Summary: Xemnas, in a mad act of desire, has chosen thirteen new targets to turn into heartless. It's his belief that their hearts will finally complete Kingdom Hearts.
Characters: Olympian Gods and Organization XIII.
Universe: Game
Warnings: Mild violence and mild language.
Dedication: I dedicate this story to Apollo, for without him there would be no literature, and I would have no writing skills.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, nor do I own Percy Jackson.
Falling Skys, Chapter 4
He was a huge lump of a man, with his shoulders at different heights and a huge, bulging, misshapen head. One of his legs was in a steel brace, and he had a wild brown beard, that sparked fire from time to time. He wore a jumpsuit, smeared with grime and oil, with the name "Hephaestus" embroidered over the chest pocket. And for some reason, he wasn't in his forge.
Hephaestus was in New York. In Manhattan, if he wasn't mistaken. In fact, Hephaestus knew he wasn't mistaken; He could see the Empire State Building a few blocks away. Yet, despite his certainty that he was in Manhattan, Hephaestus couldn't help feeling as if something was wrong. Mainly because there weren't any people around; everywhere he looked, Hephaestus was meet with the sight of abandoned streets and shops.
There was a tingling sensation in Hephaestus' spine, and he felt one of the other Olympians, surely Athena, disappear. He decided it would be best to return to his forge, and used his powers to do so. Except Hephaestus didn't end up in his forge; he remained standing in the middle in the middle of an abandoned street. Again, Hephaestus tried to transport himself back to his forge, and again nothing happened.
"Fine then!" He grumbled, starting to limp off in the direction of the Empire State Building. Hephaestus was moving at a decent pace, lost in a mixture of anger and thought, when a huge sheet of rock burst forth from the ground, cutting off the god's path. Hephaestus stared at the rock, studding it with confusion and curiosity. Then a harrowing thought occurred to him.
"Grandmother," Hephaestus cautiously called out. "Grandmother Gaia, are you responsible for this?"
"No, she is not." A voice called out. Hephaestus, for a fleeting moment, felt relief. Then, realizing someone had spoken, the god twisted around. Standing almost two-dozen feet away, on the sidewalk as opposed to the street, was a man.
The man wore a black cloak, which had long sleeves, and the man wore black boots and gloves. The man had very angular and strong features, with a square chin, straight nose, and sharp cheekbones. His eyes were blue, with small eyebrows, and his auburn hair was slicked back into rather odd, messy spikes. The man was holding a large weapon, a cross between an axe and a tomahawk.
"That's quite a weapon. What is it?" Hephaestus asked.
"It is called Skysplitter." The man answered.
"Did you make it yourself?"
"No. When I awoke, I found I had this in place of a heart."
Hephaestus continued to stare at the weapon. It was about a meter long, with a blue handle roughly as long as the blade, which was made of black, red, and yellow metal. It appeared to be laborious to use for anyone without extreme strength.
There was a long silence, during which the man in black stood as still as stone, and Hephaestus kept his eyes on the Skysplitter. Slowly, the wonder of the man's weapon began to fade, and Hephaestus started to look the man over. Finally, in a gruff voice, the god asked "Who are you?"
"I am Lexaeus, fifth member of Organization Thirteen. I presume you are Hephaestus, god of the forge?"
"Ya, that's me. Why?"
"We, I and the others of Organization Thirteen, drew lots this morning. I've been assigned to convince you to embrace the darkness." Lexaeus said.
Lexaeus slowly walked forward, the ground shuttering with each step as he drew power form the earth. He raised his tomahawk, holding it like a lightning rod, until Hephaestus was just outside his reach. Shadows darted up, surrounding Lexaeus in a near instantaneous oval of darkness.
As quickly as the shadows had appeared, Lexaeus was standing behind Hephaestus. Lexaeus swung down with his Skysplitter, aiming of the god's head.
Hephaestus curved around, and there a flash of fire expanded form his hand. A moment later, the god was holding a hammer, which he swung, countering Lexaeus' attack. The Skysplitter impacted against Hephaestus' hammer, and the god was forced shift his body, using his left shoulder to brace his hammer against.
"Give into the Dark." Lexaeus ordered, reaching out with his left hand. He made a grabbing motion with this hand, tightening his fingers into a fist. When he pulled his left hand up, a pointed pillar of stone shout up. Hephaestus jump out of the way, but ended up lying on the ground. When Hephaestus looked up, Lexaeus was standing over him, Skysplitter raised, prepared to strike.