Kingdom of Chaos

Chapter 15: Mindsplinter

Author: Sketchy Sunshine of OSTOCOM

Rating: PG-13, just to be on the safe side

See chapter one for summary, disclaimer and other goodness. Otherwise, here's chapter fifteen! XD

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Larxene squeezed her eyes shut until colors swam behind her eyelids. The stony ground, the brick wall, and the air itself all seemed to grate against her, hinder her ability to focus. All of her senses told her that she was not yet strong enough…one wrong thought could instantly throw her back into the void. But that didn't stop her from focusing anyway; focusing all of her mind and being on a single location. The location of the scent that had taken her hours to pinpoint, and was barely recognizable as it was.

I will find out what he knows!

For a split second, Larxene felt all matter around her disappear. Her own form barely remained congealed during that agonizing space in time.

She touched down again on damp sand. The recoil of teleporting caused her legs to give way, and she tumbled into the surf. After being unable to move for a few seconds, Larxene righted herself with a grimace.

She dusted the sand off her coat, scanning the horizon attentively. Even at night, she could easily discern the palm trees, mossy rocks and wooden bridges of Sora and Riku's home-world. In the distance, a single lighted window from one of the island homes glowed against the blue-and-black shadows. Larxene clenched her jaw.

I'll show him to mess with me!

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Naminé glanced out the bedroom window, concerned. "Can we try one more time? Axel could be back any moment."

Kairi sighed, and slumped back down on her bed. The entire day had been spent getting to know Naminé better than she ever could have wanted. Trying to explain to her friends why she couldn't leave her room was almost more stressful. "Alright…once more. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Naminé nodded in agreement. Kairi gripped her bedposts and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to mentally prepare herself for what she knew was coming.

It never worked. Her body went cold, and then completely numb, leaving her effectively paralyzed. It seemed as if her mind refused to allow her consciousness and Naminé's to exist simultaneously…some dissonance between them that remained unidentifiable. Kairi groped around in the dark for a mental stability, but only collided with Naminé's memories and feelings.

I…I still can't function! She cried.

There has to be something…some way we can both exist together, Naminé's voice came inside her head.

But everything's too different! Your memories aren't mine; your experiences aren't mine…

Think! Naminé insisted. There must be a memory we both share.

Kairi tried to concentrate on the memories that belonged to her, even as she felt Naminé mirror her actions. At first the images of her past and present were nothing more than an incomprehensible blur. But slowly, out of the muddled colors and sounds, a form took shape. She saw Sora, holding a star-shaped charm and smiling at her. She couldn't see his lips move, but did hear his voice clearly:

"I'll protect you!"

Kairi thought she said something in response, but couldn't understand her own words. All she knew was that Naminé said the same thing at the same time.

The noise in Kairi's head suddenly fell quiet, and her eyes snapped open. The lamplight by her bed burned in her vision, and she reached a hand up to block the brightness. It wasn't until she felt her fingertips touch her forehead that she realized what she had done.

I…we can move!

All feeling had returned to her body, but Kairi still felt remarkably different. She was no longer a single entity; it was her and Naminé, at the same place and same time. However, she could still distinguish between what was herself and what was Naminé. Did we do it?

I don't know…I've never experienced this before, she heard Naminé answer.

The walls and windows suddenly rattled violently, causing Kairi to jump. The hairs on her neck stood on end as the air in the room became charged. With a rippling displacement of space, a robed figure with blonde hair appeared in the bedroom.

The Naminé half of her recognized the intruder instantly. "Larxene!"

Larxene glared at Kairi with more than a moment's confusion. Whatever she had expected to find here, this wasn't it. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, and Kairi suddenly felt as if her mind was being read.

"I knew it!" Larxene's eyes brimmed with fury. "I knew Axel would try and use you again, you little witch! He told you everything, didn't he?"

"No, it's not what you think!" Naminé's response came out through Kairi's voice.

"Oh, I believe it is," Larxene said icily. "And if you think I'm not going to make you pay just because of your cute face, you're wrong." She pulled out two fistfuls of black shuriken and crossed her arms.

Kairi gasped and backed away, a sudden panic rising in her throat. She's going to kill us!

Fight back! Naminé answered. We can do something now.

How? I don't have any weapons… Kairi reached a hand back for support as Larxene approached.

You have a power…you always have. You can use that.

What power?

Naminé guided Kairi's hand to her sketchbook on the desk. I'll show you.

Larxene raised the shuriken just as Kairi snatched up the sketchbook. Kairi began to automatically move the pencil across paper, not knowing what she was supposed to be creating. But almost the moment she began to draw, Larxene reacted.

The blonde-haired woman stopped mid-stride, shocked with a fiery pain in her chest and head. She was immobilized by a flash of images, some from her past and others she didn't recognize. They drowned out all sight and sound, screaming in her ears. To Larxene, it seemed as if her mind was being ripped to shreds.

But far worse was the hollow ache where her heart was supposed to be. Something pulled at the darkness inside her, sucking her dry. Even being lost in the void was preferable over this bottomless darkness…it drained her of hope and desolation alike, and threatened to leave her as far less than a mere shell.

"Stop it…" Larxene managed a hoarse whisper.

Kairi didn't hear her. She felt outside herself, watching the lines on the page build and tangle in tandem with Larxene's pain. She sensed that she was controlling something; molding light and darkness to her liking. Naminé guided her every step…Kairi realized that they were completely working as one.

"I said STOP IT!"

Larxene broke through the darkness long enough to strike back. She raised a finger, and a bolt of lightning traveled from her to Kairi. The sound of popping air and echoing thunder drowned out the screams that resulted. Larxene held the spell for nothing more than a second before her strength completely gave out. The lightning bolt ripped Naminé free from Kairi's mind. When the room finally became quiet again, all three lay on the floor, unable to move from the shock.

It was this scene that Axel teleported into.

Axel looked between Larxene, Kairi and Naminé with raised eyebrows. He wasn't quite sure whether to laugh or offer assistance…in the end he decided on both.

Kairi blinked and held down a sudden wave of nausea as Axel offered her a hand up. He did the same for Naminé, who at first couldn't stand properly. Both looked confused, breathless and slightly singed. But they were both better off than Larxene.

Axel glanced over at the fellow Organization member disapprovingly. "Well Larxene, I guess that'll teach you to play with someone else's toys."

Larxene could not recall a time when she had been in more pain. It was only her loathing for Axel's snarky remarks that brought words to her throat. "You bastard. You've been planning this all along."

"I certainly didn't plan on you showing up and spoiling things," Axel corrected. "I told you to stay out of my business. You have no one to blame but yourself."

"What are you using them for? What possible reason could you have for using that witch?" Larxene hissed quietly. Naminé winced at Larxene's accusation.

"And I'm somehow supposed to believe you won't go blabbing to other members? Thanks, but I'll pass. I've seen how good you are at keeping Marluxia's secrets," Axel scoffed, still refusing to help up Larxene.

"Why would I even ask you this if I planned on tattling?" Larxene spat. "If you know something the rest don't, I want in on it, too!"

"Sorry, wrong answer!" Axel mocked. "The correct answer is: make your own deals. I don't have time to baby-sit."

Kairi's hoarse voice finally interrupted their banter. "Please…I want some water…"

It occurred to Axel that now was not the time to engage in useless conversation. He glanced around the bedroom until he spied a glass bottle of water. He handed it to Kairi, who immediately drowned half before passing the rest to Naminé.

Axel then finally offered to help up Larxene. The blonde-haired woman gripped his arms as if he were the only stable matter in the world. Axel tried to lift her to her feet, but she was still too weak to support her own weight. Finally, he guided her to the wall, where she clenched at the room's wooden beams to support herself. Axel could feel Larxene's lungs sucking greedily at the air beneath his hands. For a brief moment, he pitied the traumatized woman before him.

Larxene seemed to read his mind. "I don't want your pity."

Axel backed off. "Then I trust you'll be able to make it back to Twilight Town yourself."

"There's no way I'm strong enough to—"

"You'll recover," Axel interrupted her. "Eventually."

Kairi and Naminé exchanged uneasy glances as Axel turned back to them. Naminé took a few deep breaths before saying, "We don't know what happened…it worked for a little bit, but…"

"I believe you. The fact that you floored Larxene is proof enough for me." He extended a hand towards them. "Come with me…we're going back to the Kingdom of Chaos."

"To Sora and Riku?" Kairi asked weakly.

"Yes. Although you'll want to get your strength back before you meet them," Axel said.

Kairi and Naminé looked at each other. Although they were no longer merged, they both knew what the other was thinking. Naminé took up her sketchbook and ripped out the first page, letting it fall to the floor. As they both stood, Axel looked back at Larxene. She caught his smile before he disappeared from the room, taking Kairi and Naminé with him.

Larxene leaned against the wall for a long time, thinking over and over what she should have said to Axel…and what she needed to say to him now. She finally regained enough strength to drag herself over to Kairi's bed. Groaning inwardly with every movement, she reached down and picked up the paper Naminé had dropped.

Larxene's breath froze at the drawings it presented. It was different from Naminé's usual clean sketches…this was an almost unfathomable collection of black lead scratchings, building and clustering in layers around each other and some strange symbol. But Larxene knew its meaning instantly.

It's my heart.

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Phew! Done again! Next chapter's not done, but hopefully should be soon…

Check it, I'm doing fanart-ish-type things for this fic here: http : lynxgriffin . deviantart . com (spaces added so that the addy wouldn't be deleted.)

Reviews are greatly appreciated! XD