Chapter 15

I was wandering again... I started falling back into my old habits... my old wonderings... but there were new ones too. Like what Axel was doing and how he was adjusting to both Roxas and I leaving the Organization. I was sure he wasn't too thrilled, but what could I do? This was for the both of us... well... it was more for him than me. Even if I got my heart back... I would still be a Heartless. That must be why my eyes were orange instead of a normal color. Heartless have yellow eyes. No, I wasn't thinking clearly. I was walking through one of the corridors of darkness between worlds. Suddenly, thousands of Dusks were surrounding me. I summoned my weapons, getting ready for whatever they were here for. Suddenly, they all swarmed me. I brought my daggers out and blocked their attacks with short flicks of my wrist. I stabbed one of them where their heart should have been. It disappeared with a 'poof'. There were so many of them. Every time I fought one off, there were three more to take its place. I hissed as I felt the fabric on my back rip as my observation distracted me from the battle at hand. I whirled around to face the crowd of them and leapt back into the fray with almost berserker like attacks. Something hit me in the face and when I touched my face, I saw a dark spot on my glove. I snarled, throwing my Chinese star at the Dusk who had hit my face. Then, another one attacked my right arm and left a gash from my shoulder to my wrist. With this accumulation of injuries, I realized it was pointless to continue. I ran, hating myself and my inability to fight all of them off. I came out in Hollow Bastion. I looked around. There were people around me, but I didn't think they saw me. I lowered my head, taking deep breaths to keep from passing out. Suddenly, a shadow crossed over me. "Oh you poor dear," I heard a woman say. I looked up to see an elderly woman with sparkling, sympathetic ice blue eyes.

"You can see me," I whispered, feeling my throat clench in a flood of relief. The woman smiled sweetly and nodded. I managed a small smile back before falling forward in an unconscious heap.

The first thing I became aware of was something tight and constricting around my torso. Then, I became aware of a bed beneath me. I opened my eyes and then shut them suddenly as a bright light entered my sight. I moaned softly as my eyes watered a bit. "Oh thank heavens you're awake dearly," said a voice that sounded very familiar. "I was worried when you fell unconscious out on the street." I opened my eyes slowly to realize with relief that the shades were closed and the kind woman who had found me on the street was standing over me with her hand on my forehead. "Who were the rascals responsible for putting you into such a state? I will get the police on them so quick their heads will spin on their necks."

"Du...Just some guys. I didn't know them. They just jumped me and caught me by surprise," I lied.

"Well, I hope they didn't get anything from you."

"They didn't. I didn't have anything on me." The woman looked startled for a moment, and then whispered,

"Are you homeless my dear?" I thought about my current situation. I nodded. I had no where to live. With an exclaimed cry, she went into the next room. "Lizzie, she doesn't have a place to live. She's homeless."

" Oh the poor thing... She must live with us. I insist. I won't take no for an answer. Tell her Beth." The elderly woman named Beth came back into the room.

"Lizzie insists you live with us. And I do too. I don't want a young and pretty girl such as yourself living on the street." I sat up, realizing that I had been put into an overlarge shirt and jeans. I looked around the small, but clean room I was in. It had a cozy lived in feel to it. I looked at the woman I know knew as Beth. She looked at me with compassionate, pleading eyes. Superior had never looked at me like that. Axel had... but her eyes weren't the same. All the same... her emotion was genuine. Maybe she will know about my past... or Axel's, I thought to myself as I got out of bed and stood at my full height. I smiled a soft smile.

"I'd love to."