ARGH! I HAVE SEVEN CHAPTERS! WHY DO I ONLY HAVE FOUR REVEIWS? (Glares at anyone who's read but hasn't reviewed) I even accept anon reviews! How hard is it to simply click that little purple button and say "Good story! Keep it up!"?

DIS: (Gives you look) I don't have time today.

THANKS:

Ozric 750 (Once again, duh.)

Cloud-123 (Thanks for the compliment!

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Experimental

Demi: Part Two

Half-heard

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~~ Takeo's dream? It looks almost like World Terminus, but the pillar in the center of the platform is brilliant white that shines with an iridescent sheen of darkness.

A voice drifts on the wind...

* Take your time... *

Takeo looks around for a moment. "This is... strange. Normally, I'm not in my dreams." He walks up to the pillar, curious, and places his hand on it.

~~

* Careful. This is the last haven you'll find here. Beyond, there is no light to protect you. But don't be afraid. Your heart is the mightiest weapon of all. Remember, you are the one who will open the door to the light. *

A older boy with chestnut hair looks around and a strange-looking bird squawks at him.

"That voice... It sounded so familiar."

~~

The eight-year-old stumbles back, eyes wide. "His hair..." Takeo reaches up to his own unruly locks, the same shade chestnut streaked silver. "It's so like mine- ours..."

He turns in a circle and walks up to a wall, eyes still wide. Looking out between the teeth-like rocks edging the lavender sand he stands on, he sees in the distance another platform, but that one has a shimmering pillar that shifts through shades of red and ocean blue.

Takeo steps up to a blue will-o'-the-wisp and gets the awful feeling of not being for a moment. Then he trips into the platform he had seen from a distance. Slowly walking up to the pillar, he touches it much more tentatively.

~~

"... her." The taller, silver-haired teen steps to the side, showing that slumped to the deck behind him is a girl with dark red hair.

"Kairi!" The brown-haired boy from the last pillar runs forward, only to be stopped by a pirate dressed all in red.

"No shenanigans aboard MY vessel, boy!"

Blue eyes glance at the one-handed pirate, then look pleadingly up at the aqua eyes so similar to Takeo's own. "Riku, why are you siding with the Heartless?"

Riku stares back down, his eyes fiery and almost angry. "The heartless obey ME now, Sora. Now I have nothing to fear."

"Riku..."

~~

Takeo falls away, stumbling into another blue wisp of light and that feeling of nothing. He catches himself before lurching to the floor and settles down gently.

"I always thought that our parents were just a few random kids. But these people... Those boys, they were mine, and that girl was Anzu's and Neko's, they're the people that we always hear about..." Takeo rubs his arms, then looks up at the pillar before him. This one is a bright, cheerful yellow. He takes a deep, steadying breath, ready for anything, and plunges in.

Almost anything, that is.

~~

He squints in the brilliant sunlight, birds singing around him. A girl in a dress the same color as the pillar and two boys stand nearby. A voice drifts by on the wind.

* Talk to them... *

Takeo walks up to the girl. "Er, hello..." The girl looks down at him and smiles brightly.

"What's most important to you?"

He blinks, startled, but thinks for a moment, looking down at the wooden platform. "Safety?..."

"Is that really such a big deal?" His head jerks up, even more startled. Her bright voice gives him something to think about. To think about hard.

He walks over to the taller, darker boy, who's spinning a blue and white ball on one finger. "Hey?..."

"What do you want out of life?"

Takeo frowns. "I... I would like to be able to walk through my home without being afraid."

"That's great, ya, but is it important?"

"Of course it is... I think..." Takeo tries to put it out of his mind, as well as the first response, as he walks to the last boy.

"What're you afraid of?"

"The people in the castle." This time, Takeo doesn't have to think. :: Finally, a easy one. ::

"Why?"

"Because I'm different." Takeo touches the gem near his right eye.

"So you're afraid of being different."

Takeo thinks for a moment. "I guess I am."

"But is being different so bad?"

The wind whispers in his ears.

* Your adventure begins in the dead of night... Your road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits your journey's end... The day when he will open the door is both far off and very near. *

Everything fades to white, then to black.

***********

~~ Takeo's niche

"Well, I thought you'd be awake to scold me."

Takeo sits up, rubbing his eyes. "Neko... I was having an important dream."

Neko shrugs, her silver hair falling into her eyes. She brushes it away impatiently. "Well, scold me for something..." She's obviously slightly perturbed about something.

"What did you do?" He sighs.

"Just got injured by Oni, went to get a potion from the secret stash, and got caught." She smiles in a slightly edgily way.

"Did your meeting with whoever go well?"

Neko blinks, not quite expecting this reaction, and maybe wanting the norm. "Er... She was nice. She called me an experiment, but after I cleared that up, she was nice. Even wanted to help heal my arm."

Takeo nods. "Good. Go get Anzu. We're gonna have a family meeting."

***********

That segment with Riku a bit meant something. Sora and Kairi will soon be appearing OOD (Out of Dreams), so watch out! And tell me what you think of this chapter.

Small Explanations:

The beginning was a sort of version of the Awakening for Takeo, but everything said to Sora still applies- TO SORA. Hence, why Neko's PARENTS need her, and why "HE will open the door", not "YOU will...". The questionnaire at the end of the dream made Takeo think about the life they lead. And Neko was more shaken by being found than she let on, and wanted something NORMAL to happen.

So... R&R? Please? For me? I even went back over this and fixed it up a bit...