Chapter Fifteen:

The Pieces Should All Come Together…

….Instead, They Seem to Drift Apart.

This time, when Raxet woke up, Axel was still there, his face buried in her neck and his arms loosely clasped around her waist. She turned slowly, carefully extricating herself from his clutches. Axel didn't stir. Raxet reached for her clothes, dressing quickly and pulling the cowl over her head, shadowing her face. Wordlessly she picked up her weapons, then softly leaned over the bed and brushed her lips delicately against Axel's heated cheek.

Ready at last, she reached into the darkness around her and allowed herself to be swallowed by the shadows that filled the room.

When she had fist come to Castle Oblivion, Axel had given her an extensive tour. He'd assured her that she'd seen everything, and he'd been convincing about it. However, there was an entire floor that he'd neglected to display. She'd stumbled upon it by chance several weeks ago.

The dungeon level.

Complete with cell block.

Complete with torture chamber.

If Xemnas really was holding a little girl prisoner, this was where she'd be. He'd lock her up and leave her. Maybe he'd assign a Dusk as guard, but Raxet doubted it. She materialized outside the first cell, shrinking into the darkness, peering around for signs of life. There was no guard.

"Who's there?" It was a strong voice. Raxet smiled sadly. This girl was no pushover. The authoritative tone was reminiscent of the keyblade bearer himself.

"A friend," She whispered, stepping out of the shadows. Her face was still hidden by the cowl, but her stature and build allowed Kairi to determine that she was a woman. "I'm here to help you," She began to study the girl that Sora valued so much. A chord struck deep inside Raxet's chest, and she began to piece together some of the puzzles that had been dancing around in her mind.

"Help me?" Kairi had drawn herself against the back wall, her hand clenched around the collar of a large dog. "Quiet, Pluto," She bid him, "Sit." Pluto wagged his tongue good-naturedly at Raxet and settled next to Kairi's feet. She didn't release his collar. "You're with them." Her eyes narrowed distrustingly.

"I used to be," Raxet admitted. "Keep your voice down, please," She implored as she examined the lock, slightly confused. There was a huge keyhole, but there seemed to be no tumblers. Forget that, then. She would have to do it the hard, noisy, stupid, this-is-going-to-get-me-so-very-much-in-knee-deep-shit way. She ran her hand along three or four of the bars, fast freezing them with her touch.

"Stand back," She hissed a warning at Kairi, "And cover your eyes. Be ready to move, ok? Someone's going to hear this, I just know it!" She drew her sword and pulled back, swinging like an all-star major-league hitter. The brittle metal shattered noisily. Debris shot out, scoring Raxet along her unguarded cheeks. Kairi bled from shallow cuts along her hands and forearms, but she'd shielded her eyes and face. Pluto was unscathed, though he had placed himself valiantly in front of Kairi. Hm…a magical pooch. Curious, if not useful.

"C'mere, c'mere!" Raxet beckoned agitatedly, glancing around. She was suddenly very nervous.

"Where's Sora?" Kairi whispered loudly, picking her way through the metal shards, "Is he with you?"

"No. He's not here yet. But here's a bad place for you to wait, don't you agree? I want to take you somewhere safe to wait for him, alright?" Raxet grabbed Kairi's hand, prepared to lead her through a darkness door.

"I don't want to wait somewhere safe!" Kairi jerked away, "I want to find Sora. If he's coming then I should wait here. And I'm not a kid. You don't have to hold my hand—"

"Hey!"

"Dammit!" Raxet cursed. It was Saïx. "I told you we had to move fast!" No time to argue about a destination now. Raxet began to open a door, digging deep into herself for the necessary darkness. She didn't have time to draw it out. Saïx was running toward them, drawing his fury around him. Raxet groaned and grabbed Kairi's hand again. "We gotta run. Now!" She pulled Kairi down the hall, passing cell after cell. Raxet noticed they were empty, and that gave her a small measure of comfort. Xemnas wasn't in the habit of methodically imprisoning and torturing children.

She had hoped that Saïx could have been outrun. It didn't happen. Mostly, this was because the route she had chosen turned out to be a dead end. Still, the gap their flight had caused gave her enough time to bite her lip, clearing her mind with pain, and allowing her to summon a darkness door. Before Kairi could protest, Raxet pushed her through. Pluto followed. Raxet was about to step through herself, but the sound of Saïx's heavy footfalls caused her concentration to slip, and the escape path dissolved even as she tried a desperate jump through.

"Little bitch!" Raxet was struggling to her feet, bracing herself against the bars of a cell. Saïx swung at her with his ridiculous but very intimidating weapon. Raxet didn't have time to dodge; she was still trying to regain her balance. His blow caught her roughly in the chest and she bounced off the wall with a painful thud. She shook herself, groaning, trying to be as quick as she could about getting to her feet.

Raxet slid her blades from their hidden sheathes across her back.

"I told Xemnas," Saïx panted, worn down from the chase."I told him…you would be too much trouble. Even without your memories! It's in your goddamn blood—you're too much like your old man!"

"Hey, Saïx?" She coughed, blood flecking her lips. It felt like her ribs were broken. "Shut up and die, will you?" Raxet wondered if everyone in the castle knew her story—excluding her, of course. It certainly seemed that way.

She charged him, intent on slicing him into bloody little pieces. Saïx blocked her left blade and dodged the right, kicking aggressively at her face. She jerked back, allowing for barely a centimeter of air between his boot and her nose.

She kicked back, leaning against a wall. Both of them were breathing heavily, and Saïx leaned upon his magnificent weapon, his head hanging slightly. Raxet hoped that that was a good sign. She knew that even injured, she had a high endurance rate. Maybe she could wear him down.

When he looked back up, however, she felt that hope shrivel and die. His eyes gleamed with madness, and all signs of fatigue had vanished. He raised his weapon and charged her with a wild yell. She barely had time to block, and even when she did, the force of his attack sent her spinning back down the hallway she had just used as an escape tunnel, skidding painfully along the tile. She flailed, trying to get her feet under her, but Saïx was there—impossibly fast—and slammed his weapon down on her legs. This time there was no doubt. Even over her scream, they could both hear the bones crunch.

He raised his blade high over his head, his eyes meeting hers and showing no sign of recognition or compassion. He intended, she knew, to crush her skull. She felt her face screw up as she closed her eyes, preparing for the blow.

"SAΪX!" Xemnas's voice echoed through the corridors of the castle. "Saïx!"

Both the combatants felt their breath catch. Raxet felt herself trembling. There was no sound, no motion in that tight hallway. When she pried one eye open, Saïx was no longer braced to smush her brains into canned cat food. The madness had left his eyes, and the smile that graced his lips was cruel, but lucid. He was twirling one of her scimitars between his fingers.

"Goodbye, darling," He bid. She swung up to block as he drove the blade deep into her stomach. Her angle was horrible. She scored deeply into the meat of his right arm, but did no other damage, while his blade bit hard into her middle. Saïx didn't even wince, ignoring his wound completely. A darkness door formed, and he stepped backwards into it, still smiling.

"Da…damn…" she choked, trying to pull herself into a sitting position. It was no good. The bones in her shins were completely crushed, and the sword in her gut had been driven all the way through. She fell back to the cold marble, feeling the icy liquid of life pumping determinedly around the silver blade.

She began to cry. She hadn't wanted to die. She'd only wanted to help. She didn't even know if she'd sent Kairi to the right place. Or if she'd gotten there. She'd never tried to open a door for someone else.

What if she'd just accidentally killed the girl?

What if she'd only made things worse?

And now she was going to Fade. She could feel pieces of herself drifting away, splitting apart. She was so frightened. Please, she thought, please, please, please let Naminé be right.I don't want to Fade into nothing…

"Razer?" Axel's voice reverberated to her, bouncing off the bars of the cells that surrounded her. "Raz? Where are you?"

"Axel?" She called back weakly. "Over…over here…."

"Holy damn!" Axel caught sight of her as he rounded the corner, sprinting to her side and kneeling. "Raz…." He seemed at a loss, shaking his head helplessly. He pushed her hood back from her face so he could make eye contact with her. "What…what…"

"I had to do my part," She smiled at him as the heat of his touch baked her forehead. He wiped a tear from her cheek, pulling her hand to his lips and kissing it.

"You should have just stayed put…" he whispered, his voice heavy with pain. "I had it…I had it under control!"

"Did…"

"Shh…yes. Kairi got to the room. She woke me up. I took her to Naminé. They're whole now. But it could have waited!"

"I'm scared…" She whispered, closing her eyes. "I don't want to Fade, Axel."

"It'll be alright," he promised her, massaging her cold hands. It hurt, the heat of his touch against the increasing cold of her body. "You'll be happier when you're whole,"

"You don't understand, you heartless bastard…" she whispered, trying to sound angry and failing. "I was already whole. You're the only piece I needed. You…might as well be my heart…" She didn't have the strength to talk anymore, and she felt the room around her begin to slip from her grasp. She couldn't even feel the scorch of Axel's touch.

Voices drifted to her ears even as all sense fell away.

"You should hurry," She didn't know that voice. Who else was…it didn't matter anymore, did it?

"Just a minute more…She's Fading. She's almost gone…"

"But he's still alive. You can't even touch her anymore. Your hand just passed right through hers. Please, Axel. I need you. So does he."

"…I'm going. There's nothing left for me, either. I'll do everything I can to get Sora into the castle. Then it's up to you."

"I understand. Thank you."

"Shut up."

"What was she to you?'

"She's the only woman I ever loved."