Disclaimer: Still ain't Nomura, lol. And keep a lookout for possible CoM spoilers, though I don't think there are any. And I suppose I should start disclaiming that there is lots of swearing and sexual innuendos, huh? So look out if you're young or easily offended.
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Not That I Care
16
The Storm
"Great storms announce themselves
with a simple breeze, Captain."
--Ladyhawke
"So basically, lion politics are a hell of a lot worse than people politics, huh?"
"Well, to the degree that in this day and age you don't have governors knifing each other so they can take over."
"That's what they want you to believe. But just look at the Organization. Though Marluxia had more of a, yanno, giant scythe."
"Ugh."
Axel and Roxas are walking down from the castle to the Dark City below, both of them sagging from exhaustion. Roxas also has a headache, though it's nothing compared to the ones he was having a few months ago. Things have gotten hairy in the Pride Lands, pun intended. Mufasa has been killed, Scar has taken over and Simba has gone missing. Roxas and Demyx have had more trouble from all the political bullshit than they have from the Heartless.
"How bout you?" Roxas asks, almost dreading the answer. Axel looks far more exhausted than Roxas feels. It's been a month since Axel's assignment to Hollow Bastion and this is one of the few moments they've been able to spend together. Axel has been working at a madman's pace, and Roxas doesn't understand it any better than he did a month ago.
"Don't even get me started," Axel groans, running both hands over his head. "The Great Maw—I know, wonderful name, isn't it?—is getting greater every day, I mean, there's got to be at least a billion Heartless there constantly. The local Restoration Committee is getting nowhere. Saïx is as freaking batshit as ever. Oh, and the drama? That world is like a soap opera! We've got Cloud, this emo-tastic little weirdo who is forever chasing after this crazy half-angel guy called Sephiroth who has a crazy-long sword, by the way. And Cloud is continually ignoring the fact that not one but two girls are hot for him—one of whom is quite the firecracker, I gotta say. And then we've got Leon, who for some reason is hiding the fact that his real name is Squall, and acts like all the responsibility of Hollow Bastion falls on him, and also ignores the fact that he is almost constantly surrounded by women. And there's Cid, who seems to pop up everywhere, and spends all his time tinkering or working with the computer mainframe, also ignoring the fact that he is also constantly surrounded by women. What is wrong with all these Hollow Bastioners?"
Roxas sighs and rubs at his forehead.
"I think you just need to get laid."
"You're telling me!" Axel mutters, yawning hugely. "Maybe that's why the Organization is so messed up—everyone's way too sexually repressed for it to be healthy. I mean, think of Xemnas. Before he was the Superior he was this big old nerd scientist—try to imagine the last time he got any."
"Axel, the last thing I want to think about right now is the Superior's sex life."
Axel grimaces. "Yeah. Went a bit too far there."
"I don't think I've ever heard you admit to it," Roxas says, smirking. "So when do you head back to soap-opera world?"
"Tomorrow, bright and…well, not bright, but early. Only got the day off because the Restoration Crew is spending the whole day in the Great Maw, and there's no way we'd get in without their seeing us. Saïx says…"
When Axel doesn't finish, Roxas looks over to see that Axel has come to a stop and is massaging his forehead, teeth gritted.
"Something wrong?"
"It's gonna rain," Axel says, glaring upward. "Damn."
"…and, the voices in your head told you this?"
"Headache. Happens sometimes…not often." Axel shakes his head out and lowers his hand. "It hasn't happened in awhile. Sometimes I just get headaches when it's gonna rain. Cause of the fire, I suppose, it's not exactly like fire and rain are compatible." He winces again and glances upward. "It's gonna be a bad one. Fucking brilliant."
Roxas follows his gaze to the sky. Now that he thinks about it, Kingdom Hearts is dimmer than usual, as if obscured by mist.
"We could head back," he suggests, looking back at Axel who tries to keep the pain off his face. "Stay in, play cards with Luxord?"
Axel groans. "Playing cards with Luxord is not my idea of a fun time. Bastard always cheats."
"No, you just suck at cards."
"Either way. No, I'll be fine, let's go kick the Darkness's ass."
Roxas purses his lips. He's in desperate need of some Heartless to kill, what with all the political bullshit going on in the Pride Lands, but at the same time he knows how much headaches suck.
"For a little while, but then you're going back and getting some rest. You've been working way too hard lately anyway."
Axel grins as they start walking again. "You know what we need? We need a union."
Roxas nods solemnly. "Weekends. Benefits. Dental."
"The Nobodies Union. We could have protests and stuff. 'More vacation time, more wages, or we set the factory on fire, got it memorized?' Be all leftist and revolutionary."
"Would give you the opportunity to blow some stuff up, I imagine."
Axel doesn't answer and Roxas notices him surreptitiously reach for his forehead again.
Roxas feels the first raindrop a few minutes later, as they're crossing the bridge from the Castle to the Dark City. The rain has become a downpour by the time they've crossed, and thunder and lightning mutter in the distance. Roxas keeps an eye on Axel, who starts wincing more often and has gone rather quiet—never a good thing with Axel.
Soon the winds have picked up and the lightning is crackling just overhead. By then the two Nobodies are making their way through an alley toward a group of unsuspecting Heartless, and Axel is trying not to look like he's dragging himself.
"You sure you're up for this? You look like you're going to fall asleep on your feet."
"I'm fine. Killing stuff is exactly the pick-me-up I need," Axel says with a fake smirk. He stifles a yawn; it's as if the rain is draining his energy.
There's a loud crash as lightning strikes nearby and something occurs to Roxas.
"How exactly are you going to use your fire in all of this?"
"Um. By bending the laws of physics. Which I can do, because I'm awesome."
Now Roxas is rubbing his forehead. "Axel…"
"Oh, come on, I said I'm fine. I've got my weapons at least." Axel's chakrams appear swirling in his hands, shooting sparks of fire. "And I can work a little fire. You worry too much, shorty."
Roxas snorts and peers out of the alley at the Heartless. "Just don't slow me down."
He springs out of the alley and takes a flying leap at the closest Shadow, calling his Keyblade to his hand in midair. The Heartless disappears in a puff before it even knows what hits it. Roxas lands in a puddle, splashing water everywhere. By now the other Heartless—Shadows and Neoshadows, which are like Shadows but twice as big and ten times as mean—have noticed the two Nobodies. They turn and move forward like storm clouds; Roxas doesn't give them a chance to regroup and jumps into the middle of them, swinging his Keyblade. He sees a flash of orange light out of the corner of his eye and knows that Axel has joined the fight as well.
One of the reasons that the Dark City is good for training is that there is, quite literally, no end to the Heartless. The World That Never Was is right on the edge between Darkness and Light; the Nowhere that exists between the two. The Heartless love it here—it's easy to open up pathways between Light and Darkness, and it's safe (usually) from certain Keyblade-wielding someones.
The downside, of course, is that the Organization has to keep weeding out the Heartless, otherwise they'd overrun the Castle and general hell would break lose. Right now, Roxas is thankful for the obscene numbers. Killing things really is the best medicine for stress.
Roxas smiles to himself as his Keyblade cuts down three Shadows at once. Heh. I'm starting to think like Axel.
Two Neoshadows leap through the air as if to tackle him; Roxas dances around and knocks one into the other in midair, sending them crashing against the side of a building. He spins back around in time to see at least ten Shadows slinking along the ground toward him, a handful of Neoshadows following. He takes a flying leap over the Heartless and lands behind them, but the Neoshadows are quick. Roxas yelps as he feels claws in his hip and swings his Keyblade, cleaving off the head of one and slicing open the chest of a second. Both collapse and disappear into black smoke.
Then the flicker of Axel's fire, their only source of illumination, goes out.
Roxas mutters a curse and looks around until he sees a few embers in the darkness. Axel is fighting a cluster of Neoshadows and seems to be only just able to hold them off.
"Axel, we need fire!"
"Everything's too wet!" Axel yells back, and a spark of flame illuminates him as he slices through three of the Neoshadows.
Roxas hears a hiss behind him and whirls, slashing at the yellow pinpoints that are the Heartless's eyes. The Shadows coming after him before have regrouped; Roxas guesses about thirteen pairs of eyes now. There's a cataclysmic bang as lightning strikes overhead, lighting up the street ahead of Roxas.
He stifles a curse—the entire street has filled with Heartless, almost all of them the stronger Neoshadows.
It's alright. I've got the lightning, plus their eyes glow, so I can see where they are. Alright.
There's no time to let his eyes adjust after the lightning flash, so Roxas pushes himself into the mess of glowing eyes, swinging and spinning. The Neoshadows can anticipate and evade, unlike their smaller cousins. Roxas has a hard time keeping track of them just by their eyes, but he manages to land every blow. Something grapples at his leg and Roxas stabs downward, then sweeps his Keyblade upward to catch a Neoshadow that is leaping for his throat like some kind of psychotic hound.
Roxas senses a presence behind him and spins, but not fast enough. Claws rake at his thigh and he swings low, slicing the Neoshadow in half. Instantly two more are coming at him from the side, and Roxas realizes that he's surrounded.
Be a nice time for that second Keyblade to appear…
Roxas slashes, ducks, dodges, blocks as best he can. Heartless disappear into smoke all around him and soon the area is faintly illuminated by the pink glow of fleeing hearts. The circle around him stretches and Roxas spots a break. He charges for it, cutting down Heartless as he goes, and shoves himself through the circle. Then he turns back and slashes at the group of Heartless while they're still distracted.
Suddenly there's a yelp of pain and Roxas spins to see Axel pulled to the ground by Heartless.
Roxas doesn't even think about it. The next thing he knows he's plowing through them, slashing anything that even considers getting in his way. He reaches the cluster of Heartless that are surrounding Axel and attacks, not even pausing to decide where to swing his weapon. The Keyblade becomes a silver blur in his hands. The Heartless can't even touch him.
Axel manages to drag himself out of the way as Roxas kills the last Heartless. The rest of them hiss and fall back, considering the Nobodies from a distance. Roxas stands between them and Axel, Keyblade at the ready before him.
"Fucking hell, Axel," Roxas snarls when he realizes they're momentarily safe. "Don't scare me like that."
"I was fine, I was about to kick their asses." Roxas looks back and sees that Axel is trying and failing to pull himself to his feet. He is pale and shaking.
"You're useless in this weather," Roxas says as lightning flashes again overhead. The Heartless are still keeping their distance.
Axel makes a hissing sound and forces himself to his feet, glaring at Roxas.
"Useless? Who do you think you're talking to, shorty? I'm—" Axel cuts himself off and he lets out a snarl of pain, one hand shooting to his head. "Damn, damn, damn."
"I told you not to slow me down. Just go back to the Castle, I can handle this lot on my own."
"No way. This is the only day we've been able to hang out in forever, there's no way I'm…going…" Axel sways a little and picks up his thread. "I can still fight."
Roxas can't help but laugh, though he knows it's rather cruel. "You call that fighting? You're about to pass out! Don't be an idiot, Axel, or you're going to get us both killed."
Axel snarls again, though this time it has nothing to do with pain. "Fucking hell, this day was supposed to be—! You know what, whatever. Fuck it." Axel waves a hand and opens a dark portal. "Have fun with your Heartless."
He steps in and disappears without another word. Roxas frowns after him.
What's he so angry about?
He shrugs to himself and turns back to face the Heartless, who are edging forward now that Roxas is the only one left. Roxas smiles and throws himself into the fray.
-------
The rain hasn't let up in the slightest, and by now Roxas is absolutely drenched and shivering. He's also pleasantly worn out. Killing the rest of the Heartless took a fair amount of time without Axel to back him up, but it was good exercise and a good stress reliever. He's only slightly banged up, though the cold and wet is starting to get uncomfortable. It'll be nice to get back to the Castle, warm up with some tea and a book…
I hope Axel's alright. Though I guess it's a good thing it happened now and not when we were on a mission. Not that we've actually been on a mission together in…how long?
Roxas shrugs to himself and shoves his hands into his pockets, trying not to shiver too much. The overcoat is weighing heavily on his shoulders; the thing must be twenty pounds when waterlogged.
I wonder why Axel was so pissed off. He did want to hang out today…maybe I should have gone back with him. But he knew I needed a good fight, so why…?
Roxas hears a skittering sound behind him and turns to look. He narrows his eyes at the dim street behind him. Nothing seems to be there, but Roxas pulls one hand out of his pocket, ready to summon his weapon.
He sees and hears nothing else, so he turns around again and keeps heading for the Castle, but he keeps his eyes open, frowning to himself. Something isn't right.
Why's it so dark? Idiot, it's the Dark City. But no, something's…
Thunder rumbles overhead and the clouds flash. Roxas looks upward, shielding his eyes from the rain. Kingdom Hearts has completely vanished, even though as far as Roxas knows no cloud cover has ever been able to totally conceal it.
The darkness around him seems to deepen.
Damn it, something's really…Roxas comes to a stop and summons his Keyblade to his hand, looking every which way. It feels like Heartless, but somehow more intense than usual. The feeling is familiar.
There's a rumbling sound above and behind him that has nothing to do with thunder, and the bottom drops out of Roxas's stomach. He turns slowly.
A Darkside is standing over him, peering down through giant yellow eyes. Lightning flashes and Roxas can see it through the gaping hole in Darkside's middle.
Oh, fuck.
This is only the second Darkside that Roxas has ever seen. Considering that the last time he encountered one ended with Axel practically impaled on the thing's claws, Roxas is less than thrilled to find one here. Darkside takes a step forward, Shadows sliding out from the darkness beneath its feet, and Roxas raises his Keyblade, ready.
But this feels different. World That Never Was…this close to the darkness, the thing'll probably be twice as strong as before. Should I call for backup? No, calm down. I can handle this myself.
"Alright, asshole," Roxas says, glaring up at the monster. "You're in my territory this time."
Darkside makes a deep-throated groaning, like an earthquake, and raises a fist above Roxas. Roxas doesn't give it time to move and attacks first. He leaps onto the thing's foot and then springs up to its ankle, out of reach of the Shadows. Darkside is momentarily confused and Roxas takes the opportunity to hack at its leg.
There's a roar and the leg lifts off the ground. Roxas digs his Keyblade in and holds on as Darkside kicks back and forth, trying to dislodge him. After a particularly violent thrust Roxas lets go of the Keyblade and goes flying, crashing to the ground and rolling a good ways. He's back on his feet in an instant, dazed but steady, and calls the Keyblade back into his hand.
Darkside advances on him and makes a sweeping motion with its claws. Roxas drops and rolls, feeling the wind as the massive hand slices the air above him. Roxas scrambles back to his feet and raises his Keyblade to parry as the hand swings back around for him. There's a squashy sort of crunching sound as Darkside's hand strikes the metal. The force throws Roxas to the ground hard, but Darkside rears back with an angry rumble, one finger missing.
Two Shadows are coming for Roxas so he pulls himself up and swings at them. One vanishes in a burst of dust, but the other flattens itself just in time, then jumps up to claw at Roxas's waist. Roxas lets out a snarl and throws the Heartless off, killing it with a blow to the head. He looks up to refocus his attention on Darkside.
Roxas's throat tightens. Darkside is on its knees—not from pain or injury, Roxas remembers. He braces himself. The air hums and Darkside looses one bolt of purplish energy after another at Roxas. He dodges, spins, dives out of the way. At the last second he sees one coming straight at him; he rolls to his feet, pulls back his Keyblade and swings, knocking the bolt right back at Darkside. The energy crackles down the metal and painfully up his arm, but the bolt strikes Darkside in the shoulder. The monster lets out a moan and stops shooting. It climbs back to its feet and takes a step forward. With a sudden burst of speed, Darkside punches downward. Roxas throws himself to the side and the fist whistles by him, planting itself in the ground and opening a dark portal. Shadows crawl out and slide toward Roxas, but he ignores them. Darkside's fist is stuck in the ground for the moment—this could be Roxas's only chance.
He jumps over the approaching Shadows and climbs up onto Darkside's fist, then starts running as fast as he can up the arm. Darkside tries to swipe at him with its free hand, but Roxas ducks and keeps going. There's an almighty wrench as Darkside frees its fist, but by now Roxas is up to the monster's shoulder. Darkside is reaching for him again. Roxas lets out a roar as he leaps and slashes across Darkside's neck.
Darkside lets out a cry and now Roxas is falling back toward the pavement, grinning madly.
That shoulda done it.
Suddenly there's a jarring sensation and Roxas's entire world turns upside down.
Darkside has caught him in midair. Its fist closes around him, claws digging into his flesh; Roxas's arms are trapped and his Keyblade is gone. Darkside's fist is massive enough that even with a missing finger its hand is completely covering Roxas's body.
Then Darkside squeezes. Roxas can't even scream as the air is crushed from his lungs. He hears something snap.
Keyblade, Keyblade, Keyblade!
The weapon appears and, as if it has a mind of its own, cuts across the back of Darkside's hand. Darkside lets out a grown—and throws Roxas against the nearest building.
Roxas is pretty sure he blacks out for a moment, because the next thing he knows he's hitting the ground. Something goes snap-pop in his shoulder and suddenly it's as if the bones in his left arm have been dipped in acid. Pain like fire spreads from Roxas's neck all the way down to his fingernails and Roxas can't help but scream. He rolls to unpin his arm and tries to move it. There's another explosion of pain that brings tears unwillingly to his eyes and his arm just sort of shifts rather uselessly.
Dislocated, fuck, fuck, get up, it's coming, oh God why does it hurt to breathe, fuck, get up, just fucking get up!
Shadows are coming and Darkside is lumbering forward. The Keyblade has disappeared again. Roxas brings his left arm up against his chest and pushes himself shakily to his feet with the other, trying and failing to ignore the pain, which seems to only be getting worse. He feels dizzy, but manages to focus on the Shadows coming for him. He calls his Keyblade into his free hand and swings. The first strike misses and the nearest Shadow slips past his guard, but Roxas steps instinctively backward and slashes again. Two Heartless go down and Roxas sidesteps so he can swing at the other three. As soon as they're gone he whirls on Darkside, which is standing over him. It reaches down; Roxas jumps to the side, stumbling a little. Then he rights himself and slashes at Darkside's wrist as it streaks past. He doesn't give it the chance to try and grab him again and takes off running, trying to put some distance between them. His dislocated shoulder screams its annoyance every time his foot hits the ground.
Roxas feels colder now than before. The pain is dizzying.
Gotta finish this…finish this and run. I need help. Broken rib, I think…dislocated shoulder…heavy, this coat is so heavy…
Roxas comes to a stop and turns to look back at Darkside, which is following him slowly. Then he looks at the Keyblade in his hand.
If I could…I'll have one chance at it…
Roxas looks again at Darkside, determination coming to his eyes. He grits his teeth and lifts the Keyblade up over his good shoulder, drawing it back like a javelin.
Come on you bastard, just a few steps more.
Darkside keeps lumbering forward. Roxas tries to calculate the distance and gives up. Better to just bet on luck at this point.
Then he takes several running steps forward and throws the Keyblade with a yell. The Keyblade whistles through the air like an arrow and strikes Darkside in the forehead, going all the way through its skull. The Keyblade disappears and Darkside lets out a keening sound as it topples sideways, crashing into a building. Glass rains everywhere as the windows shatter. Darkside is already starting to disappear, but Roxas summons the Keyblade back into his hand just in case.
Darkside gives a final, frustrated groan and disappears into smoke and dust. The street is silent again except for Roxas's heavy breathing and the roar of the rain.
Roxas drops his Keyblade and it clatters to the pavement. The pain and dizziness overtake him and he stumbles to the side, throwing out his good hand to brace himself against a building. He rolls so that his back is to the wall and slides to the ground, collapsing into a puddle. His free hand goes to his dislocated arm and he grits his teeth so hard he thinks his teeth are going to crack.
Castle…need to get back…
He doesn't have the strength to open a dark portal. The world already seems to be darkening and the rain picks up, thundering around him.
I'll just…rest…for a minute…
He feels himself sliding, but can't stop himself. His face hits the cold water. He laughs a little. It would be so ironic to defeat a Darkside on his own, only to then drown in a puddle. Axel would never let him hear the end of it.
It's really…cold…Roxas thinks, and he passes out.
-------
The sun is setting over the water, painting the sky and ocean in oranges and pinks. It casts a pathway of light across the waves, as if it's just a matter of walking that orange-silver path, walking until he finds the place where the sun is going.
The breeze is warm. There is sand down his shorts and he's still soaking wet from when Kairi pulled him into the ocean after he pushed her in. When Riku laughed, they pulled him in as well—"evens things out," Kairi said. All in fun, of course; he can't remember there ever being a shred of malice between them. Not ever.
They're sitting on the dock and his toes trace patterns in the surface of the water.
"It's not always gonna be like this," a voice says to his right. He turns to see Riku sitting next to him, silver hair catching the last rays of the sun.
"What do you mean?" he asks, and his voice sounds funny.
Someone giggles, and he looks to the left. Kairi is there laughing, her feet also trailing through the water.
"Why, cause it's gonna get dark soon?"
"I don't mean it like that," Riku says, sounding like there's something he wants to convey, something important—something he can't quite express.
Kairi smiles. "I know, I was joking."
"I mean, it's just that we're not going to be together forever. And that's a good thing. It's stupid to not try to do things on your own sometimes. But, while we are together we should make the most of it, you know? There's so little time left."
"What are you talking about?" he says, giving Riku a playful shove. "We've got all the time in the world."
"Maybe…" Riku sounds doubtful. "But, I've been thinking lately. Kairi, where you came from—it's different from this place, isn't it?"
"Well, I don't really remember," Kairi says, putting her fingers to her lips. "I woke up and…here I was. I can't remember what it was like before that. But somehow it…feels different. Here, I mean. You know?"
Riku smiles, excited now. "So if you came from someplace else, then maybe there are whole other worlds out there. Dozens of them, maybe. What are those worlds like, I wonder? They've gotta be different than this one." Riku heaves a sigh. "It gets so boring here."
"So what are you saying?" he asks, curious. Riku's got the look on his face that means he's coming up with an idea, and Riku's ideas are almost always brilliant.
"What if we leave? Not forever, I mean," Riku says before his friends can protest. "Like an adventure. We could build a raft and leave the islands, just see where we end up. We could go find Kairi's world! Kairi, you could see your hometown, your parents…"
Kairi shifts uncomfortably. "But I…I really like it here, and I can't remember anything from my world. What if…what if anyone I left behind has forgotten about me, too?"
He laughs. "Come on, Kairi, no one could ever forget about you." He looks at Riku. "A raft, huh? I like the sound of that! We could put up a sail and get rations—bring along our swords in case we meet pirates."
"Moron. Like we'll be able to fight pirates with wooden swords."
He rubs the back of his head, grinning. "Right, hadn't thought about that."
"I suppose it…could be fun," Kairi says, smiling a little now. "It'll take a lot of work."
"Well, we work pretty hard in school already," Riku points out. "It'll be fine! And then we can leave this place, go see other worlds. Who knows how many might be out there?"
"Alright, let's do it!" He's excited now, too. Other worlds! He has always loved adventure, but there are so few to be had on the islands these days. They've explored every cave, found every hiding spot—the only real mystery is that strange door in the cave just up the beach.
And Kairi, of course, who fell to earth in a rain of shooting stars years ago. He can remember that night like it was yesterday.
Riku gets to his feet as the sun winks out in the west. "Okay then—we've got a lot of planning to do. We need logs and rope to build the raft, plus some cloth for the sail. We'll need to think about rations—and we'll need a compass. But first, let's think about how to design it, because we don't want to get out in the ocean and capsize as soon as we're out of sight of the shore."
Kairi laughs as the other two get to their feet as well. "You're gonna be an architect or something when you grow up."
Riku snorts. "Not if I stay here. Come on, let's go to the library—we can research and maybe draw up some designs."
Riku and Kairi charge up the dock, leaving him behind. He smiles and looks back out at the ocean for a last glimpse. That silver pathway is still there. It looks more solid than before, and he almost reaches out a foot to step onto it.
"Come on, Sora!" Kairi calls behind him. He turns, smiling, and runs to catch up with them.
Sora.
Sora?
She called me Sora?
Why?
This is me. This is real. I remember this. But…
I'm…Sora?
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HO-SNAP.
I give up trying to predict when the next chapter will be out. This semester is the semester from HELL, and it's going to get a lot worse before finals (eurrgghhhh, don't think about finals…). Of course, there will be a next chapter—we've still got a ways to go. So, I'm sorry this chapter comes so long after the recent one. -sigh- That's life, I guess.
Anyway! Stuff is starting to happen once again, isn't it? I actually kind of like this chapter, more so than I liked the last one (even with the Tifa cameo). General lack of Axel in this one. And look, Darkside makes a comeback! I know you all missed the bastard.
BTW, I know Darkside is pretty much a throw-away boss in the actual game, but he's also one of the few purely Heartless bosses—the others were all Disney villains, after all. Except for Ansem, but I can't very well bring him back. Plus, everything is stronger in The World That Never Was.
Also, some people have pointed out that my Lion King timeline is off, considering the rest of the game—adult Simba showed up in summons form in the first game, after all. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm aware of it, but for now I'm going to run with the skewed timeline. I figure right now it's just easier to carry on with the fic until the whole thing is finished, and then I'll go back and do some rewrites. I don't want to confuse anyone my changing things around now, myself included.
Lastly…I'm not entirely sure they're called Neoshadows. Had to go Internetting a bit to find the name. If anyone knows if their real name is something different, let me know—it's a small enough change that I can just edit it and repost the chapter.
P.S. I love FF, even when it's at it's most melodramatic.
Woot. Feedback is candy for my soul.