Ch.16

Morning had come and Saix woke up easily and prepared himself for the day. Right away he made it down to the Grey Room, wanting to talk to Axel as soon as possible. He knew that it would be extremely hard no matter how he tried to propose the idea to Axel. Thankfully he could keep a straight face while doing it. While Axel may have been good at picking up lies from other members, Saix knew how to keep calm and give way what he wanted to keep secret.

Axel stood in the room as he always did, reading over his papers, he didn't even look up to acknowledge Saix. Saix stared for a moment, he had thought of the idea of talking to Axel right away, but the longer he thought about it, Saix decided he would wait for Xion and Roxas to show up. That way he could make sure that Axel would agree once Saix hopefully managed to convince him. It was still a large hope.

"So you're just going to sit here now rather than coming to receive your mission at the start?"

Saix turned to see Axel standing to the side of the couch, giving one of his cold stares. Saix only shrugged slightly. "Does it matter if I do not leave right away? I assume I must have some job to do today if you are telling that."

"No you don't actually have anything of dire importance, but this isn't like you. I know you just got back a couple of days ago from Castle Oblivion, but I assumed that your time there wasn't enough to make you forget how things are run around here and how you use to be the most on top of it all."

"A member can sit and relax here before heading out on their mission or whatever task you give them. If I choose to sit and wait for a short bit before I do anything, I am very well allowed to aren't I?" Saix asked.

"Hmph," Axel grumbled. "It just isn't like how you were before. I expected you to come back and still be quick and on top of everything."

Saix had the slightly temptation to make a remark on how things were 'before' and how Axel had drifted far from that mark. But like all the other times he chose to keep his mouth shut on the subject. "I will do as I please, Axel. You know regardless of how I may start the day, I will get my tasks done by the end of it."

Axel sneered before rolling his eyes. "Whatever. Just don't actually start to slack off. Out of everyone, you are the one would prefer not to burn in an attempt to make you work harder."

"Thank you for the consideration," Saix replied dryly.

Axel walked away after that, not saying another word. He resumed his spot at the front of the Grey Room, looking back over the papers from before. It wasn't long before Xion and Roxas came into the room. Right away the two of them walked over to where Saix sat.

"Morning Saix," Xion replied poliet.

Saix nodded slightly. "Good morning Xion." He then looked at Roxas. "And also good morning to you, Roxas." Roxas nodded in response after that.

"So…" Xion started, her voice growing quiet. "Are we really going to ask him?" Saix noted how Xion clasped her hands together tightly. They were trembling slightly, but if he had not been trying to look for something he wouldn't have noticed.

Saix reached forward, placing one of his hands over hers. "Xion, relax. We will all take to him, okay? I will be right beside you."

"Okay," Xion replied with the trembles coming to a stop.

"All right, c'mon," Roxas said before the three of them walked over to Axel.

As soon as they walked over there, he was already looking at them with heavy suspicion. "And just what is this all about?"

Roxas and Xion looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say. They may have talked about the idea with Saix, but they had never actually gotten as far as what they would say. Thankfully Saix stepped forward and spoke up for them.

"There was an idea that I ran by them the other day after we retrieved Xion. Since she had been out for some time, I thought it may be beneficial for the two of them to work together on some missions."

Axel scoffed. "You want them to work together?"

Xion nodded slightly. "That's what we were hoping. Is… is it a problem?"

"I think it would be a major waste of time to our goals here. You really think it was a good idea to try and ask that? Or did all three of you forget that we have lost have our numbers? Not that the other members can really do anything to collect hearts seeing as they don't have a keyblade."

"And if they are the only ones who can use the keyblade, so what if they are together? They can still get the work done while also keeping the other in check on their skills."

"That is true…" Axel said before his gaze fell to Xion. "I would hate to hear if either of you started slacking on your abilities." Axel began to chuckle. "If that were the case… then I would have to take some measures to… help you remember what you may have forgotten. Honestly though, I still think it's a stupid idea."

"Axel," Saix said. "Why don't you at least give them a chance to prove they can do this work?"

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "If you let us pair up, we can even take on tougher missions. We'd do it no problem."

"Oh?" Axel asked, clearly not buying Roxas's statement. "Is that so? You may have been here for a couple months now, but both of your are still two little zombies. I still don't think you'd be ready for tougher missions."

"We can do it!" Roxas replied quickly. "Just let us have a chance!"

Axel narrowed his eyes, looking over the three that stood before him. It was clear in his eyes that he was still not entirely on board with the suggested idea. But then he straightened up and chuckled again. "All right fine. We'll see if you two can prove yourselves. But you know that means I expect double the work and more in the reports."

"I am sure that they well be handle it," Saix said.

"Hey! I want to hear it from them first," Axel said, sending a quick glare to Saix. "Don't speak for the zombies." He then turned to Roxas and Xion, standing tall over them. "Well? You think you two can really be worth the effort of this stupid idea?"

"Yeah, we will, you'll see," Roxas said, keeping his expression calm and as serious as he could.

"Of course," Xion agreed, albeit her voice was a little softer. "We'll be worth it."

"Hmph, prove it then," Axel said before handing them the papers that held the contents of their mission. "And if you don't prove it… well… you will regret ever making the suggestion and wasting my time with it."

Roxas and Xion nodded but said nothing more to him. After that they met Saix by the portal to leave for their mission. "You guys will be able to manage this. Just do the best you can, okay?"

"Thank you, Saix," Xion whispered before she headed into the portal.

"Yeah, thanks," Roxas replied. "See you later."

Saix nodded before Roxas also headed off into the portal. He then walked over towards Axel, who still wore an expression of annoyance from before. "So did I actually have something to do today, or is something that is not of 'dire importance' really anything I need to worry about?"

"No, you don't actually have anything to do today."

"Then what was that whole speech before about me sitting around before coming to you to get my mission?"

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to slack off on me. I don't need another Demyx," Axel grumbled. "Also, you better not be trying to plant too many ideas and thoughts into the little zombies."

"Now what do you mean by that?" Saix asked. He could see there was something still in Axel's expression. Still something that was not at all trusting of anything that had just happened.

"They are meant to do as we say. They are just the little workers we need to complete the Organization's goals. Telling them they can work together and letting them do whatever they want isn't what I had in mind for them. They need to know their place and know what their job is. Can't have them getting to many free thinking thoughts."

"So you want to oppress them? Not give them any freedom?" Saix asked, almost finding himself annoyed by the fact that Axel would even hint at such a thing.

"Well I wouldn't exactly say 'opress' that just sounds too harsh," Axel said before laughing. "I'd say it is more of 'keeping them in line' if anything. And if they don't stay in that line… well we already know what would happen then."

"If that is what you say… and if there isn't any need for me to be here, then I will head out elsewhere to the castle," Saix said before turning around. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to stand being around Axel when he was like this. It was sickening to hear such cruel intentions come from someone who he use to call friend.

Axel didn't bother stopping him, so Saix kept on walking until he was out of the Grey Room. Now that he was on his own heading down the hallway, he honestly had no idea what he was going to do for the rest of the day. His thoughts were now everywhere over so many thoughts, it was hard for him to keep a clear mind.

"I suppose I should go train to try and clear my mind… I should be able to occupy myself with that until later."

Saix then headed off to where he cold train in peace without having the worry of other members coming to bother him. Though he knew even if he was alone and training, Axel could still show up. He would show up anywhere, anytime uninvited without word nowadays, and he was always ready to bring up some dark topic rather casually. It really all was stickening to Saix and he wished he could just find out why.

Later in the day Saix had trained and workout out enough as he saw fit. After that he went to relax on his own time seeing as he had nothing else to do for the day. Though he couldn't be too sure when Roxas and Xion would be back, he had his estimate of time. He headed out to Twilight Town to buy his ice cream and then to head to clock tower to see if they had made it back yet.

To his surprise they were already there, eating their ice cream. He cleared his throat as he approached them. "Did everything go well on the mission?"

Xion nodded. "Yeah. I… I think this could actually work. Thanks, Saix. Both you and Roxas really are great."

Saix sat down before nodding. "I am glad to help out."

"I just hope that Axel doesn't find out or make us stop doing this…"

"I am sure that you two can keep it up. I believe in you two," Saix said, trying to sound encouraging. "But enough talk about that. Would you like to talk about your mission?"

"Yeah," Roxas said as he spoke up. "Xion and I went to where you and I went yesterday. The place with all the sand… um I think it was Agrabah?"

"Ah, the city in the desert. Hopefully there weren't too many problems this time around?" Saix asked.

"Sort of… we ran into some interesting characters this time," Xion replied.

Saix hummed softly as he listened before he looked over at Roxas. "Was is the one we encountered before?"

"Well yeah we ran into Pete again, but then there was someone else. This blue guy named Genie," Roxas explained. "He was really weird…"

"He was, but he sounded really worried about his friend… some guy named Al. But, I guess you can't always jump in and do everything for your friends… even if you want to," Xion said, sighing slightly.

Saix let out a sigh himself. He knew the more Xion and Roxas went out into other worlds, the more they would learn. Both of them still lacked so much basic knowledge and it didn't help that they were Nobodies, making it harder for them to understand. But if anything, Saix knew he could try and explain it to them as best as he could.

"It is understandable he made that choice. There are times when people need their time apart."

"So… why did Genie say he and Al were 'inseparable'?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah," Xion agreed. "It's not like they were joined at the hip."

Saix chuckled softly at their naive nature. They still had quite a lot to learn about the world and about everything else. "It is more of a symbolic term rather than literal. But even if two people are very close, they will still need their space from time to time, but in their minds they still are close such as that."

"Really?" Roaxs asked, looking curiously at Saix.

"Yes. That is how friends usually work, especially when they are close enough to be best friends which is what I assume Genie and Al are," Saix replied.

"What's it like having a best friend, Saix?"

Saix straighten up. Out of any question he thought Roxas would ask, that was not one of them. Thankfully being a Nobody, his emotions could not get in control of his mind. He could remain quiet and empty to the thought of it, even if it initially caught him off guard.

"I… I haven't thought about that for a long time," Saix replied solmely. Despite not feeling anything over the matter, there was still a bitter taste in his mouth. He looked down at this ice cream, that he had been neglecting to eat. Slowly he took a few bites while trying to finish what he had started to tell Roxas and Xion. "My best friend… To be honest I haven't seen him in years."

Roxas lowered his head. "Oh… I'm sorry."

"It's all right Roxas," Saix said. "I haven't thought about it in a long time either. I'm the one who is sorry because I'm unable to tell you. I can… barely remember at this point."

"I'm sorry too, Saix," Xion said. "Sorry that you haven't seen him in so long. That must be really hard."

"I suppose it is… but as time goes by, it just slips away more. It's not something I worry about nowadays. Come, let's just enjoy the ice cream before we head back."

"Right, okay," Roxas said before going to finish his ice cream.

Saix let out another long sigh as he slowly ate. Now that the thoughts had been dug up, he could not easily bury them. Thoughts of how things were before now floating around his head, reminding him of what life once was. How life was fun and simple back in the day. Now all of that was just old and forgotten.

Roxas's Diary Entry: Day 75

Xion and I are working together now. The Genie we met in Agrabah said he and

his friend Al are "inseparable." Saix said that sometimes people who are best friends can actually be inseparable even if they aren't always around each other. Though he sounded a bit odd when he spoke. He said he once had a best friend… but now he doesn't. I don't really get it.

That reminds me, those weird pictures flashed through my head again while I was in Agrabah. The guy in red I wrote about before... Has he been to Agrabah or something?

Secret Report: Saix

Another day has left me with more expected questions than I would have thought. I keep myself in check by not dwelling too much on the past and what was, but somehow it keeps getting brought up. I don't wish to think how things were before as it only brings up all of those questions I never have found answers to. But when Roxas asked about a best friend… I couldn't help but think again.

Lea… I don't even recognize you anymore at this point. The appearance may be nearly the same, but the boy I knew as Lea doesn't seem to exist anymore. There is only a cold and dark man named Axel instead. I may never get the answers, but I know I will never stop wondering what ever caused a change in you.

I have been trying to work on a lot of my stories, but I came back to this one and got through this chapter, I guess I am just in the groove for it. Anyways thanks for reading!