Disclaimer: Don't own KH
So who would win; a Sith or Jedi versus a Keyblade wielder with the assumption that a lightsaber cannot cut through a Keyblade?
Chapter 13
Axel knew the group were at the Old Mansion, he'd followed them to make sure they got clear of the Castle. He'd seen the boy, Sora, perk up at the possibility of them having a friend in common, seen the hope in his eyes. And now, watching Kirux walk towards Dark Corridor that would take him 'home'…he was more sure than ever that Kirux was connected to the group, especially when his weird sword was so similar to a Keyblade. But without his memory there was no point nudging him their way.
"Hey, Kirux!" he called, and the teenaged Nobody whipped around, cyan eyes widening. Huh, who'd taught him to braid his hair? "How's it hanging?" he smirked as he headed over to him. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Axel? But...I thought you were gone! Castle Oblivion-the whole team was annihilated..." the boy stammered. He looked so shocked, no wonder if he thought they'd all died, then again, you needed a Heart to feel shocked, didn't you? Or was it one of the weird reactions that was only partially an emotional response?
"Correction: the weaklings were annihilated."
Kirux shook his head. "You had me worried," his lips pulled slightly towards a smile even as he studied Axel, looking for injuries? He'd come a long way while Axel was gone.
"Worried? Well, that's a neat trick, considering you haven't got a Heart to feel with," he teased.
"Wait here, I'll go buy us some ice cream!" he ran off before Axel could say anything else, surprising him.
Okay, he'd really come a long way while he was gone. That was good, right? He might be a Nobody but he was also a kid, but he'd been more like a zombie for so long, even Zexion had been more childish at times after becoming a Nobody. For a second, he could almost guilt at pushing Zexion to confront Sora…but that was silly, he had no Heart.
He did wonder, if he spoke to Kirux about his mission…about Kairi and Sora, would it jog his memory? He was almost positive he was the Nobody of their dead friend; silver hair was pretty distinctive and so was his weapon. Why had he lost his memory in the first place?
It didn't take long for him to return with two ice creams and they headed to their usual spot. It was good to relax for a little.
"I gotta check in with the boss, or he's gonna let me have it," he admitted between bites of his ice cream, feeling Kirux's stare.
"You haven't RTC'd yet?"
"Hmm? Nah." He shrugged like it didn't matter.
"Well, why come here?" Cyan eyes were wide as Kirux stared at him.
Hmm…maybe they had the kid obeying implied rules a little too firmly. Yes, there were rules, but unpredictability would keep him alive a lot longer and technically there wasn't a rule on how quickly they had to report.
"Guess I needed some time to sort out my feelings."
Kirux rolled his eyes like a typical teenager. "Whatever, mister I-don't-have-a-Heart."
He was so proud!
"Hey, your ice cream's melting. Eat up," Axel told him once they'd stopped laughing.
"Thanks." They ate in silence for a bit. "I started inviting Xion up here while you were gone."
"Xion? Really?" he hadn't expected that. That Replica was creepier than the one of Sora.
"Yeah. I promised her the three of us could have ice cream together…you know, once you got back. Me and her are friends now," Kirux explained defensively, her huh?
He'd never really spoken with Xion or paid attention, they'd never spoken near him either so was it surprising he hadn't noticed Xion was a girl? Especially when the Organisation was mainly male?
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Sora pressed his hand to the pod where Kairi floated, the machines beeping away. He didn't understand it but DiZ was certain they could restore her memories in time, Donald and Goofy's too. He didn't know them but Mickey obviously cared about them, was worried, so Sora was too.
Ventus was with him at the moment, the King filling him in on the things he'd missed over the last decade. And that time frame scared him, would Kairi sleep that long, longer? No, surely the machines would help her and her Heart wasn't shattered like Ven's had been. He'd lost Riku, he couldn't lose her too.
But Axel's words…his own Replica's explanation on the Nobodies…was it possible? Or was he just blindly clinging to any hope? Surely even without a Heart, Riku would look for Kairi at least? Sora wouldn't blame him for avoiding him, it'd been his body to kill him after all. Though…his Heartless had been able to accept his presence, had defended him, died for him. Sora was leaving to begin investigating the Organisation btu what would he do if he found Riku among them? Could he face him? His free hand pressed to his lips, remembering the ghostly sensation of lips brushing his, a quiet plea to come back. Riku had woken him from whatever Maleficent had done to him without even realising. He'd looked through some of the books in the library, had read about True Loves Kiss and it hurt.
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Kirux sat alone on the clock tower with his ice cream. He hadn't seen Xion in what felt like forever, he hadn't even seen Axel that day. He just…wanted the three of them to sit there and have ice cream together. Something about that seemed almost…familiar? He thought if he had a Heart this was what worry would feel like, but he wasn't meant to be able to feel anything.
He pulled the blue stone from his pocket, staring at it for a while. The colour wasn't an exact match…a match to what he didn't know though. Why were he and Xion different to the others?
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"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Axel called, smirking when Kirux nearly jolted off the chair.
"Sorry..." the boy yawned, "I was up late. Couldn't sleep." He looked like it too, hmm, maybe they were pushing him too hard? He didn't remember being much weaker when younger but Kirux was different to them, he had amnesia and that strange blade, what other differences were there?
"I asked Saïx about Xion," he told him, even as Kirux tried to wrangle his hair into something approaching neatness.
"And?" his eyes were wide; Axel would almost say hopeful.
He hated having to shake his head. "Your friend was sent out on a mission, but never RTC'd."
"But...why not? Shouldn't the mission be done by now?" Kirux stood and stretched.
"I dunno. But we'll find out what happened soon enough."
"Why's that?
"You and me get to go track Xion down. That's our mission today," Axel smirked.
"You're serious?" he asked, and Axel rolled his eyes.
"No, I made it all up. Go back to bed... Yes, I mean it! Hurry up and get ready, will ya?" he laughed as Kirux glared at him before they headed off.
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DiZ watched the boy practice with the Keyblade in the entry hall as it was too risky to leave the mansion and risk the Organisation seeing him. He had some background in sword work which was helping but with Mickey currently gone he was left to train on his own. He could give no training aide himself; he had never learnt to wield a weapon or even magic. And…was it safe for Sora to learn when Darkness still had a hold on his Heart? The betrayal of his once dear students remained fresh in mind due to Darkness. But they had chosen that while Sora had been 'infected' against his will. So perhaps, with time, he could fully purge 'Ansem's' taint or…he would fall to it. Only time would tell.
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"Xion!" Kirux yelled as she collapsed. He summoned his blade and launched himself at the Heartless, getting between them.
"Focus, Kirux! We have to take that thing out first!" Axel yelled at him, and he nodded, focused.
He attacked the massive Heartless, ducking and weaving around its attacks. He was hit, tumbling back, wincing at the pain. It was more powerful than most Heartless they went after, that plus the camouflage, no wonder Xion was struggling.
A blast of fire hit it and the Axel was there, forcing it back, and Kirux launched himself forward. The fight was fast and crazy but finally the Heartless dissolved, freeing the Heart to re-join Kingdom Hearts.
"Xion!" Kirux moved to her side, relieved to see she was waking up.
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Sora looked out the window, eyes scanning the grounds within and outside the gates, his own body hidden by the curtains. He frowned as he spotted the three black coated figures. Organisation? One of them was on the ground, maybe injured, the other two fighting a Heartless, magic and weapons flying around.
"Xion!"
Sora started, jerking back before pressing to the glass, eyes locked on the shorter of the two standing figures. It was completely hidden by the coat though. But…that voice. Before he could decide what to do, the three were gone. Could it have been? Once sure they were definitely gone, he slipped outside to look over the scene. He closed he eyes, reaching out with his other senses, nose wrinkling at the scent of Darkness. But it wasn't as strong as he expected considering there were three of them, but that fire and weapons had been very familiar. Axel…was it possible that had really been Riku…his Nobody.
With nothing else there, he returned to the mansion to tell Kairi. He didn't know if she could hear him but he didn't know that she couldn't.
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-Secret Report: Axel-
Honestly, I never got why Kirux was so crazy about Xion. I know they both joined up around the same time, and they're both rookies, but how do you get so close to somebody who hides their face all the time? Well, I saw it today. All of a sudden, No. XIV up and takes off... her hood. Xion is a girl, and she looks just like Kairi.
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"The master is in quite an unfortunate mood today."
"Kirux!" Xion hissed, and he nodded.
"I heard it too." He moved to peer around the corner, staring in confused shock.
"If only he would leave his chambers..."
"What did you see?" She whispered, hand on his shoulder.
"Would you believe...a walking, talking candelabra?" he asked, bewildered by the sight.
"Oh, come on..." she yanked him back to have a look. "Whoa, you weren't kidding. But...how can it..."
"Beats me. But it did say something about a master," he pointed out.
"So you figure it's one of the castle's servants?"
"Sounds crazy, but...maybe," he shrugged.
"Well, that covers pretty much everywhere we can get to," she was looking around warily.
"Okay, let's think this through... That candelabra mentioned something about a master, right?" he asked, and she looked back at him.
"Yeah, that he won't leave his chambers. Maybe whoever this "master" is has a room or something down at the end of the hall."
"Wanna go find out?" he smirked.
"What? But we…"
"We just need to slip by without being noticed. It'll be easy S…" he blinked, what had he been about to call her?
"You really think we can?"
He blinked but then nodded. "We can't go back empty-handed, Saïx wouldn't be too happy about that. As long as we're careful, we should be fine."
"Okay... If you say so," she agreed but it was obvious she wasn't too sure about it.
They carefully moved out of the hall they were in, attempting to sneak past the candelabra but got a little too close. They rushed back around the corner before it…he?... whirled around.
"How strange... The light-it must be playing tricks on me... Heh heh."
"Whew... He almost spotted us. Okay, we need to be more careful." This time, they were successful in sneaking past him. He paused when he saw something against the wall. "A bucket and a mop? I can't imagine trying to keep a place this huge clean."
"Exactly. Which means they must have a lot of servants," Xion whispered, neither wanting to be overheard.
They entered the West Wing and scanned the walls.
"More claw marks..." something about them was vaguely familiar, Heartless?
"The Heartless must be really out of control here," she said, agreeing with his thoughts.
"Footprints..." he pointed them out.
"Big ones... Heartless?"
"I don't know... They lead into that room back there." He led the way to the doorway ahead. "Think this is the master's room?" then they nearly jumped as a loud roar sounded.
"Wh-what was that?" she pressed closer to him, and he summoned his blade.
"Maybe just barging in is a bad idea," he whispered.
"Can you get a look at what's going on inside from here?"
Kirux nodded, shifting a bit to peer inside. He saw a dark room with torn curtains and
damaged furniture. And a beast...Kirux winced slightly at the sight…something… "Wh-what IS that thing!?"
"How dare she not join me for dinner! This is MY castle! And it is MY wish!" the beast roared.
My castle? Then he must be the master the candelabra had been talking about. But why was something about it familiar?
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Ven rushed to Sora's side, seeing him collapsed to his knees in the hall. "Sora? Are you hurt?" he touched his arm and gasped, feeling the Darkness roiling inside him. "Hey, come on Sora, focus on me. You're okay," he called to him, casting Cure just to be safe. He gripped his hands, closing his eyes, offering his own Light and strength to help Sora beat it back.
Sora took a shuddering breath, slumping towards him, and Ventus caught him. He held Sora, feeling a hand come up to tangle in his jacket. "Ven?" his voice was weak and shaky.
"I'm here, I've got you, just stay with me, don't give in." He'd thought Sora was going to be okay after they left the Castle. He'd been okay since then.
"It seems you will need to face Ansem one last time," DiZ spoke, and Ventus looked up to see the strange man. He didn't trust him, he was too secretive, but they needed his help with Kairi, Donald, and Goofy.
He felt Sora flinch slightly but then he nodded.
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They gathered at the Altar of Naught to find Xemnas waiting for them.
"The time has arrived. Look to the skies!" He raised his arms high. "There hangs the heart of all hearts - Kingdom Hearts - shining down on us at last. See the countless Hearts that have gathered? Hearts full of rage...hate...sadness...and bliss. There, in the sky, hangs the promise of a new world." He lowered his arms and faced the group.
"My friends! Remember why we have organized-all the things we hope to achieve. The strength of the human Heart is vast. Soon, though...we will have gained power over it! Never again will it...have power over us," he finished, watching them as they all watched the great moon.
His gaze moved to the two youngest, the two most important to his plans. He had hoped the boy would have gained a proper Keyblade already, he was proving to be a disappointment, one that may need to be dealt with. With XIV they didn't really need him anymore so long as the Replica continued to work.
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Mickey felt Sora floundering, sinking into the Darkness, but he would not let it take him. he reached for him, relieved when Sora stirred, reaching back, seeking help. He hadn't wanted to let him face Ansem alone but there'd been no other choice, maybe if they'd still been at Castle Oblivion they could have done it that way but instead Sora had been put into a deep sleep to let him access his own Heart. Thankfully, as he rose from the Darkness, he began to stir, waking slowly.
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Axel watched the kids return. Rumours were beginning to circulate of an imposter, he knew who he thought it was. Had he understood what Axel meant? Was he looking for Kirux? He'd seen the blue stone Kirux had picked up somewhere, it was a very close shade to Sora's eyes. He'd seen odd reactions a few times and wondered if maybe Kirux was beginning to remember. If he did, what would happen then? Would he try to run? If he did…Xemnas would never let him get away and Axel knew who would be sent after him.
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Neither Kirux or I have any memory of our human lives. I don't even remember my first days as a Nobody. Kirux said he was the same, but I'm not so sure. For me, it's a total blank. I can't even remember the day I met Kirux, or Axel. It's all a blur.
Xion put her diary away, she wanted to know why they didn't remember. Why were they different? She knew Kirux wanted to know too, but how could they find out? Axel had just shrugged it off.
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Sora stared at the progress bar, relieved to see it had moved since last he'd seen it. Not far, but it had moved. At the rate it was going it could be a few years until they woke up. Was something interfering? But how could it? he wished he knew more about computers but these were different to the ones back home and that wasn't his best class anyway. He didn't like having to trust DiZ's word though. The King knew a bit about computers but Ven knew even less than Sora did, leaving them with no one who could double check the work.
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"I hope we always have each other," Xion murmured, and they both looked at her.
"Yeah..." Kirux agreed after a moment.
"What's gotten into you?" Axel asked, taking a bite from his ice cream.
"I just...want these days to last forever. Hanging out, the ice cream, the sunsets..." she smiled softly.
"Nothing lasts forever, least of all for a bunch of Nobodies. But you know, we'll still have each other...even if things change and we can't do this anymore," Axel told them.
"Yeah?" Kirux asked, staring at him, brushing back some stubborn strands of silver hair as the wind picked up a bit.
"As long as we remember each other, we'll never be apart. Got it memorised?"
Xion laughed, "wow, Axel. That sounded ridiculous," she teased.
"What? I thought it was pretty deep," he grumbled.
Kirux gave up and joined Xion in laughter.
TBC…
