Roxas is going to kill me for keeping this from you guys for so long. o-O

Do me a big favor- read. Fast.

"I have to warn him, Lydia."

"I said no, Roxas. It's too dangerous to show your face at that castle, let alone going by yourself," She responded, her voice sounding very close to a snarl. "So put it out of your head."

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes in frustration. If it wasn't already bad enough with Xion kidnapped by that creep Vanitas yesterday, now I had to deal with Ventus' presence inside me all the time. He hadn't spoken since his earlier outburst, but I had a feeling that he had plenty of questions for the red head in front of me. Now that I thought about it, the feelings he'd had for her were starting to rub off on me already. Which made every moment with her that much more awkward.

And it gave me an excuse to get away, even if it was only for a little while.

"Im not a child, Lydia. I can handle myself in just about any situation they can throw at me," Running a hand gently through my blonde hair, I paused to gather my thoughts. "And besides, he needs to know about what happened here. If we don't warn him, the organization will start searching for her immediately. This way at the very least, he might be able to buy us a few weeks of leeway."

"And then what, Roxas?" she snapped back. Clearly the encounter with Vanitas had her, as well as the rest of us, on edge. I myself was barely keeping it together. "Run for the hills when they send out their scouts? Cower in a corner and surrender? It's not going to happen Roxas! We're in enough shit as it is!"

With a loud sigh, I shot her a serious look. "I'm fully aware of the situation, okay? Now hear me out. I know the castle layout better than you and can easily be in and out in less than ten minutes. We have allies there, one of which is a fully fledged lycan that can be of great help to us. The other of which is your brother, for god's sake! We need them Lydia, much as you might hate to admit it."

Lydia turned her back to me with a snort. She knew I was right, but like I said before she was just too damn proud for her own good. "Look, this is really important. The positives far outweigh the nega-

"Stop," she muttered without turning back around. After a long pause in which I shuffled my feet impatiently, she said quietly, "You'd better come back Roxas. Alive."

I nodded my thanks, mentally sending her a short wave of gratitude before turning and creating a light portal. I was now on a limited time frame; the longer I waited to warn them, the less time we had to plan our next move.

-Till November-

Travelling through the corridor only took a few minutes, and on the other side I emerged in the dark city. The safest location to exit- this place was free of prying eyes that would blow my cover.

It was strange though, coming back here. Back to the place I had spent most of my nobody days, where I had returned to at the end of the day after missions... looking at the castle now I felt something like loathing for it. That was probably just my lycan instincts kicking in though. Lydia was right- this place absolutely reeked of darkness.

Rubbing my nose with the back of my hand and attempting to ignore the overwhelming stench around me, I stealthily made my way towards the castle. Out of habit, I carefully waded through several puddles of rainwater to try and cover my scent. It wasn't like anyone would be able to track me here- save for maybe Saix- but it wouldn't do me any good to get lazy. When you live like I do now, any precaution you can take is a necessary one.

Stiffening at the sound of quiet, almost nonexistent footsteps behind me, I silently summoned my blade. Turning around and raising it I shouted, "I know you're there. Show yourself!" Trying and failing to identify the person by scent, I mentally cursed myself for not wearing something with a hood.

Stepping out of the shadows of a nearby building, a hooded organization member revealed himself. Though he had no weapon, I readied myself for a fight anyway. Whoever it was couldn't be left to blab to the rest of the organization. If word got out that I was ali-

"Relax, XIII," came a familiar voice from under the hood. Lifting a hand he removed it, betraying platinum blue hair.

"Saix," I muttered in relief, lowering and dismissing my keyblade. Speak of the devil. If it wasn't for the stink of darkness I would have been able to catch his scent. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise," he grunted in reply. "But from what I can tell, all is not as it should be. Something happened to Xion, correct?"

"Yes. She's-

Saix waved his hand, cutting me off. "I know, Roxas. I merely needed confirmation. Give me the details later." He gestured to the castle. "Lea is in his room. Use a corridor to go strait there, then meet me back here in ten minutes."

"Right." I said shortly. Saix had a profound sense of power over me, and I felt obligated to obey. I would definitely inquire about that later.

For now though, I did what I was told. Exiting the light corridor I had created only seconds before I saw that Axel was indeed in his room, eating what I assumed to be his dinner.

"Jezzus!" he coughed, nearly choking on his food. Once he had swallowed the mouthful and put down his meal, he lowered his voice into a harsh whisper. "The hell are you doing here man? You know you're not supposed to be here!"

"Xion's been kidnapped," I stated bluntly while ignoring his sudden look of shock. "One of the Angels took her."

"Shit!" he muttered in disbelief and dismay. "How could he have... can you feel her? Is she still alive?"

I looked him in the eyes, determination no doubt showing in my own. "Yes. Of that I'm certain. And even though she's been captured I know she can survive. She'll pull through." A beat. "But listen Axel. With her gone, the organization will be hard- pressed to find and bring her back. That means search parties. More search parties means a more likely chance of them stumbling upon Lydia and I. You see where I'm going with this?"

"Yeah," He responded instantly. "Don't worry; I'll keep them of your trail for a while- pardon the pun."

Ignoring that last statement I nodded my approval, quickly reforming the light corridor that had brought me here. "Thanks. Sorry I can't stay longer but this is all I'm willing to risk right now."

"That's all right," He responded, then gestured to the corridor. "You should go. Be careful out there man."

"Will do; and I'll tell your sister you said hi." I said with a smirk, vanishing into the corridor once again.

Almost instantly I was back in the dark city, standing directly under Memories Skyscraper. Noticing my reappearance, Saix came around the corner of one of the buildings nearby.

"So do you want the shortened version or the whole thing?" I asked him sarcastically once he came close enough.

He chuckled lightly. "Only the short version. That's all we have time for- and I have something to say myself."

Without hesitation I quickly charged into my story, giving him a brief but thorough run down of what happened and the position we now found ourselves in. He didn't say much through my explanation, save for the occasional 'Mm', or a nod of his head.

"Right, that about covers it," I concluded. "Now what did you want to say?"

"I quit."

"…Say what?" My jaw hung slack in disbelief.

Saix, one of the most powerful members of the organization, formally second in command…wanted to quit? I didn't think he had it in him.

An uncharacteristic smirk made its way onto his face. "You heard right. And contrary to your belief, I no longer have a need to be here. I'm a useless pawn in this game now. If I have no use for a heart, then why should I continue this frivolous mission to acquire one? I would much rather quit and actually be of use to someone then sitting on my ass all day pretending to be a Lycan. I need to be free."

I shook my head- that was pretty deep stuff coming from a guy that used to show next to no emotion at all before all of this happened. Strange what a little personality changing transformation will do to a guy. "I definitely hear you Saix, and I know first had where you're coming from."

"Yes. And I would leave with you tonight, but there is one problem- transportation. You may have come far from when you first started your training, but I can tell from here that you cannot create and sustain a light portal for more than one person at a time. Along with the fact that I have a few last minute preparations to put in order before I can leave."

Unfortunately that was true, and he did have a point.

"Does Axel know about this?" I asked, steering the conversation in a different direction.

Saix shook his head. "No. I'm going to tell him tomorrow though and as soon as both of us are able, we will meet you there. Agreed?"

"Agreed." I smiled, clenching my fist with determination. Now we really had a fighting chance!

"Until then, let's just hope that the gods have some mercy on us." He said tiredly, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.

"Ditto," I stretched, feeling the muscles in my arms pull. "I'm going to head back now though; the smell of this place is really starting to get to me. How do you stand it all day long?"

"Overexposure has made me immune I guess," he shrugged, turning around to head back to the castle. With a small wave he quietly called back, "Good night Roxas."

"Night." I replied, and then departed back to Radiant Garden.

Back home.

-Till November-

I returned to Lydia's apartment several short minutes later. Looking around as I exited the portal, I spotted her sitting on the sofa facing away from me. I could tell from here that she was very tense.

As my light portal silently faded away, I whispered, "Lydia."

Her reaction was instantaneous. Shooting up from her seat she spun around, her eyes locking with mine. Uncharacteristic worry was evident on her face. "Roxas," she said quietly. "Oh thank the gods you're back!"

I frowned. "Are you okay Lydia? I know what I just did was reckless, but I didn't think you would worry that much."

Flustered by her lack of composure, she crossed her arms and responded in her regular tone. "You're my apprentice. It's my job to worry about you. You're like a little brother to me." 'You and Lea…' She whispered to herself as an afterthought, and I didn't comment on that.

That moment with Saix earlier still unnerved me though. What was it that made me do exactly what he said without so much as a word out of my mouth? He never had that kind of control over me before so why now?

Noticing the question in my eyes, she motioned me towards the couch. The only reason she didn't already know what was going through my head was the mental barriers I had built up around it. The only way she would be able to get through that kind of barrier is for me to let her get past. And right now, I would rather talk out my problems then open myself to her like a frog for dissection.

"Whats on your mind?" she asked almost ironically. "And what else happened?"

I sighed loudly. "Well first off, you will be pleased to know that the mission was a complete success. Both Saix and Axel want to join us, and the only reason they didn't come back with me is because of transportation problems- you know what im talking about."

"And the other thing?" she gently prompted.

Not quite knowing how to get the words out without her getting the wrong idea, I ran a hand through my hair and growled quietly.

"…Saix," I started. "He… When I talked to him and he explained to me where Axel was, I sort of felt… like he had control over me or something. And when he told me to meet him back in the dark city, I didn't really even get a say in that matter. I just went, like I was following orders." I sighed again, quieter this time. "I'm not making any sense am I?"

"Actually, I'd say that makes perfect sense," seeing my raised eyebrows she continued, "There was one thing I forgot to mention to you in your training because I didn't think it would make much of a difference. But now that it's out on the table I might as well."

"What do you mean?"

Now it was her turn to sigh. "Who bit you Roxas?"

"Huh?"

"Who turned you?"

I blinked a couple times. Why was she asking me this? "Uh, Saix I guess."

"Well there's your answer. Now before you ask again, let me explain. When a fully blooded lycan bites and turns someone, that someone becomes the Lycans apprentice. And as a part of that package deal, the older lycan gains the power of superiority over the apprentice until they complete their apprenticeship. Meaning whatever the mentor orders, the apprentice must follow out. And because I wasn't the one to turn you…"

"…You and I both fight for the right of superiority all the time," I finished. Now I understood- and it makes sense too. The Lycans of old wouldn't want the younger, more inexperienced Lycans to get into too much trouble, so they must have added that in later as a sort of security measure. Probably a good idea on their part. "And we can never properly sort out who's in charge because you are older and should rightfully be my mentor…"

"…But you also have Ven's heart within you, who was supposed to be my mentor. Geez Louise! Talk about confusing!" she said with a laugh. "That guy is so stubborn he's still trying to tell me what to do!"

We both shared a laugh at that one. And despite the situation I did feel a spark of happiness within my chest. Though whether that was me, or Ventus listening in I don't know. Im just glad that he's there.

And when I go into battle with those bastard angels, to fight and to win, at least I won't be going in alone.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO LEAVE THIS TO THE LAST MINUTE! And look what happened!"

i know Roxas, shut up for a mintue. i have things to say to them!

so again, sorry for the *extreme* lateness. i was suffering through a horrible case of writers block and was buried under mounds of homework. next chapter will be a bit of a surprise too- in more ways than one.

one last thing- feel free to flame me if you want. i think i deserve it by now. T-T