Rating: T
A/N: Remember that Halloween Town Fic I mentioned I'd be writing way back when I finished The Boy Next door? Yeah, I'm finally writing it.
I dedicate this to Destini.
Black and White
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I always used to think that monsters… demons… nightmares, really, weren't real. That they were figments of the imagination, or stories told to keep people in line, much like religion does. That there was reality and then there was fiction. Just like black and white.
That's what I thought, what I believed- until the day I found out how horribly wrong I was, desperately wishing I'd just listened to my mother.
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"Don't go near the forest, Roxas, it's dangerous," my worried mother would always make sure to warn before sending me out into the world. She'd always been very protective of me.
Since the forest surrounding our village was something she'd been taught to stay away from, she always made a point to tell me not to go near it. It had been avoided by my entire family for generations, in fact.
My mother had become even more cautious once people had started vanishing though. Especially since my best friend, Demyx was one of them. Ever since, she had made a point to remind me every day, rather than once a week like she used to, to stay away from the wooded area.
Little did she know; it only sparked my interest in the forest even more. That and… ever since Demyx had vanished… I'd wanted to go inside and search for him. But that was unheard of. Everyone in Radiant Garden was too cowardly to even think about looking for him.
They'd always believed that once you entered the forest, you were never allowed to leave. It seemed preposterous to me.
Nonetheless, I'd promise to stay away every day, but today, I merely smiled back at her before taking off. As soon as I was out of eyeshot, I ran up to the wooded area and, standing next to it, surveyed it.
The branches of the trees swayed enticingly, no less than inviting me to come and explore the depths and secrets that the forest beyond may hold. What was the danger of exploring it just once? Honestly? Thinking about it more, I really doubted that the forest was behind Demyx's disappearance. Knowing him, he'd probably just gone in then gone off somewhere to get away for a while.
I stared past the initial trees, as I did often, longing to enter, and with only the promise of adventure in mind, took my first step inside. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was getting far much more than I'd bargained for.
--
I wandered deeper and deeper into the wonder that was the forest, not paying attention to where I was going, inadvertently getting lost without realizing it. By the time I'd noticed, it was far too late. Panic as well as adrenaline set in and I unwisely began to run, desperately trying to find my way back but not getting anywhere. Everything looked exactly the same.
I didn't stop running until I'd become fatigued, and ended up walking around aimlessly for hours, too afraid to stop and settle somewhere. I briefly wondered if someone might be looking for me, already despairing because I knew deep down that the answer was no.
--
I yawned. Despite my efforts to stay awake, I was growing weary and knew I wouldn't last much longer. That fact scared me so much that it was all that was keeping my flickering consciousness going anymore. I could sense my motions slowing. How long had I even been in the forest for anyway? I only knew for certain that it'd been a long time because the sun was beginning to vanish. I'd entered around midmorning.
I'd given up on trying to get out of the forest. If anything, it was making me even more exhausted. Yelling for help wouldn't work either. I didn't have any guarantee that it'd help, just that it'd draw unwanted attention, so instead I looked for a good place to stop.
I ended up going into a clearing and was just about to sit down for a moment when I saw something that completely captured my attention.
It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen in my entire life; a tree with what looked like a pumpkin shaped door on it. Interest piqued, I went up to it to examine it more closely. Sure enough, that's exactly what it was. It even had hinges. I examined it then pressed my ear to it, knocking lightly before turning the knob. The door opened with an eerie creak and I peered inside, unable to see anything but black and smelled a musty smell. I wanted to go inside, to explore, but remembered where my curiosity had gotten me thus far and started to shut the door. I stared at it confused when it wouldn't shut, struggling with it for a moment before yelping as some unseen force took hold of me, forcing me inside. I was encased in complete black as the door swiftly closed behind me and then had the sensation of falling...
--
"Oh my, what is it? What is it?"
"I think it's a human!"
"Eww, it's alive! How disgusting!"
"Intriguing, can I have it? I'd love to experiment."
"Now now, everybody, calm down, please. No, Dr. Finklestein, you cannot! Oh dear, oh my, Jaaaackk? Jack??? Where ARE you? I need your help. Please Jaack, I'm only an elected official, I can't do this by myself!"
I groaned, putting a hand to my head. What happened? I wondered. I opened my eyes, seeing a bleak sky with a sun that I swear looked like a jack-o'-lantern. Where had I seen that before? Oh it looked like that door. The door! I thought, snapping upright, looking around frantically, in an attempt to find it. All I managed to see was a little town that I'd somehow ended up in. It was as bleak as the sky.
I heard the voices murmur again as I was looking around and looked in the direction that they were coming from, freezing and staring when I did. Directly to my left and behind me were terrifying monsters; ghouls and witches, rag dolls and werewolves. I noticed that a fat man with what looked like two faces, one in the back of his head, one for his face, was standing between me and them.
"Everyone, please calm down! Oh dear. Jaaaaccckkk?!?!?! Please, Jack! Where are you?" he yelled as the monsters leered at me while I stared at them wide-eyed. I sat there frozen until the most terrifying thing yet, a tall lanky skeleton came into view.
"What's the fuss, mayor?" he asked over the cheers the other residents of the down emitted upon seeing him.
"Oh thank goodness Jack! I didn't know what I was going to do!" the mayor said, looking back at me nervously, his face switching and making me jump. What was this? Was it a nightmare? It had to be. I was at home. I was dreaming. That had to be it. It just had to be.
The skeleton gave me a grin and approached me, making terror rise inside me. "Hello there, welcome to Halloween Town! How did you get here?" he asked. I knew my eyes had widened and I scrambled backward as he approached. The crowd immediately started whispering and staring at me because of my reaction toward 'Jack'. "Don't be afraid," the skeleton said, not discouraged at all. I couldn't help but be terrified though, trying not to hyperventilate. When he tried to approach me again, I hurriedly scurried backward, getting onto my feet and took off running away, wanting to get as far away from him and whatever else was in this town, as soon as possible.
I ended up running toward what looked like the gates of a cemetery. I only stopped when I saw something that I'd recognize anywhere. It was a cross between a mullet and a mohawk and I knew that it had to belong to my best friend. No one else had hair like that.
He was sitting down, strumming some sort of instrument, playing a sad tune. I stopped, trying to catch my breath.
"Demyx?" I asked, feeling hopeful. I guess he hadn't left the forest after all, just had somehow ended up here too. The boy looked up at me, blankly. "Dem?" I asked, taking a step toward him but stopping when a cold, malicious sneer came across his face, yet his eyes seemed clouded. It was then that I saw that he looked deathly pale and had several large knives were protruding from his body. One was exactly where his heart should've been. "D-Demy?" I asked, shakily, stepping back when he threw his instrument to the side, something the Demyx I knew would never do. "Dem, what's wrong?" I asked. He didn't say anything, just lunged at me, pulling out one of the knives to stab me. I just barely dodged him, backing away until I was backed up against the gate, unable to go anywhere. I closed my eyes, covering my face as he ran toward me again.
I was surprised when a walking bathtub came into view, making Demyx stop instantly, cowering back with fear. Three children got out of the tub and went up to us.
"Bad boy," one of the children scolded. "We told you to attack Jack, not anyone else. You're not a very good toy."
"What're you talking about?" I asked, seeing Demyx's eyes become clearer. She removed her mask so she could take a better look at me. She and the other two smirked then laughed when they did.
"Another human, huh?" she asked, "Maybe Oogie'd have fun playing with you too."
"What?!" I asked. Oogie? Who… what was that? What the heck did he do to Dem?
"Get 'm boys!" she said, all three closing in on me. I pressed back farther against the fence, sure that they'd take me to some horrible creature, until Demyx surprised all of us by coming in between us. "What are you doing you idiot?" they asked Demyx who looked back at me.
"Run," Demyx whispered, "Get out of here, don't let them get you."
"What about you?" I asked, feeling a familiar sting as tears formed in my eyes. He seemed to remember me now.
"I'm already dead," he whispered, "I can't get any worse than this." I felt tears stream down my cheeks. "Go, Rox, run away to the forest," turning back toward the children, lunging at them.
I did as he told me.
--
I ran, halfway blinded by tears. What had happened back there? What had happened to Dem? And where in this godforsaken place was the forest? I wondered.
I don't know for how long I'd been running until I found myself heading past a pumpkin patch and into a wooded area. That must've been it, I thought, wandering around, frightened and confused. I was wondering if those children had followed me, until I saw someone sitting against a tree just ahead and my main focus changed. I couldn't tell for sure what he was doing but relaxed as I got closer, greatly relieved to see someone else who seemed to be alive in this world filled with dead. I went right up next to him willingly, examining him.
He didn't seem to be dead like Dem. No visible wounds that possibly could've caused his death or anything. As I looked at him more closely, it struck me that he was really pretty, having fiery red hair that was in spikes and strange markings under his eyes, on his cheeks. They didn't take away from him, just added to his uniqueness. I couldn't tell the color of his eyes, since he was leaning back against the tree in a sitting position and had his eyes closed as if he were asleep. I bent down, reaching out to touch him when suddenly his eyes snapped open and I found myself frozen, lost in a sea of the most brilliant shade of green I'd ever seen.
"Hello, Roxas," a smooth voice said as he smirked at me, "Would you like me to protect you from the nightmares?"
"Y-you can do that?" I asked wide eyed.
It didn't even register in my mind that I hadn't told this person my name yet. He nodded. "Yeah, so how about it?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No, could you please just tell me how to get out of here? I just want to go home," my panic was starting to fade away. For some reason I felt at ease for the first time since winding up here now that I was around him.
"I'm afraid not," he said, sitting up and leaning toward me.
"…why not?" I asked.
"Because," he said, "you're only allowed to leave Halloween Town once you've died."
--
-TBC-
A/N: Reviewing to let me know what you think will be much appreciated.