Beh…tired…I'll just get to the point…

Disclaimer: If I owned KH, BHK's name would not be Roxas…

Leon leered sharply at Cid. The two of them were in one of 2nd District's numerous alleys, filled with discarded shadows and filth. Leon was against the wall, his Gunblade perched on his shoulder like a wary crow. Cid was posed in the middle of the slim path, blocking the main entrance and exit like a guard of a prison. His spear was drawn and ready to skewer anything or anyone at any moment.

The Gunblader's eyes narrowed, crinkling the thin scar across his face. "What do you want?"

The Gummiship maker spat out his cigarette and stomped it out furiously. "You know damn well what I want! Answers!"

"About what?" Leon growled back, knowing quite well what answer would be.

"Why do you want to kill him?" Cid hissed, drawing nearer.

Leon gave him an icy stare.

"Why do you want to kill Sora?" he repeated, louder this time.

After another silence, Leon spoke up. "Because he's a threat to us all."

"Whaddya talking about?" Cid snarled.

"Either we kill him," Leon began, "Or he'll kill us."

Cid couldn't help but be taken aback by this comment. "And just what makes you think he'd do that?"

Leon gazed at him with another cold stare. "You'd just have to see for yourself."

"Well, evil or not, you'd had some nerve to go tell one of his guardians that you were gonna kill him," Cid responded.

"Donald knew, he was with me," Leon replied. "He was just too damn stubborn to admit it."

"Just what makes Sora so damn evil all of a sudden?" Cid questioned.

Suddenly the wind howled as the Master of Light past overhead, his luminance casting a brief glow on whatever happened to be around him. Not too far behind was a figure in a cloak of blackened cherry, pursuing the Master of Light from rooftop to rooftop.

Midway through one jump, a mass of darkened blue fog shrouded him, making him appear like a streaming comet as he landed on the next rooftop just across from Leon's and Cid's location. When the air carried the mist away, it wasn't Vincent the Human who stood there, but Vincent the Beast.

He bore the head of a wolf and the overbearing rib cage of a cheetah. A long, whip like tail just went over the building's edge. Red eyes beamed from the pale purple fur that was worn all over his body. With a screeching howl, he bounded on all fours after Riku once again, only this time at a much faster pace.

Leon reset his eyes on Cid. "You want to know why? Come with us then."

And with that he did several wall jumps to arrive on the roof to pursue the others.

Phase 9: Coming of the Dawn

Sora's head whipped around to look behind him. He saw nothing, but he knew what was coming. Or, more accurately, who.

"Gawrsh, what is it Sora?" Goofy asked, as the others stopped as well to wait for Sora's reply.

"You guys should get outta here," Sora advised. "He'll be here soon."

All of them knew exactly who Sora was talking about.

"No way!" Donald protested, swinging his staff around. "I ain't gonna let him kill you!"

"And just what makes you think you stand a chance against Riku?" Sora quizzed him.

"Well..." Donald trailed off. "Well I can still heal you!"

Goofy and Mickey showed no interest in leaving either.

After a brief quiet from Sora, he spoke once again, saying "Allright, you can come."

Shadows spun around Sora, with some stray black sparks striking random objects here and there, usually destroying them. The darkness attached itself to his back, forming those onyx seraph wings.

Donald jumped about five feet into the air. "I TOLD YOU TO WARN ME ABOUT THAT!" Goofy and Mickey also seemed to be taken aback.

The Master of Darkness gazed back on them with his stark golden eyes. "Sorry bout that. Meet me up at the top of the clock tower."

And with that he spread out his wings and shot up to his planned destination. The preferred location to meet the Master of Light once more.

"So he's spread his wings," Riku mumbled to no one in particular as he rushed over all the houses beneath him. The wind that was created below carried off anything from dirtied newspapers to stray cats not having quite enough weight to keep their paws on the ground as the fierce airstream charged through. He gazed up at the sky. It was a moonless night, with only the few stars above to provide natural light for the path for others to follow.

He heard an angry snarl close by. Looking down, he saw a pale purple beast bounding from rooftop to rooftop below. It laid its crimson eyes on Riku and let out a series of barks, howls, and growls, as if it expected Riku to automatically understand.

Riku only gave a confident nod to Vincent, unable to quite understand what he was trying to tell him. Even if he was the Master of Light, that didn't help him out any more with understand languages other than human.

"Hey!" someone called out from below.

Riku glimpsed behind him to see Leon dashing after him, his sword more than ready to taste blood. Not too far behind him was Cid.

"You ready?" asked Riku.

"I've been ready,' Leon answered coolly.

"CAN SOMEBODY JUST TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Cid yelled out in frustration.

His irritated plea was completely and utterly ignored.

The clock tower was rapidly approaching. He could sense it. He was there.

The Master of Light sped forward, leaving all others in the dust as he swiftly reached the face of the clock tower.

And there, waiting for him ever patiently upon the long hand of the clock, was The Master of Darkness himself; Sora, the Keyblade Master.

Sora lazily set his eyes on the one with colorless wings as he approached. He lifted himself into the air to go meet with him, summoning his tainted Keyblade to his grasp. "Couldn't have you at least waited until tomorrow?"

Riku shrugged. "Guess I could've, but oh well." He also called forth his Keyblade, the one of purity.

The Master of Light looked down below to see the King and his subjects ready to attack at Sora's signal. Donald especially seemed eager to take down anyone who dared oppose the Master of Darkness.

Not long after Riku had arrived, Vincent the beast climbed up onto the peak of the clock tower. Riding upon his back was none other than Leon. As soon as they laid foot on stable ground they glowered at their enemies, the ones not too long ago that were friends taken for granted.

Hurried steps were heard not far away, as Cid finally managed to reach the top of the tower. He came just in time to see the opponents line up on different sides; Leon and Vincent towards the outside, Mickey and his subjects near the bell of the tower.

"Ah, great, now what the hell is going on?" he said in a frustrated tone. "First you all want to kill Sora, now you want to kill the King and-'

Then he noticed Sora in all his blackened glory. The wings of the blackness, the predatory eyes of gold, the sinister aura that enshrouded his Keyblade, it could only mean one thing.

He had just laid his eyes upon the Master of Darkness.

For the longest time he just gawked at the Keyblade Master, not a single word uttered from his mouth. The cigarette had fallen to the cold floor without the least bit of notice on Cid's part.

Then it all came gushing out. Black curses of every kind, accompanied by complete disbelief. Whether all these dark condemning was targeted for Sora, the ones opposing him, fate itself, or some combination of the three none could tell. All the swears blurred together into a rowdy stream, dissolving into an undecipherable jumble of profanity. It seemed that he couldn't get enough cusses in per sentence.

After he finally had to stop to catch his breath, Leon gave him a cool stare.

"Does that answer you question?"

Cid gazed at him. "...Yeah, pretty much."

"So, whose side are you on?' Riku asked in a somewhat unfriendly tone.

Cid gave no answer.

"Well?"

"Look, I ain't on nobody's damn side yet!" Cid burst out. "I'll be getting back to ya on that once all this crap registers in my brain!"

"Then leave us at peace," Leon replied. "While we settle matters here and now." He took a fighting position, as did all the others.

"I get the message," Cid growled as he bounded down to reach the ground floor as soon as possible. This wasn't going to be pretty...