The Succession of a Flower Chapter 10: The Deep Breath Before The Plunge, a kingdom hearts fanfic

A/N: Sorry, it took me so long to update. I'm still trying to think of ways I can get Marluxia and Larxene together. I would like to take a second and thank everyone who has reviewed so far. I was so hard to get reviews before, and I was starting to think my stories sucked. But I guess all writers have bad moments. Anyway, enjoy this story!

Chapter Ten: The Deep Breath Before The Plunge:

Lenne was very nervous. She knew that their week of training was up and that meant they would have to fight everyone from Hollow Bastion very soon. To top it off, she hasn't seen Marluxia since last night. She kept wondering to herself why would he keep disappearing. She felt her stomach do flips, and she tried to think of other things to take her mind off the battle.

The castle was very quiet. She journeyed the halls by herself, wanting to find something that would take her mind off her troubles. She found a room she had never seen before. It had shelves and shelves of books. It was on the eleventh floor, way past Stixquis's room. It was kind of tucked away behind a huge vase that contained a weird looking flower in it. Inside, she heard mumbling voices and pressed her ear against the bookshelf where she heard the voices coming from. Seconds later, she started to hear the voice clearer.

"Why are you even making Lenne weapons, Marluxia? All she needs is her hands and brain", she heard a female voice.

"Her powers are almost useless in close range. These can enhance her magic and make it better", she heard Marluxia answer.

"When are we going to Hollow Bastion?", she heard the female ask.

"Soon, Larxene. Just have patience", Marluxia said calmly.

"How can I have PATIENCE when that sorceress is seducing you with her magic?", screamed Larxene, making Lenne gasp behind the bookcase.

"She's doing no such thing. You must understand, Larxene. I'm a big boy AND a Nobody. We don't have real feelings. I would've thought you would have gotten it by now", Marluxia said even calmer.

Larxene grew silent, then said, "But I feel REAL feelings, Marluxia…".

"Hmph…my deceased wife just needed a body to present her feelings to me, and she chose you, since you're closet to me", he explained.

"How…how did you know?", Larxene asked.

"It's not that hard to realize why you weren't acting yourself", he said, picking up the twin knives and whip that he made, and stood up.

"Do you feel anything for me?", Larxene asked; her eyes filled with raw emotion.

Marluxia looked at her, thinking for a slight second, "You're my best follower…if you want to get on my good side, you can start by getting control of your own body".

With that, he brushed past her with the weapons in his arms. Lenne took the risk of peeping her head from the bookcase, seeing Marluxia walk out the door. She saw Larxene, watching him leave with a look of sadness on her face. She watched her as her frown turn into a blank look. She continued to watch and saw Larxene looking for a book.

Lenne decided it was time to leave, since she knew Larxene was angry. Still something inside of her was telling her to go comfort the blonde. She pondered on the outcomes of both sides: if she confronted Larxene, the blonde would kill her and if she walked away, she would be safe and guilty for coming in between Larxene's and Marluxia's relationship. While she pondered, she felt something hit the back of her head harshly. The force of the impact made her head go down.

"How long have you been there?", she heard the voice of none other than an angry Larxene.

Lenne turned around and saw Larxene approaching her, "I…uh…".

"Oh! Don't get shy now! You weren't when you were getting freaky with Marluxia! Tell me how long have you been here?", Larxene yelled loudly.

"I'm sorry, okay!", Lenne shouted at the top of her lungs, shocking Larxene.

"Wha-?", Larxene began, but Lenne cut her off.

"I didn't mean to come in between you and Marluxia. He came at me, and I only accepted him because I thought I liked him!", Lenne explained with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Larxene was left speechless as Lenne dropped to her knees, crying a river down her cheeks. It stained her outfit (A/N: Which was another one Yuna's from Final Fantasy X-2. This one was the normal outfit she wears in the game. If you still don't know what I'm talking about look at this link: If you don't see it, I'm sorry then). Larxene began to reach out for the weeping girl, but she don't stopped herself, knowing that if she showed weakness now Lenne would take advantage of that.

Larxene suddenly scoffed, crossing her arms in an arrogant way, "Hmph! Your worthless apology doesn't change anything, wretch!".

With that she stomped out of the library, leaving Lenne who was trying to wipe off her tears. She got up and began to walk to the exit. She felt another tear slipped down her cheek ad instantly wiped that off as well.

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Sora charged at Riku at full speed. Riku stood his ground with his dark Keyblade in his hands, making it point directly at Sora. Sora swung his Keyblade at Riku who blocked it with his own. The keyblades made a loud clashing noise in front of the two boys.

Riku knocked Sora back when he pushed against him. He hit the brunette boy with his weapon, making him land on his stomach with a loud thud. Sora groaned loudly as he tried to get up. Riku helped his friend back on his feet and patted his back. They were both right outside of Merlin's house.

"Come on, Sora. Let's give this up. We've been training all day since 5a.m.! You've just got better, so you're going to be rusty ", Riku explained.

"I don't care. I need to be able to beat that witch so she won't hurt anyone else!", Sora shouted, making Riku jump back.

"Whoa… you're serious about this, aren't you?", Riku said with a slight chuckle.

"Of course I am!", Sora answered.

"Okay. We'll have one more fight", Riku said, getting into a defensive position.

"Here I come!", Sora said as he charged at Riku again.

Riku felt the doorknob to Merlin's door behind and opened the door. He stepped aside, and Sora ran right inside, unable to stop himself. Riku tried to resist the urge to laugh as he slammed the door behind Sora and ran off towards the castle. Sora opened the door and growled. Once he was outside, he didn't see Riku anywhere. He sighed sadly and went to bed, since he was exhausted.

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Marluxia placed the weapons he made for Lenne on the bed in their room. Once he did that, he left the room and went to the twelfth floor. He saw that was hall was mostly empty besides the fact Nixora was leaning against the wall a couple of feet away from him. He approached the girl who seemed to be meditating. At the sound of his footsteps, her eyes snapped open and fell on him.

"Marluxia…", she whispered. "You disturbed me…what do you want?".

"You're acting more and more like him with each passing second…I came to tell you of your little mission that you're about to go on", Marluxia began with a small chuckle.

"Him who?", Nixora asked.

"You'll know soon enough. You're going to help Sora out a little. He's going to know that we're coming, so it'll be a fair fight", Marluxia said with a smirk.

"You couldn't ask Lenne to do that?", Nixora scoffed.

"No, simpleton, because she and the boy would fight each other", Marluxia said with a low growl.

"I think you picked the wrong girl for this mission", Nixora said as she faded into a dark portal she created herself, causing Marluxia to glare at her.

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Zexion and Lexaeus entered Luxlu's room upon her opening the door for them. The red-haired man stood behind his gray-haired comrade, following him like a lackey. Luxlu was shocked that they knocked on her door in the middle of the day.

"Oh, if it isn't Zexion and Lexaeus, may I ask why you've come to my room?", Luxlu asked with a small smile on her face.

"We've come to discuss an issue with you", Zexion said he strolled into the room, brushing past Luxlu.

"And what is that?", she asked, closing the door.

"Marluxia is a very foolish 'leader'. We were never on his side from the start", Zexion began.

"Oh, so you plan on betraying him?", Luxlu asked with her eyes closed.

She was sitting on her bed with her arms crossed, "Not betraying just teaching him a lesson that we never got to teach him before".

"You plan on using me?", she asked.

"You're the only other mage here. Lexaeus will get Kaxren and Neexse' to join as well", he said. "We need to know if you agree to join us".

"Of course, as long as I become complete in the end", Luxlu said, opening her eyes to look dead into Zexion's dark eyes.

"Yes, for your reward we will get Kingdom Hearts and finally become complete", Zexion said.

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Sora heard the sound of wind in his sleep and woke up with a startled jumped. He jumped out of the bed quickly only to feel extreme soreness. He almost fell over, but he grabbed a nearby bed to get his balance back. He saw Leon sleeping in the computer chair with his face on the keyboard. Sora looked around and saw nothing abnormal around in the house, so he went to check outside. There, he saw a woman in a black jacket in front of a huge swirling portal.

"W-who are you?", Sora shouted, unable to control the volume of his voice.

"I am Nixora, Sora", the woman began, taking off her hood.

Sora saw she had long black hair with some brown streaks in it. She had black eyes that looked at him tauntingly. Sora wondered how she knew his name and why she had a black jacket like the ones the Organization would wear.

"How do you know my name?", Sora asked.

"Marluxia told him, Keyblade wielder. Oh, why did he pick me?", Nixora cried as she looked at the sky. "All I want to is eliminate you, wretched boy".

She suddenly pulled out a huge claymore in front of her. Sora gasped and jumped back. He saw his Keyblade in the corner by Leon and reached out for it. It vanished and reappeared in his hands. Leon groaned and woke up groggily. Sora watched as Leon got up silently, but he was disturbed when he heard the claymore coming down on him. He defended himself with the Keyblade. Leon turned around and saw Sora.

"What are you doing up, Sora? And who are you fighting this time? Is it Riku?", Leon asked with an amused smile.

He walked towards the door as he talked, rubbing the sleep out of his gray eyes. He heard a gasp and opened his eyes. He saw the woman in the black jacket and jumped back. His eyes were widened to the fullest, and his mouth hung open.

"Rinoa?", he shouted.

Nixora pulled her claymore off Sora, leaving the boy in awe and in more soreness, "Leon, you know her?".

He didn't answer him. In fact, Leon brushed past Sora to get to Nixora who stepped back away from the older man. A series of emotions rushed through her, and she didn't know why. She felt frozen every time she gazed up into his gray eyes. He kept putting on foot forward, trying to get to her. Once he finally reached her, he pulled her into a tight embrace. She was in complete shock and couldn't move. She just allowed herself to be pressed against his chest and held in his arms. He closed his eyes and put his nose on her hair to smell her hair.

"Rinoa, I looked everywhere for you…", he whispered.

Sora continued to watch until he felt something tugged his pants. He turned around and looked down. He saw Donald and Goofy looking at him crazy. He turned back around and saw Nixora pushed Leon away.

"Get away from me!", she screamed jumping back a couple of feet.

Leon looked hurt and confused, asking, "W-what's wrong with you? Don't you remember me."

Nixora pulled the claymore at her side again, "I remember your face, but not you. Stay away from me."

"What are you talking about, Rinoa?", Leon asked.

Nixora ignored him and turned to Sora, "Denizen of light, watch out. We're coming for you".

With that, she smirked and faded away in the portal she left open behind her. Leon dropped to his knees. He looked broken, and his eyes stared to the floor. Sora saw this and went up to his friend. He put his hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Leon. I know how it feels to be hurt by a friend very close to you", Sora said.

Leon got up and turned around. He didn't have one emotion expressed on his face. He merely scoffed and went into house. Sora sighed and went back into the house with Donald and Goofy. He watched as Leon got back on the computer. He approached the older man again.

"Come on, Leon. Don't let that Nobody get to you", Sora said.

"Hmph…", Leon grunted as he typed in something on the keyboard.

The computer made a loud beeping noise for a minute, then it pulled up a picture of a castle. It was huge with green roofs. The castle looked like a huge plant. Sora, Goofy, and Donald looked at it in awe. Leon pointed at it.

"There it is…Castle Oblivion. I'm sending the coordinates to your Gummi Ship", Leon said as he began typing again. "I looked this castle up on Ansem's computer, and it said that this castle belongs to a guy named Marluxia. He's with the Organization. I believe Jimminy's Journal says that he's number 11 of the Order."

"Oh, I forgot about reading Jimminy's Journal", Sora said. "Where is he anyway, Donald?".

"I don't know…do you know, Goofy?", Donald asked.

"I don't know either…Garsh, how could we ALL not know where he went?", Goofy said.

"You three should sleep in the castle. We have plenty of rooms. Yuffie, Aerith, and the others are returning there tonight. I'm sure they'll give you three rooms", Leon said as he shut the down.

"You're sure you're going to be alright, Leon?", Sora asked as the brunette man walked away.

Leon smirked and faced Sora, "Once you get the castle, I want to find Rinoa and eliminate her. She's not human anymore".

"What? Are you sure?", Sora asked, shocked.

"She's a Nobody now. You saw that jacket she wore. She's with the Organization, and you have to send her back into the darkness that she came from", Leon said with a frown on his face.

Sora looked at the floor as if the words were seeping into his brain, "I understand".

With that, Leon left. Sora was remained silent, looking at the floor, and was unable to speak. Donald and Goofy looked at each other then at Sora who just lifted his Keyblade over his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Sora?", Goofy asked.

Sora put a smile on his face and turned to them, "Of course, I am. Let's go find Riku. We're going to Castle Oblivion today to settle this".

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Nixora appeared in her room. She suddenly felt a tear slip down her cheek. She wiped it off with her right hand and looked at it. She saw that her fingers were moist. She pondered on why she suddenly felt "sad".

"So…did you tell him that we're coming?", said the voice of Marluxia who disturbed her thought.

"Yes…I did…", Nixora said, looking back at her hand.

"Good…", was all Marluxia said as he brushed past her and exited her room.

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Zexion, Lexaeus, and Luxlu roamed the halls together. Luxlu still wore her usual tight outfit with the fluff at the top. They walked to the eighth floor, and Luxlu knocked on the door of Kaxren. The red-haired girl answered angrily.

"What do you want? I was busy praying and working on my holy and fire spells!", she shouted as soon as she open.

Kaxren saw Luxlu and gasped. She stepped back a little and looked up at the older woman. Luxlu looked at her, wondering when she was going to let her in. Suddenly, Kaxren began smirking.

"So, Lulu, what name have you given yourself now?", Kaxren asked.

"Luxlu…I presume you've taken the name of Kaxren", Luxlu said.

"Ah! You guessed it right! It's spelled K-A-X-R-E-N. Got it?", Kaxren said, making Zexion bust out laughing.

"Find something funny, Zexion?", Kaxren said brushing past Luxlu, seeing the gray-haired man and red-haired man. "Hey, Lexaeus. Thanks for almost killing me during our training session".

"You should thank me. At least you got a little bit stronger", Lexaeus committed.

"We did not come here to insult. We come to converse with you", Luxlu began, but Kaxren interrupted by stepping up to Zexion.

"Why'd you laugh at me when I spelled my name?", Kaxren asked him.

"I find it annoying that we have two Axels in our new Organization", Zexion said.

"Who's Axel?", she asked.

"A member from the past. Forget it, new wielder of fire", Luxlu cut in angrily. "Let's discuss things".

With that, Luxlu, Zexion, and Lexaeus brushed past Kaxren into her room. Kaxren growled angrily, clenching her fists, and causing them to create fire in her hands. She called off the flames and entered her room, slamming the door behind her.

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Marluxia wandered the halls, bored with everything. He had already how he wanted to set up his attack on Hollow Bastion. He had planned everything in his mind. He saw Larxene from afar walking in his direction, holding a book in her hands. He smirked.

'She's always carrying a book in her hands', he thought to himself.

He approached her, and when she didn't lift her head from the book, he grabbed her chin and made her look at him. He saw the anger in her eyes and almost laughed at how cute he thought she looked. She scoffed and pushed him out of the way. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a tight embrace. She struggled, but after a few seconds, she stopped. She looked up at him only to find him looking back at her.

"What? You want to torture me some more? You're so predictable, Marluxia", Larxene said maliciously.

"If I were predictable, would you know I was about to do this?", he said as he kissed her on the lips.

She gasped, and he took advantage of that to slip his tongue inside. His eyes were closed, and she wished that they were open so she could know if he was actually feeling something. She closed her eyes too, and she felt his hand on her cheek. Just when she started to kiss him back, he pulled away. She felt herself panting for air, and he chuckled at her. She glared up at him.

"What the hell was that for?", she shouted.

"I see you've got your body back", he said as he started to walk away.

"Wait….Marluxia, do you have anything planned for our attack on Hollow Bastion…I mean Radiant Garden?", she asked, stopping him in his tracks.

"You, Lenne, Nixora, Stixquis, Yaxa, Slixvia, Thextlea, Laxus, and I will be going to Hollow Bastion. I'll let Zexion, Luxlu, Kaxren, Neexse', and Lexaeus hold up the stronghold just in case the boy shows up here. I'll explain the rest when we meet outside tomorrow morning", he said, giving her one last glance before he walked off.

Larxene watched him go and regretted letting him leave like he did. She sighed and returned to her room to counsel with Slixvia, since she's grown founding of the annoying little girl. Once she entered the room, she found the jumping on the bed while juggling small snowballs in her hands. When the white-haired girl saw Larxene, she gasped and stopped what she was doing quickly. She sat on the bed and put an innocent look on her face. Larxene ignored it and sat beside her on the bed. Slixvia was shocked that the blonde didn't yell at her like she expected.

Larxene turned to her and said, "It seems each girl has taken the personality of the old members from the obsolete Organization. Which one did you get?".

"I don't know…I can control ice and light spells. Who use to control ice and light?", Slixvia asked, sounding like a little girl.

"Vexen…he used to control ice. That's why I gave you that shield. It was his. I hated that bastard…", Larxene replied angrily.

"You don't hate me, do you?", Slixvia asked.

"I don't feel anything towards you…", she said.

"When are we going to Hollow Bastion?", the girl asked.

"Marluxia said that tomorrow we're going to all meet outside in the morning and talk about it there", Larxene said.

"Oh…", was all Slixvia said as the room got quiet.

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"Alright, I'll join you. It sounds interesting. I really want to meet these deceased members you've been talking about", Kaxren said.

"We're going to Neexse's room. We plan on making her join us too", Zexion said as the others left.

"We're going to become complete like you say? I'll get my heart back?", she asked, and he nodded and left.

The trio went to the sixth to converse with Neexse' who was shooting holes in the walls with her gun arrow. They barged into her room and saw all damage she had done. There were many holes in the walls, and the biggest ones were the ones that were the size of fists. Once she heard them come in, she stopped shooting at the walls.

"You know it's very rude to intrude in a person's room. You should know that, weak mage", Neexse' said with a smirk on her face as she turned around the pointed the gun arrows at them.

"Ah…we do have a Xigbar in our mist", Zexion said, making Neexse' point one of her gun arrows at him.

"What do you mean, boy? I bet you'd rather suck on a good hotdog right now instead of talking with me", Neexse' said harshly.

Zexion frowned and said, "No, and what I mean is that you act like an old coot who wants to be a surfer but he can't".

"Ha! As if!", Neexse' said as she dropped her guard. "What do you all want? If you're wondering about the holes in the wall, I just wanted to do that for entertainment".

"We want you to join us", Luxlu answered.

"For what?", she replied.

"To gain succession amongst the fool Marluxia and others who are with him, resurrect the old members of the Organization, and gain control of Kingdom Hearts again", Zexion answered.

"What's in it for me?", Neexse' said, itching her head with the gun arrow still her hand.

"Your heart…you'll be complete", Luxlu said.

"I guess that's a good thing…I'm in", Neexse' said.

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Lenne knocked on Nixora's door. Her tears had finally dried, and she was weary from crying most of the day. She hadn't seen Marluxia all day, but she did see the weapons he left her on the bed. She wondered what was happening, so she went to Nixora for help. Once she knocked on the door, the black-haired Nobody opened the door instantly, catching the brunette girl off guard.

"What do you want, existing being?", Nixora asked.

"I need to talk to you even though you're not Rinoa anymore", Lenne said sadly as she walked by Nixora into the room.

"About what?", Nixora asked as she closed the door. "You've picked the wrong Nobody to discuss feelings with if that's what you're about to do".

"No, I want you to tell me what's happening. I haven't seen Marluxia all day, and I was wondering what's up", Lenne asked.

"I knew this was about something emotional! By the way, I don't care what's happening", Nixora stated.

"Please just tell me!", Lenne shouted angrily, and she felt her tears swelled up in her eyes.

"You want to know badly?", Nixora asked, and Lenne nodded. "Show me how bad…".

Lenne gulped and looked at the black-haired Nobody. She looked at the floor, then back at Nixora who was looking at her evilly and had a smirk on her face. She sighed sadly and got on her knees, lowering herself to the floor as low as she could go.

"Please tell me what he's doing", she whispered.

"Weakling of a sorceress, get up. I don't know what he's up to", Nixora lied. "Maybe you should ask him. Because I like you I'll let you leave without a scratch. Now leave".

Lenne glared at her angrily and left the room, slamming the door behind her as she went. She returned to the thirteenth floor and back to her room. Once she opened the door, she saw Marluxia taking his jacket off. She went in, and he didn't bother to turn around or to oblige her. She saw the weapons were still on the bed and put them in a nearby chair. Marluxia lied down on the bed and watched her as she did the same.

"Marluxia, what are you planning? I haven't seen you all day", Lenne asked.

"Oh, I'm suppose to see you every second of the day now?", he asked sarcastically, hurting Lenne by the vileness of the words.

"No, but…", she at lost for words. "Thank you for the weapons. They're….pretty…".

"Hm…", he said as he rolled over and went to sleep.

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Sora, Riku, Goofy, Donald, and King Mickey bade their friends goodbye and boarded the Gummi Ship. They all sat in their designated seats and were silent as the ship took off into space. Riku looked at Sora who was looking sad as he stared at the floor.

"What's the matter, Sora?", Riku asked.

"It's nothing…it's just that…Leon wants me to eliminate a Nobody named Nixora, but she's his friend", Sora said.

"More than a friend. They're were hugging each other like they were a couple!", Donald pointed out.

Riku looked at Donald then back at Sora, "It's alright. Just do as he says. He wouldn't have said it if he thought it wasn't for her own good. His heart has decided, and you should help him out so he won't suffer anymore and feel her pain".

Sora nodded and said, "Okay…I will".

"Garsh, this'll be a looooooooooooong trip!", Goofy yawned as he leaned to the side and fell asleep.

"Yeah…you guys should get some rest", King Mickey suggested.

"What about you?", Sora asked.

"I'll just put it on auto-pilot. The ship know the coordinates of the Castle Oblivion so we'll be okay", King Mickey answered.

"Okay…", Sora said as he turned around and fell asleep in his chair.

Donald did the same, and King Mickey put it on autopilot and got comfy in one of the chairs in the back as he fell asleep too. Riku just stared at the window, hoping that they'll all be alright after this mission and that they'll be together afterwards. He sighed and slowly joined to rest of the guys in a peaceful slumber.

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A/N: Sorry once again that it's been so long that I updated! Once again, please review, and I'll try the update Ch. 11 in about 3 days, okay? Until next time…