Fate Gone Awry

"Oh, right, I can't fly for jack-sh*t..." said Dispatch, rubbing the back of his head. As he looked out the windows, he started noticing the red lights. "Uh, guys? We have a bit of a problem...we're about to be annihilated from all sides, and as a simple fix, I'd suggest FLYING FASTER!"

"I agree with Dispatch!" Adachi yelped, recalling that this was the same attack that Xemnas had used to distract Xeromus before killing him. Of course, this was a ship, not a bad-ass warrior who could block it all semi-reliably. Those blasts would likely tear chunks off of the ship before eating through and ripping them to shreds.

"Hang on," Siks instructed.

Kotank pushed the ship to its limit, heading straight for the opening, the force of the sudden increase in speed rocking the ship.

The ship slipped through the network of tendrils, barely evading as the attacks collided with each other, shooting off through interspace...

...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK6gyqnmwZ8

"So, what now?" Adachi asked. "You guys need to get stronger and regroup, but how will we go about doing that? We could go to your destroyed base and look for survivors, perhaps salvage equipment... But is there somewhere else we could use as our base of operations? I somehow doubt you guys had another castle lying around."

"And what about structure?" His composure had completely returned by now. "You had a leader before today, right? Will you all have to elect a new leader? Because so far, I'm thinking Siks is the best candidate. But I guess we should hold off on that until we've sorted out our other issue. Where are we going?"

"Kotank, plot a course for Asylum," Siks instructed, the Wookie nodding and moving the ship in that direction. "As for our new HQ, I can't say I have any ideas, but I know where we can stop and mull things over."

"We have a second-in-command already," said Dispatch. "I guess he's leader now...weird, considering he's no older than me." He leaned against a wall. "As for me...I used to have a whole planet we could use, but...well, it exploded. So that's not helpful. Although...I did wake up in an actual asylum once. Maybe we could give that place a shot?"

"Second-in-command? Who?" Adachi asked. "Was he one of the people at the battle? If so, I hope he escaped... Other members of your organization can create Dark Corridors, right? So they would probably get out just fine."

"No," Siks replied, "He's been MIA since the first time the Organization attacked us. I was the next down on the chain of command, so until we find him, it looks like I'm it."

"So, you're down to about five members..." Adachi sighed. "It doesn't sound like you'll have an easy time. I'd offer to help, but I don't know how I could. Besides, Aunt Yami wouldn't allow it, since it would cut into my training time."





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4G9fuR2fxU

"Man, how am I going to get out of here?" Rexial asked himself, looking up at the ceiling. "I can't just use force... Betraying Mickey's trust isn't something I want to do. He could've just thrown me in prison to rot, but the guy let me stay in his castle. All this will be cleared up when the boss calls and gets me back to Asylum, so why am I so anxious to leave...?"

He sat up, watching the sun rise from the window. "...You know, somehow, I just know that I've got to leave this place n my own. I won't be getting any help, at least, not for a long while. How can I prove my innocence? Maybe if I show that I'm not reluctant to shed this coat... that I don't cling to any association with Organization XIII... hm. Somehow, I doubt that'd be enough. I should just explain everything to King Mickey. But I don't know if I should reveal Organization XIV. ...I need to think about this."

He got out of bed, opening the door of the wardrobe that they had provided him with, picking out a set of clothes to change into.

"I always think better when I'm fighting. I should take Mickey's offer on that spar, and think about this while we duel."

A few minutes later, he had showered to clean himself of all the dirt he'd accumulated from crashing into the Edge of Existence, crashing into the garden, and being dragged around by a bunch of broomsticks. Now wearing a set of loose jeans to let his legs move easily, a light blue button-down shirt, and a pair of shoes from the bottom of the wardrobe, he looked in the mirror. "Something's weird. ...Does my hair look... lighter? Nah."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnYP3qbnFM4

The swordsman stepped out of his room, into the guards' quarters. Considering how easy it would be to knock out the guards and escape from here, the King must have put a lot of trust in Rexial's character. Still, he couldn't be allowed to run off...

He began to make his way to the garden, passing by another doo-

WHACK!

"Sunova...!"

The door had opened, hitting Rexial in the face and making him reel back in pain and shock.

"Gawrsh, I'm sorry!" A voice pleaded. It was... a dog-thing wearing armor.

Glancing at the plate on the door, Rexial rubbed his nose, making sure it wasn't bleeding. "You're the captain of the guards here?"

"Ah-hyup! Name's Goofy."

"I'm Rexial. Do you know where the King is...?"

"Prob'ly the garden, or the library, maybe the throne room?" Goofy guessed. "And it's nice ta meetcha, Rex!" The strange guy shook Rexial's hand before looking at a wall clock. "...Oh, no, my shift's gonna start soon! Donald'll chew me out good if I'm late again!"

Goofy took off, and Rexial took a second to remember what he was doing. "Right, asking the King for a spar. ...That Goofy's got a fitting name, if anything."

"Do you need us to drop you off?" Susan asked, "I'm sure we could make a quick detour."

Siks merely nodded in agreement.

"Thank you very much, but we can get back on our own." Adachi nodded. "I'd like to see your world, though. I haven't really been to a whole lot of worlds, to be honest."

"Fine with us," Siks replied before turning around, seeing where they were. "We're here. Let's head down."

Kotank tapped a few buttons and the group was sent down via the same means they were brought up, arriving outside of what remained of the castle.

They stepped out to a chilling sight...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n5tgvliTGs

Not that they weren't expecting it, but it was the sight of their once-proud stronghold and sanctuary, reduced to ruins and rubble. The gate stood, tilted, cracked up the length of the great doors, hanging open. The walls around it were crumbled, broken glass lay strewn about from the many windows.

The damage was worse closer to the center, where the place had been struck directly. Curiously, rather than a crater, it was more of an indent in the earth coated in rubble, with holes poking through, revealing passages that were normally concealed far beneath the castle.

There was a pile of rubble that smoke had been coming from, where the library had been. The books had caught on fire, and were burning out now. The kitchen was, oddly, mostly unharmed, but any perishable goods would spoil soon, as the power lines were cut.

Another oddity were the quarters. The remains of each member's rooms were broken, but laid in the same, uniform positioning as they had when the castle had stood. As they were further from the center, the contents were mostly unharmed, but the rooms themselves were broken open, the furniture ripped open.

Perhaps the strangest thing of all was that there were people all over, working to clear the rubble. One of them came up to the group. "You're back! But where is our king?" That was right, Xeromus had been the king of Asylum... these people had to be his servants. "Why is he not with you?"

Another came up to Siks. "Number III, sir! We're still looking for any members trapped in the rubble, but we think most of them evacuated! Until Either Number II or our king returns, you are to be given command of the organization! What are your orders, sir? Continue rescue operations? Focus on recovering more sections of the castle?" Indeed, a good portion of the area was completely covered in rubble, including the Gummi Hangar and the Round Room.

"Continue as you were," Siks ordered, "I'll have number V bring his ship down, near the front gates. Tell everyone that if they find any thing intact or reparable, they are to bring it straight to the ship."

"Yes, sir! Are you going to Castle Restoration?" He asked, saluting Siks. "We'll try to keep you notified if we find anything important, like any surviving members."

Another worker, this one a woman, came up to the group with a box. "We've found some supplies, and thought you should take them with you. The king might be mad, but I don't think we can afford to lose anybody."






Rexial stood in the garden, assuming a fighting stance, opposite King Mickey. "Are you ready?"

"Yep!" Mickey hadn't summoned his weapon yet, and neither had Rexial. Dramatic effect, and all. The swordsman had wanted the fight to be as tense as possible, and he thought this extra touch might clear his head a bit more.

"Let's rock!"

The two figures ran at each other, ready to summon their weapons...

Siks nodded at the man. "I think that's best. Numbers V, VI, and myself will be going to Castle Restoration, while number XVIII will remain here to supervise and assist. Answer to her as you would me."

He turned to the woman as she approached, taking the box from her. "Thank you." His face fell a bit more at the mention of Xeromus. He set the box down next to his feet. "There's something you should all know." Siks looked at the faces of the people around him, many of them desperately awaiting news about their master. Siks closed his eyes. "Xeromus is dead."

Every one of the workers stopped in their tracks at those three words.

"Is... is that so? That is... most unfortunate." The man said, trying to keep composed. "...We shall continue to excavate the castle, and listen to Number XVIII's orders, then."

The woman put a hand to her mouth, stifling her reaction. In fact, everybody seemed to resume their work, holding in their sorrow.

"These people... I can only imagine how hard they're taking this. How can they keep doing this, after that news?" Adachi wondered.

The woman calmed down after a moment. She finally managed to speak, though her voice was shaky. "...Avenge him for us." She ran off to her previous post.

"I think I'll go with you to this Castle Restoration place." The keyblader said to Siks, nodding.

As Dispatch went to the ground from the ship, it was all he could do to stop from being sick. "That rotten bastard..." he growled quietly to himself. "I'm going to kill him. I am going to personally kill him!" He planted his fist in his palm and cracked his knuckles. He was way out of his league...for now, at least. But that would change. He would make it change.

Siks turned to Kotank. "Head up and bring the ship down." Kotank nodded and beamed back up.

Siks looked to Susan. "Will you be able to keep an eye on things here?"

"Yeah," Susan replied, "But are you sure I'm the right choice? I'm still new here, I don't even know that much about the castle."

"That's exactly why you're the right choice," he explained, "These people need a strong mind to look up to for morale. Out of all of us, you're the one who can best keep a level head."

Susan stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Siks, pulling him into a comforting hug. "Will you be alright?" She asked.

He returned the gesture. "I don't know."

Siks and Susan's moment was cut off as Kotank brought the ship down near them, lowering and stepping out of the ramp shortly after.

"The coordinates for the Castle wil be preset to the Warp Drive," Siks told her. "Contact is if you need anything or if anything comes up. Once they're finished, start bringing people to the castle. I don't feel comfortable leaving them here."

Susan nodded in agreement giving him a quick kiss before telling him, "Be careful."

"You, too." With that, Siks turned and opened a corridor to Castle Restoration. "Let's go, guys."

Dispatch pulled out his sword and shifted it into an axe, slamming it into the ground. "Yeah...that'll be much better..." Pulling it out, he stepped through the corridor.

Kotank and Adachi followed suit. Siks gave one last look to Susan before going through himself.

The group walked into the meeting room on the top floor, chairs pulled up around the crystal ball. "So, I guess now's as good a time as any to start thinking on our next move," Siks addressed, sitting in one of the chairs. "Any ideas?"

Dispatch leaned back against his own chair and said, "I'm all for smashing their castle while they're away. Or I would be if there were more than just a few of us. As it stands, I say we just do whatever we can to screw with 'em."

"How?" Siks asked. "We haven't exactly got a lot of resources available to us, not to mention the fact that we have no idea what they could be planning. Going anywhere near TWTNW is out of the question, it's probably crawling with Nobodies. My best guess is that they're setting up shop in Hollow Bastion right now. The fact of the matter is that at this point, our only real option is to rebuild." Siks looked around the room. "Any ideas on where  to start?"