A/N: Look, I know you are all probably playing KH3. I know I've been playing it too. But it would mean a lot to me if you took time to read this new chapter! I promise it will be worth your time to check this out. Enjoy, my readers!
Chapter 20: I'm in way too deep, aren't I?
"I am in so much trouble."
"No shit. The real question is, what are you going to do about it?"
Jason didn't really have an answer to that as he looked at the recent addition to his mental space. The picture on the stained glass had become much clearer, and many of the cracks had receded. Even more alarming was that one of the circles had filled in with Larxene's face. She stared up at him with her signature haughty expression, and the circle pulsated with green energy.
For quite some time, Jason had been in denial of the feelings he was developing for a certain female Nobody. After all, there was every reason in the world why Jason shouldn't be having such feelings, given his situation. As a human, though, he knew that the heart wants what the heart wants, and it simply couldn't be helped. The changes to the Station of Delusion were decisive proof.
So Jason decided that the least he could do was embrace these changes, and stepped right into the circle of green energy. Jason felt a great rush of power, and his staff changed again. This time, the green stripes on the staff were given a yellow accent.
"It seems your power this time is the Chemist's Salve," Dark Jason said, his yellow eyes flashing with interest. "Your healing spells are now 1.5 times more effective, and even more curiously, you now have a resistance to lightning magic."
That was curious. It seemed as though Jason's powers were responding to his heart, adapting to his desires. He still didn't know their limits, or even more importantly...
"You've been in here for a while now," Jason said to Dark Jason. "But you've done nothing but give me advice on my powers, even if you are averse to them. Why are you here? What is your goal?"
"I am you," Dark Jason said, his voice dripping with malice. "You must find the answer to those questions yourself. However, I will say this much. You will never know so long as you don't know who that is." The shadow being pointed to one of the circles still obscured on the stained glass.
Jason approached it and looked at it more carefully. From what little Jason could see, it was a girl with long hair. It caused a memory to resurface in his head, of the dark-haired girl that he remembered before. Whoever this mysterious girl was, she was clearly important. It would perhaps be for the best if he asked Eileen about her.
Meanwhile, Eileen was preparing for another excursion into The World That Never Was. She was well-fed, had exercised herself into a fit state, and was currently taking the tram to the town's exit. Once she got off, Eileen would make her way to her hideout at the outskirts.
At least, that was the plan. As soon as she disembarked the tram, Olette's smiling face greeted her. "Where are you going, Eileen?"
"Just out of town to take care of some business. It shouldn't take too long, so watch the town while I'm gone," Eileen said, doing her best to get around the young girl.
"What kind of business do you have?" Hayner asked as he also blocked Eileen's way. "Surely there isn't a reason you can't tell us."
"Well there isn't, but I also don't have to tell you kids anything that I don't want to," Eileen said firmly, gently pushing Hayner out of her way.
"Maybe the reason you aren't telling us anything is because you know we'll want to be a part of whatever it is you're doing," Pence said, stepping forward to trap Eileen between himself and his other two friends. "Because it has something to do with Jason and Selena, right?"
If she really wanted to, Eileen could force her way out of this bind and make a run for it. But at this point that wouldn't make a difference - the trio would just keep looking into things on their own, and who knew what trouble they would get up to. So it would be bad to keep them in the dark in the long run.
"Fine. I will at least tell you what's going on. You can't follow me where I need to go, though." Eileen sighed because she had let herself be cornered by these kids. "That's just one of the many things I need to explain."
Now that Eileen had surrendered, the three friends allowed her to lead the way. Eileen took them outside of Twilight Town's borders, and Pence and Olette couldn't help the nervous glances they cast at each other. This was the first time they had gone so far away from their home. Hayner was also nervous, but didn't let it show. He prided himself for being the pillar of strength for his friends.
Eventually the group arrived at Eileen's hideout, and the four of them squeezed inside the cramped space. Eileen turned to face the group, her expression the most serious of them all. "I must warn you three now. This is your last chance. Once you learn what actually happened to Jason, there will be no going back."
"We were always ready to accept whatever consequences would come from this," Hayner said, a determined look on his face. "No way I'll turn back now!"
"I know I'm not the most useful person. But I still want to find a way to contribute to finding my missing friends," Pence said. He still looked nervous but his voice was steady. "So I want to learn whatever I can."
"And I have to make sure these two boys don't get in over their heads," Olette said, exasperated by her friends' behavior but going along with it all the same. "I'm not going to leave them alone at a time like this."
Eileen expected this response, but still wasn't happy with the direction this was going. It looked like she had no other choice, though. So Eileen began to explain everything she knew about Jason's disappearance...
In the halls of the empty castle, various dog Heartless wandered around, sniffing objects idly. That is, until their peaceful occupation was shattered by large bolts of lighting crashing down from nowhere, wiping them out in puffs of smoke. Larxene came zipping through not long after this, looking pleased with herself.
"Well, the good news about your rampage is that if there are natives here, they'll be on their way now," Jason said, following close behind the Nobody.
"Oh? And what's the bad news?" Larxene said, sporting a disinterested look on her face.
"They probably won't be greeting us with tea and cakes," Jason said, with his usual weary grin.
Larxene rolled her eyes. She couldn't care less about how the natives greeted them - dealing with that was Jason's job anyways. At least they didn't send her here alone. Or with Demyx.
In comparison, Jason was far from the worst companion for a mission. As he proved the other day, he had some decent healing powers. Sure, he was pathetic in a lot of other areas, but as long as he remained useful in one aspect Larxene didn't mind his presence.
Even though Larxene found herself seeing Jason a lot lately. They were being paired on missions more often, and when they weren't on missions Larxene saw him while they plotted the Organization's downfall. Larxene would normally see the human as a nuisance to be tolerated.
At least, until she started noticing changes in Jason's behavior. Most conversations between them recently had the human's face turning bright red as he became even more susceptible to the Nobody's flirting. It was very entertaining, and perhaps even adorable? It did not interfere with Larxene's plans, and that's what was important.
"Did we come here for nothing again?" Larxene asked as the mission continued for a half hour with no event. Her temper was growing foul as this mission began to look like a waste of her time. "Because if we did, I swear I will take it up with Saix."
"If we do, let me help you," Jason said, half jokingly. "Maybe we could make our dirty business later easier if you do."
Larxene was about to answer this with a sarcastic comment about Jason's refusal to dirty his hands - except for the sound of footsteps coming down from the upper floor.
Instead, she said, "It's all you, Jason" and pushed him towards the stairs. Technically, Larxene was told to stay close this mission - but no one said exactly how close.
Jason put on his most welcoming expression in preparation for whoever was arriving. As it turned out, it was a brunette woman wearing a simple blue dress. After an initial startled exclamation, she looked at the pair curiously.
"Who are you and what are you doing in this castle?" the woman asked.
"Don't mind me! I'm just here to watch the approaching train wreck," Larxene said with a small wave from her spot leaning against a pillar.
"Yes, please don't mind her. My name is Jason, and this is my partner. Perhaps you'll get to know her better soon," Jason said, readying his usual sales pitch for the Organization.
"My name is Belle. So you two are partners," Belle said, smiling warmly. "Yes, I can definitely tell."
"A-anyways, I'm here to see if there are any inhabitants in this castle," Jason said, looking away from Belle as his face turned bright red. Larxene raised her eyebrows at this. They were partners on this mission, so there was no reason for that kind of reaction. Really, humans got worked up over nothing.
(Which didn't explain the smallest twinge in her gut at the word "partners", but as Nobodies didn't feel it was easy to ignore it.)
"Well, I live in this castle. But no one else ever comes here. Why were you searching for people in here?" Belle asked.
"I can't imagine there are many resources for people to live off here," Jason said with genuine concern on his face. "So I am here on behalf of an organization to locate inhabitants and offer our assistance if necessary."
Larxene couldn't help but smirk. Jason definitely nailed being able to lie creatively. What he said was true - he had been sent here to track down anyone who lived in this world. What Jason wasn't saying was that he was looking for people to join their rebellion.
"Well, I can't leave this castle," Belle said, darting a concerned look at the upper floor. "I'm staying here for a special reason. I assure you, I can handle myself."
"What would be worth staying in a dump like this for?" Larxene stood up and uncrossed her arms, unable to help herself for becoming interested. It seemed incomprehensibly stupid to the Nobody that Belle would want to live in a place like this.
"Well if you must know, I'm here because I took the place of my father," Belle said. "And I am hoping to reason with the master of this castle."
Jason's eyes widened at that, and Larxene knew the negotiations were ending here. He was letting his emotions get the better of him, and Larxene wanted to roll her eyes. That was definitely the main drawback of working with a human so often, given how susceptible Jason was to sob stories.
"If you need any help with your task, keep us in mind," Jason said. "If we help you, then you can help us too. We'll be back to check on you, so keep safe until then."
"But if you get yourself hurt or killed, then we aren't doing anything for someone as incompetent as you," Larxene added, glaring at the human woman. "So don't do anything stupid."
Amazingly enough, Belle returned the look with a glare of her own. "If I were killed, then you wouldn't need to do anything for me anyway, would you?" she retorted. "As I said before, I can handle myself. Though I seriously doubt anyone here would do me physical harm," she added, and a new expression crossed her face that neither Jason nor Larxene could read. Then the woman turned her head, and the conversation was closed. "Now if you'll both excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. I suggest you go back where you came from. Your services aren't needed here."
With that, Belle turned around and stomped off back upstairs. Larxene could feel a building fury at the sheer nerve of a human like her to give Larxene such rude treatment. Luckily, she had Jason nearby to blow off some steam. "You really didn't do a good job convincing her of anything, Jason. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"If this woman's been able to fend for herself in this place for this long, then she's tougher than she looks," Jason said, making no effort to step away from Larxene. "It will take a while to win her over."
"Well, you're getting your punishment now!" As Larxene moved closer, she was ready to shoot lightning magic at the human - but then, she noticed something that made her stop in her tracks. Lightning was crackling all over Larxene, and some of it was getting near Jason. As the lightning came within an inch of Jason, it weakened. "How- how are you doing that?" Larxene asked in disbelief.
Jason looked down at himself curiously. "Huh. That's a good question. I guess my body has gotten used to being around you. I didn't know that was possible."
For some reason, those words were eliciting a strange reaction from Larxene, causing a shudder to run up her spine. "Tch, you wanted to avoid being punished so badly? Then I'll hold off, for now. But screw up like this again and I'll get creative."
"You know, that almost sounds like a good thing." The moment Jason said it, he covered his mouth with his hands, his face going light pink. Then he put the hood up on his cloak, heading back to where they would RTC.
Was that… Jason's attempt at flirting? Larxene had to throw her head back and laugh. At the end of the day, this was what made missions with him enjoyable - he had yet to bore her. Shaking her head with an amused expression, Larxene made her way to the Dark Corridor.
And did her best not to think of the second shudder going up her spine.
"That's everything I know of that's happened regarding Jason, and Selena as well."
Hayner, Pence, and Olette took a few minutes to process Eileen's words. Having personally encountered these "Heartless" made it easier, but it was still a lot to learn at once.
"Is there really nothing we can do to help?" Hayner asked, lifting both hands in a full body shrug.
"Well, there is something. Watch over me while I'm gone," Eileen said. "As much as I hate to admit it, I would feel more comfortable having someone here to protect my body."
"Then we will make sure to protect you with everything we have," Pence said, a determined look in the normally calm boy's eyes.
"Hopefully, you can get Jason and Selena back to us soon. So we can all be together again, like we used to," Olette said wistfully.
Eileen nodded, taking the teenagers' wishes to heart. "That's the plan. Hopefully Jason hasn't got into too much trouble while I've been gone."
A/N: The beautiful dialogue that Belle has is from the mind of my amazing editor, KarateKairi. So if you like DtTP, and you love Belle, then thank my editor! The two of us are working hard together to bring new great chapters to you all. See you next time! Please review.