A/N: After a long hiatus, this project is finally in a position to return. I can make a promise to my readers, too: I will publish all the chapters until the end of the first half of the story. Enjoy, my readers!
Scene 26: Fling a light to the future
When Eileen discovered what was inside the final envelope, she couldn't find it in herself to return to the hospital. Instead, she stayed in her room, wrestling with the conflicted feelings inside of her until exhaustion claimed her and she fell asleep.
The next morning, Eileen returned to the hospital and straight to her parents' room. The first words out of Eileen's mouth where she entered were:
"What is the meaning of this, Mom and Dad?"
"You must understand, Eileen. We wanted you and Jason to escape somewhere safe by any means," James Darnell said, sitting himself up in his hospital bed. "If Jason isn't here, then there is no other option. You must leave here alone, Eileen."
"No! I refuse to let it end like this!" Eileen yelled. "I refuse to give up on Jason! He's still alive somewhere, and as his big sister it's my responsibility to save him!"
"You think I want to give up on my son?" her father yelled back. "I want to believe that Jason is alive. However, your mother and I have been stuck here for an entire year. We couldn't do anything for Jason, and he was taken away. We have no choice but to accept—"
Tears started to form in James' eyes, and he tried to blink them away. Seeing these tears, Nicole Darnell said, "Eileen, that's enough! You still don't understand what we're asking of you. Did you read the entire letter we left?"
Eileen hadn't, because she had been too shocked at the opening words. "But you're both right here! Why can't you just tell me why you want me to leave?"
"Do you remember the previous letter we wrote to you and Jason, about our childhood home?" Nicole didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "While I don't know what's become of Braig, your father and I believe the way to defeat him can be found in our home world: Radiant Garden."
Eileen was forced to acknowledge her mother's point. However, that reminded her of something that happened in this very room. "The situation is worse than you realize. You were still in your coma, and I came to visit you when Xigbar attacked me."
"'Xigbar? Who is that?" Nicole asked. Eileen described the Nobody who looked exactly like Braig, and Nicole and James shared a shocked look.
"That sounds a lot like Braig. And you say he attacked you? How did you manage to escape?!" James asked frantically.
"I managed to fight him to a draw, but only because I caught him by surprise," Eileen said, remembering how Xigbar walked on the ceiling. "If I do leave, and he comes back, what's going to happen to you and Mom?"
Even now, we are bed-ridden. So if we are alone and this Xigbar returns for us…" James closed his eyes, "Then I am ready to accept whatever follows."
"Yes. As long as I know my children are safe, then we 'll be ready for Braig, or Xigbar, or whatever he calls himself now," Nicole said, reaching for her husband's hand again.
"That's the problem! Jason isn't safe! And now you're telling me that I should be ready to leave my parents behind too? Leave you behind to—!"
Eileen couldn't even finish what she was saying. It was all too much. This situation seemed to be getting worse and worse. When Eileen thought she could turn to her parents for help, it turned out their only solution was for her to run away. Was this really the only way?
"Please, Eileen. The longer you delay, the closer we come to the worst case scenario," James said firmly. "We need you to go to Radiant Garden and get help. If there is anyone capable of standing up to Braig, whatever he's become, they will be there on our home world."
"What your father is saying is that if you face Braig now, we might really lose you and Jason," Nicole said. "The best chance you have now is to leave here, so Braig can't find you while you decide what you need to do next. You might even run into Jason on your travels. But, it's become clear — there is nothing left for you in Twilight Town anymore."
"Fine, fine, I get it already!" Eileen sighed, shaking her head. "I'm twenty and my parents are still telling me what to do."
"You'll always be our little girl to us," Nicole said, smiling gently. "Now follow that letter to its destination. Then you'll know what the gummy is for."
Jason hadn't spoken with Axel in a long time. In fact, if Jason wasn't mistaken, the last time they had spoken was when Axel had offered to be Jason's ally.
So Jason wasn't sure what to do when he was assigned a mission with Axel and Xion. That it was so close to the mission to Castle Oblivion made Jason extra suspicious.
"You know, for a human you're pretty distrustful," Larxene quipped when he shared his concerns. "I thought having a heart meant you'd be trusting of everyone?"
Jason rolled his eyes. "Very funny. No, a heart is very much capable of being distrustful, and it's telling me something is up with Axel."
"You know, I considered inviting Axel to our team before you came along," Larxene said thoughtfully. "But after seeing the healing powers you have, I decided that you might not be entirely useless. And I was right!"
"Gee, thanks. That's real glowing praise coming from you." Even as Jason playfully ribbed Larxene, in the back of his mind he was considering the information.
It seemed like his presence had disrupted plans that had already been in motion. Which was good on one hand, because Jason wanted to disrupt the Organization. However, if he had taken a role originally intended for Axel…
"I think I want to take this chance to pick at Axel's brain. With our plans so close to being set into motion, it makes me uncomfortable not to know his motives."
Larxene shrugged. "Knock yourself out. Just don't get in the way of anything actually important, got it?"
"Understood." Now Jason was thankful he'd gone on a mission with Xion yesterday. Making a good first impression with her could make it easier to talk to Axel. Now was perhaps the best chance for Jason to make sure there was nothing that could interfere with their plans.
"I'll be leaving for my mission now. See you later, Larxene," Jason said, leaning his head up so he could kiss Larxene on the cheek.
"Get going already. I'm going to be busy with my preparations," Larxene said, grinning wickedly. "I'm making sure we are ready to greet the Keyblade Wielder with proper hospitality."
It impressed Jason that Larxene managed to make it sound so threatening. He personally hoped this Keyblade Wielder agreed to go quietly, so they didn't have to find out what an angry Larxene was like.
Once Jason caught a portal to the Grey Area of the Castle That Never Was, he met up with Xion and Axel. "What mission requires all three of us? This is the first time I've heard of an assignment like this."
"Hello, Jason! Apparently, Saix wanted you specifically for this mission. Don't ask me why. They never tell us lower members any details," Xion said.
Jason rolled his eyes at this, which caused Xion to giggle. Jason wasn't a numbered member of the Organization, but he did relate with Xion about being the "new one".
"Saix seems to believe that this mission will require your skill set," Axel said, leaning against a wall. "It's a pretty standard fight against a boss Heartless. Xion is being sent to collect its hearts, and we're her backup muscle."
"So a lot like the last mission I was on with Xion. Shouldn't be a problem, then," Jason said, already putting on his Organization coat.
For an uncomfortable period of time, Axel observed Jason, his expression impenetrable. Then Axel said, "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you've always been a member of Organization XIII. You've really grown into that cloak."
With that, Axel opened a Dark Corridor, walking through it and leaving Jason with a cold pit deep in his stomach.
Jason had been so focused on trying to figure out Axel's intentions that it didn't occur to him to wonder where they were headed. So the sight of Twilight Town's clock tower was a shock to him. Quickly, Jason pulled his hood over his face; he still wasn't allowed to show himself in his home world.
"The prodigal son returns, huh," Axel quipped. "And no one even knows you're here. Feel weird?"
"This isn't the first time I've been here on a mission," Jason said, thankful that his hood was currently covering his expression. "In fact, I suppose that's exactly why I'm on this mission."
"According to the mission parameters, we are seeking a giant Heartless hiding somewhere in some tunnels," Xion said. "Do you know what those are, Jason?"
"Those would be the subway tunnels," Jason said, calling up the memory in his head. "It's bad if there's a big Heartless in one of them. People do walk through them sometimes."
"Then let's go! The sooner we finish the mission, the better!" Xion summoned her Keyblade and took off.
"Wait, I need to tell you how to—" Jason shook his head as Xion ran out of sight. "I hope no one spots her."
"That's Xion for you. She wants to prove herself, even if she doesn't quite know what she's trying to prove," Axel said, smiling affectionately.
After catching up to Xion, Jason explained to her where they needed to go. Jason took the lead as they headed in the direction of the subway entrances. Inside the tunnels, the three of them looked for signs of the target Heartless.
Axel spotted it first: a giant flower Heartless dominating one of the subway tracks. "So we're here to kill an overgrown plant? We'll be sitting on the clock tower with our sea salt ice cream in no time!"
Axel summoned his chakra wheels, immediately lighting them on fire. He threw them at the flower Heartless, which roared in pain and writhed as the flames burned its body.
However, this also caused the Heartless to release a cloud of spores around it, and Axel breathed some in. Axel tried to move out of the way, but staggered. "Paralyzing spores! I should have guessed it wasn't going to be that easy."
"I'll take care of this, Axel!" Xion sliced at the flower Heartless with her Keyblade. But the attack backfired, because the more that Xion hit the Heartless the more spores it released.
Soon enough, Xion's body stopped cooperating too, leaving both her and Axel unable to move. Now the flower Heartless whipped out vines, lashing out at the two Nobodies.
So this is why I'm here. Okay, I can at least lend them a hand.
Jason pointed his staff at both Axel and Xion, casting his healing magic over them. Axel tried to get back up, but his legs locked together. "This battle won't go anywhere if we keep getting paralyzed! You'll need to attack it, Jason!"
When it came to fighting, Jason made a point to keep his distance from enemies if he could and cast spells from there. Hypothetically, Jason could do the same with this flower Heartless. But that didn't solve the real problem in his opinion.
A word floated into Jason's mind. It wasn't a healing spell like most that Jason cast. Which meant it could be exactly what Jason needed right now.
"Esuna!" A clear shower of healing energy cocooned over Axel and Xion.
The two of them got back up, surprised looks on their faces. "So this is your skill set," Axel said. "I must say, you're full of surprises."
Before Jason could respond, Axel summoned his chakra wheels again and got some distance from the flower Heartless, before sending the wheels flying at it again and again.
"When there's a break in the spores, finish it off, Xion!" Axel exclaimed.
"Got it!" Xion gripped the handle of her Keyblade, watching carefully. Eventually, the flower Heartless got too tired to release spores, and in that moment Xion stabbed the heartless as hard as she could.
In a black puff, the Heartless vanished, and a giant heart floated up and away. As the black puff cleared, a figure came into focus on the other side of the tunnel. One that Jason immediately recognized.
"Eileen!" Upon hearing her name, Eileen looked right at Jason, recognizing him even with the cloak over his face.
"So you are alive… thank goodness," Eileen said, the relief on her face clear. "As long as you're safe, then I know I can do what I need to do."
Jason considered what he could say or do. For all he knew, he was being spied on right now. So Jason finally decided to say, "I will do what I must as well."
Eileen nodded, and headed off deeper into the subway tunnels.
"Who was that?" Xion asked.
"Exactly what she looks like- a native of this place, just like me," Jason said, smiling to himself. "So anyone that goes looking for her won't be able to find her."
"Interesting. Very interesting," Axel said, looking down the tunnel where Eileen had run. "You know, I could report this to the Superior. You did make contact with a native."
"And what would you gain from that?" Jason said, looking up at Axel.
"Nothing much I can think of. I'd like to keep my meeting place if I can help it," Axel said, his expression enigmatic. "Speaking of which, let's RTC. Xion and I want to go get our treat."
"You can come with us, Jason! I mean, I suppose this is your world, so you'd know it better," Xion said sheepishly.
"There's no need. I'm sure I'll be back here soon enough." It seemed like Eileen had a plan of her own. So even if Jason's plan failed, there was a small hope that Eileen could still save him.
A/N: No matter how many years it takes, I am determined to see the end of this story. As always, I apologize that the development of the story is such that there are long periods of hiatus at times. So I ask that you trust me, and my team, to keep going. See you next time! Please review.