Keyblade

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 everybody! I hope you all like this newest vignette!

"Strictly speaking, your Keyblade shouldn't undergo much damage from wear or conflict while in the Realm of Light or the Realm In-between," Master Aqua said. "With that said, regular maintenance and polish will allow strengthen both your Keyblade and your bond with it. The Keyblade, in some respects, is almost an extension of your heart. Treat it accordingly."

Axel picked up a cloth and began rubbing it against the hilt of his Keyblade, Flame Liberator. The hilt was almost exactly like one of his old chakrams…which meant that it was pointy. And tore his washcloth.

"Any advice?" Axel whispered. "This isn't as easy as it looks."

"Honestly," Ven whispered, "I think this is just something Master Eraqus had us do when he wanted us out of his hair for a few hours."

"I heard that!" Master Aqua said. "Ven, after you finish with your Keyblade, you have to…dust all the books in the library.

"Ahhh, Aqua…" Ven said. "I didn't meant it as a bad thing…"

Ven's protest was cut off as Master Aqua ruffled his hair. He grinned sheepishly and went back to his work.

Axel looked up and down the table. Every single Keybearer, even King Mickey, was here. This was the first time that Axel could remember they'd all been together since just after the Keyblade War when Sora vanished. But even with that, Sora was here too. And that meant everyone had their Keyblades.

Axel's own Keyblade was Flame Liberator. And it was the most awesome Keyblade in the history of Keyblades. Sure, it didn't really look like a key…but it was made of fire! The hilt was like his old chakram but the blade itself was a curved blade of flames. Not just a super-hot plasma beam like Xemnas's old Etheral Blade, Flame Liberator was literal fire. This made it very tricky to handle, but darn it if Axel didn't have a better handle of even Master-level magic than anyone else, even Master Aqua and King Mickey.

Beside him, Ven used Wayward Wind. It was a nice enough Keyblade, but it was kind of oddly shaped. But then again, Ven held it backwards. The handle was much longer compared to the length of the rest of the Keyblade. But hey, different strokes for different folks. Ven sure seemed to like using it.

On Axel's other side, Sora and Xion were sitting next to each other. They had spent quite a bit of time together lately. Made sense, since they both used the Kingdom Key. Their Keyblade was simple in its design. A simple golden handle, with a silver blade. And it actually looked like a real key. It suited them, since they both had a habit of opening their ways through people's hearts. Complete strangers would become friends in a matter of minutes with those two. Axel would have thought that Xion would customize her Keyblade with any of the six zillion Keychains Sora and Roxas had collected to modify its shape, but she said she liked using Replica Kingdom Key. It made her feel closer to Sora, who had apparently decided that Xion was his unofficial little sister.

Across from Sora and Xion was Roxas, who was having quite a time trying to tend to his two Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion. They were originally Sora and Ven's…Axel still was a little shaky on how Roxas was able to use two Keyblades now, since Ven and Sora were both awake, but he'd worry about that another time. Oathkeeper and Oblivion were almost completely opposite from one another. Oathkeeper was long and thin and a shiny gold-white. Its teeth were pointy. Oblivion was . But the meaning behind them…a kept promise and a return from nothingness. Those fit Roxas as well as anything Axel could think of.

On the far end of the table, Terra sat with his Keyblade, Ends of the Earth. Now that was a mouthful of a name for a Keyblade. And it was huge, much longer and with much wider teeth than anyone else's Keyblade. But it suited Terra just fine—physically, he was way stronger than anyone else, and it supplemented his earth-based magic. It reminded Axel of Aeleus, who as Lexaeus had used a similarly large weapon and magic. And come to think of it, Aeleus had a quiet demeanor and liked using big words, the same as Terra.

Across from Terra were Riku and Kairi. Riku's Keyblade was, apart from Flame Liberator, the least Key-shaped Keyblade that Axel had ever seen…unless they counted car keys, but most of the Guardians couldn't drive. That said, Braveheart had fantastic balance and duality, which fit Riku—Mister Completely-Mastered-Darkness—like a glove. Kairi's Keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, was almost a complete opposite. It was flowery and half the handle was literally water and it was a veritable explosion of color. Despite this seemingly fragile appearance, Kairi's Keyblade, and Kairi herself, were far stronger than they looked.

Master Aqua and King Mickey stood, their own Keyblades in hand. King Mickey held another Kingdom Key, like Sora and Xion. But his was all blue with itty bitty golden stars. King Mickey had said he had fused his own golden Kingdom Key from the Realm of Darkness with his Star Seeker from the Realm of Light…Axel wasn't sure how that worked, but King Mickey was a mage on par with Yen Sid, so he wouldn't question it. Master Aqua held the Master's Defender. It was a simple design, almost like the Kingdom Keys, but longer and a considerably darker color, but it boasted great resilience.

So many different Keyblades…Axel mused to himself as he continued to tend to Flame Liberator. But then, there were so many different people. And yet, their Keyblades suited them all so perfectly. He wasn't too proud to admit that he was the least experienced with a Keyblade—even Kairi had a teeny bit more experience than he did. But then again…was that really so bad? There was so much more to learn about Keyblades…he would meet it in time. And one day, it would be him giving the lectures on Keyblade instructon. Keyblade Master Axel. He liked the sound of that.

I must say, I like the sound of "Keyblade Master Axel" very much myself.

Thank you for reading my dear, dear readers. Le