Hurting Hope

Lelie, or Lexile?

Lelie's heart tightened in her chest as she stared at the twin's smiling faces on-screen. The point-of-view on the screen was high up, like Lelie had been looking at them from above. The bark underneath her in the picture suggested that she was sitting in some kind of tree.

What? When did this...?  Lelie thought, stunned. She clicked a button, and the memory started playing like it was a movie.

The twins had climbed up the tree, then the three were talking, then arguing. Then the memory went blurry. Lelie growled and clicked to the next memory. It was also blank and fuzzy. Lelie continued clicking until she came to a memory that was clear. Riku was in it, but he looked a bit younger, more boyish. They were both in Castle Oblivion.

Lelie watched memory after memory from the device. Several of them were gone, or fuzzy. But there was enough that Lelie had a good idea what was going on. There were many Organization members, the Nobodies of the people she recognized as Even and Ienzo. Axel was also there, along with two other Nobodies that she did not recognize, but felt strangely familiar. Then there was Namine, but she seemed much sadder then when Lelie knew her from when she left the Organization, how strange. Another strange thing was how DiZ was there too. But, the strangest thing is what they called her.

Lexile.

But that's not my name, Lelie thought. I'm Lelie. That's what I've always been. Lelie, Lelie, Lelie. But then, why were they calling her Lexile?

As the memories on the monitor played out before her, she remembered what the star-heart from the final world told her, right after Vanitas released her heart from her body.

"What is your name?" the heart had asked her.

"Lelie," Lelie responded.

The heart had paused. "I know that name..."

"Huh?"

"Never mind," the heart said quickly. "It's a very pretty name. But, if you wish to throw off your enemies, I suggest that you take on a new one."

"Like what?" Lelie had asked. But she had gotten no answer. She didn't need one.

She had chosen a new name, somehow subconsciously, and forgotten her old one. Forgot. Lelie punched the keyboard in anger. She always forgot. She looked back up at the monitor. Viewing half-fuzzy memory. She had been facing the group. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Rue, and Violet. A form of Riku was there, but not the real one. A fake. A replica.

The replica had opened a Dark Corridor. Lelie had walked--no, ran--toward it, excited. She knew it led to somewhere that she wanted to go. She had turned and waved to the group. To Lelie, it seemed like she was trying to wave the twins over. Rue and Violet looked at her, hurt. They looked like they wanted to follow her. Lelie started to walk through the Dark Corridor, leading the way. Before it closed, she turned back, hoping the twins would follow her. But they didn't. Sora held them back. Sora.

While Lelie watched the rest of the memories, some kind of rage burned in her. She was with Riku the rest of the time, they fought, they met the king, and DiZ. They were walking through the castle, Riku told them he planned to go on alone. He tried to give her a pendant.

Oh hearts, the pendant. He had tried to give it back, like he told her on top of Memory Skyscraper, but she refused it. She gave it back to him, and then she...kissed him. Even then, Lelie felt a hot blush cut through her anger. No wonder Riku was flustered then. Even though it was just a quick, peck-on-the-lips kind of thing, the thought that she cared enough to do that...

Lelie's face lost its flush as the screen went black. Her rage returned. Sora had held the twins back from her. From what she saw, it was obvious that she had cared very much about the twins then, and they cared about her. Why did he hold them back? If he didn't, maybe things would have turned out differently. The twins could have helped her get rid of the device; keep her memories. She could have stayed with Riku, avoided the Organization altogether. They would've helped her banish the darkness within her. But Sora had held them back.

Lelie felt the darkness within her shout with joy with the anger she was feeding it. Sora. It always boiled down to Sora. Why? Roxas had died because DiZ believed that Sora was the better, the more important, more worthy wielder of the Keyblade. Sora had kept the twins back from her, when they could've helped her defeat the darkness. Yen Sid told her to stop with her own quest to defend Sora.

Sora.

Sora.

Sora.

Why was it always Sora?

Wisps of darkness leaked from in between Lelie's fingertips, and for once, she wasn't afraid or disgusted at it. Instead, she shaped it. It wove and bend until it was at her liking. A sick smile grew on her face. Heartless spawned around her.

Someone is going to die.