Divided

There had some fifty people standing in the center of the room. Now, the Lyflians were divided. By Aqua's count, twenty-two stood to the right, including, she noticed, Lexaeus; a strongly built man in his early twenties who had, for a while, been a member of her group. And wishing to leave, twenty-five, one being Zexion, a close friend of Lexaeus, but clearly of the studious type rather than the fighting. Five people yet lingered in the center, including herself and the twins, undecided. Both sides shouted their best arguments, attempting to sway the indecisive one way or another. If someone was friends with one, they begged and pleaded with them. If someone disliked one, they screamed insults, calling them a coward for not choosing their side already. Aqua more than anybody.

"You told us to chose!" they challenged. "Now it's your turn!"

Ventus and Roxas exchanged looks, torn. They had friends on either side, and they didn't wish to leave anyone.

The last two however, had clearly made up their minds, and no guessing needed with the way they expressed it. Riku and Xion had been dating for nearly two years now. Riku was the stereotypical male Lyfian; cool and arrogant, while Xion was just the opposite; quiet yet fiery, but they'd always been like peanut butter and jelly; utterly different, yet perfect and inseparable. Now, silver and black hair was flying as the two yelled at each other, and the babble of the rest of the hall was once again vanquished.

"EVERYONE WHO STAYS; EVERYONE OVER THERE," Riku pointed forcefully, his arm shaking, at the right side of the room, "THEY ARE ALL GOING TO DIE."

The side in question began retorting angrily; "Wanna fight?" one glared, drawing out his sword, but this was quickly drowned out by Xion's reply; "YOU'RE WRONG!" she shouted, shocking everyone, as they practically didn't even know what her voice sounded like, she was normally such a quiet girl. "IF WE WORK TOGETHER, WE CAN TAKE LYFLIA BACK! COWARD!"

Dismayed, Aqua stepped forward to break them up, but on noticing her presence, Riku turned on her. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT! Giving them the idea that they have something to stay and fight FOR! Can't you see what a hopeless cause Lyflia is? We should leave with our lives, while we still can!" There was no reasoning with Riku when he got like this. Hurt, but trying not to let it show, Aqua took at step back and observed the situation. She began to see Roxas, who'd always had a soft spot for Xion, despite her and Riku being an item, waiver. Ven wasn't likely to leave his twin so soon after their reunion, and he was Aqua's best friend. With Riku and Xion on opposing sides, this made the score 26:26.

Her heart fell. They would not be able to unite. The last of the Lyflians would scatter. And then…

CRACK.

That couldn't be… Aqua paled in shock. A section of the left wall seemed to simply give way. Without a second's delay, the shadows began pouring into the building, infesting the last corner of the city.

Chaos ensued. Some drew their swords, some backed away, everyone was yelling or screaming. Soon the Heartless were overrunning the room. Right in front of him, Riku watched into horror as a girl was smothered by the darkness, suffocating to death. A cold, slightly clammy hand clasped his and he looked into Xion's beautiful blue eyes. Their disagreement vanished in that moment and they were united again with one purpose; to get away. Even she has to admit this place was lost, Riku thought, with just a hint of superiority. But no time for that. They sprinted together towards the end of the hall, as they did so others began to join suit. He saw Aqua dragging one of the twins (the other nowhere to be seen), running for a small side door; one which led down into the basement, where the INFI was being kept, calling for everyone to follow. But before they'd gone three meters in her direction, they were confronted by a shadow; a large Heartless glob oozing out of the ground, antennae twitching wildly.

SMACK!

Xion's hand had flown to the hilt of the sword strapped to her waist, but she hadn't even started drawing it when the darkness turned to smoke and dissipated, leaving a ruffled, out-of-breath Zexion in it's stead.

"Go on," he panted, quickly running another through with his short sword. Riku nodded, not trusting himself enough to speak; he was getting all choked up! then dashed onwards, Xion in tow. Zexion gave them a few shadowy-pursuit-free minutes, but it wasn't long before more were on their tail. This time there was no one else around to fight them off, and the two had to rely on their own strength. Fortunately, these Shadows were weak and would be pushovers, if only it weren't for their numbers. As it was, they consumed valuable time. Slashing through one Heartless, then the next, Riku realized that people had stopped coming. No one else was going for the spaceship. He didn't stop to think about what that could mean. If they didn't hustle, the INFI was going to leave without them. There was nothing for it. Pulling themselves together, the two turned tail and ran full pelt for the door, down the curling steps, hacking through a couple of Heartless that got in their way, until they stopped dead at the sight of the huge, sleek ship. Despite the situation and everything that they'd been through the past month, really seeing her for the first time, the INFI was stunning. Could that strange thing really traverse outer space, and take them to other worlds? No time to waste wondering, Riku thought, and strode up onto the boarding ramp.

SLAM.

Just Riku's bad luck. The sudden movement of the vessel slammed Riku's face hard into the ramp; that was going to leave bruises. Ignoring it, he scrambled back to the edge, holding his hand out to Xion. The ramp was rising slowly. He slid down a few feet before getting a grip.

"XION!" he yelled.

She too had been blown backwards by the ship, but at the sound of his voice picked herself up and reached desperately for him.

Time stood still...

The INFI, hovering in midair, just a few inches of the ground, prepared to take flight, and zoom off into space…

The inches between their hands closed... They touched... Fumbled… Then her hand slid out of his, and once again Riku was thrust backwards, this time rolling all the way inside, in a style worthy of an Olympic medal, and landing in a befuddled heap. The ramp was automated lifted up and melded back to become a part of the INFI's wall. The spaceship rocketed out and into the open air at an alarming speed, until it was just a sparkle in the sky, then nothing.

Xion lay on the cold stone floor of the Lyflian building, unmoving.

And with that, cliché yet inevitable tragedy, the few remaining Lyflians were divided.