MISERY LOVES COMPANY, BUT SEEMS TO HATE WORK
I tracked in last Monday. I got THREE SHOTS yesterday… sob … It's been snowing… so yeah… I've been hella busy.
Which is why I haven't been posting… I am so exhausted. But, here I am, alive and still screaming, ready to post once again! Also, I feel like torturing Saix. HEHE…
Here we are, back to the story, and here we have traveled past many months and found ourselves at the end of December, Christmas only days away. What has been happening during our absence?
Well, Leon returned to his universal search, ignoring the pleas of his allies and friends to return home. Demyx and the higher members of the Org returned to the sunless world, while Xemnas and his partners giddily started their research anew, and with Tidu's help, worked wonders in the laboratory.
Atlantica was working wonders on the stage, what with their new star musician blessing the crowds with his music. Demyx was better than ever, his mastery of the sitar never fading.
An odd occurrence happened while we were away. Let me explain…
As the members of the organization numbers 7 and up flew towards the Never world, they were attacked by heartless ships. In the fray, Saix somehow ended up falling from the ship, and saved himself by teleporting to the nearest planet. His strength was spent, his power weak, but he told his allies to return home, and he would follow after soon enough.
He was beginning to regret his decision.
The world on which Saix had landed was rather tranquil, and he found himself in a large village. He was being taken care of by a strange man, with odd hair, green clothes, and a disturbing personality. It was horrible. Saix wanted to kill something.
Sadly, he hadn't the strength to stretch his muscles, let alone break the freaky green man's neck. But his ears, sadly, worked; so, he had to listen to the man rant about some rival he had who'd beaten him at Rock Paper Scissors, or listen to his proud drabble about his students, mainly one who seemed to be the man's clone practically, or most likely Saix had to listen to the man rave about the Power of Youth and Saix's lack of it, and his goal to help Saix leave the Winter of His Discontent and enter the Springtime of Youth!
Poor Saix was stuck in Might Guy's care. As any Naruto fan would know, Saix was in hell.
Christmas Eve is upon our heroes. And so, they shall spend it, together!
RADIANT GARDEN
"Wow…" Aisu grinned, gasping in delight at the wondrous city standing about her. Her mother was in about the same state, wide eyed and in awe, though of course her fickle father was already at the window of the gummi hangar, staring at the city with goo-goo eyes.
Sora laughed at his family's reaction to the city, but he was also a bit down that Kairi couldn't join them all this year. She and her family left the islands for the mainland to visit family. But, nothing can be perfect. Sora let it go.
Sora and his family had traveled to Radiant Garden for Christmas. They got to greet Xigbar and Xemnas and the others as they left Radiant Garden for The Never world, Xigbar pausing to ruffle Sora's hair. Jovial greetings echoed abound, and everyone seemed in high spirits. Christmastime truly was here!
It was very cold in Radiant Garden, and a light snow covered the ground. It was mostly slush and really nothing, but still it blanketed the city and the Maw in beauty. The old abandoned castle (now abandoned again for the holiday since the scientists had left) was truly magnificent, even more so with the elegant presence of the One Winged Angel, his glory reflecting in the fluttering snow.
Sora grinned and rushed to his sister. "Come on, you have a lot of people to meet!" With that, the two rushed into the city, Sora dragging his sister behind him.
Mistletoe hung from many places, and wreathes adorned doorways. There were Christmas trees, and even Hanukah menorahs in windows as Sora ran about the cold streets with Aisu.
With the aid of her brother, Aisu was acquainted with Tifa and Cid, Cloud, Vincent, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, and Auron (who were visiting for the holidays) and Mari and Tidu eventually. His parents followed along, and were admitted into the castle. It was beautifully decorated, and everyone enjoyed a fabulous feast. No one seemed to mention Yuffie's disappearance. Silently, they all knew she had drifted away into the Twilight, if only to bask in the light of its Melodious Nocturne…
THE WORLD THAT NEVER WAS
"CanINowcaninowcaninowcaninow…?"
"SHUT UP!"
Like a chided child, Demyx whimpered and poked his lip out in defiance. Steaming, Axel shook his head and continued putting decorations on the tree.
"Do I look like Santa? Go bother some else for your presents, you big baby!" Axel muttered. He was in a rather foul mood today. Demyx looked like he was about to cry.
Many things happened at once, and they were rather confusing. Somewhere amidst the chaos, the sounds of a "kyah" and maybe an "UWAHH" and perhaps an "UGAHHFKSUUUAAAA" were heard. Sharp items were thrown, sissy like vocal feats were achieved, and the tree was promptly trimmed, but somehow managed to not be demolished.
When the dust cleared, Demyx was standing across the room in shock. In the door, with a huge bag on his back was Xigbar, with an evil grin and a devilish look. One of his guns was drawn and pointed towards the back wall.
Standing next to him was Yuffie, breathing hard and rather angry. Her weapons were drawn, and many of her kunai and shuriken had been used.
At the back wall, Axel was pinned against the wall by ninja weapons and nobody bullets, both only barely missing him. He was sweating rather heavily.
Xigbar, satisfied, let his gun disappear, and hefted the bag further up on his back. With a happy grin, he greeted them.
"Merry Christmas!"
The elder members of the org promptly made their appearance, and the younger members arrived soon after. Mitsuka was with them, and explained Saix's absence, and her reason for preparing to leave.
"Our world did not have any Christmas celebration. But I think I will go and check on my brother. Merry Christmas to you all!"
With that, Mitsuka left to join her brother.
Everyone crowded around the tall Christmas tree, under which Xigbar added to the pile of presents everything that was in the bag on his back. It was a good lot, and the tree was almost drowning in presents. Since there were eleven people buying gifts for eleven people (plus Yuffie, of course) there was a lot there.
Demyx took the time to look around the room, scouring it endlessly. Pouting sadly, he looked to his friends.
"The Castle doesn't have a chimney!" He proclaimed. As everyone sipped their hot cocoa and sat in comfort, moved chairs around the tree and brought their gifts in, Demyx was barely heard. Xaldin heard him.
"Hmm?" Xaldin asked him.
"We don't have a chimney!" Demyx repeated, as if it were a terrible, terrible thing.
Everyone shared a look. Demyx looked from one to the other. He seemed to be waiting for a response. He received one from Larxene.
"So?" Demyx fell on his back.
"So? What about Santa, huh? I baked him cookies, so he'd better come!" Demyx was not famous for his cooking, but he was rather good at cookies.
Without a word, Lexaeus stood and walked towards the back wall, and everyone had their eyes on him. Silent as usual, the man summoned his tomahawk. Xemnas realized his intentions and made to stop him, but was too late. Lexaeus swung the weapon, and with a thunderous boom, the castle had a new hole-in-the-wall. Demyx beamed.
Using his powers to adjust the castle, Xemnas made the hole into a chimney. "Merry Christmas, Demyx" The superior chuckled. Demyx beamed again.
"Thank you, and Merry Christmas, Superior!"
WITH LEON
The world was cold and dark. Snow blanketed everything, and it reminded him of those old movies at Christmastime, like the one about the Scrooge. Silent, Leon ducked into a bar.
It was an ordinary bar. Leon strode up to the bar and sat down next to an old man. He seemed rather drunk.
It was time he got drunk, too.
RADIANT GARDEN
The mistletoe depressed him. Sora tried to ignore it, ignore how it seemed to taunt him and how every single red decoration looked the same red shade as her hair…
"Sora? You there?" Cid shook the boy's shoulder, and the boy shook his head.
"Yeah, I'm here all right." He smiled. Cid gave him a wide grin.
Everyone was getting to know one another, chatting and laughing and drinking eggnog and whatnot. Tifa and Vincent had disappeared a while ago, after Vincent's complaint of the lack of silence. Tifa dragged him to mistletoe.
It seemed like everyone had a partner except for him. Even Cid had two city girls giggling at his every drunken word.
There were two, though. Two who didn't have partners, like he didn't. Sora walked up to one of them.
"Hey, Yuna. Merry Christmas!" He cheered happily. Yuna turned to him with a wide smile.
"Hey, Sora, how are you?" He shrugged.
"All right." Smiling in understanding, Yuna motioned for him to stand with her and share a conversation.
"Why don't you tell me about your islands?" She asked sweetly. "From what I've heard, they're a lot like my home, Besaid."
With a reverent smile, Sora nodded, and began.
WITH LEON
He was drunk. It was quite clear; there were five of everything and his eyes seem to twitch as he tottered off his chair. Groaning, Leon let his head fall on the bar.
The man next to him was just as bad, almost worse, and looked Leon over.
"So, whosea yousea?" The drunken old man slurred. Squinting, Leon looked up at him from his safety on the bar.
"I'm a fucked up bastard."
With a grin that revealed his missing teeth, the man nodded vigorously. "Doe tellll."
It took almost ten minutes to let all his guts out and Leon was shocked it was so easy to tell to a complete stranger.
"Rin'a, heys?" The man slurred. He tottered back and forth when he took another chug of his drink.
"Rina, Rina…" Leon nodded stupidly. His mind was awake, wide awake, and active, but he was acting rather dumb.
"Lovely gir, I bet, Rina…"
"Rina, Rina…"
Leon and the man sat in silence. Giving them both odd stares, the bartender looked them over with a sneer.
"So, yousea juse… wanderin' the universe likesa lone pilgrim when yousea gots a home to go ta?" The drunken man blabbered. Even though what he spoke barely made sense, the man who he was speaking to made sense of it. Both were drunk, but the speaker was the worst, and the other sat taking in his words. He sobered up immediately.
"You're right." He whispered. "I'm out here looking for the past, when I'm leaving my future behind." With a sigh, the man emptied his wallet onto the passing waiter's tray. "Keep the change." He muttered, practically jogging to the door.
"Wheresya goin, stranger?" The drunken man asked the man leaving the bar. The brunette man opened the door with a grin.
"I'm going home!" Leon cried with enthusiasm he didn't usually show slamming the door open and rushing out into the snow.
The man lurched towards Leon, holding his drink up in salute. "Lovly talkin to youuu…You a nice ladeey…" Taking one last gulp of his beer, the man tumbled to the floor.
TWILIGHT TOWN
The Sandlot was decorated with beautiful lights and extravagant trees stationed at each corner. Streams of plants and mistletoe hung from the air, and the feeling of joy was present.
Seifer hated it.
"Come on man, it ain't that bad." Rai tried to cheer him up. "I mean, it's pretty good for a town that got the hell beat outta it, like, months ago, ya know?"
Seifer glowered at him, and Rai backed down with a "meep".
"I… hate Christmas." Seifer mumbled, and he looked like he might randomly combust at any moment. He stomped away from the Sandlot, walking past Hayner and his friends as they came in. Angrily the man shoved Pence into a wall.
"Scrooge", Fuu commented.
"No kidding." Rai laughed nervously.
THE WORLD THAT NEVER WAS
"All right, now, we got number 3, the Whirlwind at the bat now, and pitching him is good old John Bull Number 10, the Gambler of Fate, and here's the wind up, here comes the pitch!"
With a loud crack the baseball met the bat and soared into the sky, blasting through the roof and out of sight. With a wide grin and proud demeanor, Xaldin raised his arms in triumph as he ran around the bases.
In the Commentator's booth, Xigbar slammed his fist against the table and cheered. "Well, look at that folks, that's a slam dunk!"
"Home run", Zexion corrected.
"It's outta here, and so are we, make sure to tune in when we return to the Baseball Game that Never Was, I'm out!" Xigbar turned off the mike and raised his arms to cheer as well.
Very pleased with himself, Xaldin began dancing from base to base as the ball began descending into the Dark City. The third baseman, Axel, rolled his eyes and tripped the Whirlwind when he came by.
Demyx laughed and turned to Yuffie, who was sitting in the stands with him. "Who would've thought? Christmas baseball!" Giggling, Yuffie looked to Lexaeus, who was coming up to bat next.
"Oh man, Xaldin, I think you're in trouble!" She laughed as Xaldin ran by. Demyx joined in.
"So much for your hit, huh!" He grinned. Lexaeus raised his bat and smiled. Xaldin smirked.
"I dare you to beat that!" He chided. Lexaeus gave him a friendly thumbs up.
Luxord stared at Lexaeus. "There's no way I'm pitching him!" He mumbled.
As soon as he spoke, Xigbar appeared next to him; not on the ground of course, but floating upside down next to his head.
"I will gladly take your place, my friend." He smiled. Shaking his head, Luxord walked off the diamond.
Xigbar, still upside down, licked his lips. Spitting on the ball (he somehow missed and shot Axel in the eye) Xigbar lifted his leg and began the wind up.
"Ready for this, number five?" Xigbar taunted.
"I'm ready!" Lexaeus swung his bat as practice and prepared himself.
Xigbar drew his hand back and pitched.
"HOLY SMOKES!" Demyx grinned. The ball zoomed out of Xigbar's hand, surely helped along by his gravity powers. It didn't faze number five.
With a wide grin, Lexaeus swung at just the right moment. With a thunderous boom that shook the whole castle, the bat shattered (the upper half of the bat flew across the room and embedded itself in Demyx's face), and the ball was sent on a crash course with Xigbar's head.
Luckily the man "ducked" (he was upside down) and the ball that was actually partially on fire flew through the wall (taking down half of it) and crashed into a building of the Dark City, which caused a domino effect when the building crashed into another. It luckily stopped there; the baseball was black and frayed.
Xemnas had just walked into the room. Wide eyed, he observed the damage, and then decided that his Christmas gift to himself would be watching everyone else slave away fixing the damage.
It was good to be the Superior.
DESTINY ISLANDS
The ship rocked back and forth on the waves gently as it headed for the mainland. Sighing, Kairi set her head on her palms and looked out onto the sea.
If she got into a life boat, and rowed out, she would arrive on the World that Never Was, and from there she could…
No.
With a depressed moan, Kairi turned back and headed into the party room of the ship.
Everyone was there, all of her family, headed to meet Grandma and Granddad on the mainland. Part of Kairi wanted to smile; the other part wanted to puke.
Yuuku waddled up to his big sister, Kitai a little bit behind. Kitai looked up at Kairi and pulled on her skirt.
"Kitai wants to know it Kairi is okay." Yuuku translated. Smiling serenely, Kairi ruffled both children's hair.
"I'm fine."
Kitai smiled and looked to Yuuku. "Kitai and I have a surprise!" Yuuku grinned. Both children took firm hold of Kairi's hands and dragged her across the room. Promptly sliding to a stop at the wall, Kitai grabbed a small wrapped box off the table and pushed it into Kairi's hands. Both children grinned evilly.
Curious, Kairi looked the box over, but there was no tag to tell who sent it. After giving her siblings a warning glare, she sighed and unwrapped the box. Yuuku and Kitai were giggling crazily.
Under the wrapping was a box. Opening the lid, a small card fell out of the top. Kitai giggled and clasped it tight in her hand, holding it out to her sister.
In the box was a beautiful necklace. It shone bright gold, and had was in the shape of the Heartless symbol; but, the colors of the gem in each corner was light blue, light green, bright yellow, and sunshine gold. It represented Kingdom Hearts.
Kitai grinned and pushed the card into Kairi's hand; the girl was dumbfounded over the beautiful gift. It had to be expensive.
"Who would've…?" She began. Limply holding the card open, Kairi began to read aloud.
Hey, Kairi, I hope you're having a good Christmas…
END OF CHRISTMAS PART ONE!