Hollow Bastion, First Visit:
In Which A Magician Is Helpful, Maybe
The dreams that he'd been having only a day or two ago -- dreams of Sora's life, so powerful that it felt like he was living them out -- had more or less vanished from his waking mind. But slowly those memories were falling into place, and Roxas was beginning to be able to recall them consciously.
He hated having Sora's memories embedded next to his own (Sora's childhood next to the false childhood of the Roxas in DiZ's world; Sora's heroics alongside Roxas's lessons of destruction) but they came in handy. Such as the memory of a wizard in Traverse Town, who had taught Sora how to use magic. And Roxas was determined that if Sora could learn to heal, then surely he must be able to learn it too.
He could do anything Sora could do, now.
In Hollow Bastion it was bright, just after noon, and the sky a clear, aching blue. It was dramatically different than the "Hollow Bastion" of Sora's memories, and with grim pleasure Roxas decided that those memories would be useless here. The castle of the broken world in Sora's memories was definitely not the one in the west; white and gold in the sunlight, cranes bearing towers and scaffolding jutting out at all angles in odd silhouette. They had emerged in a town some distance away, the corridor opening on the pleasant red and brown shingles of rooftops.
"What's this place?" Axel said dubiously. Somewhere in Beast's Castle he'd managed to scrounge up clothes that had fit him perfectly -- a slim vest worn against his bare skin, pants tucked into his boots, with straps on everything and everything in black and red: Axel colors. Roxas suspected that they were his soul clothes -- the clothes he'd woken up wearing when he first became a Nobody, the way Roxas had woken up a year ago in the same clothes he was wearing once again.
"Hollow Bastion," Roxas told him, hopping down carefully to a lower roof. "It used to be called Radiant Garden -- someone told me once that this is the world where Xemnas and the others came from."
Axel's foot slammed into something above him and he muttered a curse. "Well, I can see why they decided to stop calling it radiant," he said, following Roxas down to the street level. "It's kind of a wreck."
"It must have been in the darkness for a long time," Roxas murmured, making reflexive note of its plentiful weaknesses -- there a crumbled piece of wall, there a collapsing watch tower, there a half-constructed shelter over a shop that would fall in on the ducklings quarreling under it at a stiff breeze.
He wasn't here to destroy this world, of course, but it never hurt to be observant. It seemed that this was a marketplace, and the residential district was there, to the northeast. He headed down the steps towards the cluster of houses.
"What exactly are we doing here?"
"Looking for a wizard -- a man named Merlin. He taught Sora magic." Roxas's lips tightened. "I'm going to learn it too."
Axel was behind him, so he couldn't see the tall man's expression, but Roxas could hear the beat of consideration before he asked, "How come?"
There's this Cure spell. He didn't say anything, had no intention of admitting out loud the moment of stark shock he'd felt as he heard Axel's head hit the wall of Beast's chambers with a sickening crack. If he had the ability to heal, he wouldn't have had to endure that tight nauseating feeling in his chest. And since Sora could heal... Surely Roxas could do it too. Do it better, maybe.
He was saved from further questioning by a voice from above crying, "Hey! Look out!"
Roxas's head whipped up, and both he and Axel had weapons in their hands before a girl leaped down from the rooftop, followed by a handful of Soldier Heartless. She landed lightly beside Roxas and turned to face them, a large shuriken in her hand, wielded with the same familiarity as Axel's chakram.
"Nice welcome," Axel said dryly, raising an arm to strike.
A pillar of light suddenly shot up between them, and both Roxas and Axel took quick steps away before the girl said cheerfully, "Don't worry about those! They don't go after people. That's Hollow Bastion's defense system."
Axel frowned and slid back close to Roxas, but Roxas watched the pillar of light sink down into the cobblestones and drift closer to a Heartless, lifting up and then exploding beneath the Soldier.
"Huh," he said, slicing into one of the other Soldiers. "I like it." But he knew what Axel was wondering: what was the defense system's definition of 'people'?
The girl said avidly, "Heeeey, is that a keyblade?"
Roxas glanced down at Oathkeeper's white bulk in his hand, and he said, "It might be."
"I'm Yuffie," she said, burying her shuriken into a metal helmet with enthusiasm. "You might have heard of me. Best ninja on any world." She tossed a wink over her shoulder.
Yuffie, of course. He remembered her now, as clearly as if they'd met before. Roxas had to pause a moment, fighting back that feeling of recognition, before he said simply, "I'm Roxas. And he's Axel."
Axel was still hanging back, warily, but he reached out a hand and engulfed the last Soldier in agonized flames, hearts spilling out from inside its dark body as it twisted into nothing. Yuffie put her hands on her hips and nodded at them both approvingly.
"We're looking for Merlin the magician," Roxas told her. "Does he live here?"
"Merlin's house is right behind you," she said, pointing. "We're still a little on edge with all this fighting, but since you're a keyblade hero, I think we can give you the benefit of the doubt!"
"What am I, chopped liver?" Axel asked no one in particular.
Yuffie turned around, arms folded over her chest, and eyed him. "Oh, I don't know... You look like you're worth at least a steak."
Roxas snickered, half just from the look on Axel's face, but when he actually turned around, the sight of Merlin's house stopped him briefly. There were holes in the walls, patched up clumsily, and extendable arms that hung from a hat-adorned tower, holding umbrellas out over more holes in the ceiling.
What kind of powerful wizard lives in a ramshackle place like this?
Yuffie knocked at the door and called out, and stepped back as the door opened. Another young woman stepped into the doorway, smiling. "I know Cid's always complaining, Yuffie, but you can let yourself in, you know..." Her expression shifted, slightly questioning, as she caught sight of the two behind Yuffie, but she opened the door wider. "Guests?"
"Yeah, they're from another world. This one's a keyblade hero!"
"Oh, really? Well, that's a rare treat. I'm Aerith..."
I know, Roxas thought, and ducked his head with awkward respectfulness before he even realized he was doing it. In Twilight Town, you were always polite to ladies. He straightened quickly. "We're looking for Merlin," he explained. "I'm hoping he can teach me magic."
"You'll have to wait a bit," Aerith said, waving them in. The first room was almost more of a corridor leading up to a large computer, with a slim staircase on the right wall. The rest of the house stretched out to the left of the door, into a very eccentrically-decorated room. "Merlin's not in at the moment. He and Cid went out to the market to get parts for the computer..."
"You let them go out alone?! They'll be there all day arguing about what to buy!"
Aerith tilted her head to the side and smiled. "But it's much quieter here now, don't you think?"
Roxas moved into the room, trying not to feel somewhat relieved by Merlin's absence. It defeated the purpose, but part of him was wondering if a wizard as powerful as Merlin was supposed to be might... well, recognize what he was somehow, and be outraged that he would dare to seek his help.
Axel wandered over to a book resting on the dresser and flipped it open. "Why the big fuss about magic, anyway?" he asked.
"I'm only really interested in Cure magic," Roxas said, regarding the lopsided chairs dubiously.
"Ah." The redhead didn't say anything for several seconds, but his easy slouch had tightened into something much less comfortable-looking. He murmured, "You're kind of different now. You know that?"
Damnit, how could I not be? But Axel couldn't know how much he was worried about that. Worried about being more like Sora than himself, or like that... lie in Twilight Town.
Roxas paused, trying to think of something to say, but Yuffie swung into their half of the room and asked, suddenly loudly between them, "Where did you say you were from again?"
"We didn't," Axel said, and then relented, "Twilight Town."
The girl scrunched her face up. "Twilight Town," she repeated. "Huh. Have you ever heard of it, Aerith?"
"Oh, we don't get off-world much," Axel assured them both lazily. "But it's not far from here, nice little place. You'd like it."
Roxas tried to ignore the conversation, meandering over to the ornate, gold-trimmed book that Axel had admired earlier. He ran tentative fingers over the enamel, and alarmingly the book started to glow. He yanked his hand back, Shit-- But the glow subsided immediately. He let out a breath. Don't mess with the magician's things, got it.
Yuffie was asking curiously, "You guys using a gummi ship?"
Roxas saw Axel's momentary hesitation, but before either of them could think of a way to avoid the question gracefully, Aerith said, "I'm sorry, we're being terrible hosts." She had her hands clasped in front of her and seemed not to have noticed the beat of discomfort. "Would either of you like anything to eat, or drink?"
"Yeah," Axel said quickly. "Sounds good. What do you have?"
Aerith's lips turned up further, ruefully. "Leftovers, fish crackers, and untouched nicotine gum. I'm afraid Leon went out to the bailey an hour or so ago, and he's sort of the chef of the house..." She put a finger to her lips and turned to the other girl. "Yuffie, why don't you catch up with Cid and Merlin? Tell them we have guests, so they don't get settled in with their bickering."
Immediately Yuffie crossed the room in a few wide steps and bounced into the doorway. "I'm on it!" she crowed, and with one parting wink for Roxas, she was gone.
Aerith turned to smile at the room, and asked again, "Anyone for fish crackers?"
"Do you have anything more filling?" Roxas rubbed his aching jaw lightly.
"Of course. Come on into the kitchen." She led the way through a door beside the incongruous bed and then headed over to the refrigerator, which was full of leftovers in tupperware. "Here's a chicken salad, some cutlets and mashed potatoes, a barley soup..."
Roxas settled into a chair, thankfully not deformed like the ones in the outer room, and said, "The soup sounds good, I guess. Thanks."
Aerith nodded and drifted away to heat it up, humming to herself. Axel sprawled in the chair next to Roxas, watching her move with the sort of bemused wariness he'd normally held while observing Heartless. As if she might do something dangerous and unpredictable at any moment.
He's absurd, Roxas thought, and then Aerith asked pleasantly, "I suppose it's best to ask now, since the others are out. Do you two plan to fight any of the Heartless here?"
He frowned slightly, finding that question odd, but after a glance at Axel he said, "It wasn't on my to-do list... We'll fight what gets in our way, but it's not really why we're here."
The young woman set a bowl down for each of them, still smiling, but her attention shifted from Roxas to Axel and stayed there, green eyes meeting luminous green. "It might be best to avoid any fighting at all inside the town limits, if you can."
Axel's face went blank, a much more subtle response than Roxas's full-body stiffening. He still managed a smooth, natural-sounding, "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just that we still don't really know how the security system works," she said, frowning a little. She swept off to wipe down the counter, so she wasn't looking at them when she added, "We only recently got it working, and none of us are familiar with it, so... we don't know how it determines friend from foe."
Roxas snuck another glance at Axel, knowing that they were both thinking the same impossible thing: She knows. Somehow she already knew. But Axel only said, "Uh, thanks for the heads-up, I guess," in a tone that clearly conveyed that he was mystified by her observation. How he could be such an excellent, consummate liar, Roxas would never know.
Aerith said, "I hope you'll never have to worry about it."
"The, um," Roxas said, sidelining the conversation. "The barley soup is excellent." He'd hardly tasted it, but he could eat just about anything, and it was always worth it to compliment the chef.
"Oh, I'm glad you think so! Leon made it, but I'll let him know you liked it when he gets back." The brunette's shoulders heaved in a soft sigh. "I wanted to put honey in it..."
Roxas paused with the spoon in his mouth, and he didn't move. Axel said slowly, "Honey's sweet."
She turned around, wide-eyed, with a jar of honey in her hand. "Oh, I know! But don't you think barley soup is -- well -- a little boring?"
Axel engaged in a clearly futile conversation with her about cooking. Roxas swallowed his mouthful and reassured himself that it was not in any way strange-tasting; tart and chewy, and clearly without any ingredients such as honey that would have ruined the flavor. Leon (Sora remembered him, but the memories were faint and far away, like maybe it wasn't so strong with Axel and Aerith talking around it) must have known what he was doing.
"As far as I'm concerned," Axel said, "no one should put honey in like -- most things. I'm not into sweet stuff."
"More of a spicy kind of guy?" Aerith asked with a smile, arms folded over her chest. "Well, Leon makes an excellent stir-fry that you should really--"
The sound of a door banging open ricocheted throughout the small house, followed by an angry voice declaring, "It's going to work. I know how to connect a damn drive!"
There was a much less strident voice, dimly heard through the doorway, asserting something about becoming too reliant on machines that Roxas could only half-hear, followed by the strident voice bellowing, "I know how it works!"
"Oh, it sounds like Merlin is home now," Aerith murmured, pushing herself away from the countertop. She grinned at them, a little ruefully. "And Cid."
"Are you sure these people are going to be able to help us?" Axel said under his breath as they both got up. Roxas gave him a withering look, mostly because they had better be, and quickly inhaled another few spoonfuls of the soup before heading out into the living room.
Cid was crouched on the floor under the computer, which Roxas finally braced himself and took a good long look at; a monstrous thing, taking up one wall and then some of the surrounding wall, but with exposed and entangled wires and open panels. Roxas eyed it warily, but despite a cursory resemblance it was a far cry from DiZ's sleek machine, and the big red ERROR! message on the screen was comforting.
"These machines do more for the town than your magic last I checked, old man," Cid was saying, and Merlin hovering over his shoulder bristled defensively.
"Do they really? You know, magic only backfires on you if you don't know what you're doing!" the wizard proclaimed darkly. "Or could it be that that is the problem here!"
Cid turned around and plucked his cigarette out of his mouth in preparation for more yelling. Yuffie sidled up to Roxas, and whispered, "Cid's the angry one, and Merlin's the prickly one. They actually like each other."
Axel tore his attention away from the mechanical mess to murmur back dryly, "How do you people ever sleep with all this?"
Yuffie pointed mutely at Aerith, who glided between the two men with a pleasant smile that nonetheless made them both draw themselves up straighter. She cleared her throat and pointed out, "We have guests. Merlin, Roxas came here to see you about magic. Maybe by the time you're done talking, Cid will have fixed the computer."
She leveled a surprisingly firm stare on both men in turn, hands on her hips, and Merlin immediately became distracted, turning to look for Roxas and eventually finding him in the corner. Cid muttered something under his breath, apparently offended by her peacekeeping, and ducked back under the computer to yank out a cord.
"Oh, yes, hello, welcome back," Merlin said breezily, holding out his hands to take Roxas's and pump it vigorously.
"Back?" Yuffie said, eyebrows lifting. "Fix your glasses, Merlin! Roxas hasn't been here before."
Roxas held his breath, nervous, as the old man focused faded eyes on him. This was what he had dreaded. A man like Merlin was bound to recognize that he was -- what he was. He would be chased out. These people, Sora's friends, would hate him for what he'd done.
The trouble was that it seemed sometimes like everyone in the multiverse was a friend of Sora's.
But Merlin slowly adjusted his spectacles, bringing them closer to his eyes. "--Ohh. And who might you be?"
"Roxas, Merlin," Yuffie repeated, patiently. "He's a keyblade hero and he came to learn magic."
Roxas started to breathe again, some of the anxiety lifting. Apparently it really had just been a -- genuine case of mistaken identity. The old man announced loudly, "Well, he certainly has come to the right place. I congratulate you, young man, on recognizing the importance of magic in the world." There was a clunking sound from under the computer, and a muttered curse.
"Shall we get to work, then?"
Roxas followed Merlin at his gesture, with a glance over his shoulder to make sure that Axel was coming along, and they went into the kitchen -- or should have gone into the kitchen, because the door opened on a spiraling staircase that definitely hadn't been there before. The room beneath was a study, dimly-lit and dusty, lined with books and strange odds and ends. At his back, Roxas could feel Axel easing up as they left the crowd of people, and he rather sympathized.
Strange to go from the darkness and muted tension of Never Was and the abandoned Beast's Castle into -- such bright, loud feeling all at once.
"Now!" Merlin said, contentedly, and closed the door behind them with a flick of his wand. "Have you ever used magic before?"
Roxas hesitated a beat. Does light count? Does it count if Sora used magic? "Mmm, I guess-- Not directly-- Directly, I guess I've used magic, just. Not really spells."
"Not directly? Were you a focus for someone, perhaps?" Merlin settled himself on a tall, misshapen stool.
"He's been the focus for a lot of things," Axel said dryly, "but not really magic, no."
This drew the old wizard's attention to him for the first time, and Merlin studied him, polishing his glasses on his sleeve. "I see. And you are?"
Axel shrugged. "A friend of his. Axel." A beat passed. "Nice to meet you," he added, not terribly sincerely.
"Ah, I see," Merlin said, and put his glasses back on. "I would be careful not to dwell in darkness for too long. Some keyblades might object to the company -- try to find a new master."
Axel's pleasant smile slid off his face, and Roxas felt the first stirrings of something hot and restless -- what was with the people in this house, how did they know, and why did they keep saying it? "There's nothing wrong with the company I keep," Roxas said, firm. This is not a topic open for conversation.
After all Axel had done for him, like hell he was going to throw his best friend to the mercy of those same people he'd risked his existence to save Roxas from.
Merlin glanced at Axel again, expression drawn and grave, but he paused and squinted a little, peering more closely at the tall redhead as if he hadn't seen him properly before. "Hmm, well," the wizard said, returning his attention to his desk. "Perhaps it won't be a problem. You always were good at finding the light in others."
You always were good... Roxas folded his arms, trying not to feel unsettled or angry. He's talking to Sora.
He really did know.
"Just teach him the spells, old man," Axel said flatly.
"A fine thing to say to someone who's trying to help," Merlin muttered, flipping open the book on his desk and looking through the pages. "What magics would we like to learn, hmm?"
Roxas shook his head slowly. He didn't understand how Merlin could know, and just -- not care. But as long as he wasn't going to make a big deal about it... "Cure magic."
"Aha, of course." The wizard turned a few pages and then tapped the book with his wand. The page replicated itself, floating in the air above the great tome and glowing with an arcane green light. A flick of his wand sent it whisking Roxas's way, and he said significantly, "The ability to heal another is one of the greatest powers magic can offer us, and also one of its greatest burdens. Others will expect more of you, and may become careless. Keep your allies close, and alert, because this spell will drain you far more than the others, and you won't be able to do it as often."
That was it, the spell he wanted. The entire reason for this increasingly-difficult visit. Roxas took a step forward and reached out to touch the page. It vanished as his fingers brushed it, but Roxas could feel it, sweeping into his body -- cool and refreshing. Cure.
Merlin said, smiling, "Your mastery of it will grow as you use it. Mastery of magic always does." He brushed his hands together, eager to get to the next one. "What else did you want to learn? Wind? Water? Fire? Ice? Thunder? Then there are the spells of greater power -- Gravity, Stop, Flare..."
Roxas rubbed behind his neck, and tried not to associate most of those spells with people. "Do you think I'm ready for those spells?"
"Maybe after you've mastered the basics," Merlin amended, although he sounded disappointed.
There was definitely no need for additional fire magic with Axel around. He said slowly, "What can I use to strike enemies at a distance?" It had always been his weakness -- although speed was an asset in closing distances quickly, he had always been more of a direct physical combatant.
"Thunder is one of the more fickle elements, and you will feel its temperamental nature whenever you wield it. This unique element works best in quick bursts, like lightning, and you should never call it to you -- always send it somewhere far away, because it will be easier to control the size and scope of it. Distance is no obstacle, with this magic, but take care, for Thunder magic has a tendency to blow up in your face if you don't." The old man flipped through the book and then tapped a page: this time, the replicated spell glowed yellow, crackling and sparking. He floated that over to Roxas, who reached out to take it and felt its energy crackle through his frame.
I am never going to use this stuff, he thought, remembering Larxene and her delighted cackling, the dig of daggers into his side and the jolt of electricity they channeled straight into his body. They'd only fought the once and he'd won, but it had been a very -- painful and exhausting victory.
"What else, what else? No Fire magic for you?" Before Axel or Roxas could so much as smirk, Merlin chuckled to himself, as if he already knew that answer. He offered, more seriously, "Perhaps Ice...?"
"Take it," Axel said, and glanced away.
Roxas frowned at him. Axel wasn't especially weak to ice, despite their opposing elemental affinities, but combining the two elements was never really a good idea, and could potentially come into conflict on the battlefield. But, if he really thought... Roxas nodded at Merlin silently.
"Very well." Merlin tapped the book and replicated a page that shimmered white, with tiny little snowflakes falling from it and disappearing into the air. "Ice is rigid, unyielding, in a way that you might not expect. In opposition to Fire, it can be used to immobilize an enemy, and is a good, solid offensive spell in almost every situation. Learn to work with its unique -- how can I say this, inflexibility -- and you will find yourself in command of a very powerful element. It may only do one thing, my boy, but Ice does that one thing well."
Roxas glanced back at Axel as he took the spell, but the redhead was expressionless. The cold spread through his body and Roxas turned back, closing his eyes and fighting off reflexive tension. He'd always hated the cold.
"One more, I think," Merlin prompted him. "Then you'll have three offensive spells. Three is a good number for magic."
One more... What elements would come in handy? He'd never seen the point in flimsy elements like wind and water; Xaldin was incredibly dangerous and Demyx incredibly sneaky, but short of creating a tornado or a hurricane their elements just didn't seem worth the effort. But Roxas tilted his head to the side, thinking of another battle -- another very painful battle, and one that he had lost.
"Earth," he said. "Can you teach me Earth magic?"
"Aha." Merlin waggled the wand at him -- Roxas drew back, uneasily -- and grinned. "An interesting choice. The earth is steady beneath us, and peaceful, but do not mistake steady for slow, or its peace for safety. Those who master this element can shift whole mountains, create valleys, even break a world in two! It should not be taken lightly, or used without care, but if wielded correctly, your enemies will find no sanctuary, not even should they take to the air."
A deep, energizing rumble filled him as he took the last spell, and Roxas looked up at Merlin. "Thank you," he said, finally. "I really... appreciate this."
"Not a problem, my boy," Merlin said, brushing it off. "Come back when you've mastered them all and then we'll have some fun!"
Roxas eyed him and wondered if he wanted Merlin's sort of fun. "How will I know when I've mastered them?"
"Oh, you will know, Roxas." Merlin smiled, a strange, private smile, and his eyes twinkled merrily.
Definitely not sure if he wanted Merlin's sort of fun. "Okay, well. I'll return when I think I'm ready. Or -- know I'm ready." Whatever. He ducked his head, almost an awkward sort of bow, and stepped back, but Merlin hopped off his stool and pointed up significantly with the wand.
"Care to stay the night?" he asked cheerily. "I think Leon left something marinating for dinner, and of course we'll be happy to make room for you... Ohoho, literally, perhaps..."
Axel caught Roxas's eyes, looking distinctly less than thrilled at the idea. But despite his unease with Sora's memories of these people lurking at the back of his mind -- at the thought that some of them knew what he and Axel were -- at... everything --
Well, our other option is sleeping in a corner of the marketplace, isn't it?
NEXT >>> Hollow Bastion, First Visit (Part 2)