Legend of the Dragons
(Author's Note: This story actually came to me in a dream. I dreamed this whole first chapter and actually woke up right where it ends. Don't worry I'm not going to stop there, I can feel a lot more of this story just poking at my mind begging to be written. So while I don't own any of the KH characters this story is completely mine. Hope you enjoy it and please R&R.)
The continent of Thanaos, once a nation made of many small kingdoms. The kingdoms existed in a tentative peace until the rise of the tyrant Saix. Within only a few months he had conquered all the kingdoms to become the emperor of Thanaos. Only a few kingdoms had tried to fight back against him, and when the battle was over all the rest of the kingdoms had surrendered in fear. When the armies of the nearest three kingdoms had marched against Saix, he had stood alone on the battlefield, with only a blood-red dragon by his side. The dragon was barely bigger than a medium sized dog, but when it opened its mouth and roared the blood of its enemies flowed. Those few that survived told fearful stories of the blood dragon, how it had drunk the blood of all it killed leaving drained husks in its wake. All the people of Thanaos came to fear the Emperor Saix, and his dragon of blood V'pyr.
"Caught you thief!"
Bright green eyes with tear drop shaped burn marks below them glared at the guards as they bound his hands behind him, and began shoving him toward the castle.
Axel lowered his head to hide his smirk behind his flaming red hair.
He wore simple garments of black pants and a sleeveless black tunic. His knee high black boots looked worn but still in good condition.
The guards dragged him down into the dungeons and threw him into a cell. Axel laughed and yelled after them as they walked back down the corridor and up the stairs.
"This cell can never hold someone as awesome as me, got it memorized?"
A gruff voice behind him made him turn around.
"Shut up and let a guy sleep."
The speaker was lying down in the back of the cell. His hair was black as far as Axel could tell, and done up into long thin dreadlocks most of which were tied up in a high ponytail on the back of his head. He had long sideburns coming down the sides of his face. He was wearing black pants and a white tunic, his black boots only came up to his mid-calf and his purple eyes glared at Axel before closing.
Sitting against the wall to Axel's left was another man. This one had black hair also but with grey streaks and it was tied at the base of his head. His black pants were a little dirty but looked to be well made, and he wore a dark grey tunic. His boots were grey with black buckles and stopped just below his knees. His left golden eye twinkled in amusement as he looked at Axel, with his head cocked slightly to the side. Axel took a moment to stare at his pointed ears, wondering if they made his hearing a little sharper. The other eye was covered by an eye patch, and Axel wondered if he lost it at the same time he got the scar on his left cheek.
A soft whimper drew Axel's attention to his right where the final occupant of the cell was huddled into the corner. He sat with his knees drawn up and his arms wrapped around them. His face was buried into his knees, so Axel couldn't see his eyes, but he wore very dark blue pants and lighter blue tunic. Even his boots were blue and went up past his knees. His hair was dirty blond and styled into a thick Mohawk that went down the center of his head and down the back to his neck.
"So what are you in for, Red?"
The man with the eye patch asked. Axel shrugged,
"I was stealing from the guard barracks and got caught. How about you, what did you do Patches?"
The man laughed and the one with the dreadlocks growled at them.
"I shot a soldier. My names Xigbar, grouchy here is Xaldin, and the other one is Demyx."
Axel nodded at each man in turn.
"The name is Axel, got it memorized?"
Xigbar laughed again and even Demyx looked up at him with a little smile. Xaldin just glared and snapped at them, causing Demyx to squeak in fright.
"Shut the hell up both of you, and let me sleep."
Axel laughed and started rooting around in his hair.
"No time to sleep now Xally we're getting outta here."
And with a flourish he pulled a pair of lock picks out of his hair.
The three men stared at him as he reached through the bars and went to work on the lock. He had only been at it for a few minutes when he suddenly froze, and then he bolted from the door and flopped down next to Demyx.
"What happened?"
Xigbar asked and Axel quickly shushed him. Xigbar and Xaldin shared a look but then they could hear it too, footsteps coming down the hall.
The steps turned into a pair of guards escorting a young boy.
The boy was wearing short black pants that just covered his knees and a simple white tunic. He wasn't wearing any shoes and his blond hair stood up in a chaos of spikes.
He turned his head as he passed their cell and Axel was transfixed by how brilliantly blue his eyes were, and so very sad, and a small dribble of blood ran down the side of his mouth.
After they passed, Axel went to the door and watched them continue down the hall. He watched as the guards shoved the boy into another cell at the very end of the hall, before coming back his way. One of the guards spit at him as they passed, and when they had gone back up the stairs Axel turned to Xigbar.
"Who was that kid?"
Xigbar shrugged, "Don't know pal."
"They take him upstairs sometimes, and he comes back beaten up every time."
Axel stared at Demyx as he shrugged.
"I've been here for a while."
Demyx replied to the unspoken question, and Axel picked up his lock picks again. It only took a few seconds before they all heard the click and Axel pushed the door open.
"Great! Now we just have to get past the guards somehow and…. Axel where are you going?"
Xigbar called out quietly as Axel took off down the hall away from the stairs. Xaldin sighed and followed him, with Demyx and Xigbar trailing behind.
"We don't have time for this, the guards could back any second."
He snapped, but Axel ignored him and went to work on the lock of the last cell down the hall. It only took him a minute or two to pick it and he swung the door open and met the blazing blue eyes that had been staring at him while he worked.
Axel smiled at the boy and motioned him forward.
"Come on Blondie, we're getting out of here."
The blond glared at him but quickly left the cell, and the five of them quickly made their way to the bottom of the stairs. They could easily hear the voices of the guards and Axel began whispering hurriedly with Xaldin and Xigbar.
"Maybe we can find some chains or something in one of the cells."
Xigbar nodded and Xaldin glanced into a nearby cell. Axel was about to do the same when he felt a light tug on his right hand. Glancing down he stared right into the little blonds eyes again, said blond tugged his hand gently again and walked right past the stairs and down the other end of the hallway.
Xigbar and Xaldin watched him go and looked over at Axel, who just shrugged and followed the blond, with Demyx close on his heels. With a quick glance at each other Xigbar and Xaldin followed suit.
The little blond led them all the way down to the end of the hall and pushed his way through a rotting wooden door that was hanging off its hinges. Behind the door was a set of stairs leading down, and the blond walked right down without any hesitation.
They didn't get very far before the darkness closed in on them and they couldn't see. Axel could feel Demyx squeezing the life out his arm and tried to get him to let go complaining that he was going to trip, while Xigbar started up about following crazy blonds. A sudden bright light left them all blinking, and when their eyes adjusted, they could only stare.
The little blond glared at them before turning and continuing down the stairs holding the ball of white light in his left hand.
Axel was the first to get over his shock, and hurried on with the other three following quickly after. Axel and Demyx caught up with the blond at the bottom of the stairs where water flowed along the floor of the passage.
The blond stepped into the water and turned to the right walking carefully down the passage. The water just flowed over the tops of his feet and the others followed. Axel walked alongside the blond and tried to start up a conversation.
"My name is Axel, what's yours?"
The blond barely glanced at him and Axel noticed that the water was starting to get deeper.
"So the other blond is Demyx the guy with the eye patch is Xigbar, and the scary one with the crazy sideburns that growls a lot is Xaldin."
Xaldin of course growled in response to this and Axel almost swore he saw the corners of the little blond's mouth turn up a little, but he was distracted when Demyx grabbed his arm again.
"Do you hear that? It sounds like a faint roaring somewhere up ahead."
They all listened and soon they could hear it too. The sound got louder as they walked and when they turned a corner in the passage they found its source.
The passage opened to the outside and the water poured out, dropping off a cliff and into a lake making the moonlight shimmer across its surface.
Axel turned to grin at the blond who had led them here just in time to see him slip and get swept away over the waterfall. With a curse he dived after him and they hit the lake with a very big splash.
Axel swam to the surface and caught the blond before he went under again, then he swam for shore. After getting the both of them out of the water and up on land Axel was relieved when the blond got up, and turned to see where the others were.
Xaldin and Demyx were swimming easily toward him and Xigbar looked like he was having a little trouble but still making progress. Once Xaldin and Demyx reached the shore, Axel called out encouragement to Xigbar.
Xigbar responded with a yelp just before he went under suddenly, arms thrashing wildly in a dance of panic. Axel was about to go back in after him when the water exploded upward and Xigbar went flying up out of the water, a giant tentacle wrapped tightly around him.
More tentacles burst from the lake and came straight at them. Axel shoved the blond back just before a tentacle grabbed him and jerked him into the air over the lake.
He saw Xaldin punching the tentacle that had grabbed him, while Demyx screamed and tried to wriggle free of another.
Axel was pleased to see that the blond was still safe on shore, and turned his attention to the giant head that rose out of the water and opened a mouth full of teeth.
Xigbar cursed, Xaldin punched franticly, Demyx screamed one more time before fainting and all Axel could do was think,
We're all going to die.
(Rewritten a little with only a few changes for effect and grammer)