Chapter 13
"No. Absolutely not."
Roxas gaped at her, then sent a look over at 7. 7 didn't look very surprised. R had left—she'd left sometime before Roxas had brought Xion here to discuss the idea of removing her Keyblade from her data.
"Aw, Xi, come on!" The shortening of her name slipped from his mouth before he fully realized it, but she didn't seem to mind, and there were more important things to worry about than taking it back. "Having a Keyblade will tie you to the Organization, just like it's tied me to them. I thought you wanted—"
"I don't care," Xion interrupted. Her arms were folded across her chest and her nose was in the air. "I- I like having a Keyblade. I… I can't explain it, but… I like having a Keyblade. What good am I without it?"
"Alive!" Wasn't that obvious? "That Larxene was right—not having a Keyblade means you can leave the Organization, leave Castle Oblivion, and no one will hunt you down. You'll- you'll be free." Hadn't she mentioned wanting to be free? Or was he imagining things?
She considered him a moment, the up-turn of her nose falling. She sighed, then shook her head. She appeared to be hugging herself as much as she had her arms over her chest for defiance. "I want to keep my Keyblade," she said.
"But—"
"It's her choice, Roxas," 7 interrupted.
Roxas sent a furious glance at him. Shouldn't he be helping? "But—"
7 continued as if he hadn't even spoken. "The moment I can, I will return the ability to you, Xion. I promise."
She smiled at him, a small smile, but there was a fire in her eyes. A determination. A desire. It was the sight of that fire that made Roxas close his mouth completely, the sight of that fire that made him back down. What right did he have to take her Keyblade from her? Even with the intention of keeping her safe…
"Any luck on working out how to fix me, by the way?" Xion asked, pleasantly enough.
All pleasantry fell from 7's face, for a moment, and then it was back in a thin mask. An attempt at reassuring them, at putting a happy spin on things. Roxas bit back an ill-tempered laugh. Like there was any use in pretending anything was alright when it wasn't.
"Well… Your data is collapsing on itself at an… unfortunately very steady rate," 7 said. His voice was heavy, likely heavier than he'd intended. "I- I figured out why it won't take changes to your Code, by the way—by the time I've unscrambled one portion, another has been scrambled, and it won't accept changes until all of it's been unscrambled, which, unfortunately, is a task easier said than done."
"Other parts are scrambled?" Xion frowned. "But what's been scrambled besides my Keyblade?"
7 sent her a rather no-nonsense type of look. "Tell me how your eyesight's been."
"It's been—oh." Xion paused. "I guess it has gotten… a little blurry."
"Exactly," 7 said, pausing only to sigh. "Not to mention some of your vital functions…"
Roxas got the feeling he hadn't meant that last bit to be heard, or maybe he had, but it was a wonder with how low his voice was when he said it. Roxas licked his lips, not sure where to butt in on the conversation, not sure what to say at all.
"Those are going, too….?"
Xion almost sounded resigned. Roxas's heart caught in his throat.
"They were doomed from the start, unfortunately." 7 sighed again, rubbing at his face. "I'm… I'm very sorry I…" He broke off, shaking his head.
"What?" Xion pressed.
He shook his head again. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't think like that. I'm only… I'm only sorry I can't figure out how to help you, Xion." 7 let out a long breath, reaching up in a gesture Roxas recognized again as trying to adjust a set of glasses that weren't there. "I thought, after all of R's viruses, something like this would be nothing, but no matter how much I puzzle, I can't… I can't figure it out."
"What do you mean you can't?" and now Roxas butt in, anger flooding him like white-hot fire. He gripped the back of the chair he was sitting in, arms trembling. The look Xion sent him made him try and calm himself. She looked… disappointed, more than anything. Disappointed in him…?
"It's… It's just harder than I'd initially anticipated," 7 corrected. His tone changed drastically, from unease to something calmer, firmer. "I won't stop trying, I just… I can't… I will try, as hard as I can, Xion." He moved his attention to her, face cracking into a reassuring smile. "I will try."
"Can you ask R?" Xion asked. "I mean, she seems to be good with computers and Coding and stuff."
Roxas nodded, quickly. "Yeah! I mean, if she wrote all those viruses…"
7 stared, looking quite uncomfortable all of a sudden. He blinked rapidly, then opened his mouth to speak, only to close it. After coughing, he finally said: "I, I suppose I can ask her for her opinion… I didn't really… want to, but…" He swallowed. Closed his eyes. "I will ask. My pride is not worth your life."
"Thank you, 7," Xion said. "For everything you've done."
"I…" He hesitated a moment. "You're welcome."
xxx
Xion wasn't much in the mood to hang out after that, so Roxas stayed only long enough to drop her off at her room. He did decide to walk back to the Main Room of Castle Oblivion, first, though he knew it was unnecessary and generally inefficient. He was fairly glad he did, as it turned out. Stumbling on 29—especially in this state—certainly wasn't a pleasure, but perhaps it was for the better.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
29 jumped, as if startled, and hastily wiped his eyes. Roxas had already figured he was crying, choking sobs like he'd been, and this only confirmed it. It was strange to see a Vexen cry, but it brought a lump to his throat regardless.
"I'm—" 29 started to nod, and then he shook his head, face contorted. He took a couple of breaths, though they didn't seem to do him any good. He was still a stuttering and shaking mess when he spoke, when he explained: "Saix has… he's started 'purging' the Program of- of those he deems…" 29 stopped there. He spent so long swallowing sobs that Roxas wasn't sure he would continue for a moment. "M-mistakes," he ground out, finally.
Roxas's eyes flew open wide.
"Joseph?"
29 shook his head. "No. Not yet. Thank goodness. I- I hope that- that moving him here and keeping him… keeping him occupied might spare him, but…" He pursed his lips together, with a great effort seeming to hold back another sob. "Ray-Raymond's gone."
The name brought a flash of an image—a boy with pink hair—to Roxas's mind.
"Raymond…?" he asked. "Is that- Is that the boy Joseph's usually playing with?"
29 nodded.
"The one who nearly broke the chandelier?"
"No, that was Patrick."
That name brought a flash of blond hair and a boyish smirk to Roxas's mind's eye. He nodded, remembering now. They'd both been bugging Xion that one day, in Joseph's attempt to get her away from Axel—though he'd seen them and Joseph together plenty a time, up to mischief more often than not. Raymond had been the quieter, nicer one.
"Oh," Roxas said. He swallowed around the lump in his throat. "That's still…" He didn't know what to say. What was there to say, that would be enough to make up for the death of someone? There wasn't anything, really. "That's… that's awful," he said, finally. What else could he say?
"I- I don't know what to tell Joseph-" 29 raked a hand through his hair. Roxas didn't see the point in telling this to him, but at this point, it seemed like 29 was blabbering. He was still crying, too. "How- how do I tell him that- How… How do I…?"
Roxas shook his head. "I don't know. I'm sorry."
He only wished there was more he could say.
"Okay. That's okay." 29 nodded, wiping his eyes again. It didn't seem like a proper answer, in a lot of ways. Roxas wasn't sure if he could blame him, though. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't be," Roxas said, quickly. "I understand completely. This is- this is terrible news, and… I can't imagine if it were Xion…" The thought horrified him. It infuriated him. "This isn't- this isn't okay! Can we stop it? Can we stop Saix?"
29 shook his head. "None of us are important enough to make a difference." He sounded resigned, and that made Roxas's blood boil further. "Anyone who risks speaking out against him—fighting against him—would be killed. A couple Replicas here and there don't matter to him. It never has."
Roxas sighed, but 29 was right. He'd heard it himself. "Besides, it's not like we can't just replace them,"—cruel words, from a cruel master, from a man who never should've been given the Program to begin with.
Then he remembered what else had been said, during that meeting.
"…I'm important enough."
29 stared a moment. Hope seemed to burn in his eyes, before fading. "He won't listen."
"But I can try," Roxas argued. There was no doubting it. There was no going back. "He can't kill me, because Xemnas wouldn't have it. He may not listen but, I have to try. And I can ask Axel—he and Saix used to be friends, I think. If I can't talk some sense into him, maybe Axel can."
29 chuckled, a broken thing. "By all means, Roxas. Go for it."
"I will." Roxas nodded. "I will, and I'll let you know how it goes. I will."