A/N: Whoa. A fluff chapter. Surprisingly, Artemis, Dimitri, Tiffany, Gear, Zees, and Chrys are not in this one. This chapter centers practically around Axel and Alana, something I haven't done in a while. Enjoy.
CHAPTER 14
:A Promise Made:
Alana sat up on the bed and glanced at the clock next to her. It was only two-thirty in the morning. She let out a groan and dropped back into the bed. It had been two hours and still, she couldn't fall asleep. She rolled on her side and closed her eyes. Axel . . . I can't get my mind off of you. Her eyes opened and she opened the blinds. The moonlight flooded in, reminding her how welcoming the night was. The night was so easily associated with darkness. Somehow, being in the dark made her calm and the moon only added its own tranquility.
There was a knock at the door and she turned around. " . . . Who is it?" The door opened, revealing Payge and Demyx. Alana squinted when the hallway lights flooded into the room. "Why are you still up?"
"We had a very long strategy meeting and came up with some theories," Demyx explained. He glanced at Payge and Payge shuffled her feet. He looked back at Alana. "You aren't mad at Axel, are you?"
"Why'd you ask?" Her eyes slightly narrowed, more out of curiosity than anger. However, Demyx took it the other way.
"No reason," Payge spoke up. "He just looked sorta annoyed at the meeting."
"Oh, I see." Alana looked out the window. "Can we talk about this in the morning? I'm too tired right now." She waited for Demyx and Payge to protest but they both conceded and said goodnight. Soon, she was basked in darkness.
"That kind of personality causes people to stay away." Once again, she heard his teasing voice in her head.
The next morning, Alana walked into the dining hall. There was a long table in the hall that was surrounded by at least thirty chairs. However, everyone, except for the King was gathered at one end of the table. The King was the only one missing.
Riku and Sora looked up the moment the door had opened. The two waved at Alana. Payge looked up and smiled. Demyx sat on Payge's left. Then Alana noticed that the Axel was sitting across from couple. Alana made eye contact with him. As quickly as it happened, it disappeared.
Alana sighed and took the seat next to Payge. "Morning," she muttered.
"Hey," Demyx greeted.
"Glad you can join us," Payge said.
Alana stared at Axel. She wasn't expecting anything out of him but then he muttered "hi." That one word spoke in volumes. He was angry but he wasn't going to give her the cold shoulder, at least not completely. With that thought, she helped herself to a piece of toast.
After she took her first bite, King Mickey burst into the dining hall. "I think I know where Artemis is hiding."
The Gummi ship landed on the outskirts of a town so it wouldn't attract unnecessary attention. Donald, who had been piloting, nudged Goofy in the ribs and pointed up. Goofy saw the darkened skies overhead. "Isn't it day time?" Goofy asked.
"It is," Riku said. "It's supposed to be sunny today, too."
"I guess this is what the King meant by a world being enveloped in darkness," Sora said. He looked back and saw that Alana had fallen asleep leaning on the window. "Shouldn't we wake her up?"
Axel got up from his seat and approached Alana. He thought for a second before smirking. He sat next to her and leaned closer. "Hey, Alana," he said gently and shook her. ". . . Alana . . . ALANA!"
The girl jumped out of her sleep and nearly fell out of seat. She shot a glare at Axel but he had turned around in the other direction. Everyone else could see that he was satisfied.
Alana looked out of the window. "Where are we?"
Axel smirked. "Where do you think?"
"I don't know."
"Sunsetville." Axel could almost see the look on Alana's face. He turned around and saw that he what he had imagined was close: her left eye was twitching and her face was set in a grimace. He smirked.
"We're splitting into groups.," Axel said. "And guess what? We're going together. I told them how happy you would be about it."
Demyx winced at Axel's sarcasm. "You know, I can-"
"It's okay," Alana said, wrapping an arm around Axel's neck and placing her chin on his shoulder, catching Axel off guard. "I'm really happy about going with him."
"So you aren't mad at each other?" Payge asked, her voice full of hope.
Axel almost hesitated for a moment before putting on a grin. "We're fine."
Sora grinned and placed his arms behind his head. "That's good, Axel, because you were in a bad mood last night."
Riku grinned as well. "Yeah. I'm glad you two resolved whatever the problem was."
Payge looked around and saw almost everyone was grinning. She blinked, thinking that it was weird. Then she tried to look beyond the exterior and noticed something. "Why do some of you look nervous?"
"No reason," everyone said at once.
Alana glanced around the town and saw that not much had changed. The festive decorations were still hanging overhead and the stores were still opened with the usual crowd in the streets. She saw the store where she had bought that blue dress. Axel had told her once that she looked beautiful in it.
Alana glanced at the redhead, who hadn't said anything yet. She wanted to say something but felt that doing so would mean admitting defeat. Then she heard him mumble "festival" under his breath. She followed his gaze and saw the sign. There was a festival tonight. Everything here reminds of the past. "Axel?"
" . . . Yeah?"
"I-!" Someone chose the perfect moment to bump into her. Alana stared at the person. He - she assumed "he" based on his physique — was wearing a white cloak. She wondered how he wasn't attracting any attention. It was as if only she and Axel could see him. The person turned around and waved the pendant at her. Then the person took off. Alana ran off and Axel had to follow.
The crowd thinned out as they got farther and farther away from the heart of the town. There were more trees and fewer buildings. They were soon through the forest until they reached a precipice. The thief stood there, holding the pendant in his hand.
"Are you the Maiden I seek?" The voice was deep, raspy and unpleasant to the ear. It was similar to the effects of scratching on a chalkboard or two high-pitched dissonant notes being played simultaneously. The thief took off the hood, revealing his pale face.
"I'm assuming Artemis sent you," Axel said. "I haven't seen you before."
"My name is Irvine. I was ordered to eliminate you." Black and white swirls came around him as his outfit changed into that samurai outfit. He pulled out two blades and moved in.
Alana stood in front of Axel. "Reflect!"
Irvine bounced off the small barrier and landed on his feet. "A magician as well? I guess I need more force." His swords glowed and he performed a rush. Axel swiftly blocked with his chakram.
"Now Alana!"
"Water!" A blast of water came from her hand, aimed at Irvine. Irvine disappeared and appeared behind them. Alana and Axel glanced over their shoulders. Irvine swung his two blades.
"Reflect!" Alana said. The blade hit the barrier and shattered it upon impact.
Axel blocked the blade that was aimed for Alana. The other blade bore itself into his shoulder. Axel winced and wretched his shoulder free, making the wound worse. That wasn't so smart.
Irvine swung the blade at Alana.
"Thunder!" Lightning shot down from the sky and struck the blades. Irvine dropped them both. He was going to pick the blades up but Axel threw his chakram. The chakram pinned the blades between two spokes on each wheel.
"Stay out of this. My goal is to only kill the Maiden." Irvine's outfit started to change into armor. The samurai blades that were on the ground disappeared and now he held one giant sword over his shoulder. "It's Artemis's wish," Irvine said as a helmet formed, masking his face, "and it shall be carried out."
Axel's emerald eyes widen. "That can't be a Berserker."
Irvine brought the sword down. Axel went left and Alana went right. Seeing his chance, he pointed the blade toward the girl, who was standing close to the edge. "This is the end."
Irvine ran as fast as he could toward Alana. She cried, "thunder" but he avoided the lightning bolt. He placed the sword on the ground and swung himself. He kicked her and landed on his feet.
Irvine watch as Alana flew over the edge. "You never had a chance." He turned around to face Axel but saw that Axel was gone. Irvine walked toward the edge and peered over. Axel appeared through a portal below Alana and wrapped his arms around her. Irvine narrowed his eyes when he saw that he broke the girl's fall.
Irvine backed up about four feet from the edge and dug the sword into the ground. Then he jumped up and somersaulted before coming back down. The sword hit the ground, successfully creating a small fissure in the ground.
Alana felt the arms around her loosen and she turned around. She saw that Axel's emerald eyes were closed. She started to shake him. "Axel?" She took a firmer hold on his shoulders and shook him harder. "Axel?!" She glanced up to see if Irvine was coming down. But she saw no one and tried to prop Axel against the wall. Her slate eyes glanced at his shoulder wound. This only happened because he wanted to protect me. As angry as he was, he decided to protect me. Why do you do these things, Axel?
She knelt beside him and glanced up to see if they were safe. Again, she didn't see Irvine. She unzipped Axel's cloak and pulled the black material from his shoulder. Suddenly, Alana felt a small rock hit the top of her head. She looked up and saw more tiny rocks falling down. Then, the rocks got bigger in size.
"Thunder!" A lightning bolt struck one and broke it into pieces. However, more were falling and she knew she couldn't destroy them all before the crushed her and Axel. She wrapped her arms around Axel and cried, "Reflect!" A barrier appeared around the two of them.
Alana looked up at the dark sky. Slowly, as more rocks fell down, the same sky vanished from view, leaving her in utter darkness. For once, it was not soothing.
Demyx looked over his shoulder and saw Payge examining items in the shop across the street. He looked at the items that were inside the shop he was in. He stared at the female shop owner who was reading a magazine. "Excuse me?" She looked up. Demyx noticed the amount of make up she was wearing and raised his eyebrows. He scratched his head, trying not to stare too much. "I'm looking for a gift for this girl and I'm not sure what she would like. Do you have any suggestions?"
The woman looked beyond him. "Does she happen to be that girl you've been looking at the last ten minutes?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know her well?"
"I guess you can say that."
"Then you should know what she likes." With that, the woman returned to her magazine.
Demyx browsed the shop, this time more carefully. His blue eyes passed over scarves, dresses, jewelry, headbands, and other goods. He glanced back and saw Payge placed some of her hair behind her ear. She does have long hair, he thought. Maybe she would like it to be up.
He saw a giant clip with decorative orange and blue flowers on it. He supposed it would look cute on her. The blonde looked at her again. I just need a gift to show her I care. Why is this so difficult?
"I'll buy that," Demyx said, pointing at it. The woman stood and went to go get it. Am I really that stupid? What if she hates flowers?
"Here you go."
Demyx put the money on the counter and picked up the clip. What if she thinks I'm stupid for getting this? Payge probably wouldn't show it but she'd probably think so and won't like me.
"Demyx," Payge said, startling the blonde. "Ready to go?"
He turned around and held out the clip. "This is for you," he told her, blushing a little. "I know it's nothing much but . . ." He shrugged.
Payge smiled. "Thank you so much." She blushed before kissing him on the cheek. She then took it. She twisted her hair and using the clip, pinned it up. The loose locks that the clip hadn't grasped fell over.
"It looks good on you," Demyx said.
"Stupid kids," the woman muttered, loud enough for Demyx and Payge to hear.
Demyx slipped his hand into hers. "Let's go." He didn't think much about it at the time but later he would dwell on the memory.
Alana reached out and tried to find Axel in the darkness. She felt his spiky hair and then his face. Her hand traveled a little lower and found itself on his shoulder, then his bloody wound. I need to take care of that somehow, she thought, considering her options.
She heard a crack and realized that her barrier was getting weaker by the second. She crawled closer to Axel and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her head on his chest and felt it heave with each breath he took. "I'm sorry, Axel," she whispered. "Forgive me for being such an idiot. I just didn't like the idea of losing you . . . kind of what you felt once."
Over twenty years ago, she had sacrificed herself for the 'better good.' Axel had told her he wanted to spend his life with her. He had been so excited to tell her how they would make it in the world. But she had crushed his dream just to do what she believed to be right and fair. "It's the only way to force everyone out and seal Kingdom Hearts." She had acted so righteous that day. Thinking about it made her sick. Was Axel okay about it afterward? Did he regret letting her do it?
Alana heard another sound and her head shot up. Out of apprehension, her embrace tightened and she closed her eyes. In the darkness, her hand found his face again and caressed his cheek. She kissed him on the lips and pulled away before she rested her head on his chest again. Her fingers laced between his. "If we manage to live through this, I promise I'll make sure that never happens again. I won't let you go through that pain. I-"
She heard the barrier break and she gripped the back of his cloak. The sound of the rocks shifting was heard but nothing sounded like the one that should have ended their lives. Nothing crushed them like she had expected.
Alana lifted up her hand and felt a large rock. It had stopped against the wall of the cliff. She laughed as a wave of relief washed over her.
Alana opened her eyes and discovered that she was getting carried on Axel's back. She realized that she must have fallen asleep after taking care of Axel's injury. At first, Alana wanted to say that she would like to be able to walk by herself. But out of fear of starting another argument, she didn't say it. "I see that you're not unconscious anymore," she said. Her voice startled Axel.
"You did a really crappy job," Axel said, smirking. He glanced back at her and saw her confused look. "My shoulder, I mean."
"You try treating wound in the dark with nothing but a shirt," Alana muttered.
"My shirt. Got it memorized?" He stopped smiling and sighed. He scratched his head, wondering how to say it. Then he realized there was no other way to say it. He glanced back at her with his emerald eyes. "Alana, I'm sorry."
Her mouth was slightly ajar. Alana was not expecting an apology from him at all. "Don't apologize.," she told him. "I was being stubborn and foolish. So I'm sorry, Axel. I'm sorry for everything I've done wrong to you."
Axel stopped walking. "Alana, would you prefer walking?" She was surprised by the question but nodded anyway. He let her slide off his back and soon she was walking next to him. He saw the Gummi ship coming into view, wondering if everyone was inside. He stopped walking and Alana stared at him.
"Is something bothering you?" she asked.
"No." Axel took hold of her shoulders and kissed her on the lips. He felt her initial shock but then she leaned into it, gripping his cloak. He released her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her waist. The redhead promised to himself that he would never let her go because she meant everything to him.
A/N: Thanks to halfdemon-kai and FredandGeorgetwinsofC.O.C.A for reviewing. I'm assuming three more chapters left. I'll try to update soon.