What Becomes of Heartless and Nobody - Chapter 3
Disclaimer - I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney. My friends own Ayazu and Rukato, and I own Ruby.
A/N: Okay, guys. 3rd chapter. I would really appreciate it if you people would give me reviews -.- Anyway, remember the story takes place after the second game, and please forgive me for all the mistakes I made on the first and second chapter, its been a rough week, and Im still learning how to fix mistakes after I've all ready uploaded the chapters .. On with the chapter!!!
Riku: "Do I get to be in this one?!"
N.P.: "If I say yes, will that make you shaddup?!" -twitched-
Riku: "Maybe."
N.P.: "Then we'll see."
On with the chapter!!!
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Ruby's glowing yellow eyes popped open once more as she awoke from another unwanted nap. She let a small groan escape her lips as she sat up in a sitting position, rubbing her right eye with the palm of her right hand. She looked down at her body. Her skin was starting to lose its tan.
"Good morning." Came a voice across the room.
Ruby jumped, slightly startled. She looked across the room to see Zexion sitting in a couch, still in the usual black cloak.
She looked out the window, seeing it was still dark outside. She raised an eyebrow at this.
"I know what your thinking." Zexion said, standing up from the couch and walking to the bed. He sat down infront of her, folding his hands in his lap as he looked out the window as well. "Why is it so dark?" He asked, almost seeming to ask himself. "Its always dark here." He replied to his question. "This is the World That Never Was...Theres never sunshine." He said quietly.
Ruby simply nodded her head a bit sleepily as she layed back upon the bed. She thought this was all a dream, and that she would wake up any minute from Merlin or Yuffie poking her cheek or pinching her arm. Closing her eyes, she heard an amused chuckle. Opening her right eye, she looked up at Zexion, a blank smile upon his pale lips.
"Whaas so funny?" She asked drowsily, turning over to her side and closed her eyes, turning away from him.
She felt a shift of weight as Zexion sat up, off of the bed. She felt the weight of the bed shift again as she opened her eyes to face him.
"You look innocent when your sleeping." He laughed.
Ruby only sat bolt upright, finally realising it wasn't a dream, and that she probably would never see Merlin or Yuffie ever again. She sighed sitting up and looking at Zexion.
"You still have questions?" He asked, arching his right eyebrow.
"Yes," she replied, nodding her head absentmindedly.
"Then ask them!" He exclaimed. "Don't just sit around and wait!"
Ruby raised her eyebrows at him. He seemed extremely hyperactive for a boy that appeared so dark. She ran her right hand through her red hair as she tried to decide on her first question.
"What am I doing here?" She asked quietly, cupping her hands in her lap.
"Ah, now that I can't answer yet," Zexion replied, pointing his right index finger at her absentmindedly.
"Then whats the point of me answering these questions?!" She shouted, jumping out of the bed. She began pacing the room, her arms flailing at her sides.
Zexion watched her pace back and forth as a small smile crept to his lips.
"And stop staring and smiling at me like that!" She exclaimed, stopping and pointing at him again.
A chuckle escaped Zexion's lips as he fell back onto the bed, holding his sides. This apparently was VERY funny to him. Ruby didn't find it very amusing. She plopped down onto the floor with her head in her hands.
Zexion, who noticed she had settled down a bit, walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't move. She layed on him limp and lifeless as a few tears slid down her cheeks. Ruby had went through so much in only one day. This was really wearing her down.
"You're a heartless." Zexion said calmly. "You aren't supposed to be able to cry."
"Well I am." She replied. "Now tell me what the hell is going on."
Zexion let go of her and stood up as she wiped her cheeks. She sat with her elbows propped up on her thighs and her head in her hands. He sat back down on the bed, with Ruby looking up at him like a small child listening to a story. Zexion placed a hand to his chin, thinking of the perfect way to explain this to her.
"I am a nobody." Zexion said placing a hand to his chest, as if pointing it out.
"Whats a nobody?" Ruby asked, raising her right eyebrow.
"A nobody is the shell that is left behind after a heart is stolen." Zexion explained. "Meaning, you have one somewhere."
Ruby nodded her head. Not really believing what he was saying, but going along with it anyway.
"We REALLY needed your nobody..." He said, a bit of sadness softening his silver eye.
Ruby thought about that part for a second. "So, thats why you took my heart out." She confirmed, placing her right hand to her chest. She tried to feel for a heartbeat, but it was true. Zexion had taken her heart out. A bit of blankness swam into her yellow eyes. She stood up, walking over to Zexion and kneeling down infront of him.
"What do you want me to do?" She asked, no emotion being heard in her voice.
Zexion was a bit shocked at this. Not many people took this much information in that easily. A smile formed upon his lips as he reached his right black gloved hand out and patted her atop the head. He stood up from the bed, Ruby standing up with him. "Follow me," he mumbled, walking over to his bedroom's closet.
He opened the door, leading Ruby inside. It was a pretty big closet, a walk-in closet, you could say. He looked over to the corner, a leather outfit being held. He grabbed the hanger it was sitting upon and held it out to her, holding it against her body to see how it would look before she slipped it on.
"This is required for all Heartless with human forms." He said to her. Ruby raised her right eyebrow at the outfit. It was black leather. A tank top, showing midrift and shorts that came down to above her knees. "Put it on." Zexion slightly whined, forcing it into her hands. He pivoted on his right heel, and stepped out of the closet, leaving Ruby to put on the outfit. She slid the outfit on obediantly, then walked over to the mirror. What was she doing? She should be trying to find a way to get her heart back and out of this place! She looked at the outfit upon her body. She snarled her lips in disgust. She had never worn outfits like that. Merlin would not permit it.
Her eyes teared up at the thought of Merlin. Merlin had raised her ever since she was a small child. He was like a grandfather that she had never had, always teaching her how to use magick. Ruby didn't ever meet her real parents. Some say she didn't have any. Other's theories were that she was a relative of Sephiroth's, seeing as how she had wings as brilliant as his. Either way, the only family she had ever had was Merlin and the others from the Hollow Bastion Restoration Commitee. Thats it she thought to herself. She HAD to get out of this place. She jumped as she heard a knock on the closet door.
"Ruby, love." Zexion said, mockingly. "I need to see what the outfit looks like on you." He said knocking on the door again.
She snarled again as she turned towards the door. "No man NOR nobody should see me in this outfit!" She hissed under her breath.
"What was that?" Zexion said.
Ruby laughed a harsh laugh to herself. "Nothing!" She called. She walked back over to the mirror, looking at herself. Now or never. She turned around and walked out the door. She looked to her right, hearing a wolf whistle coming from Zexion. A blush started to show upon her pale cheeks. Well, if you could call it a blush. Her cheeks and skin still remained the ghostley pale colour, but a small pink formed.
"Looking good, Ruby." Another voice said. This voice was much more higher than Zexion's, and alot more cockier and sure of himself too. She looked to the left, seeing a boy standing in the door-way. His hair was fiery red and spiked back, a fiery mane. His eyes were deep emerald green, and little upside-down triangles tattooed underneath them that reminded her of ice cream cones. His skin was tanned, probably the only boy she's seen here with a tan. Her cheeks grew a bit more pink as she noticed he was smiling.
"What do you want, Axel?" Zexion asked, a bit of disgust being heard when he said you. Ruby raised her right eyebrow towards him as she glanced back and forth between the two. It seemed Zexion didn't like this Axel person all that much.
"Well, Zexion, I just wanted to greet our new guess, maybe show her around the castle." Axel replied, a doggish smile glued to his lips. It appeared he didn't like Zexion all that much either. Ruby raised her right eyebrow at him as well. One little word went through her head as she looked at him and smiled back. Hott.
"How did you know my name?" Ruby asked, stepping into the conversation.
"How did I know your name?" Axel asked back. "Baby, the whole castle knows your name." He chuckled. "You're the talk of the castle."
"I am?" She asked in disbelief. Why would she be the talk of the castle? She blushed again as she turned away from Axel and looked to Zexion in disbelief. Zexion only shrugged his shoulders as a small smile crept to his lips as well. Ruby only slouched her shoulders as a groan escaped her lips. Now she was popular. That was just what she needed.
"Excuse me!"
"Pardon me!"
"Coming through!"
She heard two voices shouting as two figures tried to make their way past Axel and into the room. Ruby raised her right eyebrow as she saw glimpses of elf ears, and blue and red hair. Her right eye began to twitch where she had been cut as she realized it was the two boys that had tried to stop her from escaping. Rukato and Ayazu, thats their names, right? She shook her head as she watched them walk over to her, smiles upon their lips as well.
"This can't be happening." She muttered under her breath as she placed a hand to her right temple, trying to rub the throbbing pain away.
Ayazu stood up on tippy-toes to get a better look at Ruby's face. A smirk formed upon his lips as he went back to normal posture and shoved a small right index finger in her face, pointing at the place where he had cut her with a water jet.
"Ha!" He shouted at Rukato. "Told you I cut her!"
Rukato shrugged her shoulders as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Sure, you cut her," he nodded his head, his red spikes bouncing with his bobbing head. "But I bet you didn't break her arm, now did you?" He gloated, grabbing onto her right arm.
Ruby struggled to get her arm back as she raised her left hand back to smack him away, but he easily ducked, still holding onto her arm.
"Okay, guys, I think its time to leave her alone." Zexion said, poiting at the door.
Ruby's eyes narrowed as she looked down at the two boys, laughing at how they almost caught her. They didn't look that old. Much younger than her. Younger than Sora, even.
Ayazu laughed, running out of the room with Rukato following after him, they ran down the corridor to find what other mischief they could get into. Axel waved back at Ruby, then began to stroll out the door as well, shrugging his shoulders and his hands in his cloak pockets.
Ruby looked back at Zexion, her yellow eyes glowing with hatred at how he had brought her to this life. Zexion arched his brow as he looked back at her with his one silver eye. This soon began to turn into a staring contest. After a few moments of silence, Zexion sighed.
"You hate me, don't you?" He question, slouching his shoulder.
"Well, seeing as how I have no heart, Im not supposed to be able to hate, right?" She murmered, kneeling down again.
"Im sorry," Zexion said walking over to where she was kneeling and patted her head with his right hand. "I had to follow orders though." He said blankly.
"Where am I?" She interrupted.
"The headquarters of Organization XIII." Zexion replied.
"Organization." She confirmed. She let the thought churn inside her head, then began to giggle. Zexion raised his eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Whats so funny?" He asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
Ruby's lanky pale form stood up. "Well, think about it." She chuckled. "Organization. Org. Orgy." She cracked up at that.
"Wanna have one?" Zexion question, wiggling his visable eyebrow at her.
Ruby began to laugh, then let it die just as quickly. "No thanks." She replied, walking towards the door.
Zexion raised an eyebrow towards her as he watched her walk away. "Where do you think you're going?" Zexion question.
Ruby continued to walk out, replying "Exploring." And walked out into the corridor.
Zexion ran out the door as well, trying to catch up with Ruby as he sprinted after her. She didn't wait for him, only continued to walk away as she began running as well. Any distance she could get away from the guy that caused her to be trapped in that castle in the first place, made her happy... Or at least a fake happiness could be found by getting away from him.
"Wait up!" He called after her, still trying to catch up.
"No way, loser!" She called back, beginning to run faster.
She got to the end of the corridor, realizing she had gotten to the Library. She turned around, seeing if Zexion was still following her. No blue haired loser to be found behind her. She laughed, turning around to walk into the library, but only turned to face Zexion up in her face.
"Ahhh!" Ruby let out a cry of shock as she fell upon her ass. She looked up at Zexion, hatred glowing in her yellow eyes again. "How the hell do you keep doing that?!" She shouted, struggling to get up. Zexion grabbed her arm roughly, dragging her back up to her feet. She squealed at the tight grip he had upon her arm.
"You WILL listen to me when I give you an order!" Zexion shouted at her. She cringed at how loud his voice had become, but kept her composure as she only stared into his face with no fear.
"I don't have to take orders from you." She said, low enough for only him to hear her. She was NOT going to let some short little emo kid push her around.
Zexion reached his right hand back, almost as if he was about to strike her. Ruby closed her eyes, getting ready for the blow. A minute had passed, but she never felt it. She opened her eyes again and looked back up at him. He brought his hand down to her cheek, stroking it softly.
"You stand up to me." He said quietly, continuing to stroke her cheek. "I like that." He crooned.
His touch and voice sent shivers up her spine as she had a sharp intake of breath. Zexion pushed her up against the doors of the library as he brought his face closer to hers. "You're shivering." He whispered, his left hand sliding up and down her side. "Why is that?"
Ruby was beginning to get angry. She did not want him touching her. Her yellow eyes began to glow brighter as her hands shook with anger. Dark particles began forming upon the palms of her hands as she placed them upon the door. Closing her eyes, she all of a sudden felt herself sinking into the doors, and into darkness. Opening her eyes, she found she was surrounded by darkness. She had somehow opened a dark portal.
She looked down at her hands as the darkness particles began to disperse. "No!" She shouted at her hands and into the darkness. "How the hell do I get back?!" She slammed her hands onto the floor of the darkness. A huge wave of black and red darkness came up and sailed a few feet away from where she had slammed her hands. "These must be my Heartless powers." She said to herself.
Ruby held out her hands infront of her form. Darkness began to eminate from the palms of her hands as she smiled to herself, a darkness portal began to form infront of her. Placing her hands to the ground, the portal continued taking form there. She jumped into it, coming back up behind Zexion who was scowling at the library doors.
"Miss me?" She laughed at him. Zexion whipped around to face her, a snarl upon his lips. Ruby turned around, and began running in the opposite direction. Feeling little nerves and bones twitch and crack under her back and shoulder blades, Ruby leaped back into the air as her brilliant red wings burst from her back once more. She took flight, trying to get as much distance from Zexion as possible as she flew down the corridors.
She then began to see two figures coming up. One had blue hair, while the other had red. It was the two boys, Ayazu and Rukato. Their eyes widened as they watched her fly over their heads. "Stop her!" Zexion shouted at the two. Ayazu's water gauntlets took form as he kept shooting jet after jet of water, trying to cut her. She kept maneuvering out of the way of the water jets.
Ruby raised her right hand to her forehead, wiping sweat away as she began taking heavy breaths. She was beginning to get tired. She fell back onto the ground and began running again. 'I can't keep running!' She thought to herself. Rukato held out his right hand, summoning the Exodus keyblade. He slammed the Exodus' hilt into the floor, causing the ground the quake. Ruby lost her footing, sliding to the floor upon her stomach. She raised back up, looking behind her. The three Organization members were gaining on her. She struggled to her feet once more, running at full speed again. She then felt a searing pain in her right ankle. Falling to the ground, she flipped over to her back, to see the Flurry of Dancing Flames himself, standing overtop of her.
Tears formed in her yellow eyes as her hands went to her ankle. It felt like it was on fire. She began to whimper in pain as she tried to get the pain to go away. "Shhh." Axel whispered, trying to get her to hush. He placed his hands to her ankle. Surprisingly, a large amount of the firey pain went away. Ruby's eyes widened as she felt Axel's right arm curve under her legs, and his left wrapping itself around her shoulders. "Close your eyes and pretend to be asleep." He whispered franticly into her ear. Ruby did as she was told, listening intently to everything that was going on around her.
She felt Axel beginning to walk over to Zexion, Ayazu and Rukato. "You knocked her out?!" Ayazu shouted in his high-pitched young kid voice. Ruby tried not to flinch and twitch at the loudness of it all. "Shhhh!" Axel hissed at him. "I had to burn her ankle to stop her." Axel said to Zexion, knodding his head in her ankles direction.
"Its fine, just take her to the infermary." Zexion said in a low voice. It sounded like he had calmed down since the little "Frisk Frenzy". Axel nodded his head, and began walking again.
"Im going to take you to my room." Axel whispered to her. A bit of panic rose into Ruby's chest. What would Axel do to her? I mean, hello?! She hadn't seen one female member in this Organization yet. How long has it been since any of them had been around a species of the opposite sex? She stifled a small whimper as she snuggled her face into Axel's chest. He smelled of cinnamon, and was very warm. His flesh was warm against her ice cold skin. She heard a door open and close and felt her body being layed upon something comfortable.
"You can open your eyes now." Axel said, walking into what appeared to be his restroom.
Ruby raised into a sitting position and inspected her surroundings. Axel had layed her down upon a bed with black and red sheets. She looked upon the walls, which were red with swirling fire designs. She looked down at her ankle, which its pain had subsided into a dull throb. The skin was dark pink and a few blood droplets were seeping from it...Was that white she saw some of her bone? She bit into her lips to hold back a scream as she tried to stand up off of the bed. She fell onto the floor with a loud thud. Axel came running out of the restroom with a white tube in his right hand.
"What are you doing?" He asked, walking over to her.
"Stay away!" She shouted, trying to crawl away from him. She managed to crawl to the wall, placing her back to it as she drew her knees up to her chest. Axel looked down at her in pitty. She didn't trust him, and it was all because he was in the Organization.
"I'm not trying to hurt you." He whispered, crouching down infront of her. Ruby was shaking. This pissed him off a bit. Everyone was scaring her out of her mind, and she would probably be scarred from it. He looked down at her ankle where he had burned her. A twinge of guilt hit him as he sighed. Shaking his head, he reached his arms out and picked her up again. She immediatly began kicking and squirming to get out of his arms as a few squeals escaped her lips.
"If you keep squirming like that, I'm going to drop you." Axel said, a bit annoyed. Not wanting to be dropped from that height, she stopped squirming. Having won this little argument, he carried her back over to the bed and layed her down. He crouched again, taking her burned ankle into his hands. A small cry of pain escaped Ruby's lips as she tried to pull her foot away. "Please! Just leave it alone!" She shouted, trying to pull away from him. "I can't just let you go like that." Axel said, placing a hand on the rest of her leg, rubbing his thumb upon it softly. Ruby began to relax as she stretched her leg out, allowing him to hold her ankle.
Slipping his gloves off, Axel took the white tube into his other hand again. Squeezing it, a white ointment was placed on Ruby's burns. She let out a hiss of pain, as it was a new sensation, but quickly adjusted to it as she relaxed the rest of her body on the bed. "See, all better now." Axel whispered, rubbing her ankle more. He was right. The burning feeling went away as he rubbed the ointment into her ankle. Ruby only kept quiet as he let go of her leg. She pulled it back, drawing both of her legs to her chest.
Axel kind of reminded her of Riku for some odd reason. They would help you out when you really needed it. They even had the same moods and actions. She stared off into the distance as she tried to contemplate why they were so much alike. Axel, letting out a tiresome sigh, pulled down upon the zipper of his Organization cloak, and threw it to his couch. His couch was red leather, and looked very comfortable. Axel flopped back onto the bed, laying on his back as he placed his hands behind his head, using them as a pillow. His deep emerald eyes looked up at Ruby as a cocky smile spread across his pink lips. Ruby only raised her eyebrows as she looked back down at her. "So, why did you try to run again?" He asked, an amused tone in his voice.
Ruby sighed, then began with her long story. "I ran after you and the two boys walked out." She said. "I ran down the corridors until I got to the library doors. I looked back, to see if he was following, and he wasn't there, from what I saw. But then I turned around." She held up her hands to her face. "Right in my face!" She shouted. "I fell down, and he grabbed my arm, pulling me back up to my feet. 'You WILL listen to me when I give you an order!' ." She shouted, imitating Zexion's voice. "'I don't have to take orders from you' I said to him. Which I wasn't, he doesn't deserve my respect." She continued. Axel nodded, agreeing with her. She liked telling things to Axel, because he seemed to listen. "'You stand up to me' ." She said, continuing to imitate Zexion. "'I like that' And when he said that, it just made me start shivering. And then he started sliding his hand up and down my side." Ruby said, as a few more shivers went down her spine from the memory. Tears began forming in her eyes from all the aggravation of that day. She quickly wiped them away as she looked away from Axel. But Axel still noticed.
"Ruby..." He said her name softly, pulling himself up into a sitting position.
"I just want to go home!" She shouted, burrying her face into her knees, hugging herself tightly.
Axel reached his arms out towards her, pulling her into an embrace as he held her. More tears began to form as he did this. This is what Riku would do when she got upset. Thinking about Riku, and how she may never see him again, made her very upset. She had a small crush on Riku that she had never told anyone about. Being the tough girl she was, she didn't want anyone to know her weaknesses. But seeing as how she was crying into the arms of someone she knew, it looked as if she was showing her weaknessess all ready. "It'll be okay." Axel kept whispering into her ear.
They stayed like that for a couple of hourse. At least until Ruby had cried all of her tears out. She layed there, limp in Axel's arms. "You should probably go to sleep." Axel said. Ruby only nodded her head sleepily. She stood up and began walking to the door. She turned around, a look of deep thought on her face. "Axel...?" She whispered, a bit emotionless as she took a few baby steps back in.
"Yeah?" Axel said, looking back up at her.
"Can I..." She began, a bit embarressed to say. "Can I stay with you tonight?" She asked, her cheeks turning a slight red.
Axel smiled, nodding his head as he pulled the sheets back upon his bed, allowing her to crawl inbetween the black and red. Axel stood up, walking over to his couch and lying down. Flicking the light switch above his head, he whispered "Good night." Into the darkness. Ruby stayed quiet as she curled into a ball, drifting off into sleep.
A/N: Okay, sooooooooo, tell me what you liked. I think I still kind of sucked at it. That or like, crammed way too much into one chapter...Maybe I'll go back and work on it. I dont know. Thanks for reading, though.