The Chasers: New World Locket

[Reno]

Roxas laughing shaking his head. "Silly." He nuzzled the other, tiredly getting up only to grab one of the folded blankets Xio had left, dragging it up and joining the other back on the couch. they cuddled with each other, falling to sleep quickly.


Terra grinned a bit, looking down at Ven. He leant down licking at the other;s cheek, nuzzling close to the other;s comforting heat. It was quiet for awhile then Ven started to bitch and Terra laughed softly, murmuring, "I'll get the needle." Ven mumbled something about his bag and Terra laughed. "What you remember that but not the lotion?!"

He dug out some needle and stitched, cuddling close to the other. Once all was said and done the two got under the covers. too bad the brunette didn;t know he wasn't going to get to keep them that night.


Sora smiled softly, nodding to the other. He threw his arms around the other, nuzzling close. "Good night Riku."




Roxas woke up early that morning and he yawned tiredly. He looked down at the snoring red-head laughing softly. He nuzzled the other before slipping from the covers, throwing on his boxers and Axel's large shirt so that it fell across his knees and kept him warm.

He trekked towards the kitchen, stomach complaining unhappily. He grumbled, yawning again, and schuffled around, mechnically digging out some waffle batter. mmm waffles that sounded good.

After he had mixed them up good he snapped on the waffle maker - and a yip drew his attention. He grinned looking down and pet the little moomba. "Hey Xio. Slept well i bet."


Terra barely noticed the fact he didn;t have any covers, though his mouth was twisted into a frown. It wasn;t the first time the other stole the covers though - the blonde had a tendency to steal them cause he had a thing about burrowing into covers and warmth and what not especally after he got frozen.

Terra had the same phantom feelings across one of his arms sometimes...

"nn..." Terra groaned softly, his head turning.

"17 percent sir..."
"More! We're not even close!"
Screams echoed down the hall.
"25 sir!"
"We're getting a reaction! keep going, up, UP!"

"W-What....?" Terra's eyes slid open and he looked around. He shivered as the screams echoing down the hall seemed to get louder, and whoever it was sounded like they were in agony. He shivered, stumbling to his feet and down the dark hall to where a ring of light was and his eyes widened in horror.


"32 percent sir!"
It was himself... a younger self... 18 and strapped onto his stomach while darkness was poured into him mercilessly. He was thrashing on the table, making as much noise as he could, as if it would help. There was something around his neck - and he knew what it was, it was a collar, but back then he didn;t understand why it was being placed on him. back them it had been... too big for his neck.
"Stop... stop!" the brunette weakly cried voice horase from screaming, desoperate tears running down his face. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING!"
"Up!"
"35 percent!!"

Terra fell back against the wall his eyes wide, watching silently as he... changed. He... changed then? He didn;t even remember. The tail smacked loudly as it slammed into the edge of the tail, the screams of pain turning into howls, the straps creaking and then finally snapping completely.

The wolf looked at them widely then suddenly charged for the nearest scentist, teeth gleaming in the overhead lighting. The collar sparked sending a flash of something - light energy - down the wolves body and he went crashing to the ground.

Terra looked at the scene with horror, shaking all over. W-What...? And in another light, farther away he could see a frozen body. Ven's body. But soemthing was wrong.

It was cracking. Breaking up. "Ven!" Terra cried, running forward. But even as he tried, could move no where. And he watched the other shatter into a million pieces.

Our mate's fate... is dependent on your own decisions. Will you let Xehanort win again? You know what you have to do. Give in.

"VEEEEEN!"

Terra gasped suddenly sitting up, sweat darkening his hair and making his skin cold. He breathed hard, just staring blankly at the dark walls. He shut his eyes, forcing himself not the panic.

Once he was sure he wasn't about to slip into another panic attack he shifted his gaze over to the blonde next to him. He was fine. He sighed again, his limbs shaking as he fell back to the bed.

His gaze shifted to the side, knowing Ven was going to wake up any second and caught sight of something,. A folded up... piece of paper?

He frowned, dipping his hand down. It must of slipped from Ven;s bag when he was grabbing the needle...

He opened it idly, looking up at the dark picture. But even in the faint light he could recognize...

himself?


Sora stirred suddenly, eyes fluttered as he felt something uncomfortable travel through his twin and settle into his gut, gripping his heart in a faint yet powerful panic. He blinked a bit, glancing around and frowned, recognizing who it was from instantly - and what it was. He had had nightmares too afterall.

He'd been waking up too lately for some reason, every time the other brunette had had a nightname - but he had no idea what they were about. It wasn't his place to ask.

He snuggled up closer to Riku, sighing sadly.

[Rikugurl]

Xio yipped happily as he was pet. His master seemed overly happy, even if he was groggy. What was going on? There was a different air around both him and his master... but at least... it was a happy one.

Ven continued to sleep peacefully until his own mind slowly became clouded. He suddenly woke up in a shock, gasping as his eyes snapped opened. He shivered and slowly popped his head out of the covers.
After he was frozen, when they found their new base, Ven would take Terra's covers all the time. At first, no matter how many covers were piled over him... he still felt chilled inside... and it was so intense... that he usually ended up crying...

His fear of cold things lifted slowly as his heart started to open... however he had his own little corks... like hating the feeling of cold metal on his skin... or touching ice. He even refused to take cold showers after coming off a hot planet.
He hadn't stolen the blanket for a long time... but they noticed that everytime Terra had a dream... about the lab... Ven would become so cold inside...

So Ventus knew why he awoke with the blanket around him. He slowly leaned against Terra. "Again?" He asked softly, not really needing an answer. He frowned though, looking down at the picture. He glared at the other. "What did I tell you about personal space??" He looked back at the picture and smiled slightly. "That's Zack... you know, the guy that Aerith was in love with." He tilted the head, looking at the man looking out with a smile on his face. "He does kind of remind me of you.... but I think you're a lot more handsome." The blonde smiled softly, looking up at his lover.


Riku didn't get the phantom chill, but Sora stirring next to him and the lack of white noises woke him up slowly. Aquatic eyes looked up and smiled softly as Sora came in closer. A hand reached back and run over his lover's back soothingly.



When the four got their things together, they met each other outside the hotel and walked down the ways to the pyro's and blonde's house. Delshad was bigger than Radiant... but it was starting to get full. Radiant still had most of the market in it and was more wealthier than the larger community. It was amazing how such a baron wasteland could become the home to so many so quickly. Then they had to remember.... with all those Heartless that they had fought throughout the years.... each one of them had a Nobody... and this was the home to all those Somebodies who forgot where their homeland was.... or if their homeland was no longer alive.

Riku, Sora, Ven and Terra collected their things from the day. They all said their good-byes before Sora suddenly stopped, seeing a remarkable shine coming from his brother's finger.
"Oh my god!" The blond had explained. "Is that.... is that an engagement ring!?"
Everyone looked at the amazing diamond ring in awe. That looked extremely expensive.
"Wow, that's really something." Ven had added, looking at it shine.

So... good-byes and congratulations filled the house, hugs were passed around and the four headed to the ship port.

On the ship, even more gifts were given.
Luci had handed Ven a small jar full of money, stating that it was three months worth of swearing munny.
Gunnar drew a picture of Ven on a hot air balloon with Terra.
Olette gave Ven some new soap that smelt really good. It was rather large but she said it was more for TWO people.
Fuu handed over a silver necklace with the face of a wolf on it.

The ship was set course to Destiny and didn't take too long to get there. They landed on the beach like they did last time, and Sora was greeted by all his kids. Ventus and Sora headed into to town to drop in at their parents, getting good wishes from them too.

They finally left, waving good bye and headed back to the ship. Once they were aboard, Ventus handed Luci another Phoenix Star and Gunnar another shell, this time, he could hear the ocean in it if he put it against his ear.
He suddenly turned to Terra, a smile on his face and he suddenly whipped out a bouquet of Phoenix Stars. Sora had said something about Terra looking jealous last time.



Before they headed back to Connection 4, Ven and Terra warped down to Radiant once more. Ven said he had some business. They headed to the refuge, finding Aerith there of course, along with Leon and Yuffie.

"Oh!" The brunette woman stood, seeing Ven and Terra coming towards her. There was a rather long box in Ven's hands as they approached.
"Hey Aerith..." Ven said softly as he stopped in front of her. "Here... this is for you."
The woman looked at the box as it was handed to her... but shook her head. "I can't take this... I didn't do anything...."
"Come on.... you did so much for us... it's the least... we could do."

She slowly reached out and looked at Yuffie, then at Leon, seeing their nods of encouragement. She slowly started to unwrap it but stopped as she saw... what it was. It was a large, framed picture of Zack.... the same one Ven had had in his bag. She placed her hand by her mouth as she just looked down at it. Her face because awfully sad... but her tears were blinked back as a smile rose. She looked at Ven and nodded. "Thank you.... so much."

Ven nodded softly, seeing the odd looks that Leon was giving the group, not sure what this was all about.
"Oh... but Ventus... what's this?"
There was a small glass holder that was at the bottom of the picture. It was empty... and not clear what it was for.
"To keep that ribbon of yours safe." Ven said bluntly. "Because... I want you to join the Chasers."

Everyone's eyes widened, especially Leon's. "What!?" He frowned as he stepped up to the blonde, looking down at him. "What do you mean!? Aerith can't go... do you know how dangerous it is for her!? She has a nice home here an---
"Leon."
The brunette stopped as he looked at the woman. Aerith smiled and looked at Ven, shaking her head softly. "Why do you want me to come with you?"

Ven frowned at Leon but looked at Aerith. "Because... we need a medic... and you're the best one we know."
"But I have a refuge here..."
".........I know... but you'll be helping us out a lot... and the kids... well.... they need to see some kindness.... it's rough up there, I admit... but you'll never have to get yourself into a dangerous mission."
Aerith frowned, thinking a bit. "You know.... it kinda sounds like fun." She giggled but only was interrupted by an unset man. "AERITH!?" The scared face man exclaimed.

She turned to him and frowned. "I'll go journey with them... but whenever this keyblade war finally occurs... I'll be sure to come back. This is my home after all." She nodded and smiled, looking back down at the picture of Zack. "Besides... I want to get to know Terra better."



Far, far away, a cellphone started to rattle on a nightstand.
♪ And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fi-- ♪

A lanky red-head mumbled as the music disturbed his sleep. He groaned, his long hair falling over his body as he pushed himself up. Green exotic eyes opened slowly, the sun hitting them and making them only slightly. The rattling started again and he groaned even more as the song played again. His naked body shifted over another's, reaching out and snatching the phone.

He flipped it open and yawned.
"Reno. Talk to me, yo." He mumbled as he laid across a bare back.
"HEY! GUESS WHAT! I'M GETTING MARRIED!"
...............
"Reno?"
"What? Who is this!?"
"YOU'RE BROTHER!"
"...........I don't have a brother, yo."
"Don't tell me you forgot about me....."
His eyes narrowed as he tried to think. "Axel?"
"YEA!"
"Yo.....DO you know what time it is?"
"Um..... 8ish at night?"
"Uh.... try 5am in the morning." He suddenly snapped his phone shut and yawned loudly as he cuddled to the body under him.



Olette smiled as she handed Luci a necklace made of seashells. "I think this is the prettiest one yet!" She giggled as her daughter took it. Gunnar was on his father's lap, watching the stars go by. They were slowly heading out of Connection 2 when suddenly, a flashing and beep came from the computer. She blinked and slowly exited the room, looking down the hallway at the Research room.

She frowned, walking over with her daughter and looked in. No one was inside... so the beeping must of been... something bad. She frowned as she sat down in Ven's chair, looking at the screen. She clicked on some things and gasped.
She suddenly ran out of the room and to the stairs that led to the upper level. "AQUA! COME QUICK! THERE'S A DARK AURA AROUND REGOLE'S REGION!"



Indeed. A dark aura was right.
The night before, Sai and Demyx were sleeping soundly on their futon, cuddled together as the candles around the room went out. Demyx was pressed on the beast's chest as long nails tangled in blonde hair. A content smile ran over both their faces.

However... all of that changed.

A darkness slowly started to wrap around the two but their slumber was so deep... that it could hardly be noticed. Slowly, the blonde water... mage was pulled under, his grasp on Sai weakened and broken as he was pulled into the darkness.

In the morning, Sai had woken, expecting to see his lover in his arms.... but he was gone. His golden eyes darted around the room, seeing if the blonde had woken early to work on a song... but he wasn't on his practicing pillow. Blank music sheets still as they were. Slowly he stood and tightened his obi. Slowly he walked out of the room, pulling the two doors open and walked into the shrine. He looked around, only the sound of the fountain and faint birds could be heard. "Demyx?" Nothing...

He slowly walked to the large doors and pulled them, the wooden wind chimes making music as he walked down the cold stone steps with his bare feet. His blue hair shifted in the wind. It was.... too quiet. It had never been this quiet... since Demyx was here. "Demyx?" Nothing.
Slowly he walked along the side of the temple to the back of it where some woods lay. Since they didn't have toilets since they... had to use the woods. Maybe Demxy was relieving himself?

He walked to the edge of the woods and looked around. His golden eyes narrowed as he saw nothing in sight. "Demyx?.... DEMYX!?" Still.... nothing.

That was when the blue haired man became frantic. It was too early in the morning for the blonde to be anywhere else. He ran around the town and region looking for the blonde, calling his name and asking the towns people if they had seen him... but no one had seen the rocker that day.

Hour's passed.... and the Berserker of Regole's region was overwhelmed with worry. He even thought of traveling to other regions... but Demyx knew better not to do that. It was finally nightfall when Sai stood at the spot where he and Demyx would sit so that the sitarist could play his melody to Regole. His glowing eyes scanned the horizon as fangs barred. It was a new moon.... both him and Regole were stirred... and neither of them had the blonde... to calm them.



The sound of boots echoed down the long hallway. It was inside a castle... a castle swarming with Heartless. The owner of the boots didn't seem disturbed by it... they were his own. White, gloved hands were placed at his back, the blue coral below him crunched as he walked to the end of the hallway, coming up to a caged door.

Golden eyes looked into the cell and a grin made his white beard shift.
"Demyx.... was it?"

[Reno]

OOC: 3,000 words!

Roxas laughed softly, smiling. "Waffles today." he ruffled the other;s fur. "go wake up Axel, he needs to stop laying in... the couch."

The moomba yipped and left the room, and moments later Roxas heard angry mumblings and loud complaints. He laughed. A whine finally filtered in, something about being hungry.

"Get up then!" Roxas called. "Breakfast is almost done!"


"Mmm," He murred in affirmation as the other came close, his eyes slightly dark from the memory. His dreams from the lab were usually very vague, very dark and shadowy, filled with nothing but sharp voices, loud noises and lots and lots of pain.

But lately... they had been coming in clearer each time. and it was beginning to scare him. Bwcause he was no longer the labrat... but watching him self be one. watching the events that happened before the dream part of it took over it...

And he knew the wolf was causing it. Knew the wolf held in all the memories. Maybe... after the events or after each 'experiment' he had shoved them away, locked them down where his other side lay, where he couldn;t reach them... and didn't know they existed. Split personality disorder in a way...? Suppression in others... forced amnesia... hell no wonder he was bipolar too.

He chortled softly as the other gave him a glare, complaining about his personal space. He shrugged helplessly. He needed something to distract himself... and he knew Ven wasn't honestly mad at him. He nodded quietly to the other's words. Yeah he knew Zack... somewhat. Of what Aerith had told him at least.

"He does kind of remind me of you.... but I think you're a lot more handsome."

Terra's cheeks flushed at the unexpected comment and he turned his head, his eyes meeting Ven's and seeing that.... beautiful smile. "Ven..." he murmured in surprise, his own smile slipping onto his face. He dropped the picture, hearing it flutter over the side, but didn't care. He leant close, their lips meeting tenderly, speaking more than words ever could.


Sora murmured softly at the hand, smiled appreciatively. "Feels nice..." he purred, before yawning and stretching against the other. He looked up, blue eyes wide and innocent. "I feel like pancakes."

Riku shot him a dull look that practically said 'there's no way in hell I'm moving for the next five hours at least'. Sora grinned. "I just said I felt like em, didn't say I needed em!" He nuzzled the other tenderly.


Eventually though the two couples decided it was time to move. Well actually, Sora and Ven had to drag Riku and Terra, respectively, out of their beds coax them into getting dressed - in which one was with soft kisses and promises of laying around all day at home, while the other was full of age-old cussing and insults...

But eventually the four had gotten their stuff together and met up in the lobby via cellphone directions. Together they headed back for the... Delshad leader's house. but as recent events would tell it was soon going to be able to be called the Holani house.

"Oh my god!" Sora had exclaimed, his blue eyes wide, seeing something beautiful and shiny on Roxas's hand. His LEFT hand... on his RING finger. "Is that an engagement ring?!"
Roxas blushed shyily as he nodded, but a wicked grin ran over his face. "I was wonder how long it's take you all to notice."
Sora gave a happy cry wrapping his brother in an enthusiastic hug. "Oh my gosh I can't wait!"
"Come on baby show it off!" Axel said, grinning proudly and Sora back off, the four gathering close to stare as roxas held up his hand, the ring shiny and beautiful. Riku just smiled knowingly, Sora gave a happy grin, Terra whistled in amazement, and Ven had said, "Wow, that's really something." speaking for all of them practically.

One the hugs and congratulations and plans began to form - Roxas and Axel promising to stay in touch with all the new updates, especally the date which they had yet to discuss, Sora suddenly gave Riku a cheeky smile.
"See I told you." He said with a grin. Afterall, just yesterday he had said he felt like an engagaement was coming soon.
"Tch I already knew." The silverette had said, grinning back, looking triumphant. "You thought Axel was that creative on his own?"
"Wha... YOU KNEW?!" Sora pointed accusingly, then pointed at Axel. "And you didn't tell me?! why not!!"
"Because you can't keep a secret to save your life." Not, one, not two but all FIVE voices intoned around the brunette. They shared a look and burst into laughter.
"B-But..." Sora stuttered them his shoulders slumped, a pout frowning - but a quick kiss from riku wiped it all away fast.


Back on the ship, after things were dropped off in rooms, Sora couldn't help but sit back with a small smile, watching Ven as he got his gifts from his friends. It was real cute. He chuckled seeing Lucina's and Gunnar's. Namine had always done the same for him and Riku.

Terra sat with Ven, watching the gifts as they were handed over. He chuckled and Lucina, smiling at her softly. She was going to be a genrous woman when she grew up.

Gunnar's made him blush a little, and He shared a fond look with Ven, their grins reached their ears.

Then Olette's... that blush spread fully across his cheeks, and he shook his head laughing.

But by fuujins he... well he didn;t know what to say. He glanced at Fuujin, seeing the reassuring look, then looked to Ven who was trying to put the necklace on - but was having a problem because of his... shoulder. "Here," he murmured softly reaching up and fittling with inexperienced fingers with the clasp. He licked his lips and finally snapped it on and the little pendant fell on Ven's chest. He looked at Ven over smiling. "Looks good on ya."

Olette made a coughing noise and Seifer grumbled, lifting his own little gift and handing it over. Inside was a bottle of colgne - expensive stuff that smelt wonderful. Olette and him had shopped together obviously. "They can shower with this!" Olette said, holding up the bar of soap, then lifting up a bottle of expensive colgne, "Then Ven could put this on after! It'll TOTALLY drive Terra wild!" Terra COULD smell it, and it did indeed smell pretty good.

Finally Aqua handed over her gift, smiling softly. She had always lived a peasant life - when she had grown up gifts were hard to come by, typically cheap and inexpensive or even hand-made - or, on the worst years, completely skipped altogether, but from the heart and touching. Even still, when she had more money then she knew what to do with, she had kept up with that tradition because she knew no other way. Both Terra and Ven blinked curiously, and Ven went tearing into it.
Fuujin and her must of went shopping together as well because inside was a small silver bracelet. It wasn't expensive looking at all, probably made out of cheap metal and no more then `5 munny at best. But when Ven lifted it out even Seifer couldn't help but smile.
It was a thin, flat bracelet, made up of maybe 12 links but it wasn't made like a typical chain. the links were flat and rectangular blocks that fit together with a simple clasp. But the bracelet had words and symbols on it per link. It read like this:
'W i n d + E a r t h' The letters of wind were in a sharp blue, the letters of earth in a dark green and the '+' symbol in a teal color. Before the 'W' was a little blue kanji that meant wind, and after the 'h' a little green kanji that meant earth.

The trip back to Destiny was sweet and warm, the five hour difference startling. Sora was happy to see all his kids again, accepting the multitude of hugs and well wishings for his birthday. He had an evil plan to have them all tackle Ven too but he wasn;t sure his brother could take all of them.
33 kids this year. just like his age.

The trip to their parents was even more exciting. No real gifts because dad and mom were getting on in years and couldn;t take the casual strolls through Destiny anymore, but their was many hugs and soft kisses on the forehead and to the twins, it was perfect enough.

After that the two descended, Ven stealing a Pheonix Star from it's spot in the planter. Sora blinked.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting one for Lucina of course." Ven said. "I'll have to get a shell for Gunnar to and-"
"A boquet for Terra."
"...Huh?"
Sora grinned. "You didn't notice did cha? How jealous he got last time when you gave the kids gifts."
"He... got jealous?" Ven laughed.
"Yeah he wanted one."
"But... come on sora your shitting me. Terra's not, I repeat NOT, a flowery person. I mean I think he'd EAT them for breakfast and piss on their planters." the blonde tried to explain.
"Mmm... yeah probably." Sora said softly, but smiled more,. "but... it's not what they are that counts... it's who's giving them to him that makes it speacial."
".............."
".............."
".............. Let's stop by the shop."
"Good plan."

And sure enough, Terra couldn't stop the sting of jealousy as he saw Ven doing the same thing, this time the blonde probably even felt it! The wolf leaned against the wall looking away. But when Ven came up to him... and just like Axel had done to Roxas - whipped out the boquet, blue eyes widened in surprise. "F-for... me?"
The moment he got the reasssuring nod he took the flowers, unable to hide his wonderment and surprise. He dropped his head into them, smelling them happily, and Ven laughed. Terra looked up, grinning, and gave him a tender kiss. "I love you..." He murmured softly.


After that the ship got running again. The flwoers found home in a vase of water, the lamp Ven had been given found a place on their dressor, and the lollipop... well Ven was going to save it for now, so he found a place for it to hide so Gunnar nor Lucina found it.

Yuffie was surprised at the approach of the two. Terra looked a little uncomfortable, but Ven just smiled reassuringly. She came close to Leon;s side, sneaking peeks around his shoulders to see the gift. She gasped as well, recognizing the man well... she had entertained her for a while when she was a kid... always doing her silly missions and what not.

Terra shifted uncomfortably, watching as the going ons happened. but the minute Ven offered the position to Aerith he smiled and nodded encourageingly to the woman in pink. Ven had already run it through him and Terra had whole-heartedly agreed. Aerith would be... an intesesting new member to their already strange team.

Like a... mom to them really. He blinked suddenly at the woman;s last sentence. She wanted... to get to know him...? Why? ...That was definitely he ever heard THAT said before.

"But... But Aerith..." Yuffie started, hurrying to the woman;s side. She hugged her, fake crying all of a sudden. It was an act of coruse, something she was famous for. "You're leaving me all alone with tall, dark and bad attitude?! You have to stay in touch!" She knew better then to get in the woman;s way though when her heart was set on something. Aerith knew, better then anyone really, what she wanted in life.

"Of course." Terra reassured. "Their's cellphones and or course we can come back and visit when it;s convenient." He said, a ltitle panicked by the outburst. Crying guys was one thing, crying girls was another one altogether.

"Yeah you better!" Yuffie cried.


The blonde beside the other groaned lightly as his sleep was disturbed by the blaring of a cellphone, with a ringtone he didn;t recognize. He always knew when it was one of the other turks... but this one was fairly knew and unrecognizeable. His blue eyes fluttered open, listening to small conversation as it took place, the loud voice of the other end coming through loud and clear. He rolled his eyes.
Rufus chuckled lightly as Reno essentially hung up on his brother, snuggling back up to him. "Tell your brother to stop yelling so much. I don't want you to be wearing hearing aids when your forty-five."


Lucina grinned, nodding in agreement as she slipped the necklace on, "Yeah!"

"And that one looks like Bahamut, the dragon god." Seifer pointed at a mass of stars. "See that big one there, if you trace it like so -" he moved his hand carefully, "theres the head... wing... tail... feet... see perfect."

But the beeping destroyed the curious, mirthful mood quickly. And seconds later Seifer watched his wife tear out of the room, her voice catching his ears easily. He sighed. "looks like we're going to Dragoon." He didn't even need the orders. He set Gunnar down. "Get ready tiger, it's time to get moving again."

And minutes later everything was dropped and the chasers all crowded into the research room once again. It was like deja vu.

"Seifer-" he heard Terra.
"Already on it boss!! Lucina come on out here we need your help." Seifer called back.
The little girl came dashing out, jumping into her seat. Luckily they were still in the same connection.


Aqua looked at the screen blankly, but instead of panic this time she felt nothing but rage. Saw nothing but red. she slammed her fist down. "Fuck... he comes and attacks it once... and then has the gull to do it again?!" She was so furious her whole body was shaking. "Xehanort... I'll fucking KILL you." And she meant it.

Terra and Ven shared an uneasy glance. the last time she had been this tempermental she had kicked their asses pretty damn good. she was NOT a woman to mess with when angry.


Demyx woke up in nothing but darkness. He gasped in panic, looking around frantically, feeling it swalloing him on all sides. "Sai...? SAI!!" he cried, looking around. maybe it was a dream... he;d had dreams like this before - vague dreams like ... the night of his somebodies death he was pretty sure. but Saix would be their, shaking his awake, golden eyes soft and worried, claws hands brushing away his worries, soft kisses taking away his fears...

"ack!" Demyx cried in pain as he landed on soemthing hard and concrete. The cold wrapped around him like a second skin and he whimpered. Not a dream.... not one at all. Did... he die again?

No his heart was there he felt it...

He looked around, the faint light of overhead lights illuminated a hall... and rows upon rows of bars in front of him. He gasped getting to his feet frantically. He ran to the bars, shaking on them fruitlessly. They didn;t even budge under his weak grip. He looked around the overly small... cell. The bed... if it could be called that, had no matress it was just a slab of.... concrete jutting from the wall. Not even a blanket to spare. There was a little toilet... browned with rust. And nothing else. He had no doubt that once the lights were turned off... he;d be in completel darkness.

It was terribly, terribly cold down here, and his thin robe was doing nothing for him. He looked out, desperate. "HELLO!?" he yelled loudly. "HELLO?! IS SOMEONE THERE? PLEASE LET ME OUT!" But who was he kidding? people were put in cells to STAY there.

Demyx tried for maybe another hour or even two. He didnt't know when morning noon or night passed in here - there was nothing but the ever gleaming brightness of the bulbs above and the never-ending silence of the halls around him.

Once he was too hoarse to scream anymore, he left the cage bars, struggling onto the 'bed'. "please it's cold here." he whispered bringing his knees close and hugging them. His stomach rumbled and panic slowly set in. Oh god... oh god i'm gonna starve to death. No one will find me. I'll DIE here. Tears of fear and desperation filled his eyes, tracking down his cheeks. He sobbed, again and again into his knees, wishing depserately Saix was there to make it all better like he always did.

He stayed in that postion for a long, long time. Until his legs started to cramp. He lifted his head, feeling a little calmer then beforehand, and gasped in fright as something black with yellow glowing eyes scuttled past. A... heartless?! Oh god, oh god, no he was going to have his heart ripped out and EATEN.

He screamed. "SAI! SAI! OH GOD HELP ME!!!" All that came back was his own voice echoing back. Terror had completely overtaken him as he stayed against the wall, shaking with fear and cold. His whole body was losing heat by the minute.

But Sai wasn't coming. Sai didn't even know he was here. Sai... would never find him in time.

Hours passed like this, the terror overtaking everything else. He stayed on the bed, curled close to keep in what meager heat he had left and conjured up small water spells to drink at whenever his body cried out in hunger or his mouth went dry from bad thoughts.



The sounds of boots roused the blonde, who had drifted off in a restless sleep. Blue eyes fluttered open, and he gasped, his breath making clouds around him, night must of fallen, because it was like ice down there. The blonde's chapped lips had turned a light shade of blue but he rubbed them together, bringing back their soft pink color.

He was still in his sitting position, hadn't moved in hours. He lifted his head slowly, and gave another sharp gasp as golden eyes gleamed into his own. He shivered all over, thinking of nothing but Xemnas...

He didn't even register the question. "W-W-Where a-a-am I?" he stuttered.

[Rikugurl]

Gunnar's eyes widened as he looked at the stars, hearing his father explain. If he looked really hard... he really could see it! He smiled happily but frowned as he saw his mother leave quickly with his sister. What was going on? Did the computer find another keyblade? He thought they were all found in this connection.

His eyes widened though as he heard his mother call and was placed down on the floor, falling his father quickly. He nodded hearing Terra and then ran up the stairs, his sister not far behind. He got to his 'control' station fired up the burners. He wouldn't have to watch it like he did last time. They were in the same connection so it shouldn't take too long to get there... but they needed to get there right away!


Aerith stopped, setting a pot down as she heard the cried. She had her own room that was once a spare. She didn't think they would haven any... but they actually had quite a few. Terra explained that they had to house sixteen people in their last ship and it only had two rooms... they made sure their next ship was much bigger.

She was by herself, her flowers all put in pots and filled the room. The only other small touch she had was that picture of Zack on the wall... and in the glass case held the ribbon. She had promised him that she would never take it off... but she didn't want anything to happen to it...

Slowly she stepped out, looking out at the research room, seeing everyone huddled around. She was already slowly getting home sick... missing Yuffie and Leon already... but she knew it would warm up to her.


Fuu frowned, knowing Aqua would be pissed. Many of the worlds in Connection 2 had disappeared.... but why was he trying to wipe them all out? She shook her head and placed a comfort hand on her lover's shoulder. At least the targets hadn't turned red... or even yellow. There was just a strange wisp of darkness circling the Regole region. She wondered.... what it could be.


Ven took the glance from Terra and nodded, leaving the room and headed to their own. His eyes caught Aerith's and smiled. "It'll be alright." He assured her and walked into the room, pulling off his shirt. They had to get ready to go down to Dragoon again.



"Ah.... no wonder they don't use this place anymore..." The old man cackled as he looked around. It was rather chilly. The golden eyes returned to the man in the black robe. "You don't know where you are? Your heart has no clue?" His head tilted as he talked, his voice as cold as the surroundings.

He shook his head. "What a pity... but I think I have something that will jog your memory." He pulled his cape up to his side, and then suddenly let it drop, revealing the Dark Knight... and a woman struggling in his arms.
A smirk arose on the man's face as he watched Demyx's reaction.

The woman was thin and younger, in her late mid 30's. She had dirty blonde hair full of braids and beads, some unnatural colors slashed here and there. She wore flared, ripped jeans with a flowing green shirt that was wrapped up with belts. "LET ME GO!" She finally managed to pull away and fell to the floor, a surbahar falling off her back. She frowned as he collected herself, grabbing her light blue instrument. She looked back at the Dark Knight, glaring but stopped as the silent man pointed out behind her.

She slowly turned and looked back, her eyes growing wide. His jaw dropped as she gasped. However, a smile ran over he face as she rushed to the cell, her hands wrapping around the cold bars as she looked down at the man on the stone bed. Her light blue eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Tav?" She asked softly. "Tav is it really you??"
She blinked as the man looked a bit confused. "It's me... Ajay."

[Reno]

Seifer sighed, easily falling into the routine prochedure of turning the ship around, calculating the coordinates easily. Lucina would be on navigation, Gunnar on status and standby.

He regulated the pressure carefully, flipping open the rockets and shooting the ship back for the direction they came. He leaned back a bit, holding onto the wheel as he steered, his narrow. Fuck, this just wasn't going to end. "T-minus 6 minutes Cap'n!" He called to Terra, hearing an affirmative. Luckily they were all dressed and at least semi-ready to go.

With the appearence of Aerith many things seemed to change. Though the team already knew her well, some of them were a bit skeptical about taking her along - medical needs or not. it was just worrisome noting they;d have to protect one more.

And Lucina seemed a tad jealous about the whole thing, and didn;t exactly make it cladestine about her feelings. Olette gave her quite a talking to about it but it seemed the girl still had to let herself accept it.


Aqua stared at the screen quietly, before slowly lifting her hand, curling it around Fuujin's and she looked at the woman, concerned and unhappy, but she appreciated the support. She offered a slight smile and the two walked to the research room into the congregation that was forming in the little space between the kitchen, cockpit and the room they had just left. all nine chasers were there.

"So... teams?" Aqua asked and eyes went to Terra who was watching Seifer work quietly.

Terra pursued his lips, his eyes narrowed. He had a real bad feeling about this. Something felt... wrong. Whatever Xehanort was planning it didn't seem like an extended stay like last time.

And that didn't sit well with him. It was almost like.

"Me and Aqua will go down and scout the area. the rest of your will stay on board on standby."

"What?" Seifer asked. "but Terra with Aerith here now we can take down at least fi-"

"I know but I feel almost like we're being lured into a trap... it's odd to attack the same place twice." Terra mumbled. "I want more of the Chasers up here just in case he decides to attack the ship."

"He wouldn;t do that would he?!" Lucina cried.

"I did." Terra mumbled, shrugging, remembering Riku and Sora so very long ago. Attacking someone's ship... especally when it was in space, made a group of people completely helpless and typically to a path of crash landing. The less people there were up here, the less help there was if there was ever an emergency. Damn it why were Roxas and the others always so far away when they needed them?! "And even still it could just be heartless down there or maybe something went wrong with the chip. If we need backup we'll call for it." Terra told them, as he got the communicators, grabbing one for himself, throwing the second to Aqua. "If you guys do call us back. Ven's in charge for everything up here, got that?"

There was silent nods all around. Not like they needed to be reminded.

"We're there." Seifer said, maybe thirty seconds later.

"Ready?" Terra asked Aqua. The water keyblader nodded. The land keyblader shared a quick hug with Ven. "Be back soon."

Aqua leaned up, kissing Fuujin softly. She offered the woman a soft smile, and then with a slice of a portal the two stepped through and were gone.

Moments later both their vocies came through the communicators, verifying they were on the planet without any problems.


Aqua dropped her hand from her communicator, looking around. It was nightfall, and all was sailent - but not the uncomfortable silence you got when something was wrong. She could ehar crickets chirping, nightinggales singing, owls hooting. She even saw the bright form of Regole twisting through the sea.

Terra was right, something definitely ODD was going on here.

"Look for Saox and Demyx maybe?" Terra asked.

"Yeah..." the bluette nodded. She shut her eyes, feeling across the area an unfeelable ripple running across the area. She felt it then, something distant and far but so very... familar. Sai. But... he was alone. "I've got Sai. He's down in the beach. I... can;t seem to find Demyx."

Terra nodded, walking towards the beach, the other following after. They both had their keyblades drawn and at the ready, ready for anything to happen at a moment's notice.

But nothing did.

They paused at the edges of the waves, the figure down in the sand easily visible in the light of the full moon. "Sai!" Aqua called, running towards ehr brother. Terra followed after, his own eyes wary. Full moons usually meant BAD news didn't they?


Demyx shook his head slowly at the other's questions. He looked around quietly. Was he supposed to know this place...? Why would he want to know something so cold and... unforgiving? He looked up at the man, frowning. It was alreayd obvious to him that whoever he was... he was the one to lock him up.

For what purpose... he had no idea.

His teeth chattered, wanting to continue the interrogation, when something the other said caught him. jog his... memory? What...?

He gasped sharply at the sudden sight of the woman in the hands of the dark form. His eyes widened. He watched as the Knight pushed her down. "H-Hey!!" His feet slipped from there curled position and he hissed as the cold seeped into the backs of his thighs and up his spine. He drew them back up, watching them in horror.

Something the woman had though... the odd... blue... instrument. He knew what it was - almost as if the knowledge had always been with him. Surbahar. It sounded real good when it accompanied a sitar...

If only he had his... but alas it had been left behind at the temple. And because of that he hadn't been able to escape. His magical focus came through his music and his instrument/weapon... without it his water spells were... well pathetic.

The woman was suddenly at the bars. calling him... Tav....? She had a look of reocgnition in her...

But Demyx didn't know her at all. "I-I'm sorry..." He stumbled out, the cold doing nothing for his brain patterns. "I don;t know you miss... Ajay." even as he said it the same seemed... famailar.... "Tav..." He repeated, then his eyes grew hopeful. "Was that my name?"

[Rikugurl]

When everyone was ready, they all got in the line. Fujin stood next to Aqua as always, Olette standing next to Seifer. They all looked serious and ready to listen to Terra who was standing in front of them and behind him was Ventus. It was the classic setting for them before they went down to a planet.

Ven's eyes shifted as he heard Terra. Only the two of them? He nodded, they didn't know what was down there... it was more suspicious than anything... and he knew there was no reason for more than two people to go down. Usually Aqua would go down by herself... but each connection seemed to be more dangerous than the next... and the keyblades more powerful than the first. It was no longer safe for her... or anyone to go alone unless they were planets picked up by the watches.

Ven was a bit worried though.... Dragoon was a large place.... but it seemed only Regole was affected by whatever was happening. He looked away as Terra brought up the old memory... of that fight where Terra took down the Gummi ship.... they really.... could of killed his brother and Riku.... and those little critters. They were so.... heartless back then...

He snapped out of it when he was pulled into a hug and smiled softly. "Be careful..." He said softly before the brunette disappeared.

Fuu kissed her lover back and nodded, sighing as she saw the blue haired woman leave. They all stood around silently before Ventus suddenly left. He went down the steel stairs and towards the Research room. There, he started to go to work.


The splashes of Regole shifted down to the beach, making the water lap at a black robe. Blue hair shifted in the night sky as claws dug into the sand.
There was a black wisp coming off him... as if he was infected.

"Sai!"
Glowing yellow eyes looked up, fags barred as he snarled, seeing a familiar woman and man run towards him. When Aqua had become close, the Berserker let out a rather harsh growl, his fangs barring more. The glowing eyes looked towards Terra, the smell of wolf filling him and another low growl admitted.


The woman blinked and gasped again, her head snapping back from the surprise. The beads in her hair jingled softly as her face became hurt. "Yea... your name is Edmy Tavi of the Liberators, the.... ex-sitar player of Varuna Soldiers .... you know... the antiwar punk band? You're known as Tav... Melodious Nocturne of the Mesi. I'm Ajay Nimesh of the Mesi... the surbahar player for Varuna Soldiers.... I'm know as Jay...." Her eyes grew more sad as she shook her head.

"This world is called Lincintia... and is divided into two; Mesi and Mitja. They're both at war.... and still are." Her voice grew sad as she looked down. "I can't believe... you forgot everything." She whispered. "I guess... when those odd fish started to appear... people started to disappear... including you... and... and...." Her voice started to choke. "I .... I haven't see you in twenty years...." Tears slowly started to run down her cheek. "Even if you forgot.... I was.... hoping your heart would at least.... remember me. You.... you said you loved me, Tav."

She quickly reached behind her neck and unclasped something, pulling it off and pushing it between the bars. It was a necklace that had an eighth note pendant. There was a hole in it and a blue heart dangled freely in it. "You gave this to me on our first anniversary... don't you remember?"

[Reno]

Both keyblades paused as the beserker snarled at them, but not because he was snarling, but rather... the wisps of darkness filtering around him.

Terra and Saix's eyes met, and he bit down on his tongue to keep from instinctively growling back. His own eyes narrowed through, backing down a few steps. Personally he didn;t want to start another fued with Aqua's brother. It hadn;t been fun then, and it'd be fun now.

Aqua, not noticing the exchange, just carefully walked forward. "Sai..." she murmured softly. Her movements brought those golden eyes back onto hers. She had seen him like this... many many times before. It didn't scare her then and it didn;t scare her now. She leant down slowly, then smacked her hand out, pressing it comfortingly against the scar. But what scared her was... she didn't know if it would work this time or not. "Sai... you have to tell me what happened." She knew the wisps however meant bad news... And she had a feeling it was... because of Demyx.

Could the chips pick up gloom?


Demyx's mind blanked out as she spoke, blue eyes uncertain and disbelieveing. Even when she showed him the necklace his eyes held no recognition. He didn;t reach for it but he did stare at it. He slowly shook his head, stuttering. "I-I'm sorry... your wrong. I mean... maybe that's who I was but..."

He bowed his head. Demyx.... Demy.... Edmy...

His somebody had had a lover... but damn he had been so young when he died!

And he was going to crush this poor woman;s heart. "I am the Meldious Nocturne... and former member of Organization XIII number IX. My name... is Demyx Umi," Yes he had stolen Saix's last name, "And I live on Dragoon with... MY lover Sai, the beserker of the world... and I'm a muscian there. I sing and perform songs to Regole the water dragon and tell stories to the kids of the water region and... work in a temple and..." He reached up gripping his hair, shaking his head furiously. "I'm not Edmy anymore." He whispered heartbrokenly.

"I'm sorry. His heart... I don't think his heart came back to me." Thsat was the only reason Roxas could give him all those eyarsd ago to why he had no memory of his past life. Was because it wasn;t his sombodies heart he had stolen... his somebodie's heart was somewhere else...

And in that heart was a love for a woman who he performed countless hours with as they preached, and danced and sung about their anti-war movements, praying for peace to Brahma, asking for Shiva to spare them... and loving life like a gypsy would.

Demyx whimpered in pain, burrowing his head in his knees as his heart twisted and his head pounded. He didn;t know what he was supposed to do... "Please I jsut want to wake up and go home." he whispered. "Please stop this..."

[Rikugurl]

The Berserker snarled again as a hand came at him. His instinct to bite became overwhelming... but the touch on his scar suddenly quieted him. He blinked a few times, his glowing yellow eyes becoming the soft gold. He looked out at her, his hair slowly defrizzing and his claws and fangs slowly disappearing. He glanced at Terra then back at his sister before his ears lowered and he slowly looked away.

The darkness continued to wisp around him as he slowly knelt down, the water now lapsing at his robe even more.


More tears formed as she listened to him.
Yes, they were young lovers... very young... but that wasn't uncommon for gypsies. Ajay had been born in the civil society of Mesi, the underwater kingdom. The war started when she was a child and hated it so much. She was no longer allowed to visit Mitja... and that saddened her a lot. She grew with the idea of stopping the war... through music. She was a skilled surbahar player throughout her schooling years...

And one day she was practicing at the local meeting dome when someone had walked up to her.
"You're really sweet at that" A voice had said. She looked up, seeing a taller boy with shaggy blonde hair. He had sweet blue eyes... but very odd clothing. She knew right away that he was a part of the nomad travelers of Lincintia.... the Liberators. Her parents had told her never to talk to those people... they were grave robbers and were never up to any good.... but... what was in his hand stopped her from running away. A sitar.

She smiled softly, pulling her tame hair behind her ears. "You really like it?" She asked bashfully as she blushed.

Only a few months later, she bumped into the blonde again. His clothes were a bit different, still shaggy though... and he smelt a bit weird. There was something though... that made her blush.
"What are you doing here Edmy?"
"Weeeeell.... I can't stop thinking about your playing.... and your ideas! I hate this war too... too much violence! I hate that stuff man!"

Edmy was there to stay... and it was easy to quickly find some other kids at school that played instruments to start a band. Even if their instruments were traditional, Edmy led them down the road to punk and rock music. It was catching and they just made it work. Many people weren't interested at first... seeing it was made of young teenagers and preteens... but once they heard the music... they were hooked. 'Tav' quickly became the popular one of the group. He was charming and bashful and cheerful... and got along with everyone he met.

As they grew a bit older... Jay's parents kicked her out. She didn't worry about it though... her heart was set on two things. The music and Tav. She moved into his shitty little apartment and couldn't of been happier...

"Ah!" She giggled as she watched blonde hair fall to the floor. "It looks really cute!" She grinned as she looked at the blonde's reflection. "Hmm..." She tilted her head then nodded. "Oh! I know!" She suddenly grabbed some styling gel and started to push the top hairs up, forming a wide mohawk. "Perfect!"...

Jay was sitting on stage, tuning her surbahar, the other band mates fixing the stage. A familiar, nicer smell filled her nose as someone sat down next to her. She looked over, smiling sweetly at her roommate but blinked as he handed her a box. She took it and blushed, slowly opening it to see a beautiful musical necklace. None of them had a lot of money.... how could he afford anything like this. She smiled, looking up at him.
"Did you.... steal it?"
The blonde looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "Weeeelll"
"Hehe... I love it!" She smiled happily as he took it from the box, wrapping the chain around her neck. "Thank you Edmy..." She said softly, slowly moving closer to him and kissed him on the lips softly...

"AH! WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS!" The people cried as odd fishlike creatures started to form on the outside of the glassed in tunnels. "Shiva's curse!" People looked at them in fear and ran away as they started to bang on the glass, making holes in it and water started to splash through.
The Varuna Soldiers fled from the stage, screaming as larger creatures started to appear. "Tav!" The young girl with wild hair looked back as the blonde was falling behind. "I forgot my sitar!" "Forget about it!" "NO! You go ahead! I'll be ok!"

But.... she never saw him again...
Except for now...
And.... he.... took on a new life.
Like... the nomad that ran in his blood.

"Don't trust that boy, he'll steal your heart then one day he'll change his name and make a new life for himself." A woman scolded her young daughter.
"No! He'd never do that!"

More tears flowed down her face.

"My name... is Demyx Umi. And I live on Dragoon with... MY lover Sai. I'm not Edmy anymore"

She didn't understand... what he meant when he said that his heart didn't come back to him. Was.... it just a crazy excuse...?
She suddenly looked at the old man, grabbing onto him. "What did you do to him!? What is this all about!? Let him go! LET HIM GO!" Her tears dripped onto her clothes as she started to cry.

The man looked at her and frowned, pushing her away.
She whimpered... and finally started to run away, the musical pendant dropping to the floor.

The man watched her and snickered as he looked back at the blonde man. "Hearts... aren't they so troublesome? And just think... you did everything in your power to get yours back." He moved closer to cell and grinned. "You Nobodies.... so foolish. You're the one that plays with people's hearts... and they call the Heartless heartless...." He snickered, his golden eyes darkening. You messed up on your own heart... and now the hearts of everyone you know... but... I think I can help you forget about your real world... your real life... You can go back to Dragoon and Sai peacefully, never having to worry about those hearts you've destroyed from your foolishness."

[Reno]

"Sai... Sai talk to me." Aqua gently asked, running a hand over his cheek. "Please... what happened?" She drew her arms around him carefully, embracing him, the wisps of darkness slinking against her legs, making her feel the chills but she wasn;t worried about that as much as she was worried about her brother.

Terra stayed where he was, watching the exchange quietly. He looked around, frowning a bit, seeing the dragon jump from the ocean almost... restlessly. "Where is he?" he asked bluntly.,, not eneded to say who 'he' was. Did... Demyx fall pray to... his somebody like Axel had?


Demyx watched the woman as she ran off, tears clouding his vision, but his head shot up at the other's words. Guilt and shame overtook his borrowed heart - but also... anger. lots of it. He looked towards the man with golden eyes. "You're a monster." He whispered. Why? Why was he doing this to him? What purpose could it POSSIBLY serve?!

"And what about the hearts you destroyed?" Demyx whispered softly. He suddenly got to his feet, the cold wrapping around him instantly, but he had become numb all over. "you... You... you're exactly what I must have been protesting against... someone malicious who starts wars..." His hands shook. "I don;t need YOU to help me..."

He took a step forward, magic forming under his feet. "You... You think you know everything... about me huh?" Demyx murmured. "You think your such a genius... just like HE did. Xemnas..." He panted. "but both of you... underestimate the power of a heart..." Hell... so had he. And it was actually Sora and Roxas who had shown him what a true heart was... even if it ended up killing him. "And you... udnerestimated me... don;t you dare talk about anyone I care about ever again!!!"

He rasied his hand, humming under his breath as the magic flowed around his ankles. Then suddenly with a sharp movement a wave of water shot up and smacked into the bars, the magic flowing outwards and hitting Xehanort and the Dark Knight head on. The bars of the cell creaked and finally snapped under the pressure.

But Demyx's body, unused to the abuse of the past 19 hours, and definitely not accustomed to the magic use in such a violent way, gave out on him. He fell to his hands and knees, limbs shaking all over as he panted. He wasn;t a fighter...

[Rikugurl]

Sai didn't say a word even as the warmth of his sister calmed the dark wisps around him. What the wisps were... it was unclear. Someone... or something took Demyx away... his heart... becoming black with hate. What made him even more angry... was the fact... that... he wasn't connected with the blonde... that paopu fruit... it could of at least let him know... if Demyx was ok. All he could do was was rely on hope... and that went so far...

There was a sudden static in the communicators, and Ven voice could be heard.
"I just got a reading. I tracked down the Darkness power level that Xehanort's keyblade sent off... and I was able to program it into the search... It just came up... it found World's End..." The communication stopped as the other sighed. "It's in Connection 6."
They hadn't even reached that connection yet...
"What's going on down there because whatever it is, you have to wrap it up quick... we're already ready to head out."


Golden eyes gleamed as he watched the other become hysterical. He could slowly see his heart rip in two already... however... that wasn't what he was going for. He watched the water shoot out at him and before it reached him, it hit a shield, slashing around the hallway. The bars creaked and moaned before they suddenly fell to the floor with a large bang.

The old man didn't flinch but slowly walked towards the blonde. He stepped on the bars, walking into the cell. White gloves reached down and wrapped into blonde hair, pulling the man up by them harshly. "I can imagine how helpful you were to the Organization..." He dragged the lanky blonde out of the cell by his hair and dropped him next to the Dark Knight, letting the knight throw Demyx over his shoulder. "You can so easily become a Heartless again... but I have better plans for you for now."

Slowly they walked out of the hallway and into another... however, this one had an open dome to it, showing nothing but water and tropical fish swimming around. They slowly headed down the hallway, the sounds of people screaming in the background as black creatures chased after them.

Suddenly, something hit the back of the knight's head... blue wooden pieces shattering as the Dark Knight stumbled forward. The blonde was dropped, only to be supported back up by a woman with ratty hair. "Tav!" She pulled the blonde closer and glared at the two men before running away in the opposite direction from them.

Xehanort stopped as he heard the cry and slowly turned, watching her run off with the blonde. Suddenly Neoshadows started to form around him and raced after the woman and man. He was in no rush...

Ajay panted as she raced down the hallway the best she could. She looked back, gasping as she saw the shadows following her and took a sharp turn into a room. She slammed the door, making the shadows hit it hard. Panting, she slowly laid the blonde on the wall and looked around. This had been an abandoned castle from thousands of years ago... the only reason why it was still up was because of it's beauty and history. It seemed like... it was an old laundry room.

She gasped as she felt something at her foot, looking down to see the... shadows on the floor. She yelped and looked around desperately, finding an old pipe and whacked it into it. It blew into a cloud of black smoke and she repeated it until all the Heartless were gone. She panted as she looked around, the pipe falling to the ground. Slowly she looked around, getting some clothes that had been left here by the workers who kept the place clean and sturdy. She slowly knelt down to Demyx and handed them to him. "He---here..."

[Reno]

Aqua frowned. she knew her brother was hurting, but... she had no idea how to help him. Especally because he wasn't talking. "Sai..." she tried to coax again, but Ven's voice coming over the communicators cut her off.

Terra lifted his hand to his frowning. "Understood." he said when the other finished. He looked down at Saix and Aqua, then sighed agitatedly. "Saix," He snapped bluntly. "Stop fucking moping. Get to your damn feet and come with us. We're your best chance at finding Demyx at this point, ne?" He slashed his keyblade suddenly the rip appearing. He glanced back at both before stepping through. His question was... what the hell could Xehanort ever want with Demyx? Unless HE was bait.

...Yes, this whole think was becoming increasingly more disturbing and forbidding.

Aqua tentatively got to her feet, walking over to the rip, and looked back at Saix. "Sai...?"


The Dark Knight didn't react to the wave of water, allowing his master to take care of it.

Demyx panted as he braced himself on the floor, feeling the water spill back over and onto him. He whimpered weakly, the water soaking his clothes and chilling his already freezing skin. He shivered viciously, watching the water flow around him like a minature pool. Something floated past his eyesight and he grabbed for it blindly.

"AHHH!" He cried out harshly as he was lifted by his hair. Tears of pain sprung into his eyes. He sobbed as he was dragged from the cell and throw into the ground. his whole body shook weakly and he gave another sound of protest as he was yanked up again, and thrown over a body. He coughed, his stomach digging into the shoulder uncomfortably.

What the hell... was he talking about? A... use for him? He... "Let me go!" Demyx cried, strugglign weakly in the other;s grip. but who was he kidding? He wasn;t getting away... He shuddered hearing the screams. "Why... are you doing this?" he whispered. He wasn;t surprised when he went ignored.

However he was surprised when something went sailing past him, a musical... instrument? And slammed right into his captor's head. The Knight stumbled, his grip slipping and Demyx yelped in surprise and he fell back to the ground, only to be despertely yanked back up. His eyes went wide, staring at Jay before she tugged him away, and they went dashing down the hallways.

The Dark Knight rubbed his head, then ganced at his master, then glanced at the escaping subjects. not like they;d have anywhere to go.


Demyx gave a cry of surprise as he was yanked around again and practically thrown into a new room. It was warmed up here. He stumbled desperately and with the help fo the woman went slumping against the wall, his numb figners opening and dropping the treasure he had found. He laid their gasping desperaetly and when Ajay screamed his heart jumped in panic. He watched her with wide eyes as she... beat down the heartless.

Wow...

She was kinda scary. she;d probably get along with Aqua real well...

When the clothes were shoved into his hands though he smiled weakly, appreciating them greatly. She was looking at him though... expectantly and Demyx's cheeks grew red. "U-Um... c-could you..." He made a twirling motion with his index finger, trying to gesture for her to turn around. She blushed and did so.

Demyx sighed peeling off his wet clothes clothing, throwing them into a pile. She had even been kind enough to find a towel... he grabbed it, running it down his shivering body quickly before he slipping on the new clothes. He looked to the side, at the thing he had picked up.

The blue pendant of hers... the thing his somebody must of given her. It looked expensive. He picked it up carefully, bracing himself against the wall as he stood, legs shaking. "I'.... I'm sorry I can;t be him for you." He whispered, and Ajay seemed to take it as cue to turn around. Demyx looked at her sadly, holding out his hand, and the woman brought out her hands, cupping them as the necklace was dropped back into her hands.

"I really wish... I could be him for you..." Demyx whispered, tears falling from his eyes. "but I don't even remember him... or you... or anything about his past. I'm so sorry I don;t want to hurt you... but I can't... I can't be him because... I don;t know who Edmy Tavi is...."

His legs gave out on him again and he slipped back down the wall, hitting the ground hard on his tailbone. He blinked blearily at the pain, exhasution creeping at the edges of his mind. but this was no place to rest. They were in a LOT of danger. "Your... surbahar... It's gone... I'm so sorry..." The blonde muscian choked out and he started to sob again. His heart and body hurt so bad...

[Rikugurl]

There was another snarl as Terra put things so bluntly. Like Terra didn't mop when Ven was in a coma? He watched the land keyblader slash out, making a computerized rip in the world and stepped through. His ears lowered as his sister left his side, looking back at the ocean. Someone had taken Demyx... he knew it... the blonde won't leave his side like this.... or.... no.... he wouldn't. The Melodious Nocturne was happy here..... right?

He closed his eyes, hearing Regole in the background. He was the Berserker of this region... the guardian of the people... he couldn't.... just leave.
His eyes opened... and looked down at the water... but he didn't see his reflection.... he saw Demyx's. That bright smile of his... the harmless being... so cheerful and innocent.

He growled and splashed the water away. "Wait..." He called before standing. He looked at the town then back at his sister. He slowly walked to her and nodded. He would come with them.


When they walked through the portal, everyone seemed to be busy with things. The ship suddenly shifted, making everyone uneasy on their feet for a good few minutes. They were going on hyper drive. When they got use to the boost, most of the crew went down to the Research room. The only ones not present were Seifer and his kids, Aerith and Sai... though he stayed outside the room since he couldn't fit in with the others.

Ven blinked as he looked up, stopping his typing as he heard the news about Demyx. "And he hasn't said anything?" He frowned as he looked down. "I have an idea..."
He went back to his many computers and started typing at lightning speed. A file of the blonde rocker came up, but it was the old Organization file. "Remember when we were trying to locate the other members a long time ago to see if they had their hearts...? Well... I can still use the system to see where Demyx might be."

The screen popped up and automatically, Saix's profile check first... obviously since he was on their SHIP.
It didn't take as long as it did that last time... a good 30-40 minutes.
Organization XIII
Xemnas: Negative
Xigbar: Unknown
Xaldin: Negative
Vexen: Negative
Lexaeus: Negative
Zexion: Negative
Saix: Confirmed
Axel: Confirmed
Demyx: Connection Lost
Luxord: Negative
Marluxia: Negative
Larxene: Negative
Roxas: Confirmed[/i]

Ventus frowned. The computer couldn't read where Demyx was... so... that meant that he was now in a Connection that had not been visited yet... as so was World's End. The other thing that caught it eye was that Xigbar's status had changed. Did he get his heart back too... and did it have to do anything with Demyx's disappearance?

Fuu frowned. "Do you think Demyx's heart got released and is now back with his Somebody?" It had just happened with Axel... so...

"I doubt it." Ventus replied but sighed. "Though... it could be a possibility." Axel didn't have any memories of the past... because he didn't have his own heart. Demyx was the same... Ven stood and pushed through the crowd, looking out of the room and over at Saix. "Saix.... I mean.... Sai.... Was Demyx acting weird lately... or sick or anything out of the ordinary before he disappeared?"
Golden eyes just glanced over and his head shook. Ven nodded and returned back to his seat. Axel had started to act weird and sick before his soul spitted... but... why would Master Xehanort kidnap someone like Demyx!?

He slowly looked at the group and frowned. "I think... this is all a trap."
Demyx would get to Saix, Saix would get to Aqua... and then Aqua would get to the other Chasers.... but why was he beating around the bush like this?



The woman looked down as she heard the man behind he getting all set... when he spoke though, she looked back and faced him. Her eyes grew sad as she reached up, cupping her hands and watching the pendant fall. She looked back up at him as he spoke, hearing how his voice was. Her eyes widened as he fell... and started to cry. She quickly rushed to his side and touched his shoulder.

"Please.... please don't cry." Her voice cracking as well. She laughed softly, shaking her head. "You're much more important than any instrument..." She looked around and finally started to help Demyx back up. "We have to get out of here..." She pulled his arm around her shoulders and carried his weight the best she could. She slowly opened the door, her eyes watching carefully and her head popped out from inside, looking down the hallways. There were no signs of Heartless or those two men. Slowly she walked out with him and headed towards the exit.

They would have to take the long way...

Thirty minutes of treacherous walking and stumbling, they made it to a small house made out of coral. If Demyx was in better shape, he would of noticed... that this whole city was underwater. It was connected by glass tunnels and the homes and stores were made out and on a large coral reef. Some waterfalls flowed from the glass walls to let in the oxygen that the ocean stored up.

Bright fish and other topical underwater creatures passed over the tunnels and around the amazing city.

Once they walked it, there was a nice smell in the air of incense. It was a small little home with only three rooms. There was a small kitchen, a smaller bathroom, and a large room that was a living room, bedroom and dinning room all together. A lot of things cluttered the area, making it look even smaller than it really was. There were music sheets all over the wall... and if it wasn't for the small little spaces left here and there, one would think it was the wallpaper. Also some antiwar banners plastered here and there... and concert flyers elsewhere.

There was a crappy mattress pressed against the wall, some cotton spilling out from the sides but were covered up with blankets of all sorts of patterns. Broken stringed instruments and odd ends laid around everywhere.
There was a long burrow that was cluttered as well... but there were more room for the pictures that were on it. Pictures of a group of four in different places, all looking quite happy.
The largest frame was in the back... holding a picture of two, young teens with arms around each other's waist.

The blonde was laid down on the bed. She left his side and grabbed some extra pillows, placing them under his head. Extra blankets were laid over him, none matching each other. Finally a small foot stool was placed by his head... but it wasn't being used at the time. She quickly left his side once more and the sounds of pans banging could be heard not far away.

Soon, the woman came back and set a bowl on the foot stand... the chicken soup inside of it steaming. A soft roll was placed next to it and a large cup of juice next to that.[/color]

[Reno]

Well of course Terra moped... but he wasn't sure what would be worse. Having the blonde millions of miles away with an unknown status... or having him right next to you and your unsure if he'll ever wake up to smile at you again. Actually he was pretty sure what happened with Riku and Sora was the worst... watching your lover die right in front of you, having him IN your arms... and knowing your unable to do anything to save him...

At least he didn't have to SEE Ven get frozen... Aqua wasn't quite so lucky. Speaking of Aqua...

Tjhe blue haired feale was watching Saix's uncertainty quietly, seeing how his eyes flickered to the ocean... to Regole. She knew what he was thinking. He weas worried about leaving his guardianship duties. But the water region had survived just fine for a few years without Sai... it could last a few days.

Besides a heratbroken beserker probably wouldn;t be much help.

She smiled softly as her brother got up to join her side. "they'll be alright." she reassured as they walked through the portal.

But were THEY going to be alright?


The minute the three were back on board and the portal had dispersed, Ven gave an order to Seifer. "Roger that! Everyone hold on!" the blonde called and then suddenly the lights on the ship dimmed to conserve power that would be going to to engine. The ship began to make an interesting whirring noise like a super-sized blender as they changed direction to point back towards connection 3.

And then the whole ship rocked and everyone gave some sort of noise of surprise as they shot forward, the ship rocking somewhat like a boat and throwing a bit of extra pressure down like a rollercoaster.

Terra stumbled on his feet a bit with a grunt, sighing a bit as he felt his stomach drop. He swallowed nervously, taking a few deep breathes to keep down the inital feeling of retching down.

Aqua yelped a bit, stumbling and catching herself on the wall. She blinked confused for a few short moments then glanced around seeing everything had gotten slightly dim. Oh right. Hyper mode. Not one of her favorites.

Seifer licked his lips as he was forced back in his chair at the initial rocket forward his own stomach doing an uncomfortable twist. But it was better to be at the front of the ship instead of the back. The back would have felt much much worse. Once he had gained his ebarings he glanced at his kids who were cuddled together in the same chair, eyes closed tightly as they got used to the pressure. "Tiger, Sweetheart, you two okay?" The kids tentatively opened their eyes and gave him an affirmative. Lucina was looking a little green, but Gunnar seemed fine, probably because of the mako in him now. He adjusted to things quicker. He ruffled the hair atop both their heads, smiling encouragingly.

Ven allowed them all to get used to the new pressure - having to himself as well, before calling them all in the research room. Seifer and the kids of course stayed back. They had a ship to drive and monitor. You couldn't go on auto-pilot in hyper drive anyways. And Aerith was still in the kitchen...

But luckily Ven's, and everyone else's, voices carried.

Terra leaned back against the wall. Fuujin and Aqua to one side of the computer and Olette nearby the entrance. The research room was actually rather small - a flaw in their ship designing choice he supposed... And Sai's bulky form wasn;t able to get inside - or maybe he just didn;t want too. but his shadow climbed across the floor from where he stood listening.

Aqua was the one to relay the story about Demyx going missing but her brother was the one to give all the details. About how they had gone to bed the night before after a rather normal day... and then when he woke up Demyx was gone, sitar still perched against the wall were he had left it. And Demyx NEVER left his instrument if he could help it. After all, it WAS his weapon and after the years had passed he was no longer able to call onto it like he used to. Where ever he was he was even more defenseless then they thought. On top of that Saix hadn;t been able to catch hide nor hair of the blonde even through he searched the entire water region and asked a multitude of people if they had seem him. He hadn't even left the temple it seemed.

So he had been taken right under the other's nose.

When Ven proposed to try and find Demyx like they had years ago the others agreed and got comfortable for a long wait. Some of them traded of idle conversation that meant nothing but made their nerves settle some. Though none of them were THAT close to Demyx visits to Dragoon had been common when they came past the connection and the blonde was entertaining in his own rights even if his music uh... needed work. He was a friend. maybe not a team mate when it came to fighting but he was still a friend...

And none of them wanted anything to happen to him.

The 40 minutes of waiting were tense and seemed to take forever but when the computer beeped an affirmative everyone looked as the screens statistics came up. The status of Xigbar caught Terra's eyes too. Oh great, now they had to worry about THAT too. When they came to Demyx's position it made some of their hearts falter in worry.

But it wasn't negative, meaning he was still alive somewhere and THAT was a relieve. They just needed to find him and get to him...

And that meant going to where Xehanort was. He listened as the others talked before what Ven said caught his ears. "Of course he's bait." He said, as if it should have been obvious. "I personally think he just likes fucking with us or something." After all, what had been his purpose to try and destroy Dragoon? To attack them? to... well do ANYTHING that made sense?

"So, what do we do?" Aqua asked quietly.

"Well we don;t have a choice. We have to take it." Terra said. They werenlt just going to LEAVE Demyx there to fend for himself. Who knew how the blonde was fairing... or what Xehanort would do once he got bored waiting for them. He was an evil, evil man...

"But why would they take him anyways?" Seifer called from the other room, sounding a bit baffled.

"Cause he won't fight back." Terra said simply. "Or well... can't fight back." The blonde was weaponless and not that strong and at heart a real coward. He was somebody who drew instant sympathy and worry because of it. If someone can;t fight... someone else feels more protective because of it, feels a need to protect them more. Just like the Chasers did with Lucina and Gunnar. The kids were defenseless, therefore if anything happened to them it sparked instant anger.

Either way... they were pretty screwed. This probably wasn;t all of Xehanorts plan. Something was waiting for them when they got there... and Terra was a bit iffy about sending his whole team out on this reckless mission. "Heh, maybe we should call for back-up now."

He remember last time he and Ven had visited Disney Castle when they were dropping off Gunnar, one of the ships in the hanger looked completely new. A new gummi ship - one Cid had apparently helped to build. He had asked the little chipmunks about it and they were only too happy to tell him about it. It had calibrators that matched their ship and in some cases went beyond. Some of the materials it was made of didnl;t get as hot under pressure when moving at top speed, unlike their ship, it had warp speeds upon other things...

If they could get Sora and Riku to travel there, convince Mickey, Donald and Goofy to come along, then pick up Axel and Roxas and fly after them he'd feel a bit safer. They might actually have a CHANCE then. Xehanort wouldn't expect THAT....

would he?


Demyx sniffled looking up at the woman when she told him not to cry. He nodded quietly, rubbing at his tears. Gosh, they had more important things to worry about...

He smiled softly as he was helped up once more, leaning againt her unsuredly. It was a good thing he was lanky and thin like Axel or it probably would have been more of a chore for Ajay to help him. He followed her lead unsuredly, barely noticing the time that passed as little trembles of pain ran through him.

Now he was kinda glad Sai and him hadn't shared the paopu... he didn't want Sai to feel how pathetic he was. I'm nothing but trouble... for everyone... aren't I? He was sort of worried though... what was Sai thinking right now? What did he think happened to him...?

Did the beserker think he ran off on him? Was he worried about him? searching for him? Would... would he even be able to find him?

Would ANYONE be able to find him...?

Demyx blinked away the instinctive tears, forcing himself not to cry, not again. Weren;t boys like... NOT supposed to cry?

It really was too bad Demyx didn't notice the scenary around him... this place would be like his own personal wonderland. He always wanted to live IN water...

Demyx made a noise of surprise as he was brought into a home, his eyes still not really taking notice of the surrondings. He did however make an appreciative groan as he was led to the bed, sinking into it almost immediately. He smiled softly, murmuring thanks as she helped him get situated.

She left moments later and he ehard her cluttering about. His eyes fluttered open to take in the sight of the room. He'd never... been in a girl's room before.

Not even Larxene's. But Larx had scared the crap outta him.

He let his eyes wander and saw some of the pictures on the walls. The music sheets strewn about like his own study back at the temple. the instruments drew his curiosisty seeing all their shapes and sizes and he bit his lip, wishing he could play them. There was a picture frame on the nightstand close to the mattress. His eyes squinted to get a good look at it and his eyes widened as he saw... well not himself but someone incredibly close to his looks...

He stared at it for a long, long time, just taking in his younger face, the smile so bright and carefree, the blue sitar strung across his back a constant companion. The others in the picture he didn;t recognize... except the younger looking Ajay... Hell he didn;t even know when that picture was taken or where they were...

his mind was just... blank.

His head rose as she came back and he looked away guiltily as if staring at the pictures had been a bad thing to do. which maybe it was, because he knew it was going to lead to questions maybe he didn;t want answered...

He got distracted though when he smelt the food and his mouth watered. He turned on his side and lifting himself up on his elbows, just staring at the food like he hadn;t seen a meal in days. Well... at least one day at least. "I'm never taking food for granted again." he mumbled as he reached for the roll and took a big bite. He swallowed and smiled up at the woman. "thanks..."

The room fell eerily silent as he ate, getting some aid from the other woman so he wouldn;t spill anything. By the time the roll was eaten, juice drank and soap half gone, he couldn;t hold back anymore.

He set the spoon down, glancing at the photo on the nightstand. "Tell... me about him. Edmy I mean... I always wanted to know him..."

[Rikugurl]

Gunnar held tightly to his sister as they went into overdrive. When they shifted in their seat, he opened his eyes and looked around, then mako eyes looked up at his father when the question was asked. He nodded with his sister then looked around, monitoring the fuses he was in charge of. When everything seemed to be ok, he looked back at Seifer and bounced a bit. "Daddy! Daddy! Let's do it again!"

The door to the kitchen opened and a woman walked out. In her hands was a tray, full of cups with liquid that was steaming. Herbal tea. The tray was placed on a small table in the large hallway where all the rooms were.
Her green eyes looked at the only man there and smiled, picking up a cup and handing it to him. The blue haired man looked down at her, but shook his head and looked away. He hadn't spoken since he explained what had happened... and it was only because Aqua begged him to.

Aerith frowned but smiled again, offering the cup once more. "It will calm your nerves..." Her voice was soft and sweet... but the man just ignored her.
"You... don't want to become a Heartless again.... do you?"
Golden eyes widened but lowered as he looked back at her, slowly taking the cup he was offered, long nails wrapping around it.

Ven sat in his seat, listening to the conversation... but the minute he heard back-up, he stood and looked at Terra. "No! This is our fucking fight."
The room grew extremely quiet as the blue eyes looked down. "Shit... we already put them through enough hell as is." He looked back up at the group and frowned. "Master Xehanort is our villain. He always has been... and we're the ones that have to take him down. Sora... and Riku... and Mickey... they already had to defeat Ansem's Heartless... and Xemnas by their selves. It's our turn to take care of Xehanort. I won't allow my brothers or their lovers to get hurt anymore if I don't have to... they've been through enough. We have to pick ourselves up and get ourselves ready. He's gotten more powerful... but if we keep our cool... and believe in ourselves... we can all become powerful too." He looked down again and shook his head. "I know.... I know we can do it." He finally whispered and pushed through everyone, heading towards his and Terra's room.

Fuu sighed as she watched Ven leave. He was.... kinda right. Xehanort was the Chaser's villain... it was only right if they fought him themselves... She blinked as the computer beeped and something came up.
Searching....
Searching....
Searching....
Detecting.....
Detected....

Organization XIII
Xemnas: Negative
Xigbar: Confirmed: Radiant Garden
Xaldin: Negative
Vexen: Negative
Lexaeus: Negative
Zexion: Negative
Saix: Confirmed: On Board
Axel: Confirmed: Delshad Garden
Demyx: Connection Lost
Luxord: Negative
Marluxia: Negative
Larxene: Negative
Roxas: Confirmed: Delshad Garden

She frowned. "Besides... it looks like Roxas and Axel might have their hands full."



Jay smiled softly as she watched him eat, helping him with his soup here and there. He looked horrible. She could only smile softly as she watched him eat like it was a first meal of the week. How long had they kept you in there? She knew the history of the castle... and why someone would actually use the dungeon cells were beyond her. It was so cruel...

She blinked when he put the spoon down... and his blue eyes moved to her nightstand. She quickly looked down and bit her lip, her ratted hair and beads falling over her face. There was some silence before she let out a soft sigh.
"He.... he was such a sweet guy." She paused but shook her head. "You see.... there was a group of wandering... gypsies. They called themselves the Liberators. They traveled from Mesi to Mitja and back. They didn't take any sides of the war when it started... but people used them to put fear into each other's side... stating that they might be spies. Parents told their children never to talk to them... and run away if they were ever approached."

She looked away and shook her head. "Edmy was a Liberator. He heard me playing my surbahar... and said I was really good at it." It was hard telling him this... because... she knew... it was him already... but she continued. "Ever since that day... well... I couldn't stop thinking about him. He played his sitar... and I never heard anything like it before in my life. I knew... that if we played together... we could stop this war. He came back... and my parents found out I was meeting up with him... they kicked me out... and I moved in with him." She laughed softly... but it wasn't a happy one. She looked around the crammed house. "We called this place.... our love nest." She choked and looked back down. "This was his house... but we welcomed me in with loving arms."

She slowly looked at the picture of herself and the blonde. "Tav... he got along with everyone. Even people who didn't like him... he could make them ease. Except for my parents of course." She chuckled. "He didn't have a lot of money... but he gave those in need what he could spare. He did have a nasty habit of stealing though... but it was only to get by. The only thing he stole that he didn't need was well..." She fingered her necklace. "He was very antiwar too. He hated violence. He didn't want anything to do with fighting. His strongest power was his music."

She slowly reached out and took the picture, looking down at it.
"We were so young back then. My parents kept bugging me that I have to finish school... but when I was with Tav... I knew everything would be alright. He was just... an amazing guy... and I know.... if he didn't disappear that day.... this war would be over."
She closed her eyes and some tears ran down her cheek but she quickly brushed them away before looking at the blonde.
"Demyx... do you.... know.... if he'll ever come back?"

[Reno]

Terra couldn't quite hide the flinch as he was chastised. Their eyes locked and both of them looked away at the same time, but Ven wasn't done talking. His shoulders slumped a bit, ashamed of himself.

He saw Ven's shadow shift as the blonde left the room and then heard the finally snap of their door as he went to their room. His mouth twisted in a frown, mind clouded with verious thoughts- then the beep at the computer drew everyone;s attention and they all looked as locations began to spread beside the names. He frowned, nodding to Fuujin's comment then sighed slowly. "I'll have Ven give roxas a call. Alright everyone start getting ready. We need to be ready for anything." He ordered. He straightened and left the room.

He paused in front of the door, lifting his hand tentatively.

What are you scared of?

Terra's fingers twitched as he opened the door, walking inside, seeing Ven furiously tugging things from the closet. He didn't seem calm at all - maybe... infruiated. At... him?

The door shut behind him and he just watched the blonde for few moments. Had he asked for back-up... only because he was scared? Scared of losing Ven again? Maybe somewhere in his mind he thought with more people there Ven would be better protected... and someone else could deal with losing someone improtant.

Ot maybe he was scared of it.

Terra sighed walking over, and grabbing the blonde's wrist, forcing him to stop and look at him. "i'm sorry." he mumbled. "I didn't mean it that way. I just..." don't want to see you get hurt again. Damn it, was it such a terrible thing if he thought they'd have more luck with more people... that they might not DIE with more people?

The knell of the funeral bell will ring...


Aqua sighed as Terra left, breathing deeply. She looked at fuujin slowly, and smiled softly. "We can do this..." they had too... because it was beginning to fell like this was going to be their last encounter with Xehanort. They had to win... no matter what. A monster like that... COULDN'T continue to exist.


Demyx was quiet as she spoke, but even as she told him memories of his OWN past... nothing clicked or registered as familar. His somebody and himself... had lead two different lifes...

Even if he wanted to be Edmy for her... he couldn;t be. At her question he looked at her quietly, unsure of how to answer and realized... he had to give her his own little story. "I..." He sighed then laid down looking towards the bowl of soup. "I'm not sure..." he started truthfully.

He lifted his hand, and suddenly the liquid in the soup churned and lifting slowly, in streams. He made one look like a little stick figure of a person, and another like a heartless. "You see... when Edmy was... killed... the heartless took his heart and split him in half." The little shadow heartless soup figure jumped at human figure, splitting the soup in half creating two littler figures of people. "One... the heart of the self... became a heartless." One of the figures also turned into a shadow heartless. "The other... was the body and soul of the person... and they were called Nobody." The other human figure did a little dance. "I'm Edmy's Nobody. I don't know anything about his life because his heart holds all of his memories... i think i just have.. some of his habits and whatnot. Like being a sitar player. And not liking to fight... but... I led another life..."

The soup fell back into the bowl suddenly and Demyx rasied his eyes to look at her and he smiled suddenly. "But... when i get betetr how about me and you go look for Edmy together? I'd really like to meet him myself." he looked down at the bedsheets. "And... i guess maybe i just wanna see you smile for real when you find him again."