Chapter 8, The Epiphany

Vexen opened his eyes, his ears still ringing from the blast. It had all happened so fast. Larxene's entrance, the supernova, the flash of light—in an instant, just like that, Vexen found himself in another strange land. He sat up and eyed his surroundings. Flowers to his left, flowers to his right, and a lovely paved street in front of him. He appeared to be in a public garden of some sort.

There was a rustling in some flowers not too far away from him. Demyx had landed face-down in a plot of carnations. "Boy," Vexen got to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Wha?" Demyx slurred, clearly dazed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." He blinked, the radiant sunlight making him squint. "What happened?"

"Larxene came at the right time," Vexen surmised. "She took out the gummi just as that supernova was cast. She…" A figure on the pavement behind him caught his eye. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Demyx followed Vexen's eyes, only to discover a singed Larxene, blackened with soot. "Holy crap." He limped over there and immediately checked to see if she was alright. "I don't get it. Why did she get burned?"

"I'm not sure," Vexen said, attempting to keep his cool in spite of the panic he felt creeping inside. "Perhaps because the supernova reached her before it reached the gummi. Yes, that's what happened to the pterodactyl when we left to Cretaceous Era. It all makes sense…" He grasped his head, which was buzzing with all manner of anxious thoughts and fears. Usually an objective analysis of a situation made him feel at peace but for some reason, it did no good now.

"C'mon, c'mon…" Demyx slapped Larxene once, twice, almost thrice until Vexen but grabbed Demyx's wrist. He got down to one knee and checked for any sign of breathing.

Grimly, Vexen got to his feet. "She's gone."

"What?" Demyx shook his head. "No. That's just you giving up again." He returned to attempting to shake Larxene back to life. "C'mon, Larxene. It's Water-Boy. Stupid Water-Boy. Wake up."

"I'm a scientist, Demyx. And I can tell she's gone. Her body's cold, her face is pale, her lungs aren't functioning—if she had a heart, there'd be no pulse. She's gone, Demyx!"

Demyx sighed, standing up with his back to the academic. "I can't believe it…"

Vexen was admittedly curious. "Why do you care?"

The musician turned ever-so slightly. "Huh?"

"Why do you care for her? I can understand the Love Monkey…but why her? She treated you the worst of all. Yet you mourn her…"

"I don't know," Demyx replied hoarsely. "Maybe it has something to do with that compassion thing I mentioned earlier."

"You're a Nobody, boy," Vexen scoffed. "I know it's typical for us to experience a stage of denial, but you can't feel compassion. You lost that the moment you lost your heart."

"Well, I don't know what it is, then!" Demyx turned around and snapped at Vexen straight in his face. "All I know is I feel something and that something is pretty shitty!"

"You're a logical fallacy," Vexen spat. "A walking contradiction. You've no heart, yet you weep for your tormentors."

"Maybe that's because I like to see the good in people," Demyx stepped closer to the scientist, balling his fists. "Like I did with you during your Replica lecture. I make an effort to like people. You don't even try!"

"Because I'm a Nobody!" Vexen screamed back, somehow red with anger. "I can't grow close to people or admire them or befriend them because I'm a Nobody!"

"If it really is so impossible for a Nobody to like people," Demyx cocked his head, sneering, "then why do you want us other Nobodies to like you so badly?"

Vexen opened his mouth to retort but nothing came of it. The boy actually got him there. He…he outsmarted him? No! He refused to believe it. Demyx knew nothing. He…didn't get what the core issue was. He knew nothing about the mysteries of the heart, the very mysteries Vexen spent years decoding. It was impossible. Impossible!

Vexen shoved Demyx in the shoulder. The boy was shocked.

"Wha…what was that?" Demyx asked with a ghost of his voice.

"I…I shoved you," Vexen straightened his posture as if to assert his dominance. "To show you what's what."

"Why, you…" Demyx bit his lip and shoved the scientist back.

"What's the meaning of this?" Vexen sputtered, eyes wide with shock.

"I'm showing you what really is what, and it's not the what you're trying to sell me, you…" Demyx searched for an insult but was too angry to think. "…stupid-head."

Vexen gasped, his fists shaking with a rage he had never before felt.

With a battle cry, he tackled Demyx, and the two began to roll around on the pavement, tearing at each other's hair and throwing the occasional slap or two. It was a sloppy scuffle, so sloppy they unknowingly rolled under some construction tape and into an open manhole. After the fall, there was a moment's peace as the two recovered their senses. Fortunately, the tunnels were illuminated, and they weren't in pitch-black darkness.

"Are you alright?" Vexen spoke up.

"Yeah, I'm good," Demyx replied.

The two looked at each other. Then they reengaged in combat, throwing each other against the walls, clumsily swinging punches.

Their fight took them down the tunnel to an area marked with a sign that read, "Water Purifier: Under Maintenance." The duel did not cease, even as it moved them to catwalks overlooking a churning body of water.

At one point, Demyx had Vexen pinned to the floor. "What happened to 'giving up?'"

"I'd rather a cult of animal-masked teenagers eviscerate me than a nitwit like you!" Vexen shot back.

Demyx was about to slam Vexen's skull against the metal railing but a queer sound caught their attention.

"La la la la la LA la la…"

"What in blazes?" Vexen got out from under Demyx and spied someone crossing the catwalk across from them. Not just crossing, but…frolicking.

Indeed, it was a young boy in a sailor's outfit skipping with a lollipop in one hand and a book in the other. Underneath his seaman's cap was a bundle of luscious golden locks, and on his face the brightest of smiles.

"Whoa," Demyx joined Vexen at the railing. "It's a local."

"Yes, it…it is," Vexen narrowed his eyes closely studying the child, who had stopped in his tracks as of finishing his lolly. Then, with a flourish, he took out a pen, clicked it, opened his notebook, and began to scribble vigorously.

"What's he doing?" Demyx inquired.

"What's he…" Vexen glared at Demyx in disbelief. "We're not bearing witness to a nature documentary. We were engaging in a bout of pugilism. Enough with the questions. Have at…" He trailed off. "…you."

A trio of children were strolling on the adjacent catwalk, twice the size of the studious boy they had observed. The boy who led them appeared to be as broad as a writing desk and just as thick!

This boy called out to the half-pint. "Hey, Candy-Britches!"

Candy-Britches looked up with a smile. "Oh, hello, friends! What might the matter be?"

"Whaddya doin' here?" The thug interrogated. "This is trespassing. Never thought you'd break the law."

"Neither did I, but I'm planning to build a scale model of the purifier and I absolutely need a diagram to reference." Candy-Britches blinked. "Why are you here?"

"Doin' drugs and drinkin' booze," the thug replied. "You know. Cool stuff. Wanna join?"

"I'll pass, gentleman," Candy-Britches returned to his studies. "Thank you for the offer."

"You'll pass?" The children murmured in disbelief, before the leader spoke up on their behalf. "You pass, alright…as a girl!"

"Ooooooooo," oooooooooed the thug's lackeys.

"Excuse me?" whimpered Candy-Britches.

"Throw him off the railing!" A lackey suggested.

"Wow, that escalated quickly," Demyx commented.

"Good God, they're not going to do it, really?" Vexen whispered, horrified.

"C'mon. This looks like a civilized place. No way that would hap…"

"SOMEBODY HELP ME! I CAN'T SWIM!" Candy-Britches screamed as he was thrown off the railing into the swirling vat of water below.

"That's for liking science, dweebus!" The bullies high-fived each other and were on their way to do their drugs and alcohol like the demented delinquents they were.

"Holy shit!" Demyx's jaw dropped. "We must be in a bad neighborhood…"

"Come on!" Vexen cried. "We've got to do something!"

"Since when did you give a…" But Vexen had already taken out his shield and was casting ice magic on the pipes that were leaking water into the vat. The water had ceased to churn and was now stagnant.

"That should buy us some time," Vexen explained frantically.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving that boy!"

"Why?"

"I don't know! It's just an instinct I'm feeling."

"Compassion?"

"Let's not do this now!" Vexen studied the vat below them. "How good of a swimmer are you?"

"Dude. I'm the Water-Boy."

"Good." Vexen made an ice-slide leading down to the vat and signaled for Demyx to slide down there. "Let's go!"

Demyx slid down the frozen slope right into the water, immediately beginning his search for Candy-Britches. Vexen followed close behind, but stopped at the foot of the slide, searching for some solid ground. In the distance was a platform supporting the purifier. He froze a path there and hurried across his makeshift road, anticipating Demyx's rescue of the boy.

But that rescue was not so easy. Demyx searched the dark depths, but it was to no avail. He dove deeper and deeper until…there! He found Candy-Britches, drifting to his doom. However, he was too far away, there was no way he could get there fast enough…

And then, like a gift from above, another figure was swimming after Candy-Britches. He took the boy in his arms and was beginning to swim upwards.

He's in too deep. He's not gonna make it back up in time. Demyx thought on his feet. Unveiling his sitar, he played one rocking note, sending a wave that carried the three of them across the vat, and right onto the platform where Vexen was waiting.

Drenched, Vexen shook the hair out of his eyes. "Good work, Demyx."

Demyx coughed up some water. "No problem." He glanced at Candy-Britches, who was unconscious a few feet away from them. "We're not done yet."

"We have to hurry!" The stranger exclaimed, rushing over to Candy-Britches, and applying pressure to his chest, attempting to force the water out of his lungs. He was another boy, about the same age as Candy-Britches, though slightly taller.

Vexen and Demyx watched with bated breath, feeling an empathy unfamiliar to Nobodies. They looked on with concern.

"C'mon," the boy urged, pressing again and again on the victim's chest. "You can make it!"

"He won't make it," Vexen anxiously muttered to no one in particular. He stepped forward to tell the boy to cease his efforts, but Demyx put a staying hand on Vexen's arm.

"I know you can do this," the stranger pled with Candy-Britches. "Don't give up!"

Vexen suddenly felt a pang in his chest, one he had not felt since…

"I'm begging you! Don't give up!" The boy continued to shout, his eyes watering. "We're almost there."

Demyx noticed Vexen's sudden pain. "Are you alright, Vex?"

"We're almost there," the boy repeated. "We're almost there, you just have to work with me, you hear? I'm begging you, DON'T GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT!"

Another pang, causing Vexen to stagger back. Suddenly, he was feeling light-headed, on the verge of passing out.

"I'm not gonna leave you behind," the stranger promised, pressing again and again, each push getting harder than the last. "Just. Stay. With. Me!"

Candy-Britches spat up a pint of water and began to fall into a series of coughs. He was alive!

"He did it!" Demyx exclaimed. "Vexen, he…" But Vexen was supporting himself against a wall, his eyes watering with tears of his own. "Vexen, are you…?"

Candy-Britches was able to manage a few words. "Who…are…you?"

The stranger smiled. "Call me Ansem."

With that word, a whole life flashed before Vexen's eyes, a life he quickly understood to be his own. With each memory came another sharp pang, and with each pang came tears. Tears upon tears, Vexen could not stop weeping. The Nobody's Curse was broken, and his memory was his once more. But were these really tears of joy?

"Vexen," Demyx reached out for his friend, but the scientist walked away, seeking solitude.

I finally know everything only to discover that I am nothing.

It was darkness. An endless abyss with no sight of light.

Larxene was entrenched in it, though she did not feel pain. She was in enveloped it, though she did not feel dread. She almost wasn't sentient, yet a tiny fraction of her willpower remained.

Where am I? she thought, for that was all she was able to do.

A voice called out from the darkness. Larxene couldn't hear the voice, but rather, she could feel it. The end. Possibly. Depending on what you choose.

A small light appeared in the abyss's center, with a figure floating underneath it. That's…that's me.

Correct, the voice resounded. Indeed, Larxene saw herself. She was out of her own body, displaced and detached.

She noted the bright shard hovering over her lifeless form. What's that?

Your heart. Or…what's left.

But…I don't have a heart. I'm a Nobody.

If you say so. Two options appeared beneath her body. One read "Continue," the other "Load Game." This is a first for you, so I'll explain this slowly. If you continue, you pick up where you left off, a being with a fraction of a heart and no friends to speak of. If you load game, you can go to when you last saved.

When I last saved?

When was that? The voice pondered. The Load Game option was highlighted and then clicked open, revealing 98 slots that read empty, but on top that read… Daybreak Town, Level 7, about a dozen years of playtime. Been a while since you took a rest, huh?

I guess.

But, hey. You can consider it a fresh start. You can go back to when you were young and happy and had hopes and aspirations… A weighty pause. …or you can stay as you are now, bitter and disliked by everyone. Which will it be?

Larxene was silent. She didn't remember this old life, yet it somehow felt familiar. Just hearing about it made her long for it, as if a part of herself was left behind there, in that lost past life. And she was happy. Larxene couldn't even remember a time when she was happy.

Well?

Finally, Larxene's willpower spoke up. Continue.

What was that?

Continue. I said continue.

Are you sure?

Another pause.

I just got done telling some dumb girl to never ever take shit. Larxene managed a laugh. And this seems like a boatload of shit you're selling me. I don't need a fresh start. I'm doing fine as is. I'd be a hell of a wuss to sit out now. She scoffed. I'll pass.

The voice sighed. If you insist. Continue to suffer, for all I care. I'm an impartial observer.

"Continue" was highlighted.

Wait! Larxene spoke up. Just who are you?

Me? Oh, I'm just a guy who wasted $40 on this DLC. Probably should have returned this after the Dinosaur level but I was optimistic. The voice sighed. It's whatever.

Before Larxene could begin to decipher what that meant, "Continue" was selected and the void faded from darkness to white light.

Larxene squinted as that white light became narrower and narrower until it was revealed to be the sun. She sat up groggily, realizing suddenly she had control of her body. The nymph took a quick look at her hands, moving them as she wished. Her life was hers once more.

She took her time getting up, since she still felt injured from the supernova. Larxene must have looked like a lunatic, covered in soot in the middle of this public garden. Three seedy-looking kids were pointing at her from a distance, whispering conspiracy theories to each other as to who she might be.

Fuck 'em, Larxene stretched. I gotta find Dumb and Dumber. They oughta hear I just met the Angel of Death. She noticed a manhole was forced open. Taking a peek inside, Larxene saw Demyx's vest from the 80's, torn off in what looked like a nasty scuffle. That's a clue.

And so she dove into the sewers in search of her comrades, rejuvenated and back from the dead.

The Dungeon that Never Was shared a lot in common with the rest of the castle. Grey, lifeless, sterile—the only difference in this instance was that there were enforced steel doors, barred windows, and toilets without stalls. In spite of his numerous violations, Axel had never landed himself here, mostly thanks to Saix consistently putting a good word in for him.

Zexion, however, wasn't so lucky, as he was locked away in a cell guarded by the stalwart Lexaeus. Axel gulped at the mere sight of the prison guard from around the corner. He wasn't sure if he could fast-talk his way past him, considering he and Zexion barely got away with it the first time.

Overcoming his nerves, Axel approached Lexaeus. "Hey. How's it hanging?"

"You're not getting in," Lexaeus responded sternly, arms crossed.

There goes the small talk of tonight's festivities. Axel sighed. "Look, I don't want to get in. I just want to talk to him through the door. What ever happened to visiting hours?"

"We're running low considering there's a deadly space invasion coming in…" Lexaeus checked his wrist, on which there was no watch. "…a half hour, thereabouts."

"Oh, c'mon," Axel threw his hands in the air. "The old 'check the nonexistent watch' gag? I never took you for a joker."

"Does it look like I'm laughing?" Lexaeus furrowed his brow, fixed in his stance.

Axel exhaled deeply. "Is this because we goofed you with Replexen?"

"I'm not fond of being goofed with."

"Hey, I'm sorry, alright? We had to, so we could…"

"Why are you apologizing?" Lexaeus asked, his disposition unchanged. "You were coerced, weren't you?"

Axel bit his lip, recalling Saix's lie. "Could I just talk to him for a few minutes? Hey, I could even take your post so you can prepare for battle and whatever. You'd be much more use out there than me…"

"That would be disobeying an order."

"Five minutes, alright?" Axel pled with the sentry. "Just give me five."

Lexaeus was quiet for some time. "Alright. Five. And only five." He stepped aside.

"Thank you," Axel stepped towards the door.

"And Axel…"

The fiery assassin turned to Lexaeus.

"It was a good goof. Not one worth being executed over." Lexaeus said solemnly. "I wish you the best." He walked around the corner, out of Axel's earshot where he would wait the five minutes.

Axel bit his lip, waiting for Lexaeus to turn the corner. Once he was out of sight, he crept up to the door's bars. "Zexion! It's me! Axel!"

From a dark corner of the room, Zexion sat on a bench, hunched over and his face obscured by his silver hair. He didn't say a word.

"I just came to, uh, apologize," Axel explained. "So…I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Zexion looked up, curious. "For what? Letting me get dragged off while you got off scot free?"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault! I was gonna confess! But Saix already made my case…"

"That you were coerced?" The bookworm blew some hair out of his face and got to his feet, slowly approaching the door. "So you let him cover up for you with that lie…"

"I mean, there's some truth in it." Axel shrugged with an anxious grin.

"I gave you a yes or no option with helping our experiment. You picked yes."

"OK, but…"

"And you were the one to suggest covering up this scandal in the first place. If anyone was coerced, it was me!"

"ALRIGHT! I get it!" Axel exploded, crossing his arms, and leaning against the door with his back. "I'm a scumbag! Took you long enough to find out."

Zexion shook his head, disgusted. "I was such an idiot. I vouched for you. Vexen didn't want you on board, but I figured you were reliable. Guess I was wrong."

"Guess you were," Axel said somberly.

"That's it? You're just resigned to being a scumbag? You don't want to aspire to anything greater than that?"

"How much can I aspire to, really?" Axel replied bitterly. "We're Nobodies. We don't exist, so why bother acting like we could be friends?"

"You don't seem to have any problems with Saix."

"That's different. We go back. Joined at the same time and we were best friends long before that." Axel sighed. "Even if I can't remember 'before' all that well."

"Hm," Zexion nodded, turning his back against the door.

"Hm? What does that mean?"

"Nothing. It's just…" Zexion stroked his chin pensively, repeating, "We don't exist." He laughed. "You know that saying, 'If a tree falls in the forest…'"

"Yeah, Confucius. I know the saying."

"I've been thinking lately about that, and how it pertains to our existence. We technically don't exist, but here we are, in the flesh, talking to one another." Zexion brushed some hair away from his face. "What we really lack is emotional content. We barely know how to interact with one another, much less get along. Some of us manage to be close, perhaps due to some connection in our past lives—me and Vexen, you and Saix. But outside of those relationships, we can't really call each other comrades, can we? That's what I thought, at least." The young academic sighed. "I was proven wrong when suddenly, I found myself working with a delinquent arsonist."

Axel looked up.

"Yes, a little criminal," Zexion nodded, smirking. "Forced together by circumstance, we watched each other's backs. At first, it appeared it was out of self-preservation. But the more I worked with him, I realized…I was concerned. I felt a contemporary of mine was in danger. I've never felt this with Vexen because he was always my mentor. Maybe you've felt this with Saix."

"A bit, yeah," Axel said with a forlorn smile.

"It felt so bizarre, this feeling. So foreign, yet so familiar. Like I experienced it before." Zexion took a deep breath. "It was then I realized…this was existence. This feeling that I was being heard, like the tree falling in the forest. That's what existence is. To be acknowledged, respected, cared for." He appeared to be choked up. "I cared about what happened to you. I figured the feeling was mutual. I guess my existence was fraudulent."

Axel lowered his head, entrenched in his thoughts. "You sure about that?"

"An apology isn't going to cover it, Axel."

"Get away from the door."

Zexion turned around with one eyebrow cocked. "What?"

"GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!" Axel took out his chakrams, effectively getting Zexion to jump to the other end of the cell. He struck them together, igniting a small fireball, which only grew larger and larger until, with a fury, he slung it at the prison door, blowing it wide open.

Zexion coughed from the dust cloud, stunned by what just happened. "What are you doing?!"

"Existing you into existence," Axel nonchalantly replied, putting away his weapons. "You're welcome."

"You know this is gonna get you…"

"Executed?" Axel shrugged. "I know."

"Well, we gotta get going…" Zexion trailed off, for around the corner stood Lexaeus, mildly surprised by what stood before him.

"Your five minutes are up," was all the sentry could muster.

"Look," Axel held his hands up. "Whatever storm of pain you're gonna unleash, unleash it on me. Zexion had nothing to do with this. You could tell because it's poorly thought out and it involves fire…"

Lexaeus held up his hand, signaling Axel to stop, which he did immediately. "Go."

"But, Lexaeus," Zexion spoke up. "What about…"

"Our castle is going to be invaded any moment now," Lexaeus replied curtly. "Two…'goofs' such as yourselves don't concern me as much as the army of darkness headed our way. Now go, before someone with less fortunate priorities finds you've escaped."

Axel and Zexion smirked and sprinted to the spiral stairwell that headed to the basement level of the castle.

"So," Axel said, keeping up with Zexion. "Are we hiding in Agrabah or…?"

"We're not leaving the castle."

"Excuse me?" Axel stopped in his tracks, causing Zexion to do the same. "Why the hell did I break you out then?"

"I'm not fond of constantly looking over our shoulders for Xaldin's lance or Marluxia's scythe," Zexion explained. "No, we're gonna redeem ourselves to the Organization by stopping the invasion."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"I have an idea. Just trust me."

Axel sighed. "Sure. I trust you."

"Good. And, Axel…" Zexion smiled. "…thank you."

Axel flashed a thumbs-up. "C'mon, bookworm. Let's get to that idea of yours."

Zexion beamed back, and led the way up the stairs, on their way to the academic's latest idea and back to redemption.

Vexen was crouched against a backwall, watching the boys chat from afar. It seemed the tragedy was quickly forgotten, as they were showing each other their notebooks, soggy as they were, and laughing the day away.

Fast friends, he recalled, a lump rising in his throat. Truly the best there were.

"Hey." Vexen looked up and saw Demyx standing over him. "How are you holding up?"

"Oh," the scientist shrugged, replying morosely, "A bit sore. You have a solid right hook, you know…"

"I'm talking about the crying." Demyx sat down beside Vexen. "You were, uh, really having at it."

"Was I?" Vexen rubbed at his eye. "I don't know. I suppose watching someone come back from the brink of death has that effect on you."

"Huh," the youth nodded, looking off into the distance.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Demyx dismissed the question. "It's just I was feeling that kind of way when the Love Monkey and Larxene died today—can you believe that happened today?"

"Technically it happened across a few thousand years," Vexen provided the scientific explanation. "But I know what you mean. Proceed."

"Well, I was feeling sad and was gonna cry," Demyx continued. "So, maybe us Nobodies do have emotions?" He waved off the notion. "I dunno. Just thought you could use that for one your hypothesises."

"Hypotheses," Vexen corrected with a melancholy smile. "And thank you. I'll consider it."

For a moment, the two just sat there, watching the boys chitter and chatter.

"So, uh, that Ansem," Demyx broke the silence. "He said something familiar that you told me back in the dinosaur place. 'Don't go gentle into that good night.'"

Vexen's expression darkened.

"What's the deal with that?" the musician asked, curious.

With a heavy sigh, Vexen explained, "It's poetry. By Dylan Thomas."

"Oh. You read him in one of your books?"

"No," Vexen shook his head. "I never was one for poetry. That right-brained nonsense was never for me." He exhaled. "It was left in my subconscious by a poet some years ago."

"Really?" Demyx stopped to think. "Was it that Dylan guy?"

"We never met," the academic couldn't help but smile. "I did meet a boy, though. The brightest person I ever knew. He knew just about everything—science, philosophy, geography, and poetry. I admit, I was his intellectual inferior, considering I had no patience for anything outside of the sciences. I…" He swallowed as his smile faded. "I admired him. He was a born leader." Vexen cleared his throat. "So yes. I learned that poetry from him."

"You suddenly remember a lot," Demyx pointed out, curious.

"Yes, I…I do," Vexen nodded. "I suppose it helps when the memories play themselves out right before your eyes."

Demyx cocked his eyebrow, looking from the boys to Vexen to the boys and back to Vexen. "You don't mean…"

"Yes," the scientist said hoarsely. "That boy in the soaked sailor suit is young little Even, meeting his best friend Ansem. I remember, he followed me here because he was concerned the police would find me and report me to my parents. Right now, we're talking about school, how draconian our headmaster is, exchanging notes..." He sighed. "I'm showing him my ruined diagram of Radiant Garden's Water Purifier, and he's showing me his essay comparing Kantian and Sartrian philosophy. All these years later, and now I remember it as clear as day."

The sitarist narrowed his eyes, as he looked at Even a bit closer. "There is a resemblance…" He smiled. "Isn't that something? You're feeling emotions and you met your past self. That's incredible!"

"Not when you recall how this story ends," Vexen disagreed, bearing a pained expression. "Because give it a few decades, and those years of friendship will mean nothing. Even though he valued me as his comrade, his confidante, his equal…" He breathed shakily. "…I betrayed him over an intellectual disagreement." In spite of himself, Vexen laughed. "It's typical of me, I suppose. You were right. I don't know what to do with compassion. Even though I demand respect, I've never really appreciated it. All I've ever wanted was to be right and for everyone to know I was right. Why else would I betray the one man who's ever respected me?"

"Vexen…" Demyx reached out for Vexen, but the scientist slapped his hand away.

"Bah! He was the fool!" Vexen cursed his old friend. "The idealistic imbecile he was, going on about building a city of light! He thought anyone and anything was worth saving, including me!" He looked away, burning with contempt. "He should have left me to drown…"

"No!" Demyx bellowed, getting to his feet, and standing over the defeated intellectual. "He was right! Everyone is worth saving!"

"Of course you'd still think that," Vexen hissed. "You're young. You have hopes and dreams. Well, good news for you, Demyx: I suspect you won't betray your only friend and banish him to the Dark Realm."

"Whoa," the musician couldn't help but be in awe. "Is that really what you did?"

"Well, I was complicit," Vexen threw his hands in the air. "It's a long story."

"Ah," Demyx bit his lip, deep in his thoughts. "Even then, you're worth saving. As cranky and bitter and know-it-all-ish you are, you're worth saving."

Vexen was quiet, not wanting to participate in this conversation any further.

Demyx knelt down beside the lost soul and looked him in the eye, even if he didn't look back. "You're a smart guy, Vexen. But you're so blind. Ansem and I, we see the good in you that you can't. You wanna know why you can't see that good?"

Vexen didn't answer.

"Because you've given up trying. You've let yourself get beaten and battered by every critique, every insult, every bad day..." Demyx paused. "I know how it feels."

Vexen looked up.

"Trust me, it's easy to give up. I almost have. Everyday, I screw up some way or another, I'm called a dozen terrible things, and I go bed, beaten up." Demyx began to feel choked up, but he tried to keep his cool. "I fail and I fail and I fail, over and over and over again."

"I don't mean to disappoint you," Vexen commented. "But this isn't the most encouraging speech."

"You know what gets me out of bed the next day?" Demyx leaned closer, staring Vexen down. "The knowledge that even though I've screwed up today, the world doesn't end tomorrow. Life goes on, and I know there's a chance I can do better." He wagged his finger at Vexen, and said with confidence, "I don't give up. No matter how hard life gets, I try and try and try again because even if I fail, I'll take comfort in the fact I did my damnedest to survive."

Vexen smiled, his eyes watering.

"You told me that," Demyx pointed at him. "You believed in me when I couldn't, even with a massive bovine, minutes away from killing us all."

The scientist chuckled. "Bolide." He corrected instinctively.

"So I'm begging you, Vex, believe in yourself like you believed in me. Know that in spite of your fuckups and your flaws, you're worth saving. Know that people like me or Zexion or Ansem know you're worth saving. Even if the whole world tells you otherwise, keep trying. Like a wise man once told me…" Demyx put a hand on Demyx's shoulder. "…don't go gentle into that good night."

Vexen couldn't hold the tears back anymore. He hugged Demyx in a tight embrace. The young man was taken aback by it, but returned it anyway, crying his own tears. For the first time in years, Vexen felt this emotional cocktail of joy mixed with regret, sorrow mixed with hope. He thought of all the times he felt alone and rejected any sign of help or compassion. He remembered all those sleepless nights where he considered just leaving the Organization after another rough day of ridicule. He recalled his friendship with Ansem, and the things he should have said but never had the stomach to. Yet Vexen felt rejuvenated because now he knew he wasn't alone. Should he see Zexion again, Vexen would thank him a thousand times over for tolerating his experiments. And Ansem, though he may have long succumbed to the darkness, would live on in Vexen's work. He would not have died in vain! He would be remembered and never, ever forgotten again! As for Demyx…

He pulled away from the young man, his hands on his shoulders. "You're a good friend, Demyx. I'm…I'm sorry I haven't treated you as such."

"It's cool," Demyx replied, wiping his tears dry. "I'm sorry I called you a dummy and a stupid-head."

"Excuse me, kind sirs…"

Vexen turned to find young Even tugging at his tracksuit. Ansem was right behind him.

"We were wondering if you'd take our picture," Even asked sheepishly, holding out his camera. "To commemorate the day I was saved."

Ansem squinted, looking up at Vexen. "Are you OK, sir?"

"Me?" Vexen rubbed at his eyes, sniffling. "I'm splendid." He took the device. "I'll take your picture. Get together now."

Ansem gave a toothy smile and put his arm around the shy Even who meekly had his hands behind his back.

"Alright," Vexen readied the camera. "Say FREEZE! I mean, cheese. Sorry, it's a…force of habit." He cleared his throat. "Cheese!"

The camera flashed, and out came a polaroid. With a good deal of shaking, the picture of two friends became clear.

"Thank you," Even reached for the photograph before his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh no!"

"What is it?" Ansem asked.

"All this time with me drowning and us talking, I forgot. We're late for school!"

"Oh, man! The headmaster is gonna kill us!" Ansem sprinted off, calling back, "It was nice to meet you!"

"Wait for me!" Even chased him up the stairs, almost clumsily falling after him. "I'm can't run! I have a respiratory condition!"

Vexen smiled as the two youths ran out of sight before he raised his eyebrows in realization and that smile faded. "I…probably should have warned them about my impending betrayal."

"Huh," Demyx smacked his lips. "Is that how time travel works?"

Silence.

Vexen shrugged. "I have no clue."

Demyx laughed and put his arm around Vexen, as the two walked up the stairwell, intent on finding their way out of here.

Once the duo reached the catwalks above, they met a strange sight: a singed Larxene, limping straight towards them.

"Oh," Vexen said nonchalantly. "Larxene. Hello."

"Hey," Larxene greeted, coughing some ashes.

"We thought you were dead," Demyx pointed out, somehow unsurprised by this development.

"I was," Larxene replied, before taking out the gummi from her torn denim jacket. "We gonna get out of here or what?"

"Yes," Vexen looked around. "Fire, fire, fire…" His eyes noted the pipes he clogged with ice, preventing the vat from filling with more water, causing a backup in the purifier's system. Its various facets were vibrating with a clunky ferocity, bolts on the brink of falling out. "Do you know what else I recall, Demyx?"

"What's that?" Demyx inquired.

"The great purifier explosion of my youth. Set our city back ten years into a recession, one we wouldn't recover from until Ansem the Wise was elected leader. And even though it was tucked safely away underground, it was ignited…" He looked at Larxene. "…by a bolt of lightning."

Larxene smirked and the tossed the gummi to Vexen. She then grabbed one of her knives, observed her surroundings carefully, and settled on a pipe of her choice. Larxene threw the blade like a dart, and it collided with apparatus.

Clink!

The whole system gave way with that small burst of electricity, exploding in a flurry of flames. Vexen held the gummi high above him, Larxene to his left and Demyx to his right. The fire made contact with the gummi and sparked a flash of light, sending these Nobodies off to another world.

Yet, somehow, against all odds, they left this destructive inferno feeling the most like Somebodies than they ever had before.

A domineering silence presided over The World That Never Was. Only the rain's delicate fall could be heard.

Xemnas stood atop Naught's Skyway, awaiting the Heartless Invasion. As expected, Saix stood diligently at his right, Claymore in hand. To his left was Luxord, shuffling and reshuffling his deadly deck of cards.

Below them stood Xaldin and Marluxia guarding the castle gates on the Brink of Despair, armed with lance and scythe respectively. Above them on the Altar of Naught sat Xigbar, who was carefully observing the heavens through the scope of his rifle, anticipating a dark corridor to open any second.

Xemnas heard footsteps behind him. "Lexaeus." He turned to face his comrade. "You've joined us."

"I figured you'd need me here," the brave warrior replied. "I can't do much good in the dungeon."

"But what about our prisoner?" Saix hissed.

Before Lexaeus could answer, Xigbar proclaimed from above, "THEY'RE HERE!"

Every member followed Xigbar's alert to the sky, where dark corridors upon dark corridors were opening. And out of each of them came all manner of Heartless, big and small, flying and crawling. Gummi Ships flew out of each opening as countless small fry spread onto the skyscrapers and onto the streets. In the center of it all was a massive portal from which the most Heartless flooded.

Each Organization member settled in their stance, ready to face these overwhelming odds for what could be their last battle.

Calmly, Xemnas unveiled his laser-swords, undaunted by this legion of over a million Heartless. "Comrades," his mighty voice boomed throughout castle. "Attack!"

And so the forces of Nothing and Darkness clashed in what would be a grueling and near hopeless battle, wrought with glorious feats and devastating hardships.