Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts II (Lost Chapters) ❯ Chapter 16 ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16

I hope this chapter is more interesting than the last two. The way I figure is that things get the dullest just before the good stuff happens, things will be picking up soon because I am sick of Roxas and Axel being apart! (Also, listening to Bon Jovi `It's My Life' while writing a fight scene, oh yeah, it's intense)

(Also, during the fight scene I mention considerably the Kingdom Hearts I secret ending video `Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]', where Roxas is first introduced to the series and labeled by fans as Glowing-Eyed Unknown and Dual-Wielding Unknown. It's easy to find so if you haven't seen it, go watch it. It's actually pretty awesome if you watch it to music like `Breaking the Habit' by Linkin Park or `Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Greenday)

 

Kingdom Hearts II (Lost Chapters):

 

Fantasia-

Grecian Lands

 

Early evening and the land around them was alive with color. Everything seemed to have settled down for the night, tucking themselves away in every nook they could find. It seemed they had the right idea. Roxas was tired again, so were the others. It had been a constant swarm of Nobodies and Heartless for the last while, but as the sun began to set they too seemed to settle down as well. The low rumble of thunder was roaming the hills, echoing off the mountains and water. Even though the clouds were beautiful, hidden away in them darkness lurked and Roxas was weary of them.

“How much further?” Asked Roxas, anxious to be away from the open ground.

“Not far now. If we hurry we could be there before dead night.” Replied the centaur Bucephalus tiredly his head hanging, feet dragging lazily, “Perhaps we should find shelter for the night, I don't think any of us are up for the last stretch just now. Aside from our fatigue the air is heavy now; it may be dangerous to continue.”

“What do you mean?” Roxas inquired unfamiliar with the way of this land.

“Zeus, the great god above, seems to be restless. If he decides to hurl down his rods of light, we may be unlucky enough to be struck.” Explained the centaur. Aether shook his head in agreement. For a moment Roxas had to think about what the half horse meant by `rods of light'.

“Oh, you mean lightning? So there's going to be a storm…” He added the last part quietly and looked up at the clouds. They were still so beautiful, “Are you sure that we can't go on?”

“We can, but it may be dangerous. We should find a place to hide and shield ourselves from the elements.”

“But I don't have time to wait.” Roxas grumbled lightly, “I've already wasted so much time already. Could you be wrong about the storm? Are you absolutely sure it will happen?”

“No one can be sure, but I feel that if there is a storm it will be strong. Young human, we should stop. A group strong with a good night's rest could make a storm for sure, but as we are we could easily be swept away by the wind or fall helpless to flash floods. It is my opinion we settle down.” Stopping in his tracks Bucephalus stomped a hoof stubbornly, “I will not go on.” Then Aether too stopped, turning round the stallion went to Bucephalus obviously just as reluctant to continue.

Letting out a heavy sigh Roxas got down off the Pegasus. They were both horses, at least half; it was only natural for them to be frightened. Roxas wasn't afraid though, the purpose outweighed the danger.

“You two stay then, I'm going on. Figment, you're coming right?” He asked the dragon who was nestled inside his shirt. The purple reptile poked his head out and nodded, “Good. If I keep going straight, I could make it by dawn right?”

“If nothing obstructs you, you may very well make it before the sun rises.” Bucephalus nodded solemnly, “I implore you, stay.”

“I can't.” Roxas said shaking his head before turning on heel and running for the unseen city. The darkness would be over the land soon and he wanted to cover as much ground as he could unhindered by nighttime. With the chakrams still in hand he felt he could run as long as he ever needed to, as long as Axel was at the end of the road he followed.

Only when darkness set in, did Roxas begin to miss the company he'd left behind. When he could no longer see the path he called Figment from his shirt to help. The tiny dragon, using his wonderful imagination, created an electric lantern. It only lit small area compared to how much ground there was to cover, so he could only hope he was walking in a straight line. With any luck at all, wandering from the path would be the only problem he'd have. Unfortunately, it seemed the only luck he was going to have tonight was bad luck. Just outside the ring of light around him, unseen masses of Shadow and Neo Shadow Heartless were pulling themselves from the infinite darkness. One more footfall atop one of the lonely hills, Roxas became aware of their presence. Thousands of yellow eyes glared out through the darkness, baring down onto him and freezing him in place. Taking a step back he raised the lamp, holding it out further as the Heartless crept from the shadows, eating up the light that was created.

Unable to fight with the lantern in his hand, he hurled it into the blanket of night. When it crashed sparks lit up from it, causing a few flames to sprout on a Shadow or two. The sudden spur of aggression triggered the battle. Summoning his Keyblade, Roxas jumped into the fighting with surprising accuracy. Using the luminescent yellow eyes as targets, each blow hit directly between their eyes, and with each swipe backed by momentum and pure force it took only one hit to rid himself of the Shadows and three to down the Neo Shadows. A familiar coldness and lack of affect washed over him and the memories of the life he'd left behind flooded back to him. That rainy night back in the World That Never Was, the cold hearted and intense battle between him and Riku, the neon glow of lights, and the blaring yellow eyes, it was all coming back to him again.

Rain cut through the air like needles, making his skin burn with pain. Suddenly, light flashed down illuminating the land for a split second, tearing the ground from its place, before all went black and the loud crack and rumble drowned out the howl of the with and the rustle of the rain on the trees. Another lightning strike followed by a second, then those were followed by three more at once. As if the creatures of darkness incurred Zeus's wrath, the lightning barreled down crashing to the ground in divine fury uprooting the foundations of life. The God's wrath went unnoticed in the suddenly blind eyes of the final member of Organization XIII. At blade's end, fire burned; streaking the darkness with red and orange before taking down the opponent before it. Each swing of his blade was perfectly timed, not a single Shadow could cross his defenses and so much as scratch his body. So lost and enthralled in the struggle against the heartless, Roxas soon forgot his whole purpose for being there. A depersonalization occurred the time and place no longer mattered and any connection to the present was severed; once again, he seemed to experience the once closely held glory of being the Key of Destiny.

Enraged by his ignorance, Zeus hurled a bolt down to strike the singular Nobody. Roxas, senses heightened, caught glimpse of the lightning rod and raising his blade he summoned the magic of electricity. As if to challenge the God's strength, his own bolts of lightning beat into the large charge that was snaking its way down to him. The two beams stopped in mid-air, each battling the other for dominance. Finally they gave way, releasing a wave of energy knocking the Bond of Flames from Roxas's hand. A second bolt from Zeus's hand came thundering down in all its glory to take his life. Quick to act on his reflexes, the Nobody leapt from its path suffering only minor burns from the heat. Summoning his blade back, he was on his feet and running. At his heels a second streak of lightning carved into the earth, chasing after him. The Heartless, cowering at the ferocity of the attacks, fled.

Intercepted by the upturned earth, Roxas fought to stay out of reach of the searing hot tear in the atmosphere. Just as the light began to tower over him, a black streak swooped down snatching him from the arms of death. Thrown onto the back of the valiant Pegasus the stallion let out a fierce cry, unlike that of any normal equine. Eyes lit by the numerous threads of electricity, Roxas's cavalry horse looked crazed. The white blaze on his forehead distinguished him as none other than Aether. In his time of need, the brave stallion had not let him down. Rushing to his aid, Aether had risked his life for the sake of a Nobody.

In the back of his mind, he swore he could hear a voice speaking to him, `Hold on and we'll live through the night.' The words shook him back into the reality of the situation and he cared not where they came from. Clutching the back of the steed's thick neck, he was grateful for Aether's return.

 

The World That Never Will Be-

Forest of Antiquity

 

“Number VII, take care of him.” Xemnas ordered flatly stepping away from their time warping gambler. An uneasy look grew over Luxord as he slowly backed away from the trio. There was a deadly tone in his leader's voice which made his stomach turn, further more the animalistic way Saix instantly stepped forward to obey the vague commands was eerily ominous. The Luna Diviner's eyes were glowing with unstable malice, they'd been like that all day but now the barrier was crumbling. Standing behind Xemnas, Xaldin only cast him a glance of pity but nothing more.

“What's going on?” Asked Luxord shakily backing up into a tree, “What's the meaning of th-“ Before he could utter the last words Saix and his pack of brutal beasts where on him like hyenas on carrion. The motion so quick and the pain so great, Luxord couldn't summon his element to aid him. As quickly as it began, however, it ended. Lightning came crashing down rendering the attackers immobile for an instant.

Larxene rushed into the scene, cold indifference in her eyes that was heated behind with some sort of rage. She spoke not a word as she stepped between the Shifters led by Saix and Luxord. Bringing her hand up again another bolt flashed down striking Saix dead on. The Luna Diviner shrieked in pain stumbling back and falling to the ground. Furious at the heinous act done to their leader the Shifters moved in to attack but before anything could be down, the two were gone. Luxord had summoned strength and froze them in time long enough for them to make a clean get away.

“Perhaps leaving the others be so long was a mistake.” Xemnas muttered turning to retreat into the darkness of the forest, “We'll have to kill any who stumble in our path next time.”

“Yes, Superior.” Xaldin agreed, “Should we be leaving them still as they are now?”

“It is fine for the time being, I can't risk loosing our position over some petty fight.” Xemnas said indifferent to the growl that was now rising behind him from the infuriated Saix. After all, once again, Saix had failed him and deserved not even negative attention for his wrongdoings. The Luna Diviner would throw a fit and soon cover his weakness behind a mask. After that, Number VII would come cowering back seeking some sort of solace or redemption from him.

Baring his teeth, Saix could feel his blood boiling. How dare Larxene make a fool of him like that! He'd have her head for it. His pride screamed for revenge but fearing further alienation from his Superior, he would eventually choose to take her in a battle watched by Number I; that way, Xemnas would see how good he was. Tonight he was taken off guard, in a time of weakness. It would not happen again, his character wouldn't allow any more of this humiliation. For now he was up and off scouring the land for something to satisfy his blood lust, some practice meat to sick his wild companions on.

 

The World That Never Will Be-

Dawning Hills

 

“Hey, Axel. Get up.” Demyx said shaking Axel a little to wake the redhead from his slumber. The pyro let out a groan, mumbling Roxas's name. When Demyx lay awake at night he often heard Axel say the Nobody's name. Once, Demyx had actually heard the Flurry of Dancing Flames wake with a start and begin to cry softly to himself. Of course, Axel didn't know Demyx was listening, always watching out for him. It made him feel a little bad, not for himself but for Axel. He know Roxas was Axel's `one and only' and he sort of wanted things to work out for him. That was an impossible notion though, it seemed. Roxas was probably never going to come, after all Roxas was with Sora now. In all reality, Demyx had realized that Roxas most likely didn't exist anymore but it was too much for Axel to bear and the pyro insisted he lived on. It was nice to dream, “Hey, come on Axel… I'm tired.” He groaned giving Axel a good shove. Again, all Axel did was murmur the boys name and roll over.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Demyx turned and took his sitar in his hands. It was obviously a nice dream for Axel; he got to see Roxas again. That in mind, the Melodious Nocturne decided to let Axel wake on his own. He knew Axel would appreciate it and that was enough for now, because in all truth, Axel was the first close friend he'd ever had. If a night's rest was what he had to pay for it, he'd gladly just stay up all night and play a happy little tune while doing so.

“That's a beautiful song.” Voiced Axel startling Demyx a little bit. It had only been a couple of minutes since he'd let Axel alone; he hadn't expected him to wake up so soon. “What's it about?”

“Oh… It's just something I made up, it's really dumb.” Demyx laughed, “Did I wake you?”

“No… So, what's it about?”

Demyx looked over at Axel. His companion was lying on his back, arms behind his head, green eyes turned in his direction. Glancing down at the blue instrument in his hands, he shrugged, “I guess it's about finding my heart. See, pretty weak huh?”

“Not at all… It's inspiring. Do you think we'll find it?” Asked Axel looking up at the sky, the clearing they camped in was unhindered by trees for yards.

“`Find it'?” Repeated Demyx a little bewildered.

“Yeah, dummy, you're heart. While we at it, let's find mine too.” Axel smiled letting out a soft chuckle, “This is quite the journey we're on, huh? I kind of don't want it to end, and it sort of scares me that our destination feels so close.”

“Yeah… We should take it easy. I mean, why rush? We've got all the time in the world. We could hang out here for a while and just enjoy it for a while. It's not all that bad, besides the fact that eating those fruit is getting pretty old but who knows if there will be anything different on the other side.” Demyx murmured lightly, beginning to pluck the strings again.

“It is nice here, isn't it? I think you've got the right idea. Just for a while, we'll just stay here... Hey. I think I heard running water a while back, just about an hour. We could go check it out tomorrow. With any luck we'll find some fresh water that you don't have to summon.”

“That'd be cool. Then maybe I could finally get washed off, I haven't bathed in days. I must smell like raw sewage by now.” Demyx laughed.

“Well if you do, I can't tell. Then again, I probably smell just as bad, or worse! Ah! Even if I hate getting wet, you can't beat the feeling of being clean.” Stated Axel with a sigh of delight, “My arm's feeling a lot better now too. By tomorrow, I bet I won't even remember it ever being painful.”

“That's good to hear.”

“Hey, it's my shift now. Why don't you lie down and get some rest? I plan on testing you on what I've taught you about fighting tomorrow and you'd better be up to it.” Axel said with a smile as he sat up, “Hurry up now, you don't have all night.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Laughed Demyx, “and don't fall asleep while I'm out.” He added before lying down to get some rest.

“I will not sleep.” Vowed Axel jokingly as he sat up Indian style and began his watch. As soon as Demyx's breathing evened out he cast the teenager a smile, “Sleep tight, punk.”

 

Save Game: to be continued…