Magicians Reversed [Zexion, Sora]

[Axel]

[Because I'm a geek, I want to make sure everyone understands the significance of the thread title. The Magician is a tarot card which, if it comes up reversed, can indicate that a manipulator is nearby. There will be two manipulators in this thread, hence the plural. Thank you for indulging my nerdiness. xD]

Embers and Envelopes

Certain places never quite lost their clouds of death, no matter how time tried to dispel them. The desolate aura was an invisible stain upon these pristine white walls, floors, and ceilings, far outweighing the visible but temporary blemish of a Corridor of Darkness. The Flurry of Dancing Flames set foot once again in Castle Oblivion. Revisiting old haunts was usually an enjoyable experience, but coming back to this produced mixed thoughts, not so much emotions, within Axel's head. Imagined echoes of cries for mercy reverberated even here, in the Entrance Hall. Yet, there was also the memory of Marluxia's smug eyes and Larxene's revolting laugh. Plus, the way she had looked at him. He grimaced. As though she could feel anything to begin with.

As expected, everything was dead quiet except for the soft sound of his boots against the floor and his breathing. He had made it here ahead of Sora and Zexion. Figures I'd beat the Schemer. He seems to think everybody operates on his personal timetable. For the time being, he approached the section of wall left of the stairs and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. This did, after all, give him time to think about how best to tackle this issue of convincing Sora to turn into a Heartless.

He did not want to be direct with the kid. There was a chance that might work. Tugging at Sora's heartstrings was easy enough to do, from what Axel knew of him. Acting emotional around him would look believable, as well, since the kid knew about how Roxas made him feel like he had a heart. But if the direct approach was taken, there would be no need for Zexion at all, and the Flame was not about to let his fellow Nobody get away with not doing any work. Not after sending him on that information hunt.

Subtlety usually worked better, in any case. Unfortunately, this endeavor of theirs hinged greatly on how Sora himself would react. They could manipulate all they wanted, but if the Keyblade master refused to yield, their efforts would turn out to be fruitless. Axel wasn't sure if he was entirely comfortable with that idea. Well, he would just have to make sure Sora saw his side of things.

For now, he would await the arrival of the Schemer.

[Fate]

Please Consider All Things Trite
Deceiver by Stream of Passion

The Schemer's Corridor sounded in the middle of the Entrance Hall, Zexion walking out of it quickly. Axel seemed to have beat him to his own meeting, which was a bit of a surprise; it was unlike the Schemer to not be the first to arrive. However, that fact was trivial. He needed to focus on what he intended to do during this little visit. The Flame wanted his friend back and he planned to speak with him first. If things went extremely well, then Zexion would be useless and would have to do nothing. While that was pleasing to him, Axel would surely not like that.

"Nice to see you Axel," he said at first, his tone polite yet empty. He approached the other and stood a few feet away. "If all goes accordingly, then we will have Roxas once again. Between the two of us, I believe we should be able to succeed. To ensure this, and to ensure that you are not doing all of the work for this, I will offer my power of illusion to you. You know of my capabilities and, with your manipulation of Sora, it could yield a higher rate of success." He crossed his arms at this point, merely looking at the Flame and keeping his senses alert; Sora could enter at any moment now and he would need to be ready.

It was hard to say if Zexion thought that they would succeed. The two of them were indeed rather gifted in the art of manipulation, but that did not mean that they would achieve their goal. Sora was obstinate and that would proof to be a hurdle for the two Nobodies to jump over. Though, he was favoring success; Axel could use Sora's emotional capacity against him and Zexion could just make it worse. It would indeed prove to be very interesting.

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[Axel]

The Unspoken Gameplan

The sound of a dark portal opening nearby made Axel lift his head. At least Zexion hadn't been too far behind. He had half-expected another Dusk to show up and announce that the Schemer had been playing him. Axel wouldn't have stopped at murdering the Dusk had that been the case. Oh, no. He would have hunted down Zexion and made serious the joke about killing him again.

"Oh? You're putting yourself at my disposal then?" This was both interesting and pleasing news to the Flame. The chances of converting Sora vastly improved if the Schemer's illusions were involved. Possible angles of persuasion immediately opened up. The wheels in his head were turning.

"You're good enough to follow a lead when you see one, aren't you?" He glanced at Zexion out of the corner of his eyes. He had to make sure he wouldn't need to break the spell of his words in order to explain to the Schemer his intended directions. He shouldn't have to, though; Zexion was intelligent enough, he was sure. Besides, the kid wasn't really all that complicated. Anyone half-blind could see that his greatest weaknesses were his friends and his tendency to naively empathize with nearly anything that breathed. Axel could use both of those.

[Fate]

Ready For the Show?

Indeed, he was putting himself at Axel's disposal, which was a bit of a dangerous move on his part. It was not normal for the Schemer to let his powers be used by someone and be commanded to do something, but he would rather not get on the Flame's bad side; he would if he showed that he was not doing any work to uphold his end of the bargain. Aside from that, he wanted this plan to succeed. They needed a Keyblade Master that was on their side to slay Heartless. If Zexion helped Axel get Roxas back, then he could possibly work with that and make it so Roxas could still kill Heartless for the Organization while staying in the company of Axel; plans would have to be worked out later of course.

"I can follow your lead, yes," he replied simply, "You do not have to worry about that." Zexion knew what sort of leads to follow and what to work off of, even though he typically worked alone. He could work with just about anything given to him, though Sora would be particularly easy. Even though Zexion did not know him well like the rest of the Organization, he did know that his friends were rather important to him. From what he gathered, Sora could also be rather naïve; he could play with that.

Abruptly, he turned his head toward the door as his senses alerted him of a new arrival. "Sora has arrived at Castle Oblivion," he told Axel in his normal, factual voice, "I will make myself visible when this is complete." With that, the Schemer rendered himself completely invisible, a trick earned by having the power of illusions. He moved himself so he was leaning against the door, his arms still crossed as he waited for Sora to come into his line of vision once more.

[/size]

[Castle]

Why did this feel so familiar?

Sora stopped on the winding path that led to the bizarre castle and gazed up at it. This was definitely one of the stranger worlds, the space beyond the towering building a cosmic vortex of some kind. He was sure he had never been here before, but still, a weird deja vu nagged at the back of his mind.

He shook it off and started walking again. He would definitely remember a place like this if he'd been here before, right? And besides, he had to stay on guard. This was the day he was supposed to be here, to meet whoever had sent him that note. It could be a friend, or it could be a trap. He still didn't have Donald or Goofy to back him up; he'd asked about them again within the past few days, but their duties kept them on their own world, apparently.

He pushed open one of the large front doors and peered inside, looking left, then right, then forward as he ventured in the rest of the way. It was a big, white room, spacious and stark. Leaving the door ajar, he walked further in, slowly, looking around and ready to summon the Keyblade in an instant.

The examination of his surroundings ended when he spotted a dark figure, like a stain on the pure white walls, at the other end of the room. From there, it did not take long to distinguish the flaming red hair and overall familiarity...

Sora froze, thunderstruck, the surprise and confusion written all over his face.

"A...Axel?!"

Without really thinking, he jogged toward him, but stopped a few yards away. The closer distance didn't make Axel's appearance any less familiar.

"How..." he began, still puzzled, but the initial shock was already beginning to subside, "I mean, what are you doing here? I thought you faded away...?"

[Axel]

Testing the Waters
[This post brought to you by The 13th Side.]

Shortly after making assurances that he could indeed follow leads, the Schemer cloaked himself in invisibility. Smart decision on his part. The only downside was that Axel was now no longer sure where Zexion was. He'd better not be skipping out on me. His distrust of the Schemer would not be easily dismissed, even though they had reached this point.

Axel was not the only visible one in the room for very long. True to Zexion's warning, the one they had been waiting for entered the hall. He looked, understandably, confused. Memories of this place were gone, but traces of the feelings evoked would still remain. The kid saw him then and seemed to latch onto the familiarity he offered. After stammering his name, Sora rapidly came closer. The Flame did not move. This was eerily similar to their first meeting, which Sora now no longer remembered. Of course, this time he was meeting the Keyblade master sans his two friends. And Zexion was somewhere in the room observing invisibly.

Green eyes met blue, and even after Sora asked him why he was here, Axel didn't answer for a moment. Somewhere behind those blue eyes was his best friend. He caught himself staring and covered it up with a smirk and a nonchalant wave of his hand. "Well, hello there, Sora. Nice to see you again, too." Oh, right. The dying thing. He scratched the back of his head and cast his gaze off to the side. "Yeah, I guess I did fade away, didn't I? But I'm back, and the details aren't really that important." He didn't even fully understand the details, anyway.

"As for what I'm doing here..." He pointed at the ground, indicating that he was talking about physical location, and then continued in a casual tone. "I was waiting for you." He left it purposefully vague, waiting to see if Sora would inadvertently tell him exactly what Zexion had done to lure him here.

[Castle]

It was as though Sora's mind had to take a moment to fully remember who he was speaking to, and when it did, the nonchalant response was very unsurprising. The remnants of his initial shock faded away into a simple puzzlement. This was Axel all right, but the question of why he was still in existence had yet to be answered. However, like Axel himself implied, that explanation was not the first priority here.

"That's right," Sora said, as if to remind himself of his purpose for coming to this place, "You were the one who sent that message, weren't you?"

There was an odd feeling in his chest, perhaps one from the other side of his heart. It was a strange sort of relief, a gladness to see Axel alive, but it was shadowed in part by misgiving.

"But, hang on," he said, some of the confusion returning, "If you're back, does that mean the rest of the Organization...?"

He could hardly bring himself to finish that question. Just the thought of all those enemies returning was enough to make his head spin. They'd given him a hard enough time before, and no matter how confident he was that he could do it all over again, the thought was far from appealing.

[Axel]

Step One: Build Trust; Step Two: Inject Guilt

That had been easy enough. Sora had received a note from someone telling him to come to Castle Oblivion. And, judging from the way the kid had gawked at him, that note had been anonymous. Now, the Keyblade master was assuming the one he was supposed to meet here was, indeed, Axel. He could roll with that perfectly.

Before he could reply, Sora asked half a question about the other Organization members. He didn't see any reason to keep the knowledge of dear Xemmy's return to life from the kid, but as far as the others were concerned, he would not be confirming their resurrections to Sora until and unless Axel laid his own eyes on them. The way the partial question hung in the air was enough to let the Flame know that Sora was less than enthusiastic at the thought of the entire Organization returning.

There's one right here in this room. Oh? Can't you see him?

He paced to the right, his left shoulder to Sora. "I know for sure that Xemnas is back, but I haven't actually seen him myself. He sent out a message a few weeks ago, looking for loyal Organization members. Needless to say, I don't exactly fall under that category." Giving the kid a loaded look, he turned back around to face him completely. This part was essential. If all went according to plan, Sora would have no need for any of this information. But Axel needed to bolster the kid's trust in him. For now.

"Oh, and glad you got my note. Sorry I had to send such an impersonal message, but you have to understand my current position. I don't have many friends. If any." His voice dipped into the shallowest of melancholic tones for a moment, then it lifted again. "But now that you're here, we should be able to talk. This place has been abandoned for a little while now." This was where things would start getting serious. And if this track ended up not working, Axel had a back-up plan. "You've heard about Radiant Garden getting pummeled by a guy wielding the darkness, right? I hear it wasn't pretty." He looked to the side for a moment, then looked back at Sora, a hint of accusation in his eyes. "My question for you is: Where were you when that happened? Aren't you supposed to be, you know, some hero of the light?"

[Castle]

"Xemnas..."

Xemnas. That was definitely not the news Sora wanted to hear. For a few moments, he experienced a quiet onslaught of negative emotion. After all he'd done, in the year before this one and the time before even that, the leader of the Organization, the orchestrator of everything he fought against, was no longer defeated. What did that make his efforts? Where did that put him now?

No, he thought firmly, forcibly yanking himself away from despair. There was no way he was just going to give in to this. He'd beaten Xemnas and the Organization once, and he could do it again. And besides, he wouldn't be alone. He was never alone, and he needed to always remember that.

Axel continued speaking, bringing Sora the rest of the way back into the present. He picked up the accusatory note that laced Axel's last statement, and that caused his expression to harden a bit. However, no sooner had that reaction come on to his face than it was replaced by a softer look, one that clearly stated that the guilt had finally gotten to him.

It was just like what Riku talked about in his letter. Maybe he should have ended his peaceful homecoming a bit sooner.

"Yeah... I wish I'd been there to help stop him," he admitted, "But, how was I supposed to know? I wasn't even off the Islands until a week or so ago." He wanted to use those last lines as a retort, but they came out somber. It felt like he should have known anyway.

On the other hand, worrying about it now wouldn't get him anywhere, now would it?

"And anyway," he continued with more strength, "How come you had me wait around for over a week if this is so important?"

[Axel]

Are You So Sure of Your Friends?
In the Darkness Lies remixed by DragonAvenger and The Joker; original track from Banjo-Kazooie

Watching the subtle signs of self-doubt etch their way onto Sora's face and into his body language, Axel smoothed his expression once again. He could guess what was going through the kid's mind now that he had announced Xemnas wasn't dead anymore. All of that hard work suddenly gone in a puff of smoke. No matter what the kid said in response, Axel knew those feelings of despair wouldn't be lost so easily.

Hm. Good question, Sora.

He had a quick answer ready, however. Slowly, he began to walk a circle around Sora, stopping when he reached the other side of him. "Well, I had thought in that time, you would have located at least one of your abundance of friends. Like I said, I've been trying to keep a low profile, and even now, I'm not too sure I should be talking to you." He crossed his arms and scratched absentmindedly at one of his elbows. "And yet, here you are. Alone. That's curious, don't you think?"

He walked the other half of his circle back to his previous spot. "If you're such good friends with everybody, why haven't you been able to find any of them? Seems to me..." Here, he pointed at Sora. "...maybe you're the problem. Sounds like a classic case of avoidance, you know? Have you tried talking to any of them and asking them to come with you? Maybe they said they were busy or something, right? Easy excuse to get out of hanging around you, I think."

Careful not to lay it on too thick yet, Axel glanced up at the ceiling. "People with hearts can be so fickle sometimes. One minute, you're everybody's hero, and the next minute, no one wants anything to do with you. And it can happen just like that." He looked back down at Sora and snapped his fingers. The last time he had done that here, Vexen had quite literally exploded. No such explosions this time, though. With any luck, none would be needed.

[Fate]

Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair
-Hover through the fog and filthy air-

Sora entered Castle Oblivion, changing the dynamics of the room entirely. It was only Axel speaking to him as Zexion watched on, waiting patiently to make a move of any sorts. He watched Sora in particular with care, never having met the Keyblade Master for longer than a minute. He initially questioned Axel and how he was standing here today, a reasonable question. Axel answered it fairly well and even implied that he was waiting for him, even going so far to say that he was the one who sent the message. The Flame had followed the Schemer's set-up, making everything easier. Though, the next question Sora asked gave the Nobody a bit of an idea.

The Organization, was it back? He could not sense the other Nobody sitting in the room? Riku would have known that Axel wasn't the only one here in an instant; he had so affectionately told Zexion that he reeked of darkness. Yet, Sora could not sense him one bit, making this a bit more enjoyable-- at least, as enjoyable as things could be for a being without a heart. The illusionist stopped leaning on the door, stepping down the stairs in a quiet fashion as Axel was speaking to him, working on an emotional appeal. There was a bit of guilt in there as well... and it was working

For now, Zexion watched as Axel continued to speak, Sora's facial expressions giving his guilt away. His boots clacked on the ground as he paced in a slow circle around the Keyblade Master, keeping his distance but also letting Axel know that he was indeed still here. Not only that, but it changed the atmosphere slightly. Axel said that they were alone, but here he was making Sora think twice about that statement. Were they truly alone? Well, it seemed that way since they were the only two in the room now didn't it? In fact, how many were there? He summoned his Lexicon silently, sending it to drop on the other side of the room before bringing it back to himself. What would Sora make of that, he wondered.

As the Flame spoke, he gave certain openings for him to play with. However, it was much too soon to start playing with massive illusions. For now, he would give the illusion that the room was darker than it was before; the light quickly changed into not such a blinding white like it had been, darkness setting in slightly in bits of the room. It was for a bit of dramatic effect, though a subtle one. Axel could play with that one as he wished.

[/size]

[Castle]

At first, those words affected Sora the way they would affect anybody. The feeling fed on his already present guilt, making him wonder, if only fleetingly, if that was really the case. However, he remembered his time with the Restoration Committee not long ago, and some of the darkness cleared away.

It was never pleasant to hear such suggestions, but hearts like his knew when to hold their ground. He would sooner question Axel than he would the friends he knew and loved. As he watched the disloyal Organization member pace slowly around him, his skepticism gradually expanded onto his expression. By the time Axel had returned to the same spot as before, Sora had taken on the beginnings of a suspicious glare, one eyebrow lifted dubiously.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” he said flatly, “How about getting to the point? I thought you had me come here for something important.”

Was it just him, or was the room getting darker? Axel was the only one walking, but it sounded like there were more footsteps, on the sidelines, though those places were clearly vacant. Wariness flickered through his mind and up his spine. Something didn’t feel right here. A loud thump sounded on the other side of the room, and Sora looked over his shoulder, but saw nothing amiss. He returned his gaze to Axel, his heart beating a little faster.

The King's warning drifted back to him, and he subconsciously flexed the fingers of his right hand. But, why would Axel want to ambush him?

[Axel]

Like Paint on a Blank Canvas

The moment that Axel heard invisible footsteps echo in the hall, he knew the Schemer was on the move. Yet, he made sure not to acknowledge the noise, instead keeping his gaze steady on Sora. Another noise sounded on the completely opposite side of the room, which Axel thought was a nice touch. Keep the Keyblade master guessing what and how many things were present in the room. And if that were not enough, it looked like the room suddenly became darker, though the Flame suspected that was also Zexion's handiwork. Again, surprise remained absent from his face. The kid was not making any effort to disguise his obvious paranoia, though.

He wanted the point, did he? Well, Axel wasn't about to reveal the true point just yet. Sora might be naive, but he probably wasn't going to agree to a blunt request to turn into a Heartless again. Even if it was for a good cause, in the Flame's opinion. He scanned the now-darkened walls for a few silent moments, making sure not to look like he was specifically looking for anything.

"Did you know that you've been here before, Sora?"

The words came out of him almost unbidden. Truthfully, they had been a half-formed thought, not meant to be spoken aloud. But now that they had been, he needed to figure out quickly how to follow them up. He fixed the Keyblade master with a casual stare. "You and I actually met here first. Don't you remember?"

He was banking on the fact that Sora would not remember. "You were lured here by another Organization member named Marluxia. Ring any bells?" A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. Because he knew Sora had no memory of his time here, Axel had just handed himself vast creative freedom. "Marluxia wanted to use you to stage a coup against Xemnas, but unfortunately for him, you proved an unwilling lapdog and demonstrated just how big your bite is." With just a little help from yours truly.

Pausing for a bit, he walked over to one of the walls and put a hand against it, then looked back at Sora once more. "This place...affects people. Especially people with hearts. That'd be you, by the way, if you haven't been paying attention." A brief pause to gather thoughts. "While you were here before, your memories were affected. But this castle can also reflect the contents of a person's heart or even make you see visions of things happening elsewhere." Zexion now had a huge playing field laid in front of him.

It was now time to get to "the point," at least the one that Axel was substituting for the real one for right now. "So, you can see how this castle might be...somewhat of a problem. Innocent people could wander in here and have their memories rearranged or erased completely. They could be driven mad by visions of things they would rather not see or know. It could be a powerful tool in the hands of the Organization."

He narrowed his eyes in Sora's direction. "I want you to help me destroy it." Not only would this cement in the kid's mind that Axel was no longer working with the Organization, but it would also get him to stick around long enough for Zexion to work his magic. "However...it won't be easy. The key to this castle's destruction lies in a room called the Chamber of Waking."

Finding this room was nigh impossible, if it even existed at all. Axel himself had searched Castle Oblivion thoroughly for it and come up empty-handed. This, of course, made it perfect for his current purposes. Sora could wander this castle for days in vain. And if he was as stubborn as Axel knew he could be, this meant he would sink deeper and deeper into the illusions of the Schemer. "We have to find that room first before we can do anything about demolishing the castle itself. I sought you out specifically because, supposedly, only a Keyblade bearer can open the Chamber of Waking." He crossed his arms over his chest and arched an inquisitive eyebrow. "So? Will you help me?"

[Fate]

I Work Well With Blank Canvases

So far, his plan was working. Sora showed his emotions clearly, suspicious of his surroundings and that he was hearing things that were seemingly not there. If the Schemer had a heart, he might have enjoyed seeing this. However, his face was empty as he continued to walk around, making the walls gradually darker with every step. It seemed that the Keyblade Master was growing tired of Axel's antics, wanting him to get to the point; not an unusual response from one who wielded such a weapon. Zexion was surprised he hadn't resorted to violence already since that was the trend Keyblade Bearers typically followed; Sora looked ready to attack, but perhaps he was hesitant to.

Axel then asked an interesting question, making Zexion pause in thought. Where was he going to go with that question? That could be dangerous territory, though he let the Flame continue. This was where he had first met Axel and other Organization members, more importantly Marluxia. As soon as Axel mentioned his name, an illusion was created of Marluxia standing at the door, his hood drawn with flower petals around him. As Axel told Sora how he finished said member off, the illusion disappeared and became nothing once more.

Of course, Zexion grinned maliciously as the Flame mentioned that this castle had the ability to reflect events happening elsewhere and the contents of a person's heart. That gave him endless possibilities of what he could do here. He concentrated for a brief moment, an illusion on the left wall appearing as if it were a screen. It showed inside the castle of Radiant Garden, the scene a bit dark as Maleficent walked around with her scepter in hand. Heartless followed her obediently as well. That would show that Sora not only missed the attack from the Tool of Darkness, but he had more to deal with: the Tool of Darkness, Xemnas and Maleficent.

The illusion disappeared, instead shifting over to the other side. It showed Destiny Islands now, the waves crashing on a sunset beach. Kairi was standing there with a look on her face as if she were searching for something; her answer apparently lied in the ocean, for that was where she was looking. She mouthed words, but nothing came out. The illusion vanished again, letting Sora focus completely on Axel's words.

A powerful weapon in the hands of the Organization indeed, never mind with what Zexion alone could do with it.

The Chamber of Waking was mentioned, causing the Schemer to pause again. He was not aware that Axel knew of its existence; the only other Nobodies that he thought knew about it were Xemnas and Xigbar thanks to the latter's eavesdropping abilities. However, it was questionable if the room existed in the first place. Sora could very well be on an endless search if he chose to stay in Castle Oblivion, which meant Zexion would get plenty of time to bring him further down in his illusions. Though, he did not have all of the time in the world; he did have other obligations here.

Zexion decided to merely concentrate on darkening the room more as he gave this some thought. How was this going to help him get Roxas back? Was the Schemer supposed to drive him mad enough until he broke? Until he caved in? Until he was consumed by darkness and lies? While the Schemer was not opposed to such a process, it was a tedious one and required a fair amount of his energy. There was also not a complete guarantee that this would work, in which his efforts would have been all for naught; he was not about to let that happen.

[/size]

[Castle]

Rather than answer Sora's question directly, Axel instead threw him a curveball that caught him completely off guard. His eyebrows lifted from his suspicious glare, his lips parting slightly as though to speak, but he found no words. What the heck was that? Had Axel lost his mind? There was no way he'd been here before. He would remember. In the brief pause after he was told that they'd actually met here first, he finally got some words out,

"What're you-"

However, the question, or perhaps the accusation, was cut short when a figure appeared in his sight. It was another black cloak, but with flower petals drifting around it. Sora's eyes widened as something tugged at the back of his memories, too far back to pull forward, but present enough to keep him from doing anything beyond glancing from the figure to Axel and back again. Axel seemed not to notice it. He mentioned the name Marluxia, and in a few moments, the figure was gone.

He returned his gaze to Axel, watching as he approached a wall and laid a hand against it. He wanted to speak out, perhaps to ask what exactly was going on here, but could only listen as the Flame talked of memories and what this place did to them. As if to amplify his point, visions seemed to appear on the walls. Sora recognized Maleficent, and more importantly, Kairi. Those images, like the one with the flower petals, soon faded.

"My memories were..." he murmured, one hand straying to his chest.

Could it really be true? Had he really been here before, but had his memories of it erased? His mind said no, but his heart was whispering otherwise.

Thank Namine.

A little jolt went through him. However, Axel was finally getting to the point of their meeting, so he had to pay attention. Apparently, he wanted Sora to help him destroy his place so the Organization couldn't use it. That seemed like a good enough cause, but something was very off here. Or was it just the castle affecting his heart, like Axel said it would?

"So you're saying," he began slowly, lowering his hand, "that the reason I don't remember this place is because it affected my memories?"

It made no sense to him, but he couldn't ignore the feeling that Axel was telling the truth, at least the part about him being here before.

"And you think the Organization might try to use it for their plans?"

That one was rhetorical. The only point of saying it aloud was to help him gather his thoughts. He examined the ground near Axel's feet while he tried to decide what to do. He hadn't forgotten King Mickey's warning, but he also hadn't forgotten Axel's dissociation from Organization XIII and what he'd done to help him in the past. On top of that, he couldn't deny that this place was dangerous, given what it was already doing to him. Although, even that felt off somehow, but he couldn't pinpoint why that was.

Finally, he lifted his gaze to meet Axel's again.

"All right, I guess it's for a good enough reason, but-" he put a not so subtle emphasis on that word, "-if it turns out that you're actually working for the Organization again, you can forget it."

He wasn't going to let this uneasiness slide, but he didn't want to refuse the task and have it turn out that Axel was right and the Organization was going to use Castle Oblivion for something bad. He had to be careful, and hopefully, making that little threat would be a good precaution.