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One more chapter after this left in part uno! Then on to part dos woohoo!
Sneaking out was the easy part. It had been 12:30 when Xena awoke in her room, so she figured she had about four and a half hours until someone noticed she was missing. Finding Namine was the hard part. Go see Namine, so useful when I don’t know where the heck she is. She searched through her memories, trying to find any that would help her find Namine. No luck, there was nothing about a Namine, but one memory did catch her attention. Her hugging a blue man… Genie, was that his name?
“Okay kid, if you never need help, just ask,” he had said to her.
Xena sighed and whispered, “Okay Genie, where can I find Namine?”
She wasn’t expecting anything to happen, so when a portal appeared in front of her she was taken back with surprise. “Hmm, thanks,” she murmured. She looked around her room for some reason. “Stop being so paranoid!” She muttered. She took in a deep breath and stepped through the portal. Eyes shut tight, she waited for the world stop moving. Cautiously she opened an eye, to look at the familiar Haunted Mansion.
The Haunted Mansion looked like an actual haunted mansion at night. The moonlight reflected off its windows to reveal abandoned furniture and dust, giving it an eerie feeling. The normal appearance of it looked creepy at night, creepier than Xena had ever thought it was. The rusty gate creaked loudly as she opened it. Her footsteps echoed against the brick pathway leading to the door. Xena looked at the handle to the door, shiny in the moonlight. She gulped and opened up the door as quietly as possible.
The inside of the mansion was worse than the outside. The air was heavy with the smell of mold and mothballs. T seemed like every square inch of it was covered in dust, and Xena sneezed as soon as she took a step. She wandered past the broken table in the center towards the stairwell on the right, leaving a trail of footprints in the dust. Following her intuition she headed up the stairs and took a right. She was running now, trusting her instinctive feeling to tell her where to go. She ran through a door into a dark library. In the library half the floor was lower than the rest, so she took the stairs down into the bottom of it. There was a metallic looking door in the bottom of it, standing out against the rest of the mansion. She opened the door carefully, not knowing what she’d find inside.
***
“Okay Alli, pick a movie. We could watch a sci-fi action flick, or an animated fantasy flick, or a parody comedy flick that makes no sense.” Namine held up the DVD’s to show Alixa their options.
“Third one definitely, we’ve already watched the other two a billion times,” she responded.
“Okay, pointlessly funny movie it is,” Namine said.
“Hello?” a timid voice called out. Namine looked at the entrance of the door to see Xena in an Organization coat looking very confused.
“Oh, Xena!” Namine exclaimed, running towards her and giving her a hug. “I didn’t think you would wake up! I-I I’m just so happy to see you!”
Xena stiffened and looked at the short blonde girl who was hugging her.
“Namine?” Xena said skeptically.
She looked shocked. “What? You remember me?”
“Uh, kinda, not really.”
Namine hugged her again, then let go and glared at Alixa.
“Don’t you have something to say to her, Alli?”
She sighed and crossed her arms. “I’m sorry I attacked you Xena, it won’t happen again blah blah blah.”
Xena laughed, “It’s okay, uh, Alli.”
“Namine thought of it, not me!”
“Hey, you like your nickname, admit it,” Namine said.
Alli mumbled something incoherent.
“That’s what I thought,” Namine giggled.
Xena cleared her throat. “So, can you explain why someone told me to come see you?”
Namine nodded. “Yes, I can explain it.” She paused to think for a moment. “I had to implant a false memory so you’d come here, and the one telling you to come see me was it.”
“Wait, you messed with my memories?” Xena asked open-mouthed.
Namine looked down at her shoes. “You asked me too,” she whispered.
“Wha-what? Why would I do that?” Xena questioned.
“Why don’t you come with me,” she responded. She led Xena and Alli down a long hallway into a wide, brightly lit room. In the middle of it was a pod, its contents hidden.
“Namine,” Xena began, “what does this thing have to do with my memories?”
“Well, you see, it’s kind of complicated-”
“C’mon Nami just spit it out!” Alli turned to look at Xena. “In that little pod thing is your heart, k?”
_____________________________________
“Superior, she’s gone,” the hooded man said.
Xemnas leaned back in his chair, his blank expression revealing nothing. “Do you think there’s a possibility she will come back on her own?”
The man nodded. “She’ll be back, I can assure you that.”
Xemnas considered it for a moment, and then commanded the hooded man, “Go find her, but make sure you stay hidden. We don’t want her to know that she isn’t being as secretive as she thinks.”
“I’m on it.”
“My heart?” Xena repeated. She stared at the pod, losing concentration of everything else.
“Alli I told you to let me explain! Look what you’ve done to poor Xena now!”
“You were taking too long to explain it though!”
Their voices sounded far away. My heart, it’s in that pod?
“Namine,” Xena whispered, “I want my heart back.” Her voice cracked a little and her eyes watered.
Namine looked just as pained as Xena. “See Xena, that’s the thing. You’re the one who wanted to get rid of your heart in the first pla-”
She shook her head furiously. “No, no, I couldn’t have wanted this. I just couldn’t have.”
“Oh, Xena, I’m sorry, but your heart, it’s… it’s-”
“Your heart fell into darkness okay?” Alli exclaimed.
Xena didn’t make any response; she just stared at Alli open-mouthed. She felt dizzy, almost like she was going to throw up.
“Alli this is why you need to let me explain things!” Namine complained.
Xena spoke slowly, trying not to puke, “Namine, I can’t remember any of this. I, I want some answers, please.”
Namine walked over to the pod and looked at it while she spoke. “I know you do Xena, and that’s what makes this so hard.” She turned and looked at Xena. “I didn’t set this whole thing up alone, you planned out most of it. Now it’s time.”
“Time for what?” Xena eyed her warily.
Namine took a while to answer, taking in a deep breath before speaking. “It's time for you to choose whether or not you’ll keep your heart.”
Chapter 19: Choices
Sneaking out was the easy part. It had been 12:30 when Xena awoke in her room, so she figured she had about four and a half hours until someone noticed she was missing. Finding Namine was the hard part. Go see Namine, so useful when I don’t know where the heck she is. She searched through her memories, trying to find any that would help her find Namine. No luck, there was nothing about a Namine, but one memory did catch her attention. Her hugging a blue man… Genie, was that his name?
“Okay kid, if you never need help, just ask,” he had said to her.
Xena sighed and whispered, “Okay Genie, where can I find Namine?”
She wasn’t expecting anything to happen, so when a portal appeared in front of her she was taken back with surprise. “Hmm, thanks,” she murmured. She looked around her room for some reason. “Stop being so paranoid!” She muttered. She took in a deep breath and stepped through the portal. Eyes shut tight, she waited for the world stop moving. Cautiously she opened an eye, to look at the familiar Haunted Mansion.
The Haunted Mansion looked like an actual haunted mansion at night. The moonlight reflected off its windows to reveal abandoned furniture and dust, giving it an eerie feeling. The normal appearance of it looked creepy at night, creepier than Xena had ever thought it was. The rusty gate creaked loudly as she opened it. Her footsteps echoed against the brick pathway leading to the door. Xena looked at the handle to the door, shiny in the moonlight. She gulped and opened up the door as quietly as possible.
The inside of the mansion was worse than the outside. The air was heavy with the smell of mold and mothballs. T seemed like every square inch of it was covered in dust, and Xena sneezed as soon as she took a step. She wandered past the broken table in the center towards the stairwell on the right, leaving a trail of footprints in the dust. Following her intuition she headed up the stairs and took a right. She was running now, trusting her instinctive feeling to tell her where to go. She ran through a door into a dark library. In the library half the floor was lower than the rest, so she took the stairs down into the bottom of it. There was a metallic looking door in the bottom of it, standing out against the rest of the mansion. She opened the door carefully, not knowing what she’d find inside.
***
“Okay Alli, pick a movie. We could watch a sci-fi action flick, or an animated fantasy flick, or a parody comedy flick that makes no sense.” Namine held up the DVD’s to show Alixa their options.
“Third one definitely, we’ve already watched the other two a billion times,” she responded.
“Okay, pointlessly funny movie it is,” Namine said.
“Hello?” a timid voice called out. Namine looked at the entrance of the door to see Xena in an Organization coat looking very confused.
“Oh, Xena!” Namine exclaimed, running towards her and giving her a hug. “I didn’t think you would wake up! I-I I’m just so happy to see you!”
Xena stiffened and looked at the short blonde girl who was hugging her.
“Namine?” Xena said skeptically.
She looked shocked. “What? You remember me?”
“Uh, kinda, not really.”
Namine hugged her again, then let go and glared at Alixa.
“Don’t you have something to say to her, Alli?”
She sighed and crossed her arms. “I’m sorry I attacked you Xena, it won’t happen again blah blah blah.”
Xena laughed, “It’s okay, uh, Alli.”
“Namine thought of it, not me!”
“Hey, you like your nickname, admit it,” Namine said.
Alli mumbled something incoherent.
“That’s what I thought,” Namine giggled.
Xena cleared her throat. “So, can you explain why someone told me to come see you?”
Namine nodded. “Yes, I can explain it.” She paused to think for a moment. “I had to implant a false memory so you’d come here, and the one telling you to come see me was it.”
“Wait, you messed with my memories?” Xena asked open-mouthed.
Namine looked down at her shoes. “You asked me too,” she whispered.
“Wha-what? Why would I do that?” Xena questioned.
“Why don’t you come with me,” she responded. She led Xena and Alli down a long hallway into a wide, brightly lit room. In the middle of it was a pod, its contents hidden.
“Namine,” Xena began, “what does this thing have to do with my memories?”
“Well, you see, it’s kind of complicated-”
“C’mon Nami just spit it out!” Alli turned to look at Xena. “In that little pod thing is your heart, k?”
_____________________________________
“Superior, she’s gone,” the hooded man said.
Xemnas leaned back in his chair, his blank expression revealing nothing. “Do you think there’s a possibility she will come back on her own?”
The man nodded. “She’ll be back, I can assure you that.”
Xemnas considered it for a moment, and then commanded the hooded man, “Go find her, but make sure you stay hidden. We don’t want her to know that she isn’t being as secretive as she thinks.”
“I’m on it.”
_____________________________________
“My heart?” Xena repeated. She stared at the pod, losing concentration of everything else.
“Alli I told you to let me explain! Look what you’ve done to poor Xena now!”
“You were taking too long to explain it though!”
Their voices sounded far away. My heart, it’s in that pod?
“Namine,” Xena whispered, “I want my heart back.” Her voice cracked a little and her eyes watered.
Namine looked just as pained as Xena. “See Xena, that’s the thing. You’re the one who wanted to get rid of your heart in the first pla-”
She shook her head furiously. “No, no, I couldn’t have wanted this. I just couldn’t have.”
“Oh, Xena, I’m sorry, but your heart, it’s… it’s-”
“Your heart fell into darkness okay?” Alli exclaimed.
Xena didn’t make any response; she just stared at Alli open-mouthed. She felt dizzy, almost like she was going to throw up.
“Alli this is why you need to let me explain things!” Namine complained.
Xena spoke slowly, trying not to puke, “Namine, I can’t remember any of this. I, I want some answers, please.”
Namine walked over to the pod and looked at it while she spoke. “I know you do Xena, and that’s what makes this so hard.” She turned and looked at Xena. “I didn’t set this whole thing up alone, you planned out most of it. Now it’s time.”
“Time for what?” Xena eyed her warily.
Namine took a while to answer, taking in a deep breath before speaking. “It's time for you to choose whether or not you’ll keep your heart.”