The Melodious Nocturne: 19 Chapters

[Scarlett Faythe]

Chapter XV

“DEMYX!!” Amelia cried out instantly, grabbing his shoulders, and shaking him hard. “Demyx…w-what…w-what are you…what….happened…” she started to cry violently, and her whole body started to shake. Taking his floating body in her arms, she held him tight against her. “You said…you said…you…would….come back…you PROMISED!!! DEMYX!!!” She screamed into his ear as she cried desperately, trying to hold him closer to keep herself from shaking. “You…promised…promised…you stupid…boy…” Her voice was almost a whisper now.

Hands clutching the leather coat on his back, she tried to control herself. Her world had fallen apart. This was it. He was gone, and she was being hunted down. Her body started to feel limp, and they floated there together, Demyx wrapped in Amelia’s arms, and Amelia lying helpless on his chest.

“I’d give anything…just…don’t leave me…please…Demyx, I’m…I’m scared…I’ll give you anything…” Amelia pleaded to him, looking up into his calm, peaceful, emotionless face while petting back his hair gently and lovingly. She wanted to see him smile. Just once more. To see his bright eyes light up again, the way they did every time he first spotted her after an absence. To see his blushing cheeks after making a fool of himself. To hear his awkward laugh. To hear his singing.

As memories of the things she loved most about him passed through her closed eyes, her heart began to swell. Swell with all the love she had of those memories, the love she had for him. Nothing else mattered than Demyx. Not her past…her past was empty…but he would have stood at the threshold of her future. She would sacrifice it all for him. She would sacrifice anything if it would bring him back.

Amelia felt her tears stop, and she let out a heavy sigh, and opened her eyes. Then she blinked with surprise. Was it that her eyes were too tired from her tears, or was that a pink glow that seemed to be coming from her chest? She took her hands off of his back and pulled herself slightly away from his body as she stared at the glow that grew brighter and brighter. She felt at peace, and her body was no longer shaking.

With wonder and awe, Amelia watched as a glowing object floated from her chest and into her cupped hands. It looked like a heart. Only the heart was only one part, a half of a whole heart. It shined bright through the darkness and seemed to give the silence around them a beautiful ringing. As she held it in her hands, she knew what it was: A part of her heart, which she could give to him. It held her old memories, all the memories that didn’t include Demyx and Myde in them.

“…I’ll give you anything…” Amelia repeated in another soft whisper. “…Demyx…I love you…”

She dropped her hands, and let her heart go. The happiness in her started to fade, and she watched carefully with great concern as a piece of her left her and went to him. The glowing pink light dimmed as the heart receded into his chest. More and more…and then suddenly the light was gone.

As soon as the heart was inside him, multiple things all happened at once. Suddenly her breath was gone, and she quickly closed her mouth and held her breath in terror. Demyx’s body seemed to twitch slightly, as if coming back to life. Shaking, Amelia grabbed hold of his shoulders, and started to shake him frantically.

He stirred, and finally blinked open his bright blue-green eyes, and stared up at her in shock and amazement. Then almost as soon as he came too, he opened his mouth to say something, but then realized as she motioned her arm to her neck that they were underwater.

He held up his hand, and with a force that seemed like a shockwave, all the water on and around them blasted back, creating a kind of bubble around them. The both gasped in the air, and were breathing hard as Amelia looked up at Demyx, not believing her eyes.

She was speechless, and he looked at her as if saying he was sorry he had upset her by what had happened. Tears were falling down her cheeks without a sound, and immediately she threw her arms around him tightly, and cried into his chest.

“Amelia…what…what happened…” He asked confused, looking down at her, confused. “I thought…I was dead…that I…” Demyx gasped in shock. Amelia looked up to him to see what was wrong. The she gasped as well.

Tears were falling from his eyes, running across his cheeks fast, and crawling down his neck.

“I don’t…understand…” He started to say, but his voice broke, and he closed his eyes, letting the tears fall.

“You don’t have to be a Nobody anymore, Demyx. I…I gave you my heart. Though, in truth, you stole mine long ago.” Amelia answered, trying to keep her voice from breaking as she looked at him, showing true emotion, his tears falling on her face.

Demyx closed his eyes, leaned down, and pressed his lips against hers. Kissing her passionately, he stroked her tear-stricken cheeks, and put his thumbs to her eyes, and wiped away her tears. He kissed her over and over again, moving his arms lovingly around her waist, up her back, and through her hair.

When he finally pulled away, he kept one hand on her back, and lifted his free hand to his face, and wiped his own tears away.

“No…no words can express my gratitude to you, for saving me. Saving my life, not just from disappearing, but from being a Nobody.” He started to say.

“Don’t thank me, please. I did it because…because…I…I love you Demyx. I can’t live without you. I need you.” She closed her eyes, shaking her head.

“I love you, Amelia.” Demyx whispered as he pulled her close into a tight embrace. “But why…why are you here? What is going on?”

“It’s Saïx. He found out about me, and planned on killing me after you had left. He showed up at the beach awhile after you had left. But then your water clones showed up and saved me, just like last time…”

“Saïx!? He came after you? My water clones? Wait, what do you mean like last time??” Demyx gasped as he pulled away slightly to look at her.

Amelia shook her head. “I’ll explain later. But we’re in danger right now, we have to leave. We need to find somewhere safe, and then we can-“

“No.” Demyx cut her off. “YOU need to get to somewhere safe. I’ll fight Saïx. I’ll weaken him so he won’t follow, ok? I’ll join up with you later.”

“NO!” Amelia cried, holding him tight, which made him flinch. “No, I won’t leave you again, not after what just happened! I’m not going to let you out of my sight!”

“Amelia.” He barked, his voice again in the strange, commanding tone. “It’s a lot harder to fight someone when you also have to keep an eye and protect someone at the same time. You’d just be in my way.”

She looked up at him sadly, hurt by his words, but understanding why he had said them.

“I’ll trust you to find somewhere safe to hide while I fight him off, and I’ll find you afterwards, ok?” He asked her seriously.

She hesitated for a moment, and then nodded, looking down sadly.

“Good. Then let’s go.” He said with a nod, and the bubble of air they were in floated up, and finally broke through the surface of the water, and they landed on top of the stormy sea waves, the rain coming down on their just recently dried bodies.

A portal of darkness opened to her right, and Demyx looked at her and then at the portal, giving her a nod of encouragement. He reached down to kiss her gently on the forehead, and Amelia looked up at him sadly before nodding back and then turning away, running into the portal.

As the portal shrank and closed, Demyx gave a heavy sigh, and grabbed his stomach. He could feel the bruises and bleeding beneath his coat, but at least he was alive, and they didn’t feel as strong right now. He hoped he would be able to hold out, long enough to stay Saïx from following Amelia and him.  

[Scarlett Faythe]

Chapter XVI

Her feet were once again on solid ground once Amelia had exited the portal into this new setting. It was almost as dark as where she had just been, beneath the surface of the water. It must have been in the same relative area as the castle, for rain was still poring heavily down on her head. Pulling her head up, she looked around and found that she was on a street. There were alleys and more streets, and many signs in strange neon-lighted lettering.

It was like a city, and she would have thought it to be, were it not for the fact that for as far as she could see there was no one around. Every street and alley was empty, and though she thought she heard the beating sound of a bass in an exciting club somewhere around, she suspected that that, too, would be empty.

The rain relentlessly pounded against her head, and Amelia took off in search of shelter. The nearest door she came too she tried to open, but for some strange reason it wouldn’t budge. It was locked, even though the blue neon sign above seemed welcoming. Looking up, she saw that all the buildings around were very tall, at least 30 stories high.

Amelia gave up on that door, and started running down the street in search of an open door. Her boots splashing in the puddles along the street had an almost eerie echo as it bounced against the empty buildings to her sides. The rain was so cold, she thought as minutes past, and there was still no sign of any sanctuary. She was walking now, breathing hard as the rain soaked her in and out.

Shivering, she came to a large open space where a giant building was the center of attention. A grand staircase led up to its doors. As she looked up at the large skyscraper, she noticed it had screens and build boards on the sides of it. It looked like it would be occupied, it’s so huge, she thought as she tiredly walked up the steps.

When she finally reached the doors, Amelia put her hand on the handle and pulled. But with a heavy sigh, she decided that if this place wasn’t open, than it was hopeless. She wouldn’t be able to find anywhere to stay while she waited for Demyx.

Amelia looked up at the sky, rain drops falling on her face, and sat down with her hands around her legs. “S-so…c-cold….” She whimpered, pulling her legs closer to her chest and resting her chin on her knees.

She wondered if he Demyx was all right. With a sigh she closed her eyes tightly. She hoped he was okay. She hoped he was strong enough to fight Saïx.

There was a sudden pound on the ground as if something large had fallen that made her look up with surprise, praying for a split second it was Demyx. But when she looked up to see something very different, something silver and threatening, she was paralyzed in fear.

Two more appeared behind the first. The large forms looked like armored bodies with blunt hammer-like limbs, and held what looked almost looked like the kind of large blunt claymore that Saïx had pulled out in front of her. They paused for only a moment before spotting her easily sitting there defenseless in front of the doors to the skyscraper.

And then it hit her, these creatures were disciples of Saïx. They seemed to float towards her, their feet not even touching the ground. Amelia let out a cry, and stumbled up against the door behind her to stand, though she felt as if she couldn’t move.

As they came closer, she wondered in terror if she would even be able to get away, even though she knew she would never live to know if she didn’t try. She willed her legs to move. Just as they started ascending the steps, Amelia was finally able to move, and she ran with all her strength down the stairs on the side. She jumped almost three steps at a time, trying to be careful and not miss a step.

When she came near the bottom, however, she slipped in a puddle on a step, and her feet fell from under her. Amelia flew forward, and she held out her hands to catch her impending fall. Then she hit the stone tiled street, and her hands gave out almost instantly. Her already bleeding hands scraped against the ground, and she fell face-forward onto the wet street.

She felt a crunch as her head hit the hard ground, and as she lifted herself up painfully, her glasses dropped from her face, broken. Amelia lifted a hand to her face and touched a painful spot on her forehead, then pulled it away to stare at a few drops of blood on her fingers.

Another large thump came from behind her, and she crawled to her feet and started running blindly forward. Looking behind her, she saw the shape of one of the creatures pulling his claymore from a recently-created pile of rubble on the steps she had run down. The shape faded into a fuzzy picture, however, as she became farther away from them.

Then looking back ahead, she started running into the closest empty alley. I must have lost them by know, she hoped as her footsteps started to slow. It became quiet once more except for the rhythm of the rain. Exiting on another street, Amelia turned to walk down the new path.

But suddenly, appearing from a dark and whisking portal, came a pair of the same menacing monsters. She gasped with surprise, and took a step back. Did she have no where to hide? They came forward. But then between the pair and Amelia came another dark portal. Only this time, three different looking creatures appeared. They were slender and pale, with waving arms, large pale pink pants and hat, and a ribbon from the end of the hat that danced around their feet.

With a gracefulness that Amelia immediately recognized as the same, flowing and confident air as Demyx, the creatures flew into the air, and danced around the bezerker nobodies. The dancer nobodies wrapped themselves around their enemies, and pulled and struck at them with uncanny speed and agility.

But nowhere in sight, Amelia realized, was Demyx. He must have sent these nobodies to help her, she guessed, as she slowly backed away from the danger. With her heart beating fast, she ran in the opposite direction, fleeing for safety in the pouring storm. She ran down countless alleys and streets, afraid to stop and run into a bezerker.

She had been running for almost ten minutes, passing countless battles of nobodies when she finally came across a lone bezerker as soon as she turned into a slender alley. It was so close that she had to skid to a stop, and came so close to it, she was almost inches to its face. Amelia screamed, and pivoted, turning as fast as she could from it, almost sliding on the wet ground.

But she only managed to take a few steps before what she had feared finally happened. She felt as a sharp, agonizing pain swept up her back to the base of her neck. The powerful blow sent her flying forward. She was unable to mover her arms fast enough to soften her blow, and she hit the ground, and slid meters across the stone street before coming to a stop by colliding with the wall of a nearby building. A stream of bright red blood trailed from her back to the nobody.

The bezerker came slowly forward to inspect its prey before Amelia watched as a dancer came flying through the air, and kicked it forcefully, sending it back across the alley. The dancer looked back at Amelia, and though blurry, she was its blank face give her a nod, and then turn back to its enemy.

She couldn’t feel anything but pain as she tried to push herself up. Still she managed with a cry of pain to get on her feet, and started to drag herself away into another alley. Amelia put her support up against the wall as she walked. She was crying, walking as far as she could, though she had no idea where she was anymore. Her eyes were fuzzy from her tears, and she felt to dizzy to even be able to focus what she fight have been able to see even without glasses. Eventually, when her strength left her, she collapsed.

Amelia let her feet fall from under her, and she pushed herself up against the wall of a small alley, and lay there, unable to move any longer. With a painful moan, she pulled her arms close into her chest, and closed her eyes. She was cold. She was soaked. She was bleeding heavily. And everything went dark in her mind as she left consciousness there, while praying that Demyx would find her before she was unable to wake from her sleep on the street.

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Demyx stumbled from a black portal onto the empty street somewhere in the city. He was clutching his stomach, and a slender stream of blood rolled down over his left eye from his head. His breath was rasping and frantic, and he pulled himself up straight and his sitar turned into water and disappeared in his hand.

“Dancers?” He called out in an almost desperate tone, and within moments the dancer nobodies streamed through the air like free-flying flags and landed in a circle around him.

“How…how is she? Is she safe?” Demyx asked through gasps of air. There was a pause, and then one of the dancers stepped forward, and held out a hand to him.

In the palm of the dancer’s slender hand was a necklace. The strand that held it together as well as the small, white pearl was covered in crimson blood.

Demyx gasped chokingly, and put his hand over his mouth in surprise before hesitantly taking her necklace in his hand. He grasped it tightly, and brought it to his lips, and kissed his closed fist, holding back tears.

Shaking, he looked around at them all. “WHERE IS SHE?! SHOW ME WHERE SHE IS!!”  

[Scarlett Faythe]

Chapter XVII

Silent as a breeze, the dancer who had given Demyx Amelia’s pearl necklace gave a graceful bow, and twisted around to dance nimbly ahead with Demyx at its heels. The dancer was quick, turning into alleys without hesitation, as if being pulled by the wind or an invisible string. With every turn, Demyx grew more and more excited and afraid. He was anxious to see her. To see how badly she was hurt. To come to her aid as soon as possible.

Anger also built inside of him. An uncontrollable rage towards Saïx like a blazing inferno. Such a passionate feeling hate was, so much so that he felt as if he was unable to contain it. If only he had more time. If he was in better shape, he would have made Saïx pay for his actions. But right now wasn’t the time. Amelia needed him.

Anger, anxiety, sorrow, pain, betrayal. So many emotions were spinning in his head like a hurricane. It was so new. His heart was racing, not because he was running as fast as he could to Amelia, but because it was full of so much feeling. It was almost unbearable every singe time he turned the corner, and she wasn’t there. He needed to see her before his heart exploded with fear.

Finally, as he followed the dancer into another street, he saw it turn to face an alley, and stop dead in its tracks. Demyx ran to the dancer’s side, and looked down the alley. For that split second that he gazed before him, the rain coming down over him formed like an umbrella over his head. It parted, and slid off the invisible barrier’s sides, leaving Demyx standing there.

Then in a flash, he had dived forward. His hands picked Amelia up off the street. Her wet clothes dripped with a mix of blood and water as he took her into his arms, and under his barrier from the cold rain. Demyx’s whole body was shaking, and he pulled her as tight as he could against him.

“….A…Amelia….” He choked, shaking her. “AMELIA!!!!!”

Demyx screamed as tears cascaded from his eyes, down his cheeks, and fell upon her bloody and scratched face. She looked so lifeless, like a broken marionette whose strings had been cut. How light she was, he noticed, as he staggered to get up. So fragile too, in the time he had left her alone, she had been hurt so much. It was his fault. He should have kept her by his side.

Immediately he turned, and ran out of the alley, holding Amelia close so that she wouldn’t be jostled. The dancer who had taken him to her twirled in greeting, and then danced off down the street. Then it stopped not to far away, in front of a door on the side of one of the buildings.

Without hesitation, Demyx ran after the dancer, and came to the door. His hands full, he lifted his foot and tried to kick the door open, but to no avail. But then the dancer twisted in front of him, and twirled in the air, kicking the door hard in the center. Whatever had been keeping the door closed broke, and the door swung open, hanging limply from a single hinge as Demyx pushed past it and into the dark room.

It was a potion shop. With the faint neon lighting from outside, Demyx could see the outlines of small glass bottles around the room. He rushed across the room and behind the counter to another door, and pushed it open. There was a flight of stairs which he climbed, and at the top, a small corridor with two doors on either side. Coming to one of the two, he looked inside to find a small bedroom.

He leaned against the door until it opened, and hurried to place Amelia on the clean, made bed. When he did, she let out a small moan, and her body seemed to relax slightly. Demyx leaned over her, his heart still racing. With shaking hands, he lifted his arms over her body, and waved them with commanding force. The water from her body as well as his lifted into the air above them and disappeared.

Her clothes were still wet however, and her back still bleeding. Swiftly Demyx ran down the steps and down into the shop where he grabbed many bottles in his arms, and then ran back up to the room. He dumped out the bottles on the floor and started to look through them.

“Ether…Ether…Agility Up…Defense Up…No! ...Ether…Potion! This is it!!” He cried out as he picked up the bottle of green liquid, and crawled to his feet, and ran to Amelia.

Carefully, he turned her over onto her stomach on the bed. Then he, while blushing slightly, removed her ripped and damp shirt from her. He wadded it up in his hand like a wet towel, and dabbed it very carefully over her wound. It was long, stretching from the base of her neck down to her mid back, and deep in some parts, but it hadn’t made contact with anything vital. Tenderly, Demyx cleaned the wound, and then after her back was clean, he took the potion and placed her on her back again.

These potions had to be taken orally, he thought as he looked down at the bottle. Then, blushing still as he couldn’t help but notice her half-naked chest breathing delicately upon the bed, he opened the bottle, and drank the potion, filling it in his mouth.

Discarding the bottle, he leaned over her fragile body, and while holding her chin, put his lips to hers and opened her mouth with his. He pushed the potion so that she swallowed it and then pulled away slightly. Demyx lightly touched her face, and watched as the scars began to heal themselves with a faint green glow.

He let a heavy sigh escape his lips as he pulled away. She could recover now, her wound just needed to heal on its own now that the bleeding would stop. Weakly, and with one eye closed and a red face, Demyx unbuttoned her pants, after taking off her shoes, and pulled them off. He discarded her clothes, throwing them to the floor. Then he pulled the warm, dry covers over her body and tucked her in.

“…I’m sorry I left you. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. Please, forgive me. Amelia…” Demyx cried weakly, wiping the blood from his brow. “Amelia, I love you. I love you…so please wake up. I promise, as long as I live, I won’t ever leave your side again. Never. And no harm will come to you…promise…promise…” He unzipped his long black cloak, and placed it over her on top of the covers, and gently kissed her.

He whimpered quietly, and as he sat back down on the floor, he reached his hand out for another green potion bottle. It felt heavy in his hands. Uncapping it, he put it to his lips like before, and this time drank the bottle himself until it was empty. He saw slightly through tired eyes his multiple bloody wounds dry and stop bleeding in the green glow. Then, feeling as though he could not stand to be awake any longer, Demyx closed his eyes. He fell back, and landed in an exhausted heap on the wooden floor.

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Hours later, Amelia stirred. She opened her eyes, and groaned. Why was there so much pain in her back? Then as she sat there, looking up at the blurry ceiling, she remembered what had happened last. She was attacked by the bezerker. She fell in the alley, and then she blacked out, waiting for Demyx. Though, right now, it was warm, and she felt soft blanket. She wasn’t in the street now.

Slowly realizing that she he been moved by someone, Amelia shot up in bed, and then cried out as the pain in her back surged. She looked around, and found herself in a room. There was something the floor too. She remembered she had broken her glasses, and as she looked at the dark and blurred images on the floor, trying to recognize the colors, she gasped, and cried out again.

Demyx was sprawled on the floor topless, and surrounded by bottles of liquid. Was he alive? She didn’t see any red around him. Her heart pounding, Amelia jumped out of the bed. With one foot out from under the covers, she realized suddenly that she had been stripped into her underwear.

Blushing madly red, she found his coat laying over her on the bed. She took the coat and wrapped it around her quickly, and then jumped out of bed to his side. Ignoring the pain that made her scream inside, she sat shaking over him, and put her hands on his chest, and stopped breathing for a moment, listening.

It was completely silent except for the rain falling outside and tapping against the window pane. But then she heard it, Demyx’s soft but ragged breathing. Her hands felt the slow rise and fall of his chest, and she let out a sigh of relief. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Though his chest was scarred with many gashes, scrapes, and bruises, she realized he would be okay. He would wake up to see her safe. He would live. And so would she. With tears of relief falling gently on to his chest, Amelia slid her hands up and across his scarred skin, and around his neck as she put her head on his chest. Though crying, she wasn’t shaking. The tears just seemed to fall out. She smiled, and kissed his skin lightly. He was alive. He was with her.

A few minutes passed that seemed like hours as Amelia started to doze off to sleep again. But under her, Demyx moved slightly, and his hands moved up to hold what was laying on him. His confused looking eyes melted into a deep loving gaze as he looked down at her, looking up at him so sweetly.

“I told you…that I’d come and find you again. Now…everything will be okay.” Demyx whispered while he looked at her, and then his smile left his face and he started turning bright red.

Amelia realized then that he noticed their situation right now, and that it was completely normal that he would start to freak out about now. Not only was she on top of him on the floor, but he was topless, and she was in her underwear, only covered by his cloak that only really was hiding the back of her.

And then she realized with a sudden flash of embarrassment that she could feel his skin against hers, growing warm with uneasiness. Her bare stomach was touching his bare chest, and she herself started to blush. She didn’t want to move, though. No matter how awkward it was, it was comfortable, because it was Demyx.

Demyx, the adorable and bubbly personality. Demyx, her warm sun that always cheered her up. Demyx, the amazing musician and dance. And most importantly, it was her Demyx, the one who had saved her life more than once.

And so it didn’t matter to her right now what was ethically right and wrong. But her relief to be able to see him looking down at her, alive and with a heart of his own, was all she cared about.

Amelia just gave him a smile before she pulled herself up slightly, and paused for a moment as she looked down at him, before placing her lips on his. It was as if the perfect key had unlocked the lock it was meant for after so long. Everything was right. She ran her hands up his neck and through his hair as she kissed him with a passion that she had never known to herself before.

Demyx was so surprised, and as his mind started racing with more emotions and especially instinct, he didn’t want to mess up. So awkwardly, he just put his arms around her waist, and pulled her against him, as if afraid to let go. And his lips replied to hers, telling her all his feelings. That he would never leave her alone anymore. That he was so happy that she was alive. And that if this was his last moment, then he would kiss her like never before.

After a long moment, Amelia finally pulled away a few inches and basked in his warm breath for a second before speaking in a low and soft voice.

“I think that maybe we should get our rest. We are both tired and wounded.” She said while stroking the back of his neck.

“Y-you’re right.” Demyx replied in a nod, his face still pink.

With a smile, Amelia pulled herself from off of him, and held out a hand for him. Demyx took her hand, and with her help, walked with her over to the bed. Ready to pass out once more, he fell on top of the covers and rolled to the side. Then Amelia slid in beneath the covers, and as if it were completely normal, scooted up against him, close and warm.

He mumbled something surprised and embarrassed, but he put his arms around her, and held her close to him. Then, with a peaceful mind, Amelia fell asleep in Demyx’s arms.  

[Scarlett Faythe]

Chapter XVIII

“…A….Amelia….”

Amelia blinked open her eyes slowly.

“…..Ameliaaaa….” Demyx whispered uneasily.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Demyx’s neck. Then she looked up and saw him looking down on her. She wasn’t laying on anything soft, either. What an odd position she was in.

Then it clicked.

“Do you mind not rolling on top of me when you are sleeping? I don’t think I could bring myself to move you when you’re asleep, you’re adorable. But you really do make things more awkward than it should be.” He said in a very normal voice, as if he had been awake for a while.

Amelia had somehow managed to roll herself up onto him, as well as out of his cloak, which was now strangely on the floor. He was wrapped around in the blanket, and like the cherry on a sundae, she was sprawled rather ungracefully atop the trapped, innocent Demyx.

“Gah!!” She cried as a hand flew to cover her chest, and another hand grabbing the end of the blanket that was on top of him as she rolled the opposite way, landing next to him, wrapped in the covers.

“…No wonder I was cold.” She mumbled with the covers pulled all the way up to her chin.

When she had rolled off of him, Demyx sat up in the bed and touched his chest tenderly.

“Does….does it hurt?” Amelia asked in a small voice, watching.

He turned back to look at her. “N-no…” He blushed slightly. “But…but what about you! When I found you….you were…” He choked on his words, and had to look away. She waited quietly for him to continue.

“You were….lying there….broken on the cold street…and…the blood…this red pool around you…I was…” His voice went quiet. “….so scared that I was too late…my world felt like it had been ripped out from under me. I’m…so sorry…”

His words brought small beads of tears to the corners of her eyes. Amelia slowly sat up in bed. She leaned towards him, and put her arms gently around his waist from behind, and held him. The warmth of her body soothed him, and he let out his held breath, and closed his eyes.

“It’s all…over now, isn’t it?” Amelia asked, half to herself.

“I…I hope so. I wasn’t able to kill him. I was too weak to be able to strike Saïx down. Even in a normal situation, I doubt I would have been able to defeat him…but…but we got away. We can leave now. We can go wherever we want. We’re free….I’m….free…” He touched her arms that held him around the waist, and stroked them.

There was another silent moment before Demyx stirred. She slid her hands off of him, and then took the blanket to cover her body as he turned around.

“What about you? Are you ok? Your wound was really deep. It may be painful for you to move for awhile...”

“It..it’s all right. I’m fine for now. It stings a little but for the most part…what?” Amelia asked, as she notice his eyes spark with slight amusement.

“Your….your hair. It dried oddly.” He snickered as she gasped and brought a hand to her head. She felt the slightly damp hair in twisted tangles, but couldn’t, for the life of her, find her part. Amelia groaned, and sullenly through the covers over her head, and slumped down, hiding. This made Demyx laugh even more.

“Sorry, sorry! No, it’s adorable, really!” He laughed while fighting her for the blanket. A fierce battle of tug-of-war followed. Demyx stood on his knees to get a better grip, and Amelia stood no chance. As she pulled the covers off of her, he realized his mistake, and she cried out, reached for the pillow above her head, and started to brutally whack him. He threw his hands up to guard his face, and as she sat up in bed, he lost his balance, and with a final swing, Amelia sent him tumbling of the bed.

“GAAAAAH!”

There was a loud thump as he hit the hard wooden floor. Amelia looked over the bed, and stared at him sympathetically as he lay there, his hands still covering his face. “Sorry!!!! SORRY!!!!”

The pink on her face faded, and she chuckled at him. “Are you all right? I didn’t think I’d be able to do that…sorry.” She smiled apologetically.

Demyx glanced up at her for a moment, then adverted his eyes and grabbed his coat that lay next to him, and threw it at her. She caught it.

“Here, put something on before you start giving me the wrong ideas.” He blushed, and turned away.

Amelia blushed madly again at that, and quickly put it on, zipping it up. As she watched him start to pick up the bottles laying all over the floor, she asked him.

“Demyx…about Saïx…I’m sorry. It was my fault he found out. He must have seen me that one time I went out. If it weren’t for that, none of this would have happened…”

“Don’t say that.” He said, stopping, and turned around. “It probably would have happened anyway. He’s very intelligent. I wouldn’t have been able to hide your forever under his nose.”

“But still…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s over and down with. Right now, let’s just focus at what is at hand. We need to think of somewhere we can go. Somewhere no one knows where to find us. Someplace safe from them. And also, we’ll need new clothes. I’ve got some munny, but it isn’t a lot. Maybe enough to get us on our feet. We’ll start a new life, like normal humans…and we’ll have to work hard for our living…” He sighed, thinking over plans in his head. But Amelia’s mind was elsewhere.

“Hey, Demyx…”

“Hmm?” He looked up from his far-off gaze.

“The water clones. The ones that look just like you. I…I had seen them before.”

He blinked. “What? When?!”

“….Before I came to The World That Never Was. It was right before I was almost taken by the heartless. I was backed into the ocean by the heartless, when suddenly, I was being saved by the figure of a man made from the water. The last thing I remember was him reaching for me as I was about to drown. And his face…his eyes…it was you. It was your face.” She said, her eyes staring off as if she was seeing it once more. “Strange…how….I can’t remember any of my life before that evening…” She closed her eyes and dropped her head.

“That must have been it then…I remember…before I had found you…I had this strange feeling, as if part of me was running from danger. There was a feeling…somewhere inside. I don’t know why the water responded to you, acting on its own. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t too afraid to take you in. I felt like it was meant to be.”

Amelia opened her eyes and saw him looking at her, picturing the first time he had seen her.

“Strange…how we’ve come together…isn’t it?” She whispered.

“Strange…yes.” Demyx smiled. “But very lucky. We’re both very lucky to have each other, huh? We’ve saved each other. We would have been lost, if we had never met.”

Amelia smiled thoughtfully back at him. He was right.  

[Scarlett Faythe]

Chapter XIX

Amelia was staring out at the window blissfully as Demyx cleaned up the room, leaving it in the same condition as when they had entered.

“Does anyone even live in this city…?” She asked wistfully, her mind wondering.

Demyx shrugged. “I used to think this place was just somewhere the nobodies lived, but, well I’ve been to some clubs. I suppose some do live here. Don’t ask me if they are human, and why we haven’t seen them. It’s all quite strange. As you can see, it’s always night time, here.”

Amelia turned from looking at the stars, now the sky clear of rain clouds, and sat down on the newly-made bed.

“Again, I can’t say I have any idea why. It doesn’t seem to matter all that much to me, though. I’ve gotten used to the whole ‘submerge into darkness’ thing. I wouldn’t stay here for too long, however. I’d miss the beach, and the sunny days and blue skies…” Demyx explained while smiling when suddenly he blinked. “Oh!”

Amelia turned to look at him and cocked her head to the side slightly. “Hm? What is it?”

“…Are you ready to go?” He asked excitedly, turning to her, his eyes lit up.

“Uh…y-yeah, anytime you are.”

“Great!” He beamed, and jumped off the bed, grabbing her arm, and pulling her with him.

A swirling black portal appeared in the room, and she realized then that through this portal, she would leave all darkness and fear behind her. The future was bright with a new beginning where they could start over with pure hearts.

Demyx put his arm gently around her waist, and started to walk with her calmly through the portal.

“Say goodbye to The World That Never Was….” Demyx said as they walked through. Amelia braced herself and closed her eyes. “…and hello to Sunset Beach.”

She felt the floor under her change from wooden panels to concrete. Through her eyes she could tell it was significantly brighter. She took a deep breath and started to shake as she slowly opened her eyes.

All around her were lively streets after lively streets, bathing in the noon sun. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The air was full of the smell of saltwater and sad. Happy voices and crying seagulls buzzed around them.

Amelia gasped. It was so beautiful. Like something she had seen in a dream. She realized then, that this was part of the price she had paid in giving Demyx her heart. Everything was so nostalgic, but it was new. Even though she knew that this had been her home all her life, she remembered nothing.

But the small, fuzzy visions of it that she could remember were now clearer. It was like dreaming something, and then waking up to it in reality. Tears started to bead in her eyes as her heart pounded.

“I…can’t believe it. We’re….home again.”

Demyx looked down at her, smiling warmly, and embraced her roughly. Amelia wrapped her arms around him and squeezed back.




Two weeks later, Amelia was standing in a small, two room apartment, wearing a light and breezy blue summer dress. The living room/kitchen/dining room wasn’t very cluttered. Not many things filled the room, other than a small table, two chairs, a couch and a coffee table, as well as other kitchen appliances on the tiny counter space.

The sunset was streaming through the large window on the wall to the left of the couch, and she gazed through, watching the birds lazily flying in the sky. Her eyes then glanced to check the clock on the wall, and then she walked to the door from across the couch, and onto the small landing outside. A flight of stairs ascended from the sunny street below, a beautiful sunset in front of her. A flowerbox filled with bright white and purple flowers hung across the door, on the other side of the rail.

She walked down the stairs, and waited patiently at the bottom, watching the road in front of her where he would come up soon and greet her with a smile.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a dirty blond-haired man with happy teal eyes came walking up the street, silhouetted by the sunset. He was wearing a slim-fitting pale green T-shirt, many chunky silver chains around his neck, a pair of dark grey jeans, and black sneakers.

As Demyx spotted her waiting for him, he grinned widely, and ran up to her. Amelia held out her hands, and when he came up to her, he threw his arms around her and lifted her up into the air. She laughed.

“Welcome back!” Amelia chuckled.

“Glad to be home!” He said, putting her back down and giving her a peck on the forehead.

“So, why was it that you wanted me to wait here for you?” She asked, looking up at him. He just grinned devilishly and took her hand.

“Come with me.” He said, and started to lead her quickly back down the street he had came from, going down a couple blocks, until finally it came perpendicular to the boardwalk.

“Where are we going??” Amelia asked, out-of-breath.

“We’re here.”

Finally slowing down, Demyx continued to lead her by the hand onto the beach and across the sand. Then he stopped, and sighed happily.

“…Isn’t the sunset beautiful?” He chirped. “Here with the waves crashing so peacefully…”

“…Yes, hun. But we can see the sunset just fine from the window, why are we here?”

Demyx pulled her closed. “Oh nothing, I just wanted to enjoy it with you.” He winked and kissed her cheek.

Amelia laughed and kissed his cheek in return. “No, really, why are we here. I know you have a reason, I can see it behind that evil grin on your face.”

“What even grin?” He smiled. Amelia laughed. “Okay, you got me. Well, just so you know, I’ve worked my butt off, and I’m sorry this is late, but I wanted to get it just perfect.”

Demyx dug a hand into his pocket, and pulled out a silver ring with a simple white pearl on the band. As he held it up to her, she blinked and gasped, and he went down on one knee.

“I just wanted you to come down here with me so that I could ask you if you wanted to marry me, that’s all.” He smiled simply as both their hearts were pounding madly in their chests. He took her hand, and slid the ring onto her finger, fitting perfectly.

Amelia could feel her throat tighten, and her stomach fill with a desperate sensation. She couldn’t explain it. She was so shocked, it took her too long to react. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She tried to make a sound, but the only thing that came out were tears. She gave up, closed her mouth, and smiled. Bending down, she kissed him passionately as he put his arms around her. It seemed to give her enough courage. She opened her mouth again.

“Of course!” She choked, and he laughed, picking her up in the air and spinning her around. Then setting her down once more, Demyx kissed her, took her hand, and together they walked back up the street.

“So,” Demyx said as they made their way up the small hill. “this means I don’t have to sleep on the couch anymore, right?”