A/N: I'm back once again. I got really bored, so I decided to post up another chapter. Enjoy!


~Day 277~

Axel and I walked out of the Dark Corridor, clearly happy that we were paired up for our mission. When Saix gave us our mission he glared at me. No one knew that Axel and I were together. We had kept it a secret, but I thought Saix knew something was going on between us somehow. I stepped onto the ballroom floor of Beast's Castle as Axel followed.

"Let's go find those Deserters so we can get out of here and look for Fox," Axel smiled. I nodded.

"Right." We walked out of the ballroom and down the stairs to find a bunch of Deserters running around. In the center of them all, though, was a Barrier Master. It rose its arms up in the air as a book floated in front of it and force fields surrounded our targets.

"Get the Barrier Master," Axel told me, "If we destroy it, then we can get our targets."

"Alright," I smiled. My Oblivion appeared in a whirl of shadows as his Charkrams appeared in a burst of flames and we ran at the Barrier Master. It zipped away to a corner near the staircases and Axel and I surrounded it while the other Heartless continued running around the room. We both used some fire magic and got rid of it easily so the force fields were gone. Now it was time to get rid of our real targets. We ran after them until they were worn out and destroyed each one. By the end of the mission we had sustained a little damage, but were otherwise okay.

"Are you hurt?" Axel asked as he walked back over to me.

"I'm fine," I smiled, "You're the one who got the worst of it." Axel's coat sleeve was torn from fighting the Heartless and the bottom of his coat was cut and ripped, nothing a little sewing couldn't fix.

"I guess I did, huh?" He smiled, "Those little things know how to cut!" We both laughed as we began walking up the stairs. We walked back into the ballroom and saw a strange Heartless near the Dark Corridor. It seemed to be holding a sword.

"What is that?!" I asked as it began flying toward us.

"It's an Invisible," Axel cried as it finally approached us, "Watch out!" It swung its weapon at us and we were thrown backwards. I was slammed into the closed door behind me as Axel was thrown into a nearby pillar that helped hold up the large balcony above. I slid down the door as I winced from the pain. "Exchy!" Axel ran over to me. "Are you okay?!"

"I'll be alright," I nodded, getting back up and gripping my Keyblade tighter, "Time to show this Heartless who's boss!" Axel grinned as we both ran at the Invisible and began to attack. That's when it threw its weapon in the air and vanished. "Where did it go?" I wondered aloud. That's when Axel suddenly tackled me and pinned me to the hard floor. "What the Kingdom Hearts!" The sharp blade of the Heartless' weapon went soaring through the air, just barely missing the redhead that was on top of me.

"Get to the Dark Corridor!" Axel yelled, rolling off of me and helping me up. I quickly jumped up just as the Heartless' weapon was coming back at me and did a back flip to get out of the way. I began running as Axel followed. That's when the Heartless reappeared in between Axel and me. It swiftly attacked him with the weapon that was now returned to it as I stopped running and looked back at him.

"Axel!" The redhead quickly got up as the Heartless slammed the blade of his weapon on the ground, causing a large shockwave to send me flying backwards and Axel toward me. I somehow landed back on my feet and Axel ran to my side. We started fighting the large Heartless when it quickly jabbed Axel with its sword. I quickly hit it back and we continued attacking until it disappeared again. That's when its weapon began stabbing me repeatedly before the Heartless reappeared. After a couple more minutes of fighting, I was lying on the ground, having a hard time getting up as Axel stood in front of me, trying to protect me.

We were both drained of most of our energy and were tired. That's when every muscle in my body tensed up and my weapon began to glow. I looked over at Axel and realized his Charkrams were burning in a whirl of flames. Final Limit. I glared up at the Heartless.

"You're mine now!" I yelled, quickly getting to my feet. I held my Keyblade in striking position as my eyes narrowed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Axel growled. We both ran at the Heartless and began attacking quickly until it disappeared into a whirl of shadows. When our Final Limit wore off, I fell onto the floor, exhausted, as Axel laid down beside me. "That was . . . a tough Heartless." I nodded, unable to speak at the moment. He got on his knees and looked me over.

"You took a couple of bad hits," Axel worried as I rolled onto my back, "Are you alright?" I looked at my coat, realizing that he was right. It was torn allover and even my pants were ripped a little on my knee. Another one of my tank tops were ruined since the Heartless had slashed through it and blood began to drain from the multiple cuts on my body. I looked over at Axel, seeing that he was bleeding a little himself, and just brushed it off.

"I'm fine," I reassured him, "Ice-cream will make it better." Axel laughed a little as he stood up and then gently took my hand to help me up.

"Here." He pulled a Potion out of his pocket and handed me the bottle as he pulled one out for himself. We drank them down. Although it didn't heal all of our injures, it gave us back our energy. We walked toward the Dark Corridor, holding hands.


~Day 296~

I finally destroyed the Heartless as my Final Limit began to wear off. I was once again in Olympus Coliseum's Games and won with ease. I walked outside of the coliseum to see Phil waiting for me. "Attagirl, Exchy!" He cheered, "That's what I like to see! You must have been sticking to your training while you were gone. Trust me, kid, it shows. Keep up those workouts, and you're going to get a lot stronger."

"I will," I smiled.

"Good," Phil nodded, "Now, I got to head back inside to get ready for the next match, but, uh . . ." His voice trailed off.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," He replied, "Well, alright then . . . I'm going to go." He turned around and left. I turned around in the opposite direction to do the same, but then he stopped me. "Hey, Exchy . . ." I only turned my head so I could see him out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Don't be a stranger." And with that, he left.

"What, he wants me to come back?" I wondered aloud, "For what? More training? Huh, weird. Well, the mission's done. Time to grab Axel and see if we can find Fox."

Axel and I sat on the clock tower. I looked at the burning sun and then reverted my eyes to the ground far below. We had searched everywhere for Fox, but he didn't show up anywhere. "It's no use," I sighed, "We're never going to find him."

"Exchy, I have to be honest with you" Axel sighed, "I know where Fox is."

"Really?" Axel nodded.

"He's helping an old friend of ours, but in order to do that, he needed to leave the Organization," Axel explained, "I'm sorry I had to keep it a secret from you. It's just, I'm sorry. I should have told you. I mean, you even said that he's like your little brother. I'm sorry that I wasted your time by letting you go look for him." I realized how apologetic he was being and decided to forgive him.

"It's alright," I smiled. He looked over at me.

"It is?"

"Yeah," I chimed, "As long as he's safe, everything's okay. I would like to see him, though."

"Then we'll visit him the first chance we get," Axel declared.

"Promise?"

"I promise."


~Day 299~

I quickly lashed at the last Shadow Glob and smiled. I had been sent on a mission by myself to Never Land to destroy Shadow Globs and had just finished it. I turned to walk out of the cabin of the pirate ship when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, Exchy." I winced as my head began to hurt.

"What do you want, Heather?" I growled.

"For you to suffer like how I have," Heather replied, "I'm taking control." The pain began to intensify as I fell to my knees. "You don't deserve everything you have. Not your precious little redhead, not your little friend, and not all of your colleagues. You deserve to be forgotten and to be all alone in the dark like I have been for my whole existence!"

Meanwhile, Xemnas sat on his throne in the meeting room called Where Nothing Gathers, all alone. He was thinking about something and seemed deep in thought as Saix warped into the room. "Are you certain we've taken suitable measures with Exchy?" Saix asked.

"I will admit that Exchy having a heart was a surprise," Xemnas admitted, "But having a heart is proving to have an interesting side effect."

"Really?" Saix wondered aloud.

"Exchy's dark side is weakening her," Xemnas spoke, looking over at his second in command, "She's slowly falling apart. She has become in touch with the part of her that she fears most. When she passed out the first time, this so-called Heather must have gotten a hold of her. Had things stopped there, Exchy would be just fine, but Heather is pursuing power and taking it from the only possible source from the inside. Exchy's heart. But, since she's been exposed to Axel, who she also loved in her past life . . ."

"Her heart has given her extra power from the love they share?" Saix realized, "So, Heather's gaining even more power?" Xemnas nodded. "I can't let her be with Axel, though!" Saix snapped.

"And why not?" Xemnas asked. Saix was silent. "I know he was once your friend, but open your eyes, Saix," Xemnas growled, "He's not Lea anymore and you're not Isa. Things have changed. The sooner you realize this, the better off you are. Besides, this extra power to Heather may be a good thing for the Organization."

"How?"

"If Axel gets rid of Exchy, then Exchy 's Keyblade will send the heart of its master to Kingdom Hearts since Vexen secretly modified her weapon the last time she was asleep," The superior explained, "Her heart will strengthen Kingdom Hearts. And if she defeats Axel, her heart will weaken because of the hurt that she will experience and Heather will see her chance and take over. When Exchy gives in to the darkness, she will disappear and become a real Nobody. Her heart will go to Kingdom Hearts and if Axel has gained one from her, his will too."

"So, if we pit them against each other, then we'll gain Exchy 's heart either way?" Saix wondered aloud. Xemnas nodded.

"And keeping her close to Axel will make her heart stronger and give Heather more power."

"I see," Saix replied, "What would you like me to do with them in the meantime? Wait, what about Fox?"

"That gadfly? He only poses a threat if he finds out our plan."

"Then we are back on track with our goal," Saix grinned, "Kingdom Hearts shall be ours." Saix was about to warp away when Xemnas stopped him.

"Oh, and Saix."

"Yes?"

"Quit calling Exchy 'it,'" Xemnas commanded, "She's not a puppet. She's a Keyblade wielder." Saix was silent as he warped away.

I began crying as I looked at Axel. We were in my room and he was sitting on the bed beside me. I had found him in Twilight Town, waiting for me at the base of the clock tower. I wasn't in the mood for ice-cream, so we both RTC 'd and went to my room so I could tell him about Heather. Now I was in tears, crying uncontrollably as he held me close.

"Axel, what should I do?" I whimpered as I buried my face in his chest, "She's going to hurt you and Fox!" Axel looked down at me with a worried expression on his face. He tried to fake a smile when he put a finger on my chin and made me look up into his emerald green eyes.

"Exchy, you'll get through this," Axel reassured me, "You're strong and don't let Heather tell you otherwise. I'll help you through it. I'll find a way to." I somehow found it hard to believe him. I looked out at the Kingdom Heart outside my window and he did the same.

"She's been reaching me in my dreams, too," I admitted, "This is the first time she's been able to reach me since my 225th day." Axel put his hand on my cheek and made me look up at him again.

"Everything will be alright," He smiled, "I won't let her hurt you." He held me close as I tried to convince myself that everything would be okay, just as Axel had said.


A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed it! Anyway, I better get going. Bye!