A/N: A few things to cover before we get started. This is AU, with the Keyblade War happening after the games instead of ten years before. Also, if the rapid chances in POV and style give you whiplash, sorry. Please keep in mind that this was co-written, as a role play, really. Attempts have been made to smooth things out.
Disclaimer: We don't own Kingdom Hearts. You knew that.
To bring you up to speed: Kyra was a maid employed by Organization XIII to keep their headquarters clean. Demyx made a deal with her that if she cleaned his room and clothes on the double, he'd take her anywhere she wanted for three days. They explored a few words and went to Twilight Town on the last day. On their way to the old mansion, they were surprised to discover Heartless instead of Nobodies romping around in the woods. Demyx was overpowered and Kyra's heart was taken. Demyx came around and went back to headquarters, and soon a blue-haired Nobody showed up as well as a shadow Heartless. The Nobody was named Karyx, and the heartless returned to its true form as Kyra. Seven years later...
Blue eyes stared grimly at the floor. How long had it been? One year? Two years? Ah yes, seven years. Seven long years had passed since that Keyblade War had broken out. Men and women from all different sides, clashing with each other, not to mention the Organization and all other evils. Mostly they had been after the greater evils, trying to put a stop to the Heartless and Nobody attacks. The Organization had gone into hiding some time ago, finding this location a lot more secure. There were only a few members now, which meant their mission-rate success had increasingly dropped since there were not enough flunkies to pour in the hearts. Their Superior was still as mentally unstable as he usually was, not to mention their maid had run off. It was quite fun to smack her around every now and again. She ran off to go join that Keyblade War several years ago. Good riddance... he thought bitterly.
He picked up a dying rose in his hands, watching the petals slowly whither and fall off, gently touching the ground. Was that what was going to happen to them soon?
"Marluxia, get in here," the Superior replied bitterly over his nifty intercom he had set up, which meant he didn't have to remove his superior bottom from his superiorly comfortable chair.
"Fine," Marluxia had grunted to no one in particular, knowing that he could not just respond right back to the intercom. As he walked over, quickly but idly I might add, toward the office, he took a glance at Karyx. The girl had just been sitting there, staring at the wall with a blank stare on her face. Freak ... that's probably what he was thinking about now.
Marluxia had disappeared into the depths of the pie-smelling office, preparing to be yelled at tenfold to pick up some of the slack. He all ready had his earplugs ready for when that happened, not to mention noseplugs. The smell of pie was overwhelming and not in a good way either.
Karyx had kind of been, in a sense, heartbroken since Kyra had run off. Her own Somebody, gone. Kind of vanished off the face of the earth and not to mention her closest link to having a heart. She had come to terms with what she was and how things were going to be. It was hard being in this Organization and having your own standpoints. She didn't really approve of taking a heart from another just to add to an all-ready giant Kingdom Hearts. Though another side of her, the bad side, loved the feeling of snatching something so precious away. It was hard to tell whose side she was on sometimes.
Times were harder now and so, she considered this a challenge.
War. Was there anything so unsuited for Demyx? The Melodious Nocturne completely believed in harmony, can't we all just get along? Some called it cowardly, he called it pacifism. It sounded much less insulting. Kyra herself had gone off to join the war, the War o' Keyblades, which was releasing tons of hearts for the Organization's purpose, but it was still just a war. With Keyblades.
Kyra had only gone out to make something useful of her life, to prove that she had what it took to do something great. That and she wanted an excuse to wield a Keyblade. Duh...
Demyx shuddered. Karyx had the worst of it with Kyra gone, but Demyx didn't like the thought of her out there while there was warring and fighting and all that unpleasant stuff. He glanced at her, staring off into space, and waiting until Marluxia had left to spring a suggestion on her.
"Hey, why don't we go find her?" He said it lightly, casually, as though he were merely commenting that it would be a good time to go get lunch instead of, say, leaving the headquarters and safety, possibly against the Superior's will. He didn't specify who 'her' was. There was absolutely no reason to.
Karyx remained in her clueless daze, her knuckles resting firmly on her cheeks. 'Her'? What 'her' would he be referring to? It had finally dawned on her that the 'her' he spoke of was the one she had missed -- in a sense. I think that slow-mindedness had come from her Somebody. Normally Somebodies and Nobodies would be different in that aspect, but sometimes, they were a lot alike. "Her? Do you really propose that it's a good idea to bring her back? Especially with this war going on. It would be suicide to go out, unless instructed to do so." She spoke lightly, not really turning to face him. Yeah, she knew it. He liked 'her'. With or without a heart. Then again, she wanted to see if 'she' had made a worthy soldier of herself.
Demyx blustered. "Of course it's a good idea! She could get destroyed...AGAIN!" he cried, throwing up his hands and wiggling his fingers with anxiety. "Don't you want to know that she's safe and stuff?" He didn't believe that Karyx could want otherwise, and though he was all for self-preservation, it would ease his troubled mind to know that Kyra wasn't going to be struck dead. He further didn't want to believe that she was striking other things dead. He tried to imagine her with a keyblade, but it came out looking more like a glorified feather duster so he stopped, not wanting to offend her.
You could not offend what was not there, right? "Technically you let her get destroyed, thus creating me. So I don't see any problem with her being out on her own. Where was this worry when she first left?" Karyx spoke with no emotion whatsoever in her voice, as if she were a robot. That suited her quite well, to say the least. "I do know she's safe. She is part of me, just like I'm part of her. She doesn't go down without a fight." It was easy to talk good about yourself. It would've made this Nobody so proud if Kyra had killed many a people and lots of Heartless. It would just bring meaningless tears to her eyes, which meant a lot actually. It kind of excited her, in a sense, to see what she had been up to over the past five years. Hopefully lots were dead and Kyra was held responsible. Dementia had settled in a long time ago, I'm afraid.
Narrowing his eyes, Demyx shot to his feet, his hands curled into fists of stretched leather gloves pressed down by his sides. "Fine!" he said, picking his chin up haughtily. "If you won't help me, then I'll just go alone!" he declared, turning away dramatically. Then he waited, wishing he could see her through the back of his head and mullet, hoping that Karyx would relent and agree to go with him.
Karyx had, unfortunately, decided to get up off her comfortable seat she sat in for hours and shook her head. "I have to go. You cannot be trusted to be with her alone; you might kill her again." She snorted and gave him a playful shove into a portal of darkness she made. "Not to mention, you have now peaked my interest. I am intrigued to see what my dear Somebody has been up to." A creepy grin slowly spread across her face as she walked through the portal. Knowing how to successfully use a portal felt nice. The first several times she had tried, she almost ended up being drowned in Atlantica ... and eaten by Simba. Scary times.
With a strangled cry, Demyx stumbled into the portal and wrapped his arms around himself, looking around at the familiar looming mists and nothingness of darkness. "All right. Awesome. Progress. Where are we going?" He looked at Karyx, already labeling her as the leader of this expedition.
It had been his idea, but Demyx had never been a leader and was not really about to start. Ever. He was mostly able to ignore the jab about him killing Kyra again; that guilt had dulled with time. He wasn't even able to really feel guilty, anyway, but it was easy to get carried away with even pretend emotions. And Kyra had never really been mad at him about it, funnily enough.
She was too naive to be mad at him, not to mention happy and bubbly. So there was no reason for her to be mad at him for something he didn't mean to happen. It wasn't like he had killed her himself. Plus, she didn't die. She just became a foot tall and a cuddly toy for all five-year-olds.
Karyx had walked idly beside the Nocturne, cocking her head. "Where do you think we're going? Straight to the battle itself. The War wages in several different areas, but mostly it stays in one particular one. The others are just small, meaningless battles for fun. Kyra, assuming she's still alive, will have to be somewhere around here," the Nobody had said in a firm tone, knowing that poor Demyx would die out here alone, especially with all these Keyblade-wielders out here. It kind of posed the question as to how Kyra even got one, assuming once again, that she was alive, well, and had one.
As soon as they stepped out, she found herself in a barren wasteland, littered with bodies, blood, and God knows what else. There were only a few people here still alive and fighting against the myriad of Heartless. There was one soldier who particularly stood out amongst the rest. He had been atop the mountain, that just lie northeast of this place. The soldier looked like he could handle his own, being agile and quickly taking out the numerous targets and tasks thrown his way.
The person did not seem that tall, nor did they seem short. In the middle they were. From head to toe they were covered in armor, but not bulky, heavy armor. Useful, light armor that allowed fast movement for escape purposes. Several other soldiers were down below, fighting over the numbers that seemed to be endlessly growing and moving their way up. The figure brandished a large Keyblade, one that resembled the Kingdom Key. Karyx didn't really know; it was too far away to tell. Though this place was their best bet. "Let's hurry, find her, and leave. I don't feel like protecting you," she grinned.
Needless to say, the battlefield shocked Demyx. The bodies, the blood, the ruin, none of it was really his cup of tea. He was surprised to find that he had summoned his sitar, which was fairly noticeable among the nearly identical warriors, and though he had not yet strummed any chords he clutched it to him like his teddy bear, Thaddeus Informationdesk, and took comfort.
"Yeah, okay, let's find her," he said, wondering if they were just supposed to call out. Well, Kyra would doubtless recognize them, probably at least sensing Karyx's presence. Demyx followed each of the armored figures with his eyes, wondering which one of them could be her.
He spotted one that moved with a strange combination of slight hesitance and complete confidence, that stood and waited to be attacked instead of charging; blocking and countering harshly with a keyblade of dark silver, like the pure color had been coated with black paint. The prongs and the handle gleamed with an electric blue enamel that flashed and blurred as the wielder hacked at their enemies relentlessly. He didn't think that was Kyra.
Karyx had happened to side-glance over toward the Nocturne, rolling her eyes. She knew it was a bad idea to bring him along. What with their black coats on and his Sitar out, they were bound to be noticed. She mentally reminded herself that smacking him upside the head was not a good thing; even Kyra had told her that. Hmph, if only she knew how dumb he was. "Nocturne, I highly suggest you put that weapon away. Your weapon clashes amongst the Keyblades, so we'll be the next target if you continue to cling onto it for dear life." She deadpanned. They might as well just start jumping around like monkeys, while shouting "we're Nobodies, come and kill us"! Her eyes moved back up to that one soldier on the mountain, who looked as if he were staring straight at her. It was quite hard to tell from such a long distance away, but there could've been a slight possibility that the solider up there had been her Somebody. "Hm," she mused silently and stroked her chin in thought. If that was, then she had grown a lot. Though she really couldn't tell a lot. Inside, she kind of wished that Kyra would just greet them with her friendly smile all ready so they could leave.
The soldier atop the mountain had faltered in his movement, stumbling off the edge. With one hand he hung onto dear life, while the other swing about the massive weapon at the enemies pouring over. It was kind of like an action sequence.
It had taken a lot of effort, not to mention upper-body strength to lift one's self, especially with a hunk of metal in their hands. Karyx gave this soldier props for doing such a good job and not getting themselves killed. Pretty soon the solider had fought his way down the mountain, working to go help his comrades down below -- until Karyx and Demyx caught his eyes. They widened. Why? What were they -- how were they? Once again, he faltered and ended up getting dog piled on.
Too nervous to do anything but listen to Karyx, Demyx banished his sitar against his will. He grabbed his elbows in his hands, huddling his arms tight to his empty chest, and hoped that a Keyblade wasn't on its way to smite him. His gaze followed his companion's, and he cried out in alarm when the soldier was dog piled. After saving himself so brilliantly, only to end up under his enemies, was a cruel thing.
The soldier he had noticed before, who had not moved from a single point for much of the battle, now turned jerkily on the spot, facing the pile, and charged, swatting the enemies away with brutal hacks that were more meant for an ax than a Keyblade. Once the pile had been disbanded, the soldier planted their feet, rooting themselves to the spot again, going back into their defensive tactic.
Karyx stood in amusement now. It must've been nice to have people to watch your back, like this soldier did. He was quite lucky. When you're a Nobody, you're doomed to a life of nothing. At least when you're human, you have a chance of someone watching your back. Her arms were folded lazily across her chest, until her eyes shifted down to Demyx. "It's a shame we do not have popcorn or chairs." Her sense of humor was quite dry, so if she said something funny that was actually funny, no one would probably get it. Right about now, she had wanted to jump right in and just slaughter everything in her path. Though if she did that, she would chance hurting Kyra -- wherever she was. Where on earth was she anyway? Hadn't she noticed them?
The soldier had grunted and pushed himself up, quickly fumbling for the Keyblade. He nodded his head as a fast 'thank you' to the other soldier and stood up firmly. "I'll take out the ones down the mountain and help the others down below." His voice ended up being quite feminine, though not quite so. The helmet had muffled it some; from what you could hear, it had, indeed sounded feminine. With Keyblade in hand, he -- or well, I should say she now. She had charged, swatting all of the enemies in her path. Some took more effort than others, while some just disappeared with a quick glare. Truth be told, she wanted to check out the strangers. They seemed familiar, even if she couldn't be sure from this distance.
Breathing a sigh of relief when the soldier was freed, Demyx looked at Karyx. He didn't want to stay on the battlefield any longer than necessary; why were they just standing there, unarmed? "Shouldn't she have noticed us by now?" he asked her worriedly. "Maybe she's in another area, you said there were a bunch, right?" he didn't want to suggest that she might be one of the fallen. Never that.
"She'll come to us, don't you worry." Karyx had grinned and stared forward at the soldier, purposely not arming herself. Why draw unnecessary attention to yourself? "No, Demyx, she's here. I know it. It's just a matter of her getting to us in one piece." The Nobody had said with a slight smile, setting a hand on his shoulder. If worse came to worse, he could check the bodies. She'd enjoy it too much.
The soldier had broken through all the lines possible, swinging at one after another. Her arm was slowly growing sore, but she couldn't give up. Not after all this time she had been fighting to prove herself, not after all the pain and training she had endured. There was never an end!
It was like a person pep talk to keep one going, that much she figured. She ran as fast as she could, swatting again and again. To pretend like she had helped her comrades; she killed a useless Heartless standing dormant amongst the fighting. At least she had done her part. Then quickly she had started to run toward them, wondering what they were doing here. It was too dangerous for them… What were they thinking?
Those morons! She ought to just whack 'em with her blade!
She would come to them, huh? Demyx scanned the soldiers, his gaze returning to the first one. He was coming right at them! He, no, SHE! "There!" he cried, pointing and hurrying past Karyx. By her instructions, that had to be Kyra, and it never crossed his mind that maybe a soldier was just coming to destroy the Nobodies. There were a lot of Heartless around, and Demyx wanted to destroy them, but he was here for a reason. "Kyra! Hiiii, Kyra!" he waved, forgetting to be inconspicuous.
Karyx had immediately pulled a headpalm moment. Of course, the Nocturne had to go and blow his cover once again. He could never sit still like a good boy and obey orders. This was the reason why he never was allowed to go on missions with other people. She didn't have to move, she knew that Kyra would greet her too.
The soldier had continued to run straight back at the Nocturne, dragging her Keyblade against the ground. Sparks flew from every which way, creating a sound that was like metal-against-metal. She stopped about a good foot or so away from him, pointing the Keyblade right at his face. It almost gave Karyx the impression that Kyra, or this person, wanted to kill him. That was totally and completely fine by her. The Keyblade was then moved and thrust straight right above his shoulder, where a lanky Heartless stood. It then disappeared soon after, having just practically imploded in it's own special way. "You were never too good at watching your back, were you?"