Chapter 22 Screw-Ups
The whole walk back through the abandoned city is spent mostly in silence. The five of them are on high alert for any heartless that attack them in their weakened state, but none do. The swarms of heartless that has occupied the world since its destruction at Ansem's hand seem to have disappeared with him.
Cracks and potholes litter the road and Sora stumbles over an uneven part, tightening his arm around Riku's shoulders to keep from falling. He can feel Riku's worried gaze on him, but doesn't meet his eyes. The last thing he wants right now is to be mollycoddled. Straightening up a bit, he tries to pull away from Riku, but Riku doesn't let him get away that easy.
"How are you feeling?" Riku asks.
"Better," Sora says, knowing it is partly a lie. His mind is better - clearer. His thoughts are no longer fuzzy and he feels less like a zombie that just came back to life. His body, however, hasn't quite caught up. Everything aches and his joints are too stiff to move with their normal ease. Still, there are more pressing problems they need to focus on and he succeeds in pulling himself out of Riku's support.
He throws a smile at the others who watch him nervously. They look ready to catch him if he trips again which he won't, hopefully.
"So is Zack at the safehouse?" Sora asks, more to get the attention off him for a moment.
Kairi nods. "And the other princesses."
"You got them out? Good," Sora says. In all that had happened, he'd completely forgotten about the other girls and he immediately feels guilty. Kairi hadn't been the only one attacked and kidnapped by Ansem, but she had been the only one he had worried about.
Sora recognizes the right street as they turn onto it. He also notices both Riku and Kairi are walking closer than to him than necessary. He holds back a sigh. They had thought he was dead and he can't blame them for not wanting him to far away after that, but their constant concerned frowns are fraying his nerves.
He is grateful when they reach the right house on the street, but that quickly fades to apprehension at the thought of who is on the other side of the door. Zack. Sora doesn't know what to say to him.
Goofy reaches the door first, opening it and going inside. The others follow and Sora hangs back letting them all enter first before, with a sigh, he goes in as well
He stops short just across the threshold. The door swings shut behind him and he instantly feels trapped by the stunned stares locked on him. He scratches at the back of his neck and sweeps his eyes over the room. He freezes, caught in Zack's gaze.
There is a tumult of emotion crossing Zack's face making it hard for Sora to judge his reaction. First he is surprised, then angry, then worried, and finally confused.
Slipping through the crowd of princesses, Zack slowly walks to Sora and stops right in front of him. His mouth opens and shuts several times as he looks over Sora before he manages to say, "You...you're alive."
"Yeah," Sora replies. "Kairi's light saved me."
The girls Sora doesn't recognize, the princesses, all start whispering to Kairi, but stop when Zack asks, "Saved you from what, exactly?"
Scuffing the his shoe on the floor, Sora says, "I was a heartless." One of the girls gasps at that, but Sora ignores them, watching Zack whose brow furrows.
"A heartless?" Zack says slowly and Sora nods. "As in, you lost your heart?"
Sora nods again, slower this time. "Yeah, and now I'm worried because...do you think I still have Ven's heart?" He ends in a whisper and presses a hand to his chest, feeling his own heartbeat.
Zack's jaw clenches, but he doesn't respond. Turning his back on Sora, he starts to walk to the other side of the room, but Sora hurries after him.
"I tried to talk to him in my heart, but even before we never spoke so it doesn't mean anything," Sora says, trying to convince himself as much as Zack that he still has Ven's heart. "Maybe his heart had to leave when I turned into a heartless, but now that I got my heart back, he came back as well."
Zack stops, facing the wall. "I don't know," he says, his tone broken and defeated. His arms are crossed and Sora can see that his shoulders are tensed.
"We're going to figure this out, Zack. I promise," Sora says. "I'll go search the other worlds. Maybe if I don't have his heart anymore I'll still recognize it in -"
"No!" Zack spins around and Sora takes a half step back seeing the anger in Zack's eyes. "No more world travelling. No more adventures. No more...this!" He gestures to Sora. "You were never supposed to leave Traverse Town. If you hadn't then -"
Zack shuts his mouth abruptly. Sora stands there dumbstruck as Zack brushes past him. Riku reaches out a hand to grab Zack's arm as he passes. "Zack."
"Just…" Zack throws off Riku's hand. "Just go home. All of you.
Finding his voice once more, Sora walks over to Zack saying, "I can still help."
There is a scowl on Zack's face as he rounds on Sora. "You didn't help, Sora," he says through gritted teeth. "You screwed everything up!"
His words hit Sora like a punch and once more he struggles to speak. Kairi steps up to defend him, speaking gently in the hope of calming Zack down. "We don't know anything for sure. Sora could still have Ven's heart. There is no proof he doesn't."
Zack's scowl doesn't go away, but when he speaks, his voice has lost its angry edge. "You're right. We don't know." He takes a step closer to Sora, crowding him and forcing Sora to look up to meet his eyes. "And on the small chance you still have his heart - the small hope that you didn't ruin everything - you are going to go back to Traverse Town where its safe. That's how you can help, Sora. By staying out of the way."
No one speaks and no one moves. Sora's mouth drops open, his ears still ringing with Zack's words. For a moment, guilt flashes in Zack's eyes, but with a shake of his head he steps back and walks away from them.
Riku is the first to break the silence, saying quietly, "We'll leave tomorrow."
Sora wants to argue, but he's not sure he's right anymore. Maybe he needs to stop pretending to be the hero.
"You can come with us, Zack," Riku says only half heartedly. "I know Tifa misses you."
"I'm staying here," Zack mutters, dropping into the chair in front of the computer. "I still haven't found Ven's body."
Sora stares at him as he starts to go through the thousands of files on the computer again, hoping to find some small clue. He wants to yell at Zack. Tell him he isn't the only one who misses Ven. But he can't bring himself to fight with Zack anymore.
Goofy gently places his hand on Sora's shoulder. "C'mon, Sora," he says, leading Sora over to the mess of cots and pillows the others had scavenged up the night before. "You should rest. You don't look so good."
Sora almosts protests, but looking down he sees his hands are trembling and from the worried look Goofy has he is sure his face is too pale. Without complaint he takes a cot and lies down on his side with his back to the others, especially Zack.
I did everything I could, he tells himself. I had to save Kairi. He couldn't have known he'd be turned into a heartless. He couldn't have known saving her would possibly mean losing Ven forever. Over and over he tries to convince himself, but as he slips off to sleep the only thought that crosses his mind is that he should have done something more.
…
"You ready for this, Roxas?"
Roxas jumps a bit as Axel's hand claps him on the shoulder and turns to look up at the red head who is grinning with excitement. Trying to copy Axel's enthusiasm, Roxas smiles back and fights the knot in his stomach.
"Yeah," he says, turning away before his eyes give away that he is lying. He wonders if he will ever feel ready for the missions Organization XIII sends him on. Only his second day with them and they are sending him after the biggest heartless in Twilight Town. Xemnas must think he is stronger than he really is, or he doesn't care if the heartless eats Roxas alive.
If Roxas had to guess, he'd go with the latter.
"Hey, kid." Axel's voice has a calming effect on Roxas. "I got your back."
Roxas tries once more to smile. "Thanks, Axel." He glances up the inclined road, leading up to the train station. That's where recon said the Darkside heartless would be.
Axel pats his shoulder again before releasing him. "Just make sure you got mine," Axel says. "I'm not up for getting toasted today."
"Of course," Roxas replies. He takes a deep breath. Neither of them are going to get toasted today.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Axel asks, his eyebrows wiggling as he grins. He summons his chakrams and Roxas follows his lead.
The black and white keyblades Roxas had named Oblivion and Oathkeeper - or maybe they had named themselves; the names had just come to mind when he thought about it - appear in his hands and he grips them tightly. Throwing one more glance his way, Axel leads the way up the deserted city street.
The train station's clock tower comes into view and Roxas cranes his neck to see the top as they walk to the middle of the open area. Roxas makes sure to keep close to Axel, eyes peeled for the first sign of the boss heartless.
"Have you ever fought one of these before?" Roxas asks, hoping to sound nonchalant.
"Loads of times," Axel replies, scanning his eyes around the area. "They aren't that bad as long as you're careful. Attack its hands, but don't let it grab you. A Darkside's got a grip like a boa constrictor."
Roxas nods, not trusting himself to speak. His hands are trembling and he hopes Axel doesn't notice.
A shadow falls on the ground in front of them, but the sky is cloudless. Roxas swallows a gasp as a hand as big as him reaches out of the shadow. It's followed by the rest of the heartless, dragging itself up to full height where it towers over them at least thirty feet tall.
"Remember what Saix said," Axel reminds Roxas. Their orders were very clear. Axel can fight with Roxas, but Roxas has to be the one to land the final blow. For the heartless' captive heart to go to Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts, it has to be one of Roxas' keyblades that releases it.
He can't believe his keyblades will be effective against the Darkside heartless. They're puny in comparison. The Darkside stares down at him with empty yellow eyes and if the heartless could laugh Roxas is sure it would be in stitches to see its so called opponent.
Axel, however, doesn't seem at all intimidated by the boss heartless. He shouts, "Fire!" as he throws his chakrams. The two spinning wheels are engulfed in flames as they streak towards the Darkside. They both slam into the side of its head and it flinches slightly before batting them away.
"Don't just stand there like a zombie, Roxas," Axel says as he catches his returning chakrams. Without waiting for a reply, he runs forward to meet the heartless as it bends down to sweep at the ground.
"Right. Hands," Roxas says, remembering Axel's earlier advice about Darksides. Axel has already taking to attacking the left hand so Roxas goes to the right, holding his keyblades at the ready as he runs.
The large heartless isn't paying its two attackers much attention, but its hand is low enough for Roxas to reach on a jump. He manages to land several quick combos on it before the heartless lurches upright.
Roxas takes a few steps back, waiting to see what the Darkside is going to do next, and he is lucky to have done that as the heartless suddenly lunges back down and plunges its hand into a puddle of darkness that has appeared in the spot Roxas stood moment ago. Small Shadow heartless appear and move towards Roxas. The weak heartless are little more than a hindrance for Roxas. In a few moments his dual keyblades have killed them all and he focuses his attention once more on the Darkside.
The huge heartless is once more standing tall and its hands are out of reach. Moving to where Axel is standing, Roxas asks, "What now?"
Before Axel can reply, the heartless suddenly drops to its knees and the ground rumbles with a shockwave. Both Axel and Roxas stumble and grab each other's arms to keep upright. When the shockwave passes, Axel drags Roxas forward.
"Attack its chest," Axel says, pointing at the spot just above the heart-shaped cut out in the Darkside's chest. "But be ready to block."
Block what? Roxas thinks, but before he can ask, a ball of darkness appears in the heart-shaped hole and bursts out at them like a missile. Roxas crosses his keyblades in front of him and the darkness slams into them, knocking him back a step but leaving no damage.
Hurrying forward before the Darkside can fire another attack, Roxas joins Axel in attacking the kneeling heartless' vulnerable chest. Alternating between attacking and blocking, they slowly weaken the heartless until its head lolls forward and its body slumps slightly.
"Roxas," Axel shouts. "You're up."
Roxas nods tersely. Time for the fatal blow. With both keyblades ready, Roxas jumps up to strike the final hit on the heartless, but too late he realizes the Darkside isn't ready to accept defeat.
He doesn't see the ball of darkness until it slams into his chest, making the sky and ground spin as he is sent flying back. Landing flat on his back, all the wind is knocked out of him and he lies there gasping.
A shadow falls on him. Looking up he sees the enormous black hand of the Darkside coming down to crush him. His keyblades aren't in his hands. They'd been knocked away at some point during his crash landing. Roxas concentrates on summoning them, knowing he doesn't have enough time.
The hand over him blots out the sky. He closes his eyes and waits for it to flatten him, but he hears Axel shout, "Firaga!" and the wave of heat that hits him is accompanied by the crackle of flames. Opening his eyes, he sees the Darkside's hand is engulfed in fire and it reels back.
The fire dies out quickly, but the damage has been done. Roxas lifts his head enough to see the heartless start to fade away. With a groan, he lets his head fall back and he lies there taking deep breathes as his lungs start working normally again.
"Roxas!"
Axel is suddenly at his side, leaving over him with his eyes wide. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I think so," Roxas replies, sitting up and rubbing his sore back. He looks over to where the huge heartless had stood. The last dregs of its darkness fade away and the pink heart it had been carrying floats up into the sky.
"It's not going to Kingdom Hearts, is it?" Roxas mutters. The sinking feeling in his gut makes him lower his head.
"No," Axel says. He lets out a long sigh. "Shit."
"Sorry," Roxas whispers. The mission is a failure and it is all his fault it got screwed up. He was supposed to be the one to land the final blow and fulfil his duties to the Organization, but he'd been too weak and Axel had to step in to save him.
"No, Rox, don't be sorry," Axel says and Roxas looks up, surprised by the nickname, but liking it. "You fought hard."
"Not hard enough," Roxas says miserably. He groans. "Xemnas is going to kill me."
Axel chuckles. "Being a little overdramatic, are we?" He says, ruffling Roxas' hair. He pulls his hand back quickly and clears his throat. "Don't sweat if Rox. I'll handle the boss man when we get back."
"No, Axel, you don't have to-"
"I want to," Axel says firmly. "I killed the heartless when I wasn't supposed to. Not that I regret it one bit. I'd rather lose the heart than be scraping you off the pavement. Doubt Xemnas will see it that way though…"
"But Axel-" Roxas tries to argue, but Axel stands, pulling Roxas up with him.
Axel leads Roxas towards the train station with a grin. "C'mon," Axel says. "Mission sucked, but its over. Now it's time for the icing on the cake."
"The what?" Roxas asks, but Axel justs grins wider and drags him into the train station.
…
Roxas decides he likes the icing on the cake.
The blue ice cream Axel had handed him calling it Sea Salt Ice Cream was delicious. Both salty and sweet at the same time. Axel had led him to the top of the clock tower and they sit on the ledge looking down at the front of the train station where they had fought the Darkside heartless. The sun hangs low in the sky casting an orange-red light over Twilight Town.
It should be nice and Roxas should be content to sit there, but he is distracted by what Axel had said earlier.
"Your ice cream is going to melt."
Roxas glances over at Axel who's pointing at the Roxas' ice cream. Roxas lifts it quickly and catches the melted piece dripping off with his tongue. It dibbles on his chin a little and Axel chuckles.
Roxas wipes it away with his coat sleeve and sneaks a glance at Axel. The older boy is lounging on the small ledge with complete disregard for the deadly drop. He had unzipped his jacket, letting it hang open to reveal the white t-shirt and baggy black pants he wore underneath. Axel looks so at ease, but Roxas is tense with the guilt in his gut.
Unable to keep quiet any longer, Roxas blurts out, "I don't want you to get in trouble for me."
Axel raises an eyebrow at him. "Trust me, this isn't a big deal," he says. "I've been in trouble before. A few fake apologies and false promises of working harder in the future and we'll be in the clear."
"But…" Roxas says, unable to meet Axel's eyes. "I'm the one who messed up the mission."
To his surprise, Axel scoots closer to him. "Xemnas should have never given you that mission," the red head says. "You've had those keyblades of yours for what? 24 hours? I know he's desperate to get his hands on his precious Kingdom Hearts, but that thing could have seriously hurt you." Axel takes a hard bite out of his ice cream and casts his angry eyes down to the Station entrance below where they'd fought the boss heartless.
His expression and the tone of his voice when he spoke of Roxas being hurt sparks a warmth in Roxas' chest and he can't stop a small smile from appearing on his lips for a moment. He quickly hides it with a nibble at his ice cream. What it means, he isn't sure, and decides to focus on the other thing Axel had said.
"I thought everyone in the Organization wanted Kingdom Hearts."
Axel finishes his ice cream and snaps the stick in half. "Oh yeah. We're all gung ho about it. Really happy Xemnas can keep us all in line with the promise of returning our hearts."
"Hearts?" Roxas repeats. He remembers Xemnas saying something about hearts. Something about being completed.
Axel sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Nobodies don't have hearts," he says glancing at Roxas who nods. He doesn't really know what that means, but Xemnas had told him that when they had spoken. "Without hearts we're...empty. We don't have emotions." Axel clenches his jaw and unclenches his jaw as he fiddles with his broken ice cream stick. "Xemnas claims that if we all work for him and build this Kingdom Hearts thing it will have the power to give us back our hearts."
Roxas is too focused on Axel to notice his ice cream is dripping. "You sound like you don't want yours back. Why?"
"I'd like my heart back, but not at the cost of my undying loyalty to the Organization or whatever Xemnas wants from us," Axel replies, throwing his stick and watching it fall to the ground far below.
Roxas watches it too and asks quietly, "So why do you stay with the Organization?"
Axel laughs, but there is no humor in it. "Might not like the yellow-eyed bastards, but playing along is better than making enemies. For now I'll bide my time with them, but I'm getting ready to duck out. If you're smart Roxas, you'll come with me."
Not knowing what to say, Roxas licks the rest of his half melted ice cream off the stick and drops it over the ledge like Axel had. They sit in silence until the sun drops off the horizon and the nighttime chill starts to set in.
"C'mon," Axel says, standing. "We should RTC."
Without a word Roxas stands and waits for Axel to summon the dark corridor. But Axel hesitates, turning to face Roxas with a serious expression.
"Roxas," he says. "The people in the Organization are dangerous. They don't tolerate even the hint of disobedience. The things I've told you just now-"
"-could get you in a lot of trouble," Roxas says. "Don't worry. That's the last thing I'd want to do. If Xemnas and the others really are dangerous...just…be careful, okay?"
Roxas feels a little out of place telling the older boy to be careful, but he can't help the worried feeling he has at the thought of Axel's traitorous thoughts being found out.
Axel gives him a small smile. "You're the one who needs to be careful," he says in the same serious voice. "They have something planned for you. I don't know what it is, but I bet its a whole lot bigger than killing a bunch of heartless. You're new. They think you're impressionable and naive so...prove 'em wrong, alright? Don't let them force you into their twisted goals."
Roxas feels goosebumps crawling up his arms. He doesn't like the idea for Xemnas or anyone else having plans for him. Nodding to Axel, Roxas wraps his coat tighter around himself and waits as Axel summons the dark corridor.
As Roxas steps through to return to the castle, he swears to himself to take Axel's advice to heart - so to speak - and make sure he doesn't get turned into a pawn in Xemnas' mysterious game.
CatLoverx33: Yay! Sora's back! And everything should be happy, but Zack kinda put a damper on that.
Ugh Zack you were so mean in this chapter. Boo.
So this is the point in the story where Roxas' storyline takes over as the main focus. Think about it like KH1 just ended and so 358/2 Days picks up right away. Sora's storyline will still be in at random points, but from here on expect mostly Axel and Roxas and the Organization.