Hello all! I am back from Chicago with an update for you. I was actually going to post this yesterday, but then my PC crashed...luckily I was able to save my story files and am now updating from my mom's Mac. Life, I tell you.

Anyway! In my absence I planned out the rest of the story in more detail. Chapter 21 is almost done, but it's become a slower process since I have two other writing projects that I'm working on right now. I definitely don't have writer's block, but it's more like me just being lazy. Oops.

Moving on: My thank you's! It was so nice to see all the reviews when I got back. Thank you to TheKeeperofKingdomHearts1, Witchgirl590, NinjaSheik, pandabearmusic, Amara Natsumi, Island-style-girl, Clarissa Avila, Lumen, Ark Angel, RedQueen, Monkeychicklet23, Kokoro Hikari, Chocoboco and animechick247.

Keep the reviews coming! We're at 182 now, which means we're 18 off from 200. Insanity. Let's just aim for 195...so 13 more :)

Axel simply ignored her. "It's a set-up by Organization XIII. Xemnas is using you to destroy the Heartless. That's his big master plan."

"Xemnas?" Donald repeated.

"The guy you just saw," Axel levelled. "He's their leader." Tapping his forehead with his index finger, he drawled sarcastically, "Got it memorized?"

Vilixa rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"X-E-M-N-A-S," he spelled, just for good measure. He then looked over at Vilixa and added, "And no more sass out of you."

"What master plan are you talking about?" Vilixa asked, her voice somber.

"Man, are you guys slow," he smirked, pointing at the Keyblades. "Every Heartless slain with those Keyblades releases a captive heart. That is what the Organization is after."

"So what are those guys gonna do with the hearts?" Donald pondered.

"I'm not telling!" Axel taunted.

Vilixa grasped her Keyblade in her hands. "This no time for games! Tell us!"

"Don't tell me about playing games when you're the one who's been doing nothing but playing hide and seek with the Organization," he snarled.

"You...you're the one who kidnapped Kairi," Sora gasped.

Vilixa turned to Sora. "Kairi's gone? Why didn't you say anything?" Sora ignored her. He just stared hard at Axel, trying to get a confession from him.

"Bingo," he replied nonchalantly. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Where is Kairi?" Sora asked, pain evident in his eyes and his voice. Axel paused, scratching his hairline slightly, looking down at the ground with guilt. Sora became frantic. "Please...just tell me!"

"Look..." Axel started, "about Kairi, I'm sorry."

Vilixa bit her lip and shook her head at her friend. "Axel...how could you..."

"Axel!" a stern voice interrupted everyone's thoughts. A portal opened between where Axel stood and where everyone else was, revealing Saix, an angered expression on his face.

"Uh oh!" Axel muttered, opening a portal himself and disappearing.

Sora was about to run after Axel as the portal closed, but Saix held out an arm and stopped him. "We'll ensure he receives the maximum punishment," he said cooly. His eyes darted over to Vilixa. "It looks like I may be able to kill two birds with one stone. Axel's led me straight back to you."

Vilixa felt afraid, but stood her ground. "You don't have it in you."

"Please," Sora said, trying to reason with Saix. "Just let me into the realm of darkness, okay?"

"If it's Kairi you're worried about, don't," he said. "We're taking very good care of her."

"As if," Vilixa shot. "I've been held captive by Organization XIII. You've probably just left her to rot in that prison cell that Vexen made before he was eliminated."

Sora suddenly burst out, "Take me to her!"

Saix sneered. "Is she really that important to you?"

"Yeah," Sora mumbled. "More than anything."

"Show me how important."

Sora hesitated, but then dropped to his knees and started to beg. "Please..."

"Sora, no..." Vilixa whispered, hurt. "Don't lower yourself to this. Don't beg him for anything."

"So, you really do care for her." Saix looked down at Sora, his yellow eyes glinting maliciously. "In that case, the answer is no."

Sora sprang up. "You rotten--"

"Are you angry?" Saix asked calmly. "Do you hate? Then take that rage and direct it at the Heartless."

He snapped his fingers and a row of Heartless appeared behind him.

"Pitiful Heartless," he said, directing his attention to them, "mindlessly collecting hearts...and yet they know not of the true power of what they hold." He looked over at Sora and continued. "The rage of the Keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free. Until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts. And when that time comes, we can truly, finally exist."

"What in the world do you think you're prattling on about?" a woman's voice nagged from behind Donald and Goofy. Vilixa looked back to see a wave of green fire emerging from the ground, revealing a tall woman wearing a black and purple cloak holding a cepter glaring down at Saix. "Kingdom Hearts belongs to me."

The name sprang from Vilixa's lips. "Maleficent..."

"The heart of all beings...the heart of all that lives," she continued. "A dominion fit to be called Kingdom Hearts must be my dominion!"

"Maleficent, no!" Sora cried. "No more Heartless!"

Maleficent furrowed her brow and declared, "I do not take orders from you!" She raised her cepter high in the air and even more Heartless appeared.

"Fool..." Saix muttered, snapping his fingers. A dozen Dusks appeared and eliminated them all in one swift attack.

Maleficent moved in front of the group and created a wall of fire that blocked the Nobodies off from where they stood. "While I keep these creatures at bay, devise a way to vanquish them forever!"

"Maleficent..." Sora said quietly, almost feeling sorry for the witch as the Dusks pounced on her.

"Do not misunderstand me," she warned. "I shall have my revenge on you yet. Leave, now."

Sora growled, "I don't take orders from you."

"Sora, come on!" Vilixa cried, trying to tug on his arm. "We have to leave now!"

"But--" he stuttered, "What about--"

They looked over to where Maleficent had been. A pile of Dusks laid writhing on top of the place where she stood. The green fire had been extinguished, and Saix looked at them and lazily asked, "Now then, where did we leave off?"

He snapped his fingers once, and the Dusks were gone. After a few seconds, he snapped his fingers again and the Heartless reappeared.

"Which side are you guys on, anyway?" Sora demanded as the Heartless circled them slowly.

"The Heartless ally with whoever is strongest," Saix explained. He signalled for them to attack. They attempted to charge at Sora, but he sliced them away easily with his Keyblade.

Every time he would defeat one of the Heartless, he became more and more aware of the fact that a small, captive heart would escape the empty shell and rise up towards the sky before fading away.

"Yes, Sora," Saix grinned. "Extract more hearts." Then a portal opened beneath him, encasing him within the darkness. And soon, he was gone.

Vilixa, Sora, Donald and Goofy backed up against one another, trying to fend off the numberous Heartless that surrounded them. Vilixa and Sora looked up at the hearts that floated freely into the air, only to see that they were slowly being swallowed up by the darkness once again.

"No...the hearts..." Sora mumbled. "Maybe everything we've done...maybe it was all for nothing." He blocked an attack from the Heartless and cried out, "What am I supposed to do if I can't use the Keyblade?"

"Imbiciles!" Maleficent's voice echoed throughout the Great Maw. "You can't be trusted to do anything."

"Huh?" Vilixa gasped as the ground gave way beneath her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact of her body against the ground. When it never came, she opened her eyes and saw that she was surrounded by a sea of darkness. It was almost as if she was in suspended animation.

Looking around, she saw Sora, Donald and Goofy not too far away. She ran up to them, relieved.

"Where are we?" Donald asked.

"This must be the realm of darkness," Sora guessed. He looked over his shoulder and suddenly sprang into attack mode. "Who's there?"

Vilixa raised her eyebrow at Sora, but turned in the direction that he was facing. Her eyes widened slightly and a small gasp escaped her lips.

A man in a familiar black cloak was holding a white cardboard box in one hand.

It was Riku. It just had to be Riku.

Donald ran towards the cloaked figure, but he disappeared in a portal before he could get to him. It his place, he left the box. Donald picked it up and shook it slightly.

"What is it?" he asked the group.

"Are you sure you wanna open--" Goofy warned as Donald flipped open the lid to the box, "--that?"

Inside the box was a photograph and a bar of blue ice cream. Vilixa's stomach let out a small growl, but she masked it by emitting a small cough. No one noticed though. They were too fixated on the photo that was now in Sora's hands.

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