Watching the Sunset {Open}

[Xion]

It seemed like a perfectly good setting. At least, to any other person who happened to be walking through the cobblestone streets of the somewhat peaceful paradise known as Twilight Town. Despite it being a small city, in her opinion, many people passed through here, attracted to the superb view of the sunset that glowed strangely over the city. It was breathtaking, she would give it that, but, other than that, she didn’t see anything special about this place. Sapphire eyes blinked a few times as she kept her eyes focused on the scene.

Patiently sitting on top of the place known as the clock tower in town, the only area besides maybe sunset hill where it was best to see the true magnificence of the sunset. She liked watching the colors shift from red to orange to blue, and finally to the light purple of the sky that would show the nighttime. To anyone who managed to see her from down below, they would see a weird girl dressed in a black coat that held many zippers, if they could see that far. They might see her dark blue hair, and her black pointed heels. They wouldn’t see the almost concealed darkness that was obvious in her energetic blue eyes. She didn’t pay any attention to the people down below her. People who were either leaving town, or heading toward a different location that could only achieved by train. People who maybe wanted to spend time away from work.

Though, none of that mattered to the small dark haired girl who sat on the edge. There were more important things on her mind than paying attention to her surroundings. Like, what was she doing up here in the first place? Her eyes faltered slightly, her hands tightening their hold. She wondered though, why was she here again? Was she supposed to be here? She didn’t think so. Although, she guess some people would argue differently, and, even more people, would argue that she was right. She wasn’t supposed to be here, up here on the clock tower, or anywhere in the worlds, really.

Xion sighed as she let go of the edge and moved back, so that she wouldn’t’ fall over the edge. She laced her fingers and placed them on her lap. She would just finish watching the sunset, by herself, and then maybe she’d go do something. She didn’t know what yet, but she would figure that out when the time came

[Axel]

[OOC: Yo! I actually haven't read up much on Days and I'm trying to keep spoilers to a minimum, so if you could avoid them that'd be great (I'll try to keep the conversation turned away from there). If it's a problem, though, lemme know and I can delete the post.]

He wasn't supposed to be alive.

He wasn't supposed to be, for that matter.

But he'd dragged himself up from what felt like the depths of hell, surrounded by shattered glass and the twisted ghosts of what had once been buildings. It'd taken him at least five minutes to focus his eyes and mind both and realize that he was looking at the ruin of The World That Never Was, and he knew that Sora must have done this. Xemnas and the others were most likely gone, if Sora had succeeded, but he needed to find out who was still alive and who wasn't.

And so Axel had gotten to his feet, wavering, and now he stepped out of the portal and onto the only surface that made sense: the walkway atop the clock tower at Twilight Town. Breathing hard and definitely not fully recovered from being dead for...god knows how long, he rested one hand on the side of the building and took a moment to just breathe.

I'm alive. I'm alive and I'm... He looked up, eyes finding the black cloak that would normally alarm him, but the person was too small to be any of his enemies. Maybe he was just dead, not erased...but then why did everything hurt so much? ...safe, he realized with a faint smile, eyes darting up to meet Roxas's an--

...Xion?

He forgot for a moment that breathing was necessary for life. Xion? Here? How?! I'm hallucinating--I'm not in my right mind... But nothing he told himself would make that small form disappear from view, so instead he straightened, finally working his breathing down to a level that made speech possible.

"Xi...Xion."

[Xion]

(OOC: That’s basically all I’ve been doing, but sure. I’ll try to stop myself )

She shuddered slightly. Even though she still had her old Organization coat, which surprisingly didn’t have a scratch or mark in it at all, she was still coat. She supposed this had something to do with the fact that she didn’t have her hood on, as she normally did. She tried to suppress the urge to grab the pulled back hood and throw it over her head, but, in the end, could not do so and ended up pulling it over her dark blue hair. She assumed she must have looked even weirder to the people who happened to gaze up on her. The sky was getting darker, although it was apparent it would still be a while before the sun actually set. Still, below her, people began to disappear, obviously heading toward their home and to their families.

Xion let out a loud sigh and turned her head back to glace at the cooler she had brought with her. It was moderately small, able to hold only three popsicles, but she knew that was enough. It probably wasn’t very smart of her to bring three. She could barely eat a full one herself, and she wasn’t sure if the others were back…If Axel and Roxas were back. She hoped--daring to do so when she knew she probably shouldn’t even if she could. Hope was an emotion, wasn‘t it?--that they were alive, and that they would come here.

‘What if they are dead? What if they don’t remember me? Even if they did, they’d probably finish their popsicles before I do. Should I go ahead and eat without them?' She sighed quietly and reached for the cooler, bringing it forward and setting it on her lap. She was quite sure they wouldn’t mind if she started before them. And, if not, they should learn to suck it up, especially since she had bought the delicious ice cream, not them.

She grabbed a popsicle, and then closed the cooler and set it behind her once more. She didn’t exactly bring it to her lips yet, but rather, held it in front of her to examine it. Sighing contently, she put a corner of the salty, and sweet, popsicle in her mouth and bit down. At first, she wrinkled her nose, and then she relaxed her face. She loved the taste, even if she didn’t at first. She savored the flavor in her mouth for a few more seconds before swallowing. After having done so, she felt something in the pit of her stomach. It was as if someone had just poked her really hard. She didn’t’ know what the feeling was, exactly, but if felt as if someone somewhere had just said her name.

[Axel]

Xion obviously hadn't heard him, and Axel didn't blame her. Even if he was only a few feet from her, he hadn't said it particularly loudly, and knowing Xion she was too lost in her own thoughts to notice. She and Roxas were the same in that respect, walking around with their heads in the clouds half the time. Axel had been slightly jealous of that--well, about as jealous as a Nobody could get--because he thought they each might be making a connection with their origin. Axel himself never seemed to get spacey like that, if only because his mind and his mouth seemed to work independently.

At any rate, he was hurt. Badly. And he'd used his last Potion after that wave of Berserkers Saïx had sent after him before he reached between worlds. His only hope was to rely on Xion, or this mirage of her, so he pushed off from the wall to take a few staggering steps, catching himself on the railing and collapsing into a sitting position not far from her. "...Xion. Is that...that's you, right?" After Roxas's memories had been erased in the data Twilight Town, Axel was never certain. I need your help, was his body's thought more than his mind's, but first he had to make sure it was her. That and he didn't want to alarm her or scare her off. Even if her memories were gone, he didn't want to lose track of her--not to mention either way she was probably capable of healing him.

[Xion]

She slipped the popsicle back into her mouth and took another little bite out of it. She wondered, if they were alive, how and where everyone else was. As far as she knew, their world had been destroyed. When she had visited there, she made sure her visit was short in case there were any members lurking around waiting to come out and jump her, everything had been destroyed. Half of her wanted to jump up and down with excitement, if she could feel that, but the other half wanted to sulk and look for her “Friends”. Of course, she didn’t do the latter, preferring instead to jump from world to world, hoping to see a sign of one of her friends. She always made sure to come here, to Twilight Town, at a day’s end to make sure Roxas and Axel didn’t suddenly appear.

Xion jumped slightly. Her eyes widened slightly, although she wasn’t quite sure he could see it. He. Axel! Her friend Axel. It hurt her slightly that he wasn’t quite sure it was her, but, could she blame him? They hadn’t seen each other in how long? “Yes, it is, Axel.” She said softer than she meant to. She hated when she talked like that, all soft like. It made her seem weak, in her opinion. “I’ve been waiting…for you and Roxas. I thought that maybe…I was the only one to come back.” She held her popsicle with both hands now, and she held her gaze down on her fingers. She took a semi-sharp breath, and let her right hand leave the stick of her popsicle so that she could pull back her hood and let him make sure that it was her…and not just some clone of her. She felt her bangs, if that’s what you could call them, fall forward. She still didn’t look at him, but at least she was looking in his direction.

[Axel]

Waiting...?

Xion couldn't know that they'd been ripped apart...that Axel had died on the battlefield and Roxas had returned to Sora...could she? And if she did, she'd know that they were never coming back. That...they weren't supposed to come back, at least. Axel couldn't figure out how he'd managed to survive, especially where even The World That Never Was and presumably Xemnas with it had not, but as long as he was definitely here...well, as "here" as a Nobody got, he was going to make things right. It was going to be him, and Roxas, and Xion. The way it was always supposed to be.

He reached out, as gently as if touching a priceless doll, and pushed a few dark strands behind Xion's ear the way he remembered her moving them herself in the past. "...I missed you." How, he wanted to ask, but he didn't care. It didn't matter, as long as she was here now.

And if Xion was here, then...maybe.

"Have you seen him?"

[Xion]

Xion blinked twice, then blushed greatly. Were Nobodies even allowed to miss other people? Well, she figured they were allowed, but…was that an emotion? Probably not because she had missed him, them, too. Then again, what if this time around they had a heart? She used the arm that didn’t have the popsicle, and brought it up to here chest, where she rested it lightly. This was a habit she had back then, and it seemed she would have it this time around too. “I’ve…missed…you too.” She muttered. She gently raised her popsicle to her mouth and took another bite. Some of it was already melting, and was running down her arm and onto her gloved hand. Still, she wasn’t as cold as she had been earlier.

"Have you seen him?"

Her gaze quickly darted up and she stared at him, straight in the eye. “Roxas?” She said in a louder tone than she had had previously. She hadn’t. And she had been hoping, or trying to, that Axel had seen him. It was obvious he hadn’t. “No. I haven’t. I thought that maybe…you had. You did know him longer, so I assumed you would have seen him first.” She gulped and gave him a small smile. “Don’t feel bad, Axel. I’m sure he’ll turn up sooner or later, no? In the meantime, we’ll just have to eat without him.”

[Axel]

He'll turn up sooner or later...

Only Xion could say that. Only Xion, who hadn't been there--hadn't seen the look in his eyes when Roxas became Sora inside.

Axel felt his lips turn up in a bitter smile, but now he was just being selfish. Roxas was better off with his Other, with his heart, and Axel and Xion were just the pieces left behind. Remnants. Unwanted parts of the puzzle that didn't fit with anything else.

Xion didn't...Xion shouldn't have to know that. If she was here now, then there was hope. And Axel wasn't going to kill it, nor make the suggestion that Roxas would choose Sora over them...even if he'd already chosen Sora over Axel. Stop being melodramatic.

Without looking--without having to--Axel drew out one of the other popsicles. "...Yeah." It was odd, Xion facing the sun--the future?--and Axel locked on the building itself that made up so much of their past. Letting go was the hardest. But he could feel his strength returning, gradually, as if it weren't sea-salt ice cream but a Hi-Potion he was lapping at. He turned, letting his legs hang over the side like Xion's again and leaning back on one arm. "He'll be here. Someday." He shot Xion a hesitant look. "Meantime, what d'you think we should do?" He shouldn't have asked it like that. Axel was really focused on the more important question of "Are you with me?"--because Xion once said that she wanted to be together with two people, and Axel wasn't sure if one was enough for the time being. The truth was, though, he had nothing else left to hold on to--not Roxas, not Sora, not even the Organization. If he lost Xion again he might lose his mind with her.

[Xion]

“Uhm. Axel?” Xion started. She didn’t know why, but she had the feeling he was keeping something from her. It bothered her slightly. She didn’t know if it was about her, or, maybe, it was about Roxas, but she doubted that. Why would he ask about Roxas if he was hiding something about him? She licked her popsicle and then gulped. “You aren’t…hiding something from me, right?” She looked down instantly, mentally slapping herself for suggesting Axel would do that to her. He would never, she was certain, keep something important from her. She felt her bangs fall over her face again.

“I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to ask, to say. You wouldn’t hide anything from me.” She looked up at him, brushing the strands away from her face. “After all, you are one of my best friends.” Trying to lighten the mood she joked, “The funnier of the two, if I do say so myself.” She smiled. Xion hoped he wouldn’t take it too seriously. The fact that she had doubted him for a moment.

She poked him, not hard, but not gently either. Even though she no longer believed he was hiding something from her, something was still bugging him. “What’s wrong?” She asked, although she had to admit it sounded a lot more like a demand than anything. She winced slightly, at her own tone, and then stared back down at her popsicle. Xion wondered whether or not she would finish it. If she did, then maybe she’d get another ‘WINNER’ stick, but, if she didn’t, she could always just throw it. She returned her gaze back to Axel, and took another small bite. She was glad to see him relaxing again, like they had in the old days. “Well, the way I see it, we can do two things. Go to other worlds and look for any trace of him, as I have been doing, and come back here every afternoon and eat sea salt ice cream without him. Or two, go look for other members, like Demyx, and see if we aren’t the only ones around.” She paused and let a small smile grace her lips. “I don’t really care either way, as long as we stick together.”

[Axel]

Axel quietly damned himself for being too obvious, or maybe he'd just forgotten how perceptive Xion was. "No worries," he said simply to address both. After all, they'd just gotten together. He could bring up what had really happened to Roxas later...although, he wasn't comfortable with the idea of Xion hearing about it from someone other than him. Even so, if the two of them had gotten back to their incomplete selves, the idea that Roxas might show seemed to hold a certain amount of plausibility.

So he twirled the ice cream against his tongue, grimacing just a bit at the salty flavor--it hadn't been that long, but it felt like ages--and tucked one knee up beside him, dangling the other so his heel tapped the building. "...Right. S'long as we stick together, at least, everything'll fall into place." But if they were going to be looking for him... Hell. He couldn't let Xion wander and look and hope without at least knowing the situation.

"Xion..." Here goes. "...About Roxas. Look, this...may not be the case anymore, but las...but the last time I saw him, he'd gotten all chummy with Sora. They're kinda doing that inseparable thing now, and it's. What Roxas wanted to do." Saying those words had never been harder. "But..." He chuckled a little bitterly. "I've been just a little bit dead lately. Literally. So maybe it's changed. But if you haven't seen Roxas around, well..."

[Xion]

She chewed on the bottom right corner of her lip for a couple seconds before nodding her head. Although, she didn’t believe him as much as she wanted too, she let it go. If Axel wanted to tell her what was bugging him, then he would tell her. If he didn’t want to, then she would accept that. Xion couldn’t help but sense that if Roxas was here, he would be able to cheer Axel up simply because Roxas seemed to do that. He was the serious one. She shook her head outwardly, probably seeming slightly crazy in Axel’s view, and mentally slapped herself. She couldn’t think that. Well, she could, but she probably shouldn’t.

Xion grinned at his reaction to the popsicle. “It does taste weird after not eating it in a while, huh?” She elbowed his side kidding and gazed at the sky once more. What happened today wasn’t quite what she had in mind. She had pictured Axel AND Roxas both appearing today, but she was glad all the same that at least one of them had come. Now, she wouldn’t feel as alone as she had. She nodded. “I can’t help but wonder where everyone else is, if they came back. I mean, I’ve been to The World That Never Was. It’s completely destroyed. Does that mean…we lost? We failed?”

She raised the popsicle and nibbled on another piece. She had gotten about halfway to the halfway point of it, and still some of it was melting and running down to her glove. She lifted it to where she could lick off some of the drops before turning around to stare at Axel. “I’ve never met Sora, personally. But, I hear he’s an okay guy. If Roxas’ gone and merged in with him, then I say good for him. But, I don’t think it’s a done deal. I’ve always believed that Death’s a done deal, but…look at what you just said. If you can ‘come back from the dead,’ who’s to say Roxas can’t emerge from Sora?” Xion took another bite and then tilted her head slightly, thinking. “I don’t know what you believe, Axel, but I refuse to think that Roxas would disappear completely without saying goodbye to us both. And, as far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t said proper goodbye to me yet.”

[Axel]

Axel smiled at the nudge to his side, rocking back without losing his balance just as he had now and then during the glorious year of the clock tower and sea salt and Roxas and Xion and few worries and plenty of time. But he was surprised that Xion wasn't more concerned about Roxas being a part of Sora now...or maybe she was just hiding it. Either way, she was probably right about Roxas--unless there really was no way back. Axel had long said his final goodbyes, but as far as Roxas knew, Xion was...

Don't go thinking about that now.

He chuckled instead. "You're right. And just stubborn enough to make him think that way anyway." Realizing he was ignoring his ice cream, he lapped at it a bit distractedly, eyes on the sunset. There was so much he needed to catch Xion up on, but he wasn't certain he could handle the strain of all that right now. "...Yeah. We didn't make it." He shifted a little uncomfortably. "I didn't exactly help out. By that time, things had kinda gone down the tubes, and you and Roxas were both...not around so much. Sora was gonna wipe us out and I did what I could to help him. But it's lookin' like people might be poppin' up again. I died--I mean I know I did, but if I'm here now..." He stopped short, something occurring to him just then, and put a hand to his chest.

...No.

Well, didn't hurt to check, at least.

[Xion]

Xion grinned and leaned sideways. “Is that a smile I see? If it is, good. I don’t like being the silly, goofy one. That’s all your job.” She returned back to her original stance and licked the melting juice before taking another small bite. She chewed the salty, yet sweet, ice cream wincing slightly when it tingled on her teeth. She liked and didn’t like the feeling at the same time. While it tickled, that was the part she liked, it also stung, a part she really didn’t like. She took in a deep breath and sighed. “Twilight Town’s as pretty as I remember it, if not more. Don’t you think, Axel?” She asked softly as her eyes trailed over their landscape.

She tilted her head to the side and smirked slightly. She was glad she was cheering him up, especially after all the times he had cheered her up. “Oh. By the way, next time, it’s your turn to get the popsicles.” She pointed behind her with her thumb. “If you finish yours, I have two more in the cooler. I always brought two more. Just in case one of you two knuckleheads decided to finally join me in the world of the ‘living.’” She raised her eyebrows slightly and brought her left hand up to her chest. They hadn’t made it. They had failed. “Forget what I just said about Sora, then. If he was going to ‘wipe’ everyone out, then he’s obviously not an okay guy. It doesn’t matter if some of the members,” she coughed slightly and murmured, “Saix,” and coughed slightly again. “deserved it or not. That’s not a nice thing to do.” She took a giant bite out of her popsicle, swallowed and glowered. “Hey! No stealing my habit!”

She had said it in a teasing voice, but she knew what he was trying to do. Her “habit” as she called it. She always brought her hand up to her chest, always trying to see if she could feel a heartbeat. Something that would tell her she had a heart. She knew she felt emotions, she knew it. And, Xion wasn’t going to let anyone tell her otherwise. She just had to convince her heart to beat louder so she could convince herself.

[Axel]

Axel was the one to nudge her that time in response--lightly, because Axel was always a little too careful around the two of them up here. He'd sit however he wanted, himself, but the last thing he wanted to do was send one of them plummeting. "I'm the class clown, huh? Vexen was right, you kids have no respect for your elders these days."

Xion went on to remark on Twilight Town, but Axel had never really gotten hung up on the beauty of it. Beauty wasn't something that appealed to him, unless it was the rapid curls of flame lapping at the air like hummingbird wings. He shrugged. "Sora's...alright, like you said. He reminds me a lot of Roxas, just...really, really happy. All the time." He hesitated. "I agreed with him. Them. Naminé and Riku and DiZ, too--even though that guy tried to kill me and I don't really like him. I dunno, maybe I was just desperate. You were gone, Roxas was gone, I didn't care anymore. Not to mention that Naminé can make a case. But anyway, we weren't...doing things in a good way. Hurting people and taking what isn't ours isn't the way to go about this, it's no wonder we failed." For a moment he was silent, cogitating. "...And I guess that sounds noble and all--I blame Sora--but I don't see another way to go about it." He sighed, dropping back against the ground and letting his legs rest over the railing. "Way I see it, we're stuck. But that doesn't mean giving up. We at least gotta find Roxas, right?"

[Xion]

Xion let out a giggle and batted his arm away. “Admit it, Axel. You are, and always will be, the ‘class clown.’ Who doesn’t laugh at whatever you say?” She laughed. “Kid? Kid? I’m 14, Axel. I’m not what you would consider a kid these days. I’d be a…teenager.” She bit into her popsicle and chewed it thoughtfully. Although it bugged her somewhat that he still called her a kid, she knew that he was just teasing. After all, between the two of them, he was the one that acted like a kid.

She shuddered slightly as a breeze past them. She was getting cold again. She, especially, couldn’t feel her right hand anymore. It seemed to have gone numb with the popsicle melting on it. She switched hands and then extended her right hand in front of them, shaking it to where drops slid off. Pulling her hand back towards her, Xion sighed when she clenched her fist. Her hand, and glove, were still cold and wet. She placed the popsicle in her mouth and then, with her left hand, quickly took off both gloves, leaving her pale hands to be seen. She laid then gently behind her before grabbing back onto the popsicle. “Sora has our eyes, doesn’t he?” She asked quietly, lowering her head to think of the brown haired boy. Sora. He always hung out with Kairi. The girl who, after all the years, still resembled her slightly. Kairi. Sora’s precious person and Riku’s friend. “Axel. You guys…” she trailed off, losing her train of thought for a moment. She took a deep breath, after remembering, and continued, “forgot about me, didn’t you? You, Roxas, Riku, Naminé, the Organization, everyone. I don’t know why…or how…but, I feel like you did. I don’t know. I’m probably being dramatic and everything, saying something that outrageous…” She ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to suppress the drops of water that wanted to form on the tips of her eyes.

“That’s why…why Roxas didn’t say a proper goodbye. Unless, of course, you did both think that I was dead but…what if you just forgot about me? I know I’m not supposed to exist.”