Chakrams

I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Studios. This is a creative work that I do not profit off of in any way.

Hi, readers! Enjoy this vignette where Axel muses on his chakrams!

As Keybearers, Axel and Roxas and Xion had responsibilities to protect the worlds. And this meant traveling to the world called the Land of Departure (Seriously, who came up with these names?), and training alongside the other Keybearers: Master Aqua, Terra and Ventus. While Roxas sparred with Terra, Axel and Xion met with Master Aqua.

"Training is the utmost responsibility for a Keybearer," Master Aqua said. "As guardians for the worlds, you must constantly work to improve yourself, so that you may improve others."

"Blah, blah, blah," Axel said. "We get it. Can we get to it now?"

"Yes," Master Aqua said. "Now, I understand that Roxas and Xion have a bit more experience than you…Axel."

"Yeah, the half-pints are the old hands," Axel said. "But I can hold my own."

He raised his hand and summoned his Keyblade. Flame Liberator. He flicked his wrist and transformed it into his old trusty chakrams.

"Formchanges?" Master Aqua's mouth fell open in surprise. "You've had your Keyblade for less than three months outside of Merlin's Forest and you've learned how to use Formchanges?"

"Is that what's this is called?" Axel asked. "I wasn't sure if I was just summoning my old weapons or if this was still my Keyblade. But, yeah, not even Riku can do this."

"Yes…it's the traditional term for the ability to magically transform your Keyblade into a separate shape. It still maintains its general magic—these…charkams, did you say?" Master Aqua cleared her throat. "They maintain their ability to slay Heartless and unlock any lock."

"Really?" Axel asked. "Learn something new every day."

"Yes," Master Aqua said solemnly. "It is quite impressive, Axel. You should take pride in this accomplishment."

Awesome! Axel spun his chakrams around and they morphed back into his Keyblade. Flame Liberator had a comfortable warmth in his hand.

"Master Aqua," Xion asked, raising her hand as if she were in school. "How long was it before you learned to use Formchanges?"

"I am only able to use it in a Glider form," Master Aqua said. "My fa…Master Eraqus instructed me in this skill when I had been his student for seven years."

"You can't turn your Keyblade into any other weapon?" Xion asked, her voice soft.

"No," Master Aqua shook her head lightly.

"Umm…I think I have already," Xion rubbed her arm. "But I'm not sure it counts. I'm a Replica. I copy things."

Xion held out her hand and a moment later, an exact duplicate of an all-too-familiar claymore. She dismissed it and then summoned her Keyblade, a replica of the Kingdom Key. Master Aqua looked more curious than surprised.

"An impressive skill to be sure," Master Aqua said. "But this appears to be a separate gift. Can you hold a replicated weapon at the same time as your Keyblade?"

Xion frowned and held out both hands. There was a flickering of light, but only her Keyblade appeared. Xion's shoulders sagged.

"An excellent try. Now, let me show you the basics of more advanced spell-casting," Master Aqua said. She summoned her Keyblade, a long silvery blade with a simple design.

"What the heck?" Axel said. "That's not the Keyblade you used in the Graveyard."

"No," Master Aqua said. "This is the Master Defender. It was passed down to me by Master Eraqus."

"Passed down by your Master…" Xion nodded solemnly. "I think you're making your Master proud."

"You're very sweet," Master Aqua said. "Now, why don't you head over to the training arena? I'll be there in a few minutes."

Xion scampered off, and Axel watched her go. Master Aqua smiled softly at Xion's little form.

"I think Master Eraqus would like her very much," Master Aqua said. "I wonder sometimes, what he might have done, had things not turned out like they had. Whether he might have taken on more apprentices."

"You miss him a lot, don't you?" Axel asked. "It must have been nice to have learned the proper way. Roxas and Xion had to learn everything on the fly. I mean, they've done okay for themselves. I mean, Roxas has two Keyblades, which I still don't understand."

"I miss him more than words can express," Master Aqua murmured, placing a hand over her heart. "But…we will see him again. And you're wrong—I don't think that Roxas and Xion learned by the fly at all."

"Well, sure, they picked things up from Sora, and they probably took in a bit from Master Yen Sid."

"No, Axel," Master Aqua shook her head. "I meant you."

"Me?!" Axel said. "A Master? Even with this Formchange-y thing, I'm the farthest thing from a Master!"

"But you're a teacher. From what Roxas and Xion tell me, they owe a tremendous amount to you."

Axel was fairly certain his ears were burning. He opened his mouth to argue the point, but his tongue felt too big.

"Axel! Master Aqua! Axel! Look, look, look! I've never replicated these before!"

Axel looked up. Standing tall in the training arena was Xion, grinning broadly. In her hands, both hands, were a set of chakrams.

I suspect it's near universal that Xion can replicate other weapons besides the Kingdom Key and Isa's claymore. Axel's chakrams seemed a natural next step. And given that Master Aqua inherited her teacher's weapon, why shouldn't Xion inherit Axel's?

Thank you for reading, my dear, dear readers! Leave a comment if you're so inclined! I appreciate each and every one of you!