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Greed watched as Saix jumped to the side but did not bother to move. Very few knew his power. Number Seven may be able to stop time and Five may be able to rely purely on his animalistic traits but this Heartless was quite different from the rest. He liked to think of himself as sophisticated.

”Is that the best you’ve got?” he heard the blue haired man say and then lunge in again for another attack. One end of Greed’s mouth twisted upward but he remained completely calm and unmoving. Instead, the hand he held out jerked upward and then down.

The petals worked instantaneously with his commands. The petals that were once a long, narrow stream that attacked Saix now burst and scattered randomly before the circled around at an alarming speed and began drilling towards Saix’s back.

“Oh no,” Greed drawled. “There is so much I have yet to show you.”

"All right!! This just keeps getting better!!"

Exhilarated at the mere prospect of a fight, Seifer raced off the ship, club in hand, ready to get into the action. From what he saw, a seemingly absent-minded man in a brown cloak was standing over a spiky, red-headed man that had already sustained serious injuries. The sight of both men sent a rush of adrenaline through his body, and his grip on the weapon grew tighter. He recognized it as his typical reaction to meeting a possible battle rival, but it had never been this strong before. Ever fiber of his body prepared to fight, and the temptation of just giving in to a full-out rage was almost too much to bear.

Taking a deep breath, he took another look at the brewing conflict before him. Protecting the red-haired youth was, predictably, Sora, and standing just behind the boy was the redhead he had been eyeing on the way over.

This is crazy; she shouldn't be out here. He ran over and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, you REALLY need to get out of here. It's going to get pretty nasty in a minute....and it'd be a shame if a nice girl like you got caught in the middle."

Before she had a chance to respond, he moved over to Sora's side and prepared to fight. "Hey, Key Boy." He whispered only so the boy could hear. "Are you going to take this freak out or not?"


"What? Who's back?"

Yuffie watched as Aerith ran out, carrying her pole like a sword. A minute later, she saw Leon run out in pursuit, looking like he'd seen a ghost. Let me guess.....cloaked freaks. Hasn't this town seen enough?" She threw her pack, which was still full of potions, back over her shoulder, grabbed her shuriken, and dashed out at her friend's heels. Let's see how bad the situation is.....s**t!!!

The group that had left to watch Saix and Axel's fight had returned, save the fire-obsessed youth. However, that wasn't what caught the ninja's attention. Standing in the middle of the group was a cloaked man that was a dead-ringer for Marluxia, and he looked ready to attack. F*ck!!! Other than finally coming home, this is the worst couple of days EVER!!!

She stepped in front of her friends, keeping a threatening, yet still safe on her part, distance from the oppostion. She craned her shuriken arm back behind her head, ready to launch the projectile at a moment's notice. Better hold off just at first.....don't want a repeat of Destiny Islands. "Hey, Marluxia's Heartless!!! Get the f*ck out of my town!!"

"Saix!" Tifa exclaimed in alarm as Greed's entirely-too-strange petals stabbed into his back - she didn't know what kind of weapon it was, only that it was despicable and cowardly. She was by his side in seconds, her eyes wide in horror.

The man was bleeding profusely from the multiple wounds that were sustained, and the dark-haired woman felt her horror turn into a slow, boiling anger. Here they were, at the mercy of this b*****d, and there was nothing they could do about it.

She was afraid; she knew she was, but she had been taught not to show that fear. Heck, she even confronted Sephiroth! But right now, the one she was with wasn't Cloud, and he wasn't uninjured, and the fear that coursed through her veins was not for herself, but for the blue-haired man who had taken an extremely nasty hit.

Stepping in between Greed and Saix, blocking the former's view of the ex-Nobody, Tifa raised her chin defiantly. "What do you want from us, creature?"

He didn't deserve a proper epithet. No one who hurt the ones she cared about did.

So now was his time to take role as Number One was failing the Emperor horribly. Could he not lead the group to just eliminate a few people? Obviously not. The tips of Number Two’s mouth curled in the evilest of ways. Not only did he have special orders but they were ones for him alone.

The Heartless had not bothered to grab a cloak on the way out. He was quite sure that the full Ienzo who could not even remember his own name would have informed the group of his identity. Why bother hiding it anymore?

But now Number Two was feeling agitated. Creating a portal to a specific place was not difficult. But finding the location of someone whose whereabouts where unknown were very difficult. Until… wait. Ah. There it was.

He raised a hand and opened yet another portal that led straight into Ansem’s Castle. He soon found himself in a large computer rooms. He glared at all the glowing screens of the monitors. Technology… how fickle. Why bother when you have all the power you need?

He turned to find Riku, asleep in the corner and Xigbar nearby, reading and laughing.

“I’m sure that is very entertaining literature, Xigbar. Perhaps you would like to share…” Number Two grinned slyly as he closed the portal and made his way to the center of the room.

Saix looked up at Tifa, his vision blurring in and out of focus from the pain in his back. He felt worried for her as she stood before Greed, trying to protect him.

"Tifa...don't." He whispered, not wanting her to get hurt because of his foolish mistakes. It wasn't worth it.

He slowly pushed himself up, making a small groan of pain as he did. He stumbled a bit before placing his hand on Tifa's shoulder for support. He needed to get away from Greed...He needed to be healed.

"Where's....Aerith..." He found himself asking, his voice beginning to grow distant as his body was taking its toll on itself.

No...he didn't want to pass out again. Not again!

The hand on her shoulder was heavy, and Tifa jumped slightly before she heard Saix's voice. The fact that he could stand up even after those kinds of injuries were a miracle in itself.

Startled, Tifa moved closer, bringing his arm around her shoulders to support him. Aerith? Yes, they had had to go to Aerith!

She stumbled slightly as he fell unconscious, the coppery scent of his blood still clinging to the air.

"Saix!" she exclaimed softly, forgetting about Greed for the moment. She needed Aerith right now; nothing else mattered.

Raising her head, she saw that the others who were in Merlin's home were out, and she hurried over to where Aerith was, struggling to not stagger under the man's weight.

"Aerith," Tifa spoke, intense worry lining her features. "Please help him...!!!"

Yes yes yes… Pride knew his name quite well. Xigbar was extremely irritating already. The Heartless could feel a headache arising. This was very different from the Xigbar he knew to have existed in the Organization XIII. This one was worse. He seemed to have completely missed the fact that Pride already addressed him by Xigbar when he first entered. And there was no way in the worlds he would tell this man of his precious orders. Not until he had fulfilled them.

“Hello, Xigbar,” Pride answered, finding a seat on a rolling chair. Number Two looked over at Riku once again. “I must speak with the boy on behalf of someone else. How long has he been asleep, Xigbar?”

The Heartless also could have done without Xigbar’s little technology problems… but now it looked like there was no avoiding it. He must stall until Xigbar either left or Riku awoke.

“I am sorry about your technology. I wouldn’t be able to help you. And I was simply making conversation. Would you rather I not speak, Xigbar?”

”Saix!!!” Roxas screamed. He could not believe what was happening. Was this Heartless that powerful? He didn’t even move! The boy rushed up after Tifa had. What was he going to do? How could he help? Aerith! Just like Saix said! He had to pull him away from Greed.

Roxas put Saix’s arm around his neck. He did not realize that Saix weighed so much and he struggled to keep the man standing. “C’mon Saix! Keep going! Tifa! Help me get him to Aerith!”

The boy managed to glance up at Marluxia’s Heartless… only to find him grinning that same sly grin. ’b*****d…’ Roxas thought to himself. He wanted to say something… just talk him down… anything… but nothing came to mind. What do you say to someone that would backstab their enemy? Instead, he just whispered. “C’mon Saix…”

Leon felt almost lost. He hadn’t felt that way in such a long time. Not since the Heartless had overrun Radiant Garden the first time. That was when Xehanort and the other apprentices of Ansem the Wise were in control. Now this was different. These enemies were stronger, faster, and smarter. That left Leon digging deeper for an answer when he could find none.

“Aerith!” He yelled in response to the situation. “Why don’t you go in and help the man? I’ve got your back, though I doubt this Heartless will attack.”