A/N: Oh God. I haven't updated anything in forever.
You can blame new carpeting for that. Of course we had to get some in the computer room, and due to that, every freaking thing had to be emptied from said room.
As a result, my computer cables were confused with one another, and my speakers are now fried.
But damn it, I'm back. Luckily, my deprivation of the computer managed to hit me with some new inspiration for writing, and I have to say, I'm proud of this oneshot song-fic thing.
It's my second attempt at an angsty song fic, my first, The Role of a Traitor, having been enjoyable to write.
Although, I really think this turned out more dramatic than angsty. No, I'm just not good at making people cry, no matter how callous and disagreeable I sound due to how I type.
Oh, I couldn't resist a little humor in here. I've told you, Demyx is an idiot in all of my fics, and I just can't help but mention him at least once. He doesn't appear in this or anything, but a little mild Demyx-bashing was slipped in.
I love him, the big idiot.
Disclaimer: C'mon, twits. Use your head. Would I actually be wasting my last few days of summer here on the computer for which I mourned in the six days I was without it if I owned any of this stuff? All the credit in this goes to Square-Enix, Disney (Duh.), and 3 Doors Down. Yep, yep. I'm still obsessed with them.
B r o k e n P r o m i s e s
Lay me down
And wash this blood off of my hands for me
while I cry out
"Don't let me die before I go to sleep"
"I refuse to lose to a bunch of losers!" she screamed at them. Her entire 'being'—if you could technically refer to her as that, considering the fact that she was a Nobody—was focused entirely on loathing the three right now.
She hated them all. The dog…thing, the duck, the spiky-haired brunette—she hated each of them with a deep, burning passion.
Breathing hard, the blonde stared down at her wounded and bruised body; her electric blue eyes widened in shock. "I…I'm fading! NO!"
As the Nobody before them nearly sank to her knees, all the trio did was simply stare on. No one offered to help. No one shed a tear. No one cared. If anything, they were glad that she was going away for good. Everyone was.
"This isn't…the way I…I won't ALLOW…"
Her eyebrows furrowed as she sent them one final glare of intense, pure hatred. Using what little strength she had left, she summoned a portal of all-too-familiar darkness up from the floor, her bloodied body sinking into it. With the state she was in, she supposed it very well did look to them as though they had seen the last of her.
And, as she thought it over, they probably had.
And I can't keep going but I cannot start again
He casually walked along the aisles of the library, its blinding white interrupted by the flow of dark colors coming from the books that were resting on the shelves. The only noise that was audible was the slight pitter-patter of his boots against the smooth surface.
Everything was falling into place, as the Organization had started to fall apart—just as Xemnas had suspected it would, when he left Marluxia in charge of his precious Castle Oblivion.
Axel had been trusted as the double agent of the scenario, being left to pretend and go along with whatever harebrained scheme that the Graceful Assassin might cook up, and in truth, put a foil to it immediately.
As promised, Marluxia had indeed come up with a plan to overthrow the rest of the Organization, the only other one let in on this idea being Larxene. After much prodding and 'sucking up to', Axel had finally proven to be 'trustworthy' enough to the scythe-wielder, so that he could get full proof that of such plans.
Now, Namine had been convinced to do the fashionable 'what she knew was right in her non-existent heart' option, and the Keyblade-wielder was well on his merry way to kill the Organization's two traitors, without his memory, or even fully understanding what significance this offered to the rest of the members.
Sure, Axel might well be considered a traitor himself, seeing as he had killed Vexen, on Marluxia's orders. But though Number Eight did admit that getting rid of the nutty scientist had been…pleasurable, he had mainly done so only to gain the twosome's trust, and be let in on their dirty little secret.
And perhaps sending that Riku replica to finish off the Cloaked Schemer might have been considered a bit much—but you could say that Zexion and Lexaeus had turned traitor, too, due to their lack of faith in the Superior's decision to leave Larxene and Marluxia in charge of the castle. That little event had been unforeseen, so the red-haired Nobody had had to improvise on ways to finish them both off for good.
But Xemnas would overlook all of those little happenings. They were simply cracks on the path to the greater good.
The road I walk is paved with the broken
promises I made
At least a million times I've fallen
but never will I break
Axel was startled as the indescribable noise of a portal being opened suddenly echoed throughout the room. Mere seconds later, Larxene was seen dragging herself out of said corridor of darkness.
He had to say—she was in the worst condition that he'd ever seen her in, in her not-quite life.
Her hair was matted with sweat, and tangled, both antennae-strands drooping limply. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was pale, yet reddened from the heat of battle. The black cloak that was so often crisp and clean was dirtied all over, wrinkled, and torn in multiple places.
Scratches adorned her flesh like ornaments, and when she coughed, splotches of darkness were coughed up, since Nobodies were technically lacking of blood, with only the darkness itself to flow through their veins.
His teal eyes widened somewhat, as he realized that it almost…pained him, to see her like this. Not that Nobodies could truthfully feel pain, aside from that of the physical sort. But memories were enough for some of it to come back.
He forced a smirk on his face, acting as though he were quite enjoying this. "Well, well…looks like our little Princess decided to drag herself back to her throne," he drawled, referring to the library in which she spent most of her time.
She glared up at him, coughing yet again as she staggered forward. "Shut up, you traitor!" she seethed, her face still infuriated despite her sorry state.
He cocked his head to one side, crossing his arms. "Excuse me? I don't think you really have room to be pointing fingers, dear."
She gave a snort, attempting a step forward and only ending up stumbling once more, this time falling to her knees. Glaring back up at him, it was a miracle how she could still have so much room for fury and anger, even while she knew that she was fading away.
"Xemnas is a fool if he thinks that he can go about his little plans for Kingdom Hearts like the rest of us don't matter. And you're every bit as much a fool if you believe that he won't turn on the rest of us the moment that his precious Kingdom is nearing completion."
Axel simply raised an eyebrow as she started coughing again.
She wiped her mouth, disgusted with her own signs of weakness in what she knew to be her final moments. "All he cares about is that he gets a heart. We're nothing but pawns. Looks like this whole Castle Oblivion ordeal was just a plan to get all of us that aren't needed anymore out of the way, doesn't it?" Number Twelve let out a bitter laugh as she attempted—and failed—to get to her feet.
His face finally curled into the slightest suggestion of a sneer. "Superior assured us that we would all get hearts, once he finishes Kingdom Hearts. He promised," he told her.
She continued to hold the pyromaniac's gaze fiercely. "A promise means nothing to anyone around here anymore."
These walls I make—they hold me in and hold me back today
but tomorrow's new
Then I walk right out and walk right over you
if you hear me screaming please don't let me fall again
"Do you need some help?" he finally responded, his tone mocking as he casually walked towards her. One hand was extended in a polite fashion, as though the worst wound she had on her was simply a skinned knee.
Of course, he was being sarcastic to a new degree with such an offer. The day Larxene accepted help from another being, existent or not, was the day Demyx sprouted wings on his posterior, and flew off into the sky singing "I'm a little teapot!" at the top of his lungs.
…
Actually, the singing part wasn't so unbelievable.
Regardless, he was not surprised when she merely hacked up more darkness, and shoved his hand back in his direction as best she could.
He returned her action with a small smile, as she finally gave up on her efforts to stand. She didn't have much time left, and she was perfectly aware of it. There was no use in refusing to believe the truth.
Still, as she dragged herself over to one of the bookcases, resting her back against it and continuing to gasp, her eyes remained locked with his, narrowing slightly.
"Don't be so cocky," she spoke up suddenly. He quirked an eyebrow at her inquisitively, actually causing her to laugh. At least, it was a laugh, until it gradually became another cough. "Don't think that you haven't broken your share of promises either."
The smile slipped right off of his face, as his crimson eyebrow lowered back into its usual position. "I really wasn't the betrayer, was I? You and Flower Boy—" he started to protest.
A trace of one of her old smirks found its way back to her face as she cut in. "I wasn't simply referring to that. C'mon, Axel. SURELY you can still remember?"
The red-head stared at the female Nobody sprawled out on the library floor before him. Surely she wasn't referring to…?
The intense gaze she was giving him, her smirk remaining on her face even as she shook from the efforts of holding back more coughing, told him that she was indeed quite serious. It told him that she was, in fact, referring to the memories that so often were never spoken of between Organization members.
In fact, the only time that one of them brought up their past, before they had essentially died, losing their heart to those vile Heartless and coming to a vague sense of consciousness again only when they were reborn as a Nobody upon the steps of the Castle That Never Was, was when Xemnas gave them a direct question concerning it.
That was why dear Number Thirteen had been such a special addition to the Superior's little following, considering he had no recollection of his 'other's' life whatsoever, and could wield dual Keyblades.
In any case, other than for basic interviewing purposes, the members of the Thirteenth Order never felt the need to spill their heart, or lack thereof, out to another member of such, going into detail about what happened before the stupid creatures of darkness plunged their overly-sharpened fingers into their chest cavity and ripped out their heart.
Bits and pieces of memory from before those horrid days when darkness had ruled did tend to float back to Axel every so often, though, and as he stared in slight disbelief at Larxene, he began to remember once more…
---
He chuckled as they lay there, panting slightly from having chased each other about just a few minutes prior. His hands grasped a few blades of the slightly damp grass in which they were gratefully resting upon, as he uprooted them.
Without pausing, he smeared some of the dirt that came up with them on her face, enjoying the annoyed half-glare that he received.
As one hand flew to her face to clear it from the dirt that stood out against her pale flesh, he could tell that she was trying to restrain a smile, regardless of the fact that she was supposed to remain irked by his actions.
The sun was already sinking below the horizon, and an enjoyable dusk had settled down upon the world, a few wisps of clouds still visible floating lazily by in the sky. After a moment, her electric blue eyes gazed up into his entrancing teal ones.
"Do you think…we'll always care for each other like this?"
He simply blinked in response once or twice. Of course, his first impulse was to flick her on the nose jokingly, grin cockily, as his collection of too-much-confidence often inspired him to do, and assure her that of course they would.
But something in her face told him to think before he answered—really think it over. Whatever he answered would have to be what he truly meant. It wasn't a time for jokes or jests.
Finally, he raised the upper half of his body from the grass, resting on one elbow; his other arm pulled her closer, as his hand slowly began to run through her silky golden hair.
"Of course we will. Forever. I promise."
---
Recalling such a moment nearly sent the red-head staggering back, and as he glanced at the other member of the Organization, still resting against the bookcase, he could only suppose that she was recalling the same thing, for her smirk had been replaced by an expressionless stare.
He had always supposed that they must have interacted some time before they both lost their hearts, for their paths had always seemed to cross far more than simple coincidence would account for.
Plus, there had always been a certain sense of familiarity about her, before he'd even learned of her name, when she had later joined the Organization not too long after Marluxia.
The road I walk is paved with the broken
promises I made
At least a million times I've fallen
but never will I break
Still shaking in a pitiful attempt to appear stronger than she surely felt, her face was grim as she stared back up at him.
"So, do you think you can still keep that promise?"
The very way that Larxene said that cursed word, 'promise', had the exact ring of an epitaph.
The Flurry of Dancing Flames was, for possibly the first time in his not-quite-life, unable to think of a proper response.
He had certainly meant such a promise when it had been said, and what was left of his emotions screamed that of course he could still keep it.
But his brain, the logical and precise thing it was, always weighed options and possibilities, and responded to questions accordingly.
It was quick to remind him that, of course he thought that he could continue those feelings for her. But he was lacking of a heart, and thus, lacking of true emotions. All that was left were the small slivers, nothing more than samples of what used to be.
He could not continue loving her as he had meant when he'd promised.
And as such, that promise was broken.
Certainly, he had not intended for creatures of the shadow to invade their world and rip his still-beating heart from him, thus depriving him of whatever true feelings he had possessed.
But things happened. It wasn't anybody's fault. But the promise was still broken.
My time is on its way
I'll fall but I won't break
Finally, the long-suppressed coughs escaped her mouth, and more darkness spurted out.
Axel had always referred to the blonde Nobody as resembling a bug, and now he felt so again, though he was no longer joking.
Seeing her in such a state of weakness was equivalent to watching a small butterfly or moth fall into the water. Someone would pull it out by a wing, and though that wing would fall off from being further softened by the liquid, the bug would live.
Ah, but at what cost?
The insect would hop around limply, hoping to dry off. But having lost a wing, it was unable to move about in the precise way it wanted to go, and though now safe from the impending doom of the water, it faced the dangers of being crushed by the foot of an uncaring creature, be it human, feline, canine, or any other number of species.
In such cases, it was better to go ahead and put the poor thing out of its misery by killing it then and there.
That was the exact conclusion that Larxene's mind had reached as well. Her eyes still narrowed, she glared up at him fiercely, her matter drifting away unhurriedly, bit by bit. "Go ahead. You already betrayed us. Finish the job yourself," she snapped, shifting up so that her back was flat against the shelf, rather than slouching. She intended to retain what little dignity that she still had.
He shook his head, crossing his arms. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not," Axel retorted stubbornly, just as a child refuses to kill the butterfly because of its melancholy beauty in its futile attempts to keep going.
"Oh, but you had no problems in killing Vexen?"
"It was to get the both of you to trust me."
"Trust, shmust. Does it look like I give a damn at this point? You've shown where your loyalty lies."
The red-head's teal eyes simply continued to examine her wounded body, her torn cloak, her scratched face.
She wanted to be put out of her misery.
Finally, his hand called forth one of his two chakrams, the hard metal seeming cold and almost unfamiliar in his hand.
As he approached her, it was obvious that she wasn't afraid. Such was the confidence spoken on her face, that it was almost as though she knew something that he didn't. Like she knew that she'd manage to come back, somehow or another.
The blonde managed to flash him one of her cheeky winks that she so often showed as means of a joke. "I'll tell you how the abyss is."
Finally, she managed a laugh, sharp and clear and true, with no coughs interrupting it, when he allowed the metal to strike down upon her. Without further ado, the rest of her faded away quickly.
And Axel was left alone in the library, exactly as before.
The chakram dissolved back into oblivion as he swiftly turned around and made his way to the exit without a word.
The road I walk is paved with the broken
promises I made
at least a million times I've fallen
but never will I break
He would take his promises much more seriously, from now on.
A/N: That was surprisingly long for a oneshot. Especially for a oneshot written by me.
In any case, there you go. A nice shiny new addition to my collection.
I'm only going to ask for five reviews this time. I had you all waiting long enough. So, as before: The faster you review, the sooner I'll shut up and start writing again.
Oh, and I'm afraid I've got some bad news. Well, bad news for me. School starts back. Tomorrow, actually. Boo-hoo.
So, as you can infer, that'll surely slow down my updating abilities.
Nonetheless, I shall try to keep a good pace going.
Oh, and on Friday, I have to attend a wedding on my dad's side of the family. I can't back out. I'll be a bridesmaid. Shit. I hate dresses. So, yeah, moving on. I doubt I'll have any time on the computer over there. Still, I'll be back Sunday, and if possible, I'll start working on another update for this then.
Also, for those of you currently reading Organization XIII: Highschool, I apologize for my extreme slowness in getting around to deciding on a contest winner. If any of you are participating in the fan-art guest-appearance contest, I promise you that I'll get around to checking up on your art soon, for you see, I FINALLY switched my mail on this thing to Yahoo, rather than Hotmail. Now I can check all of your lovely e-mails and see your still-lovlier artwork.
So, if you're wanting to e-mail me your work, do so sometime this next week, because August18th is the due date for all entries, I have decided. My new e-mail address is angelsinflight14atyahoodotcom.
Hopefully, you'll know what symbols to replace those words with.
So, enough with my ranting. Thanks to all of you reviewers who inspire me to improve my writing, namely Vixen2004, who made my day with two multi-paragraph reviews.
Post-note: No, not a Post-It note, you twits. Just a little something I noticed after the first few reviews. In case you're wondering, each of these oneshots is a seperate story entirely, and they do not correspond with each other. I do intend to write much, much, much more on this, simply because my boredom so commands. Just because dear Larxy technically 'died' in this oneshot does not mean the end of this collection. There will be others, don't you worry, my faithful readers.
Read and review. Look at it this way: It'll shut me up.