I don't really have much to say. I'm so sorry everyone, life has been really hard lately and my inspiration has been missing. It's kinda weird that I come back to this when I'm at my worst, but hey, it kinda helped to write this, to finish it lol.

Disclaimer: I didn't own KH last year, and I still don't own it. Shocker.

Warning: Shonen ai, cursing, ect.

It's short, choppy, not really edited, and way too delayed. But here it is! It feels really good to have actually finished this chapter.

O . . . o . . . O . . . o . . . O

21: Give or Take.

O . . . o . . . O . . . o . . . O

There was only the sound of footsteps echoing as they followed the ghost. The silence was tense and unnerving but yet no one dared to break it, because there was nothing to really say besides endless questions that could stay unanswered for the time being.

Kairi was angry and upset. She had sworn to herself that Namine's picture would never be reality, but Sora had walked right into that future. She hated him for leaving them, she hated her sister for drawing that picture, and she hated those ghosts for causing so much trouble. She hated everything about what was happening, but really, she hated herself for letting herself put blame on the strongest people in this situation.

She looked up at Riku. The ghost walked at a faster pace than the rest, and only Kairi worked to keep up behind him.

He was worried. Kairi could see it clear as day that Sora meant something to the ghost, and it wasn't friendship. She saw when they kissed, and she saw the way they looked at each other. There was a connection, a strong one.

Kairi glanced back at everyone. They looked broken, confused and worn. Axel and Roxas walked slowly, hands entangled. Leon and Cloud walked side by side, heads down. Aerith, Olette and Yuffie walked, sad and scared.

Then she looked back at Riku and decided to do something that she usually never did - break the silence. She jumped in front of Riku and put her hands up, "Stop."

Everyone looked at her and Riku looked irritated, "We have to hurry -"

"We don't have a plan, and we're basically walking to our doom," She said. "We can't give ourselves up."

"Well in case you haven't noticed," Riku snarled, "They won. We've got nothing left -"

"We have hope," Kairi shouted. Her voice found an echo. "We all have a little fight left in us, and these ghosts may be stronger but we're faster and smarter."

Riku's face softened, "We can't win this Kairi - it's over."

"It's not over," Kairi retaliated. "We've barely shown them what we've got!"

"Yeah, a ton of weapons no one knows how to use."

Kairi's eyes locked on Riku's, "Teach us."

"What?"

"Teach us how to fight," She repeated voice stronger. "You know these ghosts, you know these weapons, and you know you can help us."

"There's no time," Riku explained. "We need to hurry-"

"We need to plan this," Kairi interrupted. "This isn't over and we have a chance."

Silence. Kairi's stubborn, straight face didn't falter and Riku sighed, and smirked a bit.

"This is far from over, let me tell you that."

Kairi grinned, and her keyblade flashed into her grip. Weapons flashed into the others hands, and there was hope in the atmosphere.

Lastly Riku's keyblade appeared in his own hand, and though he couldn't see his own reflection, he saw Kairi's behind him - smirking.

He turned to look at her, "What?"

She swung her keyblade over her shoulder, "Sora means a lot to you doesn't he?"

". . . well, yeah, we're friends -"

"It's okay," She smiled. "You're cute together."

She started to walk away, and it took Riku a second to recompose himself.

"Well teacher, teach me how to use this thing!"

Riku rolled his eyes at the red head, "That is a keyblade. And there's more to it then swinging it around."

And it all unfolded from there.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"L- Let me go!"

"If we did that, you would surely try to run - and as amusing as that would be, we don't have the time," Saix drifted in front, where two ghosts - unfamiliar ones - dragged Sora through the hallway. Their grips were sharp as ice and somehow, the cold froze through him.

He felt tired, disgusting, cold, hungry, thirsty, and very scared but he still kept trying to fight. Hope was all he had and he needed to hold onto it or else he might break. There was no way he was going to let someone as sick as Saix see him cry. He'd rather die, honestly.

They were dragging him down a dark, unfamiliar hallway - though most were both - and he refused to let them take him in silence. He yelled and screamed, hoping - praying - that the others would hear him and save him.

Most of all, he screamed on the inside, hoping to trigger that connection he somehow had with Riku - but all he got was dead silence in return, and that's what really scared him.

"I want to know where you're taking me!" The brunet shouted. "Answer me!"

"My, my - impatient aren't we?" Saix smirked. "Well -" They stopped in front of a door - "I'm sure this will answer your question."

The door swung open and Sora was thrown into darkness.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You're not half bad, for a fifteen year old."

Kairi's blade clashed against Riku's, and the red head's lips turned upward slightly, "I could say the same for a five hundred year old."

"One hundred," The ghost corrected. The two had been practicing like this for what seemed like ages, and if you didn't know any better, it would seem like some battle was taking place between two or many sides. They had all gotten that good.

"Oh c'mon," Roxas mocked his boyfriend. "Is that all you've got?"

"You kid?" Axel threw one chakram above and one below and Roxas tilted his own blade to stop it. "I thought you were going easy on me, babe."

"Then I guess I better step it up," Roxas swung the keyblade and knocked Axel in the side. The red head clutched it in a wince for a second, but recovered with a proud smirk on his face.

"Heh," Axel's Chakrams started to glow with fire (a new trick with the help of Riku) and he swept an arm around the blond, the point of his chakram only an inch away from Roxas' neck.

"I've always liked 'em feisty."

Roxas adverted his eyes, and trying to hide a blush, mumbled, "You know how much I hate perverted comments."

"Oh? What are you going to do about it?"

"Oh just a little tactic that's been used for quite a while."

Axel's face flashed confusion and a devilishly evil looked dawned on the blonds face and his knee went up and in between Axels legs, which led to a very unfortunate feeling on the red heads behalf.

The Chakrams disappeared, and Axel fell on the floor. Roxas grinned, and knelt down and whispered, "I win."

"I taught you well little bro," Cloud patted Roxas' shoulder proudly, a similar evil look upon his own face as he held back laughter.

"Ah, well," Riku walked over. "It won't do much for the ghosts but I like it."

Roxas grinned, "Thanks."

"I think we're getting the hang of it," Kairi smiled down at her blade. "You're a good teacher, Riku."

Everyone agreed and the ghost smiled, "It's easy when you've had decades of practice, but you guys are committed to this. That's what makes the difference."

There was a moment of silence before Roxas stood up and smiled sadly, "Sora's my friend, and there's no way I'm letting another slip away."

"Same here," Kairi stepped forward. "Namine was my sister, and I pushed her away. The best I can do now is pull Sora back, and I'm gonna win this fight."

"And he's my brother," Leon said. "And I'd do anything to save him."

"Exactly," Cloud agreed. "I know the feeling."

"I know," Leon rolled his eyes. "Roxas, I wouldn't go to moogle mart for a very long."

"What . . .?"

"Well, we've got the skills. We've got the confidence," Riku proclaimed. "All we need is a plan."

"Judging by that cocky attitude, I'm thinking you have a plan," Kairi said.

"Oh, I've had a plan for a long time," Riku smirked. "I just didn't think it would work till now."

"You can thank me for that one," Kairi grinned, and the ghost just shook his head.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just," He looked her straight in the eyes. "You're a lot like Namine."

Kairi was caught off guard. A year ago, she would've been angry. A week ago, she would've been upset. But now, now she was very happy. Incredibly happy and her heart soared.

"Thank you," She whispered. She was like Namine; she was being compared to such a strong and amazing person. It gave her a sense of revival - a boost of hope.

"So . . . the plan?"

Riku nodded, "Okay, everyone, I've got a plan - it's tricky, complicated, and a bit daring but I think we've got a shot."

Everyone cheered, and it was clear that this battle - granted had gone on for hours - was really just beginning. The Game was over.

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"Oh . . . so hungry . . ."

Zexion rolled his visible eye, very much passed the relieved phase of Demyx being back to normal and now onto the usual irritation.

"Zexion, are you listen-"

"Yes, Demyx," He cut off sharply. "I can very well hear you, I'm simply pretending not too."

"As in ignoring," The blond said dully.

"If you want to put it like that," Zexion replied.

Demyx sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, but can you honestly say your perfectly fine right now?"

Zexion scoffed, "Of course not - I feel horrible, but I'm not going to complain about it like some insensible child."

The sharp edge to his tone was left to silence. Zexion felt slightly guilty, but then Demyx muttered,

"Well, at least I'm the seme."

Zexion went pale, and jerked around quickly, "What?"

Demyx was suddenly now a lot closer, and suddenly Zexion's confidence bent a bit from the overly noticeable height difference.

The blond had an off character, smug grin on his face as he bent down to be face to face with Zexion, "I said that I'm the seme."

If not already, Zexion's face was fighting a growing blush. He turned away, flustered, and continued forward, "Stop speaking such - such nonsense! Now if we turn down this coming hallway, we should be heading - ah!"

Suddenly he was tackled to the ground and his head banged on the floor. Demyx pinned his arms down, and was on top of him, grinning.

"But it's true."

Zexion was locked down to the ground and tried to twist and turn his way out but to no avail - when did Demyx get so strong anyway?

"D - Demyx, get off me," The silver haired teen could only mutter weakly. "We - we need to find the others."

Demyx's grin fell into a soft grin, "You're so cute, Zexy."

If possible, Zexion's face turned redder and he turned his head to the side so only his bangs were visible, "Demyx I - I swear if you don't get off of me-"

"But I don't wanna."

Now Zexion was getting angry, he whipped his head to face Demyx, "Demyx-!"

Then, the blond leaned his head down and placed his lips on Zexion's. The silver haired teen could barely react, eyes (or eye) wide. Demyx broke away, grinning ear to ear, and jumped up. Zexion was still completely petrified from shock.

"Hey Zexion," Demyx kneeled and held a hand out. "Let's go."

Zexion used his forearms to lift himself up, he stared, his eye wide, back at the blond.

"…..why?"

"Why?" Demyx laughed. "Because I like you Zexy!"

Zexion blushed. Again. He slowly grabbed the blonds hand and was pulled up. There was a moment silence.

"Zexy."

"…"

"Oi, Zexion!"

"…."

"Okay I know I'm like the best kisser ever, but you honestly need to get that completely amazed look off your pretty little face."

Okay. THAT got Zexion back to himself. He glared bloody murder at the blond, and Demyx took that as his cue to run. Well, at least it worked.

"Oh c'mon Zexy! I was kidding!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sora felt numb. His stomach was in a knot, his throat dried up, and he was pretty sure he was crying, by the tiny warm streams along his cheeks.

His wrists were chained to a wall (someone had come in, and forcibly chained them) and the chains were so tight, he was almost positive that all circulation was lost to his hands. He was stuck in an uncomfortable position where his arms were forced straight up by the chains and his knees were bent, and were starting to hurt really badly.

It seemed like hours since he'd last seen Namine. He barely had any semblance of the time though, and he really didn't care much about that right then. He felt like he'd be stuck like that forever, until he'd go crazy or something.

His heart felt hallow. He missed his brother, his friends, and most of all, Riku. Even if all ended well, and that likeability was slim, he and Riku having any hope of a future was nearly nonexistent. He didn't know, why now, he started thinking about it, but the thought really hurt him. He started thinking about so many negatives. He felt like he was fading into those thoughts…..it was an awful feeling.

The door then banged open. Sora was expecting Saix, or even worse someone like Xigbar, who'd make a joke of his misery. But the face he saw was…. Well, was not really much of a face at all.

It was pitch black and really small and hunched. It blinked its yellow eyes and scanned the room and stopped to stare at Sora.

Wait…..it's one of those things!

Sora remembered the masses that attacked him and his friends early, a jolt of fear ran through him. He was defend less and vulnerable, and who knows what this thing was going to do to him.

The thing blinked at him, and Sora blinked back. Then it scampered over to Sora, and the brunet's body seized up with fear, thinking it was going to attack. He slammed his eyes shut, but instead of whatever pain he expected, the painful clutch on his wrists ceased and he felt his arms fall to the floor.

The chains were slashed open, and on the floor. And the little creature stood there, innocent as ever. Sora stared at his purplish wrists, splashed with red blood. He stared back at the thing.

"Um, thank you-"

It started jumping up and down, and it scurried to the door, and just when Sora thought it was going to leave, it turned around and blinked those huge yellow eyes at him.

"You want…. You want me to follow you?"

Blink.

Sora took that as yes, even though he was still pretty unsure of this things strange blink language. He slowly stood up, his legs felt incredibly weak. He stumbled on his first couple steps, but was able to walk, though stiff and slow.

The thing was rather excited, as it kept jumping up and down, exuberantly. Sora followed it as best as he could when it started leading him down a hall, which Sora was almost positive, was further into this mansion than he would have ever imagined.

But, hey, if this thing helped him, it couldn't be all bad.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Does this hallway look familiar?"

"No."

"Does this one?"

"No."

"Okay….so maybe-"

"Well I don't know Pence," Hayner cut in harshly. "Let's see it's either Dark or Dark or freakin' darker!"

"This isn't really a good time to be a hot head."

"I'm not a hot head."

Pence rolled his eyes, "Sure. Lucky, where should we go - Lucky?"

Pence went to look down to the little creature, which he had been nearly positive was right next to him, was gone.

"See I told you it'd betray us!"

"HE would NEVER!"

"Oh wow so it's a BOY? How did you find that out? Ya' look or something?"

It just escaladed from there. Seifer nearly slapped his face.

How did I get stuck with these lamers?

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Okay, so my father and all his accomplices are usually stationed here. His, err, "lab" is here and that's where Sora would probably be."

Riku had a large map of the mansion spread out in front of him, and was pointing at rooms and places that Kairi would circle and mark. Everyone listened to the ghosts words with unwavering attention.

"I'm guessing that my fath- Xemnas would probably lock Sora up. So he could be in any one of these rooms near his office but Namine on the other hand….. Xemnas is probably questioning her…"

"Why?" Kairi asked.

Riku looked at her for only a second before looking down, "She knows things and Xemnas could only wish to understand."

Kairi was confused and a bit scared but she didn't ask any more. There wasn't a time for questions, only actions.

"…..Okay. So, Marluxia, Larxene? You ready?"

The ghosts smirked. Larxene laughed, "To cause a little mayhem for our good friend Xemnas? Of course!"

Riku grinned. "Excellent. You know the signal."

They nodded and disappeared. There was a moment of silence when Riku stood up from his kneeling position.

"Alright,"

His blade appeared in his hand, and he turned to face the others.

"Let's go."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You won't get what you want."

Xemnas smirked, "Your drawings seem to prove otherwise."

"I may draw the future, but that doesn't mean it won't change."

"Oh, trust me Namine….it won't."

Namine glared at him, "You may have power, but you will never have what Sora has. That's the only reason you need him, the only reason you have to drag him into your ridiculous scheme…..you're weak."

Xemnas fumed, "How dare you -"

Namine had turned around, ignoring him, her face in her notebook.

Sora…it's up to you.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Eh. It's okay.

Sooooo Sorry again. Inspiration has been hard to find. Hopefully this is a sign it's coming back.

~Before-I-Fall