Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the Characters, or any Game, Movie, or TV Show content that are mentioned in this FanFiction story. They belong to their respective owners and I honor & respect their great works.
~ Day 94 ~
Hearts
As the days went by, Draxon and Roxas went about their daily missions with Xion by their side, hunting down Heartless and collecting hearts for the Organization. Their plan with doing double duty on heart collection was going very well as none of the other members ever suspected Xion's secret. But now, after all their hard work of fighting the Heartless, today would prove to be a special day for Organization XIII.
(The World That Never Was)
All the members of Organization XIII, including Xemnas stood at the Altar of Naught gazing up at the dark sky.
"The time has arrived." Xemnas says
Xemnas raises his arms up to the sky as he gestures to the yellow heart-shaped moon known as Kingdom Hearts.
"And at long last, we see before us the great collection of hearts. Hearts full of rage... hate... sadness... and bliss. Shining down upon us is the crystallization of all hearts: Kingdom Hearts. There, in the sky, hangs the promise of a new world." Xemnas says
Xemnas lowers his arms and turns to face his fellow members.
"My friends! Let us gain further power, to conquer the human heart, and claim it as our own." Xemnas says clentching his left-hand into a fist before gesturing to his chest
The Superior Leader looks upon each of the other members from left to right.
"Let us remember why we are here and what we hope to achieve. Hearts shall be gathered, and be made our own. Hearts shall never again have power over us." Xemnas says
Draxon, Roxas, Xion, and Axel all stared up at Kingdom Hearts. Draxon and Roxas had always been wondering what Kingdom Hearts would look like. And now, their answer was floating up in the sky as proof of their hard work. It was thanks to them that Kingdom Hearts was here. But even so, they still had to collect more hearts to complete it.
(Moments later)
Draxon, Roxas, and Xion walked into the Grey Area. They saw Axel and Xigbar sitting in the chairs on opposite sides of the room, enjoying their relaxation. The trio eventually walked over to Saïx and were given their missions of the day.
"Kingdom Hearts thirsts for hearts... A thirst only the power of the Keyblade can slake." Saïx says
Saïx looks over at Roxas and Xion, giving them their mission.
"Roxas, Xion, you will both be heading for the Beast's Castle to eliminate some Neoshadows that have surfaced in that world." Saïx says
Then, Saïx turns his head toward Draxon and gives him his mission.
"Draxon, you are to be sent to Berk on Heart Collection. You are also to eliminate a Heartless that has surfaced in that world. Get it done." Saïx says
"Yes, sir." Draxon says
Draxon stretches his right-hand out to his side and a corridor of darkness opens up for him. Before heading in, Draxon looks at Roxas and Xion.
"Good luck on your mission, guys." Draxon says
"You too, Draxon." Xion says
"Catch ya later." Roxas says
Draxon waves his hand to his two friends, then heads into the dark portal. Once Draxon was gone, Roxas turns and looks at Xion.
"Alright. Let's go." Roxas says
Another dark corridor opens up for Roxas and Xion and they head on through.
(Beast's Castle)
Roxas and Xion step out of the dark portal and arrive in the Beast's Castle, coming into the West Wing.
"The Heartless we're after is called a Neoshadow, right? I hope we don't wind up searching all day." Roxas says
"Let's head on through this hall." Xion says
The two teens head out of the West Wing and come into the West Hall. There, they see Lumiere passing through down below them.
"Surely there must be some way to get Belle and the master to forgive each other..." Lumiere says
"It's that candelabra." Xion says
"Yeah, the one we saw before." Roxas says
"If they don't... I shall be a table decoration forever! No. I will speak to Mademoiselle Belle. Perhaps she can talk some sense into him." Lumiere says
Lumiere heads off down the hallway and out of sight.
"I don't get it. The candelabra doesn't want to be a candelabra?" Roxas says
"So this Belle person lives here in the castle." Xion says
"He said something about getting her and the master to forgive each other. I guess they must've been arguing." Roxas says
"She must be very brave to stand up to a beast like that." Xion says
"Assuming that she's human. So far nobody else seems to be. Well, we're not here to worry about her. Let's find this Heartless we're after." Roxas says
Continuing on, Roxas and Xion head into the Undercroft. From there, they enter the Secret Passageway. Inside, the two teens find their target. The Neoshadow emerges from the shadows and faces them.
"There it is. Let's take it out!" Roxas says
Roxas summons his Keyblade into his hand while Xion stands alongside him as they both prepared to fight the Heartless.
The Neoshadow made the first move by leaping forward at the two teens with it's right-claw ready to strike. Roxas and Xion both jump out of the way, splitting apart and leaping away to the sides as the Heartless swung it's claws.
Roxas moves in and begins his attack. He strikes the Neoshadow with a right slash, an upward slash, a left and right slash, another upward slash, and a downward slash. The Heartless tries to strike back with a swipe of it's claws, but Roxas leans his body over to the left and counters with a roundhouse slash. The blow made the Neoshadow stagger backwards.
Xion aims her right-hand at the Neoshadow and launches a fireball from her open palm. Before the fiery projectile could hit it's mark, the Neoshadow sinks into the floor through a dark portal, making the fireball miss. The dark portal began making it's way toward Xion while she braced herself. Roxas saw the dark portal closing in on Xion and called out to her.
"Xion, watch out!" Roxas warns
At that moment, the Neoshadow leaps out of the dark portal and attacks with a spinning kick. Xion instinctively leapt away from the Heartless, dodging the attack.
Roxas rushes in to Xion's aid and attacks the Neoshadow with his Keyblade. He closes distance with the Heartless with a lunging strike, knocking it away from Xion. He then follows up with an uppercut slash, a downward slash, and a left spinning slash. The Neoshadow tried kicking both it's legs at Roxas, but he ducks down and counters with a rising uppercut slash. He then finishes the Heartless and the fight with a strong overhead strike.
The Neoshadow was sliced vertically in half and disintegrates in a puff of black smoke shortly afterwards. With the fight now over, Roxas de-summons his Keyblade and stands up straight.
"Well, that takes care of that." Roxas says
"Ready to head back? We can stop for ice cream and-" Xion says
The conversation was interrupted when two more Neoshadows suddenly emerged behind Roxas and Xion.
"Huh!?" Roxas says
Before the teens could face the Heartless, a loud roar fills the air.
"Graaaaaaugh!"
The Beast comes flying into the Secret Passageway, heading straight for the two Heartless. Roxas and Xion quickly hide from the Beast as he engages the Heartless. The Beast lands and strikes down both Neoshadows with just a swipe of his claws.
"The Heartless do not belong here! Not in my castle!" The Beast says
Having dealt with the Heartless, the Beast heads out of the Secret Passageway while Roxas and Xion watch him go from around the corner.
"Whoa..." Xion says
"So he has been fighting the Heartless." Roxas says
"Apparently." Xion says
"Guess this castle plays by different rules than ours." Roxas says
"What do you mean?" Xion asks
"That beast is the master of this castle, right? And Xemnas is our master, right? If the Heartless showed up in our castle, we'd be the ones to get rid of them, not Xemnas." Roxas says
"Well, yeah. That's our job." Xion says
"Exactly. I figured it worked like that everywhere. I thought that's what being a master meant. After all, the Beast has servants here. He shouldn't have to fight." Roxas says
"I'm not sure if I'd call us Xemnas' servants, exactly... But you're right. If he's taking the Heartless on himself, he must have a good reason." Xion says
"Like what?" Roxas asks
"Maybe he's trying to protect something." Xion says
"Hmm..." Roxas says
"Let's call it a day, Roxas. Draxon and Axel are probably waiting." Xion says
"Yeah." Roxas says
Having completed their mission, Roxas and Xion both take their leave of the Beast's Castle.
(Berk)
Draxon steps out of the dark corridor and arrives in the cove back on Berk.
"Kindle! I'm back!" Draxon calls
The female Monstrous Nightmare was laying down on the ground where Draxon sat her saddle. Once she saw her rider, the dragon quickly got up and rushed over to him.
"Hey, girl! It's been a while." Draxon says
Kindle gave the young teen a couple licks to his face, making him smile. Draxon rubbed his hands on Kindle's head, making her croon with content.
"You ready for today's mission?" Draxon asks
The dragon nods her head to the Keyblade Wielder, saying she was ready.
"Glad to hear it. My mission is to eliminate some Heartless that are lurking around somewhere. But before we get to that, let's head to the village and check to see how Stoick and Gobber are doing, huh?" Draxon says
Draxon went over to the boulder where he had left Kindle's saddle and strapped it onto her. Once he was set, Draxon climbed up onto Kindle's back, sitting comfortably in the saddle.
"Alright. Let's go." Draxon says
Kindle let out a loud roar and they both took off into the sky, flying straight for the village.
(Moments later)
Draxon and Kindle both arrive at the village of Berk, landing in the plaza. As they got there, they saw Stoick and Gobber talking to each other.
"What's wrong, Stoick? You seem a bit on edge." Gobber asks concerned
"The Heartless have surfaced again, Gobber. They've been seen lurking around the forest over to the west. The scouts report that they're getting closer to the village." Stoick says
"What do you think we should do, chief?" Gobber asks
"We have to fortify the island and set up some defenses." Stoick says
Stoick stops three passing vikings and issues them an order.
"Have the catapults loaded and ready. I want them positioned towards the forest." Stoick says pointing toward the forest
"Aye, chief!" The viking says
"On it!" Another viking says
With their assigned task, the vikings head out to get the catapults ready. The chieftain stops another group of five vikings and gives them an order as well.
"I want some men on patrol near the forest. Keep eyes out for any Heartless that might be trying to infiltrate the village." Stoick says
Each of the vikings nodded their heads and ran off to arm themselves with weapons and get their dragons.
"We'll need every viking and dragon armed and ready to defend themselves should the Heartless attack." Stoick says
"I'm sure we can handle 'em, Stoick. They seem easy enough to defeat. A swing of a sword or a blast of dragon fire, they vanish in a puff of smoke." Gobber says
"Still, we need to tread carefully." Stoick says
Draxon and Kindle approached the two vikings, catching their attention.
"Hey. What's going on?" Draxon asks
"Oh, hey Draxon." Stoick greets
"Ah, don't mind the chief, Draxon. He's just in a wary mood." Gobber says
"What's the matter?" Draxon asks concerned
"We've been running into some problems lately." Stoick says
"What kind of problems?" Draxon asks
"Heartless." Stoick says
"Heartless?" Draxon asks
"Yeah. The villagers and the dragons have reported attacks on the Heartless. They've been invading the village from time after time, but we've been able to ward them off. I've got the village on high alert, keeping an eye out for those wretched demons should they attack." Stoick says
"Listen, whatever Heartless you kill, another one will just replace it. You need to find their leader, and eliminate it. That way, their numbers will dwindle." Draxon says
"Huh. Sounds like you know the Heartless. You fought them before?" Gobber asks
"Yeah. I've had some close calls with them. It's how I met Kindle." Draxon says
Kindle uttered a gentle growl.
"Where have the Heartless been spotted?" Draxon asks
"In the forest. They've been lurking in the wilderness." Stoick says
"I can deal with the Heartless for you." Draxon says
"Really? You'd do that for us?" Gobber asks
"Of course. What are friends for? Kindle and I can take 'em. No problem." Draxon says
"Alright. We'll leave you to deal with the Heartless, Draxon. Be careful." Stoick says
"Thanks for the warning." Draxon says
Draxon climbed up onto Kindle's back and sat down on her saddle.
"Alright, Kindle. Let's hunt some Heartless." Draxon says
Kindle responded with a loud roar and they both took off into the sky, flying away from the village heading due west into the wilderness.
(Moments later)
Draxon and Kindle flew through the forest, zig-zagging past trees, searching for any Heartless that might be lurking around. They had been searching for several minutes now, and they had not seen any Heartless yet.
"Hmm. It's weird. We haven't seen any Heartless yet. I don't like the looks of this." Draxon says
The young teen looked around, then looked down at a clearing in the forest below them.
"Kindle, settle down there." Draxon says pointing down to the ground
The female Monstrous Nightmare slowed down and made her descent, landing in the clearing. The dragon sniffed the ground while her rider climbed down. Draxon looked around and placed his hands on his waist.
"I don't understand. According to Stoick, the Heartless should be in this part of the forest. Where are they?" Draxon says
Kindle continued sniffing the ground until she caught a whiff of something. To her, it seemed like an animal. The dragon recognized a lot of scents in the wild like boar and other dragons, but what she smelt did not belong to any natural creature. Whatever the dragon smelled was close by. Something vicious. Something dark. It was at this point that Kindle started growling. The teen heard Kindle's growls and turned to her.
"Kindle? What is it? You smell something?" Draxon asks
Suddenly, a Rabid Dog Heartless appeared infront of the Monstrous Nightmare and the Keyblade Wielder, uttering a few barks at them. Then, more Rabid Dogs appeared from the shadows, surrounding the duo. Draxon summoned his Keyblade: Soul Calibur into his hand as the Heartless surrounded them. Kindle kept growling at the Heartless, warning them to stay away.
One of the Rabid Dogs attacked first, leaping straight toward Draxon in an attempt to bite him. Draxon gripped his Keyblade with both hands and braced himself as the Heartless came at him. When the Heartless closed distance, Draxon swung his Keyblade with an uppercut slash, slicing the Heartless vertically in half. After dealing with the first Rabid Dog, the young teen leaps forward at another Rabid Dog and cuts it down with a downward slash. Another Rabid Dog tried to attack Draxon from the right side, but he quickly turned around and swung his Keyblade at the Heartless, cutting through it's body with a clean slice, splitting it horizontally in half.
Kindle unleashed a stream of flames down on two Rabid Dogs, sending them ablaze. Another Rabid Dog tried to attack the Monstrous Nightmare from behind, but she swats the Heartless away with her long tail. Kindle raises her right-foot and stomps down on another Rabid Dog, crushing it into oblivion. Five more Rabid Dogs stalked towards Kindle, growling and barking at her. The dragon roared back at the Heartless and began flapping her wings, creating strong winds that blew the Heartless away, sending them flying.
Draxon lunged his Keyblade at a Rabid Dog, destroying it right on the spot. Another Rabid Dog went to attack Draxon from the side, but the young teen whirled around and struck the Heartless with a right slash. Turning back toward the last remaining Heartless, Draxon raised his Keyblade over his shoulder and cut the Rabid Dog down.
After defeating the Heartless, both the Keyblade Wielder and his dragon relaxed.
"Well... that was easy. Almost too easy. Hmm." Draxon says
Draxon began thinking to himself about the Heartless they just defeated.
"This doesn't make sense. Stoick said that the forest was swarming with Heartless. Yet, Kindle and I were able to defeat these Heartless easy." Draxon thought to himself
Draxon started to wonder if this was some sort of diversion.
"If these were only a few Heartless, than the rest must be..." Draxon thought to himself
Once the young teen realized that the Heartless could be attacking the village, a shocked expression formed on his face.
"Oh no." Draxon gasps
The Keyblade Wielder quickly went over to Kindle and climbed up onto her back.
"C'mon, Kindle! We've got to get back to Berk! Now!" Draxon says
Kindle let out a roar and the two of them took off into the air, heading straight back to the village as fast as they could.
(Moments later)
Draxon and Kindle arrived back at the village only to find it already under siege. The whole village was swarming with Rabid Dog Heartless. Some of them were destroying wooden carts full of fish. Another group chased after sheep and chickens. While others attacked the Vikings and Dragons, who were actually holding their own against the Heartless.
A male Viking brought his axe down on a Rabid Dog, destroying it. A pack of three Rabid Dogs tried to attack the Viking, but a light purple Deadly Nadder moved infront of the Viking and flicked it's spiked tail, launching multiple spikes at the Heartless, landing shots in each of them in multiple places, causing them to disintigrate.
In another part of the village, a female Viking and her light green Gronckle were confronted by a pack of five Rabid Dogs. The dragon stood it's ground against the Heartless, growling and snarling at them while protecting the woman. Within moments, two of the Rabid Dogs attacked. The Gronckle headbutted the first Rabid Dog as it leapt forward with it's jaws, then struck the other one with it's club-like tail. The three remaining Heartless let out a couple barks and attacked the Viking and Dragon all at once, but the Gronckle made short work of the dark creatures by launching a lava blast from it's mouth, blasting the Heartless into oblivion.
While the Vikings and Dragons dealt with the Rabid Dogs, Stoick stood in the village plaza against the leader which was a Snapper Dog. Armed with a battle axe, the chieftain charged straight at the Heartless, raising his axe over his right-shoulder. He swung his axe at the Snapper Dog, but the Heartless jumped back, dodging the blow. Stoick swinged his axe at the Snapper Dog again, only to have his arm caught in the jaws of the Heartless. The chieftain tried to pull his arm free, but was unsuccessful as the Snapper Dog kept a firm grip on his arm. Stoick punched the Heartless' snout with his other arm, which made it angry. The Snapper Dog threw Stoick back, making him lose his axe in the process. The chieftain hit the ground and flipped over landing on his stomach.
Gobber, who had just cut down a Rabid Dog with his axe prosthetic, rushed over to Stoick and helped the chieftain up.
"Stoick!" Gobber says
"I'm fine, Gobber." Stoick says
The two Vikings faced the Snapper Dog which let out a few barks, summoning two more Rabid Dogs to it's side.
"That demon is the leader of these Heartless. We have to take it out." Stoick says
Stoick looks at the blacksmith.
"You with me?" Stoick asks
"Right behind ya, chief." Gobber says nodding his head
Stoick and Gobber looked back at the Heartless and braced themselves as the two Rabid Dogs charged at them. But before they could do anything, a fire blast shot through the air and destroyed both Heartless. The shot came from Kindle who flew in with Draxon on her back, wielding his Keyblade. Stoick and Gobber turned and looked up as the young teen and his dragon came down towards them.
"Hey! It's Draxon!" Gobber exclaims
The Snapper Dog tried to attack the two Vikings while they were distracted, charging toward them with it's jaws ready to bite. Draxon carefully stood up on Kindle's back and hurled his Keyblade down at the attacking Heartless. The Keyblade hits the Snapper Dog in the head with a direct hit, making it stop midway and stagger backwards. As they came close to the ground, Draxon jumped down, catches his Keyblade in his right-hand, and lands crouched down in the plaza while Kindle touches down alongside him. Watching the young teen, Stoick and Gobber noticed the weapon stretched out behind his back.
"That weapon..." Stoick says
Draxon rose up and stood straight, giving the two Vikings a better look at the weapon. They were left surprised by what they saw. It was a Keyblade. Devon's Keyblade: Soul Calibur to be exact. It was in that moment that they both realized that Draxon was a Keyblade Wielder.
"It's a Keyblade!" Stoick exclaims in surprise
Draxon rushes forward at the Snapper Dog and swings his Keyblade with an uppercut slash, striking the Heartless under it's chin. He follows up with a downward slash, landing a strong hit to the Snapper Dog's head, and a right slash to the side of it's face. The Snapper Dog lunges at Draxon with it's jaws in an attempt to bite him, but the young teen leaps away, dodging the attack, and counters with a somersault slash and a backflip slash, which leave bursts of light in the wake of his strikes.
The Snapper Dog let out an angry bark and went to attack Draxon with a frontal charge. Kindle quickly moved infront of her rider and headbutted the Heartless with a head on strike, knocking it backwards. The Monstrous Nightmare gave the Snapper Dog a loud roar, telling it to back off. Of course, this did not intimidate the Heartless as it barked back at the dragon. When the dark creature came again with another charge, Kindle clamped her jaws down on it's neck, stopping it right in it's tracks. Turning her head over to the right, the Monstrous Nightmare flipped the Snapper Dog over on it's side, dishing out a lot of damage.
With the Heartless left weakened, Draxon moved in to finish it off. Moving around past Kindle, he took hold of his Keyblade using both hands, pulls it back to his right-side, charges forward at the downed Heartless, and thrusts his Keyblade straight with a powerful lunging strike, driving the blade deep into it's body.
The Snapper Dog flinched and froze upon recieving the finishing blow and disintegrated soon after, releasing it's heart into the sky. The floating heart faded away in a flash of light as it was sent up to Kingdom Hearts. Sensing their leader's defeat, the Rabid Dogs halted their attack on the village and began to retreat back into the forest. The Vikings and Dragons all cheered and roared in victory watching the dark creatures flee.
With the fight now finished, Draxon stood up straight and de-summoned his Keyblade, making it disappear in a flash of light. Kindle came over to the young teen and nuzzled his left-side with her head. Draxon turned his head to the Monstrous Nightmare and placed his hand on the back of her head, giving the dragon a nice rub, making her purr with content. Stoick and Gobber approached Draxon, amazed from watching his fight with the Heartless.
"Draxon, I had no idea that you were a Keyblade Wielder. How is it that you can wield that weapon?" Stoick says
"Honestly. I really don't know. I was chosen to wield the Keyblade in order to fight the Heartless." Draxon says
"Well, you sure know how to deal with 'em Heartless I'll give ya that. You really did some impressive fightin'." Gobber says
"Aye. You certaintly have some skill in fighting with the Keyblade. If I were you, Draxon, I'd keep it close." Stoick says
"Thanks." Draxon says
Draxon turns and looks out to the forest that extended beyond the border of the village.
"The Heartless headed back into the forest, so I don't think they should be any trouble for a while after that the big Heartless was defeated." Draxon says
"We'll still shore up our defenses and keep an eye out for any more that try to attack Berk. But I know that if we ever need help, we can rely on you and your Keyblade to deal with those demons." Stoick says
"Right." Draxon says
With his mission finished, Draxon climbed onto Kindle's back, preparing to head for the cove.
"Well, I ought to be going now. I've got someplace to be and friends who no doubt are waiting for me." Draxon says
"Righto then. Take care, Draxon." Gobber says
"Be safe. Both of you." Stoick says
Draxon nodded his head to the two Vikings. After saying farewell, the young teen and his Monstrous Nightmare took off into the sky and headed out into the forest.
(Twilight Town)
Axel was already at the clock tower having completed his mission of the day, sitting along the ledge eating Sea-Salt Ice Cream. He looked over to the left and saw Roxas and Xion arrive.
"Hey, you two. How'd work go? Think you can keep pulling off double duty?" Axel says
"So far so good." Roxas says
"Roxas took out today's Heartless in no time flat." Xion says
"Well, great. Keep it up." Axel says
The two teens went ahead and took a seat along the ledge next to Axel.
"Draxon's not here yet?" Xion asks
"Probaby late." Axel says
As if on cue, Draxon arrives and meets up with the three Nobodies.
"Well, speak of the devil." Axel says
"Sorry I'm late, guys. Had a bunch of Heartless to hunt down." Draxon says
"Eh, no sweat." Axel says
"We're just glad you made it." Roxas says
Draxon went and sat down next to Roxas and Xion. The quartet sat quietly eating their ice cream until Roxas spoke.
"All this fighting... I wonder what it's for." Roxas says
"Come on, you know what it's for. We have to complete Kingdom Hearts." Axel says
Axel looks over at Draxon.
"You saw it too, didn't you?" Axel asks
"Yeah. But what exactly is Kingdom Hearts?" Draxon asks
"It's the gathering place of hearts... isn't it?" Xion asks
"It's where all the hearts wind up after they're released by you. When we gather enough, we might finally have hearts of our own." Axel says
"Hearts shall be made our own..." Xion mutters
"Is Kingdom Hearts really that important?" Roxas asks
"Are you crazy!?" Axel asks
"I just don't see why having a heart is that important, you know." Roxas says
"Come on, you're wondering about that now?" Axel asks
"You know, I think Roxas has a point. I mean think about it. Don't you ever stop and wonder? We're fighting for something we don't know nothing about." Draxon says
"Well, I don't understand since I don't have a heart." Roxas says
"Right. None of us do." Draxon says
"We'll understand once we have our own hearts. That's why we fight to find what it's about." Axel says
"Okay..." Roxas says
Roxas looks at Axel.
"I guess you're right." Roxas says
The quartet sat quietly throughout the rest of the evening eating their ice cream and enjoying the view of the sunset.
~ Day 95 ~
Nobodies
(Berk)
Draxon started his next mission back on Berk with Xion as his partner. The two teens walked out of a dark corridor and arrived in the cove.
"So, this is Berk?" Xion asks
"Yep. A small island out in the middle of the ocean. I know it may not look like much, but trust me Xion, this world is full of surprises." Draxon says
"You said this world is inhabited by Vikings and Dragons, right?" Xion asks
"Yeah. The village is just east of here. As I said before, the Vikings and Dragons live together in peace. Which reminds me, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Draxon says
Looking out to the rest of the cove, Draxon called out for his dragon.
"Kindle! I'm back!" Draxon calls
A loud roar fills the air which surprises Xion, causing her to jump with a slight start. Then, the female Monstrous Nightmare flies down from the top of the trees and lands in the cove, approaching her rider as he greets her. The young teen gave the dragon some nice gentle rubs on his snout, causing her to purr contently.
"Xion, this is Kindle. She's a Monstrous Nightmare. At least, that's what the Vikings call her." Draxon says
Draxon looks at Kindle and introduces her to Xion.
"Kindle, this is my good friend Xion. Be gentle with her." Draxon says
The Monstrous Nightmare approaches Xion and sniffed her a few times, taking in her scent. She soon gave the black haired girl a lick to her face which made Xion smile a little.
"I think she likes you." Draxon says
"She's really sweet for a dragon." Xion says
"Just wait until you see her in action. Kindle can pretty much hold her own against the Heartless. Which brings us back to our mission of the day." Draxon says
"Right. We're supposed to eliminate some Flutterings that are in this forest." Xion says
"Yep. So let's get to it." Draxon says
Draxon looks at Kindle, gaining her attention.
"Okay, girl. Are you up for today's mission?" Draxon asks
Kindle gave her rider a nod, saying that she was ready to take on some Heartless.
"Alright! Looks like Kindle is on board." Draxon says giving the Monstrous Nightmare a nice rub on the left side of her head
Draxon went over to the boulder where he left Kindle's saddle and picked it up before walking back to place it onto his dragon.
"So where do you think we should start, Draxon?" Xion asks
"Well, so far the Heartless have been lurking around in this forest. Based on that, we should explore the rest of the forest until we find our targets." Draxon says
Suddenly, the trio heard a loud roar somewhere in the forest which immediately caught their attention. Kindle raised her head up in reaction to the roar and looked off in the direction it came.
"What was that?" Xion asks
"I'm not sure." Draxon says
Kindle looked back at the young teens and gestured to her back with her head, telling them to get on.
"But Kindle seems to know what it is." Draxon says
Draxon went ahead and climbed onto Kindle's back. He then looked at Xion.
"Climb on!" Draxon says
Xion went and climbed up onto Kindle's back, taking a seat behind Draxon.
"You'd better hold onto me, Xion." Draxon says turning his head back at Xion
"Okay." Xion says wrapping her arms around Draxon's stomach
"Alright Kindle. Let's go." Draxon says patting Kindle's right side
Kindle let out a roar and took off into the forest with both her riders hanging on, following the sound of the roars. After a few minutes of flying through the forest, they come into a clearing and find the source of the roars. A Deadly Nadder was surrounded by a flock of Fluttering Heartless, trying to fend them off.
This Deadly Nadder was a female dragon with a sea blue colored body and a light beige underbelly. It's wings were purple on both sides with some dashes of blue on them. It's tail had purple spikes and fades into purple halfway from the base toward the tip. The dragon's head had small, yellow eyes, a crest of yellow horns, and a yellow nasal horn on it's snout. And it's feet had black talons.
The dragon roared at the Heartless, telling them to back off. One of the Flutterings launched a dark blue fireball from it's mouth at the Deadly Nadder. The dragon quickly jumped away from the fireball, and countered the attack with some Spine Shots, launching it's tail spikes at the Flutterwing. The Heartless was hit multiple times by the barbed spikes and was destroyed, only to be replaced with another Heartless. The Deadly Nadder started to back away from the Flutterings as they came closer.
Draxon, Xion, and Kindle hovered over the clearing and saw the fight going on between the Deadly Nadder and the Heartless.
"I guess we found our Heartless." Draxon says
Xion looked down at the Deadly Nadder and watched as it fought off the Flutterings.
"Is that another dragon?" Xion asks
"Yeah. It looks just like the ones I saw in the village of Berk. It's called a Deadly Nadder. At least, that's what I've heard from the Vikings." Draxon says
"Looks like it's having a rough time dealing with the Heartless." Xion says
"Then, why don't we give it a hand." Draxon says
Draxon stretches out his right-hand to the side and summons his Keyblade into his hand.
"Kindle, get us down there!" Draxon says
Kindle loyally obeyed her rider's command and the trio flew down to assist the Deadly Nadder.
Down on the ground, the Flutterings began flying in a circle above the Deadly Nadder, grouping up together in a large ring formation for an attack. A dark blue orb appeared in the middle of the ring and began charging up with dark energy. The Heartless started flying faster and the ring got smaller and smaller, giving the dark orb more power as they prepared to fire. Within moments, the Flutterings launched a large dark energy blast at the Deadly Nadder while the dragon braced itself. Before the dark projectile could hit it's mark, Draxon jumps off Kindle's back, lands infront of the Deadly Nadder, and hurls his Keyblade at the dark blast, causing it to explode. The explosion created a blinding light which caused the Deadly Nadder to turn it's head away and shut it's eyes. It also dazed the Flutterings a bit.
When the light from the explosion dimmed down, the Deadly Nadder looked and saw Draxon, Xion, and Kindle standing infront of it. Draxon stood up front with Kindle on his left and Xion on the right. Now, the Flutterings had some new targets.
They immediately set their sights on Draxon, deeming him to be the greater threat.
One of the Flutterings shot a dark fireball at Draxon, but he sends it back with a swing of his Keyblade. The dark fireball hits the Heartless and destroys it upon impact. Three other Flutterings flew straight at the young teen in a rush attack. Draxon strikes down the first Heartless with a right slash, takes out the second one with a left slash, and slices through the third one with a downward slash.
Kindle grabs a Fluttering in her jaws, shakes it around for a bit, then throws the Heartless down on the ground and stomps her right-foot down on it. Two Flutterings flew straight at the Monstrous Nightmare for an attack, but the dragon released a stream of flames from her mouth, vaporizing the Heartless before they could reach her. Another Fluttering tried to attack Kindle from the side, but the dragon caught sight of the incoming Heartless. Turning her head to the left, Kindle launched a fire blast from her mouth at the Heartless, blasting it into oblivion.
Xion aimed her right-hand at a Fluttering and launched a fireball from her open palm. The fireball lands a direct hit to the Heartless, detonating in a medium-sized explosion upon impact which destroys the dark creature. Another Fluttering flew at Xion for an attack, but she quickly aimed her hand at the Heartless and launched another fireball, taking it out as well.
The Deadly Nadder watched as the trio fought valiantly against the Heartless. But when it looked toward Xion, the dragon noticed three Flutterings heading straight for her from behind. After cutting down a Fluttering, Draxon looked toward Xion and saw the three Heartless flying toward her.
"Xion! Behind you!" Draxon warns
Xion looked at Draxon, then turned around to see the attacking Heartless. The young teen braced herself as one of the Flutterings shot a dark fireball at her. Before she could do anything, the Deadly Nadder rushes over to Xion and shields her from the dark projectile, using it's wings and it's massive body to protect her. The dark fireball hits the dragon with direct impact, but it was able to shake it off. The Deadly Nadder roared at the Heartless, once again telling them to back off. Xion looked up at the dragon and was surprised to see that it was protecting her. The dragon flicked it's tail and launched it's bristling spikes at the Flutterings, landing precise hits on each of them. The Heartless disintigrate after being struck by the tail spikes.
Draxon finishes off the last of the Flutterings by jumping up and cutting down both Heartless with a single strike each. He takes out the Fluttering on his left with a quick downward slash, then destroys the other one with a right slash.
After the Heartless were dealt with, Draxon looks over toward Xion as the Deadly Nadder stood over her.
"Xion, are you alright?" Draxon asks concerned
"Yeah. I'm okay." Xion says
Xion walked out from underneath the Deadly Nadder and looked up at it.
"You... protected me." Xion says
The Deadly Nadder nuzzles it's head against Xion's body, showing it's affection and gratitude. Xion places her hands on the dragon's head and rubs gently on it's snout. The Deadly Nadder let out a croon of content. The young teen couldn't help but smile at the moment she was having.
"I guess it likes you, Xion." Draxon says
"Yeah. I think so too." Xion says
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you got yourself your own dragon." Draxon says
"Really? A dragon of my own?" Xion asks
"Yeah. And I think this one is a girl." Draxon says
"How can you tell?" Xion asks
"I... don't know. Something just tells me this dragon is a girl." Draxon says shrugging his shoulders
"You know, I kinda thought she was a girl, too." Xion says
"So? What're you gonna call her?" Draxon says
Xion looked at the Deadly Nadder while it turned and cocked it's head to look at her. The young teen began thinking on what to call her dragon. She wanted to give her dragon a good name, but it was a bit difficult for her to come up with a name. It took her a few minutes, but she soon came up with a name.
"How about Lapis?" Xion asks
"That sounds like a good name. Yeah. I like it." Draxon says
Lapis let out a happy squawk, taking a liking to it's new name.
"Okay. Lapis it is." Xion says
Xion rubs Lapis' head with her left-hand while she uses her other hand to give the dragon some scratches under her chin. The Deadly Nadder let out a croon, obviously taking a liking to the scratches.
"Heh, looks like Lapis likes getting scratched under her chin." Draxon laughs
"I guess we've found her soft spot." Xion says
Draxon looks up at Kindle and decided to scratch underneath her chin as well. Kindle purred with content as she was recieving the nice scratches.
"Well, Lapis isn't the only one who likes getting scratched." Draxon says
Once he was done scratching his dragon, Draxon looks back at Xion and her newly bonded dragon.
"So, you ready to head back?" Draxon asks
"Yeah." Xion says
"Okay. Hop on your dragon and let's go." Draxon says
Draxon went ahead and climbed onto his dragon. Lapis lowered her body down to assist Xion in climbing onto her back.
"You ready, Xion? This is gonna be your first flight." Draxon says
"I'm ready." Xion says
"Okay. Let's go." Draxon says
Draxon and Kindle both took off into the sky with Xion and Lapis following suit. Xion wrapped her arms around the Deadly Nadder's neck as the dragon took flight. The two dragons soared above the forest with their riders, flying nice and easy. When Lapis eased up a little, Xion sat up straight and started to enjoy the ride she was getting. She was flying on her own dragon. Xion and Lapis flew up alongside Draxon and Kindle, sharing glances with each other. The two riders and their dragons enjoyed their flight throughout the afternoon before heading back to the cove.
After several minutes of flying, Draxon and Xion both arrive back at the cove where they would leave their dragons until their next mission.
"You think the dragons will be alright if we leave them here?" Xion asks
"Don't worry, Xion. They'll be fine. There's plenty of fish and water to last them until our next mission." Draxon says
The Keyblade Wielder took off Kindle's saddle and sat it down against the one of the boulders in the cove.
"C'mon. Our mission's done and we gotta go. Knowing Axel, he's probably waiting for us in Twilight Town. Maybe Roxas is too." Draxon says
"Alright. I'm ready." Xion says
Draxon stretched his left-hand out and opened a dark corridor to Twilight Town. Xion looked up at her dragon, staring into it's gentle face.
"Lapis, I'm glad I met you today. I have a feeling the two of us are gonna be great friends." Xion says
Xion placed her hands on Lapis' head and she leaned her head against the dragon. Lapis let out a croon of comfort.
"I'll see you soon." Xion says
Having said farewell to their dragons, Draxon and Xion headed into the dark corridor and set off for Twilight Town to meet up with their friends. Kindle and Lapis looked at each other, then watched as the dark corridor disappeared.
(Twilight Town)
Draxon and Xion both came into the Station Plaza after getting themselves some Sea Salt Ice Cream. Draxon had two ice cream pops in his hand. One for him. And the other for Roxas. As if on cue, Roxas walks out of a dark corridor after completing his mission of Heart Collection in Agrabah.
"Hey, guys!" Roxas greets
"Roxas!" Xion exclaims
"Nice timing. We just got back from our mission in Berk. How'd yours go?" Draxon says
"It was a lot of hearts to collect, but I handled it pretty well." Roxas says
"Glad to hear it." Draxon says
Draxon took the ice cream that was in his left-hand and gave it to Roxas.
"Here. I thought I'd save you the trouble." Draxon says
Roxas gladly took the ice cream in his hand.
"Thanks." Roxas says
"Okay. Let's go meet up with Axel. I'm sure he's waiting for us." Draxon says
The three teens went up to the top of the clock tower and they met up with Axel who was already sitting down along the ledge with Sea Salt Ice Cream in his hand.
"Another successful day?" Axel asks
"Yep. As usual." Draxon says
"Draxon took out today's Heartless in no time flat." Xion says
"Where'd they send you, Axel?" Roxas asks
"The place you and Xion hit yesterday." Axel says gesturing to Roxas and Xion with his ice cream
"You mean the one with the talking candelabra?" Xion asks
"That's the one. They needed me to do a little digging through the dust and cobwebs. How 'bout you?" Axel says
"I was on Heart Collection in Agrabah." Roxas says
"Me and Xion were assigned to Berk to eliminate some Flutterings. And let me tell you, it was some mission." Draxon says
Draxon looks left at Xion.
"Right, Xion?" Draxon says
"Yeah. We found a dragon called a Deadly Nadder too." Xion says
"It was attacked by the Heartless, but we took care of 'em. After that, the Deadly Nadder really warmed up to Xion. It even protected her during the fight." Draxon says
"Whoa! Xion, you got yourself a dragon?!" Roxas asks surprised
"Yep. Now like Draxon, I have a dragon I can ride." Xion says
"Believe it or not, it was a female dragon just like mine." Draxon says
"Did you give it a name?" Roxas asks
"Mm-hmm. I named her Lapis." Xion says
"That's awesome!" Roxas says
"Hey, if by chance your next mission is with me to Berk, I'll see if I can hook you up with a dragon of your own, Roxas. That way each of us will have dragons to ride. Who know, maybe we'll find Axel one too." Draxon says
"Well, I guess you guys are really getting the hang of working together, huh?" Axel says
"I don't know how long we can fool the other members, though." Xion says looking down
"Relax, we'll be fine." Roxas says
"Don't be too sure. They're not stupid." Axel says
"Axel's' got a point. Sure we can fool the other members, but Saïx, Xemnas, and Xigbar, I'm not sure." Draxon says
"Guess we'll just have to cross our fingers." Xion says
"Well, maybe Saïx, Xemnas, and Xigbar are tough, but come on, Demyx?" Roxas says
"Ouch! Roxas, hard blow." Axel says
"Oh, please. Look at him! All he does is play his sitar all the time." Roxas says
"Roxas is right, Axel. I mean it's not like he does anything." Draxon says
"I don't think you guys give him enough credit. He works just as hard as-" Axel says
Axel stopped for a moment and thought about Demyx.
"Okay, no he doesn't. But I'm pretty sure he has a job to do." Axel says
"You know, I've seen Demyx rocking out in the field with his sitar." Xion says
"And what exactly does that accomplish?" Draxon asks
"Hey, for all you guys know, he's probably out there fighting Heartless and doing recon just the same as you." Axel says
"Well, I've heard him say he wasn't cut out for combat." Roxas says
"I guess everybody in the Organization is good at different things." Draxon says
"That's right. Everybody's unique." Axel says
"Even Nobodies? Don't you need a heart to be unique?" Xion asks
"Just because we don't all have hearts doesn't mean that we're all exactly the same. And even so, there are things we have that sets us apart." Axel says
Axel gestures to his head with his left-finger.
"Like the memories of our pasts." Axel says
Draxon, Roxas, and Xion look over at Axel.
"What?" Xion asks
"Memories?" Draxon asks
"You remember your past?" Roxas asks
"Yeah. That's the one thing that makes each member of the Organization special. Unlike lesser Nobodies, we remember who we were as humans." Axel says
"But I don't." Roxas says looking down
"Me neither." Xion says looking down
"Same here." Draxon says looking down
"Well... maybe that's the one thing that makes you three the most unique in the Organization." Axel says
"What kind of person were you like before you were a Nobody?" Roxas asks looking at Axel
"Huh? Me? Oh, I dunno. I was probably the same guy, more or less." Axel says scratching the back of his head
"I wish I could remember who I was." Roxas says looking down
"Yeah. This emptiness inside. It makes me with I could remember stuff like that." Draxon says
"Really? It's just baggage, you know." Axel says
"But I-I can't remember anything. Not even my first week as a Nobody." Roxas says
"Yeah. Same goes for me. I can't remember anything. Not even when I was born a Nobody." Draxon says
"Man, whatever. You have trouble remembering things from five seconds ago. The both of you's. I mean all you two did was stare into space." Axel says smiling
"Oh, thanks!" Roxas says smiling
"Yeah! Thanks a lot!" Draxon says smiling
"You know, I don't remember much from the beginning either." Xion says looking down
"You three have a lot in common." Axel says looking at Xion
Roxas looks at Xion, then stares up at the sky.
"I wonder what kind of guy I was before..." Roxas says
Axel looked at Roxas, then looked away. Draxon felt the same way as Roxas did. He was born as a Nobody alongside him and neither one of them knew of their past. But he remember what Stoick told him back on Berk. The name of the boy he heard: Devon. And not only that, he learned that Devon was a Keyblade Wielder like him. That kind of information made Draxon wonder if he really was related to Devon.
(Meanwhile)
In the forest just outside Twilight Town, two figures stood outside the gates leading to the Old Mansion. These two were Namine and DiZ. They were originally stationed at Castle Oblivion. But since it was still under the control of Organization XIII, they had decided to relocate to Twilight Town with Sora, Donald, and Goofy under their care for safekeeping. There, in the Old Mansion, they would continue their work in restoring the memories of Sora and his two companions.
Author's Note: Progress is being made. The members of Organization XIII rejoice to see the creation of Kingdom Hearts, and marvel at their hard work. Draxon heads to Berk on his mission and defends the village from a Heartless attack. He then returns on his next mission, hunting Flutterings, this time with Xion. The two Nobodies find a Deadly Nadder during their mission, who instantly warms up to Xion after defeating the Heartless. Now Xion has a dragon of her own! Draxon, Roxas, and Xion go about their missions as usual, but how long can they expect to keep up their plan. Let me know what you guys think. No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!