The Beginning
Mysterious Tower
Day 16
Roxas
Roxas awoke to find Xion's face hovering inches above his own, eyes alight with mischief. He blinked groggily and tried to push her away with a hand pressed against her forehead. When his efforts yielded a giggle and naught else, he exhaled irritably and rolled onto his side. He felt the mattress compress slightly, and then his bedcovers were torn from his grasp. Cold air rushed into the void and sent goose bumps racing up his bare back. He flinched and sat up in an undignified rush with his arms held over his face, feeling extremely vulnerable and more than a little embarrassed. He could feel a flush creeping up his neck.
"Oh gods," drawled a male voice, "you still wear bear cub pattern. Wonder if I should tell Xion..."
Roxas peeked out from between his arms and saw Lea standing at the foot of his bed fully clothed and freshly washed. Roxas' bedcovers were nowhere to be seen; nor, it seemed, was Xion. Relieved, Roxas let his arms fall away and flopped lazily onto his back.
"Hey, none of that," said Lea. "Get up and go wash. Yen Sid and the King have something they want to speak to us about before we leave."
Roxas groaned in protest, but sat up all the same. He yawned, stretching, and rubbed at his eyes sleepily.
"See? Not that hard after all," said Axel, stifling a yawn of his own. "If you hurry, I won't tell Xion about your-"
"She already knows," said Roxas distractedly, glancing down at the splotch of swollen purplish-red skin covering his ribs where Xion had kicked him. He poked at it tenderly and winced when shards of pain stabbed at him in warning. When Lea didn't reply, Roxas looked up and found him standing frozen with mouth firmly shut. His skin seemed unnaturally pale.
Roxas blinked innocently.
"Axel? Something wrong?"
Lea slapped a shaking hand to his forehead and sat down in the floor with a muffled thump.
"I've failed them," he said to no one in particular. "These kids were under my care and I… oh gods, what have I done? There's so much that they don't know and it's my responsibility to… but if they've already…"
Lea looked up at Roxas, wary. Roxas tilted his head.
"Er… Roxas… when you say that Xion already knows about your… ah… well… what did you mean by that? Did you really just mean that you've-"
"She's seen them."
Lea stared at Roxas, his face pained
"Man oh man… what do I do with this?" he mumbled to himself. "What'll I do if Xion ends up… but can she even…?" Still slumped against the wall, Lea wiped a hand across his forehead. Roxas got the distinct impression that, for whatever the reason, he was on the verge of panic. "So I'll have to buy… then I'll have to explain how to use… oh gods…"
"Axel? Axel, are you crying?"
Lea wiped at his eyes.
"No…" he replied. "Just lamenting how much more difficult my job just became." He looked at Roxas with what seemed to be an odd mixture of pride and disapproval. "Not… not that it's really any of my business, but… how many times…?"
"Just once," said Roxas quickly. He felt his cheeks beginning to redden and hastily redirected his gaze to the ceiling. "It, um… happened at the inn. She was in our room and you had left to go talk to the manager or whatever, and then-"
"While she was sick," said Lea in a thin, strained voice. "While she was… Roxas… man oh man." He lapsed into a thoughtful silence. Roxas, beginning to lose interest in the conversation, slid to the floor and began to rummage through his bag for something to wear to the bath.
"… I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this," he said sullenly after collecting a handful of clothing. "It was embarrassing, but it was an accident. I just kind of… it was bad timing on both our parts."
Lea stared up at him incredulously.
"Bad… Roxas, that kind of thing doesn't… happen by accident. Well, it can… I suppose, but this thing with timing… it's generally consensual, so I don't really see how you can-"
"What are you talking about?" interrupted Roxas, pulling a loose T-shirt over his head. "Of course it was an accident. She just looked over at the wrong time, but I assumed that she was… so it was partially my fault and-"
"Rox-Roxas, wait. What are you talking about?"
They stared at each other.
"Xion, ah… well, Xion kind of accidentally saw my boxers when she was in our room. I thought she was asleep, so I thought it'd be a good time to change and-"
"Say that sooner, will ya?" interjected Lea loudly. He flopped back against the wall. "Gods, do you have any idea how close I just came to having heart failure? And then the thought of having the same conversation with Xion…" He reached up to massage his temples. "I just lost about ten years from my life thanks to you."
"Um… Nobodies don't-"
"Not the point, I'm no longer a Nobody, and… just… go, Roxas. Go get cleaned up and head down to the old man's study when you're done. I'll go ahead and take your stuff down there."
Roxas blinked innocently.
Xion
Roxas remembers me.
Xion held the thought and turned it ever so gently in her mind. It filled her heart with a feeling of elation that she had never hoped to experience.
Roxas remembers me… and he forgave me.
The image of Roxas' bloody, bruised, tear-streaked face looming above her own, eyes bright with shock and panic, was still burned firmly into her memories. It was something, Xion feared, that she would never forget, yet she found that it bore less pain into her heart than it had in the past; she had received the happy ending that she had longer for so desperately, and Roxas, well…
"I think I preferred him when he was a zombie."
Xion drifted out of her reverie and looked up. Lea had shouldered open the door to the study and was making his way toward her, a bulging checkered dufflebag slung beneath one arm. His own pack, black with crimson swirls, was draped over the other. He glanced up at Xion and grinned good-naturedly.
"No, don't get up. I've got it."
He dropped Roxas' bag unceremoniously to the floor in front of the table upon which Xion sat, feet dangling, and carefully laid his own beside it. Xion blinked at Lea and tilted her head. Lea's smile faltered and became, Xion thought, rather strained.
"Xi… ah man, sorry, you looked just like Roxas for a second."
Xion frowned innocently.
"Is that a problem, Axel?"
Lea waved a hand dismissively.
"Not really, no. I just… the two of you," he muttered distractedly. He turned his head this way and that, looking for a place to sit. Xion patted the edge of the table beside her.
"You could come up here if you like, Axel. It kind of reminds me of the clock tower, you know?" She swung her feet in demonstration.
Lea waved the offer away.
"Nah, my feet would actually touch the floor, so I'd better not. I'm not sure that the old man would like us sitting on that table either. It's probably as old as he is and there's no telling what kind of enchantments and stuff he's put on it. Or traps. Seems like the kind of thing he'd do." He instead settled for a plump, winged armchair near the door; he dragged it over to the table and dropped into it with a muffled thump.
"This'll do. Our little bear cub shouldn't be much longer; he was almost done in the bath by the time I went back to my room to get my stuff, so…"
Xion blinked in confusion.
"Little...? Do you… mean Roxas, or…?"
Lea, now gazing idly at the ceiling with his hands crossed behind his head, made a noise of confirmation in his throat.
"Yeah, who else d'you think I'd be talking about?"
Little bear... cub? What's that about? Is that a nickname he's come up with for Roxas?
Xion eyed Lea doubtfully.
"So… when did we start calling Roxas our little bear cub, and why?"
Lea rolled his eyes at the stars painted overhead.
"You know why. He just told me about the accident you two had back at the inn, so it seemed appropriate."
Accident? What accident?
Xion felt a flush beginning to creep its way up her neck.
Roxas… you didn't…
"… Axel," said Xion uncertainly, "I don't… I really don't know what you're talking about. Nothing… there were no accidents of any kind at the inn… and definitely not anything involving bears."
Lea pulled his gaze away from the ceiling with a sudden, sharp movement. Xion was alarmed to see a grin rapidly spreading across his face.
"Axel?"
"No accidents huh? Nothing at all?"
Xion shook her head.
"And definitely nothing involving bears?"
Xion shook her head once again.
"That's interesting." Lea winked at her. "Well, I have something to tell you later… maybe. It'll depend on Roxas, but… ah, speaking of."
Xion followed Lea's gaze as he turned his head and saw Roxas standing uncertainly in the doorway. Roxas smiled briefly at Xion and then returned his gaze to Lea, wary. Lea, by contrast, was looking at Roxas in a manner not entirely dissimilar to a wolf considering its prey. Roxas swallowed and looked back to Xion.
"Come on in, little bear cub," said Lea slyly, his gaze locked firmly upon Roxas. Roxas' gaze darted to Xion in mild panic, and then returned to Lea, who tilted his head and blinked innocently. "Something wrong, Roxas? There's another chair in here somewhere. Gotta be. This tower is nothing but chairs and bookshelves and dust."
Continuing to gaze warily at Lea, Roxas entered the room and made his way over to the table upon which Xion sat. He hopped up beside her in silence, visibly uncomfortable.
Xion frowned up at the beads of sweat that dotted Roxas' cheek. Concerned, she gently nudged his shoulder with her own.
"Roxas? What's wrong?"
Roxas blinked and looked over at her.
"Huh? Ah, nothing… nothing important." He scratched at his cheek uncomfortably. "Anyway, how are you feeling? Better than last night?" Xion's brow twitched in suspicion, but she let the abrupt change of topic stand.
"Yeah… yeah, loads better," she replied hesitantly. "I feel like that was the best I've slept in ages. It was… odd, having everything I'd been worrying about for the past several months just be…" she gestured vaguely, "gone, all of a sudden. I liked it. It makes me feel like things are slowly changing back to the way they used to be."
Roxas smiled knowingly.
"Well… yeah. Yeah, I think they are too." He looked at Lea. "Don't you think so, Axel?"
Before Lea could reply, the door to the study swung open with a groan of protest and Yen Sid ducked through it, followed by the King. Xion thought that they both looked troubled. Yen Sid, his gaze immediately settling upon Roxas and Xion, scowled and snapped his fingers. Xion felt the table shudder beneath her. She heeded the warning and slid to her feet just before the ancient oak sprang to life and bucked violently, throwing Roxas unceremoniously to the floor. Lea guffawed.
Yen Sid swept past Roxas with nary a glance and settled himself in his throne; the King moved up to stand beside the chair in which Lea was lounging. Xion, doing her utmost to suppress a grin, offered a hand to Roxas; he accepted it and climbed to his feet, wincing.
"I presume that we are all adequately refreshed after the night's activities," began Yen Sid without preamble, "and that the three of you are ready to resume your journey. While this matter concerning hearts and memories was unquestionably of extreme importance whilst it sat unresolved and festering, we must now turn our attention to a danger and a concern far greater while it still lies within our power. I am speaking, of course, of Sora."
The King cleared his throat.
"It might be easier for them to understand if I explain it," he said apologetically. Yen Sid considered this in silence, and then nodded his consent.
"Where to begin..." muttered the King, turning slightly so that he could face Roxas, Xion, and Lea at the same time. "Here's how things stand. The short version is that we don't know where Sora is or what kind of condition he's currently in. Kairi and Riku are missing as well. We still don't know exactly what happened when you two were kicked out of Sora's heart, nor do we know why you've regained your old bodies. Yen Sid seems to think that the expulsion was triggered by this other being's awakening. I don't see any reason to believe otherwise, so I agree with him. I do have a few theories about why you two regained your old bodies, but they're just theories for now; I don't want to say anything until I know more. No reason to give you guys more to worry about than you need." He glanced at Yen Sid, who nodded and cleared his throat noisily.
"And so your primary objective," the sorcerer said, "should be to locate Sora. As I indicated previously, this matter with your memories was little more than a detour. It was a necessary detour, to be sure, yet it is time that we get back on course." He settled his gaze upon Lea. "You are certain that Sora was not present on the islands?"
Lea shook his head.
"Nah, we didn't see him, and we combed that place over. We were actually just about to head back here anyway right before these two..." he gestured vaguely.
The King frowned thoughtfully.
"Is it possible… do you think that Sora might've somehow ended up on some other world? I don't know why that'd be the case, but there is precedent for that sort of thing."
"… Yes," mused Yen Sid tentatively, "now that I think on it… though that situation was exceptional; I sincerely doubt that the circumstances could be easily replicated."
The King considered that for a moment, and then waved his hand dismissively.
"Welp, be that as it may. It won't be efficient at all, but the best way to tackle this might be for you guys to take a look around all of the nearby worlds and find out if anyone's seen Sora, Kairi, or Riku. I know that sounds tedious, but finding Sora is extremely important; Yen Sid and I will be looking into what happens once Sora has been located, so we'll generally be here at the tower if you need us. The three of you can use corridors of darkness to travel between worlds, right? That'll save you a lot of time."
"But take great care," added Yen Sid, "that you do not put yourselves in unnecessary danger. The more quickly Sora is located, the easier this situation will be to resolved, but your own safety is your first priority. Do not do anything overtly reckless."
Lea, having absorbed everything in relative silence, made a show of sighing resignedly.
"Don't worry, I'll keep these two safe... and we will find Sora. He couldn't have just vanished."
And what happens when we do? Thought Xion uncertainly.
Roxas glanced at her uncomfortably; he seemed to be harboring a similar worry.
Rvs: 2.0
AN (8/22/2015): Cleaned Miscommunication and War Room. Combined them into a single chapter.