A Night to Remember [ Open ]

[noctis]

Out of all of the worlds he had been to so far, this one had to have been the stupidest one yet. An annual ball? A bunch of 'perfect gentlemen' dressed up in suits, dancing with women that they probably wouldn't even remember the next day? It was ridiculous. Then again, Avan was just being a sour puss because he didn't exactly have a date. The only person he would've remotely considered coming here with was, well, dead.

And seeing all of these happy couples dancing with each other, it just fueled his hatred for this place right now. He didn't like seeing all of these people happy while he wasn't, having a good night while he wasn't, enjoying themselves while he wasnt. It just wasn't a good feeling. Avan watched from a different side of the room, watching with a smirk at an old man who was nearly losing his mind about something. There seemed to be nothing going on that made sense for his mental breakdown. So he decided to make something happen, just because he was miserable and wanted something to do.

There was many people here that he could target here. But, none really struck him as interesting. All of the girls here were searching for their happily ever afters that most likely would never come true, clinging to their dance partners as if they cared. Avan shook his head, not wanting to deal with that screaming mess. Then, he saw a blonde. Her dress nearly blinded him, seeing as how those sequins on them had reflected the light into his eyes. He flinched, and then he caught a glimpse of her eyes. They were a bright blue. Like Alexa's eyes.

Why?

This cause his temper to go through the roof and he pushed his way through the crowd, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his favorite gun before firing a shot into the ceiling. He grabbed the blonde in the brief moment of confusion, placing the barrel of the gun against her temple. "Now I'm not sure how this usually goes," Avan started, unable to keep the smile off his face, "But one wrong move, and I'm sure you all know what will happen." He really had no intention of killing the girl. He just loved starting trouble.

[/blockquote]

[namine]

As rude as it was, Naminé couldn't help but sigh in relief as someone took Sora to the side. She really had to focus on getting Xion away from him, so that her headaches would go away. She finally got the raven-haired girl to the other side of the room, and somewhat leaned her up against the wall. Even though she didn't weigh too much, the fact that the blonde was such a small person made it difficult to lug her around.

When she was positive that she wouldn't fall over, Naminé looked worriedly at Xion, trying to figure out if her headache was subsiding now or not. It was hard to tell, seeing as how the girl's head kept wobbling back and forth, as if she were going to tip over at any second, and Naminé nearly panicked. She wasn't capable of holding Xion up on her own. Helping? Sure. But holding someone up? She was too weak for that, and of course, she was a good inch or two shorter than Xion.

The blonde quickly looked around, trying to see if there was someone that could help her. There was someone at the other side of the room who seemed to be doing nothing at all, but he also seemed like he was going to rip the next person that looked at him the wrong way in half, so she decided against asking him last second. Other than that, people were all wrapped up with their dancing. How was she supposed to help Xion now?

Not even less than two seconds later, there was a sound of a gunshot, and she flinched as some of the debris from the ceiling fell near her. She had gone to shake off whatever had fallen into her hair, but she was denied the chance when there was suddenly a vice grip around her, and she made a noise in surprise as she felt something cold pressed against her head. A gun? She froze at the thought. That she knew of, they had checked everyone for weapons before the dance. So that meant that this person had snuck in, and it also meant that they weren't good news.

Naminé quickly closed her eyes tightly and clenched her hands into fists, hoping that something would happen to get her out of this situation. There was Sora, but there was also the risk of this man shooting at him if he did something wrong. And after actually meeting him in person again, she didn't want that to happen. She could hear the people at the dance begin to panic as they tried to figure out what to do, how to save her from a gruesome fate. But in reality, there was nothing that anyone could really do. If this man was as mad as he made himself out to be, then he was surely going to do something dreadful, and she'd just have to take it. Who'd miss a Nobody, anyway?

[/blockquote]

[Sora]

“And that, that’s why you should never… ever, never ever take your mask off during a masquerade ball. If you weren’t so young and so… well-connected, I would have kicked you out of this palace right then and there, but your circumstances saved you.” The brunette let his head hang low, pointed submissively at the ground to appease the grouchy butler. This was taking way too long. But really, Sora was more peeved than upset for getting into trouble. What was with the pompous lectures anyway? Was the butler enjoying the frustrated looks Sora kept giving him? “Sorry. Wasn’t thinking, I know.” Sora muttered, knowing that smarting off probably wasn’t the best way to escape this dull lump of—

BLAM.

Silence. An instant, suffocating silence that followed that unnatural pop. It was unnerving, hearing absolutely nothing after the swells of high and low notes, extravagant trills and dynamic swipes of viola bows that echoed grandly through the silent hall right outside of the ballroom. A creeping chill moved down Sora’s neck and through his stomach. Was that a gun? The brunette's blue eyes flashed to the butler’s and saw a look of curiosity and fear, sickly fear. He was breathing so heavily… “Odd. The music’s stopped…” The older man said, a murmur that fought to stay calm, obviously trying to ignore the deafening blam and that vague crumbling noise.

Sora pressed his lips together and nodded, summoned his Keyblade (to the surprise of the butler). “This can’t be good… Listen, I gotta go. See what’s going on.” Oh, but the Butler would have none of that. He lunged for Sora’s sleeve and yanked him close, away from the entrance to the ballroom. “Oh no, you don’t. I-I still… have issues with your… your ungrateful, childish attitude!” Sora’s quirked an eyebrow and mumbled a quick “hm” before thrashing away from the clutches of the not-so-subtle man and to the entrance, walking first in a brisk pace before seeing that the butler stood completely still, horrified and dumbfounded, and then decided to walk more cautiously and quietly. That old man just wanted to keep Sora out of trouble, keep him safe, and the brunette recognized this, and for the first time actually felt a pang of liking for that stuffy butler. Still yet, Sora wasn’t about to sit out any danger in some lonely hallway, waiting for people to get hurt. “Just... Stay here. Don’t worry about me.

His theory was more crazies. Well, he did find a crazy, but not in the form he expected. Sora noticed that he didn’t look anything like everybody else, and once the brunette saw what this idiot was holding, the impulse to just rush in and beat the crap out of this guy was just too—

Sora started to run, not even thinking about the sort of hurt he would get into from a flashing bullet. No—all he was focused on at the moment was saving the girl with the blue eyes and blonde hair, the one who had kindly talked him out of his embarrassment and guided him through the fancy waltzes. Everybody had backed away from the two, forming a ring, staring in awe and fear, some whispering their panic and confusion. “Let me through!” Sora whispered, trying to shove his way through the dense crowd, but it wasn’t working. He almost had to push these people down because they were so entranced and dumbfounded by the odd and terrifying scene before them. When Sora had nearly squirmed and squeezed his way to the inner ring, he fell hard. AGAIN.

[/b] How could he fall again? How? How? How?

Then he saw the creature he had so carelessly bumped into, saw the short stature, the mysterious cloak, the black fur… ”Mickey?!” Wait. This creature wasn’t Mickey, making Sora huff in disappoint before looking back at the two in the middle, not even thinking to apologize. His clumsiness hadn’t been that loud and noticeable, thank God. But the fall did manage to snap Sora back to his senses.

He needed a plan.[/blockquote]

OoC:// Yes. Spamming the clumsy!Sora. :c[/size]

[Xion]

This night had been too odd for Xion's tastes. It had started out pretty well, and then suddenly she'd almost passed out on Naminé and started having strange flashbacks that didn't even seem to belong to her. She didn't know how to explain that, but there had to be a way.

...Unless she had gone crazy. Which was possible.

Now, where had Naminé gone to? Morewover, when had she left? Xion was now desperate for answers, and for some reason she knew that Naminé might have them. She hadn't forgotten her when everyone else had, and hadn't she cleared her doubts before? If she had known back then, then she had to know now, too! Right?

Her reverie was broken when an echoing sound, loud and cold filled the room. She jumped in surprise. Was that a gunshot? It sounded like it, but where...

...it was then that she eyed the stranger -a man that was holding a gun to Naminé's head. Xion had to cathch her breath.

This isn't happening. It can't be happening. It can't...

The thought surprised her, as though it wasn't hers. What was happening? Her head was starting to hurt again, but she put it aside for now. The Kingdom Key appeared in her hand, and she started struggling her way through the crowd.

OOC: Short! And lame DX *is shot* but I wanted to have Xion jump into action too. It's really....all I can manage for now.

[noctis]

There was something about the looks of shock on every person in the crowd’s face that made Avan feel somewhat better. The fear, the way they all watched with wide eyes as he so easily took the blonde girl and put her life up for ransom was entertaining, in a sick way. It was so easy to strike fear in the room, all you have to do was make yourself look intimidating, even if you are far from it. He looked at every face in the room, noting how they were whispering, wondering what was going to happen. He assumed that most were already coming to the conclusion that he was going to blow the poor girl’s head off. They were all sitting ducks, waiting and watching.

It was then, that some kid with wild brunette hair broke through the inner circle. He looked panicked and frustrated, as if he were about to bash his head in with a... Key? What the hell was that? Avan rose an eyebrow at the weapon, intrigued as to why anyone would ever choose a key as a weapon. How is it possible for someone to fight with a key? Were they going to stick it in him as if he were some weird lock and then kill him? To Avan, it didn’t make much sense. And then he saw a girl moving through the crowd, also holding one of those keys. Another key. Was it just him, or did people these days have an odd choice in weapon?

Either way, these people were making their way to him and free the blonde from his gun. If these people cared so much for the blonde, they would probably chase after him if he were to leave the room. He could easily toy around with their emotions, too, making it seem like he were going to shoot the girl when in reality, he had no intention of doing that whatsoever. A smirk came to Avan’s face. If he was going to cause trouble here, he might as well have a little fun with it, right?

Avan pulled his gun away from the blonde girl’s head and fired another shot in a random direction, making sure he didn’t hit anyone else so he could cause another moment of confusion. The bang echoed throughout the room again, this time much louder without the music playing, and the quiet rumble of all the people talking. This time it scared the people even more, and when the screams started back up, he looked towards the brunette who had managed to get through the crowd. Avan smiled at him, mocking him, and picked up the blonde by the waist and made his exit.

He had to think fast. There was the brunette boy, and there was a girl that was trying to get to him, as well. Both obviously cared for the blonde, and would not hesitate to cut him into pieces once they got a hold of him. As Avan ran with the blonde girl, he figured this was going to be on of those situations where he came up with everything as he went along. And those situations usually worked out better than the ones where he actually had a plan. This was going to be fun.

OoC: -cough- I tried (and failed) to make it so everyone could get involved. XD;
But we have permission to skip Inku once or twice, then wait a week to see if he comes back. If not, then it’s safe to say he’s not coming back, and we can continue on without him.
Oh, and sorry if I power-played, Nami. D:

[namine]

Naminé found that she was waiting for the shot that never came. When there was nothing but quiet murmuring and gasps as more people were getting a look of the scene, she opened her eyes again. She had expected the person holding the gun to her head to shoot her, instantly killing her for whatever reason. The blonde momentarily thought that she had already been shot, and that this was some sort of déjà vu moment. But she could still feel the cold barrel of the gun pressed against her temple, and again that false feeling of fear surged through her.

And then Sora broke through the ring of people, and Naminé perked up slightly. Maybe he was going to rescue her? She flinched as another shot was fired, but was relieved to find that it hadn't been directed towards her. All of the guests in the ballroom began to scream again, and her eyes widened as she realized what was going on. The gunshot was just a distraction so Avan couldn't get away. She gasped as she was suddenly swung up from the waist, and didn't fight back due to the fact that the gun was still in the man's grasp.

"Sora!" the blonde cried out, wondering if it could even be heard over the shouting of all the other people, "Xion!" And what about Xion? The raven haired girl had been left behind on the other side of the room with the mother of all headaches, and Naminé didn't know if she felt any better than she did before.Either way, there was no way for her to mull it over, because she was being dragged down the hallway and outside.

It was dark and cold outside, and goose bumps appeared on her bare arms once Avan had broken through the doors and carried Naminé in tow. She should be afraid, but the fact that she lacked a heart kept her from feeling afraid. She should be many things right now, but there was no beating in the hollow place that was her chest. She couldn't do anything about being held captive by Avan and his gun, the only thing that she could do was hope that Sora or Xion got out here and helped her. But even then they could get shot at, and she wouldn't be able to do anything to prevent it.

Eventually they had stopped, a far distance away from the castle. Naminé looked back, realizing that this was exactly like being trapped by the Organization. Helpless, and used to aide in making Sora more stressed than he already was. What was she supposed to do?

ooc:// Gah, I wasn't sure how to go about having her trapped by a gun. D: BUT I figured it out! ...Kinda.

[raive]

A certain someone had been at the dance. A tall, dark-haired young man. Though he had been roped into it like so many others, he was actually finding it kind of fun (as he picked at his old-fashioned suit) in a strange way. Though a thought kept stealing at his mind...

There were other worlds to see, other friends to make! Here, he had danced with all sorts of nobility. The Duchess of this, the Lady of that... too many names to remember.

And they didn't really care.

He finally sat down, looking at the floor, oblivious to the masses of people dancing around him...

Until he heard the gunshot and silence. He looked up in alert to see a man holding a blonde girl hostage, with a gun to her head.

Who is that guy? And why is he holding her hostage? He thought to himself. With so many witnesses, this was not the place to be for that sort of thing, unless he was a lunatic absolutely begging for attention. Which, Bartz Klauser had to admit, was looking to be pretty likely.

His eyes narrowed as the man shot the gun again, but thankfully he wasn't aiming at anyone but the ceiling. Bits of the ceiling fell, and Bartz observed two distinct people trying to get through the crowd to the man holding the girl hostage. One had brown, spiky hair and was holding a... giant key? What kind of a weapon is that? Looking at the other person, a raven-haired girl dressed in a flowing, blue dress, he saw that she, too, had a key. And both had vengeance in their eyes.

The man quickly turned and ran out the entrance. This isn't the kind of adventure I wanted... Nevertheless, he went to the two key-wielders' aid and ran off after the man too, drawing two curved shortswords out of the air. Though running after him wasn't easy; he was making his way against a flowing tide of people. Gritting his teeth, he forced his way through; but would he be quick enough?

[Sora]

Wait—What was that?
Sora’s racing mind went blank for a few precious moments upon seeing the Kingdom Key. Was that a Keyblade? Another Keyblade Wielder—That raven-haired, familiar girl that had been so sick with a pounding head ache when they’d first met? And… it looked exactly like his own. Sora’s mouth gradually opened, held agape in obvious shock. How could it be?

Another pop. Another rumble, and this time Sora felt bits of the ceiling come raining down in a shower of heavy, polished rocks. With that, the brunette gave a violent snap out of his reverie, back to reality with the girl being threatened by a crazy waving a gun. All this insanity, all this familiarity, made his head spin, but he simply shook it off and continued on. He wasn’t about to let this idiot hurt the kind girl. Plus, the look that lunatic held, so smug and so proud, was more than enough to get the brunette’s heart pumping like a cheetah’s feet running across flat land. Sora’s face reddened as his anger bubbled ever hotter. He wouldn't let him get away with this.

Adrenaline was rushing, and there was hardly time for thought. It was odd to have insanity dominate yet hear nothing but a creeping silence as the crowd eventually hushed, too amazed but frightened to look away from the horrible scene, even the whispering had died down. ’Knights! Where are the knights!?’

[/color] Sora kept biting his lip in pure frustration, knowing that if there was somebody, anybody, helping him instead of standing around here, then he could easily take this guy down. Still, he was terrified that this idiot would shoot the blonde girl if he was to attack. It was sickening how the boy kept teasing the crowd with her possible death. If only there was some sort of distraction, some sort of help, and then it came to him. Sora needed to work together with the other Keyblade Wielder. Now how that was to be communicated and planned, Sora… still had to think on that.

But he didn't have time to wonder any further because the boy picked his victim up by the waist and carried her as if she weighed no more than a feather. The brunette instinctively followed the boy, Keyblade disappearing in a burst of light, and to his dismay, the lunatic was still able to get a good getaway despite carrying a whole other person in his arms. Sora didn’t notice anyone else that may have followed the criminal and the hostage, so strong was his focus. The darkness was inky, black, covering the grassy ground with frightening shadows and coloring the leaves of the trees with a demonic aura. The night sky was even opaque, covering the dim light of the moon and stars with stormy, fierce clouds. The chances of finding the two weren’t looking good thanks to the darkness of the land and the thickness of the forest. The brunette was already regretting the choice he made for not doing anything while he had the chance.

And then he found two shadowy figures hidden by the bushes, and again, as if by instinct, Sora summoned his Keyblade with a flourish of light and power. Face red, heart pounding, tired yet determined, the brunette wasn’t about to let these two get away. No, not again. A plan at this moment was not going to happen, for thinking of a plan last time had nearly caused him to lose sight of the girl, and this time… he’d just wing it. He wasn’t going to let that psycho get away again. He wanted her safe and happy.

”Let go of her![/blockquote][/size]

[Xion]

It was such a terrifying thing tto witness, she was frozen in her place, not daring to move or do anything. Despite that; she still gripped her Kingdom Key tightly, her glare over-brimming with determination.

Blue eyes widened in panic; then slight pain. Though, not as hard as before, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that she was there, facing a terrifying scene. What to do now? Xion hadn’t faced anyone who wielded such a deadly weapon, not as far as she remembered. No, the toughest thing she remembered fighting had been that large Heartless in Twilight Town, and she’d only brought the coup de grâce; Roxas had done most of the work. All she could do for now was staring and tear her brain apart to search for a solution.

Her eyes widened, though, when she eyed the boy from before and noticed he was wielding a Kingdom Key, like hers…actually, they were practically the same. She stared for a moment and then shook her head, trying to snap out of her reverie. No, no. Don’t lose focus now. There’s much more important business going on…

…like how she was supposed to try and help Naminé. It seemed so impossible; that she could just give up on it. Though, she wasn’t planning to do so. It would be wrong, especially because Naminé had helped her in the past. No matter if she couldn’t remember or not; she had helped.

She wasn’t sure of what to do; but she might have a very slight clue. Teamwork. Of course, it had worked before, and it had to work now, too. Right?

She searched the boy’s eyes, trying to figure out if he was thinking the same as she was. They were going to have to work together. The realization struck her along with a sharp stabbing pain on the back of her head. She squeezed her eyes shut to try and make it go away.

[noctis]

Surprisingly, it had been easy to drag the small girl out of the castle behind him. He had been expecting some sort of resistance from her, but she stood still and didn't fight back. He risked a glance over his shoulder, relieved that there wasn't anyone who was right on his tail. He lost whoever had been pursuing him in the midst of the crowd, and now that he was outside and a good distance away from the mess inside, it gave him time to think on what he was going to do next. He had the blonde girl, and she wasn't doing anything to make an attempt at freeing herself. Maybe he could just spook her a bit, and then leave her there before any of her friends found him. Satisfied with the idea, Avan had opened his mouth to say something when something stopped him right in his tracks.

"Let go of her!"

It was porcupine head! Avan spun on his heel, his grasp tightening on the blonde girl as he hid his shocked expression at the brunette finding him. He wasn't completely caught, yet, there was still time for him to think of something to do. He looked the brunette up and down. The kid looked beyond angry, and he could easily beat with that stupid key. Not that he wanted to fight, anyway, he had just shown up in the first place because he had nothing better to do. That, and the blonde's eyes had reminded him so much of Alexa. Oh, he wished things could have ended differently.

But that was the past, this was the present. He couldn't be thinking of Alexa when his own life was on the line. He needed something to do, some sort of plan that would give him enough time to make an escape, and be done with this world before he enraged any other people that fought with giant keys. Something that would make these people remember who he was. He looked at the blonde girl again, and something came to mind.

He pointed his gun at her shoulder, before pulling the trigger. He immediately let go of her, letting her fall to the ground before jumping over her crumpled form and taking off in a different direction. The brunette would probably be more worried about taking care of the blonde instead of chasing after him, so for now he just had to run until he found a way to escape from this place. Turning the safety on he shoved his gun back inside of his jacket, pushing through branches until he made it into a clearing.

Everything was going better than expected. Now if only he could stay away from anyone who would be any sort of threat to him.

ooc: Sorry for the wait! Double shifts while trying to save up for a new car is a lot of work. =/
And, I talked to Nami about the shooting thing, and it was alright with her. O: Yay for jerk!Avan?

[namine]

As the crazy man held her captive outside with the gun, Naminé thought for a moment that she was going to die. Barely anyone had taken action when he pulled out the gun, so the chances that anyone other than Sora or Xion followed them out here were very slim. Even then, she didn't want either of those two to follow because at any time he could turn his gun on them instead of her. The thought was unnerving, and it made something similar to fear blossom in her chest. There was nothing she could do; she was going to die out here.

Then, by some sort of crazy miracle, Sora's angry voice rang through her ears. She gasped as she was suddenly yanked around and was facing Sora, eyes wide. He found them! A wave of relief washed over her, and it was gone as quick as it had come. As much as she was glad that he had found her, she was also worried that something would go completely wrong and someone was going to be hurt. She glanced up at the man with a gun, and his expression was blank, as if he wasn't phased by anything that was going on. What was going through his mind?

Bang.

Naminé's eyes widened as she suddenly felt a bullet entering and exiting her shoulder, the force of it knocking her onto the ground. She could see the man running away in the distance, but she didn't do much else. Everything had happened so fast, her mind was trying to register it. She had been standing there, captured by this man with a gun, and then Sora showed up. Then, he shot her in the shoulder. The last thing that registered in Naminé's head was the pain.

Face contorted in a painful expression, she would've cried out if she could find her voice. This was the first time anything like this had happened to her, and she didn't know how to handle it. By now a good amount of blood had pooled around her body, and the only thing she could do was lay there and wait while someone did something to help her.

(Short post is short. D: Can't have Nami do much when she's been shot, though. *glaresatCam* )

[raive]

Bartz came upon the scene just as the man pulled the trigger. His eyes widened in shock as...

Bang!

It was like a scene from a horror movie - the villain had gotten his way, and had hurt an innocent bystander, a frail-looking girl, no less. Bartz's righteous anger flared within him as the girl crumpled. Bartz tried to get there before she hit the ground, but was too late - her form crumpled on the ground. The man rushed off, and although Bartz hurled a bolt of fire at the fleeing man, it fell short and dissipated harmlessly in the air.

Bartz then turned his attention to the fallen girl. He rushed up to her, his mind torn between two options; stay here and perhaps try to aid her, or try to go after the man. After some reasoning with himself, he deduced that since he did not know this world so well, he would stay with the fallen girl. Looking around for anybody else, he immediately spotted the boy with the brown, spikey hair, who had come upon the scene.

"Let go of her!"

Judging by that yell, the boy knew her. Bartz figured that it would be best to stay and help as best he could. Rifling around in his pockets for something, anything, he came upon some bandages and a potion.

"Hope for the best, but plan for the worst..." Bartz muttered to himself as he released the cap on the potion. Though the boy might not take it so well if he (being the boy) couldn't take care of this girl, so Bartz simply stayed close, potion and bandages at the ready, so the boy could help her.

"This was supposed to be a night to remember..." Bartz mused out loud. "And I guess we're going to remember it... for the wrong reasons."

(Can't do much about this post. I've had real life problems to deal with... sorry about the wait.)

[Sora]

Oh no. No… This could not be happening.

Sora’s mouth opened, gawking in sickening awe at what had just happened. A gun. A bullet. A shot. Was all this his fault? He didn’t even know this girl, but he could feel his face grow hot, his frantic vision blurring. He had glanced in the direction of the raven haired girl from before, had seen her just before the echoing boom of an unmerciful pistol, and had felt the instant connection of collaboration. Teamwork to take this maniac down.

But the maniac was getting away… and the blonde haired girl, the kind and innocent bystander, got hurt. There was no point in teamwork now because… She was bleeding, and there were only a few to help her. Why shoot a person so innocent? Why shoot when there’s nothing to gain except for dislike from others? Why?

The maniac got away as Sora stood with a petrified stare. The brunette couldn’t leave her, there was no possible way he could leave someone like that.
So Sora let him get away. The maniac got away.

The brunette snapped out of his reverie, for he needed to get his butt in gear and help this girl. With a swift leap, Sora managed to get over the bushes and make it over to the girl that lay crumpled on the grassy forest floor. The teenager couldn’t help but give a forced smile of gratitude and fellowship to the boy already helping her, for giving her a potion and bandaging her up, ”I can’t believe this... How could someone—“ Sora paused, then shook his head a little vigorously, trying to rid his mind of the image of a gunshot and spraying blood, ”That guy’s going down. Maybe not now… but someday I’ll…” A wipe to the eyes. He hoped the other boy didn’t see how upset he was. ”I could help her too. I could cure her… but I don’t know if it would heal her completely.” Sora said with a nod. Actually, his cure spell wouldn’t come close to healing such a wound completely, but it would take some of the pain away, and would maybe keep it from bleeding so much. So Sora lifted his keyblade once more, lifting it up above his head and concentrating hard. It was a difficult thing too after what had just happened, but he did it. Finally, a pouring of green light and peaceful sound came raining down upon the injured girl, and the deed was done.

“Are you okay?” He muttered softly to the girl, leaning forward on his hands and keyblade, frowning warily. “I’m sorry… I couldn’t stop this.”

[Xion]

Crack.

Xion jumped and looked about in confusion, trying to figure out where it had come from. The gunslinger had gotten away, with Naminé, but where...

...and then it hit her.

Damn it! No!

She pushed her way through the crowd, not quite knowing where she was going. Insinctively, she was just going to the source of the sound, until she came across the injured. Naminé was being helped out by the boy from before, and a stranger, as far as she could see, the man who'd shot the blonde had fled. Fists clenched in rage, a strange rage that didn't seem to belong to her.

"Hey! Is everything al--Ow!"The headache just kept getting worse, but she managed to overcome it. She managed to ignore it. It wasn't there. It just wasn't.

She went on telling herself that, and tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear. "Where did he go?"she asked, still gripping the Kingdom Key fiercely.