.
Chapter XX: Return to Pooh Corner
"What day is it?" asked Pooh
"It's today." Squeaked Piglet
"My favorite day." Said Pooh
~Winnie-the-Pooh
The feel of soft grass on his back; a voice whispering in his ear with a tickling warmth—
"Don't ever forget, wherever you go, I'm always with you."
A small and soft hand in his; so much left unsaid—
"I know you will!"
On the Islands, relaxed in the sand, enjoying the final warm rays of the sun as it set across the endless ocean in his favorite reds and oranges. Eyes closed, listening to the waves washing ashore with their rhythmic calm, wind rustling the Island's trees. His hand slowly crept toward hers, the touch of his pinkie to the edge of her palm made his heart race.
"Hey, Kairi, I—" Sora turned, blushing, but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, blank, white, space extended out away from him in every direction—every hint of color exterminated; every sight, smell and sound purged; Kairi, lost.
The sound of footsteps chilled Sora as he rolled over to see an approaching black coat. Dark gray hair, bordering silver; nearly glowing yellow eyes; a completely empty expression.
A frighteningly manufactured smile crept across Xemnas' face.
"A better world."
Sora snapped awake with a gasp, nearly knocking his head against the low ceiling of Merlin's attic. The earliest rays of light were peeking through the dusty windows, accompanied by the murmured sounds of the stirring town outside. Across from him, Donald and Goofy still slept soundly.
Just a dream.
Much to his frustration, Sora felt no desire to return to sleep. Instead, with a sigh, he rolled himself out of bed and quietly slipped through the trapdoor into Merlin's house below. They had returned here after leaving Beast's Castle, somewhat at a loss for what to do next. How were they supposed to find the Organization? More importantly, find Kairi, Riku and the King? For that matter, why was it that he had been asking himself that same question for ages? Why couldn't everyone just stay put for a minute?
Descending into Merlin's living space, Sora smelled the familiar scents of breakfast wafting through the wizard's house. Sora followed after his nose, wiping what remained of the sleep from his eyes, until he came upon Merlin magically directing his entire kitchen—spoons mixed bowls of batter on their own, bacon was flipped on self-directed and sizzling frying pans, and small oranges bounced along in the air only to collapse in on themselves, squeezed out over a large basin.
"Ah, young man, I did not expect your eagerness for magic to overpower your love of the pillow!" Merlin chuckled over his shoulder as his bony hands directed the ongoing culinary orchestra.
Sora smiled slightly as he pulled up a wooden stool, "Believe me, I'd love to be asleep right now."
"Well, we shall get to Thundaga in due course! In the meantime," the basin tipped itself slightly, pouring a cup full of juice, "How are you?"
Taking the fresh drink, Sora guzzled it down in one gulp. "Huh?"
"Well, you have been through quite a lot, young man." Merlin raised one bushy eyebrow, "So how are you?"
"I'm alright, I guess." Sora responded thoughtfully.
Merlin smirked, "Having played grandfather to many, Sora, I can tell you this: there's nothing 'alright' about a man of your age being awake at this early hour."
Sora smiled in return, but still couldn't help but fidget, "Well, I had a dream…"
"Oh?" Merlin questioned, as he turned his attention back to the breakfast preparations.
"I guess I don't know how to help anymore—" Sora leaned to look past the wizard, trying to glimpse the sizzling bacon, "I don't even know where to start. Riku and the King are still missing and now…" he quieted, "…Kairi is still with the Organization," he leaned back in his chair and sighed, "And here I am having breakfast! I've gotta go—"
As Sora shoved himself away from the table and turned to leave, Merlin quickly called after him, "And go where, son?"
"Everyone needs my help; I can't be sleeping, or eating or anything! Kairi's out there!" Sora continued, voice becoming agitated.
"Mmmm…you know, Sora, when you left Traverse Town for the first time how do you think we all felt?" Merlin asked.
"Huh?" Sora tilted his head, "Well, you guys seemed to be pretty confident—"
"Oh, but we were also plenty worried," Merlin chuckled, "You should've seen Aerith when you first left. She was yelling at Squall; thinking he had sent you off to your doom!"
"Really?" Sora asked, returning slowly to the table where a placemat had set itself up for him.
Merlin nodded, "Oh, absolutely! But you know, the second time you left to return to Hollow Bastion, one of us wasn't worried at all."
"Who was that?" Sora asked.
"Our own newly revealed Princess! You know what she told us?" Merlin smiled back at the memory.
"What?" Sora asked, as three crispy slices of bacon settled themselves on a plate before him.
"She said, 'Trust me. If you knew Sora like I do, you wouldn't be so worried.'"
Sora's heart warmed, "So you're telling me to trust in myself like Kairi did?"
Merlin chuckled, "Not at all! I'm telling you to trust in Kairi. And in Riku, and in the King—after all, you know them, too. Soon enough, you'll find a way to them."
"Huh…" Sora blinked, "I had never thought about it that way before."
"Trust them, Sora." Merlin smiled as breakfast finished making itself, "And as for helping, well-tell me, have you been finding those special pages?"
With his characteristic stealth, Axel crept through the remarkably empty halls of The Castle that Never Was. The whiteness of the marble walls stuck out to him in a way they hadn't before—had it always been this empty?
A dash past an open archway and he was deeper into the Castle. He had also forgotten how much walking sucked. He couldn't use the darkness to reach the dungeon directly, no, that'd create too much of a trail. Zexion used to say he could smell them…so he had walked all the way from the outskirts of the dark city that the immense white castle floated over—and, wow, did his legs hurt now.
It was pretty funny, though, that he could use the darkness to even get to the outskirts in the first place. He'd figured that they would've blocked his signature by now. But here he was, climbing around in the belly of the beast, with Luxy, Xiggy and Saix wandering around somewhere. Much to his luck, the boss was away from the Castle—a rarity for him, since Xemnas seldom even left the Altar of Naught; a spitting distance from the growing Kingdom Hearts that hung in the sky. It was damn creepy to Axel that Xemnas didn't die of boredom up there.
Axel paused. Aw, sh*t. Every hallway in the damn castle looked the same. How had he ever lived here?
Namine slowed her breath as she watched Sora approach a short, yellow bear that sat on a log, tapping at his own head with a rounded paw. After escaping from DiZ, she had felt so lost. No Roxas, no DiZ, no Riku…not even Axel. Where was she to go?
After some errant traveling through the darkness, she had found her way to Hollow Bastion and, recognizing it by its profound resonance in Sora's memories, had decided to stay there. It only took a short time, then, to find Sora and his friends and only a little more stealth to follow him into this strange, storybook world that she also recalled from sorting his memories: the Hundred Acre Wood.
She gulped. What was she even doing here? What if he saw her? Should she just go announce herself? Straining to hear through the somewhat blustery day, Namine could just make out the conversation Sora had struck up.
"Hey there, Pooh! How's it going?" Sora started, with all his characteristic friendliness. Namine missed that.
"Why, hello there, somebody-I-don't-know!" the small, round bear-Winnie-the-Pooh—replied.
Confusion clouded Sora's face, "What're you talking about Pooh? You know me!"
Pooh shook his head, but maintained a friendly smile, "I'm sorry, kind Somebody! Oh dear, I've been forgetting so many friends…I've had to say goodbye to them all!"
"What do you mean, Pooh? Where did everyone go?" Sora asked.
"If only I knew! But if it keeps going, soon I'll have to say goodbye to myself!" Pooh responded, "Think-think-think….how do you say goodbye to yourself?"
Namine flinched. Not long ago, that might as well have been Sora. No memories, barely even a memory of himself—all by her hand. No, that was the reason why she couldn't even say hello, no matter how much she wanted to. She had hurt him too much.
"Uhhh, well…" Sora shifted to sit beside Pooh on the log in the clearing, "When did you start forgetting?"
"Oh bother, I've forgotten that, too!" Pooh responded, shaking his head.
Namine wondered what had happened to this poor bear. It didn't appear that anyone had tampered with his memories—perhaps something had happened to this world. Was that why Sora had to find all those pages?
Suddenly, the wind picked up and a small, high-pitched voice was heard approaching with it.
"Ohhhh deeaaarrr-heeeelp meeeeee!"
"Piglet!" Sora exclaimed, seeing clearly what Namine only just caught sight of: a pink figure with stout arms and legs and a thin face with floppy ears; so small and weightless that he had been picked up and carried along by the great wind.
In a flash, Sora was off the log and running after the terrified cries. Not that Namine would've ever questioned that Sora would do differently—all that effortless, unthinking eagerness to help—that was Sora. At Oblivion, he had been so unwaveringly dedicated to helping her, even when she had told him it was all an illusion. He just cared for everyone; it didn't matter whether he even knew them or not…and there she had been, selfishly manipulating his memories to bend all that love towards herself, away from everyone else, like a black hole. Namine shuddered at such an obscenity which perverted everything that was "Sora"; something the real Kairi would never wanted…
No longer able to even look at Sora, Namine's eyes drifted along to Pooh, waddling behind him. The poor creature seemed interested in the goings-on, but didn't appear to remember his diminutive friend. Was there something she could do to help his memory? She was a…memory witch, after all. So as she followed off after Sora at a long distance, Namine began to absently consider her diagnostic options—how could she help this little friend of Sora's?
Axel froze as he rounded another corner, for he had come face-to-face with Luxord. Neither flinched, for neither had fear anymore, but instead Luxord calmly continued to sip his tea from his white china cup while Axel's mind flashed through all of his options. He chose his second option (his first was always "incinerate").
"Uh, hey there, Lux."
Luxord nodded, "Salutations, Axel."
"So….how's it going around the ole' homestead?" Axel fumbled. Probably should've just incinerated. This was weird.
"Decidedly more tranquil since your desertion and Demyx's termination." Luxord replied, taking another sip.
Axel shrugged, "That sound's boring."
"Only to one….as exceptionally gifted as yourself, Axel" Luxord responded dryly, "Have you heard tell of Xaldin's demise?"
"Yeah," Axel snorted, "That bastard had it coming."
"Indubitably." Luxord raised an interested eyebrow, "Now, what merits your blessed manifestation here?"
"Well, I'm gonna be honest here—" Axel's sharp eye watched Luxord for any sudden movements or the appearance of his cards, "I'm gonna sneak downstairs, rescue Kairi and the get her and myself the hell outta here."
"How engrossing." And with a nod and another sip, Luxord sidestepped Axel and continued on his way.
"So that's it?" Axel barked after him, "No cards? No pulling my ass out of a time warp?"
Luxord faked a chuckle, "No, Axel, far better purposes exist for the Princess than languishing in our penitentiary under Saix's misguided attempts to feel even the barest sense of sadism," turning away with a smirk, he continued, "Besides, it is far more entertaining for me to bet on whether Saix or Xigbar will terminate you than for me to do so myself."
"Thanks, Lux! Always knew you'd have my back!" Axel called out after the departing figure. Damn was he weird as hell.
Namine peeked over the bushes and into the window of the house that Sora, Piglet and the still-forgetful Pooh had entered. Built into the trunk of a tree, they had come to the home of Rabbit because of Piglet's suggestion (after Sora rescued him with some clever uses of the Keyblade) that Pooh's memory loss was because of his "much too rumbly-tummy". Namine wasn't quite so sure that hypothesis was correct—it was unlikely that hunger could cause the heart to cause such thorough memory disjunction—but Sora had, of course, immediately taken it up as the most reasonable of possibilities.
Inside, Sora was trying to negotiate with the bad-tempered Rabbit for some hunny for Pooh, who had already gotten himself stuck in one of the tunnel-like windows of Rabbit's arboreal home. Namine couldn't help but be impressed a Sora smiled and dealt with Rabbit's best characteristics—particularly a well-meaning paternalism—while navigating his more anxious, egotistical pessimism. Sora always tried to deal with people as the best versions of themselves—he always gifted others with the benefit of the doubt and the most charitable view of their motives. She warmed at her own (her very own!) memory of Sora's kindness to her, even after learning all that she had done to strip and redefine his memories at Marluxia's behest.
But, even then, she couldn't help but remember the vicious way in which he destroyed Larxene and Marluxia, without mercy or consideration—another effect of centralizing all his memories on her and diminishing all the uncompromising others.
Namine turned to lean against the tree and slide to the ground, strange tears forming. What was the point of following him here except to torture herself?
Axel rounded another corner that seemed even more familiar than the last. Shrugging, he moved on into the next descending tunnel, made of just as pure white a marble as the rest—yet, though, it seemed even more familiar than it should've. Sh*t, that would only mean—
"Xiggy! Come on out before I burn all of it down!" Axel yelled.
In a moment, he felt something cold at the base of his neck. With a twist, he grabbed at it—the barrel of a rifle—just as Xigbar fired. The bullet of crystalized energy grazed by Axel's ear as he turned the barrel forward, throwing its wielder to the side. The hallway around them, previously twisting corner by corner (a space far easier for Xigbar to manipulate), collapsed into a single long hallway that Axel recognize more clearly. The stumbling form of the Freeshooter vanished into darkness before reappearing, standing on the ceiling, face-to-face with Axel.
"Hey there, buddy!" Xigbar grinned, his one yellow eye wide, "How's it hanging?"
"So Lux told you I was here, after all?" Axel's eyes narrowed.
"What? No!" Xigbar snorted, "We'll have to talk about him later. Nah, I found this little traitor all…by…my…self." He tapped Axel on the nose.
Axel didn't flinch. "Did you go running to Saix?"
"What?!" Xigbar snorted and vanished, reappearing with boots now planted the floor. "C'mon, dude, I'm Number II—I don't need to go running to Saix for every little inconvenience that appears on campus!"
With a sigh, Axel stretched out his arms and summoned both of his chakrams in a burst of flames.
"So you've really turned hero, Axel?" Xigbar snorted, cocking the barrel of his rifle. "As if, you're in too deep. You'll always be our little killer."
Axel smirked up at Xigbar's stupid, grinning face, as he twisted his flaming weapons around him.
"Let's find out."
Sora's little group continued to trek through the wooded greens. In addition to Pooh, Piglet and Rabbit, they had now come upon Eeyore; a slow-talking, somewhat depressed, creature who had apparently lost his pin-on tail. Namine watched as Sora sat with the melancholy donkey and empathized with his trouble, even as Rabbit chided him for his loss.
Having spent no small amount of time in his head, Namine knew that Sora was still thinking about the worlds, about Riku, about Kairi. He was worried about them, anxious about them, desperate for any kind of lead—but in lacking one, he was still able to dedicate his whole heart to the comparatively less important troubles here in this world. She sighed.
It wasn't even just that—degrees of importance for troubles were almost completely unknown to Sora. Obviously, Kairi concerned him the most—followed by Riku, then the King, the Organization and the worlds—but he always seemed able to help someone along the way, even in the most comparatively smallest of ways.
She also knew he was acutely aware of this tension; how tortured his memories had been as the anxiety over his friends never completely left him. How many times had he asked himself if he was doing the right thing? If he shouldn't be trying harder? If he should've just left so and so behind, or not helped such and such as much. But then he'd always ask: how could he leave behind someone who needed help with their friends, just because they weren't his?
Looking up, she saw that Sora had already organized a search party to seek out Eeyore's missing tail. There didn't seem to be a system to their search-it lacked any and all organization or methodology—but that, too, was just like him.
Kairi continued to tap one single finger against the pure white marble. Still no luck—
Suddenly, the Castle shook around her and, in a burst of fire, the far wall from her cage partially collapsed. Smoke poured through the hole, followed by a cloaked Organization member—the one with the guns and long ponytail-Xigbar?
"Aw, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t…" he muttered, patting at his smoking coat before his open hand felt the heat from his smoldering hair, "Dammit, Axel! The hair?"
Kairi's eyes widened as she coughed on the smoke. Axel?! Suddenly, the Keyblade was in her hand again and she had backed to the far side of cage, setting herself in the best defensive position. Nobody was taking her anywhere again.
From over his shoulder, Xigbar noticed her new acquisition. "So you can use it! We're super proud!"
Through the smoke, two flaming chakrams sliced at Xigbar, forcing him to leap out of the way, before returning smoothly to Axel—who was just emerging through the hole. As the smoke parted around him, his dark green eyes fell on Kairi.
"There you are! Time to go, eh?"
"Not with you—" Kairi was able to start, swallowing over her fear. But Xigbar fired off two crystalline shots at Axel, forcing the redhead to dive to the ground and respond with a conflagration of fire magic. The temperature in the white chamber approached sweltering.
"Look, kid—" Axel started as he stumbled back to his feet, "I—"
It was just then that an enormous blue claymore batted Axel away like he was a ragdoll, knocking his thin form far out of view. Saix's glowing yellow eyes, shining through the obscuring smoke, stared down at Kairi from where Axel had just stood. Kairi didn't budge.
His towering form then turned after the pyromaniac and vanished into the smoke and Kairi's attention turned to the Keyblade in her hand. How had she summoned it? No matter now, though. The Organization could use those portals of darkness, so there weren't any locks on her cell to use the weapon on—but even without the "key", it was still definitely a blade! Readying herself, Kairi began to slash at the bars of the cage with the mystical sword. The first cut rebounded off with a metallic clang that shook her down into the bones of her arms. Ducking lower to get under the smoke, and glancing over her shoulder to see if any of the Organization members were watching, she continued to cut—over, and over, and over.
Namine tried to stifle the foreign sensation of a giggle as she watched Sora bounce around after the "expert bouncers" Tigger and Roo. They seemed to be in the midst of game intended to return Pooh's memories—a hypothesis that Namine, still, could only describe as "highly dubious".
Though amused by Sora's capacity for goofiness and unbridled hilarity, Namine turned her attention back to Pooh and his memories. As someone connected with Sora, she had found that she had a modicum of influence over the poor little bear's head.
As she worked out the disjunctions in his chain of memories, she sketched and drew in her little notebook. Sora jumping, then tumbling, then being leapt upon by Roo and Tigger while Rabbit called out warnings. He must be so happy—these kinds of fun inundated his memories of the Islands. Those seemed like such lovely times for him, for Kairi and for Riku. That's why she had inserted herself there when formatting his memories; because she wished to have been there. To play on the beach with them, to listen to the waves with them, to look at the stars with them, to…draw in those cave. Namine couldn't escape the fact that her horrendous work was every bit a wish fulfillment for her own loneliness as it was under threat of Marluxia's violence.
She knew that Sora, still under her influence after the Oblivion incident, had promised to see her again and that they would be friends; finally included and no longer alone. But Namine knew then, as well as she knew it now, that couldn't happen. Not with what she'd done and where he was; she couldn't—wouldn't-drag him back. He couldn't have even meant it—after all, he was still under the false memory that she was his dear…his dearest…childhood friend…no, she would never be able to participate in this fun.
With a wistful sigh, Namine couldn't help but be disappointed to see her own tears stain her sketchpad.
"DAMN, this is fun!" Xigbar exclaimed, firing off another dozen rounds in rapid succession, "Xemnas needs to leave more often!"
Axel flipped and twisted through Number II's shots, while also keeping out of the reach of Saix's claymore—which had, by now, irreparably damaged most of the chamber. He really, really, really needed to get out of here before Saix got worse; before the mindlessness took him. Saix's body and soul…spirit…mind (whatever it was) had a more fast and loose relationship to his body than the rest of them and sometimes it just…slipped away. Axel knew it was close-the contortion of the Luna Diviner's face said it all—and he did not want to be around when that sh*t hit the fan. He needed some help…
"Hey, Xiggy!" Axel grunted as he bounded off the wall and fired off a chakram. "Remember how I reported that Zexion had been killed by Vexen's replica?"
Xigbar didn't even bother to respond, instead, he teleported across the room for a different angle at Axel while Saix charged forward.
"Well, big surprise, I lied!" Axel rolled under Saix's enormous swing, "I told him to do it. I watched while Zexion was drained dry of all his energy. Pretty rad, eh?"
Xigbar chuckled his false chuckle and looked down his scope, "Once a traitor, always a traitor."
"But, y'know who put me up to it?" Axel grinned as he deflected Xigbar's next bolt and spun over another slice from Saix, "This crazy mofo right here. He wanted to snatch up Zexion's super special place under Xemnas."
Xigbar fired off three more shots, "Hah! Really? Damn, I love working here! You guys are never boring!"
Dammit. Axel should've known better than to think that it would actually matter to Xigbar.
Busy dodging Xigbar's constantly moving attacks, Axel missed another great swing from Saix which connected firmly with his leg and sent him spinning into Kairi's cage. With a mind-numbing crash, his body dented the metal bars of the prison and he fell to the ground, involuntarily twitching. Sh*t, this was bad. He was gonna start disappearing if this kept up. Multiple things inside him were definitely broken and…yup, that was his leg dangling in the opposite direction it was supposed to.
Groaning, he looked up to see Kairi-eyes mixed with what he guessed to be distrust and fear—quickly working at the bars of the cage with her Keyblade. He couldn't blame her for feeling that way-he was a total asshole after all.
"Kairi, I…look," he formed a portal of darkness beneath him, "I'll make sure your boyfriend gets here soon."
Slipping into the familiar dark, he saw her eyes cloud with confusion as he whispered, "Sorry to leave you hanging."
Somewhere along the line, Sora had gathered several other friends—Owl, Gopher, Kanga—who now all relaxed with him against the side of a hill, green grass darkened by the moonlight. Earlier, Pooh had wandered off into a dark cave looking for "A dear friend who he made a very important promise to". As Sora led them through the cave to find Pooh, he had spent hours bravely fought off the imaginary terrors of the woodland creatures. But, still, Pooh did not seem to remember him.
Namine knew he was close, that the poor bear was right on the cusp of connecting the final memory chains. Having all his friends around in such close proximity was the perfect time to finish the work. Chains of memory were really just chains of relationships, after all—simply the imprints of the times spent with others that strengthened the heart, empowered the body and anchored the spirit.
Namine, with slow, steady breaths and quiet footsteps, approached the hill from the far side. She just needed to touch Pooh and the last chain could be linked. Piglet had just begun to nod off moments ago and Roo was already fast asleep—she was counting on the fact that the rest would lapse into slumber soon, as well.
As she quietly approached, she heard Piglet ask in a sleepy tone, "Sora, what-yawn—happened to your friend?"
"My friend?" Sora asked.
"Well, I'll be! Yes!" Owl responded, "There was that girl with you last you visited; Kairi, was it?"
Namine slowed her pace, listening intently. She could imagine the concern of Sora's eyes mixing with the wistful nostalgia of his smile, "Yeah, she was here with me, wasn't she? Well, she's…far away right now. I'm actually looking for her."
"You must miss her quite a bit, mm?" Kanga asked.
"I miss her so much it hurts," Sora responded, "And I'm so worried about her. But I've gotta trust that she can handle it, or I'd drive myself crazy!" he sighed, "But nothing is going to stop me from finding her and taking her back home."
"Well, I certainly wish I could miss you, somebody-I-don't know…yawn…you seem quite nice…" Pooh responded.
"Don't worry, Pooh," Sora responded, "I've got enough memories for the both of us. Even if you don't remember me, I'll remember you."
There was no response from Pooh or anyone else; leading Namine to assume they had given in to sleep. She waited another minute or two, knowing Sora would eventually close his eyes, too, before she crept over the crest of the hill.
And there they were, all spread out on the grass. Piglet and Roo leaned against each other, breathing softly. Kanga asleep while Owl whistled quietly with every breath. Gopher and Rabbit lay quietly to the side, and Tigger was splayed out in every direction as if he had collapsed from exhaustion. Unfortunately for her, Pooh sat, head hung low and snoring, closest to Sora, who was himself relaxing with his arms hooked behind his head. She had to stop for a moment and regain her bearings when she saw that he was holding Kairi's small thessalia charm in his hand, which she had given him on this very hill. At one time, she had ruined that precious gift, too.
With barely a single breath, Namine snuck closer and closer to the small bear. Reaching out one hand from as far away as she could, she touched his furry forehead. With a moment of concentration, she linked the final memories together—the day that Sora, Kairi, Pooh and his friends had spent together all that time ago. She saw his innocent thoughts about Kairi and Sora; their care for each other and their care for him. She marveled at how easily these connections could be made…Sora's world, his heart, was so full—it was bursting with friends, family, Kairi, love. Truly, that's how she would always think of Sora: full and overflowing onto everyone else.
Content with her work, Namine stepped back and turned to walk away.
"Hey, it's you!"
Namine froze at the whisper. It was his voice. Sora had recognized her; he hadn't been asleep at all. Quickly, almost without thinking, Namine bolted away from the group and managed to get over the crest again before tripping and tumbling halfway down the grassy knoll.
"Wait!" she heard Sora whisper as he descended after her, "Are you okay?"
"I'm—I'm sorry!" Namine cried out as she stumbled to her feet, brushed off her white dress and backing away from Sora. What was she even saying?
"S-sorry?" Sora cocked his head, "For what?"
Namine's mouth worked up and down, but nothing came out. How could she even begin to explain? He didn't remember anything!
"Are you okay?" Sora intently stepped forward, "Did you get away from Axel? Was there another girl trapped with you?"
It took everything within her to not cry right there and then. Namine bit her lip, what was she going to say?
"Hey, hey!" Sora reached out both hands, worry evident in his furrowed brow, "It's okay! I know you must've been through a lot!"
Namine stepped back, further away from him, and shook her head—only able to repeat: "I'm sorry!"
Just then, the warm voice of Pooh called out over the hill, "Sora—oh bother, Sora, where did you go?"
As Sora turned to respond, a joy crossing his face at Pooh's obvious recall, Namine took her chance. A portal of darkness appeared behind her and she stepped back into it. Just as it closed, Sora looked back at her, with a mix of confusion and gratitude on his face, "Did you—"
With that, the Hundred Acre Wood vanished and Namine found herself again back in Hollow Bastion, now atop one of the parapets of the castle—high up and far away from everyone else.
That was close, way too close. She was in no way ready for that. As her body calmed and her tensions released, a small contented smile managed to cross her face—it seemed Pooh had his memories back. So that was good—
The sound of a forming portal caused her body to tense again as she turned to see the dark form of Axel stumble through behind her. Namine leapt to her feet, fear coursing through her, as she almost stumbled off the castle altogether.
"Stay back!" she threatened, lifting her hands as best she could, "I'll—I'll—break your memories, too!"
Axel just stood there, unmoving. Suddenly, his right foot gave way under him and he collapsed to the ground, panting and shaking. Namine was unsure of what to do. She considered moving toward him, but also formed a second portal directly behind her—ready to escape, yet again.
"W..wait…p-please" Axel mumbled, rolling his body to lay on its side. He coughed. "I knew…I knew you'd be close to Sora…" another hack, as he grasped at his own weakened leg, "Dammit, Isa…" Had he been fighting the others, she wondered? But he had continued speaking, mumbling, really: "Look, Namine, I'm not…here for your forgiveness. Do you…do you want to help Sora or not?"
Xemnas walked slowly, methodologically, through the great canyons of Hollow Bastion's world, heading for the Vale. He could have traveled through the darkness directly, but in this case, he didn't wish to go through the inconvenience of surprising his quarry. In addition, it afforded him more time to think.
Number III was now gone, leaving he and Number II as the only survivors of the original six members. Obviously, the uninitiated ignorant of the worlds might've considered these others, Number III included, his "friends"—but they were far from it. They, like everything, were nothing.
Although he remembered very little from before it, he could remember well his time of ignorance, his time as "human". But even then, all he knew were petty feelings. He had been filled with hatred for weaknesses of his fellows, disgusted by their lack of dedication to the Projects, angry at their inability to understand, indignant at their equal position to his, and contempt for their foolish joys.
But in his currently enlightened state, Number I was also able to acknowledge the presence of his own past insecurity, pride, fear, envy, and arrogance—things his past incarnation likely would not have seen. But that one was not him; he was not now as he was then. Now he knew better: there was only his will and the empty world upon which he would inflict it.
To that end, Xemnas had left his "friend" Number III to vanish and come here instead to find that creature of reality-warping darkness. He had high ambitions, but even in the worst case, merely being near him for an extended period would be sufficient for his ends.
Emerging from the canyon, Xemnas saw him standing on the cliff that overlooked the collapsing Vale. Long silver hair, black and dark blue leather, one great purple and black shaded wing that extended out beside him—all just as Xemnas recalled from the memories of the Keyblade Wielder harvested at the Bastion; memories that had he had been seeking after ever since.
"I saw you in his memories." He announced himself from across the plateau.
"Ah, Xehanort." Sephiroth responded without turning, "Or shall it be something else now?"
"Call me what you will, but I am no longer he who you remember." Xemnas responded, approaching closer and closer.
"Ah, but I remember back millennia…" Sephiroth smiled as he turned to finally face him. If he still had the capability, Xemnas thought he might have found the angel's ice-cyan eyes piercing, "Do you, Xehanort?"
"Only vicariously, it would seem. Much has come to pass since then."
Sephiroth nodded, "Yet, though, so much remains the same. You…I…Kingdom Hearts…"
"I would like to terminate you." Xemnas interrupted. "Your dark essence would do well binding together my Kingdom Hearts."
"Oh?" Sephiroth raised as single grey brow, "Your Kingdom Hearts is a paltry imitation of the one we—or shall I say, I—recall living under."
"That may be." Xemnas acknowledged, for he felt no pride in his work, "But all beginnings must be modest. It is enough."
Sephiroth shook his head slowly and, with a smirk, turned away. "I cannot let you interfere until I have retrieved Cloud Strife."
Xemnas tilted his head, "So I am to understand that you are unwilling?"
"Be unconcerned, Xehanort," Sephiroth responded, "For I will retrieve the true Kingdom Hearts. It is for that purpose that you revived me."
"In a different, more naïve life. Now, I have a better way."
"Is that so?" Sephiroth asked.
"Too many delude themselves with concerns of power, fallacies of passion, misconceptions of meaning; even you." Xemnas paused, "But very soon, the universe shall be wiped clean and remade in the image of my own lack; illuminated by the white, empty nothing."
Sephiroth did not turn to respond, "Do you think the true Kingdom Hearts shall slip away willingly?"
"I do not bother myself with that at all," Xemnas hooded himself and stepped into the darkness—any more conversation would now be inane. "As with all things, I consider it profoundly irrelevant."