We arrived back at the Castle in silence. I really wanted to just go up to my room, but RaXi seemed to be thinking about something. I waited for her to voice her thoughts.
“Triskix it is,” she said contemplatively.
“Triskix,” I said, “what about him?”
"Oh, nothing," she said with a smile. I eyed her curiously. Something seemed entirely forced about her grin. "Well then, thanks for all your hard work, guys. No need to worry about the report. I'll deliver it personally. So I guess...you're all free to do as you wish. Get some rest."
I glared behind her back as RaXi left to find Triskix. I couldn’t read anything in her face, but my animal instincts were telling me to be wary of her. Without another word, I left to return to my room in the West Tower, stopping at the kitchen to grab a quick snack on the way.
I shut the door behind myself with my foot and curled up on my window seat. Not only did I need to make a decision on whether I’d take Pashnirix up on his offer, I also needed to make sure RaXi didn’t pose a threat to me. About the offer, I couldn’t help but consider the idea of finally training with someone like me.
But still, if it was their fault that so many Heartless were infesting the worlds, there was no way I could join them. My job was to protect against the Heartless, not help spread them. It was the least I could to in memory of what happened to Kateri, Giovanni, and his brother…
Adrian...I had only heard of him through Giovanni. His older brother had left the family when Gio was four years old, and nobody had heard from or seen him since. But now...he is here...but he's a Heartless?
"Step aside, little brother," the Heartless Adrian says. I haven't noticed, but Giovanni is now standing in front of me protectively. "It's not you I'm here for."
"All the more reason for me to stay," growls Gio.
The Heartless Adrian eyes us for a moment, and then makes a decision. "Very well, I shall take you both down," he says.
He lunges at us, and I am now forced to make a decision myself. Do I allow Giovanni to protect me, or do I take what has been decided for me and allow him to live? The man I love...versus my own life...the choice was simple, really.
Working faster than he could react, I bind Giovanni's arms with two of my chains and throw him to the side, taking the full force of Adrian's blow, a blow that proved deadly.
He stands over me as I lay gasping, Giovanni screaming in the background. Plunging a darkness-filled hand into my chest, he tears my heart out, eliciting a painful scream from me as I resist. With some more force, he rips my heart out, and I feel myself fading, a mere shadow of whom I once was.
He disappears from my line of vision, and I faintly hear him unchaining Giovanni. "If you want your revenge," Adrian says quietly, "I will be at the Mansion." And he leaves.
Giovanni crawls over to me. I feel his hot tears on my face, but barely. "Why...why did you...do that?" he manages to stutter out between heaving gasps.
"Had to ...protect," I rasp. "Gio...I will not become what he has become...do you understand?"
Gio nods, but I don't think he realizes what I'm asking.
"Gio...I want...need you to...kill me," I whisper.
"No, no, no," he shouts, shaking his head violently. The hands he smoothes over my face are trembling just as violently. I can feel the darkness beginning to take over my body.
"You...have to," I say, "Whomever...is controlling your brother...wants this...wants me to become...Heartless."
"But...but I can't. I can't. I love you," he says, kissing my cold lips, "I love you, Kat, forever.
"I know," I say, "That is why you must...do this. Please." I can't feel my legs or arms any more. I tilt my head slightly and see the darkness swirling around them.
"I love you. I love you," he repeats, even as he takes the dagger and severs my head. I see his devastated face, and then I see no more…
I shake my head, and the vision before me fades, revealing my own room in the Castle. Re-living Kateri's memories always upset me. It was almost like I had my own emotions, real and strong. But it had helped me to make my decision. I now knew what I had to do.
Thinking about RaXi, I merely smiled. Let her try to take on the stealthy tigress, and we’ll see how she fares.
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A/N: When you see 'I' or 'me' in the italic section, it's Kateri, not Rex. Also, Kat's chains are just normal chains, no magic or anything involved.
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KitKat: And now we know the story of how Rex became Rex!
Rexikat: It's really not that fascinating. It's heartbreaking. Or, would be, if I had a heart.
KitKat: -_-'
