Chapter 12: Subhuman

I had one more so-called doppelgänger to dispose of.

Rakson exited the mayor's house, hands in his pockets.

And then I walked across the street...

As he strolled down the porch's steps, looking at me with a brow raised, my eyes fell upon the blackened symbol on his chest. I had seen it before, recently. It wasn't a Heartless sigil.

"You really think you matter, don't you? It's already been done. Kairi is tainted, and soon, her light will fade away completely. And once that happens, there's no saving you from what you'll bec—"

"Shove it."

-X-

I got nervous when I heard footsteps. Rakson was already talking to someone outside, so I had no idea who was coming up the stairs. Then, I started panicking when I saw the floating knife enter my room. It came from the kitchen, held by someone invisible.

"Kairi, it's you!" said the invisible person in a girl's voice.

Being unable to move, I didn't know what to expect. However, I breathed a bewildered sigh of relief when the knife cut the wire restraining my left wrist.

While severing the rest of my bonds, the invisible girl said, "Something's happened to this world, Kairi. I don't even think Rakson knows what's going on, but he's surely noticed by now."

And while I heard her footsteps approach the middle of my room, I asked, "Who are you?"

"I...I think I'm the reason that scum decided to exist. But...you can call me Xion."

"Thank you for helping me, Xion. But what about Sora?"

"I-I don't know if he can win." She sounded erratic. "Corridors aren't working, phones are all dead—and I'm starting to think no one outside can see or hear us!"

"You sure Rakson didn't do this?"

"I'm not sure. But either way, being cut off from everyone is definitely not a good thing right now."

My crumpled up photograph of Sora floated up before un-crumpling, then tucking itself into a space somewhere at the person's waistline. Then, she said, "You'll know it's me whenever you see this.

-X-

After deflecting three dark-enhanced rush attacks, I spent three Keyblade strikes on Rakson's forearms, then dodging to avoid his haymakers.

"Consider yourself lucky you won't remember this, even as you fade into shadow."

I ignored his remark, choosing to dish out an overhead strike that got sidestepped.

He tried grabbing me, but I quickly broke his grapple, reading into a horizontal slash that collided with his forearm. He stepped forward and sent a straight hook for my head. I vaulted back and charged at him, aiming a strike for his body.

He warded it off with a defensive kick, sliding right into an uppercut that barely missed me.

I remembered magic; quickly casting Thunder, I saw him barely sidestep the bolt. What came next was his dash forward that ended up shouldering me to the ground.

No big deal, I controlled the momentum until I roll-jumped to a safer distance, then leaping on high. In midair, I asked him, "So, all this to serve your creator?"

He laughed, narrowly missing a hit from my thrown Keyblade. "Do you mean Vanitas? He didn't create me. He was but a pawn in my siring unto this world."

I wasn't done fighting, but I needed to know more. "Where did you come from."

"Hm. I'm what happens when darkness puts its best foot forward and then strikes at the perfect opportunity."

"You took advantage of her..."

He scoffed. "What will it take to get through to you, greenhorn? Kairi wished this upon herself. Be wise, and blame her for getting you both in this situation."

"Situation..? You know what you did—!"

"Gave her what she wanted—?"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT—!"

"AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!" Rakson paused, and then chuckled. "This whole time, our means of 'connecting' had slowly given back her memories of you. And to me, memories of my wife."

My Keyblade hung loosely, daring to slip to the ground. "Wife...?"

He stalked closer to me. "But who has time for illusions? Like yourself, my wife lost her privilege to exist in people's hearts. It means nothing now if she remains anonymous."

"But she isn't anonymous! You know she exists!"

Rakson came to a delicate halt half a meter before me. "I'm without your humanity, boy. That illusion...it's merely here to motivate me. And now, it's about time I finished this."

The symbol on his chest flashed brightly before he summoned a...Keyblade. A Keyblade on steroids.

Holding the hulking weapon out to inspect it, Rakson shook his head and said, "Just as I expected. Incomplete."

"What...?" I gasped.

"No matter. It'll do well in fashioning your demise. All you have to do is be compliant. So, whaddya say?"

He slashed for my head; the weapon connected to my shoulder as I feebly attempted to dodge. Another strike dug into my chest before taking me into the air, where he teleported through a giant, neon keyhole before slamming me back into the ground.

He kicked dirt in a few wounds before stamping his foot down on my skull, heel pressed into my ear. Right then and there, I could sense him reeling back his weapon to impale, so I shakily raised my own and cast, "Wind!"

Rakson reacted fast; inverting himself, he floated upside-down over the swirling barrier protecting my body, which wasn't as protected as I thought; he slashed at my back once, causing me to turn over in agony.

Devee flipped upright and landed on his feet beside me. Outgunned but not outmanned, I rolled to safety and strained to get back up, only to see Devee dashing along the lawn for another slash.

I didn't block. Swinging hard into his mid attack, my humble weapon clashed into the super-saber with flying sparks. The strikes kept coming after that, and I was forced on the defensive. He walked me back into the mayor's driveway, and I nothing I did slowed him down.

Cracking an evil smile, my grown-up doppelgänger proceeded to stab in my direction multiple times. I swatted mostly everything away. One strike went haywire, connecting with a statue decorating the walkway. It crumbled against me, distracting me long enough to allow Devee one critical jab to my abdomen. The super-Keyblade's pointed end was especially sharp to my otherwise sturdy hide, sending me to the edge of the porch-steps with no wind in my stomach.

"Agh... Shit..." I cursed, desperately trying to figure out which part of my body wasn't bruised, cut, or irresponsive.

"Imagine more power. Such potential sits at ease in my fingertips."

I leaned back against the steps, clutching my lacerated abdomen. "You're never touching Kairi again."

"You don't even want to know what she's got coming," he said, giving his Keyblade a twisted smirk.

I got back on my feet before he got too close. "Even if I stay like this...never see myself real again, I'll spend every last moment protecting her from you."

"Guess that means I'm doing you a favor. Say goodbye to all that you once knew."

Taking a moment to think, I finally remembered where I'd seen that emblem on his chest; it also belonged to the monsters Vanitas summoned to distract Ventus and me.

"So is that your purpose? To make Vanitas real instead of me?" I asked, briefly looking over at the street to check on my fallen enemy.

"That's a byproduct. I'm really headed for suicide, once I've properly : your girlfriend."

"…You really are scum, aren't you?" Also, I heard a weird noise cover up the word he said, but I didn't react. I read his lips loud and clear.

"I hope it's not hard to tell. What can I say? Darkness is my alpha and omega."

I'd heard enough; charging forward, I slashed overhead only to have my strike blocked by his weapon. His foot then came crashing into my side, sending me tumbling onto the front lawn.

It was then that I noticed Vanitas was nowhere to be found. My thoughts of his whereabouts were cut short when Rakson lunged and attempted to plant the Keyblade in my body. Rolling out of the way, I snapped back to my feet and said, "There's gotta be more to life than doing dark deeds! You're not even that much older than me!"

While I blocked several slashes, jabs, and kicks, Rakson replied, "Fool. I was created five days ago. And when your sleeping form awakens in one day, answering to a different name, the power of darkness and I will be one in the same."

Frustrated, I shot back, "So, you're really gonna spend your whole existence trying to do something evil, saying it's your only purpose? You and I both know that's a bunch of pointless crap!"

I blocked one faulty body-strike, opening up his defense to slash him across the chest. Determined to combo, I flowed into a round of sturdy strikes until sending him airborne with an upper slash. Jumping after him, I dished out more strikes to his body before finishing with a slash that pummeled him back to the grass.

Landing back on my feet, I said, "Just give up the darkness and move far away from here, Rakson."

"Ventus…" he randomly sputtered, wobbling to his feet. "You must've slipped through sometime after my creation."

Ven's voice rang throughout the neighborhood, "That sleep you put him in yesterday—dumb move. It sent a distress call straight to his heart, guiding me into this world."

He materialized and walked from my body.

"And you better believe I brought reinforcements," said Ven, then looking at the house's front door.

I looked in the direction he was facing, then noticing a girl with black hair and a long black coat. Behind her in the threshold stood Kairi.

The tension on the battlefield increased tenfold. Kairi's eyes were like twin pythons, making me shudder at the thought of her carrying a Keyblade. Rakson had also noticed the two girls in the doorway, smirking as he said, "You're gonna need more friends."

"We're still more than enough for you," I retorted. "C'mon! Let's finish this!"

As Rakson stood stock-still, I cast the magic spell Blizzard and charged at him. The chunk of ice exploded against his swinging Keyblade, which distracted him long enough to allow myself a free jab into his ribcage. He took the brunt into a backward slide, so I took the liberty of following up with a lunging strike that slashed overhead. I swung so hard against his Keyblade that it...caught...on fire? I don't know what's happening anymore. I just kept swinging. With each collision, the plus-sized-keyblade spit tiny flames in all directions. Some hit me while also tagging Rakson.

With small flames littering my too-small outfit, I noticed Rakson went lax in his defense, so I gave his weapon a harsh, sideways slash. The huge weapon, which I would later come to know as the χ-blade, flew aside. Maybe it was the hot flames slowly scorching away my capacity for mercy, or maybe it was my acute awareness saying that the man in front of me was subhuman on so many levels. But I swung at his forearm until it snapped on the fifth or sixth strike. By the seventh or eighth, I became slow to react, seeing blood and bone. I think Ven, Kairi, and the other girl reacted in some way.

Along with the sickening crunch came Rakson's shrill cry of agony. He knelt before me, clutching his shattered arm. Then, with his unbroken arm, he stood up and sucker punched air because I was too quick. Gently placing the blade of my Kingdom Key on his shoulder beside his neck, I urged him in a voice too shaky for authority, "Just give it up."

Right in that moment, as he tried wrestling the weapon away from me, I utilized the inch or two of space between my Keyblade and his ear to whack him as hard as I could. The result was him lying on the street with a bloodied ear.

Standing up, he said before sprouting a scaly set of wings, "To hell with that."

Then came the horns. Raising his broken arm in the air, Rakson let all of us watch as it mended itself before exploding into a monstrous claw.

-X-

Rakson's arm fixed itself, no longer broken but actually transformed.

I heard the invisible girl in front of me shriek in fright. She shrieked again when the same transformation occurred in Rakson's other hand.

He immediately started striking the air next to him, swiping his claws in all directions. As he did so, his horns and wings grew larger, the latter of which spread wide enough to nearly reach either end of my front lawn.

As he battled the invisible person, his skin began burning until it turned a charred, soot-covered yellow. Then, in a frightening blur, he ditched his fight and picked up that insane-looking weapon again, which was less than four feet away from me.

-X -

Causing me to lose my mind, he looked as if he went to attack Kairi and that other girl, and I was still reeling from the claws to the chest I'd just received. Clutching the deep scratch, I called, "Ven!"

He was already, "On it!"

Ven glided straight for him, then laying into his mutated, winged back with deft strikes. Rakson put an end to the back-attack, slashing him away. I tried casting Thunder, but the bastard teleported and slashed me away, as well.

While I lay in wait for my strength to return, I heard him say in an altered voice, "The end is near. The other side...is calling..."

Then, I thought Kairi had started talking, but upon closer inspection, it was the other girl who had replied, "I can still fight. It's not over until every one of us is defeated."

"You're going to regret coming back from the dead, useless vessel."

I saw Ven hobbling to a kneel. He couldn't be much more able than I was; I doubted he fully recovered from the fight against Vanitas's minions earlier, but I could tell he was planning a desperation move.

Meanwhile, Rakson took aim and blasted a potent Fire spell at the girls. It must've collided against something or one of them, for the explosion engulfed the entire porch. Then, he looked back at Ven and me.

"Go!" Ven cried, launching a suped-up ice spell.

Rakson barely flinched when it hit, given no pause in his trek towards us. (Ricocheting ice crystals made their way to the porch, stopping the fire from spreading.) Then, he appeared with phantom-like speed in front of Ven, swinging his weapon hard across the boy's torso. It was a concentrated strike; Ven barely flew a step back before slowly crumbling to the ground.

I had to pull my head out of the dirt; abandoning the pain of a lacerated arm and body, I stood up to a kneel and blocked a downward slash. Rakson attempted the same tactic I had used to break his arm earlier, now hammering my defense with unrelenting strikes.

"Let's see you break!" he yelled in rage.

I didn't reply. I just hoped and prayed for a way out. That's when that other girl came charging on Rakson from behind, but that was cut short when he turned and thwarted her with a wing-slash. I screwed up by not attacking him the split-second his attention was diverted. Instead, I stupidly did nothing, and I felt as if I'd already lost because of that weakness. He laughed and went back to breaking my spirit.

Then, Kairi ran and stopped behind Rakson, who smirked, sensing her presence.

"Go wait in the house," he told her without looking back, but he definitely slowed down his relentless assault.

Sounding like the Kairi I remember, she asked, "Sora...is that you?"

"Kairi..." My vision underwent blurriness, and I was pretty sure my blood was visible on the grass.

"Get back in the house!" Rakson snapped, briefly glaring back at her.

Each strike sapped my strength, replacing it with fear. Thinking about the play island, my breath went cold. The weapon he used continued pummeling my own, and then I wished Riku was here. My chest felt depraved of air, trembling instead of breathing for me. I thought about Kairi before I realized I was going to die here.

I gave up.

He got what he wanted; I dropped my Kingdom Key, and he swung downward upon me. The χ-blade seared right past me.

-X-

I saw him. He was visible when he dropped his sword. I don't know how he held it or himself up for so long. Wounds were everywhere on him. And in my cluelessness, I saw him struck to death far too many times. He knelt while Rakson sent his blade through him over and over again.

I screamed like it was happening to me.

Rakson finally let him fall. And I finally moved.

"...Powerful, isn't it? It moves you like a force of destiny. Oh, how you've been tainted. Oh, that I lust to taint you...even further than this. What you'll become is something I must see, something I must have."

My strength depleted and I dropped down on my knees. No matter how hard I had punched, kicked, or screamed, he just kept standing there, talking with his back to me.

"So, you're in loathe. That's wealth, Kairi." He turned around. "The vessel will find hers between us."

His subhuman visage grinned at Xion behind me, and I realized I could see her, too. A black coat...and short, black hair...and she was me. She stood defiant like me. Glared like me. Cried in fury...just like me. Her Keyblade had me feeling unworthy...simply because she owned one.

"Stop...talking!" Xion screamed.

"Look. She's so terrified, she won't even charge against me."

I noticed another boy in the vicinity, but he was passed out cold on the driveway, face down.

Xion held her chest, asking brokenly, "Was it...all my fault?"

Rakson reasoned, "His memories of her gave you life. And in your demise, there was fallout. Nothing you could've done to prevent that, little vessel. But now, there is nowhere for you to hide. Sora's heart is no more, as well as his soul. There is only me."

"I can still fight," I suddenly said.

"Go...wait...in the house."

"I can fight, too." Xion joined me at my side.

A demon's laugh echoed from him. Talking to Xion, he jested, "First, it's 'rape me', now it's 'fight me'. What is it with this demanding, fickle little devil?" When neither of us answered, he told her, "You'd better be the exact same way."

And then he walked toward us...

Xion raised her Keyblade slightly, and she signaled at me. Reading her strategy, I put my left hand over her right, and together we took aim. Her weapon shimmered before projecting a narrow beam of light, and both our hearts sank when he deflected it with his super-weapon. We didn't give up; shooting forth another beam, we watched it nullified in the same manner.

"Light..." Xion uttered before the third beam, and her misery melded with mine.

The light beam collided with Rakson's weapon harder than the last two, and he visibly struggled to swat it away, eventually doing so. Due to the difficulty, he must've gotten agitated, for he reeled back and threw the weapon, which I later came to know as the χ-blade. It spun unnaturally, and Xion acted fast; pushing me out of the way, she accepted the full punishment and tumbled back until she lie motionless.

I ran to her aid, but when I got there, she shakily refused it, silently opting to hand over her Kingdom Key.

"Still your body, and perhaps I'll still mine, too." He reequipped the χ-blade.

I ignored Rakson's command and raised Xion's sword, unsure of how to stop him. Looking down, I saw that my doppelgänger was barely lucid.

He was only ten feet away, but I stood my ground.

"Light—!"

"Shhh," he shushed me, having moved like a phantom to stifle the beam with his hand. "I don't like that word."

-X-

I had used the last of my power to turn into a dark tremor on the ground. Escape seemed like the smartest option, so I moved quickly off the property.

Limping away, I was amazed to still be alive. Sora hadn't just bested me in battle. Asshole actually finished me, too. I remembered losing consciousness at some point, but when I came to, my body hadn't vanished. I remembered seeing it on my chest, where he stabbed me. The wound...was leaking light.

Limping down the street of this forsaken ghost town, I looked down in disgust yet again. There I was, a being of absolute darkness, nursing an injury that revealed inner light. No...this couldn't be my own. Who's was it?

It also pained me to have to leave this place so pitifully. Corridors had been nonexistent lately, so I would need to use my dark aura to fly off this idiot factory. Of course, while limping on the empty, dirt road, I remembered I still needed to wait for my powers to return.

I cursed under my breath. There weren't enough discarded Keyblades lying around, so that's a royal screw-you to flying away in style...

I looked down again.

"Rrrrr...where did this come from?!"

I couldn't stand feeling so clueless. Cluelessness leads to stupidity, which I don't tolerate. I touched the liquid light. It stuck to my gloves like my own blood would. I needed to find some answers, and unfortunately...they seemed to all be back at the princess's house. And for once, I didn't want to go there.

The way Sora fought and beat me thoroughly convinced me Rakson had no chance of winning. That one-track-minded hack could rot for all I cared. He wasn't half the...

...No...

That energy...!

The χ-blade had just been forged! He never said anything about this. But how? We weren't anywhere near the Keyblade Graveyard! Or maybe...we were? That place—my home—could've been closer than I thought.

But clearly, I couldn't see Kingdom Hearts anywhere in the sky—probably because that idiot didn't know how to call it. I've seen Xehanort do it once. It shouldn't be that hard. But first, I must haveit.

Rushing back, I went through the backyard to avoid detection, then taking cover behind a potted plant on the side of the house. Peering around the corner, I saw him wielding it. I had to tell myself not to erupt.

I witnessed Sora clash his little toothpick with Rakson's incomplete χ-blade, and the boy definitely wasn't ready for even that amount of power. He got walked across the driveway and even had a statue fall on him, courtesy of Rakson's wild style. I had to hand it to Sora—guy really knew how to accept punishment, especially when he got jabbed and flew into the porch steps.

And so, I watched, and I waited. They traded words. I heard them mention me. I also heard a really weird noise...like, something had censored a part of Rakson's sentence. No one really reacted, so I left it alone, too.

After some more clashing, Ventus revealed himself again, not looking any more fit to fight than I did. He mentioned someone else was in the fray, looking toward the front door, but I couldn't see who from where I hid.

More taunts preceded yet another skirmish, and this one didn't putter out so quickly. In fact, it definitely ended poorly for the demon I supposedly created.

Sora's rage actually impressed me...and then made me a little jealous. Oh, what I could do with anger like that. Instead, I'm hiding here with this light spilling from my chest.

And then, I understood why Rakson kept fighting. Like me, who had a Keyblade-stab-wound, one that revealed a hopefully foreign light, he couldn't give up the darkness just yet, even if his right arm was thoroughly broken.

And then it happened. The symbol on his chest disappeared, and I struggled to come to grips with what he actually was. His transformation was unlike anything my Unversed ever touted.

This Rakson guy...maybe wasn't completely my creation. I thought hard about his origin. It wasn't terribly difficult to recall, but I may have forgotten a few details. Let's see...

I remembered being a remnant...wandering the Keyblade Graveyard. And then...a foreign, fleeting negative emotion appeared to me. I wasted no time in collecting it—I had to have it.

Then, a hooded girl appeared before me... I liked her coat. Wanted to see what else she wore. Hmph...

She seemed terrified when I dropped her hood. I wanted more of that, and many Unversed spawned in that moment, even though I was just a remnant. Those mindless creatures randomly started melding together, forming a mass of darkness. Not long after that did I suddenly feel the negative emotion leave me, joining with my minions. Then, the girl vanished without a trace, much to my dismay.

And just like that, the mass of Unversed took shape, forming a grown man who slightly looked like me, or Sora, I guess. The dark matter on his body became formal clothing, and he turned and told me of his purpose.

That's how I learned of Kairi, Sora, Roxas, and the vanishing girl, who he wouldn't or couldn't name. He turned my remnant of a dark heart into an extension of his own consciousness, and for those first few days, I tolerated our symbiosis. That was mainly because his "purpose" entailed fully reviving my heart in place of Sora's, then becoming one with the dark. One with me.

He thought I didn't notice his change in demeanor after he molested her. Superiority complexes are kinda my thing. And still, I went along with him. I had my own agenda, after all.

And this is where it brought me. Time stands still when you feel like you've badly erred.

I heard Ventus voice his disgust at seeing Rakson's hidden form, also hearing two girls shriek somewhere by the porch. They sounded remarkably the same. I had to see who else besides Kairi was there.

I leapt up to the roof, dashed to the opposite end, and dropped down silently. I stalked to the side of the porch, peeping through the wooden border to see Kairi and the very same girl who started this mess. I could take them both down while neither detected me crouching behind the border.

But then, Devee-the-devil dashed in front of them, picking up the χ-blade that I literally just noticed was lying there. He seemed ready to strike either the girl or Kairi down, so I waited in anticipation.

Just then, Ven flew heroically upon the scene, dishing out combos I thought he was too stupid to perform. Rakson shrugged him off, though, then sidestepping a pretty pathetic Thunder spell from Sora. Devee suddenly showed ghoulish speed, dashing and slashing Sora off the driveway.

While Rakson uttered something psychotic, I figured now might be a good time to hurt Kairi and this other girl. I didn't really have a reason to. I just wanted to.

But then, she spoke, saying, "I can still fight. It's not over until every one of us is defeated."

"You're going to regret coming back from the dead, useless vessel." Rakson raised the unfinished χ-blade, then blasting the porch with fiery prejudice.

Kairi and that other girl dove into the house, and my hiding spot was reduced to flaming debris. I sighed irritably.

And then I growled irately when an Ice spell, courtesy of Ven, ricocheted off of Rakson and nearly hit me. The fire had been mostly put out because of this, and that floored me even further.

And then...the big, bad Devee struck Ven down. He did it decisively. Kinda made me feel useless. While he moved on to breaking Sora's defense, I moved on to jumping up to the roof. Clearly, Rakson was having the time of his demonic life. Who was I to interject?

Sure enough, Kairi came running out just in time to see Sora's spirit break. I was...impressed with how the χ-blade slashed Sora's kneeling form over and over again. Each time, it left a deep, orange glow on his body. It was like...

I laughed lowly...

It was like it...

I covered my mouth, stifling my amusement.

...IT SEARED RIGHT PAST HIM! I must have it, now!

Kairi screamed, and I was in bliss. She must have seen it. As Sora fell dead on his back, Kairi unleashed her fury on a non-caring and non-reacting Rakson. I just noticed the other girl was behind the princess, slowly getting back on her feet. She must've gotten attacked while I jumped on the roof. Blink, and you miss it.

Kairi looked and gawked directly at her. Weird...she might be able to see all of us, including me, now. But that's inconsequential.

She and the other girl...whose name I still don't know...they had a little camaraderie and resorted to blasting Rakson with beams of light from a Keyblade I just discovered they owned. They really thought that lone beginner's key would be enough to stop him, who had the key of all keys. They spent three beams of light, all of which got deflected.

Rakson, who'd been strolling leisurely toward them, threw his incomplete weapon, making it spin like a buzzsaw at them both.

That girl sacrificed herself for Kairi. And now, I was feeling too left out. I looked for Ven, cracking a smile at seeing him try to move. But wait—I sensed the best part was yet to come.

Kairi picked up that other girl's Keyblade, and her enemy was in leaping distance. It was over for her, so I jumped down and went to Ventus.

I knelt by him. He shakily glared up at me. I told him, "Look."

Rakson covered the tip of Kairi's borrowed weapon with his claw, effectively snuffing out her attempt at another light beam. As he shushed her, I pulled Ven's hair upwards, forcing him to bear witness.

"Look, Ven, or you'll miss it! Look—look!"

Rakson wrenched away her last line of defense, then taking her by the waist. With both claws, he picked her up, tearing apart her shirt while keeping her flailing body at arms' length.

I gave a little commentary, "He likes to toy around, doesn't he?"

Kairi made numerous attempts to escape, which was admirable.

Then, I added, "And she just makes it more fun."

Ven made a sobbing noise, and I pulled his hair back harder.

I laughed out loud at what happened next, relaying it to Ven, "Did she just spit in his face?"

Rakson continued doing what he came to do. He ripped off most of her shirt and put her roughly on the grass.

"Look, Ven! Look! She's about to get raped! Look! Look! Look!"

Ven had closed his tearful eyes, so I slapped him a little.

"Whaddya think he'll do first? Oh—guess that'll be 'choking.' Uf, skirt's gone. Hey, look at that! He went back to being a normal-looking monster. Maybe that other form wasn't romantic enough. Oh, the poor princess is losing her voice. She's giving up, now, Ven. Oh, Ven...?"

-X-

Guy wouldn't shut the hell up about it. Like, seriously, he was way too into it! This type of thing really makes him hyperactive? It wasn't enough she was about to be raped. He had to make sure I watched it, too?

I forced my hair loose from his grip, then burying my face against the driveway. He said something about her giving up, and then he cooed my name.

I had every reason to ignore him...and then some. Smirking shakily, I said, "Hey, Vanitas."

"Yes, Venty?"

"Look."

-X-

I'll take it from here. At least for now, anyway. Me? I stood somewhere outside the property, and I didn't need my eye inside a Keyblade to see how much help they needed. Weird—and dumb—and senseless—how darkness keeps forgetting light's gonna show up.

Did I just call myself light? Hm...I guess in this particular chess match, I am.

That Rakson guy...? The one thinking he's about to sexually assault a teenager who's not even Self-Aware, yet...? Wow. You'd think from how he carries himself, that he'd know a little more about his actions, and the consequences of those actions. Earlier today, because of what he manipulated to happen, this place stopped being Destiny Islands. That Princess of Heart lost her mind, and I'm guessing her heart, body, and soul found it here, in this disjointed world of chaos.

What's puzzling is how a handful of people followed her here, too. I've got conjectures for this and hypotheses for that, but for now, I'm just gonna watch Sora connect to his friends. And speaking of Sora...

So, being a master usually means you've gotta be good at something—or whatever it is you do. Trust me. I should know. What I know about that kid, Sora, is purposefully very little, and yeah—maybe he's not setting records of human ability, gaining unspeakable powers, or even that great at blitzball—but there's a master of something in him, all right. Kairi, Ven, and Imaginary Girl all got it going on, too. But the spotlight chooses whoever, whenever, however, wherever.

All right, Sora. Show the spotlight why it should've come all this way.

...Aaaaany minute now. "Okay, kid—get up."

-X-

People kept calling my name. They sounded like they just remembered me...

And then I just remembered that humongous sword searing right past me. Wait...

No way...

Do I...understand something?! Am I...?

...ahaha—LET'S GO!

I understand all this happening was both real and fabricated. My memories are being worked on by that girl who messed with them—I really liked her at one point. Still kinda do, but let's not dwell on why. She had to put me to sleep to straighten out what got rearranged. I'm going to forget about that whole Castle Oblivion ordeal once I wake up—this much is certain. Around that time, my memories of Kairi got vacuumed up by someone else—what a jerk. Said jerk made those memories into an actual person—can't think of her name. Nameless person had a crisis and decided to sacrifice herself to make me whole again—that's awesome, actually. I need to pay her back when I get the chance and the memory. Meanwhile, Kairi's received two timelines as a result of this. I care about both timelines in two different ways. In one, she's safe, and that's really all that matters. In the other, a guy named Rakson, who's an absolute tw:, makes her unsafe in the worst way. That censoring sound means I'm about to become Self-Aware soon, but I don't officially know what that means yet. Anyway, I'm stuck in the timeline where she's unsafe. The only way out of this timeline is to kill—uh...no, that's not right.

Okay, now I need help. I'm right back at square one because I don't know how to deal with Rakson. Somebody—anybody—show me how to get away from this madness!

"Okay, kid—get up."

What the—? Who said that?

"Uhh... How about, 'May your heart be your guiding k—' Oh, wait. They haven't shoehorned that in, yet."

They...?

"Just follow your heart, Sora! It basically means the same thing!"

Follow my...?

"Sora...?" I heard Yuffie's voice just now. Weird.

"Sora...? It can't be!" That was Leon's.

"Oh! Sora!" Aerith called my name.

Merlin's voice then came to me, "Quite strange, indeed. This calls for an investigation!"

"Sora...? But, how...?" Cloud sounded confused and angry, but he might've already been like that.

"Eeee-ooo...Sora...friend! Tarzan remember old friend in vivid detail!" Tarzan's English was crazy better than last time.

"Sora?" Jane repeated. "How could I forget?"

"Sora! Is my heart playing tricks?" Alice questioned her heart.

The Cheshire Cat said nothing, and I was happy with that.

I heard the sound of someone throwing down way-too-heavy weights, followed by Hercules saying, "What the—? Wait, what ever happened to that awesome little hero who beat up Cerberus?"

Phil must've been close by, for I heard him reply, "Yeah, wasn't his name...Sora? And uh, ahem...pretty sure that pipsqueak was a Junior Hero!"

The familiar screeching of Abu reached my ears, followed by Alladin saying, "You're right! I bet that kid Sora would love this joint I'm smoking!"

Jasmine then admonished him, "Put that out! Save it for when he shows up—I just know he will!"

Then, I heard a splash, followed by Ariel's voice hitting me like a brick, "SORAAAA! I REMEMBER YOUUUU!"

Even King Triton gave his statement, and lucky for him, he sounded like he was in a different part of Atlantica, "That boy... Has he surfaced in the kingdom—the kingdom of my memories?!" Something exploded nearby him. "Sora, oh young Keyblade wielder! I have sent you a distress signal just now! Send one back to me if you can hear my words!"

I nervously did nothing.

Something else exploded wherever the king was. "Egad! HE IS ALIVE! Sebastian! Come clean up this mess!"

Then, Jack screamed, "YOWZERS! I just remembered how scary that kid was!"

Sally asked him, "Do you mean...Sora?"

"Yeah—that suave little vampire had S-rank combos coming out of his ears! I better get scary!"

"Hmm..." I knew that troublemaking, high-flying voice anywhere. "Sure wish Sora was here. I'd hate to see a kid as wholesome as him grow up too fast."

"Pinocchio! I just remembered where your conscience went! The king trusted him to go with...oh, what was his name?" Oh, c'mon, Geppetto!

"I remember—his name was Sora, papa!"

"You sure it wasn't Riku...?"

"Yeah, dad. I'm sure."

And then, "Oh, dear! If only someone with abnormally large shoes could jump up and swat those bees away!"

Answering Piglet, good ole Pooh said, "Hmm...or we could always just hang out with Sora again."

Then came the cheerful lunatic, "Wa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! I miss bouncin' with my favorite Sora—yes, I do!"

Then, a hair-raising roar resounded to my ears, and I knew deep in my heart that Simba and many more remembered me, too.

And finally, confirmation about my timeline theory came through, "I DO remember Sora! Why did that...just happen for me?"

Kairi replied to Selphie, "I don't know why—but isn't it great?"

"I remember he was TERRIBLE at blitzball," Tidus revealed. "He sure could kick some tail in sword fighting, though. Anyway, blitz it up, Wakka!"

"Get ready for da liquid avalanche, dead-weight!"

Yes...that's it! Wait, one more.

"Whew! Man, you fellers won't believe who I just magically 'membered outta nowhere!"

Yuffie flippantly replied, "Cid, you're so late."

...

And then, I woke up to the presence of the enemy. Luckily, I had some friends nearby. Ven, under the oppressive knee of a non-attentive Vanitas, looked over at me just in time. He smirked at me from the ground, and I smirked back, cherishing the day I'd remember him in the other timeline.

My body obeyed; I snapped back to my feet.

"Hey, Vanitas."

"Yes, Venty?"

"Look."

Apparently, stabbing him wasn't enough, so, I gave hilting him in the head a good whirl. He passed out cold.

I cast Heal on Ventus. I cast Heal on Xion, too, but that was kind of an accident. My Cure spell got upgraded, somehow, meaning I was able to cure any allies that were in close proximity. And I do mean allies. Haven't quite hacked the game enough to cast a pity-heal on enemies, at least not yet.

So, the Curaga ring actually touched Kairi, too, obviously ignoring the big, bad Devee, as Vanitas likes to call him (and ignoring Vanitas, too). Devee, deeply confused by the special healing effects taking over the girl he was currently attempting to rape, visibly loosened his grip on—I'm guessing—her throat. Couldn't really see the whole crime from where I stood.

He slowly turned his head.

I said, "Let's not."

Rakson sighed. "You must be addicted to death."

I slung the key over my shoulder, thinking about those S-rank combos Jack mentioned. "Yeah. I want another hit."

"As you wish."

I caught on to the high-low thing he was about to go for before it happened. First, he transformed himself again, so now I'm less merciful. Then, I blocked the claw-swipe for the head and jumped over his low-kick, then reading his three-sixty wing-spin to block each strike. I didn't say I completely lacked mercy, for that was the reason I stood there and let him pull his χ-blade from the dirt.

He gave a fierce slash horizontally, and though I blocked it, I still went sliding backward. I showed a little excitement, beckoning him, "Yeah—! Now, we're talkin'!"

As the cool people say—behold, I Airstepped toward him and dropped a Groundbreaker on his slow-to-react head. Oh, I should warn you—I'm about to mention a bunch of my moves by name, so I really hope you're privy to the moves-list going all the way up to part three. And I use them whenever.

He bounced off the ground from my Groundbreaker, and I hit him with an Aerial Spiral, followed by a Finishing Leap. I dished out Air Combo Plus x2 before hitting him with two basic air finishers, following up with Aerial Finish and another Airstep. With another quick round of Air Combo Plus x2, I ended the sky battle with another Groundbreaker, sending him to the ground...and breaking it. One Falling Slash later, and I was tagging him with Combo Plus x2, punctuating that with Guard Break and then flying right into a Sonic Blade, which cost me a bit of magic power. After Sonic Blade's seventh hit, I caught my breath a bit, taunting him as he spun while airborne, "Are you getting lazy?"

I juggled him with an Upper Slash, resuming more sky-play with an Aerial Sweep. I felt a little cute, so I busted out a couple of Horizontal Slashes, which totaled six hits, followed that with an Aerial Finish, but then I jump-cancelled the final hit.

Yeah. I jump-cancelled. Get it all out of your system if that upsets you more than Kairi being raped.

Anyway, after the jump-cancel, I slapped him with another three-hit Horizontal Slash, following that with another Aerial Finish, of which I also J.C.'d the finisher to, then sliding right into a Rising Spiral, then an Aerial Spiral, and then an Air Combo Plus x2. What came forth after that was a sort-of half-fluke; I hit him with a Magnet Burst when I truly meant to hit him with a Stun Impact, and that was because I was still getting the hang of Stun Impacts done in the air. No biggie, as it didn't cost me too much magic, leaving just enough to trigger Ars Arcanum.

I admit, I got a little winded after that sixteen-plus hit combo, so I fell floatily back down to the ground, where Rakson had just been pummeled into.

I knew how I wanted to finish him, but still needed to pad it out. Patiently waiting for Mutant Man to stand back up, I entered my Fierce Finishers stance and hit him with Explosion and then a Ripple Drive.

Oh, yeah—! Magic! So, after some sparkly Thundaga spells (three, to be exact), I juggled his airborne body with Firaga and Blizzaga, then casting Magnega before I finally had the perfect opportunity to charge up what I'd been building up to: Zantetsuken.

I readied my sword while Rakson was stunned and definitely still captive by the Magnet spell. And then, I slashed and crashed right through him.

He smacked into the ground, face-first, and he began evaporating like they always do. Oh—I forgot to mention, Kairi, Ven, and Xion had basically left the property for their own safety, and now they were waltzing back in slow-motion. Something told me they weren't at my level of Self-Awareness just yet, so I'd have to break 'em in slow. But first...

"If you can walk, Rakson, get up and get out. Take Vanitas with you, too."

Reverting back to his humanoid appearance, Rakson sputtered, "You worm...you were dead. What is this power...?"

I turned to my friends. "Ugh. Dark users. Always forgetting light wins."

Ven quipped, "Yeah. Light wins with style points, apparently."

Rakson punched the dirt. "You will never get rid of me...as long as I remember my purpose—"

"Kairi—please tell me you're okay." I needed to know.

"I..." She visibly needed more than words from me, but my too-small outfit was too small even for her.

Xion took action, taking off her coat and giving it for her to wear. To my surprise—and probably Ven's and Kairi's, too—Xion had on normal clothes underneath, making me wonder how those coats work, exactly.

Rakson suddenly screamed in rage. Standing against his own demise, he bellowed, "I still remember what you feel like, princess!"

"Lucky you," she retorted back. "You can take that to the grave. I'm going..." She went wide-eyed. "...away from here?"

Ah, her awareness of the other timeline just hit. Ven raised his eyebrow, confused by Kairi's confusion. He said, "We should all get away from here. There's...wait. There's someplace else...? Right...?"

His awareness was just coming in, too. I threw in, "That place is exactly what we need it to be."

I was happy for them. Though, Ven started looking at me like I was someone else completely. Okay, that was weirding me out. Then, I remembered Ven, in the other timeline, had a habit of showing higher-level awareness than me and most other people.

Unfortunately, Xion was having the hardest time coming to grips with what she was surely feeling. "Are you serious...? How did—? What even is this place?!"

I gave my honest guess, "Whatever it is, I think it's about to be destroyed."

"Along with him," Kairi added.

"And what took place here," Ven said with a nod.

Rakson picked up the super-saber again. "Then you all will die with me."

"Kairi, Xion," I addressed. "I'm, uh...feeling a little sluggish—"

"Light!" the somewhat identical girls yelled, collectively firing a beam of light from their shared Kingdom Key.

The beam hit Rakson in the neck or the collar bone, and he fell backwards in misery.

Ven grunted, "Hmph. What an eyesore. But uh—yeah, how the heck do we leave this place?"

I scratched my head and honestly started spitballing, "Uhh—maybe we...should just wait five seconds?"

Then, a new voice rang behind us, "That's right—just wait five seconds and see what happens. Couldn't hurt."

We all turned and marveled at the mysterious man in the black coat. And then I remembered how strongly I believed in God in that better timeline. Uh...not so much organized religion, though—but I digress.

Xion, suspicious of the man's attire, asked in a hostile voice, "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Not important. Next question."

"Are you friend or foe?" Ven asked, eyebrow raised.

"Eh. Next question."

I found him a little humorous, so, I chuckled and asked, "How 'bout—can you get us out of this world?"

"Hm...oh—all right."

A sensational power picked all of us up, and as our bodies glowed, we began flying off toward—

"On second thought..." the cloaked man suddenly debated with himself. "Yeah—I'm gonna need that!"

He floated us back to the ground and picked up Rakson's super-weapon, leaving the evil man to slowly evaporate to his death. Then, with that supposedly unfinished χ-blade in his possession, the mysterious man flew us all toward the ocean. Flying at such a high speed toward the setting sun must've had the same impact on all of us, for we were silent.

We made it there in record time. He set us down at the beach, then motioning for us to follow him into the water. We did, and we stopped when he stopped, the water just above our knees.

"Gotta say, I'm impressed with all of you, and proud, too," he randomly stated, withdrawing his newly acquired χ-blade while he added, "one, for making it through this, and two, for following your hearts down to a T."

From under the shroud of his hood, he looked at all of us individually, silent for a brief moment. Then, he nodded and said, "I know for a fact your hearts will lead you to...say, better company than I can offer, but for right now, you'll just have to deal with me."

We looked at him, confused, but then the sound of thunder boomed from behind us, getting our attention. We gasped at the sight of our world being swallowed by darkness, and it all seemed to start above Kairi's house.

"Uh...ignore that—actually, yeah—everyone, follow me, please!"

The man guided us deeper into the ocean. Right as the water reached our chests, he faced us and cast a spell with a flick of his wrist, and then said, "Keep going—we're taking a little sea-walk."

The storm behind us boomed even louder, and I turned around to see that same swirling mass of dark matter that took away my play island so long ago—I mean...recently? Guess I'm not all the way Self-Aware just yet. But that highly particular day felt both long past and just passing...

"Hey," said Kairi, getting my attention. She took my hand while also taking Xion's, and I took Ven's hand as well.

The ocean was becoming treacherous; as it rose over our heads, the hooded man guided us deeper into the sea, keeping us anchored as we walked along the ocean floor. Once we descended at least thirty or so feet, he instructed us to sit down amid sand and seaweed.

"Like magic, huh?" he commented with a submerged effect on his voice.

I noticed I could breathe air, then figuring out that that's what he meant. I glanced up briefly, noticing abundant carnage as houses, trees, pieces of land, and other things flew around in all directions. Kairi was looking at the same phenomenon, and I felt her hand squeeze tighter.

Xion and Ven noticed it too, and that's when the hooded man told us, "What a cluster-;. That noise is pretty weird, too, right? I wonder why the ; it keeps happening."

No one else seemed to understand the humor he was going for except me, because I burst out laughing...underwater.

"Well, I guess Sora gets it," said the man. "Tell me the rest of you recall how annoying that noise is."

Ven suddenly got it. Smirking, he said, "You mean when we say stuff like '; you and your ; pointy ears, you bald-headed ;'?"

"I like how suddenly brilliant this one is," the man admitted. "Anyway, you get the pic—"

Excitedly, Xion recalled, "Oh, yeah—that's right! We can say stuff like 'ass' and 'bitch', but we can't say stuff like ; and ;!"

The hooded man threw a palm to his hidden forehead. "Right..."

Kairi perked up. "But after eleven p.m., we can talk super dirty. Please tell me you're taking us back to that world."

"Hm... Only if you all ask nicely!"

I begged, "Please, we wanna go back—I don't care how stupid the rules were!"

Ven also begged, "Please-please-please-please! There's hope in that place!"

Xion added, "There were so many reasons to be thankful! We need that world again!"

Kairi said, "That time and place had something better for me...for all of us! Please, we need to be there!"

"Anything's better than being stuck here—well, almost anything," I said, then realizing it could always get worse. "Whoever you are—if you can, take us from this horrible place."

The hooded man said, "Clearly, you've all had your fill of this purgatory. So...what you'll feel and remember after you leave from here has already been determined. The four of you will experience the shadow of this place at the same time...give or take a few seconds. And that's because none of you here in this time were destroyed. I repeat—you survived this place's destruction. A pretty unique force kept that from happening, I guess. So, hallelujah."

The sand beneath us suddenly dissolved, and everyone present quickly sank into a scary amount of darkness.

While the hooded man also disappeared into the depths, Kairi, Ven, Xion, and I held on to each other in great fear of the unknown. Xion and Ven connected our circle, and we dared to pull each other close. However, everything began to feel like a dream, and friendly lights of different colors greeted our vision. Our minds were given over to a relaxed state, also affecting our bodies as we let go.

My fear departed from me. It had something to do with the rush of memories I had from that other world. I both loved and hated that place, but it was still the realest thing I ever felt—no matter how fake, awful, and terrible some of the people were, I still overcame them at some point, always finding genuine, warm, and beautiful hearts in everything I saw.

My hands slipped free from my friends, and I was dozing off.