Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. Believe me, if I did, things would be a lot different.
Author's Notes: I apologize for this chapter taking so long. Writer's block and a hectic schedule do not allow for quick updating. I will admit, the lack of reviews on the last chapter had something to do with it as well.
Warnings: The rating may go up in later chapters, but I'll try to behave myself. I like my beta reader, and I don't want to lose her because of random porn or something ridiculous. The current rating is for adult language and small amounts of gore.
Special Thanks To: MeowMeowKy for being the best beta reader and friend a person could ever have. MistressKaia for putting up with me and my brainstorming over the phone. Dualism and ShadowAili for pimping out this story and being awesome. Everyone who reviews. I really appreciate it.
Two young boys were sitting side-by-side at the creek's edge, intently watching the minnows that darted between the rocks. The fair-haired of the two was frowning slightly, chewing on his lip in thought while his brother grinned at the small fish before them. Anticipation hung thickly in the air around them. Both boys were waiting as patiently as eight-year-old boys could wait, and then some.
"Will they come?" the brunet asked. His brother shrugged.
"Maybe."
The boy reached down, dangling his fingers into the water. The sun had long since begun its descent in the sky and was swiftly sinking beneath the tops of the trees. A cool breeze tugged playfully at leaves and hair, causing the two boys to shiver in their jackets.
"They're not coming, Sora," the blond announced after another hour had passed. Twilight had come and gone, and the forest was swiftly becoming a place of shadows.
"Where are they?" Sora asked, glancing up at his younger brother as Roxas stood.
"How should I know?" the other responded testily, rubbing his small hands together for warmth. After a minute passed, he kicked some rocks into the creek. "We should go."
Sora pouted, slowly dragging himself to his feet. "Larxene said that they'd be here," he mumbled. "She said she'd make the lightning bugs dance."
His twin glared at him, then started walking back in the direction the two identified as home. Sora quickly caught up to the blond, sparing only one forlorn glance to the creek behind them. The two boys walked in silence for awhile, their footsteps loud in the underbrush of the darkened wood.
"Hey, Roxas?" The brunet nudged his brother.
"What?"
"Why didn't they come?"
The eight-year old paused momentarily in his steps, then resumed at a faster pace. "Maybe they don't exist."
Sora laughed. "Don't be silly, Roxas. We see them, so of course they exist, duh."
"Oh, yeah? Well, I don't see them."
"Liar!"
"Am not!"
"You see them-"
"I don't."
"Roxas! You do, too!"
"Just leave me alone!" the younger of the two shouted. The elder took a step back from his brother, eyes wide with shock and hurt.
"Lying is bad, Roxas," Sora whispered.
"Sora-"
"Lying is bad!" Sora took off at a run, but not soon enough to hide the tears that had begun to fall from blue, blue eyes. His brother stared after him, glaring through his own tears.
"Stupid Sora," he muttered, walking slowly after his twin.
The wind picked up, causing branches to creek and leaves to rattle. Light was slowly drained from the forest, leaving everything monochromatic as the first stars leaped into the sky. The path became harder to find, and the blond, eight-year old boy found himself very alone.
There was a figure in the shadows. Face and body covered by a black cloak, he stirred up fear in the heart of the innocent before him.
"Who are you?" Such brave words for such a little one. Roxas held his ground, sorely missing his elder brother.
"Why did she hide you from me?" A masculine voice, tone impossible to read or understand. The little boy swallowed, wide eyes confused. It was dark now, almost too dark to see. Wind was howling through the trees, and the strange man was moving toward the young blond.
"Don't lose sight of the light." Words were whispered, words meant only for the ears of the little boy with the wide, confused eyes.
The woods were filled with light. White, blinding light. It was too bright to see, too bright to think. The boy blinked as it dimmed. Once, twice, three times. The mysterious man was gone, and he was alone in the woods.
-
I was warm. The sheets draped over me were soft, and the pillow beneath my cheek was almost too comfortable to be real. I could detect the oddly soothing smell of freshly lit matches subtly emanating from that pillow. Despite all of this, my body ached horribly. I had no intention of moving. It would hurt too much. Wherever I was, I was fine.
Voices were whispering near by. One angry, the other too soft for me to interpret. Memories of what had happened to me before I had collapsed slowly reentered my consciousness. The Heartless, the man who had been ripped apart as their victim, and Axel. Running. No wonder my body hurt this badly.
I forced my eyes open and instantly regretted it. Everything in the room was white. Not only was it blinding; it was one place I did not want to be at that moment. Quite honestly, I wanted to be in my own bed at home. The stupid floating castle that housed Xemnas and his lackeys ranked pretty low on my "places to wake up at" wish list. I hoped that they had a better name for this place than that, since "floating castle" seemed a little unoriginal.
Besides being blindingly white, there wasn't much to the room. A chair faced the bed I was lying in. The bed had a canopy that was currently being used as a coat hanger. The black cloak I had seen everyone in this castle wearing was on hanger, precariously dangling from one of the metal bars. Other than that, the room was empty.
The voices I had been hearing were coming from behind the partially open door. I sat up, thankful that the only things that had been removed from my person when I had been put into the bed were my shoes. I slipped them on, ignoring my body's protests as I stood. How far had Axel made me run before he had begun to carry me? I couldn't remember. That was all a blur of motion, blood, and noise, and thinking about it made me feel ill.
"Bring him to speak with the Superior as soon as he is able. I expect that to be soon."
"He'll come when he's ready, Saїx. Not before."
"That had better be soon, Axel."
The door opened. I caught sight of blue hair and a retreating back before Axel stepped inside and closed it. The red head's angered expression morphed into surprise when he spotted me.
"Up already? You went down pretty hard earlier." He crossed his arms, green eyes inspecting me.
"Why did you bring me here, Axel?" To my own surprise, I sounded very angry. I hadn't thought I had the energy to be angry. Kudos to me.
"You're welcome. Gee, and here I thought saving you from Heartless and giving up my bed were acts of kindness," he muttered. I sighed, sitting down on the edge of what was, apparently, his bed. My head was throbbing, Sora was still missing, and I was stuck with Axel. Life was not a damn box of chocolates. After a moment of silence, I looked at the faerie again.
"Why did you help me?" I asked. Axel looked a little taken aback at the question.
"Guilt, I suppose," he responded. Pale green eyes met mine hesitantly.
"What do you have to feel guilty for?" Suspicion laced my words ominously.
A laugh resounded harshly through the room, cut short by the bitterness in the one who voiced it. "I wish I knew, kid."
I frowned. Axel wasn't looking at me anymore, but I could taste the lie in the air. He still was, however, the only one to have given me any answers at all.
"How did you find me?" I laced my fingers together, resting my elbows on my knees as I allowed my arms to hang down between my legs.
"I've been following you for a while. Keeping an eye on you, that's my job," he sighed, continuing, "I knew you wouldn't listen to Xemnas for long. When you left, I followed." He fell silent. His eyes weren't looking at me anymore, but through me.
"Xemnas ordered you to follow me, then?" I asked. A trace of a smile flickered across his face.
"You catch on quick. You look like your brother, you know. It's hard to spot at first, but I can tell."
My heart dropped down into my stomach. "You've met Sora," I breathed. He continued to stare at me, not responding. The door burst open.
"Roxas! Are you okay?" I barely had time to register the question before Demyx was on me, inspecting me for wounds. I batted him off, glaring.
"Where the hell were you?" I growled, annoyed at his interruption. Axel had seen Sora. He knew something, and Demyx was distracting me! Demyx flinched.
"Well, Zexion was only going to be here for a few hours, since he was just here to report-" at this, I spotted Axel rolling his eyes, "And he's never here, So I... What I mean to say is, I had no idea that you were going to leave so quickly! I am so sorry, Roxas." Demyx's blue-green eyes were wide with worry, and I found myself forgiving him without thinking. I was getting soft.
"What's the deal with Zexion?" I asked, choosing not to respond to the apology. And, to be quite honest, I was curious. I didn't really know much about Demyx, aside from what he had shared with me when I was little.
"They're 'friends.'" Axel emphasized "friends" by making quotation marks with his fingers. Demyx glared at him. I stared.
"Wait. Demyx, are you gay?" I asked, unable to keep the shock from my voice. The water nymph turned a unique shade of magenta. He nodded, one quick jerk of the head. Down, then up. Suddenly, I found myself laughing. This brought new depth to the term "faerie-boy."
I grew somber once more quickly enough. I was still in a place I didn't want to be, and things didn't look good in the way of finding my brother. Yeah, so the guy I had known when I was younger turned out to have a gay lover. When Sora was there to laugh with me, I'd tease Demyx. Not before.
"Congratulations, Demyx. I hope you top," I said quietly. He smiled a little, but said nothing. He had sensed the change in my mood. Just as well.
"I have to find Sora." I looked toward Axel, my fatigue catching up with me swiftly. "If the only way to do that is by taking up with Xemnas, so be it."
Demyx sighed. Axel smiled ruefully.
"Let's go see Boss."
-
"So, you have agreed to join our cause?"
Xemnas and I were not alone this time. Demyx stood to my left, looking far more subdued than I had ever seen him. Axel was leaning against the wall to my right, watching Xemnas closely. The man Axel had been speaking to in the hallway before, whose name I had learned was Saїx, was standing with Xemnas. The fact that I was not alone made the interaction less difficult to approach. Demyx would stand by me, and I had the feeling that Axel would as well.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is temporary. I will find Sora, and then I will leave. I will not take orders from you, Superior." I glared at him with everything I had. Saїx returned the glare, but Xemnas smiled softly.
"We shall see, Roxas. Henceforth, you are one of us. You, Number XIII, are the Key of Destiny." There was a sense of finality in those words, as though the bestowing of the title upon me had sealed my fate. Or would have, had I believed in fate. "One of us," he had said. Not if I could help it.
"Axel, Number XIII is your partner." Those empty eyes focused on me. "By all means, let the Key search for his brother."
"Yes, Sir," Axel replied, giving Xemnas a little (but obnoxious) wave. Xemnas turned away, dismissing us without a word. We left in silence.
I was too caught up in my disbelief at how well that meeting had gone to pay much attention to what was around me. It wasn't until we were outside of the castle once more that I noticed that Demyx was no longer with us. I stopped, looking back the way we had come.
"Xemnas has given him a different mission. It's just you and me, kid."
I glanced at Axel, then looked away. Xemnas had separated us. Somehow, I wasn't surprised. I reached down, adjusting the zipper on the cloak I now wore. Axel had given it to me before we had gone to see Xemnas. I had been right in assuming that the cloak came with being part of the Organization. "Don't call me kid," I muttered.
Axel smiled. I think it was the first genuine smile I had seen from him, and it was comforting to know that he was capable of it. "Where to, partner?"
I bit my lip in thought. I knew where I wanted to go. I had wanted to for quite some time, but part of me felt that it would be too simple to ask.
"Do you... Do you think I could go home? I want to see it again before I can't go back."
Axel looked up toward the sky, his hands on his hips. "Home, eh? Sure." He met my eyes, "You need to eat, anyway."
I blinked at him. He grinned back. Suddenly, being partners with Axel didn't seem quite so bad.
Ending Notes: This was short. Again, I apologize for it taking so long. However, I also feel that those of you who have this story on favorites and/or on alerts should review. Did you know that while this story only has thirty-seven reviews, it has thirty-five alerts and eighteen favorites? I sincerely hope that those of you who care enough to alert it or add it to favorites will care enough to give me feedback through reviews. They mean a lot to me.
Reviews are subsistence to an author. You don't want me to starve, do you?