From the Ashes

Crystaldaggerz

Chapter One

A/N: A Kingdom Hearts fic evidently. This fic revolves around Xemnas idea that the darkness/nothingness is eternal. I'm extremely proud of how this turned out, and I hope you enjoy it as well. Make sure to watch out for the second part to ''From the Ashes'', since there will most likely be one. This chap may be vague-ish, but it is the awakening of darkness, that is a part of darkness becoming aware, conscious. :D

Disclaimer: For reasons you can not prove, I now own Kingdom Hearts. lol XD, just kidding you blood thirsty lawyers, back off! -waves a broomstick-

Hate me

for breathing without you

I don't want to feel anymore for you

"Like You'' Evanescence

Suddenly, it was alive. Aware. It did not know how, it just was. Thoughts, a concept so pleasing yet foreign, became its own. And that lead it to its next conclusion: it could feel.

Cold.

It was cold—that was the first thing it realized; a numbing chill that carved itself deep into its bones.

It quivered. Did it…even have bones?

What…am I?

Darkness.

Darkness? Was that it? Did that explain the infinite blackness that swallowed everything in its depths, swallowed it-self? Could it merely be prisoner of a world robbed of…it did not know. Something not dark.

The opposite side of darkness.

It shuddered.

Or was it the darkness?

That was likely. It did feel…empty. Emptiness was sad. Excruciating. The new feeling was upsetting and it knew, knew, that it did not particularly like that emotion. There was another sentiment that it sought to experience though it had never felt it before…hap…piness?

That was it. Emptiness brought the really bad feeling—sorrow, so what could bring joy?

Then it knew…comprehended.

It wanted to be.

And for some reason it did not know, it understood it had only to explore it-self for the answer. For there were others, those that long ago became a part of it—who could bestow what it desired…

…wholeness.

They were simply parts of it-self that had not awakened when it did—when it had been born.

For them it would be rebirth.

They were the key.

And so it reached inside it-self and released them from the impediments of nothingness, the eternal creature that lurked in this realm and still possessed a sort of hold on it and in turn, them. It and they would never truly be something. Someone.

But their nothingness was different. It knew that. Unlike it, they possessed the sort of freedom it desired, thirsted for.

It.

That was an appropriate name for it-self. It.

It. It. It. It.

And they would be the Others.

It sent them, to the Other Place where it was never before allowed to venture to in its entirety—only in pieces.

The Realm of Light.

Pieces similar to those he now called the Others, the other parts of it-self. It was their world in a way, in any case.

They would go and they would be so it could be.

And then it would no longer be it.

When Axel awoke, the first thing that greeted him in consciousness was a horrendous headache. It attacked him as soon as the darkness behind his closed lids was replaced with the brilliant glow of the morning sun.

Squinting, he groaned and sat up. When his mind had cleared some, he realized with some irritation that he was sitting on the pavement next to an intricate streetlamp in some town he didn't recognize. No one was currently outside and no lights shone from within the windows in the stone faces of the russet homes. It was still early, and the whole town was apparently still venturing the pleasant land of dreams.

Confused and slightly irked with the throbbing in his head, the redhead tried to make some sort of sense with his surroundings, surroundings that were unnaturally welcoming and warm compared to the…darkness.

He shook his head to clear more of the fogginess there and looked around.

Olive plants spilled down from strategically placed window ledges and from the top of dimmed signs, and though it wasn't exactly like one of those freakishly cheerful towns with townspeople who wore excruciatingly wide grins full of blinding perfect teeth, it did possess the kind of serenity that was hard to come by—there were cute bushy-tailed squirrels smiling at him from the iron street signs, for crying out loud! He hadn't the slightest clue where he was at the moment, or what he had been doing for that matter before he fainted…or fell asleep or…something.

His mind drew a complete blank.

He frowned.

Come to think of it….he didn't even know who he was! When that thought settled into his cloudy mind like grains of sand in still water, he groaned inwardly. To hell with where he was, who the heck was he?

"Axel, don't you dare tell me if I 'Got It memorized' again!''

"Okay…where did that come from?'' he asked aloud as he stood up, dusting himself off.

Axel? Was that supposed to be him? His frown only deepened in thought. Even though at the moment he couldn't be entirely sure, the name felt right, familiar on his tongue as if it belonged there when he said it aloud—besides, he figured that the name was kind of cool…it reminded him of fire. He liked it.

''Axel'' he said again, flexing his gloved lank fingers as he studied them.

But who was the voice in his head? It could have been someone he couldn't remember, a boy that he may have been friends with a long time ago, which would probably explain why it felt like looking at an old faded photograph whenever he tried to contemplate the memory. He hoped to God it wasn't his lover. He wouldn't take kindly to finding out he was gay.

Got it memorized? Hmm—maybe he said that often…

Axel shrugged, not particularly caring about that specific detail. At least he knew his name. He could live with that until he worked to fix the problem with his growling stomach. He patted it affectionately.

"Don't worry pal, we'll find something'' he said aloud.

"Race ya!''

He looked up to see two girls bolting from the open door of their home ahead of him and disappear down the road under a bridge where the coming of a train could be heard, its engines seemingly signaling the start of a new day. Their mother appeared shortly after them with a black pompous cat strolling by her feet with a twitching tail, oblivious to her and everything else it deemed insignificant.

Following their example were other townsfolk emerging from their homes to carry out their daily routines. No one appeared to have taken notice of him in their bustle, or if they did, they didn't care to show it.

He wondered vaguely if anyone was on their way to a food joint as he groaned again in hunger. His stomach had attacked him again.

Wasn't there a saying that went something like ''When in doubt, do as others do'' or something along those lines?

He couldn't remember where he had heard that before, but he figured that it had to be about right. If he followed someone around long enough, he was bound to find something to quiet his frustrated stomach.

And then he could work to find the lost pieces of himself.

Of Axel.

...

Xemnas and Xigbar and Xaldin.

Vexen.

Lexaeus.

Zexion and Saix.

Axel and Demyx.

Luxord.

Marluxia and Larzene.

And number thirteen, Roxas.

They were the others—the other pieces of it, of darkness and of nothingness. Thirteen pieces of nothing were still nothing.

They were all connected: the nothingness and it, the darkness. Even though the Others were now in the realm of the Undark, the Other Place or the…Realm of Light, It could still feel the very edges of their consciousness with its entire being. And in turn, the Others would be able to feel it.

Feel.

The idea that it could feel was still very…intoxicating.

Yes...

More.

And It wanted more. Much more.

It would obtain that. What It needed to really exist, to truly be. To walk in the realm of the Undark.

A body.

And only after that would it work to gain something more—something the Others themselves wanted. It would wait here in the darkness, in it-self—until the Others remembered who they were. It would give them that at least. For after that, they would serve their purposes. They had had their chance at life. Now it's turn had come.

And when it was whole, the Others would once again become a part of it. Back to the Ashes.

It wanted to laugh at that, and it almost did.

Almost.

A/N: Yay! I feel great—if there's any mistakes now I definitely don't have an excuse for it seeing as I used Word -woots really loud- I hope I portrayed the 'Awakening of Darkness' pretty well. I'm going to do research on all of the Organization members so I can get their characters just right. Sora, Riku and Kairi will definitely be making an appearance.