The Chasers: The Key to Memories Past

[Reno]

Terra seemed to be somewhat surprised at the other's comment - as it were hard for him to believe that Ven understood anything about loneliness - before he nodded, "Yeah... me too." his hand fell from the other's shoulder and instead ruffled the blonde hair roughly, pushing his head down teasingly before walking away. "It's time to go!"

Ven blinked, running a hand through his hair before running after. "H-Hey! Wait up!" He came astride the other, having to walk twice as quickly to keep up with the other. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere we're needed."

The scene slowly faded away and turned black - but moments later a blue light hit the gem and a new scene showed up one that appeared to hold a lot of tension.


Aqua's eyes darted to the left, the camera running along Terra the brunette in a offensive position, Quicksand pointed towards her. She looked to her right, Ven looked more relaxed but Oathkeeper balanced lightly in his grasp ready to strike at any moment. In her own hands she held tsunami. The three were all panting as if they had been running, perched at an edge of the lake their reflections coming clearly in the water. Behind them spread a bowl of land before it shot up with into a sloping mountain, a few trees bursting out here and there. The world itself though was foreign to the rest of the Chasers.

"You've got no where else to go! Just give us the keyblade." Ven said as calmly as possible. "You don't have any idea what it can do to your heart!"
She quirked an eyebrow, looking towards the blonde more fully. "You would be slightly more convincing if you did not wield one yourself."

Terra scoffed, "Fuck technicalities. Just give us your fucking blade or we'll take it from you. And just because you're a god damned girl doesn't mean we'll go easy on you."
Aqua looked towards the brunette, "Oh then I guess I have no choice." She sighed holding out her blade and shut her eyes. "Take it then." The brunette's eyes narrowed suspiciously but he slowly lowered his guard walking over towards her and stretching out his arm to reach for the blade.

Just as his fingers were bare inches from touching it her eyes snapped open and her wrist twisted spinning the blade away from him only to spin it a wide arc, swinging back for the brunette. The Atterian was ready for it, raising Quicksand just in time, the blades meeting with a crash of metal.

"Terra!" Ven cried, running forward, raising Oathkeeper.

Aqua just huffed and with a force that surprised the brunette trying to pin her down she pushed him backwards and then jumped out of the way of the oncoming blonde. Ven gave a surprised yelp, having to twist around to avoid injuring Terra with his keyblade, their bodies slamming together and forcing the already off-balanced teen to fall over, the blonde spiraling into his lap.

Aqua turned and walked backwards some, walking across the water as if it were as solid as ground. She laughed some at their position. "Hey cock-suckers, just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I don't know how to fucking fight!" She watched them untangle themseleves from each other and get back to their feet while she pointed Tsuami towards them. "So if you want this you'll have to get it the hard way! Either way, I'll kick you asses right here, right now!"

Terra scowled at her but nodded. "If that's the way you want it."
"Terra..." Ven started, seeming uncomfortable with this idea. He didn't want to fight a girl!
The brunette glared at him. "Stop fucking whining Ven - if she thinks she can take it let her." He looked towards the blue-haired girl, "Just don't go fucking crying home when we win!"

Aqua just grinned. "We'll see, won't we?" She slowly dipped her blade into the water swinging it back in a slow arc before throwing her arm forward streams of water flying from the lake and towards the two.

"Oh shit. Move!" Terra snapped and the two males split from each other, the pressurized streams crashing into the land and creating large holes in the land where they had just been standing. He slid to a halt and pointed his keyblade towards her. Land shot up from behind her.

Ven glanced over his shoulder before gritting his teeth and spinning on his heels pointing his blade towards her. "Wind!!" It connected with the land and it turned into a spiraling storm obscuring the girl.

Blue eyes met across the field, the two nodding to one another before charging into the lake and towards Aqua.

There was a white flash along the screen the three still amidst a fight, there clothes ripped and all of them sporting nasty cuts and bruises. Ven was flying through the air towards the bluette who was distractedly dodging Terra Keyblade whip. The blonde jumped from his blade and grabbing the handle, flinging it towards her.

Though distracted, she didn't seem to of forgotten him ducking and rolling to dodge both blades. "ENOUGH!" She snapped and jumping it her feet, slicing her keyblade up.

A stream of flew up under her spell twisting and spiraling through the air before crashing into the air-bound blonde. "AHHHHHH!!!" Cried Ven as he was YANKED from the sky and smashed right into the side of the mountain. He groaned softly before slumping against the rock, unconscious.

She didn't have time to pause for a breath and she twirling neatly like a ballerina to dodge Terra as he slammed his blade for her. Instead quicksand was buried into the wet earth where she had just been, sinking from his weight on it. He didn't even have time to recover before Aqua was jumping on the top of his keyblade her foot coming up and slamming into his face.

Terra gave a cry of pain as he was thrown back smacking into the ground hard while Aqua neatly flipped backwards and slid across the ground, looking towards him. Between them was Quicksand, forgotten and out of reach.

The brunette grunted, slowly sitting up and rubbing his face, blood running from his lip. "Damn you..."
Aqua smirked wearily. "Next time, pick your battles more wisely." She pointed her blade towards the water a blue light shooting from it and cutting into the lake. A geyser of water shot from the body of water, forming what appeared to be a serpent-like dragon, it's fangs made of ice.

Terra's eyes widened as the dragon's head turned towards him and shot arced across the sky towards him. He jumped to his feet, running desperately for his Keyblade. Aqua didn't even bother to watch as she jumped onto the mountain and easily scaled it.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Came an echoing scream and a ferocious noise of water crashing into land.

As she reached the peak of the mountain she looked back, her eyes looking down towards the two keybladers. Ven was still unconscious where she had left him, Oathkeeper impaled into the wall beside him. Soaked, Terra was coughing and trying to struggle to his feet, limbs shaking with exhaustion before he seemed to give up and just laid on the ground.

She shook her head slowly and sighed, before jumping from the mountain and rushing off.

There was a shift of scenes and suddenly a new world was shown - something that was only possible during a heavy storm or a heartless attack.

It was both.

Aqua was on a ledge, getting pelted by torrents of rain as she looked down towards a war-torn field where an enormous force of heartless was gathering - holding at least a couple thousand in their ranks - and their only opposition was two men.

One a blonde struggling to swing his blade in his now wet-heavy clothes, feet hovering off the ground to avoid the problem his partner was. The other was a brunette his body and clothes splashed with dirt and grime as he slipped and slid in the mud.

"There's too many of them Terra!" Ven called, blowing several heartless away with a wind attack only to half nearly twice as many take their place. "We're going to lose!"
"I fucking know that!" Terra snapped back as he swung his blade through a few Neo-shadows yelping as the momentum caused his foot slipped and he fell on his ass. He shook his head and looked up eyes widening as several shadows jumped for him.
"Terra!" Ven call twisting around and gliding over to the other. "Get away from him! Wind!" A twister spun around the brunette and sliced through the heartless trying to gorge their claws into his body. The blonde easily stepped into the wind, unharmed, before holding a hand out to the Atterian.

Terra panted softly before taking his aid, getting to his feet. "Thanks..."
Ven nodded dismissively before looking around. They were being protected by the wind but it wouldn't last forever. "What the hell are we going to do?"
"I don't-" Terra started to answer but instead a stream of water flew from the ground as if under it's own accord making a line of heartless fly in a million directions before they fell to the ground and were killed upon impact, hearts floating into the sky. The two stared, their confusion plain.

"Hey!!"
The two looked behind them and up towards the ledge they had been being cornered to. Atop it stood the familiar Dragoonian.
"You!" Terra growled.
"Aqua?!" Cried the confused blonde.
"If you want to live, I suggest you get up here!"

The two hesitated, their suspicions obvious as they glanced at one another.
"Now is not the time to think it over idiots!" The girl called down as her wall of water started to disappear.
Terra shook his head. "Tch, we can't trust her..."
"What have we got to lose?!" Ven countered before he sped away from his friend.

The brunette's eyes narrowed before he cursed under his breath and ran after. Together the two keybladers scaled up the wet ledge, and though the going was rough and difficult they managed to reach the ledge she was standing on.
Terra crossed his arms, frowning. "Well what now?"

Aqua looked from one to the other and merely smirked. "Just watch." She stepped to the edge of the outcrop lifting her blade. It started to glow blue and beyond where she stood the world went eerily silent. Now because time had stopped... but rather the rain had. It was strange too see as Terra and Ven were still being pelted by rain - but beyond the blue-haired girl they could SEE each individual drop, frozen in the air as if it were a picture they were gazing at.

"HA!" She cried before yanking the blade down with both hands. A blue glow swept over the sky and the rain fell - but this time with much more force. As if they were a million tiny daggers, the drops shot down and struck the heartless, vaporizing each and every last one. In seconds thousands of heartless were released into the sky. Panting softly, Aqua straightened and nodded with pride. "Well that was easy!" She turned around and blinked, seeing both the men gaping at her. "...What?"

"Holy fuck..." Terra managed out.
"That... was awesome..." Ven said next.

Aqua ran a hand through her hair smiling. "That's nice. Want to try fighting me for my keyblade again?"
Terra's eyes narrowed. As an answer, he charged and swung his blade for her much like she had to him. The two's blades clashed and they went falling from the ledge into the muddy ground below.

"Errr..." Ven hesitated, glancing towards the sky and the still falling rain. He sighed, "Oh great." Oathkeeper appeared in his hand and he jumped off the ledge as well to join his friend.

The screen flashed once more before Tsunami and Oathkeeper clashed together, blue eyes narrowing upon each other. The rain had ceased altogether, but the ground was still soft and wet making it difficult to fight on. The two jumped apart, Ven landed beside Terra who was leaning against his own keyblade, panting, a nasty looking cut running down the length of his left arm.

"You're pretty fucking good." Ven said exhasuted, but grinning. "What do you say you join us?"

"Is this how you make friends where you come from?" Aqua growled, wiping sweat from her brow, "Or are you just too chicken to admit I kicked your ass?"

"Shut the fuck up princess." Terra snapped suddenly as he looked up. His eyes were angry but he seemed to hold some sort of respect for her. "Either join us or hand us your keyblade."
Aqua scoffed, her keyblade disappearing. The other two were quick to do the same. "Lanaguage."
"Whats wrong - too manly for you bitch?" Terra said with a smirk.

Blue eyes narrowed before she apporached the other, running her hand under his chin, looking as sweet as could be before- "Shut up you fucking cocksucker or I'll rip you a new asshole."
Terra stared at her blankly and from beside him he could hear Ven laughing at him.
"Wow I like her already!" Ven crowed.
Aqua smirked. "Sure I'll join you two."
Terra grunted rolling his eyes and turning his head away, hiding a smile behind his bangs. He kind of liked her already too.

He turned around and started to walk off. "Well then come on."
Aqua crossed her arms. "Hey wait, who made you the leader?"
"Well I'm the obvious choice." The brunette tossed nonchalantly over his shoulder. "Ven's too young and you're just the bitch of the pack."
"Is that so?" Aqua asked calmly, her foot slipping backwards.
"AHH!" The brunette cried as the water underneath his feet flowed and caused him to fall face-first into the mud. Ven and Aqua burst into laughter.

Face full of dirt, their self-appointed leader grunted unhappily, looking back and glaring at them both. He waved his hand and suddenly a stream of mud flew up and over them both. "AHHH!" They cried, falling to the ground.
He sat up and looked at the two mud-covered Chasers and it was his turn to laugh as the Akbarian and Dragoonian struggled to wipe the mud off of them. "Well don't you two look cute~"

"That was not funny!" Ven cried.
"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!" Their newest member swore. Terra just grinned, shaking his head. What a team they were already turning out to be.

[Rikugurl]

When the memory faded, the room was quite speechless. It was the beginning of the Chasers. Or at least the first team of them. It also proved a point. Terra and Aqua didn't get their mouths from the Darkness. It seemed like Aqua had actually cleaned her mouth up some and Terra only got worse.

Fuu frowned as she remembered the huge battlefield. She had to admit, the Darkness was growing weaker and weaker. They never saw such an abundance of Heartless like that anymore.
It showed them...that they were slowly improving the Light...even when it felt like they weren't even making a difference.

Still, that question that lingered in the back of every Chaser's heart seemed to be shared after the memory was finished:
Will taking away all the keyblades stop the Darkness?
Are the keyblades REALLY the key to end all of this?

And of course:
Is it even possible to chase and capture all the keyblades?

Roxel believed...it was highly untrue.

Another light hit the gem, showing the inside of Roxas and Axel's room, though a preteen was sitting on their large bed as the blonde father put away some laundry.


"So, what am I suppose to do?" The teen frowned as he leaned back on his palms, looking at his father.
"What do you mean?" Blue eyes glanced back but he continued to put some of Axel's shirts on hangers.
"Like... ok, so I'm on the Chaser ship and I even have a Chaser number but...I don't want to be a Chaser. I want to be a singer."
"Well Axel can get you singing lessons and---"
"Yea but I'm still stuck on the ship."

Roxas sighed as he turned to face his son. "Then... don't."
The teen sighed and put his hand on his face. "You make it sound so easy dad. I mean...I can't leave Ten-chan...or you and dad. And... I still don't know why you guys even joined. Isn't obvious that they're 'chasing' after something that's impossible?"
"Rox---"
"I mean it dad! Come on! Even you have to admit that the idea of going from world to world taking keyblades and putting them in a room locked away is really going to stop the Darkness?"
"Well---"
"People have Awakenings all the time, dad! New keyblades are made and created and... born! It's never going to stop! And the Chasers make more enemies than friends. We BRING destruction to worlds because the Darkness wants us dead, not caring about innocence lives that are on the line."

There was silence in the room and Roxel slowly stood, going to the door. "And... the Chaser's don't care either."


The memory faded away but the room wasn't silence. Almost instantly, an angry voice rang out.
"How can you say that!? We're TRYING to help people!" Gunnar growled as he glared up at the boy on the pillar.
"Like hell! All you guys care about are the stupid keyblades! What about Lincintia!? That world was destroyed for no reason but all you guys cared about was getting that keyblade away from that guy! Who cared if the whole world blew up with everyone on it!"

His thin frame started to shake as tears ran down his face. "And what about Bonnie's homeland with Rant and Rave!? I heard that tons of flying ships crashed and no one cared who were on them! Even Fran and Baltier's ship crash landed because of the Chasers! That was their HOME!"

Bonnie blinked and swallowed, remembering that day well. Slowly she looked away, her ears lowering. She was still young back then but...she remembered how...angry she was that people she didn't even know took away everything that she had ever known...and didn't even seem sorry.
She was mad at her mom too for not being upset with them, even gave her the silent treatment for a week while she and her father looked for other ships.

He dad especially was rather upset...even if he didn't show it on the outside, she could see it inside him.
He...made that ship....

[Reno]

Lucina scowled some, taking a step forward. "Oh so says the idiot who just last NIGHT nearly killed an unstable world by not listening to orders! You claim we don't care Roxel but you know what deep down your the one who doesn't seem to!!"

"Hey!" Tensai jumped in frowning at Lucina. "The reason he acts like that is because you and Gunnar don't give him the time of day to hear him out! Why should he listen to you when you're not listening to him?!"

"How dare you-"

"ENOUGH!" Aqua screeched out - quickly making everyone jump and fall to silence. Her blue eyes narrowed, glancing at the Generation 2 Chasers. "For Regole's sake you all have more fucking problems than I thought!"

She crossed her arms, turning towards Roxel. "You're right." Everyone's heads snapped towards her in surprise. "We are fighting an inevitable."

Just as she was speaking a new memory showed. Once on an old ship.


Blue eyes were dull as he walked past Olette and Terra. "Akbar... is gone..." He whispered heavily.
Olette's green eyes went wide and she gasped, Terra just scowled and hurried after the blonde. He found in moments later, slumped in the pilot's chair in the lounge, blue eyes blankly staring at nothing even as his hands moved over the controls setting the coordinates for a very familiar town.
"Ven..." Terra murmured softly.
"Do you.... know how many keyblades are out there?"

Terra, stuck, started to walk forward. "Too many to ever collect in one lifetime. You knew that though, why are you asking?"

The blonde looked down, shaking his head. "So.... why do we do it?" He paused, not even noticed Seifer hesitated at the threshold of the cockpit, listening. "I mean.... we'll be fighting to collect them till the day we die... and Lucina and Gunnar? What if their life will be nothing but a waste? What if... every keyblade we capture... another one forms in the Darkness? What if... it's never ending... and future generations of Chasers just.... chase nothing at all but a false hope... and false.... and.... they get killed for no reason at all."

Tears slowly ran down his face. "I don't want to start a group of people that risk their lives to archive something that can never be done. We already captured 4,001 keyblades today... that's almost 2,500 more keyblades than we captured before Master Xen took them all." He shook his head and rubbed the tears away. "We already found so many... just in the three connections... and we're coming close to the 4th now... how many are there out there?"

Terra looked at Ven for a long few moments before sighing, sitting down in the co-pilot's seat, looking at him intensely. "We do it because... we're saving worlds. Maybe this is the true fate of a Chaser. Maybe nothing can be accomplished permanently - did not King Mickey say that light and dark have to coexist? That it brings about balance? Was that not why it came to be in the first place?"

He looked towards the screen, towards the millions of never-ending stars. "And whose to say the legends are correct? Maybe... instead of light reigning first... darkness did and light was what needed to be created. History gets muddled, lost, changed, removed...." He shook his head, looking towards the other. "Maybe there is no future without the dark... but their is the present. Look at what we both did today alone. We saved two more worlds from ultimate destruction..." He nodded. "And that's what we've been doing. We need to live for the present just as much as the furture and past. If we don't do it... who will?"

Ven was silent for awhile, his eyes contemplating this information for a long time. Slowly, his hand lifted and laid out over Terra's own. "Terra...." He whispered before nodding to himself. "You're right... this must be the fate of a Chaser.... but... we do good things... and people will come to realize one day our goal... and maybe collecting keyblades won't be so hard if people want to help us along the way. I guess.... you can say... we saved much more people.... than keyblades already. And that's what counts..."

Terra smiled. "Exactly."


The scene slowly faded, Aqua crossing her arms slowly and nodded. She couldn't of said it better herself! This was why Terra was their god-damn leader. She looked towards Roxel again. "I can't speak for everyone - but a fucking lot of us give a damn about what we're doing! We do everything - everything we can - to save a world. To save someone!"

Memories snapped on screen as she talked - emphasizing her words though they came in strange flashes, seeing very short parts of them - enough to get the point across.


"Damia... your going to be okay! I swear it!" Sora whispered as he hunched over her, blood dripping from a wound on his stomach. His hands were glowing against her neck, the backs of his hands started to turn red... as if they were burning.
Covered in scratches and scrapes, Roxas was beside him, pointing Oathkeeper at the other side of the cut, a light spreading from it's tip. He winced every so often, one of his arms dangling at his side oddly, ignoring the large beast of the Divine Dragon behind them - watching them intently.

A flash.
"The keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose." A dark skinned man hissed, his yellow eyes glowing. "But now it's over." He started to walk forward, towards a young red-head princess of heart and two animals.
"Don't make another move!" Donald squawked, lifting his staff.
"Do you think we can stop him all by ourselves?" Goofy whispered.
"I don't know!" He growled. But they sure were going to try.
"No..." Came a whisper of a voice.
Ansem hesitated however his body shaking. "Im...possible..."
A glowing figure appeared in front of him, spreading out his arms. "You won't use me for this!" It was-
"Riku!" Kairi cried her eyes widened.
"You've got to run, the heartless are coming!"

Another change.
Axel held the cape close to himself, shivering all over, but his green eyes narrowed as he looked towards a familiar blue-haired girl. "Aqua... you have to stop your friends. We've already been through enough... we're good people who just want to make everyone safe too. Yes... I've killed two people in my life... but they were evil.. and greedy. I'm not proud of it and it hurts me everyday just knowing that I still have their lives on my hand... even if they were just souls. I've turned millions of Nobodies into Somebodies... and Roxas and I have made a safe home for every single one..."
Aqua merely looked away. "You're wrong. The keyblades... ARE evil Axel. You think it's just coincidence Riku fell into the dark? That Roxas joined your organization? That Sora has an anti-drive because he's LUCKY?"
"No! No Aqua!" The red-head shook his head vehemently, "Keyblades themselves might be evil but they look for people who have hearts. They choose people with powerful hearts as their wielders right? You have to save them - they've suffered enough!"
"I don't... know if I can."
The green eyes grew fierce. "WELL HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW BY JUST SITTING THERE!?"

And another.
This one gruesome as it panned over a twisted form of a beautiful woman, bleeding and broken. With... two bunny ears shooting from the top of her head.
"Fran! Fran wake up!" Riku was crying, holding a metal ring in his hand - one that would be very familiar... to Bonnie. "We'll bring you back to him!"
Beside his lover Sora was raising his hands, placing them over her chest, over her heart, his eyes shutting - and suddenly he disappeared.
"SORA?!"
The scene shifted and the brunette opened his eyes.
"What are you doing here little man?"
The brunette turned around in the black and white world, smiling as he spotted the bunny-eared woman. "I'm here to save you!" "Death isn't a bad thing... nor is it a sad thing. Not where I'm from. I've already lived 172 years... I've lived my life well."
"Even if you think you've done it all there's no way you could have. There's still so much of... not just the world but the universe to see! If I could live as long as you - I'd give up teaching right now and me and Riku would start traveling everywhere! Fran... you can't tell me you don't want to see your husband again. He's waiting for you. You deserve to go home." A hand was held out. "Won't you come back?"
The woman looked at him... before smiling and taking his hand.


Slowly the screen faded to black, leaving them in a short silence, a few of them swallowed hard.
And then Roxas picked up were she left off. He had never had an answer for his son back then and he still really didn't feel like he did. But he had to try. "Lincintia... was a mistake." He said softly. "Our mistake. But things happen son. We can't get it right every time because we aren't perfect. We fail. We lose people..."


"Axel!!" Roxas cried, pounding his fists on a barrier, his blue eyes wide as he looked down at his lover, dangling by his fingertips as a witch stood over him.
"Damn it!" Sora cursed slamming his keyblade into the barrier but it didn't give. "Leave him alone!!"
As if she could not hear them, Maleficent went on, "What was wrong with combining our power? The Darkness and the Nobodies? We could rule all the worlds."
"I don't want all the worlds! Do you know how hard that would be!? I LIKE SLEEPING!" Axle gave a cry of pain as the staff hit some of his fingers until he was hanging by only two.
"One last chance?"
Axel just smirked, starting to hack up a loogie - but before he could finish... he was kicked from the edge.
"AXEL!!! AXEEEEEEEEEL!!!" Roxas was screaming.

The memory faded to be replaced by another.
"No!" Came a desperate cry, a tall man running forward - but his body was flung upwards and off the cliff by keyblades. He slammed into the ground far below.
A flailing form in armor, struggling to get free as he was held by the back of his head single-handedly. The mask over his face cracked his wide blue eyes being revealed, connecting with another terrified pair far below. Aqua's.
Before he screamed, body jerked as darkness flowed through his body... and then he his screams were cut short... as ice encased him.
"Ven!"


"And sometimes we lose ourselves in the process..."


Glowing yellow eyes started start into green, the slinking form of the heartless crawling closer and closer as Olette shook and cowered against the wall. Tears ran from her eyes. "No..."
A hand rose, twitching as it plunged into her chest, Olette screamed... and then disappeared as Sora stole her heart.

Running. They were all running as fast as they could. There path was clear. At least they thought it was...
Roxas was looking over his shoulder at a large behemoth stomping its way after them - but his head jerked forward when he heard two cries. And his own eyes widened. "SORA NO!"
But it was too late. Seifer and Fuujin barely had time to yell before he struck his claws through their chests, watching them disappear. As there forms disappeared he gave a malicious grin to the two shell-shocked and terrified nobodies it revealed. Axel looked near to tears - he had fought to hard for his heart!
But to Roxas' horror... Sora turned away. And He could do nothing but run futilely... and watch as his former Somebody pounced for fleeing Hayner, hand being buried in his back.
"NO!!!!" He screamed.

Sora winced as he was kicked back, falling into the sand of the dark beach. Ultima flinging away. He looked up, his blue eyes going wide as he watched his own fiance lifting Way to Dawn... about to cut him down...
And then Ven came swooping in, grabbing Ultima and SHOVING it through the silverette's chest.
".... RIKU!!!"

Roxas walked through the Nexus Garden, running his fingers through his hair. "What a nightmare..." He murmured his eyes shutting momentarily - but it was just long enough he didn't see a computerized portal opened and a blue-haired woman walking through. But he felt it, body tensed, eyes opening -
Just as Aqua jumped forward, plunging the head of her spear in his abdomen.
The blonde jerked, eyes widened as he gasped in pain. He looked up, his blue eyes meeting her yellow. "Y...You..."
Aqua grinned before yanking out the spear, watching the blonde collapse.


Roxas swallowed at the last memory, him and Aqua sharing an uneasy glance. Where was he again?
"In the end... it's all about being unselfish, right?" Came Tensai;s soft whisper.


"I'm not letting you have this!" Came a frantic cry as a boy no older than twelve started to step away, eyes crazed as he held onto a Keyblade. "It's mine!"
Seifer scowled some but his eyes widened some - realizing exactly what the boy was doing, starting to hurry forward. "Hey kid wait a sec-"
In fright the boy continued to back away - then screamed as the cliffside gave way under him. "AHHHHHHHHHH!!"
"SHIT!" Seifer suddenly ran forward and jumped after him, coat flapping around him. The two were free-falling his hand stretching out. He grunted as his fingers clasped around the boy's wrist and twisted, slamming Hyperion into the side of the rock wall, jerking them both to a painful halt.
"W-...Waaaah!!!" Cried the boy, bursting into tears.
Seifer sighed, shaking his head. "Why did I join this group again?"

"Call to them from your heart and they'll come!" Echoed Ven's voice.
Bright white wings, fluttering outwards and shimmering. A halo, glowing yellow. A keyblade of beautiful wrought metal - yellows and blues and white - pointed up towards a vortex that was the sky and it's centerpiece. Towards Xehanort.
"ANGEL'S LIGHT: HOLY!" The brunette yelled, energy streaming from his blade while millions of lights from all over converged like tiny little souls coming together to fight for one cause.
There was an explosion. A bright light...
The Chasers were seen - Aqua running to Fuujin, Terra and Ven standing close to each other... and Sora touching down on the ground as his wings broke around him like a fallen angel before he collapsed, being caught by a dark-skinned man. "Sora..."
Lips touched. Riku was revealed in a burst of light.
Sora's eyes fluttered opened.
"Let's go home.."
A weak smile. "Yeah..."

"Damn it MOVE!" Aqua cried as she grabbed onto Ven's arm and THREW him into Terra before she kicked them both. With a cry they both easily slid off the ice-capped volcano, just as a vicious blast from a large dragon burst forth - taking off the whole top of the mountain!

"TENSAI!!" Came a frantic scream as a blonde came running into a room, blasts of a gun being heard from all over. Ventus' eyes darted across the room, spotting the crying toddler before he rushed forward not even pausing to throwing his body over the boy... even as bullets rained from above and into his back.

"Will you let him take out den? Our pack? Our child? our mate?! GET UP TERRA!"
"ENOUGH!"
A snarling, snapping wolf rushed across a battlefield, tearing his teeth and claws into heartless - sucking in the poisonous darkness.
A sight of a lab, a foot slamming down on a crack in the ground streaming light into the darkening world, blue eyes fierce. "You're killing him!"
"We need his light! Open the connection!"
"JUST KILL THEM ALREADY!"
A fond tongue running running over a fierce cut in Ven's arm.
Sharp canines wrapped around the neck of heartless.
A tail wrapping around an orange-eyed boy and a red-blonde haired boy, moving them away from a disastrous area before stumbling away.

"Give it... to Ven..." Terra whispered softly even as he curled up on the bed, fingers curled around his stomach.
"But Terra-" Aerith started to protest.
"That's an order." He growled.
She jerked back a little, her eyes wide and sad, before she slowly nodded.
"And Aerith..." He gasped out.
"Yes?"
"Lock the doors... and let no one in this room again. Not even you."
"....I understand."

Vicious yellow eyes a red-haired kid started down at two withering forms in the lab as darkness started to ooze from the walls, the ceiling. The wolf snarled and howled. Terra just curled on the floor, shaking and breathing hard.
Revenge is so sweet,
And your body a delicious treat!
Goodbye, I must retreat,
For this will be the last time we shall meet. The boy said triumphantly before he turned and jumped into a hole in the ceiling.
As he left the two left behind could do only one thing. "VEEEEN!!!!"

A whip-like tail slammed against the metal table, the wolf howling in pain and fury as darkness dripped along his body - sizzling and burning the fur down to his skin. Around him and his human side, they could hear voices. Howling whines coming from within the room - Ven. And sounds of battle. Aqua's voice. "Terra!"
Mixed cries from the kids. "Wall, all!" "SAM! KEEP THIS THING FLYING LOW!" "YOU BLOODY CHEATER!"
Rave's and Rant's. "You are all becoming a pain Why not accept death? Are you insane?" "I've won, you're done!"
It was the last that finally did it. The beats's golden eyes went wild, struggling fiercely and howling even moreso, using all his strength to tug and twist until -SNAP!!- The chains broke. He jumped down from the table, snarling at Terra who was gagging and shuddering in the pool of darkness that was started to rise around him. He pushed him on his back with a paw and with a snap of his jaw the chains came loose. Get up! If we are doomed to die, I will not do so without a fight and if you have even an ounce of Atterian pride in you, you will not either! I would sooner be the cause of my own destruction, then have life be taken from me in such a disgraceful manner. Without waiting for him the wolf hurried away, jumping through the hole Rant had gone through.

Sounds of snarling and yells from a beast, Rant's cries, Rave's screams echoed in the lab. A fight was happening somewhere in this world. And slowly, Terra sat up, panting as he looked around. Streams of pink and red were stuck to the walls while darkness dripped from the crevices, melting the worlds so very slowly.
His eyes narrowed and he stood as Quicksand appeared in his hand. "This... is the end." With a war cry he raised his blade and rushed forward smashing the heavy weapon into every part of his world destroying breakers and lights, metal cages and tables.
Through the crack on a beautiful meadow world a golden wolf whimpered, ears falling down as he heard the noises from above. Terra was... killing himself.
Terra's true body stumbled back, the man with Rant's eyes screaming in pain - giving the surrounding Chaser's an edge. Giving them a chance to strike. Fuujin took it - blasting wind in the brunette's direction. It was enough that the man lost his footing... and fell into the crater below.

As the last memory faded some of the Chasers' eyes widened, remembering that day well. Though they had always known Terra had been the one trying to intervene, now they knew exactly how. Now it made sense why, in his final moments, Rant had been screaming as Terra seemed to go utterly insane.
Terra had destroyed his inner world - his whole self... to save them.
And now his soul was paying for it. Trapped. Lost.

[Rikugurl]

Roxel watched the memories, more tears welling in his eyes. The deaths... that they all had cheated in a way. Riku and Axel especially...but Roxas and Sora as well. All the Chasers....the true Chasers, had a horror story.

Bonnie put his hands on her mouth as she saw the scene with her mother. "Mum..." She choked, some tears welling up in her eyes. If Sora hadn't talked her out of giving up... she would of never been born. She had...never seen her mom give up before...
Her dad was probably really happy to have her back knowing that she had a new sense of life...cause it was probably the first time he got laid.

A hand was placed on her shoulder as her ears fell down, the woman slowly looking at another who was giving her a soft smile. Bonnie could only smile back softly before sighing. She was alive and well now...that was all that mattered.

It was the struggle...between Terra and Ventus that was most shocking.
Terra had Ven and his own life, the wolf and his childhood upbringing...all on his shoulders. The death of his mother and the sacrifices he gave.
And now...his soul wasn't even at rest.

How could he even IMAGINE liking rough sex with a life like his!?

Roxel slowly sat down on his pillar, wrapping his arms around his knees as tears ran down his cheeks.
Shit...he felt selfish with all his thoughts...and he was pissed off at himself for feeling that way. His own soul seemed to rip at itself, not knowing how to feel.... or why a dragon even chose him...

The room started to feel cold before the gem slowly lit up once more...but the scene was extremely dark.


There was a long hallway that was lined with cages and doors. Water drops could be heard, making the place a cross between a dungeon and a lab.
It was exactly that.
Obviously underground, there was no natural light, only the flickering of loose florescent lighting that was where the cages were. Near the doors, the lighting was better.

The sound of coughing and whimpering could be heard, the place almost empty as they bounced off the walls.

The sound of footsteps could be heard and some bustling at the end of the hall but the camera seemed to peer out of that of inside a cage.
Suddenly a figure leaned down, looking inside. A man in a white lab coat and a long black pony was focused on, making a shiver run through Kadaj.

A tanned skin reached in, fingers cupping a pale chin was was shaking, blue hair framing it.
"My, aren't you cute..." The man grinned.
"BRAIG!"
The man pulled away, letting the chin fall weakly as he straightened and looked down the hall. The camera moved to show a tall, muscular man walking into a room, a frozen figure over his shoulder as another man in a lab caught frowned, long blonde hair up in a ponytail.

"Leave the experiments alone!" He snapped. "We're on a tight schedule here. Now get over here and help me stabilize this one before you start on your own project." The man frowned even more before turning and walking into the room that the others had walked into.

The eyes of the other slowly looked down, the camera fixated on what he was looking at. It was Aqua, chained up against a cold wall, water running down her from her own sweat as she breathed weakly before the camera moved to another cage, a brunette man curled up in the corner, chained up as well.

"As if..." He sighed before slowly making his way down the hall and into the room where they saw the blonde scientist and another, one with a silvery blue like colored hair. They were getting some machines and equipment out as a larger man with brown hair was strapping down a body that seemed to be frozen.

[Reno]

Lucina glanced at Bonnie once Fran's memory had passed, seeing the surprise and horror in the half-Viera's eyes. It was... obvious Fran had never told her daughter of that day - It was a shocking surprise to her too. None of them had known - the only thing Fran had ever said was how she had met the Chasers - during that fight against Terra's dad. She never mentioned she nearly DIED.

Tensai looked down, his own eyes sad as the memories faded. Aqua was right - they didn't know anything. Even he... who had lost so many in his life... knew nothing. About sacrifice, and selflessness - even about the darkness. He... was just some stupid kid!

Roxas looked away from the screen for a few moments, sighing. He knew that that wasn't even the half of what Sora had accomplished, what The Chasers had changed, what Riku had protected, what Axel and he had rebuilt... it wasn't even a small portion of all the things they did wrong too. Whether it was being a Keyblader or a chaser, it was tricky... to stay in the light, to keep your purpose strong and clear in your heart and mind. To have no doubts and never get discouraged - these things were impossible. Sometimes they grew so large... Roxas wondered how they got anything done at all.

When the next memory started - no one really sparking it this time - everyone's first take was that they were seeing Terra's inner world once more. But blue eyes were staring intently at the gem right underneath the prism showing the scene, her breath catching as she saw the mixture of silver, white... and blue.

This one... was real.

The memory was short but shocking, leaving no one unaffected.
Aqua's hands rubbed up and down her arms nervously, her eyes dark as fear pooled in her stomach. Not these ones... any ones but these ones...

Tensai was filled with terror and horror, his eyes darting to and from the screen unbearably. "M-Mom...?" He whispered out. Moxley whined in worry and fear, lowering down on his stomach at the suddenly tense atmosphere.

Roxas eyes were full of fury as he spotted three members of the organization - three he had used to work with, fight along beside, TRUSTED. He always KNEW it had been them... but now, watching it right before his eyes, old hate started to fill his vengeful heart. They hurt his brother and two of his good friends.

Seifer clasped his hands with Olette's, squeezing her fingers lightly to give her strength as well as take some for himself. He knew it was only going to get worse from here.

Luci too stepped close to a family member for support. This one of course being her brother. How did... they end up there?

Kadaj even was shaking a little, not liking 'Braig' who was much too much like Hojo. It was bad enough he must relive his own memories, must he see it through another's?

They were all given a breath of air, a chance to still their hearts for what was to come - before a new memory popped up.


Terra stood silently atop a plateau of land the sky above clearing, the light of the burning sun slowly starting to shine through once more. The fake night was dissipating as if it had never been. In a strange mimic of this were his eyes, also clearing up. Flecks and rings of yellow starting to sink away under the bright and true blue they were. He was a ragged mess, still in armor though his helmet was gone; the metal was cracked and broken all over especially on the left arm from shoulder to fingertips the metal was completely gone, revealing the pale skin underneath, flecks of ice clinging to the limb, sucking away its warmth. The brunette started to shake all over as he looked up at the sky, screaming, “XEHANORT!!!!”

The yell of fury echoed in the empty world, the camera moving higher to reveal the near-desert planet. It could of easily been mistaken for Atteris, had not the sands been a dark rusty red and towers of rock and mountains been shooting up from the ground like jagged, yawning teeth. The land was torn all over, random pillars of rock scaling out of the ground and cracks, caverns and burns scarred the land. A battle had taken place there recently.

“Damn it!” Terra cursed slamming Quicksand into the ground, the heavy metal easily breaking the land as if it were a pencil poking a hole through paper. The weary brunette fell to his knees pressing his forehead against the cold metal. “Fuck…” He whispered, the expression on his face full of despair.

“Terra!” Came a far off cry. “Terra help!!”
The brunette’s head jerked up at the call and got to his feet hurriedly running to the edge of the plateau, hesitating at the edge as he looked down… and on the ground level spotted two more people in armor, one with blue hair the other with what appeared to be white.

He turned his head to the side, shutting them tightly as if something he had seen was gruesome, but took a few steps forward and vaulted right off the side of the highland. The fall was far but the drop took no longer than a few seconds before the brunette was landing with a loud pounding of feet, body naturally falling into a crouch. As he looked up however, the camera turned, running over Aqua, her face full of horror, her face pale and eyes wide as silent tears fell from them. Slowly the screen moved to the body she held in her arms and with a start the viewers realized… it was Ven. His whole body was pale, covered by layers of bright white crystals. His blue eyes were disturbingly open, flickering weakly but the rest of his body was motionless as death. The only think that disproved this fact were the small, shallow tufts of hair, turning into little white clouds due to the cold, coming from his nose and mouth.

The brunette swallowed slowly getting to his feet and staggering over until his knees cracked hard into the ground as he collapsed beside them, as if walking those few steps had been too much of an effort. He looked down at the blond, and no words could describe the utter agony in his gaze. He looked as if… he had nothing left in the world at all.

“Ven…” He whispered softly, tone strained. “Wake up… please…”
“Wha…” Aqua whispered, tears choking her throat. “What are we going to do…?” Ven was their light, their everything. He kept them together, kept them hopeful and bright. Had the world been populated, anyone passing by could have plainly seen the weight of his loss crashing down over them, tearing down their souls. Like a string cut in half, like a family torn five ways by divorce, like a mountain split open by a fierce earthquake…

They too were broken apart.

Terra, rather than attempting to answer his partner, reached out, gloved fingers weakly brushing the blonde’s forehead, unable to move any of the many strands of hair in the other’s face. But even though the blonde’s eyes were moving they did not follow his hands. The teen swallowed hard, realizing that he was most likely unconscious… dreaming with his eyes wide open.

His hands wrapped around the blond, taking him from Aqua’s arms. She didn’t fight him, rather she drew her arms around herself, quivering with withheld cries.

Terra looked down at the frozen face of his best friend, swallowing hard. “Ven… I know you can’t hear me but…” He couldn’t finish. His voice cracked as he sobbed, holding the other closer as he bent over him, sobbing. “Ven you’re my best friend… please… Don’t die!”

Aqua shut her eyes and looked away from the sight. Was there nothing… they could do? There had to be… “Warm… let’s get him warm…” She whispered, struggled to her feet, stumbling as if she had never used them before. She looked around, as if trying to find something to burn – but there was nothing. This world was even emptier than Terra’s. “The base…” She looked down, the brunette raising his head weakly both their eyes full of hopelessness. Could they really save him?

“Ah isn’t this touching?”

The two Chasers visibly jerked in response, heads turning in the direction of the voice. The camera moved with them finding the two easily. They were standing together on one of the smaller ledges that had been created during the battle, dressed identically though their heights varied rather drastically.

“Isn’t it?” The one who had spoken before – a woman – repeated mockingly, as if this whole affair was just a joke to her. She was the shortest, had deep green eyes and electric blonde hair, her thin bangs pulled back in such a way one could not help but think of insect ears. She had a sadistic air about her as if she enjoyed nothing more than taking revenge for her cockroach pals by stepping on everyone in HER way.

Beside her was a smaller man, his lips set in a seriously frown looking as if he had never once been satisfied with something in his life. His slate-colored hair was short, half of it hanging in his face like a rockstar would do, obscuring one of his dark blue eyes. In response to the other he merely crossed his arms, a book delicately hanging from the tips of his fingers. "Such questions are trivial. We must finish our mission Larxene."

"You take the fun out of everything, don't you Zexion?" The woman sighed before her gaze fell back to the three Chasers. "It's not as if capturing them will be hard - one of them already dead!" She lent forward as if she was about to share a great personal secret. "Kind of a bad move there on your parts huh? Weak kids should never play with the big boys~"

Aqua's eyes narrowed, turning around as if to protect the two teenagers behind her, keyblade appearing in her hands not entirely of her will. Her cape fluttered out and she jerked back some as a hand grasped around it, giving it a hard yank. The material ripped loudly. "I'd hold my tongue if I were you."
"Mmm, well thank god that I am!" She placed her hands on her hips, smirking impotently. "If I had any comrades I would never let them down. What happened there sweet thing? You just decided to take a break during the rest of the fight?"
"You-" Aqua hissed, shaking all over with fury.

"Aqua." Came the warning voice behind her. Terra was wrapping Ven's frozen legs in Aqua's cape before he reached back, tearing out his own and tucking it around the blonde's top half. Trying to keep him warm. "Hang in there." The brunette whispered softly, before standing and walking up next to his friend, Quicksand appearing in his right hand. His eyes narrowed on the two. "What do you want?"

Zexion sighed, as if bored with explaining something again and again to tired minds, spoke. "You. All of you. You are suitable for our means in studying how the Keyblade may aid us in our quest for hearts." He shut his eyes. "However, due to recent events that small one may be of no use any longer seeing as your incapability to protect him as caused him to be in this frozen state. I suppose such a thing should not be shocking, seeing as you also lost inanimate objects to one man and his shadow. If not for the Keyblades you hold, you would be such worthless wastes of space."

Terra shook and scowled - how dare they! - and without complete consciousness of what he was doing he was running across the field, crying out in fury. "Bastards!" The distance was short, not hard to cover quickly, and soon his feet were leaving earth as he made a powerful leap towards them.

...And then he was screaming in pain as a dizzying, burning, jolting pain was running through him and he fell midair - not even feeling it as he smacked into the ground. The ice around his left arm exploded into shards or melted completely off, the fingers twitching spasmodically as the owner's body jerked with the aftereffects of the spell wrought onto it.

"Terra!!" Aqua cried in horror as she watched her friend struck out of the sky by lightning - where had that come from?! -, suddenly leaving her post to rush towards her friend. A maniacal laugh echoed across the empty world, filling the girl with chills as she caught sight of gleam bouncing off the sun - spotting metal dagger flying through the air towards the downed brunette.

She intercepted them, her keyblade swiping up and smacking the small daggers away, standing protectively in front of him as her furious eyes found the two. "Bastard!" She called, water wrapping around her keyblade as she swung, a stream of water flying up like a striking snake, smashed into the ledge so hard it tore through the rock, Larxene and Zexion quick to jump out of the way.

"Hahahaha!" Came that annoying, evil laugh, Aqua spotted the electric bug zipping right past her and going for-

"Ven!" Aqua cried, her eyes widened. She hesitated for only a second knowing she was caught - she could not protect Ven and Terra both at the same time. Not with someone that fast.

She chose Ven.

Chasing after the yellow-haired blonde, streams of magic flying from her blade and cutting in front of the woman's path to halt her race, she felt her heart sink. She just hoped... Terra would get back up.

The camera changed suddenly. It turned black but the memory was not complete. There was a soft groan, and the vision was revealed slowly, eyes fluttered open, only to see a blurry set of black shoes and the fluttered of a coat in front of his eyes. The sight went black as the eyes shut, sharp breathing reassuring the other was still awake. And then... there was a shift.

Like a soft breeze right in the ear, a whistling began, obscuring the noises of battle and the yells of two PMSing woman further off. Slowly the eyes opened once more, clearing slowly as the black shoes that he had seen before were suddenly black and gray with red edges and yellow wrapping around the shins. The camera snapped away to reveal Terra's wide and confused eyes as he slowly and shakily struggled to lift himself from the ground, tilting his head up. "Ven...?" He stuttered in a bare whisper, hope suddenly written all over his face.

It was Ven. He was standing barely two feet away from him - perfectly... fine? The look on his face was nothing but however. It held none of the almost optimistic buoyancy he had been forced to grow accustomed to gazing at, not even the simple cute pouting that meant he was pissed off. No... this was different than any other - it was an expression that he'd only even seen aimed at Xehanort. The sharp blue eyes, narrow and dark, the tight scowl and pinched forehead that contorted the face in an ugly way. Ven almost looked... like he hated him.

".....Ven?" Terra hesitantly asked, struggling to get up, his happiness at seeing his friend alive dimming.
"I can't believe you." The other growled. "How could you let this happen?"
"...What are you talking about?" The brunette croaked but just as he got to his knees Oathkeeper came swinging out catching him hard in the shoulder. The brunette yelped flying back, body skidding against the ground, blood spraying into the rusty sand from the new wound. He winced but growled, stumbling back to his feet. "The fuck did you do that for?!"

Ven glared walking towards the other. "Because you failed." The taller's body jerked back in surprise. "You said... that we had to protect the keyblades. You said... we were friends! But look now! The blades are all gone - all are hard work, for nothing!" The blonde waved his hands out, indicating the empty space. "And you... let me DIE. You weren't even strong enough to protect your best friend huh? Well I'll tell you something - if I'm going to hell, so are you!"

"Wha - Ven wait!" The brunette cried as his friend rushed for him. As Oathkeeper came flying Quicksand was suddenly in his hands, flying up and catching the deadly blade.
"Because of you I'll never see my family again!"
"Ven!" Terra snapped, his eyes wide. "You have to believe me, I never meant for any of that to happen!"
The blonde's eyes met the other's speaking, his voice hostile and accusing. "Liar. You never gave a damn for anyone but yourself! Just look at Atteris... you coward." With a surprising show of force, the blonde shoved the other away, hissing harshly, "Murderer."

Terra's eyes widened, eyes horrified and pained, and even though it was only for a second, he let his guard down, keyblade lowered just a few inches. But that one second was enough as the blunt edge of Oathkeeper smacked into his head with a sickening crunch.

Lightning scorched the ground, Aqua dispersing some of the current with shots of water, other times merely dodging the deadly attacks as she attempted to steer Larxene away from Ven.

"Damn you, stay the fuck still!" The woman snapped as her keyblade went swinging towards the blonde but the other artfully jumping back, the cruel edge missing her by scant centimeters. The Nobody danced back on her heels, cackling.

"Come on now, you're faster than this!" She taunted.
"Tch..." Aqua grunted, flinching some, her armored arm curling around her torso. Her breath was labored. There was a reason she couldn't keep up. She and Terra had no way to win this battle... it was amazing they could make a stand at all. "Fuck you."

Larxene didn't miss the movement and smirked. She lifted a hand, her sleeve falling down her arm to reveal two more daggers both sparking with electricity. "You've got quite a mouth for a lady, don't you?" She threw her hand out, letting one of the daggers go.

Aqua scowled hatefully at the term as she ducked under the dagger, hearing it hit the ground somewhere far off. "Not a fucking lady..."
Larxene chuckled, side-steeping and throwing the second, Aqua easily dodging this as well. She jumped back then, as if to create more distance, her arms crossing outwards. Two more daggers flew threw the air only for them both to fall short, a few feet in front of the blue-haired teen. Was she toying with her? "Well you're as dim as one I'll give you that."

Aqua's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked to her left and right to where the daggers had been thrown. Why...?
"Didn't even realize you walked right in a trap."
Aqua jerked her head up, "What?"
"Oh did I go to fast for you? Here let me spell it out for you." Larxene rose her hand up, writing something in a fancy script, electricity following her fingertips and lightning the black space like a neon sign. Writing in the air. "You. Lose."

Aqua's eyes narrowed but then she heard a deadly crackle and looked up, waving Tsunami up and over herself instinctively to catch the bolts with water - but right before he eyes she saw something utterly ill-natural. The lightning split four ways, zigzagging in great arcs until it touched down onto... four daggers. Then, like a child connecting dots, lightning connected from one dagger to the next gaining strength until they made a shape. A square.

And it's centerpiece... was Aqua. Boxed in and trapped.

With an ominous feeling in her gut, she knew what was about to happen. "Oh shit..." She whispered pointing her blade down, the water from above falling to splash around her protectively.

"Too late!" Larxene crowed. At her words the over-charged lightning zapped from the daggers and towards the woman. It burned right through the barrier of water.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Came the woman's agonized scream from inside.

The water fell shortly after, puddled into the dirt. The blue-haired girl, her whole body sparking and shaking, stumbled forward. Her blade screeched against the ground in a futile attempt to catch herself, her body collapsing with a loud Thump!. "Uhhhn...." Aqua's blue eyes fell shut and her body went limp.

The screen went dark once more, but slowly started to come back in a blurry focus once more. Once again they were looking through someone's eyes.
"Aleus, be careful with him! If he is damaged how am I to be expected to gain any data?" The vision started to move as the head turned, spotting a man with long blonde hair barking orders to a large man with big shoulders... holding onto a frozen form of a teenage boy.

"She put a fight, but she was the weakest of them I'm sure." Slowly the eyes moved even further, half of the 'camera' being shadowed by a red tint before it was blinked out. Slowly a blonde woman came into focus, standing tall and proud over another on the ground. The woman's foot moved out and pushed under the woman's cheek, making her head turn.
"Enough Larxene." Came the order of a slate-haired boy. "Come, we must move her."

A hand stretched out across the ground weakly, shaking. "Ven.... Aqua..." Came the whispering despair. A foot suddenly came down, stepping onto his arm. The fingers twitched weakly, a soft breath of pain echoing out.
"He's awake."
Terra's head tilted looked up at the man who was standing on his hand. It was a man with sharp blue eyes and dreadlocks in his hair.
"Guess that means he just has a concussion." Another man walked into sight, a sharp yellow eye peering down at him, the other covered by an eye patch. "Lucky you."
Terra growled softly.
"Got a little fight left in you, huh? I'll take care of that." The pony-tailed man lent down grabbing Terra's collar, causing the other to back off, and with strength his thin frame didn't seen to have, yanked the brunette off the ground. His head lolled some, spotting the area he had been laying just second ago... and a puddle of blood where his head had been.

The other breathed out sharply, before his eyes moved slowly to face Xigbar's once more. "I hope you were worth it." The other spoke.
Terra growled softly again before he spit at the other, a glob of saliva landing on the other's chin. "...Fuck... you..."

Xigbar scowled at him and shoved him back. There was a gasp of surprise and arms came up into his vision, catching him under the armpits to hold in up. Xaldin.

"We don't need you awake quite yet." The other said cockily as he took a step closer before yanking his fist forward into the brunette's gut, metal bending and screeching as it broke under his fist. Terra coughed hard, his eyes staring towards the ground before his vision faded out quickly.

[Rikugurl]

Axel's eyes were wide was he watched the scene. With a shallow swallow, he looked away, not able to watch the last part of the memory. While this was all happening...where was he? He...didn't even know about this. Was he off somewhere trying to... release more hearts?

Roxel shivered as he watched the scene. This wasn't....real, right? It couldn't be. This...really couldn't of happened.

The gem didn't let anyone speak or process or...cope with what they saw. Looks of help or pity couldn't be shared.
The scene only continued.


Straps were pulled tightly on frozen wrists and ankles, almost seeming rather unintelligent. Why would you strap down a being that was frozen?
Carefully, the armor was peeled off the body, some of it chipping off from being frozen.
They were placed carefully on a table, put in the right order as if to remake it.

Slowly, the blonde Chaser was revealed, his body stiff and his bright blue eyes dark. There were no longer puffs of cold air or any life in his eyes whatsoever.
His skin was paler than any had seen as small patches were placed on it, wires coming from them and being plugged into monitors and other weird looking machines. A clasp was placed on one of his fingers and a monitor was turned on.

"Hmmm...." The blonde scientist frowned as he jotted some things on his pad. "No pulse whatsoever."
"He's....dead?" The bulky man at the door frowned as he looked down at the boy.
"That's correct. He won't help us any with studying the keyblade. But!" A grin ran over the man's features, his green eyes becoming wicked. "Another experiment will help further my reports of when I was a Somebody. My work continues even as a soul."

"Even...?"
"Aleus, when I met my end, I was working for the king. He wanted to study the Darkness in people's hearts. I was one of the head scientist, as was Briag and Ienzo. I always wanted to test what Pure Darkness would do to someone's heart. Of course, I never had the go for it but now... I do."
"So...what are you going to do?"
"Simple. I am going to inject Pure Darkness into his heart and study what happens." The greens eyes shifted towards the blonde on the table. "A dead heart has neither light or dark in it. A fresh start..." Slowly his mouth opened...and a wicked, sinister laugh was admitted as the scene slowly faded.

It wasn't done yet. The sound of something slamming into something else could be heard and horrible howls mixed with human growls.
The scene slowly came in, a man was on a lab table as two others were trying to keep him down.

"LET ME OUT! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Terra's mouth moves but a whole new voice was coming out. Strong muscles on the edge of fatigue shook as they flexed, kicking and thrashing about on the table.
"GRAB HIS LEGS!" The pony tailed man called as he gripped the brunette's hair. Armor was thrown about on the floor, much differently than that of which the viewers saw a scene before. Beakers were smashed and broken as odd color liquids oozed out of them and onto the floor.

The brunette's hand were nothing close to human. Fur and claws started to form as the rest of his exposed body was getting patches of hair on them as well. His spine started to buckle, small spikes trying to break the skin.
"I NEED MORE ASSISSTAN----"
A hand broke free and a swipe was throw out at the man's face, running right up it, almost taking out Xigbar's other eye.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The man cried as he stumbled back, blood quickly covering his white lab coat and dripped to the floor.

Xaldin was quick, pinning down the brunette's waist so he couldn't lunge out on Xigbar as the man caught himself.
"Fucker..." Xigbar growled before quickly grabbing a syringe and then gripping Terra's hair in his other hand once more. "STAY." Suddenly he slammed Terra's faced into the table, pulling his hair to pick his head up again only to slam it back down again. "DOWN."
He put force on Terra's skull as the brunette finally stopped moving out of shock.

The needle of the syringe broke the skin and was sunk into Terra's neck before liquid was injected right into his blood stream.
Terra's cries slowly started to fade, his eyelids becoming heavy until it was nothing but darkness once again.

[Reno]

Roxas' eyes widened, his mind thinking along the same line as his husbands. Had he been around when this had been happening as well? Had he just... not known? He slowly covered his mouth, feeling sick to his stomach. They had been... monsters!

As the next memory came to pass soft sobs started to echo in the room from Tensai, his hands held over his eyes as if to block the sight.

The next memory... was just as cruel.


"Name?" Came the question.
There was a long stretch of silence, a woman with blue eyes and matching hair averting her gaze from the man pacing around the table, stripping her of her armor as he went.
"Fine, I'll just call you RE8. Day of birth?"
Still more silence, except for the few small snarls she gave him as he tore off the armor around her privates and chest, the fingers lingering for longer than she liked.
"I suppose it is irrelevant. World of birth?"
Aqua scoffed but still did not answer.

Zexion frowned before his hand snapped out, curling around several locks of blue hair, yanking on them hard enough for the girl to cry out, tears springing to her eyes. He leaned over her, eyes narrowed. "Listen I do not even have to ask, I'm just doing so to be courteous. So if you will..." He twisted his fingers in her hair, placing more pressure on the scalp. "World of birth?"
"....Fuck.... you, pervert!" She hissed right back.
SLAP!

There was enough force behind the back of the man's hand that her head whipped around and smacked into the table. She winced, averting her gaze, blinking away tears.
"Where I come from, women are much more respectful." He muttered conversationally to himself.
"Tch, jackass." She mumbled, tugging at the straps holding her body down.

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you." Zexion said, writing some things down on his clipboard before setting it down. He picking up something else. They looked like 3-D glasses mixed with goggles as they latched around the head but were more futuristic in nature as they had wires coming from them. It was like nothing Aqua had ever seen.

As Zexion came close and tried to put it on her though she started to struggle her body shaking and rattling against the metal table to create a loud racket as she twisted and turned her head, fighting the other. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screeched, afraid.

The slate-haired man gave an aggravated sigh and lifted his hand, twisting his fingers. The air around them started to quiver until - as if made of nothing, a familiar yellow dagger appeared. He gripped the hilt with care before lowering it to her bare arm.

There was a spark then Aqua gave a chocked cry, body convulsing as electricity flowed through her. He pulled the weapon away moments later, watching her twitch and shake with the after effects. With ease he placed the glasses on around her, strapping them closed behind her head tightly.

He then took the dagger and tore open her shirt right down the middle - ignoring the whimper of protest. At least he let her have her modesty of keeping her bra. He pulled open the clothes and started to hook her up to a heart monitor, turning it on. A jittery heartbeat started to echo in the room, still calming from the shock. "Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

She just breathed hard and as her body started to come back to her twisted her head this way and that - but no matter how hard she tried the glasses wouldn't fall off.

Zexion nodded. "That is satisfactory. Starting experiment one." He turned and walked over to a computer that the goggles were connected to, and started to type in a few things before a picture flicked on screen. It was a picture of an ice cream.

In both lens of the goggles a smaller picture reflected this. The blue-haired girl bit her lip.. He typed more and another picture showed, this time of water. Aqua's caught fingers curled as she swallowed.
"Subject is showing signs of hunger, thirst and is salivating." Zexion said out loud, writing them down. "The body appears to be in correct order. Moving on to testing the heart."

Another picture was shown, this of a group of children playing a sport of some type.
"What are you doing?" Aqua whispered. She went unanswered as Zexion wrote some things down.

Another picture showed up on screen. Aqua's heartbeat sped up suddenly as she saw a heartless tearing it's claws through someone's heart.
"Stop it!" Aqua cried, shutting her eyes, her heart beat slowing.
Zexion sighed walking over and used the dagger once more to shock her on the same exact spot. Aqua gave another cry, body jerking and heart skipping beats. "Each time you close your eyes I will use this method. Behave and you won't get hurt." He pulled away the dagger, revealing reddened skin under neath of a first degree burn.

As he turned and walked away he missed the tears slipping past the mask or the helpless grimace spreading across the woman's face. Instead he simply placed up another picture, this one of a young boy laying on the sidewalk, eyes wide open as blood pooled underneath him.

[Rikugurl]

Olette was shaking in her husband's arms as she watched, her body jerking as Terra was slammed into the table violently and Aqua was electrocuted.

Gunnar swallowed hard as he looked away, spotting Namine's face in Bonnie's shoulder, sobbing.

Roxel was still sitting, his eyes wide, not even noticing the tears running down his face.
Fuu was the same, not being able to stand watching her lover, her wife in all this pain. She closed her eyes and covered her ears, tears running from her only functioning eye.

Sammy swallowed nervously as he watched, not exactly grasping what was happening. These people were hurting each other...why?


"Surgery is much easier when the person is dead. Much less blood." The blonde scientist explained to the muscled man, as if he was his pupil. Bloody knives and an object that looked like it could be used to cut down pest shrubs were placed on the table.
The camera moved to show something horrifyingly shocking.

Ven was still strapped down on the table...and his chest was wide open, organs easy to see.
Vexen turned and walked to a table, writing some things down quickly before taking a jar and a syringe before turning back to the body.

He pierced a jellylike sort of substance that was covering the top of the jar, making the needle suck in a black liquid.
Slowly he leaned down, the needle easily pushing through the organ than everyone knew very well.
The heart.
A few times he did the steps until the organ couldn't take anymore of it, the black liquid oozing from the pours, an odd steam coming from it.

"Now I must hurry and close him back up."


A needle was placed above another, tubes bring the liquid into and through the needles. Low growling could be heard as a man, with a new lab coat, leaned onto a counter. A yellow eye blazed over a large bandage, blood still seeping through. "Man, you're a pain in the ass... Just wait until you get that Darkness in your blood and into your heart, then the real fun begins..."

[Reno]

Seifer shook as well as he saw the sights, but as it got more gruesome he was quick to raise his hand and turn Olette's head away, trying to shield her from the horror.

Lucina gave a yelp as she saw the scene before her, burying her head into her brother's shoulder, shaking all over.

Moxley was whining loudly with fear as Jax hid behind him, both of them knowing something was very, very wrong.

Tensai whimpered painfully as he scuttled back on his pedestal as if the distance would save him from the sight of his father, more sobs breaking past his lips.

Aqua bit down on her trembling lips, her head bowing as the memories just seemed to get worse and worse. Tears were started to cloud her vision too.

"Oh my god..." Roxas choked out as saw Ven - it was even more eerie for him. It was like... seeing himself. On that table. Skin cut though and pulled apart for all to see. He fell on his ass, stomach lurching as he buried his head into his knees, struggling to compose himself. He managed, just barely, not to throw up.

Kadaj was the only one able to stand the sight and not look away in horror, his arms crossed and expression blank.

It was only a small relief when the memory changed to Terra.

Only a small one.


"Ngh..." Terra groaned and growled, his head tossing back and forth on the table. "What's... going on...?" He whispered out, his voice full of agony as his body slowly started to take the darkness. His eyes lidded, hearing the other's comments.

At first everything was fine, the machines whirring, the lights above humming... and then Terra started to scream, body thrashing weakly against the bonds. Horrible cracking of bones could be heard as the brunette's body contorted, as if some invisible had was, one by one, breaking every last bone in his body. Hands curled into fists, blood slipping between the knuckles as lengthening claws dug into pliant skin.

And just as suddenly as they had stopped, they stopped. The male slowly turned his head to look straight at Xigbar, and beyond the fringes of brown hair were bright yellow eyes. He snarled at the other, his teeth showing. They were sharper than before, the canines longer. "You are a fool... when I am free, I'll tear out your throat!"

[Rikugurl]

The scene shifted back to Ven, though time obviously had changed. The boy on the table had a white sheet over his body but one could see the stitches on his upper chest due to the Y incision. Oddly enough, it healed rather well... though it was dark around the edges as if he had some foreign help...in which he did.

A blonde man was sitting at his desk, writing up some things in his log when there was a sudden sound that rang through the quiet, crisp room.
The heart monitor.
A heartbeat.
Green eyes widened and looked back in shock before the scientist stood and walked to the monitor, watching it beep in joy.

The green eyes then slowly became wicked, a smirk birthing as he slowly turned his head and looked at the blonde on the table.
His chest...was moving slowly. He was breathing.
The man slowly pulled on a pair of gloves before walking to Ven, leaning down and gently taking an eyelid, slowly opening it reveal an eye of golden yellow.


The yellow eye seemed to switch to that of another...but it wasn't Ven. "Release them." He said as he slowly looked at the animal of a man with a collar around his neck. He was back in his cage. Across the room, the man with dreadlocks nodded opened a door that was connected to the cage, some Shadows being released.

As the black figures with glowing eyes came closer to Terra, the brunette suddenly seemed to go wild, eyes changing once more as he suddenly trashed towards them. The sounds of bones cracking again could be heard, the man turning more and more into a beast as the Shadows jumped onto him, seeming to swallow him whole until a horrifying howl came out, making the men observing step back a bit.

A strong jaw and rows of teeth could be see, snapping out and eating the Shadows whole until there was nothing left in the cage.
"Interest---"
The cage suddenly rattled violently and Xigbar stood away, a bit in shock as the fangs were in his face. A snap and the beast was down, shaking all over.
Xigbar blinked, looking to his side to see Xaldin with a dagger full of electricity.

[Reno]

The camera focused on the dagger before slowly pulling away, revealing a whole new person holding onto the instrument. Navy blue eyes narrowed behind gray-blue hair before he slammed the blade down, metal screeching and giving way as the weapon was embedded. "Second experiment begin." He said.

The camera turned quickly to face Aqua. Her shirt has been completely removed from her and her body was shaking with cold even though she was sweating, possibly with fever as her cheeks were flushed and her eyes appeared ill. Her skin had red burns and infected blisters rising on several places upon her arms and stomach.

In her body though... were little long needles - like acupuncture. There were not many - only in what appeared to be some of the vital most parts of her body. The pulses in her wrist, one in her heart and stomach, a couple in her legs, and one in her forehead. And surrounding her like some proverbial crucifix of Christ were many of the lightning daggers, one by each of her hands and feet and of course the last one, at her head, that the scientist had just added.

But instead of lightning, the daggers started to glow with darkness - jumping to the needles as if they were lightning rods, and curled down them like snakes in tree branches. The streams of the dark power started to sink under the skin the areas around the needles turning purple as if bruising.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Aqua started to screech in anguish, her body fighting her bonds but her body to weakened to get far. Her head tossed, tears slipping down his cheeks.
"ST-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!! PLEASE!"
Like any time before... she went ignored.


The convulsing figure being slowly consumed by darkness turned all black. Yellow eyes opened slowly and flames burst out. There was a furious howl, the creature jumping back from the flames as a small flying heartless came for him. A red requiem.

It took a breath before more fire shot out. The wolf snarled as he dodged the attack and jumped, fangs opening to devour the creature...

Until a ball of ice slammed into him. "AROOOOOOOOOOO!" Terra gave a pained cry as he was thrown from midair into the ground. The red requiem was joined by a blue counterpart, shooting out more fire at the downed beast.

"AROOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Came another howl of pain as flames burnt into fur. The yellow eyes snapped open in fury and suddenly pounced out of the flames, jaws opening to reveal 42 teeth. He breathed out and his own blast of flames shot out, except his was so hot the air sizzled and it was pitch black. Spitfire.

It killed the two heartless in second - but more breeds of these kind started to take their places. Bookmasters and Wizards and yellow requiems and Angel Stars. The wolf's long tongue flicked out, licking his lips before he charged forward, various spells raining down upon him.

He dodged them all, horns gleaming as he thrashed his head, tearing through them with their sharp tips. Even as more spells reigned down at him they no longer caused him to fall. The lightning spells he was hit with jumped right off his body and into the ground the minute his paws touched concrete. Ice and fire were both easily countered, wind spells from the Stars did not shake him. The fight was over in seconds, the wolf adapting or throwing back the magic more powerful than anything a thousand heartless could conjure.

As they faded the steaming darkness started to wrap around the creature. Liquid darkness also dripped from his fangs, hissing as it met the ground. Terra panted slowly laying down, snarls ripping through his throat as he watched Xigbar walk by.

[Rikugurl]

The scene faded out as Xigbar walked away. The room in which the viewers were in was full of sobs and uneasy rustling.

A new scene showed... not having to do anything with the rest...or at least that's what they thought.


Slowly, dim lighted steps started to appear. A dark looking Awakening. Suddenly a black foot came down on one of the steps, a black wisp coming off it. The stair suddenly turned purple and dark and it continued as the figure started to walk up the stairs. Slowly the stairs continued to appear as the shadowy figure walked until a platform appeared.

The steps were like poison to the already dim lights that the picture made. One of Aqua, Terra...Akbar and Sora.
All the pictures faded as the toxic sludge that came from the figured feet spread like a fire on gasoline.
There was one light however brighter than anything else.

A keyblade.

Not just any keyblade but...a broken one.
A broken oath.
The figure walked to it, the blade shattered into small pieces.

"Soran... what do you wanna be when you grow up?" A small little boy asked as he looked out at the windplane field.
A brunette looked at him and smiled. "I dunno... a teacher!"
"I wanna be a teacher too!"
"That's a promise!"
"An oath!"
"Oath?"
"It means promise too!"
"You better keep that oath!"

A black claw reached out and a light suddenly shown brightly before....the keyblade went back to its normal self only this time...instead of a windmill for a charm....a star?
The claws hesitated before reaching down again...but a brighter light forced the figure away and shield its yellow eyes.

Then the light went out...and it was nothing but darkness.
The keyblade was gone.
Darkness overwhelmed the platform and suddenly it shattered under the figures feet.

Yellow eyes snapped opened, now belonging to the blonde that everyone knew so well. His body was still pale and almost a shade of blue and purple but what made everyone jerk was that Ven started to suddenly started to shake violently in a convulsion.
Black foam started to burble from his mouth and leak onto the table and floor, the metals hissing.

Olette, Axel, Fuu and Aqua all jerked violently as well.
But for Roxas....the scene...was too much to take in.
Ven looked exactly like he did...the day he died...only much younger.

"Too much! Too much!" Vexen growled as he rushed to a switch and pulled it down, a bar showing a number that started to go down.
40%
39%
38%
Ven's violent spasm started to calm.
37%
36%
35%
The foam stopped and his body laid weak once more.
"So... you can only take an extra 35% of Darkness before you destroy yourself." Vexen rubbed his chin, frowning a bit as he talked to himself. "That's not much. Maybe if you were older.... yes." He nodded before going back to his pad and started to write some things down.

[Reno]

"Ven!" Came the echoing cry from an identical blonde, tears streaming down the blonde's face. This was... a living nightmare!


The scene changed from one man writing onto a clipboard to another. "Dilan! Give it more!"
The dread-locked man they knew as Xaldin reached over a similar dial twisting it from 17% up to 22%.

"A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Terra's trapped and nearly nude body thrashed and shook on the table so violently he looked like he was having a seizure. A collar too big for him was around his neck. His eyes were squeezed shut, tears running from them and his breath was so cold you could see it in the air. "S-STOP!" He screamed out. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"
"Dilan!" The dial turned once more.
28%

"AH-AHHHHH!" The brunette's back arched off the table, hearing a mighty crack from it as it bended in an unreal way. Claws dug fiercely into his bonds, lips pulling back in a pained snarl to reveal growing teeth. His toes curled as the feet started to slowly change and morph. "PLEASE!"
"We're almost there!" Xigbar crowded triumphantly over the brunette's yells.
Xaldin twisted the dial more and slowly went up.
32%

More cracks as the change happened unnaturally and slowly. The body twisting and turning as best it could. More screams as tufts of black fur started to grow, bones started to erupt from the spine and temples.

33% Small triangular ears started to form out of the top of Terra's hair, held down and flat against the skull.

34% A growing tail slammed into the metal with enough force to make the whole laboratory shake.

35%

"AHHHHHROOOOOOOOOO!"
There was a snap as the straps on the left paw was broken, powerful back limbs giving a yank and easy getting free as well. Anything human about Terra at the point became quickly obscured as the wolf took complete control. Vicious fangs bite and tore the strap holding down his final paw, before yellow eyes looked up and narrowed upon Xigbar.

With a furious growl, the monster jumped from the table towards the other.

There was a spark from the collar and then the wolf's body jerked and howled in pain as electrical light seemed to encase him. Instead of Xigbar, the wolf slammed into the ground, shaking and whimpering, golden eyes falling shut.

Even in the darkness, Xigbar's voice came through. "Thirty-five percent. Interesting. He's the exact opposite to the kid."


Then there was silence exact for a strange whirring that always seemed to occupy the laboratory. Dim, artificial lighting started to light up the scene, revealing Aqua still on the table but asleep. The needles had been removed from her as had the daggers from around her.

Zexion sighed as he wrote his final log before shutting the folder loudly, throwing it irritably on the table. "She's fallen into a coma. Aleus, a coma!" He sighed as he walked over looking down at the woman. It panned over her face, a strange yellow glow escaping from underneath her eyelids. He started to move around her, unhooking the straps. "The Keyblade resonance is gone as well. Too much darkness? Yet that makes no sense - our newest member can wield a blade and he is nothing!"

"Her sample may not of been efficient enough. After all, the organization only has one woman." The bulkier man pointed out. "Two, if Namine is included."

Zexion sighed. "I suppose you are correct." He tugged off the last of her straps. "Take her back to her cell, I have no more use for her."

The other man only nodded reaching out, easily lifting Aqua's limp figure into his arms and started to walk away.

[Rikugurl]

The dial on the clock started to move slowly, suddenly meeting one just like it...only smaller.
00:00 Hours.
"I think that's enough for now, Dilan." The man sighed as he placed his pen down and turned, seeing a brunette panting on the table, his eyes lidded.

The man nodded as he walked over, carefully taking the new straps off his wrists and ankles. A careful eye watched the brunette, making sure he wouldn't shoot up and kick his ass. Terra didn't though. He couldn't hardly move on his own. Yellow eyes gazed empty at the wall.
Xigbar slowly walked over, pulling the gloves off his hand and putting them in the trash as he looked at the test subject.

"For an Atterian, he sure doesn't absorb the Darkness like I was hoping..."
"Maybe it's not natural enough."
"Yea.... we can work on it tomorrow."
The two grabbed one arm of the teen before hauling him off the table and out of the room.

"What bothers me more is that the Keyblade resonance is gone in him too. I won't call it a failure though."
The cage was open and the teen was thrown in before the door was slammed and locked.

The scene flickered out like the flickering of the dull lights when they showed the cages again.
Terra was awake, shivering as some sort of clear liquid ran down his face. No one knew if it was sweat or water as he shook, holding himself. His eyes seemed like they should be a part of a light show, being their blue one moment and yellow the next.

Whatever color they were...they were never bright with life.
The teen turned his head, seeing the woman in the cage beside him chained up and curled up in a ball, her breathing labored as she shivered violently.
The sound of voices could be heard in the background. Plenty of them.

The camera moved from the cage as if the person filming was walking down the hallway and through a door were a few scientist stood over a figure that was as black as night.
An anti form.
Bright yellow eyes peered out as the eldest scientist smiled. "Very interesting... completely taken by the Darkness and still able to wield a keyblade. How come he didn't lose his like the others?"

"Maybe being dead helped." Xigbar snickered as he rolled his eye, writing some things down. Vexen always like to jab at the other's failures.
"Dilan, please turn the machine off. I think that will be all for tonight."
The man nodded as he turned it off and the others started to finish up their notes.

The darkness of Ven's skin started to fade, his own flesh color coming back to him as his heartbeat monitor went normal.

Slowly they all started to make their way out when a sudden flash caught their eye and the sound of snapping.
Ven was up off the table, a new keyblade in his hand as he growled at the stunned scientist looking back at him. The boy gripped onto Follow the Wind as he suddenly shot forward.

"FUCKERS!!!!"

[Reno]

Ven seemed to slash and there was an explosion of magical darkness that over took the screen, jumping and dancing like flames, alive. Yells and screams were heard echoing before it all faded away.

Shaky breathing took over accompanied with a chattering of teeth. Slowly a dark cell was revealed, yellow eyes opening on a pale face. There was a soft groan as Terra struggled to lift his face from the concrete, fingers shaking with the effort. The scene was out of order from the rest, occurring earlier than the recent ones - yet even still it fit in place in it's own way.

"Aqua..." He murmured softly.

The camera moved, showing an unconscious woman, shaking on the granite bed, her breath puffing out in visible clouds. There were large dark purple almost black bruises all over her body from the experiments, ugly even in the lack of light.

There was a grunt from off screen before Terra was revealed, crawling across the floor, fingers digging into cracks in the floor and yanking his body closer, arm muscles trembling weakly. The cell was small but it seemed to take ages before Terra crossed the distance from his side to Aqua's. He reached up slowly, using the table to help pull himself up and after a few struggling tries, managed to get onto the table with the unconscious girl, taking painful care not to just collapse right on top of her.

He carefully laid out his body alongside hers, his arms wrapping around her as he moved as close as he could without harming her. In a different situation, at a different time, in another place... it would of been intimate. But in there hearts they all knew what Terra was desperately trying to do.

"Aqua..." The brunette whispered, voice echoing in the small space, one of his hands slowly rubbing the unbruised part of her arm. "Come on... Hang in there..." Flecks of blue started to show in the yellow before the eyes shut, holding her closer. "I'm not losing you to..."

As the screen turned black, two voices came through.
"Interesting. His heart is still strong, despite the darkness of his species." Xigbar.
And Xaldin. "Instead of consuming her, he's saving her. What does that mean?"
"I have some theories. Later we can place him and Even's specimen in the same room and see his response.... As of now, it doesn't matter. Dilan, place her back in her own cage and let us begin the fifth experiment."

The voices faded and footsteps took their place. Terra was revealed back in his previous position. Flashing gold-blue eyes were still staring towards the opposite cage, still shivering and shaking, still holding himself. Looking at Aqua. Unlike before... she was disturbingly motionless

His eyes darkened, his face contorting with pain. "No..."

The footsteps halted.

"Heh, the fuck is with that look?"

With more strength than he seemed to actually have, Terra eyes went wide and his head jerked up, turning to face the origin of the voice. His breath sped up, heart skipping a few beats as he choked out, "Ven!"

The blonde stood tall on the other edge, his eyes a disturbing mix of gold and blue as he shouldered his new Keyblade. A proud, gloating smirk seemed to touch his lips - yet only for a second before a more heartless, loathing expression overtook it. "Yeah it's me. And I'm fucking getting your asses out of here." With hardly any effort Follow the Wind was swung, metal screeching as the lock was torn from it and the door thrown open.

He was free.