Chapter 53

(Deciding Factor)

"You're sure they went this way?"

Scowling, Demyx rounded on Reno, "YES I'm sure!" he snapped, furious - honestly furious - for there could be no other word to describe the burning sensation in his chest where his heart should have been.

Reno just smirked.

Xigbar sighed, "You know, we really stand out in this crowd," he pointed out, eating a corndog Demyx had not seen him pay for – not that Demyx cared either way. Demyx just scowled even more darkly because he was beginning to realize that roping Xigbar into assisting had not the best of ideas he'd ever had. Letting Reno come at all wasn't all that brilliant either, for that matter.

'At least, if he's harassing me, I know where he is. Even if I know he's spying on me. But either way, with me or not, he's probably getting the information he wants,' Demyx thought sourly as he tried to ignore the strange looks the three men - two in black coats and one in a ripped up three piece suit - were getting from the mixed crowd of bipedal sentient animals and scattered humans. Above the town a castle with a large crystal as the central spire loomed, and guessing by the streamers and banners, food stalls, and corner variety acts, there was a celebration going on. Though what the people of this town were celebrating, Demyx didn't know and wasn't going to ask. A short distance away, a dwarf with a big nose in a really tall spiral-striped top hat was sawing someone in half to the amazement and delight of onlookers.

Okay, so walking boldly down the center of the street wasn't exactly being covert, but then again, Demyx was a scientist and a musician, Ninja Skills hadn't been a required skill to work for Ansem, or Xemnas, or the café back in Radiant Garden when he was fifteen.

'Over thirty and what've I got to show for it?' Demyx pouted, 'Though do these last thirteen years of my life really count? No, probably not, so I'm still eighteen.' With that decided, he nodded to himself and continued marching down the road, ignoring Xigbar's munching and Reno's bored yawns. After all, they were looking for Kosuiko! He couldn't get distracted by these nimrods when he needed to save her before something terrible happened. She had no experience with the real world, no social skills, she could get into a lot of trouble!

'Ohh... but how do I FIND her!'


"You're sure coming out here was a good idea?" Kaiyou asked, peering up at Laguna as he strode down one of Alexandria's many streets, grinning to himself. He'd been like that all morning since she'd called him Dad. Since she'd told him she loved him.

And she did, honestly. It was a nice warm sensation in her chest that radiated out to her fingers and toes and made her more than happy to trail along beside him as they headed through town. Above, the sky was only slightly cloudy, the sun shining warmly, a nice cool breeze counteracting the heat and fluttering the pinions and banners and streamers that still decorated the town. Kaiyou suspected they'd be celebrating for at least a week before finally putting everything away and getting back to business.

"Of course it is," Laguna replied finally, "We're not going to stay here forever, so we should go sight-see. Besides, after meeting Eiko..." Laguna glanced down at her, then placed a hand on her head, "You seemed like you needed a bit of a break."

Blushing, Kaiyou nodded slightly, "I know..." 'Yeah, that and Steiner was there, but you probably guessed that too,' she thought, staring up at Laguna from the corner of her eyes. 'I think this is why I love him. He's being like the dad I never had.'

What she was really wondering, though, is why Cloud had chosen to follow them.

The blonde was stalking along behind them, armed with his sword in its strange leather-strap sheath on his back, like some sort of bodyguard. In fact, his presence made people melt from their path quite nicely. She could hear faint whispers about "Lord Aros and President Laguna" out in the crowd and sighed, wondering where the leak was. 'The servants. It's always the servants in the movies.'

Prying her eyes away from her new father, Kaiyou gazed around at the people of Alexandria, spotting a familiar tall top hat. Mister Magini was doing another show, and lo-and-behold, he was sawing someone in half. Covering her mouth, she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Laguna asked, looking down at her, then towards where she pointed and started laughing too. "That was fun."

Kaiyou nodded in agreement, "It was. I think it's the most fun I've ever had."

Pouting at her, the mage almost looked like he was about to say something, then just lifted a hand and caressed her hair lightly, making her blush and duck away. "Eew, not in public." She cast him a look that made him burst out laughing.


"You're sure you just saw Aros?" Roxas asked, looking up at Axel who was peering behind them.

"Yeah," the redhead admitted slowly, "He had long hair though, and was wearing a dress and with Kairi."

Roxas sighed, "Now you're making things up," he stated, having chosen to disbelieve Riku when he said that Aros was a girl. After all, Riku had only heard that from someone else.

Riku snorted, folding his arms but kept whatever he might have said to himself, which was a good thing because Roxas was not in a good mood for several reasons. The first was because they'd had to share a very cheap and run-down hotel room because A: all the hotels in town were packed and B: they didn't have the money to pay for anything better. The second reason Rox wasn't very happy is because ...well, Riku. Not that Riku was doing anything particularly annoying, but Roxas still had not forgiven Riku for being a prick when they'd first met.

Taking a breath, the blonde closed his eyes briefly and scrubbed a hand across them. He was tired, hadn't slept well – Axel had kept grabbing him, and Roxas might have been mad at Axel if he'd not known that his friend was completely asleep but the happy smile he'd been wearing was... just unnerving. It was beginning to make Roxas think that there was something more to Axel's loyalty than friendship. Roxas really wanted to head back and talk to Sora about it, but on the other hand, he wanted to at least locate Aros before they left.

So again, today, they were hunting through town for Aros, the three males hunting around visually while their three fairy companions, specifically Rikku, gathered gossip. They'd already found out that Laguna and Aros had gone to the castle the night before and had been introduced as President Laguna Loire and his son, Lord Aros. It made Roxas twitchy to say the least, the fact that Laguna had been conned into adopting the imposter. Though why Laguna would care was beyond Roxas's knowledge. He'd have to ask Sora about it later.

Looking up, Roxas spotted the yellow and orange fairy, Rikku hovering in the air above them and tried not to look up her incredibly small skirt. Even as he watched, she suddenly twirled around, then dived down to them.

"I saw something!" Rikku shouted as she approached, drawing looks from other people walking down the street, "there's a guy up ahead, sawing someone in half! I'm gonna get a closer look!" Before anyone could object, the yellow fairy was off. Seconds later, she returned, "The Organization is here!" she announced, flailing her arms. "They're heading this way too! I'm gonna go spy on them!" Again, she was off before anyone could say anything.

Riku sighed. Axel snorted, "She ADHD or what?"

Yuna giggled, "She's just excited," she replied, then flew straight upwards for a moment, peering into the distance with a hand over her eyes to shade them. Seconds later, she flew back down and stated, "I just saw Cloud and someone who looks a lot like Sora. They're up ahead too, walking behind the Organization Thirteen people, coming this way."

"This is no place to start a fight," Roxas pointed out, frowning as he gazed around the crowded street. "We'll have to make them follow us somewhere."

Axel smirked, lifting a hand, "Or shove them into Betwixt and Between," he replied, "Then we'll be free to show em who's boss."

Riku nodded agreement and glanced over at Roxas briefly, eyes falling half-lidded.


"You're sure we had enough munny for this?" Kairi asked, looking down at the king.

Mickey nodded, "Don't worry about it, Kairi! It's fine."

"Wheee!" the other girl with them called, twirling to make her new dress flare out. Other people on the street turned to stare.

"She's enjoying it at least," Kairi commented, amused by the girl's antics, she looked so much like Sora, and was even acting a bit like him. Nodding in agreement, Mickey folded his arms, watching as the girl called Kosuiko bounced around cheerfully in her new dress, which was ocean blue to match her eyes. The neckline was rounded with tiny straps tied on top of her shoulders in a sundress fashion. The skirt was tied around her waist by a large white ribbon, the bow bounding on her back beneath her hair, and the skirt was scalloped edged, starting at her upper left thigh and ending at just below knee length in a diagonal. On her feet, she wore blue dyed leather knee-high boots.

"Your old clothes just weren't suited to the kind of action we're likely to be seeing," Mickey admitted, telling Kairi at least, the true reason behind his sudden spending splurge.

This time, Kairi nodded in silent agreement, and though she wasn't bouncing around excitedly like the other girl, she did like her new dress. She'd traded her sandals for sturdy brown leather ankle boots, into which she'd tucked her white leggings. At mid-thigh, the skirt of her pale pink dress began, leading up to a corset tied in front with white lace that ended beneath her breasts with straps that held it up. Covering her chest and arms was a linen shirt, tied at the wrists and decorated with lace. Remaining around her throat was the black choker she'd always worn.

On impulse, Kairi knelt and kissed Mickey's cheek, "Thank you," she said, making the king blush as she stood once more.

"Aww, shucks," Mickey replied, scrubbing his shoe into the ground.

Turning pale suddenly, the girl stopped bouncing and stumbled, falling to her knees. Worried, Kairi stepped over, hands going out to help steady the taller girl. "Are you okay?"

Opening her eyes, the girl smiled slightly, then nodded, looking down at the ground as she spotted a strange grid-like object. Curious, Kosuiko picked it up, then lifted her head to state, "We should get going... I think we've been followed." Taking Kairi's hand, she pulled herself to her feet then turned towards Mickey.

Nodding, the mouse did an about face and started walking down the street. Amazingly, he was the one who looked least out of place in this town.

Abruptly stopping as a chill ran down her spine, Kosuiko dropped Kairi's hand, then spun around abruptly, launching a punch at the man that stood behind her.

Though he hadn't expected it, Gary's hand snapped up in a block, his other reaching out to grab Kosuiko's throat – except she wasn't there for him to catch. "Run!" she shrieked and turned in a flurry of hair and skirt, high-tailing it down the street through the throng of people. Panicked and desperate, Kosuiko tried desperately to weave through the crowd, hoping that the black-haired man who'd raped her wouldn't simply destroy the people she was putting between them.

The crowd seemed to thicken as she ran, and she careened off other pedestrians. Rebounding off of a hippo man, she crashed into a silver haired boy, the shock of contacting him making her pause and look up at his widened blue-green eyes.

The world turned white in her vision.

"What did you do to me?"

"You were always a tool, girl. I've just found an even better way to use you..."

Blinking, as she realized someone had grabbed her shoulders, Kosuiko gasped, "No- don't touch me!" she pushed his hands away, dropping the grid thing she'd picked up earlier. "You're in danger – run!" Turning blindly, she staggered away, careening off a tall redhead that looked much like Reno, at least in the eyes, though wasn't wearing that sadistic smirk she'd seen him wearing when they first met.

Desperately trying to blink her vision clear, and feeling as if she were now a bead on a string tied between two objects, Kosuiko stumbled through the crowd.

"Wait!" the silver haired boy shouted behind her.


Kaiyou staggered, vision turning white briefly, and when she could see again, she found herself being supported by Laguna. "Kaiyou," he whispered, "What's wrong?"

Putting a hand to her face, she got her feet under her and stood again, shaking her head slowly. "Oh...I – I don't know... I'm fine now, I think...?" Except she felt... odd.

"You're sure?" Laguna asked, then had to look away as commotion stirred a short ways down the street.

Lifting her own eyes, Kaiyou froze as the crowd parted and a girl with long brown hair came stumbling towards her, ocean blue eyes wide as their gazes met.

It seemed as if time froze for a second – even if she saw the two Organization members and a redhead chasing behind the girl – even if she saw behind them, a silver haired boy followed by a blonde and another redhead, and beyond them, a mouse-man and girl in pink. All that mattered at that moment was the girl with ocean blue eyes...

"Umi?" Kaiyou mouthed.

"Sora?" the other girl responded.

Darkness erupted between them and formed into the last person she'd ever wanted to see. Stopping, Gary smirked, looking from her, to the version of herself with long hair. Turning back to face Kaiyou, Gary sneered, "I always liked you better with long hair." Opening his arms, he caught the other girl as she tripped and crashed head-first into him.

Keyblade appearing in her hand, Kaiyou shrieked, "Let her go!" swinging her weapon at head-height.

Laughing, Gary fell backwards and avoided her attack, disappearing into another portal, the girl still clutched in her arms even as she struggled to free herself. "DEMYX!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs as the Organization members and redhead arrived.

"Kosuiko!" the blonde Organization man called and threw out a hand, opening a portal in the same spot Gary's had been, and leapt through.

"Demyx!" the other Organization man called, stumbling to a stop as he stared at Kaiyou and her drawn Keyblade.

"Xigbar!" another voice shouted, and the Organization man partially turned.

"Roxas?" he blinked with his single eye and frowned. "But you can't be here... I just saw Sora!" Turning partially, he frowned as he spotted Kaiyou behind him, then looked around, realizing that Reno was nowhere to be seen.

Skidding to a stop, Roxas drew his Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Without waiting for any explanation, Roxas dashed forward to attack, driving the one-eyed Organization member back. Kaiyou scampered out of the way, Laguna and Cloud moving back to flank the man as he drew his guns.


Stepping out of his portal, Demyx immediately looked around for his quarry, immediately spotting Gary where he stood holding Kosuiko against his chest. She was limp as a rag-doll.

"Kosuiko!" he called, but she didn't answer.

Levering a finger, Demyx drew himself up to his full height, even if that was several inches shorter than the man he faced. "Give her back," he ordered, watching with wide blue eyes as Gary smirked, the hand not gripping the girl's throat grabbing one of her practically non-existent breasts.

"You're going to make me?" the Prince of Darkness leered.

"If you force me to," Demyx replied firmly, despite the fact that he knew he was about to have his rear handed to him. He swallowed and jerked his chin up in a reflexive motion, then snapped his left hand into the air above his head, a ball of water forming in his palm.

Chuckling, Gary turned, tossing the girl aside. She fell to the ground limply and the dark-haired man smirked, pacing towards Demyx like a cat. "I've studied you. You're no match for me."

Swallowing hard, Demyx threw a hand into the air, water forming in a ball above his palm. Clenching his fingers over it, he exerted his will, forming the water into his sitar. Even as Demyx drew his weapon, Gary lifted his hand, black lighting gathering in it and forming Obsidian Heart.

Leaping forward with more agility than Demyx had expected, Gary struck first and Demyx only barely managed to block with a blast of water. He didn't get the chance to counter strike, for Gary had suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind him.

Again, Demyx blocked, but Gary was no longer there. This time, the dark haired man's strike hit, knocking Demyx back a step.

Sacrificing further defensive maneuvers Demyx attacked, blasting the space he'd last seen Gary in with a shot of water, then shouted, "Dance, water dance!" calling upon his water clones to distract Gary and maybe pin him down long enough to gather the energy to send a devastating wave of water at his opponent.

Gary snapped a curse, dodging back to slash at the multiplying water-clones as they floated towards him.

Licking his lips, Demyx glanced up, eyes widening as he realized that Gary had disappeared. The sharp pain lancing through his stomach was answer enough as to where Gary had gone.

Yanking his sword out, the prince of darkness stepped back, blue eyes glinting with sadistic amusement as the water-clones disintegrated into puddles.


"Kosuiko!" Kairi shouted then stumbled to a stop as she found the strangest scene ever.

Roxas, Axel, and Riku had their backs towards her while President Laguna, Cloud, and someone who looked just like Sora but was not, were faced against the lone Xigbar. The area around them had opened up as people stared, gaping. Mickey held a hand out, "Kairi, stay back," he ordered, drawing his Keyblade as he stepped up to join the others.

"Kairi!" a familiar voice called and Rikku dropped out of the sky right in front of her, "You're okay! How did you get out?" she blurted excitedly.

Shaking her head, Kairi looked past Rikku to the standoff, "Kosuiko helped us escape, but she was just captured by that black-haired man! We have to help her," looking back towards Rikku, Kairi put on her best pleading expression.

Gasping, Yuna darted around, then down to the ground, the strange grid-like object Kosuiko had picked up. "A Garment Grid," she shouted excitedly, "It's my Garment Grid!"

Immediately forgetting Kairi, Rikku shot over to Yuna, landing against her in a tight hug, "Yay! Yunie!" she squealed and they twirled in circles for a moment before they broke away and Yuna lifted the grid-thing above her head.

Squinting at the flash of light that resulted, Kairi blinked.

Dusting her skirt off, Yuna smiled, "I'm back!" she announced happily as Rikku danced around her head in excitement.


Kaiyou's heart pounded, beating against her ribcage like it wanted to break free... and it wasn't fear making her flush the way she was.

His eyes were locked on her, completely ignoring the man in the Organization coat that stood between them. He was staring at her intently... just as she couldn't look away from him.

He was beautiful.

She was afraid of that beauty. After all, Gary was pretty too, and he was a bastard.

Flexing her hands on her Keyblade, Kaiyou trembled imperceptibly, wondering what the silver haired man was thinking – what he saw with those half-hidden blue-green eyes.

That was when the Organization man struck, spinning around to aim his guns at her.

Instinctively, she threw herself aside from the first shot, then rolled to her feet again, swinging her blade to block the second - inadvertently ricocheting it towards the silver-haired boy. The boy, however was ready and hit the laser blast, striking the Organization man in the back. Laguna bringing out his gun, took aim, firing a blast of ice pellets at the fellow gunner, Cloud darting in directly behind the shot to slash at the man while his guard was down.

People began shrieking and running away, chaos taking control and only the two girls and accompanying fairies off to the side remained where they were, untouched.

'Wasn't there another redhead with the man in black?' Kaiyou had to ask herself, belatedly recalling the possibility of danger.

'There was...' Umi replied, but her voice sounded a little distant.

Xigbar staggered back from the force of Cloud's blow and disappeared in a warping of shadows, reappearing on the wall above them. Taking aim, he began showering the group with blasts from his guns, and having little else she could do, Kaiyou dodged what she could yet took several hard hits that nearly knocked her to her knees.

Lifting her eyes just as another blast was heading straight towards her, Kaiyou gasped as she suddenly found the silver-haired boy covering her. "You alright?" he asked over his shoulder.

Heart lodging in her throat, she stared at him, speechless.

The explosion of Laguna's gun nearby startled her then, making her dash away from the boy, afraid of her own reactions to him, afraid of the situation she found herself in. Unable to handle it, she retreated to Laguna's side and hoped to god that the boy wouldn't follow her.


Gazing down his long nose, Gary's lips pulled downwards, "Pathetic," he stated, "Absolutely pathetic."

Clutching his stomach, Demyx desperately tried to hold onto his substance – he didn't want to die again. The first time hadn't been the greatest experience he'd ever had, and this time likely wasn't going to be any better. 'Useless, downright useless!' he berated himself, staring straight forward, too frightened of the Prince of Darkness that stood behind him. 'I couldn't save her...'

Gary snorted, reaching down to grab Demyx's hair, yanking his head back, "I suppose I should put you out of your misery."

"I won't stay dead," Demyx snapped back, then gasped in pain.

Breaking into a fit of demonic laughter, Gary replied, "You will if I absorb you into myself!"

Eyes widening, Demyx flailed, reaching back to grab at Gary's wrist as darkness began to radiate from the man's hand, creeping down the blonde's face. Panic made him fight, and for a moment, it felt like he truly had a heart with which to feel the fear. The Darkness crept down his body further, pulling at his essence, touching him in ways that left him feeling violated.

Smirking, Gary took his time, savoring the delicious moment. "You are the first, but I will turn on the rest of the Organization and swallow them, one by one, absorbing their powers and becoming stronger until I can destroy the other Princes, then I will destroy Maleficent and take on Kingdom Hearts for myself." He chuckled, "And then, I will use the Amplifier to cast all things into the realm of Darkness, where I will absorb them too and I will be God! Free to remake the universe in my image!"

His struggles growing weaker, Demyx blinked, trying to clear the darkness creeping around the edge of his vision. The world of Betwixt and Between was fading, he tried to hold onto it. "No..." he whispered. "Kosuiko..."

Gary stared down at Demyx, watching as the shards of twilight energy sparkled upwards from the fading Nobody, disappearing as they were absorbed into his darkness. It was taking too long, he wanted to hurry the process, but Demyx was fighting him still, clinging to what little light he had with all his strength. 'Perhaps I underestimated this twirp?' Gary mused, then smirked. 'It hardly matters. He'll be gone in a moment and his power will be mine.'

The scene she opened her eyes upon nearly made her jump to her feet in an effort to assist Demyx, but a combination of dizziness and the voice in her head made her remain where she was for the moment. 'Take it slow,' the voice cautioned, 'We'll sneak up on him.'

'But I can't fight!' Kosuiko objected.

'I can. Leave it to me.'

'Who are you?'

'My name is Umi. Leave it to me...'

Taking a slow and silent breath, Kosuiko felt as if she were a puppet, being moved by someone else's will. Her arms drew in, she placed her toes on the ground and slowly pushed herself up into a crouch. Her muscles ached with what seemed a full-body bruise, but she moved anyway, creeping silently towards Gary's unprotected back. Standing carefully, she shifted her weight, lifting a foot as she spun, and launched a kick at the back of the man's knees.

Gasping in shock, Gary released his hold on Demyx, the blonde falling to the ground in a heap as Gary staggered away then spun to face her. "You insolent little slut," Gary snarled, lifting Obsidian Heart.

'Don't fight him, you can't. Grab the guy and get out of here!' Umi told her, and Kosuiko, taking advantage of the moment, dived down to grab Demyx and opened a dark portal beneath them. Black abyss closed over her head for a moment before the darkness ripped and opened into light beneath her. Falling from her portal, she landed hard in the grass and rolled – Demyx, on the other hand, did not move.

Tears stinging her eyes, Kosuiko crawled back over to him, clutching his coat, "Demyx! Demyx! Wake up!" she begged, "Don't play dead! Please! Don't – I'm sorry for playing dead earlier. I'm sorry! Wake up!" The hole in his stomach continued to disintegrate in little chunks of dark-tinged sparkles of light, and she tried putting her hands over it to make the sparkles stop, but they leaked through her fingers. "No – no!" she sobbed.

Lifting her head, she looked around, finding herself in a garden filled with giant topiaries of animal-people playing musical instruments. "Someone! Help me!" she begged, looking towards the colonnade that overlooked the garden, spotting a short mouse woman in a pink dress standing there. "Help me!" Kosuiko begged.

The mouse woman, paused for a second, as if debating – then pushed away from the balustrade and dashed off down the colonnade, disappearing from sight.

Breaking into sobs, Kosuiko shook her head, "Demyx, don't leave me! Don't go away!" she begged, leaning down to put her forehead against his chest.

"Here!" a female voice called and green light sparkled around Demyx, startling Kosuiko to sit up and look at the mouse-woman in pink.

When the light faded, Kosuiko looked down, finding that the hole in Demyx's stomach was gone. "He's not leaking anymore!" she gasped, then looked up at the mouse-woman, "Thank you!"

The mouse-woman folded her hands in front of her and lifted her chin, "Your welcome," she replied, but still looked worried.

"uh.."

Turning away from the mouse-woman, Kosuiko put her hands to Demyx's face as he stirred, slowly opening his eyes, "Demyx!" she breathed, smiling brightly. "You're okay! Don't play dead like that! I don't like it!"

Opening his eyes further, Demyx blinked, then looked around, eyes settling upon the mouse-woman. "Queen...Minnie?" he asked slowly, apparently recognizing their surroundings, "Wh- how...did I get here?"

Kosuiko turned a brilliant smile on him, "I ported us," she replied cheerfully, "I saved you from the Bad Man!"

"You...?" Demyx groaned, lifting a hand to put on his forehead, then paused, looking at the black glove, lips turning downwards. "No one would believe me... certainly not Xemnas." Clenching his fist, he slowly sat up, Kosuiko helping to support him, still smiling cheerfully. Looking towards Minnie, Demyx took a breath, "Your Majesty..." he said slowly.

Silence fell then as Demyx paused to consult the feelings he remembered having before he'd lost his heart.

'In a situation like this... I would feel betrayed...' he decided.

'I refuse to work with Gary, I refuse to just stand idle and let him destroy me for his sick goals. I want my heart back, and he's not going to help me do that. Xemnas would never believe me if I told him what Gary had said. So my only choice left is...'

Shifting to his knees in front of Minnie, Demyx placed his hands on the ground, lowering his forehead. "Your Majesty," he repeated, "I – I may not be good at fighting, but I'll do what I can ...in your service, if you'll have me."

Minnie's brows raised, "Is that so?" she asked, "are you truly forsaking the Organization?"

"They're all doomed," Demyx replied without sitting up. Kosuiko stared at him in confusion, "They've taken on a monster that they can't control. Gary is going to destroy them all... he just tried to destroy me. I – I may not be whole. I may never be whole, but I'd like to hang onto what little bit of life I've got."

Taking a slow and deep breath, Minnie replied, "Then... I accept your offer," she stated. "Who is this girl, though?"

Smiling cheerfully once more at the Queen, she replied for herself as Demyx sat up, "I'm Kosuiko!" she announced.

"Why does she look like Sora?" Minnie asked.

Demyx looked down and licked his lips, "Because... she's Sora's twin sister."

Gasping and turning to thump a weak fist into Demyx's shoulder Kosuiko pouted at him, "Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?" she demanded.

"Xemnas told me not to tell you anything!" Demyx replied, rubbing his arm where she'd hit him, "Sorry, Koko, but that's really all I know. Xemnas just brought you in one day and told me to take care of you. So I did. I figured out that you were Sora's twin only after I'd met him a few years ago. It's the only explanation I can think of..."

Closing his eyes, Demyx shook his head, beginning to pull his gloves off. Staggering to his feet, he took hold of his coat and ripped it off, flinging it aside, in fury, revealing the blue tank-top and black pants and boots he wore beneath. Looking down at himself, he fingered the large gash in the center of his shirt, "And I liked this shirt..." he sighed.

"Come," Minnie stated, "There's someone I would like you to talk to."

Climbing to her feet, Kosuiko followed Minnie without hesitation. Demyx, on the other hand, paused briefly before stepping forward.

'...my first step as a traitor. Oh god. Xemnas is going to murder me if he ever catches me...' pressing his lips together firmly, Demyx shook his head. 'Better than being absorbed into Gary's darkness.'

Turning his gaze towards Kosuiko's back, he sighed, 'At least... I can protect her. ...I just wish I had a heart so that I could figure out if I love her or if it's just a relationship of convenience, though...'


AN: Oh my god, I am SO VERY sorry for taking so long on this, but things have been very chaotic in my life lately, what with the sewing project, resulting drama, acquiring a boyfriend, and being completely distracted with roleplay, it just took me a while to bash out this chapter. But hey! It's got LOTS of Demyx in it! And information, and battles and cliff hangers and happy-squee-fun stuff like Koko kicking Gary. I might have her kick him in the nuts next time. Hehe

Next Chapter: Sora meets... Riku loses... Kaiyou frightened... Roxas irritated... and Axel says, "Got it memorized?"