Nexan Theme? + Max's Theme Round (What are we at? 4? 5?)

Nexan:

Max:

A Summary of III's Head and Previous Actions

We've seen it before. When a Nobody "dies", they fade and are gone. Because we can no longer see them, we assume they do not exist.

When a Nobody fades, the Darkness, the living darkness of the world, reclaims its creation to a dimension only it has access to. It cannot be breached unless the Darkness wants another being to do so. Or if, somehow, the Darkness is controlled by another force, and is made to open for another.

When this being, this master of the darkness, steps into this dimension, it can only be through the deep subconscious of their mind. It is impossible to physically step foot in the dimension. Only through death may a Nobody physically traverse there. When visiting subconsciously, one may see and interact with all who have been reclaimed into the dimension. They will hear things they should never hear. Be told things they should never know. Be influenced in ways they should have never been exposed to. In a sense, the being who enters this dimension and interacts with the inhabitants will have knowledge beyond death.

Only one person has ever stepped foot into the dimension. That is Maxsodin. She has done so unwillingly. This is because she cannot control darkness. That is impossible. The darkness allows her to use it, it creates the illusion of control. To fully unserstand what that means, they must first have a visual of what III's head is like.

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

Imagine a vast emptiness. Picture it as a wide open field that goes on and on forever. In this field, there is a swarm of heartless: the symbol of the Darkness's massive power. The only thing keeping the heartless from rampaging is one figure. She is Max's conscious. She is what guides Max's decisions. Behind Her, there is Him. He stands behind Her, whispering in her ear. He takes the appearance of a loyal servant. It is He who inherited the heartless mass. But as Her servant, She has control over the heartless.

She has always stood strong and proud. He has always whispered his advice in her ear, but always she has ignored his whisperings, and done what she knew was right. Slowly, gradually, unnoticed, He has drained her strength. Before she knew it, she was listening to his advice. She was doing as he asked. Eventually, He was practically in charge. But the illusion of He the servant and Her the master remained in tact.

Once she gained some strength back, She realized the evil in the commands she was agreeing to do. She tried to walk away from His counseling, but she was not strong enough. The heartless, at His command, swarmed her, brought her down. But He held them off, didn't allow them to kill Her. He waited for Her to rise to her feet, taking charge in her stead. Many times this happened, and each time She got back to her feet.

But once she fell and did not rise. She remained on her hand and knees, unable to support herself. This is what He always wanted. He now was in control. He devised plans under Her name, preformed actions that were branded as Her wishes, spoke out words that were thought to be Her own. She was unaware of what He was doing, but it was Her that got blamed for it. It was confusing to hear people ask why She had wanted that, when She really didn't. But as far as anyone was concerned, He was the servant, and She was the master.

If She tried to explain what He had done, the words that came out were His. If She tried to call for help, her cried were distorted by Him, and made her only look more insane. But He would not kill her. If She was gone, all they would see was him, the hideous dark form. And then everyone would realize what had happened, and it would be too late to save Her. They would kill Him, but they would have already have lost Her. She cannot tell anyone, for her voice is not her own. She cannot the plans and thoughts she supposedly has, because she has never thought them. She is the perfect curtain for His malevolent plan, and He cannot be exposed until the curtain and torn down.

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

That is Maxsodin's head. Her conscious has been weakened until it is mute, and her darkness devises thoughts and plans and schemes that she doesn't know is in her mind. Not until they are exposed to her from an outside source. Not until someone screams at her, "Why would you want such and such!?" does she know she ever thought such things. But you cannot save her, now can you? If you try to kill the darkness, it won't work. Like any disease, you can't just kill it at the source and expect everything to be okay. No, you have to kill the source, and everything its affected. I bet you can guess what that would mean for Max.

I was not in a good mood. Not at all. First, those STUPID dusks ruined my newly planted garden. The king shows up, and Braxyd tries to kill himself. Definitely not a good week.
Unfortunately, my poor bleeding hearts were getting the tail end of my anger. I had trimmed them so bad they were practically just one twig.
"Well those don't look so swell." said a high pitched voice from behind me. I knew that voice, it was someone who I have been trying to avoid since he decided to stay in are "lovely home".
"Why do you always show up at the wrong time?"
"What do you mean Casey?"
"DO. NOT. CALL. ME. THAT. I AM NOT CASEY! I AM SEYCAX, number 6, the noisy newcomer of Organization IV." He started at me, stunned. It felt good. I had Never in my life let loose like that. It was freaking awesome! "You know what else, "Your Majesty", I'm sick of you butting in when you aren't needed. Look what you did, we finally get Max out of confinement and you go and mess it all up. Just because Brax is stupid enough to think that you can actually destroy kingdom hearts, but you can't. Only Sora and Max can. You already had your shot. And how well did it work out for you???" Now his mouth was hanging open. This is the part it I had a heart I would die of laughter (Saix). And with that he turned and walked away.
And I returned to my gardening. I got the front gardens pretty well replanted. As I was cleaning up I looked up and saw the giant moon heart. I should probably go visit Max, it was my fault that she's there.
I only let her out of my sight for 5 minutes. And I figured she was fine when I saw Braxyd. That should have been a clue.
And on that note, I opened a portal and made my way down to the darkest part of Castle Oblivion.

>=|

Max had been swearing under her breath for the past hour. It was the only way she was sure that time was passing.

Why did she listen to him!?

Clutching her hand in a fist, she slammed it against the rough cement wall, drawing her breath in sharply as the raw skin finally broke. Cradling her bloodying hand, she stop cursing and simply stared.

Was it because she believed him...?

No, she was certain she had the same goal as everyone else! Was certain...

Of course, she never did know what she was thinking, or planning. Such things had gone beyond her capacity to control. She had precious little control over anything now.

Control Kingdom Hearts? She had expected herself to be appalled by such an accusation. Why hadn't she?

Precious little was in her control... just how much of that was an illusion?

She knew sanity was an illusion. It was so easily broken, her mind so easily taken from her control. She didn't even feel real anymore. Reality and fantasy mingled in her eyes. It was impossible to distinguish the two.

Max listened to her boot scrap quietly over the floor as she released her knees from a huddled position. Stretching, her felt her entire body ache in protest. But she stretched more. Pain was a real thing, that much she knew.

I'm where I belong, Max thought to herself. In the deep, dark dungeons.

If she heard the door into the dungeon creek open, or if it was just another ploy of her twisted mind frame, it didn't matter to Max. She had passed the point of no return long ago. She was now facing the consequences.

in which blood drips and one may die

"Hey max come in here!" beckoned Braxyd from behind the closed door of the third floor parlor.

“What the hell do you want br-” said max suddenly cut off by the appalling sight, of Brax with a makeshift noose around his neck. He was standing out on the terrace tying the bed sheet noose around the metal hand rail and tightening the end around his neck until it was a snug fit.

“Do you ever think that we won’t be able to do it?” obviously crazed from the three straight days of preparation for Kingdom Hearts. “Do you ever think that Mickey wont be able to do it, ever think that you might die trying to meet your own personal agendas?”

“w-what do you mean Brax?” said maxy walking forward slowly, hitting the alarm button subtly as she does.

“I know that you want to control kingdom hearts. I know that you will do anything to control it, even if it means killing all of us. I know that there is no hope of getting a hearts as long as you or I are in the organization.” Mumbled Braxyd, climbing onto the rail.

“You know that’s not true number IV. You know that I want a heart as much as the next nobody.” Scared of both what Braxyd was doing and the strange truth of what he was saying. “C’mon Brax, just c-come on down here and we can talk it out.”

“The time for talking is over. Now it is time to take action. I will believe that it is lies when you walk out of this room and lock yourself in the prison downstairs and throw away the key, until KH is gone. It’s either that or I… I jump.” Said Brax boldly at first but slowly getting more and more depressed as he continued on.

“Ok… ok I’ll go now ok. See I’m leaving.” Said Maxsodin walking backwards and opening the locked door.

“DON’T LET HIM JUMP!!!” screamed the superior, rushing into the room with the rest of the org.

“Damn you Maxy.” Mumbled Braxyd slowly and softly. With those last three words he jumped off the edge.


**************************************************
Braxyd woke up in his favorite room in the castle: the interrogation room. “What the fuck happened?” said Braxyd seeing that II was sitting in front of him.

“you tried to jump, Dax threw a fan at the sheet, Nexan opened a portal underneath you and then you fell on your head breaking it open and bleeding all over the ground.” She said bluntly, obviously disappointed with him.

A soft smile crossed his face.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO BE HAPPY ABOUT!?!” said number two confused and totally angry that he was in any way happy.

“Where is Maxsodin?”

“She is in the prison. I guess that what you did got to her.” Said Xahssa now calming down.

“That’s what I have to be happy about… I staged the whole thing you know. I’m not that stupid as to kill myself.” Said Braxyd with a chuckle of accomplishment.

Xahssa was totally pissed off at Braxyd. She then proceeded to utter every curse she knew and top it off with a kick in the shin and a punch in the mouth.

“I guess I deserve that. Hey, you might want to look over the security feeds, and listen to the audio. What I said is true.” Said Brax while licking the blood that lay in the corner of his mouth.

“I guess I’ll have to do that.” Said number II leaving Braxyd tied to a chair in a bright room with blood dripping to the floor.

Tell Me If This Works...

http://darktimax.free.fr/forum/A%20Cure%20-%20Violin%20Solo.pdf

If not go here and scroll down a bit:

http://forum.emilieautumn.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=18922

Extract from the Diary of Maxsodin

If I were the Superior:

1. There would be no one else
2. Okay, scratch that. I need people to command
3. Uh... there would be LESS people.
4. Like, four or something
5. NO ONE COULD BUG ME
6. NO ONE COULD QUESTION ME OR MY MOTIVES
7. NO ONE WOULD STOP ME IF I DESIRED TO DO SOMETHING STUPID
8. Number 7 could be broken in certain circumstances that I shall not name for the sake of space
9. Our mission would be to rule every world we can
10. We would readily die in the process of obtaining our goal
11. We would not meddle with the Light
12. We would not meddle with the Darkness
13. Scratch number 9. Our new mission is to find a way to bring back Xemnas and them
14. Insanity will be tolerated. Directly disobeying orders will not.

Reasons I am NOT the Superior:

1. All 14 things listed above
2. Wow, ironic. 14.
3. I am a completely insane, messed up, blood-thirsty, easily manipulated idiot slave of my own power
4. I am stubborn
5. I cannot admit when I am in the wrong
6. Self-esteem is all I have left
7. Nexan is a better Superior to the power of 32

III and VI

Seycax and Maxsodin were in the kitchen. VI was watching III, to make sure she didn't do anything stupid or threatening to the Org.

Maxsodin was rummaging through all the cabinets and cupboards, searching for nothing in particular. In truth, she felt better when she was occupied with pointless tasks than when she was doing nothing.

"I don't like him, and I don't trust him." Her voice was muffled from the cabinet her head was in.

Seycax was leaning causally against a counter, her eyes watching Max like a hawk.

She shrugged. "Doesn't change anything, does it?"

Max withdrew her head to stare at Seycax a moment, before searching the cupboards above her head. "Still, I don't like him."

Seycax rolled her eyes. "Like I haven't heard that a million times!"

Max winced as a cupboard door closed on the back of her head. Removing herself, she rubbed her head ruefully and looked around for some place she hadn't yet searched.

"I won't listen to anything he says." Max drew herself up. "Or anything Nexan says to do that involves him."

Seycax raised an eyebrow, a look that always unnerved Max. "Is that right?"

Max shuffled her feet and twitched slightly. "Well, unless the order is to kill him."

She still regarded Max dryly. "Why does that not surprise me?"

Max shrugged, a small fiendish smiling playing about her lips. "Force of habit."

She headed over to the refrigerator.

Seycax watched in silence, the only noise the clicking of bottles as Max rummaged.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Is it really a habit?"

Max went to stand and smacked her head on the roof of the fridge.

Gingerly, she extracted herself and faced Seycax. "You could call it that. More like instinct really. Primitive instinct, but instinct no less."

"So if you got really angry and spiteful towards me right now, you would just kill me?"

Max pondered this, conscious that Seycax would have no problem making her life miserable if she said the wrong thing.

"Well, I guess you could say I have some control over my need to kill and destroy..." Her voice trailed off, for it was something she didn't really like discussing.

"Do you?" There was a hint of doubt in Seycax's words.

Max stared at her feet, which suddenly became much easier to stare at then meet Seycax's gaze. It was a question she often asked herself. A question she couldn't answer without feeling like she had lied.

After a minute of tense silence, Seycax shrugged. "Whatever. Come on, let's go see if we can find anymore dusks to k-... exterminate."

"Oh, okay..."

Seycax frowned. Max's head was somewhere else, deep in thought. Perhaps she should leave her to mull over her dilemmas. To be frank, Seycax was rather spiteful about Max's lack of self-control. It wouldn't plague her conscious if she left Max to dwell on her problems.

Seycax sighed loudly. But she couldn't do that. Nexan had asked her to watch Max, and she intended on doing so.

"Come on Max." Seycax tugged gently at her arm.

Automatically, Max followed Seycax. Her mind was far off, but her body would do as it was bid.

Her mind was far off, searching for answers it would never find.

Big ears

“What the hell is going on here!” said Braxyd as he was almost struck in the head with a thrown fan.

“Sensei! Thank god you’re back. Dusks, heartless, and all matter of hell are breaking out here. Help us.” Said Daxjorn catching her fan and throwing it again at

“Com’mon maxy let’s kick some ass!” said Nexan not really wanting to evaluate the situation first.

“Not a wise move superior. Twenty seven heartless, twenty three dusks, four weakened members and we are cornered.” Said Brax pessimistically, “I say that we call for reinforcements.”

“Like who jack ass. No one really likes us.” Said max suddenly getting back to normal, it must be the heat of battle.

“Short stack.”

“Who?” said Nexan, Xahssa, and Maxsodin all in unison.

Braxyd didn’t even have to answer. The members saw a small figure slice each of the creatures into little pieces in a huge blur. Then once he landed the figure threw back his hood to reveal two large ears.

“Hiya Braxyd. Huh, huh.”

“I found him.” Said Brax smiling like a content drunk.

Feast Your Eyes!

Max felt the color drain from her face. Of all the people to find her...

"Oh, hi IV, Superior..." she flashed a weak grin before bolting in the opposite direction.

Sora grabbed her arm as she past, but Max still ran and pulled desperately, to no avail.

Nexan marched over and pressed two fingers right between Max's neck and shoulder. With a brief eep, Max collapsed to he ground, nursing her pressure point.

Brax snorted with amusement. With a nod from Nexan, he hauled Max to her feet. But before he could drag her into the portal, Sora stopped him.

"Hold on now. What makes you think you can just drag her back?"

Nexan rolled her eyes and tisked briefly. She didn't have time for this! "She one of our members."

"She's my sister!"

"She should be back recovering her strength and your taking her out where she can be killed!?"

"She should be preparing herself for the destruction of Kingdom Hearts! Like I was helping her to!!!"

Nexan's scythe clashed with Sora's Kingdom Key, fight blazing in both their eyes.

As Braxyd had watched the exchange, he hadn't noticed that Max had slipped from his grasp. He only noticed it when she knocked Sora's feet out from under him with a sweep of her Keyblade and met Nexan's overhead swing without missing a beat.

"Enough!" She grunted, strained by the effort of holding Nexan's scythe back. "Sora, I'm going with them!"

Sora blinked at her, equal to an apology to Max.

"And Nexan," She glared at her Superior, then hastily changed her look to apologetic. "You don't need to carry me off. I'll come peacefully."

Nexan let he scythe disappear, and Max did the same with her Keyblade. Max continued to look sorry, but Nexan kept her gaze stern.

"Come on then."

Nexan stepped into the portal. Max looked back to Sora, who was just getting to his feet.

"Come on Max!" Braxyd called.

"Coming..."

Braxyd disappeared into the portal, and, with a heavy sigh, Max did too.

She didn't expect to arrive in utter chaos.

In which there is butter

Though things may be going well in Maxy's World, all hell was breaking loose back at the Castle. Braxyd and Nexan had already left to go hunt out Maxsodin, which left Xahssa in control of the other members.
It was easy at first, really, for everyone was busy.
Daxjorn was off in the library, reading up about different battle strategies from the Keyblade Wars, hoping to pick up something regarding fans of any kind. She had already gone through several volumes, and nothing had turned up to her disappointment.
Seycax had herself up to elbows in dirt, trying to make the outside of the Castle look pretty. There were tons of plants behind her, ranging from Morning Glory's to Magnolias. Nobody knew that she liked gardening (even if she does is a mystery to all), but everyone soon found out she was not the Heartless for the job due to the messy flowerbeds and poor mangled bushes.
Xanhan had tests to run concerning ILL. She believed that she could somehow improve the pill's method of killing the Darkness in Number III's mind. Since the Darkness was tied so closely with Maxsodin, it was most likely have repercussions on her when she ingested the pill, ranging from migranes, stomach aches and schizophrenia.
All Xahssa had to do was make sure they didn't kill each other and Nexan would be pleased. Having nothing to do, she decided to take a nap, because everyone loves naps. Sadly, that was what screwed them all over.
Number II is a paranoid Nobody, and she doesn't like anyone but Organization members even looking at the gates of the Castle. She especially doesn't like it when Heartless manage to get their way past. It didn't matter what Max said about them being good pets; they gave Xahssa the creeps.
So when about 10 Dusks wiggled their way through the gates and up the steps to the Castle, there was Nobody to alert the others about what was going on (Seycax was in the back gardens, because that place is really disgusting and needed some bushes to spice up the scenery).
They moved quickly and silently up the stairs and banged their fists against the door. Daxjorn, in the library which is quite close to the parlor, groaned in exasperation. Goodness. Did Braxyd lock himself out, again? She wandered down the hall and to the large door.
"C'mon Brax, you need to remember whe-" Her sentence ended with a shriek as she flew back from the door and the Dusks burst into the Castle. Daxjorn tried summoning her fans, but one Dusk launched at her, looking ready to kill.

There was a dark ball of energy, radiating Darkness and fire at the same time. The fire spiked around the Darkness with the Darkness fighting against the fire. Dream Xahssa gazed at it dreamily. It was so pretty. . .
Then it shifted, creating a suspended orb of swirling wind with strands of curling water dancing around it. The wind would try to seize the water with a great gust, but the water would weave it's way out.
Then there was a soft melody coming from the center of the orb and from that orb grew space, gradually consuming the wind and water. The music grew louder and louder and the smell of burning filled Dream Xahssa's nose. Lightning struck with a quick movement, and the whole image disappeared.
In it's place was what Dream Xahssa assumed to be Kingdom Hearts. She heard murmuring around her but she couldn't hear what it was. She strained her ears more and more until she heard a faint cry.
"Xahssa! Xahssa! The Castle is under attack!"

I was laughing. A true, genuinely happy laugh. It was my first in forever.

Sora was grinning, happy his joke had been taken so well. I laughed and stuck my seasalt ice cream in my mouth to stop the oncoming fit of giggles, but it didn't work. Sora laughed, because I must looked real comical was I was laughing around seasalt ice cream. But I didn't mind how I looked. We were laughing. And that was all that mattered.

"Really, I didn't think it was that funny." Sora managed to say between chuckles.

I leaned on him and nursed my aching sides. The look on his face as he told the joke was enough to make even Beast crack up.

When I managed to control myself, I turned to Sora. "Hey, thanks for everything. You know, the practice and all..."

"No problem."

We walked in silence. My smiling face became creased with worry as my mind wandered. It seemed alright to run off when I first did it, but now, on the return trip, I felt sick with worry. Surely Nexan wouldn't tolerate it. Surely I'd been punished. I flinched at the mere thought. "Replaceable" as I was, I didn't want to think about it.

Sora seemed to sense my fear and patted my shoulder. "Hey, don't worry Max. I'll back you up."

The doubt only worsened the tightness in my stomach. Nexan didn't listen to Sora. If anything, he'd anger her more. I didn't mention it to him, though.

The longer it took to get back to CO, I better I began to feel. But just when the feeling was almost gone, it came back ten times worse than before. A portal opened in front of us. And out stepped two robed figures.

Well this couldn't be good. It was never good to be pulled out of bed after 3 days of no sleep. After hearing the news about the twins, and Nyxick, I really didn't want to talk to anyone. Everyone was upset. And then hearing about Xarven, well, I went over the edge a little. No sleep. Barely anything to eat. Locking myself in the library, the only place I now felt any kind of comfort. I was lucky Xahssa forced me to eat at least a piece of toast.
But I knew it especially couldn't be good if we were having a meeting this early in the morning. Everyone was in the meeting room. Except for Braxyd, who was looking for Mickey. And Max? That was a shock. I still couldn't talk to her. I hadn't since..well, you know. But she was gone. Again. This HAD to be what this was about. Nexan had barely let anyone out of her sight since the accident.
"Max is gone. Her room was empty when I went to find her. She might be trying to finish Kingdom Hearts. As you all know, hopefully,"she shot a look at me,"it was completed a couple days ago. If she attempts it. She WILL die. It is a top priority to find her. Do I make myself clear?" A murmur of agreement went out through the room.
"Good. Since you Seycax, have seemed to miss so much in the past couple of days, and were getting along pretty well, you and Xahssa will go try to find Max. Daxjorn, you will go and find Braxyd and Sora, and if you can, Mickey. Inform them of what's happened." We all were suprised. Nexan had never been this serious about finding Max. I knew they were really close though. Why did she have to send me though? I mean, she had to have known what had happened between us. I really didn't want to do this, I didn't even want to see her. But I didn't want her to die either. Xahssa nodded towards an open portal. Judging by the sounds, we were starting in Wonderland. Of course.

"...Are you sure this is okay with Nexan?" Sora asked again, trying to get a better look at his sister's face.

Max easily avoided so, and snorted confidently. "Pfft! Of course she's okay with it!" The lie slipped off her tongue easier than Max thought it would.

Sora met this statement with skeptical silence, but if he had any misgivings, he kept them to himself.

Inwardly, Max was laughing hysterically and nervously. Of course Nexan wasn't okay with it, she should have said. No, Nexan would rather give her pills and make her stay in the same room for days on end. But Max was going to where the action was, far away from pills and recovery.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Sora said, this time stopping Max with a hand on her shoulder.

Maxsodin's foggy head pondered the question slowly. Was she okay with this, ready for it? It was hard to find a definite answer.

Max shrugged, still mulling over the question mentally. "Sure, I'm ready." She smiled. "I'll have you with me, won't I?"

Sora eyed her levelly. Now that he could see her face, stare into her eyes, he could see every lie that eased off her tongue, every fiendish thought that churned in her head. It was slightly unnerving for Maxsodin.

Max's shifty gave searched Sora's eyes. She sought confidence from their blue depth, and managed to control her slightly trembling body.

"Will you be fine?" She asked Sora quietly, now doubting that he was invincible.

His gaze didn't break once. "I'll be fine. And you?"

Max swallowed and nodded, no longer as hysterical and she had been. Her head was clearing.

Sora straightened up but didn't remove his hand from Max's shoulder. He smiled lightly.

"Then off to Halloween Town."

Max nodded again, her mind no longer in the present, but thinking ahead. Far, far ahead.

Sora gave Max a playful shake before returning his hand to his side. "It'll be good practice. You know... for the real thing."

"I know." Max's eyes grew more and more unfocused. It was like she was looking into the future.

But one good-natured clap on the shoulder by her brother and Max snapped back to the present. She matched Sora's carefree smile like only his own blood could. "Happy Heartless-hunting."

From the Diary of Nexan, iv

Kingdom Hearts is coming to an end. Soon the days of living without a heart, watching innocent people die by the hundreds, and Nobodies will be long gone. Waiting to attack the wretched thing in the sky is like slowly dying- no, it is worse. The agony of wanting to have it done, and done now is gnawing at me, for now that it is in sight, it cannot wait. Of course, Braxyd had to go and finish KH, though everyone was on the strictest of orders not to. It is now at its strongest, and us at our weakest. Maxsodin would love to be the one to end it, but it would be the death of my heart if she died while trying to gain the hearts back. It would be the death of my heart if any of my beloved friends died during the process . But they will not. I believe that giving Max one more ILL will sever the Darkness's ties to her brain, but she will still be able to control it. Xahnan has confirmed this, and so I will ask Max soon if she is willing.

I

"No!" Nexan snapped at Max for the hundredth time, her hands shaking with rage.

Maxsodin wasn't even phased. "Oh COME ON! I could do this! I can! I swear it!"

"No, no and for the BILLIONTH TIME NO!"

"Just let me try at least! Let me destroy Kingdom Hearts!" Max was beginning to get angry now. After all the years of training training TRAINING, it would all be for nothing!?

"Look III, you'll die if you try." Nexan said bluntly. "We can't have that."

Max's eyes blazed defiantly. "Then let me die! I WILL destroy it!"

"No you WON'T Max!" Nexan could sense the rebellion churning in the member.

Max turned away, her shoulders rising and falling as she tried to cage her anger. She stared at her hands which were shaking slightly.

Nexan decided to try one last attempt to get through to Max. "I know best, remember?"

Maxsodin remembered that. It was the only belief she had clung onto for all the years. Now she wasn't so sure. "But... Mickey!? Really?"

Nexan shrugged. She didn't like the idea herself. In fact, she DISliked the idea.

"Please Superior?" Max begged quietly, feeling purposeless and empty all of a sudden.

Nexan hesitated to say no. If anyone could and would destroy Kingdom Hearts, it was Max, Nexan's loyal puppy. Max would obey her to the death. It tore Nexan to see Max so... so tossed aside at a moment like this.

"Look... I'll think about it, okay? I just don't think you'd be able to stay under your own control once... once everything started happening."

"I understand..." Max hung her head, then looked up with pleading eyes. "But do I HAVE to go with Braxyd on his crazy mission?"

Nexan remembered the way Brax had talked about Maxsodin. The passion that made Nexan feel sick. She shook her head vigorously.

"Absolutely not.'

Finally

“It’s ready,” Said Braxyd startling, Nexan while she watched the monitor showing Max’s days in prison.

“What’s ready?” Nexan said not paying much attention to Braxyd’s small saying.

“I avenged the fallen four by killing those damned heartless. When I killed the last of them its heart drifted up to the heart shaped moon and filled the last spot in. Kingdom hearts is done; we just need a key blade wielder to release it.” Said Braxyd as he was almost brought to tears of happiness.

“It can wait; right now we have to worry about other matters, such as max, the fallen three, and the fact that Xarven is MIA.” Said the superior while rubbing her throbbing temple. “Stress is a bitch.”

“Xarven is dead. She saw the three getting attacked by heartless and tried to help them…” said Braxyd shaking his head in disappointment. “It really was idiotic of her to leave the castle in the first week; she needed to train more…”

“So now we are back down to eight.” Said Nexan not knowing how to react. “I’ll have Xahssa tell Seycax. Those two seem to be friendly now… We can’t release kingdom hearts anyway.”

“WHAT DO YOU WE CAN’T” said Braxyd yelling so loud the even max in the sound resistant room could hear, “WE HAVE WAITED YEARS FOR THIS AND YOU ARE DEFIANT TO LET US FINNALY REACH OUR GOAL!!!!!!”

“We need a key blade wielder to release it and the only one we can trust is unstable and would die in the process.” Said Nexan calmly, yet somewhat scared of Braxyd’s rage. “We can’t trust Sora, Riku, or Kairi. We would have to use Max for it.”

“I know someone else… so do you. I’ll give you a hint,” said Braxyd now somewhat hysteric, “his name starts with Mic, and ends with key. He’s an old friend; he has helped me in the past and will help now.”

“One problem…” said Nexan being a debbie downer again today, “The king dropped of the face of the universe three months ago.”

“I’ll find him, even if it takes weeks, I will find him, and have him, release KH for us, and then Max wont be hurt at all.” Said Brax blushing slightly at the mention of Maxsodin. Sure she was mean to him earlier that week, but the week before she ran to him crying about how Nexan didn’t care anymore. Nobodies aren’t supposed to have feelings, but the original four did, everyone knew it.

“You really like her don’t you?” said Nexan with concern in her voice.

“More than anything. I want her to come with me to find Mickey.”

“What ever you need. We all want her back to normal… that is your first goal, Mickey is next.” Said Nexan turning around to leave her office. “Fail me and it is the last thing you will do.” With that she disappeared.

The Master consults the Minions

Just a peak. Just a quick peak and then I'll leave.

Maxsodin realized she was holding her breath in the tension, and began breathing again.

Besides, it's not like I could have told anyone.

She peaked into one of the many alleys in Halloween Town. The silence everywhere was physically crushing, and Max had to fight back the instinct to run.

They won't hurt me. They can't. I'm safe. Everything's fine.

Her pulse drummed deafeningly in her ears, and she forced it to slow before she stepped into the dark alley.

Almost as soon as she was swallowed in the shadows, hundreds of pair of little yellow eyes glared at her in the darkness. Max expected her pulse to race again, but she was surprised to find herself calm, collected, at home.

"Did you kill three of my-" she stopped herself, and managed to swallow. Her throat was dry, her voice barely audible. "Three members?"

There was no audible answer, but some sixth sense told Max the answer was a definite, cold yes.

Max nodded to herself. She had expect such little care from the heartless. "And you plan to kill more?" Max was surprised that the more she spent talking with the heartless, the more relaxed she became.

Her neck prickled as her sixth sense let her in on their answer. It was a blood-chilling, almost eager yes.

"What about me?" Max was once again surprised at her own attitude. Was that sarcasm she had just used?

There was hesitation from the heartless. She knew they were pondering their own answer. She could sense the wheels turning in their heads. And even when she should be the most nervous, Max found herself smiling with confidence.

The answer came. A submissive yet bold no.

Max felt a surge of relief rush through her stiff form. She had been right to feel at ease around the heartless. They were hers to control, after all.

And even though she promised herself she wouldn't stay too long, Max found herself staying a good three hours with the heartless, holding a constant conversation about Darkness and the worlds that intrigued Max. The heartless were cold creatures, with seemingly little to no moral, but they were sophisticated in their thinking. And she found that to her liking.

She almost forgot that they had just recently killed three of her friends.

Mayhem.

Gone. The three youngest members are gone. The heartless had taken them, turned them into Dusks. What am I going to do? This is so bad. They were weak, couldn't take it. But there were three of them. How infested was Halloween-town if three members had been wiped out? Bad bad bad. We need to get to Kingdom Hearts already. No one else can be lost. No. Not happening. This is going to end soon. Now. It will end now. Well, ASAP. Gather the troops round and attack. Defeat. No one else lost to the damned Heartless. No more Nobodies. yes, that is what will happen. Must defeat Kingdom Hearts. Cannot let anyone else get hurt. Must stop the chaos, the mayhem that is everywhere because of the wretched Heartless.

Nexan walked through the door to the meeting room and saw her friends sitting at the table, an aura of gloom over everyone's heads. She sighed and said,"This was.... bad." Sh seemed lost for words for a moment, then continued, "Heartless are causing deaths like this all throughout the worlds. Defeating Kingdom Hearts will stop the deaths. Will stop Nobodies. And, so, we get the honor of freeing everyone from the burden that is KIngdom Hearts."

VIII, IX, and X

It was another nightmare, which came to no surprise to me. Every night brought them.

Like most, it was pitch black. I was viewing the scene from somewhere above it. I thought I saw the shapes of my friends flicker in the pitch black, but I could never find them again. Voices echoed, some droned and far off, others sounding right in my ear as a vicious hiss.

The voices spoke of the same things: death, destruction, chaos. They spoke of my friends' deaths, always somehow referring me as the reason of death. It was torcher to listen to, but it had become the norm for my every night, and I endured it.

One voice stuck out from the rest. As I heard it begin to whisper, I felt horror twist in my stomach. Somehow, this voice was different. Somehow, it spoke the truth.

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

Max snapped awake. She was lying curled up on the cold tile floor of the interrogation room. Her eyes blazed with utter fear as she slowly began to grip reality again. The voice continued to echo and fade in her mind, repeating what could only be true.

"They're dead. Ambushed by heartless, the three of them. Didn't stand a chance."

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

Nexan was awake, sipping her coffee in an attempt to remain so. Someone had to look over the reports. She was just beginning to become acquainted with the eerie silence when Xahnan burst through the door.

"Something's wrong!" she panted. It was all Nexan needed to hear.

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

Max was glancing around, eyes glazed with unconstrained fear and frustration. It was literally driving her insane, trying to figure out just who the voice from her dream was referring to. She was clutching her head with concentration when Nexan burst into the dark room, followed close behind by Xahnan.

"What's wrong?" Nexan demanded,, ignoring Xahnan's previous advice to keep her distance.

Max stared at her, eyes wide. "S-somethings wrong...! Someone... three members... dead!"

Nexan felt fear clutch her mind for a second. Then she shook the feeling off. How could Max know if someone had died? She had been locked up for three days now. But then again, Max always seemed to have some card up her sleeve to explain strange things like this knowledge of death.

"Who?" Nexan asked, trying to remain calm.

Max's hands shook violently in frustration. "I don't know!" Her voice rose in pitch and horror.

"Easy," Nexan ordered, pinning Max's arms to her side. She knew that III could loose control of her body at any second in the state she was in. She needed help calming herself down.

Nexan looked over her shoulder at Xahnan, who was standing awkwardly, watching the events unfold. "Take Max and get her some hot chocolate or something. She needs to calm down."

Xahnan nodded and took over pinning her arms to her side, leading her out of the interrogation room.

Nexan had been unruffled by the information almost as much as Max. She would have thought the whole thing fake if it hadn't been for that one thing. For the fact that Max had said "three members" had died.

Because it just so happened that Nyxick, and the twins Xashy and Galex had been late in returning from their mission.

If you can't stand the way this place is...

A Message for the Newbies: If you can't stand the way this place is, take yourself to higher places!

Back to square one. I was in the interrogation room. Pacing.

I wanted to be contained. I knew deep inside me I would be destroyed eventually. The Darkness would only need me for so long. When it didn't, I'd be gone. Forever. I didn't need to get my friends killed too.

I pounded a fist on the wall as I turned to pace to the opposite one. There had to be something I could do! I wasn't just doomed to die, was I?

I flinched as the metal door grated open. I whirled around to face Braxyd. Long time no see, I thought.

"What are you doing in here!?" He demanded. "What happened!?"

"Nothing, just.... just go away!" I turned to face the white wall instead. It didn't have eyes that burned with hellfire.

He ranted on, about what I could care less. "...we got to get you out of here!"

I snapped. "No!" I yelled at him. Simply raising my voice in anger let the Darkness surface. I began breathing deeply, trying vainly to sink it again.

"I want to be in here!" I said, trying to remain calm, with no avail. "I need to be!"

"Max..." I could tell he was trying just as hard as me. "Is this something Nexan told you?"

"No!" I growled, angry that he didn't think I could think for myself. "This was my idea!"

He lapsed into silence, staring fearfully at me. I twitched, remembering the look from before. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to remove the black.

"Just, go!" I choked, my hands flickering painfully with eager power, tugging at me to use it.

The door closed with a metallic clang. I turned, the only sound left in the room was my heavy breathing. Talk about isolation, I thought.

No one would come near me. Not with me being the beast that I was.

It was both comforting and sad. I had finally accepted what I was. No more illusions of sanity to maintain. I sat in the corner and buried my head in my knees. At this point, I was ready to accept that I was not human.

In which comfort comes from an unexpected place

I had been there a while. It was starting to get dark. They were probably looking for me. The Organization. I was sitting where me and Raven used to play when we were little. It had been months since I had come back to even check on her. Today I had not only lost my best friend, but I had learned that my first friend from the Organization was the reason I was even there in the first place. We really are monsters.
I heard a portal open behind me and someone step out. I wasn't in the mood. "What have you come to force me back. I'm not going."
"You don't even want to know whats to become of her. Some best friend you are." Xahssa should have known. And she hit me where it hurt. Or should have.
"That thing isn't my best friend. Its just a monster who looks like her."
"You know it wasn't Max's fault. The first time, or the second. It was only a matter of time until she joined us anyway."
"What do you mean."
"The darkness. It just, its to much for her to handle. She lost control. You becoming one of us was a good mistake. This time, well, we needed her to join. And it just happened. Before we even had a chance to warn you." Now I was angry. And mad at the wrong person. It really wasn't Max's fault. "besides, you consider yourself a person, what would be different about Xarven?"
"Xarven? So that's her new name?"
"Yeah. I know Max is pretty upset about you being mad at her. She is trying really hard to control the darkness."
"I suppose your right. I should at least talk to them. BOTH of them. She was my best friend and its still her body. And Max was the first person to welcome me. Why would you do this Xahssa?"
"I told you, I consider us friends." You mean her being nice lasts more than once?! Something was going right today.
"Well thanks. For everything." And with that I disapeared into a portal. Leaving Radiant Garden far behind.

How to be Emo

Totaly max

In which Max's 'condition' is used to Nexan's advantage

Max winced as she pried her eyes open and propped herself up on her elbows. For a minute, she was in complete confusion, unable to remember where she was, what she was doing there, and how she got there. Then she did recall, and wished she hadn't.

"Oh good, you're not dead," was Nexan's simple statement. "Well, I guess that's a perk."

Max glared at her Superior, who stood a few paces in front of her, facing away. She thought it was strange, Seycax taking her all the way to Radiant Garden without any real hesitation. It all made sense now.

"This was planned, wasn't it?" Maxsodin accused, finally regaining control of a bit more of herself, including her voice.

Nexan turned at gave Max a cool look. "What, the whole "go out of control again" thing? You could say it was semi-planned, yes."

Maxsodin felt like attacking Nexan, but quickly stopped herself. She wasn't fully recovered. Part of her, no, make that most of her, was still under the Darkness's control. She was lucky to have almost all her mind back under her control.

"Why?" was her feeble question. She had thought the Superior cared enough to not risk her life so carelessly.

Nexan turned at gave Maxsodin a sorry look. She helped III to her feet and supported her.

"Here," she said quietly, perhaps rethinking her rash actions herself. "I'll show you."

She led Max over to where she had been standing. Now on her feet, Max could see the landscape below. It was Radiant Gardens, Seycax's old house in Radiant Gardens. Max remembered the place, yes. This was near the place she had lost all control.

It was the moment she did lose control that bothered her the most though; not why Nexan was showing her Seycax's house. Usually, the Darkness would trick her into the illusion of control, more like letting Max fall asleep inside herself and not know it. But this time it hadn't waited. It simply sunk Max into the depths of her own mind until she was crushed into unconsciousness. Like one would yank a child away from a delicate object after foolishly trusting them with it.

"Max?"

Maxsodin snapped herself back. She had been zoning. "Hmm, what?"

Nexan rolled her eyes. "Did you catch anything that I just said?"

"Sorry, no." Max's face was void of emotion.

Nexan tisked unhappily and muttered something under her breath. "Okay! So you know that's Seycax's house, right? More accurately, Casey's house."

Max nodded.

"Well, Casey had a uh, friend... there, that had vast potential. We needed her on our side, and I wasn't sure just how to do it." She checked Max for any sign of understanding. Finding none, she continued. "You see Max, Seycax became a Nobody when you attacked her unwillingly. As in, while you were under... 'influence'."

Again, Max nodded.

"And so, we decided that the safest way to make her friend Raven a Nobody was to repeat our, or should I say your, actions. In a much more controlled environment, that is."

"Safe for who? This Raven girl or me?" Menace oozed into Maxsodin's voice.

Nexan glared at Maxsodin, warning her to cut the attitude. Max dropped her gaze, but the questions still hung in the air, unanswered.

There was several minutes of silence between the two until Max dared to pipe up again. "Nexan?" she asked hesitantly. When she received no chastisement, she continued. "Where's Seycax now?"

Nexan pointed at the house. "In there, probably mourning about the lose of her friend."

Max began to feel panicked. "I didn't kill her, did I?"The pitch of her voice rose more than she would have liked.

Nexan laughed a bit and patted Max's head, like one would do to a dog who had run from a hissing cat. "No, you didn't kill her, silly! But to Casey, a the girl's Somebody meant a lot to her."

Max mulled over this information for a second, then dared to throw in her opinion. "I don't see why she's wasting her time here. She could be back at the castle, awaiting her friend's Nobody to wake. As far as I'm concerned, Nobodies are not different or worse than a Somebody."

Nexan gave a sidelong glance at Max an her stubborn beliefs, and sighed. "For once, I agree with you, Max."

Again, the two lapsed into silence. This time, it was Nexan who broke it.

"Well, she's taking an awful long time. We better get you back to CO, Max, before you collapse or something. And you can't go alone, so I guess I'll have to come with you."

"What about-?"

"I'll send someone back to fetch Seycax later. I don't think she'll want to come back for a while, but I'll give her another few hours, tops."

As Nexan and Maxsodin made their way back to the closest portal, Max's mind was uneasy. The unanswered question haunted her certainty: "Safe for who? This Raven girl or me?"

Does Anyone Else Feel like this is another Max Song?

In which there is Nothing and Everything

*FLASHBACK-*

Xemnas was sprawled on his chair, his fingers drumming impatiently on the seat of his chair while he waited for his loyal subordinates to return. He had been waiting all day and night and so far nothing. When one doesn't have a heart, it gets quite taxing when you do nothing.

When a door opened to the hall finally, he glanced up, expecting to see Luxord who was actually quite efficient in his work. To his surprise, it was Marluxia who arrived first with a small child in tow. Marluxia's fingers were clenched on the boy's arm tightly, and the young one looked like he didn't want to be there.

The boy didn't share any resemblance to Marluxia, who was as feminine and delicate looking as a female. He had the look of an under-fed weakling who hadn't had proper nourishment. Yet as much as he was a sickly looking thing, he glared at the back of his father's head with such a passionate fury that Xemnas felt he had potential to grow to be a powerful young man.

"Sir. Here is my son, as you requested." Marluxia threw the child out in front of himself with such a savage and quick way the boy's face twisted in a moment of pain. Yet his face went back to his previous mix of boredom and annoyance quickly that Xemnas wasn't sure if he had seen the look of pain. "His name is Zack."

Xemnas' lips quirked into a taunting smile. "Zack? What an odd name." Marluxia's eye twitched. "I was not the one in charge of the boy's name, Superior. It was his mother." Nodding in slight amusement, Xemnas examined the boy closer. A shock of light brown hair, dark brown eyes and an air of slightly cruel amusement. There was no doubt about it. This child was definitely Marluxia's and Larxene's.

"He's quick to learn, sir, and he is quite talented with a variety of weapons. He's very intelligent and knows how to work well with others. . . Unlike his mother." Marluxia muttered under his breath and Xemnas looked even closer at the boy. He would be. . . acceptable.

"Hmm. . . Alright. I'll consider it. Let's see how well he interacts with the others. Then I'll decide." Marluxia nodded quickly, and grabbed the boy's arm again. "Move, child." He pushed the young one to the side with him as the doors opened once more. It was Xigbar, with a girl this time. She had short brown hair around her chin with blue streaked through it and warmer brown eyes than the boy. She seemed a lot more calm and collected, with a small trace of interest and fear.

"Sir." Xigbar nodded towards his Superior with a roguish grin. "This is Anne. Had a little trouble finding her. . . That's why it took so long." Rolling his eyes, Xemnas scanned the girl, looking for any signs of physical weakness. She looked pretty strong and capable of herself. Excellent. So far, so good.

"Strengths?" Patting her on the back, Xigbar said, "Well, she's definitely fast. And pretty defensive. But once you get on her good side, she's friendly and likable. She's pretty handy with hand-to-hand contact, as opposed to, say, long-range weaponry." Good contrast to the boy. . . Zack, was that his name?

Xemnas gestured to the side for Xigbar and the girl Anne when the doors opened once again. This time, there were four people in the doorway. Two tall males and two shorter females.

The first girl was taller and thinner than the other, with short brown hair like the other girl and pale blue eyes. She moved a little awkwardly but seemed quite positive and optimistic. The other girl was shorter and appeared to have even darker eyes than the boy and longer dark hair than the others. Instead of the other, she seemed bored and only mildly interested.

Demyx, surprise surprise, was escorting the taller girl and Luxord was with the shorter. They all entered the room, with the girls huddled closer together like they were already close to each other. Demyx grinned at Xemnas and waved.

"Hey, Superior! Got the girl you wanted. Madison's her name, sir. An' Luxord's got the other girl- Sasha, was that her name? I don't remember. Anyways, I'm really hungry. Can we hurry this up?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Xemnas merely gestured towards the girl Demyx called Sasha and got right to the point. "So what's her strongest points?" Luxord scratched his head before answering in his British drawl. "Well, she is rather quick, with a good sense of intution. She likes using more of a variety of weapons than just one certain kind, but she's fond of using her sarcasm and sardonic wit as a weapon as opposed to anything else."

He nodded slightly over to Demyx, and the Nobody couldn't stop all the words from pouring out of his mouth. "Madison?! She's so cool! She likes sea salt ice cream and writing! But you probably meant her strengths, sir. She's not particularly fast but her reflexes are good enough. I haven't found a weapon that seems to fit her the best yet, but we'll take care of that soon. She's a little awkward, but she's likable anyways. At least, I like her!"

So this was all of them. The awaited four. Zack, Anne, Sasha and Madison. Each were so different, yet they were all alike. One was filled with cunning, with another showing obvious signs of leadership. The other two were as different as night and day, the day having a optimistic light and the night having a quick use of wit. It was amazing.

But there was something tugging in the corner of his mind. The one girl. . . Madison. No matter how normal or happy she looked, he could sense an inner darkness so immersed deep inside her, perhaps not even she could know of its existence. She was easily the weakest two, and the strongest probably being the boy. She would be their weak link, their Xion.

After all, he mused with a cruel grin lighting his face, there's always shadows in daylight.

     "Max?" I said as i looked into her room. It had been nearly three days since she came home from her "vacation". I was starting to worry. Nobody would talk about her. If the conversation would turn to her, it was just drop dead silent.
    "What do you want?" She was in a bad mood. Though three days of being locked up might've done that. Her room was trashed. I mean, she can be messy, but it looked like a garbage dump. I held out the plate of toast Xahssa had made her. Nexan was finally letting her out. She took the plate with a look of disgust and sat on her bed looking at it.
     "Well, you got to eat if you want to leave the room. Nexan's orders. Not mine."
     "You mean. I'm allowed out?" She was smiling. But she still looked as bad as her room. At least it was a start. And then she devoured the toast in two bites.
     "Yup. But I still have to babysit. And your not allowed in Wonderland for a while. But other than that your free!" I added hand motions to try and cheer her up. It didn't appear to be working. Great. I just made myself look like an idiot for no reason.
     "Okay, can we got to Radient Garden?" I had been starting to attempt to piece together her room, but upon hearing that name stopped. I hadn't been there since,well the night I became a nobody.
     "Why do you want to go there?"
     "You ALWAYS talk about it. I want to get to see it myself with a tour guide who actually knows the history." And then she did the unthinkable. She gave me the puppy dog eyes. And then, "please,please,please,please,please,pl-"
     "FINE, we will go the second you finish cleaning up your room and stop doing that for the love of Kingdom Hearts!"
     "YAY!!" And that was the start of the worst day of my life. Which is odd because I spent is with one of my only friends.

Torment

Nobody, such a degrading name. We may lack a bit in the heart department, but we're living beings, more or less.

It was not in my power, nor in the other threes, that we were made Nobodies. We were born from the twisted ambitions of a man called Xemnas, and it was he who doomed us to our lives as Nobodies.

We have never know happiness. Never known joy. We can't even comprehend the sadness that surrounds our absence of heart.

We have no Somebodies to remind us of what it was like to feel. They were destroyed when we were created. Heart crushed to form nothingness. A sad thought indeed. But then again, I wouldn't know. I cannot feel sadness.

I have been told I have a heart, or what little left hasn't been eaten away by my own "gift". This does not comfort me. I am beyond comfort. I will only find such a feeling in liberation, or death trying to gain such.

Perhaps it is best this way. We have never known feeling, and that makes us strong. But then again, we do not have the bonds normal beings have. We are connected only by the uniqueness of our creation, that tied us together by a simple goal: to continue to works of Organization XIII.

And now we have, in a sense, severed that bond. For our we not disobeying the very reason for our creation? Are we not trying to make impossible that which we were made to achieve? Will that not leave our cruel souls in eternal unease, to deny them the one goal they were made to achieve? The one goal that would allow them to rest easy, assured that it is complete?

I cannot say my heart is torn, for I have little to none to do so. But I feel in my self an amount of trust to both parties. They cannot understand, or even begin to comprehend what I have seen, heard, and been told. For they have not seen Organization XIII as clear as day, and they have not been told what they must do.

They have not seen death like I have. They could not, will not, understand what it is like.

So who do I choose, and where do I stand? Is it even possible for me, a creation of Organization XIII, to directly disobey the one order I had been given, and are still instructed to do?

Destroy it, says the three who have always been there for me. Control it, instructs the others who have created me, shown me death, and spared me from its grip.

My every fiber wishes to obey the later. It longs to reap destruction and chaos without mercy. But then there is the small voice that tells me to follow my heart.

Oh how it is foolish. I have no heart.

Yet why do I still want to listen?

[(This note was shredded after it was written, taped skillfully back together, and hidden in Xemnas's secret room, accessed by a hidden switch in III's room.)]

Thanks a lot, Nexan!

I force my eyes open. I'm in a world of pain. A swirling, echoing, world of pain.

I place the blame on Nexan, as always. My room is a wreck. The bed is stripped of its sheets, and I think the shreds of fabric are whats left of them. Shards of a smash mirror glitter on the floor. I pick up a piece within reach and stare into it. My eyes are black, fully black. I curse fluently under my breath.

I don't even bother with the door. I know its bolted shut. I can't even stand. I simply continue to sit where I am.

Okay Max, deep breaths, I tell myself. You're gonna be fine. Nexan promised that much.

I draw in slow, gulping breaths and force my heat-rate to slow. My entire body wants to do otherwise. It's coursing with newly awakened power. There's darkness flickering around my fingers. No amount of concentration makes it go away.

Suddenly, I don't think deep breaths are going to solve this. Something happened. Something opposite of what was intended.

Long Post, Sorry.

[[Ignore Braxyd's post. He was unaware of the plans made when he was not around. Fourteen year-olds cannot adopt children, Braxyd.]]


Nexan and Nyxick were walking through a forest, Nexan leading the way and crushing the underbrush for the much shorter Nyxick. Nyxick was burbling away happily, like a small river, asking Nexan all sorts of questions and talking about his favorite pastimes.

"So where's Max, Nexan? Why are we in Wonderland?"

"Because Max is attending a very particular tea party, and doesn't realize it is time to come home. This tea party is the type that con only take place in Wonderland, you see. And I wanted you to learn about the special rules of Wonderland. We know where Max is, but we have to walk because Wonderland only allows portal to be made in certain places. Max isn't very close to that place." Nexan fingered the ILL in her pocket, hoping Max had come to whatever senses were left of hers and was ready to take her medicine. Nyxick mulled over the new information as the trekked forwards. They were nearing the edge of the wooded are when maniacal laughter could be heard, not far form where they were.

"Who laughing? Is it Max?" Nyxick got excited at the thought of seeing Max again. He liked his play buddy, the other members were too busy to be silly with him.

"Ny, (pronounced very much like 'nya') that's the March Hare. A guest at the tea party." They broke through the woods just in time to see The Mad Hatter stuff a large teapot on the
March Hare's head, in an effort to stop the insistent giggling.

"Nyxick! Nexan!" Max ran up and hugged Nyxick, "I'm going half-mad being around all these crazies all the time. Thanks for rescuing me." Nexan thought she saw Max's eyes flash black, but Max shuddered and it was gone. Max turned and yelled to the Hatter, "Sorry, Hatter, I've got to run, my friends are here." Nexan smiled and waved at the Hatter, and an uncertain Nyxick did so as well. The Hatter smiled sadly, then stuffed the March Hare's face into his cup of tea; he had removed the pot from his head, only to start giggling again.

*******

"So, Nexan." The trio had started to walk back, Nyxick racing ahead to show Max she knew the way back. "I think I'm ready for ILL. I can't stand being away from you guys. You'd just find me any way and force feed me." Max offers a sheepish smile. Nexan takes the pill out of her pocket and holds it in her fist.

"Are you sure?" Maxsodin nods, and Nexan outstretches her arm and opens her hand. "Just don't take it until we get back. You'll thank me, and vice versa." Maxsodin takes the pill and places it in her pocket.

"Will do Nexan. Now, where'd that rascal go?" As Maxsodin runs ahead to catch Nyxick, something catches the eye of Nexan. She turns her head and spots two kids, about the same age as Nyxick, lying at the base of a tree. They look beaten up, so Nexan rushes over and sees that they are not only beaten up, but that they are undergoing the painful process of becoming a Nobody. Nexan turns around and screams, "Maxsodin, get back here quick!"

*******

"Are you okay Max?" Xahssa stands at the door uncomfortably, ready to walk out and lock it behind her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just gotta swallow a pill, right? I just hope those kids will. They're younger than Nyxick." Max licks her lips nervously and puts the pill in her mouth. She swallows it with a glass of water and lays against her pillow, closing her eyes. All of a sudden, she sits straight up and lunges at Xahssa. He eyes fly open and reveal black eyes. Xahssa screams and runs out of the room, slamming the door in Max's face and locking it firmly.

For Anne (ill delete this after you post)

Name: Xashy

Power: Illusion

Weapon: ???

Personality: A combination of Zexion and Demyx. She can get really pissed really easily, and she'll maul anyone who looks at her funny. Yet she's real susceptible to believing lies, and is easily scared, excited, or paranoid over them. She loves to work hard to make people hap

py, but she's stubborn when she'd determined, and won't easily veer from a course of action. She always listens to and obeys her brother, Galex, even when she doesn't like what he says.

Name: Galex

Power: Earth

Weapon: battle hammer

Personality: A combination of Lexaeus and Luxord. He's not one to talk much, and he watches out for his sister with silent ferocity. When he's in a really good mood, he can be quite the trouble-maker himself, considering his silver tongue and innocent looks. Always looking for ways to gain strength, he fight excellently whether in a team or on his own. Though obedient when given orders, his main priority is always his sister's well-being, since she has trouble looking after her own self.

 

Drowning One's Sorrows in Tea

"More tea?" The Hatter didn't wait for an answer, pouring the black tea into my cup. It promptly began to spew from the many holes chipped into it.

I smiled weakly, holding up my cup in a gesture of cheer. "Thank you."

I drained the sickly sweet liquid (or what was left of it), and ducked to avoid a flying spoon hurled by the March Hare.

I sighed, and rested my cheek in my hand, elbows on the table. No one seemed to noticed my glum mood as the Hatter conducted a silly little ditty whose lyrics were full of made-up words and little true meaning.

I half-heartedly chucked a saucer at the annoying mouse, who jumped out of the way in a fit of giggles and continued to sing.

"DOWN WITH THE BLOODY RED QUEEN!" came the Hatter's outburst in mid-song. The other two joined in heartily, and even I muttered the saying under my breath.

"Looking quite down... are we under the weather?" The smiling cat appeared next to me. This reminded me of Nexan's ability to randomly appear, and made my frown deepen.

"I'm fine, thank you Chessur." I said, forcing a brief smile. It only made me more sad when the frown returned.

"Missing your friends?" He floated to my other shoulder, his wide smile replaced by a look of eternal sympathy.

I shifted in my chair, turning my back to him; running my finger through the last bit of sugar in the bottom of my tea cup. "No..."

"There there! It's alright to miss them."

"That's the point," I sighed in mild frustration, giving the March Hare a sidelong glance as he fell from his chair. "I miss them when they're not around, and wish I was alone when they are. Isn't there some in between?"

The Cheshire Cat reappeared in front of me, upside-down and smiling once more. "Is it not always that way with friends?"

Then he vanished, leaving me with the insane trio.

"More tea?" piped the Hatter as he poured me more tea until the cup overflowed, and then some.

I gave him a sad smile. "Always."

I strode into the kitchen. I was looking for answers and I knew just who would have them. Xahssa. I may not be the best of friends with her, but she would have answers about Max for sure.
         "Where is she?" I said as I approached the table where Xahssa was sitting eating toast.
         "Where's who?" she asked like she honestly had no idea.
         "Max. No one else knows where she is. But my guess is that you and Nexan do."
         "Seycax, we're friends, right?"
         "Not really. More like friendly acquaintances."
         "Well, I like to think of us as friends." That should have been my first clue something was off.
         "Okay, sure, whatever. Just tell me where Max is. I'm worried about her. She's been acting...off lately."
         "Friends keep other friends secrets right?"
         "Yeah?"
         "Well, Max decided she wanted to take a little vacation and didn't want anyone to worry about her. She hasn't been feeling that well lately. You should know you to have been getting pretty close."
         "Yeah, that's why I've been a little worried about her." Now I was looking closely for signs that Xahssa was lying we hadn't always had the nicest history. But I couldn't find anything. So she had to be telling the truth. Right?
         "If you see anyone I want you to spread that along, I wouldn't want anyone else to worry about her."
         As I turned to go, Xahssa called," Wait, why don't you stay and we'll talk. I'll even make you toast."
        I really don't care for toast, but Xahssa was attempting to be nice I could too. "Sure, I'd like that."
         As got up and started making the toast, Xahssa said something I considered odd.
        "So, you're not going to say anything to Nyxick, Right?"
        "About what?"
        "About Max's "Problem"."
         "Why? He's one of us. Why shouldn't he know?"
        "Well, he's just so young, you know? He may not take it as well as us."
        "Oh. Yeah, I guess. My brother used to do the same thing. I hated it. But I knew he was right to when I eventually found out."
          "Good. All finished." She said turning around with the toast. As she set it down in front of me, she did something odd. She smiled at me. "I'm glad we are finally getting along."
         "Yeah, Me too." It looked like I was finally getting along with the Orgainization. All was good. For now.

Extract from the Diary of Maxsodin

I was hanging out with Seycax the other day, (aka she was keeping an eye on my while Nexan held some secret meeting or something...) when I found this!

http://seycaxvi.blogspot.com/

It's her diary... well then, that's nice.

Yeah, me and Seycax are good buds... if you consider her being paid to babysit with me being good buds. I think she'd do it for free if she had to, though.

We have one conflicting view though: about Somebodies. Me not having one and all, I don't understand her obsession with hers. She wants to get back to her old life. You know, the one I practically snatched her from. Back in the good ol' days when I went on ACTUAL missions, not dinky little trips to Wonderland looking for a lost member, but REAL missions with REAL danger and ACTUAL purpose. Like recruiting people, like Seycax and Xahnan.

Anyways, she's obsessed with her old self... Casey, I think she was called. I don't see why. All I've ever been is a Nobody. There's slight jealousy when I hear about her Somebody's life, but mostly sympathy that she's connected to a weak mortal. No, scratch that. To sympathize requires a heart. It's more of a blunt 'that sucks' kinda feeling.

Anyways, the Hatter makes for absolute wonderful company. It does me good to distract my mind from the worries and tensions of Org life. And besides, I feel at home around these loonies. Though I can't believe the Org thinks I'm crazy. If they are what crazy is, I think I'm more of a solemn college professor in comparison. And I can't even keep a straight face when wearing a tie!

I wish Xahssa would hurry her lazy second-in-command butt up!

-Max

YES!

YAY!!! I can actually post! It's my biggest accomplishment.

Letter to II, found in her room

Xahssa,

I can't take meds anymore. I know now that I mustn't be in complete control. I'm too ignorant of my own self that taking away any help darkness gives me will be disastrous. Like tossing a kid onto a deserted island without any means of survival. Even if it is risky, with the darkness helping out, it'll be more like throwing the kid on an island with a experienced native. Okay, the island wold also have velociraptors on it, but at least the native would know how to help deal with them, even if he needs to make sacrifices to save the kid.

Am I rambling? Anyways, I'm gone. I'll be waiting in Wonderland. I'll be with the Hatter, awaiting your arrival. Do hurry.

- Max

Explain This?

"Max, you need to listen. What I am about to tell you, this all happened when you went crazy. YOu were trying to kill not only yourself, but others. You seemed past the point of no return. You are lucky to be alive. Understand?" She nods and I continue, "I had no idea what to do with you, so I talked with Xahnan, who was watching you full time. She said she could create a drug to counteract the darkness, like light counteracts the dark. After she weighed the pros and cons, tested it several times, and came out with a final product, we gave it to you . That is why you are in control now, not the dark. Its effects are starting to wear off, and that is why you are making brash decisions. You are not in control. Understand what has happened?"

"So... you want to give me crack to make me better?"

"NO! No, the drug Xahnan created, ILL, was specially formulated for you. It keeps the dark from controlling your mind. Are you okay with that?"

"Uhmm.... sure? I don't know Nexan, give me some time to think I guess."

I study her face. "Not too much time, or you'll go completely mad and we'll have to shove this down your throat again. Tell me once you make up your mind. " I stand to leave, we had been sitting at the kitchen. I grab the bowl of chips and start to walk to my room.

"Wait, you said that even if don't take it now, you'll give it to me anyway eventually?"

Sigh. "Well, yes. We can't have you running around loony, now can we?I'd just rather you take it voluntarily, and it's only until Kingdom Hearts is done for.

Even More Drugs.

Nexan, Xahssa and Xahnan were all huddled in Xahnan's lab, crowded around a small table covered in papers. The papers were filled with all sorts of charts and graphs, tables and timelines, and basically, information. Xahnan opened her mouth, "Well, I knew that the drug, we'll call it Internal Lovat Lighting, or ILL for short. I can make more, and easily. But remember the side effects she had the first day or so after taking her first ILL? It will happen with each time she takes it. But luckily, the effect of each will not decrease over time, in fact it may increase, so she'll only have to take them every two to three months until we regain our hearts."

"That's wonderful! Well, not the part about the side effects, but the fact that she can be normal until we are all well again. Thank you so much Xahana. Do you have one ready?" Nexan says this as she stands up and walks around the small table to hug her.

"There is one thing though, if anyone else takes even one, because I made these with Maxsodin's information and they are formulated specially for her, nothing good will come of it."

"Well then just make them as needed," Xahssa said in the voice that said 'Why didn't you think of this already?'

Nexan bent to grab a few of the papers, glanced at them briefly, then straightened her self. "I believe this to be settled. I'll go explain all of this to Max, and will bring her here promptly. Bye, Xahana. Xahssa, come with me, please. And thanks, truly. "

Nexan walked out of the room, papers under her arm. Xahssa stood and followed. Xahnana shuffled the rest of the papers around and finally managed to fit them into a file labeled "MAXSODIN'S VITALS AND STATS."

The Illusion of Control

"Superior?"

"What is it, Max?"

Maxsodin shuffled awkwardly, taking a deep breath. "I uh, I..."

Nexan looked up. "Yes?"

Maxsodin dropped her eyes. "I can't... control... stuff..."

Nexan became concerned. "What kind of 'stuff'?"

Maxsodin hugged herself uncomfortably. "Actions and well... everything..."

She looked up. "It's like I fall asleep inside myself and then dream that I continue to live my life. Except that the 'dream' is real, and I don't have control over what happens! I don't even realize that I'm not in control, either. I think I'm in control, and I think the dream is what I'm really doing, but it's not. I'm not in control. And I'm not aware of it either."

Nexan looked Max up and down. "But you're in control now."

"Well yeah..." Again, she stared at her feet. "But it took a really rash action for me to realize I wasn't in control and to regain it."

Nexan raised an eyebrow, half amused, half worried. "Rash action?"

Her face reddened deeply. "When Braxyd woke up, well.... I, um..."

"Kissed him?" A cruel, amused smile spread on Nexan's face.

Maxsodin pounded her fist on the wall in frustration.

Nexan patted her shoulder. "Go cool down, Max. I'll talk to Xahnan and Xahssa. I'm sure they'll figure out how to help."