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.' Also, the idea for the 'relocation' of the Queen's soul comes from a book called 'Golem in the Gears' by Piers Anthony. And the idea for the ritual is some sort of weird merger of my own ideas with ideas from the movies 'The Brothers Grimm' and 'Thirteen Ghosts.'
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 Eighteen: Claro (to make bright or clear, make clear in the mind)
"One night I fell asleep and woke up on that sunny street. At first I thought I couldn't but now I see that the shadows kept me hidden from the light that calls my name. All the creatures stood above me, now I'm crawling towards the sun…" –The Hush Sound, 'Crawling Towards the Sun'
Hayner and I sat in the bathroom like that for a long time. It's a wonder no one came in and checked on us, but I guess they figured that as long as there wasn't any yelling or screaming we must've been alright. I didn't really mind, though.
Or at least, I didn't mind until Hayner opened his damn mouth again—then I wished somebody would show up.
"Seifer…"
"Yeah, lamer?"
"You…you're gay, right?"
Yeah…definitely wish someone had interrupted…
I choked on air, jerking away from him. "The fuck, chickenwuss?"
"Sorry, I guess that's a weird question." He said.
"No, just out of fucking nowhere." I said. "Why in the hell d'you wanna know?"
"Well…I mean, you said as much once…" He said hesitantly. "I was just…curious, I guess."
"About what? I like boys. End of story."
"Well…how did you know? Did you just…wake up one morning and know, or…or what?"
"Why?"
"I just…" He trailed off, blushing. "I just wanted to know."
"I…experimented." I said. "At least, I remember experimenting. It might just be one of those bogus memories or what the fuck ever, but I guess maybe they might be from my…first life, or whatever. Anyhow, what I remember is that one summer at this part-time job I had, this guy I worked with and I came across some gay porn, and figured we'd try it out. He decided it wasn't for him, I decided it was for me."
"Could you be bisexual?" He asked.
"Nah, I tried that, too. Nothing doing." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why the sudden curiosity? You think you're gay or something?"
He shrugged. "I'm questioning everything about myself, lately. I thought maybe…if you told me how you knew, then I would know, and that'd be one less thing for me to—"
He let out a muffled gasp as I grabbed his chin roughly and kissed him. I was gentle—at least, gentler than I normally was when I kissed someone—and chaste. Partly because it was Hayner, no matter how good he tasted, and partly because we were on the bathroom floor, and that shit is uncomfortable. It wasn't half-assed, though, mind you. I got whatever point I was trying to make across, I think. And no, I wasn't really sure what the point was even then.
Whatever the case, I pulled away a moment later ('chaste,' remember?), releasing his chin and standing. I wiped my mouth on my sleeve, hoping to rid it of the tingling feeling that had come from kissing him, and wouldn't quite look at him.
"There. Now, assuming you aren't so fucking lame that you haven't kissed a girl before, you can decide for yourself which you like better—a kiss from a boy, or a kiss from a girl." I said with far more confidence than I felt. "I'm gonna go try to catch a few z's before we get to Prydain; get my strength up and all that bullshit. You should…probably try to get some sleep, too. Get used to everything that's going on."
"O-okay." He said breathily.
I left the bathroom and headed to the small cabin I'd claimed as my own, fully intending on doing just what I'd told Hayner—sleeping. And I did, sort of.
But while I slept, I dreamed.
(PAGEBREAK,Y'KNOW?)
"Good morning, star shine." Drawled a masculine voice that I definitely didn't know. "The world says 'hello'."
I creaked my eyes open with a tired groan, and, upon finding myself staring into a purple (yes, fucking purple) eye, punched its owner in the nose. And don't give me that look—I'm pretty sure it's been established by now that that's my usual reaction in situations like that.
Scattered laughter followed, and I looked around with wide eyes to find myself surrounded by ten unfamiliar faces. Well, eleven if you counted the guy nursing his nose on the floor.
"Who in the hell are you people, and what the fuck are you doing in my room?" I demanded, going for Hyperion—only to find that my trusty gunblade was nowhere to be found.
"Calm down, man." Oh. So maybe not all of the faces were unfamiliar; this one was that pirate-guy from before.
"Yeah." Another guy, with blue eyes and a mullet, giggled. "We come in peace."
"Technically, he comes in peace." Said a snickering woman with bleach blonde hair (styled into fucking antennas, for God's sake) and blue eyes. Then she looked down at the man on the floor. "Heh, or not."
"Would you just answer my fucking questions?" I asked.
"No need to get violent." Said a man with silver hair and honey colored eyes. "We are known as Organization XIII."
"The Nobodies Sora destroyed a while back?" I asked skeptically.
"Yes." The man said.
"And…what part of that means I shouldn't get violent, exactly?" I asked, balling my hands into fists.
"Because we aren't the bad guys this time!" The guy with the mullet said. "We're victims! And we need your help."
"Yeah. And I'm supposed to just…take you on your word, there?" I asked.
"It's true. Xigbar warned you about not leaving Hayner, didn't he? We're good guys." Mullet-Man insisted.
"Alright, sure. I'll run with it for now." I said as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "The way shit's been going down lately, why the fuck not?" I sighed and looked at the silver-haired guy. "So d'you think I could get your actual names now? Or should I just call you 'guy with silver hair'?"
The guy in question chuckled. "No need. I am Xemnas. Number I."
"And humble." I murmured.
He gave me a scathing look. "We are numbered according to our position in the Organization."
"Mhm." I said, crossing my arms over my chest and arching an eyebrow at him.
"Numbers aren't important anymore." Mullet-Man said. "We aren't really the Organization anymore, after all." Then he thrust his hand out at me. "I'm Demyx—formerly number IX."
"And the rest of you?" I asked, turning toward the others.
One of them—the one I punched—opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of angry footsteps from somewhere down the hall from our cell.
"Lie down and pretend to be asleep. Now." Xemnas said, grabbing my arm and shoving me to a corner of the cell.
I glared at him for a moment, but the desperation in his voice made me do what he told me to do, so a moment later found me curled up uncomfortably in the corner.
I heard someone open the door to the dungeon we were in, and the strangest sound of a high-pitched squeak or yelp as something skidded on the floor near our cell.
"But Mother, I felt it! I really did!" A voice—a young voice—said rather frantically.
"Quiet, you little fool!" Another voice hissed. I assumed it was the Queen, though the voice sounded a bit younger than I would have expected. Then again, I reasoned at the time, she wasn't in her own body anymore.
"Mother, I—"
A slap.
"I said be quiet! And do not dare to call me your mother again, you little worm, because you are no son of mine!"
"But—"
"Useless thing, shut up!" A second slap, and I felt my temper rise as I ventured to peek my eyes open.
On the ground, defiant and desperate and crushed all at once, was a young boy (no more than ten or eleven) with shoulder-length black hair and eyes that were…impossibly, undoubtedly Hayner's. For a moment I entertained the idea of a younger brother or cousin, but I could tell just by looking at his face that he, somehow, was Hayner's missing soul.
The all-too-young Nobody was looking up with heartbreakingly familiar eyes at a woman I did and didn't recognize. She had short brown hair with a strange outward flip at the end, and somehow the murderous look on her face and in her dull green eyes struck a chord in my heart. It was like…well, I imagine it was something like the feeling I would get seeing that expression on Sora's face—that is, like it was terribly out of place and character—even though I was fairly certain I had never met this girl-who-was-the-Queen.
"Mo—my Queen…" The boy sputtered, standing shakily. "I'm certain, absolutely certain, that I felt one of the twelve souls shift."
I heard Demyx gasp softly as the other former members of the Organization stiffened.
The woman snorted. "Ridiculous. They're all present, you see?" She waved a hand at our cell vaguely. "Now stop making outlandish claims before I lose my temper, you hear me, boy?" She glared at him for a moment until he finally nodded under her intense gaze, and then turned to leave, muttering as she walked, "I thought I would be rid of children when I took the boy's heart, but instead I got saddled with this piece of trash…"
Then she slammed the door shut behind her, cutting off the rest of whatever she was saying.
The boy plunked back down to the ground, head tilted forward so we couldn't see his face. But we heard the sniffle he let out a moment later, and saw the way his shoulders shook.
"Little Prince…?" Demyx said softly.
The boy looked up at him, sniffling again as he stood hurriedly and grasped the bars of the cell in his hands, standing on his tiptoes and peering back into it.
"Seifer? He's here, isn't he? Seifer's spirit is here?" He asked eagerly, tears all but forgotten.
"How did you know that?" The Antenna Woman asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"My heart knows him." He said, putting a hand on his chest. "So I felt his soul shift. Please, let me talk to him? We have time. Mother won't come back until tomorrow morning, now."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Xemnas asked.
"Mother never believes anything I say. You saw her, didn't you? If I hadn't said something about it, she would have suspected something. That's why I told her I felt his soul shift." He paused. "Well, I said I felt one of the twelve souls shift, but that's only a little white lie, right? And since his soul shifted here, one of the twelve souls did shift, it isn't technically a lie. They switched places."
"Why would you do that?" Xigbar asked.
He shrugged. "I told you: my heart knows him. He's sworn to protect my heart, so…I protect him. Give and get." He looked at the door, an unreadable expression coming to his face. "And besides, it isn't like I hid something from her. It's her own fault she thinks I'm useless." Then he looked back at them, eyes wide with hope. "Can I see Seifer now? Please?"
"I'm right here, lamer." I said, standing and pushing my way to the front of the cell.
He let out a sob of pure relief and sunk to his knees, closing his eyes and resting his head against the bars of the cell.
"Kid?" I said hesitantly.
"I'm sorry." He said, obviously crying again. "I just…I'm so happy. I was so scared, but…but you're here now, and I know…I can feel that everything is going to be okay." He buried his head in his hands with a teary laugh. "I thought she was gonna kill me, but you won't let her." He looked back up at me. "You won't, will you? You…you'll keep us safe, right?"
"Us?" I asked.
"My Other and I. My heart and soul." He replied. "Please, promise me you'll keep us safe?"
I rolled my eyes. "'Course I will, chickenwuss."
He let out a shaky sigh. "Good. I…I was so, so scared I was gonna die." He shuddered. "I don't want to die, Seifer."
"You aren't gonna die." I scoffed. "And you wouldn't have to, anyhow. As long as you aren't willing to help her…"
"She's my mother. Of course I'm willing." He said immediately, frowning at me.
"But you'll die." A man with long blonde hair and green eyes said.
He wrinkled his nose. "I know. And I don't want to die, but…I can't just walk away without trying to help her. She's my mother, so…I have to help her, if I can. Even if it means I'll…you know."
"Hmph." I snorted, but didn't comment. I was in no position to talk about someone being unable to go against their parents. Instead, I had to ask, "What I want to know is how in the hell you're so young when Hayner is my age."
The boy—he still hadn't given me his name, though Demyx called him 'Little Prince'—wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "A person is made up of three parts—body, soul, and heart. The body is the only part of a person that ages consistently. The heart and soul are shaped by the experiences a body has, and the choices a person makes. A certain situation or choice can make a soul age or even lag behind so that it doesn't match the age of the body." He bit his lip, and looked away from me. "Basically what I mean is…when my heart and I were separated from our body…we stopped aging. Or, at least, our aging slowed down considerably."
My gaze hardened, remembering what the Queen had said as she left. "How old were you when she…?"
"We were eight." He said, still refusing to look at me. "In nine years, I've only aged two. And that's just because Mother…well, it's only because of her."
"That bitch." I growled, hands balling into fists at my sides. "Why would you die for her? How could you even consider…?"
"Why do you put up with your dad?" He asked. "It's just…one of those things, y'know?"
"No, I don't know." I snapped. "It's one thing to let my old man rough me up every once in a while. Plus he's drunk, and he does all of that shit because of my mom being dead. But your mom…she's just doing this for her own sick, selfish plans! She's going to kill you so she can stay in a stolen body!"
"It doesn't matter!" He said. "I wish I could just flip a switch and feel nothing for her, but I can't! When Hayner gets here…if and when she catches him and we merge back together, we'll die for her. Even though we don't want to, we will." He bit his bottom lip and looked up at me again through the fringe of his bangs. "But it doesn't matter either way, does it? Because you're here, now, so everything is going to be alright."
"Sure, kid." I muttered, uncomfortable with the unwavering trust I saw in his eyes. "Everything will be alright."
And then, as the kid smiled at me and I was wondering how in the hell I was supposed to follow through with my promise, it hit me. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do.
Miss Astor (the Blue Fairy) had been right—now that I had found Hayner's soul, I knew exactly what I needed to do in order to bring this whole mess to an end. It was completely clear in my mind; no doubts or questions or anything.
I smirked grimly and put a hand on the kid's hair, ruffling it a little as I said, with utmost confidence this time, "I promise, kid, everything is going to be alright."
His smile widened and, as if this is what everything had been geared for in the first place…
I woke up.
End Chapter Eighteen