A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Hopefully, this chapter will get you excited for what's to come.

~4~
The Nymph

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Kairi? You in there?" Riku yelled as he continued knocking on the apartment door. She had to be home – her lectures wouldn't start until the afternoon. "I'm going to see Sora. You wanna come along?" he continued to yell, finding it weird that the red head hasn't answered yet. She must have still been sleeping. He couldn't blame her; it had been a stressful few days. He let out a sigh as he reached into his pocket and got out the spare key. Sora gave it to him after he moved in to the apartment, just in case. "Sorry, Kairi," he muttered as he stuck the key into the lock and entered the apartment. "Hey, Kairi! Kairi?" He was met with silence. He stepped into the bedroom and didn't see her sleeping form, and no one was in the bathroom. He searched the apartment up and down and found it suspiciously empty. He saw that her school bag, which still contained ungraded term papers, was sitting by her computer. Something was going on, and he didn't like it.

Then his eyes caught something he hadn't noticed before. A flash drive sat in front of the computer's keyboard. As soon as the silver haired man saw it, he knew it didn't belong to Kairi.

"What do we have here?" he hummed as he turned on her computer and briefly waited for it to start up. He then stuck the flash drive into an available USB slot and saw a video file pop up on the screen. His breath hitched at the sight of the aging old man with a grey goatee staring up at him.

"Hello, Riku. I'd imagine that you would break in just to see if the dear doctor was all right." The silver haired man glared at Xehanort's face. "But if it is you that is receiving this, then you know exactly what has happened. I'm warning you, if you do so much as follow us, she will be dead along with your friend." The silver haired man would've scoffed at the screen, but the old man started to laugh in amusement. "But something tells me that you'll ignore this anyway and try to rescue them. You are too predictable, Estheim. I'll tell you what: if you succeed in rescuing the doctor, I won't go after either of you. There's a file attached in this flash drive that should lead you to where I am. And one more thing: don't bother going after Sora. He has already agreed to work for me again, regardless of the outcome. Good luck, Riku. You will certainly need it."

The screen went black as Riku scoffed.

"I doubt Sora would give up that easily," he muttered as he sat down and, after going through the flashdrive's memory, found the file Xehanort was talking about. It was a set of numbers, instantly recognizable as latitude and longitude coordinates. He went on to the internet and typed the numbers in. He looked at the map that popped up and smirked.

"Japan, huh? He doesn't remember who he's messing with."

Kairi hated this feeling.

The feeling of being trapped, useless. She couldn't do anything. She was heavily monitored, so if she did something crazy, they'd know in a heartbeat.

The room she was in was nice. It had traditional Japanese furniture, save for the computer sitting on top of the desk. It would've been a lot nicer if the guards weren't stationed outside her door.

This must've been what Naminé felt two years ago. The only difference was that Kairi was being used so that her boyfriend would do her kidnapper's bidding. A terrible feeling washed over her. Sora was brought into this so he could protect her from the outside. Seeing his face, washed with fear for her safety, made her feel just as afraid. At any moment, Xehanort would deem her useless and do away with her. Worst of all, he would do the same with Sora as soon as he wasn't needed.

The door knocked a couple of times before it opened and the man responsible for her being there stepped in with that grin on his face.

"Doctor Farron, I hope the accommodations are to your liking," Xehanort's gravely voice penetrated the silence. She stayed silent but sent a heated glare at the old man, letting him know that she wasn't weak. "No need to give me that look. I'm doing you a favor by keeping you here." She held in a growl, resisting every urge to slug him. He walked over to the computer and swiped his finger on top of the thin screen. "Technology is amazing, isn't it? Back in my day, we didn't have anything like this. As security is getting more advanced by the day, we need something to counter that. But sometimes we still need to do things the old fashion way to get what we want. Like museum theft, for instance."

At the mention of museum theft made the red head think of Sora and the incredible amount of guilt she felt for him. Xehanort must've caught her line of thinking as he let out a slight laugh. "Must be love if you're worried about him of all people. But what I find most amazing is how you were able to do it. He was bullet proof when I hardened him, yet you broke through that shell. What's your secret?"

She gritted her teeth. She'd fallen into his trap and hadn't realized it until that moment.

"I treated him like a human being," she answered in a harsh whisper.

"Is that right? You've certainly done a good job of that. Too bad it won't be long until I harden him again. This time though, I'll make it so he doesn't even remember you."

"It won't work," she asserted confidently.

"You think so? We'll have to see about that," he replied with confidence. "We shall see who's right by the end. The computer is your only connection to him. You may use it anytime you like, but only to provide him information," he added with warning in his tone as he walked toward the door. "Good evening."

Kairi didn't know whether or not that was a trap, but she didn't care. She wanted to talk to Sora and she wanted him to answer her questions. Without hesitating, she got up from her perch and started up the computer. She saw that there was only a video conference icon with only one contact. She clicked on the icon and waited impatiently.

She let out a breath of air as soon as she saw Sora's face. Somehow, seeing him calmed her down and made her almost forget her encounter with that horrible man.

"Kairi!" the brunette exclaimed as soon as he saw her, concern written all over his face. "Is he there?"

"No. He just left," she responded while she watched a calm wave cross his face.

"What's going on over there? How can you contact me?" he asked.

"He let me have a computer so I can provide information for you," she explained. "Sora, he's a lot worse than what they described on the news."

A grimace traced his eyes. "I know."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You don't deserve to know that." Confusion crossed her mind; what did he mean by that? "Kairi, look where I'm coming from. I've seen a lot of hell because of him, and it's because I don't want to see that look on your face that I never told you," he reasoned, earning him a sympathetic look from her.

"Sora..." Kairi trailed as her chest tightened. "I wish I could be with you."

"The same." She watched his face become conflicted. She imagined that he must've felt the same as she. "You said that he gave you a computer so you can give us information?"

"Yeah."

"What can you tell us about the Three Sacred Treasures?"

She lifted an eyebrow at his question. "Not much to tell. They were gifts to the first Emperor of Japan from the sun Goddess, Amaterasu. They've been passed down from Emperor to Emperor ever since."

"That's what Nabaat said."

"Nabaat?"

"Yeah, this girl he saddled me with." Kairi didn't know how to feel about that, but his concern over the red head from earlier squashed any delusions she may have had. "So what else can you tell me?"

She was brought out of her thinking by his question as she started thinking about the treasures.

"Can I get back to you? I'll have to do research first."

"I meant with you," he said, and she was touched by his sincerity.

"He's trying to make things comfortable for me, but I have a feeling that it's just a front. Any advice?"

"Yeah. Don't listen to a word he says. Whatever promises he made you, he is not intending to keep. Unless it's to kill you." She swallowed at that thought. "I'll look for you, Kairi. And I'll get you out of this mess. That's a promise."

It was an empty promise, she knew that, but the fact that he was trying to make her feel better was enough to calm her nerves. She loved him enough to believe every word he said and knew that he would keep his promise.

"This is amusing," a smirk crossed Xehanort's face. In his surveillance room, he watched the exchange between the doctor and his subordinate take place. The two never figured out that he could watch them have their private conversations through a hacked network. He found that very amusing.

"I'll say. Look how pathetic she is now," he heard the snarky female voice say beside him. He could tell that she meant the puppy-dog look that the two were giving each other.

"I assume that you are enjoying this."

"You got that right. Suffice to say, my revenge is going to be sweet."

"You're just as cold as ever," Xehanort noted.

"I have you to thank for that."

"Too bad our old friend doesn't see that way anymore."

"I'm not worried."

He lifted a brow.

"And why is that?"

"As soon as he gets a taste of this life again, he's going to dump her in a heart beat."

A smirk crawled on his wrinkled lips. "Not likely."

"You don't think it would happen?"

"I know it won't happen," he stated flatly. "One thing you have to understand, Raelen, is that love is a powerful thing."

"Love? Please. Love is a bug that can be squashed." He heard her snicker and he could feel that dangerous smirk cross her lips almost immediately. "And I go by Larxene now."

He let out an amusing 'hmph.' "The Organization gave you that name?"

"Yup. Gotta say, loved the benefits."

"And yet you picked up on my trail pretty quickly."

"You know I hate being bored," she sighed as a wicked idea crossed her mind. "I think I'll go see her now."

"Not yet."

She halted in her step. "And why not?"

"She's Sora's reason to keep going. If anything happens to her... Lets say that I trained him well."

Larxene let out an un-lady like grunt. "He'll never find us."

"Don't underestimate him."

She merely scoffed at the old man, but that didn't mean he wasn't right.

"Thanks, Cid," Riku yelled as he opened the door and looked at the ground below him. The wind blew at him in fierce speed as the clouds floated gently beside them. Riku didn't want to think about how cold the air had to be at this altitude, but jumping out of the small plane was the only way to go unnoticed.

"Tell Sora that he owes me now," he heard Cid's voice over the planes engine and the loud wind.

"Sure. After I kick his ass," he yelled back as he got himself ready for the jump.

"Make that for the two of us."

The silver haired man chortled.

"Will do." With that, he jumped out of the plane. The wind rushing past him and deafening his surroundings. He gave himself time to be awestruck by the horizon while the clouds rushed through him. The cold air bit at his exposed face as if an ice pick went through it. That didn't matter though; he was more concerned with pulling the cord at the right moment.

He pulled it after he saw he was in the same range as the mountains. He felt the tug of the parachute pull him back with a sharp jerk, allowing the wind pass through him and gently guide his parachute to the ground.

As soon as he landed, he took the sky diving gear off and revealed his winter gear along with a concealed backpack. He unzipped the bag and took out his portable GPS locator with the coordinates already entered. Fortunately, his calculations were right, and he managed to land at the spot where, on the other side of the mountain, Xehanort's lair lay.

"All right, Xehanort. It's game time."

A/N: Another short chapter but there's action in the next.

Soooo... Sorry for the long delay. I've been really busy and so has my beta-reader. Now with summer vacation under way, I should be able to get more chapters done. I've started this series and goddammit I'm gonna finish it!

Special thanks: Gohan Roxas, KaUiA, Kazernsky, Moon Princess016, Evil Dark Knight, Pennan Inque, Vesa290, Peach, CorycianAngel1944, and a special thanks to greypurpleblack for beta-ing the chapter.

Don't forget to leave a review and be sure to check out my Tumblr page!

Much love!