I'll Be There (KH/FF fanfic)

Chapter 29: Know your true enemies

Chapter 29:

It had been months since you had found out that Ansem was your uncle and in the short time that you had began to know him, he had taught you many things about your past that you didn't know, mostly things about your late mother as he was her brother. You had learned that your mother was a Taljaminian, a very rare race that ruled in a distant land in the same world. She was next in line to her throne but gave the high position to her younger sister in order to marry your father, who was considered a lower class man in comparison to her. This meant that you were technically a princess. This fact didn't seem to connect in your mind. How could you possibly be of royal blood? Despite all of this newfound information, you had continued to live your normal-ish life, attending school at Destiny Islands High School.

You strode through the hallway only to be stopped by a smirking Axel. "Hey there, babe. Where ya headed?"

"Away from you," you joked, spinning on your heel and heading in the other direction.

"Hey, hey!" Axel protested as you began to laugh.

"Kidding, Ax," you said, turning around to face him once more.

"I was going to talk to you about Thursday. It's the last day of school and the day we graduate, got it memorized?" he reminded you.

"Oh, that's right!" you facepalmed yourself. "And the talent show's the day before!"

"Which means it's two days away," Axel added. The bell suddenly rang and Xion came running toward the two of you.

"You guys! You're gonna be late to Xaldin's again!" she admonished.

"I told you, Xi, it wasn't my fault! Axel made us late when he refused to leave the soda machine without getting his Pepsi!" you pointed out.

"It was Dr. Pepper!" Axel corrected you. "I can't live without my Dr. Pepper!" Simultaneously, you and Xion rolled your eyes and the dark haired girl pulled you into the class room with her, allowing the door to slam in Axel's face. Axel pretended to ignore the pain and entered the classroom, sliding in between you and Xion. "You are truly a cruel woman, Xi. Interrupting a man when he's waxing poetic about his favorite soft drink!" he whispered to her.

"Trying to pay attention here," she whispered back as she took notes from the overhead. Axel pouted.

"If it makes you feel better, Ax, I bought an extra Pepsi for you when I got my Sprite," you said, placing the can of soda in front of him. Axel headdesked in dispair.

After class was over, you bumped into Rinoa in the hallway. "Sorry!" you exclaimed automatically until you realized who you had collided with. "Ugh," you let out as an afterthought. "Why bother." You began to turn around but Rinoa grasped your arm.

"Wait!" she shouted. You slowly turned around, a frown on your face.

"What do you want from me?" you sighed tiredly.

"I...I want to...apologize..." she answered slowly. You looked at her quizically. "I'm really sorry. About the way I've treated you all year. And for the way I always tried to get between you and Leon. I just...I was jealous of you. But I realize now that you're really not so bad. And...you and Leon make a...decent couple," she stuttered, turning away from you and biting her lip.

"Th-thank you," you responded.

"I have to go," she said, turning around and running in the opposite direction.

"Wow," you thought inwardly. "It must have been really difficult for her to admit she was wrong and apologize to you." You pondered over what had just happened and were so engrossed in your thoughts that you forgot you were supposed to walk home with Hayner, Olette, and Pence today. That's when it hit you...literally. You saw a flash of silver and then, for the second time this year, your world turned pitch black.

You woke up in the same cold room you had been in before, only this time you found yourself under a spotlight. You blinked into the light and heard the soft footsteps of another person approaching you.

"Ah, Miss __________." A voice stated. "So glad you could accompany us today. I'm sure you would like to know how you got here. You see it's all thanks to these four boys."

You saw three silver haired boys step into the light. One of them had gleaming cat-like eyes.

Your eyes focused and you took in a breath. "You..."

"Kadaj," cat-boy explained. "These are my brothers, Yazoo and Loz."

"Is it really you, Mother?" the more muscular boy questioned.

"He told us to stop referring to her in that manner," the other boy said calmly.

"You said there were four boys," you shouted. "Who's the fourth?"

The dark voice chuckled. "You must be blind to not know..." Your stomach churned. You did know. You knew exactly who it was.

"Seifer!" you yelled as another light was illuminated over the blonde young man. He wriggled in his bonds and attempted to get his gag out of his mouth.

"So, Miss __________," the voice continued as you saw a foot step into the light. "Would you like to know who you truly are?" A glint of the man's face was exposed in the light and he finally came close enough for you to see him fully.

"You're---" you gasped.

"Sephiroth," he finished.