A/N: Well, I'm here right now to tell you... this is it. This is the last chapter. I'm giving you this author's note first, before the story starts proper because, well... I want the ending to have some sort of impact on you, and not ruin it with meaningless blabber.
So, when all is finished, please Read and Review, and tell me what you thought of the story as a whole.
On a side note, there's going to be something of a companion piece to this fiction, most likely to be entitled 'Stuck in Reverse'. I say companion piece because you don't have to connect the two stories if you don't want to. And it just might explain the whole 'Ethan' thing. xp
I'm done talking. I'll leave you to your reading. Now watch as it all goes crashing to the end.
-
No...
It had stopped raining.
That was all Larxene could think of as she stood before the window, pale face even more ghastly in the wan light of the moon called Kingdom Hearts, hand lightly resting on the cool glass.
It had never just stopped raining, the entire four years she had been a Nobody, been part of the Organization. Usually the rain tapered down before stopping, only to start again days or sometimes even minutes later. But it never just stopped after a moment ago it had been deluging.
And another thing she'd noticed, was that the thunderstorm that loomed over The World That Never Was had never actually stopped the entire year and a half she and Demyx had been together. It was as if their bond was the fuel that kept the storm raging.
But now, now the rain had stopped.
No...
The lightning that usually struck out violently from the clouds now instead flitted across them, shooting from place to place almost as though searching for the rain it used to dance and play among.
No...
The word was like a mantra in her head, throbbing as audibly and physically through her head as the pulse she no longer had.
No...
As every bolt of lightning flitted across the clouds, flashing light into the room, the word pulsed stronger in her head, until finally it shattered the icy cavern her insides seemed to have become with a blazing streak of pure agony, finally bursting forward from her lips in a scream that could well be heard the world over.
"NO! NO NO NO! NO! NO!" She clenched the sides of her head, dropping to her knees. This wasn't supposed to be such a shock to her. She knew he wasn't going to come back... she knew he wasn't going to survive that... she...
She should have known.
The sounds of the word escaping her now came punctuated with the sound of her fist impacting the thick glass in front of her, slamming so hard it began to crack.
Something warm touched her shoulder and she whirled around so fast and so hard, fist at the ready, that the owner of the hand was sent almost literally flying backwards on impact, the flash of bright blonde hair against black letting her addled place who it was she'd just sent on a crash course with the ground.
She squeezed her eyes shut as Luxord looked up at her, icy blue eyes plainly showing his confusion, and turned away to put her hands over her face.
Everything hurt. From the searing throbbing in the cavity where her heart used to be, to the dull ache in the tips of her fingers and toes.
"Larxene."
She sighed. It was Xemnas.
Larxene turned her head, letting her hands drop limply to the sides as she regarded the Superior. She noted Saix and Xigbar were also in the room.
"What a pathetic show. Stop acting like you felt anything for him or that you feel anything now," Xemnas' voice was cold and deep, and flat as it usually was.
Larxene sighed, numb but for the aching, and stood. "You're right..." and her voice was just as cold and flat as his. She locked eyes with him, and watched as he wrested down a smirk.
"Though you understand more thoroughly what it means to be a Nobody than the weakling you had taken as a partner, I will issue you the same ultimatum. Retrieve the Beast's Heartless and Nobody, make them as powerful as you can. If you fail, do not return," Xemnas stated, and the Nymph nodded mutely.
The Superior disappeared, Saix following soon after. Xigbar 'tch'ed.
"The hell is his problem?" The Freeshooter spat.
"I told you, my friend. Xemnas is no longer.." Luxord began, grunting as he stood up. "Stable. Mentally. I do believe he's gone quite mad. Larxene, I must ask, would you like..." The Gambler trailed off as he turned to look at the Savage Nymph, only to find she had already left. He sighed and shook his head, and a look passed between he and Xigbar.
"Xemnas... is going to regret this," the gunman said, shaking his head and teleporting out.
"Indeed. We're finished... that's all there is to it," Luxord replied to the empty room. Thunder rumbled through the still air.
-
This was not supposed to happen! The Keybearer and his two stupid friends had shown up but five minutes ago and if left alone, they would finish unraveling all of the hard work Larxene had put into making the Beast strong enough to have a Nobody worthy of the Organization. She needed to find a way to stop him. And before she lost her carefully reconstructed wall of concentration keeping the pain in her chest from tearing her apart.
Slowly, she paced back and forth along a section of roof on the castle, her mind working so furiously the air around her sparked and crackled. She couldn't go down there and chase the kid off herself- she had no idea how truly powerful he was. She also didn't want to give away the Organization's big plan before it had come to fruition, and fighting him would end up revealing something. It always did.
She needed a distraction, something to draw the Keybearer's attention for long enough to extract the heart from the Beast. Whether or not he was ready, she had to take the chance. It would be enough, it had to be.
But what could she use to distract the kid? That was the dilemma she faced. She could always conjure up one of the higher Nobodies, such as a Twilight Thorn. It was hard not being able to control any Nobodies higher than that.
No, that wouldn't help... even a small army of Nobodies would be taken down by the Keybearer, she knew, and probably quite quickly. That left her only to use one large creature with an abundance of stamina to occupy the Keybearer while she snuck in quietly and made off with the Beast's heart... then again, getting the Beast away from the stupid kid would be a problem in and of itself. She needed something to lure the Beast away from him and...
She paused, a positively evil smile spreading slowly across her features, illuminating them one by one. The rose. That animal had some sort of deranged attachment to that pathetic, glowing flower. She could use that to get him away from Sora long enough to grab his heart and run. She indulged in a soft giggle at her own genius plotting, but was interrupted by music softly leaking out from somewhere in the back of the castle. Scowling, she set her plan into action, haphazardly throwing her hood on and teleporting to the ball room. She knew that idiot monster and his female chew toy were going to have some sort of party tonight, and it must've just started.
Of course, in Larxene's opinion, not inviting her was absolutely rude. She needed to go crash the little love-fest.
"... and of course our honored guests are welcome, too..."
Larxene fought to keep her face and voice neutral as she stepped out of the portal, when all she wanted to do was grin at her own timing. "And you forgot to invite me? You really are a beastly animal. Where are your manners!"
She looked down from her spot, arms folded loosely across her stomach and watched as Sora ran to the middle of the dance floor and looked around for a moment, before spotting her standing on the second floor.
"The Organization!" he deducted, brilliantly enough.
"Tch, and what do you think you're doing here, little pest?" she chided, glaring down at him though she knew he couldn't see her.
"We could ask the same for you!" the duck hollered, brandishing its magic staff like it was a real weapon.
"Get out!" the Beast growled on the heels of the duck's statement. He took off, galloping in that ungraceful, four-legged way he had of moving towards the balcony. Larxene rolled her eyes.
"Not tonight!" Belle's voice broke clearly through the air.
Larxene actually laughed. "She's right. Not tonight." Without even so much as a movement, a half-dozen Dusks appeared before the Beast, impeding his path. He didn't slow down, just knocked them aside with a sweep of his muscled forearm. Larxene frowned. "Fine, I'll just have to take something more precious from you."
The Beast actually roared then, the sound reverberating off the vaulted ceiling of the room until it was even louder and more cacophonous than before. Larxene tried to appear unphased, putting her hand in her hood to stick a finger in her ear and attempt to relieve some of the pressure that had suddenly made it ring. "Good little monster. You roar like the beast you are."
This time a couple dozen Dusks appeared, forming a large circle around the Keybearer and his friends. They began attacking, and Larxene took the opportunity to leave. She had a rose to kidnap after all.
-
Unfortunately, it didn't take the idiot kid and his friends long to figure out the rose was missing, though Larxene did enjoy watching them tear through the castle as though something nasty was chasing them.
And weren't they just disappointed when the rose was missing.
Of course, the idiot child managed to talk the monster out of the rage he was about to induce on himself, and Larxene frowned, that creeping chill returning to her gut. She had failed. She knew she had failed. There was just no way to get the Beast back to his animalistic other side now.
A crack split through her re-constructed wall, and she bit her lip against it, tilting her head back to look at the bleak sky strangled with black clouds. She squeezed the rose's glass case tighter against herself and sighed. "Well... Zexion. Lexaeus. Vexen. Xaldin. Marluxia..." Her voice caught. "... Demyx. I hope there's some room wherever you are."
She teleported quietly onto the balcony of Belle's room, silently placing the rose just outside of the peripheral vision of the other woman, before jumping up on the roof right behind her. Belle was leaning, looking either bored or disappointed, though probably a little bit of both on the banister on the balcony, watching as the Keyblade master and his troop searched the castle grounds for the missing flower.
Finally, it seemed as though Belle noticed the bait and took it, grabbing the glass casing and picking it up, waving her arm to gain the attention of those on the ground. It was then Larxene took the opportunity, jumping down, her coat billowing behind her as she landed. A swift hand to the side of the head, and the princess was unconscious, the Nymph grabbing the rose before it hit the ground and anything broke.
With a surprising lack of effort, Larxene grabbed Belle and, rose in one arm, girl in the other, she took off for the bridge near the edge of the castle's property, employing an old trick of the Nobodies that the Organization members rarely exercised.
It didn't take long for the group of 'heroes' to show up where she was, and when they did, they found Belle laying on the ground, brown eyes wide and full of tears with Larxene's heel digging into her lower back. The Savage Nymph stood looming over her, balancing the rose's case on one hand like a waiter's platter.
"Well, look who finally showed up. Time to play hero again, kid? Save the Damsel In Distress?" Larxene spat, eyes narrowing.
"Get out!" the Beast roared at her, but Larxene just gave him her most withering glare, almost satisfied when he seemed to wilt a bit.
"Of course. Unfortunately, I only have room for one passenger. So, will it be your..." Her expression changed, darkened, lightning dancing violently in her violently blue eyes. She didn't try to hide the jealousy this time. "Love interest, or the cause of your curse, Beast?"
"Wh... what's the matter...? Did your boyfriend dump you or something?" Belle grunted from beneath Larxene's foot. She was rewarded with a harsh stomp.
"No," the Nymph hissed, turning a glare so accusing on Sora that he took a step back, flushing guiltily though he didn't know he'd done anything wrong. "He was murdered. His only crime; trying to reclaim his heart."
It was then Sora seemed to regain his composure, frowning angrily. "Now wait! He stole the hero's stone!"
"That is his only crime? Death is hardly a fitting punishment for theft," Larxene scowled.
"Well, all of you Organization members are evil!" Sora argued.
"How so?" the Nymph countered. "What have we ever done to you?"
The Keyblade master's face screwed up into a very thoughtful expression. "Uhh..."
"Tell me, kid. What did the hero's stone do that was so important?" Larxene perched her hand on a hip, glaring down her nose at him.
"It unlocked the power of heroes in the Underworld. Hades said it was because heroes were zeroes in the Underworld, and that was the only way they could fight with any power," Sora explained slowly, looking somewhat confused.
"So then, did he use it?"
The young boy thought about that for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah."
The sickening cold plaguing Larxene returned, full force. "So then..." she ground out, trying to keep her voice neutral. "If the Underworld saps power from heroes... why would he... a supposed 'evil doer'... need to use the stone to unlock his power?"
Once more, Sora pondered her question, and Larxene watched with satisfaction as the more he thought about it, the paler his face got.
"That's right, Sora," she started, grinning in a way that was both disturbing and sympathy evoking. "Demyx..." her voice cracked, straining to unfreeze and speak. "Demyx wasn't a bad guy."
"... then what he said about killing innocent...! But... I did-" Sora began slowly, but was interrupted by a loud squawk by the duck.
"Sora! The Organization is evil! Yen Sid even said so!"
It was then Larxene noticed Belle trying to escape from under her foot. She stomped down accordingly and glared up. "Well, unfortunately children, it looks like our time is running short. It is up to you, Beast. Choose what I will be taking with me. The girl, or the rose?"
The Beast growled, stepping forward, but Larxene stopped him as she shattered the glass dome over the rose, watching the tiny shards of glass cascade down and land all over Belle. "Tick... tock... tick... tock... Well, my dear Belle. What do you think your monstrous boyfriend will choose? Shall we find out?" She gently grasped the rose and pulled it out. The 'heroes' opposite her all gasped and took a step forward, but she stopped them by holding the flower out.
"Nuh uh uh, chilluns. You have to make a decision. Time is ticking..." Larxene continued after a moment of silence. "Gee Belle, let's see what he's going to pick, hn?" She brought the flower up beneath her nose and took a deep breath. "Mm. The small of false love. Let's see if he really cares about you or a stupid plant more. Ready?" With a motion that could only be called dainty, the Nymph grabbed one of the petals of the rose, and plucked it off. "He loves you." She grabbed another and plucked it off. "He loves you not." She smirked over the flower at the Keybearer and his friends, a look that was so very unbalanced to the side of insanity, before she took the next flower petal. "He loves you."
The Beast looked like he was both about to try and rip her face off, die of shock, and several other things Larxene had never seen before as she continued to slowly rip the petals from the rose, one by one. "He loves you not... he loves you..."
Finally, the monster charged, and Larxene teleported away, now on the opposite side of the bridge, Belle still underfoot. "He loves you not."
Beast roared and charged that side, only to have the lightning elemental teleport away every time, showing up somewhere on the other side of the bridge, still slowly plucking away petals and shortening the time he had to win Belle's heart.
"He loves you," Larxene said, plucking another petal, then held the rose up with that same very insane and very sadistic smirk. There was only one left. "What a pity, Belle."
Beast screamed and Belle screamed at the same time, and Larxene threw the flower, right off the side of the bridge. "He loves you not!"
And then she giggled, and just like the smile before it there was something very wrong with the sound of it.
The next thing anyone knew, a battle was raging, the very world shaking with the reverberations of thunder booming in the air.
But it wasn't enough.
She couldn't get him to hit her enough to send her back to the darkness, or at least not fast enough for her tastes, but her pride wouldn't let her just stand there and be torn to pieces without a fight.
Finally, what seemed like hours later, her ears rang as the Keyblade connected with her skull and she stumbled back, fully ready for more fighting, though now her vision was skewed and swimming. From the corner of her sight, something dark emerged beneath her feet.
Electric blue eyes narrowed as she looked down at the ground, trying to focus on the darkness opening up to swallow her, a smirk pulling up the corners of her mouth. She'd completely worn her shell out it would seem...
Larxene rolled her head back onto her shoulders, holding her arms out slightly, looking almost as if she were standing in the rain and thoroughly enjoying it. In fact, she could almost hear the hiss of the rain around her, feel the warmth of it. And the scent...
She was surrounded by warmth and the scent of rain and... no. Her eyes shot open. This wasn't...!
-
Luxord sighed, walking silently from the bookshelf in his room to his favored reading chair, a tome in hand, when he stopped dead in his tracks. There was something wrong, something missing, and he couldn't place what. He scanned his room warily, looking for anything wrong such as an intruder or something similar.
Nothing.
His eyes narrowed farther and he inspected more carefully, double checking to be safe. He walked to his balcony and out, looking around to decipher if it was an outside threat. There was nothing there, just the deafening sound of...
His icy blue eyes went wide, the book slipping from his suddenly limp hand.
Nothing.
There was nothing out there but the eerie white castle. No rain. No clouds. No lightning. For the first time in a year and a half... the perpetual storm that had laid itself upon The World That Never Was like a blanket was simply gone. Try as he might, Luxord could spy no clouds anywhere on the horizon either. It was as though the storm had never been there in the first place.
Little did he know, Xigbar and even Saix had noticed the same thing he had at almost the same time, and all three now stood, staring at the sky, looking on in awe, in wonder. For the first time in a year and a half there was calm. Peace. Stability.
Silence.