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Roxas squinted as he stepped out of the Corridor of Darkness. Even in the relative protection of the alley where the Corridor had opened, the neon lights of building-sized billboards shone brightly against the city’s night sky and seared into his vision. The added chaos of car horns honking, pedestrians chattering, and far-off street musicians in the distance sent his head swimming. “Where... where did you say we were going, again?” he asked, shielding his eyes with one hand as he walked up to Axel.
“Manhattan. It’s the place to be.” Axel stood at the entrance to the alley, his hands in his pockets. He leaned against one wall and nodded at the passing crowds. “Look at all of them. Everyone’s so focused on their own thing, they don’t even notice when two suspicious characters materialize from thin air.”
“Isn’t that what we want? To go unnoticed?”
Axel smirked as he stifled a laugh. “Yeah, maybe. It’ll make what we’re about to do a little easier.”
Roxas’s brow furrowed. “What are we about to do?”
“You’ll see. Try to keep up.”
Roxas yelped as Axel bounded away, sepentining through the thick crowd with the length of his black cloak trailing behind him. “Hey, wait up!” Roxas called out, his feet tripping over each other as he bobbled his way through and around clusters of pedestrians. He kept his eyes trained on Axel’s bright red spikes, bouncing above the throng, to keep the din of the city at bay. “Where are we going?”
Axel shot a quick glance back at Roxas, half-laughing as he continued to run. “Don’t worry about it! Just keep moving!”
Roxas’s breathing labored against his pounding chest as he chased Axel across several city blocks, gaining ground and falling behind as the density of the masses on the sidewalk shrunk and expanded around him. From the edge of a dwindling crowd, he caught sight of Axel as he sidled next to the open window of a food truck, snatched two white clamshell boxes from the truck’s extended windowsill, and made a hard right turn down another dark alley.
Roxas pumped his legs to catch up, eyes and lungs burning. He turned down the alley just in time to see Axel clambering up the shaky iron fire escape attached to the alley’s side wall and climbing onto the flat roof at the top of the fire escape, the white boxes stacked in one hand and tucked under his chin. Roxas stopped short at the first ladder of the fire escape. “Axel! What are you doing up there?” Roxas paced around the ladder, his eyes set firmly on the roof of the building. “Axel!”
Axel’s voice carried from the top of the building, barely audible amid the sounds of traffic and bustling streets. “Just get up here, lunkhead!”
Roxas scowled as he hoisted himself onto the first ladder of the fire escape, hissing under his breath as he ascended the side of the building. “I swear, Axel, this better be good, or I’m going to--”
Roxas landed firmly on the soles of his feet as he swung himself over the lip of the roof. The rooftop, several stories shorter than the surrounding buildings, gave a panoramic view of rows of lighted windows, empty Juliet balconies, and, in between the two tallest buildings in the west, the Hudson River. He looked around to find Axel sitting on the edge of the roof that overlooked the street.
“Ha! Took you long enough,” Axel teased, kicking his legs over the side of the roof. He held an open clamshell box in one hand and something... odd in the other. “Pop a squat. I’m about to blow your mind.”
Roxas approached the edge of the roof, taking note of the second clamshell box opened and placed a few inches away from Axel. He scooted himself into a comfortable position next to the box, his hands gripping the concrete underneath him. “What is that?” he asked, pointing to whatever the triangular, greasy thing was in the second box.
Axel gestured with his own greasy triangle, holding it by its crimped edge as drops of oil fell from its top surface to the ground below. “This, dear Roxas, is a local delicacy.”
“Which is what, exactly?” Roxas picked up his box and brought it to his face, wrinkling his nose at the scent of cheese and tomato sauce wafting from the grease triangle.
Axel elbowed Roxas on the shoulder. “Loosen up! It’s just pizza.”
“Pizza?”
“Yeah, duh.” Axel snickered as he took a bite from his pizza, his grip tightening so that the triangle doubled in on itself. “It’s special because you fold it like this, see?”
Roxas raised an eyebrow. “That’s special?”
Axel’s eyes widened as he nodded emphatically. “Oh yeah, absolutely. See, other places make pizza, too, but the slices aren’t as wide as these, so they don’t need to be folded. The folding is what--”
“Slices?”
Axel frowned at the interruption. “Yeah. As I was saying, the folding is what gives this world’s pizza its character. It’s kind of like--”
“So pizza is sliced from something? Like what? Are there special Heartless here that--”
A primal, barbed roar erupted from the shadows of the far edge of the roof, cutting Roxas’s question short and halting Axel’s interjection before it left his mouth. Roxas’s shoulders hitched forward at the sound, his box almost slipping from his hands. He caught the slice of pizza before it fell to its demise, the cheese sliding onto the edges of the box, and righted himself on the edge of the roof.
Axel turned to the shadows, glaring into the darkness. “Hey, what’s the big idea? My compatriot here almost lost his slice.”
A pair of white, glowing eyes flashed from the darkened corner. “Who are you?” a voice demanded, intelligible despite the rasp undercutting the words.
“Hey, we could ask you the same thing,” Axel replied, turning back to face the street. “Get lost.”
Another growl emerged from the shadowed corner. “That’s my line.”
“Then come out and take it from me,” Axel singsonged. “Unless you’re too scared or someth--”
Roxas flinched as two large, taloned hands grabbed Axel by the torso and flung him backward, sending him skidding across the roof. Roxas scrambled to his feet on the flat of the roof as he sized up the attacker: red skin, white hair, wings, claws, horns, a tail, a beak... was this a Heartless or a Nobody? Or something else entirely? His stare hardened as he took up a fighting stance and called his Keyblade to his hands. Whatever it was, he and Axel could take it.
Roxas readied his first blow, swung the Keyblade high over his head to hit the creature squarely on the chest, then--
The creature roared at Roxas’s advance, ducked to the side, and batted away the Keyblade strike with one open claw. His eyes blazed a bright white. “Oh, you want to fight? Don’t mind if I do!”
The creature lunged at Roxas, a row of pointed fangs visible in his open, gnashing beak. Seconds later, a flaming chakram sailed over the roof to hit the creature in his ribs and send him tumbling across the rooftop. Letting out a pained wail, the creature dug his talons into the concrete to slow his momentum. He stopped sliding just as one of his hind legs lost purchase over the edge. “Hey! What was that for?”
Axel called back his chakram and straightened his back, a lazy grin spreading across his face. “You said you wanted to fight, right? I’m just returning the favor.”
“In that case,” the creature half-growled, lowering himself to all fours, “let’s dance.” The creature charged at Axel, talons bared to sink into Axel’s shoulders as he threw his weight against Axel’s frame.
Axel landed on the floor with a solid ‘thump.’ “Not bad, not bad,” he conceded, squirming as the creature kept him pinned to the ground. “One thing, though. You forgot to watch your back.”
The creature looked over his shoulder to find Roxas standing behind him, Keyblade held high over his head for a downward swing. With a shove, the creature rolled off of Axel and out of the Keyblade’s arc, too quickly for Roxas to stop the motion. The Keyblade hit Axel squarely in the stomach, making Axel groan.
“Agh! I’m so sorry, Axel! I didn’t mean--” Roxas’s words caught in his throat as a monstrous, clawed foot kicked into his abdomen, knocking out both his wind and his balance. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
“I’ll ask again,” the creature snarled, staring down at Axel and Roxas. The white glow had faded from his eyes, revealing dark irises and pupils which disapproved more than they threatened. “Who are you? Tell me who you are, or I might have to stop being nice.”
“You first,” Axel spat, pulling his knees together as he sat up. “You took the first shot.”
“Don’t try to be--” the creature started, then stopped as his gaze fell on Roxas’s abandoned pizza slice, lying face-down in a lighted corner of the roof. “Wait. Where did you guys get that?”
Axel sneered. “What’s it to you?”
“You didn’t get the food truck pizza, did you?” His wings folded around his shoulders as he he bent over to pick up the pizza slice between his thumb and forefinger. “Oh, that’s tragic.”
“Sure, it’s a real pity party.” Axel got to his feet, brushing bits of dirt from his coat. “No thanks to you, I might add.”
The creature brought the pizza slice to eye level at arm’s length, the skin around his eyes and beak crinkling. “You guys know that this stuff is basically inedible, right? I mean, it’s barely food.You can’t just... eat it like it’s actual pizza.”
“W-why not?” Roxas stuttered, the air returning to his lungs as he lay on the ground. “Axel said... you fold it... so it’s...”
The creature shook his head as he tossed the pizza slice onto the cement, where it made contact with a wet slap. “No, no, no. Look, just because—you know what? Wait here.” The creature held up one finger as he backed toward the edge of the roof. “I’ll show you. Stay right there.”
Roxas watched with a knitted brow as the creature perched himself on the lip of the roof and leapt, his leathery wings outstretched as he ascended into the night sky. “Should we follow him?” he asked, propping himself up on one arm.
Axel shrugged. “From the sound of it, he’s coming back. Let’s see what happens.”
Several minutes later, the creature returned, alighting onto the roof with a flat white cardboard box in tow. His wings folded back around his shoulders as he took a step toward Roxas and opened the box, revealing a number of greasy triangles arranged in a circle. “Now this is the good stuff. If you’re going to eat pizza in New York, you have to go with real New York pizza. Anything less is just sad.”
Roxas gaped at the contents of the box. “Oh, I get it! They’re slices because it’s sliced like a cake! I guess that makes more sense.”
The creature turned to Axel, the set of his beak making him appear mildly concerned. “Is your friend okay?”
Axel waved one hand dismissively. “Yeah, he’s fine. Just new.”
The creature placed the box open on the edge of the roof and sat himself beside it, crossing his legs under him. “What are you waiting for?” He pointed at the pizza with one claw, then took a slice for himself. “This isn’t going to stay hot for too much longer.”
Roxas looked to Axel, who crossed his arms and shrugged with one shoulder. “Who are we to refuse such a genteel invitation?” he asked, moving to join the creature at the lip of the roof. “Come on, Roxas, don’t be rude.”
Roxas sat on Axel’s left, as far away from the creature as he could manage. He snuck a slice of pizza from the box between them as they chatted.
“If that’s Roxas, then who are you?”
“I’m Axel. Commit it to memory.”
“What are you doing in Manhattan?”
“Showing my friend a good time. What about you?”
“I live here?”
“Fair enough. Why did you attack us earlier?”
“I protect the city. It’s what my clan does.”
“Hey, can the people down there see you?” Roxas leaned forward to make eye contact with the creature around Axel’s torso. “Axel says they don’t see us.”
The creature gave Roxas a quizzical look, the nostrils at the base of his beak scrunching closed. “Well, yeah, of course. What d’ya mean they can’t see you?”
“Oh, he’s oversimplifying,” Axel replied, bracing his hands against the edge of the roof and kicking his legs nonchalantly. “They can see us, they just don’t always notice us. If we’re careful, that is.”
The creature nodded sagely. “I get that. My clan has to do the whole cloak-and-dagger, hidden-in-the-shadows thing, too. It makes protecting the city harder, but the rest of our lives a little easier.”
Roxas nibbled on the edge of his pizza slice, folding it the same way Axel had shown him. “What are you protecting the city from?”
“This and that. Muggers, gangsters, ancient magic, billionaires. Standard stuff.”
“Low-lives like us,” Axel added, grinning.
The creature tossed the bready edge of a pizza slice into his mouth, chomping down and swallowing in one motion. “Give me a reason and we can continue our little dance from earlier, if you want. Personally, I’d rather part ways on a friendlier note.”
Axel chuckled to himself, shaking his head. “In that case, we better get going before we cause any trouble.”
“Suit yourself,” the creature responded, shrugging. “I should probably get back on patrol, anyway. My brothers don’t really appreciate being bailed on.”
The creature got to his feet, crouching on the edge of the roof as if to jump to another building. “Name’s Brooklyn, by the way. Look me up if you’re ever in Manhattan again.”
Axel gave a mock salute, then nudged Roxas to do the same.
Roxas saluted with the hand holding what was left of his pizza slice, a bit of tomato sauce splattered along the crimped, bready edge. He sputtered as Brooklyn shifted positions to take flight. “Wait! Before you go, I have another question.”
Brooklyn sighed, sitting back into a low crouch. “Yes?”
“If you don’t want people to see you, and you can’t wander around unnoticed, how did you get this pizza?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Brooklyn replied, his eyes smiling when his beak could not. “You’d be surprised what people throw away around here.”
Axel paused for a moment, his face lighting up in increments. “Then that means...” He turned to Roxas, glanced at the pizza crust in Roxas’s hand, and gagged himself into a laughing fit. “That’s trash pizza, Roxas! I can’t believe you ate it!”
Brooklyn rolled his eyes and shifted back into a flight position. “Just make sure you’re out of here by the end of the night. Sorry for crashing your date, by the way.”
Roxas blanched, dropping the pizza crust to the street below. “Date? What date?”
“Oh, not a date? My mistake, then. Later!” Brooklyn pushed himself off of the roof and extended his wings, soaring into the blackened sky and out of sight.
Roxas took hold of one of Axel’s arms, his fingers cinching around Axel’s bicep. “Axel. Is this a date.”
Tears pricked at Axel’s eyes as his laughter dissipated. “Do you even know what a date is?”
“Of course I do!” Roxas’s grip tightened on Axel’s arm. “Is this one?”
Axel tilted his head to the side, looking at Roxas from over the bridge of his nose. “Depends. Do you want it to be?”
“I don’t want to eat trash pizza on a date.” Roxas’s knuckles grew pale as he held onto Axel, his arm shaking from the effort.
Axel shooed away Roxas’s hand, the panic in Roxas’s voice putting him on edge. “Alright, alright, it’s not a date. You can let go now.”
Roxas drew back his hand, rubbing his numbing knuckles against the fabric of his coat. He said nothing, perplexed by the vague sense of disappointment forming in the pit of his stomach.
Axel let out a breath and got to his feet, his toes flush with the edge of the roof. “We should probably get going. If one of those guys can lay us low like that, I’d hate to stick around to see what his brothers could do.” He squared himself to the city skyline, taking in the light-speckled high-rises and glistening river with his arms akimbo. “It’s too bad we can’t stay. This view is pretty nice.”
Roxas mirrored Axel’s stance, checking once to make sure his feet lined up perfectly with the edge. “This is probably a good date spot. Not that I would know.”
Axel cleared his throat. “Okay, Chatterbox, that’s our cue to leave. I’m not about to get in trouble on your account.” Axel shook his head and stepped back onto the roof, opening a Corridor of Darkness in the shadowed back corner. “Plus, I have to tell Xion that you ate trash pizza. She’s going to riot.”