Second Being.
Author's Note: Once again, I'm beginning yet another new story due to writer's block and it's been driving me crazy to finally start up the long awaited actual story of "Second Being" which I'm certain many of you fellow KH fans have noticed and read up it's Preview Form in "Second Being-Preview".
Well, it's finally here, and hopefully it'll be a good story. Let's also hope that the release date of KH3 will be revealed in this year's E3 event(and also hopefully an Atlantis reveal and the return of Agrabah and FF characters-Cloud, Tifa, Leon, Yuffie, Cid and Aerith).
I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to both Disney and Square Enix.
CH1: Starting Over.
Where Second Chance Left off...
Lea's mind was swirling into so many questions, but he didn't know where to start. To think that this was actually happening was too good to be true. Instead, he opted to approach the three former Nobodies and wrapped his arms around the three of them, and startling them. They didn't disappear. They were real.
Realising this, Lea began to choke, falling to his knees and just continued to hug Roxas, Namine and Xion, crying. He couldn't say anything. He just couldn't.
Until he managed to say, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry." as he knew that he put all three of them into danger.
Instead of replying, Roxas, Namine and Xion, also all tearing up, hugged Lea in return, the four of them finally reunited, and Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy all smiled, happy that Lea not only had gotten his heart back, but Roxas, Namine and Xion, against all odds, were made human.
All four of them were given a second chance.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, which in reality lasted about five minutes, Lea forced himself to calm down, breathing shakily before realising the two former Nobodies and the former Replica who did the same, and the four of them faced each other.
"Roxas...Xion...Namine...I..." Lea began before pause, awkwardly. What else could he really say? For a long time, he'd thought he'd never see them again once they all returned to both Sora and Kairi-well, he didn't know when Namine vanished but he had assumed that she'd returned to Kairi by now when he(as Axel), Sora, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey entered the Castle that Never Was-that he'd have to start over again. He was still half-convinced that this was all just a dream.
Not to mention that, the main reality of being whole again himself and having been so focused on beating Xemnas hasn't quite sunk in yet. So much has happened in such a short time and Axel, when he did that suicide attack to sacrifice himself, really thought he'd fade into darkness forever.
Really, all Lea can say is how sorry he was. But then again, now that it was starting to sink in, the redhead was starting to feel woozy and dizzy since his restoration. He never really had the time to think about everything that's happened other than the things he did as Axel-the things he remembered as Axel. Memories of his childhood up until he lost his heart and the decade of being a heartless which he could barely remember other than the never-ending nightmare of the bloodthirst for hearts.
Suddenly he realised that his vision was beginning to darken and become all blurry, his chest felt tight, his insides were screaming in the sheer overload of memories and emotions. So much so that Lea groaned as he closed his eyes and immediately regretted it, because he found that he couldn't open them. He was vaguely aware of the concered voices from his friends and from Sora's group, but by then, his world went black before he suddenly hit the sand when he suddenly went unconscious.
"Axel!" Roxas cried out, quickly alarmed as the redhead suddenly passed out. He, Xion, Namine and even Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy hurried over to the former Nobody when Lea collasped, unconscious.
"What happened? Is he okay?" Donald asked, alarmed before remembering that he still didn't fully trust the former Nobody despite Lea/Axel having saved him and the others and then helped to defeat Xemnas.
When the group saw that he was still breathing, they were all a little relieved, but still concerned as Lea wasn't waking up.
"What happened?" Kairi repeated, worriedly.
Mickey frowned before placing a hand on the redhead's forehead, before answering, "Welp, I'm not sure. But I think everything that's happened to him musta finally caught up since he didn't have the time back at the Organization's stronghold."
"Yeah, now that you mention it, your majesty, I'm feeling kinda a bit woozy too." Sora admitted, placing a hand to his forehead, and so did Kairi, Roxas, Xion and Namine.
"Whatever happened must be taking it's toll on them since they only just woke up. In Lea's case, I think he's finally coming to terms to what happened when he got his heart again in such a short time. I think some rest would be a good idea." Riku thought up, while having his best friends and their former Nobodies and Xion to sit on the ground before they could end up unconscious.
The King nodded in agreement, "Let's camp here for the night. After everything that's happened, I think we all need a good long rest before we figure out what to do now. I mean, sure, Donald, Goofy and I are gonna be goin' home after a long time now that the worlds are finally safe, but I'm not sure about these fellas." as he said the last sentence he gazed at the former Nobodies and Xion.
Knowing that Mickey was right, everyone slowly made their way to find a good spot to camp on the island for the night while some of them carried Lea's unconscious form with them before Sora, Kairi and Riku would be returning to the mainland, where the boys would finally reunite with their parents...even though they'd most likely end up grounded for a while for having been away for an entire year!
He had no idea what just happened. As far as Lea could remember, one minute he'd been apologizing and, humitatingly, crying in front of his best friends and Namine, then the next everything was blank. Right now, everything was all black and he felt rather odd which he hadn't even noticed-not even when he fused with Axel.
'Hold on...why am I thinking seperately? Axel's me and I'm him...' Lea's thought, troubled.
He couldn't think straight right now. Because not a moment after he thought this, suddenly rapidly images came flooding right at him; his childhood days back when he was human, up until the day he lost his heart by the actions of Xehanort. Then the memories of his Nobody right up until Ansem's machine exploded and then both of them fusing when Lea's heart returned. Then the memories of fighting alongside Sora and his friends against Xemnas and then the reunion on Destiny Islands.
It was too much. They were coming too fast. Lea couldn't breathe. His insides were burning, as though something was detatching themselves. He clutched his head and shut his eyes before opening them slowly when he felt a pressence of someone, alerting him that he wasn't alone.
There stood a figure as familiar as himself; the black coat, the red hair, the emerald eyes, and the tear-drop tattoos underneath them, gazing at him with surprise at first before frowning.
'Axel?'...
"Axel?" A familiar voice echoed as Lea began to awaken back in the real world. He was Lea, right? Or was he Axel? The redhead was too tired to figure that out.
'Where am I?' What was going on?
Blinking his eyes open, his vision cleared as the worried face of Roxas hovered over him. A bit too close for Lea's taste.
"Roxas!" Lea jolted upright, startling the young blonde as well as everyone else who jumped. The redhead then groaned while placing a hand to his forehead, using another to support himself. "Ugh...bad idea."
"Are you okay?" Mickey asked as he and the others approached the redhead who finally recovered enough to get his bearings, and then slowly remembered what happened.
"Y-Yeah. I think so." Lea replied. Right, now he remembered. He remembered everything. It'd been real, as confirmed since Sora and the others are here. He then realised that they were in the small, empty tree hut that was enough to fit at least eleven people. It was dark outside but clearly in the middle of the evening as stars twinkled and the moon was now sinking into the horizon, making it beautiful as it's reflection rippled on the ocean's water.
"Uh...what happened?" The redhead asked, finally remembering that he was in fact Lea and Axel was inside him now. They were whole; they were the same people.
"After you apologised, you suddenly passed out. Don't you remember?" Namine asked, gently.
"I remember apologising, but I don't remember passing out." Lea admitted. He then sighed and turned to the three former nobodies again, saying, "Seriously, I really am sorry...about everything I did. I tried to make things right, but I ended up making things worse."
"You don't have to keep apologising. Everything's okay now. We're back together again and we're all real people." Xion said, smiling warmly. "You, Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, the King and Kairi made things right."
"I didn't do anything." Lea grumbled, shaking his head.
"What're you talking about? Of course you did!" Sora pointed out, "Sure, you did do rotten things, but you also helped out more than even I can count. I get you wanted to see Roxas, but you helped us when we were in trouble with the Nobodies. Then you helped us get to the castle and fought that eye-patched guy, and helped to defeat the rest of the Organization, including Xemnas. You even got us back home!"
Roxas nodded in agreement with his original-self, "If it weren't for you, things would've ended differently. I...have to admit, I'm still a bit surprised I managed to heal you through Sora, and...I'm sorry for being angry with you for a real when it came to Xion. But I guess things were messed up because of Xemnas. But like Xion said, we're back together now and we're all human."
"You even let me see Sora back at Castle Oblivion and if you hadn't...Sora would've been lost and I would've been Marluxia's pawn." Namine added with a warm smile, which confused Sora, Donald and Goofy who all glanced at each other, wondering what Kairi's former Nobody was talking about, clearly still not remembering the events that unfolded in Castle Oblivion.
Lea didn't know what to say about that at first. He then began to realise, of all the wrong things he did as Axel, after what happened with Kairi, he realised that he took it upon himself to give up his selfish desires by having accepted that he wasn't going to get his life back and that he wanted to atone for his crimes. He'd thought that when he defeated all of those Nobodies he'd be dead by now and he even come to accept that he at least would've died knowing he did the right thing by saving Sora and his friends.
Then in a strange twist, he was given a second chance and continued to atone by helping the Keyblade Master and his friends to save the worlds and for a strange reason, was rewarded by getting his Heart back and become Lea once more, and even then, he continued to help, because he wanted to. He had wanted to put an end to the nightmare that Xehanort had created. Maybe that part had also been revenge for turning him into a Heartless and Nobody all those years ago. He didn't know.
But now, he had his two best friends back and Namine was back as well. Then again as far as Namine was concerned, Axel was her friend too. Someone she trusted. He never treated her like a pawn or a slave. In a strange way, he gave her comfort.
"I...guess I did. Didn't I?" Lea muttered in realization. "Does that mean...I've been redeemed?"
"Of course. It won't be easy to realise that, but I'm sure you will over time. I know it's not easy to let go of the past, but forgetting about it isn't a good idea either. Always think about all the good things and think about the future." Mickey told him wisely.
Lea thought of the King's words and began to realise that he was right. He can't change the past, but he wasn't going to forget about it, either. He made up for some of his mistakes, and now that they were all here, he can continue to do so.
"Right." The redhead nodded, before gazing at Roxas and Xion, saying, "Still, everything I told you before things messed up were the truth."
"Huh?" Roxas muttered, confused.
"You're my best friends. You both made me feel like I have a purpose to live for. Thinking about you two kept me going, even with the stupid mistakes just to see you again. I didn't want to forget about either of you...and I didn't want to lose you. And, you guys are pretty much all I have left." Lea felt his chest tighten again, and willed himself not to cry again, as he continued, "When you disappeared back into Roxas, Xion, and when Roxas had left and changed to return to Sora...nothing else mattered. I'd give anything to keep you guys safe, because...because knowing that you both are safe, I'd die to protect you guys. Knowing that you were both safe...it would make me happy."
"Oh...yeah." Roxas realised, and then smiled.
Xion beamed a smile, "You're so sweet."
That made Lea blush as he scratched his head, embarrased while chuckling, as did everyone else in the hut, even though Goofy became emotional as he sniffled.
"I guess we all finally found each other and made things right. Now we don't have to worry about Xehanort or Organization XIII anymore." Sora beamed happily. Though, deep down, as he gazed at Donald and Goofy, it made him sad. Because he knew, their adventure together was over and that meant going their seperate ways.
"But that means we won't be goin' on adventures anymore." Goofy spoke up in realization, which caught everyone else's attentions as they all sighed, while Donald moaned in sadness.
"Welp, I'm sure we can find a way to visit each other. Once and a while." Mickey spoke up, which made everyone confused and allowed him to continue, "Sure things will go back to normal, but I gotta a feelin' we can at least still visit each other. Just not going to other worlds as much as we used to, but I just know that we'll each other again."
That at least lightened the mood as the group all looked at each other. Maybe there was a chance after all.
"Hey, speaking of which. What're you gonna do, Jiminy?" Sora asked, as he realised that they briefly forgot about their Cricket friend who jumped out from Sora's hood and onto the floor.
"Well, gee...Pinocchio doesn't need my help anymore since he's learned a good lesson and I gotta feeling he's a real boy right now." Jiminy shrugged. "To tell the truth, I'm not sure where I should go."
"Hey, why don'tcha come with us?" Goofy suggested, before asking Mickey, "Is that okay, yer majesty?"
"Of course! I'd be happy to have Jiminy live with us." Mickey replied happily, turning to the Cricket, "Gosh, Minnie told me you were happy that she found ya when you first came to the Castle. Why, you could be the Royal Counsellor, if ya like."
Jiminy thought about it, before smiling and bowed the King, "I'd be fully honored, your majesty."
"What about you guys?" Sora turned to the four former Nobodies. "You wanna stay here?"
Roxas, Lea, Xion and Namine shared glances, before nodding and turned back to Sora, shaking their heads as Lea replied, "Nah. Sure this place his beautiful and all, but I think we're too used to other towns that living on a beachside kinda just...you know, makes it less interesting. No offence."
"None taken." Riku replied.
"I don't think there're houses avaliable in Twilight Town, though. Plus, we're flat broke." Lea added, troubled.
"Then, where can we go?" Roxas asked, concerned.
Everyone thought about it, and Mickey was about to make an offer for the group to live at Disney Castle too when Lea suddenly had an idea, despite the risks given a certain group not being too happy if they saw him in his coat. "Hold on...how about Radiant Garden?"
"Huh?" Namine asked, "Radiant Garden?"
"Before it was named Hollow Bastion?" Roxas asked, since he and Xion were fully aware due to having both been inside Sora at the time when MCP was defeated and Tron showed everyone in the world the memories of it's past before Maleficent's attack.
"Yeah." Lea nodded, shrugging, "I mean, that place is where I was born and grew up in before becomin' a Heartless and a Nobody."
"Really?" Sora asked, before turning to Kairi and asked, "Ring any bells?" since he and everyone else knew that Radiant Garden was the place she'd been born and spend her first four and a half years of her life in.
Kairi thought about it, before shaking her head, "Maybe I passed him once and while. But most of the time, I was hanging out with my grandma."
"Yeah, I think I mighta seen you once and while." Lea suddenly realised. "Still...if it's still here, I think I know a place we can go to in Radiant Garden. If we can, I think we can make a fresh start."
"Would it be okay...if I can come with you, Roxas and Xion?" Namine asked, a little hesitatedly. "I...I think I want to make atonements too, and I don't think staying here would be a good idea."
"Are you sure?" Riku asked, and Namine nodded.
"Do you think Leon and the others would accept us?" Roxas asked, hesitatedly.
'Oh, right. The Restoration Committee.' Lea remembered. Would they really be willing to accept them; let alone him?
"Oh, I don't know. You fellas, yeah...But I'm not sure about him." Donald muttered, glaring a bit at Lea.
"I'm sure they will. Besides, we can tell them when we take Roxas and the others to Radiant Garden, and using the Corridor of Darkness is dangerous." Mickey replied, already offering to give Lea, Roxas, Xion and Namine a lift. "We can help explain everything that's happened. I'm sure even Merlin will understand."
"Yeah, and I bet Aerith would agree immediately. Not sure when Cloud met them, but she sees him as a friend." Sora agreed, placing his hands behind his head.
"Cloud?" Lea asked, skeptically. 'What kind of mom would name their kid 'Cloud'?' He thought to himself.
"He's a friend and...he was having trouble with a bad guy named Sephiroth who wants Cloud's heart to fall into darkness." Sora explained, before gazing at Riku in realization, adding, "Sort of like what Riku with through with Xehanort's Heartless."
"Really?" Riku asked, eyes widened. He then lowered his gaze, saying, "Guess I'm not only one who had that problem. But I'm getting a feeling that he's more stubborn and cautious than I was."
"Gawrsh, wasn't Sephiroth in Radiant Garden too?" Goofy suddenly remembered.
A tensed silence.
"I think Cloud's the only one who can defeat him." Sora spoke up after a few moments. "Unless things get really bad, Sephiroth was really wanting to battle Cloud and Cloud wouldn't want anyone else to get involved in his fight. Plus, I'm sure he'll be fine and I just know that there's still light in his heart."
"So Cloud was doing what his heart told him. You're right, Sora. Unless things get really bad, we shouldn't interfere. But we'll still keep an eye out on this Sephiroth fella, just in case he does something more dangerous." Mickey agreed firmly.
'At least this Sephiroth guy isn't after Kingdom Hearts. I'm not even sure if I've seen the guy.' Lea thought to himself, worriedly.
So the group decided to rest for the evening and that tomorrow Mickey, Jiminy, Donald and Goofy would give Lea, Roxas, Xion and Namine a ride to Radiant Garden which be their home, to restart their lives.
But it wasn't going to be as easy as one would hope.
A/N: Thus this story finally begins. Not sure where this would go, but this is a gap between Second Chance and Second Life as you guys know. The next chapter will reveal some troubles and perhaps a villian which I haven't fully decided yet. If we're lucky, I'll be able to post the next chapter today too.
If not, then maybe tomorrow, though next week starting Monday things will get busy. Until then, see you soon!
