Long time no upload, eh? XD Sorry about that. Here's something that's been in my head since like Christmas. Enjoy!

Silence strangles the forest. A stranger walks among the trees. A long black coat obscures his face, swishes over the leaves. He walks quickly, in a hurry.

After a time, he comes to the edge of a cliff. Though the trees have thinned here, he makes no move to hide himself. He merely stops and fixes his gaze on the plain below.

A thousand men are gathered there, fully armed under brave banners unfurling in the breeze. They stand in a circle, scores of soldiers deep, surrounding a lone figure in the center. A battle cry sounds from the crowd, and the first rank rushes the figure in the middle. The stranger on the cliff leans forward, precariously close to the edge, a hunger in his golden eyes.

They don't stand a chance. The figure in the center whips its arm around, and an impossibly large sword follows, more of a claymore than anything. The awestruck appetite in his eyes grows as he watches the men drop like flies. In waves, the remaining soldiers attack, and in waves they fall. Some of the weaker-willed men at the back turn and flee, and the stranger snorts contemptuously.

A short time later, the entire force lies dead at the lone figure's feet. The stranger disappears into a hole of darkness. A similar hole materializes at the base of the cliff, and the stranger appears out of the darkness falling away. Now he can see the figure much better, even though he looks at its back. It's true, he thinks with a thrill. The armor was blue as a cold sapphire. It glints in the sun, the same way the stranger's golden eyes do.

Despite having just slain an army, the figure in the blue armor betrays no sign of tiredness. As the last soldier falls, he raises his arms to the sky. With his feet planted wide apart and his massive sword pointed to the sky, he makes a victorious triangle, silhouetted against the settling dust.

But wait! The wind has picked up, so strong it whips the stranger's cloak. The dust seems to be gathering around the figure in the blue armor. It creates a vortex, a tornado, and now an energy is swirling in the funnel. Up and up, around and around again the energy goes, straight into the sword itself, into a point the stranger behind cannot see. A bright white light flashes suddenly, and when it dims, the landscape once again is still. Only the figure in the blue armor stirs. He had stumbled forward and is now leaning on the great sword, body heaving as if breathing heavily. Even so, he still doesn't look exhauster; on the contrary, a new vitality somehow fills him.

"Incredible," the stranger murmurs.

The figure in the blue armor whirls around. He seemed to have heard the stranger clearly even though a hundred yards separate them. Cold red eyes shoot daggers at the stranger through the visor in his helmet. If looks alone could kill, it was no wonder so many knights had deserted.

The stranger was not deterred. Fascination spurns him forward. "All the tales," he continues softly, "of terror, the sword, even the armor, they're all true."

"Do you wish to die that badly?" The figure in the blue armor interrupts. His voice is guttural, rasping, menacing. "I shall devour your soul as easily as all the others-,"

Still the stranger goes on, as if he hadn't heard, "You harvest souls as I do hearts; we have the same tireless, unquenchable thirst. If only I could harness your power-,"

"I am no one's to command," spits the figure in the blue armor, "especially not by a man such as you!"

The stranger had stopped ten yards from the figure, just out of reach of that sword. "But that's just it. You're not a man," here, he pauses to push back his hood, "and neither am I." Red and gold eyes meet each other's gaze in amazement.

"How do you know what I am?" Nightmare demands. "You're nothing but a worm, a nobody-,"

"Exactly," Xemnas chuckles, "I am a being without a heart, merely an empty shell, a Nobody. I need a heart to complete myself, so I am building my Kingdom Hearts…" his voice trails off in longing.

"Enough of this!" Nightmare snarls in frustration. Talk is nothing, and you are nothing, and I shall obliterate you!" He rushes forward, bringing the sword up and over his head to strike this meaningless scum down –

Clang! His sword stops suddenly, jarring his shoulder. Xemnas had summoned his own ethereal blades at the last second, stopping the Azure Knight's sword inches from his face. Nightmare blinks; he hadn't expected resistance.

"You're right again," Xemnas purrs, "I am nothing, so there really is no point in killing me. I won't release a soul; I don't have one."

"You lie!" Nightmare shrieks.

"Why are you so desperate for souls?" Xemnas' voice quiets in contrast, "What are you building with them?"

Nightmare goes silent. They stare each other down. The pressure on Xemnas' arms increases, then lifts as Nightmare lowers his sword. He turns the flat side up to Xemnas. A great, lidless, swiveling eye stares up at him, but he isn't repulsed. He leans closer, the hungry look back in his eyes.

"Soul Edge," Nightmare explains, "is not whole. Always it hungers for more souls. Souls give strength. And once it's complete-,"

"It will be the strongest force on this earth," Xemnas finishes reverently. He reaches out, as if to touch the eye, but stops himself.

Nightmare becomes uncomfortable. What possessed him to tell this man of his secret? Now we must be rid of him, Soul Edge whispers, and we'll really see if he has a soul. Nightmare jerks his arm up, intent on cutting the stranger in half, groin to skull.

Again Xemnas summons his blades, this time pushing down on the sword.

"I told you there's nothing to gain from killing me," he says, amused and malevolent.

"But now you know too much!" growls Nightmare.

"Oh no. I don't know nearly enough. But I will. Once you unleash that sword's full power, I shall take it back to my world. I shall complete Kingdom Hearts with it, and I shall rule all." He swipes at Nightmare's face, who stumbles backward. By the time he recovers himself, Xemnas' smirking face is swallowed by a dark portal.

As if shaking off an irritating fly, Nightmare shrugs. He'd deal with the man if he came back. But for now, he needed more souls.

Hmm. Slightly OOC maybe? Ah well. Reviews are greatly appreciated, thank you!