How to Train Your Keyblade
Alright, this chapter is a little more… angst-y I guess.
Lesson 8: Dragons… can Strategize?
I've been standing here for five minutes and nothing. Axel and Astrid have successfully evacuated Berk and are now standing beside me once again but instead of just us, we're with Stoick, Gobber, and a few other Vikings who seem always up for a fight.
"That's it, I'm not waiting anymore. I'll be back in a few minutes with Hiccup." Axel pushes passed our line of people with Ryo and Fyr and I cant help but feel shitty about it because he's got that 'I don't think I'm coming back face' and I don't want him to go.
"Axel! Hold up… why? He did that so we could get away, shouldn't we just cut our losses and-"
"Listen to yourself Roxas. You're starting to sound like Xemnas, do you really expect me to leave him there to deal with something that isn't his problem? He's not a loss, he's a friend. I thought you knew the difference more then any Nobody."
"I do… but he's not you."
Axel gives a bit of a smile and raises a hand to ruffle my hair. We're a few layers of trees into the forest from the others so I dodge the hand and wrap my arms around his torso again. "Roxas… I'm going to tell you another really important thing, so listen up and don't start crying. You are the only one who can help Berk against Xemnas. I can't tell them any vital information, and you need both your mind and Hiccup's to get anything done. So I'll get him back… just promise to focus on getting rid of Xemnas and not getting me back. Got it Memorized?"
I nod my head a few times but that doesn't mean I want to let him go. Does he expect me to orchestrate some kind of 'ultimate assassination'? That's kinda his thing isn't it? He was- or is -head of the assassin Nobodies. I've never actually seen Axel kill anyone- mainly because everyone worth killing is already a Nobody or Heartless, but it's supposed to be spectacular to watch.
"Alright Roxas, let me go." I squeeze just a little tighter for a moment before releasing my arms, I feel horrible about letting him go, I shouldn't have to let him go… but he lifts my head, presses a kiss to my lips and vanishes with Ryo and Fyr. I feel like I'm about to cry, my throat is tight to hold in the sobs and I'm clenching my hands, jaw, every muscle in my body is flexing with the want to get Winner and go after him.
"Roxas? Axel?" I turn around and see Astrid a few trees behind me and take a deep breath to steady my lungs.
"No, just me. Axel went to go get Hiccup."
"Oh, they'll be back in a few minutes then. Nothing to worry about, alright!" she gives me a smile and I shake my head in reply as that tight feeling returns to my stomach and chest.
"Axel wont be coming back, it'll just be Hiccup. Axel will make sure of that." I don't want to keep talking, but my mouth just doesn't stop. "I don't want Hiccup to come back if it means Axel gets to stay… but he's already gone. This is worse then when I ran away from all of them! I left so I wouldn't have to feel this stupid pain in my chest and the horrible fear!"
"Your scared of them?"
"Aren't you? They are ruthless and most of them want me dead as it is! They want to use me as their own personal toy and I'm sick of it. I'll get Axel back, and I'll get rid of Organization Thirteen once and for all."
I lower myself down into a cross-legged sitting position and set my elbows on my knees and put my face in my hands as I glare into the trees, searching for any sign that Hiccup's coming back.
Astrid sits down beside me after a while and I'm not too sure about how much time is passing- time really is Luxords' thing anyhow. I wonder if I should start doodling in the dirt, it'd at least give me something to do I suppose. Astrid has taken to sharpening her axe, the sound of her grinding stone running up smooth metal is the only sound filling the air and I have nothing to do but listen and watch for Hiccup and Toothless.
Winner came up to my side a few moments ago and as he lifts his head and perks his ears. His blue eyes are wary for a moment, but after a few seconds he gets up and takes off running.
It has to be either Toothless and Hiccup or Axel, Ryo and Fyr. Astrid gets up next and I follow, both of us are rushing down the path to see who we'll see and which one of us will feel empty. I catch the black blotch and know right away it's Toothless and Hiccup. My feet falter and I stop as Astrid keeps running, giving Hiccup one of the biggest hugs I've seen her give.
I feel like my world has crashed down around me but I force the feeling down: in order to get Axel back I have to show little emotion and be as strategic as possible, because without strategy I'll get no where against them.
I turn back towards Berk and once I see Stoick I give him a reassuring smile. "Hiccup's back." I see the relief flood his face and turn to Gobber… "Do you have a chess-set by any chance?" I know it sounds medieval and don't get me started on how badly this can turn out, but where Luxord always wins at Poker, I always win at Chess. I can think of anything like a chess game and it usually comes out the way I want it to, so I've got nothing really to worry about.
"Uh… no, what the hell is that?" I shake my head and give him a slight smile.
"Never mind Gobber. I'll figure something out, so don't worry about it." I give a smile and grab one of the many fairly large sticks that's on the ground and walk towards Hiccup's house, moving to the large dirt section and stabbing it into the ground a little bit and starting to drag it to the side.
With Winner, Hiccup and Toothless, I've managed to make a large scale chess board, and I've taken logs and carved names into them and indicated what they are in accordance to how Xemnas thinks of them and how I think of them. Before I knew it I had it all set up at the beginning of the chess board and I take one of the lighter pieces that I've decided to use as Axel and move it over beside the black king. I know this would never work as a chess movement, but the piece is pinned and that's all I really need.
"Roxas… what the hell is all this?"
"A game." I look over my shoulder at Hiccup and see that his eyes are wide as he's looking at it.
"Can you explain it to me?" I nod my head and take a moment to move the Axel piece back in position since I have things like 'king' and 'queen' carved into the logs too.
"Well, normally you play it on a much smaller scale, but I guess it cant hurt to tell you the rules." to be honest, I'm just hoping that I'll maybe get someone who can play chess with me. I haven't had a good game of chess since Zexion and I've been dying for a good game.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Roxas! Crap Roxas, I'm tired of walking, where all of Kingdom Hearts are you?" I sit up in my cot in Hiccup's room and turn my head in the direction of the window, seeing Winner a the window, he's black and hiding in the shadow as he looks out.
I know the voice so I grab my coat and head tot eh window, motioning for Winner to stay and knowing that he's crawled out onto the awning behind me but stays as I jump down and move towards the complaining figure.
The dead of night gives me good cover and I roll my shoulders as I head towards him, making sure that I'm unseen as I pull the arrow on the bow backwards so it's taught. I see him stumble on a small branch and he falls down, his face hitting the ground.
"Fuck! I hate this stupid shit! Roxas! If you don't come out right now I'm going to make a tidal wave wash you out!"
"There is no reason to wake the whole Village Demyx. What do you want?" he spins around and I see him jump back and he looks like he's summoning his Sitar but that motion alone just makes me smile. "I don't think Your Sitar will show up Demyx… though that Scauldron might."
"How- what are you doing here?"
"Uh… you were the one yelling for me, Demyx. So the question is what do YOU want?" I lower the bow so the arrow isn't pointed directly at him, but I'm still wary of the forest that's still fairly close if others were to rush out and attack.
"Well… I was just kinda seeing if you'd be willing to talk I-I have a few things I want to say to you." I nod my head and allow the string that's holding my arrow to slacken and I jerk my head towards the village.
"Alright then… but if your dragon shows up I'm going to shoot you with this arrow."
"Okay… where is your dragon?" I catch him looking around and smirk as Winner rushes passed us and Demyx squeaked, jumping closer to me.
"He's around. But don't worry about it, he's gentle unless I say otherwise." I'm leading Demyx to the coast line, onto a high bridge so he can be near his dragon but so I can still be out of range without seeing it coming.
"So, whatever you want to say Demyx, I'd start before sunrise… the Vikings around here don't take too kindly to strange faces."
"Alright… I want to leave the Organization." I turn my head in his direction and see that he's standing there, his coat done up to just between his collar bones, his eyes are reflecting the water and the light coming from the thin moon and I shrug before looking back out over the ocean again.
"Why in Kingdom Hearts did you wake me up for that shit? Their no where around are they? If your not with them, you've left them. Now tell me what you really want Demyx."
"I want to be on your side… go against Xemnas and, well just fight for what I want!" I turn towards him again, my eyebrow raised: since when does Demyx- the laziest ass in all the worlds -want to fight, for anything?
"Stop shitting me Demyx. I haven't had a good enough day to deal with this right now."
"Hey, I've got just as much still with Xemnas as you do Roxas. Let me help you dispell them. Please? I just want to move to Atlantis with Zexion and have a life." I'd been there a few times and I hated it: Mer-folk… worst world in all the worlds.
"Why? Wasn't he just another tryst?"
"Hey, I thought you said there were no emotions involved with us Roxas." for the first time he sits down beside me and I look over without having to look up.
"There weren't, and I don't want there to be… I just want to know how far and how harsh you'd push yourself to get Zexion back really."
"I want him back Roxas." I can see the intensity in his eyes but I know he feels only a fraction for Zexion of what I feel for Axel, but I'm fine, because as long as he's committed I'll have an ally.
"Fine… Hiccup and I are going to work on a briefing tomorrow… there is an awning I'll show you that you can sleep under until we get sleeping arrangements figured out." I make to stand up but he catches my wrist and I turn on him readying a kick but I see he's still looking out over the ocean with sad eyes and stop myself, motioning for Winner to remain in the shadows with a glance in his direction.
"Roxas… just wondering but, how far are you willing to go to get Axel back? Even-even if he hasn't told you everything he should have… about a lot of things?"
I don't even have to think about that but I wait a moment to make sure it comes out of my mouth the way it's in my head right now. "I would die, if it'd make him free again. Even if there are some secrets he hasn't told me- about anything -because I cant live, knowing he's not here with me. There is a horrid feeling in my gut and I might as well just get this out of the way but: if you betray me, I'll kill you before Xemnas." the fear in his eyes is real, and right now I don't know if that's an empty threat or not- so it's a good thing he's scared. I only hope he doesn't see the fear my eyes are mirroring right now.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Berk in general doesn't like the fact that a former foe with a large and powerful dragon has joined our ranks, but if Toothless has taught then anything about dragons it's that size doesn't matter. All of the organization has large dragons: yes, but several of them are unable to use their natural talents in a battle of more then just dragon vs. Viking.
The only dragons we have to be wary of are: the Terrible Terrors, the Zippleback, Gronckel, the Skrill, Changewing, Whispering Death, Bone Knapper, and of course the two Night Fury's. but according to Demyx all the Organization members still have their original abilities to wield their elements.
"Roxas… I'd hate to tell you, but this is never going to work. Are you really willing to put these harmless villagers in danger to get Axel back?" Demyx has been watching me move pieces on a chess board for close to two hours now and he's been relatively silent- if he hadn't found a sitar in Gobbers shop and gone right to playing it.
"Of course not… you don't see that many of the white pieces moved, do you?"
"No, I don't, but what does that-"
"The point is I'm basically playing without them, I have four pieces on my team that I'm playing with, and Xemnas has many more."
"We're outnumbered, by both Nobody's and their dragons. So what, your going to walk us into our funerals? Xemnas might still need you Roxas, but he has no use for me!"
"Don't be stupid… why do you think I'm planning this through so much Demyx? Not even Xemnas can win against me in Chess, he's tried." Demyx just raises an eyebrow at me, I've tried on countless occasions to teach him the game, hoping I'll get someone else to smoke completely and utterly- or to give me an actual challenge. But he'd always just moved pieces around at random.
"So… your setting this up like a game. I think Zexion would approve. He actually likes that game- when you weren't creaming him." I nod my head and let out a sigh as I sit down on my log in exasperation. It's so hard to re-create a hostage situation in chess.
"I think what we need is more people."
"No shit Sherlock. Thank you so much for stating the obvious, I wasn't aware of that at all!"
"Hey, don't get pissed at me! I'll be back in a few days, and I swear to god if you kill me when I come back I'll come back and haunt you for eternity."
"Here's a question for you then Demyx: are Nobody's immortal, or are we already dead?" he wait's a moment before rolling his eyes and vanishing into the forest. All of Berk screams and shouts as the large Scauldron launches itself out of the ocean and I watch as Demyx jumps out of the trees and lands gracefully on top of his dragon. It was a huge thing, it's head bigger then a fully grown Viking, and it was fairly fat, but just by the warm water-rain that came off it's body I knew that the boiling water would cook a man very quickly if aimed at a group or even one man.
"Where the hell is he going?" I spin around and see Hiccup sitting on his own piece- I doubt he even knows it's his and I give a slight smile, not sure where he's going anyways.
"Who knows? I just hope he comes back soon, I don't want to spend forever planning." Hiccup smiles and I realize that he's waiting for Astrid since they'd finally picked a day for a fly. "Anyhow, I hope you and Astrid have a good flight. I'm sure toothless cant wait to get in the air again."
"Yeah well… we might not have that many days left for a flight." I open my mouth to tell him again that he doesn't have to join me, and that I'd prefer it if he didn't, but he raising his hand and cuts me off with his lightly said words. "We have stubbornness issues Roxas… I'm not going to back out. We're friends, and I'm friends with Axel too. So you might as well just get it through your head that your stuck with me for a while."
I let out a sigh and look at the board again from the offensive point of view, then walk around to the defending point of view and I let out a bit of a sigh, and I see him killing me directly in one move.
"Kingdom Hearts this is harsh… I don't know how to do this anymore. I'm starting to think just going in and swinging will be better then all this planning." I slump down and set my head in my hands for a few minutes, trying to think as clearly as I can but I just cant.
Images of Sora and Axel are running through my head with all those people I've never seen but know. It's starting to get to the point where I think my mind is torturing myself. I know that the faces are familiar, and even a few names have come back, but I just cant remember ever meeting them outside the stupid dreams I've been having.
"Why don't you go for your own flight, and I don't mean another one where you go and scope out what their doing by hiding in clouds Roxas. I mean one that relaxes you." impossible, the only thing that can relax me right now is Axel, but I don't think that's going to happen. I basically let him walk out of my life this time. And I know I'm at fault for it, but I just shake my head as I look at the ground in front of me.
"No, don't worry about me Hiccup, I think I'm just going to take a nap… go and have fun with Astrid. Just don't get her pregnant." I see the blush on his face as I look up through my bangs and smirk to myself: did he really think I didn't know what they were planning? I'm dense, but I'm not that dense.
Hiccup leaves and now I'm left alone, not even Winner is around right now, he vanishes a little after Demyx left, so it's just me, my enlarged chess board and the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is going horribly wrong.
I'm startled out of my thoughts as Winner nudges my back, making me fall to my left side. "Whoa! Alright… how many times have I asked you not to do that?" I know it's not a real yell, but he still looks like I've yelled at him for real again. I know it hurts his feelings to have me do something like that, but I just cant stand to be snuck up on.
Winner looks up at the sky and I follow his gaze, seeing nothing for a moment. I turn my eyes back on him and he huffs at me. It takes a few minutes of us just starting at each other, but Winner has finally realized that I still don't understand and he huffs before walking into my chess set he helped me make. He nips the edge of my shirt and pulls me out of the square before hopping back in himself.
I turn around and watch in slight puzzlement as he grabs the one I've been using as Demyx and moves it over to the oppositions side, obviously showing me he doesn't know how to play chess with the blatant disregard for the rules. He sets it down on a corner between four squares and he turns to me, just to make sure I'm watching him since there is no way I know what he's trying to play.
I open my mouth to ask him- knowing I wont get an answer in return -but he grabs the piece again and moves it back into place. We share a moment of just straight eye contact and I let out a sigh and set my cheeks in my hands. And let out a sigh and he just chirps to catch my attention.
Winner moves back to the other side of the board and I watch as he grabs the log that I've carved Zexions name into. He brings the lob back over to my side of the board, re-sets every piece while he's there, then does the same with the logs I'm using for Luxord and Lexaeus as well.
I watch with wide eyes as he sets the new pieces up, replacing some of the 'nameless pieces' with them before he starts playing the game with himself.
What he's doing would work, if I had those people on my side, but I don't so there is no way for it to work. I don't even have that many Vikings willing to help me yet, Stoick has only said that they'll fight if the Organization threatens them directly… and since the Organization wants me, they might just give them what they want.
"Roxas… what in the bloody hell are you doing?" I jump up from watching Winner wipe Xemnas off the face of the earth with a start as I hear the voice I haven't heard in so long.
"Luxord! W-what are you doing here?" I'm more shocked then not, and I'm about to jump on Winner's back as I see Zexion and Lexaeus follow Luxord out of the forest, scowls on their faces and dragons. The Skrill looks completely meanacing as it stands behind Zexion. But Whispering Death has to take the cake: a long thin body, covered in spikes and barbs, every times it opens it's mouth slightly I see that it's cheeks are even lined with teeth, and I remember from the Dragon Manual that it breathes fire in a circular pattern, allowing an opportunity to jump through it if your quick enough.
"Roxas! don't shoot!" Demyx runs out of the forest with his hands out and stands in front of Zexion.
"What in all of Kingdom Hearts am I going to shoot with you asshole! And what the hell are they doing here? Did you seriously fucking join me to let a few of the shiftiest members so I can kick their asses, and then yours!"
"Hey, hey, why are you yelling at me? I just did you a favor! I got you three more pieces for your stupid game!" he points from the three organization members I left behind me and then at the board as Winner keeps moving pieces around.
"What do you mean three more pieces? They tried to kill me just as much as any of the others!"
"Actually, we never tried to kill you. Think about it, Lexaeus and I taught you on missions, and we were genuinely nice to you…Zexion is the only one who you haven't had a mission with." I turn to Luxord and raise my finger to I'm pointing at him, not caring that the Whispering Death behind him looks about ready to rip my throat out.
"Shut up you stupid Brit before I rip you a new one! I'm dealing with the stupid water-boy, unless you want me to get pissed at you and then him!" I really don't have patients to deal with people right now, it's the reason I've been sitting out in the rain playing and watching a chess match instead of sitting inside the house beside a nice warm fire- wait a minute, when the hell did it start raining? Judging by the fact that my clothes are soaked completely through I'd say it wasn't just Demyx's Scauldron flying overhead.
I grind my teeth together as Luxord raises his hands in defense, something that the Organization members learned to do once I had my first anger-fit at them for 'being the little guy' though after that fit only Saïx and Larxine really pissed me off.
"By all means Roxas, yell at the water-boy first." Luxord motioned towards Demyx, but with most of my rants I forgot what I was even mad about really. Luxord, Lexaeus and Zexion weren't attacking me, and all seemed fairly well because of that.
"I thought you could use some help, so I went back and got the people I figured would be best suited for the job… I'm sure Zexion would love to play a game of 'big chess' with you. I'm sure it's a much harder level now that it's bigger!" Demyx looks like an adult, but he acts like more of a kid then me: Kingdom Hearts why didn't I drive him out of the Village when I had the chance?
"Demyx… just because the board is bigger, doesn't mean that it's harder. How about you show us around and then Roxas and I ca-"
"No! No, no, no, no, no a million times no! this is not my village by any means, I'm here, because a kid stuck his neck out on the line for me and his dad likes me for keeping Heartless out. He tolerates Demyx because he has some sort of weak spot for kids- at least people who act like it. No, this has to go through channels before any of you are 'staying' and aside from that I doubt their going to want you around because of your dragons, I mean: common… Whispering Death? The Skrill? How the hell do you get something like that out of paper based weapons?"
I stop again and take a deep breath, noticing that their dragons are starting to hiss and react because Winner is behind me, glaring and hissing at them. "Winner, knock it off… I'm fine."
"'Winner'? what kind of name is-"
"I fucking dare you Zexion! I'm I this close to setting him on your Skrill and kicking your ass myself!"
"Fine… I said nothing. But, what are we supposed to do until we're allowed to actually be considered a part of Berk?" I shrug my shoulders and move back over to my chess board with Winner, sitting down and pondering the moves I'd seen him make, taking into account that I now had three more pieces and Xemnas was missing three.
"Alright Winner… help me set up again and then show me what you did." Winner nods his head and I start taking all the pieces off the board that aren't labelled with someone I know is fighting either with or against me.
"So… how's the terrain looking Demyx?"
"Uhhh…. What?"
"Zexion?" I turn around as I set up his piece and he nods his head in understanding that the question has moved to him.
"It's fairly wooded… Marluxia's Dragon has taken care of most of that though… stumps are still there, but being removed as we speak. It's about ten square miles of hills and streams."
"Alright… well, I might as well tell you guys a few things about the dragons who are against you and with you now- since dragon knowledge would be best for us all… I'm scared to find out what they'll learn about their dragons while fighting. But maybe you can already tell me what they know."
"Not much… how about we play and talk? I'm sure a game would relax you." Zexion truly is a good companion, he's horrid with conversation, but the battles our minds can have is an extraordinary one. I'm always offensive- he likes it that way -and I try my damndest to kick his ass, and nine times out of nine I succeed.
"Alright… I think a game really will calm me a bit… uh, I don't really know what the rest of you should do, it's still raining but I cant let you inside, there is an awning you can sit under if you want."
"Sure, I'll set up a game of our own." Luxord is the first under the shelter but as Lexaeus walks over to join him Demyx just stands beside Zexion in the rain, making a sort of water shield over his lover- or boyfriend -and looks at me.
"Want one Roxas?" I shake my head and he nods his as he steps out from the cover back into the rain: I can tell he loves water, but rain? Kingdom Hearts wouldn't he just love it when it hales- judging by the clouds that wont be long.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The game has completely calmed me now, and since Hiccup in on the horizon with Astrid right now I know I'm going to have some serious explaining and butt-kissing to do.
"Roxas- who're they?" I see the urgency in Hiccup's face and step between him and the group since I can tell he recognizes them from the meeting in the woods- one I'm not hoping that these four didn't take part in.
"Friends… they want Xemnas gone just as much as we do, and they have powerful dragons. Listen, I know I've spent a lot of time and wasted a lot of your resources and stuff Hiccup… I'll pay for them to live, I just… need you to help me convince your dad. That they should stay.
"Impossible, he's never ask for more of Your friends to stay… but we could ask for him to tolerate them. And as long as they don't set half the village on fire like Axel did, he should be fine with it. I think… I hope." Hiccup gives me a smile but it vanishes as soon as Demyx hops forward and wraps his arm around Hiccup's shoulders.
"Man! You rock Hiccup! I cant believe we're friends! You're such a- owie!" Demyx flinches as Zexion walks over and literally pulls Demyx off of the scared looking brunette.
"Stop doing that to people." Zexion keeps the sentence short, but I know in his mind he's elaborating that Demyx is only allowed to fall all over him.
"Oh, right… the two of you cant be romantic in the slightest. Hiccup and Astrid are fine with it- because their awesome like that -but the rest of the village will literally chase you out like you're the plague."
They both nod their heads and I let out a sigh as I mentally prepare myself for the butt-kissing I'm going inside to commence as I think and follow Hiccup and Astrid into the house I've been living in for the longest time- realizing that I'm going to have to build my own cottage for all of the Organization members on my side to live in, or ask someone to use their barn for us all.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
I let out a sigh as I watch another move that Winner has made: I cant even beat him. This is getting pathetic, I'm getting my ass kicked by a dragon, and what's worse is he's being Xemnas. Kingdom Hearts I never knew the Keyblade was the source of my strategizing abilities- though the egotistic side of me wants to think he learned it from me: though maybe he did.
AN:
Me: I hope you don't mind, but this is the end of this chapter, the story will be continuing… though I'm not sure how long that'll be. I have to deal with a bit of school stuffs and that might take a while. And Sorry but it's not edited -_-'
Axel: why is there nothing about me? I'm your favorite Kingdom Hearts Character?
Me: because I just don't like you right now. Is there a problem? Now if you don't mind: here is Gaara!
Gaara: Elizabeth loves to hear your reviews, and we all hope to know how she did. Ponycorns and Lollipops- oh god I cant believe I just said that. -_-'