Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, as always. It is going to seem like Night of the Living Dead, because people are coming back. As to who is coming back, I can't mention it. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 14

The World that Never Was—Top of Memory's Skyscraper

Kairi:

A man with long brown hair and green eyes stood in front of us, dressed in a black coat. He was actually handsome in appearance. In his hand, he held a long scythe. I picked up a very small amount of dark energy from him.

"Marluxia, you don't want to fight us. We're not the reason you were brought back," Axel said as calmly as he could.

"Thanks for telling me that, but I figured I would take time to get you back destroying my garden a few years ago!"

"That wasn't my fault!"

"Like hell it was!"

Marluxia lifted his staff to attack…

I blinked.

All of a sudden, he was behind Axel, taking a slice out of his back. Axel was propelled off of the edge of the building as a result. Marluxia turned towards me with a soft smile on his face. If you ignored the first attack, you would think he was harmless. But he was anything but that.

"Firaga," I muttered.

Uttering those words caused a powerful gust of wind….and then Marluxia exploded in flames, knocking him over the edge as well. Axel climbed back onto the building and shook his head.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll be okay for now."

Marluxia appeared again, this time he was floating in mid air. With a feral smile, he extended his hand. A force I simply can't describe slammed into us. I was propelled into the side of another building. Because I was sure that the fall could kill me, I dug into the side with all of my might. I ended up sliding just a little, but I was scared out of my mind. I didn't see where Axel landed. I could only hope he was okay.

In the meantime, Marluxia was closing in on me. A pillar of fire shot up from the ground towards him. The Organization member disappeared.

Okay…where did he go?

Before I could turn my head to investigate, Marluxia appeared right in front of me and swung his scythe right at my hands. I let go of the building…and left behind yet another Firaga spell. There was no way in hell that I would survive this.

"I got you!" Axel shouted.

I turned my head just as he jumped away from the building. He caught me and landed on the ground with a fiery thud.

"Thank you," I whispered gratefully.

Axel nodded and set me down. Marluxia appeared in front of us, scythe in both hands. His face was slightly flushed almost as if he had been burnt. Perhaps he had taken some damage. Marluxia lifted his scythe. Axel jumped in front of me to shield me.

No, he's going to get hurt again!

Without hesitation, I jumped in front of him, arms out wide. Marluxia reappeared in front of me, scythe raised to strike. As it neared my body, it seemed to slow down…

…Until suddenly, it stopped.

What was going on?

I touched the tip of the weapon and watched in wonder as it shattered in front of my eyes. I blinked. Everything seemed to return to normal speed. Marluxia flew backwards into the street. Pieces of his scythe clattered to the ground in front of me. Axel moved out from behind me and immediately closed in to attack the fallen Organization member. I turned away, not bothering to watch.

"Kairi."

That wasn't Axel's voice. I glanced around, trying to put the name to the face. My eyes caught a black figure standing on the rooftop.

Who was that?

"Who are you…?" I asked.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt a small twinge. I hadn't forgotten about my bond with Sora…

Instead of feeling emptiness there, I felt…

"Now you're getting somewhere."

Sora…?

"Sora…?"

"Why don't you come to the castle, Kairi? Come find me."

Something told me that this was all wrong. But I couldn't dispute the bond in the back of my head. The figure turned and vanished into the night air.

"Kairi?"

Oh, Axel!

I turned around. Axel was staring at me with a pained and concerned look in his eyes.

"Curaga," I whispered.

He groaned as the bells appeared above him, showering him in curative magic. The spell faded after a minute or so.

"Did you see something?" He asked.

"Sora. I think I saw him."

"You saw him."

"I felt him there in the back of my mind. But I don't know whether it is truly him."

"We should head to the castle, maybe he is there."

TWTNW—The Castle that Never Was

Normal (Third Person Point of View):

The former king Mickey watched as the two intruders started towards the castle. Everything was going according to plan. Sora had successfully baited Kairi into coming to the castle.

"I told the Chilly Academic and the Savage Nymph to be ready for them," a soft voice announced.

Mickey turned to face his new companion, the former Keyblade Master. Sora stared ahead with emotionless, dull amber eyes.

"I want you to scour the dark realm. I have a feeling someone will try to help those two."

"Yes…Master."

Kairi:

We walked into the castle that used to belong to the Organization. Months ago, we were here to stop Sora from destroying everyone. Months ago, everywhere we went in this world was a dead body to show his anger and frustration. I had to end it all then. Would I have to end it here again? Axel seemed a little unsettled as well. His friend had been murdered here. The memories must assault him with every step.

"Oh, look! It's Axel and that girl!"

"Larxene," Axel hissed as he drew his chakrams.

Larxene walked in view, with more than a few kunai in her hands. Behind her, stood a man with long brown hair. The floor beneath his feet was frozen solid. He was the Nobody I had sensed earlier. Axel called him Vexen.

"You don't look happy to see me, Axel," Larxene said in a sing-song voice.

"I'm not," Axel replied flatly.

I think that we were in for a long fight. Larxene threw her kunai at the both of us with a chuckle. Axel grunted and threw his chakrams forward. It went a few feet before exploding into a wall of fire that blocked the kunai.

"Kairi, go! I can take care of these two!" Axel shouted.

I shook my head no. If I left him behind, Vexen and Larxene would tear him apart.

"No, I want to help."

Seconds later the wall had been constructed, Larxene charged through and tackled Axel to the ground. The fire wall vanished instantly and I was left with Vexen. Vexen lifted his hand…and the air grew cold around me. Before I could move, my body was encased in ice. Larxene flew past us and into the wall with Axel hot on her trail. Mentally, I began preparing a Firaga spell as Vexen drew near.

"Such an excellent specimen. Almost like that Sora kid. I think I'll take you alive."

Like hell you will.

I released the spell from my hand, pouring more and more energy in it. The ice instantly vaporized from the power. Vexen backed away as I poured more energy into the spell, which forced it to expand. Another scent drifted up my nose. One that was very unfamiliar. Like the earlier bloodlust, it left me in a wonderful, powerful haze. I stared at Vexen who was still backing away slowly.

His face showed no emotion, but his eyes did. Fear danced behind the brown irises.

That was this scent…fear. I like it…

I finally let the energy go…

The energy slammed into Vexen, throwing him across the room. I took off after him. When he finally stopped sliding, I was upon him, claws ready. The scent left me hungry and…violent. For the next few minutes, I tore Vexen apart and lost myself in the haze of heat and hunger.