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 172 ~
Sound of the Surf
(The World That Never Was)
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew entered the Grey Area, ready for their missions of the day. Inside the room was Axel, Xigbar, Luxord, and Demyx. As they came in, they were greeted by Luxord.
"Roxas, Draxon, how has the game been treating you?" Luxord asks
"Uhh... Fine, I guess." Draxon says shrugging his shoulders
"Saïx shuffled us together for today's mission. I wager we'll make a good enough team." Luxord says
"I don't see why not." Roxas says
"Oh, by the way, did you both hear what happened to Xion?" Luxord asks
The two boys and Pokémon shared confused and suspicious glances with each other upon hearing Xion. Then, they look back at Luxord, anxious as to what he was about to say.
"What about her?" Draxon asks turning his head slightly to the left
"She bungled her last mission and fell into a deep slumber. Can't win them all, I suppose." Luxord says
"What?!" Roxas and Draxon exclaim in unison
"Mew?!" Mew exclaims in shock
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew's shocked voices caught the attention of Axel, Xigbar, and Demyx, causing them to look in their direction. Axel and Demyx had concerned expressions on their faces while Xigbar just chuckled a bit with a smile on his face.
"We gotta go see her!" Roxas says
"C'mon!" Draxon says
The two boys turn to run out of the Grey Area when Saïx stood infront of them, blocking their path.
"And where do you two think you're going?" Saïx asks
"To see Xion! What else?" Draxon says
"Don't waste your time. You both have a mission to take care of." Saïx says
"Which we'll do." Roxas says
"The mission can wait. We want to see Xion." Draxon says
The trio rush past Saïx and head for the doorway until the Luna Diviner spoke, causing them to stop mid-way.
"You cannot help her. Xion will not wake from her slumber." Saïx says
"That's not the point! We need to be with Xion!" Roxas says
"She needs us!" Draxon says
"What do you care? That creature is broken. Defective. She is nothing but a failure. A mistake." Saïx says
"Don't call her that!" Roxas snaps
"Xion is not a failure and she's not a mistake! She's our friend!" Draxon snaps
"I'll call that thing whatever I want. How we deal with Xion is no concern of yours." Saïx says
"We didn't ask if it was!" Roxas says
"Like we asked for your opinion!" Draxon says
"Look at you two. Up in arms over a Nobody." Saïx says
"Last I checked, we're all Nobodies!" Draxon says
"Settle down. Xion's failure will not affect your standings with us. You both have nothing to worry about." Saïx says
"What is wrong with you?! Look, we'll do our missions later, okay?" Roxas says
"Right now, we're going to see Xion." Draxon says
Wanting no further delays, Draxon and Roxas rush out of the Grey Area with Mew close behind. Axel watched as the trio vanished into the hallway. He then looks toward Saix as he walks past him, who didn't even bother to look back. Axel stared at Saix with a hint of anger in his eyes. He overheard the entire conversation and he didn't like what he said about Xion. She was his friend afterall and Axel wanted answers. Why was Saix being so harsh on Xion? Just what was his deal with her? He had to know. Axel turns back and looks off into the hallway, hoping that his friends were alright.
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew hastily move through the halls of the castle for several minutes. Eventually, the trio find Xion laying on the bed in her room. She was in a comatose state, but the reasons as to how and why were unclear. Draxon, Roxas, and Mew approach their sleeping friend and stared down at her with saddened expressions.
"Xion..." Roxas says
"Mew..." Mew says in a sad voice
Draxon and Roxas both take out a seashell from their pockets and place them on the bed next to the pillow. One of them was a white, brown-spotted Junonia shell. The other was a blue and yellow seashell. Unable to do anything for Xion, Draxon, Roxas, and Mew set off to their missions, leaving their friend to sleep in peace.
(Moments later)
After Draxon, Roxas, Mew, and Luxord had left for their mission, Axel met up with Saix in the castle and he spoke to him about Xion.
"Hey, that was uncalled for!" Axel says
"I told you. Keep out of this." Saïx says
"And I'm telling you that I have to know what the deal is with Xion. If there's something going on, just be straight with me for once, will ya?" Axel says
"Do you mean like how you're always straight with me?" Saïx retorts
Axel scratches the back of his head.
"Well, you got me there, I guess." Axel says
"Xion has no right to be among our number." Saïx says
"What do you mean? Why not?" Axel asks
"It's plain to see. I've nothing more to say." Saïx says
With that said, Saix walks off into the castle halls, leaving Axel alone to ponder over what he had heard.
(Wonderland)
Draxon, Roxas, Mew, and Luxord step out of the dark corridor and arrive in Wonderland, coming into the rabbit hole. Their mission was to hunt down five Pink Concertos.
"So, we're here hunting specific game today, hmm?" Luxord says
Draxon and Roxas were both elsewhere in their minds to hear Luxord words. The two boys were worried about Xion that they almost lost focus on their mission.
"What? Oh, right." Roxas says
"Uh... Yeah. Yeah..." Draxon says with his voice slightly trailing off
"What's wrong? First time here?" Luxord asks
"No, I was here on a mission a little while ago. And I ran into this white rabbit, who was in a huge hurry to get somewhere." Roxas says
"A rabbit? Really?" Luxord says intrigued
"I lost sight of him before I had a chance to see what the deal was, though." Roxas says
"Luck's like that. A window of opportunity can open and close in the blink of an eye. It's whether or not you can jump on the chance when it arises that determines one's fate. Let's hope we stand up to the odds this time around." Luxord says
"Er, right." Roxas says
"Let's get started." Luxord says
"Well, this is interesting." Luxord says
"All we need to do is drink the blue bottle on the table and we'll be able to move on." Roxas says
The three Nobodies and Mew each drink from the bottle and they shrink to the size of the room.
"Whoa. That felt weird." Draxon says feeling himself
"Mew." Mew says nodding in agreement
"So, where do we go from here?" Draxon says looking around
"Looks like we can head through that doorway over there." Roxas says
Draxon follows Roxas' gaze and his eyes laid upon a purple doorway that led into another area.
"Alright. Let's go." Draxon says
The three Nobodies and small Pokémon proceed through the doorway in the northwest corner and come into the Hedge Maze Entrance. They continue straight ahead and they arrive at the Queen's Court. Another path on the left led out to another area. The four follow the path and they soon enter the Lotus Forest. As they walk into the area, a voice speaks out to them.
"Lost something?" A voice asks
"Huh?! Who's there?" Roxas asks
In that moment, the Cheshire Cat appears standing on a mushroom above the four.
"Who, indeed?" The Cheshire Cat says
"Uh... a cat?" Roxas says baffled
"A cheshire cat, if you please. Or if you don't." The Cheshire Cat says
"Okay?" Draxon says
"Did you have a point?" Roxas asks
"Yes, of course. But then, I also had none at all. Which would you prefer?" The Cheshire Cat says
"We... We'll be asking the questions here!" Roxas says
"Well then, ask away... Of course, the answers may be a bit hard to find..." The Cheshire Cat says
Having said that, the Cheshire Cat fades away, disappearing out of sight. Draxon and Roxas glance toward each in confusion.
"What was that all about?" Roxas asks feeling confused
"No idea." Draxon says
Suddenly, four Heartless appear infront of the four members. It was their targets: four Pink Concertos.
"Guess we found our targets." Draxon says
"And now we come to the interesting part of the game." Luxord says pulling out his cards
The young teens both summon their Keyblades into their hands and they got into battle stance alongside Mew and Luxord.
Draxon rushes toward the first Heartless in his view and goes on the offensive. He strikes the Pink Concerto with a right slash, an upward and downward slash, and four left and right slashes. Next, he follows up with two spinning slashes. Then, he finishes off with an overhead strike, which slices the Pink Concerto in half vertically down the center. The Heartless splits apart and falls to the ground.
Roxas leaps at the second Pink Concerto and strikes it with an uppercut slash followed by a downward slash and a reverse roundhouse slash. He continues his assault with a left and right slash, an upward slash, and a somersault slash. The Heartless tries to headbutt him, but he jumps a good feet away, dodging the attack. Roxas aims his Keyblade at the Pink Concerto and launches a strong fireball at it. The fiery projectile lands a direct hit to the Heartless and explodes on impact, blasting it into oblivion.
Mew encases itself inside it's pink barrier and it rams into the third Pink Concerto, knocking it back. The Heartless spews a purple cloud of toxic smoke at the small Pokémon, but it's barrier shields it from the attack. The smoke dissipates upon hitting the barrier, leaving Mew unharmed. Mew uses Ancient Power, conjuring up a silver ball of energy made from it's afterimage and hurls it at the Heartless. The attack hits the Pink Concerto with direct impact and explode in a flash of light, obliterating the Heartless.
Luxord throws a flurry of razor-sharp cards at the fourth Pink Concerto, cutting it in multiple places. He sends forth more cards with a thrust of his right-hand. The cards spiral outward from Luxord's hand and hit the Heartless, making it roll backwards in the air. Then, lifting his hand upwards, an bunch of cards explode from underneath the Pink Concerto's feet, knocking it into the air. From there, Luxord leaps up and sends forth another flurry of cards at the Heartless, damaging it even more. Finally, he summons two large cards in his hands and slices through the Pink Concerto, making short work of the Heartless.
After the Heartless were defeated, the Cheshire Cat appears ontop of another mushroom, catching the attention of Draxon, Roxas, Mew, and Luxord.
"Bravo! Bravo! It seems you found what you were looking for. Of course, there's still one more to find. Hmm... I wonder if you wonder where it could be..." The Cheshire Cat says
"We'd find it easy enough if you'd just told us where to look, but I'm not holding my breath." Roxas says
"Oh, but you must! That would be loads of fun! But then, you'd have to be mad... Mad enough to hide within a birdcage, perhaps? Or mad... like... me..." The Cheshire Cat says
Again, the Cheshire Cat disappears.
"That was helpful." Roxas says sarcastically
"But he's right. I counted four of those Pink Concertos. We're still short one. Which means it must be around here somewhere. Let's keep moving. Maybe we'll find it." Draxon says
And so, with four Pink Concertos down, Draxon, Roxas, Mew, and Luxord proceed onwards to find the final Heartless. They head back the way they came and return to the Queen's Court.
"Now, if recall correctly, the Cheshire Cat mentioned a bird cage. We look for the cage, we'll find our Heartless." Draxon says
The four look around the area, searching for anything that resembled a bird cage. Mew glances over towards the Queen's Court and it saw something draped underneath a red curtain on the right side of the throne. It appeared to be a large bird cage.
"Mew! Mew Mew Mew!" Mew says
Draxon, Roxas, and Luxord looks at the small Pokémon as it points it's left-paw toward the side of the throne.
"That must be it. Nice work, Mew." Draxon says
"Mew Mew!" Mew says happily
Draxon cautiously walks over to the bird cage. When he reaches it, he grabs the curtain and quickly unfurls it. He expected to see the Pink Concerto inside the cage, but it was empty.
"Huh? It's empty." Draxon says
Unknown to Draxon, the Heartless appeared behind him, much to Roxas and Mew's shock.
"Oh dear. It would seem that the hunter has become the hunted." Luxord says with an amused smirk on his face
"Mew Mew!" Mew exclaims
"Draxon! Behind you!" Roxas exclaims
Draxon turns around upon hearing his name and he saw the Pink Concerto infront of him, emanating with a purple, poisonous smoke. Reacting quickly, the young teen leaps up over the Heartless just as it spews a toxic cloud on the ground where he once stood. Draxon lands over by Roxas, Mew, and Luxord and he summons Soul Calibur into his right-hand while the Pink Concerto turned to face them.
"I got this one." Draxon says
Draxon rushes up to the Pink Concerto and strikes it with some quick slashes. He swings his Keyblade with three left and right slashes, delivers a thrusting strike, a rising uppercut slash, and three overhead strikes. The Pink Concerto raises it's head and tries to smash Draxon into the ground with a headbutt, but he leaps back and counters the attack with a backflip slash, making it spin backwards. After recovering from the blow, the Pink Concerto spews another toxic cloud at the young teen. Draxon leaps high up into the air, dodging the toxic cloud. He then raises Soul Calibur high above his head, causing it to shine with it's benevolent light. Targeting the Heartless down below him, Draxon swings his Keyblade with a downward slash, sending a flaming crescent blade of blue light flying at the Heartless. The attack lands with a direct hit and unleashes a streak of blue flames upon impact, dishing out a ton of damage. Draxon swings his Keyblade again, this time with a right slash, launching another blade of light. Again, the attack hits the Heartless. Draxon launches five more blades of light down on the Pink Concerto, swinging his Keyblade downward and right. Each blade launched engulfs the Heartless in blue flames. Finally, Draxon hurls his shining Keyblade down at the Pink Concerto with a right toss, finishing it off. The Keyblade stabs into the Heartless, destroying it. It's captured heart floats up into the sky and fades away, returning to Kingdom Hearts.
Draxon lands crouched down by Roxas, Mew, and Luxord with Soul Calibur in his right-hand. He rises up on his feet and de-summons his Keyblade.
"And that's that." Draxon says
"Game, set, and match." Luxord says
"Another mission down." Roxas says
The Cheshire Cat appears standing on the court stand and congratulates the members of the victory.
"Quite brilliant indeed! Your sight's been set and found again." The Cheshire Cat says
"How did you know where they'd be? Are you connected to the Heartless somehow?" Roxas asks
"Yes, am I? Or aren't I? You have to decide." The Cheshire Cat says
Once more, the Cheshire Cat disappears.
"That cat is a walking question mark." Roxas says
"More like a walking riddle-maker." Draxon says
"Nobody's gonna reveal his hand from the get-go. You have to outwit your opponent in the give and take to figure them out. And frankly, I don't see you two outwitting that cat anytime soon." Luxord says
"Well, excuse me." Roxas says
Luxord stretches his left-hand out to his side and a dark corridor opens up.
"Heh. Let's head back." Luxord says
Having completed their mission, Draxon, Roxas, Mew, and Luxord entered the dark corridor and left Wonderland.
(Twilight Town)
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew sat at their usual spot in Twilight Town at the top of the clock tower, gazing out at the sunset. They were the first to arrive and were soon joined by Axel, who came around the corner.
"Hey, boys." Axel greets
"Oh, hey Axel." Draxon greets
Axel walks over and sits down next to Roxas.
"Axel... about Xion..." Draxon says
"Saïx told me what happened this morning." Axel says
"Why does he hate her so much?" Roxas asks
"I know, right? Ever since Xion failed her mission to eliminate the Organization Imposter, Saïx has really been hard on her. All the insults and negative remarks. Can't he just cut her some slack?" Draxon says
Axel looks over at the two boys.
"Listen to yourselves. How come you two do that? Talking like a real person?" Axel asks
The two boys looks right at Axel.
"What? What did we say?" Draxon asks
"I mean, sometimes you both sound like you're heartsick or something." Axel says
Draxon and Roxas look toward each other, then stare back out at the sunset.
"When I saw her lying there... I couldn't stop thinking that she'll never wake up." Roxas says
"Yeah. Same. I wish there was someway we could help Xion." Draxon says
"She will." Axel says
"Saïx called her 'broken'." Roxas says
"Not only that, he called her a 'creature'. A 'failure'. A 'mistake'. He's got some nerve treating Xion like that." Draxon says
"Hmm... Well, if it cheers you both up, I'm probably more broken than her." Axel says
"Saïx must know something about her. Why me, Draxon, and her are special Nobodies." Roxas says
"You're probably right about that, Roxas. Saïx must know more than he's letting on." Draxon says
"Well... If it's gonna keep you boys up at night, I could ask him." Axel says
Draxon and Roxas look back at Axel in surprise.
"Really?!" Draxon and Roxas say in unison
"Yes, really! I'll ask, but don't get your hopes up. Straight answers aren't exactly his specialty." Axel says
"He's never been straight with us." Draxon says
"But he's more than likely to tell you." Roxas says
"True." Axel says
Draxon, Roxas, and Axel look back out at the setting sun.
"I just hope she wakes up soon." Roxas says
"Yeah. Me too." Draxon says
The four friends continue to sit quietly throughout the rest of the evening, gazing out at the majestic horizon as the sun shined it's orange light over the peaceful town.
(The World That Never Was)
Draxon was in his room, sitting on his bed. He was obviously obsessed over Xion's predicament. Ever since she fell into her coma, he's been deeply worried about her. Many questions went through his mind. How could this happen to her? What was her mission? And more importantly, will she ever wake up. Mew floated up to Draxon, gaining his attention. The small Pokémon was very worried for Xion, but it was also worried for Draxon as well, seeing how he could hardly keep his mind off her. Draxon gently rubbed his right-hand on Mew's head, then looked out the window of his room, gazing up at the heart-shaped moon that hovered in the dark sky.
"Xion, please be alright." Draxon prayed in his thoughts
(Meanwhile)
Xion was still asleep in her room, lying peacefully in her bed. On the side of her pillow were the two seashells that Draxon and Roxas left for her earlier as their gifts to her. Although Xion was asleep, she could hear the sound of the waves through the seashells.
~ Day 173 ~
Lies
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew entered the Grey Area to receive their next missions. As they came in, they were greeted by Axel.
"Hey, boys." Axel says
"Hey, Axel. Did you find out anything about Xion?" Draxon asks
"I talked to Saïx." Axel says
"Really!?" Roxas says
"And?" Draxon asks
"His... his lips were sealed. Sorry. I tried." Axel apologizes
The two boys and Pokémon felt down upon hearing that Axel got no answers.
"Mew..." Mew says slumping over
"Oh, that's okay." Roxas says
"At least you tried." Draxon says
"But he did say that he would reconsider claiming Xion to be a failure if she proves herself more capable from now on. The best thing you both can do for her now is keep up the good work." Axel says
The two boys smiled in relief upon hearing that. Axel's words seemed to help lift their spirits up.
"You know we will!" Draxon says with a thumbs up
"Thanks, Axel." Roxas says
Draxon and Roxas walk up to Saïx with Mew to begin their new missions while Axel stood where he was. He watched them go, then he looked down and let a sigh.
"Ugh... Sorry, boys..." Axel sighs quietly
(The Dragon Realms)
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew exit out of a dark corridor and arrive in the Dragon City of Warfang just outside the new Dragon Temple. Their mission here was Heart Collection. In addition, they were also sent to eliminate a Wavecrest that had appeared in this world. Draxon and Mew were familiar with the city. But for Roxas, it was whole new experience for him since this was his first time in the Dragon Realms. He looks around at all the buildings that made up the city. Most of the buildings in the city were restored, save but a few which were still in ruins. His eyes soon gazed upon a nearby dragon statue on his left, which was sitting proudly on it's haunches.
"So, this is the Dragon Realms." Roxas says
"Yep. We're in Warfang, the Dragon City." Draxon says
Draxon and Mew look up ahead of them.
"And straight ahead is the Dragon Temple." Draxon says
Roxas follows Draxon's gaze and he stared at the temple in amazement.
"Whoa..." Roxas says
"If we want to find out where the Heartless are in this world, we need to talk to the Dragon Guardians. They can point us in the right direction." Draxon says
Draxon looks back at Roxas.
"And there's some friends of mine I'd like you to meet." Draxon says
"Alright. Lead the way." Roxas says
Draxon nods his head and he proceeds toward the Dragon Temple with Roxas and Mew in tow. They make their way up the ramp and head through the doorway. The trio come into the entrance hall where Roxas looked around at all the paintings of dragons that were on the walls. The trio continue on into the next room where Roxas saw the large dragon statue, standing proud. Then, they come out into the courtyard where they saw a few young dragons going about their day. Draxon looked on ahead and he saw Ember, Flame, and Sparx. He smiled and went to go greet them.
"Ember! Flame! Sparx!" Draxon calls out
The two dragons and dragonfly turned around in response to hearing their names and they saw Draxon, Mew, and Roxas approaching them.
"Hi, Draxon!" Ember greets happily
"Draxon! Buddy!" Sparx says happy to see the young teen
"Hey, Draxon! How've ya been?" Flame says
"I've been doing good." Draxon says
Ember, Flame, and Sparx noticed Roxas standing next to Draxon and were wondering who he was.
"Uh, Draxon, who's that with you?" Ember asks
Draxon looks over at Roxas, who stood on his right.
"Oh, right." Draxon says
Draxon places his right-hand on Roxas' shoulder, introducing him to the two dragons and dragonfly.
"Guys, this is Roxas. He's one of my best friends. And he's a Keyblade Wielder just like me." Draxon says
"Hi." Roxas greets waving his right-hand
Ember walks up to the two boys and she introduces herself to Roxas.
"Nice to meet you, Roxas. Any friend of Draxon is a friend of mine. My name's Ember."
Flame steps up and walks over to Ember's right-side, introducing himself.
"So you're a Keyblade Wielder too, huh? That's awesome! I'm Flame."
Finally, Sparx flies up to Roxas and introduces himself.
"The name's Sparx. You're best buds with my man Draxon, huh? That's cool. 'Cause I am too!"
"Why are you here, Draxon?" Ember asks
"We came to see if any Heartless might've appeared in the Dragon Realms. You guys wouldn't happen to know if they've been spotted somewhere, have you?" Draxon says
"Well, now that you mention it, Hunter just came back from his trip to the Cheetah Village. He said a group of Heartless did appear in the Valley of Avalar." Ember says
"We were actually hoping that you would drop by to help deal with them." Flame says
"That's why we're here." Draxon says
"Great! Let's go tell the Guardians." Ember says
With Ember, Flame, and Sparx now joining them, Draxon, Roxas, and Mew push on towards the chamber straight ahead. Inside were Terrador, Volteer, Cyril, and Hunter, who standing around the Pool of Visions. They saw the heroes enter and they turned their attention towards them.
"Draxon, the timing of your arrival is impeccable. A group of Heartless has just shown up in the Valley of Avalar. We need you and your Keyblade there." Terrador says
"I know. Ember and Flame told me about it." Draxon says
Roxas stood alongside Draxon as he stared up at the Dragon Guardians while they stared back at him. Terrador approaches the two boys and looks over at Roxas.
"Draxon, who is this with you?" Terrador asks
"This is my friend, Roxas. He's with me to help deal with the Heartless. He's a Keyblade Wielder just like me." Draxon says
The large earth dragon lowers his head down to Roxas' level.
"Greetings, Roxas. I am Terrador, Guardian of Earth. It's a pleasure to meet another Keyblade Wielder other than Draxon."
Next, the ice dragon walks up and introduces himself to Roxas.
"It is rather fortunate that we have two wielders of the Keyblade in our midst. Especially with the blasted Heartless running about causing trouble. Well met, young chap. I am Cyril, Guardian of Ice."
Then, Volteer steps up and introduces himself.
"Truly fascinating it is to meet another Keyblade Wielder and a friend of Draxon. I am Volteer, Guardian of Electricity."
Finally, Hunter steps forward and places his right-paw over his chest, introducing himself.
"My name is Hunter. It's nice to meet you, Roxas."
"Okay! Great! Now that we all know each other, let's get down to business, shall we? We got some Heartless to beat down." Sparx says
"Right. We'd better get started. Hunter, can you lead us?" Draxon says
Hunter nods his head with a smile.
"Follow me." Hunter says
The cheetah warrior walks out of the chamber with the two Nobodies, two dragons, small dragonfly, and Pokémon trailing close behind. The group leaves the Dragon Temple and head out into the city. They move through the streets, following Hunter as he led them to the Forbidden Tunnel. Roxas saw many dragons, moles, and cheetahs pass by as they continued on their path. Most were helping to clean up the ruined buildings while some were just enjoying their day, talking with each other. Eventually, the heroes reach the Forbidden Tunnel and they head inside, leaving the Dragon City.
(Moments later)
The group exit out of the tunnel and come into the Valley of Avalar. Roxas was amazed at how beautiful the valley was. But there was no time for sightseeing. They had Heartless to hunt down.
"So, where to?" Draxon asks
"Chief Prowlus told me that his scouts reported the Heartless were on the other side of the valley." Hunter says pointing out into the valley
"Then, that's where we're going. C'mon!" Draxon says
Draxon went on ahead, taking the lead with Roxas, Mew, Ember, Flame, Hunter, and Sparx, beginning their hunt for the Heartless. The heroes ventured forward into the Valley of Avalar, following the left-side of the riverbank to the other side. They encountered a few Heartless such as Chomper Eggs and Creepworms along the way, but they made short work of them and continued onwards.
After several minutes of traveling through the valley, they come into a wide, open area that housed a spring and a beautiful six multi-step waterfall.
"This is the area where the scouts saw the Heartless." Hunter says
"But where are they?" Ember asks
As soon Ember said that, the Heartless appeared out of thin air infront of them. These Heartless were five Shadow Magicians, thirteen Soldiers, and two Fire and Blizzard Plants.
"Right here." Draxon says
Draxon and Roxas both summoned their Keyblades, Soul Calibur and Kingdom Key, and got into battle stance. Ember and Flame reared back and stood alongside them. Hunter took out his bow and drew an arrow, taking aim at the Heartless. Mew transformed into a Charizard and it let out a mighty roar. Standing together, the heroes prepared for their fight against the Heartless.
Draxon attacks first by raising his Keyblade with both hands over his right-shoulder and swings it down to his left-leg, launching a spiraling blast of blue energy at one of the Shadow Magicians. The attack lands a direct hit to the Heartless, knocking it off it's broom and destroying it. Another Shadow Magician aims it's wand at the young teen and shoots a fireball at him. Draxon stood his ground and held his Keyblade like a baseball bat. Timing his strike at just the right time, he swings Keyblade and sends the fireball back at the Heartless. The fiery projectile hits the Shadow Magician and explodes on impact, blasting it into oblivion.
Roxas charges at a Soldier and goes through it with a thrusting strike. Another Soldier swipes it's claws at him, but he leaps back and counters the attack with a quick, left-diagonal spinning slash, destroying the Heartless on the spot. Roxas targets another Soldier in his view, turning to his right. He rushes forward at the Heartless and cuts it down with a right slash. A Fire and Blizzard Plant both shoot a fireball and an ice sphere at him. Roxas rolls to the left, dodging the fireball, then he rolls to the right, dodging ice sphere. The young teen points his Keyblade at the Fire Plant and he launches a large ice shard at the Heartless, destroying it in one shot. He then turns to the Blizzard Plant and launches a large fireball from the tip of his Keyblade, taking it out as well.
Charizard bites down on a Soldier with it's jaws and clamps down on the Heartless until it disintegrates, then it stomps it's right-foot down on another Soldier, crushing it. Another Soldier tries to sneak up behind Charizard while it's back was turned, but the Flame Pokémon caught sight of it and quickly slams it's tail into it, sending the Heartless flying into the spring. It's captured heart floated out of the water and disappeared into the sky. A Shadow Magician aims it's wand at Charizard, launching a dark sphere at it. Charizard notices the incoming attack and immediately leaps backwards with a strong flap of it's wings, nearly avoiding getting crushed into the ground by the miniature event-horizon. The Flame Pokémon flies back at the Heartless and takes a swipe with it's Dragon Claw attack, tearing the Shadow Magician to pieces.
Ember swipes her claws left and right at one Soldier, then she kicks it away using both her hind legs. Another Soldier takes a swipe at the pink dragoness with it's claws, but she leaps up and performs a somersault, bringing her tail down on the Heartless, slamming it into the ground. A Blizzard Plant launches an ice sphere at Ember. The pink dragoness turned to her right and saw the incoming projectile. Reacting quickly, she leapt out of the way, dodging the frozen sphere. Ember retaliates by launching a fireball from her mouth at the Blizzard Plant. The fiery blast hits the Heartless and explodes on impact. The Blizzard Plant was engulfed in flames and was ultimately defeated.
Flame shoots a fireball at a Soldier infront of him, destroying it on the spot. Another Soldier swipes both it's claws at the red dragon, but he leaps back and counters with a ramming headbutt, knocking the Heartless back. While the Heartless was left dazed by the counterattack, Flame grabs hold of the Soldier's right-leg using his teeth and lifts it up into the air. He slams the Soldier down into the ground on his left, then again to his right. He then throws the Heartless down infront of him and finishes it off with a horn dive. A Fire Plant shoots a fireball at Flame, who quickly noticed and leapt out of the way. Turning to the Heartless that was on his left, Flame charges at the Fire Plant, leaps up, and smashes his horns into it's face, destroying it with a strong blow.
Hunter aims for one of the two remaining Shadow Magicians, lining up his shot with his right-eye along the arrow. He pulls back and fires his bow, sending the arrow flying through the air. His shot lands with a precise hit to the Heartless' head, destroying it. The other Shadow Magician points it's wand at the cheetah warrior and launches a fireball at him. Using his swift agility and reflexes, Hunter quickly jumps and rolls to the left, dodging the incoming fireball. He draws another arrow from his quiver, takes aims at the Heartless responsible for the attack, pulls back and shoots, taking it out as well.
By this time, everyone had defeated their Heartless, except for Draxon who was just finishing up with the last remaining ones, which were just two Soldiers. Draxon slices through one of the Soldiers with a left slash, destroying it. The other Soldier takes a swipe at Draxon with it's right-claw, but he leaps back, dodging the blow. Striking back at the Heartless, Draxon swings his Keyblade with a right slash, slicing through the Soldier's stomach. From there, he sweeps the Heartless off it's feet with a low swipe from his Keyblade, causing it to fall backwards onto the ground. Then, Draxon raises Soul Calibur high above his head with both hands and brings the crystal Keyblade down on the Soldier, finishing it off.
Soon after the group of Heartless were defeated, another Heartless appeared infront of the heroes. It was the Wavecrest. The large draconic Heartless lets out a mighty roar at the group, who braced themselves for their next fight.
The Wavecrest shoots a beam of blue energy from it's mouth down at the heroes, forcing them to leap away and separate from each other. Draxon leaps up at the Heartless and attacks it with several quick blows. He strikes the Wavecrest's head with six side slashes, swinging his Keyblade left and right at rapid speed. Next, he performs a vertical somersault slash and a right horizontal spinning slash. Both attacks hit the Heartless three times. Then, Draxon drills into the Wavecrest's chest with a spinning strike, which hits six times. The Wavecrest performs an aerial backflip to knock the young teen away. Draxon quickly brought his Keyblade up to defend himself, but he was knocked away by the attack and was sent back down to the ground, landing next to Roxas, who made his move, rushing toward the Heartless.
Roxas leaps up and delivers multiple blows to the Wavecrest's head. He swings his Keyblade left and right five times, striking both sides of the Heartless' face. Next, he performs a somersault slash, which hits three times. Then, he swings his Keyblade with a right slash, a left slash, and finishes with a strong downward slash. The Wavecrest lunges at Roxas with it's jaws, but he moves his body to the left and counters the attack with a reverse roundhouse slash to it's face and a right diagonal slash to it's head.
The Wavecrest flaps it's wings and flies high up into the air. Then, it loops back around and swoops down at the heroes with a spinning spiral charge. The group quickly moves out of the way just as the Heartless comes barreling towards them. After missing them, the Wavecrest flaps it's wings to a stop and turns to face the heroes.
Ember and Flame both rush at the Wavecrest and they attack the draconic Heartless together. The pink dragoness rams her horns into the Wavecrest's chest, making it stagger backwards a bit, then she slams her tail into the left-side of it's face. The Heartless lunges at Ember with it's jagged jaws to bite her, but she flies away with it's teeth missing her tail by inches. Flame flies up to the Wavecrest and spews a stream of fire from his mouth into it's face. The Wavecrest shook off the attack and slaps the red dragon away with it's right-wing, making him spin backwards. Flame straightened himself and shook his head, recovering from the blow. He then looked on in shock as the Heartless was flying straight toward him. Reacting quickly, Flame flew out of the way of the incoming Heartless before it could ram into him. Or worse, impale him with it's large horn.
Hunter quickly notches an arrow into his bow and shoots it at the Wavecrest. The arrow lands a direct hit into it's chest, but it didn't do much. In fact, the attack barely fazed it. The Wavecrest turns it's attention towards Hunter and it shoots another blue energy beam at the cheetah warrior. Hunter jumps and rolls to the right, dodging the attack. Jumping back onto his feet, Hunter draws two more arrows from his quiver and shoots them at the Heartless.
Charizard uses it's Fire Blast attack, launching a blazing fireball up at the Wavecrest. Unfortunately, the attack missed as the Heartless flies over to the left, dodging the fireball. The Wavecrest unleashes a blue energy beam from it's mouth down at Charizard. The Flame Pokémon opens up it's wings and leaps up into the air, taking flight and dodging the energy beam. The two dragons were now engaged in an aerial flight. Charizard smashes into the Wavecrest's chest with a full body slam, knocking it back. The Heartless lunges at Charizard with it's teeth, but the Flame Pokémon darts over to the left and counters the attack by slamming it's tail into it's face. Afterwards, Charizard uses it's Flamethrower move, unleashing a powerful stream of flames on the Wavecrest. Then, Charizard grabs hold of the draconic Heartless and the two plummet towards the ground at incredible speed. Within moments, Charizard throws the Wavecrest into the ground and flies back up into the air. The Heartless tried to get back into the air by flapping it's wings, but the combined attacks of Draxon, Roxas, Ember, Flame, and Charizard had all but rendered it weak and it roared out in pain.
Draxon looks over at Charizard, who touches down gently on his left. The orange dragon nods it's head to him and he nods back. With the Heartless now weakened, the young teen moves in to finish it off. As he does, Soul Calibur begins to glow brightly with it's blue light. Once he closes in on the Wavecrest, Draxon delivers a powerful rising uppercut slash, striking the Heartless underneath it's chin. He follows up with four slashes, swinging his left and right, striking it's head. Then, he hits the Heartless with a right-diagonal spinning slash. Finally, he thrusts his Keyblade into the Wavecrest's chest, delivering the finishing blow. The Heartless froze as the Keyblade stabbed into it's body and it disintegrates in a flash of light soon after, releasing it's captive heart into the sky.
With the battle now over, the heroes regroup. Charizard reverts back into Mew and the small Pokémon flies over to Draxon.
"That's all the Heartless." Draxon says
"Two missions in one day." Roxas says
"All in a day's work." Sparx says
"Yep. And now it's back to Dragon Temple." Draxon says
"Okay. Let's go." Ember says
Having dealt with the Heartless, the heroes began their trek back to the Dragon City. Unaware to them, they were being watched by a dark, shadowy figure, who observed them from within the nearby trees. It was the Dark Echo, the very same evil entity that Draxon fought in the Kalos Region. His glowing red eyes followed the movement of the heroes as they left the area. But out of all the members of the group, his gaze was focused on Draxon. There was more to be expected from this young teen. His prowess of Keyblade's power was exceptional, as was to be expected from Devon's Nobody. He had seen his resolve, tested the strength of his will. Now, he had to test his endurance.
(Moments later)
The two Nobodies along with Mew, the two young dragons, the cheetah warrior, and dragonfly were now back in the Dragon Temple, delivering their victory report to the Dragon Guardians.
"Terrador, you'll be pleased to know that the Heartless have been taken care of." Draxon says
"Thank you, Draxon." Terrador says nodding his head
"Yes, yes. Very well done, chaps. But there's still one thing we don't understand." Cyril says
"Right. Where did the Heartless come from?" Volteer says
Hearing this made the group ponder to their thoughts. Draxon crosses his arms as he tried to think. Then, Terrador spoke, gaining his attention.
"We remember the last time you were here, Draxon. During that time, the Heartless swarmed into the Valley of Avalar through a cave south of the Cheetah Village." Terrador says
"And now they appeared in an area west of that." Hunter says
"The Heartless must be coming from someplace else." Draxon says
"But where?" Ember asks
"From what we know, the Heartless lurk within dark places and they can appear anywhere at anytime. Trying to ascertain the pattern of their movements is intrical to this dark, foreboding mystery." Volteer says
"And not only that, the Heartless are bound to have more leaders." Cyril says
"Or it could be just one leader, guiding all the Heartless together as a whole. But still, Volteer is right. We must find out where the Heartless are appearing from." Terrador says
"So, basically we have to go on a big scavenger hunt to find out where all these Heartless are coming from?" Sparx says
The small dragonfly places his right-hand on his temple, groaning as to the scale of the hard task.
"Oh, man..." Sparx groans
"Well, I wish we could stay and help figure all this out, but me and Roxas have other places to be." Draxon says
"Yeah. We have other friends that need us." Roxas says
"Mew." Mew says nodding it's head in agreement
Terrador stares at the young teen and he nods his head in understanding.
"Yes. We understand that you both have other duties to tend to. We will try to look further into this mystery." Terrador says
"And if we find anything, you know we'll come looking for you, Draxon." Flame says
Draxon nods his head.
"Right. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this. But until then, we'll be seeing ya." Draxon says
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew wave good-bye to the five dragons, cheetah, and dragonfly and they take their leave. As they head out of the temple, the two boys looked toward each other.
"Draxon, do you think what Terrador said maybe right? Could someone be leading the Heartless other than the ones we've been facing?" Roxas says
The young teen looked down as he searched through his thoughts. He remembers back in the Kalos Region that he did see the Dark Echo in Lumiose City. His dark power seemed to be quite powerful enough that he could be able to control the Heartless. That would make him a likely candidate. Yet, he wasn't absolutely sure if he was connected to the Heartless in some way.
"I think I may have a suspicion, but I'm not sure. It's too soon to tell. I guess the only way we'll find out is to keep on fighting the Heartless until he reveals himself." Draxon says
Roxas stares at Draxon in surprise. Who was he talking about? Do the Heartless really have a leader? These thoughts soon drifted from Roxas' mind as they exit the Dragon Temple and they head down the ramp. Draxon stretches his right-hand out infront of him, opening up a dark corridor and the trio head inside, leaving the Dragon Realms.
(Twilight Town)
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew met up with Axel in Twilight Town and they sat together at their usual spot up on the clock tower, eating Sea-Salt Ice Cream and gazing out at the sunset as it's orange light glimmered over the distant hills on the long horizon. Draxon took a few bites out of his ice cream, but soon stopped and stared at it. He glanced over at Roxas and Axel, who sat on his right, then he looked over to his left where Xion would sit. He wished that Xion could be with them, but she had to awaken from her coma first. And there was no telling how long that would take.
Author's Note: Oh no! Xion has fallen into a coma! As Draxon and Roxas were preparing to leave for their missions, they hear from Luxord that Xion had fell into a deep slumber after failing her recent mission. They visit Xion in her room, but were
unable to do anything for her. The two boys leave behind some seashells as gifts for Xion and they continue on with their daily missions. Will Xion ever wake up? And what will happen when she does? Let me know what you guys think. No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!