A/N: Ok, so yeah…Not feeling all that good right now L I officially hate choir at the moment because we have a concert tomorrow night and the attire that we were told to where at the beginning of the year completely got changed on us. I don't even own a pair of black pants! So while I mope, go on and read.


"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S NOT WAKING UP?"

Luxord, who had been standing nearby, chuckled. "She bungled her last mission and has been in a deep sleep ever since. Can't win them all, I suppose."

Saix glanced at the blonde gambler for a moment before closing his eyes, a headache coming on as Hope yelled again. "But that wasn't her fault! She-"

"She's a useless puppet. Since the task to get rid of the impostor was yours, I'd say that it was you who was useless, but seeing as how you came back more exhausted…I'd say you gave a bigger effort."

Hope clenched her teeth together, her jaw tight as she spoke. "I told you that she wasn't ready to go on a mission like that, but you didn't listen to me!"

Saix sighed loudly out of annoyance. "Just go on your mission…"

"No! If you don't listen to me, then I'm not going to listen to you!" With that said, she took off down the hallway, leaving Saix shouting after her to come back before he sent the Dusks after her.

"Why do you care? That creature is broken and defective."

Hope whipped around and glared angrily. "Unlike you, I have a heart. I can't help but care!" She exclaimed, turning back around and continuing to run down the hall.

"You of all people should know she's not one to take orders from someone who bosses her around." Saix glanced at Xaldin out of the corner of his eye.

"And who asked you for an opinion, number III?"

"No one did, but I'm only stating the simple truth to you. She's stubborn when she's bossed around." Xaldin said, before leaving for his mission.

"Very stubborn…"

The end of the day~

Axel found both Hope and Roxas already sitting on top of the tower, looking as glum as ever. Sighing quietly to himself, he walked over and plopped himself down between them, glancing at Hope from the corner of his eye. She looked like she was…guilty of something….

"Axel, about Xion…" Roxas began, only to stop, too gloomy to continue.

"Saix told me what happened this morning." Axel explained.

Roxas sighed, his face saddening. "Why does he hate her so much?"

Axel frowned at his words. "Listen to you…How come you do that? Talk like you're a real person?"

Roxas gave a confused face. "Why? What did I say? I don't even know how real people talk."

"I mean, sometimes you sound like you really are heartsick or something." Axel explained, not understanding why Roxas was like that.

"When I saw her lying there…" Roxas paused, shaking his head, "I couldn't stop thinking that she'll never wake up."

Axel opened his mouth to give him reassurance, but Hope beat him to it first. "She will."

"Saix called her "broken"." Roxas stated, catching both adults attention.

"He said that to you, too? That's what he said about her to me." Hope said, frowning slightly.

"Hmm…"Axel mumbled. He glanced back at the two and noticed how Hope had seemed to cheer up a bit, while Roxas still looked a bit glum. "Well, if it cheers you up, I'm probably a lot more broken than her."

Hope gave his cheering up attempts a smile, while Roxas' frowned deepened, "Saix knows something about her. Why me and her are special Nobodies."

Axel scratched the back of his head. "Well…If it's gonna keep you up at night, we could ask him for you."

"We?" Hope mumbled.

Roxas gasped, shooting up onto his feet to stare down at the two older people. "Really?"

Axel laughed, "Yes, really! Sheesh, sit down. We'll ask, but don't get your hopes up. Straight answers aren't exactly his specialty."

"He's more likely to tell you two than he is me." Roxas pointed out.

"True."

"I just hope she wakes up soon…"


Hope and Axel approached Saix, Hope the first one to get to him. "We have a question. How come Roxas and Xion are so important to the Organization?"

Instead of getting a simple reply of words, she got a hand to her cheek, a loud slap ringing through the halls as Saix's hand connected with Hope's cheek, her head whipping to the side as she was hit, her hand immediately going to her injured cheek. Axel's eyes widened before they narrowed. He gently grabbed Hope's shoulders and put her behind him, growling a bit as he stared at Saix. "…Hey, that was uncalled for!"

"That's punishment for running off like that yesterday. As for your questions, I warned you, Axel, to keep out of this."

Axel continued to glare angrily, while Hope held her stinging cheek. "And I told you I cant. We have to know what Xion's deal is. Why cant you be straight with us for once?"

Saix scoffed, "Just like you two are always honest with me?"

Axel scratched the back of his head. "Okay, you've got me there."

"Xion has no right to be among our number." Saix said, his face expressionless.

"Why not?" Hope asked quietly from her spot behind Axel.

Saix turned to face the other way. "What is it you two see in that thing? Just look at it." With that said, he walked off, leaving them in silence.

"That 'thing' just so happens to be our friend…" Hope mumbled quietly, frowning and leaving the lift.

0o0o0o0o

It was a special day in Radiant Garden. Today, Hope would be making a speech that would recognize her future spot as the ruler of Radiant Garden. The whole town was gathered in the town square, all of Hope's friends sitting in the front row. Everyone clapped as Hope walked out and up to the podium, where a microphone stood. She looked out at the audience and smiled at them, before glancing over at Ansem the Wise, who was sitting off to the side of the stage, his apprentices behind him, with the exception of Ienzo and Xehanort. He gave her a gentle smile, as did Xehanort and Ienzo. Hope nodded silently before looking back out at the audience.

"Today, I was supposed to make a speech that was to recognize my future spot as the ruler of this world one day. But…I've decided to save that speech for another time. Instead, I've come to make a different speech. We, as in all of us gathered here today, make up this entire world. We've lived peaceful and happy lives so far, nothing coming in between any of that peacefulness. But…I've come to realize that, even when things may be peaceful for the moment, it doesn't last forever. I think, that in all my 17 years of living, I've just recently come to realize this. Take 15 years earlier for example. We used to be at war once. The scars that have been left from that war are what we now know as the Great Maw. Other scars that were left from that war, were the loss of family members and friends…and our homes. But we rebuilt everything…even though it took a lot of time, we still did it. So…as the future ruler of Radiant Garden, I ask you all this: If we were to come face to face with another disaster, would we be willing to be just as strong as we were back then? Would we be willing to forget the pain and sadness for a bit and just try to live with hope? What if this disaster was so bad that we couldn't even stay around anymore? Would we be willing to leave and wait until the battles were over before we could come back?"

Ansem the wise listened intently to Hope as she spoke. "I know, that it sounds like it would be the most difficult task in the world, but we have to learn to be prepared. And even if we were forced to leave, would we have enough faith and hope that we could ever come back? The majority of you would probably not believe we could, but…we can. Sure, it would be hard to start all over, but sometimes even the greatest things can happen when you start over from the beginning when you have hope in your hearts. That light…that light of hope is the light that guides us out of the dark. That light will never go out, so long as you keep your hearts in the light."

Everyone applauded just as soon as she had finished talking, several people cheering as they did so. Just for someone who was 17, going on 18 in a week, she was extremely wise. Even though she wasn't the ruler yet, she talked like one. Her ability to fill people up with hope is what made people admire her and believe in her words.

Little did anyone know that her words of hope would have to be put into action in a week.


A/N: So, this ended out boring, but at least I've given you all something. I really kind of want to get past this game plot because in my opinion, it takes longer to write for it than the rest of the games. Or maybe I'm just saying that because 358/2 Days was the one game out of the series that took me the longest to beat…Anyway, review, ask me a question, whatever! LATER TATERS!