The Tides Go Out

by Regiss

Four months later, the war between Maleficent's Heartless and Braig's Nobodies threatens to consume all worlds. In the middle of the conflict, Sora, Xion, and their friends continue the search for Riku while also dealing with Vanitas, who will stop at nothing to get Ven's heart. Sequel to Remember the Tides.

49. Sun and Moon

Chapter 49: Sun and Moon

"Never thought I'd be here again."

"You and me both."

Three figures stood on the tiny, shattered remnants of a world in the Realm Between, teetering on the edge of the Realm of Darkness. The sole structure here stood tall before them, its twisted towers and pointed roofs casting an intimidating silhouette over the pale blue earth. The dark clouds swarmed up above like a hurricane, with only faint glimmers of sunlight breaking through and illuminating things just enough to see.

Castle Oblivion was just how Lea remembered it.

Riku and King Mickey stood beside him, with a golden keyhole-shaped Gate at their back. Lea rolled his neck and then scratched the side of his head as he stared up at the castle once more. There was a foreboding, worried feeling in the pit of his stomach as the very sight of those crooked towers brought back unpleasant memories. Still, a small part of Lea relished those feelings; they were his emotions, after all.

"Well…" He took a deep breath, tasting the cold air before slowly exhaling. "Might as well get started. I'll probably be here for quite a while."

"You sure about this?" Riku asked, his hands on his hips as his gaze shifting from Castle Oblivion over to Lea. "I mean if even half of what you said is true, this place is impossible to navigate."

But Lea just chuckled in response. "You saying I'll be wasting my time? Come on, not like I have anywhere better to go." He shook his head. "I probably won't find the chamber, but I really should try. If it turns out we need that Aqua chick to get to Ventus, then whatever; at least I wasn't just sitting on my rear. Got it memorized?"

"I guess so."

It was then that Lea felt a tap on his leg. He turned down to see the King looking up at him, a blue object in his outstretched palm. "In that case, here." King Mickey held his hand out further, giving the object to Lea.

"What's this?" Lea frowned and picked it up, examining it in the dull light. It was translucent and star-shaped, with one of the points missing and replaced by a green something-or-other shaped like a lightning bolt.

"It's a Star Shard, a special type of Gummi block," the King explained. "When you're done in Castle Oblivion, whether you find Ven or not, you can use it to return to Traverse Town."

Lea's face brightened. "Really? That's pretty cool. I hadn't even considered getting out of here, to be honest." He pocketed the Star Shard then turned to face his two companions, the Gate still glowing behind them. "You guys are going off to search for the Realm of Darkness, right?"

"Yup," the King said with a nod. "But Lea, ya gotta be careful. The Star Shard will take ya to a completely random world if ya don't focus on Traverse Town really hard."

Lea smirked and tapped the side of his head. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I've got it memorized. Now you two should head off to whatever world you're aiming for, and I'll focus on Castle Oblivion."

"Right. Take care, Lea." Riku held his hand out, which surprised Lea. But the surprise passed and with a short chuckle he reciprocated Riku's gesture, taking the younger man's hand in his own.

"Be careful out there, alright? Xion would kill me if something happened to you."

Riku smirked. "Likewise." The two of them laughed awkwardly, after which Riku turned back to the Gate. "Mickey, let's get going." He stepped into the golden Keyhole and vanished in an enveloping light.

Mickey followed him, turning around just in time to wave goodbye. "See ya real soon, Lea!" A bright flash of light and then the King was gone, followed by the Gate closing and vanishing as they had. Lea was left alone on the floating road leading to Castle Oblivion, and with one last deep breath he turned around and began walking in silence toward the entrance.

With not a little trouble, Lea slowly pushed open one of the massive doors and found himself momentarily blinded by the bright white walls of the castle, a sharp contrast to the dusk outside. When his eyes refocused he was met with sterile, dead air—there wasn't even dust floating around in it. Lea's footsteps echoed hollowly on the ground as he moved down the spotless floor, eyeing the pillars on the walls warily as if something could leap out from behind them at any second. And of course, at the far end of the entrance hall, the golden double doors overlooked him from atop a few short steps.

"Just like I left it." He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

It felt like a lifetime ago. When they had first arrived in Castle Oblivion, Axel had been the only one who had any sort of idea of what Organization was really doing there; and even then, all Saïx had told him was to search for a place called the Chamber of Waking. He hadn't known what it was, and he hadn't bothered to ask. Orders were orders.

Lea let out a groan of self-loathing. Axel had been an idiot back then.

Upon the Organization's arrival into the cold, empty halls of Castle Oblivion, Marluxia had almost immediately shoved the elder members into the basement. Zexion and Lexaeus had glowered at him angrily while Vexen had ranted and raved, but ultimately all three of them had obeyed their superior's orders and vanished into the lower levels to the sound of Larxene's jeering laughter.

And Axel had stood on the sidelines, completely passive. He didn't care.

"Maybe…I did change," Lea muttered as he stopped in front of the doors. Saïx had told him that once, during the Xion debacle. He had meant that Axel had gone from a cold-blooded assassin to a goofy guy hanging out with kids, but the truth was that was just a reversion to the guy that Lea had always been. No, he had changed, but it had been before that. And honestly? The person that Axel had been for those nine years terrified Lea. His wasn't a situation comparable to Roxas and Sora, who had both gone on to form their own identities separate from each other. Unlike those two, Lea had been nonexistent during Axel's time. Lea was Axel. Lea did do all those things…

Lea shook his head and slapped his face. "What am I doing wasting my time with this stuff? I'm here to find Ventus."

The handles were cold to the touch as Lea reached forward and then pulled the doors open. He instinctively flinched back, expecting a bright light to come from the open doorway as he had witnessed Sora do so many times before, but nothing came. On the other side of the doorway was no world of memory, no illusion from the past. All that Lea saw before him was the twisting and turning mess of corridors, ladders, and stairs that gave Castle Oblivion its name. Making sure the Star Shard was still pocketed safely, Lea took his first step into the chaos and began his journey into the castle's depths.

The halls, of course, were all identical to each other; one was impossible to tell apart from the last. Lea had known that, though, as he should. But there was still a dread feeling in his gut, a nervousness creeping up from the depths of his heart, because every now and then he would see a flash of color in the corner of his eye or echoing voices off in a distant hallway. The castle was reacting to a visitor's presence, but he couldn't allow it to do so.

Stay focused and stay calm. Keep your eyes on the path ahead.

When the Organization had first discovered Castle Oblivion, Xemnas had sent Zexion to figure out what made the place tick. As it turned out, whoever had designed the castle did not want anyone finding what it was made to hold. In retrospect, that had probably been the final clue Xemnas had needed to be sure that the Chamber of Waking was here.

Regardless, there was a lot more to Castle Oblivion than it just being a maze. If you weren't careful, the whole place would turn on you in an instant. The layout, the paths, they could and would change. Rooms were chaotic and malleable; you could go up a ladder and end up on the bottom floor entrance hall. And oh yeah, the memory world thing? That wasn't Naminé's doing. Lea turned his head away from an image of Neverland that appeared ever so briefly.

The method of controlling those illusions, the key card system, had only been invented once Naminé came into the picture a few weeks before Sora's arrival. It was only thanks to her power over memories that Castle Oblivion was even somewhat under the Organization's thumb. With Naminé gone now, this place was back to acting how it was made to: however it wanted. If Lea wasn't careful, he would be trapped in a world of his memories with no way out but the Star Shard and no hope of ever finding Ventus.

And so he pressed forward with his eyes straight ahead and one foot in front of the other.

But the castle was beginning to take its toll. Already, Lea was beginning to feel disoriented. Had that ladder been there a moment ago? Didn't he already pass by that pillar? And how long had he been in this place anyway? Like the Realm of Darkness, time sort of lost all meaning in Castle Oblivion. Lea snickered as he remembered Luxord's first experience here, when his powers had gone all sorts of wonky. That's why he hadn't been assigned to the place for their mission, despite the use of cards he loved so much. But more to the point: when everything back then was over with, Axel had been surprised to learn that Sora's journey within the castle had lasted several days. Time as a concept just didn't exist in this place, yet another way it shut you out.

Lea came to a stop and rubbed his tired eyes. He patted his pocket, making sure the Star Shard was still present, and then placed a hand over his stomach. "What I wouldn't give for some ice cream right about now…"

His voice echoed around him, and for the first time Lea really looked up at the chamber he had found himself in. It was, of course, blindingly white and supported my marvelously crafted pillars. The room was a tall one, with the next door on a balcony near the ceiling, which was connected to the ground floor by a glass spiral staircase.

"Just walking around won't exactly get results. I should be actively searching." He sighed. "What's up with me today? Too caught up in my thoughts, I guess. Xion and Roxas musta rubbed off on me more than I thought."

Lea began to climb to the door, taking each step carefully up the nearly-invisible stairs as there was no railing of any sort on the sides. About halfway up, he came to a halt as…something…could be heard above him. What was that? It was a soft whooshing sound, like a gentle breeze. But Castle Oblivion didn't have many windows, so it couldn't be that…could it? And flowing water made even less sense.

Curious, Lea finished his climb and now stood facing the door. He definitely wasn't imagining things, there was the sound of flowing water coming from the other side of that thing wooden barrier. And… he rubbed his nose. Was that flowers? Sure there were flowers in Castle oblivion, but they were as lifeless as the air in here.

"Something isn't right." Could it be that he had found the Chamber of Waking? Somehow, Lea didn't think it was that easy. Still, there was something besides the normal Castle Oblivion rooms on the other side of this door. Bracing himself, Lea pressed his hand on the door, pushed…

…And opened to a different world.

x-x-x

"Now this right here… Tada! Whaddaya think?" Lea grinned down at the stranger as he showed off his new Bomb-print frisbees, a gift for his birthday the other week. They hung from his fingers as he slowly swung his arms back and forth, anxiously awaiting the blond boy's answer.

"Not a whole lot," the boy replied shortly, turning his head away from Lea.

Well! Lea certainly hadn't been expecting that. Stumbling forward, he tried his best to turn his surprise into aggression and caught himself before he fell on his face. "You're just jealous. I'm Lea." Grinning, he brought a hand up and tapped the side of his head. "Got it memorized?" The boy glanced at him for a moment only to turn away again. Rude! Letting out a huff, Lea stood up straight and rested his hands on his hips. "What's your name?"

The stranger's pause lasted a tad bit longer than it should have, as if he was considering not telling Lea his name. What was this kid's problem? But just as Lea was about to ask again, and not so kindly this time, a single word came out of the kid's mouth. "Ventus."

This kid was too quiet. Something was on his mind, and that wouldn't do. Lea grinned—there was one surefire way he knew to clear your head. "Okay, Ventus. Let's fight!"

Ventus quickly whipped his head around, staring up at Lea with wide eyes. "Fight? Why would I wanna do that?"

Lea crouched down and waved one of his frisbees in Ven's face. "You scared of losing? C'mon." He jumped back a couple of feet and once again held both frisbees at his side, ready to go whether Ven wanted it or not. "Hope you're ready."

Ven sighed…and then laughed. He climbed up to his feet and picked up that dinky wooden sword that Lea had come across a moment ago. He held it with only one hand, and in a reverse grip at that. Was he trying to show off? That was Lea's gig!

But Lea grinned. Ven had taken the bait, hook, like, and sinker. The kid had guts, he'd give him that. "Yeah, now we're talkin'."

"You're gonna be sorry." And both boys charged at each other, meeting in the air in the plaza's center.

Lea brought a frisbee up to block Ven's swing and then knocked the other one into Ven's forearm. When their feet hit the ground Ven jumped back and charged at Lea again, no worse for wear. But as Lea would soon learn, despite his earlier words about Ven's toy sword the kid sure knew what he was doing. Lea and his friends usually just play-fought for fun, but if he didn't know any better he would swear Ventus had actual experience.

Ven ducked under both of Lea's following swings and then swung his sword out. The wood smacked into Lea's sides twice, followed by Ven bringing his fist up to knock the hilt into Lea's jaw. Lea leaned back at the last second and kicked his leg out, aiming to trip Ven up only for the swordsman to jump aside and then smack his free hand into Lea's back and send him toppling forward.

Lea caught himself and spun around, swinging his frisbees at Ven's head. Lea smirked, there was no way he could dodge those two in time. But just before they hit, a powerful wind came out of nowhere flew between the two teens and knocked the frisbees off-course. "Where did that come from?! Crap!"

With the frisbees lying on the ground, Lea was unarmed and open. Following one last strike he landed painfully on his rear and let out a short cry of pain, which slowly gave way to pants as he stopped to catch his breath. "You…had enough? 'Cause I'm willing to…call it a draw if you are."

"Huh?" Ven raised an eyebrow, but his confusion soon gave way to amusement and he let out a short chuckle. "Right."

Footsteps sounded from behind Lea, his best friend Isa approaching the two of them. "From where I stood, the only thing you drew was a big L on your forehead for 'loser,' 'lame,' 'laughable…'"

"Wha—?!" Still on the ground, Lea looked up at Isa and rolled his eyes. "Isn't this the part where ya…cheer me up or somethin'?" He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "'You're just havin' a bad day', or 'That's what you get for pullin' your punches!' Ugh, some friend."

"Oh, you mean I was supposed to lie."

Lea's gaze dropped down to his lap for a moment before he glanced up at Ventus, still standing there with his wooden sword. "Ya see what I gotta put up with?" He fell back onto the ground, his hands behind his neck. "Sure hope you don't have friends like him." But after his biting words, Lea broke into a toothy grin.

Ven looked on in confusion…and then started laughing. Lea couldn't help himself, and found himself joining in on the new kid's laughter. Even the stuffy Isa got a few good chuckles in there. Yeah… This Ven kid was alright. Lea had a feeling they would get along just fine.

But not right now. "Lea, we have to go."

Lea looked up at Isa, and then the two of them looked over to the Bastion that stood tall over the city. This would be their best prank yet. "'Kay." As Isa started walking away, Lea jumped back up to his feet.

"Already?" Disappointed clouded Ven's voice, which stopped Lea for a moment.

"I'll see ya when I see ya. After all, we're friends now." He looked back over his shoulder and smiled. "Get it memorized."

x-x-x

The sunlight filtered down among the fluffy white clouds, illuminating the vast city and towering Bastion. The white and blue roads glistened without any obstructions. Children's laughter and adults' gossip filled the air with joy, accompanied by the chirping of birds and the flow of pristine water fountains. The crystal-clear waters misted over acres of beautiful flowers every shade of the rainbow, the flowers in turn filling the air with their myriad of scents. Lea swallowed, wetting his rapidly drying throat as he took in it all.

"I'm…home..."

Radiant Garden.

It's funny, he thought absently as he stared at the familiar sights and breathed in the familiar air. As much as he touted the importance of memory and told people to get things memorized, Lea himself never lingered very long on the past. Except for his friendship with Isa he hadn't given his childhood so much as a passing thought in the last dozen or so years. And yet now here he was, his eyes wide and his feet glued to the ground as he stood in his home. Nostalgia's one hell of a drug, I guess.

It had to be subconscious. He must not have been on focused on Ven and the Chamber as he thought if Castle Oblivion had reacted the way it did and created this world. And honestly? A small part of him was glad for it. This was… Wow.

Lea willed his legs forward, his heavy, sluggish feet lifting off the paved walkway as he took in just where in Radiant Garden he was. Even though it had been over a decade since he had been here, his surroundings were still fresh in his mind. This was his home, his street—he turned around and felt his eyes begin to water involuntarily. It was his house that he stood before, his boyhood home exactly as he remembered it, with the Leonhart household across the street and—

Lea froze.

His home had been next to another's, so close that the two boys could converse out their bedroom windows. An old tree sat between the two houses, allowing the rambunctious kids to climb across into one another's house, much to their families' distress. And as Lea looked up at his old window, he found an identical head of hair already up there—with another alongside it.

Isa.

The teenage Lea was speaking to his best friend, completely ignoring his adult self's existence. Perhaps that was for the better. Either way, Lea found himself feeling the same as his younger counterpart; he was also too focused on the blue-haired boy in the other house, and once again his legs had given out on him. Memories were one thing, but to see Isa in the flesh…

His old friend looked just like he remembered him, with his hair blowing in the warm breeze and his green eyes sparkling as he laughed at something the younger Lea had said. His usual blue sweater—Isa had loved that sweater—was tied around his waist, a sight that belatedly triggered Lea's memory. He knew exactly when this conversation had taken place. It was before their freshman year of high school—the first day on their last week of summer vacation.

Stupid… It's not real. Lea looked down at the ground and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. It was just the castle messing with him, as it always did. This is what Castle Oblivion's creator had designed it to do, to protect the Chamber of Waking. "Well whoever that was, he's doing a damn good job of keeping me here."

But he couldn't stay. Lea smacked himself in the face, trying to wake himself up from the daze that his arrival here had put him in. "Get it memorized, it's just a fake." His voice shook as he reassured himself—none of this was real. He'd just be lost in the world of his own memories if he let Castle Oblivion have its way with him. "I need to find the way out of here."

Lea practically had to lift his legs with his hands to get them to move, but soon enough he was walking down the street and trying his best to ignore all the playing children around him. But he couldn't help one last glance over his shoulder at the two teenagers still chatting to each other across their windows without a care in the world.

Damn it.

Lea didn't know how long he wandered Radiant Garden's streets, weaving through the crowds. He didn't know where he was going either, but to his surprise he found that he didn't even need to think about it. This place, the place he used to love—he knew it like the back of his hand. And so he continued to walk, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the ground, as he moved without a thought or a word through Radiant Garden.

He only came to a stop when he finally realized that the pavement beneath his feet had shifted to soft, dew-covered grass. A curious sound escaped his mouth as his head turned up, Lea finally registering his surroundings. He was near the stone walls surrounding the city, where a forest grew with a crystal-clear, bright blue river running through it. A fallen tree crossed the river, forming a natural bridge just before a small flower-covered hill that the river flowed gently down.

Once again, Lea found himself rooted to the spot where he stood. Somehow, someway, he had come back here again. In his mind's eye he could see two boys sitting on that log, bare feet in the river as they ate ice cream together. This was it—his and Isa's 'secret spot.' They discovered it as little kids, only soon after they first met. And if Lea remembered correctly…

He hopped off the log, landing on a rock just big enough for one person that jutted out of the water. Crouching down, from here Lea could barely make out a cave hidden in the shaded space between the surface of the river and the fallen tree. He was too big for it now, he had been too big for it for most of his life, but when he and Isa were in elementary school they had used that cave as a hideout. Eventually, as it had gotten too small for growing boys, they had taken to using the surrounding forest instead. But it still remained there, and that brought Lea some comfort at least.

Wha— No, it doesn't. Lea shook his head frantically and stood up as quick as he could, jumping off the stone and back onto the bank of the river. He wasn't actually in Radiant Garden, and his old hangout wasn't actually here. "Radiant Garden is Hollow Bastion," he murmured to himself. "And I'm at Castle Oblivion. I'm looking for Ventus, and the—"

"The Chamber of Waking."

Lea froze at the new voice. Almost subconsciously fire began to swirl in his palms and form into his chakrams as he spun around to face the newcomer on the other side of the river. He stood completely still, the wind blowing neither the long black coat nor the hood he used to hide his face.

Lea brandished his chakrams threateningly. "Is that you Xehanort? Did you follow me all the way here to get to Ven? Well it's not happening!"

The hooded man said nothing, still standing there without a move. Lea frowned; had he just imagined him speaking earlier? Who was this guy? He shouldn't have been in Radiant Garden, not in that outfit, so he couldn't be part of the memory world…could he?

The man didn't give Lea time to ask. The next thing the redhead knew, the man was charging toward him at frightening speeds. Gasping in shock, Lea flung his chakrams up in front of his face just in time to block a swing from the hooded man's massive sword. The force of the impact kicked up wind around the two of them, blowing back the man's hood and revealing his face. Lea's breath caught in his throat, his whole body freezing as he choked out the name.

"Isa…!"

CRACK! The spiked claymore slammed into Lea's side and sent him flying into the river, his chakrams vanishing in a flicker of embers. With shaking arms, Lea pushed himself up and climbed out of the water just in time to get struck by another mighty blow. He crashed right through a tree, splinters flying everywhere as the trunk shattered.

Before Lea had a chance to recover he was attacked again. The claymore was brought down on him like a hammer, its spikes tearing at his clothing though thankfully the damage to his body was minimal. Before the follow-up came he forced himself to his feet and flung out two fireballs, but they were both blown out of the air by a shockwave that flew out of the mighty sword as it howled through the air.

The shockwave collided with Lea, knocking him skyward where he was met once more by the dangerous weapon of a dangerous man. Lea spun around as best he could, blocking the oncoming attack with one chakram and then tossing the other one out. Its flaming spikes caught on the black leather and lit it ablaze, but his opponent didn't react one bit as the embers licked at his sleeve. His focus was entirely on Lea as he brought a crushing fist surging with magic down on the redhead's chest.

Lea was sure he coughed up blood as he crashed once more into the ground. He lay on his back, the figure above him silhouetted against the light of the sun except for his glowing golden eyes.

Lea winced. He hated seeing it, hated seeing what Isa had become. But there he was looking him in the eyes, blue hair and all. The X-shaped scasr were a horrible reminder of just who it was that had changed him. And now Isa was going to kill him.

"You've changed."

Lea let out a defeated chuckle at the voice, and the words he had heard that voice say so many times. Lea hated hearing it, even Axel had. Hearing such a cold, heartless voice come out of his old friend's mouth had torn him up inside. And now, staring up into that face, his eyes locked on the twin scars framed by blue locks, he finally realized why that was.

Isa was dead. Isa had been dead for years. He died even before he had lost his heart

Saïx was not Isa.

Lea jumped onto his feet and rolled out of the way of Saïx's next attack. He willed his chakrams back into his hands and tossed them at the blue-haired Nobody with all he had, the metal rings catching fire in midair. Moments before they collided with Saïx, which he would no doubt have blocked, the chakrams flew off in different directions and began to circle the area. A ring of fire erupted out of the ground in their wake, rising up to form a wall around the combatants. As the chakrams returned to Lea's hands he cast another spell, igniting the earth beneath their feet.

But the flames didn't stop Saïx. He charged at Lea, only for Lea to throw up a wall of fire between the two of them. It didn't hold Saïx back for long, but by the time he had broken through Lea had already jumped back into the flames surrounding them. Hidden behind the orange and red glow, Lea sprinted around the edge of the battlefield and then leaped out at Saïx from behind. His opponent was caught off-guard as Lea tossed his chakrams into his back, which exploded like bombs before flying back to him. When Saïx recovered and spun around, Lea vanished once more into the wall of fire.

He struck from another angle, dashing at Saïx and digging the spikes on his chakrams into his arms before he could react. Saïx let out a roar of pain and jabbed an elbow into Lea's gut before spinning around and striking him with his claymore. But Lea recovered, spinning around midair and introducing Saïx's face to his foot.

Saïx staggered back, a hand on his chin. He raised his claymore into the sky and it began to glow with a brilliant blue light, which caught Lea completely by surprise. It was the middle of the day! How was he powered by the moon?!

"Let's see if you've got this memorized!" Saïx roared, jumping into the air and then bringing his claymore down for a massive shockwave which sent Lea flying. He repeated this process again and again, juggling Lea in the air for a few excruciatingly painful moments before hammering him down to the ground and then swinging his claymore with such force that the wind it kicked up doused his flames.

Pain racked Lea's body, but he fought nonetheless. He stood defiantly, his arms at his sides and holding tightly onto his swinging chakrams. Their surroundings were destroyed, burnt and shattered. The river had been demolished in a mudslide and the fallen tree burnt to a crisp. Lea looked up, toward the small hill, and noticed a small cavern still standing above the riverbed. A shaky smile crossed his face.

Lea ducked under both of Saïx's following swings and then swung his chakrams out. The superheated spikes dug into Saïx's sides twice, followed by Lea bringing his fist up to knock the wheel into Saïx's jaw. Saïx leaned back at the last second and kicked his leg out, aiming to trip Lea up only for the man to jump aside and then smack his hand into Saïx's back and send him toppling forward.

x-x-x

"Isa! Isa, where are you, man?"

Lea wandered the twisting, turning halls of the Bastion, and not for the first time. It had been several months since their first venture in here, when then had gotten thrown out by those two asshole guards Dilan and Aeleus. Well, Isa said they were just doing their jobs, but Lea still thought they were assholes.

They had given the Bastion a bit of time to let their guard down before trying again, but somehow he and Isa had gotten separated from each other in the dark halls. Talk about bad luck. And with those rumors of missing kids going around recently, Lea would be lying if he said he wasn't just a little nervous. But don't tell Isa that.

"Isa! Dude, can you hear me or not?" Lea's voice wasn't very loud, in all honestly. He was impulsive, but he wasn't dumb. He knew that if he was too loud he'd just get caught and thrown out.

"As soon as I find him I promise I'll leave."

Isa! That was definitely Isa's voice coming from further down the hall. Grinning like an idiot, Lea began moving down the way he had heard it. He couldn't wait; since he found Isa first, that meant Isa couldn't rub Lea getting lost in his face. Heck, maybe he'd taunt Isa about it!

"As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be known as that…of a recusant."

Lea frowned as he heard the new voice, walking slightly faster even if he didn't know why. Who was that, and what was he talking to Isa about? Sigils…? Well, it sounded like they were just around the corner, so—

As Lea rounded the corner, the blood drained from his face. His legs and arms grew numb at the sight, refusing to budge. Isa wasn't alone; a silver-haired man stood with his back facing Lea and some bizarre sword in his hand. But Lea's focus wasn't on him, it was on his friend. Isa stood with his hand over his face, his eyes wide and his body shaking in horror. Twin red streaks crossed his forehead, blood dripping down to pool between his fingers.

x-x-x

"I may have changed, Isa… But you did, too."

Lea stood over Saïx as the latter rolled over onto his back, his claymore vanishing from his outstretched arms. The two men stared at each other in silence on the ashen earth, saying nothing as a million thoughts and memories moved through their minds.

Finally, Saïx chuckled lightly and closed his green eyes. "I…suppose I did."

And he began to fade, not as a Nobody but as just another figment of Lea's memory. With him went the surroundings, the burnt forest giving way to the blank white walls of Castle Oblivion's entrance hall. Closing his eyes and breathing in deeply, Lea dismissed his chakrams. With a single tear he turned away and reached for the Star Shard, leaving the last remnants of his childhood behind.