Here we go with chapter nine. This chapter will have some more information about what they're all doing floating around, and why Kairi, Riku, and Sora are wandering around out here so close to Xehanort's territory anyway. That'll be fun. Anyway, we're slowly moving to where some reunions are going to be taking place, and towards some more interesting occurrences such as that.
Again, this story is an AU, so its not exactly going to follow the canon of Kingdom Hearts, if at all. Anyway, if you're enjoying it, feel free to leave a review for me.
Chapter Nine: While Embers Still Burn
Axel was pretty sure Sora was full of a completely endless stream of questions. The instant Axel was awake the next morning he'd started asking questions (only since Kairi had gone out with Riku to find some more of the herbs they could). He asked things about how Axel's life had been, how he'd gotten his powers, and what his friends were like.
Axel answered most of them honestly, finding the teen's enthusiasm both exhausting and strangely refreshing. But he didn't answer everything that was asked of him, mostly because some of the things that were asked weren't really the kind of things that Axel felt like recounting. They certainly weren't the kind of things that a cub needed to know.
The questions only stopped for a while when Kairi returned and leaped onto the small brown cub for badgering Axel all morning when he should have been resting. Watching the female cub roughing Sora up playfully a bit reminded Axel of Larxene and Demyx. As much as the two constantly argued, they were pretty much partners in crime. Riku just chuckled as he watched the two tussling about like kittens again and shook his head.
"I'm surprised you were able to put up with him this long," the silver cub admitted. "Even our teachers weren't that patient."
"Comes with the job," Axel replied with a shrug.
That wasn't untrue. Assassins had to be patient and willing to lie in wait for hours to get their prey. It had never been Axel's strong suit when he was younger, but after countless hours being practically mauled by Xira he'd quickly learned to become patient. He'd waited for nearly two days before to get his prey alone (this being a small and injured gazelle during his training that he'd killed when it had ventured too far from its herd). He was reasonably certain that he could withstand the long list of questions with no problem. Riku's ear twitched only slightly at this.
"About that," he said. "What was your job, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Are you sure you want to know about that?" Axel asked. "I'm pretty sure you'll regret hearing the answer."
"Mmm. Maybe not."
He was surprised at the amount of trust Riku seemed to be willing to put into him at the moment. Before he'd been cautious, but now he was willing to just let the subject slide with no comment. Was that what it was like out here? Could lions really choose to just trust like that? Before, he'd been so cautious of everyone and had hardly trusted anyone outside of his own Squad. It had taken him quite some time to accept Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia and Larxene into his squad. These kids had obviously lived a life much different than this own.
"So you said you have a title right?" Sora quipped as he managed to wriggle his nose out from under Kairi's paw. "What was it?"
"Sora," Kairi hissed like his older sister. Axel just chuckled again.
"Nah," Axel said. "He's all right. Yeah it is. Everyone who survives long enough gets a title. I suppose I had two. One was Number XIII. The other was the Flurry of Dancing Flames."
"The Flurry of..." Riku said with a raised brow. "What?"
"I didn't pick it," Axel said quickly.
"It does fit," Kairi said, shooting Riku a quick glare.
"What does 'Eight' mean?" Sora asked. "Is that a rank?"
"Not really," Axel replied. "Just a number. I was the eighth member to join my squad. They're basically like the only family I have left at this point. There were twelve of us. I certainly hope there still is."
The atmosphere in the cave had seemed to change nearly instantly once again. Axel was suddenly very aware of the fact that they were all looking at him with the same eyes. There was some pain there, something that bordered pity.
It wasn't just pity though, some desire to try and help him, to find a way to ease the bitter pain. He chuckled, but they were already beginning to hear it for what it truly was: pain and loneliness, the likes of which they had never experienced.
It wasn't the loneliness of being an Assassin, of expecting the whole world to hate him and leave him sulking away into the darkness. It wasn't the loneliness of being separated from his squad, the only lions who'd ever really known him.
It was the loneliness that had spawned from meeting the far more normal members of his race, those cubs that had lived a normal life, even if it wasn't now, that had made connections and were willing to protect those connections. It was the pain of knowing that they were reaching out to him, but would never easily reach him.
They could smile and laugh, joke around and just enjoy each other's company. He'd never had that luxury. Even with his squad, there had been some threat on their lives near. His jokes had been meant to lighten the mood, but they seemed far too dark, and far too serious. Though veiled, his claws and fangs had always been ready to strike. He had never relaxed.
So why was it now, when he was with these cubs, did he find himself beginning to relax? What was different? Maybe it was Riku's older brother mentality to the two younger cubs, and the way he picked on both of them. Maybe it was Kairi's motherly nature as she tried to reign even Axel in and keep everything orderly. Maybe it was Sora's youthful nature and smile.
Or maybe, truly and simply, Axel was just tired of fighting.
"Anyway," Axel said, shaking his head to dismiss the thoughts and looking up again. "what are three cubs doing so close to Xehanort's territory in the first place?"
"Oh," Sora said, as if answering questions had never crossed his mind. "Well I was looking for Riku and Kairi."
"We got separated a few months ago," Riku explained. "We were fighting Heartless with our masters and then everyone got split off from each other during the attack."
"We're going back to Ansem the Wise's pride," Kairi finished. "We're pretty sure that's where our teachers and our other friend went."
"Ansem the Wise?" Axel asked, his eyes flashing a moment.
"Have you heard of him?" Sora asked. Axel nodded and gave them a mischievous smile.
"Everyone's heard of him," he replied. "Why do you think there are so many lions in Xehanort's pride who are willing to rebel now?"
"They say he never turns anyone away," Riku said purposefully, looking right at Axel's face. "He's even taken in a few Nobodies from Xehanort's pride, those that have gotten away. Maybe if you're looking for your friends, you'll find them there?"
"Not Xemnas," Axel replied, shaking his head with a fond smile. "Probably knew him when he was younger, especially if his real name's anything to go off of. The names with x's, they're fake names. But we don't like to use our real ones."
"Why not?" Sora asked.
"Maybe because Xehanort made us all into monsters," Axel replied, looking up with the saddest eyes they'd ever seen. "Maybe because those of us who survived this long did so because they had to become the terrible creatures he'd envisioned. We're not what we used to be. Let's face it, even a bunch of cubs know to stay away from me."
"But you can't all be bad," Kairi countered, laying her paw on top of his. "I mean, you're not bad, Axel."
"Can you really say that?" he asked.
"Yes," Sora and Kairi said at the same time.
Axel just blinked at them, as if unsure how to take it. Sora and Kairi were giving him faces that told him that they were determined to make him see the things that they saw in him, whatever those really were. It made him smile, and for the first time, they saw a true and genuine smile on his face when he looked at them. He truly didn't know what to say to that. But he supposed that kids like these, who'd been able to see the brighter things that life had to offer, would be able to say things like this with such conviction.
"What strange kids," he said, mostly to himself. "But Xemnas still wouldn't have gone to Ansem. He'd just want to get away."
"But all of you," Kairi said. "You could help right?"
"Who would want help from us?"
"We would," Sora insisted. Axel laughed, a true and genuine laugh.
"Besides," Riku said. "If we're going to part ways when we find Ansem's Pride again, you'd better go find your friends and bring them with you." He gave Axel a smile then. "Or else I'd have to come find you myself."
"Oh," Axel said with a mischievous smile. "Is that a challenge?"
"It might be."
Axel just smiled and shook his head. What was he supposed to do with kids like these? He supposed though, that they weren't going to let him just up and leave while they were around. They were going to keep him around until he was at least more healed, and that could take a while. He was a little glad for it though. He was hurt, and it was far better to have help, even inexperienced help, than to be wandering around alone in this condition. Who knows? Maybe it would be good for him to be around some other young lions.
As he sat there thinking about it though, another scent caught his attention. His senses had been trained as an Assassin to be more powerful than even his other Nobody comrades, and he quickly caught a set of familiar scents. It was still fairly far away, and the wind was blowing towards the cave, not towards them. But he knew those scents he had caught, and they belonged to those of three Assassins from Xehanort's Pride. Though his squad's tracks had been thoroughly covered by last night's rains, their tracks would not be. Obviously Xehanort hadn't given up the chase yet. Axel let out a low growl, making the three cubs jump.
"Wh-What-" Sora began.
"Hush," Axel hissed, standing as quickly as he could and inching towards the cave mouth.
He looked out and spotted three familiar Nobodies. One was an ice user like Vexen, a small little female that was dark purple with a gray underbelly and bright red eyes. Her name was Rixav, and though she was quite a ways down and on the other end of the river, she was already eying the water. Next to her was a tall male with a large red mane, dark blue eyes, and a dark tan with lighter tan underbelly. His name was Xergav, and he was an earth user.
The last was another female, one of the largest Axel had ever seen. She was a white lioness with no variation of color on her underbelly. Her eyes were a livid pink, and her body was covered many battle scars that set her apart from her comrades. She had been one of the first, and was certainly the oldest Assassin in the pride. What appeared to be the white bangs of a mane hung down into her eyes. She used darkness as her main weapon, a lioness named Xilaha.
All three of them were preoccupied with the roaring water, and the cave was still within the shadows of the trees. The roar of the water made it impossible for them to hear them here, and there was a good chance that they could sneak away while they were focused on crossing the river first. If they could get away without being noticed it would at least give them a head start.
Even if they were noticed sneaking away though, they'd still have to cross the water first, and you didn't want to rush that now. Axel wasn't sure what had driven them to come this far down the river just to cross. Maybe they'd found some of the bodies of the other Assassins washed up on the shore. Either way, Axel knew there was little time to lose as he cubs peeked out with him.
"Who are they?" Kairi whispered.
"Assassins of Xehanort's," Axel answered. "Come on, we need to move. We can't stay here any longer. Their senses are far more tuned than normal lions, or even most lions in Xehanort's pride. We need to sneak away from here as quickly as possible and then keep moving. As soon as they find this cave they're going to be on our trail."
"But you're hurt," Kairi gasped. "You'll never make it far."
"I'll make it as far as we have to go," Axel growled.
"Kairi we need to do as Axel says," Riku said quietly. "I don't doubt that they'll attack us if they find us here, and especially Axel. If we stay here, it won't be pretty."
"So what do we do?" Sora asked.
"Follow my lead," Axel replied.
Slowly Axel stepped out of the cave and onto the forest floor. Across the river there was a large section of rock. When running from pursuers, that would be the best bet, and that's probably the path that Xemnas and the others would have taken to keep others off their trail. However, there was also a dense forest that began on the other side. The ground beneath the canopy above was dry, mostly because little moisture could travel below.
Even so, Axel was careful to step where less of a track would be left in the earth. The three cubs followed just behind, Riku beginning to follow just as carefully in Axel's paw prints. Catching on, Sora and Kairi silently did the same. Axel was grateful for it though. It meant they'd only see one set of prints leaving the cave, and it would make them more difficult to track and possibly catch them off guard if they did see him with allies.
He knew too though that they'd be able to tell that he was walking with a heavy limp on his right side, trying to keep the pressure as much as possible off of his injured side. That would mean they would know he couldn't move fast, and they'd be going as fast as they could to find him. Even so, he was careful to make a path in the direction of the deeper forest. It would be easier to lose anyone following them there.
He kept his eyes on the three across the stream as he walked until he got too far ahead to strain his neck by looking back there. He carefully continued to make his way forward then, hoping that they wouldn't notice them going into the trees. The forest began to grow thicker, and as they reached the heavier underbrush, he took a moment to pause and look back.
They hadn't seen them. They were still staring at the water and testing its depths. Assassins were often good liars, but he knew that Xehanort knew he had betrayed him and helped his squad escape. They'd think he was dead, but if they saw him they'd be trying to force their way across the river as quickly as possible and kill him. They wouldn't be pretending they couldn't see him, especially since they would blatantly see he was injured.
Satisfied that they weren't going to be chased, at least not right away, and that the coming winter rains would wash away the scent and possibly the tracks as well, he turned and continued farther into the forest, just concentrating on getting as far away from the cave as he could push himself. He certainly didn't want to be caught out in the open at least when the rains came down. The air was already heavy with the scent of moisture.
Sora's constant stream of questions was now silenced, as were the other two. They continued to make their way carefully in Axel's paw prints, sure to be as quiet as possible as they did so. Axel ignored the pain coursing through his battered body and continued forward, making sure to walk carefully as to leave the least amount of pad prints in dirt as possible.
Axel continued this path carefully, and they soon reached the rocks he had been heading for. He didn't pick up the pace though as he did, making sure to hunker as close to the ground as his injured side would let him. Still, the young cubs continued to mimic him as he led them carefully across the rocks. Instead of going straight however, he turned and began cutting a path at an odd angle across the rocks towards the canyon walls on this side of the river.
He was doing this purposefully, since they would be tracking mud for quite a while as they walked. They might not suspect this was him trying to fake them out as he did so, because the walls would be familiar, secure, and less in the open than the rest of the rocky formations around them. Axel continued walking this way, carefully treading and making his way over towards the canyon walls. Upon nearly reaching them, he paused and noticed that they had yet to cross the river, and yet not notice them. He paused, wincing as his sore side pulled, and checked the pads of all of the cub's feet. Once he was satisfied that they weren't going to track anymore mud, he turned and began cutting in a new direction, towards the plains on this side of the river.
With any luck, they wouldn't see them making their way this way and his ruse would work, at least for a little while. He was still dealing with the Assassins of Xehanort, so he doubted they wouldn't eventually catch onto what he was doing and turn to make their way after him. Still, he was glad that the cubs didn't question him as they followed, seeming to be able to sense that he was trying to lose the lions following them. Maybe they didn't understand why he was moving this way, but at least they understood he knew exactly what he was doing.
He could tell, glancing just slightly back at Riku, that the oldest cub could definitely tell that he was not the kind of lion to be trifled with. He was a lean and powerful fighting machine, and he was confident now as he moved. Still, Axel was a little surprised to see that the cub still trusted him. He could tell that he was much better than he appeared to be with that laid back attitude, and he had a very specific skill set. Yet the cub truly seemed to be able to trust him. Axel couldn't really comprehend it. He'd forgotten what it was like to be a normal lion.
They continued walking well into the night, when more rain began to pour down from the sky and drench them all as they walked. Axel was reluctant to stop, knowing that those chasing him would not, but he knew that these kids weren't trained in the same ways that he had been. They would probably get sick out in this weather. Finally, after just reaching the plains, they found one of the few remaining rock outcroppings. There was just enough room for all of them to get inside.
Axel motioned the cubs towards it, and Kairi and Sora were quick to leap out of the rain, shaking off their coats and shivering a little. Riku paused a moment, watching Axel, then carefully climbed inside after his smaller friends. Finally, Axel (who was the largest and had one of the darker coats, blending in well with the rocks and long grasses around them) stepped into the rain. Exhausted already for the walk, Axel laid down, laying his head on his paws and trying to fight sleep. He felt uneasy, knowing the Assassins were already after him and his Squad, and he wanted to stay up and keep an eye out. He was already tired and sore though.
At least he was out of the rain, he decided, so he wasn't too bad off. None of the cubs behind him said anything for a long while, just silent as they watched the alert adult in front of him. Axel jumped a little and let out a low growl in surprise as he felt Kairi crawl over and lay her head and paws over his shoulders. None of the cubs seemed to take offense as he shifted nervously, obviously trying to decide if he trusted them or not.
He could tell Kairi was pleased when he finally forced himself to relax and not push her away. It wasn't in his nature to be so trusting of three strangers he'd just met, not even cubs. Sora quickly leaped over, joining Kairi and draping his small frame across Axel's back. The larger lion's tail flicked, but he suffered the touch. After all, even his Squad had done similar things when they had decided to drift off to sleep. Finally, Riku curled up with his side against the two smaller cubs and Axel's side, laying his head down and closing his eyes.
Axel had forced himself to relax, but he still felt tense. His every instinct rebelled against the unfamiliar touch. He couldn't trust these lions, he hardly knew him. He had been trained to be nothing more than a merciless killer, though the few bonds he had forged were strong. Yet as he heard all three cubs begins snoring lightly, he reminded himself that they were just cubs, Keys at that, and they weren't going to hurt him.
Slowly he turned his head to glance back at the three cubs. Strange, how only just before the battle they'd fought, they'd seemed wary of him. Yet now they seemed so forgiving of his every action, like it were something they pitied but could understand. They truly were some of the most confusing creatures he had ever met. Slowly however he laid his own head down.
He tried to stay awake for a while, trying to keep a vigilant watch just in case. However it soon became apparent that he was failing at that. Finally, exhausted and unable to keep fighting, he let out a soft sigh and closed his own eyes to sleep. He knew his battered body needed the rest if it was to get any better at all.
Yeah, that was it. He needed rest to get better, because he wasn't just looking after himself now. He had to survive to see his Squad again, however long that took, but he also had to keep these cubs safe. They had someone they needed to see too, and Axel knew just how painful that separation could truly be. He almost had to laugh as he drifted to sleep.
Xira must have been rubbing off on him. He was going soft.
So there's finally chapter nine. Mostly it was just building Axel's slow progress to normalcy, as well as his relationship towards these three cubs. I'm sorry these updates are taking so long, but I won't be giving up on these stories. If that ever changes, I'll let you all know.
