Helios stood at the edge of the lava-washed platform overlooking the ocean, the scent of ash and scorched stone still clinging faintly to his clothes. He raised one hand, fingers curling slowly, and the air shimmered as a swirling dark corridor began to form.
Before it could fully open, a smaller hand reached out and gently grabbed his wrist.
"Sometimes… taking the long way back can be more helpful," Skuld said softly, her voice more concerned than reproachful.
Helios glanced at her, brow furrowed. Her grip was light but firm. She stared at the forming corridor as if it were an open wound.
He noticed the faint flicker of fear in her gaze. Not fear of him—but fear of what the darkness might do. Again.
Last time, he remembered, his power had exploded out of control, injuring both her and Aqua.
He sighed, letting the portal collapse.
"Alright. We'll walk," he murmured.
They began their journey back to Atlantis through the ravaged stone paths leading down from the volcano's slope. The sky was painted in hues of crimson red and brown, the sounds of distant waves a welcome contrast to the silence between them.
Helios broke it.
"I saw him today. Lea."
Skuld's steps faltered. She turned sharply. "What? Lea? Here? How did he—? Is Isa with him?"
Helios shook his head slowly. "No. He came here on his own. Or rather… he's not exactly Lea anymore. He's changed. He calls himself Axel now."
Skuld blinked. Her voice wavered between hope and disbelief. "What do you mean changed?"
Helios paused, choosing his words carefully. "He says that he's lost his heart."
Skuld's confusion deepened, her tone sharpening. "Lost his—? What does that mean, Helios?"
"It means he isn't the same person we knew. Apperently, when some loses their heart to a heartless sometimes the body continues and creates a new person with all those memories. When a person becomes a Nobody… they lose their heart. They become hollow, even if they look the same." He cast his gaze to the horizon. "Axel isn't like us anymore. He doesn't feel… not really."
Skuld swallowed hard. "Why would he fight you, then? You were friends. He liked you."
Helios clenched his jaw slightly. "He blamed me. For not doing more. For not stopping Radiant Garden from falling. He said… I let it happen."
Skuld's fists balled at her sides. "That's not fair! You couldn't have known. We were all kids—we had no idea what was happening."
Helios didn't answer immediately. He glanced down at the black metal of his gloves, stained with soot. "From his perspective, though... I get along fine with Maleficent. The one who rules over the ruins of Radiant Garden now. The one who helped cause it all."
Skuld looked at him, brows furrowed. "That's not the same. You're just trying to stop worse things from happening. That doesn't make you a villain."
Helios gave a small, weary smile. "Not everyone sees it that way."
"Well, then they're wrong. Lea—Axel—he's wrong."
"Maybe." He slowed his steps. "But he's not the only one who questions me."
Skuld looked sideways at him. "You think I doubt you?"
"You hesitated to stop me from using darkness. Just now."
She was quiet for a moment. "It's not that I don't trust you, Helios. I just… worry. Every time you use it, I feel like you're slipping further away. It's growing inside you, like it's becoming your first answer instead of the second or better yet, your last."
"Maybe it's the only answer I have left," he said under his breath.
"That's not true," she said sharply. "You have us. Me. Aqua. Kurai, even if she's a bit… intense. Sephiroth. Cloud. And Thalen. And Zack. They're all people whose hearts you've touched."
Helios slowed again. The warmth of her words stung more than soot.
"You know, Skuld… back when Radiant Garden fell, I tried to do more than just stand by. I made deals to slow what would have happened regardless of whether I was there or not. I bought time. I even helped Cid finish building the first and second Gummi Ships. We used them to evacuate the survivors to Traverse Town."
Skuld's eyes looked at Helios calmly as he said these things. "I know. Without you, Leon, Yuffie, Arieth, and the others would have all been taken by the heartless."
"I didn't fight off the darkness. I couldn't. But I did what I could behind the scenes. Maleficent let her enemies go because she didn't see them as threats. Because I made sure she didn't."
"Are you still working with her?"
"Not exactly. I've misled her. My relationship with her is complicated in the sense that neither of us trusts the other, and we only work together when we need to. When last you visited Radiant Garden looking for me with Aqua, you met her, right? I'm sure she told you I owed her, and I did. I needed something from her to help Kurai, so I worked with her."
Skuld's expression twisted in conflict. "That doesn't make you like her, you know. That makes you… someone who took a dark path to help his friend."
Helios offered no reply.
"But Axel and I'm sure Isa too," he said quietly, "won't see it that way. They probably think I betrayed everything we stood for. That I let darkness in… that I destroyed Radiant Garden."
"Then their wrong," Skuld snapped. "If it wasn't for you, people wouldn't have made it to Traverse Town. You kept them alive. Don't worry, if he comes again, I'll try talking to him, and if he still insists on harming you, then I'll fight him."
Helios smiled at Skuld as they walked, then looked down. His pained smile turned calm and normal. Helios really had suffered emotional damage, and Skuld's words had helped, but his mind wouldn't let him waste this opportunity. The golden opportunity to tell Skuld enough half-truths to make sure that when she heard the full truth from Axel, Helios' version would still make more sense to her.
'Sorry, Skuld.'