Chapter 2

The Deal

Axel was asleep in his room, he hadn't seen Saix when he'd returned so he'd decided to just go to bed, the only problem was he wasn't getting much sleep even now. He couldn't stop thinking about Allune and even when he did manage to sleep she seemed to be constantly in the forefront of his dreams. Finally he sat up on the side of the bed tired of trying anymore.

"I'm never going to sleep at this rate," he sighed a little annoyed.

"So how did it go?" asked Saix entering suddenly.

"Do you mind knocking, you gave me a bit of a fright," replied Axel a little cranky.

"I'm surprised to find you awake, what happened to, a guy needs to sleep," taunted Saix.

"Saix," grumbled Axel.

"Just tell me how it went, I assume the Heartless is disposed of?" he asked seriously.

"You sure it's there? I searched all night and didn't find it, maybe Xigbar's off his coordinates?" replied Axel.

"You didn't find it?" asked Saix suspicious.

"Not a thing," replied Axel.

"Funny, it was on the sensors all night. I'll get Xigbar to check it out and I'll send you back tonight, that Heartless must be destroyed," replied Saix leaving.

"Great, just like I thought," sighed Axel.

Later Axel went to the mission room; a few of the other members were hanging around there but they didn't seem to notice him as he went over to one of the windows leaning on it still thinking about Allune.

"Gah what a doofus, let's face it I totally choked last night," he thought to himself annoyed looking out into the darkness outside the castle. What annoyed him most was that as he replayed the night's event's over and over again he found he couldn't remember anything from hearing Allune's flute to when he'd broken away from her in the alley, it made him feel unusual inside. This was the trouble with being a Nobody, if you did manage to ever feel something it's not like you'd know what it was. The one memory he did have before the whizz of trying to fight this unusual Heartless was just as confusing for him.

"Her eyes…" he thought to himself remembering. Just before he threw her off he could remember what she'd looked like so close up, but the memory seemed to last forever, more like a photograph than a memory.

"Gee Axel, you look more spaced than usual today," Axel heard a cheerful voice say. He looked back to find Demyx standing in front of him with his sitar held effortlessly over his shoulder.

"Look who's talking Demyx," sneered Axel folding his arms arrogantly.

"Dude, you look like you've barely slept, something must be up," he smiled.

"I was out on a mission all night, can you believe it," replied Axel.

"Seriously, must have been a really important one," said Demyx interested.

"Well maybe if you worked a little harder you could get such an important mission," smiled Axel.

"And miss out on time with my little baby? No way," laughed Demyx strumming his sitar happily, this gave Axel an idea.

"Hey Demyx, that sitar of yours, can you maybe, what does it actually do for you in battle?" he asked.

"It's my secret weapon, you could say I'm really a-tune with my water magic," he laughed cheerfully.

"What about the Heartless, does it attract them at all?" he asked.

"Don't think so, I mean those creatures are stupid, it's not like I've ever asked one to come over so I can rip it apart," replied Demyx leaving Axel alone.

"So it's not the flute," sighed Axel looking out the window again.

"Hey Axel what's the deal with what happened last night?" Axel heard Xigbar say, he'd just come over as Demyx had left.

"Don't blame me, I just didn't find it," replied Axel.

"What you going blind? It's not like that creature's hard to spot, of course all I've seen is that thing's shadow but if I didn't know better I'd say it looked just like a girl. After all, we all got to keep an eye out for the ladies huh stud?" replied Xigbar.

"A girl…" Axel stammered a little.

"See I knew that would grab your attention. Don't worry big guy, I'm popping out there now to set a trap for this thing, then tonight all you got to do is kill it once it's caught. After all Heartless are stupid right?" chuckled Xigbar.

"Of course, don't worry about me Xigbar, I'll get it this time," replied Axel confidently.

"See that you do," nodded Xigbar leaving for Twilight Town.

"Even if I can't stop thinking about her, she's just a Heartless; still, it's a shame to just scatter the hearts she said were inside her. I wonder how many she has?" wondered Axel watching the stars go by.

As the sun set in Twilight Town Axel arrived at the train station to find Xigbar finishing his trap. On the floor in a circle were a few sharp blades, but other than that the trap didn't look that lethal.

"That's a trap?" asked Axel arrogantly.

"Course it is," smiled Xigbar revealing a rope that he was holding, on the other end was a small shadow Heartless.

"I wondered what you'd be using for bait," nodded Axel as Xigbar tied the end of the rope to a branch over hanging the blades.

"There, we know really big ones will cannibalise their small cousins, so as soon as the one we're after tries to get this little shrimp those blade's will trap it in an impenetrable field of energy, easy shooting huh rex?" explained Xigbar.

"Leave it to me," nodded Axel.

"Good, it's definitely still in Twilight Town, make sure you get it Axel," replied Xigbar leaving through a Dark Corridor.

"Well it's about as primitive as Heartless are supposed to be, I wonder if she'll really fall for it. I best get hiding," thought Axel going to hide behind some crates as night fell and he waited to see if the trap worked.

It was quiet, the trains stopped running and the lamps gently flickered on, the only thing Axel could really hear was the odd squeak from the shadow Heartless as it tried to escape. Axel kept watching the trap but as time wore on he started to really doubt Xigbar's plan.

"This is really silly, I'd have better luck seeing if I can hear her flute again," he sighed shivering a little, "I know it won't affect me but it always makes me shiver thinking about it."

"It's a side effect," he suddenly heard Allune's voice, he looked up and she was looking down at him from the top of the crates. Axel stood up then and she knelt on the crates flicking her hair flirtively.

"How'd you find me?" he asked surprised. Allune picked up her flute and played a little, Axel shivered again.

"I thought so," she nodded stopping and Axel just looked at her confused. Allune stood up and went over to the trap, Axel watched amazed as she floated into the air and cut down the Heartless avoiding the blades completely, the little Heartless wasn't so lucky and the energy was so powerful it disintegrated immediately leaving it's heart energy, Allune caught it and came back over to Axel.

"Here take it," she said and Axel looked at her confused.

"You said you didn't have a heart right, well I don't need every one I pick up, take it, have a heart of your own. Then you won't be a Nobody anymore," she smiled at him, Axel took the heart for a moment but it disappeared as soon as he touched it.

"Where'd it go?" she wondered confused.

"It doesn't work that way, I can't just take a heart from something else and put it in me, the only way not to be a Nobody is to get my own unique heart, not someone else's," he replied.

"You really are useless, you can't collect hearts and you can't just take one for yourself, what can you Nobody's do?" she said walking away from him. Axel engaged his chakrams angrily, he didn't like being made fun of.

"I see, you still insist on trying to hurt me? I guess you're as dumb as you are useless," she sighed, "go ahead." She stood there with her arms outstretched as if she was just asking for it. Axel didn't know what she was up to but he just wanted to get this over with. He ran at her with his chakrams and sliced into her powerfully; she didn't even flinch and just looked at him pitifully. This just made Axel mad and he suddenly made his chakrams burst with flames as he tried again and again to attack her, still she didn't move, he couldn't understand it, he'd fought even the most ghostly Heartless and had still managed to hit them, suddenly she moved her arm towards him and Axel suddenly found himself flying into a wall.

He stood up angrily but she looked at him the same as before and then played her flute again. A group of Shadow Heartless appeared and rushed at Axel only to be torn apart immediately, just as Axel finished the last one he saw Allune reach out towards him again and suddenly all the hearts the defeated Heartless had released flew towards her and her body glistened as she devoured them.

"I don't get it, I can kill these pathetic Heartless but I can't even touch you, not that that seems to stop you from being able to hit me," said Axel putting away his chakrams.

"You think I'm going to just let you kill me?" glared Allune.

"I've had enough playing games with you Heartless, I have my orders and you're really starting to make me look bad," replied Axel annoyed. Allune smiled at him arrogantly before walking back up to him and placing her hand on his chest.

"Poor little Nobody, you just don't get it do you? You can't hurt me Axel, my spell won't let you," she told him evilly.

"What!" he cried.

"My kiss may have failed to take your heart but my spell is far from broken," she told him seeming to pity him.

"I don't have time for this, get rid of it then, you know I don't have a heart so get rid of it," snapped Axel annoyed.

"I can't," she replied and Axel just got angrier.

"This isn't funny Heartless!" he yelled.

"Will you calm down," she replied walking away from him a bit, "it's not like I knew this was going to happen, I told you, my spell only works once and lasts until I've taken the heart from my victim. You don't have a heart so I can't remove my spell, besides, you seem to have control of yourself again so why are you so angry?"

"Why me," said Axel exasperated, "so what does this mean? What's going to happen to me now?"

"I don't know, this hasn't happened before, but I can see us having some fun," she smiled flirtively.

"I don't really have time for fun, what am I supposed to tell people, if I don't get rid of you I'm going to be stuck coming here every night until eventually they clue into the fact I managed to get myself tricked by a Heartless," he told her.

"So, just tell them you got me, they're not here, how will they know?" she shrugged.

"Trust me they know, they don't take kindly to failing you know," he told her.

"They could just send someone else if you're so worried about being a failure, still, I'll just keep using my flute. If you were affected I'm sure these others you keep talking about will fall just as easily," she sneered evilly Axel looked away uninterested in continuing the conversation.

"What's the point, all that'll happen when you die is your hearts will scatter all over the place and then there'll just be more Heartless to kill," he replied going to walk away from her.

"Yes, you can't collect them can you," she said sounding sad for him.

"The Organisation haven't figured it out yet, I guess at the moment Xemnas is just hoping eventually they'll just end up where we want them of their own accord," he joked not having much faith in the plan.

"Where do you want them to end up?" asked Allune.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Axel confused.

"You think I shouldn't wonder where my heart is going to end up one day?" she replied looking at him conceitedly.

Axel looked up to the clock tower on top of the station and sighed running his hands through his hair exasperated.

"If I can't get rid of you I might as well tell you," he replied going off towards the station, "come on." Allune looked at him confused before following him up to the top of the clock tower, Axel sat on the edge when they got there and Allune curled up on her legs beside him.

"Nice view," said Allune approvingly.

"I like to come up here to think," said Axel leaning back a little.

"So, how come you and this, Organisation, want to kill us Heartless so badly and take our hearts?" she asked him naggingly.

"There's this thing called Kingdom Hearts, don't really know what it is exactly, but we have to collect all those hearts and apparently if we give Kingdom Hearts enough then we'll get our own hearts, I guess it's what us Nobody's are meant for," explained Axel calmly.

"And yet, you don't have the tools to do what you're supposed to do, surely if it was really your purpose you'd be able to do it?" wondered Allune.

"Well what about you, why do you Heartless want hearts so badly? You're first one I've ever known to talk, most of the time they're just mindless little creatures stealing hearts for no reason," replied Axel Allune looked away a little huddling up in her arms.

"I don't know," she said quietly.

"You don't know?" he replied surprised. Allune looked at her flute and held it up until it was shining in the moonlight, she sighed slightly.

"It's, like a great thirst, no matter how many hearts I consume I can never quench it, I just seem to want more and more. I've been like that ever since I became a Heartless," she told him sadly.

"Hang on, you can remember becoming a Heartless?" asked Axel, if he hadn't decided before Allune was definitely a different kind of Heartless from any he'd ever come across.

"Can't you remember becoming a Nobody?" she asked.

"It's not that simple for us, we don't just, become, Nobody's," replied Axel difficultly.

Allune looks at him interested for a few moments and puts her flute away before placing her hand on one of his that he has placed on the stone railing they're sitting on.

"Axel, I have an idea," she said to him quietly and he looked at her quizzically.

"Yes?" he asked confused.

"Why don't we work together?" she replied and Axel just got more confused.

"You're a Heartless, how can we work together, I can't bring you back to the castle?" he replied.

"I'll disappear from this place, they won't know I'm still alive. Then when you go on your other missions I'll collect the hearts of the Heartless for you, then, when you find a way to put them into Kingdom Hearts, you can kill me," she told him and he backed away surprised.

"What? You want me to kill you all of a sudden?" he asked amazed.

"I don't want to be a Heartless forever Axel, enslaved to this terrible thirst, what do you say, deal? I'll see what I can do about getting my spell off you too if you want," she smiled at him sincerely. Axel was astounded but then he nodded agreeing, it was a good idea, after all how many hearts could she put into Kingdom Hearts in one go and it's not like he had to tell Saix what he was doing.

"Ok Allune, you got yourself a deal," he smiled opening the dark corridor to go home, "just one thing, how are you going to find me?"

"Don't worry, I'll find you," she nodded and Axel left her.

Allune floated down to the ground again and then sat upon the crates Axel had been hiding behind. She began playing her flute and seemed to drift off into a trance herself. She was trying to remember something from a long time ago, despite what she'd told Axel she didn't remember as much of her past as it seemed. One night she'd woken up in the middle of Twilight Town, she felt so weak like she'd been asleep for a long time. Then on the floor next to her she found a blue crystal flute, as she looked at it curiously it began to glow and play all by itself. Suddenly a man came round the corner and she saw him come over to her. She tried to speak but she didn't make any sound and the flute just kept playing. Suddenly she felt a strange sparking coming from her chest, the flute stopped playing and she was able to stand. The man just stood there looking at her.

"I didn't know what I was doing, just this yearning in my body," she remembers seeing herself get closer to the man before kissing him on the lips. The man's heart came out of his body and went into hers as she let go. She looked around confused but soon she heard more people coming and the flute began to glow brightly disappearing in her hand, she ran off afraid to be seen.

"Ever since I've taken the hearts from men, only men, strangely I've never attracted a girl with my flute," she thought to herself stopping playing and looking up to the sky. She could see that the sun was coming up and so she quietly slipped into the shadows disappearing again.