Inverted Sky: KH 358/2 Days
Chapter 11: Twilight Town part II
Roxas POV
Looking out toward the setting sun from atop Twilight Town's clock tower, Roxas let out a silent breath. Despite having searched for Xion for almost two weeks, he had yet to find any sign of his friend. While he continued to have hope that she was still alive somewhere, all evidence seemed to lead to the contrary. But the teen refused to give in. He would find Xion, then they could leave the Organization together.
"Here again, huh?" Axel spoke up from the side, slowly walking over to the boy and offering him a bar of ice cream.
"I guess it's kind of a habit to stop by after work." Roxas responded with a sheepish smile, accepting the frozen snack as the man sat down beside him.
"Then it's a good thing I got some ice cream for you too. You haven't had any since she disappeared after all." the red-haired Nobody stated in a clearly concerned tone.
With a blinking gaze, the teen boy turned to his friend with a somewhat surprised expression. Yet his eyes slowly drifted downward, all while nodding his head in response. "I've probably been thinking that the next time I had some...we would all be together again." Roxas said silently, looking at the ice cream in his hand with an almost hesitant stare.
Despite this though, the blond shook his head and swiftly took a bite from his treat. Obviously not wanting it to go to waist. Seeing this, Axel smiled lightly and bit into his own frozen dessert. The moment this happened however, a flash of light flared from their ice cream bars. This light caused the pair to wince slightly, yet it swiftly died down and revealed their blue-tinted snacks to have transformed into a pair of envelopes. "Wha-!" Axel started, but quickly paused as he seemed to realize what this might be.
As Roxas looked at the envelope in his hand though, an immediate spark of life shined in his eyes. There being an immediate sense of validation that filled him, as he was finally proven right in his belief that Xion had indeed set all this up. Then, with a quick glance to one another, both friends swiftly opened their envelopes to read what was written within.
Dear Roxas,
If you're reading this, then that means the ice cream shop owner did as I asked and gave either you or Axel the ice cream bars I had set aside. I hope it was only a week after my disappearance, otherwise, that warning I gave about waiting a week will seem kinda silly. Also, don't worry, the ice cream won't give you indigestion.
Anyway, I've written this to you and Axel because, I've been planning to leave the Organization. I'm sure you both know by now that none of us really belong, and I've been feeling that now more than ever. So yes, I faked my death so that I couldn't be found, at least for a time. I'm going off to find out more about myself and my true origins. I know I can't apologize enough for doing this without telling you, but I knew that if you two believed it, everyone else would too. While it's not an excuse, I hope you can both forgive me.
And before either of you get any ideas about following me, there is something I'm hoping you two might do for me first. This is a very difficult task, and I'm sorry to ask you, but I want you both to...
As the pair continued to read, their eyes slowly widened in realizing Xion's overall plan. They steadily turned their eyes to one another, giving a nod in response. The unspoken agreement between them being clear. They would indeed take on the task their friend asked of them. Upon which, they swiftly destroyed the letters with fire magic, knowing that they would be dangerous to keep around. The raven-haired girl's plan could be ruined if this information was discovered by the wrong people.
"Well well...this just got a lot more interesting, huh?" Axel hummed out in a chuckle, a little taken aback by the sudden change events for the day.
Him having thought that he would need to cheer Roxas up and try to help the teen move past their friend's demise. But now, he almost feels bad for doubting Xion's abilities. She would have a lot to explain for when they saw her again. For the time being though, the red-haired man couldn't help but smile softly in knowing that his friend was still alive. Although, it was concerning as to what she might find on her search for answers.
"Yeah...I always knew Xion thought ahead, but 'this' is pretty incredible." Roxas muttered, a proud smile curling his lips.
"You can say that again...makes me wonder where she picked it up from." the red-haired man said, jokingly trying to sound as though it was all thanks to him.
The blond chuckled lightly to this before shrugging his shoulders, gaining another small smile in the process. "Probably a combination of everyone."
Now that he had confirmation that his friend was still alive, Roxas too felt as though a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. Though it was only for a couple weeks, the crushing emotions of not knowing was still enough to dim the light in his eyes. But with his renewed spirit, the boy gazed out toward the setting sun once more. The red rays seeming almost brighter than before, as his smile simply widened.
"We've got a lot of work ahead of us." he stated, sounding rather eager in his tone.
"That we do. You up for it?" Axel asked with a raised brow in curiosity.
"Definitely." the blond began, an obvious determination in his eyes.
"Honestly, it's something I've been thinking about for a while now...so this is kind of perfect timing." Roxas finished while turning to his friend, fully confident in their new 'mission'.
The following day, Axel invited Saix to join him and Roxas in Twilight Town after their assignment together. While hesitant at first, the man did finally agree after they completed their task early. Of which led for the three to spend some time atop the clock tower, eating sea-salt ice cream, and talking in a more casual setting. Thanks to the blue-haired man already having a past friendship with Axel, it was easy for the three to get along from the start.
"Come on~, you know you wanna hang out more." the red-haired man claimed with a small grin on his features, nudging Saix with an elbow as he did.
Said Nobody glanced to his friend with a raised brow, yet let out a silent huff while shrugging. "I'll consider it." he responded, taking another bite of his ice cream.
Though the blue-haired man was pleasantly surprised to spend time with these two, it did make him inwardly question their sudden decision to interact with him more. His best guess being that the two were looking to make further friends, now that Xion was dead. It made sense for any normal person, despite the fact that they weren't normal people anymore. This theory seemed to continue holding water however, as Roxas asked Luxord to hangout with them after they had an assignment a few days later.
"You want to learn my favorite games? Quite the sudden thing to ask, wouldn't you say?" Luxord questioned curiously, flipping a card between his fingers as he did.
"Until now, you've mostly just let me do all the talking during our jobs." he continued, yet the smile on his features made it clear that he was actually glad the boy was finally showing interest in conversing.
Roxas simply nodded his head slowly, all while offering a somewhat sheepish expression. "I know...but I wanna change that." he began, his eyes looking down for a moment before shifting back to Luxord.
"After everything that's happened, and despite working together for a while now...I realized that there is so much I don't know about all of you. And I really want to fix that." the teen claimed with a determined and fully honest gaze.
While the blond man was somewhat stunned by this, he couldn't help but nod in response. Him also coming to the conclusion that the boy was simply trying to make friends, now that Xion was gone. It seemed so plausible, yet something about all of this was...odd. "Starting with me then? Quite the honor." Luxord hummed out while gaining a slightly wider smile, deciding to figure things out later.
As the days continued to pass, Roxas, Axel, Saix and Luxord seemed to fully realize their group dynamic. Which they all found to be strangely fitting, as they each were surprised to realized their personalities meshed well together. There weren't many times that members of the Organization actually interacted with one another, much less to this degree. Even now, as they all sat atop the clock tower, they felt genuinely content. An emotion most of them had forgotten about long ago.
"Still such a surprising flavor." Luxord commented while looking at his popsicle, which had a few bites in it already.
"I never would have bet my hand that something called 'sea-salt' would have such a sweet side to it." he continued, eating a bit more of the frozen treat.
"Right?" Roxas hummed out with a small smirk on his features.
"I am curious on the one who made it though." Saix commented silently, ignoring Axel's own comments about getting brain freeze after eating his ice cream too fast.
Letting a soft laugh from this, they each slowly gazed out toward the setting sun. Yet another day was coming to an end, and another assignment had ended successfully. 'I think we're doing it, Xion.' Roxas thought to himself in a relieved manner.
These new alliances didn't go unnoticed however. The Superior quickly became curious about these four, and the fact that they were spending so much time away from the other half of the Organization. After a few days of observing, it seemed that he made up his mind about these growing friendships. All them were immediately designated far more solo missions over the next few weeks, only scarcely getting the chance to team up. Even more rarely were their opportunities to meet up together, making these days and weeks feel all the more dreary.
Despite these actions being rather upsetting, Roxas and Axel couldn't help but smile to one another as they shared an ice cream bar. The two finally managing to converge at the clock tower after almost three weeks. "All according to plan, huh?" the blond muttered silently in a chuckle, looking over to Saix and Luxord as they arrived.
"Looks like we all managed to make it after all." the latter of the two men stated in a sigh.
"It seems the Superior is quite determined to keep us from making friends." he continued, lifting a finger and thumb to his chin while looking down in thought.
"A little strange, considering our 'apparent' goal of regaining our hearts, wouldn't you say?" Luxord finished while glancing to the others.
"Probably trying to avoid another Castle Oblivion incident." Axel stated with a shrug of his shoulders.
"That definitely seems to be the most likely reason." Saix muttered thoughtfully as he tilted his head up while narrowing both eyes slowly.
"Still..." Roxas uttered out suddenly, turning his gaze toward the others.
"...I don't think it's wrong to try and connect with the few things that make us feel like we have a heart, right?" the blond Nobody questioned.
Yet these words felt less like a normal inquiry, and more of a push for them to find their own personal answers. These days of hanging out, having fun as friends, and simply being themselves, truly did remind them of what a heart felt like. Even Roxas, whom still had no memory of anything before the Organization, always felt more 'alive' when he was around his friends. There was a sense of belonging. A sense of a bond. A sense of community. This must be what friendship was.
"Do you think we should invite Xaldin at some point?" Axel asked, tilting his head to the side while looking to the others.
"I don't see why not, I would be willing to gamble that he wouldn't turn down the change to eat some ice cream." Luxord stated as a small smile curled his lips.
"Xaldin normally spoke the most with Lexaeus. But now that said man is no longer around, he's simply devoted himself more to his work. So we'll have to think of a clever way of pulling him away from his job." Saix concluded in a silent sigh and shrug.
"True...though, should we also invite Demyx too?" Roxas mused, yet immediately gained a somewhat exasperated expression along with the others.
A long audible pause spread over the group before the blond teen cleared his throat and continued on; "Eventually..."
Despite another silence overtaking everyone, this one was much shorter as the three men offered quick nods. "'Eventually'...yeah." Axel muttered in a sigh, which sounded more like a groan.
Each of them knew that despite any and all of Demyx's enhancements in playing music, it still wasn't enough to help make it easier on them. "Although, perhaps this will provide us our chance at paying him back for all that he owes." Luxord commented, causing an instant shift in demeanor.
Hearing this, everyone gained varying size smiles. Each one however, was clearly one that showed an eagerness for retribution. "Yeah." they all spoke in unison, suddenly sounding more than willing to invite the man to their group.
Later that night, as the group returned to the Organization's castle, Xemnas was awaiting their arrival with the other remaining members. A tenseness was swiftly felt in the air, as there was an uncertainty of what this was about. Not only was the Superior waiting for them, but he had the others at his sides. If there wasn't mistrust between these two sides, there definitely was now.
"Excellent...I'm glad to see that all of you have returned." the silver-haired man claimed, putting the four even more on edge.
"Something happen?" Saix questioned, not missing a beat as he stepped forward.
"Indeed, something wonderful in fact." Xemnas stated while looking over his shoulder, to which Xion stepped out from behind him with a strangely blank expression on her features.
"We've found one of our most important members."
A lot of days passed in this chapter. While I didn't mark them on purpose, you'll see how much time passed when we reach this moment with Xion. Look forward to this new arc of the story as a lot of things have happened on both sides. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.