Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts
So originally this idea was going to be used in Changing Destiny but after chatting with some of my usuals, they convinced me to make it its own story.
Not sure how long it'll be
Chapter 1
"Riku!" he reached for Riku, seeing the flicker in his eyes, the way he had suddenly dropped his guard. Their eyes met and all he saw in familiar cyan was fear and guilt even as he began to literally fade away. Riku reached for him and Sora lunged forward, feeling a slight tingle for a second as his fingers brushed through insubstantial ones and then…Riku was gone.
He felt sick, he'd killed Riku! There had to have been some other way to stop Ansem, to force him out of Riku…now they'd never know. He forced his fingers to unclench from his Keyblade, letting it vanish, even as he collapsed to his knees, hearing Donald and Goofy rushing over so the barrier must have vanished with…with him.
"Sora! Sora, look!" Donald pointed, and Sora made himself look at where he was pointing, not really caring.
"The... The Keyhole!"
Sora forced himself to his feet and walked over to it, he had a duty to fulfil after all. He summoned his Keyblade back, aiming at it, but nothing happened. He looked from the Keyhole to the blade, was it because he didn't care at the moment?
"It won't work! The Keyhole's not finished yet!"
Or it could be that. He dismissed the weapon again and stared at the incomplete Keyhole, going over what Ansem had said.
"What can we do?" Donald asked, worry obvious, and Sora's gaze drifted to Kairi's body.
"Maybe we've gotta go wake Kairi up," Goofy suggested.
"I think you're right," he finally spoke up. He felt an odd mix of sick and numb and he just wanted it done with so he could find a corner to curl up and cry in for the next decade or two. "If we can free her Heart... But... But how?" His eyes settled on the dark Keyblade that had remained despite Ansem's defeat. "A Keyblade that unlocks people's Hearts... I wonder," he whispered and then walked over to it, staring at it.
"Sora?" Goofy called his name but he ignored him, picking the Keyblade up. "Sora, hold on!"
"No, wait!"
He stared from the Keyblade to Kairi, he could feel the pure Hearts of the Princesses within it and knew for sure that Kairi was one of them. He had to free her and there was only one way. At least he wouldn't feel the pain anymore. He looked at Donald and Goofy, giving them a smile that was closer to a grimace before taking the Keyblade in both hands, stabbing himself in the chest. It…didn't hurt. It felt…warm, Light pouring out of him….Kairi's Light, her Heart. He felt tired, so tired, but he forced his head to turn even as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, seeing an orb of Light sink into her chest, saw her begin to move. Only then did he surrender, closing his eyes as he fell backwards, everything fading away.
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Donald watched, frozen in horror, as Sora stabbed himself in the Heart. No! His chest glowed brightly and the Keyblade floated out of him. He couldn't do anything as Sora started to fall backwards. The dark Keyblade split into six Hearts, that floated back into the princesses, but Donald didn't care about that. He cared about the bright boy that never gave up, always found a way around…so why had he chosen to do this? Another Heart surged from Sora's chest and floated back to Kairi, who opened her eyes. The entrance to the Dark Depths shimmered behind them, the barrier broken, and Sora glowed brightly, slowly falling.
Finally, Donald managed to force himself to move, running towards the boy. "Sora... Sora!"
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Kairi blinked at an unfamiliar ceiling even as she heard someone screaming for Sora. She jumped to her feet, staring in horrified shock at his glowing, falling, body. "Sora!"
She ran to Sora, but as she touched his arm, ready to try and break his fall, he burst into a million points of light, which began floating into the air and disappeared, leaving Kairi in shock.
"Sora! Come back, Sora!" the voice was vaguely familiar, as if from a dream, it all was. Donald…that was his name.
They stood motionless, waiting for any sort of sign but nothing happened and she bit back a sob. "Sora, are you really…No. He can't be! I won't let him go!" she denied, shaking her head. Sora couldn't be dead, he couldn't!
"So, you have awakened at last, Princess," the unfamiliar voice had her turning to see a stranger with white hair and orange eyes. "The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose, but now it's over." He walks slowly towards Kairi, and Donald and Goofy brandished their weapons, defending her.
"Don't make another move!"
"Do you think we can stop him all by ourselves?" Goofy asked Donald quietly but she still heard him. She knew who they were…because Sora knew them. Sora had spent all that time looking for her but she'd been with him all along and now…
"I don't know!"
He suddenly stopped, seeming to be struggling to move for some reason. "Impossible..." he grunted and then Kairi gasped as an image of Riku appeared in front of him, arms spread to hold him back.
"No. You won't use me for this!" he met her eyes and then looked around, obviously looking for Sora.
She stayed silent, if she told him Sora was gone…she couldn't do it. Riku had to fight, he had to! She couldn't lose them both. "Riku!" she could at least call to him though, and he refocused on her.
"You've got to run! The Heartless are coming!" he warned desperately.
A horde of Shadow Heartless appeared and surrounded them and she could tell he wanted to fight and protect her but it was taking everything he had to hold that man back. Kairi touched her necklace and nodded. Donald screamed as the three of them ran for it.
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"What about the Keyhole?"
"Let's just get out of here!"
Riku could barely make them out as they ran from the Hall, he felt so tired. Sora…where was Sora? His eyes fell shut and he faded, freeing Ansem to move.
The Heartless smirked as he took full control and possession of the body, banishing the boy to the Realm of Darkness. He knew where his precious Sora was, there was only one way the boy could have woken the Princess. Perhaps Riku would even come across him there, not that he'd recognise a Heartless.
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He slowly opened his eyes, blinking, trying to focus. Green…grass? That seemed wrong, like there shouldn't be grass. He began to move, getting his arms under himself to try and push himself up. What was going on? Where was he? Who was he?
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Kairi gasped as they were surrounded by Heartless, feeling a flicker of something…familiar? But she couldn't focus as Donald and Goofy tried to make a path to the doors for her. If only she could fight! But she had no weapon to fight with and didn't know any magic. She ducked at the sound of a roar and then…the Beast was there, tearing into the Heartless. The feeling of familiarity lurched suddenly as if scared…in pain…and then it vanished.
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He felt a flash of pain and then it was gone and he blinked. Sora. He was Sora. He pressed a hand to his chest, looking down, there was no wound. He had stabbed himself in the Heart with a Keyblade to free Kairi's Heart, he should be dead. He looked closer, that was not what he had been wearing. He held his arms out and stared, confused, his hands looked different too. What had happened to him?
He blinked, he should feel scared, shouldn't he? But…he felt nothing, empty. He could remember how he felt seeing Riku fade away but now he felt nothing. There had to be something wrong with him, but what?
He looked up at a noise to see figure in a black cloak emerge from a corridor of Darkness and walk toward him. Despite being unable to see the figures face he knew they were staring at him so he stared back. "You seek answers." The man waved a cloaked arm between the two of them and his name, 'SORA', appeared in the air, the letters shiny, silver, and hovering. "I can give you purpose."
Sora remained silent, not sure who the man was or what he wanted with him. How had he even known Sora was there?
The man waved his arm again and the letters swirled around Sora, gaining momentum until they were barely visible as letters. The man slammed his fist into them and four points of golden light shot out, forcing him to flinch away slightly but nothing hit him. He'd felt no fear at being hit, it had just been reflex to avoid possible injury. He opened his eyes and saw a new golden letter X hovering before him. The silver letters re-joined with the X in their centre forming a new word, turning fully golden...
"Roxas," he read the word out loud. His voice didn't sound like him either and not just because it sounded lifeless.
"That is right, the new you." The man told him.
The new him? No, he was Sora. The way the man had arrived was like how Maleficent's group travelled, therefore the man was likely an enemy, and yet he didn't seem to think Sora would see him as one. Why? What did he want with him? Sora didn't care, he didn't care about anything. The man was powerful, he could sense that, and so he followed him. He felt empty, how could he summon the Keyblade if he felt nothing? Which meant he was defenceless.
Riku was dead, he had killed him, but Kairi should be awake, somewhere. He would follow the man and then once at a World he knew, he would leave. He would find Kairi and ensure she was safe. He felt no emotion even for her but making sure she was safe was the right thing to do, what he would do if he was how he was meant to be. If this man was like Maleficent then he might target Kairi and he would not allow that. He would have to rely on his memories of emotions to guide him to do the right thing and maybe there was some way to fix him? There was a kind of peace in the emptiness but also a sense that it was wrong. He could feel his heart beating in his chest…but what about his Heart? Was that why he felt nothing?
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They all gathered in the house, everyone in shock as Donald finished explaining what had happened. Without Sora and his Keyblade…how could they win? Even if someone else gained a Keyblade, they wouldn't have the months of experience with it that Sora did.
"There has to be something we can do! Maybe something to do with being a Princess? They wanted our Hearts because of the Light, right? Can I use that somehow?" Kairi finally asked.
Leon frowned thoughtfully before eventually shrugging. "Merlin might know."
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"Who are you?" Sora asked as he approached the one who had come for him. He was exhausted from fighting nearly non-stop since they had arrived there, fighting without a Keyblade.
"I'm what's left. Or...maybe I'm all there ever was."
"I meant your name," he clarified.
"My name is of no importance. What about you? Do you remember your true name?"
"My true name is..." he hesitated, something holding him back from telling the man. He didn't trust him even though the only evidence of possible evilness was the method of travel used.
"You have been with us for six days now," he stood from the rock he'd been seated on and removed his hood, even as Sora stared at him. Six days? Had it really been that long? "The time has come..." He walked past and placed a hand on his shoulder. Time almost seemed to slow and all sound faded. "...Sora."
He felt the air of the word spoken near his ear, but there was no sound. Had he said his name? He knew it since it had formed that day before the X was added. There was so much that didn't make sense. He shook his head and looked down at himself, he was now dressed in the same black coat as the man, the clothes he had woken in totally hidden. There were no mirrors in the strange Dark realm they were in but he just knew he was different. His voice, his hands, even his height felt off.
"Come Roxas, it is time you were introduced to the others."
He turned and went to where he was waiting. He needed more information to find out what was going on and what had happened to him which meant he had to play along.
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Axel leant against the wall as their newest member walked in, his face utterly blank. So, that was Roxas huh? He wondered what the kid had been like as a human, mentally rearranging the letters after taking out the X to see what his name…no…no way…he looked nothing like the reports said. But…the name fit. He really did look like a zombie and they'd been warned that he appeared to have no memory of his past. Pity, a Keyblade would come in handy for getting Kingdom Hearts made faster.
"Eww. You're awake?" Larxene commented from where she was lounging on a white couch. Everything was either white or black, would it kill the boss to let some colour into the castle?
"Hey, Roxas. Welcome to the program, as they say," Xigbar smirked at the boy who just stared at him.
Axel was surprised when Roxas walked towards him, blank blue eyes studying him. "Heya, Roxas," he greeted but there was only silence in return. "Something I can help you with there, chatterbox?" Axel crossed his arms, studying the kid, he looked almost…familiar? Like someone…huh. That was impossible, the kid was way too young, but the resemblance was kind of spooky. "Ah, I remember now. We were supposed to convene in the Round Room today. Blegh, meetings..." he complained to cover for the unsettling thoughts he'd had. Not that he was capable of feeling unsettled but whatever.
Roxas tilted his head, looking almost cute, like a puppy. "Round Room?"
"Yup. Apparently the boss man's got some big news. Wanna head over there now?" he asked, he'd gotten the kid to speak, he won the pool!
"Okay."
"Alrighty then. Follow me," Axel smirked and moved towards the exit, hearing the near silent tread of Roxas' shoes behind him. Good, looked like he wouldn't need to teach him how to be stealthy.
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He took the…throne indicated by Axel, feeling it rise up slightly once he had. Thirteen chairs, all filled, some covered by their hoods while others kept them down. He had been told their names but it was hard to put them to the ones who kept their hoods up. Sora wasn't sure why he'd spoken to Axel when he hadn't to the others. It was almost like he reminded him of someone…but who? Had he forgotten things as well as losing his emotions?
He listened as he was introduced as the Thirteenth member. That was the big news? Did the name come from the number of members? Or something else? Had it been Organisation Twelve before he had been found? Well, it would go back to that soon then. He just needed a World where someone would help him. Traverse Town? Cid would be able to give him a ship to find the others with, they may even have gone there themselves to regroup.
They all had names with an X in it and his name had been changed too, but why? What was so important about the letter?
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"Sora... Kairi... I'm sorry..." he forced himself to keep walking, even though he didn't know why. "Is this the afterworld?" he stumbled forward and his body shimmered, but he clenched his hands into fists, fighting it. "I'm not ready. Not yet. Not until I see Sora and Kairi one last time..." he had to see them again…to know they were okay.
"Riku, can you hear me? I'll be there soon," an unfamiliar voice called from far away, and Riku whirled around, trying to see them.
"Who is that?" he demanded, wary of voices now.
"I have the other Keyblade—the one that belongs to this world."
Riku looked around, confused. A Keyblade belonging to this strange place? He'd seen nothing but Darkness since he'd woken there…since he had stopped Ansem from hurting Kairi.
"I've been trying to get through to you, but the Darkness in your Heart kept me away."
He barely managed to keep from flinching at those words. "Who are you? What's happened to me?" he pleaded for answers.
"Your Heart won the battle against the Darkness, but it was too late for your body. That's why you're here, in this place of Darkness where Hearts are gathered."
"So what do I do?" Was…was he dead? He looked ahead down the winding road, now scared about where it might lead.
"The Door of Darkness will open soon, but it's a door we can't enter. It has to be closed from both sides. To do this, you need two keys and two Hearts. Maybe you're here for the same reason I am. Maybe it was fate."
"Fate, huh?" he whispered. So, he was trapped in this place forever then, unless there was another way out beside that door. "You seem to know everything, don't you? Then tell me: Are Sora and Kairi okay?" he asked, he had to know.
"Don't you feel the echoes of their Hearts? You already know the answer. Look inside your own Heart."
Riku closed his eyes, seeing an image of Kairi smiling happily….but he couldn't feel Sora, no matter how hard he tried.
"Sora," he choked on a sob. "I…I can't feel him, he wasn't there before I faded either. Is…is he…" but there was no answer. He took a deep breath and kept walking because what else could he do?
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Kairi sat with her eyes closed, breathing deeply. She wasn't entirely sure what the ancient looking wizard was doing but he had said it would help. She had lost Sora but there was still a chance they could save Riku. She just needed some way to help! She had to!
Kairi groaned and sat up, staring down at her hand in shock. Well…that would definitely help. She heard the others cheering and looked up, smiling at them.
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"Roxas, your work begins today. I will issue missions, which the Organization expects you to carry out," Saïx told him as soon as he entered the room.
Sora remained silent, it was the best way to deal with the strangers. He still didn't know what they wanted with him and they seemed to think he had no memories, because he kept silent which was the opposite of how he used to be?
"Think of these early missions as exercises. You still have much to learn before we put you to a real test." Saïx looked over to Axel, leaning against the window. "Axel will be joining you your first time out. Isn't that right, Axel?"
Axel straightened up. "Oh boy... What, are you making me the kid's mentor now?" he walked over to them, and Saïx turned to leave.
"Surely you don't mind showing Roxas here the ropes?" and with that they were alone.
"Well, you heard the man. Starting today, I'm your babysitter," Axel told him. "Sheesh... Quit acting like a zombie, and let's get this show on the road. C'mon, Roxas."
A Corridor opened and Axel stepped in, Sora following him.
"Let's test that memory of yours… How 'bout my name?"
"It's Axel," Sora answered, seeing Axel smirk slightly at getting an answer. It was strange, how did he appear to have emotions? Was Sora just broken?
"And our boss' name?"
"Xemnas."
"Very good, Roxas! No way you're gonna forget his name, right? And we're here." They walked out into an underground structure and Sora just knew they were back in the World he had woken in which was not helpful. "All right, let's start by talking about what we do on missions. Ahem. Missions are...uhh... They're, you know... Hrm," Axel scratched his head, and Sora looked down.
Hopefully they were like what he had been doing before. He doubted it, why would people using Darkness want to kill Heartless?
"You know what? Talking is dumb. Let's just go ahead and get our hands dirty, shall we? Follow me." Axel walked up the stairs into an archway and Sora followed.
He listened to Axel's tips and advice as they made their way through the town, acting as if he didn't know about the random treasure chests that could be found scattered across the Worlds…he never had gotten a good explanation for their existence and now he wasn't at all curious or suspicious, they just were. Maybe Axel was right, maybe he really was a zombie? The barricades to keep them within a certain area were different and strange, if someone had set them up, why not just do the mission themselves then and there? It didn't seem very efficient. "Is this the chest?" Sora asked when he found it, and Axel grinned.
"Sure is! Well done."
Sora waited patiently to be told what to do, he wasn't meant to remember what the purpose of the chest was after all. Why did his apparent amnesia make Xemnas appear pleased?
"Um, what are you waiting for?"
"The mission was to find the chest. Aren't I done?" he asked.
"Uh, Roxas... There's this thing about chests. They have stuff in them," Axel explained awkwardly.
"So I should open the chest?" he wanted to tell him that wasn't his name, but he didn't think it was safe.
"Yes, that is generally what we do."
He obediently opened the chest and then looked to Axel for further instructions.
"Good work! You can keep what you found. All right, time to RTC."
"RTC?" He hadn't heard that before.
"Return To the Castle. Go ahead, lead the way back to the Dark Corridor that brought us here."
Sora nodded and they made their way back through the Underground Passage. Once they reached the Dark Corridor, Axel applauded.
"Bravo. So whaddya think? Got the hang of this mission business?"
"Uh-huh," he mumbled.
"I'm sorry, speak up? Cooouldn't quite catch that," he seemed almost…teasing?
"I said..."
"Hmm?"
Sora turned to look at him. "I could have done that blindfolded," he stated flatly, and Axel laughed.
"I dunno if I want a blindfolded zombie on the loose. All right, smart aleck, you did good. And no successful mission is complete without a little icing on the cake. C'mon," Axel waved for him to follow.
"But...don't we have to RTC?"
Axel stopped and turned towards him. "Later. You see the top of the clock tower there," he pointed and Sora nodded. "There's stairs around the side, I'll meet you up top."
"Okay," Sora agreed. He wasn't curious, even though he knew he should be, but he saw no reason to argue, Axel was his glorified babysitter, he had no reason to mislead or harm him. Axel waved and walked away so Sora began walking towards the clock tower only to stop as he was walking past a shop. He turned and looked in the window…at his own reflection.
That…was him? His hair was closer to blond than even the Island sun had ever lightened it to in summer. He thought he was taller too, although that was harder to tell. His eyes looked different but that could be the lack of emotion showing in them. Even if his face seemed a bit different…unless he wasn't remembering right. He shook his head and kept walking, ending up on the clock tower. There was a view of the whole town and beyond from so high up, the sunset painting everything in red and gold…and still he felt nothing.
Axel soon joined him, handing him an ice cream bar. "Here ya go. The icing on the cake." Sora sat down on the ledge even as Axel sprawled beside him, taking a bite of his own. "You know what this ice cream is called?"
"Umm..." Sora looked it over, it didn't look like any flavour he knew, so he carefully took a bite.
"It's sea-salt ice cream. Get it memorized, man."
"It's really salty...but sweet, too," Sora murmured, and Axel laughed.
"Yep, that's what makes it perfect." They ate in silence for a while. "Hey, what has it been, a week since Xemnas found you?"
"Maybe," Sora shrugged slightly, he only had Xemnas' word for their having been in that Darkness for six days.
"'Maybe'? C'mon, you must remember that much," Axel stared at him, but Sora said nothing. "Well, that's okay. Today's where it all really begins anyway."
"Yeah?"
"Sure! Here you are, out in the field, working for the Organization... Today, you're one of us," Axel grinned at him, and Sora slowly nodded.
"I guess it's a start." He continued eating his ice cream. "Axel?"
"Yeah?"
"Why…" he hesitated and Axel nudged his shoulder. "Why can't I feel anything?"
Axel blinked, staring at him. "You mean, no one's told you or explained?" he demanded, and Sora shook his head. "Sheesh, why do I get all the icky jobs?" Axel mumbled before twisting to face him so Sora turned as well. "First thing first I guess, we're Nobodies, not people, not anymore. Do you know what a Heartless is?"
"The creatures in the Darkness," Sora answered, glad there had been Heartless there so he didn't need to listen to that explanation.
"Right. Well a Heartless is made from a person, when the Darkness that resides in a person's Heart consumes him or her, thus giving the Darkness shape and form. Sometimes, if the person had a strong Heart and will to live, the remaining parts left behind by the Heart: the body and soul, give life to a Nobody. Nobodies feel nothing because we have no Hearts to feel with."
"But you laugh," Sora told him.
"Well yeah, we remember having emotions, so mimicking them is easy enough."
"Oh," he whispered, nearly jumping when a hand ruffled his hair.
"It's okay Roxas, you'll get the hang of things eventually. Though it is weird you don't remember anything."
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Axel couldn't believe no one had told the poor kid what he was now. He had to have been so confused, made worse by his lack of memory, no wonder he'd been such a zombie. He was showing more personality now though which was good, he didn't want to be stuck working with someone who didn't interact. Why hadn't Xemnas told him what he was? He ate his ice cream, glancing at Roxas out of the corner of his eye as he did. Was he right, was Roxas the Nobody of the current Keyblade wielder? That would explain Xemnas' interest in him, a Keyblade would make their work easier. Hopefully when they received Hearts, Roxas would regain his memories, if they didn't come back on their own before then.
TBC…