Hooray I finally know how to put in these nice little gray lines! lol Which means it's time for a Disclaimer! w00t, lol

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Disney-related characters and/or worlds. I DO however, own the names Eoxodem, Tronahex, Kurix, Xa'kiir, and any others not yet said that have not appeared in a Kingdom Hearts game to date.

Now that that's over, on with the show! R&R as always, it makes me a happy guy! lol

Chapter 5

Second Chance

Xehanort stared into the Emptiness before him, hoping something would change. Ansem did always say I was the impatient type. I guess he was right.

It had only been a few hours since the destruction of the Keyblade Graveyard, and already Xehanort was beginning to think of what was yet to come. Xa'kiir and Kurix must be kept on a tight leash. I can't let them wander freely through the Emptiness like Eoxodem. Then of course there's the Barrier…

"Master Xehanort!" Xa'kiir's powerful voice echoed through the main chamber of Castle Oblivion, straight through Xehanort's room, and out onto the balcony. "Master Xehanort! Eoxodem has returned!"

He better not have failed, thought Xehanort as he made his way to the dining hall on the first floor of the immense castle.

Eoxodem seemed tired, standing before Xehanort with a soaked cloak and no Keyblade in sight. Kurix and Xa'kiir were in one corner of the room, quietly whispering to each other. Eoxodem was the first to speak. "Master…I…"

Xehanort was furious. "Eoxodem! I entrusted you with this task, how could you fail? Tronahex should've been nothing compared to you, and you let him get away!"

"Master I'm sorry! He was messing with my mind. It seems the King has taught him to advance his powers beyond what he could ever dream of."

"Don't give me that! You failed because you were weak, Eoxodem. Your heart is obviously too prone to remember things such as friendships with a traitor!"

"No, it's just…"

"Save it." Xehanort sighed and turned away. There was a tense silence in the room. Suddenly, Xehanort began laughing, then turned and pointed straight at Eoxodem. "You are just like that fool of the Organization, Axel! He tried once to turn on the Organization, and then befriended its only traitor. In the end, he was only remembered as being a traitor himself. Do you know what happened to him?"

Eoxodem froze with fear and stared at Xehanort. Something has a hold of him, my Master…he's never acted quite like this.

"Do you know why we need Tronahex dead, Eoxodem?"

Eoxodem looked at the floor, and then glanced back up. "He's the only other one who knows about the Barrier."

"Exactly. Tronahex knows about how to pass through the Barrier, just like my Master once did. By now, I'm sure that fool has gone and told all about it to his King, so that's just one more thing we'll need to do before we can continue."

"So who all knows the secret?" Kurix had begun to listen more intently now that Xehanort was not yelling. "I mean, who knows about the Barrier?"

Xehanort turned and looked confused, as though he thought Kurix and Xa'kiir had appeared from nowhere. "Well, there's the four of us, Tronahex, and surely the King."

"So if we just eliminate Tronahex and the King, we'll be safe, right?" Xa'kiir was speaking this time.

Xehanort looked up as an idea passed through his mind. After another long silence he looked back at the group with a smile. "That would suffice. Here are your orders." Immediately the three Chasers were in a line, all focusing on their Master. "Kurix and Xa'kiir, you two will go after the King. I know he too is a Keyblade Master, but he should be no match for both of you. Eoxodem…find and destroy Tronahex. And don't come back if you fail me again."

Eoxodem looked to the floor again as Xehanort turned to go back to his balcony. But Xehanort…Tronahex means us no harm…

"Master, wait!" Xa'kiir said. Xehanort turned and looked back to her. "What will you be doing?"

Xehanort smiled again and began to walk back upstairs. "There are two others, two Keyblade Masters, that must be dealt with for our plan to succeed. Leave them to me." And with that he was gone.