Here we go: Chapter Seventeen

From here on in to the rest of the trilogy, the chapters will primarily switch between the Org. members and Ned's group. It'll work.

There are about… three, four chapters left. Maybe five. And one's a gigantic fight scene. That's in two chapters.

Here you go. Enjoy.

Chapter Seventeen: Interference

The moment the door closed, Ned felt a moment of panic in him. Were they trapped in there, their escape route locked? But it was quickly dashed by Corey's fascination.

"Damn, look at this place," he said, "You think the owners are compensating for something? This could fit the entire city and still have room for more."

"Sure, it's big. But look at the location, it's crappy," Ren argued.

"Alright, guys," Ned snapped them back to it, "What do we wanna do?"

"Personally, I think we should leave," said Ren, "But I know that's not gonna happen, so… let's explore."

"Split up," Corey added, "We split up and search. That way, we can cover more ground and find more clues. That work?"

"I dunno…" Ned looked uneasy, "I don't think it's a good idea, splitting up."

"Fine, you two stay together. I'm gonna go explore," his buddy began walking off.

"Corey-" but he stopped Ren before she could continue.

"Alright; if anything happens, meet up here. Cool?" he said.

Ned and Ren exchanged looks. This was such a bad idea. They should stick together. Going off by themselves was suicide, in this place where anything lurked around the corners. But Corey was insistent that he would be alright. Ned nodded.

"Alright," he said, "We'll catch you later."

Corey waved. "See ya on the other side." And then he was gone for view.

Ned looked at Ren. She looked back. Inside, she already knew exactly what he was gonna say.

"It's OK," she said, "If you wanna go, go."

"Ren, I need to find the answers-"

"And I'm not gonna stop you."

There was a collective pause. Then Ren ran forward and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry for how I've been lately," she told him.

"It's OK," his arms went around her.

"Be careful."

"You too," he said softly.

Neither of them wanted to let go, for fear it would be the last time they would be together. But eventually, her hold slackened, he let her go, and he walked away, away to find the truth, and she stayed behind.

And that was the last time the three friends were together for a long, long time.

-----

"That's him?"

All the Organization members, minus Dexn, were standing on the perch above the main hall, observing their three intruders. Xadmain stared intently at Ned.

"That's him," Drexan nodded.

"So that's Dexn's other half?" Naxst cocked his head, "Huh… yeah, I guess I do see the resemblance."

"How ironic that he comes to us when we're looking for him," Paxt smirked, "Oh, the humanity."

"And he brought a couplea friends," added Moxt, "Ooh, this oughta be fun."

"How are we going to go about this, Xadmain?" asked Xhrics.

"Moxt and Naxan, I'll leave the girl to you," Xadmain said, "Drexan, you'll come in and finish the job. Put her out. That'll lure him back here."

"Then what?" asked Naxan.

"Take her to the Forgotten Fortress."

The Forgotten Fortress. Their very own Castle Oblivion. Perfect.

"As for the other two," Xadmain looked back down, "I'll take care of them personally."

"Just like you. You always get all the fun," Xoej muttered.

"The rest of you are on stand-by. Let's get this done."

The members began filing out. Moxt smirked to Naxan and waved his hand towards the girl.

"Shall we then?" he asked.

"Yes," she grinned wickedly, "We shall."

-----

Ren nervously twirled her hair and picked at the hem of her shirt, simultaneously, waiting for the two to return. Her nerves got more and more shot with each passing millisecond.

She didn't know what she'd do without those two. Corey was what kept her sane throughout the days. Her comforter, her shoulder to cry on. If he got killed, she'd probably end up in the grave with him in a matter of minutes.

And Ned… he was like a brother to her. More than that. She had known him practically her whole life. What if something happened, and she never got to tell him she-

They'll come back, she told herself. But when? And how changed would they be? Minutes turned to hours and still no sign of them.

"Maybe…" she finally said to herself, "Maybe waiting's just not good enough."

"My thought exactly."

The voice so startled her, she jumped about a foot in the air. She whirled around to see who it was.

A man, a little older than herself, was leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He had long, shaggy black hair that almost went over his eyes and a scruffy scrubble, minus moustache. He was dressed all in dark, from his boots to his long trench coat, and his eyes were hidden behind dark glasses. He smirked at her.

"You gotta go out and explore if you wanna find what you're looking for," he told her in a city-boy accent, "Got that written down, Hot Stuff?"

"Who the hell are you and what the hell do you want?" Ren demanded, picking up a bat that was just randomly lying around, though why, she wasn't sure, and held it in a defensive position.

"Oh, ya found it, good. Dex was lookin' all over for that stupid thing," the man said, nodding towards the bat.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" she screamed at him.

He randomly started chuckling. She was really starting to be scared. It was a kinda high-pitched little chuckle.

"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes, you," she said.

"Wait, wait wait, lemme get this straight," he got up off the wall and slowly advanced towards her, "You barge into my castle, threaten me with my bat, and then demand my name?"

"Yes!"

"Heheheh. Sorry, schweetheart, but this charade works the other way around," he said, "Hows about you tell me your name and then I might tell ya mine."

She glared at him for the longest time, but finally answered, "My name's Ren."

The guy's smile never left. "Well, Ren, hows about you put the bat down and we talks a little bit," he said, sounding awfully mafia like.

"Not until you tell me who you are and where my friends are," Ren insisted, preparing to throw the bat at his head.

He sighed.

"I hate it when negotiations go sour," he said sullenly.

That did it. This guy just pissed her off way too much. Ren lifted the bat, trying to make up her mind whether to charge or just throw it at him when something grabbed it.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you," a female voice said.

BAM! Ren felt a stunning blow to the back of her neck, causing her to collapse to the ground. She heard the bat go flying and hit the back wall. Feebly, she turned to see her assailant.

She was dressed in the same way as her companion, and around the same age, too. Her black hair went down just past her shoulders, and she walked with an elegant posture. She stood next to her cohort and stared down at her.

"Eesh," the man winced, "Sure you didn't do unnecessary damage there, Nax?"

"I'm pretty sure she'll live," the woman answered.

Ren glared up at the two of them.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"If ya must know," the man snapped his fingers and twisted them into a sideways peace sign, "Name's Moxt."

"Naxan," the woman answered, almost bored.

"Well, now that we're all on first name basis," Moxt snapped his fingers, "Let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

All of a sudden, four white creatures appeared, much like the one Ned had seen, the one they had followed here. But these four were different. They were bigger, each carrying two magnums with an ammo belt draped around them. They looked menacingly at the girl.

"Wha-?"

"Like my Mercenary Nobodies?" Moxt asked, "My own personal recipe. Only I can control them, they go by my voice. Example: No. 2, do a little Texan gunslinger action."

The second "Nobody" suddenly began twirling the magnums in its… not hands, but whatever those things that served as them were. It twirled them fast one way, then fast another, then aimed up and fired a few rounds into the sky.

"That'll do," insisted Moxt, and his crony obeyed and stood back at attention.

Ren was absolutely horrified now. Not only were these people holding her against her will, but to top it off… they weren't normal.

"What are you people?" she demanded.

"Wish we knew the answer to that ourselves," said Naxan, suddenly sobered up and sullen. Moxt's smile faded and he sighed.

Naxan stepped forward towards Ren. The girl lifted her hands in defense, but the other girl just smiled.

"Look at you," she said, "Such a beautiful girl… you must have the boys all over you."

Ren gulped.

"No, I… I really don't," she said softly, "Boys don't even notice me."

"Oh, I think someone does."

She looked up. "Who?"

"A friend," answered Naxan, "Actually, two friends. Both hide their feelings, but they cannot deny them."

"Ned and Corey?" Ren didn't believe her, "You're lying. They... they only see me as their friend. Like a sister."

"That's a pretty screwed up love triangle then, if yer like family," Moxt shuddered.

"I understand," Naxan almost whispered to Ren, "I'm in the exact same position. I love one, but he only sees me as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less."

Here, even Moxt raised a questioning eyebrow. His friend continued.

"My position, however, is a tad bit different than yours," she went on, "After all…" she leaned in and whispered this last sentence; a sentence that made Ren's eyes go wide:

"Can those with no hearts still love?"

The young girl jumped back, startled. She eyed them nervously.

"Y-You're joking, right? No hearts- of course you have hearts, you're right here, breathing-"

"We're breathing," said Naxan, "But our hearts aren't beating. And that's because… we don't have any."

"Fact is, gorgeous," Moxt shrugged, "We're heartless… well, no, we're Nobodies, but… aw, screw it, you get the picture."

The world was spinning around her. This was too much. White creatures and castles in the middle of nowhere and two people insisting they were "Nobodies" (seriously, how emo can you get?)- where were the others? She wanted out. Now.

"Let me go," she insisted, starting to cry now. She was really scared now.

"I'm afraid not," said Naxan, "Not an extraordinary girl like yourself."

"What are you talking about? I'm the nobody, I'm NOTHING! Just let me go home!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

"'Fraid it ain't up to us," Moxt nodded behind her, "'s up to him."

She turned around to find a third trench coat man, with a shaved head and an evil smile.

Her scream was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.

-----

Ned closed one of the many books this library had to offer. Finally, it all was a little clearer now.

He had stumbled upon this place not long after splitting up with Ren and figured it was his best chance. Now he had a good idea.

Those white things were called "Nobodies." They were the disembodied remains of those who had lost their hearts. They seemed quite intelligent, but had no emotions; or rather, expressed emotions, but felt incomplete. They were mere puppets to a higher order, one that, no matter how hard he had looked, could not find the identity of. They were dezians of twilight, neither light nor dark, belonging to neither.

This answered a lot; what they were and all that. But he was still confused. Why were they looking for him? Why did they want him? What purpose could a seventeen year old boy fresh out of a coma be to a creature that was alive but technically wasn't alive?

As he sat pondering, all of a sudden he heard an ear-shattering scream coming from the main hall. That didn't need to be his clue to who it was; he had heard that scream all too often, whenever he or Corey wanted to scare her-

"REN!"

How long had he been away? Minutes, hours? It didn't matter. Ren was in trouble. He had to save her.

He ran off towards the entrance.

Hoping against hope that she was still alive.

-----

The three Organization members stood over the unconscious girl. She laid straight, her arms at her side, her eyes closed.

"Not bad, Drexy," said Moxt, "What'd ya do?"

"I simply hacked into her mind momentarily," answered Drexan, "and put her mind in a state of temporary stasis. When she wakes up, her mind powers will be unblocked."

"Just like that?" Naxan asked skeptically.

"Just like that."

"So what do we do with her now?" asked Moxt.

"Leave her. Wait until Xadmain has Ned where he wants, then we transport her to the Fortress," Drexan explained.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Naxan asked.

"Positive," Drexan nodded, "Get going."

He warped out, leaving the two younger members alone with the girl.

"That was fun," he said, "You're a damn good actor."

"I learn from the best," she replied.

"What were you talkin' about earlier? The whole 'lovin' the guy who didn't love ya back' thing?"

"Oh! Uh… just remembering something from my past, you know."

That wasn't the truth, but he seemed to accept it, simply shrugging it off.

"Aiight, well, we'd better get going."

Moxt warped off. Naxan stared at where he had left, then looked back at the sleeping girl and sighed.

"If you only knew," she whispered.

And with that, she warped off.

That closes the door on them for now. Don't worry, they'll pop up again in the next two stories. For now, say good-bye to them, though. From here on to the end of this story, it's Xadmain's show with a hint of Xoej.

Wrote all this in one night. Nice. Maybe I'll post another one or two chapters tonight. Being New Years, we'll see.

I hope you enjoy this.

Review please!