"Vexen requests chemicals from this new world. Team up with Luxord and find the chemical on the picture here."

Saix held up a picture of a small vial. It was barely the size of a thumb, and there was a small amount of silver liquid within. "Wait, let me see if I got this correctly. Vexen wants us to get some freaky chemical from a recently discovered world? For all we know, that's mercury, and I thought we already had that in the castle," Roman said.

Luxord also expressed curiosity in the mission. "I agree with our boy here. Luck may not find herself on our side for this mission, and the exact location of the chemical may be heavily guarded. I trust the boy's abilities to fight, but neither of us may have the kind of strength to get past what may come at us."

"That is the only mission I have today," Saix said.

"Well, if we're going to be robbing someone, make it more than just me and Luxord," Roman said. "Fists and cards by themselves won't do much."

"The request is not to hunt hearts."

"I realize that, but maybe this new world's utilized a way to bend Heartless to their will while keeping their own hearts intact. That, or the locals have all sorts of tricks up their own sleeves," Roman said, thinking back to a time when he participated in a martial arts tournament to destroy a Darkside, only to be beaten to it by a "saya-jin." "Trust me, I'd know."

"Do not use that tournament OR Innocent Europe as an excuse," Saix said. Roman puffed out a breath of exasperation.

"In any case, why is Vexen unable to go himself? Is he scouting that city again?" Luxord asked.

"No. He is already on his own mission with Xion to collect hearts," Saix replied.

After saying that, Saix waved his hand to form a dark corridor to the new world. "Take the picture. The vials may not be the same."

Gee, thanks, Roman thought. That oughtta be helpful.

Rain again, Train Heartnet thought. It's been raining an awful lot these past weeks, huh? Also, there's been no shortage of these weird shadow creatures or whatever they're supposed to be...

World news reports have been filled recently with news stories of missing persons, or eyewitness accounts of murder with no body to clean up, because it appears to dissolve after something resembling a cartoon heart leaving them upon attack by strange creatures. Many of them bore something akin to a black heart crossed by spiky red vines. These were the easiest of the creatures to point out, but sometimes the hardest to dispose of. Others, they bore no "emblem," yet still posed a big problem. In either case, Train had wasted a lot of ammo taking them out. They're not Chronos experiments, I take it, he thought. So why do I bother?

He pondered this as he walked the sidewalk under a black poncho, a rather appropriate color for the man known as the "Black Cat." He has had his own experiences with an organization, the Chronos Numbers. It's a past he would rather not talk about, as he was bleak and unsmiling during his years with the numbers, as XIII.

A hooded man and teenager watched him, walking on the opposite side in the opposite direction. One would have heard the teen ask, "That's not one of ours, is it?"

"It doesn't seem to be," the man replied. "He doesn't have the look of our robes and hoods, does it?"

"Guess not. Still, I'd like to see how Roxas'd react. Anyway, let's follow these areablocks."

The man nodded in agreement. "Indeed. It would seem that luck is following us today in spite of the dreary weather."

Train heard all of this, however. Areablocks? I don't see anything that could keep a person out, he thought. Other than closed doors, though. There must be more, he thought. Train followed the two hooded figures though the streets of the city, careful not to alert them of his presence. He did so by watching how hard his feet hit the ground, especially around puddles. He also kept a fair amount of distance, ready to duck out of view of necessary. However, he lost sight of the figures in an alley.

They were there one second, then they just up an vanished, Train thought, scratching his head under an awning. How'd they manage that? Unknown to him, the two had taken a shortcut through the building he was in front of and went out the back door.

"Hoo boy... this may get sticky," Roman said.

The building he and Luxord faced was an old, three story building. It was fairly strong looking, but it was apparent that time had been whittling away at it, with rust, peeling paint and plant vines growing on the walls visible. The wooden front double doors were still there, but a dark reddish brown. In its time, it would have been red. The building was taped off at its entrance gate, which had now rusted. Roman was very tempted to see if he could kick the gate in and see what happens. He was always like that: doing things for the sake of seeing results.

"Yes... once we actually get in," Luxord said, producing a card from his sleeve.

He slipped the card into the crack between the two halves of the gate, cutting the tape at the same time. The two Nobodies then stepped back a few feet. Nothing happened. "Intresting."

"You know what? Fuck this shit," Roman said as he stepped foward much to Luxord's chagrin and got to kick the gate.

Instead of it swinging open, the gate broke off the hinges and fell foward and on the ground. Instead of a clang, there was a wet splat against the mud and water. "Wow. You were right about luck."

"Well, I suppose that's another way to take advantage of it," Luxord said, stepping past the fallen gate and to the door.

He opened the door, expecting creaking. Instead, it opened up smoothly... right up until it, too, broke its hinges and hit the floor with a loud, but not outside-audible thud. The door he opened rested against a wall on the opposite side. "Oh," he said.

"Uh... okay," Roman said. "I'll go with that," he added as he dashed into the building with Luxord following, but in a less manic manner.

Inside, it was practically on par with the skies of the World That Never Was as far as darkness. At least, that applied to the areas in which the light from outside couldn't get in. Roman exhaled a breath as he took off his hood along with Luxord. The two then proceeded inside, to the left hallway with little sound save for the sound of their footsteps echoing against the abandoned walls. As Roman said back on the streets, they followed the trail of blocked areas through a simple maze of halls, false alarms, the occasional downed door and stairs. They even found a chest, and then continued through until they reached a door not blocked off. "This must be the room in question. Easier than expected," Roman commented.

"Indeed. Lady Luck is treating us especially well today, don't you agree?" Luxord asked, opening the door.

Roman expected to see dusty equipment, but he was met with dust protected things. The sinks, the cabinets, the microscopes, everything seems to have been preserved for future use by scientists who would never again walk the halls of the building. Obviously, the protection measures were covered in dust. One microscope's dust cover was home to a cockroach, which Roman didn't hesitate to stomp and overstomp on. Another, a lizard which Roman let run. He even opened a window in the hallway to let it out. Luxord wasn't without his own nasty surprises. The storage cabinets found themselves with more than a few rats, which he shooed off with three cards in hand. One rat even jumped at him, making him swat it off his robes with a card. "Nasty things, rats."

Finally, the two found the cabinet with the vials. Unlike what Saix had said, the vials were more-or-less identical to the provided picture. A device in Roman's pocket beeped. He pulled it out and looked at its display. "Mission complete, but only to silver level. How many of those things are in there?" he asked.

"Two. I'm actually growing suspicious of our own luck," Luxord said as he slipped another vial into the same card he put the first one in.

"100%. Now let's roll before more roaches come by."

And yet, just when he said that...

Train could hear the shouting from outside, mainly because the window on the seemingly abandoned research building was open. The loudest one was a younger voice, which added an assortment of vulgar words followed by loud crashing, stomping, and one explosion. Jeez, these robbers don't handle any chemicals well, do they?

He laughed to himself upon thinking that, and then saw the culprit responsible rushing out the door and across the hall. A black haired teen with oval glasses followed by a light haired man who seems to have shaved his head and sporting a beard. Halfway to the middle of the building, Train saw the teenager come to a screeching halt as his eyes went wide as he looked slightly down. Without thinking, he jumped out the window after a brief moment of deliberation. He hit the ground with an "Augh!" and a splash.

The older man followed, also with an "Oof!" and a splash. "Well, better wet than muddy."

"Hell, better wet than swarmed by roaches. Fuckers..."

Train hid at the entrace gate, which seemed to have fallen foward like something hit it from his side. The same two figures he saw walking the sidewalk earlier ran out and back onto the sidewalk, hooded as they were, obscuring their facial features. However, he could tell which was was which. What were they there for? Obviously, they didn't seem to get what they wanted, he thought. Or, maybe they did and that was just their "triumphant" exit.

He decided to follow them. To him, they were more men of Creed, which made Train tense up and run with increased resolve. He took out his gun, Hades, and ran off after them, the Roman numerals for thirteen on Hades gleaming in the streetlamp lights.

"Hey, you hear someone else's feet?" Roman asked as they ran in the direction of the corridor, which was still a ways off, tucked into an alley.

"What?" Luxord asked.

"There's me, you and someone else, I think. Maybe I'm going crazy."

Just to be sure, the two stopped. They listened for delaying footsteps, but there was nothing. "Coulda' sworn there was another set of feet..."

"Perhaps that's not an issue to tend to right now. We need to RTC as soon as possible, before someone catches us. I'm afraid that our luck is on the verge of running out right now."

Better hope it hasn't already, Roman thought.

To be sure, Roman looked behind him to see if anyone was there. Nothing. Just a black cat with yellow eyes. It seemed to be meowing in the general direction of an alley some distance away from him, as if though it noticed something. Roman took no more time to investigate, however, as he resumed running.

It was only two minutes until they reached the dark corridor. Roman's lungs never really held out for such long stretches of running, so he was struggling to catch his breath. "Hey... Luxord... think it's possible... for Nobodies to *whew* have health problems?"

"Perhaps. What do you speak of?"

"Asthma, maybe," Roman said, adding a cough at the end. "I think I should go first so I can catch my breath..."

With that, he stepped into the portal. Luxord was about to when he heard a loud ricochet against a trash can. He turned around and found a person holding a uniquely designed gold, grey and black revolver, aiming it at him. "Kept hearing things about luck from you in particular," he said.

"Correct. It's a fickle thing, able to save or kill. In any case, I am sorry to inform you that I have to return to my home base. I have sensitive material to deliver."

Roman suddenly poked his hooded head and an arm out the portal after Luxord had said that. "I got it."

Luxord handed the vials of the chemical, now out of a card, to Roman, and he retreated back into the swirling portal with little trace. "What was that?" the person asked.

"To be honest, no one there really knows, and neither do I," Luxord replied, shrugging, and stepping into the portal himself backwards.

"Hey! Wait!"

But Train was too late. The hooded man was already gone, yet the portal remained. He decided to make a dash for it to see if he could follow him, but the portal vanished. Why would they retrieve something, he thought, if they don't know what it is? Neither them or their superiors? And they didn't seem to know me for all I know...

He holstered Hades underneath his poncho again and stepped out of the alley. Maybe this goes further than Chronos, he continued, And into something more. More of what specifically, I don't know.

The street had about a quartar inch of water on it. Man, this city doesn't like to let go of its water, does it? Train walked some distance until he found himself surrounded by a small group of creatures, none bearing the strange emblem. Quickly, he took out Hades and swiftly shot five out of the seven in the head with the remaining bullets, and reloaded two more bullets. It was all he really needed. He proved this by quickly dispatching the other two, reducing them to a momentary black-purple mist that soon evaporated. Without warning, an emblem creature appeared from near thin air. This one didn't look too bad. It's got a helmet and claws, but not a whole lot more, Train thought as he promptly loaded another bullet and shot at its head. The bullet ricocheted off, however, prompting him to load a special Burst Bullet. Firing that one, it overpierced the helmet and launched the creature backwards an inch, something Train didn't see coming, and it disintegrated upon landing. A heart flew up into the air from where it was.

He remembered further reports. Some people also witnessed hearts turning into the creatures themselves, or particularly cruel people radiating with a dark aura and being left alone by the creatures. Perhaps they were linked to these hearts, or maybe people's behaviors. So maybe these things are linked to anything considered by God-knows-what to be evil? There were also reports of light grey creatures sighted around the "death" site of VIPs of all sorts. "This just gets weirder and weirder..." Train said to himself.

"Okay, that was a little too close for comfort from what I saw," Roman said as he took off his robes and hung them to let them dry. "That would have turned into something ugly, considering the presence of a friggin' gun."

"But Luxord could have blocked those easily, right?" Xion asked from the other side of the door. "Well, if he can react quick enough."

"That's our big ticket problem: reaction time. At that range, there's no way Luxord could block as soon as the trigger was pulled. Oh... and I could have sworn that I saw the number XIII on the gun."

"Um... I don't know how to use a gun properly," Roxas said, also from behind the door.

"I wasn't suggesting it was you. S'probably a local mistakening us for some other dudes."

"Any idea as to what that was you two got?" Xion asked, possibly trying to change the subject.

"Actually, no. In fact, it didn't seem like even Vexen knew its name. All he had was a picture to give us, and that was it."

Roxas and Xion looked at each other, confused. Why would anyone be sent on a semi-wild goose chase?

Vexen put the next vial of the substance in. Day 2, he thought. 20% completion. Maybe importing wasn't the best idea, because some of this I can't begin to understand...

In all honesty, he found the graphic to activate the test tube purely by luck. Now he was looking for one to do away with that accursed metal cover and see what exactly it was he was working on. Three months... and the curiosity has to strike me now, he thought.

He had no such luck for a time. One graphic emptied out a fairly insignificant amount of water, which he saw through the grated/glass floor go away from the cylindrical containment unit. Another activated a trap door he nearly fell through. After about twenty different graphics, he found what he was looking for. The metal covering lifted up to reveal a clear glass inner tube. In that unit, behind the glass, was his project. "Oh... I was right at the meeting," he said, touching the graphic again to resummon the metal covering, which he saw to be an inch thick. Not a shame... not a celebratory thing. I just happened to be right.

Now, about the chemical, he thought. Given the new vital, perhaps I should call it Compound NM. "Yes... even if I'm a little clueless myself."

He examined the label on it. "Chronos," he said aloud. Afterwards, he discarded the vial. Maybe that was one of the two vials Luxord and the boy retrieved. The main reason why the boy was so crucial was primarily for his memories. Not that Vexen had the girl, Namine, extract any. He merely sampled them (as much as he could, due to their absence to the boy) and formed a genetic map. The rest, he honestly winged.

[Author's Notes]

- Suggestions for a name for the Black Cat world are greatly appreciated. Right now, I'm working with Sweeper's Field, but that sounds a little weird to me. Credit will go to whomever brings up the best name.

- No, I will not tell you if that thing Vexen's working on is Eve. For all you know, he's doing that AND searching the city as he said. Eve may very well be in the city...