Authors Note: OMFG! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN? DAMN YOU GEARS OF WAR! Sorry I totally forgot about the whole thing (irresponsible of me I know), and the reason why is not a good one, as it has nothing to do with Kingdom Hearts, does it? I still play Final Mix+ though, so that is also partly to blame… for the first week of absence, that is.

Chapter 13: One-Winged Evil

Cloud looked around, like he was trying to find something… or someone.

"Sephiroth… I know you're here."

"Never wrong, are we, Cloud?"

Sephiroth jumped down to Cloud's level, and drew his sword.

"I'm in a hurry, so be a good boy and die." Sephiroth said, in his typical style.

"Never." Cloud said, refusing to bend to his will.

"You will never learn, will you, Cloud…" He slashed at Cloud, and the fighting began. The fight was even more intense than last time, but Sephiroth seemed to have the upper hand throughout.

'What the… we are supposed to be equals in strength! So why does he seem to be stronger than me? He must be up to something…'

Meanwhile…

Sora and company were having trouble with Heartless now, and they were piling up all around them as they continued to make their way to Cloud's location, albeit slowly.

"Damn! Where are they all coming from? The more we beat, the more they keep coming!" Riku complained.

They had suddenly sprung up while they were making their way through the Great Maw, and they were not just trying to ambush Sora, they wanted him badly. Why else would they send so many brethren after them?

"We need to keep moving! We're making no progress staying in one spot!" Sora shouted to his team mates.

They continued to advance forward, but at a faster pace now, only disposing of Heartless that got in their way.

They would soon reach the Dark Depths…

Sephiroth and Cloud continued to battle it out, but Cloud was starting to falter. No matter how hard he tried, or how much he believed he was stronger than him, he couldn't keep up with him. They eventually reached a standoff.

"You've… gotten… stronger, Sephiroth…" Cloud said, taking deep breaths.

"Well, I couldn't allow you to be the stronger one, could I? It hampers my plans. Besides, the darkness is always stronger than the light."

"No it isn't. You know it isn't."

"Then tell me… why would Sora think that I'm right?"

"What?"

"You don't know? He is one with the darkness now. He took the power willingly. What does that tell you?"

"No, he… he wouldn't… You're lying. I'm not stupid."

"You're not. That's why you believe me."

"But…"

"You find it hard to believe. That is understandable. I mean, you thought you knew him. But despite all that, he turned his back on his friends. He left the islands that he lived on."

Cloud's eyes went wide. He refused to believe this, but… why did it sound so believable? This was Sora they were talking about. Happy, cheery, Sora.

"His friends saw the impeding danger and attempted to assist him in ridding himself of it. But even they didn't know he was doing the opposite… welcoming it. And when he was given a choice, he chose the darkness."

Cloud tried his best to think of a reason why Sora would choose the darkness over his friends. But then he thought of past endeavours. Sora was the type who would do anything for his friends, but sometimes make silly mistakes. Was this a 'silly mistake'? No, it was something much worse than that. Cloud thought he was lying, until…

"Cl--- Sephiroth!" Sora shouted as he arrived at last.

Cloud turned to face him, as Sephiroth spoke out.

"Well, you took your time. Anyway, I have business to attend. Remember what I said, Cloud."

And with that, Sephiroth disappeared in a ball of darkness.

Cloud looked at Sora, and noticed the difference between then and now.

"You've grown. But… those eyes…" Cloud looked endlessly into those red eyes.

"Long story. Anyway, why was Sephiroth here?"

"I'm not sure, but…" Cloud thought about what Sephiroth had said. He decided, against his better judgment to ask him a few questions.

"Who are your new friends?" Cloud was suspicious of them, not yet having met Riku.

"Oh, this is Riku and Sophie." Cloud felt more at ease. Sora had constantly mentioned Riku as well as Kairi… but where was she?

"So Kairi didn't come with you?" He asked Sora.

"We wouldn't put her in that much danger. Something is wrong, and I'm not about to let her get captured or hurt again."

Cloud had been reassured. Sephiroth was lying. But why would he ever feel that Sephiroth was… partly-right?

"Hmph. So, you gonna explain those? And those?" He pointed to Sora's red eyes and fangs.

They spent a while explaining the situation to Cloud. Afterwards, they asked him to help them out.

"So, you're a vampire… wouldn't have expected it to happen to you of all people. Anyway, you were looking for me because?" Cloud said.

"We wondered if you had any information on the family we mentioned. Anything out of the ordinary recently?" Sora asked.

"I'm never really in town…"

'I think that's obvious…' Sora thought, remembering what Cloud was like.

"But when I was talking to Cid once, he mentioned that someone had been spying on the castle for little while, then he disappeared. Then, a few days ago, he felt like he was back, watching him again."

"Well, the only valuable or important things that I know are the keyhole and Ansem's computer, so let's check those things out."

They all went back to the castle, and checked around, but found nothing out of the ordinary. They decided that the computer may have been the target, due to it's intense so they decided to watch it overnight.

"So we just make sure nothing happens, like a break-in or anything?"

"Yeah. We can all stay. Including you Cid."

"Oh, for godsakes…"

"Just shut up and keep your eyes open."

They stayed up all night (though you couldn't tell as it was nearly always dark), but it seemed like the sandman refused to let them stay up. Even Sora found it difficult to keep his eyes open, despite it being near impossible for vampires to sleep at night. Eventually, everyone had fallen asleep, even Sora.

Sora's Dream

Sora opened his eyes, and saw the room again, but it was all black and white, and really blurry, not to mention the edge of his eyesight looked like it was being dragged away from his vision.

He saw someone walk through the window, and turn on the computer. He wore a large black trenchcoat, and shadows encompassed his face. Sora was unable to see what he was doing, but he saw him reach for the disk insert slot, and keep his hand there, as if waiting for something. He saw some form of fluid or energy pour out of the slot and be absorbed into the persons hand. When he was done, he turned off the computer, and walked towards Sora. He felt like he couldn't move, and stood in awe as the person walked right through him. He felt like his body had just been sapped of every bit of energy he had, and fell back into the chair…

His eyes shot open and saw normal again. It was a dream… then why did it feel so real? He looked around the room and caught a glimpse of the clock. 6:10am. The sun would rise soon. He closed the blinds and thought about shutting the manufactory door, but left it, knowing he might wake everyone else up.

Sora heard a mumble behind him that was foreign to him, but he turned and saw nothing.

But suddenly he realised… where was Sophie?

His question was answered as she came in through the door.

"Oh, you're awake… And no, I don't know why you and I fell asleep of all people."

"I still feel sleepy…"

"Still getting used to it? I know, it's hard. But you'll get used to it in the next few years or so…"

"Years?"

"Kid, I know this is hard, but, as far as I know, there is no 'cure', or 'remedy' for being a vampire. You're stuck as you are."

Sora went from tired to shocked and depressed. His eyes went wide. Stuck like this forever?

"Don't worry about the sun, kiddo. You'll eventually build up a resistance to it, and soon it'll be like it can't harm you."

Silence filled the room, and Sora dipped his head in sadness.

"But that's not what you're worried about, is it?"

"I'm worried about whether others will accept me… for what I am now…"

Sophie was unable to answer, not knowing what he felt. Fear. Fear of being left out. It was once what Riku felt, but now Sora felt he might soon know what the feeling was like.

"You know, Riku always described you as a happy kid, but you're always depressed whenever I see you…"

Sora looked up at Sophie and managed a sad smile. She laughed lightly.

"Yeah, that's it! Just lighten up, kid! Your friends are counting on you, don't let them down. But don't let that fact drag you down either, okay?"

Sora smiled more properly this time, making Sophie smile back.

"So, you trust me. Friends?"

"Friends." Sora held out his closed fist. She playfully hit it to indicate her acceptance.

After another hour, everyone woke up.

"So, he didn't turn up?" Cid said.

"Well, I doubt this matters, but I had this weird dream…" Sora started.

"Not now, Sora…" Cloud said

"No, it's important!"

"Come on guys, give Sora his say. Go on Sora." Riku told everyone.

"Well, I had this weird dream. I was in this room, but none of you were here. Then this guy came walked through the window, and accessed the computer. I couldn't see what he was doing, but he seemed to have this stream of light or energy coming from the disk slot to his hand. When he was done, he walked right through me, I collapsed, and then I woke up."

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Cid shouted. "All the data is gone! Nothing is here! All my files, all the old data, gone! And I was so close to hacking it as well!"

Everyone crowded round the computer. A message reading 'ERROR: MISSING DATA, PLEASE REINSTALL HARDWARE' was out in bold letters across the screen.

Sora's eyes went wide. He had seen what had happened. Or was it what was to happen?

Riku looked at Sora for one second, then pulled him to one corner.

"Sora… didn't this happen before?" Riku questioned him.

"I was trying to forget… no-one ever looked at me the same again…" Sora complained.

"We will need to tell the others…"

"No! We don't tell them! They'll hate me for it…"

"They won't… oh, forget it. Come on, he can't have gone far."

They all decided to split up into two teams to try and find the culprit. Sora, Riku and Cloud would go one way, while Sophie and Cid would go another. The plan was set, and they were off.

Why did Sora dream about what happened before him while he slept? Does it have to do with what he is afraid of telling the others? Who took the data? Are these questions annoying? Find out in the next instalment!

End Chapter

Authors Note: Again, apologies for the extreme lateness of this chapter. I have made it up to you, haven't I?