Reverse/Rebirth
Radiant Garden had steadily improved in the two months since the defeat of Organization XIII. The areas of the town that were actually inhabited had increased dramatically thanks to the reconstruction efforts of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. At the moment, only the outermost edges of the town were still in disrepair. The hope was to finish up there, and move on to explore the old castle.
The last time any of them had been in the castle was for the sealing of the keyhole. After that, they had stayed there until word came that Ansem had been defeated, and then left for town. No one wanted to stay in a place where such terrible things had happened. It stood, deserted and melancholy, a reminder of what they were working to fix. Thankfully, during the siege of Hollow Bastion by Organization XIII, the thousands of Heartless in the ravine below the castle had been eradicated. There was no longer a plague to wade through to reach the castle, so it would be fairly simple to get there.
On the outskirts of town, a man and woman were working on the framework of an abandoned house. They were repairing the structural damage, so that walls could be put back up and it could become livable again. The man was up on a ladder, hammering nails, while the woman below handed the nails up to him.
"We should be done with this one soon, right, Aerith?" the man asked, hammering in the last nail for this particular beam. He climbed down to move the ladder over so he could reach the next one, and Aerith passed him another nail. "Then Yuffie can start putting up the drywall on the inside."
"Right." Aerith nodded in agreement. The man paused for a second, wiping sweaty hands on his dusty, dark-denim, slightly-too-big jeans. He straightened his purple shirt and resumed hammering. Aerith watched him a moment longer, quietly, and again marveled at how much different he seemed than anything they had heard.
"Aeri?" His voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she handed him the next two nails.
"Sorry. I was lost in thought for a second."
"Tell me about it. You weren't there at all. Blank with a capital 'B'."
Aerith giggled. "Give me a break, okay?"
"A'ight. But just cuz you're the only one here who likes me." He glanced up, and his eyes lit on two figures coming down the street. He jumped down the ladder, startling Aerith, and said quickly, "I have to go. I don't want to see him."
Aerith looked over at whatever he had seen, and raised an eyebrow. "But he would be happy to know you're okay. He said nothing bad about you, ever."
"I'm not ready to see him, 'kay? After all, little brat took my best friend from me." The insulting nickname was spoken with nothing but teasing. "I'll be at the bonfire later, but for now, I'm gone!" He dashed off among the unfinished houses, and Aerith sighed, turning to greet her other friends as they saw her and waved.
xXx
When Sora had arrived in Radiant Garden, he immediately set off for Merlin's house, where the 'Restoration Committee' was usually hanging around. But the old wizard told him that all of his friends were out working in town. So Sora made his way out into the little town, looking around for a glimpse of anyone he recognized.
The first person he found turned out to be Leon. The gunblader had been thrilled to see him, and he felt a pang of guilt knowing that he hadn't returned to Radiant Garden since his last departure for Twilight Town. The king had promised to tell them that he was okay, but it wasn't the same as coming himself.
"So where is everyone?" Sora asked, walking beside the older male through the streets.
Leon chuckled. "They're all out, doing what they can to help rebuild the town. Once the town's rebuilt, we can go through the castle. Who really knows what could be hidden in there? We found Ansem's study, the Heartless manufacturing room, and the computer room, but I'm certain that there's more that we don't know about."
"I'm sure Tron could help." Sora said. "He's the castle's computer, after all. Wouldn't he know everything about it?"
"Probably." Leon agreed. "We'll ask him when we're ready to start. Maybe you could come back and help us too." They turned onto a side street, and Leon continued, "Aerith was over here, working on one of these houses."
"By herself?" Sora asked. He knew Aerith had great strength of will, but building a house all on her own?
"…" Leon hesitated, uncertain what to tell the young keybearer. He wasn't sure what Sora would think of what the Reconstruction Committee had been hiding from him. Fortunately, he was spared from answering when he spotted Aerith, alone in the framework of a half-built house. He waved, and she waved in return, coming out to meet them and embracing Sora.
"We're glad you're safe!" she said, releasing him to step back. "Good gracious, Sora, I think you've grown another inch since we last saw you!"
"It's only been two months!" Sora protested, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
Aerith smiled warmly. "Two months is a long time, but not as long as a year." Looking over at Leon, she added, "This one is almost done. Just a few more beams to finish nailing into place. But I think we've done enough for today."
Leon nodded. "Right. There's a bonfire tonight, isn't there?"
"Yes." The flower girl glanced over at Sora. In response to his puzzled look, she elaborated, "We've been holding bonfires in the town center every week or so, as a means to bring the community together. This hasn't been a real world since the castle's fall into Darkness, so we want to bring people in and have them realize that this is their home and their neighbors; that we are a complete place, a real home, once more."
It was a perfect idea, in Sora's mind. People needed each other to get through hard times, and Radiant Garden had been through harder times than most. He looked up again, focusing back on the conversation as Aerith asked him, "You will stay for the bonfire, right, Sora?"
Sora hesitated. He really wanted to get to Never Was as soon as possible, but just mingling with his friends again was a tempting offer. There was a faint murmur of agreement in the back of his thoughts, and he smiled. "Yeah. Of course I will."
Leon clapped him on the shoulder. "Dinner is in about an hour, back at Merlin's. Do you want to do some training until then? We can go to the Bailey."
Sora nodded eagerly, and hurried off with the older brunet, waving a hurried goodbye to Aerith. She waved in return, sighing. It would be almost impossible for Sora to miss their guest at the bonfire, but hopefully things would turn out okay in the end. After all, there was no true hate between them, only a tenuous sort of trust. Everything would be just fine. She was certain of it.
xXx
Training made the time pass by faster, and Sora was starved when they returned to Merlin's house. As he wolfed down his food, he caught up with Yuffie and Cid as well. Tifa was absent from the table, and when he inquired about the dark-haired woman he had met during the siege of Hollow Bastion, they told him that she had gone to look for Cloud.
It was a depressing thought, that she was searching so hard for a man tied so tightly to his darkness. But maybe Tifa could be the light that drew him out of that darkness.
xXx
The bonfire was only a pile of logs when they arrived at the town center, stacked and arranged into a pyramid taller than even Cid. It hadn't yet been lit, and Aerith looked around apprehensively. Maybe he had gone back on his promise after all… But then fire flared from around the other side, and the entire pile of logs went up in flames in moments. People cheered, and children shrieked and giggled as sparks crackled down.
"A song! A song!" someone cried, and the whole crowd took up the chant. Yuffie leaned over to say cheerfully in Sora's ear, "There are all kinds of songs that we sing. For some reason, it makes everybody happier. Even that grouch Cid will sing sometimes!"
"I heard that, Brat!" But Cid didn't sound angry. Instead, the gummi expert turned his attention back to the crowd, where a woman had begun singing.
"I've got a dream 'bout an angel in the forest, enchanted by the edge of a lake…"
Someone else picked up the tune as well, continuing on when the next verse started, "But I don't see any angels in the city; I don't hear any holy choirs sing. And if I can't get an angel, I can still get a boy, and a boy'll be the next best thing… The next best thing to an angel… A boy'll be the next best thing!"
Sora didn't recognize the song, but there was something powerful about it, listening to multiple voices all singing with the same passion.
"I've got a dream 'bout a boy in a castle and he's dancing like a cat on the stairs. He's got the fire of a prince in his eyes and the thunder of a drum in his ears." A male voice, smooth, had taken up the song, and there were cheers from the crowd. Sora couldn't see who was singing, but he knew that voice. He didn't notice Aerith glance sideways at him, too caught up in the words pouring forth in that familiar, rich voice. "I've got a dream 'bout a boy on a star looking down upon the rim of the world. He's there all alone and dreaming of someone like me…" The crowd laughed as the voice triumphantly finished the line, "I'm not an angel, but at least I'm a girl!"
Sora was only shaken out of his listening to the voice when Aerith and Yuffie chimed in on the next part from right beside him, almost startling him with their closeness. The tiny part of him that was Roxas was puzzled as well, but Sora turned to listen to the girls, knowing he would figure it out eventually.
Almost as if in contest to the man's visions of castles and stars, the girls sang, "But it's only a dream, and tonight is for real… You'll never know what it means, but you'll know how it feels… It's gonna be over, before you know it's begun…" They went back and forth, building higher and higher, declaring to the assembled group, "Tonight is what it means to be young!"
Almost before they had finished the line, the man was singing again, and Sora finally saw him. A skintight black sleeveless shirt over black pants with red stripes down the side, complemented with silver chains and red and black striped armbands that extended from wrist to elbow. The skinny figure was dancing, which wasn't surprising considering that many others were too, but he was so close to the bonfire it was a wonder he didn't get burned. "Let the revels begin, let the fire be started… We're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted…" He came around, and Sora finally caught a glimpse of his face and froze. Untamable red hair trailed in spikes down his neck, and tattoos like inverted teardrops marred the skin under his eyes. Eyes, somewhere between emerald, teal and sea-foam green, looked up to lock with cerulean, flickering in the firelight. The man came closer, still singing, not letting anyone around them know anything was wrong, save for the Restoration Committee members, who already knew. "Let the revels begin, let the fire be started… We're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted…" He stopped just in front of Sora, the last line of the song's bridge almost seeming like it was for Sora alone. "Say a prayer in the darkness for the magic begun… No matter what it seems, tonight is what it means to be young."
Sora couldn't even form coherent words. A soft 'aah' was the only sound that escaped him. On the mental level, thankfully, Roxas was at least able to think what Sora could not, though equally mesmerized by uniquely green eyes. Only one person had ever had eyes that color…
"Axel." The name was enough to jar Sora out of muteness, and the keyblader whispered the name aloud, still shocked beyond further words.
"Axel…"
XD
Such a beautiful, beautiful mental image I have of Axel singing. And I love that song, and the movie it comes from. "Tonight is What it Means to be Young", by Fire, Inc. From the movie "Streets of Fire". So much fire, the perfect song for Axel. :P Three guesses who the boy in the castle is.
I've got a few chapters written out, so updates should be fairly quick for a little while, at least. I think these are the longest chapters I've written in a while! Yay.
Enjoy!
Li
