I must say that I'm really enjoying writing this story. Thanks for your support, everyone!
No disclaimer. I handled that last chapter. You know what it says.
.oOo.
Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence
6: Real Hope
.oOo.
"So why are you doing this, old man?" Axel asked as he followed Ansem to wherever it was he was being taken. The blank landscape was slowly drifting by as they walked and Axel had a feeling that they weren't going to get anywhere any time soon.
"Do I need a reason to help someone?" Ansem asked without looking back at his traveling partner.
Axel couldn't argue with that, but it still seemed fishy. "Not really, just wondering is all."
"This is a backwards world," Ansem said. "The Nobodies exist, the real people don't, and Sora is a cruel dictator over those he has slain. I, too, have suffered from the reversal of my being; in life, I wanted revenge on the Organization for taking everything I had from me. Here, in Nonexistence, I seek to help the Nobodies in any way I can. After all, I do not agree with how Sora is handling this dimension."
That made about as much sense as anything else that Axel had heard up to that point, so he shrugged and took Ansem at his word. The duo continued to trek through the wilderness for another half hour or so (despite Axel's knowledge that time didn't affect Nonexistence at all).
Finally the impatience within Axel came out. "I can get us wherever you want us to go really fast, old man. Why don't we do that?"
"Because you don't know the way or what it looks like," Ansem replied. "I believe you must have a mental picture to concentrate on in order to travel there in your special way, correct?"
Axel shrugged, defeated. "Yeah, I guess so."
"It's not much farther anyway," Ansem said. "We're almost there."
Axel continued to follow the red-garbed man until they came to an astoundingly large white boulder. Even though it matched the rest of the landscape around them, Axel could feel that it was out of place or different from the rest of the area. His feelings proved right when Ansem placed his flat palm on the side of the boulder, issuing clicks and whirs to be heard. The boulder grew a large black crack up its entire height, splitting it into two halves that began to shift to the side on motorized parts that Axel could not see, but could easily hear.
When the boulder was completely split, Ansem made a motion that he would follow after Axel. Slightly disgruntled by the destruction of the eternally white landscape, Axel started down a set of stairs that had appeared as the boulder had split open.
The area at the end of the steps took Axel's breath away. Computer monitors lit up every inch of the room in an eerie blue glow. The walls were made of dark metal and the floor of black marble. A single chair sat in front of one of the computer screens that was scrolling through massive amounts of text without user input at all.
"Where are we?" Axel asked, amazed. He noticed over to the side a strange spire that stuck up from the ground and crackled with electricity. Curious, he went over to it, making sure to keep his distance while Ansem turned to the solitary chair.
"This is my home," Ansem replied. "I conduct my research on the world known as Nonexistence here."
Axel whipped around. "You're studying Nonexistence?"
Ansem nodded, but still refused to look directly at Axel. "I am. I have also come across various bits of information that may be of some interest to you."
Axel walked over to the chair to peer at the computer screen in front of Ansem. On the screen was an image of the white throne room. Zexion and Marluxia were arguing about something, it appeared, while Vexen and Xigbar conversed in their thrones. Demyx, Lexaeus, and Larxene were nowhere to be seen.
"You bugged the hideout?" Axel's voice was very quiet, as if he were afraid to say anything.
Ansem nodded. "I have been observing the Organization since the first of you arrived. I even helped the Organization find a place to stay. Sora found them, unfortunately, and forced them to relocate. I was quick to help, however, and continued my observations on their activity."
Axel was impressed. "So if you're watching the Organization, are you watching Sora?" he asked.
Ansem shook his head. "It is too risky. If I were to infiltrate the Castle That Is and Sora found out, it would be mere child's play for him to figure out my ties to you and the Organization. I would then be eradicated from Nonexistence."
Axel understood the feeling behind it, but he didn't understand the logic behind the reasoning. How can you die in the afterlife?
"I have brought you here for a specific reason," Ansem said, brining Axel out of his reverie. "I have discovered a way to bring down Sora's reign over the Nobodies, but I will need your help."
Axel straightened up. A way to get back at Sora! Great! "Sure, doc, how do I help?" he asked.
"I am going to send you into the living world."
"Oh, yeah. That. I still don't understand that," Axel replied. It was the truth – when Ansem had originally said that he could send Axel into the living world, Axel had argued that it was impossible. "No one can be brought back from the dead," Axel had argued.
Ansem's reply had been simple: "You can if you're not alive."
The scientist had then begun to walk away from Axel, issuing him to keep up on his own. What Axel really didn't understand is how Ansem was going to bridge the gap between the living world and Nonexistence.
"So how is this gonna work, gramps?" Axel asked.
"The spire on the floor that you inspected will scan your body and recreate it in digital data. We will then send that digitized Axel through a series of networks that connects to the living world's very own computer in the laboratory owned by my living self. The process itself will take weeks."
Axel was without words. A direct route into the realm of the living! He could have a second chance at life!
"Now listen to me, Axel," Ansem said sternly. Axel's excitement died down at the sound of Ansem's voice. "Even though the process will take weeks, it will begin automatically and you will have only three days to obtain your goal before the digital data returns to its original form, sleeping here in my laboratory. After you go to sleep, you will have three days from when you wake. Do you understand?"
Axel's excitement completely died away. So he wouldn't have another chance. It was only temporary.
"Yeah, I got it."
"Good." Ansem stood up from the chair and turned to face Axel. "Do you know how a Nobody is born?" he asked.
Axel shook his head. It was something that he'd forgotten to remember.
"When a person of a strong will loses their heart, a Nobody is formed along with its counterpart, a Heartless," Ansem explained. "In Nonexistence, Nobodies are born when they 'die' in the realm of the living. Since Nobodies in the living realm have no hearts, they cannot truly die, and come to Nonexistence where they can exist eternally, heart and all. Normally Nobodies fade out in time, turning to Nonexistence after they have existed without a heart for a certain amount of time. After all, it is impossible to exist, even if you don't exist, without a heart."
Axel nodded. Made sense.
"The only current exceptions to the rule are those of you who became Organization members and a girl named Naminé."
Naminé. That name was familiar to Axel, but he couldn't remember how.
"Naminé is a special case: a Nobody born from the diffusion of two hearts from one vessel. Her Other, Kairi, is the base heart from when she was spawned, but a second heart also had an influence: Sora's."
Axel's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Sora has a Nobody?" he demanded.
Ansem nodded. "Yes. Sora's Nobody became the thirteenth member of Organization XIII."
"Roxas," Axel said. His shoulders sagged and his head fell. Ansem nodded once, slowly, showing Axel that he was correct.
"My living self rejoined Roxas and Sora. That in itself completely wiped out the chance that Roxas would ever come to be in Nonexistence. Unfortunately, only Roxas can come close to besting Sora's abilities here in Nonexistence, for Sora is Roxas' Other, and Roxas is Sora's Nobody. They are nearly one, but after Roxas was born, they became separate entities."
Axel's head was beginning to swim. Roxas was supposed to have appeared in Nonexistence, but Ansem in the living realm rejoined Roxas with his Other, ruining his chance to die a Nobody's death. Now that they have rejoined, Nonexistence's ruler Sora has become more powerful.
"So how do we fix this?" Axel asked.
"In order for you Nobodies here in Nonexistence to even hurt Sora, Roxas must not be in contact with the real Sora. As long as the life force of both Sora and Roxas exist in one entity, the Sora in this realm is indestructible."
"How am I supposed to separate them after I make it to the living realm?" Axel demanded. "I don't have a clue what I'm doing!"
Ansem was stoic in his answer. "You must cause the real Sora to become a Heartless."
If he wasn't entirely lost before, Axel realized that he was totally confused now. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?" he screeched. "I barely even know what a Heartless is, let alone how to make one."
Ansem shook his head. "I do not know. They do not exist here and the computer with which I have been conversing has no access to information of that sort."
"Conversing computers?" Axel said with a raised eyebrow.
"My computer's operating system in the living realm," Ansem replied with a wave of his hand. "The main OS goes by the name Tron, but that's not important. Heartless are born when a person's heart is stripped from their being. The heart becomes a Heartless while the empty shell left behind becomes a Nobody. In order to weaken this dimension's Sora, you will need to separate Sora's heart from his body in order to take Roxas away from his Other."
Axel crossed his arms and looked at the floor. This wasn't going to be easy, especially if he only had three days to do it. He looked up at Ansem and gave an affirming nod. "No prob, doc, I'll handle everything. I dunno how, but I will."
Ansem nodded in response. "I know you will." He turned and sat in the chair once more, staring at the computer screen as his hands flew across the terminal. "Now if you would please lie down next to the spire, we will begin this immediately."
Axel nodded and made his way to he spire towering out of the ground. It only came up to Axel's waist or so. Axel let himself down to the floor, where he stretched out his legs. Might as well get comfortable, he thought, this'll take weeks to do.
"Good luck," Ansem said from the console.
The electricity at the tip of the spire began to spark larger as more volts entered the machine. Axel didn't even have time to blink before electricity poured out over him, enveloping him in what should hurt, but didn't. It was very warm, and made him very sleepy. His eyelids were growing heavy, so Axel began to shut his eyes. Soon, the room was entirely black.
- - -
Axel's eyes fluttered open, but he immediately wished that they hadn't. Neon blue lights were everywhere. The world seemed to have been dunked in blue paint with neon blue light fixtures installed every two inches. He sat up and shook his head, finding that his hair didn't move like it should. He looked around and saw a strangely-dressed man in tight white clothing and a strange disc on his back. The man's back was turned to Axel, so Axel decided to make his presence known.
"Yo."
The man turned and his eyes conveyed his surprise to see Axel speak. "You're awake! You've been transmitting for a few days now. I'm glad you made it all the way here."
Axel was already lost. "Transmitting?"
"Sure," the man replied. "Ansem sent you, remember? He died a few hours later, poor guy. I guess that means something happened to his living self, right?"
Axel made it to his feet and looked closer at the man standing before him. "Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry, I really am," the man stuttered with a chuckle. "I'm Tron, the Operating System of this computer."
The name Tron rang in Axel's ears as he heard Ansem's voice talking. "Oh, right, you're my rendezvous. So, uh, how do I get out of this computer?" he asked.
"This terminal here can take you to the outside world," Tron said, pointing to a large hexagonal window with some buttons below it. "In fact, if you'll stand right here, I'll go ahead and send you back myself. You don't have long, after all."
Axel nodded in agreement. He didn't have long. His conversation with Ansem seemed like it had happened half an hour ago, not weeks. But Ansem was dead? What had happened? Axel replayed the conversation in his mind. He didn't have to worry about a way back – Ansem had told him that his digital data would automatically return to its original form, in the body in Ansem's lab. He had three days to find Sora and get Roxas out of him.
"Thanks, Tron." Axel gave the man a nod as he seemed to light up as the terminal began its work. Less than a second later, he was gone.
.oOo.
Eh, not happy with the end of this chapter, but it's something. I didn't want to run too long, because I have something planned for right after this. Next chapter is going to be more exciting than the previous ones had been. And by that, I mean action.
Hope you enjoyed Ch. 6, I'll have Ch. 7 up soon. Reviews help the process along, remember that. (wink)
