DAY 110 (PART 2)
Callum entered the Coliseum vestibule. Four trophies line the walls: two on each side, with a torch glowing between them. The satyr, Phil, stood in front of the arena's entrance, which had a rope stretched across the doorway with a board reading "Closed".
"Hey, chocolate head! Over here!" Phil said. Callum rolled his eyes and approached the tiny satyr. "Finally! Let's get started already! You ready for training?"
"Um... sure." Callum said.
"All right, Callum, this'll be real simple: hit the barrels and gather points. Let's see how many you get in a minute." Phil said. "You ready?"
Callum stood in the middle of the large arena. He scanned the area and caught hold of a red barrel among the regular, brown ones. He slowly extended his arm out and summoned Omega Weapon. He stuck his battle stance.
"BEGIN!"
Callum lunged towards the red barrel and swung with all his might. It spiraled into a cluster of barrels. The red barrel exploded, taking out several of its buddies. Yellow orbs spilled around the area. They bounced against the ground once before they flew over and absorbed into Callum. More barrels appeared, and Callum zipped across the arena, each stroke smashing a barrel to pieces. Suddenly, the whistle blew, and the barrels disappeared. Callum stopped back in the center of the arena and panted. He dispelled Omega Weapon and walked towards Phil.
"So, how did I do?" Callum said.
Phil's mouth gaped so wide, his small goatee almost brushed against the ground.
"Wow, did I do that bad?" Callum chuckled. "Just tell me now. Come on, lay it on me."
"237 points."
Callum's ears perked up. "Huh?"
"237 points in one minute." Phil stroked his beard and shook his head. "Incredible. Simply... ahem. Not bad for your first time in the Coliseum. Of course, you're already used to the work done around here."
"Huh? What do you mean...?" Callum said. He paused. "Hey, Phil, I have a question..."
"Sure, fire away, kid."
"Do you... does the name Hallie ring a bell?"
Phil stared at Callum. "What, did you find a girlfriend while you were gone?"
"Wha... I... You just have to answer yes or no."
"Sorry, kid, name doesn't ring a bell." Phil said. Callum's shoulders slumped. "Not surprising, considering someone with your looks, to find a lady friend. You sure have grown the last time I saw you."
"The last time? And how long ago was last time?"
"Hm... I'd say it's getting close to four years now."
"Four years?!" Callum cried. He remembered his first dream of Hallie. She said it had been the same length of time since she saw him. "But I... I don't know you!"
"Very funny, Callum." Phil said. "This'll be enough training for today. But even with your impressive results, you'll still need a lot more before you're ready for the big leagues."
Callum growled and stomped out of the Coliseum.
"What was that old goat talking about?!" Callum grumbled to himself. "We knew each other four years ago? And my friends think I'm crazy!"
As he murmured under his breath, a tall, large man with orange hair and blue eyes passed Callum. He wore a brown tunic, gladiator sandals, and carried a sword at his side. He glanced at Callum as he walked by, but a few steps later, he stopped and turned around.
"Callum?" the man said. Callum stopped and turned around as the large man approached him. "Callum, it's you! How've you been, man?"
"Hey, um... Hercules." Callum said, searching in his limited memory.
"It's been a long time since I've seen your face around here. I guess you've already seen Phil. I hope you being gone hasn't made you rusty in training."
"Erm... Phil was pretty impressed by my results."
"Really? It takes a lot to impress Phil. I can't wait to hear all about it!"
"Yeah... but I've got somewhere I need to be."
"Aw... well, I hope you'll be back soon. Maybe after a few days instead of a few years?"
"Um... right... See you later." Callum feigned a smile as the large gladiator turned and entered the Coliseum.
Callum let out a big sigh and heard the melodious warping of the dark corridor.
"I should probably get going before anyone else decides to show up." Callum said. He smirked to himself. "Besides, I don't want Xigbar to think I'm having too much fun."
As Callum stepped onto the clock tower ledge, he realized who waited around the corner and he froze with fear as his insides boiled with sudden anger. He took a few deep, slow breaths to calm his churning stomach and he walked around the corner.
"Hey, Callum." Xion smiled.
Callum smiled at Xion, but when he met his eyes with Axel's bright green irises, his smile faded instantly. They stared at each other for a few moments before the tension caused Axel to break away and stare at the sunset. Callum sat down on the other side of Xion, away from Axel, and accepted the ice cream bar she offered to him.
"How was your mission?" Xion said, oblivious to the situation. "Did Xigbar give you a hard time?"
"Not really. It was like he was hardly there." Callum said, chuckling to himself. "Have you guys seen Roxas?"
Xion shook her head. "No. He's late today."
The three Nobodies remained silent as they stared off into the distance. Callum focused his sight on the mountains in the distance. From the height of the clock tower, he felt like he loomed over them. The colors of the sun gave them a glowing yellow tint.
"You know what...? When I sit here and talk with you guys... I get the strangest feeling that a long time ago, I used to watch the sunset with somebody else." Xion smiled and looked up at the sky. She pulled out a small seashell from her pocket and stared at it. "It's the same when I watch the sea. Someplace by the sea... where I hear the sound of the waves... I get the feeling that I was talking with someone."
Callum stared at Xion while she was lost in happy thought.
"So you mean that... you have memories of your past?" Axel said.
"No... It's not quite like that. Well, I dunno." Xion turned to Axel. "What do you think? Are these memories?"
"Huh... I wouldn't know, either."
"You both have memories, don't you?"
"Yeah, sorta."
"Probably... if I could remember anything." Callum said. Olympus Coliseum returned to his mind.
"It's not like they've ever really done me any good." Axel added.
Xion rested her blue eyes on Callum. "Roxas is like us. Neither of us remembers much, huh? I wonder if you, him, and I... had this much in common before we were Nobodies."
"You mean... do you think we knew each other when we were Somebodies?" Callum said.
Xion shrugged and turned away to stare at the sunset with a smile on her lips.
I wish I knew who I was like when I was a Somebody. I wonder what kind of people Roxas and Xion were, and if so, could we have really known each other before we became Nobodies? If only I had my memory.
Something tells me that there's more reason other than my lost memory that makes me so special. What if... what if the reason I'm special is because of whatever is within my memory?