Yeah. That's right. I'm posting early XD Don't worry, you'll get another chapter on Saturday like normal, but I decided to give you guys a surprise chapter XD I'm so nice, aren't I? XD
O.O Okay, so I got a ton of reviews since Saturday, so I don't think I'm going to reply to them all... Yeah, I'm not going to. Too many. Instead:
So, to BuddyCakes, ThePirateMage, Kaoru-chibimaster, Raikanis, chocomiiillk13, and Animeloverx175, thanks for the reviews :) Cliff hangers are horrible, horrible creations that are so much fun to write, but suck to read... trust me, I know your pain... I'm just mean enough to torture other people with them XD Also, Tifa isn't that mean... I think...
813 i love you 813: Don't worry, she can't do anything. Roxas is an adult. He can do whatever he wants XD
BreakBeauty: Roxas' mom's name is Tifa :P You guys haven't met Aerith yet XD Axel's speech was supposed to confuse people, by the way XD That's one reason I had fun writing that chapter XD
blueloving-vampire: Wow O.O Two days? That's a long time to be reading a fanfic... I'm glad you like it :) I'm actually glad the story is technically over, because I am SICK of Roxas... having him be in my head for 8-9 months has made me hate him... ^^; Roxas' co-workers remind me of my friends as well, minus any relationships. XD I hate it when every single couple is gay or lesbian in fanfics. So I refuse to write anything like that. Straight people do exist, and it's not a horrible thing to like the opposite sex. -_- The Princess Bride chapter was unedited... so I'm not surprised there were many mistakes in it... XD I wasn't so sure how people would react to the rawr moment... I'm glad you liked it XD My heart broke when I wrote Tifa saying she couldn't accept it :'( I didn't like that moment at all...
Nano: Five hours... O.o I didn't think this story was worth reading it for five hours... I mean, I know some are, but... Roxas? Cute? Wow, I don't think I've ever heard that one before for this fic XD (other than Axel who won't let me forget -_-). I would watch out for Roxas if I were you. He might take over your body and try to make you waste 8 months of your time writing a pathetically long fanfic... -_- And Axel is very sexy :) It makes me happy to hear you think his personality has been capture perfectly. He's so hard to write, being so mysterious and what not on the games... Took me two weeks of research to figure out how to write him...
xXSweet BlasphemyXx: Secret fangirl? Um... this is her son we're talking about... XD Anyway, thanks for all the reviews you left for me :) I appreciate them! And Axel being straight-forward is so fun to write. XD
Hallucinating Skys: Again, thanks for all the reviews :) It was weird sometimes to read them, because I was expecting things for chapter 31, and when it didn't make any sense to me reading some of them I got confused... ^^;
Finally, P5hng-Me-A'Wy: Be patient! You'll learn about the first time Roxas and Axel met in good time :)
Okay, so, one more thing to say: Congratulations to Hallucinating Skys for finding and defining 5 words from chapter 30 :) I'll be writing/posting the story as soon as I get off my lazy ass and get to work XD
Yeah... I think that's enough from me. Enjoy, review, and sorry. (You'll see why I'm apologizing...)
Full Chapter Title: When in darkness, or in doubt; run in circles, scream and shout
"What?"
Mom was still sitting, but I couldn't. I had to stand. I was too dumbfounded to even move. I thought that maybe she would have a few shocked reactions, but she wouldn't deny it. She would just say that it was okay, and maybe act a little funny, but she wouldn't just plain old say she wasn't okay with it.
"I'm sorry, Roxas, but I can't-"
I didn't wait to hear the rest of her sentence before storming out of the room, not even bothering to dodge my father. I remember crashing into him, and Mom calling out my name, but that's about it. I needed to get out of there.
Outside, the night air was cool and refreshing, but it failed to calm me down as I hoped it would. Instead, it just made me cold, and my irritation rose greatly, especially when I started shivering. If only I hadn't been in such a rush to get away from Mom that I completely forgot to grab my stupid coat... There was only one thing I coulddo to get out of this place.
Call Axel.
So I did.
He picked up on the first ring.
"Yo, Roxie, ready to be picked up? Riku and Sora are-"
"I don't want to go to the party," I muttered, trying to hold back all the emotion that wanted to come spilling out.
"Roxas, what happened?"
"Nothing happened. I'm just not in the mood to celebrate anything."
"Where are you?"
I looked up from my feet. Somehow, I'd made it to the park near my house. How I got there was a mystery to me, however, as I didn't even remember walking down the street, or through the grassy field that led to the park. And yet, I was there.
"I'm at the park," I said. "The park near my house. Do you-"
"I'll be right there."
That was all he said before hanging up the phone. In the background, I remember hearing Ellie asking Axel what was going on. I smiled, wondering what he told her as I stumbled to the bench near the park. It was nice to sit down after walking through the night. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back and began thinking about what had just happened.
The two people I needed to accept this the most... one hung up on me, and the other decided she couldn't accept what was going on. Both of those things were like a stab in my chest, but I had to admit that hearing my own mother tell me that she couldn't accept me dating Axel, when I'd been so paranoid about the whole thing, was a hell of a lot worse than Hayner's shit.
Suddenly, I started laughing. Just, laughing. I don't know what was wrong with me, or why all I wanted to do was laugh my ass off, but it felt good. Or, it did something to make me happy. Silently, I wished that I'd never told Mom or Hayner anything about what was going on.
"I think you've gone insane," a voice said behind me, and I turned to see Axel. He had a sad smirk on his face, like he knew something that I didn't know. He did, of course, know a shit ton more than I could ever dream of knowing, but it was still annoying to see that cocky look.
"I have not gone insane," I told him, standing up slowly. "I just have nonsensical friends and family."
"I take it things didn't go well with Hayner and your mom?"
"You must be a genius." Axel laughed as he pulled me into a hug.
"Yeah, a genius. So, what happened?"
I contemplated not telling him. There was no doubt that he would get mad at the two of them, probably yell at them for being horrible people. Actually, there was a bit of doubt. Axel had been abnormally calm all day. Even when I had been called away by my father, he acted like nothing in the world could surprise him today. It was possible, that he already knew about what was going on.
"Well, Hayner hung up on me as soon as I told him, and my mom-"
"She didn't like it, did she."
Yeah, he totally knew. And yet he let me go through with telling them. Either he wanted me to know, or he was a jack ass of a boyfriend.
Probably both.
"She told me that she couldn't accept it." I pushed away. "I didn't think she would be like that! Sure, maybe some denial, but not that she couldn't accept this. Why the hell would she say that to me?"
I looked up at him fearfully.
"Why would a mother do that?"
Axel pulled me back into a hug, despite my struggling. "I don't know, Roxas. I'm sure she has her reasons." His forehead rested on the top of my head. "I'm sure she has her reasons."
And for the second time that day, I started to cry.
I didn't want to talk to my dad. I'm pretty sure he was going to do something to try and convince me that Mom wasn't being a bitch. Well, it wasn't going to work. Even though I'd spent the night at Axel and Sora's apartment, I hadn't calmed down. Sure, the three of us and Riku had a few drinks, laughed about what was going on, and overall just had a good time, but deep down, I wasn't having fun.
At all.
And now I had to talk to my father.
Damn life. Why do you hate me so?
"Roxas, about last night-"
"Don't talk to me about it," I snapped, leaning back in the chair I'd been mentally forced into. I say mentally, because my father had this way of convincing people to do whatever he wanted them to. He basically threatened me.
"We need to talk about it."
"No. We. Don't."
"Yes, we do. Your mother is really upset about what happened, and I need to explain-" My standing up and knocking over the chair shut Dad up almost immediately. I glared down at him, my stare cold, and he matched my glare equally.
"I don't care how Mom was acting. She's nothing but a bitch."
I swear my father wanted to murder me. I actually wanted to die myself, as I'd just called my mom, who raised and took care of me for nineteen years, a bitch, which wasn't true at all. Remind me never to testify in court. I don't know how to control what I want to say...
"You know nothing about your mother. She is dealing with things you could never understand," he said, his voice low and quiet. "The fact that she didn't act the way you wanted her to last night does not give you the right to-"
"The right to what? Be upset?" I laughed and shook my head. "Do you know how hard it was for me to even think about telling you guys that I'm going out with Axel? I thought I was going to die earlier today."
"You didn't seem that upset when I talked to you."
"Yeah, you already knew-"
"So did your mother."
I froze. "What?" How could she know? I never talked to her about Axel, and she was never around when Axel was, unlike Dad who worked with us every day. She couldn't have known. Also, she didn't act like it when I started talking to her tonight.
"Your mother knew, even before I did, that you and Mr. Lea were in a relationship."
"Then why the hell didn't she tell me?" I nearly yelled. "Why didn't she tell me earlier that she 'couldn't accept this' so I could be done with it already. Maybe not be as hurt. Instead she waited, how long? Six months? Has she known since the beginning? Or-"
"Go talk to her if you want to know."
"Oh, first I had to talk to you, now I have to talk to Mom. Are you ever fucking satisfied?" I was absolutely furious with my stupid father. Wouldn't it have been better to bring Mom here so the three of us could talk and I couldn't get away? You'd think Dad would know that.
"We just had our talk, Roxas, even if you can't see that." He was standing, hands clenched into white fists as he scolded me. "Now you need to have a talk with-"
"Are you Cloud Strife?"
Both Dad and I jumped at the sound of that creepy, dark voice which said those words. Dad's face was absolutely priceless. Eyes wide, but at the same time dangerous, like he was looking at a man he didn't want to meet. Not only that, but it was full of surprise. He looked like he was going to murder whoever was standing in the doorway behind me.
So I turned around.
And nearly screamed.
The guy who'd spoken, I recognized him.
As the guy who Riku, Sora, Axel, and I were scolded by on Halloween. He looked exactly the same as he did that night; long dark hair, cold eyes, loose black clothing, and a strange red headband. It was nerve racking just looking at him.
"I asked," the guy growled, "are you Cloud Strife?"
"I am," Dad replied. "Who are you, what do you want, and how did you get in my office?"
"Where is Tifa?"
"Pardon?"
I was so confused. This guy who just came completely silently into my dad's office was looking for Mom... what the hell?
"I want to know where Tifa Lockhart is."
Not only that, but he was using my mom's maiden name. He probably knew her before she met Dad, which means they knew each other in high school. He also said her name in a protective sort of way, like an older brother or something. But if he was like an older brother to Mom, then why had I never seen him before? And why did Dad looked so pissed to see him?
"Tifa Strife isn't here. What the hell do you want?" It was interesting how Dad emphasized how Mom's last name was Strife now, not Lockhart. It was like he had a beef with this guy, even though he didn't seem to know who it was.
What the hell?
"I want to speak to Tifa. I was told she was going to be here, and I need to talk to her. Now."
Well, this guy certainly got straight to the point. But why would he be looking for Mom here? She almost never came here unless there was something freaky going on and she was asking my dad about it. There was no way in hell she was going to-
"Vince? What are you doing here?"
Oh great. Mom showed up.
Wait a moment.
Why was she here?
She was standing by the door, behind the guy she called Vince, looking as though she ran here. She was panting, her hair in a mess, and she was leaning against the doorway. The temperature in the room dropped about fifty degrees, and the air was so awkward, leaving me feeling like a piece of shit.
Dad was glaring at the guy, the guy was watching Mom with a protective look, and Mom who was glancing between the two men in the room, realizing what was going on. No one paid any attention to me, of course, and I kinda faded into the background. It was like my own issues were no longer important at all.
"Tifa? Do you know this man?" Dad asked, but at the same time, the man said, "You haven't come to visit in a long time. Aerith was getting worried. Zack sent me to find you."
Mom looked horrified. Dad looked pissed.
"Tifa, what is he talking about?"
All I could do was watch as Mom stood up straight, and took a tentative step towards Dad. "Uh... he's-"
"I thought you said you didn't have any contact with them," Dad said, sitting back in his chair. Mom was so pale... I'd never seen her like this before. Actually, that's a lie. I had. Once before. When Mom and Dad were finished arguing that first night after Halloween.
After I told them about meeting this guy.
"I... I'm sorry, Cloud, I didn't want to keep it a secret from you, but I had to," my mom took another step towards Dad, but the man held out his arm to keep her from moving any farther. He obviously noticed the dangerous aura around Dad, and was acting like any brother figure would: protect his sister from the danger.
It was then that I decided to step in.
"What the hell is going on?"
Suddenly, I wasn't invisible anymore. In fact, all eyes were on me now, and I looked around the room completely confused. Who was this guy? Why was Dad so upset to see him? What was going on with Mom? When did she meet this guy? And how the hell did she keep him a secret from dad?
"Roxas?" Mom's voice was squeaky. "I... Uh... this guy... he's an old friend of mine from... um..."
"You're Roxas?" The guy turned towards me, eyes narrowing. "You don't look like your mother."
Wonderful. Just one more guy who told me I looked nothing like my mom.
"Yeah, I'm Roxas. Who are you, and what's going on?"
"It's not important, Roxas. Will you please leave so I can talk to your father and Vincent?" Vincent. Oh, so we finally get his name. Wonderful. Now if only Mom would tell me who he was, what he was doing here, and what the hell was going on!
"Uh-uh. I'm not leaving. I want to know what's happening!" All thoughts of what had happened the day before were gone. I wanted to know. I really, really, really wanted to know.
"Tifa, I think it's time," Dad said suddenly. Mom, the weird Vincent guy, and I all looked over at him. Mom asked him what he meant, but by the sound of her voice, I knew she already figured out what he meant. Dad answered her anyway. "I think it's time to tell Roxas the truth about who we were, and what happened."
"What are you talking about?" Who they were? What happened?
"Cloud, I don't think we should talk to him about this..."
"No, we need to." He turned to the man, to Vincent. "You've seen Tifa. She's fine. Please leave." The man nodded, glanced down at Mom for a moment, then stalked silently out of the room.
Creepy.
"Cloud..."
"What's going on?"
Mom looked at me sadly, then to Dad, then back to me. "I think you should sit down, Roxas, this is a... it's a long story."
"Your father and I... well, we didn't meet in college, which is what we've always told you. We didn't meet because of Cloud's friend, Angeal, and this company wasn't started until a few years before you were born, Roxas. Everything I told you before, and that your father told you was the story I wanted you to grow up knowing. I wanted you to hear a story that wouldn't make you ashamed of me. I don't know why I became so obsessed with this. I shouldn't have, but on the day you were born, Roxas, I decided you didn't need to know anything. I didn't want you to know. But obviously, it was naive of me to think I could just keep my life before a secret.
"I guess the first lie you heard was how me and you father met. It wasn't in college. I don't really remember our first meeting, actually. Cloud's just been in my life forever, since I was born, almost. Our parents were friends, you see, so when they would get together, have a party, or something along those lines, the two of us were shoved together to play. At first it was fun. I was somewhat spoiled by my parents, so I didn't really know how to make friends, and your dad was the only one who would be near me when we were young. I liked that. But when I got a little older, something changed. Stuff... stuff happened to me. For the longest time I blamed your father for what was happening. He knew, and he didn't stop it. I began to hate him.
"Then my parents died in a car accident. I was sixteen. Everything they owned, all their money, their house, everything, was left to me as soon as I turned eighteen. But that was two years away. Being a minor, I was left in the custody of Cloud's parents. They were nice to me, treating me like a daughter, but I hated it with them. I hated everything about them. They always talked about my parents like they were still around, mentioned them in every conversation... it made me feel like I was suffocating. But your father was different. He consoled me, sat with me when I cried, took me out for random rides on his motorcycle so I could clear my head.
"But, I still couldn't stand it there. I wanted to escape, to get out of that life. So, as soon as I graduated from high school, I ran away. I don't remember how many days I was just walking, and it wasn't fun. Then, one night, I finally made it to Hallow Bastion. Hungry, cold, and getting sick. That's how I arrived in the slums of that place. And that's how they found me. This... this gang of people who called themselves SeeD. They didn't like me for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that I dared glare at their leader, but I was taken into an alley, and beaten to near death. The last thing I can remember is their laughter.
"Then I was waking up in a warm bed, with a pregnant woman standing over me. Her name was Aerith. She explained to me that I was in a small house owned by her and her husband, Zack, and that I had been saved from death by one of her friends. That man who was here, Vincent, he was the one who saved me. I felt like I owed these weird people who lived in poverty, but were so happy... they became my family, and even though by law they were considered a gang, they weren't bad.
"Slowly, I started learning how to fight. I became known as "The Princess of Darkness," or just "Princess." People were afraid of me, they ran when I showed up. I wasn't afraid of anything anymore. And I wasn't sad. The only thing I missed from my life before was your father, but I knew it was an impossibility to talk to him. We lived in different worlds. For eight years I lived with them. For eight years I became a fighter, and a gang member, and SeeD's hatred for me grew every day.
"Until one day, when they caught me unawares in their territory, and tried to kill me. They were going to kill me, they really were, but your father suddenly appeared and stopped them from completing their mission. After I was released from the hospital he brought me to, I started living with him, and I made a promise that I would leave the past eight years behind, forget them, and never speak of it again. But I couldn't. I just couldn't let them think I'd died. So after Cloud and I got married, and you were born, I went back.
"When I first got there, I was attacked by a new comer. I guess that's what happens when you vanish for five years. No one knows who you are. But, as I'd just gotten out of the hospital after giving birth to you, I wasn't very strong and I fainted. The girl who attacked me, Marlene, felt bad and brought me into the house. Aerith and Zack recognized me immediately. They were happy I was alive, and they wanted to keep in contact with me. I felt horrible for doing this, but I told them that once a month I would come and visit them. Cloud wouldn't notice, and you would be busy with school after a while.
"I told them about you. I guess the picture I showed them made Aerith extremely happy, so she and Zack decided that they wanted to be your god-parents, Roxas. I told them it would be fine. And I never told your father what happened. So for the past nineteen years I've been visiting them and keeping them up to date with our lives. Until March, when you got into a car crash. That's why Vincent was here. He wanted to make sure I was okay. He kinda took on the older brother persona when I lived with them.
"I'm sorry, I... I should have just told you the truth. I just... I didn't want you to know. I was acting like such a child, and some of the things that happened to me still give me nightmares. I didn't want my only son to know about it. I'm sorry."
I didn't know what to do. Mom just told me the weirdest thing ever; that she lied to me for nineteen years, that I had god-parents, that she'd been part of a gang, that she grew up in a world that I didn't even know about.
Both of my parents were looking at me expectantly, waiting for my reaction, for me to say something, but honestly, I didn't know what to say.
So I said nothing.
I just stood up, and walked out of the room.
"So, you're going to be staying with us for a while?" Sora asked me when I arrived at their apartment later that day. I nodded.
"Do you mind?"
He just rolled his eyes. "As long as you don't keep me up all night, I don't care. But why? What's going on?" He was the fourth person to ask me that. The first was Kairi, who witnessed the whole thing with my parents. When she saw me, I was immediately interrogated. I just told her that I needed to think and didn't want to talk.
Ellie and Riku were next. Well, technically it was Ellie who did all the talking. Riku just sat back and watched. But I said the same things to her that I did to Kairi; I didn't want to talk.
Then there was Axel. Only he didn't really ask me anything. He just kissed me and said if I needed to, I could stay with him, and that Sora wouldn't really mind. Sometimes it sucks having a boyfriend who could practically read your mind.
"My parents... they... they haven't exactly been honest with me. I just can't go home," I finally answered. Behind me, Axel patted my head.
"You don't have to talk about it, Roxas," he said. I smiled, glad for such wonderful friends. They really understood what was going on in my life, and that I didn't want to talk, or have any kind of communication with anyone.
At first it was nice, then I got to thinking about what was happening. The weight of the story my mom told me came crashing down on me. My vision went blurry, my hearing became blocked and I felt faint. The world around me was spinning. I couldn't feel my feet anymore, and my breathing became shallow, harsh, and painful.
Nothing was going right, and as my world went black, I felt warm arms wrap around my body.
"Roxas!"