Chapter 2
"It's hard to say exactly where we'll end up. The Corridors aren't known for precision." Axel said as he strode along the flowing Dark walls of the Corridor. "I hope to be around Betwixt and Between. A quick walk through there and we're home free. Back to the World that Never Was."
Roxas nodded slowly, pretending to understand what Axel was saying. His mind was elsewhere, as the memories of his Nobody life came back to him. He was the Key of Destiny, the 13th member of Organization XIII and the youngest one. He tried to avoid the other members, keeping mostly to himself and his plans. Only Axel had managed to break through to him. With his ever-present smile and charm, Axel was the only friend Roxas had. The other members were too distant and too goal oriented to be considered friends. Axel had his own goals of course, but he was more than just a plan. Roxas felt that when his own plan went into action, Axel would be an irreplaceable ally. Though, Roxas realized, even when he was in the Organization he didn't know what his plans were. Larxene had her plans involving a boy outside of the Organization and Xemnas had his own plans with Kingdom Hearts. When it came to those two and their plans, Roxas steered clear. Axel, however, was constantly switching sides with Larxene and Xemnas, always joking to Roxas that he loved to see their confused faces when he switched on them. But Roxas had no goal in mind, just a will to leave and find something. More often than not, he felt misplaced, as if someone were looking for him. The constant feeling of being lost left him depressed most of the time, or at least that's what he thought depression would feel like. "It's hard to know emotion when you're a Nobody…" Roxas said softly, looking down at the Darkness at his feet.
Axel paused and looked over at Roxas. "Well, yeah, of course it is. We have no emotion. We have no Hearts." He shrugged and continued to walk on, leaving Roxas behind. "But we're great actors."
"Right. Actors…" Roxas pushed himself forward to catch up with Axel. "Don't we have any emotion left at all?"
Axel shook his head again, a small smile on his face. "I couldn't tell you. It's hard to know anything about Nobodies, at least those who kept their bodies. We've got no Hearts, sure, but we've still got a Soul. So I guess it depends. Does the Soul hold any feelings?"
"I don't know."
"Exactly. So, why sweat it? We are the Nonexistent ones. We can't change it, so we should just live with it. At least being Twilight beings we don't have to stress over Light and Dark."
"What do you mean, 'Twilight beings'?"
Axel stopped in the middle of the Corridor and sat down. "Take a seat, Roxie. Looks like this Corridor's a long one and we've got to talk." Roxas sat, cautious about sitting on the seemingly insubstantial floor. "All right. You asked me about Twilight, which might be a mistake. I don't know much about it, or much about anything for that matter." Axel laid his head back against the wall and sighed. "The world has two parts, a Light Realm and a Dark Realm. The Light Realm is sort of like what Twilight Town is. It's just a bunch of people, living their lives, feeling and eventually forgetting everything in their Hearts. The Realm of Darkness is opposite that. There's no one living there, it just has creatures that pass through it. The things that go through there are the remains of people from the Light Realm. A person is a Heart, a Body and a Soul. The Dark Realm takes away the person's Body and Soul, leaving them with just a Heart. The Darkness also makes the Heart realize its deepest desires. A person who has accepted Darkness cannot travel into the Light Realm easily. They must find a place with corruption already, even if it's only the beginning of it. If they can find one glimmer of Darkness, they are able to enter and stay for as long as they need. In the Light Realm, people on the whole are kind and generous. But those are fading feelings. They fade into greed and desire for power. Those emotions call out to the Darkness and it corrupts them. And once they step into the Darkness, that person is lost and a new one is created. And that person only has their aspirations in mind. People from Light can cross to the Dark Realm and not become a slave to the Darkness. It's just a matter of how strong your Heart is." Axel ended with a bitter tone. With a head toss and a sigh, he continued. "Twilight is a place between both of these Realms, a sort of no-mans land that creatures of the Dark and people of Light pass through when going between Realms. Those of the Light are Complete, with Hearts, Bodies and Souls and those of the Dark only have Hearts. So, people of Twilight are just what are left over when Darkness claims a victim. We can't live in the Light because we lack Hearts but we also can't live in the Dark because we lack Hearts. It's a losing game anyway you look at it."
"I know why Nobodies can't live in the Light, it's because we aren't Complete. But why can't we live in the Dark?"
"Think about it, Roxas. Darkness seeks a Heart. We don't have one. We can't make the decision to accept our deepest desires; therefore Darkness will have nothing to do with us. We just have to make a place in the world for ourselves, not try to fit into what was already here."
"All right, so we Nobodies are just a Body and a Soul. But isn't that something? How can you say we don't exist?"
"Because without Hearts we have no way of possessing Light or Dark. And what is the world made of? Light and Dark. Having a Heart, even one corrupted by Darkness, is the only way to be, Roxas. We haven't got one, so we aren't. We're stuck in a world of Nothing because we can't make a choice."
"What about Souls?"
"No one really knows about Souls. It's easy to know about Hearts and Bodies; everyone agrees that we've got them. But Souls are a different case. People of the Light argue that Souls aren't real because no one can see them. They say Souls are more of an idea than a part of a person. People of the Dark don't care. All they need is a Heart with desire. I think Twilight beings are closer to the Soul; it's the next best thing to a Heart. Souls are like a less evolved form of the Heart. You can't feel with it but you can still think with it. If we didn't have Souls, we'd be like the Heartless, the creatures of the dark. We'd be living on basic instinct. But with our Souls, we're able to set goals for ourselves. Like Larxene and Xemnas. Both of them have a set goal in their Souls; they want to become Complete." He stopped and glanced at Roxas. "Am I boring you yet?"
"No, not yet. So, Nobodies, they can't feel at all?"
"Haven't we already covered that? What's so great about feeling anyway? It clouds how you think and stops you from reaching your goal."
"But how are you supposed to enjoy reaching that goal if you can't feel happy about something?"
Axel stood and looked down the Corridor. "Happiness is just a word used in the Light Realm, Roxas. It has no merit in the other parts of the world. You're about to see a world of Nothing. Maybe then you'll understand. Come on, let's walk."
Roxas stood and walked next to Axel. They were silent for a few moments, both caught up in their thoughts. Roxas finally broke the silence. "There's still something I don't understand. How can we have friends if we don't have Hearts? Isn't love an emotion?"
Axel laughed and shook his head. "Roxas. Love is the most complicated thing in this world to understand. It's unpredictable and changing. I'm not the one to try and explain Love to you." A small opening appeared a few feet away from them. "Look's like this is the end. Ready to see Twilight?"
"Does it matter? I have no Heart. I can't make decisions." Roxas replied, stepping towards the opening.
"That's the spirit, Roxie. You're finally thinking like a Nobody." Axel said while joining Roxas at the mouth of the opening. "After you."
Roxas stepped through the opening, trying to absorb the idea of Nothing. "Even if I am a Nobody, just a Soul and Body, I know I am. I have to be. If I don't exist, how can I walk or talk?" The voiceless words were lost in the mouth of the Corridor as the Darkness was replaced with Nothingness of the world beyond the Corridor.