Gildas turned and walked away quickly, not looking back. “Gildas!” Zexion and I shouted in unison. “Gildas!” It felt like he had used Diamond Dust on my heart. It was frozen solid. I turned slowly to face Riku. His eyes were dull, and he was staring at a spot a little to the left of me. “…Haru…” I didn’t say anything. “Haru....Haru, I…” I wasn’t sure what to do. If I spoke, would that make him angry? “Is it true?” His voice was quiet. He didn’t sound angry or upset; he didn’t sound anything. I glanced over at Zexion quickly, who was swaying on the spot, and then my eyes darted back to him. “…Sort of. I…We didn’t mean for it to happen! We didn’t, I swear! And then I thought of you, and pulled away, but…it lasted for about two seconds! Please, you have to believe me!”
Riku shook his head wordlessly. Silently, I urged him to say something. I needed him to say something, hit me, hit Zexion! Just…show some emotion. I needed him to show me he actually cared. He scuffed his shoe on the road. “Say something, damn you! Fight for me! Or fight me! But show me you care somehow!” The words slipped out, and finally Riku looked at me. “Why should I? You obviously didn’t care about me last night.” Even now, he showed no real emotion; I couldn’t fight back if he didn’t fight at all. “Come on, Riku! Get angry, or sad, or something! You have to care, or else we wouldn’t have been together this long. You’ve told me you love me – now prove it!” I was shouting now, but I was praying inside. Praying for Riku to just tell me that I didn’t mean nothing to him…
“Look, it wasn’t Haru. It was my fault,” Zexion mumbled. “I kissed her. She pulled away and started talking about how much she loved you. And I know it’s true. She loves you. Acknowledge that.” Riku nodded. “Right. Sorry for not trusting you…” He took my hand, but I wasn’t happy. He should have been angry with Zexion, or not believed him, or something. He shouldn’t have just accepted it…I knew he didn’t really trust me…“Riku!” I yelled, tearing my hand out of his. “That isn’t enough! I want you to really trust me, I want you to! I didn’t-I made a mistake! You’ve done the same, you know? You’ve made mistakes, but I’ve accepted it! But I accepted them happily – because I’m in love with you!” He just looked at me blankly. “Maybe it would have been better if I had died yesterday?”
I didn’t really mean it, I just wanted him to…I don’t know. I wanted him to tell me no, he loved me and couldn’t live without me; that he truly trusted me and knew it wasn’t my fault. “If that’s what you think…” I waited for the end of that sentence with baited breath. “Then you’re stupid. I don’t want to live in a world without you, Haru. But…but I need some time. To come to grips with what’s happened.” I nodded. Okay, time. So he did care then. “Zexion!” he called, and Zexion nodded. “Stay away from my girl.” I wasn’t sure that was quite enough, but it would do. Maybe this was just how Riku dealt with things – not everyone was as emotional as me, maybe…
We weren’t sure where to go, but we started walking again, me and Zexion far away from each other, and Riku in the middle of the whole line, between Namine and L. Sora tailed behind us all. I was glad to be walking next to Namine; since Sha’dak’s death I felt awkward around L. But after about five minutes, Namine stopped walking and gasped. “What? What’s wrong?” I asked urgently, worried she was hurt. She didn’t answer; she had begun to glow gently. “Roxas…” she breathed. I looked at the others – they didn’t seem to know any more than I did. If I had looked at Sora, I would have noticed his look of comprehension, but as always I took no notice of him. “Namine.” At the sound of the unknown voice, we all turned again. There, in front of us, was a boy with a key.
I just knew this would happen. Ansem may have been an evil psycho freak, but he was right. Zexion would only slow me down. I wasn’t doing this for power... not anymore. I was doing this for revenge. Friends would only slow me down. It’d been three weeks- Three whole weeks! And I’d only received Ramuh in all that time. I didn’t look back. Not once. But I couldn’t help but wonder what Zexion would do with my book... You cannot erase the memories. Would he simply rip out that final page? Come running to me, tell me that I had walked off, somehow got amnesia and that no-one knew what had happened? Not likely. He’d be too distraught to realise. And I knew from that moment... the Heart was weak. The heart caused me pain... and so the Heart had to be shut off. I searched myself. Tried to find the part of me that controlled my emotions. Not in my Heart... but my mind. There! Right in the centre. I knew what I had to do. (Diamond Dust.) The pain was excruciating. I doubled over, and was sick in a nearby bush. When I wiped my mouth clean... I found that I didn’t care anymore. Zexion was just a fading emotion, just like all the rest. He may be distraught over me... But I never wanted to remember his name again.
I began to do another dance. Dance of Danger. Thunder flashed before me. Ramuh stood, dressed in a regal gold robe, with his staff in hand. “You rang, Master Gildas?” He said, calmly. “Ramuh, my friend. They refer to you as the Wise Elder, so I need your assistance. Shiva told me there was a way of increasing a Summon’s innate powers, so I may use them to the full extent without actually summoning. Do you know of this?” Ramuh chuckled, and bowed his head slightly. “I do, master, but I can see that your heart is corrupted, and that you seek power for the sake of power. ‘Tis a self-destructive path you take.” I waved my hand, dismissing his accusations. “I care not, old man. Tell me, now.” He looked angry; there was nothing he could do. He was bound to me. He had to tell me. “Her name is Belgemine. Seek her out in the northern plains of old, where thunder strikes per second, per second.” I dismissed him. Thunder Plains was my location. Not too far. And I was in luck... a storm was brewing.
We all gaped at the strange boy in front of us. “Roxas…? Can it really be you?” Namine breathed. He nodded. “These your friends?” he asked, pointing at us. When Namine nodded, he sheathed the strange key he was brandishing like a weapon. It looked quite like Sora’s weapon, actually. “Hey.” He nodded at us. “The name’s Roxas.” Then he turned back to Namine; that was all the ‘hello’ that we got. “I missed you…so much.” Roxas reached out and took Naminé’s hand, who smiled softly. “I missed you too,” she whispered. We just stood and watched, stunned, wondering who this person was and how he knew Namine.
“Thank you for looking after Namine for me. We got separated and…I was worried about her.” We all nodded. Sora, who we still weren’t paying any attention to, stepped towards Roxas. “How…?” His voice was serious for the first time since I had met him. “I’ll explain, Sora. I’ll explain everything, I promise.” So we all sat down, in the middle of the road, to hear his tale. “I don’t know if Namine told you this, but she and I are Nobodies. That means we don’t have a heart,” he began.
“We were a part of Sora and his girlfriend, Kairi.” Sora tried to protest, but Roxas stopped him off. “Come on, Sora, that’s what you were. So anyway, we had to stay in their hearts. But, a while ago, I found a way to free us, so we could be normal people again – minus a heart, obviously. I saw Namine briefly, but then we got separated. I looked for a way to bring us together again, and I found a way. I built a special room, as the directions told me, and gathered all the strongest weapons and magicks in the world. It is a room made of pure gold. But two items remain lost to me; a special scythe, which is of royal descent, and a book.
“So I am searching for them here. I never expected to find Namine!” he continued, squeezing her hand happily. “But now, there is a person who is trying to break into the Golden Chamber, as I named it. That means that I must go and stop him. His name is Demyx, and he is trying to get the strongest weapons in the world and become unbeatable.” I stopped listening. Demyx…Demyx…Why was that name so familiar? Then it hit me! “Demyx!” I cried, ignoring the strange look I got from L and Sora. “Demyx is the one who told me I should go to Castle Oblivion if I wanted to find…Gildas.” I fell silent then, thinking about Gildas again.
“It would seem, then, that Demyx is trying to get rid of you. You – and Gildas…” Zexion murmured. “Demyx is a member of Organisation XIII, just like me and Axel. I can tell he’s up to something…but what?” Roxas nodded. “Looks that way. So, how are we gunna stop him?” We all looked at each other blankly. “Look,” Roxas continued, “we can’t just let him break into the Golden Chamber! It would be really bad if he did, cus it holds some seriously strong stuff! Like, destroying the world strong!” After he said that, we agreed that we needed to go and stop him. It was decided that in the morning, we would set off and follow Roxas’s directions to the Golden Chamber.
During the night, everything was noisy. The trees moving in the wind; the gentle snores of everyone around me; the thoughts in my head. It was painfully loud, so I got up and walked away. It was a bit quieter, but it just made my thoughts louder. I kept seeing me and Zexion kiss…kept hearing our conversation…kept thinking of Gildas shouting at us…It went round and round in my head, getting louder and louder. I couldn’t stand it anymore. It was so painful…I wanted to scream out, but I didn’t want to wake the others. My head was pounding. My legs were shaking.
“Here, sit down.” A gentle pair of hands guided me down to the ground, and I sat there, breathing heavily. I didn’t know who was with me until he sat down too. “I can’t stop thinking about it, either,” Zexion said. “My head…it’s…so loud…painful…it hurts…so…much…” I knew I wasn’t making any sense, so I tried something easier. “You…shouldn’t be…here. Riku…if he finds out…I love him…” I panted. The pain in my head wasn’t going away. Zexion sighed, and got up. “You know, we are allowed to be friends still.” “You…you’re…right…I…am sorry…Sit…please, sit down…” He smiled slightly, and sat down again.
“What happened…last night…what did happen?” Zexion shrugged. “I haven’t got a clue. You didn’t kiss me, I didn’t kiss you. It just…happened.” I nodded. “I’m…sorry…about him.” I meant Gildas, of course. “I…didn’t mean for this…for this to happen…But…thank you…What you said to-to Riku…thanks.” Zexion smiled again. “Don’t be sorry; it wasn’t your fault. Besides, you must miss him, too. And what I said to Riku was nothing. There would be no point in you two breaking up too…” I shook my head. “You…didn’t have to…so…thank you…still…” Zexion put his arm around me, and we sat there for a while. My head was still thumping. And then…something happened…the pain was blinding…I couldn’t see…couldn’t think…I could hear Zexion repeating my name, but eventually it was lost in with my thoughts. I could feel him shaking me, but eventually it didn’t make any difference. What was happening to me?
Belgemine... It sounded a feminine name. This woman, who could be found in the Thunder Plains, would help me. My trek north, or rather, north-west was a relatively short one. I felt no pain, no suffering over Zexion. You could’ve said I had a heart of stone. Like it or not, I had gone one way, alone, and the others had gone another. They could sort their own lives out. I needed to find this woman, and then focus on getting the last two Aeons. The land became barren, the storm more intense. Soon, I was in a desolate wasteland... Thunder Plains.
I summoned Ramuh. I’d need his full strength. Ordered him to negate the Lightning around me, protect me from harm. Expending energy with every step, I trudged through the dark plains. Along the way were several Lightning Rod Towers, all of which in a state of disrepair. Something had happened. My mind... clouded slightly. Then, back to normal. Odd. Nothing had happened. But something had clouded my mental capacity, and with no emotion, it had to be an outside force. Zexion, perhaps, erasing my pages? Or something else? I couldn’t stop to find out. Getting weary very quickly, I stumbled past rocks and ponds until I saw a house. Too weary to go on, I collapsed, on the doorstep of House Belgemine.
When I awoke, a woman in green stood before me, her brown hair tightly wrapped into two odd circular discs on the sides of her head. “Hush, young Summoner. I know why you have come, and I am pleased to say I may help you. My name is Belgemine, and I, too, am a Summoner. I came across a peculiar item in my travels, and with no name, I called it what seemed most appropriate. The Summoner’s Soul is an item which can increase your power tenfold. Normally, I would battle you for it, to prove your abilities, but you are in no state for that. Here.” She clutched her chest. Pulled. Slowly, a light began to come from beneath her hands. Within a few moments, she held a small orb in her hands. “The Summoner’s Soul.” She answered, before I could ask the question. She stood me up, lifted my shirt. Normally, I would have blushed, but she had nothing on her mind but the Soul. She placed the orb to my chest. Agony. A searing light. I screamed, and saw a light against the ceiling... that had erupted from my mouth. I blacked out.
When I woke, my fingers tingled with electricity. My feet felt lighter, as if buffeted by the wind. My back felt cold... but the cold was soothing. My throat felt like it would never be dry again... and in my heart, a fire burned that could never be extinguished. The five summons had reacted to the Soul. I wanted to try my new power, but I couldn’t risk harming Belgemine. “Ahh, you have awoken.” She said. “Good. It is time. You are seeking two more Aeons, correct?” I nodded. She laughed. “Holy and Darkness, again correct?” Once more, I nodded. “Then, you have forgotten about Elemental Balance?” I was now totally confused.
Thankfully, she explained it quickly. Fire beats Ice, Ice beats Electricity, which in turn beats Water, and Water extinguishes Fire. Holy and Dark were opposed, but that left Wind. As Belgemine explained, there was another Aeon that had slipped my knowledge: An Earth Aeon. She also mentioned a Final Summoning, which intrigued me further. However, she explained, she knew not of its whereabouts, or its name, only that it could be summoned with the combined strength of the other eight Aeons. Lastly, she said that the Earth Aeon, known as Titan, lived in a cave... beneath the basement of her house.
I woke abruptly, as though someone had hit me, and sat up. “Careful now, you don’t want to hurt yourself even more.” It was Riku. “I love you,” I whispered. He turned to face me. “I love you, too, Haru.” Something wasn’t quite right with him, but maybe he still needed time. I noticed it was light. “How long…?” I wasn’t sure how to finish my question; had I been asleep? Or had I been unconscious? Thankfully, I didn’t need to finish my question for Riku to answer me. “It’s been a few hours. We’re going to stay here for another night now.” He got up to walk away. “I’m sorry…” He didn’t stop.
I sat alone, contemplating how Riku had been around me. He clearly still had a problem with me; normally he would have stayed with me. “How are you feeling? Is your head okay?” It was Zexion. “Huh? Oh, yeah…sure…” I was still thinking about Riku. “If you’re sure.” He didn’t sound convinced. “What happened?” I looked him. If only I knew. “If you’re worrying about Riku, don’t. He’s still crazy about you. He didn’t leave you until you woke up. He just…doesn’t know how to behave around you at the moment. Give it some time.” I blinked. Was that supposed to console me? Zexion looked at me again, and sat down.
“How’s everyone else doing?” I asked. “Well, Namine and Roxas are wrapped up in each other. Sora’s doing god knows what, and L still won’t put down his dirt.” I shook my head. “That’s not-” I shook my head. “Are they angry that we have to stay here longer now?” Zexion snorted. “You’re worried about that? You idiot. They’re more focusing on being worried over you.” “Oh…” Had he just called me an idiot? How rude…I ran a hand through my hair. “Are you okay? Does your head hurt again? I’ll go get Riku.” I grabbed Zexion’s sleeve as he went to stand up and tugged him down again.
“No, I’m fine,” I said. “It’s just…I just had a…bad dream, is all.” That didn’t seem to ease Zexion’s worries. “I…It was about Gildas. I think so, anyway. There was thunder, and pain, and he was exhausted. And then he collapsed. I think that’s when I…you know. So then, there was this light and…I dunno. It’s all mixed up in my head. But…I could feel him. For a while, I felt like I was right next to him again. It’s stupid, I know, but I so want to see him again…I just miss him is all…” Zexion nodded. “That’s understandable. I miss him, too.” A solitary tear ran down his nose, but he brushed it away quickly.
Zexion left me to get some sleep, and I did for a while. But it wasn’t a restful sleep; it was filled with holes, and I kept getting a feeling of dread. I was worried something bad was going to happen soon…But what more could happen to us? I woke up feeling worse than when I went to sleep, and went to join the others. “Hey,” I breathed as I sat with Riku. He was playing a game of cards with L, but he smiled at me. We were making progress, then. “Are you feeling better?” It was Namine. I nodded and smiled. “Yeah, thanks. Much better.” I decided not to share my dream with her. “Are you sure? Your heart seems to disagree…” I nodded. “Certain.” She didn’t look convinced, but nothing more was said about it.
I spent the rest of the day sitting next to Riku in silence. I felt kind of lonely; he wouldn’t hug me or even put his arm around me. I took hold of his sleeve, just so I could feel him in my hands, but it didn’t make a lot of difference. It felt like a really long day, but eventually the sun began to set. We all decided to turn in early, so we could leave as soon as possible. Nobody said it, but I knew it was to try and make up for the time we lost today. I felt really guilty, but nobody else mentioned it, so neither did I. I slept better that night, though I still wasn’t able to shake that feeling of dread…it was like a rain cloud hanging overhead, just waiting to burst.
I walked through the darkness. Now that I had superior strength, my Hell… my flame could have caused damage in such small surroundings. With this power, I had to be careful. At least, for now. I travelled through the darkness until I hit a dead end. Just as Belgemine said. I felt around the wall in front of me. Lower left… there! A loose… something. I pushed it in. I saw (or rather, heard) the wall move, and saw a small light in the distance. As I walked, the light became two, then four, which became lit torches. I was in a small cavern, and on a lifted earthen dais sat a brown-skinned giant in meditation. He seemed to be in his thirties, as far as I could tell. I wasn’t good with Giant years.
I coughed. The Giant opened his left eye. Looked down at me. “What is it you want, puny one?” I would have been nervous, if my emotions were alive. I gazed up. “oh Mighty Titan, I am on a quest to save all of Mother Nature’s beauty from a terribly evil foe.” Lying was easy again. Titan stood up. His head nearly touched the cavern ceiling. “What foe would this be, little summoner? And why should I believe you?” I laughed slightly. “Oh might Titan, the foe I speak of is a girl. A female Black Mage, who knows of every dark spell except the one to kill outright. There is no reason you should believe me, but there is a reason you should believe King Ramuh.” He looked intrigued. “Watch. Judgement Bolt!” I flung my hands to the ceiling. My strength now so powerful, the lightning struck through the earth and collected in my hands. I then forced the electricity into a small sphere, and placed my hand on a nearby wall. The wall exploded, opening a new cavern. Titan was speechless.
“So, mighty one. Will you join me? Mother Nature needs a protector. And as the Aeon of Earth… is it not your duty?” He laughed. “You seem strong, but not only that. You fight for a good cause. Simply call on your innate abilities, remember the Dance of Disasters, and I will be called.” He went back into meditation. A sphere of mud formed around him, and sucked him into a nearby wall. Titan was mine. In my arms I felt a renewed strength, and new that Titan had given me his power entirely. The brute was all brawn and no brains. And now, his strength would serve me… forever.
I woke up, and realised that everyone else was already moving around. It was strange that nobody had woken me…I got up and ready as fast as I could, and was ready to leave just as soon as everyone else. We hit the road early in the morning, and just walked along. We weren’t going particularly fast, but we made good progress, stopping only once during the day, for lunch. It was early afternoon when there was a big distraction.
We were just wandering along the road when a big, black hole materialized, growing until it was the size of a person. And then someone stepped out. He was wearing a long, black coat, just like Zexion’s, and had the hood up. “Woah!” he cried. “This is like a reunion! It’s Sora, Roxas, Namine, Riku, Zexion and Haru...and someone else,” he said, ignoring L completely. I searched my memory…How did this strange person know me? Unless…in Twilight Town…
“Demyx?” I stepped forward anxiously. He laughed. “So you recognized me? That’s great!” He pulled down his hood, revealing stunningly blue eyes and a wide grin. “I had hoped Castle Oblivion wouldn’t slow you down too much…or kill you, for that matter. But I kinda forgot to mention that to a few friends.” That threw me. “You sent me to…that place on purpose?! Knowing full well that I would lose my memories and almost get killed? Who are you, really?” Demyx sighed. “I already told you, I’m Demyx. Gosh, you’re kinda slow. But that’s enough about you and me. Namine! It’s so good to see you again! I was a little worried about you – not to mention, I missed you terribly, when you left the castle.”
Namine was clearly scared of Demyx, and she stepped to the side a little so she was hiding behind Roxas. Demyx strode forward. Not knowing whether or not he was being kind, nobody reacted. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back with him. Namine tried to pull back, but she was too little and weak for it to have any effect. Demyx pulled her until he was standing in front of our group again. I took a step backwards while his back was turned, so I was standing next to Riku, who gripped my hand tightly. I shook it off, though, so I could keep my hand free, and winked at Riku quickly.
Demyx was peering into Naminé’s face. “So, where have you been then? We’ve been looking for you!” She was struggling to free herself, and tears were running down her face silently. Demyx laughed. He had a friendly laugh, but that in itself was chilling. “So, are you going to come back with me? After I ask Roxas a few questions about his special room, that is.” He was speaking to her as though she was about three years old. I didn’t interrupt, but was watching closely for the right moment.
“So, Roxas. Like I said, I have a few questions about your special room. There are some things missing, right? Well, if you tell me how to get in, I’ll help you find them…and you get your precious Namine back.” Demyx turned to Roxas and dangled Namine helplessly by his side. There. It was time to act. I grabbed Riku’s sword from its sheath, and ran at Demyx. I wasn’t used to fighting with a sword, but I did manage to swing it through the air with ease. I slashed at him, but only caught his arm. He had pulled his arm up to protect himself, and as it was the arm holding Namine, he had let go of her. She ran over to Roxas and clung to him, still sobbing.
Namine was safe, for now, but Demyx was angry now, and I was closest to him. I held the sword out to protect myself; it was all I could think to do. He walked towards me, and vanished. I looked around wildly, and then someone grabbed my arm and twisted it up behind my back. I dropped Riku’s sword to the ground with a loud clang. “I can warp, little girl. Don’t mess with me.” I couldn’t speak easily, so I hissed, “Don’t call me little girl. Just let go of me and leave us alone.” Demyx laughed again. It was annoying how often he laughed, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
“I don’t want you. I want the knowledge inside Roxas’s puny little head. And I want the leverage to do it.” He swung around, dragging me with him, and addressed Roxas again. “Look, just tell me how to get in your room and I’ll get out of here.” I shook my head fiercely. I was not about to be used as leverage. I used my other elbow to hit Demyx squarely in the stomach and he doubled over. That was my chance to twist my arm free and I picked up Riku’s sword again. “Get out of here and leave us alone. Right now.” He looked affronted. “Fine. But don’t expect me to make you and Zexion kiss ever again.” Demyx allowed one last, long laugh, and as he did so, faded away in a pool of darkness…
I breathed heavily for a minute, shocked at what I had done and Demyx’s last sentence, and then I couldn’t see anything. I was knocked back by the force of Naminé's tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she whispered. “But why go to all that trouble?” I pushed her back gently; I was having trouble breathing. “You’re one of us now, Namine. You helped us out, and we help you out, too. We’re a team. We work together.” Namine beamed at me. “I…have a warm feeling. Right here…” She indicated where her heart should be. “Thank you,” she said again.
