SAND
Chapter Four: The TWC
AN: It's here! The fourth installment of SAND! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, etc. You are the reason for me to continue writing! Also, I started a new story, 'KICK!' go check it out ;)
1. Don't own anything from KH or FF.
2. Let's meet a new character shall we?!
Twilight Town
Twilight Town was(as they had learned the hard way) a considerably large city, despite it's name. The winding streets made it seem as if it were a maze. The trio had been walking the streets, utterly lost, for what had seemed to be hours. The tall white buildings and town-homes made it even more troublesome in trying to maneuver the busy streets.
Off in the downtown district, the giant clock-tower chimed, signaling the turn of the hour.
They passed a familiar blinking sign, that displayed a steaming cup of coffee.
"Aquaaaaa. We passed this shop already...I think" Ventus said, stopping to stare at the bright sign; a sense of hopelessness filled his voice.
"No, there was one like that on the Main Street. Where that one trolley stop was, remember? This billboard on the other hand...we have passed this billboard." The blue haired woman pointed to their left at a large wooden board complete covered in pinned papers. She continued, walking past the shop and board, her keyblade lightly swaying at her side.
Roxas grabbed at his blond hair in frustration.
"Can't we just ask someone for help?!"
"No, it's too risky. They could still be looking for you two."
"They?" Ventus asked, kicking a rock down the cobblestone street.
"I'm not totally sure Ven. They had magic, but I don't think they are the ones who sent us here."
"Then who did? And how?" He kicked the rock again. It bounced a few times before coming to a stop next to a gutter.
"I haven't the slightest idea. Teleportation magic it seems. Whoever did it wanted to help us, but only extremely powerful wizards can cast a spell so complicated."
"I don't see why we can't locate the TWC. They had to be the ones that helped us get here if it was a spell that powerful."
"It's not that simple Roxas. We don't know who wants to help us and who wants to kill you two. Yes, maybe they did help, but we can't just go in there not knowing for sure. Plus we have no idea where they are located, they are an extremely secretive organization. They only show themselves when they feel they should."
Roxas shoved his hands into his pockets, scowling.
"I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry Ventus." His brother said.
"We haven't eaten all day!"
"Where are we even going Aqua?"Roxas asked her.
"I don't have a clue, but some place you will be safe."
"Maybe we should find a hotel." Ventus suggested.
"I guess we will have to for now."
"If we can even find one. This place is ridiculous!" Roxas said, still scowling.
The street-lamps began flickering and the sky was starting to turn from pink to dark purple. Shop owners began closing their stores.
"How wonderful, it's getting dark too. Just what we need."
A passerby on their way home stared curiously at the three. Their clothes made it clear they were not from Twilight Town. They were still wearing their bright, embroidered suits from their brothers pre-corronation party.
"And people having been staring at us all day."
"Stop whining boys, we'll find a hotel and then get you some less flashy clothes."
By now hardly anyone was out and stars were blinking in the sky. Most people had gone home for the evening to be with their families. They walked past a few more closed shops, Ventus still kicking his rock along.
The windows of the town-homes began to shine with the pale yellow glow of electricity. The source being from the large factories that ran some sort of strange mechanical and magical devices, invented by both wizards and engineers together. It was a mysterious power, one Radiant Garden had not been able to obtain yet. It was more common in larger cities and towns such as Traverse Town. It was Twilight Towns sister city, located in the West, a few days travel from the Sea of Sand.
Electricity was strange, but it was not the same power that made the trains, trolleys, and tri-sailors all run. Radiant Garden did have that power.
Tri-sailors, trains, and trolleys all used complex combustion fusion cells that generated a high internal heat, which could be used as a powerful energy source. Unfortunately the fusion cells were too hot to use for anything other than transport vehicles and ships.
"Look Roxas!" He ran and twirled around a lit lamp-post excitedly.
"Isn't electricity amazing?!" His brother rolled his eyes and kept walking.
Aqua held her hand out behind her signaling Roxas to stop.
"What is it?"
"Come over here Ventus." She motioned for Ventus to come over to her and placed a hand on her keyblade. Her blue eyes scanned the empty street. The wind and the light hum of the city was the only sound.
"Well it is the evening Aqua, usually it-"
"Shh!" She narrowed her eyes, trying to see in the dim light, before noticing something moving in the shadows.
"Did you see that?" She turned on her heel as she saw another moving shadow.
"Did we see what?"
Aqua stood protectively in front of the boys, raising her blade.
The shadows moved closer to the light before eerily rising out of the ground like water forming into a solid.
"Wha-what is that thing?!" Ventus shouted and moved closer to his brother.
They were small and black, with two antennae and razor-sharp claws on each hand. A few more rose from the ground.
"Aqua!Watch out!"
One of the closer creatures made a low snarling sound before leaping at the three with it's claws extended.
Aqua cut it down easily and it turned into black dust before falling lightly onto the street.
"Um, Aqua...loo-look." She turned to where the boys were pointing. Behind them, tons of the little black creature were popping out of the ground. Her eyes widened. She stepped backwards, pushing her back against the boys.
There were too many to fight on her own. The clawed creatures stood snapping their teeth.
"On the count of three we are going to run down that alley." She pointed.
"Understand?" She looked at them over her shoulder and they nodded.
"One..."A step back.
"Two..." Another step.
"THREE!" As soon as they started moving the creatures rushed them, jumping high into the air. Aqua swung her sword in her hand, cutting a few down, their dust falling to the street.
"Don't stop running no matter what!"
Roxas and Ventus ran as fast as they could down the narrow alley, Aqua trailing behind them, slicing at the creatures.
They didn't notice the figure that had been watching from the rooftops.
The Destiny Islands
Riku led Terra and Zack up the beach and into his port town. It was a small little place on the less dense east-side of the island. It made a profit from trading goods with sailors and the occasional tri-sailor. Though Riku said they weren't as common out in the tropics.
They passed the market near the docks where colorful shells and fish filled the merchants stalls. The fish scales shimmering in the bright sun was almost blinding.
The dirt road they walked on eventually began to incline upwards with the land. Riku lived all the way up at the top of the hill which overlooked the town.
He brought them to a quaint two story home with a little wooden porch and yellow painted door.
"Grandma? Kairi? I have visitors!" Riku said as he entered the home and walked into the kitchen. Zack and Terra trailing behind him.
A young girl and an old woman sat at a long table in front of a small curtained window, drinking what looked to be tea.
They both looked up surprised at the guests Riku had with him.
"Riku! Who are these people?!"
"Kairi, don't be rude. Come boys, please, take a seat." The little old woman, with her hair in a bun, walked over to them and pushed them to the table. The red-haired girl, Kairi, looked skeptical as they sat down with her.
"You don't look like you're from around here." She said, taking a sip of her tea, eyes watching them over her cup.
Riku took a seat next to her.
"Don't mind her. That's Kairi,' he pointed to the red-head in her pink dress,' and her-our- grandmother. They found me here on the beach when I was a child. I have been with them ever since."
The woman brought over more cups and a plate of some kind of cookies.
"Tea boys?" The three nodded and she poured them each a cup. She sat down on the other side of her granddaughter.
"They don't remember how they got here." Riku helped himself to a cookie.
Her hand went to her face, "Oh my. Very similar to our Riku."
"How do you know they don't plan on robbing us?"
"Oh, hush Kairi!"
Kairi frowned and crossed her arms, turning her head to the window.
"What do you remember?"
"We are both members of the Radiant Guard." Zack said, taking a sip of his tea, looking silly holding the tiny cup.
Kairi turned her head back to the group, more interested with this information.
"The kingdom was invaded during Prince Clouds pre-corronation party. A strange enemy we have never seen before. We helped Prince Cloud escape the city but we were separated." Terra said and grabbed a cookie off the plate, he ate it in two bites. Kairi and Riku were listening intently now, their eyes big.
"Not only that, King Ansem has been assassinated." Zack added. Everyone gasped.
"How dreadful!"
"The kingdom has fallen with no king, no princes, no guard. We are not sure what happened to Prince Roxas and Prince Ventus either. They may have been killed as well. That's what we are trying to find out. We still don't know if the enemy occupies the castle either."
Terra turned his eyes to the table and Zack continued.
"We were being chased and then we just woke up on the beach. That's all we can remember."
"I'm so sorry for your loss!"
"You have certainly been through a lot!" Riku added, elbows on the table and face in his hands. Kairi still said nothing but watched them with curiosity.
"If you would like, you can stay for as long as you need to re-cooperate."
Zack looked at Terra staring at the table, emotionless.
"Yes, thank you. I feel that may be the best course of action until we find out some more information."
"Make yourselves at home!Riku, is it alright if they stay in your room?" He nodded and stood up, his chair scraping the floor.
"I'll take Kairi and go to the docks and see if any of the captains have word from Radiant Garden. Do you want to come too?"
"They're not dead." Terra abruptly stood, making his way hastily for the door, leaving everyone else in the room.
"Oh dear. Is he alright?" Their grandmother asked.
"He will be." Zack sighed and got up as well.
Traverse Town
Yuffie knocked lightly on the door.
"I'm coming in." She creaked it open. Cloud was laying on the bed, staring angrily at the ceiling.
"I apologize for my brother." She sat in the chair next to the bed and looked him over.
He didn't say anything.
"He wants you to stay here for now."
"Yes, I understood that part."
She turned her eyes to the window.
"I can't stay here. I have to find my brothers and my friends. I need to know if they are okay."
"You can't. "
"Why is that?" He was irritated.
"I'm not supposed to tell you."
"I deserve an explanation!"
"You're technically our captive now, we don't have to tell you anything."
He looked at her, his blue eyes full of hatred. Things had changed for the worse since the morning.
"So, what, I'm to stay here as a prisoner until you decide to kill me or ransom me off?! You'll be better off killing me now because there's no one left for me! My brothers are probably dead too!"
He turned on his side to stare at the wall, his back to Yuffie.
"Cloud-"
"Please go away."
She sighed and got up from the chair, looking back to the man. The man who was supposed to be a king. The man who had just lost everything.
The man who was all too much like her and Leon. She shut the door behind her.
"Make sure he doesn't try escaping." She said to Dilan standing in the hallway. He nodded and stood in front of the door.
Demyx, Zexion, and Sora, were sitting at the bar in the kitchen. Marluxia causally leaning his elbow against the top. It was always strange to see him not with Dilan.
Aerith, Rinoa, and Tifa all sat at one of the wooden tables drinking from blue mugs. They were all discussing something loudly as Yuffie walked in. Their voices quieting when she entered the room.
"Stop gossiping like little girls."
It was Marluxia who spoke first. "We want to know what Leon plans to do."
"Yeah!" Demyx shouted and Zexion smacked him in the head.
"Don't be so loud you idiot."
"Ow, you're so mean Zex." Demyx frowned and rubbed his head.
"Leon can tell you himself when he wants to. I'm not positive he has a plan. Not a real one anyway."
"He can't stay here Yuffie." Rinoa added from the table as yuffie leaned against the bar.
"Well I like him!" Sora said cheerfully. Demyx and Tifa both nodded their heads earnestly. Rinoa stared at her sister and she slowly stopped nodding and stared at her cup in her hands.
"We take orders from Leon and if Leon says he stays, he stays." Yuffie replied. Everyone except Rinoa made sounds of agreement.
"He's going to bring us trouble."
"More like trouble for her." Marluxia whispered making Demyx and Sora snicker. Rinoa glared at him from the table but he smirked and turned his eyes away from her.
"Have more faith in Leon, Rinoa. He's led us this far already."
"Does anyone else feel weird housing a supposed to be king...orrr is that just me?" Sora asked.
"That's just you Sora." They all said.
"We aren't housing him either. It's more like watching over him until Leon says what we will do."
"So he's like our prisoner?"Aerith asked and took a sip from her blue mug. Yuffie thought for a moment.
"That sounds so unlike us when you put it like that, but yeah. I told him that he is our captive."
"Unlike us?! We are Desolo, everyone believes we are bandits! Of course that sounds like us!"
"Well yeah Sora, but not the real us."
"Ohhhh. I am so dumb."
"Yes you are." Zexion said and Sora pouted at him.
"So Cloud doesn't know anything yet?" Tifa asked.
"Let's keep it that way." They all turned their head quickly. Leon was leaning against the door, one leg against the frame and his arms crossed.
"Leon!"
"We didn't hear you come in."
"Hn." He stared at them all for a moment before uncrossing his arms and leaving.
Everyone exchanged looks.
Leon walked down the hall slowly. His feet not wanting to take him where he needed to go.
Apologizing wasn't his forte.
He nodded at Dilan in front of the door and the man stepped aside to let him in.
"Give me a minute." He said before entering the room and closing the door behind him.
Cloud was laying on the bed facing the wall.
"Go away Yuffie."
"Leon actually." Cloud turned over quickly and sat up in the bed.
"What do you want?"
Leon sat down in the chair, ignoring the blond, and rested his feet up on the bed. Cloud looked at him and then to his shoes.
"I see you have no manners."
"I lead bandits, I don't need manners." Clouds eyes widened.
"Hah! I knew it! That explains why you're such an asshole." He pointed his finger at him.
"Hm." He stared at the blond for a moment. He could tell he was making him uncomfortable. Cloud scooted away from his shoes and sat on end of the bed hugging his knees to his chest, ignoring the sharp pain in his side as he did so. Leon still said nothing.
"Soooo..."
"I'm not going to kill you." He said finally.
"Except if I try to leave."
"No, I'm not going to kill you."
"Sorry, I don't take the word of bandits."
"I promise you I wont, but you cannot leave here."
"Why?" Cloud placed his cheek against his knee.
"Because the same people who are looking for you are looking for me as well." Cloud lifted his head of of his knee.
"What?"
Leon thought for a moment in his chair.
"You want me to take you back to Radiant Garden, to the lions den. If I do that, they not only get you, but they will have me too. It's exactly what they want. I have been evading them for years and am not going to stop now."
"So you're afraid."
"No. I am not afraid."
"Then why are you acting like such a coward?"
His eyebrows came together in an angry thin line.
"Don't you fucking dare call me a coward!" He sat up in his chair, letting his feet hit the ground roughly.
"You have no idea what I have been through to keep my friends and family safe. I will not let some foolish and boyish prince ruin what I worked so hard to avoid! I am not afraid of them, but I am afraid of what they would do to the people I am trying to protect. If you leave you'll have their blood on your hands."
Cloud sat, surprised and staring.
Leon stood and dragged his hand across eyes and to his chin, before letting it fall limply to his side.
"Look. I get it. I know you want to find your brothers and friends. You just can't leave, not yet. Not until I know it's safe."
Cloud looked at him and he turned his face not wanting to meet his eyes.
"I'm sorry." With that he left Cloud alone to his thoughts and Dilan took his place in front of the door.
Apologizing was always hard.
Traverse Town
They were zigzagging through alleys to avoid the black creatures chasing them. Aqua slicing her keyblade through them when they came too close, before the street split into three separate directions.
"Aqua! Which way?!" Roxas cried, slowing, unsure of which path to choose.
"Straight! Go straight!"
The boys ran ahead and she paused, cutting two of the creatures right at their necks.
"Ohhh no!No...no!" Ventus yelled examining the large metal gate. His hands frantically running along the bars shaking them. Roxas ran up to him to do the same.
"It's a dead end! What do we do?!"
Aqua skidded to a halt in front of them, the black bug creatures not far behind. Her eyes worried as she looked around the small space.
"Get behind me! I'll have to fight them!"
She backed up, with the boys behind her, in front of the gate.
The swarm came around the corner into view and Aqua lifted her blade and parted her feet ready for a battle. If there was one thing she was good at, it was fighting.
"I'm not letting these things touch you!" She yelled before rushing at them. There had to have been over a hundred of them. Her blade spun in one hand easily and she flipped with the other, just like her master had taught her. She landed swiftly on her feet, ready to attack the creatures.
She was ready to lunge when a half-moon shaped line of fire exploded on ground in front of her, blocking the creatures. They snarled at the light and tried climbing each-other to get over it. She whipped her head around.
"Wha-" A man landed in front of her, his feet barely making a sound when they touched the ground. He was crouched, one hand and one knee on the ground. He had to have jumped from the roof.
"Exeunt" Two silver and red metal chakrams appeared in each of his hands from out of no where. He slowly stood and began spinning them.
"Ignis" He said and the chakrams ignited. He whipped them across the line of fire killing all of the creature in one hit, the blades returning to his hands. A giant cloud of black dust fell onto the ground where the creatures once were.
"Extinguo." All of the flames went out and the mans chakrams vanished again.
"Ugh I hate heartless."
Roxas, Ventus, and Aqua stood astounded. He turned as if noticing them for the first time.
"Oh...yeah. Hello there." He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.
"Who are you?" Aqua asked, blade still raised.
"Is that any way to treat the person who just saved you?" He asked, a hand to his chest. He waved his hand in a strange pattern.
"Reditum." The blade vanished from Aqua's hands and she looked at them startled.
"What did you do with my keyblade?!" His eyes trailed to her side. She looked down and surely enough her keyblade was there.
"That's better now, Aqua." How did he know her name?
He put a hand on his hip. He was extremely tall and fairly skinny, with spiky long hair the color of fire. It framed his face which was sharp and angled. His eyes were electric green, and with a tattoo underneath on each cheek. His eyes trailed over Aqua's head and at the boys still standing against the gate.
"Ventus." He pointed to Ventus.
"And you, you're Roxas. Oh, yes. I can practically feel the sass coming from you." The twins looked at each-other confused. His accent was strange.
"How do you know them." Aqua asked still wary. He didn't answer, he just studied them all with his cat-like eyes.
She moved to stand protectively next to the twins.
"Let's just say I have my sources, yes?" He smiled showing two extremely sharp canine teeth.
"Reee-lax. You're so uptight! If I wanted to hurt you why would I save your lives first?" He had a point and the three exchanged looks before Aqua nodded at him.
"How did you know we were in trouble?"
"I've been tailing you since you got here. Surprised you didn't notice really. I nearly fell off of the roof right above you at one point. It was highly embarrassing for someone such as myself." He looked at them all as they all stared at him as if he were crazy.
"Hm well, the name's Axel,' he bent forwards and pointed to his temple with his index finger.'Got it memorized?" He smiled, showing his sharp teeth again.
"Now if you would come with me, some people have been expecting you." He turned to leave as if knowing that they would follow.
"Is it really okay to go with him Aqua? I mean look at him. Can we trust a wizard?" Roxas said staring off at him as he walked away. The man, Axel, stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around. They could see his eye twitching even in the dim light.
"Firstly, I am totally trustworthy. Secondly, I prefer the term Magus thank you." He turned again and walked away.
"See what I mean?!How can you trust someone who acts like that?" Roxas said flailing his arms. Aqua started walking after him.
"Because that, Roxas, is a member of the TWC."
"He did save us. You said earlier we should look for them anyways Roxas." Ventus shrugged and started walking after him too.
He peeked his head around the corner.
"Yes, I recall hearing that earlier too Roxy."He disappeared around the corner again. Aqua and Ventus following behind.
"Roxy?!You have got to be kidding me!" He followed behind indignantly.
AN: Yay! I feel like this could be the best chapter so far, despite being kind of short! I really enjoyed writing this! If you are confused or curious, feel free to ask!
TWC- stands for Twilight Wizarding Council. (Axel prefers to be called a Magus. I think he just enjoys being different!)
Thank you for reading!