Sparkling, twirling hearts escaped the grasp of shadows and vanished into the air. Free once more. The glinting feathers of the hooded figure's blade dripped with tar-like darkness. No creatures were left in sight. She straightened from their short fight and released the key shaped weapon. It shimmered and disappeared from this plane of existence. Sent to somewhere unknown.
A hand took her wrist and twisted it behind her back. Her face slammed into the concrete. Her arm wrenched hard and a heavy weight was holding her down. She gave a pained grunt, gritting her teeth tight and glaring up at the attacker. His amber eyes pierced from the pitch of his hood and glared at her, dripping in venom.
"You never send your weapon away before checking the field for enemies." The man chastised her harshly, smacking the back of her head before lifting off of her. Alix wiped off some of the dirt, growling softly. He blocked the door, arms folded, waiting.
"Again." He ordered. Alix nodded and braced herself. The man -the leader, Xemnas- snapped, bringing a pack of white, rubbery creatures with zipper lips out of an unknown void, solely to attack her.
She tried to take on one at a time, spinning the blade in one of her hands to keep the other creatures away while picking them off unsuccessfully. Xemnas shook his head as he watched her fail, crisply sighing.
Alix was jumped by all the creatures at once, covering her with their stretching appendages to keep her down. She tried to roar, sounding like a house cat, as she tossed the creatures off of her and backed away from them. She scanned the field, this time careful to keep an eye on her mentor.
The elastic beasts circled her, creeping closer to her each cycle. Her demeanor faltered a moment. Uncertainty marking her face before she remembered to summon her blade back to hand.
"Stay focused," Xemnas said as his amber pierced her incorrect form. Alix breathed deeply in an attempt to untangle her nerves and focus, cutting through the leaping Dusk. The mindless drones crowded to smother her again, but she was prepared this time. She hacked through them as they approached, pushing away the mass of white emblemed creatures. She leveled it down to the last couple, pinning one down with a feather throwing knife detached from her keyblade, finishing both off with a final slice.
Xemnas combed a hand through his silver mane, shaking his head. Similarly dressed companions beside him -one very large and tall, the other shorter than both of them- hoods pulled over their heads, obscuring their faces.
"Don't let them crowd you like that. That spells easy death!" Xemnas barked. It seemed like an obvious note. He couldn't believe he had to repeat it to her. He took her hair in his hand. Alix yelped and grabbed her roots. A feeble attempt to ease some of the pain.
"Master Xemnas, perhaps Alix would improve with a sentient sparring partner? Lesser Nobodies can only do so much in the way of thought." The shorter one mused monotonously. Xemnas looked at him over his shoulder, grip slacking. The taller one nodded in agreement, taking his hood and pulling it down. His brown hair was jagged and chopped, his face rugged and defined.
"Let someone else train her." Lexaeus scowled down at her, "If anything, they can find something for her to do." Xemnas glanced at the two and sighed, releasing her and waving a hand in a heavy breath.
"Fine. There are more important matters to attend to." Xemnas said. Alix let out a relieved sigh, standing at attention before her superiors.
"I apologize for my ignorance, it won't happen again." She bowed her head apologetically.
"It won't." Xemnas coldly stated. He gestured for her to follow them and lead her down a long, dark hall. Lexaeus walked behind the shorter one, step in step with Alix. The short one dropped his hood, a messy steel blue sweep covering his left eye, petering out when crossing his extremely young face.
"Lexaeus and I have made little progress, but we came upon an interesting tome." Zexion vaguely informed Xemnas, retrieving a small written journal from his cloak and handing it to their master.
"Interesting?" Xemnas prompted.
"It's related to Galloria." Lexaeus leaned down to the pair, keeping a hushed tone. Alix furrowed her brow and creeped carefully closer to the three and silently mouthing "Galloria?" curiously. Xemnas felt her nearly pressing against his back. He tucked the journal in his cloak and nodded.
"Continue then, you know when to report back." He cleared his throat, flicking his cloak into Alix's face. She recoiled and left space between the two fixing her looping bangs. Zexion and Lexaeus bowed their heads. They paused in the hall and leaving the palace swiftly. Xemnas took the annoyance to her new trainer.
Xemnas dragged Alix along through the halls trying to find another Organization superior to pawn her off on. Finally, he found another cloak in the halls. He stood in front of one of many floor-to-ceiling windows gazing over the empty abyss of their world. Head cocked ever so slightly in admirance with blue hair draping down to his mid-back. Beyond, the heart-shaped moon was shrouded in empty darkness, its shine dancing over the sea of clouds that hid the void's unending depths.
"Saix!" Xemnas barked, evoking a slight tension in the cloak's shoulders before he turned around.
"Yes, Master Xemnas?" He formally replied, his eyes encased in amber similar to his. Xemnas shoved Alix towards the volatile soldier, slamming her into his built form.
"She has no combat experience. Build some before we need her. Adequate experience." He ordered. He stomped away before Saix could even react. He looked down at the greenhorn with a grimace. Alix pulled away from Saix and bowed her head respectfully to him, balling her fists at her sides. Her bow bent her as low as she could go. The deeper the bow, the more respect you're showing. Right?
"P-pleasure to be training with you, Master Saix." She said once she found her nerves again. Saix walked past her. She hesitantly straightened her back and kept her eyes forward to the stars ahead. His reflection in the window showed him dragging his claymore from the void and placing the end of it on her shoulder before speaking up.
"Come, then. Show me your limits." He said. He never broke his monotone, at least not that Alix had ever heard. Nor from any of them really. Save for when Xemnas scolds her. She summoned her blade to her hands, circling Saix and reaching sparring distance. Saix pointed his large claymore, aptly named Lunatic, at Alix. The weapon alone eclipsed the small recent addition to the organization. Alix's eyes darted from Saix to Lunatic, matching his pose and pointing her slim feather at him. He raised a brow, unamused.
"I won't hesitate further." He warned. Alix blinked and tore her gaze from the blunt weapon. She drew back. Her blade crashed into his claymore, knocking it aside as she rushed at Saix. He kicked her squarely in the stomach in a blink. She was thrown back to her starting distance. She crumpled and held her stomach, groaning.
"What was that?" Saix sighed, rubbing his temple. Alix struggled to her feet, picking her weapon from the ground and trying again. She leaped while he was distracted. Saix swatted her away and held her down, resting an elbow on the handle.
"You aren't making a good case for keyblade wielders." He looked down at her with a cheek on his wrist. Alix struggled against the weight. She glared at Saix and stabbed at him from her pathetic predicament.
"This isn't fair." Alix pouted, dropping her arm. Saix shook his head and stepped away from her. She dusted herself off and pulled her blade to her chest, cautiously keeping guard while he paced around her.
"What is fair? If this were fair, they wouldn't have sent you to me." Saix eyed the grand heart outside, bathing the hall in its moonlight. He refrained himself from turning his impatience on her and dispelled Lunatic.
"Come with me." He directed before he left. Alix followed close behind him, returning her blade as well. They entered a lounge-like area, the term "gray area" appearing literal. Everything was in different shades of gray: chairs, walls, floors, vases, flowers, etc. Other members of the organization sat at scattered tables. Like most of the rooms, there was a wall-wide window with a clear view of the moon above the castle that illuminated everything eerily.
"Flailing in a dark room will do nothing for you," Saix brought her to a table where a younger blonde member was playing his sitar, "You'll join Demyx and go to Twilight Town. You two will be completing a task for me." Demyx paused, a sour cord accenting his incredulity.
"What?" He whined.
"Yes, sir," Alix nodded dutifully. Demyx tried to talk Saix into taking him out of the mission, but it was non-negotiable. His pleading ended with a weak glare and soft growling. The pair followed their senior to a newly opened corridor. A portal the organization could create to travel between worlds. Demyx folded his arms and impatiently awaited the task. Alix envied his relaxed demeanor though. She could never bring herself to be so calm around the gang of vicious Nobodies.
"You two are going to capture a Heartless for me. By yourselves."
"Why exactly? It's a Heartless…" Demyx asked, shrugging and cocking his head to one side.
"It's for Vexen. Xemnas needs it studied." Saix answered simply. The pair were less than pleased with that news. Demyx and Alix passed glances at each other. They wouldn't be able to get out of this. They sucked it up and hopped through the portal to get it over with.