Chapter 4
Where Do Released Hearts Go
When Axel woke up he'd found he'd managed to sleep through the night, he sat up and stretched his arms satisfied.
"Finally, I knew I could do it eventually," he smiled looking over to the other side of the room and getting a major surprise seeing Saix standing by his door with some kind of hand held machine like he was looking for something.
"What the hell! Don't mind me I'm just asleep over here!" he yelled surprised.
"Shut up Axel and help me," snapped Saix sternly, it was then Axel clued in to what he was doing.
"Huh? What's with the tiny tech?" he asked sitting on the edge of the bed.
"While you were dozing off the sensors picked up a Heartless in the castle, there's residue all over this room, you must have been really knocked out not to have noticed it you idiot," replied Saix annoyed. Axel stood up immediately how on earth could a Heartless get into the castle.
"Don't blame me, I haven't slept since you sent me on that wild goose chase," replied Axel defensively.
"You can really be dense sometimes. Whatever it was it's not here now, the whole castle's on alert till we find it, nothing's getting in or out. Make yourself useful and find it," replied Saix leaving.
"Great going Axel, a Heartless manages to get into your room and you're too conked out to notice," he thought to himself annoyed, "funny, I can't remember going to sleep last night, gee I must have been fatigued." Axel looked around warily in case the Heartless was hiding before deciding to go into the halls of the castle to help look for it.
"Why does this castle have to be so big?" he thought to himself looking through the corridors, he hadn't found anything yet but he could see all the windows had big metal sheets over them, the castle was still locked down.
"Hey ya Axel, any luck," said Demyx coming up from another corridor.
"Is Saix sure that sensor of his isn't just going haywire," replied Axel.
"I don't know, he sounded pretty serious, he said the reading was infrequent but pretty big, like it can cloak itself, it sounds pretty dangerous to me. Can you imagine if the Heartless ever attacked this place all at once, there's way more of them then there are us," replied Demyx.
"I hadn't thought of that," nodded Axel understanding the seriousness.
"You must've got some sleep at last, you're looking like your old self again. Good luck Axel," smiled Demyx running off to search.
"Did not sleeping really affect me so badly Demyx thought I looked bad, it's like that guy's never met a mirror," Axel joked to himself, he turned back round to continue in the direction of the hallway when he suddenly saw something blur past him. He looked around confused before looking forward and seeing a faint ghostly outline at the end of the corridor.
"Saix wasn't kidding, there is a Heartless in here!" he cried realising Saix was telling the truth and giving chase with his chakrams. The outline seemed to see him coming and quickly flew off leading him higher and higher up a tower of the castle until finally it couldn't go any higher and with the metal sheets on the window it couldn't get away.
"Got you now Heartless!" said Axel arrogantly going to throw his chakrams before he suddenly heard the Heartless giggle.
"It that Heartless, laughing?" he thought putting his chakrams down and looking closer at the outline, the form seemed to look up at him and suddenly become solid, it was Allune.
"Allune!" he cried worried, "What are you doing here? I told you, you can't come in this place! Oh great, this whole alert's been set off by you hasn't it."
"Morning to you too sleepyhead," she smiled flirtively.
"If it was you why did you make me run all the way up here?" he asked.
"Well I was going to just sneak up on you, then I saw your friend and thought better of it, there's more of them than I thought, the nasty looking one with the eye patch almost caught me," she explained.
"That's Xigbar, he's the one who made that trap back in Twilight Town," replied Axel, "you have to get out of here, Heartless aren't supposed to be able to get into the castle."
"Yes, that barrier outside was a bit of a pain to get through," she replied flicking her hair arrogantly, "still, now I know where I can find you there's no reason we can't tell your friends about our little plan."
"You're mad, you're utterly mad," replied Axel annoyed, "do you know what they'll do to you if they find you?"
"Don't worry, you're the only one who can see me, at least until sunset," she replied confidently.
"Really?" asked Axel tilting his head interested.
"This place is too bright for me, for some reason I don't do so well in the light and most people can't see me. But of course thanks to my flute you can," she explained.
"No wonder your signature is throwing off the sensors," nodded Axel understanding.
"There's just one problem," she told him shakily.
"What?" worried Axel.
"If they do somehow find a way to see me, I'm well, powerless in the light, not even my flute's any use, I already tried on the stern looking one with the blue hair, he couldn't hear me," she replied.
"Now Saix as a zombie, that I'd like to see," laughed Axel and she looked at him a little pathetically, "so what happens when its night, these lights stay on constantly here and our outside doesn't change either."
"Well then we have a different problem, I'll get my powers back and I can hide like normal, but then everyone will be able to see me," she replied.
"But it was daytime in the cave yesterday," said Axel confused.
"It was dark in the cave, it either has to be dark or night time for my powers to work, though even when it's night I don't really like bright lights," she explained.
"Must be a Heartless thing, they don't really like light much normally," he shrugged putting his chakrams away.
"It doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere soon, the castle's in lockdown until the Heartless causing the alert is gone, if your powers are out I'm guessing you can't just fly out of here," said Axel and Allune nodded.
"I came in last night, and well I got so distracted checking this place out I forgot to leave before sunrise," she explained a little embarrassingly.
"Last night, what were you doing in here last night?" he asked and she giggled a little.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked and Axel looked at her confused.
"Yeah, but why are you asking about…" he trailed off realising, "you were in my room weren't you?"
"A little lullaby does wonders," she replied posing with her flute.
"I thought I told you, what's going to happen to me now!" yelled Axel angrily.
"Nothing silly, I can just play it for the sake of it you know," she replied calmly.
"Then, why did it make me sleep?" he asked concerned.
"You were obviously exhausted. Don't worry, as soon as night falls I'll make a few Heartless appear and you can take them out, then I'll get out of here and those others will think everything's ok," she replied and Axel agreed reluctantly.
"I can't just stay here though, I'm supposed to be looking for the intruder," said Axel.
"Great, I was wondering if you'd take me on a tour," smiled Allune walking over to him Axel sighed running his hands through his hair and nodded agreeing and taking her back down the corridors. Axel couldn't help but feel weird about walking around with a Heartless following him, it didn't seem natural, no matter how much he was glad it was only her and not another Heartless. Still, it wasn't like she was any different to other Heartless, not really, was she? He wondered about it as they walked together, Heartless and Nobodies had always seemed sworn enemies, he'd lost count a long time ago how many Heartless he'd slain only to have their hearts fly off and make another one somewhere. Sure he couldn't hurt her because of the flute but he wondered why he hadn't just brought her to Saix already and have him deal with her, was it just his arrogant pride anymore?
"You guys sure like grey don't you," said Allune having noticed very little of the castle looked unique.
"It's funny, I didn't really notice until yesterday, you should see what a difference those heated up diamonds make," he replied.
"Actually, the only colour I've seen here is what ever colours your Organisation friends have as their hair, blue, yellow, pink, and red of course," she replied going to stroke his hair.
"What are you doing?" he asked unnerved.
"What, I like it is all, glossy and soft, you must take care of it, like a big red flame on your head," she replied and Axel sighed,
"Go ahead…" Allune touched his hair gently and stroked it nicely, the feeling of her skin in his hair made Axel feel weird, it felt, nice, different from how he'd do it. He seemed to zone out for a minute before realising how close up she was to him, she was smiling but she was as close to him as she had been when she'd tried to take his non-existent heart. He had a sudden flashback then and stopped her, pushing her away slightly.
"Ok, ok, I'm not a cat," he told her covering.
"Axel?" she wondered see him stagger away from her slightly.
"I'm fine really," he replied seeing her looking a little worried.
"Who said you weren't?" he heard Larxene say from behind him, he turned to see her and Marluxia standing looking at him as if he was mad.
"Tell me, are you talking to yourself?" asked Marluxia arrogantly.
"Marluxia please, that would be crazy," snubbed Axel.
"Oh I saw them before, that girl must really like pink," said Allune cluelessly and Axel had to stop himself sniggering.
"Are you making fun of me Axel," glared Marluxia.
"Please, don't we have more important things to do, like finding this Heartless," replied Axel coldly.
"Oh yes, I heard Saix found it's residue in your room, you got a little pet you're not telling us about Axel," said Larxene sarcastically.
"I'm no pet!" growled Allune annoyed.
"I'd have thought a pet was more your thing Larxy," sneered Axel, "you seem to have Marluxia on a pretty short leash."
"It's Larxene! Larxene!" shouted Larxene angrily.
"Please my dear allow me," glared Marluxia taking his scythe and holding it to Axel's throat.
"You listen to me Axel, I know you're up to something so you better watch it, cause I'll be watching you. Maybe it's time this rose bush needed pruning of a few thorns," threatened Marluxia.
Axel glared at him hatefully before pushing him off engaging his chakrams.
"You're the one who better watch it Marluxia, last I heard plants burn up pretty easily, your flowery talk doesn't scare me," glared Axel coldly. The two rivals glared at each other for a few moments before Marluxia turned to Larxene and walked off with her.
"He's hiding something, I just know it," thought Marluxia as he left.
"That showed them," smiled Axel arrogantly letting his chakrams disappear before noticing Allune looking away a little oddly, "what's up? Don't let what they said get to you, besides, you're right, Marluxia does look like a girl."
"You mean that was a guy?" she replied amazed and Axel laughed finally. The two walked on but Allune still looked a little distant, after a while Axel felt he'd done enough pretend searching and decided to go back to his room with Allune. Axel sat on the bed and Allune leant on the wall.
"You ok?" he asked finally.
"That girl, she, looks familiar to me," Allune replied quietly.
"Really, you've seen Larxene before?" he replied interested.
"No but, that hair, that voice, I feel like I've heard her before, seen that hairstyle, but I'm not sure where or how. My memories are fading," she sighed sitting with him.
"Fading?" Axel asked and she nodded.
"I used to be able to remember a lot from when I first became a Heartless, but lately, I feel as though my memories are being swallowed by the same Darkness that took my heart," she explained difficultly, "the only thing that helps, is my flute, sometimes it's like it wakes me up, helps me remember something I'd otherwise forget."
"Wow is there anything that flute can't do, I'd like to see you without it, that would be interesting," replied Axel.
"I wouldn't want to. I don't know, I feel like this flute is somehow an integral part of my existence, I don't know what I'd do without it, I certainly couldn't feed that's for sure," she replied, "I've felt connected to it since the day I woke up, it was right there next to me, it's like I just fell asleep in the alley, and woke up a Heartless."
"Must be difficult not being able to remember who you are," he replied seriously.
"What about you, you said your memories aren't as simple as mine," she asked him and he shook his head not sure how explain.
"I can kind of remember who I used to be, but I'm a completely different being now so I don't think about it much. You're probably completely different from who you used to be too, you shouldn't let it worry you," he tried to get off the subject and she nodded slightly.
"You know Axel, before I met you I never questioned anything. I just lured prey and took their hearts, that was my life. Now, it's like there's more out there than I ever thought, I mean, Nobodies, I wasn't even sure what I was for a long time, you just seemed to know right away," she tried to cheer up.
"Well you're no ordinary Heartless, I know that much," replied Axel.
"And you're no ordinary Nobody," she replied smiling shyly.
"What do you mean, I'm no different than the others, the only thing that tells us apart is our hair, and our powers," he replied confused.
"Well do you think any of those others would make a deal with a Heartless like me? Even if they were under my spell don't you think they would have found a way to get rid of me by now? Especially that Marluxia," she giggled, "instead, you saved me from that Heartless, and even now, you haven't told anyone I'm here."
"What makes you think I don't have some plot in my head just to fatten you up before we kill you?" glared Axel disbelievingly.
"I think, you like me," she replied shaking her head.
"I don't have any feelings, I don't have a heart," he replied standing and going away from her.
"What makes you think you need a heart to feel?" she asked him and he looked back confused.
"That's, what hearts are for, that's why we don't fully exist," he replied and she stood up.
"My heart is submerged in darkness, that's how we become Heartless, in some ways I don't have a heart either. You said it yourself, my kind are normally mindless monsters, just stealing hearts for no reason. I'm not any different, not till you came along anyway. There are others like me, I'm sure there are, Heartless who can talk and remember their pasts; I don't know why we're different, anymore than I know why Nobodies exist. Are you really going to tell me there are only twelve Nobodies in the whole world? You have a brain, you need to eat and drink and sleep, just like I do, you told me yourself you can't stop thinking about me," she tried to make him understand.
"You can still feel because you have a heart, even if it is dark. Besides, thinking about you is just a side effect of your spell, it was why I couldn't sleep, it must be the reason, there's no other explanation," he replied coldly.
"It's not my flute, I know it's not, because, I can't stop thinking about you either," she replied trying to sound as strong as possible, "that's why I dried up when you told me in the cave, I thought it was just me. There must be a reason why we're so connected, if you have no heart then that must mean we don't need one, either of us. Who needs a heart Axel? Tell me, who?" Axel turned to her unsure what to say, she looked so angry but she was panting like she was injured, he had no idea what was wrong with her.
"Allune, I'm no different from the other Nobodys, I'll admit it's odd what we're both seeming so afflicted by the other but there's no point pretending we really feel anything. It isn't physically possible, neither of us were designed to feel, I have no heart, and you're an entity of the darkness. It's amazing we're even able to work together," he told her seriously.
"I understand," she nodded disappearing.
"Allune? Allune where'd you go?" worried Axel thinking she'd run off. Suddenly he felt a strange presence on his skin and then he felt something touch his lips. He tried to grab hold of the presence but ended up just holding on to the suddenly reappearing Allune.
"Allune, what are you…" he thought seeing it was her before finding himself unable to let go of her body, he closed his eyes dreamily, he didn't know what was going on, but he liked it. They stayed together for only a short while but it seemed like forever till Allune finally let him go again. Axel looked down at her really confused by her actions but as he looked at her he saw her eyes shining and glassy, the memory he'd been unable to forget since meeting her. She looked like her whole body was shining as she held his hands softly, maybe he couldn't feel anything but she was becoming unable to control her own feelings.
"It's almost night, we better get you out of here," Axel said shakily and Allune let him go nodding recomposing herself. The two left Axel's room and thankfully for now Allune was still invisible. However Marluxia had been watching the security cameras in the castle for Saix and had watched Axel's most interestingly.
"Either Axel's gone completely nuts, or I've just uncovered his little secret," glared Marluxia evilly.
Axel took Allune to the mission room, he thought this would be a good place to set up a few Heartless to fight.
"Ok Allune, you just hide and create a distraction, soon as the Heartless come out you get out of here," he told her.
"Axel, I," she stammered before recomposing herself a little and nodded seriously going to hide in the shadow of a pillar.
"Any luck?" said Axel drawing the attention of the others to himself.
"Nothing, and the sensor hasn't picked up anything for a while," replied Saix seriously.
"Maybe it just left on it's own you know, maybe it was a lost Heartless?" said Demyx.
"Don't give up, the thrill is in the hunt," smiled Xigbar leaning on a window.
"Well I've been all over this place and I haven't found anything," said Axel looking back to the pillar Allune was hiding behind and subtly winking. Allune saw his signal and luckily he was right on time. She looked at her hand and her body became a little more solid than before, night had fallen.
"I can get out of here now," she thought blowing a few notes with her flute. Suddenly the four Nobodys were surrounded by shadow Heartless.
"Heartless!" cried Demyx seeing them.
"We got them," smiled Xigbar.
"This is impossible," said Saix looking around at all the Heartless around them.
"Allune I said a distraction, not an army," sighed Axel grabbing his chakrams and starting to fight with them. Seeing the fight begin Allune carefully floated towards the windows in order to escape, for a moment she looked back to watch Axel in battle, he seemed more energetic than ever, it was almost like he was showboating, the others barely had a chance to attack as his flames danced around himself and the Heartless effortless and graceful. Finally Allune didn't feel it was safe to stay any longer and vanished out of the window and away from the castle. Soon after this Axel finished off the Heartless and stood in the middle of the others arrogantly waiting for their applause or something like that.
"Well that takes care of them," smiled Axel cockily.
"Indeed, I wonder Axel, if there were this many before, how did you sleep through them?" asked Saix deadpan as ever.
"Never can cut a guy a break can you Saix," sighed Axel.
"Well they're gone now, but this isn't good. I'll have to talk with Xemnas about reinforcing the barrier, we go back to normal operations tomorrow, the Heartless are getting far too dangerous," replied Saix leaving.
"Such a killjoy," sighed Axel.
"He's right though, the Heartless have never got in before, after all the damage they do to the other worlds, what if they're going to attack?" wondered Demyx.
"What you can't handle a few Heartless, they could make good training dummies," chuckled Xigbar arrogantly.
Meanwhile Saix was met in the hallway by Marluxia, he looked as suspicious as ever and Saix knew something was up. He looked back at Axel and the others for a moment before leaving with Marluxia. Axel went back to his room very satisfied with himself taking out all those Heartless.
"I wonder if she got out, probably, she'd be here right now if she hadn't," he smiled to himself pacing around still a bit too pumped to try and sleep. He leant on his wall in a relaxed manner and unconsciously ran his hand through his hair. He stopped halfway and pulled some forward to look at it as it caught between his fingers. He could remember the strange tingling in his skin from when Allune touched him and wondered why he didn't feel it when he stroked his own hair. He let his hair go then closing his eyes softly, for a moment it was like he could feel her presence on his skin again but when he looked she definitely wasn't there.
"You're losing it Axel," he shook his head disbelieving, "you don't have a heart so stop thinking you know what's going on, it isn't possible. And anyway, it's not like she can feel anything either."