Chapter Three: Now Is Not The Time For Touching Family Reunions

“Roxas, is it really you?” Axel and Riku could only look on in amazement as Sora recognized his brother.

“Yeah,” admitted Roxas, “it’s really—umph.”

Sora dropped his gun with a clatter on the floor, racing to wrap his brother in a tight hug. Joyous tears streamed down his face as he buried his face in Roxas’ neck. “Rox, I haven’t seen you in so long,” he cried. “Seven years, Roxas! Where the hell have you been?”

“Apparently, right down the street,” mumbled Roxas. “But Sor, you gotta listen. We have to get out of here.”

Axel shook his head. “Wait, wait, hang on,” he said. “You two are brothers?”

“Twins,” Sora shouted happily, attacking his brother with renewed excitement.

He threw a fist into the air in victory. “Hah! Told you so, Ri,” Axel said smugly. Riku shook him off.

“Whatever,” he said. “Rox, what are you doing here? You something about not letting Sora get hurt. What’s going on?”

Roxas gently pushed a pouting Sora away from himself and turned to Riku. “I was just checking in at the Castle after an early morning hit,” he said, tugging on the sleeve of his standard issue black coat. “I overheard Marluxia and Larxene talking about orders to go to Riku’s apartment and eliminate everyone there.” He fell silent, glancing between Riku and Sora.

“Shit,” swore Axel, “how long ago was that?”

Sora glanced between his boyfriend and his twin. “You two know each other?”

Roxas looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. “Listen, Sor, it’s a little complicated to explain right now—”

“He already knows,” called Riku tiredly, moving about the apartment and packing necessities into bags. “You’re a little late to the party, Rox. Turns out Sora’s an assassin, too.”

Roxas was speechless. “What? Since when? That can’t be true,” he said, whirling on his brother. Sora was supposed to be the good one, the one their parents could be proud of. He was supposed to stay on the right side, not become as illegal as he was. But Sora only nodded, affirming what Riku said.

“I’ve been tracking you ever since I left,” said Roxas desperately, “I never noticed anything. You have a job at an ice cream parlor. You have an annoying friend named Yuffie. You’re normal.”

Sora smiled with pride. “I’m just that good, Rox,” he said shaking his head. “You didn’t know I was dating Riku, did you?”

Roxas looked to the side. “I guess—I guess not,” he mumbled.

Sora raised an eyebrow. “Exactly. And what do you mean, ‘I was checking in after an early morning hit’? Are you an assassin?”

Roxas nodded, blushing a little. “I work with the same agency as Riku and Axel.”

Sora’s jaw dropped. Turning to Riku as he re-entered the room with two duffel bags, he exclaimed, “You mean you knew him all this time?”

“I didn’t know he was your brother,” Riku hurried to explain.

Axel waved his arms. “Um, hello? We’ve got two high-level assassins, quite possibly and probably more than that, on our asses. I really don’t think now’s the time to hold an impromptu Jerry Springer session,” he said.

Sora brightened, completely forgetting about his argument. “Oh! I know just the thing,” he said. He ran into the kitchen, opening and shutting cupboards with rapid speed, throwing various firearms onto the countertop, before returning to the living room and promptly tipping over the couch.

Muttering to himself, Sora quickly found the zipper he was looking for. Undoing a false bottom, he removed package upon package of ammo, carrying an armful to the kitchen, where he proceeded to quickly and efficiently load each of the guns.

Roxas, Axel, and Riku watched him with astonishment. “I…I don’t even know him anymore,” whispered Roxas.

“Yo,” agreed Riku.

“All done,” chirped Sora. He held eleven guns in all, discounting the two he had pulled out earlier. “Load up, everyone.”

As they each tucked a couple guns into their waistbands, Axel muttered, “Christ, kid, what the hell were you stocking for, World War Three?”

“A good assassin is always prepared,” answered Sora, taking the last few guns for himself, “for anything and everything.”

“Speaking of assassins,” said Riku, “how long do you think we have until Marly and Larx get here?”

Roxas checked a watch on his wrist. “When I left, they were still getting ready. It’s, like, half an hour from here to there—”

“And we just spent about twenty minutes chatting it up,” complained Axel. “So really, we should be—”

“Well, well, Larxene,” said a deep voice from the doorway, “looks like we’ve crashed a party. Good thing we brought friends.”

Axel, Riku, Roxas, and Sora all looked to the voice. A pink-haired man lounged against the door frame, wearing the same type of cloak Roxas had on. “Marluxia,” growled Axel.

“And don’t forget me, darling,” said the blonde woman behind him. Her hair was styled in an unusual way, and she was wearing a matching cloak as well. “How’ve you been, Axel?”

He didn’t respond, only stared at them with fury in his eyes. Marluxia laughed. “Of course,” he said, “I won’t waste time with pleasantries. Since a certain little snitch here—” he sneered at Roxas, “—had the courtesy of letting you know we were coming, I suppose we might as well just get on with it.”

Sora spoke up. “Hang on,” he said with a smirk, folding his hands behind his back. “You’re telling me this, ‘Organization XIII,’ sent a pink-haired homo and the Bug Lady to kill me? I’m insulted.” With discreet gestures, he motioned for Roxas to move towards the back of the apartment.

Larxene growled, the hand not holding a gun clenching into a fist. “Insulted? I’ll show you insulted, you insolent little brat,” she said. She raised her gun, releasing the safety with a small click.

Riku sighed, readying his own weapon. He noticed Sora motioning for him to move over, and inconspicuously took a couple steps to the side. “Yeah, Sora? Not exactly the people you want to piss off,” he muttered, just before the gunfire started.

He and Axel dove behind the overturned couch as Marluxia and Larxene fired round after round into the fluffy piece of furniture, littering the room with cotton and feathers in no time. Roxas grabbed Sora’s arm, dragging him over to the balcony doors.

“Come on,” he shouted, shooting out the glass doors, “we can probably get out through the fire escape.”

“Riku and Axel?” Sora asked, glancing back at the two, who finally had a chance to fire back as Marluxia and Larxene stopped to reload.

“They’ll follow after us,” said Roxas, leaning over the balcony railing and looking down. “Shit.”

“What,” said Sora, following his brother’s gaze. Down below them, a man was standing patrol in the alleyway, which was conveniently blocked by a car. “Oh. No problem,” said Sora. “Let Axel and Riku know we’re leaving in about…sixty seconds.”

“What? That’s—Sora, we have to find another way out,” argued Roxas.

Sora shook his head quickly. “No, no! Trust me on this, Rox,” he said. “I got this. Go help Axel and Riku.”

Roxas debated for a moment, and then nodded. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned.

Sora flashed him a thumbs up, before leaning over the railing and shouting, “Oy! Hey, you! Down there! Yeah, I’m talking to you, douche-face!”

Behind him, Roxas slapped the back of his hand to his forehead. “Sooooora,” he whined.

“Shoo! Go help those two,” Sora said quickly, before turning back to the balcony. The man below looked up to him. an eye-patch over his right eye, aiming a gun with two hands. “Piece of cake,” muttered Sora, throwing himself flat against the wall as bullets flew.

When he heard a break in the man’s firing, Sora quickly made his way to the edge, pointing two guns over the railing and firing off two shots. One shot made its way into the man’s shoulder, while the other buried itself in his upper arm. The man shouted in pain, grabbing his left arm.

“And the finishing touch,” whispered Sora, taking aim once more. “Ah-ha!” He fired two rounds into the man’s right hand, making him shout out again and stumble to the ground.

Sora waited, keeping steady aim, until he heard the slam of a car door over the steady stream of bullets behind him. Another man entered his field of vision, a short-haired blond. Giving the newcomer the same treatment as the other, Sora then waited another ten seconds, and, satisfied that no one else would be arriving, turned back inside.

“Rox! Riku! I’m heading down,” he shouted. “Come around front, I’ll have the car started!”

Inside the apartment, Riku and Axel hid behind the now destroyed couch while Roxas sat behind an overturned armchair. Roxas waved to Sora, letting him know that he’d heard him.

Marluxia and Larxene were hidden behind the partial wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. Marluxia was sporting a mild cut across his neck, a close call, and Larxene was busy peering around the wall.

The moment they spotted her antennae-like bangs, Axel and Riku fired off rounds in quick succession. Larxene flung herself back with a hiss. “Marly,” she gritted out, “we might have to—”

“No,” interrupted Marluxia. “They’re not getting out of here alive. Especially Axel.”

Unbeknownst to them, however, Roxas was silently shouting for Axel and Riku to head out the window. The two of them duck-walked over to the balcony, Riku with the two bags, and Roxas following close behind. “Up and over,” he whispered fiercely, “Sora’s waiting out front with a car.”

Axel took one look over the railing and backed away. “Are you insane? That’s a four-story jump, Rox,” he said, shaking the blond by the shoulders.

Riku already had his guns in his waistband and one leg over the railing. He threw the bags over the railing first and then turned to the panicking Axel. “Climb down the fire escapes, Axel,” he said with an exasperated sigh, “or just jump if you like. No one’s complaining.”

Axel stuck his tongue out at Riku and followed him over the railing, and Roxas soon followed after. As they one by one dropped to the ground, Riku knelt down by the two bodies lying prone and unconscious on the ground.

“Xigbar and Luxord,” he muttered. Both had been pistol-whipped, as well as shot several times, but appeared to be alive.

“Dude,” breathed Axel, “your brother is badass.”

“Don’t remind me,” grumbled Roxas, running a hand through his spikes. “Come on, we need to leave before—”

A clang sounded from above them, and they all looked skyward to see an enraged Marluxia leaning over the railing, closely followed by Larxene, just as angered. The pink-haired man snarled, and then opened fire on the trio below.

The three of them ran, bullets eating at their heels. They ran down the block to the corner, where Sora was waiting for them. He leaned over and threw open the doors just as Riku tossed the bags in, Axel followed after him, and Roxas took the front seat. The moment all of the doors were closed, Sora took off, speeding down the street and quickly leaving the apartment behind.

They drove in silence for a few blocks before Roxas said quietly, “We can go to my apartment. We’ll get some rest, and then figure what to do later. Turn left here.”

Sora nodded, focused on the road. The car fell quiet again for a while, before Roxas spoke again. “So, you drive a Mustang,” he said, trailing his fingers along the edge of the door handle.

“Yep,” said Sora proudly, patting the steering wheel, “Shelby GT 500.”

“Oh,” said Roxas. And then, a moment later: “Damn, we really have a lot of catching up to do.”