A/N: I rewrote Chapter 1 because I know it was boring, too long, and dragged out. Which is why I (miraculously) combined most of Chapters 1 and 2. Of course, I haven't replaced Chapter 2 yet with the Conclusion to this chapter. So if you just clicked on this story, you probably should wait for Chapter 2. If you can't, go on to Chapter 3.

I will put the following once because I'm lazy and I'll know I'd forget.

DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts, its characters, and anything else associated with it belongs to Square Enix and Disney. But I do own Alana and any other original characters. And the lyrics. You'll know when you see them.

CHAPTER 1

:The Set Up:

20 years ago . . .

In an area not far from the Great Maw, a black portal appeared. Axel stepped out. As it closed behind him, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cracked, blue cube. He stared at the swirling black mist inside, remembering what had happened over a year ago.

Axel sighed. "I wonder where you are now? Probably already reincarnated." He kicked a nearby stone. "If only things could have happened differently back then, maybe . . ." His voice trailed off as he scratched his head and looked around, slipping the cube into his pocket.

"No point in worrying about it now. Not with Saix after me."

Axel stared at Crystal Fissure and believed that someone was watching him in secrecy. He was about to check it out when a portal appeared. Saix emerged with his claymore in hand.

"You really are wearing our patience thin, Number Eight," Saix stated, his voice voided of emotion. "Telling the Keyblade wielder our plan. How would that help you in any way?"

Axel smirked and his chakram appeared in his hands. He had a feeling this was going to lead to a fight yet he never let the worry show on his face. "I'm just curious if the Organization will fall," he said, the smug smirk still on his face.

Saix's expression remained unchanged. "Revenge for your beloved?"

Axel gritted his teeth and threw the burning chakram at Saix. Saix dodged them with ease before he charged at the redhead and swung his claymore. Axel jumped back in a zig-zag pattern, avoiding each swing. Saix's swings became quicker with each step and Axel couldn't help feeling anxious. Glacing behind him, Axel saw himself by the edge. Quickly he blocked the claymore with his chakram.

"What's wrong, Axel? Afraid to die?"Before Axel could say his comeback, the Luna Diviner pushed the claymore with his foot, successfully sending Axel over the edge.

"Shit!" Axel said. His chakram disappeared and he grabbed a ledge. He glanced down and saw the blue cube falling down below. Damn it, he thought and looked back up. Saix approached the end and prepared for an attack. Axel released his grip and fell into a portal.

Saix narrowed his golden eyes. "He escaped again."

Present . . .

Alana held her college textbooks in her arms. She would have dropped them off in her dorms right after classes but her blonde friend was in a rush. She knew that he really wanted to see how great was his substitute drummer. Considering that the gig was only two days and that the official drummer had left due to a family death. Now that it crossed her mind, she had no idea who the new drummer was. "Hey, Myde," she said, her eyes staring at the ground as she walked.

The blonde looked at her with his blue eyes. "Yeah?"

"Who's the new drummer?" Alana asked.

"Some guy named Lea."

"Hm . . . Never heard of him."

"Really? He was in our Physics class last year."

Alana sighed. "Myde, that was a big class. I bet you never talked to guy. I'm surprised that you know he even play drums."

Myde scratched his head. "Actually, I never heard him play. The only reason he's playing with us is because Rob talked to Zees about a replacement and Zees suggested Lea. And Zees is not a stupid guy."

"You've never seen Zees in Calculus." Her slate eyes locked with his blue ones. They had stopped outside a garage door. Alana looked away from Myde and knocked on the garage. Five seconds later, it lifted and Alana came face to face with a redhead. It was not the person who lived at the house.

"I assume you're Lea," she said. Alana examined him from head to toe, taking in his emerald eyes and spike- up, flaming red hair. He kinda looks familiar, she thought to herself. She peered around the redhead and saw the bass guitarist hooking the music equipment to the amps. He was the one who lived at this residence. "Hey, Sai."

Sai looked back. "Alana! How are you? Myde, you're late."

Myde faked a groan. "Oh, not even a hello? Do you know how rude that is?" Myde said as he walked into the garage. Alana followed him in and Lea closed the garage door.

A shadowy figure was standing in a tree. It watched as Alana and Myde walked into the garage of a yellow house. He had been following the two the moment they had left campus. Now they had led him here to Axel, who was now Lea. His plan was in action; the three test subjects, as he sometimes called them, could interact and hopefully 'reawaken'.

"How much longer?" he asked himself.

There was a rustle in the leaves and blue-haired girl jumped down next to him. "Shadow!" the girl said in joy. She rushed toward him and tried to give Shadow a hug. However, she ran through him and almost collided with the tree trunk. "You did that on purpose," she muttered, her yellow eyes in slits.

"Stop calling me that pet name, Bane," he said. Though there was no mouth, the words were still audible.

Bane smirked. "Why? You prefer your real name over the one I came with?"

Shadow ignored her and changed the subject. "I suppose you're here to take over my shift, right? Because Artemis told you?"

"Yep," she replied. "Then maybe I can finally meet Demyx and introduce myself!"

"You do that," he said as shrunk into the shadows and left.

Bane sighed and sat on the tree branch alone. She realized that she had to wait for them to leave that house. Although, to be honest, the girl was of no importance to Bane. Her round ears wiggled as she picked up a sound nearby. She glanced to her left and saw a bird chirping. At first she tried to ignore it but then it became impossible. Her blue tail lashed out at the bird but it missed. Still the action was enough to scare the bird away. "Stupid bird," she muttered.

"All the lies that you keep on telling me

Keep ripping me in two, thought you knew

What the hell were you thinking

When you looked me in the eye

Tell me a lie

Thinking I can't see through you . . ."

Alana listened to Myde sing into the microphone while he played his electric guitar. She was thankful that he wasn't singing in an obnoxious sort of way. She was able to sit still and drown herself in the song. Myde played a riff and Sai countered that one with his own on the bass guitar. Myde returned to the chorus one more time before the song came to an end.

"So, what do you think?" Myde asked, putting his guitar on the table. "Good? Bad? Needs work?"

"Second verse needs work.," said Alana. "Lea was off again during the chorus. And Sai played the wrong note."

Myde sighed. "From the top."

Lea struck the crash cymbals hard, getting everyone's attention. "Can we call it a night?" He asked. "We've been practicing for three hours straight." He glanced down at his watch and saw it was past eight. "More than three."

Myde sighed. "Fine. But we need to practice tomorrow."

"Sure," Sai said. "Whatever you say. I don't care if we have practice tomorrow. I just wanted today's to be over." Sai placed his bass guitar on its stand and walked over to the garage door. He pressed the switch next to it and the door. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"See ya," Myde said as he walked out. Lea gave Sai one of those typical-guy handshakes, muttered a 'bye', and walked out. Alana waved goodbye. After they all stepped outside, he closed the garage door behind them.

Alana was surprised to see the sun was just setting. Even though Lea said they had spent over three hours in the stuffy garage, it seemed early to her. Her slates eyes landed on the guys and saw they were waiting for her. She hurried up.

Bastion University was not far from Sai's house; it was a little over a mile away. Alana and Myde, though they were residents of Radiant Garden, lived in the dorms. Lea did as well since his home was in Transverse Town. Though the walk wasn't a long distance, it usually took twenty minutes to get there. And to remain silent for the whole trip was not an easy task. After ten minutes of silence, Lea felt like he couldn't take it anymore.

"Alana?"

She looked back at him.

"You're very quiet," Lea said. He waited for Alana to comment but when she didn't, he quickly moved ahead of her and walked backward to see her face. "I didn't mean anything offensive by it," he said. "You hardly said anything in practice."

" . . . I'm not much of a people's person," she said.

"Once she gets to know you, she'll talk more," Myde said, catching the redhead's attention.

"So she's not mad at me?" Lea suddenly asked.

Alana's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would I be?"

"I don't know," Lea said, his voice holding a tinge of sarcasm. " 'Attacking' me, then ignoring me?"

"I was being honest," Alana said, her pace a little faster now. "You were off during the chorus." She tried to walk around him but Lea's arm blocked her path. She looked up at him as he looked down at her.

Lea, without realizing it, smirked. "That's the kind of attitude that pushes people away."

"Makes life easier for me."

"Um . . ." Myde had stopped walking because the other two had. His eyes went back and forth between the two. Should he intervene or let them work it out themselves? He couldn't tell if Lea was being serious. He could easily see that Alana was irritated. He sighed while he tried to make a decision. Suddenly, there was a tap on his shoulders and Myde yelped.

Lea and Alana looked back at Myde.

There was a girl standing in a miniskirt, a sweater, and boots. It wasn't the outfit that caught their attention but the blue hair, yellow eyes, animal ears and tail, and the massive hands that had claws. The strange girl stuck her hand out, expecting a handshake from Myde. "I'm Bane-don't worry, I know who you are. You're Demyx."

"I think you got the wrong guy," Myde said, his eyes fixated on the ears.

"No. You're Demyx and he," she pointed to Lea, "is Axel. The problem is you two haven't remembered yet."

A/N: That's it for now. Maybe in a few days I'll replace Chapter 2 with the conclusion of this. That's it for now. Till then.