A/N: So, I'm trying something a little different this time. This is going to be one of those epic Post-KH2 type fics. I know, I'm sorry, but the plotbunny was eating my brain. I'm still going to continue my humor fics, but I'm in a writer's block for the funny right now. This fic is going to be centered around the Organization XIII, ducks rotten fruit although most main KH characters have pretty big parts. And yes, I'm going to need to use a couple OCs ducks again. I'm trying really hard to not make them Sues/Stus, but I still am pretty new at this, so any help would be nice!
I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts and never will, unless you count the actual copy of all three games, the video game manuals for the first two, and a kickass necklace I just got for my birthday. But I doubt that counts, really.
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Chapter I: Light in Six
"Get up! Hey! Kid, get up!" Auron sighed as he pounded on the door with his one good hand. Life- well, the afterlife in his case- was being rather easy on him, but things did go out of hand. And right now one of those things was his roommate. It was an interesting story how the two of them first met.
After the whole ordeal with Hades had been settled, Hercules and his friends let Auron have a small house situated about a half-hour's walk from the stadium. He accepted, although the guardian was planning on traveling the worlds his first chance, it would be nice to have a place he could come back to and call home. Only a few days later, he had a visitor.
It was a man in a black cloak. Auron had heard of them but had never seen one, a member of Organization XIII. The cloaked man was carrying some one else, another man- or was he young enough to be a boy? The cloaked man's cargo was fast asleep, but Auron was able to register his basic features. He had dark blue, shoulder-length hair, and his clothes were way too small for him. His age could be anywhere from 18 to 23, but Auron would guess on the younger end. Auron took out his sword and prepared to strike, but the Organization member didn't look like he was going to attack, so he waited. Finally, the cloaked man spoke.
"Auron, is it? I've heard a lot about you."
Auron replied with an annoyed grunt. "Get on with it! What is it you want?"
"Heh, you're a sharp one. I heard that you call yourself a Guardian. Well, here's a guy who needs some guarding."
"So… why come to me? This world's right next to the dominion of the dead. You really think that's a safe place to put some one? Besides, what makes you think I'm going to accept?"
"You're trying to find the pages to your story, right? Think it'll be easier to do when you're an active Guardian? And don't worry about the dead people. I chose this world cause I thought it'd be safest for him. So, are you gonna do me a favor and take this guy?"
Auron paused for a few moments, deep in thought. Then- "Fine, I'll guard him for you. Just don't try pulling any funny business with me or you'll be sorry."
"Pleasure doing business with you!" The cloaked man handed off his sleeping burden to Auron. "I'll try to stop by again, but I might not get the chance. Take good care of him now! Oh! And we've been calling him LiS. Good luck." With that, the strange visitor disappeared in some kind of vortex of darkness.
That was the last time anyone from another world had been to the Stadium or its surrounding areas. That had been several months ago. It was now almost exactly three months after Xemnas' defeat.
LiS was never much trouble for Auron, the only time he really needed guarding was when he was helping to rebuild the Coliseum and a loose rock almost fell on his head (Auron had seen the danger and threw his sword at the rock, knocking it safely away). The only worrying thing had started a couple months ago. Approximately once every couple of days, without warning, LiS would seemingly be possessed by a different person. His expression would change and he would walk around aimlessly, often bumping into walls or people, and talk about random things no one in Athens understood. They often included addressing random objects as numbers, and telling whoever would listen about some vague requests or summonings from a "Superior." LiS never remembered anything he said or did while in one of his trances, and no one had heard of something like that happening before. Auron eventually decided that he would take these occurrences in stride and make sure LiS did nothing to hurt himself. When the chance to travel to another world came, Auron would try to find out more about the matter. Right now, he had more pressing concerns. Such as the fact that it was past ten in the morning and the door to LiS's room was still locked.
"LiS! It's Auron. Now. Open. The. Door!"
"Um, you need to move out of the way first." LiS was out of his room, fully dressed, and currently standing behind Auron.
"You're up already? I checked your room at nine. You would have had to get up before that. Don't think you've done that before."
LiS shrugged. "I had a lot on my mind this morning. Kinda like a strange omen or something?"
"And you didn't feel the need to wake up your bodyguard?"
"Nah, I didn't think it was anything too important."
Auron sighed. Honestly, this felt familiar, Having to watch over a naïve kid who kept on putting himself in danger. "Anything's important with what's been happening lately. Just because you don't remember acting like some one else, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be worried."
"I know, I know, but it's just like I go to sleep in one place and wake up somewhere else. Not much of a catastrophe from what I see." LiS sat down on a small chair, absentmindedly tearing apart a small blade of grass. Auron was about to speak up when there was a knock at the door. The two of them rushed to answer. Auron grinning as he got there first. He opened it to a timid villager.
"Um, excuse me, Auron?"
"Yes? Spit it out."
"There is a young woman here, she says she's from another world. I.. I thought you might be interested in talking to her. She just stopped by the village on her way to the stadium."
"Right, we're on it. Let's go LiS!"
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"Aww, not again!" Axel shook his head as he strode into Xigbar's room. Sure enough, the older member had fallen asleep atop a stack of old books and documents. It was strange, Axel knew that Xigbar's Other was a scientist but he had never before been such a research nut. Not since the Organization had reawakened.
Knowing that their mission might end in death, Xemnas had Vexen try and devise a way to return their souls to their bodies in case the worst happened. The Chilly Academic was successful, but the device was not perfect. When an Organization member died, it was able to hold onto the member's soul and keep it from fading away. Xemnas' soul was the trigger, when it went into the machine a signal went out that caused it to put the Organization's souls back in their bodies. Or something. Axel was never good with machines or technical things, manipulating people's emotions and desires was more his expertise. Anyway, that machine had saved them once, and from what he heard Xemnas wasn't so sure it could do it again.
"So, what do we have here?" Axel casually slipped out a piece of paper from under Xigbar's inert arm. A series of notes were scribbled on it. Judging from the smudges Xigbar was working on it right when he conked out. Well, Axel had intruded his superior's personal space this much already, he might as well read the darn thing.
"Let's see, it's just a series of random lines. 'The closer you get to the light, the stronger your shadow becomes'? 'Toll for the door is Light in Six hearts, acceptable replacements?' 'Light and Darkness, two sides of the same coin, alike but different'? 'Radiant Garden/Hollow Bastion, Reversal from darkness to light'? 'Recovering hearts from the darkness, using a relic from the realm of light, case file Sora'? 'Bodily possession, case file Xehanort-Riku, powers transferred to Xemnas?' 'The original code of the Order, reasons for succession?' What's all this supposed to mean?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Xigbar's smirking face was inches away from Axel's. The Freeshooter had woken up and decided to give the redhead a good scare. It worked.
"Gaah! Wha- I I wasn't reading your stuff! I mean, uh, your mom! Um…"
"Cut the crap Number Eight. So you've found my research? What are you planning on doing with it? You gonna bring it to the Superior? Or do you want to find out more?"
Axel grinned. "You should know by now how much I hate over-the-top displays of authority. What do you think I'm gonna do?"
--End Chapter I
