Chapter 50 – Snow Day

It was the next morning; 7:30 to be exact. Roxas slowly woke up, his nose switching slightly. Suddenly he felt extremely cold, and hurried to get more blankets over himself. "Why is it so cold?" he muttered groggily, pulling a warm checkered quilt over his head. "Tonight I'm wearing a shirt to bed." He hugged his bare upper body tightly, trying to conserve heat. As he tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, his quilt slid off his head. Before he could replace it, something caught his eye. His window was so fogged up that it looked like a bathroom window. Roxas slowly got up out of his bed, wrapped his quilt around him, and went to the window to investigate. "I don't remember the windows ever being this fogged up…"

When he got close enough to the window he took the palm of his hand and rubbed off some of the condensation. The cold wetness stung against his sleepy skin and sent shivers throughout his whole body. But the chill was soon forgotten. His pupils expanded greatly in surprise when he noticed something on the outside window sill. It was like white power, packed tightly together. He yearned to get a closer look, so he pressed his face against the window. The icy feeling woke him up completely. "What…is that?" he muttered in awe. He pulled his face away from the glass, leaving imprints from his nose and forehead. "I hope I didn't do that…"

Before Roxas could gather any more of his thoughts together, the door opened. Xion, clothed with many blankets, entered his room before shutting the door. She joined him by the window before speaking. "Roxas, there's something wrong with the outside of the castle! Everything is white!"

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Roxas exclaimed nervously.

Xion just gave him a confused look. "Huh?"

"Never mind," Roxas replied. "…Wait…the whole outside is white? I only noticed white stuff on the window sill."

Xion nodded quickly. "Yes…what if The World That Never Was is dying?" Both her face and Roxas' faces were stricken with worry.

Roxas pulled his quilt tighter around himself so Xion wouldn't see his 'pajamas.' "I wonder if any of the other members know about this…or are even awake!"

Xion looked at the window for a moment longer and then back at Roxas. "We should tell Axel."

Number XIII nodded in agreement. "Yes. But first…" Another shiver was sent through his body. "Let's get dressed warmly. The castle is freezing!"

"Do you think this cold has to do with the white stuff outside?" Xion inquired.

Roxas looked out his window again, straining his eyes to see the landscape. "Maybe…maybe we're all going to freeze to death!"


Axel tossed and turned in his bed, in the middle of a very interesting dream. "Mph…" he mumbled. "Larxene…" Due to his excessive moving, his sheets and blankets were crumpled up at his feet, moving inches closer to the ground every time he moved. He was too captivated in his dream to even notice the chilly temperature.

Suddenly the door burst open and two young nobodies raced in. "Axel!" Roxas and Xion exclaimed in unison. They practically pounced on top of number VIII, determined to awaken him. Their plan succeeded, to say the least.

Axel shouted and sat up in surprise, nearly knocking his two friends off of him. "What, what? What is it?" he asked through heavy breathing.

"The world is freezing up!" Roxas exclaimed.

"We're all gonna die!" Xion wailed.

Axel just blinked his eyes, not even completely awake. All he noticed was Roxas and Xion's anxious expressions. Then he noticed they were practically on top of him. "Okay, first…" he began calmly. "You two, give me some personal space! I can't think clearly with you breathing down my neck!"

"Oh, sorry," Roxas apologized, slightly embarrassed. He and Xion crawled off his bed and stood before him.

"And next…" Axel continued leisurely. "I also can't think clearly without my morning coffee." He turned himself around, stepped into his slippers, and started to walk toward his mini kitchenette.

"Axel, there's no time!" Roxas protested. He and Xion followed the pyro closely.

"Yeah! We might freeze to death any moment!" Xion added. She shivered and rubbed her hands together. She and Roxas were both dressed in their usual organization coats because they didn't have anything warmer to wear.

Axel put down his coffee pot and looked his friends in the eye. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Look outside…" Roxas replied in a gloomy voice.

Axel, quite curious now, approached his window and look outside. "Hey look! Snow!" he exclaimed with excitement.

Roxas and Xion were shocked that Axel's tone was so cheery. "Why do you sound so happy? The world is freezing up!" Xion exclaimed.

Axel suddenly started to burst out in laughter, which confused the younger Nobodies even more. "Ahaha!"

"Wh-why are you laughing?" Roxas asked, perplexed.

"What's so funny?" Xion voiced.

Axel tried to calm down his laughter. Once it lessened to just a low roar, he tried to explain. "You two!"

Roxas stepped forward, totally confused and determined to get answers. "What? Why are we funny?"

The Flurry of Dancing Flames stopped his laughter. "You guys," he began, a big smile on his face. "Haven't you ever seen snow before?" After the two shook their heads, he continued to explain. "Usually when the weather gets cold enough, snow appears. Unless Vexen was playing around with his magic too much, but I don't think that's the case. It looks like the snows goes on for miles, and Vexen isn't capable of covering that much ground in one night."

A moment of silence followed. Xion and Roxas let his words sink in, trying to comprehend them. "So…" Xion began. "The world isn't freezing up?"

Axel chuckled. "No. And we're not going to die either." He ruffled Xion's hair with a smirk.

There was another stretch of silence. After a few minutes, Roxas broke it. "…Oh. I feel stupid." He rubbed the back of his head.

"So do I," Xion said. "I'm sorry for waking you up, Axel…"

"Naw, it's fine," Axel replied, walking them towards the door. "Gave me a good laugh." He opened the door and was about to say goodbye when Saix's voice came booming through the hallways.

"All members report to the Grey Room. All members report to the Grey Room." Then there was a loud beep, and then silence.

"What the…?" Axel stepped out into the hallway and looked around, but Saix was nowhere to be seen. Then he noticed a little device placed where the wall met the ceiling. "Ahh," he realized. "I didn't know we had intercoms. Must have been installed recently." He then turned back to his friends. "You two go on ahead to the Grey Room, I'll catch up with you soon."

Once Xion and Roxas agreed, Axel went back into his room and shut the door.


Xion and Roxas found the Grey Room quite noisy and crowded when they entered. Saix was standing at the head of the room, calm as usual. All the other members were gathered around Vexen, yelling and shaking their fists.

"For the last time!" Vexen cried, straining to make his voice heard over the noise. "I have nothing to do with today's weather! Stop blaming me or I'll turn you all into Nobodysicles!"

As Number XIII and XIV watched the ruckus, Axel came in behind them. "Heh, what's going on?" he asked after seeing an angry mob around the organization's scientist.

"They're blaming Vexen for the..." Roxas tried to recall the word Axel had used. "…snow."

Suddenly Saix's voice interrupted the commotion, and everyone grew silent. He cleared his voice before speaking. "Snow has covered all eight worlds we have missions in, and all the heartless have been buried in snow. Therefore, the superior has given you (slackers) a day off."

Saix could barely finish his sentence before the Nobodies started cheering. "Yay! Free day!" Demyx exclaimed. "Thanks for the snow Vexen!"

"But I didn't-" But Vexen stopped his sentence when he realized how many praises he was getting from the other members. "Maybe they'll start a fan club for me…" he thought with a smile.

Clipboard in hand, Saix opened up the dark corridor and prepared to leave. He observed the other members for a moment in disgust. "They all look so happy…but that's impossible. They can't feel emotion. Number XIV has surely poisoned their minds…" "Something must be done."


Xion and Roxas were walking down a hallway, wondering what to do with their free day. They were currently heading towards the rec. room, hoping to kill a few hours with Mario Kart. Just then, Axel joined them.

"Hey you two, what's up?" he asked perkily, putting his hands on their shoulders.

Roxas looked up at Axel. "We're going to play some video games I guess."

Axel stopped walking, so they halted as well. "Aw, c'mon you guys," the redhead said, patting their shoulders. "That's no fun on a day like this. You should go out and play in the snow!"

"…Is that…safe?" Xion asked cautiously.

"Of course it is!" Axel laughed.

"But it's sooo cold," Roxas complained. "I'm freezing indoors, and me and Xion don't have any warmer clothes."

"Hm," Axel murmured, placing a hand on his hips. The hallway was silent for a moment as he thought. All that could be heard was the distance echo of footsteps. Suddenly Axel snapped his fingers, breaking the silence. "I know! You two stay here, I'll be right back!" Roxas tried to get a word in, but by the time he opened his mouth, Axel had already opened the dark corridor and vanished.

The pyro headed over to the clothing store in Twilight Town. As he walked the streets, he found that Saix was right. Everything was covered in snow, and there were no heartless in sight. Once he got into the store, he found a warm winter coat with black and white checkers that he knew Roxas would love. Then he stumbled upon a dark blue coat and seemed to scream "Xion!" He also got yellow gloves, a yellow scarf, and a black and white knit hat for Roxas. He got white gloves, a white scarf, and a white hat for Xion. While he was at it, he picked up a small bottle of French perfume for Larxene.

Once Axel had paid for everything, he met Roxas and Xion back in the hallways of The Castle That Never Was. They had been sitting on the ground and were relieved when Axel finally returned. The two were ecstatic when Axel gave them the warm clothes and thanked him heartily. As they ran back to their rooms to put the clothes on, number VIII went to his quarters to hide the perfume he would later on give to Larxene.


"Wow…it's so beautiful out here!" Xion exclaimed. She and Roxas had just left the castle, all bundled up in their new clothes. She started to walk forward, her mouth open in awe.

Roxas followed her slowly. "Yeah…to think we thought this stuff was dangerous." The next thing he knew, Xion was running around in the snow excitedly. He chuckled and started to chase her. "Come back here, Xi-Xi!"

Once Xion realized Roxas was chasing her, she let out a meep and quickened her pace. Both Nobodies started to laugh. "No! You won't catch me!" Xion shouted.

"Yes I will!" Roxas responded. In a burst of speed, he caught up with Xion. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her down. They both landed in the snow, laughing hysterically. Roxas put his gloved hand to her cheek with a tender smile. "You're so adorable."

Xion blushed. "Thanks," she replied. "So are you."

They stayed in their tender moment, just holding onto each other, for a few more minutes…until Axel threw a snowball at Roxas' head.

"Hey!" Roxas exclaimed, sitting up. Xion sat up as well, glaring at Axel.

The pyro just laughed and started packing another snowball. The two watched curiously – that is, until Axel sent a snowball whizzing towards Xion.

"Ow!" Xion whimpered as the snowball hit her forehead. Roxas gave Xion a look of worry before getting up on his feet.

"Oh, it's on!" number XIII shouted. "No one hits my Xion and gets away with it!"

Xion smiled proudly at Roxas' boldness and stood up too. "And you're not allowed to hit Roxas, either!" Xion added, taking some snow in her hands.

And so it began. A snow war. Two against one. Number against size. Snowballs filled the air, relentlessly being thrown back and force. Most missed their targets, but some were dead-on. Nearby trees were constantly being hit, as was the west wall of the castle. It took about an hour before one side was defeated. Axel's side.

Xion and Roxas ran to Axel's side and helped him out of the snow. "I would have won…" the pyro huffed. "If I was allowed to use my fire power. I'd have melted all your snowballs before they even reached me." He brushed off some snow from his jacket.

"We would have used our keyblades to deflect your snowballs then," Roxas retorted. He then took a deep breath of the crisp fresh air, surveying the scenery. "Hey, Xion, wanna go roll around in the snow?"

Xion hugged herself and shivered. "I dunno…I'm pretty cold and wet."

Suddenly Axel spoke. "Hey, guys, I've got an idea! Stay where you are."

Roxas and Xion looked at each other in confusion as Axel took out his cell phone and started dialing.

Inside the castle, Larxene was in her private bathroom, enjoying her hot tub. The lights were dim, the air smelled of burning wood, and she was contently reading a magazine called The Sadist Digest. She grew very irritated when her phone started the ring, interrupting her relaxation. She picked up her phone and answered it. "What do you want?"

Axel was on the other end. "Hey, Larx, it's Axey!"

Larxene rolled her eyes. "You're interrupting my relaxation, pyro. It better be good."

"Well…" number VIII began hesitantly. "I was wondering if you could do me and 'the kids' a favor."

"Oh brother…" Larxene muttered. "The kids?"

"Roxas and Xion," Axel responded.

"Ah. And exactly what is this favor you want me to do?" Larxene asked testily.

"Make three cups of hot chocolate," he replied simply.

Larxene was appalled at his request. "What? Axel, that's pretty much like asking me to make you a sammich!"

Axel shook his head rapidly, though Larxene obviously couldn't see that. "No, no, I don't want a sandwich! Just…" But Roxas interrupted.

"Sandwich? Huh? What's going on?" the boy asked, confused.

"I'll put it simply," Axel began, looking at the two Nobodies. "Xion, if Roxas ever asks you to make him a sandwich, make him the darn sandwich!" Larxene cleared her throat, which brought Axel's attention back to the phone. "So can ya, Larx?"

"Axel, I rarely ever go into the kitchen," Larxene said sternly. "I stay away from it as much as possible!"

"Yeah, but could you pleeeease do it for me? Just this once?" Axel pleaded, trying to sound as nice as possible.

Larxene sighed. After giving it a moment of thought, she replied, "What's in it for me?"

Axel contemplated for a moment. "Hmmm…well if you make us three cups of hot chocolate, tomorrow I'll be your training partner. You can beat me up as much as you want!"

Larxene smiled sadistically. "Hmm…sounds…intriguing…"

"So is it a deal?" Axel asked eagerly.

"I guess," Larxene replied, sounding disinterested. "It'll be ready in about five minutes. And you better keep your word." With that, she hung up.

"So what are we doing?" Xion asked eagerly as Axel put his cell phone back in his pocket.

Axel smiled. "C'mon you two, we're going inside for some niiiice hot chocolate," he said. He started to walk towards the castle entrance, and his two friends followed.

"Oh boy! Warmth!" Roxas exclaimed excitedly. Xion giggled.

"You two better enjoy this hot chocolate, I practically sold myself to get it," Axel told them.