DyingofFeels: Yes! That is a very good and important point. Meli is most definitely an unreliable narrator when it comes to pretty much everything about herself, including how Yen Sid and everyone else feel about her. I'm glad you're hyped for the final battle(s)! Hope it lives up to expectations!

Hcbnc: I'm glad you're excited! I hope it lives up to your expectations!

Enamis09: Haha yeah, maybe Yen Sid's not so bad after all, huh? As DyingofFeels pointed out, Meli is an unreliable narrator when it comes to how Yen Sid (and everyone else!) feels about her. I hope your nerves are doing better and that your exam goes well!

Coolmegan123: (replying to your review on chapter 38) Glad you enjoyed it! Haha yes Master Yen Sid seems to know all...at least in my story, he does! I don't know how canon that is but I keep finding myself giving him this extra knowledge that he shouldn't logically have lol.

A/N: Welcome, new follower!

Okay here we go...oh my gosh you guys are gonna haaaaate meeeeee...

I was determined to actually get some sleep that night, not spend it wandering like I so often did and wear myself out right before the big battle. My brain, however, had other ideas. I stayed awake for hours, alternately staring up at the familiar blue canopy, pounding my pillow into submission, and curling up into the tightest ball I could form, all while a million different possible scenarios for how the day might go played through my mind. When I finally did fall asleep, my thoughts did not. Now the scenarios were infinitely more dark and terrifying, though, and I woke panting and in a sweat after each and every bout of sleep, having to work hard each time to shove the panic down.

Finally, somewhere close to what should have been dawn based on the numbers glaring from the clock I had bought in town, deep and dreamless sleep found me. It didn't last very long, only a few hours, but long enough that I slept past the time I had planned on getting up. When I blinked open my eyes and saw how late it had gotten, I practically leapt out of the bed. My heart was pounding already, just from the anticipation of what was to come.

Okay, Meli. Deep breaths. Calm down. There's no need to go into this already stressed and exhausted, so...coffee first. Then catch up with the others.

I didn't linger in Agrabah, just grabbed my cup of coffee, drank half of it while standing in an undisturbed corner, then drained the rest in the In Between. It hadn't necessarily calmed my nerves any, but it did at least help me feel a little more human.

When I reached out, I could feel all of my friends gathered in one place, and I could feel the immense darkness right along beside them. Hopefully I hadn't missed anything too big. I opened the corridor, but paused before walking through, taking a few more steadying breaths.

The world was dry and hot. It almost felt like I had returned to Agrabah, though the heat was made less intense by the wind that whipped up a storm of dust and clouded the air. I could make out the face of a cliff through the dust, and in its center, a pathway where Sora, Donald, and Goofy were just disappearing. Otherwise, the red dirt stretched out endlessly on either side of me, completely void of all life.

Something terrible had happened here. I could feel it in the air, in my bones, a cold that settled over them and made me shiver. It was nothing recent, nothing that my friends had anything to do with. No, this was like an ancient voice, calling out to me from the dust, whispering of the horrible things that it had seen many, many years ago.

It was an effort to pull myself out from under the spell. Swallowing hard, I put one foot in front of the other, forcing myself forward, toward those foreboding cliffs. As I drew closer, the glint of metal in the sun caught my eye, and I stopped in my tracks. Keyblades. There were dozens of them, rusted with age and coated in a thick layer of dust, stuck haphazardly in the ground all around the cliff. Realization dawned on me. This is it. This is where it happened...the ancient Keyblade War. Where darkness prevailed and light expired...and hundreds of Keyblade wielders lost their lives. Of course he would choose here for this battle.

Setting my mouth, I returned my attention to the path ahead. It won't happen again today. I may not be using light, but I will make sure it prevails. And no more Keyblade wielders will die here, not today.

I was ready to start forward again when a familiar sound caught my attention. Whirling around, I saw two figures standing out in the open, and my heart galloped into overtime. Ansem, the man whom Riku had shared a face with for so long, was staring straight at me with a devious smirk on his lips. At his side was Kaj.

"I was quite disappointed when I didn't see you among your friends earlier." That deep voice grated at my ears, reminding me way too much of a time I'd rather forget. "So good to see that you've finally arrived."

I walked slowly back toward them, Keyblade flashing into my hand. "What do you want, Ansem?" My eyes flicked over to Kaj, trying to read him, but his expression was stoic.

"I thought you might like to see how our newest recruit is doing." Ansem gestured toward Kaj with one hand. "He's come quite far in his training."

All I cared about was whether or not they had turned him into a Xehanort zombie. He looked normal, at least, though I wasn't sure what changes I should be searching for. "I seriously doubt that's all that you singled me out for. Is this some sort of last minute effort to get me to change sides?"

Ansem smiled again. "Perhaps it is. You're obviously quite intelligent, Meli. You've chosen the power of the dark over the weak light already. Why not make another smart decision now, and choose to join your friends on the side of this battle that will win?"

Shifting my grip on the Keyblade, I narrowed my eyes. "You guys are obviously not very intelligent if you really think that you're going to change my mind. What, did Xemnas give up so soon? Didn't want to risk me beating up on him anymore? Or were you specially chosen because they thought your connection to Riku would psych me out?"

Not giving him a chance to answer, I pressed on. "Look, Kaj has made his own stupid decision, and while I have no intention of letting him continue down this path for long, it was his choice. That doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to make the same..." I trailed off as something he had said itched at my brain. "Wait, why did you say, 'friends', plural? Whether or not Kaj is actually still my friend is debatable at best, but if you think I have any other friends in the Organization, you're out of your mind."

Ansem arched a perfect eyebrow. "Oh, did I forget to mention?" With a wave of his hand, he summoned a corridor off to the side of where we were standing. The smoke cleared, and Zephyr was standing there, eyes wide with bewilderment.

"Zeph!" I choked out. I swiveled my head back to Ansem, who was positively gloating, just barely taking note of the surprise on Kaj's face before jogging over to my friend. "Zeph, are you okay?"

"Mel?" He was looking around, dumbfounded. "Where...? What's going on?"

"I wouldn't bother trying to send him away again," Ansem's voice came floating over my shoulder. "I'll know where he is, and simply bring him right back."

Gripping the handle of my Keyblade so hard it hurt, I lowered my voice, lightly touching Zeph's arm with my free hand. "It's alright. I'm gonna get us out of here."

He nodded vigorously, blue eyes filled with confusion and fear. "Okay. Be careful, Mel."

I faced Ansem and Kaj again, cheeks hot with anger. "He's not with you. You're lying."

"Perhaps not right now, but that's merely semantics." Ansem crossed his arms over his broad chest. "I'll make a deal with you, Meli. If you fight willingly alongside us today, both Zephyr and Kaj shall go free." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaj shoot an irritated look up at the taller man. "However, if you refuse, then Xehanort has deemed you a 'wild card' that must be eliminated. And of course, with you gone, your friends will be at my mercy."

I actually didn't mind being called a wild card. It was a whole lot better than some of the names I had come up with for myself, and gave me a feeling of power over these Nobodies. So, they're worried about what I might do? Good. Striding back to square off in front of Ansem, I swung my Keyblade up into place and crouched into my fighting stance. "I've got a counter offer. How about I kill you, then take both of my friends to safety?"

Ansem had the gall to look almost pleased. "Elimination it is, then." Without turning, he waved Kaj forward with one hand. "She's all yours. Kill her."

I only had a split second for my mind to scream, what? before Kaj was asking the same thing. "What? You said we were gonna recruit her, not kill her. No one said anything about Zeph being involved, and no one said anything about Meli dying." He stood his ground, glaring up at the side of Ansem's head. "You can't make me do that."

I wanted to be relieved that Kaj was standing up for me, at least a little, that he was clearly not a Xehanort zombie yet, but I knew that now was my chance to attack. Sprinting forward, I raised my weapon to strike. Ansem saw me coming and curled in on himself, then thrust his hands up to release both his Heartless Guardian and a wave of darkness that threw me backwards onto the ground. Before I had the chance to catch my breath, the grotesque creature had swooped down and snatched me up in one of its huge hands, trapping my right arm up against my chest.

"I knew that you couldn't be trusted," Ansem was telling Kaj down below me. "You were Xemnas and Xigbar's pet project, but if they really wanted your allegiance, they should have convinced Xehanort to make you one of us. Your little rebellion means nothing, though. The girl will die, if not by your hand, then by mine."

Desperately, I kicked and punched and squirmed, but without my Keyblade it was no use. The hand began to squeeze, fingers as big as my fists digging down into my chest. It was like an outward, physical manifestation of the vise grip of a panic attack, and it was terrifying.

Then something cracked, first on my left side, then the right, and I cried out in pain. Black spots swam in my vision. From somewhere very far away, I could hear voices screaming, maybe even calling my name, but as my breath continued to fail me everything was rapidly fading.

I'm sorry, Zeph. I wanted...to save you...

I didn't know I was falling until I hit the ground and crumpled. Suddenly I could breathe again, and I sucked in the air greedily, but each inhale sent an explosion of pain through my ribcage. Moaning through my teeth, I tried to orient myself. Dirt. There was dirt underneath me, caught up in my fists, turning into paste in my mouth. Somewhere to my right, one of the voices was coming back into focus. Angry. The voice was angry.

Another sensation broke through to my consciousness, past the grit and the starvation for air and the pain. A hand on my shoulder, and another voice – not angry, scared. Close to me. Lifting my head, I first saw Ansem, far away, stony-faced. Kaj was glowering at him, and he was...are those daggers? Yes, Ansem was pulling two daggers out of his own flesh, silver blades glinting in the sunlight.

The scared voice spoke again, and I dragged my eyes upwards to find Zephyr's face hovering just above mine. "Mel! Are you okay?"

I pushed myself up onto my elbows, then my hands, grimacing against the fire that ran up my sides with each movement. Zeph was staring at me with that puppy dog face, head tilted sideways, and I wanted to reassure him, to smile or to tell him everything would be alright, but I couldn't seem to find my voice again. Besides, Ansem was still there, and if I didn't pull myself together quickly he was going to kill me and take my friends. I had to protect them. No matter what, I had to make sure they were safe.

"No!"

The desperate cry swerved my attention back to Kaj, and the world fell into slow motion. He was running, fear in his eyes, hands reaching out as if to grab onto something. My focus shifted, locking onto the two daggers that were spinning gracefully through the air, almost blinding in their gleam. They would hit me in mere seconds, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was frozen in place.

Then a head of brown hair blocked my view, and before I could even gasp with realization, Zeph's body jerked and fell, landing in my lap. Two shining daggers stuck out from his chest, blood seeping out around them.

"No!" I scrambled upright, cupping his cheeks in my hands. "No, no, no!" This can't be happening. This can't be happening. "Zeph! Zeph, look at me!"

He coughed, a wet sound, and a trickle of blood ran out of the corner of his mouth.

"No, Zeph, come on, stay with me." I fumbled in my jacket pocket for a potion. Please, please, please.

His eyelids fluttered open, and the vibrant blue of his irises seemed cloudy, unfocused. "'s 'kay, Mel."

"No, it's not okay, you can't leave me!" His eyes shut again, and I finally managed to uncork the vial of potion, my hands shaking so badly that I almost spilled it everywhere. "Here, take this!" I poured some of it onto his lips, but most of the liquid simply ran down his chin. "No, come on, this is gonna work! It has to!" It has to work. I can't lose you. I can't lose you.

Turning my attention to his chest, I yanked the heinous daggers out and flung them as far away as possible so that I could pour the rest of the potion directly over the wounds. Come on. Come on. There was nothing. No green light, no glow, no skin closing over. I threw the empty vial in the opposite direction of the daggers and raked my hands through my hair. "Why isn't it working?"

"Mel." I hadn't even realized that Kaj was sitting there with us until he spoke. His voice was broken, his eyes filled with unshed tears. "It's too late. He's gone."

For a moment I just stared back at him, unable to comprehend his words. "No. He's not. He can't be." I looked down again, at the bloodstain that had spread to almost completely cover the once-blue t-shirt, the chest that no longer breathed, the pale face that was so still and peaceful. I placed my hand on his cold cheek again. "Zeph, please. Please..."

With that last word, my voice cracked, and I collapsed forward, throwing my arms around the lifeless body of my first best friend. "This is all my fault," I sobbed. "I brought you here and got you killed."

"I shouldn't have...I threw my daggers at him. I thought that would stop him." Kaj drew in a shuddering breath. "But he just...pulled them out, like it was nothing. He was going to kill you, and I just handed him a weapon to do it with."

My whole body shuddered as I wet Zephyr's neck with my tears. He can't be gone. He can't be dead. I just got him back into my life, he can't be gone now. "Why did you jump in front of me, Zeph? You should have just let me die."

A gentle hand rested on my back. "He couldn't have done that. He loved you too much."

But I loved him, too. I just wanted to save him.

Something changed beneath me, and I sat up suddenly. He was fading away. Already I could almost see my legs through his body. "No," I croaked. "No, not yet, I'm not ready!" Grasping his head in my hands, I pressed my forehead to his. "Zeph..."

He was gone. What was left of him broke away into dancing lights that floated away into the blue sky. With a choking sob, I curled in on myself, not even fazed by the pain that was still shooting through my own body. Zeph...please...come back.

A/N: Um...happy new year?

*hides in a closet until Saturday*