Alone Forever

Chapter Thirteen

Hey guys, Sorry about the delay. Here's chapter thirteen. Enjoy!

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As the days passed, Xembré began arriving late for her training sessions with Zexion. Xigbar made no comment on Xembré's tardiness at first, but when she starting showing up at least a half-hour late, he made up his mind to talk to her about it.

Normally Xembré would never have considered skipping a training session. But she couldn't stand spending up to three hours with Zexion. She was still refusing to speak to The Cloaked Schemer, and only acknowledged his presence when she was required to fight him.

The whole Organization was noticing the change in Xembre's attitude. She was less likely to greet a higher rank when she met them in the halls, and she was much more likely to ignore anyone who spoke to her, or snap when they made her talk. Several times she wandered down to Vexen's laboratory, but each time she found Marluxia there. Unwilling to spend any time with the charming male, she always crept away without drawing attention to herself.

As time went by, the weather grew colder and colder. Xembré wasn't sure if it snowed in the World That Never Was, but she hoped it would. But as time went by, it didn't look like it did. November was already half over and there was no sign of snow. Xembré was a bit disappointed. She had never seen snow.

One Saturday morning, when Xembré was still sleeping, someone knocked loudly on her door. She groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head. "Go away!" She said as loudly as she could while half-asleep. The knocking stopped, and she sighed in relief, snuggling deeper under the covers.

Then her door slammed open and someone entered her room. "Wake up, Xembré! It's snowing!" Xembré peaked out from under the covers at the irrepressible blonde who stood beside her bed, grinning from ear to ear. He looked as though he'd been lightly dusted with sugar, cold air was seeping out of his clothes, and his face was pink with cold.

"Did you say it's snowing?" She asked curiously. She sat up, watching as Demyx nodded excitedly.

"Yup," He pointed toward Xembre's window, through which they could see numerous flakes of white floating softly by. Xembré could hardly believe her eyes. She rose as though in a trance, and stepped closer to the window, looking out at the snow-covered castle grounds. Everything was blanketed by a layer of soft, sparkling snow. Xembré let out an awe-filled sigh at the sight and then turned back to Demyx, her eyes shining.

"It's pretty neat, huh…?" Demyx said. All Xembré could do was nod. She couldn't find words to describe the scene. Seeing that Xembré was speechless, Demyx grinned and went on. "I'll go get Axel, and then come back. Make sure you dress warm!" Then he bounced out of her room.

When Demyx returned with Axel, he found Xembré standing at her window, staring outside at the snow-covered world. Xembré had dressed in a T-shirt, sweat shirt, jeans, and her cloak. She was almost too warm, but she was sure that would change once she got outside.

She turned at the sound of foot-steps, smiling brightly at her two friends. Her eyes were shining with pure joy. "Come on, let's go!" Smiling, she opened a portal and stepped through, followed closely by Axel and Demyx.

Her portal took them to the steps of the castle. It was freezing cold outside. Everything was muffled in a blanket of thick, white, shining snow. Xembré stood motionless, gazing breathlessly about. Clouds brooded gloomily in the sky, sprinkling snow on the world below.

Axel and Demyx rushed forward, laughing and shouting. As they ran, Axel shoved Demyx hard and sent him sprawling head-first into a snow bank. Laughing, Xembré ran to help Demyx up. He was shivering, but he couldn't have looked happier. Which deft movements, he bent and scooped up a handful of snow, shaping it into a ball and then quickly throwing it at Axel. It landed harmlessly a few feet away from the red-head.

"Let's have a snow-ball fight!" Demyx exclaimed. Axel answered by throwing a retaliatory snowball at The Melodious Nocturne and hitting him full in the face.

"Alright, let's have a snowball fight." Axel said. "We each have ten minutes to build a snow fort." Demyx nodded in agreement. "Come on, Xembré. You can be on my team." Axel grabbed Xembre's arm and pulled her away. Demyx was too excited to protest. The two teams used their ten minutes well, constructing the best snow for they could manage. Axel did most of the work because Xembré lacked a certain amount of snow-fight experience. Demyx was doing splendidly on his own. His snow fort was a three foot high wall of solid ice.

"Are you ready yet?" Demyx asked impatiently while he watched Axel and Xembré packing snowballs. He didn't really have to worry about that. He could whip up a whole batch of snowballs in a trice.

"Almost!" Axel replied. That was almost a lie. He was just finishing their last snowball when he answered. The instant he was done, he stood and sent it flying toward Demyx. The blonde, who had been standing outside his fort, narrowly dodged the missile, but tumbled backwards into his fort.

"Hey, you're gonna mess up my rockin' mullet!" Demyx cried, struggling up and sending a snowball back at Axel.

Thus the fight began. It grew more and more ferocious as time passed. At one point, Axel was nearly decapitated when Demyx threw an 'ice ball' at him. A ban was immediately put on all ice balls. The fight only ended when Demyx pasted Xembré full in the face with a snowball, sending her sprawling.

"Shit, you okay?" Axel asked, pulling Xembré to her feet and wiping snow from her face. She looked cold, wet and miserable. She was shivering, her face was red, and she was soaked.

As she nodded, Axel pulled her into a brief hug. Xembré surprised him by wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. "You're warm, Axel." She said, her voice some-what muffled. Axel's expression was a mixture of a grin, and a look of surprise.

Before Axel could reply, Demyx rushed up. "Sorry about that. Did I hurt you?" He ruffled her hair fondly as she shook her head. Then, seeing how miserable she looked, he made a suggestion. "Let's go inside and get hot cocoa!" He said, and he made a portal.

Axel tried to detach himself from Xembré, who still clung to him, but failed. So, giving up, he walked through the portal, followed by Demyx, who was frowning.

The kitchen was crowded. Saix stood silently to one side, brooding about something or other, while Marluxia and Vexen spoke together not too far away. As usual, Zexion was sitting at the table, staring blankly into the depths of his cup of tea. Larxene was trying and failing to get Xigbar to help her and Luxord bake cookies.

Axel, Demyx and Xembré stood frozen for a moment, trying to comprehend Larxene baking cookies. As soon as the normally sadistic blonde caught sight of the trio, she called them over to try the cookies. Axel started forward at once, with Xembré still clinging to him. Larxene's eyes flashed but she ignored Xembré and focused instead on getting Axel to sample the different types of cookies. Soon enough Xembré was called away by Vexen, and Larxene had the redhead all to herself, at least until Demyx arrived.

"What's with Xembré?" Larxene asked, glancing at the other girl. "Why was she latched onto you like that?"

Axel shrugged, completely oblivious to Larxene's hand on his forearm. "She was using me as a heater." He sneakily snatched another cookie as Luxord passed carrying a plateful of them. Larxene smiled warmly as Axel took a bite, sighing happily. The cookies were so good!

Xembré stood beside Vexen, gazing down at the small scrap of paper she held. It was a note, written anonymously, telling her to meet…someone, in the West Tower at 2:04 that afternoon. The handwriting looked vaguely familiar; it was bold, but written in delicate, loopy cursive.

"You found this at my place at dinner last night?" She asked, just to confirm. Vexen nodded. Xembré shifted her gaze from Vexen to Marluxia, who was standing silent and passive near by, watching through half-lidded eyes.

"I advise you to be careful…" Vexen said slowly. He sent a furtive glance at Marluxia, then continued. "Due to your… past experiences."

He was cut off when Marluxia snorted and strode suddenly and angrily out of the kitchen. Xembré watched him go, then turned her attention back to Vexen.

"Thank you for your concern," She said, smiling and patting his arm lightly. "I'll be careful." Soon after that she let the kitchen to change her clothes. She was still wet from the snowball fight.

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Later that day, Xembré stood in the West Tower, leaning against a wall and tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. She checked her watch. It was 2:03.

Who was she supposed to be meeting anyway? Her mind flew to Zexion, but the handwriting was definitely not his. Her next choice was Demyx; maybe he had finally decided to tell her what was wrong. But, while Demyx did write in cursive, his writing was not quite so loopy.

While she was thinking over the possibilities, she watched her watch change from 2:03 to 2:04. Right at that moment, someone stepped out of the shadows. The someone had their hood pulled up. But from the body-build, tall, lean and lithe, she could tell it was one of three people: Axel, Demyx, or Marluxia. When the Nobody spoke, however, she had no trouble recognizing the smooth, charming voice of Number Eleven.

"I'm glad you decided to show up."

Xembré frowned, and clenched her fists. "What do you want, Marluxia?" She demanded her voice sharp.

Number Eleven lowered his hood in one fluid movement to reveal his serious features. He was not frowning, or angry. He just looked solemn. "I wanted to talk to you." He replied.

Xembré was beginning to wish she had told Axel and Demyx about the note. No matter how much she despised Marluxia, she still feared him. He stepped closer, and she took a step away from him, only to find her back against the wall. That was not a good position to be in. Remembering her last incident with the charming male, she opened a portal, intent on escaping to the safety of her room.

"Wait! I must speak with you!" The urgency in Marluxia's voice caused Xembré to hesitate. She glanced at Marluxia. He was wearing an expression of sullen-ness, which lifted slightly when Xembré let the portal fade. She turned back to the older man, frowning.

"Hurry up." She spat, making no attempt to control the contempt in her voice. "I've got better things to do." She stood watching as Marluxia considered her for a moment.

Finally she spoke, hesitantly. "You know that day, when… when you were poisoned."

"You mean when you poisoned me!" Xembré bristled in disbelief at what Marluxia was saying.

Marluxia merely looked guilty. "I admit it was my poison. One of my strongest. But it was not intended for you." He began to finger a lock of his hair nervously. When Xembré merely looked confused, he went on. "It was intended for Number Six. I put the poison on his food, but somehow you got it."

Xembré shook her head. "If this is true, why were you trying to poison Zexion?" She did not, of course, believe the wild tale. She simply wanted to hear all the facts.

Marluxia's guilty expression changed swiftly to one of loathing. "My sources tell me that apparently I…" He hesitated before whispering two words. "Want you… And I acted in a way that I normally would have never."

"You tried to kiss me! And I don't even want to think about what might have happened next." So far Xembré had heard nothing of interest, and her patience was wearing thin.

"That may have been me in appearance, but it was not truly me. I can assure you, I was tied up in my closet at the time." He paused for a moment, as though expecting Xembré to say something. When she said nothing, only looking more confused, he went on.

"When Vexen told me of my supposed actions, I immediately thought of Number six. Who else can change their appearance?" He paused again, took a deep breath, and went on. "I swear this is true. If you doubt, ask Vexen."

Xembré shook her head. "You expect me to believe this story?" She asked incredulously. "I would sooner believe that Demyx is as incompetent as everyone seems to think." With that scornful remark, she stalked away.

"If it helps any, I'm sorry!" Marluxia called after her, but she ignored him.

She strode through the halls, her mind still on what Marluxia had told her. The story seemed crazy. Yet the pleading and guilt in his eyes had seemed sincere. She only stopped her relentless march through the castle when Larxene lunged out of no where and slammed her hard against a wall.

"What the-" Xembré gasped. Her breath had been knocked out.

"Hello, bitch." Larxene snarled, smirking. "Where have you been, having a nice make-out session with Axel?" She smiled maliciously.

Xembré was too stunned to reply at first. Then she came to her senses. "Why would I make-out with Axel?!" The idea was just as crazy as Marluxia's story.

Larxene slapped Xembré hard, stunning her momentarily. "Shut up. I know you like him. I saw that way you were clinging to him earlier. It's so obvious!" She sneered at the other girl. Xembré wasn't sure what to think, or do. When Xembré said nothing, Larxene hit her again.

"Just admit it, you little slut. You're absolutely crazy about him. And you're jealous of me, because he likes me better than he likes you!" The absurdity of Larxene's lies was too much for Xembré to take in. She could only stand there and let Larxene throw insults at her, and take the blows from the blonde.

She was rescued when Axel appeared around a corner. "Hey!" Axel cried upon spotting the two girls. "What's going on?" He rushed to Xembré's aid, pushing the two girls apart.

Larxene put on a simpering smile. "I was just talking to Xembré here." She said, smiling in what she clearly thought was a winning way.

Axle clearly didn't believe her. "I just saw you hit her!" He exclaimed. "Come on, Xembré!" He pulled Xembré away toward his room, leaving Larxene to glare after them.

The two friends said nothing as they wandered through the castle. Axel stayed protectively close to Xembré, glaring at all who passed. No one paid much attention to them anyway.

When they reached Axel's room, they entered quietly.

"Axel! There you are! I needed to ask…" The voice, belonging to Demyx, faded away into silence as Xembré entered the room. The blonde was sitting cross-legged on Axel's bed, distinctly red in the face. He glanced away quickly when Xembré looked at him, but Xembré was not unduly concerned. Her mind was on Marluxia.

Axel practically ignored Demyx. He was pacing back and forth in front of his door. Something seemed to be bothering him. At regular intervals he would make an effort to stop pacing, but the restless energy he was obviously trying to expel always got the better of him. After a while of watching him pace, Xembré sat on the bed beside Demyx. The blonde shifted and glanced at Xembré once before looking swiftly away.

"Oh yeah…" Axel stopped pacing to face Demyx. "What did you want to ask me?" He seemed to have completely forgotten about his two friends until that moment.

Demyx flushed, looking away. "It's not important…" He mumbled, carefully avoiding looking at Xembré. "I was just… I mean… Uh…" He looked pleadingly at Axel, who seemed to understand some unspoken request and nodded. Xembré wasn't entirely sure what was going on. There seemed to be some secret between her two friends. She hated not knowing what was going on.

Axel ran a hand through his hair and then threw himself down on the bed. "Why don't you guys go down to the kitchen? I hear Larxene and Luxord baked a cake."

Xembré raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to come?" She inquired, a bit suspicious. Lately Axel had been sneaking off, leaving Xembré with Demyx. It was suspicious, and Xembré's natural curiosity had been aroused.

Axel shrugged. "There's something I want to do, first." He said, not quite meeting her eyes. "I'll be down there soon."

Xembré wanted to protest, to find out what Axel wanted to do, but Demyx intervened. "Come on, let's just go." He said, and he pulled Xembré into a portal.

They reached the kitchen instantly. They were obviously not the only ones were looking to snack on something. Xigbar, Saix, Luxord and Xaldin were all playing poker and getting slowly drunk; each of them had a bottle of beer in front of them. Sitting sullenly in one corner, as usual, Zexion seemed to be only just away. It also looked like he had been outside. Marluxia was poking at a piece of chocolate cake. Xembré hesitated when she saw Marluxia. She still wasn't sure if she believed him or not.

Demyx muttered something about making hot cocoa, and slipped away. Not really hungry, Xembré wandered toward the table, where she sat across from Marluxia. He looked up, and Xembré smiled quietly at him. He seemed surprised, but returned the smile with a small half-smirk.

Neither of them spoke, but there didn't seem to be any need for words. More had been said in that simple exchange of smiles than they could have ever said with words. After a moment Demyx strode toward them, setting a mug of cocoa in front of Xembré with more force than necessary. Then he sat beside her, folding his arms and glaring at Marluxia, who raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Xembré tugged on the blonde's sleeve, pulling him down to whisper in his ear. She whispered earnestly to him for a moment, and at one point he glanced sharply at Number Eleven. Marluxia pretended not to notice. After a while, Demyx voiced a question.

"So if was Zexion…?" He seemed reluctant to believe it. But Xembre had made up her mind. She believed Marluxia's tale, partly because she wouldn't put it past Zexion to do something like that.

Marluxia sneered. "It could only have been him." He said in answer to Demyx's question. "Who else could possibly have done it?"

Demyx frowned stubbornly. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

Xembré sighed, but then perked up as Vexen entered the kitchen. She caught his eye and went to talk to him, leaving Demyx and Marluxia sitting at the table. They stared at each other until Xembré returned with Vexen. The older blonde sat next to Marluxia, while Xembré took her seat beside Demyx. Once again Xembré whispered in Demyx's ear, and this time he smiled, a bit reluctantly, it seemed.

Marluxia smiled, and Xembré smiled back. "Maybe tomorrow I'll hang out with you in the lab." Vexen smiled at that. Demyx slouched in his seat.

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At dinner than night, Xembré kept feeling someone's eyes on her. Whenever she looked up, though, it was to find that everyone was focused on their food. She had a feeling it was either Axel, Demyx, Marluxia or Zexion. Actually, it was all of them. She had told Demyx all about what had happened with Larxene. The sadistic blonde was acting as thought it hadn't happened, and Axel seemed to have forgotten about it. But Demyx had seemed quite interested in the story. He had disappeared for hours, and had not made a reappearance until dinner.

After several minutes of silence, Xembré spoke. "Axel, can you pass the salt?"

The redhead looked up, frowning slightly. "Why? It's right in front of Zexion."

Xembré kept a look of forced curiosity on her face. "Right in front of who?" She asked, tilting her head to one side.

Sudden understanding shone in Axel's eyes, and he sighed before reaching to his left for the salt. The salt traveled down the table to Xembré, who smiled. "Thanks." Axel grunted.

It was quiet for several more minutes. The only noise was the sound of silverware clinking against dishes. Then the stillness was broken again, this time by Zexion.

"Number eleven, could you please pass the pepper."

Marluxia scowled. "Why don't you ask Xembré for it?"

"Ask who?"

Marluxia's scowl deepened, but he reached for the pepper, which was right in front of Xembré. The pepper made its way to Zexion, and then all was quiet once again.

Shortly afterward, Xembré asked for the butter, which sat in front of Zexion. In retaliation, Zexion asked for the salt, ignoring Xembré, who could have easily reached it. Things went that way during the entire meal, until everyone was sick and tired of it. When the meal was over, everyone rushed away, but Demyx stayed where he was. His plan was going to need adjustments.

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Well, there's chapter Thirteen, and once again, I'm really sorry it took so long. It all started when I made Alone Forever my second priority. Then, my old computer was on the verge of dying, and our laptop broke, so I was completely computer-less for several weeks. Once we got a new computer, and I saw how much everyone wanted me to update, I got cracking and finished the chapter. Now, it's up and I can assure you I'll do my best to get chapter Fourteen up sooner than I did Thirteen. Thanks for your patience, and thank you for reading! Please don't forget to review! Reviews make me write faster. –wink-