Summary: In a world destroyed by the Heartless, Sora enlists in the military to fight the every growing enemy. Between the mental and physical battles, Sora struggles to survive. As secrets are unearthed, Sora realizes he's in serious trouble. RikuXSora AxelXRoxas M for later chapters.
Author's Note: Well, it can't be too bad if you've made it this far right? As a warning, this chapter has quite a bit of angst! This chapter contains a trigger as well as abuse. You have been warned!
Chapter Three
The next three days were brutal for Riku's small squad. After the first day, many other squads decided to watch the battle between Riku and his cadets. While it annoyed Riku, Sora and Olette felt more determination to defeat their leader. They did not stop for lunch and pushed as hard as they could. On the third day, Riku decided it best to make them stop early.
He knocked Olette's and Sora's training blades away and made his own disappear.
"You guys were getting really close to getting me. Take the rest of the day off. There's no telling when you'll be getting free time again."
Riku dismissed the group and realized he forgot something.
"Wait, we need to head over to General Ansem. He wanted to meet with us today."
Olette and Sora exchanged confused looks then left for the military leader's large office. When they got in, they were awed by how big it was. Luxury was not something a lot of people had these days.
The entire squad saluted while Riku took the lead.
"General, you wanted to see us?"
The tall silver-haired man stood from his chair after pulling something from his desk. He walked to soldiers who were still saluting. First, he went to Olette and pinned two new accolades on her uniform jacket.
"Congratulations, Corporal Olette."
He moved to Sora and pinned the same pins on his jacket.
"Congratulations, Corporal Sora.
Then he went to Riku and pinned two different pins to his jacket.
"And to you, Major Riku."
He stepped back and saluted the three soldiers.
"You three have made an important discovery when fighting the supposedly extinct Nobodies. You all have depicted your bravery out there by yourselves as well as shown your dedication in your training. I know you leave tomorrow morning with Major Rai's squad. Anything you find out there will be incredibly helpful to our research team. I hope to see you when you get back. Dismissed."
The squad walked out with the excited Olette breaking the silence.
"Woah! Major Riku! Did you know about this?"
The new major shook his head with a grin. He could tell the team was excited at their promotions.
"Not at all, though I am glad you guys moved up the ranks. I'm proud of you."
Olette and Sora high-fived as Riku rolled his eyes. He led them out of the large building before departing. Though he loved his team, he really needed some alone time.
Olette went to meet with some of her other friends. She invited Sora to join her, but he politely refused. He also wanted his alone time, by pacing around the entire base.
He stopped by the cafeteria and got sweets that he had been craving for a while. He hadn't had them since before graduating. Sora began to eat the salty, but sweet, ice cream as he started back to the sleeping quarters. He knew Olette wouldn't be there while he took the time to think about everything. Sora pulled out an old textbook on the history of Nobodies and began to read through it until a loud thud came from the Major's room.
"Shut up!" Riku yelled as a crash echoed through the building.
Sora closed his book and finished his ice cream.
"That's weird...Who's in there with him?" he asked himself as he started towards the slightly opened door. Sora peeked in and saw Riku gripping broken glass in his hand, blood falling to the floor.
"Major?" he asked stepping into the small room. Riku didn't move and instead stared at the shattered glass on the ground. Sora stopped right in front of him and reached for his hand slowly, unsure of how he was going to react. The brunet gently grabbed his hand and took the glass from his grip. He pulled a small healing pack he always carried on him. After cleaning the cuts and removing the small shards, he bandaged the hand. Sora turned to pick up the glass from the floor and saw blood dripping onto the ground. He followed the drips to the Major's forearm.
"Major!" he exclaimed as he worked on cleaning the multiple cuts on the opposite arm. He noticed there were already scars under the cuts. Riku said nothing the entire time. He sat the officer on the bed while he cleaned up the mess.
"Thank you," Riku whispered.
"It's no problem, Major," Sora said as he threw away the pieces of a mirror. He sat next to Riku and patted him on the shoulder.
"If you want to...you know, talk...I'm here," Sora said unsure what else to do. He could tell Riku was feeling uncomfortable and decided not to press the matter. Sora stood. "I'll be in the sleeping quarters if you need me." Riku grabbed the brunet's arm to stop him.
"Wait," he softly said. Riku couldn't look at Sora's face. He had felt the shame and embarrassment since Sora walked in the room. He had no idea he had been in the room next door.
Sora sat back down on the bed and waited patiently while Riku struggled to find where to start.
"I've been surviving my entire life," he started with a big sigh. "My step-father was the brother of General Ansem. When I was a child, he was already a Colonel. My mother had died after getting sick. It wasn't long after, he was always angry. He had always been very...physical with me."
xXxXx
The eighteen year old Riku winced as he wrapped his broken arm. Xehanort was asleep at the table holding an empty bottle of whiskey. The bruises on his face were going to be difficult to explain if anyone else saw them. He had hoped Xehanort would be out of the house, but he wasn't.
The General had given them the house when Riku's mom died. It was very large for the two of them, yet Riku's room was bare. He had a small bed to sleep on and a pile of clothes that were in the closet.
Riku sat on his bed as he heard shuffling around and knew his step dad was awake. Xehanort opened the door and walked in, still drunk. The smell of whiskey made Riku nauseous.
"I'm sorry about last night, Son. I just don't know what I'd do if you left for the military. It's just you and me."
Riku knew where the conversation was going and tried to slip away from Xehanort. The Colonel gripped the boy's arm as hard as he could. Riku winced, but refused to let a noise escape his lips.
"I love when you look at me like that," Xehanort whispered pulling the defeated boy to him.
XxXxX
Riku paused, unable to describe what happened next. Sora figured it out and knew better than to push the matter. It was weird to be comforting his Major.
I guess everyone has their problems.
Riku swallowed, trying to continue as he closed his eyes.
Why am I telling Sora? I'm his Major and shouldn't be showing myself like this.
xXxXx
Xehanort stood and threw the empty bottle at Riku. It shattered as it fell to the ground, causing the step-father to be angry. He forced the male to clean it up, then wash his filth away.
Riku cleaned the glass. He hurt everywhere. A large piece of glass lay in front of him. Riku made sure Xehanort wasn't watching when he grabbed it. Once he was in the bathroom, he stared in the mirror. Riku couldn't even recognize the person in the mirror. His face was swollen and purple as was the rest of his body.
You're not even a person. You're disgusting. Weak.
He wanted the thoughts to stop. Xehanort's voice echoed through his mind as he stared at the glass in his hand. Riku put it to his wrist and began to dig the sharp edge into his skin. The sharp pain from the glass eased his tormenting thoughts.
Is this really your escape?
"Yes," Riku muttered to himself as he focused on his forearm. Blood dripped to the ground.
Weeks passed and the abuse got worse. His step-father had been put on suspended leave for misconduct towards other officers. Riku found it difficult to sit down once Xehanort had his way. He kept the gashes hidden under the bandage on his broken arm.
One night after being forced to have rough sex with the officer, he slowly made his way to Xehanort's bathroom. A bottle of pills sat where they had always been kept.
You're giving up?
Tears ran down the teen's face as he reached for the bottle.
"Hello? Colonel? You home?"
"I can't do this any more." Knocking.
"I need to talk with you, Brother."
He dumped the entire bottle in his hand and swallowed before he changed his mind.
xXxXx
"Then what happened?" Sora asked in shock.
Riku scoffed. "Obviously, it didn't work. General Ansem found me on the ground and immediately got the medics. I spent a few months in one of our treatment facilities. Xehanort is still sitting in the prison after being convicted of his own brother. The General asked me to join since I had nowhere else to go, so here I am."
Sora frowned and looked down at his boots. He was unsure of the feeling he had. Was it anger or sadness? The brunet brushed his hands on Riku's bandage, trying to sort his thoughts. He realized Riku wore wrist bands every time Sora saw him and let out a sigh.
"I'm not proud of it," Riku muttered. "And while I regret it, I know I'll probably do it again. I feel like Xehanort is always there. His voice is constantly in my head. I've watched countless die in front of me. There's not a single day that goes by where I don't think of them. I'm a mess," he said with a small chuckle.
Sora didn't laugh.
"I can't tell you what to do, Major. However, I would hope that you would talk to me if something happens again. I'm no expert when it comes to people in your situation, but I can let you get it off your chest and avoid...this," Sora said as he held up Riku's hand. He looked right at Riku's aquamarine eyes. "You're not just our Major. You're our leader and we need you more than you think. You're not alone."
Riku wanted to look away, yet Sora's bright blue eyes forced him to hold his gaze. They needed him and he needed to be strong. Shame flew through his body at the full realization of what he had been doing. He had let Xehanort win, but no more.
"Thank you, Sora," he whispered.
xXxXx
Roxas looked at his surroundings. The vibrant greens of the trees made him want to go blind. It was his first time outside of the Organization's hideout. Everything had been silver, white, or black...except for Axel's hair.
Axel pushed Roxas off the last stair with a laugh.
"The ground's not going to kill you. You better get used to this. We're going to be out here a while," he said as he walked pass the blond. Roxas followed behind Axel and took in the feeling of the uneven ground. The fresh air felt different to him while the sun made it difficult to see.
"It's okay, Roxas. You'll get used to it. I find it rather relaxing, if you ask me."
It does feel...nice... Roxas thought to himself as a slight breeze went by.
"So what exactly do we have to do?" the blond asked.
"There's these people who are...bad. We're working on exterminating them, but need to observe what they know and what they're capable of. They're different from us. We got word that a few squads are being sent out soon. Our job is to watch and, if the need arises, take them out."
"What are they like?"
"They look like us, but they have the ability to feel emotions. However, that is their weakness. Their fear and sadness often make them mess up on the battlefield. From what we can tell, their main focus is on releasing and collecting trapped hearts from the Heartless. Got it memorized?"
Roxas nodded as Axel continued.
"Last time I was out, I released a few of the Nobodies. You should have seen the look on their faces! From what I could tell, they thought Nobodies didn't exist anymore. Boy, are they in for a surprise!" Axel said with a laugh.
xXxXx
Dawn approached as the two squads packed for their mission. Both squads joined at the gate. The other squad was made of more people, but they looked terrified. Sora wondered if other squads trained like they did.
"Alright, you two. They're taking the east, and we're taking the west. If we run into trouble, we are to send fire into the sky to alert one another. Remember that in case we get separated and something happens. With Nobodies running around, we're going to have to watch out for them and the Heartless. Unfortunately, guards report active Heartless near the gate. Be on the watch and stay together. Separation is what they want and with only three of us, it'll be difficult to aid each other that way."
Olette and Sora nodded, already gripping their Keyblades.
No more deaths, Sora begged. If he had to watch Olette or Riku die, he wasn't sure what he would do.
"Let's go," Riku said as the gates began to open. The two majors nodded at each other, then immediately separated. Small Shadows flew from the trees before they got far. They were an easy target compared to the Snipers and Dusks.
Hours went by as they walked. Only small Heartless kept appearing. There had been no signs of any Nobodies. They managed to stop to eat after clearing an area.
"No telling when we'll be able to eat again, so make sure you fill up," Riku stated as he leaned against a tree. The group ate in silence, still cautious. Sora wanted to make sure Riku was doing okay, but didn't want Olette to question anything. He felt slightly awkward around Riku, scared that something might set him off.
When they finished, they started to head north after looking at a marked map. They could see the other squad should only be a few miles to the east. Riku folded the map and shoved it in his jacket pocket. Weak Heartless began to disappear as a few Soldiers began to emerge. It was still no contest between the Nobodies.
Night came fast and the squad decided to rest. Riku helped Sora and Olette set up their sleeping bags and handed out small rations.
"I'll take the first watch, Sora will take second, and Olette third," the major said as he leaned against a tree. It didn't take long for Sora and Olette to fall asleep. Riku circled the small camp site. The cool wind managed to make its way through the trees causing a small shiver to go through him. He liked when it was cooler. Between fighting, carrying supplies, and walking, it took a lot of of them.
Riku allowed Sora to sleep a little longer before he went to get him up, but the brunet was already waiting for him.
"Just make sure no Heartless sneak in on us. Keeping watch should be self-explanatory," Riku said as he slid into his sleeping bag. Sora nodded and began to follow Riku's trail, marked by his footprints. Sora enjoyed the time to himself. He paused on his third pass and looked down at Riku. The Major looked different with a calm expression. Sora had never seen Riku relaxed and it took him off guard. He smiled to himself and kept patrolling.
As Sora was about to wake Olette up, a small pop echoed through the air. Riku sat up and saw the small ball of fire.
"Let's go!" Riku yelled as he grabbed his sleeping bag, shoving it in his small pack. The others did the same and followed, all in Wisdom Form. They reached the trail of smoke with disappointment.
No one was there.
"Where are they?" Olette asked, observing the area. Riku walked around looking at the ground.
"It doesn't even look like anyone was ever here," he muttered.
The trail of smoke began to dissipate leaving the group clueless at what to do. They looked around for signs of anyone being there. Nothing.
Just as the team was about to leave, someone emerged from the bushes.
"Isa?" said Olette as she froze with surprise in her eyes. The blue-haired male stood in front of them with a smirk on his face. His body covered by the cloak, he lifted up a silver sword and swung it into the unsuspecting Olette.
"Olette!" Sora yelled as he dragged the girl back while Riku swung his Keyblade at Isa.
"I saw you die. Who are you?" Riku demanded. Isa blocked the attack and countered. Riku dodged the large claymore.
"The name's Saix," he said before disappearing into the darkness.
"Major!" Sora yelled as he held a bleeding Olette. Blood dripped from her mouth while she coughed.
"Hold on, Olette," Riku said as he cast healing magic over her wound. Sora kept pressure on the wound with wide eyes. She was already dead.
"We can just take her back to the base!" Sora yelled at his leader, denying her death.
Riku had seen this many times and knew when to stop.
"Sora...she's gone," he whispered.
"So was I! We can still make it!" Sora yelled, putting the lifeless girl on his back. Riku put his hand on Sora's shoulder.
"You were still hanging on by a thread, Sora. She's gone."
Sora brushed Riku's hand off and began to head towards the base.
Not her. I can't lose her too. She saved me. I still owe her.
Riku walked in front of Sora to block his way.
"Sora, put her down. We have to find the other squad."
"No!" Sora yelled, tears running down his face.
Riku pointed his Keyblade towards Sora.
"We still have a mission, Corporal. There are others that might still be alive. Put her down and gear up. That's an order," he commanded. He hated being the leader of a squad. He hated having to say things like this to people he cared about. He hated seeing so many people die in front of his eyes. Most of all, he hated seeing Sora like this.
Sora dropped to his knees as he gently put Olette on the ground. Her body was already growing cold.
"She saved me. I still owed her."
Riku put his hands on Sora's shoulders.
"Then don't go being reckless. I can't lose you both, Sora. Get a grip and help me do this so the deaths of our friends won't be in vain. I need your help in finding out what happened and who the hell this Saix is. Get on your feet and fight!"he said as he stood wielding his Keyblade. Anger filled Riku as he stared at the dried blood covering his hands.
Sora wiped the tears away and equipped Oblivion. As he stood, Nobodies circled around them. A mixture of Dusks and Samarai blocked their escape. Sora felt the rage build up instantly. He gripped the Keyblade as it consumed him. Riku turned to issue a command and saw the gold in Sora's eyes.
"Shit!" he said as he watched a shadow fall over Sora. Sora lunged at the Nobodies with speed Riku had never seen before. He twisted in the air, taking out most of the Nobodies. Riku decided not to question it until the enemy was dead. He killed a few dusks and realized Sora had taken care of the rest.
"Sora," he said softly. Sora turned with a jerk and flew at Riku. The major stopped the attack and backed away from the brunet.
"Sora! You don't want to do this. Snap out of it!" he yelled unsure if it was to survive or to get Sora back to normal.
The gold eyes held no recognition as he went in for another attack.
I can't keep this up. He's moving way too fast for me!
Riku fell down after blocking an intense hit. Gasping for air, he knew it wouldn't be long.
"Sora, please," he managed to say through his breathing. He looked straight into Sora's eyes. The brunet stopped and lowered his Keyblade. It fell to the ground beside him. Riku caught Sora as he dropped to the ground, eyes closed.
xXxXx
Roxas took out the last soldier, but not before he got the fire in the air. The blond yanked Oathkeeper from the large male. He wiped the blood from it and went to Axel. The red-head laughed and patted Roxas on the back.
"Beautiful work, but we need to get rid of all of it. I'm guessing that was some type of alarm and no telling when someone might be coming along. Where's Saix?" he asked, looking around.
Saix had already disposed of all the bodies and started on cleaning the tracks.
"You should quit talking and focus on what we're doing," Saix said glaring at Axel.
"And you should learn to chill out a bit," he said removing the last piece of evidence. He heard people running towards them.
"Pull back a little bit. Let's see what they have to say," Axel said grabbing the other two Nobodies. It was painful watching the squad look for clues. Finally, Saix had enough.
As they fought, Roxas froze at the sight of the soldier with the light brown hair.
"Axel...that guy..."
Axel turned from Roxas and looked at the brunet and realized who he was.
"He should be dead!" Axel said.
Roxas stepped from behind the tree and started to walk towards the squad. Axel pulled him back.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the red head hissed.
Roxas pointed to the soldier again. "He looks just like me," he said as Axel took a closer look. His jaw dropped. They could have been twins.
Is that how Roxas came to be? And they called Saix, 'Isa'. What is going on?
Saix walked back the other two and grinned. "That should keep them busy for a while." Axel rolled his eyes and summoned Nobodies. Saix had a lot of arrogance for not being much older than Roxas.
"Why did Xemnas send you with us?" Axel asked as he tried to piece everything together.
The blue-haired Nobody shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe combat experience? I didn't dare question him."
Roxas stopped them and exclaimed, "Look!" He pointed towards the small squad. Saix and Axel watched as the soldier transformed and attacked most of the Nobodies, then proceeded to attack his team mate.
"Well, this is interesting," a cold voice said. Xemnas emerged from the shadows and watched the fight.
"Do you know what is happening?" Axel asked, unable to take his green eyes from the two.
"That boy has been consumed by the darkness. This is rare," he muttered, then turned to the other Organization members.
"Saix, come with me. Axel. Roxas. Follow them until they reach their base. Report back immediately. Don't be afraid to give them a little pressure with the Nobodies," he said then walked away. Saix followed, leaving Roxas and Axel to watch the soldier fall to the ground.
"Axel, what do we do? He's back to normal."
"We do exactly what the boss said to do," he said in an unsatisfied tone.
xXxXx
"Thank God," Riku growled as Sora began to wake. The sun was high in the sky. Sora realized Riku was carrying him and jumped off his back.
"What happened? I just remember the Nobodies surrounding us."
Riku narrowed his eyes. "You really don't remember? You went insane and took out most of them. Has that ever happened before?" he asked leaving out the part where Sora attacked him.
Sora shook his head. "No, I still don't really know what you're talking about though."
The two reviewed the map and knew they were hours away from the base and knew that Heartless would still be wandering. Sora followed Riku, ashamed of how he had acted when Olette died.
"I'm sorry, Major Riku. I shouldn't have acted like that."
Riku snapped at him, bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep compared to the energy used.
"You think?! I know, more than anyone, what it's like to fucking lose people. It sucks, Sora, but you can't let it get to you every time someone dies or you'll end up dead too. At least you don't have to be the one responsible for everyone's deaths. Come on, let's go."
Sora followed, but came to an abrupt stop as Nobodies and Heartless stood in front of them. Riku groaned and took out his Keyblade. He was running off adrenaline and knew they needed to get home before he became a hindrance. Sora stood back-to-back with the male as the enemies began to surround them. Riku knew he didn't have enough energy.
"Sora, we have to get back to the base. I can't keep going like this!" he said, running as he killed anything in front of him. Sora took up the rear and killed anything that tried to get beside them. Sora felt extremely weak and could barely keep up. Riku kept dragging him by the arm as they got closer to the gate. Just as they broke the border of trees, the enemies disappeared. The two put their hands on their knees as they gasped for air. They had ran and fought for two hours straight. One of the squads that guarded the gate, escorted them back inside.
Sora turned and looked behind him. He thought he saw himself in the shadows, but dismissed the stupid idea and walked with Riku to the General's building.
Send Note: This would have been uploaded days ago if I wasn't juggling work (40 hours in 4 days), playing KHIIFM (again), and playing Kingdom Hearts Unchained X. I think it's KHUX? I don't know! Haha Anyway, favs and follows are greatly appreciated. However, nothing makes me happier than when I see reviews! Hope you liked!