x~Nothing's Tears~x- ch.7
Ok guys! I know I promised a new chapter the other day, but I got strep throat and couldn't make myself get out of bed.:thumbdown: But I'm better now and here to tell you. YOUR WAIT IS OVER! lol. and here it is!
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Chapter Seven
Moving slowly from pillar to pillar, Roxas tried making his way back upstairs. The halls were empty, a creepy empty...the kind of empty that shouldn’t be there. The sky outside was still dark and he had a feeling that it wasn’t going to change. Thoughts of the previous conversation filled his head with more questions that he knew would never be answered, and caused him to doubt his new ‘companion’ more and more. Who were they talking about? And what was Axel after?
Lost in thought, he was startled when voices sounded from behind him. Roxas nearly tripped trying to jump behind one of the marble columns once again in an attempt to hide from the people coming his way...
“Something wrong Jiminy?” a strange sounding voice came from behind him.
“Yes, actually. Something Axel said has been bothering me.” another voice, smaller this time, replied. Roxas peeked around the post to see their faces. There stood the weird trio Roxas had seen earlier, and the boy...seemed so familiar.
“What is it?” the young spiky haired boy said.
“He said...’When your sleeping memories awaken, you may no longer be you...’”
“Aww, don’t worry about it Jiminy, that’s just something he said to sound mysterious.” the dog like creature was speaking now. “But, uh, this sure is a strange castle...I bet anything could happen!”
“Yeah, I hope we can find Riku and the King here.” the boy said softly.
“Hey! Do you guys remember that other castle we explored? You know, the one with all them contraptions?” the duck like creature and the boy looked at him, confused.
“What?”
“When did we do that, Goofy?”
“Gawrsh! Don’t tell me you guys forgot!
“You sure you didn’t make it up?”
“No! Of course not! That was the place where Sora used the keyblade to free Kairi’s heart! Then he turned into a...”
Sora...the one Axel and the others were talking about...
“A heartless! Yeah! I remember now!” the boy said excited.
“I’ll never forget how worried we were...” the duck piped up.
“Wait! That happened in a castle? What was it called?” the boy looked lost in thought.
‘Snooping around, eh?’ a smooth voice whispered in Roxas’s ear, causing him to jump. Whipping around he saw Axel standing there, a grin on his face but a look of exhaustion under his eyes. Roxas couldn’t help but wonder how he could be tired...he was a nobody, same as him, but the thought was quickly repelled from his brain. Both stood very still as they listened to the trio talk for a few more minutes before ascending to the next floor. Axel motioned for Roxas to follow him as soon as he was sure they were gone.
“I’ve been all over this castle looking for a place for you to stay. A place where no one visited.” Axel explained. He put out the palm of his hand toward the wall and shot three simultaneous fire blasts in the pattern of a rose. The flames glowed red hot on the pure white castle walls before fading away leaving no trace of them ever being there.
“...the hell?!” Roxas hissed at him. Axel grinned and said, “Wait.”
Suddenly a small door, just big enough for Roxas to go through, appeared on the wall. Staring in awe, Roxas was momentarily speechless. Axel stopped grinning and looked at him with all stages of seriousness.
“This is where you’ll stay. I have to leave you here. I’m sorry. It’s the best I can do giving our circumstances, so you’ll have to make due.”
“Can I get out once I’m in here?” Roxas asked, suddenly remembering that he couldn’t do the fire thing like Axel could.
“Yeah, you’ll figure it out. But try not to leave unless I’m with you...” he stopped, turning away from Roxas, his face cast in shadow. “There’s a lot of bloodthirsty members here that would love to kill me...and you...” Roxas was taken aback by this statement and could only stand there in shock, and...fear?
Am I afraid?
“I’ll be back for you in a few hours. There’s someone I need to go see.” He turned to leave. “Stay out of trouble, ok Roxas?” he smiled a little as Roxas nodded, and then walked away, through a portal, all the while thinking to himself.
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Roxas, where are you?
All alone, Namine continued her drawing with hot tears in her eyes. These tears were not needed, but still they came tumbling down, barely missing her creation. Roxas stood with his back turned to her, staring at a door in front of him, hesitant to open it. She had no clue what the door was for, but felt a need to draw it, like her other pictures. The inspiration was just...there.
Suddenly, a knock at the door echoed throughout the room, startling her. Dropping her sketch pad and charcoal pencil, she looked up the see Marluxia standing in the doorway, a slight smile on his lips. Fear spread across her face and then terror as she saw he was accompanied by Larxene.
“Don’t be so clumsy, Namine!” he laughed cruelly at her, “Clumsiness is unacceptable, you know.” Namine picked up her drawing and continued looking at the ground even after her things were gathered. Larxene walked over towards her and grasped her chin tightly in her hand, forcing her to look at her cold, grey eyes.
“How’ve you been, witch?” she said quietly...cruelly... “You been a good little girl?” she snatched Namine’s book from her hands to see. Namine was thankful her page was covered by other drawings before it after falling from the table. Marluxia walked over to them, and she jerked her chin out of Larxene’s grip.
“Excellent...” he said softly as he gazed at Hollow Bastion’s blurred picture. “Looks like everything is going perfectly. Soon, we’ll have control over this castle, and then, the entire organization...”
“Oh, smooth Marluxia. Just like an evil villain. Do you always go about telling everyone of you’re plan before it takes place? I swear sometimes you’re just like Vexen...” Larxene said, criticizing him.
“Shut up.” he spat back.
Namine shrank down into the corner, trying to escape the attention of her two visitors as they argued over nothing, their voices growing loud and echoing in the room. Eventually, they left her there, her sketchbook sprawled out on the floor in front of her, and her body shaking with fear.
“Roxas...Sora...” she whispered quietly to herself, “help...”
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Roxas opened the door, took one step, and fell, tumbling down an unexpected flight of steep stairs. He lay sprawled out at the bottom, his head spinning, while trying to gather his senses. He heard a slight, distant, thud, and realized that the door had closed itself behind him. Letting out a loud groan, he continued to lay there, unmoving. He was now alone, in a strange room, and in the dark.
Great.
Finding his balance, he stood up and felt his way along a wall, hitting a switch. Lights suddenly came on around him, and he could finally see his surroundings. Along the wall he saw a small cot, dirty, but unused, a few bookshelves containing old and dusty novels, a table with a busted leg, and one chair. The room was small, but would suit Roxas just fine, if only it hadn’t smelt like bleach.
Roxas walked over to one of the bookshelves and pulled out an old, dusty, leather bound journal with yellowed pages and scratchy handwriting. He sat down on the bed, opening the book up to the first page, hoping to find something interesting within them.
“My efforts these many years have come to fruition, with the world I govern having become a paradise worthy of being called, ‘Radiant Garden.’ Nurtured by the pure water that is the source of life, fragrant flowers bloom in abundance and the people face each day with hopeful smiles. But where there is light, darkness also lurks...As noted in my earlier reports, I must solve the mystery of this ‘darkness of the heart’ This paradise depends upon it...”
(A/N - taken from Ansem’s Secret Reports)
What...?
Suddenly the door at the top of the stairs opened, and Axel descended into the room. Roxas quickly hid his book under his bed and smiled at him as he entered.
“What’s up?” he asked cooly. Axel brandished a brown paper bag and tossed it at him.
“Brought you some food.” he said, sitting down on the small chair opposite of him.
“Thanks.”
“I figured you were hungry. I mean, you haven’t eaten since you got here.” he smiled a little. “Not that nobodies need food. It’s just a habit we hang onto after our separation.” Roxas’s smile faded at the thought. He wished he could forget what he knew. It was depressing, knowing you’re not real.
“That sucks...”
“Yeah. Namine won’t eat at all. Actually, she won’t sleep at all either, come to think of it.” his voice trailed off but jerked Roxas back to reality.
“Oh! I’m supposed to go see her!” he stood up quickly, his food falling to the floor.
“Relax. You can’t go now.”
“What? Why?”
“Because, Marluxia is up there with her.” Axel looked at the ceiling, his nose twitching at the sight of a spider. “But, I’ll give her a message for you if you want.”
“Right...” he said and scurried around the room for a pen and some paper. He eventually found some and hastily wrote something, folded it up, and handed it to Axel.
“Do I get to read it?” he asked, laughing.
“No.”
“Ok then. I’ll deliver this as soon as I can, promise.” Axel stood up to leave. “Better get some rest. Now, as my apprentice, the work begins for you. Tomorrow we are going train.” Roxas was surprised at this.
“Apprentice?” Axel laughed slightly, nodded his head and left him there, alone once more...
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Heh heh Booyaka! (As one of my favorite Final Fantasy characters would say) There you have it! chapter seven complete! Much more coming very soon. I'm actually almost done with chapter eight! So, now bow down before me and comment on my greatness! lol JK! :toungesmile:
that makes me happy! ok, I'll write more right now! Update tommorrow for sure!
