Sora was glad Kairi hadn't been around to hear Xigbar, Roxas, and he argueing... It was hard enough to realize his Nobody had a boyfriend and a child, and that he had the child himself! He thought guys weren't able to get pregnant...but then again, the Organization did have a wacky scientist, so maybe he did something to Roxas. Uh, this was all so confusing! He sighed as he flopped down on one of the couches in the 'Grey Room'(Riku managed to find scematics of the entire castle along with the room's names). So far, Kairi and he hadn't made much progress... The Organization members room's were mostly bare, except for small person items or clothes; Nothing really definitively suspicious...Mostly they seemed to just be living like regular Somebodies with the exception of daily missions and whatnot. He felt guilt stab at him; Maybe the nobodies of the Organization were...misguided by Xemnas... Maybe, all they truely yearned was a heart, to experience emotion with... Riku, Donald, and Goody on the other hand, managed to find cabinets filled to the brim with information on the Organization members and past experiments. Sora would have searched Xemnas' room, but the leader of the Nobodies room seemed to be on a entirely different floor, it wasn't on the scematics, and he didn't dare ask Roxas if that terrifying Xigbar character was around...He though the Nobody was just a crazy man in the battle, but now... Appearently he did a terrific job of upsetting the sniper who promptly, and literally, kicked him out of his room..
Sora pouted as he massaged his throbbing buttocks, shaking his head. When he heard footsteps, he looked up to see Riku settling down next to him, propping his feet up on the dusty steel grey coffee table; He was munching on on a bag of chips with the Organization's symbol on the white bag.
"What some, Sora?" Riku questioned as he threw a few salty chips into his mouth.
"No thanks..." Sora huffed, letting a defeated sigh flow from his lips.
"I'm surprised. You're always hungry," Riku chided.
"Shut up! I'm not in the mood." Sora stuck his tongue out at his best friend.
"Sora, Riku! Guess what I found!" Said teenagers looked up to see Kairi aproaching them with a large box that smelt delicious, plastered with the Organization's symbol on each side. "Cheeseburgers!"
"Oh, Cheeseburgers! Yum!" Sora's pout morphed into a grin as he snatched the box from Kairi, ripping it open; Three dozen medium-sized, steaming cheeseburgers wrapped in soft wax paper stared up at Sora, tantalizing him with imaginary phrases of, "Eat me!" or "You know you want to." Three hands reached in, and grabbed the burgers, fulfilling both the burger's wished(if they had wishes) and their wish to fill their stomachs. He unwrapped the burger, biting into the savory, heated meat and melting cheese with a grin, chewing slowly to relish the flavor; All they mostly had on Destiny Island was fish, and not a large variety, mostly Salmon, Tuna, and occasionally Tilapia.
"Oh man..This stuff rules," Sora exclaimed.
"You bet!" Kairi agreed, taking her place on the other side of Sora, burger in hand.
"So where's Roxas?" Riku questioned as he grabbed another cheeseburger from the box.
"Um...I dunno..." Sora lied, stuttering as he spoke; He wasn't entirely positive he should tell Riku and Kairi about the incident with Roxas and Xigbar...What if the kind found out that one Nobody was till alive! If Roxas did love the Nobody, that would probably break his heart, if he had one... "I haven't seen him...He's probably...In his room!"
"I bet. He probably missed something about this place, or left something precious too him in there." Kairi shrugged as she took a bite of her burger.
"I can't see why..." Riku scoffed."This place sucks with the boring silver and whites...They really needed some color.."
"I agree. But why hasn't he come back yet? He's been gone for a few hours now...I don't remember seeing him after he ran up the stairs in front of us." Kairi mused.
"Uh...Hey, we should save some for Donald and Goofy!" Sora falsely chided his friends, lying. He wasn't sure he should tell them about Roxas and Xigbar...but they would find out anyways, right?
"There's more boxes in the refrigerator..." Kairi trailed off, raising a eyebrow."You look like there's somehting on your mind."
"Yeah...There is..." Sora sighed in defeat. He might as well brea the news now, instead of having them angry at him later for not saying anything...
"One Nobody..." Sora trailed off."Is still alive...His name is Xigbar, some freaky guy with a scar and eyepatch. But Roxas is in love wih him, and they have a kid! A boy named...Sanzadora! That's where Roxas is...In Xigbar's room."
He had no idea Xigbar could even be alive. All Nobodies, because they weren't truly alive and had no heart, fade away when they die, leaving nothing behind. He watched Xigbar fade away into nothing, those obsidian and silver tendrils dispersing from him as his body faded away into smoke; Nothingness. Now he knew why he felt that way, why he nearly burst itno tears when Xigbar faded; Roxas' emotions were resonating and emiting a wavelength that matched his, causing him to feel the intense emotion; Riku told him this.
"Are you serious? Nobodies don't have hearts, so they can't feel...I can see them having a relationship just for sex...But a kid?" Riku exclaimed, seizing another cheeseburger from the box.
"I know! But..." Sora trailed off again, scowling."I know what I heard.. And I can feel Roxas' emotions resonating with mine. It's even stronger now that you explained it to me..." Sora protested, fists pounding on the couch."I'm so confused..."
"It'll be alright, Sora." Kairi laid a hand on Sora's back, patting softly as her blue orbs stared at her friend."Maybe we can ask Roxas...Or find more information in the lab."
"You can ask him...I did a great job of making Xigbar mad, so he kicked me out, literally. I don't want my butt to hurt anymore..."
"That's mean! What's wrong with that guy.."
"He's a Nobody, he probably went crazy or something. But how is he alive? You killed him, right?" Riku questioned with a a quirked eyebrow.
"I did...I know for sure." Sora said softly. He was so confused; He didn't want to let King Mickey down by not telling him that one Nobody was still alive, but he didn't want to hurt his own Nobody, Roxas.
"Sora...let's just leave Roxas alone for now. We'll work this out, don't worry." Kairi said with a smile, confident. She could imagine being in Roxas' position. If Roxas truly did love Xigbar, it would be excrutiating to watch the man he loved fade away in to nothingness, right in front of him, knowing you can't do anything to save them.
"Alright...
Xigbar subconciously groaned as he slept, snoring loudly as he felt a sizable pressure on his chest. Said pressure wiggled slightly as he poked his Xigbar's nose and face occassionally, tittering at the funny faces his father made in respose to the stimulus; Another poke to the sniper's nose made him sneeze and almost throw Sanzadora off his father's chest. Roxas stared at his son with a smile, sitting next to Xigbar's body, joining in the attempt at waking him up with a poke to his side.
"Papa, wake up!" Sanzadora said with a grin, prodding his father with a tiny finger.
"Yeah Xigbar, wake up. It's already 3 in the afternoon." Roxas chided Xigbar with a harsh nudge to his side.
Xigbar scowled in his sleep, coughing. His single eye fluttered before fulling opening to Sanzadora, who stared into his father's eye with equally golden orbs with a smile. He grinned and watched Sanzadora swing his legs over his side, and slid down to the bed before he sat up, scratching at his disheveled ponytail. He hadn't realized he was that exhausted; It had only been, what, ten in the morning?
"Hey, Sanzaaa..." Xigbar yawned and stretched briefly. He turned to Roxas, giving his precious blond a greeting in the form of a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"Eeew, that's nasty, Papa." Sanzadora made a playful, disgusted face, sticking his tongue out as he hopped to the floor and ran around the bed.
"Aha, to you it is." Roxas said, laughing. He let Sanzadora climb into his lab and he tickled his son briefly, eliciting giggles and snickers. Sanzadora grinned and let his father hold him; He was so glad his father was back... He barely remembered when Roxas left...but his other father Xigbar told him alot about Roxas, explaining to him that Roxas had to leave them for a short while to save the world, and then he would return. Oddly, Roxas looked alot like the bad man that tried to beat up his father, but he knew Xigbar could win with one hand tied behind his back because his papa was just that powerful.
"Hey Daddy, will you have to go away again?" Sanzadora questioned softly; Sometimes your children read your mind. Both Xigbar and Roxas had been wondering how exactly to tell Sanzadora that Roxas had to go away for a year. And it was difficult, because his father just arrived after almost a year and half of seperation due to Xemnas' ambition. Sanzadora scarecely remembered when Roxas was gone because he was simply too young, so that wasn't a problem at the moment, but...Neither of them wanted their precious son to feel abandoned or depressed.
"Sanza..I will," Roxas stated with a frown, ruffling his son's obsidian locks gently. "But I'll only be gone one year, Sanzadora. It'll be okay..." He cooed softly when Sanzadora's face flushed and his lips quivered.
"But Daddy..." Sanzadora whined quietly, tears pricking at his bright, golden orbs. He stared at his thin legs, limbs swinging like pedulums as he rested on Roxas' lap, unusually silent.
"Kiddo..." Xigbar said."He's gotta go, if he didn't..." He hated to think of what happened then.
"But he j-just got here..."
"I know, Sanzadora..." Roxas murmured softly, pulling his son close and letting the latter rest his ghead in the crook of his neck. Soft sniffles eminated from the obsidian-haired boy and a large hand rubbed his back soothingly.
"Don't cry, kiddo. Daddy'll be back 'fore ya know it. He's gotta save the world again 'cause the bad man down there won't do it, 'cause he's bad." Xigbar said with a small laugh; It was true. Since he was involved, Sora most likely rather sit on his buttocks and read gossip magazines than help him out, even if death was immenent; Another reason he was glad Roxas was here. He only had one year to live, and it had already been nearly 2 months, so that left Roxas exactly ten months and seven days and neither of them knew how to save him.
"I'm not cwyin'.." Sanzadora huffed, pouting was he rubbed his eyes.
"I see, trying to be strong like me, huh? It's okay to cry, kid. We all do it." Xigbar grinned."Trust me, Roxas is gonna be quick in his world savin'. If he ain't, me n' you Sanza, are gonna have to get'em."
"Xigbar cried when you were born," Roxas whispered with a soft smile.
"You'll be quick?" Sanzadora sniffed as he leaned back to stare into his father's deep blue orbs with concern and a hint of fear.
"I have to be, for you and Xigbar. And I can't compare when it's both of you ganging up on me," Roxas stated with a laugh as Xigbar poked his head playfully. "You two guys are strong. I'll make sure to be back in just enough time to see you summon your weapon for the first time, because both of us have to teach you."
"Yeah, you gotta be there!" Sanzadora blurted out abruptly, and he gave his signature Xigbar-mimicing grin, pointing a tiny, stubby finger at his father's face."I want you to be there! Papa said I'll be strong enough to sum-on it then."
"So you're okay now, Sanzadora? Roxas'll be back soon, and he won't leave for a few days anyway, so you'll get ta be around him still." Xigbar assured his son, patting him on the head gently before mischeviously tugging the growing ponytail of Sanzdora. Sanzadora wanted to be exactly like him, so ever since he could say 'Papa, I wanna be like you', he had been growing a ponytail, and now it just barely reached past his neck, courtesy of inheriting Xigbar's swift-growing hair.
"Yea...I'm okay, Papa." His son nodded and hugged Roxas' neck as he smiled.
"We're glad, Sanza." Roxas said."Need some Sea-salt Ice cream now, I bet?"
"Uh-huh."
"I'll go get some." Sanzadora hopped to the floor so his father could stand, and Xigbar opened a portal.
"So the bad man can't get'cha." Xigbar gave a laughed and nudged Roxas through the portal."Get me some too!"
"Alright!" The portal closed behind Roxas, and he stopped for a moment to marvel at Sanzadora; He was almost exactly like his other father. He had missed their sense of humor, and the way Sanzadora hung onto him like... a monkey or a small, newborn animal; it was cute. Well, that was to be expected, he had been gone for nearly a year and a half, since his son had been four years old. He wondered how his lover had kept his fading away a secret, since Sanzadora would have to get the food since Xigbar would die if he left the room. As he opened the freezer, he noticed a blue box of ice cream with posicle sticks poking from the side of the box. Roxas pulled three sticks from the box, before he heard heavy footsteps. Whirling around, hoping to Kingdom Hearts that it wasn't Sora, Roxas stared into the eye's of Goofy, who grinned.
"Hiya, Roxas! Where're you been?"
"Goofy, you scared me.." Roxas stated, grasping the ice cream sticks tightly. He placed them back in the fridge; He didn't want them to melt, because he had an idea, and he knew just who to ask: Goofy.
"Gawsh, sorry." Goofy said, leisurely strolling up to Roxas."Sora's been lookin' for you."
"He has... Goofy, I need to ask you something, but please don't tell Sora and the otherx about it, it's a life or death matter," Roxas murmured franticly, looking away from Goofy for a short moment.
"Gawsh, what's wrong?" Goofy queried with concern for his friend's Nobody.
"Well...One Nobody is still alive, I love him, and we have a son," Words came on like a waterfall."But he's only got a year to live, and its already been 2 months. I don't know how to save him, and I don't want to let them down, I'm the only one who can save him since he can't leave his room without fading. Do you know anyone who can help?"
"Um...Lemme think.." Goofy frowned, deep in thought. For something like that, maybe a magician could help, but there weren't many. Merlin probably didn't have the powers to restore this Nobody's life; Suddenly, a idea popped into his mind.
"Hey Yen Sid may be able to help, he showed us everythin' back in the beginning! He knows lots'a stuff. He's a super great sorcerer. He's helped King Mickey, Sora..pretty much everybody I can think of!"
"He does?" Roxas exclaimed. If was a shame that all of Sora's friends couldn't be as sensable or caring as Goofy, regardless of your situation; It seemed as if Sora was prejudice against Nobodies, even his own. "Where does he live?"
"Twilight Town. You gotta find this weird purple train and it'll take you there. Don't worry, Yen Sid'll help ya out!" Goofy said, patting Roxas on the back cheerily. Truthfully, he didn't care whether Roxas was a Nobody or a Somebody; He was a friend. And any friends of his deserved their help, no matter what the 'who, what, when, where, or how' of their situation. If they didn't help, it wouldn't be just, since they were the equivalent of heros.
"That'll be easy..." Roxas mused... Twilight Town was close to the World That Never Was, and since Xigbar was here, using a portal to travel would be quickest, and it wouldn't arise suspicion with Sora and his friends; His Somebody had most likely chattered to Kairi and Riku about Xigbar and his' situation, but they had no idea that his lover was going to die in one year, but they didn't need to know that unless they were going to help, and he severely doubted they would. He gave a grin at the prospect, which meant it wouldn't take time to merely figure out how to help; He could get straight to the helping.
"Thank you, Goofy. This means alot to me..." Roxas said softly, "I really love my son and him..."
"I'm glad ta help! You're my friend, and that's what friends do, regardless of who they are." Goofy gave a grin."Hope you guys will stay okay. I gotta go find Sora and them now, 'cause I got kind of lost... See you later!"
"Bye.." Roxas stared, almost blankly, as Goofy turned and waved before jovially strolling through the door. He would have told Goofy directions, but he didn't know Sora's location, and there were hundreds of places he could be; Goofy didn't need to be anymore lost than he currently was. Sanzadora and Xigbar were probably wondering he got lost, since he hadn't been in the Castle for over a year. They would laugh at that humorous thought, considering he used a portal to travel. He gave a tiny chuckled himself as he opened the freezer again, grabbing the three waiting ice cream sticks; When he turned, he sighed. He never could use portals, so now he had to walk all the way back to Xigbar's room...
"Roxas, where ya been?"
Roxas flinched at his name, turning slowly to raise an eyebrow at his lover's head poking through a portal with a confused look plastered on his scarred face.
"X-Xigbar..." He panted softly, holding a hand to his chest. "You scared me. I thought you were Sora.."
"I did? Sorry. But Sora? C'mon," Xigbar's lone eye went straight to the sticks of ice cream in Roxas' hand, and he grinned."We've been waitin' for ya."
"Yeah, Daddy!" He gave a grin at his son's cheerful voice filtering from the portal.
"I'm coming. Will you make the portal a bit bigger? I'm not that small!"
"Gotcha." The portal closed for second, before stretching to meet Roxas' tiny height. Even compared to Sanzadora, his growing, yet appropriatedly sized son, was nearly his height; He maybe had only 2-3 more to go before he was his father's height. Hopely he would inherit Xigbar's height, instead of Roxas' extremely tiny height. He stepped a leg through, smiling at his son, who tugged on his shirt in a effort to speed him up. Safely through the closing portal, Roxas handed Sanzadora and Xigbar sticks of Sea Salt ice cream, leaving one for himelf. They took spots on the bed, with Roxas sitting close to his lover while Sanzadora rested in his lap leisurely.
"Thanks Daddy!" Sanzadora chipped as he took a huge bite from his ice cream.
"Yeah, thanks, Roxas." Xigbar repeated.
"No problem. Hey, I saw Goofy while I was in the kitchen," Roxas said, patting his son's head gently."He said that I can find a purple train there that will take me to Yen Sid."
"Yen...Achoo!... Sid?" Xigbar sneezed.
"Is he gonna help you save the world?" Sanzadora questioned.
"Yeah. The train's in Twilight Town, so tomorrow, I'll go and ask him what I need to do. Yen Sid is supposed to be a sorcerer."
"A sorcerer... He prob'ly knows alot." Xigbar agreed, licking his ice cream.
"A sorcer...er?" Sanzadora stared up at his fathers.
"A Sorcerer is like a real strong wizard, like in your story books. The guys with tall, pointy hats." Xigbar responded.
"Ooh, I get it. Thanks!"
"Yeah. He can tell me what's going on, and what I need to do to fix everything." Roxas spoke in nearly a whisper, clutching his pants leg with a tight grip as his son hummed. If Yen Sid really was such a great sorcerer, and he even aided King Mickey, he might be able to save Xigbar with his magic alone. Then, he wouldn't have to deny his precious child another year without him. Sanzadora... to Xigbar and him, there was no words that could even attempt to describe him. Sure, he had his disciplinary upsets, but what child didn't; He was only five years of age. He was purely paradisiacal, a tiny ball of energy and laughs modeled almost exclusively after Xigbar; The same eyes, hair, sense of humor... even their laugh was the same, thought he inherited Roxas' nose, and facial structure, and he meant the entire universe to them. He wasn't going to jeapardize their only break at having Xigbar and himself alive, with hearts, and in the same place. Maybe they could even secure a nice apartment in Twilight Town like the one from his memories of the false Twilight Town.
"I'm going to do all I can, I promise both of you that." He declared with a mein of determination and credence.
"Daddy's gonna be a hero!" Sanzadora announced, bellowing as he cheered for his father. He raised his popsicle stick, devoid of ice cream, in a siginificant manner, akin to his story books filled with ancient warriors with weapons like his father, Roxas. Powerful men and women dressed in armour, with striking features and gallant smiles. Xigbar would read the book to his numerous times at his request, always went he was going to bed, dreaming of the warriors. His father had told him about the Key...Keyblade! That it was a weapon for people with extremely strong hearts; Daddy must have a strong heart, he remembered, because he had a Keyblade.
"Yeah, he will, Sanzadora! He's gotta be the hero, our hero." Xigbar agreed, chomping on his finished ice cream stick with a smile.
"Are you gonna be a hero too, Papa? Like in my story books?" The child questioned in reply to his father, who apprehensively scratched the nape of his neck; He didn't want to disclose to Sanzadora his current situation. Telling his son about his possible death would break his heart, not to mention add extra anxiety to his son, who was already concerned about his other father leaving for another year... but eventually Sanzadora would find out, whether Roxas or he explained to the child. Wasn't telling your chld the truth better, than keeping the truth a secret?
"Well...I can't, 'cause I'm not strong enough, yet. Roxas has the Keyblade, so he's real strong, stronger than me. I couldn't do it, kiddo." Xigbar spoke vaguely, patting Sanzadora's back gentlely. He let out a harse cough, frowning as he took a deep breath.
"But you're really strong, Papa. You beat the bad man easy!" His son protested at this fact, unknown to the circumstances.
"Yeah, that's true, but to save the world, ya gotta be ten times stronger'n me, and Roxas is just that strong."
Roxas stared at his lover with compassion; A plague of guilt stabbed through him. Xigbar still was feeling resentment for leaving Sanzadora, and he didn't know how to tell their son about why Roxas was leaving, if he should tell Sanzadora at all. Their son had been nearly heartbroken at his departure, so telling him would just make it worse, currently. Maybe one day, when Sanzadora was older and understood ...they could explain what happened..
"I am strong, Sanzadora, but Xigbar's strong also, he just has to rest right now. That battle tired him out, so Xigbar's gotta take a long break, and he deserves one, doesn't he?" Roxas questioned softly as their son stared at his face intently, with hints of confusion as his brow furrowed.
"Yeah, Papa works hard! You gotta rest!" Sanzadora quipped, directing his attention to Xigbar as he attempting to push his father back in a effort to make him lay down and rest, as his second father said. Xigbar obliged, lieing back on a green pillow (both his son and his favorite color), grinning and making himself confortable; He motioned for his family to rest with him. Sanzadora jumped and flopped down on his father's stomach, the latter gasping as the breath was knocked from his body. Roxas gave his son a scolding smirk, poking his side playfully.
"I will, if you don't try and squish me to death again, yer heavy, kiddo..." Xigbar groaned, smirking at his son who copied his expression, before a fit of coughs racked his body as he covered his mouth.
"Okay..."
"Are you okay?" Roxas questioned as he felt Xigbar's breathing.
"I'm fine..Just outta breath."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Now that that's settled, we can spend time together before I have to leave," Roxas stated with a smile, hugging his son.
"We should go outside, Daddy, but Papa can't come, he's sick." Sanzadora suggested as he stretched. He knew that when his father beat the bad man, that he was extremely tired after it; He had been ill ever since. Xigbar sneezed alot and coughed sometimes, and then his chest would hurt.
"He's sick?" Roxas 'hmm'ed, tossing his lover a questioning, and scolding, look. "Why did you tell me?"
"I didn't want'cha to worry, 'cause you already gotta save the world. I'll be fine, I just need some medicine or somethin'. Maybe you can get some." Xigbar assured his lover, scratching the back of his neck, a usual tendency. Yes, he was sick, but it was probably a simple cold; Loosing your soul might do that to a person, or maybe he just got sick. He had only been sneezing and coughing for a about a week, so it was probably going to go away in a few days; He just didn't want Sanzadora getting sick, so maybe Roxas could get some medicine in Twlight Town. "I don't want you ta get sick too, kiddo."
"Me neither." Sanzadora stated with a grin.
"I'll definately get some medicine for you Xigbar, I dont want either of you sick when I'm not here, and even if I am here, I don't want you sick." Roxas gently patted Xigbar's back as he coughed again, smiling weakly.
"Are you gonna be okay, Papa?" Sanzadora addressed his father's coughing with natural concern, as his honey gold orbs stared into equally colored orbs of molten gold.
"Yeah, I'mma be a-ok." And Xigbar knew it. Roxas was gonna take care of the big business, since he was unable, while he would hold down the fort and keep Sanzadora happy, safe, well.