A/N-Hello again. Sorry if this doesn't flow like it normally does (I was writing it while watching more Project Runway. Geez I'm such a girl!) Not much to say. I did a prediction on how much is left (pffft, like that'll go as planned!) and I find about 11 parts, give or take depending on the writing. So we're almost there. Just a bit further and we'll be heading into the final battle! Woot! So please read and enjoy. Do watch out for those spelling errors. They like to steal your left sock and hide it. :P
"Firaga!" Axel roared. He swung his Keyblade and the ball of flames flew from the end towards Luxord. The blonde Knight leapt from the gazebo rubble and landed heavily on the ground. Axel breached Luxord's personal space and slashed. Luxord rolled away and drew two cards. Axel brought his Keyblade down and bounced off a reflect spell. Luxord used the opening to activate the second card. Darkness manifested into the shape of a hand with long claws out of the card. It surged forward and the claws dug deep into Axel's abdomen. Axel flinched painfully. As the darkness faded, blood oozed over his armor.
"Damn," he growled. Axel channeled his energy into his fire element. A large ring of fire erupted around the edges of the wall of cards. The ground started to glow red and the pavement started to grow hot. Then it turned molten. Luxord chuckled and drew four cards.
"Still using the same techniques," he mused. Axel's eyes narrowed and his Keyblade burst into flames. He leapt at Luxord and slashed his blade. The blonde rolled awkwardly out of the way so his skin wouldn't make contact with the smoldering pavement. When Axel's Keyblade made contact with the ground, a large pillar of fire shot into the air. He was quick on his feet to chase after Luxord.
The blonde Knight bounded backwards on his toes to keep his distance from Axel. He rapidly drew three cards and activated the second. Axel's Keyblade came in contact with a large blue shield. The shield shattered on impact into a waterfall of ice crystals. Luxord quickly activated the other two. Axel was blasted with an aero spell laced with mines. The explosives erupted and Axel pressed through them despite the pain of metal scraping against his bare flesh. Thin red lines appeared all over his cheeks and neck.
Axel used the advantage of the smoke created by the mines to get the jump on the older Knight. He leapt through the grey screen and his Keyblade crashed into the space between Luxord's neck and shoulder. The blade cut deep and slit Luxord's jugular. The Knight gasped and leapt back, his neck bearing third degree burns and blood pumping out in time with his heart. Luxord clasped one hand over his neck and shakily drew a card from the middle of the deck. He activated it and his neck sealed with the curaga spell.
"Damn," Luxord cursed under his breath. Axel just kept coming. The elder Knight knew the red head was ranked higher than him for a reason and he was starting to see why. Axel was relentless.
The younger Knight slashed his Keyblade downwards in front of him. A line of fire rose up from the ground and tossed Luxord into the air. Axel summoned a pillar of fire beneath the man and roasted him. Luckily, Luxord was able to draw a protect spell and it saved his life. His neck was still oozing blood but it was at a much slower rate. Luxord landed awkwardly and his face brushed the ground. He grunted painfully as his skin seared, wrinkling the flesh on the left side of his face and turning it a sickly grey.
Luxord panicked as he saw Axel sprinting across the courtyard, crouched and Keyblade ready by his side. He tried to draw more cards but the deck slipped through his fingers. Cards rained onto the ground and burst into small puffs of flame.
"Shit!" Luxord hissed. He looked up to find a Keyblade crashing down on his face. Axel smashed in Luxord's face and kicked the elder man in the chest. He created a pillar of fire and Luxord screamed as his body was engulfed in flames. Then his screams died. As the fire faded, only the man's ashened armor remained. Axel dispelled the fire ring and the cards surrounding the courtyard burst into a flurry of ripped paper. The pieces of paper mixed with the ashes from Axel's flames and were whisked away into the wind.
Axel doused the fire on his Keyblade and jabbed the end into the charred pavement. He hunched over in pain, his weight supported by the blade. Axel used his fire to melt the ice on his arm but the limb was still numb. He gritted his teeth and took a hesitant step forward. He flinched at the pain running through his abdomen but deemed it bearable. Axel used his Keyblade like a cane and pressed onwards to find Roxas and Mickey.
His pace was slow through the corpse stricken streets. Axel started to feel dizzy and stumbled. He looked down at his torso and saw the damage was worse than he thought. "Roxas…Mickey…" he rasped. Axel's step faltered and his shoulder crashed into the side of a building. He tried desperately to keep his balance but he slowly started sliding downwards. "Guys…" Axel's eyes started to fade.
He was suddenly pulled upwards and his numb arm was wrapped around someone's shoulder. Then he was half dragged down the street. Axel tried to focus and found he was heading towards the Castle.
"Hang in there," the person urged. Axel felt his mind slipping. His knees gave out and he dropped his Keyblade. It clanged as it clattered to the earth. "Whoa! Hey!" Strong arms supported him and eased him down to the ground. "Hey! We're losing him!" Footsteps approached and he felt something warm wrap around his abdomen.
"Geez Axel. How many times do we have to pull you back together?"
'I know these voices. They're familiar.' Axel thought. He felt his mind fading into unconsciousness. 'But who are they?'
"Axel!" Goofy shouted but the man's eyes became unfocused. "Donald, we're losing him! We have to get him to the med bay."
"Let me try another heal. Cura!" Donald cast. Axel's torso healed slightly but the loss of blood was too much. "Alright, bring him to the med bay. I'll keep the troops on the lookout for heartless while we wait for the King. You'd better hurry. The King may have slowed down the Hollow Bastion soldiers but they're still coming."
"Understood." Goofy lifted Axel up in his strong arms and started heading towards the Castle. Donald pressed a finger to his ear and listened for instructions of soldier movements from intell. As Goofy reached the Castle gates, he heard his name being called. The Commander turned to see Roxas jogging towards him. He watched as Roxas's face turned from content relief to a stricken panic. Roxas sprinted over, his Keyblades jangling at his sides.
"What happen?!" he demanded. Axel's Keyblade was slung over the Commander's shoulder. Roxas slid to a halt and tried to catch his breath.
"He passed out. I'm bringing him to the med bay," Goofy explained.
"I'm coming with."
"No, you go do your duty and help the King." Roxas was taken aback by the Commander's orders.
"Wha…what?"
"Axel will be fine. I'll bring him to the med bay. Clarabelle and Minnie will take care of him. Now get back out there and hold off those Hollow Bastion soldiers. Mickey's counting on you and you're letting him down by running off because you failed to think straight." Roxas bowed his head shamefully.
"Alright. I'll check by later. Take good care of him." Roxas gave a stiff salute and went back the way he came. Goofy watched him talk to Donald briefly before turning off to the right. He nodded and turned back to bringing Axel to the med bay.
Minnie greeted the Commander at the door and directed him towards an empty bed. Goofy gently laid Axel down, set down the man's Keyblade on the bedside table, and headed back to the Castle gates. Minnie turned to Axel and set to healing him. She deactivated his armor and pulled back his shirt.
"Oh dear," she muttered. Minnie set to pressing gauze over the wounds while she called to Clarabelle. The bubbly woman with her black hair pulled back in a bun hurried over with two pints of blood. They hooked the blood up to Axel's arm and set to keeping him stable.
As he was recovering, Axel found himself coming back around. His eyes blinked open and he stared up at the ceiling. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around the room. Axel let out a bemused chuckled when he found Pluto at the foot of his bed. The dog was sitting on his hind legs with his front paws on the mattress. His head rested on his front paws, his eyes full of worry.
"Hey," Axel greeted. Pluto whined softly. Axel leaned forward and scratched the dog's ears. "You worry too much." Pluto licked his hand, earning a soft chuckle from the red head.
"How are you feeling?" Minnie asked, walking over. Her sleeves were rolled up and she sported a pair of white surgeon's gloves.
"Alright." Axel realized he had feeling in his left arm again and he moved it experimentally. "I ran into Luxord, one of Xemnas's Knights."
"I assume you fought?" She sat on the edge of his bed.
"Cremated the bastard. He was never the strongest of the Knights. If Demyx wasn't so chicken on fighting, Luxord would probably be the weakest Knight. Not to say the fight was a walk in the park. Luxord really knows how to get the jump on you."
"Well, I'm really glad you're safe. Take it easy for awhile." Minnie took her leave and Pluto hopped up onto the bed. The dog tucked himself into Axel's lap while the red head rubbed the lab's neck.
"What do you think, boy? Think I could get back out there?" Pluto shot him a dark look as if to say 'Fuck no you flame headed idiot'. Axel chuckled and ruffled the lab's ears. "Okay. I'll be good and rest here for awhile. Ten minutes sound good?" Pluto gave a low growl. "Okay, okay, fifteen. But I have to get back out there. Mickey's counting on me." Pluto gave a snort but didn't protest.
Axel lay back down and relaxed, keeping a close eye on the clock. Five minutes passed and a Disney soldier rushed into the med bay with his arm dripping blood. Clarabelle quickly ran over to tend to the young man's needs. He was seated on the bed next to Axel. As Clarabelle peeled back the teen's broken pauldron and Axel could see muscle and bone protruding from beneath the skin. Axel watched as the wound was cleaned and bandaged. The teen set to wiping the blood from his armor as Clarabelle left him to tend to someone else.
"That's a nasty cut," Axel commented.
"Fucking soldier caught me off guard," the teen growled. He had rich black hair tussled around in a style that was reminiscent of Roxas's. The teen had thin black eyeliner on his upper lids. His armor was a rich navy accented with black and red. Instead of a head piece, his chest plate had a wide collar that came up to the top of his upper lip to protect his neck. A black stud was pieced under his lower lip.
"Gotta be careful out there."
"Right….who are you exactly?"
"The name's Axel. I'm here to repay a favor to King Mickey."
"Huh. Sucks to be you. Mickey takes his debts seriously."
"I'm aware. And who are you, with the cocky ass?" The teen scowled.
"The name's Max, you shit head."
"Ooh, shit head. We have a badass here." Axel wiggled his fingers to enhance his sarcasm. "What are you, eight?"
"Seventeen!"
"Scary."
"Hey, I'm Vice Captain of the Guard. That's more than you'll ever be."
"Hollow Bastion Knight," Axel replied flatly, staring at the ceiling. The teen's eyes widened and his mouth gaped. "Careful. Your brain might explode if you think about it too hard." Max glanced at Minnie, who was helping some injured citizens, and noticed she wasn't fretting over Axel's presence.
"How'd you get in here?" Max asked, clearly confused.
"I'm not entirely sure. I sort of woke up here." Axel glanced at the clock. He had five minutes left before his time he told himself to leave. "So how did a kid like you get in the Guard?"
"In case you forgot in the comfort of your plushy castle, there's a war going on. Kids are fighting in all sorts of worlds. It really shouldn't come to a surprise."
"It didn't. I've known people who were on the battlefield since they were barely out of their preteens. Seventeen's a pretty good age. I was just wondering how you got in with your crappy ass attitude." Max scowled deeper.
"I got in through my dad."
"Ooh, papa's boy!" Axel teased.
"Fuck off." The red head burst out laughing. "He happens to be the Commander of the Guard." Axel bit his tongue and nearly choked. It was Max's turn to laugh. "Serves you right, dick head."
'Good Kingdom Hearts, how the heck does Goofy have son?!' Axel wondered. 'That's just…bizarre! Oh, I can't wait to see Roxas's face when I tell him. Oh wait, no emotions. Drat. Maybe I'll have to wait until after we get our hearts back.'
"Say," Axel brought up, "I'm about ready to head back to the field. Want to tag along?"
"Think you can keep up?" Max pressed with a flashy grin.
"Oh, I'm sure I can." Axel sat up, rubbed Pluto's ears, and climbed out of his bed. He activated his armor and picked up his Keyblade. Axel separated them back into his chakrams. "Let's get going." Max stood and followed Axel from the med bay. The teen had a large double bladed battle axe hanging on his back. "You know how to use that?" Axel asked, pointing to the axe.
"Ask all those soldier I decapitated," Max replied smugly.
"Before or after you nearly got your ass handed to you?" Max's face turned back into a scowl. They made their way to the front of the Castle. The sound of cannon fire could be heard from the catwalks above them. "Where to?" Axel asked, turning to the Vice Captain. Max paused to listen to his earpiece.
"Northeast. Group of five." Max turned and headed down the main street and veered off to the right. Axel followed two paces behind. He spotted the group and spun his chakrams, creating a ring of fire from the movements of the lighted tips. Axel threw them and the spikes sunk into the throats of two soldiers. Max heaved his axe from his back and swung it in front of him as he ran. The blade sliced straight through the next of one soldier and buried into the side of another. The beheaded man's neck spurted blood into the air as the corpse crumpled to the ground.
Axel summoned his chakrams back to his hand yet before he could strike again to take out the remaining two soldiers, Max ripped the axe from the side of the man's chest. His hands twisted the handle and a blast of steam shot from the edge of one of the blades. It propelled Max to swing the axe around 360 degrees and drive the other side of the axe through the injured soldier's neck. Then he ripped a pistol from a holster from the small of his back. Max unloaded a full clip into the final soldier's chest, felling the man.
Axel whistled sharply. "Not bad. Color me impressed," he commented. Max grinned.
"I'll take that as a compliment from a Bastion Knight," the teen remarked.
"Former Knight," Axel corrected. "There's no way in Hell I'm going back to that place." Max arched his eyebrows curiously.
"Really? You abandoned Xemnas? What did he do to tick you off?"
"His wife ripped out my heart." Max scoffed.
"Serves you right for trying to hit on the Queen." Axel frowned.
"No, she literally ripped out my heart. I'm a nobody of my former self." Max's face morphed from confusion to saddened.
"You mean you're…heartless?" Axel nodded. "Damn. That sucks, man. I'm sorry. I didn't know. How'd you survive? I mean, don't you need a strong heart to become a nobody?"
"Someone was looking out for me." Axel left it at that and started walking down the street. Max realized the red head wasn't going to explore the matter further so he headed after the Knight. He suddenly stopped and pressed his finger to his earpiece to hear it better. Max's eyes darted around the street anxiously.
"Hey Axel, did you come here from Destiny Islands?" Mas asked. The Knight froze mid-step and whirled around.
"What's going on?" Axel snapped. Max listened to his earpiece to hear the message again.
"We're getting a call from there but there's a lot of interference. They're working on the message right now. I'll keep you updated when I get more details."
"You'd better. We have to find someone who's out here fighting with Mickey. He'll want to know too."
"Isn't he with Mickey now?"
"I'm not sure. We all got separated when I faced off with one of Hollow Bastion's Knights."
"Right. We still have to take care of the soldiers but we'll keep an eye out for him on the way. What's he look like?"
"Short blonde with a pair of Keyblades. He's wearing Disney tech armor. His name's Roxas."
"Roxas? Why is that name familiar?" Max mused under his breath. "Alright. We'll try to find him. By the way, how did you get Disney tech armor? We don't give that out lightly."
"Mickey put an order in for me. I'm surprised you're taking me being a Knight rather well."
"I sort of figured you were on our side since Minnie wasn't freaking out and you had the tech. No skin off my nose if I have to kill you."
"Ouch, that hurt." Axel flinched dramatically. Max gave him a shove.
"Get over yourself. We're being requested to move farther east. Think you can keep up?"
"I'll be right behind you." Max nodded with a smirk and took off with Axel close behind. They ploughed through six more groups of Hollow Bastion soldiers before they ran into King Mickey. The King was exhausted but he continued to fight back the onslaught on his world. Axel and Max helped him clear the street by a river that ran through town. Then Max hurried over and offered the King an Elixer. Mickey accepted and drank it thankfully.
"Gah, thanks Max," Mickey panted. "I needed that." Mickey turned to Axel. "And I'm glad to see you're alive and well. What happened back there?"
"Luxord, one of Xemnas's Knights. I took care of him so he won't be showing up ever again," Axel replied. Mickey nodded with a light smile.
"Excellent. One less Knight eases our chances of a successful siege on Hollow Bastion in the future. Speaking of which, did Max tell you about the message we're trying to receive?"
"Yes, and it has me worried."
"You aren't the only one." There was a dark pause.
"You haven't seen Roxas, have you?" Axel pressed. Mickey bit down on his lip.
"Not since we got separated."
"Based on your description of him, I recall someone trying to get into the Castle earlier but my dad turned him away," Max interrupted.
"And you didn't say this before because?" Axel snapped. Max merely shrugged.
"When was this Max?" Mickey asked, straightening up a bit after regaining some strength.
"Around the time Axel was sent to the med bay, approximately forty minutes ago. I believe Donald gave him some orders but since then I have not heard of his whereabouts."
"So he's running blind."
"I'm sure he's fine, seeing as he's pretty badass at fighting," Axel commented.
"That may be but if Xemnas sent one Knight here who's to say he didn't send more?" Mickey reminded. He pulled out a silver whistle from his belt pouch and blew on it. The whistle made no noise the intent was clear. "Max, I want you to help Axel find Roxas. I know Axel's capable of a simple search mission but I need him to stay connected to intell."
"If you say so," Max muttered. Mickey smacked him over the back of the head. Axel pained himself trying not to laugh or smirk. "Alright, alright! I'll help the fire hydrant!"
"Good. Maybe if you start taking your position seriously your father would actually consider promoting you to a Captain," Mickey hissed. Max scowled.
"Ah, he'll figure it out," Axel defended, ruffling the teen's hair. Max gave the Knight a shove. They heard a loud bark and Pluto came sprinting down the street. He was super excited to have been called by his master and his tail wouldn't stop wagging.
"Sit," Mickey ordered. Pluto spun in a small circle and sat down, panting heavily. "Good boy." Mickey ruffled Pluto's ears and the dog practically grinned. Mickey knelt in front of the lab and tapped in on the nose. The dog instantly quieted and waited for instructions. "Pluto, I need you to bring Max and Axel to Roxas. You remember him, right?" Pluto gave a happy bark. "Good. Now get going." Pluto leapt to his feet and sniffed the air. Mickey stood and turned away from the others to listen to his earpiece.
"Get ready to run," Max muttered.
"Why?" Axel asked.
"Cause Pluto does not slow down." Pluto's head jerked to the side and his ears perked. He remained frozen in place for a whole minute. Then he bolted. "Let's go!" Max took off at a sprint after the dog. Axel leapt into action and followed. Pluto did not falter as he dashed through the bloody streets. He leapt over corpses and dodged the larger puddles of blood perfectly. Axel lucked out with having long legs so he was able to keep up. Max was a head shorter than the red head but he seemed to be built as an endurance runner.
Pluto suddenly turned left and the pair chased after him. Max tried to listen to his earpiece while they ran. "Hey Axel, they managed to get something from the message from Destiny Island. They are asking you and Roxas return right away."
"Are they being attacked?" Axel huffed. He nearly wiped out as he slipped on a pool of blood trying to turn right.
"They haven't gotten that far. The reason the message was so garbled was because it was encoded. We're working on the code but it's not very familiar to us."
"But you've seen it before?"
"Yes but they say it's over three years old. Give them some more time." Axel rolled his eyes but decided not to comment. Pluto barked as he rounded a corner to the left. The pair followed and slowed dramatically. Pluto sat at the end of the street with his ears pulled back and a low growl in his throat. "Easy," Max muttered. He and Axel stepped forward cautiously.
They were in an opened up street where people used to hold a fruit fight every year. The pavement and the lower walls of the houses still showed stains from previous year's jubilees. Max reached behind him and gripped his axe tightly. Axel's eyes narrowed as he unclipped his chakrams. In his empty chest he felt nothing but his mind was livid. Axel bared his teeth in frustration.
Roxas was hanging from a wall of a house on the third floor near the roof. His hands were chained above his head and blood ran from his temple. The blonde was missing his helmet and his Keyblades hung lopsided on his belt. Roxas lifted his head and tried to speak but Axel could see the silence spell placed on him.
Pluto stood and raised his hackles, his growling intensified. His lips pulled back to reveal his long fangs. A teen with black hair and yellow eyes stood below where Roxas hung. Strangely, his appearance was very similar to Sora's. The teen grinned wickedly and brandished his weapon. It was a strange combination of a long sword and a scythe. The main look was of that of a sword. The hilt was black and the blade a mix of dark red and blue. At the end of the blade was a jagged scythe blade reminiscent of a sharpened gear. The teen wore dark blue armor with black and red accents. The armor rose up close around the neck and under his chin, giving him almost a turtle neck look.
"Shit," Axel hissed.
"Who is this guy?" Max asked in a low tone.
"Fucking Xehanort's apprentice. I completely forgot about this fucker because you never saw him around the castle unless he was there to ruin someone's day."
"Hello Axel!" the teen called darkly. "Look what I found? It's it pretty? I hung it up on the wall just to show you. Maybe I should have it framed."
"Vanitas!" Axel roared. "You let him go!" Vanitas laughed maniacally.
"So you do like it! I knew we both had similar tastes. Why don't we frame it together, hm?"
"Is this guy for real?" Max asked.
"Unfortunately. He's mentally insane, which is why Xehanort is the only one to control him. You better get ready because we're in for one Hell of a fight."
"He can't be that hard." Max whipped out his pistol and unloaded a full round on Vanitas. The teen took all of the blows. Then he vanished. "What the…?" Vanitas sprang from a dark pool on the ground and upwardly slashed Max's chest. Max's chest piece cracked and he leapt back in shock. "I just shot him!"
"No…!" Axel bounded backwards and blocked a flurry of blows from Vanitas's blade. He threw a chakram and Vanitas did three back handsprings out of the way. "He creates an illusion of himself right before disappearing. He fools you to keep attacking while he sets up to knock you down. Trust me, you don't want to be on his bad side. Vanitas killed three Knights because he thought it was funny."
"What kind of sick and twisted fucker does that?"
"It doesn't help when he's mentally insane and he was consumed by darkness. There isn't an ounce of light left in that guy."
"So how do we go about beating him?"
"It's not about beating him," Axel clarified. "It's about surviving long enough to get away."