A/N: And here is my second edited chapter, moving right along! Read and enjoy!
2. Nothing's Return
In the center of the room that had been known as the Hall of Empty Melodies, Maleficent surveyed her new domain with a cool gaze. This castle was perfect, she noted with a satisfied smile, stroking the crystal orb mounted on the top of her staff. The grand, looming structure suited a sorceress of her stature, and the secluded world meant that she would not be bothered. Unless, that was, the idiot Keybearer chose to put in an appearance.
Sora. Her lips curled into a snarl at the thought of the bumbling brunette youth who always appeared to ruin her plans. She had ended up working as his inadvertent ally to claim this castle, but the need for that had thankfully passed, and she could return to plotting her revenge. And now she had a plan that would allow her to punish Sora's impudence and grant her the awesome power she longed for. She would summon Kingdom Hearts, and this time no fool with a Keyblade would stop her from accessing its power.
"Maleficent?" Pete, the dog who assisted her, peeked into the room, giving her a sycophantic smile and a half-hearted wave. She gave him a cool look in return. He had proved to be a weak-minded coward, and Sora had overcome him at every turn. Like all of those she had allied with at one time or another, he had been a disappointment. This time, incompetent help would not allow Sora an easy victory. As the saying went, good help was hard to find, but she felt fairly certain she had devised a fitting solution.
"What?" she asked coldly, finally acknowledging his presence. At least his cowardice and incompetence wouldn't bother her much longer.
"Some of those weird white things are back," he explained, a slight tremor in his voice. He pointed up to the balcony that wrapped around the room. Three of the white creatures—the Nobodies—that had served the Organization bobbed there. Maleficent snapped her fingers, and several Shadow Heartless appeared at her feet.
"Hear me, Heartless," she instructed. "Attack the white creatures!" The Heartless obeyed, scurrying up the wall to face their target. After the Organization had been defeated, she had summoned a huge army of Heartless and sent them throughout the world to eradicate any of the strange creatures that remained. Despite her efforts, she had yet to annihilate the pesky creatures. The Nobodies weren't especially intelligent, but they were strong, and it took several Heartless to destroy just one.
Having dealt with that nuisance temporarily, Maleficent decided to implement her plan. After all, the sooner she began, the sooner she could obtain her goal, and the less opportunity the Keybearer would have to finish licking his wounds and meddle in her plans once again. "Stand back," she ordered, raising her staff above her head, the sleeves of her robe billowing impressively. Pete cowered back, needing no second warning. She struck the end of her staff against the floor, hard. A circle of inky blackness spread out around her staff, expanding over the white marble of the floor.
"Hey, uh, Maleficent?" Pete ventured. "What're you doing?"
"Patience," she advised with a small smile, waiting. In a few seconds, nine dark spheres burst out of the pool of blackness on the floor. The spheres dissolved to reveal nine black-coated figures, standing in front of her in a semicircle. Competent help had arrived.
Kanixa's eyes widened, and she let out an involuntary gasp as Riku led them into the royal ballroom. It was an enormous, oval room with a floor made entirely of gleaming white marble. Elaborate Corinthian columns held up a balcony circled half the room, providing a partial second storey.
Axel glanced down at her, raising his eyebrows. He hadn't pegged her for the easily impressed type, and yet it seemed that everything about this castle amazed her.
"It's beautiful," she explained in a whisper.
"Eh, the one at the Beast's Castle is better. We'll have to go some time," he replied. "Some time when the Beast isn't likely to mind us…borrowing…it."
"I take it the Beast isn't fond of intruders?" Kanixa asked, voice rising nervously. The Beast's Castle was one of the worlds she had yet to visit, but if the Beast that ruled the world was so fierce, maybe she was better off giving that one a miss.
"We'll get Sora to smooth things over for us," Axel said confidently. "I'm sure he and the Beast are good buddies by now," he added, a hint of exasperation in his tone. "Sora has that effect on people."
At the center of the room, King Mickey and Queen Minnie stood waiting, flanked by Donald and—what was this? The surly mage had a lady duck? What could she possibly see in him? Axel wondered, before dismissing the question as not one worth wasting his brain power on—and Goofy. The knight stood alone, and in full armor. That couldn't be comfortable.
"Your Majesties," Riku greeted the King and Queen, bowing formally.
"Gosh, Riku, it's good to see you," the King declared, smiling up at him. "Sorry you didn't have much time to rest after defeating the Organization. None of you did," he added, looking up to address Axel, Kanixa, and Demyx. "So we thought we'd throw you a victory celebration. We couldn't have done it without you," he said solemnly.
"Thank you, your Majesty," Kanixa said, using her hold on Axel's arm as a balance as she attempted a curtsy. Demyx gave the King a deep nod, keeping his face blank, but Axel could see from the rebellious glint in his eyes that the sitar player found the monarch's statement as ridiculous as Axel himself did. The King certainly couldn't have done it without them, because they'd been the ones to do all the work! Where had Mickey been when they'd taken down Xigbar, or Luxord, or Saïx?
"The refreshments are over there," Mickey said, gesturing to a table laden with what looked to be every finger food imaginable, and several flavors of punch, "so help yourselves. And in a minute, the music'll start." He glanced over to where some ponderous machine sat in a corner. Axel raised his eyebrows—were those two chipmunks manning the controls?
Suddenly, the machine started spitting smoke—and sparks. One chipmunk put out the smoldering mess with a miniature fire extinguisher, while the other one scampered over to Mickey. "Sorry, your Majesty," it panted, "it looks like all the bugs aren't out of me 'n' Chipper's new MusicoSymphonium."
"That's all right. We'll just have to think of another way to get music for tonight." Mickey put a hand to his forehead, apparently thinking intently. "Hmm…"
"I could play," Demyx volunteered, brightening at the prospect of being able to play. He'd learned the hard way what would happen if he started composing around Axel.
"Would you?" the Queen asked, batting her eyelashes.
"Sure." Demyx positioned himself in a corner of the room not occupied by the still-smoking machine. Summoning his sitar, he began to play a slow tune, good for dancing to.
"Great. Once Sora and Kairi show up, we can get underway!" the King declared.
"Looks like—" Axel began, glancing down at Kanixa with a smirk on his face, but his eyes widened in surprise when she wasn't there. "Huh?" He glanced around the room to see her talking with Goofy.
"It's good to see ya, Kanixa," the knight was saying when Axel drew up to their little conversation, "You weren't looking so good after the battle," he commented, normally cheerful expression turning solemn.
"I'm all right now," Kanixa assured him with a smile.
"Well, aren't you two looking friendly," Axel commented, inserting himself into the conversation, keeping his face carefully blank. Again, what was with Kanixa? Normally the dog and the duck grated on her nerves just as much as they did his.
"Gawrsh, Axel. That's because we're friends now!" Goofy said, sounding surprised. "Even though you're Nobodies and all, we still saved the worlds together!"
"Friends, huh?" Axel muttered, not at all pleased with that turn of events. He and Goofy might be allies for now, that was true, but if the knight thought that would make them pals, he was dead wrong.
"So," Kanixa said, giving Goofy a pleasant smile. "I'm sure you're glad to be home after roaming the worlds with Sora for so long."
"Well…" Goofy sounded sheepish. "It is good to be back, but to tell ya the truth, I miss the road."
"If it's adventure you're looking for, we may all get it," Axel said flatly. "The King made Maleficent sound like quite the formidable opponent. Maybe you could tell us more about her." He pinned Goofy with an intent stare.
"Well, uh, let's see. Maleficent's a powerful sorceress. At first she just wreaked havoc on her homeworld, but then she got more ambitious. About two years ago, she launched a plan to seize Kingdom Hearts for herself, using the Princesses of Heart."
"Go on," Axel said, nodding. Kanixa looked baffled—that's right, all of this would be before her time. He would explain it to her later…if he was feeling generous.
"But Sora and Donald and I put a stop to her. Then last year she tried again, but the Organization got in the way. Maleficent is determined to get to Kingdom Hearts, no matter what. And that's why we've gotta make sure she isn't gonna cause any more trouble!" Goofy declared, eyes narrowing in determination.
"The Organization…" Kanixa repeated, brow furrowing. "If the Organization has had run-ins with Maleficent, why didn't I hear about her?"
"It was before your time," Axel replied. "Besides, I wouldn't call it a run-in. She just realized that her Heartless were no match for our Nobodies. So. Goofy," he said, returning to the matter at hand. "What do you know about what Maleficent's up to this time?"
"Just what the King told you. We've been gettin' reports of huge swarms of Heartless on the World that Never Was. We just want to make sure Maleficent's not up to her old tricks."
"So there's nothing else we need to know about her? She doesn't have any known accomplices?" Axel pressed.
"Oh, there's Pete, but we know him from way back," Goofy said dismissively. "He always causes trouble, but he's nothing to worry about."
A white-glove hand landed on Kanixa's shoulder. Eyes narrowing, Axel turned to tell its owner that he had best move it before he found it sliced off by a chakram, but Sora was already lifting the offending hand in a friendly wave. "Hey. Why are you all talking business at a party?" he asked.
"Just making sure I have all my bases covered. I haven't dealt with Maleficent before," Axel replied.
"Well, she's bad news," Sora began musingly, but then he brightened, jabbing himself in the chest with a thumb. "But she's nothing we can't handle!"
"Oh, really?" Axel smirked down at the Keyblade master. Sora didn't rise to the bait, an unusually serious expression on his face. "Really, Riku knows the most about her…but I don't think he'd be the guy to ask. He's…sensitive about that kind of thing."
"Interesting," Axel murmured, turning a sharp gaze on Riku. The silver-haired boy currently stood over by the refreshment table, a glass of disconcertingly blue punch in his hand—really, it looked like something you might have found in Vexen's lab. Well, he didn't care what Riku might be "sensitive" about. If the Keybearer had information that would be vital to understanding this current mission, then he was going to share it. One way or another.
But first things first. Axel glanced down at Kanixa. "So, since the King did go to the trouble of throwing us this ball…do you want to dance?" He held out a hand to her expectantly.
Kanixa paled. "Axel, I already told you—" she hissed.
"Just trust me," he cut her off. Sighing, she put her hand in his, and he led her out onto the dance floor. A few couples were already circling the room in a graceful waltz—at least, he thought it was a waltz. He'd claimed knowledge of dancing earlier, but really all he had were second-hand memories from Lea, of that unfortunate month or so when he'd been enrolled in charm school. It was still enough to make him inwardly bristle with indignation. Charm school was hardly a suitable pastime for the boy who would go on to become the Flurry of Dancing Flames! Except, of course, it would help him to points with Kanixa.
Demyx, who played near the area designated as the dance floor, glanced up at their approach. As Axel led Kanixa over to the edge of the dance floor, he noticed that the music deftly segued into a slower, more romantic song. Could Demyx actually be trying to help him? That would be generous, considering all the abuse he'd heaped on the sitar player in the past…turning his thoughts back to the matter at hand, Axel turned Kanixa to face him. "What now?" she asked, sounding nervous.
"It's easy. Put a hand on my shoulder." Kanixa obeyed, withdrawing the hand that he held and balancing it on his right shoulder with the barest of touches. After she'd done that, Axel snaked an arm under hers to rest a hand lightly on her waist. Then he took her free hand and laced her fingers with his, raising their joined hands to about shoulder height. "See? That's all there is to it."
"Not true," she replied, still looking pale. "We may look good just standing here, but what happens when we move? What if I step on your toes?"
"Relax," Axel ordered, raising the hand he had placed on her waist to brush it across her cheek. "Now," he instructed, taking her waist again so that they were posed correctly, "just follow me. If I step back—" He took a step backwards to demonstrate—"you step with me." Kanixa took a little baby step forward, closing the distance between them. "And when I step forward—" He took a step forward and Kanixa tried to step backwards, but her legs got tangled in her voluminous skirt. She gave a squeak , nearly toppling into Axel. "Okay, that one will take some work," he said, sounding amused, helping her right herself.
"I don't think this is a good idea," Kanixa said, a blush growing in her cheeks. "Everyone will laugh."
"Tell you what. You won't even have to do any fancy backwards steps. You just have to follow my lead."
Kanixa exhaled slowly. "All right. I'll do it," she said, raising her chin and squaring her shoulders, looking as bleakly determined as if she'd just agreed to challenge Saïx to single combat.
"Good." And with that, they joined in the dance.
Kanixa's face screwed up into a frown of intense concentration as she followed Axel's lead. So far he was keeping his word, doing all the steering and not making her take any backwards steps. Still, this dancing was hard work! Why had she ever thought it might be fun to try?
"Relax, Nixa." She glanced up to see Axel looking down at her with an amused expression. "This is supposed to be fun, not rocket science."
"Speaking of fun, I wouldn't have thought you liked dancing," Kanixa said, watching his face while she waited for an answer.
"I don't. But the present company makes it all worth it," Axel replied with a smirk.
"But where did you learn?" Kanixa asked. "It's kind of an odd thing for you to know, you have to admit."
"That's a secret I'm taking with me to the grave," he said darkly, leading her in a turn—probably to get her to drop the subject and leave her too occupied with following him to ask more, Kanixa thought. Luckily for him, it worked—she nearly tripped trying to keep up with him. When she glanced up at him accusingly, he merely smirked down at her with amusement in his eyes.
"It's not me!" she grumbled. "Well, it's not all me," she corrected when his smirk only grew. "It's the shoes! What made them think I would be able to dance in these ridiculous heels?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that the ability to wear heels is supposed to be natural to the female gender?" Axel replied. "I guess you missed out on that gene, huh?"
"Keep talking and see whether you get another dance with me tonight," Kanixa huffed.
"And who else would you dance with?" Axel inquired, eyes glinting. He gestured at the dance floor with their joined hands. "The only people I see free are the sentient brooms. And Riku," he added as an afterthought. "But between you and me, I think a broom might make a better dancing partner."
"Axel!" She swatted him on the shoulder.
The music slowed even further—maybe Demyx was watching her horribly inept dancing and taking pity on her? Axel slowed his steps accordingly, making it much easier for her to keep up. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the other dancing couples were drawing closer together, until the dance became practically a moving embrace while the partners moved in a slow circle. So should she follow suit? Slowly, Kanixa moved to rest her head on Axel's chest, waiting to see how he reacted. Hopefully he would tell her if she was making some sort of giant faux pas.
Axel didn't reply, but adjusted their stances so that she had both hands on his shoulders and he had both arms around her waist, pulling her closer in. Clearly that meant he was okay with this arrangement. Kanixa allowed herself to relax, breathing in his unique scent: part cinnamon, and part smoke. "This is nice," she sighed.
"Very," she heard Axel murmur in reply. For a while—it could have been a few minutes, or it could have been an hour—they just danced in companionable silence. Then the music sped up again, and Kanixa stepped back, surprising herself when she felt a twinge of regret at having to let go.
Axel moved them back to their original placement, transitioning back to this faster beat without a hiccup. "Well, would you look at that?" he asked, leaning down to murmur in Kanixa's ear.
Following his gaze, Kanixa saw that a laughing Kairi was dragging Riku out on the dance floor. She actually felt a bit sorry for the silver-haired Keyblade wielder—he wore an expression like his fingernails were being pulled out one by one.
"You have to dance at least once, silly!" Kairi was saying. "And Sora wanted to get some punch anyway."
Kanixa glanced over at the refreshment table, and she could see out of the corner of her eye that the Keyblade master, assisted by one of the sentient brooms, had made himself a plate piled high with the various desserts.
She shifted her attention back to Riku and Kairi. Riku was currently allowing Kairi to show him the correct way to hold her, and he still looked pained.
"He's actually going along with it," Axel murmured. "I thought he'd have more spine than that," he added a bit condescendingly.
"I could actually see him being coerced into dancing, but not you," Kanixa said, turning to smile at Axel…and nearly bumping noses with him. When did he get so close? "I guess I was wrong, huh?"
"The things I do for love," Axel sighed, shaking his head in mock-sorrow. Kanixa's eyes widened, and she felt color rise into her cheeks. Axel wasn't one to throw around words lightly. So did he really mean…?
Before she could even complete the thought, his lips were on hers. After the initial shock, Kanixa decided to sit back and enjoy the sensation.
Axel pulled away quickly, and Kanixa was surprised to feel a flash of disappointment. She knew that she must be blushing from the heat in her face. "W-what was that for?" she stammered.
"Are you all right? You look a bit flustered," Axel pointed out, smirking.
"It'll take more than just one kiss from you to fluster me," she snapped. She tried to pull out of his hold, but he just tightened his grip.
"What's gotten into you?" he demanded, glaring down at her. "It was just a joke. I didn't mean to make you angry," he added, glancing off to the side, tone turning sheepish.
"I…I'm sorry. I think I just need to sit down," Kanixa replied, a tremor of uncertainty in her voice. In addition to feeling warm, she felt a bit dizzy, and she could hear a faint ringing in her ears. It felt almost like when she overexerted herself using her element, which made no sense. She hadn't done anything taxing at all. So why did her legs suddenly feel like they wouldn't support her?
Axel's brow creased into a worried frown as he studied her. "Come on. I think those doors at the end of the room open onto a garden. We can get you some air."
Keeping his arm around his waist to support her, Axel led her over to the doors he'd mentioned. Two sentient brooms guarding them sprang to attention, shoving them open. With a curt nod of thanks at them, Axel led her outside, guiding her to a bench a few yards away.
Kanixa collapsed onto the bench with a sigh of relief, her skirts poofing out around her. For a few seconds she focused on trying to catch her breath. What had happened in there? Axel's kisses might be fluster-worthy, but she didn't just feel flustered—she felt dizzy and drained.
"Are you all right?" Axel asked, clearly impatient for an answer. Despite the gruffness in his tone, she could see the worried glint in his eyes.
"I think so," she sighed. "I just don't feel that well all of a sudden."
"That's descriptive," Axel commented sarcastically, taking a seat beside her. "So? Should I go and ask the King to summon the royal physician or something?"
"No. Just…sit with me for a while?" she asked, glancing up at him.
For a few moments they sat in companionable silence. "You know, maybe this is asking too much of you," Axel said finally, tone unusually serious. "Running off to investigate Maleficent like this. You took some major damage in the fight with Xemnas. You should still be recuperating—"
"So you think I'm going to let you and Demyx run off and have all the fun without me?" she challenged, sitting up straighter.
"Being stuck with Sora and the King's minions for any length of time isn't what I'd call fun. But if you don't feel up to a fight yet, I'll take you back to Hollow Bastion."
"And then ditch me?" she asked, folding her arms.
"And stay with you until you're better! Give me some credit!" Axel snapped, folding his arms.
"…I'm sorry," Kanixa said, ducking her head. Axel put a hand under her chin, raising it until she had to look him in the eyes.
"It's all right. You can make it up to me when you're feeling better," he declared with a smirk.
"What does that mean?" Kanixa asked nervously, leaning away from him a bit.
"Kanixa. Remember what we just discussed about not twisting my words and giving me some credit?" Axel asked, tone ominously silky. "I meant that you get to arrange our next date."
"What do you mean, next date? The coffee shop doesn't count," she continued in a rush when he opened his mouth, "because then you were only pretending to be my boyfriend. So technically we haven't had a first date yet."
Axel spread his arms. "What do you call this?" he demanded, sounding affronted. "I danced with you. I wore this—" his tone held infinite amounts of disgust as he gestured at himself—"for you!" It was clear that he considered the latter a greater affront to his dignity.
"A date is something you plan out yourself and then ask someone to. This is just a party we happened to go to together," Kanixa said, doing her best to keep her tone and expression serious. Axel really was taking this way too seriously, and she found it strangely endearing. Plus it was fun to push his buttons for once, instead of him pushing hers. Still, judging from the glare he was shooting her and the rebellious set of his jaw, maybe enough was enough. "And I'm having a really great time," she added softly, reaching out to put her hand on his.
"Well, then. Why ruin a good thing? We can settle the date question later," Axel decided. "And about the other thing." His tone turned serious again.
"What other thing?" Kanixa asked, blinking at him sleepily.
"It looks like we're slated to stay here for a few days," Axel said, not sounding thrilled with the prospect. "But if that's true, I want you taking it easy. No overexerting yourself. That means no training, and absolutely no accessing your element. Got it memorized?" He demanded, pinning her with a stern look.
"Yes, master," she said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Good. I'm glad to see you're getting a handle on how this relationship should work," Axel said with a smirk.
"In your dreams!" Kanixa swatted him on the arm.
Axel got to his feet. "Well, all jokes aside, I think it's time we got you to your room, don't you? Some rest would do you good." He opened a portal, then offered her a hand to take.
"Shouldn't thank the king and queen first?" Kanixa asked. She didn't want to offend their hosts. Still, sleep did sound like an attractive option…
"I'll take care of that for you later. Now, let's get going." Tired of waiting for her to take his hand, he grabbed hers, pulling her into the portal.
"Thanks," she told him when they both stood in the sea of pink frills that was her room. "I don't know what got into me—"
"Don't worry about it. Just get some rest, Nixa," Axel advised, reaching out to brush a strand of hair out of her face. "I'll see you in the morning. That's when the fun will start."
"I thought you said we were staying here," Kanixa said, frowning. "What's so fun about that?"
"Sora will inevitably get bored and start challenging everyone to training rounds. And it's about time someone took him down a peg." Kanixa could hear the hard smile in his voice.
"Just don't do any permanent damage. He's our friend, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah." And with that, Axel vanished into a portal before she could get in so much as a good night. Kanixa rolled her eyes as she proceeded to free herself from the cumbersome ball gown. Axel always had to have the last word. Someday she would have to make sure that she beat him out on that.
Hanging her borrowed gown up in the wardrobe, she traded it out for an almost equally frilly nightgown. After she crawled into the immense princess bed, she fell asleep seconds after her head hit the pillow.
Maleficent gazed at the nine figures around her in turn. All of them had thrown back their hoods, and most of them were looking down at themselves with noises of surprise. Doubtless they had thought themselves consigned to Nothingness forever. She allowed herself a half-smile. And that would be why they would be so eager to work for her.
The one exception stood directly in front of her: a man with long, steel-blue hair and an arrogant, yellow-eyed gaze. Two thin slashes of scar formed an 'X' just over the bridge of his nose. He met her gaze squarely. She might have problems controlling this one. But it was time to make herself heard. "Hear me, Organization Thirteen!" she cried, pitching her voice to carry over the din. "I have brought you here to discuss a matter that concerns both of us."
"Oh? And just what would that be?" The lone female in the group, a blonde with two odd strands of flyaway hair that stuck up in front, asked, her sweet tone oozing insincerity.
"We both seek the same thing. Kingdom Hearts," Maleficent explained, still keeping her tone light and reasonable, stroking the crystal knob on top of her staff. "But neither you nor I can hope to obtain it alone."
"What makes you think that we need your help?" a tall, stocky man with black dreadlocks inquired.
"Your leader has fallen. Who do you expect will take his place?" she inquired with a slight, victorious smile.
"I will," the man in front of her declared, unsmiling. And then the objections began.
"You, Saïx?" the oldest of the group, a man with long blonde hair and sparkling green eyes, sneered. "You don't have the seniority!"
"Neither do you," a new speaker, a man with odd pink hair, pointed out levelly. "Xemnas's system of numbers was useless, and didn't allow for talent to rise."
"Oh, and I suppose you want to lead, Marluxia?" derided a short man, barely out of boyhood, with slate-colored hair that hid one eye.
"As I thought," Maleficent broke in, satisfied that her point had been made. "You cannot agree on a leader." She allowed herself a brief, mocking, laugh, but cut it short. "How pitiful. The once mighty Organization reduced to squabbling amongst themselves." Venom filled her tone. She swept over each of them with her cold gaze. Abruptly, she regained her composure. "Very well. I suppose that none of you truly wish to access the power of Kingdom Hearts—"
"And what is it you want in return?" A giant of a man with auburn curls fixed his piercing gaze on her.
"Merely your cooperation." She smiled at him. "Of course, if none of you wish to cooperate, I can return you from whence you came." She raised her staff.
"Very well, witch." Saïx spoke. "You have our cooperation. Be sure you can keep your side of the bargain."
"I will summon Kingdom Hearts," Maleficent assured him with a haughty look. "You will deal with Sora and his friends." Saïx smiled.
"That is a bargain I will enjoy keeping." The entire Organization disappeared into portals, retreating to discuss the position they found themselves in amongst themselves. Maleficent smiled. Minus the fallen Xemnas and the few renegades that traveled with Sora, she now had the formidable Organization XIII under her control. Separately, they had attempted to gain Kingdom Hearts and failed. Together, their success would be assured.