Charxai watched as the younger nobodies rushed into the room, all in a hurry to escape being late to the weekly meeting. A pit formed in his stomach as he thought of what would occur later, but the thoughts were pushed out of his mind as Zixan stood from his chair.
"Are we ready to begin?" His rhetorical question rang throughout the meeting room, and the newer members quieted down and took their seats around the large table. Salix, Charxai, and Zixan were in charge of heading up these meetings, so they shared a spot near the head of the table. "Alright then, since it’s my week to head the meetings, Charxai," he nodded in Charxai’s direction, "Salix," giving Salix the same respectful nod, he continued, "Do you have anything to say before we start?"
Charxai lifted two fingers off of the table, showing that he had nothing to add.
"I only have to say hat I am pleased with the current progress we are making," Salix had stood, addressing all of the nobodies at the table, "and that I am making daily progress with the hearts we are collecting. I have nothing further to add."
"Okay then," Zixan turned his attention towards the lesser nobodies, "I have decided to dedicate this meeting to countering the continually increasing attacks made by the keybladers. I have thought of several strategies, all of which I will cover in this meeting. The first of which consists of. . ."
Charxai sat back in his chair, absorbed in his thoughts. He decided to make his announcement at the end of the meeting, and figured he would at least make this last contribution to the Order.
The meeting wore on, and eventually a squad system was arranged, with the three veteran nobodies to head the operation, and more experienced nobodies to serve as lieutenants under them.
"Charxai, do you have any recommendations for squad leaders?" Zixan questioned, his eyes focused on Charxai.
"Xanoh. He’s served us well and been here for a nice amount of time. His abilities and determination should make a good leader." Charxai replied with a half interested tone, and noticed Xanoh’s face light up, proud from the praise he had received from his superior.
Zixan and Salix then chose the squads, Zixan mapping the decisions out with his clouds on thin air. Charxai would make the occasional comment on placement of members, and formation of squads, but the meeting passed with little incident.
"I believe we have made great progress today. Hopefully we will be more successful in our attemps to destroy these nobodies. Before we go, does anyone have anything to add?" Zixan questioned, his face showing that he was glad the meeting was almost over.
"I do." Charxai replied. The room turned deathly silent, all eyes focused on what Charxai had to relay to the rest of the group.
"For some time now, I have been with the Exiled." Charxai started. "And I have seen this organization on its highs, and its lows. But, I have always stayed here, because of the ideas this organization stands for. Or at least," He paused, "stood for."
Charxai watched, gauging the reactions shown around the room. Salix and Zixan faces were blank, but the younger nobodies seemed unsettled.
"This organization has stood for nobodies wanting nothing more than a safe haven. No dreams of grandeur, power, or riches. We all just wanted a place to call our own. I am sad to say, I can no longer say that statement is true."
Ignoring the gasps heard around the room, Charxai continued. "We have focused our energies on destroying these keybladers for their hearts. Salix needs them for his experiments, and Zixan needs them in order to increase the size of the Exiled. I admit, we may not have come this far without taking these measures, but I cannot willingly continue to slay these keybladers for their hearts. In my mind, we have become no better than Organization XIII. So it is now that I will take my leave. You can try to stop me, but I doubt you will catch me." With that, a cloud of nitrogenous smoke enveloped Charxai, and when it cleared, he was nowhere to be found.
"Well, what are you waiting for! Go after him!" Salix commanded, willing the new squads into motion. The new leaders jumped from their chairs, and chaos ensued as each squad tried to assemble in the small meeting room. Zixan sighed, placing a hand over his eyes and slumping back into the chair he had risen from in the excitement.
Charxai, why would you leave just when we need you the most? Zixan thought, wondering if he had made the decisions that were for the good of the Exiled.
"Wait!" Zixan said, his voice echoing across the room. The group of nobodies quieted and returned their attention back to Zixan. "Don’t worry about Charxai, just return to your quarters for now. He will be dealt with."
Turning sharply, Salix hissed "What is the meaning of this? Charxai is one of the councilmen and we can’t just let him go gallivanting across worlds while we have bigger problems to deal with."
"Your concern isn’t without cause, but rest assured that I already have a plan." As the last of the lesser members filed out of the room, Zixan and Salix stood and headed for a door hidden at the back of the room, leading to a dark hallway. "He’ll be back within the next 10 days or not at all."
"What do you mean and how are you so sure?" Salix asked, folding his arms in the process. "I know how your abilities work, Zixan, and I highly doubt that Charxai remains on this godforsaken world of ours. How do you plan on finding him?"
With a sigh, Zixan stopped and turned to Salix. Frustration gripped at his features for a moment, but then disappeared. "Salix, trust that I know what I’m doing, okay? Charxai will be back within the next ten days."
"Take me with you then." He demanded. "It only seems proper for both of us to try and encourage our fellow councilmen to come back."
"I like your logic, but I’d rather not go through the trouble of having you two go at it. You and I both know that you and Charxai aren’t on the greatest of terms with one another." Zixan commented as he and Salix continued down the dark hallway.
"Zixan, this is vastly more important than the meetings that were held in the past. Even I wouldn’t stoop to such lows just to get a reaction out of him. I know when to hold my tongue." Salix defended, annoyance surfacing in his voice.
"As true…or false as that may be, I can’t risk you jeopardizing his return. Now, if you don’t mind, I have matters to attend to." With that he faded into a thinning mist.
"Zixan, I trust that you know what you’re doing." Salix muttered under his breath. Turning abruptly, he called "Xishn!" Within a few seconds a Corridor to Darkness opened and a sky blue robe came into the view.
"Old man?" Xishn asked, ready for his orders.
"Your task is simple this time. Check the entry books and bring to me any nobody that seems to have an ability that could assist in finding someone. I have a feeling that Zixan may be keeping something from us."
"Well, everyone has their secrets." Xishn added.
"Just to get to work." Salix said and vanished within a Corridor to Darkness.
The droplets of vapor converged onto one another, eventually forming Zixan’s shape in the center of an ovular room. It had the same furniture and design as the rest of the castle, but lacked a window or a visible door.
Stretching a bit, Zixan calmly called out "Varex, Xamsung, I have a job for you." A single Corridor to Darkness opened to the right of Zixan and two nobodies walked out side by side. "Ah, be merry. You two get to actually use your abilities for more than just security today."
The girl perked up, "We get to find someone?"
"If that’s the case, then why am I here?" Xamsung asked quickly. "She can find someone over long distances without my help."
"Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, Xamsung. Sure, she can find anyone without your help, but without your amplification, she can neither pass off her detection to me nor could she do this in a timely manner. I’ll need to know where she finds this person quickly and precisely."
"You’re trying to kill me aren’t you?" Xamsung asked jokingly.
"Of course not! Just think of this as testing your abilities." Zixan laughed. "Now, assume your positions and—"
"You’re not going to give me a picture to focus on or a description? You should know how my ability works by now, Zixan." Varex chastised.
"If you’d hold your horses, then I’d tell you who we’re looking for. It’s Charxai and I’m sure you’ve already seen him before."
"We’d get to see him more if you’d actually let us out more often." Xamsung snapped.
"Look, you’ll be able to join the rest of the Exiled in due time. Until then, you will remain hidden. Plus, I doubt you two have the focus to perform your duties while in the company of others."
"Oh, and you do?" Xamsung asked quickly, obviously taking offense.
"I do it all the time. Now, enough of this bickering and let’s find Charxai!" Zixan ordered.
Xamsumg grabbed onto Varex’s hand, while Zixan placed a hand on either of their shoulders. Varex looked to Xamsung, then Zixan and asked "Ready?" and without waiting for their response her head dropped forward lifelessly, then snapped up quickly. With eyes wide open, she stared at a wall on the other side of the room.
A few seconds passed and Varex said "He’s definitely not on this world."
"I could have told you that" scoffed Zixan, "Xamsung, amplify her powers even more. She needs to scan multiple worlds simultaneously."
"If I amplify them too much, I’ll exhaust even faster." Xamsung answered.
"Then do what you can!"
A few more minutes passed until finally, Varex announced "Found him! Zixan, I’ll send the information to you, okay?"
Zixan felt this strange feeling within his head and moments later felt a surge of information enter his brain. Pictures, sounds, and smells pervaded his mind as Charxai’s whereabouts became clear to him. "The World That Never Was…"
----------
Charxai put his forearm against the dreary wall. Looking around, he realized for the first time he had fled to The World That Never Was. The alleyways of this world had always been dreary, and it seemed they would forever remain that way.
Finally catching his breath, Charxai straightened up, stretching his arms over his head. He had forgotten running such long distances were so tiring, and made a note to himself to run more often. Unwillingly, memories of his joining of the Exiled flooded into his mind.
A crouched figure, huddled against the wall, hiding. Three figures, standing around wondering what to do. "Hey!" One of them shouted...
Tearing away from the memories, Charxai bent over, now breathing heavily. He missed that group, the group he was running away from. But he could not go back now, no, he had to keep himself strong. Making sure the straps around his sword had not come loose during his flight, Charxai prepared to take off running once again.
"Charxai, wait." Before he had even turned, sword unsheathed, Charxai knew who the voice belonged to.
"Zixan." Charxai’s voice was cold, emotionless towards his old friend. "If you want to talk to me, I suggest you show up in person." Before the figure could respond, Charxai leapt forward, slashing through the creation that now was only swirls of mist.
Running his fingers through his hair, Charxai sighed, frustrated. "Zixan, you know that I can tell the difference between you and your clones." Turning around, he was surprised to see Zixan standing in front of him. "I'm surprised, I didn't think I'd actually see you here." Zixan was clearly not at ease in his current state - which wasn't surprising, seeing as he rarely went out in public like this. Charxai sheathed his sword, hoping to calm the other nobody.
Zixan’s muscles visibly relaxed as he let out a sigh. "Exiled Order member number eight: Charxai. My comrade, my friend, my brother. Do you know of the position you have put me in? You've put us in? No, you couldn’t know. You don’t understand half of what is going on."
"I think I understand what you want quite—"
"I’m not finished!" Zixan snapped. "You had the audacity to compare what we’re doing to what the Organization had tried to do. We’re not trying to summon Kingdom Hearts. I have no need for its power to make me stronger or even whole. I’m comfortable with how I am."
"Using murder to expand The Exiled is more of a step backwards than a step forward, wouldn't you say?" Charxai held Zixan's gaze, his anger bubbling beneath the surface.
Zixan started to reply, but erupted into a fit of coughing before he could continue. "Have a seat." He motioned as he sat in his own chair.
"Thanks, but I'll stay where I'm at."
"Every decision I make is for the betterment of the Exiled." Zixan replied, clearing his throat. "If you haven’t noticed, the keybladers are not to be taken lightly. It’s ridiculous having to send squads of nobodies to deal with them when only one or two will make it back alive - with or without the keyblader in tow. We need their nobodies, because they’re hearts give us a fighting chance to survive. I don't care where that balances out on your scales of morality, but it's either us, or them. I stand with The Exiled, would you really side with our enemies?" Zixan's gaze left no room for argument, no room for disagreement.
Is this the road you'll travel, Zixan? "Just because I don't condone murder doesn't mean that I'm against The Exiled. Just because I can't feel doesn't mean that I can't do what's right." Charxai frowned, morals were always so relative when it came to nobodies.
"Ha! You have no sense of right or wrong, so get it out of your head. Stop acting as if your feelings of right and wrong are an adequate guide for your actions! As far as the Exiled’s goal is concerned, it has remained unchanged. It is a safe haven for nobodies and will continue to be as long as we, the Council, take the appropriate steps to ensure that the Exiled remains safe." Another sigh escaped his lips and his countenance lightened. "Ever since Daxic’s downfall and Jynx’s death, I’ve made decisions that have done nothing but benefit The Exiled. We were almost wiped out last time, and I'm making sure that it won't happen again. It’s why I proposed the Council in the first place. We saw what happened when one man tried to lead The Exiled, and I believe that four could do what one could not. But we need you to be that fourth nobody, that fourth pillar holding up the organization."
"Foundational truths have gotten me this far, and I'm not going to give them up now." Charxai felt his power on the edge of his conciousness, and he could feel the nitrogen crystalizing at his feet. Not now. He reminded himself, It's not worth it. "And if you're asking me to give that up, then leaving was the right choice."
"We're at war, Charxai, whether you choose to believe it or not. Hard times call for hard decisions, which is why you leaving doesn't make any sense. I know that you've had to make hard decisions before, why are you scared to make them again?" Zixan stood up from his seat, taking a few steps back. "And I hope you're not thinking of attacking me just because I chose to do the hard thing."
Charxai realized that his fists were clenched, his knuckles turning white. He realized that the ice at his feet had spread to about a five-foot circle around him, and was slowly creeping forward. "Damn you for bringing my past into this, Zixan. I didn't want to get involved back then, but I didn't have a choice. Now that I do, there's no way I'm going back."
"You can't just run away from your problems! You’re a nobody and that’s reason enough for the keybladers to finish you off. The way I see it, if you leave The Exiled, you won't last a week."
"Because the keybladers will get me? Or," Charxai lowered his voice, saddened by the recent turn of events, "because you will?"
"You're a liability, Charxai. If you were to get captured, the keybladers could find out enough information to destroy everything we've worked to build. Everything you worked to build." Zixan sighed, "Would you let such a heavy weight rest on your shoulders?"
Charxai opened a portal behind him, tears welling in his eyes as he grieved the loss of his friend. "Zixan, I hope this is the last time I ever see you. Because if you find me, you might just get what you want." And with that, Charxai left Zixan to his thoughts in The World That Never Was.
----------
Watching as the wind howled outside, Charxai laid on his pillow laid against the caves wall.
4 days left. . . Charxai stared up at the bleak walls of his abode. Sparks from the fire being sent against the wall, Charxai looked over at the book resting on the floor. Most of what he had done in the past week had followed this book, as he searched for answers to the questions he had. Sighing, Charxai put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes.
What should I do? He thought to himself.
Charxai knew he would stay away from the Exiled. He doubted there was anything that could convince him to go back. Even Zixan’s death threat had not swayed his decision. In fact, it had not even come into play with his decision.
Zixan. . . How have we come to this? What a sad day the day when we must fight shall be, my friend.
Suddenly, as if a light had come on in a dark room, a presence had appeared in the region he was in. The amount of nitrogen in the blood glowed like a city in the night for Charxai, and although he could not tell who it was, he could tell it was a nobody.
Who would come out here so early? Unless I have completely lost track of time, I still have four days. Charxai decided to put his worries to rest, and strapped on his old white cloak to sneak out into the wasteland.
----------
Trudging through the snow, Xishn shivered in the snow.
Haha old man, you would send me to a place like this. Shivering again, Xishn pulled his hood tighter over his head, trying to keep out the vicious wind. Stumbling, he kneeled in the know, struggling to get up.
Charxai, if you don’t come back after this, I’ll end up killing you myself. Finally getting to his feet, Xishn stood just to fall back down.
I can’t. . . keep doing this. . . With the white landscape blending together, Xishn, now hopelessly lost, lay in the snow.
At least now . . . I feel warm . . . Closing his eyes, he succumbed to the darkness.
Watching the figure lie down, Charxai rushed as soon as it stopped moving. The hood, pulled back by the wind, had revealed Xishn’s face. Worried, Charxai released his breath as soon as he felt a pulse. Heaving Xishn over his shoulders, Charxai then proceeded to carry Xishn back to his cave.
Walking back and forth in his room, Salix cursed under his breath. He should’ve been back by now. He thought to himself. The nobody cursed again.
Xishn had left over a week ago, with not even a word from him since. Stopping, he ran off as he heard a door close. The door to Xishn’s room. Rushing inside, Salix was shocked to see Xishn, calmly asleep in his bed, with a note above him. Snatching the note from its resting place, he read:
----------
Dear Salix,
Thank you for being concerned enough to send Xishn to retrieve me. As I am quite sure he was not sent to kill me, I send this thanks wholeheartedly.
Nordacia, however, is not as pleasureable as I am, and I hope you scope out wherever it is you send Xishn before you actually do, next time he is helping you out. I am perfectly fine where I am, and I fear now things must come down to Zixan’s ultimatum.
Although we may not have always seen eye to eye, know this: Right now you are a member of the Exiled, and if I die, I will remember you as such. I know we may not have got along very well in the past, but know I believe you are a valuable asset to the Exiled and hope you remain so for many years.
Send my thanks to Xishn,
Charxai
"Charxai. . ." Salix’s voice trailed off, as the note, crumpled by his hands, dropped to the floor.