CHAPTER TWO
Hey guys. Enjoy. This chapter includes Roxas before the events of meeting Sora, a young emo Sora, a normal Axel, a depressed Cloud (…that actually sounds adorable) and a rickety old house.
Hope to see some feedback soon. Not sure whether the old readers will like where this is going, though.
A white blinding light flashed in Roxas's hands. The sudden blinding light was replaced by a gigantic silver key with a golden handle. Holding the weapon tightly, Roxas charged at the target quickly. The man was named Dr. Ansem, a formidable icon in the underworld. He was the scientist who had researched many of the drugs the Organization used in missions and in the trade industry alike. At the age of 32, his notoriety in the underworld had increased that many other names had wanted his power and knowledge, causing a riot and many attempted break-ins in the headquarters. Xemnas had deemed him too much of a nuisance to protect and ordered Roxas to kill him immediately.
"Dr. Ansem, the leader has decided on your fate. I regret to inform you that your usefulness has reached its end and I'm afraid that your knowledge of the inner workings of the organization has made you an obstacle instead of an advantage. However, due to your vast knowledge in the drug industry, we shall be keeping your information safe with us."
"Get away from me, XIII! I will kill you! I swear, I will!"
"Please do not object any further, Dr. Ansem. Your death will be much quicker that way."
The man, threatened by the keyblade Roxas held, ran to the chemicals and laboratory tools he had made for the Organization time and time again. Thinking on his feet, Ansem grabbed the nearest flammable item he found and held it against Roxas.
"If you even come close to me, I will kill myself! Alongside with all my research and work here! You'll never get anything from me, you insufferable fools!"
Roxas stared at the scientist with obvious impatience as he observed the scene before him. Obviously, the man was not bluffing as Zexion had taught him all about the experiments and laboratory tools Ansem had used in the past few years. The man was scared, that much was certain and his shaky hand was proof of it. However, he stood with great defiance and this indicated that the man felt like he had power in this situation. His emotion was unsure at this point, Roxas pondered.
"He-hey! Listen to me you brat, we've been working together for years, you and I! I remember you were five when you got here, barely even able to use the-"
Roxas glared.
"You do not have the repercussions to remind me of our past, Ansem."
Ansem smiled.
"Why, I don't? After all those times I had helped you with your-"
"Shut up, or I will kill you."
"But you already will, so why stop here? Do I need to inform Xemnas of your wavering-"
Roxas grabbed his gun and pointed at Ansem, clicking off the safety.
"Now, now, Roxas. It is not the time to summon more weapons than needed. You've already got a keyblade on your left hand and a gun on your right; shouldn't you be worried about the assassins after me and my information on the Organization? After all, it's not like you have a-"
Roxas clicked the trigger. A loud noise echoed in the laboratory. Blood seeped through the white linoleum tiles of the laboratory, staining the clean scent with a rusty iron smell.
Replacing the keyblade, a white flash appeared and the keyblade was gone. Roxas walked around the laboratory, waiting for a while. The silent atmosphere had calmed him. Finally, he walked over to the slowly bleeding corpse that was Ansem. His eyes were wide open, his mouth forming a small 'O', as if he was caught by surprise. Right to the very end, Ansem proved that his self-preservation was the first thing on his mind, not loyalty.
Xemnas was right, he had become a nuisance. Roxas barely agreed with anything Xemnas said.
Looking at the flammable liquid that spilled as soon as the scientist had let go of the Erlenmeyer flask, Roxas pushed all the other liquid to the ground, causing a multi mixture of unknown chemicals to colour the ground with brightly coloured sparks. The alcohol burner thrown to the ground, Roxas left the laboratory and summoned a dark portal, lesser Nobodies appeared. Roxas pointed to the laboratory.
"Make sure nothing gets left behind. Consume everything in darkness."
The Nobodies danced towards the burning building, guarding the place from any unwanted outsiders and keeping the place clear of any evidence.
Roxas looked at the place one more time. He had visited it more often than not in his childhood. The terrors he received in that place were far worse than he could have ever imagined. Anger started seeping in his mind and he shook his head.
His brother was worth it.
The alarm clock rang loudly in his quiet room. It was 7:30 in the morning and the brunette didn't have the energy to wake up. Today was the day she had died, after all.
The door creaked; someone was trying to open the door. A knock was heard soon afterwards.
"Sora? It's me, Kairi. Get up."
Sora buried his head under the pillow and groaned. He didn't want to get up today. Not again. Today was a reminder of what had happened when he was helpless, when he didn't know what to do, before he met the others who had lost loved ones to them too.
More frantic knocking was heard.
"Sora, we need to face this. Try to remember why we visit her every year, okay?" Kairi said softly.
That's right, Sora remembered. It was to strengthen their resolve against the Organization. Sora's knuckles turned white. They were the reason they couldn't see her sweet smile anymore, they were the reason she was dead.
Sora stood up from his comfortable bed, grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he got out of the shower and chose his black suit. This was the only time of the year he used it. He adjusted his tie accordingly and opened the door. Kairi sat beside the door, her head buried in her arms and her legs folded. She was wearing a formal black coat and skirt. Sora could tell she had been trying hard not to cry.
"Kairi, I'm ready."
Kairi looked up to Sora, smiled and stood up. They walked together to the patio where Riku was waiting for them.
"Took you guys long enough."
"Sorry, Riku." Sora replied sheepishly.
"Doesn't matter. Let's go."
Sora nodded.
"Where are the others?"
"Oh, they left earlier than we did. Cloud was getting really impatient."
"Oh." was all Sora could reply. He knew she was very important to Cloud; the fact just seemed to slip his mind this morning.
The trio walked briskly, today was a warm day. Soon, they had reached the grave. Everyone was waiting for them there, sitting peacefully beside her grave. The trio joined everyone else and sat by them.
"Hey guys." Tifa smiled at the trio that had just arrived.
Intent on spending the day with her peacefully, nobody else spoke hello's and hi's. Sora stared hard at the carved rock that bared her name. He couldn't believe it had been six years already.
Aerith Gainsborough
She will always be loved by friends and family.
Sora's tears tempted to fall as he remembered the event as clear as if it were yesterday.
"Aerith! That isn't fair! How come you get a bed here and we don't?" Sora pouted.
Aerith laughed at the eight year old kid. He hadn't grasped the meaning of a hospital yet at the age. It was a good thing too, he wasn't sick very often and it was a sign that he was healthy.
"Because, Sora, only sick people get beds here. So I better not see you here any time soon, you hear me young man?"
Sora frowned and ran around the room, poking and prodding things. Cloud watched the boy explore the room. He was as curious as ever, even without Kairi and Riku around. Where the kid got his energy, Cloud never knew.
"Aerith, I don't think it's safe to leave you here alone in the hospital. Sephiroth might come after you again."
"No, he won't. You injured him quite harshly, didn't you? I'm going to be all right, Cloud."
"But-"
"No buts. Go back home and get some sleep. You haven't slept a wink since I was stabbed, have you?"
"I just don't want to lose you again, okay?"
"You won't. Sora will be here. He'll protect me, right, Sora?"
Sora, who was by now pretending to be a doctor, looked at Aerith and nodded as eagerly as an eight year old could.
"Yeah! I'll totally fight off the bad guys that even try to come near this room!"
Aerith smiled and looked at Cloud.
"See?"
Cloud sighed and patted Sora's head. He couldn't help but feel a little bit of de-ja-vu. He leaned down and looked Sora in the eye.
"I'm counting on you, okay Sora? I'll say hi to Riku and Kairi for you. Protect my girlfriend."
"Hey! Who told you to tell Sora I'm your girlfriend?"
"Yeah! Aerith's obviously my girlfriend!"
Cloud laughed and patted the kid's head again and left. Sora watched his retreating back with discontent. Aerith looked out of the window, the sunset was colouring the sky with the red orange hue that was so familiar to her. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she sensed the next few events that were going to happen.
Sora looked at Aerith with confusion. What was happening? She looked so happy one moment and sad the next, Sora shook his head. He would never understand girls.
"Sora, dear, I want you to go grab me some juice, okay? Ask the nice nurse outside and she'll help you out."
"But Cloud said-"
"I know what Cloud said, Sora. But I'm really thirsty at the moment, so could you please get me some juice?"
Sora puffed his cheeks and muttered an agreement. Soon, he ran outside the room, quickening his pace lest Cloud found out he left her side for even one second. He found the nurse idly talking to a man in a lab coat, both laughing at some grown up joke Sora couldn't understand.
"Ms. Nurse! Aerith really wanted some juice and I didn't want to go get her some because I would have to leave her alone and Cloud said not to leave her alone but I did anyway because she begged really hard and said she really needed some-"
"All right, all right! Just let me finish talking to this man, Sora and then we'll go get her some juice."
Sora looked at the man with discernment. He had long silver hair and tangerine eyes. His face was that of a hardened criminal but the reassuring smile on his face never faltered. The man looked at Sora with disinterest, nodding at the nurse and talking about things that were unequivocally confusing medical terms people around the hospital liked to throw around. Sora decided the man was scarier than Cloud when he was mad.
After a few minutes of waiting, Sora finally got impatient and stomped his feet.
"Fine! If you don't want to help me then I'll go back to Aerith and say you didn't help me! Meanie!"
Sora ran towards Aerith's room, barely registering the curse words coming out of the silver-haired man. His heart skipped beats, Aerith was in danger. He didn't understand where it came from, he didn't care how he knew, all he knew was that she was in danger and he had to help her. Finally getting to her room, Sora frantically screamed her name.
"Aerith!"
What he saw that day would forever be imprinted in his mind.
A small figure, in a black hooded coat, had unmistakably impaled a giant silver key in Aerith's chest. Blood began to trickle down the bed, maroon overtaking the once pink blankets. Sora could barely speak as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground.
"AERITH!"
Aerith looked at him one last time and smiled. The hooded figure had pushed the keyblade further in, making Sora scream louder. Aerith took in one last breathe and relayed her last message to Sora.
"Tell Cloud… I'm sorry I… didn't tell… him."
A flash of light blinded Sora for a moment, the keyblade was gone. Everything that had happened in the past few minutes suddenly sank in Sora's mind. He had realized what he had done. He had left Aerith alone, for just one moment and because of that she's dead. Overwhelming guilt consumed Sora and he looked at the hooded figure. The guilt was replaced by anger and he found the ability to talk.
"You!"
"…"
"How could you do this to me? To Aerith! What has she ever done to you! You killed her! Why? Who are you?"
Sora pointed at the hooded figure and that was when he realized that they were almost of the same height.
"…you're a child. You… you're the same age as me aren't you? How… how could you do this to us?"
"Shut up."
The child murderer summoned his keyblade again and pointed it at Sora.
"You don't know anything."
The brunette was frozen with fear. He could feel the anger radiating off of the hooded figure whose voice seemed much older than it should have been. Slowly, the hooded figure approached the window while still pointing the keyblade at Sora. A few moments later, the murderer jumped through the window, leaving behind the memory Sora would forever despise.
Cloud went back to the hospital that day as fast as he could. By the time the doctors had reached Aerith's room, Sora had fainted and the hooded figure was gone. They had held the funeral the week after. Cloud did not speak to anyone for a month, instead delving deeper and deeper into training himself to exhaustion every night. For everyday of that month, Sora had gotten weaker and weaker from the guilt he had to face of leaving Aerith behind. Cloud was out training all the time and his brother Leon was helping Cid and Yuffie with their research on the Organization, nobody could cheer Sora up and remind him that it wasn't his fault. It wasn't until Tifa decided to knock some sense into the two idiots had they realized what they had been doing to the brunette. The two talked to Sora and soon enough, the kid had gotten healthier by the days and was able to run around with Riku and Kairi.
The trio then started their training in wielding swords, magic and defence skills. Soon after the training had started, each had summoned a weapon of their choice. Kairi had greatly advanced in healing techniques and had summoned a healing staff. Riku had managed to summon a strange keyblade of a sort, The Soul Eater. For Sora however, he had summoned the same type of keyblade Aerith's murderer had wielded. The Kingdom Key.
But whenever the others asked if he were okay with the weapon presented to him by his heart, he laughed and always replied the same thing.
"I'm okay with it. It should be so ironic that the murderer is killed with his own weapon, right?"
The breeze blew lightly on the grass, refreshing everyone's memories of Aerith and her love for nature. Hours passed by quickly and soon the sunset was upon them once more. The day was about to end. Sora stared to the horizon.
"It's sunset again."
"It wasn't your fault, Sora." Cloud replied.
"I know. You've told me dozens of times."
"…"
"I hate the sunset. I wish it would disappear. It reminds me of that day."
"But it strengthens your resolve, doesn't it?"
"…yeah."
One by one, the group went home. Yuffie, then Tifa, Cid, Riku, Kairi, Sora… they all left. Leon stood up, brushed off his pants and nodded at Cloud.
"Let's go. Enough moping for today."
"…"
Nevertheless, the blonde stood up and they went their own way, going their own lives on the day their love had died.
Axel pulled the string on a party pop.
"Happy 14th birthday, Roxas!"
The other Organization members clapped along monotonously with Axel's singing. Roxas was covered in party strings and shiny glitters and nodded at Axel.
"Thanks."
"All right! Now let's get you your birthday cake! Blow the candles! Ah, but you have to make a wish first. Don't tell anyone your wish, all right?"
Roxas nodded at Axel and thought for a moment and blew the candles. Everyone clapped once again and the redhead started giving everyone a slice of the cake.
"Fucking finally! Took you long enough to finish the damned mission." Xigbar said while eating the cake vigorously.
"Get off his back, Xigbar! It's his fucking birthday." Demyx replied to the Freeshooter.
The man waved the sitar user off and continued eating his cake. Everyone remained quiet for the rest of the evening, only talking menially about their future and past missions. Xemnas watched as his employees talk of many things. This was the only time of the year everyone gets along quiet well thanks to Axel's persuasive tongue and Roxas' reputation in the Organization. Nobody dared to defy the leader's pet on his birthday as Xemnas only allowed this one luxury to Roxas.
Xemnas's eyes then turned to Roxas. The kid had been forced to join the Organization at the age of five and not once has he heard him complain. The kid did his research, got his missions done, trained hard and was the perfect assassin and Nobody. All the other Organization members got along with him well to the point that they'd even defend Roxas during the rare times he made a mistake.
Xigbar was more the like the kid's trainer, honing his ability in the art of shooting. He had trained Roxas hard and well, not even giving the slightest bit of mercy when he missed a target. Despite all the torture he showed Roxas during training, it would all disappear once the kid wasn't looking. Often times Xigbar did some of Roxas's missions for him when he was too tired from training. It still confused Xemnas to no end as to what Xigbar saw in the kid.
Xaldin more or less tolerated the kid, only talking to him when needed. They nodded at each other in the hallways, worked well on missions and more often than not showed tough love rather than just "tough" to the kid. Xemnas waved this off to the mere fact that Xaldin treated all the teens in the Organization the same way.
Vexen. Well, he was dead anyway so there was nothing else to tell about him. He and Zexion were on a mission together and Zexion returned alone. The mission report stated that Vexen was being an idiot and landed in the enemy's hands and had gotten himself killed. This was more than enough explanation as the man was sometimes careless in times of panic.
Zexion was Roxas's tutor. He was everyone's tutor at one point. He had the biggest brains and he was the cleverest of tacticians in the group. The man had taken a strong interest in Roxas at a young age when he tested the kid for a simple experiment revealing that Roxas was more than meets the eye. Although Roxas was not as smart as Zexion, he had been able to identify many tactics useful for battle and in reconnaissance missions that the Organization used nowadays. The two always seemed to talk in code which definitely annoyed Xemnas but let the two go on with their habit as he understood the code (albeit with a cheat code Zexion had presented him with) and sometimes used it as well.
Saix tolerates the kid. Xemnas didn't really know what the werewolf was thinking. He never knew what the man was thinking. He gave them missions, did missions himself and barely talked to anyone else in the Organization. Sometimes the leader was tempted to place a spy within the group to observe their actions where he could not see.
Axel was Roxas's self-proclaimed best friend. Roxas didn't seem to mind the whole mothering hen thing and just let it pass. It started with the kid's first birthday party at the age of eight. It had taken Axel three years to break the kid's shell of avoiding other people, a record he was quite proud of. Sometimes Xemnas would notice that Roxas showed sliver of signs that he cared for Axel too. The kid would take his missions when he showed symptoms of fatigue and influenza. Most of the time he showed it by riding the skateboard Axel gave him every year for his birthday.
Demyx was the lazy ass of the group and mostly just used Roxas as a scapegoat. The kid didn't seem to mind and Demyx and Roxas's relationship was built on that. Axel always rants Demyx's ear off for doing that to Roxas and rants Roxas's ear off for not caring. He didn't really understand their dysfunctional relationship.
Luxord was the only member who most probably hated Roxas yet tolerated him enough not to create a fight. The man had challenged Roxas to a card game and Zexion's training had lead Roxas to win every duel the man had offered. The man is still finding a way to defeat Roxas and to the leader, this was a pathetic little reverie as Roxas still trains daily and seems to forget about the card's existence the moment he finished playing and collecting his munny.
Marluxia and Larxene didn't really get to know Roxas as they were dead before the kid had even joined the Organization.
Xemnas stared at his pet. Number XIII, the perfect Nobody. He never came back to the headquarters without finishing missions, kept evidence out of the policemen's sight and kept their enemies at bay. He smirked. He made the right decision that day, opting not to kill XIII's brother. Although Cloud had presented himself to be an obstacle, Roxas always got the better of him. Every time his brother had gotten close to the Organization, he always had managed to stir him away with fake evidence and lead his brother away from their Organization. That was their deal. As long as Roxas stayed in the Organization and Cloud kept out of their way, Xemnas wouldn't put out orders to the others to kill his brother. Roxas was strong, but he wasn't that strong. He couldn't keep fighting their lot forever.
Roxas stared at the birthday party presented for him. He had tolerated these things for Axel. The man had always gotten him a skateboard and Roxas usually liked his means of transportation every year. The headquarters was large, walking around would take an hour and the members just opted for the dark portals to transfer from one room to another so no one really bothered to use the hallways and the stairs, which made it optimal to use as a skateboarding rink. Demyx and Axel joined him sometimes but usually Roxas made his marks around the hallways, long black lines covering the walls and the floors. Not many of the Organization members knew that the hallways were such a mess, not even the leader. He would have been punished if it were ever found out.
"Here's your yearly present, Roxas."
Axel threw Roxas the brightly coloured box and started cleaning up. Everyone else was leaving and the party was over. Demyx just rested on the couch, licking icing off his fingers. Roxas caught the present nonchalantly and opened it up. It was another skateboard. The design was unique though, blue flames and dark ringed chains reined the background and the centrepiece was his weapon of choice, the Oblivion.
"Thanks."
Axel shrugged and Xemnas coughed to catch their attention.
"I have a mission for you two."
Xemnas snapped his fingers and revealed a folder in his hand. He threw a copy to both of them and started explaining.
"A group of rebels in a high school called "Destiny High" has started to come close to the truth about our existence. They have already pinpointed our future target, Hercules. He had been involved in some dealings of the underworld and was sent to be eliminated by Hades. However, due to the group warning him of the danger, IX had no chance to kill him as his father had hired them to protect him at all costs. His father used his connections and pinpointed Hades as the one who ordered the assassination of his son and now we have lost a very valuable customer. Find them and report back to me for further action."
"You mean kill them."
"No… we'll show them how the Organization deals with obstacles."
Roxas and Axel nodded.
Xemnas explained further.
"The two of you will try and approach the students and befriend them. Use your charm to get information out of them and concentrate on the mission. If you manage to get their trust, pry into their little group and find out everything you need to know. However if all else fails, kill them. So far, there are two groups of students that you need to focus on. One hangs out at an alley behind the clock tower of Twilight Town and the other group hangs out at Destiny Islands. Unfortunately, that is the only information IX could get out of the girl as he was not tactful."
"Hey! I was totally tactful and not creepy! That woman tried to rape me dammit!"
Axel smirked and was about to retort when Xemnas interrupted and told them to get ready.
"You leave tomorrow. Expect this to be a year-long mission. Other missions shall be sent to you otherwise."
The two nodded and went to their rooms to start packing, getting ready for the year ahead of them.
Fudge I am finally finished. All right, this is like, sixteen pages long (because I put loads of spaces). Hope you enjoyed. Also, I lied about the rickety old house. That won't appear for another chapter or so.