Chapter 32 Real and Make-Believe
With a metallic clank, Sora locks his keyblade with Zack's sword and grunts. He pushes back, but this younger Zack is strong, stronger than him. However, Sora knows strength isn't everything in a battle.
Twisting to the side and dropping his sword, Sora hopes to make Zack fall of balance, but Zack must have anticipated his move and is able to keep his footing as he turns to face Sora again. Sora strikes and blocks Zack on autopilot, his mind still trying to catch up with how how he got here.
Since following the man in the back hood through the dark corridor, everything has gone sideways. MEKA is in ruins, Phil and Herc don't recognize him, and now, somehow, Phil had gotten him to fight with this boy claiming to be Zack Fair, his much older and taller friend.
This younger Zack seems to be almost as impressive of a swordsman as the real Zack though as he catches Sora in the chest with the flat of his blade. It hurts a lot and makes Sora stumble back, but he retaliates fast with an overhead strike. Zack blocks him easily and twists to block Sora's next swipe at his right side. It is a feint by Sora, however, and Zack is the one stumbling back clutching his left side.
He fights back and their swords lock once more. Sora tries the same move again with a twist. Once he drops his block he stabs forward for Zack's chest. Zack manages to get his sword back up in time, but only to deflect Sora. The teeth on the keyblade catch the bottom of Zack's helmet and knock it off his head.
A wild mane of black hair and bright blue eyes are revealed making Sora gasp. Up until that point he'd been holding on to the logic that this boy could not possibly be Zack, but now it is undeniable that he is face to face with a ten years younger Zack Fair.
Zack's sword swings horizontally at him and Sora snaps out of his stunned stupor, bringing his keyblade up just in time to block the blow. He knocks Zack's sword away, but his feet hadn't been planted well and the force sends him to the ground. He starts to get up, but freezes, feeling the cold point of Zack's sword at his neck.
Zack stands over him with his chest heaving from the battle and a smile spreading across his face. "That..was fun," he says between gasps as he pulls his sword back and offers Sora a hand. Still staring at him in disbelief, Sora wordlessly takes Zack's hand and lets him haul him to his feet. "Great match. You really know what you are doing," Zack continue, oblivious to Sora's intense stare.
"You too," Sora forces himself to say, wondering if maybe this is all just a weird dream. The ache leftover from where Zack hit him says otherwise however.
"That was awesome guys!" Herc bounds over to them his face flushed in excitement like he had just been the one fighting. "I was sure it was going to be a draw."
Sora manages to half smile at that and looks past him at Kairi, RIku, Donald, and Goofy who are coming over as well. Zack says something to him, but Sora misses it, stepping away from the other two boys to meet his friends.
"You alright?" Kairi asks, touching his arm. He meets her worried gaze and smiles.
"Yeah, I'm fine Kairi," he says and gives her a quick kiss before the adrenaline from the fight wears off. She's blushing when he pulls back and so is he. Wordlessly, she slips her hand into his.
"How is this possible?" Riku asks, watching young Zack talk to Herc. "It's like we've been transported back in time. Unless…" He trails off, his mouth turning into a hard line. Sora is about to ask him what he's thinking when Phil, who he hadn't realized had disappeared, comes running back into the arena.
"Herc!" Phil shouts, gasping for breath. "Hades, he… the Hydra."
An ear splitting screech comes from outside the arena and Sora tightens his grip on Kairi's hand. What ever had made that sound had to be huge.
At once they are all moving, running towards the screeching sound as another reverberates followed by a crash that makes the walls of the coliseum shake. Hoping the building isn't about to collapse on them, Sora leads the way back through the atrium and out into the courtyard outside.
His keyblade still in hand from his fight with Zack, he pulls up short as soon as he is out the door and Donald crashes into him from behind. Facing them is a huge beast, taller than the statues beside the coliseum door and with three growling heads staring down with menacing yellow eyes. Altogether, the three heads let out screeching roars that make Sora and the others cover his ears.
"What is that?" Kairi shouts over the noise.
"The Hydra," Herc replies, lowering his hands as the screeching stops. "It's Hades pet."
"Hades?" Goofy asks.
"God of the Underworld," Herc says. He balls his hands into fists. "We can't let the Hydra destroy the coliseum."
Herc and Zack run forward and Sora is at their heels until he notices that Riku hesitates.
"Riku, what are you doing?" Sora asks. "C'mon."
Kairi, Donald, and Goofy pause too, looking back at Riku who is standing on the top step staring at the Hydra with a far off expression. One of the Hydra's head strikes down at them and Kairi reacts the fastest.
Her keyblade appears in her hand as she points it. "Blizzaga!"
That head rears back a moment, but the head on the right moves to attacks as well.
"I know this story," Riku says slowly, staring up at the huge monster. "I remember Terra and Aqua talking about it."
"What?" Kairi shouts, looking over her shoulder at him as she fires off another barrage of ice into the eyes of the far right head. Donald adds a fireball and the combined attack makes it retreat.
"The Hydra," Riku says as Sora hops up the steps to him with a questioning look. "They fought the Hydra once."
"Okay?" Sora asks, wondering what Riku is doing. They're in the middle of a battle and he is standing there without a weapon in his hand.
Riku seems to realize this and he blinks. "Don't cut off the heads," he says urgently and then hurries down the steps.
"The heads?" Kairi asks as he rushes past her.
"More will grow if you cut them off," Riku says, his keyblade appearing in his hand.
"How do you know that?" Kairi calls after him, but he's already half way across the courtyard, headed for where Herc and Zack are fending off the far left head. Kairi turns to Sora. "What do we do?"
Sora stares at the Hydra as it's two heads recover from Kairi's magic. "Trust that Riku knows what he is talking about," he says and summons his keyblade. Throwing it over hand at the center head, Sora charges forward, catching his keyblade once it bounces back off the Hydra's hard scales.
With a hiss of annoyance, the Hydra snaps down at him, but he jumps back out of reach. Goofy's shield flies over his head and smacks the head straight on the nose. The shield boomerangs back and Goofy catches it, stepping up beside Sora.
With a glance at each other, they both leap into action, Sora going left and Goofy attacking from the right. Goofy tosses his shield and is slams into the head's cheek, hitting it repeatedly in a specialized attack. Under the battering, the Hydra ducks its head, trying and failing to get away from the shield. Once it's low enough, Sora jumps up and launches into a combo attack that leaves the Hydra dazed.
Landing, he whips his keyblade around. "Fira!" He shouts and a fireball explodes from his keyblade, striking the the Hydra just under its eye. At the same time Goofy's shield hits its chin and the combined attacks knock the center head unconscious.
Angered, the remaining heads let out a screech and the slight flexing of muscles is all the warning the Hydra gives before leaping into the air and turning 180 degrees. Sora and Goofy dive to the right, barely missing being hit with the tail as it whips around. Goofy pulls Sora to his feet and the two of them duck quickly as the tail thrashes overhead.
"Sora!" Kairi shouts to him, waving for him to follow her and Donald around the Hydra's side. Keeping one eye on the tail as it slams into the wall of the coliseum, Sora and Goofy run after them. Coming around the to the front side, they are just in time to see Zack leap up and stun the head he had been fighting as well.
That left only one head, lolling from the attacks by Kairi and Donald. With a huff of effort, Kairi spins on her heel and throws her keyblade, getting all her momentum behind the attack. Her keyblade hits the head between its eyes and it slumps to the ground.
Despite the three heads being knocked unconscious, the tail continued to thrash and another slam against the wall left a deep crack in the stone. "Now what?" Sora asks as they all come together. "How do we kill it?" He looks to Riku to see if he knows, but when Riku shakes his head, it is Herc that speaks up.
"I have an idea."
Without taking time to explain Herc runs to the corner where a barrel stands. "Sora, Zack," he calls over his shoulder. "Follow me."
The center head stirs and groans. Sora who had been moving to follow Herc, pauses.
"Go," Riku says, waving him off. "We have this."
Sora nods and runs after Zack and Herc who has the barrel over his shoulder like it weighs nothing. At the Hydra's side, Herc shifts the barrel into his hands. "Sora," he says, glancing over as Sora reaches them. "Get up on the Hyrda's back."
Sora looks to Zack confused, but the other boy doesn't hesitate, shoving his sword into its holder. "Just go along with it," he says. "Here, I'll help you up."
Zack bends down slightly interlacing his fingers to form a step. Knowing he can't waste time with questions, Sora puts his hands on Zack's shoulders and his foot in his hands. With a grunt of effort, Zack brings his arms up and Sora jumps, reaching up and scrambling for something to hold onto.
He grabs onto one of the triangle scales on the Hydra's back and hauls himself up. Getting to his feet, he summons his keyblade and looks over to Herc. "Sora!" Herc shouts as he throws the heavy barrel with inhuman strength high into the air. Guessing what Herc wants him to do, Sora carefully watches the barrel's flight and times his jump perfectly. He meets the barrel at the highest point of his jump and it feels like everything is in slow motion. Sora swings his keyblade as the barrel falls past him and adds the power of his hit to the already fast moving missile.
The barrel rockets down even faster and strikes the Hydra where all the necks converge. The force knocks it flat on the ground with a small cry of pain from one of the heads that is slowly regaining consciousness. Sora lands lightly on the Hydra's back and jumps back to the ground where he is meet by Zack who is grinning at him with his fist held out. Sora grins back and pounds Zack's fist with his own.
They both look up in surprise as a bright bolt of lightning streaks down from a break in the clouds. The bolt strikes the Hydra in the chest and it howls in pain. The once fearsome monster is moments away from fading away for good. In it's final moments, the Hydra uses all its remaining strength to whip it's tail back and forth, slamming it repeatedly into the wall of the coliseum. Dust and debris explodes out with each hit and cracks appear in the stone. The Hydra finally fades away, but the damage is done.
The wall starts to crumble. A few pieces fall at first and then big sections tumble down. One of the pillars near the coliseum entrance shudders and starts to fall towards Sora and Zack. "Zack, look out!" Sora shouts, tackling the boy who had been looking the other way. The column crashes to the ground at the spot where Zack had been standing.
Sora hears his friends shouting for him, but they are drowned out by a foreboding crack that resonates throughout the arena. Sora covers his head as the the whole wall tumbles down in an avalanche of stone.
All at once the sound of the wall collapsing stops and the gritty sand under him disappears. He drops his hands to see a pure white room and the white tile under his hands is cool as he pushes himself off the floor.
"Sora!" Riku runs up beside him and puts an arm under Sora's to help him to his feet.
"I'm alright," Sora says, feeling a bit dazed as he looks around. Kairi reaches him next, hands grabbing his arms as Riku lets go. She looks him over frantically before realizing his really is fine.
"What about Zack?" Kairi asks as Goofy and Donald reach them as well.
They all look around, but there is no sight of Zack or Herc or the Hydra. One moment they were at the Coliseum, outside and fighting a monster and the next, they are back in the strange, transformed MEKA facing a white staircase leading up to the next floor.
"I don't think that was really Zack," Riku says slowly.
All five of them exchange uneasy glances. Sora is the first to step forward. "Those guys in the black coats said Ven is somewhere in this castle."
Kairi's hand slips into his and he turns to her. She has a determined look on her face, mirroring the others. "Then let's go find him.
…
Roxas wakes with no idea where he is. The gray ceiling above him and soft bed he is lying on tell him he isn't in the Keyblade Graveyard anymore. He searches his memory an explanation of what had happened. The last thing he remembers is the heartless attack and the tidal wave of Ven's memories that had made his head feel like it was about to explode.
Did he pass out? Is that why he's here now, in what he realizes is his room back at the castle?
He starts to sit up and notices for the first time that he is not alone. Axel is standing by the window, forehead pressed against the glass and his back to Roxas.
"What happened?" Roxas asks and Axel jumps liked he'd been shocked. There is a thump and Axel turns to him, rubbing his head where he'd hit it on the window frame.
"Oh, Rox, you're awake," he says, rubbing his hands together. "H-how are you feeling?"
Roxas raises an eyebrow at him. Axel doesn't usually stutter. "Fine," Roxas says and Axel nods several times, looking around despite no one else being in the room. "Are you feeling alright?" Roxas asks, wondering what's got Axel acting so odd.
"Who? Me?" Axel says, attempting to smile. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I'm not the one who's been unconscious for half an hour."
"Half an hour?" Roxas swings his legs over the side of his bed and stands. Axel moves forward, like he is worried Roxas might not be steady on his feet, but steps back quickly, looking away.
"Yep," he says, staring out the window again. "Xigbar didn't tell us what happened though. Do you remember?"
Roxas catches Axel's eye a moment, but the red head seems to be having a problem maintaining eye contact at the moment. "I remember -" Roxas starts to say, but stops himself. After what how Axel had reacted to even the mention of hearts and the other boy, Ven, that Zack had talked about, Roxas isn't sure just what he wants to tell the red head. He doesn't want another fight, but a fight would be inevitable if he told Axel about his revelation. Ven's heart rests in him and it is his job to return it to it's rightful owner, no matter if Axel approves or not.
"I remember Xigbar took me to this world called the Keyblade Graveyard," Roxas says, speaking before he reaches a decision about how much he is going to tell Axel. "The mission was to fight heartless there and…" Roxas pauses, fighting with himself. He wants to tell Axel about the memories, but he can't bear to push Axel further away. "They got the better of me," Roxas says, looking down as Axel looks up. "I don't know what happened after that. Guess I blacked out."
If Axel suspects he is hiding anything, he doesn't let on. Nodding several times, he moves to the corner of Roxas' bed and sits. With an awkward pat on the comforter beside him, he gestures for Roxas to sit. "I have something I need to talk to you about, Rox," he says.
Slowly, Roxas sits beside him, cautious of what Axel wants to say. His mind still on hearts and Ven, he is surprised when that isn't what Axel is thinking about as well.
"I talked with Demyx while you were out," Axel says. "We've always known this Organization is poison, but lately it is getting downright dangerous. The missions they're sending you on keep nearly killing you and I think Xemnas is losing his sanity if he ever had any to being with."
"What are you getting at?" Roxas asks though he already has a guess.
Axel takes a deep breath and shifts an inch closer to Roxas. "Let's get out of here," he says and quickly continues when he sees Roxas start to open his mouth. "I know it's dangerous, but I can't be a pawn in Xemnas' game any more. I know places to hide where he'll never look and I'm ready go tonight if…" He drops his eyes to his hands in his lap, twisted together with nerves. "I'm ready to go if you'll come with me."
"Axel…" It's all Roxas manages to say and Axel looks up to see regret in his eyes. "I can't, Axel," he finally says, placing his hands over Axel's.
Axel sucks in a breath. "You want to stay here with these murderers?"
"No," Roxas says shaking his head. "Axel, you're right, we can't stay with the Organization any longer, but I can't just run away and hide. I - I know what is real now, and what I have to do."
Everything seems to go cold to Axel. "What you have to do?" He asks slowly.
Roxas ducks his head as he nods. "I have to give Ven back his heart." He pulls away, taking his hands off of Axel's, and starts to stand, but Axel grabs his wrists.
"Rox, listen. You don't -"
"No, Axel. You listen to me," Roxas says, his calm tone turning harsh. "I know what I have. There is a heart in my chest that doesn't belong to me. Everything I am, I shouldn't be. Do you know what that feels like?" His eyes search Axel's face for understanding, but his expression hardens quickly. "What am I saying," he tugs out of Axel's grip. "Of course you don't because, as you keep reminding me, you don't feel anything."
Axel's mind goes into panic mode as Roxas turns away from him. In a second he is on his feet as well and practically shouts, "You're going to destroy yourself for a stranger?"
Roxas winces at the anger in Axel's voice, but doesn't turn around. "You don't understand," he says softly.
"No, I don't," Axel replies, moving closer to Roxas. "I can't understand why anyone with heart would ever give it away."
Roxas can't be here any longer. Hearing the hurt in Axel's voice is breaking the heart he so recently found he had and the idea of leaving him for this suicide mission makes him want to turn and run back into Axel's arms, but he can't. He can't explain it to Axel and he can't really explain it to himself, but until this moment his existence had seemed pointless and now he had a purpose, a mission to carry out. It is hard, but a clean break from Axel and the rest of his life would be for the best.
Stiffening his shoulders, Roxas summons a dark corridor. "Goodbye, Axel."
"You don't even know where he is," Axel says frantically, and Roxas pauses on the threshold of the corridor. He looks back over his shoulder.
"Then I'll search everywhere." Roxas' lips pull up in a small smile. "What is it Somebodies like to say? Just follow your heart?"
Before Axel can stop him, Roxas steps into the corridor and the swirling blackness swallows him. The dark corridor starts to close, but Axel is already moving. He jumps through as well, just before it disappears and a moment later he is on the same street in The City That Never Was where they had run into Zack.
Roxas is already walking away leaving Axel to hurry after him.
"Rox. Roxas! How can you give up your life like this?"
Roxas doesn't slow his quick pace. Pulling his hood up he says, "No one would miss me."
"That's not true!" Axel shouts after him, his voice threatening to crack. "I would." At first it doesn't seem like Roxas heard him, but then the blond's steps slow. He stops just as Axel catches up.
Before Axel can say another word, Roxas turns sharply to face him. "Nothing you can say is going to stop me," he says, meaning to sound harsh and absolute, but he sounds more like he is trying to convince himself.
Axel finds himself fumbling to speak. Being caught in those icy blue eyes makes it impossible for him to put into words what he needs to say. He needs Roxas to know that there is someone who would miss him, that his life meant something more than becoming a sacrifice. The words don't come out though, and he steps closer, inches from Roxas.
Roxas' eyes widen from their glare. His lips part. "What are you…"
Axel's hand touches Roxas shoulder. Like electricity, it shocks his mind back into focus.
"The thirteenth floor," he blurts out, forgetting to pause between words.
Roxas stares up at him, confused. 'What?"
Axel draws back his hand and retreats a bit from Roxas. "The thirteenth floor in Castle Oblivion," he says, rubbing the back of his head. "I...um...I'm not saying I'm a hundred percent on board with this heart thing, but I'd be lying if I said somethings weren't starting to connect. The Organization's interest in you, Castle Oblivion, that guy Zack, your -" He stops and drops his hand. "Look, Roxas, I know I haven't really given you reason to trust me lately, but can you?" He meets Roxas eyes. "Can you trust me?"
"I'll always trust you," Roxas says softly. "What are you thinking?"
Smiling grimly, Axel summons a dark corridor. "I think I know where Ven is."
CatLoverx33: Oh yeah, Axel can't deny Roxas has a heart now!
micaelaann. cruz: I updated kind of soonish...maybe. Idk. I think it was less than two weeks?
ZalelTribal: It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if he'd woken up as Ven, but nah, that's not what I have in store for Roxas *evil grin*
Okay! We are almost to the end. (of this fic! Not to worry! The ridiculously long series continues) Back at the college life :( which might mean updates will take a little longer, but I'm super excited to write what happens next so maybe it won't take that long...maybe. I never really know anymore.