Author's Note: Yeah, remember when I said I'd end the TTPA arc with this chapter? I lied.

Chapter 10: It's not over

Was it his fault? Had he not thrown her fast enough?

The next few milliseconds went incredibly slowly for Ed. Nazz had fallen to the ground so noiselessly that it was almost eerie. The spot on the wall she had collided with was splattered with her blood, like some kind of grotesque crimson painting.

He charged towards the beast, and a fist rocketed in his direction, hitting him and sending him flying into the air.

Time slowed again. This time, he saw the armored Heartless turn towards Nazz. It clenched its right gauntlet just as soon as the others started running towards it. It wouldn't matter, Ed realized, they weren't fast enough. It was going to kill her, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He closed his eyes shut.

Suddenly, everything went back to normal speed just as a piercing shriek following the sound of exploding metal squealed through the area. As soon as he landed, his eyes darted towards the source of the sound. What was he going to see, he wondered. Had the others gotten there just in time? What if they had been too late and he would only see a bloody smear where the girl lay?

Nazz was standing upright. She was panting heavily. Her entire brow was red with blood, and a similar colored liquid was steadily dripping out of her nose. She was a mess, but her fist was up in the air, as if she had landed a blow on something.

The metal that was still falling on the ground told Ed all he needed to know. Nazz had managed to counterattack the fist that had gone to crush her, though her hand was clearly out of commission now.

"I… got it…" was all she managed to sputter out before teetering, and eventually dropping, back down.

It was impossible to read that particular Heartless' emotions; after all, that monster's face was guarded by its helmet, but Ed could've sworn it was seething with anger. It lifted up a boot, and positioned it over Nazz, as if it wanted to crush the girl. Ed wasn't about to let that happen. He charged again, quickly speeding by both the duck and dog. No. Why did he have to be so slow? He still wasn't going to make it.

Sora was already at the scene. The boy intercepted the attack, guarding the blow with his Keyblade. He buckled under the weight of the monster's boot, trying desperately to push the thing back.

A shield came zooming in, hitting the boot with almost impeccable aim and sending it flying away. The weapon circled back around, going back to the dog, who smiled cheekily.

"Blizzard!" The duck brandished his staff, and eight chunks of ice sprayed outward from the weapon, like bullets from a rifle. The chunks that had hit the remainder of the body made the beast shiver as it clanged against the metal, denting it, while the other ones pelted the boot, which promptly disappeared into black smoke.

Ed saw his chance. He charged towards Nazz. If the thing was distracted by the others, he'd have a chance to get her out of there. He picked her up, hitching her on his back as carefully as he could on his back.

Sora's cry for help as he was knocked aside by a kick, and the dog's shout to help the fallen duck was all Ed needed to hear to know that he was about to get attacked. Ed ducked just in time to avoid the fist knocking his head clean off his body. He rebalanced Nazz, and kept her positioned on his back with his left hand. He wasn't good at using his hammer with only one hand, but he would have to try.

"Ed, no," Sora called. "If you attack while you're still holding her, she'll feel every blow you land. She might die." He got into his battle stance again and stared intently at the monster before him.

"Don't worry, we're here too!' The duck stepped forward, making a quick wink. The dog followed, smiling back at him too.

Ed nodded and ran off. There was a small wall behind a narrow stairwell which just enough room per stair to lay Nazz's body flat. He cushioned her head with his jacket and let out a sigh. It was a shame he used up all of his potions earlier. They would've come in handy here.

He looked down at her before speaking. "We're going to beat up that thing, alright?" Ed regained his grip on his weapon and smiled before jumping out from the top of the set of stairs. He smiled again as he saw where he was landing. There was the other gauntlet right there below him, and it hadn't noticed him.

He smashed the thing right into the ground just an instant before he landed. The ground shattered, spreading rock, like shrapnel, in a billion different directions. Good, all that was left was the other boot and torso. After that, it would be easy to take out the head, he figured. The monster let out a deafening squeal that sounded like metal grinding on metal. The boot levitated off the ground and positioned itself where the other gauntlet was earlier.

The monster swung its improvised fist at Ed's back like a hammer. In less than a second, he rocketed across the plaza, shooting right through a solid concrete wall.

"O-ow," was all he managed to say amidst the dust that clouded up the air. He tried his best to ignore the crippling pain in his upper body and the odd numbness in his lower body, and tried to pull himself back up.

Only he couldn't. He could move his arms and chest and head, but his legs weren't responding no matter what he did.

"Wake up," was all he could spit out. He pounded on his legs as hard as he could. There was nothing. No pain. No tinglyness. In just 2 seconds, he had lost the one thing that could help him keep his own in what was probably the hardest fight he had ever been in.

"Why," was all he kept asking himself. If he couldn't move around and help everyone, what purpose did he serve? He was panicking. How would he help Eddy with his scams or help Sarah with her tea parties or help Leon fight the Heartless or go running through the junkyard with his friends again? He didn't notice the Heartless breaking open the remainder of the wall to loom over him again. It swung its hammer-fist again, this time getting him right in the gut. His head slammed back onto the ground, and he felt his vision getting hazy.

Frantically, he pulled his upper half back upright and reached for his weapon. He went to swing it right when the thing attacked again, but, unlike the other times, it wasn't sent flying away. If he couldn't stand, then his strikes wouldn't have nearly as much power as they would before. Leon had told him about it. The bulk of his strength came from anchoring his feet on the ground as he swung.

It was true; he wasn't able to fight either.

"Knock it off!"

Sora charged in, practically spinning midair as he landed a blow to the foot. While he wasn't able to kill it, like with the others, Ed was grateful that the monster's attention was off him, for a little while, at least. He almost winced when he saw the monster make a swing for Sora.

The dog ran in just as time, tanking the blow for the boy with his shield. "Donald, I got 'im," the thing spoke. "It's your turn!"

"Gotcha," the duck, apparently named Donald, responded. He charged in and whipped his staff out, pointing the weapon at the foot from mere inches away. "Flare Bomb!" A millisecond later, a burst of fiery light escaped the weapon. Hot pieces of metal shot out everywhere.

The torso, the only remaining part, began spinning violently. It flew up high into the air, and dropped just as suddenly. The moment it landed, a purple shockwave spread out from the point where it fell. Ed and the others were sent flying back outside. Ed went the furthest. Without the aid of his legs, there was no way he could slow himself down by skidding his feet against the ground like the others had. Instead, he found himself rolling against the ground, scraping his bare arms against the floor, with the only thing stopping him being a wall all the way at the other end of the square.

The torso kept repeating the same attack, and Sora, Donald, and the dog scrambled as they tried to jump over the shockwaves of purple light. Once or twice, Ed saw them manage to get close, but the thing would levitate just before any of them could land a hit. Donald would try to get a fireball to home in on the monster, but, like every other attack before, it would zip away just in time to avoid the spell.

If they couldn't even hit the thing now, would they even have a shot of winning?

"I found him!"

Vexen's Ice Eye could see him. It was the Keyblade wielder. He was busy fighting a Heartless with two other beings. The eye continued to scan the area. Ed was frantically crawling along the floor, trying to reach his weapon that he had dropped somehow. It was almost funny seeing him act like that, Vexen mused. Nazz was unconscious, and blood drenched her face and hair. Clearly, she had taken a beating unlike any other.

So he was right. Neither of them were cut out to survive through the night. It was really a shame though. Now that he found the boy with the key, he could zip right over there and kill all of the others. Still, it wouldn't be quite as enjoyable killing an unconscious girl or a paralyzed boy. Brutally mutilating the others right in front of them and forcing them to watch every second of it would have to do, he supposed. Sometimes, mentally scarring people was almost as enjoyable as hearing them plea for mercy.

Both ice eyes exploded, and Vexen once again regained his sight. He didn't have a second to waste. He zoomed out of the window, landing on a low lying roof. They Keyblade boy was at the Third District. Excellent. His goal was only about three miles north east of his current location. He jumped to the next roof. Then the one after that. He was so close, he could feel it.

"Hey, what was that?"

Damn it. That was Yuffie's voice.

"I'm gonna go check that out. Let's meet up at the Second District later, I don't think anyone's been through there in a while."

He heard a voice that could only have been Aerith respond. A second later, he heard a pair of light feet land on the other side of the roof he was hiding on. A black cloak suddenly materialized itself around Vexen's body. The man lifted up the hood over his face. He couldn't reveal himself until the capture of the Keyblade wielder was assured.

"Who are you," he heard Yuffie's voice say, sternly. "I know you're there."

Ah, so it seemed she had the gift too. She could sense other living things that existed around her. Vexen wasn't particularly good at that skill, but it seemed like Yuffie, and Nazz, to a much, much bigger degree, had a refined sixth sense. That technique was called En. It was an internal radar that worked by getting your Aura, the energy that existed in all things, to spread out from your body. If anything entered the range that your aura covered, you could tell its shape, and what direction it was going. Vexen's En ability was only able to extend about 10 feet away, but Yuffie's obviously had more range. It was impressive, though not quite on the magnitude Nazz's was.

But it didn't matter. He couldn't kill any of the others either. Not yet. Rather, he could kill Yuffie, but he believed in saving the best for last. He wanted to get the boring work done before he went for dessert. He turned back around and jumped to the next building.

"Where do you think you're going!?"

Damn it. Yuffie was chasing him now. Of all the people he had to run into, it was the only one in the group who could possibly keep up with his speed. Now it wouldn't be a straight to the Keyblade boy. He would have to lose her first. He made sure he tightened his hood, so she wouldn't see his face, and jumped back down onto the street. He wasn't as good at navigating down on the winding roads, but staying on the rooftops where she would clearly be able to see him was a sure way to end up with his hood getting blown off and a ninja star to the back.

He dashed through the streets, right past the Heartless who paid no heed to him. Yuffie was right on his tail. Vexen heard a something fly through the air. With just a quick flick of his wrist, his shield rematerialized itself back into his hand. She was throwing some projectiles at him. He turned just in time to block the weapons. He would have to be mindful of those. Getting stabbed with sharp objects was something he could do without.

He made a turn. Now he was in the Second District. He shot a huge chunk of ice right through a door to a hotel, and zoomed inside. Yuffie, of course, followed.

He had underestimated her speed by a lot. Already, she was just inches away. This particular hotel had an almost obnoxiously long hallway, and now there was nowhere for him to turn to shake her off.

"Hah, I got you!" He felt something tug on his hood.

Vexen panicked. With a swift motion, he went to swing the sharp edge of his shield at the girl, who smirked.

She caught the arm that held the weapon with her free hand. She lifted her leg to land an upward kick against the same arm. Vexen heard the sound of something shattering completely. Bone.

"Alright, we're done!" Almost unbelievably fast, Vexen saw her reach into a sleeve on her pants. One swift motion later, a huge dagger, about 11 inches long, was in her grasp. One more moment, and the blade was lodged right inside his chest. Right where his heart would've been.

There was a pause that lasted a few tense seconds. Vexen didn't move or mutter a word, after all, he didn't want to risk Yuffie recognizing him by his voice, either.

"Why aren't you dead," was all Yuffie could sputter out, breaking the pregnant pause. She was shocked. This was his chance.

He stepped back, allowing the blade to slip out of his grievous wound. He resumed running, this time fueled by panic, with the female ninja trailing behind. He made his way back outside, weaving his way through narrow turns and intentionally knocking over obstacles in a feeble attempt to lose her. Nothing was working. Would she keep following him until the crack of dawn, he wondered? He doubted he could run that long.

He didn't know how, but they found themselves running through an alleyway. One turn later and Vexen's stomach dropped.

Leon was right there, staring curiously at him. Vexen couldn't jump onto the roof again, otherwise, the whole ordeal from earlier would repeat itself. He would just have to charge through.

"Leon, don't let him escape!"

Damn it! Damn it! God damn it!

That was all Leon needed to hear, apparently. He went into his fighting stance, and Vexen had no choice but to attack. He was confident in his abilities before, but with a broken arm, and a clean stab wound right through his chest, he wasn't sure he'd have it in him to win as easily as before.

His shield collided with the man's sword. He heard Yuffie skidding to a stop right behind him. And lucky him. That girl Jasmine came running in too, with a whip in hand.

A fight was about to start.

Author's Note:I'm not going to make any promises now, but I'm going to say that next chapter will most definitely be the finale for this portion of Traverse Town. Either way, I hope you aren't /too/ disappointed, after all, some pretty interesting stuff happened. Anyway. why not leave me a review to share with me your uncontrollable rage towards my fic? I really liked that review you left for last chapter, Mr. Darkwing. I hope I see you again. :p We should go to the gym and chill sometime. There's absolutely nothing like doing squats and deadlifts with a buddy to strengthen your Social Link. That said, everyone else should review too. And also vote in my popularity poll on my profile page, because I'm SURE I have more than 5 readers who keep up with this.

So, review, vote, and do a squat for me!