I stood alone as I listened to the snare drums announcing the march that has captivated me ever since I first heard it in my mission to a distant world called "Leningrad." Though I never found anything of interest to the Superior, besides the usual Heartless I had to kill, I did leave that world with this infectious tune stuck in my head.
The theme began with the plucking of the strings — pluck, pluck, pluck-PLUCK, pluck — before giving way to a flute solo singing in the same pattern — doo, doo, doo-DOO, doo… The piccolo would join, and then the oboe would follow, calling out the same tune, and the bassoon would reply, always alternating between oboe and bassoon, oboe, bassoon… This pattern would continue in a crescendo until the entire orchestra would join together to scream the once fragile-sounding melody in a grotesque fit that reminded me of war and death and carnage — and FIRE!
Ah, yes! Burn, baby, burn! Burn with all your might! Let it all burn —
"AXEL!"
Ugh, Saïx, always out to ruin my fun. Every day, I wonder how we were ever friends, back when we were still Lea and Isa. Oh, well, no use crying over pasts that aren't your own anymore, am I right?
"Yeah, yeah, what is it? Can't you see I was enjoying myself?"
"If by 'enjoying yourself,' you mean sleeping until the mid-afternoon, then I suppose I did see that," said Saïx. "But that's neither here nor there."
"Well, what is it? Who do I have to burn?" I asked, a bored look on my face prominently displayed to spite him.
"No one to… burn," Saïx said with a hint of disgust. "Instead, we're going to induct a new member of the Organization."
"Oh?" Now, he had me intrigued: The Organization hadn't seen a new member in years. A thirteenth member had eluded us for so long that the Superior, Xemnas, was ready to accelerate our plans without one.
"Yes, a thirteenth member," said Saïx. "Xemnas was… ecstatic when he brought the news. It was unusual, to say the least."
"You're telling me," I smirked. "That guy always takes himself so seriously with that deep, gravelly voice of his. A shame that I had to miss out on him being 'happy' for once."
Saïx, as usual, was nonplussed.
"Yes, indeed," he said coolly. "Anyway, you, Axel, are going to take care of this new recruit."
"Me? You haven't even told me who they are or what to expect from them. For all I know, they could be a crashing bore, or worse." I shuddered at the last remark.
"Well, he is a little… diminutive in stature. And he's very… fresh. The kid can barely talk and —"
"Hold on — a kid?!" I exclaimed, barely containing my laughter. "Did I hear that right?"
"Yes, Axel, a kid. But not just any kid. He has a lot of potential hidden just beneath the surface. Don't underestimate him. Or waste that potential. Unless you —"
"Unless I want Xemnas to turn me into a Dusk," I finished. "Yeah, yeah, I got that memorized a long time ago. But, fine, I'll take care of the kid, provided you give me his name, which you still haven't done."
"Roxas," answered Saïx quickly.
"Roxas…" I echoed. "I like the ring of that."
"Then, I'm sure the two of you will get along just fine. Now, get out of bed and report to the Round Room before I report you for insubordination."
"Fine, fine," I said. I continued muttering to myself even after Saïx left.
One thing was for sure: I was kind of… excited to meet this Roxas kid.
Every member of the Organization was present on this occasion. Xemnas always said it would be important once we finally got a thirteenth member, so it made sense that we'd all be here — even Demyx was present, and he was both lazy and useless.
The Round Room (officially, Where Nothing Gathers) is a circular throne room, with each throne a different height based on the member's rank. Xemnas was the furthest back and the tallest since he was Rank I. All the even-numbered members, including me (I was Rank VIII), sat to his right; the odd-numbered members sat to his left, which would soon include Roxas.
Everyone was speaking in hushed tones about the new recruit — well, everyone except Saïx, Xemnas, and me. Saïx and Xemnas were both too self-serious to gossip, but I remained silent for a different reason: I was thinking about all my new responsibilities suddenly thrust upon me. Since this Roxas kid was "fresh," as Saïx described him, I was going to teach him not only how to be a good and loyal Organization member but also more basic stuff. What he is, who everyone is, who should he trust (or not — we are Nobodies, after all), what things he could enjoy (I couldn't wait to share my love of sea-salt ice cream with him; no one else was interested) — the whole works, really. My mind's wandering was interrupted by the creaking of the Round Room's double doors.
Our new recruit had arrived.
"Gentlemen," bellowed Xemnas, silencing the rest of us. "And Larxene" — so inclusive — "I am proud to introduce our newest member. Though he is still young and as of yet inexperienced, I see in him the potential of the whole Organization. Come in, Roxas."
In came a blank-faced boy of about 15 with spiky golden hair and striking blue eyes. He stepped forward tentatively — being surrounded by twelve faceless, hooded Nobodies must've been scary for the kid, and I wouldn't blame him. Except it wasn't twelve, but eleven — I rarely, if ever, wore my hood up, and Roxas instantly noticed and began staring at me. I must've been the first face he had seen since Xemnas found him. That allowed me to take a better look at the kid.
Roxas was short — "diminutive in stature," as Saïx diplomatically put it — even shorter than Zexion, our chief researcher. His sky-blue eyes seemed a bit lifeless and dull now, perhaps because there was no natural light shining on them. His pupils were slightly dilated — it was pretty bright in this room, considering it was all white. Roxas's face was soft and non-threatening. Depending on who you'd ask, this could serve him either as an asset or a disadvantage. But from what I could gather just based on his appearance, I'd say Roxas seemed like the odd man — or boy, really — out. Whereas the rest of us were some shade of scary or no-nonsense — even Zexion, that cute little nerd, had some surprises in store — Roxas seemed out of place. I couldn't quite place it, but he seemed too… "pure"? Is that it? If he was a Nobody — and who am I to question Xemnas's wisdom? — he was certainly a different kind of Nobody.
"Wh-where am I?" Roxas asked, more than a little dazed.
"You are home, Roxas," Xemnas answered. "Welcome to the Organization. You have already met me. I am Xemnas, the Superior of the In-Between and leader of the Organization. No. VIII here will be your guide to this castle, as well as many of the worlds you will travel to."
"The name's Axel," I called out to Roxas, waving at him. "Got it memorized?" I tapped the side of my head for emphasis.
"Y-yeah," he answered nervously.
"Soon, you will meet the rest of our members," Xemnas continued, "but for now, you are all dismissed."
And in an instant, everyone vanished, leaving just Roxas and me. I guess the rest of us weren't nearly as eager to meet him as I was. Oh, well. Their loss.
"Quite the show, huh, Roxas?" I asked.
"I suppose so." He looked down at his feet.
"Don't be shy, little one. You'll be safe with me." Little one? What am I, his big brother? I'm a cold-blooded killer, not a sibling! But somehow, that just… slipped. Felt right, even.
"All right," Roxas said a bit more confidently, breaking my train of thought. Well, calling him "little one" seemed to do the trick.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you made it here. This castle is pretty big, full of rooms even I haven't visited."
"Xemnas led me here. But you're right — someone could get lost in here, especially when all the rooms are painted white."
"Yeah, Xemnas likes it that way. He isn't exactly a design expert. If I had it my way, I'd paint it all red, orange, and yellow — the color of flames!" I was way too excited at that last part, which made Roxas giggle a bit.
"Kind of like your hair," he added, pointing at my spiky locks.
"And that too. Say, why don't you come with me to a world called Twilight Town?"
"That's where I'm from — I think. At least, that's where Xemnas found me."
"Even better! A familiar locale means less work for both of us."
"Why do you want to take me there? Didn't Xemnas say you were supposed to guide me around the castle?"
"Well, yes, but we have all day for that. Besides, I want to share something neat I found there that I think you'd like."
"And what's that?"
"Sea-salt ice cream!" I beamed.
"Sea-salt ice cream?" Roxas echoed, a bit confused. "That doesn't sound very appetizing."
"Oh, but it is! Just wait till you try it. Then, you'll take back what you just said."
"Well, if you say so. I suppose you'd know better than me."
Yes! Soon, I will induct him to the cult of the sea-salt ice cream. Nothing was going to stop me —
"Axel!"
Saïx! Always just when I'm about to have fun, he shows up. It's like he has a sixth sense for any time he thinks I'm up to no good.
"Who are you?" Roxas asked.
"The name is Saïx," he answered coolly. "I'm sure Axel is guiding you throughout the facilities here and not blabbing about sea-salt ice cream."
"Uh—"
"Relax, Saïx! It's not like it's going to take all day, you know."
"Even so, I'd prefer it if you stayed focused on the task at hand. You know how much I hate time being wasted."
"Ugh, fine, fine, You Lunar Majesty. First, I'll show the kid around this boring place; then, I'll take him to Twilight Town and share with him the resplendent joys of sea-salt ice cream. Deal?"
"Deal," Saïx grumbled, annoyed that I successfully negotiated with him. "But you better keep your word, Flurry of Dancing Flames. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Certainly, Luna Diviner," I said with a wink. Saïx quickly disappeared through a Corridor of Darkness.
"Anyway, where were we?" I turned to Roxas, who stared at me like a deer in the headlights. "What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. That guy — Saïx — you don't seem to like him much. And he doesn't either."
"You'd be correct," I grumbled. The kid was perceptive, but he was also understating things: I despised Saïx, and the feeling was mutual. If most of the Organization members bored me, like Lexaeus and Xaldin, or mildly irritated me, like Xigbar or Larxene, then Saïx was unique for being the one member I unambiguously hated. But I really didn't want to involve Roxas in these petty dramas so soon. After all, he's the new kid, and there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, I had to play tour guide for a day so that I could reward myself — and him — with a frozen treat.
"Don't worry about it, kiddo," I reassured him. "I'm going to teach you all I know about this place, and you'll have it memorized in no time."
"All right. By the way, what were those names you called each other?"
"What? Oh, those names! They're our titles. I'm the 'Flurry of Dancing Flames' because my element is fire. Saïx is the 'Luna Diviner' because he's obsessed with the moon. You have a title, too, don't you?"
"I'm not sure. I am still new, right?"
"Right! That will come later. Right now, I still have to guide you. Come with me."
The Castle That Never Was, as this place was called, was a vast building, the largest in the whole World That Never Was. It floated above the Dark City, whose streets were infested with Heartless. The Organization's position on the Heartless was… ambivalent, at best: If we didn't outright kill them for being a nuisance to us, we'd use them toward Xemnas's grand plan to summon Kingdom Hearts, which he claimed would bring our hearts back (since Nobodies are just a special kind of Heartless if you think about it) and make us whole again. I didn't really care about that anymore, since killing Heartless felt more like a chore akin to rooting out pests. But what do I know? I'm just a mid-ranking Organization member.
Anyway, the Castle That Never Was: I showed Roxas around many of the most important locations. These were our sleeping quarters (each member had their own room), the Grey Area (a lounge area and mission briefing room), the Library (where all the books were), and the Hall of Empty Melodies (our training ground). I avoided the Soundless Prison (I was not prepared to explain the concept of a "prison" to Roxas just yet) and the Computer Room (that was the researchers' domain; Zexion and Vexen could explain its purpose better than I could). Apart from Xemnas, Saïx, and maybe Xigbar, I don't think anyone had ever visited the Proof of Existence (I know I hadn't).
"Well, I think that about covers it for today," I told him. "Got it memorized?"
"Yeah, I think so," Roxas replied.
"Good, so you ready to head out to Twilight Town?"
"Sure."
"Remember: Just concentrate, and a Corridor of Darkness will appear for you to step through."
It no longer took me any effort to think of a place and head to it, but the advice wasn't unwarranted for Roxas. He narrowed his brows, and just a few seconds later, a portal appeared. The kid learned fast, I'll give him that.
They always sold ice cream near the same place: the Station Clock Tower, the tallest building in the whole town. Smart move — it meant everyone knew exactly where to go for a delicious treat, including yours truly.
The Organization always gave its members large allowances as payment for killing hundreds of Heartless. The munny usually went toward potions and other expensive items, but no one ever said you couldn't indulge yourself, which we all did to some degree.
Zexion could never resist the temptation to buy more books. Vexen had to have the latest gadgets and tech for his creepy experiments. Marluxia was a sucker for flowers — especially roses and chrysanthemums, the pretty boy. Larxene had appearances to keep up — the better to catch her enemies off guard when she zapped them with lightning, she claimed; I was inclined to believe her. Of course, I could never, ever say, "No," to the one cold thing my fiery self didn't just tolerate, but craved!
Roxas didn't have any munny with him since he hadn't completed any missions yet, so I bought us both ice cream and handed him his bar. I suggested that we head up the Clock Tower to watch the sunset together as we ate. I used to do it alone, and I had grown bored of that, but I suspected some other reason was also involved that made me want Roxas to accompany me, though I couldn't pin what exactly that was.
"So, what do you think?" I asked Roxas.
"Hm, it's salty, but it's also really sweet," he answered. Somehow, his pointing out the obvious made me laugh — genuinely laugh — for the first time since I could remember. I had no idea why that happened; normally, such comments would make my eyes roll, but this was different. Roxas took notice.
"What? Did I say something silly?"
"Oh, no, not at all," I reassured him, the laughter dying away. "It's just not the answer that I was looking for!"
"And what was the answer you were looking for?" he asked.
"Well, did you like it?"
"Oh!" Roxas called out in realization. "Yeah, I did! I was surprised that I'd like it."
"That's good to hear!" I said proudly. "Say, why don't we make this a thing, just between the two of us?" That was odd, yet totally fitting.
"After every mission," I continued, "we head out here and eat ice cream and watch the sunset. Got it memorized?"
"Sure!" Roxas beamed. It was the first time I had seen him smile, and the first time I "felt" anything other than boredom, annoyance, or barely suppressed hatred and contempt. I think this feeling if I dared call it that was "accomplishment," and his smile made me realize that.
It may have been only the first day, but I knew this Roxas kid was different from all the others.