Another chapter! Right now, I'm watching The Nightmare Before Christmas...I keep expecting Sora or Roxas to appear out of nowhere and start talking to Jack...

Enjoy!~


Chapter 29: I guess what I have to say is thank you.

I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.

~William Shakespeare

Emi's rib hadn't actually been broken, just badly fractured. Vexen gave her some green liquid that he called a 'potion' and told her as soon as she took this then her rib would be fixed in a couple of hours. Emi had taken it immediately but her ribs still hurt, and being herself she ignored it but Vexen said it would pass. Zexion stayed by her the entire time, watching over everything that Vexen and Emi did and said.

As soon as Emi had awoken she had been told about what had happened, since she couldn't recall anything that had happened after had been dumped in the pool. Emi had smiled at Zexion when she heard about how she had threatened Axel, causing him to blush a very nice shade of tomato red. Her rib seemed to be healing fine but it was taking to long for her, her own impatience getting in the way.

Before her ribs could really heal they had another test. Zexion tried to push the date back, but the judges wouldn't budge. So Emi and Zexion showed up and even with a hurt rib they still managed to win. At the very end it was revealed that they were one of the final three, that everyone else had either been disqualified or eliminated. They knew that Kairi and Sora hadn't been eliminated to, and knew automatically that they were going to have to face those two. They went back to the castle with heavy hearts, knowing already that they would win, but hid their knowledge well and as far as they could tell no one else could tell of their dilemma.

It was amazing how time went by really slowly. Her rib did heal in a couple of hours but after that they had nothing else to do. They did everything from training to just watching the fuzzy television. But nothing seemed to ease their boredom and anticipation for the next and final test.

When Emi finally got a brief moment to herself she returned the journals to their rightful hidden place in the library. There was no sign that anybody had been in that part of the library since she had discovered it. She placed them on their shelf, in the order that they had come in as well. Emi took her time, looking around in the room, sitting down in the desk that still had the book that told her about everything. The book opened, but it was blank the pages had not a word on them. She sighed as she closed the book again, instead choosing to look at the other parts of the small circular room. It seemed there was nothing else in the room, just those journals and that table with the book on it.

The fire that she had wasn't enough light for her, so she ignited another one from her palm, letting it rest there instead of joining with the other. Emi looked upon every inch of the wall, she had this feeling that something else was hidden in this room, but she couldn't find it. But as she looked along the walls she noticed a very thin line against the wall, it went right up to the ceiling and disappeared. About five feet to the right was another line, almost invisible that Emi had to feel to know where it was. She made the fire grow a little bigger, so that she could see better.

Emi placed her fire on the floor behind her, allowing her to see the wall but have both of her hands free. She placed both of her hands on the wall and pushed with all her might. She felt the wall give in about half a foot, then stop. When she took a step back the wall slid to the left, revealing a very dark hallway covered with dust.

Emi picked up her fire again and headed down the hallway. She was excited and nervous at the same time, amazed that just when she thought she had gotten all that she could out of that room, it had given up another secret. The hallway was so dark she could barely see a foot in front of her face. But she still kept walking, unwilling to give up this new entertainment. With one hand in from of her and one hand trailing along the wall she kept moving forward one slow step at a time. Eventually Emi came across a doorway, it wasn't locked so she just walked right in. Inside the room, Emi searched for a light switch. Amazingly enough there was one, flicking it on Emi was revealed to what was once a study. Extinguishing her fire, she looked around the room.

It was a light pink, almost pink color. There were desks along the wall, with papers scattered over every inch possible as well. There was something so different about this room, something that made Emi feel like she was an unholy presence in a sanctuary. She ignored it, and moved onwards. Besides all the papers, there was nothing else that captured her interest. Instead she found herself staring at the paintings on the walls.

There was one picture to every wall, totaling four pictures in all. One was a picture of a young man, obviously in his early twenties. He wore a white lab coat, with a dark purple collar underneath it. The most noticeable thing about him though was that he had white hair, it looked almost identical to Xemnas, except it was shorter. He seemed to be looking at something off the canvas, but at the same time he looked as if he wasn't there, like he was lost in his thoughts. He looked oddly familiar to her, as if they had either met before.

The next painting to the right was extremely odd as well. But at the same time it was very beautiful. It was of a beautiful town, a castle sitting off in the distance, and fountains everywhere. The castle was the highest point in the picture, with a small town surrounding it. The entire place had fountains had flowers on it, making the whole town took like a collection of beautiful reds, oranges, blues and every color in between. It was so beautiful and sunny, like it was encased in pure light. It looked peaceful, like nothing bad had ever happened and like nothing was ever going to. This painting had a caption though, a golden plaque underneath it said, 'Radiant Garden, where the story began.'

Though it was a beautiful painting, Emi's curiosity was getting the better of her and she moved on to the next painting. She blinked in surprise and shock at the painting. It was of the Goddess herself, Selene. Selene looked the exact same as when Emi had seen her, even though the painting was obviously much older than she was. Selene still wore her long flowing robes; her hair was the same to with long flowing, brown curls. She even had no shoes on, just like every time that Emi saw her. Selene was smiling gently, lovingly, giving a sense of love and protection to whoever was looking at the painting. And Emi was no exception. Behind her was the moon in its heart shape, almost looking like a halo with the way it shaped its way around her with a gentle light. There were stars as well, but they couldn't compare to the moon and Selene herself.

There was just one more painting left. It was of three people, like they were taking a picture. It was with two boys and one girl, the girl was in the middle and she had one boy on each side of her. On the right a boy had bright golden hair, exactly like Roxas' hair, he even had clothes that looked the same, except on his left shoulder there was some sort of metal thing resting there. In the middle, the girl, had amazingly bright blue hair. She even wore black and blue; her upper arms had these sleeves on them, going down to mid palm, where she had fingerless gloves. She had a smile on her face like she was having the time of her life. On the other side of her was a boy. He had brown hair, and was extremely muscled. He offered a small smile, but his eyes wandered towards the girl next to him. One could easily tell that he loved her; he even had his arm around her waist. This painting had a golden plaque as well; it said 'Ventus, Aqua, and Terra.'

Those names…where have I heard them before? Emi thought. Then it dawned on her. Those were the names than Xemnas had told them about. These were the three that stopped Xehanort when he went crazy making all the vampires. Ventus, Aqua and Terra had given up everything for what they knew was right. Emi stared in wonderment at the painting, thinking about what might have happened if they hadn't done what they did. Xehanort might have gone crazy, and wiped out the human race, and then in turn she might have never met Zexion. Emi almost shuddered at that thought.

I never thought about it before…but I owe a lot to these three. I don't think I would have had the strength that they had had. I wish I could thank them personally. Emi thought.

"Thank you…" she whispered to the empty room. Even though she knew no one could hear her, it made Emi feel better.

She suddenly became aware of just how long she had been down here. It had been over three hours, even though she felt like she just got here. Emi practically ran out of the room, barely giving herself time to turn off the lights as she ran. She didn't even bother to get more fire; the passage was just a straight line. As soon as Emi made it there she grabbed her bag and left, putting back up the illusion as she went. Luckily there was no one in the library so she walked back to her room and out her bag back before she ran off to the kitchen to get something to eat. Zexion was there already, along with others.

"Hey where have you been? I was looking for you." Zexion immediately asked.

"Oh you know, around."


This chapter was really long...it took forever to write.

Read and review please!