For the record, I'll mainly be going of the manga version of 385/2 days since that gave the Organization members more character. Also I have not played Dream Drop Distance but I am aware of some of the major plot points such as Nobodies being able to grow new hearts.
Also this story was inspired by both "Fate: Souls and Singularities" by Mundatorem and "Kingdom Hearts: Grand Order" by KingSora3. I highly recommend you check out both of those amazing stories.
I'll also be posting this story on Spacebattles.
Footsteps rang out through the large room as a boy with blond, spiky hair, blue eyes walked into the room to encounter a man wearing a red and black coat and covered in red bandages, save for his mouth and right eye which was a bright orange.
"At last, the Keyblade's chosen one." The man spoke.
"Who are you talking to? Me?" Roxas questioned him.
"To half of Sora, of course." The man said. "You reside in darkness. What I need is some one who can move about the realm of light and Destroy Organization XIII."
"Why? Who are you?" Roxas asked the man. How does he know about Organization XIII and what business does he have with them?
"I am a servant of the world." The man said cryptically before laughing.
"And if I'm a Servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best." He mocked the Nobody.
Roxas narrowed his eyes. "Was that... Was that supposed to be a joke? 'Cause I'm not laughing!" He called out in anger as he called forth his Keyblade and charged at the man.
Roxas swung his Keyblade only for it to pass right through the man before turning around and looking at him in shock.
"My apologies. This is only a data-based projection." The man informed Roxas, no doubt amused by the boys inability to hit him.
Roxas let out a cry of anger before turning to swing a flurry of attacks with his Keyblade at projection. Hacking away in a vain attempt to vent his frustration and hurt the doctor. Tiring himself out, Roxas attempted one last swing on the hologram with it disappearing before the attack could connect.
Exhausted, Roxas was left panting as his arms limply held the keyblade before the hologram appeared again, this time right behind him.
"Come, over here." The man said as Roxas snapped his head around to glare at him.
"I hate you so much!" Roxas said as he readied his Keyblade.
"You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He's far too nice for his own good." The man said, not taking Roxas seriously.
"No!" Roxas shouted in defiance. "My heart belongs to me!" He yelled before charge at the hologram and swinging his Keyblade at it once again, only for it to disappear.
The, the singular object in the room, a pod that looked like a flower opened up to reveal a boy with brown spiky hair and a familiar face. A face Roxas knew all to well.
"Sora." Roxas said in recognition of the boy, his Somebody. Acknowledging the situation, Roxas dropped his stance and took a step towards the boy. Stuck in a lab that won't let him make a Corridor of Darkness, the Organization still hunting him, and his Somebody right in front of him, he knew where this was going.
"You're lucky." Roxas said to the unconscious Sora in bitter acceptance. "Looks like my Summer vacation is over." He said before being absorbed back into Sora.
Roxas' vision was enveloped by darkness as he disappeared, leaving behind nothing just like all other Nobodies once they perish. Now he was left alone with nothing but himself, darkness, and that giant ball of light.
Wait, what was that last part?
Roxas saw a large ball of light alone in an endless space of darkness but before he say anything he felt information rush into his head, information about a place after death. A... a Throne of Heroes?
A place where legends live, but what does that have to do with him? His head hurt as information flooded into his mind, it was agonizing. He still didn't understand, wasn't he supposed to disappear?
Before he could question anything further he felt something pull at him. It was an odd feeling, it felt as though someone was calling out to him. Although he didn't know how he knew, he just knew someone was calling for help.
He wasn't sure he'd call himself a hero, but he also wasn't the type to just sit back and do nothing. Not really seeing any other options, Roxas answered the call and felt himself get dragged into the light.
"Come on." Olga Marie said in an anxious tone as she continuously looked over her shoulder in worry as the trio watched the shield on the floor. Mash had a similar expression on her face.
"Um.. Is it supposed to take this long?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked as she fidgeted in place, only to flinch back as Olga turned to her with a glare and a sharp retort before holding her tongue.
"It depends." She growled out through grit teeth. Seeing the Director wasn't going to elaborate further, Mash took this as her cue to explain.
"You see Senpai, normally to summon a servant you would need a catalyst related to them. But thanks to the Fate system we no longer need one to summon a Servant, however now we can't control which Servant we summon and it's up to them as to whether they answer it or not." Mash explained. Ritsuka understood none of that, she didn't even know what a Servant was until a few minutes ago.
"So... We're gonna get help?" Ritsuka asked.
Mash winced. "I- ...Maybe?"
"Oh... I see." Ritsuka said. "Well, you've done a good job keeping me and the Director safe so I'm sure we'll be able to get by with just you."
Mash gave a sad look in response. "That's very kind Senpai.. But-"
"Wait." Olga interrupted the two. "Something happening." True to her word, a ring of spheres of light sprung to life right above the giant, cross-shaped shield.
They stared intently as the spheres began to rotate rapidly, eventually forming a complete ring of light, shooting inwards as a pillar light shot into the sky. They all covered their eyes from the sudden brightness before lowering their hands once it died down.
Then blinked. For standing atop of Mash's shield was a boy who looked to be around Ritsuka and Mash's age with blond, spiky hair and blue eyes and wore a zipped high-collar black jacket and an unzipped white jacket over it with several checker pattern designs, grey hems on the sleeves and a red collar that waas folded back. He also wore two-toned pants with the legs being beige with the rest being dark-coloured.
Both parties stared at each other until the boy breaks the silence. "I'm Roxas..." He said before pausing, as though processing something. "I'm supposed to say my Servant Class is Avenger. Are you the ones who called for help?"
Ritsuka nodded.
"I see." Roxas said before looking down and seeing the shield he was standing on before looking towards the only person with armor. Mash fidgeted a bit at his stare before he got off the shield and picked it off the ground and handed it to her. "I'm guessing this belongs to you. That... is a really big shield. I guess this means we'll be fighting together so I hope we get along well."
"R-right!" Mash nodded her head. "Thank you Avenger-san!
Olga frowned as she cupped her chin. She's never heard of anyone named Roxas in history and the boy's attire was very much not something you would expect from a servant. Either this boy was a more modern Heroic Spirit or an obscure and unknown one from history without much fame. Then there was his Class, not much was known about Avengers, just that they were people who were defined by their hatred, whether it was in life or in death, and considered one of the most risky and worst type of Servant to summon for a grail war. Which was just her luck. "Master Candidate 48." She barked. Ritsuka stood up straight. "What are their stats?"
"Stats?" Ritsuka blinked.
Olga groaned before facepalming, she forgot how inexperienced the girl was. This was why she didn't want to drag in civilians. "You are his Master, so you are able to see what the stats of Servants are. Just focus on them and try to visualize them. They'll appear as letters around them."
"Really?" Ritsuka questioned as she turned to Roxas. The Avenger merely shrugged in response.
"Don't look at me, this is my first time being summoned." Roxas said, he still didn't understand the situation.
"Right..." Ritsuka nervously answered as she focused on Roxas, trying to visualize the stats. After a moment, word and letters started to form around Roxas, just as Olga said. "Okay... Strength is A plus... Endurance is A... Agility is B plus... Mana is C and his Luck is D." Ritsuka stated. "He's also got a Noble Phantasm, which I have no idea as to what that is, which is A rank."
Olga turned to look at the Avenger, despite his unknown nature his stats would label him as a rather high tier Servant aside from Mana and Luck. At the very least they had summoned a Servant who is a capable fighter.
"His Skills?"
"Avenger is C... Oblivion Correction is B and Self Replenishment (Magic) is also C and I have no idea what any of those mean." Ritsuka said as she looked at Roxas who merely shrugged again.
Mediocre, but overall not too bad.
"Mana Burst is A plus... Instinct is B."
Those were good.
"And Glide is B." Ritsuka said before blinking and turning to Roxas. "Wait you can glide?"
"It was something I picked up during my adventures. It's proved itself to be one of my most useful abilities." The Avenger in question said.
Before anyone could comment on it, a voice interrupted them.
"-ervant!" Ritsuka blinked and looked at her wrist before a holographic screen popped up from the device with Romani's face on it. "You need to get out of there right now! The readings say they're right behind you!" Romani yelled as Ritsuka and Roxas started blankly at the man.
"Uh, yeah..." Ritsuka rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly before gesturing to Roxas. "This is Roxas, we just summoned him."
"Hello." Roxas greeted as he kept staring at the man. "What kind of communication is this? An illusion?"
"It's a hologram. it's made from..." Ritsuka paused as she turned to Mash. "Magecraft?" Mash nodded. "Magecraft, yeah."
Roxas furrowed his eyebrows, 'Magecraft'? Is that another term for Magic? Whatever, he can worry about it later.
"Huh, cool. What Vexen wouldn't give to study this." Roxas muttered the last part to himself, unaware Mash was able to hear him. Before Mash could ask anything, Roman cut her off.
"Anyways, I think you guys need to move. A Servant summoning would have attracted the attention of the nearby skeletons." Romani said.
"Skeletons?" Roxas questioned out loud. "I'm guessing those are trouble then Fujimaru?"
"Ritsuka is just fine. Feel free to call me that if you want." Ritsuka said with a small smile before turning to the director. "So where do we move to?"
Olga bit her lip, trying to think of something before turning away. "We need to find cover. Right now this street is too exposed."
Roxas, Ritsuka, and Mash all nodded their heads as Roxas scanned the area to see if someone was watching them. He didn't go on too many missions with Xigbar, but enough to know this ruined city would be perfect place for a sharpshooter like him.
Not finding anything he followed the group as they left, missing the pairs of eyes that were watching them.
"I've detected multiple readings heading towards you guys. You'll most likely have to fight." Romani informed them with a call and sure enough Roxas could see a group of skeletons, about 9 of them from his count. 3 of them with bows and the rest with either swords or spears.
Once he saw an archer string an arrow he summoned Oblivion to shock of the others.
"Is... that..." Rituska started to question.
"A key?" Mash finished.
"Arrows incoming!" Roxas called out as he cut down an arrow midair. This seemed to have snapped Mash out her shock as she raised her shield to block two more arrows.
Charging ahead wordlessly, Roxas called Oathkeeper to his left hand as he threw Oblivion right towards one of the archers. The Keyblade cutting through it like a buzz saw as he got up close to a spear-wielding skeleton and raised Oathkeeper for an upward strike and shattered the skeletons skull. The skeleton's remains dissipated into purple smoke immediately after.
The skeleton swordsman next to him attempted a sneak attack but Roxas effortlessly blocked it with Oathkeeper before calling Oblivion back to his hand and finishing it off. Well, good to know he was right about them being easier to beat than Heartless.
Turning around, he saw Mash slam her giant shield into a skeleton he almost felt bad for, sending bones flying every, right before wrenching it out of the ground and slamming it into the side of another skeleton and shattering it just like the others. He internally winced, that shield looked very heavy and would be very painful to be hit by.
Meanwhile Ritsuka just watched Roxas and Mash in awe as they made short work of the skeletons, this was her first time seeing something like this. Olga was staring as well but for a completely different reason, that weapon he summoned was unusual enough with it's appearance. Not to mention she could feel the magic in it was unlike anything she ever felt. Not once has she even heard of a weapon like that.
"Huh?" Ritsuka said as Roxas suddenly dashed towards the pair at great speed. Olga' eyes widened in alarm as her arms shot out to grab Ritsuka's shirt collar to try and move them out of the Avenger's way.
"Move you fool!"
Roxas swung his blade, moving past the two mages knocking something out of the air as the sound of metal clashing clanged out through the air followed by a thud. Ritsuka and Olga slowly lowered their gazes to see a dagger imbedded in the ground in front of the Nobody.
"Whoever is there, come out now." Roxas called out.
"Eh?" Mash whirled her head around as she finished off the last skeleton to see Roxas yelling into the air.
"Heads up! It's a little weird but a Servant signature definitely just showed up. It must be an Assassin." Romani's voice popped up.
Several more daggers flew at Roxas from a different angle, but the Keyblade wielder managed to deflect them just the same before throwing Oathkeeper in the direction of where there were thrown. A black shadow jumped out of the window it was hiding in just before Oathkeeper hit it.
"I would say throwing your weapon away is a foolish mistake, but it seems that does not affect you." The Assassin said as he watched with interest as Roxas called back Oathkeeper, body covered in a pitch black cloak.
"Mash!" Ritsuka called out to the Shielder. "Do your best to support Roxas however you can!"
"Yes Senpai!" Mash nodded as she got behind Roxas and in front of the two Magi, ready to protect them if the Assassin attempted something.
"Another Servant signature is closing in on you!" Romani's voice called out, Alarming the Chaldea group as Assassin chuckled.
"It would be foolish to assume of me to risk an open engagement with two unknown servants." Assassin's left hand came out from his dark cloak, revealing three daggers gripped in-between his fingers. Something crashed into the rooftop near them, momentarily taking Roxas's attention away from the Assassin to look at the new arrival.
It was a woman with short red hair, the back of it tied into a short pony tail, wielding a sword in her left hand and a shield in her right. Her 'armor', if it could be called that, was more akin to a skimpy swimsuit, he chest only covered by a few black leather strap as tall black leather boots covered her legs and her arms were also covered in black leather.
Roxas blinked as he stared at the new arrival, then looked back to Mash whose armor seemed to be lacking in certain areas. 'Is it normal for female Servants to have skimpy clothing?'
"I'm surprised you came as well Rider." Assassin mused.
"I was chasing after them before, but the girl knocked me into a building when part of it collapsed." Rider growled as she glared at the group.
Mash slowly and nervously backed away and stood closer to Olga and Ritsuka as Roxas stood his ground.
Both groups stared each other down as several tense moments passed by.
Then the two enemy Servants lunged at them.
Roxas
Servant: Avenger
Strength: A+
Endurance: A
Agility: B+
Mana: C
Luck: D
Noble Phantasm: A
Oathkeeper and Oblivion: A
A Keyblade radiant with light and a Keyblade black as darkness. Can open any lock and even unlock Hearts. They also gain a bonus when fighting against enemies affiliated with Darkness. His signature attack is coating his Keyblades in light and unleash a flurry of attacks while summoning pillars of light.
Class Skills:
Avenger: C
Oblivion Correction: B
Self-Replenishment (Magic): C
Personal Skills:
Mana Burst: A+
Instinct: B
Having fought many foes of all kinds of different shapes and sizes, having to adapt to each ones' abilities and weaknesses has given him an eye for picking how to fight against an opponent.
Glide: B
A skill he learned in life to move around quickly and traverse the air.
Corridor of Darkness: B
An ability known by all members of Organization XIII. Allows for quick travel between places, including other worlds. However it is dangerous for normal people, only Heartless and Nobodies can make constant use of it without worry.
Summoning.
"Roxas, Avenger. I've answered your calls and I'm here to help. I hope we get along well."
Dialogue 1
"What I do in my free time? Usually once I finished a mission I hung out with my friends and enjoyed some sea-salt ice cream."
Dialogue 2
"I wonder if this world has some sea-salt ice cream. It'd be a nice treat for after a hard mission.
Dialogue 3
"The relationship between Master and Servant? Well, I'm glad to help you so long as I'm treated fairly in return."
Dialogue 4 (If you have Organization XIII Servants)
"So they're here too? I wonder if they still have a grudge from before. I'll try and avoid getting into a fight with them if you want but if they try something I will defend myself."
Dialogue 5 (If you have Axel)
"You chose a good friend to have. No matter what issues I might've had with him in life, he's still my best friend."
Dialogue 6 (If you have Nursery Rhyme)
"Hey Master, I was just telling Alice some stories of the places I've traveled to. She seems to love hearing about Wonderland in particular."
Dialogue 7 (If you have Jack the Ripper)
"I can't help but sympathize with her, we Nobodies were never meant to exist but she never had the chance to exist. But she really is a sweet girl when you get to know her. Although, I'm a little confused on why she calls me 'big brother'."
Dialogue 8 (If you have Yamanami Keisuke)
"I've heard he and I have similar stories. We both left our respective organizations and were hunted down by a close friend. I wonder, if I did what he did and willingly returned to the Organization. Would I have met a similar fate with Axel by my side like Okita was for him?"
Dialogue 9 (If you have Kriemhild)
"That woman acted a bit weird. She was cold but after telling her about how I'd rather just spend time with my friends than be some big hero with the Keyblades, especially considering how much trouble I went through because of them, when she asked about it, she seemed... Nicer, I think is the right word? At least I think so, I don't get it."
Dialogue 10 (If you have Xion)
"That Servant, they seem so familiar but I can't put my finger on it. Like we've met but I don't know how or when. It's like when you try to remember a word you know, it's on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite get it."
Dialogue 11 (If you have Xion at Ascension 4)
"Xion! It's Xion! She's really here!"
Dialogue 12 (If you have Asterios)
"Hey Asterios, I found this new game to play. Want to try it with me?"
Dialogue 13 (If you Have Ansem the Wise)
"Ansem! You bastard!"
Dialogue 14 (If you have Mordred)
"Hey Mordred, want to go to the training simulator? We still need to have a tiebreaker for our last competition."
Dialogue 15 (If you have Frankenstein or Frankenstein [Saber])
"She didn't deserve to be treated the way she was by that bastard doctor. I'm glad things are better for her here in Chaldea, she's a really nice girl when you get to know her. I wonder if she likes ice cream?"
Dialogue 16 (If you have Melusine)
"She was made from the body of someone else? Man, there are so many things here in Chaldea that remind me of back home. But I can't deny it, being made from the body of a dragon sounds so cool!"
Dialogue 17 (If you have Roxas [Saber])
"...I wonder if this is how Artoria feels when she sees her Lily self. But I'm honestly a little jealous of him. Why? He can still use magic! If I had a munny for every time I could've used a Cure spell."
Dialogue 18 (If you have Lingering Will)
"That Servant made of armor. I can't help but feel a weird sense of familiarity and nostalgia with him even though I've never even seen him before. I can't quite describe it."
Likes
"Hanging out with my friends and eating some sea-salt ice cream."
Hates
"People who treat me as less than a person. When all you want is to be treated like an actual person and to spend time with your friends, those kinds of people are the worst. Also those bastards Ansem and Riku."
Wish for the Holy Grail
"Honestly, if there was anything I wanted to wish for it would be to be able to live a happy normal life with my friends, and WITHOUT all the complicated crap we've had to deal with. But I'm gonna be a honest, a cup granting a single wish isn't as impressive when you've met a genie."
Bond Level 1
"It's gonna be long journey for us, but I'll help you the whole way there."
Bond Level 2
"This reminds of my time back in the Organization but... better. "
Bond Level 3
"You're a good person to have as a friend. Maybe if we were friends back when I was stuck with the Organization things would've been better. Maybe."
Bond Level 4
"Hey Master, want some sea-salt ice cream? I managed to get some thanks to help from the kitchen. The only other people to treat me as kindly before as you have are Axel and Xion."
Bond Level 5
"You're a true friend. Whenever I'm with you, I feel like an actual person. Not as just a tool for someone else's plans, not as a part of another person who actually matters, but as Roxas. No matter what happens, I'll stick by your side right to the very end and beyond."
Birthday
"Congratulations! Come on, we should go celebrate."
During an Event
"Man, sounds like a crazy event going on outside. We should join the fun."
1st Ascension
"I feel a bit stronger."
2nd Ascension
"My strikes are stronger, it reminds of when I broke Saix's claymore."
3rd Ascension
"I feel even stronger than before, I'll make sure to put this to good use."
4th Ascension
"I feel stronger than ever, but also more... whole? It's like something that was missing is there now, at least partially. ...Is this what the other members of the Organization meant when they said they wanted their own hearts?"