Kingdom Within

Chapter 1

***Note: Thank you so much for checking this out! This is set with my KHOC characters during Forgotten Traveler (third book in my series), which takes place during Kingdom Hearts 2. This also has many elements and villains from the horror game series, Evil Within. There will be lots of gore and language, so please read at your own discretion. Enjoy!***

"What are we expecting down there?" Sam asked, adjusting the glove that concealed the copper of her mechanical arm. She went to the railing of the ship, looking down at the planet below.

"I'm not sure," Ben answered honestly, his metal fingers clicking away at the navigational interface. "DiZ picked up on a disturbance in the area; a glitch in the system is all he told me."

"Great," Sam sighed, rolling her eyes and turning around to face Hinata as she was coming up onto the deck. "Your dad sure likes keeping his little secrets, doesn't he?"

Hinata scoffed, walking over to the control board beside Ben to look over the notes her dad had sent over. "In this case, I don't think he actually knows what we're dealing with. But…" Her voice trailed off as she flipped through the digital pictures on the screen that showed a desolate hospital that had been filled with people hours before. "It's possible it might have something to do with Thaanix… Or the Organization…" She looked back up at Sam, grabbing the side of a tablet and turning it towards her. "People don't just disappear… It has to be something."

Sam went forward and flipped through the pictures as well, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked at the filled halls being suddenly emptied.

"And the same time the people disappeared, DiZ's computers crashed." Hinata informed her, reading through the information beside Ben. She glanced up when she heard Riku coming onto the deck, she sent him a lopsided smile, before looking back to the screen. "It can't just be a coincidence."

"Did he check that creepy synthetic Twilight Town he made?" Sam asked, showing Riku the tablet before she crossed her arms. "Maybe they all ended up there."

"I doubt it," Riku spoke up, not having much of a reaction from the pictures. "He programs those people into his town. Random people couldn't just show up out of nowhere."

"We'll figure it out, I guess." Sam shrugged. "Not sure why we're the ones being called to do it though. Since when did we become DiZ's errand dogs?"

"If it has anything to do with Thaanix, I'd rather find out myself before anyone else gets hurt." Hinata told her as she went to the railing of the ship, looking down at the planet below as they orbited safely in space. "Plus, hundreds of people just disappeared… if we can help, we should."

Sam sighed, "Always the moral compass." She drew her gaze to the planet, taking in a deep breath as she pulled her lavender hair back and tied it up. "But you're right. Let's see what went down."

"Make sure we stick together." Riku informed the two girls, looking at Hinata until she turned and met his gaze. "If this is Thaanix, we don't want to be separated again."

Hinata's lips tipped into a smile as she nodded, "Thank you. And I agree. Whatever happens and whatever we find, let's stick together."

"Fine," Sam waved her off, looking to Ben. "Alright, send us down."

"Right-o!" Ben chimed, "Let me know if you need me down there! I'll send any useful info from DiZ your way."

"Thanks," Hinata managed to say before a bright light surrounded them and they were beamed down to the planet's surface.

They appeared in the entryway of the same hospital from the photographs. Police cars were parked erratically on the curved street in front of the doors. Their blue and red headlights swirled and lit the otherwise dark night, casting an unsettling light on the double doors that were busted open. Hinata looked them over, each one of them empty and silent. The sight caused an uneasiness to begin stirring in her gut. She didn't look away until Riku's hand on her shoulder caught her attention.

"Let's go in," he whispered to her as she looked up at him.

His usual white hair was tied back into a loose bun, falling over his long black coat that had transformed into a wool trench coat. Their eyes met, the amber in his gaze seeming just as perturbed as her golden ones.

She swallowed, giving him a short nod as she followed him through the doors, grabbing Sam's arm to pull her along with them. Sam was also in a transformed look. A gray button up shirt under a purple vest, that was tucked into pair of simple black pants. She held out her mechanical arm, ready to begin charging up the crystal at a moment's notice as they entered the hospital.

The stench that bombarded them upon entrance caused Hinata to hold back a cough as she looked what was supposed to be an empty hospital. Instead, blood was smeared along the walls, the ceiling lights flickering in and out of existence over the mangled bodies that lay scattered along the ground.

"What the fuck…?" Sam whispered, walking a bit ahead as Hinata slowed to a stop in shock. "What happened to a completely empty hospital?"

Riku glanced back at Hinata, giving her hand a light squeeze, before he also went forward to examine the carnage. He knelt down beside a body that was slumped along the wall, examining the wounds. "This wasn't a gunshot… or any sort of blade."

"What was it then?" Sam asked, stopping beside the information desk counter and browsing through the documents splayed on the surface.

Riku shook his head. "I don't know… it's almost like they were killed from the inside out."

"Thaanix's work?" Sam suggested, picking up a few of the documents and examining them further.

"No…" Hinata spoke up, her voice dry as she took in a shaking breath, finally able to step forward. "Thaanix doesn't leave bodies behind… this couldn't have been her…"

"And the Organization doesn't just go on killing sprees." Riku stood back up, going over to Hinata and running his hand along her arm. "I think we're dealing with something else."

Sam nodded, tossing the documents back on the counter. "Then we should probably get out of here then, huh?"

Hinata shook her head, swallowing hard as she averted her gaze from the bodies up to Riku. "We can't just walk away from this."

"Yes, cause we can definitely handle whatever took these people out." Sam pointed out sarcastically as she joined back with them, nervously glancing around at the surrounding bodies. She stopped in front of Hinata as she met her gaze with hers, crossing her arms. "We can barely handle Thaanix on our own. Let the people on this world handle it themselves."

Hinata's frown deepened as she looked between Sam and Riku, both of them awaiting her answer. Her eyes scanned over the lobby of the hospital, taking in the blood and the crumbled, lifeless bodies piled around the once pristine tiled floor.

"This… isn't right." Hinata whispered.

"No shit," Sam agreed, running her hands along her arms. "Can we get out of here? I'm getting really creeped out."

"No, I mean," Hinata shook her head, walking past them towards the bodies. "Why wouldn't their bodies have shown up in the pictures DiZ sent us? They were taken from the security cameras just a few minutes before we got here." She turned around, looking up towards the ceiling, spotting the small black camera in the corner that moved with every one of her movements. "Something isn't right here."

"Hinata, let's just leave." Sam borderline pleaded, stepping towards her.

"She has a point," Riku spoke up, making Sam let out a groan.

"I don't care if she has a point, this place creeps me the fuck out." Sam objected. "This isn't our fight, let's just go."

"But-" Hinata began to speak.

"I don't want to know what's going on," Sam interjected. "We have enough shit going on with your Replica."

Hinata shook her head, letting out a long breath, "Alright... We'll leave. At least until we have more info from DiZ."

"Thank God," Sam whispered, spinning on her heels and rushing out of the building.

After she left, Riku began walking over to Hinata until she held out her hand to stop him. "What is it?" He asked, freezing in place.

"That camera…" She motioned her head towards the security camera. "It's been following my every step, but it hasn't even looked at you or Sam."

Riku followed her gaze, noticing the black camera focusing on the slightest movement Hinata made. With a flick of his wrist, a Corridor of Darkness appeared behind Hinata. "Back into it slowly." He whispered, "It will take you back to the ship."

Hinata nodded, sliding her foot backwards, just about to pass the threshold of the Corridor, before a high pitched shriek from outside made her freeze. She and Riku darted their attention to the door as it slammed shut, the windows shattering from the impact as the screaming continued. Their widened eyes met with each other, before the sound of a camera shutter caused a bright flash of light to encapsulate them completely.

The screaming ceased, the cold rigid air of the night had disappeared, instead replaced with a stagnant warmth that reeked of something rotten. Hinata gagged as she opened her eyes, gasping at the sight and scrambling back. She had somehow appeared in a completely different environment. A dim glow of light from a nonexistent source illuminated the boxed in room. The walls were made of a thick scratched glass, but whatever was outside of the walls was completely darkened, making it impossible to see anything besides her shadowy reflection along with the cloth covered bodies hanging from the ceiling.

Hinata ran her hand along the glass, searching for any sort of crack that would allow for an escape. It took every fiber in her body not to pay any attention to the sacks hanging from the ceiling, particularly to the ones that seemed to wriggle every few seconds. Her heart was in her throat, her paled hands trembling as she focused on nothing other than finding her escape.

Each wall was felt, examined for any imperfection or deep crack, but none was found. She stepped back, holding out her hand at her side… but nothing appeared. With a gasp, she looked down at her open palm, trying again and again to summon a weapon… nothing.

"Oh my God…" She whispered, tears beginning to build in the back of her throat as the sensation of helpless terror festered in her gut. "No, no, please." She tried again, and again, falling to her knees and focusing every bit of her mind to summoning anything, but her magic was inexplicably gone.

"This can't be real." She shook her head, looking up at the fogged glass, once again noticing the wriggling body bags hanging behind her as thick blood began staining the white cloth.

Pushing herself to her feet, she went over to one of the body bags, hesitating before placing her hand along it. "H-hello?" She nearly squeaked, jumping back when the bag began to shake violently in response. "Oh my God! Don't worry! I-I'll get you out!" She assured them, pulling the thick fabric.

Grabbing handfuls of the fabric, not paying any attention to the warm blood that seeped between her fingers, she hoisted herself off the ground, climbing up the bag to the rope that tied it to the hook in the ceiling. The body inside the bag began to moan, whimpering in pain as blood dripped to the floor. Hinata mumbled reassurances to them and secretly to herself as she pulled at the knotted rope. With one last pull, it all came free, both her and the body bag falling to the floor. Hinata cried out from the impact of the stone ground against her back, but quickly scrambled onto her knees to get the bag off of the body… except there was nothing there except a limp, blood soaked fabric.

"What…?" Hinata shook her head, trying to ignore the throb of pain that was surging through her, blurring the corners of her vision.

She scanned her eyes around the room, seeing the other body bags wriggling wildly, but not a single other being was in sight. Blood seeped into her clothes as she knelt there in complete shock, the cloth of the empty body bag gripped tightly in her grasp. Shaking her head once more, she looked down at the limp cloth, trying to make sense of what was happening.

One by one the bodies around her began to moan, crying out in pain as blood dripped from their fabric. The sound made Hinata clench her jaw, biting her tongue to provide the slightest hint of distraction from the chorus of weeping. She closed her eyes, tasting bile in the back of her throat.

"This can't be real…" She whispered, tears welling up in her shut eyes. "This can't be real…" The moans only grew in volume, making Hinata drop the fabric in her grasp as she clamped her hands over her ears. "Wake up… Wake up! WAKE UP!" She yelled, her voice cracking with emotion.

Shaking her head, she looked back up, finding herself in the same place. Stumbling to her feet, she banged her fists against the glass. "HELLO! Anyone!" She cried, "Riku! RIKU, please, tell me your there! RIKU, SAM!"

Nothing but an echo of her own voice mixing with the howling wails gave her a response.

With a shaking breath, she backed up, looking around the room that almost seemed to be shrinking with every second she was trapped inside of it. Her back hit the opposite wall, hearing the slightest sound of crinkling paper. She spun around with a gasp, stopping when she saw a simple piece of white paper taped to the glass.

She reached up, pulling it off the wall, examining it with furrowed brows. A simple smiley face was drawn on its surface with a shaky hand, and a single word scribbled along the top.

"...Smile…" Hinata whispered the word aloud, her voice weak and trembling.

She looked up, her eyes widening at the sight of an old fashioned camera set up right outside the thick glass, pointed straight at her. With a bright flash, it took her picture, blinding Hinata as she let out a shriek of surprise. Blinking rapidly, she found herself once again in a completely new environment. The wailing had ceased, the foul stench of the bodies soaked with blood had faded away. She instead was in the entryway of what appeared to be a regal mansion. The double cherry wood doors were locked behind her, trapping her inside a gorgeous hall. The carpet was a rich, deep purple, the walls covered with portraits and regal artwork that seemed to be marvelously crafted until further examined. Blood dripped from the eyes of the subjects, their eyes blackened and the tiniest writing scribbled over the layers of paint. The same writing that was on the paper Hinata had found in the room she had been trapped in.

Taking in a breath and letting out a slight sigh of relief to be free of the previous cage, Hinata turned in place to take in her new surroundings. The camera was gone, along with the bodies hanging from the ceiling; but in her hands, the paper she had been holding suddenly felt thicker. She swallowed hard as she looked down, seeing her photograph in her hand. Her heart plummeted to her stomach, noticing a figure standing just a few feet behind her in the picture. He stood taller than her, a crazed smirk curling his lips as he stared at Hinata from behind. His appearance seemed like it would be a normal man, his fashion pronounced and clean amongst the blood and carnage around him. Black, styled hair was gelled on his head, the front of it was shaggy, covering his left eye as the other practically glowed from intensity; a bright, icy blue, that was shining with a pure excitement that sent chills down Hinata's spine.

***Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! I know, a very short chapter compared to my usual ones. I wanted to have some fun with a Halloween/horror type of AU and have been working on this off and on for most of October! It's a new genre for me to write, but I'm having so much fun with it! I've always had an obsession with horror games and Evil Within is one of my favorites to play when I'm having a bad day.

We are going to be switching between Hinata and Sam from chapter to chapter, so we'll be seeing what's going on with Sam next. If you haven't played the Evil Within series, I would highly recommend it! It's crazy and a lot of fun, if you don't take it too seriously. My version is a bit off the wall from the main story. Fans of the game can probably realize that I'm sort of doing my own thing, rather than following the story to the tee, BUT I hope it's still alright and that some people can still enjoy it regardless.

Anyway, Happy Belated Halloween! Have a lovely week! ***