[KH] The Thirteenth Changeling, ch. 1 (Stash ver.)

Summary:  Roxas has been disturbed by vivid dreams, & now twelve beautiful but creepy people are showing up at his school. Axel & the others are not taking no for an answer. Roxas is not human, & he's needed back in Faerie - but for what purpose? AU, no slash.

Such a beautiful world.  Her smile, filling him up like beams of sunlight

Defending; the dark army felled; light exploding outward like a newly-born star

Happiness

You are the one who will open the door

A mission, the worlds falling to darkness, stop the one who threatens to consume us all

Xehanort

Hero of light

Keyblade - the weapon has chosen you

Our king told us to

Heartless, creatures of utter shadow, mindless, consuming, have to destroy them, have to keep them away

Fight, do what must be done, travel to the ends of the earth, to the end of all worlds

Pain

Her smile

Give in to darkness

The darkness in your heart....

The First Day

"Ha ha!  Roxas, you look like something the cat threw up."

"Couldn't sleep last night," Roxas mumbled, resting his hands on his knees so that he could catch his breath.  All around them, kids were laughing and chattering as they greeted each other and moved slowly towards the school building.

"Again?" Olette exclaimed in dismay.

"Don't tell me you've been having weird dreams again," Hayner scoffed teasingly.

"Maybe you shouldn't eat so much ice cream before bed," Pence suggested.

Roxas shook his head and waved a hand to try to distract them from his problems.  "Look, it's no big deal.  So I'm not late?"

Hayner grinned.  "Not yet."

"The bell rang just as you ran up," Olette said, already starting to walk.  "You didn't hear it?"

Roxas sighed and followed his friends as they headed to class.  They made it to homeroom before the teacher did, which gave Hayner, Pence, and Olette enough time to harass Roxas until he had reluctantly described some of his dreams.

"So the guy in red is named Sora?"

"That's what everyone calls him," Roxas murmured, "in every dream.  What's weird is that...I'm always Sora.  It's like, I'm always me, I don't feel different or anything, but I look different and my name is Sora.  Except, somehow, at the same time, I'm watching Sora from the outside, like he's a complete stranger.  It's weird."

"And you go around saving the world with a talking duck and a goofy dog?" Hayner laughed.  "Ego-trip much?"

"He's not saving 'the world,' he's saving worlds, plural," Pence corrected.  "And what's so weird about talking animals in a dream?"

"I bet yours are weirder, Hayner," Olette said with a grin.

"You bet they are!  Like, I had this one--"  Hayner never got to finish, however, since at that moment their teacher walked in.

The man looked more serious than usual.  "Class," he said, and everyone quieted at once, looking at him uneasily.  "We've...had to bid Mr. Takani an unexpected farewell."

The students stared at each other, sudden conversations buzzing.  Takani was the school principal.

"Our new principal is, ah, Mr. Xemnas," the teacher went on, prompting a few snickers at the strange name.  These were instantly silenced as he went on, "Mr. Xemnas is visiting all the classes, and would like to speak a few words of introduction to you."  He nodded respectfully - and a little nervously, Roxas thought - to the doorway.

The man who now entered was....

Well, weird, was the first description that came to Roxas's mind.  'Creepy' was the next.

Xemnas was tall and dressed in an impeccable black suit, which seemed incongruous in contrast to the long, elegantly spiked locks of white-blonde hair that cascaded down his shoulders.  It was a hairstyle that seemed more suited to an edgy college student.  The expression on his face, however, seemed to bar any inclination to scoff - he was fabulously good-looking, but there was something cold and predatory about his smile.  His eyes, which were fixed on Roxas, were a strange color, gold like a tiger's.  One look at that face and Roxas wanted to flee.

"Hello, students," Xemnas said smoothly.  He nodded at the teacher.  "Thank you for the introduction, Mr. Hatsumoto."  He smiled his hunter's smile at the class again, his eyes once again resting on Roxas.  The boy squirmed, squashing the urge to defiantly throw a pencil at the new principal.  "I am very, very glad to meet you all.  I have heard good reports of this school, and I do not doubt I will continue to be impressed with your performance.  I look forward to getting to know you all, and assisting you in your educational experience."

Roxas heard Hayner snort in derision.

Xemnas moved, slowly and majestically, down the aisle.  Students leaned away from him; one girl scooted halfway out of her chair, gazing up at him with an expression akin to terror.  The usually indomitable Hayner was now actually looking nervous as the principal stopped right next to him.  "Do you have something to say, Hayner?" Xemnas asked pleasantly.  His eyes, however, were still on Roxas, who could tell that Xemnas did not care about Hayner at all, and had only used the excuse to get closer to him.

"Wha--?  How did you know my--?!"  Hayner coughed.  "Uh...sorry, sir.  I didn't say anything."  Olette nudged him nervously.  "Uh, welcome to TwiHi.  I mean, uh, Twilight Town High School."

At last, Xemnas moved his gaze to Hayner and smiled, though his eyes were dismissive.  "Thank you, Hayner.  I'm sure that my stay here will be...productive."  With one last lingering glance at Roxas, he finally left the room.

Roxas let out his breath in a rush, only just now realizing that he had been holding it.

"Man!  Is Xemnas creepy, or what?"

"Ssh!  At least make sure there's nobody around when you say something like that, Hayner!"

The four friends were out on the grounds for lunch, lounging on the grass as they ate and talked.

"Aw, come on.  He's the principal, it's not like he'll be stalking around outside his office much."

"You're right, though," Pence said in a low voice, shivering a little.  "Mr. Xemnas...his eyes are kind of--"  He shrugged helplessly.  "I dunno, for some reason I get the feeling he wants to eat someone."

Hayner broke into laughter, but Olette was watching Roxas.  "Roxas?  What do you keep looking at?"

The other boys glanced at him in surprise.  Roxas sighed and lowered his voice.  "You...you see that kid over there?"

"Roxas, there are a million kids 'over there,'" Hayner pointed out.

"The one who's all in black.  With a book."

They all saw him now, the boy sitting within shouting distance, back resting against a tree as he read.  It was a marvel that he was able to see what he was reading, since his dark bangs were so long that they trailed across the pages.

"What about him?" Pence asked curiously.

"Is he...does he seem...?"

As if realizing that he was being watched, the boy looked up.  He and Roxas locked eyes for a long moment, and Roxas caught his breath.  Then, unsmiling, the boy looked away, got to his feet, and walked off without a word.

"He's pretty," Olette said with a grin.

Hayner snorted.  "What, you crushing on him?"

"Not yet," she joked, still smiling as she leaned her back casually against Pence's.  Her face was entirely serene, though his turned a pleased shade of pink.

Hayner made a disgusted sound.  "Anyway, what was that all about?"

"Never mind," Roxas mumbled.  He was beginning to sound paranoid even to himself.  There could have been any number of reasons why the long-haired kid had kept looking at them.  Or rather, staring at Roxas, then pretending to be absorbed in the book.  "So," Roxas said, forcing a smile onto his face, "you guys got any plans for after school?"

"Pence and I were going to stay late and study," Olette said.  "We've got that history project, remember?"

"Are you kidding?  That's not due for another week!" Hayner exclaimed.  "Yo, Roxas, forget these nerds.  What do you say me and you hit the arcade?"

"I'm broke," Roxas confessed.  "I've got my skateboard, though.  You wanna try the tunnels?"

"Sounds great!"  Hayner shot a look at the other two.  "You sure you guys aren't up for it?"

"I think I'll pass," Olette laughed.

"Yeah, you know we're no good at skateboarding," Pence said ruefully.

"Fine," Hayner huffed.  "You two have fun making out in the library."

Roxas rolled his eyes as Pence blushed and Olette flipped her hair over her shoulder.  "Don't be jealous, Mr. I Get Love Notes From Girls All The Time."

"Yeah, whatever."  Hayner got up and brushed at his pants.  "Still bugs me that none of those girls were ever you, Olette," he said without rancor.  "Hey, gimme your trash, guys; I'm heading inside."

After stopping by Hayner's house to get his skateboard, the two friends headed into the tunnels and raced to see who could reach Sunset Terrace first.  Their laughter echoed loudly around them, the grinding whoosh of their wheels against the concrete amplified in the enclosed spaces.

Even as fast as they were going, Roxas was disturbed by strange flashes and flickers on the edges of his vision.  He kept trying to tell himself that it was merely an optical illusion created from the speed as he rushed past tunnel lights, but was unable to entirely convince himself.  He said nothing about it to his friend.

They skated in a rough circle before Hayner whooped and flipped out into the central area.  "Show-off!" Roxas called, immediately following with much more grace.

"Who's the show-off?" Hayner shot back as he circled around after his landing.  "You're better at this than I am!"

"Excuse me?" Roxas teased.  "Did I just hear Hayner saying that someone is better at something than he is?"

"Aw, shut up, dude!"

Unfortunately, it was not as easy to climb back up to the corridors as it had been to jump down.  Both boys were out of breath and sported a few new scrapes before they managed to haul themselves over the brick ledge.

"Ugh, remind me not to do that again...."
"Hayner, don't do that again."

"D'oh!"

They wrestled a little bit (Hayner won) before retrieving their boards and continuing on to Sunset Terrace's underground entrance.  Once there, they skated around town for a while, startling a few pedestrians and hassling the trolley.  Hayner unwisely tried a fancy move on the bridge, lost his balance, and went tumbling into the water.  Roxas, after laughing his head off, easily eluded his friend's vengeance.

Hayner was soon distracted from the chase by the sight of a food vendor - he bought some snacks, which they ate on the hilltop while watching the trains.  Then, refreshed, they raced each other back to the tunnels (Roxas won) and buckled down for the serious stunts.

"Not bad," Roxas commented sagely.  "In time you might even come to surpass me, young padawan."

"Don't worry, I will," Hayner laughed, giving his board a little flip.  "Your turn, Obi-Wan."

Roxas started at one corner of the tunnels, took off, gathered speed, and timed his turn carefully, reveling in the sheer focus of concentration it took to get this right, and in the beautiful rushing quiet that seemed to envelop him.  He loved it so much, the sense that he was touching on what it might be like to fly.  "All right!" he yelled in exhilaration as he made the jump.

Vaguely, he heard Hayner's cry of anticipation before he cleared the gap and made the landing with a satisfying jolt, swiveling to a graceful stop.  He grinned at Hayner.  "Top that, padawan."

"Watch and learn!" Hayner snapped, looking torn between irritation and admiration.

Roxas watched, an uneasy feeling growing in his chest, as his friend headed for the same corner he had started from.  "Hayner, wait...."

"Eat dust, Roxas!" Hayner crowed, then frowned in concentration and swerved into the turn.

Roxas clenched his fists as he watched, riveted.  For one long, incredible moment, he thought that Hayner was going to make it.

Then there was an unbearably bright flash, like lightning, zinging past Hayner's feet.  The skateboard dropped out from under him and Hayner gave out a horrified cry, echoed by Roxas above.

Hayner dropped out of view.  There was the sickening sound of flesh hitting pavement, of bones breaking.

"HAYNER!" Roxas screamed, flinging himself at the ledge.  He stared down at his friend's twisted body.  For a instant their eyes met, Roxas's wide with horror, Hayner's with pain.

Roxas's mind went blank with panic as he gripped the ledge and started to swing down, his ears full of the sound of his friend's cries.  A flash of gold suddenly rushed past him; Roxas staggered to his feet on the landing below, nearly missing.  Shaken, he fell to his knees and peered over the edge, his mouth coming open in astonishment.

There was a girl there, small in stature but with lovely curves filling out her black shorts and shoulder-baring top.  Her hair, like a blaze of sunshine, obscured Hayner's face as she knelt over him, murmuring soothingly in a cutely high-pitched voice.  "There, there, love.  Just hold still, Larxene will make things all better."

Roxas could not explain the panic and fury that suddenly surged through him at that moment.  "Get away from him!" he shouted, even as he heard Hayner's cries diminishing.  Heart thudding in his chest, Roxas seized the edge of the second landing and scrambled over it, letting go too fast and nearly spraining his ankle as he dropped to the lowest level.  He gritted his teeth and limped over to where Hayner lay in the girl's arms.

Hayner had gone quiet, his eyes half-closed and unfocused as he gazed up at the girl with an expression akin to rapture.  She crooned as she smoothed back his hair, then leaned down to kiss him.

"I said, get away from him," Roxas snarled.  He had no weapon.  There was a stick on the ground, close the wall.  He seized it and swiped at the girl, arms shaking.  A small part of him was aghast at this impulsive assault upon a complete stranger, but the rest of him was full of anger and a nameless fear.

The girl leaped out of the way with astonishing reflexes.  She smirked at Roxas, posing a little provocatively.  "Why, hello there, love.  Is there a problem?"

Roxas did not know how to answer.  He simply glared as he crouched down beside his friend.  "Hayner?" he said urgently, not daring to take his eyes off the girl.  There was no answer, so he risked a glance down and found that Hayner was unconscious, his expression peaceful.  "Hayner!"  He grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him.

Hayner's eyes fluttered open again, and he smiled.  "Roxas...did you see her?"

"Let's get you out of here," Roxas said shortly, reluctantly putting down the stick so that he could grab Hayner under the arms.

"Hey, thanks man."  To Roxas's astonishment, Hayner climbed to his feet and stood there, smiling at Larxene, looking perfectly unharmed.  "Wow," he breathed.  "You're not a dream.  You're still here."

Larxene floated over to him and smiled, caressing his face as he grinned at her like an idiot.  "Of course I'm a dream," she purred.  "I'm the answer to your dreams, Hayner."  Then she kissed him.

Roxas looked on, fists clenched, as his best friend just stood there and let it happen.  Then Hayner grinned against Larxene's lips and started to wrap his arms around her, but she danced away a few steps, eyes twinkling as she waggled her finger.  "Nah ah ah," she scolded teasingly.  "We've only just met.  How 'bout treating me to a date, first?"

"Score," Hayner breathed.  He actually ran a few steps toward Larxene before remembering that they were not alone.  He glanced over his shoulder and called back hurriedly, "Sorry, Roxas, gotta go.  See you at school tomorrow!" before scampering the rest of the way to Larxene.  They linked arms and walked happily back toward Sunset Terrace, as Roxas watched in disbelief.

Just before the two of them turned the corner, Larxene glanced over her shoulder and smirked knowingly at Roxas.  She blew a silent, mocking kiss, and then she was gone, taking Hayner with her.

Although the eternal sunset burned on as usual, the streets seemed empty and unsettling as Roxas made his way home, sunk deeply in thought.  Even more than the confusion and anger, it was loneliness that was bothering him most.

"Hayner," he whispered.  Something was very, very wrong.  Hayner did tend to get a bit stupid around girls, but never like this.  And that girl, Larxene...she did not care about Hayner at all.  Her eyes, her mocking laugh, her cold smile, it had all been for Roxas.  He clenched his fists as he began to realize that it wasn't just his problem.  His friends were in danger, too.

It was happening again, the strange flashes and glimmers in the corners of his vision.  Roxas looked around sharply, but could see nothing out of the ordinary - except perhaps that dark figure leaning against the wall.

Roxas stopped and stared.  Whoever it was stood swathed in a hooded black coat, which made the face difficult to see.  Just a glimmer of red hair trailing from the sides, and a smiling mouth barely visible in the shadows.  It was an oddly sympathetic smile, though a bit ominous as well.  Roxas had little doubt that the person knew exactly what had happened in the tunnels.

"Stay away from me!" Roxas shouted.  Then he fled.

To be continued....

Author's Notes:  I've been wanting to do an Organization XIII school story for a while, but the idea did not solidify until it occurred to me to mix in some fantasy elements.  The angsty possibilities and the parallels for Roxas's situation in Kingdom Hearts II were what provided story fuel.  KH characters in general just fit really well in a Faerie setting....