Okay, so maybe Flynn had to admit that he'd oversold The Snuggly Duckling a bit.
By "good food," he'd meant overcooked onion rings, stale pretzels, and soggy fries.
By "great atmosphere," he'd meant lung-burning smoke billowing everywhere, epilepsy-triggering strobe lights swinging wildly about, and enough people bumping and elbowing each other to violate more than thirty fire safety codes.
By "live music," he'd meant one gangly, acne-ridden teenager with his pants hanging down around his knees playing DJ, blaring music loud enough to explode ear drums. Hey, the DJ was a living person, therefore the music was live. That counted, right? Right.
Yes, The Snuggly Duckling was every inch the quaint, homey, fantastic little place he'd made it out to be, obviously. A really classy, five star joint. The crème de la crème. And if Rapunzel didn't like it? Well shoot… then maybe she should just forget this whole little outing of hers and go home. This was the real world after all, and if she couldn't handle one measly little nightclub, how could she ever hope to enjoy a whole festival?
That's it. That's how it all should have gone down the instant Rapunzel had stepped foot inside this place.
At least, that's how Flynn had pictured it all going in his head.
Instead...
"Woohoo!" he heard her shriek happily as she body surfed over a crowd of people on the dance floor.
Flynn, seated at the bar, rolled his eyes and banged his forehead against the countertop.
What he hadn't counted on was her actually liking everything. Absolutely freaking loving it all. From the crappy grub to the indecipherable noise blasting out of the overhead speakers. And the people - god, she adored the people. The feeling appeared to be mutual as not five minutes after they had entered, it seemed she had gained a small cult following.
She was having the time of her life.
Way to go, Flynn.
Sighing, he straightened up with a scowl and propped his chin on his knuckles. He needed a plan. He needed out.
How did he even get into this whole mess in the first place? Mulling over it for a moment, he determined exactly where everything had gone wrong: The Smolder.
It had failed him. Why hadn't it worked? It always worked. No woman was able to withstand the awesome, swoon-inducing might of The Smolder. Well… no woman that is except for one tiny wisp of a blonde in serious need of a haircut. How was it she had been so unaffected?
…dear lord, was he losing his touch?
He snorted. Nope. No way. Perish the thought. In fact, he'd prove it right now. He'd prove just how much a lady's man he was. Not just any lady's man. The lady's man.
Flynn turned in his seat, scanning the crowd for a moment. Then he spotted her: a petite little thing with platinum blonde hair, seated off to the side looking awkward and alone.
Perfect.
He rose from the barstool and started to push his way through the undulating mass of bodies, making his way towards her as he put on a smile that was as smooth as silk.
Girl, prepare to swept off those pretty little feet of yours.
Elsa suspected she was going to get carpal tunnel, what with the amount of time she spent twisting and tugging at her braid on a daily basis. With a tiny scowl, she released her plaited hair and pressed her hands firmly into her lap.
She wished Axel would hurry up and return.
After they had made their way inside, they had found an empty table near a wall. Despite the place being packed, it wasn't really such an amazing feat, as there were many available tables to choose from. Apparently, people came to nightclubs to dance, not to sit. Go figure. After Elsa had taken a seat at the table, Axel had left to take a brief look around for Sora. It had seemed like a better idea for him to go by himself rather than dragging Elsa through the pressing tangle of people. With a quick promise that he'd return shortly, the crowd swallowed him whole as he'd walked off.
That had been several minutes ago and he still wasn't back. Just how big was this club anyway? Heaving a heavy sigh, she glanced around. At least no one was bothering her. She studied the walls where strange, abstract art hung, yellow splotches of paint smattered across the canvas, possibly depicting ducklings. Her eyes traveled upward, where the walls disappeared into darkness. Apparently, the ceiling was very high up there. All that could be seen of it through the thin veil of smoke were sprinkles of tiny, twinkling yellow lights. She suspected they were supposed to resemble stars. Squinting up at them, she frowned.
Were those lights… moving...?
"Hi there."
Choking down a startled gasp, she tore her gaze away from the ceiling to discover a man had taken a seat beside her. He had planted an elbow on the table and propped his chin in the palm of his hand. A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth and he doing something weird with his eyes.
So much for not being bothered.
"Name's Flynn. What's yours?" he purred as he hunched forward, bringing himself closer to her.
She grit her teeth and leaned back. Looking down, she realized she had unconsciously gripped a napkin tightly in her hand. And on said napkin, crystallized frost had begun to form. She hastily hid it under the table.
This guy needed to leave. Now. That is, assuming he was a fan of having a body temperature above absolute zero, which was a fair assumption.
"Um… I'm sorry, but I-"
"Soaree?" he asked. "What a beautiful name. Very exotic."
She blinked.
He went on, "You look so familiar. Did we have a class together?"
She quirked an eyebrow at him. Not that he looked ancient or anything, but he certainly was no high school student. What was even happening right now?
"Because I could have sworn we had chemistry," he winked.
…oh my god.
Was he hitting on her?
"And sorry, I don't mean to stare, I'm just looking for the signature. Every masterpiece has one."
He was. He was hitting on her. Here she was, worried about the very real possibility of turning the guy into a frozen person-pop, and he was trying to pick her up. With an internal groan, she realized what the strange thing was that he was doing with his eyes. They were his bedroom eyes.
His grin twitched wider. "Speechless, huh? I tend to have that effect on the fairer sex."
Oh dear. The clueless schmuck - Flynn, was it? - seemed to be thinking he was doing well.
She stiffened as he began to reach a hand towards her cheek, murmuring, "So it's nothing to-"
Another hand belonging to neither of them suddenly shot out and clamped down around Flynn's index finger just before it made contact with her skin. Flynn yelped as his poor digit was twisted in a painful manner that wrenched his whole arm around behind him, bringing him crashing down to his knees. Eyes widening, Elsa looked up to discover that her would-be suitor's assailant was none other than Axel.
Still holding the other man's finger firmly against his back, forcing his arm into an uncomfortable angle, the redhead crouched down next to him with a feral smirk and lazily tipped his head to one side. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to keep your hands to yourself?"
He grunted out something that was drowned out in the pounding music.
Axel cupped his free hand to his ear. "Sorry? Didn't quite catch that."
Flynn said nothing, just winced up at him.
"That's what I thought. Now here's what's gonna happen. I'm going to give you the option to walk away, and I strongly suggest you take it. Otherwise, I won't continue to be the warm, cuddly, and friendly individual I am currently being. Got it?"
After a second of hesitation, Flynn gave a curt nod. Seemingly good enough for Axel, he straightened up and released his grip on the man. The brunet hissed in pain, giving his arm a shake as he scrambled to his feet and quickly retreated into the crowd.
Elsa hid a smirk behind her hand. The poor guy. Looking up at Axel, she simply said, "Thanks."
He waved one hand dismissively while using the other to take hold of the now vacated chair beside her. He spun it around and sat down in it backwards, folding his arms across the backrest. "Don't mention it. Some guys just don't know how to take no for an answer."
She scratched her cheek with one finger. "To be fair, I hadn't actually told him no yet."
"He wasn't really giving you a chance to either. Anyway, I'm sure you had it all under control. I was only speeding the rejection process along."
"Under control, huh?" she snorted. She tossed the napkin she had been hiding onto the table. Now frozen completely solid, it landed with an audible clink and clattered a bit before settling. She sighed, "Does that look under control to you?"
Quirking an eyebrow, he nudged the chunk of ice with the tip of his finger, then looked at her. "Alright, Frosty, I'm gonna have to ask you to quit stressing so much and cool it." He grinned, "See what I did there?"
"This isn't funny!" she huffed, then waved a hand at the napkin. "This could have been that guy!" A grimace marred her face. "You know what? This was a bad idea. I'm just going to go wait outside."
She stood and turned to walk away, but Axel's hand gently wrapping around her wrist stopped her. "Come on, now. We haven't even started your training yet."
"...my training?" She arched an eyebrow at him.
He released his hold and nodded at her chair. After a brief pause, she sat down again with a sigh. He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. He then held up an index finger. "Okay, lesson one. Your powers aren't something to be feared. Yes, they can be dangerous, and yes, they can kick ass, as I'm sure you're well aware. But you also need to learn to have fun with them."
Her lips pursed dubiously to one side. "Fun?"
"Yup!" he chirped. He swiveled his head around, his eyes doing a quick scan of the club before coming to a stop on something. Elbowing her arm, he pointed. "Try him for starters. Give it a go."
Looking in the direction he indicated, Elsa spotted the man that had been hitting on her a minute ago. He was now sulking at the bar as he waited for the bartender to prepare him a drink. Her brow furrowed. "Give what a go?"
"You know. Your freeze ray." He mimed finger guns at the target. "Pew, pew."
She gaped at him. "You mean you want me to use my power on him on purpose?" At his rapid nod, she snapped, "No!"
"Relax, it's not like I'm telling you to ice the guy. I'm just saying mess with him a bit. Cut loose. Live a little."
She stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. "No. Not happening."
A mischievous glint entered his eyes as he smirked. "What's the matter? Chicken?"
Her nostrils flared as she opened her mouth to argue, but then immediately clamped it back shut. She narrowed her eyes at Axel, who just continued to look smug. Stupid fake smug that she knew he couldn't actually feel. This was a ploy to goad her. She knew it. And yet, it was working. She found herself slowly, defiantly shifting her gaze back to Flynn.
She could not believe she was even considering this.
The bartender had just delivered the drink he had ordered to him. Hesitantly, Elsa raised a hand in his direction. Chewing her bottom lip, she watched him pick up the mug. She could hear her heart pounding in her ear as she waited for an opening. There! The energetic, grinding mob of dancers parted, giving her clear line of sight to Flynn for just a split second.
It was enough.
Before she could change her mind, she flicked her wrist. A pale, icy blue beam shot out from her fingertips and sped across the room in the space of heartbeat before crashing into the side of the mug in an unnoticed burst of tiny snowflakes just as the rim reached his lips.
A crease formed between Flynn's eyebrows - something was amiss. He pulled the cup back and studied its contents. Further perplexed, he banged the mug against the counter before lifting it over his head and tipping it upside down so he could look up into it.
...thud!
His drink, now a hard block of alcoholic ice, slid out of the mug in a blur and bashed into his nose. He yelped as his hand flew up to massage his tender snout.
Elsa snerked, covering her mouth with her fingers. Beside her, Axel clapped his hands together. "Good job, padawan. A-plus."
Still smiling, she shook her head, "Okay, not that that wasn't entertaining, but I'm not sure exactly what it was supposed to prove."
"That your ability doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. It only is if you let it be. It's whatever you make it. It doesn't have to be a curse, it could be-"
"- a prank," she deadpanned. "Because that's so much better."
"Well, that was just an example. The point is, it's not really good or evil. It just is. It's a tool and you're the one who chooses what to do with it. You're the one in control." He tapped a finger to his temple. "Once you get that memorized, you won't be so scared of it or worried about hurting anyone anymore."
"It's that simple, huh?" she asked wryly.
He shrugged. "It could be."
Somehow, she doubted that. However, arguing the point probably wouldn't get them anywhere, so instead she just harrumphed softly and averted her gaze. As she looked away, she realized for the first time that Axel had returned alone. "Didn't find Sora?"
"Nah. He'll turn up sooner or later though." The last notes of the music that had been playing died out and for a few seconds all that could be heard was the chatter and giggles of the sweating, panting dancers. Then the rhythmic hiss of a tambourine rattle started up. It was soon followed by a low, rubbery bassline that bounced cheekily along, causing Axel to perk an ear up. "Oh man, I love this song."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "...love?"
He shook his head. "Heh. Okay, okay, I remember loving this song."
Grinning, she nodded. "It is a good one."
The drums started shuffling into the mix as he studied her, head tilted slightly to the left. Then a smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth. "Wanna dance?"
"What?" The word had hardly left her mouth before he sprung up from his seat, took both her hands in his and pulled her stumbling to her feet. A surging one-chord guitar riff sliced through the air as he dragged her out onto the dance floor. She tried to dig her heels in, chanting a steady stream of no, no, no as she struggled to break free of his grip, but it was all in vain. They plunged into the heart of the crowd just as the rock song exploded with fast, spastic energy. It was only then that he let go of her hands.
She immediately turned to leave, only to find they were completely surrounded by gyrating clubgoers. There was no escape, not if she didn't want to risk starting a frostbite epidemic. She swallowed hard and the first tendrils of dread snaked around her heart as the air around her dropped a few degrees.
She jumped as she felt Axel's hand close around her own once more. The room, the lights, everyone and everything became a blur as he suddenly spun her around a couple times before pulling her in tight against him. He gave her a small smile, bending forward so his head was beside hers. "Lesson two," he murmured into her ear. "Forget where you are or what's around you. It doesn't matter. Just trust yourself."
His breath tickled and she shivered. He straightened up and Elsa worried her lower lip between her teeth, taking a look at the people around her. The innocent bystanders. Potential victims. "But-"
He pressed a finger to her lips. "No buts," he shook his head. He then threw her into another twirl as a brassy voice began belting out lyrics, silencing any of her further attempts to protest. Drawing her back in, he started bouncing along to the hyper beat like a jackrabbit on crack, pulling her along with him.
Her anxiety slowly melted away, as he was dancing - if it could be called that - like a maniac and it took all of her focus just to keep up. He was being absolutely ridiculous. Giddiness began to bubble up inside of her as she pranced around with him and she fought a grin forming on her face. Then he waggled his eyebrows at her and Elsa just lost it. She broke out into laughter.
"What's so funny?" he challenged as leaned her into a dramatic dip, a wolfish smirk on his face.
"You," she chuckled as they came back up. "Why are you even dancing? You can't enjoy it."
"But you do."
Her stomach fluttered and she nearly tripped. If it wasn't for Axel's firm hold on her waist, she would have. It was just the way he had said it, as if the answer should have been obvious. As if he cared about her feelings, whether she was happy or not. But he couldn't. She knew he couldn't, it simply wasn't possible. He was only trying to help her learn to live with her ability, albeit with rather unconventional methods. He was simply keeping her distracted.
And damned if it wasn't working.
She had never danced like this before. She had danced with Hans of course, but it had only ever been to slow songs, with gloved hands and reserved movements. Now the tempo was chaotic, her hands were bare and she was being wildly swept along by her partner with reckless abandon.
It was amazing.
Amazing, that is... right up until he swung her out once more and she crashed into someone. The shock from the collision was small, but it was enough. A familiar chill ran up her spine and down her left arm, as if ice were literally coursing through her veins. Her breath fogged and she watched wide-eyed and paralyzed as flecks of frost began to materialize in the air around her hand.
No… not here… not again…
Suddenly, Axel's arm hooked around her waist and he whirled her around with him. Using his other hand to clasp hers, she felt the warmth of his fingers spread through hers, instantly dispersing the cold that had been building up there. And just like that, the crisis was averted. She heard him make a hasty apology to the person she had run into before sweeping her off in a new direction.
"Lesson three," he raised his voice to be heard over the music as they came to a brief stop, the crowd still hopping and pulsing around them. "No matter what, I've got your back." He winked at her. "Always."
She didn't know what to say to that and for a few seconds, all she did was stare up at him. Finally she cracked a smile and ducked her head with a laugh, though she wasn't sure exactly why. Maybe it was his words, maybe it was just the relief flooding throughout her over not turning the club into a frozen tundra. Maybe it was a little of both. Whatever it was, Axel took it as a sign to pick up where they had left off as he pulled her into another spin.
Elsa was exhausted by the time the song came to an end, but it was a good kind of exhausted. Axel hardly looked winded. "How is it," she began with a smirk as she all but collapsed into a seat back at their table, "that for someone who is literally dead inside, you are the liveliest person I've ever met?"
Plopping down into his own chair, he considered the question for a moment before shrugging. "I think maybe everyone is dead inside in one form or another. Most people just aren't as good at hiding it."
She blinked. "Well, that's a depressing theory."
His shoulders bobbed again. "You asked."
"There you guys are!"
They looked up as Sora weaved his way through the clubbers to reach their table. As he threw himself into an available chair, he said, "I've been looking all over this place for you two. I thought we were meeting out front."
Elsa shot the redhead an I-told-you-so look. Axel huffed, "What? We never said we'd meet outside!"
The trio took the time to catch up. After confirming that none of them had been able to locate the Keyhole, they exchanged specifics on anything they had come across that day. Sora told them about the stranger in Riku's hoodie, plus a few run-ins with some Heartless which unfortunately hadn't left any clues behind. Elsa in turn began to tell him about their brush with Larxene and her small army of minions.
"Hold on," Sora interrupted her, holding up a hand as he knit his eyebrows together. "Go back to those Lesser Nobodies. You said there was some sort of emblem printed on them?"
"Uh, yeah," she responded slowly, cocking an eyebrow. "Right here," she pointed at her own forehead.
Axel added, "It's the symbol for the Organization."
Sora slid a napkin across the table. "Could you draw it for me?"
"Why, what's up?" she asked. Beside her, Axel fished a pen out of his hoodie pocket and set to work on making a quick sketch on the napkin.
The Keyblade Master shook his head. "Just a hunch." A second later, Axel handed him back the completed drawing. He squinted at the napkin under the pulsating club lights for a few seconds, then flipped it upside down and showed it to the other two. "Look familiar?"
She sat up straighter. "It looks like that symbol we see on some of the Heartless!" Then she frowned. "So… the Heartless and the Nobodies have almost the same emblem, but inverted?"
"Well duh, I could have told you guys that ages ago," Axel stated.
"...why didn't you?"
He shrugged. "You never asked."
Elsa rolled her eyes. "Okay, so then why does Organization XIII use the upturned Heartless symbol?"
"Dunno. Never questioned it. Didn't seem important."
She facepalmed. Sora interjected, "Well, it could be nothing, or it could be something. I'm going to check with the Cricket, see if it comes up with anything." He pressed a finger to the small device with the blinking light nestled in his right ear. Then his eyes became unfocused and glassy as he fell silent.
They watched him as they waited. After a moment, Axel craned his neck towards Elsa and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "Am I wrong, or is that fish-eyed stare he gets when he consults the Cricket kind of creepy?"
She snorted. "Oh, it's way creepy."
"I can still hear you guys, you know," Sora grumbled. Elsa cleared her throat and studied the table, while Axel simply shrugged. A few more seconds passed, then Sora gave himself a small shake and the life returned to his eyes. "Something did come up. Some sort of research facility."
Elsa tapped a finger to the napkin. "Let me guess. That's their logo." At his nod, she asked, "What do they research?"
"Not sure, that information wasn't available. Actually, there wasn't that much to find at all. Just that roughly a year ago, some huge accident shut the place down and it hasn't been in operation since."
"Wait a minute, a year ago?" She looked at Axel. "Isn't that when you said the Heartless started showing up?"
The Nobody nodded. "I smell a cover up."
"What was that facility called?"
"Radiant Garden," Sora replied. "And it definitely sounds like a place worth investigating once we're done here."
"Okay, at least we have a lead on something, but that unfortunately doesn't really help us right now." Elsa crossed her arms and slumped down into her chair. "We've been here nearly a whole day already and we're still no closer to finding the Keyhole. We're running out of time."
"Don't worry about it," Sora responded, relaxing back into his seat and lacing his fingers behind his head. "It'll turn up. It always does."
She sighed, "But it only took a couple hours to find the one in Arendelle."
He smirked. "Correction. We found that one a couple hours after we all teamed up. I had actually been in town for a couple days looking for it before we met."
"Oh wow, really?"
With a nod, he said, "It just varies. I've found some Keyholes faster than others, but I always find them. These things just seem to have a way of working themselves out. I always end up being exactly where I'm supposed to be at the right time."
"If you say so," she said doubtfully. "Well, then… what now? Do we keep looking or do we figure out someplace to sleep?"
"I'm beat," Axel declared as he stretched his arms over his head. "I vote we call it for the night."
Sora nodded again. "I'm with him. We can get some rest and start the day bright and early tomorrow. There's something called the Starlight Festival that I want to check out."
Axel quirked an eyebrow at him. "Really? You want to peruse some dorky street fair at a time like this? Dude, priorities."
"It's as good a place as any to look for the Keyhole. Besides-"
His words were interrupted as the music suddenly cut off with a loud screech tearing through the speakers. The sea of clubgoers were no longer dancing. Instead, they were rumbling with gasps and yelps as they stumbled about, seemingly making room for something in the middle of them all. The whole room was getting brighter by the second, and the source of it seemed to be whatever was at the heart of that crowd.
Elsa shifted about, trying to see past everyone. What was going on? Had one of the strobe lights fallen from the ceiling and crashed into the floor? Was that where all this light was coming from?
One voice suddenly could be heard shouting over all the rest. "Your… your hair… it freaking glows?!"
She was pretty sure she recognized it as Flynn's voice. She was also pretty sure she had misheard him. She must have, right?
The crowd finally parted enough for her to see what all the commotion was about. And she gaped.
Nope. She'd heard right.
Strewn about all over the dance floor were yards upon yards of what could only be silky smooth, golden hair. Hair that was currently glowing with the intensity of a thousand and one suns. It looped and swirled all over the ground and it was impossible to tell where the end of it was. But it all started from the scalp of one girl now standing all by herself, the clubbers around her giving her plenty of space as they gawked at her. The girl shuffled her feet nervously as she bit her thumbnail and glanced around.
"Well, well, I certainly have to hand it to Little Miss Lite-Brite here. That's a neat trick."
Elsa started at the sound of the new voice and her head whipped around to find a fourth person had seemingly materialized out of thin air to join Axel, Sora, and her at their small table. A very familiar, striking person with very familiar, striking blonde hair, a couple locks styled to look like antennae.
Larxene's twisted grin dissolved into a pout. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was this a private party?" Her face turned dark as she slammed an electrified fist against the table and snarled, "Don't you know that excluding others isn't nice?"
AN: Oh. Em. Eff. Gee... look who's back?! There hasn't been any action in a while, so figured it was high time to shake things up a bit... next chapter :3
Fun Fact, I did have a specific song in my head for when Axel and Elsa danced together. But I generally try to leave song titles out of my fics - my song tastes may just not be everyone else's song tastes, so I prefer if my readers just imagine some song they know and like. I'm curious if I left enough hints for anyone to guess what the actual song I had in mind was, but I suspect not, what lil description of it I left could probably describe a LOT of songs :P
Poor Flynn, I abuse him so xD He just makes it so fun! And hey, the trio SORT of met Punzie and Flynn... BUT DON'T WORRY THE REAL GET TOGETHER IS STILL COMING VERY SOON! As in like... NEXT CHAPTER! That's the good news...
The bad news? It's not written yet ;_; And like I keep saying, I'm such a turtle when it comes to writing, so it might be a while before you guys see it, especially since I'm juggling 2 other stories with this one. Sorry guys! But I promise the next update will come! ...sooner or later! But yes, sadly this is the last of my updates that will be on a weekly schedule. I'll try to keep my profile updated with my progress on this and other stories, so keep an eye on that!
Special thanks and much love to delvonta1423, SoraKairiRikuNamine, Amarxlen, and Miss PandaManga for reviewing, as well as to everyone else who have shown support for my quirky little story! Thank you one and all for reading, hoped you liked it, please leave feedback and let me know what you think! Be back... not next week T_T BUT SOMEDAY SOON! Be sure to fave and follow so when I do next update, you won't miss it! Until then, hugs and kisses, much love and peace out!