One of the best things about a factory was that there was never a lack of any sort of equipment that might be needed from the men on the work floor.

So, in Sora and Riku's case, ropes were rather easy to come by. By going to one of the other work closets (as in, the one that didn't have Kefka locked inside) they found another long rope that could be used to get up to the catwalk above.

Unfortunately, throwing a rope was a lot more difficult than they made it look in the movies.

Riku decided it was his turn to shine. So, he tied a large loop to make a lasso and started to spin it above his head. He swung it faster and faster, making Sora jump out of the way to avoid collision with the rope. Then, with a loud grunt, he threw it towards the catwalk.

It didn't even make it halfway.

Riku attempted several more times before he tired out his arm and collapsed to the ground.

"Well, that's not going to work," Riku panted.

Sora chuckled a little. "What's wrong, Riku? Not strong enough?" He said.

Riku smirked. "Still stronger than you…" He challenged.

They both laughed a little, but it quickly died down. They were still trapped in a warehouse, after all.

They sat around for a few minutes, thinking quietly in the dim light of the empty factory. It was just then that another idea occurred to Sora.

"Hey… Why don't we tie a Keyblade to it?"

At first, Riku thought of the idea as ridiculous, but then his thoughts turned to what a grappling hook looked like in all of the movies. Maybe tying more weight to it could give it more momentum!

"It's worth a shot," Riku shrugged.

Sora held out his hand and let the bright light form his blade once more. He dashed towards the rope and picked it up. After tying a secure knot, he brought his Kingdom Key back and prepared for one of his signature attacks. This attack was known as the Strike Raid.

The Keyblade soared through the room, latching around the overhang and spinning to a halt. Sora gave a grunt of approval while Riku just rolled his eyes.

"Show off," He mumbled.

Sora showed a sly smile. "Hey, it worked, didn't it? Let's get climbing,"

Sora grabbed onto the rope and began his climb quickly. It took a few minutes, being a rope without any holds or steps to get onto. Riku was right behind him the whole time. He knew that, though Sora was far more acrobatic, Riku possessed the better strength, therefore, if Sora were to lose his footing, Riku could be right there to grab him.

Of course, he couldn't guarantee that he could grab him and continue to hold onto the rope.

It was a lot like something that had happened when they were younger. They had the brilliant idea to climb up the Intel tower just to see if they could make it to the top. It was obvious now that that wouldn't have even been possible.

In the end, they had ended up with broken legs and been stuck inside for quite a few weeks.

This time, they were stronger and older. Also, they knew that it was important to escape so they could help out the others. In the end, they made it up to the rafters successfully without any issues or problems. Sora grabbed his Keyblade from the metal bar and looked back to the factory floor.

"Let's try not falling down," Riku suggested somewhat jokingly.

"Yeah," Sora agreed.

He looked over to the wall and was happy to see that there was an unblocked door sitting there perfectly untouched.

"Let's get going," Sora stated already beginning to dart off to the door. "I don't want to be around when Kefka breaks out of that cabinet."

Riku gave a nod, giving a quick glance back to the cabinet in question. He hadn't noticed before, but he saw that the cabinet was shaking mildly. Obviously Kefka wasn't happy with his new situation. So, instead of sticking around, they didn't hesitate to skedaddle out of the doorway and away from the factory room.

They came out of the factory room and were happy to see that there were no Guardians on their floor. It was definitely a sigh of relief. Sora glanced over to his friend, but he was already contacting the others. It seemed that the factory was the only place in the entire facility without phone reception.

Sora looked over the railing, only to see that the bottom floor was empty. The place had become a ghost town in the time they spent trapped in a cement work room.

He sighed. It looked like their mission wasn't turning out as he thought it would. He thought quickly to the other group that had invaded the factory with them: His cousin, along with Axel.

He hoped desperately that everything was alright on their end.

Roxas summoned his blades and stepped back, taking a defensive stance. He could tell just by the look of his Keyblade and the stance he had taken that this man was strong and very dangerous. Axel sighed as he dropped his Eternal Flames to his sides and spun them around lazily.

"Look. I'm pretty sure that we can all make this work, right?" Axel said.

The hooded figure said nothing, merely staying in his stance with his large Keyblade resting partially on the ground. He made no sound. Instead, he simply stood still.

Roxas still didn't quite trust him. For all they knew, he could be some new Senator with a replica Keyblade, simply toying with them.

"Alright, I see you don't want to talk. All we want is to blow this factory to smithereens, got it memorized? Just get what you want and get the hell out of here." Axel negotiated.

"Actually, I'm afraid that the outcome of this situation will not be quite what any of you expected."

The three turned to face the door. There, there was a man with platinum blond hair and creepy, inquisitive green eyes.

Roxas and Axel both knew exactly who that was. It was Senator Vexen, The Chilly Academic. He was the main scientist of all the Senators and frequented the factory the most out of all of them.

To be honest, it was a little foolish to assume they could get away without running into him. Axel snarled, spinning his chakrams around his hands. Roxas looked back to the shadowy figure before turning back to the scientist.

"Grab what you need and get the heck out of there!" Roxas yelled.

The man in the dark cloak was a little stunned. He was fully prepared to take them out a second before, but, there was something about the blond boy. He reminded him so much of his own friend who was still trapped back in his own land.

So, he placed his hand on the glass and let his dark energy swirl into the glass container. It swarmed around the bright crystal, clenching it in a dark fist. The hand then pulled the crystal out of the glass and let it float in his hand.

The Orichalcum was officially his.

Roxas ran forward, bringing his black keyblade around to slam into his head. Sadly, the scientist came prepared. Icy crystals formed by his arm, creating a sleek blue shield. With a large "CLINK," the Keyblade bounced off and the recoil took Roxas with it.

"Now, I'm afraid that I cannot let you take that crystal. It is very valuable to my research." He sighed. With a snap of his fingers, ice crystals formed around the glass and shattered it, breaking the dark connection and making the Orichalcum return to Vexen's hand.

There was an angry grunt from the shady figure as he pulled back his hand. He pointed his Keyblade straight at Vexen. Axel spun his chakrams around and lit them on fire. Then, with one great throw, he launched them at Vexen. In response, Vexen lifted his shield and deflected the strike, knocking the chakrams in another direction.

"Oh please, you honestly believe your petty attacks can even leave a dent?"

Axel growled loudly. The man was truly impenetrable as long as he kept his icy shield at his side. Roxas, in a fog of adrenaline and rage, he dashed at the scientist again, swinging his blades over and over at the blue blocker, not leaving a scratch. Axel admired his enthusiasm, but it was a hopeless endeavor.

The platinum-haired scientist rolled his eyes as he kept his shield up to block the strike. "I've just about had enough of this…" He sighed.

"Then I'll just end it…" The dark figure whispered. His voice was deep and threatening. There was a flash of darkness around his figure as he vanished. Then, with a rush of movement, the man shot out of the shadows from behind Vexen and swung his Keyblade at the man's head. He didn't see it coming. Vexen took the full brunt of the force and went flying into a nearby wall. With the force of the strike, he quickly lost grip of the blue shield as it clattered to the ground. There wasn't even a scream. There was no time for it. Axel was sure the strike would've broken the sound barrier if there had been enough room.

A large crater had been left it the wall, clearly marking where his head had collided. Blood was splattered against the wall as well, along with the red blood that was dying his blond hair a completely different colour.

Roxas was in total awe. Never had he seen someone swing a Keyblade with such force. It was almost like he had just met his favourite celebrity.

Axel couldn't blame him. It was pretty impressive, he had to admit.

"T-That was… Amazing…" Roxas stammered through his heavy breathing. The dark man merely shrugged. He tossed his Keyblade to the side, where it faded into darkness before it even hit the ground.

He walked straight over to the body, passing Roxas and Axel without saying a word. There was something different about him, though. He was actually slouched over and tired looking. Axel could hardly believe that he could feel tired. The man was an enigma, after all.

Slowly, he reached towards the hand of the crushed corpse. Secretly, he was admiring his own power. It was a power that he had gained without any help. He didn't know what his friends would say. All he knew was that he was going to save them. He pulled the cold fingers away from his main prize. He was glad to see that the crystal was undamaged, despite what it had endured.

"Thank you…" He said softly.

Axel smirked. "What, going already? The party's just begun." He said smugly.

There was a small change in attitude from the shadowy man. He seemed happy, for the first time since they had met in that small chamber. Roxas stepped off the ground and gave a small wave. Then, without anything else to do, the man opened a dark gate and stepped right through.

Though, there was a little guilt eating at him for the situation he was leaving. He thought his mission was complete, and yet… He felt that he wasn't quite done yet. He removed the mask from his face and the hood over his head, showing a long mane of brown hair, a strong looking face and two blue eyes.

"Hopefully you guys will help me out…" He chuckled.

Author's Note:

Hey guys! Been a while, hasn't it? Yeah… I said I would be gone for a month but… I lied. A lot has happened since I finished NaNoWriMo… I got a job, There was Christmas holidays… But I haven't given up on this yet.

It is a little short, but my muse told me that it should end here. Don't worry, we'll get back to the others soon enough.

Thanks for reading! If you have any constructive criticism, please review. Even constructive flaming would be nice. Any questions, don't be afraid to PM me.

Thanks for reading!

-FrozenXIII'sFire