Nexis was in his room, thinking and occasionally laughing. 'That was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. Who knew torture could be so much fun? Maybe Axel's not that bad after all…'

A sudden jolt of energy in his heart startled him. Glancing around, he saw nothing, but almost immediately knew what it was. Ignoring the pain in his arm, he held out his right hand, palm up, and allowed the heart to appear. Instead of radiating purity and music, it was a black void that had no song at all, just an aura of satisfaction. He gasped in shock, unable to believe what it was.

'No…not this one…any heart but this one…maybe there's still something I can do.' He quickly teleported out of the room, frantically searching the castle in his lightning-bolt form, trying to find her. He nearly collided with some people that stood in the hallways, but he hardly noticed, focusing only on his goal. Nexis finally found her, just as she was leaving a room. She was startled at first, until she realized who it was. Her now black robe contrasted sharply with the colorless walls.

"Oh. It's only you, Nexis."
"Laska, what has happened to you? This is unbelievable! Of all people, I can't imagine you would've turned to the darkness!"
"It's not like you're in charge of me. I can do what I want without your consent," she said cruelly, her once soft eyes now hard and cold, with an icy color to match.

"Will you at least tell me why?" Saying nothing for a moment, Laska thought about it. Her eyes began to glow a pale blue as the room became cloaked in darkness. Nexis stood stoically, transfixed by her icy lustrous eyes, until they vanished suddenly, leaving only a faintly glowing ring in their absence.

"You really don't know what I've been through, do you Nexis?" Her voice was off to his right, and he turned, but could not see because of the darkness.

"I thought you were dead for seven years. Now, you may be thinking, 'Well, I was the one that almost died, right? That's just as bad.' You're wrong." It now echoed from far away, like she was teleporting around.

"All those years I wished I was dead, because I missed you so much." It came from another place, and Nexis was having a hard time following her voice. He was trying to find her, but since she kept moving, it made it difficult.

"I thought you were dead, and that created my power, the Spirit Flame. But I couldn't control it. It forced me into the twilight. Dealing with innumerable restless spirits will do that to you."

"But Laska, it wasn't like I gave up on you. I searched for you ever since then, and the pain in my heart is what gave me the ability to look at people's hearts. Don't ask how, I don't know."

"I tried forever to get closer to the light, because I thought maybe, just maybe, it might be able to bring you back. But no, it caused me even greater pain because it was just impossible."

He heard soft breathing behind him, and felt her presence close by.

"So I turned to the darkness," she whispered softly.
"And what does Axel have to do with it all?"
"What kind of question is that? Are you accusing me of something?"
"No, I'm just saying you spend a lot of time around him."

"I'm allowed to, aren't I? Like I said, I don't need you to watch over me or anything like that. I can handle myself." The darkness sunk back into the walls, along with Laska. The shock and surprise lingered in Nexis's heart, but his face remained blank as he continued to walk down the hallway.

"I just don't understand why he doesn't like me. We have so much in common," Larxene said to Naminé, who was hardly listening. Larxene, pacing across the floor, was so wrapped up in her own problems that she didn't even realize she was basically talking to a wall.

"And I just know he liked torturing that idiot Sora-" she paused, catching Naminé's attention, if only for a second.

"-but he hasn't said a word to me since then! What should I do? Maybe I could get Axel to help me…"
"I don't think that will be necessary." She turned suddenly, ready to fight if she had to, but her gaze softened when she saw it was Nexis. He looked emotionless, but Larxene sensed something to be amiss.

"Are you okay, Nexis? You seem…different." He sighed slowly, debating whether or not to tell her what had happened.
"You can trust me," she said, smiling sweetly and dragging out the word. He walked over to her, glancing at Naminé.

"I don't even know how to say it; it's still really hard to believe." He looked away quickly, sadness creeping across his face. Larxene was confused, but waited until he said something.

"She's gone."
"What?"
"She turned to the darkness. I just don't know what to do. If I had only found her a little sooner…"
"Are you talking about Laska? What do you mean by finding her?"

He told her everything.

How he and Laska had been friends, how he had nearly been killed, and how he had searched for Laska for seven years.

"…and that's about it."
"Wow. That's quite a story."

"Yeah. Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe she doesn't like me at all."
"Well…I do."
"You do?" he asked, studying her face. It was filled with understanding, and her eyes held no trace of malice or spite.
"Yeah. True, you may be a little stranger than most, but I like you. We have a lot in common."

"Besides the lightning thing?"
"…we both hate Sora?" He nodded in agreement.

"That works." He smiled for a second, then it vanished as his heart thought of Laska.
"I just wonder what went wrong." Larxene was beginning to get angry. She had just told Nexis she liked him, and he didn't seem to feel the same way. 'He seems to be distracted by Laska. What a problem she's become…well, I suppose the only thing to do is to get rid of the problem.'

"Well, don't stress over it. Maybe she's just not the one for you." Nexis had seen this coming, but he didn't reply. She liked him; he could see that. But could it really be over between him and Laska?

Could they even be friends anymore?

"Have you found anything out yet?" Zexion impatiently asked the older man, who sat at his desk, skimming through a pile of paperwork rapidly and scribbling notes on a notepad every now and then.
"I told you, I'm working on it. People in the twilight are very difficult to deal with," he replied, slightly annoyed.
"Well thanks a lot."
"You're welcome. Even though I'm not done yet, I think I'm getting close to finding the answer."
"Well, you'd better hurry up before it becomes irreversible."

"I just told you, I'm working on it. Hmm," he broke off, glancing between about five different pieces of paper. "It seems that even though those who have been in the darkness have a Nobody, those in the twilight don't, unless they become dark and go back to the twilight."
"Which means…"
"If she goes back to the twilight, a Nobody will be created."
"And I'm guessing that's bad?"

"Well, if they were ever to meet, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty."
"So what do we do?"
"Make sure she stays on our side."

"But what if she becomes a Heartless?"

"Oh, I don't believe that will happen."
"Why?"
"She's strong enough to resist it."

"That's what you said about Sora, and he became a Heartless."
"Which in turn created Roxas. I know. But he is only a child."
"Yeah, I guess. Let's just hope she doesn't find out."

Laska thought back to what had just happened. She had had her first taste of the powers of darkness. She tricked Nexis into thinking the whole room was dark, when really it was just magic. A small part of her mind chided her for it, but she pushed it away, glad that she wasn't fighting to reach the light anymore. Her ears picked up a slight noise, and she carefully followed it. It ended at a door that was slightly opened, and she couldn't help but listen to the conversation coming from within.

"If she goes back to the twilight, a Nobody will be created."
"And I'm guessing that's bad?"
"Well, if they were ever to meet, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty."

"So what do we do?"
"Make sure she stays on our side."

'Are they talking about me?' she wondered silently, pale blue eyes becoming filled with worry and confusion.

"But what if she becomes a Heartless?"

"Oh, I don't believe that will happen."
"Why?"
"She's strong enough to resist it."
"That's what you said about Sora, and he became a Heartless."
"Which in turn created Roxas. I know. But he is only a child."

"Yeah, I guess. Let's just hope she doesn't find out." Footsteps toward the door grew louder, and it opened suddenly, surprising her.
"Laska? What are you doing?" asked Zexion.

"...I…uh…"

"Was eavesdropping on us?" Vexen asked curtly, snarling at her. She rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

"What were you talking about? Was it me?" Zexion glanced back and forth between her and Vexen, as if silently asking him for permission. He reluctantly nodded, knowing that this would ruin everything. He just wished Zexion knew. Zexion motioned for Laska to follow him back into the dark room, with the dimly lit desk as the only source of illumination. Laska's eyes began to glow again, and she could see that the rest of the room was littered with crumpled up pieces of paper, books pushed into cluttered piles, and lots of pencils. She stepped over to the desk, glancing at the papers on top of it. She could hardly read any of it, so Vexen began translating it for her.

"Sorry, I write in shorthand."
"That is not shorthand, it is a three-year-old's handwriting."
"I'm going to ignore that. I've been doing research on the twilight and Nobodies and how they are created and things like that."
"Any particular reason?"
"He's a scientist, Laska," said Zexion, as if she should have known that.
"Oh, I thought he was just bored."

"Again, ignoring it. I found out that people who walk the twilight-"

"Me, for instance," interrupted Zexion, getting a stern look from Vexen.

"People who walk the twilight do not have a Nobody, unlike those who are a part of the darkness. Therefore, until recently, you did not have a Nobody. When you chose the darkness, I believe the light created a Nobody version of you, but it hasn't appeared yet. If you were ever to meet up with this Nobody, it would combine with you and you would be in the twilight again, or you would vanish and it would take over, depending on who has the stronger heart." She nodded slowly, trying to understand. Even though he talked somewhat slower than other people and clearly pronounced every word, she had a hard time following everything.

"So you're saying there is an exact copy of me that is part of the light, and depending on if I was evil enough or not, I might get taken over by this Nobody?"

"Well, if you must put it simply."
"Why didn't you say so? You have to add extra words and stuff like that. So muddy, just get the point."
"I told you, scientist, must add extra words; it's part of the job description."
"Most importantly, you can't get steeped too far in the darkness, or you'll lose your heart to it," he said, as if he hadn't heard Zexion's comment.

Laska suddenly became worried, her brain racing to understand everything.

"Uh, guys, I think I should go. Have to think about all this, you know." She vanished, leaving both of them confused.
"I think you scared her away."
"I'm getting too old for this," he said with a sigh.

'So if my heart isn't strong enough, I could either become a Heartless, or my Nobody could take over and then I'd become a Heartless. Well, I really don't like my options here.' Laska strode down the corridor slowly, collecting her thoughts. The enormity of the situation hit her, and she realized just how grave it could become.

'I could die, just because of the darkness. I chose it over the light, and now it could kill me. I don't deserve to have a heart. Maybe…maybe there's a way I could give it up. My Nobody would be able to live in the light, just what I've always wanted. Even if I wouldn't realize it as a Heartless, maybe it would make my heart happy. Finally, it would be at peace, after so much pain and torture.' She sighed deeply, lungs filling with cold air.

'But what about Nexis? Does he still love me after what I did? Does he even like me? And then there's Axel. He's really nice once you get to know him. So confusing…' She held a gloved hand to her forehead, trying ward off the oncoming headache. 'How could anyone love me anymore? I've caused everyone so much pain; I deserve to become a Heartless. I guess that's it then. But first, I have a score to settle.' She teleported out of the hallway and into the Superior's office.

"Well, hello there Laska. What brings you here?" he said calmly, ignoring the enraged look clouding her face.

"Don't talk to me like that you jerk!" she snapped, angry at his nonchalance. He chuckled lightly.

"You've come to complain, I see. Well, I'm afraid there's not much I can do, it's your own fault you chose the darkness. If you become a Heartless, it's not my problem." She stood angrily, fists clenched, resisting the urge to kill him right there.

"No, you made me do it. You're the one who told me to 'trust the darkness' and that 'darkness is your friend'. Well if I become a Heartless the first thing I'll do is come after you."

"You're completely wrong, Laska. You chose the darkness a long time ago, even if your heart fought for the light. Don't you remember how you could see well in the dark even before you knew what had happened to Sora? Do you remember how many times you've questioned whether trying to reach the light was worth it? I do. I know more about the darkness than most would care to know. After all-" he paused, pulling the hood off of his head to reveal shoulder-length, flowing silver hair, an evil smile with gleaming white teeth, and catlike orange eyes.

"-it made me what I am today."