CHAPTER 10
~ Another Side ~

The morning sun shone through tall stained-glass windows, casting strange patterns of light across the floor. The building looked like a church, but all of its pews were completely empty; a layer of dust had settled on the floor, as if this place had been long abandoned.

But, if you looked closer, it could be seen that the old church was still being used for something, even if it wasn't its original purpose. Between the pews, there were heavy bootprints in the dust--as empty as the building seemed to be at first glance, someone had indeed been inside not long ago.

The heavy wooden door at the front of the church swung open, illuminating the entire building with a flood of sunlight from the outside. Two men, each almost completely covered by armor, stepped into the room and quickly slammed the door shut before marching across the floor, heading toward the pulpit.

When they arrived there, each of them removed a cylindrical object, roughly the size of a sword's handle, from their belts and held them up against the podium for a few seconds. A pair of computerized beep noises echoed throughout the room, followed by the sound of something shifting beneath the room's stone floor. The podium tilted back, revealing a hidden stairway underneath it.

The two soldiers quickly marched down the staircase, and the podium shifted back into place behind them once they were safely out of the way. They continued even further down, turning down several hallways and marching until they reached a wooden door with a bit of slightly-tarnished gold trim around the edges.

Once again, they detached the metal cylinders from their belts, holding them up against the door. After another series of beeps filled the air, the massive door slowly swung open.

Upon entering the room, both of the armored men took several steps forward and then dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in the presence of an old man shrouded in red robes who sat at the other end of the room.

"Master Ansem," they said in unison.

"We've finished our investigation into the appearance of the next Fangirl swarm," one of the two added.

On the far end of the room, the old man slowly stood up from the chair he was sitting in. He took several steps toward the soldiers.

"Good," he said, "And what did you find?"

"Phone lines and wireless signals within twenty miles of this point have been increasingly flooded with Fangirl activity in the past twenty-four hours."

The second soldier raised his head slightly and added an observation of his own.

"It's very similar the buildup of activity before the previous swarm."

The old man nodded, then began pacing back and forth in the room, his arms held behind his back.

"And what of the amount of activity? How did that compare to what we saw prior to past Fangirl attacks?"

One of the men shivered slightly, then answered.

"I'm afraid there has been far more activity this time, sir. If I may make a prediction... it's looking like this is going to be the biggest one yet."

"Even larger than three days ago... a Fangirl swarm of that magnitude simply cannot be allowed to rage on unchecked. We will need to send our very best to deal with this."

Ansem stopped pacing and turned to face the two men, removing his arms from their previous position and pointing in various directions as he gave his orders.

"You," he said to one of the two soldiers in front of him, "Put together a squad consisting of ten of your most skilled men."

"And you," he said to the other, "Contact the Elementals immediately."


Kisaki shoved open the doors to the training room, causing them to swing wide open as she walked through and then wobble back and forth for a few seconds after swinging shut. As usual, she had arrived before Zexion--but this time, however, the room was not completely empty.

Standing on the far end of the room was Lexaeus, arms crossed and eyes constantly moving as he watched the room's other inhabitant. The other man using the training room was Otonashi, and he appeared to be practicing with his whip-like, hook-tipped weapon.

Kisaki watched from across the room as the silver-haired man lashed his weapon forward and clenched his free hand into a fist. As the weapon snapped back to its normal position, a blade of solid metal tore upward through the floor of the training room, staying in place for a few seconds before dissolving away into grayish-colored energy.

"That was closer," the larger man said, "You were almost able to call upon your powers at the exact moment that you struck with your weapon this time."

"Not close enough," Otonashi said, wiping some sweat off of his forehead. He swung his bladed whip once again, attempting to synchronize his powers with the hook on the end as he struck.

Instead, several metal spikes jutted up through the floor, loosely following the arc of the whip as it flew through the air. It was an improvement, though not much of one.

Sighing, he dematerialized his weapon and sat down on the floor, where he was soon joined by his superior officer.

"Don't give up just yet, Otonashi. Not all weapons and powers fit together effortlessly--you need to keep practicing."

"I know," he said, "But it almost seems like mine don't want to work. No matter how much I try, no matter how well I time it... they never really come together."

Lexaeus turned his head toward the other man and placed one large hand on his shoulder.

"Then continue training your skills apart from each other. When you have mastered both... then you can focus on combining them."

The sound of footsteps coming across the training room's floor caused Lexaeus to glance up, noticing Kisaki's presence in the room for the first time. Otonashi also turned in her direction, waving slightly to the girl before standing up.

"Ah, Kisaki," Lexaeus said, slowly standing up to his full height. "Is it time for your training session with Zexion already?"

"Yeah," she answered, "He's late again."

"Otonashi," the larger man said, "I promised Zexion that I would assist him with Kisaki's training today. You may come back for additional training later, at any time when I am not occupied."

The silver-haired man nodded, then turned and headed toward one of the room's many exits. Almost as soon as he was gone, Kisaki had ran up to Lexaeus and began to tug on one of his sleeves, apparently trying to get his attention. He turned his head toward her, slightly confused by this.

"Hmm?"

"You're gonna help Zexy teach me how to use my weapon today, right?"

"That was what Zexion asked me for help with, yes."

A minute or two of silence passed before Zexion finally arrived, walking through the front door of the training room and quickly heading over toward where his trainee and his closest friend were both already waiting.

"Sorry I took so long," the short man said, setting the suitcase containing the Zero Gear down on the floor beside him. "The Fangirl Detection System had a minor glitch, and Zagan just had to be off on one of his endless bathroom breaks at the time... Vexen and I had to stay behind to patch things up."

"It's probably better that you're a bit late," Lexaeus said, "Otherwise, Otonashi would have had to end his training a few minutes early."

"Hmm? I thought Otonashi had already completed all the required training over a year ago."

"Yes, but he's been having trouble with the way his powers and weapon interact. He came to me for additional training to help master his abilities."

"Ah."

While Zexion and Lexaeus were distracted by their discussion about Otonashi's training, Kisaki had picked up the small suitcase containing the Zero Gear and opened it up. After plucking the delicate-looking silvery ring out of the suitcase, she sat the empty container back down on the floor quietly enough that neither of the two men noticed.

When she slipped the Zero Gear around her wrist, however, they both snapped back to attention.

"Kisaki, what are you--"

Before Zexion could even finish his sentence, the familiar aura of pale-green energy flared up around Kisaki's body, filling the air around her with the same barely-audible buzzing noise and odd feeling as it had every other time. Only seconds passed before the energy began to solidify in Kisaki's hands, and in a flash of light, her spear appeared.

Zexion, who had braced himself for another shockwave like the last time, breathed a sigh of relief as he removed his arms from in front of his face. Lexaeus just stood, silently as usual, and took a good look at Kisaki's weapon.

"That was unexpected," the shorter man said. "It seems you've already improved."

Lexaeus chuckled slightly.

"It seems you won't be able to find out after all."

Kisaki looked a bit confused, turning to face the large man and blinking a few times before speaking.

"Find out what?"

"When I asked Lexaeus to help with your training, I mentioned how the shockwave from your weapon's appearance knocked me down. I was a bit curious as to whether or not it would have such an effect on someone stronger than myself."

"Hmm," Kisaki said, spinning her spear around in one hand. "So Lexaeus is a lot more powerful than you are?"

"Very much so," he answered, taking a few steps back and sitting down on the bleachers along the edge of the training room.

"Though you'll find that his power is a bit more... straightforward than my own."

Lexaeus stepped forward and crossed his arms in front of his massive chest, glanced back to Zexion for a moment, and then focused his attention on Kisaki and spoke.

"First, I want to see exactly what you're capable of. Attack me at full force, as if I were an enemy."

Kisaki nodded slightly, hesitating for a few moments before readying her spear in what appeared to be a poor imitation of Xaldin's stance. Lexaeus nodded as well, keeping his arms crossed and not moving from his position. He didn't appear to be preparing for an attack at all.

Gripping her spear tightly, Kisaki charged and thrust the weapon forward. Just when it seemed that Lexaeus was about to be stabbed in the gut, his right arm whipped out with unexpected speed and grabbed the shaft of the weapon. Instantly, Kisaki's charge ground to a halt--though she easily outmatched Zexion when it came to physical strength, Lexaeus was able to hold her off with little effort. No matter how hard she pushed, even using both hands, she couldn't budge her spear once it was within the huge man's grasp.

"You have plenty of strength," he said, maintaining his hold on Kisaki's weapon but stepping slightly to the side. "The problem is that you don't know how to use it."

As Lexaeus loosened his grip on her weapon, Kisaki stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. She had been pushing as hard as she could--so when he finally did let go, she was thrown completely off balance.

"I noticed you're attempting to copy Xaldin's battle stance. That's not a bad place to start, but you must remember that your weapon is very different from Xaldin's."

"It is? But they're both spears..."

"There are many kinds of spears, Kisaki. Each one requires a different fighting style."

Zexion, still sitting on the bleachers, looked up from his notes for a moment and spoke up.

"Think of it this way. It's hard to imagine Saix using his claymore the same way that D'aal wields his rapier, or Michiko and her longsword... and yet all three are swords."

Kisaki paused for a second, regaining her balance and listening as Zexion spoke. She seemed to understand, though she didn't say anything in response; instead, she shifted her stance slightly and held her spear with both hands.

"That's better," Lexaeus said, "Now, try again."

Just as Kisaki moved her feet in preparation to charge, the sound of a Fangirl alarmed blared from the speakers at each corner of the training room. She stumbled again, jabbing her spear into the polished wooden floor in order to keep from falling over; Zexion closed his book and stood up, while Lexaeus turned slightly but otherwise did not react.

The Fangirl alarm continued to ring for what seemed like several minutes before, finally, the sound stopped. Lexaeus turned back toward Kisaki, and she once again shifted her feet and hands into her most recent attempt at a fighting stance. Before anyone could make a move, however, the door to the training room swung open and Demyx came running in.

"Hey, you guys!", he yelled across the room, pausing to catch his breath before continuing. "Zexion!"

"What's the problem?", the shorter man asked. He suspected that Demyx was just looking for someone to send out on the Fangirl alarm, though he chose not to say so.

"Something weird's going on with the Fangirl swarm," he said, "Vexen sent me over here to find you. Says you've gotta come see this!"

Zexion suspected that those weren't Vexen's exact words, though they did get the point across--something strange was happening, and it wasn't just another glitch in the Fangirl Detection System.

"Lexaeus," the blue-haired man said, turning toward his large friend. "I take it you'll be able to continue Kisaki's training session without me?"

The giant nodded, pausing for a moment before speaking.

"That shouldn't be a problem."

With that, Zexion dematerialized his book and quickly walked over toward the other end of the room. Demyx waved goodbye to Lexaeus and Kisaki, then noticed that Zexion had already left without him. He immediately spun around, seeing the training room's front door swing shut as Zexion passed through it.

"Hey, wait up!"


In the Fangirl Detection System's room, a small crowd of Organization members had gathered around the main computer, staring up at the screens that showed the most recent Fangirl swarm. The place was absolutely crawling with Fangirls, except for one area in the center of the map. By itself, this fact wouldn't have been especially strange--it's not uncommon for Fangirls to focus on specific areas and avoid others, so an empty spot on a map wasn't cause for alarm. This, however, was something completely different.

"Bloody hell," Luxord mumbled, "Something's destroying the Fangirls."

Zagan stroked his beard slightly, keeping his face glued to the screen.

"Sure looks like it," he said, "But the question is... who is it? We don't have anybody out there yet."

"Hmm... perhaps this country's government finally realized just how much of a threat Fangirls are," Vexen said. He was about to continue his sentence when something unusual caught his eye.

"Wait... what is that?"

At first, the out-of-place symbol appeared to be nothing more than a glitch on the screen, but its appearance and movement were too consistent for that to be the explanation. Glancing around, he noticed that there were three more like it, all positioned somewhere within the area that was devoid of Fangirls.

"Good question," Luxord said, standing up from his seat and leaning forward to get a better look. "Eh... looks like a couple of stray numbers on the screen. Probably just another glitch, I'd say."

"No," Vexen said, "It can't be. They're only in the area where all the Fangirls have been destroyed, and they move further outward as more Fangirls are cleared out."

Zagan adjusted his glasses, then turned toward Vexen and spoke.

"So... whoever's out there wiping out Fangirls is being picked up by our system."

"That seems to be the most logical explanation. We've never encountered this kind of situation before, but the Fangirl Detection System only has predefined symbols for Fangirls and members of our Organization..."

"If another being with similar powers were to be detected, it should still attempt to display their position... but without a defined symbol, it defaults to marking them with simple numbers."

At this moment, Zexion and Demyx--both out of breath from sprinting through the halls and up the stairs--ran into the room. Zexion immediately headed for the computer system, while Demyx just stopped to catch his breath at the door.

"What's happening?"

"Ah, Zexion," Vexen said, turning around to face the shorter man. "Just look at the screen. Notice anything unusual?"

"There's an gap in the Fangirl swarm... and it's growing larger by the second."

"Indeed. It appears that someone else is out there fighting the Fangirls--four of them, I would guess. Notice the small numbers in the area without any Fangirls... whoever it is, they're being detected by our system."

Zexion brushed some of his hair out of his face, then spoke.

"So... are we going to send anyone out there? Whoever's destroying the Fangirls doesn't appear to need any help."

Vexen nodded and grinned.

"That's exactly why I called you in. Though we most likely won't have to send anyone to fight the Fangirls, the fact that someone else out there has the power to do so is something that must be investigated."

He paced back and forth slightly, occasionally glancing back up at the screen and continuing to speak as he went.

"I was planning to send you and Luxord to gather information," he said, "Though you can take one of the more combat-oriented members with you as well, if you think you may need backup."

"Sounds like a plan," Luxord said, turning toward Zexion. "So, who else are we going to drag along on this one?"

"Hmm... I'm sure Vexen is planning to stay and monitor the swarm from here," he answered, glancing over to the older man. "And besides, this is mainly an investigative mission... it would seem like a bit of a waste to send three numbered members."

He glanced around the room at all of the other members gathered there. Naminé was even less suited for combat than himself, and both Banbu and Vi had already been sent out on major swarms in the past week. His gaze paused on Zagan.

"Zagan," he said, catching the man's attention, "Hasn't it been a while since you've been sent to respond to a Fangirl alarm?"

"Who, me?"

He scratched his head and laughed slightly, then held his hands out in front of himself and waved them around a bit for emphasis as he continued.

"Well, I'm not really much of a fighter, you know... if something goes wrong and you guys have to finish off that swarm, having a guy like me along won't be much help."

Banbu turned, a slightly confused look on his face.

"What're you talking about? Back when I was still in training, Axel said you were one of the strongest out of all the non-numbered members."

"Well, uh, you see... Zexion's right. I might've been a decent fighter back when I finished my training, but that was a while back... and I haven't been out on a Fangirl alarm in a long time."

He shrugged, adjusted his glasses, and then put his hands back down on the arms of his chair.

"So my fighting's gotten... a little rusty, to say the least."

Zexion sighed. He continued to glance around the room, eventually stopping as his eyes focused on a green-haired girl standing, along with Banbu and Vi, behind the chair where Luxord was sitting.

"Michiko... I take it you haven't let your skills slip as far as Zagan has?"

She shook her head.

"Good. You will be accompanying Luxord and I on this mission. We most likely won't be forced into a combat situation, but in case it does happen, you'll need to be ready."

"Zagan," Vexen said, turning in his chair to face him. "Prepare the Dimensional Hippievan for transport to the site of the swarm."


Only a few minutes later, the Hippievan came roaring out from the tunnel in the side of the mountain, rocks shifting back into place to disguise the opening as the vehicle passed through. With a flash of energy, the van disappeared into thin air.

Zexion had volunteered to drive the van, and Luxord took the front seat, attaching his favorite fuzzy dice to the rear-view mirror. Michiko sat in one of the two seats in the middle of the van, just watching as the two older men navigated through the bizarre space within the portals. Before long, it had passed through another portal and rolled to a stop in a small gravel parking lot somewhere in a historical-looking city.

"Wow," Michiko said, gazing out the window. "All of these buildings look so old. Where are we?"

"Not entirely sure," Luxord said, glancing back toward the girl. "Didn't get a chance to ask, what with all the hubbub over those strange signals the computer was picking up."

"There certainly don't appear to be any Fangirls around," Zexion said, opening the door to the van and hopping out. "So we must have arrived within the area where they've already been wiped out."

Luxord and Michiko climbed out of the vehicle as well, and everyone shut their doors as quietly as possible in order to avoid alerting anyone who might be around--either Fangirls, or the source of the mysterious signals on the Fangirl Detection System.

"Keep as quiet as possible," Zexion whispered, "And don't go charging out into the open, even if you see a Fangirl. We don't know anything about the four signals the system was picking up, but if they're capable of wiping out a swarm like this so quickly, they must be at least as powerful as one of us."

The other two nodded, then proceeded to follow Zexion as quietly as they possibly could, making sure not to do anything that would alert others to their presence. As they walked down a narrow alley, Zexion suddenly stopped and held one hand back, motioning for the others to stay still as well.

"I'm picking up something," he said, sniffing the air slightly. "Fangirls... and plenty of them. But the scent is already fading... this was definitely the site of a major battle, and the Fangirls didn't stand a chance."

They continued onward, peeking around the edges of the old brick buildings before walking out onto the sidewalk. After taking a good look at the street they were on, they began walking down it, keeping on the lookout for Fangirls or any other suspicious characters. As they passed an old, abandoned-looking church, Zexion suddenly stopped.

"That's odd," he said, sniffing the air for a moment before continuing. "The scent of Fangirls has almost completely faded from this street. This must have been the area where our mysterious Fangirl-fighters started."

He walked around a bit, stopping after every few steps and sniffing the air. Eventually, he turned back toward Luxord and Michiko and spoke once again.

"And that's not all. There's another scent in the air... it's completely different from anything I've ever detected before. It's faint, but... something else besides Fangirls has definitely been here."

Luxord scratched his beard slightly.

"I suppose that'd be our four mysterious signals, then?"

"Most likely. I can't pinpoint four separate scents, but they do appear to have left this area shortly after the Fangirls were cleared out."

"Well," Michiko said, walking down the street away from the old church, "Let's go after them, then!"

"That may not be such a good idea," Zexion said, following the green-haired girl for a few steps and then grabbing her shoulder to keep her from rushing ahead on her own.

"We still don't know who these people are, or how they might react upon meeting us... all we do know is that they're fighting the Fangirls. And that alone is no guarantee that they're on our side."

Michiko stopped walking and groaned.

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

"That doesn't mean we aren't going to follow them," Luxord said, "We'll just have to make sure we aren't seen, that's all."


"Whoever's wiping out those Fangirls is doing a pretty good job," Zagan said, staring at the computer screen in front of him.

The massive cluster of pink dots symbolizing Fangirls was now almost completely cleared away. Replacing it were four smaller groups, spread out across the city; the four unknown signals, represented by plain numbers, had split up to follow them. The symbols representing Zexion, Luxord, and Michiko were heading rapidly toward one of the four, though they still had quite a ways to go before they would be close enough to see who they were or what was going on.

"I guess they haven't seen any of 'em yet," Banbu said, leaning back in the chair he had snatched from Luxord shortly after the gambler left.

"Zexion has probably detected their scent by now," Vexen said, "But yes, you're correct. It's highly unlikely that our team has spotted the source of any of the four unknown signals just yet."

"They're getting pretty close to that one," Vi said, pointing at the spot on the screen where one of the four signals was located.

Just as the dark-haired girl said, the symbols marking the positions of the Organization members were coming very close to one of the three unknown signals, marked by the number "1" in a small, unspectacular-looking font. There were only a handful of Fangirls remaining around this one, whereas each of the other three had at least a small crowd. Maybe this one was stronger than the others, or maybe the rest had just gone after bigger groups of Fangirls--it was impossible to tell from what little information the Fangirl Detection System showed.

"Looks like they're gonna have to hurry," Zagan said, "That part of the swarm's almost gone, and I can't think of any reason why our mystery signals would hang around too long after their work's done."


"The scent's stronger in this direction," Zexion said, pausing again to sniff the air as the others walked a few feet ahead of him. "Both the scent of Fangirls and the unknown one I picked up before. We must be getting close."

Luxord and Michiko waited for Zexion to catch up, then all three of them continued walking down the street as fast as they could without making too much noise. The sound of Fangirlish giggles reached their ears for just a moment before being drowned out by something much louder--a massive explosion, close enough that they could see the flash of light and the smoke rising afterward. The sounds of Fangirls giggling were instantly silenced.

"Sounds like whoever's over there just finished off the last of the Fangirls," Zexion whispered, picking up speed slightly. The others followed suit, and before long they were running down the street as fast as they could.

As he ran, Zexion raised one of his hands into the air. Blue-black energy swirled around it for a second, then spread outward and surrounded all three of the Organization members, forming a translucent dome of energy.

"This should work," he mumbled, glancing to Luxord and Michiko for a second before he continued running. "Nobody outside the reach of my illusion powers will be able to see or hear us, so we can get as close as we want. Just make sure you don't move outside of that dome's range."

They both nodded, and then moved a bit closer to Zexion as they ran, glancing to the sides occasionally to make sure they were still within range of the illusion. In a matter of seconds, they reached the front door of another building--the closest one to the scene of the battle, based on where the flash of the explosion had come from.

There was a mechanical beep from around the corner, and all three members of the black-cloaked team stopped to listen.

"My section's all clear of Fangirls," a male voice said. "How about you guys?"

More voices buzzed in, sounding slightly garbled as if speaking through a poor-quality radio channel.

"Done already? Damn. Still got about a dozen left over here."

"Seems like half a swarm shows up every time I think I'm finished..."

"Can't talk now," another voice said. This one, unlike the others, was clearly female. Fangirlish giggles, followed by a grunt and a series of explosions, blared through over the radio, and then the voice continued.

"Sorry about all the noise. They just won't stop coming..."

There was a metallic-sounding clank from around the corner of the building, and then several heavy footsteps. The three Organization members rushed over to the corner and peeked around just in time to see a tall man standing with his back to them, his body completely encased in armor. Even his face was completely disguised, hidden away behind the darkened visor of a horned helmet.

"I'm heading back," he said, apparently speaking into the handle of the massive, vaguely key-shaped weapon that he carried. "You three can take care of your Fangirls without my help, right?"

The other three voices crackled through the fuzzy, radio-like speaker, answering almost in unison.

"Go ahead. I can handle 'em."

"Yeah... no problems here."

"Just finished my last one."

The armored man nodded, then raised his weapon toward the sky. He pressed a button somewhere on the handle, and immediately it began to disassemble itself on its own, its parts circling around him in midair. He lowered his hand, and the parts floating in the air around him reassembled themselves into some sort of vehicle, looking closer to a giant golden jetski than anything else.

As the man jumped up onto the odd vehicle and began to rise into the air over the city, Zexion was the only one of the black-cloaked group to speak, mumbling one short sentence as he stared blankly ahead.

"So this is our mysterious Fangirl fighter..."