Fractured Twilight {KH Fanfic/Boy Of Choice}

Chapter XLV

Days passed. Ember's door was locked as she shut herself from the worlds. Her friends came to check in often, knocking and hoping for some sort of answer. But when they were greeted with silence they were compelled to walk away as preparations for Xehanort's demise was occuring. The boys desperately wanted to keep in touch with Ember on not only the plans they were making, but sought her insight as well. Despite Ember's normal "action first think later" mentality, she survived; and having more opinions on planning would be helpful.

But Ember refused to answer anyone, even her beloved.

Ventus and Sora were taking a break from training, wandering the halls of the bedrooms as they were going to visit Ember one last time. Sora wanted to inform her that they were going to enact their plan in two days, and wanted to make sure she was aware of the plan. Ventus was weary, dragging his feet as they approached Ember's door. Both gentlemen were aware their efforts were likely futile, but were making the effort anyway. Even if they had to tell her through the door, she needed to know.

"Emi?!" Sora used a fist to pound on her door, ensuring to be very loud. "Hey we're here to update you on the plan!"

"We're leaving in two days." Ventus chimed in. "If you want to get involved you need to come out."

Silence.

Sora and Ventus exchanged glances at one another as the silence lingered. They gave her a chance to answer, waiting and watching for her to emerge yet there was nothing. Filled with disappointment the boys began to retreat in defeat.

"... Let me try."

Their attentions turned down the hall, noticing one of the bedroom doors creaking open with a head squeezing in the crack. Sora warmly smiled, his head tilting to the side ever so slightly as if he was feeling some sort of relief. He nodded in approval, beckoning the volunteer over.

Namine timidly retreated from the room she was granted to stay and approached the boys. When close enough she nodded her head for a greeting and focused her attention towards Ember's door. Namine only came out of her room for meals and plan updates, otherwise she stayed in her room as well. She was trapped as a wandering soul for so long she almost forgot what it was like to communicate with other humans, and to cope with that she overall remained alone.

However, hearing the boys desperation day after day to get Ember to eat or even talk to them had her feeling confident enough to traverse outside the safety of the guest room. Ember always responded to her with kindess during their talks, and Namine assumed and hoped she would continue such kindness.

She lightly knocked on the door and paused briefly. When the typical silence occured Namine opened her mouth. "Emberlynn, I'm coming in."

Sora and Ventus looked at her with surprise as Namine summoned a corridor of darkness, entering and inviting herself to the other side. They were not able to follow as the portal closed as quickly as it came, allowing only Namine inside.

As she ventured in she was left to bite her lip in a stunned manner, staring at the manifestation before her. Ember had completely demolished the room with a mixture of cracks and toppled furniture. The walls had thick cracks along its foundation and creeping to the ceiling, while her vanity had been shoved to the ground and broken by impact. The floors were intact except for the scratches created by furniture being dragged and thrown across the room. Everything was in mayhem, and right in the center of it all was Ember. She laid curled up in a ball on a single mattress resting on the floor as she had torn the bed frame to pieces, leaving nothing but wooden chunks scattered around.

Namine ensured to approach with caution and almost didn't approach at all. She took a step towards her friend just to get a decent look at her. Ember laid there motionless, her arms tucked under her and legs curled up against her chest. Her white hair flared all around her head and covering her face, allowing Namine to only imagine what emotional state she was in.