Author's Comments: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Let me hurry and get on with this. Thanks for all the support. I wanna thank those who read, those who faved, those who alerted the story and give a shoutout to my reviewers ventus4ever, animechick247, ShatterTheHeavens, MikaUchiha666, Sayonara Yasashii Akumu, Frooky90, Amaya-vamp, Princess Nexda the Wise, Khaotic Kal, Hitomi Kogure and Queen Micky. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Tell me what you think and take care!
-Skye
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. I only own the OCs.
Jasmine yawned and rubbed her eyes, straining to see in the dim light from a table lamp on Axel's coffee table. Ever since her "escape" she'd been working hard to study and take notes on the documents she stole from Vanitas. So far, everything she had suspected of him doing had checked out. All she had to do was make sure all her notes were intact before the festivities began.
Axel emerged from his bedroom at around five in the morning completely awake and alert despite the fact that it was so early.
"Have you been up the entire time?" He asked, sounding rather surprised.
Jasmine nodded. "I was trying to figure out what he was hiding. I had an idea of what it was, but now that I have proof I wanna get the ball rolling on this little event." She looked up. "By the way, thanks for allowing me to crash here for a while."
Axel grinned. "Well I love a good scandal. This is the most excitement I've had in a long time."
"There's a reason you and Reno are related," Jasmine set aside several papers into a specific pile.
"Yeah, except I'm better looking and not as old as my lame brother," he quipped.
She shook her head. "Yup, you two are one in the same."
"Back to business though," Axel headed over and sat on a couch across from her, "is he still asleep?"
Jasmine glanced at her watch. "He should be. If Vanitas was awake, I'm sure he would have called by now especially since I just left him at the apartment. He'd be livid."
Axel shrugged his shoulders. "He's not going to lay a hand on you as long as I'm breathing so he can be as pissed as he wants to be."
She smiled. Axel was exactly like Reno in how protective the latter was over her.
"Now, is my blockhead brother on his way?" Axel asked. "Is he in on everything?"
"Yeah," she answered, "him, Rude and Elena are all in this together with me. They'll leave my parents at around noon and meet up with me later."
"Your parents don't know what's going on, right?"
"No one knows what's going on besides you and Reno's group. By keeping other parties out of the loop there's a greater chance for things to go as planned," Jasmine tried to stifle her yawn. She hadn't had much sleep in days. Plotting, planning and scheming had drained her. However, she had to push forward. "By the way, Roxas and the group have been following me around. I need for them to steer clear away from me."
Axel cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know this?"
She peered from under her bangs and glasses. "I know when I'm being followed. But that's beside the point. I need you to keep them away for a while."
"Roxas called me and left a voicemail," Axel announced. "He sounded really worried. He wanted to know what was going on."
Jasmine grabbed another folder. "I hope you didn't respond," she said flatly.
"You know he still loves you, right?" Axel brought up. "And no I didn't call him back."
"In a brother-sister type of love," Jasmine told him, "and it's great that he cares and all but this isn't something he needs to be involved in. People might get hurt."
Axel pointed to Jasmine. "Namely you, Cat Eyes."
This caught Jasmine's attention. "I know this already."
"Because when Vanitas finds out what you're doing—and I'm sure that what you've told me about him is true—that he's not gonna be too happy."
"And that's putting it mildly," she pushed the papers back, "I've already accepted what might happen. That's also why I approached you. You're the only one I trust to carry everything out."
"Let's say this all pans out and you manage to walk away free as a bird, what are you gonna do then?"
Jasmine sighed. "If I manage to walk away from this mess unscathed, that'll be a shocker. And I highly doubt I will."
"If you get hurt, your boyfriend, friends and family will be devastated."
She stared at the ring Riku gave her sitting on her ring finger. "The person you're referring to is not my boyfriend. I'm still Vanitas' fiancée. It doesn't matter that I hate him, I would never cheat on him. I'm still a girl of my honor."
Axel chuckled. "Says the girl who's about to turn his whole world upside down and wreck his life."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "I'm setting things right. You know this."
Axel gave a heavy sigh. "It's not like Vanitas doesn't deserve it after everything you've told me. Even though I've never met him, I'll go on and agree with you that he's a controlling asshole."
Jasmine remembered the night Vanitas had blackmailed her after finding out she had been with Roxas. "He is," she said sourly, "and that's why I don't feel bad about what I'm doing."
"In any case, we have work to do." Axel stood up. "I'm gonna need for you to get at least five hours of sleep. I've got a feeling tomorrow, no, today is gonna be hell."
Before she could protest, Axel threw Jasmine over his shoulder and walked on over to one of the spare bedrooms, tossing her down on the bed. "Get a close to decent sleep and we'll head out to meet my brother." Axel headed out of the room. "And by the way, figure out something to do with your car. If you don't want to be found—and Roxas already knows we are working through something—I'd get rid of it. Knowing him he'd probably show up."
Jasmine didn't argue. She took off her glasses, setting them on the nightstand. "That's a good idea," she yawned again, falling asleep before she finished her sentence.
Axel laughed. "Reno wasn't kidding. She sure is full of surprises."
Tifa knocked on the door to Riku's home, frantically waiting for the door to open.
Angela was the one to answer the door. She smiled. "Hi, Tifa!" she greeted cheerfully. "How are you?" Upon closer examination of Tifa's face, Angela knew something was wrong. "Come in," she hurried the young woman inside.
Once Tifa was in the entryway, she wasted no time in explaining what was going on. "Jasmine didn't come home last night," Tifa told her urgently. "We tried calling her phone but there was no answer. This isn't like her at all."
Angela's eyes widened. She spotted her husband and pulled him aside.
"Hey Tifa..." he caught the distressed looks on both his wife and Tifa's faces. "What's going on?" Riku's father inquired.
"Jasmine is missing," Angela told him.
His eyes widened. "For how long? What happened?"
Tifa shook her head. "Jasmine said she was going to visit her fiancée and that she'd be back within a few hours. But she never came home last night and no one can get in contact with her."
"She's gone?" A male voice said in surprise.
The group of people turned to the stairs where Riku stood, eyes wild. He ran down the stairs and Tifa met him at the bottom.
"Have you seen her?" Tifa asked once more, this time a new sense of urgency in her voice. "I thought she might be here with you."
Riku put his hands on Tifa's shoulders. "No she isn't. I saw her yesterday for a bit." He cleared his throat. He knew something was wrong when they met up yesterday at the beach. It seemed too much like a goodbye. A permanent one. "I'll call everyone and we'll start looking for her."
Tifa sighed. The stress was clear on her face. "Thank you, Riku."
"Could she still be with Vanitas?" Angela offered.
"I called him but no one answered at his place," Tifa responded, breaking away from Riku. "If you hear from her, please let me know. We have to find her."
Angela walked over and held Tifa's hands. "We'll do all we can. Riku," she called out, "try calling her and if she doesn't answer, get your friends and find her."
Tifa bowed her head. "Thank you so much." She dashed out the door and shut it behind her.
"I knew it," Angela frowned, "it's that boy she's engaged to." She began to pace around the area with her husband following her.
Riku's father followed. "We don't know anything happened yet. Let's at least make a few phone calls and see if we can't get in contact with her. If not," his tone darkened, "we'll have security go after her."
The two disappeared down the hall and Riku allowed himself to breathe. He never should have let her walk away like she did. Riku reached into his pocket and dialed Sora's number.
"Sora," he said once his friend answered. "We've got a problem. Did Roxas get in touch with Axel?"
Vanitas yawned and stretched his arms out. A slight smile crept on his face. Everything was going according to plan. Mr. Silva was nearly broke, he had Jasmine, it was all too perfect.
When he looked over to see if Jasmine was still asleep, he was surprised to find her not where she should be.
Vanitas threw on some clothes and walked around the apartment to find her but Jasmine was nowhere.
He frowned. 'Where the hell is she?'
Out of the corner of his amber eyes, Vanitas spotted a note on the dining room table. He snatch it up and read it.
"Something unexpected popped up at Angela's place. I'll be back later."
Vanitas was irate. 'That girl seriously knows how to piss me off. When she gets back...' Vanitas kept his composure and ran a hand through his messy, spiky hair. A grin slid on his face. "Well I'll just have to pop up at Angela's house and bring her back myself."
He headed for the shower.
"I might have to go back on our promise and teach her a lesson."
Roxas parked his car outside of Axel's place and ran up the steps. After hearing the phone call from Riku and learning that Jasmine wasn't able to be found, he figured that he'd just save the minutes on his phone bill and cut to the chase. It was 11:45am. 'Axel should be up by now.'
The door to Axel's home opened the redhead stepped outside. Upon seeing Roxas, Axel's face took on a blank expression.
"What's up, Roxas?" He greeted, his usual smirk-like smile intact.
"Where is she?" Roxas' eyes hardened.
Axel's smile vanished. "What are you talking about?"
Roxas stepped in front of Axel with no intention of moving aside. "I know you know where Jasmine is. I also know that you guys have been seeing each other. Spill."
Axel chuckled a little. "Well what do ya know? The girl was right. She knew you guys were following her."
This angered Roxas. He knew that Axel could be shifty with some people. He knew that Axel would not let too many people inside to really know what he was thinking. But Roxas was his best friend and another person close to him was probably in danger. He had no time for any of Axel's games.
"Well she's not here if that's what you came here for," Axel side stepped the young blond. "If I were you, I'd go home and stop interfering."
Roxas whipped around and grabbed Axel by his leather jacket. "Jasmine is one of my best friends! If she's in trouble I need to know so she doesn't get hurt!"
Axel glanced at the hand attached to his sleeve. He never saw Roxas so upset. Well, not since he and Jasmine broke up.
"And you'll get hurt if you're involved," Axel said, brushing Roxas off to the side.
Roxas felt his anger rising. Axel began walking away when Roxas shouted, "Who do you care about more? Her or me? Tell me what's going on!"
Axel froze before looking over his shoulder and glaring at the blond. "Listen here, Roxas," he started, "don't make threats with me. I may be your best friend, but I'm still NOT going to take them. Think about it, from your line of thinking anyway, why am I NOT telling you her whereabouts?"
Roxas fell silent then. He really did let his anger get the better of him yet again. Finally, he said, "Look, I love her. Not in that way, but still. Jasmine means a lot to me and a bunch of other people. If she is in trouble, we need to know how to help her. Please, Axel," the boy pleaded.
Surprisingly, Axel began to laugh. "I always knew you'd have a soft spot for that girl. But you're wasting your time talking to me over here. If you guys are so worried, maybe you should go to one of the sources of all Jasmine's problems." He paused for a second and sighed. "Take care of yourself, buddy."
Roxas hung around the area even after Axel pulled off in his car. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. 'Look for the source huh?' It then donned on Roxas. Who was the person who caused Jasmine so much pain? Who was most likely the one who made Jasmine change?
'Time to pay Vanitas a visit,' Roxas headed to his own car. 'But I should probably call the rest of the guys. Not sure how this will turn out.'
Jasmine wiped away a tear as she stared at the stuffed Mickey Mouse doll Riku gave her. She managed to sneak back into her house for a moment while Tifa and her family was there. It would seem as though everyone went out looking for her. When she checked her cell phone, she saw that she had countless text messages, phone calls and voicemails from her friends, extended family, and parents.
'My mom is probably having a fit and my dad will probably send me off to some boarding school when this is over,' she thought, chuckling at the thought.
She took the doll by it's hand and closed the door to her room, holding a set of letters in her hand. Glancing up, she noticed that the sky was now a beautiful orange mixed with blue. 'It's gorgeous. I'll miss these days.'
Jasmine hurried down the stairs where Reno, Rude, Elena and Axel stood in the living room.
It was Elena who stepped up first and she, out of everyone, seemed to be the most concerned about Jasmine than anyone.
"Miss, are you sure you want to go through with this?" She asked.
"It's fine, Elena. It's got to be done."
Rude cleaned his sunglasses before sliding them onto his face. "Miss Silva, while it goes against everything I stand for, especially when I took this job serving your family, I have full confidence in you."
Reno pulled out a gun and smirked. "Just promise me that I get five minutes with your soon-to-be ex when this is all over. I've been waiting for it since the day I met him."
Jasmine cracked a smile. "He's all yours. Axel," she turned to the younger redhead, "do you have everything in place?"
Axel brushed past his brother and held up a thick file. "It was pretty smart of you to take pictures of all the bruises he gave you and voice recordings of some of your conversations. Plus you're still a minor. There's no way for him to not end up in jail for a long time, especially with the laws of the island being as strict as they are."
The dark-haired girl set the envelopes on the table. "I'm going to need these to go everyone. I doubt there will be that much talking tonight. Is everything else in play?"
"You called it," Reno told the girl, "everyone is where you thought they'd be. All I have to do is make the call."
"Perfect," she gripped the hand of the doll tighter. "I'm going now."
"See you on the other side, kid," Reno said with a slight smile as he watched Jasmine head out the door.
Once the door was shut, Elena stormed towards Reno. "This is suicide! How can you let her walk away and go through with this?"
Reno shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not happy about it. Trust, I'd never let her go do something this stupid."
"Then why?" She demanded, face becoming red with anger. "Are you still following the orders of the Silva family? You know how screwed up they are!"
"Jasmine's not like them and she knows what she's doing," Reno replied sharply. "Besides, Tifa doesn't have custody of Jasmine yet and things are only getting worse. Just trust her. She's got this."
When Elena backed off, Reno sighed. 'At least I hope so.'
Vanitas was let in by one of the maids in Riku's household. He walked into the lavish entryway and was told that Angela would be downstairs in a minute.
There was no way he was going to let Jasmine get the better of him.
Footsteps approached. Vanitas frowned. There was more than one person coming. 'Jasmine better be a part of that group for her sake.'
Angela, Tifa, Sora, Roxas, Riku and Tidus all walked into the entryway with eyes blazing.
Vanitas was surprised to see the group and could sense their ire but as usual, he kept a cool head and replaced his longstanding frown with a charming smile that made him look exactly like Sora.
"Didn't think I was gonna get such a greeting," he laughed cheerfully.
"Where is she?" Tifa hissed, walking directly toward him.
Vanitas laughed and placed his hands behind his head. "I was hoping you could tell me."
Tifa no longer held up the front she had earlier in her interactions with Vanitas. "I know Jasmine went to see you. She said she'd be back in a few hours and she hasn't come back since. Where is she, Vanitas?"
He smiled in an attempt to calm Tifa down. "Just relax..."
"Don't tell me to relax," Tifa narrowed her usually soft eyes, "was she at your place last night or not?"
A small smirk grew on his face. "She was definitely there."
"And did she leave soon after she visited you?"
Vanitas spotted Roxas at the back of the group, his grin widening. "Jasmine spent the night. I'm guessing she left early in the morning."
Riku knew he had to control his anger. He did not trust Vanitas from the moment he first met him and with the way things were unraveling, he had a feeling Vanitas was up to something.
"She actually left a note saying she might be here and that she had to handle some business. That's why I came."
Angela pulled Tifa back gently. "Well she's not here. No one has been able to get in contact with her all day."
"Did you two get into a fight?" Sora asked.
Vanitas laughed. "No way. We had a great time. We always have a good time." Before Tifa walked off, he called, "I'll look for her if she hasn't been home."
Tifa whipped back around. "Stay away from her," she snapped.
'Ah so she's finally letting her true colors show,' Vanitas mused. 'Let's see if we can play with this.' He gave a casual shrug of his shoulders. "She's still engaged to me. You can't tell me what I can and cannot do."
Sora and Tidus had to actually physically restrain Tifa from advancing on Vanitas, who simply stood there with a smirk on his face.
"I don't know what her parents see in you, but I don't buy it for a second. As soon as I get custody of Jasmine, you won't get within a mile of her."
"Sure she was a little nervous about the engagement when I first proposed, but she's come to like me over time. I'll take good care of her."
"You don't deserve her," Tifa spat, pulling against Sora and Tidus' grip.
Before Vanitas could say anything more, his phone went off and he answered it without looking. "Hello?" His smile grew. "Hi, Jasmine. Looks like you've caused a bit of a stir."
Jasmine's laughter could be heard even by Tifa. "Oh I'll bet."
"You need to come back. Everyone is worried sick about you." Vanitas' concern seemed completely genuine. "Are you alright?"
"Never better," she called.
"Let me talk to her," Tifa demanded.
Vanitas turned his back to Tifa, ignoring her completely. "Where are you?"
"I'm at a restaurant. I promised you the whole weekend so I figured we could have dinner. I'll text you the location."
"Alright then," the raven-haired graduate replied.
"Oh, and tell Sora I'm sorry," she added. "Make sure you tell him that."
Vanitas laughed. "Okay, love." The pet name caused everyone in the room to either roll their eyes or glare.
He hung up the phone. "Sora," Vanitas called, "Jasmine told me to tell you she's sorry."
Sora blinked. "For what?"
"How should I know?" Vanitas turned on his heel.
"Where is she, Vanitas?" Angela called out.
Vanitas was already out the door and shut it behind him.
"Should we follow him?" Tidus asked, letting go of Tifa finally.
"He clearly knows where she is," Riku continued. "We should just tail him."
"No," Tifa told them, "Vanitas already probably expects that. We should all just go back to the house and wait for her there."
"Then what do we do?" Angela asked. "We can send the police or security up there to bring her back."
"I'll have a couple of friends go after her," Tifa started, reaching for her own cell phone.
"And these friends of yours, they'll be able to do it?"
Tifa smiled then. "They're all involved with SOLDIER and AVALANCHE." Everyone's eyes widened at the names. SOLDIER and AVALANCHE were the two of the top combat and military units in the world. "Don't worry, they'll be able to get her back. Trust me."
Jasmine rested her trembling hands in her lap as the door opened to the back of the empty restaurant. 'Steady yourself.' Vanitas walked through, escorted by two bodyguards she had never seen before.
'Everything is going as planned,' she told herself. But for some reason, Jasmine couldn't shake her nerves. However she refused to let her fears show on her face. She wore a mask of mild amusement and kept it at that. Breaking down now would ruin everything she ever worked for.
Vanitas dismissed his bodyguards and sat in the seat opposite of Jasmine's.
He waited a few moments, simply staring at her without say a word. His eyes locked onto her with irritation clear in his amber orbs.
"I'd ask you what the hell is wrong with you," he started, "but I'm much too tired right now to bother with the useless chatter."
"Let's just say I had to get away for a little while," Jasmine told him lightly. "No distractions, no worries." She picked up the glass of wine in front of her and Vanitas did the same, drinking steadily.
"We're going home now," he commanded.
Jasmine appeared sad for a moment. "But I have something for you," she stuck her hands into the pocket of her jacket.
Vanitas finished the glass. "Really now?" He seemed curious as to what she had for him.
She pushed her seat back and stood up, running to his chair and placing her hands on his shoulders. "You're finally getting what you deserve." Jasmine slipped her hands under his shirt and rubbed his chest. She could feel his heart racing now. Pulling her hands free she disappeared through a set of double doors, leaving Vanitas for a brief moment.
When she returned, she was pulling a cart with a large sheet over a tall stack of something stacked underneath and set it in front of him.
"What is that?" He asked curiously.
"I know you've tapped into my father's accounts and stole money from him by way of Vexen," she stated matter-of-factly.
Vanitas was silent. 'She knows...'
"I knew you'd do much more than convince him to invest in a few companies," Jasmine paced around the area, keeping her cool as she did so. She had to fight off the laughter building up so she could finish. "It's not hard to figure out. Vexen is such a weak minded little snot that it was easy to snatch up some of his documents from his office...and yours too."
"Jasmine," Vanitas started. This was not good. She was up to something.
"So I did a little research of my own and found that you left my father broke, save for the money he was going to use for my wedding and college funds," she snickered then, "wasn't THAT charitable of you?"
"Listen to me," he said testily.
"But I'm not mad, no not at all," she smiled then.
Vanitas did not believe her. "You're such a liar."
"Well if I am," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of matches, "then I get it from my," she giggled, "better half."
"We're leaving now," Vanitas stood up then.
"No wait! I still haven't given you your gift!" Jasmine whipped back the cover and revealed an enormous pile of money all separated out in single dollar bills.
Vanitas' eyes widened. "Is that all HIS money?"
Jasmine broke off a match behind his back. "Oh no. I made sure all his money was put back where it belonged. The companies you invested in belonged to a good friend of mine until he decided that they would all go to me. Hell it's not like he doesn't have a great deal of money anyway."
Vanitas' eye twitched. Everything was falling apart right before his eyes.
"This is the twenty million you invested in the companies. We cashed all the money and stocks out."
"So it's MY money?" He half-shouted.
Jasmine sneered. She grabbed a bottle of some unknown liquid and poured it all over the stacks of cash. "Yes and no." She struck the match against the back of the package when she set the bottle down. "Technically it's mine but if it wasn't for you, I guess it wouldn't be." Jasmine carelessly threw the match on the pile of money and all twenty million dollars went up in flames instantly.
Vanitas' whole body began to shake. He had invested so much money, so much time, so much effort into all his plans. Now it was all going up in flames. Literally.
Jasmine took the chance while Vanitas was still stunned and reached under the table, pulling out a steel pipe.
"Oh Vanitas," she cooed.
The young man started to turn around when he felt something crash into his shoulder to knock him off his feet.
Jasmine snapped then. Without mercy or worry, she took the pipe to his back relentlessly with no resolve to stop.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Vanitas shouted, shielding himself from Jasmine's blows. He had no idea she was this strong.
"I HATE YOU!" She shouted. "Do you even KNOW what you did to me? You ruined my life!" Jasmine made sure to stay away from his neck and other vital organs as she swung and struck him. "For almost eighteen years I had to deal with men like you who wanted to control and ruin me!" She struck him again with more force. Tears began to stream down her face. All the anger she had pent up since she was a little girl was beginning to surface. "You ruined me, blackmailed me, raped me and wrecked my life!" This time she struck him in the side and Vanitas groaned in pain.
Jasmine threw aside the pipe and began stomping on Vanitas and kicking him with full force.
"I was fine before you came into my life you sick bastard," her voice was more hushed now, instead replaced by laughter. "And all this was over money and power?" She bent down and roughly slapped Vanitas across the face. "Well is it REALLY worth it? You're still a piece of shit who takes pleasure in hurting others. I'm ECSTATIC that the money is gone now!" She continued to laugh, now giddy to the point where she couldn't breathe.
She got off of Vanitas and tossed the engagement ring aside. "Haha," she giggled, "the engagement is over if that wasn't clear. I'm leaving your sorry ass."
Vanitas rolled on his back. Despite the pain, he picked himself up and launched himself at her, knocking Jasmine over and on her back.
He struck her clear across the face, only to be shocked by the fact that she was still laughing despite the pain. Maybe she had finally, truly lost her mind.
"You belong to me!" He roared. "You're not going anywhere!"
"Sure I am," she said, rolling on her side and laughing into the carpet. "I gave," she chuckled, "some friends in high places a report of all the abuse you've given me over the year. You're finished. And you'll probably be charged with extortion and sexual assault. Good luck in prison!"
Vanitas yanked her up by her hair, causing her to yelp. "This isn't over," he seethed.
"Yeah it is," she sing-songed.
Vanitas' security rushed in. The taller man of the two handed Vanitas something that looked like a needle.
Roughly, Vanitas injected Jasmine with something and she quickly began to fade into darkness.
'It's all coming together,' she thought before quickly falling into unconsciousness.
