Okay, here's Chapter 14. Things pick up a bit (though they may happen a little too fast), but this is all leading up to something...

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And so, the days passed. Donald and Goofy made a few more stops by my apartment, and spent the time getting to know Kairi better. Even Riku dropped in once or twice, and didn't even bring his gun (though that didn't mean he wasn't defenseless). And in the meantime, Kairi and I continued to live, talk, and read together. I even let her take off the necklace sometimes (though I hadn't quite become entirely comfortable with her leaving it off). Things were going very well.

That is, for me.

A lot of publicity had been developing around a local case, which I started following a couple days after our dinner. It centered around a man named Taylor Xemnas, who had been accused of murdering his wife and abusing his children. Evidence against him had been obtained, but the legitimacy of the way it was obtained had been called into question, so this wasn't a straightforward case. And, unfortunately, Xemnas had the money to hire a very good lawyer, who had managed to keep his case from swinging against him so far. In response, there was a rather large community who had gathered in opposition to Xemnas, supporting his condemnation (and even sometimes raising funds for it). I had joined that community; it was hard not to, when you heard about what the guy had done. "I really can't see how this case is still going on," I said one day at work. "Isn't it obvious that this guy is guilty?"

"Yeah, I wish the jury saw it that way," said Goofy.

Donald scowled. "I wish I was on that jury. I'd have that son of a bitch behind bars so quickly."

"Well, the other eleven would have to agree with you," said Goofy.

"I'd make them agree with me."

Unfortunately, the legal system was a bit more complex than that, and the case continued on. A smaller community had sprung up in support of Xemnas, saying that he was unjustly accused, and so, of course, a deluge of Internet arguments resulted. "This is a really big thing," Kairi commented one evening, as she was browsing on my computer.

"No kidding," I said. "The media's certainly hyping it up, and a lot of people have strong opinions."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

I rolled my eyes, not for the first time wishing I hadn't taught her that phrase. "I mean, it's a murder case. People are going to get involved."

"Clearly." She frowned. "I don't know if this information age is good or bad; if we didn't know about this case, so many people wouldn't be so upset."

"But it would be happening anyway," I argued. "And this way, we can extend our support to any of the victims, and help in any way we can."

Kairi cocked her head. "What ways are you referring to?"

"Well, people are taking up collections to see him brought to justice, like I told you. And big events like these help to raise awareness for issues of domestic violence." I gestured to the computer. "In this information age, we can know more about things like that, and even if they might be unpleasant, we can help those who need it."

"Always the altruist, aren't you?"

"Oh, come on. You'd want to help victims of domestic violence too, right?"

"Well, sure." Her face darkened. "And if I ever came face-to-face with this Xemnas guy…"

"Well, hopefully, the courts will give him all that he deserves," I said.

The next day, I ran into Roxas for the first time after bringing Kairi to my apartment; I hadn't had anything to keep me out late for the past two weeks, and with a particular incentive to stay in, I hadn't crossed paths with the evening doorman much. It was in the grocery store; I was restocking my store of food, and I guess he was, too. "Roxas?" I said, recognizing him near the onions.

He turned. "Sora! It's been a while."

"It has," I agreed. "How have you been?"

"Fine. And you?"

"Pretty good."

"Good. How's your friend?"

"Hm?" I said, forgetting for a second what he was talking about.

"Your friend? The one you brought drunk to your apartment that night?"

"Oh, right, of course. She's doing fine now, thanks for asking."

"No alcohol poisoning or anything like that?"

"Nope. Just needed some sleep and some time."

He nodded. "Good to hear."

I hoped he wasn't going to ask me more questions about Kairi; it might get awkward and difficult if I had to make up answers on the spot. "So, have you been following the Xemnas case?" I asked, steering the conversation away from her.

"Some," he said.

"Pretty awful, isn't it?"

"If you're referring to the murder of his wife, I agree."

"Well, and the fact that the courts are taking so long to condemn him."

Roxas frowned. "How do you know he's guilty?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"How do you know he's guilty?" he repeated. "Do you know all the facts? Can you make an unbiased judgment based on those facts?"

I mirrored his frown. "It seems fairly obvious, doesn't it?"

"Not to me. His lawyer's been able to make some pretty convincing arguments in his defense."

"That's because his lawyer's a manipulating scumbag who'll do anything for money."

His frown deepened. "That's a rather strong and opinionated statement to make, isn't it?"

"It seems to be the consensus of most people."

"What, like on the Internet?" He snorted. "Most of those people base their opinions off of limited, biased information that they pick up from a single source."

"It's not just one source that's got that viewpoint," I argued.

"If you consider individual people sources, perhaps. But that's hardly a reliable way to become informed."

"Oh? What do you use, then?"

"I've seen multiple perspectives presented on the case, from different news corporations. I don't think we have enough information to make a decisive statement."

His superior attitude was getting on my nerves, I have to admit. "Well, sorry if not all of us are as methodic and logical as you." I regretted saying that almost as soon as I did; it was a biting comment that I made in the heat of the moment.

He narrowed his eyes. "No, you can't." He turned to leave.

I sighed. "Sorry, Roxas. I've just gotten caught up in this case, and have developed strong opinions because of it. I didn't mean to snap at you."

He glanced back at me. "Well, maybe you could give a bit of thought as to what I said. It might calm you down."

"Yeah, maybe."

I ended up not taking his advice, though. Almost the opposite, in fact; as time went on, I found myself becoming more invested in the case. My instincts were telling me that Xemnas was certainly capable of murder and child abuse, and my instincts were usually right. Of course, instincts weren't enough for an actual convincing argument, but then again, I didn't have anyone I was really trying to convince. I didn't see Roxas for several more days after, so we didn't have another opportunity to exchange ideas about our conflicting points of view.

Then, one day, I arranged to meet with Lea for lunch; there had been a lot of activity going on at the police station, since the case was building up to its conclusion, and he wanted a break. So, at twelve-thirty that afternoon, I went with Donald and Goofy to a fast-food restaurant near the police station. After ordering and getting food for ourselves, we took a spot, and waited for Lea. He arrived a few minutes later, looking irritated. "Hey, guys," he said, sliding into the booth next to me after placing his order.

"Hey, Lea," I said. "Rough day?"

He put a hand to his face. "You have no idea. People are thinking that Xemnas might get off, so everyone's running around to make sure there's nothing we missed."

My face darkened. Lea was right; there was every possibility that Xemnas would get off. And if he did, he would go right back to abusing his family—that is, what remained of them. It was times like these when I found myself very dissatisfied with the legal system.

"What do you think his odds are?" asked Donald.

Lea sighed. "Really couldn't tell ya. It's up in the air, even with the end in sight. Everyone wishes it wasn't—well, except the bastard himself, and his crooked lawyer—but, unfortunately, there's not much we can do to change that. We've looked and looked, but we can't find anything against him that wasn't already said."

"What about his son?" asked Goofy. "Didn't one of his sons testify against him?"

"Yeah, kinda," said Lea. "But Xemnas's lawyer made an argument delegitimizing it." He bit his lip. "It's that son I'm really worried about. If Xemnas gets off, his son's going to get the worst of his wrath for testifying against him."

I nodded grimly. "You'd think the judge and jury would have to see what kind of a man he is. But they're restricted by all the rules enforced on the court system."

Lea shrugged. "Well, it does work most of the time."

"But is that good enough?" I said. "For those few times that it doesn't work, someone unnecessarily suffers."

Lea sighed again. "It's very hard to avoid suffering, Sora."

"But look at this case. Xemnas's son is, what, ten? He's going to be beaten harshly by his father if he gets off. How can anyone stand by and allow this to happen?"

"Because it's the law," said Lea.

"Well, the law's stupid."

"It keeps people safe."

"Not always."

"Most of the time."

"But for those few times when it makes someone's life worse, it's a bane."

"Well, what would you change it to?" said Lea, irritated. "Do you have anything better in mind, or are you just going to sit there and bitch about it?"

We glared at each other for a moment. Then, Lea let out a breath. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know the law can be frustrating. I've just had a bad week."

"No, it's fine," I said, relenting, too. "I get that it's not your fault, and that it's a system that's usually satisfactory." I sighed. "It's just in cases like this where I feel that… couldn't it be better?"

"I know, man," said Lea sympathetically.

Lapsing into silence, we ate our food, but our minds were still on Xemnas, hoping that the legal system would come through and see justice delivered.

It was two days later, on Tuesday, that the verdict was to be announced. As the news spread, people became more on edge. I was one of those people, and found myself counting the hours until seven o'clock that night, when Xemnas would either be imprisoned or released. Thus, work passed rather slowly, and when it came time to leave, I did so quickly. Donald and Goofy, likewise anxious, did the same.

I ate dinner rapidly, even though there was still a good amount of time until seven. "What's the rush?" asked Kairi. "It's not until seven. Do you have something to do beforehand?"

I shrugged. "No. I guess I'm just anxious to see the case over with."

"Well, you'll have to wait until seven, whether you choke on your food or not."

After dinner, I tried to keep myself busy by engaging in small talk with Kairi, but the event of the night always remained in the back of my mind, distracting me. Finally, at six-thirty, I turned on the TV, unable to wait any more. "You're still going to have to wait for a while," Kairi commented.

"But they'll be talking about the case, and I might get a better idea of how it'll end up."

Finally, after thirty minutes of exposition, seven-o'clock arrived. The news station had a camera in the courtroom, so I was able to watch a live coverage.

The room was silent, but you tell that it was fraught with tension, even through a television screen. At the front of the room was the judge's seat, with the prosecutor and defendant at tables in front of it, on either side. The jury box was filled.

Then, a door in the front of the room opened, and the judge walked in. "Please rise," said the officer, and everyone did. The judge took his seat, and everyone sat.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," said the judge, "have you reached a verdict?"

So many protocols…just get to the damn sentencing already! I thought.

"We have, Your Honor," said the spokesman. He handed a piece of paper to the police officer, who gave it to the judge, who unfolded it and looked at it impassively. After a second, he said, "Will the defendant please rise?"

Xemnas got to his feet, his face blocked by his long silver hair.

"And how do you find the defendant, of criminal charges of first-degree homicide and domestic abuse?"

The spokesman took a breath, then said. "We find the defendant Not Guilty."

For a split second, there was stunned silence. Then—

"WHAT?"

I got to my feet, as did many of the people in the court. "Not Guilty? How the hell did they find him Not Guilty?" There was some more drama going on in the court, with people shouting and the judge banging his gavel, but I ignored it. Xemnas had got off! "Can you believe this?" I asked, turning to Kairi. She had an odd expression on her face, but, in the mood I was in, I didn't pay it much attention. "God damn it! This is outrageous!"

I got out my phone and called Lea, moving into my bedroom. "Sora," he answered gravely after a few rings.

"Lea! How the hell did this happen?"

"These things happen, Sora. Don't try to blame it on us."

"No, I wasn't, but…" I ran a hand through my hair. "What now? Xemnas is going to go back to his house and continue to abuse his sons! Especially the one that testified!"

Lea sighed. "I know," he said. "But we'll be doing everything we can to make sure that he doesn't get away with something like that again."

"What, are you going to wait until he kills again?"

"Of course not! But there's only so much that we can do!"

"What do you mean? You're the police, for crying out loud!"

"What, you think that, just because we're police, we're above the law? We're the ones who have to be the most careful about following it! We want to prevent Xemnas from causing any more harm, but we can't just go about it any way we can!"

I groaned. "What can you do, then?"

"We're thinking of ways to help right now, Sora. Don't worry; we're not ineffectual. Now, I have to go and help. Try to calm down; we'll work things out as best as we can."

Yeah, but how good is that? I thought.

I hung up and texted Donald and Goofy, suggesting we discuss things over Skype. They consented, and within a few minutes I was sitting on my bed, looking at them both on my laptop screen and listening through a pair of headphones. "He's just going to get out and keep doing what he's doing," I said vehemently. "How could our justice system allow this?"

Both my friends knew it was a rhetorical question, so they didn't answer. "But if he hurts his kids again, won't he be able to be charged again?" asked Goofy.

"That's only if anyone finds out," I said bitterly. "And I doubt he would allow that. If he was smart enough to evade charges of murder and abuse, he'll be smart enough not to get caught again."

Donald was fuming. "Just give me five minutes alone with him, and I'll make sure he never hurts anyone again."

I nodded. "I wish we could be allowed to."

Goofy sighed. "Well, fellas, I'm afraid there's not much we can do…"

"And that's why we're so angry!" I said. "Because we're helpless to ensure that Xemnas doesn't go after his family again!"

"You can't do everything, Sora."

I growled. "Don't remind me."

Our conversation continued for another several minutes, until, eventually, we broke it up. Maybe I could talk to Kairi about this, and see what she had to say. Maybe she could think of something to make me feel better. (Goofy had calmed me down a bit, but I was still riled up.) "Sorry about that," I said as I emerged from my room. "But I was just really upset by—"

I stopped. Kairi was no longer in the living room. "Kairi?"

I checked the kitchen and dining room, but didn't see her there, either. Nor was she in the bathroom. "Kairi, where are you? If you're trying to be funny, it's not working."

My paranoid self, which had been pretty quiet as of late, reared its ugly head. What if she's hiding, lying in wait for you?

Don't be ridiculous, I responded. We've become friends. There's no way she would hurt me.

But something about the situation did make me uneasy. Where had she gone?

Then, I noticed something else. I was missing one of my large butcher knives. Had Kairi taken it? What was she planning to do with it?

Now I was more worried. My paranoid self was working on convincing me that she had been acting nice this whole time, just to get me comfortable, and had even been using hypnosis on me—and the others, when they had come over. That can't be, I thought. Riku wears contacts, and I've had mine in for…most of the time…

I had stopped wearing the contacts a few days previously, having reached a point in my relationship with Kairi where I was comfortable without protection against her hypnosis. Had that been a mistake? No, I thought. I'm still in control of myself. I'm still in control of my kingdom.

Do you know everything about hypnotization? asked my paranoid self. Maybe there's something you're missing that allowed her to take control of you.

No. There had to be a different explanation. I went back out into the hallway—and then noticed something else. My coat was gone, too.

What? Has she left? I walked up to the door. The silver bracelet was still on the handle, so she couldn't have opened it without suffering some pain. But it would still have been possible…

I went back to the living room, and noticed one final thing I hadn't before: my mother's silver necklace, lying between the cushions of the couch. I picked it up. What the hell was going on here? Kairi was missing, along with my coat and a knife, and she had left behind the necklace that restricted her powers. Well, she has taken it off sometimes, I thought.

But never under these circumstances, my paranoia responded.

I tried to think logically. What reasons would Kairi have had to do what she had done? She was missing, with my coat and a knife, and she had left her necklace behind…

She must be planning to do something. But what?

I couldn't say why, but I was afraid. I wanted to find her, before she did something harmful to someone else…or herself.

Grabbing my phone, I called Donald and Goofy and asked them to meet me in front of my place as soon as they could.

Twenty minutes later, we were congregated outside of my apartment building. I had just explained to them what had happened. "You're sure she's not in your apartment?" said Goofy.

"Positive. I couldn't find her, and Roxas said he saw her leave a few minutes ago."

"How many minutes?" asked Donald.

"Maybe forty? He wasn't exactly sure."

"Well, how can we find her?" asked Goofy. "New York's too big of a place to search methodically."

I wiped my sweaty palms against my pants. "I don't know. All I know is that she's out here somewhere, with a knife, and without something to restrain her."

"Are you worried she's going to attack someone?" asked Goofy.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I'm worried that she's going to do something, but as to what, I'm not sure."

"Well, we won't get anywhere just by standing around. Let's start looking!" said Donald.

"But where?"

He shrugged. "Anywhere. Everywhere."

That didn't turn out too well. "This isn't working," I said after a while.

"Do you have a better idea?" asked Donald.

I took a breath. "Let me think." Trying to calm myself, I looked deep into my thoughts and feelings, trying to find out where Kairi might have gone. What did my instincts say? "I…I get the feeling she's not too far from my apartment."

"Then let's head back there," said Goofy. "Maybe you'll think of something else on the way."

I nodded. "Yeah."

We started walking back, I continuing to try to think of where Kairi could be. But nothing presented itself to me.

I groaned. What was the point? We would probably end up going around in circles for hours and not find anything. Kairi could be in any number of places. She could be luring someone to their doom right now, hypnotizing them into submission, said that part of my mind that didn't believe in her.

I hoped not. Not only had Kairi really seemed to change since that night she attacked me in the alley, but—

I paused. The alley. Something about the alley where we had fought triggered something.

"Sora?" said Goofy, noticing that I had stopped.

"I may have an idea," I said slowly. Then, I began walking at a brisk pace. "Come on, follow me."

They did, and so the three of us made our way to the alleyway where I had been ambushed, that night over three weeks ago. Finally, we got in sight of it, and I quickened my pace. "You think she's there?" said Donald.

"It's as likely a place as any," I said.

As we drew nearer, I saw a figure farther down the alley, almost out of sight. "Kairi?" I called. The figure started, and I began jogging. "Kairi!"

I could see it was her now; her red hair stood out, and I recognized her body shape. Relief flooded through me; we had found her.

But then, I noticed something else. She was not alone. As I drew nearer, I realized with horror what the second figure was.

It was a dead man, my knife in his chest.

I stared at the scene in horror. What…Had Kairi done this? Had she reverted to her old ways of killing people? And…was that blood on her mouth?

"Sora," she said, noticing my expression. "Please, let me explain…"

"Explain what? The dead guy?" I looked at her, aghast. "Did you do this, Kairi?"

She didn't respond…but it was an answer. "How could you do this?" I demanded. "I thought we were getting along! Were you just tricking me this entire time?"

By now, Donald and Goofy had caught up to me, and were surveying the scene for themselves. I paid them little attention, though, mainly focused on Kairi.

"But…I…" she said slowly.

"You what? How much of what you've said to me was the truth?"

"All of it!" she said.

"How can I believe you when I've seen this?"

"Uh, Sora?" said Goofy, but I ignored him.

"Did you think you could just go out on your own and kill someone? Was cow blood not enough?"

"Sora," said Goofy, more firmly.

"What did that man do? Did you not think about him, either?"

"Sora!" This time, it was Donald, and he grabbed my arm to get my attention.

I turned to him. "What?"

Donald pointed. "Look."

I looked in the direction of his finger, which was pointing at the dead man. I hadn't noticed him in great detail earlier, too struck by the situation. But, now that I looked at him, he did seem familiar…

I turned my head to get a better view and gasped. I knew that man. I had seen him on TV just earlier that night.

It was Taylor Xemnas.

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So...what do you think happened? What do you think will happen? Give to me the reviews.