Me: Okay, so. About the late update.
Char: Oh, joy. Here it comes.
Me: Well, summer league for swimteam just started, so I have to compete in Saturday meets and I feel pretty dead by the time I get home from them. As a result, I usually just spend the rest of the day reading fics or playing video games. Second, my computer got infected with spyware, and I'm pretty sure the little motherfuckers are still on here, because this thing is running slowly and most of the time the internet doesn't even come up.
Char: So, yeah. That's about it.
Me: In fact, today I JUST got up off my ass and finished this chapter, since I have today off from school. Originally I was stuck on the part with Anxclof's self-reflection -
Char: Saf? They don't want its life story. They want IT.
Me: Oh - shut up. Anyway, enjoy an extra-long filler chappie!
Readers: Oy.

Disclaimer- I should seriously just stop doing these.

Char awoke to the feeling of a hand gently shaking her shoulder. She came to slowly, blinking groggily to clear the sleep from her eyes, and stared around, waiting to get used to the light. It took her a moment to realize that she was no longer in the back room of the Gummi ship – the surface beneath her was too pliant for that – and another moment to recognize the mussed brown spikes.

"Hey, Sora," she greeted sleepily. "Are we there already?"

Sora helped her to her feet. "Actually," he began, sounding a little sheepish, "we've been in Hollow Bastion for a little while now." He gestured out the nearby window, to an early nighttime sky that was partly eclipsed by shutters. "You were asleep for, like, five hours."

Char narrowed her eyes. "And you guys couldn't bother to wake me up and tell me we were here?"

Sora shrugged helplessly, half-cringing at the thought of Char's wrath. "Well… you were sleeping so peacefully we didn't want to wake you…" he admitted, which was true.

Char stared at him, and, when he lifted his palms in a placating gesture, relaxed. "Okay, whatever, I'll take it," she muttered. "And… where am I now?"

"Leon took you to Merlin's house," Sora explained. "There was a back hallway near Cid's computer with a bunch of rooms in it; we couldn't see it at first because you had to hit a button to reveal it. Donald and Goofy have another room, and I have one for myself."

Char nodded slowly, moving only her eyes to survey the room. For the first time, she noted the comfortable softness of the bed's sheets – fitting accommodations for someone of Merlin's station, she supposed. A desk and chair sat next to the bed, with a simple wardrobe on the other side of the room.

"Huh," she remarked. "Nice place."

Then Sora's previous words hit her. Leon took you to Merlin's house…

"Oh, gods," she moaned, falling back on the pillows.

Sora blinked. "Um…" Bipolar much? he thought, for perhaps the fiftieth time since they had met. But, for perhaps the fiftieth time, he left the words unspoken.

"You let Leon carry me?" Char demanded, glaring at Sora in open mortification.

He flinched away. "Well… yeah… the rest of us were tired and you obviously weren't gonna wake up anytime soon…"

He half-expected her to lose her temper and call him a wimp for being so "tired." But her next words startled him.

"So you couldn't have done it?" One slender eyebrow cocked over a slitted blue eye.

Sora hesitated, then spoke, tentatively, like one approaching a temporarily-bipedal bear. "Would… would you rather I had done it?" Even as he spoke, that treacherous flush seemed to go through his whole body.

Char groaned, as though annoyed at his obliviousness. "N-no," she replied vehemently. "Hell, no! I mean – geez, how the hell did you get me out of the Underworld if you didn't – Oh gods, can we just drop it?" she finished pathetically, glaring at one of the bedposts.

She could feel Sora's stare on the side of her face and didn't dare look back for fear of seeing hurt in his eyes.

"Yeah," he answered at last. "Well, we're here now – that's all that matters, right?"

His voice was that of someone trying and failing to be optimistic, and for some reason that made Char sigh inwardly. Of all people, the Keybearer shouldn't be the one who was unable to put heart in people – he had the exact opposite of a personality.

Dampening people's spirits is my job, she thought sardonically.

She managed to look back at him, but as soon as their eyes met, he promptly glanced away. The previously-raised eyebrow arched up even further, but she said nothing.

"Well, what've we got to eat around here?" she asked, even as she felt the stings of hunger in her belly. "I'm starved – I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast!"

Sora met her eyes again, his own brightening at the prospect of food. "Oh, yeah – Donald and Goofy already ate, but I waited, because I wasn't that hungry."

Char scoffed. "More like you thought you'd feel bad for not waiting for me."

Sora's eyes widened. "No, seriously – I wasn't hungry!"

"Somehow I find that hard to believe."

Sora opened his mouth to speak, but then he closed it briefly before opening it again. "Don't be so quick to think something that's not true."

"Whatever," Char grumbled in response, though her conscience was nodding in agreement. "I thought we were gonna go get some food?"

Sora's face lit up again. "Of course!" He helped her back up again, noting how she grimaced in pain. "Is the leg not getting much better?" he asked sympathetically.

"Guess not," she murmured through somewhat-gritted teeth, glaring furiously at her wound. "I think the Cura spell Donald put on it wore off."

"Well –!" Sora started to raise his other hand, apparently to reapply the pain reliever of a healing spell. The emerald glow only visibly tinged his hands when it reached his fingers.

Char reached out and, using a surprisingly careful grip, lowered his hand. "It's fine," she assured him gruffly. "You don't need to waste your energy on me. I can make it through dinner without a painkiller; just cast it on me right before I go to bed or something."

Sora looked doubtfully at her, but otherwise said nothing.

They made their way back out to the main chamber of Merlin's house, where they saw Goofy and Yuffie watching Cid type something at the computer. The dog's ears pricked at hearing their footsteps, and he turned toward them. "Hey look, Char's awake!" Goofy cried, causing Cid and Yuffie to glance over. Char winced at being the center of attention, but at the same time, she moved away from Sora and supported herself against the wall.

"Hi Sora!" Yuffie greeted brightly. She looked sympathetically at Char, though her eyes were wide. "He told us what happened – did you really stand up to Hades like that?"

Char shrugged in a show of modesty, but she was really feeling a kind of smugness in addition to embarrassment. "It was nothing – he was going to kill Key-boy. I just acted."

"Doesn't sound to me like you just acted," Cid growled, raising his voice an octave on the last two words. He fixed his squinted gaze on the brunette. "Sora – you should be thankin' the lady, don't ya think?"

Sora laughed nervously. "I… um…" Finally he gave up on thinking of a witty comeback and just looked at Char, saying, "Thanks for protecting me." Again.

Char rolled her eyes. "Um, instead of going on about how great I am, can we get some food on board?"

She and Sora ended up having some pizza that Donald's uncle Scrooge had prepared. As they ate, Sora decided to tell her a little more about his previous journey, like his other visits to the Olympus Coliseum and how he knew the Beast. As he spoke, he realized that Char was actually listening. Not rolling her eyes and saying "yeah" every few sentences and shoveling food into her mouth like he'd expected – but listening. He hadn't realized this aspect of her personality even existed, other than anger and stubbornness. But no – this was just confusing. She nodded sympathetically, asked questions to clear points, and when he mentioned finding Kairi on Hook's ship, Char even widened her eyes and said, "That sucks – didn't expect that."

About an hour passed like this, with the two of them still talking long after Cid and Yuffie had gone off to their own homes for the night. Goofy bid them a good night a few minutes after the others did, and ambled off to his own room. The conversation was mostly one-sided on Sora's part, which really worked for both of them, because Sora got to vent and Char got to relax her mental energies for a bit.

At last, though, the redhead stifled a yawn with her hand. "It's late," she murmured, getting strenuously to her feet. "I'm gonna go to bed." She refused Sora's offer of help, saying that it wasn't that far to go, and limped back to her room.

She hadn't been in her room for longer than five seconds when a knock came at the door. For a moment she debated just ignoring it, but when the knocking became a tad more insistent she called, "Yeah, yeah – it's open."

The door creaked open and Sora stood there, looking around awkwardly. "Um… do you need some healing before you go to sleep?"

Char could have hit her forehead; she had totally forgotten in her conversation with him, but the memory of her request came flooding back when the damned wound sent a prod of harsh agony. It was all she could do to keep from crying out at it. "Yeah; thanks for reminding me," she muttered.

When the Cura had been cast and Sora had left the room, the brunette gently closed the door behind him. As he turned away, he murmured, "Gods," under his breath. Char was most definitely rubbing off on him.

Fighting within him were two very different emotions, and which one took over depended on his mood. Earlier, when he was talking with Char and trying not to gobble down Scrooge's pizza too fast – because he knew how much she hated it when he talked with his mouth full – worry had been grappling with impatience. Currently, the latter was itching at him and putting even the normally happy-go-lucky Keybearer on edge.

"Hey, Sora," Goofy called. "Are ya going to sleep?"

Sora looked back at the dog and felt a sting of self-conscience at his own feelings. It wasn't right, that he should feel this anger toward Char for sticking a detour in his plans to find Riku and Kairi; the feeling of how ungrateful he was intensified when he realized that Char had just been protecting him. And that was perhaps the worst part, because he didn't understand why.

"Earth to Sora!" Yuffie waved a hand in front of his face.

Sora jerked up in surprise and leaned back slightly. "Eh, yeah, I'm gonna go to bed." He grinned a little sheepishly. "It's… been a long day."

"How long do you think you'll be stayin' here?" Cid questioned.

Sora hesitated. In all honesty, he hadn't the faintest clue. Donald had said a week, and seventeen days at the most; but even with the frequent application of Cura spells, it was still a burn. From actual fire. From hellfire, no less.

So, in response, he just shrugged helplessly. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I don't think we'll be here longer than two weeks, though."

"Well, Merlin said he'd be happy to have us," Goofy pointed out.

Sora sighed. "I know," he muttered. "I'll see you all in the morning."

With that, he turned around and trudged back to his room. Normally he would have paused and looked around a little more, but at the moment, the only thought in his mind was of sleep.

He cleaned himself up, hung his jacket on a hanger in the wardrobe, and was asleep almost as soon as he had snuggled into the warm covers and pillows.

Meanwhile, worlds away, Anxclof was restless. Since Hayner and the others had insisted on her staying, she had found shelter in the Usual Spot. Olette had offered to let Anxclof spend the night at her house – three times, in fact – but the latter had declined; she had wanted to be alone for a while. Now, the Nobody half-wished she were sitting in Olette's bedroom, playing truth or dare and whispering conspiratorially so as not to awaken the sleeping parents. At least that would have distracted her.

Roxas' last words before vanishing wouldn't get out of her head. It's like DiZ said… it's the fate of a Nobody.

DiZ… was that the name of the man who had ordered Roxas' kidnapping? For some reason, it sounded familiar to her. Anxclof racked her brain for the memory that was undoubtedly the source of the feeling, but she couldn't get a good grasp on it. She sighed and shifted uncomfortably on the couch, noting dimly the luxurious quality of it. Guess even Twilight Town has to get shipments from another place…

And then the worry from before came rushing back, because Anxclof was beginning to get a sense that there was no other place to get shipments from.

She told herself to relax. This was the real Twilight Town; not the glitch-riddled caricature that DiZ had most likely created to imprison Roxas in. Then it occurred to her that perhaps the reason why she was so wary of this place was because of the identical nature of Roxas' former prison. Once again, tears failed to reach her eyes at the thought of her friend, making her wonder whether or not she had cried her eyes dry.

Just wait until after the festival, she told herself. After that, you can try to get Roxas back for good.

Anxclof shook her head and buried her face in the couch's cushion. She didn't notice because her eyes were shut so tightly, but moisture had begun to soak the fabric.

I'm going insane, she thought, and slept.

Sora awoke the next morning to the sound of voices coming from the main room. He sat up abruptly, only to groan and plop back down at the dizzying feeling of moving his still-sleepy limbs too quickly. He yawned and, more slowly this time, brought himself up so his upper body was being supported by his hands.

I wonder how Char is doing… he wondered. The last time he'd seen her, she had been pulling the top covers of her bed back, being careful to keep her weight off her injured leg.

He finally got out of bed and walked down the hallway into the main chamber, untangling his hair with his fingers as he did so. He had just finished straightening a particularly unruly knot when he saw who all had disturbed his slumber.

The entire Hollow Bastion group – Cid, Yuffie, Aerith, Merlin, and a particularly suspicious-looking Leon, along with Donald and Goofy – stood in front of a dark-clad, blond-haired figure, whose back was to Sora. The Keybearer took one look at the gravity-defying golden hair and realized who it was.

"Cloud?" he blurted before he could stop himself. Everyone's eyes instantly looked from the stranger to Sora, and the man turned. Upon closer inspection, Sora's assumption was confirmed; though Cloud's outfit differed significantly from their previous encounter, the haunted blue eyes gave it all away.

"Sora," Cloud greeted stiffly.

"Good morning!" Yuffie chirped. "Sleep well?"

Sora nodded to the girl. "Great, thanks." He glanced back at Cloud. "Um… what's Cloud doing in Hollow Bastion?"

"He supposedly just came for a visit," Leon muttered. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was glaring pointedly at Cloud, clearly wary of the newcomer.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "I already told you – I'm searching for someone."

Sora tilted his head to the side. He remembered Cloud talking about not losing sight of his light and searched his memory for anything else important. However, he couldn't come up with anything pointing toward looking for a person.

"Morning," Char's voice half-yawned, half-called from the hallway. The redhead in question came limping into the room with her brown coat in hand, her eyes bright despite the sleepiness in her voice. She winced as she accidentally put a bit too much of her weight on her injured leg, and promptly slumped down into an empty chair. "Not much of a 'good' morning, if you ask me," she grumbled, beginning to pull her arms into the sleeves of her jacket.

"I take it you didn't sleep well, Charisa?" asked Merlin.

Char finished up, sighed, and leaned her arm against the table, reaching up with her hand to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. Sora noted that Merlin was possibly the only one who could call Char by her full name and get away unscathed. "More or less. Sora cast Cura on me right before I went to bed and it wore off a little while ago."

Then her gaze lighted on Cloud, whose frown deepened as he only moved his eyes to acknowledge her appearance. She glanced at Sora. "Who's the blond kid?" Cloud looked a bit ruffled at being referred to as a 'blond kid'.

"Oh, right. This is Cloud – did I tell you about him? We fought him at the coliseum." Sora gestured from one to the other. "Cloud, this is Char. She just joined us a little while ago."

"You visiting too?" the redhead asked. Cloud shrugged in response.

"Guess so," he muttered. "At least until I find who I'm looking for."

"Who is this person, exactly?" queried Aerith in her soft voice. Cloud's expressionless face turned to her, warming only a little as he did so. "If we know, then maybe we can help you."

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the girl. "I don't need help. Besides, you're better off not knowing."

Looking from one person to another, Sora suddenly understood why Leon felt so paranoid about the blond's purpose. Cloud certainly was going through a lot to keep his reasons a secret…

Aerith sighed and addressed Sora and Char. "He's been dodging us like this since he got here."

Char shrugged one shoulder. "I say if he wants to keep it to himself, let him. We all have secrets." A flicker of discomfort crossed her gaze as she said it, as though she agreed with her own words more than she let on.

Yuffie gave an exaggerated sigh. "Well, geez – all this secrecy stuff is making me hungry!"

Sora felt his own stomach give a grumble of agreement, and nodded. "Me too. What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes," Leon muttered, without moving from his stiff posture. Were it not for his mouth moving, he would have seemed like a statue. "Cid made them."

"Oh, boy!" Donald squawked in pleasure, hopping into the chair next to Char's.

"Cid makes some wicked pancakes," Sora told Char.

As the man passed out their breakfast, Aerith suddenly glanced over at Cloud, who, like Leon, still stood awkwardly off to the side. "Why don't you two eat with us?"

Cloud stared down at the floor, so that his mouth briefly disappeared beneath the top part of his tabard. "I'm not hungry."

"Neither am I," Leon echoed. He took his Gunblade off a rack on the wall and swung it down at his side. "I'm going to go check on the Heartless."

Without another word, he stalked out of the house.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "That Squall… he can be so impossible sometimes," she complained through a mouthful of pancake.

"Well, can you blame him?" Cid growled. "Somebody else comes along with no real purpose – kinda suspicious, eh?"

Sora couldn't help but think that Cloud didn't enjoy being talked about as if he wasn't there, and glanced at the blond for confirmation. One eyebrow had disappeared beneath golden bangs, but Cloud did not speak.

"C'mon, Cloud," he urged. "These pancakes are great." He shoved several bits of food into his mouth as he spoke. Char made a sound of disapproval and hit Sora on the back of the shoulder.

"Leave him alone," she said. "Even if he is hungry and he's just pulling the tough-guy act right now, you don't need to wave that in front of his face like that."

Cloud folded his arms. "Hm."

"Doesn't talk much, does he?" Donald commented.

Char finished the rest of her breakfast in silence, and then abruptly stood and pushed her chair in. "We've got another problem," she said. Sora watched her face closely for hints of pain, but she seemed to be suppressing the agony of her burn very well. Again, he was struck by how petty he was acting, feeling impatient and wanting to drag her back along their journey when she was supposed to be getting better.

Everyone around the table looked expectantly at Char.

She took a deep breath and evenly met their curious eyes. "In the Olympus Coliseum, this stupid… giant… snake thing –"

"It was a Hydra," Donald re-phrased, looking pointedly at Char.

"Oh, whatever," Char retorted. "You can't deny it was a giant snake thing."

"But that's not what it's called," Goofy guilelessly remarked.

Char ignored him and kept speaking. "Well, anyway, it reduced my weapons to nothing. So, um…" She hesitated then, as though debating whether or not to impose on their hospitality. Sora shoveled a few finishing mouthfuls of pancakes into his mouth and reflected that he would have expected her to ask them right out; clearly, she respected the Hollow Bastion residents.

"Could you guys maybe work on fashioning me some new twin swords?" she asked, inclining her head to Merlin and Cid. "If I'm going to continue helping Sora, then I sure as hell can't do it without a weapon."

"That will be acceptable, Charisa," Merlin acquiesced. "You will also need help in your, ahem, situation, I expect?" He gestured at her injured leg.

Char winced. "Ah, gods. Don't remind me." She shrugged. "Well… guess I'll need to stay in bed…"

"And keep the wound dressed." Cloud's words startled everyone; Donald and Yuffie nearly jumped and looked at the blond in shock. The slightest furrow of Cloud's blue eyes suggested he was uncomfortable at this. "The last thing you want is the fabric of your clothes irritating it," he went on, never taking his eyes off Char. "You've been lucky so far not to get it infected."

"And how exactly did you glean all that?" Cid growled.

Cloud looked like he was trying very hard not to roll his eyes. "I listen," was his terse response.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Then Aerith rose. "I think for now, the fighters can go protect the town, and those who know healing spells should stay back here and help." She glanced at Cloud. "And you can continue searching for that person."

Cloud shrugged. "I guess." He turned away and left the house before anyone else could say a word.

As soon as the tails of his black coat had vanished, Yuffie let out a huffy sigh. "Man! He's as bad as Leon. They're both the biggest badass-wannabes I've ever seen."

"It doesn't look good that they don't like each other, either," Sora murmured. A flash of Leon glaring suspiciously at the impassive Cloud went through Sora's mind, and the Keybearer shivered.

"Look," Char finally said, "Aerith, Merlin, Donald… Sora… you guys don't have to stay behind and cast Cura on me every time that painkiller wears off. I may be female, but that doesn't mean I need to be taken care of."

"We're aware of that!" Sora protested. And he meant it; Char had proven herself on more than one occasion. Char's eyes turned to him as he went on, "I mean… it also helps to heal the burn, right?"

Merlin gave a nod of affirmation. "Yes. With Cura and Curaga spells, the process of burns on the skin healing speeds up immensely. Without them, it would normally be several weeks before Char could accompany you again."

See! Sora's conscience scolded him. It could be worse; this way you would only have to wait two weeks at the most!

"I'm just happy she'll be okay!" Goofy said.

Donald grunted and looked away. "Yeah… me too, I guess."

"I really like the loving relationship you two have there," Cid noted. He got up from his seat. "Well, if we're done here, I'm gonna go check on the defense mechanism."

"And the great ninja Yuffie shall valiantly protect the town!" Yuffie cried dramatically, whipping out one of her shuriken in a silver blur. Sora blinked; he hadn't even noticed her hand going toward her pocket.

Aerith sighed and smiled at Sora. "Don't worry; Char will be fine in a little while."

"How long's a little while?" he heard Char mutter under her breath.

Anxclof followed Hayner and the others down the back alley toward what was supposedly the Sandlot. "If you want to get good at Struggle-fighting," Hayner had told her authoritatively, "you have to get going while the going's good. And Seifer could be there too, so you can finally meet the jerk."

"How was your sleep last night?" asked Olette, ignoring her hot-tempered friend.

Anxclof shrugged. "Okay, I guess." In reality, she had been plagued by dreams of Roxas and Sora coming at her with flame-tipped Keyblades and had screamed herself awake, but she doubted that Olette would want to hear that. They think I'm weird enough as it is, she thought wryly.

"At least Twilight Town's breakfast place is right by the Sandlot," Pence commented, rubbing his belly in anticipation.

Anxclof raised an eyebrow. She had barely even realized she was hungry until the boy had pointed out the prospect of food.

"We're here!" Hayner announced. He stopped in his tracks so abruptly that Olette nearly ran into his back, and turned dramatically to Anxclof. "Welcome, Anxclof," he announced in a booming voice, making a sweeping gesture with one of his arms, "to the Strrrrr-uggle tournament!"

Anxclof couldn't help it; she put one hand over her mouth to muffle her giggle even as she was glancing around. Posters covered the walls of the diamond-shaped clearing, set off by the large poster at the front wall that read "Struggle!" in large letters. Nearby, there was a box of long blue bats, a box that Hayner immediately set off toward.

"Okay," he began, picking one for himself and then handing one to Anxclof. "You've got the Struggle bat here," he continued, sounding very much like a teacher talking to his student. "Basically, you knock the crap out of your opponent until the timer runs out."

He kept talking on and on about the elements behind a good Struggle victory, but Anxclof wasn't listening. She stared at the Struggle bat, weighing it in her hands and turning it over and over. The blue foam object was no Keyblade, but somehow, it felt as natural as holding her jagged golden weapon. She wondered if Roxas had participated in the Struggle tournament, and a smile spread on her face at such a silly question. Of course he had; he had probably felt the same way toward this bat that she did, whether he knew the reason why or not.

"Well, well! What have we here?" The arrogant voice cut Hayner off abruptly and caused Anxclof to look up. Coming in from the other side of the Sandlot were four shapes that got more distinct as they approached. The smallest one of all whimpered and hid behind the bulky boy that stood next to the silver-haired girl. The leader, a white-clad boy with a scar across one eye and a mildly interested look on his smug face, cocked an eyebrow at Anxclof. In return, she narrowed her own eyes. Somehow, she got the feeling that the two of them wouldn't be the best of friends.

"Seifer?" she muttered to Olette out of the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah," Olette sighed. "And it looks like he brought Vivi, Rai, and Fuu with him, too."

The girl – Fuu, most likely – watched the two talking with small fascination, but she looked back at Seifer when he spoke. "So," he drawled, circling the group without once taking his eyes off Anxclof. He stopped in front of Hayner. "Who's this chick?"

"Excuse me?" Anxclof growled. "I'm a person, not a bird."

Hayner's mouth twitched upwards slightly at Anxclof's words, but he kept a straight face.

"Hey!" the larger boy yelled. "Seifer's talking to you, y'know?"

"Rai, stay out of it," the shortest one sighed.

"I asked you a question, chickenwuss," Seifer said. "Who's she?"

"He has a name, you know," Anxclof cut in. "It's Hayner."

Seifer stared at her for a moment; then his eyes lit up as though in understanding. "Ohhh, I get it! Chickenwuss here has a girlfriend!" he told his cronies.

Fuu raised an eyebrow. "Finally," was all she said.

"Hey!" Hayner shouted. "I just met her yesterday, you moron!"

"Yeah!" Anxclof snarled in agreement. "You prepared to back that up?"

"Um… I'm just going over here," Pence murmured to Olette, and promptly disappeared into the breakfast restaurant. Olette folded her arms and shook her head at Hayner and Anxclof.

"Maybe I am," Seifer retorted. He strode over to the box and withdrew a Struggle bat. "You training her for the festival?" he asked Hayner.

"And if I am?" the blond blustered. His eyes widened. "Wait, you're not going to fight her, are you? She just got here a little while ago!"

"Yeah, I think you'd be low, but not that low," Anxclof remarked. At the same time, she considered using a few moves Xaldin had taught her to bring Seifer to his knees, but dismissed the idea.

"She's right," Seifer sighed. "Why would I do that?"

"A guy's gotta know chivalry, y'know!" Rai piped up.

Hayner gasped in mock surprise. "Rai! I didn't even know you knew the word 'chivalry'!" The boy pouted indignantly at that.

"Nah," Seifer said. A smirk took over his countenance. "I'll be fighting you, chickenwuss."

Without warning, he charged at Hayner, and the other teen barely dodged in time. He stumbled back and thrust his bat forward in an attempt at a blow, but it was clear that Hayner had been taken by surprise. Seifer just danced away and lashed out with his own bat at the same time, aiming for Hayner's legs. Hayner nearly tripped, but miraculously managed to keep on his feet. He made as if to strike with his weapon to one side and whipped it in the other direction at the last moment, a move that Seifer barely blocked in time. In the same motion, Seifer dipped his bat downward, obviously trying to get at Hayner's legs again. This time, he succeeded, and the smaller blond hit the ground with a grunt that made Anxclof wince, dropping his bat in the process. He barely rolled away as Seifer's weapon slammed into the ground, bringing up a puff of dirt-clad dust.

After a bit more of this, during which Anxclof and Olette watched with growing dread for Hayner and Rai shouted a few more taunts involving 'y'know', the Nobody could stand it no longer. She might not care much about Roxas' "old friends", but these people had treated her like a friend, and she had a low tolerance for injustice as it was.

She gripped the bat tightly and leaped into action. Dashing away from Seifer's blows, she lashed out in a series of rapid attacks that knocked him backward. Seifer growled, clearly displeased with this turn of events, and switched his attention to Anxclof. Hayner, still on the ground, watched, his eyes wide, as, with a few swipes and blows of the bat, Anxclof had effectively pinned Seifer to the wall with the aforementioned weapon at his throat.

"Now," she growled, her face perhaps inches away from his, "you and your chivalry can back the hell off."

Seifer snarled angrily, but said nothing as she removed her bat from its precarious position at his neck. She pushed herself away from him by shoving his chest.

"Alright then," she said, tossing her Struggle bat in the box, "I'll see you at the festival."

Wordlessly, she helped Hayner up and then looked at Olette. "I'm hungry. Let's eat."

They entered the restaurant with shouts of promised vengeance from Rai and sighs from Vivi following them. Olette looked in wonder at Anxclof. "Wow," she said, her green eyes wide. "How did you… where did you…"

"You totally owned him, man!" Hayner crowed, but he sounded a little half-hearted as he held up his hand. It took Anxclof a moment to realize that he wanted a high-five, and she quickly obliged him.

She shrugged self-consciously. "It… was a reflex. I mean, I had the thing and Hayner was getting beaten."

"Hey, guys!" Pence called to them, and they followed his voice over to his table and sat down. The dark-haired boy had a mouthful of bacon and eggs, but he still stared anxiously at them. "Well… so, I take it you beat Seifer?"

"You should've seen it," Olette told him. She looked at Anxclof, her eyes shining. "Anxclof jumped in at the last second and – I don't even know how she did it…"

Feeling somewhat nervous at being the center of attention, Anxclof glanced over at Hayner, who was sitting next to her. The blond was currently staring irritably out into space, propping up his elbow on the table and leaning the side of his face against his upraised fist; but it was clear that what he felt was beyond annoyance.

Anxclof cocked an eyebrow. "Hey," she said, nudging his arm with her elbow. His brown eyes flicked down to her face. "You okay?"

Hayner raised and lowered one shoulder. "Yeah."

Sure, Anxclof thought sarcastically, but left him alone.

"Hi, all!" the waitress greeted as she came by. "Can I get you three something?"

As Olette ordered a large plate of bacon and eggs for everyone, Anxclof didn't take her eyes off of Hayner. Every once in a while his own brown gaze would return to her, but he looked back away so quickly that she couldn't be too sure. She figured that her victory over Seifer rankled Hayner – or rather, that he hadn't defeated the jerk himself, but needed help from a total outsider. Way to be inconspicuous, Anx.

"So, Anxclof," Olette began. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Yeah," Hayner murmured.

Anxclof shrugged one shoulder. "I've… been around." Which, if one thought about it, wasn't a total lie. Training with Xaldin and Xigbar would be enough to make anyone into a fine single-blade fighter.

Almost the instant she finished her sentence, something – an aura she recognized – suddenly seemed to rent the air. Anxclof's eyes widened.

Oh, no… don't tell me…

"What's wrong?" asked Pence, swallowing his mouthful of pancake and giving her a curious look.

Anxclof shook her head, at the same time frantically casting her eyes about for the exit. She jumped to her feet and threw a quick promise of returning over her shoulder as she raced out the door.

Outside, the air was clearer, but that still didn't mean the presence was gone. Anxclof made sure to make as little noise as possible as she made her way slowly toward the tunnel entrance by the Sandlot. She stepped into the dark corridor, moving only her eyes around the area. Summoning her Keyblade, she began to move forward…

…and then dozens of white-and-azure blurs flung themselves on her and pinned her down.

Anxclof snarled. "What the –" Her anger turned to shock as she recognized the Nobodies' master himself, his spiky crimson hair standing out against the drab walls of the tunnel.

"I thought I'd find you here," Axel remarked casually.

Wishing more than anything that her Keyblade-wielding arm was freed, Anxclof narrowed her eyes. "Call off the Assassins, Axel."

"How about no?" The male Nobody leaned down so that his face was close to hers. "I don't trust you. And you should know why."

"Axel…" She wasn't sure what she would tell him. "I got Roxas back only to lose him"?

"You knew what to do. You were the one that said, 'I'll be the one to save Roxas.'" Axel sighed. "And yet I see you, chumming it up with the very people that bound him to this town!"

"This was just where I ended up!" Anxclof snapped back before she could stop herself. "I figured I should get some rest because –"

"Because?"

Crap. Realizing only now that she had gone too far, the brunette growled and struggled valiantly against the lesser Nobodies' hold.

"I don't want to fight you, Anx." Anxclof let out the breath she had been holding as her – former? – friend stood back up and moved away, turning his back to her.

"Wow – it's news to me."

"Will you stop trying to be smart for a second?" Axel's venomous words stopped Anxclof in her action of moving her Keyblade to kill the Assassin that pinned her arm. He sighed again. "Look, all I'm saying is that we have the same cause. I'm just telling you that you should leave this town and keep looking for Roxas."

"Oh, like you are?" Once again, Anxclof's frustration took hold of her. "At least I'm trying! You're just, gods, I don't even know what you're doing. Sitting at home at the World That Never Was, pulling a Xemnas and staring at Kingdom Hearts while trying to be philosophical about your life or lack thereof?"

The dark figure in front of her said nothing, nor did he move; if he hadn't stiffened visibly, Anxclof would have thought he was a statue.

Then he spoke, and she was surprised because he didn't scream at her.

"Let's see you do what you're doing with the Superior and his cronies watching you all the time."

"Oh, no, poor you!" Anxclof scoffed. She flinched as she felt one of the Assassin's claws pierce through the fabric of her elbow-length gloves and through her skin, but she kept talking. "Please, Axel. You're not the one who kept trying, tracked Sora and that bitch Char for what feels like so long, got so close, only to have Roxas fade right in front of you!"

Her words made Axel whirl around. His eyes were wide. "You mean you –"

"Yeah. I got him back a couple days ago." Anxclof took a deep, shuddering breath, suddenly almost relieved that tears were threatening to escape her eyes. "He took me here. We kissed. And then, I guess, Char got Sora back, and Roxas became one with him again. I've been here ever since."

She was abruptly struck with the whole absurdity of the situation when she realized that she could've skipped all the "witty banter" with Axel if she'd just told him that. Her frustration spilled over and she sliced upward with her Keyblade, thoroughly annihilating the Assassin that had pinned her arm. Leaping up, she finished the others with a few more of the same moves.

The two Nobodies were left staring at each other, Axel standing still as a statue, Anxclof's chest heaving with exertion and her arm oozing blood on the floor.

Without another word, Axel turned away and walked into the dark portal he had summoned.

Char.

Was.

Bored.

For the past three hours, she had stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling, bored out of her skull. The only semblance of company she had was Aerith or Donald coming in to cast Curaga or Cura, respectively, whenever she called them; and even then, they never stayed very long. Char guessed that they were well aware of her currently volatile temper. Gods, she hated playing the helpless victim.

She groaned and stared out the window. The gray brick of the wall behind Merlin's house greeted her, and as she looked on, a Neo-Heartless appeared only to get vaporized by a light pedestal. A small smile tugged at Char's lips. Cid's keeping a close eye on the defense mechanism, it seems.

And that brought her back to the subject of her anger toward – well, not necessarily everyone else – just everyone who could fight at the moment. Even now, Sora and Goofy were probably outside helping Yuffie beat up some Heartless that were too strong for the defense mechanism to take care of, and Cid was at the computer regulating said defense mechanism, and Aerith was healing them when they needed help, and –

Char let out a frustrated snarl and flopped back on the bed, glaring daggers out the window as though she could take out her stress in that way. As she did so, she caught sight of the clock near the wardrobe. The hands both pointed near the top.

This is gonna be a long, long, long day.

Abruptly, Char pushed herself into a sitting position, ignoring the pain that flamed through her leg. Arduously, she got to her feet and, using the wall for support, started limping toward the door. That was it – she had to do something, otherwise she would scream from boredom and the sense of being helpless.

Almost as soon as she had exited the room, a deep voice greeted her.

"And just what are you doing up?"

Char narrowed her eyes at the tall brunette. "I'm walking. What does it look like?" she grunted, gripping the rails along the wall harder.

Leon crossed his arms. "Not walking."

"Shut up."

"If you want to get back to helping Sora, you don't want to irritate the wound like that."

"I've got it dressed," Char scoffed, looking away indignantly. However, her words were punctuated by pain and the anger at knowing Leon was right. "And Aerith will be back in a little bit, right? It's all good."

"Aerith is with the others by Maleficent's castle." Leon took a seat at the table and draped one arm across the back of it. "She won't be back for another two hours at least."

Oy. "Well, fine, that's okay; I can handle it until then. But you know what? I'm tired and I'm hungry and I'm bored." As Char spoke, she was all too aware of how bratty she sounded, yet she still said the words. She decided it must be the pain talking and kept going. "And for the record, it's barely noon. I hate sitting around here and feeling like the damsel in distress while you guys run off and kick ass." A thought suddenly came to her. "Why aren't you with them?"

Leon raised and lowered one shoulder, apparently unaffected by her outburst. "I was hungry."

Char blinked. Now that she thought about it, the air did carry the delicious aroma of macaroni and cheese… "Hm. You got any left over?"
One thumb was jerked over a jacket-clad shoulder. "It's on the table."

"Thanks." Char dragged herself over to the bowl and stuck a nearby spoon in it, not even caring that it was cold and felt slimy against the roof of her mouth. "This is actually not too bad," she commented. She glanced over. "You make this?"

"No, Merlin did. It's leftovers from a couple of days ago."

It took Char's mental clock a moment to bring that up to the day Sora had turned into a Heartless. She flinched, knowing how her stupid mistake must be holding him down from searching for Kairi and Riku.

"Char."

"Hm?" Char turned around fully. She started a little at the look on Leon's face. "What?"

Leon looked even more serious than usual, but the expression – or lack thereof – was accompanied by concern. "Sora does care about you. He's worried because you hurt yourself for him. He cares…" His brow creased in a frown, as though trying to think of how to say what he was going to say. "He's worried," he finished.

"Well, yeah, I know. I offered for him to just drop me off here so he could go on, but he refused." Char's matter-of-fact tone disguised the fact that she actually felt warm at Leon's words. She frowned to herself; again, she reflected that Riku hadn't told her to become friends with Sora.

Friends?

She realized that she could get used to that idea – maybe she already was.

Leon's mouth quirked upward. "Thank the gods he didn't decide to just leave you here. You would have bothered us all to no end."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Char retorted, putting one hand on her hip and shifting her weight to her good leg. However, her voice had a teasing note in it, a note that told him she knew he was joking.

Leon rose to his feet, still with a small smile on his face, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Get some more macaroni, and then get back to bed. You're going to need all the rest you can get."

Looking up at the tall Gunblade-wielder, Char realized that she didn't feel the slightest amount of awkwardness even though she knew how Leon had carried her in his arms. Somehow, he didn't seem like the type to read too much into that type of thing.

So, she just nodded and grinned, giving him a two-fingered salute. "Gotcha!"

As Leon hefted his Gunblade and headed back outside and Char picked up the cheese-slathered spoon again, she couldn't help but feel a little better about everything. Sure, her weapons were broken and she felt crippled and helpless and Anxclof was probably still after them, but Merlin and Cid were working on new swords for her, something that was long overdue. And her wound would heal, with the help of Cura and Curaga, and Anxclof loved – or at least felt something akin to love – Roxas, so grief would probably cripple the Nobody for a little while.

And Char and Sora were friends.

Anxclof: About damn time you figured that out! (points to above statement) Yeesh...
Me: Geez, what're you, a commentator? Anyways, review! (Yes, I do want more than one this time.)