A/N: I somehow found time in my schedule to type… which totally surprised me. YAY! On to chapter 7, where we will have wurst and potatoes and will train all day to beat the Allies! (Know what that's from?) Dear Andrew the Pichu that has Fire, since you never CALL ME BACK (you really had no excuse, so :P to you), I have decided that ZEXION MUST DIE! Lol jk jk, don't kill me. My dear readers would be heartbroken. (Unless, of course, they don't have a heart. LAUGH AT THE PUN, JERKS!) So, on that wonderful note, here is Chapter 7!

Disclaimer: Germany, Germany, Germany is a really really nice place! Even though I'm your prisoner you give me food, and it doesn't- oh wait. Wrong one! But yes, when I own Kingdom Hearts, I'll own Hetalia- NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN! (Which sucks because I would totally date Germany) ;)


Chapter 7

I buried my head in my hands, holding back tears. It was disturbing to see myself die, and even more so knowing that I caused my best friend to die, too. Marluxia put his arm around my shoulders, but I immediately shrugged him away. I get extremely uneasy when people touch my hair, shoulders, or neck. Marluxia was instantly hurt, and I felt awful for not telling him.

"S-sorry," I said, looking up at him. "I get nervous when people do that. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Marluxia was taken aback for some reason. His hurt hadn't shown on his face, had it? Oh no… what if he found out and thought I was a freak? Then I was going to be treated like a pariah by someone I considered my friend. And I don't think that I could take that. Especially if it was Marluxia…

"It's okay," he said, opting for holding my hand instead. I squeezed it and buried my head in his shoulder, trying not to cry. I inhaled in his comforting, sweet scent. It calmed me down, and eventually I got control of my emotions. Marluxia was concerned, but he felt kind and sincere. There was a lot of friendship in his aura, too… I wanted to stay there forever in cozy silence with him, but knew that I needed to get up and leave to my room, where I would have to get ready for the day. I raised my head slowly, stood, and hugged Marluxia.

"Thank you," I whispered and walked into the hallway, closing the door softly behind me. Even numbered doors were across the hall, and odd numbers on the side of the hallway that I had come out on. I looked at Marluxia's door that had the number XI on it. That meant that my room, number XV, should be after number XIII's, which was probably in between mine and Marluxia's. Sure enough, I found the door to the left, after the number XIII.

My room was simple; white walls, a dresser, a desk, my own bathroom, and a small closet. I looked in the dresser and found some clothes that were my exact size and style. I chose a black v-neck t-shirt, a dark blue pleated skirt, and black, high-heeled boots with my organization cloak over it. I'm not big on skirts or dresses, but I wanted to look nice on my official first day. Hopefully I don't look weird… I don't want to stand out, but I don't want to blend in either. I want to be remembered, but in a good way. How to do that here, of all places, I have no idea.

I brushed and styled my long hair into a high ponytail, which took about 15 minutes because my hair was so long and thick. I swept on a bit of mascara and eyeliner, just to make myself look a bit more professional. How they knew that I wore make-up, even if only occasionally, I don't know. 'Stalkers! There are stalkers everywhere! You're never safe!' my voice screamed. Shut up voice.

I portalled to the dining room, hoping that there was someone there that I knew. The only person there was an extremely tall guy sitting in a chair labelled V(Really? EVERYONE here is tall! Well, except for Daxdy. She's the only person shorter than me, and I'm 5 foot 3.) The guy was buff with orange gravity-defying hair and strong features. He looked up as I entered, and then looked back down at his huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, and oatmeal.

"Excuse me, but could you show me where the kitchen is?" I asked courteously. The man was apprehensive of me, but apparently his mind was on something else. His orange aura showed his thoughtfulness, ambition, self control, and courage. He rose and walked over to a door on the right hand side of the room. When he opened it, the fluorescent lights of a kitchen appeared.

"Thank you," I said politely and offered out my hand for him to shake. I wasn't usually so formal, but this man kind of scared me. I was afraid that he could gather me in his hands and crush me to a pulp with no effort. Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to die? I held out my hand to him. "My name is Xelxa. It's nice to meet you, Mr…?"

"Lexeaus," the man grunted, and grasped my hand firmly before going to sit down in his seat to finish his breakfast. He didn't seem so scary anymore. It was more like he wasn't sure of what to say than unfriendly. I stepped into the empty kitchen and headed for the pantry. I found a couple boxes of cereal, protein bars, soup cans, ramen, bread, various cooking ingredients, some weird green stuff in a bottle labelled "Property of Vexen: DO NOT TOUCH or face a terribly painful death"… I was about to give up when I spotted them. Pop-tarts!

I had always eaten pop-tarts as a kid. I loved them, and there wasn't a flavor I didn't like. I got out a package of the brown sugar cinnamon and hopped onto the island in the middle of the kitchen, unwrapping and eating my food in silence. I had finished my food, thrown away my trash, wiped away all the crumbs from my breakfast, and was about to leave when Vexen came storming through the kitchen door.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET ME AND ZEXION IN THE LAB FIVE MINUTES AGO!" he screamed mercilessly. His aura was red with anger, and I almost flinched. I felt like he was going to hit me.

I didn't necessarily want this job, but since it was forced upon me, there wasn't a way that I could get out of it. Part of me wanted to yell back, but the more sensitive, responsible, gentle part of me bowed her head and looked to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Vexen. I lost track of time. I wont let it happen again, sir." I am such easy prey. I should have just rolled over on the ground and wagged my tongue like a dog for all that I was doing to stand up for myself. He is my superior, though. I could have got in trouble for yelling at him. Plus, I don't want Vexen as an enemy. Even barely knowing him, I could tell that he would slip something into my food just to get back at me for insulting him.

Vexen almost immediately calmed down at my shameful expression. He was still angry, but a little blue kindness crept into his aura. I was still wary of him, knowing that someone like him was unstable. It wouldn't surprise me if he impulsively slapped me across the face. Plus, he said that I would be punished if I wasn't there on time. I deserved the penalty, so I closed my eyes and waited for him to strike, but nothing happened. A new emotion entered Vexen's aura… he pitied me?

"Come with me," he said, and grabbed me by the wrist, portalling to his lab. His voice was gruff, but underneath it, he wasn't really angry. WHY WAS VEXEN FEELING SORRY FOR ME? The next four hours and 24 minutes involved boring paper work, Vexen almost blowing up the castle three times, me getting seven bruises from bumping into the lab tables, and Zexion accidentally lighting my lab coat sleeve on fire.

At 12:00, I was working on my thesis statement on an experiment for Vexen, and my feet were killing me. Had this guy never heard of chairs? There wasn't one that I had seen in here yet. I was leaning over the one of the counters writing when I felt two arms wrap around my waist and a head rest on my shoulder. I froze and closed my eyes, hoping that whoever was behind me didn't see my blush. I do not want to have to fight some weirdo pervert right now.

"Whatcha working on?" a familiar voice asked, and I relaxed significantly. I turned my head to the right to face Marluxia, who smiled at me devilishly. I rolled my eyes at him but smiled, enjoying his friendly company since Vexen and Zexion were a bit… silent, I guess you could say.

"Why should I tell you?" I asked playfully, closing the folder so he couldn't peek. "You could plot world domination with this information for all I know."

"So it is information worthy of world domination, huh? I think I deserve to read it. If you don't tell, I won't let go," Marluxia said wryly and pulled me closer to him. I stuck my tongue out at him, but he just laughed. "Still not letting go until you tell me…"

"Considering you hold true to your word, I'll tell you. This is a thesis statement about how the type of matter affects the speed of traveling sound waves, and things like how sounds will be louder if they travel through less dense matter and the most prime factor affecting the rate of sound travel is the medium which carries the sound waves. Now can you please let go?" I asked, pushing him away playfully. Marluxia released me and stepped away, still smiling. I was actually a bit disappointed when he let go.

"It's lunch time, so I was wondering if you wanted to go get something with me and then train for the rest of the afternoon." I thought about it for a second. I would love to spend the rest of the afternoon with him, but I didn't know if it was okay with Vexen or not. Not that I really cared that I was missing time in the lab, but I didn't want Vexen to get mad at me again for not being there.

"Umm, let me finish this thesis, and if there's anything else Vexen needs done before I leave then I'll do it, and when I'm finished we can leave. Sound good to you?" I asked as I opened the folder again and began to write in my neat cursive. I was eventually going to have to redo all of the files in the cabinets here; you could barely understand them because some people *cough cough Vexen and Zexion cough* have dreadful handwriting! I had been stressed all day trying to read the stupid files, just to find some of them incomplete or absolutely illegible. DARN YOU SCIENTISTS AND YOUR TERRIBLE HANDWRITING!

Marluxia nodded and tapped his foot, waiting for me to finish. He was very impatient, but I wasn't sure why. Maybe he didn't like Vexen and Zexion and wanted to get away from them or something. They weren't that bad people, though. I just shrugged it off and finished my thesis, handing it to Vexen.

"Is there anything else you need for me to do before I take off for the rest of the day?" I asked. Vexen looked up from his vials that he was about to pour in to a solution and shook his head. I turned to Marluxia and he smiled, holding his arm out to me. I hooked arms with him and was about to walk out when I stopped at the door and turned back around.

"Don't pour in the yellow one! Remember what happens when sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid meet!" I called and walked out, laughing softly when I heard a voice call out "Thanks". Marluxia looked at me strangely.

"You must be pretty good at science, huh?" I shook my head at him. I wasn't really. I have a way of memorizing things without meaning to, so it made it easier for me to work in a place like the lab. That and I almost never have to read something more than once because I can remember it almost word for word.

"I don't care much for science, but since I memorize things easily, it makes an ideal job. My favorite part was probably botany. Like the Nerium oleander is considered the most poisonous plant in the world." Marluxia was stunned. I stopped and looked up at him questioningly. What was going on with him today? First acting all… the only way to describe it was flirty (I tried not to redden as I thought this) and then acting completely odd the next second.

"You know botany?" I nodded at him. He seemed even more shocked than before.

"What? Don't look at me like that! I'm not a complete airhead. I actually have something going on in my head, just not things that others necessarily want to know…" I trailed off. Marluxia was showing self-control, and a lot of it. Yet again, I wondered why.

"I-it's nothing," Marluxia said, looking away. Was he…blushing? I just shook my head and dismissed it on my imagination. I must be losing my mind. Marluxia made a portal, and we exited into a dimly lit town. To the left was a little diner, to the right was a big door, and straight ahead was some stairs leading to an accessory shop, where the street split on both sides of it, one leading to the left and one to the right.

"Welcome to Traverse Town. Almost everyone whose world was lost ends up here. Not everyone, but most." Marluxia announced and led me to the diner, where we sat outside and ate a small lunch.

"So did you end up here?" I said in between bites of a cheeseburger. I didn't expect it to be very good, so it was a pleasant surprise when I realized that it was probably the best burger I've had in...well I don't really remember. Marluxia shook his head.

"Like I said, almost everyone ends up here. You didn't, and I don't think anyone in the organization did either. We all appeared at the castle when our hearts were stolen." I pondered that while I ate.

"Do any Nobodies end up somewhere else other than the castle?" If so, then there might be other "organizations" out there that we haven't heard about. I might find somewhere I belong…

"Not that we know of, no. If they did, then they haven't attracted any attention for us to investigate." So. There goes my fantasy of finding somewhere else to go. Not that I necessarily wanted to leave. I had Daxdy and Marluxia, so there wasn't reason to walk away. Yet.

"What about rogues? Has there been anybody that's left the organization?" Marluxia's features instantly went dark. That was definitely not a good sign. His aura turned cold. There was fear and anger, but there was friendship and sincerity.

"Don't even think about it. You'll die trying. You run, they'll find you and eventually eliminate you, as effortless as snapping your fingers. If they hunt you down and you try to fight…" Marluxia gave a mirthless laugh. "Well, you're signing your death certificate, right then and there. They won't hesitate to outnumber you. If anyone does anything to stop them from killing you, they will consider that person a traitor and execute them, too. Remember that before you run off."

His words chilled me to the core. They'll hunt me down and eliminate me. Easy as that; no hesitation, no second thoughts because if you stop, then you'll die too. We had both stopped eating, and Marluxia was staring at me seriously.

"And what makes you think I'm going to leave?" I asked delicately, looking into his eyes. He was spot on the point, but I wasn't going to let him know that. He was going to hold that against me, and I didn't want him to have an advantage over me. I always want the upper hand; you'll have a batter chance at winning the argument.

"I can tell by the look in your eyes. You were thinking about it. Weren't you?" His voice was reprimanding and unwavering. He was nervous. He knew the truth, but he didn't want me to confirm his fear. That would make it all too final for him. I looked down.

"No. Forget that I even asked." This enraged him. I don't know why, because I'm pretty sure that he wanted me to deny it. Or was his anxiety something else?

"Don't lie to me! You were thinking about leaving, weren't you? WEREN'T YOU?" I flinched at his words. They cut me like a freshly sharpened knife blade; opening wounds that I never even knew were there. I clenched my fists. Years of being yelled at burst through my mind, and I realized that if it was up to me, I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life being bullied like I used to.

"Don't speak to me like that. Like you know everything and I don't. You mean nothing to me, and from the way things are going now, you won't ever be something to me. So stop trying to be my 'big brother'. You're such a pathetic excuse for a person that I don't even know if you deserve to be called one," I hissed at him, glaring. I could see that I wounded him deeply, but for the moment, I didn't care. I wanted him to hurt like I was hurting right now.

"Maybe you should think about other people for a change. How do you think everyone will react when they find out that they'll have to kill you? Knowing Daxdy, she'll stand up for you, and you'll cause her death again. Do you really want that for her? And even if she doesn't die, what will happen to her after? Think about your best friend for once." I could hear the unspoken, "…think about me." at the end of his sentence. But I didn't control my temper. I wasn't overcome by electricity, but I was as angry as I could be without it. Which is extremely severe anger.

"Don't even pull that crap on me, Marluxia. You act like you don't have regrets, because I know you do. I can see right through you. You're nothing more than a setback. You want to hurt me? Go ahead. Kill me now, because I'd rather die than go back to that prison. That's what it is, isn't it? You've been there for how long? And you still haven't got a heart. When will you get one, hmm?" I sneered back, taunting him. Marluxia, who I could tell was close to breaking point, stood, towering over me.

"I shouldn't have brought you here. This was a waste of time. We need to go back. Now." He grabbed my shoulder, but I jerked away and smacked into someone behind me. The anonymous person caught my bandaged left wrist before I fell over and steadied me.

I said thank you to the stranger, and turned to find a man with long platinum hair, one jet-black wing, bright teal eyes that were slit almost like a cat's, and wearing a long black coat. Oh, and he was really tall. I wonder if caffeine stunts your growth, because I had been drinking coffee since I was 10 years old, and I obviously wasn't the tallest person.

"Sephiroth," Marluxia said frostily, glaring at the man's hand on my wrist. I stood still, watching Sephiroth's body language. He showed entirely nothing on the exterior, but from his aura I could see he was pleased, probably by Marluxia's response to him touching me and my obvious cluelessness, but he was also extremely tired of something. Or at least, he was until he saw Marluxia's apparent displeasure. Oh no… I could tell that this wasn't going to end well.

"So, Xemnas has new recruits, huh? Well, I might just have to pay the old man a visit, now won't I?" Sephiroth smiled evilly. Marluxia was further angered by that. He was trying hard not to hit him, it looked like. I tried to pull my wrist from Sephiroth's grasp, but he tightened it so hard that I could feel the cut reopen and start to bleed again. This guy dared to mess with me? I was about to summon my weapon when Marluxia's words stopped me in my tracks.

"The last time you got hold of one of our members, they had to spend a month in rehab. Let go of her." I wondered who the person was. Sephiroth just smiled wider. His aura was full of happiness as he pressed harder on my wrist. He then twisted it to the side, and I heard a snap as a spasm of excruciating pain shot down to it, causing me to cry out with tears in my eyes. I stood stock still, though. I knew that he wanted me to fight him off. If I fought him, it gave him an even better excuse to hurt me. Marluxia grew furious, but right before he charged Sephiroth, I called out to him.

"Don't!" Marluxia looked over to me. "If you do, it'll give him a better excuse to attack. Just… go back to the castle and tell Superior or something. You'll know where to find me."

Sephiroth and Marluxia were both taken aback at my statement, but I urgently stared at Marluxia, and he understood. We were going to hoodwink Sephiroth and try to frighten him. Although there was about a 95% probability that he would take me anyway, this would mislead him to think that the organization had something that he didn't. I just hoped that Marluxia would go ahead and let Sephiroth take me without doing something stupid to get us both killed. I wasn't a huge contribution to the organzation anyway, so it wouldn't matter if I died or anything. But what really sucked was that I was getting kidnapped on my first day. Nice going.

Sephiroth made a portal of darkness at the same time that Marluxia lunged at him. Sephiroth threw me against a wall and summoned an impossibly long katana. The last thing I remember is my head hitting the wall and everything going black as Marluxia faced his most certain death.

End of Chapter 7


YAAYY- I mean… DARN! I got knocked out by some random stranger named Sephiroth, who thinks its funny to torture people! (That is called a sadist, my dear readers. Using it in a sentence- Psycho Larxene and merciless Sephiroth are both sadists.) Do I get kidnapped, or does the valiant Marluxia save me? What was it with him playing with me in the lab, and then telling me off in Traverse Town? Does he care, or is he just doing what he has to do to make me trust and listen to him? WHO KNOWS? I do! :P But you don't, so haha to you! I totally rock! "Awesome me!" Who says that? Review me with the answer, and the first person gets a splendid shoutout! - Cheap way to get people to review. I know, I know. I JUST WANT TO BE LOVED! This next song talks about the Sephiroth incident… somewhat. IT WAS THE ONLY SONG THAT I COULD COME UP WITH AT THE TIME THAT APPLIED TO THE STORY, OKAY? Geez! ~~~ I'm frightened by what I see, but somehow I know that there's much more to come. Immobilized by my fear, and soon to be blinded by tears. I can stop the pain if I will it all away. If I will it all away. Don't turn away; don't give in to the pain. Don't try to hide, though they're screaming your name. Don't close your eyes; God knows what lies behind them. Don't turn out the light. Never sleep, never die~~~ Whisper by Evanescence