Chapter 4
Just outside Los Angeles, in the exact same spot that the group of unlikely heroes stood before, Jake paced back and forth, staring at the ground worriedly.
When they left Tokyo, Raimundo opened the portal back to LA in case the others had already made their return. When they couldn't find them, Rai pulled the tiger claws out again and headed off to the other battle grounds to find them, while Jake stayed put in case they did show up.
The longer it took for Rai to return, the more worried Jake became. Rai was currently flying through two of the biggest battle zones alone, while Jake was isolated close to the most dangerous place on the planet. Neither would be able to hold up a fight for long if they were caught.
"Come on Rai, just find them and get back here already." Jake groaned as he finally stopped moving and looked up into the sky.
"Hey, Jake." Eyes lighting up at the familiar female voice, Jake made a quick one-eighty turn just in time to see Kim and Gohan land on the ground in front of him, Gohan moving his arms off Kim's waist as the feet met earth. "I take it your mission went well then?" Kim asked with a grin.
"Yeah, it got really rough and we were almost defeated near the end, but we pulled through." Jake responded, relief and company smothering most of his worry. "Have fun in Bellwood?"
"It was pretty much the same." Gohan responded, looking around and frowning when he didn't see anything. "Where's Raimundo?"
"He used the tiger claws to go see if you or the others needed a ride." Jake answered, some of his worry coming back at the mention in the wind walking monk. "Oh, speak of the devil."
At that moment a portal opened beside them and out flew Raimundo. The others smiled at his arrival, but they quickly turned to frowns as the portal closed and Rai turned to them wind a forlorn loo on his face.
"The succeeded, the tower's gone and so is one more organisation member, but they were captured by another. That's what a blue dragon said anyway."
"That was gramps." Jake stated, biting his lip. "If he said it, then it's what happened. He's as sharp as they come and watches everything like a hawk."
"He seemed that way." Rai nodded sadly. "The other cloaked freak apparently mention how Xemnas would be pleased, so it's safe to say our friends are in the castle."
"Then lets get moving, we have a castle to break into." Kim responded determinedly, pulling out her Kimmunicator. "Wade, things got worse. Did you get anything?"
"Just a series of shots from a satellite." Wade sighed before sending them to the hand held device. The pictures were definitely close up, you'd think they were taken from a plane, not orbit. Each one was at a slightly different angle, revealing windows and other openings on each side of the castle, as well as the Nobodies moving around the city.
"The Nobodies tend to avoid this area around here." Wade said as he brought up a picture favouring the east wing of the castle. On the shot, he marked a bending line, swerving around Nobody hot spots, leading from where they were to the castle wall. "Where you'll meet the castle is an entrance that my monitoring of the place has concluded is unused. It looks like one of them old servants' entrances. It's your best bet at getting in, but once inside, I have no idea how well defended it'll be. Be careful everyone."
"Got it. Don't worry Wade." Kim responded before Wade disconnected, leaving only the required picture on the screen. "Lets fly."
"Actually, we have a better chance of getting there undetected on foot." Gohan said, turning down the path towards the castle.
"Then lets go, the others need us." Jake said hurriedly, taking off. The others followed quickly behind him.
On the East wing of the castle, near the top of a tower, on a balcony as grey and white as the rest of the castle, the blue eyed Nobody stared sadly out at the world. His hood was down, revealing a mess of spiky blond hair and a young lightly tanned face. He couldn't be more then fifteen.
What can I do now? He thought, frustrated at his own powerlessness. I could free everyone in the dungeon, but even without the other four heroes there, they'd all be caught again in no time and I'd be destroyed for the betrayal. Even if the armies were to disappear, the Organisation still outnumbers and outguns them. He sighed at that and just kept looking around at the destruction that had already been made. It wouldn't be long before Xemnas had the whole world looking just like that.
"Staring at the day's work again Roxas?" A cocky voice asked from behind him. Carefully turning his face neutral again, the young blond turned to another cloaked figure. Like Roxas, he too had his hood down, revealing a long, spiky mane of red hair and bright green eyes, with tear drop tattoos just underneath. "You really need to find another hobby. How many hours have you been doing it for today?"
"Since the three heroes were chained up." Roxas shrugged, turning back to the world beyond the castle. "And it's not like there's anything else to do Axel."
"Well, you do have a point." Axel shrugged, coming over and leaning on the railing with the blond. "But that will change soon. Once this world's domination is complete, we'll be able to go out and have a lot more fun then ever before."
"Yeah." Roxas responded, trying very hard to keep his upsetment and worry at the prospect of destroying even more lives as he stared down at the ground. Movement caught his eye as his gaze passed an area that the nobodies had strangely avoided, though seeing as it was the closest entrance to the dungeons he had a feeling his telepathic friend may have something to do with that, striking his curiosity. Focusing harder on it, his eyes widened due to a mix of happiness and worry as he spotted the other four heroes. I can't let Axel see them. "Why does Xemnas want this world as our base of operations again?" He asked, turning to Axel as he preyed the pyro nut would focus on him, not the outside world.
"Why ask a question we already know the answer too?" Axel asked, raising an eyebrow, turning to Roxas. "This world's the middle of- hey, look who's down there."
Roxas paled as Axel turned and spotted the approaching heroes. Luckily, Axel paid him no notice.
"Let's go grab some of our buddies. Xemnas is going to love this."
"Wait, Axel, what…" Before he could finish, Axel had already created a corridor of darkness and disappeared into the dark energy. Unable to stop it, Roxas' hands went into his hair as he looked back down with more then a little panic. "Of all the times to show up."
The trek had been just as they'd expected it to be. Few Nobodies showed up and those that did were destroyed before they could cause a problem. As they got closer to the castle, they became more cautious, scanning every bit of land or building they passed. Making it safely to the doors, the group let out a sigh of relief.
"Almost there." Gohan smiled, as he and the others picked up the pace. However, a second later, all four sets of eyes went wide as the entire area around them warped into a metal walled room with no exit. "What the- ARGH!"
Blasts of fire, water and darkness simultaneously hit the half Saiyan from three different directions. Unprepared and unable to take the assault, Gohan fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Go- Argh!" Jake, who'd stayed in his human form to stay out of sight, and Kim quickly followed Gohan into darkness, falling on either side of Rai.
"Show yourselves." Rai growled, dropping into a defensive position. The low roof that had somehow appeared prevented him from the safety of the sky, which made an impossible battle even more difficult, especially since he could see their aggressors.
A chuckle was the only response he got before the ground below him turned red and a purplish blue before a column of flames and energy burst upward, encasing him as he screamed. When the blast cleared, the world warped again, back to what it was before and revealed the last hero, down and out like the rest of them.
"That was far too easy." Axel complained, using his foot to turn Jake onto his back. "They didn't even put up a fight. I can't believe Larxene and Vexen fell to them."
"They were attacked too quickly to respond, in an area that cut off their manoeuvrability." Zexion responded, closing his book. "Don't underestimate them Axel, if they're anything like the three that defeated Lexaeus, they will make powerful allies for us."
"Enough talk, lets get them to the dungeon. They can wait there with the others until superior brings more Heartless into the world." The figure holding a claymore interrupted. Getting a nod from the others, each of them picked up a hero and headed back inside via a corridor of darkness.
Back up on the balcony, Roxas looked down with determination in his eyes.
"I have to save them. Even if it means my end."