Previously on t h e l i f e l e s s l e e c h:

When desperate times call for desperate measures

Reach into yourself to find your inner strength

And act with vim and vigor

xxx

"She is truly a nuisance. But actions speak louder than words; I can prove her wrong about whatever she thinks of Rexa."

"Vexen. You're not going to-"

"Zexion, I'm a scientist. Of course I'm going to conduct an experiment."

"I don't know what you're going to do, but do be careful. She was just 'born', you know. If anything goes wrong at the stage she's in, the results could be fatal."

xxx

"Don't forget. We are all the same yet different at the same time. Rexa isn't any more important than any of us. Understand?"


"This is unreal." Rexa said to herself. She was now on the top roof of the clock tower, staring up at the sky. She might have known that the entire area where she was tested in was fake, but this was no coincidence. Staring at the sky, behind distance clouds, Rexa saw a moon in the shape of a heart. As fascinating as it was, it seemed too unrealistic. She even wondered for a minute if Marluxia was playing tricks on her, but then remembered that was what this entire simulation was: a whole bunch of tricks. She didn't know why, but another flashback had popped in her head after a minute of staring at the moon. It was the moment where Era was on her bed, talking to Isa. At first, the memory was silent, but slowly Rexa could hear the voices forming clearly. It was as if she was standing right in front of them listening, sort of like how the Organization visits happened during her sleep and playback of her past. Era and Isa were talking about the moon once more, stating facts and opinions like how it would shift tides if it were shaped differently, or if moonlight would change color if the moon itself was a different color or glow. It was all a playback of their conversation, and it happened when Rexa saw the moon heart.

A chill blew past her neck and she turned around to be startled to find a figure behind her. Actually, it nearly shocked her to see Renée standing there, wide-eyed. The first thought that popped in Rexa's mind was that it was just another illusion, but at the same time she predicted that something very realistic could happen at any moment. Renée stood still, staring daggers through Rexa. She wore a usual tank top and jeans like she would wear any other day, but something about the outfit told Rexa that possibly fake Renée had a choice of words –and actions- for her. There seemed to be a halt in time, but Renée started it once more when she took a small step forward, and her hand reached for something in her back pocket.

"Why? Why, of all people, would you choose to join them!?" She asked bitterly. Her words slightly shocked Rexa. Could she have known that she was a part of Organization XIII now? Did she think that they were bad people? Did she think she was being forsaken? Before she knew it, the questions in Rexa's head suddenly disappeared. This is an illusion. She told herself. She could still be in a coma for all I know. I can't let this imposter frighten me. Reaching her hand out, Rexa forced most of her energy to go through her hand and to take shape of her chain whip. Grasping it, she slightly slung it behind her as if bracing herself for another attack.

"Shut up." She said quickly. Rexa would never think of hurting the real Renée, but knowing that this girl was an illusion made it so much easier to attack. Rexa leaped forward fast, striking like a cobra with the tip of her whip towards Renée's face. To her dismay, the imposter was just as fast, and grabbed the end of the whip tightly before it could touch her face. She had then pulled the whip hard towards her with an immense jerk to pull Rexa towards her. Rexa could see that in the midst of her drag forward, Renée held her arm back behind her and balled her hand in a fist, as if she would hit her the moment Rexa got close enough. Now that she knew one of her methods, she could stop it. Renée had tugged Rexa very fast, so the moment Rexa looked up at her, her fist came forward, just as the blonde Nobody predicted. With the same speed used to lash out, Rexa dodged the punch, and grabbed her wrist with one hand, the shoulder with the other. Using as much power as she could, she had shoved Renée into the roof floor, hip first. The moment the fake let her guard down, Rexa reclaimed her chain whip and brought it back over her shoulder. "You're not the real Renée. That's the worst act I've ever seen."

Imposter Renée had suddenly stopped struggling with the pain she probably felt from the shove down. In fact, she looked Rexa in the eye for a long moment with a plain face. The moment that Rexa was going to impale her with the whip was the same time she gave away a grim smile. She began talking, but to Rexa's surprise, it didn't sound like Renée anymore.

"Really? Because I thought I did a pretty good job." Said fake Renée…with Larxene's voice. Rexa's mouth went agape, and then she glared.

"Larxene!?"

She didn't reply. Instead, she had brought her arm out in front of her, bending it as if she was shielding herself. And then, she flailed it back out, suddenly bringing an excruciating voltage through Rexa. She cried out and then stumbled a couple of steps backwards after the shock had worn off- nearly falling, but she still felt slightly stunned, like she was very close to paralysis. She closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for her body to get loose once more so that she could move with ease. After waiting a while, she felt her joints able to move easily. She opened her eyes, and there was no longer the doppelganger of Renée standing in front of her. Instead, it was Larxene herself, smirking satisfyingly at Rexa's disbelief.

"I think those Heartless are now way too easy for you. So to work you harder, I decided to come here as your challenger." She said playfully.

"Does Marluxia know you're here?" Rexa replied, aggravated. Larxene's grin had spread a little bit.

"Of course. I can't do anything without his full permission." She tossed her head back to bring her long bangs away from her face. "You ought to be thanking me. I'm making this more of a challenge for you to make you learn more quicker."

"Don't you think that little stunt you pulled earlier was personal?!" Rexa's grip on the chain tightened, figuring that the other blonde could strike her at any moment. Larxene's calm smile and shut eyes were a hint.

"Dear, I'm full of surprises. Better get used to it." Sparking kunais flashed within her hands as she opened her eyes, and the smile became more devilish. "It's too bad that I won't go easy on you, figuring that the only thing you found was your weapon. To fight your own kind, you're going to need a lot more than that."

"I don't need your advice." Rexa replied back darkly. This time, she had waited for Larxene to attack first, since all of her other ones had backfired on her. Hopefully it'd be the other way around.

"That's too bad." Larxene chuckled, before she went flying towards Rexa ready to mercilessly attack.

"You think they're going to keep it clean?" Axel asked, staring through the image of Rexa and Larxene's combat. Marluxia scoffed.

"Not likely."

In the midst of watching the battle, the two Nobodies could hear that someone else entered. Turning, they saw Vexen appearing out of the shadows and walking towards them, arms folded across his chest.

"According to my calculations," Vexen said. "Rexa will have the upper hand in this fight." He brought his pointer finger to his chin. "And…she will have a power that will backfire eventually."

"Really?" Axel replied, turning his whole body to face Vexen. "Think you could tell us early? I'm not one for surprises, really."

"Unfortunately," Vexen started. "We're not that clear on the answers that we need just yet. Just the basics."

Marluxia's eyes slowly narrowed to the scientist. "How long will it take before your project is done so we'll know more about Rexa's abilities beforehand?"

"I'd say at least the moment Sora and his companions arrive. Since she is a newborn, I have to be very precise with the work without the need to rush."

"Whatever it takes." Marluxia replied. He then looked back at the scene of the fight, watching the girls with nearly equal strength clash with each other. He then glanced over at Namine, who was staring at the wall in front of her, her sketch pad in her lap like it always was. He then had a solution that would probably make Vexen's task a little bit shorter. Walking over to the front of where the small girl miserably sat, he got down on one knee to look at her with the same eye level. Her gaze wasn't immediately on him, but her eyes shifted once his gloved hand grabbed her by the chin to fix her gaze on him.

"We have an important task for you." He said calmly. Namine's expression didn't change. "Vexen is doing a tricky experiment with the new girl of the Organization, but he needs your help."

Both Axel and Vexen's attention got directed to where Marluxia and Namine were, watching how he was able to make her give in to his commands so easily. "We need you to dive deep into Rexa's memories and hidden abilities, and reveal to us what she will be capable of doing."

She stared at him wide-eyed in reply, but her expression softened once more; yet she managed to find her voice. "Shouldn't she be able to know as well?"

"Well, we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would we?" He simply replied. Letting go of her chin, he stood back up to his height and glanced over at Vexen.

"Vexen. If you can, start it now."

Vexen smiled grimly. "As you wish."

With that last statement, Vexen vanished to another room. Axel looked at Marluxia with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly are we going to do with this knowledge of Rexa when we get it?"

Marluxia walked back over to wear the battle scene was being shown, his eyes on Rexa. "It's all part of our plan."

That's when both of Axel's eyebrows raised when he glanced over to his new spot. "You can't seriously be planning on using her for this."

"Whatever it'll take for our plan to commence. It will be worth it."

The feeling of the material of the two weapons repelling each other when they touched seemed to push both Larxene and Rexa back a little, but it didn't slow them down. Rexa leaped up in mid-air, sending her chain whip swiftly down towards Larxene. The gaps in between some of the metal caught on hold of the claw like daggers Larxene had, making her stuck unless she let go. They both panted heavily from numerous attacks and deflects. Only a few attacks from both of them were successful yet still got them nowhere.

"Well it seems that you're not one to give up the ghost very easily." Larxene said in the midst of her heavy breathing. "We're nearly equal in strength. This fight is getting us nowhere."

"Agreed." Rexa replied, standing up from her crouching position. Larxene did the same and scoffed.

"Well, I already know what I need to know. You're still learning, so don't push your luck on beating me the next time we meet, or anyone else for that matter."

Rexa heard something creep behind her. The moment she heard it approached her in full speed was the moment she turned around and flailed her whip across it's body. It was a white and flexible creature, like the one that Era had in one of her dreams. It was out of nowhere, so Rexa decided to look ahead; and in consternation, there were more coming her way from afar. They were walking on the far ground. Some went through ways that she couldn't notice, and others actually climbed up the tower to reach her level. She got so distracted by them, she didn't realize that Larxene had left without warning. She was on her own, not that Larxene was really offering her help. She wasn't as worn out as she used to be during the fight, but she had wished that she could have gotten a little more recovery before she met her next enemies. Rexa figured that being a Nobody meant having to fight to the death if necessary.

She then looked down again and decided it would be easier to fight on lower ground. Backing up from the edge, she stepped away as far from the edge as possible, preparing for a big leap. The sound of approaching enemies from her side was getting clearer as she could hear the lower ladder creaking as something stepped on it to get higher. Rexa didn't have to wait long for the creature to the side to appear over the tower's side wall. It slid over the railing to get on the roof where Rexa stood to watch its movements. Seconds later, it darted, and so did Rexa. With speed she didn't even know she had, Rexa dashed towards the tower's edge, and jumped. On the ground below her, there were a lot more of the fiends wandering aimlessly. Some of them still climbed up the tower, unaware that she was coming towards them instead, but a sweeping strike from the chain whip against their comrades alarmed them that the blonde Nobody was now on the ground where they used to tread.

Even though it was a long drop, at least three stories, Rexa landed lightly on her feet. Holding onto her whip, she watched the predators approach her swiftly and slickly. They weren't too far away when Rexa felt like something was trying to invade her mind once more. She didn't let her guard down, but still concentrated to find out what it was. It was like words of counsel passing through her head. You don't have to fight them all, Rexa. It said to her nonchalantly. You are capable of controlling their actions. Compel them.

The first response to the words was to actually look at the fiends. She saw the symbol that looked engraved or merged within their white flesh. It was the same as the Organization's. A word seemed to flash in her head as she stared at the pale pursuers longer.

Dusk

That must have been what they were called. All she knew was that they had something to do with the Organization and that she had control over them. The only question in her mind then was how? She even added in another thought: I could have been a small part of her hidden powers, yet she hasn't discovered them yet. She would have to think and fight at the same time to get her answers, since the dusks were very close to her now. It didn't take much to destroy them with her chain whip, but it seemed like the number of them added up to the original point every time she vanquished any. She wondered if she could use something to lure them to believe that they were one of her kind. And then she had a plan.

She struck one more dusk through its body before leaping up into the stairway and running towards the entrance of the gate to the other half of town. Just as she had hoped, the dusks followed her instantly. To make things cleverer, she had dismissed her hold of the whip temporarily, just to make her look vulnerable until the time was right. She ran to the point of being in front of the gate, about five feet away; and like she predicted, a horde of Heartless had appeared surrounding her. Rexa instantly glanced over at the dusks pursuing her, seeing that they had stopped right behind the circle of Heartless that she was in. They would glance from one to another, before lashing out on each and every one of them, just as Rexa hoped. The Heartless were also the dusks' enemy, and seemed to be of a greater threat than she was. Once half of them were taken out, Rexa brought her chain whip back out to help out with the half of the attacking Heartless. It was quick, since she had reinforcements, at least she thought at the moment. When all of the Heartless were gone, she turned around to face the dusks, which were also staying in their place around her. Letting her weapon disappear once more, she only concentrated on one phrase as she stared at the dusks, and eventually snapped her fingers. Retreat to the darkness whence you came. To her surprise, the dusks did exactly what she mentally commanded, and had swiveled up to vanish into small vortexes which probably brought them to where they belonged.

There she was, alone again in the middle of a dark town, exhausted. She brushed away a few strands of hair that were sticking to her forehead before walking towards the gate where she had come out of before.

The tactician opened his eyes widely and set his hand down from his chin, letting his arms drop to his hips. Lexaeus glanced over to him to see if anything was wrong, and at the same time Vexen had vortexed into the room, a smirk on his face, but Zexion was the one who spoke.

"She actually did it. She did all the necessary actions needed to pass the second test."

Lexaeus's blue eyes averted down to the floor. "Yes…now she will have to brace herself for the final attack. You'll have to let her go on her own, Zexion."

"I know."

"We're going to be finding out more about Rexa before she herself does." Vexen suddenly cut in, walking towards the other two Nobodies.

Zexion glanced over at him. "Your experiment?"

"Precisely. Only I'm getting help from the witch herself too."

"You told Marluxia about it too, didn't you?" Lexaeus said. "Whenever he thinks deeply about something, he has to get Namine involved. I still don't see what the use of keeping her here is."

"You both know how he is." Vexen replied bitterly. "He managed to get Namine to start delving deep within Rexa to find out her hidden abilities beforehand."

"And are you planning on telling her about them once you find out?"

"No…she'll have to find out for herself." Vexen said monotonously. "She's a newborn. If she learns too quickly, her abilities may eventually backfire. She'll have to learn how to control them in gradually increasing levels so that she may be stable."

"Very true." Zexion replied with his eyes closed once more. Then he glanced slightly over to Lexaeus. "Now then, what to do?"

The built Nobody had his eyes to the ground while he thought profoundly. At the moment, there wasn't an answer that was any more palpable than what he had in mind. "Now, we wait. See what ensues."