Chapter 23: United (www . youtube . com/watch?v=YnM4gSOIg5Y)

Memo: This chapter is the introduction of one of my fave characters, "E." That isn't her full name, as you'll come to find out, but...you'll see. :D Note that this entire chapter is told from Nexus' PoV until the end.

Nexus' PoV

"Ouch," I muttered as Luxord threw me on the floor. We were somewhere in the Castle That Never Was, near the "residential quarters," where I had been once before. "Gee, this place hasn't changed much," I said, laughing. Luxord glared at me.

"Well, it will be the last place you will ever see," he remarked.

"Hey, what about my trial?" I asked, standing.

"You'll get it, but even if you WEREN'T guilty of anything, do you really think you'd win?"

I shrugged.

"With a good lawyer, maybe."

Sighing with frustration, Luxord pointed to my gun holster.

"I must take anything that could be used as a weapon," he said, ripping the thing right off of me.

"Whoa, hey!" I shouted as he came a little too close for comfort. "Good touch, bad touch, please and thanks!"

"Fine." He looked me over, then pointed to my belt.

"What, this?" I tugged on it, glancing at him. He looked dead serious. "Seriously?" He held out his hand impatiently, as if he was about to undo it himself. "Save yourself the effort," I snapped, ripping it off of me and slapping it in his palm. The leather must've hurt a bit, because he winced briefly, then narrowed his eyes again.

"Come with me," he said, opening a door next to us.

We stepped into a dimly lit room with no windows. I saw some old chains on the wall, and a little stump below them. It looked like it hadn't been used too recently.

"Wow, not a lot of customers lately, huh?" I teased him. His face didn't move.

"You will be the first to use this room since Axel," he said.

Well...he knew how to shut me up, I'll give him that.

Taking my arm, Luxord led me over to the wall.

"Stand on that," he commanded me, pointing to the tiny stump on the wall.

"I think I'm too fat," I laughed.

Apparently he didn't find that funny, because he literally picked me up and forced me to stand there.

The second my body touched the wall, I felt my wrists become trapped. Yelping, I looked over to see the once-lifeless chains holding on to my arms, pulling me just above the stump, leaving me hanging there in the shape of a "y."

"Your trial will be within the next three days," Luxord said curtly.

"Three days?!" I snapped. "What happened to my right to a fair and speedy trial?"

"Your parley never said anything about speed," he growled, disappearing through the door, which disappeared behind him.

I swear, had I buffer arms, I would've ripped the chains right off the walls and strangled him. Instead I just screamed, frustrated beyond myself.

After I calmed down, my eyes fell on the single light in the whole room: a burning torch directly across from me.

"You..." I murmured, lowering my head.

I really was hoping I would somehow come up with a plan to get myself out of this mess. Or plan B, which involved Axel just coming in, finding me, and busting me out. But if he had been trapped in here before...

I wonder why he was in here, I thought. Maybe they tortured him.

Just at the very thought of this, I burst into tears.

"No!" I shouted, looking into the fire. "I need you..."

I had often heard of people falling madly in love as a kid, and even as a teenager. I had witnessed some events during my times with Sora. But never in a million years would I have thought the same thing could...would happen to me. I didn't think my heart could handle that sort of intense emotion.

I had never needed someone so much in my whole entire life, nor had I ever wanted someone that much. For Axel, I would do anything. ...Even though I knew it was impossible for him to feel that way about me.

Still, something in me wanted him to come and rescue me.

But, being realistic, I started to devise plans of how to escape.

The biggest problem was simply getting out of the chains. I could've just cut my wrists to death with them, eventually shaving off so much of my hands that I just slid right through. Or, if I propped up my feet the right way, I could push against the wall and try to break the chains off of the wall.

But no matter what crazy solutions I came up with, each of them were extinguished with a jolt of realism.

Or just falling asleep.

I was starting to lose track of the days. There was no window to tell me if it was day or night. The circulation in my hands was going away more and more quickly.

Yeah, life was good.

No, life was horrible. I could only thing about two things: Axel--which was definitely okay to think about--and escaping--which made me hurt all over. I had to get out. I had to.

At one point, who knows how much longer after Luxord had left me there, he finally came back. He was hooded, and he didn't say a word.

"What, no cold remarks today?" I asked, coughing.

He didn't reply, just looked at me from where the door was supposed to be.

"C'mon, let's get this trial over with," I then said, sighing.

Again, no response.

"Luxord?"

"Luxord?" the man echoed. "Is that who you think I am?"

"Well, not anymore," I admitted after the man's response. There was no strange accent, and his voice was far too deep to be blondie. "Who are you then?"

The man threw back his hood, and I gasped, relieved and pretty much about to pee myself.

"I need to peeeee!" I cried.

Sighing, Riku waved his hand, and I fell onto the floor, running into a corner.

"Don't look!" I shouted.

"Nexus," Riku said, sighing again, "I can take you to a restroom."

"Oh?"

.........

When we returned back to my cell, I turned to him, surprised to see him still in that nasty Xehanort's Heartless form.

"How long have I been here?" I asked him. He thought for a moment.

"Probably a full day," he replied. "We've been looking for your cell as soon as we knew you were here. But there are hundreds, some of them have never been used."

"Huh," I muttered. We? I wondered who else. Surely not Axel?

"Actually, I'm surprised you haven't escaped yet," Riku scoffed. I pouted. "You know, this cell has only been used twice. Besides you, I mean. And both of those people escaped."

"Axel, I know," I said. "But who else?"

"Well..." Riku began.

Suddenly another person opened a portal into the room. He was dressed in an Organization robe.

"Oh no," I murmured.

"Don't worry," Riku said, walking over to him. He was super short, but not as short as the King.

Suddenly he started talking very quickly and quietly in a language I couldn't understand. And by the voice, I realized he was a she. She spoke quickly and with purpose, gesturing around the room. Riku answered her in short sentences of the same language.

"Oh!" she cried, looking at me. "Wow! This is her!?"

Hurrying over to me, she peered into my face, but I couldn't see any of hers; it was shrouded by her hood.

"You're Nexus, then?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Wow! You're so pretty!" she exclaimed, touching my hair. She was almost a half a foot shorter than me, with a slightly nasal high-pitched voice. "Don't worry about a thing. We're busting you out of here!"

Before I could ask, she opened a portal and disappeared.

"Who was that supposed to be? Your girlfriend?" I teased Riku as he watched her go.

"Actually, yeah, she is," he replied.

"...Oh." Well...I felt stupid.

"Her name is E... Well, that's what I call her anyway," he said. "She was the other prisoner besides you and Axel in this cell. If anyone knows her way around this place, it's her."

"Really? Well, okay," I said, hope returning, "then let's 'bust me out' of here. What should we do?"

.........

"Remember, Nexus," Riku said as he opened a portal. I was already chained back onto the wall, my freedom short-lived. "E will shoot the light if you say "I win" under any circumstance. She's really literal. So don't mess up."

"I won't," I murmured. "Just don't forget to tell her what to do."

Riku smirked before hooding himself once more.

"Don't worry. We've got you covered," he said, heading through the portal, leaving me alone again.

Now I could think about a few more things.

Who exactly was this mysteriously bubbly "E"? She seemed nice enough, but why would the Organization capture her? And how did Riku find her? She must've been a being of darkness at some point if she could open portals. There was a big piece of the puzzle that I was definitely missing regarding her.

And then there was our plan. I was finally going to get out of here and get my stuff back and maybe even get some decent sleep. And food. I hadn't eaten in probably over twenty-four hours.

E...

My thoughts kept going back to her. What language was that? She spoke it so quickly, but it wasn't an ugly sound. It was flowing and beautiful, like a river. Even when Riku spoke it shortly and quietly it was pretty.

Where did she come from? I hadn't ever seen her or even heard of her before this.

Why would the Organization capture a girl as harmless as her? At least, she sounded pretty innocent. I mean, maybe she was a crazy assassin, but I didn't think so. So why would they feel the need to lock her up in this cell? Who busted her out?

Well, that I could answer: Riku. He probably heard her screaming or something and helped her. That was probably how they first met, and who knows what happened from there.

But again, why would she be a prisoner in the first place? From the way the cell looked, it was probably reserved for the highest of crimes, perfect for me and Axel.

Axel...

Somehow, my mind warped right back to thoughts of him, and I wanted to scream. I tried to concentrate on keeping the blood flowing in my hands, but my mind wandered too easily, what with nothing else to do.

I need you, I thought. I need you. I need you. Why are you not here? Why did Riku come, and not you?

"Don't leave me alone!" I shouted into the quiet air. "Don't give up!"

My voice echoed, a lonely prescense through the cell.

Tears streaming down my face, I lowered my head, screaming in agony.

"Where are you?!"

.........

"Rise and shine," a voice growled, and the next thing I knew, my body hit the hard stone floor. My hands were numb; I had to have fallen asleep. "Your trial awaits."

I looked up to see Luxord glaring down at me. Without using my tingling hands, I got to my feet, staggering a little. I was starving, and I really needed to pee again. I told him this.

"You won't have to worry about that much longer," he said, forcing my hands behind my back. Like a prisoner.

Suddenly I remembered the previous day's conversation with Riku, and I nearly started laughing.

"Nope, guess I won't," I agreed, snickering a little.

I felt handcuffs around my wrists, which were now tingling a little less and regaining feeling a little more.

"Come," Luxord ordered, pushing me by my shoulders into a portal. Soon we were outside of the cell.

"Couldn't you have just teleported me to the trial?" I asked, scrunching my nose. "Or is this all just for dramatic effect?"

"Try the latter. This is my order."

"Fair enough."

Besides, the journey gave me enough time to think over ways to say the code. There were a lot of circumstances.

Finally, after probably ten unnecessary minutes of traveling, we reached the trial room, which I immediately recognized. It was the very first room I ever saw of the castle, when I was first inducted. It was the room where everyone went to be announced in to the Organization. Only now, there was a little circular platform with a rail up to my hips in the middle of the raised platform that was the centerpiece of the room.

There was only one light on, just as Riku had said: a single lamp over my head. It was still enough light to see my surroundings, though. All thirteen chairs surrounded me, but only four were occupied: Saix, Xigbar, Luxord, and of course, Xemnas. My eye caught the chair where Axel once sat, and I shook my head quickly, trying to unfog my brain.

"Well, well, well." Xemnas' voice boomed across the tiny room. "Look who we have here. Nexus."

"Long time no see," I said, grinning. "Gosh, seems like there are less and less of you every day!"

No one laughed.

"Tough crowd," I muttered, glancing around. Riku and E were no where to be seen yet.

"Saix, read the charges."

"This should be good!" I cheered, laughing. Seriously, this was going to be hilarious.

"High treason," Saix read off from a list, "four counts of assisted murder of our members..." Seriously? Only four? "...conspiring with traitors, and assisting traitors in our demise."

"Oh, come on, that's it?" I asked in disbelief. "No, that's not. I should have one count of assisted arson in there, and one of the assisted murders was just me."

The four remaining members just stared.

"No, really, you think I'm kidding?" I laughed. "Axel and I burned down Castle Oblivion, and I killed Lexaeus pretty much single-handedly."

"Indeed," Xemnas said, using his favorite word.

"Indeed," I agreed with a smirk. I wasn't smirking because I was right. I was smirking because E and Riku were standing right in front of me, hidden in the shadows.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Luxord said angrily. "She is guilty of all crimes charged, and others she has mentioned."

"Ah, Nexus, always ratting yourself out," Xigbar laughed.

"Yeah? You think you're funny?" I said, getting antsy because I really needed to pee and hoping E was paying attention. "Well guess what? I am guilty. I admit it. I did it all! But you know what? It doesn't even matter. Look around you! You're all going to lose. And you know what that means? I win."

E fired the shot with perfect timing and perfect aim, blasting the light bulb into pieces and darkening the whole room. Amidst the cries and shouts of surprise, I jumped over the railing, no-handed, and landed near E.

"Nexus!" E hissed, grabbing me and pulling me into safety. With one swift move, she somehow cut off my handcuffs, freeing me up at last.

"Thanks," I whispered. "Where is Riku?"

"On the other side of Xemnas' throne," she replied quickly. "Here's your gun and your gun holster and your...belt." She piled my stuff into my arms, and I started equipping as she spoke. "It was good to finally meet you! You seem really awesome. Hopefully we'll meet again--"

Suddenly a bright light whizzed in between our faces. I recognized Xigbar's laser bullet and his unmistakable laugh.

"Gotcha!" he shouted, firing again.

"Hurry!" E cried, pushing me out of the way and disappearing through a portal herself.

Sprinting around Xemnas' throne, I dodged several bullets and ducked into the shadows, panting, adrenaline doing its thing.

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and I yelped quietly, thinking it was Luxord or Xigbar.

"It's me," Riku said quietly, opening a portal.

"Thank the higher power," I murmured, hugging him.

"Get out of here, and don't come back," he told me. "Next time it won't be so easy to bust you out."

And with those last words, Riku threw me into the portal.

"See you around. Protect my best friend, would you?"

.........

The next thing I knew, I was hitting the carpet of our gummi ship, gasping for breath.

"Nexus!?"

Donald and Goofy rushed over, helping me up. That was the first time I got a good look at my wrists: they were caked with blood. Donald cured me as Sora came over, looking at me with a slightly amused expression on his face.

"Well?" I shouted, breathless. "Aren't you going to yell at me? Or call me reckless? Or say you thought I died?"

"...Nah," Sora replied, smirking. "By now, I'm used to it."

Sighing, I got to my feet, hugging the spiky brunette.

"Yeah, well, let's hope that never happens again," I said, running to the bathroom. "You'd think a prison would have better bathrooms!"

*~*~*

"I need you!"

The blonde looked up from the story he had been reading and sighed. Her cries were getting more and more desparate each night. Tonight she had added a new phrase to the bunch.

"Axel..."

Though she was screaming and crying a bit now, tossing and turning, this night was not the worst. The most awful was the night back from Beast's Castle. Her screaming was not only intense, but overwhelmingly sad.

"Please..."

Glancing back at the story, he realized he had caught up to where she'd left off, and he thought he might go grab something to eat. He tossed the story under her bed, sighing again.

I'll be glad when this nightmare is over, he thought, walking out of the room with a last glance at Nexus. But there's only one way it can end...when he dies.