A/N: Hi there! Back again with an update. Don't have much to say in the way of author's notes this chapter so let's just get on with the show and enjoy!
Chapter XVIII: The Future Is Cold
I'm exhausted with loving
No fight in me- I'm defeated
I know I'm fooled, I can't help it
You make my heart so helpless
Over time the group, mainly lead by Demyx, tried to concoct ways to somehow get their band idea going. Axel would always remind him that no matter what, Saix would sniff it out. They were lucky enough that he hadn't figured out that Sunny was still in the Castle, so why push their luck even further? The coming and going of time was especially rough on Xirena, as Saix would send Axel away on Castle Oblivion missions as frequently as he could. It was true Axel was the only man for the job, but Saix took great pleasure in separating Axel and Zee. Still, just about any time Axel saw Saix he made it a point to bring up his disdain for Xirena, but Saix was onto him and Axel didn't have a clue.
Now, though, Axel was home – much to the relief of Xirena. He had been as such for a few days now and it seemed as if all was returning to normal since he was being sent out on normal missions again – but still, Saix did all he could to keep the dynamic duo separated. Saix couldn't do a thing about controlling their free time though! The main thing Zee did in her time while Axel was away was dance. Hours could melt away and she'd still dance til her feet couldn't carry her anymore. If she had a heart she would dance it right out.
Let your body talk!
Slick beats and heavy synths quieted in The Void of Reverie where the pair of Axel and Xirena were. Xirena was in the center of the room, breathing heavily and standing stiff in her finishing pose that concluded her dance number. Axel, sitting a safe distance away, grinned and gave her the applause she rightfully deserved.
"What song was that again?" He inquired as his clapping ceased.
"Body Talk," Xirena promptly answered, her body relaxing into a normal posture, "By a girl named Foxes, I think."
"Well, it was a great one as usual." Axel assured her, "All those spinning things where you raise one foot to your other knee look tough."
"You mean pirouettes?" Xirena asked him with a giggle.
"Yeah, if you say so! You know more about this dancing business than I do." Axel answered with a smile.
The air was sweet, but something weighed heavily on Axel that he kept avoiding. He encouraged Zee to keep dancing and dancing just so he could put off talking about it, but for how much longer could he put it off? Not much, surely. He hummed softly, his head dropping along with his smile. Xirena tilted her head, having picked up on the fact that something wasn't quite right with Axel then and there.
"I got some bad news, Zee." He began, staring at the floor.
"Huh?" Xirena peeped, "What do you mean?"
Axel threw his head back up, now staring at the high ceiling as opposed to the glossy hard wood floor he was just gazing at – anywhere to avoid looking at Xirena as he spoke. He blew out a puff of air before he continued.
"Look, I know I only just got back home not that long ago but..." He began somberly.
Xirena immediately became distressed by his tone of voice and fell to the floor, crawling over close to him. She kept peering him about the face, trying to gain his eye contact, but to no avail. Axel continued...
"Saix is sending me out on another extended mission to Castle Oblivion tomorrow." He said, just getting it over with.
Xirena sat back looking devastated. Axel lowered his gaze to a proper level and cracked his neck loudly. He watched as Xirena shook her head back and forth slowly and sadly, as if she were just told of someone's sudden and unexpected death. Heartbroken was the best word one could use to describe Xirena at that moment.
"But..." She started, looking back up at Axel.
"I can't go against orders, Zee," He said in a sad but firm voice, "You know that."
"Yeah, I know..." She replied.
"I'm sorry Zee."
"Wait!" An idea just struck the girl, "What if I go with you? We can-"
"Are you crazy? You absolutely can't come with me, Zee," He said, firmer than before, "And we can... well, nothing about that now. The walls have ears."
"Huh?" A freshly confused Xirena asked.
"Err, never mind." Axel dismissed, "Just understand that we have to go where we're told, it's part of the job."
"I know... I know."
The next day's mission was nothing of note. Axel was gone before she'd woken up and Xirena ended up paired with Rex for the day and all of his endless talking felt like an empty buzzing in her ears. Rex knew very well it was the perfect opportunity to steal Xirena away for hang outs after work with Axel gone, but Xirena had turned him down on it. Normally, Rex would simply insist but he felt strangely bad for Zee and didn't push the matter. She would just be a mopey dope anyway, no matter how much Britney Spears Rex would blast.
So there she found herself in bed, laying on her stomach almost nose-to-nose with Sunny. The pig would poke her wet nose against her momma's every so often, just to try to get some sort of laughter or positive reaction out of her. Unfortunately, all of Sunny's efforts were ineffective and Xirena remained in her low state, a state you could only really call depressed as it went far beyond a mere superficial sadness.
"What do we do, Sunny?" Xirena murmured, her chin resting on crossed arms, "Saix scares me when Axel isn't here... Nothing feels fun or right either."
Sunny oinked.
"No, I don't feel like having Rex paint my face with that make up stuff right now..." Xirena answered.
Sunny let out another suggestion oink.
"I don't feel like reading with Zexion either." She replied sadly.
Defeated, Sunny rested her chin flat on the bed and stared at Zee with eyes full of empathy, and fully aware that there was nothing she could do to help Zee feel better. Sunny had a few other suggestions up her sleeve, like hanging out with Demyx or dancing, but she knew it would be a futile effort to even suggest anything more. Xirena abruptly rolled over onto her back, her ruby eyes staring at the blank and sterile ceiling.
"Castle Oblivion..." She whispered, trying to imagine what such a place would look like. To her, though, there was a far better option right now than just wondering.
She waited until it was late at night before she began her journey. She didn't want to get Sunny involved so Xirena was firm in her instructions that she had to stay in her room. Sunny worried, though, what Xirena planned to do was in no way, shape or form a good idea. The pig sat on her bed as Zee cautiously opened her door and peeked out, checking to the left and right. Sure that no-one was there, she slipped out of her room and quietly closed the door behind her. The halls were dark and eerie, but there was no time to be scared. Xirena made her way to the smaller (in comparison to Zexion's) library everyone had access to, which also was home to a huge computer-like device.
Xirena had never used this machine before, but her determination spurred her to just figure it out. She placed her hands on the keyboard and began to slowly type out 'Castle Oblivion.' Zee was initially disoriented by all the text that popped up from the simple search, but pushed passed it and scanned the words as carefully as possible. Satisfied, she nodded to herself and opened up a dark corridor, slipping away... neglecting to turn off the machine – and little did she know, she wasn't exactly alone while she was searching.
Xigbar appeared from the shadows with a smug grin on his face as he approached the computer. He took a quick look at the screen and barked out a laugh, having seen what Xirena searched for and figuring out what she planned to do with that information. With a few button presses, The Freeshooter erased the search and powered off the machine.
"Ohhh Bubbles, you're in trouble now," He said, "Saix will love this."
Axel wandered Castle Oblivion, which was never a happy experience, but something inside of him was eating away at him dreadfully, making it more miserable than usual.
We can't just go and...He thought.
He bit at the spot on his cheek as he pondered, his emotional side caught in a desperate fight between his logical side.
But if we did.. No! It's just dumb.
Suddenly he felt a shift in the air, something hard to explain exactly, but he knew what this shift meant: Someone else had entered the castle.
The other end of the portal opened up in a blindingly white room and Xirena stumbled out clumsily, having run at top speed through the dark corridor. As she caught her breath, Xirena took a look around the strange, new place. It was mostly featureless, save for a door at each end, some columns and a short stairway that lead up to the far door.
"Axel!" She called, with no answer, "Axel, where are you?!"
He obviously wasn't in that room, so Xirena sprinted to the far doorway, ascending the short stairs and pushing it open. The double doors were heavy so it took all her strength to open them up. She still couldn't catch her breath, but she just chalked it up to all the running and having to deal with these doors.
Next room. No Axel. Just another far-end door.
Xirena dragged her feet towards it when she heard a familiar sound behind her, the sound of a dark corridor opening up. Weary, the girl turned around, not sure what or who to expect.
"What are you doing here?!"
It was Axel.
"Axel..." She breathed.
"And just how on Earth did you even find this place?"
"I looked it up on the library computer..." Xirena explained, somehow still breathless, "I had to come... Axel, I just had to... H-How did you find me, though?"
"I felt a new presence in the Castle so I followed my instincts," He quickly explained, getting back to the more important matter, "Look, it's really bad that you came here, do you understand? You have to go home, Xirena, you have to go home right now."
"I don't..." Xirena slurred, "I don't feel so good..."
Xirena's vision started to blur and her head pounded like a drum. Axel stared on in confusion, in a mixed state of anger and concern.
"Pull it together and get OUT of here!" He shouted, grabbing the unsteady girl by her shoulders, trying to help her balance.
Xirena grabbed her head and her knees buckled, thankfully Axel already had a tight grip on her so she didn't tumble down to the floor and hurt herself, but something about the castle itself was hurting her. Images flashed through her mind of different people and places – people and places she'd never been to or seen in any form at all before. A young boy, an older boy with spiked brown hair, a blue haired woman, an older and sinister looking man and... a purple haired young girl. Each time the image of the young girl flashed in front of her it was always from the back, and whenever the vision of the youngster was about to turn around and show her face, the scene in Xirena's head quickly changed before her face was visible.
"Something... here..." She slurred.
With those few words uttered she fully collapsed, Axel quickly adjusting to catch her, albeit it a bit awkwardly. The man re-adjusted and hoisted her up to carry her in the 'bridal' style position, muttering as he did so – cursing at the fact that Xirena would do something so foolish. Axel opened up a dark corridor to head for home because really, what else was he to do now?
"Saw it with my own golden eyes." Xigbar spoke.
The casual gunner stood in front of a furious Saix in the Gray Area, hands in his pockets and a smug grin on his face. Saix was about ready to go berserk, as Xigbar had just told him about what he witnessed Xirena do earlier.
"This is unacceptable." Saix said, trying to hide his rage by gritting his teeth, "You were very helpful, Xigbar, I'll make sure Lord Xemnas is made aware of your fine work here."
"Hey, I just love to snoop, it's easy for me and always rewarding." Xigbar snickered.
"Whatever your motivations may be, you were still a great help. Off with you now."
"Yeah, yeah whatever. I'm ready for a snooze anyway."
Xigbar disappeared into the darkness of the residential hall, heading towards his room. It was late, and Saix figured there was nothing to be done right now, not until Axel got back. However, luck was on Saix's side, as a dark corridor appeared nearby. Axel stumbled out of it with an unconscious Xirena in his arms. The ginger's eyes widened in fear when he saw Saix, while Saix's cold eyes narrowed in disgust and rage.
There was no way that Axel truly disliked Xirena and Saix was sure of it now. The girl had to be punished regardless since she defied the general order of things in The Organization that night, but Saix brewed a special punishment in his mind just for her, one that would hurt Axel as well in the process. Thinking about it calmed his rage a bit, but not enough. Without a single word, Saix calmly walked away from Axel and Xirena, leaving them alone in the dim room. Axel panted, having run through the corridor at top speed and with extra weight to carry. The way Saix looked at him greatly unnerved Axel though, and he feared the worst for Xirena, but Axel had no comprehension of what 'the worst' could possibly be...