Darkness. Noise. Pain. Fear. It was all that Marluxia could feel, could sense. He huddled in the dark of the back room, clutching at his chest as the dark blood rolled down over his fingers. He'd never felt pain like this before, but the pain in his chest was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. Only five of them were left, only five of thirteen. In the shadows behind him Axel, Roxas, Larxene, and Demyx crouched, trying to bravely hold in their blood and trying to calm the fear inside them. All the rest were gone. Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Saix, Lexaeus, Luxord, all of them. All dead. Only the five in the room had escaped death, and then only barely. Roxas was dying. Marluxia could hear him gasping for air behind him, painfully drawing in each breath. His whole ribcage was shattered, one lung gone. Only the makeshift bandage around his stomach held in the bloody, ripped intestines. It wouldn't be long before his body shut him down completely. Axel cradled the Nobody in his arms, unaware of the blood running down from his shoulder, burned and shredded as it was. His eyes were dry; Larxene, who knelt behind him, one hand over his shoulder to staunch the blood, had cold tears running down her face. Her left hand would never hold the daggers again; her index and middle finger had been hacked off by a blade. A nasty blow with a serrated knife had severed the tendons in her right hip, and the blood was soaking through the thick leather. Demyx lay on his back at the rear of the room, holding his arms over the long, deep cut in his side. Warm blood puddled under him as he valiantly tried to keep it in.
They were all that was left of the infamous Organization 13, the battered, dying remnants of the brave 13 who had fought so bravely for their castle. Five, only five. They were hacked to pieces, bleeding, hopeless, discouraged, exhausted. All they had now were each other. And so now they crouched together in the room, feeling their hearts wrenching, feeling the fear rise in them as they heard their attackers battering on the door that served as their own barrier from the horrible death outside. The sharp, bitter taste of fear was gone; now all that lived in them was the icy dread of the death that awaited them, and the steady terror that throbbed in them. Axel and Roxas may have been the only two that didn't feel fear. All that Axel felt was the painful tearing of his heart as he held Roxas, praying that he'd make it, and knowing that even if he did, he'd die anyway. He'd never felt so utterly hopeless, helpless before in his life. He couldn't help Roxas anymore; all he could do was be there for him as the young Nobody's life slipped away.
Thud…Thud…Thud.. The banging grew louder on the door. Axel drew a shaky breath, wanting to cry, wanting to scream, and not able to. I'm so sorry, Roxas, he thought. I'm so sorry that I can't be here for you now, now when you need me. I've let you down. The only friend I ever had, and now, I can't help you.
Marluxia knelt slightly apart from the others, knowing that he could do nothing for them. He just knelt there, head bowed, trying to stop the blood, his life from leaking out. Strange. He felt regret. Regret for a life he'd never get to finish. Regret for the things he'd done. He thought of the things he'd like to do over, if he had the chance. He was a murderer, a thief, a liar. He only wished that he'd had a chance to change that.
Thud…Thud…Thud.. They were coming. They were battering down the door, battering their way into the room where five Nobodies waited, alone in their pain and helplessness. Life's so short, Marluxia thought. If only…if only I had more time. All the things I'd like to do. Maybe I could listen to that funny kid with key, and his words about light and laughter. Funny, he thought, with another stab of regret. I've never laughed before. Not for joy, at least. I wonder how it feels…
Larxene felt the cold tears running down her cheeks, much like the warm blooding rolling over her fingers. Axel's blood. Her own hand was drenched in blood, the warm liquid flowing from the bloody stumps that once had wielded death itself. And now, Axel was dying. The only man she'd ever cared about, the only one who had ever made her feel that feeling - what was it? Love - and now he was dying. Larxene rested her head against his red hair, closed her eyes, and let the tears flow. I love you Axel, she thought. I can't tell you that, but I do. I've loved you all my life. Maybe if she'd had more time, she might have been able to tell him that. But Larxene couldn't tell him that now; it would make the death all the more painful for him. All she could do was kneel there, holding in his blood, wanting to tell him how she felt, and too scared to. The thudding grew louder. The door's hinges were shaking now. They might give out at any moment.
Demyx closed his eyes and just waited. It was all he could do. He was bleeding all over the floor in the dark, with no hope of ever being rescued. They had no allies, the Superior had betrayed them. Demyx had always been the happy-go-lucky Nobody, always with a cheery word, always strumming on the sitar that lay crumpled and broken beside him. Strange, but now, he didn't feel fear or pain. All he felt was a dreadful sense of nothingness. He lay staring at the ceiling, feeling warm blood oozing through his fingers, just thinking. It this what it's like to die? Demyx wondered. No pain, no fear, no feeling. Just…just waiting for that moment when it all stops? He looked over at Axel and Larxene, then at Roxas's bloody face. They had each other, even though they didn't know it. Those three were bound together by something. Marluxia had never had anything but a broken heart, and Demyx had never had anything but his music, his smile, and his two friends. And now, one of them lay dying in the arms of the other. Demyx wished that he could make it alright, that he could just say something, and Roxas would wake up. But he couldn't. All he could do was lie here in his own little sphere, and wait.
The banging grew louder, harder. The door shuddered, protesting the repeated blows as the attackers hammered on it. Axel finally drew a long breath. "He's going," he said softly, meaning Roxas. Larxene rubbed his shoulder in silent comfort, hoping against hope that Roxas would live, and knowing that he wouldn't . Demyx painfully rolled over on his side.
"Is this….is this how you want to go down?" He asked. The three conscious Nobodies just looked at him, not understanding. "In a few minutes, they're gonna come through the door," Demyx pointed out. "So do you just want to wait here for them to come in and kill us?"
"You want to fight," Larxene said dully. "Don't you."
"I don't just want to sit around here waiting for them!" Demyx stated angrily. "I want to go down swinging."
"If we meet them head on," Axel spoke up quietly, "Then maybe we have a chance. Maybe he has a chance," he added, nodding towards Roxas.
"Demyx is right," Marluxia said, the first thing he'd uttered since they got inside the room. He painfully turned towards them. "If we charge out…meet them head on….we might just buy ourselves enough time to escape."
The thudding increased its pace. The whole door rattled in its hinges, barely hanging on. Larxene looked at it nervously and the fear grew in her. "A surprise rush," she guessed. "We rush out, take them by surprise, and run." At the very thought of running her hip began throbbing again, but it was worth a try.
"And even if we don't escape," Axel said fiercely, "We'll die fighting, not waiting like dogs in here."
Marluxia slowly got to his feet in the darkness, feeling for a wall. "How many weapons do we still have?" he asked. Axel silently held up one chakram, and pried a key blade from Roxas's bloody fingers. Larxene held the other sword in her one good hand. Both sets of daggers were crushed and useless…not like she could wield them anyway.
"The sitar's useless," Demyx said, trying to hide his gasp of pain as he got to his knees. He pulled the black coat tighter around him to hide the blood running down his thigh.
"You still got both arms," Axel observed, struggling to get to his feet with Roxas. He turned and pushed Roxas's body into Demyx's arms. "You carry him," he said bluntly. The red haired Nobody bent to pick up his weapons. "I'll guard your back." He helped Larxene get up.
"We both will," Larxene said quietly. I'll be right behind you, she thought, glancing at Axel in the darkness. Marluxia bent to pick up the battered scythe.
"I'll lead," he said simply. He zipped up the cloak and pulled the hood on over him. The noise of the hammering on the door was thunderous now; the very wood itself was rippling from the force. The four Nobodies pulled the hoods on over themselves, Demyx pulling Roxas's over his face. Axel twirled the chakram in one hand, remembering how it felt to be the Master of Fire. He almost smiled. Larxene stood beside him, one hand on his shoulder. Her blood flowed with his. A crack split the door. A hideous screaming came from the outside; the attackers knew that they were almost to their prey. "I'm so sorry," Marluxia said suddenly. "I am. I'm so sorry," he repeated. His heart was wrenching inside of him.
"Forgiven," Larxene said simply. "All of it."Axel looked over at Marluxia, feeling the bitter emotions inside of him, feeling the hate. Then he held out one hand.
"Goodbye Brother," he whispered. Marluxia's hand clasped his, and for a moment their eyes met. And for the first time, Marluxia didn't see hate in them. The door was shattering; light came pouring in.
"The last charge of Organization 13," Demyx said softly. Marluxia approached the door, and took the handle.
"NOW!" He wrenched the door open, and with an shout, hurled himself onto the black throng in the hall. The scythe flashed once, twice, the attackers shrieked, and then the others were out. Axel swung viciously with the chakram, forcing the black attackers back against the wall. Demyx slipped out behind him, clutching Roxas's barely breathing body, sheltered by Axel and Larxene. Marluxia charged past them, cutting a bloody wake in front of the five. "Down the stairs," he called, ducking a swing from blow. Axel shoved Demyx down the stairs ahead of him, catching a blow aimed for the Nobody on the edge of the key blade.
"Larxene, come on!" He shouted, pulling at her. "Come with me!" Larxene pushed past one of the attackers, feeling his sharp blades slashing into her cloak. She pulled free with a sickening rip, and dashed down the stairs after Axel and the others. Axel grabbed her, pushing her against the wall.
"Stay on the inside," he ordered. He gave a sharp groan as a short stabbing spear lodged itself in his ribcage. Axel swung back viciously with his chakram, slicing a deep, bloody trench in the hordes behind them. Slowly, slowly, they were making their way downstairs, Larxene, Axel, and Marluxia hacking with all their might at the black hordes that writhed around them, jabbing, waving, slicing. Marluxia felt the sharp stab of pain as a stray swipe of a blade took off the top layer of skin on his left forearm, exposing the bloody, white bone. Marluxia cursed, bringing his scythe back in a furious backswing that decapitated two of the horde. Their bodies fell in a black puddle of blood, and their comrades pushed over their dead bodies, continuing the onslaught. Demyx winced as a pike carved a neat, deep cut down the side of his face. Virtually defenseless, with no weapons and Roxas cradled in his arms, Demyx could only press against the wall, staying behind the other three. Axel and Larxene formed a barrier around the two, parrying and thrusting in an attempt to fend off the black, shrieking mob. And then Larxene went down.
A strong swing of a broadsword caught her high in the chest, ripping a huge gash in her flesh, and with a strangled cry, Larxene fell onto the bloody stairs. There wasn't time to stop, not with the hordes already swarming over Larxene's limp body. Axel charged them, cleaving a circle in them, buying himself just enough to haul Larxene to her feet, and start running down the stairs. Her warm blood was soaking his cloak, her head was resting limply on his shoulder. Axel couldn't run and support Larxene while defending himself at the same time; swords repeatedly were stabbing him, he was stumbling. The horde was cutting his off from Roxas and the others. Marluxia noticed. "Axel!" he shouted hoarsely, trying to fight his way back up the stairs. "Axel, Larxene, no!" Even as he watched, an axe sailed through the air, and buried itself in between Axel's shoulder blade. He stumbled, coughed, grabbed the wall. Larxene slipped forward. Marluxia could feel the tears staining his face as he tried desperately to fight his way back up to where the two Nobodies were.
"Go back!" Axel yelled. He was coughing blood now. He pulled Larxene's bloody body tight around him, and fiercely thrust the key blade into an attacker's chest. It went down with a gargling scream. "Run!" Axel shouted again. "Marluxia, go! Take care of Roxas…take care of Demy-" Marluxia saw the serrated sword as it was shoved through Axel's stomach. The Master of Flames fell forward, carrying Larxene's body with him. Both of them hit the stairs at the same time, blood splattering.
"NOOO!" Marluxia screamed, feeling his soul ripping within him. Then, the incredible happened. Pierced in several places, ripping, shredded, drenched in his own blood, Axel raised himself on one arm.
"Take care of him," he whispered. Marluxia couldn't hear him, but he knew what he said. Their eyes met, and in that moment, Marluxia felt all the compassion and redemption that he had wanted all his life. He saw love and truth in the eyes of a dying Nobody. He saw a friend. Then Axel gave an unearthly scream, one that shook the castle, and flames shot from his hands. A huge ball of tumbling, scorching, blazing flame exploded in the hall. The shrieks of the burned attackers and the smell of their burning bodies filled the air. Then Axel fell forward on the stairs with a gasp, and the fire was gone. He'd sacrificed whatever was left of him to buy his friends more time. Marluxia didn't waste it. Tears streaming down his face, he charged down the stairs, screaming his pain and anger. Demyx ran behind him, feeling the cold tears smarting his eyes. Recklessly, he bowled his way through the horde, the barely-breathing body of Roxas cradled against his bloody body. The three made their way down the curving stairs, charging through the shrieking horde, their only though to get out of the castle. Venting all his pain and rage into strength, Marluxia hewed with the dripping scythe, slashing with all his might. He slashed for Axel, for Larxene, for both of them, for the redemption that Axel had given him. He fought for Demyx and Roxas behind him, one of them bleeding, the other one dying. He fought to give them one last chance. Marluxia barely felt the sharp shafts that lodged in his body; all he felt was anger. Then they were off the stairs; Marluxia had pushed Demyx and Roxas ahead of them, was pushing them towards the doors that would take them out of the castle. Marluxia staggered as a spear caught him in the lower back, coughed, kept running. The black mob was filling up the hall behind them, knowing that they almost had their victims. Demyx wrenched open the huge doors, slid through.
"Come on," he gasped breathlessly. "Marluxia…come on…" Marluxia was leaning against the doors, gasping for air. Blood soaked his body. His blood. Demyx felt his heart sinking. "Marluxia, please, there's still time-" Marluxia screamed as an arrow pierced his shoulder. He was coughing blood, barely able to stand. The bloody scythe was on the floor. Demyx looked past him; the horde was closing in. "Marluxia, come with me!" he urged again, trying to pull the Nobody through the door way into the light with him.
"No," Marluxia gasped. "They'll follow you…I can't run…" he coughed. The horde was almost on them. Marluxia snatched up the scythe and shoved it through the door. "Bolt it…from the outside," he gasped. "Go!Run…." The horde was only a few yards away. Marluxia looked up at Demyx's pain stricken face, then at Roxas's limp body. He almost smiled. "I'm fine," he said softly. "Take care of him." His face changed. "Bolt the door," he yelled at Demyx. "Hurry!" Demyx dropped Roxas, grabbed the scythe, slid it through the bolts on the outside of the two huge doors, and looked once more at Marluxia. "Goodbye," Marluxia said simply, turned, and charged the horde empty handed. Demyx pushed the doors shut, locking his leader in with the horde. The tears flowed freely as Demyx caught up Roxas and began running away from the castle. The only two left out of Thirteen.
"Axel?" Larxene looked up at him, lying on top of her. His face was covered in blood.
"Wish….I could have done more.." Axel whispered. His hand closed around her bloody fist.
"I know.." Blood was trickling from Larxene's mouth now, mingling with the tears.
"Larxene?" Axel began coughing up blood.
"Yes?" It hurts to breathe, Larxene noticed. Blood was welling out of her chest, dying her flesh red.
"Larxene?"
"I'm here, Axel." Larxene's eyelids were fluttering now.
Axel drew in a long, ragged breath. "I love you," he said softly.
"I love you too." Somehow, in that moment, both bloody mouths met each other. They met for a long moment, then Axel rolled slightly to one side, breaking the kiss. Larxene's eyes were going dark now; she thought she could see Axel next to her, but she wasn't sure. Her body was getting cold. "Axel?" He didn't say anything. The coldness had taken her legs now; she couldn't feel one arm. She felt a fear, a fear of the nothingness swallowing her. Her hand tightened on Axel's blood-stained fingers. "Axel?" But the Master of Fire was breathing anymore. The bright green eyes had shut for the last time. He'd said his last words.
I love you.
Larxene shut her eyes, and let the nothingness swallowed her. Her soul let go, leaving two bodies lying on the splattered stairs among the black bodies of the slain, holding hands in a puddle of their mingling blood.
Sora sat on the windowsill, watching the rain come down. Kairi was nestled against him, her red hair spilling over his shirt, fast asleep. He ran his fingers over the cold, wet glass. Somehow, he felt as if part of him had died, had gone forever. Funny feeling, too. He should be feeling peace; it was a rainy day, calm and quiet, with one arm wrapped around a sleeping Kairi. So why did he feel empty? A sharp rapping on the door startled him. He looked out the window, but couldn't see who was knocking. The banging came again, more like someone kicking the door than a rap. Sora shifted, trying to lean Kairi against the glass so that he could answer the door.
"Mmm…" Kairi's eyes fluttered open. "Sora..?"
"Someone's at the door," Sora explained, sliding off the seat. "I'll be back." The rumbling sounded again as Sora walked over to the door. "Coming," he called cheerfully, unlocking the door. He swung it open. "Yes-"
"Sora.." Something fell in on him, its full weight falling into his arms. Sora gave a muffled gasp as the black object toppled on him, staggered back, lost his hold on it, and let it fall to the floor with a thud. He blinked, looking down at what lay on the floor. His heart stopped. Lying on the floor were two people, both in ripped black leather cloaks, both soaked to the bone. The water puddling under them was pink; their cloaks were full of their own blood, now spreading across the floor. Sora dropped to his knees beside the smaller one, lying slightly on top of the other, like the older one had been carrying him. He pulled back the hood, looking down at the white, blood-streaked face of a blonde boy.
"Who are they?" Kairi was at his side, fully awake now. She pulled back the soaked hood from the older one's face, wiping away the icy rain.
"I don't know." Sora's hand was inside the younger one's cloak, feeling for a pulse. Kairi waited for a few moments, looking at the expression on Sora's face.
"Is he alive?" She whispered. Relief washed over Sora's face.
"Yes," he said softly, passing the limp body into Kairi's lap. He felt for the older one's wrist. After a moment, he let out a long breath. "He's alive too." Sora pulled open the cloak, wincing as he saw the underclothes, soaked and cracking from blood. Kairi drew in a breath, eyes glued to the crimson mess. Sora quickly pulled the cloak shut. "Get some bandages," he ordered Kairi. "We gotta take care of them." Kairi gently lay down her burden, and ran to the back of the house. Sora brushed away the wet hair from the younger one's face. "It's alright," he whispered. "We're gonna take care of you." So it was that Demyx and Marluxia fulfilled the promise.
"Axel?"
"Yes?"
"Axel?"
"I'm here, Larxene.." She opened her eyes to the light. For a moment, she saw nothing but the brilliant white light, felt no pain, felt nothing but the lightness in her body. Slowly, ever so slowly she could make out things; the blue-white sky, the feel of the light green grass under her, the smell of flowers. Someone was holding her hand. She looked over, and there was Axel, lying flat on his back on the soft grass, one hand holding hers.
"Where are we?" She whispered.
"We're home." Axel let go of her hand and got up. It was then that Larxene noticed that he didn't have any rips in his cloak; it was all in one piece, and there was no trace of blood anywhere on Axel. He was as clean as the day she'd met him. Axel looked around him, at the flowery grass spreading as far as the eye could see under the pale blue sky.
"I don't feel any pain," Larxene whispered.
"You never will," Axel said softly. "You'll never be hungry or lonely again." He held out his hand to her. His green were bright and welcoming. "Come with me?"
Larxene took his hand, feeling his warm skin. Then she was on her feet, Axel's arms were around her, and they were kissing. Sweet warmth spread all through Larxene's body, targeting the hole where she should have had a heart, closing it forever. They stood there for a moment in the white light, feeling the warmth of reality completing them. Then they heard a noise. Marluxia was walking towards them over the flower fields, his cloak untorn, his long pink hair neatly flung over his shoulder. "I was wondering when I'd find you," he said simply.
"It's good to see you," Axel said warmly. "Did Roxas…Demyx..?"
"I got them out," Marluxia nodded. "They're alive."
"We'll see them one day, here, with us," Larxene said softly, entwining her fingers in Axel's. "The others are already here."
"Then let's go find them." Axel held out his other hand, and Marluxia gripped it. Then they turned, and the three of them went walking away over the flower fields.