burgeoning replacements
5 - sparks
To Axel's surprise, Ixta didn't push past him and tackle the Keyblade Master in some big sister bearhug. He wasn't even sure what he'd expected her to do if they ever found her precious Sora, but it definitely wasn't her asking to RTC so she could submit her report at once.
There he was—the entire reason for her non-existence. The focus of all her memories. Axel understood not being able to approach him, but she'd just turned around and summoned a Corridor. The mission was to scout, she said. My Other would be happy to see him, but now that we know he's also the Keyblade Master, we have to report back.
Well, it was none of his business if she wanted to be a Nobody about the whole finding-her-brother thing. But that they were related was entirely the Organization's business. So when the castle was finally asleep, Axel found himself sweeping into Saïx's room. Barging in unannounced was fine for them—or at least that was how it was for their Others. It was one of the few things Saïx hadn't done away with since he started rising in the Organization's ranks.
"Did you know?"
"Axel," Saïx greeted. He didn't glance up from the reports he was reading. "What do you want?"
"Don't play dumb. Did you know the new girl was the Keyblade Master's older sister?"
Saïx paused, setting the files properly on his desk and turning to face him. "Don't you trust me to tell you something so vital?"
Axel's clenched fist relaxed. It was a reflex action that meant nothing to either of them. "But Xemnas knew, didn't he? That's why he took her in so quickly. Why he needed her to know how to act exactly like her Other. He doesn't show up for just anything."
"The girl is our 13th member. He had to see her for himself."
"Why?" When the man gave him a blank look equivalent to a noncommittal shrug, Axel snorted. "One step behind again. Fantastic."
"It's irrelevant," Saïx insisted. "Now we understand why it is crucial that her memory recall be perfect. And if he knew it, the information no longer belongs to Lord Xemnas alone. You are XIII's mentor. Should the boy refuse to fulfill his duty, the sister will come into play."
"And you think I can control her?" Axel crossed his arms. "She's obsessed with that kid now. What makes you think she'll stick with us once she really starts acting like her Other?"
"You said she smiled when she saw him and yet chose to submit her report. She no longer needs a leash—she is already in our grasp. All you need to do is maintain control. Ensure she doesn't step out of line."
Axel paused, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "Okay. And her missions?"
"She will continue to carry them out," Saïx says. "Her schedule remains the same as any member, only with your training added. Ixta is not so special or utterly necessary that she must receive extraordinary treatment. Don't you agree?"
He shrugged. "Because contingency plans are like that, right?"
Saïx gave a wry smile. "Exactly."
The summer sun was especially hot, beating down on their islands in unrelenting waves – and that was exactly why it was the perfect day to go to the beach.
"Come on!" she laughed over her shoulder, holding her surfboard over her head as she padded through the hot sand. Once she reached the shore, she dumped it at her feet. After a while, Sora and Riku managed to drag their shared board next to her. She wasn't surprised. They were only eight, after all. More or less.
"Sora! Tai! Riku!" Some ways from the shore, their mothers called out, each holding a camera. "Smile!"
Riku sighed when it was over. "Okay, now can we go?"
"Huh? Aren't we gonna wait for Kairi?" asked Sora. The mayor's wife was still lathering a generous amount of sunblock on the girl's face.
"We won't go very far," she answered, grabbing Riku's wrist when he tried to go ahead before her signal. "It's just balancing on the surfboard."
"Oh. Okay, I'm ready!" Sora grinned toothily. His face fell after a beat, one brow precociously quirked at his sister. "...Are you sure this is safe?"
Laughter. It would be the last time the boy would ever think before rushing headlong into any activity. "I would never lead you to danger, Sora. Mom would kill me!"
In the Grey Area, Marluxia and Larxene sat side-by-side on the couch. Recruited almost immediately after one another, they had seen early on that the first six members had a clique of their own while the latter half was odd and disjointed. Saïx was too concerned with missions to fraternize, Axel was flippant and yet somehow managed to keep to himself, and Demyx and Luxord were too whiny and too strange, respectively, to endure for more than half an hour. And so, in an unspoken agreement, XI and XII had found the most tolerable company in each other.
Glancing up from cleaning her knives, Larxene peered at their newest member sitting quietly on the other side of the room. Ixta was staring out the window – a common sight since they found out that the Keyblade Master was her brother. Larxene had tried taunting her about it, but she was always too busy spacing out with a dumb grin on her face to even pretend to care. It would have infuriated the Nymph if she had a heart. Instead, she only laughed.
"She looks even more clueless than usual."
Relaxing with a book after a particularly grueling mission, Marluxia looked at Larxene before following her gaze. They seldom spoke, but it wasn't an unwelcome topic. He had thought on the matter himself. "Those two are...curious."
Larxene arched a brow at him.
He explained, "Siblings with such strong hearts—and yet while the Keyblade chose one, the other was swallowed by the darkness and spat out to become...nothing. I can see why Xemnas keeps her despite her...odd behavior. When it comes to matters of the heart, connections can make or break even the most powerful creatures."
"...What in the worlds are you talking about?"
Marluxia opened his mouth, but pursed his lips at two figures walking into the area: another blond and a younger man with a dark grey mop on his head. Without so much as a cursory glance to the other three in the room, the two murmured to each other, nodding emphatically or, in Zexion's case, giving an occasional hum to signal comprehension. And then, with a wave from Vexen, both opened their own Corridors and disappeared.
"Ugh," Larxene spat. "Those two are hateful. They act like they're better than the rest of us just because they were Nobodies first? They were the ones who couldn't put up a fight against the Heartless long enough to stop their hearts from getting stolen."
She turned to Marluxia expectantly, but he only looked thoughtful. A small smile played on his lips. "So you think Lord Xemnas is the weakest of us for being the first?"
Larxene's eyes widened. "I didn't say that!" she snapped. At once, she began to doubt her decision to tolerate him. When he said nothing in reply, only returning her expectant stare from earlier, she continued, eyes narrowed. "Think about it. Just because their hearts got snatched first..."
"I understand your meaning," he interrupted. "I've had the same thoughts."
Larxene relaxed, face almost brightening – until a shuffle sounded from across the area. Ixta rose, walking to the center of the room and opening a Corridor in freer space.
"Ixta?" Marluxia called out. They hadn't quite spoken since her dinner save the girl's greetings upon seeing them, but he was aware that his beauty had a certain pull on her. "Where are you going?"
She glanced over, finally acknowledging them with a smile. It was new and already abused, in Larxene's opinion, but even she admitted that it was a big improvement. Before their most recent discovery, even Lexaeus couldn't stand it. "Into this Corridor," she answered, and stepped in.
Larxene sneered. "She's almost as irritating as Vexen."
The sound of another Corridor bursting open interrupted Marluxia's reply. Scratching the back of his head, Axel emerged with a look of displeasure. He turned when he caught them from the corner of his eye. "Hey."
Marluxia nodded. Larxene smiled sweetly. "You just missed your favorite member."
The words didn't catch up with the redhead. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," the woman singsonged.
"I'd ask if I wasn't playing errand boy," Axel reassured her, then glanced between the both of them. "Either of you seen Ixta?"
"Not as yet today, no," replied Marluxia, and Larxene didn't protest. Both had always found his assignment to her suspect. Axel was, first and foremost, a fighter. Asking him to mentor anyone made as much sense as asking Xigbar not to aim and shoot.
"Gotta go hunting, then. See you around," he nodded, giving them a two-finger salute before walking off. He looked over his shoulder only when he was out of sight. He'd never realized that Marluxia and Larxene were that close.
Watching him go, Larxene rolled her eyes. "We have a lot to talk about."
Marluxia smiled, gaze still fixed on the dark hallway leading away from the Grey Area. "I believe we do."
She wasn't supposed to be here.
Once it became known that their long-awaited Keyblade-wielder was none other than her Sora, Ixta was ordered to provide the Organization with all her memories of the boy – for what better source than his own sister's Nobody? – but she could give nothing that might explain his being chosen. And then, when it was decided that there was no more information in the girl, Xemnas removed her from reconnaissance duty.
To protect you, he said, and she could understand that. But she couldn't help herself.
She needed to see him. Not for her own desire, but for her memories. Ixta recalled no new memories since before her recruitment into the Organization. But ever since that night in Traverse Town, she had begun to remember things. Small ones – words said between her and Sora, disjointed sentences, echoes with little context – but memories all the same. And just a while ago...
A morning surfing at the beach. The sun on her face, the laughter in her belly. Ixta had almost felt warmth until she realized that it meant nothing to her. But the memory of feeling joy was the reason she could feign a smile without eliciting a grimace from the others, and she needed more of it. Once she accomplished that, she would bring Sora into the fold to help them regain hearts, and she would be Ixta no more.
To that end, she took a Corridor to Traverse Town. The Second District remained evacuated, teeming as it did with Heartless. This part of town especially reminded her of the Castle and the dark world beneath it. All flashing lights and pretty signs with a more homely splash of color, but empty save for the squeaking shadows. Her Other would have been disappointed – she had liked shopping with Sora. Or did that only apply to groceries? She supposed it was for the best. She didn't want to risk being seen in her coat again, and these empty shops were the best place to purchase clothes to blend in. Her Other had favored cropped tops and dark leggings, and Ixta found a top whose shade of green she particularly remembered seeing in her closet.
"You look great!" she said, brushing a hand through her hair. The action appeared familiar to her, but her tone of voice sounded odd. She would have to ask Axel and work on that later.
Her clothes seemed to lack something, though. Not enough...
"Belts," Ixta realized aloud.
There were none in this shop. She had already searched it. So, setting a pile of munny atop the abandoned cash register, she set out for another store – in vain. There were no belts – only a lone shadow lifting itself from the floor's surface across the plaza.
With a flick of her wrist, Ixta gripped Gorgoneion – named by Zexion, though she didn't understand why – and pointed it at the rising Heartless. It was one she recognized as the White Mushroom, aptly named for its red cap and what appeared to be a white smock over its body. According to the Organization's files, they were mostly harmless, and special in that they were prone to dancing and only ran away when they attacked. This one only stared at her with its beady yellow eyes from beneath its cap.
"Ow," Ixta murmured. As soon as she recognized it, her focus on Gorgoneion slipped. A cold pain jolted like lightning through her skull, and she was barely able to keep her eyes on the creature as she struggled to stay on her feet, propping herself up against a bench.
A sunny day, as always.
The pain shot through her chest as she drew the curtains closed. She curled up to her knees on the side of her bed, but that didn't help. Why didn't Kain like her? She just couldn't understand. She was beautiful, too. What was she doing wrong? Wasn't she interesting enough? Smart enough? What did Rosa have that she didn't?
"Go away," Ixta groaned, gripping her head. As though it understood her, the Heartless whirled, arms on its cap, squirming and turning for the door to the First District, but it seemed rooted to its spot as well. The memory felt like it was flooding her body. Other things came to her simultaneously—sights, words, emotions, smells, but this one was the most vivid at the moment. It pulled her, pushed, heaved, like it wanted to turn her inside out and back. She breathed heavily, focusing on her surroundings as Lexaeus had taught her, but it was difficult. Her vision was going dark.
She tried to resist, swallowing down her emotion, but that only made it worse. The lump in her throat was too much to bear. Her vision blurred with tears.
"Tai!" a small voice called out. The hallway creaked with heavy, eager footsteps. "Tai, guess what happened at school today!"
She froze. Quickly, she lowered her legs to the floor and wiped her eyes on her sleeves. Turning to the door, she received him with a smile. "Yeah, Sora?"
"Hyyyyah!"
The White Mushroom disappeared with a gust of darkness as the spinning blades of a large weapon made contact with it.
"Hey!" an angry voice yelled from above.
Ixta stood, regaining her balance as a girl almost her age landed before her, deftly catching what now appeared to a shuriken in her hand. Her short hair was ruffled over her face from her leap, so she brushed it away with a flick of her head. That done, she focused a furious look on Ixta.
"What do you think you're doing?" she gasped, reaching for Ixta. The Nobody tried to dodge, but the girl was surprisingly agile and snatched her wrist without missing a beat. "Didn't you see the sign? Second District closed. Your heart could've been taken, you know!"
The girl dragged a reluctant Ixta to the gigantic wooden doors leading to the First District. "I'm sorry?" she ventured, hoping remorse was audible in her tone. She was still wondering what had happened with that White Mushroom. Not even Zexion was able to do that to her with his illusions. Had it even been the Heartless? Or was it the memory that caused her pain?
"You'd be sorrier if I wasn't around!" the girl declared, but paused to finally gauge her newest refugee. "Huh. I've never seen you around here before." When she was certain the coast was clear, the girl led Ixta to the First District and slammed the doors shut. "But you know something?"
"I know a few things," Ixta answered.
The girl gave her a funny look before speaking again, dragging her across the square close to the restaurant where Ixta had first seen Sora. He wasn't there tonight. "You look really familiar. Have we met before?"
Ixta sensed him faintly before, but his presence was clear to her now. The feeling of his boundless energy tugged at her. To her surprise, this girl seemed formidable herself. "No," Ixta answered absentmindedly. It was only when she saw that they had stopped in order to let the girl stare at her that she stood at attention. "We haven't met before." Was this someone from the islands? But she couldn't be. Otherwise she might remember her Other. "Who are you?"
"I thought you'd never ask!" the girl exclaimed, and pointed to herself in a large gesture of pride. "I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie."
"I see. Then we've never met."
Yuffie scoffed, sounding offended. Even then, her pout stretched into a wide grin. "Oh! I know! You look a lot like this kid who's been dropping by lately—Sora!" she nodded vigorously, beckoning as she started moving again, pushing past the flow of people. "Know a kid by that name?"
Ixta followed, admittedly surprised. The First District was so full that she hadn't expected anyone else to know Sora. Then again, he was an amiable boy who could find friends in whoever he met – but this girl couldn't know that she knew that.
"No."
She had direct orders not to make contact with Sora, and she wouldn't disobey them. Not to mention she barely sounded like Tai as she remembered her. Meeting him now would surely bring about her own destruction.
Yuffie frowned. "You sure? Blue eyes like yours? Spiky brown hair? Now that I think about it, you look just like him. But with tamer hair," she grinned.
Ixta shook her head. "I don't know a Sora."
"Hmm..." Yuffie tapped an index finger at her lower lip. "Oh, I know! All he ever talks about are Kairi and Riku. Are you either of them?"
"No," she repeated. "Because I don't know anyone named Sora."
Yuffie squinted at her. "Maybe you just have amnesia. It can't be a coincidence that you look so much alike. Lucky for you, Sora's in town! Here we are," she sang, motioning to the accessory shop. Standing before the double doors, Ixta only realized then that her sense of Sora's strength had magnified while she was thinking. Only this door stood between the two of them now.
With a wink, Yuffie turned to the doors and gave both a big swing open – then struck a pose. "Hey, guys! Sora! There's someone I want you to meet."
Inside the accessory shop, Aerith and Leon stood near the counter by Cid. Sora sat on the couch between Donald and Goofy, chatting away about the latest world they'd visited.
"Welcome back, Yuffie," Aerith smiled. "Who is it?"
"Is it Kairi?" Sora grinned.
"Nope," said Yuffie. "Oh, actually, I don't know her name. Hey—"
Yuffie turned around, stiffened, glanced back at the others, then turned again. When she faced her friends a third time, she was wearing a frown. "That's weird. She was right there, I swear!"
Cid quirked a brow, scratching his head. "You been eatin' Merlin's cookies again?"
Yuffie scoffed. "Maybe yours!"
"What was that? We all know my cookies beat that wizard's by a mile and then some. Conjurin' sweets instead of bakin' em like yer s'posed to..." Cid grumbled.
"I think they're both great," said Aerith.
"Gawrsh, Yuffie," Goofy blinked. "Maybe you should sit down."
Leon nodded. There was a long pause before he spoke. "I agree. You've been on patrol for a while."
"Hey! I'm not crazy," Yuffie insisted. "Sora, she looked just like you. The hair color, the eyes, the works!"
"Okay, we believe you," Donald teased. "Right, Sora?"
Sora's brows furrowed, meeting Yuffie's gaze with genuine worry. For a second, the ninja was ready to rub that in all their faces – until the boy shook his head. His somber features broke into a grin. "Yeah, we believe you!"
All Yuffie could do was groan. "Unbelievable."
Outside the accessory shop, Ixta watched the scene in curiosity. It was a good thing she'd acted swiftly and cast Vanish on herself before Sora could lay his eyes on her. She tried to think as Yuffie closed the door in confusion and she watched them laugh, but she remembered nothing after leaving her parents to find Sora. It wasn't likely that her parents made it off the island. Sora had only escaped by virtue of the Keyblade.
Did Kairi and Riku? It made sense that he would search for them. They were, after all, his best friends.
Ixta watched Sora laugh at something the woman in pink said.
Opening a Corridor, she left Traverse Town at once.
Axel leaned against the wall, tapping his feet every so often. Not that he could feel boredom or frustration, but there were better things he could be doing with his time. Eating ice cream, for example. Destroying Heartless for the fun of it. Eating ice cream.
...So there wasn't much he could do. Saïx hadn't wanted to vanquish Heartless in a while. The appearance of the Keyblade Master was giving him more paperwork to do (or something), and Axel had to admit he wasn't much into reading. He wasn't the type to spend his free time poring over Organization files on Heartless just to know what kind of enemy he was facing. He wasn't Ixta.
Speaking of which –
"Where is she?"
"We are unsure, my liege," said the Assassin hunched before him. It swayed its arms and head as it spoke. "The Devouts refuse to speak."
"Really?" Axel quirked a brow. "I thought they were gossips."
"They are. But they insist on their own ignorance."
Axel sighed and waved it away. He couldn't believe he was taking Ixta's advice. Was he to be blamed, though? Really? After a diligent search around the castle and worlds she knew weren't destroyed, he'd come up with nothing. Ixta wasn't the type to wander – he had no idea where she was. And XI and XII insisted they hadn't seen her all day, either. Where else was he going to look besides where she'd eventually end up?
Nowhere – and he wasn't kidding. That was exactly how Axel found himself standing outside XIII's room.
He was just about to chalk it up to her finally being careless enough to get destroyed by some Heartless when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway.
Just like Axel's entire day, Ixta was – off. She was walking slowly, and Ixta never did that. While she wasn't usually in a hurry to get around everywhere, a moderate pace was her average speed—quickly enough to get where she needed to around the Castle without a Corridor, but never slow enough that he wished she took a Corridor instead. He was still a little miffed at Zexion for teaching her to summon one. He and Saïx had agreed that keeping her without a means to leave the castle on her own would help them keep an eye on her, but the Schemer had gone ahead and taught her how. Well, no hard feelings. She was going to pester him eventually, and better someone else than him, he guessed.
When he snapped out of his thoughts, she was still walking toward him.
"Ixta," he called out to her. "Lose a bet with Luxord?"
She looked up. "Hello, Axel. No I didn't."
"Okay then. Have you just been walking around the castle all day?"
Ixta shook her head. "No."
Something was definitely up. She wasn't completely forthcoming with her thoughts anymore since their training began, but she was to him compared with how she was to the others.
Axel sighed, scratching at his head again. She would at least recognize that as a sign of supposed irritation without him having to say it. "Lemme ask you a question."
If she noticed, she gave no indication. "Yes?"
"Why did you run away from Sora? He's technically your brother, right?"
Ixta glanced behind him at her door. "It was a recon mission. We weren't supposed to engage him."
Axel crossed his arms, bearing down on her. "Really? That's all you have to say about that?"
Ixta said nothing. All she did was lift a hand, two fingers reaching for his face—
Axel grabbed her wrist before she could. "Whoa, what are you doing?" he frowned. "I didn't think I had to make a rule for inappropriate touching. No touching anyone without their permission, all right? Ever. What's going on?"
"I'm sorry," she said automatically, watching him steadily. "I was just curious—about your tattoos. They look like tears."
"These?" He asked, free hand reaching for the marks beneath his eyes. "Nah..." And then, remembering himself, Axel lowered her arm and made sure it stayed at her side. He watched her with a furrowed brow. "Do you think you should feel like crying because you finally saw him again?"
"No," she answered easily. "Axel, may I ask an invasive question?"
He wondered what it was this time, but at least she was doing more than just answering his questions at the moment. It had to be related to that kid. Why else would she be acting like this, right? "Go ahead."
"Sora was the one my Other cherished the most," said Ixta. "Who was the one you cared for the most? Did you have a brother or a sister, too?"
Axel's eyes widened. No one had ever asked him that before. And he didn't mean Nobody. "Where did you go that you got this into your head?"
"I asked first," said Ixta.
"Fine," Axel shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you could say I had a brother before."
Ixta took a step closer. "A younger brother, too?"
"Ah, no. Actually, we were just friends. But he was my best friend—so we were practically like brothers."
"I see. So your friend was the most important to you."
"I'm sure you had friends, too," Axel offered, though he had no idea where this was going. Ixta usually had a point when she rambled.
"I did," she confirmed. "I just don't remember a thing about them. Am I cruel for that? For caring about my brother more than my own friends? Am I wrong to?"
"I don't think so," Axel shrugged. Since when had she been concerned about being cruel? Or even wrong? "Priorities, y'know? Everyone has 'em, but it won't be the same for all of us. You have yours. I have mine. For Xaldin," he grinned, "it's the Organization. Got it memorized?"
Ixta was quiet. It wasn't really for a while, but it was long enough to be odd. And then she nodded in acceptance. "Thank you, Axel."
She sidestepped him in order to enter her room, but turned at the last minute. "Oh," she said, meeting his curious gaze. "How was your day?"
"Okay, I guess," he answered. "Weirder now that I've talked to you."
He was smiling, and Ixta knew he was both joking and feigning amusement. She returned it with a smile he knew was perfunctory. He had to admit—she'd perfected it. Or was it that seeing Sora had perfected it for her?
"You win some, and you lose some," she said. "Good night, Axel." With that, she entered her room and shut the door behind her.
"Right," Axel rolled his eyes. "You need to stop hanging out with Luxord."
"I don't hang out with Luxord," she answered from the door. "I'm going to sleep now."
Axel blinked, then laughed as he left the hallway.
"Damn it," he muttered when he arrived at his own room. Of course he'd forgotten to tell her about their mission tomorrow. He could pop into her room, but decided not to bother her anymore. When Ixta said she was going to sleep, she was going to do just that. Sometimes he forgot she was still a zombie.
Ixta found herself surrounded with unfamiliar white halls the next day. It wasn't their castle, she knew, because lesser Nobodies liked to wander there, and this place was empty. It did, however, have a little more to it than just white. Odd symbols were sculpted against the walls and columns, but they were unknown to her. They called it Castle Oblivion – but its halls seemed to stretch endlessly into each other, as if doors and stairs were only a formality. It didn't feel like a castle from the inside.
"What is this place?"
"Xemnas found it a while back," answered Axel, her assigned companion for the day. She had thought she was finished taking missions with other members, but this was upon special request of the Superior, he'd said. Seeing no harm in it, she didn't complain.
"Lord Xemnas," she repeated. "I wonder how he came to discover what he was in the beginning. I never would have imagined that I was a Nobody."
Walking ahead of her, Axel didn't respond. Ixta caught up with him to glance at his face, wondering if she had somehow offended him, but she hadn't said anything wrong. Then again, maybe he simply didn't know what to say. She knew little of the Superior except that he would lead them to their hearts again, and she didn't expect Axel to have more information. He didn't seem to care very much for Lord Xemnas. Not the way Saïx did.
"The castle is going to be the Organization's second base of operations," said Axel, and Ixta realized that he must not have heard her, after all. She didn't press the issue; she had only wondered aloud, and the answer was unnecessary. "Or so Saïx tells me."
"Is there a reason we need a second base?" she asked. "The castle is large enough. Sometimes I can't find Demyx when Saïx tells me to find him."
"That's not because of the castle," Axel smirked as he glanced back at her. "Anyway, I'd tell you if I knew. All I know is we're supposed to sweep the place and check for Heartless. Sense anything?"
She shook her head 'no.' "But..."
He quirked a brow.
"Wait," said Ixta. "Do you sense that?"
"I don't have your power, so no."
"But it's..." Ixta turned to the door at the end of the hall. It would lead to stairs, which would lead to another hall, at the end of which there would be another door opening to another flight of stairs. She knew that, but this thing had been at the back of her mind ever since she stepped into this castle. As though someone was calling her, and she kept forgetting to glance back. "There."
Without another word, she ran for the door.
"Hey!" Axel called, turning on his heel to give chase. "Ixta!"
By the time he caught up with her – two halls over, and only because she'd let him – Axel was already frowning. It wasn't that her running off upset him; only that he had stopped liking surprises a long time ago.
"Well?"
"I can't find it. It should be here," she answered, hand pressed against a pillar. She looked like a lunatic talking to the walls, but he didn't care enough to make a comment at the moment. If there was something in here, he wanted to know. They'd been searching this place regularly and had found nothing. Not that it was any more comforting now – it was Xemnas's idea that Ixta might have the ability to sense what the others couldn't.
"Find what? Zexion already gave this place a whiff and didn't smell anything."
Ixta glanced at him, removing her glove and touching the wall with her bare palm. After a second or so, she shook her head and put it back on. "So you've been here before?"
He saw no point in hiding it now. "Yeah. This place is a mystery. Partly why we haven't started operations – it's a little harder to get around here if you don't pay attention."
"Oh," said Ixta, accepting the information, then decided it was best to move on. "There are no Heartless here – only it. Whatever it is, I can't reach it. Maybe we need to destroy this wall."
"Tried that already," said Axel. "Xaldin and Lexaeus had a field day testing the durability of the castle. All that did was open the way to another hallway a few floors up or down. Then, once they left, the destroyed area disappeared like it never happened."
"Is it that the castle is indestructible?" Ixta asked. "Or that it toys with your memories?"
"Vexen said it's the memories, but he can't get anything past that."
"...Oh," said Ixta, accepting the information with a nod. She didn't say more.
Axel's eyes narrowed, and then he shrugged. "Well, if you really haven't found anything, I guess it's time to RTC."
"I'll—"
"Wait, Ixta." When she glanced back at him, he was wearing an easy smile. "Let me write the report this time."
Axel knew that look on her face – she was going to ask why.
"Okay. Thanks, Axel. I'll RTC, then," she said, giving him a toothy smile, and disappeared into a Corridor.
That was odd. Ixta always asked what he was doing if it came up, especially because he'd told her she didn't have to 'act' around him and was open to any question she had (even the ones about his hair; there had been many). It was a better way to gauge her progress around the others – and to see if she'd noticed anything about them that he hadn't. They tended to be themselves around her because of her zombie status.
Still, who was he to complain about not being pestered for once? Giving another shrug, Axel opened a Corridor of his own.
Time for ice cream.
If Axel had thought it would end at that, he soon discovered just how wrong he was. Over the next week or so, Ixta began to act more and more...normal.
"She's much calmer these days, isn't she?" Marluxia remarked one day when they'd caught each other at the Grey Area.
"Yes," Luxord agreed. "Her smiling would have begun to unnerve me if I had a heart. I find this newer Ixta very agreeable."
"You mean she finally learned to shut up," Larxene laughed. "I guess that Keyblade master is more useful than we thought."
As her 'mentor,' Axel was concerned. Well, no, not really, but he knew her sudden change in attitude would raise red flags if he couldn't give a concrete reason for it. The two of them had maintained the same routine since before their visit to Castle Oblivion: he came to her room in the morning to check up on her, and she updated him on any progress she had with the new members. After that they were off on separate missions. Saïx never had time to go Heartless-hunting anymore, so Axel took his time getting back to the castle. He hadn't changed a thing – so why did Ixta?
She asked him fewer things and spoke even less. No more random observations about the other members or things that just happened to pop into her head while she reviewed memories. And when she did answer questions, she'd taken to wearing this troubled expression, staring at whoever asked, before saying anything.
That wasn't like her at all – she usually mouthed off whatever she was thinking – to Axel, at least. Now there were times that she didn't even respond.
Xigbar found it weird, too. "Bait isn't supposed to act like that," he snickered, watching Ixta and Lexaeus occasionally stare at one another in the Grey Area. "They're supposed to call attention to themselves. You sure you're doing this right, Flamesilocks?"
Not to mention the Assassins reported that she hadn't been around the castle lately, or that she often came home way after dark (so to speak). He hated to say that it took one to know one, but she had to be taking detours after missions.
Still, just like everyone else, Saïx didn't seem to mind. "She is finally acceptable, Axel," he'd said to him just yesterday. "Well done."
He guessed that was supposed to make him proud – but even if he had emotions, he didn't think it would. There was something suspicious about the whole thing, and he would just have to find out.
That evening, Saïx looked unhappy at the Grey Area. "A mission with XIII?" he repeated. "Why would I assign you that? Ixta is perfectly capable of taking care of herself."
"Surprising as that seems," Xigbar piped up, arms crossed under his head on the couch across VII. The Diviner ignored him and continued to look expectantly at the redhead.
"Hear me out," Axel insisted. "I'll take her to Castle Oblivion."
Xigbar's visible eye turned to him, and then the man sat up slowly. "Why's that?"
Axel yawned while he weighed the reasons in his mind. He could come out with the truth, but it was too much work to put up with Saïx's lectures about Ixta. Scratching his head and feigning a sheepish grin, he said, "Actually, I forgot to note it down in my report—the day we went there, she sensed something." He was planning to keep that tidbit of information to himself until operations started, but he'd thought over it and decided that Ixta would eventually let it slip to someone upon being prompted – if she hadn't already. Might as well put it to good use before it was common knowledge.
Xigbar and Saïx glanced at one another. "Sensed what?"
Axel shrugged. "I forgot. She couldn't explain what it was, either, so we brushed it off – but maybe it was something."
"So Lord Xemnas was right," Saïx murmured.
"I guess," Axel said, tone light as always.
Xigbar tutted, then laughed. "I was wondering why anyone would request for alone time with bait. I guess secrets do make friends, huh?" he grinned, glancing between the two of them.
Saïx said nothing except, "Very well, Axel. You will accompany her again tomorrow and see if she finds anything else. But what brought this on? It has been eleven days since your mission there."
"Don't know," Axel shrugged. "She's been acting weird lately, right? Who knows if it's the castle affecting something other than her memories?"
Xigbar crossed his right leg over his left, one arm thrown on the back of the couch. "If you think there's been a change, why not take Vexen along? Sounds like something he'd want to 'observe.'" He made air quotes as he said it.
"No," Saïx shook his head. "Until we have more to go on, I'd rather not inconvenience Number IV."
"I didn't know that word was synonymous with keeping him out of the loop these days," Xigbar gleefully remarked.
Finally, Saïx's golden eyes narrowed at Xigbar's. The older man only smiled in return.
Axel frowned. It wasn't like these two to butt heads – most of the time they stayed out of each other's way. Now that he thought of it, he hardly saw them interact, if ever. Not that it was ideal for Saïx to be doing this. Xigbar wasn't Number II for nothing – for now, at least.
"Anyway," he said, cracking his knuckles to get their attention, "it's just a hunch. I'll let Vexen know if there's more to it, Xigbar."
Saïx ceased his glaring only to nod at Axel.
Xigbar laughed. "All this from Ixta just irritating Xaldin less than usual? Careful, Axel. Someone might start to think you actually cared."
"Nah," he gave the Freeshooter a smirk of his own. "Just call me, uh...inquisitive."
Ixta was back to touching Castle Oblivion's walls on the morning that followed. She was quiet, looking to the doors on occasion as she crossed and uncrossed her arms. Axel didn't know what was blander at the moment – her or the castle.
"Aren't you curious about why we're back?" he asked.
She glanced at him, lips parting for a moment, and then stared a little more until she spoke. "Saïx already told me," she answered in a low voice. That was another thing – her general volume had gone down, like she was murmuring all the time. "You forgot to write what I sensed during our last mission here."
"Right," said Axel. She didn't even ramble anymore. It was like talking to a little Lexaeus. Actually, that was wrong. The Stalwart's default frown was more expressive than this. "So... Anything?"
Silence. Was she really taking this long to think?
"No," she eventually said. "It's the same feeling. Power, but – I can't describe it."
"All right," Axel said immediately, pretending to sigh helplessly. "Nothing we can do about that. You can RTC if you like."
"I can?" she asked, then visibly stopped herself, head cocking sideward as she appeared to think something over. "Oh, I mean—" Her brows furrowed (par for the course these days), and she was quiet. After a beat, she nodded slowly. "...I will."
Axel resisted from shooting her a weird look and gave her a two-finger salute instead. "See ya."
She disappeared into her Corridor without another word. Axel waited a while, watching the darkness pulsate before him. When it shuddered and began to withdraw into itself once more, he slipped in and followed Ixta inside.
"...Huh."
The constant darkness, the flashing lights that decorated the town, and refugees as far as the eye could see – Traverse Town. Why hadn't this world crossed his mind?
Axel knew why. What with her smiling and spacing out, insisting that seeing her Other's brother was a bad idea for now, he had been so sure that Ixta was over the whole Sora business. When did she think it was okay to lie to him?
"Do as I say, not as I do. Got it memorized?"
"Sure."
Then again, he hadn't exactly given her parameters for hiding things from the others. She must have thought that lying to the Superior made it acceptable to lie to him, too.
Axel found that he didn't like the idea of that.
But now wasn't the time to dwell. Ixta had opened the Corridor at a dark corner next to the restaurant where they first found the Keyblade master. Sora wasn't there at present, but it was as packed as ever, still as dimly lit by the meagre candles it had. Next to it, the windows of an item shop shone brightly from the inside.
Where did she go?
He was tempted to call out a few Dusks when he spotted a hooded figure dart around the accessory shop in the middle of the First District.
"Gotcha."
The place bustled as always. It wasn't really like this in the other towns, but even after all these years, he still knew how to dart around a crowd. As soon as he saw her take the door to the Second District, he knew he had her. That area was still empty, which was why the First swarmed with refugees.
His eyes scanned the shops, the plaza below, and the hotel area. She wasn't in the immediate vicinity, but she made this almost too easy. Ixta had obviously been in a hurry – instead of finishing them off, she'd left paralyzed Soldier and Large Body Heartless in her wake.
Xaldin would have gotten into another fit if he saw it (such careless handiwork, he would scold), but Axel didn't mind breadcrumbs, and threw his chakram at the creatures before they could regain control of themselves. The trail led him to the alleyway behind the hotel, where boxes lay scattered across the small road leading to sewage. He knew this place – he was the one who'd taken the recon mission to map out this world a while back.
But last he remembered – and Axel had a pretty good memory – the gate to the sewers had always been closed. No reason to open them, right? He peered into the darkness, then down at the sewer water leading into its depths.
Axel sighed perfunctorily.
Well, why not? His boots were already dirty.
The path led to some dank cavern connecting into some structure built into it – a secret hideout? – but Axel didn't have to go very far before he saw Ixta close to the end of it. The light emanating from the structure showed him the silhouette of a girl standing waist-deep in water, head tilted to the right as she peered out at something from behind a natural pillar of rock.
"Hyah!" a man's grunt echoed back to them.
Curious, Axel waded further in. When Ixta didn't seem to sense him, he looked past the pillar and saw a man around his age. That definitely wasn't Sora. The Nobody squinted – long, dark brown hair, a scar across his face, a gunblade, way too many belts – and paused.
Squall?
Wow, thank you so much for the reviews between this and the next chapter! You have no idea how much we appreciate per-chapter reviews! Replies down below! For now, chapter discussion!
Well, sort of. We'd love to hear how you interpret the chapter/everyone's actions and things. But this turned into an Axel chapter toward the end, didn't it? We just thought it would be interesting to see how Axel views Ixta's 'changes' in personality whenever an idea gets into her head. Not that she is totally malleable - when Ixta does anything, it's for a reason. It's just all very confusing, especially to Axel, if she doesn't explain her reasoning. But hopefully you've gotten a clue as to why she suddenly changed her attitude halfway through the chapter!
We didn't want to make the scene with the Traverse Town team/SDG too long, but hopefully they were IC! For the little lines they had, anyway. We don't imagine that Sora, Donald and Goofy are best friends yet, but they (meaning Sora and Donald since Goofy is usually ok with everyone) probably get along when resting in Traverse Town and not fighting for their lives. We deliberately didn't explain what part of KH this is at this point because Elis (me, huhu) is a genius and can't find our notes for which KH events corresponding to which scenes in the fic. It's not all that relevant until later on anyway. Hehe!
Also at this point, it may seem weird that Axel hid Ixta's 'sense' of the 'thing' (Ventus) in Castle Oblivion from Saïx. We know they're supposed to be close friends and that their friendship is something Axel is hanging onto by a thread, but Axel does have his own mind. He's loyal to Saïx, but sometimes they butt heads and Axel doesn't really -feel- the old friendship. It's just in Lea's personality to hang on which is why he does. So while he'll stick to their plan, he's also looking out for himself at this point. As you can see, he's even suspicious in the beginning and wonders if Saix concealed Ixta and Sora's connection from him. Unfortunately, Axel's curiosity gets the best of him and he uses the information to figure out where Ixta's been (though it's also to make sure Ixta isn't a threat to their plans; this is minor though. Ixta's too much of a zombie at the moment to present a threat). If you're wondering why he didn't just follow her, it's because Ixta's been losing her tail the past few days with the help of her Devouts (which is why no Dusks or Axel's Assassins have figured out that she's in Traverse Town), and Axel does have his own missions to complete. By the time he finishes them he doesn't really know where she's gone, and he won't tell the others like Saïx that she's missing because Saïx will just get annoyed about Axel losing what he perceives as their 'control' over Ixta.
In case you were wondering, Zexion named Ixta's staff Gorgoneion based on it being a "representation of a Gorgon's head" (as defined in the dictionary haha). The staff represents a Gorgon's head because according to myth, the blood from one (left?) side of a Gorgon's head is used as a healing elixir, while blood from the other (right?) side is lethal poison. Which is pretty much Ixta's deal!
Now to the reviews!
dmc87 - thanks so much! Well, it doesn't seem like this is gaining as much ground as Province of Men, but that one is a Legolas fic. And even if this isn't as popular as that, we still love that you like it! Nit obviously especially adored your analysis per chapter and we totally welcome more. And YES you are very correct on that helplessness for Tai! We're so happy that you noticed that from her conversations with Riku. She is grounded and he isn't - perfect description/comparison between the two siblings, actually. We would've loved to write more memories, but these seemed the most important. And you'll notice that the memories in Chapter 1 were Sora-centric, so these form part (there are more not shown) of the bulk of her memories as Ixta.
You're right. Other Nobodies don't really think before they act, they follow the bulk of their memories and use that to react to a situation. There's a reason for this! We can't wait to show it in future chapters. We're excited too! On relationship developments and everything. We're happy you like her "personality" so far. And you're right about her powers! Sorry it was confusing. She was hungry, making her lose HP, so she healed herself using MP, but found herself similarly tired. She didn't understand that she was drawing from two different sources of energy. (On another note, Lexaeus gets good cameos because Elis is madly in love with him. He might get a love interest. He might not. Ahehe.) So touched that you noticed that she wasn't named in Chapter 2 until she was finally renamed by Xemnas!
Yes, Xigbar has a reason for calling her bait even before they find out that Sora is the Keyblade Master. It's the same reason as Xemas, to answer your question in your Chapter 2 review. We want to add more Org XIII cameos too! It's just that the others are usually out on their own or plain stay away from Ixta (like Demyx).Yes, that was a Hercules reference! Except Ixta listed all of Axel's made up rules down, which made him feel weird because he just made them up. But Ixta has them all filed for reference somewhere now. Haha! And yes, the others find it weird too that Axel would be chosen as her mentor despite being who he is. Personally (this is Elis) I think the best would be Lexaeus. But I'm biased. Senna insists Luxord would be best since he's the most detached from everything. Axel would probably agree! Nit loves Xigbar, but he's. Well. Xigbar. Haha!
Axel does cling to the friendship! But Saïx is too busy now with paperwork since Sora arrived, so. We're just so happy you like these scenes! Thank you for saying all that. And OH YES MEHEHEHE we look forward to Ixta dealing with what she has done as a Nobody, too. Oh, yes.
Senna loves Larxene just like you, so she constantly needs dialogue! Or even just a line.
Yes! you noticed the breakfast for dinner! We imagine they have adorable little quirks like that that give away how similar they are (besides the physical things), since they are clearly different personality-wise.
Thank you so much again! Hope you like this chapter. :D
Water Solace - thank you too for your per chapter reviews! They are seriously appreciated and loved. We're glad you like Tai/Ixta so far! And YES thank you for addressing that, we wondered too about their mom letting her go on her own! Funny thing, Tai was supposed to watch her parents get turned into Heartless! But then nobody would be waiting for them back at Destiny Islands if the world got returned (unless Sora/Roxas/Xion destroyed their Heartless/Nobody by chance), so we decided they'd just get swept up with the rest of the world when the darkness came-a-rollin'. And considering that all the other worlds don't seem terribly surprised at a child like Sora running around like he does, we think maybe that parents in the KH world give their kids a little more independence than in the normal world. Not to mention Tai is technically an adult and better equipped to find Sora in the coming storm, so. Ehe. But we understand your concern! Thanks for mentioning that.
On how to pronounce Ixta's name, we were actually wondering between ISH-tuh or IKS-tuh. (Alternatively, instead of Ixta, she could've been Taxi. So we went with Ixta. Haha!) We decided to go with IKS-tuh. It feels more in line with the other Organization names. And yes! We liked the idea of even Axel disliking her. And it didn't seem IC for Axel to like anyone from the get-go. After all, he has a pretty one-track mind as a Nobody until he starts making friends. So he really does just see her as a pawn at first, something to reclaim as against the other members who might have their own plans.
No, you're not being too nitpicky! Fixed! Thanks for the suggestions. :D So happy you liked Ixta's new title! We labored over that intensely. Haha!
Ixta's nuts. She has so many things going through her head and overthinks things a lot. Without emotions to back up her decisions, she just screws up left and right! XD We love Lexaeus, so we're so glad you liked his cameo! Xaldin, too. He's hilarious. Really wish we could write more scenes but it'd really mostly just be him getting frustrated at her or trying to ignore her. Lexaeus is really more the one she gets along with (if you can call it that) since he's more patient. As for Axel and Saïx, thank you! :') We love that friendship and wished there was more shown of it in the games. About Axel and Ixta, he is starting to wonder! Thank you so much for noticing! Deep down we think Axel (and the other Nobodies) pre-Roxas is just like Larxene when she sighed and called out Vexen's angry reaction as a "predictable response," so it seems like things that pique his interest like this could develop into something more. Provided they aren't in the way of his plans for now, anyway. Haha! Oh, Marluxia. Ixta really does find him objectively attractive. She just doesn't care. XD
Again, thank you so much for the reviews! We don't mind if you ramble or type whatever comes to mind. As you can see, I (Elis or the one who handles the replies and A/Ns) tend to ramble, too. Hope you liked the chapter!
Kirorokat - Thank you! We're so glad you like Ixta so far :) and the characterizations of the other Org members! We hope we didn't fail you this chapter. Hehe!
And thank you to everyone who added this on their favorite/alert list! We'd love to hear from you!
(In other words, review!) See you all soon! Hopefully. School and work are just messing up all our schedules!