Author's Note:
/Disclaimer/
I don't own any of them, credit to Kingdom Hearts, Squeenix & Disney.
Hi readers~!
I've had the idea for this brewing around in my head since I was asked to come up with a fanfic plot line on the spot. Being in a Kingdom Hearts and Assassin's Creed kind of mood, this is how it came out xD
It's an AkuRoku, alternative universe fic. And it's going under the M tag because of use of blood, gore and language. There will be a bit of yaoi to look forward to, but no sex. It comes out crude when I write it so the most you're going to get is heated kissing I'm afraid. Anyway, enjoy and drop me a review if you like it. I don't mind if it's small, one worded ones or big long ones, I just like the feedback haha.
So without further adieu, enjoy~
The Fall
Chapter 1 – Notorious
"And you're sure that you want me to do the job?" It was the early evening, twilight was just closing in, dimming the office that the secretive meeting was being held in. A tall, well built man with bright silver hair and menacing, glowing gold eyes was sat behind a desk surveying a shadowy figure in the corner of the room. It was the figure who had spoken; a lanky redhead sprawled out over one of the expensive armchairs like he was right at home.
"Yes, I'm certain. I have a number of… acquaintances that need to be… shall we say, taught a lesson?"
A chuckle was emitted from the redhead as he slowly unhooked his legs from the arm of the chair and stood up. "You've never hired one of us before, have you?" He shoved his hands into his pockets, surveying the man across the room from him with an amused expression.
A pause.
"No. But that's beside the point. Can I rely on you to get the job done?" He spoke in a hasty manner, one which failed to completely hide his nervousness of the situation.
"Oh, of course you can." The redhead paced his way toward the desk, resting his palms on the cool wood and leaning over to get a better look at his prospective source of income for the next few weeks through the gloom of the office. "An assassin is true to his word." His lips tugged up into a smirk, drawing the silver haired gentleman's attention to the strange triangle-shaped markings on his cheeks.
"Good." The business man said, seeming considerably calmer. He shuffled a few of the papers on his desk and leant down to grab something. The redhead decided to sit himself upon one of the seats closer to the desk this time.
After a few moments, the silver haired man placed a single file on his desk, and watched the man he was about to hire on a contract look at it eagerly.
"This is a compilation of various individuals who cannot be allowed to continue disgracing the Organisation's name. I hope that it is enough information for you to be going off-"
With the wordless permission of the man in front of him, the assassin snatched up the folder, opening it carefully and sliding out the documents sealed within. There were three targets in total and the business man had kindly taken the liberty of providing photos of his intended kills; lists of recent mobile phone GPRS locations; applications to establishments they were members of and even their employee files and a vague timetable outlining their weekly business. He let out a sigh. "You're one of the thorough ones, aren't you?"
"I just intend on doing what's best for everyone, for the Organisation."
"Sure, that's what they all say." The redhead said cheerfully, slipping the documents back into their folder and placing it carefully on the desk once more. He smiled and winked at the man in the front of him. "You've come to the right man – I'll certainly get the job done." He stood up again, leaning against the desk watching him with interest while the man met his gaze unflinchingly. He was doing better than most, the assassin decided. A lot of his clientele usually faltered under his piercing stare, as if having seconds thoughts about what they'd brought him here to discuss. This man however showed no signs of running away, or even the anxiety that seemed to plague most of them. The assassin sat back in his chair, cocking his head to one side. Yes. He thought. He's holding up better than most. The only nervous sign he was displaying was the hushed manner in which he spoke. Other than that, it was as thought they were discussing a simple corporate dinner.
"You seem… curious about something." He commented, frowning at the assassin, who just smiled knowingly.
"Nah, it's nothing." He said simply, waving his hand to dismiss the point. "The matter of payment..?" He prompted, eager to get out of the stuffy office. The redhead much preferred being out in the open air to the confines of an office – no matter how well furnished it was.
"Of course." The man replied stiffly, reaching into the pockets of his fitted suit and pulling out a check book. The assassin had already clocked the suit. Armani or something, if he had to take a guess. "Is this to your liking?" He turned the check book around slowly so that he could see the figure he'd just scrawled onto the sum line. The assassin took a moment to look over the numbers.
"For everything?"
"No. Per person."
The assassin's eyes widened for a brief moment before the smirk spread its way across his face again. "Then you, sir, most certainly have a deal." He stood up and offered the other his hand.
The business man followed suit and stood and shook the proffered hand. "I am glad to hear I have your co-operation. Thank you, Axel." He said, a smile briefly pulling at the corners of his mouth before it slipped off again, leaving his features smooth, calm and unreadable.
"It's my pleasure, Xemnas."
Axel strolled confidently out of the revolving door at the front of the building, his hands shoved in his pockets and the newly acquired profiles resting neatly under his left arm. He was smiling to himself – his most recent client had promised him a lot of work at a very good price, and the first-class assassin was more than happy to take on the task of eliminating a few small fry from the world. When he reached his car, he willed his key fob to open the door to the passenger side for him, but in typical style, his rather well used Ford Fiesta refused to comply. He heaved a sigh, Maybe some of that money I'm being offered can go toward a new car… he thought to himself as he placed the folder containing the documents carefully on the seat.
He'd been given three marks so far; and had been told that he was to take as long as he needed to dispose of them (which Axel knew wouldn't take that long at all). His immediate plan was to get home and attempt to decipher what they would all be doing tomorrow.
Getting into the driver's side of the car and shoving the key in the ignition, he pulled out of the parking space he was occupying in the Organisation's car park slowly. That meeting with Xemnas, the recently appointed head of the Organisation, had dragged somewhat. Upon asking, Axel had learned that someone had recommended him to Xemnas, informing him that if they wanted the job done right, Axel was the right bloke to go to. He vaguely remembered a blond haired gambler from a previous visit to this place… Luxord, or something. Axel had managed to save him from a spot of bother from a loan shark – and, from the way he saw it anyway, saved countless more people from becoming involved with him. Axel could tell that the power that came with becoming the boss of a big company like the Organisation was probably going to Xemnas' head. He knew why he'd probably been summoned of course; the business man wanted to ensure his position at the top was secure, so fighting off the opposition was a rational move for him.
It didn't take much longer than half an hour for Axel to get back to his apartment. After climbing up the stairs, he eventually pushed through his apartment's door and dumped the documents on his coffee table. He'd take a look at them in a minute, for now however, getting something to drink seemed more important. He pulled open the fridge door and gazed inside, groaning to himself when he realised he was nearly out of beer. He muttered to himself as he grabbed a can anyway and also a loose bit of paper from atop the fridge, and made his way over to the island in the centre of his kitchen, making a note to put on his bulletin board to remind himself to get some more of Twilight Town's special blend beer.
He grabbed one of the small throwing knives that was embedded in the bulletin board and pulled it out, placing the note on the board and pushing the blade through it to keep it pinned up. He then turned his attention to what was on the rest of the board.
A small smirk spread across his face. He was getting closer to his goal.
A few years ago, some bastards had kidnapped his brother Reno and threatened to kill the rest of his family if he didn't comply with their demands. This was the reason that Axel had gotten himself involved in the assassin's trade; so that he could someday save his brother and kill all of the assholes who'd hurt him. On the bulletin board was a web of pictures, connected to each other by pieces of string. Some had big red crosses through the picture, and others had little yellow post-it notes stuck underneath of them, detailing their regular haunts and people most close to them.
Axel had been one of the most promising martial arts students back when he was in high school, and Reno, being a little bit stupid and a little bit of an idiot had gotten himself involved with a gang of thugs. Axel had told his brother, insisted in fact, that he needed to get out but Reno had refused to listen. It hadn't taken the gang long to realise who Reno's brother was, and the way that they saw it, Axel would be a valuable asset to their team. Axel didn't want any part in the plans however, and had to fight a few of them off to try and escape from them that first time that they had taken him to their hideout. They were persistent though, he had to hand that to them. But after Axel had managed to escape their clutches twelve times – and not always without injuries that took a few weeks to heal – they decided to change their tactics.
Reno upped and disappeared one night, and after a week of the family worrying that he had ran away or fallen victim to some grim fate, Axel had received a note.
A note explaining that if he didn't come to the gang's hideout then he would never see his older brother again.
So Axel went.
His plan was to rescue Reno and make sure that they never bothered him or his family again. As he ran to the old abandoned warehouse they used as their base, he didn't know how he was going to do any of those things. He had, before he left the house, picked up one of the knives from the knife block in the kitchen. Just in case.
He willingly wandered straight into their midst this time, demanding to speak with the man in charge. Someone by the name of Master Xehanort. He was surprised that his foe was an aged, balding man who walked with a stopped posture, but he kept his guard up, knowing that it was pointless to believe that this really was just a harmless old man who stood in front of him.
He made a list of demands, and Xehanort let him, a smile playing about his face which Axel really didn't like. When he was finished, Xehanort just clicked his fingers and a black haired man, who didn't look much older than Axel, walked out of the room and returned seconds later pushing a blindfolded, bound and gagged figure in front of him.
Reno.
It was then that Xehanort finally spoke, his gravelly voice reverberating around the warehouse and met by the enthusiastic sounds of his gang's members. Axel shuddered as he recalled them.
"Axel, so nice of you to join us. I trust that you know why you are here?" The old man had asked, staring intently at the redhead who was stood before him. "I think this time, we may gain your co-operation. Because this time, my friend, if you don't do as we say, you can say goodbye to your brother. And," He paused, a menacing look replacing the earlier smug one. "your family too." Axel had frozen. He was trapped, and those bastards knew it.
He'd had no choice in the end. He too 'ran' away from home, to keep everyone safe.
Over the difficult months that followed, the vicious gang utilised his skill as a martial artist and taught him how to kill. He became an assassin, and was soon the asset that they'd dreamed him to be. He never allowed himself to enjoy it, but he had to admit with all the pain and anger he had bottled up inside him since he was forced into this life, taking it out on someone who was apparently in the wrong felt good.
He was a part of the gang – which became quite notorious with his help – for a little over a year. Eventually an opportunity arose for him to escape, and begin acting on a plan which had been forming in his head ever since they demanded his compliance. He wanted revenge, and whilst out on a mission with Braig he'd seized the opportunity and assassinated him and escaped.
Once free however, finding out what he should do next became really hard. He didn't have a clue where to go, or what to do. And to make matters worse he was still wearing the clothes that the gang had made him wear, which were fast becoming synonymous with his assassinations. He needed somewhere to go, somewhere safe, and fast.
He decided on home in the end, turning up on the doorstep and nearly collapsing into both his mother and father's arms as they stood there in complete shock at the sight of one of their thought-dead sons stood in the doorway.
He told them everything, and insisted that they couldn't tell anyone. He'd learnt that Xehanort had friends in high up places and getting the police in to help wasn't going to benefit anyone, especially Reno. It was his father who'd broken the silence in the end, and had taken Axel to a friend of his who had some experience in darker matters.
Axel hadn't really thought much of Zexion when he had first met him, but since then the pair had become fast friends. Zexion had a very calculating mind and was very useful when it came to planning what Axel should do. It was he that had helped him set up the web of pictures on the bulletin board in front of him now, and it was he who had links in Twilight Town's seedy underworld which could be utilised for Axel to become known as the contract assassin to hire. The redhead took one last look at the board – he'd eliminated about three quarters of the gang since joining up with Zexion nearly three years ago. He couldn't wait to finally get to Xehanort.
With the thought of his imminent revenge, Axel grabbed his beer can once more and made his way over to the sofa, flicking on the television and settling down to take a better look at the files. He pulled a notepad out from one of the shelves of the coffee table, and began making notes.
His first target was a pink haired man by the name of Marluxia, who, according to Xemnas, was a threat because of his way of thinking. He had shown signs in the past of wanting to over throw the previous governing body of the Organisation, and Xemnas wanted him gone before he had a chance to get to him. The second seemed to be Marluxia's wife, Larxene, who was to be assassinated on the grounds of following her husband's beliefs. Axel pulled out the third file, surveying the pointed face of someone known as Vexen. He seemed familiar to Axel somehow, so he read up on the files provided about him.
It didn't take him long to discover that Vexen had a twin; Even. Axel let out a little 'huh' noise as he made the connection. He'd assassinated Even a year ago due to his ties to the bastards that had used both him and his brother. Seemed… fitting almost that his doppelganger was to meet a similar fate.
He made a few more notes about each of them, and decided that Vexen would be the easiest to locate because the guy ran like clockwork – he had the exact same routine every single week, and at four o'clock on a Monday afternoon, Axel would almost certainly find him walking to the gym. He thought for a moment about what method he should use, and eventually decided on one of his poison blades. It would be a bit of black humour as Vexen, being a doctor much like his brother, would know what was attacking his system and would be powerless to stop it.
Marluxia and Larxene would be harder to find, but Xemnas' information showed that the pair were quite frequently together so it shouldn't be too hard to track them down, it would just involved a little more legwork and keeping an eye on the pair of them. Usually, it seemed, they spent a Monday evening dining together in a fancy restaurant of their choice which meant now Axel's only problem would be finding said restaurant.
With his plans set up, Axel decided to relax.
Author's Note:
Thank you for reading! That's the first chapter done. There will be more action in future chapters so I do apologise if this one is a little lacking at the moment. And no sign of Roxas yet..? You'll be pleased to know he'll be appearing soon.
If you like what you've read, please review, as it probably will make me write & update quicker~ :3