If we were Together: A year has passed since their separation, and Riku and Sora have grown both in size and in mentality. Sora slept in her chamber regaining her memories while Riku watched over her clouded in the gray spaces between light and darkness.
Chapter 4: Comparison
Axel frowned as she watched over Sora from a safe distance. His eyes taking in her form, she was different then he remembered in Castle Oblivion, she'd grown considerably and was featuring womanhood right now. Roxas had looked much the same as she did before she left.
"She wasn't as happy as you are," he murmured moving with the shadows. She had ran into some old friends in the mismatch town of Hollow Bastion. The Leon crew, as he liked to call them, had formed a group known as the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. The streets were being repaired, old mechanisms being put to good use again, and there was now a security system that took out the occasional heartless The castle was a mess though and swarming with heartless, probably aftermath from Maleficent's encounter.
"And so she becomes recruited… guess it's as good time as any to inform the others." He summoned a few dusks. "Go tell Saix I've located the Key Bearer, she's in the ruins of Hollow Bastion and will be making her way to the Baily."
The dusks cringe and vanish and Axel kept his eyes on the Keyblade master his lips pressed in a firm line. Heartless popped up around them and despite being a little rusty from sleep he could make out the instinctual training in her. The way she held the blade, the way her eyes scanned the area making sure it was clear before pressing forward.
"I used to see the same look in Roxas… I barely noticed it before in Castle Oblivion… I wonder. Are you still in there somewhere Roxas?"
HIs mind began to hatch a plan. He wanted to see Roxas again, but how could he pull her out from Sora? It was best he kept his eye on her from now on. Slipping his hood up to hide his face he vanished into the dark and awaited the Superior's order.
~Bailey~
Hollow Bastion was a maze of tubes and brick, a sort of steampunk atmosphere mixed with high technology and varying styles of people. Most of the citizens had been long scared off but many loyal to the town returned to rebuild and restore the once glittering city.
Donald had an Uncle Scrooge who was a current citizen and the business owner was currently working on a project involving a nostalgic ice cream. Hewey Dewey and Louie who once ran the item shop on Traverse town moved their businesses to the square and now dealt in and accessories as well.
Sora was glad to see everyone was optimistic and happy, but things wouldn't last if the heartless continued to siege the areas. The Bailey was the perfect view spot to look over the entire troubled area. It was like a stone balcony, with two open windows of brick that was a straight shot downward under the current city. the entrance had a gate which was currently opened and the opposite end led to a single staircase that led further down into the mechanisms of another part of the town.
Leon stood beside her pointing out at the wreckage of the castle which had slowly begun to deteriorate from the infection of heartless. With them the nobodies circled the empty grounds as if patrolling the area.
"We'll handle them!" Sora reassured Leon, thumping her gut with a grin.
"Well that's good to hear," Leon said in his usual half sarcastic tone. He knew better than to underestimate the girl by now. "So Sora, do you know what's going on then?"
"There's this lady, Patty, who's been conspiring with the heartless, but she's not the problem. She's not smart enough to tie her own shoes. The ones we have to worry about are the nobodies." Explained already eager to get to the action. She needed to warm up old muscles and a good fight would do the trick.
"Not to mention those Organization Thirteen guys in charge."Goofy added thoughtfully.
"You called."
The voice put Sora on alert, her eyes scanned the area feeling out for the danger She rushed outward looking for the source.
"You're looking well, this calls for a celebration." A second voice whispered and the two laughed together. Nobodies appeared, first by the stairs then another pair blocking leon from exiting the Bailey. As Donald and Goofy rushed the ones on the stairs Sora fell backward to help Leon and found herself trapped inside.
The gates were being guarded and it unnerved her. She concentrated on getting them open, cutting through the enemies and matching their wits with her own. Fighting Nobodies was different than fighting the heartless. She could actually see these lot of shells circling and plotting as they fought, strategizing how to win. Luckily for her they didn't have her strength or stamina and she beat them out in the end despite her rusty arm.
Leon was a great help too, she could see he hadn't fallen from his pique, it had instead grown. The man was a great support in battle and together they eliminated the threat at hand.
As the threat died down, the voices are heard once more. "A keyblade, a truly marvelous weapon. If only it were in more capable hands."
The insult burned and Sora rushed out growling between her teeth as laughter rang in her ears. This time there were many voices, and this time she spotted the group it belong to. Dark figures appeared overhead one right after the other standing together in a strong threatening group.
"Organization thirteen!" Goofy exclaimed from beside her.
"Good, now we can settle this!" Blade still out and glittering in the sun she pushed forward, but halted as the voice of the leader spoke again.
"What a shame, and here I thought we could be friends." The superior stood at the front admiring the girl from his viewpoint. He had wanted to introduce himself, to show that he and his companions were not afraid of the would be hero. With his impression made he looked to number two, nodding his head before they all laughed and vanished.
Donald not wanting to let them get away ran for the stairs only to be cut up by one of the boys in black. Number Two shrugged his shoulders ready to have a bit of fun. "Well hello beautiful. Nice to see you."
"You're in the way!" Sora shouted glaring at the road block. He merely laughed.
"Now now, is that anyway to talk to me?"
"I said move!" Sora stepped closer ready to make him if he didn't budge.
"Now, now, child. No need to scrunch up that pretty face of yours. I wouldn't want to have to hurt you."
"Ha! A lot of talk for someone who stood on the sidelines and let all his flunkies do the fighting!" She sneered.
"Oh dear, I think you got the wrong impression." Number two wagged a finger at her as if to lecture.
"Tch, you gonna cry, old man?"
"Old man!? Ha! Haha! Now that's rich! That's just funny. I can't believe how much you're alike!"
"Alike?" Confused and angered she glared at him.
"Yes, just like that! She used to give me the same exact look!" He could picture Roxas in his head during missions and training, staring with such anger and dislike. It was funny to think about.
"You think you can psyche me out by saying all this random stuff?"
"Hmmm, gee i just don't know." He waited a beat staring sternly into her eyes waiting for her to want to pounce. When he knew she was itching for a fight he straightened up and gave her a wave. "Be a good girl now!" He vanished, Donald leaping trying to catch him but he fell flat on his face.
"Nuts, he got away!"
"That was weird." Unnerved by the strangers words Sora stood up straight and crossed her arms in thought. "Who used to give him the same look?"
"Aww I think he was just trying to confuse, ya." Goofy sympathized not knowing how to make heads or tails of what the man was trying to imply. Goofy felt it was better if she just brushed it off.
"Hmm, yeah I guess you're right. There's only one me!"
~Organization 13 ~
Superior sat at his chair in the conference room waiting for the council to begin. All figures circled around, the empty chairs of his fallen members didn't put a hitch in his stride, in fact he felt it was a good way to rid himself of the weakest links in his arsenal. Luxiana had been a worthy candidate in terms of aggression and foresight, but her betrayal and failure to apprehend the keyblade warrior had made him a necessary loss.
Axel had proved himself useful for that, and though he was annoyed over the loss of his scientist, Vexen, Axel had helped to weed out the others. Still his attachments to Number 13 were beginning to put him at the top of his discard pile.
He watched as Axel appeared in his seat lounging comfortably he couldn't help but sneer a little. One by one the other members appeared, the final one being Number Two who had been playing his little game. "Well then, that was productive."
"It's definitely as you said, Superior, the girl is unnerved and is itching to fight. How should we play this out?" Number Two, Xigbar, asked.
"The girl is to be ignored for the time being. Our biggest concern with her is to make sure she goes up against the heartless and feeds us the energy we need to complete our ultimate objective."
"So we're to continue with our individual missions then? To assure that each world she visits is a test of her strength. Do you best not to be seen."
"What of Number 13?" Xaldin, number 3, asked. "Is it possible to reawaken her. It would be more to our advantage if the girl was under our control."
"It's true," Saix, Number Seven, responded. "Number thirteen was welcomed into the heart of Sora rather than having to be destroyed. It could still be possible to lure her out somehow and separate the bodies."
"Roxas won't come out easily," Axel answered back. "She made her decision to join with Sora. There's little I think that could convince her to come out, and much less for Sora to let her go."
"Then I suggest this," Superior leaned back. "Should you happen upon the girl in your missions do your best to lure Number Thirteen out of hiding. If the subject fails to respond use aggression to liberate her true disposition."
"In other words, Demyx," Saix turned his eyes on Number nine who was writing all this down so he would remember. "Attack the keybearer until she agrees to go with you willingly or loses her heart once more."
"Eh heh, right." Demyx put away the paper. "You do know that's not my strong suit, right? You're asking the wrong guy."
"I don't care, should you happen upon her do as you're told and liberate!" Showing his rare and uncontrollable temper Saix turned his red eyes to Demyx making him fidget in his seat.
"Calm down, seven. There's no need to rush this. We must take our time and let things fall into place. We can't let any mistakes slip through the cracks of our plan."
"Yes, superior."
"Good, now then, Axel stay a moment I want to have a word with you. The rest of you are dismissed." He waited until the flock had up and gone. Axel gave a deep sigh knowing he wasn't going to enjoy this chat."
"What's up, Number 1?" Axel gave a salute. "How can I be a service to the superior?"
"You can start by forgetting any plans you have for reawakening Number 13." He watched as Axel's eyes narrowed and he couldn't help but let his lips slowly curve. "What you think I didn't know? You're much too easy to read, Axel."
"I thought you wanted to have her back."
"It would be easier, yes, but you're distratcing yourself from the mission, and should any attempts fail to bring her back I don't want you betraying the organization to protect her. Roxas… no… Sora is a pawn, a tool to help reach our true goal. Ignore anything you might think or feel about that girl. Until we Nobodies have true hearts all these so called feelings and memories are nothing but an illusion. Let them go, and concentrate on the task at hand."
"I get you, fine, we nobodies have no hearts, my feelings mean nothing, only the missions are important. I've got it memorized." He began to fade into the darkness but not before catching the look of smugness on the Superior's face.
"Be sure that you do, Axel." He watched him go tapping the armrests of his chair with a conceited grin on his face.. "Be sure that you do."
Another Chapter down, more to go. This fic is going to take a little time to complete, but I've already begun to think of where I want to go next with this series. Obviously Kingdom Hearts 3 will be released, but until the game comes out I don't want to even attempt to guess of what will happen. Call me a coward but I prefer sticking close to the material and staying true to the characters.
So… until KH3 comes out and I've had a chance to play it I'll need to fill in the space with separate fics. I've decided to poll you, my readers, and figure out which parts you would like to see next.
A) (358/2 Days) If we had Hearts: This will concentrate on Axel and Roxas' story, starting from the beginning when she was first created, to the very end when she decides to join up with Sora and they part ways.
B) (Birth By Sleep) If I could do it again: Obviously some of the previous events are gonna change because of the gender twist and I do have a few ideas on how to change up the backstory to my liking. You will still have Xehanort, and the inverse, but something's off as you'll soon find out.
C) (Dream Drop Distance) If this is the end: No I'm not gonna go through the game, this is more of a prequel to KH3, I don't expect it to be very long, probably more of a one-shot deal.
D) If it never began (AKA Aftermath): This is fun, I've already decided on doing a fluffy fic which will show off the characters in a peaceful version of their worlds. It's basically a "What if KH 3 didn't happen" Sora, Riku, and Kairi return to the islands to be normal teenagers but they're not going to the islands alone. Some special guests have joined them!
So there are the choices… I would like you to put them in the order you would like to see them released, and don't forget to let me know how you think the current fic is going!
Next Chapter: Be a Man!