The young boy's face never showed a sign of hesitation. "I'll come with you, then. Where will we go?"

I averted my gaze for a moment. Turning Ela into a Nobody would ensure that I could see him – but did I really want that? I questioned my nonexistent heart. Either way, I knew his transformation must be done by me. At least I could make him more comfortable.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is he ever going to do it?" Xaldin leaned forward on his throne, staring fixedly into the seeing pool.

"For one so disapproving," Zexion commented, idly crossing his legs, "you are quite eager for Seven to complete his mission."

Xaldin narrowed his eyes, grumbling incoherently and training his gaze on other objects, though inevitably it was drawn back to its previous fascination.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We'll be going somewhere far away." I couldn't bring myself to say more, though I knew I had to. I swallowed hard and waited for his reply.

If possible, he brightened more. "I don't care how far it is as long as I get to be with you."

"Don't say that, Ela." I said sternly. "The place where we're going is…empty. I had to lose my heart to gain entry."

The boy cocked his head to the side. "Why is it so bad to lose your heart? You don't have one and you're still Asi. I can tell."

"No, I'm not, Ela. I'm Saix." I sighed and regained control of my anger. "You have to understand that. You'll become a different person, too, and you won't remember anything."

"Will I get to see you all the time?"

"…Y-Yes, but-" I faltered. How could he be so fearless?

"Then it is decided." He leaned against my shoulder and closed his eyes. "I would lose my heart for you."

"It is pointless to forfeit your heart for love. What you feel now, you'll never feel again. Do you understand that, Ela?" I held out my hand, prepared to summon a Heartless.

The human gazed upward into my eyes and smiled. "How can you say that you have no emotion when you're getting angry and worried right now?"

My hand faltered. The summoning failed. In my mind, I knew that the heart was nothing more than a beating organ that had no control over emotion. I wanted to believe otherwise.

"The process is about to begin." I said quietly, moving the boy to lie down beside me. "Look at my face only. Do you understand?"

He nodded, grabbing my hand. "Will it hurt?"

"Only if you think about it. Remember, concentrate on me." I squeezed his hand and summoned a Heartless. It cocked its dark head to the side and sniffed the human, nudging him a little with its foot.

Ela slightly turned his head, but I tilted his chin back to me. "No. You mustn't look at it."

He swallowed hard, an alarming shade tinting his otherwise calm eyes. Fear.

The Heartless flexed its fingers and prepared to delve into Ela's chest. Its beady yellow eyes twitched and glinted; it smelled a heart. And yet it still glanced to me for direction…foolish creatures.

I stroked the boy's face, humming the first tune that drifted into my head. It was seemingly meaningless, a simple melody that floated through my consciousness. However trivial the sound, Ela smiled. Therefore, I did.

I nodded to the Heartless, who did a small jump of anxiety before plunging its sharp appendages into the human's flesh. As was the nature of heart-stealing, the wound did not bleed.

Ela's breath caught in his throat and he coughed. "A-Asi-"

"Shh, I know. It's okay. It'll all be over soon." I cooed, stroking his hair.

"It hurts." Tears gathered at the edges of his eyes. "You lied…"

I blinked, my hand faltering in his locks of red hair. "I-" I fell silent.

The Heartless retracted its arm slowly, revealing the top of a glowing red heart. Ela's heart.

He looked on in horror as his own heart continued its journey out of his body. In vain, he grabbed at it, but the Heartless's grip was steel.

"Asi, make it…stop…" the bottom tip of the heart left his skin, which healed over quickly. The boy's eyes fluttered shut.

A shadow materialized beside him, taking a Heartless form. The two dark creatures inspected each other with their antennae before disappearing into the floor.

I cleared my dry throat, not entirely sure of what had occurred.

He'd been afraid. Terrified. Who was I to take the word of a love-struck child? He wasn't ready to give up his heart. He wasn't ready for the pain.

And yet I watched silently as his lonely life was once more tainted by hurt.

In that moment, I think I might have cried. I might have, but Ela's shell began to stir. It groaned and moved in the same manner as the boy, but it was different.

Not Ela.

Its hair was shorter and stood almost straight up. Its face markings were more edged and pointed. Its eyes were more narrow, its lips thinner.

Not Ela.

Its eyes fluttered open and fixed me with a confused stare at first, but upon noticing its surroundings, the look quickly turned to defiance.

Not Ela.

"Who are you?" It asked, running a hand through its hair and gazing around the room. "Why are we here?"

I shrugged. "I am a child of nothing, as are you…Axel."

The red-haired Nobody smirked and stood up. "So that's my name, then?"

"Yes." I created a darkness portal and motioned for him to go through it. "Walk through the darkness. The others will give you proper instruction."

"Instruction. Right." Axel laughed and walked through the portal, shaking his head.

I leaned against a wall and looked around the simple hut; the fire pit, the mound of feathers and fur, the simple chest in the corner. I moved toward the chest and reached out to touch it, but something inside me told me to leave it alone. Those were the possessions of the dead and should not be desecrated. I took off my coat and wrapped it around the chest, picking it up and going through the portal.

I think I might have cried. I might have, but the swirling darkness blew away anything that might have resembled tears.

You lied…