would be great. Well, why don't we try and find our spirits then and see what they want."

The two walked around the small cabin, trying to find any trace of the entities. Zexion still had his camera on and was still filming and Demyx was snapping pictures every so often.

"This all looks so familiar. Feels it too. I wonder…"

Demyx started at the others quiet voice. "What are talking about?"

"I don't really know, but I think this house used to belong to a Wiccan, and a strong one at that. Why else would there be a Wicca charm on the door. And that would explain why the ghosts would come here. For shelter."

"Hey, instead of speculating, why don't you just ask us yourselves? Jeez. We weren't even this oblivious when we were alive."

Demyx and Zexion both turned at the sound of the voice. It was faint but still clear, as though they were talking through a think curtain or glass. What they saw left Demyx speechless.

Facing them were two men, most likely in their late teens if he didn't know any better. The first one he saw had sliver hair reaching past his shoulders and hanging over his eyes. What he could see of his face looked angular and handsome. What stood out the most was the black blindfold that wrapped around where his eyes should have been. He seemed tall, about as tall as Demyx. He had a strong body; that much was evident even through the hoodie sweatshirt he wore and his casual fit jeans. He wore an easy smile on his face, not huge but not imperceptible, just the right size.

The young man next to him was just as striking. He was a few inches taller than the other and had bright red hair that was styled into a mass of spikes that looked soft despite the amount of gel Demyx was sure was in them. He had the deepest green eyes he had ever seen and just beneath them were two black teardrop shaped tattoos. He was frighteningly thin though he obviously tried to hide it with a slightly baggy red t-shirt over a long sleeved back one. He had on straight-legged black jeans and chunky boots to finish off.

Another thing he noted, was that both of them had two hoops in their left ears, same spacing, same style. The silver haired one also had his lower lip pierced with an iron hoop and the red head had his left eyebrow pierced with what also looked like an iron piercing. If he hadn't already known they were ghosts, Demyx would have thought he was looking at two normal college students, that's how clear they were. Maybe a little fuzzy around the edges, but for the most part, they looked solid.

Zexion, like always was the first to recover and he looked at them in the eyes.

"Why can we see you in here but not outside?"

"Cool, so you can see us." The red head looked at the teen beside him with a smug look. "I told you so."

"Shut up. And to answer your question, we aren't really sure. We figured that since you saw us earlier," he said, pointing to Demyx, "that maybe you could se us little clearer in here. It must have something to do with the residual magic in here."

"I knew it," Zexion mumbled.

"Knew what?"

"That this place used to belong to a Wiccan. I could sense their charms."

The red head tapped his head. "That must be why you were the one to sense us out there. Even though blondie over there had seen us before and would be able to sense us again, we must have connected to a magic that was similar to one we had familiarized ourselves with."

"Interesting. Why were you trying to find us anyway?"

"Well, since you saw us earlier, we figured maybe you could help us with a little predicament."

"That depends," Zexion started, his eyes narrowing. "What are we talking about?"

"Ah, now that's the catch. We can't really tell you 'till you agree to help us."

When Zexion looked like he was going to fire something back, Demyx grabbed his arm and spoke up for the first time.

"Before we decide that, mind if we ask you one thing?"

The silver haired figure shrugged. "Shoot."

"Who are you?"

"We were hoping you would ask that. My name is Riku. And this is my best friend, Axel."

At that point, things stopped making sense in Demyx's head. He could only pull enough neurons together to form one statement, or rather, shout.

"What!"

alright so what did you think? remember reviews are your friends! also, i feel it is wise to tell you that from here on out the chapters will be about a thousand words longer... i just have more to say i guess. so please tell me what you thought and if you have something you want to tell me, be it criticism or you spotted something wrong with the Romanian or supernatural facts please tell me.

on a completely unrelated note... MY FRIENDS TAYLOR MADE ME A SEA SALT ICE CREAM SHAPED LIKE A PAUPU FRUIT FOR MY BIRTHDAY... it was sooo good. seriously peoples, try sea salt ice cream. she said she got the recipe online and i recommend it!!!!

anyway... till next time!