Kingdom Hearts: System X

By Christine Lennoire

Beta: Bakageta

Summery: "Nobodies that heartless.." and no, I didn't make a grammar error. Hearts are corrupted. Heartless nobodies? Who in the hell is System X? It's from the King... But Ansem... Roxas... Sora... But he's my friend! Kingdom Hearts... Keyblade. They're... smart! They came after me... It's him... They're working together... We have to do something...

a new journey has begun

Chapter Six: System X Report I

Lae opened the door for them, and they entered the small chamber. Heartless were everywhere. Some clung to the ceiling and the walls, the floors were covered, and even the body of the poor prince was covered. Lae gasped. "HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" and they set out through the crowd, fighting off all the small shadows that tried to stop them along the way. The were weak, but still, there were so many of them, that it took a while to get them all. Finally Lae was able to throw the ones from the prince's body and kill them as well. Axel and Roxas helped the poor thing down and Donald healed him up.

Finally, Sora got the honors of removing the hood. There was Demyx, the same body Sora remembered fighting... the odd one. But he looked different somehow, drained weak and frowning. His childish exterior was gone, and there was something just plain wrong about it. Kairi took a cloth out of her bag and Donald wetted it with water magic and she laid it over his head. "He's waaaayyyyy out of it." She said, "but the water seemed to help quite a bit." That gave Sora an idea.

"Drench him in it." he said, grinning. Axel looked at him, knowing just what he was thinking. Kairi looked at him like he was crazy, but Donald and Goofy already knew that, and trusted him. "It's his element anyway, so it should make him feel better. He can absorb it and turn it to power or something like that, although I can't say I'd do the same thing with Axel and fire, but... in this case, I think it's okay." Sora grinned sheepishly. Kairi thought about it and then nodded too and Riku just watched in amusement and Donald set off a nice gush of water over his head.

"WA-AH!" Demyx shouted, startled and now fully awake and aware of his surroundings. "T-that's f-f-f-freezing!" he chattered through his tightly clenched teeth. Donald snickered, but Kairi had already pulled out a cloth and gave it to him like it was a towel. He pushed it away and stood up, drenched as he was. "I'm fine, don't worry. Just... let's have a warning for that from now on, o-k!" he said, grinning like a fool. Axel sighed and shook his head. For the first time, Demyx looked around at everyone. "AXEL! And Roxas too! But what's he doin' here? This is sure an odd bunch." he laughed. But his laugh too, had changed.

"Yeah, well... a lot has happened." Axel said, shrugging. "I take it you're not aware of what's going on either, huh?" he asked looking at the blonde musician who looked very... blank. Normally, his face would be alive with emotion and energy. Now it just seemed pretty dead. And he was listening, something he rarely did before because he was all about being wild and crazy. This was a tame Demyx... woah. Roxas didn't know how much more he could take. These were people he knew. These two had been the closest things to friends he had in the Organization. And he didn't like what they had become.

Demyx snorted. "Yeah I know what's goin' on! Five black shadows came and captured me right after I 'died' and brought me here. They must have drugged me up pretty good, because I hardly remember anything about the next five hours. Then I was tied to this... this DOOR and left here all by myself ever since!" he pouted. "They betrayed us... I know that. Everything that happened... it was all part of their plan to cause some kind of world disorder!" he sighed. "They're looking for you, Roxas. If they find you, Roxas..."

"I know... I know." Roxas said. "It's all over if they get a hold of me, so I have to stay far away. Well, we have plans of our own. We're not going to let the System win and we have a plan. Demyx... we need your help." Demyx smiled in a way similar to that he normally would have. "We can fill you in on the whole story, but it should probably wait until we go see the king." Roxas said, looking at the others. "Something weird is going on behind the Door to Dusk. And System X is behind it. So we can't rescue the fourth prince yet, but we are making a plan to get your hearts back..."

Demyx looked at the floor. "W-when I heard the truth, I couldn't believe it. All this time, we had hearts, and they convinced us that we didn't. We shouldn't, but we do, because of our others – because our others were strong. So when we lost our hearts, new ones were able to grow from the strength of our other's true heart. But that explains why we are different... But now – I want my heart back! I deserve that much, don't I? I wish... I just wish everyone could be just as fortunate. What about the other Organization members... are they... r-really dead?"

Axel groaned. "I really don't know." Demyx just nodded his head sadly. Suddenly, a piece of paper fluttered down from the hood of his robe. "What's that?" Demyx shrugged, not remembering having the piece of paper with him. Axel picked it up and examined it. "I think the System must have dropped this by accident. Here's our next real clue. Maybe this will help us somehow..." He unfolded it and let everyone crowd around him so that they could all read what they would call the 'System X Report I' after the Ansem Reports.

This child is a problem. I have been trying desperately to remove his heart for days now, but something keeps stopping me. If it wasn't enough that he had to survive our plans of 'killing' him off, he is now difficult and unruly. His emotions are wild and he emits a strange and dark power. This may be his fighting ability, but I am unsure, as we have never encountered him in a fighting situation. I am at the edge of my limits. As Number Two, if I can not get him to weaken his power and allow me to take the heart, we have little hope.

Perhaps we can let him drain himself first. That was my first thought. If his powers were drained first, then we could indeed go in and remove his heart. But first I must ask the Superior. This boy has been far too much trouble. We never anticipated such a stupid child standing between us and our true goal and purpose. I must not let him stop us. It is too important. Now I will go to the Superior. I am sure there is something we can do to drain him to make sure our plan goes through.

But those meddling others must never know. If they did, that would be most treacherous...

Everyone stood silent for a moment, as they let the full impact set in. "So it wasn't System X after all that was keeping the prince from getting out..." Riku said in awe.

"The prince was keeping the System from getting in!" Sora said excitedly, glad to finally be able to catch up and understand after a bit of lagging behind the others. Lae nodded, once again in deep thought. Demyx and Axel just blinked, unable to come to a conclusion as to the final prince's identity. Roxas was just as stumped, and no one else seemed to be getting any bright ideas.

Demyx grinned. "I don't know anybody that could fight with a power like that... not in the Organization, anyway. Sorry guys, but I really can't help you on this one." This made Axel think. From what Demyx said, he suddenly got an idea, but it was just a hunch, so he decided he would stay quiet until they got to see the king and until he learned a little bit more about the situation.

"So... what should we do first? Return to Radiant Garden or go see the king?" Lae asked, looking around at everyone that was gathered there. Everyone thought about it for a while and finally, Kairi, as Radiant Garden's princess, decided that she would be the one to speak out and represent her ideas to all the others.

"Maybe we could go there and send a letter of warning to the king. It would be a bad idea to just show up uninvited. Besides, he had quite a few problems with the Eternals. We should wait to hear from him first." Everyone nodded. "In the meantime, we can train, and perhaps look for more clues like this one. This seems to be part of a private journal. We also have learned from this, that number two is a bit of a science man. Who knows what we could find? And maybe one of them might remember something. There are lots of possibilities. We have to wait until the Door to Dusk opens again and the darkness disappears..."

Sora smiled. "That's a great idea! We should hurry to Radiant Garden right away and sent the king a letter telling him about all the new information we got and ask him for a meeting so he can tell us anything else he learned in his travels!" Sora added, hoping to have another bright idea.

"Half of that is good, but I don't think we should include any information in the letter, in case it's intercepted. We should wait until we see him face to face. He'd want us to be careful with it." Riku said. "But I agree with Sora... the sooner, the better. We should hurry, because we don't know what they're planning or how much time we have left."

"Your time is up." A new voice joined them. "Man, I could have stood there forever and you never would have noticed. Your skills are lacking." he was tall with short, spiky purplish-red hair and golden eyes. "Number Four. Rath." Everyone gasped and took a few steps back from the odd newcomer. He had a robe like Roxis' new one: silver and bright. His pants were also black, but his boots were silver, like the coat, unlike Roxis who had black boots. Sora scowled menacingly.

"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Riku ran up to stand next to him and fight with him. They exchanged glances that made them both grin confidently. "You guys go! Riku and I can hold them off until you get safely away!" Sora shouted.

Kairi shook her head forcefully. "NO WAY! Then you won't have a way to get back! We're in this together. You're not sending me away to be protected like some fragile princess. I can fight too! I'm not going to leave you alone! I don't want to – to lose you guys again! We just found each other!" she shouted, pulling out her keyblade. "Now, WHO'S WITH ME!"

Everyone else also grabbed their weapons and they all rushed the startled Rath. Luckily, he was quick and was able to dodge the first onslaught. "Not bad. It's soooo sweet. Sorry I have to ruin the moment by spilling your pretty blood, but it's just soooo much fun." he laughed, pulling out his weapon: a strange staff that had blades on both ends and a large red gem in the center. "Let's see how you can withstand this." a whirlwind of dust rose up around him, hindering their vision and movement. "You haven't got a clue as to where I am or what I'll do next... can you even see your friends? You might accidentally hit one of them if you aren't careful." he laughed menacingly, moving about freely, his eyes dancing about in a super-aware state.

Demyx took the initiative. He ran forward quickly, using his eyes to guide him. And he found Rath, only to recall his missing sitar and have himself be thrown forcefully against the wall. "Demyx!" Roxas shouted. "Are you okay?" Demyx had been weak before, and now he was even worse off. He let himself drift off into unconciousness. Rath was laughing wickedly, pissing Sora, Riku and Kairi. They used the cleared path in the dust from Demyx to guess Rath's approximate location, and all three of them closed in at once.

"You could die. But still you fight, not begging for mercy instead... why is that? If you beg, maybe I'll let your friends go, Roxas... you and Sora just have to come with me, and you can save your friends. I may even let you go back to them once I have your hearts. I'm feeling a bit gracious today." he laughed. But Roxas wasn't listening. While Sora, Kairi, and Riku kept him distracted, he jumped in and attacked from above. They were causing such a racket that Lae, Donald and Goofy could easily find them and go to help right away.

Lae used her quick reflexes to catch him off-guard. She didn't hit him. Her weapon caught his robe and stuck into the wall, leaving him stuck and unable to escape while the rest started a ruthless beating. Rath struggled to get out, but now that he was cornered, there was little he could do. Even his powers of wind couldn't save him. He had already used so much of his powers to create the powerful storm. And still they broke through it and attacked.

Rath finally broke free and managed to jump over their heads. "I think I understand a little better. My test has been successful. I will be back, Roxas. Your heart is growing stronger and stronger. What are you fighting for now? Is it for the right to live your own life...? Or perhaps it's your friends? Well, soon enough, that will not matter. We will have you. Our plan will go through. We will win and... well, I'll leave that for you to figure out. I'll say hi to the others for you." he said, laughing again, and disappearing just as easily as Roxis had. The last thing they heard him say was 'Roxis was right about you guys...'

They all sighed in intense exhaustion. "We should hurry. Let's go to Radiant Garden and work from there. We have to hurry up with that letter before it's too late. I'm sure he wants to know about this new information we've uncovered." Lae said. Axel went to Demyx and carried him back to the place where the ship was waiting patiently for them.

And they sped off... back to Radiant Garden, one step closer to the truth, and yet – were they?

Roxis laughed. "You aren't so strong now, are you?"

"I must admit, I did underestimate them. Perhaps the two of us should pay them a visit together." Rath suggested, smiling wickedly, looking at the orb which was still bright blue. "So you're going strong. What's so special about the whole proof of existence thing? That was just a plan we came up with the keep track of those pathetic Organization XIII members." he scoffed.

"This was made from that... that difficult boy's proof. Isn't it beautiful? They will never notice either. They are completely neglecting the ties we had to the Organization this whole time. But they are forgiving them easy enough, aren't they? Best friends already. It would have been so much easier if it all went according to plan... if it weren't for Roxas and that... that MONSTER child... oh, but I'm being impatient."

"Everything will all work out for us in the end..."

OKAY! That was fast, especially for me. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! I think this story is going very well, and so far people have been telling me the same. But i want more. Tell me what you think or your opinion. Free cupcakes and cookies!

So just push the button... pweease.

Thanks. I hope you enjoyed this.

Christine Lennoire