Author's Note: Hey, sorry about the long wait. I was a little blocked, but then it all hit me at once. Half this chapter was typed today. Not much else to say. Enjoy, friends...

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or even the demon that is killing people. The killer belongs to Dragginninja. I do, however, own John and whatever other OC's that may appear in the future chapters.

Kairi's PoV:

We made it to my apartment very quickly. I didn't live that far away from the police station. I had already slipped the engagement ring John had given me on my left finger. I tried not to display it too prominently around Namine. I could tell it hurt her deep to know that she'd never see Riku again. My heart broke for my best friend.

I unlocked my door and the three of us stepped into the living room. I led Namine to a chair and made her a cup of hot chocolate. I remembered the winter days we used to spend with Riku, Sora, Zexion, Larxene, Roxas, Xion, and Axel. A tear left my eye as I thought of the wonderful times we'd shared together. We'd have Christmas parties, Riku would hold an annual Halloween party, we went to concerts together, and we'd go camping together. Zexion and Larxene almost got us kicked out of the Megadeth concert we went to the summer before Slenderman killed them. She tried to sneak him into the ladies room so they could make out. I missed them all so much.

I sat down on the couch next to John and curled up next to him. It was so comforting to be in his arms. I looked at Nami and she had her head hung down, gazing at the half-empty cup of hot chocolate. I got up out of John's embrace and walked over to Namine. She looked up and I wrapped my arms around her. "Kairi, what are you…"

"You were there for me when Sora died, and now I'm going to be here for you," I said, referencing the time she comforted me after Sora was killed and I had the nightmare I could never forget.

"Thank you," she said. "You're my best friend and I love you so much."

"I love you too Namine," I said as I held my broken friend. I wanted so much to heal her broken heart, but I knew I couldn't do it. She couldn't even fix me after Sora died. I looked back and John was smiling at us.

We nearly jumped out of our skin when we heard frantic knocking at the door. I was half afraid to answer it. "Who's there?" I called out.

"It's me," said a familiar voice that I hadn't heard in a long time.

"Kadaj," I said as I walked slowly to the door. I looked through the peep hole to see my old friend standing there, scared out of his mind.

"Please, let me in Kairi." I opened the door and he practically fell in.

"How did you even know where I lived?" I asked. "I mean, it's great to see you, but why are you so scared?"

"I saw something," he said. The poor guy was trembling and I thought he was actually going to cry. Something traumatic must have happened. Ever since Slenderman killed Zexion and their parents, he has never been the same. "It was watching me this morning. It looked like a tall man in a black, hooded trenchcoat. He had the hood down for a split-second. I saw his face, his horrible face."

"It's ok, just slow down and you know you don't have to say everything at once," I said as I comforted him.

"His face was scarred. I couldn't tell if they were burn marks or cuts. He had long black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. His eyes glowed red like fire and he had blood around his lips," he said. I thought he would have a heart attack. "He told me…he told me to give you a message. He said to tell you that he will have his revenge on you Kairi."

The thing that must have killed Riku was after me? And it seemed like it wasn't just after me, but it was also killing the people close to me! "What are we going to do about this?" I asked.

"There's nothing we can do," he said.

"Don't you dare tell me there's nothing we can do," Namine spoke up in a dark tone. I turned back to her, but she hadn't looked up from her nearly-empty cup of hot chocolate. "This…thing killed Riku, and I'm not going to let him get away with it. Whatever this monster is, it will pay for taking my husband from me!"

I admired Namine's will to defeat whatever this monster was. Though, I heavily doubted we'd be able to do anything except prolong our own deaths. I looked to John and he seemed like he was trying to hide something, but he quickly changed his expression to concern when he noticed I was looking.

"I'll stay up and take first watch tonight just in case something happens," John volunteered. I walked over to my future husband and embraced him.

"No," I said. "I don't want anything to happen to you. I've already lost one person I love to a demon, and I don't want to lose you!" I looked into his green eyes and they were full of strength. He reminded me so much of Sora that it was uncanny.

"Nothing is going to happen to me Kai," he said. "I'll be fine and if I see anything, I'll wake you guys."

"You can't guarantee that," I stated bluntly. "Sora said almost that same thing before he died."

"Yeah, I know," he said.

"What?" I asked. How did he know that?

"Well…I…um…you told me a long time ago," he said hastily, stuttering over every other word. Something didn't add up with that. I may have mentioned it, but I was doubtful. I didn't like to talk about the moments before Sora's death, so John couldn't have known much about it. But I'd been such an emotional wreck in the early months of our relationship, so I may have said something and not remembered. There was a lot about the past four years I didn't remember due to periods of time I'd completely shut down and all the grief for my friends would hit me all at once. I didn't think too much more about it, though. I tried to prepare for the worst with the people I had left.

Namine's PoV:

Kairi was gracious enough to let me have her room that night. She let me sleep in her bed while she pulled out an air mattress for Kadaj and another for her and John. I'd admit that a hint of jealousy crept into my heart. She would have the man that loved her lying next to her that night, but I'd never feel Riku lying next to me ever again. I just knew I'd wake up in the middle of the night and expect him to be there, and I'd probably cry when I realized he was dead.

I drifted to sleep quickly, but woke up to the sound of a chilling scream. After my eyes adjusted I saw John and Kairi had sat up, but Kadaj was nowhere to be found. The scream had to be his. In a panic, the three of us ran to the living room and witnessed a sight that we'd been too familiar with.

"No, please, don't do this!" Kadaj begged as a tall man in a black, hooded coat held him against the far corner of the room. The man's left hand was around Kadaj's throat and his right hand held a black sword. The room was filled with an air of pure evil, caused by the mysterious man's presence.

When the man spoke, I could tell immediately he was no human. He had a deep, demonic tone to his voice, yet another spoke that was shrill and scratchy. "You have served your purpose. You did as I asked and I have no further use for you, mortal. See you in Hell," he spoke in his terrifying dual voice.

"Please," Kadaj begged as the sword entered his stomach. Blood poured out and the creature twisted the blade in Kadaj's stomach. The monster stepped back and jerked the sword upward, slicing our friend partially in half. Kadaj's lifeless body collapsed, the two halves falling away from each other and all his organs spilling on Kairi's floor. I nearly vomited at the sight.

"No, Kadaj!" Kairi yelled. She tried to run toward the demon, but John had a hold of her shoulders. She was going nowhere, and he wouldn't risk losing her.

"Mortals, have you decided to join your friend in the eternal fires?" it asked.

"What are you?" she asked angrily. Kairi was nearly losing her mind. She'd been unstable for a long time due to the trauma of our friends' deaths, but now she'd almost reached her breaking point. It took four years for her to get straightened out and this…thing destroyed all of her progress in four seconds.

"I'll save that for another time," it said. "All will be revealed eventually. Then you can die."

The creature started to disappear, but I had no intention of letting him get away. "Get back here!" I screamed as I charged toward him. I could see under his hood that he was smirking at me as he disappeared into a Dark portal he created. The portal disappeared and I barreled face-first into the wall. It almost knocked me out. I put my hand to my lips and my top lip was bleeding. It was nothing serious, though.

We observed the gore that was Kadaj's remains. I couldn't believe this creature had taken him as the second victim. Kadaj hadn't been a part of any of this. The creature had no reason to kill him. I was actually surprised Slenderman had spared him the day he killed our families. I lost my father and mother that day. But, we all had. Riku, Kairi, Xion, Sora, and I had become orphans while we waited for Kairi to recover in the hospital.

"Namine, are you ok?" Kairi asked, concerned about my bleeding.

"I'm fine," I said. I looked up at my best friend. Kai and I were there for each other no matter what. Even through all the crap we'd been through in our lives, we still had each other. "But what are we going to do?"

She knew that I was talking about both what we would do with Kadaj, and how we were going to stop this monster. "I don't know," she said, her strong front wearing thin. John walked up to her and hugged her from behind. "This has just gotten so bad so suddenly. I thought we'd be safe after killing Slenderman."

"I won't let anything get to you Kai," John said reassuringly. Then, he did something I didn't expect. He let go of Kairi and hugged me, then pulled her into his arms and was holding both of us. "I swear on my life that whatever that thing was will not harm either of you as long as I'm alive."

"Looks like it's just the three of us this time," I said. Three people, it only took Slenderman two days to kill three people. This thing killed two in one day. If things followed suit, we'd be dead in 24 hours anyway, so I played along with all the positive thinking. This time, we didn't even have the benefit of the Void Gear or the magic it gave Kairi. I knew we were all dead. I guess the only hope we had was simple denial of our merciless fate.

Kairi's PoV:

John, Namine, and I left my apartment that night, heading anywhere we could find shelter. This thing knew where Namine and I lived, so he probably knew where John lived as well. I couldn't let him risk getting killed in his own home.

We got into John's car and headed out of town until we either ran out of gas or came across a motel that was cheap enough. Thankfully, the motel came first. It was cheap, $50 a night for the three of us. I honestly didn't care if it was dirty, half-broken down, or full of hookers. I just wanted a safe place to sleep. All I asked for was a moment of peace. I had some anxiety pills left over from the depression I went through up to the day I met John. I started to take them, but decided I needed to be as sober as I could until this was all over. If we survived, I'd let them put me on so many drugs that I couldn't even remember my name. I wasn't counting on that, though. I mentally prepared myself for the fact that I would, more than likely, die. I tried to think about the possibility that I'd see Sora again. I'd never believed in an afterlife until Slenderman came. Now, I knew what waited for me after death, having seen through the portal into Hell. It didn't really make the thought of dying any more appealing, but it would happen eventually anyway, so I didn't let it get to me. If there was a Hell, there had to be a Heaven, and I knew Sora was there. I couldn't imagine someone like him going to Hell. I hoped Xion and the others were with Sora too. It would break my heart if any of my friends were in Hell, being tormented even though they were good people.

We checked into the motel. Thankfully, it was cleaner than I was expecting. The brown wallpaper was peeling in a few scattered places, but that was something I could live with. There were two beds. John and I would take one, and Namine would sleep in the other. I decided to take a shower and change clothes. All three of us needed showers and I wanted to go first. I picked some pajamas, which were a gray cropped top and a pair of gray basketball shorts, out of the bag I hastily packed and took them to the bathroom.

After stripping off my blood-soaked clothes, I stepped in the shower and turned the water to my preferred temperature. The warm water turned my pale skin a slight reddish color. As I stood under the water, I heard small whispers. I shrugged them off as probably Namine and John talking in the other room, but I realized it wasn't them when the whispering grew louder. I now could hear that it was one person, but couldn't make out what they were saying. I turned the water off so I could hear better, and that's when the whisper turned into a familiar, malevolent voice.

"Sweet, little Kairi, it's your turn to die!" the voice said. I turned in the shower stall to see where it was coming from, but couldn't see anyone. I realized the voice was in my head. "I'm gonna cut that pretty skin of yours so slowly. I want to hear you scream for mercy, which you won't receive."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. I pressed my hands against my ears, foolishly hoping to block out the voice. But it was no use because the voice was all in my mind anyway.

"Why, I think you know why I'm doing this. After all, it's all your fault that I'm here in the first place. You killed my Master, so naturally I'd want revenge. You know a thing or two about revenge don't you, pretty Kairi? You killed Slenderman out of revenge, didn't you? He killed your boyfriend, so naturally you wanted to end him. And end him you did. He didn't even return to Hell, but rather faded from existence altogether. But I'm not going to have the same fate happen to you. No, I'll kill you slowly, and then the real fun will begin when you go to Hell. I'll get to play with you forever. Won't that be fun, darling?"

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, tears flooding from my eyes.

"Never, you little whore," he said cruelly in his double-voice. "You've pissed me, and now you'll have to pay the price!"

"Go away!"

That's when things went from bad, to worse. I got flashes in my mind of horrible, unholy things. The monster showed me my worst nightmares. I was carried away to a room in a mental hospital. I was sitting on the bed, alone at first, but then the scene changed. Blood oozed from the walls until the room was completely red and blood pooled a foot deep on the floor. One by one, the heads and body parts of Sora, John, Roxas, Namine, Xion, and Riku bobbed up to the surface. The bed disappeared from under me and I fell into the pool of blood. When I went under, it was deeper than it looked. I opened my eyes as if I was under water, and I could even breathe. I swam through the blood, not in any particular direction, but just anywhere. I came across Sora in a ghostly form. "Kairi, you could have saved me!" he said just before he was set ablaze before me. He screamed as he was consumed by the flames, his cries enduring even after his body vanished. It was more than I could take and I couldn't even bring myself to scream.

I snapped back to reality. I had fallen and was sitting with my back against the shower stall. I brought my knees to my chest and cried. All I could do was cry.

"Kairi, are you ok?" John called to me. "What's wrong baby?" His voice held so much concern for me.

"Wait just a minute," I said, pulling myself together enough to grab the towel and wrap it around my body. John had never seen me naked, and I didn't think that was the best time for him to see me. We had slept together a couple of times, but that was just it, actual sleeping. We'd never had sex. I hadn't had sex with anyone since Sora, and that was only twice. "Now you can come in," I said as I wiped the last of my tears away and sat on the toilet.

"Kairi, what happened?" he asked as he walked over to me. He placed his arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek.

"I…I saw…visions. It really disturbed me," I said, keeping a monotone so my emotions wouldn't take over and cause me to break down again. "I saw…blood and…body parts…Sora caught on fire right in front of me and I heard him scream. I really heard Sora scream, John. And the demon spoke to me."

"What did it say?" he asked, his black eyebrows raised with curiosity.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said.

"That bad, huh?" he stated. John knew better than to press the issue. After being together for two years, he knew me better than anyone else, except maybe Namine. "I'll be here for you. I love you Kai."

"I love you too," I cried into his jet-black hair. It still smelled like Kadaj's blood, but I didn't care as long as he was there with me. I pulled away from him. "Can I be alone so I can dry off and get dressed?"

"Sure baby," he said as he walked out of the room.

As soon as he was gone, I uncovered myself and began drying myself. After I was dry, I put on the cropped top and shorts. I didn't pack many clothes and only one pair of underwear, but Namine and John hadn't packed much either. Namine borrowed some of my clothes while John already had a few shirts and pairs of pants at my house just in case he spent the night.

I walked to the room and John claimed the bathroom for his shower. I threw myself on the bed and rolled over onto my back. I stared at the ceiling with a blank mind. I thought of nothing in particular. I looked down at my stomach and gently touched the deep scar from my gunshot wound. It honestly looked like a second bellybutton. I chuckled at the comparison and Namine, who was reading a little magazine about the hotel, looked over to me with curiosity in her eyes. "Kai, are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I honestly replied. "I just thought of something funny."

"What was it? I could use a little humor," she said. And I could tell she really needed it.

"My scar on my stomach looks like a bellybutton," I said.

She smiled and went back to reading her magazine. I could tell she didn't find it as humorous as I had, but that was alright. It was funny to me, and that was all that mattered. She put down her book when John walked into the room, wearing a pair of my basketball shorts. The shorts he and I were wearing actually came from Sora. He gave them to me a few years back after they didn't fit him anymore. I was surprised John could wear them. He was three inches taller than Sora had been, but then I noticed he'd taken the drawstring and untied it. That was the only way he could wear them. Sora hadn't been bright enough to think about doing that, apparently. Or maybe he just wanted to give them to me. He always did things like that for me. He and John were like carbon copies of one another.

After Namine took her shower we decided to get some sleep. Namine was wearing a cropped top and shorts like mine, but hers were colored white instead of gray. Cropped tops were all I could sleep in. All my nightshirts were uncomfortable and would always ride up anyways. I just decided one day to cut them all into belly shirts to avoid that problem. I slept like a baby ever since.

"Goodnight," I said as I reached to turn off the lamp on the desk beside the bed.

John and Namine said their goodnights as darkness enveloped the room. John put his arm around my waist and kissed my neck, showing me that he was there and would hold me all night. I heard Namine whimper in the other bed. "Namine, come over here with us," I said as I turned the light back on.

"Are you sure?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah, there's plenty of room here," I said. And I was telling the truth. For the hotel to have been so cheap, the beds were moderately large.

She brought her pillow over to our bed and John and I scooted over so she would have room. There was still plenty of room in the bed with all three of us there. She turned the light off, leaving us in darkness again. I put my left hand on John's hand, which was on my stomach. He took it and felt my engagement ring. I prayed we'd live through this so the two of us could finally get married. I could only hope that whatever God there was would hear my prayers and answer them. I finally drifted into blissful sleep, the last peaceful sleep I'd ever have.

Author's Note: So, what did you think? This chapter was SOOOOOO hard to write these past few weeks, but it just came to me today and I couldn't stop writing. I listened to a lot of KoRn while writing this. Specifically the songs Freak on a Leash, Twist, Twisted Transistor, Dead Bodies Everywhere, and Another Brick in the Wall.

Drop a review and let me know how I did. Until next time, friends...