The Superior stood over the darkened city. It was nothing like his castle, but it comforted him slightly to be amongst the starry sky again. Beneath him, under the roof on which he stood, a great amount of ruckus was being stirred. With a smug smirk, Xemnas sighed and leaned back.
Oh, the joys of being the leader.
I feel so sorry for those boys.
It's your fault their in this situation. You could've told the king beforehand and you know it.
Oh, shut up, ya big moron-head.
Anyway, today the games will finally begin. If the organization survives until then.
"Dearheavenlyfatherwhoartinheavenhallowedbythyna – AHH!" Xaldin screeched, leaping up from his prayer position underneath the table as it was cut in half sharply by a large sword. He dodged Tifa's fist as it careened toward him, and he ducked under Goofy's shield as he ran into the closet at the end of the hallway and slammed it shut.
Goofy's shield began banging against the closet door as Xaldin pressed his back against the back. Someone pinched his arm. Turning, Xaldin saw Marluxia hiding next to him, sweating profusely and glowering at the whirlwind lancer.
"This is my hiding spot, I had it first!" Marluxia screeched angrily. Xaldin glowered.
"We're on the same side! Share it!" He demanded, hitting the pink-haired man lightly.
Just then, a fist blew through the front of the closet, and the two men screamed like sissies as Tifa attacked them. Xaldin leapt out, followed by the assassin, and the two panicked as they sped down the hallway.
"Can't we talk this over?" Demyx begged his uniform singed at the edges. He stood on one side of the table, and Donald stood on the other, the two playing a game of cat and mouse. Donald screeched and unleashed a lightning attack. Demyx howled as he patted his butt, which was now on fire. "IT'S HOT! IT'S HOT!"
Roxas was rushing after the enraged Cloud, who was trying his best to corner Xigbar and Luxord. Xigbar was doing his best to avoid him, but he couldn't help but say those "encouraging" words when Cloud missed.
"You swing like a girl!" Xigbar laughed as he teleported away and Cloud missed. Seething, the blonde swung were Xigbar landed, and he jumped away with a yelp. Cloud turned and set his eyes on Luxord, who gasped frightened and added onto Xigbar's phrase.
"You swing like a very masculine, heavy-set, African she-man!" He chuckled nervously, swinging his arm in mock hitting. "You now how hard they hit!" Cloud growled and swung at him. Luxord yelped and leapt away. Roxas ran up and slid to a stop next to him, grabbed his arm, and the two turned to run away from the maddened ex-SOLDIER.
Xigbar laughed at them as he dodged Cloud again.
"Sissies!" He shouted. After that, he swallowed his comment when he screamed, leapt away from Cloud, and began running ahead of them.
In the pavilion, where all of Radiant Garden's stores where, Vexen, Laxaeus, Xaldin, and Zexion were huddled in a corner, grimacing and shivering together, covered in sweat. Ahead of them, Tifa punched the palm of her hand and grinned evilly.
A scream came from one of the houses as lightning flew out of the chimney. Demyx burst the house's door open and flew outside, screeching to a halt when he came face to face with Tifa.
"Ah-ah-ah-ahh!" Demyx muttered, flipping around to run the other way, when he saw Donald standing there, staff in hand, beating it repetitively against his palm. The water user gulped, sweating.
Suddenly, Saix leapt down from the rooftops, just as Xigbar and the others rushed into the scene, followed by a maniacal Cloud. Summoning his claymore, he thrashed at Tifa, sending her flying, and then he turned to Donald with a cold glare and pointed his weapon at the duck. The magician held his place, but gulped.
"We were so sure we had killed you all." Tifa grimaced, standing up and wiping blood from her chin with her glove. "But we'll kill you all again if we have to." She finished menacingly, punching her palm with a sound "thump". Demyx waved his arms in the air.
"It's not like that!" He shouted, stuttering a little. "We aren't your enemies anymore!"
"I doubt they'll listen to reason." Xaldin muttered, standing. "I tried not harming them, to see if they would back down and calm themselves, but I have no other choice it seems." With that, he flung his arm in the air, summoning his six lances.
With a saddened sigh, Demyx put on a determined look and summoned his sitar.
"Stop!" Someone called.
The king was running down the hill, with Larxene leading him, Leon not far behind. Behind them were Sora and the others, with Auron standing at the top of the hill, watching the situation occur.
"They aren't our enemies anymore!" The king declared, swinging his arm for dramatic effect. Xaldin sighed contently and put his lances away, while Demyx smiled, strummed his beloved instrument once, and then it disappeared.
"It seems we got off on the wrong foot." Larxene stated. Marluxia and Laxaeus stood watching her from their corner, surprised.
"She went and got the king?" Marluxia muttered.
"That's not like her." Laxaeus mused. "She usually would step back and watch others suffer. But today she put an end to that suffering."
"Not that I'm complaining." Marluxia chuckled, flipping some of his hair out of his eyes. Laxaeus smiled.
Leon looked the scene over with a sigh, and stepped up to his comrades.
"Come with me." He stated. "I'll explain everything."
Hours later, in the deep night, everyone was squeezed into Merlin's house. Actually, the door was open so that some could peer in, and Xemnas, Saix, Xigbar, Cloud, and Larxene were absent. Sora stood in front of the computer terminal, and then looked back.
The king nodded in agreement. With a quick sigh, Sora pushed the button.
The red flashing screen appeared, without flashing, and everyone read it quickly. Simply put, it stated that Auron would brief everyone on what was going on. A bit shocked, Sora turned to his friend with anticipant eyes. With a slight nod, he stepped forward, and Sora stepped into the crowd that awaited Auron's answers.
"Simply, it's a riddle." Auron began, leaning against the terminal. "You will be given three clues. I will give you them, once you have passed whatever actions you must complete. The clues will lead you to the location of an item of importance in finding your answers. All of these items will either be on this world, or Twilight Town." Auron's eyes fell on Roxas. The boy nodded emotionlessly, and Auron continued, looking at the group as a whole.
"Once you understand everything that is going on, you will have to return to the World that Never Was. There, I will give you one fourth clue before departing. That clue will lead you to the last item; the key to freeing Axel."
"The other clues and items will not be needed in the Never world, but the information gathered will be vital. Pay attention." Auron emphasized. "The woman known only as Dream-Catcher is tricky, but she needs this as much as you do."
Sora furrowed his brow, confused.
"Needs us?" Riku asked, practically reading Sora's thoughts. "Why does she need us?"
"She helped the others because she took pity on them. She keep Axel as bait." Namine nodded from her seat.
"She told us that before." She stated, looking to Kairi. Auron stepped forward a bit.
"I might as well tell you your first task now." The tension in the air heightened. "But only some are allowed in here. Each task will require different people. This first task will require only three." Everyone in the room exchange nervous glances.
"The first will be Roxas." Auron spoke, looking to the boy. "The second, Sora. The third… Luxord." Murmurs began in the room, some approving, some joking, some disappointed, but Auron silenced them.
"Everyone else, out." He demanded. The room was soon emptied. Demyx was the last to leave, giving his friends an encouraging smile before quietly shutting the door. After that, those not needed headed to bed.
"As for you three." Auron began, sitting down. He motioned for them to sit as well, and they complied, Roxas sitting in the chair backwards. Sora rolled his eyes.
"The first task is simple, if not difficultly so." He began, leaning back. "It has everything to do with Saix."
"Saix?" Luxord asked, crossing his legs. Auron nodded.
"You must lure Saix out into the Great Maw, and from there, through a dark portal that has already been set up for you. You must accomplish this by sunrise."
"Sunrise today?" Sora implored, startled. "That's seven hours from now! We won't even get any sleep!"
"If you want sleep, you'd better hurry." Auron joked, smirking. Sora fumed, glaring at the wall. Luxord prodded his shoulder, standing, and motioned for them to leave. With a sigh, Sora got up, and the two made their way across the room.
"What's… on the other side?" Roxas asked. Auron peered at him through his sunglasses.
"The other side…" He started.
"Of the dark portal. What's on the other side?" The boy implored. Auron smiled, and stood, beckoning for Roxas to do the same.
Placing his hand behind Roxas as he led him out the door, Auron finally answered him.
"Sunrise. Waiting for you, and Saix… is Sunrise."
Hinode.
Slipping quietly outside, Auron nodded to them, and then headed off to his room. Luxord, Sora, and Roxas shared glances.
"What'd we do?" Sora pondered. Luxord caressed his chin, thinking.
"They chose the three of us for this for a reason." Roxas stated, motioning with his hands. "But what for?"
Luxord grinned smugly.
"I've got an idea."
At this point, Auron was sauntering about the upper levels of Radiant Garden, walking the paths towards the Bailey. His boots clinking against the metal, Auron observed the stars with weary eyes.
"Is it really you?" A female voice whispered. Auron nodded to no one. A quiet sob was heard.
"I didn't believe it, at first, when I got that note saying to meet you here. I didn't think… it was real." Auron chuckled.
A girl emerged from the shadows, at first, very small, like a pixie, only a bit larger, but then, her body glowed and she became a normal sized person. This woman was wearing short shorts with a multicolored cloth on her side, a gun holster on her waist. A white shirt with a brown insignia and a long brown haired braid falling at her sides, the woman with one green, and one blue eye smiled brightly as tears streamed from those very eyes.
"Auron!" She yelled, throwing herself to him. The older man caught her as she fell limp, and chuckling, he caressed the locks of hair of the woman she thought of as a daughter. Clutching his jacket as if he would disappear, the girl looked up into his eyes with eyes full of hope and tears.
"Yuna." Auron muttered, pulling her close as she cried and comforting her.
"Awww." A girl in small form with yellow and red clothing sighed lovingly, floating around in the air away from the reunion. A girl in black behind her smiled.
And above, on the roof, a silver haired man with reddish eyes watched the scene, actually feeling for the first time in so long, and sat in confusion as to why his heart was... so warm…
Saix slept peacefully at his place in the library, sitting by the window with his beloved moon reflecting on his blue hair. He wouldn't be sleeping for long, though.
Sora looked down on Saix and judged his aim, looking from the bucket in his hands to the man below him. Looking up, he motioned to Roxas to lower the rope so that Sora would lower, and Roxas complied. Whilst that occurred, Luxord ran up with his hands full of small containers.
Setting a few on the floor, he opened one and began slathering the thick, orangish liquid on the sleeping man before him, drawing with it on his face, and slicking his hands so that they stuck together.
Luxord emptied the other containers, which held a silvery liquid, onto the floor in front of Saix, and then threw the containers to the side. After that, he stepped back. Giving Sora a thumbs up, the boy looked to Roxas.
"Ready?" Sora implored. Roxas nodded.
And then Sora let it slip.
The bucket in Sora's hands held inside it a pillow, heavy enough to wake Saix, and a box. The box was frail and beneath the pillow, so when it hit Saix and the pillow fell on top of it, it shattered, the box itself dissipating.
Inside the box was a summon gem, which activated as soon as Saix's sleepy eyes sprung open.
Saix leapt up, shaking the arm on which hung a blue furry creature, who had just suddenly appeared on him. Even when he shook it, it clung to him, laughing insanely. Not only that, a weird smelling (kind of like women's perfume) was on him, along with a sticky substance that felt like slugs.
Once Saix took a step forward, he slipped immediately, sliding down on the floor. The creature on his arm was screeching wildly, and he himself was yelling by the time he realized he was on a crash course with the nearby bookshelf.
Sora, Luxord, and Roxas guffawed, greatly amused by their work, especially when the bookcase fell flat on the Luna Diviner, and when he pushed it aside, slipped, and had it fall on him again. The one who finally moved the bookcase was the little blue thing named "Stitch" who threw it across the room into five other bookcases. Most likely, everyone in the city was awake now.
Saix scrambled to his feet, angry, and looked up to the three with such a look of loathing that the troublemakers were ready to melt. Just then, Stitch leapt at Saix's head, laughing.
Five seconds later, and the three troublemakers screamed bloody murder and stormed out of the library. Just after, the library doors blew down, and Saix stepped out onto them, his weapon brandished, eyes flashing very dangerously.
"Part one: annoy Saix is complete!" Sora yelled to his friends, looking around frantically.
"Now inacting part two: run for our lives!" He screeched. Roxas raced ahead.
"Every nobody for themselves!" He yelled, rushing out the doors.
Sora was careening down the mountain side towards the maw when the claymore was flung at him. Hitting him in the side, Sora cried out and flew forward into Roxas. The two crashed into the ground, Luxord stopping and looking back to them.
Saix floated down near them, Stitch still clinging to his head. With an angry glare, the Luna ripped him off his head.
"This has to do with the game, does it not?" Saix muttered angrily, seething. "The three of you; what is this?" Sora looked to Roxas, gulped, and then nodded.
"Yeah. This is the game." Roxas said. Luxord relaxed.
A dark portal appeared behind the four. Saix's eyes flicked to it, curious.
"We're supposed to bring you in there." Sora said, standing up and brushing himself up. Roxas leapt up after. "It's something about sunrise."
Saix's eyes flashed.
"A sunrise? Or the Sunrise?" Saix murmured. Roxas glanced him over.
"What do you mean?" Saix ignored him, walking up to the portal.
Hinode.
"Come." He said, looking to no one. "You four have a task to complete." And with that, Saix stepped through the darkness.