Fiction Sees the Real (Axis, Open)

There was the strange scent of salt in the air, the cool wind blowing against the buildings and people wearing long-sleeves and hats to ward of the slight chill of the sunless day. Clouds had pulled themselves over the sky as though tucking it in for the afternoon nap it did not want or need. Somewhat forcefully did the corridor of Darkness pry open the space of the world, allowing something even darker access the realm of Radiant Garden.

It stepped out clad in armor covered by thick, tattered red robes. Beneath the cloth the armor shone a glistening black, its material the very rare orichalum. Never clear whether metal or mineral, the material was indestructible, immutable, and magic resistant. But perhaps more striking than the torn red cloak or black armor, more attention grabbing than the belts that seemed to hold the two together, was the mask. A white, expressionless mask with no mouth, and eyes that defied traditional expression.

This same visage had descended upon the world once before as a shadow, murdering political figures, nobility, those with power and those in charge. He was the one who mete out the harshest kind of justice. But now, he ventured to this world for his own study. He was reconfirming himself- what he did had to be right. It let him hold onto himself. It let him remind himself who he was, exactly. He was no longer Hayden. He was Hayden's Heartless. He was a Seeker of retribution. And he would have that retribution in due time.

He had not come to feast on hearts. He had not come to devour the world. He had come to see its progress like some kind of neglectful parent occasionally checks to confirm that their child hasn't choked on a toy block. He was immediately pleased to see that what the man who provoked the destruction of Disney Town said seemed untrue. Radiant Garden was still in one piece. It hadn't descended into riots and chaos, and if it had then they got reorganized quickly repaired the damage. However, signs of repair were scarce aside from typical civilian business.

A grin slid across his face beneath his mask. He stared over the city with a kind of pride in his work. But he was not done. Magi had more agents, and Hayden would find them. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, landing quietly about them as he approached the castle that loomed over Radiant Garden. He wondered who the new leader might possibly be? It would be good for him to find out.

He didn't attempt stealth as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. While he landed softly as armored feet simply patted lightly against the clay-tiled rooftops, this was due to practiced habit rather than attempted silence. He jumped once more before landing, a sudden chill crawling up his spine. When he had come to this world he felt it- a distant, distinct kind of presence. Power that was familiar to him, yet were he not self-aware would be afraid of. He could feel the words floating through his mind without language to give it shape or form. Yet, the word was something he recognized.

Keyblade. More precisely, it was two words: Keyblade Wielder.

His head jerk in the most unnatural fashion as he sat crouched on the rooftop, locking on to the sudden appearance of the presence much closer to his own. He turned on all fours almost like a predator, knees splayed behind his arms as they touched the ground, before he drew them up and rested his elbows on them. His claws, armored fingers folded menacingly into his palms. He let his head remained cricked to the side as he made eye contact with a familiar face. A stroke of relief seemed to wash over him. She was not a threat. But, she most certainly knew where the injured king was. She most certainly knew where her savior went.

She was a spring of knowledge, though he had to coax her to flow. He stood erect and let the sunlight catch him from the back, standing in a silhouette. The Foreteller of Blade was none-the-less recognizable as a black figure, his imposing form and peculiar, cloaked armor identifying him readily. He stood erect for but a few more moments before he considered options. Should he stay and engage the Keyblader for information and risk time for the World Leader to detect his presence and hide before he could see them, or should he confront the girl and receive his information?

Vengeance took precedence to his previous goal. The desire to destroy the leader of Twilight Town, the passion to finish what he had begun upon Hikari's defenseless form... these things burned inside of his being, and he was driven to approach her. He leapt from the top of the building and landed directly in front of the young woman, scarcely a few feet between them. He didn't move forward, but let his visage impress its own meaning upon her. He didn't move beyond that. Didn't give any indication of a hostile intention, nor any attempt at giving her space.

"Where is Hikari?" The question floated on the wind.

If only the woman could have seen Hayden's mildly disappointed expression behind his mask. "I assure you, my being here is not your problem at all." He lowered his hands, left himself open as if baiting her. "So go ahead, fire your defenses. I came here to see who the world leader was, to make sure they weren't a cowardly sell out or corrupted lacky... thus far I am not disappointed, but there is far more to assess than merely your attitude." He left his arms splayed, the intimidating black armor towering before her.

"Go on then," he prodded. "You're a big, bad world leader with those big scary world defenses aren't you? I know enough about CLAYMORE to know what exactly it detects, and if the system brought you here then there is no reason for me to be cryptic about what I am. Don't brandish a gun so fast unless you're certain it will do the job. You're just as likely to provoke something nasty as prevent it." He paused. "You've only seen a small part of my power, and I promise you... you don't know what I am capable of now. If I intended you harm, then harm would be mete out in abundance before you could have even arrived. And of all people you- the World Leader and the witness. What a small realm."

Was she afraid, or merely cautious? Her poker face was as good as his might be in the same situation. And yet, whatever fear or doubt may have tried to bind her failed as she outstretched her own hand and bade him to lower his own. He withdrew from his position and lowered his arms once more, rewarding her with breathing room as he stepped back. It was, in his own way, a show of respect. It did not determine alignment by any means, but it demonstrated character. A strong character.

"An ideal leader is subjective," Hayden's words were matter of fact. "No one perfect leader exists. Their value is determined by a combination of many factors. Some are beyond your control. Others are not. Whether or not you were qualified is subjective to established needs of the world." He told her this, but she likely already knew it if she was half as intelligent as she presented herself to be. The foreteller of blades narrowed his eyes behind his mask, staring her down as he continued to analyze her.

"As for why I am here, it is simple. I have come to check your progress, and you are merely the first of the worlds that I will survey. For a time, it would appear I must police something above your notice until the threat subsides."

"It is as I said," he restated, "I am containing something above your notice. It infected the worlds once before. It still infects yet one more... Twilight Town. You seem to be a forthcoming sort, honest and righteous. At least, you believe such. Then it may interest you to know that Amadeo is not a leader like yourself. Amadeo preys on the innocents. When we spoke in Wonderland, he very, very strongly implied that he was pushing people from the top of the clock tower. I'm going to assume that even if they were criminals that's not an acceptable practice." He knelt down slightly, his eyes from behind his mask catching the light as they looked into hers.

"Many heroes are not what they appear, and many villains are not so obvious. You don't know what I prevented, and as a result you presume I am the threat because you've never had to deal with it. You've never seen what I've seen, but let me tell you what I've seen." He moved back in closer, and leaned his head down by her ear. "Armageddon was coming for us all," he whispered ominously, "and I have stalled it indefinitely. For the moment, we are safe. But as long as Amadeo and Hikari still breath, I can not guarantee anybody's safety. Not mine. Not yours. Not your world's. There is somebody who would see it destroyed, just like Disney Town was swallowed mere hours ago by the darkness. Only it wouldn't be some arrogant man with a spear. It would be something far, far worse."

He drew back his head slowly, taking yet another step opposite Axis to his previous distance. "I'll tell you everything, on the condition we go somewhere where ears will not pry. I will tell you about the threat. I will make you understand why."

Hayden grinned. This one had more than spine. She had fire and it gave him a small rumble within his heart. "I'll take you up on that offer," he said bluntly. YOu can lock me up, talk to me, and when I'm done I'll leave, since that would make you feel safer. You don't have to believe a word I say," he stressed. "But I can see it in your eyes. You're curious. And you're smart."

"You're smart because, out of every world leader I've confronted, you are the only one to respond with fear and not with violence. With caution, but not aggression. And, you've let neither of this things cripple you from stating what you believe... and in some extension, what you want. You want answers for what I've done now that the question has been posed. Who better to give you those answers than myself?"

Hayden allowed himself to relax as the manacles clasped around his neck, still grinning beneath the mask. "Fine," Hayden replied with his ichor eyes examining Axis intently. "Do what you need to do to make yourself... comfortable." His voice was absent of mocking or condescension, but full of amusement. "And I assure you, I am no mere animal." As the light consumed them both, his voice could be heard over it. "I am a beast, not a mere creature of the land."

When Hayden landed in the black room with pulsing blue lines along the walls drawing his attention, began to examine his surroundings curiously. "Interesting," Hayden replied to seemingly nobody but himself as his eyes traced the new area. "I can't say I'm familiar with wherever this is, though I suppose that's irrelevant." His eyes traced her computer screens, rife with information, alerts, audio and video feeds, all muted against a silhouette cast against the strong, white light behind her.

Hayden stood firm as she nodded her head, motionless as she beckoned him to speak. Instead, he prompted her. "You have question," he stated. "Ask them. I'd rather not ramble here all day assuming that I'm answering them. I have an appointment to keep, of sorts, and I must strike while the proverbial iron is still hot."

If only she could see Hayden's face.

"I destroyed no worlds," Hayden replied honestly. "In Wonderland I know not who set the Hedge Maze ablaze, but it was not myself. My ire was limited to Amadeo. Hikari was merely my next target. The nude man died stalling for time," he paused for a moment. "What a waste of life." He turned his head as if to spit, and instead chuckled.

"Afterwards, I headed to Disney Town. More specifically, I headed towards the Castle. My reasoning was that you would head to the most well-defended position and launch a counter attack when I arrived. I was wrong, but with the Cornerstone unguarded I sought to return it to the people of the world. However, interlopers saw that it would be destroyed instead. Disney Town was lost, as was I despite my efforts to stop the Heartless. They were simply too numerous for one man to fight by himself, no matter how powerful I had become."

He returned his eyes to her, burning in. "But you asked why I wanted to kill them. The answer is simple. There is a chance they are innocent in all of this, you understand. But I will not have that chance jeopardize the rest of us. Within the highest echelons of each world lay in wait an agent of destruction. With seemingly little time, I elected that deciphering their identities would be a waste. Instead, my best option was to eradicate all of those in power all over the worlds to prevent an insurrection that would guide the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness into an unstoppable collision course. That is why they must die-because sparring them is a risk with consequences that we will all pay."

"The cornerstone's destruction was a repercussion of my reputation," he growled not at her, but almost at himself. "Moments after I had located it beneath the throne room, a party of five showed up. One man clad in what I'm certain was Keyblade Armor litered with accessories and brandishing a spear ignored my warnings about fighting near the Cornerstone. It was too late to stop the situation by the time he struck," Hayden's voice, for the first time, was that of venom rather than amusement or monotone. "I regret it." An emotional truth.

"And you clearly did not see my beast, then," he proceeded to correct her. "It was in my presence for the beginning of the catastrophe, and when I left it behind I left it to guard the castle entrance from other invading Heartless who would chase survivors as they were funneled by either myself or some other brave soul into the castle. Even when I fought the Heartless Queen did I command it to stay and fulfill its duty. If your eyes saw it on a rampage, then you are blind. I won't rule out the possibility of their being another one of it. I know of at least twelve more."

"My, my, what an accusation." Hayden scoffed at the girl's assertion. Provided, it was accurate, but he wasn't going to confirm or deny it. The Seeker adjusted his stance and brought his legs in closer, making himself appear a little taller than before. He wouldn't be able to admit to this person that she had hit the nail on the head, but he would turn her baseless assumption back onto her. Later. "Yes, I did say Heartless Queen. She was the one responsible for the Heartless horde that appeared in Disney Town. Though, I suppose you'll blame Ukz or myself for that one too, since you weren't there to see her fight me." He shook his head. "I didn't think you'd be the type to blame the beehive, and not the person who stirred it, even if you were just pressing buttons to see what came up."

The Seeker tugged slightly at his bonds, weakly, as if he weren't trying to do anything but remind Axis what she had in front of her. "I'm not sure what power you think you hold, but such arrogance does you no favors. I am not stranger to taking the darkness of the worlds upon my back, but I'll not have you accuse me falsely. If you want a name, I can not give you one. I only know he wore what was clearly Keyblade Armor. He was in the company of a young woman, and he spoke about Halloween Town as though he were a native." He paused for a moment, making extremely certain that his eyes burned into Axis' own. "Yet we still are not at the core of the matter."