The characters do not belong to Sulhadahne. The song "Life for Rent" does not belong to Sulhadahne. (Sulhadahne felt like making this a songfic for one part.) Ariel (from RG) does belong to Sulhadahne, and so do all OC's.

The storm was pounding against the castle walls. After the meeting, Vexen had teleported away back inside the castle library, contemplating.

'Was it the beer acting?' He thought. 'I may feel for her… but she may have just been drunk. It might have been nothing.' Vexen sighed and stroked his forehead. He was tired, and saddened, and felt… lonely, at the moment. A strike of lightning crashed down outside.

The others had left two hours ago. He wondered what was happening to them now. And then he wondered what they had to get as proof from the castle. What could that be?

Someone tapped lightly on the door. Since this was the library, anyone was allowed inside. So why was this person tapping?

"Uh, come in?" He murmured. The door creaked open.

It was Ariel. She looked timid, and a bit afraid, but also determined. Vexen's eyes grew wide as she stepped towards him and took a seat next to him.

"I am sorry." She hung her head low. "I should not have been so drunk, and I certainly should not have dragged you into that, Mr. Vexen."

'She's back to calling me "Mr." Vexen sighed. 'I can vaguely remember her shouting my name many times.' He smirked. Ariel blinked.

"Do you think you could've dragged me into that if I hadn't wanted it?" He muttered, moving closer to her perplexed face. A smile flickered onto her lips.

"You… like me?" Ariel asked, blushing deeply, the smile becoming a grin as Vexen moved closer and closer to her lips.

"No, I… love you." And with that, he claimed her lips, holding her close, and finding he wondered how he could ever have lived without this.

Without this love.

Vexen: The emotion "love" has grown.

I guess that means both Saix and Vexen are whole again…

Stop your grumbling, Axel you'll be whole soon enough.

Who'd ever thought they would be first?

… I would.

CHECKLIST TIME!

Oh brother.

Saix: Trust (check)

Vexen: Love (check)

Xigbar: (Compassion)

Xemnas: (Something)

Just something?

Shut up.

Demyx: (Brave)

And those are the emotions that have grown and are growing. On to the story:

Yuna flew down to the earth, clutching Sora's shoulder. He had sent her up to see if she could spot any of the others, but the stormy winds and the pounding rain had sent her back down almost immediately. With a sigh, Sora opened his jacket so that the little sprite could hide under it as they slowly trudged across the maw.

As soon as their journey had started, as soon as they had opened the door, a huge boulder that had been unearthed by the storm came hurtling towards them, and the group had been separated immediately. If it weren't for the fact he knew that Kairi and the others had Laxaeus, Sora would've worried.

A few stones licked at Sora's face as he grimaced, pulling his jacket shut tighter to protect Yuna. The girl had a sad, helpless look in her eyes; she'd only slow them down if she transformed, but if she stayed small, she had to watch Sora do all the work.

'I wish I could find the others…' She moaned. Where were they?

Lightning crashed down on a plateau not terribly far from Sora. He yelped and jumped, losing his control just long enough for the wind to throw him towards the stone walls. Yuna yelled, frightened, but Sora retained control again.

Up on the plateau, another person yelled.

"Why couldn't Larxene have come?" Demyx complained on the plateau as lightning struck very close to them, his eardrums ringing.

"What?" Marluxia shouted over the wind. Demyx looked back to him.

"I said 'Why couldn't Larxene have come?'" He repeated. Marluxia blinked and shook his head.

"WHAT?" He yelled.

"I said 'I have green teeth and gums!'" Marluxia still couldn't hear, but gave up.

"Ok!" He yelled back. Demyx laughed and rolled his eyes.

Thunder rolled in the sky, booming over everything else. This had to be the worst storm that Radiant Garden had ever seen. Another bolt of lightning fell, this one twice as strong as the last, and it shattered a plateau in half.

Sora, beneath the plateau, spun around to look at it when Yuna screamed. The thousands of rocks and boulders were streaming towards them and the only sound louder than the falling storm was the roll of thunder that followed the lightning. Water pelting him, Sora formed a plan.

"Run, Sora! Quick!" Yuna begged. Sora grinned.

With a large leap, the boy jumped onto the nearest rock, and then used the momentum to jump to the next. Taking his time, he leapt from rock to rock, headed towards the tall remains of the plateau. It looked like a meteor had hit, leaving a huge, blackened pit, but it was still a good place to look out over the Great Maw.

Suddenly, one of the smaller rocks pelted Sora in the head, knocking him senseless mid-jump, and with a groan he fell back onto a boulder, slamming his back. Struggling to stand, the boy could barely see, especially with the rain and flashes of lightning.

With a determined look, Yuna knew she had to step in now. With a flash of light, she leapt from Sora's jacket and transformed, now a normal human size. Lifting Sora under his shoulder, she looked up to the menacing shower of earth.

With a smile, she began leaping from rock to rock.

Saix looked around. That shower of earth had come pelting towards him, but he'd leapt away in time. Now, the rocks were surrounding him, and he was trapped. That was definitely the wrong direction to jump towards.

One of the larger rocks fell out of the formation around Saix when an ever bigger rock fell onto it. It shattered, pelting Saix. A large piece hit him on the forehead squarely.

Saix's limp body fell to the ground, blacked out.

Tifa couldn't see anything. A flash of lightning had occurred just before her, blinding her, shattering the ground around her, and making her eardrums bleed. She was bleeding from the ears now, unable to see, clinging to a flat boulder that was flying in the air.

The wind was practically ripping her muscles apart, the rain mixing with her sweat and stinging her blind eyes.

Down below, Demyx was looking up. A mini tornado had formed around the after effects of a lightning strike. The tornado had broken down, and now, the rocks were making a u turn, going towards the ground – towards Demyx and Marluxia.

"Rocks." Demyx stated monotone, staring blankly at the flying boulders. "Rocks. Rocks rocks rocks rocks BIG ROCKS!" This caught Marluxia's attention. He looked up and saw the rocks flying towards them.

The two boys looked to each other panic-stricken. Demyx shouted.

"BIG ROCKS!"

And with that, they proceeded to scream and turn tail, running for their lives. It was a good thing they weren't running for their dignity, for they'd already lost that.

Tifa heard voices down below her, and screams. She hoped her teammates were alright, though that was a lot to hope for. She was barely alive herself.

Behind him, Marluxia noticed that something was on one of the closest boulders. He stopped abruptly and pointed it out to Demyx.

"YES, I SEE THE BIG ROCKS!" Demyx screeched over the wind. Marluxia slapped him over the head.

"There's someone on the rocks!" He screeched back angrily at the boy's stupidity. Demyx peered up at the flying earth and nodded.

"HEY!" He yelled.

Tifa heard him.

"OVER HERE!" She yelled, extending her hand to somewhere. She hoped that whoever it was could grab her hand.

I haven't ever really found a place that I call home

Demyx saw her hand outstretch and he lurched for it, grabbing Marluxia's hand with his other. "Hold on!" The boy demanded as Tifa's hand and his latched onto each other, and they were flung into the air

I never stick around quite long enough to make it

Demyx grunted when he ricocheted in the air, Marluxia's weight weighing on his arm. Tifa, blind, shouted to the boys.

"I can't see! You'll have to pull yourselves up!" With a curt nod to Demyx, Marluxia grabbed the boy's ankle and began pulling himself up.

I apologize for once again I'm not in love

Marluxia groaned as the rain made it hard for him to hold onto Demyx's cloak, but falling was not an option. Using his powers, Marluxia began growing a vine from the earthy boulder they were clinging to. Demyx cheered, which made the blind Tifa twitch, unsure of what was going on.

"Good job, Marxly!"

But it's not as if I mind that your heart ain't exactly breaking

Marluxia sat on the rock, and the stone fumbled in the air. Demyx ricocheted again, and Tifa lurched, her fist bleeding onto the stone. Marluxia used the vine to keep himself up. But a third person on top would make it even harder for the boulder to remain balanced.

Should he let Demyx go? The boy was an idiot; he was better off without him.

It's just a thought, only a thought.

"Marluxia!" Demyx could practically sense Marluxia's doubt. His usual feeling of fear was back. But he waved the fear back – if he died, then he would. But he wouldn't give up on Marluxia. "Please!"

And if my life is for rent

And I don't learn to buy

"Please!" That pleading tone rang out in Marluxia's mind.

He had betrayed them before. He could do it again.

Well I deserve nothing more than I get

Cause nothing I have is truly mine.

"Come on, fool!" he called, reaching his hand out. "Hurry!"

Demyx's stomach rose high in elation as Marluxia pulled him up onto the rock.

"You had me worried for a second there." The blonde admitted.

"Me, too." Marluxia sighed, confused. "Me, too."

I always thought that I'd love to live by the sea

Demyx spun to look at Tifa as Marluxia's vine wrapped around all of their legs, keeping them on the rock. Demyx saw it go around Tifa and felt it around his legs. His fear was lowering. Looking up to Marluxia, he nodded.

"I trust you." Marluxia flickered a small smile.

'Do I trust myself?' He thought.

To travel the world alone and live more simply

Marluxia: The emotion "care" has begun to grow.

Demyx: The emotion "brave" is still growing.

I have no idea what's to the dream

Tifa had watery eyes over the pain, as it was searing her body. Her mind was flickering in and out of sleep. Now, she couldn't hold on, and hoped with all her heart that whoever was with her would save her.

And with that, she blacked out.

As there's really nothing left here to stop me

"Tifa!" Demyx shouted, holding the girl by the shoulders as she fell asleep. Marluxia looked down. The tornado was slowing, and slowly headed towards the ground. It was a good thing they were landing, but if they landed wrong…

Farther away, Yuna was leaping from rock to rock, slowly down, making very slow progress. At this rate, she'd never make it to the top.

Sora was bleeding from his hairline, his brown spikes soaked in red and crusting. Yuna was panic-stricken. What if she didn't find someone in time? Could she help him?

It's just a thought, only a thought

"YUNA!"

And if my life is for rent

And I don't learn to buy

Well, I deserve nothing more than I get

Cause nothing I have is truly mine.

Yuna was tumbled through the rumble, after losing her footing, and was now plummeting to the earth. There was no way to stop the LONG drop. They were both going to die.

If my life is for rent

And I don't learn to buy

Well, I deserve nothing more than I get

Cause nothing I have is truly mine

Demyx had seen them, only twenty feet away in the air, falling in what seemed to him like slow motion. He hadn't seen Sora under Yuna's arm at first, but now he saw both falling to their deaths.

"Demyx, don't you fool!" Marluxia knew what Demyx was doing. He was crouched at the edge of the rock, preparing to jump.

"I'm the heart of the storm." He whispered to himself, trying to quell his fears. "The blood of the earth."

And with that, he leapt away into the rain and wind and storm.

All my heart is a shield and I won't let it down

While I am so afraid to fail

So I won't even try

Well how can I say I'm alive?

Tifa was dying in Marluxia's arms.

He was being hurtled in the air in a tornado on a crash course with the earth.

His partner was leaping through a storm and thousands of stones, to his death, leaping to save a girl falling far from the sky and a boy who was pale of blood loss.

Far below them, Saix was unconscious and losing oxygen fast.

And if my life is for rent

And I don't learn to buy

Well I deserve nothing more than I get

Cause nothing I have is truly

I guess this is our last game.

And if my life is for rent

And I don't learn to buy

Well I deserve nothing more than I get

Cause nothing I have is truly mine

"DEMYX YOU FOOLHARDY HERO!"

Marluxia couldn't watch as the boy lost elevation and plummeted towards the falling duo, being pelted by rocks.

Yuna was trying really hard to breath. But blood was rushing to her brain, and fear was seizing her like it never had. Sora was limp in her arms; she couldn't feel his chest moving.

Cause nothing I have is truly mine

The blood from Tifa's ears and fists was lightly soaking Marluxia's cloak, but he couldn't tell. He was unleashing his fury on the storm. As he screamed, the storm screamed back; lightning flashed and the loudest thunder of the storm erupted, rolling, and rolling for what seemed like ages.

Cause nothing I have is truly mine

The rain was getting harder and harder. The storm clouds were even blacker, if that was possible.

Demyx, Yuna, and Sora were only ten feet from the ground, ten feet from landing to their deaths upon Saix's rocky prison.

The stone that Marluxia was on crashed into the wall, just as he had predicted, crashing only seconds after he had watched Demyx leap. He was sure it had been hours; Marluxia braced himself beforehand, turning his back to the wall, and wrapping Tifa in his arms.

Cause nothing I have is truly mine.

Now, three things happened in the seconds before Marluxia and Tifa hit the wall, seconds before Demyx, Yuna, and Sora hit the earth, seconds before Saix ran out of air.

The first thing was that a black figure with one wing could be seen standing on the edge of a plateau watching the situation with cold, hardened precision.

The second was that, only a second before it all happened, the storm just stopped. It didn't stop slowly, it just stopped. The sun appeared immediately, the clouds just disappeared (if you had blinked, you would have seen storms one second, and sun the next), and the rain and thunder and lightning were all gone. The ground wasn't even wet.

Lastly, the six who had been seconds to death all floated to the ground alive. The stones around Saix were gone, but Sora's injuries and Tifa's still remained.

Sora was bleeding profusely, and as soon as Yuna was on the ground, she looked to him, placing his head in her lap as she looked him over, crying. What had just happened? Would Sora be ok? Yuna didn't know.

Tifa was still bleeding from the ears, but as soon as he hit the ground, Demyx ran to Sora and grabbed the pack off his back. He took out some eardrops and eyedrops, along with potions and bandages, and left the rest for Yuna. She looked it over, taking out the medicine she needed immediately as Demyx rushed back to the angry Marluxia.

"What just happened?" Marluxia growled. Saddened, Demyx didn't answer him. "Who is that woman? She did that, I know she did. What is this? A game, she said? This is no fucking game!"

Demyx winced. Yuna's sobs continued, her tears falling on Sora as she healed him. Even though she had wrapped the bandages and placed medicine on the wound, he hadn't moved.

"Who the fuck is this woman, messing with us and calling it a game? Who is she to test us? Huh? Who!" Demyx wiped sweat from his brow as he dabbed at the blood around Tifa's ears.

As Marluxia ranted, as Yuna cried, and as the wounded were tended to, no one noticed something very important.

Saix wasn't breathing.

And if my life is for rent,

And I don't learn to buy,

Well, I deserve nothing more than I get,

Cause nothing I have is truly mine.

And all my heart is a shield and I won't let it down,

While I am so afraid to fail.

So I won't even try,

Well how can I say I'm alive?