Damnit, Nutso, you've done it again. You've gone and posted another fanfic. *winces as the crowd hisses and boos*
This one has a very peculiar plot... it concerns similarities between certain characters of a certain franchise that (*coughownsmysoulcough*) is awesome.
I'll try to slow down on this one- say NO to info overloads and shitty character development!
~|\/|~
Roxas ran.
His physique and his oddly high levels of stamina and speed, among other things, made it so this was not even close to being necessary for him to reach his destination by nightfall, but he did it anyway.
He knew he would not be able to forget what he had just learned- partly because his king would kill him, and partly because his memory would not let go of such a thing so easily- but running eased the shock a bit, and it might have even made him feel better, if he had feelings to begin with.
"I have another mission for you. It's not a murder assignment."
Roxas's attention had been caught from the very beginning. Not a murder? There were few other jobs available for those facesnatchers who worked in human territory. He had been quite confused, wondering what his king could be thinking.
Roxas went over the list of possible tasks in his head- it would not do to be caught off guard in front of His Majesty.
He hadn't been informed of any of the Science Department's activities, and even for supposed prodigies like him, some warning was usually given before anyone was directed to tackle one of the latest scientific conundrums... he was much too high in rank to assist the Cleansing Committee in their projects (besides, though he wouldn't admit it, he couldn't fully understand their line of work)... Spawning was out of the question... perhaps... surely not a punishment mission?
The blonde had been somewhat shaken by the prospect. Needless to say, he had been quite relieved at the king's next words.
"Do not worry, I haven't caught any mistakes you may have made last time."
Well. That was good news, he supposed, but what else could be left that the king wanted him to do?
It had taken him a while to come up with it, and the prospect was so ridiculous he might have laughed.
"Sir... not to question you, but... it appears there is nothing you might want me to do for you." He avoided putting the question forth.
"Of course there is. If you haven't figured it out yet, I may have to demote you, Roxas... no room for idiots in the court, am I right?" The king's blue-green eyes glinted mischieviously; Roxas doubted he would really lose a rank, but it was clear the other wanted him to offer the answer himself.
Roxas had honestly been wondering if it wasn't a small game the king had cooked up; watch his poor, pitiful subject struggle not to put forth that one, absurd possibility.
Now, he wished that that was all it had been.
Roxas sighed. "My lord... has my Face-giver shown up?"
He had felt incredibly dumb for asking such a thing. 'Here's the part where the king laughs at me,' he had thought.
He was not expecting the king to answer what he did.
"Yeah. He has."
Roxas stared, unblinking, at his king's face, which was suddenly so serious. More serious than it had ever been.
"...sir?"
"The kid whose face you stole is being stalked right now by Axel."
He wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him... perhaps not, the king's mouth movements matched what Roxas thought he was saying. But that didn't make any sense. "That... is impossible," he spoke up finally. "Not... that was more than ten years ago... surely he would have been found by them by now?"
"Apparently, you didn't think of his own feelings. Humans usually don't just sit around and wait to be caught and killed. For all their 'refinement', they still have those animal instincts, you know?" The king shrugged, and crossed his legs. "So, I assume you now know your charge."
Roxas only mumbled something incoherent.
He felt like screaming. How could this happen? And why hadn't there been an effort to find him before he turned?
The king got up and strode over to a simple white pillar that, for some reason, was planted right smack in the middle of the room, between his desk-chair and where Roxas now stood. He ran his fingers over the top, pressing numbers only he could see, and a projection flickered to life above the pillar, suspended in midair.
A petite brunette boy with a blank where his face should have been.
Roxas resisted the urge to turn away. He would remain calm and composed before his lord. "He... is turning, then?" The king simply nodded.
Turning, meaning turning fourteen. The boy's last year of childhood was drawing to a close. He had had so little contact with Roxas- the only time being when the actual facesnatching had occurred- that his signal would be huge upon the human town's scanners once he was old enough for the rest of it to actually show up. Consequently, Roxas's own signal was very small, enabling him to creep into a lot of human establishments undetected. This was going to change once he finally met the boy- Roxas was ordered to draw as much of the other's signal into himself as possible, because while Roxas would most likely survive being caught several times over, he doubted the boy would stand a chance.
Of course, compassion for the boy's life was not the only reason Roxas was being sent after him. That he had not been detected yet was a miracle. He certainly had to have a large signal already, but he was obviously still alive. There was something keeping him from being caught, and that something greatly interested the King.
"We would very much like to have this boy as a test subject, Roxas." Of course, Roxas did not like that statement one bit, and it must have been showing on his face, for the King then started attempting to placate him. "I know that'll be hard for you, Roxas, you'll obviously feel a sense of responsibility and... perhaps even protectiveness over your Face-giver. But this will be good for him. Better to be tested here..." the King did not need to finish. Who knew what tortures he would be subject to if the other humans found out.
"And when it's finished, Roxas, he'll be all the stronger for it, and that means you will too."
Roxas recognized the last word when he saw it."
Roxas jerked out of his musings. The human town his king had pointed him towards was getting close. He'd have to begin excercising stealth.
He just hoped he would find Sora before they did.
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SOOOOO, earthlings, how many of you were able to predict every line of this? Not too many, I'll wager.
Want to disagree? Or agree? Or kiss my feet? Or spit on them and rip off the toes so I can't walk to the computer and type more of what is crap, in your opinion? All of your comments, complaints, criticisms, and/or compliments can be voiced in the form of one of these handy-dandy things called reviews! *hinthint
~The Bad Nut