*I don't own any of the Kingdom Hearts characters or Atlantis: The Lost Empire characters; I only own Katie and...well, you'll see...spoilers. (

*Render belongs to tsukuneXmoka

(I named this chapter! And when I name the chapter, it's REALLY important...haha)

Katie ran and ran through the vegetation of Atlantis, trying to get as far away from the palace as possible. 'The King knew what I was…I didn't utter a single hint of it. If they find out, I'll be nothing but a traitor…' she scolded at herself mentally. She stopped and bent over, resting her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that no one had followed her and sighed deeply. She sat down on a rock that was by a small pond. It was like an ancient grotto that had been forgotten a long time ago. But the water was still clear and blue. Katie gazed at her reflection. It mirrored the way she felt inside: conflicted and alone. "I want to tell them…but I can't…" she muttered to the reflection. "Why is this so difficult?" she buried her face into her hands and closed her eyes in a stressed way.

"That is because you are making it difficult for yourself…"

Katie's head shot up at the voice. She frantically looked around the grotto. But there was no one there, at least from what she could see. 'I know that voice…' "Who's there?" she demanded. "Show yourself!"

"In order to see, you must look down at the mirror."

Katie hummed a question at the statement. She looked down to the pond's water. Her eyes bugged out of her head and jumped backwards at the reflection on its surface. "How—?! I thought Riku killed—"

"You cannot kill the shadow of the true figure." Her reflection said, her golden eyes gleaming. "I am a part of you as you are a part of me."

"Go back to your prison, Tiaxek…" Katie hissed. "I don't want to hear what you have to say."

Tiaxek smirked. "Ah, you say that but if you don't want to her me speak, then why am I still here?"

"Stop talking in riddles." Katie growled. She rolled up her sleeve and pointed at her x-shaped scar. "Go back in. Now."

"No." Tiaxek insisted, "Is that anyway to thank the girl whom is keeping your life in check?"

Katie picked up a rock and bounced it in her hand as she said, "Saving my life? You are a piece of bull, you know that? You're the reason why I almost died!"

Tiaxek rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. But think of this. You were experimented on almost a year ago and yet, you are only little more than half way the cells have taken over you. Don't you think it's a little odd that you aren't complete by now?"

Katie said behind clenched teeth, "I'm not listening to you."

"And yet you acknowledge me at the right moment, that means you are listening," Tiaxek reasoned. "The reason why that haven't taken you fully yet is because I am slowing their consumption of your own cells."

"And why are you doing that?" Katie questioned. She crossed her arms across her chest.

"Do I really need to answer that?" Tiaxek's eyes flicked over to Katie's scar.

Katie covered it up. "You're crazy…absolutely crazy." She threw the rock into her reflection that held Tiaxek. The reflection rippled away.

Katie jumped when Tiaxek's voice still rang loud and clear, "Maybe…maybe not…but I am only the reflection. Does that mean I am the crazy one…? Or you…?" Katie spun around to the direction of her voice but saw no one. Then she saw her shadow move. It slowly bubbled and rose off of the ground to take form of the spirit of the 13th Vessel. Tiaxek's gold eyes glowed deviously as she floated around Katie, "You have to face it sometime, Katie. You are captive to your insanity, a psychopathy. It only fuels the cells within you. If it weren't for me, you would no longer be you."

Katie went to strangle Tiaxek, but her hands went straight through her. Katie growled, "Go back where you belong…ya piece of shit. You're mind games don't work on me—"

"Oh, oh, oh! So you think this just a harmless game! You are oh so wrong, dear Katie." Tiaxek stepped closer to Katie and smiled devilishly. "Heed this warning. The boy's blood will only work for a short while and I will no longer help you because of your ignorance of not accepting the fact that I am helping you. You will run down a winding path of madness…and become one of them. However, there is a very slim chance that this will not happen. But the madness will not end. Ashes to Ashes. Dust…to…dust…" Tiaxek's figure suddenly became a sphere of darkness and floated around Katie's head. It stopped in her face.

Katie growled at the sphere and spat, "Go to hell."

The sphere of darkness shot back into the scar and the dark flames burst. Katie yelped at the pain and put her wrist under an iron grip. The flames licked at her hand. Her arm started to shake.

"You can't go back unlike the song within your head that sounds…sings…says: Go Back…"

Katie felt a sudden pain in her heart. She gripped onto her chest and clasped to her hands and knees. She groaned and moaned at the pain.

"Ashes to Ashes…"

Katie eyes started to water because of the massive buildup of pain within her chest. She got back up to her feet but only fell back to the floor with a scream of agony. Her chest felt like it was going to explode.

"Dust…to…dust…"

Katie's eyes rolled to the back of her head. She sighed and collapsed on her back. Slowly underneath her…a greenish glow grew and ate at the grass and moss.

It charred it to a black and smoked.

I give these stories a dark-themed warning for a reason...now. I want you guys to go to YouTube and search "Ashes to Ashes Kaito" and click on the one that says 【Project DIVA Arcade Future Tone】 in the title. Watch the video and listen to the song. Then look up the translation of the song...You will see great connections that will fuel this story's progress and this chapter. It gives it a much deeper meaning.