Jess' POV

(Yes! We've gone back to POVs! After god knows how many chappys I did without them! Sorry if confused. VERY BUSY two months.)

We bolted out the back door, and sprinted into the woods. Roxas took my hand and squeezed it, offering a reassuring smile. And it worked until a few seconds later, when we heard a thunderous bang as the back door was ripped off its hinges! We weaved through trees and brush, hoping to lose her in all the confusion. The sky became bleak and dark, and I wasn't the only who noticed the sinister clouds looming overhead.

We paused to look up at the ominous, black clouds gathering over the forest. Roxas grabbed my hand even tighter, and we delved deeper into the woods.

I could feel her presence everywhere, but when I looked back to meet her malicious gaze, no one was there. The trees seemed to huddle closer to us, like they were listening to every step...every stressed breath. We were closer to Tyler's house now; halfway through the woods. As we got deeper, the brush got thick and more tangled. Soon, there was nowhere else to go...

Once we reached a large clearing, we paused to catch our breaths. It seemed like we'd lost her. But, I could'nt help feeling like we were trapped; that something bad was going to happen to us.

"Stay alert! She's around here somewhere." Roxas warned.

"Why do the bad guys always have to make things so difficult?" Zack muttered.

"Is everyone alright?" Alex asked.

Suddenly, the Earth began trembling beneath us. I lost my footing and stumbled backwards over a log. I saw Roxas' hand extend out to me, but they were all eclipsed as a massive wall of rock rose out of the ground, splitting the clearing in half...separating me from the rest of the group. On the other side, I heard some shuffling and screaming as the ground shifted beneath me. Then, there was silence.

The bad kind of silence.

"Hey! Do you guys hear me?!" I slammed myself against the wall.

No answer.

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. Were they...no, they couldn't be. Somehow, they must've gotten away safely. I prayed that they'd gotten away safely.

I was about to climb over the wall, when I felt something sticky beneath my feet. I tried to move, but my feet seemed glued to the ground. I thought I was just stuck in some mud, until I felt something creeping up my leg. Froze with shock to find that I wasn't standing in mud...I was standing in darkness! And that thing creeping up my leg? Fingers...fingers that belonged to HER. Like quicksand, she was pulling me down into its ebony depths. Her head bobbed up from the pool of darkness, a wicked smile on her face.

Her voice was sweet and childish as she whispered, "Your friends won't be coming to save you."

Zack's POV

"Whoa! What just happened? How the hell did we make it out of there?" One minute I saw black, the next we were back at Alex's house. Not to mention that I felt like I'd just been on Nitro at Six Flags.

"With that." Alex pointed at a swirling vortex of darkness.

Roxas stepped out of the rip portal, keyblades drawn.

"Wish I had that during In-School-Suspension." I sighed.

"Where's Jess?" Alex asked.

"Still at the clearing. I'm going back for her." Roxas turned his back on us, about to step through.

"But its dangerous..." Alex mumbled ineffectively.

"I don't really think there's a choice. Besides, what else did you have planned?" I shouldn't have asked.

Alex got a huge grin on his face.

"My newest invention!"

"Here we go again."

"But I'll need some time to get it ready..." Alex insisted.

"Time's not on our side right now." Roxas stressed.

"That's why I'm going to need your help, Zack."

"While you work on that, I'll see what I can do." We watched as Roxas disappeared through the vast pool of darkness.

"If it involves me, then its not safe, is it?" I muttered.

Jess' POV

"Why did you come back if you knew you were going to die?" Her voice was the only sound in the darkness.

"Because I had to protect my friends, my family."

"Its a pity you won't live to ever see their faces again."

"What makes you think you'll get away with this?" I tried to move.

Suddenly, she appeared beside me. She smiled softly -a smile of satisfaction- and gently caressed my cheek. My body was too numb and lifeless to resist her cold touch.

She looked me straight in the eye as she icily replied, "Because I'm you. What if 'you' somehow miraculously survived? I wouldn't have any trouble faking my death, when in reality, it will be you who would've died. I'll go back to living my normal life, and with Roxas' help, I'll destroy everything you know and love."

I winced as her nails clawed into my wrist. I felt this pulsing, burning sensation as she lifted my wrist for me to see. At the site of the inflamed, swollen area was a black star.

"What's this?"

She wore a secretive smile on her face, like it was some kind of inside joke I wasn't getting...or wasn't supposed to get.

"Enjoy your descent into the abyss."

I closed my eyes as a chilly wind battered my face, then opened them to find myself alone. She disappeared. Like a figment of my imagination, like an intangible dream, she had faded away...leaving me with my wandering thoughts and my crushed hopes. For awhile, I was just sinking farther and farther into the pit.

I shut my eyes again, letting the cool, still darkness take me. Besides the dull ache in my body, the only thing that remained was the stinging sensation in my wrist.

"Maybe I should just give up." I muttered to myself.

"Give up on your family? Everything you love?" The voice was barely an audible whisper. It was distant...warm.

"What else do you expect me to do?" I replied, bothered. I still had my eyes shut.

"Fight." The voice was closer. It was strong...persistent.

"I can't fight if I've already lost everything." I replied dejectedly, rather annoyed at this point.

"Everyone's waiting for you. And I'm waiting for you too."

I squinted as I opened my eyes. A bright, glistering light was approaching. I couldn't distinguish who it was. A figure was swimming towards me. When he extended his hand out to me, the glimmering light languished from his face...revealing Roxas.

Estatic to be in the company of a 'sane' human being, I took his hand, and he pulled me into his embrace.

Smiling, he whispered, "Hold on tight."

He opened a rip portal, and we were sucked into it. It felt like were spinning...then, we fell out of the sky and landed on the tall grass below. We were back in the woods. I held my head dizzily as he helped me up.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

But this was no time to chat.

Suddenly, the trees came to life. A sharp branch was racing toward us, but in one swift hack, the branch fell lifeless to the ground. Soon, there were others to take its place. The whole forest seemed against us. There were too many for Roxas to handle.

I pulled Roxas and we sprinted in the direction of Alex's house, branches and roots twisting and knotting behind us. We were so close, only a little bit further! That's when I spotted Alex and Zack positioning a silver, sniper-like cannon in the distance... Zack was waving his arms frantically.

We continued sprinting, weaving our way through the brush. We were only a few feet away from crossing over to the safety of Alex's backyard, when a wall of branches and roots formed over the exit, obstructing our path! We were in a dangerous collision path. I thought to stop, but I didn't even have time to think about it, because Roxas and I suddenly jolted forward, lurching through another rip portal.

This time, we ended up on Alex's front yard.