Pieces of the Puzzle
"Looks like it'll keep on raining for some time.It's probably better that we stay inside, to stay warm, you know.", Naminé whispered, "If we were to go out, we might get too wet and catch a cold."
"No!We have to go out!I can't find my headphones anywhere and I don't want to lose them!", Rixa screamed at the top of her lungs, "They're too precious to me and I couldn't bear to not see them again...Not after Axel gave them to me as a gift..."
"Alright.I'll go look for them.Just tell me where you last saw them and I'll check to see if they're still there.", Riku exclaimed, standing up, "I'll bring them back once I find them."
"R-Really?Oh, thank you, Riku!", she squealed, "The last I saw them, I threw them away while I was near the train station.They could still be in front of the entrance."
"Then I'll be on my way.", he said, grabbing an umbrella, "You two stay here until I come back."
Riku left them alone in the dining room and headed out to look for Rixa's headphones.He decided that he wouldn't return until he had found them and given them back to Rixa.Rixa watched him leave and sighed.She wanted to go with him to lend a hand, but she knew he wouldn't let her.Cracking her knuckles, she walked back to her spot at the table and sat down.Naminé noticed that Rixa looked a bit odd and thought she could use a talk.Just a chat between close friends.
"Hey Rixa, uhm, you seem to have something on your mind.Is it about Roxas, Axel and Xion?I know that they're very precious to you and that you care deeply about them,,,"
"It's not that, Naminé.It's...something else.I think I'm having flashbacks of my past, of who I was before the Organization.", she responded, putting her feet on the table and resting her hands behind her head, "I'm not sure if it really is the truth, but it has to mean something."
"Oh really?What kind of things have you seen in the flashbacks?Maybe I could help you put it together, just a little.", Naminé said with a smile, "I do have a bit of experience with that."
"It's not much, but so far, from what I've seen, I think I was royalty of some sorts.", Rixa answered, "The first flashback, I was in a field of flowers with a man and he talked about returning before my father became upset.He also called me milady, so that's a clue."
"A man with you in a field of flowers, calling you milady...Do go on."
"In the second flashback, I think I was in a castle porch or balcony.Wherever it was, it overlooked a garden and in the sky, I saw different colored dragons flying and playing with each other.One of the dragons landed in the garden, a white one, and curled itself up.I remembered...that his name was Apocalypse and that he was my guardian of sorts.I think...he was also a friend."
"Hmm, from what I hear, maybe you really were royalty.Though, I'm not sure what the dragons mean.", Naminé responded, "Is that all?"
"Well, back when I went to this castle following Sora, I felt really comfortable there.Like I'm used to those kind of surroundings or have lived in one."
"Then you must have been royalty!And this might explain your fascination with dragons too, if you had one as a guardian and even lived with them.", Naminé explained, "But I won't be sure unless more comes back to you."
"It has to come back to me, it just has to!That can't be all of it.I don't even know what my name was, what my family looked like, or even what kind of rank I must have had before all this!Or even how I ended up the The World That Never Was.", Rixa groaned, angry at herself, "Why won't it all just come back to me?!?"
"Because memories are a fragile thing, Rixa.", DiZ said, opening the door and looking inside the room, "You cannot expect them to act as you wish.They are far more complicated than that.Just ask Naminé."
"Yes...Like with Sora.I had to unbind the chains that connected them, one by one, back when I was forced to take them apart by Marluxia.", Naminé whispered, "But then I had to piece them back together.After Xion started taking from Roxas, some of Soira's memories, the ones of Kairi, ended up entering her.So once Roxas defeated her, they returned to Sora and I was able to finish reconnecting them."
"But can't you do the same with me?Reconnect them piece by piece until they're back together again?", Rixa asked, hopeful that the answer would be yes, "Just like you did with Sora?"
"Sadly, it doesn't work that way, Rixa.My power only works on those that are connected to Sora in some way..."
"You will have to accept the facts, Rixa.There is nothing to be done concerning the memories of your past life.", DiZ declared, "Only you can unlock them.Only you have the key to them."
"But how long will it take?!?I just want them back, my past, everything!"
"Rixa, things do not always work the way we want them to.All we can do is work with what we can.", DiZ said, "Otherwise, it's pointless."
"Please don't feel sad, Rixa...", Naminé whispered, putting her hand on Rixa's back when she walked to her, "It'll come back to you little by little and before you know it, you'll know what your past life is."
"But what if it doesn't?What if...they never come back?"
"Then consider it lost, Rixa.", DiZ said disdainfully, "It is not worth crying over."
"I wouldn't be so sure, DiZ.", Riku said, entering the room, "We all have something precious and to Rixa, that precious thing is her past, not just the memories of her friends and us.Rixa, I couldn't find it anywhere.I looked all over the place, but someone may have taken it..."
"Then, they're gone...I've lost Axel's gift..."
"There are far worse things in life than losing a pair of headphones.", DiZ answered, opening the door as he prepared to leave, "Far worse things..."
"Don't listen to him, Rixa.They'll pop up soon and you'll have them back before you realize it.", Riku said, "They can't stay lost forever."
"Just like your memories.Something that was once lost can be found again.", Naminé said, "You'll see."
"But how long?How long will I have to wait?"
