Chapter 3: Those of Purity
Xion gave a start and sat upright, finding herself on a bed in a small gray room. "Where...?"
The last thing she really remembered was talking to the familiar people in Nothing's Watch... guess she had really been tired then. She hoped Axel wouldn't mind that she hadn't been paying attention to his tour. She sighed softly and rose out of bed, stretching, and walking out of the room. She went into a lounge, what had Axel called it? The Gray Area? She was rather surprised to see a large number of her comrades there just... sitting around.
"Yo, kiddo," called over one of them, Xigbar if she remembered right.
She walked over to him. "Do you need help with something?"
"Me? Need anything? As if, just here to give you a fair warning, Saix is going to be looking for you. He gives all new members a pretty big hassle when they're starting out, dumps missions on them to prove their worth," said Xigbar, rolling his eyes, "I got out of my 'probation phase' awhile back, once that happens missions relax for you. Not that we're really needed anyway, there are over a dozen branches of the Organization, we could kick back, relax, and never lift a finger if need be..."
"And never have the respect of the lower branches," came a cold voice, "Thus resulting in dissension."
"Speak of the blue-haired devil," said Xigbar teasingly.
Xion turned to see Saix approach. "Your first mission will be alongside a member of one of the lower branches. He will meet you at the entrance to the castle, his name is Xetsba, he will fill you in on the details. Go."
"Umm... okay," she said, turning and walking out of the room.
Rather abrupt, but whatever.
He's no-nonsense, something I can respect.
And there was the Voice. "Good morning."
What's so good about it?
"Umm... we exist?" answered Xion a bit sheepishly.
If you can call this an existence...
Xion rolled her eyes. "Someone woke up grumpy."
I shouldn't BE awake yet.
"Go back to sleep then silly," said Xion.
I wish I could...
"Why can't you?" asked Xion, a bit baffled.
There was nothing but silence as her answer. Xion sighed quietly to herself and picked up the pace, not wanting to be late...
The figure that waited for her was not what she expected, at all. He was a large, hunch over, humanoid animal like creature with a tail. His fur was brownish, but tinted gray with nothingness. He had huge canine like fangs coming out of his mouth, and horns on the back of his head. The huge black coat on him was... awkward looking to be honest. He kind of looked like some kind of... well... beast.
"So, you're the new member of the Core Organization?" asked the creature, studying her.
Xion blink a few times, a bit surprised he could talk. "Umm, yes, I'm Xion. Are you Xestba?"
The creature nodded. "I am, let us be on our way, I have been awaiting this opportunity for a long time."
Xestba formed a portal made of black energy before Xion could ask what he meant. She followed through, coming out before a dark castle and a huge gate.
Xestba looked at the castle, a solemn look on his face. "Home, just as it was before the world was swallowed by darkness, it truly has returned."
"It was swallowed by darkness?" asked Xion, a bit confused about what that meant.
Xestba nodded and gently nudged the gate open, walking through. "The heartless came for us. For Belle. I gave everything to hold them back, in the end, I failed. It was all I could do to throw her to the oncoming Keybearers on their gliders as the darkness destroyed our world and the heartless took my heart."
Wait... he knows Belle? He... saved her?
"That was a brave thing to do," said Xion quietly.
Xestba grunted. "I would rather have forced away the darkness. I can still remember the look on her face, when I threw her to safety and stayed behind. I would have done anything to have never given her such sorrow."
Xestba entered the castle quietly, keeping along the wall or behind pillars.
"Are... we not supposed to be seen?" she asked quietly, "Is that what 'recon' means?
"Correct," said Xestba, "Recon, is to observe without being seen, to learn, without others realizing we have learned. Not that I'd wish Belle to see me in this state regardless and..."
He went silent and held up a hand, kneeling down and motioning for her to do the same. "I don't believe it... he's back, are they all back as well?"
Xion followed his gaze, trying to spot who he was talking about, but all she saw was... wait... was that a walking clock? What? She stared at it, baffled, as it hopped up a flight of stairs. Xestba waited a minute for the clock to gain some distance before he bounded oddly nimbly and quietly for someone his size up a flight of stairs and slowly moved down a hallway, making sure to trail well behind the clock. He stopped outside a partially open door, and turned an hear towards it...
Xion froze as a woman's voice spoke out, "Oh Cogsworth, has there been any news about him from the villages?"
Xion moved a hand up to her chest, breathing a little laboriously. That woman's voice... it felt familiar to her, like the people from Nothing's Watch...
"No madam, I am sorry, there has been no citing of the Master reported," came a reluctant voice.
"They're looking for me?" whispered Xestba, sounding almost surprised.
"Oh... where could he be? As if Kairi being taken wasn't bad enough, him not being back hurts even worse," said the woman mournfully.
Kairi...
That name again...
There was a brief constriction of pain in her chest before it relaxed.
"Well madam, we can trust that Sora boy to find her, in turn, we'll have to do our best to find the Master," said Cogsworth.
Sora? He's looking for...
Xion took a step back behind Xestba, hand clutching the side of her head as she whispered, "S...sora...?"
An image flashed through her mind, of a cheerful boy with brown spiky hair...
Dammit, stop taking them from me!
Xion blinked a few times and viciously shook her head to banish the image. "Taking what?"
There was only an angry hissing sound from the Voice, making Xion a bit frustrated. These random accusations and piss poor attitude from the Voice was starting to grate on her.
"Well, we've confirmed that the... target... is here, we should go," murmured Xestba.
"Target?" asked Xion.
"Belle, we were to confirm that Belle has indeed returned to the castle," said Xestba, a displeased look on his face, "That she does so without any obvious protection is... aggravating, but, that is how she is."
"You're not going to go say hi?" asked Xion.
Xestba bared his teeth. "What part of not being seen do you not understand? Besides..."
His face fell a bit. "I would not want her to see me like this, a creature of nothing, not even capable of caring for her."
She wouldn't care...
Xion voiced the Voice's words, agreeing with them. "She wouldn't care."
Xestba merely walked passed her. "Of course she wouldn't, that's who she is."
"So, are you...?" began Xion.
Xestba walked through the portal rather than answer. Xion rolled her eyes and followed through, coming back to the entrance of the Castle That Never Was.
"So... what was so special about this 'Belle' lady that we had to go check on her?" asked Xion.
Xestba sharply turned his head, empty anger on his face. "Belle, meant the world to me. But beyond that, I learned after being briefed by the Organization that she is one of seven hearts of pure light, one of the Princesses of Heart.
Princesses of Heart.
It was another painful constriction in her chest, enough to make her wince. That term meant something to her.
"Are you alright?" asked Xestba curiously, "I had heard your body was still unstable, going on a mission even if it is just recon on your first week seems a bit hasty."
Xion shrugged. "It's fine."
Xestba frowned briefly but started off. "Our mission is complete, report in to whoever it is that gave you your mission."
"Okay, see you later Xestba," she called after him.
The creature didn't respond, merely continuing on his way.
"Seems a bit grumpy," she mumbled to herself.
She turned and started walking back up the castle. She pondered the new words she had learned. Sora and Princesses of Heart. What did they mean to her? The boy seemed really nice, off of a single image anyway, and the Belle lady sounded nice too. Hmm...
Xion returned to Saix, and confirmed Belle was there.
Saix nodded. "Very well, your next five missions are lined up and ready to go one after the other."
"Okay," said Xion.
"Woah woah woah," came Axel's voice.
She turned to see the redhead walking over, eyebrow raised. "You're giving the new kid six missions in one day, on her first day? You didn't even do that for Xigbar, and the Superior told you to be hard on that lazy bastard."
"I heard that!" called over Xigbar from the couch.
Saix didn't seem phased by the question. "It is the Superior's will she observe the Princesses of Heart, who are you to judge?"
Axel shrugged. "You do remember the Keybearers are swing happy towards us with those oversized keys of theirs, right?. If she runs into one of them, she's toast. Seems like a waste to get a new member just to throw her away."
Xion looked back and forth between the two men for a moment, a hint of a frown on her face.
"And wait a sec," said Axel, "Counting the one she just did, there's only six missions, but there's seven princesses last I counted. Man, I knew the Superior was old, but forgetting how to count? Tsk."
Xigbar snicked from the couch.
"Axel, your mouth is going to get you killed one of these days," said Saix, exasperated, "The Superior said we need not concern ourselves with the seventh."
Of course he did... that bastard...
"What do you mean?" asked Xion aloud, both to Saix and the Voice.
To her frustration, both didn't answer the question.
"Tell ya what, I'll take three, she takes two. Counting the one she already did, dead even split," offered Axel.
Saix crossed his arms. "Aren't you on that 'vacation' you hassled the Superior for?"
Axel shrugged. "Recon is kind of like vacation anyway, don't do anything but not be seen and watch people go about their lives."
Saix sighed. "I'll contact the lesser branches to coordinate with you."
He turned to Xion. "Your next partner will await you at the entrance to the castle, go."
Xion turned and left the room, starting down the castle...
"Yo," came Axel's voice.
Xion turned her head to see him jog to catch up and then fall in beside her. "Hello."
"Umm, why did you take half of the missions, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Xion.
Axel rolled his eyes. "Considering you don't see a problem with them dumping that much on you on your first day, I consider it a good choice. C'mon, someone's got to look out for the newbies, otherwise they'll get walked all over. Stick with me, and I'll keep you above water."
Fair enough statement...
Xion's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not in water... oh... is that one of those 'phrase' things?"
Axel nodded, a smirk on his face. "Aha, someone's learning."
"Whats that one mean?" she asked.
"It mean's I'm trying to make sure you don't get overwhelmed, that people don't take advantage of you," he answered, "Just tryin to help you a cute girl, ya know?"
"O-oh," she stammered out, feeling her face heat a bit, "T-that's kind of you."
Axel smirked. "Well, what can I say, I am the... huh?"
Axel stopped walking and started at her, dumbstruck. "Are you..."
She blinked a few times. "Am I what?"
"Blushing?" he whispered with confusion.
"Um...," she said awkwardly, stopping to look away from him.
"How the heck can a Nobody blush?" muttered Axel, "I thought you needed a heart do do that?"
He frowned briefly, a deep contemplative and almost wary look on his face before he masked it and started walking past her, "Anyway, like I was saying, I am the most well 'liked' Core member with the other branches I'll have you know."
He reflected briefly. "Well, except for Luxord when it's 'that time' at the pub, then he's everyone's favorite gambling man, or everyone's least favorite."
He shrugged. "Depends who you ask."
Xion followed him down silently, wishing the hot feeling in her face would go away. By the time they reached the entrance, she was a bit more composed.
"Yo, prince man," called out Axel.
Xion followed Axel's gaze to see a man in the Organization's Coat walking towards them. He had brown hair with a kind of puffy front to it, and brown eyes. He had on his face an attempt to look pleasant and respectful, if not for the emptiness bleeding into it, it would have been believable. He bore a longsword and a rather large triangular blue shield on his back.
The man tilted his head curtly to Axel. "Pleasant day Axel."
He turned to study Xion. "And to you as well, I don't believe we've met yet."
"I'm Xion," she offered.
The man tilted his head curtly. "Pleasant day Xion, I am Piphilx."
He turned and aimed a hand, crafting a portal of black energy. "Shall we then, Xion? Forgive the brief introduction, but, I have been waiting for this for some time."
She nodded. "Sure, Xestba was kind of impatient too."
She giggled a little. "Said pretty much the same thing as you."
Piphilx gave a brief empty-smile. "We've all been waiting a long time to see those we cherished again."
"All?" she asked.
Piphilx motioned to the portal, and they stepped through before he replied, "Those of us who cherished the Princesses of Heart were placed within our own branch of the Organization. If ever the Keybearers were to fail to protect them, or the Princesses were to leave their protection, we were to step in and..."
Piphilx trailed off and tensed, drawing his sword and shield. "What?!"
Xion blinked a few times and looked away from his back. They were on a bridge, and ahead of them... was a devastated and ruined castle. There were black and gray thorns all throughout the ruins. An ill, unsettled feeling entered Xion's stomach. Something felt wrong...
"What happened here?" whispered Xion.
"I know those thorns... Maleficent," hissed Piphilx, "She destroyed the castle... oh no... Aurora!"
He took off for the ruins.
Xion paused at the second name, feeling a familiar contraction in her chest. This was starting to get annoying, and way to frequent. Why did words and names hurt or cause weird reactions?
She shook her head and started after him before pausing, turning her head back and forth. A chill ran down her spine, a tremor running down her hand...
I can feel it... something's here... something bad... g-get us out of here!
Xion ran after Piphilx, as if chased. She caught up to him as he began stepping over the rubble. "P-piphilx! I think we need to go, now."
Piphilx turned to frown at her. "We haven't seen if Aurora is alive or not..."
She's not here! I don't feel a hint of light, of her presence anywhere!
"There's no light here," said Xion shakily, "L-let's just go!"
Piphilx turned to stare at her. "What is wrong Xion?"
There was a presence starting to scratch at the back of her mind that was sending chills continually down her spine, it was drawing closer. "S-something's h-here."
Piphilx narrowed his eyes and moved to stand in front of her. "Stay behind me."
She pulled on his arm. "No! We need to GO!"
Thud... thud... thud...
The sound of something tapping along the ground was heard echoing along. The chilling sensation had turned into a full on crawling one. Her chest was starting to hurt, badly, her breathing labored...
SCREAM
A horrible, bone chilling scream ripped through the air off in the distance. Xion gave a cry, clutched her chest, and fell to a knee.
Piphilx hesitated for a moment before turning, forming a black portal, grabbing Xion's shoulder, and pulling her through. The moment they were back in the World That Never Was, the awful sensation faded away. Piphilx let go of her and turned, looking towards where the portal had been.
"I think... that world is off limits for now," said Piphilx unevenly.
Xion nodded. "Y-yeah, I'll go tell Saix."
"Uh... didn't you guys just leave?" came Axel's voice.
Xion turned to see Axel and a wacky looking guy, who was oddly not in an organization coat. He was a short man, with a gray hat with a peice of paper that said 6/10, gray clothes, with green hair and gray eyes.
"Umm... going there is a bad idea," was all Xion would say.
Axel scratched his head. "Well, okay. Anyway, me and the Mad Hatter are on our way."
"Mad Hatter?" she said, perplexed at the lack of the X in the name.
The short man took off his hat. "A merry birthday to you! It should be an unbirthday, but we need hearts for those."
She stared at him, lost.
Axel walked over and patted her shoulder, leaning forward to whisper. "Don't mind him, he's a little crazy, even without a heart. Doesn't follow any of the rules. Good guy though."
"Okay...," was all she said.
Axel's eyes flickered to Piphilx. "So, see your princess in that quick visit?"
"No," was his reply, sounding almost unhappy.
"Keybearers?" asked Axel.
Piphilx hesitated. "We don't know, we didn't stick around long enough to find out. The entire castle was destroyed, we don't think Aurora was there."
Axel frowned briefly. "Hmm, sounds like a follow up assignment at some point. Anyway, see ya."
"Oh boy, time to go have a tea party with Alice!" said the Mad Hatter.
Axel gave him a dry look. "No, we're not allowed to see her."
"Are too!" whined the Mad Hatter.
Xion took that as her signal to leave as the two started arguing. She and Piphilx bid eachother goodbye and went their separate ways. She returned to the Gray Area, but noted Saix wasn't there. Only Xigbar and Luxord were, sitting on opposite ends of the room.
"Yo, Kiddo," called over Xigbar, "You forget something?"
"Umm... no, the mission's complete, Aurora wasn't there," said Xion.
"Fair enough," said Xigbar.
"Up for a game then till our favorite mission dictator comes back?" called over one of the others waving a few cards at her, Luxord if she remembered right.
"I wouldn't," advised Xigbar, "He cheats."
"I do not, I abhor cheaters I'll have you know," said Luxord, "I'll even start with something simple, Blackjack is an easy game to play."
Game? Well... games were supposed to be fun, right?
She walked over and sat down next to him. "Okay, how do you play Blackjack?"
Luxord began shuffling a deck of cards through the air, magic coating each one. "There are several rule-sets, but the game at it's most basic is simple. Get as close to twenty-one as possible without going over while being ahead of the dealer's hand."
"Close to twenty-one with what?" she asked.
Luxord blanked for a moment before chuckling softly. "The cards of-course, here, I will show you. Xigbar, get over here."
There was an audible sigh as the one-eyed man walked over and plopped down.
Luxord began speaking, "There will be no gambling with a beginner, but under normal circumstances, we would bet munny before we began playing. First, each person is given one face up card..."
Luxord flipped a card for himself, a '7', and then one for Xigbar, a '2'. "Then, everyone is dealt a second card, except, the dealer, me in this case, has his card dealt facedown."
Luxord placed a face down card next to his '7' and flipped over a '10' for Xigbar. "Afterwords, the game of chance begins. You have two options, to 'stand' or to 'hit'. To stand is to keep what you have and not risk another card taking you over twenty-one. So then, Xigbar, what is your choice."
Xigbar looked at the cards, bored. "Hit me."
Luxord flipped over a card, but instead of a number, a picture of a man was on it that had 'K' up in it. "It would seem Xigbar has busted."
Xigbar rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Whats the man count as?" asked Xion, "And what does busted mean?"
"There are three face cards in the deck, a jack, a queen, and a king, for the purpose of this game, they count as '10'. On that note, an ace, a card with an A on it, counts as a '1' in the most basic versions, we'll leave out the '1' or '11' rule for now," explained Luxord, "A bust is when you go over twenty-one, and thus lose."
"Oh, okay," said Xion, "So do you flip your facedown card now?"
Luxord shook his head. "It does not matter at this point, as the only none-dealer player busted, so the dealer automatically wins."
Luxord reshuffled the deck. "So then Xion, are you ready to play?"
"Sure why not," she answered, feeling a little tingly, in a good way though, she wanted to try this out.
Luxord flipped over a '10' for himself, and then a '3' for Xion. He put a facedown card for himself, and then flipped over a '10' for Xion.
"Oh, is there multiple of the same numbers?" asked Xion.
Luxord nodded. "Within a standard deck of cards exists the hearts, the clubs, the spades, and the diamonds, you can tell which one by the symbol on it. I have my own personalized deck, but play with the standard deck with others."
He leaned forward. "So then, what is your choice Xion? Stand, or hit?"
Well... a thirteen wasn't that close to twenty-one. Only a '9' or a '10' card would push her over. "Hit."
Luxord flipped over a Queen of Hearts. "It would seem you busted, number thirteen."
Xion pouted a bit. "Aww, I lose."
Luxord chuckled. "Everyone loses now and then Xion, there would be no purpose or thrill in life if victory was guaranteed. Shall we go again?"
She nodded. "Yeah!"
Luxord flipped over a '9' for himself and a '2' for Xion, he put a card facedown, and then flipped a card with an 'A' for Xion. "Stand or hit?"
Well, there was no way she could go over twenty-one, so..., "Umm, hit!"
Luxord flipped over a jack. "You are at thirteen, number thirteen."
Xion giggled a little at that and leaned forward, focusing eagerly on the deck of cards. "Alright, hit again!."
Luxord flipped over a 6. "You total at nineteen. If I may suggest..."
"Stand," said Xion, standing up.
Xigbar snorted. "You don't actually stand kiddo."
She sat back down, face feeling a little hot with embarrassment. "O-oh, okay."
Luxord seemed amused. "I suppose it's my turn now."
He flipped over '7'. "Sixteen, let us roll the dice then."
He flipped over a 6. "Twenty-two, I bust."
Xion smiled and leaped up excitedly. "I win!"
Luxord raised an eyebrow, staring at her silently.
"Umm, right?" she asked sheepishly, sitting back down.
"I suppose you did," said Luxord quietly, "Shall we play another?"
Play another they did, over and over again. They even managed to get Xigbar into playing with them, at least until...
"Is your mission finished already?" came Saix's voice.
Xion turned her head. "Oh, it was done awhile ago. Aurora wasn't there, her castle was in ruins, and there was a really bad presence coming for us so we left."
Saix blinked once, as if in taking in what she said, before scowling. "And you didn't think to come find me for your next mission? Is goofing off playing games your idea of showing your worth to the Organization?"
"Ah come now Saix, she was entertaining her fellow members," said Luxord, "There's worth in that."
Saix glared at him. "I'll assume you are responsible for detracting her then."
He turned to Xion. "Your next partner will await you at the entrance to the castle, go."
Xion turned back to Luxord and gave him a smile. "Thanks for the games!"
Luxord tilted his head. "My pleasure."
With that, Xion took off...
Luxord hummed quietly to himself and waited for Saix to leave the room before turning to eye Xigbar. "If I didn't know any better Xigbar, I'd say that child-like excitement she found for the game was genuine, and not faked. Do you not find that a bit, peculiar?"
Xigbar smirked a little. "So you noticed huh?"
"Oh, someone's been keeping secrets," said Luxord, a glint of empty-interest in his eyes.
"As if, I was just in the right place at the right time to overhear something I probably shouldn't have," answered Xigbar.
Luxord snorted. "Ah yes, you just 'happened' to accidentally eavesdrop."
Xigbar smirked, but didn't respond.
"Hmm, I wonder if I should inquire to the Superior about our newest member," mused Luxord, "I'm curious exactly who, or what she is."
Xigbar turned to eye him. "Luxord, I hope you value your life, because if you take that gamble, I guarantee you will lose."
Luxord chuckled. "Most likely."
He leaned back and began shuffling his deck of cards. "Still, I suppose I should be glad to have our newest rather 'unique' member. Gives me someone to play against who actually enjoys a bit of chance. Oh how her eyes trailed ever flip of the card, good odds I'll make a gambler out of her."
Xigbar slowly shook his head. "I wouldn't gamble on anything about her."
Luxord raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why not?"
Xigbar turned his head to stare at the door Xion had left through. "Because, if she ends up anything like who she was born from was, Xehanort messed up, big time."
Luxord's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Xigbar grinned and stood up, making for the door to leave. "Wouldn't you like to know..."
What Xion found waiting for her at the bottom of the castle wasn't what she expected. Instead of one person, there were seven small people in Organization Cloaks arguing amongst themselves about who got to go on the mission. Each of them, save for the youngest looking, were bearded. She stared at the spectacle, before giggling softly at the sight.
The small men all turned to her. "Oh great."
Immediately they started arguing in earnest before one of them called out, "Let the Core Member decide."
Xion rolled her eyes and picked one at random. "You."
"Ha!" said the small man she picked.
The other six groaned and whined a bit.
The small man, the only one with glasses, introduced himself. "I'm Docx."
"Nice to meet you Docx, I'm Xion," she replied.
Docx formed one of the black portals and motioned. "We shall, erm, shall we?"
Xion moved through the portal and stepped out into a quiet wood.
"Oh bother, I haven't seen home in so long," said the tiny man, wringing his hands together, "I hope Snow White is alright and hasn't done anything foolish without us there to help her."
Snow White.
Another painful tug at her chest.
Xion shook her head and turned to him. "Um, lead the way."
Docx started walking through the woods until they came across a beautiful little cottage across a small stream. "Exactly as it left we, I mean, we left it..."
They kept to the trees until they could circle around to the back of the cottage. "Give me a boost."
"Boost?" she asked.
"Lift me up to the window," he said.
Oh.
She did as he asked and waited.
"Oh! I see her, she's okay," said Docx with relief, "That's good to..."
Docx yelped and struggled, pushing backwards off the window and toppling Xion over. "Oh no, oh boy, trouble trouble trouble!"
Xion rolled over and watched him take off into the woods. "What in the world..."
The sound of a door opening and the pattering of feet was heard. "Doc! Was that you Doc?"
Xion froze as a young woman rounded the cottage and stopped to stare at Xion. "Oh, your not Doc."
The woman had a long yellow skirt, a blue bodice top, and a red cape. Her black hair was short, her brown eyes kind than, innocence seeming to radiate off her.
Xion rose to her feet and stared at the woman, not sure what to do. No one had ever told her what she should do if they were seen on recon...
Snow White! Please tell me you can hear me!
Xion paused at that, wondering if the woman could hear the Voice's call, but...
"Did you see a little man with a beard and glasses run by?" asked Snow White.
Grrr...
Guess not, but to her question, didn't like to lie, but..., "No?"
Snow White pouted. "Oh dear, I was so sure I saw him."
The woman smiled at her. "Where are my manners? I'm Snow White, who are you?"
This woman seemed nice, Xion returned the smile. "I'm Xion, nice to meet you."
"Pleasure to meet you as well," Snow White returned, "What were you doing out here?"
"I was looking around, I've never been here before," she answered somewhat honestly, "You have a nice home."
Snow White grew a bit sad. "It is nice, but, with the dwarves missing, it just isn't the same."
"Dwarves?" Xion asked.
"Small, tiny men, but with big hearts," said Snow White warmly.
Oh... so, those tiny men were dwarves.
She hesitated, before deciding against telling her about them. She remembered Xestba's reluctance to show himself to Belle as a Nobody, the dwarves were probably the same. "I'm... sorry to here that they're missing."
Snow White nodded sadly. "I hope they'll come home soon."
She paused to look over Xion a little closer. "That coat..."
She hesitated, searching Xion's face. "Are you here to cause trouble?"
Xion gave her a blank look. That was a rather abrupt change.
"Umm, no?" answered Xion.
Snow White relaxed. "Oh, okay. I was just told to be careful about people in black coats."
"Why?" asked Xion.
"Sora said they're the ones who took Kairi away," answered Snow White.
Xion winced twice, one for each name, starting to feel dizzy.
Snow White grew curious. "Speaking of Kairi... you look an awful lot like her."
"I... do?" asked Xion faintly.
Snow White nodded. "If you dyed your hair red, you'd look exactly like her."
She paused to reflect. "Well, not quite actually. She had a bit of muscle on her for a girl, not that you could see it through the armor she always had on. She looked a bit rough around the edges for someone so young, not to mention you've been very polite when Kairi could be very rude and upfront at times."
Excuse me?!
Xion felt a bit confused at the voice's exclamation before shaking her head. "Well, I'm not Kairi, I'm Xion."
Dame right you're not.
"Anyway, it was nice to meet you Xion, I'd invite you inside for some tea, but the house is a bit of a mess, I'm still trying to clean up," said Snow White.
"That's alright, thank you for the offer," said Xion.
"Bye," said Snow White, turning and walking away kind of quickly, pausing a bit to give Xion another curious look before disappearing around the house.
Xion turned and left, making for the woods and hoping to bump into...
"Oh, you are there!" said Docx, coming out from behind a tree, "Er, there you are!"
"I um, didn't really know what I was supposed to do when we were seen, so I um... talked to her?" said Xion sheepishly.
Docx winced. "Well... probably don't want to mention that in the mission report."
"You want me to lie?" said Xion, frowning.
"Do you want to get in trouble?" said Docx.
"Well... no," admitted Xion.
"Just say we peeked through the window, saw that she was there, and left," said Docx, "Okay?"
She didn't like lying, but..., "Okay."
With that, Docx formed a black portal, and they left. She bid Docx and the dwarves farewell, and started up the castle. She gave her report to Saix, and retreated to her room. She sat on her bed, crossed her arms, and frowned.
"She... said the 'black coats' took this 'Kairi' away," murmured Xion.
Was she talking about the Organization? If so, why were they kidnapping someone? That wasn't a nice thing to do...
No shit...
Xion rolled her eyes at the Voice's gruffness and turned to the other thing that drew her interest, and caused her confusion. "She said... I looked like Kairi. Why do I look like her? Who is she? What is she to me?"
To that, the Voice did not offer a response...
"Oh dear, where did I put that thing?" said Snow White, scrambling through the mess of a house.
Honestly, she would have thought the world would have been restored to the exact way it had been before. She did not remember leaving this house in such a state of disarray...
"Oh, there it is!" she said.
She picked up a small purple crystal, the one given to her by Master Yen Sid to contact them if she needed any help, out from the laundry basket. "Hello? Is this thing on?"
"Riku here, something come up Snow White?" came in a boys voice.
"Is Sora there?" asked Snow White.
"He's still out searching for Kairi," answered Riku, "Why?"
"Well, I just met a girl in one of those black coats called Xion who looked and felt an awful lot like Kairi," she answered.
There was silence for a moment.
"WHAT?" exclaimed Riku along with several other voices that had obviously been listening along...
Author's Notes:
Question: Do you guys want a dialogue identifier/descriptor before 'the Voice' when she speaks? Or keep it as it is?
Simple chapter, poking at and teasing Xion with familiar names and terms, not to mention the other Core Members starting to become aware that somethings a bit odd with her compared to the 'average Nobody'...
Oh and a very close brush with coming face to face with a 'hybrid' way to early for Xion to dream of handling.
Not to mention, team Keybearers are now 'somewhat' aware of Xion.
Sorry for the 'slow' pace compared to Book 1 and 2, but I chugged through those books at an insane pace. I'm taking this a bit slower, oh, and I'm going to be gone starting this Friday for a week long vacation. So there probably wont be any progress in the book during that time, sorry. Hopefully I can get out another chapter before then, we will see.