Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Disney, Square-Enix or Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Writing/Singing
"Foreign Language/Flashback"
-Scene Shift-
Chapter 1: Arrival
Of all the existence of the Worlds, there are none that are as sad as those of the Nobodies.
Sired from those who have lost their hearts to the creatures of Darkness, known as the Heartless, the Nobodies don't truly exist.
They don't feel.
They don't understand what it is like to have a heart.
...Or do they?
Who knows for sure as that can be quite the compelling argument.
They who are shunned by both Light and Darkness, who dwell in the Twilight, what do they have worth fighting for? For those without hearts, those that are empty, a complete void, do they have the right to exist?
These were the thoughts of one particular Nobody as he absentmindedly stared at the floating building structures. Scanning the area, he knew that something was off about this place.
At first glance, one would've identified this land, this world, as the World that Never Was… Yet it wasn't at the same time, despite how this world was named as such.
"C'mon, hold up! Who are you?!"
The Nobody blinked as he was pulled from out of his thoughts upon hearing an all too familiar voice. Turning his head around, the Nobody slowly turned around and stared at the individual in front of him. The person that was said to be his Other half.
His Somebody: Sora.
Sora, one of the Keyblade's chosen, stood there in a shocked expression when he realized who was before him.
"Roxas?…"
Even though Nobodies were supposed to lack emotion, the one identified as Roxas had mixed feelings about seeing him again.
"How can you be here?" Sora questioned. "Am I dreaming?"
'Good question.' Thought the Nobody. 'I should be asking the same thing.'
Shaking himself out of his train of thought, Roxas shook his head, gave his Somebody a bitter smile. "This could have been the other way around. But it really has to be you."
Sora looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
The Nobody let out a tired sigh. "There are so many hearts that are connected to yours. You're me, so you can feel what I have felt."
Those words penetrated through Sora's heart, making him feel sad for his Nobody. The more he learned about the Nobodies, the more he pitied them; especially Roxas. To hear him say that he and Sora were the same, that just felt wrong.
Shaking his head, Sora looked at his Other half. "No. Roxas, you're you. We are not the same. I wanted to tell you that in what felt like forever. That you deserve as much as I do to be your own person."
Roxas adopted a look of surprise for a moment before he gave Sora a small smile. Trust his Other to try and give Roxas the chance he never had. But no matter, Roxas knew what he had to do.
"You see, Sora, that's why it has to be you."
He reached forward and grasped Sora's hands, who was still as confused as ever. It wasn't a second later after physical contact that Roxas started to transfer the only thing left that was truly his.
His memories.
From the first day he existed, when he was first found by Xenmas and was given his name. And from there, all of his days when he was apart of Organization XIII up until he decided to leave.
Even his memories of the time he spent in Twilight Town and with his so-called friends, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, were fake.
These later memories were all done by the work of Ansem the Wise when he needed the Nobody Keybearer to help get Sora to wake up from his slumber.
Said slumber was done because Namine, Kairi's Nobody, messed up Sora's memories as by Organization XIII's orders. If they messed with Sora's head well enough, the Keybearer would've been quite the puppet in their plans.
Much like he was.
After Sora was put to sleep after the events at Castle Oblivion, Namine worked tirelessly to fix her mistake by putting his Chain of Memories back together.
Yet there was a hamper to their plans as Roxas had already absorbed much of Sora's memories throughout the entire time he existed. To remedy this, Riku was sent out to take care of him… by any means necessary.
But Riku couldn't destroy him as he was a big part of his dear friend.
With this act, Riku ended up bringing Roxas back to Ansem the Wise and sent him to the digitized version of Twilight Town, all in order to extract Sora's last remaining memories.
Throughout all of this, Roxas had to wonder if anything about him was ever real.
Truthfully, even though he made the decision to join back with Sora, there was nothing he wanted more than to exist. After all, who wouldn't? Who wouldn't want to be their own person, to just enjoy their summer vacation as they laughed with friends and ate ice-cream?
That was all that Roxas wanted, but it was too much for a Nobody to ask for. That he understood now.
As the last of his memories transferred into Sora, as he started to disappear, this truth Roxas started to accept. That was his fate after all. To disappear and become Nothing… it was only right.
It wasn't as if he was ever something to begin with anyway.
-Unknown-
Blinking awake from his slumber, Roxas stared into an endless void of swirling black and white.
Even since he had been absorbed back into Sora, this was his sanctuary. He could only guess that it was the representation of Sora's heart, and that eventually everything that made him Roxas would disappear forever.
Eyeing the wisps of Darkness, Roxas was sometimes curious as to why they were here. Sora's heart was Light and there shouldn't be any Darkness in here at all. Yet he remembered that Sora occasionally went into his Anti-Form, which allowed Darkness to encompass him to gain an upper hand in dire situations in certain fights.
Over time, the Darkness would fade away into the Light.
Roxas then remembered that each Nobody was practically fated to fade back into Darkness, if not the Twilight. Yet he and Namine had met with their original selves, Sora and Kairi respectively, before merging back with their Somebodies. And that as long as the two were together, so too would their Nobodies.
The Nobody Keybearer wasn't curtain on what'll happen next, but would they just fade completely and be just a memory in the lives of Sora, Kairi and their friends.
Roxas looked at his hands with a sad smile, clenching them. "You have no idea how lucky you are Sora, to actually exist. It's only something that a Nobody like me could ever dream of."
He said to himself as he looked up into the endless void of Light and Darkness. "But it truly has to be you."
Roxas didn't know how long he had been floating in this place. It could have been days, months, or years, but he could not tell. Time seemed irrelevant.
Truthfully, it was a wonder that he still existed, for all that it mattered in this place. Wasn't he supposed to be absorbed fully into Sora by now? Wasn't it enough that he didn't get the chance to exist? Couldn't he just peacefully disappear?
Would you even want that to happen?
Roxas snapped his head up and looked around. He didn't know just how long he was floating there, but he was sure he had heard something. How was it possible? This was inside Sora's heart. How could he hear a voice from inside of here?
Would you still want to exist?
Roxas spun around a few times to see where the voice was coming from, but he was only greeted by the endless void. What was going on?
Not all dreams are impossible to achieve…
Suddenly, a bright light erupted in front of him. It was so bright that he had to shield his eyes, but it soon died down enough for Roxas to lower his arm. His eyes widened as he saw a Corridor… of White… Light(?) -much brighter than the white in the surrounding environment- appear out of nowhere in front of him. It reminded him of the Corridors of Darkness he use to travel when he was in the Organization, but this lacked any form of dark energy.
"What is this?" He asked himself as he floated towards the portal.
He gingerly reached up and was about to touch it, but at the last moment pulled away.
What if it was something that would hurt Sora? He had no idea what this was, and if something happened to him, then Sora would be affected too, Right?
The Corridor shimmered in front of him, almost beckoning him to touch it, but Roxas held firm.
"You deserve as much as I do to be your own person."
Roxas blinked a few times as Sora's words echoed through his mind. He looked down at his hands for a second before looking back at the portal, biting the inside of his cheek. No, he couldn't do this. Not to Sora, not to his Other, even if said Other was the one telling him to take this.
"Roxas, you're you. We are not the same."
Roxas took a deep breath before he looked up into the endless void.
"Do you really mean that Sora? A Nobody like me, do I deserve to be my own person?" He questioned before he turned back to the Corridor. It continued to shimmer in front of him; occasionally a small ripple would cascade across it.
"Roxas, you're you."
Roxas smiled to himself as he clenched his fists. "I am me."
He finally made his decision. Approaching the Corridor of Light and with one quick movement, he came close before thrusting his hand through it. Immediately, it clamped onto him and started to drag him into the center. With one last look into the endless void of white and black, Roxas gave a last goodbye.
"I don't know what will happen, but I hope you can survive without me, Sora."
-Elsewhere-
Slowly, Roxas started to stir and opening his blue eyes once more. His vision was hazy, thus it took some time to adjust. When it was finished, the Nobody took note of his environment.
"Where… am I?" He voiced before feeling a cold breeze caressing his face.
The new sensation oddly made the Nobody happy to feel fresh air once again, making him question if he was dreaming. Even hearing some of the local wildlife was a nice pleasure than hearing absolute silence where he was previously. Wanting to be sure he wasn't, he brought his hands up to his face and smacked his cheeks a few times.
'If this was a dream, it's a really good one.' He thought before scratching his dirty blonde locks. 'Then again, Sora and Riku are doing their Mark of Mastery Exam in the Sleeping Worlds.' He then adopted a confused frown. 'Wait… how do I know that?'
Pondering to himself, Roxas then saw a series of memories flooding into his mind. He clearly knew they weren't his, making him realize they were of his Somebody's.
It was there he saw the recent memories of the two Keybearers taking their Mastery Exam underneath Yen Sid's teachings. Their objective? The pair would enter the Realm of Dreams in order to awaken the Sleeping Worlds to see if they're worthy of not only earning the title of Master, but also master the Power of Waking: the ability of waking sleeping hearts.
'Would at least explain why I was in the World that Never Was. Or at least why it seemed rather off.' Roxas pondered before processing more of the memories. 'Though why do I have these?'
When he transferred his memories onto Sora, Roxas never expected to receive anything back. Maybe it was a two way street and his Somebody unknowingly gave him copies of his recent memories in return. From the moment Roxas merged back with his Other up before he and Riku fought Xemnas, up to their recent meet up.
Shaking his head, Roxas focused back onto his current predicament and bombarded himself with questions.
Where was he?
How did he get here?
The Nobody then remembered the Corridor of Light that appeared in the void, which then made him question how it separated him from Sora.
Where did it take him?
Was he in a new world or a world he previously visited?
Roxas merely sat in his place to contemplate these questions.
"Won't figure this out by…" He voiced before realizing he was sitting on the dirt, feeling bits of gravel on his lower half. And from there, he realized he was leaning against something for support.
Roxas slowly got up from the ground, feeling soft creeks in his joints. This prompted him to stretch as he didn't move all that much in that void for who knows how long. Once finished, the Nobody Keybearer took note of his surroundings, but on a better examination than from before.
He was in some sort of forest, given the surrounding trees and hearing forest critters at random areas. But this grove was different than the ones he previously walked through.
Differentiating from the normal ones a good distance away -which were quite thick and would be extremely hard to enter through conventional means- Roxas was surrounded by a dozen or so of these large, stark-white trees that reached high and wide enough to cover up much of the sky. The coloration was practically bone-like from what he could imagine and the bark was no doubt smooth to the touch. He then took note of the surrounding leaves, being blood-red in color. Picking up a few from the ground, the Key of Truth saw they were shaped like a five-pointed star.
Turning around in his new surroundings, Roxas almost jumped in his spot upon seeing a face. Yet he quickly calmed himself when it wasn't the face of a normal person. In fact, it wasn't a person at all as it was the face that was carved into one of the trees. Said tree was bigger than from the rest, being two-stories high with it's carved face looking rather feminine. And running down it's closed eyes were red sap-like tears.
"...What… is this?" He asked to no one in particular. "It looks… beautiful." A smile then tugged at the corner of his lips. "Think it might look better with a really good sunset or sunrise."
*GROOOOWL* *GURGLE*
The sudden noise startled the Nobody as he searched where the sound game from.
*GROOOOWL* *GURGLE*
He heard it once more and this time… he felt it.
Looking down, Roxas blinked when realizing he was feeling hunger.
'Ain't that surprising.' He thought, rubbing his belly. 'Gonna be interesting dealing with you for now on.'
Wanting to acquire some food, Roxas moved from the grove and searched for anything good.
The Keyblader had checked these white bark, red leaf trees if there were any fruit on their branches first, only to find nothing. From there, he had started moving elsewhere in hopes he could find a bush of berries or come across something; anything really.
Soon enough, Roxas heard some rustling coming from nearby. Looking quickly, he saw a rabbit moving across the leafy ground.
*GROOOOWL* *GURGLE*
'Yes, I get it! Shut up!'
Wanting this hunger to end, Roxas bolted in hopes of acquiring the little bit of forested game. Said game noticed his advances, causing the forest critter to run away for safety.
'Quite fast for such a little guy.' Commented the Nobody as he zig-zagged across the many trees. 'But I got it beat.'
Pouring some magic into his legs, Roxas was able to outrun the little beast and snagged it. In reaction to this, the rabbit tried getting out of the Nobody's hold with it fearing for it's life.
'I'm… sorry about this.'
Grabbing it's head, the Key of Truth harshly smacked the animal into a nearby tree; killing it in the process.
Feeling the now dead creature falling limp in his grasp made him feel quite sad with what he recently done. Roxas never taken a life in such a manner before. He had destroyed many Heartless and Nobodies in the past, but nothing else. All he knew from such a thing was from Sora's childhood memories when it came to hunting for food.
After his moment of small grievance, Roxas went back to the odd grove of trees in order to make a bonfire for him to cook his newly acquired meal. It took a bit of time to make a proper one from using one of his Keyblades and cast an Aero spell to clear the area of any twigs, leaves and anything else. The Nobody then gathered up enough wood and set it just right for him to cook the dead rabbit. And once skewering a branch through the mouth… and through it's butt… which had grossed him out, Roxas stabbed the piece of wood near the fire -which he casted- to start the cooking process.
'That was quite the struggle.' He thought, sitting at the same tree he woke up at. 'Feels like I was forgetting something.'
In fact he did… several actually…
Sitting at the tree, the Nobody then saw flames catching onto the rabbit's fur… setting it ablaze.
'Oh, crap!'
He bolted from his seat, pulled the burning meal from its place and started stomping on it to kill the fire.
'Well… that's ruined.'
Indeed it was as the fur was burnt away and the body was crushed, no longer being edible if he were to try and salvage it.
The Nobody never cooked a rabbit before… in fact, he never cooked anything before.
For all his life as a Nobody, Roxas only ate a handful of things.
First were the Sea-Salt Ice Creams he had pretty much every day after missions when he used to be apart of Organization XIII. Sitting on top of Twilight Town's Clocktower with Axel and… and…
'Xion...' Roxas thought with a small frown before spotting, running and diving towards another rabbit, only to miss as a result. 'Quick little guy, aren't ya.'
...Aside from those post-mission moments, Roxas even ate the same kind of ice cream with Haynar, Pence and Olette at the exact same spot. And even then, he did eat some other food stuff around town from either restaurants or food stalls.
But that week with Haynar, Pence and Olette weren't real at all… but they were real to him and he wouldn't trade them for anything else.
Regardless, Roxas had little to no experience cooking anything at all. The only ones he had were from Sora prior to obtaining the Keyblade. And even then, they were very little with the happy-go-lucky boy catching fish alongside Riku and Kairi before cooking them in front of a fire pit; along with marshmallows for s'mores and hotdogs for other examples.
'Should've realized I needed to skin the rabbit.' Thought the Nobody, finally snagging the forest critter. It rustled in his grasp before he was forced to swing it around to the nearby tree in order to kill it; like the last one. 'Prep cooking fish and rabbits are totally different… Along with gutting it.'
Roxas briefly thought on bringing out and using one of his Keyblades to skin the little critter, only to realize how… awkward it would be. Using a knife would be much better compared to using a longer blade.
'Not to mention that my two Keyblades aren't traditional ones.' He scratched his cheek before he tugged on the dead rabbit's skin and fur with both of his hands. 'Wonder how I can get this- oh?'
Without realizing it, Roxas used a bit of strength to rip almost all of the fur and skin off the body. The only fur that remained was from its feet, tail and head.
With this problem out of the way, the Nobody lopped them off with quick Keyblade swipes and tossed them and the fur some distance away. He then cut open it's chest before taking out the organs and threw them away as well before skewing the body with a stick in order to start cooking it.
As the Keyblader sat at the base of the odd looking tree, absentmindedly staring at the fire, another breeze caressed his face. It was colder this time than the last, which was inviting as he hadn't felt anything in the void in who knows how long. The Nobody briefly look at himself to see his attire which partially protected him from the cold environment…
His Organization uniform.
Said uniform was a full length black coat with a hood hanging from the back of his neck with a waist-high slit riding up the back to be similar to a duster. There was a large silver zipper that fastened at the top and zips all the way down around the waist area. It has stylized silver drawstrings for the hood decorated with a large silver beads hanging from the end and a silver chain ornament adorned with four large cylindrical silver beads that fastens to a loop on either side of the collarbone region. Everything else that could've been visible was covered up by leather gloves and black boots and pants.
Wearing the Organization coat not only protected him from the Darkness but also from the elements. He didn't feel all that hot when he was in the sandy plains of Agrabah. And he didn't feel all that cold when he was in both Halloween Town and outside of Beast's Castle.
...Okay actually he did feel some of the outside elements as his head was exposed at those times.
Shaking his head, the Nobody focused his mind onto other things in order to ignore the surrounding temperature. It wasn't bad enough in warranting him to pull up his hood just yet; or even bright enough for that matter.
...Now that he was out of the void that was Sora's heart, what would happen now? What was Roxas going to do now? And desire for that matter?
'Might as well live my own life, I suppose.' Came the thought. 'Gaining new experiences and memories while finding my self-worth and new purpose. Even understanding more on my… feelings and emotions.'
Throughout his short life span, Roxas experienced a small span of emotions. Nobodies were supposed to remember how they feel from who they derived from. They were not to really know and experience them.
Kindness and joy… Surprise and excitement… Trust and anticipation… Stress and relief… Grief and fear… Sadness and envy… Betrayal and anger…
The Key of Truth experienced through these -and several others- during his time as a member of Organization XIII and after he left.
Even though he wasn't meant to feel anything, Roxas hated feeling the hurt inside of him most of all. And as much as he'd like to no longer feel such things, would he cast them aside? Would he want to feel empty… again?
'No, I won't.' He thought as he continued staring into the bonfire. 'If I cast aside these feelings, I'd only prove I am nothing. In doing so, I lose the ties to those I care about.'
Granted, there are only a handful of ties. Yet they are enough for Roxas to keep on going… even if some of them were fake.
Maybe he can forge new ones. With his newfound freedom and existence, Roxas might make it so in order to make himself feel real. Even experiencing more feelings and emotions in the process that would actually be his.
Until then, he'll keep the pain… the sorrow… the hurt… all of the negative on top of the positive. It's all he has left with what memories and experiences inside of him. It's what's holding him together.
And with that, he at least knows it's all real to him. It's what helps make him… him.
By the time he finished pondering on these thoughts, Roxas wondered if his meal was finished cooking.
He got up and went to the rabbit meat. There he saw one side was being cooked, causing him to turn it around in order to even it all out.
'I'll come back to this a little later.' He thought before turning his head at several directions. 'Now I think I should find some water to wash it all down with when the time comes.'
Looking towards the canopy above, Roxas leaped high and landed onto a thick tree branch before jumping forward.
The Nobody explored the surrounding area and soon found a stream nearby. Taking note of that, he soon noticed the deep overcast in the sky as it made him wonder what time of day it was. But judging of how bright it was, he at least could tell it was in the daytime.
Looking all around now, Roxas spotted a series of mountains in the vast distance past the vast surrounding forest. And in another direction, he saw a small trail of smoke coming from what he believed was either a home or someone's campsite -similar to his at the current time- as it somewhat followed the stream.
'Better check that out-'
*GROWL*
'...after eating breakfast… or is it lunch?'
The Keyblader soon made it back to his little campsite and pried out the cooked meat from the bonfire. Seeing as it was done, Roxas dug into his meal like it was a kabob.
'Taste's quite good.' He then spat out a thick bit of fat that was a bit hard for him to chew. 'No doubt would be better with some seasoning.'
Throughout the small meal, he did have some displeasure of biting into some bone as it rattled his teeth a little. This prompted him to be mindful in how he continued eating.
Once done with his breakfast… lunch(?)… brunch(?), Roxas discarded the remains before putting out the fire with the surrounding soil. He then jumped onto the tree branches and made his way to the nearby stream to drink.
Crouching down, the Keyblader cupped his hands and filled them up with water before-
RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHRRR
Roxas soon broke his cup, spilling the water back into the stream just as he quickly stood back up and spun around; avoiding a darkened creature trying to strike him down. Getting into his singular Keyblade stance, a pillar of yellowish-white light formed and Oathkeeper appeared within his grasp.
The Nobody's eyes focused on the new arrival and saw it appeared to be some sort of large wolf. But instead of a typical one, this had a primary blue and cream colored fur with reddened claws, pure yellow eyes and a jagged maw. Around its front paws were large steel shackles with chains rattling as the creature skidded to a halt.
And on it's shoulder was an all too familiar red and black heart with a fleur-de-lis at its bottom with a spiky "X" crossing through it's centre.
"Heartless!"
This wolf-themed Heartless roared once more as it charged forward in hopes of taking down the Keyblader. It brought out its claws once it was quite close. Yet it wasn't quick enough for defending itself against Roxas' bright Keyblade. He blocked the dual-swipe before kicking the darkened creature away.
As it soared in the air, Roxas pointed his weapon at the airborne target and called out "Firaga!"
Flames encircled Oathkeeper's tip and shot out a large fireball, colliding against the Heartless. It let out a pained roar as it went up into darkened vapors with a glowing heart released, floating up into the sky and disappearing soon after.
Even though this wolf-themed Heartless was taken care of, Roxas quickly knew there were more. And true to his thoughts, more of them rushed out of the woodwork at a quickened pace.
Whipping out his other hand, a pillar of darkness formed as his Oblivion Keyblade appeared soon after from wisps of black vapors and purple sparks. Grasping it's handle, the darkened Keyblade soon struck an incoming Werewolf Heartless with it's brightened brother swiped at another.
Roxas leapt into the air with the wolf-themed Heartless following after him. He spun around with his blades clashed against their bodies. Bringing his Keyblades close to his body, Roxas then released them as he performed an airborne dual Strike Raid. With his two key-shaped swords spinning towards and piercing through the Heartless, the Keyblader brought out his hands and called out a Thundara spell.
Large bolts of lightning struck down from the sky, electrocuting them as whatever remained after the attack were paralized in their spots. Once his Keyblades spun back into his grasp, Roxas delivered a drop kick onto a Werewolf Heartless head before sending out a roundhouse kick onto another. And before he could land on the ground, the Nobody brought his two Keyblades down onto the ground.
Channeling magic into the white and black blades, he roared out a spell to finish off the rest of these Heartless.
"LIGHT!"
Pillars of light shot out of the ground, colliding and skewering each of the wolf-themed adversaries. They howled and roared as each soon went up into darkened vapors with their captured hearts freed and faded into the skies above.
Seeing the area cleared of Heartless, Roxas pried out his Keyblades from the earth as he slowly steadied himself.
'Shouldn't be surprised that I'd run into Heartless so soon.' He thought as he quickly caught his breath. 'Yet I shouldn't have used much magic so soon after getting out-'
"KYYAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Roxas whipped his head with widened eyes. "Someone's in trouble!"
Without missing a beat, the Key of Truth bolted from his spot and went towards the source. Remembering the smoke trail from earlier, Roxas quickly realized where it came from… with who or rather what was attacking said location.
-At the source-
Arthur Tuttle knew from an early age to expect little in life. Born into a family of pig farmers and raised on the limited knowledge granted to one of such a low class, he had grown into what many would call a decent man.
He always treated strangers fairly, and despite his brother -Duncan- working for House Forrester as a Castellan, had always managed to keep his ego in check. Treating any man or woman who happened to come across his little hut with as much kindness and respect as one could expect from a simple Northerner.
As Arthur grew older, he was lucky enough to find a wife in Mary and father children with her. His first born -Gared- a boy who from an early age was groomed to squire for House Forrester after his own brother brought up the idea to their Lord, Gregor Forrester. After him, the gods blessed him with a daughter, Anna. Some years later, the woman he had married was taken by fever; leaving him alone to raise his children.
Gared had just left their home a few days ago to start his duties as their Lord's squire, leaving Arthur alone with his daughter. Said daughter -who recently became ten- was proving to be invaluable around the farm. She was smart and dedicated for her age, as well as kind. With any luck the Forresters would also take an interest in her, and give her a better life than he could.
Now entering the twilight years of his life, Arthur could do little but spend his days doing the same thing he had always done. Raise pigs, sell them, try and take care of his children. That was the mantra he had lived by all his life and it would most likely stay with him till his dying day.
On this morning, Arthur got up from his home to inspect his land before performing his daily rituals. Cook breakfast for him and Anna, feed the pigs, maintain the feed for his family profession, pray to the old gods, go to market, so on and so forth. And now that summer was reaching its final years before autumn started setting in, the days were slowly growing colder and all that did was make wolves and other animals more desperate for food.
He walked to his barn to count his livestock when he heard a growl coming from the woods. At first, he thought it a simple trick of the wind rustling across the bark of the trees. But then he heard it again, and distinctly realized it was quite an ugly, growling noise.
Being precautious, Arthur grabbed his pitchfork and guarded himself. He briefly stepped out of his home's fence -which signified his property- before doing an impromptu patrol. The pig farmer looked around for where the growling was coming from, but had a hard time finding it.
'Could be my imagination.'
As he made his way back into his family grounds, he saw Anna coming outside to start on some of her own chores. When the father was about to address her, the pair soon heard a large rustling from the woods.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHRRR
Arthur whipped around and quickly saw what he thought were the strangest wolves he'd ever seen. Despite their appearance, they were quite frightening with how large and menacing they were compared to the wolves he normally saw.
"Father? What's going- KYYAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The pig farmer didn't have to look back to see his daughter's reaction in seeing these… things. Yet he could only imagine what kind of face she wore now.
"Anna! Get inside now!"
As he said this, the abnormally strange wolves leapt from their spots. One of them crashed into the nearby pig-pen, causing its inhabitants to squeal and start running in various directions for their own safety.
In her shocked haste, Anna saw one of the young piglets running towards her. Instead of going inside right away, she went after the little one. Once scooping it up into her arms, the young Tuttle was about to head for safety when one of the monsters landed right in front of her with it's yellow eyes boring right through her.
A snarl erupted from it's lips with Arthur looking on with utmost horror. He was about to go to his daughter's aide, but one of the wolf creatures smacked him away. Tumbling across the earth, Arthur soon collided against what remained of his ruined fence nearby his frightened daughter; who crouched down in utmost fear.
And it was at this moment did both creatures pounce on their respective prey.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"ANNA!"
*SWISH*
*SWISH*
In a flurry of motion, the two monsters erupted in large plumbs of blackened smoke with glowing hearts floating up into the sky.
The father/daughter duo quickly adopted bewildered looks at what just happened. It happened so fast, making it hard for them to process on what they witnessed.
And it was then did they realize someone had arrived and came to their aide!
In between the two of them did the Tuttles see who their rescuer was.
A young man of fifteen years that could've made them double guess was of Lannister lineage with his handsome features to his golden blonde hair. Said hair was rather spikey in nature as the front concentrates towards the right side as if windswept while the back was smoother and more flaky. Yet instead of bearing the Lannister green eyes, he had piercing bright blue eyes.
Both Arthur and Jenna would've thought of the boy was a member of the Night's Watch, with his attire being entirely black leather with pieces of silver attached at various areas.
What stood out of the lad the most were the weapons he wielded.
It was hard for them to tell if they were swords at all as they resembled more like oversized, white and black bladed keys.
The blackened one had a hilt comprised of two bat-like wings extending downward with a dark blue diamond embedded between them. The key's teeth was box-shaped with a stylized glyph (闇). The chain hanging off the end had a black crown charm. And another chain ran up the blade's length.
The bright one with white, blue and yellow appeared to have a pair of hearts embedded in it's design with the handle bearing two white wings, contrasting the bat wings of it's dark counterpart. The blade's teeth had a symbol which pointed at every other direction (光). The chain hanging off the end had a charm resembling a star comprised of seashells.
The new arrival looked at the father/daughter pair before looking towards the darkened creatures surrounding the pig farm.
"Glad that I made it in time." He said, lifting up his key-shaped swords at the creatures. "Now get inside as I take care of these Heartless."
Arthur was the first to act, scrambling onto his feet and running towards his daughter, who still held onto the little piglette. Grasping her, they huddled inside and shutting the door.
Seeing them inside, Roxas whirled around in order to slice through one of the Werewolf Heartless. He then kicked another away before casting a Fire spell upon it's exposed belly. With it rocketing away from the attack and colliding with it's companion, the Nobody leaped forward and sliced through them both.
Not wanting to lose the momentum, Roxas landed on the ruined fence and bounced off it's surface. Twirling around, he swirled like a miniature black tornado, drilling through several Heartless left and right. Skidding to a halt, the Nobody saw more of the pack running or diving towards him from all sides.
"Back off!"
Slamming his Keyblades to the earth, a mighty gust of wind blew the wolf-themed monsters away from him. Seeing as his Aeroga spell worked effectively, he rose his contrasting Keyblades into the air as he ran and called upon a series of Thunder spells to electrocute them. Focusing on his power, Roxas zoomed across the farm and struck the airborne Heartless and sent them towards the ground in rapid succession.
Diving, the Nobody aimed his weapons at the beasts as his vision went towards a crawl. Power went through his Keyblades as particles of magic shot out and went directly towards many of the Heartless for a Stun Impact Shotlock attack.
From within the Tuttle home, Anna looked on in amazement and wonder from the window. Seeing their savior combating against the Heartless with utmost ease.
"Anna, get down!"
"But father-"
"We don't want 'em beasts spotting us!"
Anna reluctantly did as her father commanded and came back down from the window with her little piglet in her grasp. But she did focus on her hearing to at least know how the battle raged on.
The little child did grow worried upon hearing their savior let out a pained yell, made her wonder what had happened to him. She was quite tempted to take another peak, but with a firm hand of her father stopped her from doing so.
Back outside, Roxas was hit with a combined slash attack from several Werewolf Heartless at once. He did recover in the air and stuck back in retaliation in quick successions.
Focusing magic into his weapons, he coated the upper half with ice and threw them in order to perform a Blizzard Raid.
His dual Keyblades flew across the field and struck many Heartless as ice started encasing various parts of their body. And even more was formed when Roxas' weapons returned back to his grasps before performing the same attack over and over until almost all of the present wolf themed Heartless were frozen.
Ending the string of icy attacks, Roxas leaped and flipped into the air and focused much of his strength in what's to come. Rocketing back towards the ground he slammed his Keyblades into the earth. A shockwave went off around the area, destroying many of the Heartless in the process. Others, however, managed to break themselves from their icy prison.
"Well aren't you lot stubborn." Closing his eyes, he focused on his newly acquired experience from Sora and pulled a spell that he thought would work effectively in the given situation. "Ballonra!"
A giant glowing bubble of yellow magic formed before the Nobody. Slamming his Keyblades against the surface did the construct burst into many multicolored orbs, which zoomed across the area and homed onto the remaining Heartless. They were quickly stunned and hurt upon impact. With them distracted did Roxas make quick work of them.
Once the last of the Werewolf Heartless was destroyed, the Nobody turned back towards the small home. "It's safe to come out now. They're gone."
The moment he said this did the door burst open with the little girl running. She soon collided against her savior's form, making him grunt a little. But he didn't mind as she was hugging him due to what had just happened.
Dismissing his Keyblades, he soon patted her on the head in a soft tone. "There, there."
"Anna, you shouldn't run off like that!" Did her father call out as he jogged out of their home.
"Sorry, father." Did she mumble out, but it was more muffled as her face was pressed against Roxas' Organization cloat.
Arthur sighed a little before turning towards the young lad. "Thank you, Ser, for helping us against those monsters. They looked… unnatural."
Roxas nodded. "It's no problem."
The pig farmer nodded before noticing something amiss. "Where are your swords, lad? Did you-"
"Didn't lose them." In a brief burst of light did Oathkeeper appear Roxas' right hand. And just as soon as it appeared did he make it disappear in flecks of light. "They're always with me."
This made Arthur gasp and stumble back in shock on what he just saw.
From her spot, Anna smiled as she barely saw what happened. Turning towards her father did she say, "I told you it was magic."
"...Yes, I believe you were indeed right."
Looking at the Keyblader, Anna innocently asked, "Can you use your magic to bring back the pigs?"
"Anna…"
"Sorry, I can't." Roxas apologized with a sad smile.
"Oh…"
"But I could go out and look for them."
What brief disappointment she bore was quickly replaced with joy. "You will?"
"You will?" Her father repeated in curiosity. "You don't have to, lad."
"It's no problem at all." Prying Anna from him, Roxas continued. "I'm happy to help you two out."
Arthur was a bit skeptical about the helpful request. Here a young lad that saved them from those odd looking wolves. They had to be magical in nature of some kind as there were no corpses lying about.
Getting back to the matter, the pig farmer would have declined the offer, but looking at their savior told him that he really did want to help them. He didn't have to at all with his kind deed towards himself and his daughter from earlier.
It also didn't help with Anna looking at her father once more with pleading eyes.
Caving in, Arthur gave a small nod. "Alright, lad."
Roxas smiled at this. "Great!"
First things first on the agenda -prior to fetching the runaway pigs- Roxas helped Arthur and Anna out in cleaning up the yard from any damages. And as they began, each exchanged their names to at least make a decent introduction before anything else.
Picking up various pieces of broken fence, Roxas spoke. "Sorry about what happened here, Arthur."
"It's quite alright, Ser."
Roxas tilted his head at the way the father kept addressing him.
"Uh… Why do you keep calling me sir?" Roxas asked politely. "I'm not older than you, you know?"
"Pardon?" Arthur said, looking to Roxas in confusion.
"Sir… Can understand being respectful and all but-"
"Are you not a knight?"
"A knight?" Now Roxas was even more confused. "What are you talking about? I'm not a knight. Aren't they like those guys in those fancy castles and all?"
Arthur and Anna now both exchanged looks. Their savior was a strange boy to say the least, yet questions only continued to mount.
Now that they really considered it, all they really knew about him was his name and his magical prowess. His clothing looked distinct and fine, his accent was one they did not recognize, his speech for that matter was unlike anything they had ever heard.
Who was he really?
"But what of those magical swords of yours, Roxas?" Anna innocently asked.
"Oh, my Keyblades?" Roxas said. "Well, they're just my main weapons is all. That's what I use to fight and channel my magic and certain skills."
"Key-blades?" Sounded out the pig farmer. "Sounds… appropriate… given their appearance."
"But what are they?" Anna asked, looking up to the blonde haired teen.
At this question, Roxas adopted a contemplated and small irritated look even.
"You know… I really don't know what they are or what they're even supposed to be." Roxas admitted. "All I know is I have them and I use them for combat. That's it really."
Arthur nodded as he could tell the young lad was being quite honest. If anything, the boy seemed rather lost. Though he didn't ask, Roxas clearly had no idea as to where he was. To him, it seems as though the boy just dropped in on them by chance and was now accompanying them to find their lost pigs.
Putting the last of the broken pieces in a pile, the trio walked away from the farm in order to start searching for the runaway pigs in the surrounding forest.
Roxas first learned at the start of his little task that there were about half a dozen total, minus the little piglet currently locked back at the Tuttle home.
With their search beginning, Roxas kept an eye out in their surroundings. Not just for the pigs, but also for any further signs of Heartless.
While keeping his senses sharp, Roxas took the time to look over the area he was in and began to wonder truly just what World did he land in.
Having no memories from Sora in regards to this place, nor his time spent with the Organization, it was clear to the Keyblade Wielder that he was in a new World.
Thinking back to the many Worlds he had visited or has seen through the eyes of Sora, this one was distinctly different and had an old feeling to it. Technology didn't seem to be as advanced or perhaps not advanced at all. And so far, he had only ran up to two people on a farm. Though he figured he would encounter more should he decide to travel a bit more.
Yet as he thought more about it, that odd set of trees he saw upon first waking up here seemed… familiar… somehow…
'Must be imagining it.' He thought before his eyes caught onto something moving passing by a tree not far from them. 'Could maybe ask Arthur and Anna about it later.'
"Oh, there's Harriet!" Anna yelled out, running on ahead to catch up with the wayward pig.
"Please be within my sight, sweetie!"
"I will!"
Anna ran over to the little pig who was munching on some berries when it was hugged by Anna.
"There you are, Harriet." Anna said happily. "Don't run off like that again."
The pig simply snorted, nudging itself against its owner whilst continuing its meal.
"At least glad we haven't had more or else we might be searching all day."
Roxas smiled as he compared the few pigs he saw so far with Piglet from the Hundred Acre Woods. Sure, the ones here weren't talking… or sentient plush dolls, but he saw they were quite loved by the little girl before him.
"Now we just need to find Rupert, Mimi, Egg, Gared and Mo."
Arthur chuckled at his daughters adorable determination. "Still not sure about naming one of the pigs Gared, sweetie."
"But it's the only way to keep big brother nearby when he's away." Anna argued using her own logic which only further amused her father.
"Yes, yes, your older brother will be happy to know how much you care for him."
"Your brother?" Roxas asked.
"Oh, yes. I have two children. Anna's my youngest and Gared is my oldest."
"And where is he now?"
"Why he's at Ironrath Keep."
"What for?"
"He's a squire for Rodrick Forrester."
"Who?"
"...You must really not know your Houses, lad."
"Houses? Like… houses, houses or…?"
Arthur stared at the boy trying to find if he was jesting or not.
"Yes." Arthur said slowly. "Houses. Houses that are of great importance and nobility. Such as House Forrester."
Roxas only tilted his head, trying to wrack his brain and see if he could recall anything like that from his somebody or his own past experiences.
"...Where are you from anyways, Roxas?"
The Nobody didn't know how to properly answer this. Given he knows of the World Order rules, due to memories of Donald constantly telling Sora, Roxas realizes revealing such details will cause panic… among other things.
"That… is a bit complicated." Roxas said, unsure of how to ask this next question. "Where am I, exactly?"
"The North!" Anna proclaimed loudly and proudly.
Roxas stared blankly at the young girl. "Like… Like the direction?"
"No, no, The Northern Kingdom of Westeros." Arthur elaborated. "One of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros."
"It's the biggest Kingdom of them all!" Anna proclaimed with a big smile. "Could fit the rest of 'em within its borders if the gods could make it."
"Right." Roxas said with a small smile at Anna's boisterous personality.
The young girl nodded before seeing another pig up ahead. "Mind keeping an eye on Harriet for me, Roxas, while I go get Egg?"
"Sure."
With Anna running off once more, Arthur got the chance to ask Roxas another question. "Pardon me for asking this, but are you perhaps from Essos?"
The Nobody shook his head 'no'.
"Or maybe… Yi Ti?"
The same answer was given as before.
"What was that other far away shadowland again…?" Arthur mumbled to himself. "Assai? Ashai?"
"Don't think I'm from either of those."
The pig farmer let out a sigh. 'At least he's not from that gods forsaken place.'
"Tell me, does the Nights' watch sound familiar to you by any chance?"
Roxas momentarily paused as he had a weird sense of deja vu but shook it off, stating that he had not.
"I mean, you look the part… to some degree."
"How so?"
"Wearing so much black. Though getting a proper look at your attire, it seems too… fancy for any of the order members over at the Wall."
Roxas only hummed in thought which turned into a small snort at seeing Anna slip and fall into some mud face first while attempting to guide another one of her pigs back to them.
"It's not funny, Roxas!" Anna whined making both Roxas and her father laugh. In retaliation, mud was thrown.
The search went on for a while as the trio kept looking for the rest of the Tuttle pigs. The two older people reigning in the pigs so they don't run off again while Anna goes off to fetch another and another. By the time they got the last of them, the trio made their way back to the Tuttle pig farm.
During the trek to and from and during the search, Roxas was able to learn a good deal of what kind of world he ended up at… well to a certain degree. Arthur could only provide so much, given what small education he has on top of what he learned from his brother, Duncan, who was also living at Ironrath at the present time.
Apparently, literate individuals were an extreme rarity in this world with only the apparent Nobles being the most common group of people to have this rather common skill.
Well… common from the Nobodies perspective.
Each Nobody from the Organization was able to read as well as practically every being he had ever encountered in other Worlds, both as himself and as Sora. All due to what their Somebody had before. And after becoming Nobodies, their knowledge expanded from there in different manners.
Here though, it was a bit strange to hear that the commoners were all apparently illiterate and that gaining such an education was difficult.
After this bit of knowledge, Roxas learned a few other bits of details such as more of Arthurs profession as a pig farmer; which he sells his stock -i.e. the pigs- to his resident lord, the Foresters.
Eventually, the group of both humans, Nobody and pigs were all back at the Tuttle farm.
"I thank you again for assisting us this day, Roxas." Spoke the pig farmer as he and the blond lad helped make a new fence.
Roxas smiled, placing his hands behind his head. "It's no biggy, Arthur."
"No… biggy?" Anna repeated. She also gazed intently at the blondes posture, trying to emulate though her elbows were a bit to close together.
"...It's a phrase… Oh forget it."
Arthur merely shrugged while his daughter wanted to egg Roxas on for more information on what Roxas meant by that phrase. For the Nobody, it was hard for him to explain as he never really knew the details as he merely learned it from Sora's memories, who heard it from Riku.
Still, it was a bit strange as he never really had to explain anything as simple as phrases and gestures.
This only further drove home the question of just what kind of World did he land in. Everything about this place felt off, yet familiar all the same. Stranger and stranger this day is.
Looking at the sky, Arthur scrunched his face a little as he tried seeing how far into the day it was.
"Roxas."
"Yes?"
"If it isn't too much trouble, could you assist me on a task."
"Which is?"
"With what happened earlier, with those monsters, I need to inform my brother and Lord Forrester on what happened."
"Okay~"
"And I would like your help in heading over to Ironrath."
Roxas nodded.
"... In case those creatures-"
"The Heartless."
"... Yes… those things may show up again."
"No problem."
Arthur blinked but then smiled in appreciation. Though he had to be sure.
"Really? Just like that?"
"Why not? Roxas shrugged. "Besides, there are bound to be more Heartless out there and I need to help protect ya."
"...There are more?"
"Oh yeah, I'm always fighting those things."
Arthur nervously swallowed as he didn't like the sound of that. Sure he briefly thought those Heartless were a small appearance in limited numbers. Like for example hearing tales of direwolves coming past the Wall years and years ago with only few numbers coming to the south of it.
But given what Roxas was saying of such tales, and seeing the Heartless in person, it was as if the White Walkers were real and of great numbers.
Yet.. this boy here and his attitude towards them was unusually normal. He fights creatures like those earlier constantly? That was a terrifying thought indeed.
"Well it's good that you'll be coming with me willingly as you would be a good witness to back up my claim."
Roxas nodded. "Then when will we head on out?"
"We would need to pack up as soon as it would take in order to reach Ironrath the next day."
'Yikes.' Came the Nobody's passing thought before speaking. "And will we be taking Anna with us?"
"Might as well." Arthur bitterly said. "I would've been fine, at first, if it weren't for 'em Heartless out there. What if they show up again and neither of us are here to protect her."
"And will the pigs be fine on their own?"
"As long as we leave feed for them and a good source of water, then yes. But I pray to the gods that no one will come by and steal them away."
Roxas nodded in understanding as he eyed Anna playing with the pigs. He then noticed there weren't any viable sources of water nearby and there was no way any of them will be fine going to the river and heading back without wandering elsewhere.
This entire place wasn't really sanitary now that he got a good look at it.
"Hey, Anna!" He spoke, getting her attention. "Wanna see something sweet!"
This brightened up the young Tuttle child as she came on over to the Nobody.
Summoning Oathkeeper into his grasp, he pointed it towards the corner of the pig pen and called out a spell. "Blizzard!"
A ball of blue light shot out of his Keyblade and collided against the fence. Soon enough, ice quickly formed around the spot and became quite large. Sure the nearby pigs squealed in fright, running towards the other side for their safety. Hell, even Arthur and Anna were frightened as well at the display.
"And that takes care of your little piggys' water problem while we're gone."
Arthur gaped while Anna stared until her face morphed into one of awe and astonishment.
"Do it again! Do it again!"
"Er, now, now, Anna." Arthur spoke up, still trying to get over what he had just witnessed. "Let's not bother Roxas. We have important matters to attend to."
Anna deflated but perked up immediately after Roxas promising her he'll show some of his magic at a later time.
Hopefully without confronting any Heartless along the way to Ironrath Keep.
Arthur only shook his head at his daughters' youthful optimism. The old gods only knows how long she'll be able to retain such an attitude.
"Anna."
"Yes, father."
"How would you like to see your brother tomorrow?"
The young child gasped and smiled happily. "Are we gonna visit him?"
"Why yes we are." Arthur answered. "Now go inside and pack lightly as we'll need to get ready as soon as possible."
Anna nodded before rushing inside.
"Now while she does her little task, I'll need to get the horse ready and get the pigs' feed out."
"I can help out with that, Arthur."
The pig farmer gave a hearty chuckle as he helped direct the young Nobody in the desired tasks before they headed on out later in the day.
-End Chapter-
AN:
Gotta say that this is going to be quite an interesting story to write, folks.
To tell y'all the truth, I had this idea on the back burner for a long time and recently decided to get it out.
Honestly, never really saw this kind of crossover before or haven't really noticed it.
Now I know what you all are thinking, why aren't I working on my other stories such as 'A Nobody', 'A Dragon's Guardian' and 'The Affecting Force'. Well to simply put it in some sense, I'm mentally exhausted on 'A Nobody', been hitting a roadblock on 'A Dragon's Guardian' and I need to get back into the groove on 'The Affecting Force'. I do promise to work on them as I feel like I'm neglecting my other 'children' for quite a long time.
It sucks, I know. So much promise and ideas heavily betted on my other stories and they're collecting dust. Hell there's quite the amount of layers on them.
Now then… some people will also be asking this: the pairings.
Free man writer and I already discussed and came up with the listings and I will not be revealing them anytime soon. I want to slowly reveal them as time goes on, unlike what I already did on 'A Dragon's Guardian' and more with 'A Nobody' on eventual reveals.
Aside from this, I do promise that I'll be working on my other stories and hopefully I'll get more chapters out in the coming weeks… or months given my current work schedule.
Big shout out to my good buddy free man writer in helping out in writing this chapter and giving me good ideas on what to do on the story. Then again, we exchange quite a lot of ideas that it's becoming quite the norm between us.
Free Man Writer: HEY GUYS! This was fucking awesome and something as J said that is becoming the norm between us. Got my own Kingdom Hearts Crossover story in the works and J and I have way WAY to many ideas. Good thing we can work together. If only life wasn't an ass about it but you gotta make the most of it while ya can. Until next time, comrades.
Pushing aside story stuff, let's talk Game of Thrones… oh boy things have not been great as of late.
Season 8 was just a mess half way through, enough said. Blame D&D on what happened of what was done in the story. Sure they took the reigns of handling the show, but it was done poorly with how it ended up.
But this is the magic of fanfics and all us fans that love the content. We get to fix up what was messed up to the best of our ability. And with free man writer and I, we hope this crossover will do the story justice… with obvious tweaks and changes.
Oh and forgot to mention the stupid stuff with the Blood Moon prequel show, pertaining the First Long Night being canceled… after a year of production with the pilot episode aired. Really wanted to see said pilot and the show progressing from there. Yet HBO is putting that aside and focusing on… dragons…
...If it weren't for me working on 'A Dragon's Guardian' I would be really sick of dragons as that's what the House of Dragon's show will be focusing on. But at least it's gonna be the live action bit of what was done with the Fire and Blood book.
Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!
R&R