Cloud had been lucky he supposed. He'd been off world for close to a month now, his ship had malfunctioned during his delivery rounds. And though he got past the phase of not answering his phone, he didn't think Tifa or Leon were going to be happy for not calling sooner. Truth was he just forgot to charge the thing, and surely they would understand that he had to shut down and rewire a few things on the ship just to get it going again right?

Yeah no.. Cid was the space engineer not him.. The Old Man'll probably give him one of his famous R-rated rants as well for the mess the poor gummy ship was now..

A flash of white caught his eye. Turning his head Cloud found one of those white things that passed for Nobody foot soldiers staring at him. Since his ship had crashed somewhere between town and Villain's Vale, it made sense that the defense system hadn't picked it up.

Still better to get rid of it before it caused problems. The blonde called his blade forth setting into a ready stance. The Dusk twitched in response, twirling through the air like a happy ribbon. Strangely it only came half way to him before moving away again landing further off from where it was to start with and staring at him expectantly.

Curious.. Was it sent by the ex-nobodies from the castle then? The Dusks were seldom seen at all since Sora killed Xemnas but the new residents in the castle did still have powers from their previous selves. No harm in looking at least.

The Dusk led him to the Valley of a Thousand Heartless of all places. Where he witnessed a fairly large group of said things ganging up on what seemed like one of their own at first. If Cloud hadn't recognized a dark image of Sora from before, when Sephiroth had caught them both out here, he'd likely gone down and hurt the kid worse than he already was to figure out what it was.

As soon as he crossed into town who else but Leon himself would be waiting expectantly for him. The brown eyes drifted to his wing, carefully folded around his side and sheltering a sleeping Heartless. Before Cloud could even open his mouth to explain Leon waved him off. "We know already, come on bring him to the castle before someone ends up stabbed."

Cloud only lifted a surprised eyebrow and fell in step beside him, glancing over at the group chat Leon had open on his phone.

3:42 Fire-hazard: Rox is freaked, find Sora ASAP!

3:42 Sora's-impulse-control: WHAT THE HELL AXEL?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING HIM!

3:43 Fire-hazard: Hey! You try staying awake through the umpteenth sequel of Tremors! They really have run out of ideas by now…

3:44 Sora's-impulse-control: Then why did you even watch it?!

3:57 Fire-hazard: Fun fact, that scarf thing is sharp. Dem had to safety cap the ends after it ripped free from Aeleus.. They might also have some kind of stasis effect sting to them?

4:12 Fire-hazard: Ok the Dusks found something, anyone know who fits the word 'Blackwing'? They suck at names..

4:13 Sora's-impulse-control: Axel I SWEAR if he gets kidnapped AGAIN, I will shave your head BALD!

4:21 Lion-guard: I've got him, coming back now.

Cloud chuckled at Leon's rare show of humor in the nicknames. "I take it we have more guests?"

"Don't think your off the hook either, 'Choco-wing'" Leon glared, though it turned into a smirk as the blonde's face turned scarlet.

The scene at the castle wasn't exactly what he pictured. Granted he did picture panicked Riku and Axel losing their minds and close to throwing punches. But as for the rest of the text Cloud had snooped on, the 'freaked Rox' and 'sharp scarf' had nearly caused an Omnislash.

Cloud hadn't even entered the room properly before blue tentacle things shot out and pried Sora away from him. Leon had explained a little of the situation during the walk but Roxas didn't match the description he was given.

The blonde was pale, like too pale. His skin colored a white to almost match the Dusk that led him before. Ears twice as long, pointed, expressive as a hare's. Clothes the same shade, turning grey then black towards the tight wrists. The shirt extending down into a flowy, open coat skirt covering black legs which bent in a bird like way down to sharp two toed feet. Knife like claws on the black hands that carefully inspected the grumpy wiggling Heartless who had been wrenched awake. The blue scarf tails bundled around his neck released Sora, then continued hovering behind him in constant movement, orbs of water bubbled around the pointed tips. A similar colored, wider sash tied around his waist, the same blue weaved in embroidery on the outer coat along with touches of black or white. A fifth, or possibly literal tail considering its base appeared from under a slit in the cloak skirt and was colored black before turning white halfway down ending in its own arrow shaped blade as bright as his hair.

On his back was an unfamiliar sigil that contrasted Sora's own, flipped on its head with similarities to a Nobodies' rather than Heartless. His eyes deep pools of black with orbs of burning sapphire glowing much like Cloud's own Mako blues, narrow in displeasure at the burns and cuts were almost hidden by Sora's wispy aura.

Roxas' face pulled into a dragon toothed snarl, the movement of all five tails and his hands seemed to rant at his Other even while his voice stayed silent. The dark half grumbled and huffed which just set off Roxas more. Even watched from the corner taking notes, Demyx was smothering a laugh and Axel looked equal parts done-with-this-shit and nostalgic.

"I forgot how creative he can be." Demyx snickers toward Axel, causing the pyro to snort himself.

Riku rejoins them then, arms laden with a suspiciously large supply of basic potions. "He's talking..?"

"Nobodies are comprised of the body and mind left behind by the stolen heart. Most lower-class varieties deform so drastically that they lose the ability of speech. But in return they develop low key telepathy in order to communicate." Even supplies.

The silverette nods thoughtfully in return. "Is it me does it look like they understand each other better like this…?" It was almost like they were having a real conversation rather than the more one sided ones of late, Riku could imagine Sora's teasing tone as he purred towards the blonde, one of the blue tails whipped out to snatch a few jars off him, the rest lashing like an angry cat's.

"Likely due to the ties they still share, it's also possible Roxas is more synchronized while regressed to a similar level as Sora, allowing the latter to hear his own Nobody's voice directly and vice versa. Body language doesn't hurt either."

"We'll leave you guys to it then. Cloud has an appointment with me and an angry barmaid." The grumpy lion turns pulling his partner along by fingers pinching the joint of his still exposed wing.

"OW! Leon! Leon please! It wasn't my fault this time I swear! Come on let go, you know that spot is sensitive! Tifa's going to kill me, then revive me just to kill me again PLEASE!" The begging fades away leaving the group to shiver at a threat dangerous enough to shatter Cloud's tough guy mask down to the person few outside of Avalanche get to see.

Sora sulked on the floor, any escape foiled by the fifth tail now wrapped snuggly around his middle. Roxas sat next to him, legs folded neatly underneath while he fumbles the potion in his unfamiliar talons. Finally Axel steps up and takes it from him. Instead of snapping back Roxas just calmly waits. Expression clearing of anger, replaced with patient expectedness as he watched the Flurry tend to their wiggly wounded.

Demyx's face drops in horror. "….He's fallen to rank.."

"Yeah, that kinda worries me.." Axel glanced up, a sad gleam in his eyes. "It's the only reason he didn't go find the runt himself."

"What does that mean? I thought your numbers were just when you joined up?" Riku had joined the huddle now petting black locks and ignoring the yellow puppy eyes begging to be saved. Roxas seemed calm but his tail had yet to let go.

"In general yeah, for us it's more of a seniority thing since we still had personalities and memories and all that." Demyx shrugs from the corner, his bubbles had disappeared and he looked relaxed outwardly. but Axel knew without looking that his eyes were still watching Roxas' blades for the slightest twitch.

"Roxy was different though, he had no memories to start with. The first week he didn't even talk, even after that it was just repeating a few words of what we said like a baby would. Had this thousand yard stare and couldn't even look us in the eye half the time.. A complete blank slate." Axel sighs and sits back. like a trance being broken Roxas started moving again.

The blonde pulled Sora back over to him, talons re-examining the black skin and their conversation picked back up only much more subdued. Roxas seeming satisfied with the treatment and Sora falling to exhaustion.

"We pretty much had to teach him everything from tying his boots to how doors work. He'd stand around or follow us like a duckling unless someone gave him something to do. Had a few close calls when he would take things too literally."

The two seemed content settling right there on the rug for a nap, the black tail releasing Sora to just pull him into his arms instead, though a blue one wrapped loosely around his wrist just in case. A second gripping Axel's forearm as the redhead covered them with the forgotten blanket on the couch, a shy plea to stay close.

"Eventually he grew his own sense of self, the snarky brat we know today. Might be why he didn't exactly match Sora's brand of sunshine."

Riku frowns complentively. He knew Roxas didn't remember Sora when they met, wasn't convinced they weren't that different that they couldn't be rejoined together. The fight to remain his own person had a new light to it now.

"That wasn't normal though.." Demyx had taken over the couch, one arm slung over the back. The room had emptied now that the chaos had ended, "Roxas could backtalk with the best of us. Just cause we lost our hearts didn't mean we lost free will too. To anything else though, Samurai, Dancers, Assassins, any Nobody short of a number, we were viewed as superior. It could just be the fact that we were stronger yeah, but I think it's more they don't have enough of themselves to question past blind obedience.."

"But he did.." Axel drew their attention back to himself, idly petting the scarf tail clinging to him with his thumb. The two on the rug curled together like overgrown cats. "It wouldn't stick. I could get him to sit down for a few minutes at best but he kept getting angry again and fighting back, trying to leave, trying to take us out to do it too. He only stopped resisting that last time.."

"But why?" Demyx asks.

"...Cause he knew Sora was safe." Riku answers, voice full of soft confidence. "Roxas even said, that under the darkness and instinct Sora was still Sora. The same goes for him. Sora was in trouble, Cloud told me he found him cornered by a swarm of mid-tier Heartless. Roxas' pull to find him was stronger than your orders but once he got here there wasn't a reason anymore. The level of control you did have is probably because of how much trust he gives you. Anyone else and it might not have worked."

That.. actually helped a bit. Those brief trances, weak as they were, had birthed something cold in Axel's chest. The very idea of Roxas being controlled at all, his rebellious pride able to be smothered as easily as a Dusk if Xemnas ever came for him. The Flurry allowed his dread to hang on to to that small light of hope.

Choco-wing is Leon's text name for Cloud, considered chicken-wing at first cause he's supposed to be short and skinny plus a pun on his wing, but these are FF characters and it fits with the Chocobo hair thing too :3 wings are built both strong and delicate, strong enough to pull air around and hold up the bird/bat using it, but it also needs to be lightweight and sensitive enough to feel changes in air to adjust accordingly, feathers in particular can make minute movements to change the flow around the wing as needed in order to change direction or altitude. The 'stasis sting' is my take on the part in the Thorn battle where Roxas is hanging in the air by light shackles + I wanted to do something with the stinger looking ends, thought about poison or venom at first but this fits a bit better. Look to NicoB's Days let's play for the potion gag.

deviantart silverheartlugia2000/art/Thorn-Roxas-827657410 Hey look heres a pic i made of Roxy's new look!