When Aqua came to, she looked up to see the maniac, Sho Minamoto, sneering at her and her friends with beady yellow eyes. If she had eyes, she would have glared daggers at him. As it was, she couldn't, and contented herself with noticing the room they were in.
When they were dragged down into the depths of the sea, she had expected to end up in a water palace, like Atlantica. What she hadn't expected was a dry room made of wood. From the bookcases down to the wooden chairs where two people sat. Both were old, no, ancient, and both appeared to be made out of iron and steel.
One wore purple robes and was a woman, though her figure was flat and indistinguishable from a man's. Her eyes may have been violet at one point, but time had rusted them over into a dark brown. They weren't hostile as such, but they almost seemed apathetic and dead. They were made of iron and cold and unfeeling. Worlds could die without her caring. She could watch civilizations crumble in upon themselves without blinking. Mr. H had seemed old, an ever-existing constant, but she made him seem like a carefree child. She was truly ancient, cold and created in the heat of a supernova oh so blindingly hot, the likes of which had never been seen since the birth of the universe, and what was left was harder and impossible to melt again.
Next to her was a taller man, equally old and unforgiving. His eyes might have been aquamarine, bordering on green, but they too had hardened and frozen over, turning grey as steel. His long fingers clenched around the arms of the wooden throne, and they seemed white and pale, like they had lost all warmth over time. His fingers, like his face, were thin and sallow, almost elongated, like the serpent Sora, Roxas and Xion had fought. And that was understandable, for it was in that moment that Aqua realized the man in front of her was Leviathan in his human form. Like the serpent, the human seemed cold and clammy, almost dead, as if he had been submerged underwater for ages and had all his warmth sucked out of him in his death struggles, all his humanity coughed out as the human side of him died, leaving the cold steely Eidolon. He was staring at the wall, unseeing. He was probably still locked in combat with Sora.
Aqua felt, or sensed, Terra and Ven getting up. They were shaken, no doubt realizing who Leviathan was. The last sight before they had risen out of unconsciousness was Leviathan swirling around Sora, conjuring up huge gouts of water in his wake. Looking back, it seemed incredible that Sora had defeated him single-handedly. She hadn't been able to see their battle because it was covered in sheets of water. But she had seen Leviathan twist in pain, and then felt herself being lifted out of her own Station of Awakening. Looking behind her, she saw the Mistborn kneeling reverently, and Sora's stationary form. It worried her, especially considering the battle he'd just fought.
"Why are we here?" She asked, looking at Minamoto, "Why did you bring us here?"
She got another sneer in return from the mathematical maniac. "Orders from a higher dimension, little constant. But my job's done, this conjecture's proven, and I'm off to find more theorems that need solving." With that parting note, Minamoto engulfed himself in black static and disappeared.
"Maniacal vagrant," Asura muttered, before turning to the Remnants, "We told him to summon you here because of the Composer's wishes. Be glad for the death of his friend, the Producer. If he had not insisted, we would not have interfered."
Aqua was glad Sora was still unconscious, or he would have charged towards Asura, royalty or not. Unfortunately, Terra and Ven heard this and they stood up angrily. Both tried to say something, but Aqua cut both of them off tactfully.
"We thank you for your compassion," She said in a level voice that didn't hide her own outrage. She narrowed his eyes, which Aqua took to be his idea of a snort. No chuckles or splutters from these new monarchs, they were far too dignified for that.
"Do not thank us for something we do not give." Asura said emotionlessly, "We help you because of the Composer. Had he not intervened, we would have watched your Realms fall to the divine beasts you unchained."
"We didn't unleash Light," Ven said, "It came of its own volition."
"Kingdom Hearts itself was weakened due to the abuse it suffered at the hand of those corrupt humans you call Grandmasters." Asura responded. She was like iron, cold and not giving any hint of the heat it might feel. Until it was hot enough to glow red and white, and by that time it would be too late.
"The Grandmasters aren't the representatives of humans." Sora said wearily as he got up. Aqua would have felt relief at his recovery had the atmosphere of the room not been so cold and heavy.
"I did not summon you here to bandy philosophies with you, Remnant." Leviathan cut in. It appeared that he too, had regained consciousness, "You are to rest here as long as you wish, under orders of the Composer."
"I wasn't bandying philosophies." Sora said steadily, "I was saying that if you don't even take the effort to know humans before judging them, you're not the king I once knew."
"I knew humans." Leviathan said, "You forget we served under Rydia. All of us. And Rydia died, like all humans must do. And how do affairs in Baron stand now? How has the unity which Cecil Harvey created held?"
"Just because the people in charge of Baron aren't Rydia doesn't mean you can't get to know them," Sora returned, "You can't just hide here because it's easy to just judge humanity by a few examples."
"Tell me, Remnant," Leviathan spat, "How much goodness have you seen in the world since you returned? What have you seen worth fighting for? Radiant Garden stands on a proud pedestal built from the crushed remains of rebel worlds. Baron has hidden its dark past beneath a pristine mask. And what of the other worlds? Have you stopped by Traverse City, the melting pot of cultures, in which poverty and sickness rise to the surface? Have you stopped by Agrabah, where they practice slavery under the fabrication of mining? You speak of good people, and perhaps they exist, but what good have they done?"
"They've lived." Terra said firmly, "They've lived, and have helped others. Even if they didn't mean it, no matter what they did, they've lived a life worth living. Everyone has."
"Even you, Remnant? Even you?" Asura cut in, "You were the one who brought about Xehanort's rise to power ages ago. Yes, you helped your comrades, but is the enjoyment of being together worth the trouble that Xehanort brought about?"
"Xehanort would have found another plan, even if I hadn't existed." Terra said steadily, "Don't try and make me feel guilty, trust me, I've been there, and I've thought long and hard about it. A thousand years does that." He reached over and squeezed Aqua's armour, clutching Aqua's grey gauntlet in his brown one. "I don't regret my life, not one moment, not even when Xehanort possessed me. If I hadn't lived, who knows what would have happened to Ven or Aqua, and who knows what Xehanort would have done. It was a hard journey, but it was worth it, and I wouldn't give up one day of it."
Terra's speech resounded in the room, but the silence that followed resounded even louder. Asura and Leviathan glared at Terra, then Leviathan said, "Watch your tongue, former vessel of evil. If the Composer-"
"Right, you're doing everything under orders of the Composer." Ven piped up, angered by their accusation of Terra's loyalties. "Can I just ask how many of you the Composer had to beat into the ground before you agreed to help?"
Leviathan and Asura stood. For a moment, Ven thought Asura and Leviathan would unleash their powers over them, and perhaps they might have, if a cold presence hadn't made itself known in the form of sheer power being radiated off of it.
"Cease, Eidolons." A voice that made Enoch's summonings look warm cut through the room and silenced the queen and king of the Feymarch. "Do not forget, we created you in the beginning, and we could end you just as easily."
The Mistborn had whirled their heads around in shock as they stared up at a tall figure dressed in a black suit. His eyes were concealed by sunglasses, whose black frame contrasted starkly with a pale, angular face. Long hair drifted down, stretching past his mouth that was curled in a contemptuous sneer and reached his thin shoulders. "I am the Conductor, humans. You may have heard of me."
He put an ugly emphasis on the word humans, as if it tasted bad in his mouth. Not that his thin pale face or his sunglasses revealed any expression, but the tone of his voice was proof enough of his distaste. "Perhaps not."
"The Composer's lackey, reigning in his hatred for humans due to unjustified loyalty to a naive idealist." Leviathan spat. "You make your disdain for humans evident, yet you serve the Composer, who believes in goodness of heart."
The Composer's face didn't change, but he took a step forward, causing Leviathan and Asura to rise in anticipation. "Do not mistake my motives, Eidolons. I have no love for humans, nor do I have any love for Eidolons, plants, mountains, or Hearts. I live for the order of the Realm, the harmony that rises when Darkness and Light compete, the melody that is engendered by the existence of every world in conjunction to each other. I harbour no love for any individual or part, for it is only the culmination of each note that a symphony can flourish."
The Conductor's voice didn't rise, nor did he speak quicker, but Leviathan and Asura were visibly intimidated. They sat down as he continued, "You Eidolons are arrogant if you think you are important simply because your notes linger longer than others. Know your place."
Asura nodded curtly, then said, "Your master wanted these relics brought here, do what you will with them."
The Conductor nodded coldly, and Aqua was glad to get out of the room as quickly as possible. She had heard about the Feymarch from Rydia when she and Terra visited Baron. This wasn't it. Just how much time had passed since then? How much time could have passed to turn this warm and welcoming realm that had welcomed her as their own daughter into this cold and harsh cell?
Turning to the Remnants, the Conductor cocked his head and walked out. Glancing at Asura and Leviathan quickly, Aqua and the others quickly followed the Conductor up the stairs and out the doors of the building they were in.
"What's happened?" Sora asked the Conductor, "Why are Leviathan and Asura like this?"
The Conductor ignored them and continued walking. He ignored Sora's further attempts of conversation, and they proceeded up more stairs, emerging out of what was obviously a library.
The Mistborn were visibly sweating and shaken, not knowing what to make of meeting their gods in real life. He wondered how much truth the image they had cultivated of the Feymarch had, and felt sorry for them. Sora knew firsthand the impact of having belief shattered and trodden upon, and he wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. When they ascended to the next floor, however, Sora's attention was captured by a golden chocobo.
"Are these our guests?" The chocobo asked. The Conductor didn't say anything, but gave a curt nod and left. Aqua and the others had encountered talking chocobos before and weren't shocked as the chocobo continued, "Hi. I'm Chotip. I'll take you to your quarters."
"That's okay," Terra said, "I think we've overstayed our welcome. The Feymarch doesn't seem to like us being around."
"Don't think Asura and Leviathan represent all of us," Chotip said, "They don't really govern us, anymore than we govern ourselves."
"Aren't they your king and queen?" Terra asked, "Don't subjects follow the rule of the monarch?"
Chotip shrugged, which was definitely a peculiar sight seeing as it was a chocobo. "They've grown reclusive and stayed that way for millions of years. I heard from the old summons that were still around that it started when their Summoner, Rydia, died, and they lent their power less and less. Ramuh, when he's around, says that the pain of losing someone who they thought of as their daughter was too great."
"Wait, did you say millions of years?" Sora blurted out, "How much time has passed since Rydia was alive?"
Chotip shrugged. "I don't know. But that's why there are so few Eidolons around now, they always spend time in the Realms where time moves faster."
Looking around, Terra saw that Chotip was right. He saw wooden catwalks that stretched far over the horizon with houses lining both sides of them, but the wood itself was knotted and worn with time. He also saw that the way was lined with thick dust, only disturbed by the footprints of the Chocobo, Remnants, and Mistborn.
"How could Asura and Leviathan still be alive?" Tera asked in a hushed voice, "If they've been existing for millions of years, how haven't they withered, or just given up?" Suddenly his trial in the Keyblade Graveyard seemed trivial. He had born the weight of the earth for a thousand years, but Asura and Leviathan had born the weight of their years for a thousand times more than that. No wonder Leviathan had grown cold as steel, no wonder Asura had turned as hard as iron.
"They sleep for many centuries at a time." Chotip said, "I heard from my great-grandfather, Chopa, that as they started acting this way, they told us that we were to act as we saw fit, and govern ourselves as they would govern us. Some Eidolons live their whole lives without seeing their rulers. I think my great-uncle twice removed, Cholou, only saw Leviathan and Asura once."
"Where do the other Eidolons go?" Terra asked, "And how do they spend their time?"
Chotip shrugged. "I'm not too sure. I know Ifrit goes around trying to find the hottest places in the realms. I think he lives in a planet called Mustafar at this moment."
Chotip sighed. "I don't know. When you think about it, a lot of the Eidolons are just wandering about, trying to find something to live for. My great-great-grandfather says that he hasn't seen Cagnazzo or Shiva in centuries. He says that Cagnazzo usually lurks in the depths of Atlantica ruling the ancient sea witch Ursula's domain. It's quite depressing at times."
"What about you chocobos?" Aqua asked, "How do you live?"
"We're the only ones that live here most of the time." Chotip said, "It's because we have families that we can stand to be in the Feymarch for a long time. The oldest one, my great-great-great-great grandfather's old, but he's content and happy. We live for a few hundred years before dying of old age, something that a lot of different Eidolons can't do. Sometimes I think they're jealous. It would explain why they don't talk to us often."
The Remnants and Mistborn looked at each other sadly, then Sora remembered something he'd been meaning to ask. "Who was Sho Minamoto? And the Composer and Conductor? I'd never heard of them until recently."
"Well, according to the legend, this whole world was created by them. The Composer wove everything out of chaos, and the Conductor, the man you saw down there, keeps order. Sho Minamoto was one of them, but is more chaotic. They only came recently, in the last few months or so, and have been conversing with Leviathan and Asura for long periods of time."
Aqua made some quick calculations and figured out that a few months in the Feymarch would be a few hours or so in real time. When she finished the calculations, she realized they had stopped.
Chotip turned to the three Mistborn who had been looking around awestruck the whole time. "We've evacuated your people here. They'll be safe here, and you can train until you're needed again."
Enoch bowed deeply to the Chocobo, and asked, "And when might that time come, my lord?"
Chotip laughed and said, "I'm no lord. Just a faithful servant of the Composer, like you all are." Chotip's voice then took on a more serious tone, and he suddenly seemed older. "Light has already amassed a huge force of Lightsworn, and now he has added templars and dragoons to his ranks. Darkness is gathering up huge armies of Heartless, and is reaching out, mustering up even more minions as we speak. And then there is Corruption, doing its utmost to gain power and destroy. All three of them going to these lengths for the sake of one person."
"Frost Rikkison." Aqua said, and Chotip nodded. After all that had happened with Leviathan, the Feymarch, and the Mistborn, Aqua had almost forgot they were here to snatch Sora's descendent, a potential wielder of the Kingdom Key, from the Divine Beings. Suddenly their task seemed a lot harder.
Chotip nodded. "There will be a battle in the future, the near future for you, and you must prepare yourself."
Enoch, flanked by Cassandra and Torak turned and bowed deeply to the Remnants. "We wish you luck in your future battle, and I hope there may come a time when we are needed."
They then walked away to join their people, and perhaps prepare for war. After centuries of hiding, Baron would see the wrath of the Mistborn, and the Remnants wanted to be around to see that happen.
Aqua turned to Chotip and asked, "Where are we going?"
"You'll have to stay with my family." Chotip said, suddenly talking normally. "It's next to a teleport point, and we didn't think you'd be staying long anyways."
Aqua nodded and they followed Chotip across more of the brown and worn out catwalks. Their armoured feet clanked dully on the walkways, and stretched out into the distance. There were multiple levels of catwalks, something that was different from last time. They walked up and down spiralling stairs until Aqua was under the impression they were in a huge wooden building, with floors that spanned miles. Almost like what had become of Radiant Garden, huge and unwelcoming.
Aqua's thoughts returned to the present when they entered another series of houses. It resembled a mansion, except for it was a lot bigger. When Aqua went in, her first impression of the place was colourful. She knew very well that chocobos came in multiple colours, but the plethora of shades and hues that greeted her was mind-boggling. There were the usual yellow, red, black, white, brown, and green, but there were also golden and silver ones that reflected the torchlight and sparkled. Among them were different shades of mauve, crimson, periwinkle and different combinations, and even then there were still different patterns of the feathers. Some were multi-coloured, with blue wings transitioning into a green head.
Chotip looked amused at the surprised reactions of the Remnants and said, "Come along, I'll show you to your room. After that, my great-great-uncle would like to talk with you. He's a sort of leader to us."
Aqua nodded slowly and followed Chotip through the masses of chocobos. They climbed a flight of stairs and moved along a maze of hallways until they reached a non-descript room. Inside were four indentations in the floor that were filled with straw, like nests for chocobos to sit in.
"Sorry about that," Chotip said apologetically, "We're not used to housing humans, or anyone for that matter. Eidolons don't visit us, so we only ever need to house other chocobos from another branch of the family."
"It's fine." Terra said, "We don't need to sleep anyways. You've already done a lot for us just by letting us stay."
Chotip bobbed up and down happily. "Alright then. I'll be back in a bit to bring you to the elders." With that he left and closed the door behind him.
Terra let out a sigh of relief and flopped down on the floor. The others did the same, glad to have a time to relax. Come to think of it, they hadn't had time to relax since they set foot in Baron. Terra looked at Aqua and said, "So what do you think?"
Aqua shrugged and said, "It's sad to see the Feymarch like this. We didn't see any Eidolons hanging around except for Asura and Leviathan."
Ven nodded. "The chocobos seem pretty happy. It'd be nice to hang out for a bit."
"We don't have much time to waste, though." Terra said, "You heard Chotip, we have to get to Frost as soon as possible."
"One day in Baron is like two hundred and sixty days here." Aqua said, "You remember how Rydia grew up in the Feymarch, while only three weeks had passed for Cecil and the others?"
Terra nodded slowly but still said, "We can't waste time. If we do, we might lose Frost to the others."
"You need to relax, Terra." Ven said, "You can't fight if you've been on the move the whole time. Planning things out might not be a bad thing."
"We can't really plan things when we don't know what we're facing," Terra said, "We need to go back as soon as possible to form a plan. We can't just hope to waltz in there and take Frost away."
"I'm just saying that if you only think about that you'll run around in circles." Aqua said. "There's a time to act and a time to rest, and we need to know how to tell the two apart."
"I'm just saying that-" Terra started to retort, but Aqua cut him off by saying to Ven, "Can you step outside for a little? Sora, too?"
Ven nodded, and turned to Sora, but saw that he was sitting down on the floor, acting like he hadn't heard a word that had been said. Ven cocked his head and knelt down in front of Sora, waving his hand in front of Sora's helmet, but the only thing that moved was the distorted reflection of Ven's glove moving across Sora's golden armour.
"I think he's dived into his Heart." Aqua said curiously, "I wonder what he's doing."
Ven shrugged. "Well, he's effectively unconscious, that's for sure. No one to, uh, listen in." If Ven had a face he would have winked as he left.
Aqua smiled after him and flopped down on the floor next to Terra. She didn't say anything at first, but quickly muttered, "Thanks for what you said back there. About your life being worth something."
"Of course." Terra said, "If I didn't think my life was worth something, I wouldn't have gone on living. I never thought that, not even when we were young and being manipulated by Xehanort."
Aqua nodded. "Sometimes, I didn't know what you were thinking. You blamed yourself a lot for Xehanort's return."
"I did." Terra admitted, "But you taught me that there was more to live for than just saving worlds and beating back the Darkness. You taught me that we couldn't keep on looking back, or we'd never find anything tangible."
Aqua radiated with pleasure as she heard Terra's words, and wanted to say something profound, but couldn't. Since when had she been the one to get tongue-tied? All she could htink of was a "Thanks."
There was a pause, no one wanting to resume what would quickly become an argument, but Aqua asked, "What if we lose the upcoming fight?" Aqua asked, "What if Light, or maybe Corruption overruns us? Do we run? Or do we stay and die?"
"We're not going to lose." Terra said firmly, "We're not going to lose each other. Don't even talk about it."
"I guess we'll think about it when the time comes." Aqua murmurred. This elicited a groan from Terra, who said, "We're not going to die. We're not."
Aqua looked at Terra and wondered what would happen when an immovable object met an irresistible force. Aqua usually wasn't as stubborn as Terra was, but there were times when the two of them couldn't meet an agreement, and it was during these times that Aqua could be just as stubborn Terra.
It was also at times like these that Ven and Eraqus stayed out of their way.
Terra sighed. "Look, can we just talk about something else? Not whether we should be planning things, or if we're going to die. Weren't you the one who wanted to be more light-hearted?"
Aqua gave a grudging assent, and said, "I can't believe what's happened to the Feymarch. We didn't see one Eidolon except for-" she trailed off, not wanting to remember what had become of Asura and Leviathan.
"I know what you mean." Terra replied. He raised his gauntlet and looked at it, as if just noticing it was no longer flesh that gripped his Keyblade. "I stood up to the Conductor, but sometimes I don't know if he was wrong."
"What do you mean?" Aqua asked with forced humour, "You sounded so brave back then, don't take that away."
Terra snorted humourlessly and summoned his Keyblade, Ends of Earth into his gauntleted hand. This, Aqua realized, was how Terra must have looked to Sora when they first met: distant and full of regrets. "It's just that seeing everything we stood for being misused or forgotten, it makes you wonder why we're putting up such a fight."
"Don't be so down." Aqua sighed, lolling down on the ground. "See, this is why we need Ven. Where is he, by the way?"
"We told him to stand outside," Terra said, "Which means he's probably heard everything we've said." Terra looked pointedly at the door, and held his gaze until Ven shuffled in, not ashamed in the least.
"Can't blame a guy for trying." Ven said, "A little disappointed that you didn't get your lover's quarrel all sorted but,"
"We weren't having a quarrel," Aqua said, and at the same time Terra said, "We're not lovers."
Aqua slowly turned her head towards Terra, who, to his credit, had at least realized the grave he'd fallen into this time.
Ven laughed, and the tension broke as easily as if he'd swung his Keyblade through it. "Glad we know what everyone's priorities are."
Terra sighed and said to no one in particular, "Who's idea was it to bring him in again?" No one needed to answer, but that was fine. Ven sat down on the ground as they sat in what was now contented silence.
"I wonder how the Eidolons heed the Mistborns' summons." Ven said. "This used to be their home, their place where they could be themselves, but now it's some place they're avoiding."
"That's what happens when a kingdom loses its rulers." Aqua said, "The citizens don't feel like living there as much."
"But shouldn't they want to still live in a place where they can be themselves?" Terra asked, "And how could they leave a place they had so many memories and experiences in?"
"Chotip didn't say it happened overnight," Aqua shrugged, "Maybe after a thousand years they got tired of just looking at wooden walls and non-existent rulers. Maybe it's like Chotip said, they lost hope."
The three of them, all former apprentices of Eraqus, reflected on that. Meanwhile, Sora still sat in silence, still occupied with whatever was going on in his mind.
Roxas looked at Xion. Xion looked at him. Roxas was never good at starting conversations, and this wasn't the best time to be put under pressure. Luckily, Xion was more adept.
"Roxas," Xion said, "It's good to see you."
Roxas nodded, but didn't know what to say. It felt unreal, seeing her like this. She should have belonged to the past, the past of flesh and blood and passion, not this cold unfamiliar world of armour and gods.
"You had me worried for a bit," Xion continued, "I thought you might have gone into depression."
It was plausible. In the period Roxas had been the only Nobody, in the time before he was rejoined with Lea, Naminé and Xion, he had wandered around the Mysterious Tower, not really noticing the others.
"Come one, Roxas, talk with us a little." Sora had said, "It's not like we've got anything against you."
Roxas knew that. It was something Sora had never really gotten. He had grown up without any memories, nothing to call his own. So he had madeis memories of Axel, Xion and Naminé his own, because they were all he had. Sora had his lucky charm, Ven had his wayfinder, and Roxas had his memories.
There was this time Sora had wanted to get to know Roxas better. He had asked him about his time in the Organization. "Come on. We're friends. Hell, we're part of each other. Shouldn't we know about each others' lives?"
Of course not. Roxas' memories were his. His own. Would Sora give up Kairi's charm? Would Axel, no, Lea give up that ice-cream stick Roxas had left on his ledge when he had left him. The day before she died. Roxas would not lay himself bare like that, leave his treasured possession for others to take.
Sora had pushed more. Maybe this was just guilt of not knowing Roxas, or guilt that Sora had friends he could trust, something he didn't think Roxas had. "You have to open up to us more, Roxas. Our Hearts make us strong. As we make connections, our Hearts grow stronger, and so do we."
"I know, I've heard you say it to me a lot of times." Roxas had said, "I'm just not in the mood."
Sora had rolled his eyes and put on that grin which could get him anything he wanted from Donald and Goofy. "Just, like, what did you do on a normal day? Did you hang out with Axel and Xion a lot?"
Roxas' stare was on the border of turning into a glare, but he had refrained from it. "I killed Heartless." After that, he had walked away, leaving Sora to sigh and walk away, only to be accosted by him again some days later.
And then Xion had come. Lea had come. Naminé had come. And they were part of Roxas' memories. They already knew him. And Roxas knew them. His friends were all he had, the only memories he could hold onto. They had shaped him, the three of them, and they defined who he was. How could anyone ask him to give that up.
Still, they didn't have the same problems with sharing Roxas did. "I don't get why you want to keep it a secret." Axel, or Lea, had said. They'd been sitting on top of the clock tower after a mission, just like the old days. Except that Roxas wasn't destined to die in the LE. Roxas had been kicking his feet casually against the marble ledge and looked at out on the sunset.
"It's not that I want to keep it a secret," he had replied, "I mean, they can just ask you and learn everything. It's just…" Roxas had trailed off then, not knowing what else to say. How could he put into words his obsession over those memories. They were his alone, even if he had shared them. How much sense would that make?
"Man, don't over think things. It never works out." Axel had leaned back and looked back at the dull sky that was littered with small clouds. Roxas could remember that sky so clearly, even now. "Is that something I should be getting memorized?" Roxas had laughed. Axel had given him the thumbs up and said, "Damn straight it is. Trust me, especially when it comes to people, you can't over think stuff."
So here Roxas was, facing Xion, who he had thought was dead, and he wasn't going to overthink things. "I wouldn't get depressed like that, you know me."
Xion smiled, crinkling her eyes. Her black hair made her blue eyes seem darker than Sora's, the difference between the morning sky on the Destiny Islands and the darker sky in the afternoon just before sunset. "Miss me?"
Roxas nodded. Don't over think things, he thought, keep it simple. But how could he keep it simple when he didn't even know what he felt? He was happy, sad, amazed, and emotional. Emotional. Ironic, when for so long they had been fighting for a Heart. "How did you come here? Why weren't you here before?"
"I told Sora." Xion said, "Weren't you listening?"
Truth be told, Roxas hadn't. He hadn't known what to do, what to say. Don't over think things. Well, he hadn't overthought things, that was sure. He just hid. He didn't think about how the arrival of Xion meant that his memories, his treasure, was to be shared. He just felt a tug in his stomach, the kind he hadn't felt since he had merged with Sora and his vacation had been over, and knew he had to hide.
"Well, I guess it's not important." Xion said, "I wanted to talk to you."
Roxas cocked his head and walked a little closer, getting apprehensive. It was always a bad sign when someone started off a conversation like that. He smiled slightly and asked, "Isn't it usually me who asks you things?"
Xion rolled her eyes and said, "Have you noticed any changes in Sora?"
Roxas blinked. That was something he hadn't thought of. Good, keep it that way. Don't over think things. Aloud, he said, "I'm not sure. I haven't really paid that much attention to him. He seems a little angstier, but being away from Kairi can do that to him."
Xion nodded thoughtfully, "He just seems gloomier, and his Heart isn't as pure as it used to be."
"I thought his Heart was how it always was," Roxas said, "Wasn't that how we came to be?"
"That's how we started," Xion said, "But he's changed over the past couple of days. He's angry but thinks he can't show it."
"But he's Sora." Roxas said, "He's too bright for that. He can't be infected with Darkness or anything."
Xion nodded. "That was when he was with Kairi. That was when he was with friends and knew what to do. Now, though, he's seeing everything he worked for degenerate. He's seen his own home changed beyond belief. He's seen friends he only just met die by his own hand. And he just covers it up and hope it'll go away."
Roxas thought for a bit. All of it was true, and he felt guilty at being exasperated at Sora when they were fighting against Mr. H. How could Roxas of all people not understand how important friends were to Sora? Don't over think things. Roxas concentrated on Xion, shaking his head slightly. Xion smiled wanly and tilted her head. "Sorry to bring up such a serious topic when we've just met again. I just wanted another opinion."
Roxas nodded. "Thanks. But there isn't much we can do anyways. Sora won't listen if we try and talk to him."
"No, he won't." Xion said. She sighed and said, "Enough about Sora. How have you been?"
Roxas thought about it (don't over think) and realized he had only started becoming fully conscious as Sora and the others were at the Destiny Islands. Xion wasn't the only one who had a bit of a reboot time. "I'm fine, I guess. Haven't really thought about myself that much. I haven't really had enough time."
"You should think it over a little," Xion said, "You can't go into battle without any doubts. You have to know what you're fighting for."
"I'm fighting for you, Lea and Naminé," Roxas said immediately. "You're my friends, you've always known that. I'm not different from before."
Xion nodded. "Just hope that we'll all be able to survive this war. Something tells me not all of us will come through."
Roxas frowned. "Sometimes I think it's better if we didn't have a Heart."
Xion frowned and stepped forward out of concern. She was about to say something when Sora came falling from above.
"All caught up yet?" Sora said with that classic grin over his face. Looking at him from the outside, no one would think that Sora was under any burden.
Xion smiled as well and nodded. It was so easy for them to lie and deceive each other, even though they were practically the same person. What was that saying about them? "Pretty much done. We were just discussing how we needed to keep an eye on things." Xion's blue eyes pleaded at Roxas, and the meaning was clear. They were to spy on Sora, and if anything went wrong, if Sora started getting manipulated or invaded by the Divine Beings, they would take over his body.
It left a bitter taste in Roxas mouth. How did this make them better than the Divine Beings? Don't over think things, Roxas told himself adamantly. He was doing this for his friends, the Divine Beings possessed people against their will for themselves. It was for friends, for Lea, Naminé, and Xion. It was for them.
So, hope you enjoyed that. I was a little late on Roxas and Xion development, along with Naminé, so I hope this makes up for lost time. Also hope you like what I've done with the Feymarch.
'till next time.