In the Round Room sat the usual three—Xemnas, Xigbar, and Saïx.
"While Xion is gone, we must further reinforce Roxas's memories," said Xemnas.
"Preparations are already complete, sir," Saïx replied.
Xigbar snorted at him. "Hey, how do you see Xion?"
"I don't understand what you're asking." The words were evasive, but as long as the intent behind them was clear, that was enough, in Saïx's opinion.
Xigbar only smirked and turned to Xemnas. "That works fine for me. What about you?"
Xemnas stared back.
"Just wondering if you ever see our Poppet like I do," Xigbar said with a shrug. "Don't you and me sometimes see eye to eye, as they say?"
Xemnas's answer was a burst of laughter.
Saïx wasn't sure if that meant yes or no.
"Watch Roxas. Don't take your eyes off him." With that, Xemnas vanished.
"Yeah, do your best now," Xigbar remarked to Saïx before disappearing.
But what had Xigbar meant before…?
We're watching the sunset together, all three of us. We promised to go to the beach. Now we're here.
Xion watched the sun sink toward the horizon. Roxas and Axel were beside her. The soft rush of the waves filled the air.
"Is it true that I'm not supposed to exist?" she asked quietly.
"Well, what do you want to do, Xion?" said Axel.
She thought for a moment. Now that someone was asking, she could see the answer for the first time. "I want…I want to be with you two."
"Then come back with us," said Roxas.
"I can't… Not the way I am now. But…what would it take for me to be like you?"
Axel and Roxas had no reply. They only watched the sunset.
Axel woke up from his strange dream. However, he couldn't remember what it was about. It must have just been his anxiety over Xion. He got up, fixed himself up as usual and left on his mission.
Today his search took him to Hollow Bastion.
In the center of the town was a small research facility where Ansem and his apprentices carried out their many experiments. After Ansem ceased his research into the darkness of the heart, the apprentices conducted their studies in an enormous laboratory in the basement of the castle. However, Xemnas still used the old research facility.
Axel entered the Garden of Assemblage. This room was where data on all the members of Organization XIII was kept. Xion might have come here looking for answers. But it didn't appear anyone had accessed the computer recently.
No sign of Xion anywhere in this world. I figured since this world is in Sora's memories, it might be in Xion's memories, too.
Axel looked up at the castle in the distance and the waterfalls gushing above him.
"No vessel, no help from the Heartless… So tell me, how'd you get here?"
"I simply believed. Nothing more to it. When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again no matter the cost. I believed I would find her. I will have her back!"
Axel remembered from his time in Castle Oblivion that Sora had been here in Hollow Bastion back when he was looking for Kairi and fought with a toy sword.
"Why…did you come here? I came to fight for Belle. And though I am on my own, I will fight. I won't leave without her."
"Me, too. I'm not gonna give up now. I came here to find someone very important to me…"
The way Roxas sees Xion is no doubt influenced by the way Sora sees Kairi. So, I'm sure Roxas desperately wants to find her.
Axel sighed and began walking away.
I wonder how the Beast was able to get to Hollow Bastion, anyways. Only beings like us Nobodies can create corridors of darkness. Riku is an exception because he has Xehanort's Heartless inside of him. But the Beast is just a normal person. Maybe he was like me. Maybe it was the darkness in his heart that gave him that power.
I should resign myself to it soon.
Staring absently at the setting sun, Axel bit into his ice cream.
What do I want to do? And what am I supposed to do?
"Um, Axel…What am I supposed to do during vacation?"
"Supposed to do? What kind of question is that?"
"But…I really don't know."
"You just do what you want."
Seems like I've been thinking about nothing else for ages.
A replica, a manufactured puppet…and a Nobody, a being that shouldn't exist. Axel heaved a sigh.
I wonder if there's really much of a difference. Nobodies have no hearts. What we have is self-awareness, a sentience guided by memory. But I've come to wonder lately—if memory directs all our actions, is that really limited to the memories from our human lives? Wouldn't we be swayed by memories of yesterday—even minutes ago? Memories from when we were human are just more vivid.
What should I do? What do I want to do? I'm not sure that bringing Xion back to the Organization would be the best thing for her. Though of course, the answer to that is something I'd decide while eating ice cream here.
And here comes proof positive.
"Hey...It's been a while." Roxas sounded surprised to see him.
Axel turned with a grin. "You think so?" Roxas doesn't have a smile in him. I shouldn't have expected one.
Roxas sat down beside Axel as usual. "So...I went to the beach for my mission today," he said, pausing for a bit. "And there was this girl who looked kind of like Xion…"But I couldn't get close enough to tell for sure.I probably imagined it. To be honest, I'm not even sure today's mission really happened. Feels like I just woke up from a dream or something."
Axel peered at him. There was something hazy about his eyes. Apparently, Xion's disappearance has deeply affected Roxas.
He kept rambling without looking at Axel. "You know how we promised each other we'd all go to the beach?"
"Uh-huh."
"Maybe that's why. Maybe I saw Xion there because I wanted her to be there." Roxas looked toward the sinking sun.
I do have to make up my mind, huh? Axel hesitated a moment before dragging himself to his feet. He looked away agonizingly and heaved a deep sigh, though Roxas didn't notice. He steeped himself, then put on a smile for Roxas. "You wanna go look for her?"
"Huh?" Roxas finally looked at him. "But Xemnas said—"
Axel was still grinning. "Forget him. Starting tomorrow, let's use our spare time between work and coming here to try and find Xion."
Roxas smiled and stood up beside him. "Mm-hmm."
Maybe we will get to go to the beach together one day. Roxas's smile had ignited hope in Axel's mind, and he rejected the doubts that followed. Instead, he chose to watch the sunset.
"Sounds good. Let's do that."
As Roxas looked into the distance with renewed hope, Axel looked away. He felt a bit guilty.
Lea stared vacantly at the sun sinking into the sea. He sat himself down on a piece of driftwood, resting his elbows on his knees, and watched the waves rush in and out.
The experiments were officially over, he was released, and was now free. But Isa wasn't. He was gone.
I'm never gonna see Isa again, am I? He's gone forever...isn't he? I just have to accept it, don't I?
"What do I do now…?" He stretched carefully and got up again, his eyes narrowed against the setting sun. It turned the sea red, and the sky. The waves lapped at his feet, getting them wet.
The last seven days rolled by, and Lea still didn't know what to do. Isa had been missing for a week. The haze never lifted. The only thing he could do was count the days—and at the end of each day, he could barely recall anything from it. He felt so detached. His thoughts ran in circles, and his nights were restless with dreaming. There was something wrong with him. But what?
He knew the answer. Isa was gone. Without him, he was lost and stuck in the doldrums. He had such vivid dreams that the lines between dreams and reality were starting to blur. Sometimes he got the feeling that maybe everything was just a dream. Did he feel spacey all the time because he didn't sleep well? Or was he not sleeping well because he spent all day vacantly going through the motions? He was so tired. No, not tired exactly—more like there was a thick fog over his mind. Like he was stuck in a hazy twilight.
The never-ending sound of the waves was beginning to grate on him. He was afraid he was starting to lose it.
No...
The aching of the sadness and regret in his heart was too much to bear. If the experiments were meant to awaken the darkness in one's heart, they had succeeded. He felt sadness, regret, loneliness, anger, and hatred.
I'm tired of this. Waiting around isn't gonna get me anywhere. If I don't get up and actually do something, nothing's gonna change.
Lea stood up from the piece of driftwood.
He's not gone. I know he's still out there. Somewhere. I believe that.
He looked out at the sea. He wanted to come to the beach with Isa so badly.
"I'm going to find you and get you back! No matter how many times you're taken away from me, I'll bring you back! I promised you that!" It was a plea, a cry, a bitter lament, and a vow.
Suddenly, a dark portal opened up before him on the sand.
"Whoa!" What the hell is this? Where did it come from?
The dark portal lingered, as if waiting for a response from him. For some reason, he felt entranced by this strange portal. He stared inside the blackness.
A crooked grin suddenly formed on Lea's face.
I'm not afraid of the darkness. This is MY power. I just believed I'd find Isa, then boom. It know it will lead me right to him.
"If you have a dream, you don't wait. You act. One of life's little rules."
With a calm heart, Lea took a step inside.
The next day they gave Axel the same mission again: Hunt down the impostor, Riku.
I've been on this for a while now. I keep expecting them to tack on the objective of searching for Xion, but fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Saïx gave me no such order.
Axel looked out over Neverland's ocean and leaned back, stretching. He remembered his earlier trip here with Roxas.
"And she's the one who helped me fly," Roxas realized.
"Did she now?"
"It's true!" Roxas turned to speak to Tinker Bell. "Can you help me show him? Give us some of that glowing stuff?"
Tinker Bell seemed to consider it for a few seconds, then flew in close spirals around Roxas and Axel. The bright dust settled over them. And Roxas floated into the air.
"What?!" Axel blurted.
"Told ya!" Roxas shot up high, looking down on Axel.
"How are you doing that?"
"I can't really explain it… But once she sprinkles this glowing dust on you, you just think, I can fly! and boom, you're flying."
"I can fly and boom?" Axel said dubiously.
"Yup!" Roxas made a loop the loop. "Just give it a try."
"Well, okay…" Axel concentrated, a frown deepening on his brow.
"What's up, Axel?"
He shrugged. "I'm not feeling it."
"Aw, give it another try. Believe me on this!"
"All right… I believe you."
Axel closed his eyes. And then he felt himself rise off the ground. "I…I can fly?"
"Yup. You can fly!"
I wish I could fly. That would certainly have made searching this world easier. But in any case, I couldn't sense any trace of Riku or Xion here, either. What does the Organization intend to do about Xion? Are they going to let her wander freely until she leads them to the Keyblade master? Or…do they actually know where she is? But if they did, they wouldn't have me looking for Riku.
He hadn't breathed a word to Saïx that Xion was probably with Riku. But he couldn't have said why he was keeping his suspicions to himself.
But that allowed me to suggest looking for her with Roxas. It's a choice, a resolution, and also…what? Friendship? Axel made a wry grimace at the word. His doubts still remained. I'm worrying over what is the best thing to do. Will I find the answer someday?
"Oh! Hey, not every day you see a grown-up here." Axel looked up to see a boy in green floating above. He was accompanied by the small fairy girl, Tinker Bell.
Tinker Bell fluttered around. She seemed to say something to the green-clad boy.
"Yeah, you're right. He does seem different than other grown-ups. If he could actually fly, that's proof!"
"Whaddaya mean?" Axel asked curiously.
"Don't you know? This is Neverland. The place where kids come so they never have to grow up. We can stay here and do whatever we want!"
Never have to grow up...
"I don't like grown-ups much. They're always tellin' fibs."
Axel looked away.
"Greedy, too! Just look at Hook! All he cares about is gold! All grown-ups are like that."
Tinker Bell folded her arms and nodded.
"And grown-ups always forget about me. Just when I think I've made a new friend, they wanna leave and grow up."
Tinker Bell hovered by Peter Pan making a lot of noise. It seemed like she really agreed with this point.
"Yeah, exactly," Peter responded. "Just look at Wendy. She went back home to London. Sure, she told me she'd never forget me. But when she tries to remember me, the memories will be gone. She'll forget—little by little, one memory at a time. First she'll forget what it feels like to be young, and then she'll forget about me. Once she's grown up, there won't be a single memory of me left. We'll never see each other again."
"I want everybody I meet to remember me. Inside people's memories, I can live forever."
"I know I won't forget you. Believe me, I try all the time."
"See, I'm immortal!"
Axel couldn't help but remember his conversation with Isa. It was one of his most precious memories. But he'd completely forgotten about it along with many other memories. This conversation was hitting a little too close to home. He could barely even look at Peter Pan.
"Well, mister, we gotta go! Don't wanna keep the Lost Boys waiting! We've got some treasure to hunt! See ya!" With that, Peter Pan left. As the fairy was following him, some of her dust sprinkled on to Axel.
He tried for a bit, but he still couldn't fly. Not without Roxas. It was thanks to him that Axel was able to let loose and believe that day. It was so much fun.
"I just…want these days to last forever. Hanging out, the ice cream, the sunsets…"
"Well, nothing lasts forever. Least of all for a bunch of Nobodies. But, you know, hanging out every day isn't the only thing that matters. We'll still have one another, even if that changes and we can't meet up here."
"Really?"
"Yeah. As long as we keep each other in our thoughts, none of us will ever have to be apart. Got it memorized?"
"Wow, that was so not you."
Maybe it wasn't like me to say that. But still. We can't be together forever. That's what growing up's all about. I can't stay in Neverland forever and do whatever I want. I need to grow up and stop wishing for the impossible.
He placed a hand over his face, where one of his tear marks were. Was it really possible that he was starting to outgrow them?
He was left alone, staring out at the sea.
Lea woke up he was lying on the ground in a place he had never seen before.
"Ugh. Where...am I?"
He looked around and noticed a large clock tower. The tower's bell chimed, and the sound of a train speeding away could be heard in the distance.
Lea wandered the Tram Common of Twilight Town, an entirely new world. It was so different from his home world, but it had a similarly serene atmosphere. Yet he had no time to marvel at the new scenery. He had important business here.
This place. It's another world, isn't it? I wonder if Isa is really here.
He wandered around until he passed by the slightly crowded shopping district. He saw a few small children walk past the Sweets Shop with a familiar treat in hand—blue bars of sea-salt ice cream.
Even here, they sell that ice cream!? What does this mean? Maybe someone from Radiant Garden really came here, after all...
Lea spent time walking through the town, asking the shopkeepers for any clues to aid him in his search. But he wasn't having much luck. When he made his way to the Sandlot, he noticed a group of kids playing ball and decided to ask them.
Maybe if I ask kids close to my own age...
"Hey, can I ask you guys something?"
"What's up?" asked a young girl.
"I'm looking for my friend. Have you seen a kid my age? He's got blue hair and he'd be wearing a blue jacket."
The kids all looked at each other. "No, I haven't seen anyone like that."
"Yeah, that doesn't sound like anyone in our class. Sorry."
Lea sighed to himself. "Well, have you seen anything, I dunno, suspicious around here lately?"
"Suspicious?" They all stared at each other again. "Oh, are you talking about the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town?"
"Uh, yeah." I guess? "Can you tell me about 'em?"
Lea figured he might as well investigate these Seven Wonders, since he had no other leads to go off. But he had no luck. Just a bunch of rumors spread by children. So he decided to take the stairway up to the top of the station. The 'Keep Out' sign indicated that he wasn't supposed to go up there, but he figured it would give him a better view of the town. He stretched and yawned when the clock tower bells rang.
Then the sun began to set.
These Seven Wonders were really not very helpful. Of course, what did I expect from a bunch of rumors spread by kids in a sleepy little town like this? This is probably hopeless.
Lea was starting to give up. But...there was one more wonder to investigate.
The Seventh Wonder was an abandoned mansion deep in the woods. To get to the mansion, the local kids recommended a shortcut through the sewers.
Ugh. This is frickin' disgusting. I swear, I simply cannot catch a break lately, can I?
He waded through the trash until finally, he resurfaced in the woods. After walking for a few minutes he found what he was looking for: a large mansion said to be frequented by strange visitors. The mansion's window was broken. In front of it, lying on the ground was—
"Are you all right!? Isa! Wake up!"
The first thing he noticed was the giant X-shaped scar covering almost all of his face. He gently touched Isa's face with the tips of his fingers. Intense anger welled up inside of him. Isa. What did they do to you?
"Are you okay!?" But he didn't get a response. "Hey, c'mon, say something." He began to shake him. "Please..."
Nothing. Isa was completely still and expressionless, like a zombie.
Lea felt a lump in his throat. He hung his head and his shoulders began to tremble. It all felt hopeless. Like there was nothing left to believe in anymore.