A/N-I'm soooooo tired right now. It's almost 1am. I got 5 hours of sleep last night. I'm dying here! Still a bit short but I didn't want too much action at once. Approx. parts remaining: 9. (I merged 2 since I was being redundant in my plot document :P) Please read and enjoy! I appreciate all the love! ^^
Max swallowed hard. He didn't think people like that existed in the real world. He quickly dropped the clip from his pistol and slid another in its place. Max had magazines lining the sides of his thighs. He was down to two plus the one currently in his gun. 'I have to keep my distance from this guy but I'm low on ammo. Shit. I guess I'll have to play it by ear.' Max thought darkly.
"So what's the plan?" Max asked.
"Don't die?" Axel suggested. Max smirked.
"Sounds good."
"I'll try to draw his attention but I won't guarantee anything and I need you to back me up. Just because I'm a Knight doesn't mean I'll be able to breeze through this," Axel reminded. Max nodded in understanding. He swung his axe around in his left hand. "On my lead." Axel shifted his feet on the pavement and fell into a stance. Vanitas grinned broadly. He was eager for a fight.
Axel launched forward and a circle of fire sprang around the opened street. The ground turned molten and the Knight's chakrams were alright with flames. Axel threw them at Vanitas. The chakrams left a trail of fire in their wake. Vanitas blocked both chakrams and the spikes wheels ground against his sword. He knocked them back and Axel caught them.
Max slipped around the edge of the area of fire to try and sneak behind Vanitas. The Bastion teen took noticed and warped into the ground, sliding in the shadows over to Max. The Vice Captain rolled right as Vanitas burst from the ground. He felt his back sting as Vanitas shot black thunder from his weapon. Max whirled around and blocked a blow aimed for his neck. Then he quickly unloaded half a clip into Vanitas's stomach. Only two shots found their mark in the dark teen's gut yet it didn't faze him in the slightest. Vanitas laughed under his breath and pounded Max with a barrage of blows.
Axel threw his chakrams and Vanitas leapt back so the chakrams swept past him. The Knight called his weapons back to his hands. As they were materializing in a swirl of fire, Vanitas suddenly warped out of the ground. The blade of his scythe slammed into the side of Axel's face. Axel was sent sprawling, his chakrams ricocheting away from his hands. The band around his forehead protected him from the brunt of the blow but his face and neck bore three distinct cuts from the gear like face of the scythe.
Max fired the rest of his clip at Vanitas to try to draw the attention of the demented teen. Vanitas paid the other teen no heed. His focus was on the bleeding Knight. Vanitas dashed forward and landed a blow across Axel's shoulders. Axel was slammed into the ground as he tried to stand. His face brushed the molten pavement and he grunted in pain. His flesh was immune to the fire but it was still hot.
Axel rolled out of the way as Vanitas slammed his blade into the ground. He summoned his chakrams and sent them flying. Vanitas flipped over them with ease. "Firaga!" he cast. A large ball of fire flew from his blade. Axel leapt to his feet and was about to jump out of the way when the ball split into five smaller fira's. The fire locked onto Axel and slammed into the red head despite his attempts to roll away. Axel was knocked onto his back and the wind left his lungs.
Max hurried over as Axel was knocked flat and swung at Vanitas. He managed to land a blow but then Vanitas vanished. The dark teen reappeared behind Max and smashed his blade into the Vice Captain's back. Max's armor cracked and he staggered forward. Max twisted the handle on his axe and the steam propelled the blade into Vanitas's side.
"You're pretty good," Vanitas commented, his yellow eyes full of a dark playfulness. He kicked Max away, the axe still buried in his side. Vanitas ripped it from his flesh and blood oozed onto the pavement. He didn't seem to take notice. Max reloaded his pistol and emptied a clip. His bullets had armor piercing but even as the metal buried into Vanitas's chest, the Bastion teen kept going. Max panicked and dropped his final clip.
Axel created a pillar of fire around Vanitas and the teen was consumed in flame. "Hurry!" he shouted at Max. Max stumbled as he scrambled to pick up his magazine. Vanitas leapt from the fire and pinned Max to the ground. He repeatedly smashed the butt of his blade into Max's cracked chest plate. The metal shattered and Max flinched as the pommel crashed into his sternum. Axel had gotten back to his feet and tackled Vanitas. Max hurried to his feet and finally reloaded his pistol. He aimed at Vanitas but he was tangled with Axel as they fought for dominance on the ground.
Max made a split second decision and changed targets. He shot the chain holding Roxas to the building. The chain cracked and with a second shot it snapped. Roxas plummeted to the street. The blonde managed to create a light shield at the last second so he didn't break his legs. Roxas collapsed in a heap on the pavement. His face started to sting from the fire on the ground. Max rushed over and helped him to his feet.
"Can you stand?" Max pressed. Roxas nodded, the silence spell still in effect. He took a step and limped heavily. "Shit," Max hissed. He quickly surveyed the area and spotted his axe. He rushed over and picked it up. Then he ran to Axel's aid.
Vanitas had the Knight pinned and was slamming his head repeatedly against the pavement. Axel started seeing stars. His concentration wavered and the fire around them died instantly. Vanitas laughed maniacally as he saw blood splattering the streets with each blow to Axel's head.
"Get off!" Max barked. He swung his axe, propelled by steam, and knocked Vanitas away like a croquet ball. The Bastion teen rolled violently across the charred ground. "Axel? Axel!" Max tried to shake the man to his senses but the man's eyes were glazed over. "Fuck, I can't do this by myself."
"Indeed you can't." Max turned and was blasted with black thunder. He then had to parry as long string of blows from Vanitas's blade. "Give up. I'll kill you quicker," Vanitas taunted.
"Fuck you!" Max grunted under the strain of being pounded. His arms were going numb. Vanitas suddenly did a hand spring backwards as a beam of light nearly clipped him. The teen turned to Roxas.
"Look like the cat's still kicking. It just doesn't know when to stay down." Roxas had his Keyblades out but he couldn't put any weight on his right leg. Staying standing appeared to even be a strain for him. Vanitas launched a firaga at the blonde before turning back to Max. Max leapt back and unloaded the rest of his pistol. His heart clenched in fear as he heard the empty click of the trigger.
Roxas blocked the spell with a light shield and dashed across the battlefield in a blink. He slammed into Vanitas only to find the teen had vanished. Vanitas's blade crashed into Roxas's shoulder and cut deep. Roxas let out a silent scream and was forced to his knees. Vanitas kicked Roxas in the chest and sent the blonde crashing into the ground.
Max swung at Vanitas onto to get knocked aside by a powerful swipe of the teen's weapon. He landed face first into the pavement and flipped over his head onto his back. Roxas tried to push himself up but Vanitas pushed his face into the street with his boot. Then he shot black thunder into the soldier at point blank. Roxas's body seized and his muscles went numb.
Max rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. He ran at Vanitas only to get his axe knocked aside and get picked up by the throat. Max struggled to break free as his wind pipe was crushed. Vanitas laughed triumphantly. His foot pressed Roxas's face harder into the ground while his hand slowly compressed the Vice Captain's throat.
"I wonder which one of you will break first?" Vanitas pondered out loud. Max desperately tried to pry the dark teen's fingers from his throat. He glanced down at Roxas and saw the man was too weak to fight back. Axel was still out cold, the pool of blood behind his head rapidly growing larger.
'Fuck. I'm going to die right now.' Max thought. He suddenly realized Pluto had vanished when the fight started. 'He went to get help. Good boy, but it won't do us any good.' Max felt his throat close and he struggled to retain the oxygen left in his lungs. His eyes felt like they were popping out of his skull. Vanitas laughed hysterically as the Vice Captain's eyes started to roll back into his head.
The sound of metal on pavement caught his attention. Vanitas turned his head and was body slammed. He was sent sprawling while Max collapsed on top of Roxas. He coughed violently as he tried to breath. "Dad?" he choked.
Goofy had swooped in sliding on his shield. As he slammed into Vanitas, he kicked his shield up and caught it. Goofy strode to Vanitas, who was beginning to stand. The man slammed his shield into the teen's face, breaking Vanitas's nose. Goofy swiped again but Vanitas vanished as the shield made contact. Goofy turned as the dark teen popped out of the ground behind him.
"Reflect!" Vanitas bounced off the spell and was propelled into the ground, dazing him. Donald ran over to Roxas and Max with Pluto on his heels. Goofy walked over to Vanitas and was about to deal a finishing blow when the teen melted into the shadows of the street. He slithered away from the scene, laughing uncontrollably the entire time.
Goofy hurried over to Max and Roxas. Roxas was injured but it wasn't life threatening. Donald used a dispel so clear the silence from Roxas's throat. Max was still struggling to breath. Goofy glanced over at Axel and Donald nodded in agreement. The mage hurried over to the red head.
"Breath, Max," Goofy said calmly. Max struggled to take a deep breath.
Donald dropped to his knees and slid up to Axel's side. The man was bleeding heavily. "Cura," he cast on Axel's head. The bleeding slowed. Donald checked Axel to see if there was permanent damage to his brain. From what little he could test, Axel still seemed to be functioning. Donald turned to the sky and cast a large red firework from his wand.
Goofy place a hand on Max's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I-I'm fine," Max replied shakily. "Shit, I thought I was going to die!" Max turned to his dad. His eyes were full of fear and were tearing up. Goofy smiled gently.
"Not on my watch." Max leapt forward and clung to his dad. He sobbed into his father's armor. Goofy gently stroked his son's back and whispered comforting words in his ear.
"Thanks," Roxas muttered, looked up at the Commander.
"Just hang in there Roxas. We're calling for medical help and they'll be here shortly. Try and take it easy," Goofy replied. Roxas closed his eyes and felt his mind slip away into unconsciousness as the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears.
XxXxX
Axel felt his eye being pried open. A bright light shone directly into his retina and he tried to force his eyes closed. The light disappeared and he was left staring at a bleached out version of the med bay ceiling. Axel blinked several times to try and clear his vision.
"You're awake. Are you able to answer some questions?" a voice asked from nearby. The sound echoed in Axel's ears and his head felt fuzzy.
"Um, yeah…sure," Axel replied.
"Name?"
"Ax-el…" There was a pause and Axel could imagine the person arching their eyebrow.
"And where are you from Axel?"
"Radiant Garden initially."
"Age?"
"Twenty five."
"Family?"
"Uh, do you want living relatives?"
"If you prefer?" Axel chewed on his lip ring. His vision started to move on its own.
"Two adopted sisters." He heard a pen scratch against paper on a clipboard. "What is this, some sort of psych exam?"
"We're checking for brain damage. You're head took quite the beating."
"Oh. Is that what happened…"
"Do you remember what happened before you blacked out?"
"…sort…of…" Axel's face scrunched up in pain as he tried to remember.
"Do your best," the voice urged.
"I was with Max, and we found Roxas. We fought with Vanitas, Xehanort's apprentice. It sort of gets fuzzy from there." Axel closed his eyes and rubbed them with his fingers. "I do remember that sicko's laughter burning into my skull as he smashed my brains out."
"Alright." More writing. "Do you know where you are?" Axel dropped his hand and cracked open his eyes. His vision was swimming worse.
"Disney…" Axel trailed off. His head started throbbing and he suddenly felt like he was on an ocean during a violent storm. Axel felt his stomach heave. He sat up violently and threw up on to the floor. His breathing became ragged as he half hung off the bed, spit and bile drooling from his parted lips. He felt a hand on his shoulder and a light was shone in his eyes again. Axel had a hard time focusing.
"Axel, we're going to have to hold you here for awhile. I'm worried you might have some brain damage." Axel felt his stomach churn with the light in his eyes. He pitched forward and threw up on to the floor again. His chest pained and he coughed harshly. The jarring movement caused his stomach to lurch and he spewed bile all over the soiled floor. His throat burned like he ate a jar of sand.
"Axel. Axel dear, look at me." Axel raised his head and his vision swam. Queen Minnie gently wiped the mess on the man's chin. "Try to focus. Can you try to follow my pen without moving your head?" Minnie held up a pen and moved it to the left. Axel's eyes followed it jerkily. "Okay, we're going to get you cleaned up. Try to breath. We'll get you something to drink." Minnie gently stroked Axel's head and went to get something for the Knight to drink.
Axel was eased back onto a stack of fluffy pillow to keep his sitting up. A warm cloth was wiped over his brow. Axel could feel his body shake from the after effects of throwing up. He closed his eyes and shivered. He heard sounds of people cleaning up the mess he made on the floor. Minnie returned and pressed a cup to his lips. Axel sipped and found it was lukewarm broth.
"You were so brave today," Minnie cooed. "You saved a lot of lives. We're very grateful for your help." Axel finished his drink and Minnie set the cup down. She stroked Axel's hair back from his forehead. "Take it easy. We'll take care of you."
"What's going on outside?" Axel asked in a hushed tone, keeping his eyes closed.
"We managed to repel the attack thanks to everyone. You and Roxas were a great help. The damage to the Town isn't too extensive. We should have it all repaired within a month or two."
"What's the latest on that message from Destiny Islands?"
"We almost have it decoded. Give it a bit more time and we'll let you know as soon as it's ready."
"Thanks." Minnie leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.
"Of course, dear." Minnie took her leave to let Axel rest. Axel felt his mind flow in and out of a doze for what seemed like weeks. He woke to a heavy weight landing on his feet and the side of his bed leaning to the left as someone sat on the edge.
"Keep all your brain cells?" Axel smirked.
"Just the ones that are important," the red head replied. He cracked open his eyes to see Roxas smirking back at him. Pluto lay on top of Axel's feet with his tongue hanging out. Axel lifted a hand and Pluto nuzzled it with his muzzle. "You worry too much."
"Sorry?" Roxas asked, unsure of what to think.
"Not you," Axel clarified. "Pluto's like a big teddy bear when you get to know him. One with the "mom card" tagged on his collar."
"Maybe that's why you two get along so well. I hear you used to hold the infamous "mom card" when you were taking care of Kairi and Naminé. Finally got tired of wearing the skirt?" Axel scowled.
"Oh shut up!" Axel shoved Roxas so the blonde nearly fell off the bed. Roxas steadied himself and repositioned himself so he was leaning back on his hands over Axel's knees. "Are you okay?" Axel asked suddenly.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. That freaky Sora imitation got the jump on me. He pinned me up on the wall like some sort of clock until you came along. Who was he?"
"Vanitas. He's Xehanort's apprentice. If you see him again, I suggest you run the other way," Axel advised.
"Usually I would say you're overreacting but that guy beat the shit out of you and that other guy."
"Who, Max? He's the Vice Captain of the Guard here."
"He's awfully young. He barely looked eighteen."
"Seventeen. And his dad's in the Guard."
"Lucky for him." Axel snorted. "What?"
"He's Goofy's son." Roxas looked like he swallowed a bag of raw rice.
"No fucking way!" he shouted. A few of the med bay staff glanced over their way. "That's so weird!" Roxas continued in a quieter tone. "I always thought Goofy was in his mid-twenties. Damn, that makes him old!"
"I know, right? Damn, you have no idea how much I missed talking to you like this."
"As I recall, last time I was the one bed ridden," Roxas reminded. Axel shrugged. They spent the next hour filling each other in on what happened when they were separated. Axel went over his ordeal with Luxord, his mini adventure with Max, and ended at Vanitas bashing his brains out on the pavement. Roxas explained how he tried to get back to Mickey but never found the King. He mentioned he tried to see Axel after his battle with Luxord but Goofy sent him away. Roxas explained Vanitas was sitting on an apartment balcony railing as he was moving down the street to find more Hollow Bastion soldiers. When he tried to fight the deranged teen, Vanitas nearly broke Roxas's kneecap and quickly overpowered him.
When Axel mentioned the mysterious message from Destiny Islands, Roxas grew quiet for a bit. After their main conversation, he looped back to the message. "This old code, did they happen to say what it was?"
"Just it was over three years old," Axel replied. Roxas mulled over the information thoughtfully. "Minnie said they were almost done working on it but that was awhile ago."
"Awhile? Just how long do you think you've been here?" Roxas asked, perplexed.
"I don't know. A week?" Axel guessed. Roxas rolled his eyes.
"Try four hours."
"That's it?" Roxas poked Axel on the forehead.
"Are you sure you didn't lose any brain cells?" Axel smacked the blonde's hand away. They looked up as Dale poked his head into the med bay.
"Hey! You guys are awake! We're ready with the message," Dale called. Roxas glanced at Axel and jerked his head to the side as if to say "let's go!". Axel nodded and crawled out of bed. He used Roxas as a support as they made their way down to the intell headquarters. Pluto followed the pair close behind, his tail wagging happily.
Intell was a darkly lite room with a wall covered in screens. A line of people in chairs communicated with the troops around Disney Town and Disney Castle. Axel and Roxas were lead to the last open chair and it was offered to the red head before he passed out. Roxas leaned over the man's shoulder. Dale brought up the message and lines of code started scrolling across the screen. Roxas snorted and pointed to the screen.
"How long did it take you to decode this?" he asked.
"Um, seven hours?" Dale replied, checking the clock. Roxas snorted again and tried to hide his smirk.
"Seriously? It would have taken me seven minutes. This is TwiT code."
"TwiT?" Axel pressed, looking confused.
"Shortened for Twilight Town." Roxas started typing on the computer while still hanging over Axel's shoulder. Dale thought it looked rather silly. Roxas pulled up the message and filled in any of the tiny gaps the Disney intell failed to decode. "We used this all the time for messages. Seifer must have sent it."
"What would he want?" Roxas pulled up a video and pushed play.
The video hit static before coming into view. It was Seifer and his eyes were colder than normal. He cleared his throat before starting. "If you're getting this, that means you're not as much of an idiot as I thought," the man started. Roxas frowned but didn't comment. "Shortly after you left, Hollow Bastion G. Ships showed up. Sora and Riku braced the world for a full scale attack but they haven't. They're just…waiting. I'm encoding this message to get past the Hollow Bastion bastards." The message went to static.
"That doesn't sound good," Axel muttered. Roxas began typing again.
"What are you doing?" Dale asked.
"We embed code into the static. It confuses other worlds because they're not looking for anything in the ending static. There's an updated video file in here." Roxas finished typing and another video started playing.
Seifer appeared on the screen again with a cigarette in his lips. "Update file, code 0104D. We finally were contacted by Hollow Bastion. They're here for Ienzo. I haven't a clue to why they would want the kid but they're willing to draw blood for it. Riku's setting up a…conference I guess…to talk with them. Knowing those jack holes they won't go for it but it's worth a try."
The video clipped and another one started playing immediately after. Seifer had a cut lip and his left eye was staring to swell. "In case you're mentally incapacitated, the "conference" didn't work out." Seifer used his fingers on the quotations. "Updated file, code 0105D. We have one hour to give up the kid or they're going to invade. I'm not going to lie: we're screwed. The Militia is too small, we're out gunned, we out powered, and we're out of cigarettes. Damn this war. It's like it wants me to stop smoking."
The video clipped again. There was shouting in the background. "Updated file, code 0106D. Time's up. If you're not dead yet, then get your ass back here. We're about to get murdered." The video chopped to black and Roxas started typing again. Lines of text started scrolling up the screen.
"That was less than ten minutes ago," Roxas commented. "We can still make it back before the brunt of the attack happens."
"How?" Axel pressed.
"I can use my light magic to warp us there." Roxas finished typing and stood up straight. Axel chewed on his lip ring.
"We're going to need a patch on our gear," he brought up.
"Already taken care of. Horace even made some adjustments to your tech while you were out. He wants us to stop by his workshop before we leave." Axel stared at Roxas in amazement.
"Are you always this on tops of things?" Roxas chuckled.
"Old habits die hard. Are you feeling well enough to travel?"
"Shouldn't the question be am I well enough to fight?" Roxas shrugged.
"It's your choice. I can go alone if I need to." Axel chewed on his lip ring again. He noticed his lip was starting to get sore so he stopped his nervous tick.
"I'm ready."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Let's get going." Axel rose from his seat and Dale lead the pair out of the room. The Knight made sure to ruffle Pluto's ears before he left the dog behind. Roxas then took Axel towards the basement of the Castle. They stopped in a small room built off of a workshop. Axel wanted to see what was inside but Roxas smacked him, saying it was secret. Horace met up with the pair and updated their tech. When they activated it, Roxas had his helmet back and his Keyblades were sharpened. Axel loved the feeling of not being able to feel his armor. Roxas was right: it did feel like a second skin. Axel's chakrams were sharpened and polished.
"How's it feel?" Horace asked.
"Great!" Axel replied as he examined his reflection again. He couldn't get enough of how he looked in Disney tech armor.
"If it ever feels out of place, feel free to come back for adjustments." Roxas and Axel bid their thanks and headed for the G. Ship hanger. When Roxas activated his Keyblades into a transport, Axel gaped for a bit.
"Geez, is there anything more you'd like to tell me?" Axel asked. Roxas chuckled.
"Blame Demyx," he responded.
"I'll hug him later. Let's get going."
Roxas hopped onto his transport and Axel climbed aboard behind him. The blonde cast off and they headed into the space between worlds. Roxas channeled his light magic and they pulsed across the void. When they slowed, Axel was extremely nauseous. Roxas wavered a bit as his energy drained but he managed to recover. He steered around the G. Ships and they dove into the atmosphere of Destiny Islands. Roxas brought them down onto the beach and Sora was there to greet them.
"Hey!" Sora shouted, running over. He slowed his approach as he neared to allow for Roxas to revert his Keyblades back to their weapon form. "Glad to see you made it back in a conscious state," the brunette teased.
"What's the situation?" Roxas asked, skipping straight to the point. Sora's face grew serious.
"There's a Knight on the beach demanding we hand over Ienzo. Demyx is still too weak to fight. Riku, Aqua and Terra are trying to hold him off. Naminé's protecting the medical area," Sora explained.
"And where's Ienzo?"
"With Seifer. Tidus and Wakka are with them as well."
"Why did they come back for him?" Axel wondered.
"From what I could make out, there's a problem over at Hollow Bastion revolving around Ienzo's brother. I think Xemnas might have learned of the real royal line. Luckily, it sounds like Zexion has some people looking out for him."
"What are the Bastion Soldiers doing?" Roxas asked.
"Mobilizing. You guys made it here in record time. We also lucked out because the Knight is a bit of a chatter box. He's too busy bragging to really notice he's behind schedule."
"Let's get going." Sora nodded and led the way down the beach. As they approached the area of interest, they could hear voices. One was Riku. The other was familiar. Roxas cursed under his breath. "I thought I saw the last of him…" They rounded the corner on the beach. Terra and Aqua stood back near the tree line while Riku was about four paces away from the Knight. As the trio approached, the Knight noticed them and grinned.
"Well! Look what the cat dragged in. Long time no see, Axel. And his mutt! What a small world," Xigbar taunted.
"Get your ass out of here," Roxas demanded. Xigbar burst out laughing.
"Now why would I want to do that?"
"Ienzo has no place in this war."
"See, now that's where you're wrong. We need him for Xemnas's little plan."
"Then how about a trade?" Axel offered. Xigbar's grin widened.
"Now we're talking. What's on the table?"
"You and me fight. I win, you all leave. You win, you get Ienzo."
"What are you hiding up your sleeve?" Xigbar wondered. He mused over the offer.
"You're better than me in a fight," Axel pointed out.
"True, but I'm still fresh out of the hospital."
"As am I." Xigbar chuckled.
"Alright then. One on one. Bring it on, fire fingers!" Everyone backed off as Axel and Xigbar squared off on the beach. Roxas felt his fingers twitch as he was forced to watch.
'Axel, don't screw this up.' Roxas thought. 'If you lose we lose Ienzo and, quite possibly, Destiny Islands. For good.'