Hello, readers, and welcome to this fic!
It's actually quite a random plotbunny that I thought up while replaying KHII and thinking that Roxas got the short end of the stick. So, this is dedicated to all the Roxas fans out there. *salutes them*
Also, since I have yet to finish 358/2 Days, this does not include anything from it. Which means no references to Xion, or anything.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Disney and Squeenix does.
"You know, you should share some of your hatred of me with Sora. He's much too nice for his own good," DiZ said conversationally, what could possibly be a smirk disguised by the red bandages around his face. Roxas huffed, anger welling up inside of him. It was anger about a number of things: anger at DiZ for taunting him, anger at Organization XIII for pursuing him, anger at Naminé for putting Sora's memories back together, anger at Sora himself, for being the one who could exist. Who had the right to exist.
"No, damn it! My heart is my own!" He wasn't quite sure why he said that, because he didn't have a heart. He was a Nobody, he didn't have a heart, didn't have emotions. But then why was he so angry? Why had he been so happy with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, if he couldn't feel happiness?
DiZ almost looked like he was about to say something, so Roxas, fed up with this man and his overwhelming sense of justice, ran towards him, swinging Oblivion through him. Right through him, because he was only a projection. The pixels faded away, leaving Roxas alone with Sora's pod. He looked at it, gripping his two keyblades tighter in his hands, as if for strength as he took one step forward.
The metal petals of Sora's pod opened, and a sort of fear gripped at Roxas' heart. Or not-heart. It was so confusing now; that he found out he didn't have a heart. Did he just think he was experiencing emotion?
Only, the fear-or whatever- was short lived, as it was replaced with utter confusion. For Sora's pod…was empty. All this, fighting his way down here and expecting to give up his body and his existence to Sora and there was… nothing? Did DiZ know that Sora wasn't here? And if he wasn't here, then where was he?
Ugh, too many questions. All he knew right now is that he was still here, still existing, and still in trouble if he stayed here. He needed to leave before Organization XIII found him again.
Roxas was startled, though, by the sound of the door opening behind him. He clenched his keyblades tight enough so that his knuckles turned white, expecting to be attacked.
"Sora!" He wasn't expecting that. He turned his head around in shock to look behind him, and saw Donald and Goofy standing there, looking at him.
"I'm not Sora," he said quietly, turning all the way around. "My name is Roxas."
"But you have the keyblade-er, keyblades!" Goofy pointed out. Roxas looked down at his hands, at Oathkeeper and Oblivion, before making them disappear.
"Yeah, yeah I do. Sorry," he said, because he felt like he owed them an apology. Because he wasn't Sora.
"Then where's Sora?" Donald asked him. Roxas shrugged.
"I really don't know." Donald looked angered by this answer, but of course, from Sora's memories, he was always quick to anger. It brought a hint of a smile to Roxas' face.
"Then what do you know?!" Donald asked, jumping up and down.
"That I should probably be going," Roxas said, walking past them, towards the door. He stopped at it, though, putting his hand on the doorjamb. Something in him didn't want to leave. Probably Sora's memories of these two. "And I am really sorry Sora isn't here. Really."
The strange thing was, he actually meant it. He was a Nobody, and he wasn't really supposed to exist. Sora was the one that had to save the world. In a way, he didn't want that burden. Maybe it would have been better if he just…faded into existence.
He was in the foyer of the mansion by the time Donald and Goofy caught up with him. They came running from behind him, and blocked his exit. He scowled at them. "What now?"
"We decided we're going with you!" Goofy said.
"Yeah! 'Cause the King said that we had to stick with the keyblade, and you have the keyblade!" Donald said. He then added, "Doesn't mean we like you, and when we find Sora we're leaving."
"Doesn't matter to me," Roxas said. If they ever did find Sora, he wouldn't exist anymore anyway, so it wasn't like he really cared what they did. If they wanted to follow him, they could. He didn't even know where he was going, other than…not here.
So that was how he ended up with a knight and a mage following him through Twilight Town. "So, what is this place, anyway?" Donald asked, looking around.
"Twilight Town. This is where I've lived for… a while now," Roxas said awkwardly. It was the exact same as the virtual Twilight Town, only this one didn't have any evidence of him having lived here at all. He hoped they didn't see Hayner, Pence, or Olette, because he wasn't quite sure what he would do.
"Gosh, the sky's really red. Is it always that color?" Goofy asked him. Roxas gave a tiny little smile at that question.
"Of course it is. It's, y'know…Twilight Town. Always twilight. The time between light…and dark." His voice fell flat at the end, because maybe it was fitting that he had been put here, that he had always been drawn here. It was like him. Trapped between light and dark.
"Aw, c'mon Roxas, cheer up!" Goofy said, nudging him in the shoulder. He looked at him, shocked. "Only happy faces here! Right Donald?"
Donald grumbled. "Yeah, yeah. Happy faces. Right, Goofy." He obviously wasn't happy with this turn of events, and Roxas couldn't blame him. Anyway, Donald hadn't trusted Sora in the beginning, according to what he could remember. So maybe it was just Donald?
Goofy didn't have a problem. He was still talking to Roxas. "So, do ya know where we're going?"
"Station Heights. We should be able to catch a tram out of here," Roxas said. He had thought about how he was going to leave. If he had been alone, he could have just taken a Corridor of Darkness. But, now he had the tagalongs, and he doubted they would appreciate it if he tried that. And he couldn't leave them.
Sora's memories wouldn't let him.
"Okay!" Goofy fell silent, and so the rest of their journey to the station was continued in peace. Until they arrived at the square and Dusks appeared.
"Argh! Those aren't Heartless!" Donald squawked, drawing his staff and letting off a Thunder to drive them back.
"No, they're Nobodies!" Roxas said, kicking out his foot to kick one away from him and then drive Oblivion through it. There were a lot, though, and it been such a long time since he had fought. He was also keeping an eye on Donald and Goofy, who were doing okay, considering they had never fought Nobodies before.
But they just kept coming, and his keyblades were feeling heavy on his arms. Donald's magic had slowed too, and the Dusks were getting bolder. And they had learned to duck Goofy's shield when it came flying around.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a Dusk sneaking up behind Donald, ready to pounce. "Donald, duck!" He turned and looked at him.
"What?" Well, damn. So he just hurled Oathkeeper and hoped Donald got the message. He did, diving to the ground with a bunch of gibberish swears. The Dusk was caught in the throat and the keyblade kept going until the wall stopped it. It writhed and died, leaving just his keyblade. He summoned it back to his hand, slashing over to Donald.
"You saved me!" was the first thing Donald said, jumping up.
"Well, of course I did, idiot! What was I supposed to do?" Goofy made his way over to them, and Roxas realized that they were completely surrounded.
"Uh, gosh. What do we do now?"
"Try to make a run for it?" Roxas said hopefully, though it wasn't looking too promising. Until there was a black blur with a golden keyblade killing the Dusks. He landed with his back to them, and Roxas could make out the silhouette of two big, round ears. King Mickey, his memories were telling him.
"Your Majesty?" Donald asked, jumping up on Roxas' back and pushing him down to get a better look.
"Um, ow," Roxas deadpanned and Donald jumped down, looking sheepish.
"Sshh," the King said, turning around. Then he stopped. "…Sora?" A sort of deadened fear rose in Roxas, and he half thought he was about to be run through and killed, like those Dusks had been.
But, Goofy once again, came to the rescue. Roxas wondered if he understood more than he let on. "Nope! This is Roxas! He has the keyblade too…two of 'em, actually!"
"You said we were supposed to follow the keyblade, so we are! And anyway, he's not that bad. He helped me out," Donald said grudgingly.
But he knew what King Mickey wanted to hear. "He wasn't there, I looked, and he wasn't there. I don't know where he is. I'm so sorry I'm not him," he said with a slightly desperate edge. He couldn't kill him. If he killed him, they would never get Sora back, would they?
His eyelids flickered closed, half expecting to find a keyblade stick through his empty chest. What he didn't expect was a hand reaching for his and shaking it. "Gosh, it's nice to meet ya, Roxas!" He flicked his eyes open and Mickey was smiling up at him and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.
He kneeled down, to eye level with the mouse, who handed him a pouch. His breath caught when he realized it was his pouch, the one that had been stolen from him. "Where did you get this?"
"A friend gave it to me after he took it from you. Guess I'm returning it," he said quietly, and then louder, "Fellas, I'm going to have to ask you to stick with Roxas for the time being."
"Sure thing, Your Majesty!" they both shouted, springing to attention and saluting. The King chuckled, then dropped his voice again.
"Roxas, you have to take the blue train to the tower. The man who lives there won't want to help you because of…what you are, but he knows he has to. Okay?"
Roxas nodded, and then bit his lip. "Thank you for not…" He wasn't exactly sure what to say, but it didn't matter, because he knew what Roxas meant.
"Aw, shucks. You don't seem that bad. And anyway, you saved Donald. That has to mean something." And then he was off, running down the cobbled street. Roxas stood up slowly, watching him leave. Then a slow smile spread across his face.
Maybe…maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Roxas, so what are we going to do now?" It was Goofy who asked that. Both of them were staring at him expectantly. He tossed the money pouch up in the air and caught it again, looking at the pattern on it. Then he looked through the glass doors of the station, at the blue train waiting for them.
A part of him whispered that he shouldn't do this. It would turn out terrible for him. But Sora's memories…and the fact that he had a chance to actually do something and prove that he deserved to exist just as much as Sora stopped him.
Oh…what the hell. It wasn't like he had anything else to do.
"Well, I suppose we're going to do what the King told us to do and go wherever that blue train is going to take us," Roxas said. Both of them visibly cheered and ran for the station. Roxas didn't however, and turned slowly, taking one last look at the sky behind him. He would miss it.
"Roxas, c'mon! Slowpoke," Donald grumbled, holding the door open.
"Coming," he said, running to catch up with them. He approached the clerk, who was looking at them slightly amused. "Three tickets, please." He knew there was enough money in here, but when he dumped it out, a blue marble rolled across the desk. He trapped it with his hands and looked at it.
A small sentimental smile slid across his face as he put it back into the pouch, pocketing it and taking the tickets. "Thank you." Donald and Goofy were four steps ahead of him the entire time, and the train was whistling by the time he jumped on it, the door sliding shut behind him.
Donald took a seat, Goofy stood in the aisle, and he leaned on the door, watching as Twilight Town faded into the distance. Then a flash, and they were in bright-multicolored space, pulling farther and farther away.
"Roxas?" Goofy said. He turned to look at him questioningly. "You okay?"
"I'm going to miss it, is all," Roxas said quietly, pulling out the blue marble from the Struggle Trophy and clenching it in his hand.
"We'll come back. Promise!" Goofy said. "Right Donald?" he asked, nudging the mage. Donald huffed.
"Well, I guess." Roxas gave a tiny little smile, and turned to watch Twilight Town fade into a speck.
"Yeah. Sometime."