Rated: PG-14
Here it is. The prequel you've been waiting for. The story of what happened to Crystal when she was still Xion, the fourteenth member of Organization XIII, and the events that led up to Twilit Road to Dawn. Her love interest with Zexion, the sixth member of Organization XIII. Her friendship with Axel and Roxas. How she met Riku, and how she lost all of her memories.
Man I'm cruel. Read on.
I opened my eyes and cast my glance around the room, confused about where I was and how I got there, as usual. Everything was a blur of white and grey, and the only things occupying the room were me, a bed, a chair and a square on the far wall. I sat up and looked around the room more carefully, as if it could tell me where I was if I just stared at it long enough.
“Wh—where am I?” I asked aloud. Maybe actually voicing the question would do something. No one answered me. I don’t even know why I asked. There was no one in the room with me. I looked at the square on the wall and stood up, stopping right in front of it. Looking through it, I saw someone standing on the other side. It was a girl with short, navy blue hair, brilliant blue eyes, and a confused look on her face. “Do you know where I am?” I asked the girl, hoping to find some answers. But when I spoke, she spoke too; I couldn’t hear her, though. Her lips were moving, but I could only hear myself.
“I’m sorry,” I said, speaking up. “I can’t hear you.” I put my hand behind my ear to show her that I couldn’t hear her. She did the same thing, mimicking me.
“What are you doing?” asked someone from behind me. The door shut and there were footsteps. Two people appeared behind the girl; one of them was tall and had long, greasy blonde hair, and a hungry look in his eyes as he stared at the girl. The way he looked at her… A feeling of alarm for the girl rose inside of me, and I wanted to tell the girl to run. But she couldn’t hear me. The other person was a teenage boy with dark hair covering one eye, and a depressed look on his face. For some reason, seeing him put my alarm to rest. He didn’t stare at the girl; instead, his eyes appeared to be fixated on the floor. I looked at both of them and figured it must have been the tall one that had asked the question.
“Um, this girl. She’s trying to talk to me, but I can’t hear her,” I answered the man in the square. “Do you know where I am?” As I asked this, I had a sudden fear that the man wouldn’t be able to hear me.
“I behind you,” he said. He gestured at me to turn around. I did and found the exact same people as in the square. “You don’t understand the concept of a mirror, but you know how to walk and talk? Fascinating.” He took out a notepad and a pen and started scribbling fiercely. The boy shook his head and stepped up to me.
“I’m Zexion,” he said kindly, looking into my eyes. “The freak behind me is Vexen.” There was no smile on Zexion’s face, though I could tell he wanted to make me feel a bit comfortable. I smiled at him and turned away slightly to look at the square, which Vexen had called a mirror. The girl had her back to me and was sneaking a peek just as I was.
“I’m the freak?” Vexen asked harshly, putting his pen and pad away to glare at Zexion. His tone made me turn to face him again. “You’re the freak. All you ever do is sulk around the castle, not making contact with anyone. At least I get some work done.”
“I don’t sulk.” He turned around and matched Vexen’s glare. “I calculate. I actually think about things. Unlike you; all you do is collect data for experiments that you know are going to fail. Anyway—” he turned back to me “—what’s your name?”
“My name?” I asked. I tried to think of what my name could be, but all I could come up with were their names. “I… I don’t know,” I confessed. Tears were forming in my eyes, and I had no idea why. That only made more tears come, and before I knew it they were spilling over and forming small puddles on the hard, white floor. My hands flew to my face and I started to sob; my shoulders heaved up and down and my breaths came in ragged bursts.
“Hey,” Zexion said soothingly. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll talk with Superior and you’ll have a brand new name in no time.” He smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder, stopping the shudders.
“Th-thanks,” I sniffed, wiping away the tears and snot with the back of my hand. “But what’s Superior?”
“You’ll see.” Zexion patted my shoulder, then turned to Vexen. “We should probably tell the others she’s awake.”
“But there’s still so much information I’d like to get from her!” Vexen whined. His notebook was out again, and I could imagine there being a few more pages filled with writing. Zexion glared at him.
“She needs her rest. Now let’s go.” Without waiting for an answer, Zexion grabbed Vexen by the arm and practically dragged him out of the room.
I stared after them, feeling a hollow sense of loss. For not knowing my name and because the only two people I knew just left me alone in this strange place I had no idea about. The mirror, as Vexen had called the square in the wall, hang there innocently; silently mocking me for not knowing its purpose. Now that I knew the word, I understood that the girl was just my reflection. It was strange, but I thought it was just the way things were; learn the name, know the thing.
I went over to the bed and sat down on it, trying to think of what my name was. Nothing came to mind. There was nothing that could’ve given me the slightest hint of who I was, where I came from, how I got to… wherever I was. I sat on the bed, near tears again for not knowing the smallest detail about myself. What seemed like hours later, the door opened.
Three men walked in, and I dropped my hands to give them a watery stare. One of them was Zexion, and I was glad for that. He made me feel safe whenever I was around him. The man in front was a tall guy with white and gray spiky hair, a major tan, and he had something draped across his arm. Behind him was a guy with blue hair and a bit X smack-dab in the middle of his face. They both had cold, appraising eyes that made me feel uncomfortable.. I looked to Zexion, silently asking him who these people were. He just gave me an encouraging look and stepped aside.
“Glad to see you awake,” the tan one said. “I’m Xemnas, leader of Organization XIII. And this is Saïx.” Xemnas held his hand out to me, a slick smile on his face, almost like looking at a snake. I just stared at his offered hand, not sure of what to do. I looked to Zexion for help, but he was staring at the floor.
“You really don’t remember not only your name, but how to act?” Xemnas asked me. When I didn’t answer, he withdrew his hand and shook his head.
“That’s odd,” the Saïx guy said. “Though it shouldn't be too much of a surprise, considering she's not your typical Nobody."
Remember? Nobodies? My head was feeling a bit light from all these things I didn’t understand. I put my hands on my head to keep it from imploding.
Zexion saw my dizziness and rushed to my side. “You okay?” he asked me softly. I nodded and leaned against him, grateful for his concern. “Are we done here? Obviously she doesn’t have any memories. You can talk to her later; maybe when she’s settled down and comfortable?”
“No,” Xemnas said. He turned to the other man, Saïx. “Leave us.” He did as he was told, and Xemnas turned back to me. “Here.” He held the arm that had the thing draped across it out to me. I stared at it, then took the object and held it up.
“An Organization cloak?” Zexion asked. “But what about her extensive memory loss? How will she go on missions without hurting herself if she doesn’t know how to do anything?”
“It’s easier to write on a clean slate,” Xemnas said to him. Then he looked at me. “Do you want to know your true name?”
“My name?” I asked. “I— Yes… I do.”
“And would you like to become a member of Organization XIII?” I nodded. Xemnas smiled and held up his hand to me. A large “X” appeared and started circling me rapidly, making an odd rushing sound. I had no idea what was going on, so I shut my eyes tightly and clamped my hands over my ears. Zexion made a move to come next to me, but Xemnas put his other arm up to stop him. After a couple seconds, the rushing sound stopped and I opened my eyes while lowering my hands. In front of me were four letters.
“Welcome to the Organization… Xion,” Xemnas said.
“… And do you so swear to remain loyal to the Organization and do all that is within your power to help achieve the goals set by the Superior?” Saïx cited. After Xemnas gave me my new name and accepted me into the Organization, they gave me a few hours’ rest before formally “receiving” me as a member. Saïx and Xemnas had called everyone together for a meeting, but they had to swear me in in a different room. Saïx was holding some sort of book, on which my left hand rested with my right hand in the air, and Xemnas was standing off to the side looking all official. So boring.
“I so swear,” I said, trying not to yawn. Xemnas stepped up and Saïx took the book away.
“You are now officially part of the Organization,” Xemnas said. “Welcome, Organization member number fourteen. Xion.” Saïx started clapping, but immediately stopped after one look from Xemnas. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else?” Saïx frowned but bowed anyway, disappearing into black smoke. Xemnas turned back to me. “Time to meet the rest of the Organization.” He turned and walked out the door. I hurried to catch up as he walked rather quickly through the halls of the castle.
“Put your hood up,” Xemnas told me when we reached our destination.
“What for?” I asked, then I immediately regretted it. His amber eyes turned to me and seemed to bore into my soul. I looked away quickly.
“I’m a sucker for the theatrics,” he said. There was a hint of a smile in his voice, but I didn’t look up to see if I was right. I just did as I was told and shut up. “Wait here.” Then he too disappeared into black smoke. I stood there nervously, waiting for my cue.
“Today is a day we shall celebrate,” I heard Xemnas’ voice boom. I took it as my cue, so I walked off into the middle of the room and stopped in the center of the emblem on the floor. “We have a new ally. Number fourteen.”
“Xion,” I announced. “My name’s Xion.” Xemnas glared down at me, and as I looked around I saw that some of the other members were surprised by what I had said. I had no idea why, though. My eyes found Zexion, and he didn’t look surprised at all. He was smiling down at me, and for some reason that made me blush. I smiled back up at him.
“Anyway,” Xemnas said, trying to regain everyone’s attention. “Since we have a new member, I think it best if she have a mentor. That is, until she gets the hang of it.” Everyone started murmuring at once. Nobody volunteered right away, but I could pretty much see who liked me and who didn’t. One blond woman in particular looked down at me with a sneer on her face.
“Zexion! I think that you should take Xion as your protégée,” Xemnas said. “Since you’re already acquainted. It also seems as if you’re going to be great friends. Teach her the basics and about our missions.” Zexion looked at Xemnas with confusion.
“It would be my pleasure, Superior,” he said.
“Good. Dismissed.” Everyone in the room disappeared except for Zexion disappeared. He sat in his seat staring at Xemnas’ chair long after everyone was gone, then he finally came down to where I was.
“Seems as if I get to show you the ropes,” he said, sounding tired. He might not have cared either way whether or not he taught me, but I was so excited. There was no one else in the meeting that I really thought I would feel comfortable with. Zexion being my mentor was the greatest thing that could have happened to me at that moment.
“Which ropes?” I asked. Zexion just smiled and started leading the way to wherever we were going.
“Okay, so here in the Organization, there are a number of rules that you have to follow. Rule number one: Your loyalty lies with the Organization and only the Organization. Rule number two: Listen to the Superior and follow his every instruction. He is the one that founded this Organization, and he dictates who is in it and who is not worthy of becoming one of its members. There are other rules, but they’re very technical and come to be understood with time. And I guess that as it is your first time here, for how short you’ve been here, no one’s actually told you of the name of this castle, have they?” I shook my head, looking around at all the white and grey. “This is the Castle That Never Was. An odd name, don’t you think?” His eyes caught my attention and I could see him smiling brightly. The corners of my mouth turned upward as my heartbeat quickened.
We walked through the halls of the Castle That Never Was, Zexion telling me about the history behind it and about all the different members of the Organization. It was all fascinating, but I honestly had no freaking idea why this information would help me. I didn’t want Zexion to feel like his talking was for nothing, so I kept quiet and tried to pay attention. Zexion led me through the castle, telling me about the various rooms and hallways, until we finally made it to the lower levels where everyone’s rooms were. Well, almost everyone’s. Xemnas slept somewhere else, though according to Zexion he was never really around anyway.
“Here’s your room,” Zexion told me as we came to a stop at the very end of one of the longer hallways. “I’ll let you get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll be going on a trial mission, to see if you can handle it. Get some rest, and I’ll come and pick you up in the morning.” He gave me another smile and walked down the hallway, leaving me feeling lonely.
I went inside the room and looked around. This room seemed to be a bit roomier than the room I had woken up in. It had a dresser and another door leading off somewhere, anyway. Me, being too tired to show any curiosity, strode across the room and flopped down on the bed, feeling exhaustion come over me. Before I knew it, I was asleep.
Here it is. The prequel you've been waiting for. The story of what happened to Crystal when she was still Xion, the fourteenth member of Organization XIII, and the events that led up to Twilit Road to Dawn. Her love interest with Zexion, the sixth member of Organization XIII. Her friendship with Axel and Roxas. How she met Riku, and how she lost all of her memories.
Man I'm cruel. Read on.
I opened my eyes and cast my glance around the room, confused about where I was and how I got there, as usual. Everything was a blur of white and grey, and the only things occupying the room were me, a bed, a chair and a square on the far wall. I sat up and looked around the room more carefully, as if it could tell me where I was if I just stared at it long enough.
“Wh—where am I?” I asked aloud. Maybe actually voicing the question would do something. No one answered me. I don’t even know why I asked. There was no one in the room with me. I looked at the square on the wall and stood up, stopping right in front of it. Looking through it, I saw someone standing on the other side. It was a girl with short, navy blue hair, brilliant blue eyes, and a confused look on her face. “Do you know where I am?” I asked the girl, hoping to find some answers. But when I spoke, she spoke too; I couldn’t hear her, though. Her lips were moving, but I could only hear myself.
“I’m sorry,” I said, speaking up. “I can’t hear you.” I put my hand behind my ear to show her that I couldn’t hear her. She did the same thing, mimicking me.
“What are you doing?” asked someone from behind me. The door shut and there were footsteps. Two people appeared behind the girl; one of them was tall and had long, greasy blonde hair, and a hungry look in his eyes as he stared at the girl. The way he looked at her… A feeling of alarm for the girl rose inside of me, and I wanted to tell the girl to run. But she couldn’t hear me. The other person was a teenage boy with dark hair covering one eye, and a depressed look on his face. For some reason, seeing him put my alarm to rest. He didn’t stare at the girl; instead, his eyes appeared to be fixated on the floor. I looked at both of them and figured it must have been the tall one that had asked the question.
“Um, this girl. She’s trying to talk to me, but I can’t hear her,” I answered the man in the square. “Do you know where I am?” As I asked this, I had a sudden fear that the man wouldn’t be able to hear me.
“I behind you,” he said. He gestured at me to turn around. I did and found the exact same people as in the square. “You don’t understand the concept of a mirror, but you know how to walk and talk? Fascinating.” He took out a notepad and a pen and started scribbling fiercely. The boy shook his head and stepped up to me.
“I’m Zexion,” he said kindly, looking into my eyes. “The freak behind me is Vexen.” There was no smile on Zexion’s face, though I could tell he wanted to make me feel a bit comfortable. I smiled at him and turned away slightly to look at the square, which Vexen had called a mirror. The girl had her back to me and was sneaking a peek just as I was.
“I’m the freak?” Vexen asked harshly, putting his pen and pad away to glare at Zexion. His tone made me turn to face him again. “You’re the freak. All you ever do is sulk around the castle, not making contact with anyone. At least I get some work done.”
“I don’t sulk.” He turned around and matched Vexen’s glare. “I calculate. I actually think about things. Unlike you; all you do is collect data for experiments that you know are going to fail. Anyway—” he turned back to me “—what’s your name?”
“My name?” I asked. I tried to think of what my name could be, but all I could come up with were their names. “I… I don’t know,” I confessed. Tears were forming in my eyes, and I had no idea why. That only made more tears come, and before I knew it they were spilling over and forming small puddles on the hard, white floor. My hands flew to my face and I started to sob; my shoulders heaved up and down and my breaths came in ragged bursts.
“Hey,” Zexion said soothingly. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll talk with Superior and you’ll have a brand new name in no time.” He smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder, stopping the shudders.
“Th-thanks,” I sniffed, wiping away the tears and snot with the back of my hand. “But what’s Superior?”
“You’ll see.” Zexion patted my shoulder, then turned to Vexen. “We should probably tell the others she’s awake.”
“But there’s still so much information I’d like to get from her!” Vexen whined. His notebook was out again, and I could imagine there being a few more pages filled with writing. Zexion glared at him.
“She needs her rest. Now let’s go.” Without waiting for an answer, Zexion grabbed Vexen by the arm and practically dragged him out of the room.
I stared after them, feeling a hollow sense of loss. For not knowing my name and because the only two people I knew just left me alone in this strange place I had no idea about. The mirror, as Vexen had called the square in the wall, hang there innocently; silently mocking me for not knowing its purpose. Now that I knew the word, I understood that the girl was just my reflection. It was strange, but I thought it was just the way things were; learn the name, know the thing.
I went over to the bed and sat down on it, trying to think of what my name was. Nothing came to mind. There was nothing that could’ve given me the slightest hint of who I was, where I came from, how I got to… wherever I was. I sat on the bed, near tears again for not knowing the smallest detail about myself. What seemed like hours later, the door opened.
Three men walked in, and I dropped my hands to give them a watery stare. One of them was Zexion, and I was glad for that. He made me feel safe whenever I was around him. The man in front was a tall guy with white and gray spiky hair, a major tan, and he had something draped across his arm. Behind him was a guy with blue hair and a bit X smack-dab in the middle of his face. They both had cold, appraising eyes that made me feel uncomfortable.. I looked to Zexion, silently asking him who these people were. He just gave me an encouraging look and stepped aside.
“Glad to see you awake,” the tan one said. “I’m Xemnas, leader of Organization XIII. And this is Saïx.” Xemnas held his hand out to me, a slick smile on his face, almost like looking at a snake. I just stared at his offered hand, not sure of what to do. I looked to Zexion for help, but he was staring at the floor.
“You really don’t remember not only your name, but how to act?” Xemnas asked me. When I didn’t answer, he withdrew his hand and shook his head.
“That’s odd,” the Saïx guy said. “Though it shouldn't be too much of a surprise, considering she's not your typical Nobody."
Remember? Nobodies? My head was feeling a bit light from all these things I didn’t understand. I put my hands on my head to keep it from imploding.
Zexion saw my dizziness and rushed to my side. “You okay?” he asked me softly. I nodded and leaned against him, grateful for his concern. “Are we done here? Obviously she doesn’t have any memories. You can talk to her later; maybe when she’s settled down and comfortable?”
“No,” Xemnas said. He turned to the other man, Saïx. “Leave us.” He did as he was told, and Xemnas turned back to me. “Here.” He held the arm that had the thing draped across it out to me. I stared at it, then took the object and held it up.
“An Organization cloak?” Zexion asked. “But what about her extensive memory loss? How will she go on missions without hurting herself if she doesn’t know how to do anything?”
“It’s easier to write on a clean slate,” Xemnas said to him. Then he looked at me. “Do you want to know your true name?”
“My name?” I asked. “I— Yes… I do.”
“And would you like to become a member of Organization XIII?” I nodded. Xemnas smiled and held up his hand to me. A large “X” appeared and started circling me rapidly, making an odd rushing sound. I had no idea what was going on, so I shut my eyes tightly and clamped my hands over my ears. Zexion made a move to come next to me, but Xemnas put his other arm up to stop him. After a couple seconds, the rushing sound stopped and I opened my eyes while lowering my hands. In front of me were four letters.
“Welcome to the Organization… Xion,” Xemnas said.
♥ ♥ ♥
“… And do you so swear to remain loyal to the Organization and do all that is within your power to help achieve the goals set by the Superior?” Saïx cited. After Xemnas gave me my new name and accepted me into the Organization, they gave me a few hours’ rest before formally “receiving” me as a member. Saïx and Xemnas had called everyone together for a meeting, but they had to swear me in in a different room. Saïx was holding some sort of book, on which my left hand rested with my right hand in the air, and Xemnas was standing off to the side looking all official. So boring.
“I so swear,” I said, trying not to yawn. Xemnas stepped up and Saïx took the book away.
“You are now officially part of the Organization,” Xemnas said. “Welcome, Organization member number fourteen. Xion.” Saïx started clapping, but immediately stopped after one look from Xemnas. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else?” Saïx frowned but bowed anyway, disappearing into black smoke. Xemnas turned back to me. “Time to meet the rest of the Organization.” He turned and walked out the door. I hurried to catch up as he walked rather quickly through the halls of the castle.
“Put your hood up,” Xemnas told me when we reached our destination.
“What for?” I asked, then I immediately regretted it. His amber eyes turned to me and seemed to bore into my soul. I looked away quickly.
“I’m a sucker for the theatrics,” he said. There was a hint of a smile in his voice, but I didn’t look up to see if I was right. I just did as I was told and shut up. “Wait here.” Then he too disappeared into black smoke. I stood there nervously, waiting for my cue.
“Today is a day we shall celebrate,” I heard Xemnas’ voice boom. I took it as my cue, so I walked off into the middle of the room and stopped in the center of the emblem on the floor. “We have a new ally. Number fourteen.”
“Xion,” I announced. “My name’s Xion.” Xemnas glared down at me, and as I looked around I saw that some of the other members were surprised by what I had said. I had no idea why, though. My eyes found Zexion, and he didn’t look surprised at all. He was smiling down at me, and for some reason that made me blush. I smiled back up at him.
“Anyway,” Xemnas said, trying to regain everyone’s attention. “Since we have a new member, I think it best if she have a mentor. That is, until she gets the hang of it.” Everyone started murmuring at once. Nobody volunteered right away, but I could pretty much see who liked me and who didn’t. One blond woman in particular looked down at me with a sneer on her face.
“Zexion! I think that you should take Xion as your protégée,” Xemnas said. “Since you’re already acquainted. It also seems as if you’re going to be great friends. Teach her the basics and about our missions.” Zexion looked at Xemnas with confusion.
“It would be my pleasure, Superior,” he said.
“Good. Dismissed.” Everyone in the room disappeared except for Zexion disappeared. He sat in his seat staring at Xemnas’ chair long after everyone was gone, then he finally came down to where I was.
“Seems as if I get to show you the ropes,” he said, sounding tired. He might not have cared either way whether or not he taught me, but I was so excited. There was no one else in the meeting that I really thought I would feel comfortable with. Zexion being my mentor was the greatest thing that could have happened to me at that moment.
“Which ropes?” I asked. Zexion just smiled and started leading the way to wherever we were going.
“Okay, so here in the Organization, there are a number of rules that you have to follow. Rule number one: Your loyalty lies with the Organization and only the Organization. Rule number two: Listen to the Superior and follow his every instruction. He is the one that founded this Organization, and he dictates who is in it and who is not worthy of becoming one of its members. There are other rules, but they’re very technical and come to be understood with time. And I guess that as it is your first time here, for how short you’ve been here, no one’s actually told you of the name of this castle, have they?” I shook my head, looking around at all the white and grey. “This is the Castle That Never Was. An odd name, don’t you think?” His eyes caught my attention and I could see him smiling brightly. The corners of my mouth turned upward as my heartbeat quickened.
We walked through the halls of the Castle That Never Was, Zexion telling me about the history behind it and about all the different members of the Organization. It was all fascinating, but I honestly had no freaking idea why this information would help me. I didn’t want Zexion to feel like his talking was for nothing, so I kept quiet and tried to pay attention. Zexion led me through the castle, telling me about the various rooms and hallways, until we finally made it to the lower levels where everyone’s rooms were. Well, almost everyone’s. Xemnas slept somewhere else, though according to Zexion he was never really around anyway.
“Here’s your room,” Zexion told me as we came to a stop at the very end of one of the longer hallways. “I’ll let you get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll be going on a trial mission, to see if you can handle it. Get some rest, and I’ll come and pick you up in the morning.” He gave me another smile and walked down the hallway, leaving me feeling lonely.
I went inside the room and looked around. This room seemed to be a bit roomier than the room I had woken up in. It had a dresser and another door leading off somewhere, anyway. Me, being too tired to show any curiosity, strode across the room and flopped down on the bed, feeling exhaustion come over me. Before I knew it, I was asleep.
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