((I apologize for not updating in a long time -- again.
I hope that this chapter is acceptable..;_;
Uhh...I don't have a day 408 right now, or even started because I can't think of how to start it...but as soon as possible I will start and compltere it! And upload it! .
I'm also working on a music vid. If you find UmbraTsuki on Youtube, you can see the WIP/unfinished version of it, if you want :).
And now, as always, please enjoy the chapter~))
DAY 407 ~ The Truth
((Chapter 20~))
The next morning Sora and his friends decided to help set up pumpkins around Halloween Town, again.
But they found a bunch of heartless hiding in the pile of pumpkins.
"More heartless!?" Sora complained. He summoned his keyblade and began to attack, and Donald and Goofy helped.
The more pumpkins they moved, the more heartless seemed to appear. Sora and his friends managed to defeat them each time, but they were beginning to get exhausted.
The heartless were annoying me, too, even though I wasn't exactly the one fighting them. They kept popping up every few minutes or so…
Then, a giant heartless appeared. It wasn't a heartless that either of us had seen before. This Heartless had a giant pumpkin with an emblem on it as its body, and tentacle spider-like legs. It reminded me a bit of the Leechgrave, though they weren't the same.
"Look out! Behind you!" Naminé warned, as one of the tentacles attempted to strike Sora from behind. Naminé didn't have a weapon, but she still attempted to help either by telling where the Heartless would strike next or throwing objects to distract the Heartless.
The Heartless didn't go down easily. It seemed to be able to counter almost all of Sora's attacks, though it wasn't that strong otherwise.
It managed to strike Naminé once. Sora immediately cast cure on her, then struck the heartless as hard as he could.
Finally, the battle was over.
"Are you okay?" Sora asked Naminé.
She nodded. "The cure spell helped a lot…thank you."
Some of the pumpkins got destroyed during the heartless battle. Sora told Jack this, but he didn't mind that much.
"We can get more pumpkins," Jack said. "Hopefully those heartless won't ruin this Halloween, too!"
"So what do we do, now?" Donald asked. "Should we go back on the Gummi Ship?"
"Well…there might be more heartless around. We should probably get rid of 'them," Sora replied.
Donald and Goofy could only agree to that, so the four of them walked around Halloween Town for a bit, looking for Heartless.
'Wait, Sora,' a thought occurred to me. 'Wouldn't it be better to avoid the Heartless? What about Kingdom Hearts?'
Sora hadn't thought about that. 'I…would using magic be better, then?'
'I think so,' I replied. That's what my idea had been when I realized that I needed to free Kingdom Hearts, but I ended up with Sora before I had to use the idea anyway.
Sora and his friends didn't find very many other Heartless, but they were beginning to get exhausted. "We should go back to the Gummi Ship," Sora suggested. "We can sleep there for the night."
((or whatever night is in HT…))
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On the Gummi Ship, Goofy gave out some snack bags of pretzels that he had gotten in Hollow Bastion. He'd also brought some water bottles.
"These pretzels look really…salty," Naminé commented, as she stared at one in her hand.
"They're good, though. Try one," Sora suggested. It reminded me of when I got Xion to try sea-salt icecream.
She did. "It's…good," Naminé smiled slightly. She thanked Goofy for the pretzels, and the four of them continued eating.
After a while, Donald and Goofy went to sleep--they always seemed to be the first to do so--and Sora felt like he wanted to say something to Naminé…but he didn't know what.
"So…" Naminé and Sora said at the same time. Naminé's face reddened a little bit. "Go ahead," she said.
"No, you can," Sora shook his head. "I didn't have anything important to say, just…"
"Well…" Naminé paused. "I wanted to say…I admire how hard you work to help people. It's really…kind. What were you going to say?"
"I was just wondering…what do you always draw pictures for?" Sora asked. "Of…me and my friends."
Naminé's face reddened, again. Now that I think about it, Xion did that sometimes, too. What did it mean?
"I just…like to draw," Naminé said. "I draw whatever I think of."
So she thinks of Sora a lot? But there were a lot of drawings involving me, as well…or Xion, sometimes. Many people.
Sora seemed to accept the answer. "Okay," he said smiling in his normal easy-going manner.
Pretty soon, Sora fell asleep, too.
-----
"Have you ever tried 'sleeping', yet?" Xion asked. It was a strange question, but I answered honestly, anyway.
"Not yet," I admitted. "I'm still not sure how…"
Xion laughed a little.
"What is it?" I asked her.
"Nothing," she said smiling. Her face turned a bit redder…I wondered why it happened. "Anyway…today I slept and I actually had a dream of my own. It's a bit strange…but I think it's pretty cool, that we can dream, here."
"What did you dream about?"
"It was…" Xion looked like she was trying to remember. "Back when the three of us ate icecream together." She paused. "But…he…wasn't there."
"Who?" I asked. "Axel?"
A look of…shock crossed her face. Then worry. "What…happened?" She asked, resting her forehead in her hand. "I…Axel's name…I forgot it for a few seconds."
I wasn't sure what to say to that. Maybe she felt similar to the way I did when I realized that there was a friend I was forgetting.
"What if I start forgetting more?" Xion asked, looking back up at me. She started staring at her hands again, afterward. "What if…I lose myself…"
I wasn't completely sure what she was talking about. But seeing her like this…for reasons that I couldn't explain, it made me sad.
"You won't lose yourself," I tried to assure her.I'm not sure why I did…but I put my hand on her shoulder. For comfort? It felt…natural to do. "Neither of us will. Even if we forget ourselves…we'll always remember each other, right?" I hoped so. I had forgotten Xion once. That was something that I never wanted to do again.
"Right," Xion nodded. "I'll always remember you, Roxas. You and Axel…you're both my best friends."
"I know," I nodded. Then, with a slight smile, "I'll never forget -- that's the truth."
Xion smiled and laughed a little at the fact that I had just quoted her. It made me…happy to see her smile. "I know you won't."
-----
((Poor Xion :'(
But yay another slight RokuShi moment~ 3))
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((This first bit of bonus -- from Axel --is actually slightly important if you wanna know a tiny bit of what's going on in the Organization's side of things~ :D))
•Axel•
((Ever wondered what he did after the last time we saw him in this fanfic? Here it is~))
I returned to the castle quickly afterward, not wanting to draw the Organization's attention or anything.
But I guess they had already noticed.
"You're back late," Saïx commented.
I sighed. "What do you want?"
"Roxas is gone. I think you know what the consequence is for leaving the Organization," Saïx stared right at me.
"What, I'm supposed to eliminate him?" I couldn't. "Like you said, he's gone--only Sora exists now." That was only half-way true. Roxas and Xion were still somewhere…but beyond my reach. I wouldn't get to see them again any time soon.
"True, the original keyblade wielder is now back," Saïx said, "but as soon as he's served his purpose, he must be eliminated. You must go and get him."
"What, so you're gonna use him?" Why didn't he ask someone else? Saïx knew I wouldn't want to do this. "Is that all that the Organization does, now? Use others?"
"Silence," Saïx seemed to be getting irritated. Which was kinda funny, considering how he denied that Nobodies could feel anything. "You will do this. You know what happens if you don't, Lea."
Lea. What an old name. And this wasn't even the first time he'd used it since I became a Nobody. "I'm Axel, now," I countered. "Not Lea. Got it memorized?" I continued walking up to my room, wanting to get away from him.
We both knew that I would end up following orders, anyway.
-----
•Donald•
I don't have any idea why this 'Naminé' girl suddenly showed up, but she's in the way! All she does is tag along and draw in her sketch book. What does she draw all the time, anyway?
"All for one and one for all." But does that still apply when she's here?
I'm starting to hope not.
((In other words, Donald's a bit...jealous~))
-----
•Xigbar•
So, Roxas has disappeared. Xemnas announced it this morning. He also mentioned that the mission to 'take care of' the Keyblade Wielder has already been assigned, and that we need not worry.
I'd bet--if I were a gambler such as Luxord--that the mission was given to Axel. He always seems to get the jobs involving them, doesn't he? Even back when Poppet was here causing problems, Axel was given the job of retrieving her.
It's a shame to have to lose both of our keyblade wielders. But, as always, Xemnas probably has a plan for Kingdom Hearts.
As if he would ever give up on it.