A Conversation

Stopping by Castle Oblivion once again to keep track of the development of the clones, the girl and I grew bored... and so, like many times, we talked.

"If we find a way to get our bodies back, would you become a member of the Organization?", I asked, "Well, what's left of it, anyway."

"Your Organization has done some terrible things," she answered, not really answering my question at all.

"I know."

"How can you just ignore everything bad the Organization did, and just go back to them again?"

"That was in the past. Blame Xemnas for the past crimes of the Organization, not the ones who outlived him."

"But Xemnas wasn't the one who did everything."

"He was our Superior," I said, growing slightly annoyed at her ignorance, "If we had disobeyed him, we would be dead. You can't blame us for our actions under Xemnas any more than you can blame a soldier in a war for following orders."

"But you have wills of your own," she replied, also slightly annoyed, "You aren't just mindless pawns of Xemnas."

"He promised us we would become complete beings," I said, "You wouldn't have turned down his offer either. No one in their right mind would."

"I guess not," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I know what it's like to be incomplete now."

"Excuse me for sounding like Axel for a moment," I said, "But it's pretty crappy, huh?"

"Axel?"

"He was one of us who didn't make it. You've probably seen him during your time as a Lost One. He was the one with red, spikey hair all over the place. It stood out no matter where he went."

"Oh, him. The one who protected Sora."

"Yes, that's him. And it wasn't Sora he was trying to protect, it was Roxas."

"Roxas?"

"The youngest member of the Organization. Sora's Nobody. They re-combined with each other."

"Oh. So Axel really didn't care about Sora?"

"No, Axel couldn't have cared less if something happened to Sora," I said. Had she been paying attention at all when she watched these things happening? "He only wanted to keep Roxas alive, and at that time Roxas was part of Sora."

"Oh."

"So, have you considered joining the Organization once we get our bodies back? It'll be better for all of us if you join."

"Maybe."

"Your heart is probably one of those vile Light creatures by now... either that or a Heartless."

"I know."

"If you find the right one and destroy it with that Keyblade of yours, you might be able to be complete once again."

"Will my Keyblade still work when I'm a Nobody?"

"Of course. Roxas still had his Keyblades, and he was a Nobody just like the rest of us."

"Even without a heart?"

"Do you listen to what I say at all?"

"Sorry. I just thought..."

She stopped for a second, apparently thinking about something, then continued.

"I thought you needed a heart to use a Keyblade... that they draw on the strength of your heart and amplify it."

"That's true... for those who have hearts. It works a bit differently for Nobodies."

"How?"

"Nobodies store Twilight energy in their bodies. A Keyblade isn't a stupid weapon--it knows how to find the source of energy, even when that source isn't in the same place as it was before."

"So that's why..."

She stopped again, thinking about something. A few seconds of silence passed, then she started talking again.

"That's why they return to your hand if something happens," she said, "They can tell if they aren't connected to the... energy source... anymore, and they want to go back to it."

"You could say it's like that."

"Do hearts work that way, too?"

"No."

"They don't?"

"Not usually. Once a heart leaves its body, it usually loses all individuality and drifts off... or transforms."

"Usually?"

"There have been those who lived on as beings of heart alone. First Xehanort, who retained his sense of self as a Heartless..."

"Xehanort? You mean Ansem?"

"He took Ansem's name in his insanity, yes."

"So he wasn't..."

"No. He was Ansem's top student and assistant in research for years, but Ansem himself and Xehanort are two entirely seperate people."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"You miss a lot, don't you?"

"I can't be everywhere at once."

"True."

"Who else stayed themselves as just a heart? Besides Xehanort, I mean."

"There was only one... Sora. He remained that way for more than a year."

"That's all?"

"As far as I've seen, yes."

"So I'm pretty much doomed, huh..."

"No, just because your heart has lost its sense of self doesn't mean it cannot be re-combined with your body. If that was true, the Organization would be pointless."

"I thought the Organization just wanted hearts for their power."

"You're confusing the Organization itself with its leader again."

"Oh. Xemnas..." She seemed a bit angered by the mention of Xemnas. I found that a bit odd, considering that she too once wanted to destroy the Organization.

"Yes. Xemnas," I replied, "The true traitor of Organization XIII... we just didn't see it until it was far too late."

"You knew about his plans in time, though."

"Yes, I did. But I had no way to tell the others, remember."

"Axel knew, didn't he?"

"Perhaps. He certainly wasn't on the same side as Xemnas, at least."

This continued on for hours, with the girl asking simple questions about the history of Organization XIII that I could answer with barely a thought. The timers on the life-support pods nearby continued to tick down, growing steadily closer to the time when Lexaeus and Vexen would be released into the world once again.

There were only about three hours left on each timer.

The return of Organization XIII--at least in part--is growing close.