“Lock of Fate” Chapter Four Commentary

[babyrodent]

 I should really keep this updated whenever I have a brain fart, accidental or not. Oh, right! On with this, then.

Overview

Unlike the “prologue” chapters, where they served to simply introduce Fusa and hint of her Heart powers (as well as reveal that she can wield the Keyblade- spoilers for those that were not yet acquainted with the third chapter yet), Chapter Four is where the story really gets started. Specifically, it’s the start of Fusa’s journey into becoming a full-fledged Keyblade wielder with the element of Heart and it’s the first chapter where she is wearing what I would like to call the “Sacrificial Outfit” as her new and current outfit. It’s also where she finally learns that she is a Newborn Nobody.

About This Chapter

This chapter opens up in an abandoned apartment building in the real Twilight Town just outside of the entrance to the Woods (and subsequently where the Old Mansion is located) where Fusa regains consciousness and properly meets Axel for the first time. She receives the news that she’s really a Newborn Nobody and destined to have no identity soon. Of course, as she still has that first real memory of having “friends” in the Digital Twilight Town- the one memory that the Dusks did not remove from her mind- Fusa refuses to believe this, but Axel gives her the harsh reality that the Twilight Town that she thought that she was living in was fake all along. Before he leaves to try and get Roxas from the Old Mansion, Axel tells Fusa that there’s an outfit for her to wear for when they leave to the World That Never Was. Fusa does get dressed in this outfit- the Sacrificial Outfit as mentioned in the Overview above- but rather than wait for Axel to return, she takes her backpack, breaks out of the apartment building, and makes a run for it while not looking back. She does make it to the Usual Spot… only to discover, much to her dismay, that Axel was right all along and that she never did have friends in there. So, not wanting to stay in Twilight Town any longer (and presumably get caught), Fusa tells the trio that she needs to go to the Train Station and they help escort her there. After a run-in with a few Dusks with one of them destroyed by the summoned Keyblade, Fusa gets a ticket to the closest train leaving the station- conveniently the one leaving for the Mysterious Tower as we would find out- and unhappily bids the trio farewell while they figure out what was up with her.
The end of the chapter brings Fusa to the Mysterious Tower as she arrives and disembarks off of the train before it disappears.

In the timeline for “Kingdom Hearts II”, this would be Day 3 in the prologue itself.

2nd Trace of the Earliest Attempt

Much like in the previous chapter, this also appeared in the earliest time as the poorly disguised self-insert, but not in the way that you think. Just like at the start, the main female Nobody did wake up in an apartment building with Axel waiting in the room and later on, he left to get Roxas back. However, it proceeded very differently:

• Whereas Fusa reacted with shock, even denial, that she doesn’t really have friends and would have to become a Lesser Nobody, the main female Nobody just cries over this sudden revelation.
• In this story, Axel reacted rather coldly and a tad bit hostile towards Fusa. In the earliest attempts, he hugs the female Nobody- either out of pity that he “felt” the same way or because… honestly, I can’t recall.
• Whereas Fusa gets dressed and escapes without looking back, the main female Nobody stays in the room even after Axel returned. Upon learning that he would be punished himself by becoming a Dusk if he didn’t get Roxas back, the female Nobody gives Axel a hug in return… only to find out that he has no heartbeat. (Okay, I must admit that the timeline is very wonky in hindsight. Changing this from Day 6 in the Prologue to Day 3 was the best thing to do, honestly).

Characters Introduced

• Axel: Okay, technically not the chapter where he’s not introduced in, but this is the first time where Fusa (and the readers) is properly introduced to him. While he has the usual characteristics that fans have grown to love about him, I had to add in a little layer to him. As we come to find out later on in the story, Organization XIII have a bit of a prejudice towards Newborn Nobodies, looking down on them as “inferior” and nothing worth noting anything. So for Axel to become rather cold towards Fusa is because of this. But even then, he still has that character development brought over from “358/2 Days”, hence why he’s also a little laid-back towards her as well.

 

Little Touches

• Personal favorite of mine, but still worth mentioning: Fusa copying Axel’s gesture when he did his iconic “Got it memorized?” while introducing himself to her. This was one detail that I actually liked from the earliest attempt and decided to carry it over to here.
• In the earliest attempt, I had given the implication that Axel had been residing in the apartment building for quite a while, presumably planning out what to do when trying to capture Roxas for the organization. On the desk where the picture frame was (the one that Fusa used to break the window and bust out of here) would have been a framed photo of himself and Roxas- with a curiously large space in between them- as well as the “Winner” stick.