(I swear to christ this one is getting finished. Why? BECAUSE I ALREADY WROTE IT ALL. I know that's like tempting fate but JESUS. I DID IT! After FIVE MONTHS this is edited to my perfectionist tendencies, and totally done and redone and rewritten and has more stuff added and so on and so forth. So I'd like to thank everyone who waited, because christ I suck at updating. But now, every three-to-five days, updates. Seriously. Not joking. Also, if you'll notice, I cleaned up my ffn account a bit. Sucky stories, ones that were never getting updated, etc etc. Sorry to anyone who liked them--let me know and I'll PM you a copy of the fic if it's a oneshot. Okay?

This aside, on to this fic. A few warnings are needed, because I write some twisted, twisted shit. First, holy crap the gay will slam you in the face with a Carebear Stare. I didn't want to turn people off who go "barf it's a romance fic" because hell I know I do that too sometimes, but this isn't a romance story. So this is why I'm giving a warning.

This WILL go up to M. A very high M. Because not only is there gay, there is, (without giving anything away), much splatter, lots of monsters, human and otherwise, and swamp horror. I'll put individual warnings for each chapter, but yeah. Also, it amuses me that I have to include "teh gay" with the stuff like "gore and monsters." Even if this IS KH, I figure I should be careful.

For the first time in a long while, a disclaimer--clearly I do not own Kingdom Hearts, I mean even they wouldn't totally play up the yaoi this much.)

Truth be told, they didn't know where she had come from.

The small village north of Hollow Bastion, a village so small it didn't even have a place on the map, and was affectionately referred to by the locals as the Invisible Village. The people had lived quiet, simple lives, until the little girl wandered into town, covered in dried mud and smiling serenely at all of them before passing out.

They rushed to help her, and found no external damage on her body when they washed the mud off. Her hair was tangled, but that would be fixed with a brisk brushing. The fact that disturbed them was that no one could guess her age.

It was usually easy to tell a child or teen's age by their body. She, however, was indecipherable. She had small, budding breasts, but a full figure, with all the curves a teenager developed. She had no body hair apart from what was on her head and face--in fact, the smoothness was almost eerie. And she was tiny--small and delicate.

She awoke two days later. The second he was alerted, the town's elder stepped forward and proffered a hand. "Little girl." He said softly. "What might your name be?" Her answer was simple, as she sat up and twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

"I be Senayax." She said. The elder nodded wisely.

"And, may I ask, how old are you?" He asked politely, tapping his staff on the floor. The sweet little girl gave him a big, childish smile, all teeth and gums, before saying, "I don't know."

The townspeople were stunned. However, they wrote it off as a product of whatever trauma had left her on the outskirts of their tiny little village, and never said anything. Senayax never spoke of it again.

She was promptly given two parents to care for her, a young couple named Allie and Keldy. They had been unable to concieve, and Senayax was the answer they'd been looking for. So the family was a happy and devoted one, and Senayax seemed fully prepared to grow up in a simple country village, and never wonder about her past or what brought her there. Much to the delight of the elders, in fact, one of the younger boys had taken a marked interest in her.

But she never paid attention to anyone else unless forced to. Most of the time, she sat in the dirt, drawing alien-looking pictures that bore no resemblance to anything that the folk knew of the world. She was quiet, they said. Just traumatized still. It was a phase.

A few months passed of Senayax's stay in the Invisible Village. They were the same, slow, sleepy normal months that had passed long before she had ever arrived. She didn't seem to change much, just kept walking blankly throughout her life, never responding to overtures of friendship. She was still drawing those pictures, only now, they had become much more ornate and intricate. They began to resemble hearts and moon-shaped scars in a gouged-out sky. Whenever she'd draw those pictures, she'd drag the stick harshly across the dirt, making concentrated little grunting noises as she did.

The children soon began to edge away from her whenever she came to draw. The bravest ones were challenged by their friends to run up close and ask her what she was drawing. Each time, she would tell them simply, "I dunno."

The adults were almost in a reverent fear of her. She would walk into their homes when Keldy and Allie were invited to parties, and simply tilt her head and listen to their conversations, her eyes closed for long stretches at a time before she'd open them and say something that utterly floored the party. It was then that she was usually ushered out by Keldy to take her home, with an excuse of a fever.

But she didn't seem to mind, or even notice. She still continued her routine of drawing in the dirt, singing nonsense songs to herself in her room when the mood struck her, and climbing out on their roof to watch the moon when it was full. Some people joked that she was 'looking for something.' If she'd heard that, she would have told them that she was.

But she couldn't remember what she was searching for, or why. It plagued her endlessly, but she stayed quiet--even if she was screaming on the inside, the strange gap in her chest she'd never been able to explain away to herself throbbing with a phantom pain inside her chest. She slept like the dead, but under that skin, if you looked close, you could see swirling dark patterns under it...the same alien patterns she would draw in the dirt, day after day.

She let life pass her by. She didn't seem to mind, even when the summer warmed the earth and the kids took her small oasis in the creek to swim and play. They'd tried to encourage her to swim with them, but she simply sat on her rock and stared down at them until they left.

Then, making sure they were all gone, she'd give a soft squeal of glee and slide into the water, swimming around in the pool until she could hear them calling her name and searching for her.

By the time midsummer had rolled around, she was trying to adapt, however false it would seem. But the villagers saw it as a sign of progress, and pushed her forward, ignoring her groans of almost physical pain as she tried to smile and make idle conversation as she sat with other squalling, gossipy brats her age.

That hollow place in her chest tried to pull her away from the village. But she just didn't know where to go.

Then, like hell had sent a way out, the Heartless attacked.

The people ran in horror, hid in their homes whenever the Heartless were near. They would dart around the town and cheerfully rip people's hearts out on occasion. Children were forbid from ever leaving their homes, and adults would go out sparingly, if at all, especially at night. They overran the town quickly, doing as they pleased.

But they did not touch Senayax. In fact, they were more like her nervous, darting pets. They skittered away if another person came around, but if it was just her, they let her pet them to her heart's content. Senayax seemed to enjoy it, albeit with a distant sort of smile on her face, as if she was trying to remember something. Something important...

It was supposed to be a simple scouting mission, of all things. The Heartless around Hollow Bastion had all slowly drifted towards a tiny little dot on the map. He was here to find out why.

He sniffed the air, and let the smells come to him. Humans, with a faintly rotting smell--these were humans who had only known harsh conditions and never known or dreamt of hope. Heartless, with their blank, almost immiscible scent, mixing with the air around them, simply making it a bit darker and colder in his mind--and there was something else. Something that he'd only picked up before in the castle. He inhaled deeply, examining the smell, before gasping and clutching his book.

A Nobody. A humanoid Nobody--one like them.

The Cloaked Schemer shook his head in bemused wonder. Well, how about that.

He started forward, chuckling to himself. This might be the most interesting scouting mission he'd ever been on.

Zexion followed the heated scent, letting himself slip through the town unnoticed. It was a bland, utterly uniform sort of town. He snorted with disdain. Whatever Nobody was here, he pitied them. The people were huddled in their houses, barely registering his presence. They watched the Heartless skitter around him, and he deflected the foolish purebloods with a wave of his hand and an eloquent hex. One of the villagers made to cheer, but his wife hushed him quickly, and pulled him into the house. He ignored them, and kept moving. The scent was getting closer, hotter, more...more there.

He drummed his fingers on his book as he inhaled the scent again. It was surprisingly untouched by the darkness that clogged their minds and festered within themselves. It was almost...sweet. Gentle. Young. He shook his head.

No. It couldn't be. It was a Nobody. He kept moving, and realized he'd moved past the main parts of the village. He tilted his head up, and stared at the canopy of trees that had suddenly formed around his head. He sighed, and kept moving. At least the forest held something that was more interesting than the scent of those people, devoid of their hope.

He kept moving, and felt water trickling around his boots after a time. He looked down, and realized it was a small brook, widening as it moved downstream. The scent tantalized him from down the brook and beyond, and he kept moving, feeling the water shift and puddle around his feet. It began to soak his boots, but the scent was getting closer, and it didn't seem to matter.

It finally led him to a small grove, well-hidden from the rest of the houses. A small oasis had pooled there, and it sparkled in the sun. Rocks were arranged carefully around it, obviously having been moved from somewhere else. They formed a perfect seat for a young child.

It was then his mind whirred, and he realized the truth. It would take him longer to accept it, however. He peered through the trees, where the scent wafted through his nose the most pungently.

He almost dropped his book in surprise.

A...girl? Woman? ...Whatever she was, she was just sitting there, crouching on the hard-packed dirt. A little Shadow gamboled around her feet as she petted it with a sort of mechanical rhythm. Her dress shifted around her as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, and she tried to hold her balance even with the cloth bunched so close to her feet. He shuddered. The scent screamed at him, 'child', but it also alerted him that she was a Nobody.

Her body spoke of a woman, however. Or at least, close enough. He shook his head. He'd found something that he suddenly felt he shouldn't have. He'd felt that same feeling only once before--when Xehanort had told them all of his magnificent idea for the Heartless. He shuddered, suddenly feeling nauseous. He banished the thought quickly, and gathered his wits about him, realizing he'd need to send a message.

He flipped through his book and spoke a small, hastily-performed spell that would send the message to Xemnas. He needed backup. The girl would probably have to be taken by force, after all--and he wasn't very good at force.

--

Within the World that Never Was, Xemnas was in his office, scratching out an equation on his endless reams of paper that populated the desk. He was deep in thought, chewing his lip and letting the question overtake his entire thought process. Saix slept beside him, curled up in his chair, and Xemnas knew that while he may have appeared peaceful, if someone happened to enter unannounced, his pet would have his claymore at his side and his berserker state overtaking his thoughts within an instant. He smiled, and stroked a few rebellious strands of hair away from his diviner's face.

He shifted a few papers, and finally, with the equation at the back of his mind, it was open and clear--a perfect opening for Zexion's message. Xemnas jumped, realizing Zexion was sending him a message from his mission. He closed his eyes, and let the thought penetrate his mind. Superior, I found a girl. A Nobody girl. Please send aid to bring her back here. He blinked, slightly in shock from the news. He hadn't been expecting anything to actually come of the mission--he was just sending Zexion on a routine assessment of the area. He smiled thinly.

What a pleasant surprise. He thought to himself, as his pet shifted in the seat next to him. Saix opened his eyes, and yawned. "M-master? Forgive me, I didn't get much sleep last night. Your breathing pattern shifted. Is something wrong?" He asked. Xemnas smiled, and kissed his hair.

"No, darling. Can you go gather the others for me? I have some interesting news for all of them." He asked. Saix brightened.

"Master, may I ask what it is, please?" He said, tilting his head in obvious curiousity. Xemnas grinned to himself, and tossed his hair back slightly, leaning against his chair.

"A Nobody." He said. Saix's eyes widened, and he darted off to find the others, as Xemnas laughed softly under his breath. It was only a matter of time before the others would come to him with the same reaction.

Xemnas waited listlessly for the others to arrive, and soon enough ten members stood before him. Zexion had alerted him, and his pet, Saix, was already at his side. He turned to them all, and spoke. "Zexion has alerted me to another humanoid Nobody--a female this time. Being who he is, he doesn't wish to bring her by force. Do I have any volunteers?"

Demyx looked interested, then remembered it would mean fighting, and vehemently shook his head. Marluxia raised a hand, and Xemnas nodded, acknowledging him. Axel looked around, shrugged, and raised a hand as well. Xemnas nodded in contentment. "All right then. You can find him easily enough. I'll leave you to it, then." He said. "Dismissed, all of you--I'll let you know when she arrives."

With the blink of an eye, the Nobodies had all disappeared.

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

Zexion knew they were coming soon. He didn't know who would show up, but it didn't matter. Right now, he had this little girl all to himself. He swallowed hard as he stared at her. She hadn't moved from her crouched position on the dirt, and she was still petting the Heartless. It hadn't moved either, and might have been purring in its' own language--at any rate, it seemed pleased. But the Heartless wasn't his quarry. The girl was. He quietly observed her, mapping out every inch of her body in his mind.

Her plain white dress skirted the dirt, with little puffs of dust rising up if she moved slightly. Her skinny little arms were a deep honeyed coffee color, and covered in dust. He winced at that--had those idiots never thought to give her a bath?

Her hair, which hung in her face as she continued her methodical petting, was a dusky pink color--almost like a dried rose. Her eyes, from what he could see, were the same shade as her skin, only a tad darker, more coffee-colored. She didn't notice him in the slightest, so he kept on staring. He had never been taught tact when observing a woman--he'd lived with Ansem and his Apprentices for almost his entire life. They'd taught him to observe something until he had it down perfectly in his mind, and it had always served him well.

Her whole body from the neck down appeared to be completely hairless...yet he saw the outline of bony, gawky curves and small, perky breasts against the dress. In fact, she seemed to be filling out, but her face was serene and untouched of trauma, same as any child's would look. He shook his head. She was too young to fill out, too young to be a victim of the darkness--actually, how young WAS she?

He certainly couldn't tell, no matter how hard he observed. She almost seemed like she was...shifting.

He was snapped out of his reverie by Marluxia and Axel both appearing behind him with a small hiss, the darkness sinking under their feet. He gave them a tiny nod of acknowledgement, gesturing to the girl. Axel sized her up quickly, and snorted. "Cute little kid, isn't she?" Marluxia only nodded, but his eyes glinted with something almost predatorial. Zexion sighed, and stood up.

The three descended on the girl, who gave no sign that she noticed three large men were surrounding her. Marluxia tried not to laugh as he curled his lip back and stuck his tongue out. Axel did his best to be menacing behind her back, and Zexion simply massaged the bridge of his nose, pinching it tight in frustration. The Heartless looked up and snarled at them, evidently just as embarrassed by their horrible tactics of intimidation as they were. She finally blinked, and tilted her head upwards to stare at them. There was a pause as she stared at them, owlish eyes not blinking or shifting even once. Finally, she spoke.

"Hello."

And that was that. She went back to petting the small black monster, utterly dismissing them. Zexion mentally huffed with indignation. How utterly rude! A young child, brushing me off like a bothersome fly? He sighed, and shook his head. Fine. Obviously she didn't know them--so she wasn't intimidated by their strength...but she wasn't exactly scared of people who suddenly appeared around her, either.

Only children with feelings can get frightened. He thought darkly. Then he looked at the other two equally harried members of the Organization. Marluxia just shrugged, and tapped Graceful Dahlia against his shoulder, and Axel tried to communicate again. He sighed heavily, and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "I'm Axel." He said.

The girl gave no sign that she knew or cared they were there. He huffed in annoyance. "Look, we need you to come with us. That's Marluxia. The blue-haired one is Zexion. We found you here. You don't belong here. We've come to take you home." He said. Her eyes widened for a second, and they knew they'd found her point of interest.

A flash of boggy, leafy terrain flashed across her mind's eye--and something more. Houses rotting on stilts, and a snarling, screaming beast pacing through the town and tearing its' claws into the moon. She gasped softly and fought down a gag as the image made her shudder. "H-home?" Marluxia grinned, taking over.

"Yes. Home. You're coming home with us, little one." He purred, voice becoming like a sweet honeyed trap. Even Zexion was impressed by the way the man's body language shifted entirely, and he became coaxing and predatory, luring her in with his smile. She tilted her head, and reached up to twirl a strand of her hair, seeming unimpressed. Marluxia huffed with indignation before resuming the facade.

"Senayax." She said flatly, nodding to herself as if it was an affirmation of her being. "I be Senayax." She said again. Marluxia nodded, his voice becoming more syrupy-sweet and coaxing as he cooed at her. Axel rolled his eyes, and faked a gagging motion with his finger. Zexion fought back a decidedly uncouth snort of laughter.

"Yes, Senayax, we know who you are. We want to bring you with us." Marluxia said, still trying to coax her out of her shell. She closed her eyes for a second. She saw...she saw...

She couldn't remember what she saw.

She stood, and nodded, deciding in her mind that this was what she'd been waiting for. Everyone noticed the sudden shift in her attiude, and her face brightened. She even smiled slightly. "Okay. I'll go." She said softly. Marluxia's grin got wider, realizing he'd won.

"Fantastic, little one. Come, we'll go with you and--ow! Shit!" He swore, and clutched the side of his head, feeling blood trickle down his cheek, its' almost mocking warmth staining his face. Axel and Zexion tensed, but it was Senayax who reacted the most. They weren't watching at the time. If they had, they'd have seen a face completely contort itself with hatred, before settling back into a placid mask.

Senayax turned to see the boy who liked her--what was his name? She didn't remember, didn't care--standing there with another stone in his hand. Upon seeing the assailant, her entire bearing changed. Everyone simply watched, stunned.

She seemed to almost subconsciously place herself between Marluxia and the boy, and snarled, narrowing her eyes. Darkness started to swirl under her skin, and she shuddered with a mixture of pain and predatorial hunger, her eyes tracking every slight shift in his movement. The boy continued on, either unfazed or utterly unaware of her sudden shift in attitude.

"You best leave Senayax 'lone." He threatened, as Senayax snarled louder at him. "Cause if you don't, I'mma throw this one, too." He said, tossing his stone in the air. The three watched him with a mixture of amusement, disgust, and utter contemptous disdain.

Axel--the redhead--Senyax remembered, laughed. "Uhuh. Sure, kiddo. But just remember," he said as he grinned, summoning two blazing chakrams, "we'll throw back."

Senayax watched in detached amusement as the boy ran away. She looked up at Axel, and tilted her head. Her eyes were wide and guileless, that hungry look having dissipated as the boy had left. But a small, feral smile remained, and a question sprung to her lips.

"Why dinnit you kill him?" She asked. Axel looked down, and blinked in surprise. She had meant it in all seriousness, and was tapping her foot impatiently, as if she was waiting for him to realize his mistake, and go back and slit his throat.

"...Uh...because we shouldn't make a scene?" He said, thrown off-guard. She shrugged.

"No one would miss him. He's real annoyin'-like, and he kills flies with his ruler." She muttered. She took Marluxia's hand, ignoring their apparent amusement. "If we en't gonna kill him, we should go now." She stated.

As the four left in swirling darkness, Marluxia chuckled. "I like you very much already, little one."

As they'd traveled through the darkness, it had evidently taken its' toll on such a young body. As they stepped out into the endless twilight of the World that Never Was, she shuddered and sank against Marluxia, whimpering with pain. He picked her up without a second thought, and nodded to the others, boots clicking on the marble walkways as he ascended the steps to the castle.

He pushed open the door, and Zexion called for Vexen as he walked in. Vexen appeared within an instant, and appraised them all. "Marluxia, you're bleeding." He murmured. Axel grinned, and the look on his face effectively broadcast his thoughts to the rest of the group. Vexen shot him a filthy look before Marluxia shrugged, attempting to diffuse the situation.

"It's fine. It looks worse than it actually is--it's just a scrape." He murmured, and Vexen nodded, before turning his back on them and beckoning them all to the infirmary. Axel cocked an eyebrow, and looked at Marluxia.

"Why the hell didn't you take advantage of that?" He hissed, as they followed Vexen down the hallway. Marluxia shrugged.

"Now wasn't the time, that's all." He whispered back. Axel crowed with delight, shaking his head and laughing uproariously.

"Why Marluxia, I wasn't aware you were such a romantic!" He purred, loud enough for Vexen to hear. Vexen shot them both a deadly look, but Marluxia managed to save face.

"My passion is flowers, Axel. Romanticism comes to me as naturally as breathing...among other things." He purred, catching Vexen's eye and smirking slightly. The blonde huffed in disgust, and dragged Zexion forward. The youngest of the group snorted, rolling his eyes at both parties involved. Marluxia simply grinned.

They finally arrived at the infirmary, and Marluxia set her down on the bed. Senayax shifted, but did not stir.

"Is she asleep? Or is this a comatose state?" Vexen asked, examining her quickly. He appraised her prone form with a clinical eye, noting in an instant the smooth, untroubled face, her small skinny frame, and her utter lack of identifiable aging signs. It intrigued him, but now was not the time to examine her. Marluxia shrugged.

"I don't know. We went through the void, and then when we came here...she just...swooned, and passed out. But it's not like real sleeping...I can't feel anything coming from her. No movement, no breath, and, well," he laughed dryly, "none of us have heartbeats."

Vexen merely sighed, as he set the girl down on the bed, bunching the covers around her before turning back to Marluxia. "Well, that's obvious. I'll alert the Superior. Get Zexion in here--he found her, so he should be the first one to make sure she's even breathing right now." He ordered. Marluxia rolled his eyes, and huffed indignantly.

"Yes, Vexen." He grumbled. The scientist merely raised an eyebrow. Marluxia was always the most irreverant of his rank, but using his name wasn't even a sign of disrespect--it was just something...other. Something Vexen couldn't place.

"Number IV. You'd do well to remember rank, Number XI." He snapped, deciding whatever it was he couldn't understand he would promptly ignore. Marluxia gave him a half-hearted snarl, before darting out the door and quietly giggling to himself as he walked down the hallway.

"Oh, he'll never admit it," he whispered to himself, "but he likes it when I say his name."

...She could hear screaming.

There was a lot of screaming. And a voice...a voice telling her she best hurry on now, or t'Bookeyman would get her...

So she ran and ran across swampy, mucky ground. Houses on stilts ran with her, gawky wooden legs pulling themselves out of the muck before skittering across the ground again. She was going as fast as she could, but the swamp was sticky and her feet kept getting bogged down. She began to cry; hoarse, ragged sobs issued from her mouth, because she knew t'Bookeyman was coming and she needed to go faster, but now she couldn't remember how.

She tripped and fell in the mud, and began to cry weak, frustrated tears. She pounded her fists against the mud, and began to wail. It hurt so much and she knew he was there, watching, just waiting for his opportunity to eat her alive.

Then she felt someone kneel down, and stroke her hair. Whoever it was, their hands were gentle, soothing--she could feel the soft brush of leather against her forehead as they brushed her hair away from her face. She felt the rush of pages flipping past her, and she tried to raise her head to see who it was, but she was too tired.

"Sssh." A quiet, husky voice whispered. Senayax shivered, and tried to stifle her tears. The voice continued on soothingly. "Sssh...it's okay. It's okay. It'll be all right."

She wished she could believe it...

But t'Bookeyman was coming again...

Vexen turned to Zexion, who had sat and watched the proceedings between him and Marluxia with an air of amusement. He said nothing about it, however, and simply said, "Shall I stay with her then?" Vexen sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, would you kindly? I really should at least find Larxene and tell her to give the antiseptic to Marluxia, that idiot..." He muttered darkly, rifling through the cabinets and finding the bottle of peroxide and a few bandages. He disappeared, and Zexion wisely waited until he was gone to laugh. Then he turned to Senayax, and watched her. She had been quiet for almost the whole time, but he'd noticed her scent changing.

Zexion simply sat and observed as she whimpered softly, tossing and turning. She was crying, and clutching her fists, fisting them tightly in the blankets and knotting the cloth around them. Finally, in a twinge of gone and long ago feelings of pity, he began to stroke her hair. "Sssh...it's okay. It's okay. It'll be all right." He whispered. For a second, the whimpering and crying ceased, and her face was serene again. Zexion smiled with relief.

Then he felt something crawling around beneath his hand.

He jerked it away in horror, as he watched black, inky, downright nightmarish colors swirl under her golden skin. He staggered back, and clamped a hand over his mouth. They began to almost bubble under her skin, leading to giant swelled warts of darkness under her skin, moving and shifting throughout her body. Senayax opened her mouth, and a bit of the darkness oozed out.

He lifted his shaking hand away to scream...

It was too late. Her skin was ripping and tearing in every possible direction, and some of it was just stretching oh god what was happening--

Her arms and legs began to grow and stretch rapidly, and for a pure, visceral moment of terror, they flailed wildly in the air before they managed to flip over, giving the appearance of a demented, four-legged spider. Her hands and feet turned into long, clawed appendages on the ends of her legs, and they drummed on the floor frantically, scrabbling on the marble floor.

Her face had elongated into a rodent-like snout, only it thickened rather than tapered, giving the horrible look of an alligator with a rat's endlessly twitching, curious nose. Her teeth grew and extended into razor-sharp, milky-white fangs, all crammed in her mouth so grotesquely that it appeared as if the mouth was just a mass of thin, needle-like fangs. They gnashed together as her torso began to mutate and become animalistic--the legs were so long, the body almost sunk to the floor. A bald, pale pink tail zoomed out of her back, and it landed on the floor with a wet thud.

The flesh was no more than an opaque coating of thinly-stretched and tarnished gold over sheer darkness in some parts, like little fleshy garters. The alligator-snouted monster turned to them, and with a grotesque snuffling noise, buried its' muzzle into its' fur, and tore the skin away, gnawing on it disinterestedly. Zexion backed away, hoping it wouldn't notice him, praying to god he wasn't seeing what he believed he was seeing.

Huge, ravenous-looking rose-colored eyes darted wildly, with no hint of humanity in them, not even the token shred they had left...

Her--it? Was it SENAYAX?--(no, it couldn't be, because little girls were never monsters, right?)--mouth opened and showed rows upon rows of huge, razor-sharp, glistening-white fangs. It roared, and for a second, the eyes of the beast and the schemer met. He couldn't look away, because for a second the eyes turned dark brown, and he saw pure horror in them.

Then it bounded off, and skittered through the infirmary and down the hall, roaring and tearing things to shreds. It didn't matter what it hit, if it touched something, it was torn and ripped horribly, including the walls--so much that you could see the rooms they had walled off only moments before. Vexen, who had been coming in to check her progress, stormed in and stared.

Vexen turned to Zexion, and after he'd finished swearing heavily, he snarled, "Did you misunderstand me, Number VI? What part of WATCH HER did you miss in the statement?!" Zexion snorted. In that moment, he regarded his friend with bemusement--the normally utterly composed Vexen swearing was something that happened only rarely.

"The part where she turns into a horrible beast and slaughters everyone--now perhaps instead of yelling at me, Vexen, you could help!" Vexen, admittedly surprised by the younger boy snapping, crossed his arms and stared at him. Zexion merely watched him for a moment, waiting for his reaction. Vexen didn't give him one--instead, he became business-like again, and observed the damage.

"Why?" He managed to ask, finally meeting his eyes again. Zexion swallowed hard, and sighed in annoyance.

"Because she's heading right for the window." He said dryly. Vexen looked back, and saw that the monster was sprinting throughout the castle, screaming in a horrifically high-pitched tone, too human for either of their liking.

The two men went running, tearing through the halls after the beast, and Zexion began to scream her name, hoping within it somewhere, the little girl with the untroubled face resided, trying to fight her own way out.

"SENAYAX!" Zexion roared. "SENAYAX, STOP!" The beast continued moving, roaring, and snarling as it clattered down the steps and into the Hall of Empty Melodies, still screaming. Zexion began to worry she'd crash...until she stopped in front of the massive windowed wall.

The sky was a perfect, clear velvet purple. No stars or moon dotted the sky. The only thing floating suspended in the sky was Kingdom Hearts. The beast looked up and put a massive paw against the glass...and gave one long, sad, howl, before the golden skin began to plaster itself over that swamp-thick darkness...

In what seemed like forever, but was only perhaps a second, a little girl, now stark naked and shivering stood there. She was hunched on the balls of her feet, and hugging herself tightly, trying not to cry.

Zexion stared, and Vexen gasped softly. The two shared a quick glance, both realizing the other was still utterly confused about what had just occured. She looked at both of them, and spoke.

"That be t'Bookeyman." She stated, before leaning over and vomiting up blood.