(AN: Hello everyone! It is I, The Meme Master! Welcome to the sequel story to Illusions of Hope! Please go check it out now so you can understand what is happening. If you have, please enjoy, and I'll talk at the end of the chapter!)
The gray haired tactician swore he really felt hatred for the witch. As he stared down at the two unconscious figures lying in front of him. The spiky blonde haired boy, and his true companion, the raven haired girl. Roxas and Xion has been unconscious for two weeks now, and they seemed no closer to waking up.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he knew its owner. "How are they?" Corrin asked him, a look of sadness on her face.
"Still the same. Unconscious. Curse that Namine." Zexion replied. "I detest harming children… But she is endangering their lives."
"But why? Why would she be targeting them, and not people like you?" Corrin asked. It would make more sense to attack a leader.
"Because, they both contain some of Sora's memories. Sora's memories give them both power, but for Xion… If Xion were to have her memories removed… She would cease to exist. And we wouldn't remember her. Because without the memories in her, she is nothing. All of our memories of Xion would fade." Zexion explained.
"And this Namine is trying to forcibly tear the memories from them?" Corrin checked.
"Yes. She is trying to completely reconstruct Sora's memories, and helping the organization take us down. By tearing the memories from them forcibly, Xion will be forgotten, and Roxas will become a powerless brain dead zombie that could be eliminated with no effort at all." Zexion stopped and sighed. "At least Larxene and Demyx are okay. And you."
"You don't need to worry about me,
Zexion. How many times do I need to tell you that?" She asked.
"You will probably continue to tell me, because as much as I know you're a better fighter than I, I still worry about you." Zexion replied.
"Where are the others?" Corrin wondered.
"Out looking for members. They're staying in different worlds for a while looking for potential members. Larxene told me she thinks she had spotted one, and Demyx has been silent. I worry for him, but he last said he was fine."
"He may just not be able to communicate with you. Maybe the place where he is won't really let him." Corrin suggested. "Do you know the worlds they are in?"
"Larxene is in a place called Poketopia. Apparently she blends in just fine as the world is filled with strange characters. Demyx is in an unnamed world. I can only hope that it is as harmless as he originally said. He told me that the world resembles a large city, but strange and odd things are ignored by almost all the inhabitants." Zexion told her.
"And you? Have you found any suitable candidates?" Corrin asked.
"I believe so. I will be traveling to that world soon." Zexion replied.
"I'm coming with you." Corrin stated. It wasn't a question.
Zexion opened his mouth, as if to argue, and spoke. "I would try and dissuade you, but from what I recall, I cannot do that."
"That's right!" Corrin said, smiling. "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not!" Zexion managed a small smile at this. Corrin could be stubborn, but at least she chose her battles well. She placed an arm around Zexion, and Zexion did nothing, except consider the situation he was in.
***********************MEANWHILE IN THE CASTLE THAT NEVER WAS*********************
Namine sat in the meeting room, with Axel. They were the first two to show up for the meeting, and were waiting for the others. Secretly, Axel knew that Xigbar wouldn't be coming, he was out in a different world, recruiting some member. Where and who, Axel didn't know. But Xigbar was good at recruiting, so he wouldn't be too long.
"How has your hunt for Roxas and Xion been, Axel?" Namine asked. Axel sighed at this.
"Not well. I searched all the regular worlds that the organization has missions to at the moment, and they aren't in any of them. I wouldn't think Zexion would be that stupid… Then I began searching other worlds. Just… Wandering aimlessly in the darkness between worlds searching for random ones, and hoping I'll find them… I hate it. I haven't found a single trace of them." Axel vented.
"I'm sorry. I've been looking for them too, you know. But I haven't had much luck." Namine responded.
"Just… Let me know if you do." Axel said. Namine nodded, and they sat in silence. Xaldin showed up within a few minutes, and Saix showed up last.
"The Superior is currently away, so I shall lead this meeting." Saix said.
"But Xemnas never misses meetings!" Axel protested.
"That is mostly true, but today he made an exception, since he has begun a project he does not wish to interrupt." Saix replied. Axel said nothing at this.
"Then perhaps you can inform us of our situation." Xaldin spoke tiredly.
"The Superior has informed me that he has discovered something. Besides the seven princesses of light, there are others with hearts of pure light. They are rare and not quite as strong as the princesses. But he has found one, and captured her. He is in the process of getting her to join us, through experimentation." Saix began.
"What about Xigbar? I haven't seen him around much lately." Xaldin questioned.
"My most recent report from him stated he is in Radiant Garden. He has reconnected with an old friend who he says is sympathetic to our cause." Saix answered.
"Then perhaps we shall have a new member." Xaldin stated. "Anything else?"
"I've been trying to lock onto where Roxas and Xion are, through Sora's memories, but the signal is too faint. Whatever world they're in is too far for me to tell." Namine reported.
"I haven't seen any sign of them either. Nor a person worthy of joining us yet. But I have my eyes peeled." Axel added.
"Very well. The Superior says we should get back to work as soon as we can. Dismissed." Saix left without another word. Xaldin sighed before leaving, and Namine said nothing as she left as well. Axel merely waited for a while, before leaving.
************ IN TWILIGHT TOWN*********
He had been feeling whatever the nobody equivalent of depression lately. Appearing in Twilight Town, he ordered some ice cream. The lady who he ordered it from usually said nothing more than the usual, but today was different.
"Where are your friends?" The lady asked.
"I… They have gone missing." Axel said. "And I can't find them."
"Did they just disappear, or do you have any leads?" She asked with concern.
"No. The man that took them… He is a master manipulator. A genius who uses his powers not for good." Axel said sadly. "I'm trying to think ahead, to what his next plan is… But I'm always at least a step behind." The woman said nothing as Axel took his ice cream and left.
As he sat on the tower, watching the sunset, Axel tried wracking his brains. Where could he go that Zexion would be and catch him? He sighed, but came up empty. But another figure sat down on the clock tower, startling him. It was Namine.
"Namine! What are you doing here?" Axel asked.
"..." Namine didn't say anything at first. "I came here because I knew you would be here. Lonely. And also I hope that being here, maybe I can find a sliver of a connection to Roxas and Xion."
"Have yourself a seat then…" Axel offered. Namine did, and stared out into the sunset, concentrating.
"I know that you've been worried about them." Namine said. "I can see it in your face, your speech, your actions… They're all you think about aren't they?" Namine asked.
"Yeah… The worst part is that they may believe Zexion and his lies. And… I'm worried. About them. About Zexion and why he betrayed us. And why the others are helping. And that we may have to fight. And I won't be strong enough to save the kids…" Axel let everything on his mind out.
"I wish I could help you with that… But I can't. All I can do is try and help find them." She sighed. "Maybe… Maybe if I go to Destiny Islands, and find Kairi… Maybe then I will find some answers."
"Honestly… It may be a good idea." Axel said. "I wish you luck." Axel said.
"Try not to stay here too long." Namine said as she left. Axel merely turned back to the sunset, and continued to watch.
*******************IN CASTLE KRAKENBERG********
"So, are you ready to go?" Zexion asked. Corrin nodded. She was now donning the Alliance XIII cloak. Although she wasn't an official member, Zexion trusted her enough. She had her armor on underneath the mystical cloak. Zexion had created them to make the wearer have the cloak appear however they wished it to.
It added another layer of protection though, protecting against the darkness of the worlds, and other unseeable forces. Corrin of course, made it look like her Nohrian armor. Zexion, for lack of a better dress for now, wore his cloak like he was in the organization. "Yup!" Corrin replied. "Remind me how you do this again?"
"To travel between worlds, we create an infinitesimally small part of the portal at our destination, and link it to here. We then follow the path. But that's just between worlds. In worlds, it's as simple as knowing where you're going, and going." Zexion replied.
"Alright. Well, let's go." Corrin said.
Zexion opened a corridor, and entered through the corridor, Corrin close behind. The journey there was mostly uneventful. It was the entering world that was the strangest for Zexion. As they entered the world, Zexion and Corrin found themselves in a clearing, seemingly discreet. As the corridor closed, Zexion took in the surroundings. It was a mildly forested area, and seemed like not many people ever got out here.
"What's this place called again?" Corrin asked. "Or did you forget?"
"I just didn't find out. I just came here, after locating the source. So wherever we are, I have no idea." Zexion said. "But I'm sure we can figure it out quickly." Zexion replied. There was a silence, and Corrin looked around, and grabbed Yato.
"We're being watched. We're not alone." At these words, soldiers came pouring out of the bushes, all holding guns of all sorts. Zexion growled. How could he be so stupid. They were surrounded. While Zexion could have teleported, he wasn't sure he could escape correctly. A red haired girl emerged from the crowd surrounding them. She had an angry look on her face, and pulled out a gun of her own.
"The two of you have plenty of explaining to do." The girl growled.
"Erm, who are you?" Corrin asked.
"Neige. Sort of a leader here at Area Zero. But I'm taking you to our real commander. She'll decide what to do with you. Now. March!" She barked, and the entire group began marching away, with Zexion wondering how they could have possibly known what was going on. Corrin stuck close to Zexion as she could.
"What's going on here? How did they know we'd be here?" She whispered.
"Maybe this leader of theirs is much smarter. Smarter how, I'm not sure. But we should be prepared." Zexion answered.
"HEY! No talking you two!" Neige yelled. They separated at this, continuing the journey in silence. They were guided through the forest to a large clearing, which had several tents and buildings. Neige dismissed several of the guards, and brought some of them with her to escort Zexion and Corrin to an empty tent. She marched out the instant she got in, leaving the guards in the tent. It was several minutes of silence before the tent flap rustled again.
In came a young girl, probably only a bit older than the keybearers. She had long, blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, and large blue eyes. She wore a sad expression on her face. She had a pink and white headband for her hair, pink and white boots, and a pink dress type thing, with black arms and legs. Her eyes ran over Zexion and Corrin. "What is the meaning of this?" She asked the soldiers.
"Ma'am! We found these two appearing from nowhere at the exact spot you said they would!" One soldier answered.
"I see." The girl bowed her head, and said nothing for a moment. "Leave us. I will handle them."
"B-but-"
"Now." The soldiers all looked at each other, and left after a few moments. The mysterious girl raised her head, to look at the two. "So… you're the two who broke through reality. I detected a strange anomaly, and sent the soldiers out to investigate. I hope they were not too rough." Zexion and Corrin exchanged glances. "You've intruded here, but I am not unreasonable. Tell me…" the girl hit them with a gaze full of sadness. "Why are you here?"
(AN: Hey everyone! This is the Meme Master here. If you enjoyed this, please leave a favorite, follow, and share it with everyone you know and love. Also, if you have questions, comments, criticisms, or anything else, send it to me in a PM or review. Also, this chapter is a setup of sorts. All the character introductions will begin next chapter!)
