Rhiannon: So... erm... I've been having way too much fun with this story... it's a monster but that's okay, I love it. Er... yeah, so read and review and all that jazz I guess...
Chapter 6—Listless Corpse
"The King would like to meet with you all on a neutral world. He wants to speak with you of the state of the heartless." Laguna murmured when they met for lunch in the Loire household.
Cloud sputtered into his drink and then stared around at the other occupants of the room. "You can't really expect Tifa and I to babysit these kids just because—"
"Sora Miryoko is the keyblade master. Kairi Geffan is the wielder of Oblivion, Riku Shiren as well as Leon Loire and Yuffie Kisaragi-Loire." The older man paused. "They have to go. The Trinity and the Guide. I know it's a lot of people but they can all fight. Cid Highwind can only spare one ship. And you know enough to be of use."
"That's taking five warriors off the defense." Cloud pointed out.
"I'm not taking anyone off the defense. The King request to see three people. The Trinity. Leon will pilot the ship and the rest of you will man the defense until they get back."
"That's dangerous." Leon spoke softly.
"It's necessary. The King has chosen the place. It is called Twilight Town. According to him, this is a place where there are neither nobodies or heartless." Laguna sighed. "We have to trust him."
"When do we go?"
"The King will open up the pathways for you. We merely have to wait until he sends the word."
"And when will that be? How long will the nobodies and the heartless ravage whatever's left of Radiant Garden while we—"
"We have no choice in this." Yuffie slapped her palm down on the table. "The King will give us much needed supplies. We can't do this on our own, surely you understand this?"
"I know! But I can't just sit by and watch as people die!"
"And we can!" Sora asked highly offended. "Until the King sends for us, the rest of us will join the patrol."
"All right." Tifa finally spoke. "Settled down. We all want what is best…even if we don't know at this point. What the King has to say is important and we should listen. I bet even Merlin would agree with that Cloud."
The blond grudgingly agreed.
"Then I guess this meeting is adjourned. For the time being Leon runs the scouting system so he'll give you three your assignments." He nodded to the trinity of keyblade wielders. When it's time to go… I'll in form you."
Roxas started from the dream that he had been trapped in and climbed out of his bed. He wasn't sure of what it was about the World That Never Was that disturbed him so much, but he had never been this restless when he'd been foraging for food in the ruined buildings that Axel had found him in. He lifted his hands and in them appeared two keyblades. The Oathkeeper and the Kingdom Key. The question never seemed to leave his mind… why him?
"I've said it before and I'll say it again… You think too much." He looked up to see Axel leaning against the doorframe and sighed. The look in Axel's eyes could have been misconstrued as worry but Roxas knows he doesn't feel the emotions that he shows liberally.
"You'd think a lot too if you were in my position. I overheard Xaldin and Vexen speaking of one called Sora… I want to find him." He admitted quietly.
"Xemnas would never allow you to do that." Axel pointed out quietly.
"Who are you to stop me?" Roxas turned and glared at him. "How do I know that you're a true friend? Maybe you're just here to control me for Xemnas! This… Sora person is important to him, is he not."
"Roxas… Roxas… I am the only friend you have within the Organization and you'd do well to remember that." Axel walked forward carefully. "If there is one person that I can't manipulate it's you. Xemnas didn't put me in charge of you. I put myself in charge of you."
"But why?" Roxas asked quietly.
"Not all nobodies are self serving." He shrugged his shoulders. "Anyways… I have an assignment… I'll be back in a few days."
"What kind of assignment?" Roxas cocked his head to the side, usually he went on Axel's assignments.
"Apparently… Zexion apparently found something of interest on his scouting missions. A girl called Naminè who is being held by DiZ. He wants me to kidnap the girl… She's a nobody."
"And why not have Zexion do this?" Roxas asked cocking his head. "It's his finding."
"I'm the better sneak I guess." He shrugged his shoulders and stretched his lanky body out. "Listen Roxas…You be careful while I'm gone okay… There are certain things happening right now… things you'd be better off staying neutral in."
"I'm not a child Axel." Roxas pointed out almost petulantly and Axel laughed.
"I know you're not… but you're the closest thing I have… to a friend." He turned and walked out the door and whispered when Roxas was out of ear shot. "You make me feel like I have a heart."
"Those seem to be delusions of grandeur." A cold voice whispered to his left and the fiery redhead turned to face the lone woman with an almost predatory smile.
"Why my darling savage nymph… I thought you of all people would use a line a bit less… cliché?" She scoffed at his words.
"Such a fool Axel… Marluxia and I were just discussing the other day about how it seems that you have no regard of the organization but merely fawn over that child." She taunted and Axel rolled his eyes.
"We all do our parts Larxene… you know that." He smiled almost coyly at her. "Plus I have been holding up my end haven't I?"
"Of course." She smiled, her shiny teeth gleaming from the neon lights. "Marluxia almost has Castle Oblivion ready for action."
"Good." He turned and headed towards the door. "I'll deliver one Naminè, Princess of Nothing as asked."
The savage nymph fell in to step with him and even placed her hand in his. "One must always be carefully of the flurry of dancing flames… they might never know when they will get hurt." She spoke and gave his hand a quick squeeze before she parted… presumably to head back to Castle Oblivion.
"Man… all these places have such depressing names. The World That Never Was… the Castle That Never Was… Castle Oblivion… I can't wait until I can live on the other side." Axel spoke under his breath as he headed out into the eternal night and vanished into the portal of darkness.
Deep with the planes of existence between the World That Never Was, Twilight Town and Radiant Garden exists a small island and upon this island is a large and daunting castle. Few have seen it, merely thinking it an illusion as they travel past it in the gummi ships unable to completely see the castle that exists on more then one plane. This tall and daunting castle is made of complete and utter darkness and is simply called Castle Oblivion.
Inside the castle is where Marluxia resides instead of inside the Castle That Never Was. He is a rather cold man, his heart had left him long in spirit before he ever became a nobody. His true name lost to himself not that he cares to regain it. He seeks the goal of Organization Thirteen, to gain a heart and unimaginable power through Kingdom Hearts. But like most of the Organization his trust is not easily given. He no more trusts Xemnas or Saïx as far as he can throw them.
"You think too hard about the wrong things." A voice commented behind him and he turned to see a young man clad in a black coat much as himself.
"Zexion." His voice was cold in greeting but the other boy was use to that. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned against a pillar.
Marluxia was never sure what to think about Zexion, to him the boy probably wasn't the best to use in his plans. But then again… strange bedfellows often work well together. His main problem had to be Zexion's manipulative nature. Marluxia could frankly admit that he was often paranoid of his fellow Organization members but something about Zexion unsettled him more then most.
"The Graceful Assassin and the Savage Nymph work well together don't you think?" Zexion commented, his lips barely moving.
"And what of you, the Cloaked Schemer?" Marluxia lifted an eyebrow.
"Surely you realize that you and I are on the same side Marluxia. I merely wish to have a heart. You and Larxene can keep the power." Marluxia nodded distractedly, maybe the thing that unnerved him most about Zexion was that he knew nothing about the boy. Other then that he was one of the originals—there was no mention of a spell or an element or much of anything. And though he spent plenty of time around the boy, there was never any forth coming information no matter how cunning he proved himself to be.
Zexion was a master of words and could parry the slightest inquiry with the slightest of intonations that even the most cunning of word masters might have a hard time, sliding underneath that shell to peer at what was inside. And the thought of that, had Marluxia worried. For who was one… who did not want power?
"My, my Marluxia… sometimes it surprises me… how nervous you are… we're nothing more then corpses." Zexion smiled at him.
"That's not true." Marluxia stated feeling that he for once had the upper hand. "We are nobodies… And Kingdom Hearts will make sure that we are sombodies."
Kairi tapped her pen against her lip and sighed deeply, she hadn't actually admitted that it bothered her to anyone else, but, the fact that she was the one to fight with Oblivion bothered her. Of all of them she would figure Riku would be the one. He was arrogant to say the least. At least that was the way he came off some of the time. Sora understood him better then she did. She put the pen down and called the blade to her and stared at it idly.
It was long and graceful, covered in a black metal that she couldn't name. It was interwoven with silver and gleamed in a deadly way. It was like the key to a deep, dark torture chamber in an old castle. She sighed as she rolled it in her hands. She was the dark member of the trinity.
She could definitely understand why Sora was the light end. He was always nice and kind and willing to help. There seemed to be no darkness within his soul to find. He was one of the sweetest people she'd ever met and he hoped that nothing would change that.
Riku… Riku didn't seem like the one that would be the road between darkness and light. H had his moments of arrogance and sarcasm. He was… at least to Kairi more like the person who would be a representative of darkness. Maybe the King would have the answer to her questions. Until then… she put the keyblade away. Until then, she had the people of Radiant Garden to protect as best as she could.
"Kairi?" She looked up into the gunmetal eyes of Leon Loire. His lips were thinned into the seemingly permanent frown that he seemed to be always wearing.
"Yes?" She tilted her head to the side as she looked up at him. His hair was messier then usual and his shirt was covered in sweat, he must have just come off duty, she had been sitting there for a long time.
"I have someone that I want you to meet." He murmured drawing her forward. She shrugged and got up to follow him.
He took her to the far side of the first district, straight up to the high walls where sat part of a cemetery. The grave just before the wall was small and Leon knelt down next to it and placed his hand atop it.
"I want you to meet the last keyblade wielder… Raine Loire, my mother." Kairi stared at the stone and felt guilt roll in her stomach.
"What… what happened to her?" She asked afraid that this had something to do with some kind of horrible fate.
"Nothing that you're imagining." He gave her a sardonic look that he was only use to seeing on Riku. "She died in childbirth… I've never physically met her."
"That's awful." She whispered as she sunk down beside him.
"I guess… Laguna always tells me that I'm just like her. And that's comfort enough." He stood up. "You don't understand why you were chosen to wield Oblivion do you?"
"I don't…" She admitted sheepishly.
"I believe you were given Oblivion because you will always stay light at heart even in the deepest darkness." He turned and headed back towards town. "What you represent are your strengths. Sora's willingness to help and love. Riku's willingness to do whatever it takes for the ones he loves. And your perseverance even in the darkest hour."
"I understand." She whispered as she moved to follow him. She paused at the corner to look at the burial site of Raine Loire and then smiled. Maybe being the wielder of Oblivion wasn't so bad. "Yeah, at least my keyblade doesn't look like Mother Nature puked it up."