Alexus's Point of View

I curiously followed Mr. Xemnas through the dark corridor. When we stepped out, we were in a city with tall buildings. It was nighttime, so everything was dark. "Where are we?" I wondered.

"This is our home. The World That Never Was. Do you see that castle? That is The Castle That Never Was, where we live." Mr. Xemnas pointed at a castle in the sky.

"We live there!? It looks so much bigger on the outside! Is it floating? Wait, I thought you said that there are a lot of monsters outside the castle," I recalled.

"There are," He replied.

"But then-" I was cut off by a black monster materializing from black puddles on the ground. They were almost human in shape, and the top of their heads had long antennae. Beams of light came out of Mr. Xemnas's palms, and he began to use the beams to fight the monsters until they were gone. "Why are you showing me this?"

Mr. Xemnas opened a new dark corridor. "Come."

I followed him through the dark corridor, and we ended up back in my home. "I get it. I already decided that I was going to learn to use the daggers," I sighed.

"No. That's not it. You don't understand." Mr. Xemnas began pacing. He wanted to say something to me, but he seemed hesitant. I wondered if he would tell me the secrets I asked everyone but him about.

When he didn't say anything, I decided to move the conversation along. "Is it about what everyone can't tell me because they're afraid you'll punish them?" He stopped pacing and sat down on the sofa. I sat down next to him. "It must be horrible if you didn't want anyone else to talk about it, but I would rather know about it than have no idea what's going on. Please tell me."

"It's not… necessarily bad. Alexus, I am different from you. All of the residents in The Castle That Never Was are. Those monsters that you saw? They are called Heartless. When someone is consumed by the darkness, their heart becomes a Heartless. However, when someone with a strong will becomes a Heartless, an empty shell is left behind and becomes a Nobody. That is what I have become. Beings like me, we have no hearts. No emotions. We can only feign emotions by remembering what it was like to have them. I am the leader of a group of Nobodys called Organization XIII, and we are working on a way to receive hearts of our own," Mr. Xemnas explained.

"I don't understand. You're saying that you're like those monsters?" I asked. He didn't seem like a monster to me.

"No, no. I came from a person, but I am a byproduct of the monsters, a Nobody. I look human and think like a human, but I can't feel emotions like a human," Mr. Xemnas explained.

It took me several seconds to process what he was trying to tell me. "So, you can't feel emotions like joy or pain, but you're like me in every other way?" I checked.

"That is correct," Mr. Xemnas confirmed.

"So, you don't feel sad that Mama is dead?" I wondered.

"I wish I could, but I'm afraid it just isn't possible. I can only pretend to be sad," Mr. Xemnas answered.

I didn't understand why he tried to hide it from me. It sounded nice. Every day, I felt like I was breaking inside, but he never had that. He didn't break. He just kept going. "I wish I was a Nobody," I sighed.

Mr. Xemnas turned to me and grabbed my shoulders almost roughly. I let out a squeak of fright. "Don't you ever say that," He growled. His eyes softened, and he let go of my shoulders before setting me on his lap and pulling me into a hug. "I'm sorry. You're just a child. You wouldn't know. You don't understand. Not having emotions is not a gift, Alexus. It is a curse. You must never wish to become like me. Never."

"But it hurts so much every day. You have no idea what it's like to hurt this much," I sobbed. I found myself in tears again.

"I know it doesn't seem like it now, but someday you will learn that this pain you are feeling is a gift," Mr. Xemnas assured me.

After a while of sitting there, my tears dried up again. Mr. Xemnas picked me up as he stood up and took me to my room before setting me in my bed. He started to leave. "Could you tuck me in?" I requested. Mr. Xemnas came back and tucked me in. "Thank you."

"Good night, Alexus," Mr. Xemnas said.

"Goodnight," I mumbled before I drifted off to sleep.

Tara Mccann: I hope I didn't disappoint. I know it's probably not how you expected that to go.

Guest999: Okay?

reika88: I'm sorry you feel that way. I realize that my writing style isn't for everyone. Thank you for taking the time to review.