Hi :D

Happy superbowl sunday! I was going to post this last night, but I was literally out all day, as well as being out far later than I expected... anyways. I took a great deal of care in writing this chapter, as it's a particularly important one, with a very important clue about something to happen in the future buried beneath everything else.

Chocolate pudding for anybody who guesses :D

"Why, again, is Axel teleporting us?" Kairi whispered to Naminé as Axel led the way through Akiko's labyrinth-sized home. "I mean, can't you do that?"

"I could," she nodded once, a thoughtful tone about her. "I think the problem may be that Akiko expects the Adherence to be waiting and watching for me to perform a spell like that, because then they'll know where we are and where we're going… they'd recognize my magic, but when they feel Axel's, she doesn't think they'll give it a second thought." She still looked a bit uncertain, and fiddled with a strand of bright blonde hair that had come loose from her ponytail.

"Okay, I suppose that makes sense," Kairi reasoned quietly. "I just can't wait to get my hand back around the handle of my keyblade!" Her eyes lit up; the thought seemed to thrill her.

Naminé stifled a chuckle. "You guys and your weapons."

Sora perked up at the word 'weapons'. "Are you talking about our keyblades?" He asked loudly, shattering the quiet and relaxed air of secrecy.

"You're excited, too," Kairi observed, giggling. "I can't wait! I love this bow, but… nothing will ever feel as right in my hand as that does."

"Agreed," Roxas put in, grinning cheekily in Naminé's direction as she sighed.

"Don't tease, Roxas," Kairi chided as his cheeks rapidly colored pink. Sora laughed, which prompted an immediate and scathing glance from an irritated Roxas. How was he supposed to get close to Naminé again if his friends kept embarrassing him and making him look like an idiot? He tossed his completely flat, dampened hair from his eyes, and stared determinedly ahead as Sora sniggered behind him.

Axel was smiling to himself, listening to their banter. It was just as Akiko had told him it would be—a step back into high school. Sure, they may have had remarkable weapons, qualities, and abilities, but deep down… they were young, and wanted to have a good time. Thankful they couldn't see his face, he continued on, and soon reached the main hall with the large, glass ceiling, the four teens drifting along behind him.

"We'll leave from here," Axel announced whirling around to face them as they reached the center of the room. "Got it? I dunno why, but Akiko says it's got the best magic in the house, or something."

"If you can honestly call this a house," Sora muttered to Naminé. "It's enormous!"

"Heard that," Axel sang, giving Sora a playful, friendly look. "Doesn't matter, does it? Anyway, grab each other. We don't want to lose anyone."

Naminé, Sora, Kairi, and Roxas all linked arms, and Axel attached himself to Naminé. "Casting spell in 3… 2… 1…"

Zexion's surprise at the sight of Riku's keyblade had boosted Riku's confidence a great deal more than it had already ballooned—he had assumed Riku would be fighting with an everyday, run-of-the-mill weapon. He knew, just as everyone else knew, what types of miracles Riku had accomplished with such a weapon. It was unlikely that it ever would have worked for any of the Adherence, but they still saw it as something worth attempting to steal.

As Riku easily blocked all advances Zexion attempted to make, he couldn't help wondering how quickly the Adherence would know that their fight had begun. Yuri's bedroom was already in shambles—bookcases had been toppled, rugs had been slipped askew and had random gaping gashes from sword swings that had gone astray, and anything glass had already been broken. Zexion wasn't particularly strong, but his agility was unbelievable. Yuri, still looking very pale and on the verge of being physically ill, managed to shriek encouragements for Riku, but couldn't herself enter the fray—they were moving too quickly, and unless they tired out, she'd run a very high risk of striking Riku.

She kept her magic ready, in case an opportunity to finish Zexion arose. Riku's long hair was flying as he and Zexion continued the deadly fight, parrying and swinging at record speeds. Riku's intricate and large weapon dwarfed Zexion's sword, which was plainly visible despite their incredible speed. As the spastic flashes of silver looked dangerously close to Riku, Yuri heard his magic in her mind—he was sending her a message, a message Zexion couldn't hear—

Go.

No! she vehemently thought back, boring through the blurred shape she thought was Riku with her eyes. I want to stay with you!

Go, he repeated. Alert the others. We're going to be attacked.

Zexion would know Riku and Yuri communicated—of that, Yuri was certain. His sensory of magic was obviously taught by the Adherence, since he had kept Riku from his thoughts remarkably well. Despite all that, Zexion would never be able to be sure what Riku had told Yuri. She bit her lip, torn. Riku needed her to find Leon. Naminé would realize Riku was fighting before long—the moment he used a spell, she would know—but Leon, Aerith, and the rest wouldn't. They didn't know Riku like Naminé did, and they wouldn't be watching Riku like she would be. If the castle would soon be under siege, they needed to know; they needed to be prepared.

How the hell do you prepare for an army? she thought wryly for Riku's benefit. Quit listening, Riku, concentrate on your fight!

Then go! he urged impatiently. Don't worry about me!

I'll be back, she promised, closing her eyes. With a snap of her fingers, she was gone.

"Very good," Korin nodded at an anonymous, black-haired Adherence member. Her expression was distinctly bored. They had been camped out outside the castle for days, waiting, waiting, waiting… Quite frankly, she as well as everybody else was itching for some action. The wedding had gone off without a hitch, thankfully, but Korin wished desperately that Zexion would hurry. "He'll definitely be contacting us when all is ready, then?"

"It's what he told me," the girl shrugged in reply, looking nearly as bored as Korin.

Hana popped up quite suddenly next to Korin. "I've seen him—"

"You got in?" Korin immediately straightened out of her lackadaisical slouch, eyes bulging in surprise. "You actually got in?" The paleness of her skin was almost frightening against her surprised, nearly euphoric state. "That's great news!"

"Zexy is fine," Hana assured Korin. "I don't think we'd be able to penetrate the protective magic again, though—not until we all try at once."

"A safe assessment," Korin agreed, a wide smile breaking onto her ordinarily rigid face. "Did you see anything else while you were in there?"

Hana shook out her hair. "Not a ton," she lied. "I did see Yuri, though, she looks a mess. Riku's almost worse."

Korin's eyes suddenly grew intense, the darkness of them giving Hana a distinct feeling that all the sudden, Korin didn't trust her. Korin closed the small gap between the two, a hard and immovable look on her face. Hana crossed her arms awkwardly, trying to edge away from the furious-looking Korin, but Korin easily won the short battle of movement, and hissed into Hana's ear, "You saw him?" She enunciated every syllable with sharp disapproval.

Taken aback, Hana's cool and careless exterior cracked. "Well, yeah," she admitted quietly, doing her best impression of composure. "He was hiding."

Korin took a step back and dropped her head forward slightly to give Hana a patronizing gaze through her eyelashes. "He was upset." The awkward non-question hung in the air, giving Hana nervous jitters. How could Korin possibly be suspicious of her?

"Well, yeah," Hana replied, feigning disinterest.

A long pause increased the air of suspicion. "Hana," Korin finally began loudly, obviously preparing to lecture her and hoping others would flock around her like starving chickens to a farmer with a bag of seed, as they always did, to absorb her valuable wisdom. "Do you know why it is that we are all created to have either impossibly dark hair or incomprehensibly light hair, and pale skin?"

Hana shook her head, tired of the lecture already. No, Korin had never shared that bit of information with her.

"To stand out," Korin said simply. "Our boss wanted us to stand out, and she wanted people to fear us. She wanted everyone to know who we are."

"Makes sense," Hana offered feebly, not entirely sure what Korin was expecting her to say.

"Be proud of it, and wear it well," Korin advised her loudly. She bowed her head towards Hana's ear again and muttered, "If I suspect you of dishonoring that again by behaving like a child and going to visit your old flame while you were on a specific mission, Hana, you won't look like us anymore. And, believe me, living in this world without looking like us is about to become hell. You don't want that."

Hana found her heart thundering against her sternum, fear pumping violently through her veins. No, fighting against her immortal comrades was about the last thing she wanted. She hadn't expected Korin to become suspicious so quickly… she hadn't expected her to realize what she was doing before it was too late…

Very abruptly, Korin felt a disturbance in the magic surrounding Riku, whose magic was being watched painstakingly by all high-ranking Adherence members. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated, attempting to sort what exactly had caused the disturbance—he didn't cast a spell…

"Did you feel that?" she whispered to Hana. "Riku's magic…?"

Hana nodded curtly, eyes wide as she too attempted to find the infraction. Both mulled it over silently, when suddenly, Riku's magic was the least of their concerns.

It felt like a black hole had been forced down Hana's gullet, and was sucking her up from the inside out. Her head suddenly split open in pain, and shrieks erupted from all around her. Even Korin had dropped to her knees, eyes threatening to water as she grasped her hair tightly, overtaken by the pain. Hana's body began to violently shake, and she saw Korin's already alabaster complexion growing whiter. Both of their muscles seemed to give under their weight at the same time—both the blonde and the black haired girl collapsed into a violently quaking heaps, completely unaware that all other Adherence members, no matter where they were, were experiencing the same pain. It felt like her muscles were being ripped from her bones and flopping about as the coolness of the ground abated the burning heat of her typically frigid skin.

"What's… happening?" she groaned unsteadily to Korin, who was still grabbing at her hair shakily.

"No idea!" Korin managed to croak back, breaking a sweat.

Despite everything going on in her mind, something clicked, and one word popped out of Hana's mouth before she could stop it—"Mortal?" It came out raspy and higher than her normal voice.

"It—can't—be!" Korin struggled at nearly a shriek.

Zexion swung for Riku's head. He ducked backward handily, and swung his sword upward, slicing Zexion's clean in half with a mighty clang. As Zexion slid backward, Riku allowed himself a brief moment of pride before Zexion muttered something, and a new, larger sword sprouted from the stub of the old. Gritting his teeth together in a satisfied and confident grin, Riku tightened his grip on his keyblade and set his feet.

Zexion struggled for a moment, looking as though he was about to speak, but bit his tongue, and remained silent. Riku's leg muscles tensed as Zexion charged, and he leaped nearly halfway across the chamber to meet Zexion, weapons loudly emitting echoing clinks as they came together again and again, faster and faster…

Riku used one of his best twisting moves on Zexion, and found him suddenly wide open—with all the strength he could muster, he tightly grasped the handle of his keyblade and sunk the butt of it as deep into Zexion's perfect, princely face as it would go.

Zexion doubled over, but was too fast for Riku to do anymore damage. He was already against the wall on the other side of the chamber, having scuttled over there faster than Riku had ever witnessed an injured person move. He swore loudly, blood from his broken nose leaking down his face and dripping from his chin. Riku fought off a smirk unwillingly, desperately wanting to gloat over Zexion's damaged face.

"Think it's funny?" Zexion hissed, barely loudly enough for Riku to hear. "I hope you said goodbye to Yuri!"

Before Riku could even think to cast a shield spell, the room exploded. Yuri's belongings flew everywhere, knocking into Riku as he was blasted backward and through a stone wall. The wind kicked up and the temperature changed—he had been knocked all the way onto Yuri's balcony. When everything stopped flying, Riku could feel all of his injuries panging urgently and painfully. His hand had been broken while he protected his face, and his breathing felt shallow and excruciating, which meant broken ribs. His hair was matted to his sweaty face, and his limbs were unwilling to move. A dusting of rubble covered him, and he could hear Zexion's muffled footsteps closing in on him. He dug at what was left of his strength, summoned all the power he could, and cast the most powerful shield spell he could, blowing Zexion across the balcony and slamming his back against the harsh stone railing…

Naminé's magic rippled in warning, and immediately, she knew what had happened. Their feet slammed into the ground in the main hall of the castle as Axel's spell finished, and Naminé grabbed Roxas. He read her mind, and when everyone was again attached, she teleported them to the door outside of Yuri's room.

"Riku is in trouble," she whispered. "They're in this room. I don't care if the Adherence knows we're here—we do whatever we have to in order to save him."

Kairi was white-faced, and Sora looked nervous and concerned. Roxas, like Naminé, looked more determined than anything. Axel nodded in understanding. "Riku has purple hair," Roxas told him, just for clarification. "He carries a weapon like ours." Axel nodded, and Naminé, with alarming abruptness and speed, kicked down the door, summoning her daggers from the magical realm as she and her comrades crossed the threshold into the war zone.

Korin slowly stood up, feeling Zexion's magic tug at hers uncomfortably. "Now?" she spat in disbelief. "You choose now to begin the fight?" Her voice was nearing furious screaming. The rest of the Adherence seemed to be weakly getting to their feet around her.

"We're mortal!" Hana announced, an angry fierceness about her. Her voice boomed over the strange silence.

"Zexion has begun," Korin shouted, "and it's time to fight! Let no concerns of mortality affect our assault!"

Everyone drew their weapons, and quickly and efficiently organized into their ranks. Korin, Hana, and a disheveled Tomoko led the army across the plain, where the castle stood waiting in the distance.

War time! XD Next chapter, the siege of the castle... begins!

Thoughts? Guesses? Anything? Review!

Thank you,

Lulala