“Right, sir, of course, sir.”
Saïx spun on his heels.
That was all he wanted to say to me?
But just as Saïx started walking away, he caught a barely audible murmur—
“You’ve changed.”
He listened to Saïx’s receding footsteps, and his gaze dropped to his own feet.
“You sure I’m the one who changed?” he said under his breath.
Chapter 3
Battle Against Riku
THERE WERE FOUR FIGURES IN THE ROUND ROOM.
Xemnas turned to Saïx. “Tell me your progress.”
“Our plans are proceeding as well as might be expected,” said Saïx. “Axel left for Castle Oblivion this morning.”
“Our little Poppet sure is a wonder,” Xigbar remarked, and a vicious smirk came to his face. “It’s a shame we don’t have Vexen around to follow her.”
“The Organization still has his technical expertise, as he notated and saved everything,” Saïx replied, utterly unfazed. “We’re not facing any difficulties in that regard.”
“And? When those difficulties do arise?” Xaldin, his arms folded from the start, regarded Saïx with disdain. “You may find yourself hard-pressed to handle every possible scenario.”
“I take issue with this implication that Vexen’s demise at the hands of the boy with the Keyblade was my fault,” Saïx said.
“Right, I forgot, the kid did it,” Xigbar echoed with a heavy dose of accusatory sarcasm.
Saïx ignored this and continued. “I have reports from Demyx and Luxord that someone in a cloak identical to ours has made an appearance on various worlds.”
“They must be mistaken,” said Xaldin. “It must be one of us.”
“Allowing for the possibility of unreliable witnesses, I believe it should be investigated.”
Xemnas promptly responded with orders for Saïx. “Have Xion look into it.”
Xigbar leaned back in surprise. “Why Xion? Are we not accounting for the possibility that our impersonator could be with Sora? Actually—do we even know where that trio went?”
“I’m having Luxord take a look in every known world, but they have not yet been found,” Saïx replied quietly. His expression never changed. “Axel will be searching Castle Oblivion for any clues as well.”
“Oh, so Axel’s on the case.” Xigbar crossed his legs and leaned his elbows on them.
“How could an outsider get ahold of one of our cloaks in the first place?” Xaldin demanded. “They’re part of our equipment; we ought to be keeping track of them. If any went missing, it should have been reported.”
Saïx let out a deep sigh, the first semblance of a reaction he’d given this entire meeting. “We have not confirmed what happened to any spare cloaks in the possession of the members who were stationed at Castle Oblivion. Axel will also be looking into that.”
“Axel this, Axel that… Sounds like you’re thick as thieves.” Xigbar restlessly jiggled his crossed legs. “Makes me wonder what you two are up to.”
“I might wonder the same about you,” Saïx retorted, and the tension was so thick it was hard to breathe.
“We have but one objective,” said Xemnas. “Be sure to keep that in mind.”
Saïx looked up at him.
“Don’t let Xion out of your sight. Watch her and you will come to understand the Keyblade master.”
Having issued the day’s final order, Xemnas vanished on the spot.
She’d been dreaming again about a sparkling ocean vista…and the sound of the waves, in and out, in and out.
Destiny Islands?
But you could see the ocean from Twilight Town, too.
Xion climbed out of bed and got herself ready, then left her room. She was running just a little bit behind. When she got to the Grey Area, she found Saïx and Xigbar.
“Good morning,” she addressed Saïx. “Is my mission—”
He cut her off. “We have reports of an outsider in an Organization cloak. You will investigate the matter.”
“Where?”
“Agrabah, to start.”
“To start…?”
“These reports come from various worlds,” Saïx went on impassively. “We still don’t know whether they are about one single person or multiple or which worlds they might appear in.”
“If I find them, should I eliminate them?” she asked.
“No. First, discover how many there are. Capture them, if possible. Don’t eliminate them.”
“Okay.” Xion nodded.
Xigbar, listening in with his arms folded, finally had to make a remark. “You’ve been working so well, Poppet.”
“Uh, thanks,” she mumbled.
“What’re you thanking me for?”
“Well, you gave me a compliment… Or did you?”
“Ha! I guess it was a compliment, wasn’t it?” Xigbar held a fist to his mouth, not quite covering a laugh.
“What did I say that was funny?” Xion looked uneasily up at him.
“Oh no, nothing. You’re completely right.”
If Saïx was interested in their conversation, he gave no indication.
Meanwhile, Roxas was already in the Beast’s castle with Xaldin. Gashes in the walls told them of a fearsome battle between the Heartless and the castle’s master.
But Roxas had one question for Xaldin. “Why is the Beast fighting so much?”
“That is what we’re here to find out,” said Xaldin. They climbed the stairs from the entrance hall, toward the grand doors, which Roxas was fairly certain led to the ballroom.
He was right.
Xaldin pushed the doors open and strode in undaunted to look around. “What a lovely ballroom… No place for a beast. But it seems he knows that perfectly well himself.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Roxas.
“There are Heartless here as well, but I see no damage to indicate a struggle. The only conclusion is that he is avoiding this part of the castle. Although it, too, is stained dark with despair. Like the Beast’s own heart,” Xaldin remarked with a faint smile.
What’s that supposed to mean? Roxas pondered the question as they left the ballroom and climbed more stairs.
“Wait… Something is there.” Xaldin’s sudden order to halt startled Roxas, but then that was what he got for losing himself in thought.
There, at the end of the hall atop the stairs, they saw a small clock pacing to and fro. Did it speak, too, like the candelabra he’d seen before?
“Another day of the master skulking about, chasing down those creatures… And at this rate, another day without seeing Belle at all!” the clock moaned fretfully. “Oh, this can’t go on much longer. We’re running out of time!”
“Running out of time for what?” Roxas murmured, too curious to keep silent.
“This is one of the castle’s residents,” replied Xaldin. “Like the Beast, he was human once.”
“The Beast used to be human?”
“Our investigations have suggested as much. Some kind of spell transformed him into that creature.”
“A spell…?”
“Roxas, remember why we are here. Let’s move on.”
They continued the investigation. Although, come to think of it, Roxas hadn’t been down that particular hallway at all yet.
They darted past the anxious clock and up another staircase to find a long corridor with several doors. One of them was slightly ajar.
“I can sense someone in there. Take a look,” said Xaldin.
Roxas nodded and peeked through the tiny gap. Someone was indeed inside—a woman, the first human he’d seen in this castle.
“I wonder if he’s after those awful creatures again…” Distracted, she paced slowly around the room. “Of course, it’s all he does these days.”
“Hmm, so this castle is home to a proper human, too…” Xaldin was peering in over Roxas’s shoulder. “She must be Belle.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Her h
igh status is obvious if you listen to the servants. And only someone important would be afforded the courtesy of such a fine room.”
“So that’s Belle…,” Roxas whispered.
She was a stunning beauty. Most of this gloomy castle smelled of dust and mildew, but Belle’s room had a sweet fragrance to it.
“Enough, Roxas.” Xaldin walked briskly away. “We’ll try the Beast’s chambers.”
After a moment, Roxas hurried to catch up.
Xion didn’t know how long she’d been walking around Agrabah. “They’re not here…”
The sands reflected the blinding sunlight, creating a glare from two directions. She had already searched the city and the surrounding desert. The only place left to look was that cave. By now she was wondering if there really was someone posing as a member of the Organzation.
“It’s so hot…” She groaned. Who would wear this cloak if they didn’t have to?
According to what she’d heard, standard Organization attire was meant to help protect the wearer from the influence of darkness. Which was why wearing them was essential, Saïx had told her. If she took it off, darkness might swallow her up.
But what was darkness?
Hearts? Darkness? So many things she didn’t understand.
As Xion began to head into the cave, the ground suddenly felt unsteady beneath her. “Wha—?”
Before she could collapse, she braced herself against the wall. An image brushed up against the back of her mind.
What was it? A memory…?
Who are you…?
Roxas and Xaldin stood at the door to the Beast’s chambers.
“So this is where the monstrous master resides,” said Xaldin.
“Yeah… I’ll take a look.” Roxas stealthily opened the door and peeked inside.
The room was completely wrecked—draperies shredded and walls deeply scored—but he saw no Beast inside. And all the way in the back, on a small table gleaming in the moonlight from the window, a glass vessel covered a single red flower—a rose?
Just as Roxas ventured closer, a dark mist clouded the air, and Xaldin appeared in front of him. “Huh? How did you…?”
Apparently, Xaldin had inferred the Beast’s absence and decided to take a shortcut inside via the Corridors of Darkness—straight to the rose. He eyed it appraisingly. “I sense power in this rose…,” he murmured. Then he turned and promptly walked out of the ruined room. “That will do for today.”
“Wait, really?” Roxas called after him.
Xaldin paused. “What is it?”
“I mean…have we done enough investigating?”
“We’ve made a valuable discovery.”
“Valuable… Are you talking about the lady?”
“Lady?” said Xaldin. “Oh yes, Belle. It seems there is some connection between her and that beast. But the rose will prove more significant. What do you make of it, Roxas?”
“Well, it seems important to him…” Roxas looked again at the rose beneath the glass, safe in the back of the chambers. It was somehow sparkling, unlike anything else here.
“Precisely. That is no ordinary rose. The room is in tatters save for one corner—because to him, at least, it is more precious than all the castle’s riches.”
“Is that why he’s fighting the Heartless? He wants to protect the rose?”
“Indeed. It holds some strange power… Perhaps the Heartless are drawn to it as well.”
“Is that the reason he’s fighting so hard…?”
But why was the Beast so determined to protect a flower?
“Our work here is done,” Xaldin declared. “We have the Beast’s weakness.”
“We do?”
“That which we treasure has power over us, Roxas. His heart is captive to it. And that makes it his weakness.”
“Captive…? I don’t get it.”
Everything Xaldin said only got harder and harder to follow.
“Nor should you. You have no heart to love with. Let’s not linger here.”
Roxas had to hurry to keep up with Xaldin’s pace.
In Twilight Town, Xion stared dreamily at the sunset.
She hadn’t come across anyone in Agrabah wearing an Organization cloak. The mission hadn’t involved any fighting, but it was tiring to search for something when you didn’t know if it was there to be found.
“Hey, you’re here early,” Roxas said from behind her. She turned to see him holding an ice cream bar.
“Work went quick today,” she replied, grinning.
“I guess Axel’s still out on that classified mission…” He sat beside her and started on his ice cream.
Xion had already finished hers. “So where’d they send you, Roxas?”
“The Beast’s castle. I was with Xaldin.” A pensive look came to his face, as if he were recalling something, and he turned to her. “You remember the beast we saw, Xion?”
“The castle’s master? Yeah, I remember.” They had been on a mission there together before.
“Well, you were right,” Roxas went on. “We figured out what he cares so much about. But Xaldin says that’s a weakness.”
“Why would caring about something be a weakness?” Xion asked, baffled.
Roxas lowered his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t get it, either.”
I’m not the only one surrounded by things I can’t understand, Xion thought. Axel would explain it, though…
“I hope Axel comes back soon,” said Roxas.
She nodded. They would have so many things to ask him.
Axel made his way through Castle Oblivion. Not much time had passed since he’d been here last, but it didn’t feel the same at all.
Everything inside was still made of that cold white stone. The layout, however, had changed—different hallways led to different rooms. He knew the rooms here shifted based on the memories of whoever walked in—so whose memories were controlling it now?
“Ugh, this better be over soon.” Axel rolled his eyes. He was talking to himself more and more, an unfortunate side effect of spending all his time with Dusks for days on end. The castle was now managed only by the Organization’s underlings.
The lesser Nobodies that served them were unfailingly obedient, but that was the only thing they ever did. The greatest difference between them and Organization members was not appearance but the capacity for independent thought.
Where did that capacity come from, then? Did it have anything to do with the heart?
“I’m gonna go nuts in here…” Axel scratched his head and continued his search of the bizarre castle.
“You still haven’t found the impostor?”
“I’m sorry…”
Xion hung her head under the weight of Saïx’s disapproval. They were the only ones in the lobby.
Over the last few days, he had sent her to world after world in search of the outsider in the Organization cloak—to no avail.
“And on top of that, you’re late,” Saïx scolded.
“I haven’t…been sleeping well…”
That part wasn’t new. But she never felt like she was really asleep at night. She just kept dreaming. And it was probably why she found herself spacing out in the middle of the day, or even feeling faint sometimes.
“You’d better. It’s part of your work,” said Saïx. “You know you need proper rest to carry out missions.”
“Sorry… I’ll find the impostor today.”
Since two days ago, she’d been covering double ground, searching two worlds in one day. But she still hadn’t found any clues. Meanwhile, Saïx had no sympathy for her.
“You are to discover the identity of the outsider,” he told her. “Those are direct orders from Lord Xemnas. Failure is the same as insubordination. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Wha…?”
Xion had no idea that Xemnas had chosen her for this mission. To the best of her knowledge, Saïx was the one in charge of assigning tasks.
“I assume I’ve made myself clea
r. Keep looking.” With that, Saïx turned his back on her and left.
Xion stood alone in the vast lobby.
Roxas stepped into a world he’d never been to before—Halloween Town, a strange shadowy world, with a fat, round moon hanging in the dark sky. Lamps burned faintly here and there, too, but they didn’t give nearly enough light to dispel the ominous gloom. “What a weird place…”
It was also empty. He didn’t see any of the world’s inhabitants. After a bit, he came to an open square and found an odd mechanism.
“What is this?” As Roxas peered up at it, something came hurtling down toward his face. “Whoa!”
What fell was a blade heavy enough to cleave someone in two.
“Geez, that thing’s dangerous… Why would they put it out here like this?” He looked askance at the device as bats fluttered overhead.
Xion went to the Beast’s castle.
That other person in the Organization cloak was apparently roaming through various worlds. Usually, people were bound to the world they lived in, so this was no ordinary target.
So far, that was all she knew.
The Dusks had told Saïx where their quarry was last seen, but beyond that, they had no information. They didn’t even know what sort of person they were after.
Xion wandered outside to the grand courtyard, pausing at the top of the stairs and staring at her feet with a sigh. “No one’s here…”
But then someone came.
She raised her head, and the Keyblade was already in her hand. There in the middle of the garden was the impostor.
She couldn’t tell anything about the person beneath the hood. But this meant she’d found the culprit—so now what?
She could sense an intense, unwavering stare as she readied the Keyblade. Then, in the next instant, an eerie-looking sword was coming straight toward her.
Do I really have to fight? Xion charged to meet her opponent. Keyblade and sword clashed—and it felt strange. She had no other way to describe it. Just…a strange sensation, an uncanny shock running through her.
Who are you?
Do I know you…?
The uncertainty interfered with her technique, but she doubted she could win on her best day. Each time that sword met her Keyblade, the impact numbed her hands.
Kingdom Hearts 358-2 Days Page 16