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 Two

The swirl of the vortex was cool against his skin, a welcome contrast to the near illogical heat of the void. Soon, Roxas found himself standing on solid ground again. Once he was sure it was safe to open his eyes, he did so.

Oddly enough, he was in a town of some sort. It was night and the houses made of brick and wood were illuminated by the soft glow of the yellow lights that were strewn about the area. He took notice of a white bell tower straight across from where he was standing and took a step towards it, only to abruptly stop a moment later when something odd caught his eye.

"Huh?"

Directly to his right was a bench that was set up against a fancy brick wall. Laying in a fetal position on that bench, covered by a tattered black blanket, was himself.

"Do you remember this place, Roxas?" The Chaser drifted to his side, Roxas barely registering his presence.

"Not at all." He answered, turning to face what could only be his memory huddled on that bench. The image was unsettling.

"This is where I first found you," The Chaser followed Roxas' motions as he, too, turned to face the memory of Roxas. "after you were born, this is where you ended up. Traverse Town. It was not easy, but in the end I did find you."

"Why?" Roxas asked, surprised he had met this being from the void somewhere else, in the world of the living, no less. "We knew each other before the void?"

The Chaser nodded his head. "Quite well. You could say I was your mentor, and friend."

Mentor and friend… Roxas took in the words, but they sounded false. He kept his mouth shut, but could not help but feel at least a little suspicious…

"As for why I went looking for you… Well, it was to protect you."

"To protect me?" But the question was dismissed when the Chaser lifted a finger to his face as a silencing gesture.

"Just watch." He said, directing Roxas' attention to his memory.

Memory Roxas appeared cold, fragile and weak. He shook quietly on the bench and looked like a ghost. Roxas felt sorry for his former self, wanting desperately to find himself another blanket…

Of course, this feeling was quelled when another person came into the picture. It was a man that walked as if he were on a cloud, just like the Chaser. He could only guess that it was, indeed, his own memory. However, this one did not wear a white coat with black thorns. This one's attire looked exactly like the one Axel had worn when Roxas had met him in the white room.

"Axel…" Roxas said under his breath, low enough so that only he could hear. He slipped a hand into the front pocket of his pants, his hand grazing the paper Axel had given him.

"The man you want to look for is named Cornelius." Axel brought a finger up to his temple and tapped it once. "Got it memorized?"

Who exactly was this Cornelius, and why was he supposed to find him? Moreover, where was this Cornelius? He had not yet gotten the chance to read the paper, but perhaps it entailed what he needed to do to find this enigmatic man…

"Here," The voice of Chaser's memory snapped Roxas back into the present. He took his hand out of his pocket, looking up to see the memory handing the other Roxas a small blue bottle. "drink this."

The other Roxas looked up weakly and, like some sort of timid animal, inspected the bottle the Chaser memory had offered him. Finally, he took the bottle and sat up, unscrewing the top and drinking the contents of it.

"There," Chaser placed a kind hand on the other Roxas. "it will help bring back your strength."

"Who… are you?" The other Roxas lowered the bottle and glanced at the Chaser's hand. He was already appearing visibly stronger than before.

"Do you have a name, young one?" Chaser asked him curiously, perhaps genuinely not knowing the answer. The other Roxas shook his head.

"In that case, I will call you Roxas. It is a name I pondered while trying to locate you. It is fitting for one such as yourself."

"Roxas… my name." The other Roxas placed the bottle on the ground and looked at one of his hands, he then turned back towards the Chaser.

"What do you want with me? Why did you try and find me?" Both Roxas' were thinking the same thing, it seemed.

"My boy. I have traveled far in search of you. I am here to protect you, and offer you the answers to the questions you seek."

"What protection? What questions are you speaking of?"

"Don't play the fool." Chaser pointed a finger at the other Roxas. "You have no idea why those odd weapons come to your aid when you need it. It frightens you for you know it is of significance, yet you cannot remember why or how. You also do not remember anything of your own past. Is that right?"

"Yes…" The other Roxas' eyes lightened with hope as he looked at the Chaser quizzically. "Do you know about my past?"

The memory of Chaser nodded his head. "I know a great many things about you and those blades you carry. Come," He held out a hand that Roxas accepted and used to pull himself up to a standing position. "I shall tell you all you need to know. But don't be shocked at the answer that you receive."

The other Roxas shook his head. "I wont. But… what is your name?"

Memory Chaser paused, and then answered slowly, almost carefully. "I was once known as… Xehanort."

And with that, the two memories faded away, leaving Chaser… or Xehanort, rather, and Roxas alone in the memory of Traverse Town.

Roxas remained silent for a long moment, allowing himself to fully absorb what he had just seen. Instead of answering any questions, it only brought up more.

"What were you trying to protect me from, Xehanort?" Roxas said quietly now, feeling rather bemused. He did not feel as though Xehanort was his friend, but from what he saw… what his own memory showed him, he could not readily deny it…

"I was trying to protect you from your other, Roxas." The answer came simply, but Roxas did not understand it.

"My other." He repeated in small hopes that it would unlock something deep inside of him, but to no avail.

"Roxas, I have explained this to you once before but I will do so again. Do you know what happens when a heart is consumed in darkness?"

Though he did not remember it being explained to him, he knew the answer just from simple deduction. "A heartless is born?"

Xehanort nodded, "A being is made up of three parts. The body, the heart and the soul. Roxas, can you tell me what happens when the soul is taken away?"

The answer was obvious. "You die."

Another nod. "But what happens when the heart is gone, but the body and soul remain?"

"A … heartless is born?"

A laugh escaped Xehanort's lips. "A good guess. A new being is created from the remains. This being, unlike someone who is whole, does not truly exist because, theoretically, they should not. Do you know what this being is called?"

The answer, like one of Traverse Town's many lights, shone over him. Suddenly things were beginning to make sense. "A Nobody."

"Roxas, try to feel your own heart. Can you?"

Roxas closed his eyes and drew in a deep intake of air. Only a moment passed before his eyes shot open in horror.

"Where is your heart, Roxas?"

Roxas could feel his eyes begin to well up, tears threatening to spill down onto his cheeks. "I… I don't.. I don't have one…"

All at once, the pieces fell into place and made a sad sort of sense. He now understood what Axel's memory had said about 'becoming true people' and the importance of Kingdom Hearts and why he was able to control those Nobodies…

Axel and I are Nobodies. The whole "Organization XIII" or whatever it was, their sole intent was to destroy the Heartless and bring forth Kingdom Hearts. They needed the keyblade to do so and that is where I came in. Xemnas needed me so we could all become whole again, like we once were…

The revelation had hit him like a ton of bricks, and he felt himself sway somewhat as his head began to swim with these thoughts. Roxas turned and stumbled backwards, landing in a sitting position on the bench where his memory had sat moments before. He wiped the sweat from his face and suddenly began to feel dizzy.

"The void is where a Nobody is born," Xehanort approached Roxas, understanding that he had realized the truth on his own. "and the void is where a Nobody returns when he ceases to be."

"So, I'm dead? I don't exist, don't have a heart and now I'm dead? What else do you want to add? That I'm not even a real boy? Am I puppet now, too, Xehanort?"

There was a short silence from Xehanort before he spoke again. "A Nobody does not exist. They are neither truly alive, nor dead to begin with. In a way, a Nobody cannot be killed, nor fully destroyed. They can only forget."

"Forget…" Roxas said simply, his mood not improving in the slightest.

"If a Nobody has incurred enough damage to their body or soul, enough to the point of where a normal being would have died, that Nobody's mind forgets in order to cease the pain. When they forget they no longer are and return to where they were born from, the void."

"However," Xehanort continued. "it is when a Nobody remembers after he has ceased that a new, third being is created. Formed of what body and soul is left after they cease and held together by memories alone, these creatures are less than even Nobodies and are named for what they are good at… Chasing. Chasing for a whole body, soul and a heart, the Chasers are the farthest thing from living and the closest thing to a ghost as you can get. They are like living pieces of the void they were reborn in, vacuums in every sense of the word, consuming the body, heart and soul of all those they touch and possess. They drift from world to world, doing this until they become whole once more."

Roxas looked troubled, rising quietly from his seat. So Xehanort used to be a Nobody, then… "Does that make me a Chaser?"

"You are a special case, Roxas." Xehanort turned away from him as he peered down towards the bell tower. "You were never destroyed in the first place. You only forgot who you were due to a lack of thought. You returned to the void, as all Nobodies do, yet retained your full body and soul when you remembered who you were. I'm not sure what you are, Roxas… I believe you are neither a Nobody or a Chaser. You are an anomaly, the unknown Fourth. For this, the only thing I can classify you as is… the Lost One."

Roxas did not know what to make of the information he was receiving, but decided to cut to the chase anyway and ask what had been bugging him all along. "Why are you helping me?"

A second passed as Xehanort stopped talking, his coat then moved as he turned to face him. "You are the only one who can escape the void, Roxas. You are closer to complete than any Chaser, and yet your return to the void has made you a part of it. That is why you can escape. Without help, however, you will be trapped here like the rest of us."

"What is it you want in return?" Roxas was no fool, Xehanort smiled.

"I can control the void better than any other. You are the only one who can leave this place. If we work together, we can both return to the world of the living."

A wave of uncertainty crashed against Roxas' thoughts at that moment. He wanted desperately to leave this void, but even though Xehanort was acting the part of friend and did seem to be helping Roxas he still could not accept him as such as he had been suggesting. After all, what good is a Chaser in the world of the living besides being a reaper? Xehanort seemed to notice what Roxas was thinking and let out a good-natured (albeit eerie) laugh.

"Roxas my boy, don't make a decision until you know the full story." His left sleeve lifted and yet another vortex became visible, beckoning entry. "There is still much to discuss, this way. I think you'll find this next memory a little more… recent."

And like a guest that overstayed his welcome, Xehanort had moved towards the vortex, disappearing right into it. Roxas sighed, shaking his head slowly. This was all too much, too soon. Axel seemed to be telling him one thing, and Xehanort another. He had an overwhelming feeling that, before he could leave, he'd have to make a choice between the two. That, and he had just remembered his own existence earlier in the day.

Unfortunately, he could feel a foreboding sense that the time to decide drawing far too near for his own comfort. Still, looking back one final time on his memory of Traverse Town, Roxas moved forward, following closely behind Xehanort. Soon he, too, disappeared into the gateway…

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes: The plot thickens. According to Axel, Roxas is being slowly corrupted and manipulated by Xehanort. According to Xehanort, he is Roxas' friend and is the only way he can leave the void. Who will he end up choosing? And what happened to Roxas to turn him into that fellow on Destiny Islands? Roxas' story crashes headlong into Sora and co.'s in the next part of Chapter Three. The answers will come, and the final result of Riku and Roxas' clash will be apparent as we end the Introduction and the final, darkest chapter in Kingdom Hearts can begin…

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