I repeat again: This fic is damn short. I really thought it was going to be longer, but it's not looking that way at all. Sad as it seems. I do think I could have put in another whole chapter on just Riku and Sora's bonding since I didn't develop their relationship much, but x-x, that kind of got shoved aside. Sorry about all that. Enjoy!

Katraa: XD, yes, definitely twisty. And family ties are always fun and make people go 'wtf?' most of the time, which is even more fun. Thanks for reviewing!

riku -heart- sora: Uh... what about now? XD, and another cliffy shall be at the end of this chapter. Don't fall off XD, thanks for reviewing!

Roxas awoke to the sound of dripping water. He opened his eyes and moonlight was filtering in through a large open window. A vaguely familiar throne-like chair came into view and he knew he must be in his father's hide out. It wasn't so much a hide out as a ritual room, but it was the only place he'd seen the tan-haired man in forever. He tried to move, only to realize that he was chained to the wall and as he looked around once more, he saw his cousin chained next to him.

"Sora," he hissed, "Sora!"

"Don't bother," a very familiar and hated voice rang out through the room, "He'll be asleep until about quarter to midnight."

"Seifer," Roxas frowned, "Why are you on his side? He'd easily kill you, too if he had to."

"Ah, but see, he doesn't. No, in fact, he only needs to kill one of you, and my money's on Sora."

"I won't let him," the blonde said, determined.

Seifer chuckled, "If you haven't noticed, you're not going to be given much of a choice." He glanced over his shoulder as another figure emerged into the room, "There's no chance of Riku finding us, right?"

Nise chuckled and slipped his hood off. His silver hair hung so much in the style of Riku's that the two could have been twins. There was something sinister in his eyes, however, that Roxas was sure (though he'd never met Riku) the good twin didn't have.

"Of course not, he has no idea where we are or what's going on. There's no way he can find out."

"The only other one who knows anything is Hayner, and he's as clueless to our location as Riku," Seifer confirmed.

"Then we're all set," the robed teen nodded, "All we need to do is wait for Kai-sama to return and then when the time is right..."

"Why are you doing this?" Roxas frowned, looking to Nise, "Why are you involved?"

"Shut up," Seifer hissed, "It's none of your business."

"He has a point," the silver-haired boy agreed, "Besides, your worthless life isn't worth telling."

Roxas glared at the boy, but kept silent. He sent one more glance at Sora and frowned, "What are we going to do? Everything seems so hopeless."

"Shit," Nise muttered, clutching at his arm.

Seifer quirked an eyebrow, "What's your problem?"

"Hell if I know, my arm's burning," the silver-haired boy hissed, pulling up his sleeve.

"Here," the taller boy said, annoyed, and grabbed Nise's arm, pulling his sleeve up. The two stared in shock as black markings wrapped their way around the tanned arm and began to glow a bright golden. Seifer backed away from the Egyptian boy, "What the fuck?" he demanded.

Nise was no longer confused but frowning in concentration. He ran a few fingers over the markings, muttering something under his breath, "This can't be good."

"What?" Seifer asked, "What the hell's wrong with your arm?"

"It's nothing," the light-haired teen snapped, "Mind your own business."

Seifer growled lowly, but kept quiet. "Spoiled brat," he thought, "It's too bad father would be upset if I killed him."

---

Walking along the beaches, Riku sighed impatiently. He rubbed furiously at his arm, "Go away," he thought, "I need to focus on finding Sora." There was one sure-fire way to find where his look a like had taken him, but he wasn't prepared to go through that again.

"Hey!" someone shouted and as he looked up, he saw a boy he'd never met nor seen before, but from his looks and Sora's description, he could tell the teen was one of the brunette's friends.

"Can I help you?" Riku asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"You're that kid, right?" Hayner asked, "Sora's friend. He said you dressed weird and had silver hair."

Riku nodded slowly, "Yeah. You... haven't seen Sora, have you?"

Hayner shook his head, "No, but I think he's in trouble." The blonde then explained the entire situation of the amulets, all needlessly.

"I knew it," Riku muttered, gripping his arm tighter, "But I didn't know it would be this soon."

"You know? How?" The dirty-blonde frowned, "You have a part in all of this?"

"Not exactly," Riku sighed, "When I was young, I ventured a little too far into the desert. I journeyed to a place in the sands where nothing ever survived, but there was the ghost of a maiden there. Not a kind woman, but fair if nothing else. She granted me a way back to my home in return for a price."

Hayner blinked, "A...price?"

The silver-haired boy nodded, "She cursed me, split my soul in two: The half that you see now, and a darker half. I escaped with my life, but a part was left behind."

"I still don't get it. How does that fit in with any of this?"

"There's a boy working for Kai, the one that took Roxas."

Hayner nodded slowly, remembering the events, "And he's..."

"My other half," Riku confirmed, "The darker part of my soul that's in this only for himself." He sighed and shook his head, "But we need to hurry, if they've already collected both Roxas and Sora, then it must be tonight."

"Seifer said it would be," the younger boy agreed, "I just don't know where to find them."

Riku hesitated before rolling his sleeve up. The same golden-glowing markings decorated it and he ran a finger over it lightly, "I do."

"Then let's go, what are you waiting for?" Hayner was nervous and anxious and a million other things, all for good reason. Seifer had used him not only to hinder Roxas from doing anything, but to help himself in the process. As if that weren't enough, Roxas and Sora were both in danger.

"I'd have to re-establish the link that I worked so hard to sever," Riku said slowly, considering all of his options and the consequences of each, "I only severed it because he was stronger than me, he plagued my mind and my thoughts, and I was becoming like him. To link my mind to his again..."

"You could be taken over again?"

"And more, I could be taken fully, if he's been growing stronger while I've been doing nothing." He looked down at the markings covering his arm, "But if I don't do something, then Sora will die."

"If you're not going to help, then I'll just-"Hayner began, turning to leave.

"I'll do it," Riku cut him off. He wasn't sure he was ready to face whatever terrors lie inside his mind, but he knew that he didn't want innocent people to be hurt because of his mistakes. "It's my fault he ever came here in the first place, so I'll take care of it."

With thoughts of Sora on his mind and in his heart, Riku closed his eyes and allowed the mark to spread over his body. Soon, his back and chest and arms were covered in it and it rapidly spread down to his legs and up and across his face. The next time he opened his eyes, he was in a room. At least, he assumed it was a room, as nothing but black shrouded the walls, ceiling and floor. A single patch of white stood where he did, as if just him being there illuminated the area. The light spread only a short distance, but it was short enough to see another figure, much like himself, standing in the darkness. This figure was different, though: Its eyes were yellow and its hair black. Its skin was completely covered in the black markings so (unlike Riku's) not a bit of skin was showing through. He looked, for lack of a better word, like a shadow monster, with bits of shadowy darkness leaking off of his head and arms and floating up into the air, disappearing into the blackness of the room. When the creature (for he could no longer be called a boy) spoke, it was in a low and raspy, almost demonic, voice.

"Why do you think that you can beat me?" it asked, mockingly, "You were weak all those years ago, and you're weak now."

"Weak as I may be," Riku said in a loud and clear voice, "I won't let you hurt Sora."

It laughed, "Hurt the kid? I want nothing to do with him, that's all Kai-sama's concern. I just want what was promised to me."

"Me, am I right?" the silver-haired boy asked, "Or rather, control over me, so that you can corrupt my soul entirely. It seems half just isn't good enough for you."

"Why would I want half when I can have the power to become whole?" the shadow being wondered, "If a few kids die for that purpose, oh well."

"You are the evil that was in me, all the greed and manipulative bones in my body. I can't expect you to understand compassion, but I will expect you to understand power."

"Power? You have power over me? I hardly believe that."

"I beat you once, did I not?" Riku questioned, the memories of his long-ago victory rushing back to him.

"With help," the monster reminded him, "and it cost your father his life."

The green-eyed boy frowned, "Be that as it may-"

"You're weak alone, you couldn't even save an old man!" it sneered.

"He was your father, too!" Riku shouted, a look of betrayal and hurt lining his features. While his other half had been left with no compassion and no pure thoughts, he had been comprised of only those things. Though he still sinned, his faults were meager compared to the brutal boy he once was.

"My father? My father?" it repeated, scathingly, "I have no family nor friends, and I want none. I'm not like you, you're still soft and weak as a human."

"And being a cold and ruthless monster is better?" Riku questioned, knowing that this banter was only stalling. If he kept it up much longer, he'd be too late. His other half knew that, too, and this place seemed to suck the energy from him. The place where their minds joined and flooded together was not Riku's domain, but his darker half's. It wasn't a place he was meant to be, and if he stayed much longer, he knew he'd be dead and useless to Sora.

"I get power and anything I want," the evil of his soul said, "Of course it's better. I'm not tied down with emotions or friends or family."

"That sounds real nice," Riku lied, "but you are tied down by one thing."

It laughed again, "Oh? And what might that be?"

"Me." Before his darker half could react, Riku raced toward it, the light fleeting behind him. As he reached the monster and their skin and bodies collided, a burst of golden light sparked where they touched. Soon, everything was blinded in gold.

"No, damn it!" the creature screamed, "You won't last a minute in my body and you know it!"

"I only need a second," was Riku's reply as the light faded and he found himself kneeled over on the floor of a room he didn't recognize. He could feel the darkness and insanity eating away at his mind and body. He struggled to stand up, and found Seifer and Kai both staring at him.

"Is everything alright?" Kai asked, not concerned in the least bit as he turned his attention toward a rather gaudy knife in his hands.

Riku glanced quickly at the clock to see there was only five minutes until midnight. The only problem was, he wasn't sure he could last five minutes. He had switched their bodies, and thus their locations. He knew he didn't have to worry about Hayner-- his darker half would have just as hard a time, if not harder, in his body.

"Fine," Riku rasped out, his voice coming out as the same demonic vocals that he had heard from the creature in his mind.

"It's that fool, isn't it?" Seifer asked, scowling, "That Riku prick."

"Riku?" Sora asked, having been conscious for nearly ten minutes by now.

"Shut up," Seifer snapped, "You won't have to worry about him, Nise will kill him just as surely as father will kill you."

Riku watched the man known as Kai glance at the clock: Only three minutes left. The silver-haired boy gritted his teeth as the darkness of his soul suffocated him. He had to act fast; had to get back in his body. But first, he had to find out where they were. The large window that sat on the opposite side of the room gave a clear view of the city, but Riku soon realized that he had been in the town less than a month, and nothing looked familiar. A vertical building that still looked under construction, a clear view of the moon hovering over the crashing waves, too many building too count. None of it looked recognizable, and his only hope was that Hayner would know where they were.

And thus shall end the chapter. The next chapter will be the next to last, but the last chapter's only going to be an epilogue. So, come on, I'm taking bets. Who thinks Sora's going to die? Roxas? XD, Kai or Seifer? Or maybe Riku and Nise? I'm telling you now at least two people will be dead. Hope you enjoyed, the next chapter will be out soon!