Title: Living the Nightmare
Author: Kayne
Rating: M
Fandom: Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Horror/Adventure
Characters: The whole crew, but focuses on Squall/Cloud, Riku/Sora, Yuffie, and Tifa.
Warnings: Yaoi, language, strong violence/gore, seriously twisted shit. Not for the faint of heart.
Disclaimer: Squeenix owns the crew. The world they visit is my own twisted creation.
Summary: Set about two years after Kingdom Hearts 2; Sora, Riku, and Kairi are living in Radiant Garden. After picking up on a cry for help from a distant world, Squall, Cloud, Sora, and the crew head off to help. What they find is not the Heartless they expected, but something much worse. Saving the world soon becomes a distant memory as they soon focus on getting out with their sanity intact.
"That SOS signal's getting stronger, Leon," Tifa Lockhart said as she checked her console. She tapped a few keys and smiled, turning around to look at the dark-haired warrior peering over her shoulder. "And now I have exact coordinates. Do you want me to route them over to Sora's station?"
Squall Leonhart nodded. "Do it, then figure out a landing spot for us. I don't want to give the Heartless a chance to pick up on our ship." His brow furrowed as he recalled the eerie message which came along with the SOS signal Cid had picked up. Heavy breathing, followed by a gurgling screech had crackled out of the speakers, chilling the listening Radiant Garden Committee members. Cid had been about to turn the comm off when a hysterical giggling abruptly burst over the line. Squall shivered as he heard the horrific noise once again in his mind. The sound had been like a child's hysterics, only far more sinister. Shaking his head in an effort to get the message out of his mind, he turned and headed down into the gummi ship's lounge.
Cloud looked up as Squall entered and gave his lover a tight-lipped smile. The one-winged blond had only recently returned from fighting Sephiroth and Squall had been hesitant to take him on a new mission so quickly; however, Cloud had protested vehemently about being left behind and flat-out refused to remain in Radiant Garden with Cid, Yuffie, and Aeris.
"Hey," Squall murmured softly as he touched Cloud's cheek in greeting. "Is Riku still sleeping?"
Cloud nodded, leaning into the caress. "Yeah. Are we landing soon?"
"In about ten minutes." The ex-SeeD studied Cloud intently as he took a seat next to him. "Are you sure you're up for this?" he asked. "You haven't had much time to rest."
"I'd be better if you'd stop asking me if I'm okay," Cloud grumbled, shifting so he could lay his head on Squall's shoulder. "Besides, nothing can be as bad as Sephiroth, so stop worrying. I can take care of myself"
Squall dropped a light kiss to the top of the blond's head and sighed. "I know; I just worry about you." He nuzzled Cloud's surprisingly soft hair and closed his eyes. Letting Cloud into his heart had been, and still was, difficult. He had lost everyone he had ever cared for when the Heartless came and destroyed his world and letting others into his life would only cause him more pain when they too inevitably left. Somehow, Cloud had managed to worm his way past Squall's barriers and into his heart, forcing the older man to confront his fear of losing those he loved head on. The blond had made it perfectly clear he would not be babied or guarded like a helpless damsel; he would fight alongside Squall, no matter what the risk.
A sharp poke under his ribs brought Squall abruptly out of his reverie. "You were brooding again," Cloud stated, smirking at his lover's startled expression, which instantly reformed itself into a scowl.
"Was not," he retorted, aware he sounded more like a petulant child than the elected king he was supposed to be. Whatever. He rarely got the opportunity to whine and he was going to take full advantage of it.
Cloud's smirk expanded into a genuine smile at his lover's pout. Reaching up, he threaded a hand through Squall's long hair and kissed him softly. The other man let out a throaty rumble of pleasure and returned the kiss, fighting Cloud for dominance.
"Leon! Cloud! Quit makin' out and get back here!" Riku's voice snarled from the back cabin.
"I swear he and Sora are psychic," Cloud muttered against Squall's lips. He kissed the older man chastely before pulling away. "We should start harassing them every time they start to get cozy. See how they like it."
Squall chuckled and rose to his feet, pulling the blond with him. The pair ducked into the cabin and abruptly came face to face with an irritated Riku and…. Yuffie?
"Look who I found," Riku said smugly, tugging sharply on the girl's arm as she tried to escape.
"Tattletale," Yuffie hissed.
"Yuffie! What the hell are you doing here?" Squall snapped, glaring at the self-proclaimed ninja. The damned girl was a stowaway!
Yuffie jerked her arm away from Riku and stuck her tongue out at the young man. "Right, like I'm going to stay back at the castle while you guys are out having all the fun!" she sniffed. "You guys need a good ol' ninja watching your backs!"
Squall felt his left eye begin to twitch.
"Yuffie, we didn't bring you on this mission because we felt your… skills… were more useful back at Radiant Garden," Cloud explained patiently.
"And I'm almost tempted to get Cid to come out here and haul your ass back to the castle on insubordination charges," Squall growled. Yuffie could hold her own in a fight, but the ex-SeeD already had his hands full keeping Sora in line. The last thing he needed was another hyperactive teenager to keep an eye on.
"Awww, come on, Squally!" Yuffie whinged, widening her brown eyes as she pouted. "You never take me on the cool missions! I promise to do whatever you say, just please don't send me back."
Squall stared at the girl for a few long moments, weighing the pros and cons of letting her stay. Finally, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. You can stay, but if I catch you stealing anything, you're on the next ship back to the castle, understood? And call me Leon, dammit!"
Yuffie squealed and hugged the disgruntled warrior happily. "You can count on me, boss!" she chirruped, throwing a sharp salute. "Yuffie Kisaragi, ninja extraordinaire at your service!"
"All crew: report to the bridge to prepare for landing," Tifa's voice boomed out from over the intercom.
"All right! Time to get back on the ground!" Yuffie cheered, fairly skipping out toward of the cabin and toward the bridge.
Riku shook his head. "I thought she said she suffered from motion sickness," he grumbled.
"Her addiction to adventure seems to have overridden that affliction," Squall muttered, accepting the bottle of migraine pills Cloud wordlessly handed to him. With the excitable ninja around, he was sure to need them.
"Or her addiction to driving you nuts," Riku added with a smirk.
"That too."
The trio left the cabin and headed up to the bridge. Squall positioned himself behind Sora and looked over the youth's shoulder. "Where are we landing?" he asked, studying the readouts and the viewscreen.
Sora pointed to what appeared to be a large wooded swamp. "In there. Tifa says there's a clearing where the ground should hold us. The transmission was coming from here," he pointed to an urban area on the map, "so I tried to get us as close as I could without drawing too much attention."
Squall nodded and took his seat, strapping himself into the safety harness. "Good; take us down. Everyone else, strap yourselves in for landing." The others did as they were told, Yuffie looking slightly green as Sora manoeuvred the gummi ship into the planet's atmosphere.
The landing turned out to be surprisingly smooth; Sora had clearly been taking his piloting lessons with Cid seriously. Squall was the first out of his seat, one hand on the hilt of his gunblade. He signalled to the others to be silent before pressing the button to open the hatch. The acrid scent of the swamp wafted into the ship, mixing unpleasantly with the recycled air. Cid was going to pitch a fit when they returned.
"I'll check it out," Cloud whispered, leaning in close to Squall and handing him the First Tsurugi. The ex-SeeD nodded and stepped aside to let his lover out, prepared to rush out behind him if necessary. Tifa had said she hadn't picked up upper life forms on the scanner in the swamp area, but Squall knew better than to trust the machines.
Cloud stepped out of the ship, the ground squishing under his boots. It was solid, but the blond was glad he weighed as little as he did. Spreading his single wing, he rose slowly into the air, eyes flickering from side to side for the slightest signs of danger. He made a large sweep of the area, occasionally flapping the leathery wing to stay aloft, before landing in front of the ship's hatch. "It's all clear," he called, fingers fairly twitching in the desire to hold the First Tsurugi. He had felt far too exposed without it, but the massive sword only weighed him down when he was airborne.
Yuffie bolted out of the ship followed closely by Sora. "Solid ground!" the girl crowed. "How I've missed you!"
"Aw, come on, Yuffie; my piloting wasn't that bad," Sora said with a laugh, throwing an arm around Riku's shoulders. The older teen looked around suspiciously, but said nothing.
"You've really improved, Sora," Tifa said with a smile at the sable-haired youth. "I remember the first time you piloted for us…" her voice trailed off as she noticed the terrified expression on Riku's face. "Riku, what's wrong?"
"The darkness," the silver-haired youth whispered. "It's here. "
Squall frowned, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Of course it is. The Heartless, remember?"
Riku shook his head, stepping closer to Sora. "Not the Heartless. I've never felt anything this… this evil before. I can practically taste it." He looked at Squall, aquamarine eyes wide with pure fear. "We shouldn't be here."
Squall studied the younger man intently. Riku was not the type to be easily scared away; years spent in the realm of darkness would do that to a man. He drew Lionheart, the weapon's bright blue blade flashing in the fading light. "If it's that bad here, we have to stay," he said firmly. "Keep your eyes peeled and don't wander off alone." This was stated with a pointed glare at Yuffie.
"You're making a mistake, Leon!" Riku protested. Everyone stared at the youth in shock; he never disobeyed an order. "This world is too far gone to save. We'd only be condemning ourselves by staying here!"
Glaring at the suddenly insolent young man, Squall stepped close to Riku until the pair stood nose to nose. "You will do as you're told, boy," the ex-SeeD growled. "If this world is doomed, then we need to destroy this evil before it spreads." He turned away abruptly and stalked off into the swamp. "Follow me," he barked.
Sora tugged Riku's hand. "Come on, it won't be that bad," he said with a gentle smile.
Riku grunted and drew his weapon, Way to the Dawn. "I wish I could believe you, Sora," he replied. "I just hope we'll be able to get out of here."
Author's Note: Yeah. New style for me. Not too sure if I like it, but I'll go with it. Reviews make me a very happy boy.