Summary: Watching someone die was never easy. It was harder to watch yourself die. It wasn't the real Zexion Repliku had killed, and Axel realized that too late. Now his plans to overthrow the Organization are shattered as Zexion escapes the fallen Castle Oblivion to report to Xemnas, but will he be able to make it in time? What if Axel gets there first?
Warning! This fanfic contains blood, gore, mentions of death, violence, cursing, dark imagery, betrayal, character death, slight hints of yaoi, and other things that make this rated T. Rating may go up in later chapters.
Disclaimer: I, KradsLover, do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did I would not be writing fanfics and what I write would have happened.
Castle Oblivion. It was a strange place to those who didn't belong. Like the Keyblade Master and his friends. They didn't belong. With the combination of the castle's seemingly endless floors and Namine's special powers, those who didn't belong forgot everything. Their lives, their friends and if they spent much more time in Castle Oblivion, they'd even forget their own names.
That's what would have happened. That's what was supposed to happen. It would have gone perfectly if it weren't for the traitors.
There were rumors floating around that the Superior sent the six members to Castle Oblivion to weed out the traitors. Zexion was one of the few Underground members that knew of it. He was insulted. He had been nothing but loyal to the Superior. He knew who the traitors were.
He wasn't one of them.
One by one he watched them fall. First, to his dismay, was Vexen. Axel had struck down another member. It was disgraceful. It happened so fast. The scent of bleach, frozen water, and formaldehyde had disappeared completely from the Castle. Zexion didn't think much of it at first. Then hours passed by and when the Academic did not return he presumed the older male dead.
It did not matter to him. Yes, a comrade was lost and the Underground members dwindled even more. But Vexen was never that important. He refused to let go of his experiments and could barely fight with just a shield.
He was useless.
Then Larxene was gone. Zexion knew what happened to her. Sora had done her in. He could hear her screams echo through the castle.
"No... This isn't the way I... I won't... ALLOW-"
Then all went silent. Zexion had no pity for the woman. She was rude, brash, and tended to act without orders. He would not miss the scent of copper or singed metal that surrounded her. He would not miss her screeching voice or the annoying way her pouty lips curled when she smirked.
Why should he care about a traitor?
Then next death was the one that finally rose a panic out of the Cloaked Schemer.
Lexaeus.
Lexaeus was Zexion's last line of defense. The Silent Hero... He wasn't much of a hero in the traditional sense, but he was all the muscle and protection that Zexion needed. Now he was gone and it was his fault.
But it wasn't as if he forced Lexaeus to go. On the contrary, it was almost the Hero's idea.
"When light loses sight of it's path, we may find use for the Dark." Lexaeus said. "What we must do, is obtain the darkness.." he clenched his fists, the leather stretching and groaning against the muscular fingers.
"Riku... Of course..." Zexion whispered.
Lexaeus only nodded, then left.
That was the last time Zexion ever saw him. While Zexion stayed in the Underground, he could hear the sound of Lexaeus and Riku's fight. It sounded like thunder with each blow Skysplitter dealt.
No it wasn't thunder. It was more like an earthquake. The sound rumbled down deep into the castle, shaking the very foundation.
"Don't mock me!"
The shaking grew worse. He could hear the pained screams of Riku. Then those screams stopped and a chill filled the air, the smell of darkness intensifying.
"Forgive me, Zexion..."
Zexion actually never heard those words, but he felt them. No.. He couldn't feel. But there was something. The empty spot in his chest clenched as the scent of sweet soil faded forever.
He stood in the now empty room. No Lexaeus, no Vexen. He had no one to protect him now.
"Lexaeus is gone a well," he whispered to himself. His hand was curled up slightly, resting in front of his mouth. It was a slight quirk of his when he was thinking.
The sounds of a portal opening disturbed those thoughts. He lowered his hands to his side as he looked over, Axel stepping out of the portal.
"Vexen, Larxene, Lexaeus... I wonder who will be next in line." Axel said. His voice wasn't worried or concerned. Nor was there any remorse for their fallen comrades. It was amusement instead.
Zexion smirked. "I thought perhaps it might be you."
"Me? No way. I already took my pounding from Sora, he thinks I'm done for good." Axel said, almost chuckling. He turned around and crosses his arms, looking down at the dark floor in though. "Nope. I think it'll be Marluxia next. For defying the Organization and targeting Sora." Green eyes closed and his voice dropped to a sinister whisper. "I hope he moves exactly as his heart commands him too." He turned around. "So what about you? I thought you guys had plans for Riku?"
Zexion raised an eyebrow. How did Axel know about that? Vexen must have said something. It didn't matter now. "Yes. We were going to set him off against the traitors... " he folded his arms some, left hand hovering just above his mouth. Ideas were forming in his head. But with Marluxia gone there is no more need. He is nothing but a nuisance now." He sounded almost bored.
Axel frowned. "And he's dangerous as well. After all, he took down Lexaeus." he pointed out.
Zexion tried to hide how much that one little statement upset him. Lexaeus was brought down by a boy even younger than himself. It was insulting. "... You know that is not how I do things." he said softly, thinking. "Tell me.. Did you obtain the data on Riku's home?" he smirked, knowing what he was going to do.
-
Riku walked into a familiar room. It was like all the others when he reached a new floor. Big, white, and basically empty. As he walked he felt the walls of the castle shake. He gasped and stood his ground so he wouldn't fall over, looking around.
"What? One of the senses died. A really.. strong one." He said. He looked up, seeing a portal open up before the door to the next floor.
There stood a man he had never seen before. No, not a man. He barely looked to be much older than himself, he was thin. His cloak clung to him, making him look sick.. However his eyes seemed much older and his aura seemed that of an old man who lost everything.
"The keeper of this Castle, Marluxia, has just been felled by the Keyblade Master." said the teen. His voice was calm, elegant, and deadly.
"Keyblade..? You mean Sora! Sora is here?" Riku asked, looking eager.
The other smirked. "Yes. Want to see him? But... Can you face him?"
"What's that mean?"
"The world of Darkness, and Ansem's shadow, still nest within your heart." the slate-haired male said. "Do you plan to face Sora like that? Are you not ashamed?"
Riku growled, glaring up at the older one. He looked down, clenching his fists.
"Sora's fate is to battle the Darkness. He must oppose anyone who hosts the dark. In other words... It's you." He smirked a little. "If you don't believe the words I say..." he threw a card at Riku. "Then you had best see the truth with your own eyes."
Riku's eyes widened as he looked at the card. "This card... This is our.."
"Yes ... It is your home." the other said then disappeared.
-
Destiny Islands. There was nothing left but a chunk of earth floating above a dark abyss. Above that showed a star about to burn out. That star was the life of the world. Harsh winds whirled around, chunks of debris and earth floating around, smashing into the last bit of land.
Zexion watched as Riku appeared in the middle of what was left of the island, gasping and looking around in a panic. He smirked.
"This is.. That night!" Riku yelled, looking around in horror.
"All of the islands you grew up on were sundered, scattered! Many hearts were forever lost to the darkness." Zexion said, jabbing at a weak point. "Because of what you did!" he pointed over to the edge of the island. An illusion of Riku appeared, staring out into the darkness.
Riku gasped.
"You hated being an islander, so you opened the door to darkness and destroyed the islands. It was you!" Zexion shouted, watching as Riku's eyes grew wide with realization and doubt. Zexion continued to pick at his heart. "You were pulled into the darkness then. And now you belong to the darkness."
Riku looked down at his hands, remembering how he tried to pull Sora into the darkness with him.
"You should look.. Look at what you truly are!" The illusion of the other Riku disappeared and a massive Heartless rose up.
Zexion watched as Riku fought the heartless. Just as he suspected, he easily defeated it. Riku had never fought a Darkside before. That was something Sora did, but he wanted to test Riku's strength. He was truly a formidable opponent. The Organization would greatly benifit with him on their side. He closed his eyes and darkness swirled around him, masking his true appearance and replacing it with something more familiar to Riku...
Riku panted heavily as he watched the Heartless disappear and fade. He looked over and gasped. Sora was standing at the edge of the island. His friends back was turned. He seemed to be just staring at the swirling debris.
"Sora!" Riku shouted, joyed to see that Sora was alright. He had been so worried. When Sora didn't answer him he shouted his name again. "Sora!!"
Riku walked up to the brunette, smiling. "Sora. It's me!" he said.
It happened to quick. All of a sudden Sora had the Keyblade in his hand and swung it around. Riku just barely managed to dodge it.
Riku gasped, staring at Sora in disbeleif. "What!?"
Sora ran up to him and Riku summoned Soul Eater to defend himself when Sora went to strike him. "Stop it, Sora! Don't you recognize me!?"
"Yeah I recognize you!" Sora shouted.
Riku didn't notice that his eyes were no longer their usual bright blue had had changed to a duller and darker cerulean. They didn't hold that certain light that Sora was known for.
Sora glared down at him, struggling to get past his defence. "I can see.. Exactly what you've become!" he jumped back and a beam of light shot out of the tip of his keyblade at Riku, knocking him back.
Riku screamed in pain, landing on the ground. The light... It hurt!
"How can the light hurt you?" Sor asked. "Riku! Have you really become a creature of the dark? You're not Riku anymore. You're just a pawn of the darkness... So be it." he lifted his Keyblade straight up. "It's time for you to face the light!" he yelled as light gathered at the tip, engulfing everything in it's path.
Riku winced and tried to cover his eyes. Everything was so bright! He cried out in pain as the light swallowed him.
-
Zexion was never fond of being in a body that was shorter than he already was, but it was worth it this time. Seeing the look of pain on Riku's face was worth everything. He laughed quietly as he watched the light around them fade, seeing Riku's' body twitch in pain.
He didn't see it coming.
-
Riku could feel it, the darkness. He felt it surge within him, filling him from from the inside out. But he wasn't afraid anymore. He could control it.
"Darkness!" he yelled, summoning Soul Eater again. He smelled the tainted scent nearby, that person wasn't Sora! He let out a battle cry and struck down the impostor!
"Im.. Possible!" The illusion fell and the so-called Sora groaned as he reached out for something that was not there. As if he was looking for help. His voice slowly changed from that of a young boy to that of a young man's. His body was surrounded by darkness before being replaced with the true image of Zexion.
Zexion groaned pain as he fell to the ground, panting heavily. "How is it that you found me? When you were there in the light!?"
"You wreak of darkness." Riku said. "Even the light can't block the smell." he said, staring blankly as Zexion gasped in disbelief. "Heh... I guess I followed the darkness right to you."
"This is absurd." Zexion growled, clenching his hand in anger. "Than I shall make you see.. That your hopes are nothing. Nothing but a mere Illusion!" he screamed, summoning his lexicon.
He should have known better.
Author's Notes: Well here's chapter one. Yes I'm still working on my other fanfics but I'm writing what I'm in the mood for. I can't force myself to work on the others cause we both know you'll just get crap, and no one wants that.
I tried to do my best on this chapter. Most of this is what I saw/heard from the english cutscenes of the Riku version of Chain of Memories. Made me upset to listen to the fall of Zexion over and over.
I'll try to update as soon as possible. Please review!