Chapter III: Life Illuminated

You wait for a silence
I wait for a word
Lying next to your frame
Girl unobserved

You change your position
And you're changing me
Casting these shadows
Where they shouldn't be

Another day rose upon the castle. Another work day... but in truth, every day was a work day. Never a day off, not under the Saix regime. The gray area was about as lively as a funeral for a distant family member, and in truth, that was just how Saix liked it. Calm, quiet... almost uncomfortably so for everyone else. The man himself stood in front of the wide window, looking down at his clipboard as Axel stood in front of him. Saix's usually dulled expression had started to shift into a look he isn't often seen wearing, surely not publicly anyway – who knows what kind of faces he pulled when scheming off on his own. He smiled devilishly as he looked up at Axel, who didn't find the same amusement that Saix had.

"Something funny?" Axel asked, crossing his arms casually. Saix huffed.

"You're going with the new one today." He sneered.

Axel's emerald eyes narrowed with confusion; he failed to see what was so funny about that, but then again Saix wasn't a master comedian so there was probably some kind of malicious intent behind that smug grin. He saw Saix's eyes flick over his shoulder – his smile slowly vanishing once he spotted what had grabbed his attention. Axel half turned and saw that Xirena, accompanied by Rex, had entered the gray area. Well, she seemed to be following him in all truthfulness... Though it wasn't clear what he was saying due to how far away Axel was from them, Rex was chatting endlessly. His mouth wouldn't stop moving even for one second, not giving a chance for Xirena to speak at all. Strangely enough, she didn't seem bothered – In fact she had a look of captivation on her face the whole time Rex spoke. Every so often she would nod her head, or even laugh a tiny bit, but it was clear she had no weight in the "conversation." Going with Xirena was Saix's idea of a joke apparently.

Without thinking, Axel fully turned and started striding over towards them. He had to tell her they'd be together that day, and someone had to rescue her from Rex's incessant babbling – and he was in the perfect position to do just that.

"Yo!" He said brightly when he reached them.

"Um, excuse me?" Rex snapped venomously, quickly dropping out of what he had been previously talking about to address Axel, "I believe I was talking, and when I talk-"

"Hi Axel!" Xirena cut him off, which no-one anticipated.

Rex's hand flew to his chest dramatically and his face had the most scandalized expression you could imagine painted on it. Being talked over isn't fun, true, but Rex always has to make such a fuss about the most minor things. You could even say he deserved it based on how he himself speaks rudely at times. In the moment of silence that followed he saw fit to make his displeasure known properly. With mouth agape and a dainty hand raised, ready to accent every word he said as he spoke with it, he turned to Xirena.

"Hon. I was speaking. And I do not appreciate being inter-"

"Hey." Axel greeted back. His disregard for Rex was only half deliberate, as he had mostly shifted his focus to Xirena at this point, "Good morning."

"I've had enough." Rex huffed under his breath, storming away from Axel and Xirena while loudly complaining about how he was being so disrespected just then. No-one seemed to notice him though...

"Yeah... I guess it's a good one." Xirena replied, clearly unsure of herself.

Axel raised an eyebrow, considering what exactly he wanted to say back to that. Did she really not know what "good morning" meant? He looked away from her, unable to hold his gaze on her as he searched for a means to explain it.

"I... wasn't literally saying that the morning was good, really." He responded awkwardly, eyes traveling everywhere but back to her. It wasn't that it was especially difficult, per se, but it was such an unexpected reaction that it caught him completely off-guard. Soon enough though, he focused himself and looked at her straight once more, speaking with confidence, "It's what people say to greet each other in the morning."

"Oh..." Xirena said quietly.

"No-one's said good morning to you before...?" Axel probed incredulously.

"No, not really." Xirena admitted, shaking her head from side to side, "Rex never says stuff like that. He just starts talking about himself right away."

"Hmm. No surprise there." He muttered. Axel quickly shook his head, as if to rid himself of the thought, "Ehh try not to worry about it though... Rex is... unique."

"Oh ok!" Xirena responded happily.

"Yeah... Uh, anyway, Xirena... You're with me for work today." Axel said, having decided it was time to get down to business at that point. Xirena nodded her head, the thought of going to work not dampening her spirits at all.

"Where are we going?" Xirena asked from behind Axel.

The pair was traveling through a Dark Corridor with Axel leading the way, but Xirena stayed a mere few steps behind at all times. Axel glanced back at her.

"Agrabah." He answered shortly, "Not a great place. Too hot if you ask me."

Xirena hummed softly in response. He said these things to her as if she was supposed to know what they meant, similar to the "good morning" talk they had minutes earlier. Xirena had noticed one thing about Axel that stood out though: he was nicer than anyone else she'd met so far. Possibly the nicest, which says something about the company she keeps – Rex was too in love with himself to care even an ounce for anyone else, no less a girl, and all the other members seemed rather business oriented or aloof. But Axel was different, he was the first one to really talk to her... even if just a little bit. Xemnas was never around, Xigbar kept to himself a lot of the time, Rex was Rex, Vexen was always preoccupied with his scientific studies, Zexion always had his nose in a book and Saix never seems to speak unless it's business talk. Axel though, he felt far more approachable than the others – despite their interactions being limited to what they were at the present time.

Still, it made her feel happy.

"So!" Axel exclaimed, grabbing Xirena's attention abruptly, "Where'd you come from, Xirena? Saix wasn't feeling too talkative when I asked him about you the other night."

"You asked him about me?" Xirena asked, voice soft and airy, unintentionally disregarding his question.

"Yeah... I figured if anyone had the scoop on a new member it'd be him, y'know?" He continued.

"Oh ok." She responded, continuing to ignore his initial subject.

"So..." Axel repeated, "Where did a girl like you call home?"

Xirena furrowed her brow, puzzled by his question. The castle was her home, wasn't it? And as far as she knew it was Axel's home too, so there wasn't really room for misunderstanding about their living arrangements. Xirena's eyes glazed over in thought, her pace slowing down as she wracked her brain to find an answer for him. She had gotten so lost in herself that she didn't notice Axel had stopped and turned around right in front of her, until she bumped right into him. Her downcast face had collided with his chest – he was astoundingly tall, especially in comparison to Xirena – but she bounced back, quickly taking a step away from him. He looked down at her, eyes narrowed as he studied her expression. Her face gave away her building anxiety over this one simple question, and it didn't take the red head long to figure out what was wrong. He leaned in towards her a bit – so he could be as eye-to-eye as reasonably possible – and crossed his arms.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" He asked, sounding almost amused. Xirena shook her head, sending her violet hair bobbing around her face, which had grown red at this point, "Well, that's one detail Saix conveniently left out..." He added, speaking less audibly.

Axel straightened out his towering posture again and dropped his arms back to his sides. He could tell, just by the look of her in that very moment, that this girl would be hopelessly lost without some degree of guidance. And as a supreme gentleman Axel just couldn't allow that happen! He extended one of his hands and clapped it onto her shoulder.

"Try not to worry about it right now. We'll save the personal chit-chat for after work, yeah?" He said reassuringly.

The dry air and sand-covered land of Agrabah was a jarring change from the comfort of the dark corridor they had just emerged from. Axel easily knew what to expect, as he'd been there many times before, but this was Xirena's first tour of the sunbathed desert world. The searing heat was made even worse by their uniforms... thick, black, long coats aren't ideal for hot weather. As soon as they stepped out Xirena's mouth fell open followed by the tip of her tongue sliding out too, exhaling deeply – the heat affecting her immediately and sending her into a daze – she almost looked like a dog.

"So, whattaya think?" Axel asked. He suppressed a laugh, seeing as Xirena's thoughts on Agrabah were on full display on her face.

"Too... hot..." She panted in response.

"You'll get used to it." Allowing his light laughter to slip out with his reply.

Behind the unsuspecting Xirena, a speck of black appeared and was moving flat against the ground. Axel didn't really take notice of it, until it rose up off the ground into a small black creature with bright yellow eyes and antennae. Axel saw it moving closer, clumsy yet speedy, and he had to act fast. Without putting too much thought into it, he pushed Xirena aside and stepped forward to face off with the shadow. It had jumped, ready to pounce on Xirena, and it certainly did not expect it's target to move; and before it had a chance to touch down on the sand, the sound of snapped fingers and the roar of fire filled the air. It didn't last long at all, and the creature made no sound of agony as it's body burst into flames. The strange creature left no trace behind once the flame fizzled out. Axel was holding his arm out straight in front of him, he being the one who summoned the fire with the snap of his fingers. Once the threat was gone he dropped his arm.

"Owch..."

Axel's head snapped to the left where Xirena was seated on the ground. In her heat-stricken daze she couldn't keep her balance after the push from Axel, she wasn't exactly super concerned with her fall though – what she had just seen was way more important to inquire about – What was that thing? And how did Axel do that...?

"Oh damn, I'm sorry!" Axel quickly apologized, hurrying over to her and offering a hand to help her up once he realized what he had done, "I didn't mean to knock you over."

"What was that thingy?" She inquired.

Xirena reached up for his hand and he grabbed her, lifting her up with no effort given his strength. Back on her feet, Xirena took her hand back as she examined herself. The fall may not have explicitly bothered her, but being all dirtied up was something of note to her now that she was back on her feet. She frowned at the sand that was still clinging to her dark coat and started her best efforts to shake and pat it all off. Axel didn't know how to help, so he just stood there awkwardly while watching the girl he just shoved over clean herself up. Her words from just moments ago rang back in head though, and answering her question would be better than just nothing.

"That was a Heartless." He began.

Xirena had gotten most of the sand off herself now and put her efforts to tidy up to rest, satisfied with her results.

"A Heartless?" Xirena asked, looking up to him.

"Yep." He nodded, "They're creatures of darkness that steal the hearts of the living. And when a person loses their heart..."

Axel's voice trailed off, looking off to the side at nothing in particular. Just away. In his silence, Xirena tilted her head curiously at him, an action that Axel would grow to be familiar with. She started to learn in the direction of his averted gaze, slowly creeping straight through his peripheral vision to directly in front of him again, or as close as she could get by leaning over. Axel hadn't been paying attention to what was going on around him and hadn't fully noticed Xirena peering up from under her violet bangs at him.

"Axel?" She asked.

Axel focused again, blinking a few times as if to banish that glazed over expression from his face.

"Heh, sorry about that. Guess I kinda zoned out there, huh?" He spoke, his tone light hearted despite his previous statement about those "Heartless" things...

"Oh ok." Xirena responded.

With their conversation dried up, the reality of their heated surroundings set in once more. Sweat was beading up on both of their faces, with Xirena's free-flowing strands of hair sticking to the side of her face when they touched. The heat of course wasn't letting up, and Axel was certain that the sun had fried his brain, because he could not for the life of him remember one very important fact.

"Eheh, funny story..." He began, a little sheepish over what he was about to say, "Saix never got to tell me what exactly we were supposed to do here today..."

With his awkward admission, a stale silence fell over the pair. Axel quickly looked away from her wide-eyed gaze, running his large hand through his hair and scratching at the back of his head while he tried to find a way to recover from this. The stare of Xirena made the situation painfully pressing.

Then, something came to him... He whipped his head back to look at her confidently, dropping his hand and resting it on his hip.

"I've got an idea of what we can do..." He said with a smile that was hard to decipher. Xirena's face faintly twitched to express her heightened curiosity and Axel obliged her by offering a glowing assurance, "Trust me, it'll be a lot funner than schleppin' around this place. I promise."

Xirena stood back as Axel was chatting with some man she didn't know behind a kiosk. They had gone somewhere cooler, much cooler, but not frigidly cold either. The temperature was what you might call "just right," with the streets empty and quiet... but in a pleasant, peaceful way – not a creepy way. This place was bathed in the warm light of a setting sun, but the buildings in the town square area where they stood were too tall to point out exactly where the sun was. Xirena held her hands down and clasped together, rocking back and forth on her heels as she took in her surroundings.

"Hey."

Xirena looked forward, only to be surprised by a bright blue object held right in front of her face.

"What's this?" Xirena asked, peering to the side of it to see Axel – who was holding another one in his other hand.

"Sea salt ice cream." He said, "I figured ice cream would be a good idea after Agrabah. And to say "sorry" again for pushing you around."

As he spoke, Xirena wordlessly took the ice cream from him. She didn't examine it for too long before taking the plunge and just taking a huge bite out of it without a second thought. The intense, sudden coldness shocked her mouth and made her teeth ache for a second; until the chunk of frozen confection rapidly melted away, a salty aftertaste present when most of the sweetness had faded. She had grimaced when she bit into it with her eager but inappropriate haste, leading to the unpleasant cold sensation.

"No good?" Axel asked.

He had studied her face as she tried it and worried that he screwed up his act of generosity when he saw her displeased face. He was suddenly nervous, but didn't want to have it be apparent in his features or voice. However, his nerves were relieved when her sour face disappeared as she shook her head. Surely this was good, yeah?

"No... it tastes really good!" She said. Axel could now say he was completely relieved.

"Yeah, it's my favorite flavor." He mentioned before adding in some solid advice to the girl, "Just don't try and eat it so fast like that. Got it memorized?"

Xirena nodded, already having taken a bite – a more appropriate one – once more, which left her unable to gracefully speak a response. But now what? There wasn't anywhere to sit and relax nearby, and standing around eating looked a little awkward. Axel mentally scanned a map of the town in his head – he was familiar enough with this place by now to know it like the back of his hand. He came to a solid idea, although he wasn't certain it was able to be... executed.

"Yo, come with me." He said, motioning for Xirena to follow him.

"Ahhh, yes I am a genius!" Axel celebrated.

His idea was on the daring side, which made the success feel all the more sweeter. He had thought, what would be the ideal place to really enjoy the view of Twilight Town? The town square was so enclosed, same for the sandlot – which had even less happening in it than the square – then there were the alleys... the hill seemed attractive, but there wasn't really great seating options there, plus it didn't offer a great view of much of anything. No, nothing could beat where he took himself and Xirena. See, there was a tram station in Twilight Town, which laid at the base of a clock tower. This clock tower oversaw the entirety of Twilight Town, and gave viewers a decent look at the red gold horizon where the sun permanently sat. He wasn't sure how accessible this place was, since it seemed like a bunch of terrible accidents waiting to happen... but there was no barriers or signs of any sort to deter any brave individuals who wanted to climb the tower and test their fear against the heights.

Xirena stood beside the cheerful ginger, smiling along with him. His personal glee was a bit infectious and spread through Xirena. He suddenly "disappeared" from her side view, but looking downwards quickly revealed that he had just taken a seat on the short ledge – perhaps too quickly than one should when atop such a high structure. Xirena followed suit, taking a much safer approach to sitting down than her mission partner. She sat beside him, not too close though.

"Check out that view, eh?" He said, nudging Xirena softly with his elbow, "Man, I'd thought about hanging out up here a few times but never really followed through..."

"I've never seen such a pretty sky!" Xirena marveled, eyes forward on the horizon. Even as she ate, the focus of her view remained on the setting sun.

"Alright, so..." Axel began, his tone grabbing Xirena's attention away from the sunset, "The way I see it, I was just supposed to casually show you the ropes in Agrabah... but who says we had to do it there? No-one's really told you what we do here, have they?"

"...No!" Xirena exclaimed, not with a tone of disdain, but excitement. The happiness that had permeated was thriving strong in her and had her hyped.

"Right! So, I'll "show you the ropes" by talking you through what the Organization does... Makes sense, right? Right," He went on, "And I'm curious to see what you do remember of life before the Organization."

"Oh ok!" Xirena nodded vigorously.

She was eager to learn and could barely contain her excitement. She rocked slightly from side to side while Axel did some mental preparation to make sure he structured his explanation in the best way possible. That feeling she had earlier in the Dark Corridor returned to her, melting through her slowly and encompassing her in it's warmth. The happiness she felt that day was the most remarkable thing she had felt in her short life so far, and it fully captured her thoughts as they sat there on the tower. A guttural noise jolted her out of her emotional daze, it was the sound of Axel clearing his throat – symbolizing his readiness to begin his lecture. Xirena licked her lips with a look of determination on her face, as if she were preparing herself to listen intently – getting her mind ready to absorb what he had to say. Would it work? Only time would tell...