"Time? What are you talking about we are running out of time?" Rauxdi asked as her and Xigbar walked through a dark corridor as he loosened his grip on her arm. He's been silent since they left the Castle, and it was making Rauxdi feel nervous.
"Where are we going is a better question I have?" Rauxdi asked as Xigbar stopped and glanced back at her. He gestured with his shoulders as they exited the other end of the dark corridor.
"Welcome to the beginning of the end," Xigbar said as he pulled her through the dark corridor as they touched the ground beneath their feet. Rauxdi glanced around as they found themselves in a small abandoned village of ruined houses and shops.
You can tell from the roof chunks and the paint upon the walls that this place was well aged and preserved after all these years. The purple roofs have all faded to dim grey ash while the rotting wood looked like it can crumble if you just grazed against it.
"Where... is this place Xigbar?" She asked pulling her arm away from him as he paid no attention to her as he walked towards the dried out fountain in the middle of the ground.
"This is... This place is where it all started. Where the first Keyblade warriors came from, and where the first Keyblade Wars happened a few centuries ago." He explained as he ran his fingers along the marble base of the fountain. Rauxdi crossed her arms across her chest as she glared into the back of his skull.
"What does any of this have to do with running out of time?" She asked as he turned around pointing a finger at her, "Everything! This is like... similar to Earth's version of the Big Bang. This is where light and the universe was first brought into existence as one planet."
"And this... is also the birthplace of darkness entering people's hearts," He said as Rauxdi walked over to him a little concerned.
"Xigbar, why are you telling me this? Why did we have to-" Rauxdi was stopped as Xigbar stepped forward clamping a hand over her mouth and pulling her close. She tried to pry his hands away as he shushed her and moved her away from the fountain, heading towards the town rubble.
"We're not alone," He whispered to her as he pulled both of them into hiding in the nearby alleyway. Rauxdi stopped fighting for a second before she heard noises. It sounded like hissing and meowing noises before it turned into loud monstrous roars and high pitched screeching.
Xigbar tightened his grip on Rauxdi's arm as he glanced towards the street to see deformed black and neon-colored creatures roaming past the entrance of the alleyway.
Heartless seemed to be following or attacking them as they ran past the alleyway as well. As the noise died down, Xigbar removed his hands from Rauxdi as he sighed.
"Coast is clear, for now it seems," He whispered as Rauxdi just looked at him with wide eyes, "What the hell are those?"
"Nightmares and Deformed Purebred Heartless. You won't see them in other places since this world had been sealed off. They made sure that they can never escape, but never said you can't come in and out of this world by other means," Xigbar said leaning against the wall as Rauxdi summoned her metal gauntlets before grabbing Xigbar by the front of his coat.
"Why are we here?" Rauxdi growled, again determined to get a real answer from the insane Nobody who brought her here to talk about ghosts of the past.
"Do you want to protect Audri?"
"What? What are you-"
"Do you want to protect her and make sure she is okay?" Xigbar said as he looked down at her as her grip tightened as she growled, "Is this a threat? Because who knows what'll happen to me if she-"
"The opposite. I know we haven't known each other long, but I see potential in you. I need a witness, someone to archive history, for what will happen in the future," Xigbar said cooly as Rauxdi looked at him confused.
A witness? What is this nutbag trying to say, She thought to herself as she grinds her teeth, "Why should I trust you in what you're going to tell me?"
"Because we will see either the downfall of the Organization or the Universe depending on people you know nothing about. You will need to bet these folks will come out on top or we all lose," He said as Rauxdi's eyes widened.
"What? Have you finally lost i-"
She stopped herself as she looked at Xigbar's face. As cocky and a complete asshole he is, there was something different about him right now. There was this look in his eye where it was a small spark... Like he was hiding something he knew was going to happen.
She loosened her grip as she dropped her arm, sweating under her brow as she could feel the tension in the air between them.
"You're... serious, aren't you?" She said in a hushed tone as he nodded, "I can't explain it all right now, but all you have to do is trust me: I need your help in being an outsider. You need to keep yourself and Audri distant from Xemnas' plans, no matter what he tells you. The gears have been rusted over for years, but ever since Roxas went missing, it's like time is moving forward."
Rauxdi stood there before she unsummoned her gauntlets as she prodded a finger at his chest. "Why do you care?" She asked as he smirked grabbing her forearm forcefully.
"I'm selfish, this will benefit both of us if we partner up. Just let me be his subordinate, and you make sure you stay out of the main fights. Do missions, and don't try to prod for answers. If you get caught... Who knows what'll happen, could risk both of your lives for all I know."
"Wha-"
"You don't have to give me an answer, but you can choose what you want to do. Aid the Organization as they take you during the downfall, or you can observe our fight with the Keyblade Master." Xigbar said as he leaned in whispering into her ear.
She pulled back and looked away from his sharp gaze. "What is Organization XIII? What... Who is Xemnas?"
"Beats me. I just follow orders, but he is an... interesting guy. If you want more answers about him, ask Zexion back at the Castle. He can lead you in the right direction," Xigbar said as he summoned a dark corridor for both of them.
"Should I trust..." She started to say as Xigbar smirked, "If you want. It's your decision to do what you want with your findings."
"Zexion, open up!" Rauxdi shouted as she slammed her fist on Zexion's door. The door swung open as he glared at her hissing, "I'm working, what do you-"
"What do you know about Xemnas?"
The question caught Zexion by surprise as he spoke, "Xemnas? You know he's our Superior, but what are you-" She shoved her way past him into his room, "I heard through the grapevine that you might know more about Xemnas than anybody else. Or at least, when you were all whole."
Zexion closed the door to his room as he walked over with a hand on his chin.
"And... Why do you need to know about our past? What do you plan to gain from this?" He asked as she fidgeted her fingers before looking at him straight in the eye, "Aside from curiosity? I want to see why I should place my bet with him that he will keep his word."
Zexion closed his eyes for a moment pondering on her answer as he nodded, "Fair enough. I suppose you need a little bit of background to trust someone who casted you aside for years, after attempting to come in contact with you and Audri."
He went over to his desk as he grabbed Lexicon flipping through the pages. Rauxdi walked over cautiously as he began to speak, "Xemnas was an apprentice who was taken in by our master Ansem the Wise. He came to us with no memory of whom he was, but he was determined to help in our cause to do studies about the heart."
I think I'm sensing a theme here, Rauxdi thought as she nodded grabbing Zexion's shoulder, "What happened next?"
"We... The five of them banished our master to the Realm of Darkness as he started to stop our experimentations on the heart. He grew a conscience too late to stop them... Did you know that Numbers I through VIII all came from the same place? We were all trying to-"
"Wait, wait. Are you telling me that the Original VIII of you are..."
Rauxdi grit her teeth in the realization that Xigbar knew everything about Xemnas as well.
"Yes, why do you-"
Zexion was cut off as Rauxdi stormed out of the room frustrated that she wasted her time when she could have squeezed more answers out of Xigbar in the first place.
I'm going to give that motherfucker a piece of my mind, She thought to herself as she stomped down the hallway. She eventually came to a stop as she looked up at the ceiling above her with a solemn look crossing her face.
If... Something or someone is stopping Xigbar from telling me the truth about Xemnas, then he probably wanted to give me a warning and put the blame on someone else if they found out how I know all this information, Rauxdi thought to herself as she sighed.
But... This means, who can I really trust in the Organization?
She looked down at her hands as she flexed them slowly, feeling the ache between her fingers as she balled up her hands tight.
"I guess I don't have a real choice, do I Xigbar?" She said out loud as she turned around to see the Sharpshooter standing behind her with a smirk on his face.