The following morning Sora woke up to be greeted by the faint glow of the sun. Standing up he stretched out, hearing several of his bones flex and pop. All this battling and adventuring was starting to wear him down. But he had to get going once more to save his friends and get out of the castle. But something lurked in the back of his mind.

Vanessa, the girl from last night. Who was she? Why was she the only person who existed in this world?

More questions to add to the ever-growing cauldron. Sora wanted to kick himself for not asking Axel for a hint. It seemed like he was on his own now.

But he wasn't. Donald, Jiminy, and Goofy were with him. With their friendship he was sure to get anything done.

Sora set off on waking up his friends. It took everyone's combined effort to wake up Goofy, which resulted in Donald just casting thunder upon him.

"Come on guys, lets just get out of here and fine someplace to relax."

"Relax? Why's that?"

A loud growling noise was shared amongst the four. Donald laughed nervously.

"Oh yeah.. that…"

They headed off, quite set on getting out of the world and closer to Riku and Namine. But there was something that they didn't count on.

Without a warning Sora stopped his friends and drew his keyblade out. He began to scan the murky horizon.

Sensing that something was wrong Goofy and Donald held up their respective weapons. They inched closer to their friend to ensure all of their safety.

"What is it Sora?" Jiminy asked.

"I don't know… something's… waiting out there."

"A heartless?" Goofy said peeking from behind his shield.

"I don't know…"

3487958795478954

The shadows eyes opened dully. It was right; a nights sleep had erased it of the strange feelings it had felt. Its once muddled brain was now clear. And with clear thoughts it knew what to do.
Kill Sora

It picked itself up and glowered at the horizon. Sora was not too far ahead. And it knew that Sora was aware of its presence. But...

Now or never! Teach him a lesson for killing you before hand!

The shadow gave out a howl before charging full speed across the sand.

5478658458

The four waited tensely in the stillness. Each one flinching whenever they heard a noise, whether it was the click of a chain or the blurb of the water.

And then it came.

Sora was at a loss for words at the monstrosity that befell upon him. The thing was chimera, as if someone had gotten bored and stuck various animal parts together. Its hind legs were long and frog like. It had three dorsal fins upon its back with various tubes running along its back. It had flippers above its hind legs. Long bony arms dangled from the torso. Its hands were clawed and armored with a crimson that shone like blood. It had eight tails, each one thrashing around violently. Its head was the most frightening feature though. It was snake-like and had cat ears. A golden spike protruded from its head and many other golden spikes ran along its back. It had red gleaming eyes and where a mouth should have been there was a mechanical jaw. It was galloping along at an alarming speed.

"THE SHADOW!"

All three of them prepared for combat. And before Sora took his first swing he heard a voice that shot through his head like a bullet.
KEYBEARER!

The intensity of the voice caused Sora to recoil and loose its footing. The shadow took the opportunity to swipe the confused youth. Sora let out a yell as the claws slashed at him. Tumbling over he held up the keyblade to ward off any more melee strikes. Donald rushed to the aid of his fallen friend.

"Thundaga!"

The shadow gave out another howl as the lightning hit it. It backed away before scowling at the three fighters. It clicked its jaw disapprovingly before turning around and lashing with its tails. Goofy knocked one of the tails back with his shield before getting blind sided by another one. He let out a yelp as he hit the sand. Seeing that the shadow was now occupied with Goofy Sora took the chance to scramble up and hold his ground. Donald then casted another spell.

"Blizzarra!"

The chilling wind struck two of the shadows flailing tails and encased them within blocks of ice. They fell to the ground with a thud.

Unfortunately that hindered more than helped. Upon seeing part of its body handicapped the shadow went into a full frenzy. It opened its mouth and electricity poured out in a torrential beam. The fact that it began to flail its head around didn't help either.

The three scattered to avoid the deadly beam. Goofy shouted to his comrades over the chaos.

"Guys! What're we gonna do!?"

Sora had to dodge roll as them beam came within knicking distance. Running back up to speed he then shouted back.

"We've got to get outta here that's what! That thing's way to powerful!"

No one could disagree there. The three shot across the sands until they were face to face with a towering blue cliff. Looking over their shoulders they saw the shadow struggling after them, its frozen tails proving to be a hindrance.

"Come on Sora!" Donald squawked, "Find the door and lets get outta here!"

Soras eyes scanned the cliff, and no sooner did he find the green coral door that they were searching for. Racing over to it he began to fumble with the map cards to open to the door.

"Sora!"

Looking back once more Sora saw that the shadow was now banging its tails into the ground. Each thud shattered off more ice.

"Hurry!"

Sora shot back to working with the cards. Almost falling over he found the ones required to open the door and held them above his head.

"Unlock!"

To his relief the door opened and the three dashed inside. Once out in the castle hallway Donald shouted again.

"Sora! It's coming!"

And indeed it was. Having freed itself from the ice the shadow had once again begun its charge. Acting on instinct Sora held out his keyblade. A light issued from the tip and shot out at the door. A split second later the door once again reappeared and a loud thud was heard from the other side. Not long after a series of pounds came from the other side. Sora and company held up their weapons to ensure their safety if the door broke down.

The pounding became lighter.

It stopped.

The three let out sighs of relief and collapsed onto the marble floor. Donald rubbed his feet and mumbled.

"What was that thing Sora?"

"I dunno.. it could have been the shadow that Jiminy was talking about."

A thought raced through his head. What about Vanessa? Was she okay?

There were more important things to worry about. As Sora helped Donald magic some food to where they were he once again heard the disdained and tortured voice
Next time…

56574868

As Namine finally healed the last of Riku Replicas wounds he suddenly shot up and drew his Soul Eater.

"What's wrong?!"

Riku Replica remained silent; he then let his sword fall to his side.

"The shadow that you mentioned. The one that I fought. I don't know why, but I sense that Sora has just encountered it. He managed to get away from it though…"

Upon hearing the news Namine took Riku Replicas hand.

"Do you want to go to him? To help him?"

"But," Riku Replica wavered, "Vexen said he'd kill you if you didn't follow his commands."

"And you promised me that I wouldn't get hurt."

Riku Replica was silent. Indeed he had made that promise. But Vexen was much more powerful, if he by chance caught them… But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel… sympathetic towards Soras situation, as well as Namine.

Perhaps he shouldn't obey the rules? In order to do the right thing?

"Alright then Namine, I'll keep my promise to you. I'll follow you and protect you wherever you go."

Namine smiled at Riku Replicas answer. Riku Replica then helped pull her up and they looked into the door that led to the main halls of castle Oblivion.

"Sora is waiting for us…"

And with that the two ran off to create their own story.

3590659856

As Vexen toiled away with his machines Lorenzo watched uninterestedly from her "perch". Apparently waiting to upgrade his prized weapon required her to be strapped into and even plugged into several of his morbid mechanisms.

"Vexen, you've already made me powerful enough to deal with Larxene, surely Marluxia won't be much more of a threat?"

She wasn't answered as Vexen continued to jot down alien words upon his research paper. Craning her neck over Lorenzo used her almost equal intellect to decipher the writings Vexen was so absorbed in.

Lorenzos power is far too great. She is, indeed, my greatest creation. But could she also be my greatest downfall? She demanded a name; she seems to be one step ahead of me in my plans. Perhaps when all three threats are snuffed out she will then come for the rest of us. It is a frightening possibility. But yet she seems obliged only to follow my orders, and is not rebellious. Perhaps a little work from Namine will help-

"What do you want Namine to do to me Vexen?"

Vexen flinched from the question. The coding he was using was only known by him, well, Lorenzo as well now. He cursed under his breath before giving an answer.

"Maybe I can have Namine take your memories and make a new one. Perhaps I can give you a new identity all together. I don't know why I wish to do this, but perhaps it is for your own good…"

"….Vexen…. why am I strapped to this machine?"

"… I was planning on giving you a few enhancements for when you fight Marluxia. You can hover correct?"

"Yes."

"You can only hover as high as you jump. So I've decided to give you something that will aid you incase Marluxia uses his mecha against you…"

He got up and filed the papers that he had been working on. He came alongside the machine that Lorenzo was buckled into. Without a word he began to input commands and various codes.

The machine hummed to life. Before Lorenzo could even struggle two plugs jabbed into her back on the shoulder blades, cutting the skin. Lorenzo gave out an unearthly scream; it made Vexens hairs stand on head.

It sounded like three different screams.

Soon the machine died down and the plugs were pulled from Lorenzos back. She gave out strained and labored breathing from suddenly being used as a human voodoo doll. As Vexen unhooked her restraints she glared at him.

"What was that for?"

Vexen smiled as he helped Lorenzo down from the machine. Looking at her back he was surprised to see the skin had already healed. But now there were two gaping holes in her cloak.

"I only gave you a little more power Lorenzo. You'll learn how to harness it when the time comes."

"Only if you don't plug things into me again."

Vexen didn't reply to her. Instead he helped her into his second rate cot and rested her head upon the pillow.

"You're obviously weak from that upgrade. Rest here for right now. I'll be back soon."

Lorenzo remained silent. She only buried her face into the pillow and sighed. Vexen guess that was her way of saying "Okay". So he left without question.

4585489568795689

"So you're still here?"

Larxene looked over her shoulder to find Vexen leaning on the doorway. She shrugged at the question.

"So?"

"You get sick when you're alone."

"Then you must be near death Icy"

Vexen gave a secret smile. Heh, the girl was still spunky even with the pandemonium going on.

"I've found a way around it I suppose, being a scientist and all."

He walked to Larxenes side and leaned over slightly.

"Perhaps you should join me once in awhile. It's healthy to learn as much as you can when you're still young."

"If you're planning on getting me in bed you're failing horribly at it." Larxene snapped.

Vexens smile only lengthened.

"Getting a little sensitive are we Larxene? I really can't blame you."

Larxene felt an angry red fly across her cheeks when she heard the statement.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" She shouted as she bolted up to Vexens face.

She was met by a Cheshire cat smile.

"Calm down for once Larxene."

It was the first time Larxene came to realize how taller Vexen was. The man must have been at least a head taller than her. And what she had stated the night before was true. The man needed to take care of himself more often. His sunken cheeks and thin straight hair hid the youth underneath. Looking at him more she could see past the mask that covered him. In fact, what she saw was a man that wanted to protect her, never betray her, worth more than the rest of the Organization put together.

She felt his hands encircle her, draw her close. She rested her head upon his chest, listening to the cold drumming of his heart. A part of her was lost to confusion, they were nobodies, they weren't supposed to have hearts.. but, that didn't matter anymore. She felt safe with him. It was as if she was put into a birdcage and locked from anything that could hurt her.

This was the man that she… loved?

She looked up into his glossy eyes. From within those orbs was darkness, a sweet blissful darkness that she wanted. That she desired.

"Vexen…" she stood on the tips of her toes, she planned right here and now to kiss him...

"Well what do we have here?"

The two bolted over to the other doorway. Marluxia stood with his scythe drawn. His eyes gleamed with an angry glow.

"Get away from her Vexen."

Vexen let go of Larxene and stepped back. He summoned his shield and held it up.

"What of it Marluxia?"

"Axel was right…"

Marluxia began to step forward. His hands were gripping the scythe in such a manner that it would look like it would snap in two.

Larxene let her knifes drop into her hands. This was going to be a fight, she knew it, and there was a snowballs chance in Hell that she was going to back down.

Well maybe not.

She saw a glance from Vexen. The darkness of those orbs shot right through her.

iLeave Larxene, leave this fight to me, you'll get your chance soon enough…/i

Larxene remained silent; looking between the crazed Marluxia and the concerned Vexen only left her with one choice.

"CATCH!"

Living up to her title of lightning Larxene bolted a single knife at Marluxia before fading to refuge. Marluxia cursed as he stumbled back before taking the knife out of his torso and throwing it to the side. Vexen took the opportunity to unleash one of his attacks. He let his free hand shoot a blast of ice element at the ground. At once large icicles began to erupt from the ground and surround Marluxia.

Marluxia gave out another yell as he brought his scythe around to cut down the icicles. Holding up his scythe he counter-attacked, sending waves of razor sharp Sakura petals at his foe. Vexen held his shield up; he heard the petals scraping and cutting at his savior, and he occasionally flinched as a wayward petal struck his cloak and legs. He then brought the shield around and swiped the remaining petals to the side.

"Hmph, no wonder you're number eleven, that didn't even hurt!"

Marluxias eyes flared up once again as he swiped his scythe around in a series of dance moves. The death scythe beam struck Vexen head on and he went careening against the wall. Vexen gave out a howl of pain at the attack, but regained his footing and held his ground.

"Come and get me!"

Marluxia ran towards Vexen in a fury. Charging like a mad bull and swinging his scythe around proved to be an intimidating sight, but Vexen had a trick up his sleeve. Once again he shot down another ice element. But instead of causing icicles to appear a sleet of ice was conjured at Marluxias feet. Marluxia gave out a yelp of surprise as he went tumbling around and fell on his back.

Vexen lowered his shield and walked to Marluxias side.

"I win. I hope this taught you something on how to respect your elders…"

But before he could taunt the downed unknown longer a searing pain of heat struck him in the back. The force was so strong Vexen went sailing into the opposite side of the room. A sickening thud and breaking of crystal was heard as he hit the wall and a portion of his shield shattered. Looking back to see his attacker Vexen let out a faint gasp.

"A-Axel!"

Axel stood there with his arms crossed, and a smug look upon his face.

"Yeah, just trying to clean up the garbage that Marluxia missed."

He held up a hand and within it grew a series of dancing flames. The flames began to increase in number and intensify in temperature. Even being on the other side of the room Vexen could feel the heat dance upon his face. It was Axels Fire Tooth.

"Say nighty night Vexen."