With the card tossed onto her since-broken, now-healed body by Larxene, Kairi, Xion and Sora fought their way through Alice's homeworld.
Running into a memory version of Alice had been...heartbreaking, but Kairi had done her best to steel herself, and just...get through it.
The battle against those four, giant flaming, red paper Heartlesses - Trickmasters - had gone a lot better than the actual event! It honestly surprised Kairi. Her, Sora and Xion hardly struggled with the monsters. And then they were done, stepping out the door and into the white, great big hallway again.
Kairi was not surprised to see someone waiting for her out there.
She was shocked about who it was waiting for her.
It was instant recognition in her Heart, and all kinds of emotions rising.
A huge man in a black coat, with orange hair and strong, angular facial features. Sharp cheekbones, square jaw. Blue eyes. He had his arms crossed, standing motionless.
Kairi stared, frozen. That man, in that coat...and all that it had to mean. She thought, and she thought...and then, she made a choice. "Aeleus?!" she squealed out, racing forward!
The man startled, his arms falling away. "What did you just call me...?"
"Aeleus - your name!" Kairi stopped before him, beaming at him. "I remember you - I remember, every day, when I'd go up to the castle with my grandmother to visit the public libraries. And it was always you and that other man - Dilan - there to greet us! And to look after me!" She gazed up at him, putting her hands behind her back, smiling brighter still. "I remember that the two of you were always so good to me and grandma - always happy to see us again, and to see us off after I was done reading."
She hesitated. Even with him, she had to feign her ignorance, didn't she? Even with the sheer shock of finding him here - and with finding him wearing that coat! So- "But what in the world are you doing in a place like this? When our homeworld fell, did you get sent off somewhere else too? Have you been to Traverse Town? Have you seen Dilan anywhere since then? Is he okay, too-"
Aeleus's face was taut with strife, conflict, with confusion. "I- I don't-" He began stepping back from her, hand half rising, then falling again.
Kairi pursued him, pulling up every ounce of concern and compassion she had and showing it plain on her face. She refused to let this- "Aeleus, what's the matter? Are you all right?"
"What are you- DOING to me, girl?" The man suddenly gasped out, his hand shooting to his chest. Clutching there.
"I'm not doing anything to you," Kairi replied, genuinely confused.
"Then why do I feel so-" He froze. "FEEL...? How...is this possible...?"
"If you tell me what's wrong. Maybe there's something I can do to help you-"
"You can LEAVE," Aeleus gritted out, cutting across her.
"What?"
"Leave, child: now!"
"Aeleus-"
"And cease with calling me that name!" he growled out. "That name is no longer mine - that person is no longer the man I am! I am Lexaeus, and I- I am what remains, girl. And what remains...is an empty being longing for his Heart again. But that man has yet to...find it again."
"Well, why don't I help you? Like you were always so kind and helpful to me back then!" Kairi persisted.
"No! Girl-"
"It's Kairi. You have to remember me - and grandma, too."
"I do not- recall..."
"I think we both know you do!" Kairi said hotly.
"Even so...that is exactly why I cannot..." Aeleus struggled, then his face began to harden. "I am Lexaeus, of the Organization," he spoke more firmly, facing her in full again now. "And you, girl, are the hero of the keyblade now. I am not that man from your memories, and nor are you the...child I remember. Who we are today, now...we in fact stand in opposition to one another. The goals of the Organization, and the goals of the Heart of the Keyblade Hero, are incompatible. But even still: I am on orders to fight you, and so I shall!"
"It sounds like you're trying real hard to convince yourself."
"Girl-"
Okay, screw ignorance! Screw all this spymaster crap!
"ALRIGHT, LISTEN TO ME!" Kairi shouted out furiously. "It seems to me like you've gotten all mixed up with some terrible people since our world fell! This whole evil, dark Organization cult thing - Ansem's eviler Nobody leader! But I know it's not by your own choices! I know you'll be killed if you leave! But you don't have to be afraid of that, because I can help you leave! I can help you stay safe! We can protect you, Aeleus!"
"What are you...?" Aeleus strangled, dumbfounded.
"You've got a choice, okay?" Kairi went on firmly. "You can go along with orders, you can fight, you can do bad stuff for Xemnas, you can stay in this Organization - or you can ditch it, ditch him, right here and right now! I mean, think about everyone back at home. From before. You had a duty to them all, to protect them and to- serve with honor! But I don't think joining a group of dark jerks is anything honorable or good! But you can still change that! So how about you leave that behind and you leave with me now. You can be a guard again, Aeleus: a bodyguard!"
"WHAT?"
"I'm offering you your old job back," Kairi responded, hands on her hips. "Serve one of your old citizens again - with the same honor and strength you had back then. You lost sight of your duty, okay, but you can come with me now and start doing your duty again still! If you think you failed everyone back home by letting the world fall, then honor them by honoring what they stood for. And what you used to. Protect one of the last of Radiant Garden's citizens, with all you've got! Because as long as you and I are still here, then Radiant Garden is still alive too! So is everything and everyone back there that we...used to hold close to our Hearts!"
Aeleus stared down at her, his face twisted. Twitching. He took a ragged, deep breath, his palm pressing to his chest like it was burning inside. Then he raised his arm high, and a massive weapon appeared in his hand. "T-take...out your weapon, girl. We- we will fight..." His own remained suspended in the air. Not yet brought down for her head.
"Nope!" Kairi refused. "I don't get why everyone wants to fight all the time. And I'm not buying into it! It'd just be stupid, Aeleus!"
"Stupid...?" He stared at her, uncomprehending.
"Yeah. Really stupid! So how about you put yours away, and just come with me already?"
"I- cannot. That is childish dreams, it is fantasy-"
"Then I guess you're going to have to kill me - because I won't fight you! I am done with all this crap! I've had enough of this place!"
Aeleus clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth so hard Kairi thought they'd shatter in his mouth. Then his arm fell, and his weapon vanished away. "As stubborn as ever, I see..." he murmured.
Kairi gasped, as a memory came to her in a flash...
She was running, laughing to herself alone - and then a large hand was seizing her arm, yanking her back.
"Where do you think you're going, child?"
Kairi turned to gaze up into that face. Annoyance, exasperation. She did her best to grin, putting her free hand behind her back. "I saw a butterfly!"
The man gazed back at her, blinking slowly. He gave a scoff, shaking his head. "You used that excuse the last three times, girl."
"Well maybe I saw three butterflies!"
"Hmph...so bold...but not bold enough. Come." The man pulled her back from the stairs, ignoring her every squirming protest.
"That's right, I am! And now, I'm big enough to not get ragdolled," Kairi retorted, sticking out her tongue. "Just try it!"
Aeleus sighed, bowing his head. Closing his eyes. A small smile, just like the one back then, came to his face, showing off his teeth. Then, he opened his eyes. "I doubt the attempt would go over well. Perhaps...you're right, Kairi. I have lost my sight, and I-"
There was a whistling sound of flying metal, the wooshing of flames, and Aeleus was struck in the back by two spiked disc weapons!
Aeleus cried out, then whipped around with his weapon in hand, power radiating off of him that literally blew Kairi backwards like a gust of wind!
"AXEL!" he roared.
Darkness rippled in the air, erupting from the floor and then retreating to reveal the man from earlier.
Axel, all right. And he had those two disc weapons of his in his hands, in a sudden flash of fire!
"Tsk, tsk, Lexaeus...was I just hearing words of treason?" Axel said with a sly grin on his face. "Abandoning the Organization? Surely you remember the penalty for that: elimination! Immediate and non-negotiable!"
Aeleus stared at him, his face hard.
"Though, I almost can't blame you," Axel went on, laughing. "The princess has a way with words, doesn't she? Hell, I almost wanted to believe in her, myself!"
Aeleus glanced back at Kairi. He took one, strong, firm step to the side, putting himself between her and Axel, and raised his weapon. "Stay close to me, child."
"Oh? Why, Lexaeus, you're putting on a hell of a performance today, aren't you? It's almost as if you've found your Heart again already!" Axel called out, a sharp edge to his voice.
"If ever I will be found worthy of reuniting with my Heart, I know not," Aeleus said quietly. "But I know I HAVE found other things I once thought lost to me - things as equally important. Honor, integrity, and my sense of duty. Though, I don't expect a cowardly dog like you to understand such things!" he finished harshly. "Weak-willed, weak-Hearted - never standing firm, always running, always sneaking about and hiding from everything! Even your own self. I know, because up until now, I too had abandoned all that I once stood for. But today, I stand for it again: until I can stand no longer! That...is what I FEEL!"
Axel startled as the power erupted in full from Aeleus's body; Aeleus launched himself forward with his blade swinging, roaring to shake the entire hall.
Just as Aeleus was bearing down on him, Axel teleported away in darkness.
Aeleus pulled his weapon up short, his power fading. He heaved a breath, and then let out a low chuckle. He straightened, turning back to gaze at Kairi. "Hmph. As I said: that man is a coward to the core. He has not the strength to hold his ground."
"So that one's just a big scaredy-cat who talks big - I think I figured that out when I first met him, too," Kairi sassed, racing up to him with a giggle.
"Hmm...coward he may be, but still, the power he does wield should not be dismissed - nor his ability to put it to use...when the situation is entirely in his favor, anyway."
"Right, so: don't get cocky, and don't go underestimating him."
"Exactly," Aeleus nodded in approval. "You possess true wisdom, Kairi."
"I try," she laughed.
As that laughter resonated in his core, Lexaeus- no, Aeleus turned away from Kairi. In his core, he felt a kind of warmth, where his Heart should be - but he KNEW it was not there. So why, then, against all logic and rules of nature itself...was this girl causing him to FEEL again, for the first time in ten years? Perhaps the likes of Vexen could have explained it, theorized - did the Nobody still maintain a connection to the Heart of one's Heartless, even stolen and smothered by darkness? Could a Nobody, under certain circumstances, rare and unknown, actually reconnect with that Heart and access its capabilities again? Or perhaps...
No, surely such an idea was absurd. As foolish as the fairy tales the child before him used to so love hearing about. And yet...
Aeleus grasped his chest again, bowing his head once more, simply to hold onto this treasure of a feeling.
In a dark room, Axel appeared - before Marluxia, and Vexen.
"Where did you go?" Marluxia spoke immediately.
"Well, I went to watch the fight - some prime-time entertainment, I'd thought. But we've got a problem now; it seems like Lexaeus has gone full-blown traitor." Axel shook his head. "I don't think any of us could have expected such a thing from him when he was sent out to fight the princess."
Marluxia regarded him sharply. "Indeed. How completely unexpected this turn of events was."
"So what are we going to do about it?" Axel said. He turned to Vexen. "How about that Replica of yours? Care to send it out after them? I'd imagine an empty puppet would be more loyal to us than Lexaeus..."
"The finishing touches are being placed upon it as we speak," Vexen said, drawing himself up. "It will not be long now before, yes, I will be able to do just that."
"Forget the Replica," Marluxia spoke. "It cannot stand against Kairi's power - or Lexaeus's. It would be a waste of a no doubt invaluable product of research."
"Oh, I disagree. More can always be made," Vexen retorted. "I say we send it out anyways! If there is a chance to eliminate that keyblade bearing princess-"
"Eliminate her?" Marluxia's eyebrows raised. "Are you forgetting Xemnas's orders? She is not to be killed. Simple as that."
"Well - clearly Lord Xemnas never anticipated her becoming such a problem!" Vexen erupted furiously. "She has gone too far this time! Enticing a prototype Replica to her side is one thing, but one of our most powerful, full fledged members of this Organization?! She MUST be destroyed before she can cause us any more damage!"
A smile played across Marluxia's lips. "Oh? Do you think the rest of us are just lining up to join her? To join Lexaeus at her side?"
Axel gazed at Marluxia with a smile of his own. "Of course no one's saying that, Marluxia. Wherever would you get the idea in the first place, I wonder-"
Marluxia threw out a hand, summoning a long, great pink scythe, the curve of its outer edge pressed underneath Axel's chin. "Your insinuations grow tiresome. I will not be disrespected in such a way."
Axel was unflinching, arms at his sides. "My most heartfelt apologies. But surely you can see that the situation has changed? Lord Xemnas himself would order this whole test be put on hold, and our every efforts be put toward eliminating the traitor."
"Then we will take this matter directly to him - and see if he changes the standing orders."
"Oh? You'd go to him directly? Personally?"
Marluxia smirked. "Hmph. I...? No. You will do so, Axel. Immediately."
Axel's jaw dropped. Then he shrugged, grinning. "If you say so. Orders are orders, for those of us still loyal..."
He stepped away, throwing out a hand, and he left through a dark portal.
"I will prepare my Replica, regardless - in case the order changes," Vexen murmured, turning away to stride off into a portal of his own.
Marluxia stood alone now, in silence.
"Not even I expected you to upend the entire board, Kairi," he murmured to himself, amused. "But I suppose...refusing to play is as valid a move as any. And perhaps...it's the one we all need right now..."
"So hey, I'm Sora, and it's nice to meet you!"
Aeleus turned to gaze down at the boy. Kairi's companion - friend. He may have seemed a bit dull, a little too oblivious and care-free, but in combat he could be as capable a fighter as Kairi herself (and sometimes, quite a bit more so). He settled for giving a nod. The boy's prowess could be respected - and his unyielding attitude that had even brought him this far alongside the princess. The boy held true courage in his Heart, indeed.
His gaze turned next to-
"Hello," the dark-haired girl spoke, with a small smile as she gazed up at him without blinking. Her hands came to her chest, and a tinge came to her cheeks. "I'm Xion - Kairi's sister." She hesitated. Then- "You might not remember me, but I...feel like we've met too. Though, my memories aren't as good as Kairi's about life back then..."
Aeleus froze. He drew a breath in through his nostrils, closing his eyes. A jolt...in his chest. At her words. "Y-yes, well, regrettably, I...cannot recall...meeting you back then, either," he finally said, halting. "Ah...Apologies...Xion."
He opened his eyes again, and his gaze found Kairi. The girl was looking between them with such a happy little smile, such a glistening of life and emotion to her eyes of blue... A life and light, a joy, that he could not have beared to see vanish, if he were to speak again - to give voice to the truth he knew...
How could he harm her in that way?
He was committed to not hurting the girl...
Was it not better to allow Kairi to continue to believe...that she truly did have a sister in her life?
Was it not better for Xion herself...to continue believing she was a human being, with a history, a life, and a family all her own?
Was that not...kinder?
Hmm. It had been a full decade since Aeleus had last even given a thought to being "kind"...and yet in that moment, it was his foremost concern.
"Aeleus, are you okay?" Kairi's voice came to him, worried.
He turned away, crossing his arms. "I'm fine. We need to plan our next move; the Organization will do more than send out a fool like Axel again, now... We are marked, girl. For the end of our days, we have earned their eternal wrath."
"Even more reason why leaving it all is a good thing," Kairi replied with a snort.
"Yes..." Aeleus muttered.
Until today, until meeting Kairi, he had never questioned his place in the Organization. Never questioned why he even remained. He'd never had anything else - it was that simple. No home to return to, only people he had failed. Lost. Even been responsible for the disappearances of. All those experiments in the castle's basement levels, of which he and Dilan had turned a blind eye to - had been convinced to convince themselves to turn a blind eye to. Yet now...he thought it was perhaps possible...to see a light on the horizon.
A light that looked a great deal like Princess Kairi.
"So what do you think our next move should be?" the girl herself suddenly asked.
"Hm?" Aeleus gazed at her. He looked to Xion again, pondering. Then- "Vexen," he said finally.
"Who?" said Kairi.
"A cunning and dangerous scientist," Aeleus went on. "His laboratory is in the castle basement. We should reach him swiftly, if we wish to have a chance of stopping him before he deploys his...Replica."
"Replica...? What's that?"
Aeleus sighed. "An artificial being - body and Heart," he spoke carefully. "Created and fed information in order to shape it into whatever form Vexen desires. To serve...the purpose he desires for it."
"But that's-" Kairi gasped.
"That's just awful!" Sora exclaimed, staring. "How could anyone just treat people - Hearts - like that? Like...bottles on a shelf?"
"How could you just- just make someone just to be used?!" Kairi said angrily.
Again, Aeleus found himself unwillingly glancing in Xion's direction. "How indeed..." he murmured. "Life...is something far more precious than that. It...deserves...far better treatment. The chance at life itself." Aeleus stepped away from the children, raising a hand to conjure a dark corridor. "Here. Step through - it will take us directly into his lab."
"Awesome! I've never gotten a chance to see how these things really work-!" Sora began, excited as he started forward.
Kairi seized her friend's arm, yanking him back. "Hold on, Sora! We don't know if it's even safe! I mean, it's probably safe for me - Princess of Heart and all - but you and Xion?"
"An astute observation," Aeleus remarked. "That is precisely why we wear these coats." He patted at his chest. "It protects us from darkness." He eyed the children. "There is always a risk involved in using these without said protection. But that risk is up to you to take."
"It's not going to kill us or anything, right?" Sora said, wary now.
"No. And nor may it consume your Heart with darkness - not immediately, not the first time. Perhaps." Aeleus replied. "As I said: the risk is yours to take."
"I'll go through," Xion said bravely, and then the girl darted past the other two, and threw herself headlong into the portal.
"Xion!" Kairi cried, racing after her sister with abandon. Sora went after her without a second thought, as well.
Aeleus almost felt like smiling again - at their stupidity and their courage.
He had long-since forgotten what it was to be a child. To not comprehend danger, in all its breadth and scope, and implications. And yet, even if they did...to risk one's self anyways.
"Fools..." he muttered, striding into the portal after them.
He emerged on the other side in familiar territory: Vexen's laboratory.
A large, open white room, with a large table of scattered stacks of documents, several different rolling trays filled with tools, and of course...the multitude of glass pods containing the fruits of his labor: his unfinished Replicas. On far side of the room, the massive computer stood, with all its controls and various sized screens. Some of them displaying images, and others, scrolling messes of information - letters and numbers.
Upon their arrival, Vexen himself pushed away from his work table, turning sharply to face them.
His eyes met with Aeleus - then, fell to Sora, and then Kairi, and at last...Xion.
His green eyes glinted. A wide grin stretched over his face.
"Well now, this is truly a surprise," he spoke quietly. "I never expected you to return to me in your present state, No. i."
"I...I- I-" Xion's eyes widened. Her mouth fell open. Then her hands shot up to grasp her head, as a scream was let loose - and she collapsed straight down.
Well...so much for Aeleus's first attempt in ten years at being kind.
AN: Yeah, we are going back to back angst and revelations here. The time has come... xD Muhahahaha! So excited to be here at long last!