It was a flood, a torrent of black, amorphous bodies. The Heartless swept through the hallway, heading straight for them.

"There's too many!" Axel barked. "Forget fighting; run!"

Saïx didn't need a second order. The children were a little slower, keyblades still clutched in their hands, but they ran behind Saïx and Axel. If the Heartless caught up, they were prepared to defend themselves. To anyone else it might have felt uncomfortable to have the nine-year-olds as the first line of defense, but Saïx would have been a fool to argue otherwise. He couldn't summon his claymore at will. In spite of all the Heartless he'd fought with his adopted siblings, at this moment he was utterly useless.

At least Axel could use his magic; he kept glancing over his shoulder and combusting a few Shadows at a time whenever he had the chance. Roxas and Xion quickly caught on, blasting them with beams of light as they ran.

"Left!" Saïx called, since he was the only one paying full attention to the hallway in front of them. They turned the corner, practically skidding on the tile, and the Shadows crashed like a tidal wave behind them.

"Axel!" Roxas called, falling behind, the dark wave gaining on him. "How much farther? I can't—"

"Yes you can!" Axel desperately yelled back.

"Even if we make it out," Saïx asked, nearly panting from exhaustion himself, "where will we go? They will still—"

Suddenly Axel dived sideways towards a classroom door, yanking down the handle. The door didn't budge. "Xion!"

She knew what he meant; a beam of light shot from her extended keyblade. Axel flung the door open, and Saïx rushed in after them, but Roxas—

"Axel! Saïx!"

The Heartless clawed at the boy's heels; he swung his keyblade wildly behind him, but he was hopelessly outnumbered.

After a split second of hesitation, Saïx darted back out, grabbed the collar of his brother's shirt, and pulled him inside. Axel slammed the door behind them, fumbling with the lock. A Shadow had phased halfway through the door before the lock's protection expelled it. Still, their collective hissing and moldy reek filtered in.

"That…" Axel gasped for breath, "was close."

"Clearly," Saïx responded as the younger children clustered close to him and Axel. "Do you have any theory on why they can't come into a locked room?"

Axel shook his head. "Still haven't figured that out. What I'm more worried about is what so many of them are doing out here in the daylight."

That was definitely a reason to worry.

"I bet it's his fault," Roxas hissed, carefully casting Cure over his scratches.

"Xehanort?" The odds did seem much too low for it to be a coincidence. For all their Heartless drills, a horde like that had never attacked the school before, much less breached the walls.

"Who else?" Axel glowered from his seat on top of a teacher's desk. Saïx had never needed to come to this annex of the auditorium building, but from the Shakespeare and Broadway posters plastered on every wall, it was likely a drama classroom.

"I'm just glad we're safe," Xion said, leaning into her brother's side.

'Safe' was a generous word. Saïx could still hear – and smell – the Heartless lurking outside the door. Scratching against the door… maybe they couldn't pass through a lock, but if they tried, could they break down the whole door?

"What do we do now?" Saïx asked. "They have us trapped. Only Roxas and Xion have weapons. And for all we know, Xehanort is still in the building."

Axel dropped his head in his hands. "And I was worried about threatening a bunch of fourth graders…"

"Snap out of it," he told him, standing up to pace the floor. "Think. What are our options?"

"There's a window," Xion pointed out, but Saïx shook his head.

"No. The windows are shatterproof glass, and won't open without a code. Standard security to keep Heartless from getting in."

"That's stupid!" Roxas exclaimed. "The Heartless are already here!"

Saïx frowned. "Typically the teacher would have the code and evacuate the students if necessary, but obviously they have already evacuated."

"But what if someone got left behind like us?" Roxas added, pacing the same trail behind Saïx. "Stupid!"

"Well, I never said it was the most foolproof plan…"

Axel got up, searching the room for anything that might be of use. That wasn't a bad idea, especially if it was a drama room. The school wouldn't allow weapons, of course, but maybe with the drama department's props and some ingenuity….

He opened a closet, hoping to find a supply of potentially usefully objects. Instead, the door opened out into a large, dark room with scattered boxes and hanging ropes.

"What is it?" Roxas asked. It took Saïx a moment to figure it out himself.

"I believe it's backstage."

"A way out?" Xion jumped up in excitement.

"Wait." Axel held out an arm, keeping Roxas and Xion from dashing towards the open door. "This leads to behind the stage. Where Xehanort is."

"Surely they have evacuated by now," Saïx said. "The assembly wouldn't continue under threat of Heartless attack."

"…I guess not," Axel agreed uncertainly. "But we'd better be quiet, just in case."

He nodded. "Of course. Now let's go, before any Heartless find this entrance."

Axel, Roxas, and Xion followed behind him. They didn't dare try to find a light switch, but the younger children held orbs of light in their hands, like glowing beacons. It allowed Saïx to see within about a ten-foot radius. Hopefully nothing lay lurking around the edge of that…

From what he could see, the backstage was a cluttered but fairly straight hallway. Costumes, props, and set pieces for the high schools' upcoming musical Aladdin seemed to be scattered haphazardly. He nearly tripped over a rolled-up "magic carpet." A backdrop of an Arabian night glittered with specks of silver paint that reflected Roxas and Xion's light. Under other circumstances it might have been pretty, but with the threat of dark creatures just outside his sight, the painted stars only reminded him of the Heartless' glowing eyes.

Xion shivered; the light orb in her palm flickered. "Saïx… something feels wrong…"

As she spoke, a chill ran down his spine. Was it just apprehension, or did the temperature actually drop a few degrees?

"Shh." He stopped, straining his ears. Footsteps, heavier than his siblings'. The steps silenced when the others stopped to listen.

Sharp shadows outlined Axel's face as his eyes scanned the edge of the light. Without any verbal communication, the group of four formed a square, each facing outward. Saïx felt pretty ridiculous, facing the darkness unarmed… he reached down to grab a prop scepter off of the ground—

—and Xion shrieked.

"Xion!" Axel called, spinning around too late to intercept a Blizzaga spell that came flying out of the darkness. Ice shot up her legs, encased her chest and arms.

"Heartless?" Saïx asked, but the smell of darkness was distinctly absent.

"Not a Heartless," Axel growled, summoning fire to his palms. "Just a freak without a heart."

In the slight extra light Axel's fire added, Saïx could now see the glint of a self-assured grin lurking just inside the darkness. Roxas snarled like a wounded wolf, but was frozen solid before he could lunge towards the mysterious figure.

"That's no way to speak of your elders, TS VIII." The man stepped into the light, knocking Axel aside with something that looked like a giant shield.

"Axel!" Xion and Roxas called together, straining to wriggle free, crack the ice binding them.

"Saïx, do something!" Roxas yelled.

What was he supposed to do? The strange man in the white lab coat had both magic and a weapon; Saïx had neither. Well, he had the fake scepter. He bared it, sliding between the man and Axel. If he could buy Axel some time to unfreeze Roxas and Xion…

"Who are you?" Saïx demanded, trying to make his voice as authoritative and confident as possible. He was surprised that it actually came out the way he intended.

"Scum," Axel hissed, shoving himself to his feet. "That's what he is."

Not helping, Saïx thought. Let me do the talking…

The man sneered. "So says the insolent lab-rat-turned-street-rat." He cast a spell towards Saïx when he thought he was off-guard, but Saïx dodged behind the frozen Xion. It wasn't like she could be much more frozen, he figured. Still, his stalling wasn't working well enough.

"What do you want with us?" Saïx tried again, eyes scanning the part of the room still illuminated with the keybearers' light, which was also encased in ice. The exit sign glowed faintly in the distance, so close, but so far.

"I see no need to tell you. You will see soon enough." His sneer turned to a sick grin, making his gaunt cheekbones even more pronounced. "But I presumed you would be less ignorant, dear Saïx. Do you not feel even the slightest bit nostalgic?"

"N-nostalgic?" The scepter dropped slightly. "What reason would I have to feel nostalgic?"

The scientists' green eyes seemed to bore through him. "Hmm. So the experiment has proven my theory incorrect. Then the witch has even greater power than we thought—"

Saïx finally tuned out his monologue, using the opening to jab his scepter past the scientist's shield and into his solar plexus.

"Urk-!" When he doubled over, Saïx stabbed the base of the scepter into the ice holding Xion to the floor, assisting her in finally cracking it. Axel shot a jet of flames towards Roxas. While the boy flinched, it melted the ice enough for him to struggle free.

No one had to shout "run!" – all four siblings were already sprinting for the exit, stumbling over lose props and ice crystals.

The man's laugh echoed behind them, high-pitched and grating. "You're still under the microscope! Where do you think you can run?"

Growling, Axel shot a burst of fire behind him. A shriller-than-expected shriek pierced the air.

"Don't look back," the redhead warned, green eyes reflecting the light of the exit sign.

Saïx didn't plan on it. He kept his gaze focused ahead until they burst through the door into the hallway. He thought they might have a chance to catch their breath, but Axel, Roxas, and Xion kept running. Xion cast a Cure spell to restore his stamina.

"Thank you," he said, putting on speed. She smiled but didn't reply; she was busy pushing her legs as fast as they could go.

"Whoa!" Roxas called out, ducking under a Darkball that swooped for his head.

"Ugh, they're still here?" Axel set it on fire, only for two more to chatter down in its place.

"Should have expected as much," Saïx muttered, glancing over his shoulder, where more Heartless were melting out of the floor and ceiling. Roxas and Xion summoned their keyblades, but Axel shook his head.

"Keep running! We can't fight them all!"

"Where are we running to?" Xion shouted.

"The secret place," he replied, as quietly as he could while still being heard over their pounding footsteps.

"We need to go home!" Saïx argued. "Mom and Father-!"

"They know, Saï! They'll find us there; that's why Vexen said we couldn't hide!"

Vexen. So that was the "scum's"name.

Saïx wanted to argue, wanted to make sure his parents were alright, but it was enough effort to keep running without putting extra strain on his lungs. And as much as he hated to admit it, Axel was right. With the three of them now in the school system, it couldn't be too difficult for Vexen to find their records, track their address—

Xion tripped. Saïx nearly dominoed over her, but stopped just in time. Unfortunately, the Heartless never tripped, never stopped.

"I've got you." Saïx scooped her up with the arm that wasn't holding the scepter, trying to ignore the cold stench of darkness breathing down his neck. Xion shot an Aero spell over his shoulder to push the Heartless back and buy some time.

"C'mon, Saï! We're almost there!"

Sure enough, there was a light at the end of the hallway. An open door. If they could just get to the other side, make the Heartless funnel through that door, they might have a chance of taking them out…

Because I can do so much damage with this fake weapon, Saïx scoffed at his own plan. He pushed the thought away and focused on running. If he couldn't think of something, Axel would. That was how it worked.

Even though Xion was fairly light, those last few yards to the door felt like agony. Not for the first time, he regretted never taking any athletics outside of the mandatory Physical Education. If only he'd known that fighting and running for his life would one day be a daily occurrence.

"I can run by myself," Xion said, though she still clung to his neck.

"No time. I've… got you," he groaned, shifting her so she wasn't making the scepter dig into his shoulder. Maybe he should have dropped it earlier, but even a fake weapon provided some peace of mind over no weapon at all.

"Almost there!" Axel called back to him and Roxas. "We can make it!"

Saïx wasn't so sure. A Darkball snapped at the back of his hair; he swore it actually bit off a few locks, but he couldn't look back to see. Xion shot it in the face with a Blizzaga spell, and it flew backwards.

Finally, they burst from dim fluorescence into bright sunlight.

"We made it!" Roxas cheered through heavy breaths. Saïx gently set Xion on her feet.

"They're still coming," he said, turning back towards the door…

Only the Heartless weren't coming. The door sealed itself with a heavy click.

"Hello, Roxas, Axel, Xion. And Saïx, correct?" A shorter man with slate-colored bangs appeared from… Saïx couldn't tell where. There wasn't any cover he could see, but he was sure the man hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Another one?" Saïx whispered to Axel.

"'Fraid so." His face was set harshly, like he didn't know how to get out of this, but he was going to go down trying.

"Zexion," Xion whimpered. "I thought… I thought you were…"

Zion adjusted his lab coat, pushed his bangs away to reveal another glinting blue eye. "It can't be helped, XIV. Surely you must have known this was going to happen?"

As he spoke, a thick pair of muscular arms reached out and surrounded Xion, dragging her backwards into… what was that? Some sort of swirling black hole—

"Xion!" Axel and Roxas cried, each grabbing one of her arms, but her captor easily batted them back. And he was wearing the uniform of a castle guard… if Saïx had any doubt of the government's involvement in this, this new man erased it.

But it was broad daylight – how did they expect to get away with this?

"HELP!" Saïx shouted with all the strength he had left, hoping someone, anyone would come—

"Help will not be coming," Zexion answered, almost apologetically – which only made Saïx hate him more. "Your hope is as much of an illusion as what any innocent bystanders will see and hear."

"What-?"

"No!" Xion struggled, kicking, biting, and shooting magic with all her might. It all bounced off of the muscular man like she was nothing more than a fly. Saïx tried whacking him over the head with the scepter, but all he had to do was grab it in one hand and snap it in half, like a toothpick. The other arm remained locked around Xion's middle the whole time.

"I can't—I won't go back!" She screamed. "Let go!"

"ARGH!" Axel dived for the guard again, but too late. He disappeared through the portal without a word, Xion's lingering scream the only evidence that they had ever been there at all.

"Xion!" Roxas cried, trying to grab the portal in his fists before it dissolved into thin air. "Xi… Xion…"

Saïx just stared, empty hands clenching into fists. "How… how…?"

Fire swirled around Axel's hands. His chest rose and fell in heavy breaths as slowly turned to face Zexion. "You…" Flames danced in his eyes. "You are going to wish you'd never been born!"

With his outburst, a pillar of fire erupted from the concrete ground. Zexion retreated a few steps back, his only visible eye wide.

"Three against one," Saïx added, glowering with all his might. "Not bad odds." They would be better if he could summon a weapon, or some of that berserk rage, but he'd learned by now that it only came with the light of the moon. This broad daylight granted him nothing.

"You give me back my SISTER!" Roxas roared with surprising ferocity for a nine-year-old. If Saïx were Zexion, he'd be running by now, not standing there fumbling with some weird device…

"If you kill me, you'll never find her!" He called out, still pressing buttons. It was some sort of cube, but Saïx had no idea what it could do. And he didn't want to find out.

"We'll take our chances," Axel said, shooting a blast of fire bigger and more explosive than any Saïx had ever seen before. His and Roxas's clothes started to smoke and catch fire; Saïx employed the standard stop-drop-and-roll he'd had ingrained in him since childhood. Roxas wasn't quite as quick.

"Axel!" He yelled. "Axel, you're hurting us!"

Axel didn't hear. The grass combusted; everything was heat and shimmering reds and oranges; burning, suffocating…

"Axel!" Saïx called, coughing from the smoke. "Stop, now!"

His bellow was just enough to snap his brother out of it. "Oh, man…"

It was out of control, even for the master of fire. He ran, grabbing Saïx and Roxas and dragging them through the flames, directing the tendrils of heat away from him as he fled.

Behind him, Saïx watched the trees around the auditorium begin to catch fire. The building itself went next.

"We're all getting expelled for this," he muttered with the last of his energy.

"Xion…" Roxas whimpered.

"We'll get her back," Axel said with determination. "Whatever it takes. I promise, we'll bring her back."

A/N: Wow, an even worse cliffhanger than last time. Whoops. Should have known that would happen if I kept writing this… Fun times!