Draco: I don't know what I was on when I came up with this. I THINK was either out of Coca-Cola or had just picked up and was waiting for it to chill. But I know for a FACT that when I decided to actually WRITE this, I was without drinks and the rivers of thought for most of my fanfics were at a standstill. I don't even like creepy shit like this, what is WRONG with me.
I KNOW what's wrong with me, I'm trying to scare my mind out of this writer's block.
Alright, I'm going to do this somewhat differently. In a similar vein to Keys and Crosses, this is a "characters in a situation from another work" idea. However, exactly WHERE the situation comes from is a subject on which I will remain silent - even after the conclusion has come. This is also going to be a lot closer to the source material than K+C was, so if you figure out where this is coming from I will not be going in any direction you aren't anticipating.
Oh, quick warning, if you don't know what this is and you're going to go looking by the title, you're going to need a lemniscate.
Characters © Disney & Square Enix. Plotline © [SECRET].
"Somehow, I knew this was a horrible idea..."
A small village, Luxa, and a small market town, Daru, on either side of a small wood - a deceptively simple description that she had used to convince herself to head home as the sun had set. Now a young girl from Luxa, Naminé, was lost in the forest path, lit only by a quarter moon in the sky above her. In one hand was a letter she had been asked to bring home, which she held tight to her chest as she tried to find something familiar.
She was deluding herself, of course - in a forest at night, particularly a chilled night such as this, familiarity is damn near impossible. Any tree could be confused with every other, each bush was just another collection of leaves, every mansion was-
Wait, what?
Confused, Naminé stepped forward to get a better look. There was a huge manor looming out of the darkness - its windows were pretty decently lit, considering the dark hour, and there was a large balcony above a great double-door. Hesitantly, she glanced around her; nobody would be pleased to find a complete stranger at the door at this hour, but she had been in the forest in the dark for longer than she probably ought. Then again, a mansion in the woods was nothing short of menacing, simply at the prospect...
Mustering her courage, she made her way towards it, reasoning that, at the worst case scenario, she would be simply turned away.
Knock, knock, knock...
A long moment passed after the sound had faded; then the door was pulled open, just slightly. A young man stood there, with light blonde hair that was frayed up slightly, in a simple slate-grey suit, with a small cloth folded over his arm - which he purposefully held at such an angle that it would not fall off. He didn't seem to be much older than Naminé herself was. "Who is it?"
Naminé's voice caught in her throat for a moment. "Um... Hello. Is...?"
"Oh! Are you maybe lost?" The butler - at least, Naminé assumed it was a butler, given the suit and the huge building - sounded worried. "We don't usually get visitors here. You must be from the village?"
"I... yes," Naminé stuttered. "I'm sorry..."
The butler shook his head, raising his empty hand assuringly. "Don't apologize," he insisted, pulling the door open. "Please, come right in."
"Hayner!" A loud voice - with a surprisingly friendly tone, for its volume - called from inside. "Who is it?"
"A lost girl from the village!" the butler, Hayner, called back, raising his voice similarly.
As Naminé stepped inside, she could see that they had good reason to be loud - the entrance hall to the mansion was huge, so great that she could hardly see the voice's owner atop the twin stairways. She had little time to dwell on it before she was approached by two figures in black formal wear. One was a boy her age, in a black suit trimmed with spirals of fanciful white, beneath which he wore a simple white undershirt; his hair was a darker blonde, formed of an array of spikes that seemed windswept to one side. The other was a girl, equal his height bar the hair spikes, in a beautiful black dress bearing sleeves that wove like a flag when she moved her arms; her hair was deep black itself, falling simply about her head. Both of them had shimmering blue eyes, and when they smiled and raised opposite arms in greeting, Naminé was certain from their synchronicity they must have been twins.
"Welcome to the manor of the Departure family," the girl mused.
"It's so rare we get visitors," the boy added. "We hope you enjoy yourself."
Naminé smiled softly, surprised. Footsteps to the side caused her to turn; emerging from a nearby room was a woman in a simplistic uniform, with a tray in one hand and a lightly steaming kettle in the other. She had deep brown hair that mostly ended about at head level, though two strands bounced lightly on her shoulders. Upon seeing Naminé, a warm smile rose on her face. "Ah, a guest!" she greeted.
"Olette, is that fresh tea?" Hayner inquired.
"Yes, Mistress Aqua had asked me to prepare," the maid, Olette, confirmed. "If you would come with us, Miss...?"
Naminé realized that she had yet to give her name. "Oh, Naminé," she introduced.
"Miss Naminé. Please, come with us."
The village girl was led through the mansion by the servants and the twins, eventually arriving at what appeared to be a living room - a small fireplace had a warm blaze burning it in already, and a grandfather clock was ticking away against the wall. Sitting on a large couch was a man with brown hair that trailed down his back, dressed in a very expensive-looking white longcoat with a furred collar; in his hand was a book, which he was reading with a small smile on his face. At his side was a woman with bright blue hair dancing modestly about her head, in a very opulent dress of gold, who looked content to simply sit at his side with her head on his shoulder. Reclining across a loveseat was a young man who looked maybe a year older than the twins - and had a hairstyle almost identical to the boy's - in what looked to be a more casual version of the jacket worn by the man with the wine.
Upon their entry, the woman raised her gaze. "Oh? What have we here?"
"A visitor, Mistress Aqua," Olette explained. "And I've prepared your tea."
"Set the tea aside for now, Olette," the woman insisted. The man closed his book, setting it down on the small table in front of him, and the two of them rose as the boy on the loveseat straightened himself, getting to his feet; all three of them approached Naminé, who suddenly felt very overwhelmed by the very obviously wealthy people before her.
"Welcome to our home, miss," the man greeted. "My name is Terra. This is my wife, Aqua, and our son, Ventus."
"Call me Ven," the young man insisted.
Aqua turned back to Naminé. "And I presume you've met the others?"
Naminé glanced among the group. "Um, Olette, and Hayner," she mused, pointing to the maid and the butler; then she turned to the twins and hesitated for a moment before admitting, "I don't think I got your names."
The two of them gasped, exchanging looks of light embarassment before bowing politely. "We're sorry," they insisted at once.
"My name is Roxas," the boy insisted.
"And mine is Xion," the girl added.
"Roxas and Xion," Naminé mused. Beckoning between Roxas and Ventus, she asked, "Has anyone mentioned that you two...?"
Ven laughed. "A few," he admitted.
The woman, Aqua, stepped forward. "Might I ask your name, miss?" she asked.
"Naminé," the village girl introduced again.
Terra hummed curiously. "If you don't mind my saying," he mused, "I feel it is not simply coincidence that you have arrived at this manor. It is possible that you may have been drawn here by a force of sorts."
"A... force?" Naminé inquired.
"Some might call it... inevitability," Aqua added. "Fate often brings unlikely meetings to occur."
Roxas and Xion exchanged smiles. "If it is destiny that has brought you here," they prompted, speaking in synch, "then we should celebrate!"
Hayner laughed, scratching the back of his head. "You always want to party," he mused. "I'll get the wines."
Naminé looked worried. "Oh, um, I don't... I really oughtn't..."
Olette set a hand on the village girl's arm. "It's not safe to be out so late," she insisted. "And I imagine you were in the woods for a fair while. A banquet will help lift your spirits. Just... enjoy the festivities."
"Let's hurry!" the twins cheered.
+x+x+x+
By the time they had arrived at the dining hall, a very ornate table (though not particularly large, perhaps to compensate for the lack of attendants) had been adorned with a beautiful rose tablecloth and set with the finest silverware and beautifully frosted wine glasses. To her own surprise, Terra and Aqua insisted that Naminé take a seat at the end of the table, as their 'guest of honor'; after some lighthearted argument, Aqua took the other end seat, with Terra taking the seat to her left and Ventus the one to her right.
While the dinner was prepared, Naminé enjoyed some friendly conversation with Roxas and Xion; then the food came, a banquet like Naminé had never dreamed of. Olette laid out the meal, and Hayner poured everybody a glass of fine red wine; then they took the centre seats, and Aqua tapped her glass lightly with a spoon to draw everyone's attention.
"A toast," she offered, raising her glass. "To this wonderful evening, in which fate has brought us all together! To a night of happiness!"
Everyone picked up a glass of their own, raising them. "To a night of happiness!"
A small clatter of glasses. Naminé, holding her glass by the bowl, winced lightly when her fingers were caught between it and the twins'; they noticed noticed, and as the village girl lowered her glass they held theirs towards her.
"You should hold it by the stem," Roxas prompted. "It stops the wine from picking up the heat from your hand."
Naminé shook her head. "Thanks," she insisted, setting her glass down, "but I... I really don't... drink."
"Don't worry about appearances," Xion assured her. "Forget what's sweet and bitter, and just enjoy yourself."
"I'm not exactly dressed to the nines," Naminé admitted, glancing down at herself - her dress was very simple and very white, and though she admittedly feared any attempt at alcohol would leave it covered in red stains, that was the least of her concerns. "It's not appearances I'm worried about; wine just isn't my thing."
Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever tried it? Wine, I mean."
The village girl opened her mouth to answer, then sheepishly shied away.
Xion gave a friendly laugh. "You're the leading lady," she insisted. "A feast, and then some music later; we're putting this on for you."
"Just sing, dance, and make merry," Roxas insisted.
Naminé smiled at their assurance; then she hesitantly raised the glass to her lips.
+x+x+x+
As the twins had promised, the meal was shortly followed by a small dance party; Naminé managed to avoid getting any red wine on her dress, but she'd had enough that she felt her dancing was rather... less than refined. Ventus asked her to dance at one point, and she was actually fairly certain she trod on his feet a couple times. When the village girl drew tired, Olette led her to a guest room, inviting her to sleep for as long as she pleased; and indeed, when she succumbed to slumber and finally woke again, she felt certain that she had slept to noon.
Such was her surprise, then, to find a quarter moon shining in through her window, high in the dark skies.
Confused, the village girl stepped out of the bedroom, making her way through the house. Despite the weariness and alcohol, she managed to remember enough of Olette's escortings that she arrived at the living room where Terra, Aqua, and Ventus had appraised her. The family was nowhere to be seen, but Roxas and Xion were there; on Naminé's arrival, the two of them turned to her.
"What's going on?" the village girl asked. "It's dark out... Have I... slept to another night?"
The twins exchanged glances and smiled; then they turned to Naminé, who stepped back warily.
"Would you like to know a secret?" Xion asked.
Naminé was only more confused. "A secret...?"
"Something that has been kept from you for some reason," Roxas mused.
"I know what a secret is," Naminé protested, realizing that she had just made herself look like a fool. "But... why would you tell me?"
"We don't have to," Xion mused.
The village girl raised one arm before her, fearing they would grab her.
Instead, both of them only stepped apart, beckoning to the grandfather clock. "Take a look at the clock..."
Warily, Naminé stepped forward, approaching the clock. The gentle ticking that had played out during her last visit to the room had faded; the hands of the clock were still, four minutes from midnight, and the pendulum was unmoving. Normally, Naminé would think it had been affected, and the mansion playing a prank on her; but the unmoving pendulum was at the peak of a swing to the left; there was no binding, nothing to hold it there. It was simply there, frozen in place.
"What... what's going on?" Naminé demanded, turning to the twins.
"What indeed?" Xion admitted.
"I wonder..." Roxas hummed.
Panic took the village girl at this point, and she rushed between the two, trying to flee the room. She was slightly disoriented when the exit she took led her not to the hallway, but to a small spiral staircase; nonetheless, all she cared about right now was getting away from those creepy twins. That changed when she reached the bottom of the staircase, finding a heavy door waited there to bar her way. Putting all her weight into it, she managed to fling it open and stumble a few steps into the room beyond, finding the air rather musty - which was the least of her concerns when she saw what was inside.
A piercing shriek tore between Naminé's lips.
For the staircase had taken her to a basement, and upon the floor was a series of uniform coffins, lined up like soldiers between which she was intended to march.
"Oh, dear..."
Aqua's voice caused Naminé to whirl around, finding everyone had arrived there - the Departure family, the servants, and the twins.
Terra, on seeing her expression, only set a hand on his head. "So, you've seen it..."
Olette stepped forward, trying to assure her. "Please, don't be alarmed..."
Naminé refused the request, rushing forward and shoving them all aside.
Hayner was the first to recover, chasing after her. "Wait! Where are you going?!"
The village girl took the correct exit out of the living room this time, and before long, she arrived at the massive entrance hall; without hesitating, she rushed down the staircase with intention to leave the manor - for she felt nothing the woods held could possibly be worse than this mansion.
Her hands were extended to grasp the double doors when a pair of black blurs crossed before her path, hands catching her own. The twins moved fast, despite the dress and suit; Roxas had caught Naminé's left hand in his right, and held it across her body; Xion had the village girl's right hand in her left, holding it the same; this left her trapped as though she were in a straightjacket, for a brief moment, before she managed to force her arms apart, stepping back and grasping her wrists - the two had a fairly fierce grip.
"I'm sorry," Roxas murmured.
"We can't let you leave this place," Xion insisted.
Naminé was confused by their sorry tones. "Wh... why not...?" she inquired.
Roxas turned to her. "You're the leading lady."
Those words had been his sister's assurance that she ought enjoy herself; now they bore a worrisome tone, leaving Naminé confused and concerned...
+x+x+x+
"A tome...?"
It was rather unassuming, truth be told; a small book, bound in faded red leather. Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Hayner, Olette, Roxas, Xion, and Naminé had all gathered in the living room again; Ven had procured - from a small storage space in the side of the loveseat he had been sitting in - the book that he was now showing to Naminé, and everyone had expressions of worry on their faces.
"We found this in the basement, not long after we came to this mansion," Ventus explained. "In the room with the coffins."
Aqua took the book from him, gently pulling it open and showing the cover page to Naminé. "Look at this image, here," she mused. "Does it look familiar?"
Naminé was surprised by what she saw - it was the living room in which they stood, a warm blaze burning in the fireplace. To either side was a series of figures, and after peering at them for a moment she realized that they were the same people gathered around her. Terra in his longcoat, Aqua in her dress, Olette in her uniform, Ventus in his jacket, Hayner in his suit, and the twins standing hand-in-hand.
"This is... what is this?" Naminé asked.
Olettte shook her head, worried. "Hayner and I have been working for Master Terra and Mistress Aqua for long before we came to this place," she mused. "When we saw image... it frightened us."
Terra sighed. "We've always been... wary, concerning the forces of inevitability," he admitted. "When we found this, and saw that image... we could feel fate at work."
Naminé turned to them. "And you don't think it might have just been chance?" she asked.
"Destiny is never left to chance," Aqua insisted. "I'm certain of that now.
Hayner stepped forward. "If you look through it," he mused, "it looks like it's written kinda like a play. A visitor comes to a mansion in the woods, enjoys herself... and wakes after time comes to a halt."
"That's..." Naminé was frightened at the observation.
"You're not the first guest this place has had," Roxas insisted.
"But none of the others had time go still for them," Xion added.
Naminé lowered her gaze to the book. "How... how does it end?" she asked.
"We don't know," Terra admitted.
The village girl raised her gaze to him. "Wait, what?"
Ventus took the book back, turning the pages - every few pages bore a small illustration - and coming to a stop halfway. "Here," he mused, holding out to Naminé. "It stops here, right after it mentions the coffins in the basement."
Accepting the tome, Naminé looked over it, finding an illustration of the manor atop the page. It didn't stop there - that was just where the page ended. However, when the village girl made to turn the page, it refused - it was as though the rest of the pages, and the back cover, were sealed together. "What is this...?" she murmured.
Aqua sighed. "This is only my theory," she admitted, "but... I feel this means that the ending is undetermined."
"Tonight has all been... according to script, so to speak," Terra observed. "But the script ends here, and so... we kind of have to improvise."
Ventus turned to her. "Maybe... its up to the lead role?" he offered.
Naminé fell quiet at that.
Aqua closed the book and set it down on a table. "What comes next may well be up to you," she admitted. "All I ask is that you take caution in doing so. We can do our best, look for a happy end. But there's no turning back if things come out of order. We don't want this to come to a true end, with those coffins, any more than you do."
Those words loomed over Naminé eerily.
"Are you alright?" Terra asked. "Do you want to lie down-"
"Why won't you let me leave?"
The question cut through the air around her. With an accusing glare, Naminé turned to the Departure family. "If I leave, isn't that enough? Won't it end there? Why won't you let me go home?"
Olette shook her head. "Time is frozen," she insisted. "Until that clock stopped, things were noisy outside - insects, birds, beasts - and all of that went still. If you leave... you might well go still, as well."
"We don't want you to get hurt before we solve this," Xion insisted.
"When we're done, you can go back to your home," Roxas promised.
Quiet draped the room at that.
+x+x+x+
The village girl asked for some time alone, and the others left her be in the living room, sitting by the fire. The warmth helped to comfort her, and the gentle crackling of the flame helped her to think. They needed to find an end to this - they had no script to follow, they had to find their own way out of this thing. Soon enough, Naminé was pacing, trying to come up with some solution.
Think... This is written up like a play, isn't it? So if we want to get out of here, we need to think like a playwright. How does a play usually end? Her gaze went to the clock, its hands still frozen at four minutes from midnight. Not that this is anything like a usual play... But that's the best choice we have right now. Think like a playwright, think like a playwright...
After a moment gazing at the clock, she realized the hands had a curious gleam to them. The firelight reflected warmly off the gold surface behind them, but the bronze hands had a cold glint as they caught the light.
And slowly, Naminé realized why.
"Roxas! Xion!"
The twins came into the room not long after she called them. They found her standing before the clock, her hands closed against her chest; both of them stepped towards her, setting their hands on her shoulders.
"Are you alright?" Xion asked.
"What's wrong?" Roxas inquired.
"...I found it."
Both of them were surprised as Naminé looked between them. "I found it. The key to the happy end. I found it."
The twins both gave relieved smiles.
Roxas came around to face her fully. "Well, what is-?"
He was interrupted when Naminé reached forward, parting her hands and setting her lips against his.
Xion winced at the suddenness of the movement - she and her brother both knew from experience that performing such an action too quickly would be painful as much as it was pleasant - but neither of them looked to be injured by the kiss. Roxas' eyes widened briefly, but he quickly closed them, his hands going up towards Naminé's face; and Xion had a weak grin on her face as she lowered her gaze to the floor.
Which meant she caught a gleam of bronze in the corner of her eye.
The hour hand from the clock had been hidden in Naminé's closed fingers; now, it was gripped like a blade, the curlicues of the join all that remained in her grip, and Xion had no time to react before the village girl lunged the blade forward. Roxas jerked his head back, breaking the kiss with a gasp of pain, and Naminé only smiled as his body stopped holding itself up - but it wasn't the shy smile she had worn during the party. This was the smile of someone bidding farewell to someone they cared about, knowing they would never share another meeting.
Xion rushed forward, grabbing Naminé's hand and prying it from the knife, leaving it imprisoned in Roxas' heart; her brother fell to the ground, and Xion knelt at his side, panicking. He looked weakly up at his sister's face, his mouth opening but no sound forming, and Xion gasped in horror, looking between him and Naminé before getting to her feet and lashing at the village girl with one hand.
Naminé managed to divert the blow with the hand that had held the knife; then she reached forward, grabbing Xion's head and drawing her in for the same kiss she had given her brother. The girl struggled against the lip-lock, but Naminé's grip was firm - the fight was proven wise when the village girl lunged forward with her fingers. Xion felt the blow as Naminé's grip vanished, falling to the ground next to Roxas; with what strength he had left, he turned his head to her sister, who only gazed at Naminé horrified, the clock's minute hand impaled in her heart.
Xion shook her head, not understanding. "Why would you...?"
The village girl gave her the same smile - that smile of departure.
"I'm the leading lady."
Then she reached forward, prying the clock hands from the twins' hearts, and Xion turned to face Roxas, their gazes locking - and both of them would share the fortune of having each other's gaze be the last thing they saw.
+x+x+x+
Naminé found Olette and Hayner in the dining hall, with glasses of red wine in hand. At the sight of Naminé, the two of them stepped towards her, ready to provide whatever help she might need. "Is something wrong?" Hayner asked.
"Not really," Naminé assured him. "It's just..." She glanced behind her warily. "Roxas and Xion... They're acting kind of weird..."
Olette angled her head. "What do you mean?" she asked.
The village girl angled her head from side to side, thinking of how to phrase it. "The way the talk, for one," she mused. "They never say more than each other. If he talks, she talks the same amount. If he says a little more than she did, she has to catch up. And the way they move... they're always mirroring each other."
The maid chuckled. "Well, they are twins," she mused. "I guess they've practiced a bit to put on a mirror show. And the speech might just be a subconscious thing - twins usually wait for each other to catch up if they're not competing."
"Yes, but..." Naminé sighed. "The thing is..."
Hayner raised an eyebrow. "The thing is...?"
"They didn't bleed."
The butler blinked. "Wha-"
Naminé's left hand moved too fast for him to react - a gleam of bronze was all he saw before something was driven into the side of his head, and he had only time to open his mouth before he fell, Naminé drawing him close against her white dress. Olette screamed when Namine twirled the fingers of her right hand, revealing a clock hand with a sharpened edge in her grip - the other hand impaled in Hayner's skull, crimson seeping out from around it.
"You see?" Naminé asked. "He's bleeding. But the twins... they didn't bleed at all. Not even when I got them in the heart." She held up the hour hand. "See? There's no blood." She released Hayner's lifeless body and grabbed the minute hand, yanking it out of the butler's hair - which was starting to dye crimson by the flowing fluid - and holding it next to its companion, showing the stains. "I even left it there for a minute, just like this one."
Olette's expression was one of sheer horror. "What... what are you doing...?"
Naminé stepped forward. "It's a play, isn't it?" she asked. "He said the book was written like a play. So we need to finish it like a play."
The maid turned to run, but Namine quickly grabbed her arm, trapping the minute hand between them and cutting both quite fiercely. Olette didn't even have time to scream before the village girl drove the hour hand into her skull, and she fell across the table. Naminé released her arm, setting the weapon down on the table and wiping her hand on her dress.
"What the hell-?!"
Naminé turned to the door for the passage leading to the ballroom. Terra, Ventus, and Aqua were there, all of them wearing expressions of horror and confusion; with a sigh, she picked up the weapons again, hour in her left hand, minute in her right, before turning to them.
"Run," Terra demanded. "Run!"
Ventus and Aqua left ahead of him as Naminé advanced on him, and only once they had a fair lead did he chase after them. Terra wasn't as fast as his wife and son, but the village girl was still slower than him, which left him the advantage. He stopped at the entrance to the ballroom, locking the door, before grabbing something from above the door - a flamberge, its waved blade broad enough that Naminé had thought it merely ornamental.
Terra turned to stop her, holding it in one hand, and shattering the key with it.
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded of Naminé. "I thought you wanted to get out of this!"
"That's what I'm doing," Naminé insisted. "This night is endless. So we need to be rid of it."
Terra rushed toward her, swinging the blade earthward.
Naminé only stepped past him, letting the blade hit the floor, before driving the minute hand into his back, twisting it deep and causing small amounts of blood to spurt weakly across her dress. The Master of the house roared in pain, the sound echoing through the house, and with the last of his strength he tried to bring the sword back at her - but the last of his strength was not enough to overcome even an obstruction as weak as Naminé holding her arm in the way of his.
"Let's let the night break apart, shall we?"
She stepped away as he fell to the ground, pulling the clock hand out of his back. The broken key meant Naminé couldn't use this door - but the mansion had a lot of rooms, mostly inter-connected, and she was sure she would be able to find her way to the other two.
+x+x+x+
Aqua and Ventus were in the kitchens when Naminé found them. Ventus was the faster of the two, and as they passed a supply room Aqua insisted he keep running; she grabbed a small walking cane and braced it in hand, brandishing it like a weapon.
"Why?" she demanded as Naminé approached her. "Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted to go home!"
"Forget what's sweet and bitter, and just enjoy yourself," the village girl quoted. "Just sing, dance, and make merry."
Aqua made to rush at her, but Naminé only lashed her arm forward; the hour hand flew through the air and lodged itself between her breasts. The Mistress of the house screamed with such intensity that the vilage girl feared the windows would break. Aqua held out the cane to support herself, but Naminé stepped forward, grabbing the knife and wrenching it out of her flesh, pulling a small spray of blood with it.
"That's all I'm doing, don't you see?"
She found Ventus in the ballroom - Terra's lock on the door went both ways, so she wasn't afraid of him running away. But he had gone out of his way to arm himself - a pair of wooden tonfa were in his grip, and he looked ready to take Naminé down with him.
"You're insane," he snapped.
Naminé shook her head. "Ventus... The most beautiful thing in the world... Do you know what it is?"
Ven grit his teeth, bracing his weapons before him. "What does that-?"
"Death."
The words caught the boy off guard as Naminé stepped forward, bloodstained clock hands in her grip. "Every classical playwright from Aeschylus onward wove his tragedies around the fallen hero. And don't we all adore the poignant beauty of falling flower petals?"
She raised both arms to her sides as she walked forward, angling the clock hands so they were pointed at Ventus.
"Flowers, life, love... all shine the brightest at the moment of their extinction. If you want to finish the script, you have to think like a playwright."
Ven growled angrily. "Forget about the play," he protested. "Let's just leave!"
Naminé shook her head. "That's what I'm doing," she insisted. "The cast and the stage are gone. The story is over. We'll all leave together."
"You're insane!" Ven roared.
With greater speed than anyone else in the house, he rushed forward, such that Naminé almost couldn't react before he was up in front of her. His tonfas swept forward, and he intended to break her arms; but Naminé acted first.
One knife went across his throat.
The other took the same path, in the other direction.
The last member of the Departure family fell to the ground, leaving Naminé standing above him.
"It's been a crazy night."
There was a small table to one side, upon which Naminé had set her half-finished glass of wine when the dance had started; now she stepped towards it, leaving Ventus where he lay. Both clock hands were set into her left hand, and she picked up the wineglass by the bowl.
Then she stopped, setting it down and picking it up by the stem.
"To a night of a bad end."
She upturned the glass at arm's length above her, splattering red wine across her face and the shoulders of her already bloodstained dress.
+x+x+x+
The living room had gone silent, as had the rest of the house. A figure stood before the fireplace - a shadow that no one in the mansion had been aware of, or would ever be aware of. As the last member of the house departed, the figure raised its hands, clapping slowly and sadly.
"A good show you put on tonight."
Then it knelt down, picking up a letter that had been cast to the ground as the crazy night had begun, and tears fell from its face.
Bad End
Draco: I don't know what possessed me to think this would help my writer's block. I mean honestly, this shit is creepy. I've seen Karin Maaka have nosebleeds with less blood involved.
If you guys are as twisted as I was when I wrote this and you want more, I may follow up to this - if only because there was a follow-up to the source material. But there were also several alternate media versions that I don't think were followed up to, so I can leave it at this, hence the complete label. I don't know if FFN sends notifications for new chapters of stories that are already labelled "complete", so if they don't you have to keep checking back.
Disclaimer, I personally ship VenAqua and RokuShi. Terra and Aqua as married, Ventus as their son, and Roxas and Xion as twins is purely for the sake of most fitting roles. Do not assume relationships portrayed above as foreshadowing for my other Kingdom Hearts fanfiction.
Yes, creepy-ass fic and I see fit to disclaim pairings.
NEW EDIT: One point I must make: if you (believe to) have determined the source of the story, I must mandate you save the claim for my response to your review. If enough people get it right and desire continuation, I shall cease my petty obscurity. END NEW EDIT