Banshee: Don't worry, I'm still alive! And I got a new chapter for you! Don't worry, I'll get into the comedy more later on, just a chapter or two more of seriousness before we start getting goofy. In the meantime, enjoy the chapter~!
Chapter Three: First Impressions
Recap:
"Eavesdropping as a nasty habit, you know." Axel said, his voice and expression serious as Xigbar appeared from behind a corner.
"There are worse habits than eavesdropping, Flamesilocks." The sharpshooter pointed out.
"What do you want?"
"I couldn't help but notice that Roxas has been spending a lot of time with our prisoner lately. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were being replaced." Xigbar said nonchalantly, as if he were talking about the weather.
"Roxas would never replace me." Axel said adamantly.
"You sure about that?" Said Xigbar with a sly smile. "He really seems to like her; maybe even more than you."
Axel said nothing, but the fellow Nobody's words struck a chord. He clenched his fists and glared at Xigbar, who seemed unaffected by his fiery glare and uncharacteristic scowl. But he did feel the air around him get hotter as a result of the redhead's anger.
"Whoa, hey now." He surrendered, jumping back and putting his hands up. "No need to get mad. I'm just kidding."
"Don't you have anything better to do?" Axel said.
"Not particularly, no." Xigbar chuckled. "But I do need to have a word with our Superior. I'll catch ya later, Flamesilocks!"
With that, Xigbar left, leaving Axel standing alone in the hallway.
Of course he knew that the jerk was kidding. Roxas idolized him, always coming to him for advice and was under the impression that the redhead knew everything. They were best friends, close to brothers even, so there was no way that Roxas would ever replace him with anyone. Still, whenever he met with the boy, he would tell him about Nikki, saying how nice she was and always saying how the two of them should meet up. He was sure that Roxas told her about him as well.
He soon realized that he was thinking about this for way too long, and shook those thoughts out of his head before moving on down the hall.
A few weeks ago, if you told Nikki that she was about to come face-to-face with the leader of Organization XIII, she would laugh and tell you that you're crazy. But yet here she was, staring into the cold, emotionless eyes of none other than Xemnas, leader of the Organization, with Saïx, his second-in-command, at his side. Both men were taller and more built than her, and if she was going to be honest with herself she would say that she was pretty indimitated. However, that didn't stop her from glaring at them defiantly, especially since Saïx was eyeing her with distaste that he wasn't even bothering to hide, and Xemnas had that mocking look of amusement on his face.
"So," Said Xemnas after a drawn-out silence. "You're the little rat that has stolen its way into our castle."
"Believe me, pal, if I knew what was going to happen, I never would have gone through that portal and ended up here in the first place." Nikki snapped defiantly.
In retrospect, talking back to a villain was a very bad idea and would likely get her killed, but she just couldn't help herself but to do so; she just didn't like being referred to as a rat, or being looked at or talked to as if she was dirt. While Saïx glared at her insolence, Xemnas seemed amused by it, for he agreed, "Indeed. But you just couldn't help yourself, could you?"
Nikki's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.
"Curiosity is a dangerous thing, isn't it? One of the many drawbacks of having a heart. I pity you, really."
"Oh really?" Nikki inquired, an edge in her voice; once again, she couldn't stop herself from talking back. "You're the one without a heart, but you pity me? At least my emotions are real; I don't have to fake it!"
Saïx continued to glower at her, the look in his eyes suggesting that he would like nothing more than to summon his claymore and cut her down where she stood. Xemnas, however, smiled, though Nikki knew that there was no true amusement behind it. Even so, it still sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine.
"It's true," He said. "None of us feel true emotion now that our hearts are gone. But what of poor Roxas; the only one among us with little to no memory of his former self, with no past experiences to call back on to fabricate an emotion? Are his emotions not real?"
"Don't drag Roxas into this!" Nikki shouted, running up and grasping the cell bars, leaning as far as she could outside the cell so she could look Xemnas in the eye. "He's more real than any of you could ever be!"
At her anger, Xemnas merely chuckled.
"You see?" He said in mock sympathy. "This is why I pity you. Your heart rules your actions, fuels your words, and blinds you to the truth. It's sad, and rather pathetic, really."
Nikki had such a tight grip on the bars at this point that her knuckles had turned white. She knew what he was doing. Roxas had told her how manipulative he was, and he probably came to her cell just to see how far he could go before she got angry, likely trying to gauge how powerful a Heartless she would create with that anger. Well she wasn't going to give that to him. Releasing the bars, she did the best to calm herself as she stepped back and took a deep breath.
"Is there a point to you coming here, or are you just going to stand there and antagonize me?"
"Watch how you speak to your superiors, girl," Saïx said in a dangerous tone, "or I'll silence you myself."
"Now, now, Saïx. That's no way to treat a guest." Xemnas mock-scolded him. "Especially since that guest is one of Sora's friends."
"I don't see the point in keeping her." Saïx said, eyeing Nikki with that same distaste as she glared right back. "She's not as close to him as Riku or Kairi."
"She's close enough." The Superior said dismissively, waving his hand. "We shall keep her here at the castle. Sora can't resist playing the hero, no matter who is in danger. And Roxas has taken a liking to her as well. She will make a nice little distraction for him between his missions."
"Hey!" Nikki yelled, not liking how they were talking as if she was invisible. "I'm still here!"
"Yes, we know." Saïx said with a hint of testiness. "You can't seem to shut your mouth."
"Watch it, Scarface! You think you're so tough, but Sora and Riku kicked your asses six ways to Sunday! They did it before, and they can do it again! You freaks don't scare me!"
It happened so fast; she was suddenly knocked backward as Saïx swung his claymore, hitting the bars with a deafening BANG, and she landed on the floor. A dangerous aura surrounded the berserker as he stood outside her cell, his claymore clenched tightly in his fist, and he appeared on the brink of losing himself and smashing everything he could reach. Those same eyes that once held annoyance and indifference now were wild and near-insane, and honestly, it was scary. He looked like a starved, rabid wolf, and he was even growling, baring his teeth, which she had just noticed were sharper than normal.
"Do I scare you now, brat?" He snarled at her. Nikki simply stared at him from the floor, her eyes wide as dinner plates, and she was trembling enough for both of them to notice. The two Dusks still standing guard at the door were shaking as they watched. Feeling he got his point across, Saïx regained his composure and his claymore vanished. "Remember your place, girl. I won't be so kind next time."
"I will take some time to think about what to do with you." Xemnas said, as if the last thirty seconds didn't happen. "You will remain in this cell in the meantime. Be a good girl and behave yourself, won't you? Come, Saïx."
Saïx glared at Nikki murderously, but followed Xemnas obediently when he summoned a portal, and they both vanished.
Nikki didn't talk for minutes after they departed, still trying to catch her breath, which suddenly got caught in her throat, and hadn't moved from her spot on the floor. She wasn't going to deny it; what Saïx did legitimately scared her, and Xemnas' behavior was unnerving as well. If she ever got out of this cell, she would make sure to get as far away from those two as possible. Keeping her mouth shut would help too.
"Shit..." She breathed, finally finding her voice; and her breath. "Riku was right... These people are crazy..."
This uneasy feeling continued for hours until Roxas appeared, carrying two plates of spaghetti in his hands with a big smile on his face to show he was happy to see her and couldn't wait to tell her about his missions and the worlds he visited; which he knew she always loved to hear about, completely oblivious to what happed before he got there. At first she thought about not telling him about Saïx and Xemnas, but that didn't seem fair. Before Roxas could open his mouth to tell her about his day, Nikki blurted out, "I met the Superior."
"You did?" Roxas asked, concerned.
"And Saïx."
"And what happened?" Asked Roxas.
She explained everything that happened; from Xemnas talking about keeping her in the castle, to Saïx scaring the ever-loving crap out of her, and the boy's expression turned stony.
"Nobody in this Organization is going to hurt you, Nikki." He said determinedly. "I'm Sora's Nobody; if he can beat them, then I can too."
"You don't have to fight anybody." Nikki said sternly. "I'm not worried about them. I just have to be more careful dealing with them, that's all. Now go ahead and tell me about your missions. What kind of world did you visit this time?"
Roxas' expression softened and his smile returned, and soon he was telling Nikki about a world where fairies were real and how he flew through the air without wings; Neverland, he called it, and Nikki listened intently, knowing that moments like these made her glad she followed him through that portal and ended up in the castle.
Nikki had been in that cell for so many days that the marker had run out of ink; well, it didn't help that she was drawing on the walls as well as keeping track of days, and she was left to just lay there on the sleeping bag Roxas had gotten for her. She would occasionally play the board games that Demyx left with her, and though he and Roxas would play them with her from time to time, they got a little boring with just the Dusks to play with when they weren't around. Since Demyx wasn't allowed in the castle library, Roxas was the one to bring her some books to read, and with nothing else to do, she would sit and read them cover to cover for hours, even the ones that were so thick that it took days to read them.
At first she was worried about what fate Xemnas had in store for her, but after a while she just didn't care anymore; as long as she could get out of that stupid cell, it didn't matter what he decided to do with her.
Her answer finally came when Roxas entered her cell, looking excited.
"I got great news! The Superior is letting you out!"
Nikki stared at him, shaking her head and smiling once the words registered in her brain, and she asked hopefully, "Really? Does this mean I can go home?"
Roxas' smile faltered. "U-Uh, actually... no."
"Then how is it 'great news?'" Nikki grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Well, you're out of this cell at least." The young Nobody said, trying to sound reassuring. "Come on. I'll take you to your room."
Nikki's eyebrows raised, and she looked at Roxas like she couldn't believe what she heard. "My room? You mean I have to stay in this God-forsaken castle for the rest of my life?"
Roxas scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Pretty much."
"Super.."
"It's not all bad." The blonde said reassuringly. "Your room is right next to mine, so if there's anything you need you can just ask me, okay?"
"Sure." Nikki paused for a moment, and then asked, with a hint of dread, "So, I can't leave the castle at all?"
"You can leave the castle, but one of us has to be with you; you know, to make sure you don't-"
"Run away. Got it."
Nikki began picking things up off the floor; the sleeping bag, the books and board games, and walked with Roxas through the portal he created, waving goodbye to the two Dusks standing guard, who both waved back, before stepping inside the blackness. They emerged shortly, arriving in a corridor lined with doors, all with numbers inscribed on them, and Nikki knew without even asking that this must be where the Organization members' bedrooms were.
"Here's my room. See?" Roxas said, getting her attention as he pointed to the door in front of them. The door had a big number thirteen on it. "And here's your room."
He then pointed to a blank door right next to his, and Nikki couldn't help but make a face at it. Since her hands were full he opened the door for her, revealing a room that was just as blank and boring as the rest of the castle. Other than the dresser, bed and nightstand, the room was devoid of furniture, and there was nothing decorating the walls. There was a reasonably-sized closet on the other side of the room, but it was just as empty, and there was only one window, which provided a good view of the heart-shaped moon floating above the castle.
"The bathroom is down the hall and to the left." Roxas said, breaking the silence. "Don't worry, there's a sign there. Saïx got sick of people asking him where the bathroom was, so he had some Dusks put one up. If you're hungry, the kitchen is the other way; just take a right instead of a left and it's right there.
"Here, while you're getting settled, I'll take these back to the library for you." He continued, gesturing to the books in Nikki's arms.
"Thanks." Nikki said, handing the books to him.
"No problem." He beamed at her. "I'll be right back, okay?"
The brunette nodded, and Roxas smiled before he disappeared into a portal. There wasn't much to settle because all Nikki had with her was a sleeping bag and a handful of board games; neither of which belonged to her. All she could do was set the items down and sit on the bed, which was pushed up against the wall right underneath the window. The only clothes she had were the ones on her back, and she wondered how she was going to live in this castle with only one set of clothes. Surely Roxas or Demyx would go with her to get some clothes...
After a momentary silence, Roxas returned with a pile of fresh books that were stacked up over his head, and he had to peek around it to see her, something Nikki found both funny and adorable.
"I'm back." He said jovially, putting the books down on the dresser. "I got some more books for you. Now that you're finally out of that cell, what do you want to do?"
"This castle is boring as hell." Nikki said rather bluntly. "What's there to do around here?"
"Well…" Roxas said thoughtfully. "I could introduce you to Axel."
He looked happy at first, but his expression changed to downhearted as soon as he remembered, "Oh, that's right... Saïx gave him a lot of missions today, so he won't be back in time to hang out..."
"That's okay, Roxas." Nikki said kindly. "I can meet him tomorrow."
"Okay." Said Roxas, who was feeling a little better.
Suddenly the door burst open and an excited-looking Demyx entered the room, a big, goofy smile plastered on his face.
"Hey!" He greeted.
"Hey Demyx." Nikki and Roxas said nearly the same time.
"So the Superior really did give you your own room. It's better than that cell though, right?"
"Yeah, I guess..." The brunette admitted half-heartedly. It's true, the room Xemnas gave her was better than her cell in the Soundless Prison, but she would rather be back in her own house, sleeping in her own bed. She pulled on her shirt. "I wish I had some clothes, though... I really don't want to spend my time in this castle walking around wearing the same outfit all the time..." She took one look at their Organization XIII uniforms and uttered a quick, "No offense."
"Well, I was told to bring you these..." Demyx said sheepishly, holding up a folded stack of clothes; which, upon closer inspection, were several identical uniforms. Organization XIII uniforms.
Nikki eyed the clothes with apprehension, making a face. "Seriously? He expects me to wear these for the rest of my life? I don't think so."
"These coats aren't so bad." Demyx tried to reason with her. "They change to fit your body, and they protect you from corruption when you pass through a Corridor of Darkness."
"A what?"
"A Corridor of Darkness." Roxas explained. "They're the portals that we create to get around. These coats enable us to pass through them safely."
"Oh... Okay..." Nikki said hesitantly, reaching for one of the coats. "Then I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep one."
"That's the spirit!" Demyx chimed in.
Nikki put on the coat, and found right away that Demyx was right; the coat, which looked standard at first, instantly tailored itself to fit her the second she put it on. The hem of the coat went down to her ankles, the shoulders were angular, and the sleeves, while slightly form-fitting, were slightly bell-shaped and partially covered her hands. As she inspected her new coat, she couldn't find any trace of the clothes she was wearing before; Instead of her t-shirt, there was a black, v-neck tanktop; Black pants replaced her slightly worn blue jeans; And a pair of black boots with heels were on her feet instead of her blue and white shoes. A pair of black gloves found their way onto her hands, though she didn't remember putting them on.
"What the bloody hell happened to my clothes?!" She exclaimed.
"That's just how the coats work." Roxas explained. "They change shape to fit the wearer, and they transform whatever you're wearing under it into the uniform."
"So, if I just take it off, then I'll have my normal clothes on again?"
Roxas and Demyx nodded.
"Okay, then... But I don't have any pajamas either, and I don't think I can sleep in this." She emphasized by pulling on the coat's collar.
"That's okay, you can borrow mine." Demyx offered, pulling a set of pajamas out of nowhere. They were blue and white, and covered in little pink hearts. "I picked these out for you."
"Thank you, Demyx." Nikki said gratefully, taking the pajamas while Demyx beamed. "That's really sweet."
"We'll get you some more clothes tomorrow, after you meet Axel." Roxas said. "We can all go shopping together."
"That sounds great. Thank you." Nikki smiled appreciatively.
"No problem." Roxas said, smiling back. "We'll see you tomorrow."
The brunette nodded, and both Roxas and Demyx smiled before leaving the room.
She took the coat off, her clothing returning to normal, and she promptly undressed, setting both her normal clothes and the black coat on top of the dresser. Nikki unfolded the pajamas Demyx gave her, and realized right away that they were going to be a bit big for her; which was no surprise, considering that the water-wielder was both taller and more built than she was. She put them on and, sure enough, she found that she was right. As she buttoned up the night shirt, the collar went halfway down her chest, and the sleeves covered her hands. Thankfully, when she put on the pants, the waistband was tight enough to keep them from falling off her hips, but the bottoms covered her feet. Walking around in these would be hazardous. It reminded her somewhat of wearing her older sister's clothes.
Nikki shrugged. They may have been too big, but they were good enough. Getting into bed, she pulled the covers over herself, and the giant, heart-shaped moon was the last thing she saw before she fell asleep.
When Nikki woke up the next morning, she found a note from Roxas saying that he was on a mission and he would be gone until around noon or so. According to his note, he had been sent to Halloween Town to destroy a specific Heartless, and, due to its nature, it was a difficult one to track, so this mission would take a while. Luckily she had plenty of books to pass the time, but she could only sit and read for so long, and board games were no fun to play alone. Demyx couldn't play because he had missions of his own, and she hadn't met any of the other members.
Walking around the castle was out of the question. She would get lost, and if she ran into another member, they would be more likely to laugh at her than help her. She didn't want to run into any of them anyway; most of them were either crazy or dangerous, and she really didn't want to risk running into Saïx, so her only option was to stay put in her room.
After a few hours, Nikki let out a long, heavy sigh.
"I'm bored." She said to nobody. "I'm sooooooo bored..."
"Then we should go do something."
The sudden voice startled Nikki, and she let out a very loud squeak as she almost jumped off the bed. Quickly sitting up, she turned and saw a familiar young Nobody fighting back a smile and snickering.
"Wh-What the-?" She stammered. "Roxas! You scared me!"
"Sorry Nikki," Said Roxas, though he didn't seem at all sorry; he was still fighting back giggles. "I couldn't help it."
"You're a little early." Nikki said after taking note of the time. It was 11:30. "I thought you weren't going to be back until noon."
"I thought so too." Roxas said. "But tracking down that Heartless was easy once I discovered its weakness. Turns out, it really loved candy. I just left a huge pile for it, and I destroyed it while it was pigging out. That mission was surprisingly easy, but Saïx made it sound so difficult..."
"That's because Saïx isn't as creative as you are." Nikki said, and Roxas blushed a little.
"So, um... We should probably get going. Axel's waiting for us in Twilight Town."
Having already gotten dressed earlier, all Nikki had to do was throw on the black coat, and she and Roxas stepped through the Corridor of Darkness.
When they emerged from the Corridor, Nikki saw a drastic difference between Twilight Town and The World That Never Was. While the latter was stuck in perpetual night, Twilight Town seemed eternally bathed in the warm glow of sunset, which gave everything an orange hue. And unlike the big, empty and dark city, the streets in this town were full of people; the shops had big, bright signs, adults chatted away, and children were playing and laughing. It was an altogether warmer and more welcoming atmosphere than The World That Never Was would ever be.
"Phew.." Nikki shuddered as the portal closed behind them. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that..."
Roxas chuckled. He could have told her that using portals is weird at first, and that she'd get used to it after a while, but he decided against it. Unlike him, Nikki was still human. "We're gonna meet Axel at the Clock Tower. We always hang out there after missions."
"Oh, is that so?"
He nodded. "Mhm. I can't wait 'til you meet him. I have a feeling you guys are gonna get along great."
Nikki smiled at his optimism. Of course she had her reservations; this 'Axel' was also part of Organization XIII (the people basically holding her captive), but he was also Roxas' best friend, so he couldn't that bad, right?
"Oh!" Roxas called out suddenly. "There he is! Hey! Axel!"
He began waving excitedly at a tall figure standing in the middle of the plaza, who raised his arm and lazily waved back, smiling before making his way towards them. What Nikki noticed first was the same black coat she and Roxas were wearing, and then her eyes moved to his mane of flaming red hair. Both things made him the most conspicuous person around at the moment. As he got closer, she could see a cocky smile on his lips as well as his bright green eyes that glanced at her every so often.
"There you are, Rox. What kept you?" Axel said, patting the teen on the shoulder.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to go and pick up Nikki first."
Axel's eyes went to Nikki and she instinctually stiffened. "Ah, our 'special guest.' Sorry about throwing you in prison, but we don't take kindly to trespassers."
Nikki's eyebrow twitched into an arch. "I noticed." She said dryly.
The redhead held out his hand to shake; a friendly gesture, yet he noticed that Nikki was looking at it as if it was going to bite her. He decided not to address it. "The name's Axel." He said with that same cocky smile. "Got it memorized?"
At those words, Nikki raised an eyebrow again, but bit back a remark as she took his hand. "Wotcher. My name's Nikki. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Now it was Axel's turn to raise an eyebrow. The brunette's voice had an unmistakable edge to it, but with Roxas standing between them, his face lit up with excitement at the idea of his two friends meeting and getting along, he decided to act like he hadn't noticed. For now.
"Hey Axel." Roxas piped up. "Why don't you go ahead and take Nikki to the Clock Tower. You guys can get to know each other while I get the ice cream. Sound good?"
"Sure Rox, no problem." Axel agreed.
The young Nobody then turned to Nikki. "Nikki, is that okay with you?" He asked her.
Nikki, who was in the middle of glaring at Axel, simply uttered a quick, "Mm-hm."
"Okay. I'll meet you at the Clock Tower, then."
And with that, Roxas created a Corridor of Darkness and disappeared into it.
"Alone at last~." Axel mused once the portal disappeared. He turned to flash Nikki another smile, only to be met with that same glare, which seemed to have intensified now that the blonde had left. "Ahem. So... Let's get going, shall we?"
He created a portal and stepped aside to give her full access to it. "Ladies first~." He said, his torso bending into a graceful half-bow as he gestured towards the portal.
Nikki walked into the portal without a word, with Axel following behind her, and they exited at the top of the Clock Tower. Looking around, Nikki took in the view from the top of the tower, finding it beautiful beyond words. She could see the entire town, still bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, which she had a clear, unobstructed view of. For a little while, she had forgotten about Axel until he coughed, and she turned to face him with a scowl.
"This your first time in Twilight Town, sweetheart?" He asked in an attempt to start a conversation.
"Aye."
"You wanna know why the sun sets red?"
"Cannae say that I care." She said.
"That's a cute little accent you got there." Axel said, referring to her slight accent. "Where are you from?"
"I was born on the islands, but my family's from Sacred Meadow." Nikki said simply.
"Ah."
A silence followed, and Axel took advantage of it to survey her out of the corner of his eye. He took note of how straight her posture was, and though she had her hands in the pockets of her black coat it was obvious that they were balled into fists, ready to strike at a second's notice. Her shoulders were stiff and her gaze was fixed forward toward the sun, though she continued glaring at him out of the corner of her eye whenever she got the chance. Earlier she had an edge in her voice whenever she addressed him, and was reluctant to shake his hand. Now she had that scowl on her face, and while his first thought upon seeing her was that she was pretty cute, that scowl was uncute... okay, maybe it was kind of cute...
They had only just met and already he had done something to piss her off, and he had no idea what he had done wrong; unless you count the fact that he's part of the organization that's currently keeping her prisoner, then that's a perfect reason for her to be so hostile and on her guard with him. Now that Roxas had gone, he felt that hostile aura around her intensify.
"What's up with her?" He wondered. "While she was locked up, Roxas would go on and on about how nice she is. Now that she's here, she's about as friendly as a wet cat. Something's definitely off."
"Something wrong? You've been awful quiet."
At his question, Nikki shook her head. "Nope." She said a little too quickly. "Nothing's wrong. Everything's just smashing."
"You sure?" He pressed. "You look a little pissed off."
"I'm not pissed off. This is my normal face." Nikki said defensively.
"Sure it is." The redhead said, keeping his tone casual. Though he didn't believe her at all, he didn't want to push her. In his eyes, women were such complicated creatures; especially human women, and he didn't want to press the wrong button and set her off so soon after meeting her.
...
...
...
Then again, pushing her buttons could be fun.
"Careful now, if you keep standing still like that, you'll attract birds. They love statues."
At his comment, Nikki automatically looked up, scanning the top of the tower and the sky for any sign of birds. Luckily though, there were none at the moment, and she sent him a glare. He chuckled at the look on her face.
"You know if you keep making faces like that, it will stick that way." He said, his lips curled upward in an amused grin.
"That's not true." Nikki retorted, frowning. She crossed her arms and added, "Faces don't 'stick.'"
"Maybe they don't..." Axel said casually. "But it can cause premature wrinkles. Imagine, frown lines at your age..."
Nikki, before she could stop herself, put her hands up to her face, feeling for any premature lines. Axel had to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing at how quickly and instinctively she responded to that.
"That'd be a shame. You have such a cute face, too."
"Now listen, you-"
Before she could finish her sentence, more than likely it was a threat, a portal appeared and Roxas stepped out of it carrying three ice creams.
"I'm back." He said. "Who wants ice cream?"
Any violent words or actions left Nikki's mind as she decided that starting a fight with Axel in front of Roxas would not only disappoint the younger Nobody, but he might also not want to be friends with her anymore after picking a fight with someone who he regarded not only as his best friend, but also as a big brother. Not wanting to risk her friendship with Roxas, Nikki calmed herself and took the ice cream that he offered her. As the three of them sat down, she made sure to sit on the blonde's other side, away from Axel, who still had that cocky smirk on his face.
Once their ice cream was finished, they simply sat there watching the sun, which still hadn't fallen below the horizon. After another hour or so, Axel and Roxas decided that their time on the Clock Tower was over and the blonde suggested that they go shopping at the market to buy Nikki some new clothes.
They returned to the castle a couple hours later, and Nikki was satisfied now that she had more than one set of clothes. Shopping with boys was kind of awkward, especially since one of them, a certain redhead, kept offering cheeky remarks that would have earned him a kick in the teeth if it weren't for Roxas, but at least she got some nice new clothes out of it... even if it was only a couple week's worth.
She slipped on a new pair of pajamas and crawled into bed, but she couldn't sleep. Now that she was alone, she had some time to think, and those thoughts were keeping her awake.
What was going on back on the islands? Surely her family and friends had noticed her absence by now. They must be worried sick about her. No doubt they were looking for her, more than likely tearing the island apart in the process. And yet here she was, in a castle floating above the ground in a world far beyond their reach. The only people who would know about this world, and more importantly reach it, were Sora, Riku and Kairi. Speaking of the trio, had they made the connection between her disappearance and Organization XIII?
She missed her family, her friends, her home... everything. But as long as Organization XIII existed, she wasn't going to be leaving the castle anytime soon. Sure, she made friends with Roxas, and even Demyx, but she didn't belong with them. She belonged in her own home, in her own bed.
Eventually her brain wore itself out, and Nikki couldn't stay awake anymore. She went to sleep... but not before crying her eyes out first.
"Did you find anything yet?"
That was the first thing Raymond Hale heard when he stepped through his front door. It was what he heard every day for weeks. And the person who repeatedly asked him this question was standing right in front of him, with an anxious look on her face and eyes red from crying, said eyes pleading, begging him for some good news. He sighed heavily and looked down, away from his wife, as he shook his head slowly, and she began crying again. He followed her as she walked into the living room and sat back down on the couch, where she buried her face in her hands as she sobbed. Raymond put his hand on his wife's shoulder, but it did nothing to console her.
"I'm sorry Catherine, but there is no sign of her anywhere. We've searched everywhere, even Destiny Island, and there is no trace of her. She's just... gone."
At this point, Nikki had been missing for several weeks, and though Raymond was leading possibly the biggest manhunt in the island's history to look for her, the only clue was that the last time anyone saw her, she was going to Destiny Island. When the police searched the island, all they found was the boat Nikki used. After that, the trail went cold.
"She can't be gone... She can't..."
Butch, who was laying on the floor, jumped up on the couch and laid down beside Catherine, his head resting on her lap as he looked up at his owners with worried, sad eyes. He saw the picture of Nikki sitting on the table and whined.
"Do you think she was kidnapped?" Catherine asked between sobs.
The Hales liked to believe that they knew their daughter very well; at least well enough to know what she would and wouldn't do, and that she would never go too long without contacting them. Where she was going, who she was going with, what time she was coming back, if she was going to be late... these were the only things they wanted to know, and they trusted Nikki enough to not get herself into trouble-especially with the wrong people. One thing she would never do, not even as a joke, was disappear and not tell anyone where she was. At first, they thought she was just late; that maybe she decided to visit one of her friends before coming home and forgot to call. However, after calling all her friends, they discovered that none of them had seen her. Sandy, her best friend, had told them that the last time she saw Nikki, she was heading off to Destiny Island, but she hadn't seen her since then. Kidnapping was a very real possibility.
"It's possible.." Raymond said quietly.
Catherine resumed her crying, taking some time inbetween to question who would kidnap their daughter and why, with Butch attempting to comfort her. Meanwhile her husband simply stood beside her with a hand on her shoulder, too tired to express any worry or sorrow.
"I'm not going to give up, Catherine. We'll keep looking until we find her." He said, determinted despite how tired he was. "It'll be all right."
After a few minutes of consoling, the couple went off to bed, with Butch following behind them to sleep at the foot of their bed; as he had done every night since Nikki disappeared, but it was pointless. All Catherine did was continue to cry while Raymond tossed and turned, and the night ended up being the same as any other; restless and full of worry at the thought of what could be happening to their daughter at that moment. When they finally did fall asleep, their worst fears filled their dreams.
Meanwhile, at a quiet little house by the beach, three friends were huddled in a circle on the floor, engaged in a deep discussion.
"Do you think it was them?" A feminine voice asked.
"Of course it was. Those guys aren't above kidnapping." Said the boy to her right. "You of all people should know that, Kairi."
"She must have gone after Roxas and got herself kidnapped." Said the tallest boy. "I told her to stay away from him, but she was too stubborn to listen, and now she's involved in this whole mess."
"It's not Nikki's fault, Riku." Kairi said testily. "This is Organization XIII we're talking about. Like Sora said, they aren't above kidnapping. They're probably holding her hostage to get to Sora, just like they did with me."
"I don't think Roxas had anything to do with it, though." Sora chimed in. "He's my Nobody. We're connected to each other. Heck, I bet they're friends by now. He wouldn't hurt her."
"It's not him I'm worried about." Riku said. "It's the rest of them."
"That blonde guy wasn't so bad," Kairi said, as she thought of Demyx, the Organization member that was guarding her while she was held captive. "He was nice to me, and he even tried cheering me up."
Riku just shook his head. He had enough experience with Organization XIII to know that they were a bunch of manipulative bastards. At one point they were attempting to use both him and Sora for their own ends, and he specifically remembered their master of illusions playing on his guilt to turn him against Sora; though, thanks to Naminé, that ploy was unsuccessful.
"I dunno... I can't help but think this is our fault too.." Sora said guiltily, scratching the back of his neck. "We kept a lot of secrets from her." There was a brief pause as Riku and Kairi stared at him. He continued, "I mean, we were missing for a year; maybe two, and she must have been worried about us. But we never told her the full story of what happened. I can't help but think that maybe she wouldn't have gone looking for Roxas if we just told her everything..."
Silence followed his words, allowing them to sink in. According to Nikki, she had been seeing Roxas on the island for days; though she didn't know who he was. They couldn't help but wonder; if they had told Nikki everything, would she still have wanted to find Roxas and talk to him? Or would she do it anyway just to hear what the Nobody had to say? Knowing Nikki, she probably would have. If she had known ahead of time that Roxas was Sora's Nobody, she would have deemed him trustworthy and saw no harm in trying to get to know him.
However, that didn't stop them feeling guilty. Sure, while the rest of her friends didn't take what she said seriously, they made it even worse by dismissing it and acting like overprotective parents.
"I don't think that matters anymore. What's done is done." Riku said with finality. "Nikki is missing, and we know for a fact that Organization XIII has her locked up in their castle. What we need to do is figure out how we're going to rescue her."
"We could just rush in and kick their butts. You guys did the same thing when they kidnapped me." Kairi suggested.
"Yeah!" Sora agreed eagerly, his Keyblade appearing in his hand. "I say we go in guns blazing and hope for the best. Always works for me."
"That won't work a second time." Riku shot his plan down, making the brunette sulk a little. "For one, we don't have Ansem or King Mickey helping us this time, and for two, they'd be expecting us. We need to have a plan."
"So what's the plan, then?" Sora asked eagerly.
...
...
...
"I don't know yet."
Sora fell over. "You don't know?"
"There's no real rush. Organization XIII may have held Kairi hostage, but they didn't hurt her; they just wanted to use her against you so you'd do what they wanted." Riku said reasonably, and Sora couldn't help but agree. "They're probably doing the same to Nikki; just keeping her locked up, and they won't do anything to her as long as they think she can use her... unless she mouths off too much.."
"In that case, she'll be dead soon.." Kairi said solemnly. "She can't help herself when it comes to talking back..."
"Come on guys, you know Nikki better than that." Sora reprimanded them. "She's smart enough to know she can't push her luck with them. She'll be fine."
Sora's words appeared to be encouraging, for Riku and Kairi smiled at him and nodded in agreement. Immediately they began brainstorming ideas on how to rescue Nikki from Organization XIII, confident that they could succeed since they had done it once before. Sora's connection with Roxas would likely enable Nikki to befriend Roxas, and as long as she was with him, she would be fine.
If only they knew what kind of trouble she was about to get into...
To be continued...