Echo in the Void

"The voice calls me,

Yet I cannot hear it.

The shadows reach out for me,

Yet I denounce them.

I am between. Again."

Three

Part One

"I am here."

Roxas turned on his heel, squinting through the endless darkness just outside the soft glow of the pillar's image. Nothing.

"Where?" Roxas asked, feeling bemused.

He felt something tap his shoulder behind him. Roxas jumped and spun, immediately feeling chills run down his spine. Without taking his eyes off the being that wasn't there before Roxas took three quick steps backwards.

"You made it this far," The Being said, moving so gracefully towards Roxas it appeared to be gliding through the air. "can you handle the end?"

"The end," Roxas ran his fingers through his messy blond hair, barely registering the sweat that soaked his scalp. "you mean my freedom?"

Roxas could not help but remember this Being from somewhere before. At first, the sound of the man's voice seemed eerily familiar, as if it were his own father's booming voice (then again, he didn't even know if he had a father, so it was more like wishful thinking,) but he had dismissed it as his own imagination. Now, seeing the voice materialize into a physical form, a fuzzy image appeared in the back of his mind. He could not see the face, but the robe he wore he know hesaw somewhere else…

"The black-thorned robe." Roxas' own voice was a surprise to him, What the hell is a black-thorned robe?

The robed man remained patient. His arms were unusually placed at his sides, as if simply dangling lifelessly. Once he was sure Roxas was done struggling with his memories (or lack thereof) he spoke. "One could say that, I suppose. Then again, the word end has so many meanings, doesn't it?"

Roxas sighed inwardly, he was growing tired of the man's word games. "Look. Go ahead and say what you wanted to say. If not, I'll find my own way out. Memories or not."

If he could see the man's face, Roxas would guess he had cracked a large smile. "It seems our born-again Keyblade Master has learned how to be bold. Though perhaps he is underestimating just how powerful one's memories can be."

"Really? The only memories I have right now are how annoying you are. And, quite frankly, it isn't helping me at all."

"Fine, young Roxas, I will drop the theatrics." If he actually was smiling before, this would be the time where it completely faded from existence. "You are not the only one growing impatient."

What could that mean? Roxas thought idly, shifting his weight to his left foot and placing a hand on his hip. To be honest, he was plesantly surprised he wasn't ambushed by more heartless creatures and could only be thankful he found himself simply talking. After all, it was damn hot in the void.

The man continued, "As I have mentioned before… It is time you learned about yourself, Roxas. Come," He lifted his arm and a portal, similar to the one Axel summoned, appeared to the side of the man. When he did this, the sleeve slipped down his arm, allowing full view of:

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. The man had no hand. In fact, he had no arm either.

The look on Roxas' face quickly shifted from curiosity to complete shock and confusion. How?

The man… or, well, whatever it was now, seemed to sense Roxas' shock. "Roxas," his voice sounded sympathetic. "you didn't know? Look."

The armless sleeves lifted and Roxas could only guess thatthey grabbed the being'shood. In one pull the hood fell, revealing the man's face.

He gasped, the image he was now witnessing was more shocking than the arms that weren't there.

He had half a face. There was no gore, as one would expect. It simply seemed that pieces of his own head had been burned and frayed off at the edges. He had one yellow eye, half a mouth… an ear… some white hair and that was it.

"What are you?"

"Roxas my boy," He held out his armless sleeves, the violet vortex still spun to his right. "this is what we call a Chaser, for lack of a better term."

Roxas was not following. "What is a Chaser?"

The man's half mouth twisted into a crooked smile. Though it was a closed-mouth smile, half of his tongue and teeth were visible through the missing portion of his head. "Before we delve into the phenomenon of a Chaser, first we must discuss the two more well-known creatures that have been shunned by the world."

The man turned gracefully and drifted, like a ghost, in the direction of the portal. Before disappearing into the vortex, however, he stopped momentarily and Roxas saw the sleeves raise up. As a result the hood was then lifted and used to drape the Chaser's head (Thank God, Roxas thought.)

He turned to face Roxas now, " Let us depart."

---

That memory was easy to recreate, He thought idly, letting his elbows press on the marble arm rests as his fingers intertwined in front of him, Too easy…

Axel allowed a sigh to escape his lips, in spite of himself, and peered with troubled eyes around the Organization's white throne room. Or, rather, the memory of what it once was.

Instead of sitting in his usual seat, the red head took it in his own liberty to sit on the throne that once belonged to his superior, Xemnas. Whether as an act of straight defiance to the way things used to be, or for his own personal satisfaction, he could not quite tell. Regardless, he found himself sitting there now, glancing through his intertwined fingers to where the 'memory' versions ofRoxas and himselfhad sat once before.

Despite his fiery nature, Axel always remained cool, calm and collected in even the most dire of situations. (Then again, as a Nobody, shouldn't he always be this way?)

Still, even after losing his own being (the direct result of putting your entire soul into one major outpouring of power) Axel still managed retained his sense of humor and remained calm. Even though he was dying, he still remembered who he was. Even though he wanted so much to just sleep and never wake up, a single spark within Axel, a single ember of undying flame, forced him to remain awake, made him remember. This is the reason, he believed, he was still alive.

"Well," Axel stood, talking to himself. "if you can call this alive."

During his time in the void he found that hetalked to himself a lot. Ironically, this kept him sane in the endless darkness of the void. When there was no one else to talk to, you find a way to have a rousing conversation with yourself.

"Whatever it takes to not fade away, right?" He idly pulled off one of his black gloves and ran his fingers through his hair.

He had been stuck in this Godforsaken hell-hole for at least a year now and only recently found someone else who had managed to retain his sense of being after dying, (albeit hardly.) Though he could never see this person he knew he existed. Because the bastard would never leave me alone.

The voice called he and Axel Chasers, what ever the hell that was. Apparently, it was a cute name for someone who 'chased' after that what they lacked… Axel didn't really know the specifics because never listened to the voice. Partly because he thought it was downright crazy, but mostly because he knew, right from the beginning, who the voice belonged to.

"Xehanort." The name reverberated off the white walls like an echo of the past that was trying to remain silent.

Or Xemnas, or Ansem or whatever the hell he was calling himself this week.

Sometimes, however, it was impossible to ignore Xehanort as he spoke to him. Sometimes he would taunt Axel with the idea that, if he were to help him, he would make it possible for Axel to return to the world of the living.

And sometimes, it was damn near impossible to say no.

But he remained vigilant. He had done away with following orders and being an underling a while ago. He would not leave if it was with Xehanort's help. Besides, in reality the only 'helping' that Xehanort was capable of was for himself. In the end, Axel knew he was going to get screwed one way or another. After all, if Xehanort had the power to leave the void he would have done so already. It was apparent he needed Axel's help to get out…

However, there was another reason Axel stayed. A more important one.

"Roxas…" Axel snapped his fingers, opening the violet gateway before him.

For a better part of the last year, Axel had been searching for a way out. But when he came into contact with Xehanort (or what was left of him), Axel realized something that put a great halt on his search for an exit.

If this void is where Nobodies are born and return for a final resting place, then there was a slim possibility that Roxas would be within the void as well. Just as he and Xehanort were.

Though he knew that Roxas was a part of Sora now, Xehanort suggested that a Nobody only existed when it remembered what it was like to be alive. This meant a Nobody did not need to be killed to be here, it only needed to forget it was alive.

And what better way to forget when you find yourself in the depths of someone else's heart?

So, acting on a simple hunch, Axel spent the last six months searching for Roxas. Today he had found him. With his body becoming part of the void, Axel had found Roxas with most of his body transparent. A sign that he would soon be no more.

In desperation, he tried calling out to Roxas with his voice, and tried awakening him by touch. But in the end it would not be him who awakened Roxas.

Roxas…

Axel shook his head, peering through the gateway, which was acting less like a portal and more like a window that only he could see into. On the other side of it he could see Roxas, already being deceived by Xehanort.

When he had found Roxas' body floating through the void's darkness, he realized that Xehanort had been following him. This had been a great mistake on Axel's part, because unwittingly he had lead him straight to someone he had more of a chance of manipulating. He realized that Xehanort had told him those things on purpose. Xehanort knew, somehow, that Roxas was in the void, and knew that Axel's ties to him would make the search that much easier.

And like a foolish mouse, I walked right into the cat's paws. Axel could feel a bad taste filling his mouth.

Axel knew that if he had stayed when Roxas awoke Xehanort would accuse him of being the enemy.

"Because everybody listens to the booming disembodied voice…" Axel rolled his eyes.

Realizing he had lost for the moment, Axel left and stuck to watching Roxas from the shadows. Of course, this did not stop the bastard from suggesting Axel's fake villainy in the kindest of matters.

"By constructing a massive image depicting us as enemies right under Roxas' feet."

As a way of fighting back, Axel formed this throne room from one of his own memories. A memory he knew he and Roxas shared. A throne room void of any other members of the Organization. If Xehanort did not share in the memory then there was no way he could see it.

Using his own slight control of the void, Axel picked the most opportune moment (the fading staircase) as a way to bring Roxas right to him. It worked, and soon Roxas was witnessing this hand-picked memory Axel had recreated. By seeing this memory Roxas was reminded of two things: his friendship with Axel, and his unique power over Xehanort and the rest of the organization. This way, when the time came, Roxas would be able to fight against Xehanort's manipulation. It also provided a secret meeting place for the two.

Thing is, I don't think he knows that's Xehanort.

Axel had thought briefly about telling him, but decided against it. When the time was right he would remind him. Until then he would sit back and watch. Unfortunately, allowing Roxas to be manipulated was the only way it would open a gateway to the world of the living. But once it was revealed Axel would immediately show up and together they would escape the void. It was a damn near perfect plan. In theory, at least.

Axel looked on as Xehanort's physical form led Roxas into what could only be a memory that the two shared, barring Axel from watching them.

He waved his gloveless hand and the window dissipated. Making a slow stridefor Xemnas' throne Axel reached into his robes and produced the glove which he slipped back on. He then sat down.

"For now," Axel pressed his elbows against the arms of the throne and intertwined his fingers once more. "I guess it's just a party of one."

He just wondered how long it would last.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes: It's been a LONG time and I really apologize for it. Sometimes life just happens to get in the way. But now I'm definitely back and working hard at picking up where I left off in Echo.

If you didn't already know (I mentioned it on my bio page) Three is insanely long and, being stubborn as I am, decided not to rename the other parts of it after I split them up. Instead of seeing Three, Four and Five you're going to be seeing Three Part One, Part Two and Part Three (and maybe even Part Four!) Sorry if that confuses anyone.

The reason why Three is so long is because this is the last chapter of the Introduction, after Three the story opens up and expands. I want to keep it only three chapters and two departures, but I can't very well present to you guys a 20 page Chapter Three, you know?

Anyway, tell me what you think of the first part of Three (good or bad, all criticisms and encouraging words welcome.) Also, if you have ANY questions feel free to ask them in your feedback. As long as it doesn't reveal any important information about the story later on I'll see what I can do to answer them. Hope you guys liked it. Sorry again for the obscene wait I put you all through.

One final note, as SOON as this part is up on the site I will go right back to writing the second part. I want to finish the Introduction before Tuesday, so check back!