A/N: Okay! So it's time to write the next chapter. Congratulations, audience! You may be reaping the benefits of artificial motivation! And by that I mean that I have become convinced that I enjoy writing this and want to write it very much. This may or may not be true. If it is true, then never mind. But it could just be that it is the least displeasing constructive option available to me. It certainly is preferable over homework and such, so I could be rationalizing my failure to do important life stuff by achieving self-worth through this story, or some psychological problem like that which serves as an excuse to be generally lazy. Whatever the case, here's a chapter.
In other news, I feel well rested! I got a healthy two hours of sleep last night (almost). The only problem is that I don't drink coffee.
No reviews to reply to yet. This may be partially because I released the last two chapters on consecutive days and responded to the reviews in my nine month absence via PM. You know, maybe.
EDIT (Well, before the chapter was released, but still): Many thanks to Lilac Gemani who has reviewed once again. Being my only regular reviewer at this point, I have instead engaged her in PM conversations, and so no reply will be posted here.
EDIT Hey, many thanks to TheLegendaryBladeFalchion, who has followed and favorite both me and this story! You're awesome!
§ - Chapter 7: The Plan - §
"What do you mean he's gone!?" Lea demanded.
Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka had heard the stories, but were still surprised to see such an outburst from the redhead who was normally so unfriendly, cynical, and generally disinterested.
Riku glanced at Lea before, much more calmly given that he cared little for Roxas at all, endorsed the question, "Yeah, he's supposed to be absorbed into you. How can he be gone? And quit it with the cryptic answers, we want something helpful."
"Well, umm," Sora started, "I guess I can always sort of feel him in my Heart. I don't think he's exactly 'absorbed,' but more like he's 'trapped'."
Lea interjected again, "What's that supposed to mean!?"
"See, he's sort of been… stuck inside me. He never really became part of me, at least not completely. I think he's been awake in my heart and just sort of, well, sitting around," Sora responded, feeling guilty for that which was no fault of his own, "I tried to let him out a few times, but it never worked. I met him once. Like for real, not just for a fight. It was the first time through the Mark of Mastery exam. You know, when the new Organization XIII was trying to do whatever it was they do. I guess because it was in a dream, we were sort of in my heart or something, so he could interact with me. He showed me all his memories. But he's gone now. I can't feel him there anymore. I don't know if he escaped or if…"
Now, Sora knew most of this with more certainty than his speech patterns would indicate, but his guilt and the abstractness of it all left him uncomfortable and unconfident in relaying the information, especially to people like His Majesty and Master Yen Side, who understood these things far better than he did.
"Do you have any indication of what happened to him? Your distress is plainly visible. Do you have reason to believe something worse has happened?" the wizard pressed.
"I can't feel him at all. I mean, shouldn't I be able to still feel him or something? Or at least have felt him leaving? It's like he just disappeared all of a sudden. That and the voice. It definitely wasn't his, and it wasn't a friend. Whoever did this wasn't trying to help out. Could he have… died?"
Lea paled visibly. Despite his air of indifference, everybody knew, especially after his first exclamation, that he cared deeply for Roxas. Sora knew why perfectly well, having received his nobody's memories. Roxas had always had a heart, even as a nobody. This was almost certainly a consequence of Ventus's heart living within Sora, of which by now he was aware.
Lea had, while waiting for Sora to finish the test the second time around, inquired of Mickey why Roxas looked relatively little like Sora, at least compared to other nobodies and their somebodies. From this query, Riku and Lea had learned all about the events surrounding Eraqus's pupils, and they had shared this information with Sora and Kairi in the long months of their waiting around at Destiny Islands. All in all, they were finally getting a clearer picture of what had brought the worlds to the point they were at now.
Because Roxas had a heart, he was able to feel to some degree, even as a nobody, making him truly unique. Even more special, it became evident that those nobodies exposed to his presence for regular, extended periods also began to feel.
Now imagine you're alone, stranded on an island, but you're looking for treasure you know is there. For years. Over time, you start talking to yourself, and to things. You start to pretend that the rock you drew a face on is your friend. And the dead starfish you found on the beach. And, of course, the corpse of your friend who died in the plane crash. The corpse is your best friend, naturally. He's been your friend since before the whole incident, and this 'bonding time' has brought you even closer. Or so you pretend. And then, all of a sudden, another person gets stuck on the island with you. A real person. Rocky and Star quickly become obsolete, and though it makes you sad, you even begin to recognize the corpse is no longer your friend. It's just a left over shell. For the first time in years, you have a real companion, who is really able share this terrible experience with you. Naturally, you two grow very close over your time spent together. You end up looking for the treasure together. They don't really know why, or what it is even, but it's really the only thing to do. You don't always look together, but you try whenever you can.
This was Axel and Roxas. For all his time spent in the Organization, pretending he had friends, trying to remain close to what used to be Isa, when a real friendship came along, it blew all that out of the water. Riku had gotten in the habit of insinuating that Axel and Roxas were romantically involved, but in truth it was a resilient friendship forged in mutual misery.
Sora knew all of this first hand. He may not have lived it 'himself', and even that is up for debate, but thanks to Roxas, he remembered sitting on the Clock Tower enjoying Sea Salt ice cream with the fiery nobody-now-somebody. To Sora, it was almost like he was Axel's best friend. So it really pained him to see Lea suffering so much.
Of course, it went even further than that. Added to hating the pain he saw in Lea, he blamed himself for everything that had happened to Roxas. After all, everything that had happened to Roxas was a direct result of him turning himself into a heartless in Hollow Bastion. Nobody else, Roxas included, would consider this to be a valid perspective, but for Sora, it was the guilt-laden truth. Most importantly, the idea that Roxas could have lived his entire life either under the oppressive rule of Xemnas or within the oppressive emptiness of Sora's own heart hurt Sora more than anything.
"No… I don't believe died," said the sorcerer after a long pause. "No one has any reason to kill him. Even our enemy Xehanort seems to desire that we gather our 'Seven Lights,' and since Roxas would be candidate, he would most likely not wish him gone. Not to mention that you did not seem to recognize the voice, so it must not have been he. No one else should have knowledge of him, so it seems more probable that whatever this was, it was not aimed specifically at Roxas but at some category to which he belongs. It fits the words of the incantation well: a calling to Nothingness. And, that said, the chance of it being a killing spell of some sort is incredibly low. A summoning, on the other hand, is entirely possible."
"Who would know how to summon him out of Sora's heart? And who would want to, exactly?" asked Mickey.
Yen Sid stated, "We can speculate very little on the matter. If they did not know specifically of Roxas as I suppose, then their methods and identity are all but inscrutable."
"So what does that mean for him?" Lea questioned.
"I suppose," replied the elderly man, "it could mean anything. He could be free to do as he wishes right this moment. He could also be trapped by the caster of the spell in a wretched existence. It could be absolutely anywhere between these. We have no way of knowing."
There was a weighty silence for a few moments as everyone processed this information.
"Master Yen Sid, your Majesty," Riku spoke, breaking the silence and indicating the two senior keyblade wielders, "since there isn't much we can do about that at this point, maybe you should tell us why you came here in the first place."
"We're just gonna move on while Roxas could be in trouble!?" Lea angrily shouted.
"Could be in trouble, somewhere, somehow, possibly with someone. What exactly should we be doing?" the silver-haired keyblade master retorted.
"I don't know, but something!" this time Sora protested.
The mouse mediated, "Riku's right, you two. I know you want to help him and even just to see him, but if this is a force we don't know, there are infinite worlds on which Roxas could be right now. You could look until you die and still not find him. Until we have more information, we just need keep doing what we would do anyway."
"However, that is somewhat complicated by the current situation," the wizard informed. "The plan had been two-fold. We had intended to send you in two groups to gather both the Seven Guardians of Light, and any other previous keyblade wielders to assist us. However as it stands, Roxas is a potential ally as a keyblade wielder. He also may be essential to waking Ventus, another keyblade wielder. The last important detail is that if Roxas can exist independently of both Sora and Ventus, as might be indicated by his apparent relocation, he also remains a possible candidate for one of the guardians. On the other hand, much of our mission can be completed without our recovering him. We can rescue Aqua from the Realm of Darkness where she now resides. We can search for a way to save Terra. We can seek out light guardians. We can protect the Pure Lights. And one further goal of ours: to find the Key to Return Hearts. As the matter with Roxas leaves no information whatsoever with which to form a plan, it will simply have to wait until further evidence is found."
"The 'Key to Return Hearts?'" asked Donald.
"Yeah, what's that?" asked Goofy.
"In this moment, I do not possess sufficient understanding to explain it, so for now let us focus on out other objectives," the sage admitted.
The King of Disney Castle took the floor stating, "We decided that the best approach would be to immediately seek out Aqua. She should be able to begin helping us as soon as she is found. Sora, Donald, and Goofy will attempt to locate her and retrieve her from the Realm of Darkness. Riku and I will contact the Princesses of Heart. We're not sure yet what the best way of protecting them will be, but we'll try to determine that as we go."
"Lea, we'd like to instruct you to stay in safety, practicing with your keyblade and training Kairi to fight, but we all know that you have no intention of so doing. Since you can protect yourself and Kairi is in no danger of being made into a vessel of Darkness, we will simply request that when you take it upon yourself to search for Roxas, take Kairi with you to teach her what you can," said the master with the pointed hat.
"What about me?" said a voice, somewhat timidly.
Lea turned to the islander skeptically, "Kid, you're kind of out of your league here. This is grownup stuff. Keep playing with your toy sword."
Riku reaffirmed, "Uh, Tidus, you saw what we can do. These guys can match us in a fight. Some of them can beat us without too much trouble. They'd kill you with hardly even a blink. Sorry, but, you can't come."
"I know, but I want to come! You guys got really strong on your last trip, but you weren't anything special before that! Wasn't one of these guys there when for your first trip!? You still survived!" argued Tidus.
"Perhaps," said Yen Sid, "he could join Sora's group." He received several shocked stares from everyone, Tidus included. "Though the realm of Darkness is dangerous, all our enemies lie in the Realm of Light. Certainly, no more than a pair of the enemies will venture there, even if Sora enters. No other enemy you might encounter there would be intelligent enough to target Tidus as a hostage and also powerful enough to get around a Keyblade Master, the Disney Castle's Court Magician, and its Captain of the Guard." Donald and Goofy posed themselves proudly at this mention. "While I would normally be averse to putting an innocent and uninvolved child in harm's way like this, we are in desperate need of allies. If he could gain strength as each of us have in our time, his help would be appreciated."
"Yes!" shouted Tidus, "I get to go!"
"I don't know, man," said the other inexperience island boy, tentatively, "I know I don't wanna go."
Selphie couldn't find anything to say in the face of all the revelations she had just experienced.
"You're just saying that 'cause you didn't get invited!" exclaimed Tidus.
"Invited?" questioned Riku, raising an eyebrow.
Lea jumped at the chance to insult him, "More like complained until the adults got tired of listening to you. You just got what you wanted to shut you up, brat."
"Hey, I'm not a brat!" retaliated the alleged brat.
"What about your parents?" Selphie pointed out suddenly, interrupting the argument, "And for that matter, what about Sora and Riku's parents? And Kairi's?"
"The fact of the matter is that we will have to put the islands under a minor memory-altering spell. Nobody will remember their presence or, consequently, their absence. Except, of course, the two of you. I do not wish to employ my magic on any more innocent people than I have need," the sorcerer informed her. "The king, his attendants, and I will return to my tower for the night. You may say goodbyes to your friends and family tonight. My spell will erase their memories of the farewell."
King Mickey spoke up, "We'll be back on this island at noon tomorrow with the gummi ship. Be ready to leave then."
And with that, the mouse, the duck, the dog, and the man disappeared in a swirl of magic.
There were varying moods left in their wake. One particular islander was bursting at the seams, overjoyed at what tomorrow may bring. Another was solemn, ready to put an end to the conflict, but nervous about the state of his other. His crush was anxious, unsure of what to expect while partnering with the foreigner, who himself was quite pensive over the condition of his best friend. A pair was stunned by the weight of all that had occurred, and the oldest remained stoically determined to destroy the one who had enslaved him and so many others.
While their drives and motives were as diverse as their journeys, every last one of them understood the import of what was to happen. Even Tidus, inexperienced and immature as he was, could appreciate the gravitas of the event. Tomorrow at noon, their forces of light would mobilize to challenge the threat of darkness besieging the worlds.
A/N: What? You wanted to read about Link and Roxas? You came to this story for a crossover? Too bad, get over it. Just kidding! But really, the entire last chapter was in the Zelda Universe, so this is appropriate.
And so it has been decided! Tidus will be on the journey. Why? Well, he may or may not be useful as an audience surrogate, depending on how I decide to write things. Did anybody catch what my phrasing may have revealed about me in that last sentence? Anyway, he also has some other purpose now. He won't be purely along for the ride; he has a specific role to fill.
Umm… that might be it… we'll see if I think of anything else while I'm proofreading.
It's really sad that it took me like two days to write this and a week and a half to proofread it. There are good reasons, though, and it's not that I had a ton of mistakes, I swear (although I did have my share). I can write in class or late at night or whenever I get the chance; however, I can only proofread when I am wide awake and can focus completely on the task. After all, I'm screening through my work for tiny errors and inconsistencies. The less focused and awake I am, the more errors I will miss. After taking this long, I just ended up proofreading in my logic class. Chances are, then, that I missed quite a few typos. It'd be nice if you'd, let me know if you find any.
So, umm, if you review with, I'll respond to you in the northern AN. Unless I respond with a PM. It depends on… unquantifiable factors. I would appreciate though.
Also, is the interrobang (‽) annoying? I decided to use it quite a while ago, but I now consider it to be somewhat immature. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but it was probably something along the lines of me wanting to show off my amateur little typing trick. Now I just use it for consistency. If anyone finds it annoying, I'll go ahead and switch to using "!?", okay? (EDIT AS OF CHAPTER 8'S RELEASE: The interrobang is dead! By that I mean I have removed it from the story content in favor of "!?".)
Hope you enjoyed!
