Someone to lead me

It hadn’t sunk in Braxyd was gone for good until he had...done the deed.  I couldn’t even form the words in my head.  How could he?  I knew he had always loved Max, was blinded to everyone else.  But I had believed that he cared for me even if he didn’t show it.  At least enough that he wouldn’t... I watched the monitor as if it would spike.  But I didn’t have a heart.  I brushed my hair to the side without taking my sky colored eyes off the monitor.  My blue hair.  My unnatural blue hair.  I hated it suddenly.  But I didn’t: I didn’t have a heart.  I clawed at it, pulled out a few strands and as much as I tried to cry, I couldn’t.

I remembered how crying always helped me feel better and I tried, I really did, to cry.  Of course I couldn’t though.  I sighed and laid back on my pillow.  My sky blue eyes fell on a plate of toast beside my bed.  VI must have made a special trip to fetch bread, just for me.  The clarity of not having a heart suddenly came over me.  I had thought before of joining Braxyd, going to persuade him to return.  But now of course I couldn’t do that.  I had to stay with the organization and try to keep it from falling apart.  Superior and IX we’re off alone more and more often now.  I feared our leadership structure would fall apart when we most needed it, or rather acknowledged the problem.  I had no heart.  A clock ticked.  My  heart did not.  Seycax, VI was who I would follow.  She was level headed and always had the best interest of the organization in mind.

-VII

VII keeps following me around.  When I replace books on the shelves of the library, she follows me.  She can not wear the organization robes, it makes her sweat and overexert herself.  Really she shouldn’t be out of bed at all.  She wears loose drawstring pants and thick white bandages wrapped around her abdomen.  She doesn’t talk as much anymore but thinks a lot, all the while following me.

At first it was annoying.  One night though I had to use the bathroom but in the hallway I found VII sitting against the wall right outside my room.  She had her fans unfurled as if she needed to protect herself...or me.  Her brow was furrowed in her sleep as if she was having a bad dream.  Her body looked so thin with only the bandages and no robe.  When had she become so thin?  How had none of us noticed?  She had must have stopped eating regularly when IV left.  She shivered in her sleep.  I wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and tiptoes past her to the bathroom.  

In the morning I made breakfast for everyone in the hopes that VII would eat a good meal for once.  That got her talking up a storm again like normal.  She talked so much that most of the other members took their plates and excused themselves to their rooms.  I chuckled.  It was so nice to hear her chatter again like normal that I didn’t silence her like usual.  Everyday she still guards my door and follows me around.  She has a bit more color in her pale cheeks and more meat on her bones though.  All the while she’s trying to take care of me I’m taking care of her.

-VI          

I heard the noise long before I saw it. I knew IV was back. I heard his voice. I was more worried when I heard silence.
The next time I heard noise, it was in the infirmary. With a sigh, I made my way there.
The sight I met however, was one I wasnt expecting.
Daxjorn was sitting there, in one of the hospital beds, being treated by V, for a wound over her heart. Off to the side stood Max and Xahssa. I walked over, not wanting to be in the way. I tried to ignore the two of them stiffening as I approached. Of course I had heard the rumors, but I wasnt sure where I stood with them yet.
"What's wrong?" I whispered, not wanting to be a distraction.
"Just a little...accident..." Xahssa whispered back, "Nothing to be too concerned about."
"So Braxyd got her." I watched them both give me a look as if to say, dont speak about it.
I dont know how long we stood there, watching as Xahnan worked to the best of her ability, but she looked exhausted when she was done.
"You did good V..."
"But we still have yet to see if I did good enough." She turned her back to me, clearly upset she couldn't do more.
"VI....." We all were a bit shocked to hear her voice.
I took a step closer. "Yeah Dax..? What is it?"
"Come...closer...." I sighed but did as she asked, leave it up to her to be dramatic.
"Yes?"
"I need...I need some toast...." I pushed down an immediate feeling of laughter as I glanced at Xahssa who rolled her eyes.
"We're out of bread. Besides, the toaster's broken."
"NNOOOOOOO!!!!!"
"God II, How hard did she get hit in the head?"
"She didn't."
"How hard did she fall then?"
"She didn't do that either."
"Then what's wrong with her?"
"How should I know? She seems normal to me...." I laughed, leave it to II.

VIII was sitting in a tree outside of the castle, it had been one month since he had left. There was nothing there for Lex anymore, no guarantee for a heart and he was not about to wait. He stopped by every once and awhile, unknown to them, for no reason what so ever. He was the first to leave and soon learned that IV left soon after. This was it he thought, a rebellion was starting. Lex held time still and walked in the door, what he saw was quite surprising, Superior and IX were in the main hallway and II, III, and IV, were in the kitchen. What would Braxyd be doing here, Lex though.

He turned to see that VII was on the floor with a pool of blood around her. VIII walked out of the castle and waited for IV, he couldn't stay long without superior noticing but she seemed preoccupied at the moment. Now would be the perfect time to strike he though, order seem to be nonexistent. Why was three still there, Lex wondered what happened in the time he was gone. whatever it was he knew IV would know, now all he had to do was wait...

a lazily typed diolouge

IV- Yes Xahssa really

III- Brax…

II- Braxyd what the fuck are you doing here? (Summons her sickle) You know, I have half a mind to cut you god damned head off.

IV- yeah, yeah don’t get your panties in a twist, I’m just here to tie up some loose ends. (With this he draws his blade a lazily slings it over his shoulder) Ya know, recruit some to our cause put someone out of commission, and find the superior’s Achilles, but according to Max here one of those has already been accomplished. (He grins and gives Max a thankful nod.)

II- Why do you care about superior and her lo-(she hesitates at this word, knowing that Nexan cannot really love) and her personal life?

III- because… she is the only one that will tell me to release the hearts of Kingdom Hearts. We made an agreement awhile go that I wouldn’t do anything without her direct order.

IV- Which is exactly why the resistance needs you and Nexan’s pressure point.

II- she isn’t going to join you EVER! Get it through your head now and leave!

III- well…

II- you aren’t seriously thinking about joining this traitor are you!?!

III- well really he would be doing us a good by getting our hearts, right? So I think that we should join him, maybe. I would go if you go, or you are very persuasive. (she says pointing towards Braxyd)

IV- well I have been called something like that, mostly by you and Namine. (Braxyd chuckled)

VII-Wow sensei even now you are a sick demented pervert. (Barged into the kitchen with fans drawn and ready to strike)

IV- Do you really want to draw you fans on me? I have become much stronger than I was when I left.

VII- bring it you ja- (before she could finish the red hot steel of Braxyd’s blade was thrust where her heart should have been)

IV- that’s two of my objectives done. Vii will be fine if you get her to the infirmary as soon as possible. I want bothof you to consider my offer, weigh the odds of success. I’ll be seing both of you soon enough. (with that he stepped through a portal back to the base camp of the resistance. Dozens of eyes were on him good news? Or bad)

In which there is a post filled mostly with dialogue

"Oh, not again!" Xahssa stood, disappointed, as she looked into the refrigerator. "For the love of- Hasn't anyone been to store?!" She cried, rifling through the drawers in search of a loaf of bread. Nothing. Nothing at all. Letting out a little scream of frustration, she slammed the door of the refrigerator. Xahssa glanced to her right and jumped. Max was lounging next to the fridge against drawers filled with knives (II wasn't sure she was comfortable with this).

Letting out a little snicker, Max greeted Xahssa. "Guess what!"

"You set something on fire." Xahssa offered blandly, wondering what shenanigans Max had gotten herself into this time. Max shot up and raised her arms wildly.

"No! Even better! I saw the Superior-"

"You see her everyday."

"No, shut up, this is important!" Xahssa gave a little laugh, indicating that Max should continue. "So, anyways, she was talking to someone."

"Who?"

"IX!" Max exclaimed, jumping around. "And you know what? I think they're a thing." Xahssa looked at Max with a slightly agape expression.

"What? Max, you shouldn't assume stuff like this-"

"I'm not assuming! If you saw it too, you'd know I'm serious."

"Well. . ." Xahssa thought about it. Superior and IX. I and IX. Not impossible but certainly interesting. "I guess I believe you. . . Oh my God, this is awesome!"

"I know, right?! Now we can take over a lot easier- OW!" Max rubbed her head indignantly as Xahssa lowered her arm. "Really, Max? Really?"

A Few Months Later....

Wow. Its been a long time since I picked this old thing up. lots happened since then... perhaps I should catch you up...

First off, there's a great unease among the members. Talk of rebellion has been circulating like toxic in the air. It was mostly ignored at first, dismissed as the usual grumblings from the lazier members. But it continued and didn't show signs of letting up. The members wanted their hearts, and they were no longer willing to wait.

The first to go was VIII. Up and left in the dark of night. It was the first real sign that the rebellion was more than just a rumor. He still has yet to be found.

The next was IV. It came to no surprise, bu this had a great effect on the lower members. One of the ORIGINAL four had run off. They waited for Superior to take action. But she didn't.

There's been a lot of talk of who's next to go. Of course, if you asked anyone openly they deny there was anything wrong. Even the first syllable of rebellion ticked Superior off to no end. It was obviously stressing her. She tended to take that stress out on me. I didn't mind. It WAS partially my fault they didn't have hearts yet...

Rebellion does appeal to me. I've tried it already and found no benefits to it, back when I destroyed Halloween Town. Even so, my name is one of the first to pop up in conversations about the next to rebel...

********************************************

Max finished the entry with a sigh and stored the diary away in her bookshelf. She was just as stressed as Superior, but without anyone to take her anger out on. Everyone was on thin ice. A calm outward appearance could shatter into a boiling rage if given even the wrong look. Max tended to seclude herself from everyone else. She didn't want their anger. Not now. Not while the darkness was dormant.
Heading out of her room, she walked down the hall towards the kitchen. The castle was eerily silent, but if she strained her ears as she past by vents, she could swear she could hear the whispering of other members. Max attempted to ignore it, but her paranoia nagged her. Were they talking about her? What were they saying? She unknowingly stopped by one of the vents, peering between the slits as if she would be able to see the members who were talking. But the whispering was just as vague and unclear as before.
Max noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned with a small twitch. Voices, two of them, and shadows. Max walked closer to the hallways from which the shadows and voices were coming from. Peaking around the corner, she observed the scene impassively.
It was Superior. With IX. They were talking. Their tones were friendly, teasing in some way. It clicked instantly in Max's mind what it was the was different about them. A malicious and knowing grin spread across her face as she slipped away from them. Max headed for the kitchen, chortling to herself. She couldn't wait to tell II!

When VI walked into the library she noticed 3 things...all of which she never expected to find. 1) V was in the library, which was never a good sign. 2) There was a giant computer along with equipment for it in the middle of the library. 3) The library was an absolute disaster.
"Hey..uh V?" V turned surprised to see VI.
"Hey VI! What's up?"
"Why is there a giant computer in the library?"
"You told me I could order a new one...after as many times as the last one broke it was just kinda scrap."
"And you ordered a giant one?"
"No! This one here is special. It can connect to the grid"
"The grid as in the control panel to Hallow Bastien?"
"Yup. The very same" said V proudly.
"Take it all down and move it somewhere else." walking around all the electrical equipment, trying not to break any of it attempting to make it to her desk.
"Um...that's kind of a problem..."
"Why? Shouldn't be with as good as you are with technology." VI grunts from her desk.
"Normally it wouldn't be but...."
"But what V?"
"VIII and IX are in the grid."
"Great...How long until they get out?" VI says, bored, turning to her paperwork.
"No idea..the program has an automatic return but...it was just a test run so we have no idea when it will return them here."
VI sighs, "Well the second their out I want this stuff moved...looks like someone was here before you and decided to wreck the library because I was gone for a few days."
"And by someone I take it you mean Max?" V said with a laugh.
"Her or IV..though if it was IV I think the library would be a bit more..charred don't you think?"
V nods, with a laugh turning back to her computer.

Enter The Grid

Once Lexamich and Redxawn regain consciousness after their previous unnecessary squabble, Nexan lead the two down to the castle’s library. Lexamich’s jaw hit the floor when he entered, awed by the mountainous piles of technological equipment that were scattered across the library. A notable component was The Digitizer. It was projector-like, with multiple lenses sprouting from all over. The main lens gave off a bluish glow, which occasionally flicked off, making the lens resemble a blinking eye. Amongst the mechanical mess sat Xahnan, typing away at her computer. It took her a moment to realize that the trio, but at last she looked up at them and smiled. “At last! Our subjects have arrived!” She said cheerfully as she got up. “I can’t believe after all this time I’m finally going to perform human digitization! I couldn’t have done this without you superior,” She said gratefully to Nexan “And I can’t forget you two, thank you for volunteering!” Before either of the two could make a comment about their forced participation in the project, Nexan ushered them towards the Digitizer. “Indeed V, and of course, Castle Oblivion will become the only other location to have access to The Grid. No more perilous missions at Hollow Bastion,” She said. Xahnan then donned a pair of black goggles, and handed Nexan a pair, who did likewise. Xahnan then returned to her computer, and continued typing “Alright then, we’ll begin immediately. The system is already set up, but the equipment will take a moment to warm up,” She said over the growing noise of the digitizer activating. “Other than that, I suggest you two just make yourselves comfortable and do your best,” She smiled “That reminds me,” Said Lexamich worriedly, “What are we supposed to do anyway?” “Survive,” Nexan said, surprisingly clear over the machines “Right now we’re just testing this equipment to see how long it’ll last. It has an automatic return program that’ll pick you up no matter where you are, so just take out some heartless until you get pulled back. That reminds me, we’ve also detected a significantly large heartless in the area. Xahnan claims it’s somehow dormant, but it’s a threat all the same. Good luck,” The glow on the Digitizer’s lens grew, blazing into Red and Lex’s retinas. Xahnan flipped a switch, and tow jets of blue light emitted from the Digitizer’s lenses. They struck the two nobodies, engulfing them in its radiance. The library began to disappear around the two, dissolving away from them. Lex felt an unnerving feeling of his entire body being deconstructed. His entire body frozen, he peered out of the corner of his eyes to witness Red in a similar state, his body being torn up and sucked into the digitizer. He felt his own consciousness being pulled in as well. He took one final look at Nexan and Xahnan, and disappeared into the system.

MOVIE NIGHT

entry 4

max and i saw a movie today. i expected the darkness to... idk be creepy by its actually quite pleasent. it was hilarious.

its weird, i feel as though im beginning to belong in this organization. i witnessed VI's voice swapping abilitys... i dont like that power. oh and apperently max's darkness cures hangovers. good to know.

lex

IX

update: so basically IX got the shit beat out of him by IV, then IV got knocked out by IX. oh that was awesome! i swear i heard IV freaking out in his room last night it freaked me out a little but not as much as superiors eye. oh shit its almost 10:00 time for training w anta see whats so special about IX.

"HEY! superior, i want to train with IX today." i said with anger in my eyes.

"sure but i thinks he's still sleeping go get him for me."

"i'll be back in a sec..." i started off to his room meeting up with braxyd on the way there.

"HEY IV!"

"no..." he kept walking to his room

"wait what! i havent asked yet!"

"my answer is still no leave me the fuck alone."

i decided just to force read his mind,

"OH GOD WTF!!! i think im going to be sick..." that was the most discusting image i've ever seen. that was HORRIBLE!

"um nevermind IV nevermind. i started to run to IX's room.

KNOCK NOCK "hey IX its training day gotta get up!" no awser

"HELLLLOOOO?"

no answer again. i just left i am very impatent i opened a portal and stepped behind superior.

"superior IX wasn't in his room."

"yes lex he's been standing here waiting for you." she was right he was in the middle of the training pad.

i pulled another staff out of the lexicon,

"um lex where did you get that?!?!"

"um no where superior what are you talking about i don't have any books." i gave her a nervous smile. she shrugged it of must happen with max alot.

"hey IX you ready?" as soon as he said that i sped up time and ramed my staff into face.

"ouch i wasn't ready!!!!"

"thats not what you said." i started to laugh until i got a power uppercut to the face!

i fell to the ground,

"owwww." i stopped time teach you to mess with lex!

i swept up his leg and i hit him back to the ground, but then time started to start up. this shouldnt be happining i thought i fixed that time started once again and i blacked out.

Curiosity and VII

"Dax why does it even matter?" I sighed. Lately Daxjorn had been hanging around me instead of Braxyd. She was a help in the garden and library but sometimes she could talk the ear off of an elephant. Today, she had woken me up and rushed me to the library to tell me something. Now, I know it was about Nexan and their sparring match yesterday.
"She didn't have an eye! And it was an old wound too. That doesn't make you the slightest bit curious?" Dax was waving her arms around excitedly and I was afraid she would knock over the computer which had just gotten back into one piece.
"Of course it makes me curious, but if she really wanted to talk about it, or for us to see it she would have told us." I turned back to dusting the shelves.
"How long has it been since you've been out of the castle VI? And I don't mean outside in the garden."
"I..don't know. Couple weeks. Why?"
"What? That long. We are going out." And with that she grabbed my sleeve and portaled us to Twilight Town for ice cream.

That Strange Dude in Max's Room

Max didn't think letting Lex in her room with some strange dude he said had almost killed him was a good idea. But since when had that stopped her?
"And you swear he was blasting you... with light?" Max was tired, delirious with exhaustion to be more specific, and she wasn't in the mood for VIII's crap."I swear!" he said, waving his arms dramatically. "He blasted me and then I..."
Max wasn't listening as VIII ranted. She was examining the man presumed to be dead. It took her all of a split second to tell he was very much alive. She pretended to be checking for wounds until the constant buzz of VIII ranting stopped. She turned to Lex.
"Alright, that's great. Now get out."Lex wanted to argue, but the look on Max's face scared him into simply complying.The door closed and, like a trigger, sprung Max into action. She gathered rope and duct tape and all she could find around her room and strapped the strange dude to her bed. She paced and muttered to herself for a while, then rethought the whole strapping-the-guy-down thing and untied him.It was odd for Max to have another living person in her room. You know, staying in her room. But she knew she'd have to keep it all a secret. Damn.

***************************************************

I do hope Superior wouldn't mind my... brief vacation, so to say. In fact, I think she'd rather kill me then let me do this. Sucks for her that I'm already out and running.
It was the whole thing about the weird not-so-dead guy in my room, see. He had yet to wake up and I was at a bit of unease about that. It was almost as if he was trying to draw me inside his subconsciousness. So I kept my distance and my wits about me. You know, the little that's left of them.
So here I was, running to God-knows-where, trying to think of a way to help God-knows-who, and wondering about life in general. It was an unhealthy hobby of mine.
I looked up. Wasn't sure where I was exactly; never paid attention when Xemnas instructed us on the different worlds and their geographies. But I knew it was where I needed to be.
So I begin scouring the place for medical plants. I had a knack for recognizing plants and their healing purposes. Wouldn't that make Superior laugh. Anyways, despite my mad-with-power, darkness-contaminated, twistedly-influenced brain, I managed to identify and collect all the plants I needed.
Though it might have been easier to go to the kitchen and fish out some sort of pills to wake the strange dude up, like some anti-sleeping pills, I would have been questioned. And I couldn't just say "They're for the weird guy that attacked Lex and is currently hidden in my room." Not smart.
I portaled back to CO.

*********************************************

I made the meds I needed and gave it to the sleeping dude, making sure he didn't choke on it. Now I was anxious and worried. Who would this guy be when he woke up? Everyone looked innocent when they slept.... well, except Axel, but that's a different story altogether. I wondered briefly about strapping him to the bed again, but I quickly dispelled the idea. I knew from experiencing that waking up to restrains brings out the worst in everyone. So I sat, and watched, and waited.
And after a good 15 minutes, I fell asleep.

Two Mysteries.

Nexan, Xassha, Maxsodin, Xahnan, and Daxjorn were sitting in the training room, going through the basics. Maxsodin and Xahnan were sparring in the corner, while Xassha and Daxjorn whirled around the room in a fierce battle of water versus air.

"Hey, Xassha! Xassha! XASSHA!" Nexan was right above II's head, but II could not hear her, for she was too caught up in the moment. Finally, Xassha heard Nexan and looked up.

"What do you want? I'm kind of in the middle of something," Xassha managed to get out as she deflected a thrown fan with her trident. She grunted and charged at Daxjorn, trident sticking out in front of her. Two streams of water jetted out of the side points. Daxjorn waved her fan at the jets and sent them splaying out to either side of her.

"Just... don't you think Lex would be back by now? Could you go check the castle and look for him? Make sure he's not hurt. I'll take over with Daxjorn." At this, the turbulence in the air stopped, and the room immediately dried up. Nexan dropped down to her feet and conjured her scythe. "Thanks, II. Now, Daxjorn, show me what you've got." Nexan got into fight stance and smiled, beckoning her opponent.

Xassha started to walk to the door as Daxjorn let loose her first blast of wind, which Nexan deflected with an anti-gravity bubble around Daxjorn. Nexan swung at Daxjorn's feet, missing only because of VII's fast reflexes. The bubble popped and Daxjorn dropped suddenly, but managed to get to her feet right away. She wiped her forehead, then lunged at Nexan.

**********************************************

Xassha speed-walked through all the hallways, checking all the doors along the way until she got to the back of the castle. Just as she open the garden doors, Lexamich collapsed inside the open gate, letting o of the body he was carrying. The body rolled to the side. Xassha ran over to make sure it wasn't another member, then ran back inside. She practically flew back to the training room, just in time to see Daxjorn take a swipe at Nexan and the spike of the fan gaze Nexan's forehead. A chunk of lavender-colored hair fell to the ground, and Daxjorn gasped. Xahnan and Maxsodin looked up from their battle.

"Oh, Nexan." Maxsodin ran over and whispered something in Nexan's ear. Nexan limply reached up and felt her face, then covered the right side of it with her hand. She looked down at the hair in the floor and turned to see Xassha behind her.

"Lexamich is in the garden. Found him with a stranger, both collapsed. Are you okay?" Xassha asked hoarsely, though she already knew what had happened.

"I'll be fine. You guys, go get Lex and bring him to the infirmary. I'll be waiting there." Nexan pointed to Xahnan and Daxjorn, the added, "And good job with the sparring, Dax."

For the rest of the night, Daxjorn couldn't get the image of Nexan's hair falling away, leaving nothing but an empty hole where her eye should have been. Even when looking for the body of the mysterious stranger, all that Daxjorn and Xahnan could talk about was what had happened in the training room earlier. They never did find the second person that had been collapsed in the garden earlier.

Right before climbing into bed that night, something dawned on Daxjorn. There had been no blood shed earlier. Nexan had a pre-existing wound.

im still waiting for people to understand that i control time.

BoB dies i just rewind and he's fine. SERIOUSLY how hard is that to understand!

now i have to go fix BoB before it's to late I BROKE MY STAFF FOR THAT PLANT!!!!

not so sinceraly,

lex

R.I.P. (as in, rest in pieces)

Dear Superior,

I am sorry (not) to say that our loyal friend and esteemed colleague BoB has perished. I will not, for that matter, tell you that he died by a bomb constructed of pesticides and baking soda. I will also not tell you that I was the one that did it. And finally, I will most definitely not tell you that you are welcome.

Ever so sincere,

Not Max

diary of lex

bleh "TODAY FRICKEN SUCKS!!! i mean seriously i hurt my back my head hurt i have no wepon and supperior is gunna beat my ass when i get back... well we might have some new member material. i swear that was light... max isn't going to like this

good night and good ridence

A Challenger Approaches

Lexamich was not having a fun day. He was lost in the Hundred-Acre-Wood, at night. The trees and shrubs around him seemed to become monsters, creeping on him and waiting to take him to their grey van in an empty parking lot. He began to think that traveling here with Max might not have been such a bad idea after all. He reached the clearing at which he and Max had dug for their high-quality growin’ soil. To his disappointment, the shovels weren’t there. He began to search high and low for the spades, and became so absorbed in his search that he did not notice the figure that appeared in the clearing behind him. He held the two shovels in his hands, and spoke with a deep drawl “Hey buddy, you lose these? Because I found ‘em earlier just lying around, so I decided to hang on to them in case the owner would come ba- He was cut off by Lex’s staff connecting with his face. The stranger flew backward, losing both the shovels, and landed on the ground with a loud thud. “That’ll teach you to sneak up on me you demon baby!” Yelled Lex and he charged. The stranger raised his hand and a bright pulse of light erupted from his palm. Lex fell over sideways in mid-sprint, dazed and half-blinded by the sudden burst of light. The stranger leapt up”What the hell man?! I was just wondering if these were yours!” He walked over to Lex, who lay still on the ground, and raised his fluorescent palm up to his face. Lex winced, and tried to gain his bearings with the light in his face. “Wait a moment,” The stranger said, his tone turned darker as he observed Lex’s Organization robe. He frowned “You’re one of those nobodies in that Organization! I should’ve known!” He shouted in sudden realization and disappeared in big flash of light. Lex quickly got to his feet, wobbling as his vision clouded. He was then hit by a heavy blow to the back of his head. “I never would’ve known that you guys would show up around here at this hour!” Lex fell down. The stranger appeared before him, looking extremely unhappy “I mean come on! What’s it take for a man to get some sleep around here?!” He lifted Lex off the ground and tossed him, and Lex was suddenly airborne after receiving a solid kick. As Lex landed, a sharp pain shot across his back and he crumpled over. This stranger had unnatural strength and stamina, what could be the source to his majestic power? His opponent then discharged what appeared to be a massive wave of blue energy from his hands. He tried to avoid the attack, but was caught in the blast and was hurled further. He landed face-first, and peered out of the corner of his eye to see his opponent approaching him, his fists crackling with bolts of pure energy. As he drew near, Lex vaulted upward on his staff, and landed a punch on the stranger’s chest. He doubled over and raised a fist but suddenly stopped as everything including himself turned grey. Time had stopped. His frozen eyes were wide with confusion. Lex then bombarded him with several furious punches. Once satisfied, he willed time to move on and the stranger flew backwards accordingly, and Lex was sure he heard a voice shout “Combo!” somewhere far off. The stranger slammed into a tree, and then fell forward, his face planted into the forest’s earthy soil. He did not move. “Wow.” Said Lex, paying no attention to his seemingly unconscious opponent, but to the indent that he had made in the tree. Continuing to disregard the stranger, Lex picked up his lost shovels and started to depart. The stranger leapt up, fists clenched and ready to make contact with his face. Lex whirled around, dropping the shovels and smashed the guy’s face with his staff. He faltered, a giant welt forming where Lex’s staff met his face, opened his mouth to say something, but instead collapsed again. This time he didn’t appear to be alive. While the stranger fell into a coma, Lex’s staff disintegrated into a pile of dust. Lex took a moment to process what happened, and then reacted. “WHAT?! NO!” He said in exasperation, and crouched on his knees, fists raised towards the sky “Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!” he then rose and pointed a finger at the unconscious stranger “You jerk! That was my weapon! My superior will wound me seriously for this! You’re coming back with me so she doesn’t kill me prematurely!” He then attempted to lift the stranger, but dropped him when his injured back protested. After a while, he managed to shoulder the stranger and hold his shovels, and walked away under the Forests’ bright blue moon.

THE SHOVELS!!!

oh god i left the shovels in the woods..... and now i have to go get them. maybe max can do it, who am i kidding well better now then later.

TO THE WOODS!

after the meeting i found superior, "i don't really think its safe for me to trsvel ALONE with Max..."

"so your scarred?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Hell no its just ya know she tried to kill me..."

"well Lex you said you wanted to do this."

so i decided to just suck it up and find max.

"Max, where do you keep the gardening tools?"

"well Lex lets see in the garden maybe."

"Max if you help even just a little i will stop time and give you as much alcohol as you want, just do not make this hard!"

"DEAL!" i opened the dark erie portal and jumped in with all the equipment.

10 minutes later

"LEEEXXX how much longer?!"

"were here...." i stopped at the edge of the 100 acre woods

"here." i tossed Max a shovel.

"just put it in this bucket." about ten minutes later we managed to fill 3 buckets.

"that should be fine lets go max."

"YAY!"

in the castle, "so max you now have acsess to any cabinet in the castle have fun you have 1 hour."

The Meeting Continues

“Anyway,” Lexamich barely managed to display a cheery smile “I was thinking that some of us could go down to the Hundred-Acre-Wood and pick up some special soil for our new tree. There’s a spot I know that has perfect fertilizer for the sapling,” His announcement was met with a very long silence “That is, if anyone wants to,” He sat down, embarrassed. Nexan was merciless “And what makes you think I would allow any of you to do that? You know I hate the idea of you all adopting a pet of any form. I pity the poor creature that does go under you’re care,” She said. All of the other members suddenly resented adopting the plant in the first place, all but Seycax. Undeterred by Nexan’s harsh tone, she spoke with a calm but lighthearted voice “I think it’s a great idea number VIII, a perfect excuse for an excursion,” she said, giving the unimpressed superior a look of triumph. “Is that so?” Said Nexan, without a hint of emotion “Very well, since Lexamich feels that this is an important task that our Organization must accomplish, I grant him permission to visit the Hundred-Acre-Wood and return with what’s necessary for taking care of your tree,” “WHAT?!?” Lexamich began to freak out “All by myself? This whole tree-thing wasn’t even my idea! Why do I have to go alone what’s the big deal why can’t Seycax do it what is this all about am I being punished? At least give me a partner so I’m not totally alone!” He complained. “Well then if you desire a companion for this incredibly difficult task,” Lexamich gritted his teeth as Nexan mocked him “I suppose I can find you one. Which one of you would like to join Lexamich on his traverse across the Wood?” She addressed the rest of the group. Everyone’s head ducked at this, everyone’s except number III’s, whose was flung back and emanated a loud snore. Nexan had found her volunteer “Maxsodin, wake up,” Max snored “Max. Number III, wake up,” the snoring did not cease. Nexan summoned her scythe; its haunting design intimidated every member. She lifted it, turned the blade up, and struck Maxsodin over the head. There was a loud echo that reverberated for a moment as the scythe collided with her noggin, and she leapt upwards howling and clutching her skull. “I’ll teach you to fall asleep during one of my meetings!” Nexan growled as Max continued to rub her head. “What the hell?! I was up all night doing one of your stupid missions!” Max whined. “Well you’ve got another one now that I’ve caught you dozing during these meetings for the twelfth time this month!” Nexan’s scythe disappeared. “Well what is it?” Max sat up “Hopefully not more of the usual Heartless-killing BS I get every day,” “No,” said Nexan “This time you’ll be accompanying Lexamich into the Hundred-Acre-Wood to gather soil for the tree. Exciting I know,” Max sat there, and then uttered an unnatural noise from her esophagus. No one could quite describe it, but it seemed to resemble a groan of agony. When she finished her drawl, she summed everything up with a good ‘ole “Aw, man. This sucks,”
As everyone filed out of the meeting room, Lexamich couldn’t help but heave a great sigh of agony. However he was glad that he wouldn’t be totally alone. He was then approached by Xahssa, “Thank you so much for doing this for BoB Lex! We really appreciate it,” She said “Oh it’s no trouble at all Xahssa!” Lex was glad that his toils for the Organization were appreciated. “I love the tree like he was my son!” She smiled “The feeling is mutual among us all, oh and by the way,” She grabbed the collar of his coat and pulled him close “However, as its guardian, I find that mentioning the tree to superior and bringing the member that is most likely to kill it is threatening its safety. I don’t appreciate that,” She strode off, leaving Lex feeling very reluctant.

BoB the Tree

I was working in the garden. I was most days now. Got me out of the library and Max off my mind since I hadn't been her babysitter in nearly a month. Some days I missed us hanging out though. But, my shoulder was still healing (almost finished). Maybe when it's fully healed.
Anyway. Today, Xahssa was sitting in the recently placed lawn chairs drinking tea and listening to the piano play (added from my room). I was weeding. And I came upon a little sapling.
"Aww. Its so little!" I said
"What is Seycax?" it must have piqued Xahssa's interest.
"The little sapling. Look!"
"Its adorable! I just want to- What are you doing?!" she asked horrified.
"Weeding. And this little guy. Is. In. The. Way." With each work I gave a tug until it came out of the ground. Xahssa was giving me the saddest look. I was really scared. I had NEVER seen her like that.
"Well, where are you going to put him?"
"In the garbage?" I said with a sarcastic tone.
"But he'll die!"
"He's a tree."
"Can I have him?" She was giving me puppy dog look.
"Yeah, I guess. I really couldn't care. Just make sure to water him." I turned back to my plants."Just don't forget to water- Never mind. Stupid question."
___________________________________________________________
When I finished weeding, I headed into the kitchen for a sandwich. And Xahssa was there with a pot?
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I put BoB in a pot." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Who's BoB?"
"The sapling. See?" She stepped aside and I saw it. A little sapling, almost a foot high with a sign on it. BoB. Xahssa's Pet. If found Please return to Kitchen or Dungeon. I started laughing. It was quite funny.
"Whatever. I gotta go. See you later Xahssa. BoB." And I headed back to my library with a lighter heart then I had had in a while.

tea time!

as i made my way randomly dancing through the castle completely toaned out of the world around me i heard the laugh. not just any laugh it was Max's extremly creepy messed up laugh.

i walked around the corner to see Max and nexan walking down to IX's room. i followed close behind trying to conceal my presence. i stopped time and walked in front of max.

"now where have you been."

she jumped " places, ya know doing things and what not..." nexan looked annoyed,

"Lex shouldn't you be preparing for the meeting?"

"good to see your okay max." on that note i left.

i went to get some tea then i remembered Brayxd broke the other one.

"hmmm well i should really get a knew one... ughhh, JERRY GO GET A TEA POT."

he left and i assume he knows what to get. i'm worried about Max...

sdjadsfjs

Nexan and Xassha's tea drinking song:

Max wanna meet IX, plz.

"Hey Superior." I don't think she was even surprised when I appeared out of nowhere behind her.

"Hello III."
We both stood, unmoving and silent, for the longest time. I guess I was at a bit of a loss at what to do, considering I had expected a full-scale ambush/assault/capture just from showing my face around CO again. I finally remembered why I was crazy enough to risk ambush/assault/capture, and got back to the point.

"Superior, do we have a new member?"

She didn't answer at first. I guesses that she was either wondering how the heck I knew, or why in the world would I think that. Depended on the answer.

"Yes we do, Max."

I slight smile beamed briefly on my face. My number meant I was in trouble for something. Max was a good sign.

"Well, I'm gonna go on a hunch here, but I'm gonna guess he controls light..." No reaction. "Am I right?"

I could tell Nexan was being cautious, trying to predict my reaction. She should know by now that I was unpredictable. She seemed to remember such and took the risk.

"Yes, he does."

"He..." I thought aloud. "Good. Can't stand another girl member. There all crazy."

Wow, that was ironic of me.

Perhaps because I didn't explode, or maybe just the fact that I appeared sane, but Nexan was confused.

"Does it not bug you that his power's light!?" It was a question I had just recently asked myself. Like.... 5 seconds ago, really.

"Well, it all depends on what the guy's like. I mean, if he's anything like Braxyd, he's as good as dead. If he's not, he might just have a chance to live longer than a fly trapped in a sider web. You know, of a genuinely hungry spider..." I think I was over explaining it all, so I stopped there.

Nexan looked at me. Just from that she knew a bit too much for my own comfort. She could tell by my sunken, dark-circled eyes that I hadn't slept in forever, she could tell by the inconsistent dilating of my eyes that I was in no condition to be up and about, and I was sure my constant twitching was a sign of my insanity; or perhaps just paranoia.

But despite it all, I pulled a funny face and caused her mouth to twitch into a smile. I smiled back.

"Alright, alright," Nexan fixed me with a serious glare, but I kept right on beaming. "I'll go take you to meet IX. Oh and Max?"

"Yeeeeeees?"

"Are you going to sty for the meeting" There was a hint of dread in her voice.

I gave a fiendish laugh. "Wouldn't miss it!

Acquaintances.

"So you think you have the layout of the castle pretty good?"

"Yeah. Pretty sure I can find my way to the kitchen, meeting room, and my room, at least."

"Good. Probably the three most important rooms to you right now anyway. " I study the new guy. He seems all right, and trustworthy. God knows someone in this organization should be. I suppose I'll test his theoretical trustworthiness.

"Hey, when you meet the other members later during the meeting, could you try and get to know IV, Braxyd? We used to be good friends, we did start this organization, but I'm not so sure what he's up to these days. And he's been very temperamental."

"So you want me to spy on him and figure out what he's up to then report back to you?"

"Not exactly. I only need to know if he's up to anything fishy, not every single thing he does every single day. It'll take some time to get his trust though. Like I said, very temperamental lately." IX seems to absorb this, then he stands.

"I'll get back to my room, then. Anything else you want me to know?"

"Not that I can think of. Thanks, see you later. If you run into anyone on your way back to your room, ignore them." He nods and departs. I sigh, shuffle some papers around my desk, then get up and head to the kitchen. I really need a good cup or four of chai before I head into the meeting room. I hope that the meeting goes smoothly later on. If Brax acts up like he did when Lexamich first arrived, we're all gonna be screwed. Braxyd mostly.

I start to fill up the tea pot, and before it's half full of water, Xassha walks into the kitchen.

"II, want some tea?"

"Oh, God, yes. How's the newbie?"

"Good. He's light, you know." I finish filling the pot and set it onto the already heated stove. I grab two coffee mugs and set them on the counter, then go to sit with II at the bar.

"Light? Hope Max doesn't freak when she finds out we have a member that controls light." Xassha give a faintly bemused laugh. "Could you imagine it? She'd kill him."

"Yeah, that's why we don't tell her until she's stable. Don't want anyone hurt..." Just then, the tea kettle started whistling its high pitched song. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....... I jump up and pour fresh, boiling water into the mugs I had set out and drop a tea bag in each. I pick the mugs up with oven mitts and bring them to the table.

"I hope you like chai. I really wanted some and didn't even think to ask you what you wanted. Sorry."

"Chai's fine. Anyways, have you seen the garden lately? Seycax has made it stop looking like garbage."

"Yeah, saw that. She's like Marluxia and Zexion's lovechild or something." Xassha and I look at each other and just burst out laughing at the ridiculous thought of Zexion and Marluxia's child.

"Oh my hahaha God. Hahahaha! What color hair do you suppose their kid would have? Purple?"

"Hahaha! Probably. My face hurts now. Hahaha.. My sides too." I love these moments, when I can just let my guard down and laugh, a true laugh. I only wish these moments were more often in the life of a Nobody.

"Go away VII." I said in an annoyed voice. I was working in the garden and I see a flash of blue and the wind picks up. It was really obvious who it was.
"But Seycax" she said in a whining voice, "I need someone to train with me."
"Get Braxyd. I thought he was your teacher anyway." I said turning back the flat of Begonias I was getting ready to plant.
"He's busy. And Xahssa wont train with me and I cant find Max or Nexan and IX I haven't met yet and-" I love my powers sometimes. It was easy enough to just shut off the sound. I don't think, however, she realized what had happened yet and was still silently rambling on. When she was done (5 minutes later) I turned up her "volume".
"I got it. To increase your ability to hide. We'll play hide and seek. Okay?" She nodded enthusiastically. "You go hide and I'll come find you. Stay hidden until I do find you okay? Go." She took off like a bullet. Laughing in my head I turned back to the flowers.
I'd go find her. Eventually.When I was done with these...

beep... Beep...BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...... fizzle.. KAPOWY!

"OH GOD WHAT WAS THAT?" i ran into the library to find seycax and the newly formed pile of dust that was the computer.

"what happened? are you okay.... THE COMPUTER!!!!!" sniffle....

"i tried to fix the computer....."

"what was wrong with it?"

"the screen was black.... and i fixed it..."

"did you try pushing the power button?" she looked at me in awe,

"theres a power button."

this is such a weird place...

lex OUT!

Technology fail

Today, Seycax "fixed" the computer in the library. Again. And it is now in pieces. Again.

Today I discovered...

God stares at you without any compassion whatsoever.

-IX, the new guy

WHAT???

Lexamich diary entry,

Saleries!!!! what why did no one tell me this! i thought those were memos or crap!

BUT NOOOOO apperently we get payed like $30.99 a hour! I can get a pack of gum or some Arizona ice tea or maybey like some cool posters OR IMPORTED SPICES!

from,

Lex

P.S

Seycax... screw you XD i would like to be informed of things...

Doodling in my bedroom

Get this, WE GET SALARIES!!! Who knew?  I thought all those strange rectanglular pieces of paper Seycax handed to me were missions paperwork or something (I just stuffed them under my matress and never gave them a second thought).  I was telling her that I needed a bigger windchime budget so she told me to use some of my own money and I was like WE GET PAID?  So I bought a WACOM and drew this...

-Love Dax (well actually 'Like Dax' because I can't really love or feel)

P.S.  Do I sense someone outside?  I feel another's spirit carried on the wind from nearby and I am too preoccupied to finish this now seemingly stupid test drawing...This person is different from the others.  I have no clear sense of his abilities, just his presence but his presence seems very familiar... 

newbie!

"Um Nexan theres a guy standing outside the castle and i think he's dead..."

"Lex... what are you talking about?"

"Nexan there is a guy outside the castle lying on the ground.

so do you want me to do something?"

"umm only if you want to." Nexan seemed confused.

"I think i will. I'll be back with an update." i headed to the door.

i found my staff in the umbrella holder.

"I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS!" i opened the door and ran towards the body.

poking him with my staff i said "um hi... your kinda in my garden. sooo like can you move... please... HEELLLLLLOOOO!" he turned on his back

"where am i?"

"to tell you the truth i'm still trining to figure that out. come with me i told superior i'd bring you." i helped him up and we headed to the door.

It was my birthday. The day that fourteen years ago I became a Nobody.

I didn't expect to spend this day sitting n this beat up, abandoned building, lounging in my make-shift throne, watching the darkness crawl and consume at the walls like living tar. Of course, that was eleven years ago, when I would fantasize about all my birthdays to come. I had said I would spend this one by taking Saix and Xemnas to a field and show them how well I could control the heartless. The thought made my thoughtful, depressed frown sink its roots of permanentness into my expression. Fat chance of that happening ever.

But still, here I was, fourteen years old and enduring more of a mid-life crisis than any 40-year-old would.

I toyed with an apple in my hand, my feet lifted and resting on the desk, the chair seemingly miles away from the desk as to provide a more comfortable position. I stared at the walls, the walls of climbing, spreading, engulfing, hungry darkness. The floor was in the same state, simply not in my direct line of sight. The apple rolled in my palm, and in no time it was no longer red and shiny, but decayed and smothered with black, tar-like darkness. Without warning, I snapped and hurled the apple at the wall, watching with frustration as the apple didn't burst, but instead was absorbed into the wall as if it had been thrown right through.

I wasn't normally this foul; especially on my birthday. But that was the point. The birth part wasn't the only thing that made this day different. Something had happened to upset the balance in Light and Darkness. Something had either drastically changed, or some thing must have been created.

I picked up another apple from my desk, stretching my arm to reach it. I rolled it with my fingers, inspected its skin. I could just barely see the outline of myself on the shiny green surface. I drew it to my mouth and bit into the reflection. I chewed thoughtfully on the sour flesh of the apple, inspected once more where my reflection had been. It was replaced by an off-white patch of apple flesh. My eyes flickered with the hint of emotion. If only getting rid of myself was that easy!

I bit into the apple once more, taking a chunk out of the once spherical fruit. Then, tossing the rest aside to be consumed by the darkness, I stood and loomed over my desk, my hands spread apart on nearly either end. My head hung low and I stared hauntingly at the maps and charts. Surely Kingdom Hearts hadn't spread its darkness that rapidly in that little time? From what I had seen, it was spreading gradually, only growing exponentially when I helped. What, then, had caused that shift in balance?
I paced. It was the simple, effective thing to do. The movement caused my cold body to flow blood again, and my mind was fed the life-giving substance. It helped to think deeper, faster.

Perhaps, I considered, a shift in Light, not Darkness? It would be quite a change for me. A change in Light... a growth in Light.... a... new being of Light?
The idea struck me as preposterous for only a mere moment. But was it so impossible? If the Darkness could spawn me, the pawn of itself, then why not Light do the same?

And then another thought crept up and struck me a hard blow to my fragile reality. Could it be a new member? For some reason, my mind unconsciously expelled that thought. I caught myself and drug it back to the front of my mind. A new member? In Organization IV? A member who... controls Light?

It was a terrible thought. A Haunting one, and yet it made me think deeper. Light and Darkness could never truly be "out of balance", so to speak. The Nothingness filled in the gaps and retained what was missing until the lowered element could retain the balance. Had the Nothingness... the Nobodies... a Nobody... filled in the space in the Light that I had given the Darkness? Was there a Nobody who was meant to counterbalance me?

It seemed too simple. And I was disturbed by the simplicity. Surely there was something more? I looked the the doorway, open, if not dripping, oozing, leaking darkness. One thing was clear in my mind, if nothing else: I wasn't about to find out sitting here. With one simple step, I walked into the darkness-smothered wall and portalled to the castle.

Just for Xahssa as promised

Xahssa went down to the kitchen and made herself a sandwich.

"ugghhhh!" i sat up from my bed and looked around.

"absolutly nothing." i was in traverse town stalling for time. i don't know how long i've been gone but i don't want to go back. then i heard a scream from my window.

"more heartless really..." i ran out side and didn't bother trying, shadow heartless are so weak!

then i decided to head back to the castle nothing was here for me.

i slipped walking into my portal and landed face first inside the castle.

" HELOOOOOOO?" i had no clue where i was. i really need a map.

i found the kitchen and looked at the clock.

"6 P.M unexceptable. i need to start cooking dinner! WHAT TO COOK, WHAT TO COOK!???!!!"

the kitchen was practically empty. so i cooked practically everything left. i made spaghetti and churros. and then there was the fact that i couldnt find anyone. at all...

i oly foun seycax passed out at her computer.

"hrmmm."

i ate, put out plates, and found my room. i couldn't remember anything before my time in traverse town what had happened?

I was sleeping, and then I awoke; it was as simple as that. But simplicity ended there.

I propped myself up on an elbow, winced as pain stabbed through my head, and looked around. The place wasn't familiar. I scanned it a few more times, trying to make a connection. None were forthcoming.

I wondered where in the castle... the castle! It hit me so hard I sat bolt upright, adding fresh pain to the dull throb in my head. I wasn't in the castle! Where was I? How'd I get here? What happened?

I couldn't answer any of them, adding to an ever increasing amount of panic building in the back of my mind. In truth, I couldn't remember anything beyond Nexan's "Tell them she's awake".

The panic and curiosity would have overwhelmed me if the door hadn't opened. Sora walked in, saw me awake, and his face was clouded with relief, fear, and disappointment. Suddenly, my head cleared and replaced the panic with a engulfing sense of failure, though I didn't understand why I felt that way.

"Max..." he sat at the end of the bed, chin resting on his folded hands.

I tried to speak, to make up some reason to justify whatever I had done, but I was choked; choked by that feeling of utter failure.

After some time of silence, Sora looked at me, his eyes and expression betraying nothing.

"Max," he said, his voice also unrevealing. "Do you know what happened?"

I spoke before I could even think about what to say. "I lost control."

Slowly, I realized what I had said, and accepted it. It made sense, but it also increased that failure feeling inside me until I'm sure I reeked of it.

Sora looked at me with slight surprise now. "So that's what happened... can you-"

"No," I shook my head, anticipating the question. "I can't remember what happened, I just... know..."

"Ah."

I averted my eyes, a bit shamed to admit my inability to maintain control. After a minute, though, I couldn't bear to wait any longer.

"Sora, could you-"

It was his turn to anticipate. "I already sent Riku and Kairi to check on your friends. If somethings wrong, one of them can report back here while the other stays to help out. If nothing's wrong... then I guess we won't be seeing them for a while."

Sora saw the relived and tense look on my face, but did nothing. There was nothing he could do. He stood and headed to leave.

"Sora?"

"Yea-" I cut him off as I jumped out of bed and hugged him.

"Thank you..."

He hugged me back, and I cried in his arms. There was no longer any justification for my actions, no reason for me to have done what I did. I had done a great evil, and I was ready to pay the consequences.

After my tears stopped flowing, Sora held me at arms length and searched my fearful grey-blue eyes. "We'll get through this. Together."

I sniffed and nodded, trusting his every word.

He smiled and patted me on the head. "I got some rules here, though, if you're gonna stay."

I looked up, attentive.

"First of all, you can't wear your organization robe here." I gave him a distressed look and he smiled. "Don't worry. The closet back there has a whole bunch of clothes from when I was younger. Something should at least part-way fit you."

I looked back at the closet in the room I had woken up in, and nodded.

"I'll expect you awake and dressed in time for lunch, and then we'll work on control, 'kay?"

"'Kay..." I mumbled, a bit worried, and a whole lot excited.

Sora left and shut the door behind him. I stared at it for a minute, then wandered over to the closet, throwing the doors open.

I browsed the clothes absentmindedly, not really looking. My mind was elsewhere. But one thing caught my eye, and brought my mind back to the task at hand. I reached into the far corner, and brought forth and outfit. Roxas's outfit.

I stared spellbound at it, regaining faint wisps of memories. I heard voices, too faint to make out, but there tone's where distinguishable. I heard Xemnas, Axel, Xion... and shook my head. I didn't need to be draw back.Not now.

It only took a minute to shed my organization clothes and put Roxas's on. There were a bit big, not exactly made for my type of body, but they didn't fall off when I jumped and ran and tried to shake them off. To me, that meant it fit perfect.

It was slightly unnerving to wear Roxas's clothes. Words like traitor flashed through my mind, and it was a bit difficult to ignore them. But one call from Sora and my mind's attention was relocated. I scrambled out the door to find Sora, and turn over a new leaf as a better, more dependable Max.

I had no idea how hard that would be.

I clung to the last horrifying wisps of unconsciousness, until they were all gone. All that was holding the world back was my shut eyes.

I snapped them open and suppressed a scream. Surely I was dead. Faded. Gone. No more. It took me the longest time to realize that I was breathing. Oh god, I wasn't dead!

I became dizzy with relief and horror all at the same time. Oh god no, it wasn't over!

I took me forever to get a grip; it was so hard to do now a days. I took stock of where I was.

I was in a room, on a bed, alone. Correction, I was locked in a room, strapped to a bed, left to die. That nursed my injured pride a little better.

I submerged myself in the feelings of desolation and nevermore. It gave reason to everything I was doing, planning on doing. See, I heard myself think, they don't care for you at all. Go on, kill them. But that persistent doubt was still there. Morals, Xemnas said they were. Weakness.

That was the last straw. I couldn't have weakness. I concentrated all my energy on the straps holding me down. They were eaten away by the darkness and I jumped from the bed, landing on my feet and ready for action. Well at least I was until I became aware of how drained my strength was as I stumbled on my first step and fell to my hands and knees, breathing hard to keep a hold on my fragile consciousness.

There must have been a camera or something I overlooked, for as I stood back up, leaning heavily on the bed for support, Nexan, Xahssa, and Xahnan burst into the room. They all froze as I locked eyes with them. I could see the unsureness in their eyes and their hesitation to make any assumptions. This was the perfect opportunity to do what Xemnas said. To kill them. But I couldn't bing myself to make the first move.

"Max..." Nexan took a step towards me. I felt myself take a step back, even though every fiber of my being was screaming to lunge forward and grab her shoulder and disintegrate her.

Nexan hesitated once more as she saw me step back. She looked into my eyes. I hoped she couldn't see how much conflict was going on inside myself. It was a vain wish.

"Xahssa..." Nexan said without taking her sympathetic gaze off of me. "Go get the others. Tell them.... tell them Max is awake."

"What do you mean Max is back?!?!?" Xahssa cringed. Oops, to loud I guess.
"Can you lower your voice please? And I mean what it sounds like. Max is back in the castle." Just great. What I needed today. As much as I feel awful about what happened...Did I really want to see her right now? I could barely defend myself against the heartless she HAD to have sent a couple days ago. How was I going to handle her now? Looks like I would have to find a new hiding place.
"Xahssa, do I still need to "babysit" her? I don't think I exactly can right now." My shoulder. I hadn't gotten it healed. I was trying to get it to heal naturally, but it was taking to damn long.
"Nexan's thinking it over. We know what happened wasn't all you fault, but you've gotten really close to her and can kind of predict some of  what she's going to do next. That'll all be decide after she wakes up. And after she gets the ILL." she gave me a look. It was obvious that she knew about me chickening out of giving it to Max. I just couldn't. "I don't think that Nexan will put you in charge of her until your shoulder's at least healed. Right now, Max is dead to the world though. She passed out after running into the Superior. You have some time to find a place to hide. I suggest you make use of it." I nodded.
"I will. Thanks for warning me. I'm glad we actually get along now."
"And, will you help VII train. She's been fidgety since Brax got back."
"Yeah, I'll head there now." I locked up the library. I would have to make sure to do that now. I don't want a repeat of last time. And then I set off to find Dax.

Found Her.

Nexan walks into Max's room, hoping to find some clues as to what she was up to in Halloween Town. Se scans the item scattered all over the desk, floor and bed. Nexan can see lumpy shaped objects hidden under the bed, where she walks to sit and think. After a while, she picks up a torn, ragged paper and starts to read the writing scrawled every which way on the paper. All Nexan could make out was "Xemnas speaks to... Destroy.... Will help me if I..... Kill them all." She jumps up and runs out of the room, looking for the one person that could decipher the rest of the writing.

****************************************************

Xahssa sat there quietly, observing the new kid and Daxjorn fight. Well, she wasn't really watching them. She was more or less using them for an excuse to sit and do nothing. Well, not really doing nothing. She was too busy thinking about what was happening. Nexan was losing patience, Max was MIA, Braxyd was off playing hero with Mickey, Xanhan was working herself sick with trying to fix ILL, Seycax was in critical condition, Daxjorn was Daxjorn, and Lexamich was. . . well, who knew about that kid? Either way, the Organization was falling deeper and deeper into the hole they dug themselves. And right now, it doesn't seem like they're getting out any time soon.

***************************************************

"MAX?" Nexan looked down at her friend and rubbed her forehead. "Ouch. Speak of the devil." Maxsodin and Nexan had collided headfirst when Maxsodin had unknowingly transported herself in Nexan's direct path. The force had knocked out Maxsodin, who was starved and weakened from her excessive use of Darkness. Nexan opened a portal to the hospital wing and dragged the knocked-out Maxsodin into it.

Once Nexan had Maxsodin restrained into the bed incase she woke up insane again, she ran to the training room to find the other members, leaving the scrap of paper in the hall outside Maxsodin's room.

Oh god, what was I doing!?
It was hard to place one foot after the other. My entire being screamed to do otherwise. I was shaking uncontrollably with the urge to turn around and run. But I couldn't. This was probably my only chance. This would probably be my only brief respite between insanity.

Slowly, I grabbed the door and opened it. I stared inside, half expecting to be killed that very second. I stood in the doorway, waiting for that second to come.

I finally came to the eye-opening realization that I wasn't going to be killed by standing in the doorway. I stepped inside.

Oh god oh god oh god oh god.... I looked around. I didn't see any of the other members at the moment. I went to take another step when something tugged on the hem of my robe.

I looked down. It was Finnick, one of my heartless. His round, yellow eyes were brimmed with sorrow. He tugged again, pleading for me not to go.

I bent down and picked him up, hugging him. I didn't want to either. I didn't want to die.

When I opened my eyes he had sulked off, and I was left alone in the castle again. Carefully, I crept further in.

I knew as soon as another member saw me, I was dead. I took extra precaution not to be seen anywhere any sane person would go.

Apparently though, I had gotten too confident. All I heard was "MAX!?" before everything went black.

It was a fitful unconsciousness. And as soon as I saw Xemnas looming into my view, I knew it would be worse than fitful. It would be a nightmare.

It was my first day out of the hospital wing. Finally. After a week of constant boredom I was happy to be free. Now I know how...not going there. My shoulder twitched at the thought.
I was rummaging around for any files left by the previous organization. They had to have left some kind of clues about what to do. Max couldn't just be.... not going down that path either.
Skimming my hand down the long line of volumes, I stopped at one. It wasn't very old. Xemnas's reports. The ones Sora collected. There had to be something in them. Right?
Pulling the thick volume off the shelf, I saw something from the corner of my eye. A shadow. The heartless kind.
I barely had time to pull out my arrow and rip through the darkened, flesh-like substance that was the heartless.
They were here. I had to warn the rest. I sounded the alarm. This wasn't good. They had to have been looking for something. They had never come near the library before.
Max, just what are you doing?

I woke up suddenly, out of breath. And I didn't know why. I sat up and looked around, confused. Where was I? I looked at the heartless sleeping around me, clinging to my legs arms and curled up next to where my head had been. I remembered everything with grueling detail.

My head snapped to the right as another heartless waddled into view. Upon seeing me awake, he ran over and clung to my shoulder lovingly with his sharp little claws, unaware he was gauging my flesh while doing so. It was okay, though. I was unaware of it too.

We're so sorry! I heard him say in my head.

I tilted my head curiously. About what?

He nuzzled against my cheek, snuggling his velvety soft head under my chin. We failed you! We didn't kill the girl!

I twirled one of his antenna around my finger. It's okay, I... I stopped myself. No, I couldn't tell him I didn't want her to die in the first place. That would confuse him, mar his natural instinct to maul on sight. And that could end fatally for us both. Your failure will be tolerated this time.

The heartless brighten up considerably, taking the liberty to rouse the sleeping heartless around me. "Wake up, Mistress is ill!", "Wake up, Mistress is feeling sad!", and "Wake up, Mistress is not pleased with you!" were just a few of the threats he used to get the heartless off their butts faster.

I was bombarded with questions about how I was feeling, my health, and apologies for failing to do better. I answered them all simultaneously. I feel fine guys. And you're all doing great! I'm so proud of you all!

Immediately, the heartless ignored me and began discussing how many people they had killed. I stood and walked further away from the group so it would be easier to block out their gruesome bragging.

Seycax was not dead. That fact overwhelmed me with both relief and anxiety. She wasn't dead, I hadn't caused her to die, but now if the Organization wasn't going to learn about my betrayal before, they certainly were now. I breathed in slow deep breaths. I was feeling drained from using my power so much the day before, but I knew it was because I hadn't used it in so long. I was a bit rusty, but Xemnas had said to use my power without restraint now. He said I would soon get used to it once more.

The less I concentrated on the Organization and Seycax, the better I felt inside. I rapidly filled my head with work to be done, and forced my emotions and worries to the far corner of my mind. I walked over to the heartless.

Usually, the heartless didn't have names. They simply communicated with each other by speaking directly into the mind of whatever heartless they wished to address. There was no need for them to call to one another by name. But, for the sake of their Mistress, they allowed me to give them names to order them around by.

Kyle! I said. The heartless who had found me awake looked up. Take three others and ransack the libraries. Take everything that could be useful to us. Books on heartless, nobodies, darkness, Organization XIII, anything you think would have something useful in it.

Yes Mistress. He relied and bound off with three other heartless right behind him.

Chase! Richie! The two heartless turned. Search for any survivors. If they don't seem useful, kill them. But if they do, bring them back.

Yes Mistress! They chimed happily, and dashed off.

Nate! Steve! Two others looked hopefully at me. Look around for any other heartless or dusks sulking around this place. Round them all up and bring them back here.

Yes Mistress! They hopped away in a third direction then the last two groups.

I was down to the last handful of heartless. The rest of you, see if you can find any places for me to spread the darkness. Report back here when you do so I can take care of it straight away.

Yes Mistress! The remaining heartless scattered into the shadows.

I walked over and stared at the view of the wrecked town from my vantage point at the highest place in the town. I was left alone with simply my thoughts and my worries for what the near future might hold.

I woke up to see sunlight streaming through the window of the healing room. Taking a quick glance around, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in when I noticed no one was in the room with me. Then a rush of thought seemed to come all to quickly.
Max. Halloween Town. The diary. It was all my fault. I had left the diary unlicked after she had seen where it was. I should have know she would find someone to open the doors for her.
The door opened and in came Xahssa. My shoulder gave an involuntarry pain.
"You want to exlpain?" She was definatly upset. Not that I blamed her.
"She went insane, I thought I could stop her. We got in a giant fight, she was trying to completly COVER Halloween Town in darkness. She lost control and left me for dead. What was I supposed to do? I thought I was dead for sure. I'm not even sure how I was able to portal out." I felt her eyes rake over my body, trying to determine if I was telling the truth or not. The pain in my shoulder was killer.
"Is that right?"
"Yeah. I should've grabbed the diary. Should have listned to Nexan earlier and given her the ILL. She's probably out there, alone, scared. Its my fau-"
"Will you stop that."
"What? I thought you would be mad?"
"Of course I am! But I realize all of it isn't your fault. Your hurt. You tried. And you almost died. That's enough for one day."
"Really?"
"Yes. Im not giving up on her yet and neither are you. But we have to wait. And watch."

in the black

"WHAT THE HELL!" i was sprinting faster than ever but my body was supper heavy.

i saw max and seycax. Max opened a potrtal and seycax followed.

"WAIT!" i was to late, they had already left. i went to 6 differnt world looking for them.

Traverse town, no... Twilight town, no... i had started to worry i began to look faster, Wonder land, NO, NO, NO! when i finaly got to holloween town i was almost to late.

"wha- wha, WHAT HAPPENED?" it was all destroied well exept for the town center there was a giant pool of heartless. then a portal opened seycax escaped but now i had a bigger problem there was a giant heartless. Over 500 feet tall i had a big problem i materialized my staff and and beat the hell out of that thing! the towns safe for now

Hurt

I was shocked. One of my best friends had just left me for dead. Glancing around, I was defiantly outnumbered. This wasn't a good situation in any way shape or form. And there were more of them coming.
Drawing my arrows, I shot as many as I could, before everything went black. The last thing I remember was desperately trying to open a portal, to anywhere, and realizing this could actually be the end.
______________________________________________________________________________________
                                                         Max
I looked back. I promised myself I wouldn't, but I did. Just in time to see my friends pounce on her.. And then it hit me. I had just killed one of my friends. One of the ones who would stay by me no matter what. We had one fight and I just...killed her. But she deserved it. Right? Now I couldn't go back to the castle. They would be mad, turn on me. The only person I have left it Xemans. He understands. He made the same decision. Better get back to work.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
                                                       Seycax
I was started awake. I was alive....and very much in pain. My shoulder. It throbbed. And I was alone with no potions, just perfect. Now I know to listen next time Xahssa says, always be prepared. For anything. But, wait, I'm alive? The heartless? Halloween Town?! Glancing around, I saw I was in Traverse Town? This is one place I haven't been in a while. Standing up and brushing myself off I made a portal. Or, tried to. Of course, Max drained it. Guess I was staying a while. Setting off down the alleyway, I hurried to Small House. It would be odd spending the night there. I hadn't in nearly 11 years.
                                               Next Day
I woke up refreshed. It felt odd being anywhere then the castle. Guess I had really gotten attached in the time I had stayed there.  My shoulder was starting to heal nicely, but that would be fixed the second I got back. Now, attempting to open a portal, worked. Let's just hope they aren't all to mad.
Stepping out into the round room I saw everyone else in their chairs. Shock was evident in their faces. And then I went black.

Betrayal

"Max?" Seycax asked as she saw the member in the hallway alone. She appeared to be sleeping while leaning against the wall, but her head snapped up after hearing her name."Yeah? What's up VI?" she stretched.

"Your nightmares." Seycax brought up their previous conversation.

Max's ears flushed and she suddenly became really interested in her feet, shifting her weight nervously. "Yeah... what about them?"

Seycax eyed her funny, then shrugged. "Nothing. You just woke up screaming last night is all."

It was Max's turn to shrug. "I wake up screaming a lot."

Seycax inspected her hand. "I know, but last night seemed worse. You were crying." She looked up to see Max's reaction.

Max muttered under her breath, "With good reason..." then looked Seycax in the eyes, her voice keyed and a bit overly loud for the causal conversation. "Is that right?"

Seycax frowned. "What do you mean 'with good reason'?"

"H-huh?" Max's eyes widened with unpleasant surprise. "I didn't say that..."

Seycax sighed. "Forgot about my super hearing, didn't you?"

Max's voice was monotone with dread. "You have super hearing?" She groaned and rolled her eyes.

Seycax shrugged again. "Yeah. I can kinda hear any sound within a 25 mile radius."

"Well that's just great..." Max narrowed her eyes sulkily. "Yeah, the night was nothing..." memories of that scream, the vision of the fading member all came back to Max with sickening detail. She shuddered. "Nothing at all...."

"Really?" Seycax tried to mask the doubt she was feeling. "Then you're well enough to sleep in the room Nexan cleaned out?"

Max squired uncomfortably. "I really... haven't been sleeping anymore..."

Seycax shook her head and tisked disapprovingly. "You're going to pass out eventually, and knowing you, you'll be doing something important when it happens."

"No I won't. I've sorta been.... functioning off of pure darkness for a while now..."

"YOU WHAT!?" Seycax exploded, forgetting how much her voice projected when she was shocked. She used her powers to lower it, staring at a cringing Max who was covering her ears. "Sorry..."

"S'okay..." Max knocked a hand onto her ear to un-deafen herself. "Yeah, it's a bit like being buzzed on coffee, with.... more side-effects."

Seycax did a facepalm. "When and where did you get coffee?"

Max shrugged, smiling slightly. "Well, Superior and I had some when we were awake at like... 3 in the morning a while back."

"And that was it?" Seycax was dreading a "no".

Max frowned sheepishly. "Yeah... I can't figure out how to make it on my own..."

Seycax motioned to Max and the two of them headed into the library. They sat at a small table and Seycax poured herself a small glass of whiskey, while Max made the most of her boredom by experimenting with her powers.Seycax downed the glass. "'Kay. I'm better now."

Max had a horrified expression on, then switched it for a tight smile as she turned to Seyax.

Seycax eyed her suspiciously. "On second thought..." she downed the whole bottle.

Max leaned in her chair to get a better look at something behind Seycax, still wearing her "HOE CRAP!" expression. "Yeah you might need that..."

Seycax turned around and sighed as she saw a puddle of darkness oozing on the floor. She turned back and eyed Max in a no-nonsense manner. "As long as it doesn't get out of control."

"'Kay!" Max smiled, but somehow it looked twisted to Seycax."Why are you looking at me like that?" By the way Max struggled to mask the smile. Seycax was sure it was twisted, and Max knew it as well.

"Like what?" was her response.

Seycax shook her head. "Never mind, stupid whiskey." She looked up and saw Max had fallen for the ploy.

Under the table, Max pulled out Xemnas's dairy and re-read the instructions he had given her. Then she quickly tucked it away and looked back up attentively. "I uh..."

Seycax looked at her. "What?"

Max didn't meet her eyes, instead focusing on a point behind her. "I have to uh... go... somewhere, um...." She stood.

Seycax waved her away and Max didn't hesitate. "Be back in time for dinner. Xahssa and VIII will kill you if you're not." Seycax stood and began to head deeper into the library.

Max sighed and muttered under her breath. "Now to Halloween Town..."

"What?" Max froze. She had totally forgotten about Seycax's super hearing. "You're not allowed out without an escort, III."

"I...I um... I..."

Seycax smiled. "If you want, I'll go with you."

Max didn't smile back. "Uh.... h-how much whiskey have you had?" She titled her head curiously.

"Just a bottle. Not much." Seycax frowned as if to warn Max. "I'm not even tipsy."

Max cringed hopefully. "Would you believe me if I told you I was allowed out on my own now?"

"I'm not that drunk yet."

Max stared at Seycax, seriously considering blasting her with darkness. It would be an efficient way make reaching Halloween Town easier.

"Why are you looking at me like that?' Seycax was feeling a bit unnerved by Max's harsh, unwavering stare. "Max...?"

Max flexed her fingers, concentrating the necessary power to destroy Seycax. "Oh nothing, VI. Don't concern yourself."

Seycax glared at her. "Let go of her!" she yelled. "That's not Max, that's the Darkness!"

Max blinked at her. "You're speaking nonsense. It's me, your friend." She gestured to herself. "It's Max."

Seycax continued to glare. "No it's not! I can tell!"

Max frowned, puzzled. What was she...? Max clutched her head.

Seycax heaved a sigh inwardly. "There you go, get control of yourself Max. You can do it."

Max blinked at her again and shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about VI. It's me!"

"Now it is."

Max's face creased in confusion. "Huh?"

Seycax became confused too. "You mean you don't remember what just happened?"

"What? Of course I do...!" Max jogged her memory, but no matter how hard she tried, the truth was she couldn't remember what had just happened. It was like her brain just didn't bother to store the last minute of memory.

"Really, what was I just saying?" Seycax was becoming increasingly worried and concerned. She herself had never seen or experienced Max loosing control, and now she knew why no one liked to discuss them.

"Uh...."

Seycax's frown deepened. "So you don't remember what just happened?"

"I told you I do!" Max said indignantly, but she was less than convincing, even to herself.

"Really?" Seycax sighed. "I know it wasn't you. It's okay."

The confusion on Max's face was rapidly becoming panic. "You're... you're not making sense.... I was here the whole time!"

Seycax tried to keep herself calm in an attempt to calm Max. "Physically maybe. The darkness took you over, Max. It was going to kill me. I saw in your.... its eyes."

Max looked at Seycax. What she was saying made sense. Max was suddenly overwhelmed with an urge to kill Seycax. She's seen too much, she knows to much! her head screamed. Max frowned and shook her head to dislodge the urge. "No.... I wouldn't do th-.... no, you're wrong!"

"No I'm not." Seycax was taking a stern tone with Max now. "I saw it. It gave me ultimatum, though, like it didn't want to kill me but would."

Something lit up in Max's face, something close to recognition. "That would mean..." then panic swarmed her emotions again. "VI! What time is it!?"

"8 o clock." Seycax thought it was time to out Max in her room for bed. "Why?"

The look of Max's face, a look of utter horrific terror, was enough to startle VI.

"SHI-!" Max cut herself off. "I've got to go... now!" She turned and ripped a portal open from thin air.

"Max? Where are you going?"Max ignored her, muttered hysterically. "I shoulda been then by now.... ooh, I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm late! I've got to destroy the place... Xemnas asked me to...-"

"Xemnas?" Anger and confusion invaded Seycax's emotions. "What the hell!?"

Max ignored her again.

"I'll follow you!" Seycax threatened determinedly.

"Don't!" Max whirled around, snarling with her eyes black. She then grunted and shook her head, blinking open semi-normal eyes. "For your own good, don't..."

"See? You're going in and out again. You'll hurt yourself!" Seycax tried to reach for Max, to keep her from leaving.

Max jerked away from Seycax's outstretched hand. "I'll be fine! The darkness has absolutely no reason to turn on my now!" She took in a deep breath to calm herself. "Look, I can't stop you from following me, but just... please... don't...." Then she stepped into the portal and it closed behind her.

Seycax stared at where Max had disappeared. "Think! Where was she going? She said earlier... Halloween Town! Well, I guess I know my destination..." She conjured up a portal and stepped through.

Max arrived in Halloween Town. Its destruction had already begun without her. Buildings were falling apart and smashed, purple fires burning on many of the roofs and some in the streets. The entire place was deserted except for the heartless and dusks that pillaged and ran ramped in the streets. Darkness oozed from the shadows and covered most of the town. It was Max's job to finish covering it.

Max sighed, a smile twitching at her mouth, threatening to expose her true emotions. "Better get to work..." She walked determinedly farther into the town, ignoring the heartless that bounced at her feet and hissed their malicious jubilee in her ears.

A voice stopped her in her tracts. "I'm not going to let you!"

Max whirled around to face Seycax, who was standing alone, shooing away a scared, yapping dog.

It took a minute for Max to realize how much danger VI was in by just standing there. The heartless that clawed adoringly at Max's heels were already dashing towards her, ecstatic to have a new victim to tear apart."Go away VI! This... wait you guys, STOP!" The heartless halted not far from Seycax, shoving at each other to get closer to VI, but none of them willing to disobey Max.

Max glared. "It's gotta be done."

"No it doesn't." Seycax countered.

"You don't understand, Seycax!" Max growled, but was choked by a sob caused by the overwhelming sense of total isolation.

Seycax felt sympathetic towards Max, but she knew it was no time to be soft with her. "Yes I do, to an extent at least. I know what its like to be alone, sure i had my brother, but do you know how emotional he is? Hes like a freak'n ice cube, till Raven I had no one. When i first came to the organization i had no one. The darkness took all that away from me. Like it took everything away from you. The only difference, you don't know what your missing."

Max's eyes melted into the one of her childhood, the soft innocent eyes she once had. Then that oh so brief moment was over, and they hardened again as she remembered her place, remembered all she had gone through to get to where she was now. "No, you're wrong. It took everything, so that I could have something, something better! Something I would never accept if it hadn't taken what I thought meant the world to me, and put me into perspective. It's given me power, VI. A power you can't begin to comprehend! Not a physical power like you've seen me use, but a power over myself, over things beyond life itself... this is all I have VI! And I won't let you stop it from letting me achieving greater!"Max turned sharply on her heel, trying so hard to do what she thought was right. Mentally, Max released the heartless from their restraints, and they swarmed forward again to have at Seycax.

Seycax glared murder at Max's back. "Then you're a traitor! As good as dead!" She glances a bit uneasily at the rapidly approaching heartless.

Mentally, Max signaled the heartless to stop again. They did, this time only a few feet from Seycax.

Slowly Max glances back at Seycax, her face ashen and void of expression. "Traitor?"

Besides the heartless right in her face, Seycax's blood was boiling. "Yeah, no better than one of us, who actually are heartless! Mickey's even better than you! At least he's trying to do good, not destroy!"

Max turned back around. "How would you know what I'm trying to do?"And with that, she walked off and disappeared into the smoking, darkness-oozing ruins of Halloween Town.

The heartless, shifted nervously. They had been given an order, but now there was no one to take the command away. It wasn't a few seconds after Max left that they attacked Seycax.

Communication

The door shut. The lock was turned. The lights were flipped off. All was well.

Max let out a sigh as she looked about the dark, pitch black room. Her room. Her eyes glowed slightly as she viewed the room as if it were in full daylight. Her room was a wreck. Piles of junk positioned around the room, shattered glass and various broken things scattered on the floor, and darkness oozing in small puddles on the floor and patches on the walls.

Drawing a feeling of safety from her element, Max withdrew Xemnas's diary from her coat. Placing it on the floor, she knelt over it and hovered her and above it. Shakily, she let her hand turn black; smothered in darkness. Breathing in short, shallow breaths, she placed her hand on the diary cover and drew in her breath sharp as it absorbed the darkness from her hand.

As soon as the careful process was over, Max scrambled onto her feet and grabbed the diary, sitting at her desk. She flipped it to a blank section near the back, and placed her hand on it again.

Xemnas? are you there? Max thought apprehensively.

She waited. After a minute, a voice echoed, a bit muffled, in her head.

I am here.

Max felt a rush of excitement. It had work! What he had said to do worked!

After composing herself, Max concentrated hard.

What do you want me to do? She thought, making sure the voice sounded clear in her head.

Another minute went by before she got an answer.

Halloween Town. Destroy it.

Max was taken aback. Why? Why would he want that? She looked at the diary. She thought about asking, but decided not to. He had told her to do it. Why would she question him?

I will, Xemnas. She finally replied.

She waited.

Good girl.

Max removed her hand and immediately felt drained. She staggered a few paces then fell to her hands, trying to blink away the spots in her vision. Everything felt far away.

It took a minute, but Max found the strength to stand again and did. She grabbed the diary, tucked it back in her coat, and flipped on the lights. Rubbing her eyes, Max turned the door nob to unlock the door. Then she staggered over to bed and collapsed, falling instantly asleep.