A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews! Hope ya'll enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Four - The Experiments Begin

"Where shall we begin?" Pathagor stared intently at the readouts, as Raie entered the Labratory that overlooked the patient's chamber below. Appoaching the glass wall, she placed her hand gently upon the glasswork, her eyes closing slowly.

"He is under our control now, Pathagor." She sighed, turning towards her superior. "Theres no need to perform the mind-altering operation."

"Oh?" Pathagor frowned, glancing up from the reports, his eyes burning into her soul. "Since when did this occur?"

Turning back to the overlook, Raie's eyes fluttered open, peering down at Sora and Kairi's uncounscious forms as they dreamt. "I visited Sor- I mean, the subjects earlier when you were in your study."

"I told you-"

"Pathagor, I didn't plan on doing it. In fact, I was planning to wait for you."

"You like him, don't you?" Appoaching the young heartless, Pathagor growled as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Face it, you're falling for the pawn."

"Its not like that!" Pulling away, Raie began to feel weak as she collasped to her knees on the floor. "It's..."

"Raie!" Turning for a box that lay on the control interface, Pathagor pulled out a syringe, rushing over to the teen and kneeling next to her.

"...envy." Murmured the girl as her form faded to her 'basic' form: a simplistic shadow heartless.

"Shhh..." Pathagor whispered as he jabbed the syringe into the fainted creature's arm, injecting its contents. "You overdid it, Raie."

Turning towards the door, Pathagor nodded to one of his assistants who had just entered the lab. "She'll recover. We must proceed with the experiment quickly!"

---

"Sora, no!"

"Gah!" exclaimed Riku as he bolted upright, struggling beneath the woolen blankets. Glancing around, he sighed in relief after realizing he wasn't in the castle fighting a losing battle.

"You're having nightmares, aren't you?"

Turning towards the voice, Riku's eyes focused to the darkness. "What time is it, Roxas?"

"Two in the morning. Now don't change the subject." Fiddling with his cloak, Roxas closed his eyes.

"So what if I was having a bad dream," countered Riku, kicking the covers off the bed.
"Its not like I'm the only soul in the world who gets them. Everyone has nightmares from time to time."

"Nobodies don't." Standing and walking over to the window, the nobody sighed. "Yet even if I can't experience nightmares, I can still fell them somehow from my 'other'."

Stetching, Riku couldn't help but feel some pity for the teen. Not having a heart had to have some cons to it. Somehow though, it always seemed like Roxas made the best of it, from the little conversations he had with the guy. "Sora's having nightmares, eh?"

"Yes." Turning away from the window, Roxas frowned. "Sora's fighting a losing battle."

"In other words?"

"His dreams are being manipulated from as far as I can tell. And I bet the Black Death is behind it."

"Let's hope we find him. Him and Kairi."

"We better." Turning his gaze back to the world outside, Roxas nodded to himself. "Before it's too late."

----

"Raie will recover soon enough. Now to awaken the Keyblade Master."

Twisting her head in agony, Kairi's eyes slowly opened, trying to focus. 'Where am I?' she wondered as the memories began to trickle back. 'Was I asleep again?'

She tried to sit up, but was stopped by the restraints. Turning her head towards Sora's bed, her eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her lips. 'Sora!' her mind screamed as she watched several technicians sit him up, removing the straps gently. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. It was as if her voice box was paralized.

The cloaked man from before entered the room, his features revealed. His long blonde hair cascaded down his back, pulled back in a ponytail, except for several bangs. Glasses adorned his face as well as several deep scars across his cheekbone. Dark onyx eyes seemed to sap out all light within the room as he glanced at her, then back at Sora.

"Seems the princess is awake." He chuckled as several technicians backed away cautiously. "Perfect timing, I'd say." He motioned to them, as they proceeded with removing her restraints.

Turning towards Sora, he snapped his fingers, as Raie had done previously. The teen's body seemed to twitch slightly as if racked by small convulsions as his eyes slowly opened. Grabbing his face, Sora groaned softly, murmuring something as he pulled his hands away.

Kairi wanted to scream as Sora's eyes were revealed: His once full-of-life azure eyes were now dark and cold, not to mention very dilated. He glanced around, then turned towards her.

"S-sora!" She sqeaked, finally find her voice. "Sora! It's me!"

"Go on, Keyblade Master." Chuckled Pathagor evilly, as he laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, gripping it tightly. "Its only been practically a year since you saw her."

Finding her footing after sitting up, Kairi slowly backed away. "That's not Sora!" She yelled at Pathagor, frowning. "That's not the real Sora!"

"Sure it is." Pathagor smirked. "Why, if he was a phony, how could he do this?" Snapping his fingers, Kairi watched as Sora stepped forward, summoning the Keyblade, his eyes lifeless.

Kairi felt the wall behind her as she stubbed the back of her foot on it. "Stay away from me!" she growled, her eyes narrowing as Sora appoached slowly. "What are you planning?" She shouted, slumping against the wall.

"Simple things, Princess. Think about it: I have the seventh princess plus I have the keyblade master. Two items that are necessary in order to open the door."

"Door?" Suddenly Kairi felt her rage building, feeling helpless as Sora advanced, stooping down and grabbing her by the collar, lifting her up. She gasped, struggling as she was held up in the air, her feet dangling. "Sora! Wake up! It's me!" Kairi yelped, flailing.

Pinned, Kairi felt her very own world shattering to a million pieces as Sora stared straight through her, unmoving. She stared back, her eyes pleading.

"Please Sora... come back!"

To her surprise, a single tear trickled down his cheek. 'Was he coming back to his senses?' Smiling weakly Kairi relaxed slightly, her struggle ceasing. 'There's no way someone could gain control of Sora!'

All of a sudden she saw Sora's eyes narrow as he silently dropped her, kneeing her in the gut. Grabbing her stomach as her world faded, Kairi gasped.

"Come back to me..."

(A/N: I have the next two days off! That means I'll get to churn out more chapters!)