So I only barely managed to get this chapter done in time. I finished writing it yesterday, edited it, made my editor edit it, and then edited it again myself only about an hour ago or so. Love me, damn it!
Anyway, since all that editing was done quite close together, there's a chance there might be a few more mistakes in the chapter. Normally I try to not look at the chapter for a few days before editing it for a second time. My apologies beforehand for that.
Well, I hope you all enjoy the chapter and R&R guys.
--: 20 :--
Something About a Beginning of the End
Despite all the warnings Riku had given them, when Xemnas attacked them he surpassed any expectations Roxas had previously had. Xemnas outclassed them in speed, strength, and would have most likely outdone them in strategy as well if he'd needed any.
As soon as the fight had started, Axel had formed a ring of fire around them to try and stop Xemnas' initial attack. Instead of stopping, Xemnas had rushed through the wall of flames as if he hadn't even noticed it was there. It was obvious — even more so now than in the fight against Larxene — that Axel's power as a Nobody was lacking to the point of other Nobodies dismissing it entirely.
After Xemnas had rushed through Axel's fire, the fight had become quite a bit more chaotic. They'd been forced to separate, trying to attack Xemnas while he seemed to be preoccupied by someone else's attack. Sadly, Xemnas element — presumably darkness, judging from how the man's weapons had appeared — seemed to prefer the shape of thin lasers. Xemnas had learned how to use these lasers without even having to look at what he was aiming for, and made it more than a little difficult to get close enough to even try and hit him. After several attempts to attack Xemnas while his back had been turned, all Roxas had to show for it were several bruises from when he'd been thrown back after blocking the lasers, as well as a few wounds from when he'd been too late to block.
From what he'd been able to see, Sora was having very similar problems, though he wasn't being thrown back whenever he blocked the lasers. Still, the fact that he was brought to a standstill every time he blocked one of the lasers meant Xemnas always had more than enough time to turn to him and parry his keyblade.
The only one who had managed to actually hit Xemnas was Riku. Before now, Roxas had never seen the silver-haired teen fight. The few blows they'd exchanged in Arabia couldn't honestly be called a fight, after all. On top of that, he doubted Riku had honestly been trying to hurt them from what he could see now. Riku was fast, easily keeping up with Xemnas' movements, and even seeming faster at times. Xemnas recovered quickly from any hit Riku managed, though, parrying him almost immediately after and landing several hits of his own.
As Riku was the only one who was able to fight back, most of Xemnas' attention was on him. That was no doubt the only reason they were all still alive. Roxas guessed that if Xemnas had focussed his attention on Axel or on him, they'd have been dead by now. Sora might've stood a better chance, but Roxas doubted his brother would've been able to keep up with Xemnas for very long. Riku was, quite ironically when compared to the last time they'd met Xemnas, keeping them alive.
A fire ball flew past him, and Roxas glanced over his shoulder to see it cancel out a number of laser beams. He grimaced, realising that Xemnas was still taking it easy on them if he was only now showing that he could fire lasers from any given point in the room, not just from where he was standing.
"You're going to owe me a pack of cookies in no time at this rate." Axel appeared next to him, breathing heavily from running all over the field. As it was obvious that his attacks were not going to do anything against Xemnas even if he'd manage to hit the man, he'd been busying himself with trying to cancel out as many of the lasers as possible. His fire balls were much bigger than the thin beams of dark energy, and could easily cancel out multiple at the same time. Roxas really hated the fact that, even though Axel and he should be just about equal in strength now, Axel was still far more useful than he was. All he could do was try and get Xemnas' attention for a short amount of time so Riku might be able to get another hit in.
He really hated feeling useless.
"I hope there's an afterlife and that cookies are sold there, then, because at this rate we won't survive this." Roxas blocked several more lasers, including a few headed for Axel's head.
"Hey, there's always that other form of payment if there aren't any cookies available." Axel grinned, not fazed in the slightest that a laser beam had just almost killed him.
Roxas threw a disbelieving glare up at the redhead. "You're still thinking about sex while we're being annihilated?"
Axel chuckled, his grin still firmly set on his face, and seeming completely unconcerned with their situation. "I need some kind of motivation, now don't I?"
Roxas snorted, half annoyed, half amused by Axel's words. "Fine, if we leave this room alive without you having to drag me away from a fight that's going on, you can have whatever reward you want from me. Is that enough motivation for you?"
Axel's already bright eyes seemed to light up even more at his comment. Roxas would've regretted his words at the look in Axel's eyes, except he knew they needed a miracle if they wanted to get out of here alive. Plus, as much as he loved living in denial, he couldn't deny anymore that he did, in fact, have feelings for Axel. Seeing as his main complaint — the fact that Axel couldn't care about him even if he tried — seemed to no longer apply, he doubted he'd be able to resist Axel for much longer anyway.
His attention was drawn back to Xemnas as he heard the man laugh, a volley of lasers forcing both Riku and Sora back. "Three Keyblade Masters and a Nobody, and none of you can truly challenge me. Riku, did you honestly think you'd stand a chance with these three as your allies?"
Riku glared at the man, the hand holding on to his newly reformed keyblade tightening until his knuckles had turned white. "They refused to let me train them properly."
Roxas would've glared at Riku for the comment, but he knew the other was right. Even with everything Riku had told them, Sora and he had refused to wait.
Xemnas chuckled. "If you'd waited any longer, Kingdom Hearts would have been mine by the time you came to stop me. Saïx has been looking for the last princess, and was confident that he knew where you had hidden her when he left not too long ago."
Next to him, Roxas could see Axel's body tense. He glanced aside, surprised that a statement like that would get to the redhead when he'd seemed completely unfazed by the prospect of dying.
"How would you know where I hid her?" Despite his words, Riku's tone was less than certain.
"Can't you guess?" Xemnas raised an amused eyebrow. "Until recently, we saw each other on a daily basis. You might've become wary of me in recent years, but before that you were an open book to me. I know how you think, and it isn't hard to think of the places you would most likely hide someone you'd want to keep from me. Saïx knows you practically as well as I do, so do you honestly expect the princess to be safe?"
A hint of panic flashed through Riku's eyes before he managed to suppress it. When he did push it away, his entire face morphed into the neutral expression he generally wore. The grip on his keyblade did not loosen though, easily giving away the frustration he couldn't switch off.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing we didn't want to wait, then," Sora cut in. "At least now we have a shot at stopping you."
Xemnas released a bark of laughter, obviously amused at Sora's words. "You still think you can beat me? When I sent the Heartless after the Keyblade Clan, I drained every single master of the last of their hearts to ensure they would not come back as Nobodies. I might only have consumed small amounts at a time, but put together I have consumed quite a lot. The hearts of Keyblade Masters give you tremendous power. You cannot hope to defeat me."
"Maybe not," Roxas spoke up, Xemnas turning his head to look at him with a rather unimpressed expression, "but trying to stop you is still better than doing nothing."
Before anyone could answer, a Dark Corridor appeared in the room and a young boy with long, blue hair — why blue? — stepped out. Roxas estimated that the boy was around his age, perhaps slightly younger. He doubted the age of the boy was correct, though. If the Dark Corridor he'd stepped out of hadn't already made it obvious what he was, then the red glow to his skin that Roxas recognised from whenever Axel had gone into the sunlight would have.
The boy only held his attention for a very short amount of time, his gaze quickly being drawn to the figure that was slung over the boy's shoulder. Jasmine was hanging there, unconscious.
Next to him, he could hear Axel curse under his breath.
"Lord Xemnas, I brought you the princess as I promised." The boy didn't even bother to look at any of them, his attention focussed on Xemnas entirely.
Roxas heard Riku curse out loud before he rushed forward, only to be thrown backwards by a screen of darkness that appeared straight in front of him. He landed near Sora, the brunet crouching down to make sure he was still okay. Xemnas hadn't even looked up as the screen had appeared from out of nowhere, his eyes focussed hungrily on Jasmine.
"Well done, Saïx. I'll leave these intruders in your hands, then." Saïx handed the unconscious girl over, his eyes still focussed on Xemnas in what seemed to be reverence. "Of course, leave them to me."
Riku, having gotten back to his feet by now, fired several balls of darkness. The dark screen that had appeared to throw him back once more sprang up, easily deflecting the attacks. Xemnas threw a mocking look at him, the look saying far more than his words could have ever done. Riku glared at him, but was forced to watch as Xemnas opened up a Dark Corridor and left the room.
As the Dark Corridor closed, Saïx finally looked around to take them in. His eyes passed from Riku, to Sora, only to linger as he saw Axel. Roxas could clearly see recognition spark in the other's eyes. When he looked back up at Axel, he could see the same look of recognition reflected in the redhead's eyes.
"I knew you were a magnet for problems, but I don't think you've ever managed to get yourself this much into trouble, Axel."
A wry smile crossed Axel's face. "I don't know, I think the time I got us arrested was pretty bad."
Roxas glanced back and forth between the two, his curiosity once again making him ignore the voice in his head that told him he shouldn't ask after a few moments. "How do you know him?"
"Saïx and I used to be friends when we were still human." Axel said offhandedly, obviously not thinking much of it.
"I think we did more than what friends usually do." An amused smirk pulled at Saïx's lips, and Axel smiled back at him with a nostalgic look on his face.
"True, but you know what I mean."
The spark of jealousy wasn't entirely unexpected, though it was stronger than Roxas had thought it would be. His grip on his keyblades tightened, and he glared at Saïx in dislike. He tried to suppress the feeling, wishing he'd never snapped out of denial for the umpteenth time, but the utter dislike for Saïx did not leave.
Riku's eyes narrowed on Axel in the frustration he'd already been feeling and newfound annoyance. "You didn't think it was important to mention you knew a guy named Saïx? The name isn't exactly common."
Axel shrugged. "You hadn't actually mentioned his name to me before now. I just knew Xemnas still had two other Nobodies working for him, not what their names were."
"Well, now that you know, wouldn't you much rather join me?" Saïx raised an eyebrow, "or do you still insist on clinging to emotions you no longer have?"
"You should be able to tell from my age what my answer to that question is," Axel replied without hesitation. A hint of annoyance appeared in Saïx's eyes, and Roxas guessed that whatever had gone on between the two Nobodies had meant more to Saïx than it had to Axel. It felt incredibly satisfying that Axel would choose them over Saïx, even if he had no part in the reason why.
"Fine, simply leave, then. I would prefer not to have to kill you."
Axel shook his head, smirking as he glanced down at Roxas momentarily. "Nah, Roxy just promised I could do whatever I want to him if we get out of here alive. I'm not leaving when I'm so close to finally having my way with him."
For the first time since he'd met Axel, Roxas didn't feel the urge to hit him with a keyblade after a comment like that. As Saïx's eyes met his, the smug satisfaction he'd already been feeling only grew. He could clearly see the jealousy he himself had felt before reflected in Saïx's eyes, and it pleased him to no end that Axel had chosen him over Saïx despite the background the two Nobodies shared. He smirked smugly at the blue-haired boy, enjoying it immensely as the other's eyes narrowed on him.
Somewhere deep down, a voice in Roxas' head pointed out he was not only being childish, but that he had officially fallen hard enough for Axel that he would get jealous at ex-boyfriend. Roxas very pointedly ignored this voice.
"You always were obsessive when it came to challenges, but I never knew you'd be willing to die for one."
Axel shrugged, once again seeming completely unconcerned with his possible death. "We'll see what happens."
Despite the fact that Roxas knew Saïx had to be as old as Axel, hearing someone who looked younger than he himself was say that they were going to die at his hands was more than a little irritating. Also, although he really did enjoy the annoyance Saïx displayed, he knew they were wasting time. Xemnas had all seven princesses, and had no doubt figured out by now how to open Kingdom Hearts. They couldn't afford to just stand around talking, or even waste time fighting Saïx.
He grimaced, knowing that his next words would probably mean he wasn't going to get out of the castle alive. "Guys, I think we're going to have to take a page from Marluxia's book if we want to stop Xemnas."
Sora caught on to what he meant almost immediately, though Axel and Riku were not far behind. "But, we couldn't even beat Xemnas. Saïx would—"
"I know," Roxas cut his brother off, hoping to keep Saïx as in the dark as possible about what they were discussing. Right now the blue-haired Nobody was looking at them in confusion, frowning as he tried to figure out what they meant. "But if we don't, Xemnas will get to Kingdom Hearts whether we win or not."
Riku glanced from him, to Saïx, to the ceiling where he could no doubt sense Xemnas, and then back at him. He seemed to hesitate for a very brief moment before his desire to stop his father got the better of him. "Sora and I are the only ones who stand the slightest chance at stopping him so…"
Axel was the one to finish his sentence, a glint of glee shining in his eyes as fire started to race down his arms, "We'll be the ones to stay behind!"
Fire exploded across the field, making it impossible to see what was happening. Roxas took a step back, shielding his eyes from the bright light. If Xemnas hadn't rushed through the wall of fire Axel had previously used to try and protect them, Roxas would've thought Saïx couldn't possibly survive this. As it was, though, he just hoped Riku and Sora would be able to get away before Saïx noticed that they were going after Xemnas.
For a brief moment, the flames were all Roxas could see. Then he could see a figure coming at them through the fire, seeming to not notice that he was enveloped by it. Roxas had just enough time to lift one of his keyblades in preparation of whatever weapon Saïx wielded, before he was flung to the side with incredible force. He fell to the ground harshly, wondering vaguely if Saïx hadn't just conjured a car out of nowhere to hit them with. As the flames died out, though, he saw Saïx slam Axel to the centre of the room with the greatest ease, and with nothing but a very oddly-shaped weapon. What in the world Saïx was wielding, Roxas honestly couldn't tell. It looked ridiculous, heavy, highly impractical…
And still cooler than his keyblades.
He stared in utter shock at the blue-haired Nobody for a moment, refusing to believe that he possessed as much strength as he'd just felt slamming into him. He looked like he'd barely hit his mid-teens. There was no way he could be that strong.
Well, at least Riku and Sora had indeed managed to get away. That much of their plan had worked out, at least.
Roxas barely had enough time to get to his feet and hold up both his keyblades in an attempt to block Saïx's next blow, before he found himself hitting a wall that had been quite far away from him previously. He groaned, forcing himself to look up in case Saïx was headed for him again. Saïx was still standing in the spot Roxas had previously been flung to, the calm look on his face replaced by a wild one. Roxas only had a very brief moment to look at him before Saïx rushed at Axel once more, completely ignoring the fireballs Axel shot at him, and actually seeming to cause miniature earthquakes as he ran forward. There was no elegance or even strategy to the blue-haired Nobody's attacks. He just seemed to rush at people, slam his weapon into them, and cause them to fly backwards as if they were as light as a feather.
Not that Saïx seemed to need any kind of strategy. Smashing into things seemed to work very well for him.
Roxas got to his feet, wishing he had an actual elemental attack to throw at Saïx, before rushing at the other while the other was busy hitting Axel around like a rag doll. The moment his first keyblade made contact with Saïx's back, the blue-haired Nobody turned and swung his weapon around, deflecting his second keyblade and pushing him backwards. He took a moment to regain his balance, anticipating the next blow, but still unable to stop himself from flying backwards. He was fairly sure Saïx would've continued to rush at him, but Axel distracted him, and Saïx's attention once more switched to the redhead.
For several minutes, all Axel and he could do was distract Saïx from delivering a finishing blow to one of them. After those few minutes, every part of Roxas' body hurt, and he honestly doubted the bruises that were covering him all over would ever go away, even if they did survive this. They were absolutely no match for Saïx, and Roxas once more cursed the fact that he hadn't been given his complete powers. There was even a part of him, small as it might be, that wished Axel had consumed a heart here and there so he wasn't so horribly underpowered in comparison to every other Nobody around. The other, far greater, part of him rejected the thought, of course, but it was still frustrating to know that Axel might've been able to take on Saïx by himself if he'd only eaten hearts. At the very least they might not be losing as badly as they were now.
During his mental complaint, a thought struck Roxas, distracting him to the point where he didn't block one of Saïx's blows as well as he should have, and he was sent flying across the room — quite literally — and into a wall. He groaned at the pain before forcing his body to keep going as Saïx rushed at him once more. He rolled out of the way, hoping to dodge Saïx for at least a short amount of time while his mind raced with the idea he'd just had.
Right now, neither he nor Axel could ever hope to hit Saïx properly, let alone defeat the blue-haired Nobody. They were simply buying Sora and Riku time in the hope that the two would pull off a miracle and could stop Xemnas. The likelihood of Sora and Riku pulling that off was slim at best, and the chances of them being in time to come and save him and Axel were even slimmer. If they wanted to survive this, they were gong to have to save themselves. Right now there was no way either of them would be able to do that, but there was a rather obvious way for one of them to gain power very quickly.
Axel was a Nobody.
He was a Keyblade Master, despite his incomplete power.
Xemnas had stated that eating the heart of a Keyblade Master increased a Nobody's power tremendously.
At the rate the battle — if it could even be called a battle — was going, both Axel and he would be dead within the next few minutes. However, if he let Axel eat his heart, Axel's power would no doubt increase to the point where he could take on Saïx, provided Xemnas hadn't been exaggerating. With Axel on equal footing with any other Nobody, he would actually be able to help Sora and Riku fight Xemnas.
For the first time since this entire situation had begun, he was grateful for his power. He would've laughed at the irony of finally having found something positive about his power, but the fact that he was currently dodging attacks from a madman, and that that madman was getting awfully close to actually hitting him was more than enough to stop him. Besides, although the idea might work, Saïx would never give Axel the time to actually take his heart as things were now.
Mind still racing and trying to come up with anything that might get rid of Saïx long enough, while at the same time trying to ignore the part of his brain that was calling him insane for so much as considering this, Roxas caught sight of the staircase they'd climbed to get into this room. Narrowly dodging yet another one of Saïx's blows, he dashed for the entrance to the room, hoping Saïx was as out of his mind as he looked. He stopped at the top of the stairs, turning around to see Saïx following without thought. He stood there for as long as he dared, rolling out of the way at the very last second. He felt Saïx's weapon graze his arm and winced at the pain as a stream of blood trickled down his arm. He couldn't help but smirk, though, as he heard Saïx fall down the stairs and hit the ground.
Axel appeared beside him, panting heavily and looking just as bruised as Roxas. "Now why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you're an idiot," Roxas panted out. "I doubt that'll work a second time, though, so we need a different plan."
"Make him run into a wall?" Axel suggested with a strained grin.
Roxas shook his head, refraining from starting an argument. Saïx would probably be back on his feet in no time. For some reason, Roxas doubted he would be lucky enough to get rid of a Nobody like this. "You have to take my heart."
The grin disappeared from Axel's face and he looked down at him incredulously. "What?"
Roxas glanced at the staircase behind him, wishing he could sense Saïx so he'd know what the other was doing. "He's going to kill us at this rate, and you know it. Xemnas said the heart of a Keyblade Master gives Nobodies a huge power boost. So, we can either both die here, or you can take my heart and kick Saïx's ass."
Axel continued to stare down at him incredulously without moving an inch. Roxas' fists clenched in frustration, and he glanced back at the entrance to the room once more. They didn't have time for this. Saïx could come back any second, and he really didn't want to be given any time to think about what he was doing.
"You're serious, aren't you?" Roxas looked back up at Axel, the redhead watching him carefully. He could clearly read the distaste for what he'd said off the other's face, and knew Axel would like to do nothing more than to say no. However, Axel knew he had a point.
He forced a smile, letting his keyblades disappear. "I'm going to die either way, so why not do something useful while I'm still around. Just do me a favour and go help Sora and Riku. You might not be getting anything out of it, but if Vexen's right and you really do care…"
To his surprise, he could see several emotions flashing through Axel's eyes, frustration being the predominant one. It was the first time he'd seen Axel look honestly resentful of something he was about to do.
Roxas ignored the shiver that went down his spine as Axel grabbed his shoulders, as well as the part of his mind that was screaming at him to get away. He simply continued to force himself to smile, hoping Axel knew he was sorry for making him do this.
He gasped and his smile finally faded from his face as he felt a tearing pain in his chest. He had just enough time to look down at his chest in shock, not seeing or feeling any actually physical wound, before everything inside of him was consumed by a sea of fire.
Uhm… don't kill me for the ending? °sweatddrops° Remember that if I die, none of you will ever know how the story ends!
The first half or so of the next chapter has been written for ages. I'm going to have to change some things because the story decided things should go differently than I'd planned, but with half of the chapter already done I should be able to get next week's update done in time. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll hopefully see you all next week! Review guys!