Here we go with chapter four. In this one we'll get to see what Saix's powers are, and also we'll get to see some of the strange behavior that some of the characters are going to show in the story that lets them basically be who they are. Again, they'll probably end up being pretty OOC, but I'm having fun writing this story, so I hope you're enjoying too.
Xira won't really be making any major appearances for a while, though she will definitely be involved in the story of this fan fiction. It won't just be focused on here and what happens in Xehanort's pride because obviously they won't always be in his pride. But the wars that will begin to happen after that will be interesting to say the least.
I also changed some of their titles because they don't use weapons and also don't have some of the same abilites that they used. Their powers have also been slightly altered to allow the lions to still seem somewhat like lions.
Chapter Four: Eclipse
Axel awoke, still within the comforting embrace of the large silver lion, who had apparently refused to move until he had awoken. Axel opened his eyes and looked around the room before raising his head. Everyone but Saix had left, and Saix was sitting at the cave entrance. He raised his head and looked up at Xemnas, who smiled and purred to him, rubbing his head against her.
"Feeling better?" he asked gently.
"Y-Yeah," Axel replied.
"Lea," Saix greeted with a smile. "I mean Axel. I'm glad to see you awake."
The tiny cub rushed over and practically slammed his head into his friend's, purring comforting as he did. Axel managed a smile back. He probably wasn't going to get used to the idea of having powers, or the fact that he could apparently control fire at will, though he didn't have any idea how that worked. Even so, he was glad that he wouldn't have to face it alone.
Xemnas carefully nudged the cub so that he jumped out of the way and then stood, looking down at the two small cubs under him. The both smiled at him, even Axel. It was amazing how trusting two children could be, even in a world as broken as the one they lived in.
He quickly nudged the two over to the small amount of meat that the others had managed to bring to them, making sure that they ate. Axel wasn't entirely sure if Xemnas had eaten or not, but he didn't touch any of the meat and made the two cubs eat all that there was there. When they were finished the two quickly cleaned their fur as they watched him from the edge of their vision. It was only then that he stood and motioned to he door with his front paw.
"Come on," he said. "We've still got to figure out what Saix's power is, and you two need to start your training."
Xemnas turned and began to make his way out of the cave, the two tiny cubs practically running to keep up with him. As they began to make their way down, he turned to another path that they hadn't been down before, one that led to the ground level of the canyon, but to a part that they'd never seen before. As they began to draw closer to the ground level they quickly noticed young cubs around their age that were being trained by their teachers, and others getting closer to the age that Xemnas already was now.
Well, they called it training, but for the most part it just looked like the older lions were nearly killing the cubs over and over again. No doubt they were already drilling it into the young one's heads that here it was kill or be killed. That was something Saix and Axel had understood right away, but some of these young cubs already didn't. You could tell it in the difference in the way they walked, a far more careful approach. Some of the young cubs were still too trusting.
As Xemnas stepped out into the training yards however all motion stopped. Every eye looked up at him as he made his way through them with his two young students in tow. Axel and Saix can't figure out if they were looking at them with interest or pity, but if they saw Xemnas' fierce eyes look towards them they'd quickly look away or duck their heads to him.
Xemnas led the two cubs through the training grounds and to a private area out in the back. It was secluded and obviously not a place where people usually went. Xemnas motioned for the two to jump up on the rock in the center, a small platform. The two quickly did as they had been told, turning to face him. He was watching them closely for a long moment.
"This will be interesting," he admitted. "Usually we only have one student, and we only have to focus on one kind of training. However with two obviously, there will be many differences. For one, Axel already has his powers while Saix does not. Then there's the fact that both of your powers will not only be different but probably nothing like one another. Axel's Blood Sister is Xira, meaning that fire will be his ability. Saix, who is your Blood Sibilng?"
"Well," Saix said quietly. "he was a big male lion, almost your size. I think he said his name was Nixul."
"Hm," Xemnas said thoughtfully. "Nixul's power is the darkness of night, so it's safe to assume that yours will also have to do with night. That could mean a lot of things, but we won't for sure until we figure that out."
The large silver lion stood and made his way over to the two, looking down at them and carefully sitting in front of them silently. The two cubs just looked up at the older one, waiting for their training to start, whatever that would really be. The older lion seemed to sigh as he tried to think of a way again, but finally turned to face them again.
"Each power is different," he said. "and it reflects something inside of us. The night is calm and silent, waiting for the perfect moment to strike from the darkness. Fire is brash and in your face, hard to control but deadly when used correctly. Both of these powers will be harnessed a different way and used by both of you differently. But your powers will not decide your jobs for you."
"Our jobs?" Axel managed to ask.
"Yes jobs," Xemnas replied. "Within this pride, each lion will have a separate job that will shape the kind of work they do on a daily basis. Though we're all foot soldiers in the army, some of us will take on different duties than others. Some are guards, who keep the borders, other informants to keep tabs on those within the pride, or intelligence who will go into the field and gather information. There are many jobs, some even including assassins, who will kill whoever they're told to. Those kind of lions aren't usually even trusted by their pwn squads. But even though I train you, neither of you could have the same job that I do."
"What kind of jobs are in our squad?" Saix asked. "And what happens when we get assigned a job?"
"Most of us are guards," Xemnas explained. "Xigbar, Xaldin, Lexeaus and I are all guards. Zexion is an informant, and Vexen is an intelligence. We couldn't try to say what you two would be even if we tried. Xehanort examines each cub himself and decides their jobs once their basic training is complete. Then they're taken in by another teacher, who then teaches them the ropes of that job. We won't know what that job is until after your first mission."
"So you won't be our only teacher?" Axel asked.
"No," Xemnas replied. "And I won't know who your other teacher is until they decide you've passed your final test. It's rare that you'd end up having me as your teacher during your second training phase. You won't have to worry about that for a while though."
The two cubs turned to look at one another, their ears falling a little at the thought. They weren't sure they wanted to have other jobs, especially when it meant that they'd have to deal with other lions. The ones in their squad were the only nice lions they'd met here, and they weren't entirely sure they wanted to figure out what that meant for them. Xemnas gave them a comforting smile though, and they managed to look up at him again.
"For now though," he said. "We need to learn to control your powers. Axel will get to try to put it in practice, but Saix will have to wait for now. Still, you can listen and try to understand as much as you can. Axel, come here."
Slowly, Axel leaped down from the rock and walked over to join the older lion. Xemnas stood and looked down at the small cub. Though his face was rather impassive, his eyes still held the same warmth that they were beginning to associate with him. The cub managed a small smile as he looked up at the larger lion, who raised his paw.
His claws appeared, and the front paws suddenly were surrounded by a dark red light. With one swipe he cut a large gasp through the rock to his side, his claws now given the power to slash through the rock. Axel blinked in surprise at this.
"Nothingness," he said. "that is my power, the ability to reduce anything I touch to nothing, though living matter is much more difficult." As he said it, the rock seemed to disintegrate and vanish before their eyes. "Within our squad, each of us has a title, given to us by our teachers. I am simply known as the Superior. Xaldin is the Whirlwind, Lexaeus the Silent Hero. Zexion is the Cloaked Schemer and Vexen the Chilly Academic. Axel, when I learn more of your power I will give you a title as well, a title that the squad and others will call you, though others will be given by your peers as well."
"What do I do?" Axel asked nervously.
"Feel your power," Xemnas explained as his paws returned to normal and he sat the one he'd raised again on the ground. "When Xira was testing you, you summoned your power without realizing it. That was your body's natural reaction, to defend yourself from her." He snarled a little at the thought but turned back to the cub. "Every one of us can feel it in our very veins, the blood that has infected us with these powers, that takes shape in us and must be awakened within us. Tell me Axel, what did you feel when your powers activated."
"Just," Axel replied, thinking back. "Warmth, like I was getting too hot, especially in my paws. At first I thought it was because she had just breathed fire at me, but that wasn't it." Xemnas nodded thoughtfully.
"Using your power is as easy as lifting your paw," he explained. "It's part of who you are, and the powers will respond to your command. To summon your powers, you must feel it. Remember what it was like to feel that fire, warm but not painful. Then when you do that, you'll begin to understand how to control it. Try it now Axel."
Axel looked down at his front paws, feeling Xemnas and Saix both watching him. Did he want to try that again? Last time he'd done some things he'd never wanted to do. At the same time, he knew that he couldn't be afraid to use his powers, or he'd get killed because they thought him weak. He'd already come way too far to just give up now. He wasn't sure what he was fighting for, but he couldn't let himself just give up and die. He owed it to his squad, and to his best friend. No matter what trouble he got into, if they could still smile then he'd be fine if he saw that.
He closed his eyes, trying to remember what it felt like to feel that warmth. It wasn't painful, more like he could feel the fire, like it was welcoming him. He didn't have any idea how it worked, or if it would burn more hotly because of anything else he could do or think. He imagined he could feel the same warmth, spreading from the scar now on his chest, down to his paws. Before he'd even realized it, he could smell smoke rising.
"Very good Axel," Xemnas praised, but with a new note entering his voice.
Axel looked up to see that not only were his paws burning, but that several other fires had sprang to life around them, cutting off areas of the small training grounds. Axel felt his ears fell as he looked around at them. What was he supposed to do with this kind of power? What did it mean? And how was he supposed to control the fires that were beyond his reach? When he grew nervous the fires began to spread.
"Easy," Xemnas said, calming the cub a little. "Think of the flames as an extension of yourself. In the same way you would raise and lower your paw, imagine the flames lifting and lowering at your command. Do this, and you'll be able to learn how to use other powers all your own. Go on. You can do it."
Axel looked up at some of the fires around him, imagining them moving up and down. Nothing happened at first, so he concentrated on the warmth that he felt. If that was the fire, then couldn't he raise it lower it since it was connected to his body?
As he imagined the warmth moving, the fires began to rise and lower at his direction, and even move to other areas when he tried to move it. The more he played with the fire though, he more he realized that his life could never be the same. Saix continued to watch closely but silently.
"Very good," Xemnas said with a rare smile. "You're getting the hang of it. However, there is only so much practice you can get like this. Attack me Axel."
Axel looked up with wide eyes at this command, surprised as the older lion tensed and eyed the younger one. He was obviously not going to take no for an answer, and wanted the cub to attack him. Axel slowly tensed as well, watching Xemnas. He knew that even this lion followed the rules of this place, and weakness would not be allowed.
"Attack me," Xemnas snarled, leaping at the cub.
He surprised the small cub, and though he wasn't using his own powers he was much larger than the tiny cub he'd just attacked. He hit Axel hard, making the cub fall to the ground with a groan. He wasn't even using his claws, but he snarled at Saix who looked conflicted as he watched the two. Slowly Axel stood and glared at the older cub, his tail twitching.
Axel snarled and leaped at Xemnas, baring his tiny claws and the fire that seemed to surge after him as he did so. He claws right towards the larger lion's face, who leaped out of his way and snarled at him as the cub went tumbling to the ground. Xemnas waited until the cub regained his feet again and turned back to face him. Axel quickly sent the walls of flames shooting towards Xemnas, a weak but growing attack.
Xemnas leaped out of the way of this too with no problem and leaped onto Axel again, quickly pinning him to the ground. The older lion watched Axel struggle a moment, but when the cub finally sighed and let the fires die, the older cub had no hint of malice on his face, simply watching the young cub that was under him. With a small smile he stepped off.
"Not bad," he said. "you show promise Axel. And its quite an interesting power you have. I have an idea what your title will be, but I'll have to see more to be sure. Get up. Do it again."
As Xemnas ordered this, he moved and let the cub up again. Axel sighed and stood, already feeling sore but knowing that Xemnas wasn't going to let him quit until he was satisfied with what they'd done for today, whatever that was going to end up being. Saix seemed to relax a little as well when he realized that Xemnas wasn't going to hurt Axel, at least not too bad.
They continued the routine for hours, until eventually Axel was so tired that he couldn't even hardly move. Xemnas chuckled as the flames disappeared and he watched the tiny cub collapse. Axel looked up, surprised to notice that the sun had already set and it was dark now. With the orange and red flickering light of the flames he hadn't even noticed that he'd missed watching the sunset today. Xemnas nudged the little cub gently.
"Come on," he said. "That's enough for today. You've got a long way to go, but you're doing well, Flurry of Dancing Flames. Let's go Saix."
Once again the large silver lion turned and picked the dark brown cub up and off of his tired paws. Axel did realize however that "Flurry of Dancing Flames" was his new title, one that he probably had to admit fit well. The fact that he used his paws to fight mostly and could control the flames that he created by sheer willpower made it seem like he was dancing as he fought. Xemnas turned and began to walk away down the familiar paths and into the training grounds.
They were now empty, as most of the men who had been training the younger cubs had already left for the night, not daring to push them too far. There were no longer any signs of the lions who had been training here earlier. Or maybe they had wanted to get out of here and not have to deal with Xemnas and his students passing by again.
Axel couldn't help but wonder what Saix thought of all of this. They had been best friends before, but already he could sense that their paths here were slowly tearing them away from one another. He glanced behind Xemnas, trying to catch sight of the small gray cub, but he couldn't see him anywhere. He got a bad feeling about it.
"Where's Saix?" he asked.
Xemnas froze in his tracks and whirled around instantly, looking for the cub behind him. When he didn't see him he snarled and ran back the direction they had come, dropping Axel near the entrance of the secluded spot they'd been in earlier. He nosed the cub back into the cracks of the rocks, giving him a clear look that said he wanted him to stay where he was. Then he roared and leaped around the edge of the rock out of Axel's sight.
"Nixul," Xemnas snarled. "Get away from here!"
"Xemnas," a dark voice greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Leave my student alone," Xemnas replied, clearly angry with him. "Touch him again and I will not hesitate to kill you."
There was a long moment of silence where Nixul appeared to be considering whether or not he wanted to obey the larger lion or take his chances with whatever he had been trying to do to Saix. Apparently killing each other's students was something considered normal around here, at least as long as you weren't caught doing it. Axel didn't think Xehanort would take kindly to allowing lions to kill his newest soldiers, at least not the promising ones.
Nixul had obviously pushed Xemnas too far though as he heard the large male roar and leap onto the other. Soon the sounds of the larger males fighting could be heard, as well as sounds he couldn't quite make out as he listened. Nixul was clearly no match for Xemnas though as he came leaping into view with quite a few open wounds on his sides.
Nixul was a large lion, but shorter and thinner than Xemans was. He was a large dark brown cat with a tan underbelly and dark brown mane beginning to grow in. His eyes were an unnerving shade of black, and scars covered his whole body. As he came outside though, Axel felt himself grow worried as he could hear Xemnas was clearly in pain and angry at something Nixul had done. To make matters worse though, the large male soon spotted him.
Axel backed up as far as he could in alarm as the large male chuckled and stepped forward, shoving his nose into the cub's face and looking at him carefully. Axel could hear Xemnas worriedly talking Saix, but he was far too worried with the huge lion looking at him. Those were not kind eyes. Even Xira's eyes had been far more kind than this lion's eyes. Axel hissed and summoned his flames again right in Nixul's face.
They weren't that hot since he was so tired, and he wouldn't be able to hold them for long, but he created a barrier between himself and Nixul, who leaped back with a yowl in surprise and rubbing his burned nose. He looked up with a snarl, beginning to make his way over towards Axel again, snarling with his nose down. The hiss and Nixul's yowl had alerted Saix and Xemnas to the fact that Nixul hadn't left and had tried to go for Axel instead.
Both came around the corner quickly, snarling as they did so at Nixul. Xemnas immediately attacked Nixul with his own power, his claws glowing red again as he slammed into Nixul again. Saix quickly ran towards his friend, who lowered his barrier again to let him through. Saix looked like he'd been cut up a bit, but he otherwise seemed fine. It amused Axel a little bit though that he was the one hurt and was worrying about him much more than himself.
"Are you okay?" Saix demanded.
"I'm fine," Axel replied. "You're the one hurt."
"It's just a scratch," Saix said with eyes that were far too serious to belong to such a small cub.
"Sure," Axel laughed quietly. "Whatever you say."
Their conversation quickly came to a close though as the angered Nixul came charging towards the two of them though. Saix leaped in front of his friend, bristling a little. Axel knew it was crazy, seeing how Axel couldn't even fight Nixul and he actually had his powers. But just then a cloud that had been blocking the moon moved suddenly. Saix's usual calm demeanor changed in an instant. His eyes were glowing the same silver color as the moon, as were his claws.
He fearlessly leaped onto Nixul, who leaped back in surprise, yowling as the tiny cub tore into him. He tried to throw him off, but Saix wouldn't be deterred. As the older lion backed away though and Xemnas leaped back on him, Saix hissed and let go, running back towards Axel and hissing at the much larger lion. There was no fear in him, but Axel still wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to try and touch him now or let him calm down. What had that been?
Xemnas soon had run off Nixul, who had appeared to have learned his lesson about the three at least for now. As he disappeared Xemnas appeared to stand on guard for a long while, seeming to watch for any signs of the stubborn lion returning. Since he saw nothing he turned to look at the two, quickly noticing Saix's strange change. As the clouds covered the moon again his eyes returned to normal and he seemed to blink and look around.
"A berserker?" Xemnas asked.
"A what?" Saix asked worriedly.
"It means that when certain conditions are met," Xemnas explained gently. "You'll enter a state of heightened strength and abilities. It seems this is triggered under the moon, though you can no doubt summon this power whenever you want. You will enter a berserk mode when the moon is up though, which is a highly interesting power. Very well, I know what I'll call you then. Your title is the Luna Diviner."
"Xemnas," a familiar voice cried.
Xemnas and the two tiny cubs looked up to see Vexen and Zexion running towards them. They seemed to pop up a lot around here, and Axel could only wonder why that was really. The two quickly ran over to the two cubs, noticing how tired Axel was, and that Saix was injured. As they drew closer however they leaped back in surprise when the moon appeared again and Saix snarled at them almost instinctively, his eyes glowing silver again.
"What?" Vexen gasped. "What is this?"
"Saix's power," Xemnas replied. "He has a berserk mode. I've found his title too. He's the Luna Diviner."
"And Axel?" Zexion asked, carefully watching Saix from the corner of his eye.
"The Flurry of Dancing Flames," Xemnas replied.
The two nodded but seemed unsure what to make of the two cubs. Xemnas stepped fearlessly over and picked up Saix, making the cub snarl. He seemed to still be able to understand that the older lion meant him no harm though, and let him carry him. Vexen quickly ran over and picked up Axel as well, following after Xemnas. Axel noticed Zexion pause just a moment, obviously watching the group, before he turned and ran to catch up with Vexen.
There's the end of that chapter. Next chapter will have a time skip to where Axel and Saix are older and will be getting their jobs within the group. Axel isn't really going to be happy with it, but he's going to have to live with it, and his new teacher, until he gets some students of his own, which should be fun.
Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. It's a lot of fun to write, and I can't wait to write more for it. I've got quite a few plans for this story, and I know the direction that I want it to take as well.