A/N: Man! Kingdom Hearts III was a doozy! I'm still trying to get over that ending.

Anyway, you may as well consider this the Beginning of the End chapter for the Radiant Garden Arc, not only because of what happens in this chapter but also because after this, I'm only planning about 2 or 3 more chapters before this world's inevitable fall.

Also special thanks to Kristen Verne for Roleplaying the majority of this chapter with me.

Enjoy!

Betrayal

KAI: "I cannot believe I let my guard down to HIM!"

In the town's caverns, three thieves stare at a briefcase of gems that they managed to swipe.

"Score! We hit the jackpot today!"

"No kidding! Who knew that ditching that klutz would grant us more money than we dreamed of?"

"The one-eyed Jack was dead weight. Always has been, and even more so when he lost his eye. We are fortunate that he got himself caught."

Suddenly a new familiar voice made itself known. "Are you really fortunate?"

The group turned and were surprised to see the very brunette they were talking about. The boy was turned away from them, only his left side visible.

"What the...! J-Jack!? How did you escape from the guards?"

Jack then turned towards them and they were startled by what they saw. On his was a large, blue, ominous-looking eye in place of the one he had lost. Dark tendrils were also coming out of the eye socket, covering the right side of his face.

"Yikes! What happened to you?"

"I got a new eye," said Jack. "No thanks to you guys!" He then slowly approached them, as then quivered in fear. "You left me at the mercy of the guards. I guess there really is no honor among thieves, huh?"

"H-Hey! Y-you were slowing us down... I-It was nothing p-personal."

The brunette glared at them. "Oh but it is personal... for me! You are gonna pay for abandoning me like that. Fortunately for me, this new eye of mine is quite exquisite. It can see and perceive things the human eye cannot. And not only that, but it can do some wondrous things." His demonic eye then glows brightly. "Here let me show you!"

Suddenly a laser beam shot out of Jack new eye, piecing a hole right through the chest of one of them. The victim let out gasp as he felt to the ground dead. The other two tried to run away, only for one of them to find himself lifted into the air by an invisible force and then sent crashing into the other. Then an orb of dark fire appeared right next to them, which promptly exploded, killing them both.

Jack just stared coldly at the bodies of his former comrades.

And while all that was going on, Braig was just watching the event from afar with a satisfied grin. "Nicely done, Cyclops!"

The recruits were taking a break from training in the outer gardens.

As they sat Squall turned to Tifa. "So how's Cloud doing?"

Tifa sighed. "He's still off training alone. He really doesn't feel comfortable being around anyone."

"I'm not surprised," said Zidane. "what with that new dark wing of his."

Bartz scratched his head. "I'm still baffled as to how he got it."

"Cloud believes Sephiroth is gave it to him," said Tifa. "And considering Sephiroth himself had a dark wing, I'm inclined to agree."

"But then how did Sephiroth get it?" asked Lightning.

"Not to mention we still don't know how Kai here became a werewolf," said Lea. "Something fishy is going around here, and I don't like it."

"I agree," said Isa, "especially with all the mysterious disappearances in the last few weeks."

Kai couldn't help but be concerned himself. What exactly is happening in this town?

Suddenly alarms were going of in town, catching everyone's attention.

"Recruits!" called Laguna. "Get ready for battle!"

The recruits rushed into town as fast as they could. They arrived in the town square, they prepared themselves to face the worst. However, what they got was the polar opposite. Instead of monsters attacking the people, they found children laughing while a dark skinned young woman who had to be over six feet tall carving out funny statues by punching the rocks. She was wearing a shirt that fully exposed her abs, which would've made any professional weightlifter jealous. There were also some arrow shaped tattoos on the side of her limbs. Kai also noticed several guys just staring at the woman with dreamy expressions. (1)

With another swipe, the woman finished her work and took a step back. "And there you have it folks." This was followed by a round of applause.

The recruits were confused as to how they went from preparing for a monster attack to this.

Laguna walked up to a few of the civilians. "Excuse me, but what's going on here?"

"That woman just took down a bunch of monsters all by herself!"

"She saved a lot of lives!"

"She's incredibly strong!"

"She's like some kind of superhero!"

Lea just couldn't help but voice his confusion. "But where the heck did she come from?"

Laguna took a good look at the tall woman as she did a few stretches. He was certain he had never seen her before, and yet her face looked oddly familiar, but just couldn't place where he might've seen it.

Meanwhile in the lab, Braig, Even, and Ienzo were monitoring the event from their computer terminal. (2)

"You know, I still don't get it. Why did she not mutate like the other experiments?" Braig was asking Ienzo. "So far everyone we've experimented on has gone on to become some sort of nightmarish monster. And she only gets a few marks that could pass for tattoos."

"I cannot say for sure." Ienzo put his hand on his chin in thought. "All I know is Project Gigas was supposed to make the subject larger and have greater strength than mere humans. Given how she went from her average height to an imposing one, I would call the experiment a success."

"A success?"

"Yes, a success." Even said from his station. "Not only has Skadi grown, but her muscles and bones have been reinforced to exert and withstand greater pressures, effectively making her super strong. My notes from observing her have also noted a higher metabolism, so she can eat more and have all the calories get converted into her new muscles."

"Does that explain why that kid is so…" Braig tried to find the right word.

"Attractive? Yes, it does." Ienzo said.

Looking up, Even added, "That makes it better for us because it will keep the people calm, especially once the castle is locked down. Now they'll think they have a new superhero to look up to. Someone who can keep them safe from the monsters."

"Except she hates working if she doesn't want to. You saw how reluctant she was to get into battle." Ienzo reminded them. "They were lucky she was showing off her new abilities when they found her."

"Then we just have to make sure she stays motivated." Even smirked.

Later, that evening, Ansem the Wise snuck into the lab.

He had been growing concerned about the recent strange happenings. Sephiroth's transformation, Kai's beast, Cloud's wing... and to top it off, there have been quite a few disappearances, some of which were teenaged kids. It was really disturbing.

However, he had his suspicions. His apprentices have all been acting rather strangely lately. He was beginning to wonder if they haven't actually ceased their experiments with the Heartless like he asked them to. Was it possible that they had something to do with the disappearances? He didn't want to believe it, but he had to find out.

He looked around the lab until he found a couple folders on the table. One of them was labeled Ansem Reports. He looked through the entries, which despite being written in his name he only remembered writing the first one. It would appear that they were indeed still at it with their experiments on Heartless. However he then looked at another folder, this one was labeled the Chaos Reports. That name alone was ominous and he was almost afraid to read what was in it. But he sucked in up, and read the first entry.

Chaos Report 1

As I research the Heartless, I have come to a couple understandings. They are darkness made real. And they are born from the darkness of men's hearts.

With that in mind a new thought has occurred to me: Would it be possible to crack open a heart's darkness and then manifest it into a physical form. In other words, could we give a human a Heartless-like trait without actually turning them into a Heartless itself. Oh the possibilities! I must find out!

As such I believe a new series of experiments is in order. I shall called this the Chaos Program!

Ansem winced at what he read. How could Xehanort even think of such dangerous idea? Doesn't he care about the potential damage that could do? He decided to read on.

Chaos Report 2

I have chosen my first subject for the Chaos Program.

Braig and I have used this delusional boy as a means to test the darkness of another that I have my eye on, and the battle resulted in his left arm being severed. His loss was our gain as this made him the perfect candidate for Project Reptile. The aim of this experiment was to tapped into the subject's darkness to regrow his missing limb. Using a new device put together by me and Even, the Dark Transformer, we probed the boy heart.

It was a rocky first attempt, but it proved be a fruitful. We were able to replace his severed arm with a reptilian one made from his own darkness. It was a fascinating result. The process had its side effects though, as it appeared to have shattered the boy's sanity. As if he wasn't already unstable. It was difficult to restrain and put him in his cage upon completion, due to a surge of his primal instinct. Still the boy hasn't outright turned into a heartless... not yet at least, so I think we can call Reptile a success. Though we'll need to keep him under close observation in case something unfortunate happens. We should also see if we can reduce the mental side effects for future experiments.

I wonder what other candidates I could lure into this program. Children will probably be the easiest to control.

Ansem was appalled by what Xehanort was doing. "My goodness... What have they done!? These poor people... these children..." There was no doubt in his mind now: His own apprentices were behind the mysterious disappearances. The result of this first experiment also made him wonder about other things, namely Sephiroth, Cloud, and especially Kai. Was Xehanort responsible for what happened to them? He was about to read the next entry when he heard a familiar voice.

"Is there a problem, Master Ansem?" The wise ruler looked behind him and found Xehanort standing before him.

Ansem glared at his foremost apprentices. "What is this!? Kidnapping and experimentation!?"

"My apologies, Master." Xehanort said composedly. "But the potential of the darkness in one's heart was too valuable to pass up."

"You kidnapped and experimented on CHILDREN!"

"A necessary price to pay for science. I would think as a scientist yourself who taught me everything I know, you'd understand that."

"I told you to cease these talks of hearts and darkness!"

Xehanort looked through his papers nonchalantly. "By the way, have you seen Subject X? She seems to have disappeared from her cell."(3)

His lordship flinched at that. "Wh-What do you mean disappeared? What did you do to her?"

"Nothing!" Xehanort looked at his mentor skeptically. "So you don't know where she is either? Shame."

Ansem grunted in frustration. "I'm through with this disregard! You will destroy all of your research and release those you have experimented on!"

"I'm afraid I cannot. As I said this research is too valuable." The apprentice then smirked. "And are you certain you want their families to see the subjects of my Chaos Program?"

Ansem paused at the implication. "What have you done?"

Xehanort went to a panel and presses two buttons. "Insetto, come here!"

Soon a girl walked in. Ansem couldn't help but be startled by her insect like appear. It was clear to him why his apprentice called her Insetto. However upon closer inspection, he then recognized her from the missing persons reports. "Lucky? Lucky Holt?"

The girl just looked down in shame.

"Indeed," Xehanort answered for her. "As you can see, she's just one of a few examples of how much my Chaos Program can change a person. Initially I didn't have much to gain from experimenting on her. She was more like dropped on our doorstep and we just took the opportunity. But her unexpected abilities proved useful for keeping the other subjects in check." He then chuckled. "I'm actually kinda glad she happened to stumble upon us just as a...certain other subject of ours broke out of this lab."

It took a moment of thinking for Ansem to figure out who he was referring to. "Kai." It only made sense. If this was a result of the Chaos Program, how else could Kai have gotten the beast. Not to mention realizing that Lucky disappeared around the same time Kai reappeared. "It was you! You put that beast inside of him!"

"Correct."

Ansem wanted to snap at Xehanort more, but then looked at the depressed girl that needed immediate comfort. "Lucky, come here, sweetie. We need to take you home."

"I-I c-c-can't!" Lucky covered her face as she cried. "I can't l-let my p-parents see the m-m-monster I-I've b-become!"

His Lordship then looked at his apprentice with disdain. "Xehanort! What lies have you fed her?" He then walked up to Lucky and put his hands on her shoulders. "You are no monster. You're just a girl. Please, your parents miss you."

Unfortunately, the poor teenaged girl just backed away as she sobbed.

"Enough," said Xehanort. "Insetto, go wait in your cell. Braig will get you when you're needed." Lucky just nodded as she left. The apprentice turned to Ansem. "You see, it's for the best that they all stay here. Kai should consider himself fortunate that he's thus far the only subject capable of turning his transformation off. And only one other subject has been fortunate that the only transformation they got was merely their size, strength, and a few tattoos; no mutation to speak of."

Ansem was angry at the treatment these poor kids were getting. "Enough! I will not allow this to continue! Release them at once!"

"No can do, My Lord." Ansem turns to see another apprentice Even walking in. "There are still plenty tests to run. In fact, we still haven't done any proper tests with Cloud, or even Kai for that matter. Not to mention the strong light in Kairi's heart has caught our interest."

"No! You will NOT touch either of Suzaku's children!"

"And what can you do to stop us?" asked Xehanort. "Besides you should be grateful. That wound that Kai took from Sephiroth was too great for a cure spell to heal. If I hadn't put him into Project Lycan, he would've been dead."

Ansem's eye narrowed "Then why do I get the feeling you were behind Sephiroth going mad in the first place."

Xehanort chuckled. "You catch on quick, Master Ansem. Yes, it's a shame that we're unable to test Sephiroth out further, now that he's gone. We were still working out the kinks of the... mental side effects of the procedure. But still, it provided us with the perfect opportunity, as Kai's darkness had always interested me, especially after he acquired its power through sheer rage alone."

"Enough! Guards!" Soon, Dilan and Aeleus come in. Ansem then pointed at Xehanort and Even. "Take these maniacs away!

However the two guard/apprentices do nothing but stare at their master coldly, making Ansem uneasy.

Xehanort then smirked. "You heard him..."

Dilan and Aeleus then walked over and grabbed Ansem by his arms. "What?!" The Ruler struggled in their grip. "Unhand me! What is the meaning of this?!"

"They all obey me now." answered Xehanort.

"Apologies, My Lord," Even interjected. "But we all agree with Xehanort. This research is far too valuable."

"I really must thank you for giving us the resources to carry this out."

Then Braig walked in, followed my Ienzo. "No kidding," The one eyed ruffian said. "Things had gotten a lot more interesting around here thanks to you and Xehanort. I had been so bored for a while."

Ansem looked at every one of his apprentices with a betrayed expression. "How could you all do this?"

"Sorry," said Ienzo "But I too am curious to where this research takes us."(4)

Xehanort chuckled at his master before he started giving order. "Dilan, Aeleus, take his Lordship down to the labs to show him the fruits of our labor. Ienzo, Kai should be coming back from his training session soon, lure him down here. And Braig once we deal with Ansem, confine his sister to her room."

They all nodded, as the guards drag Ansem away. "This is madness! You won't get away with this treachery!"

The ruler is taken down to the lab and he was appalled by what he saw. Several cells were full of either Heartless, or humans with mutated features who's bodies looked broken and lifeless. Only four of those mutated humans looked alive, one of course was Lucky, one looked like a pale vampire, the third looked like a boy with a monstrous blue eye. The last one...

"Well! Look who it is!" Ryu called out.

Ansem gasped upon seeing the supposedly dead guard in training. "What the... Ryu?! You're alive?!"

Ryu chuckled. "Color me fortunate they decided that they still had a use for me." He then showed off his reptilian arm, shocking the Radiant Ruler. "I was their first Chaos experiment, you know."

Xehanort came from behind. "You see, Master? This is the potential of the darkness in people's heart. Magnificent isn't it?"

"You call this magnificent?!" Ansem snapped. "This is inhumane!"

"Call it whatever you like, it doesn't matter. Lord Ansem... thank you again for the resources to do this. But I'm afraid your usefulness is at an end."

The master stared fearfully. "What are you going to do?!"

"Oh, I won't kill you..." The crazed apprentice held out his hand and a dark portal appeared behind Ansem. "I will leave you to wallow in darkness until it takes you."

Ansem gritted his teeth before he shouted. "Don't think this is over, Xehanort! I swear you will pay for all of this!"

"No, we won't..." Xehanort snapped his fingers and Dilan and Aeleus threw His Lordship into the portal, which closed soon after.

"L-Lord A-Ansem!" Lucky cried out.

Ryu, however, was having a laugh. "Good riddance!"

Xehanort then turned to the guards. "Prepare a cell for Kai, and be ready to contain him. He will not come quietly."

"Understood!"

He then looked over to the cell with the vampire looking person. "I have a little job for you, too."

Kai walks down the castle hallways, massaging his sore shoulder from training. His confusion for that mysterious woman who saved the town earlier was still lingering. It was just one strange event after another, and it was really starting to bother him. He shook his head, not wanting to think about that right now. He was just wanted to get home and relax with his sister after a trying session.

Then he came across Ienzo. "Kai. One moment please."

Kai stopped in place. "Yes? What is it?"

"Even wants to give you another physical, just to make sure the beast hasn't changed you physically again or harmed you."

The guard in training couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Is that really necessary? I mean, I feel just fine."

The young intellectual shugged. "You know how he is... He just wants to make sure all the facts are correct and up to date."

Kai sighed. "Is this gonna take long? I don't wanna keep my sister waiting."

"Shouldn't be too long."

"Fine. Let's get this over with."

Ienzo escorted Kai down to the lab. Kai's impatience showed, eager to get this checkup done so he could spend time with Kairi. However when they got there, Kai was not expecting to find Xehanort waiting with Dilan and Aeleus, all three of them, plus Even staring at him intently. The boy immediately grew tense. He had not trusted Xehanort since his arrival and now that smug look on his face disturbed him. He had a bad feeling about this, and the looks Even, Dilan, Aeleus, and even Ienzo were giving him were not helping.

"What is this?"

"Kai, something has come up," said Xehanort, "and we need you to remain here a while."

Not knowing what to do, Kai reached for his sword to keep them away from him. However, Braig warped behind and knocked him out before he could touch the handle. "Too slow, brat," Braig said smugly as he swiped Muramasa from the boy.

Kai groaned as he's dragged into the containment corridor.

"O-Oh no!" Lucky could help but exclaim as she watch the unconscious boy get put into a cell.

"Hah!" Ryu barked in amusement. "Hikaru is brought in looking all pathetic! This just made my day!"

Braig clapped his hands before turning to Xehanort. "I went and locked his sis in her room. So, we just leave them until he wakes up?

"I have a feeling we won't have to wait too long. In the meantime, Dilan, Aeleus, it's time we put this castle on lockdown. Give no warning, do not inform any of the guards outside this castle. No one enters, no one leaves,... without my permission."

"Yes, sir!"

Sure enough, ten minutes later, Kai woke up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ugh... where am I?" The boy looked around, noticing he's now inside some kind of cell.

"K-Kai?" a voice called. "Are y-y-you alr-right?"

Kai looks over to a cell across from his, and sees a girl with pink hair, green hardened skin, dark eyes, and were those butterfly wings? It took a moment of staring for him to recognize who he was looking at. It was the girl he saw in the caves, but not only that, it was that school reporter he had talked to that went missing. "Lucky?"

"Rise and shine, Hikaru!" In another cell a face Kai never expected to see again made him jump. "Welcome back."

"R-Ryu!" Kai clenched his fist in a mixture of anger and shock. "H...How!? You're supposed to be dead?!"

"So are you." Ryu chuckled before showing off his reptilian arm. "Though I find it funny how we both came back as monsters!"

Kai stared at the arm in shock. It was the arm he remembered cutting off. "What the heck happened to you?"

"Same thing that happened to you. But honestly I think you're more of a monster than me... I mean, it's your fault buggy over there got dragged in."

"What do you mean?"

"When you broke out of the lab after Xehanort turned you into... whatever you are, she got caught... if you hadn't broken out, she would've gone on with her life."

Kai stares at Lucky in shock. The state she was in was his fault?

"N-No!" Lucky shouted. "I-It was m-my own f-f-fault! I sh-shouldn't have been d-d-down in those c-caves!" She looked at Kai with a pleading look. "D-don't blame y-yourself. P-p-please."

Ryu scoffed. "Oh please! Don't make me vomit!"

Kai looks around as he suddenly grew concerned. "Kairi! Please don't tell me they have Kairi locked up here."

"Ah relax, squirt!" Braig said as he walked in. "She's safe back in your apartment. Although, she won't be leaving this castle anytime soon. Speaking of which," he opens Lucky's cell. "Come on, Insetto. It's your job to take care of the little tyke."

Lucky shivered. "M-M-Me?"

"Yeah, you. You need to keep her calm, especially when we have her brought down here for tests."

Kai did not like the sound of that. "Tests!? What do you mean test!?" His eyes turned red in anger. "Don't you dare hurt her!"

The ruffian chuckled. "That'll be up to Xehanort."

Kai growled and he started pounding on the bars of his cell.

Braig sighed before turning to Lucky. "You mind settling him down for us?"

"Y-yes sir." Lucky didn't want to do this to Kai, but she feared what they'd do to her if she didn't obey. She walked over to Kai. "I'm s-sorry." She then held out her hand and sprayed him with some of her sedative pheromones.

Kai immediate felt light in the head as his pounding slowed to a halt. He looked at Lucky and could see the sorrow in her eyes. His eyelids started to feel heavy as he struggled to speak to her. "Please... don't let them... hurt her... "

"I won't... I-I promise..." Lucky replied, and with that assurance, Kai passed out. She really felt bad for him.

Braig then mockingly pats the bug girl on the head. "That's our little Lucky Charm." He then pulled her away from Kai and led her out of the cell corridor. "Alright. So your job right now is to keep an eye on the little brat. Xehanort needs her alive, and to keep her brother from getting any funny ideas. And keep her in that apartment. We can't have her escaping. Is that understood, Insetto?" He received a nod in response. "Good. Now go on and... give her and that cat of hers a snack or something."

Lucky looked down before heading off to the siblings' apartment.

Meanwhile, two minutes later, Kai woke up again.

"Have a nice nap?"

Kai looked outside his cage and growled at the site of Xehanort. "Where is my sister? What have you done to her!?"

Xehanort smirked. "Nothing... yet. What happens to her will be up to you."

"Up to me?"

"If you behave, she will remain unharmed. The only thing we will do is draw a little blood and perform tests that are harmless... If you were to disobey us, however, she will suffer."

Kai grunted in frustration. He couldn't believe this man would stoop so low. "Just what do you want from us?"

"I want to test your darkness and the extent of your lupine abilities."

The boy growled as he remembered what Ryu said earlier. "You were the one who put this beast inside of me, weren't you?"

The scientist chuckled. "I was. And I also want to study your sister's light."

Kai tilted his head in confusion. "Her light?"

"I don't expect you to understand. I need to study her, and her safety is up to you."

Kai balled his fists. He wanted so badly to just tear him apart. But, he couldn't risk it. Not when Kairi's wellbeing was on the line. "Fine!"

Ryu laughed from his cell. "Softy...you'd give up so quickly for the sake of a tiny brat."

Kai glared at his bitter rival. "Shut up, Ryu! I don't expect you to understand!"

Xehanort cleared his throat. "You will remain here and do as we say. Don't worry about Kairi. Insetto will take care of her for us."

Kai tilted his head again. "Insetto?"

"He's referring to the bug girl," Ryu answered.

"You mean Lucky?"

"Correct." Xehanort replied. "You'll have to get used to us calling you by your project name... Lycan."

The red head narrowed his eyes. "Thanks... I hate it."

"Just remember that your sister is at our mercy now. Your testing will start tomorrow, and we will be expecting your full cooperation. Is that understood?"

Kai grips the cell bars. He really didn't want to be some lab rat, but he knew he didn't have a choice. "Fine... just don't hurt her."

"Don't worry. She'll be in good hands." Xehanort turned to leave when a dark corridor opened, prompting him to stop.

Out of the corridor walked a bald figure with pale white skin, full red eyes, and a pair of fangs hang out from his mouth. Kai winced at the sight of what looked like a vampire. He also noticed he was dragging an unconscious person by the demonic wing, recognizing that person to be Cloud.

"Ah, Dhampir!" said Xehanort. "I see you successfully captured Diablo."

"Indeed," replied the young man identified as Dhampir. "I caught him training alone in one of the caverns, no witnesses. He put up resistance, but I was able to subdue him no problem."

"Excellent! You see, Ejder? Subtly is key to a successful criminal."

"Thank you."

Ryu blew rasberries. "Big deal! I could've captured Strife myself!"

Dhampir, or Ejder, whatever his name was, put Cloud in the cell next to Kai's, and approached Ryu. "And you would've drawn too much attention. For a former soldier in training, you lack finesse."

Ryu then busted his reptilian claw through his cell bars, grabbing the Dhampir by the neck. "You got something to say, Fang Face! I could crush you right now."

Unfazed, the vampire simply grabbed the reptilian wrist. A green glow emitted from his hand as energy seemed to be sucking from Ryu's arm into it. Ryu shouted in pain as his arm appeared to start shriveling up, turning gray, and losing its grip on the neck. Dhampir stared coldly. "Do not forget your place, Reptile. You may have been the first of the Chaos Program, but you are far from the strongest of us."

Xehanort then cleared his throat. "Alright, you made your point. Release him."

As ordered, Dhampir let go of Reptile, who held his arm with anger. The pale young man then turned to Kai. "Ah, so this must be Lycan. It'll be a pleasure working with the werewolf."

Kai glared with red eyes. "Forgive me if the feeling is not mutual."

Dhampir chuckled. "A defiant one, eh? From what I hear, we have leverage against you. So you better learn your place."

"Come along, Dhampir," said Xehanort. "I have another test for you."

"As you wish." And with that, both Xehanort and Dhampir left.

The red head punched the floor in anger. "Why is this happening...?"

"Don't know, don't care." Ryu replied as he caressed his arm as he slowly regained strength. "All I know is this should be amusing to watch. You unable to resist them, all because of your parasite of a sister."

Kai glared. "Shut up! Do you even care that you're a science experiment too?"

"At least I got a great replacement for the arm you chopped off." The violet haired psycho then chuckled creepily. "You'll have to forgive me. I've be feeling a bit crazy lately; drunk I guess you could say. I can't even bring myself to care about my circumstance. The power of this new arm has just been so...intoxicating!"

The red head couldn't help but be creeped out. This was a whole new crazy from what he was used to. "You've gone mad."

"Maybe I have. But just you wait, Hikaru. Sooner or later, you too will be driven mad by the power of the beast. And you'll be no different from me!"

"No, I won't. I can't... for Kairi."

"Talk all you want. One of these days you'll see that not even your sister can stop your darkness from consuming you; stop the beast from taking over; stop you from embracing the monster you already are!" The deranged boy than started laughing loudly like a maniac.

Kai curls up in the back of the cell. He looked down at the floor as he thought about his sister. "Kairi... be safe."

Lucky arrived at the Hikaru siblings' apartment. She was hesitating to go inside. Looking at her green hands, she couldn't help but fear how Kairi was going to react to her. Why did they have to pick her to be the girl's caretaker? Still, she told her brother she would take care of her, and she didn't want to go back on that. Taking a deep breath, she goes inside. Shortly after entering, she heard someone pounding on one of the bedroom doors.

"Hello?!" A panicking girl's voice called. "Is someone there?!"

Lucky could only assume it was Kairi. She locked the front door before going over the bedroom. Taking another deep breath, she unlocked the door to Kairi's room, and the little girl came bursting out.

"Brother?!" Kairi shouted before seeing the older girl that stood before, staring at her with curiosity. Lucky was nervous, wondering what the little girl could be thinking about her hideous appearance. She fully expected her to scream in terror. "Oh, hello! Are you some kind of fairy?"

That was not at all what Lucky would've expected. "A f-f-fairy? Y-you're n-not scared o-of m-me?"

Kairi tilted her head in confusion. "Scared of you? Why would I be scared of someone so pretty?"

Lucky the bug girl couldn't help but blush a little. "Y-y-you th-think I'm p-p-pretty?" She just couldn't believe this little girl didn't find her scary, or ugly.

The little red head smiled brightly. "Of course. How can a fairy not be pretty?" Somewhere on another world a certain evil fairy sneezed.

The older girl was touched by the little one's words. This was the first time to someone ever complimented her appearance rather than belittle her for it. Little Kairi truly was someone special. No wonder Kai held her very dearly. She blinked away tears that were forming in her eyes, as she smiled. "M-my n-n-name is Lucky. I-I'm g-going to be t-taking care o-of you for a wh-while."

"You will? Um... that's great. But... what's going on? Where's Uncle Ansem? Where's my big brother?"

Lucky looked down in sorrow. "L-Lord Ansem was s-sent away by s-ome m-m-mean p-people, wh-who are also w-with y-your b-b-brother."

"What?" Kairi grew immediately concerned. "What are they doing to him?"

"I-I d-d-don't know. A-All I know is that i-i-f we d-d-do anything to make them m-m-mad there's no t-telling what they'll d-do to us."

The child looked down. "Did they ask you to take care of me?"

Lucky then worked up the courage to pat Kairi on her head. "Y-yes. B-but not just them. Y-your b-b-brother also ask me t-to. I-I p-p-promised him I w-wouldn't let them h-hurt you."

"No need to worry about that..." The girls looked to see that Xehanort had walked in. Little Kairi latched on to the 'fairy' in fright. "Kai has agreed to cooperate, as long as you are not harmed, child. However, I would still like to "test" you. Insetto, you will bring Kairi to the lab in the morning."

Lucky fiddled with her fingers. "Y-Yes sir."

"Good. And I don't want any funny business from either of you." Xehanort pointed at Kairi. "You will stay in this apartment until you are needed, and you will do as I say. Otherwise, someone will be paying the price, whether it be one of you two, or even Kai. Is that understood?" He received a nod in response from both of them, and then took his leave, locking them inside.

Lucky looked down at the girl latched on to her. She felt her trembling with fear. She put her arm around her. "I-I'm sorry... b-b-but I h-have to do what h-he says."

Kairi tightened her embrace. "I... I'm scared!"

The bug girl rubbed the childs back comfortingly. "D-don't be. L-like I said... I-I promised y-y-your brother I w-would not l-let you get h-hurt. I'm h-h-here for y-you."

The little red head looked up at Lucky. Her eyes were still fearful but she managed to smile. "I'm glad you're with me, Lucky..." she said. "I now have a fairy protector."

Lucky blushed again at the fairy remark. Something told her she was gonna be hearing that a lot. She then pulled away and said, "W-well, w-w-we have a l-lot of time... w-would you like to m-make s-some br-brownies?"

Kairi's smile brightened. "Okay!"

KAIRI: "Why did this have to happen? My brother and I forced apart and stuck under the grip of a madman. At least I got a nice new friend, but still. I could only hope that things would turn around for us. If only fate wasn't so cruel..."

A/N: Whew. That was a lot of things that happen in one chapter. I hope you like what I consider to be the Beginning of the End of the Radiant Garden Arc.

Footnotes:

(1) This idea was courtesy of DinoWriter23.

(2) This scene was also written by DinoWriter23.

(3) MINOR KH3 SPOILERS: Subject X is an enigmatic girl mentioned in the secret reports and several cutscenes. Who this girl is and what ever happened to her is as of yet a mystery, though it's suggested that she hails from the KHUX era.

(4) MINOR KH3 SPOILERS: I know it's been stated that Ienzo was lied to, but I already established in this story that every one of Ansem's apprentices was brainwashed, aside from Braig, and I'm sticking to that.