Chapter 35: Opportunity

Thorn had always wondered what hell was like, if there even was one. Now she knew. She couldn't recall anything coherent. It was like being trapped underwater for what felt like weeks or months. Everything was distorted, sight and sound, everything muddled. Sometimes she felt like she was boiling alive, other she felt so cold she would surely freeze to death.

When she opened her eyes with coherency back in place, she hadn't a clue where she was. Her sight and perception were still muddled, like she was seeing everything through a fog. From the looks of things she was in the labs again, but… this one seemed different somehow. She tried moving but quickly found both her arms and legs were too heavy to move. No… that wasn't it. She was strapped down onto a table.

Thorn began to panic as she struggled against the restraints. However, her body felt like someone had sucked out her bones and muscles and replaced them with jelly. Forcing herself to calm down, she closed her eyes, trying to sort out what had happened. She was in the labs as usual… then Vexen, he'd tried something funny… yeah, so she tried to leave…. But then… Saix…Xigbar… and Vexen. And then….

Axel.

Her body suddenly went lax as the realization of how she was in her current predicament returned. Axel...the one NOBODY she had trusted more than all the others had turned his back on her and handed her over to the very people trying to kill her.

In her irritation she managed to pull herself fully out of her strange stage of sleep. Her eyes cleared up and finally she was able to look around the room. It was evident that it was another lab, but where...she had no idea. Looking down at her body, she could clearly see the straps holding her down and couldn't find the way to open them.

"Great, stuck to a table in a room I don't recognize," Thorn thought looking around once more. "Now how am I supposed to get out?" After a few more minutes of searching, she spotted a door off in the far corner of the room. "Well...I guess that's a start," she thought looking to her hands once more. Then she slowly tried to focus on gathering her magic...but couldn't pull anything together.

Shoot… her medium. They must have taken it. This was going to be even more difficult and more dangerous. Especially since she was suffering not only the after effects of the pyrexia as well as whatever drug they pumped her full of. She had to calm herself and think. The restraints were metal by the feel of them. If she could warm them at a steady enough rate, she might be able to expand them out enough to pull her limbs free. She'd have to be careful though, and have absolute concentration. And pray no one came in while she was working at it.

She took several deep calming breaths before focusing all of her mind on gathering what magic she could and moving it to her wrists. Once there, she thought back on her training for learning to use a fire spell and used what she'd learn to slowly create a heated field around her wrists. As she did this, she could feel the metal around her heating up and began moving her wrists back and forth. It was a long drawn out process, but eventually she felt her wrists slide out of their bindings one by one.

"There," she sighed sitting up now that her wrists were freed and the strap holding her head to the table was pushed off. She took a moment to more fully look around herself and was relieved to see that no one was present. She really didn't pay much attention to anything else that was in there. She could tell just from her initial glance that her things were not there. "Right, now the feet."

The legs were a little easier to do since she had a better view of her target and was able to direct the flow of magic with her hands. It was still comparatively slow going but she didn't dare try anything more advanced. Once she slipped her feet free, she shifted on the table and stood up. Her legs were unsteady and she wobbled a little as a massive head rush came on, but she shook it off and began searching for the exit. She approached the only door in the room and tried opening it. It was sealed shut tight. Of freakin' course.

Thorn searched around and found an electronic panel next to the door. Clearly some sort of key code was needed. Oh how she was beginning to loathe technology. She tried pushing a few buttons, then after a few minutes when that didn't work she began punching the thing. Then accidentally ended up frying it with electricity. Something must have short circuited because the door gave a beep and slid open. And who said violence didn't solve anything?

Being as cautious as possible, she stepped into the doorway and glanced around either corner looking for any sign of life. As she did so, her head began to swim once more and she had to shake it to clear it.

"Shit, what did they do to me?" she muttered in irritation. There was no way that pyrexia would still be making her head all foggy. She took a moment to allow her vision and mind to clear before picking a direction and taking off down the very clean hallway.

In many ways, the passages she took resembled those of The Castle That Never Was. She was certain, however, they were somewhere else...probably in that new headquarters they'd been setting up. Castle Oblivion, she was sure that's what the place was called.

The mage in training continued to wander the hall, wondering how she was going to navigate her way out. Especially if the size of this place was comparable to the last castle she was in. She heard the faint din of voices drift down the hall and she had half a mind to turn and head the other direction. However, it didn't sound like Vexen, and she needed to find out where her things were. She thought about the book Yensid had given her, her journal… her eyes widened when she remembered about the music box. The one holding Axel's heart.

Thorn had the immediate desire to sift through her pockets, but her cloak was gone, taken with anything else save for her own clothing. Then she had to question why she should care so much, since it was obvious he didn't want it. Didn't want her….

She closed her eyes and took another steadying breath as another wave of disorientation swept through her. She wasn't going to go there right now.

Step one: stay calm. Step two: find stuff. Step three: get the hell out. Good? Great. Let's do this.

Making up her mind, she headed toward the voice pausing every now and again to clear her head. When she reached the corner where the voice was emanating, she glanced around it and was pleasantly surprised to see Zexion standing in the hallway with Lexaeus talking about...someone in the Castle. She really wanted to go over and say hello to the shy NOBODY but remembering how easily Axel had turned on her made her slightly wary.

As she stood there, she noticed that the conversation had changed between the two and they began walking away with the door they'd been standing next to standing open. "Most of her things were placed in there with the other storage items," Zexion explained to Lexaeus. "Vexen wanted to make sure all of her things were out of the castle and away from her."

"Understandable," the larger guy murmured. "Considering what happened. Is he planning on continuing his project anytime soon?"

"What with our newest guests, he's been fairly distracted of late. I don't doubt his attention will be elsewhere until they've been taken care of."

"It was his turn to do the dishes…"

The rest of the conversation went unheard to Thorn as she ducked into the room they had just vacated. She searched and pilfered through the boxes until she at last found a box which held the book Yensid had given her, as well as her journal. Her medium, however, was nowhere to be found. Neither was the music box. She felt panic and dismay sweep through like a kick to the gut. She began tearing through the place, searching each box but making sure to put things back more or less how she found them.

In mid search she froze as she heard voices coming back down the hall. Shoot, she needed to hide somewhere quick. Either that or give up the search and get out fast while she could. She didn't have the energy necessary to resist one of the Organization's members as she was now.

She quickly leapt behind the boxes and made herself as invisible as possible just as the owner of the voice stepped into the room. "Nothing looks out of the ordinary here." She recognized the voice as Zexion's. He had returned with Lexaeus. "Are you certain you heard something?"

"Maybe not," Lexaeus muttered. Thorn took a moment to glance over the edge of the boxes she was hiding behind and almost gasped loudly in surprise as her eyes met with Zexion's.

"Then we might as well get going," Zexion stated as a small smile appeared on his lips.

"You did remember to give the dosage of sedatives to the heartseer," Lexaeus muttered.

"Hmm, it must have slipped my mind," the silver haired member stated as he led the way out of the room.

Thorn fell back onto the floor, an exhale of relief shooting out of her lungs. Followed quickly by a rush of gratitude. Even with the rapport she managed to build with him, she hadn't expected Zexion to cover for her. If she ever had the chance to repay the favor, she wouldn't soon forget what she owed him.

Deciding now would be a great time to vacate the premises, she decided to just leave the room and start her search for the exit. The thing about the corridor of darkness was… if you didn't know where it was you wanted to go, it was like trying to find an outlet in a pitch dark room you've never been in before. So she could either trek it on foot and risk running into someone who wouldn't be as inclined to let her skip off on her merry way, or take a crap shoot with the portal and get spit out into god knows where. The worst case being her dropping in on someone in the middle of a shower.

'Well, if it were Axel that wouldn't be so terrible,' a little voice in her head mused.

She quickly shook her head trying to rid herself of the thought. "He's given up on you...there's no reason to continue trying for someone that is more likely to hand you over to the person wanting to take you apart than spend another wonderful night with you," she mumbled to herself.

She'd take her chances trying to find an exit on foot. At least then they'd have a harder time tracking her. Getting to her feet she started heading for the door. Before she reached it, she spotted a cloak hanging on the wall. She quickly put it on and looked herself over. Well, it was a little big, but it'd keep the less desirable members from locating her as easily.

With that, she left the room and began her search for the exit.

Larxene was lounging on the couch reading when Axel returned from his visit with the Keyblade master. She'd watched the whole thing from the observation area. Most of Castle Oblivion's main floors had been set up with monitoring systems to help better keep an eye on the place. The system overall was turning out to be pretty nifty. Especially where watching the Keyblade master's progress was concerned.

"Why so courteous, Axel?" She asked him, as her eyes scanned over the paragraph she was on. "I would have roughed him up a little more."

"I figured I could just leave the distasteful cruelty to you, since it seems to be your specialty," Axel replied walking past her without the slightest interest in her company.

"Hmph, you seem to have taken quite an interest to this kid. Any particular reason why?"

"Why else? He lost his heat, but he didn't lose himself. Only one other has been able to do that." He stared thoughtfully at a flawlessly white wall as if it might hold the answers to his questions. "What makes his heart shine like that?"

"So you're not just interested because of HIM," Larxene inferred, shutting her book and looking over at the red head. "It's his heart that intrigues you." She gave a small giggle. "My, how your interest seems to switch fast."

"What can I say, without a heart to make me fully drawn to something I tend to jump back and forth to keep my interests alive," Axel answered with a shrug. "Besides, you switch far more often than I. How long have you been interested in Marluxia?"

"Long enough," Larxene simpered. Her eyes focusing on his face. "Not as long as you were in the heartseer."

"She was only a little less abrasive than you are," Axel replied with a wry smile as he went over to the monitors. "And not nearly as fickle."

"What can I say? I find men without hearts to be rather boring." Larxene sat up on the couch and stretched, her already fitted cloak stretching tight over her skin. "Mysterious little thing, the heart."

"Perhaps," Axel acknowledged. Zexion and Lexaeus were having sit-down time with tea and biscuits. Vexen was probably in his lab. "But unlocking its secrets is the reason we the Organization exists."

"Well, if Vexen finishes his little project, we won't have trouble with that for very much longer."

"Oh? How do you figure?" Sora and his friends were going through a world with a lot of sand. And a silver haired boy was making his way through the deeper levels of the castle.

"Yeah, he was bragging something about this new machine he made. The only part I remember was him saying he was planning on taking out that tramp's heart and sticking it in the machine or something. I'm requesting front row seats for that little show."

As Axel watched the screens, he noticed an extra someone who shouldn't have been out and wandering about. He released a soft chuckle, unable to keep from smiling. "You might have to put a hold on that show. Seems our little captive is out and about."

"WHAT!?" Larxene propelled herself from the couch as if it had caught fire and rushed over to the viewing screens. "How is that possible? What the hell is that old geezer doing?"

"After everything else I've seen from her, I'm honestly not all that surprised," Axel commented, as if the whole thing was one big joke to him.

"Ugh, whatever. I'm gonna grab her and drag her sorry little ass back to the lab table where she…"

"Let's not be so hasty, Larxene." Marluxia appeared behind them looking rather pleased with himself. Well he damn right should, he was leader of their new set up.

"Why not?" Larxene demanded pointing angrily at the screen. "That wench was deemed a threat and we need to get rid of her."

"Now hold on," Marluxia murmured patiently. "Remember she supposedly had enough power to take on Vexen, Saix, and Xigbar at the same time. This proves that she has enough strength to guarantee the success of our own plans."

"But do we really need her?" Larxene asked hoping he'd say no.

"Yes. Axel, would you go extend to her our invitation," Marluxia requested turning to the red head.

Axel gave a light shake of his head as though the request bugged him but his sly smile suggested he was looking forward to it. "Well, I suppose since you call the shots around here I'm not in any position to say 'no', now am I?"

Marluxia merely smiled and added, "Be discreet about it."

"Got it. One heartseer coming right up." With that, he disappeared in a swirl of shadows.

"You really think we can trust him?" Larxene asked looking to Marluxia.

"That is yet to be determined," he answered. "But we shall see."

"WHY IS THIS PLACE SO DAMN BIG!?"

Thorn had been running around for a good hour or so at least and she felt like she'd gotten ten miles to nowhere. Every room looked almost exactly the same and everything was white. She felt a headache coming on just keeping her eyes open. She leaned against a pillar to rest for a bit. Man… she was hungry, and she still felt very off her game.

"It must be because of the sedatives Zexion mentioned," she thought with dismay. "I have to find an exit soon, there's no telling when I'll lose the ability to move and I won't be caught by them again."

Once she was rested up, she continued on her way trying her best to stay awake. As she passed through her hundredth hallway, she nearly fell to her knees only to be caught by some rather small hands. "Are you okay?" a young voice asked.

"Uh...are you sure you should be doing that Sora?" a dopey kind of voice asked.

"Yeah, she's one of them! Look at her clothes!" That's what she thought the third one said...it was hard to understand.

Thorn looked up and was met with wide, selfless, sapphire blue eyes surrounded by spiky brown hair. "You…"

It was Sora… but what in the world was he doing here of all places?

The boy smiled before looking to his friends. "It's okay… somehow… I think I've met her before. Yeah… in fact, I know I have."

"But how is that possible?" his duck friend ask looking confused.

"Ya never met her when you were with us… uh, I don't think…" The dog one stated while scratching his head.

Sora shook his head. "No… it was before I met you guys. Yeah… the first time I visited TraverseTown."

Sora looked at Thorn who was silently gaping at him. How in the world… there was no way he should be able to remember her. Had she messed up somehow?

"It's a little fuzzy," Sora admitted sheepishly. "But I'm pretty sure you helped me."

"Uh...yeah I did," Thorn murmured. She wasn't sure how he remembered the incident but she wasn't about to flat out lie to him either. "It's been a long time."

"Yeah, what are you doing here? And why are you wearing that?" Sora asked helping her to her feet.

"I could ask why you're here as well," Thorn replied. "How did you even get here?"

"We just kind of wandered in, ahyuck," the dog explained happily.

"We're trying to find clues as to where Riku and the King are," Sora added.

"The king?"

"Yeah, King Mickey!" the duck exclaimed.

"Right...and you think you'll learn where they are by tracking down these...guys here?" Thorn asked curiously.

"That's what we're hoping for anyway," Sora said with a light sigh of disappointment. "Oh, by the way, this is Donald, Goofy…" he pointed to his shoulder. "And this is Jiminy."

Holy crap on a swizzle stick, was that a cricket? Thorn murmured her name in greeting, trying her hardest not to stare. Clearly they hadn't found any substantial evidence that the people they were looking for were there. As Thorn looked at all of them, she noticed… something odd was going on with their hearts… or more specifically their hearts' memories.

"You all… do any of you feel… strange, or different?" she asked.

The three exchanged glances. "Well, not really. At least I don't think so," Sora said rubbing his head.

"We do keep forgetting things," Goofy pointed out.

"Yeah...but we keep remembering things too," Sora added. "Like we don't really remember anyone we met in Traverse Town...but I do remember you."

"Uh-huh," Thorn muttered thinking things over. By the look of things as well as what they were describing, somehow their memories were being manipulated. Certain pieces seemed to be disappearing before her very eyes while others seemed to be added or more accurately pulled from the innermost depths. As much about the heart as she understood, she couldn't see how any of what was happening to them was possible. "But other than your memories nothing seems to be different?"

"Not a thing," Donald stated matter-of-factly.

"Hey, I got an idea. Maybe you should come with us. You could help look for Riku and the King...and we could always use the extra help when it comes to fighting heartless," Sora suddenly suggested.

Thorn was rather taken aback by the sudden invite. On the one hand, not being alone in this endless void of a castle would be nice. On the other hand, her desire was to escape this place, while they seem to be going deeper in. Still… she'd feel bad just leaving them at the mercy of the people who ran this place.

Before she could make up her mind to voice a yay or nay, another voice interrupted the conversation. A voice that made Thorn's heart seize up.

"I've got a much better idea. Why don't you just leave her with me?"

Thorn's face tightened a margin as she turned to face the newcomer. "Axel," she muttered breathing steadily. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've already experienced your kind of hospitality and I'd rather not experience it again."

"What do you want with Thorn?" Sora demanded taking a step in front of her. "I won't let you take her."

Thorn glanced down at the boy and his two friends that had also taken up a place in front of her. "Back off guys," she stated stepping through their defense and facing Axel head on. "I'm going to settle things with him myself. We sort of have...a few personal issues to work through. I don't really need your help in dealing with him."

Axel's facial expression conveyed he was nothing short of entertained by her bravery to face him alone. "You know, you're not very good at escaping."

"Yeah, well," Thorn quickly searched for something to throw back at him as she tried not to get sucked into his green eyed stare. "Your security sucks."

He released a breathy chuckle, his eyes flickering in enjoyment at her hostility. She searched his face for any of the previous warmth, any indication that he might still, for lack of a better word, FEEL something for her. She could find nothing beyond his detached amusement.

"You're looking for a way out, am I right?" he asked, even though he must know it to be the absolute truth. He stretched his hand out so welcomingly. "If that's the case, come with me."

Gosh, did that ring some bells. Thorn remembered him offering her his hand in the exact same manner when he was asking her to come with him to the world of Nobodies. He had the exact same look about him. One that said, "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer." In his mind there were but two outcomes: she either came willingly, or he took her by force.

Thorn looked him over for a few minutes before a smirk spread across her face to match his own. "No. I'm not going anywhere with you," she said before holding up only her middle finger. "So you can go screw yourself."

Sora, Donald and Goofy all stared in shock, their jaws making a decent attempt to drop off their owners faces and hit the floor. After having fought the fire wielder once already, they were astounded that Thorn was ready and willing to go head on against him one-on-one.

Even Axel, for all his steadfastness, looked surprised for the briefest of moments. Then he withdrew his hand, a grin coming back full and fast. "Hmm, now that's my kind of answer." His chakrams appeared in his hands. "Just don't go regretting it."

He rushed forward and she quickly jumped away, avoiding his sweeping attacks and taking several back steps to ensure Sora and his friends wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. She ignored the protest of her body as it fought against the lethargy inducing influence of whatever drug was still swimming around in her system.

Her fatigue finally did catch up with her though as she tripped on her backpedaling feet and he used her stumbling movement to fully knock her down and pin her to the ground with one hand on her arm and the other holding a chakram right next to her head. "I was asking nicely you know," he smirked knowing she didn't have any strength to fight him.

"Right, as nice as you were when you handed me over?" she demanded glaring as harshly as she could at him. Axel just smirked and gave her a look that said he was waiting.

"Thorn!" The shout startled both of them and they looked up to see Sora and his friends running towards them with their weapons drawn.

"Sora! Don't you dare come a step closer!" Thorn shouted clearly angry. Her voice made him stop in his tracks and look at her in confusion.

"Heh, smart move," Axel said from above her.

Thorn just glared at him silently. Dammit… even poised above her, ready to take her in, with his weapon trained on her, she STILL couldn't shake off just how hot he was. This should NOT be as erotic as it felt at that moment. What made it worse was she felt as though his eyes were peeling back her mask of anger and seeing into her naughty thoughts. From her peripheral vision she saw the darkness rising up to take her away.

"Sora," Axel spoke to the boy while his eyes remained on the female beneath him. "If you really want to help her, then just keep doing what you're doing. Move forward, and seek the secret truths of your memories."

"Don't listen to him!" Thorn yelled, struggling to get free. "Forget about me and get out of here!"

She was about to say more, but the image of the three heroes disappeared behind a wall of shadows. He had her. Now that they were in the corridor of darkness, there was no chance of her escaping and she knew it. Once they entered the corridor, Axel got to his feet and dragged the goth girl up with him holding tightly to her arm.

"Well, you've got a welcoming committee waiting for your return," he said and she could hear his smirk despite looking in the opposite direction.

"Let's just get this over with," she muttered in irritation. "You and I both know I can't fight in the state I'm in right now.

Axel led the way through the corridor, keeping a close eye on her in case she decided to make a break for it. When Thorn stepped out, big effing surprise, it was another white room. Just as Axel promised, there were people to welcome her, but she was far from being thrilled about who it was.

"Welcome, Thorn," Marluxia greeted to her with a serene smile. "I can't tell you how happy I am that we managed to locate you."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Thorn muttered. "So what now? Are you guys gonna slap me down on another dissection bench?"

"Oh, I so WISH," Larxene grumbled.

Marluxia gave an elegant shake of his head. "No, Thorn, I have no desire to turn you over to Vexen. Your abilities are far too valuable to be sacrificed for an experiment that may or may not work. I, in fact, wish to offer you an opportunity for freedom."

"Freedom," Thorn repeated with disdain. It was clear she didn't believe a word he was spouting but what other choices did she have? "And if I told you that I wasn't interested and that you should go screw off then what?"

Larxene moved to strike her but Marluxia held up his hand to stop her. "Then Vexen would regrettably have his little toy returned to him...though a little worse for wear," he answered calmly.

"Figures, it's either agree or go back there," she thought glaring at the three of them in turn. Then out loud she said with a shrug, "Well, I guess my hands are tied then aren't they. What do you want me to do so I can earn this...freedom?"

"It's simple, really." The pink haired Nobody moved closer to her. Uncomfortably close.

While Thorn didn't want to seem weak or jumpy, she did not like the proximity between them. Total invasion of space. She did her best not to flinch when he brushed her hair back away from her ear.

"What I want from you is…" he leaned forward and whispered a few words.

Her eyes went wide and she looked up at him. "You've got to be kidding me."

He shook his head. "Not at all. So… for your freedom, would you be willing to do this?"

Thorn stared at him before glancing at the others. Larxene was impatiently tapping her foot while Axel just stood with his arms folded, not looking at her.

"Yeah… sure, I guess I can roll with that."

"Good, until then though you'll simply keep someone company," Marluxia murmured holding his hand out to her. "It'll give you a chance to relax and your body a chance to finish expelling that pesky sedative."

"Right," Thorn muttered crossing her arms and ignoring the offered hand. "So, who am I keeping company?"

The effeminate NOBODY lowered his hand before turning and opening a door for her. She took this as an order to go through the doorway and did so not surprised when she saw that once again it was all white. What did surprise her though, was the sight of a young girl with short blonde hair sitting at a table that was littered with drawings.

The girl looked up and seemed a little surprised, as though she expected someone else. "Who are you?" her voice was soft and timid.

"Name's Thorn," the mage replied. Another Nobody… and she looked really familiar. Actually when she thought about it, she kind of looked liked that girl Sora likes so much.

"You… are you also… a Nobody?" she asked uncertainly.

"Nope, I just wear the threads for grins and giggles." At the confused look the girl gave Thorn said, "No, I'm not a Nobody. At least not in the sense you're talking about."

"Then why are you here?"

Thorn stared down at the floor. "Because I made some really stupid decisions." Trying to take her mind off her own shortcomings, she asked, "What's your name?"

"…Namine."

CM: Dang... we are so close to finishing (this story), you have no idea. We probably have about a couple more chapters left and then we're done. So thanks to those who've shown us support by reviewing. Now its just a matter of, will this end happily or tragically? We'll leave you to ponder that. Hope you enjoyed and please continue reviewing. :)