Fanfiction ► Betwixt + Between

[Lectori Salutem]

As long as I refresh the page on time, there's no problem...

And about the chapter... It's so good!!! I was waiting for that sadist to enter the story^^ He's freaky, but very cool!

 

[Mason Stark]

Thank yew for the comments! *gives cookies*

Yayyyy Aoi showed up! He's wicked awesome 8O *pokes him* He's lots of fun to play, too, and I wish he would show up more in the story than he does. :< I'm gonna try so hard to fix thattt.

And yay for riddles and questions! Mwahaha. 83 I can actually answer some of those questions, though, 'cause some are either not going to be answered in the story or won't be answered until later. Let's see...

Aoi is definitely not a vampire [he just thinks blood is tasty 'cause he's crazy], Figgie wasn't exactly herself in this chapter, and Aoi is a big liar and said Rena screwed up when she didn't. D:

Annnnd I'll have up a new chapter soon! I could probably post it up tonight actually. xD;

 

[Mason Stark]

Really apologize for double posting [i hate thatttt >__<;], but I've gots the next part of the chapter! And I don't have much to say about it besides that. :O

I'll have the next chapter up sometime next week! Probably on Monday or so. *shrugs* For now, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :3

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'What happened...?'

The girl stumbled around, hands reached out to find where she was going.

She was alone, in complete darkness, and was sliding across a glossy floor. Her voice echoed in her mind; every time she tried to open her mouth to speak, nothing came into the air but, instead, into her thoughts.

'I guess I'm dreaming... Okay! I wanna wake up now!'

Rena tripped and fell onto the floor. She just laid there and let out an annoyed sigh.

'Guess not...'

She rolled over onto her back and simply stared up above her.

'What did that guy do? He threw me into... some place... but where is it?'

Something slithered.

Rena jolted to sit up. There was nothing there.

There is no light within the darkness...

Rena jerked her head around. A voice? Her breath quickened. A chill dashed down her spine.

Why won't you just give up?

A voice... It sounded rather cynical; pessimistic.

Something slithered across her legs. Rena jolted to her feet. Her heart pounded in her chest.

'That guy... um... AOI! GET ME OUT OF HERE!'

It coiled around her stomach; like a thick vine. Her arms helplessly locked to her sides. Something coiled around her legs. Another grabbed her neck. She choked. Terribly struggling.

I... I'll never give up...

A boy! His voice echoed in her thoughts. Rena gritted her teeth. Still struggling...

'Get... OFF! I didn't mean to get here! It was all that stupid guy's fault; blame him!'

They were coiling tighter. She was turning pale. Gasping for air. Trying to break free!

I still have to see them: my friends, everyone I cared about!

The things grew larger. Gluing themselves to the tomboy. One covered over her eyes. She couldn't take her sight off of that.

'I just want to go back home, okay? Not that world I was in... that place was illusion, I know... Just let me go back!'

Pointed teeth. A lashing tongue. It curled around her feet.

Just let me out!

The darkness was trying to eat her!

'Please!'

I have to see them again!

There came a sudden flash of bright light that filled the edges of nowhere. That light came and all of the thick, black vines disappeared.

All there was in the darkness was the young tomboy and something strange: a sword that looked like a giant key.

It was silver on the blade and long pole that held it all together, while it was blue on the outside 'rim' that looked like the outside of a box. At the base of the pole where it met the outer handle, it was crimson red as it curved in. At the end of this key was a keychain: one that had a crown emblem hanging from it.

"...Whoa." Rena spoke; the words no longer echoed in her head. The bright light dimmed until it made a simple, white glow around the key-shaped weapon.

You're the other: the one they need. The only one who can open the Desolate...

A strange voice echoed in the girl's mind once more and, with a flash, the darkness crumbled away.

Now, there was just Cucio Bay: it was still in the midst of destruction. Yet, one thing had changed for her: she now had this key. A voice begun talking in her mind again. This voice, though, belonged to...

Yeah... that's just like--!

"Hey!"

She let out a yelp. A hand grasped her shoulder. She almost dropped that key thing!

Taken aback, he merely stared at the girl. She turned around, hiding the key behind her back and staring at him with wide eyes.

"You!" he said breathlessly with a grin, "I... found you..."

The tiny hairs on the back of Rena's neck rose and a strange chill ran down her spine. This day already gotten stranger... 'Found you'? What was that supposed to mean?

"Uhhh..." Rena muttered cautiously, "Who're... you...?"

Her head begun to tilt to the side, her deep blue eyes narrowing, and the boy gulped while his electric blue eyes grew wide.

"I-I..." he begun nervously, fidgeting with his black wristband.

The boy looked only a few years older than Rena, about fifteen to be exact, and wore a strange outfit: a soft, light blue coloured vest with a tall collar that only hovered a few inches from the side of his neck; at the end of his sleeveless vest were zippers, which covered up a bit of the t-shirt sleeves that connected to the vest. The vest was parted down towards the left side, rather than down the middle, but the part was rather wrinkled by the two brown belt-like straps that held two oversized keys on his back.

Clinging to his two legs were a pair of strange pants: one part was black, with a zipper running up and down it, and the other was a cream colour, though it seemed to have some sort of light blue mixed in, that separated the black bit with a crown-like 'edge'. A pair of black and silver sneakers could be seen underneath the baggy pants, while on his arm was a strange crown-shaped object around his right arm while a black wristband sat on his right wrist.

Underneath a head of spiky, wavy, blonde hair were two blue-hued eyes. The strange thing was: they were almost the same exact colour as Rena's own.

"I'm..." he gulped again and thrust his hands into his pockets. Rena tilted her head to the side.

"That's not important now!"

He bravely took a step forward, clearing his throat and removing his hands from his pockets.

"Are you that last one on this world?" he questioned with a bold, clear tone.

Rena simply shrugged, looking clueless. She scratched the side of her head, "I dunno..."

"I don't think there would be that many people with all of those Shadows back there," he added in with a laugh.

Rena looked confused once more, while the boy stood up straight and cleared his throat.

"I... umm..." he muttered once again, "Do you... are you..."

He let out a sigh of frustration, seeming to scratch his ear as he questioned, "Can you... get out of here...? Don't you have a gummi ship or something?"

Rena shook her head, hair flopping back and forth quickly like a dog with floppy ears.

"No..." she replied, rather confused by the word 'gummi ship'.

The boy gave a warm smile. "C'mon then," he said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, "I can't just leave someone behind around here, now can..."

BHAM!

A loud crash echoed throughout. It rippled. Grew softer by the seconds. Then came a cloud: a massive dark vapor. It swept through the world like blood in water. It was impossible to see! It was so dark. So bleak. So hopeless.

When the cloud finally dissipated, leaving behind a fog within the town, his eyes shined through the mist and found one odd thing: that girl had a keyblade.

--------​

She ran.

That brown-haired girl ran, as fast as she possibly could. She zoomed down the sidewalk and through the purple-toned mist that laid across the streets as a blanket. Yet, once stopped, she only wished as her heart raced.

In the midst of the slums, Rena found something worse than any sort of small, weird creature; it was terrifying.

Before her, standing taller than any skyscraper, was a shadow: thousands of glowing yellow eyes could be seen, many melting into the blackness while others stared with wide eyes, and they all formed this horrifying black creature that stood tall among the destroyed buildings. Oddly, it couldn't seem to stay in one piece.

Hovering above the grotesque creature was a massive, strange, purple orb with purple-hued lightning bolts streaking the inside of its seemingly glass exterior. A massive gust of wind could be felt that pulled towards this orb, pulling you closer and closer until you were sucked up into the orb's wrath.

Many of the familiar 'shadow' creatures from before could be seen disintegrating from its now-forming 'body' at the top, while others stood their ground down at the bottom to form two legs and wonky, wrinkled feet. The problem was that they were all about to get sucked up.

Rena watched, helplessly, as her 'world' fell apart: the sea was disintegrating into this large orb, along with the streets and some of the destroyed buildings.

Cucio Bay was disappearing. Disintegrating...

The large key gave a strong vibration, as if signaling Rena to do something. But, the girl simply brought the weapon up to eye level and frowned.

"What am I supposed to do!?" she exclaimed aloud.

It vibrated once more, seeming to be rather persistent now. She simply frowned and looked up wearily.

"But... what do I do...?"

Suddenly, a pair of arms clung to the young girl, as if to keep her from flying up into the air.

"It's you," a voice said, pulling the tomboy close while they dug their feet into the ground, "You're the one that Naminé told me to find!"

Rena simply blinked and glanced up to see that same boy once more. She tempted to wiggle out of his grasp but found no avail in doing so.

"Erm... mind getting... off...?" Rena nervously grinned.

"Not until we get out of here," he simply stated before he partially released his grasp and put one hand on the tomboy's shoulder, "Which'll be any second now..."

With one hand outstretched, the blonde haired boy's eyes stared off into the distance in complete concentration. Rena, however, wasn't willing to find out what he was doing. She wiggled out of the boy's grasp, putting the key between his arms and herself, and stumbled away.

"Screw off!" she snapped, "I'm not tagging along with weirdo blondies, especially not ones like you; even if it means getting out of here!"

The male sighed in frustration once more. "You don't get it!" he exclaimed as he stepped forwards, "That! That thing that you have... It's nothing ordinary. It's--"

"AHH!"

A familiar scream of horror emitted from the brown-haired girl, one filled with fright at the sight of it.

Her hand! It was...

Into dust. The tomboy was beginning to fade. She glanced up helplessly at the blonde.

But, the boy also found his hand disappearing.

The two were fading. Staring in horror with blue eyes. Their hands turned to dust. Flying up into that ominous orb...

Then, it was gone. The whole world. It all disappeared.

 

[TwilightRiku_13]

Awesome yet again, Takushi Rena. So, Rena just met Ven, right? That was Ven? It sounded like him in the way you described the other boy. Anyway, great job again, and I look forward to your next update. This story is getting really good.

 

[Lectori Salutem]

I actually liked the first part of the chapter better... Probably because it has Aoi in it^^ And I think I still remember what happens next from the first time you posted this, so farewell suspense... I still really wanna read the next chapter, because it's most likely very good too!

 

[Mason Stark]

Thank yew for the comments!

And, now that I realize it, it actually isn't very interesting... in comparsion to the last chapter. D: Aoi makes things more interesting, I guess? That's perfectly fine with me, though. More appearances, yosh? 83

That boy was... umm... his identity ish very secret! D: But it's actually E-A-S-Y to guess. *coughyeahitsvencough*

Dawww. It sucks when suspense is ruined... But I changed some stuff, so I guess it's not as ruined? ^^: I dunno...

New chapter time! Sorry it took me a bit to post it up... I'll have the next part up in a few days, though I have to change some parts in one scene first. For now, here ya go!

Also, quiiiiick question about a future chapter: would you rather learn more about Ven or Rena? Something's supposed to happen and I can't figure out which should be talked about first. :<

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003 + RUSH

A giggle seemed to echo into their blank thoughts, a boy's voice loudly marching behind.

"Gimme a bre--!!"

A wave of static filled into the empty space, cutting off the boy's voice with a knife.

Then there came a flood of images without sound: a girl was standing on the beach, holding out her hand with a smile on her face, and a boy taking it. That same boy was on his knees before he jolted up to his feet, screaming at a cloaked figure standing before him. The girl reappeared again, trapping behind bars and looking for a way out.

Their voices came in a flood and never seemed to end. The only time it stopped was when the final image came in: a silver haired boy holding the girl's body, stepping backwards, as a black creature that looked like an exact duplicate of the first boy sprung out of the ground.

From there, everything faded into black.

But, something clawed in.

It shredded through the darkness. Claws sinking into the walls. Tearing them to bits. Wicked yellow eyes. It giggled psychotically.

I fOuNd YoU!

"AH!"

The brunette woke up with a jolt, heart bouncing madly inside her chest. Sweat droplets rolled down from her face. The tomboy rapidly gasped for air. She fell back against the wall, staring blankly with deep blue eyes.

"What... was... that?" she questioned in between breaths. She was horrified, all because of some parasite in that dream. It was scary, especially with another surprise.

The walls. They weren't familiar.

Her hand brushed against a red bricked wall behind her. She jolted to her feet, as if she had seen a bug. Her deep blue eyes glanced around at this new setting: it was an alleyway that faded off into darkness at the end. Somehow, it was rather eerie.

Rena, a chill running down her spine, took a quick step backwards and ran into the entrance of this alley, finding a strange town before her eyes.

"This... isn't... home..." she whispered aloud. Eyes wide, staring in panic.

That panic turned into dread. The dread transformed into horrible ideas. Her eyes grew wider. And wider. Thoughts came flooding in. She was terrified! What happened? What happened to Cucio Bay?

"Home isn't... it can't be..."

Something grabbed her shoulder. Rena let out a scream of fright. Being jerked around. Hands gripping her shoulders tight. What was that?

"Are you alright?" The voice was kind and soft. Her heart was no longer up in her throat. The tomboy gulped and glanced down at the ground, her hands lazily hanging by her sides. A little calmer, but not by much.

"Y-Yeah," she said.

A small, pensive 'hmmm' came from the figure. They wore a frown.

"You don't look alright. What's your name?"

"Rena," Her tone was both blank and forlorn.

"Rena, huh? I've been looking for a 'Rena'."

"Huh?"

A giggle emitted from the figure towering over her. Rena glanced up to see their face, yet only saw a shadow hiding them like a mask.

A small knife was pointed at the girl's throat.

"Kyuuuu~ I didn't think I would catch you that fast!" The figure giggled sadistically.

Rena gulped. Her eyes stared up at the shadow.

"W-Who're you...?"

First, they were in front of her. Then, they were behind, the knife's blade now pointed sideways across her neck. Their fingers fiddled with a clump of Rena's hair.

"Me?" another giggle ensued, "My name's Xatzku~ And, you are my prey! I haven't had one of them in a long time, ya know! How fast can you run, kiddie?"

Rena didn't say a word. Standing still, staring off and looking blank.

"What? Cat got your tongue? I assure you that I'm not the cat..." they giggled again, and the knife seemed to disappear from view.

Rena took her chance and jolted forwards. She jerked herself around and her eyes grew wide.

They had a cloak, just like...

"Are you... are you with Aoi?"

They giggled, "Of course, silly~! Why else would I be after you? Because of that key thing?"

"Key thing...? That key?" Rena glanced down at her hand.

"Well, I guess that's one reason. Kyukyukyuuuuu~ The keyblader's not very much at all without the key to wield, ya know..."

Suddenly, with a burst of light and coils of black surrounding it, the light formed into that familiar key. Rena gulped and tightly grasping it, threw her arm by her side at once.

"So, you lost, kiddo?" the figure mewed, their arms crossed against their chest.

Rena froze and looked confused. Should she say anything or not?

They gave an insane laugh, "Of course you're lost! You're like a little lost puppy dog who can't find their way home! So cute! But, you know what I think about little puppies?"

Rena jerked back as the figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"W-What?"

Their tone became as deadly as poison. "I think I should claw their eyes out!"

A knife came flying straight at her head! She barely had enough time to duck, let alone give a small yelp.

"Stay still! Don't make me pin your tail to the ground!"

Rena had hastily taken off running. The cloaked figure casually walked behind, throwing knifes straight at their victim.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get it! REALLY!"

"That key of your's? HA! What makes you think we want that thing? We've already done that sort of tactic, and it didn't work out so well for them!"

The young girl was up against the wall now. Cornered!

One knife stabbed through one side of her hood. Another went through her sleeve. The others did the same, cutting through her gloves, pants, vest, sleeves, and one even (which had to have been a butcher knife) was right against her neck.

She was standing there, horrified, as she was pinned to the wall by knives, while her key-shaped weapon seemed to disappear from sight.

The enigma gave a wicked grin, tossing a knife in her hand. She swayed from side to side with a fist against her hip.

"Dawwwwww~ The poor wittle baby gonna cry? Is the mean, ol' Nobody being scawey? HA!"

"Oy! What's going on out here!?"

A new voice burst out and Xatzku turned their gaze to greet them. It was a tan skin-toned teen, who looked like she could kick your ass just by giving you a dirty look. She was giving a dirty look, but something was weird:

She was standing there, looking laid-back and was eating some yakitori.

"...OY!" the teen spoke with a muffled voice and pointed the stick of yakitori at Xatzku, "Hands off!"

Xatzku swirled around and raised a brow, "...What'd you want?"

The girl paused and put the stick to her lip, looking pensive. She gave a shrug, "Nothin' much, I guess..." She swirled the half-eaten yakitori in the air, still pensive. She stopped, stared at her glove, and flexed her hand before turning her mako blue eyes back to the cloaked figure. The teen glared, "Didn't I just say let her go!?"

Xatzku growled at the sight of the girl walking closer and flinging the empty stick behind her, "NO. You did not say let her go--" The cloaked woman paused, "...wait. Mind your own freakin' business, FATTY!"

The girl put her finger on her chin, "I didn't?" She looked so very clueless, "Huh. Thought I did... WHATEVER. Just do I say 'cause... I SAID SO!" She put her fists up, "Unless you'd like a little beating... brat."

"I bet I'm older than you, pipsqueak. Respect your freakin' elders, BRAT."

"Ooh ohh. Okay then," the girl smirked, "Grandpa, give up the kid or else." She folded her arms and begun tapping her foot impatiently, "And hurry it up, old man. I ain't got all freakin' day."

The cloaked woman gave another growl, "Mind your own freakin' business! And I'm not a damn GUY!" She started taking knives out of the wall, beginning to free Rena from absolute fright, and her voice returned to a sweet and innocent tone, "C'mon, dear... It's best we get going~"

Rena simply shook her head, finding her t-shirt sleeve in Xatzku's grasp, and tried to pull away.

"Sure look like one..." the girl finally chimed in while tapping her chin, "Sure you're not just... confused or something?" She paused once again and did a strange little jump, "AAGH! ANYWAY." She marched over to the two and begun cracking her fists, "You're not going anywhere! It's obvious she doesn't wanna go with you, confused old man woman thing."

The horrid name this girl had said ticked Xatzku off very, very much. She turned and glared, her glare looking quite evil indeed, "Hey! I have a freakin' PONYTAIL!" She turned her head and swished her head side to side, "And I have a CHEST!" She pushed her chest out and pointed to it, "I am not an old ma-- ...HEY!!"

Oops. Her 'prey' was hiding behind the new girl.

The girl let out a snicker, "Heheh. All I see is an ironing board there~" She poked her own chest, "THIS is a chest, missy. Now..." She turned and grabbed Rena's hand, the two now walking off towards another part of the district. The teen waved her hand, "I'll be going now, flat-chest. Have a good day!"

Xatzku was fuming now.

"You little--!!"

The teen with Rena found herself pulling to a stop. However, she wasn't very taken aback by the long knife positioned against her throat.

"Fork over the kid and I won't stab ya~" Xatzku gave a chuckle with an innocent tone. Her wide, twitching eyes and crazed grin made her look quite insane. "Might wanna take back that flat-chest comment, too!"

"Rena!" the cloaked woman snarled, "Get over here!"

Rena simply shook her head, staring up at the knife against the other girl's neck with wide eyes.

The teen merely shrugged, "But it was only the truth. Tch, learn to be more honest with yourself."

She gave a nod and continued, "And I already said..." Rena was swung to the side and went stumbling back a bit. Xatzku found her arm in a tight grip, found herself being thrown over the girl's shoulder, and slammed down onto her back on the ground.

"SHE'S COMING WITH ME!" The strange girl grabbed Rena's hand again and they started to run off, "Let's go, kid!"

What did just happen? Xatzku tried to push herself up, watching as her prey and that smartass girl taking off, and tried to crawl after them, "HEY! GET BACK HERE!!"

"Eeep! Gotta get to Cid's!" The girl and Rena now rushed forwards with haste towards a giant shop called the 'Accessory Shop'. The girl pushed open the double doors leading into the shop by kicking them open, "And all I did was eat a yakitori and look at the trouble I got into... sheesh. Come on, come on, kid..."

The girl made her way to shop, giving a sigh of relief when she finally slammed the two doubles shut, "Ah, safe..."

There appeared to be a blonde man in the shop, sitting behind the counter and appearing to be reading a book of some sort. However, when he noticed the two, he quickly slammed the book shut and shoved it beneath the counter. From there, he tried to look both bored and annoyed.

"...Shit, could ya be any louder?" he queried, fiddling with the toothpick in his mouth; not a very good alternative to smoking, was it?

"Tch. Could you be any more annoying, gramps?" the girl flopped down on a couch next to the big fireplace, putting her feet on the glass table.

Rena had ran far away from the front door. She stood at the back of the room and glanced around. She turned her gaze and stared over at that bizarre teenager, then at 'gramps'.

The girl wore a dark, tan skin tone and a pair of electric blue eyes. She looked muscular, though not to the point of bulky, and stood taller than Rena; the top of Rena's head reached a little under the girl's shoulders. Her brown hair reached past the base of her neck and random pieces fell in her face.

She wore a black shirt that stood just over her abdomen and only had one long sleeve; there was also a white hood on her shoulders, a white line down the middle of the shirt, a burgundy (though it was a bit lighter and almost pink) strap around her upper left arm, and a star on the top of the sleeve while there was a black glove on her right hand. She wore a pair of black shorts, there was a burgundy pants leg on her right leg, and a burgundy leg-warmer sat under her left knee. She wore black sandals and a belt hung off of her left hip. She looked about sixteen years old.

The man, on the other hand, looked about thirty years old, had blonde, spiked hair, and also had a pair of blue eyes; his forehead seemed to be covered by a pair of goggles as well. His expression looked very ticked off (boy, did he have a hot temper...) and he had a recently shaved chin with just a few pointy hairs sticking out of it.

His clothes would be considered 'strange' to some, especially the thick, brown band covering his stomach. He wore a skin-tight, white t-shirt and royal blue pants that went into his grey and black shoes. He also has a long toothpick in his mouth that was considered his 'substitute for smoking' after he was nagged by the entire town about his bad habit.

The girl was sitting on the couch, fiddling with her glove, and turned her gaze over to Rena, "What? You gonna stand there all day?"

Rena's face turned bright red, "N-No..." She stepped over to the vacant couch and sat down.

"'nother one, huh?" Cid asked as he started rummaging under the counter.

The girl turned her head, folding her arms and looking confused, "Another what?"

"Refugee." Cid grabbed something from under the counter, tossed it while saying 'here' to Rena. She was taken aback and ended up falling back to catch something wrapped in plastic.

The teenage girl turned her gaze over to Rena. She studied her and frowned.

"...Crap."

Cid gave a scoff and leaned against the counter, "Ya agreed to it!"

"No, I didn't!" the girl exclaimed with a huff, "I agreed to work for you, not--"

"Tell that to Leon!"

"But I don't wanna deal with refugees!" The girl gave another huff, "I'd rather... hang out with the pervert moogles!"

"Ya can go up there, then." Cid pointed up a ladder that took you up into a hole in the ceiling.

The girl gave a cringe at the thought, "...Nevermind!"

She turned her gaze back to Rena. An oblivious kid... She watched as Rena swallowed a bit of the bread that Cid had given her; it was melon bread and her stomach was growling wildly, but scarfing it down was a rude thing to do.

The girl didn't understand why this ten-year-old kid was staring at the table, nor why she had to go deal with the refugees. She gave a scoff and rose to her feet.

'Better get it over with...'

"C'mon!" she towered over Rena, who stared up at her with a raised brow, "If you don't wanna hang out with pervert moogles, then get up!"

"...Moogle?" Rena questioned as she timidly rose to her feet.

"Yeah, they haggle you for materia and it's... perverted!"

There were many words in that sentence that Rena couldn't even comprehend. She wanted to ask what they meant, but couldn't seem to.

"Stop standing there!" the girl exclaimed, "Come ON!"

With haste, the girl grabbed a hold of Rena's hood and Rena became limp when she was dragged along behind. The tomboy glanced over to the counter and sent a wave to Cid, who only raised a brow.

As the doors creaked shut and the two girls disappeared from sight, Cid merely blinked and rolled his eyes.

"Nah... can't be it..."

 

[TwilightRiku_13]

That was so good!!! I really like the new female character you introduced; she seems really cool. Are those creeps Aoi and Xatzku part of some new Organization? They seem like it because they were the cloaks and are after keybladers. Also, are Sora, Riku, and/or Kairi in this story? I'm asking because you have mentioned Ven and Namine before; I also hope Terra and Aqua are in the story. Anyway, enough of my crazy rambling, great chapter, and I look forward to the next update.

 

[Lectori Salutem]

Xatzku is very cool too. She can't win to Aoi, though! Or the new female character, whose name I should know... I forgot it...

 

[DarkHeart63]

Cool, two new chapters! Good to see there are some fics which get their news chappies up quick!

Damn, so many QUESTIONS! WHAT'S GOING ON?!? XD

 

[Twilight_Path]

The horrid name this girl had said ticked Xatzku off very, very much. She turned and glared, her glare looking quite evil indeed, "Hey! I have a freakin' PONYTAIL!" She turned her head and swished her head side to side, "And I have a CHEST!" She pushed her chest out and pointed to it, "I am not an old ma-- ...HEY!!"

Oops. Her 'prey' was hiding behind the new girl.

The girl let out a snicker, "Heheh. All I see is an ironing board there~" She poked her own chest, "THIS is a chest, missy. Now..." She turned and grabbed Rena's hand, the two now walking off towards another part of the district. The teen waved her hand, "I'll be going now, flat-chest. Have a good day!"

XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I'll be laughing into tomorrow! LOL

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!! XD

 

[Mason Stark]

Thank you thank you thank you for the comments!

That was so good!!! I really like the new female character you introduced; she seems really cool. Are those creeps Aoi and Xatzku part of some new Organization? They seem like it because they were the cloaks and are after keybladers. Also, are Sora, Riku, and/or Kairi in this story? I'm asking because you have mentioned Ven and Namine before; I also hope Terra and Aqua are in the story. Anyway, enough of my crazy rambling, great chapter, and I look forward to the next update.

Thank yew! And, YAY. Someone likes Xatzku! Glad to hear that! And those two miiiight be in some sort of Organization... or might not. Cryptic, ah. D: But it's definitely gonna show up in a chapter soon! [i just realized how many questions get answered in a chapter and how many more show up by the end of the chapter... craziness! D:]

Sora, Riku, and Kairi are a major, major, MAJOR part of this, too, [though that mostly goes for sora] but they're not going to show up for a while. And I want Terra and Aqua to show up so bad! D: I dunno exactly how to put them into this just yet... I reallyreallyreally want them to be in this somehow, though!

Xatzku is very cool too. She can't win to Aoi, though! Or the new female character, whose name I should know... I forgot it...

Mwahaha no one can beat Aoi! >:O He is invisible! Well, maybe. I hope he's invisible... :<

I just realized her name wasn't revealed yet... oops. *whistles* >.>;

Cool, two new chapters! Good to see there are some fics which get their news chappies up quick!

Damn, so many QUESTIONS! WHAT'S GOING ON?!? XD

Yay! I'm trying really hard to get them up quick and write the actual chapters, too! xD; I'm very glad that they're getting up so fast, though...

MWAHAHA THERE ARE LOTS OF QUESTIONS! 83 ...I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not. Is that bad? More questions than answers seems kinda bad then seems absolutely great story-wise... ^^;

XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I'll be laughing into tomorrow! LOL

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!! XD

xD; Thank yew! I'm glad that that actually had some funny stuff in it... Raynie and roleplaying are awesome for that. D: She needs a cookie or something so baddd.

Andandand happy Halloween everyone! Have a new chapter! :O [YAY FOR HALLOWEEN PRESENTS!]

-------------------

"So, what's your name, kid?"

They made their way past the Accessory Shop, the tanned girl walking with haste.

"M-My name is... umm..."

"What? Spit it out! You can't sound all jittery all the time!"

"My name... is..." the tomboy gulped and glanced up at the teen, "Rena..."

"Rena?"

"Yes, ma'am..."

"Stop calling me that! Call me Raynie!"

"Ray... nie..."

Raynie seemed to have steam coming out of her ears after that moment. It was scary, actually; Rena stood a foot or so back from her.

"So..." Raynie questioned, her arms crossed, "Where'd you come from?"

"Uhh..." Rena tapped her chin as she rewrapped the melon bread she recieved, "Cucio Bay..."

"Really? Well, you just got on another refugee world again..."

"What's a... refugee... world?"

Raynie froze in mid-step, "You don't know what a refugee world is, but you came from one!? What's wrong with you?!"

Rena gulped and sunk down to the ground. Her eyes were apologetic and full of fear, "I-I'm sorry...! I didn't know there were worlds..."

"What? They keep everyone clueless there now? Tch, they probably have a lot on their hands now..."

"But, it's... gone..."

"Really?" Raynie folded her arms and glanced off to the side. "Well, it was a stupid place anyways... If it gets destroyed, then someone must've done something wrong to make it weak..."

Rena slowly trailed along behind Raynie, studying the cobblestone ground.

"C'mon, slowpoke! We don't have all day to sit around 'n chat! There's a hotel in the next District, which is where you're gonna stay, until you actually get out of here."

Rena nodded, "Okie... dookie..."

A gloved hand reached itself up against the wood, outstretching its fingers as the palm pressed against the door. There was no hesitation at all: Raynie pushed open the door swiftly, as if she had punched it.

She gave Rena a small glare and a huff, as if that was supposed to signal that she better follow along. The tan teen then stepped through the doorway, the young tomboy shuffling along behind in hopes that Raynie wouldn't yell again.

The door slammed shut and their blue eyes lit up as they glanced around.

It was huge!

Shops brightly lit the walls with neon lights and quirky signs, their windows glimmering beneath the dark sky hovering over the town. Small lanterns were lined around the desaturated brown wall that separated the upper level from the lower area just a small bit below. The ground was grey with cobblestone sinking into it, as red brick roofs shone brightly above.

But, the biggest thing of all? It was none other than a magnificent clock tower hiding behind in the background. The building itself was mainly white, many stained glass windows peering out into the world before it. A familiar burgundy-coloured rooftop could be seen before the face of a tan-coloured clock sat in front of a tower that stretched itself up into the night sky.

Of course, they weren't going to that.

With a small 'ah!', Rena found herself being jerked off to the left side, as well as finding herself dragged along towards a small house-like building. It was decorated with a grand neon-lit sign in the form of a house as neon 'smoke' billowed from the rooftop on the sign. That was the hotel, the place where people had to start off somewhere.

"You stay in the Blue Room," Raynie commanded sternly, a frown forced onto her tan-toned face, "And don't get out and find me... You're on your own after this."

"Yes... ma'am..." Rena replied, her eyes glancing down at the ground with a melancholy-like stare. Her anxiety begun to kick in as Raynie abruptly came to a stop. Odd...

"Shit!" she screamed, tightening her gloves, "There's stupid Heartless out already!? Man, they dunno when to quit, even if you punch 'em in the head a million times!"

Rena gulped and begun to back off. Raynie, on the other hand, pushed her forwards to come face to face with a pair of strange creatures with helmets on their heads, yellow eyes glowing brightly against their black skin.

"Kid! Run in the hotel right NOW! Don't just stand there!!"

Rena had a great fear of moving, however. Her eyes were wide with panic as she stared at the two creatures, watching as they inched closer and closer towards the two before them.

"Kid!!" Raynie screamed, "Run already!"

"It's... them..." Rena said with a thick tone of panic etched into her voice. She gave a small nervous laugh, her feet slowly beginning to move backwards.

"Dammit! Do you ever listen!?"

Rena never heard her.

Her eyes were set on the two shadows with helmets. She could see them licking their black teeth with their black tongues, longing for those hearts that these humans carried.

One boldly took a step forwards, claws outstretched as their hands were readied. Rena simply gulped at the sight. She wanted to scream to Raynie. So badly...

It struck. It licked its teeth once more, then pounced forwards through the air; arms stretched forwards as it jumped towards its prey.

"KID!!"

Still frozen. Still staring. Not being able to move an inch... She was terrified of those terrible things! She closed her eyes, waiting and waiting. Waiting for those claws to sink in.

Waiting...

Clash!

Raynie's light blue eyes stared off at the young tomboy behind her. No longer was she focused on the Heartless before her; though it only seemed to twitch at this point.

Instead, her eyes were latched onto the dance the child and the creature swept until the black demon disappeared without a trace. It was a reckless dance, one where the child only closed her eyes and hoped to hit something, but a dance nonetheless.

Raynie finally kicked the Solider Heartless behind her in the gut, the creature disappearing. The teen gave a nervous laugh as she inched closer to the younger girl.

"I take it back... I seriously do..."

Rena blinked, having lifted her gaze from the spot where the Solider she defeated once stood.

"Hm?" she questioned, cocking her head to the side.

Raynie let out an odd, almost insane fit of laughter.

"This is nuts!" she screamed between her laughs, "A kid! A stupid KID! You're shorter than Sora, even! 'least I think so..."

Rena's mouth formed a pout, "Hey! Don't call me short!"

"That's not it!" Raynie interrupted with a small giggle, wiping her eye as if she had been crying with happiness, "You're the one we were trying to find this whole time! Well, not exactly you, but just a general... thing... We were looking for one of you!"

The teen cleared her throat, a bit of seriousness striking her voice, "But, fork it over. I need to hang onto that key."

Within Rena's grasp was none other than that familiar silver and blue key that she had barely known since Cucio Bay. It was tightly gripped behind her palm and her fingers, as her black glove wrinkled around the handle. Rena stared down at the hand before her, those fingers twitching as it awaited to grasp that weapon.

She only frowned and defensively hid the key behind her, to keep Raynie away from it.

"What'd you want with it? I found it. It's mine!" she growled, with a step back; she glanced up at Raynie.

"Heyyyy!" Raynie fought back, taking a step towards the kid, "You can't find those things! I doubt you even know what it is!"

"It's a keyblader!"

Raynie choked.

"A keyblader?" a muffled fit of laughter was hidden behind her gloved hand, "No, I think that's you, kid! That thing you have is called a 'keyblade', and you can't go around randomly picking those up off the street!"

"Well, I found mine in some dark place this weirdo guy threw me into! Does that count as picking it up off the street!?"

"ERGH, YOU'RE SO STUPID! Just give me the damn key, or I'll knock you over the head to get it!"

"No!" Rena protested once more. She tightly wrapped both hands around the handle and her feet slid backwards once more, while Raynie completely charged forwards towards the tomboy.

The teen let out another groan of annoyance and frustration. She was so close! But, some kid was being stubborn and wouldn't listen! Were all keybladers stubborn? Doubtful, but this one was being too headstrong for their own good!

Her feet slid across the cobblestone ground and she finally towered over the young girl, her hand outstretched to receive the key within her grasp.

"Give it! They're going to keep on coming if you don't fork it over! I need to get it out of your hands or else--"

Several tiny explosions went off around the two, resulting in the appearance of three more of those Soldier Heartless. Raynie gave another growl.

"And THAT, kid, would be why I'm trying to get the thing away from you! So they don't keep on coming back, so we don't keep on having to fight over and over and over again!"

Rena gulped, her eyes wide as she glanced around at the Heartless.

"Why do they keep coming back...?" she questioned. She gulped again, now glancing up at Raynie.

"BECAUSE!" Raynie exclaimed, her hand outstretched as a glare glimmered in her mako blue eyes, "If you've got a keyblade, they'll keep on coming and coming until they've destroyed the wielder that holds it!"

Rena froze, her grip loosening on the key, "Destroy... me?"

"Yes, you!"

She didn't hesitate. She thrust her weapon into the teen's grasp. Then turned around to make a run for it.

"Nu-uh!" Raynie screamed both triumphant and annoyed. She latched onto Rena's hood, "That doesn't mean that I'm taking the damn thing!"

"But, I quit! I don't want anything to do with that stupid thing!" Rena exclaimed, trying to wiggle free.

"Not if you actually know what you're doing!"

The two sped off, Raynie dragged Rena along behind. The young girl watched as the Soldiers faded from view. Suddenly, they came charging after them.

"Ah!!" Rena screamed, trying to turn herself around and run, "They're coming after us!"

Raynie smirked, "No problem there!"

The scene changed into a warm, cozy hallway that belonged to the hotel. Raynie relinquished Rena from her grasp, but the girl didn't move. She stared up.

"Pneumatic Rush!"

There was no other way to describe it: it was amazing!

A small wave of water had blasted out from Raynie's hand, which was covered by a green, gel-like ball of 'water'. The wave slashed through the Soldiers that came bursting through the doorway. It destroyed them all with a single blow!

"Whoa!" Rena grinned, looking excited, "How'd you do that!?"

"I'm not explaining that now!" Raynie groaned, "We've got work to do!"

A gloved hand grabbed onto Rena's hood once more, swiftly dragging the girl behind like a rag doll.

Raynie immediately kicked a door open afterwards, the people inside jolting up.

"Whoa! Raynie has a keyblade!" a high-pitched, female voice exclaimed, before Raynie snapped with a 'Shut up, stupid ninja baka!'

Then, a triumphant tone streaking her voice, Raynie exclaimed with a grin: "I found a keyblade kid!"

-------------​

"You've gotta be kidding me," a male voice groaned, "You're shorter than Sora was..."

Rena blinked, looking rather innocent as she sat on the bed within the room. She gave a nervous laugh, "Uhh... sorry...?"

"Lookie, Squallie!" Raynie squealed, "I found the keyblade-y kid! Do I get... ya kno--"

"No."

A high-pitched laugh ensued within the room, coming from a girl known as 'Yuffie'.

The guy standing against the wall with his arms crossed was named 'Squall', though he loathed that name; if you didn't call him 'Leon', he would probably 'pwn' you with his gunblade.

"Shut you, you stupid ninja!" Raynie growled with a harsh glare.

"Dawwwwwww! You're no fun, Raynie!" Yuffie frowned, her loud mouth forming into a cute, innocent pout on cue.

"Will you two shut up?" Leon growled; he was terribly annoyed, but sounded just as cool as before.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Squallie sir!" the two teens exclaimed in unison, both returning to their rightful spots on either the bed or at the small table within in the room.

Rena gulped as she begun to hug her knees.

"Now..." Leon begun, turning his eyes to the tomboy sitting on the hotel room bed, "What's your name?"

"I'm Re--"

"Aw, c'mon! We've gone through this a million times already!" Raynie rudely interrupted as she sat upon the bed with Rena, "The kid's name is Rena, she's from Cucio Bay, the place got destroyed, she's got a keyblade! Now can we please talk about that stupid key over there!?"

A pout seemed to form on Raynie's face, seeming irritated enough to start shouting at Leon (Who just have her a dirty look, which looked like his same static expression), and she crossed her arms as if she were sulking.

Rena seemed to fidget, her hand reached out for the key. Fingers twitching, reaching. Almost there...

But, Raynie simply whacked her hand and the tomboy let out a small 'ow'. Leon gave a sigh of frustration.

"Ever heard of a kid named 'Sora'?" Leon questioned, shifting his eyes off to the floor.

Rena shook her head, "So... ra...?"

"He was a kid with a keyblade, too," Yuffie begun to explain, twirling an index finger around while she rocked back and forth in her chair, "He ended up here... three years ago...? Right?"

Squall gave a slight nod, and Yuffie let out a giggle; Raynie only glared and fumed.

"It was in this room, too! 'Cept Squall kinda knocked him out before we had to drag him back here... That wasn't really fun, actually..."

"He was the keyblade master and, just like him, both keyblade masters and wielders have a job of protecting the worlds by sealing their keyholes and defeating the Heartless," Leon begun, arms still crossed as he leaned against the wall, "Sora went back to his own homeworld two years ago and everything was alright. But, Heartless starting showing up again and Hollow Bastion was overrun by them. That's how we ended up here.

We've been looking for one of the keyblade masters, or a keyblade wielder. The keyblade master always will protect the worlds, so we were expecting him to come back. Instead, we found you."

Rena sunk down and cringed, "Oh. I gotta be a replacement then?"

"Kinda..." Yuffie added in, her rocking slowing down, "Anyone with a keyblade can help the worlds 'n stuff. But, not everyone does, I guess..."

"There were two other keyblade masters, too: King Mickey and Riku; we haven't really found them either, actually," Raynie slid in, leaning backwards as she sat atop the bed, "They never sealed keyholes or really did that sort of stuff. I think..."

Rena sat up, no longer hugging her knees, and begun to grin, "Okie. I won't seal those... 'keyhole' things... 'n stuff...

I'm not a keyblade master like Soh... rah... anyways. I don't have to do what he did!"

"A keyblade wielder has to protect the worlds, too." Squall growled, lifting his head up to glare over at the tomboy. "And it'll be stupid if you don't do anything. There's worlds in trouble and you're just going to sit there?"

Rena frowned.

"But, keyholes and all that isn't why I dragged you here," Raynie shrugged.

"It's Hollow Bastion," Leon continued on, "That's our homeworld. We know Sora wouldn't hesitate helping out with that, but he's not here and you're not him."

"And, Heartless can't be permanently defeated, 'less you've got a keyblade!" Yuffie leapt in with a giggle, "So, we want to ask for your help..."

Rena gave a shudder, "No."

Raynie raised a brow, "Why not?"

Rena cringed now, "I-I dunno any of you... and..."

"But, if you help us," Leon interrupted, stepping away from the wall to grab the tomboy's weapon. He picked it up, examining it. "We'll help you get back to your home."

She froze.

"Really!?" Rena instantly sat up once more, grinning, "You can!? Then--"

We're coming.

A strong, freezing chill ran down Rena's spine. Her eyes grew wide. Her anxiety begun to swell up. Did she hear whispers?

I hear them! I hear that fear...

Fear? She froze, trying to scoot back.

"Kid?" Raynie questioned, sounded weirded out, "You... okay...?"

"Give it," Rena spat, reaching out her palm. She glared up, looking serious, "Give me my keyblade..."

The door burst open with a slam. Everyone jolted and stood up; all except Rena. Her eyes wide with panic as she watched a silvery mist begin to creep into the room.

We have come for you...

They were here.

 

[TwilightRiku_13]

So Cucio Bay was a refugee world? Then where the hell did Rena come from? What was that silver mist that came at the end? So many questions. Anyway, great chapter again, and I look forward to your next update.

 

[Lectori Salutem]

Raynie, I should've remembered that name! Anyways, nice chapter.

I don't think we should expect a chapter anytime soon, right? Since NaNoWriMo started... Good luck!!!

 

[Mason Stark]

ACK. This is a horribly belated reply. D: Or late or something. Anywho, thank yew for the comments!

Twilight_Riku: Yuuup, 'tis a refugee world! I don't know where Rena came from, though. xD; She just ended up in Cucio Bay and said that was her homeworld.

Lectori: Actually, I decided against it. 8D; 'cause... my college portfolio and a recom countdown picture is more important at the moment. I'll definitely do that next year, though!

Annnnnd, ignoring the fact that another chapter isn't halfway completed, I'm posting up a new chapter. >.>; If I don't post up the next part in a few days, it's because another chapter I'm working on isn't complete. I will definitely finish it ASAP, though. Writer's block is kinda kicking in a little on it. >__<;

Enjoy! :3

-------------------------

004 + HYSTERIA

It was terrifying. There was no other word to explain it.

Her lungs gasped for air. Her heart pounded insanely. Her eyes stared at the doorway in horror. As it crept open.

It was like a demon, smiling insanely as it lunged forwards. No one was there to stop them. The room was empty except for her. She didn't move an inch for her weapon as the creature drew closer.

Their whispers was more terrifying than seeing them. She could hear them laugh. A terrible noise like nails on a chalkboard.

We have come for you...

That phrase repeated itself over and over again, and each time, she felt more panic come marching in.

"Help..." she whispered, tempting to hold back tears of fright as they ran down her face, "Please..."

--------​

"Kid! KID!!" a voice snapped her back into reality. She let out a loud choke, as a hand grasped her arm.

"You okay?" the voice questioned as Rena begun to nod hesitantly.

"...I'm scared," she said in a soft tone, making her seem like a terrified child on Halloween.

"Yeah..." They gulped. "It's gonna be even worse when we get outside," that voice belonged to Raynie, who released her grasp on the tomboy's arm. She looked apathetically at the tomboy, despite her nervous laugh and sarcastic tone.

"C'mon! I'm not dragging you along if you're going to just sit there like that!"

The teen grabbed a weapon as she made her way towards the door, giving the article a toss as a glove grasped the doorknob.

"You'd better hang onto that... Really, really well."

The weapon went twirling through the air and 'bonking' Rena on the head as it landed in her hands. That shook the tomboy out of her scared, trance-like state, even with a small 'ow!' attached.

She grasped her familiar keyblade and glanced up at the tan teen, while jumping off of the bed.

"What's going on?" she curiously questioned; she didn't look scared anymore.

"I don't really know, actually," Raynie replied with another laugh, tightening her grip on the doorknob, "You ready?"

"For what?"

"Anything that comes flying as soon as I open this."

She clenched the golden knob tightly. It creaked as she turned it slowly. Cautiously. Squeaking and creeping as it twisted and twisted... Nearly there...

The door burst open.

Flying through the air was a creature like no other. It was eerie, especially with it's white skin, zipper-lined mouth, and fin-like 'claws' or hands. It was almost like a Heartless! Yet, it wasn't coming towards both of them mindlessly: it had a prey in sight.

"OY!!" a loud, booming voice cried, sliding forwards and snapping onto what seemed to be the creature's throat, "DON'T YOU DARE-- Kid?"

"Raynie!"

"Hang on two damn seconds!!" Raynie snapped. She punched the creature repeatedly in the stomach like a punching bag. The strange creature soon met its fate, the teen's fist went flying through its abdomen, and burst into a silver-y gooze mess that had bubbles with it.

"Ew!" Raynie stuck out her tongue in disgust, "What the heck are these things!?"

"RAYNIE!!"

The teen's ears perked up, "Hang on! I'll be right there!"

"Please hurry!" Rena shrieked, as she watched the doorway to the hotel room begin to disappear from view as silver begun to flood in. She was inches away from a strange black and purple hole in the ground, and seemed to be helplessly blocking one of the strange silver creature's attacks.

What were these things? Both the creatures and the hole in the ground made her wonder...

"Shit!! What is going on!?" Raynie screamed and cursed as she made her way into the hotel's hallway.

The tomboy glanced up from the creature continuously slashing at her key, forcing the keyblader closer and closer to the black cavity. Unfortunately...

"AHHH!!"

The creature succeeded in its task: the young keyblader went toppling over the edge and into the dark depths of oblivion that awaited down below.

"Don't you dare think about falling, kid!!" Raynie screamed, grabbing the very edge of Rena's fingers and managing to pull the girl out of the hole without dislocating anything. The teen then snatched the keyblade from Rena's grasp and thrust it through the silver creature, destroying it in the process.

"And, that is why you seriously need to learn how to handle that thing," the teen replied, tossing the key back at its wielder.

She nearly stumbled back again when she caught her weapon. Rena grasped it tightly, clinging to it as if it were a child's security blanket.

"...T-thanks," Rena replied in a shaken tone, staring to down at the black hole.

She was curious, maybe too curious for her own good. What awaited down below in the darkness? Her eyes lit as the hole swirled clockwise. It was strange that she actually started to lean forwards as well.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Raynie exclaimed, snapping Rena back into reality harshly. The teen grabbed the tomboy's shoulders and pushed her past the hole in the ground. But, as soon as they were past it, Raynie jerked Rena around, still grasping her shoulders, and snarled.

"You go down there and you're screwed! You don't even know why these things are chasing you. Do you really want to find out?"

Rena choked, smiling as if about to laugh. Truthfully, she did want to go down that hole; just to see where it led!

"C'mon," the teenager snapped, pushing Rena out of the hotel forcefully. As soon as they made it out of the hotel and slammed the door shut, Rena became curious again. But it wasn't about doing something stupid this time.

"Where are those things...?" she questioned, keeping a tight grasp on her keyblade while glancing around.

"I guess they're all stuck in the hotel..." Raynie gave a tiny, triumphant laugh, "Let's go find Squall and baka ninja before they get out!"

With half of a nod, Rena followed behind Raynie, running off towards the First District. She breathed a sigh of relief. Escaping the district and getting away from those things? It sounded pretty good.

But, she stopped. Despite the hopeful thoughts, she couldn't help but be curious.

She jerked herself around to peer off into windows of the hotel. Had they figured out the two girls ran off yet? It was hard to tell, especially with the windows tinted darkly. Hopefully, they were stupid and hadn't realized they left.

"Hey! Get back here!" a stentorian voice called, "I'm not dragging you over here!!"

Rena froze up at the voice. She didn't know whether to turn around and start shouting about something stupid that was meant to be an argument, or just ignore her. Maybe it was a good time to run off. Yeah! That was it!

Raynie was really obnoxious, to Rena at least. She didn't want to hang around. After all, what had she been called many times upon ending up here?

"BRAT!!"

Yeah, that was it. 'Brat'. Was that just a new nickname for her, or was everyone in this town just a complete jerk? Not even the pompous people in Cucio Bay called her that; however, they did say something about 'nuisance' a lot. Brat, however, was a much worse word.

Rena's deep blue eyes focused on the door. They narrowed. Staring. No sound seemed to jump into her ears, not even the wind.

C'mon, she mouthed before giving a gulp, Please come out...

She tightly closed her eyes.

She wished to get out of this stupid place. She wished to go run off to anywhere! Anywhere but here. She wished to forget about Leon and Yuffie and helping them. And, most of all, she wished to forget about Raynie.

No word, though, could describe how much she regretted her words.

A flash came and went, a slam of a door echoed in her ears. Rena opened her eyes and froze.

The tomboy took a step backwards and begun to lean back as well, as a familiar triangular face grimly grinned with their zipper teeth. Rena gave a gulp.

"Um... where're we... going...?" she nervously questioned.

It disappeared. Just like that! One moment, it was there. The next, it wasn't? Rena frantically glanced around for the strange, silver creature. No luck. In its place, there stood a figure, who had their fists tightly gripped.

"Hey!" Rena angrily exclaimed with a snarl, "I wanted them to catch me, stupid!"

"Why would you want that?"

That voice wasn't Raynie's. Those fists weren't clenched for the reason the tomboy thought they were. And, that hair definitely wasn't brown.

Rena perked up. She tilted her head to the side, studying the unfamiliar figure, and then she figured it out...

"YOU!"

"I have a name, ya know!!" they bitterly replied, a sore frown forming on their pale face.

They had spiked hair. Their clothes were painted light blue, black, and tan. And, within their two hands were a pair of oddly familiar keys. It was that boy from Cucio Bay! That really... weird boy...

"Kid, you okay!?" Raynie exclaimed. The teen instantly ran over to Rena, frantically checking to make sure no scratch had appeared on the young keyblader.

"You didn't get hurt, did you? No scratches... or blood... Is the keyblade okay!?"

Rena quickly pushed the older girl away, taking a bitter step backwards. "It's perfectly fine! Why'd you care!?"

"You know exactly why!" Raynie groaned with a pout. Her groan seemed to transform into a growl when Rena stuck out her tongue; she started mumbling something about 'stupid little brat...'.

"Um," the boy's voice finally chimed in, "I'm not... cutting in on anything... right?"

"The only thing you're cutting in on is Raynie's stupid tantrum..."

"HEY!!"

The boy gave a small laugh at the comment. Rena seemed to perk up once again. Raynie only looked like she was pouting with her arms crossed.

"...What's your name?" the tomboy timidly questioned.

It was almost as if this question was a tough one to answer. The boy bit his lip, his deep blue eyes narrowed in thought. Yet, only after a moment, it came up:

"My name's... Ven."

"Ven?"

"That's a stupid name..." Raynie bitterly replied, receiving a harsh glare from the tomboy standing nearby.

Ven really didn't seem to notice. He looked like he was thinking again, staring at the door of the hotel. It was still closed but the blonde headed boy just looked too worried.

"Something bad's coming..." he muttered, giving a gulp, "I think we need to get out of here..."

Rena's mouth formed into a pout. It was just like back on Cucio Bay! He was saying they had to get out of there... again. It just seemed so overused around him, even though the tomboy really did want to leave Traverse Town.

Raynie gave a scoff, "What!? You not going to ask me what my name is?!"

"...Oh." Ven scratched the side of his head, "Uhh. What's your name?"

"Raynie! R-A-Y-N-I-E! Commit it to memory, blondie!"

"Er... okay..." He glanced over at Rena, "I didn't catch your name before, did I?"

Rena's face turned red, "I-I don't think so..." She gulped, her introvert nature kicking in, "I'm Rena..."

"Raynie and Rena. Okay... That should be easy to remember."

Ven's eyes glanced off to the side then over at Raynie, whom he thought probably knew more about what was going on than Rena.

"How'd we get out of here?" he asked with a stern tone.

Raynie simply blinked. How much had he changed in the last five minutes?

"There's a world door that goes to the gummi ship docks in the other district..."

"The First?"

"Yeah!"

Ven shook his head, "I think someone's figured out that someone is here. That place is crawling with Nobodies."

"What's a Nobody?" Rena threw in, sounding timid again.

"That silver and white thing from before," Ven quickly begun, "That one's called a Dusk."

Yet, the blonde teen quickly changed the subject as he strode towards the lower level of the Second District.

"I think if we go through the Third District and sneak through the First, we can get over to the world door without getting caught."

But, Raynie had to interrupt, "Hey!! Who said you were with us!?"

"Um..." Ven looked rather dumbfounded for a moment, "Well... this girl said something about..."

"I bet you're not an officially guardian like me!" Raynie coolly exclaimed, which only managed to receive another glare from Rena.

"Why do I need a guardian!? That's dumb! I can take care of myself!"

"Kid, you can't even lift up your own keyblade!"

"Oh! So, it's called a 'guardian', then?" Ven threw in, watching as Rena threw herself into a sulk.

"Yeah..." Raynie replied, seeming to stick her nose a bit into the air, "But, if you wanna be one, you can't hog all of the glory..." She glanced down at Ven's weapons and looked dumbfounded, "...You got them, too!?"

"Uh," Ven glanced down at his weapons, "Y-Yeah?"

Rena let out a growl, "Can't you guys just be called 'party members' or something, like in those games?"

"NO!"

Ven gave a frustrated sigh, "Can I please just join up with you guys?"

"Yeahyeah, sure, whatever... But I'm your guardian, too! Officially guardian, too!"

"No... I think I can take care of myself..."

"That's just what it wants you to think!" Raynie suddenly turned quite odd and put her arm around Ven's shoulders, "I'm a professional. I was even Sora's officially guardian!"

Ven wriggled away from Raynie, "...Do you even know what Sora looks like?"

Raynie folded her arms and raised a brow, "Do you?"

"Well, no..."

"Then I'm the expert here! Now, hurry up! All this chit-chat is slowing us down, blondie!"

"I'm not the one dragging everything behind..."

"HURRY IT UP, BLONDIE!!"

Sounding defeated, Ven frowned. He got ready to jump down into the lower area of the district, "Just keep up, okay?"

"Don't challenge me, blondie."

With haste, the blonde haired boy jumped down from the sidewalk and headed towards the alleyway to the next district. Raynie was right behind him, while Rena was shouting 'Hey! Wait for me!' after the two.

The whole place was eerily quiet. Ven had said that there were Nobodies in the next district, but it didn't sound like it; of course, they might not have been that loud, either. An uneasy feeling seemed to jump into the two keybladers. Was something there, besides the three of them?

With a blink of an eye, the line stopped moving and everyone went into their battle position, except for Rena who just realized what showed up.

Those Dusk things! At least ten of them appeared and surrounded them, leaving no exit.

"Great. The albino Heartless are back..." Raynie threw in with a sharp tongue, giving a grin as she tightened her fists.

Ven, on the other hand, was glancing around at all of the creatures, with his two keyblades held tightly in his grasp; Rena noticed that his keyblades were pointed behind him, almost as if he was wielding the two blades like twin daggers. The boy sounded frustrated once more.

"Dammit..." he cursed under his breath, his blue eyes shifting back and forth, "We need to get out of here..."

"No, really? How'd you expect we do that?" Raynie loudly threw in.

"Quiet!" Ven whispered, "These aren't stupid like the Heartless..."

With a frown, he continued in a whisper, "If we defeated a few of them, there should be an exit. But, we have to hurry, or else more will show up."

"...Sounds good to me!" Raynie replied with a grin.

Rena simply blinked, glancing down at the oversized key within her grasp. She timidly begun, "Um... What'd I do? I dunno how to fight..."

"Just slash your keyblade back and forth, okay? I guess that's all you really can do," Ven commented. Rena gave a frown and a nod.

"Ready?"

"I've been ready for the past 5 minutes... you're the slowpoke!"

Ven rolled his eyes, "Whatever... Just attack now!"

Both keyblades flew forwards into an expert's slash. Both fists swirled with a strange, green-orb-filled seas. And, the last keyblade? Well, it was bonking one of the Dusks on the head repeatedly, as if it were a hammer.

"Kid, WHAT THE CRAP." Raynie shouted as she threw the sea into a wave that shot at the Nobodies.

"But, it works!" Rena persuaded, eagerly grinning as she attacked. She took that back a moment later.

The Dusk shot forwards, wrapped its fin-like arms around the oversized key, and begun to tug on the young tomboy's weapon. With a defensive shout of 'HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!', Rena begun to tug on the key as well, pulling the two into a strange 'tug-of-war' over a weapon.

A hopeful, bright pair of slashes pierced through the silver creature, eliminating the enemy amazingly.

"Um... thanks, Ve--!" Rena exclaimed, only to realize that Ven had gone off to attack another one of the creatures. Yet, in the place of the previous Nobody, another swam before Rena. With a gulp, she positioned her keyblade between her two hands and bent her knees, ready to pounce.

Why did this feel so familiar? It happened so many times before, with so many different people, yet this just felt like deja vu.

What if you were surrounded by creatures with your weapon, ready to attack? What would you do, then?

Rena slashed horizontally through the air, and stared with wide-eyes at the outcome.

A scratch! A simple, little, tiny scratch, but it was a scratch, nonetheless! With a triumphant grin, Rena charged straight forwards, finding herself stepping swiftly as the Dusk attacked and sliding to attack.

In mere moments, it was gone. Rena blinked and found that her enemy was no longer standing before the tomboy. There was nothing. No speck of silver or white in sight. Not even near Ven or Raynie, either!

"Alright... where'd you learn that?" Raynie bitterly questioned. Rena only blinked.

"...Learn what?"

"How to actually fight."

"But, Ven just said to slash! That's what I did, right?"

Ven was trying to slide his keyblades onto the two belts across his back, the two keys disappearing. He then stepped over to the two and gave a shake of his head.

Raynie's frown had turned into a displeased scowl, "Why'd you act like such a weakling before, brat?"

Rena gave a snarl, "I wasn't... I seriously dunno how to fight with this key-thingy! He said just to slash, and that's what I did!"

"Whatever," Raynie then said with a snarl, stomping off towards the Third District, "You slowpokes coming or not!?"

As Raynie stomped off into the dark alley, Ven and Rena lagged behind, since the tomboy had a question for the blonde boy.

"I did just slash, right?"

"Uhhh... not... really...?" Ven nervously replied, receiving a glare from Rena, "Well, you didn't! It looked like... uhh... me fighting, not you?"

Rena gave a pout after hearing Ven's nervous laugh, "I wonder where that came from, then..."

Ven was looking thoughtful again, "I guess it was the keyblade... then...?"

"Yeah! It has to be their weirdo key thingy! No wonder it's so weird!"

"...Right..." Ven gave another nervous laugh. Yet, just as he did so, a thought sprang into mind.

"Hey, what if I taught you how to fight?"

"Why would I need that?" Rena questioned with a grin, "This weird key knows how to fight! I'll just let it do all of that!"

Ven's palm seemed to meet his forehead with a slap, "No, it can't do tha--"

"C'mon! Raynie's beating us out of here!"

With a groan, Ven slumped behind the speedy tomboy as she took off through the alley. He sounded defeated again. Was everyone else as hyper and loud as these too? Doubtful... He didn't think anyone could scream as much as Raynie could...

"Fine..."

 

[Lectori Salutem]

Ven is cute!! And Raynie is a bit annoying in this chapter^^

Too bad you can't find the time for NaNoWriMo... I couldn't do it this year either, because I couldn't find the time for it... Well, there's always next year, like you said!

 

[TwilightRiku_13]

Wow, Raynie is really quite annoying, isn't she. Is she related to Axel some how? Just asking because she did the whole name spelling thing. Also, is Rena related to Sora some how? So many questions. Anyway, great chapter, and I look forward to your next update.

 

[Mason Stark]

Thank yew for the comments!

yay ven is cute! Ack, I didn't realize how annoying Raynie acted in that chapter... *___*; She gets a wee bit too hyper when it comes to keyblades, I guess? She'll definitely change, though! yay for character development! :O And, she's not related to Axel; I just thought it would be fun to have her referencing Axel, even though she's never met him. xD;

Annnd Rena's not related to Sora. Weird stuff just happened on that part... You're talking about when she was fighting the Dusks, right? ^^;

LS: Ack, no fun. *__*; There's definitely next year, though! I just wonder if it's going to be crazy for me next year, since I'm going to be in college by then. I dunno what to expect with that. 8D;

Story related stuff... I'll have up the next chapter soon! I'm almost done working on another one, so I can post up the rest of this one in a few days!

I have a quick question about the story, too: would you rather read about something that happened to Ven or Rena first?

 

[Lectori Salutem]

I think I would like to read something about Ven first... Because right now, we hardly know anything about him. Not that I'd mind if Rena was first, I'd ,like to know more about both^^

 

[TwilightRiku_13]

Well, I would like to hear more about both characters, but, if i had to chose, I would chose Ven. I would like to know where he came from.

 

[Mason Stark]

Okies, Ven it is! His part kinda seems more interesting to me, too, so... 8D;

And, this is a wee bit late, but HAVE A NEW CHAPTER. D: I'm in a writer's block right now (hence why it's late or whatever), but I'm gonna try to punch it in the face ergh get rid of it ASAP.

---------------

"Dammit, you guys are slow!" Raynie screamed.

With a unison sigh, both Ven and Rena replied by saying, "We know... we know..."

As the three stood next to the door back into the Second District, the older teen glared down at the two keybladers.

Timidly, Rena asked her own question, "Can't you yell at us about something... else? That's kinda old..."

"No! Of course not!" Raynie revolted, causing Rena to shrink closer to the ground, "It's my insult! You have to deal with it!"

"Raynie, cut it out!" Ven growled, "We have to get out of here!"

"...And that is why you guys are slow," Raynie replied smugly with her arms crossed, sticking her tongue out childishly. The teen made her way to a nearby staircase, pointing to it as she exclaimed.

"C'mon! The door's really close by, I promise! We'll be out of here in no time!"

Another question popped up out of Ven's thoughts, "Yeah, but do you even have a gu--"

"COME ON!!"

She was dragging the two behind now, though it was by words and not by actions. By persisting on with her loud mouth-ed exclamations, Ven and Rena finally followed behind, though it wasn't faithfully or anything of the sort.

There! A door brightly stood nearby, waiting for someone to push past its barriers and into the next District. The only thing to worry about right that second was making sure no Heartless or those Nobodies show up. Cautiously, Ven stepped before Raynie, checking to make sure neither of the foul creatures had appeared.

"Blondie! What're you--" Raynie exclaimed, her voice lowered into a harsh whisper as Ven shot her a glare, "...Oh. Right. I knew that, baka."

Nothing. There was nothing there. Ven let out a sigh of relief, stepping forwards out of the block standing before the stairway. They were standing near the center of the district now, though it was much closer to that doorway than anywhere else.

"C'mon, we're almost out of here..." Ven whispered, believing that shouting would've drawn those stupid monsters into the district.

His footsteps echoed against the grey, brick walls and the checkered, concrete ground, as did Raynie and Rena's own. As they neared the doorway, the air begun to feel cooler and cooler, as if displaying an odd sense of foreboding. Yet, the question was: was something coming into this District, or was there some many things on the other side of the wall?

Rena's head perked up as something caught her eye. Curiously, she glanced to the side and merely blinked. Once... twice...

"Who's that?" she questioned, her footsteps slowing to a stop as she glanced towards a large door with a fire insignia.

Raynie noticed them, too! She quickly jerked herself around, a pensive frown formed on her tan face.

"Dunno..." she replied, tilting her head to the side with equal curiosity, "I know how to find out, though..."

Now with a smug grin on her face, Raynie took a step forwards. Ven jerked himself around, eyeing the situation with a bit of interest. He couldn't help but jump at the transformation.

"HEY!! WHO THE HECK ARE Y--!?"

Ven seemed as if he had flown across the ground in a mere second. The boy shoved the palm of his hand over Raynie's mouth, who looked as if she wanted to bite his fingers off right then.

The district was no longer 'quiet'. It was nowhere near quiet. It was the complete opposite of quiet! Well, that's what the pessimistic thoughts of the blonde haired boy immediately declared. But, if one thing had gotten louder, it was the illusion of the wind howling wildly when nothing was there.

"Be quiet!" he exclaimed in the form of a whisper; though it was pretty quiet, you could feel how annoyed he was at that moment, "That could be a Heartless or a Nobody for all you know!"

"Well, Mr. I'm-So-Smart," Raynie replied, her voice muffled beneath Ven's partially-gloved hand, "Heartless and Nobodies can't look like people!"

"How'd you know that?" Ven snarled, "Have you ever met someone who's Heartless but--"

"Hey, mister!"

Ven seemed to have a mini freak out at the sight of watching Rena make her way towards the figure.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, his hand no longer covering Raynie's mouth. He went to run forwards, yet...

"Hey!" Rena exclaimed as she stopped behind the tall figure. She could only see their back, but with their shoulders looking decently stiff, she could tell he was kind of freaked out. Actually, they looked rather... terrified.

After a moment or so, a voice finally poked out: it was a teenager's voice! It sounded like a boy, and it sounded really, really freaked out.

"Y-Yeah...?" he questioned, turning his head very slowly to gaze down at the brown haired girl.

Rena looked rather startled herself, giving a gulp as she saw his face: if the golden, hawk-like eyes didn't scare you enough, the sickly pale skin would. The tomboy took a step backwards, giving another gulp.

The teen perked up. At first, he didn't seem to get it. Then, he finally did.

Jerking himself around, he fully came into view, which only seemed to freak Rena out more.

"I-It's okay!" he exclaimed, trying to hide his face underneath his spiked black hair. He wore an eyepatch connected by two strings. His shirt was sleeveless and had a tall, angular collar. He wore wrinkled pants that just barely hovered over his combat boots. He was tall and a bit menacing, but he seemed like the complete opposite!

"I didn't realize that I... um..."

There came a snap. A snap that was lightning; with a bash of thunder following right behind. Then came the wall of dust. And a huge black object. Well, several black objects.

Rena felt herself being shoved backwards, yet didn't feel herself hit the nearby wall.

When the dust cleared, Rena hadn't realized that she was now staring at that same back once more. That guy pushed her out of the way!

"You okay?" he questioned, no longer sounding afraid one bit.

"Y-yeah..." Rena replied, instantly jerking eyes away from seeing what freaked her out in the first place. That, though, seemed to make the teen look rather upset, even for just a moment. Seeing that expression, though, she felt kind of bad.

"Um... what's your name?" she questioned, with a nervous grin as she glanced up at him.

He merely blinked, "I... um... my name...?"

Rena gave a small nod.

"I'm... Adyn..." he replied sounding rather nervous still.

The tomboy gave a small smile, "Cool! My name's Rena!"

That rather happy attitude disappeared with a moments notice. Remember that black object that came bursting out of the sky? Well, they just figured out what it was, sort of anyways.

A strange, black mound laid aimlessly in a pile on the ground. You couldn't tell if it were different pieces, or it transformed into something else. All you could see what pure black.

But, finally, it came to life.

One by one, it shifted. It changed.

A round ball cracked open. A strange cylinder-like object spun around. There were feet and hands, yet they weren't exactly in the right places. The cylinder begun to glow with a strange, purple aura as tainted yellow eyes glared back down at the two.

If there were two things known about this creature, it was that it was pure, black armor and there was an emblem on its 'torso'. Adyn snarled as he saw it.

His hand gave a twirl, and Rena saw, within his grasp, one of the strangest weapons she had ever seen; that, or one of the most foreboding.

It was black and silver. The handle was merely a black 'stick', yet the blade was more than 'simple'. It looked like crescent-shaped shards of steel, all laid down in a particular pattern to create a menacing weapon. That looked much cooler than a keyblade, that's for sure!

"Uhh... you have a weapon... right?" The boy questioned, sounding divided between being nervous and being rather puzzled. Actually, truth be told, he didn't expect the girl to have a weapon at all!

Rena instantly gave a grin, holding up her own weapon before him, "Of course I do!"

Adyn took a step backwards and looked rather awestruck when he shook his head. Of course, he was surprised that Rena had a weapon, but a keyblade? Of all things! It was a keyblade!

The boy rubbed the back of his head, eyes glancing off to the side, "Well... um... you know how to fight with it, right?"

"Sorta..."

"Sorta is something! You can still--"

ZHOOM!

A large crater was left in the spot where Adyn and Rena once stood. Another cloud of dust sparked up instantly upon the impact of the purple sphere that blasted out of the cannon-like torso. Adyn had quickly dragged Rena aside with him, as the two landed near that large, stone door. The problem with the sight of the attack was that they weren't the only ones witnessing it: Ven and Raynie saw it, too!

"RENA!!" Ven screamed, banging his fists against wall before them. Unlike a generic stone wall that would appear along with a monster, this one was an invisible barrier that kept both Ven and Raynie away, yet allowed them to witness the beating Adyn and Rena were about to get.

That wasn't the only reason Ven was screaming and banging on the wall: it was because that guy was creepier beyond belief! He had a scythe, creepy eyes, unbelievably sick skin, and all of those features made Ven's skin crawl. He didn't know if he was friend or enemy; he just knew that there was something very freaky about him, and the blonde haired boy had to get to the other side!

"Blondie, cut it out! You're not doing it right!" Raynie exclaimed, tightening her gloves as she glared over at the boy.

"Then do it right! NOW!"

"Alright alright! You're really pushy, ya know!"

"Just shut up and punch the damn thing!!"

It looked as if a ripple had gone through a screen that showed what was happening in the rest of the district. Yet, that ripple threw Raynie to stumble backwards, and look rather taken aback.

"Okay... that normally doesn't happen..."

"Well, it's magic," Ven replied with a snap.

Raynie threw him a glare, "I know that, blondie! It's not letting me punch it, if you can't tell!"

Ven instantly wanted to bash his head into the wall, knowing that would get them absolutely nowhere at the moment. There was something else, though. Something he didn't know would work or not... But, it was worth a try!

The boy put out his hand, "Close your eyes and keep them closed. I'll get us out of here..."

"Why should I--?"

"Just close them! Please!" He sounded rather desperate at the moment.

With a blink and a moment, Raynie gave in and tightly shut her eyes.

"...Are you going to keep them closed?"

"Yes, blondie..."

"Promise?"

"YES."

"Alright..."

Ven quickly latched onto the girl's hand and stared off into the distance. He knew where he had to go, he was taking Raynie with him, but... how do you get to the other side?

"One..." he begun, taking a deep breath, "Two... Three..."

"VEN!" a familiar voice exclaimed, sounding more than glad to see the blonde haired boy. He was more than ecstatic to hear that voice. Yet, there was something else...

With a flash of light and a rather strange moment, Ven now stood right in front of the boy known as 'Adyn', who looked pretty confused, and shot him a look of pure disgust. The flash of light formed into his rusty-like keyblade, as he pointed the strange, blunted-appearing blade at the black haired boy's neck.

"Don't you dare go near Rena again! Or any of us for that matter!"

"...Huh?" Adyn replied, blinking several times as he looked completely confused, "What did I--"

"Ven, stop that!" Rena exclaimed, "He's not hurting anyone!"

Raynie chimed in, "Except for that freakishly huge black Heartless, which I hope you were both attacking!"

The creature felt rather left out at that moment. No one had been paying any attention to it; not even the writer! Out of desperate hope to strike fear into the hearts of both the group and the readers, it begun to stomp its 'feet' wildly, attempting to catch the attention of everyone at that precise moment.

The whole district felt like it was in an earthquake! The ground rumbled insanely, everything begun to shake, and you felt as if you were on an insane, runaway rollercoaster that just would not stop spinning!

"Get me off of this thing!!" Raynie screamed as her voice shook, replying to the figurative speech portion above her comment.

When the district finally came to its last rumble, everyone was ready. Except... not everyone would run forwards.

As soon as the shaking ceased, both Adyn and Raynie stroke forwards, their weapons ready as they begun their attack on the Opposite Armor. Rena immediately followed along, but of course...

"Where're you going?" Ven snapped, receiving a glare from Rena.

"I'm going to help!"

"Not with a Heartless..."

The boy seemed to motion his hands, showing that there wasn't any keyblade within his grasp; especially since his other had disappeared from sight. Rena blinked for a moment, then figured out that, unlike everyone else, he wasn't going to fight.

"...Why?" Rena questioned, more so to the fact that he wasn't going to fight more than anything.

"Blondie! Kid!! A little help over here!" Raynie exclaimed as both Adyn and herself smashed one of the pieces of the armor, causing the 'feet' to disappear.

Ven roughly shook his head, suddenly becoming torn between helping the fight and giving an explanation. But he knew that the former wasn't an option...

"BLONDIE!" Raynie screamed once again, sounding rather angry this time, "STOP STANDING THERE AND GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!!"

Ven bit his lip. What could he do? No one else knew why he wasn't fighting, yet he couldn't just randomly start explaining to all of them.

"Alright, keybladers can't fight a Heartless because--"

He was talking to thin air. No one was there to listen. They were all busy doing something else. Including the one person he pulled away from the fight.

The boy was forced to do a double take, glancing before him and then at the side several times. Between the swinging of hands and feet, the flurry of weapons slashing through the air, and a blur of various colours, Ven finally caught where the young keyblader had run off to.

"RENA!!" he screamed, running straight into the fight with the thought of attacking what he shouldn't have been attacking in the first place.

Rena was between Raynie and Adyn, who were all either punching or slashing away at the armored creature. Yet, the thing was almost gone...

"DON'T YOU DARE ATTAC--!"

It was gone. It burst into a million pieces. It disappeared from sight.

Ven stared, a hopeless expression on his face, up at the night sky. There it was, floating away into nothing. It was engulfed in darkness and gone from sight.

"...Shit," the boy cursed, letting out a low growl.

"Aw right, kid!" Raynie triumphantly exclaimed, as the trio of fighters made their way from where the fight took place.

They all looked so happy. Ven felt torn between envy and frustration at the sight. He kind of wished that he was celebrating the victory, too, but a fact kept him feeling frustrated. He wished he wasn't told that...

"Do you guys know what you just did?" Ven snarled, viewing the trio's halt before him. They each had blank faces, now. They all looked confused beyond belief!

"We just beat the crap out of the weirdo Heartless thing?" Raynie replied while she seemed to trail off at the end of her sentence.

"Did you see me beat it up, Ven?" Rena questioned with a grin.

"Well, if I hadn't punched it in the first place..."

"I helped, too," a small voice poked out suddenly. Raynie instantly took notice.

"Yeah, this guy was AWESOME! He's gotta tag along with us! Except he can't be an offically guardian like me--"

"Would you guys shut up!?" Ven finally managed to scream. He sounded way past frustrated... and his face was kind of red.

The trio finally closed their mouths for five seconds, giving Ven the ability to speak. That's when he begun:

"Didn't you guys see that gigantic heart float up to the sky?"

"...Is that a bad thing?" Raynie questioned, looking puzzled.

"Yes," the boy snapped, "Keyblades release hearts, which means..."

"Someone gets their heart back! I know!" Raynie snarled, receiving a glare from Ven.

"No! That's not what happens! It's--"

"Cut it, blonde! We don't need a history lesson... We gotta get somewhere... You can explain on the way there!"

A pair of 'huh?'s came from both Ven and Rena. Raynie never mentioned anything about going anywhere... It was either going to find 'Squall' and 'the baka ninja', or going to find a way out of Traverse Town. She never said a word about going to a specific place! That thought, though, received a scoff from Raynie, who seemed annoyed at them from 'not listening'.

"We have to get to Hollow Bastion, of course!"

The name seemed to strike fear into the hearts of everyone standing before Raynie. Both Ven and Adyn's frozen stances didn't seem to have a clear reason, but Rena's did; hence why she was the only one to speak up.

"Hey! I never agreed to go there!!" the tomboy stubbornly exclaimed, crossing her arms with a pout.

"Of course you did! Remember? You said yes before you got really freaked out and started talking about your keyblade..."

"I'm not going to help you guys with whatever it is!"

"Whatever, kid..."

Abruptly, Raynie put out her hand, palm facing the ground, as she commanded:

"C'mon! We need to make a pact!"

"...What?" Ven questioned.

"A pact! You put your hand on mine and that means you're on the team! Hurry it up so we can get out of here...!"

Adyn was the first to throw his gloved hand over Raynie's own, while Ven was second; but, Adyn was the only one to receive a grin from Raynie. The last person wouldn't put their hand on top, either contemplating if she should join in or realizing that she was too short to put her hand on top; at this pause, Rena received a glare from Raynie.

"Just put your hand on top, kid!!"

Rena's mouth formed into a frown that looked rather puzzled.

"Lemme think..."

The echo of feet would have made you wonder if you had just stepped into the district. Especially when you saw the group nearby. What was going on?

Raynie's expression explained everything. She was annoyed. Beyond annoyed. Now, her face was turning red.

"You... little... BRAT!!"

Yes, Rena had taken off running. And, yes, it angered Raynie very much. When she found the kid, someone was probably going to be choked.