775Hey everybody what a surprise seeing all of you here.
Yes, a brand new crossover and another of the more radical ideas I've had stewing inside my mind for quite some time now.
Jebest4781 as per usual is one of my main partners going into this crossover, one the two of us have extensively traded ideas on.
It was funny how J brought this back up in regards to an old teaser I did in one of my older stories of the possibility of doing this crossover. It's one that's been on my mind for a while now and something I've been wanting to write about for ages.
It's different, experimental and I think there's probably only one other KH/ME crossover in total on the website. So, maybe this will be the one to open the floodgates for even more wilder and unusual crossovers.
But I do believe that I need to get this off my chest.
This is a personal, deep seated philosophy of mine when it comes to crossovers and it's in regards to bringing the two universes together, in particular the characters. I firmly believe that when you are making crossovers, both sides need to be respected and represented properly.
When one side is stronger than the other, I feel there needs to be a proper reasoning as to why one is so dominant over the others. Not because you're biased to it.
I'm not condemning Crossover writers who do that, that's not what I'm saying.
You are free to write whatever it is you wish on this site cause this place allows for such freedoms.
This is a personal code of mine that I stay true to the characters and the universes of which they come from. Certain universes give more leeway to play around with certain aspects of the universe and characters that inhabit it and it should be used to their fullest capacity.
Anyway, now that I'm done with my generic rambling introductory to a new crossover let's get started on a brand new adventure.
I'm Nobody Chapter 1: The First Thirty Days.
Within a plain white room was a lone bed. Nothing else was really present as the space was spartan in design. Only having the necessities required for its present occupant.
Upon the bed lay a young teenage boy with sandy blond hair garbed in clothing that was all black.
Black gloves, black boots, black pants and a long black coat that reached his ankles.
The boy lay motionless upon the bed though if one looked closely enough, one could see the eyes moving about underneath his eyelids.
Within the dreams of the boy, he awoke on the ground, standing up from the grass.
He wore a different set of clothes entirely, blue eyes blank as he stood before a large set of gates before an old and run down mansion.
Less than a few seconds later did a black ovular portal appear before the boy and out walked a tall man in a black coat.
This… was Xemnas.
The man who found him after he came into being.
He, who would personally induct him into what he had joined.
Organization XIII.
The tall man stood before the blank faced boy.
"You seek answers." Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII said to him on their first confrontation.
He only nodded absentmindedly.
"You feel nothing. Nothing is real. I can give you purpose."
Before him, a name appeared.
Sora.
It was at that time did he have nothing at all. He knew nothing.
The four letters before him began to spin about, rapidly until Xemnas thrusted his hand out and a large X appeared in between the letters.
"Roxas."
"That is right- the new you… Roxas..."
Not even a name, until Xemnas gave him one.
That was all he had. Both the name Roxas and No. XIII.
All that he was given in his extremely short few minutes of existence.
All that he was able to latch on to.
It was shortly after his confrontation with his new leader did he interact with another member of the Organization.
A tall, slightly older individual who went by No. VIII, the Flurry of Dancing Flames.
Or as he called himself, Axel.
It was a courtesy, having the newest member interact with one of the older members in order to get the ball rolling. And the first thing Axel did once introductions were out of the way was heading towards the Clocktower of Twilight Town, sitting at its highest ledge and eating Sea-Salt ice cream while watching the sunset.
Said ice cream had an interesting taste. Then again, it was the first thing he ever ate in his present memory. Something that was oddly sweet and salty at the same time.
Now the sunset on the other hand…
That was breathtaking.
He sat there, with Axel eating ice-cream without saying much or responding to much. All he could was just sit there and eat, not knowing anything other than his name, Axel, the Organization and Sea-salt Ice Cream.
What Roxas didn't know at the time, the destiny he had wouldn't unfold until the seventh day of his time being in the Organization… when he first met her.
Xion.
She was shortly inducted into the Organization just a week after he had joined.
It was strange.
They didn't say anything to one another but…
The minute they locked eyes in that meeting room, despite her wearing a hood that obscured most of her face, there was something that Roxas… felt.
He felt something.
Though he was unsure as to what that was exactly.
He was a Nobody.
A being born from the shell of a heart that fell to darkness.
They did not feel anything.
They had no hearts. None at all.
Just empty shells where the previous owners' wills were strong enough to allow them existence even after they had lost their hearts. Only knowing how things "feel" due to lingering memories of said shells.
In the seven days that Roxas had been in existence, he had gotten to know some of the other members to a degree.
Who these people around him were, what they wanted, or what they were trying to do… He had no idea...
Each one of them were strange, unique and distinctly different from one another.
And yet…
They all wore the black coat that he did.
All had a number and a title to go along with them.
And each one of them possessed an X in their names just like him.
In the time he had gotten to know them, they had often been sent out on missions.
Missions that apparently Roxas would undertake eventually and daily once it happens.
Before Roxas could go on any real missions, he needed to be trained. And in that time, he had to be overseen by nearly all of the members in order for him to effectively get things done right.
They had all their own unique means of training him, be it in a subtle manner such as individuals like Numbers 4, 5, 6 and 10. Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion and Luxord, respectively.
Or in a more blatant and straightforward manner like Axel or Numbers 3, 11 and 12. Xaldin, Marluxia and Larxene.
Then there were the others like Numbers 2, 7 and 9. Xigbar, Saix and Demyx.
They were… unusual in a manner of speaking on how they trained him.
It was a mixture of both direct and indirect.
The only one who didn't train him at all was their leader, No. I Xemnas, as he had other matters to attend to.
Upon his eight day with the Organization, No. XIII began his official training missions with the other members.
Roxas had to learn how to fight, in both physical and magical means.
He had to learn how to investigate and track down his targeted objective(s) for the reconnaissance side of things.
To be discrete and thorough and not leave any stone unturned.
Aware of his surroundings and always mindful of his duty.
And there was the fact that each Organization member had their own unique weapon and affinity outside of the basic darkness and nothingness which made a Nobody… a Nobody.
For Roxas, he wielded something called a Keyblade and his affinity was Light.
Due to him having the Keyblade, the other members of the Organization often spoke of his importance being paramount to them.
He had the most important job out of them all: to collect Hearts.
Now how was he to do this?
It was simple as it was presented to him.
His job was to go about and slay the beings born from the Darkness in other individuals' hearts and with his Keyblade, that was possible.
The other members of the Organization were more than capable of defeating the Heartless on their own. But when they destroyed them, the hearts would simply go on to reform into another Heartless.
It was why Roxas was so important.
He was the only one who could defeat the Heartless and with his Keyblade, release and "capture" the Hearts so to speak.
The Hearts would then be "collected" and "gathered" into one place.
Kingdom Hearts.
At first, he didn't know what it was nor what it does. All he knows is that he is tasked in "completing" it.
He didn't even know what a Heart is supposed to be.
Eventually, Roxas learned that Kingdom Hearts is made of the very thing they -the Organization- lacked, a multitude of Hearts. It held the power to complete them all.
It made No. XIII realize how important he was to the rest of them.
...His first few days on the job were straight to the point.
Each member within the Organization was assigned to him, teaching and instructing him further as he went along with his duties after his training missions were completed.
He didn't really know any better.
This was all he knew and he couldn't really deny that the Organization gave him purpose.
And fighting the Heartless… was unusually natural to him.
It was like a muscle memory.
Every swing, every strike, every bashing and every spell cast came like breathing to him.
The Heartless fell quickly and rapidly before him.
He's learning all these things, but there's so much more that he didn't get.
By the fourteenth day, Roxas had lost track of how many Heartless he had slain.
During that time, he had been instructed on how to summon the Corridor of Darkness that would take him back to the Organizations castle and perform a last ditch maneuver known as a Limit Break.
On the fifteenth day, he had experienced another life altering moment.
Though he didn't think much about it for the most part.
For his fifteenth day in the Organization, he was assigned to work with No. XIV for the first time.
Xion.
It was a strange experience for the most part.
She really didn't say anything other than one thing.
His name.
Her voice was… quiet and shy.
She didn't have a weapon which was bizarre.
From how Xemnas introduced her, Xion apparently was supposed to be able to use the Keyblade, same as him.
Yet, she only used magic.
Still, she and him got their missions done. That was all that mattered.
Perhaps she was a late bloomer, as Axel had once said. Her Keyblade might not be manifesting right away and will take time for it to happen.
Axel was the only one he had really spent any time with outside missions from the Organization so he would have to take the fiery red-heads word for it.
And that was another thing that had become a constant in Roxas short existence.
Axel.
On his eighth day, after his first mission, Axel took him back to have Ice Cream again on the clocktower of the world he was found in.
Twilight Town.
All of his training had taken place there, nowhere else. He had wondered why that World of all places instead of back at the World that Never Was.
Not that he was really complaining. The sun was never present there as there was only an ever present darkness looming over the world. But in Twilight Town, there was one to help illuminate the land in a perpetual sunset.
On the 21st day…
Xion met Axel.
Their interaction went about the same way that it had gone when Roxas had first met her and apparently how he had met Axel.
Minimal words exchanged other than names.
Axel seemingly took it in stride, acting in his usual self though getting peeved on occasion whenever Xion had asked him to repeat something she didn't quite understand.
Apparently No. VIII's pet peeve was having to repeat something he feels should be memorized.
He said that often when in regard to what appeared to be important matters.
"Got it memorized?"
He said that both as a question and a statement.
…
…
…
He had learned the early stages of… friendship.
It came from out of nowhere after seeing some of the inhabitants of Twilight Town interacting with each other on his fourteenth day in the Organization.
Roxas didn't get it at first, but as the days went on, he was slowly getting it as Axel was considered his friend.
On the 21st day, he once again found himself sitting at the clock tower with Axel.
This had become something of a ritual to them both after their first couple of missions together.
At the end of every mission, every day, the two would go to the Clock Tower in Twilight Town and have sea-salt ice-cream together.
Only this time, they weren't alone.
This time, Axel had gotten Xion to join them.
"The icing on the cake."
The same words Axel used to justify their second time watching the sunset on the clock tower after Roxas's first official mission.
And now, Xion had joined them.
And on that day, they both saw her face for the first time.
Short black hair with crystal blue eyes.
Similar to Roxas' if only a shade lighter.
And her face…
Roxas swore that there was something about her that was strikingly familiar to him.
He knows that face. There was a… feeling inside him.
A feeling of longing and recognition.
Whatever it was, Xion had become their friend that day.
And from that day onward, the three of them had Ice-cream on the clock tower every single day.
That was until the 29th day…
Once again, the trio of Organization members sat upon the edge of the clock tower, ice-creams in hand.
The sunset was beautiful as always and there was a calm and pleasant air between them.
"I'm gonna miss this ice-cream thing we do." Axel abruptly spoke up.
"Huh?" Both Roxas and Xion looked at their friend in confusion.
"Gonna be away for a while… starting tomorrow." Axel revealed, casually twirling his ice-cream stick in his hand.
"Really…" Roxas said in a low voice.
"I can fill you in since we're friends." Axel kept gazing at the perpetual sunset before them. "I'm gonna be at Castle Oblivion."
"Castle Oblivion?" Xion repeated.
"The Organization's got a second castle in the world between worlds. It's called Castle Oblivion. Got it memorized?" Axel said, grinning while placing his index finger on his temple.
"I wish somebody told me these things." Roxas said in a dejected manner.
"Well I gotta head back and get ready. Nothing but fun fun fun…" Axel drawled, patting them both on the shoulder as he departed.
Roxas and Xion looked at one another sullenly, returning to their small snacks a moment later.
After eating that Sea-Salt ice cream, Roxas saw the popsicle stick had the words "winner" engraved in the wood.
"What's this about?" Roxas asked, holding it over to Xion for her to read herself.
"I have no clue." Xion said, gazing upon the word curiously. "Maybe… ask Axel tomorrow."
Unfortunately for them, Axel already departed to Castle Oblivion with five other members: Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Marluxia and Larxene.
Though that would be a slightly distant memory after today.
On the thirtieth day, everything changed for Roxas.
He was back in Twilight Town.
His job was simple.
Find the large Heartless in this world and eliminate it.
As he entered the lounge area where missions were given out, he saw Demyx sitting on one of the couches with his large Sitar in hand.
"This place is so much nicer without the loudmouths." Demyx said from his seat, strumming his weapon/instrument.
"Loudmouths?" Roxas asked in confusion.
"Those bossy coworkers sent to Castle Oblivion." Demyx clarified.
There was a small chuckle from the man sitting across from Demyx.
"Well, I suppose it's too bad you and Poppet didn't get to spend a little more quality time with them." Said Xigbar as he was sitting on the sofa.
"Poppet?"
"I'm talking about Xion, kiddo."
"Kiddo?"
"Roxas."
The Keybearer turned to see Xion approaching him.
"Did you see Axel?" She asked straight away.
He shook his head. "Sorry Xion. I think we just missed him."
Her expression dropped at the thought of missing Axel.
"Roxas, Xion."
A sharp voice made them look to the entrance of the lounge, seeing Saix walking in.
"Get to work, both of you." He ordered. "Standing around here won't make Axel come back."
The newest members couldn't really think of a proper response.
So they opted to do as they were told and head off to Twilight Town for their mission.
This time, it was to be a bit of a challenge.
They were tasked in finding and defeating a large Heartless known as a Darkside, a very powerful Pureblood.
It took them a while, finding it surprisingly difficult in locating the large Heartless.
The last place they looked was to be the area where they would find the Heartless.
They soon fought against the Darkside in front of the clocktower.
It was massive, as the reports had told them but they fought on despite its size.
They fought valiantly against the giant Heartless when it swung a powerful backhand, catching No. XIII off guard.
"Roxas!" Xion called out in concern, running to him with her hand outstretched.
Next to Roxas was his Keyblade that he had lost in his grip. Just as he was about to reach out to it, it suddenly manifested in Xion's hand.
In a moment of stunned silence, Xion grasped her newfound weapon and attacked the Heartless.
In the end, she was able to vanquish the Darkside.
There was a lapse of ambient silence that permeated the air as Roxas and Xion gazed at the Keyblade in her hands.
"It finally happened." Xion whispered in disbelief.
"You can use the Keyblade." Roxas said aloud with a growing smile which Xion returned a moment later.
"I can." She said with an excited look.
Roxas was now beaming. "I think you earned the icing on the cake."
Xion blinked for a moment before the two shared a laugh together.
"Let's get some Ice Cream." Roxas said, turning to go to the usual shop they get their ice cream from.
Yet he doesn't get far when a large plume of darkness appears beneath him.
"Whoa!" Roxas stumbled in the sudden pool of Darkness, his feet sinking in.
Around him, Shadows and Neo-Shadows morphed out from the pool and began grabbing onto Roxas, attempting to drag him down into the Darkness.
"Roxas!" Xion cried out, running for him with her new Keyblade instinctively being called forth to her hand.
She began swinging through the Heartless, taking them out left and right yet they just kept coming.
"Xion!" He called out to her, trying to call for his Keyblade only for the Shadows and Neoshadows to grab onto his arm and wrist to pull him down further into the Darkness.
"What's happening?!" Xion was now frantically fighting against the Heartless but they just kept on being replaced by more Heartless.
"I don't kn-URK!"
One of the Neoshadows manifested from behind him and wrapped its arm around Roxas neck, tugging him down into the Darkness.
The last thing Roxas saw before he was dragged down was the terrified face of Xion.
Multiple questions ran through Roxas's mind as his vision was engulfed by Darkness.
Why was this happening to him?
What were the Heartless after?
And above all else was why? Why did Xion look so scared?
So… emotional?
Are they not Nobodies? Are they not meant to feel anything?
These questions however were brief and fleeting.
All he could think of now was trying to get himself freed from the grasp of the Heartless who had yet to let him go.
He was struggling, trying his damndest to get himself free to no avail for the most part.
These heartless were clawing at him, making sure that their grasp upon him was damn near unbreakable.
Roxas felt like… he was sinking…
Further and further…
Into Darkness.
This sensation…
It felt eerily familiar to him.
Why?
Where has he experienced this before?
He then thought of Axel and Xion.
They were supposed to have Ice Cream together again after the former would return from his mission from Castle Oblivion.
Though it has only been a month, Axel and Xion have become… his friends. They were his friends.
He didn't have much nor understand much to begin with. But he understood the growing sense of anticipation he had to go to the clock tower after every mission. The subconscious, growing need to be there at the end of every day.
Roxas may have been given purpose by the Organization… but…
With Xion and Axel…
Within the eternal void of Darkness, Roxas' eyes snapped open as he began struggling with a renewed vigor.
He thrashed against that which held him in place, his form beginning to glow with an ethereal light.
Clenching his teeth, Roxas called upon his strength, his power over light and in one controlled burst, unleashed the light around him and promptly fell through a makeshift corridor.
Once again, he felt as though he was falling.
Only this time…
He lost consciousness.
The only thing Roxas could was free fall into the endless void which seemed to last forever.
…
…
…
"Urgh."
Slowly, a pair of blue eyes opened, blinking away the black splotches in his vision.
Reaching a hand up to his head, Roxas rubbed his temple as the pounding in his head began to subside as he got his bearings.
He was on the ground in a sitting position with his back against a wall.
Another familiar feeling.
Grunting, Roxas propped elbow against his knee and forcefully raised himself to stand, placing a hand on the nearby wall to keep himself steady.
There was a slight ringing in his ear as his vision was now cleared up. This allowed him to get a sense of his surroundings.
It was partially dark, due to the lighting not being relatively bright. In fact, the white or yellow lighting was replaced with a dark red.
Where was he?
For the briefest of moments, Roxas thought he was somewhere in the World that Never Was, due to the floor and wall textures being metallic in color and feel. Though the designs seemed to be different.
One way to find out if that were the case.
Getting himself up, he made his way out of the alley. Hopefully, he can see something familiar in order to find his way back.
…..
…..
…..
…..
That didn't seem to be the case as he saw something… alien once passing through the doorway which parted all on its own.
Upon reaching the differing light, Roxas found himself in a place unlike anything he had ever seen in his brief month long existence.
He saw a large amount of people walking about with some here and there conversing with one another.
There were some that he recognized as human.
But everyone else?
There were humanoid women who were blue or purple skinned with odd tentacles curved back on their heads. An assortment of people with bone-like plating's on their heads with mandibles for mouths. A grouping who looked reminiscent to salamanders or frogs in nature.
There were other… species(?) in whatever place he ended up at, but the three aforementioned ones were the more prominent outside of the humans.
Aside from them, there were a number of vehicles flying through the air.
The only vehicles Roxas ever saw before were some gliders back at Organization HQ and the tram-cars back at Twilight Town. So whatever was flying above him was relatively new.
Looking further up, he saw something odd in the sky. Like a large city above him that was far stretched out.
Was that normal? Doesn't seem to be from what he's seen so far.
Could he be on another World?
Could be...
"Don't stand there like an idiot, kid." A gruff voice rumbled from behind.
Roxas blinked when he heard someone addressing him. Turning to the source, the Nobody saw someone towering over him.
He was reptilian in nature with a large hump on his back. He wore a prominent red armor which matched the bony crest on his head. His face was riddled with scars with a pair of red eyes boring down on him in a bored, yet annoyed fashion.
"Er… sorry." Roxas said in a soft voice, gazing up at the reptilian biped with clear interest.
Another new type of alien or inhabitant of this world.
The large reptile man merely gave the young kid another glance.
The young squirt looked rather out of place. And not in the simplest of manners.
For one, he could tell the kid seemed rather lost as he noticed his gaze was all over the place in odd wonderment. Another would be the style of clothing he currently wore. It was not like anything anyone else was wearing these days but bore something similar to what humans wore some centuries ago.
And the way he looked at him specifically was an additional point of oddness.
For one thing, he had absolutely no fear or trepidation upon seeing him for the first time. He just looked at him with open interest. Like aside from everything else the human was looking at, he was the most fascinating thing on the kids mind.
Kid won't fit in here for long; in his point of view, mind you.
And then there was his smell. The kid smelled… odd.
Not wanting to give himself a headache, he walked off in order to get onto his own business.
"Whatever." Was all the reptile man said before Roxas saw him disappear in the crowd.
Seeing the large being walked off, Roxas honestly didn't know what to do.
What should he do?
Naturally, he should find his way back to the World that Never Was. That's what was drilled into his head when he first joined the Organization.
But…
A part of him, strangely enough, wanted him to explore. To see what this place was like.
Just from one look at the place by itself was enough to instill in Roxas a burning curiosity to see whatever it was this place had to offer.
He briefly thought it was just his lessons talking to him, urging him to focus back on his training and explore his current environment. Practicing his reconnaissance skills and refining them, much more now with this new World(?) he was in.
Moving along, he kept seeing people passing by and minding their own business. For some instance, Roxas wanted to speak up and ask some questions.
This entire place was just too much of an overload of senses to him.
When he thought about it, where could he even begin?
He kept walking, looking in every direction that he could until he saw something… startling.
There was someone, a woman -given by her figure- in an odd glass domed helmet underneath a hood… who appeared to be hurt.
Curiously, No. XIII came up to her and saw her using one of her hands to prompt herself up against the wall while the other was used to hold her side.
"Excuse me." Roxas said softly.
The helmeted woman turned to him, and even if he couldn't see her face, he could see the bright eyes behind the purple-tinted glass. And her eyes seemed to hold something akin to utter worriment.
"Are… you alright?"
The woman grunted, holding her side with her voice sounding strained and scared.
"Pl-Please… help me."
Roxas briefly pierced down and saw something drip from her hand holding her side.
It didn't take long for him to realize that she was hurt, badly even.
She almost fell down, causing him to quickly catch her.
The boy was stronger than he appeared, easily keeping her on her feet despite her being slightly taller than him.
She glanced down at the human with an appreciative look in her eyes before shakily raising her bloodied hand and pointing it towards a random direction.
"Take me to… medical…"
Roxas complied on the request, helping her along as she directed him towards a medical station.
After climbing up a flight of stairs, they turned down another area before coming towards their destination. When the door automatically parted ways, Roxas saw a short red haired woman conversing with a dwarf-sized being in an odd body suit.
The red-haired woman turned to see them walk-in with her gaping in surprise.
"Oh my.
"Hey," he spoke towards her, "she needs help."
Blinking in a slightly stunned manner, she quickly nodded and gestured for the boy to place the woman onto a nearby empty bed.
Once laying her down, the red-haired woman quickly began checking the helmeted girl over.
"Do you know what happened?" She asked.
Roxas shook his head 'no'. "I just found her like this."
"Right." She said before lifting up her arm and something brightly orange-yellow appeared encircling part of the limb. "If you'll excuse me, I need to operate on her immediately."
Roxas stood there, staring at the red-haired human.
She was looking at him expectantly, until she saw he wasn't moving.
"Which means I need you to step away and wait outside until I am done."
The Nobody blinked at the statement.
"Oh, right. Sorry."
She gave him a slightly good natured smile. "If you're worried about her, you can sit over there and wait for things to be done."
Roxas nodded before moving along and sitting on a chair by the adjacent wall.
He wasn't alone for long as the short stubby bipedal alien came up to him with a waddle.
It wore an all-encompassing suit that covered his body from head to toe, its breathing being nasally and raspy.
"It's interesting… to see someone wanting to help… a Quarian out these days." He spoke while in between odd breath segments. Each one wheezed as if he had a short lung capacity.
"What?"
"Why is it… that you… a human… would assist a Quarian… vagrant like her?" The stubby alien pointed back to the now identified species.
He looked towards the Quarian that was currently undergoing medical treatment from the red-haired human.
Roxas had helped her without really thinking about it.
She just needed help.
And from the look of things around him at the time, it didn't look like anyone else was going to help her.
Why did he help her?
When he saw how she was in need, his body just moved on its own. He didn't even think about it, he just did it.
"I just… had to help her." Roxas whispered, feeling the words just come out naturally.
The strange, stubby alien only rasped out a breath. "Hmm… Not many people… do so… these days… sadly."
Roxas gazed at the shorter alien who wobbled towards the human to assist her in the surgery since she had called for his assistance.
No. XIII only leaned back and observed the surgery in complete silence.
He didn't move or say anything.
Just watched as the Quarian woman who he had assisted got medical treatment for the large gash on her side.
Roxas didn't know how much time had passed by.
Only that he sat there within this medical ward, watching and waiting for the Quarian to awaken after having surgery done to her.
A small rasp of breathing interrupted his thought process, making him look down at the stubby alien.
"What… is your name…?"
"R-Roxas."
"Roxas? I had not… heard of such… a human name before." He rasped out. "Balon Von… is the name."
Roxas only nodded, looking up as the red-haired woman approached him.
"I'm Dr. Chloe Michel and I run this clinic." She introduced herself. "You said your name was Roxas, correct?"
The young teen nodded.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you come across this Quarian?" She asked, gesturing to the resting helmeted alien.
Roxas gazed at the unconscious Quarian.
"She was hurt." He said plainly, making Chloe tilt her head.
"And…?"
"She needed help."
There was a bemused expression on her face, a small smirk forming on her face as she saw the boy's honesty in that statement.
From the way he said that last comment, he helped simply because he was able to and maybe even wanted to.
A rather noble gesture to do.
"How old are you, young man?" the Doctor asked politely, making Roxas pause.
How was he supposed to answer that one?
He was only a month old in terms of existence but if he remembered correctly, Axel mentioned something about his age in terms of his physical body.
"...15."
Chloe's brows furrowed together. "Only fifteen? Where are your parents?"
"Parents?" Roxas said in complete confusion.
Both Balon and Chloe exchanged looks with each other, both conveying complete and utter bewilderment.
What kind of a response was that?
Before they had a chance to ask further questions, a groan was heard from the Quarian, signaling that she was waking up.
Chloe Michel was instantly by her side, helping her sit up on the bed properly.
"Easy there." Chloe urged. "Try not to move too much. You're still recovering."
"What happened?" The Quarian asked in a low voice.
"You were gravely injured." Chloe said. "However, thanks to young Roxas here, we were able to treat your injury in time before it got any worse."
"Roxas?" The Quarian repeated.
"The human… who brought you here…" Balon answered.
The Quarian looked over to Roxas who had yet to get up from his seat.
"You helped me?" Quarian asked, her mind slightly hazy from earlier today.
Wordlessly, Roxas only nodded in confirmation.
Though her face was obscured, her eyes were all that Roxas needed to see in the complete and sincere gratitude she held towards him.
"Thank you." She said in the kindest voice he had ever heard.
No. XIII felt an odd swell within his chest upon hearing her thanks, making him look at her with a wide-eyed expression.
A moment later, the sides of his lips twitched upwards and a small smile found its way onto his face.
That was all the Quarian needed to see as the boy having helped save her life was more than enough of a response.
"It's strange to see a Quarian outside of the Flotilla these days." Chloe suddenly spoke up, snapping the helmeted alien back to her current situation.
"I'm currently on my pilgrimage." she answered.
"Ah, that… explains it." Balon Von said simply.
"Pilgrimage?" Roxas asked.
"I believe you can ask her 'twenty questions' later, Roxas." Dr. Michel said to the Nobody before looking at the Quarian.
"I'm sorry, but I never got your name." Chloe politely said. "And mind telling us what happened?"
Sitting upright on the medical table, the Quarian spoke of her tale.
She was Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya, or Tali for short. Like she said before, she was currently on her pilgrimage and she was with a few friends of hers from the Flotilla, the Migrant Fleet of her people.
Everything was going fine, at first, seeking passage to Ilium as that was where Tali sought to begin her pilgrimage. That was until they came across something unusual on an ice planet in the Crescent Nebula. And for some reason, the Geth were present.
At the mention of the Geth, both Balon Von and Dr. Michel briefly spoke of wondering why the Geth were beyond the Perseus Veil after three hundred years. And while Roxas wanted to ask on such things, he followed their example and kept questions down to a minimum and let Tali continue her tale.
Resuming, both Tali and her friends investigated the odd occurrence. They wanted to know exactly that of why they were there of all places. If the Geth moved beyond the Perseus Veil and spread to other worlds, her people will be blamed even further than what they presently have.
More and more questions formed in Roxas' head at this. Practically everything she said only made him want to ask what it was that she was talking about. Judging from her tone and demeanor, these past few days were harrowing and dangerous considering how she wound up here.
Anyways, Tali was able to separate one of the Geth from the rest and accessed it's memory core before it self-purged in order to find out the reason for their presence.
And what she found was startling from an audio recording she pulled.
"Eden Prime was a major victor. The Beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." Spoke a man's voice.
"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers…" Spoke a woman's voice.
When she wanted to try to pull out more data from the Geth, she was being shot at by mercenaries, causing her and her friends to flee.
On their way to Ilium, Tali investigated further into the encoded Geth data. While jumbled and messy, due to the rush job, she did find out that there was indeed an attack on Eden Prime with a Spectre agent of all people ordering the attack.
As her friends urged her to return to the Flotilla, she argued that wouldn't be the best idea. The Geth are working with someone. For someone else. They didn't know who they were, but one thing was for sure that if they went immediately back to the Flotilla, then their people would be in danger.
Hence they had to go to the Citadel and report on this. They had to try, even with what garbled mess the Quarian found.
As a child, Tali dreamed of her pilgrimage to see life outside of the Flotilla. She fantasized about beautiful cities. Encountering new races, exchanging ideas, sharing cultures. Perhaps even having an interesting adventure if she were lucky.
Reality often loves to rip a new one on the naive, doesn't it.
It was along the way to the Citadel that things went downhill. They couldn't get a proper landing area for their ship, the Honorata, causing them to land in a shady area on Illium in order to restock on supplies. After all, city control kept them in orbit for over half a day, going in circles and things beforehand made them desperate to change things.
It was long enough for whoever was chasing us to land first and track us down when we least suspected it.
One of her friends died when they tried getting back to the Honorata. And they were cut off from reaching their ship, leaving them with the only option of stowing away on the first Turian freighter they could sneak aboard.
On that long cold, terrible journey, they were left alone with their own thoughts. Knowing they were past the point of their own lives ever going back to what they were before.
Neither knew where they were going. They just hoped it would be somewhere safe and far away from whatever it was they were running from.
Of course, luck seemed to be on their side as the freighter went straight to the Citadel. And that was when their luck ended when they were caught and were brought to C-Sec, or Citadel Security for short.
While no charges were pressed, thankfully, Tali and her only friend left with her -Kennah- was forced to try and speak with the Citadel Council, the leaders of this galactic civilization. Of course, more problems came their way as they couldn't see them right away, due to appointments and harassments.
When they least suspected it, Tali and Kennah were attacked, forcing them to flee once more.
While Tali merely got a wound on her side, Kennah wasn't so lucky. The wounds he got damaged his lungs… and he wasn't going to make it much longer.
Due to circumstances, Tali was forced to leave Kennah in an incinerator room; especially when he passed away shortly after.
Her pilgrimage was meant to bring her closer to her people. Closer to home. Instead, she started losing everything. Endangering everything she cared about. But she can't let that all be in vain. Not after remembering what her father told her through a number of messages.
Tali was able to entrap her attacker in the incinerator room and activated it, cremating both him and Kennah in the process. After that, she did her best to find a medical station to help mend her wounds.
"...And that's when you found me, Roxas." Said Tali, ending her tale of her journey so far.
Roxas was silent, merely nodding to the Quarian as he was processing everything spoken from her.
"One thing is for sure, Miss Zorah, no one can get to you here; you're safe." Said Dr. Michel in a reassuring manner.
"Yes. For now." Rasped the Volos. "But that recording you're carrying… if a Spectre is trying to have you assassinated… it must be very serious… very dangerous information."
'Assassin.' the word repeated in Roxas's mind. 'That was what Marluxia was called.'
"Not to mention very… valuable. There are people… who'd pay a lot for… what you've got there… either to use it… or to destroy it." Balon spoke up.
"What…" Roxas spoke up, making everyone look to the Nobody. "What's gonna happen to her?"
Tali perked up at the concerned look Roxas showed with Chloe crossing her arms.
"Whatever it is that she has put a target on her back, unfortunately." Michel admitted with a grim tone. "She would be in great danger as soon as she were to leave this clinic."
The idea of having someone he had just helped be put in danger made Roxas clench his fists tightly.
"Then… what should we do?"
Balon coughed aloud, getting everyone's attention.
"If I could guarantee your safety… would you trust me to trade… this information for you?"
Tali vigorously shook her head. "I don't want anyone else to die for it."
"That's not what he's saying." Dr. Michel stated. "We can get that recording into the hands of someone who'll know what to do."
"There's a bar downstairs… Chora's Den. The man who runs it… can protect you… while I contact an information trader… called the Shadow Broker. But only if… you trust us."
Tali was silent for some moments, processing all of this. She was about to refute but felt Roxas placing a hand on her shoulder. He had apparently gotten up out of his seat without anyone realizing and walked straight over to her.
She turned and saw the reassuring look on his face.
"You don't have to go on this alone, Tali. I can stay with you and help if you want."
Roxas wasn't sure why he was doing this. This was… completely out of left field for him.
Nothing at all with what the Organization had taught him. Something about not meddling.
Yet, he couldn't help but say this. It was a gut feeling. That's all he was going on.
He wanted to help her and was going to.
Even if he can't see her face all that well, Roxas seemed to read the way her eyes went that made him think she was smiling, even just a little.
"...Alright. Just tell me where to go, Balon."
"It will… take some time… to get a representative of… the Shadow Broker… down there." Balon rasped out. "Perhaps… one or… two days."
"Which is enough time for your injuries to heal over properly." Chloe stated.
"I… thank you." Tali said with a bow of her head. "I owe you all so much right now."
"You should make sure to thank Roxas here." Michel said with a nod of her head in his direction. "It was he that brought you here."
Once more, she looked to the Greater Nobody with a grateful look.
"For now, I suggest you rest up Miss Zorah. You're still fresh off from your surgery and need more time to recover."
"Yes, you're right." Tali nodded, laying down upon her bed. She gazed up at Roxas who stared down at her.
She couldn't help but squirm slightly at the humans slightly intense gaze.
"Um… Roxas?" she asked tentatively.
"Hmmm?"
"Wha-what are you gonna do now?"
He blinked. "I said I was gonna help you."
"And I appreciate that." Tali said. "I really do. But what are you gonna do now?"
Seeing what she really meant, Roxas took a moment to look around the area before spotting what he hoped to find.
Walking over, he grabbed a small chair and placed it beside Tali's bed and sat down.
"I guess… keep you company." Roxas said.
"You don't have to."
"I know, but… I feel I should."
Tali stared at the young blond human.
In all her life, she never would have expected her pilgrimage to lead her to someone like this human. He was strange, that was for sure.
But… his eyes.
They were unlike anything she had ever seen.
So true, so straightforward, so… blank.
A blank pair of eyes that holds no judgement, no discrimination or negative feelings towards her. But there was also no joy, no humor, no anything.
Just a blank canvas that looked upon everything as if it were the most fascinating thing in the entire galaxy.
It was… strange and rather alien.
All the Quarian could do was nod in acceptance and lied back, hoping she could rest easily, to some degree, from her ordeal up till now.
"Tali."
"Yes?"
"Where are we?"
"...the Citadel."
"Oh… right."
"..."
"..."
"Tali?"
"Hmmm?"
"What's the Citadel?"
Tali could only blink in bewilderment upon what just came out of his mouth.
AN
So glad you could join us everybody, welcome to one of the more crazier ideas as I had said earlier.
This was a project long in development that Jebest4781 and I had been planning and after many months, and several long sessions of discussion we finally got it off the ground!
Jebest4781: Boy this is gonna be an interesting story to work on and a rare one at that. Sure seen my fair share of Mass Effect stories with fantasy elements brought in here and there, but nothing to what's about to happen.
FMW: Yeah, we're going all in on fantasy, sci-fi and sooo much more. There's gonna be some awesome scenes, awesome events, awesome storylines cause J and I really wanna give you guys something special. Just like on Jebests profile with our Kingdom Hearts and GOT crossover, we wanna give a unique reading experience here. And I mean it like I said before, aside from one another crossover, this is gonna be officially the second ever Kingdom Hearts and Mass Effect Crossover. So we're gonna come out swinging.
Other than that, with the crossover universe we are dealing with, go on my profile to find a poll at the top. Have fun with that.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.