Chapter 28: Don't do anything stupid. (www . youtube . com/watch?v=qDuHYBq8HIk)
Memo: UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~! UWAAA! UWAAA!! This is so sad! I can't believe I have made it this far! UWAAAAA!! TToTT Hah...I'm so happy and sad at the same time... Anyway, this is arguably the best chapter in the whole series. THE WHOLE SERIES, PEEPEL! XD I mean, it's not MY favorite, but I know for many it will be. :D
Nexus' PoV
I'm not really sure where that portal was supposed to lead us. I just know it was the last place I ever saw as a broken human.
"What is this place?" Sora asked, looking around. Everything glowed in a rainbow of colors, and I could make out the faint Nobody symbol floating around us.
"Well, which way should we go?" Donald said. Sora shook his head, running forward, deeper into the nothingness.
"Riku! Kairi!" he cried at the top of his lungs. I knew that wouldn't make them come, and I think he knew too, but he was getting desperate.
"Whoa!" I said when I felt something bump into me. I turned to see a Dusk standing there, looking right at me. "Oh, you wanna play? Well, FETCH!"
Pulling out my gun, I filled the sucker with bullets.
"Mind giving me a hand?" I called out to the others. I noticed King Mickey had disappeared. Huh. How convenient.
"It's no use!" Sora cried, blasting through Nobody after Nobody.
"They just keep coming," I agreed, having to use both weapons to even think about keeping their numbers under control.
"Don't stop moving, or the darkness will overtake you!"
"I know that voice," I mouthed, turning around. A blur of scarlet and black appeared right in front of Sora, followed by two flaming wheels of death. Yup. Axel.
"Get goin'!" he shouted to us.
"Why?" Sora asked defensively, glancing sideways at me.
"Don't ask," Axel snapped. "Just do it!"
Just then a couple of Dusks pulled Axel to the ground from behind, then leapt over him. It would've been funny had it been anyone else there.
"You okay?" Sora asked after knocking the Nobodies away.
"I kidnapped Kairi, but she got away from me," Axel explained. "After that, Saix caught her. He's a member of Organization XIII. Saix. Got it memorized? Now go save her!"
Another Dusk flew down toward them, but Sora smacked it away, growling.
"Leave us alone!" he cried, standing upright.
"Are you actually willingly helping us?" I asked Axel as he stood up and walked over to me.
"Yeah, yeah." He smirked. "Seems like you need it."
"You're telling me. The King disappeared on us."
"The King was here?" I nodded. "Huh. He might already be there..."
Axel was quiet, then suddenly he took off without another word. I frowned. Such silence did not suit him.
.........
"Ouchies," I said, giggling as I tumbled backward into Axel and Sora. The three of us ended up back to back, with Donald and Goofy fighting elsewhere.
"I think I liked it better when they were on my side," Axel said, obviously holding back laughter. I rolled my eyes. It was his own fault. Though I have to admit there was great irony in the fact that we were fighting Assassins, which he used to control.
"Feeling a little regret?" Sora asked, raising his eyebrows at him.
"Nah...I can handle these punks." He let out a small laugh. "Watch this! Oh, and...Nex?"
I looked up at him, squinting.
"Don't do anything stupid."
What did he mean by that?
Axel smirked at me and ran off into the crowd of Nobodies. He held his chakrams out, then let them go. The three figures floated into the air, in a mass of flames, and soon the chakrams were spinning around him, creating an inferno. It was any pyro's dream to watch. Axel then let out a yell, and the whole area exploded.
"Ah!" I cried, shielding my eyes. I could feel my hair flying around me, and my clothes clung to the front of me due to the wind.
"Whoa!" I heard Sora shout. Blinking rapidly, I tried to get the hair out of my eyes so I could see the end result. "You're...fading away!"
My heart nearly stopped.
NO, I thought, clawing through my hair to clear my eyes. Please, don't mean what I think you mean, Sora!
But then I could see again, and I saw Axel lying on the ground. I could hear him talking to Sora about something.
He was fading.
"No," I breathed, running to his side. "This can't be happening."
"Axel, what were you trying to do?" Sora was asking him when I plopped down on my knees, wide-eyed.
"I wanted to see Roxas," he replied. Tears came to my eyes. And he talked about ME being stupid!! He tried too hard...and now... "He...was one of the only people I ever liked. He made me feel...like I had heart." Axel turned his head, and his eyes fell on me. "It's kind of...funny. You make me feel...the same..."
His voice died off. By this time I was crying like an idiot. Sora kept glancing over at me.
"Kairi's in the castle dungeon," Axel said to Sora. "Now go!"
Axel lifted his hand and opened a dark portal. It must've taken the last of his strength, because then he began to fade even faster. I couldn't take it. This was Axel...my partner, my best friend, and the person I loved most. I was not going to just let him die. Not without a fight.
"NO!" I sobbed, throwing myself over Axel.
"Nexus!" Sora shouted, startled.
"Just go, Sora!" I commanded him. He hesitated. I could tell he wasn't buying the idea. But I wasn't leaving Axel behind. "GO!"
Sora took one last look at me, and his eyes were so sad, I can't even explain. Then he ran off into the portal, followed closely by Donald and Goofy.
"Nexus, what are you doing?!" Axel asked. I hugged him tighter.
"I won't let you die," I whispered.
"I can't die..." Axel nodded at me. "...But you can."
Glancing at my arms, I noticed that now...I was fading, too. There was this strange glowing red light around us, too. I couldn't explain it.
"We're partners... We'll go together," I said quietly. "Besides, you...you said we wouldn't fade away."
"Nex, why're you doing this?!" Axel asked me. "You could've lived!"
"You mean..." I let out a small laugh. "You never figured it out?"
I was about to continue when my vision blacked. So...I was dying. For real this time. But Axel and I...were together.
"Axel...I love you," I managed to whisper with my last breath.
*~*~* THE END *~*~*
JUUUUUUST KIDDING!
*~*~*
Axel slowly opened his eyes, feeling...different.
Whoa, wait.
He could see. He was alive.
And he could feel.
"What...?" he gasped, looking around. He was still in the between world. Thinking hard, he tried to piece together what had happened. Then it hit him.
Jumping to his feet, Axel looked around. A lifeless figure on the ground in the distance caught his eye.
"Nexus!?" he shouted, running over to her. She wasn't moving, not even breathing. "Nex, you idiot..."
Axel kneeled down next to her, pushing her hair out of her face. She didn't respond. He gently pulled her toward him. Holding her lifeless body in his arms, he let out a sigh, then an angry cry. Why her?!
"Nexus!" he shouted, shaking her. "Nexus? Nexus...Nex..." She was dead, he was sure of it now. "Dammit...why? Why did you leave me here?"
"I'm sorry."
Axel jumped, then looked down at Nexus. She didn't look any different.
"Nex?" he called out nervously.
"Nope."
"...Sune?"
"Uh-huh."
"Sune, tell me, what happened?"
Axel could hear Sune's voice as if it were coming from Nexus' body. He heard her sigh, but Nexus didn't move.
"She saved you, Axel," she replied. "We saved you."
"Is she...dead?"
"No." Her blunt answer seemed short-tempered. "She'll be awake in a moment. Then we'll explain everything."
Axel nodded once, looking down at his dear friend. As he watched and waited, he thought of everything they'd been through together. They'd been separated and reunited multiple times, but something between them never changed. An unbreakable bond. What was after this, beyond their friendship? Because to Axel, that's where it felt like they should be.
"You said we wouldn't fade away..."
Her words echoed in his mind. He had let her down. That feeling hurt.
"...Axel?"
"Nexus!?" Axel said, looking down at her. She cringed, then her eyes fluttered open. "You okay?"
Nexus made brief eye contact with him, then quickly looked away. Her mouth was drawn into a frown.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.
She didn't answer at first; instead she freed herself from his arms and pushed herself up, standing with her back to him. Hesitating, she held her right hand out to the side.
"Sune?" she said. To Axel's astonishment, Sune appeared beside Nexus, both of them facing away. They turned around, and it was looking at a mirror image. The only differences were the eyes, the hair, and the clothes, all of which were opposite colors.
"Hello, Axel," Sune said, smiling a little. Nexus didn't say anything, but she stared at the ground. Axel frowned at her.
"What's going on?" he asked, giving up on trying to get Nexus' attention. He looked at Sune, and her amber eyes glittered in a strange way.
Nexus' PoV
I could feel a sickness rising in me. This could only end badly. Sune and Axel could end up...
"We have to explain something," I finally said, my voice shaking, sounding foreign. "I really don't know how else to say this, so...well, here goes. Earlier today, we both died, Axel. But while you were fading, something weird happened to us." I gestured to Sune, and she seemed to think that gave her permission to interrupt.
"Maybe it was because--"
"Shut up, let me finish," I snapped. Sune glowered at me. Whatever. "Anyway, our heart...my heart went to you."
"Huh?" Axel said, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "So now I have your heart?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"But how?"
"I had only half of a heart to begin with."
"Half?"
"We share a heart, Axel," Sune said, nodding once. "I mean, me and Nexus do. We're the same person, after all. Well, we're supposed to be." She shot me a look, but I didn't respond, just stared at her blankly. "We each had half of our one heart, so now...well, we can't just split the other half."
"So..."
"You have to choose." Sune sounded pleased. I bet.
"For real? I...have to choose who stays and who dies?"
Axel looked at me to make sure she was being serious, and I nodded.
"Do it right," I told him. "Do what's best for you, not us."
"What do you mean by that?" Axel asked.
"Well, I have been around longer," Sune said, pursing her lips and glancing at me triumphantly. I squeezed my shut so I didn't have to see that awful expression. I knew I had to say these things, for his sake. It wasn't about me anymore.
"Listen to what I'm saying. Sune is right. I'm not supposed to even exist." I clenched my fists. "Though...it was fun being with you."
"Nex..." I heard footsteps.
"And even if I'm gone, Sune will remember. She'll remember our friendship for me. It's safer this way. Don't--!"
I was supposed to keep talking there, but I was interrupted by Axel's soft lips pressing into mine. I opened my eyes in disbelief. To be honest, I was beyond shocked. He really...loved me? Me?
He pulled back a moment, and then he smiled the most beautiful, gentle smile I've ever seen on a human.
"You stay," he said, nodding once and kissing me again.
WHHAAAA!!? TAKE THAT, BITCH! (XD) ---My brain at that point. Hah.
I could feel warm tears flowing from my eyes, completely unstoppable at this point, and they were mine. For the first time ever in my whole life, I felt whole, completed. Loved. I was finally free. I was me.
Again, take that, bitch. Nya.
When he pulled away the second time, my mind finally settled down enough to say something.
"Then you can read this," I said, pulling a notebook out of my back pocket.
"What?" Axel asked, taking it. "What is this?"
"My story." He gave me a confused look. "Literally and figuratively. It's about me. You'll understand if you read this."
"I'll take your word for it," he said, opening the notebook.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl. Everyone in town adored her, and she was a very happy, lucky child. But sometimes, when the little girl got really mad or upset, another side of her would appear and take over in the form of another little girl. The girl's parents were so concerned that they sent her to every doctor they knew, but none of them understood. Finally, the little girl ended up with a scientist dedicated to studies of the heart. Her parents asked if he could cure their daughter. After a few tests, the scientist realized that the two were the same person. He said that the little girl and her other side were connected because they shared the same heart, but different because they had their own personalities. It might be impossible to separate them, but he was going to try.
Now, the scientist did not live alone. He had many assistants that lived with him, and soon they all became attached to the little girl. They had never met the other side, and they didn't care to. The other side was only summoned for experimental purposes. No one got to know her. They didn't even see her until she was eleven.
Time passed, and soon the girl was fourteen years old. She fell in love with the youngest of the assistants. But because they had the same heart, the other side fell in love, too. She even started to show herself more. On one rare occasion, she completely escaped the prison of her other body and freely roamed the mansion on her own, getting to know the scientist's assistants better. It didn't last, but it wasn't the last time.
Each and every time she appeared, she'd get braver and take more risks. One of the assistants gave her a gun and taught her how to shoot every time she was with him. She became so skilled a fighter as she grew older that eventually she even wielded her own keyblade.
Another time she dyed and cut her hair to her own liking. It became permanent on both sides of the girl, with opposite colors. She got in a lot of trouble for that one. A LOT of trouble.
Meanwhile, without anyone knowing, the assistants were planning something awful behind the scientist's back. This kept up for two years in complete secrecy.
The little girl was no longer little. She was sixteen years old, and she was still in love with assistant and had no idea what he and the others were up to. But now the other side was around more. The assistant did not love her. No one loved her. She didn't even love herself. She didn't think anyone could ever love her.
Then it happened. The assistants put their plans into action, and they were, unfortunately, successful. Though the other side pleaded against it, they continued, ruining everything, including their own existence. In the process, their master was hurt and ashamed. During his remorse, he made a deal with the other side, who had now become the dominant personality. The scientist told her that if she carried out a revenge plan for him against the assistants, he would work to free her even if he died trying. She agreed.
Over two years later, the other side found the whereabouts of the former assistants. Three of them were in a castle that belonged to an organization. They had formed their own group, with others like them, based on their faulty research. She easily posed as one of their kind, with help from the scientist, and joined their group.
Only minutes after arriving in the castle did the other side meet a young man only slightly older than her. At first, they really did not like each other. But soon the other side realized that if they worked together, they could help each other. So with a little forceful negotiation, they became partners. He found her plan, and she discovered his.
Soon they had wiped out every traitor in the castle, which ended up being everyone but themselves and the younger people who were not part of the organization. Three of these young people had to fall asleep in order to regain memories lost. Then everything fell apart.
The other side's partner told her that he had to leave her behind so he could help his other best friend and so she could protect those asleep. She begged him not to go, but he did anyway. She was heartbroken, because deep down she had fallen in love with him.
A year later, the two saw each other again, thanks to one of the younger friends. But at the same time, the other side saw the scientist, who had grown unkind and cold due to his hatred and bitter regret. The partner misinterpreted the situation and left. The scientist showed no sympathy and left. The other side had no one but herself.
Then the real girl appeared and offered to talk to the other side's partner for her own reasons as well. The partner came back, realizing he was wrong, and the two were reunited. But later, he had to leave again. The other side begged him not to leave her alone, proving that she was growing weak when her original self appeared just at the very mention of her name. But he had to leave, so he did.
Very soon, the other side's younger companions awoke, and soon she was traveling with them, making new friends and seeing new places. All that time, though, she missed her partner and feared for her existence.
Sometimes, when she least expected it, they would cross paths and catch up. It was obvious they missed each other.
One day, the partner told the other side they wouldn't ever fade away. The other side began to cry, because this was his fate. He was not a normal human, but one without feelings. He was completely destined to fade into darkness. He had no heart, but she did.
She worried every night might be her last, and she wondered if she'd ever see him again.
Axel stared at the blank pages following.
"You call that an ending?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Well, obviously I haven't updated it," I said.
"Then I will."
Taking the pencil out of the spiral bounding, Axel started scribbling away. I pouted. That left me with nothing to do but reflect.
I started looking around. The portal wasn't there anymore. We were basically trapped here. Well, no big deal. At least we had each other.
Closing my eyes, I sat down and bowed my head, waiting for Axel to finish. My mind whirled with flashbacks.
When I was dead--hah, that sounds so funny...--I experienced my life over again. Everything, from my birth to my death. It was nothing new to me, but things about it scared me. I was surprised I made it alive thus far.
"Okay, I'm done," he said at last, throwing the notebook at me and hitting me in the back of the head.
"Ow!" I cried, jumping to my feet.
"Sorry. I wasn't aiming for your head."
I didn't say anything; instead I opened the notebook to find where he had started writing. It was funny...I had never seen his handwriting before then. He wrote straight up and down, with tall letters. Typical guy handwriting. For some reason, that was comforting.
One day, the guy met the "other side" again. She and her companions needed help, so he sacrificed himself to keep her safe. The girl saw his condition and couldn't take it. So she held him close, refusing to leave him to his fate.
And they faded away.
Through a miracle, the guy woke up alive and saw the other girl, seemingly dead. He said something, and, to his surprise, the original side responded. Neither of them were dead. In fact, when the girls woke up, he found out that the other side had sacrificed her heart for him. Now he had to choose. If he choose the original girl, the other side would disappear, like she was originally supposed to. If he choose the other side, the original girl would give her life to the other side and would disappear instead.
He chose the other side. He wanted her to exist because he wanted to be with her forever.
And they lived happily ever after.
I had to read the last line a few times to make sure I wasn't imagining it. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked at that very last sentence.
"And they lived happily ever after," I whispered, looking at him. The notebook slid out of my hands and fell on the ground, the pages fluttering almost as crazily as my heart.
And I ran to him.
*~*~*
Axel let Nexus run into his arms. He let her cry into his neck. He let her cling to him like a child. He didn't say anything. He just held her.
Nexus cried hard. There was so much inside of her that she wanted to let out all along, and now she finally could.
"I love you," she sobbed, standing on her tiptoes. "I couldn't tell you before. I'm sorry..." Her grip on his robe tightened. "There was so much I wanted to tell you...and I couldn't..."
"But now I know," he said, holding her close. She stood flat on her feet, looking up at him, then she nodded. "Everything?"
"Everything."
Nexus grabbed Axel by his robe and kissed him, and he (gladly) kissed her back. They were both getting a second chance. They could forget everything now. They were together.
An aquaintance of mine once said something very interesting about love: when you hold someone's hand, if the hands don't fit, the relationship won't last.
But when Nexus and Axel pressed their hands against each other's, and their fingers intertwined, their hands fit perfectly.
Perhaps it was truly destiny that they were together, for when Axel pulled her closer, both of their bodies fit, like two pieces in a puzzle.
And their lips obviously fit pretty well, considering the two had been locked together for a good five minutes, only pulling apart to breath.
Suddenly the ground started shaking.
"What's going on?" Nexus said, looking around. "Did Sora do something?"
"This is just an inbetween world, so if he defeated Xemnas..." Axel wasn't sure how to finish his sentence.
Even more suddenly, everything went pitch black.
"Ohmygosh!" Nexus chirped, staying close to Axel.
The floor beneath them disappeared, and, screaming, they fell into darkness.
"Nexus--"
She didn't get to hear what Axel was saying; her head hit something hard on the way down, and her unconcious hands released Axel.
.........
Hours Ago
"Sora, what's wrong?" Donald asked the young hero, who was scowling so much his face was starting to twitch.
"Yeah, Sora, you haven't said anythin' since we got here!" Goofy exclaimed, knocking away another shadow Heartless.
"You wanna know what's wrong?" Sora shouted, smashing his keyblade through three shadows. "I'll tell you what's wrong! This whole mess! You guys don't even care that Nexus is gone!"
He stopped to catch his breath, bending down, tears filling his eyes.
"She tried to protect us all along," he murmured, feeling the rain start to pour. "She was always there to help us. And when she really needed us, the one time we could've protected her...we failed!"
Donald and Goofy exchanged worried glances.
"Gawrsh, Sora, I think she wanted to die," Goofy said kindly.
"Yeah, Sora, she was trying to protect Axel," Donald agreed.
"You guys don't even get it!" Sora jumped up, leading them through the streets of the World That Never Was. "There had to have been some way to prevent that! I know we could've saved them! But I didn't even try... I didn't even thank her." He stopped, his tears mixing with the rain. "I didn't say goodbye."
.........
Hours Later
"This place...looks like a graveyard," Kairi said quietly as they entered the next room.
"It is," Riku murmured, looking down at the closest grave marker. "The Flurry of Dancing Flames?"
"The Fourteenth Member..." Sora whispered, staring at Nexus' red, glowing marker. Suddenly both markers turned white, the light flooding the whole room, blinding them all.
"Whoa!" Donald quacked in surprise.
When their vision returned, Sora and Riku saw that the two markers had vanished completely, leaving only a stone carving into the ground.
"What just happened?" Kairi asked, looking at her two friends. Riku and Sora looked at each other, too stunned to speak.
Does that mean... Riku wondered.
She's alive!? Sora thought.
There was only one way to know for sure: to defeat Xemnas.