Whispers in the Dark

Main Characters / Pairings: KairixSoraxRiku OT3 , Sora Centric
Summary: Weeks after the events of KH2, the keyblade master disappears without a trace. A grave reunion with Sora at Disney Castle reveals a startling truth about their hero that Kairi and Riku are completely unprepared for. Deals with darkness, love and loss, and the power of unwavering faith. Sometimes happy endings must be earned.

Ratings: PG 13 for now
Disclaimer: Squenix and Disney own KH. I'm just a fan.
Notes: Searched long and hard for a really big Kingdom hearts Epic that did something new. Then decided to write it myself. Not the greatest author in the world. Just someone who has little people running around in her head, asking to be brought to life. This isn't going to be a three chapter story. Or a High school fic that lasts 5 chapters. It's going to be a long and immersive continuation written by an amateur. If you're still willing to make the journey with me, I hope you enjoy the ride.

Lets begin… shall we?

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[ Prologue ]

"To rid ourselves of our shadows - who we are - we must step into either total light or total darkness."
- Jeremy Preston Johnson

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At first he thinks he's dying.

The world is fuzzy around the edges and it's really hard for him to think of anything except for the time that he and Riku found a bird lying on the sidewalk. The memory is crystal clear. It's almost as vivid as his memories of yesterday. He remembers grey skies, muddy feathers and so much rain…

His life should be flashing before his eyes. All the trivial and mundane things should fade away, while all the important pillars of his life remain. People who have faced as much danger as he has… they've all said as much: At what seems to be the end of the road, only the important things, memories and precious people he holds dear will be with him.

Why then, would he cling now to a ghost of a memory? And not a very good one at that?

Everything hurts, everything burns like it's on fire. It must be the way things feel when the body wants to give out.

Frustration burns in his stomach. This isn't how it's supposed to be. He wants to see his last days by the shore bathed in the afternoon sun, not in some dark, looming cavern at the End of the World.

The thought is suffocating.

But no, he can't be dying, because if he really is, there's nothing that can be done. It's the end. It's all over. Story's done. Finished. The fearless leader, the main character, the last light amongst a sea of black… gets snuffed out like a candle.

It scares him a little bit.

So he uses that feeling to push himself up from the floor and he's grateful he has the strength to manage as much. It's progress after a long time of wondering if he can really put himself together to move forward. It's only a glimmer of hope, but he knows more than anyone that even just a spark carries people surprisingly far in their darkest hours.

He hasn't said his good-byes, so he tries not to think of how he would only need to close his eyes and let go, because it's that easy. His whole life has been one sea of hardship and difficult choices. He fights against maelstroms of wind, mountains of change and oceans worth of betrayal but never once has he thrown in the towel or even remotely relinquished victory to his opponents. Didn't he deserve to give in just this once? Would just once make that much a difference?

The idea of letting go becomes more and more appealing as the seconds tick by like tiny eternities, and that's the only indication that he's really hurt this time: if he wants to give in, things are bad.

A voice in his head insists otherwise: Come on. Hold on. Just try and focus. Just take a step, that's all you have to do.

His mind keeps coming back to the bird. Broken, sad and scared under cloudy skies. In the end, the light had faded from its eyes and he still remembers the sick, sinking feeling that burrowed into his stomach knowing that its last moments were spent scared and in pain.

He remembers burying it.

He wonders if that same pile of stones is stacked in the empty lot at the end of the street. He wonders if anyone else understands the significance of it. And then he wonders why it makes him sad that no one but he and Riku probably ever will.

He tries to get his legs moving.

The voice in his head is soothing and urgent in the same token: Take a step.

Its sound is familiar and he finds the presence of this voice both a relief and a burden. So he pulls at the last edges of his strength to try for just another step. Don't think beyond that, just concentrate on one step. But anguish falls on his heart when he finds that wishful thinking is not enough. It isn't working. His legs. They won't move. He's really trying so hard, he really is, and he doesn't think he can do it. They won't move, they won't…

The voice is there again, patient and caring and Sora thinks maybe if it wasn't there, he'd be lost. It urges him on: it knows he's tired but it's okay. There is still hope. There is still a way. Try again. Try again.

So he does.

Strangely, it is not the thought of home that drives him. It is not the voice that presses him onward so urgently (because it knows if he stops, he wont get back up again) and presses an invisible hand to his back. It is not the fact that Kairi is waiting, not even the fact that Riku would scold him for being weak and that he's stronger than that.

It is the fact that neither Riku and Kairi are there with him when he knows he's very close to letting go. It is the fact that if he disappears here, no one will ever know.

He takes another step through the cave and he's so relieved even if it's just is another ragged victory in a sea of dull, aching losses.

He won't die here, he thinks. He has to keep reaching. Failure is a bitter taste in his mouth, but not as bitter as the emptiness felt by close friends with faith deep enough to wait for someone who might never come home.

There is not much of him left to save.

But there are people waiting at the edge of a distant shore, who might be willing to take back what little remains.

And so, lost and alone in the eaves of darkness with death and fatigue biting at his heels, Sora gathers the last splinters of hope and tries once more to reach for the light.