One of the many little things I picked up from Liam is his irritability, particularly when faced with an event I've tried to get out of happening. I had a fair feeling that sooner or later, someone from the Organization would find me, but until that happened I was determined to do everything I could to stay away from them.
I kept on the move when I wasn't busy helping someone out or just generally being friendly, but whether moving, talking or helping I kept a wary eye out for the Organization, periodically finding somewhere I wouldn't be bothered so I could concentrate and have a quick look around Twilight Town for them.
When I started spotting hooded figures in the black coats wandering around in those moments, I started to take more care – the residents seemed unconcerned by their presence, though they were given a wide berth in all but the busiest parts of the town, and they never once got on a tram.
That last made it easy for me to sneak clear of them more than once, and taking the tram up to Sunset Hill left me with a refuge that they'd have to navigate the tunnels to get to, or use a dark corridor. And I had a feeling they wouldn't do the latter.
I on the other hand, did. One of the many things I shouldn't have known how to do but did. From my vantage on top of the hill I saw one of them coming – couldn't tell you who, you need to see them a little closer to be able to identify them by their coat alone. All it took was a brief glance around to be sure I was alone, and a corridor took me directly to the last place they'd think to look – in front of the mansion.
Guess what? It wasn't the last place they looked. Xemnas was waiting for me. Maybe I should have concentrated and scanned ahead before I formed the corridor. Hindsight is a nice thing, but you'd nearly always prefer it to be the kind of foresight I had.
"Quite the hunt you've given us," he noted, unconcerned by my unexpected appearance. "But no matter – you are here now."
Xemnas might have found me because I hadn't thought of this, but I wasn't out of tricks yet.
"I don't know who you are," I told him. "But I've heard rumours about you people in the black coats. Can't be trusted, I hear."
"You need not keep up the charade any longer. You are among friends now."
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about."
"No? Then explain your control over the corridor that brought you here."
"Monkey see, monkey do," I replied shortly, turning to head back into town. "People see you lot do it all the time. I just figured out how to do the same."
"And your unexplained arrival in the town?" Xemnas persisted. As I tried to enter the nearby forest, I found he'd put up a barrier in my path. He was just as determined to get me as I was not to let him. "No one saw you arrive," he went on. "And the train is the only means of arrival – except for a corridor."
"Just because no one saw it, doesn't mean it didn't happen."
"Why do you continue with this foolishness?"
I gave in, more because I couldn't come up with a reasonable sounding excuse. I was barely a day old, and even with the additional extras I'd gained, I was still growing used to most things.
"Because I don't want to go with you," I told him, considerably calmer than I had been. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
I knew the answer, of course. Xemnas helpfully gave it to me anyway. "Because you are one of the Keyblade's chosen, and the Organization has a need for one with that rare trait."
"I know. I also know you're going to fail, Xemnas."
"How do you-"
"Know who you are? You know who my Somebody is... was," I corrected myself. Liam was still a Heartless at this point remember. Past tense seemed more accurate, since as far as anyone knew there was no coming back from that.
"So you share his foresight... and know our goals."
"And more. I won't help you any more than is necessary for things to happen as they should."
"So you accept you must join us, but refuse to cooperate? Why do it then, if you know what will happen." There's the snippet I'd Seen earlier.
"Weren't you listening?" I demanded irritably. "I just said – because it's necessary! You'll get only what's necessary from me, no less and certainly no more!"
"But with the power to see the future, you could change that. The Organization could succeed far beyond original expectations." I think he actually believed he could convince me of this if he kept at it long enough.
"Don't bother. You don't have anything that'll make it worth my while to tell you anything I find out. Now will you get on with this and give me my damn name already? I might not want to do this, but least I can do is make sure you don't mess it up."
I don't think I endeared myself to him much with that last remark. I wasn't trying to, but it was definitely one of the more inflammatory things I said to him. As you'll see, Xemnas and I argued quite a lot, and some of those arguments... well, you'd call how he acted out of character. But believe me, Xemnas is just as capable of a loud shouting match as I am.
So after having forced them to hunt for me for much of the day, I'd been left with little choice but to go ahead and join the Organization and receive my name from Xemnas. I knew it had to happen, but like Liam I'm stubborn, and don't like to just take that sort of thing lying down. Who knows what could have happened if I'd never gone with them though? Maybe someday Liam and I will borrow that book of his, and ask it.
I made no comment on it in front of him, but when he showed the letters that supposedly spelled out the name of my Somebody, he spelled out 'Sora' instead of Liam. We know why now – he went around telling everyone he was Sora. But at this point I didn't know that, and decided that when I next got a free moment I'd look into it.
Various other members started to show up then, each of which being sent on their way into their own corridors almost as soon as they realized they had me at last. Only Axel remained, held back by a gesture from Xemnas so he could wordlessly turn me over to him.
It was strange for me – I knew of the friendship he had with Sora's Roxas, and had a fair feeling that a similar one would develop between him and me. I could even look at him as a friend, but I had to remind myself the feeling was not yet mutual. Axel might find it strangely suspicious if I treated him like a friend too quickly.
Axel further made that harder for me by trying to look and act friendly, so I faked the appearance of complete indifference. Since I was still somewhat irritated after talking at Xemnas, who never really did take in anything I told him, he also got the brunt of that.
"Smile Roxas," Axel told me, being the first Nobody to actually use my name. I'd used it while I'd been going around the town anyway, but that's different. "It's not as bad as it seems."
"That's what you think," I retorted sharply. "Why's he even got to lump me with you, anyway? What do I need a chaperone for?" Yes, I was overstating things. Blame Liam; every so often there are times where I act ridiculously because of him.
"Oh, I dunno. Maybe in case you disappear again, and we have to go hunt for you again?" he suggested, following me as I headed into the forest now the barrier had been dissolved.
"As if I would. I don't like this, but I'm not disloyal. Just... not happy about this."
"Orders are orders," Axel shrugged, not bothered in the slightest. "and I've been ordered to keep an eye on you, it seems. I know what'll lift that cloud of rain over your head."
Anyone want to guess what comes next? I didn't need to, but asked anyway.
"What?"
"Ice cream, of course. I know just the one."
I'd had a plan slowly forming that would, if nothing else, bother them for a time, but decided I couldn't pass up this. Everything stops for ice cream, especially sea salt flavoured. Liam knows how to make his own, and while it's not the same as the stuff we always got, you still can't beat it.
So just like my counterpart for Sora, I spent the evening of my first day atop the clock tower, eating ice cream with Axel. He noticed it had some effect on me, at least softening the apparent dislike I was feigning at the time down to a more sociable level, and I wasn't so unkind in what I said.
Once we'd both finished though, I decided it was high time I put my plan into place.
"Hey, Axel? You know where the uh..."
"Just inside, second on the right," he answered almost without thinking. "Don't go in the first door – not unless you're hiding something under there you're not telling us about," he added with a sly look. I couldn't help but chuckle at that.
I had seen the toilets there on the way up, but didn't want him to know I was that observant. Besides, can't go making him feel useless now, can I?
I didn't need to go though, this was for something else. I checked them briefly, making sure they were empty, then opened a new corridor – this one leading to what, if I got it right, was due to be my own room in the castle.
It was a room, at least. The walls of the castle are solid enough to make it difficult to personalize the rooms at all, and as I later discovered they're also oddly resistant to the idea of being painted. Which is a shame, a splash of colour amongst all the blacks and whites would really liven the place up, don't you think?
The Organization's typical emblem made up the headboard of the bed, along with lines of greys over the walls of the room that seemed to have no pattern or even sense to them. One large window, giving a nice view of Dark City below. Nice if you happen to like looking at an empty city of perpetual rain.
I sat down on the bed and concentrated, first having a quick check around the castle to find that most members were either busy working on something of their own, reading (Only one Nobody who ever did much of that) or in discussions with the Grand Annoyance himself. That's Saïx, if you didn't figure it out yourself. Sora's Roxas may simply have disliked him, but I hated him before he ever said a word to me.
Once I was certain they suspected nothing, I tuned in on Axel back in Twilight Town. He didn't seem to have noticed anything was out of the ordinary at first, but after a time he finally got the idea something wasn't quite right. A glance down to the clock face below – I don't know how he can do that, it leaves him almost about to fall off – and he scrambled up, coming looking for me. I heard nothing, but didn't really need to.
Axel searched the toilets, then finding no sign of me headed back down the stairs to the station below. There are only two ways out of the station – by train, and through the front doors. Since you need a ticket to take any train, either way Axel only had one place to go.
A muted conversation was held with whoever was manning the ticket counter followed, where he undoubtedly learned that I had not passed that way. I'm no lip reader, but I'm fairly certain what he said after that isn't printable. A few people nearby looked shocked at him, but he ignored it entirely.
At that point I had to tune out for two reasons. First because Axel had headed outside and created a dark corridor, and second because I could hear someone fumbling with the lock on the room's door. Surely I hadn't found the wrong one?
To be safe though, I hid under the bed. It looks like there's no room, but there are actually some draws in one side that can be pulled out. Pulling them back in while you're in one isn't easy, but I managed to pull the otherwise empty draw back under the bed. Now to wait and see if I really had made a mistake, or if this was something else.
