She was dreaming, how long had it been since she'd had a dream as opposed to a nightmare?
Larxene sat on the ledge of the clocktower in Twilight Town, eating her sea salt ice cream. She glanced over to see no one else was sitting there with her. That didn't feel right.
"You said no matter where we went, you'd find us."
She looked over in shock to see Naminé sitting beside her in the dark Organization coat, eating ice cream as well. This was just like how they'd spent their final moments together, caught in a vision of Twilight Town. Was this really her? Or just a figment of her imagination? And what did she mean 'us'? Wasn't Naminé the only one she was searching for. "Naminé…"
"You said," Another voice continued, though she couldn't tell where it was coming from. It sounded so familiar despite her mind saying she'd never heard it before. "you'd never let us go."
"You're a liar." They chorused harshly.
So this was a nightmare after all.
"It's true, you abandon everyone you call 'friend'."
She turned to see Marluxia sitting at her other side, flicking a stick over the tower edge. A hooded figure sat beside him, Subject X.
Larxene shot to her feet in anger, glaring between the apparitions. "That's not true! My friends know I'll find them again, even Lauriam! They… They have to."
The four stared at her with unfeeling eyes, knowing she didn't really think that. How could she? She had left them all behind only to get destroyed protecting the person that'd taken Naminé away.
"You don't deserve a real life after what you did." She looked up to see a familiar woman walk out of the shadows. It was the one with blue hair who'd quickly beaten her and then said they were friends after realizing that was what Elrena really wanted. She was the only person here Larxene hadn't abandoned: She'd left on her own accord. She wondered whatever happened to her sometimes.
Larxene gasped in shock when the woman grabbed her by the collar and let her dangle over the edge of the clock tower.
"Hurry up and find them already, you worthless worm."
Then, she let go.
The woman awoke with a start, sitting up to check she was alright. Being on the receiving end of her own cruel words was not fun.
She looked around wearily and slowly took in her surroundings. A metal room with a big computer overlooking the Heartless manufactory. She was surrounded by other members. Dillan and Aeleus were back in their guard uniforms while Even and Ienzo were in lab coats.
She slowly walked over to see herself reflected in the window and frowned deeply at what she saw.
"Huh. Guess that's me..." Larxene, now Elrena whispered to herself in slight surprise, tugging slightly on her softer antenna-like hair as she stared in the glass. She hadn't been a Someone since she was a child…
She was surprised to see she was in clothes she'd never worn before. She supposed the outfit must've come as a bonus to turning back into a human. She wore a stylish leather dress that was split by a zipper, one part being the same color as the Organization while the other half was teal like she'd worn when she was younger.
She looked back to see the others slowly waking up and realized there were two people missing who'd been turned here: Dagrun and Lauriam. She didn't mind the former being gone seeing as Dagrun was the one who'd forced them into the room only to lose their hearts, but Lauriam was still her friend, even after all he'd done as Marluxia. It took her being reborn as a someone to realize that.
"Are we really human again…?" Dillan asked softly, helping Aeleus to his feet. "We have hearts once more…"
"Apparently." Elrena nodded, watching the others get up. She thought back to Naminé's theory: what if they already had hearts but just hadn't believed it?
The thought was dashed away when she felt two pairs of eyes resting on her. She turned to see the two scientists. This would be awkward given she'd been the cause of both their destructions. She didn't know what to say… Sorry would be a good start but that didn't come naturally to her. "Um…"
"You don't have to say anything." Ienzo muttered. "Nothing excuses what any of us have done but we can at least understand each other in that we went through the same harrowing experience.
"Are you serious?!" Even cried, springing to his feet. He pointed an angry finger at Elrena. "She destroyed us both and doesn't even feel bad!"
"I do too!" Elrena insisted, surprising them all. She crossed her arms, a blush coming to her cheeks that she'd actually admitted it. She couldn't tell if this feeling of guilt was because she was human or not… "I just don't know how to say it, okay? And don't pretend like you all aren't in the same boat after all the stuff you've done, how are you gonna apologize, huh?!"
The group was silent, pondering this question for a while until Ienzo spoke up.
"The first step to our group's atonement is realizing Xehanort is the true enemy, not each other."
The others nodded. Ienzo was wise regardless of if he was a Nobody, he knew it wasn't smart to hold grudges when Xehanort was their real enemy.
"What's this?" Aeleus asked then, bringing their attention to a pile of black leather. He pulled up a familiar black coat.
Dillan unfolded the note that lay on top before reading it aloud: "Good morning, sleepyheads, snuck these over for you to keep you safe from the darkness… love Dagrun."
The group gave each other doubtful looks. Knowing Dagrun, she hadn't given the coats because she actually cared, she'd simply done it to make things interesting for her.
"Given their closeness in the previous life, she must be with Xehanort, who was also recompleted thanks to Ansem and Xemnas' defeat." Even hypothesized to himself. "…Whether he knows about her sneaking these in is debatable…"
"I don't care where that witch or Xehanort is." Elrena announced, snatching up her own coat. "What matters is Lauriam. He's got to be around here somewhere."
The others looked at each other with worry, all thinking the same thing: Lauriam could've left or been taken by Xehanort and they would've all been none the wiser.
"Elrena-" Ienzo tried.
"I'll be back." Elrena answered begrudgingly.
She found her way out of the secret room and emerged into Ansem the Wise's office. She looked back to see the portrait of Ansem the Wise and his many apprentices and frowned deeply when seeing Xehanort and Dagrun smirking together.
She and Lauriam weren't supposed to be a part of this master plan of Xehanort's unless he somehow knew of their sneaking in to see Subject X… He must've, otherwise they wouldn't have been caught so quickly. Subject X always did warn them they could be getting watched by the scientists…
X, Naminé, Lauriam, it seemed like she was always losing friends. And those were only the ones she could remember.
"Okay, wise guys, I've looked all over the castle and I can't find him. Where else could he….?" Elrena demanded. She trailed off, seeing Ienzo was missing. "Hey, where's the bookworm?"
The others looked at her as if she spouted out an alien language. She'd changed a lot since they'd seen her last.
As for Elrena, she wanted to believe these worries for the others' safety simply appeared after she'd turned back human, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized they'd developed in her time as a Nobody. The guilt she tried to suppress after destroying Ienzo and Vexen and pretending it didn't matter, the pain at losing Naminé, and feeling of betrayal when they wouldn't come help her find their friend… It all added up to these feelings.
"He's resting in the other room..." Aeleus answered softly. "He said he needed some time alone to reflect.
"We all thought it was a good idea since we all have inner turmoil at the moment." Dillan added, placing a hand to his chest as if pained. Aeleus gave his hand a quick squeeze, reassuring him he wouldn't have to face it alone.
Time alone? That's suspicious, wasn't he the one saying we should stick together? …I ought to give it a rest, he probably is just reflecting… Elrena thought, letting the suspicion wash away. It wouldn't do her any good. "Fine, whatever. Back to my question, do you think he could be on some other world?"
"Not possible." Even answered quickly. "When a person is recompleted, they should return to the place they originally lost their heart. If the place is not available, they are sent to a world called Traverse Town-"
"Get to the point, he couldn't be there. He should be here with us seeing as Radiant Gardens still exists, us standing here is proof of that." Elrena finished for him.
Even rolled his eyes in annoyance before nodding. "Since you're smart enough to figure that out, I suppose you must have a plan to find him too?"
"I have something in the works." She grunted, looking at the drawings of the heart and the door to darkness. Only a select few people understood these things, they were the people she'd have to join if she wanted to search the worlds for her missing friends. "I made a promise to myself that once I found them, I'd never let my friends go again. And trust me, I will find them."