Genre: Action/humour
Paring/s: -
Line: "Hm, yeah. Let's get all the Organisation thinking; Oh look, I'm gay."
The Assassin leapt onto the ceiling, lying low. Inch by inch, it slinked it's way towards it's prey. The Gambler glanced up far too late. Its long arms came round, and stabbed the Gambler where its face should have been. They paused in their deadly dance, and finally the foot long dagger slid out.
The Gambler twitched a few times, then crumpled to the ground.
I raised my head, a glimmer of hope entering my eyes. The Assassin looked triumphant, as it stood up to look at me. Then a dice came flying into its side, smacking it to the ground.
I put my face back in my arms. I risked a glance at the person next to me. Luxord's eyes were fixed on the battle. His action said I'm listening, but his eyes said nobody was home. I found out why a second later. There were small speakers in his ears. The slimy bugger was listening to an I-pod. I punched him in the arm.
He sat up with an 'ouch'. "What?"
"I'm winning," the last surviving Assassin cut down his last Gambler. It jumped around, celebrating. Luxord made a groaning noise, as he ripped out his headphones. "And now, if you please."
He grudgingly passed over the wad of papers. I nearly kissed them. I handed over my own papers. I'd successfully avoided doing 'Demyx' duty for a whole month. Luxord was the youngest member at the moment, but at one glance he'd been ranked higher than Demyx. I flicked through the papers. I had to go with Zexion to the Radiant Gardens. "Oh, lame," I commented, skimming over the words. I would have to search the castle again, for the billionth time, and post out a few Dusks. Every time somebody went, they had reported that the Dusks had been killed, or wondered off. Attention span of a goldfish. Well something was in that castle, killing off Dusks, and we had to find it. It didn't say in the report, but I was reading between the lines.
There was a loud knock on my door. I grumbled from my warm sheets. The clock on the wall, which had three hands and no numbers, said it was far too early to be even thinking of getting up. The persistent human being knocked again, louder.
"It's open!" I shouted, burrowing deeper into the covers. The door clicked open.
"Get up, Number Eight," Zexion ordered. How could he sound so awake?!
"Why are you calling at this ungodly hour?" I asked, curling up into myself.
"We need to be at the Gardens early. Get your ass out of bed," his voice sounded closer.
"Make me."
Zexion smacked me hard on the shoulder. Sharp and uncomfortable. He used his book. I think he was aiming for my head, but it's hard when you can't see the target. "I have coffee."
"Coffee?" I perked up, poking my head out from under the covers. "Lies!" when I spied no warm cup, I tried to worm back under. Unfortunately Zexion was quick. He grabbed a fist full of my hair, and twisted me out. I landed painfully on the hard floor, bringing half the bed sheets with me.
"Excellent. Meet me outside in five minutes."
We I got motivated enough; I was outside in three minutes. I drew my thick trench coat tighter about my self, shivering. It was raining lightly. The air was moist from the friction of heat and dampness. The rain pattered softly into my hair, and misted over my face and shoulders.
The World that Never Was City was barely lit up. All the shop lights were off, and only the street lamps gave enough light to see. Zexion was standing in a dim patch of light, holding one of the Superiors umbrellas over his head.
"Cold," I said between my frozen lips, my breath hovering away. Zexion just nodded. "How long are we going to be there?"
"About a week. Setting up in one of the abandoned houses in the town. The place is riddled with Heartless, but it's okayish in town."
I never thought I'd live to hear Zexion saying; okayish. The cold must have been getting to him. He summoned up a darkness portal, and we stepped through.
It was raining here too.
A little more harder than in our world, but it didn't lighten our spirits much. Zexion lifted the umbrella higher, and peered around. There were no lights. I created a small flame, and tried to look beyond my nose. We were on some steps to a thatch house. I raised my hand higher, avoiding putting the umbrella alight. We were on the steps of a large courtyard. There were a few more houses flanking our one. Looking up, I saw the sky holding the stars and moon. There was a towering stone wall blocking out the view.
"Home sweet home," Zexion pulled out a rack of keys, juggling the umbrella under one arm, and using my fire as a torch. I found the one he was looking for. The inside was no better than the outside. The room was cosy, with a dead fire in the hearth and a boxy bed pressed up in the corner. The roof was leaking, making large puddles on the floor, and there was a giant computer that swallowed up half the wall.
Zexion propped up the umbrella, shaking off a few raindrops.
"Do we have food?" I asked, having a quick nosy in the small cupboards. A rat peered out from a box of empty corn flakes. I shut the door with a loud bang.
"The Dusks should be here with a few boxes full. Until then, we should get to the castle."
"Why couldn't we just stay in the castle?"
"There's a unknown enemy, with a taste for Nobodies living in that castle. I don't think so," Zexion pulled up his hood, drawing in the shadows. "Is that computer turned off? Good. Make sure the lights are off, and kick that umbrella under the bed. If there are people living in here, then we need to make sure they don't know we're dropping by for a visit."
We went back out into the rain. It was coming down in bucket loads. I was surprised I hadn't heard it inside the house. Small portals opened up, and a dozen Dusks flanked us.
"Damn it's cold."
"Number Eight, keep it down."
"Hey, I didn't say anything," I said, annoyed. The black figure in front of me paused. "Wait, then if it wasn't you, or me. Then who was that?" We drew closer together on instincts, all the time walking backwards into the darker shadows. The Dusks nervously dissolved into the early dawn.
"Reeeh, Squally!" The high pitched voice floated back to us. We stopped dead.
"Don't call me that." A second voice, sounding very annoyed, echoed back. I motioned to Zexion that we should get up onto the wall. Second later I realised it was to dark for him to see what I was pointing out. But he seemed to get the message. I bunched my legs, and sprang up, back flipping until my boots scrapped the rough stone edge. I landed like a cat; amazed I hadn't broken my neck, or hit the wall.
With a better view, I saw the smudge of Zexion, and the Dusks. Coming round the corner were two more distinctive figures. One was definitely female, she was more ahead, and the taller was male. He had something long and nasty looking slung over his shoulder. Zexion came a second later, moving like a bat. He didn't get enough momentum. His boot hit the rocky edge, but he pitched backwards, instead of forwards. The rain made the rocks slippery, and he fell right off.
"Kyaaa!"
His landing was softened by a faithful Dusk. I scrambled to see what the causality count was. The girl ran forward to see what made the noise. "Are you okay?" She bent down. Zexion answered softly, I couldn't hear over the rain. I summoned up my chakrams, as she made a move to touch him.
There was a click of a gun being put on automatic. The worse sound in the world. And that sound was being pressed up against my temple.
"Don't move."
Oh. Crap. I'd forgotten about the other one. I slowly lowered my weapons; my eyes fixed on Zexion. I mentally sent a message of help.
'Lookuplookupseemeindangerlookupdamnyou!'
By some miracle, Zexion looked up. He kicked the girl hard in the jaw, and tried to roll out of the way. The girl caught his foot, and flipped him onto his back. He made a grab for her ankles, but she dodged that too. "Turn around," the man ordered, the cold steel digging into my hood.
I called for my Assassins. They came. Silent as Death himself, they rose their arms to cut the man in half. I didn't let my eyes betray what was going to happen. In a spilt second, it was all over. He took a step forward, just as the Assassin struck. Dark blood splattered the pebbles, and he fell forwards in a rush of brown hair. I avoided being a skewered on his blade, but he knocked into me all the same. My heels banged into the edge, and I fell off the edge, failing to get a hold.
I got my hands around his neck, and flipped him. No way was I going to cushion the fall.
We landed hard. I felt all my bones rattle around in their joints, but not breaking. I didn't bother to check on the man. I leapt to my feet; something small whizzing passed my ear. Ninja star? I found Zexion in the dark, and grabbed a handful of his cloak. I took a leap for the wall, unsuccessfully landing on a power box. I scrabbled up with my extra weight, and threw Zexion the rest of the way, coming up to meet him seconds later. "Go go!" I shouted, hearing pounding footsteps.
We sprinted down the rest of the archway, coming to a small gate. We smashed it open in our haste, passing a stone window, and thundered down a flight of stairs. There were angry yells right behind us. Lighting my footsteps, I dragged Zexion towards some heavy machinery. I found the less conspicuous crack, and forced Zexion heads first into it, following the tails of his cloak. I shoved his head down, and curled up next to him, deliberately not hyperventilating. I felt, not heard the other foot falls. I closed my eyes, trying to melt into the wall. Zexion was shivering. I covered up his mouth.
"Did they come this way?"
The foot steps paused, and there was muffled shuffling. They were right above us. I crouched lower, breathing through my mouth.
"Leon, rest. You're bleeding all over the place! Stay here, and I'll scout around."
They certainly weren't keeping their voices down.
"I'm fine."
There was a strangled yelp. I guessed she had hit… Leon on the back. My Assassins do their job, and do it well. There were soft footsteps, and the girl passed over us, jumping down to the next flight of stairs. I could hear her humming. God she was annoying. I let my guard down for a moment, relaxing.
Then the girl appeared right in front of us. I stop breathing. God must have wanted to smite me for that lack of concentration. The slightest movement would give us away. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, and then lit us up. Game over. I finally saw my enemy. She was all in black. Small and perky. She looked right at us. Then turned around with a shrug. Zexion had just saved our lives. He'd created an illusion that there was just a rock wall.
I didn't let my breath out until she and Leon were long gone and the rain had started to ease up. My bones had moulded into place, and complained loudly as I crawled out of the machinery. I made a job for cracking every joint as I stretched.
By the time we set off for the Castle, dawn was well passed. We took extra care. We had no idea where those two had gone, but we weren't taking any chances. We sent out Dusks to patrol a twenty-yard radius. So far we were safe.
Zexion finally broke the silence. "What were they doing here? Hollow Bastion's hardly a place for a holiday."
"What did you say to the girl?"
"I threatened her. But I think she either didn't hear, or thought I'd hit my head badly and was confused. What about you. You could have taken the other one."
I pulled on my cuffs. "I think we both know the answer. You would have been fine under better circumstances. Rain. Early morning. Not expecting it."
We got cut off as a Dusk flittered in front of us.
Approaching the Castle battlements, My liege. There seems to be no way up. Or down
Zexion frowned, growing quiet. We stopped finally, on the edge of a sharp drop. Down down down. I could make out the bottom. Shards of rocks and water. In the distance, there was the Castle. The Dusk was right. There appeared to be no way of getting in at all. "How on earth are we gonna get down…. Or up?"
"You'd need wings."
A happy voice chirped behind us. I nearly leapt off the edge in fright. Zexion grabbed my upper arm. Somebody giggled. A Dusk appeared, looking tired.
My liege! There's a –" I know!" I kicked the Dusk off the cliff face. It re-appear, looking sulky. It had come too late.
"Hi!" Hovering a few meter's off the ground, was a girl. She had long blond hair, and was wearing an equally bright attire. She waved.
Zexion was the first to recover. "You don't have wings either."
"Oh um, you can't see them," She span on the spot, and showed us her back. Her shoulder blades glowed for a second, then out sprouted white feathers. "There we go." Zexion didn't have a smart comeback for that.
"What are you? Who are you?" I demanded.
"I'm-"
"Rikku!"
"Yuna, Paine!"
"There you are. Don't run off, we'd nearly got that shiny charm off that blade."
"I'm sorry."
"Hey, who's this? Treasure?"
"I don't think so. They look like travellers."
"And their clothes are kinda tacky. But those silver chains and beads look like they could make some munny."
"Long coats equal long pockets. Maybe they're hiding out on us."
"Hey! Don't touch me, midget!"
"Aww, that wasn't very nice. I just wanna look at that chain, mister."
"Hey, they do have pockets."
"Personal space! Get out of it!"
"There's a cookie in this one's pocket."
"STOP IT!" A shock wave rippled off Zexion, sending the fairies flying backwards. The blond sniffled, rubbing her head. "And give that back to me," he snatched the cookie out of one with black devil wings hands.
"So it was you who stole the last cookie!" I accused.
"Please, Number Eight," Zexion massaged his temples.
"That's a funny name," one with a long blue shirt put a finger to her chin. "My name's, Yuna."
"Rikku," the one we first encountered.
"Paine," the one with black wings.
They did a small pose. "We're treasure hunters."
"Hollow Bastion's no place for that kind of thing," Zexion informed with a sweep of his hand. "Hate to break it to you, but this world is dying."
"No treasure?"
"Afraid not."
"Aw."
I eyed them up. "Hey, do you three have the power to fly us over to that Castle?"
"We could…" Rikku clapped her hands together slyly. "But you gotta give us something in return."
"Um... well what do you want?"
"Treasure, duh."
"Then we'll get some for you."
The girls made excited noises. They huddled together.
"Hm, think we can take their word for it?" Rikku sighed.
"Never mind that, what about… you-know-who?" Yuna pointed out. "If she finds out we brought strangers into her Castle, she'll never give us our treasure."
"Fake it," Paine said. "Let's make sure she's well out of the way, while we keep an eye on them."
"They seem pretty strong," Yuna agreed. "So if we do get into trouble, they can get us out of it."
Rikku tugged on Yuna's sleeve, and nodded that we could hear them. They moved a few feet away, lowering their voices. I turned to Zexion. "Who'd you reckon they talking about?"
"Must be the person killing off our Dusk," Zexion drummed his fingers on his crossed arms. "Then we must eliminate 'her'"
I wouldn't have called it a Castle. Maybe if you squinted titled your head, and it was pitch black, then maybe, just maybe it'd looked like one. I'd wryly pointed this out to Zexion. He didn't take to my humour to well.
I didn't think he liked travelling via fairy power.
"Funny. Sai'x didn't mention these butterflies on his report," Zexion muttered, as we alighted down on the cold bricks, facing the double doors.
"Maybe he didn't see them. Or they just got here. Or-"
"- A hundred other things, maybe, Number Eight. Sai'x might be secretly blind for all we know," he smirked, running a hand along the doors, to short to pull on the doorknockers. Rikku, Yuna and Paine were fluttering nervously behind us.
"Here," I released the door, and it swung inwards with a gentle moan. We walked off, leaving the girls behind us.
"Hey!" Yuna boldly spoke up. "Reward?"
"Oh yeah. Um, we need to do this all week. So well give it to you after that. Kay?" I cheerfully waved my hand. The girls fumed.
I made a few globs of concentrated fire. They hovered away, showing us where to put out feet. The corridor we walked down must lead to a bigger chamber, I guessed. I told a few Dusks to scout around, and to report back if there was any trouble ahead.
"Your maturing everyday," Zexion commented, keeping one hand flat on the wall. "I'm glad you came instead of Number Ten."
"Thanks," I let myself glow with fault pride for a second. We came out into the chamber. I created more fire, lighting up the whole place. There was a fountain, and above us was a floating disc. Crude statues were everywhere. It smelt old.
"Nobody has been here for a long time," Zexion whispered, boots echoing around the room. "We could assume that 'she' is living higher up, or doesn't know how to use the front door," he inspected the fountain.
"The water is fresh," I observed, eyes quickly darting to the side. That could be the hint of life. Or that there was an ungrounded water supply.
"Hm," Zexion hummed slightly, gliding up the stairs. He cried out. I vaulted the rails, and ran to him. "Blocked," Zexion swore, hands on a small door. It had a Heartless symbol on it. It was clear that you had to open it by slotting in the missing pieces of the heart.
I let out a shaky breath. "Jesus. Don't do that."
"Worried?" He asked innocently, climbing onto the rails. I bit on my tongue; now equally worried he was going to fall off the rails. He sprang up, doing an acrobat flip, and his hands got a firm grip on the disc. "Damnit!" he struggled to pull himself up.
"Apart from you lacking the height," I shook my head, grinning. "You don't have the weight as well. To push yourself forward."
I demonstrated, and soared over his head, landing in the middle of the platform. I turned to him, still failing about. "Less time with your nose in a book, and more time working out," I suggested.
Zexion hissed between clenched teeth. "Weight? You're skin and bone."
"How would you know that?" I flicked him off like an annoying piece of lint.
"The way your coat falls, idiot."
"Checking me out, where you? Maybe I'll just leave you there for a while," I said, grinning dangerously.
"Axel!" he yelled desperately, sounding frightened. I turned back, expecting him to grovel for a lift. But his eyes were fixed over my shoulder. "Get down!!"
Something heavy and menacing hit my back. I scrabbled for a hold. Zexion's hand shot out, grabbing my upper arm. His fingers on the platform started to slip with the extra weight. "The Dusks!" I yelled in outrage.
Whatever hit me had yellow eyes. It stepped from the shadows. Hanging from its jaws were the Dusk sentries. I suppose we should have learnt from the last time. It was a Heartless. The ugly symbol was burnt onto its forehead. It was massive, on all fours, with a wriggling tail. The tail was alive with snakes. It snarled, dropping the Dusk.
It lunged again, slamming into the platform with a huge shock wave. We tipped alarming fast. The Heartless yowled, and lightning stuck all around us. At once the platform hummed, and shot up. Fast.
It hadn't been used in so long; it wasn't used to the powerful jolt. It crushed the Heartless on the roof. Zexion yelled, as claws sunk into his hand.
"Burn!" I threw up my free hand, setting the Heartless alight. It screamed in agony, confused at the mounting pressure from below, and now the smell of it's burning flesh joined in.
There was a second whirr. My stomach flipped. Landed somewhere in my mouth. The platform was racing back down. I was going to be crushed! The wild flames crackled loudly, and hot saliva dribbled from the beasts jaws as it hung off the edge, grinning as we sped towards our death.
I grabbed Zexion round the waist. Slammed my feet on the base of the platform. Kicked off. I hit the fountain. My brain exploded as I hit something hard and very solid. I sat up. My vision wavered, and I coughed up water. Zexion was already up.
There were flames dancing everywhere. Zexion was making an illusion. I got out my chakrams, spinning them. They caught on fire. The Heartless had recovered from the first blow. It reared up just as I threw my flaming chakrams. One sank into an eye socket. The other buried it self into the gut. Flames weave themselves over the dark fur.
Then it was over.
The Heartless slowly dissolved away. The flames died. The fountain dripped away.
"You're bleeding," Zexion said, behind me. My hair felt damp. Heavy from the water. And something else.
"M'fine," I mumbled, walking towards him. The world swam even worse. I clutched my head, and wobbled. Zexion grabbed me in a strong embrace.
"Stop moving. Let me see."
"Is it okay… if I rest here?" my chin drooped onto Zexion's shoulder. "It hurts."
I woke up feeling secure. Something was keeping me warm.
A fire's crackle. I was back in the house.
"Day one. Failed," Zexion said from the wall, leaning against it. I rubbed my eyes, finding no gloves. "It's dangerous wearing wet clothes, Number Eight. And you're hurt as well."
"Sorry," I tried to sit up.
"Don't be. You broke the skin when you hit the fountain. Nasty blow."
I looked round the room. Again, that computer drew my eyes. "Why is that here?"
Zexion looked tired. The fire shadowed up his face. "You might not know, but there's something under Hollow Bastion that belongs to us. The original Members lived here, too. Ansem created the computer system," he gestured at the computer. "I wouldn't call it his pride and joy, but he was damn proud of it."
"So, this is it then?"
"No. The main computer is somewhere else. 'Ienzo' can't remember where. The further away I am from him, the less I remember," Zexion brought his arms up and held himself. "It's odd. Loosing yourself. Do you remember how you died?"
"Hardly. I remember fire. Isn't that how it goes?"
"No," Zexion lowered his eyes. "Those are lies we feed to shut up the newbies. I remember our lab, exploding. Hearing Braig, Dilan, Even… when Braig's guns ran out, I knew we were dead. The Heartless just kept coming. And then Xemnas' Heartless, laughing. Nothing. I remember falling."
I shivered. "I don't want to remember."
The next day was just a waste of time. We had waited on the peak all morning. About lunchtime, the fairies had come back.
"Treasure."
They would not be moved until we gave them their reward. Problem was, we'd plan to just give them an illusion of treasure, and make our escape before they killed us. We went back to the house, defeated.
"Why can't we use a darkness portal?" I whined, as we reclined on one of the rooftops. Zexion was creating a chain of air bubbles with his finger.
"Because of the Heartless. They'll smell it, and come flocking. And if we're being watched, they will easily tag us."
I sulked, annoyed with Zexion's answer. It was logically. He patted my shoulder.
"Relax. We have the whole day to think up something better than Dusk sentries."
We flitted by the rooftops, landing softly like cats on the prowl. I felt like a ninja. And that was when I saw the girl for a second time. She was poking around in a shop. Zexion was in front of me. He hadn't seen her yet. I cannoned into him, sending us to the ground. I rolled us both until we were hidden on the other side of the roof. Zexions hair was all over the place.
"Explain now, or loose your limbs," he was not very amused that I was on top of him, shoving his nose into the tiles.
"It's that freaky girl again," I whispered.
"So her companion mustn't be far behind," said the lazy voice of Leon. He was good. We'd been caught with our hoods down. I hid most of my face, and secretly pulled up Zexion's. "Now get up slowly, and I won't have to blow your brains out."
"Why are you attacking us? We haven't done anything."
"Your suspicious."
"What are you even doing here?-" I said, raising my voice.
"I'm going to do something," Zexion muttered. "Don't panic, or move."
"Oi!"
Leon was suddenly running over us. I'd seen myself leap up, and jump to the next roof. Well I'd seen my copy do that. Zexion had then hid us on the tiles. We staid like that for over half an hour.
Finally we fell off the roof. We were in some kind of plaza. There were run down shops lining the courtyard. "Over here," I called. The window display the ninja girl had broken was filled with all kinds of dusty jewellery. "Know what I'm thinking?" I asked as Zexion hovered by my elbow.
"Hm, yeah. Let's get all the Organisation thinking; Oh look, I'm gay."
"Half the Members wear ear rings, Zexion," I deadpanned, grabbing a hand fill of trinkets.
"Amazing, my point still stands thus."
Sarcastic Zexion is not my favourite of his many faces. "Give them to the fairies." Zexion finally became serious.
"Yeah. How come they didn't steal them before?"
"I don't think they could smash the window down."
"… what about their magic?"
Zexion stared at me. "Number Eight. Please don't tell me you actually believe in fairy magic?"
"Uh no!" I quickly said, waving my hands.
"Demyx told me how he died."
I was sitting in front of the fireplace, polishing a large bracelet. It had a fat ruby incrusted in the middle, and the symbols of The King all round the silver. Zexion was on the single bed, letting the light play off the fifteen rings he had on his fingers. He grunted to show he was listening.
"Is that normal?"
"For friends to share that kind of thing. Yes, Number Eight."
"Not that. I mean to remember how you lost your heart. You're supposed to forget."
"It may differ. He's always had the strongest believe we still have hearts. Do you pity him for that?"
I didn't answer. I watched the fire, letting the bracelet dazzle me with white spots. Zexion rustled around with the rest of the treasure. He held up something that blinded me with blue light. Between forefinger and thumb was a small blue hollowed out marble. It was pretty in a simple kind of way.
"You know Twilight Town?" Zexion asked, rolling the blue marble, looking like a cat that'd caught a fat mouse.
"Hm," I lay back on the wooden boards, letting the heat soak into me.
For ten minutes he was silent, shuffling around, finding something. Collecting data. At last he came over to where I was dozing off. He lazily stroked my hair to get my attention. He showed me four glass marbles. Blue, Green, Yellow and Red. He drew something in mid air. Slowly, it took shape, gathering the molecules around itself. A blue trophy appeared. The soft metal was shaped like feathers; twisting and bending like the wind. I took hold of the strong image. "What's this?"
He put the marbles on each tip. "A gift. That town needs a bone to gnaw on. I'll leave a note with it. 'Struggle.'"
On the fourth day we couldn't find the fairies. We took yesterday to plan out everything. Zexion finally caved into the teleporting thing. We needed to get higher up, so we were going to try and get to one of the turrets. As we hardly knew the place, so we had to concentrate extra hard.
As we walked out of the darkness, we met the wind in full force. "Co-ordinates off, sir." I reported. We were on one of the many roofs of the Castle. I tried to walk forward, but the roof was to steep and the tiles too slippery.
"Over there." I pointed to a small tower. Zexion was hugging onto the tiles for dear life.
"Have you noticed the sheer drop?"
"Yes."
"You jump first then."
I drew my self up. Judging by the wind, I would be blown slightly to one side when I jumped. The gap was a good few feet wide. I didn't feel quiet so plucky any more. I braced my legs, and ran forward. And slipped spectacularly.
My leg foot collapsed, and I came down on it hard. My knee hit first, and then that to caved in. I hit my chin, and started to roll. I scrambled, using my hips and trying to find a good footing with hands and legs.
"Here!" Zexion span on the tiles, and extended a hand. I clutched to my only life line, watching bits of rubble tumble off the sides, and into oblivion. "Sweet KingdomHeart…" Zexion sounded close to a nervous break down. I let out a very shaky breath, and tasted blood in my mouth.
If anyone could of seen us now, they would have been having a right old laugh.
"Try again?" I asked, actually starting to laugh myself. This time I balanced on the very top, arms spread out. I looked like an idiot, but I'd rather not be pancaked on the ground. I got on to the balls of my feet, and this time I didn't fall back down. I went through the same procedure, and kicked off. I ran down for a few meters, then pushed off hard on the very edge. The wind hit me full force, but I propelled myself forward by doing a neat flip.
My boots hit the bricks of the tower, and I fell into it. The pain I felt when I hit the floor was good. I knew I was alive. The tower was about five paces wide, and circular. There were about four open arches. Classical turret style.
I went to one of the arches, and waved to Zexion. "Your turn!"
Zexion looked white as he clambered onto the top bracket. He paused for a few seconds, then was sprinting to the edge. Too soon he was air born. All too late I saw he wasn't going to make it. But he surprised me. He threw out his weapon, and jumped onto it, and used it like an extra springboard.
The wind changed.
And blew him backwards.
I launched myself forward, and made a wild grab for him. Some how I found his hand. I pulled him in, stumbling backwards. I wavered, holding onto my precious bundle, and trying not to fall backwards down the spiral stairs.
Zexion was shaking like a leaf. This was raw fear. Fear doesn't necessarily come straight from the heart.
"It's over Zexy," I gave his back a rub. Then he slugged me hard in the gut. I fell backwards. The racket I made falling down the stairs could have woken the dead. I landed on the back of my neck, cloak falling around me and my hood covering up my face. I seemed to be doing the wrong thing a lot these days.
Something landed in front of me. I looked up, expecting Heartless. What I didn't expect was another human. I froze, wondering if I could just melt into the floorboards. The boy slowly lowered his hands, dropping some kind of blade to his hip.
I heard the pounding footsteps of Zexion. I jumped up, startling the boy. I grabbed his wrist, and pulled him behind the first door I found. It was some kind of closet. He looked indignant about being manhandled. I looked thought he keyhole, and watched Zexion walking passed, obviously looking for me. I summoned up an Assassin, and told it to tag him.
Finally, I turned back to my new companion.
It was weird. The kid reminded me of the Superior. "Who are you?" I asked.
"Who are you?" He countered, sitting down on an over turned bucket. I lent on the door, folding my arms.
"Fine. Why are you here?"
He frowned. "I… can't remember. But I know I'm looking for someone. Someone important."
"Do you know where you are?"
"No."
"Who brought you here?"
"Is this twenty questions?"
"Ah-no. It's just strange for a kid to be wondering around Hollow Bastion. Dangerous you know."
"What are those things?" He asked softly, rubbing his arms. "They come from the darkness."
"Heartless?"
"Right," he went silent. I sighed. The kid looked really sad.
"See that guy that was following me?" he nodded. "I'm going to get my own back. Want to help me?"
His marine eyes lit up.
"Oh. And if you won't give me your name, I'll have to make one up… let's see," I mimed thoughtfulness. "Gin?"
"What?"
"It's Japanese for silver."
He pulled at a lock of his hair. "I see. That's something you name your dog after."
"How fitting," I opened the door, letting in sunlight. The boy narrowed his eyes, bringing up a hand.
"It's Riku."
"Number Eight! What is this?" I didn't think it would last very long. Zexion had managed to sniff us out. At least he'd remembered to pull up his hood. He grabbed Riku by the ear, making him yelp.
"It's a boy. Being stuffed in a lab half your life, you might not know what it-"
"I know what he is! I meant why is he with you?"
I'm thinking of keeping him as a pet. And re-name him fluffy. I managed to hold my tongue. "When you were finding me, didn't you notice something else?"
Zexion stopped ranting on. He nodded. "Yeah. Xemnas' scent," Zexion wearily glanced up, expecting to see Xemnas hanging from the roof. Actually I didn't blaming him for thinking that. Our beloved leader was probably insane enough to do that.
"Ta da," I lifted up Riku, and span him round once. I buried my nose into his mane of silver hair. "I knew I wasn't imagining it."
A small light bulb clicked over Zexions head. He'd made the connection. "You want to bring him back with us?"
I let Riku back down. I think if I'd ever wanted a kid of my own, I'd want one like Riku. Out of the hour I'd spent with him, I learnt a lot about him. He didn't speak much, but I didn't need him to.
"No. He was put here for a reason. Our destiny's were intertwined, but not connected."
"You're leaving me."
It turned out Riku had been killing off our Nobodies. 'She' was still a mystery to us. I hinted to Riku that there was someone else in the Castle. It would keep him busy for a few weeks.
"That was a waste of time," Zexion stretched, picking up Xemnas' umbrella. "We should tell Xemnas that the Castle already has a master. It's a dump anyway."
I packed away the rest of the trinkets we'd found. They glittered as I poured them into a leather bag. "What's stopping us from making a Castle?"
"Time, I guess. I hope for the both of us that kid doesn't cross our paths again."
"I think he will," I played with a ring, smiling. "He's the kind that naturally attracts trouble."
Xemnas swallowed up our report. We told him about Leon, and the ninja girl. And how the Heartless flow had lessened. Then about the three fairy, and the mention of 'her'. We missed out Riku. He even took in my idea of making a Castle. He called it the Oblivion Project. But he didn't promise anything. I was more than happy about being back in my own room. Xemnas had been marginally kind and given me a few days off.
My white wash room was just how I'd left it. I was planning to sleep for two days.
I was not planning on sharing my bed. That made it hard when someone was already in it. It was a small girl. It looked like she had just been dropped on my bed, and been left there. Her sand blond hair was spread like a spider's web, and she was wearing white rags.
She woke up went I shut the door. She looked at me. I'm not sure who was more surprised.
END
Trying to get my time line right. So this is about the time Sora's left his Island, and Riku's been dumped in Hollow Bastion. It's been quiet a few years since I played KingdomHearts, so I can't remember if Riku did anything…. He's been touched by the darkness, but he doesn't have Ansem inside himself yet. But Zexion can still smell it on him. If… hm, that makes sense?
That goes for Kairi as well. Did it say when she lost her heart? Cos I can't remember.
And the ending kinda tailed off until I just had to put something xp
-Ixi