A/N
I've been wanting to write a KH fic for ages, pretty much ever since Birth by Sleep came out in Japan and I went on a spree of finding any little tidbit I could. How I love the internet.
Anyway, this fic came about when I went to Laser Tag with my friends and all madness broke loose. Then I thought what would happen if some of my favourite characters had been playing and the idea formed in my mind.
As usual, don't own Kingdom Hearts. Can't say I don't wish I do, but that's not the point.
So without further ado, I present that idea. Sorry if there are any spelling errors, I've had two people read over it but we all miss things sometimes :)
It was dark. The sound of footsteps echoed in every direction, a trick of the metal walls that reached halfway up to the roof high above.
Roxas crept down the hall and paused at the corner. He pressed against the wall, trying to disguise the flashing blue device he wore. It was the one thing that made him vulnerable, the one thing that gave away his position. He heard footsteps coming closer and decided to run around the corner.
He took two steps before slamming into someone and being knocked to the floor.
'Roxas?' Xion asked, laughing. The lower half of her face was illuminated by the flashing blue lights on her pack but the rest was lost in shadow. She jumped up and dusted herself off, offering her hand to Roxas, which he took. Without further delay, she hauled him to his feet.
'I'm so sorry; I didn't know you were there!' He gushed apologetically but she just laughed.
'It's fine, really.' She looked over her shoulder and brandished her phaser. 'Hey, we should team up! I'm not losing to the yellow team again.'
Roxas sighed. Xion could get awfully competitive about the most trivial things. But, truth be told, he wanted to win too. 'Yeah, let's go take out their base.'
They set off enthusiastically, covering each other as they made their way through the dark halls.
--
Elsewhere, Vexen was hiding in a corner and shooting anyone foolish enough to walk by. The red lights on his pack flashed whenever he hit one of his targets and told him how well he was doing.
'Ha!' He proclaimed loudly as he shot an unsuspecting Demyx, whose blue pack shut off immediately as he swore. 'No one can beat me in a match of wits!'
Suddenly his pack started beeping and he looked around, confused. 'Deactivated by... blue phaser.' The pack droned. Somewhere above him someone cackled.
'DAMN IT VIII, THAT'S CHEATING!' He shouted in frustration at the Flurry of Dancing Flames, who was hanging over the wall.
'Oh come on Vexy, it's no fun to play by the rules.' Axel jested before dropping backwards out of view.
Vexen decided to make it his personal vendetta to stalk down the mischievous number VIII and shoot him at every opportunity.
--
Marluxia and Larxene guarded the red base, shooting at whoever dared to come within their range. They were surrounded, but their job was made easier by the other opposing teams, who were as busy shooting each other as they were shooting at the base.
Marluxia poked his head out to attempt to take out one of the advancing enemies, but his pack started beeping and his gun stopped shooting.
'Deactivated by... blue phaser.' It told him bluntly. He cursed under his breath. It was just like Luxord to have enough good luck to get him in one go.
Larxene glared at him like it was his own fault that he'd gotten shot. She looked out around the other side, only to be shot as well.
'Deactivated by... yellow phaser.' She swore at her pack and hit her phaser against the wall in anger. Her rage not quelled, she threw one of her knives at the approaching yellow team member.
'It's not fair that you get to play, you're already a sniper!' She proclaimed angrily and stomped her feet.
Xigbar loomed out of the darkness. The knife was stuck square between his eyes. 'What have a told you about using knives in a game?' He asked maliciously.
She just blinked at him. 'Get over it, loser.' Her pack beeped back into action and she shot him before he could react.
As he stared down at his darkened pack in horror, Larxene and Marluxia ran off into the dark maze of hallways, abandoning their base.
Xigbar was still confused. Had he just been bested at a game that involved shooting? Surely not. He did not move even when Luxord destroyed the base.
'It seems I have been granted temporary invisibility.' The Gambled of Fate said slowly. 'The odds have been tipped even more in my favour.' He jogged off to go destroy more of the opposing teams' members as Xigbar continued to stand perfectly still.
It was three minutes before he decided to get his head back in the game. He could still win, and by Kingdom Hearts was he really going to do it. They didn't call him the Freeshooter for nothing.
--
Demyx grinned as he stalked Saïx and Xemnas through the maze. He couldn't help but giggle as they came to a dead end. Again.
'Superior, I thought you said you knew where you were going.' Saïx said timidly. 'Not that I question your divine sense of direction.' The last time he'd even suggested that Xemnas didn't know something he'd ended up being assigned to assist Larxene with target practise, which pretty much meant that he'd temporarily become a pin-cushion.
'Of course I know where we're going.' Xemnas snapped. 'The walls must be moving. They weren't here before.'
That was the moment Demyx chose to strike. He jumped out from his hiding place with phaser aimed and at the ready.
Then he saw Xemnas' glare and Saïx raising his phaser in a menacing fashion that screamed "do it and I'll go berserker right here, right now".
Demyx squeaked in terror and fled down the hallway. As his hurried footsteps faded away, Saïx and Xemnas turned back to the wall blocking their path. It shimmered a little before their eyes.
'An illusion!' Saïx exclaimed, pointing at the wall in a grand gesture. 'But that means... Zexion.' He glowered at the flickering wall as cackling laughter filtered through to them.
'I... can't believe... you actually fell... for it!' Zexion gasped out between laughs. Suddenly the wall disappeared and the Cloaked Schemer became visible. He was floating slightly off the ground and grabbing wildly at his throat, his face turning a subtle shade of blue.
Saïx turned when Xemnas started laughing. He was making the choking gesture with his right hand, clenching his fingers to make Zexion squirm even more. He dropped him abruptly then walked over and shoved his phaser against the other's pack.
Xemnas shot Zexion while he was still gasping for air.
--
Roxas pushed himself further against the wall and waited for his pack to come back online. He looked across to the other side of the small area where Xion was hiding just out of view. Xaldin stood in the middle, firing rapidly at the dim blue light that emanated from her pack.
A loud beeping nose signalled Roxas' return to the game and he leant around the wall and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately he missed and Xaldin got him before he had another chance. Swearing under his breath, Roxas fell back into his hiding place to wait again.
Xion wasn't having much luck either. She ducked and attempted to shoot Xaldin at an angle but missed. She quickly pulled back from the edge before he could get her.
'You should have known you could never defeat me, idiots that pretend to have hearts!' Xaldin cackled as he twirled his phaser around his finger. Xion stuck her head around the corner again and tried to put him out of action. He reacted instantly, his glowing yellow pack proclaiming that he'd made a "perfect hit". The blue light from Xion's side of the area flickered off.
Xaldin laughed like a maniac, his arms stretched high into the air in triumph. He looked to be about a second off starting to dance when the scene was interrupted by the sound of a phaser firing from above.
The yellow light shut off and Xaldin cried out in outrage. 'Who dares to take my moment of glory away from me?' He growled into the darkness.
'The sting of defeat... got it memorized?' Axel laughed. He was hanging over the wall behind Roxas, only the flashing blue shoulders of his pack giving him away.
Xaldin's eye twitched dangerously. The air was still, as if the walls themselves were wondering what would happen next. Roxas looked from Xaldin, to Axel, back to Xaldin, to a scared looking Xion and back to the still grinning Axel before he decided it would be a good idea to move.
Good thing he did because seconds later Xaldin let out a scream of fury and threw himself at the wall, the force knocking Axel down. Then the Whirlwind Lancer scrambled up the wall while the laughter of number VIII disappeared into the distance.
'Did I really just see that happen?' Xion asked shakily as she helped Roxas to his feet. He just shook his head.
'I've been asking myself that a lot lately.'
--
Vexen leant against a wall and waited. He was sure that disrespectful red-head would come that way. His brilliant, brilliant mind was never wrong so he was absolutely adamant that he was correct. He heard footsteps approaching and, with what he hoped sounded less like a girly scream and more like a vicious battle cry, he jumped out to confront the approaching person.
Vexen blinked in confusion. Instead of a fearful organisation member, he had been met by a wall. But that wasn't right. There had definitely been a hallway there before.
Cautiously, he inched forwards and poked the wall with the tip of his phaser. It rippled slightly before regaining its solid appearance. This was even more confusing. Who could possibly hold the power to-
'Zexion!' He shouted, running at the wall. Passing through it felt like walking through a thick wall of pudding, a most unpleasant sensation. Upon reaching the other side, the illusionary wall vanished, leaving Vexen standing in a dark hallway all alone. The Cloaked Schemer was nowhere in sight.
Just as he was puzzling over this phenomenon, his pack started beeping and went dark. This confused him all the more as he hadn't heard anyone approaching.
'Sorry Vexy, looks like you were collateral damage this time.' Axel's seemingly disembodied voice said from somewhere above. There was a dull thump from the other side of the wall to Vexen's right and he assumed the Flurry of Dancing Flames had jumped right over him in the darkness.
Seconds later Xaldin hauled himself over the wall. He was breathing heavily and paused when he saw Vexen.
'Number IV, have you seen Axel around here?' He asked, slumping slightly.
Vexen's pack beeped back into life and Xaldin immediately deactivated him. The Chilly Academic's eyesight went fuzzy and the next thing he knew, he was lying face down on the floor and Xaldin had disappeared over the wall, presumably to continue his pursuit of Axel.
When the red lights on his pack lit up again, Vexen jumped to his feet and started to cackle like the mad scientist he was. If he couldn't beat them with shear intelligence, he would find a way to beat them with science.
After all, how hard could it be to build a doomsday device out of a laser tag pack?
--
Lexaeus was not having fun. He watched in disapproval as his comrades ran at full speed through the halls, resorted to violence whenever someone deactivated their pack and climbed the walls to gain an advantage. But worst of all, they were swearing.
What if a child started playing? What horrible words would that poor kid learn? What terrible injuries would they sustain from Larxene?
Laser tag had rules for a reason. He could see the poor referee cowering in fear as the Savage Nymph and Marluxia crept past, snickering about some no doubt violent scheme they were about to employ.
Shaking his head once more, Lexaeus wondered why they couldn't have played something less harmful, like mini golf or bowling.
--
Xigbar was sitting on top of a wall, waiting for someone to walk past so he could pick them off. From his position, he could see the different coloured packs but not the people who wore them. On the other side of the room, he could see someone wearing a blue pack leaping from wall to wall and apparently fleeing from someone wearing a yellow pack, who was lumbering far less gracefully over the barriers.
As he watched the person in the yellow pack teetered over the wall they fell. The whole room quaked a little and Xigbar held onto the wall to avoid losing his balance. He heard familiar laughter, the evil cackles of two of the organisation's fiends.
The two red packs glowing near where the yellow one had fallen told him everything. Larxene and Marluxia were up to their old tricks again.
For a moment the Freeshooter contemplated helping his teammate but then again, he didn't want to be the one on the receiving end of one of the Graceful Assassin's plans.
He didn't care what happened to anyone else as long as he won the game.
--
Xemnas was annoyed. This whole laser tag thing was a little beyond his grasp. The phaser felt clumsy in his hand and he'd only managed to shoot one person. He found comfort in the fact that he wouldn't lose though. Not one of his subordinates would dare to shoot him.
Saïx was having the same amount of luck. The only person he'd managed to shoot was Demyx, who kept getting lost and running into them.
This silly game, he thought to himself, why is it that I fail so miserably at this game designed for children?
Demyx ran past them again and Xemnas shot him. The Melodious Nocturne groaned and shuffled his feet.
'You guys keep shooting me, that's so like, not fair or something.' He complained. 'And which way is the exit anyway? I've been walking for ages and I can't find it.'
'Demyx, you've been running in circles for the last ten minutes. Did you try going down a different path?' Saïx asked in his most condescending tone.
'Oh so that's why I can't find it!'
--
In one of the many corners, Zexion paused to catch his breath. He smiled slightly as he heard the frustration of yet another organisation member coming up against one of his illusionary walls. Messing with them was easier than defeating Shadow Heartless.
He decided to creep closer to investigate and possibly even attempt to give whoever it was a nervous breakdown. He found Luxord scratching his head and muttering to himself.
'Blast. I have invincibility and it's wasted because of these confusing corridors.' The Gambler of Fate sighed in annoyance.
Zexion couldn't help but smile, just a little. He loved to make the others think they were losing their marbles. He peered around the corner and was confused to see that Luxord had vanished. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped three feet into the air in shock.
'I knew my sense of direction wasn't wrong. My luck hasn't failed me yet.' The blonde man said, pulling some cards out from his sleeve and waving them menacingly. In his other hand he held his phaser, which he pointed at Zexion. 'Playtime is over.'
'Joke's on you, card junkie.' The Cloaked Schemer sneered. 'You need to have two hands on the phaser for it to work.' He chose to demonstrate by bringing his own glowing virtual firearm up and shooting at the other Nobody.
Luxord just laughed. 'I never lose at any game.' He dropped the cards back into his cloak and shot Zexion. 'Do you now recall that I have invincibility?'
Number VI was not amused.
--
When the sirens that signalled the end of the game finally rang out through the halls the whole organisation groaned in annoyance.
'Aw but I wanted to shoot Saïx at least once.' Xion complained as she lifted her pack over her head and put it back on the hook.
'I'm just glad I found my way out. Those hallways were confusing.' Demyx laughed. 'It felt so strange to have my sitar out of my hands for like... what was it? Twenty minutes?'
The fourteen members of Organisation XIII moved back to the entranceway of the building to look at the small television screen that displayed the rankings of the players.
'Oh come on!' Larxene screeched. She waved her knives at Xaldin threateningly while she glared at each of the members of the red team in turn. 'I can't believe this buffoon did better than me. This is because you idiots wouldn't agree to use my plan.'
'How dare you speak to me like that XIII?' Vexen shouted. 'I am your superior and you should respect me as such. Besides, my plan was obviously much better. If I had just been given a few more minutes, I would have completed my doomsday device and then we'd see who the real idiot is!'
The two blondes looked like they were going to rip each other's throats out, which just meant it was an average day as far as everyone else was concerned.
Roxas looked at the scoreboard. 'So who won?'
'Naturally, it was I.' Luxord said from behind him. 'Pick a card.' He quickly fanned the entire deck he was holding and presented it to the boy.
Roxas picked a card and turned it around to look at it. 'The four of clubs.'
'Quite fitting, as it is also your place in this game.' The Gambler of Fate smiled. It was all in the cards as far as he was concerned.
'Who came last?' Xion asked. She was disappointed that she hadn't won, but she was glad that Saïx hadn't gotten first place. How she loathed him.
'Who do you think?' Axel laughed. He'd come second, which was fine by him. As far as he was concerned his day of messing with Vexen and Xaldin had been very productive.
'Heh, guess experience isn't everything.' Demyx grinned. 'I get to share last place for once. Hey, now we can be losing buddies!' He patted his "buddy" on the back.
Xigbar was not amused.