You, crying from another day of sadness and disappointment, crash onto your pillow and weep into it. "I wish I had a new life...", you whisper into its folds, and finally drift off to sleep.
You awaken in a dark room.
"What the...", you say.
You gasp, as you realize your hands are tied behind your back.
You turn, and look over to the right, and see a window, with bars over it.
You look to the left, and can barely make out a stone wall about 5 feet away from you.
Your heightened senses detect someone walking towards the door on the far side of the room, and you expect your pulse to quicken, but it doesnt.
The door opens.
You see a tall figure in the doorway, and your imagination quickly summons greusome features upon it. It steps forward, clearing the distance between you and it in seconds. You try to back up, but hit a wall when it reaches for you. He sighs, you can tell now that its a man, and reaches for you again, this time, grabbing your arm and pulling you to your feet with one hand. You scream at the sudden movement, and the horrible jolt of pain that travels through your shoulder and arm. Your shoulder's been dislocated, you realize, bringing a sick feeling to your stomach. He takes your other arm and drags you, stumbling out of the dark cell out into a brilliantly white hallway that seems to go on forever.
You look up to see your captiors face, but hes wearing a cloak, and the cowl masks his features. You look at yourself, now, and see that you're covered in dirt from head to toe, one shoe is missing, and your white dress is torn. "Funny...", you think. "I can't even remember what happened before this...Where am i? WHO am i?" Then, you are snapped out of your thoughts by the man turning to the left, and up a flight of stairs. "W-who are you?!", you manage to ask, climbing the stairs, stumbling and tripping the whole way. "No one too important, I think.", he speaks. His voice is soft-spoken. And by the sound of it, not much older than you. "Where am i?", you ask, as you turn right into another long hallway. "Castle Oblivion.", he responds. It sounded vaguely familiar, but you couldn't place it. You try to move your right arm, and wince. It was throbbing painfully. He stopped. "Your arm. Whats wrong with it?", he asked. You look at your shoulder, and see that it was beginning to swell. "Its dislocated, i think.", you say. Then you look up, to see him walk over behind you and take your right arm in his right hand, and puts his other hand on your back. Tears spring to your eyes as you realize what he's going to do. You clench your teeth, but still scream when he yanks your arm back into socket. Hot tears streaming down your face, he takes your left arm again and restarts the brisk walk down the hall.
At last you come to a door, on what you guess to be the top floor, considering you walked up 12 more flights of stairs before you got there. Your captor steps forward, and summons a key out of no where! It looked more like a sword, really. And then it clicks in your mind. You've been having dreams about this place for the past 3 weeks! You toss your lilac hair out of your cerulean blue eyes. "I know this place!", you say, right before he raises his blade to the door. He turns around. "What?", he asks, in disbelief. You shake your head to clear it. "This place...I've had dreams...theres a boy in my dreams. I can't remember his voice..but he would always talk to me. We would go to a place...a city............Twilight Town? I think? And sit on the clock tower. We'd watch the sunsets from up there.. There was a girl, too. She had pale green hair...and silver eyes. I think she was my best friend. We were always together...", you said. He quickly stepped forward towards you. "Do you remember her name? Or the boys name?", he asked, a tinge of excitement in his voice. You think hard. Concentrating, a name vaguely forms in the back of your mind. Its on the tip of your tongue... "Lizzi?", you ask, uncertainly. You've never heard of a Lizzi before, except in your dreams. But it felt right. It fit. He couldn't mask the excitement in his voice now. "And the boy? Do you remember his name?!" Again, you thought hard about the blonde haired, blue eyed boy you'd seen so many times in your dreams. Whenever you dreamed of him, you'd always feel a surge of emotion, you could never understand why. The more you thought, the clearer it seemed, until you finally whispered, "Roxas."
He practicly jumped. "Yes! Thats his name!" Then he turned around, pointed the key-sword at the door and it opened. That seemed familiar, too. A....keyknife? No...keysword? No....keydagger? No, no, No! Then, it hit you. a KeyBlade. He grabbed your arm, and, forget walking, took off running into the large room. "Superior!", he shouted at the chair, that was turned towards a fireplace. It spun around and revealed a man with Gray hair, but not old, and he looked powerful. "Yes, Thirteen?" Then he locked eyes with you. "Ah, yes. This is her. Tell me, child. Do you know your name?" You blinked. You remembered your name, suddenly. "Emily...I think.", you say. Then, out of the blue, you have a flashback...or so it seemed. You'd dreamed this a while back...
You had fallen off the top of the clock tower when you were up there with Lizzi and Roxas, you screamed. Lizzi reached her hand out for you, her eyes frantic, she then slipped, and fell off as well, but Roxas had grabbed her right hand. She reached out with her left hand and screamed, "EMMI!" And you tumbled down, and ended up in some other place. Another Country, perhaps. South Carolina, it rang in your head. You had friends there, Amber, Lainey, Danielle....though you'd never really remembered meeting them. It was clear to you now. "What am I?! What Am I doing here?!!", you asked, dazed. Xemnas turned, you remembered his name!, to the boy in the cloak standing next to you. "You might want to explain that, Roxas."
Your eyes widened. "Roxas? Is that you? Really you?!", you asked, stepping closer to him. He looked away. You then gently removed his hood. And there he was. Just as angelic as you remembered. Honey-Blonde hair, gorgeous Cobalt eyes that met yours. He mumbled, "I'm sorry i didn't tell you, Emmi." You threw your arms around him, you really didn't know why, it just felt right to do so. "I forgive you.", you whispered, tears again streaming down your cheeks.
Roxas took your arm and led you out into the hallway. As soon as you opened your mouth, he began talking. "A few years ago, a young nobody was found by Xemnas, our Superior, whom you just talked to. Her name was Emmi. And she could weild a keyblade...just like you." The name rang in your ears. It seemed so familiar...so belonging. "She became Lizzi's best friend, and......my best friend, too. She was extremely powerful." You nod. "One day, she fell off the top of the Clock Tower in Twilight Town. Lizzi and I were there. Lizzi and I tried to save her, but we were too far away..." You swallow, and nod silently. "Lizzi blamed herself for the whole thing. She wouldn't come out of her room for 2 months. I couldnt eat or sleep for the longest time..." You shook your head in shock. "We kept an eye on you after that. We saw you getting into a huge fight with some other girl. It was sure to turn physical. Then, we saw you draw the keyblade, and we had to take action. We sent you to another world. Little did we know how dangerous that world was...Your heart literally died there.", he said. You swallowed, and put two fingers on her jawline and gasp. No pulse. Then you begin to understand... "Emmi...she was my Nobody?" Roxas nodded, and then he took out a picture. It was a girl, with blondish hair and hazel eyes. "Thats me.", you say. He then took out another picture, with the same girl, it seemed, but she had lilac hair and blue eyes. You blink. "I've....turned into Emmi?", you ask, your voice shaking. Roxas looked away. "Thats the only explaination that we can come up with." You wrap your arms around yourself, as if the room just got colder. "I'm so sorry, Emily..", Roxas said. You clench your fists at your side and say, "No. I'm not Emily anymore. I'll be who I'm turning into. I'll be what the Organization needs me to be." And then you turn on your heel and walk away, using your Dream Memory as your guide to your room.
Later, you had your cloak on again. It felt good to have its strong, black fabric against your skin. You stepped out of your room, took two steps and then got crashed into by someone. "WOAH!", you yelled. A tall guy with a dirtyblonde mullet was hugging you. "EMMI!!! It really is you!", he cried. You hugged him back and said, "Yeah, its me Demyx.", before you really knew what you were saying. He jumped for joy and said, "you DO remember me!!! Superior said you probably wouldnt but i told him, 'Oh yes she will!' No one forgets Demyx!!!" You just laughed. The kid was likable, one you wouldn't forget, EVER. "Say, have you been out to the garden to see Lizzi?", he asked. You blinked at the familiar name. "No..i haven't.", you said. "Well then! Lets Go!", Demyx yelled, grabbing your arm and hauling you down the hallway, down a flight of stairs, and outside. You stop to catch your breath, and look up. A huge oak tree was looming over you. You then heard a voice, a strangely familiar voice say, "Geez, Marly. And you call yourself a master of flowers. the Pansies are being planted over THERE. the tulips are being planted over HERE." You, in a sort of trance, start walking, then jogging, and then running towards the voice.
"Lizzi!", you scream, not knowing or caring where the name came from.
Lizzi turns around, and her eyes widen. "Impossible...", she whispers in disbelief.
Then she drops her trowel and runs towards you. You guys clash-hug and start crying.
"You're alive!", Lizzi cried through her tears. "I blamed myself for letting you fall...I thought you were dead...I thought I'd never see you again and it was all my fault!" You patted her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault..It was no ones fault..it just happened.", you find yourself saying. Lizzi held you out at arms length. "where did you go? why didnt you come back?", she asked, a stricken look upon her face. "I dont know where i went! I just...fell, and woke up there...and then i woke up in a cell!", you said, shaking your head. Lizzi just nodded, understanding that you were just as confused as she was. "Have you seen Axel yet? or Marly? or anyone else?", she asked. You shrugged. "I dont remember half of anyone here...to be honest...", you say. Lizzi just looked bewildered, but took your arm just the same. "C'mon! Lets see if you can remember them!" And took off running.
She took you out to the pool in the North end of the huge back yard. There you were introduced to Axel, Larxene, Saix, and you already knew Demyx. Within the first 5 minutes, you realized that Larxene was NOT the one to mess around with. Geez...what an additude problem., you thought. Then, Lizzi took you over to the other side of the backyard, to where Xigbar, Saix, Xemnas, Laxeaus, Xion, and Roxas were playing football in the semi-cool air of early September. They waved and grinned, but kept playing their game. You swore you saw Roxas blush when you waved at him, but think it nonsense, you're just kidding yourself. Lizzi shot you an "I-know-what-you're-thinking" look, and laughed as you felt your cheeks burn. She then took you over to the kitchen to see Xaldin. Turns out, Luxord, Dani, Laini, Zexion, and Vexen were there, too, Playing poker at the table. You raise an eyebrow at Vexen, who had to have to worst poker face you have ever seen in your life. Lizzi noticed it too, and tapped your shoulder. You turn to see her do a rather good imitation of his scrunched up face. You couldn't stifle a giggle. She threw her hood over her head and her shoulders started to shake. And everyone looked up to see what the hell was so funny. As soon as Dani and Laini's eyes fell on you, they threw down their cards and tacklehugged you. "You're alive!", screamed Dani. You just laughed. "Thats what everyone keeps saying to me!", you say. Laini poked you. You raise an eyebrow. "Yup! She's alive. Just makin sure", said Laini, with a grin on her face. Xaldin took a cake out of the oven, filling the room with its aroma. "That smells good x]]", you say. Xaldin grinned and said, "I love to bake. But surely you remember that? You and Lizzi always help me cook the Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas feasts." You shrug. "I can't remember that...I'm sorry.." Lizzi nudges your shoulder. "Don't be too hard on yourself. The same thing happened with Roxas.", she said. "Thats right!", agreed Dani. You sigh. "I'm pretty sure what happened to me didn't happen to Roxas." Roxas and everyone else that was playing football walked in. "What didn't happen to Roxas?", he asked. Everyone turned to see him, sweaty, covered in dirt, but the same sparkle in his eyes.
"ohai, Roxas.", said Lizzi. He tossed the football to Vexen, who had a freakout and dropped it. "What were you talking about?", he asked. Lizzi scratched her head. "Emmi's having trouble remembering stuff. I told her it was normal, that the same thing happened to you, but she disagrees. She says its different.", she told him. He cocked an eyebrow at you, and you sigh. "And well you know It, Roxas. I'm not the Emmi you all first knew." Everyone leaned in to hear, and you retold your story. In the end, all was quiet, the silence broken by Vexen, who said, "Very interesting...I must do further research.", and left the room. Lizzi just stared. "You said your name was...Emily?", she asked. You nodded, feeling guilty, as if you'd let them all down somehow. Lizzi looked up. "I know you." You blink, and then recognize the face of Amber, one of your closest friends. "B-but she went missing one day! We all thought she was dead...", you stammer. Lizzi nodded. "She was swallowed by the darkness in her own heart. She didn't die. She's still out there, somewhere.", she said. You then turned to see the faces of Dani and Laini, and realized the significence of their appearence. "Danielle....Alaina...", you say, looking one to the other. Dani nods, and Laini looks away. Sensing everyone's eyes on you, your cheeks suddenly turned red from stage-fright. You felt someone put their arm around you, and looked up to see it was Roxas. You drew comfort from his touch, and asked, "Can you guys....ya know...use Keyblades?" Lizzi laughed and drew 2 keyblades, one in each hand, The Fenrir and the Guardian Soul. Laini drew her favorite keyblade, The Rambling Rose keyblade. And Dani drew her favorite, the Pumpkinhead. "The question is, can you?", asked Laini. You blinked. "I-i...don't remember how." Dani smiled and said, "It takes a little practice. It usually just happens when you're in danger. Its instinctive. But you can learn to draw them at will." You look down, thinking, and then you say. "I want to try." Lizzi swapped gazes with Dani and Laini, who nodded.
She then brought her keyblade down, about to land on your head. You throw your arms up in defense, and feel a rushing, warm sensation down your arm, and there was your keyblade. Lizzi withdrew hers, and said, "Voila, I'm a genious." You laughed shortly, and marveled at the weapon in your hand. "Magnificent, no?", said Dani. Roxas then drew his own keyblades, Oblivion and Oathkeeper. You raise an eyebrow at them. "I wish mine looked like that. Mine is just.....?" Xion laughed and drew her Star Seeker keyblade. "Yours is the Kingdom Key. Although...I think you can use a different one.. After all, Emmi did...so why not?" Roxas shrugged. "Its worth a try.", he said. Dani stepped forward and said, "Try to concentrate on it appearing in your hand." You closed your eyes, and did as suggested. All of a sudden, an extreme rush of power raced through your arm, and you dropped the Kingdom Key, and in its place appeared The Ultima keyblade. But it wasn't over. In your left hand, a strange looking keyblade appeared. It was clear, with a crystal handle. When held up to the sunlight, it cast glorious beams all around the room. It felt cold....Then you realized. It was made of ice! But it didn't melt...?
Lizzi gasped. Dani brought her hand to her mouth, and Laini's eyes widened. Roxas looked as if he was going to faint. Then, you heard a voice from the doorway. "It appears that the transformation is complete.", it said, and you all turned to see Xemnas standing in the doorway, a bewildered but satisfied look upon his face. You withdrew the Ultima keyblade, and held the other end of the ice one in your hand. Xemnas stepped forward and said, "Welcome to the Organization, Emmi." But you had fallen to your knees, an overwhelming flashback overtaking everything in the room. Your sight, your sense of hearing, everything. Then you whited out, and only barely felt your head hit the kitchen floor.
You wake up in a cold sweat, in your bedroom, you realize. You'd had strange dreams. All of them seeming to clash with what you'd been told. Saix had said that Emmi was an extremely happy person...but now, with these dreams, you weren't so sure. Lizzi had said that Emmi loved life, and that she was almost always peaceful at mind...but the dreams told otherwise. Demyx had said, "She always wore long gloves. That was her personal style, she didn't care what everyone else might have thought of her." You shake your head, feeling the sweat slide across your fingers as you run them through your hair. "She was always just so....happy.", Laini had said. You fought back tears as you suddenly had the biggest, most terrible flashback yet. It knocked you into the fetal possition, your head between your knees.
"I can't take this anymore...", says Emmi, throwing down the razor. Her arms were slit open, the blood spilling out, mixing into the water of the shower. Not caring about the wounds, she pulled on her black shirt, pants, boots, and cloak, and her signature gloves. Wiping off stray tears, she opens the door to see Lizzi and Roxas, waiting for her. "This is it...my final hour...after tonight...the pain will be over...", she thinks, smiling grimly. Roxas opens a portal, and gestures for Lizzi and her to go through. "Ladies first.", he says, smiling. Lizzi laughs, and steps through the portal. Emmi sighs slightly, and walks through. Roxas follows, and the portal closes. They end up on the top of the Clock Tower in Twilight Town. "This is great.", says Lizzi, sitting on the edge. Roxas nods, and puts his arm around Emmi. "You guys are the best, you know that?", he says. Lizzi laughs and says, "Sure, Roxas. Whatever you say." You then stand up. "Am I making a mistake...?", Emmi thinks. And then, she catches a glimpse of her arms, that are still bleeding, and remembers all shes suffering, all the pain, the agony of her life. She steps forward, off the tower! "Goodbye...", she whispers. Lizzi then jumps up, and reaches for her hand, yelling out, "EMMI!!!", and slips off the tower herself. Roxas then grabs Lizzi's right hand, stopping her from falling. Lizzi, tears of shock and surprize running down her face, reaching out towards Emmi's falling body. "Emmi, no!", she yells out again. Roxas crys out, "Lizzi! Give me your other hand! You're going to fall if you don't!" Lizzi reached up and grabbed his hand, and he pulls her up. As soon as her feet touched the surface, she opened a portal. She and Roxas ran through it. On the other side of the portal was the ground below the Clock Tower. And on the ground lay Emmi's body...bleeding, bruised, lifeless, and.... smiling.You fall out of your bed, hugging your knees and crying. You force yourself onto your hands and knees, and crawl towards the door. You reach up and grab the doorknob, and fling the door open. You stumble to your feet and run down the hallway, blinded by tears. You had gone about 20 feet when you run smack dab into Roxas. You fall to your knees again, shaking to the bone and crying. "Emmi! Whats wrong?! What happened?!", Roxas asks, kneeling down on the floor next to you. "Lies! Lies....lies..", you scream. "What are lies? Who lied?", he asked, completely confused. The other members of the organization had gathered there now, awoken from their sleep by her crying and screaming. Lizzi and Dani ran forward. "Whats happened?!", asked Lizzi. "Is she hurt?", asked Dani. "Everybody back off!", yells Roxas, and the other Organization members all reluctantly leave them be. "Emmi, tell me whats happened.", Roxas whispers to you. You look into the worried cobalt eyes and begin to sob. Lizzi kneels down next to Roxas and says, "Emmi. Tell him. Tell us. What's wrong?" Dani closes her eyes, and being a physic, probes into your mind. You yell out franticly in your head. Dani winces, and then retreats. "Its a dream....but it wasn't...she was looking in Emmi, the original Emmi's past. I can't see beyond that.", she says. Roxas squeezes your arm. "Its okay. Just tell us what happened there. What did you dream?", he says. You speak now.
"The Emmi you thought you knew....the happy one...the brave one...the one that loved life and was always so cheerful....She was a mask.", you say. Lizzi blinks. "A...mask?", she asks. You nod and continue, "S-she....was depressed...and you couldn't see it...she hid it so well...she cut her arms..." Roxas's eyes widened. "The gloves.", he said. You nod again, tears spilling down your cheeks, remembering it all. "That day when you, Lizzi, and her went to the Clock Tower...and she fell off...she didn't fall off....she...s-she...", you couldn't finish. The overwhelming pain she felt rushed though you now, seeing what she saw, feeling what she felt. You felt Roxas wrapping his arms around you. Lizzi fell back onto the floor and put her face in her hands. Dani, who was still trying to clear her head from the blast of thought from you, asked, "You mean....she...jumped off?" You nodded, burying your face in Roxas's shoulder. There was a long moment of silence, both Lizzi and Roxas remembering that day that seemed so long ago. The one Summer that changed their lives forever. August 4th, 2005...the day Emmi, Number 15, prized and true member of Organization XVIII, Lizzi's best friend, Roxas's one true love, took her own life. The dreaded aniversary takes place this day. Know that she was one of the best, and can never be replaced. "Shes gone...", said Lizzi. "But never forgotten.", finished Roxas. Tears sliding down his cheeks as he locked eyes with you. You felt a light....small at first, then getting larger and larger, inside your chest, a little to the left. Suddenly, the spirit of Emmi walked out of you. Roxas, Dani, and Lizzi all turned to see, their eyes wide with amazement. Then, out of Lizzi walked Amber, and out of Dani came Danielle, Laini came running down the hallway, and Alaina came floating out of her. They all stood in a line. Amber, looking so much like Lizzi spoke first, "Do you want to know what happened to you, Emmi, Lizzi, Dani, Laini?" You nod, and so does Lizzi, Laini, and Dani. Then Alaina says, "When you all had hearts, when you were us, you all wished at some point for a new life. A new beginning. A better life." Danielle poked Amber. "Be careful what you wish for xD", she said. "Well, your wishes came true. We gave up our hearts to let you take our lives for a while.", she continued. Lizzi nodded, she knew what was coming. Emily, the original Emmi spoke now. "The time has come to take our lives back. I'm so sorry...", she says. Dani looked down at her hands. They were....fading? "You won't last long here....if you stay.", says Amber. "But..what if we need to come back?", asks Laini. "You can always come back. If you are ever in a time of need, we'll be here.", says Alaina. Lizzi nods, and steps forward. "Well...before my entire foot disappears, maybe i should go...", she says, smiling in spite of herself. Dani stepped forward after her. "yeah, and my hands." Laini got up and stood next to them. Lizzi stepped into Amber, and disappeared. Dani stepped into Danielle, and disapeared, too. And the same with Laini stepping into Alaina.
You look up into Roxas's eyes again, and see the same sadness. "Roxas...theres something i need to tell you before I...go..", you say. Emily smiles, knowing perfectly well what she was going to say. "You can tell me anything.", he says. You throw your arms around his neck and say, "I love you, Roxas!" Before he can hug you back or say anything, you jump up, and run into Emily, disappearing.
You wake up back in your bed, in South Carolina. "Wha...?", you say, and then laugh. Your phone rings, and you step over your PS2 to get it. "Hello?", you ask into it. It was Amber on the other end. "OH MY GOD EMILY! I JUST HAD THE CRAZIEST DREAM IN THE WORLD!" You laugh. "Orly?", you say. "YA!, RLY!!!!", she says. "Just tell me about it when we get to school, mmkay? I gotta get the paper.", you say. "oh, alright. See you there!", she says, and hangs up. You pull on your favorite shirt, and some shorts and go out the kitchen door to get the paper. You pick it up, and can't help but noticing a boy, looking extremely familiar, skateboarding down the sidewalk. You drop the paper in surprize as you meet his cobalt blue eyes. He picks it up for you. "There ya go. Its Emily, right?", he asks. You nod. "Well, hi! My name's Rex. I'm new around here, and just on my way to school." You ask, "Northwestern?" He nods. "Thats the one." "Well, if you'll just wait for about 5 minutes, I'll be right back and I can show you around, if you'd like?", you say. He grins, blushes, and says, "I'd like that...you know...Are you sure we haven't met before? You seem so...familiar somehow." You shrug, with a smile, and say, "You never know, Maybe we have."
The End!