It was at this point Adrian got used to the fact Xigbar kept teleporting from place to place. The only problem he had was the slacker always did it so unexpectedly, throwing all of Adrian's senses off. Once he felt Xigbar finished his act however, he took a look around, only to find himself in the courtroom of the Nobodies.
The last time he was here, he couldn't really admire the place due to Xemnas, but now with all the time he had, he saw the thirteen seats ready for the rest of the council towering over him. A sense of awe and fear etched itself onto him, forcing him to gulp down whatever spit he had in his mouth.
Xigbar, already having a remark ready, decided to not spoil the sight, and waited patiently for Adrian to finish. He was getting better at it due to him.
"This… is much larger than I expected," He said offhandedly before he shook his head, turning to Xigbar. "But what am I supposed to do here?"
"Take a seat of course," Xigbar answered curtly before quickly adding, "Well, except for that, that… that, that, and that one."
Adrian looked at all the thrones Xigbar pointed at only to give him an unamused stare.
"Do I look like someone who could climb those?" He said, making Xibgar bark a laugh.
"Did you really think we climb there? And here I thought you were getting used to this place!" He shot back.
"Whatever," Adrian said, crossing his arms. He took one more look up at all of the available chairs, none of which were within his reach except for a single seat. It was the only one that wasn't elevated to unreasonable heights and eventually, without saying anything, began to inch closer to the throne.
He slowly circled the seat, gliding his hand across the material it was made out of, unbelievably smooth, and hard. He gave the handles and the seat itself a small push to test if there was some sort of cushioning but found nothing.
He tentatively sat down, leaning his hands on the rests and trying to find the most comfortable position he could. It was hard, both metaphorically and literally. No matter how Adrian moved around, he just couldn't find the right way to sit.
"These are probably the worst chairs I had ever sat on," He remarked, making Xigbar sort.
"Where did you come from to say that? Do you have like a million pillows below your rear or something?" He just couldn't hold back his snark anymore.
"No, but even a high school had better chairs than this," He shot back, lifting his head up to Xigbar. "So, we are just supposed to wait here?"
"Yep," He answered, doing a small spin before he suddenly appeared in his own seat, far higher than Adrian's. He lifted one of his legs on top of the other while leaning his head on his hand before saying, "Don't worry, the old coot doesn't like to waste time anyway."
Adrian was surprised that he could still hear Xigbar so clearly even though he was quite far away, the silence of the courtroom made everything clear and audible.
He didn't answer Xigbar, instead, he gazed back to his seat, and realized how cold it was. Again, the same emptiness he felt from the castle walls was even stronger. Adrian thought that this chair felt extremely fragile, but that couldn't be harder from the truth. He could argue it had the same toughness as his newly acquired bow.
He closed his eyes before shaking his head again, putting his hood down that completely concealed his head, yet he could clearly see through it without much trouble. He then crossed his arms, let his head slump a little, and waited patiently for the rest of the Nobodies to come.
Or at least how patient he could get.
After some time passed that felt like ages for Adrian, he felt a similar chill run down his spine, making his head shoot up to the rest of the tall chairs. Three dark portals individually opened on each seat, before slowly revealing the rest of the currently assembled Organization.
He didn't know who was which except for Xemnas, who had his hood down. He guessed the one with crossed arms was probably Xaldin, while the other with his head leaned in and back bent was Vexen.
Adrian then looked up at the tallest chair that was almost in front of him with Xemnas perched there. The Nobody felt Adrian's gaze and turned to him, locking eyes with him and involuntary stiffening his posture.
Xemnas gave him the tiniest of smirks, and no matter how small the gesture was or how invisible it was, Adrian could still sense it. Both knew he was at their mercy, like a rat in a cage, which made Adrian click his tongue, jerking his head away.
The leader of the Organization switched to the long narrow pathway to the court while multiple steps echoed from afar, forcing all of those who were seated to turn their heads to the source.
Three new recruits with their hoods up slowly but surely reached the center platform before looking up at Xemnas, patiently waiting for him to start the meeting.
He gladly did so.
"Lexaeus, Zexion, Saix," He called out to each one individually before spreading his arms, "Welcome to the Organization. Please, take a seat, we have much to discuss."
The three scanned the place quickly, not wasting time before choosing their seats, and Xemnas teleported each one to their respective thrones. Once he got affirmations from all three that they were ready, Xemnas continued.
"Our search had born fruit, and with our Organization growing in number, we have accomplished another few necessary steps to reach our goal," He said, reaching out with one hand and an open palm, "I say we have gained enough time for a small reprieve, so it will take time before we look for the rest."
He then glanced at Adrian again. "You have already noticed that we have one extra presence here than I let you believe."
All of the members looked down at Adrian, sets of eyes in multiple colors staring at the boy with unrelenting gazes, making him the center of attention. He grew sheepish, but not in a way Adrian wanted.
"His name is Adrian, and he comes from a land full of knowledge. If there is some sort of guidance you seek I cannot provide, he is your second-best choice," Xemnas explained. Adrian could hear a few questionable murmurs from the new three.
"Now, let's not start some unreasonable gossip," Xemnas said, silencing any bickering from them. He then turned to Adrian. "Could you kindly remove that hood of yours?"
Adrian didn't want to, he seriously didn't want to, but the thought of having another lightsaber leveled at his throat was the last thing he wanted. He slowly removed his hood, revealing his face to the entire organization.
"But he is just a boy," Lexaeus said, his voice gruff.
"His appearance may be deceiving, I assure you, many secrets are hidden within him," Xemnas said before prompting Adrian with a hand motion, "Adrian, a demonstration?"
Adrian clicked his tongue before looking away, "What do you want to know?"
Xemnas hummed, touching his chin to think of what he could ask about. "How is our thorn on our side, Sora, fairing?"
Adrian's eyes both shot up at the question, and it was something he definitely didn't want to say out loud, but he had no choice. He took a deep breath before meeting Xemnas eye to eye, "Have to be more specific than that. Where is he now?"
The silence of the council meant Adrian had their attention, and Xemnas did nothing more but comply. "He just arrived at Hollow Bastion with his friends, if I remember correctly."
That made Adrian touch his own chin, some amount of relief calming down his nerves, "Then he is trying to reach the Keyhole to the darkness then."
Xemnas couldn't help but adorn another small smirk, "Yes, you are quite right, though I doubt he will be able to seal it. Once that keyhole will open, the entire world shall—"
"He will seal it," Adrian interrupted, making Xemnas' smirk drop.
"Pardon?" He said.
"Like I said, he will seal it, and not even Ansem will be able to stop him from doing so," Adrian said, who couldn't help but adorn a small smirk himself, "I'm sure you know who Ansem is, right Xemnas?"
"That I do, yes," Xemnas hummed, "This… It seems we don't have as much time as we were led to believe."
"You are going to trust him so easily, Xemnas?" Xaldin said pointedly, but Xemnas shook his head slightly.
"The boy has little reason to lie," Xemnas said before turning back to the council, "We have a slight change of plans. Every single one of you will find a member for our Organization. Our time is getting shorter, and I've come to the conclusion that anyone who wants their hearts back and has the will to retain their forms will be enough."
"Wait, so anyone can now join?" Xigbar said, getting a curd nod from Xemnas, making him whistle, "Wow, this group is going to become hectic very quickly."
"Keep your wits for another time, Xigbar," Xemnas said, shutting him down, "Leave as soon as you are able while one of you will stay behind to guard Adrian due to his circumstances. The one who is the slowest to march will be the one to do so. This council is disbanded."
The rest of the council didn't respond, only in curt nods and hums, some of which already disappeared from their seats into their dark portals to quickly prepare and leave.
"What will you do yourself, Xemnas?" Zexion asked, one of the Nobodies who didn't leave immediately.
"I will journey to Hollow Bastion to see for myself if Adrian's words are truthful," Xemnas said before he looked back at Adrian, "Do hope your words bear said truth because Xigbar won't be there to stop me from following up on my threats."
He then extended his hand, as if reaching out towards Adrian before, without his consent, a dark portal opened under him, engulfing him entirely. He let out a single yelp before he vanished from the courtroom.
{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}
As if the portal didn't want to keep Adrian inside the darkness, he got launched into his room, landing on the wall with a dull thud. The wind got knocked out of him, making him gasp for a breath before he slumped on his rear, coughing in the process.
"Ow…" He said, groaning in pain while rubbing his back, "What a way to get rid of me."
As much as Adrian didn't enjoy the sent-off Xemnas gave him, he couldn't help but smile at the fact he crawled up his skin, even though emotions were something Xemnas lacked. After stretching a little after the abrupt landing, he slowly but surely stood up while making sure he was in his room with a glance or two.
He then breathed a sigh.
"God, I'm so tired after that," He said out loud, switching his gaze to the comfy bed that begged him to take a small nap, if not even full-blown rest. With a belly flop, he landed on top of the sheets that immediately hugged him back, the softness of the bed making Adrian let out a content sigh.
"I'm gonna bring you with me the next time to that damned court," He muffled into the bedsheets, glad to be alone as well. Having to endure Xigbar's snark and those crooks from the Organization proved to be too much for him today.
He then turned on his back, facing the ceiling before digging into his pocket to find his favorite ball, still worn and used. Throwing the ball up to the ceiling before catching it was a motion that was almost second nature to Adrian, allowing him to stew in his thoughts.
Though there really wasn't much to think about. Now, he just needed to wait for Sora to do his job, and hope he came around and helped him. He knew Sora was the type of guy who would always try to play the hero, even though it sometimes came back to bite him.
The more he thought about Sora, the more he became excited to actually meet him in person. Sure, he knew a lot of things about him through the games, but those wouldn't do justice to actually meeting him personally.
It made Adrian a little crestfallen however, as now he just felt like a damsel in distress, ready to be saved from the big bad. He stopped playing with his ball, before dropping one of his hands on his face.
"Man, why was it Xemnas that caught me? Why couldn't it be somebody, like, I don't know, Ansem?" He asked out loud before he shook his head, "Actually, scratch that. He might even be worse."
A loud groan escaped his lips. "I just hope I didn't screw things over by telling Xemnas what Sora accomplishes."
As Adrian thought about his situation, he became more and more restless, not really finding a way to allow himself to fall asleep, forcing him to get up from his bed. He took a look at that single seam where the doors were and decided to go outside.
He knew how dangerous these halls were, but now he was confident enough to walk through them. He did have a weapon to defend himself after all.
The only place he knew about that led outside was Xigbar's shooting range, since the way there was pretty much etched inside Adrian's memory at this point. He marched through the white halls with slight confidence, and thankfully, he didn't find any Nobodies on his way there, making him breathe a small sigh of relief once he got there.
The only thing that caught him off-guard was how empty the place was. The usual floating targets were there, but Xigbar was nowhere to be found. He was used to always meeting him here, and finding the shooting range void of him felt a little lonely.
After scanning the place, he found a small paper note on the ground that could be easily swept away by the wind. Adrian quickly picked it up, unfurling it only to be met by one of the worst handwriting he had ever seen.
"Hey there, prophet! Since it has been some time when I was outside doing some sort of business, I opted to chase after an Org member. Use the shooting range at your leisure. Your pal, Xigbar." The letter said, making Adrian scoff, scrunching up the paper into a little ball before throwing it away.
"You always find a way to be annoying," Adrian said with a small smile while summoning his bow.
He inched closer to the targets, the usual white silk sprouted from his arm, enveloping the cams before taking a stance. The amount of straight needed to fully pull the string always seemed to surprise him for a fraction of a second before a white arrow formed on his rest.
With a grunt, he shot the bow, the bolt quickly finding its target and piercing it fully while Adrian stood there, admiring the sight. He still had to draw heavy breaths after the single shot, a beat of sweat formed on his temples like it was already there.
He allowed himself a small reprieve before pulling on the string again with what strength he had left and shot another bolt. His legs then buckled a little, forcing him to kneel from exhaustion.
"Damn, still only two shots before I'm out," He said between heavy breaths. He was with Xigbar the whole time, yet no matter how much he tried, he couldn't shoot a third arrow in succession.
He let go of his bow which disappeared while sitting down on the cold ground with a dull thud, contemplating over what he was doing wrong. There was no way he could fight with only two shots alone. He brought his arm to inspection, flexing each finger before he formed a fist, the gloves screeching in protest as he did so.
"So this is where you were hiding," He heard a voice behind him, jerking his head towards the sound, revealing Zexion.
His hood was down, revealing a young man with steel-blue unkempt hair and a single blue eye that bore into Adrian because his other one was covered with his long bags. He was holding a black grimoire in his right hand, and with half-lidded eyes made him look bored.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be looking for a member yourself?" Adrian asked.
"Yes, but I've already sent Lexaeus out to do said mission for me, and since I am the last member here in this castle, I'm in charge of your safety," He explained in a neutral tone.
He took a small glance at the two targets Adrian shot a few moments ago before turning away, "But you seemed capable of doing that yourself, which means more time to spend on my research."
"Wait, so you're going to just leave me here?" Adrian asked, more dumbfounded than annoyed. Zexion only turned his head back.
"Am I not supposed to do that?" He asked back, "Xemnas asked us to guard you, but didn't tell how. I have little reason to be here to watch your poor display."
"You do realize I'm defenseless when I don't have the energy to shoot, right?" Adrian said matter of factly, but Zexion waved him off.
"That is your problem when you can't optimize your way of shooting," He answered before leaving Adrian behind, much to his chagrin. He stared at the hallway leading into the shooting range where Zexion disappeared with a confused stare.
"He just came here to tell me that?" He asked himself while making a face, "Now I wished Xigbar was the one guarding me."
Though Zexion's words made him pause. What did he mean by being inefficient? He brought an arm to his chin, his mind working on a solution to his problem as he let out hums and grunts in the process.
Then a thought pierced Adrian's mind, begging to be tested. He was doing way too many steps at the same time when he always drew his bow, and he probably found a way to make his shooting more bearable.
"I'lĺ borrow your idea for a bit, Xigbar," He mused out loud before standing up, taking a small glance at his right hand before extending it. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine the same silk that made his string sprout from his hand.
His body was using some sort of energy within him, the same headache resurfacing but he kept his feet planted to the ground, refusing to fall. He brought his other hand to keep the extended one stable, and soon, he was rewarded with the same silk sprouting from his arm.
He opened his eyes and saw the glowing strands flapping from place to place, like seaweed underwater moving with the waves, waiting for his command. Even though the sight would normally make somebody pause, Adrian only smiled.
He then formed a tight fist, forcing the strings to curl up inside it before a form of an arrow slowly but surely appeared in his hand. He relaxed with a sigh, easing his stand before gazing at the bolt while summoning his bow. He took aim at another target before shooting the arrow on instinct with a recognizable bang.
Adrian immediately could tell the difference, since he didn't use nearly as much stamina as before. Sure, he still felt tired since it took a lot of force to pull the bow, but since he formed the arrow beforehand, he didn't have to concentrate on the bolt forming.
His accomplishment made him smirk. "Now we're making some progress."
AN: Well, I honestly don't have much to say for this chapter, my only hope is that you enjoyed it.
On another note, thank you for all the support you've shown me so far. I'm happy that I'm meeting your expectations, though I can't say I'm not nervous about the fact that I'm one of the few people who write an OC-insert fic in the KH fandom. Those are some tough shoes to fill because of my predecessors, but I'll do my best to deliver.
Shameless plugging of our discord server should be a staple at this point, so if you want to join said server with fic readers and writers, feel free to join.
Link: gg/9XG3U7a
God's speed.