Just something I came up with while listening to the song "Shadows' by the band Red. I finished it in about 2 hours time, so it's rather short...

Hope you enjoy it! R&R, please!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.


Only a matter of time.

He exhaled in a tired fashion as he leaned his head back against the castle wall, listening intently to the lonely silence that befell the entire castle.

Once a place filled with the loud noises and voices of its occupants, now empty and deserted like an abandoned old house.

He breathed out a sigh, the sound echoing throughout the white chamber. Soon, no one would be left in this blasted fortress. They were falling one by one; each struck down by the hands of the keybearer.

Soon there would be no one left.

Then it will be all over, and this heartless castle would become nothing more than a place of memory; something that once stood strong and proud, now broken and fallen.

It was only a matter of time.

He ran a hand through his short blonde hair, once so clean now dirty and unkempt. He hadn't a shower, or even kept himself clean in days. Nor had he slept, either.

Nobody had for the past few weeks.

Sinking to the floor, he paused in his thoughts as the sound of battle stirred up in the distant part of the fortress. He closed his eyes, and pretended he was back in time.

Back to when things were the way they once were.

When they were strong, proud and fearless.

Where they worked together, all for the same thing, the same goal.

When they had a purpose in existence.

Through closed eyes, he could see the laughter (though it may be false) shared between them, the times when the fought as one, and when nothing else mattered.

But as soon as the moment came, it was gone. The blonde smiled coldly at the cruelty of it all. Of course, he hadn't the heart to feel remorseful, so to speak. Ah, how it tortured him so, though. The sweet, sweet memories and moments running through his head, jumping nimbly out of reach when he tried to grab hold of them.

He sat on the floor, taking in the sounds of the battle raging head on a few floors below, until the final gunshot echoed throughout the castle. Silence befell once more as another member was slain by the keyblade.

He closed his eyes in a silent vigilance, leaning back against the cold stone wall. Another one down, not much longer before the rest of them met the same fate. Nothing could stop it from happening. It was just the way thing turned out.

In his opinion, they were headed this way from the start.

They played the game, but now the tables had turned.

It was only a matter of time.

He stood and walked to the place where the only proof of their existence still remained. Passing each headstone, he took note of the members who had fallen and who were still struggling in the fight.

Finally he came across the newest grave, the Freeshooter's panel glowing red in notification of his death. The blonde stared at the tombstone for a few minutes, his face wiped clean of emotion. Then, he turned on his heel and left the Castle's Proof of Existence, having bid a final farewell to his last remaining friend.

Time seemed to slow around him for a few seconds as he made his way up to Havoc's Divide. In his hand, a deck of cards was summoned. He flipped through them in an intrigued manner as he climbed a set of stairs. They spoke no hope nor any sign of mercy or miracles; they only showed the promise of a harsh, exhausting struggle of which none of them would come out of.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips.

"Where did we go wrong?" he bemused, a smirk forming on his face despite the situation.

He couldn't get an answer out of himself, and no matter how hard he searched, he knew he would never find it from where he was looking.

Something told him it was right in front of his face, but he daren't go to that conclusion. It would only be worse if he was right.

If that be the case, though, then his existence really had been meaningless...

And that they truly were being deceived by the one who had promised them so much.

Recalling the cards, he stepped out into the empty chamber, gazing wishfully at the glorious Kingdom Hearts. All he ever wanted since becoming a Nobody was to regain what he had lost. Now, it wouldn't matter, because that chance had never been his from the beginning.

Soon, everything he had ever known here would be destroyed, and he would nothing more than a mere ghost of a memory.

They were, of course, nothings after all...

Soon, he would be the next to fall...

The keybearer was coming closer to him, and each second ticked closer to his end.

He would fade into darkness, as did the rest; erased like pencil on paper.

A small, sad smile formed on his lips.

It was only a matter of time.


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