Hiya!
First of all, if you're following me because of The Life of an Element, I am so sorry about the hiatus on that. It just seems as though my life has taken a turn since then and it's just gotten hard to write. I promise I'm not giving up on it though. I'll get back to it. But for now, this will be my new main priority. :)
Disclaimer: I no own. :D
Without further ado, Chapter 1.
In a world where all light is lost and joy and hope become myths, there is silence. The cities have fallen; civilization has said its farewells. The skies are grey and cloudless and not a bird sings.
What is there to sing about anymore?
Humankind has finally fallen over the cliff. Everybody always predicted it, that someday, the world's habitants would dig their own graves. It's finally happened. The world's stability teeters on the edge of destruction. War has overrun the planet.
Guns and bombs. They seem to be all that is valued in these last moments of oblivion.
Will there ever be a time when children laugh, people love, and the only reason for death is old age? Perhaps someday, on another world. There is another world, a better world.
There must be.
The streets are quiet; the only sounds to be heard are the tears of souls that have lost their loved ones to this terrible time. Oh how unlucky this generation is, to be born into a time of such adversity. Such deep, dark adversity.
The people won't have to suffer through such pain much longer, though. The air that was once pure, clean, and breathable has lost its reliability. Toxins cover the planet and, although none of the survivors want to speak of their fate, it is a mutual understanding that soon, all will be gone.
Broken families hold each other and wait. Mothers hold their children and tell them stories of the sun. They whisper nonexistent hope into the ears of the young. After all, children really do have amazing imaginations. Perhaps they can imagine a better world in their last moments.
Some do not have the privilege to be with the ones they love during the end. Some are left alone with nothing to do but mourn for the ones that shouldn't be gone. Are they lucky to have lived through catastrophe? Or are they unfortunate to have to live through it longer? With what the world has become, perhaps it's right to wish for death.
But in these quiet awaiting moments, a woman sings.
...
"Nami, Naminé do you hear that?" Roxas whispers to his little sister as he holds her in his lap amongst the rubble that used to be their home. They had never expected the war to come to Twilight Town and affect them. "Somebody is singing." he trails as he glances up into the cloudless grey skies towards the soft sound of song. Naminé is the last family he has left. He swore to himself he wouldn't leave her side until the very end and, even when she became unresponsive, he refused to leave her by herself. As long as she breaths, he will be there. So, as she lies in his lap, he talks.
"Do you want to go listen?" he asks her quietly and gently brushes a stray hair out of her face. She stares up at him with blank blue orbs, but doesn't respond. He keeps a soft smile on his face anyway. He doesn't want her to have to see him worried.
As long as she breathes.
"I'll carry you." he states matter-of-factly and gently pulls the girl's frail body closer to himself. When she was a baby, he used to be able to carry her like it was nothing, but now that Naminé's nearing her twelfth birthday, Roxas only five years older, it takes a little more effort. It's still not impossible though, especially now.
Cradling his baby sister in his arms bridal style, Roxas eases himself up from the dirt and strains to hear the direction the singing voice is coming up. Who would be singing in a time like this? The air is thick with what feels humidity but is most likely heavy pollution and Roxas blinks when a bead of sweat trails past his eye. He can't wipe it away.
"It's hot isn't it, Nami?" he speaks to his sister as he carefully climbs over piles of crumbling cement, being extra careful not to shake the girl in his arms around too much. "Don't worry," he assures her as he glances down at her with a small smile, "I'll find ya some water." The thought of water invades Roxas' mind at his comment and he licks his chapped lips. He hopes Naminé isn't as thirsty as he is... he wouldn't want her to feel this extreme dehydration.
Now that he thinks about it, he'd really prefer the girl isn't feeling anything at the moment. He knows that if he could choose, he wouldn't want to be aware of this apparent post-apocalyptic world. His clothes are stiff with grime, his stomach is bordering the lines of abandoned, and he's starting to get a scratchy throat. Altogether, he just feels like shit and he probably looks even worse.
Not Naminé though. Although her little white night dress is just as grimy as his own t-shirt and trousers and her face has fallen expressionless, the girl is still beautiful. Her soft blonde hair flowing from Roxas' arms gracefully and her eyes still as knowing as ever, even when they're looking at nothing in particular.
This is why Roxas must save her. When he has nothing to offer the world, she has so much more to give and receive.
Thinking about the urgency of keeping hope in his little sister's mind, Roxas tredges on. The sounds of crying people invade his ears and begin to drain out the tune he's trying to track. Dammit. Roxas could never handle the sounds of tears. Whether they be from his best friends or his worst enemies, despair never sat well in his stomach.
"The singing might have to wait..." He informs his sister but keeps his tone hopeful. "People are crying." He tells her and scans the area for the source. The air is thick with smoke and his vision is slightly fogged over, but he still spots the slumped form of a boy not too far away. He looks pretty young and seems to be by himself. Roxas squints and furrows his brows when he notices the thick fallen tree blocking the path to the boy. He can't climb over that with a girl in his arms...
Contemplating whether or not to leave his sister by herself, Roxas decides nothing can really happen to her while he runs to fetch another troubled soul. If he's going to find hope, he's going to share it with as many as he can.
"Okay..." He whispers to himself and gently kneels down to lay the blonde girl down. He makes sure she's not in too uncomfortable of a position and ends up placing her head on a ripped couch cushion. "Comfy?" He asks her and leans over her face so she can see him. "I'll be right back, I promise." He nods at her with hard eyes before he pushes off his knee and glances back towards the crying boy.
Taking a quick glance to make sure Naminé didn't move, Roxas wipes his forehead with the back of his arm and jogs up to the fallen tree. The width just barely reaches his chest and the blond takes a deep breath before placing his palms on the bark. His arms are starting to wear out from malnutrition and all the carrying he's been doing, but he pulls himself up in one swift motion nonetheless. He hisses when a sharp ache yells at him in his forearms but he ignores the warning and scoots off the tree onto the other side, shaking the pain off.
"Hey!" He beckons, slightly breathless as he makes his way over to the boy. The child looks to be around Naminé's age and is shaking from sobs. His back is to Roxas and he's knelt down in front of a large pile of rubble that obviously used to be a house. At Roxas' call, the kid jumps slightly and his sobs halt but he doesn't turn around. His shoulders continue to shake though, his black bob-like hair nowhere near groomed. Then again, Roxas' spikes probably look even worse.
"Hey, it's okay." The blond immediately reassures, "I want to help." He offers gently and approaches the child, getting down on a single knee behind him. The boy's baggy black t-shirt has a few rips in it and the way the fabric bellows around him just shows how tiny he is. Jeez, does this kid know what food is? The war only reached their town a few days ago, he couldn't have gotten this skinny that fast.
The child breaks out into loud sobs again and buries his face into his palms. Roxas feels his heart break as a high pitched, scream-like cry escapes the boy's mouth.
"Hey... kid, it's okay." He whispers quietly and reaches out to lightly touch the boy's shoulder. Immediately, the child spins on him and clings to his grimy shirt. Roxas vaguely notes how gross that must feel, but wraps his arms around the kid anyway.
"Mommy..." The child whimpers into Roxas' shirt and the blond is a little taken back at how girlish the boy's voice is. "M-mommy..." The kid continues to call for his mom. Poor thing, probably lost his parents in the bombing.
The thought that this child went through the same thing he did, and at such a young age too, made Roxas' heart hurt.
"If it helps, I lost my mom too." The blond whispers as he feels his shirt dampen from the crying boy in his arms. When the child just hiccups in response, Roxas realizes that telling him other parents died too probably isn't going to make him feel any better. "I mean...uhm." He blurts out awkwardly.
Why are you so stupid, Roxas?
The child pulls away then and glances up through puffy eyes at the stranger comforting him. Roxas gives a reassuring smile and the kid wipes at his eyes a moment before returning the smile with a shaky one of his own.
"I'm Roxas." The blond introduces himself and ruffles the kid's hair, "I heard someone singing a little while ago and was on my way to take my sister to hear when I saw you," he rubs at the back of his neck with a soft smile, "you can come if you want."
The boy takes in a few shaky breaths and glances behind himself at the pile of rubble that Roxas assumes used to be his house. The blond immediately knows what the boy is thinking. When his own house was destroyed and his parents were lost in the aftermath, Roxas had refused to leave the area in fear of abandoning them. It was when Naminé grew ill that he decided to leave and try to find food for her.
"You'll die if you stay here forever." He informs the child softly. He knows he probably shouldn't be speaking about death to a child so young, but in times like these, it's better to face reality and know what's going on. "You have to take care of yourself, you know."
The child looks down at this and sniffles. Roxas smiles sympathetically. All the innocent children in the world that have survived the catastrophe are going to have to fend for themselves and after seeing the helplessness in this kid, Roxas can't help but feel sad for all the others that don't have someone to help them.
"C'mon." He whispers quietly and takes the child's hand to lead him away from these haunting memories. As he moves to stand up though, the boy tugs his hand to pull him back down. Slightly confused, Roxas kneels back down and smiles gently.
"Thankyou." The child whispers and reaches up to push his raven hair behind his ear with a shaky smile. He quietly clears his throat and continues, "I'm Xion."
Roxas' eyes squint at the voice. It is extremely feminine. Is this a girl? Slightly embarrassed at his internal mistake, the blond feels his face flush when he quickly glances down and notices that, yep, the kid had small but definite boobs showing just barely through the baggy t-shirt.
With wide eyes, Roxas attempts to pass off the shock from his sudden realization with a cough as he nods. He can't help the small chuckle that escapes his lips though. 'Shows how observant I am.' he muses to himself.
"C-Can we- uhm- come back... here? You know... after?" Xion's voice interrupts Roxas' thoughts and the blond quickly snaps his attention back to the child before him. After taking a moment to process the question, he smiles fondly. The girl doesn't want to abandon her home.
"Of course." He whispers reassuringly and gently ruffles the girl's black locks. Now that he thinks about it, maybe Xion and Naminé can be friends! Smiling at the thought, Roxas holds his hand out to the child in front of him. "C'mon."
...
"Nami, this is Xion." Roxas introduces with a smile as he crouches down next to his baby sister. She's lying in the same position he left her in and the older sibling isn't sure if he's relieved at that or not. Of course, she doesn't respond, but Roxas imagines her little face brightening with a smile at the thought of meeting someone new. She always liked making friends.
"Does she talk?" Xion asked curiously as she peeked her head around Roxas to glance at the blonde girl. The boy just smiles and ruffles the girl's short black hair.
"No, but I know she can hear us." he explains and Xion hums in understanding before taking the few shaky steps it took to stand before the other girl. Gazing into her eyes for a moment, the raven haired girl gives a sad smile at the lack of response from the other.
As Roxas stands back, he watches this encounter with sad eyes. If only Xion could meet the kind, happy Naminé that he loved. He's sure if she could, they'd be friends instantly. His sister has a gift for making people happy under even the worst of circumstances. But since she can't do that right now, Roxas is going to do it for her.
The blond's thoughts are interrupted when he's suddenly assaulted by a pain in his throat. Covering his mouth, he coughs and is surprised by the loud wheezing sound that comes from him. Shit. He can't get sick too! He has to look after Naminé and, now, Xion.
When said girl turns to look at him and fear flashes across her face, Roxas quickly smiles, although his smile is broken by another weezy cough.
"Are you okay, Roxas?" Her small voice asks him quietly and he nods with an encouraging smile as the coughing fit leaves him. It's then that he notices the tune from earlier pick up again. Funny, he had almost forgotten it. Roxas smiles at the sound as he's reminded that humanity will always look for hope, even when there's none to find.
"Yea, the air's just a little scratchy." He reassures her and when her frightened expression doesn't fade, he chuckles to lighten the mood. "C'mon, I wanna see who's singing."
"Okay" Xion whispers and Roxas forces himself to smile. Why did his parents have to leave him alone? He can't take care of two kids by himself... he's only seventeen! He's not even supposed to be taking care of himself fully yet. Heck, he hadn't planned on leaving home for another good five years or so. If only he had known the just about damn apocalypse was around the corner.
No. No negative thoughts. You can do this Roxas.
Taking a deep breath, Roxas ruffled Xion's hair with a smile before he bent over to take Naminé into his arms. After adjusting her so that her head cradled comfortably against his chest, he nodded his head in the direction of the song. He couldn't quite make out the words, but the voice was beautiful.
"Hang in there, Nami." he whispered to his baby sister. Maybe he shouldn't consider her a baby anymore... "I love you."
With a sad smile, he imagines Naminé smacking him in the arm with a light blush for telling her he loves her in public. She was always embarrassed by that which, of course, only made him say it more. What can he say? His baby sister was just so fun to tease.
Suddenly, Roxas feels a slight tug on his grimy t-shirt and he looks down to see that Xion has a firm grip on the dirty fabric as she stares off into space, her free hand fumbling in the bagginess of her own shirt. Smiling at her innocence, Roxas sets off again towards the sound of song.
The journey is quiet as the three trudge through the dirty streets of what used to be Twilight Town. The town had always been so tight knit. Most people knew each other. But now, as the streets fall into desperation, everybody seems like a stranger. Not to mention a lot of survivors seem to have migrated here since the disaster.
If people are seeking out this broken place, what is it like outside the city? Roxas didn't want to know.
"Hey." The blond is pulled out of his thoughtful trance as the black haired girl holding onto his shirt spoke. "There." She pointed with a small arm towards a small group of around fifteen people sitting around a large pile of picked wild flowers, the color of the petals a nice change to the altogether gray atmosphere that clouds everything else. Sitting amongst the group is a woman with blue hair that sticks out just like the flowers and Roxas notices that she's the one singing, and the group all seem to be listening.
Sighing in relief at the sight of others trying to find hope, Roxas smiles at Xion.
"Good job. C'mon." He motions towards the group and Xion slightly smiles up at him before following behind, all the while never letting go of his shirt and Roxas is perfectly fine with that.
Offering a small smile to the broken people gathered around the singing woman, Roxas gently places Naminé on the ground before seating himself in a criss-cross position and pulling her into his lap. Xion quietly sits beside him, placing her hands in her lap.
Closing his eyes to listen, Roxas quickly notices the words are not english; they're french. The soft tune is slightly familiar, but the blond can't put his thumb on where he had heard it before. Not really caring, he just smiles at the thought of not having to focus on words.
Why is it that in times of such adversity, this woman is singing a tune that holds so much joy?
Why did this have to happen? When thinking of the end of civilization, Roxas had never thought it would happen in his lifetime and he especially didn't think mankind would bring it upon themselves. War is such a terrible thing. Thousands, millions of people die.
Is death really the answer to worldwide argument?
Roxas keeps his eyes closed as he gently combs his fingers through his little sister's hair. Nothing will ever be the same. He'll never eat cereal in the morning next to his dad at the kitchen counter. He'll never be able to watch his mom braid Naminé's hair anymore. He'll never meet Hayner, Pence, and Ollette in the hall before class again.
At the thought of his friends, Roxas clenches his eyes a bit tighter. He may never see them again.
Ollette had always taken care of him, Pence, and Hayner. Her smiling face was always a nice reassurance that she would always be there when Roxas was down to bake him cookies and tell him everything was going to be alright. Pence and his geekiness towards video games was always a casual break from the stress of school and life in general. He had always known how to have fun and he'd always known how to take a joke.
Speaking of jokes.
Then there was Hayner. His best friend's cheeky sarcasm used to always keep things interesting between the four of them. He practically fed off making fun of Pence, but he'd always buy the poor boy ice cream at the end of the day anyway. As stiff as he always seemed, his best friend was always secretly looking out for the other three, he'd just never admit it. But Roxas could always tell.
A small smile breaks onto the blonde's face at the thought of his friends.
Were they even alive?
But he can't cry. No, not now. He takes a deep breath and forces his misty eyes open. He gazes down at his little sister's gentle face and smiles sadly at how peaceful she is at such a time.
"Roxas?"
The blonde is torn from his thoughts at the sound of Xion's meek voice. He tilts his head to the side and smiles warmly at her. The girl is staring at her clasped hands, her raven hair blocking her face from Roxas' view.
"How far is heaven?"
The girl sounds genuinely curious as she asks. Roxas swears he hears a part of his heart break at these words.
"It's... a lot closer than you think." the blonde says gently. He wouldn't dare tell that girl that heaven may not exist. "I'm sure the people in heaven can hear you if you ask them to." He smiles sadly and puts a hand on the girl's shoulder as he looks back down at Naminé.
"Oh." Xion responds simply with a small nod of the head.
Just then, Roxas noticed a slight quiver to the singing voice. The small chattering echoing around the group of people seems to silence as the ocean haired woman releases a sob at the end of her song.
Nobody speaks as the source of the gathering folds into herself and holds her knees and cries.
It's funny, how fragile people are.
Roxas watches in horror as the sanctuary of song slowly fades from the group of people surrounding him and sniffles start to echo. He feels Xion stiffen at his side and he puts a grungy arm around her, pulling her close.
"Hey! Don't stop." A loud voice slices the silence and Roxas' head turns towards the sound. He watches as a guy that seems a little older than himself emerges from the group of people and walks up to the blue haired woman. His bright red hair makes as a large contrast against the darkness of the town and the blonde vaguely questions why he didn't notice the spikes in the crowd earlier.
All heads turn as the redheaded stranger kneels down in front of the woman. She looks up at him with red rimmed eyes and he smirks, yes smirks, at her. "You're holding all these people together, yo." At this, he waves a lanky arm at the people surrounding them. "Don't give up!"
Roxas finds himself smiling at the positive attitude in front of him. In a time like this, people like this eccentric redhead are highly needed. Plus, by the look of his tattered jeans, holed shoes, and dirty button-down, the man doesn't seem to have it all that good at the moment either.
The woman looks torn at what this person is saying to her and she smiles sadly at him as she shakes her head. Roxas notices she says something to the redhead but he can't hear her words. She then gets up and attempts to dust off her tattered blue sundress and smiles gently at the remaining people watching her.
"Thank you." she says in a sad tone and Roxas contemplates thanking her back, but words can't find him. So he watches as the woman makes her way to a man that is laying on the floor against a torn mattress. She folds her legs under herself and pulls the unresponsive man up against her so that he is more comfortable. She then proceeds to run gentle fingers through his chocolate brown hair as she smiles sadly into the streets.
At the sight, Roxas wonders if perhaps that man is in the same condition as Naminé.
"Hi there."
Roxas' attention is brought back to himself when the redhead from before's voice comes from his right. Glancing over, the blonde notices the man sitting criss cross in front of Xion, smiling warmly at her. Roxas tilts his head in confusion, what is this guy doing?
Xion doesn't respond and the man sighs quietly before looking up at Roxas. The two's eyes lock and green meets blue. "You with her?"
"Uh.." Roxas is caught off guard and clears his throat before continuing. "Yea, she's with me."
The redheaded man nods thoughtfully at this and moves his gaze to the blonde girl laying on Roxas' lap. "Family?"
Roxas smiles and squeezes Naminé's shoulder gently. "Yea. This is my sister, Naminé."
The other smiles and glances up at Roxas for a moment before turning to the girl. "Cool. Hi Naminé!" He says in a friendly tone and Roxas smiles. At least someone believes she can hear them. "Take care of her," the redhead continues, still watching the blonde girl, "you're lucky to have family around."
"Yea..." is all Roxas can say to that. He knows he's lucky, all these others though...not so much.
"Well, I'm Axel." The man introduces himself with a warm smile as he pushes off his knees to stand up again. Roxas looks up at him and returns the smile.
"Roxas."
Axel grins.
"Nice to meetya, Roxas." He bows his head and Roxas huffs out a single laugh at the silly gesture. How is this person so optimistic? "And what about you, princess? You got a name?" the redhead asks, turning his attention to Xion. The girl doesn't respond, so Roxas does for her.
"That's Xion."
"Xion. Got it." The man responds with a smile and at that, he pats Xion on the head, smiles at Naminé, and salutes Roxas as he makes his way back to behind the circle of people.
Once silence falls in the air again, Roxas realizes that maybe everything doesn't have to be over. He smiles at the thought of people out there that don't imagine the war being the end of the world as they know it.
Maybe it isn't. Maybe it's the start of something new.
"Roxas?"
"Yes, Xion?"
"See that tree over there?" Roxas looks at Xion and follows her pointing finger towards a large fichus a few feet away from the group of people. He nods.
"Yea."
"Will you help me climb it?" The black haired girl asks with confidence, and Roxas cocks his head to the side in confusion, but agrees with a nod anyway.
Without a word, he gently adjusts Naminé so that he can get up before reaching down and taking the girl into his arms yet again. After checking his sister is comfortable in his arms, he smiles at Xion and nods towards the tree in a 'lead the way' gesture. The girl nods and jogs over to the tree.
As Roxas approaches said tree, he is suddenly hit with the amazement of how this tree survived the bombing. He supposes years of digging roots into the ground will keep anything stable. So, appreciating the presence of lasting life, Roxas places Naminé on the ground against the tree's trunk.
"Okay." He rubs his hands together to instinctively clean them. Not like they can be cleaned anymore. Glancing at Xion, Roxas finds himself intrigued at the way the girl is longingly staring up at the branches of the tree. Deciding not to ask, he just moves up in front of her and laces his fingers in front of himself. "Get on." He encourages with a smile.
Xion then locks eyes with the blond boy and for a moment and Roxas swore he saw the world in those eyes. She didn't hold the look of innocence that a child her age should. Her eyes held sorrow and maturity.
When people say children over exaggerate adversity, they're dead wrong. Children see pain for what it is, and they allow themselves to feel it.
Forcing himself to smile at the brave girl in front of him, Roxas didn't allow himself to waver. Right now, he needed to be a big brother to not only Naminé, but this girl too. So, when she stepped into his palm, he lightly squeezed her boot clad feet and hefted her up so she could grasp the first branch. From there, she climbed.
Roxas watched as the girl settled herself onto a rather thick branch in the tree and, once he was sure she wouldn't fall, allowed himself to sit next to Naminé, pulling her into his lap again. The faint glow from the sun behind the fog of the city was beginning to dissipate and the boy found himself begin to drift into sleep within minutes.
How could he sleep, though? How could he sleep knowing that in the morning, he could very well not wake up?
"Xion?" he beckoned, wanting to hear a voice.
"Yes?" Came a quiet response from above him. Roxas adjusted himself so that he was laying down with Naminé in his arms. He pushed the girl's hair behind her ear and gently kissed the top of her head before continuing.
"Why did you want to be up there?" he asked, genuinely curious.
The girl didn't respond for a long while and Roxas was beginning to think she had fallen asleep before he heard her shuffle.
"It's close to heaven."