Whoa, I am INCREDILBY sorry, guys! I never meant to take so long to update. I got caught up in a new story idea, and had to get that out of my system first before my Muses locked me in a nearby closet. But I was finally able to write this chapter, so enjoy! I will have another update tomorrow.
Thank you for all the reviews! I love reading them!
I own nothing but Rianxan.
The Spirited Reverie
By
LadyDarkDreamer
Chapter 25:
Several weeks passed, and Ria found herself spending more time either alone, or with Demyx or Larxene when she wasn't on some random reconnaissance mission. She was beginning to hate these pointless missions Xemnas was constantly sending her on. Returning to the Castle only ground more on her nerves, because she rarely saw Zexion. Xemnas had given Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, and some man named Xaldin the task of testing Namine's memory skills. As a result, all four of the scientists confined themselves to the basements, conducting experiments, questioning Namine, and the like.
Sighing, Ria pulled on a black tank top and brushed off her light blue pajama pants. They were baggy and hung low on her hips, while the top had a silver skull and crossbows on the bottom left of it. Her sneakers where already on her feet, and she shut her closet rather loudly. She had just finished returned from a mission, giving Xemnas her report, and showering. Her wet hair was back in a clip, and she was intent on heading to the kitchen.
Opening a dark portal, she appeared in the empty room and set about making a sandwich.
She missed Zexion, it was that simple. She hated the fact that he was almost always in the basement, trying to unlock the key to Namine's powers. Ria knew it was for the benefit of the entire Organization, but still…
Nearly every night now, she slept in her own room because Zexion was sleeping at odd hours, or not at all. She had taken to living off sandwiches, canned soup, and fresh fruit because she couldn't cook to save her life. Until now, Ria hadn't actually realized how much she liked and depended on Zexion's amazing cooking. And she hadn't realized how much she enjoyed having someone to curl up with while she slept.
"Let me guess, you have some sort of really casual date after you eat? Perhaps with a certain Cloaked Schemer?"
Surprised, Ria turned quickly to find Larxene standing in the entrance. The woman smirked, and walked purposefully into the room, opening the fridge and taking out an apple. She watched Ria as she grabbed an individual bag of chips from one of the bottom cabinets. Ria emptied the chips onto the plate her sandwich was on, and sat at the table with her bottle of water. When she glanced up at Larxene, the blonde came over and sat across from her.
"So, am I right?" she asked.
"What?" Ria said, giving her a confused look. Larxene just shook her head.
"Do you have a date with Zexion, or not?"
"Oh," she replied, gazing down at her boring dinner for a moment. "No, I don't. He's still in the basement, as far as I know."
Larxene snorted, and laughed. "Damn men, always obsessed with their work."
Ria didn't answer, and took a bite out of her sandwich. She really didn't want to hear Larxene's rantings, but there was nothing better for her to do. Besides, having someone to talk to was better than hanging out by herself. And Larxene was the only other female in the Organization.
Suddenly inspired, Ria swallowed, drank some of her water, and looked up at the other woman. "So, Larxene," she asked, "Do you have interest in any of the Organization men?"
Larxene watched her for a moment, and smiled. "I do, actually. Care to trade stories?"
"Excuse me?" Ria asked, confused.
"You tell me about you and Zexy, and I'll tell you about me and my current male interest."
Frowning, Ria considered this idea for a moment. For one, this was Larxene she was talking to, the sadist of the Organization; she wasn't sure she wanted to hear any story about Larxene's love life. It was bound to be scary, and possibly disturbing. Then again, she had brought up the subject, and she was a little curious about why Larxene was interested in Marluxia.
So…
"Alright, what do you want to know?" Ria finally asked, eating a few of her chips.
Larxene's smile widened. "Okay, first off, is Zexion a good kisser?"
Ria froze for a moment as the question sunk in, and gave Larxene a look. "Um, yeah, I guess so."
"That's a very detailed answer," the blond replied.
"I didn't know I was supposed to give exact details," she countered, "So, are you really, well, with Marluxia?"
"I am. How did you find out?"
Ria smiled innocently and raised her palms in defensive. "I hear things," was all she said.
Larxene laughed, and immediately asked, "Alright, next question: have you spent the night in Zexion's room yet?"
At this, Ria looked at her in surprise, and felt a blush crawling its way smoothly across her nose and cheeks. She took another bite of her sandwich, and glared at Larxene as the woman laughed again. Yes, Larxene was truly a sadist.
"Are you going to answer, or not?" she asked.
"Answer what?" a familiar male voice interrupted. Ria turned to the doorway, and suppressed the urge to jump up and pounce on Zexion. He was watching both women with a curious expression, eyes moving from one to the other. Instead, Ria allowed herself to smile, and put down the sandwich.
After a considerable amount of silence, Zexion finally said, "Never mind, I don't want to know. Ria, I was wondering if you would come to the basement with me?"
Ria watched him for a moment, frowning, but left her food on the table and walked into the hallway.
"What's up?"
Zexion shook his head, and took her hand. Larxene smirked at them.
"Have fun!" she called, as they disappeared into a dark portal.
Ria ignored the comment, happy to be walking beside Zexion as he led them through unfamiliar corridors. She really had missed him.
"Zexion?"
"Hmm?"
Ria shook her head, and leaned a little closer to him as they walked. "I'm not entirely sure why you would want me to come to the basement," she explained, "Aren't you guys still running tests with Namine?"
Zexion halted for a second, watching her. "Yes, and that is exactly why we need you," he said as they started walking again.
"Need me? For what?"
"This will sound a little far-fetched, but…you element is spirit, and lies with the power and manifestation of your thoughts," he explained, stopping as they came to a door. He rested his free had on the door, and continued, "I thought that maybe you could help us, and help Namine focus her energy. Memory is part of the mind, and should be connected to thought in some way."
Ria bit her lip, still not completely understanding. "Zexion, I can't do more than move things and project my thoughts into the air. How can I possibly help Namine with her ability?"
"I'm not entire sure, it was just an idea," he replied, "And besides, I missed you."
She smiled a little at hearing this, but before she could reply, Zexion and pulled her close and kissed her. She was caught off guard, but quickly returned the kiss, resting her arms around his neck and his hands fell to her waist. The kiss didn't last long, though, as Zexion pulled away. He smiled at her, a smile Ria could have sworn only a male could have, and opened the door to the lab, where his colleagues and Namine were waiting.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Find anything worthwhile in there, Roxas?"
Glancing up from the book in his hands, Roxas nodded. Axel shrugged and returned to spinning one of his chakrams, watching the boy as he read.
The plan had been successful. He and Axel had had plenty of time to search through Xemnas's personal library. Roxas had be hoping to find some old history volumes or something of the like, but the ones that Axel had managed to spot had been golden. The redhead had found Xemnas's journals, documenting nearly every day from the time the Organization was formed, to present day. While Axel had teleported to the library to find a few look-alike volumes, Roxas had flipped through them trying to find the date he had joined. Having found it, and anything else that looked interesting, Axel replaced the missing spaces with books that looked similar, and they left.
Roxas had spent the last few weeks carefully reading and rereading any entry with details about himself or the supposed Keyblade master. He still couldn't remember anything about his past, but he was beginning to understand.
And he was also beginning to hate Xemnas for keeping all of this from him.
Didn't he have the right to know?
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Rolling over, Ria snuggled against the warm body she found beside her. Letting out a breath of contentment, she was happy to let sleep take her again. Her mind drifted, and she was nearly asleep when someone suddenly sat up and threw back the covers.
Her eyes snapped open, and she brought her knees up to her stomach as the cold air met her bare feet. Sitting up, she fixed Zexion with a hazy glare as she ran a hand through her hair and pulled her shirt down further. Cold air was the enemy right now, and the skin on her stomach was not going to meet it if she could help it.
Zexion glanced over at her, and grabbed a cloak sitting on the back of the chair near the window. Throwing it in her direction, he headed for his dresser.
"Zexion," she said, her voice serious, "What, the hell, are you doing?"
As she rubbed her eyes and watched him, he laughed.
"We slept late, Ria, and Xemnas made sure that everyone knew we had a meeting this morning. We've got about five minutes to look decent and get there," he explained, glancing over at her. "I suggest you wake up and get dressed. Quickly."
This woke her up, and Ria cursed and rolled off the bed. Heading for the closet, she searched around on the floor for the few folded clothes she had taken to leaving in Zexion's suite. About a quarter of her clothes she kept here, simply because she was too lazy to teleport to her room to change outfits most days. Grabbing a pair of black jeans and a random shirt, she changed fast and left her pajamas on the ground.
Picking up the single pair of boots she kept there, she managed to pull one on while standing. She lost her balance and fell over, though, and pulled on the other boot from where she sat. Scrambling to stand, she pulled on her cloak and zipped it up. Zexion tossed her something, and she only discovered after catching it that it was one of her hair clips. She held it in her teeth, sweeping her hair back and twisting it three times loosely before using the clip to keep it up.
Zexion was already dressed, so he opened the portal to darkness. They appeared in the meeting room to find everyone else already in their seats. Larxene was smirking, and a few of the other members were hiding smiles and laughter. Just as Ria and Zexion took their seats, though, did Xemnas enter the room.
He glanced at everyone, coming to stand at the head of the table. He rested his palms on the white surface, and started speaking.
Ria listened intently, and mentally sighed as she realized that Xemnas was just telling them that the experiments with Namine were progressing nicely. It had only been a week since Zexion had brought her to the basement, and Ria knew every detail of what had happened during that time. She had helped with some of the tests, and chatted openly with Namine about many things when they weren't busy. The girl really was intelligent, and Ria enjoyed talking with her. She had even been surprised when she caught Namine drawing a picture of her.
Xemnas's mantra continued. They needed to wait patiently during this time, to see how the experiments progressed. This would surely bring them closer to the goal of obtaining their hearts…
Only half paying attention, Ria was surprised when Xemnas ended the meeting.
Well, this was certainly worth getting out of bed, Ria thought sarcastically, directing it to Zexion.
She glanced over at him as everyone began to stand up, and he smiled at her. She stood up, stretching a bit as she circled around her chair. Zexion would probably agree with her plan to go back to bed and sleep some more. If not, she'd find a way to persuade him.
"You were nearly late, Catty. Busy?"
About to walk around the table, Ria froze. Turning slowly, she found Axel standing near the wall with his arms crossed. His eyes were full of amusement.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't call me that, Axel," she said, slowly and carefully. It had been a long time since Axel had noticed her presence, and her temper towards him had cooled somewhat since then. Plus, she had met Roxas, and he and Axel were close. She had left Axel alone because she didn't want to lose Roxas as a friend.
"Ooh, she's already making demands," he said, uncrossing his arms and waving his hands near his head.
"Come on, Axel, leave her alone."
Ria glanced briefly over at Demyx, reminding herself to thank him later. Roxas just stood to the side, looking uneasy.
But Axel didn't even acknowledge that Demyx had spoken. He took a step towards Ria, smirking.
"What were you up to before the meeting, Catty? Spending some quality time with Zexy?"
Ria felt her hands tighten into fits at her sides, and set her teeth to keep from grinding them together in annoyance. She knew it would be better to ignore Axel, so she turned and started to walk away.
"Because, you know, I really doubt he has any feelings for you. Some members of this Organization tend to get lonely, and any new additions are considered fair game," Axel continued, and Ria did her best to tune out his voice, even though his words stung. She knew there was no truth behind it, though. Zexion would never do that to anyone, especially her. "You may be new here, but you really don't belong. You're small and weak, even if you can take down Larxene in a practice fight. Real life isn't practice, Catty, and you would definitely die in the first real life-or-death battle you were forced into. At least if you died, the Organization would be less one incompetent girl. And then Zexy wouldn't have to bother telling you it was over when he got tired of you."
Ria stopped walking at that moment, shaking a little as she tried to ignore her anger. She was vaguely aware of Zexion coming towards her, but she shut her eyes tight as Axel spoke again:
"No one lacking a heart wants to deal with emotional crap, Catty."
That snapped her. Ria's eyes opened in a flash, and she summoned her fans as she whirled around. She let her power carry one weapon across the room and Axel barely dodged it. Jumping onto the table, Ria flipped over the last chair and immediately took the offensive as Axel's weapons appeared in his hands. He danced away from her attack, creating fire in a circle around them as he blocked her weapons. A few quick cuts slashed Axel's arms and back, and Ria sidestepped as Axel threw his chakrams.
Her instincts took over, and she attack when she felt it was the right time and blocked when she had too. Dropping to one knee, she crossed her fans to protect her face as Axel slammed on of his chakrams downward. She pushed back with all her strength, only to hit the ground as a fire attack seared her right side. She managed to half-roll away, flinching as she felt one of the weapon points bite into her lower back.
She turned, slashing upward, only to have her attacked blocked. Ria was knocked back by a chakram sweep paired with a fire attack, and recovered in enough time to only parry Axel's next attack. As she regained her balance, Axel disappeared from view. Leaping straight into the air, Ria used her magic to keep her poised there for a second, and dropped down quickly as she spotted the redhead. She landed beside Axel, dropping down and sweeping his legs out from under him. The pyro leapt to his feet, though, and Ria crossed her fans and pushed Axel back as far as she could.
Before he could move, she used her magic to stop his movements and threw her fans into the air. The sharp blades separated, and Ria gestured with her hands, causing the blades to embed themselves in and out of the marble ceiling. Just as Axel started to move, chucks of different sizes began to fall from the ceiling. Ria didn't let up on the destruction, even as she heard her name being called. She continued until there was a very large hole that she could see the above room in, and growled in frustration and the marble finally started to topple down on Axel. She lost her focus as something barreled into her, though, the breath knocked from her lungs as she hit the ground hard.
Looking up, Axel raised both chakrams and was surrounded by a column of hot fire at the stones covered him.
Oohh, cliffhanger! Sorry guys, I had to end it that way. xD Axel's fate shall be revealed in tomorrow's update! And before everyone goes all "why is Axel being mean to her?!" I just wanted to say that I didn't like writing that stuff so much. I love Axel as a character, and I will hint that he and Ria will eventually come to a truce. The question is, when??
Reviews?
I finally got around to outlining the rest of the story, and so far, I'm guessing there might be about ten more chapters, maybe a few more. I can't be sure, though, because more ideas could randomly pop up. Thanks for reading!