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CHAPTER 26:
SEVERED MEMORIES AND CHAINED CONNECTIONS
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Author's Notes: The composition for this Chapter is 'Shion ~Emotion~,' from the XENOSAGA Episode One Original Soundtrack, Disc Two. This Track can be found on KINGDOM HEARTS Insider.
As soon as Mare's breathing became stable, Xion removed her hands and arms from Roxas and Mare and walked back as quickly as possible.
Roxas shifted Mare so he, and Axel, were holding her now, both of the hands that had been rubbing her back now holding her.
"I'm very sorry for touching you," she told Roxas.
Roxas didn't even wince, but Xion knew better, and she pushed the sick, stomach twisting and heaving guilt away before she risked throwing up herself at what she knew that she'd just done to Roxas, and Axel through him.
"You didn't need to let me touch you," she told him. "I could still have rubbed Mare's back without me touching you."
"It wouldn't have been a true group hug then," he responded.
"As it was when Sora brought us home, or when he and Riku brought Aqua home."
"Riku told me that he didn't participate in that as much as the others; because he was afraid that, if he did, Riku Replica would doubt Riku's dedication to Namine if he did and lose the hope that he'd regained; or that Aqua would start clinging to him as her means of atoning for having failed Eraqus, Ven, and Terra; or both," Xion answered.
Aqua was far away now, traveling with Terra through the new Arendelle of igloos and investigating whether or not the confrontations had hurt any of Arendelle's people, or damaged any of the igloos, so they could talk about her without lowering their voices.
Roxas' face didn't shift once again, but Xion knew better about this, as well.
As soon as she'd heard from Zack what the Foretellers' destined role for Roxas was, she'd at last understood precisely what she'd done to him by giving up and sacrificing herself by tricking him into murdering her and eradicating her legacy.
And, even though Roxas would almost certainly agree to it, and he wouldn't have any less of a heart if they did it on their own initiative; figuring out how the Foretellers wanted him to become an artificial Kingdom Hearts himself, and then transfiguring Roxas into it before the Foretellers were ready for it to happen, wouldn't protect him this time, as it had from whatever Ira had told Elsa.
The Foretellers would just find a way to corrupt Roxas' Kingdom Hearts with darkness later.
However, after what Meg had said, at last learning what Xion had fully done to Roxas just made her even more determined to not give up this time.
She'd done this to Roxas by giving up in the first place.
She was never going to make that mistake again.
She'd literally find a way to make herself immortal, no matter how terribly it would hurt her if she did, if she had reason to doubt too much that she could trust that she wouldn't give up and attempt to commit suicide a second time.
Meg would most likely disapprove, but as long as Xion didn't run, it didn't matter how much pain she put herself through when living for Roxas and Axel and Mare and Namine and Isa and Pence and Hayner and Olette, or anyone else.
"I have a lot of doubts that it made any difference, but Riku's refusal to participate in the group hug didn't cause Aqua to feel less welcomed home sweet home," Xion went on.
"And for that matter, you aren't Aqua.
"I tricked you into killing me; not into letting me die, or fall asleep, or becoming a prisoner in my own body.
"You see Mare as atonement for what you did to me, and Elsa as atonement for what you did to Axel, for different reasons than why Aqua sees Riku as her atonement."
Roxas jolted, as though he hadn't realized this himself until Xion had said it, and he looked like he was about to throw up another time.
Axel pulled Roxas to his side with his arm around him.
"We both know that you're not forgetting us," Axel spoke.
"And we both know that you're not Aqua. You didn't learn how to wield the Keyblade from a murderer willing to try to stab his best friend in the back just because he wanted to keep to himself researching things that Eraqus didn't approve of. You learned how to wield the Keyblade as much from Xion and I as from yourself, and we both did fight you twice, but we didn't teach you to do the same thing, and when we fought you, we didn't attack you from behind.
"Nor did you spend around ten years of your life in a lonely prison longing for love and friendship. You spent around a year in a prison with three other people who all loved you, and who you yourself loved.
"We know that, assuming that Aqua herself can't be trusted not to try to replace Ven and Terra with Riku, which we can't be sure that she'll do even if the Foretellers get to her, you'd never do that to us."
"First, Aqua also isn't Mare," Roxas responded.
"She could deal without not being given a full group hug.
"Mare couldn't have.
"Secondly, I don't see Elsa as your replacement, or Mare as Xion's replacement, and just two other friends who I need to form as strong connections as possible with.
"But that doesn't mean that they don't need me as much as you two do."
"Xion and I can walk on our own legs just fine now," Axel responded.
"We got into an argument about some things that were really bothering her after you left," Roxas looked as though he wasn't even seeing the world now, "but Meg gave Xion the advice she needed about how to cope with them, so they're not as a big of a deal as they could be," more tears appeared in Roxas' face, and fell, "And I'll tell you what the argument was about later.
"It's you that we're worried about."
"Why?" Roxas questioned.
"I'm fine.
"Mare doesn't need me to connect my heart to hers now."
Axel sighed heavily in anger and exasperation, as he and Xion both knew that he wouldn't believe a single thing that they had to say about how he didn't care the tiniest bit about whether he was killed or hurt.
"Oh, let's see," Axel started.
"Maybe because Jiminy was just killed.
"Maybe because the Foretellers just turned us against each other, and one another, as the late great Xemnas liked to amuse himself by doing.
"Maybe because Xion can now wield a Keyblade of Hearts, very weak or not.
"Maybe because you believe that it's your fault that Sora is a broken wreck now, because you showed him your bad memories in the Sleeping World That Never Was, and that's what set the ball rolling to what just happened to him now.
"Maybe because you know darn well that, while we know that you won't replace us, Mare is terrified beside herself that all three of us, you especially, are going to replace her sooner or later.
"Maybe because you know that you can't be there for Elsa by staying in Arendelle and be there for us by leaving it at the same time.
"Maybe because of all the other underhanded scheming our friendly neighborhood yapping storing Foretellers and fairy have up their sleeves.
"Maybe because you're no longer willing to be a winner yourself, and you could care less whether Xion chooses Tidus or you.
"Maybe because you refuse to even admit to yourself that you know darn well that the Foretellers want you to kill Mare as you did Xion; and for Elsa to try to sacrifice herself to die at Sora's hands, causing her to die or Anna to die forgotten, for similar reasons as to why my Nobody form died to keep you and Sora safe."
Xion had admitted that to herself as soon as Mare had told them how she felt about having been created to be an even worse puppet weapon than they were, and new hot tears obfuscated her sight nonetheless.
She'd done this to Roxas.
She was the reason why Mare and Elsa and Anna were in so much danger from the Foretellers.
This wouldn't be happening to him, or Axel, or Mare, or Elsa, or Anna, if she just hadn't given up and given her life and legacy to Roxas.
And she was a large reason why Sora's heart had just kept breaking and breaking since he'd felt Roxas' pain in the Sleeping World That Never Was, through Roxas and Axel and Namine and Ven and Aqua and Terra and Kairi and Riku and Anna and Elsa and Xion herself.
Sora wouldn't have felt as much pain from Roxas, if Roxas had even believed that he'd needed to return to Sora in the first place, if Xion hadn't given up.
To say nothing of having refused to return to Namine and done so herself once Xemnas had believed that she was willing to work for the Organization for the third time and had left her free to do as she willed once more; and rather, because Axel tracking her down had convinced Xion that she didn't at least need to murder herself, she'd selfishly sought a happier way to die by deceiving Roxas into killing her rather than do the deed on her own.
To say nothing of how, now that Axel remembered all of this, Axel himself knew that it was his fault that she'd tricked Roxas into being the one to kill her.
To say nothing of what her sins were doing to Tidus.
Why hadn't Xion been able to forge a Keyblade of Hearts at full capacity, as the Princesses of Heart had with the shadows cast by their pure lights, and not just a Final Door or a new Final Keyhole, but a new Door to Darkness as well?
Her heart wasn't just onyx enough to be a demon's from the realm of darkness.
Her heart was onyx enough to be the realm of darkness itself.
Xion was never going to give up, or lose sight of the light, again, no matter how many endless forevers she needed to live within, no matter how much pain she needed to go through to do so.
"Need I go on?"
Roxas carefully, so as not to risk awakening Mare, pulled himself out of Axel's arm with a scowl.
He placed Mare gently and carefully on the ground.
"Why would that hurt me?" Roxas questioned.
"You two, and Mare and Elsa and Namine and Isa and Hayner and Olette and Pence and Sora and Riku, and the others, are the ones in trouble."
Then his eyes widened and he cringed as though he'd just realized something, and Xion's heart squeezed indefinably tightly in an immovable steel vise and twisted with agony that couldn't even be defined as agony at the knowledge of what it was.
"Before you tell me, yes, I just figured out that Xion's Keyblade of Hearts is supposed to open a door to an artificial Kingdom Hearts that I'll become, not construct, and that's a lot more capable than the true one.
"I kill Mare and Elsa or Anna dies for me and Sora; then Sora completes smelting the Note Blade for Kairi; Xion uses a fully powered Keyblade of Hearts to turn me into an artificial Kingdom Hearts originating from how I feel about murdering the four of you; and then Kairi wields the Note Blade to open the door to the true Kingdom Hearts, supplement it with mine, and give birth to the New World of Synchronicity Perceptual.
"How is that supposed to hurt me?
"Whether I'm an artificial Kingdom Hearts or not, Kingdom Hearts, artificial or genuine, is as much a true heart as a replica's, Nobodies', data, and a regular person who is a Queen's is.
"My destiny isn't anywhere near to as terrible as Xion's, Mare's, Elsa's, Sora's, Kairi's, and Anna's.
"You don't need to worry about me, at all.
"Can you please just worry about yourselves, and assist me in trying to learn which of us is Anima and Animus, if either of us, and how Maleficent fits into Yozora's play?"
"It appears that you still don't have my promise memorized," Axel said angrily.
Xion spoke up before Roxas needed to say anything else.
"I'll tell Axel about this."
"Thank you," Roxas said with a genuine smile, "But there's nothing to tell Axel."
"You're welcome," Xion responded, and she ignored the rest of what Roxas had said.
She looked over at Anna, who was still with Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, Marshmallow, and Sven, directing guards and knights in searching for any possible wounded or dead, or damaged igloos and resources.
Vanitas was with them, having walked over to them as soon as he was sure that Mare was no longer a threat and thrown himself into a discussion with them to avoid Ven.
Ven was nowhere to be seen, and Xion wished that she could talk to Ven about this, as well, because he needed to learn this himself.
Then her eyes widened, and she clenched her teeth as she realized where Ven had disappeared to.
In an optimistically naïve effort to connect with Vanitas, Ven had opened the Lanes Between to Destiny Islands; where Namine and Isa had remained with Hayner and Olette and Pence so the latter three could use their experience in being there for Roxas, Axel, and her to assist Tidus and Selphie and Wakka in connecting their reality of kindness to Kairi's, Sora's, Riku's, Roxas', Axel's, and her reality of pain; and Ven was determined to return here with Namine and introduce her to Vanitas.
Xion wished that she could warn Vanitas about this, but Anna needed to hear what she had to say as soon as possible.
As well as Roxas, before he found out how the Foretellers had meant to turn him against Elsa from another source.
Lucca had left to search Arendelle for dead or wounded, or for damage, herself at the same time that Aqua and Terra had.
"Anna, I need to talk to you about Elsa!" Xion called.
Anna turned to Elsa without delay and said words to her that Xion couldn't hear.
Elsa nodded.
Anna's face became incredibly skeptical and similarly grudging, but she turned and partially ran, partially staggered over to the three of them.
"What is this about?" Anna questioned.
"Axel believes that love and promises and forgiveness and gratitude for how Roxas feels about him are enough to raise Roxas' spirits after how I lied to Roxas," Xion answered. "I need to know if you believe that that will still be enough for Elsa now after Mare told her that you would have died for certain if not for the Duchess of Weselton, and after she knows what happened with you on Toy Box."
Roxas' blood drained fully away once again, and Axel started to walk to his side to reach for his shoulder, but Roxas sprinted a small number of steps away.
Axel clenched his teeth tightly.
"Because I'm not sure that it will now," Xion ended.
Anna sighed heavily.
"Nor am I," Anna answered, sounding much sicker than even Roxas in uncountable ways, but not as though she was actually going to throw up.
"It was one thing when Elsa was just afraid of herself, and when she hurt me twice, and the people of Arendelle with the unending winter.
"As bad as those incidents were, they didn't do lasting harm.
"But she knows now that her parents did die because of her, and that I would have as well, and because she did refuse to cast any spells, and what the Foretellers and Maleficent did to her on Toy Box.
"If you care about other people as much as Elsa does; once you do hurt someone who you love very badly in a lasting way, whether the person who you hurt hates you for it, or still loves you and forgives you and is thankful for what you've done for that person and is still willing to make promises to you and still believes in you, it doesn't matter."
Axel started violently about what Xion and Anna were now implying about Roxas, and though his visage gained a determined expression and he clenched one hand into a tight fist, he kept his face from paling much.
"Elsa might now see that how I still love her and believe in her as further reasons to hate herself, because she almost killed me, and, as she sees it, did hurt me on Toy Box, someone who loves her and believes in her as much as I do."
Xion cringed at the reminder that Lezard very likely felt the same way.
"Still, one of Elsa's worst fears is that people will turn away from her, so how much I love her, and how much I'm thankful for and believe in her own love and warmth, might still be enough to keep her in a kind home, at least partially.
"Right now, I can't tell which parts of my fears are my own bias about what happened on Toy Box, and how Elsa might feel."
Xion clenched her teeth.
Then it was partially a good thing that Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Goofy had just left for another world.
"So you're telling Axel that I do feel that way," Roxas spoke.
"That's not true.
"Knowing how much the four of you do love me and forgive me doesn't hurt me.
"I don't care whether you or Axel, or Mare or Elsa, love me and are thankful to me and forgive me and believe in me and made me any promises, one way or the other.
"They mean nothing to me whatsoever, so I don't care about how the four of you, or anyone else, feels about me at all.
"How the four of you feel about me doesn't mean the tiniest shred to me, just how you four feel."
"Don't do it. If you want to be friends with me, then be the friend to me who you want to be. If you want to look into whether or not we can date while we're friends, then look into it with your eyes on making the shot."
"Well, what do you want to do, Xion?"
"It's gotta' be something good, if you're a WINNER!"
"Right."
Stinging, hot tears almost washed away all of Xion's ability to see.
She blinked them away, but more flooded Xion's eyes.
She blinked them away as well, but still more tears obscured her sight.
Xion gave up on keeping them back.
How did you call someone home sweet home out of self hating and guilty night who didn't even care one way or the other way if people loved him or didn't care about him, were thankful to him or felt let down by him, forgave him or hated him, believed in him or had lost faith in him, or were still willing to promise themselves to him or refused to give him any connections?
Axel looked as though his own legs were about to give out now.
Xion had just done this to Axel, as well, because she'd given up.
Why did Tidus, of all people, love her?
She was everything that he most stood against.
At least Xion could trust that if Tidus knew that people loved him and were thankful to him and forgave him and believed in him and had given him promises, that would be enough to keep Tidus' eyes on the light.
Xion refused to let Elsa give up on her own dreams of winning.
Or Tidus, who the Foretellers no doubt had a role for, as he was a potential Keyblade wielder.
Xion had no choice.
It would cause Roxas even more pain, but if she hurt anyone else for his sake she'd be no different than Hades and Lezard.
And perhaps, by doing this, Roxas would remember what it meant to go for the goal from her example.
It didn't matter whether or not she just wanted to consider Tidus romantically, or whether she returned his feelings, at least in part.
If she didn't find reasons to return his feelings that didn't betray her heart as Jecht had almost betrayed Tidus' when his mother had died, and that didn't involve sacrificing her feelings for Roxas in the process, and then choose between them, the Foretellers might break down Tidus' own dreams of scoring a goal as they had Roxas'.
She'd look for reasons to do so later, though.
Roxas and Axel, and Mare and Elsa, needed her in the here and now.
"I know someone who is like Elsa," Xion said.
"He's another close friend of Sora's, named Tidus.
"His dad, Jecht, almost fled into drinking alcohol when Tidus' mom passed away in a boating accident, and Tidus couldn't convince him not to run away from his grief, so Sora's last two closest friends, Selphie and Wakka, needed to do what Tidus couldn't.
"So Tidus has his own issues with guilt about not being able to give love or warmth to the people who he cares about, and, like Elsa, he doesn't like it when loved ones betray the memories and feelings and thoughts and dreams of the people who they care about.
"A seeker of darkness backed him into a corner where he needed to choose between giving up on his dreams of home and hurting people that way, or continuing to trust in them and hurting people that way, so he believed that he'd cause less pain by giving up."
Xion looked at Roxas, reminding him of what Kairi had taught Tidus, but he didn't react at all.
What ability to see Xion had regained was clouded again.
"But then Kairi convinced him that," Xion went on, "If he gave up, he wouldn't just not do less damage, but he'd betraying his own feelings as well, so he'd be betraying everyone's feelings if he gave up."
"Then I will do that myself," Elsa interjected from behind, and near, Anna, and Xion started violently.
A slightly cold breeze was flowing away from Elsa.
She must have decreased the temperature of the air around her to displace it and create a breeze, thus allowing her to follow Anna as soon as they started paying attention to talking to Anna, without anyone hearing her footsteps, so she could eavesdrop on their discussion without anyone potentially trying to hide anything from her.
Anna's mouth dropped in desperately hopeful disbelief, and tears fell down her face, too.
"I won't betray your heart in any way this time.
"And I won't give up by jumping deeply into Ahtohallan, either, as you might have realized by now that I've intended to do since Lauriam and Elrena told us about Mom and Dad."
Anna's legs did give out, and Elsa turned and caught her in her arms, and pulled Anna's head to her shoulder.
Roxas' jaw dropped, and he put his lips together in a way that meant that he had just thrown up once more, and he was keeping it inside his mouth.
Xion was able to blink away the tears that obfuscated her sight this time, though.
If Kristoff, or any of the others, tried to eavesdrop, she needed to catch it.
"Though, now that I've begun to think about Ahtohallan, I'm beginning to have the impression that someone might be calling me to go there, though whoever or whatever it is, he or she or it is surprised that I picked up on this voice this soon, and the voice believed that I wouldn't perceive it for at least one or two more years."
A mixture of emotions cascaded over Anna's eyes and face.
"I may need to visit it anyway, as soon as Arendelle is ready to defend itself, our friends, and our allies against the Foretellers.
"But when I do, I'll use far more caution than I would have if I'd visited it in a year or two from now, and found out how Mom and Dad died then."
Anna stabilized her posture and extricated herself from Elsa's embrace, but Roxas spoke before she could.
"Even that might be another variation of the Foretellers' scripts," Roxas said. "If you travel there, they'll try to use it against you anyway."
"If we keep jumping at shadows, we'll give them what they want even more effectively," Elsa disagreed.
"That, almost certainly, is part of their scripts.
"They want us to look for so many concentric layers to their destiny that we believe that any course of action that we might take to try to outmaneuver them will just give them the ability to play us even more successfully.
"If we continue to leap at flickers in corners, we'll paralyze ourselves so badly that we'll have little to no chance of outwitting them.
"We command you to research this lesson yourself."
Roxas drew to official attention.
"We will not issue you a royal command to believe in Kairi's, Tidus', and Xion's answer, as we understand how difficult a position that would put you in, but we also require you to research that lesson, whether or not you believe that you need to learn it."
Roxas' face became expressionless, and he bowed very low.
"Your will, Your Majesty."
Xion felt slightly lighter, both at how Roxas was at least willing to look at what Axel and Xion were trying to get across to him, and at how devoted he was to Elsa.
Roxas rose out of his bow, and asked, "May I please have your permission to speak, Your Majesty?"
Elsa gave Roxas an uncertain, but genuinely reassuring, smile.
"Arendelle sees lese majeste as a blight upon cooperation, understanding, tolerance, and liberty," Elsa responded.
"You don't need to ask that question."
Roxas didn't look at all relieved, but he said, "What do you know about Ahtohallan?
"Whether we're jumping at shadows or not, if your parents tried to sail there, it has ties to your magical talents, so there is a decent chance that it's part of how the Foretellers want to turn Xion and I against you and Anna.
"And Lauriam and Elrena specifically brought it up.
"There could be other reasons why, in addition to them just telling you why your parents sailed there to hurt you and Anna.
"So, as your royal knight, I recommend that we try to put together what their tactics for it could be."
"I agree with that much," Elsa answered.
"But I don't know if the small amount more that I do know will make a difference.
"I just know two other things about it.
"The first is that it's a river of spiritual magic that metaphorically or literally carries memories.
"The second is that its existence is connected to a northern forest that spirits who are real, and who have magical talents based upon the natural elements, as I do, blocked off a long time ago. During my grandfather, King Runeard's, time, he met a tribe of humans who live there, or at least who used to, in peaceful coexistence with those spirits, as we do with the trolls who Mare spoke of. From what my parents told Anna and I when we were young, Runeard extended understanding to that tribe and even built a dam to improve their ability to cooperate with the natural elements that the spirits harness. But then, during one diplomatic journey to the woods, for an unknown reason, the people of the forest attacked the people of Arendelle in war and battle, and the conflict ended with the deaths of almost everyone in the woods. Runeard himself was killed the most brutally of anyone from Arendelle; he was thrown off of a cliff rather than struck down, and fell to die very painfully. As a result of the forest tribe's transgression, the spirits blocked the forest off from further passage by anyone. My father was the sole person who survived the battle. He refused to fight, even though his father was killed right in front of his eyes, and someone treated the wounds that he suffered because he refused to take part in the battle. The spirits threw him out of the woods after an unknown person, spirit or human, treated them, and spared him from their interdiction.
"But, even if the trolls know more about Ahtohallan, or the forest, they won't speak of it.
"The trolls refuse to talk about the spirits, or either location.
"Though they, of course, won't put it in these words, I'm of the impression that; although the trolls and Arendelle don't discriminate against each other; and the people of the forest don't, or didn't, with the spirits; the trolls and the spirits do object to each other's cultures.
"Among other matters, the trolls don't care for how the spirits believe in harshly judging wrongdoing through such methods as closing off the forest to further travel as the result of a war and battle. And, from what Grand Pabbie has said to me at times, the spirits see the trolls not as forgiving of wrongs, but as bystanders to it."
Axel's visage concealed his emotions and thoughts.
"I might be able to answer why the forest was locked down.
"Based on how the spirits specifically responded to it, and my own experience with what Ansem the Wise did to us, death, and fighting, from my time as the first Organization Thirteen's assassin," he said.
Elsa blinked, and Anna looked very eager and very excited.
"Then please, what do you think happened?" Anna questioned.
"We've wanted to know what happened to Dad, and Grandpa, since we were kids."
"You're not going to like this," Axel said.
"Are you sure that you're willing to be a winner, and not give up again?"
"I don't make pledges any more lightly than Anna does," Elsa responded.
She gave Anna a worried look, however, because Anna herself had just said that she wasn't certain that she could justify not betraying her own heart in order to not betray the hearts of the people who she loved, the hearts of the people of Arendelle, and the hearts elsewhere.
"Regardless of whether I want to win for myself, or just for Elsa and Sora and Kristoff and the others, I'm not giving up any more than Elsa is," Anna told them.
"Woody made his opinion on the concept of giving up very clear."
Elsa thinned her lips, and Xion could tell that she was temporarily suppressing the urge to ask if Anna already had considered giving up, due to whatever had happened in Toy Box.
Anna took Elsa's hand tightly and supportively and securely and warmly, and Elsa clasped Anna's hand back similarly.
Axel's didn't look convinced, and he looked incredibly skeptical, but he said, "All right, then.
"First, is anyone else in Arendelle as good with ice spells as you are?"
"To our knowledge, I'm the sole magician in Arendelle who has been able to cast any kind of magic since it was founded," Elsa answered.
"Then it's most likely what I'm thinking of," Axel spoke back.
"I'll give you what I believe is the good news first.
"You're most likely so good with ice spells because the spirits themselves gave you that ability when you were born.
"The way I see it, your late mom was from that tribe, and she disagreed with the battle that broke out and treated your dad's wounds because she identified with his own unwillingness to be a part of a slaughter."
Elsa's eyes widened in surprise, and she gave a true smile of pleased approval.
Anna's mouth opened in shock, and she smiled in genuine approving delight.
"So she was evicted from the woods around the same time that he was so she wouldn't live alone inside the blockade for the rest of her life, and when she connected further with your dad, they fell in love, and got married, the spirits gave you your talents in support of this, and as a means of apologizing for the battle that had happened.
"But here's the bad news.
"Your grandfather wasn't the worst victim of the war.
"He started it."
Elsa's eyes flew wide in shock and horror and she staggered back, but Anna's visage lost any expression, she clasped Elsa's hand even more securely and tightly, and Elsa returned the hold.
Axel sighed heavily.
"This is what I was warning you about.
"Do you want me to stop telling you my theory, or keep going?"
Elsa's own face concealed her emotions and thoughts.
"I understand why you were concerned now," Elsa said, "But Arendelle's people, and Arendelle, now need you to continue as much as we do.
"If Grandfather launched a war on another civilization, Arendelle is beholden to give the spirits restitution.
"But I don't understand how you can be convinced that Grandfather would have started a war.
"If he started it, why did he die the most barbaric death of anyone who fought in the battle?"
Axel looked a lot more skeptical and unconvinced now, but he continued.
"Because it was revenge.
"People don't die that way in a war, or in a battle, if there's a way to kill someone less barbarically, unless one or more people really want to nail that person.
"Roxas, Xion, and I learned about that in among the worst ways possible.
"I can't say whether or not Runeard actually literally fired the first shot and attacked anyone, to kill or to disable, but he built the dam because he was afraid of the spirits' magical talents, and he hated the tribe of the forest for not hating the spirits' magical capabilities themselves and for having established a society of mutual tolerance with them.
"Dams can redirect elemental power in the short term, but they also block the flow of water, so in time, that dam would have started hurting the spirits.
"Runeard must have refused to take it down, so the tribe eventually got tired of how badly he was hurting, and oppressing, the spirits and both of their societies, and they decided to avenge this."
"Grandfather did not, as you put it, fire the first shot," Anna cried.
"Whether he was a bigot or not, Arendelle does not attack anyone who isn't an undeniable danger to it, or to one of its allies."
Axel was obviously as unconvinced of this as Roxas and Xion were, but he knew better than to argue about it.
"There's another, though much less likely, piece of bad news," he went on.
"Did your dad see Runeard's body, and confirm his death?"
Anna pressed her lips tightly together, as her blood drained away.
Elsa went totally white, but she asked, "He didn't.
"You're afraid that the Foretellers saved him, because they knew what the spirits might do to mom's firstborn child if mom connected closely enough with dad to marry him, and that, if this baby was a girl, she and any sister or sisters who she might have might become Princesses of Heart as a result of the talents that I have."
It was no question at all.
"And that, after Maleficent scouted Hans for the Summation Organization Thirteen, the Foretellers want him to take on both Hans and us," Anna finished.
"It's even worse," Axel responded, and Xion started violently as she realized what Axel was scared of.
Roxas jolted violently as he realized this as well, and he spoke up, so that he could be the one to tell Elsa and Anna and thus, perhaps, lessen the pain of what he was about to reveal.
"If the Foretellers saved Runeard, they almost certainly connected his heart to Hans', the same way that Xion and I once resided inside Sora's, and enabled Runeard to stay awake after it happened."
Anna looked as though her legs would have given out once more, and she clasped Elsa's hand even more securely and tightly.
Elsa's hand became even more secure around Anna's now, but in a soothing, reassuring way, not a tight one.
"That's not possible," Elsa said back.
"Even if Grandfather did swing the first sword, which I can't believe that he would have done, he wouldn't cooperate with someone who attempted to assassinate one of his grandchildren through playing the other against her."
A number of expressions passed over Roxas' face, and then he extended his own hand and took Elsa's other hand, in a gentle, though as loose as possible, hold.
Elsa flinched violently as she realized why he'd done this, and what he was about to say, her eyes flew wide and her jaw hung slack in utter and full and total and whole and absolute and complete and everlastingly neither perceptible or imperceptible or conveyable or not conveyable horror, tears manifested in her eyes and began falling, and her legs and knees gave out as though they weren't there.
Anna, her face so bereft of blood that Xion didn't comprehend or understand why it wasn't transparent, and tears back in her eyes and streaking her face as well, let go of Elsa's hand and caught her in both of her arms.
Carefully, so Roxas could continue to hold her hand, but as swiftly as she could without hurting Elsa, Anna pulled her closely and protectively, though not tightly, doubtlessly terrified beyond all description and lack of description that Elsa would interpret that as meaning that Anna saw her as a monster who needed to be contained by a dam herself.
Anna began to rock Elsa back and forth.
Xion walked up to Elsa and took Elsa's other hand in the ways that Roxas was holding her other one.
"Grandpa hates me because of my powers," Elsa said, voice small and incredibly young.
"He does believe that I'm a monster, unlike Anna and mom and dad."
"From the chains of memory within water that I can trace, that appears to be why he allied with the Foretellers, yes," Namine's voice broke in from well behind them.
Vanitas whipped around from where he was talking to Marshmallow, his own face so devoid of blood that it should have been transparent, and stood staring at Namine as though he wasn't aware of what movement meant.
Xion clenched her teeth at what Ven had just done to him.
She would have an extensive conversation with Ven about considering Vanitas' feelings rather than what he naively believed would support Vanitas at the first opportunity; and, if it was possible, ask Tidus if he wanted to participate in it.
"I'm sorry to be the one to confirm that Runeard is still alive," Namine said.
"But, as soon as Ven told me about Vanitas and he started bringing me here, I've been trying to trace the chains of memories on this world.
"Ahtohallan literally preserves memories, and it stored the ones from the lake behind the dam after Runeard built it as well as a lot of others.
"Luxu rescued Runeard from his fatal fall and, for the reasons that Roxas, Xion, and Axel believe, told him what was likely to happen if Agnarr and Iduna got married and had a child.
"So he now sees you, Elsa, as the worst potential threat that anyone, or anything, could be to Anna's, and Arendelle's, happiness and prosperity.
"He knew that, if he returned to Arendelle, Agnarr would denounce him for participating in a war rather than ordering Arendelle's people to retreat from the forest, so he was specifically waiting for your coronation to try to drive you into misusing whatever magic the spirits bestowed upon you to harm Arendelle, so he could then reveal that he was still alive and then imprison you, torture you for your crimes against the state, execute you, and reclaim the throne.
"He was the foreign provocateur who inspired Hans to try to usurp Arendelle's throne, though he didn't identify himself to Hans when they met before the coronation.
"He's been watching you and Anna since then, so he just told Hans who you were and how lonely you were, knowing that, if Hans tried to use you to gain the throne through marriage, Anna would argue with you about how lonely she was, and you'd most likely respond by freezing a lot, or all, of Arendelle."
So this was what the argument that Anna had had with Elsa that had pushed her away, and suspended Arendelle in winter and almost killed Anna, had been about.
Given how Xion had seen Sora react to hearing Anna say that she'd been alone for most of her life, she was almost certain that Sora didn't know about this.
As wrong as Sora had been to run away from Arendelle, it had at least been a blessing in disguise in how Sora might have been spared from learning about this for now.
"After Sora recompleted Hans, Gula sent his heart inside Hans' in order for him to spy on Maleficent and her Summation Organization Thirteen.
"After Maleficent defied her role in Yozora's script and tried to commandeer Oathkeeper, and the Foretellers introduced themselves to Maleficent and she started trying to scry on them, Gula ordered him to reveal himself to Hans. He was to tell Hans that, if he defected to the Foretellers and enabled Runeard to regain the throne of Arendelle as he plans to, Runeard would name him his heir.
"But Maleficent's Summation Organization Thirteen is as loosely knit as her first Organization Six was, so Runeard knew that, if he changed sides to her, rather than convincing Hans to change sides to the Foretellers, he'll have independence from Maleficent while ruling Arendelle once more, while the Foretellers will just give him autonomy.
"Thus, with the opportunity at hand, Runeard decided to be the one to defect himself.
"He's now acting as a double agent, and he named Hans his heir under the condition that Hans return him to the throne by turning Arendelle against Elsa.
"Due to his connection to the spirits of Northuldra and the powers of Ahtohallan, he set his plan into motion even before he defected to Maleficent, and the Summation Organization Thirteen.
"When Kairi leveled Arendelle and temporarily cost its people their hearts, he sent memories into the lake and ocean nearby and warped them to cause it to look like Elsa was the one responsible, through her ice magic.
"Since then, under Maleficent's orders, Hans and Runeard have been showing the people of the Southern Isles, the Duchy of Weselton, and other nearby nations pictures of Elsa doing this," Namine's tone and face became a mask, "And Riku vanishing and dying to restore the people of Arendelle and their hearts."
Emotion returned to Namine's words and visage.
"They've formed a hasty alliance to defend their nations against Elsa attempting genocide against their people, and whether or not Elsa goes through with waging an interstellar war against the Foretellers, it's too late.
"A Treaty of Flames, with the Southern Isles and the Duchy of Weselton at its head, has already declared war on Arendelle, and an ambassador from the Treaty of Flames set sail for Arendelle this morning to deliver that declaration.
"They have only one condition for accepting a surrender from Arendelle, and for not attempting to ensure the safety of their people by genocidally exterminating all of Arendelle's people, the trolls, and the spirits of the northern woods, who Runewald has lied are currently allied with Arendelle.
"That is for Elsa to abdicate and turn herself in for war crimes against surrounding nations, high treason against the throne of Arendelle, and abuse of power against the people of Arendelle; to the custody of King Runeard, the rightful ruler of Arendelle, and his publically appointed and legitimately recognized heir to the throne of Arendelle, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."
.
"Sorry."-Shinn Asuka
"Sorry for what?"-Rey Za Burrel
"It's, well, this is all my fault."-Shinn Asuka
"You have nothing to apologize to me for. Giving you help, I did on my own. Did Neo return her safely? Then, it's all well."-Rey Za Burrel
"Thanks, Rey."-Shinn Asuka
"Shinn."-Athrun Zala
"What do you want?"-Shinn Asuka
"Well, I just felt bad about what happened. I'm sorry about that woman. I had no idea she meant so much to you."-Athrun Zala
"It's not like I was obsessed with her or anything like that. I just couldn't stand it any longer. Stella is a victim as well here. But everyone is just forgetting about that, and only thinking of her as one of the Alliance's Extended. Like it didn't matter if she dies."-Shinn Asuka
"That's the truth. Face the facts. You can't deny that she's with the Alliance, and about how many ZAFT soldiers have been shot down by her. Have you thought about that?"-Athrun Zala
"I'm aware of that! It doesn't matter. Because it's not as if Stella became a soldier by choice! She didn't want to kill those soldiers, nor join the Forces!"-Shinn Asuka
"That's precisely the reason why I'm saying you shouldn't have returned her to the people who caused those battles. If she can't leave, free of her own choice, to serve or not, chances are this could happen again."-Athrun Zala
"So are you saying that we should have done nothing, and just let her die!?"-Shinn Asuka
"That's not what I'm saying! But what you did doesn't solve anything!"-Athrun Zala
"She was suffering! She was completely terrified!"-Shinn Asuka
"Shinn!"-Athrun Zala
"And that guy gave me a promise! He promised he would bring back Stella to a kinder world, far away from the war!"-Shinn Asuka
"You think that you didn't make a mistake because he left you a promise!?"-Athrun Zala
"You don't understand!"-Shinn Asuka
"Shinn, that's enough. And, Athrun, calm yourself. Discussing this now isn't going to change anything. What's done in the past is done in the past. And no one knows what the future will bring. It's pointless to discuss either. All we can do is hope and wait for tomorrow. That goes for all of us."-Rey Za Burrel
"This is Captain Neo Roanoke, of the Eighty-First Autonomous Mobile Group. Bonaparte, can you hear me? Transmitting identification code. Requesting permission to land."-Neo Roanoke
"Bonaparte here. Roger that. Identification code confirmed. Welcome Captain. Please continue with your approach."-Anonymous Earth Alliance Forces Soldier
"You've brought us to yet another frozen, remote, forsaken place. First off, who is this? Why did we bring this tiny girl here along with us anyway?"-Sting Oakley
"Never mind about that. There are a lot of things you people don't really know. And at this point, you're considered expendable."-Neo Roanoke
"Well, miscalculations can come about at any old time. So are we here to conclude that the Minerva is far too much for you to handle? I was troubled as to how to deal with this situation. But luckily, the Destroy is complete. I've decided to hand that over to you. Although, we never would have had to come up with such a plan if your pilots had destroyed the Minerva. But, at this point, it can't be helped. You've gotta' get rid of all the rotten waste material, before they all spread. Use the Destroy to show our power to every city in western Eurasia. With its help, you can do that, can't you, Neo?"-Djibril
GUNDAM SEED DESTINY:
Phase 31: THE ENDLESS NIGHT