Chapter Four: The Heart of Hearts

Things were starting to get awfully repetitive. It seemed Xemnas was reluctant to send me out, and often I only went out to butcher some Heartless who got too close to the castle, along with Xion and a few other Organization members. The only good thing was my chair got higher in the meeting room. I was already higher than some others, thanks to my many defeats of various Heartless in many places.

I was beginning to suspect something was up with this. At first I figured we were doing grunt work because we were the lowest in the Organization, but now I began to wonder exactly why we were being pitted against the Heartless, and only the Heartless, all the time. Surely there were other threats, or other ways for us to assist the Organization?

"Why aren't we fourteen?" Xion said to me suddenly.

I blinked, confused. My Keyblades slashed through another Shadow. "What?"

"Why are we still Organization XIII?" She fixed me with her riveting gaze.

"I...don't know. It was already Organization XIII when I joined, and I'm the thirteenth member."

Xion crossed her arms, looking thoughtful, her Keyblade hanging limply beside her. She didn't move or blink for a long while, in which no Heartless appeared. She looked very thoughtful and beautiful, like a sculpture. Then:

"Do you...think...we're being used?"

I stared at her in confusion. "How so?" But maybe...

"We have Keyblades, right? You'd think...over how happy they were..."

Ah, so she hadn't missed that either.

"That we'd be on more...glamorous missions?" I inquired. I was rewarded with a small smile.

"You'd think so..."

Turns out, Xion wasn't wrong. We beat Heartless up for a couple of hours, (The World that Never Was never seems to change from night), then after watching the pink hearts sail away into the sky we retired back into the Castle.

Axel was gone for two or three days, when I asked Demyx where he thought he had went, he had replied that Axel was on a mission.

Xion and I, preferring to keep to ourselves, noticed that several key members of the Organization, like Marluxia and Larxene, were missing. We both waited eagerly for Axel's return, and it wasn't long before he did.

"Where were you?" asked Xion calmly.

Axel grinned cheekily. "Well, I had to take care of some business...a little problem with the other members..."

"Traitors?" I asked.

We were on our usual spot on the Twilight Town Clock Tower, enjoying the forever setting sun of the world in between.

Axel nodded, narrowing his eyes to green slits.

"Who?"

Axel just smiled. "Nothing to worry your pretty blond head over."]

The tedious activities of the Organization were beginning to repeat themselves, Heartless patrol, meetings, battle practice.

Day in and day out, with me not even bothering to count the days. The only thing that relieved the crushing boredom were my conversations with Xion and Axel. I noticed she seemed to unlock a bit, opening up and speaking more freely with us. She had worries the Organization weren't what they seemed, and sometimes I'd come back from my private retreat, my "room" in the Castle that Never Was, and see them talking. They'd always stop when I entered, and I began to feel suspicious.

One day Axel offered to take us elsewhere for a change of pace from the Clock Tower. We were led to a beautiful island, with palm trees and white sand. The sun was setting into the sea and the kids had all gone home. The only sign they were here were footprints crisscrossing the sand every which way.

Xion paused next to one footprint, the same size and shape as hers. She frowned.

"Something wrong?" Axel asked, sidling over to a bent tree and leaning against it. She shook her head and sat down on the tree, I sat next to her.

We watched the sun sink into the ocean, and night folded its wings over the sky.

I finally decided to ask Axel what I'd been dying to, and not let him get around it.

"Axel, we're friends, right?"

A pause. "Of course." His tone was guarded, a bad sign.

"Then tell me, because I think you know. Who. Is. Sora."

Axel sighed. "I can't tell you."

"Why?"

Before I got an answer, Xion's eyes widened.

"That's it!"

"What?" Axel asked, confused.

"I know why we keep attacking Heartless, Roxas." She continued, ignoring Axel.

Her eyes got bright. "Only the Keyblade can reap hearts, Xemnas must want something with them! What is the Heart of Hearts?"

I stared at her as dawning comprehension exploded in my mind.

"Xemnas wants our help constructing a Kingdom Hearts!"