"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Sora said gleefully as he entered, despite Axel's requests for him to knock. When he saw Axel sitting on his bed, Sora added, "Oh, you're awake."
"Yeah," Axel said lamely. The pain was still terrible, to his despair. He hadn't gotten a minute of sleep that night, and had been sitting in this same position for over an hour. He didn't want to look at Sora out of fear of giving himself away, but he knew if he didn't do something Sora would notice. He also knew he should clean his wound, seeing as it hadn't been bleeding for a while now, but it was too late to do that at this point. He hadn't even yet managed the gumption to stand up.
"Where's Kairi?" he asked, trying to sound normal.
"She's waiting outside," Sora replied, waving a hand towards the door, opening it. Axel stood while Sora opened it, and almost gasped from the feeling that pulsed through his abdomen. Sora looked back to Axel a little bit oddly, which made Axel immediately fear that he had already noticed, but Sora left the room without another word. Very worried now, Axel followed, wincing as his wound protested. He managed to compose himself within the short walk to the exit, making his stroll seem as convincing as possible. He doubted it was, but he was trying.
"Morning, Axel," Kairi greeted, smiling.
"Morning," he replied plainly, not making eye contact.
"Where are we headed today?" Kairi asked the group.
"I was thinking King Mickey's Castle. If anyone but Axel would know where Ventus is, it'd be the King, right?"
"Ventus doesn't know him," Axel butted in quietly.
Honestly he didn't know why he'd said it. It was stupid really; in the shape he was in he'd ideally want to get in and out of wherever they were going as quickly as possible, which would mean being as easygoing as was probable. Yet he'd said it without a second thought. Perhaps it was simply instinct, as he was very aware that the dog and duck that he despised would both be there.
"Oh… you sure? He knows a lot of people…"
"Yeah." Sora looked defeated.
"What about Agrabah?" Kairi suggested.
"Agrabah? Why there?" Sora questioned, hands behind his head.
"Well, it's a merchant town, isn't it? There have to be people around to buy from the merchants, haven't there?"
"Yeah, I guess so. What do you think, Axel?"
"Hm? Uh, sure. He's been there."
"Well... let's go, then," Sora said, already leading them.
They did so, and arrived within minutes, as with all their prior departures. As they inspected the area, Axel took note of how few people were around. The sand was blowing across the land, serving as the primary entity of the deserted (in more than one literal meaning) town of Agrabah. In all truth, Axel lacked fond memories of this place. The last time he'd been here his ass had been sore for a week after falling repeatedly in pursuit of a giant Heartless. The town looked different than then, though. It had been more crammed together, and the walls had been, in his mind at least, shorter. Still, the buildings were manufactured out of the same beige material, and many areas were boarded up, much like his last venture to the world.
But, really, Axel couldn't care less what had changed. He wanted to leave.
"Let's check out the marketplace first. Maybe some shopkeepers have seen him."
Kairi agreed, and Axel followed obediently. The three of them walked about, but all the stands that surrounded them in the plaza were not occupied.
"What shopkeepers?" Kairi said jokingly to Sora, despite the fact that the visit to the town had been her idea. Sora scratched his head.
"They used to be around a lot… I wonder where they went." A crash was heard, and they searched for the source. Following the sound, they found an opening in a wall with a rug covering that served as a door. Seeing as the "door" was not locked, the three walked in.
"Greetings travel — oh, it's you." A small man appeared from behind the counter of the little shop. There was a great array of items that covered the shelves, from pots and pans to elegant carpets as well as supposedly collectible items that Axel didn't recognize. Despite the man's tone, Axel didn't know him, so he figured — as always seemed to be true — that the man knew Sora. The man had a unique appearance; he was about half Axel's height, at around a meter tall, with a large turban on his head and a curly moustache.
"What do you want?" the man said, which surprised Axel. He'd said it as if he disliked Sora.
"Nice to see you too. Anyways, we were wondering if you've seen someone. He's blond, has blue eyes and's about my size."
"…Perhaps I have," the man said, spinning a top.
"You have?"
"Perhaps, I said," the man said, turning around as the top fell over.
"Please! Tell us anything you know."
"Alright… but first..." the man whipped back around, a shiny gold lamp in his hands. "May I interest you in a lamp?"
"Agh!" Sora groaned, putting a palm to his forehead. "You're unbelievable!"
"It'll grant all your wildest dreams!"
"Forget it!" Sora said. "Come on, guys. We're going to see Aladdin."
Apparently Aladdin's home was across the town — a fact Axel couldn't help noticing as they schlepped themselves across the town that's heat was stifling. Again Axel realized how stupid he'd been in talking them out of going to King Mickey's Castle, as that place was much smaller, not to mention had tolerable weather. As of now Axel was struggling to keep up with Kairi and Sora, both of whom, as well as being in good health, were also wearing lighter clothes than his. The most discouraging part of it was that, under normal circumstances, he would have simply been able to absorb the heat coming down on him; in fact, it would enhance his magic-casting ability. Unfortunately, because his magic had been locked, he could not utilize this advantage, and the heat was taking its toll on him as if he were a typical person with no affinity for fire. Axel was displeased.
The group was headed towards an enormous gold structure, which was obviously owned by someone quite opulent. It seemed so far in the distance, Axel thought, as he pulled himself along. He was thankful of one thing, though, and that was that the malleability of the sand he was trudging through assisted in concealing his awry walking.
"Um, Sora, who's Aladdin?" Kairi asked as they walked.
"He's my friend at the palace. You'll see."
"Okay…" She looked around then, and after seeing no one next to her, turned back to Axel.
"Axel, are you okay?" Axel was concerned by the question. He wasn't sure what had triggered it.
"Yeah," he answered right away. "It's uh… really boiling out."
"You should take your jacket off. It's attracting heat."
"Nah, don't stress it," Axel insisted.
"But you're sweating, and you just said…"
"I'm fine," he said, walking past her. She sighed.
"Okay…"
"Sora! Long time no see!" the boy Axel presumed to be Aladdin exclaimed as Sora and the others entered. He was wearing a golden crown with a white robe-like garment that appeared to be made of fur. Axel couldn't fathom how he wasn't gagging from heat exhaustion. He was sitting on a tall throne which was adjacent to a slightly shorter one, presumably for a princess or queen.
Who is this guy? The ruler of the place? Axel wondered, raising an eyebrow. He certainly didn't give off a wealthy aura.
"Yeah, hi. It has been a while… Anyway, how's Agrabah?"
"Well… not so great, to be honest. Everyone ran away and we just can't figure it out…"
"Really?" Sora blinked. "You don't know why?"
"Nope… And I can't leave to go look for them because I have to stay here and…" He seemed to be about to go on, but didn't. Then he forcedly perked up. "So, why are you guys here? And who are these two?"
"Oh, sorry. This is Kairi, and that's Axel."
"Oh, are they related?" Axel nearly choked on his own spit when he caught on to Aladdin's meaning.
"Um, no," Axel said swiftly. Kairi had given a small laugh, and Sora had reacted similarly. Axel ignored them.
"Oh, sorry. I guess we just don't see very many redheads around here."
Pft, no wonder there. It's hot as hell out here. We'd all be burnt to a crisp… even those of us that are fire element.
"Um, speaking of hair color, have you seen anyone with blond hair? We're actually here looking for him."
"Nope. Don't see many blonds either," Aladdin replied, putting a finger to his chin. "Or anyone, right now."
"Well, we're going to keep looking for him. While we're doing that, we'll try to find out what's going on. Okay?"
"Thanks, Sora. Agrabah can always count on you."
"No problem."
Regrouping, they departed from the palace and proceeded to search some more. There were plenty of places to search, as an abundance of nooks and crannies were present in the town, some of which Axel thought Sora had never been to himself, though he still seemed to know his way around pretty well. During their search, they found not a single resident, much less "Ventus". After about two hours (which felt like about twice that to Axel), Sora stopped.
"I think we've pretty well combed this place. No one's here."
"I think you're right," Kairi agreed, brushing a bead of sweat off her forehead.
"I wonder where they all could be…" Sora paused, sighing. "Well, there's no point re-checking places so soon. I guess… they just must be somewhere else. But where?"
"People don't just disappear out of nowhere. There has to be a reason."
"I think we could come back to look tomorrow if we think of anywhere else. But for now I've got nothing."
"Okay, we'll call it a day."
"I also think it's a perfect day for ice cream," he said, grinning wide. "What do you say, Axel?"
"Huh? Oh… think I'll pass." He didn't look at them while he said it.
"What? Why… why not?"
"Just don't feel like it."
"But why?"
"Can we just go already?"
"…Fine."
Guilt.
When they returned, Axel regressed back to his room with the intentions to give his wound a quick inspection and then sneak across the hall to the toilet to give it a washing. It actually quite annoyed him, as trivial as it was — the toilet across the hall thing. Whoever had designed the hotel, he thought, had done a poor job in not putting the room nearer by to the sleeping quarters. Every time he'd woken up to go for a quick whiz he'd had to go out in the hallway in nightclothes (as changing back into normal clothes just to pee certainly seemed to be too much effort; he'd long ago nixed his previous idea to only change by the toilet out of the inconvenience, so he just hoped Sora had learned that just because he had a keyblade didn't mean he should always use it), and though he knew most of the others had seen him in his pajamas, he still felt it would be awkward to encounter them in the hallway. But anyway, now it was even more of a nuisance than before.
He waited until the adjacent room was silent, then rolled his shirt up, a technique that allowed him to quickly conceal himself if someone were to come in (though hopefully they would by now realize he didn't appreciate being barged in on). Pulling the make-shift dressing up, he examined the wound and the cloth.
The fabric was bloody, for obvious reasons. The excess of blood had already dried into the stitching and was turning a sickly brown color on the side that contacted with the injury. It had stopped bleeding, at very least, though it would probably leak some more in the coming days. In order to solve this problem, Axel pulled it off, placing it back on so that the still-white side was touching his abdomen. He then knotted the piece of the bed's canopy tighter to double check its security. He felt it again to triple check, and was about to go across the hall when he heard a knock at the door, and he immediately tugged his shirt back down.
"Axel?"
"Y-yeah?" He was surprised to hear Aerith's voice; he hadn't even known that she was at the hotel today.
"Can I come in?"
"Er… yeah," Axel replied, finding no valid reason to deny her. She entered, closing the door, still standing. "Uh… something I can help you with, or what?"
"Just wanted to talk," she replied, running her left hand down her right arm.
"Uh…huh."
Uh oh. That hadn't sounded good. Just wanted to talk? The last time a woman had told him she "just wanted to talk" to him it had been his mother, and she'd just found out about his school report's apparent fondness for the letters "C" and "D".
"Goodness, what happened to this canopy?" Aerith asked suddenly, running the torn cloth through her hand. "Don't remember seeing it ripped like this."
"I… don't know," Axel answered, not looking at her. "Something coulda got caught in it."
"Maybe…" she trailed off. "Anyway, Sora was just saying how you're not being yourself. And I was… wondering."
A pause filled the air. The guilt was coming around again. There was no doubt to him that he was with a group of great friends. They'd only met him a week ago, yet they acted as if he was a regular member of their friendship circle or square, or whatever it was. But something was still stopping him, preventing him from saying anything.
"…Man, you guys worry too much. Give it a rest, already." Aerith seemed taken aback.
"We do, do we?" she said, and Axel heard a smile on her lips.
"Without a doubt," Axel said, forcing a smile.
"Alright," she said, her smile apparent now as she left. "I'll leave you alone, but … just remember, you can tell us if something is wrong, okay?"
He nodded, and she closed the door in silence.
Axel's smile faded as he rested his forehead in his hand.
"Alright, guys. I've already picked out where we're going today," Sora announced from outside the hotel.
Axel had been able to sneak across the hall and clean his wound the previous evening. It hadn't been that difficult, but he certainly was hoping to not have to do it again. He was also as certain as he could be without a medical degree that it would be best if he was stitched up, but he couldn't do that, either. This was why he knew he had to be careful not to stress it too much, or it would begin bleeding again and he would have to clean it once more. This was why he was listening with anticipation as Sora spoke.
"Oh, really?" Kairi said.
"Yeah. We're going back to Agrabah." Axel's stomach sank as Sora said this. "I realized we didn't even look in the Cave of Wonders! I mean, there's always something going on in there, right? Maybe that's where the townspeople are, and maybe Ventus is there."
"Wow, you really thought this out," Kairi commented.
"I have to use my genius for something!" Sora laughed, facing Axel. "So, you good with that?"
Axel wanted desperately to say, "No", he was not good with that at all. But he nodded anyway.
As was now typical, they returned to the ship and set off for their destination, which today was Agrabah once again. They arrived this time at a different portal, one just outside the city, in what seemed to be the lone area in the desert where greens grew. A pond was located nearby a few of the trees and bushes, so Axel soon realized it was an oasis. If not for the heat, Axel would have thought it was a nice place.
"Let's go!" Sora said excitedly, marching through the sand.
"It's that way?" Kairi asked, voicing Axel's own displeasure.
"Yeah. It's a pretty long walk, but we'll be okay… right?"
"Yeah," Kairi and Axel answered.
Sighing deeply to himself, an action which irked his abdomen, he began to walk.
Indeed, it was a long walk. Axel's side was now officially killing him, and he wasn't sure if saying that it was "killing him" was an exaggeration or not. Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, Axel closed in on Kairi and Sora, who were standing at what appeared to be the peak of the sand dunes, where they had stopped. When he arrived beside them, he gasped silently. There, sticking out of the sand like an appendage, was the same gigantic tiger head he knew, entirely made of sand grains. Its mouth was open, with stairs leading down into its innards, as if beckoning for challengers.
"Whoa, is that it?" Kairi asked, depressing her mouth.
"Yep," Sora grinned again, running ahead, descending the steps without them.
"Sora, slow dow — oh, he's gone already," she said, shaking her head. "Come on, Axel."
Following dutifully, Axel followed close behind her, a bit uneasy at the thought that the sand structure could fall atop him despite having been in it before. To his relief, the tiger neglected to collapse upon their entering. Kairi was navigating the steps carefully, searching the area, until she spotted Sora, stopped, at the bottom of the stairs.
"Uh-oh."
"What is it?" Kairi asked.
"It's different again…" Axel took a look as well. Indeed, the place looked different from when he'd been here. Drastically different. In fact, it was difficult for him to wrap his mind around the idea that the two places were the same.
"Different?"
"Well, like every time I come here the place looks different. It's weird... It's probably magic or something."
"You want to turn back?" Sora slowly wheeled himself around.
"Are you kidding? Since when have I ever said 'no' to an adventure?" Kairi smiled fondly.
"You haven't."
"Exactly. Onward march!" Forward they went, walking across the bricked floor to the dark doorway that led out of the lit room they each stood in. Sora, being Sora, pressed forward without a moment's hesitation, forcing Axel and Kairi to pursue him, though they did so more cautiously.
The room they entered was much wider and more open; it more closely resembled the Cave of Wonders that Axel was familiar with. Tall blocks of various sizes and shapes covered the area, in Axel's opinion, seeming to have no purpose at all. From here they could see another dark hallway up ahead. Sora began walking toward it, when a few Heartless appeared.
Kairi stepped back, and Axel didn't bother to move. She grabbed his hand protectively, meeting his eyes.
"Axel…"
"I wasn't gonna," he said, sighing.
"Oh," she said, not letting go. Her fingers were gently caressing his gloved palm.
Axel knew she had blatant feelings for Sora. That was a fact. So he was puzzled by the actuality that she was showing affection for him, especially after such a brief relationship.
Maybe… maybe she's just… that type? Axel thought awkwardly. But, it's weird… it seems sorta… familiar, too.
It was one of those strange feelings of familiarity, the one he felt as she held his hand. It was like when he saw someone that he recognized but couldn't place, or when he tried to think of a word he knew existed but couldn't recall at that moment. Like he was almost there, so close to remembering something, but it wouldn't come; it would just remain there, a stone unturned in the pit of his mind. And then he would forget about it, and it would be lost — but Axel was hanging onto this one. It just seemed too important to forget, who she could possibly remind him of. He recalled no girls, in his Nobody or Somebody life, who'd ever acted this way towards him.
Axel's attention fled from her hand with some effort, and he noticed the Heartless before them. There were a couple of Large Armors as well as a few Bandits; it was nothing Sora couldn't handle by himself. And nothing Axel would be able to help him with, especially in this state. After Sora finished off the enemies, he waved a hand for them to tail him through the next hallway, and while Kairi let go of his hand, he wouldn't let go of the feeling.
There were quite a few hallways that followed that appeared identical to the ones before them, and Axel couldn't help but wonder where these endless matching rooms were leading them. But then, at last, after enduring at least seven of the indistinguishable rooms, they came to a room where something was different: to their right, a staircase spiraled down into the black depths of the cave.
"A staircase!" Sora exclaimed obviously. "Let's go, guys!"
He practically jumped down the stairs, waiting for Kairi and Axel at the bottom. His hand was to his forehead as he scanned from the left to the right. They were in another room of the same bland tan color as the rest of the cave's architecture with three apparent directions to go in.
"Which way should we go now?" Sora asked, dropping his hand to his side.
"Let's go to the left," Kairi suggested, probably off the cuff.
"Well… okay."
Entering yet another darkened hallway, Axel heard Sora make a sound similar to "oh!" — a statue was before them, an ape holding a magenta gem that glowed. The look on the ape's face struck Axel as a tad demonic; it was covered with a smirk that spread the entire length of its features. But even more so it looked greedy; the way its eyes were hooked on the sparkling gem in its cold, cement hands was almost unnerving.
"I know how these work. You just have to touch it, and a secret passage opens up. Cool, huh?" Sora said, touching it without waiting for any responses.
Fear appeared in Axel's mind very suddenly, fear of what might result from the action; the area didn't seem stable, something didn't seem right. Maybe he was being paranoid, but maybe not. If he was worried rightfully, if he was in danger, it could all end right here. After all he went through: from a Somebody to a Nobody to a Middlebody, and it could all just end at this very moment. In this one instant, his life could be changed.
