Once Roxas was sure he was out of sight from the crowds of the Struggle tournament, he pulled out his cell phone. Under MENU and SETTINGS he choose the option: Record New Voice Message. As soon as he clicked on it, a female computer voice gave him directions.
"At the tone, record a new voice message."
Roxas took a deep breath until the tone came and he began to speak.
"I'm sorry I lied and cheated and back-stabbed you guys. I really did not want to do this but, I had to leave. I have to get Namine. I know this is not the best reason but I don't know how else to explain it. I have to be with her. I have to protect her and this is the only way. I don't know if I'll ever see you guys again but I will never forget about you all. I hope you can remember me as the person I was before this whole Organization problem came in and look at me as a friend who is taking a vacation… well, for a really long time. I'll miss you guys but just forget about me and enjoy the summer. Senior year is coming up and I know Hayner did not even start the homework yet but I'll leave that as a friendly reminder. Take care and once again sorry. It's just that, she means to much to me to just let her go. At least without a fight"
Roxas didn't even bother to replay the message to see if it was good enough for him, but simply saved it and turned his ringer off as he continued to a familiar dark alley. As he approached the corner of the area where he first met Axel, he couldn't help but smile. When it came time to turn, he immediately ducked Axel's swinging punch and rolled to the floor where he found a chance to trip Axel with a low kick.
Axel laid on the ground with wide eyes, in shock of what just happened. Roxas stood up and dusted some dirt off his pants with a smile.
"I've been practicing" he explained as Axel sat up.
"I can see" he replied and got up to approach him "But you don't learn moves like that in a few days. I guess I overestimated you. I mean after what happened last time…"
"Hey Roxas! You got a messege!" yelled a familiar voice.
With a shock on his face, Roxs patted all over his baggy pants to find his cell phone.
"Hey Roxas! You got a message!" it hollered again.
Roxas retrieve his cell and opened it up. Hayner obviously got hold of his phone again and recorded a voice ring tone to replace the regular text message alert tone.
The message was long and was wasting his time as he read through it and just skipped to the end where it read:
'Please come back.'
Roxas closed his phone in sadness and turned it off. His head fell down in grief as he handed it to Axel. Axel knew this was going to happen but it seemed as if Roxas made up his mind, and a good choice too. He gripped the phone tightly in his right hand and ignited it on fire. After 10 seconds, the fire was out and he opened his hand to let black metal ashes fall out.
"Well, we should get going" he suggested and turned to walk out of the alley. Roxas nodded and followed behind.
Throughout the walk, all he could think of was his friends. Oh, how he regretted not making his message longer. There were so much more to be said. More that he wanted to say. Memories of the days at the beach filled his head. Burying Hayner in the sand, beating Pence at building sand castles and racing Olette out to the ocean. In school, they were always magically in the same classes, except Olette. She was always in honors always left the 3 boys really good notes to pass tests and the class. On top of the clock tower all 4 of them would watch the sunset while pigging out on ice cream and commenting on people below who passed by. Then, a smile came on his face. It was always nice to have memories to remind you of who you are and what you did and where you went in life. Like the time he met Namine. He could never forget that.
She came to him like an angel with her soft skin, silky hair and sweet smile that could turn any frown into a smile. That's when he remembered he's doing this for her. Only her. He was going to free her and get out.
Without realizing it, he looked up to see that him and Axel had walked a long way. In fact, they had already come to the gates of the castle and were now walking inside.
Still holding on to his thoughts of Namine, he entered. Once the doors slammed shut and he was officially inside the Organizations castle, all his thoughts and memories were gone.
"Huh?" Roxas questioned and stopped walking.
The doors behind him were closed but he had the reaction to look back at them. Axel walked a few steps ahead but stopped once he saw Roxas was no longer at his side.
"Something wrong?" he questioned
"No. Well, I don't know" Roxas replied and rubbed his head in confusion "I feel like, no. I think I forgot something"
Axel sighed and came up to him.
"Well, it was probably not very important anyway if you forgot it so quickly" he told him but with a hint of guilt "Let's get going. We have to get you to your room so you can change for the meeting"
"Meeting?! I just got here!"
Axel smiled and put Roxas in a chokehold.
"And you're already so popular!" he cheered with glee
"And that makes me feel so much better" Roxas joked trying to get out of his friends grip
"Just don't go making to many friends already"
"Afraid everyone will like me more than you"
"You got jokes. But no. More like run into the wrong person and you can get your head removed permanently"
Axel finally got off and took Roxas down the long dark corridor till they approached a dead end. Axel gently tapped the wall and doors appeared in front of them revealing an elevator. When the doors opened, both Axel and Roxas stepped forward to enter but a tall man in a cloak, similar to Axels stood in the way. His hair was long and pink and next to him was a small, maybe 12 year-old, girl with blonde hair and wearing a plain white dress.
"Here already?" the stranger asked Roxas as he and the girl came out.
"Uh, am I early or something?" Roxas questioned with a raised eyebrow
The little girl giggled making Roxas notice her for the first time.
"Still clueless" she laughed quietly and smiled to him.
He turned his attention to her and gave her a quick scan.
"Have we met before?" he asked her
The girl shook her head, still wearing a smile.
"I don't recall ever meeting you" she replied
Axel began to get nervous and finally pushed Roxas into the elevator.
"Ok, Marluxia, you taking Namie to the mansion now? I guess we better get going then!"
With that, Axel closed the doors with a nervous smile and pressed the key pad for the 12
Marluxia smiled as the elevator doors closed and began to go up. Once it was a good distance away, he headed towards the exit while Namie followed.
"Did I do good job?" she asked him anxiously
"You did an excellent job" he complimented
Namie smiled again.
"I'm so glad I didn't mess up. It was my first time erasing someone's memories"
"And hopefully, it will be the last time for Roxas"
Roxas was taken to a room, his new room and slowly stepped inside. It was dark with it's black walls, dark closed curtains, and deep empty space making it feel like outer space itself.
"You like it?" Axel asked from the door
Roxas turned to him with his hands in his pockets trying to look unimpressed.
"Not really" he replied
Axel simply shrugged
"Yeah, we've been debating on new paint or something but that's what our new place is for. Plus, new paint would cut into the budget"
"Wait. We're moving?"
"Yep. Many already left. Including Xemnas"
Roxas gave a quick look of confusion.
"Our boss" Axel explained "Anyway, we'll be heading over to the new base tomorrow. But today, you need to get rid of those clothes and into a cloak. Your new wardrobe is in the closet and unless you have gained weight over time, you'll find them all to fit perfectly."
Axel looked at his watch and back up to Roxas.
"I'll come back in 10 minutes to pick you up for the meeting" he added.
Roxas nodded in agreement before Axel turned away leaving him alone in the room.
He turned on a lamp that stood next to his queen sized bed to shed some light in the room. It did not really help but it aided him in finding the closet.
Inside hung a row of black shirts, and black pants. On a hook to the side hung a matching black cloak that Axel had. On the count of not having many choices, he grab a shirt and pants. After changing, he stood in front of a full size mirror to study himself.
'What am I doing here?' he asked himself.
With that thought in mind, Roxas made his way to his bed and sat down to think.
He closed his eyes to get a picture but could not think of anything. He went back to his memories to find a reason but nothing popped up. No picture, no voices, nothing. He didn't know how much time went by as he thought it over but it did not take long for him to start getting frustrated. He formed a fist and punched his bed before standing up.
"Where the hell did my life go!?" he yelled out and went to his window.
He flung open the curtains and rays of light entered the room. Twilight Town shimmered below it's usual sunset color as he looked over all it's buildings and bridges. People below in the distance talked and walked and went on with their lives and their day. Roxas hoped for a little spark to jog his memory by looking over the town but still nothing came to mind.
He only groaned in aggravation as he pulled down the black cloak with anger and closed the curtains. He zipped it on quickly and went back to the mirror.
"No memories." he told himself as he glared at his reflection "No life. No recollection of anything"
Inside the cloak pockets he found a pair of black gloves and put those on as well.
"I guess I'll start again here"
It was only a moment later that he heard a knock on his door and opened it to find Axel standing outside.
"Ready?"
Next chapter is the Roxas and Xemnas battle! Please review! Even if it is to curse me out, but seriously, your opinions matter and make me work harder.
