Omitted

The trial story focused on the trial and less on some more of the aftermath of escaping that I'd originally had planned. It's not a revenge fic - I would never kill Axel. Except for his team-kills at Castle Oblivion, I actually do like him. Here's an extended part of the beginning in Zexion's room:

 As soon as Zexion fell asleep, Mikage took out her sewing kit and set to work mending his coat. "If only mending you were this easy," she sighed. She knew that while Zexion's physical wounds would heal in a matter of days, he had some new mental scars to add to his original ones. That's two more guardians he's lost. There's no way he can take much more. We'll be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our days.
Zexion became restless and woke up suddenly, breathing heavily; he tried to sit up but recoiled in pain. Mikage was there immediately to calm him down. After looking around the room for a moment, he said, "It wasn't all a nightmare, was it."
"I'm afraid not," Mikage replied. "I'm sorry."
"What do you have to be sorry for? You got us back here safely."
"A promise is a promise."
Zexion looked away. "I miss them," he murmured.
"I do too, though you were closer to them than I was. But you're still not alone."
"That's right. Then they'll be in my...Oh." He touched his chest where his heart should have been. "I don't have one. So why am I still acting like I do?"
"Limbic system?" Mikage guessed.
"Yeah, something like that." Zexion sighed, conflicted as to what he should believe.
"Try to go back to sleep."
"I'll just keep having the same bad dream. It's not a first for me, but it hasn't happened in a really long time. Now that Lexaeus isn't around..." His voice trailed off as he remembered all the times Lexaeus/Aeleus had comforted him during the night.
Mikage tried to cheer him up. "Well, you've still got me and Xaldin and even Xigbar."
Zexion made a face. "Xigbar's no help."
"He might just surprise you. After all, he seemed very concerned about you earlier."
Although he was loathe to admit it, he knew that it was true. In his own way, Xigbar cared about him, and so had Vexen. Xemnas, however, was not the type of person to show him any kindness; the best thing he could do in his eyes would be to recover quickly and continue Vexen's work. "I know I can't leave, and I don't really want to, but I don't know if I can do this anymore," he said quietly. "I just have no interest in what Vexen was doing, not that he ever let me in on any of it beyond giving me his reports to type up. But those weren't his current notes."
Mikage looked concerned. "Do you think Xemnas will make you go back there and get them?"
"Probably. If he does, he won't take no for an answer. He's not going to care that I'm terrified of that place now."
His PTSD... "Someone else should go, even if it's just to accompany you. I'm sure Xaldin and Xigbar would say the same thing."
"But what if they can't convince him?"
"Then I'll sneak out and join you," she determined matter-of-factly.
Zexion's eyes widened. "That'd be...he'd turn you into a Dusk for insubordination!"
"Worth the risk."
"No it isn't!" He held onto Mikage tightly. "I need you, Kage-san..."
Mikage gingerly put her arms around him. "All right. For your sake, I'll try not to break any rules, then. But you have to get more rest, okay?"
"I'd feel a little better if I could put my coat back on," he said self-consciously, clutching his bare arms.
"It's almost done." Mikage returned to her sewing.
"Thank you," he muttered sheepishly. "I left my spare one back at Castle Oblivion."
Once it was finished, she helped him put it back on. "Do you need anything else?"
"No, but don't go anywhere."
"I won't."

Axel on Trial

The fan comic "The Trial" was so much fun that I decided to write one of my own with Axel on trial for the murder of Vexen and the attempted murder of Zexion and my character Mikage.

Mikage opened up a portal of her own and pulled Zexion through it. It closed before either Repliku or Axel could reach them. They arrived in Zexion's room, and Mikage helped him onto his bed to start treating his injuries. "Go get Xaldin," Zexion asked her. "Please. With Vexen gone, he's the closest we have to a doctor."
"I'm not leaving your side," Mikage flat-out refused. Luckily, some Dusks were skulking around, and she could ask them to bring a message to Xaldin.
Xaldin arrived and was a bit unnerved to see Zexion in such a state, but he kept calm. "What happened?" he asked. "Where are the others?"
"They've all been destroyed except for Axel. He killed Vexen and tried to kill us," Mikage told him.
Xaldin became angry, not having liked Axel to begin with. "He'd better not show his face around here again. Did he do this to you?"
"No. This was from fighting Riku," Zexion explained.
Xaldin shook his head. I knew we shouldn't have let you in on this, Mikage heard him think. "Take your coat off and let me see," he instructed aloud. Zexion took his hand off his left side long enough to get his coat unzipped but needed Mikage's help to remove it. "These two blade wounds are not that deep and only require basic first aid, but I'll have to put together a poultice for those bruised ribs. Hold on."
As Xaldin disappeared to find the herbs he needed, Xigbar entered, having been eavesdropping from the hallway. "Is it true?" he asked. "Axel's a traitor?" Mikage sensed more than concern for Zexion. This wasn't part of the plan, she heard him think.
"It looks that way," Mikage answered.
"Jeez. I guess I'll have to tell Xemnas. Are you going to be okay, kid?"
"Yeah, I'll be all right," Zexion said quietly. "But Vexen and Lexaeus are..." He couldn't bring himself to say the dreaded word. "We'll never see them again."
"Yeah. It sucks." This shouldn't have happened. "You're not hurt, are you, Mikage-chan?"
"Nope. I wasn't the one fighting," Mikage replied. "I just got us out of there as quickly as possible."
"That's good. Thanks for bringing him home." Xigbar turned to leave, presumably to talk to the Superior, but then he stopped short to throw a quip at Zexion. "Oh, hey, if those turn into scars, the chicks will be all over you." He pointed finger guns at him and then walked away.
Zexion became embarrassed. "Wh-what? N-no way." He asked Mikage for confirmation. "That's not true, right?"
Mikage shrugged. "Xaldin said they were no big deal, so they'd only make the faintest of scars anyway. I'll patch you up while we wait for him." She took out an antiseptic wipe from the first aid kit and tended to the long cuts on his torso. He flinched at the cold burning sensation it caused.
After she applied the salve and bandages, Xaldin returned. He mixed the herbs together into a poultice and secured it to Zexion's ribs with gauze. "Lie down on your right side and rest. I'll tell the others not to bother you."
"Thank you, nii-san," Zexion whispered.
"You were probably going to do this anyway, but stay here with him," Xaldin told Mikage. "You don't have to go back to your cell or do anything else for the time being." Mikage nodded in understanding; even though he was too old for a babysitter, Zexion was still vulnerable.
It took a few days for Zexion's body to heal, and when Axel did finally return to the Organization's castle, the Superior put him on trial. Roxas could not believe what his friend had done. Xigbar had told him all about it, but Axel had claimed there had been extenuating circumstances for his behavior. Saix had been willing to let his friend take all the blame for the suicide mission he'd sent him on, but he could not be sure that Axel wouldn't spill the beans. Still, he volunteered to be the defense attorney to Axel while Xigbar acted as the prosecuting attorney.
The trial was held in the round room with all remaining members present. Because she was involved in the proceedings, Mikage sat next to Zexion in Vexen's seat. Axel's seat was also next to Zexion, but as the defendant he'd been bumped down to Larxene's seat. Roxas and Xion, who weren't even allowed to know of Sora's existence, were forced to wait in the lobby. Roxas was upset, but Xion didn't know what to think; as Roxas was her friend, she wanted to share his belief in Axel. Before they took their places, Roxas wanted to ask Mikage a question. "Why are you testifying against Axel? Weren't the two of you friends?"
"We were, and then he tried to kill me," Mikage responded. "When two of the people you're friends with don't get along, what would you do?"
"Um...eat ice cream together?"
"It's not always as simple as that. When it gets so bad that one of your friends tries to kill the other, whose side are you going to be on?" Roxas didn't have an answer. "Think about that." Mikage left the two on the sofa and went into the round room.
Zexion told the "court" that he'd sensed Axel was the one responsible for murdering Vexen, not Sora or Riku. "Because Kage-san and I knew this, and I'd survived my battle with Riku, Axel told us we had to die," he said.
"What were the culprit's methods?" Xigbar asked.
"Once Vexen was defeated, Axel burned him to death - in front of Sora," Zexion replied. "He was going to have Vexen's Riku replica drain what was left of my energy and Kage-san's, but as she was yet uninjured we fled using one of her portals. I had had only enough energy for one portal myself, and I'd already used it to get away from the real Riku."
"And where was the other member of your team?" Xigbar only included this question to paint a complete picture of the situation.
"Lexaeus had already been felled by the real Riku."
"No further questions."
Saix had a counter for everything and secretly relished every second of his cross-examination. "You never actually saw the accused perpetrate the murder, correct?"
"Technically no, but my nose is never wrong."
"Oh really? Describe how you knew it was Riku who killed Lexaeus."
"Objection!" Xigbar exclaimed, regretting having brought it up in the first place.
"Overruled," Xemnas said disinterestedly.
"That was low," Mikage muttered to herself.
"I sensed Riku's dark energy overtake him, and then Lexaeus's existence was snuffed out," Zexion replied shakily. "When it was Vexen's turn, I smelled fire."
"Couldn't it have been Sora using a fire spell?" Saix asked.
"No. Sora's Firaga smells different from Axel's."
"That's easy to say without any physical evidence. Where is Sora now?"
"Before I fought Riku, Sora had just defeated Marluxia. I don't know what happened to him after that."
"How did you know it wasn't Axel that time?"
"I sensed Sora's light, of course. Not fire, light. That is how Sora finishes off an opponent for good."
Saix checked his notes. "Are you quite certain that spells smell unique to their user?"
"What are you getting at?"
"Before things fell apart at Castle Oblivion, you filed a report that claims you sensed the Superior's dark scent there when he was never there at all. It turned out to be Riku's. How do you explain that?"
Zexion looked sheepish. "They were so similar I thought they were the same at first. I knew it couldn't be the Superior, but..."
"Riku is a special case," Xemnas interjected. "He had been taken over by my Heartless, which gave him his dark power."
"Nothing further," Saix grumbled, sulking. He hadn't been able to damage Zexion's credibility, but he had another opportunity with Mikage up next.
Mikage corroborated Zexion's statement. "Can you tell us anything more about the circumstances of the murder?" Xigbar asked.
"Well, we were wondering why Vexen was spending so much time with the other team, so I went up there to see what he was doing," Mikage began. "When I got there, Marluxia was threatening Vexen and holding his scythe to Vexen's throat."
"And what were Larxene and Axel doing?"
"They were just standing there, but they looked like they were egging him on."
"What did you do?"
"I stepped in front of Vexen and asked Marluxia what he thought he was doing. Vexen said it was okay and told me to go back downstairs and wait for him. Of course, he never came back."
"The prosecution rests."
Saix geared up for his cross-examination. "That was a nice story. Too bad it doesn't point to Axel as the culprit. If anything, you made it look like Marluxia tried to kill Vexen."
"Is there a question in there?" Xigbar asked.
"Do you think it's possible that Marluxia told Axel to kill Vexen and that Axel was just following orders?"
"Yes, I believe that's very possible," Mikage answered. "It doesn't change the fact that he did it."
"But it does change the intent. After all, is murder really murder when a soldier is following an order?"
"Marluxia was a traitor!" Mikage snapped.
"Nevertheless, the Superior put him in charge of Castle Oblivion, which means every single one of you had to do what he said. Axel will testify that he was assigned to that team to prove that Marluxia and Larxene were the traitors. Vexen was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Ask her a question or be done with her," Xemnas advised.
"Y-yes, Superior." Saix didn't like being shut down by Xemnas, let alone twice. "Isn't it true that you are biased toward Vexen and Zexion?"
"What do you mean by that?" Mikage asked, thinking she knew the answer.
"The way you stood up to Marluxia on Vexen's behalf at your own peril, and the fact that you agreed with everything in Zexion's testimony."
"I was there."
"Would you lie for those two?"
"I don't have to lie. It's the truth."
"If either of them was on trial instead of Axel, would you lie to protect them?"
Axel shot a confused glance at Saix, whose only goal with this line of questioning seemed to be stirring up trouble and driving a wedge between Zexion and Mikage. However, it was no secret to him that Saix resented all the time Mikage spent with the kid instead of them. Mikage felt everyone's eyes on her; distressed, she looked at Zexion apologetically before answering. "No. I would only try to prove extenuating circumstances like what you're doing with Axel."
Saix scowled. "I'm done with this witness."
It was Axel's turn to explain himself. He confirmed that he had been assigned to Castle Oblivion to weed out the traitors and that Marluxia had told him to kill Vexen. "The way it happened was this. I had to be sympathetic to their cause and pretend like I wasn't going to rat them out. I agreed to do whatever they said. After Mikage left, Marluxia sent Vexen to fight Sora in a projection of Twilight Town. Sora had no idea that world even existed, since he'd never actually been there before. That's when Vexen started blabbing about things the hero didn't need to know about. It was my job to silence him. After all, if he told Sora everything, he was no better than a traitor himself, now was he? It didn't matter whether or not Marluxia told me to do it, but he did."
"For the record, how did you know what Vexen was saying?" Saix asked, wanting to cover all his bases before it was Xigbar's turn.
"With that crystal ball thingy we had upstairs," Axel replied. "It's my understanding that the basement team didn't have one of those."
"And what do you have to say about the other two?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like. They knew what I did and weren't too happy about it, so I figured I'd get them before they got me. But here I am on trial anyway."
Don't you dare try to claim it was self-defense! Zexion thought angrily.
Satisfied that Axel wasn't going to confess about their conspiracy, Saix concluded his interrogation. "The defense rests."
Xigbar went on the attack. "Why did Marluxia give Vexen the data card for Twilight Town if Sora wasn't supposed to know about it?"
"Beats me," Axel said. "I wasn't the one calling the shots."
"Doesn't it sound like Vexen was set up?"
"Maybe, if he didn't like hearing himself talk so much."
"Vexen isn't the one on trial here, although he did like to hear himself talk. But that's not a crime. Murder, on the other hand, is, which is exactly what you did, sanctioned or not. And who exactly is allowed to sanction such things?"
"Well, the Superior did put Marluxia in charge."
"But the Superior did not want Vexen dead. We have suffered quite the setback due to his loss."
"Well excuse me for not coddling the scientists like SOME people," Axel retorted. Mikage glared at him, but she was not the only one.
"You claimed you had to 'get' Zexion and Mikage before they 'got' you, but were they in any position to do so?"
"Uh...they're tougher than they look?" Axel had no excuse for this one.
"With respect to my clients, doubtful. And why use this Replica Riku to do it for you? Was it really too much effort for you to set them ablaze like you did Vexen? I mean, I'm glad you didn't, but why?"
"I had just finished fighting Sora as well, faking my own death so that I might escape."
"That's your excuse? You were tired? It doesn't sound like you were worse off than Zexion, who was beaten nearly to within an inch of his life."
"Okay, and I wanted to scare the kid. So what?"
"You really don't get it, do you?"
"I get that people like to play favorites around here."
"I've heard enough," Xemnas interrupted. "This trial was a formality. It's no great mystery that Axel is guilty; the question is how guilty. While I did give Marluxia reign over at Oblivion, that reign was not free. Axel, you were tasked with getting rid of the traitors you were teamed up with, and yet neither fell by your hand. Instead, you went after two of my own circle, one because you thought he was jeopardizing the mission and the other to cover it up. If you had suspected other traitors, you should have reported it to me and let me handle the proceedings. Instead, it's as Xigbar said; we have suffered loss and setbacks, but we will carry on. As for you, you're on probation until you have proven trustworthy. This meeting is adjourned." With that, he disapparated, probably to the Chamber of Repose.
"Note to self: watch out for Axel," Demyx remarked before disappearing too.
"What, no coin flip to determine his fate?" Luxord mused. "Oh well. I suppose the Superior knows what he's doing." He vanished as well.
Xaldin pulled out his lance. "I'm going someplace to vent before I do something I'll regret," he growled, glaring at Axel.
The rest of them filed out into the lobby. "Axel!" Roxas exclaimed. "How did it go?"
"We'll talk about this later," Saix snarled, leaving Axel to his new friends.
"Sheesh. What's his problem?" Axel remarked, trying not to worry Roxas.
"What was that about?" Roxas asked. "You won, right?"
"It's not a matter of winning or losing. I did what I thought I had to do, which turned out to be the wrong thing, and now I'm on probation."
"Oh. What does that mean?"
"It means I have to follow instructions to the letter and get everyone to trust me again or else the Superior could have me turned into a Dusk or worse."
"I'm glad...you're not dead," Xion spoke up.
"I'm glad you are. Not everyone is."
Roxas looked over at Xigbar, Zexion, and Mikage, who were talking together in the opposite corner of the room. He turned back to Axel to ask another question. "But I don't understand why Xion and I weren't allowed in."
Axel couldn't tell him the real reason - that they couldn't bring up Sora or the Replica Project in front of them or else they'd have an existential crisis. "Some pretty sensitive information was being tossed around; that's how the whole problem got started, really," he said. "Demyx and Luxord were only there as impartial observers. I'm surprised they were there at all for all they had to do. You two need only concern yourselves with the Heartless, anyway. This had absolutely nothing to do with you."
"But we wanted to support you, Axel."
"Because that's what friends do," Xion added.
Axel grinned. "What's done is done, and I did it. There's no sense in denying it."
Zexion picked up were Vexen left off, taking a contingent of Dusks with him wherever he went, and Mikage returned to doing chores. Whenever they weren't doing that, they were always together, which seemed to piss Saix off even more; he had missed his opportunity to kill them and get away with it, though.

Crystal Has Nothing on Classic

So...Mamoru's going to help her with the final battle instead of her friends? The only reason that was okay in Cardcaptors is that Li was the only other person with power and everyone else was asleep. Doing it here kind of undermines the message a bit  if she's relying on a man rather than the power of friendship. If they were still pushing the power of love, then why keep the four knights around long enough to establish their relationship with the four guardians only to kill them off immediately afterward? Halfway through a 26-episode run we have an episode called "Final Battle" except it isn't really the final battle as more stuff happens in the next episode. This battle has gotten more development than any individual character, giving fans of the original no reason to care about these new incarnations as they know less about them than their original counterparts.

Galavant is surprisingly good for Disney-owned ABC. It's actually got cursing in it (bleeped of course), and it's really funny if at times crass. Timothy Omundson was Detective Lassiter on Psych, which also did a musical, so I think of him every time he's on screen. The screening clips on abc.com are great, too. Everyone got teary-eyed at Alan Menken's medley and mouthed some of the words before all joining in singing "Galavant" at the end. The songs really are catchy. Other ABC shows even used the melody in their advertising, which was kind of annoying and cheesy but that goes to prove how talented Menken is (if the early 90s Disney movies weren't proof enough).

Kagemiya Sayuri Epilogue

With all the loose ends being wrapped up last time, there was just one more person who needed to be addressed. Don't ask me what grade they'd be in now, though, or if they had to make up the years they'd spent as Nobodies.
When Kagemiya returned to school, a familiar voice called out to her. "Sayuri!"
    "Senpai?" The last time she'd seen Relena, it was as a Nobody who enjoyed tormenting her and the others. This time, however, there didn't seem to be any malice in her voice, and there was a concerned look on her face. Someone must have told her, Kagemiya thought.
    Relena stopped just short of hugging her and looked at her sheepishly. "Um...how have you been?"
    "I'm doing better," Kagemiya replied.
    "Did it hurt?"
    "Did what hurt, exactly?"
    "Your heart...what it did."
    "No...not really. It was just so scary."
    Relena remembered being destroyed as a Nobody. "Yeah. Dying is scary..."
    Kagemiya only knew Sora had killed Larxene from what Axel had told her and Zexion. Relena didn't know that Axel had killed Mikage. She decided to change the subject. "You decided to come back to school too?"
    "I don't like leaving things unfinished," Relena answered, "or anything left unsaid. I acted like a total bitch when I thought I didn't have a heart. I didn't think it mattered what I said or did to anyone since they didn't have hearts either."
    "It's okay now," Kagemiya reassured her. "Come on, the bell's about to ring. Let's go."