"ROXAS! Get over here!"
He was dashing back at Cloud's call, eager to see if something was found.
His pace suddenly slowed when he came to the freshly cleared out corridor. His jaw threatened to drop. Meters of debris and blown apart stones stretched on around the corner. Holy crap, it's only been like 30 seconds!
"Wow Cloud, this is impressive." He said, turning the corner.
"Look." Cloud stood at the end of the hall by a door.
The walls and floor suddenly changed color halfway down the hallway and became clean and free of cracks and crumbling dust. A long teal rug ran from the patterned door to his feet. "I think that's our best bet."
"Yeah." Roxas agreed with much enthusiasm, running down to Cloud, who was starting to pull at the doors handle. "Locked."
"No problem." The younger shrugged, spinning the keyblades around in his fingers then aiming at the center of the door. With the simple thought of wanting the door unlocked the keys responded with a ring of shimmering light around each tip, then a beam shot out from both keyblades, hitting the face of the door and making it glow.
A solid 'chink' told him it was unlocked and he lowered his weapons. The light faded.
"You're full of surprises aren't you?" Cloud said, getting a hand through Roxas's hair again.
"Well I wouldn't want you to get bored with me."
"Hah." Cloud opened the door, taking his hand and leading him in.
"So you're comfortable with hold my hands now?" he blurted out jokingly and then regretted it straight away.
Luckily his only reaction was a thin attempt of a smile and then…"This is what you wanted isn't it?"
"What?!" Roxas spat out, eyes wide with surprise.
"Isn't i-" Cloud stopped upon studying the youths steadily blossoming cheeks. "I'm talking about the computer."
"Oh…Oh!"
Just look at him, things like this just keep on happening. Cloud thought shaking his head. Poor Roxas, he must feel very ashamed right now… "There's no need to apologize because I know you're going to. I should have made myself clearer."
It took him a second to process what the other had said. "Sorry my mind's just been a little messed up lately."
"You alright?"
"Yeah, it's nothing I can't handle."
"Tell me about it later." Cloud said, fully aware of what was plaguing the boys mind. "And I'll tell you about Zack."
"Uh, sure." Roxas agreed skeptically.
"Now are you ready? Let's find this computer that knows so much about you."
"Yeah." He nodded stepping through, pulling the other with him.
The room before them was an orangey cream color with pipes going into the ceiling and floor. Diagrams were hung on the walls and a desk and matching chair sat in the center of the room. Books were scattered around the space and smashed, cylinder jars littered the ground, a few drips of colored liquids sat at the bottom of them.
A portrait with a gold painted frame drew Roxas. The man in the frame had oak toned skin with startling golden yellow eyes that stared distantly in front of him.
Long, dark grey laps of hair fell around his dark face and a purple neck tie sat ruffled at his throat under a white jacket.
Roxas came into the room, eyes fixed on the painting.
"Roxas…?" Cloud inquired.
"It's Xemnas…"
"Who's Xemnas?"
"…No, it must be his Nobody...I mean his…" Roxas blinked hard as if trying to rid himself of some illusion he was seeing.
This can't be Xemnas's other person… this guy is… I hate to admit it, but he's beautiful.
He scrutinized the face of the man. It seemed gaunt yet filled, thin yet shaped. It had to be Xemnas's 'Somebody'. Roxas didn't know much about Xemnas's past, but it didn't seem at all surprising that he was connected to the computer in more ways than one.
"So this isn't Ansem?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
"So who's Xemnas?"
"The leader of Organization XIII…"
"So what is his painting doing here?"
"This isn't of him; it's got to be of his other person."
"Right. Why is it here?"
"I've heard Xemnas used to be a scientist of some kind, along with some of the other members. Well until they lost their hearts… I don't know how though." Roxas sighed, thinking of his old life and how glad he was that it was over. "But I don't see a computer. This is an office, not a lab."
Roxas felt this pulse give a great thud when a chillingly familiar sound practically curled through the room. At first he thought he'd imagined it until a snide teenaged voice followed.
"Hello Roxas, fancy meeting you here."
A dark swirling portal died down behind a person adorning the Organization cloak. They're hood was up But height and voice gave them away to Roxas immediately.
"Get lost Zexion." He bit out.
"A simple 'hello' would have sufficed."
"You're not welcome." Cloud said, reading Roxas's tone.
"Oh don't threat, I'm not about to go and tell every Organization member where you are." He said, throwing back his hood and rolling his eyes. "Hmmm. If your scent wasn't so strong I wouldn't have recognized you in those clothes."
"Why are you here, what do you want?" Roxas pressed, panic building within him. The Organization had found him… but he wasn't about to go back without a fight. His fingers twitched with anticipation.
"If you must know Axel threatened me here." He flicked a long trail of his slate hair away from his eyes.
"A-Axel?" his breath hitched. "He's looking for me isn't he? The fool..." he dropped his eyes to his feet. "What did he threaten you with?"
"My life." Zexion replied simply. Roxas groaned. Axel always had to take things too far, who knows what kind of trouble he was getting himself into. "He shouldn't have done that." Roxas meet Zexion's with some sympathy.
To this, Zexion's lip curled and nose wrinkled. "It's barely been a week and look at you. So many uncontrolled emotions, so many false emotions."
"Yeah well the past week has been the most emotional rollercoaster ride of my life. I've been living instead of being told that I can't live." He smirked.
"All fake, all false. Without a heart a true feeling can never truly be experienced and you know it."
It was the speech he had heard so many times from every superior he had save one or two. But out here, in Hollow Bastion he had many emotions and friends instead of superiors "I was told a lot of things and they're all bullshit!" he hissed, stepping closer to the short man. "If we have no hearts, if we truly don't exist… then this shouldn't hurt!" he threw a fist to Zexion's face but it was caught by Cloud's fast hand.
"Only fight if he fights first." He said to Roxas, squeezing his fingers around his fist before releasing him.
"A wise man." Zexion noted, nodding slightly. "I'm here on Axel's business. Do you really think I'd be here to harm you?"
"Well you can stray from Axel's wishes all you want." Roxas glared. "And I don't trust anyone in the Organization anymore!"
"Roxas calm yourself, please." Cloud frowned down upon him. "What's gotten into you? I've never seen you act like this."
He knew these words would calm Roxas and they did. He dropped his eyes to his feet, looking suddenly somber, almost ashamed.
Zexion turned up his nose at the emotion the boy displayed.
"What do you want from him?" Cloud asked, looking from boy to boy.
"I want to hold up my end of the deal so Axel will no longer be a threat to my nonexistence. Not that the superior won't kill me if he finds out I'm doing this anyway." He spoke quite casually, picking at a loose thread from his glove.
"What would your end of the deal have you do?" the man responded curtly.
"Oh I just need to reveal his location to Axel along with some proof that he is alive and well."
"Why can't Axel do this himself?" Roxas asked.
"He's tried. But after hours of neglecting his work in the Organization to track down you, the Superior has put him under tight surveillance. He can't move so much as a finger without Xemnas knowing. So he dragged me into this."
"Why you?" Roxas eyed him strangely. "You hate getting you're hands dirty."
"True but I'm the best tracker. I can pick up an individuals sent amongst thousands of others over many miles and I can disuse myself as virtually anyone. Who better qualified?" Zexion busied himself with a book he'd picked up from the floor. He tore the back page out and held it out to Roxas. "Write a note to Axel and sign it so I can finish this idiotic mission."
Roxas sighed, streaming fingers back through his locks. He looked to Cloud then back to Zexion. "Sorry about all this, Axel's taking this too far...."
Zexion rolled his eyes. "Anger then sympathy followed by more anger and yet more smypathy. You're simply a rollercoaster of emotions now, numb...ex-number 13."
"Jealous?" he eyed him and smirked.
"Of your fake feelings? Not in the slightest."
"Who says they're fake?"
Zexion paced up to look Roxas slyly in the face and press his finger tip into his chest. "That empty space that's void of a heart." he said, grinding his finger against him with every word.
Roxas knocked his hand away. "My heart may be gone but I can make emotions fine on my own." he grunted back then turned to the trashed desk to locate a pen.
As the stoic Nobody watched the younger pull out draws onto the floor he shoved a hand out to Cloud. "Zexion." he announced, eyes still trained on Roxas.
"Cloud." he replied, sensing no real danger in the young man and shaking his hand.
"He's an interesting case…" The young man babbled to himself. "He always has been."
"You're talking about Roxas?"
"Indeed. He's always been the most rebellious to our ways. He insists that his emotional dispositions are no less real then he is. When in fact both are quiet false in this world."
Cloud could see Zexion's mind tick over and his eyes turn to haze in thought. "Roxas has recently become closer to Sora. Maybe that has something to do with it?" Cloud suggested.
"Hm. It's interesting enough that Sora is a sane, whole hearted person. This could have an effect on Roxas's ability to reconnect with his memories and the emotions that come from them."
"What happens to the person that a Nobody comes from?"
"They become a heartless. A mindless, obsessive little demon." His lip twitched unpleasantly at the thought.
"What happened to Sora then?"
"…You're well informed." Zexion noted, glancing up at him.
"I've also been close to Roxas and he's taught me a lot." Cloud smiled a smile that curled sweetly on his lips.
"I've had many theories on Sora." He said jumping back in the conversation. "But my best guess is that the Kairi girl had a piece of his heart, the piece that Sora had given up to save her. And she simply returned it and he was a heartless no more."
Roxas had quickly located an old pencil and was scribbling as fast as he could down on the paper. More and more ideas of what to say rushed into his head and he had to find a new bit of paper because the first one was already filled. Filled with promises of his safety and assurances of his happiness. The second page was soon overflowed with wonderings of how Axel was doing, apologies for his sudden departure and explanations of why he couldn't of stayed. Then the third was packed with memories, all their stupid little inside jokes and times they'd shared. At the forth page his hand slowed.
Don't ever forget me okay? Got THAT memorized you idiot? We WILL see each other again. Please don't do anything reckless like this again for both our sakes.
I miss you… I think I've only just realized how much I've been missing you. The little wet bits on the page where here before by the way… He wrote as he pressed his soft sleeve to his wet eyes.
From your (hopefully still) best friend.
ROXAS.
He took his time to draw a small key symbol next to his name and then pressed the pad of his finger to it, making it shine with light. "There." He whispered to himself, taking each page and piling them on top of each other. He rolled up the stack and held them out to Zexion, cutting off the quiet conversation he was having with Cloud.
The other Nobody took them and flicked to the last page to locate the signature. "Very good. I'll take my leave." He looked between them then creased his brow and pressed a curled finger to his lips thoughtfully. "How did you two get down here?" he suddenly asked them.
"Cloud's strong." Roxas smiled proudly.
"Ah… You have no idea where it is, do you?"
"The wha-"
"Computer."
Cloud perked up. "And you do?"
"How do you know we're looking for it?" Roxas puzzled.
"I've been following you of course."
"Where is it?" Cloud pressed again.
"You really have no idea do you?" Zexion smirked; clearly enjoying the blondes' obliviousness. He strode over to a wall and peeled his glove off. He studied the wall and then pressed his hand to the flat surface. A huge part of the wall glowed brightly before disappearing to reveal a passage behind it. "Not much reason for me to stay. Not as much as there is reason for you Roxas." Zexion said bluntly, indicating his eyes clearly to Cloud before letting another snigger grow up one cheek. Roxas wasn't sure if he was smirking at that fact that they could've never figured out how to work the wall or something else entirely.
He turned and spilt the air into a dark portal that swirled up from the ground. He cast his head back over his shoulder as he stepped through. "Goodbye." He somehow managed to say it slyly.
"Bye Zexion…" Roxas mumbled.
"Bye." Cloud said blankly.
The darkness closed around the small man.
"Why did he help us?"
The smaller blonde sighed. "He just likes being smarter than everyone else. He hasn't changed a bit."
"By the sounds of it, you have changed though."
The boy stepped to the section of wall that had disappeared into the air. "I guess I have…" he said as he slowly walked into the new passage way.
He didn't know how far the computer was from here as he started walking through and with each step a million new thoughts burst into his head.
Now was the time. When he found the computer everything would be decided. He felt like ever since he'd set out from the Organization his life had been leading up to a point and then all would become clear. But now it felt more like his existence was hurtling towards a crossroad. A crossroad where he couldn't choose his own path, he would just have to sit there and watch himself follow a path that formed under his feet. And if he could choose his own path? Well he didn't even know what he wanted anymore.
To find information in the computer would be to leave this place and build up a new life again. A life made from a combination of what the computer had told him and the broken pieces of the life he'd leave behind. If he were to learn anything new about his existence, he knew he'd be spurred on by answers and perhaps return to Xemnas… he'd have to return to Xemnas to press him for more answers. Xemnas knew more about Nobodies then anyone. It would be dangerous but more than worth it.
And if there was nothing? If the computer told him nothing? Then maybe he would be able to forget about it all. There would be no spark to light the hungry fire for knowledge. Blissfully ignorant about his purpose and how his mind and body worked… he might be able to pull it off. He could stay here and live out this life… with Cloud.
He turned and looked back to the man who was following him. Cloud had always been following him. All the way, all the time. No matter what he'd done. Roxas felt something within him cry out and he wanted to reach for Cloud, to hold him before the judge slammed their hammer down on Roxas's life.
And there it was. A keyboard with large buttons and a long screen built into a large block like counter.
His eyes scanned the keyboard with hesitance. He located a button in the top right corner labeled 'power on/off'.
Before he even raised a hand he knew it couldn't do it. "Press it." Roxas commanded weakly of the other.
"Roxas?" Cloud leaned around to look at his face.
"Just do it."
He washed a suspicious look over Roxas's frozen form before tapping in the button with a selective finger.