A/N: Helllloooo and welcome to the newest chapter! Hope it pleases everyone, even if it is a little short. Also, just a fun little thing, I've been playing Yakuza 0 lately. Why is that relevant? At times, Majima and Makoto remind me of Axel and Zee so it adds an extra fun layer to the game. If you're looking for a fun action game with a deeply emotional plot, I suggest it! Anyway, enjoy the chapter my friends, and see you next time!

Chapter XXI: Until I Am Broken Glass

You wasted all that sweetness to run and hide
I wonder why
I remind you of the days you poured your heart into
But you never tried

That's weird, she should be back by now... He thought.

Even if it wasn't totally moral, he gave the doorknob a twist – it was locked.

"Now I'm getting worried..." He commented.

Axel furrowed his brow, at a loss of what to do next. He took a quick look around, making sure there was no-one there to witness his next move. The coast was clear, so Axel quickly summoned up a dark corridor and used it to enter Xirena's room. Emerging from it, he saw Zee there, standing near her bed with her back facing him.

"Phew, you had me a bit scared there, Zee." He said, beginning to approach her.

Silence.

Sunny could be seen on the bed, looking rigid and worried – she kept glancing back and forth between Zee and Axel as if anticipating something.

"I got great news for you," Axel continued, "You'll never guess what it is."

Still Xirena was silent and unmoving, which made worry flare up in Axel's belly again. This wasn't like her at all, giving him the cold shoulder like this, and Axel wasn't sure how to approach the situation.

"...Zee?" He asked softly as he got closer, "Are you okay?"

Axel reached out his hand to touch her shoulder, but before he could make contact, Xirena suddenly spun around and swatted his hand away. Axel was shocked and took a step back. Sunny buried her face in the blankets and was visibly trembling.

"Go away..." Xirena said with her head down.

"Eh? What's going on?" A very baffled Axel asked. He reached out to her again only to be once more lightly whacked away.

"I said go away!" Xirena shouted, lifting her head to look at him, "I-I don't want to see you anymore."

Axel was more confused than ever. The last time they spoke everything was just as it always was between them, there wasn't a thing Axel could think of that would cause her to be acting like this. Then, he saw it, her eyes... Xirena's eyes were filled with tears and her cheeks were stained with wetness of tears fallen. Something was very, very wrong and it was in Axel's nature to try and fix it – especially when it came to Xirena.

"I'm not gonna go away." Axel said sternly, "Please tell me why you're upset."

"You... You're a liar!" Xirena shouted accusingly.

"Shh! Keep it down!" Was his initial reaction, but the gravity of her words soon hit him, "Wait, what?! What makes you say that?"

"Saix told me, he told me everything." Xirena sniffled.

Oh no... Shit... Axel thought.

"Xirena..." Was all he could manage to say.

"You're not really my friend, you were just lying to me! You don't even like me!" She wailed, tears falling from her puffy, ruby eyes, "And lying is bad! Why would you do that?!"

Axel lunged forward and tightly grabbed Xirena by the shoulders. Xirena tried to shake him off, but Axel's grip was too tight.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Axel yelled, "You don't understand, Zee, it's complicated!"

"There's nothing complicated... you lied, Axel. You lied to me!"

"Please, you have to listen to me!" Said Axel, giving Xirena a shake, a shake that was unintentionally a little too forceful – but Axel was reaching a point where he was having difficulty controlling his own emotions.

"No!" Xirena screamed.

"Xirena!" Axel shouted and shook her again.

"NO!"

Xirena suddenly raised up her hands and grabbed Axel's face. Her eyes glowed purple and a violet aura surrounded her, flowing towards Axel.

"W-What the...?" Axel slurred.

Axel's emerald eyes began to droop and he started to wobble. Xirena let him go and took a step back, breathing heavily. Axel then collapsed on the floor, falling straight backwards. Xirena was starting to panic now – she had no idea what she just did to him. He wasn't dead or seriously injured as far as she could tell, as Axel was snoring loudly.

"I put him to sleep...?" She whispered to herself, "This isn't good... I don't want to get in trouble..."

Her breathing still heavy, Xirena frantically looked around – from Axel, over to Sunny and back and forth. Sunny was on her feet – or hooves – now and looked concerned. Xirena was on the verge of tears and in a panic, so she summoned up a dark corridor and ran into it. Sunny squealed loudly and hopped off the bed, making a run for the portal. The pig was too late though, and the dark corridor disappeared right before she made her way to it. The pig sat back and let out a defeated grunt, there was nothing she could do. The only one who could help now was Axel, and he was sound asleep...

Xirena ran as fast as her feet would carry her, speeding towards somewhere that might be safe – but where exactly WAS safe now? Home certainly didn't feel like it. She went through the different worlds she'd been to in her head, searching. She finally came to what she deemed was an acceptable conclusion. With that, she re-opened her portal and stepped out.

Lotus Forest, Wonderland.

Xirena let out a sigh of relief, but she wasn't all the way to where she wanted to be yet. She had sprinted all the way there and was feeling a bit out of breath, so she slowed her pace to a light jog as she proceeded into the deeper areas of the forest. Xirena went off the beaten path and started to push her way through the tall reeds that populated the forest. The natural light slowly started to dim and the dirt beneath her feet eventually became stone. She stopped, having arrived at her destination – the butterfly cavern.

Xirena stopped, letting out a bigger sigh this time and fell to her knees.

"What's happening?" She asked, looking upwards, "Why would Axel pretend to be my friend?"

The dancer sniffled loudly and her eyes were wet with incoming tears that she made no effort to hold back. Tears freely streamed down her face and dropped down to the ground below. The last time she was here, it was a much simpler time... a time she wished she could go back to.