Disclaimer: Don't own it. That should be obvious.

Warnings: Language (quite a large use of the word "bitch" in this chapter) and sexual themes. Also slight mentions of cannibalism.

Author's Note: Well guys, here's chapter 20. I hope you enjoy it. It was an interesting one to write. I'm so sorry that it wasn't up sooner!! I planned on posting this in early September and now it's late October. XP Oh well, all that matters is that I'm posting it now.

Oh, also, BE SURE TO GO READ MIZUKI ASSASIN OF THE MIST'S POEM "SEA OF DARKNESS" ON THIS SITE!! GIVE HER REVIEWS TOO!! SHE DESERVES THEM!!! It's based on chapter 3 of this fic. It's was lovely to read, and I was quite flattered by it. =)


End of Chapter 19: Introductions

"Having trouble controlling your minions, Hidenori?" Haydn asked with a wry smile.

"Not at all Haydn. They just tend to get a little antsy when I don't let them kill right away. But it's better this way. The longer I keep them waiting, the more vicious they get. I doubt it will take them long to kill all of you. Attack!" Hidenori shouted. His five minions were off the cliff before he could even snap his fingers.

And so it began…


Chapter 20: Difficult Realizations

Within ten minutes of battles, it was obvious that they were against something more powerful than anyone could have ever imagined. Some were already starting to tire out. Hidenori's lackeys, up until this point, had been attacking at random. Yet now, they seemed to target opponents that caught their interest.

The first to do so was Ren, who seemed to think Demyx was one of the weakest links of the group. The blonde's water clones were fighting off demon dogs as he frantically plucked the strings of his sitar. When the dogs saw Ren, they cleared the way, realizing that one of their masters wanted the mullet haired bait to themselves. With a snap of Ren's fingers, Demyx's water clones melted into useless puddles of water.

"Hey, who did tha-"

Demyx's eyes went wide when he saw who he was picking a fight with. Ren chuckled darkly.

"How cute, you can manipulate water into clones of yourself." Ren said with a sadistic grin. "Perhaps we should see what I can do with water."

With a simple wave of her hands, two large balls of water appeared on either side of Ren's light blue head. The pallid woman flicked her wrists in Demyx's direction, causing the balls of water to launch themselves at him. The Melodious Nocturne prepared to block them with his sitar, but faltered when he saw the water was molding into pointed sickles. As the sickles moved closer, they froze into ice, pointed and moving fast enough to possibly penetrate the skull of their victim. Demyx managed to duck just before the ice hit.

Despite Demyx's luck, the ice he had just narrowly dodged hit a cliff behind him, causing an avalanche of rocks to cascade towards him. Knowing he wouldn't be able to run away, Demyx curled himself into a ball and waited for the impact, but it never came. He opened his eyes to find Zexion next to him with his lexicon open in his hands. He had created a shield around them. Zexion muttered something under his breath and the rocks fell through the air in several directions, a rather large one nearly hitting Ren in the face.

"What did I say about not getting hurt?" Zexion asked warily, the thought of Demyx nearly bleeding to death after being hit by the giant dog demon's large spike still an open wound in his mind, despite the fact the blonde had made a perfect recovery.

"Uh…don't do it?" Demyx said as he scratched the back of his head. Zexion sighed.

"It wouldn't have happened if she hadn't tried to hit me with a pointy slab of ice!" Demyx accused Ren with a pointed finger. Zexion turned his attention to the malevolent girl and glared at her.

"Aww, how adorable. The boyfriend is trying to protect mullet head." Ren cooed tauntingly. Zexion's grey eyes narrowed.

"You lay one of your vile claws on even one hair of his head and I'll kill you." Zexion hissed. Ren only laughed.

"We'll see who kills who first runt!" Ren screeched as she swayed her talon-like claws in an upward position. The ground around them began to shake and crack, large shards of ice emerging from the earth's crevices. Zexion grabbed Demyx's shirt and pulled them up with a levitation charm from his lexicon. They landed on the cliff above them; Ren wasn't far behind. Their fight continued.

Not too far off, Yuffie was having quite a bit of trouble defending herself from Ken.

"Hmm…you don't have much meat on you, but I guess it'll have to do. You're an easier target than the rest of them." Ken said as he licked his cracked, dry lips.

"Stay away, freak!!" Yuffie shouted as she threw a kunai at the frightening man. Ken merely looked at the weapon and it burst into flames. Yuffie gave a terrified squeak as she began to back up into the stone wall behind her. Yuffie gulped as Ken's face came inches from her own, his arms placed on either side of her so she couldn't move. Ken laughed hoarsely.

"Say goodbye sweetheart." Ken cackled as Yuffie turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut. Before anything happened, Ken shouted in shock, confusion, and pain. The young ninja opened her eyes to discover a deep gash across Ken's nose. A chakram was stuck in the rock next to him. Axel.

"Why don't you pick on someone else, asshole?" Axel said as he approached the two. Tifa was with him, looking quite pissy.

"Who the hell are you?" Ken asked as he clutched his nose.

"The names Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Axel said hotly.

"Yeah, sure. The names Ken. You wont need to memorize it because I'm going to eat your bony ass before you get the chance to." Ken said with a hit of excitement quavering in his voice.

"Well aren't you just pleasant." Axel said dryly. "Yuffie, go with Tifa. I think I'm going to have some fun with Ken on my own." Yuffie decided to obey for once. Axel waited until Yuffie and Tifa were a safe distance away before addressing Ken again and really taking in his appearance.

"Jesus Christ, what hole did you crawl out of?" Axel asked as he eyed Ken's unruly, matted hair and his yellowish eyes. He was certainly a sight to behold.

"Funny, human. Most don't have such a sense of humor before I devour them. You should have a little more respect and be afraid of me." Ken said in sick amusement as his hands began to twitch sporadically.

"Aren't you a little creeper? Well, in all fairness, I might be scared if I were a normal human. Problem is, I'm not." Axel remarked with a wicked grin, his sharp, fang-like teeth poking out. They were impressive, even in the face of the dog demon in front of him.

"Nice fangs you got there. Bet you could do some real damage with those. I almost forgot how much less fun demolishing human men was."

"What do you mean by 'less fun'?" Axel asked carefully, his piercing green eyes narrowing.

"They don't get as scared and put up more of a struggle. Much more work for me with less entertainment. The girls on the other hand…" Ken became quiet for a moment and gave a toothy grin before darting a pointed tongue out to touch his lips. "They beg for their lives or for it all to end; one or the other. Their flesh is so much softer. That's why I targeted your little friend. She's so thin though, not enough meat. That other girl on the other hand, her name was Tifa, wasn't it? She looked absolutely delicious. More meat on her, especially in the chest area." Ken laughed wildly, his eyes acquiring a hungry look.

"You sick little bastard!" Axel snarled. "You touch anyone in our groupand I'll-"

"Or maybe I should get my hands on that little boyfriend of yours. It's Roxas, correct? Peculiar name, but that hardly matters. He looks rather tasty."

Axel growled and his pupils became mere slits, giving his eyes a dangerous, cat-like appearance. He didn't bother to think about how Ken knew who Roxas was; he only thought about how to protect him. Axel swung his chakrams around perilously before setting them aflame.

"If you even so much as look at him wrong, I'll make sure to kill you in the most painful way possible." Axel whispered forebodingly as he threw his flaming chakrams in Ken's direction. The other pyro raised his hands, stopping Axel's weapons in mid-air. Seconds later, they flung themselves back at Axel. The red head narrowly dodged his own weapons.

"What the hell…?"Axel said, eyeing his chakrams as if they would move on their own and try to kill him once more. Deciding they were safe, Axel shrugged and put them in his hands.

"That's an interesting little trick you've got there." Axel claimed, trying to keep his voice from quaking. "I saw what you did to Yuffie's kunai. You can control fire too, can't you?"

"Sure can. I tend to use it well."

Just after Ken made this statement, one of Demyx's water clones fell from the cliff above and hit Ken with a watery splat, soaking him completely. Axel laughed haughtily.

"Well, I guess you wont be using that fire now. That's what kind of sucks about being a pyro: Get wet and you're completely useless."

"That may be true for you…but myself on the other hand…" Ken trailed off, his body jerking as it began to glow. His body was quickly drying, as if all the heat he used to control fire was being used to rid him of water instead. He was completely dry within seconds. If it hadn't been for the puddle of water at Ken's feet, Axel would have wondered if the other pyromaniac had ever really been soaked to begin with.

"Shit." Axel muttered, knowing he was about to be in for one hell of a fight.

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Farther away, Kane was fighting against Cloud and Leon, and winning quite easily. Shigemi stood next to her son as both the men went down from a blow from Kane's sword.

"Kane sweetheart, be a dear and go kill your filthy, human loving traitor of a brother for mommy, will you?" Shigemi said in a saccharine voice as she wrapped her arms around Kane's torso from behind, placing her angular chin on his shoulder and planting a kiss on the back of his neck. Kane grimaced.

"Yeah, sure." Kane muttered as he shrugged his mother off of him and headed in Haydn's direction. Shigemi chuckled.

"That's a good boy. I'll deal with these two." Shigemi said as she showed Cloud and Leon her creepy smile. If the two had any energy to spare, they might have shuddered.


Haydn was surrounded by several rabid dogs. As soon as he managed to kill one, five more seemingly took its place. Haydn grunted as his guitar cracked yet another mutt's skull. It crumbled to the ground pathetically.

"Hey traitor!" Kane shouted, running towards Haydn at full speed with his sword drawn. Just before the weapon hit its target, Haydn smiled politely and blocked the attack with his acoustic. As Kane tried to attack him again, Haydn pulled out his own sword and easily blocked Kane's attempts. Haydn smirked at the angry blonde.

"It's been a long time, little brother." Haydn said.

"I'm afraid I'm not so little anymore, traitor."

"You're right, you've grown a lot in the past ten years."

"Yeah, I have. I bet I was still taller than you ten years ago too." Kane smirked as he moved to attack Haydn from behind. Haydn twitched at the clear insult to his height. Kane had no right! Even if he was ten years younger and a full head taller…

"You little brat…" Haydn said quietly, blocking Kane's attack yet again.

"You forget that I taught you everything you know Kane." Haydn growled, trapping his little brother between him and a cliff. The arm that Kane usually used to handle his sword was now completely immobilized by Haydn's gaze.

"You may have taught me quite a bit traitor…but there was a lot I had to learn on my own as well…" Kane said as he angled the pointed end of his sword and sliced Haydn's shoulder. Haydn lost complete control over Kane's movements and cried out in pain. He fell to the ground in front of his younger brother, clutching his bleeding wound.

"It seems that you haven't tried to control anyone in a while." Kane said. "That was a very weak attempt, traitor."

'You little bastard…what did they do to you?' Haydn thought. He had underestimated Kane's ability. He was in for something more difficult than he realized.

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It seemed that Saix was having just as much difficulty as Haydn was, except that he was against several demon mutts instead of their somewhat human looking allies. The blunette soon found out that this wouldn't last very long, for Ikuya's apparent interest in Saix got the best of him.

"Hey baby, what are you doing over here all by yourself?" Ikuya said in his high pitched voice as he overstepped Saix's personal bubble.

"I wasn't alone…" Saix said uncomfortably.

"Well, it looks like we are now." Ikuya purred as he drew lazy circles on Saix's chest with a manicured nail. Sure enough, when Saix looked around, the demon dogs had disappeared. Obviously the doing of the scary shemale. Saix had a bad feeling about this.

"…I think I should be going now." Saix said after a few moments of uncertain silence.

"Not so fast, Saix darling. You can't leave just yet. You have something I want, and I intend to have my hands on it before the day is over." Ikuya said in a voice that was surprisingly low for him as he pushed himself against Saix fully. The blunette could feel the other man's erection poking his leg. The sick feeling that had entered Saix's stomach the moment he laid eyes on Ikuya gave through to a feeling of utmost dread.

"I need to leave." Saix said evenly.

Saix would have left quite happily, if he had not found out that he couldn't move at all. His eyes widened when he noticed Ikuya's hazel eyes had become a color very similar to his own and his ears had become pointed.

"Oh no, Saix, you're not going anywhere." Ikuya growled. "I've been watching you for a very long time now. I've waited far too long for this. I wont let you slip away again!"

If Saix was a man with less pride, he would have begun to tremble. What did this man mean when he said that he had been watching Saix for a long time? Surely he was lying. He had never sensed anyone around him…nor had he smelled anything out of place. (Ikuya's pungent perfume would have easily given him away.) What did he mean when he said he wouldn't let him slip away again? He'd never met Ikuya. At least he hadn't as a Nobody. In his previous life as a human, however…

Could it be possible that…

'No. No way in hell. I couldn't possibly have known…'

"My my Saix. You're afraid. Don't worry, love. There's no reason to be." Ikuya said softly, stroking Saix's cheek with a claw-like hand. Saix shuddered beside himself. As Ikuya continued caressing his cheek, something strange happened. Saix began seeing flashes of something he couldn't really interpret under his present condition. It was as if he were seeing someone else's life through his own eyes, the same uneasiness he felt around Ikuya still pulsing in his very core. It was like a million blurry photographs were running through his head at once, none of the images stopping long enough for him to decipher. It was scarier than anything he had ever experience. Before Saix could figure out a way to stop whatever was happening, he was drawn back to the present by a comforting voice and the subtle scent of flowers…

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing with my boyfriend?!" Saix's significant other screeched. Marluxia. Of course.

"Your boyfriend. I'd say he's mine now." Ikuya said with a devious grin.

"How dare you! Who do you think you are bitch?!" Marluxia shrieked, a shower or sharp pink flower petals making their way towards Ikuya in his rage. The shemale sent the petals into a nearby cliff with a simple flick of his wrists.

"You can control plant life too?" Ikuya said lowly, a trace of some new mischief lying behind his hazel eyes. The ground began to shake around Ikuya's feet. Two spiked vines appeared from the ground and constricted around Marluxia's body. Ikuya walked over to the pink-haired male in a dangerously slow fashion as he clucked his tongue.

"Really now Saix. I always thought you would have better taste in men than this filth. I guess I was wrong. Looks like I'll have to show you real beauty once I get rid of this pest." Ikuya said as he scrutinized Marluxia, his hazel eyes pin-pointing every single flaw he could find. Marluxia snorted at the other male's pig headed comment.

"Like you're beautiful. You look pretty fake and nasty to me." Marluxia said with a very obvious sneer.

"And he has a fowl mouth?! Oh Saix dear! It's fortunate that I've come around. You would have to be with this filth if I weren't here to save you! I mean, just look at him! Those clothes that absolutely do NOT go with that pitiful figure. Not to mention his looks. I could find prettier men in the most disgusting of human towns. I bet it's safe to say that his nether regions aren't nearly as big as his mouth. And don't even get me started on that hair!"

"What's wrong with my hair?!" Marluxia snapped. No one ever talked bad about Marly's hair. Period. End of discussion. It was simply unheard of. If you committed such an offence you were either stupid or didn't know any better. Saix was guessing that Ikuya was a little bit of both. He may have laughed at the fact that Marluxia was more insulted by the blow to his hair than his penis, had the situation been different.

"For starters," Ikuya began "What's with the color? It's hideous. Maybe if it were a few shades darker or lighter…and then there's those split ends! Go get a haircut before you kill someone! And tell your hair stylist to make it attractive this time…if that's even possible."

By this point, Marluxia had turned a violent shade of crimson and was shaking fiercely. If it wasn't for the constricting vines holding him down, he would have already used his scythe to chop off Ikuya's head.

"How dare you. Once I get out of these restraints I'll-

"You'll what? Throw more flower petals at me? Face it, you're not strong enough to harm me."

Before Ikuya could say any more, Saix stepped between the two of them and cut the vines constraining his lover's movements.

"You will not speak to him in that manner." Saix practically growled, his golden eyes glittering with a suppressed rage.

Ikuya merely chuckled. "I see you still have your claws. Many of your instincts have remained in tact. There may be hope for you yet, Isa." Ikuya whispered. Saix's face held a look of complex confusion.

"What…what are you-

"Move, Saix! I need to give this bitch a piece of my mind!" Marluxia yelled as he shoved Saix out of the way. He clearly hadn't heard the exchange between the two of them.

"Who the hell are you calling a bitch?!"

"You, obviously." Marluxia stated before the two tackled each other to the ground. Saix could only cower in the corner in fear as he witnessed one of the biggest cat fights in history.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Pulling my hair like a little girl!"

"I was trying to get rid of some of your revolting split ends, but there are so many of them that I can't do it alone."

"Fuck you!"

Oh yeah, it was going to be a while before Saix even began to think of moving. Between the name calling, biting, scratching, and hair pulling, he might never move again.


Cloud and Leon lay bloodied and beaten, bound by invisible ropes. If one were to look in on this scene, they would not be able to find the source of this horrid beating. This was due to the fact that the woman responsible, Shigemi, had disappeared for the hundredth time. Cloud and Leon had found out one of Shigemi's abilities the hard way. Shigemi was able to slip into her surroundings without the use of magic. She could dissolve into the ground and pop out of a rock seconds later without being detected. This method caught Leon and Cloud off guard, rendering themselves helpless against the female dog demon. The surface of a rock above Cloud's head began to bubble, Shigemi's form appearing. She hovered in the air over her two victims, a cruel smile planted on her face. Little did the two men know that they were about to witness one of Shigemi's other special abilities.

"This is starting to bore me." Shigemi said with a mock pout. "Why don't we try something a little different, hmm?"

Shigemi drew closer to Cloud, so close that they were almost touching. A horrified Leon could only struggle against Shigemi's invisible binds in vain as he watched the scene unfold before him.

"You seem to be more afraid of me that your little friend over there. I think I'll take a little peek into you first."

Before Cloud could even wonder what Shigemi was talking about, one of the woman's cold, thin finger tips touched his forehead, sending him into agonizing pain. Cloud's memories started to flow through him. They started the day he met Zack Fair as a young, naïve teenager and led up to the point where Cloud sat next to him mournfully, watching the beautiful creature he depended so much upon die before his wide blue eyes. This tragic process only took a few seconds, yet it might as well have taken a few years. It was years worth of pain and sadness flowing through him at once. Leon could only watch the agony and desperation that he could not comprehend.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" Leon screamed at Shigemi. The foul woman's eyebrows narrowed as the brunette's screams became louder and louder.

"Shut up, filthy human!" Shigemi shrieked as she slapped Leon across the face. Leon winced at the burning sensation, a large searing red mark now painted across the expanse of skin on his face.

"I'm finished anyway." Shigemi said with a malice grin, backing away from Cloud but keeping her eyes focused on him the whole time.

"Well well, how sweet. You and Xemnas both had a lover named Zack." Cloud's eyes became wide and fearful. Shigemi had seen those memories too?! That couldn't be good. A silent, yet terrified Leon looked on, unable to do anything to stop the mad woman.

"And I'm guessing this thing right here was your replacement?" Shigemi said as she nudged Leon's head with her foot.

"I hat to admit they're both quite pretty, but their personalities are very displeasing."

"Perhaps I should put on a little show for your boys." Shigemi said. Leon and Cloud stared in wonder as Shigemi's body began to morph. She was becoming taller and less curvy. Her hair, face, and eyes changed shape and form until she was the mirror image of Xemnas's lover Zack. Neither Leon or Cloud could grasp how she had done it.

"Such a pretty thing, this boy was." Shigemi said in Zack's voice, his mis-matched eyes that had been so friendly in life now staring back at Cloud and Leon in an uncharacteristically cold way. "Too bad he was a traitor; he was powerful. He could have brought great things to our clan, but he ran off and fell in love with a Nobody, the lowest form of non-existent life on this planet!"

Cloud and Leon were confused at first, but seemed to put two and two together. They would be asking a lot of questions later, if they ever lived through this, that is.

"Hmm…now lets see if I can get your Zack right, blondie." Shigemi said as she closed Zack's eyes in concentration. To Cloud's dismay, she became the mirror image of Zack Fair. When Shigemi opened her (his) eyes, they were a pretty shade of violet. Zack Fair's violet. Cloud couldn't stand seeing those eyes looking at him with such hate.

"From that pathetic look on your face I'd guess that I've done a pretty good job." Shigemi said with Zack's slightly twangy voice. Cloud was on the verge of tears.

"What's wrong Cloud? Aren't you happy to see me?" The Zack Fair look-a-like said tauntingly. "It's been such a long time. I though you would want to see me after all these years." Shigemi stepped closer to Cloud, proud of herself when the blonde visibly tensed.

"What's wrong Spike? Still upset about my death?" Shigemi said as she ran one of Zack's hands through Cloud's hair. Cloud squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block the woman out, disgusted when he found himself pretending that those hands really were Zack's.

"Or maybe you're upset because you know that it's your fault I'm gone!" Shigemi screamed. Cloud's eyes popped open and saw Zack's amethyst eyes glaring at him accusingly.

"You killed me Cloud Strife! I'm dead because you never did anything to stop them! I hate you, you useless bastard!"

"No…stop…please. I didn't do it. You were never supposed to die…" Cloud whimpered as tears started to stream down his face.

"You're right! I never should have died, but you let them kill me! I don't know how I could have ever loved someone as pitiable!"

"Stop it! Just stop! Please!" Cloud shouted at the top of his lungs before falling into a series of sobs and whimpers.

Leon was shaken. He had no idea what to do. Shigemi still had the two of them bound, and he knew yelling at the woman wouldn't help. If anything, it would only convince her to torture Cloud more.

Before Leon could open his mouth to say anything, anything at all to calm Cloud down or make Shigemi stop, Haydn's distinct voice reached his ears.

"That's enough, you god damn bitch!" Haydn yelled as he scratched Shigemi across the face. Deep claw marks ran across Zack Fair's face. Shigemi sniggered lowly.

"It's a shame that you chose to bring those claws of yours out just to ruin a pretty face. I wonder what would happen if I showed you a more familiar one." Shigemi said as she instantly morphed into Haydn's best friend.

"Come on Haydn, you would never really hurt me, would you?" Shigemi said in Zack's playful voice.

"Don't you ever use his body!" Haydn yelled as he quickly pulled out his gun and shot Shigemi in the shoulder. Shigemi slumped over a little and clutched her now bleeding shoulder, swaying back and forth.

"Ow Haydn, that hurt." Shigemi whined in Zack's voice.

"You bitch." Haydn whispered angrily as he aimed to take his next shot. Before he got the chance, a blonde blur had him pinned against a large boulder, rendering the hand holding his gun useless. The blonde blur turned out to be no other than Kane, who was now sporting a large gash in his side. Haydn smirked.

"I guess that big scar in your side didn't slow you down as much as I thought it would, eh, baby brother?"

"I guess not. It was a good try though, traitor. If you hadn't hesitated you might have actually killed me."

"You know very well that I could never do that, Kane." Haydn replied softly. Kane's grip seemed to loosen and his eyes didn't seem quite as accusing. The momentary peace, if you could classify it as that, was broken by Shigemi.

"Good job, sweetheart. Mommy could have been hurt if you hadn't come along. Now do me a favor and make sure he dies this time!" Shigemi said in a saccharine voice as she tried to kiss Kane on the cheek. The teen only shrugged her off as his mother decided to instead stalk off to play with her "food" (Leon and Cloud) once more.

"Momma's boy." Haydn muttered with a snort. Kane's eyebrows furrowed.

"I…I am not!" Kane proclaimed childishly.

"Yeah, okay then. If you say so."

Before Kane could argue, Hidenori's deep voice boomed for all to hear.

"Stop what you're doing and bind your opponents in whatever way you feel necessary! I think it's time I have some fun with our dear friend Xemnas."

"Finally." Shigemi whispered exuberantly.

Everyone was bound by either one of Hidenori's minions or by his mutts. It would be extremely stupid to think of moving. Xemnas was pinned to the ground below Hidenori by invisible ropes. The man snickered at him, making his large white fangs poke out even more.

"I finally have you where I want you." Hidenori said as his blood red eyes became slits. "I'll finally be able to kill you like I did that traitor."

At these words, Sephiroth, who was cornered by five dogs, moved out of what felt like habit. Hidenori didn't miss the small, yet sudden, movement.

"Make sure he doesn't go anywhere." Hidenori growled. The dog demons were upon Sephiroth in seconds, sinking their teeth into various part of his body.

"If he moves even in the slightest, bite him harder."

"Why did you do it?"

Hidenori's head whipped around to stare at Xemnas. If he wasn't mistaken, the monster looked confused.

"Why did you kill him?" Xemnas screamed, now finding himself beyond furious. To his chagrin, Hidenori began to laugh.

"You stupid boy, you still don't know who I am, do you?" Hidenori asked. It was now Xemnas's turn to be confused.

"Hmm, you really don't know…" Hidenori stated in dark amusement.

"Well, perhaps it would be better if I showed you."

Xemnas watched as Hidenori began to do something odd. He wasn't morphing as Shigemi had done, but he was changing. His appearance was becoming less harsh, more human. His claws and fangs were shrinking, replaced by human hands and teeth. His hair was becoming smoother and the red in his eyes fading. When Hidenori was done with his transformation, two mismatched eyes stared into his own amber ones.

One blue eye, one green eye.

A very familiar pair of mismatched eyes.

Xemnas could only gaze in horror.

He looked exactly like Zack.


Author's Note: DONDONDON!!! Cliffhanger!!! This chapter was originally supposed to be longer, but I felt like this was a good cut off point. Once again, sorry this took so long!! This chapter is way over due. Please leave reviews! I would really like your opinion on this chapter!

Also, if you didn't read in my disclaimer:

BE SURE TO GO READ MIZUKI ASSASIN OF THE MIST'S POEM "SEA OF DARKNESS" ON THIS SITE!! GIVE HER REVIEWS TOO!! SHE DESERVES THEM!!! It's based on chapter 3 of this fic. It's was lovely to read, and I was quite flattered by it. =)