Rise of the Blackhearts Staring: Axel

A little something I've been working on. A big thanks to *TwilightNight* for helping me get this thing started.

I plan on making a new adventure start two ex members of everyones favorite evil Organization.

Rise of the Blackhearts:

Prologue, Igniting the Flame.

The last thing he recalled was opening a portal so that the Keyblade master could reach the world that never was. It was no wonder he blacked out at that point. He used every last ounce of his power to summon enough flames to save the Keyblade master.

He awoke standing in pure shadow.

Then a light surrounded him, not a bright shimmering light, but a dull grayish light. He realized he was standing on top of a stained glass floor, and saw an image of a man portrayed. The glass itself appeared dull and from lack of proper care. Even some of the glass was cracked or missing.

Axel barely recognized the figure. Looking deeper he peered into it. He saw other faces around the figure. Faces of long ago. It disturbed him knowing that he was trying to bring back something hidden deep within his soul, but he failed to remember it. Then he traced the image of main figure. He had his hair neatly combed, he was wearing black slacks and a collard shirt with a red tie. But that face, it was missing. Only half the face was showing. Those, eyes… they looked so… sad.

Bewildered, he heard a voice call out to him. “Axel…â€

He look up at the source of the light. It was a moon in the shape of a heart, dull, gray and fading. “Axel…†it repeated.

“What’s going on?†was his reply.

“You have been called forth by Kingdom Hearts.†the luminescent body replied.

Noticing how dim the light was. “You’re Kingdom Hearts? Oh how pathet…†he thought to himself “WAIT!, Kingdom Hearts?!†he exclaimed interrupting his own thought. “Does this mean I get my heart back?!†He began to dance around, as if excited.

“You have been called to save the worlds.â€

Folding his arms and realizing he was showing too much excitement. “What’s going on here?â€

“Darkness will consume your void if you fail to fill it with light…â€

He was getting annoyed that the disembodied voice seemed to be dodging his questions.

The fading light began to trickle down.

“Axel, your time is short, I will grant you power to fulfill your quest.â€

Just then three pillars appeared one bearing a sword, another a staff, the third held a shield.

“Choose, the power of strength, the power of magic, or the power of defense.â€

Eyes what lay before him, he analyzed the situation at hand. As he looked at the sword, he felt powerful and mighty. As he looked at the staff, he could feel the warmth of his fire. He looked at the shield, and somehow felt sturdier.

He placed his hand on his chin. Analyzing the situation.

“I would rather take a friend than be strong and stuff like that.â€

“So be it…â€

As the pillars faded from existence, a key fell from the sky. Axel noticed a key filled with magic or light, but a plainly ordinary key. Axel bent down to pick it off the floor. “Is this some kind of joke?†he thought. Palming the unimpressive looking key in his hand. He placed the key within his robe.

“It can unlock the other side of someone’s heart.†Axel then immediately knew the significance of that key.

“Why me? What’s so special about me?â€

“You’re a nobody, the only nobody with a sense of justice. Though you lack a heart, your soul bears great light.â€

He thought to himself “this must be a job only a nobody could do, but why?â€

“I have restored your soul, but am two weak to reclaim your body. You must now reclaim your body, you will need it to finish your quest. Succeed in your quest, and you will regain your heart, fail, and lose your body and your soul to the Blackhearts.â€

Axels eyes seemed to glaze over as he heard those words. “Reclaim my heart? Tell me how.â€

There was no reply. The image above him just faded into blackness.

“Oh brother, now I’m alone in dark.†Looking down as if discouraged.

Just then a hiss was heard.

“What?†Turning around. He couldn’t tell where it came from. Looking around frantically, all he saw was darkness.

Axel used magic to ignite a flare directly above him. What the flame revealed was terrifying. An anatomically correct heart, made of black. It was walking towards him, but stopped when it saw the fire. It was “bleeding†out unto the ground. But it was not blood which poured out, but pure darkness. “Oh what in the world… a heartless?†No, it was something just as sinister, but different. The thing leaped forth.

Axel dove to the side.

After he realized the thing missed. He placed his hands out to the side like a gunslinger ready for a shootout. But nothing happened.

“Oh, no… I don’t have them. Oh well, looks like I gotta do this the old fashion way.â€

Axel fired two quick fireballs, one from each hand.

The beating heart . Evaded, and leaped forth again.

Axel responded by generating a fire barrier to protect himself.

The entity bounced off, seemingly to be shocked by Axels power. “What are you?†Axel said.

The thing reared up, and to Axels surprise, seemed to understand. “Whaaat….Aree… Youuu?†The Thing hissed back. “Black… Heart…â€

Axels eyes widened… as if filled with terror.

The thing leaped once again. This time Axel dove forward underneath the Black Heart. Surrounding himself with flame while sliding just inches below the Blackheart. The Blackheart burst into flames.

The Creature turned around, still flaming. “You… are… strong…†The thing hissed. It finally out a deafening scream as it faded from existence.

“What was that thing?â€

“You defeated the Bleeding Heart, a rather weak blackheart attempting to consume your body. Time to wake up. My power is go…â€

“What, Kingdom Hearts is out of power?†his only response was silence.

Then a portal opened up. Axel could hear the sounds of waves breaking on a beach. He felt the key within the robe. He stepped through the door. Knowing that a new adventure awaited.

 

wow cool
please keep going
*is on edge of seat*

 

If your like me... you'll probably want to accent your reading of my fanfic with some music.

I have a couple of recomendations for the Prologue. Start off with "Dive into the Heart" from the Kingdom Hearts 2 Soundtrack. or"End of the Would" from the Kingdom Hearts 1 Soundtrack. (Thier both the same song.

Once Axel fires a Flare into the air, Change track to "Fragments of Sorrow" found on either soundtrack.


This is of course completly optional. But it helps me get the mood accross I was thinking. I'm still reworking the first Chapter. This ones harder than I thought it would be. I wrote in in about 5 minutes, and have been working for hours tring to get it right.

 

Here is Chapter one. A big thanks to my new Beta Writer. I wrote a good story, but she put the icing on the cake.

Chapter 1: The Reunion

Axel walked along the shoreline, almost wanting to take a moment to see if he could enjoy watching a sunset, but was distracted when he saw a familiar young man sitting on a rock, laying back onto an oddly shaped tree.

He casually walked up quietly and leaned his hand on the tree trunk, and saw that it was Sora dozed off, smiling as he slept, dreaming of perhaps something serene. Axel then removed the key from his robe quickly and placed his hand behind his back. This was definitely Destiny Islands now.

“Ahem!†Axel cleared his throat on purpose, done loudly just to wake him up.

“Wha…?,†Sora muttered drunkenly as he opened his eyes slightly, stumbling to his feet, drawing his key blade from thin air by instinct. Axel’s only reaction was a amused smirk. Sora took a fighting stance and walked backwards cautiously, unaware of what's behind him, until he slipped and fell ungraciously into the water.

Axel chortled.

“AH ha ha! That’s the ever valiant and mighty key blade master who single-handedly defeated the Organization! Good to see you again, pal.â€

“What...? Axel?†Sora mumbled a bit damp, lost and barely believing it, getting to his feet, and now standing relaxed and on the sand, yet suspicious and confused. “But didn’t you-â€

“Die, I know. It's kinda weird being back,†he nonchalantly interrupted, as he let out a arrogant chuckle. This kid was comedy gold.

“What happened?†Sora questioned tentatively, going forward, but still careful.

Axel rolled his eyes to the side. “Listen kid, I’ve got a long list of things I need to take care of, one of which; is taking back what’s mine, and you have it.â€

“Oh, you must mean this...†the keybearer muttered to himself, now calming his doubt, placing his hand inside his shirt… only to pull out the Bond of Flame keychain.

Axel simply reached out his left hand slickly, expecting Sora to approach him. Sora complied after a moment's hesitation, and went forward, coolly placing the object into Axel’s palm.

“By the way, since you seem to know a lot of things about key’s, do you know what this does?†Axel asked as he lifted his right hand, showing Sora the unimpressive key he received from the suppose Kingdom Hearts.

“Well, I don’t know, don’t all keys unlock something?†Sora offered, placing his hand on his chin. As he leaned forward for a closer look, the previously unimpressive key seemed to shimmer. As Sora looked at it, his face seemed to light up, his hair brightening, the very space around him seemed to distort. Axel saw a faint outline of another teenager floating around the brown haired male, and after a pause, he gave a nod to himself.

Oh, I get it now, Axel deliberated, a sly smile going to his face. This is going to be easier than I thought!

“Oops!†Axel suddenly yelled sarcastically, and lightly pitched the key into Sora's chest, and as soon as it touched, a bright flash engulfed the Keyblade Master.

Riku appeared in the corner of Axel's eye as the light dimmed back down, and Sora collapsed to the floor.

Leaping forward, and summoning his key blade, Riku took action, yelling angrily, “What did you do?!â€

He took a quick slash at the Nobody.

Jumping back skillfully, he replied, “Exactly what I said I would do, ‘taking back what's mine!’.†He then floated away out of striking distance, peering at the silver haired boy. “If my fight was with you, I’d let you know.â€

“You lied to him,†Riku growled accusingly, taking his combative stance, gripping his weapon tightly. “You will pay.â€

Axel’s only response was to point behind his attacker, and smile smugly.

Hearing a moan, Riku glanced back, watching his best friend come together. “Sora, you’re alright!†The blue-eyed teen was slowly rising to his feet, and in his reaction to jump into combat, he failed to notice that there were two figures left next to the tree.

Sora began to speak as he straightened, looking at Riku drowsily,“What happened… I feel so… different...â€

The second figure stood up quickly, more graceful. He was wearing a black T-shirt, black pants, a grey over shirt, and chaps. Axel dusted off his hands, a delighted smirk on his face. “Well, looks like my work is done here. C’mon Roxas, we gotta go.â€

“What happened?...I was part of him, now…†Roxas replied baffled, with a bewildered look on his face, changing to concern as he eyed his best friend. “Axel, what did you do?â€

As if anxious to leave, he repeated more clearer, “C’mon Roxas, I ain't got all day, I'll...â€

Roxas grew frustrated, and exlaimed at him with more force, “Tell me, WHAT HAPPENED!!â€

Axel scratched his head, as if surprised of Roxas’ reaction, maybe not expecting this. “Well, at least your temper hasn’t changed.†He looked down seemingly disappointed. “You’re not happy to see me again?â€

The inflection of his voice was as if pleading.

Everyone was so intent on the awkward reunion they failed to notice the sky darkening ominously.

“Axel, it's not that…†Roxas tried to remedy right off, but stopped, looking down at the ground, unsure of what to say.

Axel looked at him, showing himself as angry now. “But you don’t even know these people!!†There was a tensed pause. Neither Axel nor Roxas knew what to say now.

Then patches of the ground abruptly grew dark, and shadows began rising out of them.

“Why am I not surprised...†griped Riku once again, raising his Keylade, glancing a quick glare at Axel, who raised a eyebrow at the blame.

“It’s not me, I swear.â€

Sora then summoned the Kingdom Key for the fight. Roxas hesitated, then summoned Oblivion and the Oathkeeper, and a battle soon commenced.

Axel watched the key blade Masters charge into battle so heroically, and scoffed. “Oh, well, still gotta keep up the rep...â€

He used the Bond of Flame as he tossed it up, and with a flash of fire, returned it to its original shape, two chakrams, and the weapons came automatically to the hands of their owner, and he gripped them with savour. Heartless filled the area, and quickly covered it like the sand itself. The two heroes and two heroic nobodies, stood in a circle. Any heartless foolish enough to step towards them was quickly cut down.

Suddenly, a girl shrieked on the other side of the island.

Sora yelped in recognition, as he snapped his head to where the voice came anxiously, “Kairi! We gotta help her!â€

Axel simply called out to his friend who turned to face him. “Roxas, we need a road!â€

He then threw his two chakrams in the direction of the scream the second the sentence ended. They took their position lined up perpendicular to Roxas, who responded with a beam of light from the Oathkeeper straight through the center slot. The result was spectacular. The chakrams began spinning rapidly, radiating flames outward. Then the flames, as if alive, seemed to chase the beams of light creating a corridor, leading to Kairi’s hut.

“C’mon,†Roxas beckoned with his hand to the impressed faces of Sora and Riku, as he led the way.

When they arrived at her hut after a long run, a little out of breath, they saw a figure of a man dressed in a black trench coat. Kairi was nowhere to be seen, and he was closing a portal behind him.

Sora was shocked, his eyes widening. “The Organization!?†He hesitated disoriented, before, “but, I beat all of you! How...!â€

“How could you 'beat' anything which has nothing to lose?†the male questioned back cryptically, turning to face them. His cowl laid a shadow over his face, hiding the culprit. “But now we have something to wager, do you care to play again?â€

He opened another portal behind him, and stepped back into it, leaving it enticingly opened for the men in the room.

Sora stepped forward.

Riku warned low as he sternly stared at him, “You know it’s a trap.â€

Sora replied with determined vigor, “I promised her, we would never be separated again...â€

Roxas stepped forward as well.

Axel placed his hand on Roxas’ shoulder.“Once you start down that road, there’s no turning back.â€

âThis is my fight too.â€

Sora walked into it first, then Roxas, then Riku. Axel spoke to himself silently before he stepped through, "What’s the point of wishing for a friend if I ain't even going to hang out with him?â€

They all sauntered through the door, then tension built as they wondered what was on the other side, seeing it slowly coming into vew.

 

Thanks again :3! I think this story is heading for a good plot, and I truly do like where it is going. Remember, no matter how many cliks you get here, keep going with this, because I'm sure the people who read it will want to know what happens next. As do !! >=D

*waits patiently* xD. Hope you get to chapter soon enough, but as I said, take your time though.

 

I can actually picture all of this. It is like I am watching a movie. Keep writing.

 

Chapter 2: The End Of A Begining

As the four made their way to the other side of the portal, they emerged in a world which Sora and Riku had seen before…a place which they had destroyed. It was the home of the Heartless, it was the “End Of The World”, something they had never expected to go back to. They appeared to be in a mountainous region, with a canyon in within a short distance from where they stood. Hovering over the chasm of the canyon, was the man in the black trench coat once again, remarking in a nonchalant tone, “Is it blind justice that guides you, or foolishness? I’d be willing to wager it’s foolishness….”

“It’s light!” Sora shouted back in irritation, but in knowing, summoning his Keyblade to his hand, and the others drew out their weapons in similar manner after, in perfect synchronicity. Kairi is my Light…

The portal behind them closes in a silent, barely heard swoosh over the otherwise tense silence between them, the gang unaware that their exit was gone. It didn’t take long for the man to speak again, his sight on particular previous traitors for a second, before shifting his eyes, this act being only noticeable by the slight tilts of the hooded head. “No need to take offense, I am quite please that all of you decided to join me here, it’s like a reunion of hearts.” He held out one hand up, revealing what appeared to be a loan poker card. “Oh yes, I did make a promise to you, didn’t I? Let’s play, shall we?”

He fanned it out in a reminiscent sound of feathers, revealing there to be five cards.

He briskly threw out one of the cards towards them, and as it floated in the air, it grew in size, from that of a handheld size deck, to about 8 feet tall. It stopped parallel to the ledge of the canyon, the front of the card facing away from the heroes. The symbol on the back sides were that of a heart, all black as opposed to the traditional red. The man in the cloak held out his right hand once more, showing his palm, only to then turned his wrist showing the back of it. As in control, the card turned over, enlightening them a 10 of Hearts, the symbol that of a Heartless sign rather than the traditional heart found normally on a deck of cards.

As the first card faded from existence, the world around them seemed to darken, and 10 swords formed a semi-circle around the group, trapping them against the cliff. They turned to face the threat, as Sora questioned to anyone listening, now apparently noticing their only way out was gone. “Hey, our portal is gone? What happened?”

“Hate to say I told you so,” Riku commented with a condemning tone to his voice.

“Then don’t,” Roxas bit back for Sora, taking Riku’s patronizing attitude personally.

Before any sort of come back could be given out next, strong Heartless known as the Invisible materialize to claim their weapons, appearing to come out of thin air.

The first Heartless to lunge forward was blown back into the beyond by a Dark Firaga, the second was cut down by a scissor like slash from Oblivion and the Oathkeeper, and the third parried a thrust from the Kingdom Key, and countered with a thrash from its tail. Its victory was short lived, however, as a flying chakram cut through him seconds after. He seemed only stunned by the first cut, but the returning slash obliterated it.

Reeling from the attack, Sora fell backwards, and slipped on the loose rock from the canyon, grabbing the ledge in order to keep from falling to a certain doom. The other Heartless, sensing weakness, all reacted to Sora’s misstep, and five of them charged, sword first, as the 6th one planted his weapon into the ground, and disappeared into a shadowy fog. All the while the 7th just watched.

Just prior to impact, Riku appeared in front of Sora, generating a shield wall, saving his best friend from the Heartless’ wrath. A blast of flame capitalized on their apparent surprise, destroying them, as Roxas dived to engage the last remaining heartless. Axel stared alarmed as Riku turned to help his friend up, failing to notice the black fog which was about to engulf him, and the fire wielder pushed him out of the way just prior to grasping Sora’s hand. In rapid succession, Axel then wrapped himself in a pillar of flame, which caught fire to the dark cloud around him. Sora slipped even more, and managed to luckily grasp hold of the edge using the teeth of his Keyblade as a Heartless death howl could be heard, the blaze dimming and the cloud fading from existence.

“What was that?” Riku asked blaringly, shoving Axel as his eyes narrowed.

“Saving you, and your friend,” Axel calmly replied, though his expression wasn’t in any way hostile, but actually smiling as if proud he did something selfless. He then reached down as he took a few steps, and lifted Sora from his Keyblade with two hands, placing him on solid ground after a bit of struggling of weight, though the kid was very light otherwise. Sora walked away quickly from the cliff, eyeing Axel the whole time suspiciously, yet unknowingly wrong in doing so.

Roxas whipped around after dealing a finishing blow to the last heartless, looking at the three males in question. “What happened?”

“Your friend here just tried to kill us!” Riku exclaimed as a reproachful respond, glancing at the redhead in a unimpressive glance.

“Relax, if I had wanted kill you, it would get done right, trust me!” Axel growled, shoving him harder back as he retorted, getting in front of his face.

Their personal qualms were quickly interrupted by the sounds of clapping and rejoicing, as the same voice who they had followed drawled casually, “Perhaps my job is done here.” A wave of darkness rippled through the surrounding space, and the figure just disappeared into the portal, away from sight, and them.

“Now look what you’ve done!” Riku snapped to Axel loudly, venting out frustration, and he turned to Roxas and Sora . “Hot head here just let him go, maybe he has a conflict of certain interest.”

“Well, what do you know, oh goodness, I’m being lecture in morals and ethics by the Crowned Prince of Darkness,” Axel wryly remarked, giving a sarcastic and belittling bow.

Sora called out before anything else could go wrong, and gazed at them both dismally, his eyebrows creasing. “What about Kairi? He took her, we gotta figure out where he’s going! We aren’t going to get anywhere if we start fighting!”

Riku and Axel went quiet in being scolded, Axel scratching his neck seemingly guilty, while the silver haired boy looked down shamefully at the mention of his other close friend being in danger, mumbling. “Sorry, Sora.”

Axel then spoke up, knowing after the shuffle of cards who was the mysterious stranger. He didn’t know about the others, however, yet Sora had fought him before and Roxas was self-explainable, if that was truly him. “Where do you think they’re going?”

Roxas answered that quickly enough, “The World That Never Was, I bet it’s still the Organization’s stronghold, as they have nowhere else to go, I’d think. And if it’s not, we will figure it out.”

“Alright, let’s go then, can’t waste any more time,” Sora exuded, showing his excitement as he saw Axel waved his hand to open a usual portal. But to everyone’s surprise, nothing happened, and the boy became alert. “What’s wrong?”

Axel remained silent, before saying, “Hmm…I can still open portals, but my old little comrades seemed to have block me out. Perhaps if we had a back door….”

Sora jumped up as the ideal place came to his mind. “I know, the one in Twilight Town! It leads down that short path that appears like a void, into The World That Never Was! You know, where…” He trailed off, figuring out too late what had occurred there before on that said path, not to mention the former living quarters of some, and he looked at Axel anxiously to see his reaction, yet there was none.

Roxas stepped forward, a bit apprehensive. “Are we really going back?”

Axel simply gave a reassuring smile as he replied, “Of course we are, buddy, it‘s not like we have a choice, but it will be…interesting.” He waved his hand again to try, and this time a portal opened to a destination. Peering at Riku as if in caustic pleasure, he bowed mockingly one more time, “This way, your majesty. Oh, oh, oh, and careful, we wouldn’t want to get your royal self to trip, now do we?”

Riku rolled his eyes in a frown, but bit his tongue, and was the first to go through in a rush before anything went off. Sora followed after him sheepishly due to the acts, but Roxas stood there, glimpsing at Axel searchingly.

“What’s wrong?” Axel asked gently, straightening back up to gaze at his friend in the eyes.

Roxas let out a sigh. “If you’re not going to tell me how, just tell me why.” He appeared concerned and confused as he studied the male carefully, the man who miraculously cheated death, and brought Roxas back from seemingly nothing, or rather, completion.

Axel looked away from him, and closed his eyes as if he could not bear to keep the eye contact, yet explained, “You remember that time at the mansion? We made a promise…and I just wanted to see it happen. When I got my chance, I wasn’t going to let it slip by…”

Roxas let out a small smile at that, understanding, before heading through the portal, commenting offhandedly, “Let’s keep that promise then.”

Better than enemies, Axel spoke to himself, and once he realized he was the last one in the world, he followed the rest of the gang to their next obstacle.

 

great story I can't wait till the next one!

 

Interlude 1. I'm quite proud as to how it was put together. Again, I got a lot of help from my Beta Writer.

Interlude 1: A Gambler’s Gloat / Return To Business

In a white room, with thirteen throne-like pale chairs of various heights ordered in a circular position that combined with the build around it, nine shadowy figures in hooded black cloaks sat in solemn silence. Their faces could not be seen, as their hoods hid them from the light, though the tallest chair was mysteriously empty.

A final figure warped in out of the blackness of nothing, sitting nonchalantly.

“You’re late,†spoke the man intricately and low, who’s seat was one of the tallest chairs. “Is this to be expected of you?â€

“Oh, Dilan, I was wagering you would be happy to see me, given that I bring good news,†the new figure explained simply, as if this would erase his delayed appearance.

“Yet, you come alone. We already got your 'present', but I suppose it would be too much to expect you to bring more guests for us to entertain?†questioned another one in the group as a reply. He had a weaker voice, but there seemed to be a harshness hidden behind its depth.

All attention centered on the new arrival. “Well, our little plot was spoiled by someone, or rather, it was spoiled by nothing.â€

An older voice addressed this on another approach, sitting on also one of the highest seats, “The nobodies are getting harder to control. I say extermination is the simplest solution.â€

A calloused and cold voice from practically the fourth tallest chair cautioned briskly, “But then what experiments would we have to play with? I say let them serve their purpose, when we are done, then extermination would be the answer.â€

The figure they called Dilan declared louder than the others, as if to get their attention to him, as he began chastising, “Don’t tell me you failed because of a few Dusks?â€

He directed this particular sentence at the late newcomer directly.

The new frame pulled his hood back, revealing a man in his thirties, with short brown hair, and a goatee, he also had a black earring, which was adapted in the shape of a heart. “I would hate to call it a failure, I would prefer to call it a discovery. They were not Dusks.†His eyes showed confidence, expecting curiosity to take its course.

Another went to speak up anxiously, “Then what rank were they?â€

The un-hooded one answered with a tone of gratification, “Our rank. Eight and... Thirteen.†He smiled smoothly and leaned back arrogantly in his chair, knowing he would possibly be rewarded for his finding.

There was a sudden uproar, all the others beginning to ask questions of, “What?â€, “How?â€, and “Why?â€, yet the interest mostly revolved on how Number Thirteen had parted his existence with Sora, and if whether he was still capable of the Keyblade as before. What seemed to drown out all discernable inquiries came darkly next:

“Silence,†an eerily calm voice from the seventh chair instructed, eyeing everyone in the room as they quieted down. “This is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. That fool, Axel, has somehow cheated death. We must find out how he did so without our help. Not only that, but we have to find out how Roxas freed himself from within the Keyblade Master, that is a must, you understand why. Also, half the job is done for us now. All they need is a new heart, and they are ours to command.â€

The one from the fourth chair straightened up sharply, “We must separate them, I could find out how Axel cheated his fate as well, and explain this phenomenon concerning our past certain Key Of Destiny. As long as the Keyblades do not get involved, which I’m doubting, this should be quite the easy feat.â€

A feminine figure from one of the lower ranking chairs looked at the one in the eleventh, and the gallant male form nodded at her, in which she concluded it was her turn to give her two cents, “I can do it. I’ve dealt with him before. Axel isn’t that hard to control, at least when he isn’t trying to amusingly manipulate you. And trust me, I don’t fall for the same trick twice. I’ve got a score to settle. They Keyblades are not a problem to take care of as well, I'm even more skilled than I used to be.â€

The one known as Dilan cast a glare at the one seated in the eleventh chair, as if disapproving. “You know better than that.†The comment that was designated for the said eleventh silhouette just looked down, in abashment. Dilan then looked at the female. “Very well, you are the best equipped for the job. Try not to hurt him.â€

The curvaceous body belonging to the only maiden simply smiled forebodingly as a form of answer, her rosy lips even seen from her covered and shadowed face.

The older one in another higher chair affirmed in exclamation, “Meeting dismissed!â€

All the lower figures vanished accordingly in black spheres and mists as the words rang throughout the room, leaving only the top five sitting in the most heightened, elevated chairs behind.

The elderly one began to talk, “Even, how did the test go?â€

The one in the fourth chair responded in a cold voice, “Every time, negative results.â€

The elder then asked, more to himself than to anyone else, “Then how can we…?†He gazed to his lap blaringly, and clenched his fists in apparet frustration.

The dubbed Dilan just warned, “Don’t tell the others, it will break their hearts. It is as they quote, 'some things are better left unsaid.'â€

 

Its a LONG chapter. But very good reading. My best chapter by far thus far. Me beta writer suprised me yet again. She saved me with some issues. She made my story follow cannon better.

Chapter 3 Homecoming

As the four stepped out of the portal, they began to look around and observe where they were, only to realize they were at a deserted back alley. Roxas, seeming more overwhelmed with nostalgia than disoriented from the warp, quickly sprinted down the alley, the others following him, taking odd glances at each other.

“Hey! I’m back!” Roxas shouted in a cheerful tone, forgetting the actual situation by doing this, out of breath from the run. He looked around at three others who were sitting in a darkened secluded room filled with used and abandon furniture, signs, and other discarded items, with no apparent order.

“Umm, who are you?” Hayner answered him, narrowing his eyes, and like always, he took more of a defensive act of a guardian.

Roxas opened his mouth to speak up, but words couldn’t form as that one question hit him harder than anyone would know, he even couldn’t think of an answer, and they wouldn’t understand. Imagine himself explaining what happened, there were things as Nobodies and he's one? His expression dismal, he thought about his words carefully. “Uh…yeah, sorry, I…I was looking for my…friends.”

He stared at the ground, a bittersweet smile raising to his lips, realizing, that his memories of Twilight Town might not all be true, and the Data one.

The other three finally walked in behind him.

“Sora!” Olette jumped up excitedly in recognition, and Roxas looked at Sora, surprised that he got a warmer welcome than he did.

Pence stood up as if to say something, but quickly sat back down when he saw the last of them to walk into their usual spot. He raised his hand, pointing it at Axel, his eyes widening as he gazed at the man like he had two heads, “You’re the one who…”

Axel glanced down at him, aware that the poor children were terrified of the imposing figure draped in a black cloak, who they knew had the ability to defy the laws of physics and kidnap children. Wanting to have a bit of fun, Axel put a stern and calloused look on his face, walking over to the chubby one sitting on the couch.

Looking around the room, he noticed the others were simply staring in horror, but Hayner looked like he was about ready to pounce in protection. He leaned over poor Pence and looked him straight in the eye, the kid’s mouth now hanging open in fear, and the redhead said calmly:

“Boo.”

Pence immediately ran out the room at full speed, bumping into Sora and Riku who were standing at the doorway, befuddled.

Axel began laughing hysterically, not expecting it go that well, and he was cracking up so hard, he had to slap his knee, “Ha, ha, Oh, my HA! I haven’t seen anything that funny in years!”

The others looked at him with bewilderment now, unsure if he was truly that cruel to torture poor Pence, or if he was some kind of psychotic friend.

Sora pointed back at Pence fleeing down the road blankly, “Isn’t he the one who knows how to use the computer? The one in the mansion that leads to The World That Never Was?”

Riku rolled his eyes, staring frustratingly at Axel, “Nice one, tough guy, you scared our only source of getting in away.”

Axel rolled his eyes back, more dryly though, crossing his arms, “Aw c’mon, I was just having a little fun. Can always get him back.”

“Yeah? Well, thanks to your ‘fun’, we are now behind. We need to save her and you’re doing nothing, but fooling around,” Riku lashed back bitingly, his eyebrows creasing in anger.

“Listen up, emo kid,” Axel called sternly, his lips in a thin line, pointing at Riku accusingly. “I’m tired of being lectured by you in everything I do. You act like your such an expert of right and wrong, what’s good and not, but you’re just as wicked as I am.”

Riku clenched his fist, trying to hold back his growing fury. “You don’t know anything about me, so I prefer it if you shut up now before this gets ugly.”

Roxas interrupted, growing frustrated himself, as Axel was about to retort, and he knew nothing good would come out of it considering who it was coming from, “Hey, cut it out! I’ve had enough of you two! What happened to the agreement on the other world, huh?! Our mission is to save Kairi…and in other aspects, Naminé, as well.”

Sora glanced sideways at Roxas, serious, “I think there is too much ego for one trip here.”

Roxas turned sharply to Hayner then, not wanting to waste any more time, seemingly unaffected by the argument, “Let’s go find Pence!”

Hayner hesitated, surprised that Roxas knew who Pence was, but in the end, saw the logic, and the fact that Kairi was found from the last time before, but now was in trouble once again, drove him to search. He found the blond already running through the door, and he blinked, before turning to the only girl. “Right, let’s go! C’mon, Olette.”

The two Twilight Town locals also went out the door, leaving Sora, Riku, and Axel alone in an awkward position at the doorway. Sora tried to calm the situation, as he scratched his head, but Axel and Riku were just too tense. “C’mon, lets go get them….?”

“Right,” Riku replied tightly after a moment’s pause, bumping shoulders with Axel purposely as he turned to walk out the narrow exit. Axel bit his lip, as if holding back a tongue lashing, or rather, fist lashing, but simply twirled around and followed the others.

___________________________________​

When Roxas, Hayner, and Olette arrived in the sandlot, Pence was already talking to the struggle judge, being he was the only adult in the area. “He was about this tall, had long red hair, a rare firey color, hard to miss, very spiky, like it defied gravity or something, was dressed in all black, and could walk throu- HMPH!”

Roxas quickly covered his mouth.

“Uh, kids, what’s really going on here?” the adult asked, who seemed puzzled at this whole thing, not knowing exactly what Pence was trying to say.

Hayner opened his mouth, as if to explain, but stopped and scratched his head, looking at Olette. The girl stepped forward, then shrugged her shoulders, looking at Roxas sheepishly. The blond sighed, he himself did not know what to say. He had to explain the impossible to a grownup? Rubbing his arm for a moment, he finally tried, “We’re just playing a game, and Pence got too into it.”

Pence jumped forward, aghast, “But, but…”

He was silenced by Roxas’s glare. The adult seemed a bit confused still.

“Oh well, kids will be kids,” he said to himself in conclusion, sighing tiredly, and went about his business of setting up for the next Struggle match-up, putting up signs that said; Struggle: The New Champion Takes All Challengers!

Hayner then gazed at Roxas, lost, but studying him closely. He seemed to recognize the blond teen from somewhere, but had no idea what he recognized, he couldn’t even think of a name either. All that he saw was that he could pass off as Sora’s different color haired twin, yet, nonetheless…

Roxas looked back into the eyes of his friend, sensing someone’s eyes on his back. He too was bewildered, but surrounded more by wistfulness, and he became so unsure of what was real as his mind wandered. He had faint images of figures walking around in black hooded cloaks, reminding him of how he used to walk between worlds, feared and respected wherever he went. He remembers fighting epic battles against armies, and those seeking to awaken long lost friends. At this point, all that seemed was like a nightmare from which he just awakened from, and all this was trumped by a longing, a longing to be “normal.”

“Hayner…” Roxas called softly, hesitating as he formed the words of an important question, “If you had a choice, to either give yourself to someone else, or to keep yourself the way you are, what would you do?”

Hayner was completely lost now, raising a eyebrow at Roxas weirdly, “What? I don’t have a clue what you mean. Who are you?”

Looking back up the alley, Roxas felt Sora nearby, like a missing part of himself was searching for him. Still staring at the spot he was sure they were coming from, Roxas saw three silhouettes rounding a corner. It was as if his inevitable destiny was creeping up on him. He knew that if he returned he could once again be “whole”, but only a part of someone else…

He quickly rounded back to his three missed friends. “Let’s hang out! We need to go to the station.”

In a fit of spontaneity, he sprinted towards the Station Heights, his three friends following hesitantly, trying to catch up. Hayner looked at his other two buddies, and shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what to do.

“Well, let’s at least follow him…it couldn’t be that bad, he seems cool and nice,” Olette said confidently with a smile, as they ran more harder after the newcomer to their town, whom they all seemed to recognize.

___________________________________​

As the three heroes traced Roxas’s steps down towards the Sandlot, they were greeted by a portly fellow with a mustache, staring at them excitedly. “Hey, you guys interested in taking on Seifer? That kid is hot, and today he’s taking on all challengers!”

Sora answered with a smile, shaking his head politely, “No thanks, we were looking for Roxas, a blond haired kid, have you seen him?”

“Well, there were some kids about your age a minute ago…” he replied thoughtfully, placing a hand on his chin as he remembered there were two blonds that time, in different blond hues, of course. He then made eye contact with Axel, and looked him up and down, noticing his tall height, the fire red hair, the spiky gravity defying locks, dressed in black…“Hey, aren’t you the guy that-”

A teen cut in. “Well, well, look what rolled into town. Why, if it isn’t the ‘strongest guy in Twilight Town.’ You here to take on the champ?”

The voice was arrogant, to the point of cockiness that Axel couldn’t even stand. He wore a gray unbuttoned trench coat with cutoff sleeves, and a beanie, and approached them confidently in as if the place was his kingdom.

Sora, blushing from the compliment, modestly said, “Well, I don’t know about the strongest, but yeah, I’m the chosen strongest here.”

“Who are your friends?” the new older teen asked, ignoring Sora’s self advertisement, and looking at the redhead and silver haired guys behind him.

“None of your business,” Axel bit back strongly with a snarl, seemingly annoyed by the teen’s constant egotism.

“Wow, I guess I gotta mop the floor with you in a struggle before you respect me, huh?” Seifer quipped back, smirking.

Axel chuckled darkly. “You do have a death wish, don’t you? I don’t think even calling it a ‘struggle’ will suffice considering how this is child’s play. What makes you think I’ll ever respect you and your fake tough act?”

Seifer then eyed him grimly, the words obviously getting to him and crawling in his skin. “Don’t worry, you will. I’ll make sure of that. Apparently, you don’t who you’re messing with.”

“Apparently, you don’t either,” Axel countered casually without missing a beat.

Riku just couldn’t resist throwing in his two cents as well. “What a jerk, you know, someone ought to humble you a little bit…not that there’s much of a match to humble in you, you’re the type who’s all talk.”

Sora put his hand on Riku trying to calm him down, not wanting more problems.

“You wanna try, tough guy?” Seifer growled, already edgy of being dirt talked, and ready to show them otherwise what he was capable of. “Want to have a go?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Riku snapped, stepping forward, shrugging off the hand Sora had placed on his shoulder.

“Well, it looks like we got our first match,” the struggle judge said as he stepped in between them, settling it before anything could go on. He turned towards the audience and spoke into his megaphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first challenger!”

He lowered his megaphone and looked at the silver haired teen in the eye.

Riku hesitated, holding up his hands as if to back out, but Axel leaned over and whispered into the man’s ear, “His name is Riku.”

Axel looked back to the silver-haired teen with a amused expression, deciding it for him. Riku simply just rolled his eyes again, this time irritated, but Sora stared up at his best friend, placing his hands on his shoulders once more, showing his confidence in a smile.

A smile from his buddy gave him confidence.

Riku knew now, even though it was a distraction, it was worth the match.

___________________________________​

Roxas made it first to the station, as expected, he had outran his friends by far. He looked around, happy to be in a familiar place, and kept shifting his eyes up at the massive station, proud to be back where he felt at home, where he belonged. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his left arm, and he turned sharply to face the threat, widening his eyes as he spotted it was a Organization member. He drew out Oblivion, and hacked at his assailant with fast speed, the man shrouded in darkness simply releasing his grasp and calmly stepping away from the attack, though he had received a slash on the forearm. Roxas found it odd that his opponent made no attempt to block the hit on him. He avoided a death blow, still received a grave wound, yet he did not even wince in pain.

Roxas watched as the man’s sleeve absorbed the blood, turning a dark crimson as it became saturated. Then ,the man spoke, “I see that you still control the Keyblade, you will still be of use to us.”

His voice was emotionless and cold, and the blond couldn’t help but think this was one of the more apathetic associates.

“What makes you think I would do anything for you?” Roxas snapped back, drawing forth the Oathkeeper in a flash of light with his newly freed arm. His face was stern and determined, he knew he would not fall to darkness, or them again.

Though his entire face was covered in shadow, just enough of the man’s face was illuminated to show that he was smirking confidently. “It’s not your choice, you will be useful. You don’t remember what your capable of, do you?”

He then took his hand backwards, as if to draw a weapon.

Just then a portal opened to the right of him, and a second member of the Organization walked through. This time, the figure was feminine, and quite attractive, her steps languid and slick as her high heeled boots clicked on the floor, and with a flare of gracefulness that even made Roxas raise his eyebrows. She walked briskly, everything in her body language showing certainty. He had turned to face her, but realized her attention was on the man instead.

She stopped, a few feet in front of him, and raised her right hand towards him, revealing that she had four yellow and baby blue colored blades, one between each gap of her fingers.

The male of the Organization, outstretched his arms as in a gesture of “be my guest”, and looked down facing the ground, speaking with a sure tone of his voice, yet still monotonous, “If you wish to handle him, then so be it.”

A portal opened behind him and it closed as he walked through it without another word or glance.

She then lowered her weapons and turned to face Roxas, who looked at her apprehensively with both Keyblades, ready to defend himself. She then spoke in a nurturing, calming voice, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” Roxas’s face changed from determination, to surprise, however, she continued smoothly, “That’s right, I’m not a threat...”

She walked towards him, and he was unsure if he should run, fight, or listen.

“What do you want then?” Roxas questioned, trying to sound clear, but his voice cracked with confusion.

“I just want to give you a heart. I know you long for independence, I just wanted to give you that. You will never have to return to Sora, yet you could still be whole,” she explained, then stopped a few feet in front of him, and bent over to look him in the eye. The obscurity of the hood still covered her own eyes, but a lock of honey blonde hair could be seen, and she had a soothing and inviting motherly expression on her face. Roxas started to feel inadvertently relaxed around her, and the female placed her left hand on his cheek tenderly. His two Keyblades faded from existence as he lowered his guard, a bit unsure, yet not given any reason to attack. “You don’t remember me, do you? I was your friend, and I always protected you.”

Roxas searched back deep into his memories. Suddenly, the nightmare became real once again. He remembered everything about the Organization, the fear they imposed, the respect they demanded. He remembered the emptiness they all shared, and a longing to become whole once again. Then he remembered Larxene, the soul who was standing before him.

His eyes grew wide.

She was not the kind, motherly figure she portrayed herself as, she was cruel and sadistic, always taking the opportunity to cut down those who stood in before her, both emotionally and physically, and he pushed her away.

She stepped back, surprised with his sudden change of feelings towards her.

“I remember you!” Roxas exclaimed, as the Keyblades reappeared, and he once again resumed his defensive stance, glowering at her.

She placed her hands together, showing her rejoice, and Roxas noticed she was still armed. “Oh, you do! I’m so grateful. I thought you’ve forgotten everything.”

“You’re not who you say you are, so drop the act!” Roxas whipped out, furious that she had the audacity to lie to him and portray herself as something so pure and innocent, yet she was actually something he only knew had hate and despair. It was like a walking mass of oxymoron, with her doe eyes, her childish tone of voice, and her fair appearance made her seem sweet, but to those who knew her, she was the total opposite inside.

“Wait, it’s not like that, things are different now. I have a HEART!” she announced, her voice was now pleading as she placed her kunai free hand on her chest where the heart would be. She then looked down, showing her sorrow as her arm went back to her side, “I just wanted to give you a heart, so they don’t hurt you...”

Roxas hesitated, stunned by what she said. Could a nobody really have a heart? Could Roxas have a heart independent of Sora? A black puddle formed under her feet, as it turned into misty and black wisps of a sphere to portal out, covering her body in darkness, and he called out to her, “Wait, Larxene, tell me more!”

But it was too late. She was already gone.

“What’s wrong?”

It was Hayner, standing immediately behind him, Roxas too involved in what just occurred to hear any footsteps.

Still looking to where Larxene once was, he answered, not even thinking of glancing at his friends at the moment. “What took you guys so long?”

“What took us so long?” Hayner repeated back, as if surprised the other teen expected him to show up.

“We were right behind you, the whole time,” Olette informed him, coming beside Hayner. Roxas closed his eyes, trying to comprehend what just happened. He knew that there could be no understanding of this abrupt change of…feelings, so rather than question it, he faced his friends with a smile.

Roxas looked up to the roof of the train station, and pointed at it, gleaming, “Let’s hang out up there! What do you say?!”

The others looked at each other confounded, but as they made eye contact they saw no harm in it. They all stared at him, smiling back at the newcomer, and nodded.

___________________________________​

As Riku stepped onto the stage, he prepared himself mentally for battle, only this time it was for sport, not survival. He watched his opponent walk onto the center of the surface, staring unflinchingly at Riku, possibly as some sort of intimidation tactic. The key blade wielder was unaffected.

Riku picked at his assigned sky blue colored club, padded and soft, and lightweight. This is my weapon? Oh well, at least I can’t kill him if I get carried away.

He then sauntered over into the center where the confident jerk was waiting for him.

Seifer held out his right hand, and as if on cue, a short figure waddled onto the juncture, carrying Seifer’s own club, and handed it to him. He was an awkward sight to see, a figure whose face (was it a face?) was covered by the brim of his tattered wizard hat, and Riku found the…thing, rather disturbing. Is that even human?

The thing then turned to Riku, saying in a weak, but somewhat squeaky voice, “Good luck! You’ll need it to fight Seifer.”

Hearing it’s voice disturbed Riku even more. It can talk?

Seifer smiled as the announcer proclaimed the match. “Hailing from the unknown paradise known as Destiny Islands, our challenger, Riku-” Sora cheered at hearing Riku’s name shouted out, while Axel just chuckled. “-faces off against the reigning champion, and local Twilight Town hero, the one, the only SEIFER!”

The crowd of about twenty people became exuberant, cheering and chanting Seifer’s name, which, of course, only satisfied the teen.

Seifer extended his club forward, and waved it tauntingly at Riku, who just stared at him blankly. A whistle blew to signal the start of the match, and the silver haired wielder took his combative stance, still not quite comfortable using a padded club instead of a blade.

The older blond lunged forward first, with an overhead slash which Riku easily sidestepped. Seifer stumbled a little, before he continued the follow through of his swing, and rather than counter, Riku just stepped back, and smirked confidently. Axel had a point. Child’s play.

Seifer regrouped, swinging horizontally, and stabbed, but Riku ducked the swing, and parried the stab with his club, though this time, Seifer’s attack did not go unpunished. Falling to the floor, he quickly got on his feet, and countered with his elbow in a upswing as he stood back up, the hit landing perfectly on Seifer’s jaw, knocking him to the ground.

A whistle blew. Seifer checked his nose as he groaned, to make sure there was no blood prior to standing up, and gave a dirty look at the opponent before him. The judge announced loudly, “Un-sportsman like conduct, Riku, 20 point penalty!”

Riku turned to the man, his eyebrows creasing. “20 point penalty? That’s not fair!”

But the judge’s only response was to blow his whistle again, resuming the match.

Seifer capitalized on Riku’s dropped guard by swinging two handedly, connecting a hit to the back of Riku’s head. He winced with pain, dropping his club to hold his head. Another whistle blew, and he grunted. “Okay, what now?!”

“Dropping your club to the ground in the middle of the match is an automatic disqualification,” the judge explained. The crowd once again began cheering for Seifer, and chanting his name as he turned to face them. The man stared at the cyan-eyed teen. “You know, maybe you should try practicing with someone easier, like maybe Hayner, or I heard his friend Pence was trying to learn, you could practice together!”

Riku half-lid his eyes, in his opinon, this game was such a useless activity.

Sora, hearing the judge’s advice, ran over to Riku briskly, now remembering who were they looking for, “That’s right, we gotta go find Roxas and the others, so we can keep going!”

Riku thought for a second, “Where do you think they went?”

“To the station, that’s the other place they used to hang out…and where Roxas and I used to hang out too,” Axel interrupted from the side, motioning them to get over here. The two jumped quickly from the stage, and the three together ran off without another question, to go find the three Twilight Town locals and their missing buddy.

___________________________________​

The four sat along the edge of the station roof, now, in a long silence. They tried to figure out how could someone they hardly knew be so comfortable around them, and what’s more, how could they be so comfortable around him?

Roxas, on the other hand, was sitting with a smile, quite content. He felt at home.

Hayner finally broke the tension hanging over them, “So, uh, who are you anyway?”

Nice one.

Roxas kept smiling, though, almost like he couldn’t believe he was here, only it was for real, no data, and he stared out, taking it all in. “My name is Roxas, I grew up in Twilight Town, and I had some very special friends.”

Olette chimed in, concerned for the new teen and new companion, “So, what happened? I mean, why did you leave?”

“I didn’t have a choice. I had to be part of something. Something I didn’t want, but needed to do,” Roxas explained, without having to give too much away, still with the same form of his lips. A smile. This was overwhelming…it was almost saddening that he had to go back...in the end of it all...or did he? He turned to face them, bringing that back in the deepest corners of his mind, “What did you guys do last summer? At the end, did you get to go to the beach?”

They were surprised, now, wondering why would he ask something like that, and how he…

Pence answered for all of them, the least shocked. “No, we couldn’t go, we didn’t have enough munny.”

Roxas looked down, a bit sad, as if it triggered a memory, “I didn’t get to go either…”

Hayner spoke up, a bit interested, yet question laced his tone, “How come if you grew up here, none of us remember you?”

Roxas stopped, in a tense pause, not really thinking of how to say it. How could he answer that? A long silence ensued once more, and to not let it cover them again, Pence broke in and replied for him, “Maybe he’s from the other Twilight Town?”

Roxas just changed the subject, getting tired and upset each second, especially of the mention of that other Twilight Town….the one that made him live a lie. “What are you guys doing now?”

Hayner grew annoyed at how many questions he was dodging, and rolled his eyes, turning away.

Olette was the one who responded now, a sense of pride in her green eyes, “Pence made the Struggle team!”

Pence blushed, scratching the top of his head. “Well, I’m trying my best…”

Olette continued, even more excited as she kept informing him of the current events, “I’ve been nominated class treasurer, it’s a big responsibility, but I’m glad I had the chance to be a part of it. It’s going to be hard, let’s hope…”

Roxas looked at them all, and smiled the smile that left when the conversation started to tread grounds he didn’t want it to. “I’m glad your all doing well.”

Pence corrected him, a bit grim as his eyes went downcast, “Not everything is going so well.”

Roxas’s expression became fretful, not knowing what can possibly be "not going so well", and contemplated whether it was serious, “What’s wrong?”

Olette glanced over at the turned away Hayner, hesitantly, and continued, sounding a bit meek, “Hayner’s mom got sick. He dropped out so he could take care of her.”

“It puts a lot of stress on him,” Pence added, nodding sadly to Olette’s words.

Hayner pounded his fist on the concrete, obviously a bit heated at the talk of his situation, to a guy they met today, no less, “That’s it.” He turned around tightly, facing his two friends. “We don’t know anything about him. Why does he need to know everything about us? Huh?”

Silence reigned, something which was becoming normal by this point.

Roxas began to speak, then, understanding where Hayner was coming from, and not fazed, “I’m from the other side… that’s all you need to know.”

“You are? I knew it!” Pence exclaimed in triumph, pumping a fist in the air.

Olette then asked, brushing aside the black haired teen, “Aren’t your friends still waiting for you, though?”

Roxas shook his head, staring at each one of them tenderly, and almost depressingly. Bittersweet, truly like home, yet…what then? “No, I’ve already found them.”

Hayner calmed down, still stiff, but had went to study the other blond again, “So, on the other side, are we friends?”

Roxas turned to face him, his eyes glittering as he felt his eyes grow blurry, almost swelling, “The best of friends!”

A tear of joy rolled down his cheek without his consent, but he didn’t care, they wouldn’t judge him otherwise.

The other three saw this, and eyed him worriedly, but then a trio of other figures walked into the station plaza unbeknownst to them, their heads turning as if they were looking for someone. Once again, Roxas felt another part of him calling, and wiping his eyes, he breathed, looking off into the twilight sun, “Looks like I have to go. I’ll miss you….”

Pence held out a hand for a signal to stop, reluctantly due to the emotions being shown on the boy, and his voice was quiet, “Wait, if you want to go to the other side, then don’t you need someone to run the computer?”

“Computer?” Roxas inquired, puzzled.

“Yeah, let’s all go to the mansion together.” Hayner smiled, giving him a nod, not wanting to break way from his company now.

___________________________________​

As they walk into the basement of the mansion, Pence was still weary of the man in the black cloak, but felt comfortable enough to work, knowing Sora and Roxas, and the rest were there. They returned to the same machine in the lab of what seemed so long ago now, and Pence cracked his knuckles as he started working once again at the keyboard. “Okay, and we’re here again...” His eyes widened in surprise, his eyes looking around the hardware. “Hmm, the power just dipped, I might only be able to get you through one at a time.”

Sora volunteered first, wanting to get closer to the goal more than ever, and he stepped into the cylinder platform, waiting. “I’ll go through, if there’s a trap, I can take care of it.”

Riku shoved Sora aside, glancing at him sideways in a serious manner, “If that’s the risk, then I better go first, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Before Sora could argue indignantly on that, Pence pressed a few keys, and with a flash of light, data numbers surrounded his body, and then Riku vanished. Grumbling, though appreciative of his friend’s protection, Sora walked to step in again. “I’m next!”

Pence repeated the input, and Sora disappeared as well.

“That’s weird…” Pence scratched his head, staring at the screen, confused. “Now power seems to be going up, off the charts even. Maybe you should both go through now to burn off some of the extra energy.”

He went to go set up another warp, but then the computer exploded suddenly, making the boy cover himself.

“Pence!” Olette and Hayner called in shock, running to his aid.

“Oops, a little too much, sooorry!” The voice was familiar, and a member of the Organization was standing at the doorway as they directed their attention to where it was coming from. “I just saw you needed power, and tried to help. Electricity can do wonders, can it?”

Hayner and Olette carried Pence out the other door across, locking it behind them as they went in, looking to defend their friend first and foremost, who was mostly just stunned by the sudden explosion.

Roxas, was completely lost now. Why did she promise freedom, and now attacked them?

Axel, who was a bit silent in thought to the feminine form standing by the entryway, and who was particularly looking at him, spread both of his arms on his sides, and summoned his chakrams in a blazing inferno on his hands as the weapons formed in a twirl, clanking as they fully took shape and he held them. He knew perfectly well who that was…and he was aware of what had transpired in Castle Oblivion, so he wasn’t in good books, so to speak. However he resented of what he had done in the past, he couldn’t let the regret take over him now. He needed to defend, and he glanced over at his golden blond friend, who remained there unmoving, “Aren’t you forgetting something, Roxas?!”

“Oh,” Roxas murmured, snapping out of it, and called his Keyblades to his hands as he took action, taking a combative stance.

This didn’t change the girl’s deposition though, she even seemed….amused. “Now, now, is that how you thank a lady such as myself?” She folded her arms, her head tilting to the side as in a laidback manner. “Once again, you question my intent. Why? Can’t you see I’m trying to help? I simply just…overdid the energy.”

Axel smirked smugly, yet his eyes were intense. “I think we’re better off without your help.”

Though her face was covered in in the darkness of her hood, her pink lips can still yet be seen, and they were smiling…dauntless. “Now, just where are you going to go? Seriously, you should thank me. There is a army on the other side waiting to destroy anything that goes through there.”

Roxas looked back at the portal corner, eyes wide. “Sora! He’s in trouble!”

Axel looked over, as if surprised that his friend cared about Sora, when a threat faced them immediately on themselves. “Sora can take care of himself, kid! And Riku is there!”

The woman continued, ignoring the squabbles in a slide, “Hmph, just follow my lead, and you’re sure to come out of here in one piece, okay? Trust me.”

Axel snapped his head to her, glaring at the female and her nonchalance. “Why should I trust you, Larxene? Everyone who trusted you were destroyed. You live off the suffering of others you sadistic witch, I hope you burn in HELL!”

He then sent forth columns of fire.

She stepped back, as if stunned by his words, yet did not yield. “Hypocrite, you shouldn’t be speaking, because I did nothing! You mean yourself, right? Everyone who trusted you were destroyed, so don’t give me that. Coward, backstabber, and a liar, without honor, that’s what you are, and you make me sick. Sadistic? Let me not remind you of your face, your smile, your enjoyment, when….if anyone should be wretched in Oblivion and suffer, is you!”

Roxas was oblivious to what they were both talking about now, though it seemed to do with the past , and he saw Axel from the corner of his eyes, jaw tense, and his hold on his chakrams were now tighter, shaking, yet he wasn’t staring at Larxene anymore, but at the ground. Looking back between the two, he noticed something he never saw in the Organization before. A tear rolled down her cheek and into the air, and he watched as the drop descended unto the floor.

Roxas then stood in front of Axel, who immediately halted his attack. Breathing unevenly, it took a while for Axel to place his head back up, his face normal as he eyed his friend, appearing not affected, and lowered his chakrams, speaking, “Roxas, what’s wrong?”

“You hurt her, bad. I don’t know what happened, but to those with hearts, words can be more painful than weapons…”

She fell to one knee then, getting the attention of both, weeping bitterly, sobbing from time to time, “I…cared for you, you know that…” She then set her eyes on Axel, shaking her head. “I can live with you betraying me, but don’t talk to me like that…you don’t know what I…you never understood.”

More tears fell to the ground from the face in the hood, Axel gazing at her, yet something seemingly constricted inside at the revelation that was placed in the air, but was weak enough to push aside, his brain focusing more on what was said, which confused him, then what went on in the past, no matter how it was thrown at his face. “But, nobodies don’t have hearts, we don’t feel anything….”

“I think she’s different than a nobody,” Roxas explained, staring her over as well.

Axel was still not understanding, not expecting the Savage Nymph to act this…emotionally open, and wanting to learn why. “But, then what is she?”

The woman lifted up one hand, opening a portal, while the other gloved hand wiped her wet eyes that couldn’t show. “The answer is through there. Is your decision to find it now, I think I‘ve said enough. Choice is yours.”

“Thanks, Larxene,” Roxas said quietly, as he turned hesitantly to walk through the portal, glancing at the female again, as if thinking over if she would be alright. But in the end, went in.

Axel, realizing once again he was left behind, looked down at the woman, not knowing what to say after…what was yelled, or what he even thought anymore. Was that how he appeared to everyone who were at the infamous castle? Sighing, he muttered as he breathed, “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you like that.”

He stayed for a second, not diverting his eyes from her, wondering if he should say something, or if she was going to say something after the insulting speech, but nothing was spoken. Without a sound, he stiffly followed his friend through the portal, not looking back, or perhaps, not wanting to.

As the portal closed behind them, she looked upward, going to stand up to her feet normally. Dusting off her trench coat and fixing her hood, the light that illuminated her mouth was now set back in that same, assured smile, and she giggled pleasantly, complimenting her acting in her mind.

Fools.

“Game, set, and match. My turn to play and control, Axel.”

 

*stabs larxine and sifer multiple times*
*brandishes knife*
lolz

 

Yay! :3 Larxene finally makes the scenes, huh? And she's awesome. I think is true, that was perhaps the most dramatic chapter (and longest). You know I'll be waiting for Chapter Four to see how this will come to xP.

 

Chapter 4: Between Nothing

As the numbers and data encryptions faded away from Sora, he jumped forward with his Keyblade, ready to fight. He swung it around and stomped his feet, his back straight instead of his usual stance, as if waiting for an attack to come, his eyes searching for any sign of movement.

He aimed it in a second at the figure which approached him out of the shadows.

“Hey, watch where you point that thing!†Riku exclaimed, unfazed, as he knocked the pointy tip away, looking at Sora sharply. “You could put an eye out.â€

“But, didn’t you say we were going to be ambushed?†Sora questioned puzzled, scratching his head, expecting more excitement, glancing everywhere.

“Are you okay?†Riku asked, eyeing him oddly with a chuckle. He could barely keep from laughing at Sora’s strange, usual behavior. “You’re too much…â€

Suddenly, the world around them began to ripple in hazy waves, as if it was unstable. Numbers could be seen floating, suspended in space, semi translucent, and flickering. Sora looked at Riku, attentively, “Don’t you think we better go?â€

Riku stared at him back, “What are you looking at me for? I’ve never went this way.â€

Sora remembered where they were going, and walked over to the room with the portal to darkness that they came from. Realizing he was abandoning two of his comrades, he looked back. “Don’t you think we should wait for Roxas, or Axel?â€

Riku rolled his eyes, frustrated in Sora's indecisiveness.

The world became more unstable by now, as the very walls and floor began pilling back, revealing the world to be no more than data…data which was being corrupted. Riku spoke up with a harsh and stern voice, as if to get Sora to focus, “C’mon, a second ago you were ready to take on anyone, now your worried about moving forward?!â€

Sora looked down, contemplating the situation for a moment, before he dug his feet into the ground, now showing his determination, “It’s not that, I just never want to leave a friend behind!â€

The world began disintegrating at a more accelerated rate, a wave of static seemed to engulf everything in the room.

Riku grabbed Sora by the collar and pulled him into the portal just prior to the collapse of the world. All that was left of Twilight Town, was darkness, static, and memories, nothing more. As they looked around, they were surrounded by psychedelic lights, still alone. Sora gazed back to study what had went on, and the portal didn’t close, but it exploded.

“Well, I guess now I can only move forward,†Sora griped, still focused on where the portal was, while Riku took some time to observe his surroundings, until something caught his eye. It was a wall of darkness from the other end of the “hall.â€

The platinum haired teen tapped his best friend on the shoulder to get him concentrated on the threat, and Sora turned around quickly, feeling his hand tingle as he prepared, shouting in bewilderment, “Heartless!â€

The two Keyblade masters drew forth their weapons, The Way to Dawn, and the Kingdom Key.

“Are you ready, Sora?†Riku said with a smirk, almost tauntingly.

Sora laughed, and answered back confidently, “Sure, but the real question is, ‘can you keep up with me?’â€

As the elder teen raised his blade to the height of his face, and tensed up ready for the black maelstrom which was approaching rapidly, he smiled assertively. “I’m sure I’ll manage. Eagh!â€

He unleashed a war cry as he lunged forward into the chaos.

Sora was not a step behind him.

As the wave of darkness collided with the Hero of Light, and the Hero of Dawn, they were slashed without a ounce of mercy. The sea of Shadows, Neoshadows, Invisibles, and Dark Balls tried to engulf them, but were cut down. It seems that the more aggressively the heartless attacked, the more rapidly they were culled. In the eye of the storm, the two heroes were fighting valiantly, their attacks were graceful, to the point where it appeared as thought they were choreographed. Wisps of darkness with every swish became like a mist to the rate of speed, their moves sharp and hind sighted as they propelled onward. But alas, the Keyblade masters, though great, are simply human.

Riku noticed Sora starting to fatigue, sweat was coming down from his brow, and his grip of his blade started to loosen. To someone normal, it would seem understandable, everyone has their limits, and a battle would push anyone to their limits. But to Riku, his intuition told him something was wrong with Sora. He wasn’t fighting completely, it was almost as if something was lacking, he himself had seen the poor boy to greater further limits than this.

He backed up into Sora like air, without loosing rhythm of the Heartless onslaught, still clashing the denizens of darkness, shoving his friend to start him up again. “C’mon, is that all you got?â€

It was Riku’s way of cheering him up, and Sora, let out a stressed, but confident smirk.

The two Keyblade masters prowess was then felt. Their movements were now as though one, in synchronicity, they moved blindingly fast, alternating slashes, each one cutting through a Heartless after the other, and the weaker ones were as fodder before a cannon. Then the two masters seemed to focus on individual Heartless, each one foolish enough to step forward was quickly slaughtered with several stabs from irregular switches of key blades.

Then the mystical power of the key blades seemed to engulf the two teens, as they swung their Keyblades in a circular motion, that it appeared as though there were not only the Kingdom Key, or the Way to Dawn, but in fact 13 blades being wielded in a blur of colors. As they moved around the battlefield, keeping on going restlessly, it could be noticed that the Heartless were being thinned out.

“We got to give it our ALL!†Riku shouted to Sora, as though it was their last hope, going into a partnered stance.

They both released the true power of their weapons as they released their Keyblades into the dull air. As if in instinct, they seemed to sense the desperation of their users, and responded by unleashing a massive blast of raw, pure energy, blinding. One watching could only wonder how much power the Keyblades truly possessed.

When the light cleared, no Heartless remained.

Riku stood proudly, a bit out of breath, and his throat dry, but surviving another ordeal. He looked down at his brown haired comrade who was kneeling over trying to catch his own breath, his lungs seemingly uneven, so Riku decided some playful jesting would encourage him. “Well, what do you know? You actually did keep up.â€

Sora looked up at his ally, who once again inspired him to keep fighting, and showed a smile….a smile that simply said without any need of words, as he was too out of proper air to form them, ‘Thanks Friend!’

As Riku looked ahead towards The World That Never Was, he saw a lone figure walk through the portal. He braced himself in a fighting position, ready to take on whatever it was which approached him. As the dark waves of the portal released its user, it could be seen not a Heartless, not a man in a black cloak, but rather, a warrior, whose entire body was covered in a white armor.

It was a high ranking Nobody. An honorable combatant who’s comrades have challenged Sora and Riku many times.

The older teen was confident that he could take on a lone Samurai nobody on his own, but this one was different. It approached slowly, as if in fear of something, or as if struggling internally.

Sora, stood up, and raised his Keyblade, to defend himself, and his friend.

“Don’t worry Sora, I got this one,†Riku said, without looking back. Sora relaxed, confident in his best friend’s skill, yet was still going to have his back, in case. As it advanced, Riku found it odd that it didn’t draw a weapon, but instead, stopped within striking distance and fell to one knee, and stared towards the ground, shivering, as if fatigued.

Riku hesitated, not sure of what to do, and Sora lowered his weapon, “I don’t think he wants to fight us.â€

“What?†Riku hissed quietly, baffled, but still didn’t look back, or took his defenses down.

“Well, don’t you think he would have attacked by now?†Sora reasoned, studying the Nobody in front of them.

“Well, um…†Riku stuttered, a bit confused. This was weird…

Yet the Nobody’s intentions remained unclear, as it stayed gazing to the floor silently, even as it reached to unsheathe its long sword. Riku braced for attack, but then, it held out its katana, with its handle towards the platinum haired youth.

Riku stepped back in surprise at this abnormal behavior, it was actually presenting its weapon, but was it a gift, a trick, or a request? A moment of pause commenced, as Riku thought it over carefully, anxious to reach for it…fearing betrayal. The Nobody finally looked up, still shuddering, its movements did not appear natural, even for a creature such as it. It seemed to grow frustrated at his quiet uncertainty, as it then stabbed its long sword into the ground, and unsheathed its wasi-sashi, the shorter of his blades.

It braced the point of the shorter blade against its breast plate, and Sora looked away in shock, covering his face, knowing what was about to happen. Riku, winced, and prepared himself emotionally. But why?

The Nobody began shaking more violently, as if going into convulsions, and it was getting more difficult for the teens to watch. But, the Nobody was then encased in a cloud of darkness, and when the black wisps faded, what knelt before them was not a Nobody, but an actual samurai. A real one…?

His armor was different as well, as his face was still masked, but now the visor appeared to be more demonic in outlook, with horns, while the armor itself seemed to reek of darkness. The breastplate was reminiscent of a blackened skull, and its shoulder pads, red spiked…a daunting transformation, it was. It was an imposing figure, then it stood up, and its striking structure could be seen in all its dark glory.

The man must have stood 8 feet tall.

Then, it spoke, “I would like to thank you for sparing my life…†Riku flinched in surprise as he heard its voice, not sounding like a beast, but that of a man’s, but he didn’t get to think more on it as the samurai continued. “Too bad you’ll only live long enough to regret it.â€

Riku was now positive what stood before him was a threat, and he braced himself for combat once more.

The samurai drew his long sword out of the ground, and held it smoothly, as if a reattached extension of his arm. The blade was no longer a pale white, but now it was that of a darkened gunmetal color, the handle being a blood red. He held his shorter blade in his left hand, this one was all black, and seemed to bleed liquid darkness onto the ground.

Riku commented softly to his trusted friend, even now unsure of his proficiency, or if it was enough, “Sora, remember when I said, ‘I got this one?’â€

The dark samurai let out a deafening howl as it roared, “Only the king of hell, could stand against me!â€

Riku released a blast of dark firaga, but the samurai seemed to consume it within his body, as if it nourished him. Riku lunged forward with an overhead strike, not letting the absorption his opponent committed sway him, as the samurai parried the attack with his black blade, and countered with a horizontal slash from his gunmetal blade, which was deflected, but Riku stumbled back from the sheer power of the larger opponent which stood before him.

“You’re making this too easy for me!†the mammoth of a man taunted.

Sora, barely recovering his breath, stepped forward as if to attack, but the warrior of the dark unleashed a dark firaga blast himself, which knocked him back down. Riku, taking in the situation, realizing his lifetime friend would be killed if he tried to fight again, took the initiative. He reached over and picked up Sora’s Kingdom Key with his left hand, and jumped into the battle. Though the samurai was stronger, he could not parry all the now calculated and frenzied attacks of the near berserk teen, fueled by the thought of the danger that this beast like being was bringing to them both, and more on Sora.

The pace of the fight was now too fast for the goliath samurai to keep up, and the nimble youth kept the pressure on as much as his strength possessed, with alternating hits and angles, sweat glistening in his brows as he kept going, his breathing ragged and loud. Then Riku noticed an opening, and he stabbed the Way to Dawn into the right eye of the skulled breast plate, taking the chance the second it presented itself. The Dark Samurai screeched in a death cry, and an explosion of darkness knocked Riku back into the ground with a soft thud.

Sora, a bit impressed of his friend, but also concerned, slowly mbed up to his feet, heading to Riku lazily, asking in a lost manner, “What was that thing?â€

Riku, sitting up, and seemingly fine as he narrowed his eyes at where the samurai took its final fall, answered haggardly, “I don’t know, but it was strong.†He then looked over at his buddy. “I almost drowned in its darkness.â€

 

i think i know whut happened... sorta
lolz

 

Same credits to my Beta as always.

Chapter 5: The Lionheart

As Roxas and Axel walked out the other side of the portal, they took a moment to let their eyes adjust to the new environment, and the redhead recognized the place as soon as he adapted to the light, but he also noted it looked…different. Roxas, however, was unfamiliar with the strange surroundings, as he seemed to study the place in question.

They stood around a bailey which seemed to have been blasted through, yet it overlooked a crystal valley, from beyond, and as he studied the place more, Roxas felt as though he was in some sort of medieval castle, but with high tech machinery networked throughout the whole build.

“Why would she send us here?†Roxas asked his friend, his eyes searching the place admiringly, though a bit bewildered.

“I don’t know, but I know this is where our old headquarters used to be,†Axel began to explain, knowing he had gone here in the event of helping Sora until Saïx intercepted him, and before, but just once. “I’ve been here, when I was guiding Sora, yet the only reason I know it was our past base is because it was mentioned…then…we moved to The World That Never Was…which is around the time when I came in. Number Eight. So, I honestly, don’t know the story behind this here…â€

Roxas got excited, intently taking in this new information, not believing the Organization used to reside here, at least at the beginning. “Our old headquarters?†He thought about it for a second, surprised Axel still referred to anything from the Organization as “hisâ€, but dismissed his curiosity knowing there was an objective in front of them. “Maybe it has something to do with the beginning of the Organization then?â€

Axel scratched his head, though he remained thoughtful, “Your guess is as good as mine, man, yet I think it is. If this was our place before, it tells something…â€

Their contemplations were interrupted from the sound of a gun being loaded.

A heroic soul was standing behind them, and he appeared both confident, and battle hardened, having a scar across his cheek. The look in his eyes showed he wasn’t he wasn’t here for small talk, but was ready for combat if it came down to it, though he’s pointed sharp eyes were set on someone in particular. “Okay kid, it’s fine, just walk away from him, he’s dangerous.â€

Roxas looked puzzled, trying to think of what he was trying to warn him of, “Uh, what?â€

Then he figured it out, the Organization had a reputation here, and his eyes widened in realization. “Oh Axel? He’s not dangerous, he’s my friend…â€

Thinking this to be a bit of a spot, he dug his feet into the ground., as he held his arms outstretched as if to summon his two blades, set for anything unexpected, if the guy wanted a fight, he’ll get one.

Axel analyzed the situation, realizing there was only one opponent who stood before him, so he figured their odds were pretty good, and he simply remarked cockily, not at all fazed, “You’re going to take on us all by yourself? Good luck with that one, you’re signing your death wish.â€

He extended his hands just outside his hips, like a gunslinger ready to draw his weapon.

Leon stepped back as in about to prepare himself, realizing they were together, and Axel’s confidence was something that concerned him, yet didn’t bother him. Leon knew that the ones dressed in all black were the strongest Nobodies on the ranks, yet, they can either be just as skilled or stronger than he was, and he held his gun blade still in the open, ready to counter whatever they threw at him determinedly.

“Hey Leon, ‘sup? Need a hand?†a short girl spoke up, her voice seemingly unaffected by the tension of the situation, a bit carefree, and she was standing on top of the bailey. The slender young woman jumped down, and dusted herself off, not at all deterred by the two Nobodies which stood before her, ready to help her friend. Tilting her head to the side, inquisitively, she asked Leon, “Who are they?â€

The man did not break his focus of the two in front of him, keeping his concentration on the redhead in the black cloak, eyes narrowed. “I don’t know, but that one’s trouble.â€

It could be seen that he was hardened, being on how decisive he was in his reaction, and the dilapidated condition of the castle around them.

Axel’s responded unflinchingly, almost looking like this was just a small detour, “Trouble? That’s what you think of us? Well, it seems you hit the mark, I’m more trouble than you could handle.â€

With a spiraling flash of flames, two chakrams appeared, one in each hand.

Roxas looked on in surprise as his friend was so quick to engage someone in combat, especially since it seemed to be only a misunderstanding. He hesitated in drawing his own weapons, not attacking just yet.

With a fling of his hand, Axel launched his right chakram out in a flash, and it boomeranged out to the side and curved back inwards, as if it could track its target, and was parried by the Gunblade, while Leon responded by firing a shot in retaliation just as fast. It was deadly accurate, but Axel used his left chakram to deflect the bullet in record time, and as his right chakram returned to his grasp, the young woman leaped into the air, drawing forth a giant shuriken. Roxas knew there would be no more talking as it became two against one, and with a flash of light, and a ripple of shadow, the Oathkeeper and Oblivion were firmly in his grasp, only for him to leap back into the air as well to counter her attack, making it fair by a two by two battle.

In midair, the jet black keyblade clashed with the rather large, windmill like star, and he tried to follow with an attack from the his silver blade, but she pushed back off of him, and with a back flip, landed, out of his reach in practiced movement. As Roxas came to land on the ground as well , he crossed the two Keyblades in front of him, as they laid relaxed on the floor.

“He, he, you’re funny. Let’s do that again!†she exclaimed excitedly, her tone, voice, and childlike laugh annoying Roxas now.

Leon took note of Roxas’s weapons, expressing his surprise at finding another wielder, “What? Keyblades?†Now that he looked at it, the boy did seemed familiar in some way….reminding him of someone, except he had blond hair…but….

He lowered his guard, only for a moment.

Axel punished his lack of concentration with a blast of fire, which knocked him to the ground. The young ninja seemed to take offence at Axel’s cheap attack, not deeming it honorable as she stood up, placing her hands on her hips and stomping her feet, her eyes blaring at the red haired man. “Hey, that’s a foul! Can’t you take it head on?!â€

Roxas didn’t hesitate to throw Oblivion at her, but in the brief moment the dark keyblade was in the air, he…felt regret. He knew he was attacking someone not prepared to defend themselves, and he didn’t know why this occurred to him now. As a member of the Organization, he took every opportunity to punish the mistakes of his opponents, but now it was different. Maybe it was his other half, maybe it was something else, but he did not feel right attacking her, especially in that state.

However, before he had a chance to summon it back in that one quick second it was thrown, the keyblade struck her, not spotting it in time, and she fell with a grunt into the floor. Roxas, feeling dread as to what he had just done, rushed over to see if she was okay.

Axel ran over to where he was, seemingly showing a triumphant air about him, like he was pumped. “Alright man, you got her!†His excited tone of voice drifted away as he saw the concern on his best friend’s face. “What’s wrong?â€

Roxas reached out, to see if she was alright, however, she was still conscious, and she slapped his hand away, snapping her eyes open, “Jerk!†Roxas stepped back in surprise, and the girl sat up, giving him a dirty look. “That was a cheap shot! You both don’t fight fair, apparently!â€

Leon rolled over, holding his side where the blast of fire hit him, wincing in pain at the burns. Nevertheless, he got up to his feet very slowly, ignoring it for the while, and preparing to stand ground again, as he wasn’t going to go down that easily, or show it. Axel smirked cockily though, his eyes gloating , “I’m stronger than you..†He then tapped his temple. “Got it memorized?â€

“By a chance only. Let’s see you in a one on one battle with me without diverting my concentration, and see how you fair,†Leon spoke solemnly, out of breath, understandably weak, as a normal man without training prior to this would’ve been fatally hurt or killed by the blast, yet he had strength enough to stand, albeit wobbly. Not giving a chance for Axel to retort, he asked in a demanding tone, “Why are you here?â€

He had come to terms that these two weren’t here exactly to simply wreck terror upon the place.

Axel decided to bite his tongue for now, but placed his finger on his chin, as if deep in thought. He really couldn’t think of a reason….Larxene was the one who brought them here.

Roxas spoke up, realizing that a local could be helpful, “We were sent here to look for something.â€

“Well if they sent you, it’s probably over there,†Leon explained to them cryptically and hard, pointing at a dark tower off in the distance, on the other side of the crystal crevice, as could be seen through the hole on the bailey wall.

Axel looked around, his green eyes were settling on the blond in resolution, preparing to head out. “Alright, I guess that’s as good a place to look as any.â€

Roxas looked at the two wounded fighters, and pondered over the circumstances. They did not seemed to be hurt that badly in the way of him making a pit stop to see if they will be alright, and he turned around to leave, reluctantly, then stopped as he gave a concerned look back at them. He didn’t feel right leaving two people in the condition they were, especially if it was his fault.

Noticing the kid was actually worried about their well being, Leon told him, a bit more warmer, “We’ll be fine, go.â€

Roxas hesitated, but then smiled apologetically, knowing he had their permission to part. Turning his back on them, he went to step beside Axel, who was just waiting for him patiently, and the two began to walk towards the tower in the distance, and out of earshot of the two who were left behind.

Yuffie turned towards Leon, a questioning expression on her face, yet in interest, “Why send them there?â€

Leon stared down back at her, the usual serious look on his face that he presented, “Because that’s where the darkness comes from.â€

“How do you know they will do anything about it?â€

“He has the power of the Keyblade, and he can wielit,†he replied easily back to the short haired girl, his eyes squinting as he thought over this event. Holding back a little, he admitted breathlessly, “The blond reminded me of Sora, more than I can say, even their appearance, and coming from his personality and his concern, I know he will do the right thing….â€

With that, his eyes trailed over at the two Nobodies, gazing at their backs as they marched out of sight.

 

that was good
though i expected the roxas/yuffie part to go more like this:
roxas: yo
yuffie: yo
roxas: *watching leon and axel* sooooo... wanna fight?
yuffie: *also watching* nah.
roxas: cool... sooo... how 'bout them Nixs?
XDDDDDD
but ur way is good too
lolz

 

That would be interesting.......but this was is a great story.....a bit long.....but....I can handle....

 

Ha, ha, that would have been great. Why didnt I think of that?

It should've ended with

Yuffie: I got Guitar Hero 3, wanna play?
Roxas: Sweet, lets go!

Yeah, its very long. Chapter 3 especially.

I thinks its good writing though. If the quality is there, I'm sure the leanth doesnt matter.

 

Yep.....I read it when the RPGs go slow.....

 

Curious. I like how you are making the characters interact. You have got the essence of them. The only problem is Roxas's relation to Sora. I would think he would try to keep as far away as possible.

One more thing, Roxas really does not care that Axel tried to kill him in TT?

The main problems seem to be around Roxas, as he was seen only for a few scenes. Hopefully 358/2 will help you hone his interaction.