Chapter 6

Again he is fighting a red-eyed monster, but this one stands on two legs and swings its arms to a haphazard rhythm to control the instruments around it. He hacks wildly at it, finding that cutting through the weak points is quite exhilarating. He lands gracefully as the beast screams silently and fades into oblivion.

He is glaring down at a raven-haired boy, who is on his hands and knees. 'Please forgive me,' the boy begs. 'No!' he yells, kicking the boy harshly. 'Your punishment for losing to her shall be severe!' 'I'm sorry,' the boy sobs. 'I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!' He laughs. 'Don't hurt you?' he cackles. 'I'm going to do much worse than hurt you!'

xxx

Roxas was okay with letting a friend stay in his room, but it was downright awkward when he discovered that Xemnas had fallen asleep on his bed.

He had just finished his paperwork. He stood up and said, "Xemnas, my work is done." There was no reply.

Xemnas was laying on his bed, eyes closed, one hand curled into a fist on his chest. He looked quite peaceful.

Roxas gently shook him. "Xemnas..." No use. The Superior was asleep. His fist was grabbing something. Roxas gingerly unfurled the fingers and found...a charm made of reddish seashells? He held it up to the light. It was made with care and attention to detail. It looked familiar...

...Make sure you bring it back to me...

He blinked the image out of his mind and removed one of his gloves so he could feel the charm with his hands. A little rough, but not enough to be uncomfortable. He stroked it gently, then jumped a little when Xemnas screamed and struck out with a Blade. Roxas dodged narrowly. "Xemnas!"

Xemnas was panting and glancing around the room, searching for some apparition that had escaped his mind.

"Xemnas! It was a dream!" Roxas put a hand on Xemnas' shoulder. "You're okay! You're okay."

Xemnas looked at him, the light of terror in his eyes. "It's not okay! He's inside me! I can feel him!" He cupped his face in his hands. "Give me my body back!" He looked angry. "No! It's mine now!" His eyes shone differently. Were they- blue? "It was never yours!" His eyes were amber again, and he made the most pathetic expression. "Help me, Roxas. Help me!"

Roxas forced Xemnas down onto the bed, arms pinned so that the bottoms faced up. "Xemnas! Calm down!"

Xemnas did seem calmer, but there was a strange quality to it. "Who's Xemnas?" the Nobody asked. "There is no Xemnas. There was only ever me."

"Then who are you?" Roxas asked. May as well go with it.

Xemnas smiled sardonically. "Me? I'm Xehanort." He forced Roxas off and sat up. His eyes changed as did his mood. "Roxas. Keep me down no matter what! Don't listen to Xehanort!" His mood changed again, his eyes yellow. "I don't want to feel like this." He rushed past Roxas and dove out the door.

"Come back!" Roxas ran after Xemnas.

xxx

Xigbar skidded to a halt on the pathway below, using his powers to cushion his landing. He shook his hair and pulled it into a ponytail.

The sound of pounding footsteps reached his ears and he saw Xemnas rushing down the hall, looking much like Terra had when they had first fought. He rushed past Xigbar, panting. Roxas followed close behind, calling out to Xemnas. Xigbar shrugged and chased after the other two.

Xemnas tripped over himself, but it seemed more like he had did it on purpose. Roxas grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back, knee pressing between the bigger man's shoulders. Xigbar slid in next to them and leaned over to Xemnas' ear. "It looks like you're in a pickle, big boy."

Xemnas growled him. "Fool. It's you're own fault that you lost an eye. Get him off so I can take the other one!"

Xigbar laughed. "Sorry, Master, but I have a bottle of chloroform and I've always wanted to test it." He pulled out a rag and the poured some chloroform onto it.

Xemnas seemed relieved. "Thank you, Xigbar. Knock me out."

Xigbar shrugged and put the rag over Xemnas' mouth and nose. At first, the Nobody kicked and tried to fight it, but soon his movements slowed and he stopped moving altogether. Xigbar tossed the cloth over the walkway.

Roxas let go of Xemnas. "Thanks, Xigbar. I don't think I could've managed him myself."

"Anytime, kiddo." Xigbar waved his hand carelessly and lifted Xemnas over his shoulder. "We've got a long way to go."

"Or," Roxas said as he opened a dark corridor, "we could use this. C'mon." He led Xigbar through. They ended up right outside Xemnas' room. "Go on." Roxas went back into the corridor and it closed behind him.

Xigbar forced open the door and laid Xemnas on the ruffled bed. The man hadn't gained a single pound.

What had he meant about losing his eye? Was he really Master Xehanort? Or was he Terra? Who knows? The Master's Keyblade was mounted on his dresser, but that could mean anything. He did have a giant suit of armor and a huge sword. The guy could be a collector, or something of that nature.

He sat at the foot of the bed and laughed. "You know what? I love chloroform. What? You don't? I see why." He laughed some more at his lame joke. The jokes were just to hide the turbulence that was really within his mind.

Who is this Xehanort really?

xxx

Aqua sat down next to Axel and laughed.

Axel handed her the ice cream and took a big bite from his own, smiling while doing so. "So, wut bought you heah?"

Aqua sighed. "Your leader. I was visiting him."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "You were visiting Xemnas?

Aqua shrugged. "Long story, but he asked me to take him to the beach." She took a small bite of her ice cream.

Axel looked no less than incredibly shocked to hear that. "The beach?"

"Yeah," Aqua said, smiling. "And then he fell asleep." She laughed a little, remembering the moment.

Axel laughed a little, too. "Really?" He licked his ice cream along the side.

"Sure did." Aqua stuck the bar in her mouth, so that the handle and bottom stuck out.

Axel saw this and laughed. He pulled it out. Aqua grabbed it away and stuck it back in.

A dark corridor opened behind Axel and a boy stepped out. He looked exactly like Ven, but he wasn't. The boy saw Aqua and his eyes widened. The corridor closed.

"Uh...hi, Aqua," the boy said. "I'm Roxas."

"Uh...hey, Roxas," Aqua said nervously.

Axel laughed and invited Roxas to sit. The boy did, and Axel asked, "What took you so long?"

Roxas shrugged. "It was the craziest thing. I was in my room, and Xemnas came in."

The other two looked shocked. "Xemnas?" they said in unison.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, and he asked if he could visit. He asked me about the traitors, if I cared, so I asked why he asked about it. He said that he wanted to know if I had felt anything."

"Weird," Axel said.

"You bet. After that, we were quiet, then he said Ventus."

Aqua's eyes widened. "He said Ventus?"

Roxas nodded. "When I asked him why he said it, he didn't remember saying it. He wasn't feeling himself, so he got up to leave, and, I have no reason why, but when I said he could stay, I called him Terra, and he responded."

Aqua's eyes lit up. "He is Terra!"

Axel looked at her. "His Somebody was Xehanort. I know this because once, when I got into the Radiant Castle, he caught me and threw me out a window."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Sure. He stayed while I did some work and he watched me write. He was leaning on me, so I asked what was wrong, and he said he liked my handwriting. I asked him to get off, so he laid down on my bed and fell asleep. He woke up and screamed, and started freaking out about someone inside him, and arguing with himself. He ran away, so I chased him, and I caught him. Xigbar was there too, and Xemnas threatened to take out his eye, so Xigbar used chloroform on him."

"Holy crap," Axel said. "I always thought he was crazy."

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "Arguing with...himself?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah. He said he wanted his body back. And his eye color kept changing. He called himself Xehanort, then told me to keep him down, not to listen to 'Xehanort'."

"Strange." Axel took a bite of his ice cream. He swallowed it and looked at Aqua. She was staring off into the sunset, ice cream dribbling down her fingers. "Aqua?"

She kept gazing into the distance. "I used to watch the sunset with them." She licked up the last of her ice cream and threw the stick off the tower.

"Hm." Axel stuck the bar in his mouth.

They were silent the rest of the evening. It was quiet, but nice.

xxx

Aqua pulled herself into the window and saw Xigbar sitting on the bed next to a fully-dressed Xemnas.

The Freeshooter smiled at her. "Your little buddy is taking a chloroform nap."

Aqua shook her wind-tossed hair out. "I know. I hear he was freaking out."

Xigbar nodded. "He said it my fault that I lost my eye, then threatened to take the other one."

"Pleasant," Aqua said. "You think he'll be awake by tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Xigbar said as he stood up and went out the door.

Aqua looked around the grey room and saw another door. She walked over and opened it. It was a luxurious bathroom with a large Jacuzzi bathtub. She was tempted. It occurred to her that she hadn't had a real shower in nine years. Wouldn't hurt to have one now.

She stripped out of her clothes and turned on the hot water. She tossed in some bath soaps and settled in the pleasantly warm water for a long bath.

Aqua dried her hair out and wrapped a towel around her body. She opened the bathroom door to let the steam out. Who knew that Xemnas would have so many shampoos and conditioners? She brushed her short hair out in a comb that had some wispy strands of silver hair in it. It amused her to see her blue hair with his silver.

She pulled on her clothes and struggled with her armored shoes. Somehow, she managed to force them on. She tied the strings on her black corset and walked into the main room.

Xemnas was still on the bed, feet tilted outward just like Terra tilted his feet. She sat down at the foot of his bed and stripped off his shoes and socks. His feet were big, but not unusually so, his toes short. Cute feet. She pinched his big toe and wiggled it. Of course, he didn't respond, but it still amused her. She giggled as she played with his other toes and gently tickled his feet.

She gave up on his feet and went up to his head. His gentle features seemed even more peaceful and serene when they were still. Aqua ran her fingers gently down his cheek, then noticed his hair. It was long, pretty, and right there. How could she resist? After a while, he had a nice braid going down the left side of his head.

She smiled and found the box in his cupboard and opened it up. In it was Terra's belt buckle, a winner stick, and a pile of photos. She pulled the photos out and shuffled through them. Two of them had Terra in them. She remembered that day, taking all those photos with Terra's instant camera and goofing off with Lea and Isa at the Radiant Garden.

She put the box back and walked over to the bookshelf. On it was many nameless, dusty books, but three were different. She brushed the dust off the spine of the first book. On it was a year. She opened to the first page. It was a photo album full of photos taken with an instant camera.

The same people appeared in all of the photos: a tall brunette, a strong man with dreadlocks, a blonde, a young bluish-haired boy, Braig, and an older man. Each photo was labeled with handwritten captions. One got Aqua's attention especially. It was Xemnas, smiling broadly and holding the blonde (Even) next to him with one arm. He looked mostly the same, but his hair was white and sharper-looking. The caption below read: "Even didn't expect it when I jumped from the cupboard. Thank Ienzo for the photo".

Another photo caught her interest: Lea and Isa were being held by their shirts by the muscular brunette (Aeleus) outside of the Radiant Castle, backs facing the camera. This caption said: "I caught these two lurking around in the castle". The one right next to it showed Braig looking quite humiliated beneath a bed. The caption: "Braig is the monster beneath Ienzo's bed".

Aqua laughed out loud when she saw the photo of Braig giving the older man (Ansem) a foot massage. The caption below read: "This was blackmail for Braig. He keeps calling me Master Xehanort and Terra. Thank Dilan for the photo". What could Braig have meant?

She put the album back with the other ones and laid down next to Xemnas. She had just put a hand on his chest and closed her eyes when she heard him moan.

xxx

Consciousness seemed to be floating just beyond his reach, like the many stars. He reached out to it from the oblivion, but missed. This final time, he managed to grab hold of it.

His skull pounded with pain. He opened his eyes, but even his dim room seemed bright as the full moon, and everything spun around him. He felt like his limbs were made of lead. He tried to say something, but instead a low moan escaped his lips. The smarting twinge in his chest had gone away.

Distantly, as if through a long tunnel, he heard a female voice: "Xemnas?" Aqua!

He attempted to smile, but it hurt to much. He slowly reached up and clasped his hand around Aqua's. "Is it...tomorrow? Are we...going to the...beach?"

Aqua shook her head. "No. That's tomorrow." She helped him sit up.

Xemnas felt around in his pocket; he was missing the charm! "Aqua, I lost it...your charm..."

As if on cue, Roxas came in via dark corridor. "I forgot to return this." He tossed the charm to Xemnas and left.

Xemnas held up the charm. "I guess not."

Aqua pulled out her own and held it up.

"Can you tell me about it?" the silvernette asked.

Aqua nodded. "I made these for Terra and Ven. We always kept them with us to know that we're never apart as long as we remember each other." Aqua grabbed a book off his shelf and returned. It was his first photo album from Radiant Castle. "Can you tell me about this?"

Xemnas took the album and flipped through all the pages. "I made this during my third years as an apprentice. I took photos of everyone and all the events in the castle. There's only a few of me, though." He flipped to a picture of Aqua's armor. "I took this photo of your armor, because Ansem wanted to put it in storage. It was with me in the beginning."

Aqua nodded. "I gave up my armor to save you."

Xemnas listened to her voice but heard no sound. "The first thing I remember is drifting away from darkness, being held by this armor and hearing a voice call out to me..." His voice trailed off. He wrapped his arms around Aqua and closed his eyes, never wanting this moment to fade. "I can't wait to go to the beach."

Aqua hugged him back. "Neither can I." She yawned.

Xemnas yawned, realizing his fatigue. "All I've been doing today is sleeping." He shed his coat and allowed Aqua to feel his outfit before he covered himself up for bed. "You can sleep wherever, Aqua. Just not with me."

Aqua laughed a little. "I see why." She walked out the door.

Xemnas closed his eyes and willed rest upon himself. Sleep never came easily to him, because with sleep came nightmares of death and fear and pain.

xxx

He is standing in the field of grass again. His entire body aches, each step he takes sends needles of arthritis through his legs. He stops and massages the sore muscles of his back, to no avail. There is no curing his pain. He longs for the young, supple body he once had.

He hears it. Something is stalking him through the luscious prairie. It slithers silently through the grasses, feasting on his scent and waiting for a chance to strike. He draws his weapon and waits for the beast to appear. The bite on his leg teaches him to exercise caution.

It rears its head from the grass and stares into his eyes. He feels the creature's venom take effect and he watches his hands change. He feels none of the previous pains. In fact, he feels lighter, like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

The creature strikes.

xxx

Aqua thought that maybe she would find a room with an empty bed, but after an hour of relentless searching the floor was quite inviting.

She laid down in the grave room and closed her eyes. She was really tired, and wanted rest more than anything.

Another blasted reference to Far Lands... I promise there won't be any more. R&R appreciated. Thank you.