Alright, dudes. I apologize for being a little late. As my profile explained, I've been going through midterm week. T-T It's hurt my brain, too much memorization. But lucky for you, my guilt complex prompted a nifty bonus bit at the beginning of this chapter. So enjoy. ^^ And an extra thanks to: Twilight-Oblivion, Chaotic Darkness, 73n5Hl, Mirror and Darkling, Ivy J., XenoKosMos, -xX Twilit Memories Xx-, ramen-is-my-goddess, NiffStral, XfallenXshadowX, Sexy-Tacos-Emo-Waffles, Aindel S. Druida, Dust to Dusk, A-chan, deludedfreak, The Pregnant Chad, Randomasdf, zi-ling, Kujari, kurumaotokoiscarmen, redamiB6147! Reviews kept me alive during studying. I love you all. ;)


Chapter 7


Cloud clutched his mother's trembling hand as he tore down the halls of the palace, desperately looking for a way out that wasn't swarmed with murderous creatures. The rusty smell of blood had long since flooded his nose, he couldn't smell anything else. And the noise of screams of servants and soldiers alike was still ringing in his ears; the surprise attack had been disastrous for all of them. There had been no warning, no mercy. The hand that wasn't holding his mother's tightly gripped Zack's sword. He still couldn't believe…his step-father…the king, was dead.

"Cloud!"

His mother's cry drew him out of his thoughts just fast enough to slice through one of those silver-white creatures as it leapt at them. Those things followed the dark elemental's orders. And they were lethal. As the thing disappeared into a cloud of dust, Cloud ran through it. He needed to get to the gate. He had to get his mother out. It was bad enough that he hadn't been able to find his younger half-brothers; they hadn't been in their rooms when he had run to them moments before. He couldn't lose sight of her too.

Adjusting his grip on the hilt of Zack's broadsword, Cloud reached the main courtyard only to find the creatures hanging off of every tree and wall; the ground was literally writhing with black, living shadows. Cloud's brow furrowed and he hoisted the sword into a defensive position as he nudged his mother to the side so that she was completely behind him. She was strong, but it was common fact that Aerith Fair was no fighter.

But he himself wasn't yet used to the feel of the sword Zack had bequeathed him. It was heavy, heavier still perhaps because of the fact that his step-father had given it to him with his last breath. He wasn't sure if he could handle this many enemies. "Mother, if something happens to me, run as fast as you can toward the gate."

He didn't leave her time to protest as he launched himself into the courtyard. He cut through one creature after another but was quickly finding himself overwhelmed by their sheer strength in numbers. No matter how many he cut through, more continued to appear. Both the small black ones and the larger, faster, silver-white things; he was barely even carving a dent into the courtyard.

And he could feel himself tiring fast. Still, he readied himself as three more of the creatures threw themselves at him.

He managed to slice through the first two, but the third managed to claw at his leg before he cut it in two. The depth of the wound caused his leg's strength to give out and he fell to the ground, Aerith catching him before he could collapse completely. One hand flew down to the injury as his mother moved to heal it. The other hand tightened around the sword's hilt in preparation to defend himself and his mother to his last breath as a wall of the dark creatures welled up in front of them.

Suddenly the sound of a gunshot ripped through the air, slicing through the creature nearest to Cloud, followed by a shout from a familiar voice. "Prince Cloud! Your Highness!"

Cloud's expression betrayed his relief. "Squall!"

"Hold on!" From the other side of the wall of creatures, Cloud heard Squall shout his battle cry, "It's over!"

With three wide-arcing slices, Squall cut his way through the black and silver horde to carve a path to Cloud and Aerith. He looked as beaten up as Cloud, the lion's chest heaving from exhaustion as he still found the strength to grab Cloud's arm and pull him to his feet. His eyes were wide, brown hair dark and sticking on his sweat and dirt-soaked face. "Hurry! We need to get out of here."

As they ran out of the infested courtyard and into a deserted hallway, Aerith called out to the lion spirit, her voice strained from worry and weariness. "Squall! Please, my sons, have you seen my boys?"

Squall briefly took the time to turn and send her a pained frown. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I haven't."

Aerith reached out and grabbed the man's sleeve, pulling them to a halt. "Then we have to go back! They could be in danger!"

Cloud bit his tongue to keep from stating how true that statement might be. Sora's Guardian was a dark element. Though still young, Riku Jenovan was Sephiroth's son, and if the General had had the gall to strike down the king, Riku could have easily been part of the plot. The thought of his half-brothers being injured by those creatures was killing him too, but there wasn't much they could do. He glanced over to Squall as the lion spoke again. "We can't go back. It would be suicide. The best we can hope is that Prince Roxas's Guardian was with the both of them."

Aerith shook her head, covering her face with her hands as she let out a muffled sob of disbelief. Smelling the stench of pure darkness coming their way, Cloud jerked his head to face Squall only to see that the lion also had tensed. The creatures were coming after them. Swallowing, Cloud put an arm around his grieving mother's shoulders, gently forcing her forward. He would let her cry properly once she was safe.

Pushing her along, Cloud led the way through the rest of the palace, keeping their urgent pace as Squall guarded them from behind, forced to pause every few minutes to rebuff a new wave of those creatures. Every so often they would pass by a fallen soldier or a group of fleeing or terrified servants, the number of people increasing as they neared the palace gates; the entire palace staff was fleeing toward the exit, desperate to escape the carnage before the wave of dark creatures reached them.

Suddenly, just as they had burst out into the courtyard where the front gate was located, the grinding noise of the portcullis falling down caught Cloud's sensitive ears. They were being locked in. Urging his mother into a run, he glanced back to see that Squall was locked in battle with a swarm of Heartless that had broken into the courtyard. "Squall!"

Squall shook his head, knowing that with his advanced hearing Cloud would hear him over the din of the other servants and palace staff. "Go!"

Clenching his hand around his sword, Cloud looked from Squall to the falling gate then over to his mother. He needed to save her, and who knows what they would face outside of the palace; she would need further protection.

"Cloud, just go!" Squall slashed through another black creature. "I'll be fine!"

Shaking his head, Cloud nonetheless grasped for his mother's hand then turned and ran for the gate. His heart was cracking in his chest, but he knew that above all else, he needed to keep his mother safe. She was the queen. Since Zack had died, the throne was officially hers. He had to keep her alive.

Seeing that the gate was about to crash to the ground, Cloud growled and grabbed his mother up in his arms then dashed forward with an extra burst of speed. He felt the wind against his back as the gate plowed into the ground not an inch behind him, his mother flying out of his arms as he tumbled to the ground, momentarily blacking out.

The next thing he knew, his mother was shaking his shoulder, her green eyes bright with tears of agony and fear. "Oh, Cloud. Thank goodness, I thought I had lost you too for a moment!"

Cloud shook his head to clear it, eyes immediately flashing up to the gate, his gaze flying past its metal bars to the scene inside. There were people on the other side, tugging at the bars in futile attempts to escape, but there was no sign of Squall. One of the servants on the inside saw them, his sharp blue eyes behind a veil of violet hair strangely resigned compared to the others around him. "Run, Your Majesties! These bars won't hold the Heartless."

Cloud took the advice, having no doubt in the truth in the other's words. Besides, it would be pointless torture if they remained to watch the others trapped inside fall to the creatures, the so-called Heartless. With a set expression, he grabbed his mother's wrist and ran with all the strength he had left in him.

Riku woke to find that Cloud's bunk was empty, the sheets tangled into a mess at the foot of the bed. Running a hand down his face, he slowly sat up. That had been the worst night he had ever had in a bed. His sheets were soaked with sweat from how much he had tossed and turned trying to sleep. The he amount of energy ripping through his body had been nearly intolerable. But at least he was no longer glowing black.

As he swung his feet out of bed and onto the cold stone floor, the top bunk above his squeaked and a second later, Axel jumped down, the red-head appearing annoyingly chipper. "Well I have to say, that was the worst night I've ever had, what with both you leaking dark energy and Cloud thrashing about."

"Something wrong with Cloud?"

"Just memories, I'm sure. They're a tough burden sometimes, Jenovan. I'm sure you bleeding your darkness everywhere wouldn't exactly help anyone trying to smother their recollections." Axel's tone and expression suddenly brightened. "But enough of that. The lion's babysitting the wolf and we've got a job to do."

Riku was about to ask what he was talking about when he suddenly remembered the dream he had had. His hands began to tremble as he thought of those arms wrapping around him, the sudden, desperate need to find the owner of those arms and voice tearing through him. It was almost painful. He had never cared about anything so much in his entire life, it was as if his body itself was burning with his mind's demand to get up and frantically start searching for this missing person. He was a Jenovan, this desperation was unheard of! Gritting his teeth, he dug his fingers into his silver hair. "Damn it! What's happening to me?"

Standing by his shoulder, Riku could hear rather than see Axel smirk. "Your magic let loose and it's linking up with Sora's. Like I said, you never absolved your oath as Guardian. The Guardian and charge are bonded by more than just title, there's ancient magic in all that. Riku raised his head to glare at Axel as the red-head's smirk grew. "Welcome to your first day back on job. It's been a while."

Just as Riku was about to retort with a few choice words of his own, a bang rang out from the wooden door on the other side of the room. Axel's smirk dropped to a serious frown as he straightened up. He waited a moment then slowly approached the door, every move cautious. "Yeah, who is it?"

"It's me."

The serious expression left as quickly as it had come and Axel opened the door to reveal Leon carrying a tray of food, his arms also draped with fabric of some sort. Stepping aside to allow the lion spirit inside, Axel grabbed for a plate of food. "We seriously need to come up with some sort of secret knock or something. My smell's not as good as yours and Cloud's, you know? I can't just sniff through a door. By the way, seen Cloud around?"

"He's in my room." Leon's response cut off all suggestion for continuation of the subject as he walked over to Riku's bunk. He set the tray down beside the teen then grabbed what he had draped over his arm, throwing a bundle of fabric to both Axel and Riku.

Catching his, Riku unraveled it to reveal what looked to be an ugly black and white outfit. "What the hell is this?"

"Servant's outfit. For the men anyway. You'll be too noticeable in what you're wearing now."

Riku looked down at his torn and dirty clothes, what used to be premium designer jeans, shirt, and jacket. Would it be better to stay in them, despite their distressing condition, or to allow himself to wear such a horrible, not to mention servile, outfit? It was a tough choice.

"Put it on Jenovan. We're gonna have to dye your hair too, so don't get bratty yet."

Riku's gaze shot up to Axel, thoroughly scandalized. "You're not dying my hair. I completely refuse."

Axel frowned, crossing his arms. "Jenovan…"

"No. I'm not letting you touch it."

Standing in the sidelines, Leon pinched the bridge of his nose then let out a ragged sigh. "Both of you, shut up." When he grudgingly received the silence he had demanded, he continued. "Axel, I don't even want to know why you're bothering to make it an argument. You," he looked pointedly over to Riku. "Get over here. You're getting black hair."

Riku grimaced but, realizing that his hair was going to be ruined one way or the other, decided he might as well go with the person who would make it less of a disaster and dragged his feet over to Leon. The lion pulled a bottle out of his jacket pocket, uncorking it as he walked behind Riku. "Don't move unless you want black shoulders along with the hair."

Sulking, Riku knew well enough to hold still, though it was hard. In the quiet, his mind kept reverting to focus on the need to find the missing presence; it took all of his willpower to continually stop himself from shifting impatiently. To distract his disturbingly one-track thoughts, his aquamarine eyes flashed over to the servant's outfit lying on his bed. A frown crossed his features, the expression deepening as he felt the cold dye hit his scalp. "So if you're a servant," he asked Leon. "Why aren't you wearing the uniform?"

"I'm the head of the staff. I can wear what I want. And you'd better lose the attitude if you know what's good for you."

Riku huffed but remained silent, watching out of the corner of his eyes as Axel began to change. The guy sure was skinny. Looking away when the red-head began to strip down completely, Riku instead focused on Leon's words as he started to speak again. "There are a few things you need to know before I allow you to leave. The state of the power right now is that Xemnas is in charge. He calls himself 'the Superior' or 'steward' if he's feeling particularly charitable, as if he's pretending to be innocent as to knowing what happened to the royal family. He holds all of the power though. The high-ranked members of the palace staff are completely loyal to him, including the new generals of the army."

"There are still soldiers here?"

Leon sighed at Axel's question, his hands busy spreading the black dye through Riku's hair. "Unfortunately. There were some who survived the raid. The Heartless actually killed only a few people, most of those who had been injured managed to be saved by the palace doctor. Some of the regular servant's were also switched over to be trained for military. I've no idea why he bothers to keep even such a small number, but the Superior must consider himself more secure that way. In any case, keep away from the barracks and of course don't go near the throne room or the royal quarters. If you keep to the service areas, there is a better chance you will remain safe." After another second he patted Riku's shoulder. "There. Hair's done. Keep from touching it while the color sets. Now, get changed."

Riku just barely kept himself from visibly seething as a strand of his now black hair fell into his face. The dye better not be permanent. Now that the worst was over, there was nothing much more he could do than follow Axel's example and get changed himself. The servant uniform was, as expected, made of rather cheap material that was itchy to the touch. Riku couldn't remember the last time he had worn something of such low quality.

Faster than he would have liked, he found Axel pushing him out into the hallway, despite the fact that he wasn't fit to be seen in public right now. The red-head looked all too comfortable in the servant's uniform, or at least he was showing no signs of discomfort as Leon followed them out of the room, turning his smirk to the lion sprit. "So I hope you're going to take good care of Cloud while we're away."

Leon frowned and then snorted quietly. "Shouldn't be too hard. He's asleep right now anyway."

"Oh? Letting him use your bed? That's pretty generous of you. And here I thought I remembered you being Mr. Territorial who didn't even let people inside his room. Go figure."

"Don't you have a job to do?" The growl was laced with a deeper snarl from the back of Leon's throat, clearly revealing his growing irritation.

Axel waved his hand, "Yeah, yeah, we're getting to it. Come on, Jenovan, let's start looking."

Slinging an arm over Riku's shoulders, exactly in the same way as he used to when they were still friends, Axel led him away from Leon and out into the more lively halls of the palace. Well, lively relative to the empty dormitory areas. Every so often a servant would hurry through, always looking flustered or busy, never even pausing to give them a second glance. As they left the rough-hewn stone corridors of the strictly-servant areas to the more public realms though, Riku found that the stonework was becoming smoother and more detailed, the quality of the stone also changing from normal gray rock to white marble. Personally, he would have preferred to stay in this section of the palace.

Riku was somehow expecting that he would just magically be drawn to wherever this prince was. But it wasn't like that. He felt the feeling of the missing void, the loss of the other's presence, but he couldn't sense anything that would tell him in what direction to look. After a few minutes of walking and fruitless half-hearted attempts to focus, Riku glanced up at Axel. "How is this supposed to work anyway? How am I supposed to find him?"

"Don't know. I'm not a Guardian yet, I don't know how it works. I know," Axel paused, continuing his long-legged pace as he crossed his arms thoughtfully, "when Reno talked about it, he gave the impression that there was some sort of mentally tangible connection. Like Guardian and charge are connected by an invisible string or something. In any case, you're going to have to track him down. After all, it's not like we can just go around asking where the princes are hidden. That'd be a sure-fire way straight to an execution. Why do you ask anyway? Having problems?"

Riku huffed, running his fingers through his newly black hair to get it out of his face. "Only because I've never exactly done this before." He dodged a servant as it came scurrying down the hall then pointed at Axel accusingly. "If you explained things better, I wouldn't be confused."

Riku felt a slight triumph when Axel frowned at this. Crossing his arms victoriously, he graciously allowed another servant to pass by, watching with some curiosity as the older man bustled toward a pair of large, white double doors along the side of the hall. When he opened the door to go inside though, it felt as if an electric charge rippled through the hall like a gust of wind.

Riku gasped at the feeling of it hitting his chest, reaching up to grasp at the spot over his heart. Axel's frown deepened and he leaned over. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't know." Riku shook his head, "When the door opened, there was this…wave of energy. Didn't you feel it?"

Axel grabbed his arm. "No, but that might be the sign we've been looking for. Let's check the room out."

Still massaging the strange feeling out of his chest, Riku followed Axel to the slightly-ajar door. Cautiously, they peered inside. From what Riku could see, it looked to be a large room with high vaulted ceilings. The color palette was still strikingly white, though this time hints of light blue were scattered throughout, giving a sterile, icy impression. There were beds lining the walls, a few of them occupied.

Suddenly the door disappeared from their grasp, swinging open to reveal a tall man with long blond hair dressed in a long black cloak. Axel let out a strangled noise of surprise at the sight. The man's chilly blue eyes showed irritation as he looked down at them. "You two? What do you think you're doing, loitering about? Haven't you tasks to do?"

Axel laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head as he tried to look somewhat sheepish, burying whatever shock he had just gone through. "Sorry, sir. Just taking a quick break."

"Break?" The man's voice was cold and clipped. "Why, are you sick or injured?"

"Uh…no?"

"Then why are you bothering me? This is an infirmary, I don't have time for lazy servants. Get out."

Thinking quickly, Riku stepped forward. "We came to get new bandages for our roommate. He was the one Leon came to you for a few hours ago."

The cloaked doctor paused, his thin lips pursing from the memory before he nodded stiffly. "Ah, yes, I remember now. Some fool cut himself, right? Very well, the bandages are in the back cupboards. Take a roll and leave. And don't try to steal any extra, a full inventory is taken every twelve hours."

As the man stalked away, into a smaller side room, Axel showed a rude gesture to his back then stomped to the back of the infirmary where a floor-to-ceiling cupboard system was located. "Hate that guy."

Riku blinked with surprise, looking over his shoulder to make sure the blond man was well out of sight before asking curiously. "What, you know him?"

"I know everyone here, it's not like the population has changed much since I was last here. Don't worry about him recognizing me though, icy bastard wouldn't spare servants the time to actually look at them. I'm sure he's going to regret that later once everyone realizes what we're up to." Settling down a bit, Axel opened the first cupboard in front of him, scowling when he found it stocked of glass vials filled with various materials and multi-colored liquids. "Look at all of these potions. He couldn't just give one to help out a hurt servant."

Leaning back against the cabinets as Axel shuffled through them, Riku tilted his head to the side. "Who is he?"

"Vexen. Ice element. Always known he was a puppet for the dark elements. Don't know why they let him become the palace doctor though. I swear that sprit's ice has gone straight to his heart, he'd probably just as quickly experiment on a patient as he would treat them. Ah, found the bandages. Are you feeling anything?"

Riku shook his head, his eyes scanning the sparsely-populated infirmary. The pulse of electricity had vanished. The pressure on his body and mind had lessened somewhat, the desperate searching need slightly soothed, but it was still eating away at him. "Not really. We might be closer, but that's all I can tell." His eyes widened as he caught sight of a flash of light silver pass by the open infirmary doors. "Dusks are outside the room."

"What?" Axel straightened up. His green acidic eyes flew to the door as he stuffed the roll of bandages into a pocket. "Damn. If they really are creeping around we're going to have to make ourselves scarce."

"Why?"

"Elementals might not be able to sense your darkness because it's all over the place, but Dusks are sure to sniff you out. And if they catch you, and thereby me as well, we're both going to be in a little bit of trouble." Slinking over to the double doors without trying to look blatantly suspicious, Axel peeked into the hall. Pulling his head back a moment later, he frowned. "The Dusks are patrolling the hallway we just came down so we're going to have to go to the right. Unfortunately we'll be heading closer to where the higher-ups hang out, but that can't be helped. I'll lead the way. You just focus on searching for the prince."

Riku nodded, his heart quickening in his chest as they slipped back out into the hall. Axel was right, two Dusks were down on the far end, their jerking sinuous movements carrying them farther away as Axel rushed off in the opposite direction. Looking over his shoulder again after taking a few steps, Riku found that one of the Dusks had turned around, its featureless face directed toward them. "Axel, it's looking at us."

"Well don't look back. Just ignore it."

"That's your plan? Ignore it and hope it goes away?" More subtly this time, Riku glanced back again, now both of them had turned around. One of them bobbed its head to the side then started walking forward. "I'm pretty sure they're following us now."

"Tell me something I don't know." Axel reached back and grabbed Riku's wrist, his voice tense. "Just follow me, okay?"

"Why? What are you pla-!" Riku's words flew back down his throat as Axel suddenly broke off into a sprint, dragging him behind. Trying to keep up with the other's long striding run, Riku let out a shout when a Dusk suddenly appeared in the wall ahead of them, stepping out of the stone just like the Heartless could rise up out of shadows.

Axel growled, his leg flying out as they ran by to kick the creature back into the wall. The attack barely even broke his stride as he then continued to run, apparently not caring or not having the time to care whether the kick had actually done any damage. They ran through the halls at breakneck speed, rushing passed doors and side halls leading to courtyards and floor-length windows opening into gardens. Riku would have liked to take his time looking it all over if they weren't being chased, when he couldn't feel the chill of the Dusks breathing down his neck. When they were dashing passed one garden, he swore that he even saw a pink-haired man tending to a rose bush. Strange place. Axel though, seemed entirely focused on escaping the relentless Dusks. Skidding around a hallway corner, he swore. "Damn it! We've got to get rid of them! We need a place to hide!"

Spotting another pair of double doors ahead of them, though smaller than the ones which led to the infirmary, Riku asked. "How about there?"

"It'll have to do!"

Not even bothering to slow down, Axel crashed into the new room, dragging Riku with him only to immediately fly into a trolley cart that had been parked right inside the room, toppling over it and hitting the ground. The contents of the trolley exploded over the both of them and immediately Riku was hit with the sensation of the smell of…food?

His gaze lifted from the ruined meals to find that they had crashed into what looked to be the kitchen. And the giant that was storming toward them with a large knife amid the shocked stares of servants was probably the head chef judging by his murderous glare. Riku picked himself up, attempting to brush off what looked to be a salad from his shirt. Sitting on the floor, Axel removed a bowl from his head only to put it back on when he saw who was coming. Rolling his eyes, Riku kicked his side but couldn't do anything more than that as the man reached them.

"You two!" His voice was just as booming as his stature suggested, his square face set into an expression of rage as he waved the knife threateningly. "What do you think you're doing?!" Leaning down, he grabbed Axel by the front of the shirt and with his free hand, lifted the red-head onto his feet as if he weighed nothing. "Explain yourselves-" His suddenly cut himself up, his blue eyes narrowing when they settled on Axel's visible face. Setting the red-head onto his feet, he slapped the bowl off of the other's head. When he spoke again, his voice was significantly quieter, though still a gravelly rumble. "Axel."

Axel chuckled nervously, a real nervous chuckle, Riku realized. "Hey, Lexaeus. I've got a slight problem."

Just as he spoke, the Dusks that had been chasing them phased through the kitchen doors. Riku took a half-step back as they slunk into the room but Lexaeus immediately scowled and strode forward, blocking them from Axel and Riku as he raised his knife. "Those two are with me. And I've told you I don't want to see you vermin in my kitchen. Now get out before I chop you in half."

The Dusks bobbed their heads for a second, looking around the man's massive shoulders to where Axel and Riku were then finally, after Lexaeus had took a warning step forward, backed off. Axel sighed relief as they sunk back out through the doors. Even with his height, he still looked dwarfed to Lexaeus's huge size as he clapped his hands together. "Thanks, Lex."

Lexaeus merely grunted, his sharp blue eyes passing over their shoulders to his small force of servants. "Get back to work! Nothing to see here while we still need to cook a new meal!"

With the din that usually accompanied a kitchen filling the room again, Lexaeus crossed his arms, knife still in hand, staring down at the two of them. Seeing that he was apparently waiting for an explanation, Axel shrugged casually. "It's been a while, right?"

"Axel…I don't even want to begin to try to understand why you came back…"

Frowning, Axel stepped closer, lowering his voice to a conspiritory whisper. "We're here for the princes."

Lexaeus started with surprise then frowned. "Idiot. Anyone who told the Superior you were here for that purpose would be greatly rewarded. Don't trust anyone with that truth."

"I'm going to have to tell someone, because this searching on our own thing is proving harder than I anticipated." Riku's lips turned down at this not-so-subtle slight on his abilities but he allowed Axel to continue. "At least, we need to get a better idea of what even happened to them. If they're even together still. I want to start planning ahead, you know?"

Appearing thoughtful for a moment, Lexaeus's gaze rose to his busy kitchen. After a moment he let out a deep sigh then crossed his arms. "I'm too busy to take the time to talk, but you could do me a favor and take some food to Zexion in the library."

"The name doesn't ring a bell."

"You can trust him. Probably. He became the Superior's main scholar after the takeover. You there," he bellowed out over their heads to one of his servants, nearly deafening Riku with the volume of his voice, "Put together a plate of food!"

The spirit nodded and in record time there was a covered dish delivered into Lexaeus's hands. Pushing the plate into Axel's hands, Lexaeus rumbled. "Now leave. I was already behind schedule before you ran over the trolley. I can't spare any more time."

Without a word of protest, Axel obeyed and exited the room, Riku close on his heels. After a precautionary scan of the hallway, which was now empty of Dusks probably thanks to Lexaeus's threats, he started walking back the way they had came. If the halls didn't all look the same with their white stonework, Riku swore he would have already had the layout of this area memorized after having run through it once. Catching up with Axel, he titled his head to the side. "So we're really going to see this Zexion guy?"

"Seems like a good idea. Besides, I have his food. And unless you miraculously began to point the way with any accuracy, it's looking like we're going to need help."

"Just because he wasn't in the infirmary doesn't mean I wasn't right. I know what I felt." Riku rested his hand on his chest. "You're not really helping me, so I can only guess what I'm actually supposed to be sensing." He paused in his rant for a moment as a current of energy ran through him again. "We're getting closer to the infirmary, aren't we?"

"Yeah. We're just backtracking our steps. Why?"

"I'm beginning to feel something again."

Axel snorted. "Well since the princes weren't hiding in the cupboards, I don't think they're in the infirmary. There was the back room, but I've been in there before; there's hardly enough room for one person and a desk."

"Maybe they were behind the wall?"

"Jenovan, magic might exist here, but that doesn't mean that we can go through walls. We're spirits, not magicians with cheap parlor tricks."

With a shrug, Riku glanced up at Axel. "For all I knew, it could be a possibility. Nothing makes sense in this place."

"You'll get used to it." Axel slowed to a stop in front of a tall, white door. "Well, here's the library. Let's see what this guy has to say."

He pushed the door open and Riku was immediately hit with the scent of old books. It reminded him vaguely of the study his father kept at home, or even the school library. As they stepped inside, he found that it far more impressive than either of the two. As in the infirmary, the ceiling was vaulted several stories high, but this time, they appeared to be held up by great bookshelves, every shelf filled with books of every size and shape. Rows of shelves also stretched through the center of the room, filling the space like ranks of static soldiers. The only light came from a chandelier of candles which was mounted high up in the apex of the vaulted ceiling; Riku had no idea how someone would go about lighting it. The glow from those many candles barely reached the lower shelves though, and from his eye-level everything seemed to be rather shadowy.

Beside him, Axel put one hand on his hip, the other balancing the covered plate of foot with all the skill of a waiter as he called out, "Yo, anybody here?"

"Keep your voice to a civil level, please."

Startled as the voice came from right beside them, Riku twisted around to see that a man had appeared right beside Axel, a dusty tome tucked under his arm. Like Vexen, he was wearing a long black cloak, but he was significantly smaller and younger looking. With light almost purple hair hanging in front of his face, Riku would have easily labeled him as "emo" back in his high school. Right now, the man's blue eyes were narrowed as he glared up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Zexion?"

"Yes. That's me." The man, Zexion straightened up as he adjusted his grip on the large book in his hands. "And you are? If I have seen you at all it has been a while."

"We've just been reassigned to this area. Leon thought it could use more helping hands, you know? So it makes sense that you don't know us."

Zexion's visible eyebrow rose before he let out a small huff, closing his eyes in annoyance. "You insult my intelligence. He," he pointed to Riku, "smells so strongly of Darkness that he must be a dark elemental himself, probably from the Jenovan line if I had to wager a guess. The youngest son then, Riku. He smells of ink as well, undoubtedly a half-hearted attempt to hide the hereditary silver hair. And I recognize you as well, Axel, unlike the boy you've not changed a bit. Not to mention that the scent of wilderness still clings to the both of you. You could have at least had the decency to bathe after you snuck into the palace. Now what did Lexaeus send you here for?"

Axel blinked then handed him the plate of food as Zexion motioned for it. "Oh, yeah, you saw this." The red-head glanced over at Riku then back to Zexion, tilting his head to the side. "You seem pretty sure of yourself though, all of those risky assumptions."

Turning away from them with food now in hand, Zexion walked back into the library. With a quick look to Axel to see that he was doing the same, Riku followed after the shorter man. He led them deeper into the heart of the library until they reached a desk of sorts perched in the middle of the room. Stacks of books were piled on top of it, the largest one lying open in the middle surrounded by scraps of paper and flanked by inkwells and quills. Zexion pushed some of the books to the side, setting down the covered dish before he finally turned back to inspect Axel. "They're hardly assumptions, they are fact. And they are only risky for you if I chose to announce your presence to the Superior. He would be quite irritated knowing you were here."

"Lexaeus said we could trust you."

Zexion's gaze burned into Axel's as he leaned back against his desk. "Can you? I have no Master's Ring controlling me. I willingly accepted the Superior's authority. Does that make me trustworthy in your eyes?"

"No. But right now we need information, so I'll get to the point. What do you know about the princes?"

A frown touched Zexion's almost feminine features as his eyes moved from Axel to Riku. "Not as much as I would like. That night was hectic for me as well." He suddenly straightened up and walked around his desk, grabbing one of the books from the stacks on top of it. With an ease that could come only through memorization, he flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "I have compiled some information about the night for my own curiosity. Multiple sources claim to have seen the princes being seen with Xemnas. I know as well that after the overthrow was completely established Xemnas came to me asking for help with the construction of a peculiar spell which led me to believe that the princes were in fact being kept alive but locked away somewhere."

"What sort of spell?"

"The illusion sort. Strong enough to contain the both of them." The man gave them a sideways glance, his eyes nearly glowing with a scheming glint. "If I were looking for the princes, I would start to look behind doors. The spell was meant for a small room, which I assume Xemnas would have guarded one way or another, possibly with another spell."

Sighing, Axel ran his hands over his face. "Alright. Well, at least we know that they're still together. And somewhat healthy hopefully. Let's get back to looking, Jenovan."

Riku glanced over at Zexion as Axel turned away. The smaller man's face was almost carefully devoid of emotion, though his eyes still glinted with obvious intelligence. Narrowing his own eyes, Riku glared at the spirit. "Hey, you're not going to tell that Xemnas guy that we're here, right?"

Axel slowed to a stop to hear Zexion's answer as the scholar fixed his gaze on Riku. "I might. It all depends on how things work out. In any case, you should be ready for such dangers; even if your plan succeeds you will be facing many more."

Riku frowned. This guy reminded him of some of his father's business associates, only more dangerous. Zexion was obviously smart. Riku could almost see the calculations going through the other's mind; it definitely was a possibility that this person would turn them in. Lexaeus had been smart too, but he had given off a much more loyal presence.

"Jenovan, quit wasting our time."

At the sound of Axel's voice, Riku broke gaze with Zexion and turned around to follow Axel out the door.

Just before they left, Zexion's quiet but firm voice reached their ears. "Make sure to close the door on your way out."

After the library, the two of them searched high and low for any doors that led to secret rooms. In particular, they focused in on the area around the infirmary and the rooms to the side and behind it. Riku knew that somehow that was where the prince's were hidden, but after close inspection of all the nearby rooms and even another trip into the infirmary at the risk of Vexen's wrath, they had come up with nothing. The rooms had all been nothing but maintenance closets. There had been one in particular which had been nearly pulsing with darkness but they had opened the door only to find that it held a Dusk inside. That had prompted another run to escape.

When both of them had finally admitted to exhaustion, they trudged back to the servant's quarters. Riku took a few minutes to visit the pathetic excuse for a bathroom at the end of the hall, knowing that if he went to their room first he wouldn't have the energy to go back out. The bathroom was really only a small room with a basin of water, a pit toilet, and a small stone tub with a rickety tap jutting out over it. There wasn't even a mirror, and the only water that came out from the tap was ice cold. Still, Riku suffered through it if only for the sake of his hair. Once he had scrubbed out the dye as best he could, relieved to find that it actually was coming out, he cleaned off the rest of his body then put his clothes back on and walked back into the hall. He still felt like could use a good shower, but at least he could at least pretend that he was somewhat clean again after than long trek through the wilderness. It seemed as though Zexion's comment about his scent had affected him more than he would have liked to admit.

On the way back to their bedroom, Riku happened to notice that the door across from theirs was slightly ajar. He was going to pass by without further inspection until he caught a flash of familiar blond hair. Then curiosity got the better of him. Creeping over to the door, Riku peeked inside, a smirk slowly forming on his face. Cloud was lying on a mattress on the stone ground, with Leon curled up right next to him. They were practically cuddling together in their sleep, one of Leon's arms draped lazily over Cloud's slim waist, Cloud's head tucked underneath his chin. Riku's smirk grew. He knew there had been something between them.

Stepping back before one of them woke up, he quietly closed the door then crossed the hall back to his room. Axel was already inside, the red-head raising a brow when he saw Riku's smirk. "What's that look for? Are you that happy to get your hair color back?"

"Yes, but furthermore I just found Cloud and Leon cuddling in the other room."

Axel snorted. "Ah, high school gossip. Don't think that it will cause much of a stir though. Everyone who was in the palace before the raid knew they were 'best friends,' if you know what I mean. Cloud never really went to the court gatherings because he's not a perspective heir, so he was always with Squall, er, Leon, whatever his name is." Lying back on what used to be Cloud's bed, he glanced over to Riku. "I would suggest getting some sleep. It's going to be another long day tomorrow."

Riku couldn't argue with that. He was already exhausted.

He must have fallen asleep as soon as his head had hit the pillow. Idly wondering if he was going to have dreams every single time he went to sleep, he looked around at the familiar blindingly white room. It was such a boring room.

"You haven't found me yet."

Riku could almost hear the pout, which was annoying because he didn't have a face to put the expression on. He tried to turn around only to find that he was stuck in place. With a low sigh, he crossed his arms. "You're hard to find. I barely even know what I'm supposed to be feeling."

He wasn't surprised to see arms wrap around him again, to feel a body come up behind his. The arms were slimmer and smaller than his own, the hands almost as small as a child's. Riku wanted to know what the prince looked like.

"I'm sorry, Riku. I don't know where I am either."

"Help me find you then."

There was a small, thoughtful hum and then the voice brightened. "I know that it's our hearts that are connected." A hand reached up to lightly touch Riku's chest over his heart. "You have to feel with your heart." Suddenly, the figure behind him gasped, the hand tightening over Riku's heart. "Wait, I remember something! Roxas and I were taken through a wall, a man led us through a wall, to a room with a black door! I don't, I don't know what happened to him after that!"

Feeling the arms around him tremble slightly, Riku covered the other's hands with his own, for some reason needing to offer comfort. After a second, the prince composed himself and Riku felt a head fall against his back again. "We were hidden. Please, find us. Don't give up."

"I won't."


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