Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts characters/some of the story (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 45

"Where's the king?" Sora asked as they looked around. Donald spotted the king as he destroyed a heartless just ahead, and pointed.

"There he is!" he exclaimed. Sora nodded.

"C'mon!" he cried. Donald followed after him immediately while Goofy took a bit longer, since he was supporting Kyrie as they followed the two.

"Your Majesty!" Donald cried as the king landed on his feet, glaring at the man in front of him as they approached. Kyrie's eyes widened when she spotted the man in front of the king, and hesitated.

"Xemnas…"

"Xehanort!" the king growled as he glared at the man. All was silent before the man spoke.

"How long has it been since I abandoned that name…" he spoke as before he turned and looked at them. Kyrie flinched as he gazed at her, before Sora stepped in front of her.

"Out with it, Nobody! Where's Kairi? Where's Riku!" he demanded. The man was silent for a moment before meeting his gaze.

"I know nothing of any Kairi. As for Riku…perhaps you should ask your king." he spoke as he looked at the king. Sora and the others looked at the king as well, wondering what the man was talking about. But then a corridor began to form around the man, causing them to gasp.

"Stop!" the king exclaimed as he ran, jumping into the corridor and disappearing along with Xemnas. Sora took a couple steps forward, before slumping to the ground.

"He's gone…" he said softly as he began punching the ground with his fist. Goofy and Kyrie joined him as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and she placed a hand over his. Donald looked at the three sadly.

"Sora, Goofy, Kyrie." all was silent before they got to their feet and looked over the cliff, seeing that most of the heartless were gone.

"What's goin' on?" Goofy asked as they looked over the cliff.

"Way to fall right into their trap." immediately they whipped around to see a red-haired man staring at them as he leaned against the rocky wall, his arms crossed. Kyrie looked away immediately, her heart throbbing in pain just at the sound of his voice. Axel softened his gaze as he looked at Kyrie, before turning his attention to the three.

"C'mon, it's a set up by Organization XIII. Xemnas is using you and Kyrie to destroy the Heartless- that's his big master plan." he explained. The three had their weapons drawn as they glared at the man, before Donald raised his eyebrow at him.

"Xemnas?" Donald asked. Axel pointed.

"The guy you just saw. He's their leader. Got it memorized? X-E-M, N-A-S." he explained. Everyone was silent for a few moments before Goofy spoke up.

"Organization XIII wants to get rid of the heartless?" he asked. Axel sighed and shook his head.

"Man, you're slow. Every heartless slain by the keyblade releases a captive heart. That is what the organization is after." he explained. Kyrie nodded, Axel's words were true. The organization was using them to collect hearts.

"So what are those guys gonna do with the hearts?" Donald asked. He smirked and shook his head.

"I'm not telling."

"Tell us!" Donald demanded. Sora was quiet for a moment, before his eyes widened.

"You…you're the one who kidnapped Kairi!" he accused, pointing at Axel. He nodded.

"Bingo. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" he answered shamelessly as he pointed to his temple. But Sora ignored this as he took another step forward.

"Where is Kairi?" he asked. Axel was quiet for a moment before looking away, making Kyrie's heart drop.

"Axel, what did you do to her?" she thought as she stared at him. He looked up and met her gaze, and could see the hurt and betrayal reflected in her brown irises.

"Please, just tell me!" Sora begged. At this, he turned his attention back to the boy.

"Look, about Kairi…I'm sorry." he answered.

"Axel!" immediately the group looked to see Saix as he stepped out of a dark corridor. Axel gasped.

"Uh-oh!" just as he was about to open a dark corridor, Saix spoke again.

"You move and someone will get hurt." this stopped him. He looked back at the Luna Diviner, a scowl on his face.

"Like I care."

"Oh, but you should. Considering that-" suddenly, he reached out and took Kyrie by her hair, making her gasp loudly in pain. "-She is here." Axel growled loudly.

"Saix, you let her go! She's got nothing to do with this!" he ordered. Sora, Donald, and Goofy watched the spectacle unfold as Saix raised a hand, meaning to strike her. But she kept struggling, making it difficult to hit her as she squirmed in his hold.

"Let me go, bastard!" she thought as she struggled.

"Kyrie!" Sora cried as he tried to stop him, but it was too late as Saix punched her in the stomach, sending her flying as she slammed against the wall, her breath knocked out of her as her side throbbed painfully at the blow. She felt the world spin around her as she crumpled to the ground, before she blacked out.

"No, Kyrie!" Axel cried as he rushed to her side, scooping her into his arms as he looked at her. She was unconscious as she lay limp against him, and he glared at Saix.

"You'll pay for this…!" he growled as he opened a dark corridor. Sora and the others tried to rush in and stop him from taking off, but Saix stopped him.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure he receives the maximum punishment."

"Kyrie!" They cried as Axel disappeared, taking the girl with him.

-A few minutes later-

Axel panted as he ran through the dark corridor, carrying an unconscious Kyrie in his arms as he did so. At the moment, he had no clear destination as he ran, but he had to get out of the dark corridor as soon as possible. He knew how the darkness affected the girl, and he didn't want to make things worse for her.

Summoning another corridor, he exited and found himself walking on something soft, hard, and crunchy. Looking down, he saw nothing but white. It was snow.

"Guess I must've got us to the Land of Dragons." he muttered as he looked around. The two were currently in a burned out village as he passed through, holding the girl bridal-styled as he did so. Once he was sure they were safe, he took shelter in a nearby cave and set her down. Looking her over, he couldn't see anything but a few cuts and bruises on her arms, before looking at her stomach.

"Sorry, but I have to look." he thought as he pulled the zipper down on her sleeveless jacket, pulling it away to reveal a gray tube-top that ended just above her waist. Lifting it up a little, he could see a large bruise on her stomach as well as her entire right side turning a sickly black and purple. He swore loudly, from the looks of the bruising, he was sure that she had either bruised or cracked some of her ribs. Reaching out, he gingerly brushed his fingertips against the bruises, earning a pained gasp from the girl. He scowled.

"Dammit Kyrie, what happened to you?" he thought as he hovered his hand over the large bruises. He quickly uttered a cure spell, and waited patiently as the spell healed her bruises and any other wounds she may have had. But a sudden sound from behind them made him stiffen as he turned, spotting Demyx as he approached.

"What're you doing here, Demyx?" he growled as he summoned a chakram, keeping his other arm around Kyrie as he held her protectively against his chest. The melodious nocturne held his arms up immediately.

"Whoa, Ax! Calm down! I'm only here to talk and see how she's doing, that's all." he explained. But Axel continued glaring at him, not believing him.

"What, didn't you get the memo? I'm a traitor now, got it memorized?" he taunted. But Demyx kept a straight face as he walked closer.

"Yeah, I got the memo. But that's not why I'm here." he quickly walked over and looked at the girl, making Axel raised his eyebrows at the nobody as he pointed to her side where the bruises were slowly healing.

"Kyrie got hurt because of me. She protected me." he explained. Axel gave a curt nod before holding her closer.

"How'd that happen?" he asked. The young man was silent for a moment, before talking.

"I was supposed to have awakened Roxas back in Hollow Bastion. The organization gave me an ultimatum after my screw up back in Olympus Coliseum. If I didn't successfully stop the keyblade bearer, they would turn me into a dusk. But things got bad, I was getting my butt kicked, and if she hadn't protected me…I-" he stopped and looked away, but Axel knew what would've came next. "I would've been destroyed."

"So Kyrie took the blow for you, huh? But that doesn't explain why you're here." he said gruffly. Demyx was quiet before sighing.

"Well, I guess I'm here because I'd rather not go back and be turned into a dusk. So that means…well…I guess I'm a traitor, too." he answered. Axel groaned and face-palmed, this was just great. Now he was stuck with the laziest and weakest member of the organization. Great.

"Man, what am I getting myself into? First I lose Kairi to Saix, then I find out that Kyrie's being blackmailed, and now I'm stuck with Demyx. This sucks." he thought. Then he looked at the water mage.

"Well good luck."

"Huh? You don't want me around?"

"Of course I don't! It's bad enough that I have to keep hopping from world to world trying to avoid the other members, I don't need to keep an eye on you, too."

"Hey, I can keep an eye on myself, thank you very much!"

"Look, just go back and leave me be. You're just going to slow me down, got it memorized?"

"But what can I go back to, Ax? If I go back to the organization, I'm a dusk! C'mon, please?" Demyx begged, giving Axel a puppy-face. The pyro growled.

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Pretty please?"

"What the- no! You are not tagging along!"

"But Kyrie likes me."

"She's going back to Sora the second she wakes up. So she can't help you." he growled. Demyx was silent before giving a sigh.

"Aw, c'mon, Axel! Please let me tag along! I promise I won't get in your way!" Axel growled and glared at him.

"No, dammit! For the last time, no!" he shouted. Demyx shrank back in fear before they heard a soft sigh, looking at the girl in Axel's arms. She looked like she would regain consciousness at any moment, but they weren't sure.

"…Is she…gonna be okay?" he asked softly. Axel nodded.

"Yeah, she'll be okay. Her bruises and ribs are healed, so she'll be fine." he answered. Demyx nodded. After a moment, he spoke again.

"Hey, are you two still fighting? What happened back there in Hollow Bastion?" he asked, remembering the fight she and Axel had. After the two had run off, Demyx had stood there for the longest time, trying to figure out the fight. Now that Axel was here, he might as well ask. The man was silent before looking away.

"Saix told her things she wasn't supposed to hear and fed her lies about me lying to her and using her. Now she hates me because of what happened at C.O., not to mention that she believed the shit Saix told her."

"You're talking about how you backstabbed them? Zexion, Lexaeus, and the others?" he had heard from Xigbar, who, being the eavesdropper of the organization, had overheard Xemnas and Saix discussing weeks after it happened. Axel nodded.

"Yeah." all was quiet between the two men, before Demyx spoke up.

"Axel, I don't think she hates you. Okay, maybe she feels a bit betrayed 'cuz you didn't tell her the truth about that-"

"Oh thanks, Demmy. That makes me feel so much better-"

"-Anyways." he said sternly, looking at the pyro, "she'd never hate you, Axel. I mean, you guys are best friends! You two are so close that you're tied at the hip!" he exclaimed, pointing at his own hip for emphasis. Axel was silent before looking at the girl in his lap, reaching down and brushing her bangs out of her face.

"I hope you're right, Demyx."

Aw, poor Axel.

Unfortunately I probably won't be updating for a few days, because I'm overloaded with college work and life. Plus I'm on a little block at the moment, which I'll hopefully get out of soon. Just thought I'd let you all know!

Axel: What? But what happens between me and Kyrie? I need to know!

Me: And you can wait, Axel. Hey, it ain't my fault I'm going to college and getting an education.

Xigbar: It's not?

Me:...Okay, maybe it is. But hey, at least it keeps me out of trouble.

Demyx: You can say that again. I can't even go outside anymore without getting chased by my fangirls.

Me: ^^; Uh...*turns to the audience* As we continue our discussion, feel free to review. And sorry again for the inconvenience!