As the days passed, there was still no sign of Xion. Trinity was beginning to worry, more so for Roxas's sake. She knew he couldn't be too stable when one of his best friends was missing. She feared it was only a matter of time before he took off in search of her. And she had no idea what would happen from there. But she had a strong feeling it involved someone going after both and them and disposing of them.
One day, she found herself at the Alter of Naught for the first time in a long time. The heart-shaped moon no longer enticed her like it used to. She didn't understand why, but she didn't question it either. It wasn't something she was too concerned or upset about after all.
"Hey Trinity," Axel greeted him once he returned from his mission that day.
She smiled back at him. "Hey."
"Is your cheek bruised?" he questioned, noticing a small black and blue area lining her jaw.
She put a hand to her cheek. "I accidentally punched myself in my sleep," she lied. "It's embarrassing, but it's happened before."
"I see." He nodded. "So…Roxas and I have been using our spare time to look for Xion," he then changed the subject.
"Oh, Xemnas gave you—?"
"No, we've been doing it without anyone knowing."
Her eyes widened a bit. "Isn't that risky?"
"Nah," he denied. "Once we finish our actual missions, we just take a little extra time to search around. Then we return to the Castle."
"Well, have you found anything?"
"Not yet. There's an imposter, though."
"An imposter?"
"Yeah. Someone going around wearing our coat who's definitely not in our ranks."
"Xemnas can't be too pleased about that."
"He's not. Obviously."
"How long has this imposter been around?"
"He's made a few appearances."
"So why am I just hearing about him now?" she wondered. "I mean, is he coming after me or something?"
"Oh, no, it's nothing like that. I don't think it is, at least. We're not really sure what he wants. But I'm bringing him up now because he's been a bigger pain as of lately."
"He must be sneaky."
"Yeah, he definitely knows his way around the darkness."
"Hmm. I wonder who he is. I wonder what he wants with the Organisation."
"No idea, but it's not good."
"Are you sure? Or is that just what you were told?"
He thought about this for a moment. "You know, you really make me doubt my existence at times."
She laughed. "Is that good or bad?"
"Haven't decided yet."
"Well, be sure to let me know once you figure it out."
"Have you figured it out yet?" he then asked.
"Figured what out?"
"Your reason," he clarified.
"Ah, right. Hmm…"
"I'll take that as a no."
"Now, now, don't go jumping to conclusions just because I didn't answer right away."
"So you have figured it out."
"Not necessarily."
He laughed. "Let me know when you do."
She smiled. "Of course."
They fell silent for a moment, both gazing at the heart-shaped moon.
"I told Roxas today," Axel then spoke up.
"Told him what?"
"The truth about Xion. That she's from Castle Oblivion."
Her eyes widened again. "You did? Axel, that's great."
"Yeah, he took it a lot better than I thought he would."
"What brought it up?"
"Roxas was making a mental list of places she might be and that was one of the places he mentioned. So I figured, you know…why not bring it up."
"I'm proud of you, Axel."
"Please, that's not something you should commend me for."
"You may not think so, but I do."
He shrugged. "Anything interesting happen with you lately?"
She thought back on the last few days. "I made a proposition with Saïx," she then recalled. "It didn't go exactly as planned."
"Surprise, surprise," he replied. "What was the proposition?"
"For him to get off my case so you would get off his case."
"And where did it go wrong?"
"Oh, he came back right proposing that he would leave me be if I stopped spending time with you. I told him I liked my deal better."
"Let me guess, he didn't care?"
"Wow, Luxord would praise you at how good you are at playing this game."
He laughed again. "Typical Saïx. He knows how to twist words."
"He knows how to manipulate.
Just then, Axel lightly brushed the bruise on Trinity's jawline, causing her to flinch a little. "And how to hit," he added.
"Ah, so you didn't fall for it," she realised.
"You can't fool me." He took his hand away. "So why lie?"
She shrugged. "You have enough going on already."
"So what? You're my priority, Trinity."
"Excuse me?"
"Don't worry, you heard me right. You are my priority."
"That doesn't sound smart."
"Most of my ideas aren't very smart."
She shook her head at him. "Any other truths you may want to admit?" she then asked. "Maybe something about your past life?"
"Are you still on that whole comment Saïx made?"
"What? It peaked my curiosity."
"Yeah, maybe a little too much. After all, curiosity killed the cat."
"But satisfaction brought it back."
Now he shook his head. "You're ridiculous."
"Cleverness and ridiculousness seem to be my two specialties," she stated. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm really just insane and imagining all of this."
"Do you wish it was all just a dream?"
"No because then you wouldn't be real."
"Technically I'm not real."
"Axel, what have I told you?"
"Hmm?"
She smiled softly, placing a hand on his cheek. "So long as I can touch you and feel you, then you are more than real."
He returned the smile, putting his hand over hers. "Even though I was never supposed to exist?"
"Of course. Against all odds, you are real. And if not to anyone else, then you're real to me."
Axel gently squeezed Trinity's hand, still smiling. "Good enough for me."