Oblivion

Note: After being given a copy of Toni Morrison's Beloved to read in Advanced Placement English, I got this weird, demented idea for a Kingdom Hearts AU. And that's all you really have to know, in my opinion. However, I personally think you should read Beloved at some point, as it IS the inspiration and is also one of the best examples of American literature.

This doesn't contain all-out horror, per se, but it does involve murder (courtesy of Axel), underage sex (which is a given with AkuRoku and sometimes Sora/Riku/Kairi), and traces of various disturbing elements. Even I had a problem writing it all down--not so much because I was squeamish, but because I saw everything in my head and had to literally replay it so I could get everything down right.

Because that's how my mind works.

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Castle Oblivion.

Say that name, and anyone in the Destiny Islands can point it out to you.

If you follow their directions--go as far west as you can, you'll know it when you see it--you will come across a house--not big, not small, neither fancy nor a mess--sitting in what probably used to be a clearing before the grass and trees went wild. You'll stop and stand, or lean, or sit on something, and wonder just how this used to be a brothel--of any sort. Because along with their directions, the people will also tell you bits and pieces of Oblivion's history.

See, Oblivion used to be the most well-known brothel in the Destiny Islands. Ansem Xehanort, likewise, was among the richest people living here. He owned it.

Go up to someone else, and they might help you scratch the surface of Oblivion. I remember hearing stories about Oblivion, they'll say. And if you ask further, they will tell you what they remember.

Everyone who "worked" at Oblivion (twelve in all, no more no less) had X in their name. And not normal names like Alexander or Maxine--names like Zexion, Larxene, Marluxia, Axel, Demyx. Made-up names that ring like bells and stick like needles in your head.

Everyone who worked at Oblivion wore black. Not like black-leather bodysuits or anything; just your average floor-length trenchcoats over whatever they wore underneath. Couldn't see anything unless you paid for it, some might joke.

The uniforms and the strange quality of the names sparked the curiousity of local conspiracy theorists. Somehow, they came to the theory that the brothel was a cover for an organization of assassins--that by night, the black leather robes were just for customers with a trenchcoat fetish, and by day they held weapons and poison in their floor-length, not-quite-skin-tight folds.

But why is it empty now? You might ask. Did an accident happen?

No accident, they say. And Oblivion isn't empty yet.

What, is it haunted? you smile.

Only one ghost, they answer. He was the last one killed before Naminé got saved by Sora and Riku.

So she... Naminé... lives by herself? Something about her name makes you feel strange--like there's a missing syllable or two--but you ignore it and go on.

She won't be alone even if she's the last one living in Oblivion. He promised he'd never leave her, and he's mad because he was killed in front of her.

That's... sad, is all you can think of to say. But if she's not the only one in Castle Oblivion, who else lives there?

Axel, they tell you, and the conversation is finished.

So you stand there, just beyond the invisible reach of the not-fancy-not-run-down house, and look at what used to be the Castle.