A new day dawned as Xaik had been asleep. Her eyes opened slightly, as she regained consciousness. She saw the room she was in, and it left a strange sensation in her. She wasn't sure why, but something about being in this room didn't seem real for a bit. As she sat up in her bed, yawning, she looked outside to see the light of the moon that had been hanging in the air. She turned her body as her feet touched the ground. She stretched and stood, realizing she had accidentally slept in her coat. She noticed the book she was reading still by her pillow and grabbed it to put it out of sight.
Making sure that her bed was in order and her book put away, she walked out to the circular hallway to the path that lead to the rest of the castle. Xaik found it odd that this tower was seemingly detached from the rest of the castle. Like as if she was put far from the other areas on purpose. Saïx may have done it on purpose, Xaik thought to herself. Regardless of the reason why, it didn't help her to seem welcomed into the Organization. And her behavior only further drove this wedge in between her and anyone else, as she approached the area from before.
Xaik noticed some other members walking in and out of that lounge area. Instinctively, she put her hood up once again as she waited for people to clear out. She walked over to the doorway that led to the lounge, but stood a little ways away, as she didn't want to run into anyone accidentally. As she peered in, she took notice of Saïx standing and speaking with a younger boy, who had spiky blond hair. There were others around as well, but Xaik didn't want to linger too long. If she didn't get to where she needed to go, she was sure to be reprimanded. So, she snuck by as she continued her way to the Hall of Empty Melodies.
On the way, she was walking down the path she had encountered Axel the day before. But this time, she found Xeros there instead. He was leaning over the side of the railing, staring at the moon once again. She noticed his fixated gaze, almost desperate and reaching. As she approached him, she pulled off her hood. Xeros noticed her approaching, as he turned his attention to her.
"Um… good morning, Xeros."
"You mean afternoon." Xeros remarked.
"Huh?"
"You overslept. You were supposed to meet with Scyrux a few hours ago."
I overslept?! Xaik panicked.
"Had you been training with Varijex today, it would have been very unpleasant for you." Xeros continued, with a disapproving expression.
Xaik's head dropped at the realization, before she began to shuffle uncomfortably. Xeros looked to her, confused at her reaction. He then went back to looking at the moon.
"Try to be more punctual," Xeros said, without turning away from the moon. "Go on, don't make him wait any longer."
Xaik looked to Xeros as he continued to stare at the moon longingly. It was still odd to see on his face, but that wasn't important right now. She was late enough as it is, Xaik had to get going.
"I'm sorry… I'll try to be more responsible."
With those words, Xaik pressed on to meet with Scyrux. She hoped that he would be forgiving, as she was new to this whole thing. And she wasn't sure what to think about what she was going to be doing. Hopefully he'll answer my questions, regardless of being late, she thought.
Soon, she found herself in the Hall of Empty Melodies. This time, she was standing on the platform that she had seen Varijex and Xeros fighting on the day before. But, much like the melodies in the name, the room was empty. Xaik was worried that perhaps she had been too late and that Scyrux left since she never came. Assuming the worst, Xaik stood in the room by herself, unsure of what to do.
Before long, however, she heard the sounds of frantic footsteps above. She then looked to see a person above, also a young boy, who seemed to be catching his breath. He looked down as he then waved to Xaik. Xaik turned around, making sure that there wasn't anyone else who he could be signaling.
"Hey, sorry!" The boy called out. "Be right there!"
The boy then walked back on the balcony, seeming to want a running start. Xaik was confused at what he could be doing, before he then began to run toward the balcony. He leaped over the railing, as Xaik was left in awe at the sight. Her hands jumped to her mouth as she feared the worst, but the boy managed to stick the landing rather easily and ended up right in front of her. He then walked up to her, once again, trying to catch his breath.
"Sorry, sorry, I…" He let out an exasperated breath. "I totally forgot that we… had a thing."
"Um… you must be…?"
The boy then stood up as Xaik looked to him. She saw him, taking in his pale brown hair, which was kind of scruffy and had a braid dangling on his left side. His eyes were a hazel-brown color, and his expression was what Xaik could only describe as belonging to someone who was very genuine.
"Scyrux," He extended a hand. Xaik hesitated, but took it as he shook it with more energy than she was expecting. Something about his touch was… strange to Xaik. "And you are?"
"My name is Xaik." Xaik let out, which was surprisingly easy. Something was different, but she didn't quite know what it was.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Xaik!" He blurted out in an excited manner.
Xaik would normally find this very uneasy, but something was not quite causing the same reaction in her. It was both welcome and unsettling. She had spent most of her time worrying about others around her making her uncomfortable with her reserved nature. Still, even if this person appeared friendly compared to the others that Xaik had been dealing with prior to this, she felt she should not be so lax with a complete stranger.
Xaik didn't have much time to think after this, however, as Scyrux then took her attention back.
"So, let's get this show on the road, huh?" Scyrux said as he turned and opened one of those dark portals that everyone seemed to be able to do.
Before Scyrux could enter, he looked back to Xaik, who seemed a bit concerned. He looked to her, curiously.
"What's the matter? Have you not used the Dark Corridors yet?" He scratched the side of his head, unsure of what to do. "I know that it's a bit scary at first, but if we're gonna get going-"
"N-no, that's not it."
"Then what is it?" Scyrux asked, with such sincerity in his voice, it nagged at Xaik. How could someone act like this when we supposedly can't feel? She wondered to herself.
Scyrux's face changed as Xaik had this thought, and it took her back. It was almost as if he was reading her mind, but that was a ridiculous thought. At least, it should be, but when you have people who fly and can teleport using dark portals, you start to wonder about what other things are possible.
"I, um, just don't know what we're doing."
"Well, training you, right?" Scyrux threw his hands up, in a questioning manner. "We need to get you up to speed if you're gonna join the ranks."
"I just don't…" Xaik sighed. "...I don't know what that means."
Scyrux raised a finger, now sporting an expression which Xaik only thought to describe as determined.
"Well, if I've learned anything, it's best to just get stuff done when people tell you to do it and you'll figure it out later."
With those words, Scyrux turned away as Xaik watched him disappear into the darkness. This guy is… something else. Xaik thought as she walked into the portal after him.
As Xaik entered the darkness, eventually exiting through a bright light on the other side, she emerged in what appeared to be a jungle of sorts. Xaik looked around, seeing all the trees reaching high. Vines and other plants hung off of the branches and the ground was covered in green. This environment was completely new to her, as she was used to the dreary city and the pale white and gray castle. Xaik was entranced as she could hear the sounds of animals around her, even the air smelled different.
Scyrux was waiting for Xaik as he watched her just take in the environment around her. He couldn't help but smile at her seemingly innocent wonder over this place.
"Not used to being in a different world, huh?"
"I've never been in a place like-" Xaik then turned to Scyrux, confused at his statement. "...wait. What do you mean, a 'different world'?"
"We're not in the World That Never Was anymore. We're in a different world."
Xaik was left stunned at the revelation as Scyrux could only smile and shrug at her. At this point, he was unfazed, but he imagined Xaik was completely new to the idea of different worlds.
"We're in… a different world?!"
"Uh yeah," Scyrux chuckled. "The Organization has to operate in various worlds to achieve its goals."
A different world! Once again, Xaik was reminded of the fact that she had no clue what she was doing. She didn't know what the Organization did, nor did she know what needed to be done.
"There are… more worlds?" Xaik asked, still astonished.
"Yeah," Scyrux chuckled some more. "Didn't anyone tell you? Xeros didn't mention what we were doing today?"
"Um," Xaik shuffled a bit in her coat. "N-no. What are we doing in this world?"
"We're here to do a little recon."
"Recon?" Xaik continued to inquire.
"Yeah, well, the Organization likes to gather information on stuff. It's easy, so I figured this would be a good mission to show you the ropes." He then let out a bit of a chuckle, pointing up. "Or should I say, the vines?"
Xaik didn't quite understand what Scyrux was trying to do there. From the knowledge she did have, it seemed like he was trying to be funny. But it didn't make much sense to her, as she couldn't feel joy or humor like she was supposed to. Neither could he, and yet, here he was, cracking jokes. And clearly, he noticed as he just shrugged his shoulders and gestured at Xaik to follow.
"In any case, let's get moving." He then began to walk forward.
The two began to walk, as Scyrux was guiding Xaik through the jungle. Xaik was unsure of what they were looking for, so she followed silently for a while. But eventually, curiosity got the better of her.
"So… what else do we do in the Organization?" Xaik figured she'd ask while they were just wandering the jungle. "We're doing 'recon', but what does that mean?"
"Well," Scyrux said, pushing a branch down so he could pass around a tree. "We do a lot of stuff. But mostly, we're kind of just support for a few key members."
"Key members?"
"Yeah," Scyrux continued, as he stepped over a rather large root of a tree. "Their goal is to create Kingdom Hearts, which is supposed to make us whole again."
Xaik stopped in her tracks, as Scyrux noticed and turned back to her. Kingdom… Hearts? Once again, this didn't ring any bells for her.
"What is… 'Kingdom Hearts'?"
"Sheesh," Scyrux rubbed the back of his neck. "They really gave you the short end of the stick, huh?"
"Um…" Xaik didn't quite know how to respond, because it was somewhat embarrassing, but also the truth.
It had only been a couple of days, so one couldn't expect to know everything that there is to know. But Xaik had been told the last two days that she would have answers, and all she found was more questions. All this talk of Nobodies, losing hearts, darkness, Heartless, other worlds and now this 'Kingdom Hearts'; it was all so confusing. How could she possibly hope to be of help when everything she learned just served to confuse her more?
"Well, you know the moon in the sky above the castle? That's Kingdom Hearts."
"Oh," Xaik then thought back to how earlier when she encountered Xeros, how he was staring at the moon. That was the reason why. "What is it, though? How is it supposed to help us get our hearts back?"
Scyrux puzzled for a bit, clearly stumped at the question. It was somewhat concerning for Xaik, as she was still desperate for answers.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. I don't know who does know. I'm guessing Xemnas, since he organized us and all." Scyrux rubbed his forehead, thinking. "What I know is that it is apparently the heart of all hearts. It's a mass of hearts that the Organization has managed to collect using those key members I've mentioned earlier."
The heart of all hearts? The idea was incredibly baffling to Xaik. She found herself in awe as Scyrux continued to describe to her more about what they were doing.
"If we get enough hearts, we can complete Kingdom Hearts and the Organization will have the power to restore our own hearts. That's the gist of it, anyway."
"So… our job is to… find hearts to collect?"
"Sort of," Scyrux shrugged. "See, people have hearts, but hearts can become corrupted or stolen. These hearts then turn into creatures we call Heartless."
"Right, Heartless," Xaik remembered this from her conversation with Xeros. "Xeros mentioned them to me."
"Well, only something that they call a key bearer can release those hearts from the Heartless. We support the key bearers and search for strong Heartless populations for them to deal with."
"I see…" Xaik took all this information in, and it left her thinking rather small of herself.
Now, she knew what the ultimate goal of the Organization was. They are trying to complete 'Kingdom Hearts' , which should grant them their hearts back. In order to collect hearts, they act in support of the 'key bearers' to free hearts from the creatures known as Heartless. And these Heartless and the darkness they represent are the very culprit of the Nobodies and their existence. It was all very overwhelming, to say the least.
But with all that in mind, now she knew what had to be done.
"So, we're here, looking for signs of Heartless?"
"Yeah," Scyrux replied. "But so far, I'm not noticing anything out of the ordinary. It's okay though, since you're probably new to combat."
Combat? Xaik questioned. I'm… going to have to fight? This did make sense with what she saw with Xeros and Varijex fighting before. They were practicing fighting, not for one another, but for the Heartless. Although, Xaik did assume there was some sort of sport to them from how they seemed to treat the fight.
"I… didn't know I'd have to fight."
"Yeah, well," Scyrux sighed. "I'm not too fond of it, either. But if the Heartless start growing too strong in number, it gets hard to deal with them. So, we keep them under control on occasion."
"Oh…" Xaik muttered under her breath.
It was uncomfortable for Xaik, imagining having to deal with fighting Heartless. Especially if the Heartless were the reason they had lost their hearts in the first place. She wasn't very well versed in fighting, not to her knowledge, anyway. And in the context of her losing her heart, clearly, they were a force to be reckoned with. And the fact that only the so-called "key bearers" could release the hearts they hold captive didn't really seem to help give Xaik any confidence.
"Don't worry," Scyrux proclaimed. "If we have any problems, I'll deal with it for us."
Once again, Xaik found herself in a place that was strange. Scyrux's words seemed to have some sort of effect on her, but she couldn't understand what the effect was. It was unnerving, yet soothing at the same time. It made her very curious about him, but she would have to wait to think more on that another time. They had a mission at hand and Xaik at least didn't want to waste any more time on trivial pursuits. She nodded at Scyrux as they proceeded through the jungle.
The time went by, though neither of them were sure how much. The calls of the various animals were heard, seemingly endless in their harmonies. And yet, not a single creature was seen given the density of the trees and plants. It was peaceful, but that was getting them nowhere. Scyrux seemed to be particularly unenthused as they traversed, until he seemed to notice something and stopped.
Xaik shuffled behind, realizing Scyrux was looking around. Xaik also looked around, as Scyrux turned to her, grinning. It was unusual for Xaik, as everyone else never seemed to have such expressions. It made some sense, as though he had no emotion, Scyrux was overall more pleasant than the rest of their comrades. Scyrux walked over to a tree, leaning on it and resting on his hands, as they reached behind his head.
"Alright, rookie," Scyrux jested. "Time we put you to the test."
Xaik looked at him, somewhat concerned. What is he talking about? Xaik pondered.
"Tell me," He continued. "What do you see?"
Xaik looked to Scyrux, before looking around. She looked and saw all the trees, plants, and vines. As they had been seeing for the past… however long they had been there. She didn't see much point to the question.
"Um, I see trees and vines and-"
"Okay, time out," Scyrux interrupted. "Yes, I know you see those things. But tell me what you really see."
Xaik took another second, looking around, stepping a bit forward toward Scyrux. She did a full turn around, trying to see anything other than what she had been seeing.
"I don't understand what you're asking."
"Oh, come on, Xaik," Scyrux dragged. "I know you look with your eyes. But you need to see the world around you. Be perceptive!"
Scyrux then got up from the tree he was leaning on, walking over to the tree directly across from him. He leaned on it with one hand, crouching slightly as he looked to Xaik.
"Understand, and observe." He spoke, trying to direct Xaik's attention to something.
Xaik walked over, looking down to the Scyrux as he gestured to something on the ground near the tree.
"What is this?" He said, pointing to a mark on the ground.
Xaik looked at it, noticing the indent in the ground.
"It's a mark?" Xaik shrugged.
"Yes, okay, a mark. But a mark of what?"
Xaik took a closer look at the mark as it seemed to form some kind of print. And she realized that it was in fact a handprint that was embedded in the dirt. She came closer, looking to it.
"It's a handprint."
"Yes!" Scyrux said, giving a slight fist pump.
Xaik then looked to the handprint as it seemed to be accompanied by other prints in the ground. From the point they were standing, they appeared suddenly, but eventually created a pattern that led slightly to the left of their path. The initial handprint seemed to lead to what eventually looked like knuckle prints, as well as footprints a short length behind. Whatever was moving here seemed to move on all fours. But something was strange about such a sight.
"That's weird…" Xaik thought aloud.
"What is it?"
Xaik stood up, following the prints as they continued through the jungle.
"These prints. They look like they belong to some sort of primate with the way they look."
Scyrux looked down, noticing that what Xaik said was probably true.
"Okay, and?"
"I've never seen any sort of ape in person, at least, not that I remember, but…" Xaik said as she turned to Scyrux. "I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be bigger."
Scyrux looked down, then back up as he shrugged with an awkward chuckle.
"Baby apes?"
Xaik looked back down to the prints, as she looked toward the direction they were heading. She looked to Scyrux who nodded and proceeded forward, following the path of the prints of the creature they now sought.
"Nice catch, by the way." Scyrux complimented.
"Huh?"
"On the prints. Noticing the prints is one thing, but you used the knowledge you had to determine more about our mystery ape than others would."
Xaik's face flushed a bit from the compliment, though she didn't understand where that came from. Another strange sensation that came with being around Scyrux.
"It was nothing, really. I just did what you told me."
"Yeah, but you don't just get taught stuff about jungles and apes. You clearly applied yourself." Scyrux gripped his chin between his index finger and thumb. "Were you a scholar or something before you were a Nobody?" He added with a laugh.
"I don't think so."
Xaik pondered for a bit before noticing Scyrux's expression change. It went from its more cheerful disposition to one of concern.
"You don't think so?" Scyrux questioned. "Do you not know?"
"Not really, no…" Xaik uttered quietly.
Scyrux gave her another look, and something in his eyes seemed to change. Xaik wasn't sure if she was seeing things, but it almost seemed like there was a strange light to them.
"You don't remember, do you?"
Xaik shook her head, and if she could feel, would probably be embarrassed. Scyrux sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
"I'm sorry." His apology sounded so real, it made Xaik question his intent for a moment.
How can you be sorry? She thought to herself. We don't feel things. You can't feel sorry for me…
"I know I can't actually feel sorry," Scyrux added, which freaked Xaik out, as he once again seemed to almost be reading her mind. "But it's… probably awful to not remember things."
"It's okay."
Scyrux gave a slight, awkward smile as he continued forward, following the trail.
Xaik, however, was once again finding herself entranced by Scyrux's behavior. He's so strange, she thought to herself. How could one who feels nothing be sorry? Acknowledging that he can't be sorry would negate any claims, and yet, Xaik found herself almost believing it. Why was that? How could she believe that someone like herself, a Nobody, makes her believe that she is empathized with? All the while not actually empathizing with her? It was confusing, to say the least.
But it would soon be in the back of her mind, as Scyrux came to a stopping point once again. He walked over to a tree, leaning on it as he did before, but this time it was not with purpose. At least, not what it seemed to Xaik. He rested against the tree, taking a deep breath.
"This is exhausting," Scyrux let out as he stretched against the tree. "We've been following this trail for a while, but other than these tracks, we haven't found any signs of Heartless activity."
"And what would Heartless signs be?" Xaik inquired.
"Well, for most people, it's pretty obvious. They're attracted to the darkness in people's hearts, so they usually seek them out." Scyrux then looked around, waving his arms around in a grand gesture. "But we haven't found any signs of life anywhere in this big-"
SNAP. Xaik heard a noise that sounded close by, as she turned away from Scyrux, who kept on his tirade. Xaik looked to her right, where the sound came from, staring into the trees.
"...and honestly, I love nature as much as the next guy, but-" Scyrux stopped as he noticed Xaik staring off into the distance.
He looked in the direction, not seeing anything in particular. He looked back to Xaik, who seemed fixated on something in that direction, however.
"Xaik?"
Scyrux's call broke Xaik out of her focus as she turned to him.
"You good?"
"Yeah, I… thought I heard something."
"Oh?" Scyrux responded with curiosity. "What did you-?"
Hissssssssss. Xaik then heard another noise, this time, louder than last. She turned again, this time, with more terror in her eyes. Rustle, snap, rustle, hissssss. Something was approaching their position. From what Xaik could hear, it sounded much like a snake. But definitely not a small one.
"I hear something." Xaik muttered to Scyrux, trying to be quiet.
Scyrux looked to the direction where Xaik was looking, but heard nothing. He looked back to Xaik, noticing her worried expression. Clearly, she was noticing something he wasn't. And he wasn't going to leave anything to chance, so he took a defensive stance. He was holding one hand over his hip, ready to pull out his weapon, whatever it was. Xaik noticed this as well, wishing she had her own weapon to fight with if it came down to it.
But Xaik didn't have the time to ponder for long, as the sounds now seemed more audible. Scyrux, now hearing the sounds, looked around, trying to find the source. But with all the ambient noise, it was hard to place where exactly it was coming from as it moved around them. Xaik kept listening, trying to find the sound again. Somehow, she was able to hear the sound if she could focus on it. She focused a bit more, trying to find it once again as things went quiet.
Hissssss.
"Look out!" Xaik yelled out, as she realized where the sound was.
Xaik turned to Scyrux and dove over to him, knocking him down on the ground. Scyrux was caught off guard, being thrown to the ground. But it was at that moment that he looked and saw an incredibly sized snake had just attempted to snap at him from a nearby tree. Xaik quickly rose up from Scyrux as they both stood and backed away from the snake, slowly. The snake flicked its tongue at them, staring with its slitted eyes.
It lowered itself from the branch it was on, putting its body on the floor but keeping its head up. It approached them, slowly slithering at them as they backed away carefully. Scyrux then summoned a weapon to his hand, as Xaik looked to it. In his hand he held a green handle, attached to what seemed to be a yellowish rope that was rolled up. As the snake noticed, it stopped, and Scyrux flicked his hand out, releasing what appeared to be some sort of whip. It had a large barb on the end, as well as being barbed on the sides of it.
The snake took exception to that, as it raised its head up and pulled its head back. Scyrux took care not to make sudden movements, as the snake seemed to take its own defensive position. Xaik stood behind Scyrux, growing more anxious by the second as the snake merely stood still. Scyrux, hoping to merely scare the snake off, cracked his whip in its direction. The snake then struck quickly at the end of the whip, not hitting it, but coming close. Scyrux and Xaik jumped a bit, but quickly regained composure as the snake moved around them a bit.
It seemed to slither toward a tree, perhaps to abscond. The two watched carefully as the snake continued to look at them as it moved around them. Soon it slithered behind a tree, leaving their sight. Xaik grew anxious at losing sight of the creature, as she tried to listen for it again. Unfortunately, her hearing was failing her and she couldn't track it as she once did. She wasn't sure how she managed to do it in the first place, so she didn't know how to replicate it.
"W-where did it go?"
As Xaik asked Scyrux, looking to him for guidance, he seemed to be hyper-focused on the area where they had last seen the snake. Xaik noticed at one point when he turned his head toward her that same strange glimmer in his eyes. He was searching, as he spoke up.
"Do you hear anything?"
"N-no…" Xaik said, defeatedly.
"But you did hear it last time. Why can't you hear it now?"
"I don't know… I just kind of-"
Before Xaik could finish her sentence, Scyrux used his arm to push her back, as she noticed the snake was now perched on a different tree near them. Scyrux managed to spot it, though that amazed Xaik as it was pretty well camouflaged in the leaves and vines. Scyrux made a pensive face for a moment, before this time making a decision.
Scyrux snapped his whip at the snake, this time with intent to strike. Xaik noticed a yellow aura appeared for a moment as Scyrux struck, first surrounding him before it traveled the length of his whip. The snake narrowly avoided the attack as it dropped down onto the ground. It began to slither at them as Scyrux snapped his whip at it again, striking it near its head. The snake shook, veering off to the side as it slowed for a moment. A similar aura surged through the snake for a moment before dissipating. It flicked its tongue, before turning back towards the two and continuing its advance. Xaik watched in horror as she waited for Scyrux to hit it again.
Reeling for a good crack of his whip, Scyrux struck the snake another time, as the snake attempted to dodge the attack. It missed its head once more, but this time, it clearly had an effect. Though there was no visible wound, the snake seemed to be dazed, the yellow aura now appearing for a while longer on the snake. Its jaw seemed to become heavy as the tongue merely drooped down. The snake's eyes seemed to become somewhat vacant as it stopped moving altogether and it rolled over.
Scyrux let out a sigh, as he wiped the sweat from his brow. As he began to roll up his whip in his hands, Xaik looked at the snake. She inspected it closely, wondering what Scyrux did to it.
"Is… is it dead?"
"No no," Scyrux finished rolling up his whip as he made it disappear in his hands. "It's just stunned."
Xaik looked at it once again, this time noticing that it was still moving somewhat. Xaik looked to Scyrux, confused by his abilities. Somehow he managed to disable the snake without hurting it. It was an impressive feat, but unsurprising given all the abilities that the others seemed to have. Whatever Scyrux could do, it served well against the snake.
"So… what should we do with it?"
"What do you mean?" Scyrux asked.
"Do… do we have to kill it…?"
Scyrux grew wide-eyed at Xaik's question. This left Xaik further confused, as his reaction seemed genuine, but that shouldn't be possible.
"No!" Scyrux dragged. "Why would we do that?"
"I don't know…" Xaik shuffled uncomfortably. "It… attacked us a-and… you said we'd need to fight stuff, so.."
Scyrux noticed Xaik's temperament and sighed. Xaik looked at him like a lost puppy, so unsure of what to do or think. If he had a heart, Scyrux would've been sad about it.
"Look," He placed a hand on her shoulder, and once again, Xaik noticed a strange sensation pouring into her through his touch. "Why would we kill it when it's just trying to live?"
"But… we have to kill Heartless?"
"Well, yeah." Scyrux rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, Heartless… Heartless aren't really alive. They're monsters. They attack people. They plunge whole worlds into darkness."
"Does that… really matter?"
Scyrux was taken aback by Xaik's query. Xaik pondered for a moment before coming to a thought.
"Aren't we expected to fight the Heartless to get our hearts back? Not to save people. Because does it matter? Without our hearts… we're not people."
Scyrux's face turned to something Xaik had not yet seen on him. The expression he had before changed. Or rather, the expression left him entirely for a moment, leaving him looking completely apathetic and neutral. But after a quick shimmer in his eyes, his cheerful disposition returned as he chuckled to himself.
"You don't have to be such a Debbie-downer!"
"Oh," Xaik realized her actions as her head dropped. "I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to imply…"
"Haha, don't sweat-"
Before Scyrux could finish his sentence, he grabbed Xaik by the shoulders and launched them both onto the ground to their side. Xaik was caught off guard, but as she looked up to see what Scyrux was doing, she saw that the snake had recuperated and had tried to bite her. Scyrux tried to roll back up to his feet, but the snake was quicker than he expected. It lunged at him, causing him to lose his balance and trip over Xaik.
The impact caused some branches to snap and fall, foliage landing on top of them. The snake slithered and hissed at them as it approached them. Xaik watched in horror as she tried to get Scyrux off of her so they could move. The snake reared its head back, about to strike. Xaik closed her eyes and went to scream when-
"Yyaah-eeh-ah-eeh-aaaaaah-eeh-ah-eeh-aaaaah!"
Through the trees, a loud yell pierced the leaves and was followed by the sounds of branches snapping. Xaik opened her eyes as she saw a rather strange sight as what appeared to be a man flying through the trees swooped down and kicked the snake. The snake was dazed as it turned to the man, who Xaik was now able to see a bit more clearly.
The man was definitely older than Xaik, his body chiseled and defined. His hair was long, disheveled. And he wore nothing but a loincloth, and wielded a spear. The snake hissed at the man, as the man mimicked the hiss back at the snake. Xaik was left in awe at the sight of this spear-toting, wild man facing down the snake. She grabbed Scyrux and pulled him out of view of the man, but continued to watch as Scyrux got his bearings and also watched.
The snake circled the man, as the man stood ready for the snake. Suddenly, the snake lunged at the man, but the man was fast. He dodged the attack and managed to scratch at the snake's body with his spear. The snake hissed in pain as it then turned to slither away, sensing that this prey would be too much of a fight for its liking. The wild man went to follow, before Xaik heard something that also seemed to call to the attention of the wild man.
"Tarzan!" A distant voice called out. "Tarzan, where did you go?"
The wild man turned toward the noise, as he looked to see the snake was leaving. He then turned back toward the noise as he ran to a nearby tree and began to climb it. Xaik watched in awe as the man seemed to effortlessly climb the tree, but more than that; the way he moved was unlike any way that Xaik had ever seen a man move. One would think that she would've been less amazed given she watched people fly, but it was still a sight to behold.
That was when Xaik realized the way the man moved. The handprints! The wild man was moving like an ape. The prints that she and Scyrux had found belonged to the wild man. She turned to Scyrux, who looked at her.
"We need to follow him! The trail we were following was his!" Xaik spoke urgently, but quietly so as not to alert the man and throw him off track. They needed to know where he was going.
Scyrux nodded as they began to move after the man, who was moving across branch to branch. They ran after him, remaining in cover under the leaves. The wild man continued to leap around, soon grabbing onto some vines and swinging from them. As he did, he gained speed and was going to lose the two before long.
"He's going too fast!" Xaik called out.
"How's your grip?" Scyrux cheered as he summoned his whip back.
"Huh?" Xaik barely managed to let out as Scyrux grabbed her hand.
With a flick of his wrist, he cracked the whip up and it wrapped around a branch. Scyrux yanked the whip and it shot the two of them up into the air. Xaik did her best not to scream as she and Scyrux began swinging from the trees. Scyrux would cast his whip out, grab a branch with it, swing and then cast it out again. They picked up the speed they needed to keep up with the wild man, as he continued forward.
After a bit, the man seemed to run out of vines, so he jumped onto a nearby branch and began surfing on it. Scyrux noticed this, as he then looked down to Xaik.
"You ready?"
"Ready for wh-?"
Xaik was cut off when on an upward swing, Scyrux let go of Xaik's hand, throwing her into the air. She let out a scream as she was up, meanwhile Scyrux followed the man's lead and began surfing on the branch. He looked up to see Xaik was still in the air, readying himself to catch her. Xaik closed her eyes as she fell downward, waiting to hit the ground.
But she instead felt herself being caught and opened her eyes to see that she was over Scyrux's shoulder. She quickly grabbed onto Scyrux for dear life as she heard him laughing to himself. She looked over to him, noticing his pleased face.
"This is actually pretty fun!" He said through a laugh.
They continued branch surfing for a while, before seeing the man jump off the branch and grab a nearby vine and land safely on the ground. Scyrux wrapped his arm around Xaik's waist that was over his shoulder and cast out his whip once more. He swung down off of the branch a ways behind, landing on the ground. Once his feet were planted, he let Xaik down off of his shoulder, as she tried to gather her bearings.
Scyrux chuckled to himself as he picked out some leaves from his braid, and then noticed Xaik managed to snag some twigs and leaves in her hair. He picked them out for her, removing them from her head and her single curl. Xaik gave him a strange look as he smiled at her and continued forward. What is with him? Why is he acting like this? Xaik followed shortly behind, still very confused over Scyrux's behavior.
They then walked through a thicket of small, thin trees. Taking extra care to not be noticed, they moved through slowly. They watched as the man had entered a clearing in the jungle, as they took cover behind a larger tree. The two peeked around, not really able to see anything through the trees from this angle.
"Let's get a closer look." Scyrux whispered as they approached the clearing.
After managing to push through the thicket, they saw the man was walking into an encampment of sorts. The camp was filled with various tents; and all over were many devices, appliances, maps, and globes. There were other things that Xaik didn't recognize, as well as drawings on a chalkboard.
"This definitely looks like the kind of thing to report on." Scyrux said as he turned to Xaik. "So, what are we looking at?"
"You're… asking me? I know just about as much as you do."
Scyrux sighed as he pointed toward the camp.
"Remember, you gotta know how to see stuff. What do you see?"
Xaik tried to remember what to do in this situation as she took in more information. Clearly, the man must reside here, or at least, comes here to rest. She heard a voice before and the man came to it, so she figured there must be more people here. Then she noticed more evidence for her theory, before presenting it to Scyrux.
"The man we followed might live here, but I don't think this is his camp."
"Oh?" Scyrux raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"
Xaik then pointed to a line of clothes that were hanging between some of the tents.
"The man only wore a loincloth. Those aren't his clothes."
Scyrux rubbed his chin and pursed his lips, before turning to Xaik.
"He could be wearing a loincloth because that laundry isn't dry, though."
"But does he wear dresses?" Xaik replied.
Scyrux was puzzled for a bit, before looking and noticing some rather fancy dresses were also hanging from the line. He turned to Xaik, shrugging.
"Who am I to judge what the jungle man wears?"
Xaik and Scyrux turned as they noticed a woman emerge from one of the tents, rushing over toward the man. They were a bit of a distance away, so they couldn't quite hear what they were saying.
"I can't make out what they're saying, can you?" Scyrux asked.
Xaik tried to hear what was being said, but for some reason, she couldn't. It was strange, sometimes she could hear things that were distant clearly, but most of the time she couldn't. But that wasn't going to stop her. The mission was clear, reconnaissance and gather information for the Organization. I need to get closer.
Xaik then moved ahead, as Scyrux looked at her, surprised.
"What are you doing?" He whispered.
Xaik turned to him, gave a small smile before turning back to get closer. Xaik came closer as she began to hear what the two were talking about.
"-been looking all over for you. Where have you been, Tarzan?" The woman spoke in an English accent.
Tarzan. The name I heard before. Xaik thought to herself. That must be his name.
"Jane, I heard strange noises in the jungle."
"There are plenty of noises in the jungle, Tarzan."
"Not this," Tarzan spoke, looking off toward the trees. "Sounded like the monsters from before."
Monsters? Xaik continued listening in.
"I know that you're still shaken by what happened with Clayton, but that young boy stopped those dreaded dark creatures."
Tarzan looked somewhat distraught, as the woman Jane kneeled down to his level, placing a hand on his cheek. Xaik took notice of this gesture in particular, as it gave her a strange sensation.
"We're safe now, all of us."
Tarzan took Jane's hand in his, as she caressed his face. She then continued to hold his hand as she stood, as Xaik watched their hands touch. The sensation in her only grew stronger and weirder the longer she looked. Nagging in the back of her head.
"Come along, I made some food. You must be hungry."
Jane released Tarzan from her grip and walked into the tent. Tarzan was going to follow, when Xaik leaned in close, a strange longing washing over her. But she let her guard down and snapped a twig that was on the ground in front of her. She looked at Tarzan to see that he heard the noise, and turned toward her. Xaik panicked and froze, trying to stay still enough not to be noticed. Tarzan began to scan his surroundings, looking for the source of the noise.
He began to walk over towards where Xaik was hiding as she was beginning to hyperventilate. But her erratic breathing was interrupted by the sensation of something wrapping around her head and mouth. She looked and saw Scyrux had wrapped his whip around her to keep her quiet, and gestured with a finger to his lips. Xaik turned back to see Tarzan was still coming closer.
"Tarzan?" Jane yelled from the tent.
Tarzan took one last look at the jungle before turning away and walking into the tent.
Xaik calmed down as Scyrux released her from his whip. Xaik returned to his position as he chuckled to himself.
"That was a bold move, rookie."
"Sorry…" Xaik apologized. Scyrux merely chuckled some more.
"No, no. That's good! You did a good job! ...well, if you found something useful." Scyrux chuckled, then turned his focus onto Xaik in a more serious manner. "So, what'd you find out?"
"The man is named Tarzan. The woman was Jane. I'm not sure…but I think that he was looking for us."
"You think so?"
"Yes," Xaik added. "He said he heard a strange noise, like 'the monsters'."
"'Monsters'? But we're not monsters."
"Jane mentioned something about some dark creatures… I think they're talking about Heartless. And Heartless are creatures of darkness, right? Would they travel like we do?"
Scyrux was shocked at Xaik's deductions, but it was entirely possible that she was right.
"Well, isn't that funny? We were doing recon on a guy who was doing recon on us." Scyrux laughed, then sighed, before looking at Xaik again. "Anything else about the dark creatures that might be Heartless?"
"No," Xaik exhaled through her nose. "She mentioned a boy stopped them a while ago, though."
"Huh, okay." Scyrux puzzled for a bit.
After a few moments of him thinking, he slapped his knees and stood up. Xaik stood up as well, as she wondered what the next move was.
"Well, seems like there's no Heartless activity here that we could find. Guess we should probably just RTC."
"Um… RTC?"
"Right, you wouldn't know." Scyrux bumped his forehead with his palm. "It stands for Return to the Castle. Let's go back to report."
Scyrux turned and held out his hand, creating a Dark Corridor for them to leave with. Scyrux stepped through as Xaik took one last look at the jungle around her before walking through into the darkness herself.
They soon exited through the portal, ending back up in the Castle That Never Was. Scyrux teleported them to the hallway that led them to the lounge area Xaik had been noticing before. Xaik looked around, back in the familiar gray and white walls. It was somewhat unfortunate to be back in such a dull place compared to the lush, green jungle. But it wasn't like Xaik could feel any joy or grief over it, anyway.
She turned towards Scyrux, who was looking at her with a smile. Thinking about her lack of feelings did remind her of how odd Scyrux had been the whole time they'd been together.
"Well, I'll go report to Saïx. You can go and rest if you want."
Scyrux turned to head toward the lounge, but Xaik was too perplexed to let him leave just yet.
"Um… w-wait!" She blurted out before shrinking into herself a bit.
Scyrux turned back to her, curious.
"What's up?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Why…" Xaik had trouble saying the words. "Why do you… act the way you do?"
Scyrux had a confused look on his face, which just further served to confuse Xaik.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't really remember, but…" Xaik tried to think about what she wanted to say. "You're acting… nice, I guess? Why… are you so nice? You don't have a heart."
Xaik noticed that shimmer in his eyes again, as his smile brightened up.
"Why shouldn't I? I mean, we're all in this together, right?"
This answer didn't really satisfy Xaik's curiosity, but something about his words soothed her. It was strange, this thing he did to her. She knew something wasn't right, and yet, it was okay. There wasn't any issue, so Xaik just decided to let it go for now.
"Yeah, o-okay… sorry to keep you."
"It's alright! Well, see you later!"
Scyrux waved as he went into the lounge, disappearing around the corner. Xaik stood, unsure of what to do as she placed her hand on her arm and leaned against the wall.
After a moment, she heard footsteps and saw that Xeros was approaching. Her eyes grew wide as she straightened her stance and her arms placed themselves in front of her. Xeros noticed Xaik's change in stance as he approached, making a note of it as he figured he would greet her.
"Hello, Xaik." He greeted her, plainly.
"H-hello, Xeros…"
"Scyrux just reported to Saïx. He tells me the mission went well and that you're a quick learner." He said with a slight tone of approval.
"Did he…? Um… th-thank you."
"Don't thank me," Xeros replied. "He's the one that gave you praise."
"Oh…" Xaik's head dropped and she began to shuffle, uncomfortably.
Xeros noticed this, finding himself perplexed by Xaik's behavior. She always seemed so small and fragile, and it threw him off somewhat. He then approached her, thinking of how to settle her down. He resorted to patting her shoulder. Xaik was startled, before looking up to Xeros. She looked closely at his face, taking in his features. She took in all the details and looked deeply into his eyes.
It was then that she noticed how strange his eyes seemed. They were dull, for lack of a better term, without the proper reflections, and his pupils seemed faded. Like as if the windows into his soul were closed off, unable to be looked through. It put Xaik at a disadvantage, as he could stare right into her with those searching green eyes, but she couldn't do the same. Something about that gave her another sensation that was familiar.
He gave her a few pats on the shoulder, before clearing his throat.
"I trust Scyrux's judgment. You did well today, you can do well tomorrow. Isn't that right?"
With those words, Xaik nodded as Xeros removed his hand.
"Good. Then get some rest. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."
Xeros then moved around Xaik, proceeding down the hallway. As she watched him walk away, Xaik had the nagging sensation in her still.
"Um… goodnight, Xeros."
Xeros stopped in his tracks and turned back to her. As she looked to him, she swore there was something familiar about this. Like a flash of an image came into her mind for just a split second.
"Goodnight, Xaik."
Xeros then turned and walked away. Xaik saw as he left, disappearing down the hall. She turned away, leaving to return to her room to rest. The sensation followed her all the way to her room. Even as she got into bed, ready to sleep, it wouldn't leave her alone.
What is this? She agonized over the sensation. Why is this happening…? This is all so strange. She continued to ponder over what was going on in her head until she managed to get exhausted enough to go to sleep.
I'm sitting on a bench. A big open area, sand on the ground. A large wooden stage where two kids hit each other with bats. A fun sport they often play. I'm waiting for him to show up.
Who… am I waiting for?
I feel a poke on my left shoulder. I turn but no one is there.
I turn to my other side and smile to see he's here. I call out.
…his face…
…his name still escapes me, but now his face is there.
…is that his face?
Green eyes. Deep, piercing.
He smiles at me.
…that's not right.
"Good morning!"
It's not morning, though. I correct him, jokingly.
"Is it? Oh, shoot. Sorry, haha."
That is unusual. You don't smile like that.
…or do you?
I'm confused.
I assure him it's fine. He sits next to me.
Come closer.
…please, come close to me.
The kids keep fighting.
…please stay…
One of the other kids cries out, cheering for the one who usually wins.
…with me.
