Chasing Destiny

Alive

"Man, those jokers were easy," Reno laughs, failing to notice the saddened expressions on Riku, Zack, Roxas, and Cloud's faces.

"What's wrong?" Sora quickly asks, jogging towards his Nobody when he sees another tear fall from Roxas' face.

"And where's [Name]?" Yuffie adds, glancing around.

"[Name], she's..." Roxas trails off, glancing towards the ground as Sora places a hand on his shoulder.

"Where is she, Roxas?" Axel presses, feeling slightly manic as Demyx's words from a few days earlier echo in his head.

"Vanitas is coming back for her"...

"Vanitas, he... There were so many of them, we tried to fight them off... And then, he..." Zack sighs, burying his face in his hands as reality sets in.

"He killed her. She's gone, disappeared into nothingness," Riku finishes, still holding onto his bleeding stomach.

"... What?" Noctis asks in a whisper.

"You're lying," Sora accuses, and all the newcomers besides Axel nod in agreement.

"Would we joke about something like that?!" Roxas yells, grabbing Sora's shirt as he rounds on his Somebody. "I just watched her die in my damn arms! I've protected her for almost three years, all by myself, and now she's.... she's..."

"She's really gone?" Genesis presses quietly as Roxas slowly releases a shocked Sora.

"She is," Cloud agrees, and a deafening silence falls over the group.

It's quiet for at least a minute as they all stare in space, lost in their thoughts. How could you be gone? Just minutes ago you were laughing and leading the way through the Bailey with a peppy spring in your step!

"She wouldn't want us to be like this," Zack finally says, running a hand down his face as he starts to walk away. "Let's just get to Cid's, compose our thoughts."

Everyone slowly follows, feeling as though they're in a daze. It was almost like a waking nightmare, knowing you were gone. In fact, it was pretty much unbelievable. It's bad enough losing a team member, but you... you were different. More innocent than the rest of them. They had all joined for revenge, more or less, but you... You had joined to stay with your best friend. And now you were gone, not even leaving your body behind. Just... gone.

Axel glances back at the area as he walks away, sighing loudly as he scans the zone with the foolish hope of spotting you running after them with a huge smile. His eyes narrow for a second when he sees a flash of black just beyond the pillars.

"You coming?" Leon asks glumly.

Axel looks up at the male, nodding slowly as he jogs towards the retreating group. It was probably just a trick of the eyes, he reasons. You were gone, and he had to deal with the fact that he couldn't protect you like he had the first time.