Kairi could feel the icy cold fingers begin traveling down her arms. "See, when we sampled both Sora and Riku's memories, we found this amazing little tidbit about you." The Princess of Heart squeezed her eyes tightly and bit her lip to prevent any sound from coming out. She wasn't going to give this jerk the satisfaction. She wasn't...she wasn't...

Suddenly the traveling fingers had stopped at its destination, barely touching, just resting right on the surface of the outstretched skin. Kairi willed herself to keep from showing any reaction, tried thinking of anything to not be there. Vexen had bent over and placed his lips near her ear. After what seemed like an eternity, he whispered, "Are...you..." One of the fingers pressed very lightly into Kairi's left armpit. "...ticklish?"

The instant she felt the slight pressure on her skin, Kairi's composure broke down completely and the giggles that she was holding back escaped from her mouth. "EEEK!" As soon as that first outburst came out, Vexen immediately used all of his fingers to stroke Kairi's sensitive nerve endings. "NOOOAAHH! HAAHAAHAA..."

"Your greatest weakness...your greatest fear!" he yelled over her laughter. "If I had a heart, I'd find this humorous, wouldn't you say?"

Kairi could only reply with "STAHAHAAPP! PLEEHEEHEE..." She couldn't help herself. Her body thrashed about as best as it could, but the ice restraints hindered most of her movement. Vexen only laughed at Kairi's dilemma. He seemed to be taking sadistic pleasure in causing her this mental torment.

As far as she could remember, Kairi had feared being tickled. She didn't hate it completely, just only when she was tortured to her limits. When she first came to Destiny Islands, she would sometimes get into tickle fights with the others. Unfortunately, she always ended up being the one tortured. It was as if she were some cute, adorable tickle magnet that attracted people to tickle her.

The others were usually too rough on her. They'd sit on her arms and legs and become merciless. They sometimes popped off her shoes to get at her bare feet. At times like those, she wished that she wore socks. They'd get creative at times, such as dragging a palm leaf across the sole of her foot or using a seagull feather across the surface of her stomach. She'd usually end up in tears. In fact, she was so ticklish that she almost ended up peeing on herself a few times. One time she did, but fortunately it happened near the tide so no one noticed. They assumed she got wet from the ocean like everybody else.

Eventually, they grew out of that tickle phase. That's when they started sparring with weapons. She was glad that she didn't have to worry about being gang tickled anymore. However, she never minded being tickled by Sora for some reason. It was something in his technique that made him seem pretty gentle. He never dug his fingers in. Never caused her any pain. He always managed to use the perfect amount of pressure that caused her to giggle, but not too far that she'd feel uncomfortable. He always seemed a bit reluctant to go any further. Sometimes she secretly wished that he would. If it was Sora, she didn't mind at all. Unfortunately, she was miles away from her fiancée. And for the first time since she found out she was supposed to be married, Kairi felt completely and utterly helpless.

"To think that despite your wanting to be strong and independent, all you are is a weak, giggly, little girl whose will can be broken within seconds!" Vexen's fingers dug into her ribcage with the right amount of pressure, eliciting reluctant giggles. He played her like an instrument as if her ribs were a keyboard. Depending how far along her body his fingers were, her squealing resulted in either high-pitched shrieking or silent laughter.

"I can't breathe!" was a thought that kept popping into her head. However, the theory was bluntly discarded as she automatically took another quick lungful of air just to laugh her head off for another five minutes.

"Did you know there are two different types of tickling?" He eased up on his assault and began to gently caress Kairi's underarms again. This allowed her to breathe again as her full out shrieking reduced to giggles. "This light tickling is called knismesis, while THIS..." Vexen began to dig deep once again, causing her to explode with laughter. "This forceful or heavy tickling is called gargalesis. Although these terms date back to an academic article of 1897, neither of these words can be found in the dictionary. The encyclopedia, maybe. But not the dictionary."

Of course, Kairi heard none of this and she wouldn't have cared if she had. "HAAHAAHAAHAA..." Her body kept instinctively pulling her arms inward, but the ice prevented her from moving. She was helpless, vulnerable, and extremely ticklish. No matter how much she hated it, no matter how much she wished it, the poor girl would never be able to wake from this living nightmare.

Bubbly giggles streamed from her lips as the tickling onslaught continued mercilessly. "You seem to be enjoying this a lot!" Vexen taunted. Every chance she got, she begged and pleaded for him to stop, but her words were lost among the titillation along her body.

"I wonder..." Vexen stopped his attack and positioned himself lower down her body. Kairi swallowed in as much air as she could, trying to save what was left of her dignity.

"You...lousy...sonuva..." she panted. She felt completely exhausted as if she had just run a 24-hour marathon non-stop. Kairi barely had enough strength to raise her head.

"I've heard that humans are extremely ticklish on their hipbone." Kairi's eyes widened in horror. "This calls for some more testing, wouldn't you say?"

"Noooo..." Vexen's hands grasped firmly on both sides of her hips. "P-please, don't...t-tickle me...any more..." she sobbed.

Her tormentor chuckled. "Don't what?"

"Tickle me..." Kairi managed to reply before she realized that she had just screwed herself even more. Vexen's thumbs and forefingers gave her a good dig into the hipbone. "HEEHEEHEEHEE! NAAAHAAAHAAHAAA..." Kairi's body started bucking for all its worth. She found her second wind, but all it did was give her more energy to scream with laughter. In her entire life, she never knew that she was extremely ticklish there. "Oh my gawd, I'm going to be tickled to death!" was the only coherent thought that formed into her head.

"Your fiery reaction is just what I needed for my research!" Vexen stated happily. Kairi couldn't care less any more. Nothing mattered, her entire world only consisted of being locked in tickle hell. Ticklish electricity traveled through his unyielding fingers, lighting up her entire body.

As far as she was concerned, she was nothing more than a piece of ticklish flesh, a tickle toy. Her only purpose in life was to scream with laughter. She could swear that a voice was saying, "I'll show you fiery!" but it couldn't register through the haze within her mind. She was losing her breath again and tears rolled down her cheeks. Her bright red face ached from being forced into a permanent expression of amusement. As soon as the air was depleted from her lungs, her body automatically blocked any sensations she was feeling to replenish her oxygen. Once she had taken in enough air, the titillation returned, forcing more laughter from her mouth.

Kairi didn't know what or where she was anymore. Her vision was swimming before her eyes as she began to lose consciousness and touch with reality. Her will and spirit were completely and thoroughly broken. She wished that she could die so she wouldn't have to endure being so damn ticklish anymore...

So, it came to her surprise when the tickling abruptly stopped. Her arms and legs were finally released allowing her to curl herself into a little ball. The entire rush of sensations that she had been forced to endure had her limbs twitching as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Kairi! Are you okay?" Naminé's voice rang out. Kairi couldn't find the strength to talk. "I'm sorry, Kairi. You shouldn't have had to go through that." Her chest heaved as she took in gulps of fresh air.

Kairi sobbed. "It...He..."

"This is exactly what I was afraid of. I mean, this guy is so demented that it makes me want to puke." As soon as her body stopped trembling, Kairi wiped off her tear streaks with the back of her hand. That's when she noticed the Keyblade's tip glowing as rings of fire swirled around her keeping Vexen at bay. "You ready?" Naminé asked. "Because I don't know how much longer I can keep this wall up."

"Naminé? How exactly are you doing this?" Kairi asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. I just took control of your arm and voilà! Instant Firaga wall." Within the protective warmth that soothed her, Kairi almost felt like taking a nap right there on the grass. But she knew better. "Hey, it could've been worse," Naminé said.

"You're kidding, right? What could possibly be worse than being tickle tortured in every vulnerable spot available?"

"He could've tickled your feet." Kairi shivered at the thought. "Frosty Sundays are his term for hiding my sandals, locking my ankles in ice stocks and tickling my feet, knees and legs non-stop for hours. And that was only when he was bored," Naminé added with a moan. "What you just went through is what he calls a Chilly Friday."

"What kind of psycho is he?" Kairi groaned as she sat herself up. The torture that she just went through was still fresh in her nerve endings. "I see why you were so dramatically traumatized. Anyone would be unless they actually liked it. But you're with me on this one, right?"

"I'm sorry, Kairi," Naminé apologized. "I won't abandon you like that again. Together?"

Kairi nodded. "Together."

"You guys made a lot of progress since the last time we've been here," Sora commented.

Leon smirked. "It hasn't been easy, but thanks to everyone's help, Radiant Garden's almost close to being rebuilt."

Sora and his friends were at Merlin's house, A.K.A. Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Headquarters. Because most of the party didn't have weapons that were effective against the Heartless and Nobodies, Leon had brought them here to lend some that he'd been storing. Coincidentally, because of the wedding, all the wedding guests' luggage and belongings were being stored here as well.

"What exactly is this?" Leon had just given Hayner a sword that looked very similar to his weapon.

"It's called a Gunblade. I usually keep a spare for emergencies." Leon crossed his arms. "And right now, I'd say this qualifies as an emergency."

Pence and Olette stared at it in awe as Hayner ran his fingers over the shiny metal. "Sweet."

Selphie dug around in her luggage until she found what she was looking for. With a huge grin on her face, she presented Olette with a spare pair of nunchucks. "It takes some getting used to, but they're pretty reliable when it comes to long distance fighting."

"It looks like a jump rope," Olette commented.

Selphie giggled. "You know, I never thought of it that way! They do kinda look like a jump rope."

Leon handed Ariel a round, spherical object. "This is for you."

Confused, Ariel turned it around in her hands. "What is it?"

"A Blitzball."

"Wait a minute." Riku gave Leon a funny look. "What are you doing with a Blitzball here in Radiant Garden?"

Leon shrugged. "Your friend Wakka brought a couple of them a few days back when the guests were just starting to show up," he explained.

While Riku and Leon searched for weapons for the Prince and Pence, Sora had been leaning against a wall in deep conversation with Roxas. "Wait, run that by me again?"

"I want to walk around for awhile," Roxas repeated. "You know, interact with things, have some conversations for myself."

Sora dropped his head and crossed his arms in thought. "Well, unless you've got a dark Keyblade somewhere, the only ones who'll be able to see you are me and Riku."

"About that..." Roxas chuckled. "Actually, I can make myself seen to others as well."

Sora's head snapped up. "Wait, you can do that? Since when?"

"I figured it out just recently. I've done it while you were sleeping."

"What? So you're the one who ate my last Sea-Salt ice cream bar?" Sora shook his head. "Never mind. If you can do it, what are you waiting f..." He was about to agree whole-heartedly, but something was nagging him. "What's the catch?"

"Well, since I'm still connected to you, I'll be taking over your body." That statement worried Sora. "All that'll happen is that we switch places."

"In other words, I become the disembodied voice and you'll be the one in control?" Sora paraphrased in an attempt to understand.

"It's not going to hurt or anything," Roxas assured him. "It's just like Driving."

Sora shrugged. There was no reason why he couldn't give Roxas a chance to be his own person once in awhile. "Alright. Let's do it." He closed his eyes. "GIVE ME STRENGTH!"

Everyone looked up in surprise as Sora's body was encased in a crystal sphere before shattering itself into nothingness. The light faded as the Nobody known as Roxas stepped out into the world for the first time in ages. Roxas smiled nervously. "Hi, guys."

After a few awkward moments of silence, Hayner was the one to break it. "Hey, Riku? Who's this kid?" Roxas smile faltered.

Riku gave Roxas an understanding look. "Everyone," he waved in Roxas' direction, "this is Roxas."

"Roxas?" Olette let out a gasp. "You mean the one from the other Twilight Town?"

Roxas subconsciously scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that's me."

Pence grinned. "From what Sora said, you used to hang out with us."

"It's strange," Olette said with her eyes closed in thought. "I feel like we do know each other, but I'm sure we've never met before."

Hayner slugged Roxas on the arm. "I heard you're a good Struggle player. Winning the championships..."

Roxas' eyebrows shot up. "Exactly how much did you tell them, Sora?"

"Just the basic details. How you spent six days trapped in a data simulation convinced that these guys were the real thing."

"It was technically only five." Roxas shook his head. "But how exactly do you know any of this anyways? I don't remember telling you."

"Riku told me."

Roxas glared at Riku. "Ah. Figures."

"Sorry for everything that you went through," Hayner said before he stopped himself. "Wait. What am I sorry for?" Everyone chuckled at that remark.

Olette patted Roxas on the shoulder. "Even if your memories of us are fake, we'll be glad to finally get to know you now."

Roxas smiled at his old/new friends. "Thanks guys."

"So, tell us," Pence began, "Were the "us" in the other Twilight Town anything like us here?"

Roxas thought for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something cynical, but realized that Hayner was tapping his Gunblade against his palm. Choosing his words carefully, he replied, "Um...they were...pretty much the same." Hayner didn't look convinced by Roxas' stammering, but he stayed quiet. Riku was still searching for weapons, but there was a huge smirk on his face.

"After we find you two weapons," Riku was indicating Pence and the Prince, "we head for the mineshaft. Who knows what dangers Kairi and Naminé are going through right now..."

"How many more times can we use Firaga?" Kairi asked.

After a few seconds to check, Naminé replied, "I think we've got enough for a few more shots. After that, you'll have to wait for our magic to recharge."

Kairi nodded. "I just hope we don't need them to defend ourselves."

Vexen's expression was of pure loathing. "You must learn to respect your elders!" he snarled. "If you had stayed where you are, at least you would've died with a smile on your face. Instead, you'll be forced to suffer a slow, painful and icy death!"

"Tough talk from someone who gets off on tickling girls!" Kairi snapped.

Vexen let out a quiet chuckle. "When you're as old as I am, you'll do anything for physical contact."

Kairi didn't even bother to hide her disgust. "Uh...ew?" The Chilly Academic raised his hand. Ice crystals began to build up on one another. Before Kairi knew it, they had formed razor sharp snowflakes that buzzed straight toward her like flying sawblades.

"What is with all these homing projectiles?" Kairi complained as she smashed the incoming buzzsaws with the Keyblade. "First Marluxia, then Luxord, Zexion and Lexaeus. And now him!"

"Maybe it's our feminine charisma," Naminé replied sarcastically.

As soon as the snowflakes were destroyed, Vexen jumped back a couple of feet to summon ice spikes that began to jut out of the ground. Kairi Dodge Flipped for all she was worth as they trailed her movements. Due to the immense stamina drain from the torture she had endured, her body was cramping up and not moving as effectively as it should have.

"Do you truly believe that Sora adores you because of your personality? That he loves you for your heart?" The creepy old man smirked. "Or could it be that even the Keyblade master isn't as pure of heart as you think he is?"

"Shut up!" Kairi grabbed onto a forming spike and used its rising momentum to soar through the air, slamming the Keyblade into Vexen's shield. The shield cracked slightly but didn't give way to her strike. As she poured as much strength as she could spare to keep the pressure on, Vexen laughed.

"Besides, the men outside this system are no better than me. They may flatter you with their words and promises, but it's only to control you! Sora doesn't respect you for who you are! And those lies that he only cares about your heart and not your body?" Vexen tapped his head as if he knew a dark, terrible secret. "For as long as I can remember, females care about what their face, hair and shoes look like. But men?" His eyes raked across her body. "They only care about everything in-between! It's pitiful!"

Kairi's eyes narrowed. "Oh, is that how you want to play it?" she snapped. "You're trying to get inside my head and make me start doubting Sora?" Vexen shoved her back enough to slice at her with his shield. She quickly backflipped to avoid the attack and got back into her ready stance. "First of all, I've known Sora since childhood. He may be clumsy, slow, stupid, stubborn, hopeless, idiotic, brainless, thick-headed, rebellious, single-minded, careless, reckless..."

"I think that's enough, Kairi," Naminé interrupted.

"Anyway, he may not be perfect, but he's got one of the strongest hearts that I know of. Second, I know looks aren't everything to a guy! Sora's seen me with bed-head dozens of times!" Kairi smirked as Vexen's expression became angry. "Granted, I know how much he wants to see me in a bikini, but his heart's still pure! He wouldn't care if I was wearing nothing at all!" Kairi stopped herself in the realization of what she had just said. "I mean, he wouldn't care if I wasn't wearing anything at all!" She blinked. "What is wrong with me?" she murmured to herself. "He's not shallow! Let's leave it at that!"

"Nice recovery, Kairi," Naminé muttered.

Vexen piled icicle on top of icicle until it formed an enormous blade of ice that looked like it could split the ground in half. Kairi gaped in astonishment. "Oh my...That's one huge-looking sword."

"Did you know I was actually trying to help Sora?" the elder crowed as he charged at Kairi with his new sword.

"Watch out!" Naminé cried. The Princess of Heart didn't have to be told twice. Vexen swung wildly like a madman possessed. Despite the size of the sword, he didn't seem to have the skill to wield it properly.

"It's true! I was the one who was going to tell him about his Nobody's existence. And I would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for that meddling Axel!" The sword howled through the air as Kairi jumped and bent backward to avoid it.

"Please! You only wanted to tell Sora because of your so-called loyalty to the Organization!" Kairi attempted to get into Keyblade range, but the sword's length prevented her from doing so.

"I was always loyal to the Organization!" Vexen snapped. "If it weren't for traitors like Marluxia and Larxene, I'd have probably ended up as the Superior's number two!"

"Ew! He wanted to end up in Xemnas' toilet?" Naminé laughed. "That's a nice way to spend your existence." In one last ditch effort, Vexen raised the sword over his head and brought it straight down on her. Kairi quickly Dodge Flipped out of the way, but as the giant sword shattered on contact with the ground, a frozen shockwave rippled outward, causing Kairi's entire body to go numb.

"F-fighting this g-guy makes me almost w-wish Axel were h-here," Kairi stammered through chattering teeth.

"Kairi, you wanna tag out?" There was a steel sharp tone in Naminé's voice. "I owe him some full-body contact and I'm not talking about a hug." Kairi nodded wearily and let Naminé take over. As soon as Naminé's form appeared, Vexen let out his annoying laugh.

"So, Naminé. You're finally showing yourself."

"I'm not afraid of you anymore, Even," Naminé snapped.

Vexen's eyes narrowed. "How dare you use my true name, you insolent little witch!"

Naminé held the Keyblade out in front of her. "You gonna cry?" she taunted.

The old man stared at her for a few moments. Then he burst out laughing once again. "Oh ho! So, not afraid, are you?" Vexen's wicked smile turned upside-down into a menacing sneer. "You should be."

Without warning, Vexen charged at Naminé and swung his shield with such ferocity that it would've beheaded her. Naminé ducked underneath his outstretched arm and delivered a sharp kick to his calves, sweeping his legs from out underneath him. She attempted to stab with the Keyblade while he was down, but he quickly rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet.

"Well, you've blossomed into a fine young specimen," Vexen said, giving Naminé the evil eye. She did everything she could not to cringe.

"Give it a rest, Goldilocks. I'm through playing your games!" She ran at Vexen, killing intent in her eyes.

Before she even took two strides, blocks of ice materialized around Vexen and began orbiting him. "Feeling angry are we?" He tapped his fingers together. "Excellent. Everything's going according to plan..."

Naminé waved the Keyblade threateningly. "Either you take that back or I'll use your butt as the next "Pedestal of Time!" You got that?!"

"Um, Naminé?" Kairi was a bit taken back by Naminé's fiery reaction. "Maybe you should calm down."

Naminé took a slow, cleansing breath. "Sorry, I've been wanting to use that quote for awhile."

Vexen glided effortlessly across the field, aiming his projectiles at the fleeing Naminé. Even the act of brushing against the ice with her bare skin caused her nerves to go numb. She was barely able to keep moving as she felt the cold begin to overtake her body. Naminé managed to limbo underneath a stray ice block that whizzed past her at breakneck speed.

"Whoa! That was a close one!" Naminé quickly massaged her aching back. "Didn't know I was that flexible."

"Naminé! It's coming back toward you!" Naminé's head whipped around in time to see the block rocketing back. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she stabbed at the incoming block, sinking the Keyblade in to its hilt. Then with a massive strain of effort, she began to twirl the block around like a hammer thrower. Any other blocks that tried to run into her resulted in being deflected. As soon as she had enough momentum (and got dizzy), she released her grip on the Keyblade and sent her projectile flying. Vexen put up his shield, but the makeshift hammer still slammed him into the mansion's gates. While he was stunned, Naminé slid over to her discarded Keyblade across the slippery ice shards and stabbed at Vexen again. Unfortunately, the shield had a mind of its own and automatically protected its owner against her attack.

As Vexen shook the cobwebs out of his head, he raised his hand to summon another blue orb of light. The sickening smirk was plastered over his face again. Naminé's eyes widened apprehensively. "I don't like the looks of..."

The orb exploded forming a giant mountain of ice that blanketed the entire battlefield. Naminé instinctively used her last few Firagas to protect her from being frozen to death. The glacier splintered into millions of shards, revealing Vexen who seemed to be losing his patience.

"Still there, are you?" he muttered. Vexen swooped in and raised his shield for another guillotine. The glint in his eyes froze Naminé in her tracks. "Why don't you be a good little girl and surrender already?"

Only one thought crossed the memory witch's mind: "Well, it worked before." Like a soccer player blasting the ball into the goal, Naminé's leg shot out to come in contact with his "ice bags," resulting in a sickening crunch.

Unfortunately, instead of doubling over in pain, Vexen just laughed. "You think such a cheap trick will defeat me?"

Naminé quickly jerked her foot away. "Ew! It felt like...bags of shaved ice!" She began shaking her foot wildly, disgusted for having even make contact with it. Naminé immediately switched back with Kairi, who wasn't totally recovered, but still managed to stand on her two feet.

"How do we beat this guy?" Kairi cried, panicking.

"I don't know what else to do!" Naminé replied helplessly. "The only thing I can think of..." Her voice trailed off. "I can't believe I'm thinking this. It's a long shot, but it might work."

"What? You know how to beat him?"

"To defeat a pervert, we have to think like one," Naminé stated.

"What exactly..." Her question was cut short as Naminé whispered the idea. Kairi's eyes widened in horror. "No way! You can't be serious!"

"A shield is used for blocking attacks, right? And his weapon (as lame as it may be) is a shield made of ice. He controls and forms ice. Even if we destroy that shield, he's just going to keep reforming it."

"But to do what you're suggesting..." Kairi desperately tried to think of an alternative. "Couldn't we just wait for our magic to recharge and then spam Firaga?"

"Look. Do you want this battle over or not?"

"I..." Kairi's mind was drawing a blank. "It just seems so cheap, though." She inhaled a slow, calming breath. "Hey, Vexen!"

Kairi braced herself as she gripped the top of her undershirt. "TAKE THIS!" She turned her head, squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her hold downward. Vexen's jaw dropped and his eyes grew rounder. "Can't believe I'm doing this..." she muttered. Kairi counted to five, giving the old perv a good eyeful before pulling her top back up.

"Did it work?" Naminé asked. The question became painfully unnecessary as Vexen's nose began to spurt out blood. There was a stunned, yet goofy expression on his face. After a couple of minutes of inactivity, he collapsed to the ground due to blood loss. His eyes were glazed over and his body twitched sporadically.

"Naminé. We are NEVER doing that again." For the fourth time that fight, Kairi's face was flushed with embarrassment. "That was dirty, cheap and wrong on so many levels."

"Cheaper than the crotch shot?" Naminé asked cynically.

Kairi shook her head. "I don't care what it takes, but the guys don't hear about this. EVER."

"Agreed. But do you mind if I finish him off?"

Kairi nodded wearily. "Be my guest." Naminé's form reappeared, but Vexen was still too out of it to notice. She stood over his body, turned the Keyblade upside down, and with a downward thrust, her weapon stabbed straight through where the sun didn't shine.

"Poetic justice," Naminé muttered.

Vexen looked up at the memory witch's dark expression. "No matter. Our plan is still undeterred. Even if you defeat all of us, the Organization will still live on."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naminé pointed the Keyblade at his dissolving form. "Tell me!" The moment the outburst left her lips, her heart throbbed with agonizing pain. She collapsed to her knees clutching her chest and gritting her teeth.

Vexen began to chuckle once more. "It's too late. You have our thanks, girls." And with his chilly laugh echoing through the air, Kairi and Naminé could only watch helplessly as Vexen disappeared back into the data stream. As soon as his form dissolved, the pain rapidly evaporated.

Naminé gripped her head in confusion. "What's happening to me? To us? I just felt all this anger boil up inside and..."

"Usually, I'd say it was because you were traumatized, but..." Kairi's tone was anything but satisfied. "Something tells me things are about to get a worse before it gets better. A whole lot worse..."