"Hey, Saïx," Axel waved as he approached the only two nobodies in the room. "Xerisa already gone?"
"Yes, I paired her with Vexen," Saïx replied, "perhaps he can get some information out of her."
Doubt it, Axel thought.
"You and Marluxia are heading to Radiant Garden," Saïx said.
"Where?" Axel asked.
"Hollow Bastion," Marluxia replied. "According to Xigbar it goes by the name of old now."
"How old?" Axel asked, "and why?"
Marluxia simply shrugged.
"Anyway," Saïx said, "a giant heartless has been sighted there."
"So?" Marluxia asked. "Without the keyblade it means nothing to us."
"It could still get out of hand and do more damage than we would like," Saïx said, "we would rather not have it on the loose. We have reason to believe that the locals are more than capable of dispatching it. You two are simply going in case that's not the case."
"So we're back-up?" Axel asked.
"More like insurance," Saïx replied.
"Whatever," Axel said, "hey, with luck, this could be an easy day."
"You're starting to sound like Demyx," Marluxia warned.
"No, Demyx wouldn't do any work, weather it was an easy day or a hard day," Axel pointed out.
"True," Marluxia said.
"You can talk later," Saïx said, "you're already behind all the others."
"Don't blame me," Marluxia said, "I was waiting for sleeping beauty here."
"Now you're starting to sound like Xigbar," Axel said.
Marluxia said nothing in reply but created a dark corridor and stepped through it.
Déjà vu, Axel thought, remembering his less-than-talkative companion the previous day. "So, Marluxia,"
"Let's just get this over with as fast as possible," Marluxia spat.
"Well excuse me for trying to make conversation," Axel said.
"You're excused," Marluxia said.
What's eating him? Axel thought. I never did anything to Mar…. "This is about C.O. isn't it?"
"Rest assured I have no interest in returning the favor," Marluxia said, "I know better than to get on the Organization's bad side this early in the game. Be warned, though, not everyone from C.O. shares my restraint."
"Yea, I noticed," Axel said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked down. Vexen in particular. Larxene probably won't hesitate to throw some knives at my head.
"I'm not sure Larxene knows of your treachery," Marluxia answered Axel's thoughts, which startled Axel quite a bit, "she was 'taken out' by Sora. Lexaeus too, except I think Riku got him. Zexion probably has the restraint if he does, in fact, know. And of course there's Vexen."
"Bet Vexen will make it known too," Axel muttered.
"There's always that," Marluxia said with a sly grin.
The two exited a dark corridor in an unused corner of a town. It was slightly elevated and the roads were all stone. Off of the roads one could see a castle seemingly floating there.
"So where's this giant heartless?" Axel asked.
"As if I know," Marluxia replied. "Although this doesn't look like the best place to fight a giant heartless."
"You think the heartless cares?" Axel asked.
"I've come to believe they have some decency when it comes to location choice," Marluxia replied. "Since you know this place better than I, where would be the best place to fight a heartless?"
"In the mountains, of course," Axel pointed beyond the town. "There's wide open spaces in the valleys away from anyone who lives here."
"Lead the way," Marluxia stepped aside and motioned for Axel to pass by him, which Axel did.
What a waste, Axel thought, trekking across this worthless place just to fight some dumb heartless that may not even still be there when we get there. Not to mention Marluxia's not my ideal partner at the moment….although it's better than Vexen. Hm…Xerisa's paired with him today, isn't' she? Wonder how she's doing…
A dark corridor suddenly opened up in front of him. A figure in an Organization cloak came out, brushing herself off. Because of her height, Axel knew it could only be one person.
"Xerisa?!" he exclaimed.
"Axel, great, just the Nobody I wanted to see," Xerisa said.
"Shouldn't you be with Vexen?" Axel asked.
"Ha! No!" Xerisa spat. "I'm not hanging around that creepy freakazoid in that creepy world that he fits so well in ever again!"
"So you're scared of a couple of ghosts in Halloween Town?" Marluxia asked, with a sly grin.
"What…!? No!" Xerisa exclaimed. Axel still couldn't see her face, but he imagined it turning red….not that he had any idea what it looked like. "Alright, well maybe it helped add to the whole effect. Creepy ghosts, heartless, and a…a…psycho creepy pervert!"
"What did he do to you?!" Axel was suddenly alarmed, that and he wanted any excuse to destroy Vexen again before Vexen destroyed him.
"Well…nothing," Xerisa admitted, "but he just strikes me as the pedophile type. Anyway, why the hell am I telling you all this? All I was gonna say is that when you report to Saïx, tell him I didn't desert the Organization and I'll be back before the end of the day. I just refuse to work with Xeven."
"Vexen," Marluxia corrected.
"Like it matters!" Xerisa snapped.
"You know, you could stick with us," Axel said. "Then you can tell Saïx yourself when we RTC."
"Then I'd have to face Saïx and Vexen," Xerisa said, "and I don't feel like doing either. It's not like there aren't plenty of places to go anyway."
"Now hold on a second," Axel snapped, "you can't just go off and do your own thing! Not when you haven't completed your mission."
"It's recon and heartless elimination," Xerisa groaned. "Recon is Vexen's specialty and the heartless aren't a big threat. They're all mostly ice-type anyway."
"That doesn't mean you can-"
"Let her go," Marluxia interrupted him. "We have our own mission to do. We can't get caught up in her problems. If she wants to get kicked out or turned into a Dusk, let her. It's no bother to us."
"For once I've met someone in this Organization with some sense," Xerisa folded her arms. A dark corridor appeared right where she was standing and as soon as it had formed, she vanished inside of it. The corridor closed shortly after.
"Weird kid," Axel commented.
The dark corridor appeared again and Xerisa stomped out of it. "I became a heartless at the age of 19," she said, pointing an accusing finger at Axel and leaned in, standing on tiptoes so that her unseen face was aligned with his, "therefore my Nobody was frozen at 19-years-old. 18 is minimum age of adulthood, making me not a kid!"
"O.K. O.K., sorry," Axel held up his hands and backed away.
Xerisa nodded approvingly and snapped her fingers. Another dark corridor appeared on top of her and sucked her into it before vanishing again.
"She's really enjoying those things too much," Marluxia said.
"Yea yea, whatever," Axel groaned, "she's not our problem, let's just keep going and get this over with."
"My thoughts exactly," Marluxia agreed.
What a hassle, Axel thought as they walked, if I report back to Saïx like she wants he'll probably think I'm her friend or something. Then I'll be in charge of her. Then it will be my problem. All this on top of the fact that all the members from C.O. hate me, with good reason, of course, but that doesn't make it any easier. And to top it all off, I've got no one to talk to. Roxas is gone, and Saïx seems pretty mad that I've "changed" since I met Roxas. He let out a sigh of mixed aggravation and depression, although he was incapable of feeling either.
"Something the matter?" Marluxia asked.
"Nothing you should concern yourself with," Axel replied.
They followed the path around the mountains and came to an open clearing. They stopped and hid behind a cliff edge and summoned their weapons. In the clearing before them was a Darkside heartless. Around it were about 4 people all fighting against it.
"A pureblood," Marluxia observed.
"Wouldn't be any use to us with a keyblade," Axel said.
"It's severely weakened," Marluxia added, "and they're not, they should be fine."
Axel held out a Chakram and started to spin it. It became surrounded by a flame that swirled with the weapon's motion. The fire gathered in the center and fired out as a single fireball. It curved and swerved, bent on hitting its target. It collided with the wrist of the Darkside just as a ninja star hit as well. The fireball exploded on contact, making it look as though the ninja star dealt the final blow. The heartless collapsed to its knees and vanished in an eruption of black smoke.
"Mission accomplished," Axel said as his Chakrams vanished, "let's get outta here."
"In a rush?" Marluxia asked. "You want to check on that new kid? Make sure she doesn't get herself in trouble?"
Axel ignored him and turned to go back the way they'd come. Actually, I just wanna get away from you, he thought. I could care less what happens to Xerisa.
The two headed back to the dark corridor where they had come in to return to the castle. They reappeared in the far corner of the Gray Area.
"You report to Saïx," Marluxia said, heading down the hallway.
"Yea, sure fine," Axel said, although he knew Marluxia wasn't listening, "I don't mind, not at all!" He rolled his eyes as he headed across the room to where Saïx was talking to Vexen. I don't blame Xerisa for not wanting to do this, even I'm dreading it.
"You can't hold me responsible!" Vexen was exclaiming. "She ran off and disappeared. She must've used a dark corridor to escape."
"That is no excuse," Saïx grumbled, "she is still your responsibility."
"What did you expect me to do, follow her?" Vexen asked.
"Doesn't matter," Saïx replied, "you have to find her now."
"Not necessarily," Axel said as he came up to them, "if she's not missing."
"You!" Vexen snarled, his voice dripping with hatred for the fire-based Nobody.
"Chill out," Axel said with a smirk, "I didn't do anything."
"So to what do we owe this intrusion?" Saïx asked.
"While I was out on my mission, she showed up," Axel said, "she told me to tell you that she's not disserting and she'll be back."
"Well you can go tell her than that's not acceptable!" Saïx snapped.
Axel shrugged. "I dunno where she went. She said something about not wanting to face you or Vexen."
"Well she has a right to fear the consequences," Vexen grumbled.
"Somehow I get the idea that's not why she'd prefer to avoid you," Axel said, suppressing his desire to blurt out exactly why she fled, as if Vexen didn't know.
"Do you expect me to believe she didn't bother to tell you where she was going?" Saïx asked.
"Believe what you want," Axel said, "but she didn't tell me anything. I offered to accompany her back here, but she refused.
"Why would she tell you?" Vexen asked.
Axel shrugged. "I think she was looking for just anyone to deliver the message for her."
"You can go now, Vexen," Saïx said.
"To go find her?" Vexen asked.
"No," Saïx answered, "you're dismissed. You can go."
"About time," Vexen huffed headed out of the Gray Area.
Why do I get the feeling this isn't over for me? Axel thought. Still, he attempted to slink off after Vexen.
"I'm not through with you yet," Saïx said in a scolding tone which made Axel flinch and freeze in mid-step.
"Aww, c'mon, I've had a rough day," Axel said as he turned back to face Saïx. It's not a total lie, mentally I've been through hell and back.
"It's not over yet," Saïx said. "I doubt that this is merely coincidence."
"What, Xerisa ditching us?" Axel asked.
"The fact that she came to you," Saïx corrected him. "Yesterday you mentioned that she seemed to have a troubled past."
"That was just a guess based on how she yelled at me," Axel said.
"The fact is that she spoke to you," Saïx said, "and came to you in her time of need."
"You saying she likes me?!" Axel asked.
"More than she does anyone else here," Saïx said. "You're the only one who's found out anything about her. Well, except for Vexen, he found out what her weapon is."
That doesn't surprise me, Axel said, trying not to snicker. "If he keeps up the good work, we may know her powers soon enough."
"This is no laughing matter," Saïx snapped. "Xemnas allowed her to join the Organization in exchange for the information on a keyblade wielder she had. As you can well imagine, she hasn't kept up her end of the deal."
"So drop her," Axel said, "She won't keep up her end, you don't keep up your end."
"We can't afford to let that information go," Saïx said, "and she knows it. Our threats are meaningless because we have to leave her alive, in the Organization, in her present form."
"And she knows that," Axel said. "So that means there's only one way to get the information."
"And that one way is you," Saïx agreed.
"That's where you're wrong," Axel replied. "I don't think you're ever getting what you want."
"If the two of you go on more missions together, she's bound to open up to you," Saïx said. "Still, there are a few members she hasn't been paired with, so for the time-being you don't have to 'baby-sit' her."
"She's 19," Axel said. "She's technically not a kid."
"See," Saïx said, "you've already learned more about her."
"How is that useful?" Axel asked.
"It doesn't matter," Saïx answered. "The point is you're on your way to getting useful information, and so is the Organization."