Remembering the Forgotten
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.
Warnings: Yaoi and some angst. More warnings later if needed.
Chapter Nine: Inducare (to lead)
"I don't care what tomorrow brings; I won't back down for anything. I want to think that I was made for something else. I can't wait anymore, I'm ready to reach, so I'm closing the door behind me. All that I can do is hold onto you and follow where you lead—where you're leading me." –Bethany Dillon, 'All That I Can Do'
The semi-final round, predictably, was a bitch. It was against some guy with blue eyes, spiky black hair, and a sword like Cloud's, but together the three of us managed to take him down. And then, thank God, there was another five minute break before the last battle. Sora and Hayner restocked my potion supply before wishing me luck and going to take seats beside Meg and Phil while I tried to psyche myself up. My grip on Hyperion was so tight that my knuckles had lost their color, one leg jumping nervously.
"You're Seifer?"
I looked up—it was the guy from the semi-finals. He sat beside me.
"Good fight, by the way." He said, as if trying to start up a conversation.
I eyed him suspiciously, and he sighed.
"Hades talked to you, right?" He asked.
"Yeah." I snapped, already on edge because of the upcoming fight. I really didn't need this guy bringing up Hades' offer—not when I was still ignoring the niggling feeling I had that I'd made the wrong choice.
"Don't do it." He said. "Whatever he offered you…don't do it. Hades can't be trusted."
"I know." I said. "Now would you fuck off?"
He laughed and handed me something—a small medallion shaped like a flame.
"It's a fire spell." He explained when I gave him a confused look. Then he stood and saluted me cheerfully. "Good luck, Seifer Almasy."
I snorted, then did a slight double take when his eyes glowed green—the color of the Lifestream, I knew without knowing how I knew—and then he faded away.
I glared at the spot he'd been standing in.
"I don't need any more confusing shit, you bastard." I spat, then stood when the bell signaling the end of the break sounded.
"May the best man win." Hercules said blithely, shaking my hand with surprising gentleness. I guess after dealing with Meg, who looked like she'd snap in half by bumping into a leaf, he'd gotten used to not squeezing people to death.
"Yeah, sure." I muttered, Hades' offer still echoing in my head. I glanced at Hayner, who grinned and gave me two thumbs up. Then my eyes flickered up, seeing Hades standing in the shadows and smirking at me. I scowled and faced Hercules, both of us crouching into our fighting stances.
"Four words, boys: Ready? Set? Go!" Phil yelled from the stands, another bell chiming.
It was hard to stop from rolling my eyes—apparently, the goat guy really did do that a lot. But I didn't have time to react to Phil because I was already reacting to Hercules, who threw himself at me the moment the bell rang.
Just so you know: Hercules is fucking strong. Really fucking strong, which is what I found out when I tried to block his punch with Hyperion. Luckily for me, Hyperion was made of a metal that didn't immediately shatter under the force of the blow. My arms, however, were just normal arms, and I was thrown back into one of the pillars.
I recovered quickly (ignoring the knowing laugh from Phil) and leapt up in time to dodge his charge, turning around in midair and slicing down his back. It was a finishing move I had just about perfected while fighting the heartless in Radiant Gardens, but of course a demigod isn't nearly so easy to kill as a heartless, so I kept attacking until he finally threw me off.
This went on for some time—he would attack, and if he connected I'd fly back a little ways and then counter before he could strike another blow. If I got out of the way in time, I followed up with a few quick strokes of Hyperion. Surprisingly, we were pretty evenly matched, and by the time he was low on health so was I. That's when my body took over.
You know how when you're desperate and running on adrenaline, you're supposed to be able to do shit you normally can't? Like when mothers can lift up cars to get their babies from under them—that sort of crazy shit. I think that's sort of what happened, except it was more like my body was remembering something that my brain had forgotten.
I threw a fire spell at Hercules with my left hand, stunning him. Then, I spun Hyperion around faster and faster, pouring energy into it until I made an upward slashing motion with it, launching spiraling energy blades at Hercules and sending him flying backwards.
"No Mercy." I whispered, breathing hard and wiping an arm across my brow. I stepped forward, stopping once I was standing over Hercules, who was obviously not going to be able to fight any more.
"Good job." He wheezed, starting to sit up. I put a foot on his chest and pushed him back down, looking up at Hades so I wouldn't have to see the surprised and slightly fearful expression on the brawny man's face.
"All I have to do is kill him, right?" I asked.
The audience gasped and looked back to see Hades, who stepped out of the shadows with that foul smile of his.
"That's right." He said, tapping his fingers together eagerly.
"Seifer, what're you doing?" Sora asked. "You said you weren't gonna make a deal with him!"
"Seifer?"
I looked down at Hercules, whose eyes were wide more with shock than fright.
"Whatever he promised you, he won't go through with it." He said in a calm voice. "Or he will, just not in the way you expect. Think about this before you make a decision."
"I have." I said softly, lifting Hyperion up. Part of me knew it was stupid, but…what if Hades wasn't lying? Hayner not having a soul made a twisted sort of sense—when a person lost their heart, their body became a heartless and their soul became a Nobody, right? So…assuming that Hayner's Nobody had been destroyed, Hayner's soul would have gone to the Underworld. So Hades could give it back to him.
And what would happen to Hayner if he had to keep functioning without a soul? Surely whatever support the Queen had been giving him during the mission would be gone soon, when she found out we were trying to stop her. Was I willing to let him just…just fade away, or whatever in the hell else happened to a person without a soul? Could I live knowing I could have stopped whatever was happening or would happen soon?
I wasn't lying when I told him he was the only thing that was real to me at that point. And, all teasing rivalry aside, once I basically pledged my loyalty to someone they had it pretty much until I died. There wasn't much that could turn me against that person before then.
"Seifer, no!" Hayner screamed.
If it had been anyone else, I don't think I would've stopped. But it was him, so I let out an angry, frustrated snarl before I brought Hyperion down, stabbing the ground beside Hercules' head. I rested my hand against the gunblade's hilt for a moment, breathing hard and squeezing my eyes shut for a moment to keep the tears at bay.
"Shit." I muttered, feeling helpless—it was a terrible feeling. Then I straightened and removed my foot, offering Hercules a hand.
"Good fight." I murmured as I helped him up.
"You, too." He said, smiling like I hadn't just almost killed him.
"No! Kill him! Kill him!" Hades screeched, hair flaring up.
"You want him dead? Fucking kill him yourself." I said.
"I will!" He said as his hair burned even brighter. He made to come toward us, but froze as a woman wearing a rich gold and burgundy dress appeared a few feet away from Hercules and me. She had long brown hair decorated with odd little orange flowers, and looked like she was about to bitch slap someone.
"Hades!" She snarled, hands balled into fists at her side.
"P-Persephone, darling…" Hades began, his entire visage changing.
"Don't you 'darling' me!" She said. "I send you out for one little thing—it should only have taken you five minutes, at most!—and suddenly I get a call from Iris to say you've gone and started a plot to kill Hercules! Again!"
"I was just—"
"Just what?" She shrieked. "All you had to do was bring Seifer and Hayner to the Underworld! That was all! No plots, no schemes, just extend the invitation and bring them!"
"I was!" He said defensively. "But…but as long as they were already going, I thought…"
"You thought you'd strike a deal with one of them to kill Hercules?" She asked. "It's an invitation, you useless sod! They don't have to work for it! Honestly, Hades, what were you thinking? Let's just forget the fact that you've never been able to kill Hercules—you know very well that Seifer and Hayner are in no way, shape, or form under your jurisdiction! You have no right to trap either of them in one of your inane deals!"
"I wasn't—"
"You were!" She said. "And shame on you for trying, even if they were under your jurisdiction. They aren't Orpheus and Euridice!"
"But—"
"But nothing! You are in so much trouble when we get home! So go!"
"But dear…"
"I said go!" She said, jabbing one finger toward the ground.
He grumbled a bit, but disappeared in a spiral of flames.
"Men! Bah!" Persephone huffed angrily, rolling her eyes. Then she turned to Hercules and me, her face softening. "Seifer."
"Y-yes ma'am." I sputtered. Now, normally I wouldn't have been bothered by some random woman appearing out of nowhere and what-the-fuck-not, but this wasn't some random woman. This was Persephone. A goddess. And yeah, I know, Hades was a god—god of the underworld, no less. But he was also an asshole, and god or not I only reacted to assholes in one way: by reciprocating the attitude.
"Come walk with me, pet." She said, holding an arm out toward me.
I glanced at Hercules, who shrugged, then went over to where she was standing and allowed her to thread her arm through mine.
"Now, why don't you tell me what my silly husband promised that would make you consider killing that darling Hercules." She said. "Was it your friends? Raijin and Fuujin, right? If so, I'll see if I can—"
"No, ma'am." I cut her off hesitantly. "I mean, he…he offered, but I didn't take it."
"Then what was it?" She asked.
I paused for a moment. "Ma'am, is…is it true that Hayner doesn't have a soul?" I finally blurted.
Her face fell. "Oh, sweetie…" She shook her head. "Yes it's true, but…Hades doesn't have his soul. I don't know what he was planning to do about it, because as wily as he is he never goes back on a deal, but he isn't in possession of Hayner's soul."
I nodded wordlessly, clenching my teeth and gulping so I wouldn't vomit.
She sighed and then made a determined noise. "Well, that just won't do. Let's see…oh! I've got it." She snapped her fingers, and a silver ring appeared in her hand. She offered it to me. "Here. That ring will point the way to Hayner's soul, so long as you want to find it."
I took it carefully, sliding it onto my thumb.
"But you mustn't tell Hayner about any of this." She said, wagging a finger at me. "His ignorance is the only thing keeping him safe right now—once he finds out that he doesn't have a soul, he'll start fading away."
"Thank you, ma'am. I won't tell him." I said.
She smiled and patted my back. "Don't worry about it, Seifer. You and Hayner—you're both going to be just fine, I think. Just keep doing what you're doing, and it will all work out fine in the end."
I nodded again. "So we're on the right track so far? I mean, going to see Miss Astor and all?"
"It's a good place to start." She said. "Oh! And don't worry about Miss Astor—she's a good person, especially for one of her kind."
"One of…her kind?" I asked, frowning.
She giggled. "I've said too much, I think. But I can give you two hints: First, her last name is Greek. It means 'a star.' And second, one of the people traveling with you knows her."
"O…kay." I said slowly.
"Chin up, tough guy." She said, winking at me. Then she gave me a stern look. "And don't fall for any more tricks like my husband's. If something is meant to happen, it will. If you waver like you did here…you're bound to do something you'll regret later, and someone's going to take advantage of that."
I flushed. "Alright. I'll be careful."
"Good." She said. "Now let's go back—Hayner looks very worried."
I glanced at the lamer, who wasn't even pretending to listen to the conversation the rest of the group was having. Instead, he was watching us nervously, biting his lip and tapping his fingers against his leg at sporadic intervals.
"He's a sweet boy." Persephone said as she pulled me toward the group.
"Yeah, I know." I sighed.
She laughed and stepped in front of me when several accusing glares were turned on us—or, to be more specific, on me. Hercules and Hayner seemed to be the only ones not glaring.
"I can't believe you would do that, Seifer!" Sora hissed.
"Keyblade Master, hold your tongue." Persephone said, giving him a disapproving look. "I've forbidden Seifer to talk about the deal he nearly entered into with my husband, but believe me when I say it was a selfless and commendable act."
"Yeah, right." Sora said.
"Hercules and Meg have made deals with him, too. They know the nature of them." She said.
Hercules blinked, while Meg's eyes widened as if she had been struck. They glanced at Hayner in unison, as if that small piece of information—whatever it meant—told them exactly what deal I had almost made.
"I've also asked him to go on a personal errand for me once you've conducted your business in Twilight Town; you should be able to conduct it while you continue your quest." I looked at her—this side-quest was news to me. "Let's just say I'm making up for Hades' petty trick. Right, Seifer?" She winked at me.
I looked down at the ring on my thumb, then back up at her, nodding. "Yeah. Thanks again."
She patted my head like a dog, and a stifled a scowl. "It's not a problem, pet. You and Hayner are two of my favorite heroes."
"Heroes? Those two?" Phil scoffed skeptically.
Persephone giggled. "Well, maybe not just yet, but they will be." She hugged me. "Remember what I told you, Seifer."
I just gave her a wavering half-smile, unused to physical contact unless it was some sort of fight. My mother (well, the mother Ansem put in my memories) had been more the type to express her love by doing things for me than by hugging and kissing me. And my dad…I actually don't even know how they conceived me, as few times as I'd seen him touch someone without any malice behind it. So, yeah, definitely no hugs or anything from him.
"Bye!" She said, and disappeared without any of her husband's theatrics.
No one spoke.
"Shit!" I said, before the awkward silence could completely settle over us. "I forgot to ask her how this fucking ring works!"
As if in response to my outburst, a piece of paper suddenly floated down in front of me. I caught it easily as it fluttered around.
Follow the leader. –Persephone
I frowned. "The fuck's that supposed to mean?" I asked, but she didn't deign to answer.
"What's it say?" Sora asked, peeking over my shoulder.
I put a hand on his forehead and shoved him away. "None of your damn business, pipsqueak."
He jutted his bottom lip out, but surprisingly didn't push it. Instead, he decided to get annoying about something else. "I know what is my business—what were you thinking, almost accepting Hades' deal? You said you weren't going to!"
"And I didn't." I pointed out.
"Only because Hayner stopped you!" He retorted.
I shrugged. "Yeah, well." I muttered, trying to brush past him.
"Yeah, well, what?" He demanded. "I know that goddess said you had a good reason, but I don't believe it!"
I grabbed his shirt and jerked him up, glaring at him. "If I wanted you to know, I'd damn well tell you, so until I decide to change my mind: fuck off." I growled, dropping him roughly.
"I won't!" He said. "Hercules is my friend, and I'm not just going to stand by and let you off the hook when you just tried to kill him!"
"That's great Sora!" I snapped. "That's just wonderful for you—you have friends to defend. But guess what? I don't. I don't have anyone except for Hayner. So I'll defend him the only way I damn well know how, and anyone who tries to get in my way can get fucked. That includes you, Keyblade Master."
He jerked back, giving me a surprised look. "Defend Hayner? From what?" He asked.
"The Queen, the world, you, himself—I don't fucking know, but I'm going to do it." I said, then gritted my teeth together when I realized that I had probably said too much. I wondered if my cheeks were as hot as they felt.
Hayner laughed, stopping Sora from saying anything else as he patted my arm. "You're a real idiot, Seifer, you know that?" He asked. "Defend me; yeah, right."
"Fuck you, chickenwuss." I said, swatting the back of his head.
"From defending me to attacking me in as many minutes? Nice to know you're on my side." He chuckled sarcastically.
"Yeah, yeah." I said.
"C'mon." He grabbed my hand—as was quickly becoming his habit, it seemed. "Let's go see how Cid's doing with the ship."
I nodded and let him lead me away.
End Chapter Nine