Author's Note: I forgot about the bloody action. But not anymore! I present to you an action packed chapter just to wet your appetite for blood and fighting. The next chapter will have more violence…I guess.

Enjoy.

Chapter 10

Hollow Bastion

1:24 P.M.

Kairi:

Riku decided that it would be a lot better if we relocated to another world. Sora agreed rather reluctantly after some coaxing from me. In the meantime, I was honing my new magical power with Daisy's help. It just seemed like the right thing to do. We had to disguise Sora in order to gain entry to the world. I could sense his frustration, his desire and the insanity. Axel said that I was helping him just a little.

Once we got into a room in the inn, everyone went their separate ways. Out of boredom, I went to find Axel. He was standing out on the balcony, staring out at the castle in the distance.

"Hey, Axel," I greeted.

"Hey Kairi. You should be getting some rest."

The only thing stopping me from sleeping was Sora. His emotions kept filtering into my head.

"I'm not really tired. Where's Riku and Daisy?"

"Over in the castle talking to Ansem the Wise."

I nodded.

"Have you seen Sora?"

"Actually no. It would do well for him to not be seen here."

Sora:

I didn't want to follow Riku and Daisy to the castle. I had nothing to say to any of them. I didn't want to stay in the hotel either. My restlessness was setting Kairi on edge. I didn't doubt that I was still affecting her even as I sat on the bailey. My thoughts shifted over to the information Riku told me last night. Yen Sid and Mickey knew about my clothes. They still sent me off to stop the Nobodies, hoping that my spirit would have kept it balanced.

I wanted nothing more than to rip Mickey into pieces again. It seems like I would get another chance soon.

Maybe.

I took in a small gulp of air and leaned back against the rocks. The lazy afternoon sun bathed my pale face.

This felt good.

"Bastard!"

As soon as I heard the voice, I sat up abruptly. Seconds later, I felt something wedge itself into my back. I swallowed my scream and turned around.

Nothing.

No one.

No one as far as my eyes could see. I sniffed the air. I caught a whiff of something that would piss off my anti-existence: Nobody. It didn't smell like Axel. This was slightly different. The difference is what worried me.

"What's the matter, Sora? Can't see me?"

Wonderful.

I craned my ears as much as I could. The rustling of clothing caught my ears. I shot into motion, not really having a destination. I just felt like I needed to move. As I moved, I heard small thuds sound all around me. Someone was using projectile weapons. I stopped once I reached the wall. Seconds later, something hit my chest. I once again swallowed the scream and looked at what hit me.

It was a shuriken. Only one person used shurikens….Yuffie…

"Yay, I got in another hit!"

A girl appeared at the other end of the path. The pain from both wounds was melding together. I was used to pain, but this was starting to affect me a lot more.

Shit…I should have gotten more rest.

"So this is revenge, eh?" I asked.

"Don't get so cocky. I can land a lot more on that body of yours!"

Ignoring my pain, I summoned power to my hands and released it. The sky immediately darkened and lightning crashed down on Yuffie in a wide arc. I reached behind me and pulled the shuriken out of my back as she started dodging lightning strikes. I took off in a run, heading straight for her. Yuffie managed to turn around, but not before I cut a line across her chest with her own weapon.

The ninja stepped back and kicked me in the stomach forcefully. I stumbled backwards and clutched at my chest wound. Yuffie recovered from my previous attack and launched another kick to my chest. I hit the ground roughly and wheezed.

"Poor baby. I'm going to make everything better!"

Kairi:

Pain danced through our link forcing me to hiss out loud. What's going on? Sora was in trouble somehow and he needed my help.

"Kairi…are you okay?" Axel called from outside.

"No, something's wrong with Sora. We've got to find him now!"

Sora:

I latched onto Yuffie's shoulder, digging my claws in. Out of desperation, I had forced myself halfway into Heartless form. I was on the brink of exhaustion and massive blood loss. I was determined to kick her ass for all the shurikens she wedged in my body (and that I had to pluck out by hand). Yuffie tore away from me, but not before losing a chuck out of her shoulder. With a cry, she kicked me again, which sent me flying onto the front path in front of the castle.

Riku:

Daisy and I were walking out of the castle as Sora landed on the path. He looked really bad…like he had been in a fight. Sora stumbled back up to his feet, breathing heavily.

"You tried to run away? No fair!"

I didn't recognize that voice at all. A woman walked into view dressed in a black coat. She held a giant shuriken in her hand, ready to throw.

"Sora…" I started.

"I-I'm...okay…" was his answer.

That didn't sound okay. I needed to help him. Before I could move, Sora extended his hand. The air suddenly turned cold. Daisy whimpered and backed up behind me. Black vapor oozed out from Sora's skin. He was preparing a spell. The same black vapor that was oozing out of his skin surrounded the girl. It wove itself around her arms tightly, restraining her. I glanced at Sora's face. It was extremely red and his eyes were black. All of a sudden, the vapor around the girl exploded into huge balls of flames that rapidly expanded to cover her body.

Both Sora and the girl screamed for what seemed like forever. Then it stopped and the smoke drifted away. All that was left of the girl was tattered pieces of cloth. Sora now had black streaks running down his face, but he was, otherwise, okay. Or so I thought.

"You bastard!"

In a blink of an eye, Sora was being impaled by a glowing blue/white sword that was being held by a guy in a black coat. The guy, satisfied with his handiwork, backed off and faced us.

"Daisy, see if you can help, Sora. I need some exercise."

I drew my keyblade and started forward.

Kairi:

I was actually out running Axel as we made our way up to the front of the castle. Sora was in a state of agony and that pooled over to my mind. When we reached the front, a gruesome sight assaulted us. Sora was on the ground, clutching at a blade lodged in his chest. He made a terrible raspy, gurgling sound that was accented with blood oozing out of the side of his mouth. Daisy was by his side, but whether or not she was trying to help was another thing.

Riku was nowhere to be found. But I didn't care. Sora was badly hurt. I ran over and knelt down next to him.

"Sora…what happened?" I asked.

He looked at me, eyes half-lidded.

"Kai…ri…"

I had to heal him. I grasped the hilt of the sword and pulled it out. Sora let out a raw scream. I ignored it and pressed my hand over the wound.

"Curaga."

That word alone sent a shiver down my spine as it started to work on his body quickly. Within seconds, his wounds closed and he began to slump over onto me. Realization of what I just did hit me hard as Sora leaned against me, breathing heavily. He almost died and I saved him. I felt him dying earlier. It was strange, feeling him separate slowly from me.

"Kai…ri…thank…you…" Sora whispered.

"Is he okay?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. Where's Riku?"

"He was fighting some guy and he disappeared in the dark realm."

Axel drew his chakrams.

"I better go see if he needs help," He declared.

"No need. I'm back."

I turned around and saw Riku stepped out of a dark portal.

"You're safe," Daisy commented softly.

"Yeah, I am, but I think we need to let Merlin know about the growing situation."

"Not before I help Sora. He needs to feed in order to regain his strength," I said softly.

Riku gave me an incredulous stare. I gave him a determined glare.

"Fine. We meet at Merlin's house in a couple of hours."