Riku shook his head. "Sora, Roxas can't have a Nobody—he is a Nobody."
He's right, Sora. It's impossible.
"Well," Sora retorted, a bit irritated that his supposedly ingenious revelation was now being shot down, "if it isn't his Nobody, then I can at least say that there's some connection of existence between Roxas and someone in the Organization. There's no other explanation for why they'd keep sparing him."
Again, that leaves a gap. If someone in the Organization is tied to my existence, why would they kill you? That would kill them, too.
"Obviously, they're planning to kill me at any cost. Xarik made that quite clear the times I've seen her. I guess…" Sora thought to himself, trying to organize all his thoughts. "I guess that would mean that they've chosen this one member to die—regardless of anything else."
Fayxt sat on the floor, his back against the wall as he stared ahead of himself blankly. His silvery eyes glazed over as he remained motionless and unblinking, listening to the echoing footsteps as the crossed back and forth across the huge room. Every pang of the boots on the glass floor registered an exact location in his mind's eye—the only form of sight he had ever, and would ever, have. Being blind has its disadvantages, but Fayxt had conditioned himself to recognize localities so well, most could never tell he was blind from a first impression.
"Fayxt?" a voice asked. The footsteps had stopped, thus Fayxt turned to his hearing to adjust. Judging by the volume of the voice and the vibrations off of the walls, the one speaking to him was about five feet away—to the left? Yes. All this had been determined in a matter of seconds, and as Fayxt turned in the direction of the sound, he nodded in acknowledgement.
"Yes, Superior?"
The Superior sighed, watching the boy with slight apprehension. He was afraid of what kind of reaction he might get after giving his opinion on the situation. "You know as well as I that this operation is getting nowhere. It's a disaster." Expecting an immediate answer, he was slightly surprised by the silence. "Well?"
Fayxt scoffed quietly, looking at the ceiling as the quiet chuckling rose into a demonic laugh. "Oh, Xukri," he muttered, "you're failing to see the point."
"Am I?" The Superior asked. "If I recall properly, it was not you who pieced this plan together. How would you come to know so much of it?"
"Easily, sir," the boy replied. "Of all people, you must realize that this plan revolves around no one but myself and Sora. Am I correct in saying so?"
The Superior paused. "You are."
"So, then, it would be an acceptable assumption that I might know a thing or two about what is going on here?"
"…I suppose it would."
Fayxt stood up, crossing the room until he reached a large, glass table. Sitting in the one chair that was placed at the head of it, he reclined back and turned in place, apparently visualizing all the pictures on the walls. "All these scribbles—they're her work. Drawings of what was to happen next." He grinned cynically. "How come there isn't one for my death?"
"She was gone long before you were here. Even before I was here."
"All during the Slumber." The Superior nodded, and Fayxt got out of the chair again, walking around the table aimlessly. After a few moments, he laughed again. "You're still not able to recognize how wrong you are about this predicament."
"I don't see what you're saying."
"Exactly," the boy said, his voice rising slightly. "Because you know less than you pretend to." His leader held up a hand, but he immediately summoned his weapon, holding out in front of him. Shocked, The Superior put his hand back at his side, staring at the black blade that was now pointed at his face. Tightening his hand around the red handle, Fayxt gritted his teeth. "You lack the sense to see that this plan is working quite well. The Taro boy is out of his home world, leaving it vulnerable, and now he's with Sora; don't you see, we can kill two birds with one stone! Sora's still trying to figure out that damned letter—little does he know that the King didn't write it at all, that it was forged, that this whole entire thing…." the boy grinned evilly, his eyes glinting with satanic amusement. "….this whole entire thing was planned. He has no idea at all that we're luring him in. When he goes somewhere, I know. We follow him, plan a trap around that information, and whether it fails or not, it's all working towards the same goal—catching him off-guard, right at the perfect moment, and killing him." Lowering the Keyblade-like sword, he shrugged. "It will also mean my death." He sneered up at his leader. "But none of you care, do you? You all want me to die quickly, so you can be rid of me. I'm nothing but a curse, a reminder of that….that deserter, Roxas."
The Superior stood in shock, completely surprised in the fact that he had truly been wrong about the condition of their efforts to kill Sora. There was still one thing, however…. "What about the reincarnation cycle? We can't alter destiny, can we?"
As he walked towards the door, Fayxt turned slightly as he answered.
"Sora has a Nobody, Xukri. He's disrupted up the cycle enough. As long as we kill him, then destiny will be thrown off its course for good. You need not worry." He chuckled lightly as he stepped out the door. "You're not thinking that Riku could possibly take over, just because he was supposed to be the Keyblade Master?"
The Superior—Xukri—hung his head. "I should hope not."
"Of course, because where would that leave you?" Fayxt laughed coldly, pushing open the door as he started down the hall. "You'd be just like Roxas."
Leon took the letter from Sora's hand. "So, can we have anything new to say about this letter? At all?" He seemed desperate, which was understandable—it had been nearly two months since the entire ordeal had begun, and there was still absolutely nothing they could piece together. Thus, when Sora shook his head slowly, he groaned loudly and stormed out of the room.
"Well…" Yuffie mumbled, watching Leon leave with a concerned expression, "I guess that we'll know when the time is right." Turning to Sora, she grinned. "Are you up for walking around a little? It might be good for you."
The boy paused, lost in his own thoughts. Absentmindedly, he nodded, and scooted towards the edge of the bed, flinching slightly as his side began to burn. Yuffie and Riku lifted him onto his feet, letting him lean on them as he attempted to come to a stable position. When he did, they let go, and he followed them into the kitchen. Kairi, sitting in one of the chairs at the small table, turned her head as the three came in. Noticing Sora, she jumped up and rushed to his side, helping him sit down in the chair beside her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, reading the uncertainty on his face. He only shrugged, gnawing on his lip nervously.
"Nothing, it's…nothing," he murmured. "I'm just a little confused right now."
"All right," Kairi whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder gently. Smiling softly, Sora lifted his hand and laid it on top of hers, his doubt lifting momentarily as he reveled in the joy of being back at his home-away-from-home.
But still, there was that question deep inside him—Is there something even I don't know about myself? And if so…who knows it?
Roxas! You're back.
Glad to be back…sort of.
Why "sort of"?
It's just…Namine, remember when we first met? In Twilight Town?
Of course I do. It's one of my most vivid memories, from before we were last ourselves.
There were things you knew about me that I didn't even realize. It was a strange feeling, knowing that the person you thought you were wasn't you at all. And after what Sora said about the letter, I'm wondering if it's happening again.
Well, what did he come up with?
He thinks that there's a connection between me and one of the members of this "new" Organization.
…but why would he think that? You left the original Organization so long before it fell…what could they possibly want from you?
They heard about me, somehow, and they're not exactly pleased with how I quit. I'm seen as a traitor to them—they hate me, Namine. More than you know. Every time we see them, Sora ends up getting hurt somehow—near death. Not only are they powerful, but he's not exactly fighting back with everything he has. He's still putting too much restraint on himself.
So you end up coming in contact with these new members? And they threaten you?
With words, not actions. Which is why Sora thinks there's some connection—every time I come into the picture, they leave without so much as scratching me. They're trying to keep me alive, and waiting until it's both Sora and I to make their kill.
But if there's a connection, they'd be killing one of their own in the process.
To them, it doesn't matter, so long as Sora's dead. Apparently, losing one isn't as costly as losing the chance to complete their mission.
And this leads to when we met…how?
They know something about me that I don't. I hate having to live with that—it was hard enough the first time I went through something like this. I don't want to be used as a pawn anymore. I want to be able to know that how I see myself is how I really am, not an illusion.
Roxas…I know you're wishing it was wrong, but I think what Sora's saying is true.
………
And you do trust me, right?
More than anything.
But do you trust yourself?
I wish.
I wish you did, too. Because trusting yourself is the only way you're going to get your questions answered. If you want to know something about yourself, you've got to be able to see the answer when it's in front of you, and not doubt the truth. It's how I managed to see through all the secrets and lies, and how I managed to find you in Twilight Town and help the both of us stay on the right path. I had to trust what was true, no matter how much it hurt to admit it. Without that, we wouldn't be where we were today. We'd truly be nothing.
But…what if I don't know the truth when I see it?
Like I said. Trust yourself, and you'll know right away.
Amid all the chattering in the kitchen of the small house, Sora became briefly aware of the sound of footsteps outside. Choosing to ignore it, he went back to leisurely sipping from his can of soda, tapping his thumb against the aluminum side and listening to the rhythm as it mixed with all the other noise. A few seconds later, however, the footsteps returned, and he had barely enough time to look up before the door swung open at light speed, revealing a beaming Cid, followed by Taro and Cloud.
"HEY THERE, SORA!!!" Cid called loudly, lifting his hand to deliver his usual greeting of a slap on the back. Everyone in the room, excluding Taro, leapt forward with a shout of "CID! DON'T!" as Sora attempted to make an escape. Cid, having noticed that something was amiss, made note of Sora's bandaged side and stepped back a little. "Hurt again...kid, you've got to get better at this combat thing." Without an answer, Sora climbed back into his chair, shooting Kairi a far-too-relieved glance that sent her into a fit of laughter. Aerith walked into the room unexpectedly. Cloud, noticing her, crossed the room and came to her side, his face expressionless.
"How's your arm?" Riku asked, nodding towards the sling. Cloud shrugged.
"I can use it…"
"…but not well," Aerith finished, smirking at him. "Unfortunately, he won't be fighting anytime soon. Riku, Sora, Taro…you'll be continuing this journey on your own."
Sora's face flushed pale. "But…"
"I understand that Cloud was a source of protection and support for you all, but he's in no condition to continue with this. We're returning to Hollow Bastion next week, to help with more reconstruction, and Cloud will be staying with us."
"So…where does that leave us three?" Riku asked, his tone coming off as slightly annoyed and distressed.
"You're coming, too," Leon muttered, his patience apparently wearing thinner with each passing moment. In response to their puzzled looks, he quickly added, "you obviously came back here to start over, am I right?"
"You are," Sora muttered, finally coming into the conversation.
"Not only that, but Taro needs to be brought up to date and prepared for the journey ahead, and you, Sora, need to heal a considerable amount. Some time off won't hurt," Yuffie chirped, crushing Taro in another hug. "After you're all set, the three of you will leave. As long as we keep in touch and go about this in a more…brilliant way, then it should work fine."
Cid cleared his throat as he attempted to cut into the discussion. He was met with silence, and therefore spoke up. "A friend of mine has a daughter living in Hollow Bastion right now. Member of the Resistance. She could help out some."
"Resistance?" Riku asked, pushing his bangs out of his face. "What's that?"
"They were against the original experimentation done by Ansem the Wise. Their belief was that the heart was not a thing to be researched. Sort of like environmentalists, only…not," Yuffie explained. "Since he disappeared and all this business with Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XIII came up, they've turned their focus to knowing everything they can about them. They've been waiting quite some time for a way to fight back again, and I'm sure they wouldn't refuse a meeting with the Keyblade Master himself!"
Sora, sitting beside Kairi, shrugged, a smirk spreading across his face. "I suppose I could sign a few autographs…maybe a few photo ops?"
A loud groan of disgust echoed in the room, and everyone immediately turned to Riku. His blue-green eyes matching the amused expression on his face, the silver-haired boy smirked right back at his friend and shook his head. "You're pitiful."
Author's note: This chapter (while shorter than I had hoped...) reveals a lot about Fayxt and The Superior (as long as you read carefully and think back to other chapters). Does anyone have any guesses as to what time period "The Slumber" refers to? I'll give you a hint--it takes place during the story of KH2.
Also, does anyone think they know what Fayxt's weapon is? I need a specific name--your hint is that it was featured in KH1.
Please visit and submit your answers using the form found on the Comments/Suggestions page. I will recieve your guesses by email: any correct guesses will be announced with the release of the next chapter. DO NOT post guesses with your comments on this site I wouldn't want to spoil it for other readers. Thank you and good luck!
