Chapter 1
Seeris
All right, well I know you want about our dear friends and not me but in order for that story to make sense you must first listen to mine.
In a sense you could say that I'm part of the keyblade itself. I was sealed inside it before the first keyblade master even knew what a keyblade was and because of that I have some of the keyblade's power and can use it to its full potential. Another thing is I can connect with the keyblade wielder's heart, so I've known all of the keyblade wielders. Also, I have this strange ability to look into other's hearts and even tamper with them. I can even take or put things into the void or nothingness. As long as you know these things, then you should be able to keep up in the conversation. Speaking of that conversation, it was being held in a conference room at King Mickey's Castle that no one new about until recently. We were all sitting around a large rectangular table. When I said we, I meant, a furious Ansem (yes he survived), a very serious Mickey, and Sora, Riku, and Kairi who were shocked beyond belief. I was standing at the head of the table with Ansem to my right, Mickey to my left, and the teens further down.
"Absolutely Not! You cannot bring them back Seeris! Have you forgotten what they've done? They nearly destroyed everything; they used children and nearly destroyed those children in the process!" Ansem's voice rose to a yell and by the time he was done speaking he was on his feet, glaring at me.
"Yes well let's not forget that you used the very same children and in the end one of them never came back." I said icily. That brought him up short and he sat back down, still glaring.
"All right that's enough you two," Everyone turned towards Mickey. "Listen Seeris, you told us that there was something that you needed to do. But why is it to bring back the Nobodies? And exactly how do you plan to bring them back?" Mickey said calmly but everyone could see he was troubled.
"Well for starters, there seems to be something that's building up its power in the darkness. Before, it was barely detectable. It was just a huge mass of dark aura. But now, that huge mass of dark aura is becoming stronger and you can feel it's animosity rising. I don't understand why its power is growing or why I can't seem to locate it. This probably means that this force is ancient and has mastered cloaking itself. This also means that it's so powerful that its power is exceeding its barrier. This is no joke. An enemy this powerful may be able to take the pieces left behind in the void by the Nobodies and consume them and whatever power resides in those pieces." As I spoke, I looked directly into the eyes of everyone surrounding the table.
"What pieces? I thought Nobodies faded and left behind only memories." Riku said breaking the silence my words had brought.
"When a Nobody 'fades' they break apart in strips. Those strips hold pieces of what they are. If you gathered all the right strips and put them together again, that Nobody would be whole again. And another thing, do not think that Nobodies don't have hearts. Yes it is true they are left with heartless bodies at first, but as the live on, they redevelop a heart."
"Impossible-" Ansem started but I cut him off.
"Nothing is impossible. You of all people, Ansem, should know that."
"So then, is that how you're going to revive the Nobodies?" Kairi asked. Sora looked at her, then at me. In fact, everyone was staring at me. I sighed and looked down.
"Yes. I've actually already started the process with three Organization XIII members."
"No one gave you permission, now did they?" Ansem said accusingly.
"I didn't know I needed consent to test a theory. Last I checked, I had free will."
"Enough you two!" King Mickey said. He turned to me "Seeris that's something you shoulda said earlier."
"Sorry… But I'm asking now. If I bring back the Organization XIII members apart from Xemnas will you accept them, or will you just stop me now? Think about this seriously, the worlds need them and if I don't take them out of the void they will be absorbed into the new force." I looked up at Mickey, his face serious. I looked around at the others faces. Ansem held a dark and grim expression, Riku wore a perfect mask, and Kairi's was worried and torn. But Sora's expression surprised me. It went from blank to hard resolve.
"I think we should let her do it." Sora stated. That one comment earned him a stunned look from everyone there. I was the first to recover.
"Really?" he nodded, "Thank You Sora!" I squealed and jumped up and down. I had one of the most important opinions on my side! Then Mickey spoke up.
"I think that would be best, but you have to promise that you'll watch them and make sure they stay in line" Yes! Two Down!
"I think it's for the best too" Kairi said.
"What about you two?" I asked; delight showing clearly on my face.
"You know my opinion, girl… but we must do what is right for everyone and if that is it, so be it." Ansem said.
"Whatever," Riku said earning him a glare from Kairi and a punch in the arm from Sora that left him mouthing the word 'Ow'.
"So, it's settled then. I bring them back." I said happily.
…XXX…
As the room began to clear I stopped Sora and Kairi to talk to them.
"Huh? What is it?" Sora asked with his best question mark face. My facial expression suddenly serious had surprised him a bit.
"Um… Well, you see not all of the Nobodies faded into strips like they were supposed to…" I said nervously. Kairi's eyes widened suddenly as she realized what I was getting at.
"You need all of the Nobodies, don't you?" She asked, looking a bit stunned. I nodded and shifted my weight uncomfortably.
"Huh?" Sora said again. Kairi then rolled her eyes and said, "Sora that means she needs Roxas and Namine too." Sadly he still looked perplexed.
"So?" He asked. Kairi rolled her eyes again as I sighed and explained it to him.
"Roxas and Namine have been absorbed into you two. I need to take them out. It won't affect you in any way other than having their conciseness' taken out, which you'll barely notice is gone." As I finished, his expression slowly faded and then crept up again.
"What are you going to do with us then?" he asked.
"I'm going to take them out of you by using the keyblade. I just point it at your chests, concentrate, and poof. They come out, but once they get their physical forms they might be a bit disoriented, so I'll need your help with that. Will you help?" I said looking up at them. They just smiled and said, "Of course!"
…XXX…
Roxas
Darkness. Darkness was the first thing I was aware of. The next thing I was aware of nausea. A deep, sickening feeling. After that I started hearing voices. They were low at first but then got louder.
"When do you think he will wake up?" A boy's voice said.
"Give him some time, Sora. I'm sure he'll wake up soon." A girl's voice this time.
"But Namine didn't take this long to wake up. What if something went wrong?" Sora said.
"Sora if something was wrong, I'm sure Seeris would have sensed it by now. Right?" Another girl said.
"Kairi is right Sora. Don't worry so much. Plus I can tell he'll be waking up very soon." Another girl said.
"See he'll be up soon." Kairi said soothingly. Kairi? Sora? Why do those names seem familiar? Then all the memories began to flash through my mind. I gasped and my eyes flew open. I remembered. I remembered everything. I looked around wildly trying to figure out what was happening.
"Hey, calm down. There's nothing to worry about. You're safe." I looked over to a small girl with wavy light blonde hair that reached past her waist, smiling at me.
"W-who are you?" I rasped.
"Me? I'm Seeris, you don't know me but I know you." Then she did the strangest thing. She pulled me into a tight hug.
"You have no idea how good it is to have you back." She whispered, and then let me go. It was about then that I realized that I had been lying down. Well to tell the truth I had been so disoriented, I really couldn't tell the difference between up and down at the moment.
"Wait, I thought I was supposed to go back into Sora? How can we even be in the same room together without me...?" I trailed off confused. I sat up trying to make sense of the situation.
"Well... you see that's the thing Roxas. I just took your conciseness out of Sora and because you have a new body and all it really doesn't effect Sora. You won't ever be absorbed into him again. Now, you get to have a life and a heart all your own." I let what Seeris had said sink in while Sora and Kairi watched me. I have my own life. My own heart. And this time no one was trying to take either of them away. Slowly, I began to smile too. Then the nausea came back.
...XXX...
It hit me fast and hard. I nearly threw up on Sora's shoes. He and Kairi looked down on me in concern. "Uh… hey are you okay? You look sick." I looked up at him trying not to hurl.
"Ugh, I sure feel sick… Wait, you said something about Namine? Is she back to? What about Axel? Is he back?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down Roxas. Yes Namine is back. As for Axel…" Seeris trailed off and looked away.
"What? What about Axel?" I said, my throat constricting and the nausea briefly forgotten.
"Oh, boy. Um… Where to begin… Well before I tell you about him, there are things you need to know…" I was still disoriented and it was hard to concentrate through the worry but I calmed down enough for her to explain. She explained how she was part of the keyblade, the whole process of how a Nobody breaks apart, and how to put them back together again. It still hurt to think that Axel had faded. It just about killed me knowing it was my fault. All my fault… I wonder if he would forgive me. I hoped so but I couldn't blame him if he didn't…
"Hey, Roxas? Hello? Earth to Roxas." I looked up to see Seeris. She looked familiar, in away, even though I'm almost positive that we've never met. She had long, wavy, light, creamy, blonde hair. Her build was small. She was about the same size I was, maybe smaller. She had light, golden brown eyes that… were staring directly at me looking faintly annoyed.
"Huh?" I said brilliantly. She heaved a sigh.
"Please at least try and pay attention? Anyway I said that you need exercise to help your circulation and muscle tissues. That is unless you want to slowly deteriorate." Her eyes softened a bit then. "Come on, we'll even help you out if you want." She said offering out her hand. I took it gratefully and she pulled me up. I staggered a bit at first.
"Easy." Sora helped me regain my balance.
"Thanks." He nodded and walked back over to Kairi.
"Now, let's start your first training session." Seeris said. She started smiling and I could have sworn her teeth were pointed. I soon cleared the thought from my mind.
"Uh… What training?" I asked.
"Well, like Seeris said, you have to get your circulation going and keep your muscle tissue healthy. We talked and we think that training with Sora is the best way to do both." Kairi explained. I looked over at Sora when she finished speaking. He was staring at me and grinning like an idiot. Greeeaaat. I wasn't entirely sure I could beat him but that wasn't what was really bothering me. What was bothering me, was how much Sora grinning like that reminded me of Demyx and his idiotic grin. This was going to be a long, long day. I could already feel the headache. "Lovely. Well, where are we going to train?" I asked not taking my eyes off Sora. "Well," Seeris and Kairi glanced at each other, "how about we get some food first. We can talk while we eat and find a good place." Seeris looked at me waiting for an answer. As were Sora and Kairi… Wait… Wasn't Riku usually with them? I wonder where he went.
"Riku is with Mickey and Namine in the garden." Seeris said without looking at me. I finally tore my gaze away from Sora to look at her. Sora and Kairi looked bewildered. I was shocked, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open.
"Um… Seeris, nobody said anything about Riku…" Sora said with a confused expression on his face. She simply shrugged.
"I know. Roxas was just wondering why he wasn't with you guys. He normally is, I suppose." Seeris said so casually that you'd think someone answering your thoughts was a normal, every day thing.
"So, you can read minds?" Kairi asked looking stunned. Seeris shrugged again and turned to face Kairi.
"Yeah, but I try not to. When people are really close though I can't help it, I just hear their thoughts. Sorry." As Seeris finished speaking, Kairi and Sora exchanged glances.
"Uh, Seeris, I'm not trying to be rude or anything but is there anything else we don't know about you that we probably should?" Sora asked. Seeris began to look sheepish and we knew that something was up.
"Does being able to summon elements and control them, and the fact that I can fight with various weapons count as something like that?" She asked nervously.
Sora gaped at Seeris and when he regained enough composure he nodded and sighed.
"Seeris, why didn't you tell us earlier?" Kairi asked, disapproval coloring her tone.
"Ehehehe… I didn't think it was that important…" She smiled sheepishly. "Oopsie." Kairi sighed and Sora said,
"Alright, let's at least let's go tell Mickey." Then he walked off with Kairi at his heels. Seeris sighed and looked my way.
"Shall we go Roxas?" Then we started walking. Come to think of it where were we walking? Where am I all together? I looked around trying to figure out where the hell I was. But Seeris answered my thoughts for me making me jump.
"You're in the Disney Castle. Forget already? And we're walking out to the Royal Garden. That's where King Mickey took Ansem, Riku, and Namine to discuss some things. As for what those 'things' are, I wish I knew. Sorry. After this though maybe we can finally get something to eat." One-track mind much? It didn't seem like she had heard what I had thought thankfully.
After a while, I began to let my mind wander. Axel. My thoughts almost always went to Axel whenever they were wandering free. He faded just like all the other organization members, I wondered where he was now. Seeris had said she was bringing him back. I missed him so much it hurt. I wonder if he'll forgive me. I stopped walking just then and realized that tears had made tracks down my face.
"Let me guess. Axel, right?" I looked up just realizing that I had been looking down. Seeris had stopped walking as well.
"Yeah…" I said my voice thick with tears. Seeris sighed, turned around, walked over to me, and took my hands. She began gently leading me along and I looked at her, shocked. "Come on," she said gently, "let's go."
…XXX…
When we reached the garden, Seeris let go of my hand and we walked up to where Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and the others were. I wasn't exactly fond of Ansem or Riku so I avoided eye contact with them, but when Namine waved and smiled, I returned the gestures.
"So Seeris, I am to understand you kept things from us?" Ansem said with an icy glare.
"Yes there are things that I neglected to mention. But not hiding them, I just never said anything." Seeris said, trying to clarify the difference.
"There is little difference, Seeris." Ansem said.
"Hey, it's not like she did any harm." Sora said defensively.
"She could have." Ansem said. Kairi's, Sora's, and Riku's expressions made him add, "Whether she meant to or not." Wow. They seem close. It made me feel a little… jealous. Axel's image flashed through my mind. Jeez. I have to focus not think of Axel. I'll do that later.
"Look all I didn't tell you was that I can read minds if I'm close enough or the thought is strong enough, and the facts that I can use the keyblade and shape shift a bit." Seeris said in a rushed voice.
"A bit?" Mickey asked.
"Yes. I can shape shift fully but it takes too much energy. Energy I cannot afford to lose at the moment, but it doesn't take much to shape shift only a little bit. For example, extending, sharpening, and hardening my nails to use as weapons, or extending my spine and making a tail for attack or for defense." When Seeris finished speaking she sighed and looked at Mickey.
"Seeris, please tell us important things like that next time?" Mickey said, "Namine, why don't you go with them for a bit? We're about done here anyway." Namine immediately stood and walked over to Seeris and Kairi. As Mickey and Ansem left, Kairi spoke up.
"How about we all get some lunch together now?" We nodded our agreements and started walking to the dining hall.
While we ate, everyone started talking. We talked about random things at first but then started talking about where we were going to train.
"What about Radiant Garden?" Sora suggested.
"Are you crazy? Ansem would kill us." Riku said, rolling his eyes.
"What about the island?" Kairi asked.
"Still too many people." Riku responded.
"Well, what about Twilight Town? I know some places there." I said. Everyone turned towards me.
"That's a great idea Roxas. You guys could use the sandlot or the forest by the old abandoned mansion." Namine said with a smile. Sora and Riku looked at each other as did Seeris and Kairi. Then somehow they all said
"Sounds good", simultaneously.
They looked at each other, shock showing clearly on their faces but then turned into a burst of laughter. I felt another pang, but this time it was loneliness. Seeris must have caught it because when she looked over at me I saw sympathy flash through her eyes.
"It's decided then, Twilight Town we go!" Sora said grinning.
…XXX…
After we got to Twilight Town, we agreed to use the sandlot since it was empty. After about three hours of training, I could beat Riku and occasionally Sora. Riku could best Sora, but never once beat me. Sora could beat me easily but not Riku. Kairi could beat all three of us and Seeris hasn't lost a match yet.
…XXX…
We were covered in bruises but we still laughed and joked the whole way back to the castle. Riku teased Sora like crazy and then Sora would pout because we were laughing causing us to laugh harder. I actually had fun with them. Riku isn't so bad after all and Sora is pretty cool. Annoying at times, but cool. Kairi was nice and sweet. And Seeris was a little tough but once you got to know her, she was nice. Motherly, but nice. It was easy to be around them. It was when I was in my room alone at night that it was hard. The room itself was amazing, made to replicate my room in Twilight Town exactly. Don't get me wrong, I loved that room. For god's sake I painted and decorated the whole room myself but this was just a copy of something that was never real. It made me feel depressed and alone. I was standing by the door staring out the window next to the bed. Moonlight filtered through, bleaching everything a pale blue. It added to the morose and distant feeling in my heart. I slipped out of my shoes and went to the bed. Once there, I sat down and stared out the window at the full moon. Then, I found myself crying about everything I didn't get the chance to cry about. Especially about Axel. I thought about how much I missed eating ice-cream with him on the clock tower. About how badly it hurt when we fought. I wanted him back so badly. I wanted him to know how sorry I was.
I guess somewhere along the lines, I fell asleep because I woke up gasping from a nightmare and it was already daybreak. I sat up trying to control my breathing. At first the dream just replayed my memories of our final goodbye but then everything spun wildly out of control. Xemnas appeared and threw Axel into a wall then came over to me and shoved my face to the floor with crushing force. After that, he wove his fingers into my hair and lifted my head enough for me to see Axel struggling to get up. Then, he did the unthinkable. He stabbed Axel with an ethereal blade from afar and forced me to watch him die as he begged me to help him. It was about then that I had woken up. I wanted to forget, but the images from the dream were burned into my mind. I didn't even notice I was shaking until I reached out my hand to close the curtains. I stared at my hand realizing that it wasn't just my hand shaking, my whole body was trembling. I jumped at a knock from the other side of my door.
"Coming!" I called, getting up to walk over to the door. I opened the door to see Sora, smiling like the sun. His face fell when he saw me.
"Are you okay? You're… shaking." He looked genuinely worried so I clamped down on my sarcasm for once and shook my head.
"It was just a nightmare, that's all. I'm fine." I said, forcing a tired smile. Sora didn't look convinced but changed the subject anyway.
"Will you be able to hold down breakfast? Seeris asked me to get you, but you don't have to eat if you don't want to." He was being nice… to the point that I felt bad for ever not liking him.
"That's okay. I think I can force something down. Besides, I don't want Seeris to maw you." He laughed at that and I actually joined in until Ansem came down the hall and glared at me as he passed by.
"Jeez, what's his problem?" Sora said watching Ansem go down the hall.
"I was about to ask the same question." I said.
When we met up with Kairi, Riku, and Namine at the dining hall for breakfast, we learned that Ansem had a stick up his ass today because he had a disagreement with Seeris about me and Seeris won the argument but they were both still pissed. Other than that, everything went smoothly, except for when I fell asleep on the train ride home and no one bothered to wake me up, so when the train came to its usual abrupt stop, I fell right off the seat. Sadly though, it was the next day when our lives would become just a little bit harder.
…XXX…
Queen Minnie had gone to everyone's rooms to wake them up and tell them to meet in the conference room earlier this morning. That would be why everyone was sitting around the table, waiting for Mickey and Ansem to show up. The head of the table was obviously reserved for the king, but to the right of it sat Minnie. Riku sat next to Minnie, Kairi sat next to Riku, Sora sat next to Kairi, and Seeris sat next to Sora. I sat next to Seeris, who was hunched over the table with drooping eyelids.
"How long have you guys been here waiting?" I asked, looking at Kairi.
"About twenty minutes." She replied. They all seemed tired. Riku had his head down on the table and looked like he was sleeping. Sora hadn't even bothered to cover his face with his arms and was drooling on the table, fast asleep. Seeris was about to fall asleep any second and Kairi looked about the same.
After about twenty more minutes later, Seeris was sleeping as well and I could feel my eyelids getting heavy. Why did they wake us up so early if they were going to be late? Just as I finished the thought, Ansem and Mickey walked in. Mickey sat and Ansem took one look at us, walked up to the table, picked up a chair, and slammed it to the floor. It scared Sora awake and made Kairi and I jump. The only effect it had on Seeris and Riku was them groaning and sitting up.
"Get up and pay attention." Ansem practically yelled. That got their attention. "We are aware that you have been building a routine of going out everyday and training, but there have been problems arousing in areas such as Radiant Garden. They have been having communication problems and violent heartless attacks. There are other worlds that have reported similar troubles. Therefore, we ask that you clear at least half your day's schedule to help maintain the peace. Also, we must know how much education you've each received, so we must test each of you to see how much you know."
"So, simply put, you want us to continue training, go on missions, and do homework?" Seeris asked in an incredulous tone.
"I said nothing of missions nor homework." He said. Seeris narrowed her eyes then,
"Yes, but that's exactly what it is." Seeris said pointedly. Ansem sighed, looking defeated.
"How about this, we go on the missions and if we have the time and energy afterward, train. As for testing our knowledge, we can schedule that sometime. Would that work?" She said looking at everyone and biting her bottom lip. Ansem looked like he was calculating something in his head and the others looked like they were concentrating.
"I suppose it would work out well but, the others must agree first."
…XXX…
Well, in the end, we all wound up agreeing. So, now we will be assigned three missions a week, we get a test twice a week, and we choose when we go on our solo missions. It reminded me of the Organization, which brought me back to Axel… Seeris is bringing him back but, what am I going to say to him? Well first things first, I'll apologize. But, will he forgive me? I guess I'll just have to find out. I was so deep in thought that I hadn't noticed the door to my room was closed and I'm sure you can guess what happened next. I slammed into the door with enough force that I wound up falling right on my butt. I reached up to rub my nose but, when I pulled my hand away, it was covered in a hot, sticky, crimson colored liquid. I didn't realize until that exact moment that blood was still pouring out at an alarming rate. I tried pinching my nose but, all that did was make me choke on my own blood. By then, panic had set in. I had never bled from my nose before and had no clue how to stop it. I was still choking on my own blood when Ansem turned the corner and saw me. He picked up the pace when our eyes met and he saw my panic. When he reached me, he knelt down, pinched my nose and said, "Tilt your head back and stand up, slowly."
I tilted my head but, when I struggled to stand, he pulled me up by my arms like I was a toddler. Once I was up and steady, he gave me a cloth to hold my nose with and said, "Keep your head back." and then left. When he left, it kinda left me wondering. Was he really such a bad guy? Of course, that doesn't mean we'll be all buddy-buddy now or anything, I still hate him. I just don't hate him as much as I did before.
…XXX…
I continued to have the nightmares, which were gradually getting worse. So, Seeris turned me into a child, in hopes the time reversal would make me forget for a little while. I have no idea where the power came from, but it didn't help. I still remembered Axel clearly. So I told Seeris and she decided to take me to see him after turning me back. While on our way to see him, Seeris and I got caught in the rain. When we finally arrived she turned me back and now I'm standing in front of his capsule.
"He's almost ready you know. There is just this one piece that hasn't fully connected to his heart… I can connect it now if you want." Seeris told me.
"Does that mean you can wake him up now?" She nodded, and then walked up to the capsule. There was a flash of light and a click. The capsule opened and Seeris took a few steps back. She turned, walked over to me, and gave me a hug.
"I know you'll want to be alone. I won't be far off if you need me." she let go and hurried off in another direction. I turned back to Axel and watched him nervously as he started to wake. Axel stood up and took a step or two before noticing me. I stared at him and he stared back, apparently shocked.
"Roxas? How- Is that really you? Are you really there?" He asked shakily taking a couple steps toward me. Then, he pinched my cheek and started poking me.
"Yes it's me, you big idiot." I said with a smile starting to form on my face. "You're here to y'know."
"How?" he asked. I looked at the ground. "I'll explain that later… right now though, there's something… I need to say." I looked up at Axel brokenly. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I said I didn't trust you. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I left. If I'd done things differently, then maybe… you wouldn't have faded." By then, my entire body was trembling and I was sobbing.
"I-it's my fault a-and you d-don't have t-to forgive m-me. I w-wouldn't." I was still sobbing even after I finished speaking.
…XXX…
Axel
Here I was, getting an apology that I didn't even deserve from the one person I'm supposed to apologize to. Jeez, this kid… I shook my head and told him what he needed to hear.
"Roxas, there's no way I wouldn't forgive you." Even though I didn't hold a grudge against him, I had to say it. He just looked so… broken. It hurt just to look. He was still hiccupping and sobbing but, relief washed over his features. He was still shaking and I rushed over to catch him just as his legs gave out. My god, what's happened to him? He's soaked to the bone! "Roxas! Roxas, are you all right?" I just about yelled. It was small and weak but, he laughed.
"Shut up, dork. You're giving me a headache." then, he did something that would have made my day if it was so shocking. He snuggled closer to me, sighed, closed his eyes, and, with a smile, said, "I'm glad there's no way you wouldn't forgive me cause there's no way I could hate you. I love you too much." Then, he fell asleep. What? Did he just say…? A girl stepped out of the shadows and walked up to us.
"Heh. So he finally fell asleep, huh?"
"Who are you?" I asked bluntly looking straight into her eyes. She smiled. Her smile was creepier than Xigbar's. Why? Oh, that's simple, her teeth were pointed. Every single one of them, pointed like shark teeth. I stared at her teeth unable to look away.
"I'm Seeris. I'm the voice that told you 'if you don't get up now, I'll take you by the hair and shake you until you get up'. I'm also the one who brought you and Roxas back." That pulled me up short. Her smile faded then, "Hey, I need to talk to you. Can you carry Roxas to my room?"
Her room? I didn't even know where I was- "Don't worry, I'll show you where. It's just down the hall from here."
"Where am I?" I asked suddenly.
"Disney Castle. King Mickey is allowing us to stay here." Mickey, huh? I thought he wanted us gone.
"Not entirely. But that can be explained later. I need to fill you in on some things, and some of them are about Roxas." What the fuck? Did she just read my mind? If nothing else, the way she said the last part of that sentence caught my attention. Her tone was neutral but, there was an under-current. It sounded like… fear.
…XXX…
Shortly after placing Roxas on her bed I noticed a something a little odd…
"So, mind telling me how you even know those three?" I pointed to a picture of Sora, Kairi, Seeris, and Riku that was hanging on the wall.
"It was a while ago actually… But, I guess I should tell you… Heh, where do I even start?" She said while staring into the fire.
"How about the beginning."
"Which beginning? I guess I'll start from when the seal loosened. But, before I do, just let me tell you that when I said I was connected to the hearts of the key wielders, I meant it. They become important people. People I can't bare to lose."
…XXX…
The girl was falling. Falling through the air. The air was whipping blonde tendrils of hair across her face. She closed her eyes as she crashed into the ocean. Not too far from some islands. She slowly drifted to shore, trying to ignore the pain in her arm. It was definitely broken. When she had washed up on shore, she looked up at the stars musing silently to herself.
The seal must have loosened… I still feel the keyblade and the wielders, but I have my body back. She turned her head to the side, unable to look up anymore, overwhelmed with grief and guilt. Tears began to well up in her eyes.
Roxas. I'm sorry little one. She had grown closer to him than she had to any other key barer. And she let him get hurt. She let him go away. She even failed to protect the one he loved.
She began to get up and stand, then noticing shelter from the coming rain. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she walked.
A boy sitting on the bent trunk of a poapu tree noticed her and broke out into a run. His friend, alarmed by the sudden change in his friend, ran after him, and the girl that was with them followed closely behind. The girl clutched her broken arm closer and looked up at the sound of footsteps. As the trio approached, her eyes widened in recognition.
"Sora… Kairi… Riku…" The girl said, stunned.
When they reached her, she fell to her knees and said, "We finally meet." Then smiled and collapsed.
The tall silver haired boy, Riku, caught the girl as she fell and the smaller, brunette boy, Sora, helped Riku pick her up. They brought her to an old wooden shack along the seaside. Kairi opened the door and they all went in.
Riku hadn't noticed the girl's broken arm and when he set her down, all her weight had gone on it. Her eyes snapped open and she screamed in agony. Riku and Sora stared in shock but, Kairi immediately dropped to her knees and pulled the girl off her side. With the pressure off her screams died away. Her eyes were wide, teeth clenched, and she was gasping for air. Kairi gently set her down on her back.
"Shhhhh. It's okay. Just rest for now. You'll be fine." She said, sending the girl a reassuring smile. She calmed down, closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep. Soon after, the trio started talking.
"We can't keep her here. This old shack won't hold out the rain forever and the rain is only making high tide worse." Kairi said worriedly.
"Well we can't just take her home, Kairi. Our parents would flip out." Riku said.
"I hate to say it but, he has a point." Sora said. They were all silent for a moment, thinking. "Hey what about that old tree house? That's high enough to avoid floods and stable enough to keep the rain out. We can just bring her anything she needs, like blankets or water. That would work, right?" Sora said. They all looked at each other for a moment and agreed. "She goes to the tree house!"
After they got her to the tree house, Riku made sure not to set her down on her arm again. Sora and Kairi had left to get some things for her and left Riku to watch her. He wondered for the first time, how she had gotten to Destiny Islands.
Just then, her eyelids fluttered open and a set of golden brown eyes locked with Riku's turquoise ones.
"You're Riku, right?" The girl asked weakly. "I'm Seeris."
"How do you know my name?" He asked, clearly stunned. She shook her head slightly.
"I'll explain later when Sora and Kairi are back." She said. "It's nice to finally meet you though." Then, she went back to sleep. More time passed as Riku waited for the other two and when they arrived, they had their arms full of supplies. Kairi had blankets and pillows. Sora had food, water, and other provisions.
Just as they set all the supplies down, the girl woke up. All eyes were on her but, she only smiled. "Hello." She said weakly, looking at them. "My name's Seeris. It's nice to meet you."
…XXX…
"Later, when the storm died down, they brought me to their parents and set the bone back into place. She grimaced at the memory and rubbed her arm.
"I have to say, that was an… interesting… story." I said. There was whimpering coming from the bed where Roxas was. Seeris uncurled and went to him. She touched the tip of her fingers to his forehead and closed her eyes in concentration. After a moment, her eyes snapped open.
"Not again…" She said, exasperated. Then, she looked at me, her eyes widening.
"Axel, come here please." She said. I stood up from the chair I was sitting in and walked over to where she and Roxas were.
"Wake him up. If he wakes up and sees you, it might be okay…" I looked at her doubtfully.
"Oh, just do it." She said, rolling her eyes. Someone had an attitude, jeez. I started shaking him gently and calling his name.
"Roxas… Come on, it's time to wake up." Almost immediately, his eyes flew open and he grabbed my wrist. I nearly jerked back in surprise. His wild eyes finally found mine and he began to relaxed. His grip on my wrist loosened but, never let go. His face was twisted with anguish, tears spilled down his face. I was completely and utterly shocked. I had no idea how to react. I had never once seen that look on his face. What the hell was going on in his head? Just seeing him like this nearly brought tears to my eyes. It was what the girl said that actually made them come.
"His nightmare was of you." She said, quieter than death. I looked over at her.
She had her head turned and tears were making tracks down her face as well.
"His nightmares… are of you fading… or of you rejecting him… sometimes they just play out as memories of when you two fought in the other Twilight Town." She continued. It was my fault… I gave him nightmares and he gave me the apology. I wanted to pull him into my arms, hold him, and tell him it was going to be alright, but as he regained control of his breathing, a sleepy look came over his face and I knew he would fall back to sleep any second. I watched him enough to know… that probably didn't sound right. He never let go of my wrist, but he fell asleep.
"How often does this happen to him?" I asked quietly, not taking my eyes off his sleeping face.
"Almost every night" I tensed upon hearing those words. "I usually stay up with him afterwards. Most of the time, I'd cry with him though. Sorry to dump so much on you right after awakening." God, I didn't even care how much they dumped on; I just cared how we could fix Roxas.
"All you can do is be there. Believe me that alone will help tremendously. Usually, he doesn't go back to sleep until the next night." Well, if that's all I have to do, then, I'll do it.
…XXX…
Seeris
It's been about three weeks since Axel awakened and Roxas still seems to be struggling, a lot. He's busy as ever and all of his missions are exhausting. When Ansem gave us the tests, Axel refused to take it and Roxas proves to be exceedingly bright. He told me that he has a little trouble with math, my specialty, so I told him I would tutor him. We all failed at using computers so Ansem's making us take computer classes in Radiant Gardens. Roxas seemed to be getting stressed more and more as the days went by. I hope he'll be okay…
In the meantime, I've been trying to awaken Zexion and Demyx when I haven't been on missions, tutoring, testing, or training. I've been sitting here piecing the last pieces of their existence for about the last hour and I think Zexion's close to awakening…
…XXX…
Zexion
"Ugh…" I groaned as I opened my eyes. I looked around and saw a girl, whose hair was slightly darker and longer than Namine's but she was about the same height and was smiling. An extremely creepy-looking smile. Are her teeth… pointed? She laughed and my eyes drifted over to a capsule close to mine. She stopped laughing. I walked over and peered through the glass at Demyx's sleeping face. Demyx had always gone about his day very happily. Sometimes I wondered if he even knew I was there. Even if he hadn't, I always made sure to take care of him. When we went on missions together, I always had his back. I brushed my fingers across the glass, lightly.
"He'll wake up soon you know." The girl said, quietly. I dropped my hand and turned to look directly into the girl's eyes.
"Who are you and how much do you know?" I said with a neutral tone, hiding all emotion.
"My name's Seeris and I know you're careful not to show emotion, even though sometimes, it feels unbearable. And that you care deeply for that boy." Her eyes softened a bit as she said the last part. I admit it, I was shocked. I think I might have shown it slightly whether I wanted to or not, but I was shocked nonetheless.
"How do you know?"
"…Well, I know your probably wanting to ask quite a few questions so why don't I explain? Come." She said gesturing. I reluctantly followed.
…XXX…
Axel
Now I was near panic. Before, I worried but now, I was literally twitching. Roxas had gone on his mission, his first time back in Twilight Town, but he hasn't come back and it's almost sunset. He left before dawn and his mission was simple. The others had much more difficult missions and they were all back now. All he had to do was investigate that stupid Old Mansion. He would be fine. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. Seriously, I was sitting in Roxas' room (shut up) bouncing my leg. It was disturbingly quick and within a few minutes, my eye was twitching.
"For the love of all things holy, Axel, just go. I know you're dying to, so just do it. We'll cover you." I jumped about two feet at hearing her voice. Kairi and Namine were standing about four feet away with their arms crossed. As soon as I actually processed what Kairi had said, I jumped up and left as quickly as possible. I'm on my way Roxas.
…XXX…
Roxas
When I investigated the Old Mansion, I started to realize that even if it was all just a program, I still missed it. I mean, I escaped the Organization, lost my best friends, was captured, put into a program, had my memories taken, then remembered everything, and realized the life that I thought I was living, was all just a lie. You can't say I haven't been through a lot. So it shouldn't be so surprising that I feel a little depressed. After investigating the Old Mansion, I decided to go to the sandlot. My cloak dragged along the ground a bit, it always did. Oh, you probably don't know why I'm wearing the cloak. Well, remember my little nosebleed? Yeah, well, it kinda got all over my shirt and the cloak is the only other thing I have at the moment. God, what am I doing? I slumped forward and dropped my head in my hands. I'm just a broken kid trying to fix what went wrong.
"Hey chicken wuss!" I froze. I knew that voice. It was infuriating, annoying, and pathetic all at the same time. I looked up to see Seifer with an ugly sneer on his face. Well wadda y'know, the real Seifer is just as stupid as the pixilated one. "I'm talkin' to you, chicken wuss!" He said looking straight at me.
"Find a better insult, moron." I retorted.
"What was that?" He said. He sauntered forth, his little gang at his heels. I had failed to notice the bat in his hand though and when I glanced down and saw it, my one and only thought was 'Shit'. While I was staring at the bat though, I was shoved violently from the bench. I landed on my elbows in front of Seifer. He had a sneer plastered on his face.
I'm not going to give every single excruciating detail. It sucked bad enough that it happened, I'd rather not repeat it. Let's just say, I have a dark bruise along the side of my jaw and more of those on my ribs and a few on my arms and legs. Now, I was sitting in a corner in the place some kids call the usual spot.
It was getting late and I was wishing were here more with every passing second. I sighed, still not willing to move from my little corner. I froze when I heard someone walk in, but suddenly, I was staring into a pair of cat-like, green eyes.
"Axel?"
…XXX…
Axel
We stared at each other for a moment, then I exploded.
"Where have you been? Why didn't you come back?" I started angrily. He cringed and looked down.
"Do you have any idea-" I stopped, mid-rant when I really looked at his face. There was a large dark bruise along the right side of his jaw. My eyes widened and I went completely silent. I walked up to him and dropped to my knees.
"Roxas… What happened? The mansion was supposed to be vacant…" I trailed off, staring at him. He flicked his eyes in my direction for a moment. Then, he lifted his face and mumbled something I couldn't hear.
"What?" He sighed and spoke a little louder.
"I was in the sandlot taking a break. I was gonna go back after that but I got…" He hesitated and looked down. "Caught up." I narrowed my eyes. Whoever did this will regret their existence.
"Who?" I asked, ready to kill someone. Roxas looked up, his eyes wide. He had obviously picked up the fury in my tone.
"Uh, you would have to swear on your life that you won't kill anyone if I tell you." He said. Dammit.
"Fine." I said deflated. Then, he looked down again and sighed.
"It was Seifer and his little gang. They surprised me and Seifer got me while I was down." Soon after he finished speaking, I reached my hand out and touched his face. As my fingers brushed across his face, he closed his eyes.
"Come on. Let's go back." I said softly. He sighed again and got up. He didn't say much during the trip back but, we held hands the whole way back.