A/N: Whew! Managed to get this out before Kingdom Hearts III comes out, which is next freaking week and I am so excited!

Anyway, I started writing this chapter as more set up for the Chaos Program. Hit a little snag when trying to figure out what to have the siblings do in this chapter. I really have to thank Kristen Verne for giving me an idea I could work with.

Nightmares

KAIRI: My brother seemed to have a lot on his mind. More so lately than ever. I was really worried about him. But how does one help someone who refuses to open up?

With a yawn, Skadi Thurston(1) pinched herself to stay awake on this tour. Relearning about everything that had been crammed into her brain from birth was so dull. She… who was she kidding? She never paid attention in school because it was too much of a pain. Who was the genius who thought making school a requirement was a good idea?

As their guide went on about the history behind one of the many pieces of architecture on the grounds, Skadi decided it was time she left the group and struck out on her own. It was easy to get away, as she was shorter than most people. She was used to people overlooking her, as everyone in class made every effort to always remind her of what she knew.

As she moved through the gardens that gave this city its name, Skadi reflected on what she wanted in life. For starters, it would be nice if the rest of her class would stop calling her names like shrimp and dwarf. Just because she was a few feet shorter doesn't mean she was a dwarf. Another thing she wanted was for one of the guys in her school to actually notice her. Her parents said she was beautiful, but most of the people in her class acted like she was invisible. It was hard to maintain good self-esteem when people acted like someone didn't matter.

"What do we have here? A truant from school?" A voice asked, getting her attention. Turning, Skadi saw it was only one of the castle guards. Even though he wore an eyepatch, she didn't think there was any reason to fear him.

"Can't I take a moment to enjoy the gardens?" She asked. "Hearing someone go on and on about stuff that's too boring to even remember."

The guard smiled at that. "Not one for school, huh?"

"What's the point of learning all that stuff when I'm not going to use it in my life? Besides, the only reason people would want me there is to be the butt of their jokes."

"Well, I can see all kind of jokes being thrown at you." Before the teen could say anything, the guard added, "Well, I happen to know of a secret project that could turn things around for you. Let you get the last laugh instead. And the best part is, you can skip out on your classes—."

"I'm in."

Kai found himself running through an empty street. It was so foggy out, that he couldn't see ahead of him. Looking behind him he saw what was chasing him. It was a large cloud of darkness, and inside it was the shadow of a creature with glowing red eyes. Its shaped was distorted by the clouds. He didn't know what it was, but he was too afraid to find out. He was just hoped he'd be able to lose this thing.

Unfortunately for him, he ran into wall. In fact the fog cleared a little to reveal two more walls to his side. He had hit a dead end. He looked back at the creature that was slowly approaching him. He had nowhere to run. He looked at his hand, holding Muramasa, which he found odd because he didn't remember having it while he was running. But regardless, he readied his sword. The creature growled before leaping at the boy. The boy swung his sword at it, however the moment it touch the beast, it turned into mist and the entire dark cloud scattered. It didn't even feel like he hit anything.

He looked around trying to find the beast, but something else caught his attention and startled him. He was suddenly surrounded by dead bodies. But they weren't just any bodies, they were the bodies of his fellow recruits: Lightning, Cloud, Squall, Tifa, Zidane, and Bartz. Merlin's students: Rinoa and Aerith. Guards: Laguna, Aeleus, and Dilan. And even Lord Ansem the Wise. All of them looked like they were mauled by an animal. Kai couldn't stop shaking at the sight. It got worse when he saw Kairi's friends, Serah, Yuffie, Rydia, Palom, Porom, and Ienzo.

But his heart stopped when he saw a particular someone in the exact same state. "K...Kairi?" He shakily approach his fallen sister, the one person he cared about most. The poor little girl. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. This couldn't be real.

When he stopped right next to her, he reached out he hand towards her. However, he was startled when he saw that his hand was not his normal hand. It was his beast hand, and it was covered in blood. He then looked at his other hand and it was also a beast. Then he realized that his whole body was in beast form, all covered in blood. But whose blood was... No. It couldn't have been... Did...did he kill them all himself? "No!...NO!...RRRRRAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"

"AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"

Kai woke up with a scream. He looked around to find himself in his room. What a terrible nightmare. The darkness, the dead bodies, his own beast. And worst of all, his own sister among the dead... that his beast killed. He was completely horrified.

"Big Bro?" Little Kairi walked in, having been woken up by her brother's scream. She looked to Kai and saw him sitting in bed breathing heavily. She then ran up to him. "Big Bro? Are you okay?"

The boy looked at his sister. He was relieved to see her alright, but the image of her mauled body, and the implication the he's the one responsible, just wouldn't leave his mind. He held his aching head before saying, "I'm...fine. Just...a bad dream. That's all."

"Oh my! What happened?! Was it scary?!"

Kai did his best to calm himself. After a deep breath, he said, "It's nothing to worry about. Just a dream...nothing more. I'll be alright."

Kairi was not convinced. She could always tell when something was bothering him. She usually just tries to respect his private thoughts, but often she wishes he would just talk to her. And this bad dream that made him this frightened really concerned her. She jumped on his bed and hugged him, which he shakily returned. "Kai... You know you can tell me anything... right?"

The boy didn't know what to tell her. He was feeling apprehension just holding her this closely, fearing that the beast would come out at any moment to... he just couldn't bear it. He then looked out the window to see that it was daybreak out. He then pulled away. "I...need to get ready for today's training session." He then got out bed and started gather some clothes.

"But... Big Bro..."

"I'm fine...really." And with that, Kai exited his room and enter the bathroom for his morning shower.

Meanwhile, Kairi just sat there looking down. "How can I make it better if you never talk to me?"

"Those freaking deserters!" Jack Hawk(2) was not having a good day. He and a small band of thieves had been robbing the streets for months now. And they always managed to slip away and not get caught by the guards.

Unfortunately for Jack, he had the misfortune of getting his right eye clawed out by a stray cat a couple weeks ago. Ever since, the brunette's been much clumsier due to his lack of depth perception, and almost costed them more than once. His fellow thieves started calling him 'One-Eyed Jack', which annoyed him to no end. However now, after a heist gone wrong, they flat out ditched him. And now he was on his own and on the run with from a few guard.

He thought he could lose them by turn a corner and then rush into an alleyway before they could, but as soon as he turned the corner he ran smack into an empty stand with his shoulder, throwing him off balance, before tripping over a wooden crate. He landed on the ground so hard that he was painful to get up. Great! They're gonna catch me for sure now! Jack thought.

Suddenly he felt something grab his arm and the next thing he knew, he was in the alley way he was aiming to hide him. He heard the guards pass right by, oblivious to where he went.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Jack looked up to see one of the top guards, specifically Braig, towering over him. The boy cursed his luck. Just when he thought he was safe.

Braig bent over to get a good look at the thief's bandaged eye. "Whoa, you look like you've seen better days. What happened to your eye?"

"What's it to you?"

The ruffian pointed at his eyepatch. "Hey, I know what it's like to lose an eye. I tell you, I was off my game for a while because of the lack of depth perception. Took me a long time to work around it, and boy was it a painful process. I tell you a guard like me almost quit because of this. I consider myself lucky I managed to get used to it. I doubt a street thief like you would make it."

Jack grunted in frustration. "What's your point?"

Braig chuckled. "Tell me: Would like to have two eyes again rather than going through the pains of adjusting to one?"

"Of course I would!? This lost eye is the reason my life has been sucking lately. I can't take all this constant tripping and running into things. And now my so called friends just left me to the mercy of the guards. I'm no top guard like you. How am I supposed to adjust to this?"

"I see. Well, I may have gotten comfortable having one eye, not to mention I think I look good with this eyepatch, but who am I to deny a kid like you the same opportunity Xehanort recently offered me." The guard smirked. "A chance to get a my eye fixed."

That caught the boy's attention. "Get your...eye fixed?"

"Yeah, Xehanort has been working on a new program capable of fixing people's...ocular problems. I turned down the offer given to me because like I said, I kind like the way I look. But if your uncomfortable and want an easy solution, I could give that offer to you instead."

"R-Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Of course! Now we will have to ask you for your full cooperation before and after the procedure. But hey, it's gotta be better than running around the streets on the run from the guards, right? And who know? We might even give you a chance to get back at those 'friends' for deserting you. What do you say?"

Jack thought for a moment. He really wanted to put an end to these difficult times as fast as possible. "I'm in."

Kai walked through the castle halls, rubbing his baggy eyes. He had been having that same nightmare every night for the past few days, and he was starting to lose sleep because of it. It really showed today in training when not only was his lack of focus pretty clear but his crankiness was out in full force in front of the others. It was clear to Laguna that he had not been sleeping well lately and dismissed him early, ordered him to get some rest. The supervisor even threatened to kick him out when he got defensive about him being fine.

The boy groaned. How was he supposed to sleep with all these anxieties plaguing his mind?

His thoughts were interrupted when alarms suddenly started blaring all over the castle halls, startling him. On full alert he dashed over to his apartment to make sure his sister was okay. Once he got there, Kairi came bursting out of the door, coughing up a storm. He immediately saw smoke coming out of the door. A fire?

Little Kairi saw her brother and ran over to him. "Big Bro!" She grabbed onto him in fright. "I-I'm sorry! I was t-trying to make cookies and...and..."

Nothing else needed to be said as Kai gently put his sister aside as he ran into the apartment. As he coughed from the smoke, he saw the flames spewing out of the open oven. He then drew Muramasa, activated Icebrand, and swung it, unleashing a gust of ice, dousing the flames. After making sure the oven was turned off, he opened all the windows in the apartment to air out the smoke.

He exited his apartment just when Lord Ansem and Dilan approached. Thanks to his castle's security program, the ruler knew the alert was triggered by the smoke detectors at the siblings' quarters. "What happened?" he asked.

Kai deactivated his Icebrand and sheathed his sword. "Just a little fire accident. It's taken care of."

"I'll say," said Dilan as he examine the smoke filled apartment. He entered the doorway and started twirling his lance in front of him as he used his wind magic to blow the smoke out of the windows faster.

His Lordship then fiddled with a device in his hand as the alarms turned off. "Thank goodness you two are unharmed."

Kairi bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Uncle Ansem. It's my fault. I was just trying to make cookies."

"By yourself? You could've asked me or your brother for help, you know?"

"I know, but... I was trying to surprise Kai."

Kai raised an eyebrow that. "Me?"

Kairi nodded. "I was hoping that maybe if I tried make the cookies like Grandma use to make, it would make you feel better, after all those bad dreams you've been having."

"Bad dream?" Ansem said to himself. Now the report he got from Laguna about Kai being out of sorts lately made sense.

Kai just stared at floor with an unreadable expression. It took a moment for him to say something. "Kairi... You didn't have to do that. I told you, I'm fine."

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" The boy was taken aback by his sisters outburst. He look at her and could swear her eye were looking watery. "Big Bro, I always know when something is bothering you! When you're hurting inside! I just wanna help you feel better, but you never tell me what's wrong! You never talk to me about anything! You're always just telling me you're fine, when I know you're not!" The girl then started crying. "I can't stand seeing you feeling so bad and not letting me help you!"

Kai looked as his sister in sorrow. He never would've expected her to be so perceptive. And seeing her crying over him, seeing her hurt just because he won't talk to her, pierced his heart.

Lord Ansem sighed. "And I had hoped you would've learned by now, Kai. It is not healthy to keep these kind of things bottled up inside. By doing so, not only are you hurting yourself even more, but you are also hurting the people who care about you, who are worried about you. You do so much for your sister's sake. Is it too much to ask to let her return the favor whenever possible? It gives us the impression that you don't trust us."

Kai flinched at that insinuation. "Th-that's not what I-"

His lordship raise his hand. "I know, for whatever reason, you think you have to bear whatever emotional baggage you have alone, but you don't. There is nothing wrong with sharing whatever is weighing on your heart, as it's what makes you human. Your father may have been good at controlling his emotions but he never hid his feelings from those he cared about. He knew when to be a soldier, and when to be human like everyone else. So don't shut us out like this, especially when it's affecting you this much. It hurts us seeing you like this more than you could know. Please, just open your heart to us for once."

The young swordsman look down in thought for a moment. He was seriously considering the wise ruler's words. He had been hiding his feelings for so long, putting on a brave face for little Kairi. He thought he was being strong for her, but now seeing how she feels about it, he saw that he was just hurting her. What's the point in trying to shelter his sister from his own pain and fears if doing so will just hurt her anyway?

"Every night for the past few days has been the same," Kai finally said, getting everyone's attention. "I'm running from some dark entity I can't fight back. I find myself cornered so I try to attack. The creature vanishes without a trace, but after that I'm met with a horrifying sight." His hand starts shaking. "I see dead bodies all around me. And not just any bodies, but my fellow Recruits, the members of the guard, Lord Ansem,... everyone looked like they all mauled by a wild animal. But worst of all, I saw my own sister in the same state. It was horrible... seeing everyone, especially my own sister, all killed, and I had failed to protect them."

The recruit's eyes started to water. "Oh, but that's not the worst part. The worst part is that I suddenly find myself transformed into that werewolf, my claws all covered in blood, as if to say that this beast killed everyone, that I killed everyone!" His tears then started falling. "I killed my own sister!"

Little Kairi was horrified at what she heard. She knew this nightmare was bad, but had no idea it'd be this gruesome. She approached her brother. "It's okay, Big Bro. It was just a bad dream."

But Kai stepped back. "And what's stopping it from actually happening!? How do I know this monster won't just come out when I least expect it and just slaughter everyone I know!? What if it hurts you, Kairi? I already hurt you once, you know. And that was before I became some kind of werewolf." He paused to let it sink in. "If this beast ever hurts my little sister, the one person I love most, or worse kill her... I could never live with myself." He then turned away as he started sobbing.

Soon though, the girl grabbed her big brother's hand as she said, "I know that won't happen. You wanna know why? When you hurt me before, you just didn't look where you stepped. It was accident. But when you became that wolf, you were looking right at me, and you didn't do a thing." She then moved to look at him in the eye. "That wolf could never hurt me, because you would never hurt me. You have nothing to be afraid of."

The brother couldn't help but stare at her in awe. Her kindness and ability to stay positive just never ceased to amaze him.

The sister then smiled. "After all, being able to turn into a giant guard dog can't be all bad."

That made Kai chuckle. "Giant guard dog? Really?"

Kairi giggled. "Of course. I mean, you could use that wolfie to protect me and other people, couldn't you?"

The boy had to admit, he hadn't really thought of it like that before. Although the only issue there was figuring out how to actually control the beast. Still, he was starting to feel a lot better now. Just something about the way she said those words made him want to believe he knelt down and hugged Kairi, who happily returned it.

Ansem watched the two of them, smiling at yet another heartfelt moment between Suzaku's children. He was very concerned when Kai told them of his recurring nightmare, even more so knowing the anxiety it was giving him. It was really no wonder he hadn't been sleeping well lately. He was good to see him finally letting all that out and Kairi comforting him in the best way she knew. He had to admit, he chuckled at the girl's guard dog comment as well.

Although he did remain cautious at the idea of the beast being use to protect others due to still not understanding its nature. Ever since Kai's reappearance, the radiant ruler had been trying to figure out how the boy got that beast inside of him. He had yet to see the wolf form himself, but from what Dilan told him, it remind him of those creatures he caught Xehanort meddling with months ago, the Heartless. Just the thought made him easy, but it did give him an idea of something he felt he should look into sometime soon.

Meanwhile, Dilan had been listening to the whole conversation and his only thought was that this was something worth reporting to Xehanort about. Soon he cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "The room is all cleared of smoke," he said. "You can go in now."

"Uh thanks," replied Kai.

"You should get some needed rest my boy," said Ansem. He then smirked. "And if you're still worried about that nightmare perhaps you have you could have your sister help you ward them off." He laughed as he took his leave, as did Dilan.

Kai grumbled at that comment, but Kairi giggled. "You know, I will sleep with you if that's what it takes to keep the bad dreams aways," she said.

Somehow, the boy just could say no to her. He sighed before saying, "Alright." The siblings then entered their apartment. Tired, Kai looked at the time and realized it was still early in the afternoon. He thought for a moment before turning to his sister. "Hey, I think I'm gonna take a short nap. Maybe... we could make those cookies together after?"

Kairi jumped in excitement. "That would be great!"

With that, Kai laid down on the living room couch and began to dose off. Little Kairi tottered over and began caressing her big brother's hair until she heard soft snores coming from him. The little girl giggled before muttering to herself, "You're still hopeless without me, aren't you Big Bro?"

KAIRI: I was so happy to see that my Big Brother was finally opening up to me. It always felt good to help him. I wanted to always be there for him, just as he was always there for me.

Meanwhile:

"Excuse me, Xehanort." said Ienzo.

"What is it?"

"I just wanted to let you know that Mermaid didn't last."

Xehanort sighed. "Another failure, I see. How are Gigas and Cyclops?"

"Both appear to be perfectly stable, no significant cause for concern to note since their respective procedures. I think we can officially label them successes."

"Good." Xehanort then grabbed a clipboard and started writing on it. "Six successes, seven if you count Sephiroth, and five failures. This Program sure proves to be a tricky one to get a great track record on."

"Such is the trial and error of science," Even said as he walked in. "Can't expect all our experiment to go smoothly." He approached Xehanort with a folder in his hand. "I believe I have found the perfect candidate for project Dhampir in the castle dungeons."

Xehanort took the folder and read the file. He then smile with intrigue. "Interesting. I would very much like to meet him."

With that, the three of them made their way into the dungeons. They passed by several prison cells until they found the cell they were looking for. Inside was a boy about eighteen years old. One notable thing about him was his complete baldness.

"You are Ejder Gölge(3), are you not?" asked Xehanort.

The boy gave them a callous stare. "Who's asking?"

"The name is Xehanort. And these are Even and Ienzo."

"I see. And what business do you have with me?"

Even looked at his folder. "Well, you are the son of the late Yilan Gölge, correct?"

"So what if I am?"

Ienzo stepped up. "You sure had some big shoes to fill, trying to follow in his footstep of being an infamous criminal only to fail so spectacularly and got yourself caught."

"The guards got lucky!" Ejder snapped. "And so what? You here to carry my sentence!?"

"Now what would be the point?" asked Xehanort. "As we understand it, you've contracted a terminal illness, one without a known cure. You wouldn't live for very long anyway."

Ejder growled. "So what do you want from me!?"

"We've been working on a little project, and we what you to test it for us?"

"Oh sure! Use the imprisoned convict who doesn't have long to live as your guinea pig! I'll pass!"

"What if we told you that if this experiment works as intended, it just might prolong your life?"

That got Ejder's attention. "You mean, it could cure this disease?"

Even rubbed his chin. "Well, whether it actually cures it is yet to be determined, but we are certainly aiming to at least...suppress it to the point where you'll live a lot longer."

The convict looked down in thought.

Xehanort smirked knowing they've got him interested. "And if this works, and you behave yourself afterward, we may know someone who can...teach you how to be a better criminal, what do you say?"

Ejdar raised an eyebrow at that. "That's an odd offer coming from castle scientists."

Ienzo chuckled. "Let's just say our interests do not quite align with Lord Ansem's. All you have to do is cooperate for a while, and freedom will be yours."

The boy had to admit, it was a very tempting offer. If this works, he may yet have a shot at being a hardened criminal like his father. And besides, even if he refused, he's guaranteed to be dead anyhow. What did he have to lose? He smiled gleefully before saying. "I suppose it's worth a shot."

"Excellent!" Xehanort said. "We'll send our most trusted associates in the guard down here to get you once we have everything set up for the procedure."

A/N: And there you have it. More Chaos Program set up along with Kai finally opening up to his sister. Again thank you Kris for the nightmare and cookies idea.

Footnotes:

(1) This character and this whole scene was courtesy of DinoWriter23.

(2) Jack Hawk is a new OC I made for the Chaos Program.

(3) Ejder Gölge is another new OC I made for the Chaos Program. Though I have to give credit to Kristen Verne for helping me come up with his name and background.