Kingdom Hearts:
The Truth Behind Xehanort
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Summary: Riku, Sora, and Kairi have finally returned to Destiny Islands after their two and a half year-long adventure across the universe. Things have finally settled down and everything has seemingly returned to the normal, boring way it was before. But when a letter from the King sets off a mysterious chain of events, can Riku save the one thing dearer to him than his friends? And better yet--what is this secret King Mickey has uncovered by going through the files on Ansem's computer...? "XEHANORT HAD A WHAT?!" "A fiancée, Riku. Xehanort had a fiancée." Pairings: Xehanort/OC; Suggested/Friendships: Any and All! (ie, Axel/RoxasSuggested, Zexion/LexaeusSuggested, Riku/SoraSuggested, Sora/KairiSuggested, Riku/Kairi/SoraSuggested, Zexion/DemyxSuggested, Xigbar/XaldinSuggested, etc.)
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Warnings: Major spoilers mixed in, bad language, hinted shonen-ai, possible/suggested (graphic?) character death, gruesome and multiple fight scenes, graphic torture, and possible (attempted?) (graphic?) suicide. Warnings are subject to change as story proceeds.
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Notes: 7-3-08 I don't own KH, FF(insert number here), any sort of anime/manga titles, or Disney, so anything related to them is not mine. I do, however, own my OCs, this storyline, and so on. Please excuse any problems with anyone's characters, as for about three of them, I truthfully have little to no experience and am going only on what I believe would be appropriate. And if you have any suggestions for anything, feel free to tell me! I enjoy flames, too--just not the perverted kind. X3
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LUCRECIA'S JOURNAL, ENTRY SEVEN:
WERE-ELF
((MKL: aka "dude, they're all gunna die!"))
Saïx was the first to notice the unmistakable scent of someone who was recently aroused, smirking at Lucrecia as she walked inside. She merely grinned in response and shook her head to his silent suggestions/thoughts. The younger of the two chuckled to himself, but did not say anything aloud.
Lucrecia walked past him and into the kitchen, blinking in surprise at the sight that greeted her as her jaw slowly began to drop.
"Got any fours, Zex?" Riku asked, glancing upwards. Zexion shook his head.
"Go fish," he responded with a slight smirk. Riku groaned and took another card to add to his overflowing hand, a stark contrast to his brother's two cards. "Sixes, Little Brother?"
"Aw man, you suck!"
Zexion snickered at him and took the card, laying down another pair. He glanced towards Mickey, who stared back apathetically, holding five cards in all. "Do you have any eights, King Mickey?"
"Nope!" Mickey said with a bright smile. Zexion's smirk deflated and he groaned as he picked up another card, causing Riku to laugh in return.
"Just stop asking him, Bro," Riku snickered. "You're not getting any of his cards."
"Good thing I could always get one from you, then," Zexion said in response, arching an eyebrow. "Unless, of course, you are just hoarding those so you can use them later?"
Riku abruptly scowled, pouting childishly. "Shut up..."
"...Shiva, it's the appocolypse," Lucrecia finally said, unable to stop the grin that came to her face as she stood in the doorway. The three at the table glanced up and all smiled and/or nodded a greeting
"Hey, Mom!" Riku called brightly. He lifted his handful of cards. "You want in next round? I'm pretty sure Zexion's going to win soon."
"Or me," Mickey said with a quiet chuckle. "Sorry, Riku, but you're kinda out of the runnin'."
Riku merely frowned at him and shook his head. "Y'know, since Mom's here, we can stop playing, right? Besides, we're almost here."
"Hold on, we do not have a winner yet," Zexion said with a frown. Riku ignored him and set down his cards face-up, showing that he had one of everything...except an eight. Zexion frowned now at that. "You are an asshole, even when you are not trying to be."
"Language, Zexion!" Lucrecia snapped, giving him a disapproving look. He winced a bit.
"Sorry, Mother..."
Lucrecia smiled and nodded before glancing between the two fo them, blinking innocently and arching an eyebrow. "Then you two settled everything?"
"Mostly," Riku said with a shrug. "We've only spoken so much, but I guess he's all right...for a twenty-six-year-old in an eighteen-year-old body."
"...I believe I have that catagory covered with pretty much everyone, Little Brother," Zexion deadpanned. Lucrecia chuckled and smiled down at them again with a nod, ruffling Riku's hair.
"That's wonderful," she said, kissing first Riku on the cheek, then Zexion. Both boys immidiately protested this, Riku flushing a bright red as Zexion slowly started to turn pink. "Now, now. If I can't kiss my children in public, who can I kiss?"
"Someone else," Riku decided with a frown, fixing--or rather, re-messing--his hair.
Xemnas happened to walk into the room at that exact moment, Saïx immidiately following behind, causing Zexion to snicker as Lucrecia choaked on air. Confused, Xemnas glanced at her just as she recovered and began to laugh, then Zexion as he lifted a hand to smother his smirk. Mickey was chuckling as well, though Riku and Saïx seemed just as out of the loop as he was.
"Did I...miss something?" he asked slowly. This only caused Lucrecia to laugh harder as Zexion and Mickey threatened to join her.
"Whatever it was, I missed it, too," Riku said with a frown, staring at his mother like she was from another planet. "...or it just flew over my head."
"Do not worry about it, Lord Superior," Saïx sighed, shaking his head. "Something tells me we don't want to know."
Xemnas merely sighed and nodded.
"A-anyway," Lucrecia said, recovering from her laughter long enough to smile and glance towards Mickey, "we're landing soon, right?"
"Yep!" Mickey agreed, smiling as he nodded. "We're in orbit right now. I was just waitin' ta finish this game. Which reminds me." He flipped over his hand and grabbed five of Riku's cards, smile widening as he nodded at Zexion. "Sorry, Zexion, but I won."
Zexion muttered something unrepeatable (and physically impossible) under his breath, causing Riku to stiffle a laugh. Mickey merely grinned before going to the main bay, the others slowly following.
"We should probably split into two groups," Saïx said quietly when they made it to the main room.
"Right," Mickey said with a nod. He glanced between them and frowned in thought. "Riku, me, and Xemnas can be one group, and Saïx, Zexion, and Lucrecia can be the other."
Immidiately he was met with cries of protest. See if you can figure out who said what:
"King Micky, you're not honestly putting her with two Nobodys--!!" "Can I not stay near Master Xemnas--?!" "What is your reasoning behind this--??" "Do we have no choice in the matter--?!" "B-but King Mickey, sir, why--?!"
"Look, you guys'll just have ta trust me," Mickey interupted. Everyone shut up, but they all gave him such looks that he sighed and slowly began to explain. "Whelp, Riku, don't ya want Xemnas close by so he can be watched?"
"Well, I guess," Riku admitted slowly.
"And besides, Zexion's her son, too. He'll protect her."
Riku glanced uneasily at his brother before he finally sighed and gave a nod of defeat. Satisfied, Mickey moved on.
"Saïx, Xemnas will be fine," Mickey assured the blue-haired man. "I'll make sure Riku doesn't try ta kill 'im, and he's more than ready ta fight against the Heartless."
"...I...see," Saïx merely said, giving a quiet sigh of his own. Mickey smiled at him and picked his next target.
"Zexion, you can protect your mother this way. If ya think about it, you can do it better than everyone else, since ya got your Lexicon."
Zexion hesitated a moment and his gaze shifted towards his mother before he slowly let out a breath and nodded his defeat.
"Xemnas," Mickey went on, turning to his final main target, "they'll be fine."
That was all he had to say for Xemnas to reluctantly grunt his agreement to the terms.
Mickey finally looked at Lucrecia, who gave a quiet sigh and nodded.
"Protect him?" she asked quietly, convaying the meaning behind her words with her eyes.
"Promise," Mickey said with a nod and a smile. He paused a moment and glanced towards the others. "So now as ta where we're portalin'. My group'll end up in Sunset station. Saïx's group" (apparently Saïx had been silently voted as their mission leader of sorts) "is gunna be in The Usual Spot, which is this place where Roxas' old friends hang out. Saïx, Riku, and Xemnas know who I'm talkin' about." Indeed, the three nodded their slightly grave understanding. Lucrecia and Zexion merely glanced at each other and shrugged in confusion, although Zexion only rasied one shoulder. "Anyway, talk to them. They can tell ya stuff.
"We'll meet in front of Biggs' Armor Shop in five hours," Mikey finished with a nod. "Saïx's group can move out first. If one of us doesn't come back, the other'll throw caution to the wind and portal if they need ta. If it looks like the fight's gunna be destructive, go somewhere without many people. Keepin' the town and each other protected is our number one priority."
The ones before him nodded their agreement.
"Then you guys go. Saïx," he held out something, which was taken hesitantly, "that's a distress whistle. It's tuned ta my aura. Only use it if it's an emergency."
Saïx blinked slowly at the white whistle, which had Mickey's Seal on the side of it in green, then nodded and put it in the pocket of his cloak.
"See you soon," he said, gazing at Xemnas. The elder man nodded before gazing pointedly at Lucrecia and Zexion. He made a hand signal, which Zexion appeared to interperate as a goodbye, since he smirked a bit and nodded. Lucrecia smiled at Riku first, then Xemnas, and finally Mickey (just to make it seem more normal) before stepping back onto a blue platform, feeling Saïx take her right sleeve and Zexion her left.
"The Usual Spot," Saïx announced in a loud, clear voice. There was a pause before sparkles flashed around them.
And with that, they were gone.
Xemnas stared at the spot where they had disappeared for a long moment. "...be safe," he mumbled, saying aloud what he had signaled to Zexion.
"Don't worry, Xemnas," Mickey said with a smile and a nod. "They'll be fine."
Xemnas slowly reached up to touch his chest, feeling the sputtering Heartbeat that slowly disappeared. He gave a quiet sigh and closed his eyes. "Somehow...I get the feeling they won't."
He would say no more.
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When Lucrecia, Saïx, and Zexion re-appeared, they had to rapidly blink the sparkles out of their eyes. Or rather, Lucrecia did, since she forgot to close her eyes. When they finally cleared, she glanced around the area and smiled. The beige room, with its worn couch, random posters, dartboard, and single couch, vaguely reminded her of Xehanort's old room before she had come along. The thought made her smile widen.
"So then, where should we begin to look?" Zexion asked, glancing around with interest.
"I think we should leave this place before we do anything," Saïx said, frowning. "We won't get anywhere just standing around in here."
"Hey, you!" a voice suddenly called. The whole group froze and turned to look just as a blonde boy walked into the room, brown eyes narrowed in suspicion as he folded his arms over his chest. Slowly inching in behind him was a brunette with long hair in a creative style with ivy-green eyes and a slightly pudgy boy with spikey brown hair kept out of his brown orbs by a headband. The blonde boy glowered at them, apparently the leader of the group. "What are you doing here? This is our spot."
"Oh, uh, sorry," Lucrecia said with a nervous chuckle. She innocently rubbed the back of her head and flashed them a smile. "We literally just got here. We'll leave right away."
"Yeah, you'd better."
"Hayner, you're being rude!" the girl suddenly exclaimed, giving the blonde boy a look. He merely rolled his eyes in response as she turned forward, smiling at the group and folding her hands together in front of her stomach. "Sorry about him. He's a bit rude. I'm Olette."
"And I'm Pence!" the brunette said with a wave and a grin.
"This guy," Olette gestured towards the blonde, who seemed a bit on-edge, "is Hayner."
"Nice to meet you," Lucrecia said with a smile. "I'm Lucrecia. This is my son, Zexion," the silver-haired teen inclined his head towards them politely, "and an old friend of mine, Saïx," the blue-haired man merely stared at them. She leaned towards Olette and continued in a stage-whisper. "They're a bit quiet and tend to distance themselves from the crowd, but they're nice boys."
"...I think I should be offended," Saïx said after a few moments, expression deadpan. Zexion totally ignored that and took a step forward.
"Have any of you seen anything odd around here?" he asked quietly. "Maybe an abnormally-large black creature with yellow eyes, or a strange person with short blonde hair running around in a cloak like ours..."
"I've seen both," Pence offered, raising his hand.
"Oh yeah, we saw the blonde-haired person in the Sandlot just a little while ago, didn't we?" Olette asked rhetorically. "I think Seifer's gang was getting on her back, but she did something and they ran off. I think Hayner saw what it was."
"...she summoned this knife and threw it at them," he said reluctantly, staring at Saïx with suspicion. He was ignored by said man, who was standing there stoicly with his arms folded over his chest. "It cut Rai's cheek. Then, when they still didn't move, she created this ball of lightening and glared at them and they all ran off."
"Larxene," Zexion and Saïx said in unison, Zexion making a face as he did so and Saïx giving a half-groan.
"Out of everyone, it's Larxene," Saïx mumbled, lifting a hand to cover half of his face as he stiffled another groan.
"You know her, I take it?" Pence asked, blinking.
"She's not our main priority here," Lucrecia cut in, frowning at them. "We're a bit more worried about the big black creature." She turned towards Pence, smiling innocently. "You said you saw it?"
"Yeah." Pence nodded, suddenly frowning as he folded his arms over his chest. "It was about as tall as he was," he gestured towards Saïx, "and it had blue hair like him, too, but it moved around like it was alive. It looked like it was wearing some kinda suit and it seemed to have a white tinge. But its eyes were the freakiest part. They were, like, pure yellow and glowing."
"Where did you see it?" Saïx asked, frowning a fraction. The similarities were nagging at him.
"Near the mansion, in the front garden," Pence said with a nod. "Do you want me to take you there? I've got time."
"Thank you!" Lucrecia said with a smile, clapping her hands together. She suddenly remembered Hayner and Olette and frowned a bit. "But...what about your friends?"
"We'll be fine," Hayner snapped.
"Hayner, would you cool it?" Olette sighed, rolling her eyes at him. He merely scowled at her as she smiled at the others. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"Nonsense," Lucrecia said with a determinded look. "You'll come with us, too."
"Mother," Zexion hissed, giving her a look.
"What are you doing?!" Saïx growled on her other side. Lucrecia rolled her eyes before smiling sweetly at the others.
"Give us a sec," she told them before dragging the two into a corner. She was abruptly serious as she gave them pointed looks, putting her hands on her hips. "What?"
"What are you thinking?" Zexion demanded, eye narrowed a fraction.
"They are children," Saïx added, not looking happy at all with the situation. Lucrecia frowned at them.
"Exactly!" she exclaimed. The two jerked back a bit, both clearly confused, so she sighed and went on in a whisper. "Look, they're kids, and we have no idea where this Heartless is. We can't just leave them alone! What if it comes here, sensing easy pray or whatever?!"
"I...never thought of that," Zexion admitted softly.
"I still do not like it," Saïx said with a frown, "but I see your point. Hey, you three!" They all turned to look at him, breaking away from their own conversation. "Can you fight?"
"I'm the newest Struggle champion," Hayner snorted, rolling his eyes. He smirked a bit. "I'd have to say so."
"Um, I know a bit of Fire, Reflect, and Cure Magic," Olette offered, a slight flush on her cheeks at the admition. When Hayner and Pence gave her confused looks, she elaborated. "My dad knows Master Yen Sid. He started teaching me the basics just two weeks ago, because he said that I would 'need it soon enough'."
"Good old Master Yen Sid," Zexion mumbled with a bit of a smirk. He was unheard/ignored.
"And you, Pence?" Lucrecia asked innocently. Pence sighed and shook his head.
"Sorry," he told them, "but I'm useless in a fight. I'm a computers-and-recon type of guy."
"See, Saïx?" Lucrecia asked with a smile up at her old friend, chuckling quietly. "The only one we need to worry about is Pence, but I think he'll be fine so long as the other two flank him the whole time."
"...fine," Saïx finally said, frowning in annoyance. "But I hold the right to send them home should I see fit."
Lucrecia's smile widened. "Thanks, Saïx!"
He merely grunted in response.
"Wait, why do you need to know if we can fight?" Hayner suddenly asked, frowning and apparently feeling a bit better than he had moments before. Lucrecia paused a moment and glanced towards Zexion, who frowned but did not object to her silent question, then Saïx, who gave her a pointed look but again made no move to stop her. Lucrecia sighed quietly and turned back to them.
"Well, we can talk while you take us there," she decided with a nod. The three teenagers exchanged looks before leading the way, Lucrecia beginning with the basics. "Okay, so there are these creatures called Heartless, which are created..."
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By the time the group made it to the mansion, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were given the cliffnotes version of what Heartless and Nobodys were, as well as the reason why they were looking for the Heartless--to destroy it so it would not hurt anyone on that world. Of course, they had to explain about the Universe as well, but they actually seemed to take that much easier than the Heartless and Nobody aspects.
"I always thought there was more out there than this world," Olette said with a smile after the explination.
"Yeah, but it's still a bit weird," Hayner agreed. He had seemed to warm up conciderably, actually smiling at one point before he got over it.
"And really cool, too," Pence added with a grin. "Gee, to think all that's out there..."
"Hate to burst your bubble, children," Saïx said, not sounding like he hated it at all, "but are we nearly there? We are on a time restraint."
"Oh, right!" Pence laughed nervously as they made it into the forest. "It's right through here. See that light past these trees?"
"The mansion is there?" Zexion asked, frowning a bit. The three teens nodded.
"It's really weird, too," Hayner said with a frown of his own. "There's this huge computer under the library floor, and it leads to this alternate reality..."
"You know about it?" Saïx immidiately asked, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You know about it?" Olette retorted, staring at him.
"I only told Olette and Hayner it existed!" Pence announced, also staring.
"...the alternate reality leads to another world altogether," Zexion offered quietly, aware through speaking with Xigbar about the situation. "Our world. The World That Never Was. That's why he seems so upset."
"Well, I sent Sora there so they could beat these guys that had his girlfriend..."
"That was you?" Saïx asked, growing increasingly pissed as his eyes shined dangerously. Zexion noticed what was happening and quickly grabbed Saïx's shoulder, having to extend his arm almost fully to do so.
"Calm down, Saïx," Zexion told him firmly. "Wait until we have the Heartless before you lose it."
Saïx slowly calmed down, although he still looked a bit miffed.
"Why does he care?" Hayner asked Lucrecia, clearly confused. She sighed and shook her hair, shoving at the strands falling into her eyes.
"His friends were among the group that Sora went to go destroy," she told him slowly, thinking carefully. "Including his Superior, who he's very protective of. It seems the wound is still fresh, so to speak."
"I thought the Organization was made up of a group of thugs," Olette said with a frown. "At least, that's what Sora told us."
"Sora has a bit of a black-and-white view of the world," Zexion offered quietly, turning from Saïx. He kept his hand on the man's shoulder as if to keep the beast inside...metaphorically speaking, as far as Lucrecia was concerned. "He sees good and evil. He does not realize there are people who are neither, or both, depending on who you ask. Organization XIII was one of those in-between groups."
"So he automatically put it in the 'evil' catagory," Pence summed up. He paused a moment, then sighed a bit. "Well, sorry then. I didn't know."
"Don't worry, Pence," Lucrecia quickly assured him with a smile. "Besides, they really did have Sora's girlfriend, but that's because...because..." She suddenly looked confused and turned to Saïx. "Hey, why did you have Kairi?"
"Because we were rescuing her from Axel," Saïx said stiffly, obviously trying to keep his "emotions" under control. "We were planning on bringing her back, but when he invaded the Castle, Lord Superior ordered us to keep her."
"Ahhh, I see. As a bargining chip of sorts to get him out."
"Or at least listen to what we had to say."
"As interesting as this conversation is getting," Hayner suddenly said, glancing at them, "I see the girl you guys were talking about--Larx-something. She's over there."
He gestured towards the enterance where, sure enough Larxene was sitting, her legs pulled to her chest with her long arms wrapped losely around them as she rested her head on her knees, eyes closed. There were what appeared to be tearstains sliding down her grimy cheeks, which were covered with dirt and sweat. Her hair was a mess, a few stray twigs scattered through it and a small glop of mud just behind her right ear, and there was a long, still-bleeding gash on her forehead that looked like it had been created within the last few hours.
"She's a wreck," Zexion mumbled, sounding surprised at the thought.
"I doubt she's been anywhere near any showers or shops for a while," Lucrecia retorted with a frown. "Look, I'll go make sure she's okay."
"And the Heartless?" Saïx immidiately asked. Lucrecia's frown deepened.
"She looks hurt. We'll worry about the Heartless after I make sure she's okay." When Zexion and Saïx merely gave her a look, she gave a rather agrivated sigh. "Look, I don't want to scare her by bringing too many people, and from what I hear, you two aren't on her top-five-favorite-people list." When they continued to stare, she groaned and threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine! Olette can come with to watch my back, and one of you two can come a bit closer while the other stays back here with Hayner and Pence. Just...stay out of her line of sight, okay? We shouldn't freak her out and she'll feel better waking up to girls." Still unconvinced, although wavering slightly. "...trust me."
"...I will stay with her," Saïx decided a moment later. "Zexion, you remain with these two, just in case. Watch our backs."
"Of course," Zexion responded smoothly. He lifted a hand up into the air and a light flew around him, landing in his hand and flashing into existance. A thick black book with a silver Nobody design and various sketches on the cover appeared in the open hand, and he quickly brought it down, muttering something under his breath as he flipped it open. Saïx seemed satisfied as he walked over to Lucrecia and Olette, the sooner of which was watching curiously while the later wondered what the heck a kid with a book could do.
"C'mon, Olette," Lucrecia said quietly, gesturing towards the girl.
"R-right," Olette quickly said, casting one last look at Zexion before moving with Lucrecia to stand in front of the apparently-slumbering girl. Lucrecia crouched down and gently took the woman's shoulder.
"Larxene? Larxene?" She shook the blonde's shoulder and tilted her head, voice raising a fraction. "Larxene, it's okay. Wake up..."
The woman twitched and shifted a bit, then her eyes slowly flickered open, revealing light green orbs that sparkled with their own light. She seemed a bit sluggish at first and stared blankly at Lucrecia, then her eyes widened in surprise. "N-no!" she immidiately cried, trying to lunge backwards only to suddenly realize that she was siting against a tree. She whimpered quietly and raised her hands to shield her face. "D-don't hurt me..."
"It's okay, Larxene," Lucrecia said with a soft smile. Larxene jerked in surprise and blinked up at the older woman, who nodded encouragingly. "I'm Lucrecia. I'm here to help you. Your friends sent me?"
Larxene gave a warbling laugh at that, shaking her head. "What friends?"
"The Organization." Larxene again jerked in surprise, eyes bugging out as she stared up at Lucrecia with obvious wonder. "Look, they want to help. Xemnas himself said that he wanted to go out and make sure everyone was all right."
"Lord Superior?" Larxene asked weakly. Lucrecia nodded, continuing to smile.
"Yes," she assured the blonde. "I'm here to help on his behalf. He's actually nearby, looking for you, too."
"He is?"
Lucrecia laughed at the stunned tone Larxene used and nodded again, smile widening. "Yes, he is. Along with two other members of the Organization, my son Riku Xen, and King Mickey himself."
"The King?" Larxene echoed, sounding even more shocked--if that were possible. Lucrecia nodded again and Larxene hesitated. "Lord Superior...and the others...they're...not mad?"
"Well, sure they are, but they're not going to hurt you," Lucrecia told her re-assuringly, voice soft. She held out her hand to Larxene. "I won't let them. I promise."
Larxene hesitated another moment before slowly reaching out with a slightly torn glove and taking Lucrecia's hand. She was almost immidiately pulled to her feet, where Lucrecia could finally see how torn her cloak was and the various wounds on her sides and shoulders. Lucrecia's eyes widened in surprise.
Following her gaze, Larxene pulled back her hand and rubbed her other arm rather awkwardly. "I...this Heartless keeps attacking me, and I don't know why," she finally said, gazing curiously at Lucrecia. She paused again. "I don't know any Healing Magic."
Lucrecia chuckled at the embaressed tone of voice. "Don't worry--Healing Magic is hard to master," she assured the younger woman. Larxene suddenly noticed Olette, who was standing by and watching curiously, and the blonde visibly tensed. Lucrecia quickly noticed. "Oh, that's a friend of mine, Olette. She's here to help, too."
"Hello, Larxene," Olette greeted with a smile and a wave, closing her eyes almost for emphasis. Larxene managed a half-smile, half-grimance before she clutched her right side, hissing in pain. Olette was immidiately concerned and reached forward, cupping the other woman's hand with her own. "Here, let me heal that. Cure!"
Healing green light drifted from Olette's hand and onto Larxene's gaping side wound, causing it to slowly close up. It did not completely heal due to the low level of the spell, but it was reasonably better, and Larxene seemed a bit re-energized as well.
"Thanks, Olette," Larxene mumbled, looking rather uncomfortable.
"I've got it from here," Lucrecia assured the younger girl. Olette obidiently let go of Larxene's hand and took a step back as Lucrecia pointed at Larxene. "Curagun!"
The healing light practically exploded from her, taking Larxene in an instant. The rest of her wounds closed at a speed that put Olette's spell to shame, leaving hardly a scar, save one on her arm and one on her forehead. Larxene half-smiled a thanks and nodded at Lucrecia.
"Thank you," Larxene said again, her voice sounding reasonably stronger. Lucrecia chuckled and shook her head.
"Don't mention it," she assured the younger woman. "Now, are you ready to come home?"
The word caused Larxene's eyes to widen. She stared at Lucrecia, slowly mouthed the word, and then what could only have been a grin spread across her face.
"Yeah," she said with a nod, taking a step forward. Lucrecia smiled again.
"HEARTLESS!" Zexion suddenly cried, going to lunge towards the group as Saïx growled and summoned his Claymore. Larxene suddenly noticed him and whimpered again, eyes wide, and before she could comment on anything, Zexion hit a virtually-invisible force field and landed in a heap on the ground, hissing in pain as he gently clutched at his nose.
"Zexion!" Lucrecia immidiately shouted, eyes wide. Zexion shook his head at her, but before anything more could be said, a figure dropped out of the trees and landed in a crouch, growling ferrally. Recognizing the tone of the growl, Lucrecia, Larxene, and Saïx froze.
The Heartless was glaring at them, skin black as coal and black hair, the edges a deep blue, writhing like snakes on its head. Its glowing yellow eyes were locked on Lucrecia, its facial features blocked out, save the bared, pearl-white teeth and the grey X-shaped scar on its forehead. It appeared to be wearing a torn suit with the majority of the front and sleeves torn off as well as the legs below the knees, what was left tinged white along the edges of the tears, and it was wearing no shoes revealing teeth that looked almost wolf-like, with long, dramatic claws. Its hands bore the same claws, tinged white like its outfit, only these were easily twice as long and much more menacing. Its Heartless symbol existed dead in the center of its chest.
"Saïx," Lucrecia began slowly, pulling Olette a step back so she was farther away from the creature (which was virtually frothing a the mouth as it stared at her), "do you have any idea whatever happened to your Heartless when you went Nobody?"
"I do now," he responded lowly, holding his inactive Claymore tightly in his right hand. He kept it in front of him and just off the ground like a makeshift shield. "And it does not seem too happy with you."
"What did I do?"
"Now is not the time to question that."
"...I will remember that later."
Saïx stayed silent at that as the Heartless continued to stare at Lucrecia, snarling profusely. "Dark!" it suddenly shouted, voice virtually identical to Saïx's, yet deeper, naturally demonic-sounding, and with an underlying growl.
Everyone stared.
"It spoke?" Larxene asked rather stupidly.
"It opened its mouth and words came out," Lucrecia said just as stupidly, although managing to retain a bit of herself.
"Since when do Heartless talk?!"
"Since now, apparently," Saïx said dryly. The Heartless seemed unamsed and growled loudly.
"Dark!" it repeated before lunging at Lucrecia, drool dripping from its mouth. Lucrecia nearly fell over.
"Ahhh! Reflect!" she shouted, holding up her hand as she yanked Olette into the shield that appeared. The Heartless hit it face-first and yelped as it was thrown backwards, ending up against another tree. It immidiately jumped back to its hands and feet, crouched in a canine-like structure as Lucrecia quickly tried to comfort Olette, who was shaking like a leaf.
"Don't worry, Olette," she said quietly. "Just cast Reflect if it comes near you. Okay?"
Olette slowly nodded and retreated to stand over by where Zexion was cursing and trying to break down the barrior, Hayner and Pence joining in. Their efforts were obviously futile.
"Larxene!" Larxene jumped at the barked order and Lucrecia glanced over, frowning a bit. "Your element?"
"Lightening," she almost immidiately said. She paused a moment and gazed at Lucrecia in confusion. "Why?"
"You know how to absorb it?" Lucrecia went on, seemingly ignoring the question. Dawning fell over Larxene and she smirked and nodded, summoning up six Kunai to rest between her fingers as Saïx and his Heartless watched, both slightly confused, although the Heartless seemed to be getting impatient.
"Go on."
Lucrecia grinned at her and again pointed. "Thunderagun!"
Immidiately a bolt of lightening as large around as a tree hit Larxene dead-on, leaving the spectators to the fight speechless. Before anyone could say anything, however, the lightening abruptly disapepared, leaving Larxene laughing in a crazed way as she literally crackled with energy. Her eyes were glowing so brightly it hurt to look at them as she crouched down a bit, smirking stupidly at the Heartless that had been temporarily blinded by the attack.
"Wish I could say I was sorry about doing this, Saïx," she called just a bit too cheerfully.
"...something tells me you do not mean that," Saïx merely sighed, rolling his eyes.
"And it'd be right!" With that, Larxene charged the Heartless, flinging multiple Kunai charged with lightening flying towards it. Immidiately the Heartless ducked under the first four, but it got hit in the arm by the others. It was frozen, its snarl stuck in place as lightening coursed over its body, creating yellow blasts as thick as a pencil between its fingers and the parts of its snaking hair. Larxene quickly summoned up six new ones and disappeared, re-appearing just behind it. "Take this!!"
She began sending Kunai, also electro-charged, flying at its back, reaching back and summoning new ones mere moments after they left her fingers. Larxene stopped only when there was no more room to hit, eyes dimmed back to the way it was before being energized and just a touch winded as she grinned stupidly.
"And that, ladies and gents, is how it's done," she announced, pumping a fist into the air. No sooner had the words left her mouth than the Kunai stuck in the Heratless' back suddenly forced themselves out, flying back towards Larxene. She paled conciderably. "Oh...crap..."
"Reflect!" Lucrecia quickly called. The shield appeared just in time, but instead of bouncing back, the weapons disappeared. Larxene shot her a thankful look, but before they could say anything, the Heartless snarled and abruptly lunged to its feet, slightly hunched over as Darkness flew from its back. Lucrecia, Larxene, and Saïx could only watch in horror as the wounds on its back healed themselves.
"Will you just die already?!" Lucrecia demanded with a groan.
"The fight's only just started," Saïx said seriously, moving to stand in front of her protectively. The Heartless whirled towards him and almost seemed to grin as it growled again, leaning towards him.
"Other!" it announced rather joyfully.
"Reluctantly so."
The Heartless' brief moment of what seemed to be confusion was all the time Saïx needed. Snarling himself, Saïx activated his weapon, sending the spikes flying outward and just missing Lucrecia's face.
"Watch it!" she cried, jerking out of the way. Saïx ignored her and charged forward, letting out a battle cry of sorts and slamming it down into the ground. His Heartless crumbled under the weight, actually turning into a pile of gooey Darkness in the small crator Saïx had created.
"...whoa," Larxene, Lucrecia, and Olette all said in unison, the boys outside of the shield openly staring. Just when they were about to congradulate Saïx, the goo jiggled.
Slowly, it raised around Saïx's weapon and pulled back towards the other end of the shield, actually brushing up against it so that the structure flashed gently as it slowly re-formed the Heartless from the feet-up. Lucrecia was green by the end of it.
"I...think I might hurl," she mumbled, putting a hand to her mouth. She whirled away from the sight and closed her eyes, even paler than usual as the Heartless stared blankly at Saïx.
"Other?" it asked meekly. Saïx stared at it, but then it suddenly turned its attention to Lucrecia and its snarl returned. "Dark!"
"No!" Saïx shouted more out of reflex as the Heartless prepared to lunge. It stopped mid-jump and slowly pulled back, gazing at Saïx in confusion.
"No?" it repeated as Lucrecia recovered herself and turned back around.
Saïx stared at it. "...don't...hurt her."
The Heartless tilted its head, looking rather like a dog, and grinned again. "'Kay!"
Everyone at this point was openly staring at it.
"Is it just me, or is it actually listening to you?" Larxene asked, half-screeching. The Heartless looked at her in confusion.
"Listen?" it repeated. It paused and its pointed ears, before unnoticed due to the writhing of its hair, twitched. It suddenly grinned again. "Listen!"
"...okaaaaaay..." Zexion said slowly from the other side of the shield.
"Uh, Heartless," Saïx began hesitantly, staring at the creature as it turned to stare at him with what he assumed was curiosity. "Can you...drop the barrior?"
"Barrior," it echoed, obviously processing the word. The whole of the barrior flashed and it suddenly grinned. "Barrior!" It gazed at Saïx again. "Drop?"
"...yes."
The Heartless paused a moment and probably thought before it seemed to realize what he meant. A few moments passed and then the barrior disappeared, allowing Hayner and Pence to run to Olette and fuss over her, trying to make sure she was all right, as Zexion slowly made his way over to Lucrecia and Larxene.
"This is a new development," Zexion muttered quietly, putting a hand to his chin in thought as he gazed at the Heartless. Said Heartless was staring back.
"Development," it repeated. Suddenly its hair moved into a style more like Saïx's and it grinned again. "Development!"
"It seems to be learning as it hears us speak."
"Speak! Learn?"
It paused again and gazed at Larxene for a few moments, then again grinned and summoned up shadowy versions of her Kunai, which disappeared moments later.
"Learn!" it chirped before giving what was almost a laugh.
"...facinating," Zexion finished, staring. He glanced at Saïx. "I think it listens to you the best."
"Best! Best!"
Obidiently the Heartless dropped down to all fours and walked over to Saïx, gazing curiously up at the Nobody. Saïx merely stared back, obviously confused.
"You almost act like a child," the blue-haired man finally said. The Heartless paused and stared.
"Act?" it repeated. Its grin returned for the upteenth time and it suddenly barked like a dog and then started laughing rather childishly. "Act! Act! Doggy!"
"Obviously it's been listening to people around the village," Larxene said slowly, still thinking.
"Village," the Heartless repeated, gazing curiously in the direction. It glanced up at Saïx and tilted its head. "Go village?"
"Er, no," he said slowly. "Stay right here."
"'Kay!"
The Heartless seemed content to do so and sat down like a dog, gazing curiously at Lucrecia.
"It's actually kinda...almost...maybe cute when it's not trying to kill us," Lucrecia decided with a slight smile.
"Cute?" the Heartless asked. It suddenly lunged towards Lucrecia, who squeaked in surprise, then laughed and sat in front of her. You could practically see the imaginary tail wagging behind it as it gazed up at her. "Cute!"
Silence.
"...Saïx, you haven't told me I was cute for nearly twenty-five years," Lucrecia said slowly. She gazed at the Nobody with an arched eyebrow. "You still think I'm cute?"
Saïx slowly began to turn red. "Uh...y...n...I cannot answer that question," he finally said in deadpan.
"Question, question!" the Heartless cheered happily. It suddenly gazed at Lucrecia again. "Cute Dark. Why Dark?"
"Dark?" Lucrecia echoed. She glanced at the others in confusion. "What does it mean?"
"Who knows," Hayner snorted, shaking his head as he and his friends walked over, "but either way, what does it matter?"
"What do you mean, 'what does it matter'?" Lucrecia smiled down at the Heartless, who continued to stare blankly at her with its large yellow eyes. "If it's coming with us, we need to at least understand what it means!"
"Means!" the Heartless agreed. "Coming! Me!"
"What do you mean, it's coming with us?!" Larxene cried, eyes wide as she stared at the Heartless. "That thing tried to kill me! It's been chasing me since I appeared!"
The Heartless stared blankly at her. "Find Other," it said simply. "Smell Other."
Silence followed its statement, so it decided to repeat itself.
"Need find Other. Smell Other. Follow."
"Oh, I get it!" Olette suddenly cried, eyes wide in surprise as she gazed at the others. "It wanted to find its Other, which I think means Saïx, and since Larxene smelled a bit like its Other, it decided to follow you guys!"
"Find Other! Find Saïx!" it announced happily, turning back towards Saïx and grinning. Saïx stared back.
"Why?" he asked rather stupidly. The creature tilted its head.
"Uh...need Other."
"It's getting smarter," Pence noted.
"It smarter!" the Heartless said happily, nodding in excitement.
"You mean 'I am smarter'," Lucrecia corrected kindly. The Heartless stared at her for a few moments.
"...I am smarter."
"Wow, you're right," Olette said. She smiled at the creature. "And it seems harmless, when it's not trying to kill us."
"I am harmless!" the Heartless announced, grinning even more than before. "I not trying kill!"
"'I am not trying to kill'," Lucrecia said. The Heartless paused.
"I am not trying to kill. I am harmless. I...am smarter?"
Lucrecia smiled at the creature and nodded. "That's right."
The Heartless was beaming at this point.
"It's not coming with us," Zexion deadpanned. Lucrecia snorted at him.
"I think that's for Saïx to decide," she responded. The group all turned to stare at Saïx, who was still watching the Heartless intently. Said Heartless suddenly whimpered as it stared up at him with wide yellow eyes, teeth hidden as it probably frowned.
"..." Saïx wisely said.
"I am coming with?" it asked quietly. Saïx stared for a few more moments.
"...well, you can't be left here," Saïx reasoned. "So yes, I suppose you are coming with."
The Heartless cheered and practically tackled Saïx in a hug. "Yay! Yay! Yay!"
Saïx stared down at the creature in his arms before gazing helplessly at the others, of which the Twilight Town-ites snickered, Zexion smirked, and Lucrecia merely smiled and shook her head. Saïx sighed and awkwardly patted it on the head.
"Would you please let go of me?" he asked after a few moments. The Heartless obidiently let go, staring curiously up at Saïx.
"We should introduce ourselves," Lucrecia suddenly said, smiling. "It needs to learn good manners."
"Manners?" the Heartless echoed. It thought for a few moments. "Please? Thank you? Manners?"
"Those are the basics, yes."
The Heartless smiled at her.
"Well, I'll start!" Olette said with a smile. She gestured towards herself. "My name is Olette. Do you know what a name is?"
The Heartless processed this for a few moments. "Name is...what call someone," it finally said after a few moments, nodding. Olette chuckled and nodded.
"Right! So, my name is Olette."
"Mine's Pence!"
"...Hayner."
They paused here so the Heartless could process this. "...Olette," it finally said, gazing at the brunette. "Hayner." Its gaze shifted to the blonde. "Pence." It finished by looking at the brunette male. It smiled. "Olette, Hayner, Pence!"
"You know my name," Saïx deadpanned.
The Heartless nodded and smiled again. "Saïx! Other!"
"Nobody, not Other. There is a difference."
"Difference?" the Heartless questioned, tilting its head. "Difference Nobody and Other?"
"There's a difference between a Nobody and an Other," Lucrecia corrected quietly.
The Heartless quickly fixed its question. "There's a difference between a Nobody and an Other?"
"The Other would be our original," Saïx said slowly. "A Nobody is me, the other half. I am the Body."
"...ironic," the Heartless said with a grin. "Body is No-body. Heart is Heart-less!"
"Did we say ironic?" Olette asked as it began to laugh.
"Nope," Pence said with a shrug.
"And we didn't tell it what made up a Nobody and a Heartless either," Hayner added, frowning.
"It's teaching itself!" Lucrecia cried happily. She smiled down at it. "It's like having a five-year-old around all over again."
"You are not introducing it as my brother," Zexion deadpanned. He was ignored.
"My name is Lucrecia. And that," she gestured towards Zexion, "is Zexion."
"Lucrecia and Zexion," the Heartless repeated. It smiled and nodded. "Lucrecia and Zexion!"
"Right!" Lucrecia laughed. "That's us!"
"Zexion...smell sort of Lucrecia."
"Yes, he does sort of smell like me," Lucrecia agreed. "He's my son. Do you know what that is?"
"Offspring," it said with a nod. Lucrecia chuckled.
"Mmm-hmm: Offspring. He's my child."
"Child."
"My name is Larxene," the blonde suddenly said, sounding a bit left-out. The Heartless gazed intently at her.
"Larxene," it repeated. It smiled. "Larxene cute, too!"
Again Saïx slowly began to flush, although Larxene merely seemed amused. "Well thanks for that! I like to think so, too."
"Do you have a name?" Pence asked, blinking. The Heartless merely stared at him before shaking its head.
"No name for Heartless," it said with a bit of a shrug.
"I have one!" Lucrecia almost immidiately anounced, smiling.
"...I am almost afraid to ask, but...what is it," Saïx deadpanned.
"Sïa." Saïx winced a bit and Zexion's brow furrowed, but Lucrecia was too busy staring at the Heartless with that same mothering smile. "We can call him Sïa."
"Sïa?" Sïa the Heartless repeated, tilting its head thoughtfully. It paused before grinning and nodding. "I am Sïa! I am Saïx's Heartless!"
"That's right!" Lucrecia laughed in response. She randomly checked her watch and yelped in surprise, causing everyone to stare at her. "Oh Shiva, we're late! We're supposed to meet up with Mickey, Xemnas, and Riku in front of Briggs' shop in twenty minutes!"
"We can make it!" Hayner quickly assured her, nodding determindly. "Come on, I know a shortcut."
He quickly darted off, everyone following...except for Sïa, who hestiated. Lucrecia paused when she noticed this and frowned a bit.
"Are you coming, Sïa?" she asked.
"I live here," it said, suddenly sounding unsure of itself. Lucrecia smiled at it and shook her head.
"You live with us now, silly. You and me and Zexion and Saïx and Larxene...and other people who you can make friends with!"
Sïa stared curiously at her for a few moments. "...I come with?"
"Of course!" Lucrecia laughed, nodding enthusiastically. She held out her hand to it. "Are you coming?"
A few moments passed and Sïa stared hesitantly at the hand. Then, slowly, it reached out and took it. Lucrecia pulled it along almost immidiately, forcing it to run on its back legs, and yet despite the uncomfortable position, the Heartless smiled the whole way.