CHAPTER VIII
A Little's Enough
(NOTE)
I realize the last chapter was pretty intense, and this chapter may get that way as well. In fact, the last half of the chapter may turn into a songfic; I know, pathetic, but this song really fits my idea. You'll see. The idea of doing this is making me very upset, but I've planned on doing it since I started and I think it's time. Enjoy:D
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I don't own anything because I'm not legal yet. My parents own everything. They don't own Kingdom Hearts! I don't own A Little's Enough by Angels and Airwaves, either. But I do own all the Ocs but Quince. Unfortunately. TwT
(/NOTE)
"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I had to get the girliest possible keyblade..." Naminé trailed off. She was quickly taken aback by dodging a strong hit from Calypso. She never swung a keyblade in her life, but did get to experience it firsthand while inside of Kairi.
Naminé uncharacteristically grimaced and slashed back with her keyblade in an interesting backhand move. Surprisingly, she hit. While Calypso was knocked backwards by the hit, Axel threw a Chakram. Calypso caught the Chakram, and threw it back at him. He just managed to catch it before it hit his throat, and ran up to attack head-on.
Roxas had already received a few blows from Calypso, but was still going strong. It was much harder to fight now that he could feel every bit of pain that was getting at him, making him weaker as he fought on. The last time he remembered feeling pain was back at 'Twilight Town'.
Calypso didn't seem to be losing any energy at all, but Axel, Naminé, and Roxas were tiring. Axel, still just barely becoming a Somebody, felt the last bit of darkness in his hand. "Naminé!" he shouted, "Use that spell Charity did!"
"Light!" Naminé shouted out. The whole room was shrouded in light, blinding everybody. Naminé and Roxas only found themselves being dragged by Axel's hand through a portal, which was created by the last of his darkness.
"No!" Calypso shouted angrily, throwing her keyblade angrily to the floor. It disappeared, and her fists only clenched tighter in anger. Taking a few seconds to breathe, she began to pace around the room. She then noticed the circle table in which Naminé had created her memories out of; one of them had not been completed, which was probably why she hadn't remembered Charity's friends.
Standing in the center in the picture was Charity, and on one hand was Riku, the other, Nessa. Holding Nessa's hand was Quince, and holding Quince's was Broden. On the other side, Sora held Riku's hand, and Kairi held Sora's. A chain of their friendship; it certainly had grown since it was only Sora, Riku, and Kairi.
"There's a meaning to the order..." Calypso murmured to herself, picking up the drawing. The only thing incomplete about it was that Naminé never finished coloring in Charity's shirt, really. But the order definitely meant something... "Break the end of the chain..." she mumbled, ripping off the edge of the paper, "and it falls from the base."
Her lips curled into a smile.
"Calypso?" came Vexen. Calypso jumped, and turned around. Standing next to him was Larxene, and to the other side, Anton. So many blond/e/s in one area was actually quite a funny sight to see, but Calypso made no comment.
"Yes?" she said.
"It seems that the group has rested in Twilight Town for the night, but they're safe inside of other homes. Shouldn't we wait until—"
"Yes, yes," Calypso told him shakily, "wait until they get to the next world, and then Larxene can go. But I think I'll be going with Larxene."
"I can do this on my own." Larxene said, snidely.
"I won't be helping you destroy Charity," she said, "I have a more affective way of getting to the group. While I finish my task, sit back and watch. You may eliminate the girl after I've finished; I guarantee you that you will fail unless I do."
Larxene didn't like the sound of this, and she scowled.
"Anything I can help with?" asked Vexen.
Calypso picked up the piece of ripped-up paper, "What's the best way to distract this one?" she asked him, hoping he would even know who she was pointing to.
xxxxx
Blurry. Blink. Clearer. Blink again. Clear. She most definitely wasn't in Hollow Bastion anymore. It took a second, but realization finally hit her like a fluffy pillow to the head in a pillow fight; she was in Traverse Town, in her parents' house. Only her sister and herself were currently occupying it, however. Right next door was Nessa and Quince at Nessa's mom and uncle's house, and Kairi, Sora, and Broden were staying over at Gepetto's house.
Riku. He was lying right next to her. She was sleeping in her parents' room, so it was a queen-sized bed. She loved being able to sleep with Riku without doing anything; it meant that they both really cared about each other.
Charity jumped, however. She had no idea what time it was and they really should get to the next world. She shook Riku. The boy grunted, and breathed in once very deeply. Rubbing an eye, he looked up at Charity and smiled. "'Morning." he told her.
"G'morning." Charity smiled, "We should get going. I have no idea what time it is and we have to get to the next world."
Riku cocked his head to the side and nodded. It seemed like he had forgotten for a second that they were in Traverse Town as well. They tumbled out of bed and entered the living room. Amber was laying on the couch and watching television. "You guys going already?" she asked, standing up and stretching quietly.
"Yeah," Charity said, "the next Organization members could be coming soon and I don't want to trouble this world any more."
Amber nodded as if she understood and scratched her head. She hugged Charity good-bye, and gave Riku a kind of 'hurt-my-sister-and-die' glare.
Charity laughed a little bit, and looked at her watch. "Ten am. Yup, we definitely had to go." She made a little bit more haste into walking next door and ringing their doorbell. Apparently, Quince and Nessa had been awake for some time because they did not seem tired at all. With a long good-bye to her mom and uncle, Nessa left, promising to visit again.
"I'll come see you in a couple days." she nodded at her uncle as she hugged him. Quince smiled at the two adults.
"It was nice meeting you. I'll see you again in a couple days?" he asked.
Her mom nodded, "Of course. Be careful, Ness." she told her. They left the house. On their way to go retrieve Kairi, Sora, and Broden, they were very surprised to meet them half-way; apparently, they were on their way to do the same.
"Hey. How are you?" asked Nessa, unusually cheerful.
"I'm okay." Broden said, scratching his head furiously.
"I dunno." Kairi shrugged, "It's strange. Last night, I almost felt complete like Naminé was back with me, but when I tried to call her out or talk to her, there was nothing."
Sora jumped, "You too? I felt that way with Roxas."
Kairi sighed. "It can't be a coincidence."
Shaking his head, Sora both agreed and pushed them all along, "We should go to the next world. We're burning daylight, after all, and we've only got a few worlds left."
"Where are we going next?" asked Charity stylistically. She was so used to being the one asking this that nobody bothered asking anymore.
"Twilight Town, as long as we're so close."
Charity's heart melted on the spot. "We're going back!" she couldn't have been much happier since the night before, so a reunion with her friends was exactly what she needed.
They hopped in the Gummi Ship and got ready for another obligatory conversation inside of the Gummi Ship either making fun of Broden or the flower on Sora's face.
xxxxx
"Where did you send us?" asked Roxas.
"The Radiant Garden." replied Axel. It was almost funny how they called Hollow Bastion and the Radiant Garden separate worlds, when the truth was that all they considered the Radiant Garden was the castle that used to be ruled by Ansem the Wise. They really weren't separate at all, but somehow nobody dared to go there on anything but Gummi Ship. Author's Note: And there's my explanation for always referring to the Radiant Garden as another world.
"Why here?" asked Roxas, kicking a piece of snow, or what he thought was snow, "Why not Hollow Bastion?" he asked his friend.
Axel threw his hands up in mock surrender. "I wasn't thinking, okay? When some superfreak is about to kill me with a key I don't make it a note to tell myself 'Hollow Bastion Hollow Bastion Hollow Bastion'."
"Well, we're here now." Naminé smiled. "And we're Somebodies now."
"We are." Roxas smiled down at his own, real hands, and then looked up at the castle. "The committee's been working on it here, right? So it's Heartless-free?" he asked.
"Should be." Axel nodded. "But don't be surprised if we find Sephiroth." he laughed.
xxxxx
"You said it would only be a few days." a voice pierced into Charity's ear only seconds after they landed. She flipped around, and found Pence. Behind him was Hayner, Olette, and Odol. Charity laughed like and idiot and gave Pence a huge hug.
"I'm sorry!" she apologized, hugging one of her best friends, "We had no idea what we were getting into. There's so much to tell you guys."
Charity looked up at a smiling Hayner, and down at her own feet. "There is." murmured Nessa to herself. Before she could think any farther, Hayner had his arms wrapped around her stomach from behind.
"I missed you," he dragged on. Nessa couldn't help but to smile; she missed him so much the whole time too, "Didja miss me?"
"I did." she whispered to him, putting her hand on his, and kissed him on the cheek from the front, which was a pretty difficult task to accomplish while he was taller than her and behind her from that matter; she felt like a giraffe.
Quince, on the other hand, only smiled in disbelief.
"Perfect." Vexen whispered from far away. Author's Note: Lots of sneaking going on in here, isn't there?
"Quince..." Nessa looked at the boy apologetically.
The brunet shook his head slowly in disbelief. Turning around, he ran away from the group.
"Quince!" Nessa cried out.
"What's going on?" asked Hayner.
"Come with me and I'll tell you." Nessa held out her hand. Hayner stared at Nessa confused for a second, but nodded, and grabbed her hand. She led him towards the direction that Quince was running in, and Charity shook her head.
"Looks like she's finally going to confess. Just a little too late, I'm thinking." She looked at Riku, who was shaking his head at them.
"We should seal the keyhole while they deal with that." Sora said.
Charity shook her head, "I hope everything's alright."
"Where would the keyhole be?" asked Odol, shifting a little bit, "Do you need me to help out?" His keyblade appeared in his hand with a flash, which seemed to frighten Olette a little bit, as she backed up a couple of paces.
"It's probably on the gate to the mansion." Charity suggested.
"Let's go." Sora told them.
xxxxx
They neared a room that Roxas had remembered from Sora's memories, and Naminé through Kairi's very distant ones. Pushing the doors open, they found themselves in a very full library, with twists and turns of bookshelves with many differently colored books lining in almost the perfect order. Two voices were conversing between each other. They seemed oddly familiar, but at the same time, new and different.
"That's..." Axel looked back at the two, "You don't say anything until I tell you that you can. Got it memorized?" he asked them.
Roxas rolled his eyes, and the two of them nodded.
Axel led his way through the bookshelves, and stopped at a particular one to look past it. Sitting at a table, conversing, were two people, a woman about Axel's age and a man about his age as well. The woman had long, purple hair and pretty eyes, one of which was grey. The man had black eyes, one of which was grey as well, and brown hair. He oddly resembled Broden.
"Estelle and Parker." Axel addressed them as he stepped through. Reflexively, Estelle sat up and held out her hand, though no Keyblade came to greet her.
"I'm not here to fight." he whispered to her. She obviously had mistook him for somebody else, as she lowered her arms and took a step towards her. Author's Note: If you didn't pick up my hints in the last fanfiction, go back and read it! I HINTED IT I TELL YOU. "I've missed you." was all he said. He put his hand to her face, and she was shocked at what she felt; warmth. "I'm a Somebody now."
I, I can do anything
If you want me here
And I can fix anything
If you'll let me near.
"Have they been seeing each other since our last journey?" asked Roxas.
Naminé nodded. "I've heard him saying things about her and leaving the house when we came back to help in Hollow Bastion while Quince was knocked out. He must have gone often." Naminé put her hand over her mouth, as she just realized that she apparently didn't 'have it memorized' not to talk until they told him to.
A small, unexpected tear appeared in Estelle's eye. She wrapped her arms around his stomach, and Axel did the same. Parker turned away, letting them have your moment. "You feel so warm." she told him happily. Estelle had most definitely reformed since the Keyblade War had ended; Roxas and Naminé had no doubt in this point of time that it was not the person that makes themselves crazy during the Keyblade Wars, it was the Keyblade.
"You are, too." he laughed to her.
She buried her face in his neck. "Where have you been for so long?"
"Somebody wants to destroy Charity to prevent destruction of the world, because they're technically the same person." Axel told her.
"Two of the same person on one planet can cause a disruption in the balance." she nodded. "We'll keep a look out for him. Who is he?"
"Her name's Calypso. She looks just like Charity, but she's wearing a silver cloak."
Estelle seemed embarrassed to have assumed that it was a he. "Okay. What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"Calypso tried to kill us off, but Naminé took our hearts that she had pre-made for us if we had destroyed Charity, and after we became Somebodies we tried to fight her, but instead I used the last of my darkness to bring us through a portal here. I just kinda missed Hollow Bastion by a little bit." He put his hand behind his head sheepishly.
"Just kinda?" she smiled and kissed him on the lips.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"Just learning more about the Heartless and Nobodies." she smiled. "As long as we were involved with them, we want to know everything about them."
xxxxx
"...Quince?!" Nessa shouted in a strangled voice. A girl that looked just like Charity was wearing a silver cloak and had Quince covered by the mouth, and her keyblade at his neck. His eyes were tearing up slightly.
"I don't want to do this," the girl smiled evilly, "but it's the only way to break off the first end of the chain, but you don't know what I mean when I say that, now, do you?" she asked.
"Let 'im go, what'd he do?" asked Hayner.
"Such strong words for such a weaponless boy." she laughed. Hayner whipped out a pathetic club. "Oh, right, you're the boyfriend, aren't you?" she asked, grinning only wider. Quince stopped stirring beneath her hand, and Nessa's hands curled into fists.
"What are you getting at?" asked Nessa angrily to the girl.
"And you, poor Quince..." she murmured, letting her hand trail to lift up his chin, "in a coma for two years and thinking she still loved you. And you come back to this? Did she ever even tell you?"
Where are those secrets now
that you're too scared to tell?
I'd whisper them all aloud
So you can hear yourself.
"I wanted to tell you!" she cried out to Quince, tears rolling down her eyes, reddening her pretty face as she screamed out to him. "I wanted to, but you were happy with me and I still feel happy with you!"
At this, Hayner backed away a little bit. Nessa looked back at him. "Hayner..." she mumbled.
"Ooh, now, nobody can be happy, can they?" asked Calypso.
"You stay out of this!" she shouted at her.
"She's right." Quince said shakily to Nessa. There was a silence between her screaming.
"What did I expect?" he asked. Something was rolling around in his gut. "Two years of being asleep, for you to wait for me? If I could have been in a coma for two years, I could have been in a coma for two decades, for forever."
"Quince..."
"You and Hayner," he looked over at the blond, "be happy. For me. If I could ask anything of you, Nessa, it's that you two are happy. Don't waste this love."
Nessa's eyes widened. Never had she heard Quince say such heartfelt words.
Such heartfelt last words.
Quince fell to the floor slowly as Calypso pulled out her keyblade from his back. This was it; falling, falling, falling. No more waking up, no more beautiful reunions two years from now of Nessa and Quince. He was gone.
"Quince!" she cried out, and ran up to him. Catching before he hit the ground like she had two years ago, she stared at his face. He was bleeding below her, staining her clothing. His eyes were closed peacefully, and his mouth was shut as well. Quince couldn't have died any more beautifully.
I'm sorry I have to say it, but you look like you're sad.
Your smile is gone. I've noticed it bad.
The cure is if you let in just a little more love.
I promise you this: A little's enough.
"You..." Hayner charged at the woman with his club, but he was too slow as she disappeared into a black portal in front of the mansion gate.
"Nessa? Hayner?" The group, after being stopped to explain everything to Pence, Odol, and Olette, had finally made it to the mansion gate. Just the sight of Quince bleeding rapidly in Nessa's arms, Nessa's sorry face, and Hayner's confused feelings one, they could only guess what happened.
"Nessa." Charity mumbled. "I'm so sorry."
"Fortunately," a girl's voice came out of the blue, and out stepped another black-coated Organization member. "I'm not." She flipped down her hood to reveal pretty eyes and short, blond hair that almost looked like she had antennae.
"You." Nessa growled, "I've had enough of all of you!" she shouted. She called upon her sword, and immediately charged at the nymph, hacking and slashing. She was joined in a desperate attempt by Hayner, and then by Charity.
"Honestly," Larxene told them, "I didn't expect to be attacked this early." She threw kunai out, and many of them hit Charity in the arm. She winced at the pain, but they thankfully didn't hit her keyblade arm.
xxxxx
"Are there any more here?" asked Axel to Estelle and Parker as he sat down with them. Naminé and Roxas, in the meantime, were just reading through a bunch of miscellaneous books.
Parker shook his head, "There was a family, but they just left for Traverse Town about ten minutes before you all came here."
Axel snorted, "None of Charity's group have come, right?" he asked.
"Not so long as we've been here." Estelle put her hands behind her back.
"I wonder which one will go." Axel though aloud.
"What?" asked Parker.
"Charity or Calypso. They're both a hella strong, but I don't know which one would make it." he told them honestly, as if he was thinking of the battle scene in his head. "Obviously they can't touch each other, but their keyblades still can, especially since she got rid of Destroyer of Balance."
Estelle nodded, "I think Charity will win, just because neither Parker nor I could defeat her when we were trying to." she smirked at her brother.
xxxxx
The nymph was tiring. She shook her head. "I'm not done." she growled, throwing more kunai. By this time, the group was ready for it. Charity whipped out her keyblade and reflected every single one back at Larxene.
Although some of them missed her, just a little taste of her own medicine was enough to put her into enough shock to fall on the ground. Nessa took her sword and stabbed right through her where her heart was supposed to be, if she had one.
Gagging, she obviously couldn't come up with any famous last words as she disappeared into the atmosphere through darkness deterioration. In the meantime, Sora sealed the keyhole and turned back around to the scene.
"So many casualties." he murmured, looking at Quince's dead body. He looked so peaceful.
Author's Note: Aww, sad, right? I killed off Quince. Igor Lollipop's gonna hate me. Aheh. Well, makes life easier on Nessa anyway, or does it? Find out next chapter? I'm bad at this. XD Buhbai.