Can also be referred to as "too lazy to come up with a good name." Or "Finally getting to the enemy."
Axel and the girl were sitting at the tower at Twilight Town. She smiled as she bit the Sea-Salt ice cream, even though she really hated it. She was probably the only one in the universe who hated sea-salt ice-cream, but there it was. It was easy for her to hide her disgust and to feign happiness—she was a nobody, after all. She was content to simply sit here with Axel.
Axel was involuntarily staring at her again. He loved the way the sunlight danced in her long, raven-colored hair. He quickly turned and faced the sunset when he realized he was staring, blushing almost the same color as his hair. He was not used to having these kinds of emotions and was having difficulty hiding them.
"You still can't remember anything from before?" he asked her. "Bits and pieces," she replied. "I still feel like I'm missing the big picture, though. Like I'm forgetting something important…" She smiled and looked down. Then she turned towards Axel. "It doesn't really matter now, though, does it? Once we finish Kingdom Hearts, I'll be whole again…and of course, you'll be with your friends again too."
Axel smiled. That's right. Once Kingdom Hearts was complete, they would all be together. They wouldn't be torn apart again. Him, Roxas, Xion…and Xire.
"So, the organization has returned…and with new members? This is most disturbing news…" said Yen Sid, slowly stroking his beard. "I thought we'd only have to deal with Xehanort, but it seems they have all returned…"
"But…how?" asked Sora. Yen Sid sighed at Sora's denseness. "When a heartless and the corresponding nobody are destroyed, the two halves come together again to be whole. It seems that somewhere along your adventure, the heartless' of Organization XIII were destroyed as well."
"This isn't good," said Kairi. Hotaru was silent, her eyes clouded over as if deep in thought.
"Mickey said there was something else, though. Something about Xehanort," said Riku.
"Of course. You do not know the full story…and perhaps now is not the time to tell it. However, I will tell you this about Xehanort: he is actually a keyblade master."
"What!" screamed Sora. "That's not possible!"
"It is the truth. It is sad to know that one of our own could head down such a dark path…but it is not as unlikely as you may think. 11 years ago, he tried to claim the power of Kingdom Hearts. 3 keyblade warriors like yourself rose to thwart his plot, but all at a great sacrifice. They have not been seen whole within the realm of light since." He closed his eyes and then stood up. "Those three are the ones that are suffering, who are connected to your heart, Sora."
Sora looked down. "How can I help them?"
"That I am not sure of. However, more important is the problem at hand: the return of Master Xehanort. I believe the key lies within his defeat. For this reason, I have arranged for the both of you to take the Mark of Mastery Exam. With training from Mickey and me, you will become more powerful and gain access to new abilities. This training will prepare you to take on Master Xehanort.
"And I haven't forgotten you, Kairi," he said smiling. Kairi began to get nervous. "I won't be training with them, will I?"
"You wouldn't be able to handle it," said Riku smugly.
"A crude way to put it, but true. You have very little experience with the keyblade. I believe that the best way to get experience would be the same way Riku and Sora did. But first, I would like you to go to Hollow Bastion with Donald and Goofy to train with Merlin. His mastery of magic is considerable, and I believe that I sense a magical preference in you."
Kairi smiled and nodded. "Thank you, sir."
"And as for you, Hotaru…" Hotaru flinched and straightened up when he mention her name. "I believe you should travel with Kairi for now. The truth behind your past is something you must work out for yourself. Soon, the reason for your visions will become apparent. Now, go! When Kairi's training is finished, you are to come back here."
Hotaru and Kairi nodded, and turned to go. Then Kairi, as if forgetting something, ran back towards Sora. She handed him the good luck charm. "Good luck," she said, and pecked him on the cheek. He blushed, and she skipped off. Donald and Goofy, who had been there the whole time but respectfully quiet, started after them. Then Goofy turned and said, "Good luck, Sora."
Sora smiled at him. "Make sure you guys take care of Kairi for me."
"Good thing she's coming with us," said Donald. "It saves us the trouble of saving her later."
"I heard that!" came Kairi's voice. Donald cringed and walked on.
"Those four have a long ride ahead of them," said Yen Sid with a smirk on his lips. So he does have a sense of humor! thought Sora. He turned and gave a hard stare at Sora as if he had heard the thought. "Now the training shall begin!"
The two of them were in Twilight Town outside of the Mansion.
"Heh. I can't believe I'm always helping you out, Old Man," said Xigbar, chuckling. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness stood in front of him, not looking amused. "Just remember, Xigbar, that even at half my power, I could easily get rid of you."
"I'm not so sure," said Xigbar, "but why risk it? Besides, there's no reason for us to fight. We both want the same thing."
"Finding him will be your top priority, Xigbar. But under no circumstances should the other members find out what you are up to."
"Yes sir!" said Xigbar sarcastically. "As if! We've been keeping things from them for years. Why should now be any different?"
Xigbar turned and started to go, then stopped. "I do wonder, though…how will you keep the other members from noticing your…absence?"
Ansem smiled. "That won't be a problem."
A women clad in golden fuku stepped forward from the shadows and smiled.
"Oh? And who is she?"
"Don't worry about it. Focus on your mission." Ansem turned and opened a corridor of darkness. "And you know what else you're researching, right?"
"Me? Do research? As if," said Xigbar. "I'll get Zexion or somebody on it. I bet that book worm knows where to look. But what will you be doing?"
Ansem smiled. "Working on plan B." He said no more, but walked through the corridor of darkness. "Heh. Crazy old coot," said Xigbar, going through a corridor of darkness.
"Oh really? This mission came straight from the superior?" said Zexion. He and Xigbar were together in the lounge at the castle.
"Yep. He thought of you specifically," said Xigbar, laughing. "Aw, come on, you emo half-pint! All you do is read anyway. I'm just asking you to research something else for a change. It's not like you're busy doing missions." He chuckled again. Zexion rolled his eyes. "Fine, Xigbar. If you insist." Zexion shut his book and began walking away. "What, nothing to say about the insult?"
"Not worth my time." Zexion continued to walk down towards the lab. He saw Xima sitting by a computer, head on the table and fast asleep. He coughed and she quickly stood to attention.
"So much for sleep being for the weak."
"Oh, shut up you emo half-pint!" snapped Xima angrily. "I'm not that short!" said Zexion. "And just because my hair covers half my face does not mean I'm emo!"
"Sure it doesn't, Zexion. Now go away! I'm busy," she said, but this time lightly with a smile.
"You seriously need to start sleeping more, Xima. You know what sleep deprivation will do to you."
"I don't think nobodies can suffer from sleep deprivation. I mean, if you think about it, we're frozen in time from when we're born, so…" she stopped and regarded Zexion. "How old are you?"
"About 17 now, more or less."
She looked at him again. "This is your actual physical age? You haven't changed since you were a nobody before?"
"Yes…What's the point of this questioning?"
"Well, I was looking through some past files to get a better idea for my research, and I saw that at the time Maleficent took over Hollow Bastion, you were still a kid. So uh…when exactly did you become a heartless?"
"Don't you have work to be doing?"
"Fine, fine. But I'm going to get my answer from you Zexion!" she teased. "Please. Everyone's been trying to figure it out. Just try me!" They giggled.
"So, where's Vexen?"
"Taking a nap. That weakling!" said Xima self-righteously. "Oh god, I'm babbling like an idiot. Maybe there is something to this sleep deprivation." She yawned. "I have to finish this, Zexion. It's almost time, and I know you have your own mission to attend to. Now go!" she said, shooing him away with her hands. Zexion smiled and walked away. He didn't know why, but he felt so happy! So many emotions…having a heart was difficult to adjust to. And Xima certainly wasn't being herself either…but that was a good thing. They were both usually just silent and irritable.
"Is Zexion…smiling?" asked Axel in surprise as he walked by. "Yes. It's something you people with hearts do when you're happy," said Xire next to him, purposely removing all emotion from her voice.
"Very funny."
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the people running our /geekdad/2011/11/pizza-is-a-vegetable/
Apparently, pizza is being considered by CONGRESS to be a pizza. I hope this is just a joke. Apparently, there is some technicality about the tomato sauce being considered a vegtetable, which is dumb because tomatoes are fruits.
And ooh! Some Xima+Zexion and Xire+Axel! Of course no fanfic would be complete without some romance. I hope that doesn't ruin it for some people, but I plan on some of the senshi having relationships with some organization members. Having said that, there won't be much more kissy-kissy goo-goo stuff like we had with the first chapter between anyone; it all goes downhill from here. There will also probably be less humor (like no more calling Zexion an emo half-pint. He's actually not all that short. His age still remains a mystery though...).
Well, except maybe RikuxHotaru...but we'll climb that ladder when it comes.