I found myself on a beach. I was feeling the sand between my toes. Warm and coarse. It was nice. Then, a call from behind.
"*****!"
I turn and see him there. He's gesturing to me to come with him.
I go over and we start to leave. I look to the beach one last time before we go.
We catch the train back to town. We sit beside one another.
…I want to be closer…
But something is wrong…
He's… distant...
I ask him about it.
"It's nothing."
He's lying…
His expression is…
…like it was when I realized…
The train stops and we disembark.
…Now he's making that face again. I press further, try to get him to talk to me.
…why won't you talk to me?
"I told you, it's nothing, I just…"
Silence. Then panic.
He's searching. In his eyes, a darkness.
…why…?
"I… I have to go."
I plead with him to tell me what's wrong.
…no, please…
"I'm sorry!"
He begins to run.
…don't go…!
I call out his name, but nothing comes out.
…come back!
Xaik was shocked awake, as she looked to her surroundings. She was no longer in Twilight Town, as she had been in her dream. The strange thing was; since realizing that she was more than likely remembering things from her past, it only served to confuse her further.
Was she really from Twilight Town? If so, then why did she remember no one else? Why were all of the people in her dreams without faces, without names? …and why was this boy she kept dreaming about wearing Xeros's face? She couldn't be sure as to why it wasn't right, but it wasn't. But her dreams seemed to be trying to tell her something. She just had to understand what.
She wouldn't get too much time to think, as a knocking came to her door. She turned to it, as she looked to the door. The knock was curt, but was followed by another.
"Come in." Xaik called out.
The door opened to reveal Xeros standing there. Xaik sat up at attention as he stood, seemingly refusing to enter further.
"Get up. You're going to be late." Xeros announced.
Xaik had not realized what time it was, but she figured perhaps she had overslept a bit.
"I am…?" She muttered. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean-"
"It doesn't matter why," Xeros countered. "Get ready and meet us in the Hall of Empty Melodies for a briefing."
Xeros turned and left before Xaik could say anymore. She sighed to herself as she got out of bed. She got dressed as quickly as she could before leaving to convene with the others. What was that about…? She thought to herself as she finished getting ready. She exited her room, making her way to the briefing.
It wasn't long before Xaik entered the Hall of Empty Melodies, where she saw that Xeros and Scyrux were there. And in front of them, Saïx stood, arms behind his back. Xaik grew a bit uneasy at the sight, as normally they would not have briefings with Saïx directly. Xeros usually handled that, and Saïx only showed up for last minute changes. If Saïx was going to brief everyone, that meant bad news for Xaik.
Nevertheless, she walked over as Scyrux waved her over. Xeros merely stood at attention, looking at Saïx. Seeing Scyrux waving, Saïx turned to see Xaik approaching. His face was less than enthused. Xaik walked over and stood by Scyrux, as Saïx let out a disappointed "hm" sound.
"You're late." Saïx sneered at Xaik.
"I'm… s-sorry…" Xaik apologized.
"Number Sixteen, have you not properly taught the importance of time to your charge?"
"I have," Xeros responded. "Rest assured, I'll make sure to work on Xaik's tardiness from here on out."
Xaik shrunk into herself. Xeros's words were not necessarily harsh, but something in his tone gave her a sensation that was unpleasant.
"Hey, wasn't Varijex also supposed to be here?" Scyrux chimed in.
"Number Fifteen's whereabouts are unknown to me at this time." Saïx scoffed. "I'll be sure to reprimand him for his insolence once he returns."
Xaik noticed that Xeros gave a strange glare at Saïx when he said those words. She wasn't sure whether he was not pleased with the idea, if he agreed with Saïx or something else.
"In any case," Saïx continued. "You three have an important mission at hand."
Saïx turned away, as he continued to speak. Xaik looked over to Xeros, whose gaze did not leave forward.
"You are to go to Port Royal on a search and destroy mission."
"Search and destroy? What are we looking for?" Scyrux inquired.
"There is a high level Heartless there. You are to eliminate it."
The thought of having to go take down a supposed "high-level" Heartless did not seem to bode well for Xaik. Though she would not have to do it alone, which gave some semblance of relief.
"The Heartless will be dealt with." Xeros responded.
Saïx turned back to look at the others briefly, before speaking again.
"You are dismissed."
And with those final words, Saïx began to walk away and leave the Hall of Empty Melodies. Xeros stepped forward, turning to face the other two. Scyrux noticed Xeros's strange demeanor, and Xaik tried not to look at him too much.
"Are you both prepared?" Xeros announced. "This mission will be dangerous and I need to make sure that we're absolutely ready to take on this responsibility."
"Yeah, Xeros. We're good." Scyrux replied. "No need to sweat the small stuff."
"This is important, Scyrux," Xeros cautioned. "It is imperative that we do not fail."
Scyrux gave a slight pout as he sighed.
"Alright," He said, a bit defeated. "I just want to make sure you're also good to go."
Xeros gave Scyrux a pensive stare, with a hint of offense.
"I am. Now let's go."
Xeros held out his hand and opened a portal. He stepped in first, Scyrux following and Xaik next. She grew more and more uneasy with Xeros's attitude, as it was very apparent that he wasn't in the best condition. Though he assured Scyrux that he was fine, Xeros clearly had something off about him.
They traversed through the darkness, arriving in Port Royal. With the three appearing now at the turn of dusk, they looked off to see that the town was in the state of repair. Remembering their last excursion, Xaik wondered how the people were fairing after the pirate attack. From what she could tell the pirates did a number on the town, but they were recovering.
As she was lost in her thoughts, she did not realize that she had not been paying attention to her teammates, who were talking.
"Where do you think we should start?" Scyrux asked Xeros.
Xeros had turned to Scyrux to answer his question, but now noticed Xaik was elsewhere. He wasn't fond of this, as he gave a disapproving look.
"Xaik." He scolded, as she turned her attention to him. "You have more experience than Scyrux and I in this world. I need youto focus."
"Y-yes… I'm sorry." Xaik apologized.
"Don't be sorry, do better."
Do better, you'd BETTER. The words seemed to have a similar ring to them, Xaik realized. It was only now that Xaik made the connection, but Xeros's attitude was seeming to resemble that of Varijex's. For whatever reason, Xeros was acting like Varijex, distant and cold. She knew that he looked up to him, but this was taking things a bit too far.
Regardless of her thoughts, she had to comply. They were on a mission and risking it would only serve to further drive Xeros to that place.
"Okay," Xaik spoke, confidently. "I will."
Xeros was surprised to see Xaik stepping up as she did, but he didn't think too much about it. He pushed that pride out of his mind and thought only of how good it was that she was going to focus from now on.
"Well, this high-level Heartless must have attracted some attention. Let's split up and search."
"Hey, but what if we-?"
Before Scyrux could finish asking his question, Xeros fell up into the air and soared in a different direction than the other two. He sighed through his nose and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, okay, I guess you'll just… go off." Scyrux groaned.
"He's being a bit…"
"Difficult, yeah," Scyrux replied. "He's just in a bad place."
"You think so?" Xaik questioned.
Scyrux seemed to regret his words as he gave a wide-eyed look and turned to Xaik. There was that glimmer in his eyes once again as Xaik noticed a strange sensation touching her mind, but gently. As if not on purpose.
"I mean, I'm just guessing," Scyrux chuckled. "Maybe he slept on the wrong side of the ceiling?"
Ceiling? Xaik pondered the idea.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, that happens sometimes," Scyrux clarified. "I've walked in on him asleep, just…" He then gestured with his hands, one hand rising up to touch the other. "Whoooop, right onto the ceiling."
Xaik raised eyebrows as she then tried to stop thinking about the image of Xeros resting in zero gravity. She then turned to Scyrux.
"We should probably start looking." She proclaimed.
"You're absolutely right." Scyrux then began to walk forward as they began their mission.
They spent a long while looking around, asking about. Scyrux was very good at talking with the locals, persuasive and charming. It was impressive to Xaik, who could barely manage to communicate with others. It was a skill, she thought, but something else occurred to her.
"Nobodies like us… we don't understand the things people do."
Xeros claimed that because Nobodies like him and Xaik did not have memories, they could not hope to understand what it is like to be like the people. However, with her memories beginning to return to her, perhaps she would gain that skill as well. And that was when it occurred to her that her getting her memory back meant something else entirely.
Unlike Xeros, she would begin to understand what it is like to be human, to be whole again. It did not serve to make her whole, but at least she could know. Use that knowledge to her advantage. But Xeros, he lacked that knowledge. What could he possibly hope to understand without it? What is there to even look forward to if he doesn't know what it means to have a heart back? But there was one other person who lacked that knowledge, but still had the drive to grow in power. And Xeros just so happened to start behaving as such.
After asking more people that were about, Scyrux and Xaik had come to a dead end on their hunt. They had no leads, no clues to aid them in their search. Scyrux walked over to a nearby tree and leaned against it, sighing exaggeratedly.
"No one here has heard or seen even the slightest ounce of darkness around here." He groaned. "Maybe Saïx got the wrong world or something?"
"We might just have not talked to the right people. There are a lot of citizens that live here."
"Well, I'm appreciating you maintaining some positivity after so long," Scyrux patted Xaik on the back. "But I dunno what else we can do. It'll take forever."
"I… I don't want to let Xeros down."
Scyrux tilted his head, looking at Xaik, noticing that glimmer in his eyes.
"If we had hearts, I'd say it sounds like you're worried about him."
Worried? Xaik thought. I can't be worried. Can I…? Once again, she puzzled over whether her mind and memories were playing tricks on her. Making her remember what it was like to be worried and acting accordingly. But now was not the time. She had to do something.
An idea popped into Xaik's head as she thought about Scyrux's apt choice of words. …sounds like… Xaik repeated in her head. Sound! Of course!
She then stepped a bit away from Scyrux, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She began to focus as Scyrux was confused.
"Uh, what're you-?"
"Hang on," Xaik urged. "Let me focus for a bit."
Scyrux raised his arms and leaned back onto the tree.
Focus. Xaik thought as she began to listen. She listened all around her, using her magic to amplify the sounds coming from all directions. She tried listening in for anything useful, perhaps someone in town would be talking about the Heartless.
"-do you mean? It was cheaper yesterd-"
"-you hear about the East India Trading company moving to-?"
"-lookit that lass. I betchu she's a real-"
"-are you doing here?"
Xeros? Xaik's eyes opened as she caught a small snippet of what sounded like Xeros's voice speaking. When she focused again, closing her eyes, she listened in the area she heard his voice and it was accompanied by the sounds of crackling wood and skittering. As well as a familiar, very loud voice.
"-ask YOU the same question, you ABSOLUTE-"
Xaik was shocked out of her focus when she heard the sound of Varijex coming from the same location. As Xaik looked to the direction that she heard the noise, she looked up to the sky and noticed a large plume of smoke in the sky.
Oh no! "Scyrux, over there!" She pointed as Scyrux looked up to see the smoke.
He stepped off of the tree, looking concerned as he looked to Xaik.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"Xeros is there, and so is Varijex!"
"Varijex?" Scyrux questioned. "What in Kingdom Hearts is he doing here?"
Scyrux then turned and began to run in the direction of the smoke. Xaik followed his lead as they rushed through the town, heading towards the apparent disaster that Xeros and Varijex were in the middle of. And maybe caused - one could never tell with Varijex involved.
They ran quickly to reach the place where the smoke originated from. It didn't take too long, as they started seeing people running from the commotion, even some of the authority figures were making haste. Not a good sign, Xaik thought. Soon enough, they could see one of the docked ships was set ablaze. The grand fire scorched the wooden ship as the crew struggled to escape it. Scyrux acted fast, summoning and casting his whip up onto one of the sails, wrapping it around.
"Ready to set sail, my lady?" He joked as he looked to Xaik, who was confused.
He grabbed Xaik by the waist as he then pulled and swung them into the air and onto the ship. Why does he always do this?! Xaik complained in her head as they were swinging. As they landed, they saw that Xeros was there as Xaik had heard, back to back with Varijex and surrounded by Heartless. The Heartless were strange; a bunch were smaller and shaped like cannons with little legs, while a few more were in the air, dressed like pirates but with purple wings they used to fly.
Xaik summoned her hammer as she prepared to enter the fight. Scyrux cracked his whip; the whip itself was laced with a crackling yellow energy as it struck one of the flying ones, paralyzing it. Xaik ran over and smashed it into the ground as Xeros and Varijex noticed, though Varijex was definitely displeased at the sight.
"Oh, GREAT." He groaned. "You brought the runt AND the squirt!"
In the moment that Varijex was distracted, one of the cannon Heartless took aim and charged a shot at Varijex. Varijex saw as the cannon fired and he lifted his sword to guard. The blast knocked him back as he slammed against the side of the ship. He got up as Xeros turned to him, giving him a cheeky grin.
"What was that you taught me about lowering your guard, Jexy?" Xeros spoke coyly.
"Shut UP and FIGHT before I take YOU out, too!" Varijex barked.
Xeros chuckled a bit under his breath as he took action, falling up to fight against the flying Heartless. Varijex charged forward to engage the cannon Heartless. They fired more shots at him, keeping him on the defensive and only able to block the shots with his sword. But then Scyrux swung in, grabbing onto one of the rope supports and attacking with his whip. He paralyzed one Heartless after another, allowing Varijex the opening to run in and cut through each of the offending Heartless.
"WHO'S next?!" Varijex roared.
Meanwhile, Xeros was quickly and efficiently taking out the flying Heartless. It was too easy for him, so natural to fight in the air. But he neglected to see that one of the cannon Heartless was lining up a shot on him while he was dealing with the flying ones. Xaik noticed, realizing that he would not be able to react in time.
"Look out!" She cried out, as Xeros turned to her, before turning to see what was coming.
Overwhelmed by a new sensation in her, Xaik's body acted before her mind could think. She spun around, swinging her hammer to gain momentum. As she revolved fast, she released the hammer and threw it at the Heartless. The Heartless was helpless and could only watch as the massive hammer came flying at it. It slammed into the Heartless, sending it flying and crushing it between the hammer and the ship. The hammer embedded into the ship's planks as Xaik put her hands to her mouth in shock.
Xeros saw that Xaik had saved him, and was unsure whether to thank Xaik or not. He gave her a nod as he went back to fighting. Xaik looked and saw more Heartless appearing, but now she was without her weapon. She ran over to it and tried to pull it out of the ship. It proved to be a bit difficult, as it was really wedged in there. She pulled and pulled, to no avail. But during one of the pulls, Scyrux swooped in, a dopey smile on his face.
"Geez, as if the Heartless weren't doing a good enough job destroying this ship!" Scyrux teased.
"Help, please!" Xaik pleaded.
"Well, since you asked so nicely!"
The two began to pull together, but it seemed like there was no point. With more Heartless appearing, Varijex and Xeros were left to deal with the swarm that had begun to form.
"DON'T tell me you were the one who THOUGHT it would be good to bring THOSE two!" Varijex groaned.
"We were all assigned by Saïx. You're the one who decided to skip the meeting." Xeros retorted.
Scyrux and Xaik continued to pull, but it was useless. They weren't strong enough to get the hammer out. At least, not like this. But then Scyrux had a thought as he snapped his fingers.
"I got it!" He said, excitedly.
"You'd BETTER, because I'm tired of pulling YOUR stupid weight!" Varijex griped.
Scyrux then began to tie his whip's end to the handle of Xaik's hammer. He then jumped up and over one of the sails, pulling the whip over the mainyard. He pulled down, trying once again to yank the hammer out of place, but with more leverage. Xaik thought to help, so she ran to the other side of the ship to join him. She had to dodge a few of the Heartless attacks, which Xeros intercepted to allow Xaik a clear path.
Finally reaching Scyrux, she grabbed onto his whip and began to pull with all her might. Both tugged with enough force to finally dislodge the hammer, pulling it up and over the sail's mainyard. As it flew up, it struck one of the flying Heartless on the way, destroying it. This gave Xaik an idea, as the hammer landed next to her. Scyrux went to untie the hammer, but Xaik placed her hands on his.
"Wait, I have an idea!" She proclaimed.
She grabbed her hammer and guided Scyrux along as they stood in between Varijex and Xeros, who were still surrounded by the Heartless. She looked at Scyrux as she gripped one hand on his whip handle with him, and held the hammer in her other hand.
"Get down!" Xaik called out as Varijex and Xeros looked at her.
She threw the hammer up as she and Scyrux began to spin together, holding the handle of the whip. They spun the whip around, as the hammer was pulled with it, creating a make-shift flail. As they spun around, the hammer struck the Heartless in the air. They pulled it up and down, causing the hammer to move in tandem. This optimized the hammer's path to hit both the airborne Heartless as well as the ones on the ground.
After a few spins, they had managed to clear out the Heartless. They stopped spinning, both slightly dizzy. The hammer fell down onto the ship. Scyrux pulled it, picking it up and handing it to Xaik as he untied it from his whip. He smiled at Xaik, who gave him one of her own. The exchange was interrupted, however, as the flames threatened to consume the ship. The four rushed off of the ship, as the fire engulfed the ship almost entirely. It began to sink into the water, as they watched it burn.
They then turned to one another as Scyrux patted Xaik on the back.
"Smart thinking, Xaik!"
"Thanks…" Xaik swore she noticed a flushing in her cheeks. She wasn't sure why.
Xeros gave her a nod as she pursed her lips. She hoped that her actions in that scenario would have warranted some more acknowledgement, but Xeros was still not himself, it seemed. He then turned his attention to Varijex, who was patting the ash and dust off of his coat.
"Now that there are no other interruptions, would you care to explain why you're here?" Xeros inquired.
"It's none of your BUSINESS," Varijex scoffed. "And don't ACT like I didn't have that situation HANDLED."
"I never claimedsuch a thing."
Xeros's calm demeanor was getting to Varijex more than usual. Xeros noted it, but didn't think too much of it.
"We were all supposed to be on a mission together. Were you aware of this and decided to get a heads start?" Xeros pressed.
"If I would've KNOWN you guys were coming here, I would've gone in the COMPLETE opposite direction!" Varijex yelled.
"Then why are you here?" Scyrux asked.
"Wouldn't YOU like to know, you BUSYBODY?!" Varijex replied harshly.
Xeros then stepped forward, giving Varijex a slightly disapproving look. Xeros knew Varijex was often one to make his own path, but it always served a purpose. His lack of answers served only to confuse and annoy Xeros, because if Varijex wasn't coming clean about what he was doing, then it was more than likely that what he was doing was not productive for anyone.
"Whatever the reason, it must have been important for you to abandon your responsibilities." Xeros accused.
"What'd you SAY?" Varijex growled.
"I'm merely trying to understand," Xeros continued. "You're the one who told me it's important to get our hearts back and that nothing else matters."
Varijex gave Xeros a wide-eyed glare as he lurched in shock.
"Clearly, whatever you're doing has something to do with that, otherwise-"
Before Xeros could continue, Varijex rushed over to him and grabbed him by the coat. Scyrux and Xaik were stunned to see Varijex as he pulled Xeros in close. Xeros merely raised his eyebrows.
"Are you saying that I am not doing my JOB?" Varijex snapped at Xeros.
"I said no such thing, Jexy."
Varijex groaned as he pushed Xeros back, releasing him from his grip. Xeros patted his coat, as Scyrux and Xaik were nervous that they might start fighting. But Varijex just rolled his whole head as he groaned and pointed at Xeros.
"WHATEVER, I'm going to find a ship. You can either come along, or go JUMP off the docks for all I CARE! "
Varijex turned and began to move away. Xeros sighed as he followed Varijex. Scyrux turned to Xaik, who looked at him confused. He gave a shrug as he followed the other two. And Xaik went along with them.
As Varijex perused the ships along the piers, he started talking.
"I came here because I was BORED, since you want to be so NOSEY about it." He defended. "Then I heard about some sort of sea monster that's been attacking ships, so I was gonna go out and find it."
"And that's when the Heartless attacked?" Xeros questioned.
"STUPID Heartless!" Varijex cursed. "They ruined MY chances at taking down this supposed monster. Now I have to DEAL with you three, too!"
"Believe it or not, Jexy, but we're here because we're on a mission to eliminate a high level Heartless."
"Good for YOU. What do you WANT, a medal?" Varijex barked.
"The point is," Xeros walked in front of Varijex and stopped. "We're here for the same thing. I think it's best we work together on this one."
Varijex crossed his arms, as he postured up to Xeros. Xeros tilted his head slightly, as he looked at Varijex. Varijex gave a growly sigh as he then pushed past Xeros.
"And…" Xeros uttered as Varijex walked past. "I'll tell Saïx you took the initiative on this mission, that you weren't just shirking your duties."
Varijex stopped for a moment, not turning back. He waved his hand, dismissively.
"FINE, hurry it UP!"
As Varijex continued to walk, Xeros cracked a slight grin as he continued to follow. Xaik was impressed to see Xeros able to get Varijex on board for this, but if there was one person she knew Varijex seemingly hated more than them, it was Saïx.
It wasn't long before they found another ship, ready to cast off. They approached the ship carefully as Xeros, Scyrux and Xaik all took cover behind some vendor carts. Varijex merely stood and glared at the ship.
"This ship looks like it's about to go." Xeros commented, mostly to himself.
"So, what do we do?" Scyrux asked.
"We'll just have to get aboard," Xeros then turned to the other two. "If what Varijex learned is true and our target is the one attacking ships, then being on a ship is the best method to find it."
"This sounds… dangerous." Xaik stammered. "If this Heartless can take down a ship…"
"That doesn't matter." Xeros replied.
Xaik was a bit discouraged for a moment. Scyrux then put his hand on Xaik's shoulder, as she looked at him. He gave her a comforting gaze, and Xaik noticed Scyrux's touch seemed to calm her.
"It'll be fine, as long as we work together."
Xaik smiled at Scyrux as she nodded her head.
"Alright, then let's move, we don't have much time." Xeros turned to Scyrux. "I have my way planned. You can use your whip to get aboard with Xaik. And Varijex can-"
Xeros turned to see that Varijex had already left them. He looked around, surprised to see he was gone, before realizing what had happened. He looked to the ship to see Varijex confidently strolling over to the ship. Xeros gave a slight look of shame as he should have known Varijex would do his own thing. Xeros then rushed to go along with- and potentially intervene with whatever Varijex was doing. The other two followed, unsure of what to do since Varijex threw a wrench into the plan.
As Varijex headed for the board that connected the ship to the pier, one of the crew noticed and stepped in his way.
"'Scuse me, sir. Where are you goin'?" The crewman questioned.
"I'm getting on this boat." Varijex sneered.
"You aren't part of the crew."
Varijex let out a "hmph" and tried to push past the crewman.
"Oi, oi! What do you think you're doin'?"
"I'm SORRY, don't you know who I am?" Varijex bellowed. "Tell me something, were you here a few days ago when those pirates attacked?"
"Aye, I was."
"Did you SEE what happened to them?" Varijex growled.
"No, I was hidin' from those bloody scallywags. I just heard what had happened."
"And WHAT did you HEAR happened?" Varijex got closer to the crewman, who backed away slightly.
"Their ships were destroyed by some strange man who could use magic, blew their ships down to Davy Jones Locker, he did." The crewman tried to remember. "They said he had a big sword and wore a long, black-"
The crewman then realized that the person standing in front of him wore a long black coat. Varijex noticed the wheels turning in the crewman's head, as he began to look uncomfortable.
"...he wore a-a… long, black coat."
"Do you WANT this ship to end up on the ocean floor like those PIRATES?" Varijex leaned in close to the crewman. "If you DON'T, then I'm GETTING on this BOAT."
The crewman shook where he stood as he then stepped aside. Varijex chuckled, patting the crewman on the shoulder with excessive force.
"At least you're SMARTER than the pirates."
As Varijex climbed up the board, heading onto the main deck of the ship, he looked behind him to see that Xeros was standing at the base of the board, looking up at him with raised eyebrows and hooded eyes. Scyrux and Xaik were confused as to what Varijex had just done, because they had kept their distance.
"Come on, SLOWpokes! We got a Heartless to DESTROY."
Xeros shook his head but had a small smirk on his face, still impressed with Varijex's resourcefulness, however crude. The other two followed shortly as they boarded the ship. Without much delay, the ship was ready to leave and began to sail into the sea.
The crewmate had explained the situation to his captain about the visitors who were on the ship. Not wanting to risk the safety of his crew and his ship, the captain decided to allow the strangers access to his ship. The rest of the crew were wary and kept their distance from them, fearing their mysterious magic. Xaik was left with a sour taste because of the threatened crew and the tense atmosphere their presence seemed to create.
After sailing for some time but not seeing any sign of their target, the Nobodies grew weary. Varijex was pacing back and forth on the deck as Xeros looked off into the horizon. Scyrux leaned on the railing of the ship as Xaik stood next to him, trying to keep her balance on the waves. Varijex groaned as he waved his hands in the air, aggressively.
"This is POINTLESS! We should have been ATTACKED by now!" He yelled out.
A younger crew member heard Varijex, and instantly became nervous.
"Hush, Jexy," Xeros urged Varijex without so much as looking at him. "The last thing we need is to create panic."
"Don't you HUSH ME!" Varijex asserted.
"Um, excuse me?" The young crewman interrupted.
Varijex turned sharply and glared at the young man, as Xeros merely gave a sideways glance.
"Did you say the ship was to be attacked?"
"What's it to YOU?!" Varijex yelled.
"I just-" The young crewman pressed on the matter. "Are you guys worried about pirates?"
"WE'RE not worried about ANYTHING! MIND your own business, KID!"
Not wanting to partake in the commotion that Varijex was creating, Xaik walked to the other side of the ship to take a look. She wandered over, moving past the crew as they worked at their stations. I don't understand how he can be like this… She leaned on the side of the ship, looking over the waves stretching over the horizon. Sure, he doesn't have memories… but that doesn't explain it. She folded her arms over the side of the railing, leaning her chin on her forearms. Xeros said it was "curious". That means… that he doesn't understand that much about Varijex. So, why-?
FWOOSH. Xaik's thoughts were interrupted by a rather large sound touching her ears. She perked up as she listened again, trying to block out the chatter of the crew and Varijex still yelling. She focused, closing her eyes to see if she could hear the sound again. FWOOSH. Once again, she heard it as it came from the horizon, over on her side. She looked out into the sea, as she noticed the water rippling in the distance. Whatever was making those waves, it was heading straight for the ship.
Xaik's eyes widened as she ran back to the other side where Varijex continued to yell at the young crewman.
"For the LAST TIME, mind your OWN BUSINESS!"
"If the ship is going to be attacked, we need to warn the captain-!"
"Xeros!" Xaik called out, as he turned to her.
"What is it, Xaik?" He asked.
"Something's coming! Over there!"
As Xaik pointed to the side of the ship where she saw the disturbance in the water, Xeros rushed over to the side. He only caught a glimpse as the waves dipped down. He took a closer look into the water, but he did not see where it went. It was quiet, as the whole crew seemed shaken.
"WELL? Did you find something OR-?"
Before Varijex could finish his sentence, a loud CRASH was heard as the whole ship was seemingly struck. Everyone shook as they tried to maintain their balance. Then a second later, a SPLASH erupted behind Varijex's side as he and everyone turned to see a terrifying sight. An immensely large, red and purple striped tentacle appeared. It then came down, attempting to smash down onto the ship. Most of the crew ran out of the way; the young crewman tripped and fell, the tentacle threatening to crush him. He closed his eyes.
But when the tentacle did not strike and all he heard was grunting, he opened his eyes to see something incredible. Varijex had pulled out his sword and was holding the tentacle up. He groaned as he tried to force it back, but the tentacle was still much too strong for him to hold it. The young crewman then noticed something wrap around him as he looked to see a strange yellow rope start to pull him away. He turned to see Scyrux had pulled his whip out and was yanking him to safety.
Varijex then yelled out, pushing with all his might and pushed the tentacle to the side as it flopped onto the deck. As he tried to slash it, it retracted back over the side. Only to be reinforced by three other tentacles that surfaced. Xeros summoned his weapon and rushed to Varijex's side to back him up. As Xaik summoned her hammer, more splashing came from behind as she turned to see four more tentacles appeared on that side. A total of eight tentacles loomed over the ship's deck, as they all began to slam down onto the ship.
The Nobodies sprung into action, fighting off the tentacles as they came down. Varijex slashed at the tentacles, rolling out of the way when they threatened to crush him. Xeros took to the air, floating over the sides to try to take the fight to the tentacles before they came down. Scyrux wrangled one of the tentacles with his whip, trying to focus his magic to paralyze them. Xaik merely dodged all the attacks, counter-attacking the tentacles.
"It's a bloody kraken!" One of the crew yelled.
"Full sail! We need to get out of here!" Another man yelled as the helmsman began to turn the ship to steer it away from the monster.
As the ship began to gain speed from the wind catching the sails, they began to slip from the Heartless's reach. The tentacles sank back into the water as the Nobodies watched the dark shape swim towards them.
"It's too fast!" Scyrux called out.
Then two larger "feeding" tentacles appeared from below the surface. These ones wrapped themselves around the masts to hold the ship in place, as the ship came to a halt and rocked in place a bit. As the tentacles breached the surface once more, they began to attack again; the Nobodies went back to action. But this time, they noticed the screams of the crew as they noticed the tentacles they were not fighting began to grab the crew and attempted to drag them overboard.
"You all need to get below deck, now!" Scyrux yelled out as he then turned his attention to one of the tentacles grasping a crewman.
He wrapped his whip around them and pulled hard. He managed to slip them free from the tentacle, as Xeros noticed Scyrux's save and took action to do the same. He fell towards another tentacle, stabbing it with the blade of his staff, causing the tentacle to lose its grip. The crewman almost fell, but Xeros caught him and tossed him back onto the deck. As they saved the crew that were almost taken under, the rest of the crew began to retreat below deck. Xeros looked down into the water and could see the huge, yellow eyes glowing there.
With no other prey present, the tentacles focused their assault on the Nobodies. The force was overwhelming, as it was two-to-one against the Nobodies. Xeros was quickly dodging the tentacles as they tried to grab him, as he looked down at the others. Realizing that they would not be able to sustain combat for much longer, looked at the tentacles that grasped the ship. So long as the ship was held in place, they were sitting ducks. Xeros looked to Scyrux as he called out.
"Scyrux, the wheel!" Xeros yelled. "We need to get distance from it!"
Scyrux turned and looked at Xeros, then turned to the helm. He rolled out of the way of two tentacles that attempted to grab him, cast and swung up to the helm.
"We need to free ourselves from its grasp!" Xeros commanded. "Xaik, go, Varijex and I will cover you!"
"SURE, leave it to the SQUIRT!" Varijex complained as he slashed at a tentacle.
Xaik turned and looked up at the tentacles that were holding the mast. She then rushed over, climbing up the mast one handed - a difficult task, given that she was lugging her hammer in the other hand. With Varijex and Xeros keeping the tentacles preoccupied, she managed to get up and stood on the mainyard, doing her best to balance. She thought that in order to really get free, she would have to hit the tentacle hard. So, she remembered her previous excursion to this world and began to charge up her magic. The vibrations shook the wood she balanced on, making it difficult to stand. But with a mighty swing and a loud BWOOM, she created a soundwave that blasted one tentacle, leaving a hole in it as it looked like it would fall apart.
As the tentacle fell back into the ocean, she turned her attention to the other one. But two of the other tentacles shot up at her, trying to stop her from hurting the Heartless again. She noticed them at the last second, barely dodging them. But in doing so, she lost her balance and began to fall. She screamed as she then reached out and grabbed a rope on her way down. As she hung from it, Xeros turned and looked, thinking to assist her. But the tentacles kept him at bay, leaving him no opening to help her.
Xaik looked to see if anyone could help, but all her teammates were too busy in the struggle. She then looked back to the last tentacle. I need to do this! She then charged up once more as the vibrations coursed through her body. She channeled it once more as she swung with her one arm, creating another soundwave. This one struck the tentacle dead-on, blasting it off. The tentacle wriggled in pain as it retreated under the surface.
"Way to go, Xaik!" Scyrux called out as Scyrux turned the helm.
They began to move again as they tried to get some distance from the Heartless. Xeros then landed next to Varijex.
"Can you use the ship's cannons against the Heartless?"
"WHO are you TALKING to?!" Varijex boasted as he then took a grounded stance.
He held out his arms as he vocalized, using his magnet magic to pull out all of the loaded cannons, as well as some free cannonballs. It was a bit straining, having to focus all of the cannons at once, but he was managing it. The Heartless appeared from beneath the surface, rearing its head. As expected, it appeared as a squid of sorts, with purple and red stripes along its body like the tentacles. When they were angled just right, and Varijex finished loading the cannons, he bellowed out.
"Eat THIS!" Varijex yelled as he shot all of the cannonballs at the Heartless.
The cannonballs launched, some of them missing, but most of them hitting the Heartless. They did a good amount of damage, but it was not enough. The Heartless then opened its mouth as it began to glow blue and bubbles began to appear around its jaws. It then shot an immense jet of water at the ship as the Nobodies could only watch.
"Brace!" Xeros called out as he flew up to avoid the stream of water that struck the ship.
Varijex stabbed his sword into the ship and held onto it and Scyrux took cover behind the helm. Xaik, however, was still hanging off of the rope and was unable to dodge it. She dropped her hammer and was carried away by the rushing water, as it launched her off the side of the ship. She fell into the ocean, opening her eyes to see a frightening sight. The Heartless submerged and was swimming straight for her.
She tried to swim away, but it was much too fast for her to get away from. As it came close to her, she let out a scream. The scream was laced with magic, as it was loud and shook the water. The Heartless was stopped in its tracks, as Xaik noticed the Heartless seemed to be hurt by the scream. She realized that the vibrations of her scream were more intense in the water. The Heartless turned, swimming away from Xaik as she swam to the surface.
She took a breath as she surfaced, and looked to the ship.
"Help!" She cried out as Xeros looked over the side.
He leapt over, floating toward her. He extended his hand as Xaik grabbed it and they flew back onto the ship. Xeros dropped Xaik off as he then landed himself.
"Are you alright?" Xeros asked, seemingly concerned.
"I know how to beat it!" Xaik blurted out.
"How?" Xeros questioned, shocked at Xaik's claim.
"Yeah, HOW?!" Varijex added.
"Keep it in the water and give me an opening!" Xaik pleaded as Xeros gave her a nod.
That was when they noticed that the Heartless was turning around once more. But this time, it wasn't slowing down. Xeros looked and saw as it began to knife the surface, realizing that it planned on ramming the ship head on.
"Scyrux, turn us, now!"
"I don't even know how to drive, you know!" Scyrux exclaimed as he spun the helm as quickly as he could.
The ship began to turn as the Heartless got close enough. It breached the water, jumping out to try to ram the ship. It just barely missed as it scraped the side of the ship before falling back into the water with a huge splash. It then swam out, preparing to turn and come around again.
"We only have one shot at this!" Xeros yelled.
"This is STUPID!" Varijex complained as they all watched.
The Heartless turned and began to swim, full speed once more. As it approached, the Nobodies prepared for the attack. The Heartless then jumped out once more, but this time Varijex ran up, yelling. He jumped into the air, slashing up and deflecting the Heartless's ram. As the Heartless was in the air, Xeros swooped up and toward the Heartless, glowing with his gravity aura and striking the Heartless down. And as it fell, Scyrux rushed over, hitting it with charged whip strikes to paralyze the Heartless.
It fell into the water, motionless as Xaik saw her opportunity.
"Xeros!" She called out as Xeros saw her running toward the side of the ship.
He descended, holding out his hand in the air as she jumped up and grabbed it. He spun her around and then threw her at the Heartless. Xaik began to charge up her hammer as she flew through the air, waiting for the right moment to strike. She yelled out as she splashed into the water and reached the immobilized Heartless. She looked it dead in the eye as she hit it directly with her hammer. The vibrations passed into the Heartless and through the water.
Its body unfroze as it went limp and sank in the water. As it sank, it began to fade into a cloud of black smoke and disappeared. From its body, a large heart appeared and flew up out of the water and into the sky. The others still on the ship watched as the heart disappeared, and they looked to the water as they saw Xaik pop up out of the sea. She turned to the ship as Scyrux cast out his whip as a line for her to get back to the ship.
She swam back, climbing the side with the whip. Scyrux then helped pull her over the side, as she stepped aboard. Xeros approached her as Varijex merely crossed his arms.
"Great job, Xaik!" Scyrux cheered.
"Thank you." Xaik smiled as she looked to Xeros, who looked unsure of what to do or say.
"That was excellent work you did, Xaik." He nodded at her.
Xaik noticed a flushing in her cheeks again as she nodded back and let out a quiet "mhm". Xeros turned to Varijex, as he was rolling his eyes.
"All of us, we worked together well." Xeros commended.
Varijex merely pursed his lips and cranes his neck a bit at Xeros.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He muttered. "Good job or WHATEVER."
Xeros raised an eyebrow as Varijex as Varijex's expression changed for a moment. Xaik swore she saw Varijex give a quick nod, almost as if he was giving a gesture of respect to Xeros. Xeros returned the gesture as the crew began to come out from below deck. They realized the monster had been slain, as they began to cheer.
"Alright, let's RTC before the WORTHLESS crew decide to bother us." Varijex said as he held out his hand and opened a portal.
"But Jexy, don't you want to stay and bask in all their praise for the victory?" Xeros said with a cheeky tone.
Varijex merely groaned as stepped through the portal. Scyrux followed behind as the crew were waving, saying their thanks. Scyrux waved back as he disappeared into the darkness. Xaik looked at all the people as she noticed the young crewman from before. He walked a bit in front of the others as he removed his modest hat.
"Thank you."
Xaik gave a smile and nodded as she stepped through and Xeros followed. The crew watched as they all vanished into the portal as it closed and they began to celebrate their safety.
The Nobodies returned to the Castle as they appeared back where they left. As Xaik stopped through, she saw Varijex was already leaving the hall. Scyrux waited for them to come through, as Xeros was just behind Xaik. The portal closed and Scyrux stretched his arms.
"Mission success! Guess we should report, huh?" Scyrux said through strained breaths.
"Indeed."
The three turned to the opposite end of the hall to see that Saïx had entered. He walked over to the three, noticing Xaik was still wet from before. He eyed her, before turning to Xeros.
"Report, Number Sixteen." Saïx insisted.
"The mission was a success. We eliminated the ship-destroying Heartless."
"And who managed to destroy this 'Shipbreaker'?" Saïx sneered.
"It was a collective effort. All four of us took it down."
"Four?" Saïx inquired.
"Varijex was already on site when we arrived."
"You mean to tell me that Number Fifteen somehow knew of the threat before the Organization caught wind of it?" Saïx accused, seeing if he could catch Xeros in a lie.
"Varijex used his knowledge from his previous mission there." Xeros offered. "He'd heard the rumors of the Shipbreaker and thought to take initiative."
Saïx seemed displeased at the answer, more than likely because he wanted to reprimand Varijex for his behavior.
"Even your charge was of use?" Saïx spoke coldly as Xaik just looked down.
Xeros took a quiet deep breath through his nose before he responded.
"Xaik was the one who found its weakness. She was the one who landed the final blow."
Xaik looked up at Xeros as she found herself experiencing a new strange sensation within herself. Xeros's words seemed to have an effect on her, as Saïx let out a disgruntled "hm".
"This is-"
"Excellent news."
A booming voice came from behind Saïx as he turned and everyone saw that Xemnas had appeared behind Saïx.
"Lord Xemnas," Saïx said, surprised. "I was not expecting you-"
"I wanted to hear the report of our newest recruit myself." Xemnas said as he walked over toward Xaik. "It seems that you did an exceptional job on this mission. I commend you."
Xaik was a bit taken aback by Xemnas's sudden appearance. But she tried her best to gather her composure as she looked into his horrifying amber eyes. She cleared her throat before speaking.
"Th-thank you, Lord Xemnas." Xaik said as she bowed her head at Xemnas.
Xemnas gave a creepy smile, as he then held his arms out to his sides.
"Rejoice, my friend. For today, marks a new day."
Xaik looked up at Xemnas, confused as to what he was talking about.
"And what would that day be, Lord Xemnas?" Xeros asked, curiously.
"Today," Xemnas then pointed with both hands at Xaik. "We officially welcome the newest member of the Organization."
Xaik looked in shock as she realized the implications of Xemnas's words. Xeros's eyes widened and Scyrux began to smile, while Saïx glared with what appeared to be rage and horror.
"Our Number Eighteen, The Sonorous Maiden."
Xaik gasped at the sound. But she bowed her head once more, as Xemnas smiled at her.
"Thank you, Lord Xemnas."
Xemnas then nodded his head before turning to move away. He walked by Saïx as Saïx just looked to Xemnas, confused and displeased. But he wouldn't dare speak against their superior. Saïx turned to the others, giving them one last glance. He stared at Xaik, who noticed Saïx's gaze on her and looked away. He sneered as he then turned to leave as well.
As soon as the room was clear, Scyrux leaped out at Xaik, hugging her. Xaik almost fell to the ground as Scyrux cheered for Xaik.
"Congratulations! You got your number!"
"Th-thanks… please don't knock me down." Xaik pleaded.
"Oh, sorry," Scyrux chuckled. "My bad."
He began to wipe off the water he got on himself from hugging Xaik, as Xaik looked to Xeros. Xeros was looking awkward, something that Xaik took note of. He'd spent the day being so rigid and firm, yet now he was looking different. Almost what she would describe as vulnerable.
"Good work, earning your number." He let out. "I'm sure you'll be a great asset to the Organization."
"But if we help the Organization, we can regain what we've lost… Then, and only then, will we understand."
Xeros turned to leave, as he seemed like he didn't have anymore to say. But as he turned to go, he felt a tugging on his sleeve. He turned to see Xaik had grabbed him, trying to keep him from leaving. Her head was down for a moment, obscuring her face from his view. But then she looked up at him, as he saw a determination in her eyes like none he'd seen before.
"You once said… you were training me to be of use to the Organization…" Xaik began. "And you also said to me… that when we finally got our hearts back… that's when we'd finally understand… what it means to be human."
Xeros looked into Xaik's eyes. A fire was burning behind them; something he envied, but also couldn't help but admire. Xaik looked to Scyrux, who was also surprised to see Xaik being so forward. She then sighed, as she continued her speech.
"I didn't understand before… even with my memories coming back… I don't know if I'll ever understand." She then looked up at Xeros. "But I understand this much… all of us… we're not whole."
"I know this, but-"
"Just…! Listen, please…" Xaik cut Xeros off.
Xeros inhaled sharply as he gave a nod, looking into her bright, blue eyes with his dull, green eyes.
"Just because I'm getting my memories back… that doesn't mean I have a heart."
As they were unaware of him, Scyrux seemed to loosen up a bit as his expression went from its normally vibrant demeanor to one that was more somber. He listened to Xaik as she pleaded with Xeros, sighing silently.
"Memories or no memories… we're the same. Incomplete..." Xaik then let go of Xeros's sleeve as she backed away a bit, sighing.
Xeros looked at her as she gave him a serious stare, something that looked strange on Xaik's often fragile-looking face. Xeros had no words to say, as Xaik turned away. She began to walk out, as she looked to Scyrux, who shook himself; the shimmer in his eyes flickering and he went back to smiling. He looked at Xaik and gave her a nod. Xaik gave a nod back and continued to leave. She stopped momentarily, and looked back at Xeros, who heard her footsteps stop.
"I don't think… you're any less complete…" She began to look sullen before finishing her thought. "I… hope you think the same…"
Xaik then left, leaving Xeros and Scyrux in the hall behind her. I 'hope'…? She thought to herself. I don't know if my words could mean anything to him, but… She walked through the castle, approaching her room. …who knows if I can even hope? She then entered her room, turning to shut the door behind her. She paused, as she took a deep breath. …all I know is… As Xaik thought the next words, they echoed in her mind; hearing them now, and remembering them from before.
I don't want him to be alone…
