Longer than usual, but it's worth it. Things are picking up again, and there is now more than one threat out on the behalf of someone's life. Have funnn!

I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

PLUM WINGS & A MIDNIGHT DIRGE - RELEASE

Before I knew it, I was wide awake at the first second I opened my eyes. It was the day that I was going to climb all the way up the steps, and out of the revine! I couldnt help thinking about it, everything I was doing was inspired by the fact that I was finally going to get to the outside. Well, the outside that wasnt at the bottom of a revine, anyway.

I ate as fast, and as many leaves as I could, and I did the same thing to try and get myself water. I didnt want to pass out halfway up from dehydration!

"Alright," I said, walking over to the place I usually got up into the tree. Zexion followed behind me.

"Demyx," I was already in the tree when he called for me, but I wasnt out of his view just yet. Only a few more steps and I would have been, though.

"Yeah?" Zexion looked up at me, and even though his face didnt really have any emotion on it, I could just, sense, what he was feeling.

"Be careful. Please," I smiled.

"Of course Ill be careful! Ive been careful this whole time, havent I?" He nodded, and I took my last good look at him before moving out of sight.

The tree was pretty high, but after getting on and off of it for a while, it was like a natural instinct to climb it, so I wasn't really scared of getting that high anymore. And it did help that I had been getting higher and higher up the cliffside. If I had had any fear of heights before, it was gone for sure, now.

I stopped before the first step in the cliff, leaning back against the tree and resting a little bit before my start. When I stopped panting I put my foot in the step I had made, and used the steps at eye-level for my hands so I wouldnt slip. It was almost like rock climbing, the only difference was there were no tough rocks and just a lot of shifty dirt. I hadnt told Zexion just what the cliffside was like, because if he had known how slippery it really was, I think he would have tied me down in the night to keep me from going up anymore. I have to admit, though, it was pretty dangerous...

My mind was focused on only climbing the cliff, and soon I was out of the canopy and in the open air. The higher I got, the more the wind and air started to hit me, and the colder I got. Even though cold sinks, it's not the same at the bottom of a humid revine. It was way warmer down there than it was on the side of the cliff with all of the wind hitting me. I got goosebumps almost right away, and a few times I had to keep myself from shaking when I got a chill because I didnt want to risk falling. At one point, I looked up at the sky, and it was covered with clouds. Not dark, stormy clouds, just normal ones, covering the sun and stuff. I guess it kind of made me colder, because the sun wasnt out. If it was windy and sunny at the same time, it wasnt so bad. But this was the worst weather I had to climb in.

Halfway up, I was getting tired, as I usually did. But it really didnt help that the cold wind was still there, bugging me. I started thinking when I was taking a rest right there, about the thing Zexion had asked me a little while back, about me getting out of the revine and to regular life again before he did. I can't really say for sure what was going through my head, I kinda spaced out. But when I stopped spacing I do remember that I was thinking about Zexion. I was thinking about how he was stuck down there until I brought back some help, but even then, there wasnt really telling how long it would take to rescue him. So, in all reality, he could still be stuck down there for weeks, the only difference would be is that they would be sending supplies down to him...but what if the snow came and blocked the canopy...

I was determined to get to the top of the cliff. I went right back to climbing, as fast and precise as my hands and feet would let me. It was a faster pace than normal, and when I got to the spot I had left off at the day before, my fingers dug into the dirt ahead of me like they never had before, making another step for me to put my foot in. I took one step up, and began making the next hole in the cliff with my other hand. It was the same way I had been making the steps before, only this time, I was doing it faster. I was within the reach of the top of the cliff sooner than I had thought I would be.

I had a smile on my face when I made the last two steps with my hands. My heart was beating fast when I climbed all the way up the steps and pulled myself on to the flat ground on top of the cliff. I was so happy, so happy...! There's no way to explain how, just, really happy I was!

"I did it..." I heard myself. "I, I did it, I did it, I did it!" I laughed out loud, and it must have been because I was so glad to be out of that stinking revine! I was laying sprawled out in the dirt on the top of the cliff, the same place Zexion and I had fallen down all those nights ago. I was so happy! I couldnt stop smiling, and laughing just with joy and happiness! I forgot about Zexion.

But when his name suddenly popped into the back of my mind, I stopped my laughing and shot up to my feet, and looked over the side of the cliff. I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled out to Zexion as loud as I could.

"I made it!" Even though he probably didnt hear me, I felt a lot more confident about going into Twilight Town and back to the school. Before I ran off, I stopped myself, and took a good look at just how deep the revine was, and how far I had climbed, how far we had fallen. It was scary, scarier now, than before, because now I knew what was down there. Nothing.

I ran down through the trees and past the mansion, not bothering to wonder or think about it like I would have at any other time. My only focus was getting back to the school and telling them where we had been. Just as Zexion wanted me to do.

Everyone who saw me was giving me wierd looks, wierder than normal, but I didn't realize it, then. Now that I think about it, I would probably be looking at a teenage boy running at full-speed somewhere who was covered in weeks of filth, too. So, really, I don't blame them. I was kind of expecting it, anyway. But when I got to the school campus, I had to stop and rest. I had been running all that way, and if I didnt save up any energy, I may not have been able to tell the office people what they needed to know. And I didnt want to pass out from overworking myself, either. Plus, I was embarrassed. It was lunchtime when I got to the school. I wanted to wait, that way the office people would be refreshed and there would be little to no students watching me come in all dirt-crusted.

I was relieved when the bell rang soon after I got there. I was rested and ready to go, with a few minutes to spare, even. And when the students were all gone from the courtyard I booked it to the main office. I ran towards the door and opened it quickly. They all looked at me, again, with dirty looks.

"What are you doing!" A secretary pretty much yelled at me. I had forgotten how filthy I was, which is probably the only reason for her loud reaction.

"I need your help!" Was the only thing I could think of saying. But it got their attention. The same lady narrowed her eyes at me.

"Who are you?"

"Im Demyx O'Donohue," She stood up with her jaw dropped open.

"What? Where, where have you been!"

"I cant, I cant tell you right here, I, Zexion, he's still down there-"

"Down where? Why cant you tell me?"

"Just get someone who can help him out of the bottom of a revine! Ill tell you everything else on the way there!" I was more out of breath than I thought, but the lady did what I said, and she told me the police and ambulances where going to follow us to where I led them. The whole drive there, I was forced to tell them everything that had happened, even though I was planning to do that anyway. They made it seem like I was resisting or something.

"I tried to run away one night but Zexion followed me all the way to the top of the place Im gonna take you to. I didnt know he followed me until we had gone up there, I got mad at him and it was raining. We got in a fight..." I paused a little but, really figuring out how stupid I was for doing all of this. "and since it was raining, I slipped on the mud and off the edge of the cliff," The woman behind me gasped. "but, Zexion caught me before I fell all the way down. He tried to pull me up but it was too muddy and wet, and...we both fell down to the bottom of the revine. We've been there this whole time..."

"How did you two survive this whole time?" The guy driving the car asked.

"Well, when we fell down it was nighttime. In the middle of the night, and the fall had given us both some pretty bad cuts and stuff. Like this one, I got this when I fell. Must've scraped it against a tree branch or something," I pointed to the long, dirt-covered wound all the way down my arm. I heard someone whisper "Jesus Christ..." and then went back to telling them. "But Zexion broke his arm, and we've been down there the whole time with that broken bone. But we didnt have like, any food or water or clothes. My bag was left on top of the cliff, so whatever I brought we didnt have..."

"So you two boys have been down at the bottom of this revine for a full four weeks with no food, water, clothes, shelter, and one of you has a broken arm?" The guy repeated. I think he just didnt believe it, though. I nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much,"

"Jesus Christ..."

"Here, stop here," I pointed out the window to the break in the wall in the Tram Common of Twilight Town, and I led them all in through the forest and through the trees until we got to the top of the cliff. If it were just me, I would have gotten there twice as fast. The adults were trailing behind, they werent used to hiking, I guess.

I pointed down into the only spot where the canopy was clear.

"That's where we fell through, that spot in the trees," They all gathered around the edge to have a look for themselves, all of them gasping and sighing about how Zexion and I had fallen down there and made it. I looked behind me, my bag was still where I had left it before we fell...which means no one did come to look for us, otherwise they would have taken the bag back. I let go of a deep sigh, mentally thanking Zexion for putting the thought in my mind all those nights ago. Had it really been four weeks?

"Hey! Down there!"

"I don't think he'll be able to hear you," I said. "I tried to call to him earlier, after I came up, but I didnt hear him say anything afterwards, so..."

"Then we'll do this, instead..." He brought out a loudspeaker from a bag he brought with him, and used that to call to Zexion. "What is his name?"

"Zexion," I said, suddenly having the most nerve-racking sensation Ive ever had in my whole life. And I don't know where it came from...

"Zexion!" The man used the speaker, still having to yell into it. "Demyx has told us where you are, and we are in the process of getting you out of there. Just sit tight, you'll be back home soon," He turned off the loudspeaker and put it back in the bag. Another guy who came with us said something after he was done.

"How do you plan on getting that kid out of there? We can't see the bottom, and the trees are all in the way."

"It doesnt matter how, we just have to."

"But what does that mean!" I burst. He looked at me seriously.

"It means that no matter what, we are going to get him out of there."

"But he has a point! The only way I got out was spending day after day risking my life, climbing the side of this stupid cliff, and Zexion cant because of his arm, and it's winter time, if he's not out by the time snow comes he'll freeze to death! You can't let that happen to him, you have to get him out of there right NOW!" I was yelling at him, on the verge of tearing up. The man looked at me, but then looked away.

"For now, he's just going to have to stay down there, until we can figure something out,"

"Figure something out? Figure something out? You should already know what to do! My best friend is trapped down there and you are just going to leave him there!"

"Listen, that is not what we are doing-"

"Well, it sure does sound like it! I want him out of there right now!" I grabbed the loudspeaker and turned it on, yelling at the top of my lungs to Zexion. "Zexion! I made it out, Ill get you out of there, Zexion!"

"Alright, that's enough." One of the men came after me, trying to take the loudspeaker away. I shook them off and kept on yelling.

"They dont know, yet! They, Im gonna get you out, Zexion! I promise! I...Zexion!" The man was now just trying to grab my arms and hold me down, but in the end, it took two men to keep me down and a third one to take the loudspeaker away, but even after that, I didnt stop yelling for Zexion. "Let me go! Zexion! Zexion! I promise Im going to get you out! Let go of me, you stupid guys!" I kicked hard and tried to shake them off as hard as I could but nothing was working. I tried harder and harder, they were yelling at me, holding my arms so hard I could feel them bruising. "No! Let me go, now! If you're not going to get him out of there right now I am going back down there and Im going to stay with him, he's my best friend, my best friend! NO, LET ME GO!" I screamed, shaking my head and yelling as loud as I could, kicking and screaming with tears coming down my face. They were taking me away, away from Zexion, the only one I cared about, they were taking me away from him. I screamed for him all the way back through the woods, all the way back into Twilight Town, all the way back to the school, and even when I was taken to my room, I was still trying to run away from them to get back to Zexion. But they locked my door from the outside, and they had a guard standing in front of the room through the whole night. When I calmed down, I knocked on the door, and the guard spoke to me from the other side.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I want to come out," I said, my voice dry.

"What for?"

"I want to shower," After a minute, he opened the door and took me by the arm, leading me to the showers. He stood outside the area to make sure I didnt run away, but in all truth, I didnt have it in me to run anymore.

I caught a glimpse of myself in one of the mirrors and I saw just how dirty I was. I couldnt remember the color of my own skin, the bright color of my hair, or anything. I was ragged looking, like I was fatally sick or something. The cleanest part of my face was the streaks down my cheeks from when I cried earlier. I looked away from my reflection after that thought came to mind. I didnt want to see myself.

It was the longest shower I took, but it wasnt because of the fact I was so dirty. I was like a walking zombie, with no motivation to do anything but mope around and sigh. For a while, I just watched all of the brown water run into the drain at my feet. When I got the slight motivation to wash myself, I had to wash my whole body with soap three times for the water to go clear. My hair was the same thing.

When I finished, I had a clean pair of pajamas on and a towel drapped over my head to dry my hair. I had to look into the mirror again to see what I looked like, now.

My skin was so white, pale...paler than I had tried to remember. The dirt was all gone, but I still looked all sickly, and my eyes had bags under them. Just like before, I wasnt able to look at myself for more than half a minute, then I hated the reflection. It was like the Demyx in the mirror was mocking me, the real Demyx. I hated it and told the guard guy to take me back.

But I didnt fall asleep as fast as I had wanted to. In fact, I was wide awake for most of the night. At one point, the guard left. I sighed, trying to sleep. Here I was, in a real bed for the first time in a whole month, with warm blankets and a room and food, and I felt worse than I had down in the revine. I felt guilty. Zexion was down in the revine all by himself in the dark...no one was with him.

I was put in our dorm room.

The more I tried to sleep the more I couldnt because I still knew that Zexion was at the bottom of a revine instead of safe in the bed next to mine! I looked over at the bed that was still his. I saw his books on the floor, his sheets messy, everything was left like they were when he came after me...he didnt even care about the look of the room when he came for me. He always was concerned about neatness, but not this time. I was up out of my bed, now hovering over the side of Zexion's bed. The next thing I knew I was crying, wanting Zexion to be here, in his bed. There was nothing that I had wanted more at that moment, he was the only thing on my mind, the only thing I could talk about or even say. I crawled into his bed and under the covers, it still smelt like him. That only made it worse, my longing for him...

I did not go to any of my classes for the next week, even though I was suppose to after the third day I was back. The teachers were all told I would be back, apparently, and at the end of the week the principal came to ask me why I wasnt going. He brought the councelor with him.

"Demyx, why havent you been attending your classes?" He got straight to the point.

"How am I suppose to go about my day when my best friend is down in a goddamn revine, and when you guys arent doing a single thing to get him out of there?"

"Now, don't get mouthy with me, boy," He said. I glared at him. I couldnt have cared less about what was going to happen to me. I just wanted Zexion safe.

"Demyx," The councelor spoke. "It seems like you have been through quite a lot this year. And I assure you, we are doing everything in our power to bring your friend out of there, but these things can take time-"

"Time?" I broke in. "We dont have time to wait around and think! It is winter! Winter means snow! If it snows, Zexion will freeze to death, and it will be all, your, fault!"

"Listen to me," The principal said angrily. "I dont care what your motives are, but if you keep this up, you'll be punished, understand? Like she said, we are doing all we can to get your friend out of there-"

"His name is Zexion." I snapped. He was getting tired of me talking to like that, I knew. But that did not stop me. "And what is taking you guys so long! You say you're doing everything you can, but all's you guys do is sit in your office and govern this stupid school all day and answer the phone! Yeah, sure, you may have called the police a few days ago, but they are doing as much as you are! Nothing! I want Zexion here now! And I wont do anything until he is here with me!"

"Are you telling us that you refuse to go to classes until he is rescued, Demyx?"

"Yeah," I said, looking him right in the eye. "That's exactly what Im saying."

"And what if I told you that if you did that, you would be expelled from this school?"

"I would tell you that I dont care. Zexion is my only friend here, and if he dies out there because of your stupid neglect, I am going to have you all tried for murder, I swear! He is the only person I care about anymore! If it means chaining myself to this room and starving to get you to get Zexion, Id do it. If it meant threatening to kill myself for you to get Zexion, I would do it. If I...if I had to commit the worst thing a man can commit, and if that meant you would go and get my Zexion, I would not hesitate to do it, no matter what you stupid people say! I want Zexion NOW."