A/N: First AkuRoku/Kingdom Hearts story. Ever. Sorry if it blows, or people are OOC. I've been reading/studying how people can aptly portray each character, and I think I have the jist of it. We'll see. Also, I haven't written for reasons other than school in forever, and now I'm trying to get back to it. Constructive critisim welcome, as long as you don't tear me a new one. And apparently I'm into slashes a lot tonight. Heh.
Disclaimer: Do I own Kingdom Hearts? I wish, because it wouldn't be infused with random ass Disney characters. I laughed when Donald "died" in Kingdom Hearts II. I'm horrible. I know. But unforunately I'm not the owner of this crack/amazing/ridiculous game. Again, I wish.
"This is number VIII clocking in, assisting is number IX. Estimated start time for cloning is zero-hundred." Axel said into the tape recorder, trying to keep his voice level and professional, as to not reveal that he really, really hated this part of the job.
"Dem, what are you doing?"
The lazy blonde had tried to shirk his duties by sneaking closer to the door and away from the subject laying supine on the table.
"Shit Axel, you know I hate doing this crap."
"Jesus Demyx, just make sure the kid is dead so his clone doesn't come out with four arms or something." Axel sighed, wishing that he could be out, killing shadows for the hell of it. Demyx pressed his pointer and middle finger to the subject's wrist slightly, and from across the room Axel couldn't that Demyx was actually doing it all wrong, that instead of his fingers being perpendicular to the subject's pinkie they should be by the thumb. But as Axel was completely unaware of this fact, when Demyx declared him dead Axel once again pressed record on the tiny tape-recorder, and talked the entire process through, while Demyx did most of the work.
After the process of cloning had begun, they left the tiny room and ventured out on their own ways; Demyx to annoy more of their co-workers by playing his guitar loudly at one in the morning, and Axel to set the shadows and everything else in his way on fire, including the memory of the task he had just performed. They did not however, hear the low screams that never, never had came from the machine before.
-8-
He was on fire, something was burning its way through his body, and he ached and screamed in protest to the cells forming and splitting, being born and yet dying all at the same time. Finally, once it was over he expected sweet relief, but instead was subjected to blinding light spilling through his eyelids and tainting his eyesight red. Someone forced his eyes open, and he found himself staring straight into the source of the seemingly brain-damaging light. He tried to turn his head but found he could only move a centimeter from side to side.
"Axel, I think you're blinding him with the light."
That was probably the understatement of the year. He heard a scoff come from above him, and a second later someone turned his head so that he wasn't staring straight up, rather than into two shockingly blue eyes. The person lying ten feet from him on a gurney , was staring fixedly at him making him want to close his eyes, escape from this queer sight, that is, until the eyes blinked. Not once, but twice and he felt himself gaining.. Hope? Is that what this feeling was called; warmth spreading from a place in his chest to the rest of his body? Then, at first he thought it was footsteps, growing louder and faster, but he realized it was the beating of his heart. Until now, it had been desolately mute.
Before he knew it, his fingers were extending towards the kid's across from him; his eyes widening as the kid's own fingers reached for his.
In that split second the brown-headed kid next to him called out,
"Roxas?"
He blinked, his first motion that had really been of his own accord, and when he opened his eyes again the brown-headed kid was gone, and hovering over him was a thin face, with two diamond shaped tattoos below startling green eyes.
"Shit." He heard, and then everything was withdrawing, retreating to the darkness it had so gallantly and provocatively came from. Where was the heartbeat, the petty noise that had filled him with hope? It had subsided it seemed, along with the rest of the world and as soon as he had closed his eyes; he could feel himself falling out of consciousness, all he could hear were the screaming of machines and a voice yelling for someone to call Namine.
-8-
"Riku."
He stopped and turned his head slightly, as to not disturb the boy slung over his shoulder.
"I don't.." and the statement was punctuated by a loud retching noise, followed by a gasp and Kairi's high pitched voice crying out.
"Riku, we need to call her, now." She moved by Sora's face into Riku's view and he saw blood soaking into the leg of her pants, which declared Kairi the main recipient of Sora's "gift".
"No." He stated, and started towards the safe home they had set up prior to Sora's botched rescue. He did not want that weak witch messing with Sora's heart, and especially not with his memories.
"He's going to die Riku. She said this was going to happen, didn't she? We're in deep shit and you know it. We need her now, each second you spend dicking around is in turn lowering his percentage to live."
Riku stared at the body that he had so carefully put over his shoulder, at how he was dressed in a white, shapeless gown rather than his usual shorts and t-shirt. How his skin seemed so much lighter than it ever was, how when they had gone to rescue Sora, he didn't recognize them at first. Riku nodded, and Kairi pointed to the right of them, towards the shadier side of town, and took off leaving Riku wondering if this so called "genius plan" would actually work.
-8-
He awoke to nothing. Nothing except a dull white, nothing compared to the echoing darkness that before had seemingly incased his very being, his very soul. He tried to sit up, but a sharp stitch in his chest forced him back down and he laid there thinking of his next possible move when he heard rustling and a soft snore. A sharp turn of his face to the left and he found himself staring at a person, who could most certainly not be real. The guy was slumped in a armchair, his arms crossed and his neck lolling at an angle that was definitely going to cause pain later. Sure, all these factors pointed towards realism, except for his hair being fucking fire-engine red [fuckingfireenginered!], and it almost stuck straight out of his scalp like a god damn pincushion. Also, he had identical diamond tattoos on his cheekbones, which were already too high for a male.
"Hey"
The sudden low-key voice startled him, until he realized it was the red-headed freak [fuckingfireenginered!] talking.
"You feeling okay?" The freak asked, pointing to his chest. Looking down, he realized that right were his heart would be, was a bandage.
"The name's Axel." The freak/Axel said, keeping his eyes fixed on the bandage, "When we found you... there was something wrong with your heart."
"Do you know your name?" Axel questioned, his gaze never faltering.
"S-"
"No." Axel interrupted, "YOUR name."
He shook his head.
"You will. Trust me, in time you'll know." Axel reassured, turning his head to break his suddenly awkward gaze while in turn revealing his third tattoo.
"VIII?"
"Eight.. It's my ranking in this organization. You'll be thirteen, the last available spot." Axel explained with a wide grin.
-8-
"Do you remember your name?"
"For the third time, no." He was getting a little impatient with the questions, and the Silent Watcher (as he so cleverly dubbed the blonde girl who never said anything, and never showed any emotion) was starting to irritate him.
"Riku, stop he obviously doesn't remember. What, do you think he's lieing?" Snapped the red-headed girl who would lash out at whatever seemed to be irritating, especially the silver haired guy.
She looked away from the pouting princess/guy and and turned to him gently saying, "Your name is Sora."
Sora? Oh. Right. He knew this. Why couldn't he remember? He knew their names until.. Until what?
"Where's Roxas?" The question had jumped out of his mouth before he even comprehended what he was saying. Who the fuck was this Roxas anyways? The Silent Watcher's lips stretched into a tight line and the red-headed girl sighed.
"We don't know."
-8-
Two weeks later he found himself staring into a dark portal that probably would end up dropping him right off a cliff, its tendrils of violet whispering out and almost sucking him into their depths.
"Walk through." Axel instructed simply. But when he shot Axel a look and failed to do so, Axel smiled and said, "C'mon, it'll just lead straight from my room into yours." He shrugged and stepped closer, until he was almost falling into the portal; he had just decided to finally step through when one of the tendrils lashed out, grazing across his face when he heard something. A sound so slight he almost wasn't quite sure if it was real or not.
"Did you hear something?" Axel asked, a small smile playing onto his lips. He nodded.
"What did you hear?"
"R-Roxas."