Here's to new chapters for many days to come: huzzah!
Disclaimer: I don't own KH characters. Don't shoot me.
.oOo.
Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence
3: Unreal Enemy
.oOo.
The wind whistled through the spikes in Axel's hair as he rocketed towards the massive skyscraper in the middle of the strange city in the city that wouldn't focus. Axel's vision was blurred, but not only because of the fuzzy horizon, but also because of what those idiots in the white throne room had said about him. He was not nobody. He would prove to each of them that he was indeed someone.
But how would the skyscraper prove such a thing? Axel had no real clue, his only reason for attacking such a huge structure being a gut feeling. Something inside that building was calling out for him, wanting him to make himself known, and Axel had every intention of fulfilling that want.
"That's right! You're a Nobody! Be proud!"
Demyx had called Axel a Nobody. It was strange, but somehow Axel had a feeling that the blonde's definition of "Nobody" was different from Axel's. Although he should have felt some sort of solace from that thought, it only acted to fuel the redhead's anger. I'll show them that I'm not any type of nobody.
As the skyscraper drew closer, Axel's feeling of assuredness at his ability to find exactly what he was looking for began to wane. This, too, infuriated him even more, and he sped up his descent upon the city.
I'll show them all.
- - -
"How could you let him go? That's unacceptable!"
Marluxia stood in the center of a ring of scorch marks on the ivory floor of the white throne room, surrounded by Vexen and the others upon their thrones. Larxene was absent from the meeting.
"It's not like we wanted him to go," Demyx said, annoyed, leaning on his right hand. "He just kinda got mad and left."
Marluxia growled. "At this rate, we'll all be here, and you're content to let Axel go about on his way!"
"Enough." Vexen stood up to his full height upon the platform directly in front of his throne. "Marluxia, you are Number 11 in this Organization, it's about time that you showed it."
Marluxia sneered up at Vexen. "Oh, so this is just a big power trip for you, Vexen? I understand. 'The Superior is gone, so I'll replace both him and his prodigal student.' I don't think so."
"You may have been the Superior's choice to reign over Castle Oblivion," Vexen said with acid dripping from every syllable, "but you were far from being the 'prodigal student' that you claim to be."
"We all know who was the Superior's favorite," Demyx said with an annoyed huff. He looked down at throne thirteen with an angry glare, then looked back at Marluxia as if he was bored.
Marluxia's fists clenched even tighter. "It doesn't matter. Axel is vital to the plans of this Organization. How could-"
"Axel is vital to your plans, Marluxia, not ours. We do not care to win back what was not ours to begin with," Vexen countered.
"Go, Marluxia. Our business here is finished," Lexaeus said in his amazingly low rumble of a voice.
Marluxia fumed silently for a moment and turned on his heel, storming out of the throne room. Demyx looked up at the other three and sighed with a shake of his head.
"Don't look at us like that," Zexion replied with a smirk. "You knew full well that Marluxia would act this way when he found out that Axel was here."
Demyx merely shrugged.
- - -
At the last moment, a sudden thought had occurred to Axel, and he had slowed his descent into the city, calmly approaching the skyscraper from the front door.
Breaking down walls isn't going to get me into the favor of whoever or whatever is drawing me here.
Axel stopped outside the front door and gazed up at the magnificence of the skyscraper. He almost felt lightheaded just from looking up that far into the distance. Shaking his head, Axel's mind came across another thought:
Who the hell am I to make a clean entrance?
Flames ignited beneath Axel and he grinned mischievously up the side of the building. Leaping into the air, Axel's feet found footing on an outcropping that ran the entire length of the building straight up. Without so much as thinking, the redhead made a blind dash straight up the side of the building, his chakrams suddenly appearing in his hands from excitement. The entire time, he was grinning.
Axel finally reached the top level of windows on the building's side. He stopped, standing perpendicular to the building, and raised a chakram. With a sudden smash, a window vanished in a flurry of flames as Axel hopped inside.
"That's more like it," Axel said as he wiped some glass shards off of his shoulder. He looked around, fingering the curves of his deadly weapons in anticipation. Axel headed down an empty corridor towards a massive double-door. With one booted foot, he kicked in the doors and stepped into what seemed to be an elegant business office. Somewhat confused, Axel looked around, realizing that no one was inside.
"Anyone in here?" Axel shouted. His voice almost seemed to echo in the vastness of the office. When there was no answer, Axel felt that burning rage well up within him again. He reached his arms out and willed the flames –
No, woah, wait. Axel grinned and put his arms down. "No need to burn up such nice upholstery, is there? I'm just looking for someone."
Axel's chakram disappeared and he approached the mahogany desk that sat so fat and comfortable in the center of the gigantic office. Upon its smooth, polished surface sat a lovely-looking computer. Axel grinned.
"Let's see where you lead," he said as he turned around the desk and began ticking away on the keyboard. Watching the screen's text whiz by, Axel grew impatient. He tapped his foot as the computer did its magic.
"What's taking so long?" he insisted. In response, the computer continued to log through several pages of text. Axel felt his impatience growing, and he raised his hand, ready to smash the electronic device, when it suddenly stopped with a ding.
The world seemed to shift upwards as Axel felt his feet leaving the ground. The ceiling above him seemed to open up and he was sent soaring through the air, head over heels. He tumbled for what seemed like forever before he felt his center of gravity shift and he landed on his back on a cold metal surface, staring up at magnificent glass windows overhead. Beyond those was the total blackness of space with bright stars twinkling happily.
Axel sat up and rubbed his head. "Stupid computer," he mumbled. He made it to his feet before he heard footsteps approaching. He dodged behind a large pillar and peeked around to see a…duck? Yeah, it was a duck. A duck wearing a blue hat and vest.
Axel's eyes widened. A white duck, walking and swinging its wings as if it were human, wearing blue. He'd seen that before…
"Wait!" Axel cried, showing himself from behind the pillar. The duck squawked in surprise and turned to look at Axel with a look that could only be described as pissed off.
The duck finally seemed to recognize Axel as being in front of him, because he suddenly quacked in alarm and shook his head. Finally, he threw up a finger and yelled what sounded like Axel to be, "Guards!"
"What? Wait!" Axel cried, but before he could move, strange white creatures that seemed to lack skeletons had surrounded him. They moved in weird, liquid-like movements and had heads split open by zippers. They had no feet, not did they have hands, but instead had wicked-looking points at the ends of their four limbs.
"Who the hell are you?" Axel grimaced at the new creatures. He flicked his wrists and his chakrams appeared in his hands. He was getting used to that feeling. Axel grinned and he spit on the ground before looking back at the creatures. "Doesn't matter who you are," he said through his grin, "you're nobody."
The creatures jumped forward, attempting to tackle Axel. Axel had seen such a move coming, however, and had leapt high into the air to rain down his twin weapons down upon the five congregated creatures. They evaporated as soon as the chakrams split them open, turning into fine mist that dissipated instantly. The chakrams returned to Axel as he knew they would, and he landed gingerly on the cold, empty ground.
Brandishing his weapons at the duck, Axel chuckled. "That all you got, featherface?"
The duck wasn't amused. "Guards!"
This time even stranger creatures appeared. They seemed to morph into something new every time they took a step. Originally, or at least from what Axel could tell, they had two legs and a pointed beak in the center. That was the entirety of their being. Yet every time they placed a foot down, they seemed to shift shape into something different. One morphed into a deadly looking spear and charged Axel, who, caught off guard, barely avoided being completely run through. In response to the attack, Axel twirled around and brought one of his weapons down on the spear's back and it evaporated, same as the first creatures.
Two more spears charged Axel, but this time he had been expecting their advances. One chakram disappeared, leaving Axel his right hand to grab one spear and twirl it to parry the second. Using the first spear, Axel skewered another, unchanged creature, causing both of them to evaporate, leaving him with three more to deal with. Taking the second spear, Axel slammed it into the ground, causing it to stick awkwardly out from the metal surface. The second chakram reappeared in Axel's hand and he chopped the suspended spear in half, letting go of his weapon at the last moment to swing around him in a wide arc, taking out both of the remaining creatures.
Standing back up again, Axel looked for the duck who could call these strange creatures, but he did not see it anywhere.
"Where are you?" Axel asked playfully. "If we play hide and seek, can I be it first? Okay, then. I'll start counting!"
Axel saw a flash of movement from behind a pillar and his grin widened devilishly. "One…"
The movement stopped, but Axel knew that it was still there. He took three full strides before continuing. "Two…"
Still, no movement, but Axel wasn't fooled. "Three…Four…Five…Six…Seven…" Axel was within striking distance of the pillar, but he wanted to be within breathing distance to land the final blow. "Eight…Nine…"
"Ten!"
A bolt of lightning rocketed down from the sky and blasted the ground at Axel's feet, throwing him off-balance. A gust of wind pushed at his front side and Axel flew backwards, into a pillar farther away than the redhead had been before playing the little game.
The duck emerged from behind the pillar brandishing a heart-shaped wand that was framed by angelic wings. Axel was confused; the person who had said "Ten!" had a different voice than the duck. The redhead looked around and he saw, on the level above himself, overseeing the encounter via a balcony, a young man with spikey brown hair. He wore interesting black clothing striped with yellow and red in places. In his hand was a massive key, silver with a yellow handle that the boy's hand fit perfectly, as if it were made for him.
That key… That boy…"What are you doing here, Nobody?" the boy asked, pointing the key at Axel. Axel felt a cold shiver go down his spine. He could feel his brow becoming wet with sweat. Adrenaline was flooding his system and everything in the room became brighter as his eyes adjusted to see things more clearly. Axel was confused, but not for long. It didn't take long for him to realize that he was experiencing an emotion that he couldn't ever remember experiencing: fear.
That key was horrid, horrid destruction, or a wonderful salvation. It depended on the wielder. It would save or destroy worlds, all based upon the will of the user. It was no ordinary key.
The Keyblade…The word rang in Axel's head as if he'd been listening to it for thousands of years. He knew full well that the boy holding the Keyblade was its rightful owner, and he had every capability of finishing Axel off, even at that distance. Axel's fear heightened as the boy took a step forward, his face stern and his voice sterner.
"I asked you a question, Nobody!" he cried. "Why are you out of the holding cell?"
Holding cell? Despite his overwhelming fear, Axel raised an eyebrow. Axel didn't belong in a holding cell.
"Answer me!" the boy cried. "I swear I'll kill you if you don't. It's not like countless Nobodies have already fallen to my blade."
Axel's other eyebrow lifted and his fear began to die off. This was his afterlife – he couldn't die. Not a second time. Could he?
Axel slowly pushed up against the cold floor and took a ready stance facing the young man. "I don't belong in any holding cell," he said with more confidence than he felt, "I belong with something here. It led me here."
The boy's eyes grew cold. Something Axel had said had struck a chord within him. "There is no one here but myself," the boy said in a huff. "If you do not belong in a holding cell, it means you don't exist. Do you exist?" he asked, the Keyblade still pointed menacingly at Axel's forehead.
Axel thought about that. He had no heart. It was impossible to exist without a heart. Therefore, he didn't exist. But if he had no heart, how could he feel the fear that he had originally felt facing this young man? It was impossible to feel emotion without a heart, even Axel knew that. Even me… Axel looked almost bewildered before he regained his composure and answered, "Of course I exist."
The boy's face grew as hard as granite. "Then you belong in a cell. Donald, detain him!"
The duck took a threatening step forward, issuing Axel to take one as well. He could take a duck. His chakrams appeared in his hands and he swung them to and fro, getting the feeling for them back into his fingers.
"Well, fine then, c'mon!" Axel cried, a grin spreading across his face. He leapt forward, his chakrams ready to strike.
"No!"
Four blue daggers lanced into the ground, sticking out of them similarly to how Axel had forced that spear creature. Lightning struck the daggers from somewhere overhead and began to seethe in the air around them. Axel was forced to stop, or risk electrocution.
"What the hell?" he hissed, backing up. The boy and Donald were also watching their footing.
A black-robed figure landed in front of Axel, facing the daggers. It turned around, its tiny frame liquid in motion but powerful nonetheless. It reached out and grabbed Axel's arm, despite his efforts to move away from it.
"You idiot!" the figure hissed, and Axel immediately came to recognize the voice.
"Larxene?" Axel blurted, surprised.
"Shh!" she hissed. "Get out of here, now!" She brandished a fifth blue dagger and threw it onto the ground. It began to spark and a large circle of electricity appeared in the air in front of her. "Go!" she cried, pushing Axel through the circle.
Axel fell for what seemed like hours. He had initially been yelling, but eventually became bored with it, as the fall seemed to be taking its time to deliver him anywhere important. Finally, he landed on his feet on the cold concrete street in front of the magnificent skyscraper that he had minutes ago scaled on foot. A figure appeared on the road behind him and he turned to raise a chakram against it. He lowered it when he realized that it was an Oranization member – the same one that had just interrupted his battle.
Larxene did not lower her hood. "You fool, back to the hideout!" she cried, seizing his arm and practically dragging him across the road and into the alleyways. Axel seized control of his arm again and the two of them continued to run for a few minutes before Larxene pointed at the same manhole that they had arrived at earlier that day.
Before opening the way to the sewer, Axel turned and looked back at the skyscraper. Dozens of strange creatures were dropping from nowhere in the sky, falling to the road around the building, scattering in their search for the challenger of their captor. Axel's eyes narrowed and he took a step towards them, but Larxene grabbed his wrist and shook her head, causing the hood to bobble back and forth.
"No, Axel. It is not a battle that we wish to fight," she said. "Let's go."
Axel stared at Larxene's shrouded face for a moment, then back at the masses of creatures searching the city. He sighed, realizing that she would not let him go, and opened the manhole. As he dropped into the darkness of the sewer, he realized that something was amiss with the entire scenario. He didn't exist. Why did he tell the boy that he did?
And who the hell was that kid, anyway? Axel knew him. He had a personal relationship with him – they…
Who was he?
Axel followed Larxene down the sewer system, the entire time lost in thought about the confrontation. He'd recognized the duck immediately, recognized the Keyblade immediately, he knew the boy from…from where?
"Don't worry, Axel," Larxene said. Axel was surprised by her tone of voice – it seemed to actually carry a concerned tone to it.
"About what?" Axel asked, his voice sarcastic and harsh.
Larxene's answer was simple, but could not have sent Axel's mind into a more horrid torture: "You'll remember him soon enough."
.oOo.
Questions left unanswered…New questions revealed…
Wtf is going on?
Find on next time – trust me, some things will definitely be revealed in the next chapter.
Review and the crickets at night will sing your name for a week.
(I wonder how many people would buy that?)
