Happy New Year from The Eastern Time Zone :3
Chapter 1: Something's Missing
Tyler opened her eyes and squinted at the blurry image before her. Red swirled around a bit before forming together to make readable numbers.
6:15.
Exactly the time she woke up every morning these days, no matter how long she stayed up.
With a sigh, she pushed back her black sheets and sat up. It was still dark and there was nothing to do. School didn't start again for another few weeks. Her grandma didn't go to work until 9 and her baby cousin didn't get to the house until around 7.
She headed to the bathroom and once there realized, there was no need to go. There was no need to even be awake right now. Every normal person was asleep.
'But I'm not normal.' she thought while washing her hands for no apparent reason. It seemed like a good idea, after all, aside from having nothing better to do to pass the time, everything just seemed so dirty outside of her room.
She stopped to look at family pictures along the wall, not seeing herself in any of them, naturally.
She had a theory a while back that she must be adopted. Tyler hardly looked like anyone in her family. Okay, anyone at all. Then there was how they treated her as if she didn't belong. It must be true.
A movement in the dark caused her to jump and look in the direction. She squinted at the nothingness for awhile before shrugging to herself.
''Damned shadows… or maybe it's just my tiredness.'
The girl trudged back to said room and decided to settle back into bed and try to get back to sleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, the feeling that had been haunted her lately returned full force.
Emptiness.
Complete emptiness.
Not just from not fitting in with her family. Not just from only having one true friend in the world. That, she could live with. That's been her whole life. Yet, there's just this feeling that something is missing. Like she's forgotten something so important. But what is it?
Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, she had to do a double take.
"Yeah, I need to go back to sleep." she said aloud to no one in particular.
Turning her back on the device and curling up once more, she pushed the odd sight from her mind. Drifting into dreamless sleep, she would never know that what she saw was indeed correct. Upon her clock, the digital screen screamed out the same numbers as always:
6:15.
Blue eyes stared at the ceiling.
He knew before even attempting to go to bed that he wouldn't be sleeping yet again tonight. It hurt too much. The empty feeling was unbearable.
He had only just gotten her. It wasn't fair. He hadn't known feelings were possible, especially not ones so strong.
In the short time he had known her, and the even shorter time she was his, he believed he had actually fallen in love.
Polar opposites but it didn't matter. They completed each other in that aspect. They just fit. As much as he pretended her boldness annoyed him, it didn't. He was just being ridiculous and difficult as always.
Fighting a battle that did not even need to be fought.
He waited too long. Held out. Fought the emotions that shouldn't have been there.
He needed her.
He had to see her, even if it wouldn't be real. Zexion closed his eyes and willed her image to appear.
He peaked out into the space before him hoping it worked.
There she was. Tan skin, long dark hair, orange orbs looking back at him. He stood slowly, as if the illusion was too fragile to hold.
"Tryxel…" he whispered, crossing the distance. The illusion, no, Tryxel smiled at him once he was up close to her. A hand nervously rose to caress her face gently. Tryxel reached out and touched Zexion's hand as it went down her cheek. She almost felt real.
Almost.
Just like that, the illusion broke, forcing a quiet, desperate whimper from the slate-haired boy. His illusions just wouldn't hold well these days.
Zexion sighed and laid back onto his bed. He needed to find her. Being here without her, not knowing where she was and if she was okay was miserable. He never felt so alone. Not even when his parents disappeared when he was a Somebody.
Hearts are what make you feel.
Hearts gave you emotions.
Hearts made you feel loneliness and pain.
Nobodies don't have hearts.
So why did the tears keep coming?
Something felt off, almost always.
She would see a flash of red and just have to go after it. Yes, she liked the color, but was that normal?
Her heartbeat would quicken and she would feel almost excited. Once the red was revealed to be a sweater or a hat, she would always feel so disappointed. But why?
It was so frustrating. Ariel had never been one to be so irrational about things. Well, a little, but not to the point of following the path of inanimate objects.
Then there was the name that just barely came to her sometimes.
A…
Ax…
Axe?
But was it actually a name, or just the tool?
It was so confusing in an almost tormenting way. All she could think of was getting to the bottom of what was going on in her head. It was always there in the back of her mind.
Axe.
The girl sat outside in the area that her and her best friend named "The Usual Spot". The name randomly came to them both at once and they used the term dearly ever since. She flicked on a red lighter she carried around with her everywhere and stared at the flames.
Her parents didn't want her having the lighter, claiming she was becoming a full-blown pyromaniac. Whatever. Everyone knew this, it was no big deal. It wasn't like she set random houses on fire or something.
It was just something about fire. The smell of it, the heat from it, it was just exciting. Exciting and comforting all at once. She couldn't get enough of it. If that made her a "pyromaniac" so be it.
Fire made her feel like there was more to life than just… living. And doing nothing. All the time.
It may not have really made sense. Hell, it didn't make much sense to her own mind but she felt that fire would never hurt her unlike everyone else in the world.
But lately, the fire made her think the thoughts all over again.
Heat.
Red.
Fire.
Axe.
A black and red chakram flew through the air and sliced deep into the bark of a tree.
Axel screamed, hands fisting his red locks. The yelled trailed off into a frustrated growl. The redhead stomped his way up to the tree and ripped the weapon out of the thick wood.
He spun around and threw both disks into the air letting them zoom back at him full force like boomerangs. He caught them both, one in each hand. He barely winced and the sting of the metal digging into his palms.
He didn't care that his hands were ripped open at this point.
He didn't care there was blood oozing out all over the ground.
He didn't care how his own weapon injured him.
He no longer cared about ANYTHING.
All Axel wanted was Rexial back. Why? Why did she have to be a hero?
No, he wasn't mad at her. Technically she saved them all.
So why did it hurt? Why was he so pissed off at the world?
"Where are you?" he screamed at nothing, dropping his chakrams at his side. "Where are you babe? I miss you… why did you leave me like that? I-I'm being selfish I know…"
Tears suddenly began streaming down Axel's face. He pressed the back of his bloodied hands into his eyes, hoping to make them stop coming.
It had been so long since he last saw her. So long. In his whole Nobody existence, he had never cared about anyone so much. He thought he did at some point, but it was no where near how he felt for Rex.
Not even close.
His hands were beginning to throb. The redhead didn't even bother with a potion or anything. He would really rather just bleed out right here in the middle of nowhere. Right on the cold, cold ground.
The redhead dropped down onto the ground and leaned down to the ground. He stared at his hands with a blank expression as if they held the answers.
"Rex would be so mad… went and got myself all cut up…" he laughed bitterly, "she'd be rushing to fit it up right now."
More tears came while he sat and laughed ironically.
"I don't care how long it's been. I don't care how much we looked. I'm finding you. I will." He declared. Opening a portal, he dragged himself back to the castle.
He needed to find her.