Hi everyone! This is my first solo fanfiction, as my other, incomplete fanfic was with a friend. Please provide constructive criticism if you can! This particular story arose from my general dislike of extremely AU-fanfiction as well as my Kingdom Hearts fanboyism. Enjoy!
Summary: Before the events of Castle Oblivion and Kingdom Hearts II, the Organization comes across two mysterious Nobodies, like they've never seen before. (Angst, possible shounen-ai) (Contains some spoilers concerning Roxas and the Organization, as well as Nobodies in general)
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Disney, or any of its affiliates. I don't even own the game, for crying out loud! Don't sue me…
Before the Twilight-Chapter 1
Darkness.
Bleak, utter darkness.
A young boy, cloaked in a black, hooded outfit, sat on a large, gray stone, confused and scared.
"Where am I?" he thought. He looked at the surrounding scenery and shuddered. He was on a beach, but not like any he'd ever seen in his life. This beach was covered with large black boulders, not unlike the one he was sitting on, and large, black stone arcs broke the calm surface of the ocean. Yeah, definitely like nothing he remembered…. Huh? He thought a moment, and with a tinge of distress, realized he couldn't remember. "Who am I?"
The lolling of the waves echoed all over the empty beach. He listened for a while, and then stared towards the sky. Not a single star was in sight, nor were there clouds. He couldn't even see the moon, if there was one on the planet wherever he was.
"Where am I?" he asked himself again. "Where the hell am I! Who am I?" he yelled. His cries echoes against the rocks, then reverberated into silence. The boy placed his head into his hands, and sobbed silently.
The Castle that Never Was was bustling with activity. The Organization's number VI, Zexion, had recently detected "a Nobody of the Organization's caliber" in existence. Upon hearing this stunning revelation, their leader, Xemnas, called a mandatory meeting to discuss the details and acquirement of this new member. The eleven members, assembled themselves in The Great Hall, which was stark white, like every other room in the castle, equipped with a long tabled, flanked by five seats on the left and six on the right, with a large, silver throne for the Superior. The hall was about twenty feet in height, and most days quite silent. The members, all clad in black, hooded robes, took their seats, and bean to engage in trivial chitchat.
"Well, well, Zexion, how do we know you haven't just sniffed out some Berserker or something? How do we know that this one's for real?" asked a man with flaming red hair.
"Don't doubt Zexion, Axel," scolded Saïx, his blue hair countering Axel's red. "He's the one who found you sorry lot."
"EXCUSE ME?" Axel growled. "Sorry lot? At least I don't look at the moon all night and day, you little--"
"That is enough, children," Vexen calmly stated. His stern face silenced the both of them.
"You two bicker nonstop, and, quite frankly, it is giving me a headache." He turned to Axel. "Axel, if you are so unsure about Zexion's findings, why don't you ask him yourself?" And with that, he sat down. Axel smirked.
"Nah, I'd rather not. Old Zexy knows what he's doing, although I'd question him a little on his last three choices." Marluxia, who blushed at Axel's nickname for Zexion, blushed even harder when he felt himself addressed. He began to occupy himself by running his fingers through his feathery pink locks. Larxene bitterly stared at Axel, infuriated at having her beautiful, more-than-capable self spoken of as such, contented herself with thinking of terrible things to do to him. Demyx simply laughed, albeit nervously.
"Heh, I'd have to a-agree with Axel on that one," he stammered quietly, and half-heartedly nudged Marluxia's arm. Xigbar, Lexaeus, and Xaldin, embarrassed at such a naïve display, glanced at each other, then the table, and simultaneously sighed. Zexion simply stared, and then suddenly spoke.
"I suggest all of you show a decent display of decorum, for our leader approaches." He brushed away some hairs from the mass of silver hair that perpetually covered his right eye, then sat down. The ten other members in the room immediately silenced themselves, and all was relatively quiet when Xemnas entered.
Their leader was a very handsome man, quite tall in stature and with a strong build, yet with a sense of grace. He was feared by all of them. He strode towards his throne, began to descend upon it, and drew it in as he settled himself. He clasped his hands, and addressed the assembly. All eyes were on him.
"Greetings, friends." His deep voice thundered in the immense chamber. "It is exceedingly wonderful to see all of you, and in such agreeable moods with each other." There was a slight shuffling of chairs. "As you all know, I have gathered you here today for the express purpose of discussing with you an interesting piece of information that our very own Zexion has come across." He turned his head towards Zexion, his body rigidly in place. "Would you care to share your findings with us?"
Zexion uncrossed his arms and placed them onto the table. Each member shifted their vision from Xenmas to Zexion, and stared intently, as if they could perhaps perceive what he would say before he even said it. Zexion glanced across the room, and then began to speak.
"As you all know, I have come across yet another nobody who has retained human form. However, although his Other's heart was strong, he does not retain any memories whatsoever. Furthermore, although there is evidence of its existence, I have not detected any sign of his corresponding Heartless. What is the most interesting to me, however, is that there are traces of what appears to be his Other in the vicinity of our recently built stronghold, Castle Oblivion."
There was murmuring throughout the room.
"A surviving Other? How is that possible?"
"A strong Heartless gone already? The Keyblade master must be really strong, to wipe it out that quickly!"
"No memories? That's strange."
Xemnas looked around, his face unmoved by emotion. He already knew this information. He waited a few seconds, and said, "Is there anything else you would like to add, Zexion?" He was fairly sure there was nothing else. Zexion glanced towards the group, and stood up.
"As a matter of fact, there is something else. In addition to this specific Nobody, I have located a similar Nobody wandering near Castle Oblivion. She is very similar to the first subject, inasmuch that they do not have any memories. However, while there was a faint trace of the first's Heartless, this one does not seem to have had a Heartless at all. I have also been unable to detect her Other, but I am sure she exists somewhere, if she is anything like the first case. But what is most intriguing is that her life signs correspond at a degree of about 50 percent with the first case." He snapped his hand towards the wall behind their leader, and a translucent screen appeared. On it appeared the words "Subject A," "Subject B," and an array of colored bars. Zexion snapped his fingers, and the two sets of colored bars overlapped. "As you can see, these charts are about 50 percent similar." The eleven other members stared intently at the data, quite unsure of what to make of it. Even their leader looked perplexed. "This is all I have gathered," stated Zexion with an air of finality, and sat down.
Xemnas snapped his fingers and the screen faded. He placed his head in his hands and began to think quietly. Several minutes had passed, and finally he spoke.
"I have come up with a plan." He paused, then decided to stand up, partly for effect, partly because of necessity. "I have a slight feeling of who the boy's Other might be. But, in order to test out this hypothesis, we will need to acquire him and make him one of our members: Member Number XIII." He glanced toward and gestured at Zexion. "Have you found out where this boy might be?" Zexion and Vexen looked at each other, and Vexen stood up to answer in his stead.
"Leader, using Zexion's findings, I have pinpointed the boy's location to be in the vicinity of a certain Twilight Town. However, the location software I used has a radius of about 10 kilometers." Vexen sat down. Xemnas lowered his head and thought for a moment.
"Then we must search Twilight Town," he finally said. "I do not believe all twelve of us are necessary for this mission; therefore, I shall only take Vexen and Zexion with me." He raised his hands, glanced at the black gloves, then lowered them. "Do not think that I have forgotten about the second anomaly. You said they were approaching Castle Oblivion, correct?" Vexen and Zexion nodded. "Very well. Marluxia, Larxene, do everything in you power to make sure Castle Oblivion stays concealed until I get back. If need be, subdue the girl and take her to this place; but above all, make sure that the Keyblade Master does not infiltrate the Castle. I am sure you two can handle something as trivial as that." Marluxia and Larxene nodded. "Very well, meeting adjourned." Xemnas, Vexen, and Zexion stood up, activated a portal to the darkness, and left.