I don't own any of the characters except for Theena/Xanethe. All rights belong to Square Enix and Disney

Axel walked through the halls, towards the Gray Room. He was tense. Much more so than he had been in a long time. He was still eager to see Theena, but the idea that he would be immersing himself in the ocean left him with chills. His worry was evident. As he entered the Gray Room, Saix looked at him, curious.

"Axel, is something the matter?" Axel looked at his old friend, laughing nervously.

"You could say that. Today Theena is taking me to this world that's entirely under water. I'm not even a great swimmer! Why the hell would I agree to that?" He began to panic. Saix sighed, rolling his eyes at Axel.

"You really know how to make a fool of yourself, don't you?" Axel glared daggers at Saix.

"Hey, if I hadn't agreed to go with her, she never would have agreed to come to Twilight Town with me." Saix raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" Axel nodded.

"Tomorrow, she's finally going to join me for the sunset on the tower," Axel explained.

"Well, be sure to let me know how it goes." Axel nodded with a smile, then opened a dark corridor to his mission.

Usually Axel became excited upon hearing the waves crashing up against the shore, but today it just filled him with dread. Xanethe approached him with a huge smile.

"Are you ready?" He laughed.

"Hell no." Xanethe let out a laugh as well.

"Well, you made a deal," she pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with." She grabbed his hand and began to pull him towards the rolling waves. He shut his eyes tight as he felt the water hit his feet. He kept them shut as he felt the water rising higher and higher on him.

"Almost there Lea," Xanethe said trying to be comforting. The moment the water hit his face, he held his breath. Feeling the water go completely over his head, his panic started to rise. "You can open your eyes now." He couldn't understand how she had been able to say anything, especially as clearly as she had. Her Words weren't garbled by the water, as he would've expected. Slowly, he opened his eyes. She was grinning at him, small bubbles escaping from between her lips. His eyes widened, and warmth settled in his face as he noticed her appearance. Her coat was gone, replaced by a black shell top that covered only her chest, and she no longer had legs. Instead it was a long, silvery tail, like that of a fish. Her hair floated freely with the current of the water. "You can open your mouth Lea, it's alright." He shook his head, but the breath he had stored was dwindling. "You'll be able to breath, just trust me." Hesitantly, he closed his eyes, and opened his mouth to breath. He was expecting the sea water to rush in and fill his lungs, but instead, it just felt like a breath.

"What is with this place?" he asked, surprised to hear that his words were just as clear and Xanethe's. He watched the bubbles that had come from his mouth until they popped, and then looked around. Despite his discomfort, he couldn't deny that the world was beautiful. It was full of vibrant colors, and plants that seemed to dance in the current. He examined himself. He was left shirtless, with an iridescent red fish-like tail.

"Isn't it great?" she asked excitedly, twirling.

"It could be worse... "

"Come on, you have to see the castle!" She turned and swam off. Axel tried to follow suit, but swimming with the tail wasn't as effortless as Xanethe had made it seem. He flailed and splashed a little, but didn't get too far. Xanethe turned to see him lagging behind, and chuckled.

"It's not funny!" he snapped.

"Sorry," she said, still giggling a little. "Here, you're trying to use your arms too much, just trust your tail," she explained, waving her fins in front of him. She took his hand and led him forward. Slowly he got the hang of swimming, and he even somewhat enjoyed it. As they headed to the castle, Axel looked around, taking in the strange new world. Fish, big and small swam in schools nearby, and at one point he saw sharks prowling around a sunken ship below them.

"Yikes…" He muttered, picking up his pace a little. His gaze was pulled to Xanethe when he heard her laughing. She was surrounded by small fish, and a couple of seahorses had wrapped around her fingers. One of the larger fish dropped a string of ocean flowers around her neck. For the first time since they had been reunited, he was seeing her as the young woman she had grown into, rather than the girl he used to know. He felt a pang, of what was almost sadness, despite not having a heart. He couldn't believe he'd let her of all people lose her heart. Her heart, which was so strong that, despite being gone, still seemed to be with her.

"Lea, come here!" she beckoned, tugging him from his thoughts. A few of the fish surrounded him and pushed him towards Xanethe. "Here, take one of these little guys." She held out one of her delicate hands. A seahorse was wrapped around her index finger. Axel held his hand out, and the little creature moved over to his finger. He looked at it in amazement. He never thought he'd be able to admire anything that came from under the water, but there he was.

"These guys are pretty cool," he stated. Xanethe nodded enthusiastically. Looking at Axel seemed to always fill her with some unexplained bliss. Seeing his green eyes glow with wonder at every new thing she showed him was something she wouldn't trade for the world. Being with him, it was like she had found her heart again. He lifted his head, and met her eyes. "Theena, I-" A fish dropped a string of flowers, similar to Xanethe's, around his neck, then shoved him closer to her. Their faces were inches apart. They both let out small laughs.

"What were you saying Lea?" she asked, making no attempt to move away.

"Oh, I uh…" He scratched the back of his head, finding himself unable to meet her violet gaze again. "I just wanted to thank you for bringing me here. To all of the worlds really...it's been amazing."

"Oh." She backed up a bit. "I've enjoyed showing you everything, it's not really something you need to thank me for. We should probably get going to the castle, before it gets too late." Axel nodded. They said goodbye to the fish and seahorses and continued on their way. The rest of the swim passed in a contented silence. Finally, the castle came into view beyond the coral beds. Axel's eyes widened.

"It's incredible," he stated. The castle seemed to give off a radiance that made the other oceanic scenery seem dull.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Xanethe asked, sitting on a nearby rock to admire it. Axel nodded, looking over at her.

"Yeah...beautiful…"