Chapter Ten: Reminisce

Roxas stared at the Darkside in front of the station towering over him and Erxart. On its own, it was imposing, but manageable. He'd taken out a few large heartless on his own, and had gotten a handle on magic well enough. Roxas felt decent about their chances. The problem came in the group of heartless charging up the hill. Enough of them to keep their attention split, and give the Darkside a chance to land a decent hit and crush either of them. So then, "Any ideas?" He looked to Erxart.

He furrowed his brow, looking at the entrance. Heartless charging in. He turned toward Roxas. "Can you handle the Darkside if I keep the rest off your back?"

"...Yeah. It'll be tough, but I can do this." He held his keyblade ready. Though then he realized. "Wait, what about your weapon?"

"I'll manage", and as he said this Erxart's hand glowed with a dark aura. "I may have had trouble summoning it. But I can handle them without it." And with that, he cast a dark flame toward the floating possessor. The projectile split and struck the enemies nearby. As they were staggered, Erxart leaped forward, cloaked in darkness, and began to strike at the Heartless.

The groaning sound from the Darkside got Roxas' attention, it's fist pulled back and ready to smash him. He barely had enough time to block the giant fist barreling towards him, and even then, the intercepted blow had enough strength to knock him back a bit. Still, he was on his feet, so he could rush back in to hack away at the giant limb.

As he was making progress he saw Erxart, cloaked in shadow, vanish into the ground, much to the confusion of the Heartless surrounding him. A moment later, he emerged from a pool of shadows, dark claws tearing the creatures asunder. However, the Darkside pushed his hand into its own dark well, and scooped out a mass of dark energy. As inexperienced as he was, Roxas knew that could hardly be a good thing, so he continued to attack the fist holding the orb, hoping he could break the grip the heartless had on it somehow.

Soon, it separated into smaller orbs of darkness that began to float high into the sky, and began to rain down, exploding on the ground. Roxas wasted no time, dodging between the blasts, casting fire at the Darkside when he had the chance. As the last of the bombs hit the ground, Erxhart had finally dispatched the last of the Heartless and rushed over. "Roxas, you doing okay?"

"Yeah, just need a little more to finish him off." The Darkside began to lean back, energy gathering in the hole in it's chest. "Okay, now's our chance!" and with that, the two rushed behind it. Roxas slashed at its back, while Erxart pummled the Heartless with darkness infused fists. Eventually, it's legs buckled, "I think we did it!" and the darkside began to fall towards them.

"ROXAS!"

And with that shout, the Darkside was knocked away. Looking toward Erxart, the reason was clear. A colossal sword was held in Erxart's hands. Though there were small bits of bronze along the edge, most of it was smothered in black and red. Though the form was mangled, Roxas could make out the teeth at the end. "Erxart...is that a Keyblade?"

The fourteenth stared at the weapon in his hand. "...Yes...yes, I remember now. This was my keyblade!"

"How come you haven't been able to summon it till now?"

Erxart furrowed his brow in thought, than answered, "I've been having trouble remembering things before I joined the Organization. It's..been a mess." Roxas could follow so far. "But...when I saw you in danger...I wanted to protect you."

"Why?"

"Why?" Erxart seemed taken aback. "Well, you're my friend. Why wouldn't I want to protect my friends?"

"We're friends?" Like Axel was to him? He had gone on a few missions with Erxart, shared ice cream with him and Axel. And unlike most of the other Organization members, he wasn't quite as harsh with him. "Yeah...I guess we are." If that was the case. "You think we could get ice cream then?"

Erxart nodded, "I'd say we've earned it."

The two of them sat on the roof of the clocktower as they did on their first mission together. But this time, the flavor of ice cream being held was Erxart's choice.

"It's...a little bitter. But still pretty sweet."

Erxart smiled. "So, you like it?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Better than Sea Salt ice cream right?"

Roxas pondered for a moment, "I'm not sure that it's better. Just different."

The fourteenth shrugged, "Well, do you think you might want to try Chocolate again some time?"

"Yeah. Definitely." He took a bite from the frozen treat. "Hey, mind if I ask you something?" At Erxart's nod, he continued, "You said you remembered your life before becoming a Nobody."

"Parts of it, yes."

Roxas could only stare into the Sunset. "I...don't remember anything about what I was like. Where I lived, what I did, who I knew. It's all blank." Another bite into the popsicle. "Do you think, if I had someone I needed to protect like you...I could remember?"

"Maybe." The young man answered. "When I saw you in danger...I remembered the promise I took when I started to fight with the Keyblade. To protect my friends, and all the worlds. But, what worked for me might not work for you. You might have decided to fight for a different reason."

"Oh." Roxas felt a bit let down, "I guess you're right." then he began to wonder. "Hey, when you said you wanted to protect your friends, did you mean your old friends? Or all of them?"

"Well, when I made that promise, I probably was thinking a lot about them. But even so, I'd keep it for any friend I made." Erxart frowned. "Though now that I think about it...I can't quite remember who those friends were."

"Forgetting your friends…" That thought was...troubling to Roxas, "that sounds terrible." He saw his friend's face, then made a decision. "Erxart...don't forget me. Okay? Friends shouldn't forget each other."

The fourteenth was surprised at the boy's request, soon he smiled. "Of course I won't. As long as you don't forget me."

"Yeah. And if you do forget me...I'll remind you until you remember."

Erxart took a bite of the ice cream. "I'll hold you to that promise, and I'll make sure you don't forget me either."

Naminé and Yuffie were both out on the balcony keeping watch. Cid had asked for Ventus, Aerith, and Squall to stay with him in case Heartless appeared in the room while he was working. Granted, there were few heartless at the moment to bother them, the assault having significantly thinned their numbers. On the other hand, that gave Naminé a chance to practice with her sword, which mostly comprised of swinging it. Trying to keep it steady. The skill memories she had gave her a bit of a reference. Even so, she still was having trouble figuring out what was missing.

"You need to relax."

Yuffie's comment got her attention. "As in, not be so stiff?"

"Well a little, but also you need to rest a bit." the Ninja began to stretch. "We've just fought our way up this whole castle. Training isn't going to be helpful if you're already exhausted."

Naminé nodded, and sheathed her sword. "I suppose you're right."

"Of Course I'm right. I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie." a cocky grin accompanied her self-assured reasoning.

In any case, Naminé sat against the wall, and began to go through her belongings. Eventually, she pulled out her notepad, pen, and crayons, and began to flip to a blank page.

Yuffie moved closer, curious. "You're an artist?"

"It's...just a hobby." Naminé answered. That was the best way of describing the simplest ability that was her own. She began to sketch, and soon, the lines became shapes, shapes became people and the background around them.

Yuffie smiled "For just a hobby you're way better than me. That's us right?" She pointed to the group of four standing to one side, "And you two there?" greeting the two standing on the other side of the balcony.

"Yes. It's a good start. I'll add some color when I have a bit more time." Naminé frowned, "Actually, I should go and color some of my earlier drawings first." and with that, she began to flip back through the book. But as she passed a certain page...

"Hey, I remember that. It's from Traverse Town!" She pointed toward the picture of the fountain plaza.

Naminé nodded, "Yes." She looked at the picture a moment more "This was the first place I saw there." the girl smiled a little. "It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

Yuffie however, seemed to have other thoughts, "I wish we could have met while you were there. You and Ventus could really have helped us out sooner!"

"Well, we had to take care of some things" Naminé answered, searching for the words, "And we weren't quite sure we needed to head here."

"Yeah, I heard about your fight from Cid." Yuffie sighed. "I'll take a guess and say we should look out for anyone in black cloaks?"

Naminé frowned, "They call themselves Organization XIII. Please be careful if you see them."

"Right. Cid told me how one of them practically incinerated the marketplace." Yuffie crossed her arms and smiled. "I'll make sure everyone knows to keep an eye out."

At that moment, Ventus made his way out to the Balcony. "Hey Naminé, Yuffie. Cid told me to leave him alone for a while so he can finish fixing...whatever it is he's got." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I think I asked him too many questions."

The ninja shrugged. "Yeah, Cid can get cranky if you bug him while he's working on something. Just let him do his thing."

Ventus looked over to Naminé holding her sketchbook. "Were you drawing some more?" She nodded. "Can I see?"

"I'd like to go back and color my older drawings, but-"

"Oh! Okay, go right ahead! I can wait."

"Thank you." And with that she flipped to the first page in the book. The picture with her and Ventus together.

"So, have you two been traveling together long?" Yuffie asked.

The artist shook her head, "Not really. But we've been through quite a bit together."

Ventus sat down beside her. "It's pretty neat that you're taking the time to draw some of the things we've seen. It's a fun thing for you to do!"

"That's not the only reason I'm doing this." Naminé answered. "No matter what, I want to try to remember all of this. I don't want it to slip away from me and...disappear."

"Why? What're you so worried about?" Yuffie asked. But then she looked over at Ventus, his eyes widened in understanding.

In a moment, he nodded resolutely "Don't worry Naminé. The Organization's not going to take you back. Not while I've got anything to say about it."

Yuffie seemed to grasp the situation immediately, "Okay, yeah. They're targeting someone like you. Definitely a reason for us to keep an eye out for those jerks."

Naminé offered a weak smile. "...Thank you."

"No problem! What are friends for, am I right?" Yuffie grinned.

"...Same here." Naminé answered, "If you need help with anything...let me know, and I'll do what I can."

"And I'll be there with her." Ven earnestly replied.

Yuffie laughed, "Well, you help us get our home back, and I think we'll call it even."

As the Decade of pollution was draining from the pipes, the Raven found its once impeded path cleared. Slowly making its way through the pipes, it at last found the one it sought. As it dropped down from the plumbing, the room was practically barren, scorched and scarred from recent combat. At last it sought it's objective. A robe, tossed toward the corner of the room. To the unenlightened, it was little more than fabric.

To the familiar. It was beyond treasure. It was hope.

Wasting no time, it picked up the black cloak and began to search. If it was lucky, someone who would recognize the shawl of the mistress was close by.

For as long as she was remembered, she would never die.

And it was his duty as her companion to see that she returned.

Saïx spoke to Roxas and Erxart as calmly as ever, "Well done. You have defeated the Darkside as instructed. You are dismissed." And with that, the two made their way out of the room. Larxene watched the former initiates leave as she lounged on the chair.

She turned toward the diviner, "So, it looks like the fresh meat have got a handle on things."

"Indeed. They have shown they are quite capable at performing the tasks the Organization asks of them." He turned his gaze toward her. "Now, you had mentioned wanting to discuss your assignment regarding Ventus and Naminé."

"Well,. Seeing as how I'm kiiiind of getting back to field work. Maybe I should have...you know. A few helping hands again." She shrugged. "I'm just saying, it'll be easier for me to keep an eye on them as they go across worlds if, well, I had more eyes."

Saïx nodded, "Very well, you are permitted to dispatch your Ninjas."

Larxene smirked and rubbed her hands. "It'll be nice to be in charge of some real soldiers again. Better go make sure they're ready." And with that she departed through her own portal.

"All in all, she's taking this pretty well." Axel spoke up, having seen the exchange from the side of the room.

"Too well." Saïx responded. "We knew that her loyalty was suspect. Having a tool like Naminé taken from her should have made her far more belligerent."

Axel walked over to the Diviner, "If that's the case...I'd say she's found something far better."

Though his face was impassive as ever, Saïx's gaze become more steeled "Monitor her closely. If you can find any demonstrable proof of treachery, seize it."
Axel rolled his eyes, "That's going to be a bit more difficult. She's not going to just leave evidence lying around. And It's hard to find her when she works on her own."

"Then I suggest you keep an eye on her subordinates."

The flame tapped his temple, following his friend's line of thought "So that's why you let her have them back. More chances for us to find a trail. Well.. while we're at it."

"Gather your assassins, utilize them as you see fit."

"You know me so well." And with that, Axel left to rally his own troops.

"Of course, my friend." Saïx spoke as coldly as he ever did.

AUTHORS NOTE: In case the description was not clear enough, Erxart's Keyblade is Chaos Ripper.