Tattered Soul

Tattered Soul

Summary: Takes place in the “Life” universe. Zexion is cold and distant, but he wasn't always like this. He decided to drink once and ended up having his heart and soul ripped out by a cold, heartless jerk. Because of one stupid mistake. Now he can't trust anyone. Not even himself. AU. Mpreg. Mild MarluxiaxZexion. Later ZexionxDemyx

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters associated with Kingdom Hearts or Kingdom Hearts II. I'm merely borrowing them.

Timeline: This takes place about a year before To Save A Life begins.

Explanation: I was writing chapter 2 of To Save a Life and all of a sudden I got an idea for a side story, involving and focusing on Zexion and the reason why he's so cold and distant in To Save a Life. Thus, this was born.

Pairings: Mild (very very mild) MarluxiaxZexion, MarluxiaxLarxene, later ZexionxDemyx, and maybe even some AxelxRoxas depending on how far I take this. Please notice that most of these pairings are yaoi (boyxboy) pairings so if you don't like that, then go read something else.

Note: You don't have to read To Save a Life first in order to understand this. And you don't have to read this before To Save a Life for that to make sense. You can read them in any order you want.

Second note: I apologize to my readers for randomly deciding to rewrite this. I wasn't happy at all with the way this had turned out so I decided to rewrite/revise this. Sorry!

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Chapter 1

Zexion was a loner.

It had been like that for as long as he could remember. He had been born different. He didn't look like anyone else; he barely even resembled his parents. His eyes were a combination of his mother's blue and his father's violet eyes. His hair, which was a dark ebony like his mother's at his birth turned to a dark silver by his second birthday. He was thin, pale, and petite, much smaller than most boys his age. He was different.

When he was four, he lost his parents in a car accident. He scarcely remembered anything except waking up in the hospital, crying for his mom. Because he didn't have any known living relatives, he was put in foster care. For the next nine years, he was shifted from one to the next for various reasons. One turned out to be a drug dealer, another abusive. Once he was put in the care of an older woman, but she died. He moved from one town to another, never staying in one place for more than a year. Because he moved around so much, he never made any friends. After a while, he gave up trying to make friends and instead closed himself off in his room reading. He liked books more than he liked people. He loved what he could learn from books. He retained all the knowledge he gained from them and it helped him greatly in school. The other students looked down on him because he was smart and actually applied himself.

When he was thirteen, social services managed to track down his godparents Cloud Strife and Leon Squall. They were a gay couple who lived in a small town called Twilight Town. Zexion, who had lived in the nearby city of Radiant Garden was sent to live with them. Normally, it was next to impossible for a gay couple to adopt, but Zexion had been giving social services grief for nine years and frankly, they were glad to be getting rid of him.

Zexion nervously paced around his empty bedroom. Everything had been packed except his furniture; his godfathers had assured him that it was not necessary. They only thing he needed to bring with him were his possessions. Zexion didn't really have much; just some clothes and his books. His godfathers would be arriving soon to take him to his new home in Twilight Town and he had no idea of what they were like or even what they looked like. He always hated meeting people for the first time. Downstairs, he heard the doorbell and one of the Social Services ladies call up to him.

“Zexion, your godfathers are here!” she yelled.

Silently, Zexion made his way downstairs. The woman was in the front hall with two unfamiliar men. He was surprised to see how young they were. Both of them were in their mid-to-late twenties. One of

them was a brunette, the other a blond. The brunette had hazel colored eyes and a long scar across his face. The blond had stunning blue eyes and really spiky hair. Both of them studied him carefully.

“Hello Zexion,” the brunette said softly. “You probably don't remember us at all. You were young when we first met. I'm Leon and this is Cloud.” The man pointed to himself first, then his companion. Zexion said nothing, but carefully eyed the two men. He didn't remember his godfathers at all.

“He's a bit shy,” the Social Services woman explained.

“I see. He and Cloud will get along great. He doesn't talk that much either,” Leon muttered. “Are your things upstairs?” Zexion silently nodded. Leon headed for the stairs.

“His room is the second on the left!” the Social Services woman called after him. She went into the kitchen, leaving Zexion with his other godfather, the one Leon said didn't talk much. The two of them stared silently at each other until Leon came down with a large box in his arms.

“Cloud can you help me bring the boxes down?” Leon grunted.

Cloud nodded and headed for the stairs. Zexion hesitated, unsure of what he should do. Finally, he decided to go upstairs and see what he could do to help. He ended up carrying a box of clothes down. He slowly followed Cloud outside. A silver SUV sat in the driveway next to the Social Service lady's sleek convertible. The trunk of the SUV was open and Leon was stowing boxes in the back. He took their boxes without a word and stuck them in the back. Several trips later, all of Zexion's things were fit nicely in the back of the SUV. Zexion politely said goodbye to the Social Services lady and thanked her for all her help. The lady smiled and said that it was no trouble at all. Zexion climbed in the back and put his seatbelt on while his godfathers sat up front. They seemed to respect that Zexion didn't like talking that much because they, unlike some of Zexion's previous guardians, didn't incessantly interrogate him about himself. They weren't bothered by silence, like most people were.

Zexion stared out the window, bored. He wished he hadn't packed all his books, but there was nothing he could do about it at this point. He knew it was an hour's drive from Radiant Garden to Twilight Town so why hadn't he thought to leave one of his books out so he'd have something to do on the drive? He knew quite a bit about his new home. After he learned that he was going to be moving there, he did research to find out as much as he could on it. Twilight Town was a small town, about a third of what Radiant Garden was. It was the type of place where everyone knew everyone which would mean it was going to be a lot harder for him to fit in. He would be the outsider, a poor orphan boy shifted from one family to the next. No doubt the entire town already knew his story. It was a small, quiet, unchaning town where the young couldn't wait to get the hell out of there and where the old never wanted to leave.

An hour later, they arrived in Twilight Town. It was just as Zexion expected. Half the people didn't even own cars; the town was small enough that they weren't needed and there was a tram service that supplemented their needs. There was a train that ran from Twilight Town to Radiant Garden and to the even farther city of Hollow Bastion, but it was a four hour trip one way because of all the stops that needed to be made. As they entered the city, they passed by a large, run down mansion.
“That's the Old Mansion,” Leon explained when Zexion asked. “It was owned by a rich family once, but their youngest daughter died and they packed up and left town. It's actually still in use, by the gang known as Organization XIII. Strangest bunch of guys you'll ever meet. But that's why they're a group.

There are a lot of rumors that are circulating about what goes on and none of them are good.”
“What do you think?” Zexion asked quietly.

Leon looked at him in the rear view mirror, surprised. “Me? I think they're harmless. The only reason why they're together in the first place is because they don't fit in with the rest of the town for one reason or another and are ostracized because everyone in this town doesn't like people who are different. They think everyone should be the same.”
“But if everyone was the same, the world would be a boring place, wouldn't it?”

Leon nodded. “Exactly kid. Exactly.”

The following day, Zexion started school. Though he was only thirteen years old, he had skipped a grade. It was a day he would never forget because that was where he met Axel.

He was running late because his alarm had failed to go off. He skipped breakfast and opted to take a banana on the way. Twilight Town was a small enough town that he could walk to school. He felt his heart sink as he walked into the high school. Not only did everyone have some shade of blond or brown hair just like at his old school, they all stared at him as he passed. This was going to be a long four years.

Zexion found his locker and opened it on his first try. He grabbed the books he'd need for his first couple classes, closed his locker, and easily navigated his way through the small school to his first class. When he arrived, he stopped and stared. He couldn't help it; there were two boys there who stuck out like him. The first had rosy pink hair and piercing blue eyes. The other had vibrant red hair and bright green eyes. His lips curled up into a smirk when he saw Zexion looking at him.

“Hey kid. The name's Axel. Welcome to hell,” he whispered as Zexion passed, though he couldn't tell if the boy was being friendly or not. Zexion chose to ignore him as he walked up to the front of the room where the teacher was waiting. He had long silver hair and strange eyes. Nervously, he handed him a piece of paper that had his information on it. The teacher wordlessly read it and regarded him coolly.

“Shouldn't you be in middle school, little boy?” he asked.

Zexion felt a stab of indignation. Little boy? Who did this man think he was?

“I skipped a grade,” he said coldly.

“Ah, I see,” the teacher said, staring Zexion down.

Zexion Supposed that he was supposed to feel intimidated, but all he felt was bored. The teacher seemed to notice. He glared at Zexion, who just glared coldly back.

“Go...sit by Axel,” the teacher finally said dismissively. “He's the redheaded clown in the back of the room.”

“Yes sir,” Zexion said.

He pointedly ignored the stares and whispers of the other students as he moved to the back of the room. He dropped into the seat next to the redhead and arranged his things on his desk.

“That was amazing,” Axel hissed.

“What was?” Zexion asked without turning.

“The way you stood up to Sephiroth like that. No one has ever dared to look him in the eye before, much less stare him down.”
Zexion shrugged. “He didn't bother me. He wanted me to be intimidated. That's how he gets all his power.”

“You're a strange kid.” Axel shook his head. “Hey, you got a name? Don't make me call you 'kid' because I will.”

“Zexion,” Zexion said quietly. “My name is Zexion.”
“Zexion?” Axel pursed his lips as though trying to remember something. “Cloud and Leon's god kid, right?”

“Yes,” Zexion mumbled uncomfortably.

“Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Both of them are great guys.”

“I know.”

The final bell rang and Sephiroth started class. He made it right away that he strongly disliked Zexion, though Zexion didn't really care. He answered Sephiroth's questions correctly every time he picked on him, making him angrier and angrier. Finally, Sephiroth called him a know-it-all, but name calling didn't faze him. He had already heard it all at all his other schools. The bell rang signaling the end of class. Sephiroth assigned ten pages of homework to attempt to spite him, though of course it didn't work.

“Did you see old Sephi?” Axel laughed as he left the classroom with Zexion. “I thought he was going to blow a gasket. How did you know all that stuff anyway?”

Zexion shrugged. “I read a lot.'

“Boy, I guess. What's your next class?”
Zexion consulted his schedule. “Algebra I with Mr. Fischer.”

“Yeah, that's where I'm going,” Axel said enthusiastically. “They put the freshman in a lot of the same classes together. Chances are they put you in a lot of the same classes as me. Can I see your schedule?”

Zexion handed his schedule over. “Yeah, we've got all but our fifth period together. Awesome!”

Axel was Zexion's first friend. It turned out that Axel only had a few friends himself. He was definitely an oddball, but that was why Zexion liked him so much. It was through Axel that he learned more about Organization XIII.

There were only five members in Organization XIII according to Axel. They were a gang of sorts, misfits who didn't fit in for one reason or another. It was easy to spot them; they wore floor length black cloaks with silver decorations. Axel knew some of the members and was keen on joining. Zexion wasn't so sure, but when Axel appealed to the leader of the Organization, Xemnas, he did as well. One of the elder members of the Organization, Xaldin brought them to the Organization headquarters, the Old Mansion on the edge of town. The outside may have looked derelict, but the interiro was surprisingly modern. Xaldin led them into a large circular room with thirteen throne-like chairs.
A lone cloaked figure sat in the tallest chair. He had long silver hair and yellowish bronze eyes.

“Are these the two boys who wish to join the Organization?” he asked in a melodramatic voice.

“Yes.” Xaldin nodded.

“Very well. You may leave.” Xaldin nodded again and left. Xemnas turned to Axel and Zexion. “Tell me, why is it you wish to join the Organization? Why don't you fit in with everyone else? Speka one at a time.”
“Right. Do you want me to go first or do you want to?” Axel turned to Zexion.

“You go,” Zexion muttered.

He listened curiously to Axel's explanation on why he was different from everyone else and why he wanted to join the Organization. It turned out that Axel liked to play with fire. When he fell silent at last, Xemnas turned to Zexion.

Zexion took a deep breath before talking. “My name is Zexion. I'm only thirteen, but I'm in high school. When I was four, I lost my parents in a car accident, and I went to live with a foster family. It didn't work out. For nine years, I went from one foster family to another. Because of this, I didn't make any friends, so I started secluding myself, and I began reading a lot. I learned...a lot and that's why I was able to skip a grade. But this, as well as my appearance which is so blatantly odd made the other kids look down on me.”

“Yes, it is a feeling we have all experienced. If you don't mind, wait outside until I can come to a decision. You will find another young man waiting outside. He's also seeking acceptance into the Organization.”

Axel and Zexion hastily exited the large room. They found the young man Xemnas was referring to, though he was closer to Xemnas's age than their own. He ignored them. Ten minutes later, they were called back into the room they would later learn was called 'Where Nothing Gathers'. The three of them were accepted into the Organization, Zexion as Number VI, Saix as Number VII, and Axel as Number VIII. Why they were in that order was only known to Xemnas.

Zexion's life scarcely changed after he was accepted into the Organization. He got the same black tattoo around his left wrist that the others had around their dominant writs and he wore the same clothes as the rest of them, but he was the same person. He lived at home with his godparents though he would occasionally stay at the Organization headquarters in his room. He and Axel managed to find some cheap furniture to decorate his room and he had brought some of his things from home to make iit seem more like a room, but it was really more like an apartment. There was a large sitting room with a kitchen attached a bathroom, and a bedroom. Zexion's godfathers got transferred to Hollow Bastion because of their work, but Zexion chose to remain in Twilight Town with the Organization. He permanently moved into the Organization headquarters and made his room his personal sanctuary.

Over the next several months, they added four new members. Demyx, a sweet, sensitive boy Zexion's own age, Luxord, an older man with bleached blond hair and an addiction to gambling, Marluxia, a rose haired boy who was sensitive about it, and Larxene, the only girl, who had a nasty mean streak in her. For the first time, Zexion felt like he actually belonged somewhere. For once, he felt like he had a real family until he made a mistake. One stupid mistake that cost him everything.

To be continued...

A/N: Wow, that was a lot different than what I first wrote. A lot longer too. But that's a good thing. I like it a lot better now. It's much more detailed and I think it delves more into Zexion's character than the first version did. Reviews are greatly appreciated and help me to update faster.