-Nax-
I'm awakened by the soft grinding sound of the iron door on the stone floor.
At first, the sound startles me; in the groggy dimness of new consciousness, it's foreign and strange, an invader to my ear. After a few seconds, though, I wake up enough to recognize it, and my heart almost catapults into my throat.
It's time.
I don't even remember falling asleep. All I remember is push-ups; doing push-ups until I was so tired that I couldn't even move anymore; until my palms and arms burned from the effort and my stomach quaked with sickness. Up and down, up and down, unceasing in my movement, and only so I would not give him a chance to speak to me.
Groaning, I push myself up off the floor, turning my face to the door. All of my muscles ache; everything aches and it's a colossal task to even move, but somehow I manage it, shoving myself to my feet and leaning against the wall. Master Luna Diviner is on the other side of the cell, still lying on his stomach on the floor, his arms splayed in front of him like he fell asleep doing push-ups. A momentary surge of sympathy tries to invade my heart, but I resolutely and thoroughly shove it down. No time for this now.
The door slides all the way open, and the two familiar figures slip through, closing it behind them in their familiar manner, leaving just enough space for them to get out.
Only this time, it's for us to get out, too.
"It's time." That's Liseth's voice, quiet and serious. My heart does a double backflip in my chest at the sound of the words.
"What's wrong with Sai?" That's Axel, jerking a thumb at the unconscious Master Luna Diviner.
For a moment, jealousy stabs through my heart. You've only known him for a month. Don't call him Sai.
I shake it away, though, like an irritating fly. I don't care what you call him. I don't care.
"He exercised himself to oblivion, apparently," I say flatly, affecting an uncaring tone of voice.
"Kingdom Hearts," Axel swears, rolling his turquoise eyes. "Idiot." Quickly, he goes over to the Master's side, nudging him with the toe of one boot. "Hey, Sai! Wake up, you bonehead! It's time to go!"
"Axel! Shut up!" Liseth reprimands him, crossing her eyes. "You're going to alert the entire freaking Complex."
"Am not." Axel crosses his eyes back at her, poking the Master with his toe again. "Sai!"
Finally, he moves, blinking several times and then immediately squeezing his eyes shut, his face twisting with pain.
Axel notices, and his expression becomes one of concern. "Hey," he says, looking down at the Master. "Are you okay? You get a muscle ache?"
"My eyes…" Master Luna Diviner is in pain. This much is clear from the strained tone in his voice.
My mind, suddenly and without warning, flashes back to the memory of reading the crystal ball, and when he pulled up his blindfold to look at the object, hurting himself on purpose.
Just so he could look at me, my mind adds in, without my will; I quickly revise the statement, though. Just so he could fool me.
I held him then, comforted him; now, though, I only watch from a distance, my eyes cold and separated from him, barriers around my heart.
He said that time that he saw me falling in love, and that the person I loved would love me back…
I dash wetness out of my eyes and shake my head. So many tricks… and for what? Can't believe I ever trusted him.
"Your eyes?" Axel is looking at him in real worry now. "What's goin' on?"
"Part of my curse," the Master mumbles. "Is the moon full tonight?"
"N-not yet… it's getting there, but… what's that got to—"Axel begins, confused.
"There is a curse on my sight," the Master growls out, his teeth clenched in pain. "I cannot open my eyes during the week of the waxing full moon; if I do, it will cause me an extreme degree of pain."
"Uh…" Axel seems at a loss for words. "What do we do?"
"Blindfold," the Master chokes out. "I need a blindfold. Just some loose cloth; anything."
His pain is managing to tug on my heartstrings, though not by any will of mine; I hope the Assassins can solve this problem fast. The last thing I want is to feel sorry for him.
Axel's eyes flicker around, apparently searching for something to use. His expression is almost panicked; clearly, he's legitimately worried for the Master.
Are you pulling his heartstrings, too? I wonder, watching the redhead. Are you making him feel sorry for you?
"Here," Liseth says, untying the black cord from around her waist and handing it to Axel. "Use this." Her tunic flops a little looser without it, but not much; it's still pretty tightly fitted to her thin, wiry frame.
As Axel takes the makeshift blindfold with a sigh of relief, I take a moment to really study my sister. Her black training uniform clings to her body, though not too tightly; tightly enough, though, that I can see the wires and sinews of muscle in her arms and torso. She is much more athletic-looking than she once was; training has made her a fighter and a survivor. Looking at her face, though, I can see, once again, the price that the fitness cost her. That scar will mar her pretty visage forever, and there are lines of hardness and cynicism in her face that weren't there before.
Still my Liseth, and yet she's also this new girl; Thexsil is there, too.
A sudden though occurs to me as I am studying her, and one that strikes right through to my own heart. What change does she see in me? Does she see Zanna or Naxanz?
"You okay?" Axel's voice pulls me out of my reverie; I glance over in his direction to see that Master Luna Diviner has Liseth's belt cord tied around his eyes, binding them tightly.
"I will be fine now; thank you," he replies shakily, running a hand backward through his hair and exhaling.
"If you're gonna be okay, I suggest we leave now, while we can still beat daylight," Liseth says quietly. "Everyone else will already be in position by now; they're just waiting for us."
I nod, turning away from Master Luna Diviner to look at my sister. "Let's go."
She nods back. "Yes. Let's go."
Slowly, my heart thumping in my chest, I follow her to the door. Axel and the Master walk behind us, and we form a line of four in single file. Liseth pulls the door open, slipping out and holding it steady for the rest of us.
I'm the second one out, greeted by the cool air of the hallway of Block XIII beyond. The first thing that hits me is the smell; or rather, the lack of smell. I've become a little more used to the smell of the privy corner, but an escape from it altogether presents me shockingly with just how bad the cell really smells. I gasp in a deep breath, jolted almost to tears by the smell of stone and earth around me.
Liseth looks at me in sympathy, putting a hand on my shoulder and guiding me to the side so that Axel and the Master can step out. The Master gasps as well; I'm sure that if I could see his eyes, they would be as wide and as watery as mine.
For a moment, I let my enmity go. "We're free," I whisper to him, almost choking up.
"We're free," he agrees, his own voice hoarse.
"Don't put the horse before the carriage, now," Axel warns, shutting the cell door behind us. "We're not outta here yet."
"Axel's right." Liseth nods. "We've still got a way to go, and we've got to get everyone else out of here, too."
I nod, trying to calm my racing, excited pulse. "Right. Let's move, then."
We creep down the hallway, being as silent as we can. The Assassins are better at it than the Master and I, although I don't think we're doing too bad for being complete novices. Our feet slide a little against the stone, but we don't stomp or slap, remaining mostly silent. The cell doors pass us two by two, their lettered pairs climbing up the alphabet this time instead of down.
"Do you know where the others are?" I whisper to Liseth, as we walk.
"There are other Assassin rebels who we've charged with getting the other Diviner prisoners out," she whispers back. "Our friend Toran has the Record code, so he can see where they are in the dungeon, and we can get them all out."
"And then what? We just Corridor out?" I'm liking the sound of this plan very much.
"Not so simple as just that," Axel whispers, cutting in. "You can't Corridor out from the prison level. The energy from the Record disrupts that kind of spell casting. You have to do it from one of the higher levels, like the residential or training level, so that's what we'll be doing; assigning each Assassin and their group of prisoners to a specific lift, then getting them up to the higher levels so they can Corridor out."
"And where are we Corridoring to?" Master Luna Diviner asks quietly.
"It's in the woods outside Radiant Garden," Liseth replies. "We had all the rebels meet there before tonight, so they can all open Corridors to get there."
I'm a little surprised at this. "We're… going outside the city?"
"It's our only option," Axel says, nodding. "If we stay, the Assassins have more of a chance of finding us. Out there, we're better equipped to avoid them and possibly build up a force of retribution."
Retribution. Now there's a word I like the sound of. I nod eagerly, my full support behind this plan.
We emerge out into what they call the Record room, which still appears to be empty except for the huge, glowing, humming book on the dais.
"Where are they?" I wonder, glancing around at the larger lettered hallways that lead off into the other wings of the immense prison floor.
"They'll be coming," Liseth assures me. She pulls back her ebony sleeve to reveal a timekeeper, though it's nowhere near as intricate as Pyra's timekeeper from back in Maison Etoile; it's a simple device with only four hands and a basic design of stars on it. Still, my eyes widen in slight surprise.
She smiles at me. "I have generous friends. They're due at one A.M.; that's the time we set for the escape."
I nod, glancing at the timepiece and reading it almost instantly, as I've been trained to do. Its simple hands display the time for me to see easily; 12:50. Ten minutes until the rest of the escapees are due to arrive.
I tap my foot impatiently against the stone as we wait, making a soft pad-pad-padding sound with my dirty toes. I can feel the shivers of anxiety creeping up and down my spine; fear that at any moment, some Assassin could walk in and discover us just standing here.
No Assassins come, though; that only serves to make my pulse speed faster, my fear growing the longer we stand here in silence.
When we finally do hear the sound of footsteps, my heart almost jumps into my mouth, and I have to fight to keep back a shriek of alarm. The footsteps are coming from Hall C, and they're getting louder by the moment. We all turn to face the hallway; the Assassins' hands rest lightly on the hilts of their weapons, in Liseth's case, or, in Axel's case, his hips. He doesn't carry a weapon that I can see, but I'm not bothered by this. I'm sure he has one somewhere.
Gradually, I make out figures emerging from the gloom of the hallway. Two Assassins are in front, and following them are two more figures.
Familiar figures.
"Oh, Kingdom Hearts," I breathe softly, staring as Pyra and Emi follow the two hooded Assassins into the Record room. I haven't seen my two best friends in over a month, and it's shocking how different they look. They've both lost a significant amount of weight, especially Pyra, who looks skinny in the extreme. Their hair is matted, dirty, and tangled like mine, and their eyes are sunken into hollows in their faces, seeming to devour most of their cheeks with their hugeness. I can see their bones clearly against their cheeks and against their arms, though I can see a little bit of muscle, too; they've clearly been told to exercise, like we have.
"Pyra! Emi!" I call softly, not daring to raise my voice any further, lest I alert anyone else.
I needn't have worried; they hear me, and their faces break into relieved smiles when they look over and see me, running about as fast as they can manage over to me, where two hugs are delivered around my neck.
"Nax!" Pyra exclaims, and I flinch visibly. Her voice is taut and hoarse with lack of water, seeming like a whisper of air where once it was strong and loud and brash.
"Pyra," I murmur, hugging them back. "Em… I'm so glad to see you."
"We're glad to see you, too." Emi's voice is a little better than Pyra's, but not much. "Where did they put you?"
"They put me in Block Thirteen with the Master," I reply, my expression twisting slightly. "What about you guys?"
"We were in Hall C, cell one-oh-seven, apparently," Emi replies. "It was only the two of us. No bathroom, gross food. I'm assuming you were treated to the same perks?" Her tone is bitter and sarcastic.
Before I can make a reply, however, Axel's stunned voice comes from behind me. "Holy Oblivion… Phyra?"
Pyra's eyes widen slowly, and she turns around, stepping deliberately, as if she cannot believe what she is hearing. Catching sight of Axel, though, her mouth drops open in shock.
"Lea?" She sounds almost disbelieving, even going so far as to rub her eyes, like she is hallucinating. Emi, Liseth and I just stare, thoroughly confused by the whole thing.
Grinning broadly, Axel steps forward and yanks Pyra into a tight hug, almost squeezing the life out of her. She gives a slight, croaky little laugh, hugging him back weakly. "Hey—! Too hard, you moron!"
"…What is going on?" I can't keep the question in, utterly dumbfounded. I had no idea that Pyra even knew any Assassins.
Axel lets Pyra go, turning to face us and grinning. "My little cousin's here, is what! Phyra Hokama!"
Everything makes sense in a sudden flash; I make the connection. Pyra and Axel are both from House Hokama; they must be related in at least some distant way. I just had no idea they would be this close.
"Lea, what are you doing here?" Pyra is massaging her ribs, though she still looks residually pleased from the hug. More Assassins and Diviner prisoners are beginning to stream in around us, in fours and fives, but we pay them no mind.
"Who is Lea?" Liseth sounds confused, her eyebrows raised.
Axel snickers. "I'm Lea. Name change. It's pretty common, huh, Thex?"
Liseth rolls her eyes. "I'm calling you Lea from now on, bonehead."
Axel laughs. "What? Why?"
Pyra cuts in. "Wait, what do they call you instead?"
"Axel," the redheaded young man replies, with a wink. "Got it memorized?"
"Axel? Like… a triple axel? Like figure skating?" Pyra giggles. "What the heck, Lea?"
"It sounded cool to me!" He sticks his tongue out at her. "What about you? Are they still calling you Phyra?"
"Pyra, actually," she says, grinning at him. "Dropped an 'H' on the way in."
"Pyra. Like, firestarting Pyra." He smirks. "That fits."
"Oh, shut up. Like I was the one who actually initiated all those firestarting events." She socks him in the shoulder, and they both laugh.
The closeness between them sends an ache right through my core; I miss being like this with Liseth. Pyra and Axel, even though their names have changed, seem to be able to pick right up wherever they left off when they were separated.
Why can't I do that with my own sister…?
Another Assassin seems to materialize beside us then, seemingly from nowhere. He pulls back his mask to reveal the other familiar face from that first day; the Rain boy with shoulder-length cerulean hair and intelligent amber eyes.
"It's one," he says, addressing both Liseth and Axel. "Everyone's here. If we're going, we need to do it now."
"Thanks, Toran," Axel says, nodding. "We're ready. Tell them." He turns back to Pyra as Toran nods and heads back off into the crowd.
"Stay with us," he says to his cousin; and to Emi and me, apparently. "We'll be at the front."
The three of us nod, as does Master Luna Diviner; I'd completely forgotten he was here, he was so silent. We form into a small group, standing silently as the message begins to ripple around the gathered ranks surrounding us. Eventually, everyone is gathered together, the soft buzz of voices fading away into silence.
"Let's move," Axel says. "You've all got your hallway assignments memorized; let's do this fast, silent and deadly and get out as quick as possible. Diviners, do exactly what your guides say; don't ask questions. Save that for when we get out. Questions?" He gives a sarcastic smile, which is greeted by a wave of silence. "Thought not. Let's move."
