Nari

Where…Am I?

I remember that being the first thing I thought when I woke up on the white floor. I tried to lift my body up, but my arms collapsed under my weight. I felt like my body had been ripped in two, then sewn together again by an amateur surgeon.

Not to mention this sticky wet feeling seeping through my shirt.

My eyes shot open.

My lips were in the blood, the bottom of my nose, and the whole underside of my body. I began to shake, scrambling for the strength to lift myself out of it. I spat it out of my mouth in disgust. Then, my pupils constricted to a pin-point, the staggering blue iris bright.

It was my blood.

I coughed, blood seeping through my teeth as I sat on my knees. I had to know where the blood was coming from. I had to stop it.

I felt my legs first for any soreness unusual to what was already hurting, closing my eyes in pain as I threw my head back. Slowly, My hands worked up to my chest.

That's when I stopped to scream. I felt gooey muscle stick to my fingers, and the sharp jar of bone. I forced my eyes open to see that half of my left rib cage taken out at the lower half, like I had been made of gum and someone had just pulled it all the way off, leaving a mess of bloody carcass behind. Like that part of my body was dead.

That's when the scene shifted.

And there was Axel, in his old black coat. His eyes were still the same neon green in the dark light of the room where he, Larxene, and the rest of Castle Oblivion's inhabitants, Underground and Aboveground. His arms were crossed, eyes closed, slightly turned away form the rest of the Nobodies around the glass orb that showed whatever was needed to be seen in Castle Oblivion. His ears were tuned to the sound of the scream that had captured Zexion's attention, which had veered the subject off course.

"Who is she and how did she get here?" Zexion asked, silver hair flipped into his right eye.

"Ehhh…?" Larxene put her hand under her chin in though, one eyebrow raised. "Strong seems to be out of her grasp right now. Ne, Axel?" She asked, glancing over the orb with her green-blue eyes.

His eyes widened only slightly, looking out the corner at the reflection of the girl in pain. Then they closed. "Is that so? You might want to look again."

Irked, Larxene's gaze returned to the sphere.

The girl was bracing herself for pressing a rib back in. She bit her lip, then pushed. She almost lost her consciousness, having caught herself with her hand in the puddle of blood. Of course, She screeched through her teeth.

Axel's lip twitched in a smile. "Eventually, She'll realized the rip in the bottom of her jaw, too."

"Vexen, how could she have gotten here?" Lexaeus asked, arms crossed.

"Judging by the wounds and the half-heart--"Axel's eyes opened to watch the girl, piqued with interest. "--She's been attacked by a Heartless, maybe a whole lot more than one." the Scholar answered. "As to how she got here, it seems she has a friend in common with us."

"You mean a Nobody?" Marluxia asked, flipping his pink hair out of his face.

"Well, obviously. There's no way she could get here unless she's apart of the Between."

"Which can't be possible. Nallia is the Between Denizen." Zexion concluded.

"Nonetheless, we can't leave her there. She'll stain the floor." Larxene smirked, and Axel's eyebrow twitched.

"What hall is it?" Axel asked, sighing. "I'll get her story. Then you can make a decision. She looks useful."

And the Darkness swallowed him.

I wasn't breathing correctly, and a sharp stabbing pain was new in my side. I bowed on my knees, my arms holding me up.

I laughed uncertainly. "Ok, maybe not the smartest thing to do. Note…" I paused to swallow some blood and to breath, "Note to self; Never push back in rib."

I felt like throwing up now, and blood still dripped from my jaw. I let my eyes droop slightly as a sudden rush of wrenching pain wracked my spine.

"It would help if you stopped moving around trying to fix yourself."

I turned my head slightly, eyes dull. That was the first time I met Axel, arms crossed slightly, one foot stretched out, head curled to the side to look at me, a crooked smile plastered to his face.

"Who are you?" I asked, heart pounding for a whole different reason.

"Axel. Who are you?"

I coughed. "Nari."

Axel glared around the white hallway. "So Nari, what are you doing here in Castle Oblivion?"

Despite my predicament, I laughed. "Nice name. Like I know." I turned away from him, and tried to sit up. He watched silently as I found the wall. Blood on my hands left smears on it's surface. "Sorry. Don't suppose you can…get me home?" I had paused to catch my breath. "Back on Destiny Islands?"

His eyebrow rose.

"Guess not." I shook my head.

"So, what were you doing before you got here?"

"Why do you care?" I asked suspiciously.

He looked slightly amused, running a hand through his hair. "Why don't you?"

I narrowed my eyes at the play on words. This guy had an attitude. My lip quirked into a painful smile. "I'll play this game, Axel. There was a raft on our island that would have been blown away with…" I thought back, trying to remember. "…A storm was blowing around the island. I remember something black in the sky…and then those creatures." I turned my head to the side trying to think. What was that last thing I saw? It was in…whose hand, again?

"Those creatures were what you call Heartless," He turned away from me, and Darkness formed along his wall. His eyes were watching me carefully. "And they probably destroyed your island." He surmised with surprising confirmation.

My heart stopped for a moment. "What do you mean? You can't destroy--"

"The Heartless are those without hearts. They were searching for something in your island. Perhaps the keyhole…Or perhaps for something more." He looked me up and down with his strange eyes. "You just happened to get in the way."

Then, more forms stepped out. Marluxia and Larxene to be exact, the co-members of the Aboveground inhabitants with Axel. I got really scared then. I pressed myself against the wall. These two people weren't here to make friends, even though both were smiling.

The woman especially frightened me. Something about her screamed power--so did Axel and Marluxia--but her feeling was like she didn't restrict it or something, had barely any control. I was scared because I knew I couldn't stand up to it. Something I couldn't win against.

And that's what scared me the most.

Larxene eyed me top to bottom, and I swallowed hard. It was a look to kill. And I could see she was enjoying it, too-- the panic in my eyes, my body posture, everything. She liked my inferiority.

"Such a terrified little mouse." She purred, green eyes gleaming maliciously. "She'd be fun to use."

Axel sighed. "Larxene, you always break your toys."

I didn't like that.

"Yeah well, I'll consider it compensation," In the next instant she had me up in the air by my neck. "For ruining our walls!" She tossed me to the side, and I landed painfully on my missing ribcage. I spit up blood, trying not to scream again. I remained completely silent, refusing to let this woman get to me. I gasped as the pain shot through me.

"Eh, she's no fun at all. She doesn't fight back!" She pouted. "I told you, no strength at all."

"Well, she can't breath Larxene." Marluxia hinted.

I huffed angrily, catching the woman's attention. "Is that all you can do?" I sneered. I saw Axel raise an eyebrow, noting my stupidity, but giving me brownie points for guts. "Because if that's it, I want to go home."

Larxene took a few, stalker-like steps toward me as I willed my body to start moving. If I didn't get up, Larxene might just prove to me how dangerous she really was. I sat back on my feet, knees to the floor as I wearily let my arms hang limp by my side as I stared up at her.

White hot lightning flashed up and back in quick moving jumps around her head and fingertips. She clasped her hands together in front of her, a cruel smile tugging at me like a cat to a mouse. "What was that, little girl?" The lightning was jumbling around in unsteady waves of power.

And just as unflinchingly, I stood once more, half a foot away from her outstretched hands. "Oh, I'm sorry what I said was, 'You're wasting my time.'"

The next moment was a black abyss of pain. I had a mere second to recognize the fact that she'd brought her hands apart, like the jaws of a crocodile's mouth, before she stretched forward and slammed them around my neck on either side. My vision faltered from red to black to white, back to black as the lightning raced up and down my spent body. I screamed once, long and loud, but no cries of mercy. Larxene wasn't about to enjoy that part of me yet.

What was I thinking?

I faded in and out of consciousness, feeling like a kite on a livewire. When she released my neck, I crumpled to the floor, only a cry of remorse when I landed on my bad side, which was more of a moan. I laid there, bleached hair strewn everywhere in a strange-feeling manor that went against it's natural part. My eyes drifted to the floor, the white tiles mockingly showing me my reflection. It looked like she hadn't even touched me, though my skin was singed in a few places. The listless blue eyes were sad as they stared back at my slightly raised head from beneath dark eyelashes and heavy-looking eyelids, before I remembered I had just been electrified, and put my head to the floor.

My eyes shut.

All I wanted to do was sleep. Sleep was safe, sleep was harmless. Sleep would give me peace from this immanent pain starting from my ears, and buzzing all the way to my toes. If I go to sleep now, I'll be a good girl and sleep for the rest of eternity.

But at that precise moment, I felt something in the pit of my stomach. It was like a particularly hot piece of lava of the molten volcano under my skin. I almost didn't like it, the fury, the pain, the fear that uncurled with it. It was malicious. All because I remembered one thing.

I wasn't a really good girl.

Yeah, I was a good person, but I didn't follow rules very well. The rule that applied right now was, 'Know when you're beaten.' And mess if I wasn't willing to listen.

A low voice cooed in my ear. Or was it my head? Either way, the voice was cold, ice-like when it said, Doesn't that annoy you, Nari? Doesn't your blood boil at the thought of giving up to that horrible, horrible woman?

I tried to think if I've ever heard that voice before, because it surely wasn't mine. It was feminine, so that ruled out a lot of people I knew, and Larxene couldn't be playing with my head, could she? Maybe it was more of her strange powers. But, even as vindictive as she was, there was no way she could ever hold so much malice in her syllables. And as far as I could tell, her voice wasn't ice-like.

I wonder…What would it be like for you to get back at her? Would that make you happy, my Nari? Do you want that?

Feebly, I agreed that it would be satisfactory to teach the woman a lesson. But I doubted I even had the strength to breathe in three more times, much less fight back to Larxene.

Nari, my dear, sweet Original. Why are you limiting yourself from what you have been able to do for the longest time? Let me remind you of what it's like to inflict pain on others.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Larxene had turned away to face Axel and Marluxia's appraising eyes. She tapped her foot on the floor, as if unsatisfied by the results of me dropping dead. "Well, as long as I don't have to clean her up, I'm cool with this."

Marluxia flipped his hair from his shoulder with a sigh, then turned to face his Darkness. "The Underground members will clean her up." he fled the scene.

She was infuriating herself wondering why Axel wouldn't stop smirking like an idiot. "What's so funny, Axel?" She snapped. "It's not as if you were going to get her before I did."

He crossed his arms, sending his sexy green gaze to the floor for a moment as he tried to form a word. "Well, Larxene. Did she get under your skin?" He scorched her with those melt-worthy eyes, and she flinched.

"Not really, but she was starting to." She lied. "I only wish she could have lasted longer so I could thrash her thoroughly."

Axel leered once more, and her eyes narrowed. "You should be careful of what you wish for." He lectured for a moment, then nodded with a thin-lipped smile, eye-brows arched, at the place Larxene had just been facing.

Larxene's eyes widened, then she spun around suddenly. "No way."

I slumped up right, one knee down with my arm to steady it for support. The other arm, my left arm hung limply beside me, the screen of hair hiding both my face and other half of my body. My body wracked in simple shakes of strain as I breathed in and out slowly. More calmly than before, I stood up.

I didn't feel a thing. There was no pain anymore, not inside, on my face, my arms, ribs, nothing. Nada, zip, nix, nil, zilch, ZERO. I straightened up, tossing my head back, even then my hair hid the left side of my face. My breathing was steadying itself out now, just as I felt something surge through my body unlike anything else.

Power. Oh that's right. When had I last felt it? I couldn't remember--I was still in the grasp of Amnesia, or maybe I'd never felt it before, so it's impossible to remember.

I smiled devilishly, then looked back down, lips parted as I cried out in a delightful squeal that lasted two seconds. I then realized that I wasn't who I was.

The evil voice from inside me spoke with my lips, saying. "Oh, how I've wanted to come out of this girl. She's locked me away for so long, and now that half of her heart is missing, I can finally break free." She smiled with my lips too, and when I tried to move my body, she fought me 100% of the way. "Oh, You can't go back now, Nari. I haven't come all out yet." She laughed cruelly, catching Axel's innate curiosity. What did she mean?

Larxene, angry at having failed the first time, did the hand clasp thing, stretched out like the mouth of the alligator. "What are you, a zombie? Die already." This time I got to see exactly how she did it.

But her movements were so slow in my eyes! How did I not react to this the first time? It was like we'd recorded this earlier, and were watching it over again in slow-motion.

She pulled her hands back, revealing long strands of white lightning, as if they were the strings of her harp. I saw her narrow eyes from behind their blaze. She then moved her top hand back, her palm upright behind her shoulder, completely making a half circle of aching lightning.

My possessor scoffed, hands on her--Er, my--hips. "What is that supposed to do?" she taunted, piquing Larxene's anger to a maximum. "That's only a static shock." She braced herself, arms pulled out to the side as she moved my fingers in strange rhythmic circles, and…

Lightning sparked there. They were teasing, black sparkles that shot out in strange patterns, but they were there.

My panic shot up as I saw this. I was only a fifteen year old girl whose lived on an island for the past eight years of my life! Not a wizard, or--or, a--a whatever the mess you call it! How did she do that? And what was Larxene's deal?

Axel stood back, eyes narrow as he thought, as he planned.

Larxene eyed the black flecks with obvious curiosity, and, what I thought was fear.

Had she underestimated me? What was the meaning of this? She knew that the girl had had help crossing the border between light and dark, but this? She'd never heard about anything like this before. Was it possible…that a Heartless had possessed her in the shift?

She growled. "No matter! I'll send you to the void nevertheless!" The lightning roared in crackles of massive power, making Axel have to take shelter behind his Darkness. What was Larxene doing? Did she want to tear the whole Castle down?

When the lightning came crashing down, I was absolutely positive that it had hit me, or us, or…

But, instead I saw Larxene's back in front of my eyes, her arms up as she released the lightning from her fingertips. Beyond her, the ground was smoldering with what should have been my remains.

I smiled, just as I pressed my palm into the middle of her back. I had about three seconds to register that she'd realized this, before the Power surge came and black lightning came out of my fingers and coursed over Larxene.

Her anguished scream gave whatever was holding my body hostage great pleasure, but I was revolted. "C'mon Nari. Isn't this what you wanted? To get back at her?" She pulled her hands out of Larxene, who fell to the floor in a pained heap, much as I must have. Instead of the current of volts stopping, since the supplier had pulled away, they continued on as Axel formed again in the hall, eyes locked onto her writhing form, then trailing to me. I wanted to shrink away from such mysteriously guarded eyes. "I knew you'd be too weak to do it yourself, so someone had to stick up for you." She said to me.

"You! Nari!" Axel ordered, and my body turned toward him. "What are you?" He accused, hand over Larxene as he tried to calm the currents. "Stop hurting her, before she dies!" He ordered.

My body only chuckled with laughter. "Why should I? She almost killed my Original! And what do you mean, what am I? What are you?"

Axel's eyebrow's furrowed. "Original--"Then, his eyes were lit with dawning recognition of an inexplicable thought. "Wait! Pull your hair out of the way!" He ordered in a deeper voice.

My body, having grown weary with boredom, shrugged, murmuring, "Eh? What harm could it do?"

She pulled the white strands away from the side of my face.

Axel's eyes widened, and his fist clinched. "Oh, no."

The left side of my face was black, as if someone had taken paint and died my skin with it. And my beautiful, striking blue eyes were no longer blue. They were deep gold, with the pupil that of a viper.

And directly on my cheek was a red heart, outlined by the color, with an X over it with prickly red thorns.

Whoever it was controlling me, was Heartless.