Okay, for the first time in a while, I'm actually writing the author note before writing the main chapter. Gah. :P I just thought I would put a little mildly interesting aside that I recently watched Inside Out, and it kind of makes me want to just write the next chapter of Unforgettable and include it in the word count. That is one disadvantage of NaNoWriMo—all other writing projects stop unless you're willing to 'cheat' on your novel a little. :P I decided to promise right now that no matter what happens, I will finish this story. You will see the words 'the end' before December 1st, I promise. :)
Well, that's enough NaNo angst for one author note. Onwards to the real chapter!
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The Longest Night
Chapter XII
The Reluctant Father
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Roxas took a long, deep breath. "So that's it."
Axel nodded. "Yeah. That's it."
Roxas realized he was shaking his head without realizing it. He didn't try to stop. "So…we're both Sora, then?"
Axel sighed. "No. For any other Nobody, that would be true. But you two…you're special. You can coexist with Sora somehow, as long as you don't get too close to him. So you're separate people."
Roxas rubbed his face. "You know what? No. We can't coexist. Xion is supposed to drain my power, right?"
"Well, yeah, but it seems to have stopped. At least, I hope so."
"And it's Sora who's the link that lets her do that. Right?"
"I think that's how it works, yeah."
Roxas looked Axel in the eye. "Then all three of us can't exist at the same time. Either Xion will absorb me, I'll absorb her, or Sora will absorb both of us…or…"
Axel's face showed he knew what was coming. "Or what?"
"…Or we absorb Sora."
Axel shook his head. "That isn't how it works, Roxas. This whole situation isn't supposed to be happening. It's one big cosmic glitch. And for the universe, the easiest way out is to get rid of the people who don't exist."
"Axel, we do exist."
"Don't say things like that, Roxas. It's dangerous."
"But how can we not exist?" Roxas started counting on his fingers. "We can be seen. We can be heard. We can be touched. We can see and hear and touch other things. We can see and hear and touch each other."
"None of that matters to the universe. To the universe, existence means having a heart."
"Tables don't have hearts. Ice cream doesn't have a heart. The clocktower doesn't have a heart."
Axel held Roxas by the shoulders. "Roxas. Stop it. It's dangerous to say stuff like this, okay? If Xemnas heard all this, he'd think you were a traitor. Then he'd get rid of both of you. Do you understand me?"
Roxas thought for a second, then sighed. "…Sorry. I just…" He dropped his voice to a whisper. "I really hate the Organization now."
Axel pulled Roxas into a hug. "I know. But I can't lose you guys."
Roxas closed his eyes. "That's why we need to get rid of Sora. So that we can stay together forever."
"If it were that simple…"
Roxas looked up. "Would you kill him? If it were that simple?"
Axel bit his lip. "…Maybe I would try. But I probably wouldn't have it in me to kill a kid. Especially a kid who's so connected to you, so similar to you."
"Then I'll kill him."
"No. He would just absorb you."
"Not if I kill him before he can do that."
Axel hugged Roxas a little tighter. "Look…I don't want to take this risk. And killing people is a really bad thing, okay? You want to avoid it as much as you possibly can. When you've killed someone, that never goes away. It just follows you around forever. And I don't want you to have to deal with that kind of burden."
Roxas sighed. "I can handle it if it means Xion will be safe."
"Roxas, please…you have to get this idea out of your head."
"Why are you treating me like a little kid?"
Axel seemed to let out a small, sad laugh. "Probably a side-effect of being the father of this family."
"What's a father?"
"A father…I guess a father is pretty much everything I am. So I'm a father. How about that?"
Roxas couldn't help but smile. "You're a good father, then."
"That's good to hear." Axel tightened his grip on Roxas as much as he could. "We're going to get through this, no matter what happens, okay?"
"I know. But we have to keep Xion safe."
"We'll find a way. I promise."
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Occasionally, Zexion would look up from his book to check on Xion. She was still out cold. That was good. As long as she was asleep, she couldn't try anything dangerous and her body and mind had time to heal. Of course, Zexion didn't know yet how to heal her properly, but he kind of hoped some natural system in her body would do all the work for him.
"Poppet's cute when she's asleep, isn't she?"
Zexion turned. "Could you please get out?"
Xigbar laughed. "Hey, where did your manners go?"
"Says the one who calls Xion 'Poppet' for no reason except to make fun of her origins."
Xigbar crossed his arms, smiling. "Well, it's probably worse manners to go against the plan we agreed upon, isn't it?"
Zexion put on the poker face that had been known to fool Luxord. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've followed the plan to the letter."
Xigbar snorted. "As if. Don't play dumb, Bookworm. I heard everything you told our little witch. You know what, I'll call her Witch, I've been looking for a good nickname."
"Mind refreshing my memory on what I told her?"
"Oh, only about how she can control people's memories and potentially destroy us all. Ring a bell?"
Zexion sighed. "In that case, I must admit that I don't understand how telling someone what their job is makes you a traitor."
"There was also that little part about how you told her to stop drawing, putting the entire plan in jeopardy…but you know, that's no big deal, right?"
Zexion stood up. Xigbar was slightly taller than him, but that didn't intimidate him one bit. "I'm trying to heal her. She's part of the Underground Group. My group, my rules."
Xigbar shook his head. "Not according to Roseboy. He thinks you kind of overstepped your bounds here. But don't worry. We'll let you off with a warning as long as you do something for us."
"Blackmail. You take after Axel."
"Kid, I was using blackmail before Flamesilocks was even conceived. Now, here's what you're going to do. Remember Riku? Capture him, see what the Replica Program can really do."
Zexion raised his eyebrow. "You make Replica creation sound simple."
Xigbar shrugged. "Hey, I'm just assigning the task. It's up to you to carry it out."
"And let me guess. If I refuse, you blast my head off when I least expect it."
"More or less."
"Then I don't have a choice, now do I?" Zexion stuck his hand out. "It shall be done."
Xigbar took the hand and shook it in an overly theatrical fashion. "Great to do business with you, Bookworm! Now. About Witch. Where is she?"
"I moved her to Lexaeus' room. She says she has fun with the puzzles. Why?"
"Roseboy wants a little private chat with her."
Zexion thought about this. He got the feeling that this 'chat' wouldn't be too civil. But just because he didn't have a choice in a matter didn't have to mean he couldn't exert some amount of control, as long as he played his cards right.
He pretended to go back to his book. "All right. On the condition that Lexaeus goes with her. And be sure to tell him that I sent him."
Xigbar laughed. "You understand that I know that you want him to be her bodyguard, right? Don't think I don't see right through you."
"I figured that you would. But remember, you need Namine too. Don't you?"
Xigbar grinned. "True, very true. You're finally catching on to the big game, huh?"
"Catching on?" Zexion snorted. "Xigbar, I've been playing the game since I joined the Organization. Playing the game means survival."
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There we go. A nice twenty thousand words. Well, more twenty thousand, seven hundred and thirty nine. (I know that was not proper formatting. :P) And I'm FINALLY out of week two, the hardest part of this whole endeavor. As far as I see it, I can really only go up from here. :)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for lucky chapter thirteen!
