By: Ellipsis the Great
DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts and everything affiliated with it belongs to SquareEnix and Disney. All I own is the plot…although the original idea came from orangediscord's one-shot 'Left Behind.'
Summary: Sometimes, I thought I was the only person who remembered him…eventual Seiner, other pairings unknown.
Rated: M.
Spoilers: Takes place after Kingdom Hearts II; I dunno how much of the plot will be included yet, though.
Warnings: Yaoi and a little angst (probably). More warnings later if needed.
Chapter Two: Universitum Seorsum (Worlds Apart)
"No matter where you choose to be, in my heart I'll always see you everywhere. Now a days when I'm passin' through, the conversation always turns to you. I hear you're doin' fine…" –Tim McGraw, 'Everywhere'
"–Definitely a user." I heard as I came to.
"Another one? Why are they activating our defense system? Only Heartless are supposed to do that."
"Mfflghmp." I groaned, peeking my eyes open but quickly shut them again when bright, fucking neon lights burned at my corneas.
"What language is that? Where's our user translator?"
"I think he's just tired."
"Hayner?" I managed to get out as I was helped up into a sitting position.
"Careful now, user." Someone said soothingly.
"Where's Hayner?" I asked as I blinked my eyes open blearily, putting my hand to my aching head. "Where the fuck am I?"
"I think Hayner is the other user." Someone said.
"Whaddya mean 'user'?" I demanded, finally taking a look at my surroundings. They were too fucking bright. "Where am I?"
"You're in the computer world." Said a kind looking woman in an outlandish outfit that kind of made me want to gag. "We call it Space Paranoids."
"The computer…world?" I repeated slowly.
"We'll explain once you explain why you set off our defense systems." A stern looking man said, also dressed in a horribly garish outfit.
"I don't know what in the fuck you're talking about." I snapped, leaning forward a bit. "Shit, my head fucking hurts."
"What does fecal matter and fornication have to do with your head?" A younger man asked.
I gave him a dry look, then grimaced as my head pounded again. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."
"The user's ways are still confusing to us." The woman said. "If you'll explain what it is that you need—"
"I need you to fucking shut up for a minute." I spat, and immediately regretted it as she gave me one of the most pitiful looks I'd ever seen. Gay I might have been, but I was still a sucker when girls (and some guys) gave me that damned pouting face. "Look, I'm sorry. My head hurts; it's making me cranky."
"Oh." She said, far more forgiving than any female I'd ever come into contact with before. "What can I do to help?"
"Nothing. It'll pass." I said, waving her off. "Where's Hayner?"
"The other user is still sleeping." The younger man said.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"Our medical examiners have found nothing wrong with him." He replied.
I let out a relieved sigh, insisting to myself that I was only relieved because as of that moment Hayner was the only normal person I knew. "I'm Seifer, by the way."
"My name is Yori." The woman said. "That is Ram," She pointed at the younger man, then at the older, "And that is Tron."
"And this…this is the Space Paranoids?" I asked. "Another…another world?"
"Yes. Our defense system brought you here, because you are a user. Our defense systems don't allow for us to destroy you as we do most things that activate them." Yori said.
"We didn't mean to activate them. We were…we're looking for someone and kind of stumbled on a computer." I said. "The whole story is…complicated."
"Who are you looking for?" Ram asked curiously.
"Someone named Roxas." I said.
"I've never heard of him." Yori said. "But I could start a search engine for you, if you like."
"Do you know Sora? We think they're related somehow." I said.
"Sora?" Tron asked. "He is my friend. I can't take you to where he is now, but I can take you to the last port he used to get here. That might be a good place to start looking."
"That'd be awesome." I said, standing and wavering just a bit. "Can you take me to Hayner?"
"He's right over here." Ram said, motioning with an arm. I looked over at where Hayner was lying, wearing a very, very strange version of his own outfit. It was like it had been neon-ified (and trust me: neon army camouflage is even more dreadfully ugly than normal camouflage). A glance told me that my clothes had gotten the same treatment. Suppressing a shudder, I walked over to his bed and shook him a little gentler than I usually would have.
"Yo, chickenwuss, wake the fuck up." I said.
"You shouldn't do that." Yori scolded.
I rolled my eyes, but didn't reply since Hayner chose that moment (probably on purpose, the bastard) to moan and stir, eyes fluttering open.
"Where the hell am I?" He asked.
"Long story." I said. "But I think these folks know a way to find Sora. I figure we can ask him about Roxas."
He nodded, standing up and yawning and stretching. His bones cracked so loudly that I thought they might have broken, and I saw the three…computer people?…wince a little.
"So let's go!" He said, and I thought (rather jealously, I'll admit) that he must not have had to deal with a headache.
"Introduce yourself first, dumbass." I said, elbowing him.
He gave me a disgruntled look, then smiled sheepishly at the others. "Sorry about that. I'm Hayner."
"I'm Yori, this is Tron, and that's Ram." Yori said cheerfully. "This way."
We followed them around some very confusing streets—each one flashier than the last—until we reached a small room with a computer screen installed into one of the walls.
"Here it is. I'll tell Leon you're coming, then beam you through." Tron said, typing on some keys expertly.
"It was nice to meet you." Yori said kindly. "I hope you find your friend."
I decided not to bother correcting her about the 'friend' part, instead opting to give her a minute nod that was quickly overshadowed by Hayner's enthusiastic agreement (not that I minded).
"Here you go." Tron said. "Good luck, users."
Ram waved, smiling sweetly at us, and then we were hit by another beam of light (this one far less…painful) and transported back out of Space Paranoids. I realized just as the scenery faded away that at some point we had lost our Struggle bats.
(PAGEBREAK,Y'KNOW?)
There was no blacking out this time, which meant no headache. We just landed a bit roughly, and then I heard someone yell, "YOU!" just before a fist smashed into the side of my face. Okay, never mind—there was a headache after all.
"What the fuck?" I cursed, one hand on my cheek as I looked around wildly and tried to regain my bearings.
"Leon! What are you doing?" A softer voice gasped.
Someone grabbed my collar. "What the hell are you doing here, Seifer?"
"Hey, let go of him you fucking asshole!" Hayner shouted, and punched the man who had been holding me. I was dropped, and quickly stood up and crouched into a fighting stance, glaring down at the man. Hayner had apparently floored him (which meant that, for once, I was cheering for him…in my head, of course).
"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck is your problem?" I demanded.
"Don't play cute with me, Seifer!" The man growled. He had long brown hair, and wore a strange leather and fur outfit that could not have been comfortable. He also had a scar across his forehead that gave me a bit of a start, since it was a perfect mirror to my own.
"I'm not playing cute!" I snapped. "I don't know who the fuck you are or how in the hell you know my fucking name! And if you fucking punch me again I swear to fucking God I'll shove that furry get-up so far up your ass you'll be coughing up hairballs for a week!"
"Leon, I'm surprised at you." Scolded a woman with long, braided brown hair held up by a pink ribbon and a pink dress. "Hitting a child!"
"I'm not a fucking child, lady, I'm seventeen." I snapped.
"Seventeen?" The asshole repeated slowly, giving me a confused look.
"Yeah, as in one year younger than eighteen, and one year older than sixteen." I said slowly, as if explaining it to a child. "Dumbass."
"Please don't curse." The woman winced a little. "My name is Aerith, and that is Leon, who I'm sure is very sorry for punching you. Aren't you, Leon?"
'Leon' snorted, but nodded stiffly for all that he refused to look at me as he stood up.
"I'm Seifer." I said, eyeing both of them suspiciously. "This is Hayner."
"Oh, did Raijin and Fuujin finally wise up and ditch you, so you had to find a new lackey?" Leon sneered.
"Say that again, ass wipe!" Hayner growled, hands balling into fists at his sides.
"You heard me!" Leon said.
"Leon!" Aerith said sternly as she put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to stop it right now!"
Leon pursed his lips together, then looked at me, arms crossed over his chest. "How'd you get that scar, Seifer?" He asked.
"In a sparring match with the chickenwuss, here." I said, mirroring his stance. "Although I don't see as to how it's any of your business."
He gave a low chuckle, which came from his throat. My grandmother would have said to watch him, but that befriending him was a wise course of action. I reckoned he was just an asshole who needed to stay the fuck away from me.
"Right. Just…don't come near me while you're here." He said, turning to leave.
"Somehow I don't think that's going to be a problem, Squall." I spat, stiffening when I realized that the name that had come out of my mouth wasn't the name Aerith had used.
Leon stiffened, too. "…What did you call me?" He asked slowly.
"You heard him." Hayner mocked. I'm not sure why he had taken my side on this when we still hated each other. Maybe because I was the only person he knew—and he was the only person I knew, for that matter. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know, I suppose.
Leon stared at us for a moment, eyebrows drawing together thoughtfully before finally he just shook his head and walked away.
"I'm sorry about him." Aerith sighed. "Leon's been a little on edge for the past few weeks. He isn't always so…"
"…Much of an asshole?" Hayner suggested.
"Crass." She corrected gently.
"Well that makes everything better." I drawled. "Look, can you just tell us where a kid named Sora is? We need to talk to him about something."
"Oh, Sora's on Destiny Islands." She said immediately, giving me a patient smile—like she thought that being nice to me would somehow make me forget what a complete and utter bastard I was.
Fucking women.
"How can we get there?" Hayner asked.
She paused for a moment, tapping her chin thoughtfully before she was struck by some thought. "You might be able to borrow a Gummi Ship from Cid." She looked outside. "But you should get some rest first, I think. It's been a long day, I'm sure, and it's almost dark out."
I wrinkled my nose. "I don't think—"
"Sure we'll stay." Hayner interrupted, elbowing me.
"Good!" She said sweetly. "Follow me, please."
"What the fuck, chickenwuss?" I hissed as we followed her out of the control room.
"I'm fucking tired, not to mention hungry." He replied huffily. "You are, too, if you'd take two seconds to think about it. Besides, you're the one against finding Roxas, remember? He's waited this long—he can wait long enough for us to get a good night's rest."
"God, you're a real mother hen, aren't you?" I asked incredulously. "It's no wonder this Roxas kid left."
He ground his teeth together almost audibly, shooting me a glare that made one of my eyebrows arch upward. "Let's try not to fight while we're relying on these peoples' hospitality, okay?"
I shrugged. "Fine."
"But if that dick tries to hit you again I'll help you kick his ass." He added determinedly, not seeming at all phased by the strange look I gave him. He just huffed a little. "Bastard called me your goddamn lackey, for fuck's sake."
I tried to stop the snigger that bubbled up in my throat, but it forced itself out.
Hayner cocked his head to one side, studying me for a moment before returning his gaze to watch ahead of where he was walking. "Fucking Twilight Zone." He muttered in disbelief.
"I know." I said. "I never thought I'd see the day when someone thought we were anything other than fucking enemies."
"You aren't friends?" Aerith interrupted before Hayner could say anything else, a curious expression on her face.
"Not even close." I said.
"But why are you traveling together if you don't like each other?" She asked.
"Because…well, it's kind of a long story." Hayner said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I guess you could say it's out of necessity."
She put a sympathetic hand over her mouth. "Was your world destroyed?"
I frowned. "What? No, of course not. How could an entire world be destroyed?"
"By the Heartless, of course." She said, as if we were supposed to know what in the fuck 'Heartless' were.
We both gave her a blank look, and she blinked.
"You…don't know what Heartless are?" She asked slowly.
"Nope." Hayner said.
"Oh, well…when a person gets too close to the darkness, they lose their heart and become Heartless. The Heartless go around stealing other peoples' hearts and making them Heartless, as well, and eventually they steal the heart of a world, which destroys it." She explained. "Radiant Gardens—that's the world we're on—was once very close to being destroyed. But then Sora came and restored it. He's the Keyblade Master."
"Keyblade…Master?" I repeated.
"Yes. The Keyblade chooses a person with a pure heart, and they wield it and destroy the Heartless. Then the Keyblade Master locks the door to a world's heart away so that the Heartless can't get to it."
Hayner and I looked at each other for a moment before I shrugged.
"Weirder things have happened, I guess." I decided.
"But what does Roxas have to do with all of this?" Hayner asked, sounding more like he was thinking out loud than actually asking a question.
"What do you know about Roxas?" Aerith's voice suddenly lost most of its warmth as she gave us a rather stern look.
Hayner held his hands up. "Look, all we know is that he used to be in Twilight Town, but now he isn't anymore and no one but us remembers him."
Aerith's eyebrows drew together. "You shouldn't remember him, either. That should be impossible—neither of you would have ever actually known him." She said.
"Of course we knew him!" Hayner said angrily. "He was my best friend, Aerith! How could I just…forget him?"
"Roxas never really existed in Twilight Town." She said as she began walking a little faster. "He only existed in an alternate Twilight Town—a virtual world—that was created while Sora was regaining his lost memories."
"Lost memories? Virtual world? What are you talking about?" I asked.
"We have to get you to Cid and Merlin right now." Aerith said. "It shouldn't be possible for you two to remember Roxas at all. Maybe they'll have some idea of what's going on."
"Look, we just want to know what happened to him." I said.
"And we want to see him again and know that he's alright." Hayner added.
Aerith shook her head. "You can't see him again. Roxas is…well, basically Roxas is dead."
End Chapter Two