A/N: Ok, so I cant help but feel that I lost a whole bunch of reviewers after I wrote the chapter that Zexion died in. Now, the reason I am going to say this is because I just want to make one thing clear: IT WAS NOT THE END OF ZEXY! Ok, Zexion is not gone! I feel bad that I made some people a bit upset about killing him, but he'll come back…later on! I've said too much to all of you, so go off and enjoy this chapter!
"Hey, look! There's another one!"
"Huh? Where, where? I don't see another one, Lea!" Hope exclaimed, running around and looking back and forth, side to side.
"To your right! Right there! No, your other right!" Lea exclaimed, nearly falling over in laughter as Hope tripped and fell, trying to chase the flying little light.
The two 9 year olds were out in the flower field, chasing fireflies and catching them in jars for Hope. It had been Lea's idea to catch them because he figured that they would make a good night light for Hope so she wouldn't be scared of the dark anymore.
"Gah! Ah, I caught one!" Hope exclaimed happily, looking down at the glowing bug in her hand. Lea ran over with the jar, opening the lid barely so the fireflies that had already caught wouldn't fly out.
"Great! I think we have enough to keep a light lasting for a good few years."
Hope cocked her head to the side, a frown settling on her face. "A few years? Why that long?"
"Well, if we want you to stop being afraid of the dark, then we're gonna need 'em for a long time until you aint scared no more." Lea explained, staring at the glowing jar.
"But…they don't deserve to live in a jar like this for the rest of their lives." Hope said, taking the jar from Lea's hands. "It's not fair to them." She moved to unscrew the lid of the jar, but Lea stopped her.
"Wait! What about your night light? Don't you wanna stop being afraid of the dark?" Lea asked, watching the light the fireflies casted off light up her face.
She smiled, "I'm not afraid anymore," She stated with determination, unscrewing the lid, "Because…I've figured out that I don't need to be scared of the dark anymore."
"Why's that?"
She turned to him and grinned, lifting the lid off the jar, allowing the fireflies to go free. "Because even in darkest of places…there will always be light to guide us through the darkest roads."
0o0o0o0o0o
"Together?"
"Yeah, is it a problem?" Xion asked Saix, mentally crossing her fingers that he wouldn't say no to her and Roxas working together.
"What in the world would possess you to ask at a time like this?" Saix asked the two youngest members, a bit annoyed at their timing, "We're shorthanded as it is. And yet you expect me to say yes?" He asked incredulously, his harsh tone causing the two lower their heads in disappointment.
"You don't have to be so harsh on them for suggesting such a smart idea, now do you?" Hope asked as she and Axel walked in and over to the small group, taking a stand next to Xion and Roxas.
"I mean, why not? Seems like a good idea to me. Put two half-pints together and you get a whole." Axel said, making a pretty good point.
Saix stared at the two people that he had once called his best friends, sending them both an icy-glare and remaining silent. Of course, the silence was quickly broken by number XIII speaking up. "If you let us pair up, we can do tougher missions for you, no problem."
"Hmm…" The more he thought about it, it began to seem more like a very good idea.
"Well? Are you gonna give them an answer, or not?" Hope asked, crossing her arms over chest.
He glanced over at her briefly before looking back at the two youngest members before him. "Fine. As you wish. You had better prove that two people can work like three, or this arrangement comes to an end." He warned them before giving them their mission intel and sending them on their way, leaving Axel and Hope behind.
"Hope, you have training today. Axel, your mission is to go and defeat heartless in Halloween Town."
Axel frowned at Saix before leaving through a portal, while Hope walked to the training room quietly, expecting this session to only involve her being alone. Except…when she walked into the training room, she found that she wasn't alone.
0o0o0o
"Princess, how's it goin'?"
I felt my eye twitch as Xigbar used the one name that annoyed me the most. I couldn't believe that my training session would be spent with that, that…THAT RUDE, NO COMMON SENSE, ARROGANT MAN! I couldn't stand him when I was younger, and I still cant stand him now. Saix better watch out from now on because of this "wonderfully smart" idea…
"I thought I told you not to call me that…" I mumbled angrily, doing my best to keep my cool.
He merely smirked at me, causing my anger to only fume at him. "What made you think I would ever stop calling you that, Princess? It's only being respectful to those who are higher up in society, don't you agree? Aside from that, I'm still older than you, and smarter."
"Shut-up, Xigbar…" In all honesty, I was not in the mood for his rambling. "You probably don't even know the half of what respect is."
"Tsk, I gotta say, for someone who's of royalty, you're sure rude…"
"And you're not?" I retorted, cocking an eyebrow and crossing my arms across my chest.
"Ha, as if! I was considered the one apprentice to have had such wonderful and loyal manners!" He exclaimed, that stupid smirk not disappearing.
"I find that hard to believe. In my view…you were the most rude and annoying one that was living there."
His smirk disappeared and I let one find its way on to my own face, mentally doing a victory dance. "Man, your gramps did an awful job at teaching you manners. Guess that just goes to show he wasn't only a poor excuse of a grandpa, but as a ruler too…"
At that moment, I lost it. I summoned my sword and ran at him, bringing down my sword, only to have it blocked by his guns. "What's the matter, Princess? Did I hit a nerve?"
"SHUT-UP!" I screamed, kicking him square in the chest and knocking him backwards into the wall. Apparently, I kicked him a little too hard, because he didn't really get back up. Slowly, I walked over to him, the tip of my sword pointed at him, a glare set on my face. "If you ever, and I mean EVER, speak of my grandfather that way again…I wont hesitate to rid the worlds of your existence next time."
I didn't bother to wait for a reply from him. I recalled my sword and opened up a portal to Twilight Town, walking through it and leaving.
Roxas and Xion were laughing as they rounded the corner of the tower, only to stop once they saw Hope was already up there, hugging her knees to her chest as she sat against the wall, a distant look on her face as she stared ahead at the sunset. The two glanced at each other, both shrugging their shoulders, deciding it was best to not bother Hope, so they both sat down on the edge quietly, eating their ice cream in silence.
"Hey, mission go okay?" Axel asked as he rounded the corner, Xion and Roxas looking up at him.
Xion smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah, I think it's gonna work…Thanks, Axel. You, Roxas, and Hope are the best."
Axel grinned, scratching his head sheepishly, "Well, we try. Isn't that right, Hope?" Axel asked, shooting a smile over to said girl, only to have it disappear into a frown when he noticed how she wasn't even paying attention and acting distant from everything else. He made his way over to her and slid down the wall next to her, poking her arm. "Hey, Hope? You with us?"
She blinked in surprise, "Wha? Oh, hi, Axel." She gave him a smile.
"You ok? You seemed like you were spacing out on us there for a sec…"
"I'm fine! Just thinking about some stuff from the past, that's all…" She gave him a reassuring smile and he bought it.
He noticed she didn't have any ice-cream, so they decided to share his, going back in forth between taking bites. "So, where'd they end up sending you?"
Roxas turned and looked at Axel and Hope, "That place we went before. Uhh, what was it again…"
"Agrabah." Xion answered for him.
"Oh, that city in the desert." Axel stated, handing the ice cream back to Hope.
"We sure ran into some interesting characters this time, huh?" Xion asked Roxas.
"You mean Pete and Genie?" Roxas asked.
"Genie sounded really worried about his friend-some guy named Al. But, I guess you can't always jump in and do everything for your friends-even if you want to." Xion stated.
Axel nodded in agreement. "That's right. People need their space."
Roxas turned to look at him and Hope, a questioning look on his face. "So then, why did Genie say he and Al were "inseparable"?"
"Yeah, it's not like they were joined at the hip." Xion added in.
"Well, I think you can inseparable even if you're apart." Axel said, taking a bite of ice cream.
"Really?" Roxas asked, his tone sounding amazed.
Axel and Hope both nodded. "Sure, if you feel really close to each other. If you're the best of friends." Axel said, looking over at Hope and grinning.
"What's it like having a best friend, Axel?" Roxas asked.
"Hmm…well, I guess you could say it's just like all of us being friends, except closer. Like me and Hope," Axel said gesturing to Hope and himself, "We've been through lots of stuff throughout the years."
"You got that right…" Hope said, taking a bite of ice cream.
"So…in order to have a best friend, you need to know someone for a long time?" Roxas asked, confused by the whole idea.
Hope laughed, "No, you don't…there's always some type of connection that just comes naturally. You'll understand one day…"
"Oh…" He took a bite of ice-cream, followed by Xion, then Axel, and then Hope, all remaining silent the rest of the time.
A/N: This chapter…was crap. Yeah, when you start running out of ideas, that kinda tends to happen. Sorry, but I still hoped you liked it! LATER TATERS! And I promise the next chapter will be better!