A/N: Hey guys! I'm back. Sorry it took so long. I forgot that I had left it at a cliffhanger. Anyway, enjoy!
~Day 193~
My eyes flew open and I yelled the name of the redhead beside me. "Axel!" I quickly pulled him into a hug and buried my face into his shoulder. I couldn't hold it in as I began to cry. The dream I had was just too real and I was so glad that I woke up. At first, he was stunned by my sudden reaction, not sure of what to do, but then began to comfort me.
"It's alright, Exchy," Axel replied in a soothing voice, holding me, "Everything's going to be alright." I looked up at the redhead. I knew what he said wasn't true, but I started to clam down a little.
Axel, Fox, and I walked into the part of Twilight Town where the clock tower stood. It was my first mission with two people joining me, so we were kind of excited. We were walking when I stopped and felt a sudden pain in my head. Another headache. The world around me began to blur a little as I began to feel lightheaded.
"Woah," I sighed dizzily. Fox turned to look back at me just as I blacked out, falling on the ground.
"Exchy!" Fox cried. I laid there, as my dark dreams started again. Axel ran over to me and picked me up. He laid me down across his lap as he held me close. That's when our second and final target, a Heartless called a Destroyer, appeared. Fox quickly turned around and glared at it. He glanced back at Axel.
"I've got Exchy," Axel nodded, "You take out the target!"
"Okay!" Fox agreed. Fox's Timeswords appeared in his hands as he ran toward the Destroyer. As he began attacking, Axel looked down at me with worried eyes. When the Heartless was finally gone, Fox dashed back over to us. They both looked down at me as Axel held me in his arms.
"Axel," I muttered in my sleep. The redhead looked up at the Nobody beside him.
"Exchy!" Fox cried.
"It's okay," Axel laughed, "She's not hurt."
"But Axel–"
"Let's just RTC, alright?" The redhead suggested. He held me close as he stood up. I cringed as my dark nightmare continued on.
Axel carried me as the two walked down the hall, Fox beside him. That's when Saix walked down the stairs ahead of him and looked at me emotionlessly. "Well, that didn't take long," He scoffed, "Did it break again?"
"She's not an 'it!'" Fox yelled. That's when Axel walked forward as Fox stayed where he was. He was about to pass Saix when he stopped and glared at him.
"Keep your mouth shut," He growled. And with that, Axel began walking up the stairs as Fox followed.
"You have changed . . ." Saix said emotionlessly. He turned around to look in the direction we had left in.
Axel and Fox stood beside my bed, looking down at me as the pale light from the Kingdom Heart outside my window streamed into the room. "Are you worried about her, Axel?" Fox asked.
"Of course I am," Axel replied.
"Doesn't seem like you," Fox smiled.
"What do you mean?" The redhead questioned.
"You hate complications." Axel looked up at the roof and then back down at the Nobody beside him.
"Fox . . . I meet up with you two everyday for ice-cream, right? Why do I do that?" Fox looked up at Axel.
"Huh?" The redhead laughed a little.
"I mean, you think about it. I don't need to go out of my way, right?"
"I guess not," Fox sighed.
"You want to know why I do? Because you're my best friends. The three of us . . . we're inseparable."
"We are?" Fox wondered aloud. Axel nodded.
"That's right. Get it memorized. And you know what? Best friends are willing to deal with complications." Fox nodded and laughed.
"Yeah . . ." He smiled, "Yeah, you said it!" I giggled a little as both of the boys looked back at me. I opened my eyes and turned my head to face them.
"Thanks, Axel," I chimed, "You're sweet." Axel scratched the back of his head as he began to blush. Fox laughed.
"Feeling better?" He asked.
"I just got a little dizzy," I lied, "Sorry to worry you guys."
"Try not to scare us like that anymore," Axel grinned.
"Okay," I smiled.
"And you take it easy today," He recommended.
"I will. Thanks."
"Get some rest," Fox smiled. Fox turned and left the room as Axel smiled at me before leaving too. I sat there, alone, and thought about my dream until Jexda walked into the room.
"Did you work yourself too hard today?" She asked. I sat up in my bed and she sat down beside me as we began to talk.
~Day 194~
Luxord and I dashed into the clearing at the end of the maze as our last target, a Commander, appeared. We had been assigned to go destroy three of those Heartless in Wonderland and we had destroyed the other two. Now it was just the last one left. We both ran at it and began attacking. It didn't take long for it to be destroyed. When we were done, Luxord looked down at me.
"Let's head back, Exchy." I looked up at him.
"Yeah . . . but wait. If we just took out the trio those card soldiers are searching for, what will they–" That's when we heard the booming voice of the Queen of Hearts, the ruthless woman that ruled Wonderland.
"You still haven't found them?!" She yelled, "Someone's head will roll for this!" I gulped as Luxord looked down at me.
"All the searching in the world won't help them now," He shrugged.
"So it was the Heartless, then."
"I think our luck beat theirs today," Luxord grinned, "In the end, your curiosity paved us a shortcut."
"The key to carving a path through life, huh?" I wondered aloud as I looked at the ground.
"And all the way to the grave," Luxord chuckled.
"Cheery thought . . ." I replied sarcastically. Luxord opened a Dark Corridor.
"Now for one last shortcut," He grinned. I walked over to the Dark Corridor and we left Wonderland.
Fox sat up on the clock tower as I rounded the corner. "You're early again?" I smiled. I walked over to my spot and sat down with my ice-cream.
"My mission wasn't that hard," Fox chimed. The sun blazed with a bright red as I bit into my ice-cream. "So, how you feeling?"
"I think I'll be okay now," I smiled.
"That's good," Fox laughed. He bit into his ice-cream as I nibbled on mine. "Hey, where's Axel?" He asked.
"I haven't seen him," I sighed. That's when the clock tower began to ring as the metal bells moved. It's ringing echoed throughout the world, eventually fading away. "It's getting late . . ." I sighed, "I don't think he's coming."
"You want to wait a little longer?" Fox suggested.
"Okay," I nodded. We looked back at the sun and everything was silent until I spoke up. "You guys are always there for me."
"Aw, don't do anything special," Fox smiled, "Axel's the one who sticks up for us. Besides–" He looked over at me. "I think he loves you." I looked over at him and laughed.
"You think so?" I smiled, "I'm glad the two of you are in the Organization with me." We continued eating our ice-cream as we looked at the burning sun. "Hope Axel turns up."
~Day 224~
I stood there in the arena of Olympus Coliseum as Xigbar left. I had gone to Olympus as a mission to destroy a Heartless with Demyx, but was forced to enter a kind of contest called the Games that involved destroying Heartless. At the finals, I had to battle Xigbar, but when we were halfway through the fight, my target appeared and I had taken it out by myself. Now, Xigbar had left and I had realized that Demyx didn't help me with the mission at all. I was about to leave to go find him when he found me.
"Nice work out there, girl!" I turned around and glared at the blonde.
"Demyx!" I snapped, "You were here?! Why didn't you help me destroy our target?!"
"I was, uh . . . cheering you on!" He lied, "Couldn't you hear me? Give me an 'E,' give me an–"
"Are you blind?!" I yelled, "That wasn't part of the Games!"
"Right!" Demyx smiled, "And what a shocker to find out Xigbar was the other finalist."
"Yeah . . ." I sighed.
"What's up with that?" Demyx wondered aloud, "I can't imagine he was here on a mission. You never can tell what that guy is thinking . . ."
"Maybe he just wanted to test me."
"No way, girl! I wouldn't read into it too deep. Besides, the mission's over, right? All's well that ends well, girl!"
"I guess so, but–"
"Anyway, I'm beat!" He interrupted, "Let's call it a day." He opened a Dark Corridor and quickly walked through it. I sighed and followed.
I sat on the clock tower with Axel and Fox. We were enjoying our ice-cream as I told them about my mission and how lazy Demyx was being.
"And then I beat the Heartless all by myself while Demyx just sat there and watched!" I cried, "Can you believe it? He just sat there and watched me do all the hard work."
"Yeah," Axel smiled, "Demyx is really lazy, but it's alright. I mean, someone has to be the laid-back one in the Organization with how many uptight guys there are." I nodded.
"Yeah. I guess you're right. I still don't see what Jexda sees in him, though." Axel looked at the sun and scratched the back of his head as Fox bit into his ice-cream.
"I hope we get another vacation day," He smiled, "I think the three of us have been working ourselves a little too hard, if you ask me."
"You said it," Fox sighed. I closed my eyes and began to think about warm, sandy beaches, ocean waves, and the tropical sea breeze.
"We should go to a beach or something," I smiled as I pictured waves washing a sandy shore in my mind, "I think it would be relaxing."
"I love beaches!" Fox shrieked happily. I opened my eyes before Fox and I looked up at Axel.
"Can we go to the beach on our next vacation day?" I asked.
"Please!" Fox pleaded. We both looked up at him with puppy dog eyes as we begged.
"Alright," Axel laughed. Fox and I cheered as we began eating our ice-cream. "How about we go to the Destiny Islands?" The redhead suggested, "The beaches there are amazing."
"Alright," I smiled.
"Yay!" Fox cheered. We looked at the blazing sun.
"Hey, Axel. Have you ever been to the Destiny Islands?" I asked. Axel closed his eyes and seemed to think for a moment.
"Yeah," He sighed, seeming like his mood had been dampened a little, "It's a great place. There's also this special fruit there that has a whole legend behind it."
"Really?" Axel nodded.
"The Paopu Fruit. It's said that when two people share it, their destinies become intertwined and they'll remain a part of each other's lives. Meaning, if two people share that fruit, they will stick together forever. The effects never wear off."
"That's cool," I smiled. We looked back at the blazing sun. I began to wonder why the name of the fruit seemed so familiar. The Paopu Fruit. Had I heard it before and just not remember?
~Day 225~
I destroyed the last Shadow Glob and my Keyblade disappeared. I stood there groggily as I gazed at the large forest of grass around me. I didn't get a good sleep the night before. Too many nightmares. Fox and I had been assigned to destroy the Shadow Globs in Wonderland so we had split up to destroy them. I watched as Fox dashed into my view and looked up at me from the ground as I stood on a tall mushroom that towered above him.
"How did you get up there?!" He marveled. I shrugged and forced on a smile. That is until I stepped back, lost my balance, and began teetering on the edge of the large fungus I was standing on.
"Ah! No! Don't fall!" I tried to keep myself balanced, but failed miserably. I fell off the edge of the mushroom and plummeted to the ground below. I hit the ground with a loud thump! before Fox could even respond.
"Exchy!" He dashed over to me and kneeled by my side, "Are you okay?" I laid there on the ground, struggling to breathe.
"Y-yeah," I sighed, propping myself up on my elbows, "I just got . . . the wind . . . knocked out of me. I'll be . . . alright. Let me lay here . . . for . . . a second." I let a sigh and my head dropped onto the ground as Fox laughed a little. I began to breathe heavily as I laid there, short of breath. When I was okay enough to stand again, Fox helped me up and we left for Twilight Town.
Fox and I walked over to our spots on the clock tower, but I didn't sit down. The younger Nobody swung his legs over the edge and bit into his ice-cream. I just stared at where I'd usually sit and frowned. I just didn't feel like myself that day. Fox must have noticed this, because he turned to look at me.
"Aren't you going to have some ice-cream?" He asked. I was silent. "Exchy?" I looked over at him.
"Oh, sorry," I apologized, "I guess I'm just tired."
"You want to sit down?" Fox asked.
"No, I'm going to go," I sighed, "See you later." I turned and walked away, leaving Fox there.
"Okay . . ." He looked back at the blazing sun and bit into his ice-cream as Axel rounded the corner.
"What, all by your lonesome?" The redhead grinned.
"Hey, Axel," Fox sighed. Axel walked over to his spot and sat down. He bit into his ice-cream and asked the usual question.
"Where's Exchy?"
"She left," Fox sighed.
"Hmm . . ."
"She's been acting kind of weird lately," Fox pointed out. Axel was silent. "Maybe she's not feeling well."
"She'll be okay," Axel reassured him, "Don't stress it."
"If you say so." Fox looked over at the sun as Axel bit into his ice-cream again. "Hope we get some more vacation soon. We could all use that trip to the beach."
"Right . . ." Axel agreed.
Meanwhile, in The Castle That Never Was, I was sitting in my room, being tormented by Heather once again. It was starting to happen so often now that I could hide it during my missions and keep myself from blacking out, but she wouldn't go away. "No!" I yelled, squeezing my eyes shut even tighter, "Stop it, Heather!" In the hallway outside my door, a certain Nobody was walking down the halls. He was walking by my door when he heard me yell. "Stop!" He froze and turned to look through my door that was cracked open a little bit. His eyes narrowed when they rested on me. I was curled up in fetal position and was close to tears. He slowly opened the door and crept into the room.
"You were never meant to be here." I opened my eyes and glared up at the intruder. It was Saix.
"Get out!" I yelled. I winced and whimpered a little when I felt the pain worsen. I opened my eyes once again as the crimson color to them began to darken. I grabbed my journal and yelled at him again. "I said get out!" I threw my journal at his face, since I had aimed for the center of his X-shaped scar, but he quickly caught it and gazed at me with his usual, emotionless demeanor.
"Very well." He turned and left as he tossed my journal over his shoulder. It fell on the floor with a loud thud as I buried my face in my arms. I began to think about Axel and Fox. That's when the pain suddenly stopped. I carefully got off of my bed and picked up my journal. I walked over to the white desk in my room, sat down, and looked at the growing Kingdom Heart that was outside. How much more of this I could take?
A/N: I'll put up the next chapter as soon as I can. I hope you enjoyed it!