Fracture
The dark corridor swirled shut.
Saix looked around the new, unfamiliar forest. It was the middle of fall, but everything was still rather green. The trees that surrounded him soared high above his head, blocking the sky, the sounds of birds and insects filling the cool air around him. It seemed the corridor had dropped him off on a trail, as it branched off in two directions. The path on the left was blocked by an old, dead tree, and the path on the right twisted over a hill. Moss covered the ground and rocks and the bases of the trees. It was beautiful here. Certainly a refreshing change from the same dull, dark castle.
He walked forward, following the path on the right. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for, besides some girl.
He had set the coordinates for the dark corridor to let him off in the exact same spot it had let out Axel and Demyx earlier that day, so he figured, if they had captured the little girl around here, the other girl was bound to be nearby.
As Saix walked, a few drops of moisture plopped onto his head from the leaves above. He couldn't tell if it was beginning to rain or if it was from pools left over from earlier. His boots squelched in the mud with each step, and he felt a twinge of annoyance at how dirty they were getting. He climbed up the small hill, reaching a hand out to brace himself on a young spruce, and when he pulled his hand away, he noticed his glove had been dirtied with sap. He made a face.
He continued along the trail, careful not to trip over the foliage covering the forest floor, sighing at how slow his progress was. Saix was far from an outdoorsman. The only time he'd spent in any forest was the one in Twilight Town, and that one was easier to traverse, more…clean, if that was the right word. Still, though, it was nice out here. The air was fresh, cool against his skin, and the sounds of the birds singing somewhere far out of his sight along with the chirping of insects made for a nice melody. He didn't like to walk around in this kind of nature, but hearing and seeing it wasn't all that bad.
Then, something changed.
Everything around him got eerily quiet. The only thing he could hear was the rustling of the leaves in the slight breeze.
Saix's feet slowed to a stop, his body picking up on the disturbance just a little slower than the wildlife as the hair on the back of his neck stood and goosebumps raised on his skin. He could sense something, or someone. The energy whatever it was releasing was powerful, and filled with malice. Something above his head rustled, the sound like something moving in the branches, and he turned, craning his head. There was a sudden gust of wind, making the leaves shudder, but beyond that, he couldn't see anything.
Luckily he could sense that the energy had moved, and when he turned again, he saw someone standing about thirty yards away from him, on top of another hill. A girl.
She was not dressed like a hiker, rather, she looked like she belonged in a fashion show. Her clothes weren't flashy, but were clearly designer—a long sleeved, deep blue sweater that came to her hips and clung to her hands, black, distressed jeans and heeled boots that definitely were not made for walking in the forest. Around her neck was a silver necklace that fell to her chest, the pendant a crescent moon with a diamond attached to it. Her hair was long, its ends curling around her arms, and a melting dark chocolate color with a red undertone that shined where the suns thin rays hit it. Her ears were pierced as well, simple studded earrings decorating them.
But what really stood out to Saix beyond her out of place clothing and pretty hair was her face. It was impossible, exquisite, her beauty something he'd never seen in any person before. More enchanting than an oil painting, something he never could've thought up in his imagination. It was a face he would've never expected to see, besides maybe the airbrushed faces of unknown celebrities in the magazines Larxene left in the Grey Area. But even those faces paled compared to this one.
Her face was round, childlike, her eyes wide, expressive, and lined with thick, dark lashes. Her nose was dainty, her lips full and a deep pink. Her skin was pale, the color of freshly fallen snow, minus the dark circles under her eyes—like she was still awake after a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose.
Then Saix actually saw her expression. She looked livid, her perfect eyebrows drawn downward, casting a shadow over her eyes, and her tiny hands were balled into tight fists at her sides.
"Where is she?"
Again, this girl floored him. Her voice was a high soprano that sounded like she was singing, even though her tone was angry. For a moment, Saix couldn't find his words.
Suddenly, the girl was ten yards away from him, but he hadn't seen her move. She asked again, her voice louder, harder.
"Where is she?"
The surprise of her being there then here snapped Saix out of whatever trance he was in, and he replied, "Where is who?"
The girl hissed then, a low, startling sound like a swarm of bees spitting from her clenched teeth—which had a pair of sharp fangs where her canines should've been.
"The child," She elaborated.
Saix lifted his chin.
"Why would you think I would know anything about a child?"
"You're dressed like they were," The girl growled. "And you smell like them." She took a step toward him, and this time, he could see her movement. She moved her leg fluidly, the way a model would on a catwalk, but somehow it looked more natural on her, like she wasn't trying to look so graceful. But even though she was so beautiful, so graceful, the aura she gave off was…unsettling. All of the sirens in Saix's body were going off, telling him to back away from her.
However, his conscious mind responded in arrogance. There was no way she could hurt him. She had to have been a full foot shorter than him, and her frame was slight, tiny. He'd be able to fold her like a lawn chair.
So he stayed perfectly still, staring her down.
"Is she that important to you?"
The girl nodded stiffly.
"She might as well be my daughter."
"Well if she's that important, you'll have to prove it."
Her mouth twitched, and she turned her head to the side.
The next thing Saix knew, he was slammed up against a tree, his feet barely touching the ground. The girl was holding him fast by the front of his cloak, her tiny fists like iron blocks against his chest. He struggled against her hold, but found it was like he was pinned by a steel beam. "Did you think I was going to get on my hands and knees and beg you?" She growled, her deep green eyes wild with fury.
As she spoke, Saix's mind struggled to figure out what just happened. Yes, she had moved like a ghost before. But the way she had moved just then, he thought he would've seen something, an arm lift or a leg step, but no. Now he understood why Demyx had been freaking out before.
Still, his mind rejected this impossible development. He narrowed his eyes at the girl.
"Do you just think you can threaten me and I'll do what you want?" He asked, his voice low.
"No." Then, with another movement so fluid he didn't even register it until it already happened, her left arm was pressed against his chest, and her right hand snapped out against his leg, causing tight, intense pain to ring throughout his body. He let out a yelp before he could stifle it, his vision warping and his mind grinding to a halt for a moment. "Don't worry, I didn't break it. Yet." Saix wriggled against the girl, trying to get his leg free from her grasp, but he could only move it a fraction of an inch to one side or the other. "But, if I flex my hand even a little, I'll snap your femur."
Saix stopped his struggling for a moment, his mind working in overdrive to comprehend that threat. Then he smirked. "Snap my femur? That's one of the strongest bones in the body. You can't do that." She raised her eyebrows.
"Can't I?" He didn't even feel her fingers move, but the discomfort his body was slowly getting used to intensified. He grunted, his features screwing up again. "I'm. Not. Playing. Games." The girl snarled.
"Fine," Saix said, his voice tight with pain. "I'll take you to her."
With a feral scream, the little blonde girl slammed herself into the magic-laced bars of her cell for the umpteenth time, and they bent. Again. Axel and Demyx watched with worried expressions as Xemnas finally walked into the dungeon, Xigbar, the second to join the Organization, close behind.
"What is this I hear about a little girl being strong enough to break our cells?"
Axel looked over to them and gestured wordlessly to the cell the girl was currently in, its bars trying to straighten themselves back out after every body slam. Xemnas tilted his head a tad, his expression remaining flat as the girl rammed herself into the bars again. Behind him, Xigbar raised his eyebrows.
"This is Cell D-4258, right? The strongest cell we have here?"
"Yep," Demyx replied. "She broke out of every other cell down here." He jutted his thumb at the cells down the hall, where Xemnas and Xigbar could see twisted bars of metal sticking out of the walls and lying on the floor.
"Let me OUT OF HERE!" The girl screeched, her high, screaming voice somehow melodic and smooth.
"It's only a matter of time until she manages to break that cell," Axel murmured. "Then what?"
With another savage scream, she slammed against the bars again. "I'm not alone! She'll find you!"
"So I hear. Who is 'she'?" Xemnas asked.
However, before the girl could answer, a dark corridor opened and out stepped—well, limped—Saix, followed by an older girl with long, dark brown hair.
"Izzie!" The little girl cried.
"Iris."
The one called Izzie ignored everyone else and streaked over to the cell, her body becoming a blur.
"Are you alright?" She asked Iris, reaching past the bent bars to stroke her hair.
"I'm okay," she replied. "But I'm miffed."
"I am too."
Then, to everyone's shock, Izzie placed her hands on the bars to either side of Iris and pulled them out of shape as effortlessly as she would have if they were made from tin foil. Demyx jumped to hide behind Axel as Iris hopped out of her cell and turned an angry gaze to them. Even though she had such a childish face, something about her expression gave off a vibe of something otherworldly. Something…dangerous.
Then when Izzie looked to them, that vibe increased tenfold. She didn't just look dangerous. She looked deadly.
"Alright," she said, her voice low. "Why did you take her?"
The men stayed silent.
"Hmph. Alright." Izzie walked toward them slowly. "I'm against torturing people, don't get me wrong. But I'm about to start."
Then before anyone could blink, she was next to Saix, her hand clamping down on the back of his neck, tossing him across the room as if he were nothing but a sack of potatoes. His body hit the ground with a dull thud, and then Izzie was there next to him, her foot coming down on the same spot she had pinned earlier, exacerbating the pain that had been throbbing faintly since they got to the dungeon and making him shout. Knowing Saix wasn't one to admit when anything hurt, Axel took a step forward.
"Stop! We were under orders!"
Her head snapped up to look at him, and she removed her foot from Saix's leg. He rolled to the side, clutching at his thigh with a twisted expression.
"From who." She asked the question flatly, her expression completely devoid of any emotion.
Axel's mouth gaped like a fish out of water, Demyx standing behind him with his lips pursed.
"They were my orders." Xemnas answered. Izzie turned her eyes to him. Just the energy from the look in her eyes made Xigbar retreat a couple steps, but Xemnas stood still, his chin lifted and his expression cool.
"What were the orders for?"
"We discovered the world you two hail from, from our Dusks. While they were scouting the area, they stumbled across your child there and told us of her unusual qualities. I ordered Axel and Demyx to take the child in order to better understand her. I was unaware that there would be more like her."
"Better understand?" Izzie repeated, her voice dubious. "And what have you learned?"
"Nothing that wasn't already observed by the Dusks."
"So, pointless, then?"
While she was speaking to Xemnas, Axel made to go over to Saix, whose face was still twisted in pain, but the moment he took a step toward him, her eyes shot to him, and he froze. She inhaled deeply, then looked back to Xemnas.
"And you were unaware there were more like Iris, you said? What would make you think she'd be the only one? If you see a lion cub do you assume its mother isn't nearby? Of course there are more of us."
"And what are you, exactly?" Xigbar asked in place of Xemnas. Izzie smiled sweetly.
"I can't tell you that."
"Why not?"
"I have been around for a very long time. I have Iris to look after. I have no desire to be killed once I go back home." Xemnas and Xigbar exchanged glances.
"Why would you be killed?"
"Where did your—Dusks, did you call them?—see Iris? She was in a secluded forest, correct?"
"Correct."
"Why do you think that is? Why would we avoid people, if we had nothing to hide?"
"You're not human," Xemnas concluded. "But we are not human, either."
"You are not one of us, and you can very easily be mistaken for human. Your beating heart is cause enough for others of my kind to believe you are human."
"Beating heart?" Xigbar repeated. "What, can you hear them or something?" Izzie smiled.
"How do you think I know there's seven more of you?"
As Xemnas looked back to Xigbar, Izzie's eyes darted to the middle of the floor, where Axel was kneeling beside Saix, concern on his face. His hands kind of hovered over him, unsure of how to help. She looked back to Xemnas.
"You should do something about his leg. I hurt it pretty badly."
"There's a small crack in your femur," About an hour later, Saix sat in Vexen's lab as he explained the extent of his injury, the two strange girls being interrogated by Xemnas and Xigbar. Vexen, Organization's number four, was pointing to an X-ray photo of the small crack in the bone of Saix's thigh. It was about two inches long and rather thin. "It's not big enough to be considered a fracture, but it's definitely there. You also have a pretty bad bruise on the bone as well, so you can expect some swelling in that area. You should stay off it for a couple weeks at least, let it heal." Saix stared at the photo as his thigh throbbed faintly, his mouth set in a thin line.
Two soft knocks on the doorframe of Vexen's lab caught their attention, and when he looked, he saw the girl Izzie, hanging half in half out of the room. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Come to actually break my leg?" He growled. She gave him a look.
"No. I came to apologize." She stepped further into the room, coming to stand beside him. Her eyes wandered to the X-ray hung up a couple feet from them, and she let out a breath. "I was mad," she said. "You would be too, if some cultish people kidnapped your kid," She looked back to Saix. "I didn't intend to hurt you so badly. I'm sorry."
"Well just because you didn't intend to hurt me doesn't excuse that you did." Saix grumbled.
"Well if you people hadn't taken Iris there would have been no need for me to confront you, now would there?" As she retorted, Izzie leaned down toward him, and then, she froze. He looked up at her, frowning.
"What's your problem?"
Izzie swallowed tightly, and slowly straightened up. Saix glanced at Vexen, who was looking at Izzie like she had a third eye, and when he looked back, he noticed she wasn't breathing.
"No problem." Izzie said, her voice rigid. Then, almost robotically, she turned and hurried from the lab. When Saix looked back to Vexen, he looked just as perplexed as he felt.
Once his examination was complete, Xemnas called a meeting in the Round Room. All twelve members were gathered, and in the center of the dais stood the two girls.
"Good day, all," Xemnas began, his booming voice echoing off the impossibly tall walls. "I have called this meeting to alert you all on the unusual find standing below us."
Everyone was already looking at the strange girls, everyone besides the original five wondering who they were and what they were doing here. Xemnas held his hand out, signaling for Izzie to speak. She scoffed.
"My name is Isabella Santoro, but I answer to Izzie, and this is Iris, my adopted daughter. Because of your superior's meddling-" He narrowed his eyes. "-a couple of your coworkers kidnapped her. I happened to find another of your coworkers and…convinced him to bring me to her. So here we are." She waved back at Xemnas, who let out a breath.
"According to these two, they are not human, but they will not divulge what they are, citing some sort of danger to their wellbeing if they do."
"Not just our wellbeing, yours too." Iris corrected in her singing soprano. Up above Izzie's head, she heard someone snicker. The small sound belonged to the man with the long, dreaded hair. She turned her eyes to him. Xemnas continued on.
"Isabella, Iris, we believe that you could prove useful to us, and until we have a definite answer either way, you will be staying here."
Saix lifted his eyes to Xemnas, unhappy but not surprised to hear that was what he and Xigbar decided. Xemnas was muddled by his greed and tended not to think things all the way through if he thought something or someone was useful to the Organization, and Xigbar was just plain stupid most of the time. Without Saix to remind them that logic exists, they made terrible decisions. As he sat, chagrined, Iris yelled,
"What?"
"You can't do that," Izzie added, her tone slightly calmer than the kid's, but not by much.
Xemnas smiled, the expression tinged with cruelty. "I can do as I please. No one else is authorized to open a corridor to your home world…at least, no one who would do it. You're stuck here until I deem otherwise."
The little girl let out a piercing scream of rage, and made to jump for him, but Izzie grabbed her by her collar, holding her fast.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into," She warned lowly. "We're dangerous to all of you."
"Unless you tell us why, I am not so inclined to believe you."
Isn't the fact that she nearly broke my leg enough evidence? Saix very nearly said this aloud, but his pride blocked him from admitting any weakness to the entire Organization. He supposed he'd have to speak with Xemnas later, privately.
Izzie glared wildly at him, and he smiled serenely. "Dismissed."
A few hours later, after things settled down, the two girls sat in the Grey Area, staring at each other. Saix watched them incredulously, wondering how two people could stare at each other for so long without saying anything.
"You do something to your leg?" He looked to his left, where number six of the Organization, Zexion, was standing. Zexion was the youngest member of Organization XIII at seventeen years old. To that end, he wasn't taken as seriously as he should've been with some of the newer members.
"No," Saix lied. Zexion raised his eyebrows, the eye that wasn't hidden behind his slate colored hair doubtful.
"Really? You're leaning pretty heavily on your right leg."
"What are you, a detective? Don't you have homework to do?" Zexion inhaled sharply.
For anyone who was still school age, Vexen, the Organization's token genius, tutored them. He had tutored Saix, Axel, and Demyx when they first arrived, and he had been doing the same with Zexion, who joined the Organization at only seven years old. He was the only one still studying, and he hated it when anyone threw that in his face. His hands curling into fists, Zexion turned and stalked off, walking past the new guests.
"So, for real," After Zexion left, Axel took his place next to Saix, and leaned close, lowering his voice. "How is your leg, man? It had to have hurt,"
"I'm fine."
Axel gave him a look, his light green eyes unsure. "You don't have to lie. Sit down."
Saix was about to tell Axel where to go, but thought better of it. After all, Axel was his best friend, even though they had grown apart in recent years. Saix had been pushing him away for the latent fear of hurting him. Axel had been the only person who cared about him when they were human, and pulling him into the riptide Saix's life had become was not even on the list of things he wanted. So Saix turned his eyes away, and when he spoke next, his voice was barely audible.
"Thank you. But stop it."
Axel sighed, but gave up, crossing his arms and looking over to the girls. "They're making weird sounds," He said.
Saix frowned. "They are?"
"Yeah," Axel looked back to him. "When I passed them earlier, they were like…humming. I don't know if that's how their kind communicate, or what,"
They both looked back to them to see that Izzie was staring at them, an expression somewhere between irritated and amused on her face. Iris hadn't turned around. Saix frowned. They were speaking quietly, but from the way the older girl was looking at them, it seemed like she had heard them.
"I don't think I've ever seen stranger people." He said. This was true, but really, he only said it to see if Izzie would react to it. And she did, her eyes narrowing as her shoulders heaved with a deep breath—before she flinched. Hard. As if someone made to swing at her and her body was bracing for impact. She quickly turned her eyes away from Saix and reached a hand to Iris, apparently telling her something; but her lips weren't moving. Then she jerked herself to her feet and hurried away, her abrupt, brisk movements still looking like dancing.
Then Iris turned her head, looking briefly at Saix, before she pulled herself up as well. She wasn't in as much of a hurry to get out the room as Izzie was, but she still walked quickly. Axel, having seen the whole thing as well, said,
"What was that about?"
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
"Wait a minute…!"
But Saix was already marching after them, trying his best not to limp. Axel sighed, rolling his head back on his shoulders.
"Hey. Child."
It took a minute, but Saix finally caught up to the little girl and called out to her. She stopped walking and twirled to face him.
"Iris." She corrected.
"Sure. What is wrong with you and that Isabella?"
"Izzie," Iris corrected again.
"Her name is Isabella. That is what I'm going to call her."
The small blonde rolled her large eyes and crossed her arms. Now that Saix was close to her, he saw her eyes were a strange color-a deep burgundy, standing out in stunning contrast against her skin. Yet another weird thing about her.
"What do you mean, what's wrong with us?" She replied.
"Exactly what I asked," Saix told her. "Earlier today when Isabella-"
"Izzie."
"-came to apologize for nearly breaking my leg, she got close to me and just…began acting strange. Like she was repulsed. And she did the exact same thing just a few minutes ago."
"Repulsed?" Iris repeated, surprised. "That's interesting. It's not like you're bad looking. Your personality leaves quite a bit to be desired, though." Saix rolled his eyes.
"Just tell me what her problem was."
"Well I'm not her. I can't tell you what her specific problem with you was. I can tell you what mine is, though." Ignoring that last quip, Saix said,
"Look, all of us know you're not human. You need to stop playing games and just tell us what you are."
"I thought Izzie told you that if we said anything, not just us, but you as well, would be in danger."
"From what?"
"Saix, we have laws, okay? Normally, if anyone outside our society were to discover the things you and everyone else here knows, we'd have to disappear. I can ask Izzie why she seemed to have an aversion to you, but I more likely than not wouldn't be able to tell you. You're just gonna have to accept that there are certain things we can't tell you. For your safety, and ours."
With that, Iris turned on her heel and swept down the hall, her strides so fluid that she looked like a dancing ballerina. Saix glared after her for a while, his grip on his clipboard so tight it was cracking. After a few moments, his leg throbbed, and he sighed, turning and heading back for the Grey Area.
Once dinner rolled around, Demyx was ordered to find the girls and tell them to come to the dining room.
Izzie and Iris were loitering in the Hall of Empty Melodies, and when he came around the corner, he saw they were just standing, waiting, like they heard him coming. "Uh…dinner's ready," He said nervously. Iris looked up to Izzie, who seemed to contemplate for a moment before replying,
"We'll be right there."
"'Kay." With that, Demyx whirled around and scurried away.
"Are you crazy?" Iris hissed once he was gone. "We don't eat!"
"We don't have to eat everything. Just…take a couple bites of each thing."
"Won't that be more suspicious?"
"Iris, we're already as suspicious as we can possibly be. Might as well humor them." Izzie placed a hand on Iris's narrow shoulders and gently nudged her, pushing her forward.
"Coughing that up later is gonna be su-ch a pain."
When they got to the dining room, the chatter of different conversations stopped, and everyone looked to them. They sat at a long table, Xemnas at its head, everyone else sitting in the same order they had been sitting in the Round Room. Saix glanced up from staring at his hands. In a way, he was grateful there were no empty seats next to him.
At the end of the table were two chairs brought in from different rooms to accommodate two new people, and Izzie and Iris slid gracefully into them.
The Dusks fluttered in from the kitchen, placing a plate full of food in front of everyone, moving slowly down the table. Iris swallowed tightly when her plate was set down. The dinner would've been appetizing…to anyone else. Firecracker chicken on top of white rice. Izzie reached out and patted the hand that was balled tightly against her dress under the table.
Xemnas watched the girls, gauging their reactions for a moment, then picked up his fork. When he began eating, everyone else did, too, but they watched, their curiosity proving too much for any of them to ignore.
Izzie, with exaggerated elegance, extended her left hand to pick up her fork, and she pressed it down into the chicken, lifting it up to her mouth and popping it in with no hesitation. Iris mimicked her actions, but she was definitely more reluctant. It took all she had not to make a face when the food hit her tongue. Against her altered taste buds, the chicken was like ash, it was dry, and its texture was weird. While Izzie swallowed her bite with no outward problems, Iris struggled to choke hers down. If only water could help.
After a while, a couple members began talking to each other—the man with ruffly, dull pink hair named Marluxia to the only woman, Larxene, Vexen to Zexion, and Axel to Demyx. Izzie could tell they were trying for a sense of normalcy against the strangeness her and Iris's presence held. Marluxia was speaking about some weird creature he'd fought on a mission, and Larxene was giving him tips on how to better fight another like it next time. Vexen was asking Zexion if he needed extra help with his calculus assignments. Axel and Demyx were talking about random things—how fake televised wrestling was, why Demyx hated Gouda cheese, why pop music sucked…Those topics made the corners of Izzie's mouth twitch up.
After about a half hour and about six bites collectively between them, Izzie excused herself and Iris from the table, leading them down to the room Saix had the Dusks hastily prepare earlier that day. Xemnas, along with everyone else, watched after them for a while, then turned his eyes to the barely touched food they left.
"Iz, we're gonna have to tell them what we are,"
Six days later, after growing tired of coughing up food her body couldn't process anymore, Iris demanded this of Izzie. She looked at Iris like she was crazy.
"Have you lost your mind?" She replied. "We can't tell them anything more than what they already know. And even what they do know is too much."
"Saix told me you acted strangely when you got too close to him, and I see how you avoid him. It's the smell of his blood, isn't it? It calls to you."
"I can control myself just fine."
"But what will happen when we need to feed? What if someone accidentally cuts themselves? What if he gets a scrape? You'll be able to know it the minute it happened and then what? Lots of us have lost their control when around someone like him." Izzie sighed, looking away from Iris and running a hand through her hair. "And even if you keep your distance from Saix, we've been away from people for so long that any one of them could be in danger if we caught the scent of their blood."
"Xemnas said they're not people,"
"They have beating hearts. They have blood in their veins. They're as good as humans to beings like us." Izzie sucked in her lips.
"And the Council?" She asked the nine-year-old. "What if they find out?"
"I don't see how they can, honestly," Iris replied, shrugging her narrow shoulders. "These guys aren't even from the same universe as us. They didn't know much about our world before showing up. And beyond all of that, Xemnas said we can't leave. We're gonna get thirsty, and then there's gonna be a bloodbath here."
The older girl looked down at her charge, who was staring intently up at her with those big eyes, and she sighed.
"You're not gonna let this go, are you?"
"Nope. There's no other option, Iz. We have to tell them. It's life or death, here."
...