Declaimer: "I do not own Kingdom Hearts…"
Kiome-Yasha: "Okay, I'm going to be honest everyone, this will be my last FAST update; I'm still going to be updating, but it'll be slower than usual. The reason…I have started the new semester, and homework gets in the way a lot."
Chapter 4 Endless Nightmare
Mickey seized the controls to the Gummi Ship as he quickly pressed forward without any indication to stop. Donald and Goofy held on tight, shifting in their seats as their King maneuvered the vessel aggressively with dread. They saw Twilight Town not too far ahead, becoming alarmed as clouds of shadows crept over, threatening to devour the world into its endless abyss.
The King turned his eyes over to the compartment that was inside the craft, remembering the items he held inside there. His face was fixed with concentration, having stored pieces of original artifacts that once held the key in warping to other worlds.
"Your Majesty!" Donald shouted with horror, pointing over at the approaching murky fog of darkness.
"Hold on, fellas!" The mouse ushered his words with assurance, pulling the ship back with no sense of warning as he prepared to land, avoiding the sinister shade, as the realm of darkness was opened.
KHKHKHKHKHKHKHKH
Roxas rushed forward, trying his best not to trip as he became too anxious and excited in seeing the slumbering witch. He almost fell forward, but quickly assembled himself from falling, focusing on his task. He concentrated solely on Namine, afraid to blink as it might cause her to disappear, ignoring his other surroundings. He felt like he was running forever, but it didn't stop him; he kept running until he knew she was back inside his arms.
He was close to her now, almost there, almost there.
His fingers could actually twitch as he strained his legs over, memories resurfacing as he got closer; the fragrance of her hair, the soft moisture of her skin, her glossy flamboyant eyes…everything.
He was closing in, she was right there, "Namine!"
WHAM!
He fell over before he even knew it, flipping over as his back slid across the ground with a harsh friction of vigor. He gasped in shock, quickly turning over at Namine as he noticed a thin and invisible wall to be somehow between them.
"No…No…this can't be…!" He hastily picked himself off the ground, rushing over to the concealed barrier as he pressed his hands against it. He could see the clear wall react to his touch, revealing fragments of blue squares beneath his hands as it kept Namine on the other side, "No…No! Dammit!"
He began to bang on the veiled screen, causing it to wobble slightly as it showed no signs of weakness, "Dammit, I came this far! I fucking came this far! NAMINE!" He gave a shattered and guttural shout, beginning to punch his way even if it made him bleed.
He was outraged, repeating his punches, "Dammit! *BANG* Dammit! *BANG* Dammit! *BANG*." He slammed harder, but soon, he realized his fists weren't enough, substituting his body for the task instead, "Namine!" He yelled out her name with a fierce and desperate tone, jamming his body back and forth into the unseen force.
The maiden slowly began to open her eyes, becoming dazed as she heard him call out her name, 'Roxas…' She couldn't speak, opening her mouth as she tried, but all that came out was a short drone.
Somehow though, Roxas was able to catch the soft sound, looking straight at her as he caught notice of the empty void in her eyes, "Namine!"
He soon felt a terrorizing breeze sweep over him, rattling his cloths as the wind directed itself off from a portal that suddenly appeared behind Namine. He braced his arms forward in order to protect himself from being blown away by the powerful gust, grunting as he hissed in despair over the dilemma he was in. Roxas soon was able to look up where the threshold was, discovering a figure all too familiar stepping out from the abyss, "Xemnas!" He shouted with hysterical rage, his eyes scrunching with revving anger.
"Ah~, there you are…" Xemnas gracefully brought himself forward, casting his eyes over at Namine's immobile body, "It's been awhile, my Kingdom Hearts." He soon turned to the frustrated blonde on the other side, "Seems like you failed yet again to reach the girl you love, Roxas. I shall be taking her away now."
"Like hell you are, you bastard; don't you DARE touch her!" He soon began to assault the divider that blocked him away from Namine, screaming in rage as he couldn't even make a crack or dent.
He gave one firm punch, yelping in pain as his knuckles crumpled from the harsh impact, but it didn't stop him from landing the next hit, "Don't you fucking touch her!" He shouted once more, his voice echoing across the empty plane as it amplified his words to reiterate, "Namine!!! Why isn't this breaking!?!" He asked with inconsolable agony, blood beginning to burst out from his hands as the red stain slicked over the imperceptible barrier.
'Roxas…no…Rox…' Namine had a lone tear fall from the nadir of her vacant blue eyes, holding the heart between her hands protectively.
Roxas was able to hear her thoughts though, "Namine…?" 'Was that her…? Please…tell me that was her!'
"Hmm, trying to speak out, are we?" Xemnas gave a sinister smirk, browsing his way over to the unresponsive witch, "Don't worry, though, we'll soon change that." He reached his hand over, pulling the petite blonde to him as she gasped in fear.
He gave a solemn expression as he started to speak, hovering his hand over her chest; where countless number of hearts secretly resided, screaming out into the darkness with their sorrow and hatred, "She has been here all along inside you, and yet you've never noticed. It's such a pity, really; for someone like her to waste time in a place like this. A hopeless Nobody who caused her nothing but pain, putting her into this state." He struck a nerve into Roxas as he stepped back, craving to deny everything, but finding it all to be true, "It was you who followed along with my plans, and now, we can finally awaken the darkness you have implanted into this witch. And once we do, every single world shall fall into the realm of darkness." He relished in on his glory, "Yes, Kingdom Hearts shall be mine, and then, we can finally regain what we have lost during the long and endless sleep."
The blonde Nobody shook his head in repudiation, refusing to let the lunatic use Namine for his twisted plot, "Xemnas! Stop! Leave her ALONE!" Roxas commanded desperately, losing all resentment towards the man as he actually pleaded, "Please! Don't take her away from me! I just found her again! Please!"
Xemnas actually gave pity towards Roxas, sympathizing with him, "I'm sorry, but it has to be this way. In order for us all to be reborn; it's a sacrifice I am willing to make." He soon impaled his hand into her chest without any warning, wrenching her core as Namine screamed out in agony.
"NAMINE!!! NAMINE!! Nami—!" Roxas couldn't shout any longer, his voice giving out as he wheezed forward, clutching his neck as he tried to regain moisture for it, 'No…! Namine! Dammit…! DAMMIT!!!'
"XEMNAS!!!!" He finally roared out, giving one last shout before his voice finally decided to abandon him.
Before he knew what was going on, a blinding light began to erupt around the room, proving the darkness to be nothing more than a withering night doomed to fade back into morning. It was then that Namine gave out one last tear, exchanging the heart in her hands to enter inside Roxas's chest before everything decided to blink out into infinite degrade of black.
KHKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKH
"AAHHHHHH!!!!" Roxas bellowed loudly across the empty skies, his eyes bulging from the excruciating pain that possessed his insides; it was as if he was feeling the pit of fire that was hell itself. Both him and Xemnas had returned to their original coconsciousness, escaping the realm of Awakening as they recruited another individual from the otherside.
Sora and the others were alarmed by the scream, turning their eyes to the sound as they spotted Xemnas take off into the air, and with him was a sleeping Namine. The man chuckled merrily as he gazed down at the girl; her white dress altering into a sinister thread of darkness as it began to wrap itself around her. The once golden sky of Twilight Town soon became desolate, erupting a whirlwind of gloom as the force began to rip the world apart. The source of such energy came from Namine's body, as black whips clashed against the buildings, grating them into pieces as Sora and his friends tried to avoid the falling pile of wreckage. They jumped over as they found the ground begin to crumble beneath their feet, ignoring the battle they were inserted, as the Nobodies took refuge from the destruction as well.
Roxas collapsed forward as the menacing throb to his chest subsided, but only slightly as he panted heavily from the loss of air. He griped with a hoarse whine, struggling to pick himself up as tears began to streak down his face. He was barely able to pick his head up, but it was enough for him to see the horror that was deteriorating around him. He soon lifted his rifling eyes up at Xemnas, discharging a silent sob as he saw the swarm of darkness that began to alter Namine's once chaste image.
Saix and the other brought themselves over to their Superior's side, marveling the glorious victory of their object as she slowly morphed into the Kingdom Hearts they had constructed.
Namine slowly turned around, limping her body forward as her white and blue gown was replaced with the polluted color of purple and black. Her dress melted as the tempting aura of dusk shrouded her body to a more revealing look, covering the key parts to her figure that would be too indecent to share. The shadows layered over her like a second skin, creating a misty drape that clamped around her waist, bellowing behind her as it wrinkled against the crushing wind. The dark thread of shade crawled cunningly over her legs and arms, until finally it trailed over the left side of her neck. It slowly crept over the pale skin of her face, blocking the left side of it before a yellow bulb appeared over her eye.
She moaned pleasantly from the feeling that possessed her, striking her right eye to open as it now contained a wicked color of bullion, the left resembling the design of a heartless. Sora was stunned with fright as he murmured shakily, "Tha—that's…Na—Nami—Namine…?" Kairi pulled her hands to her mouth in terror, her eyes watering at the sight with heartbreak.
Hayner and Pence stood in shock as Olette trembled with fear, finding their reunion with their friend to be a cruel sight. Roxas stared with a frozen look of desolation, before inertly bringing his head down to the ground, 'This…this can't be…. no way…that's not Namine…this can't be…this is…' He cringed his features, shutting his eyes tightly in dismay as he could recollect the endings to his nightmares, 'What…what have I done…what have I done to you…!?' His body trembled, sniffling as his tears fell over like a torrent upon the pavement.
Riku grunted with irritation, bringing himself to speak, "Xemnas! What did you do?" The girl lifelessly brought her eyes over at the group below, studying her surroundings with a jaded like expression, as she seemed oblivious over what was going on.
Xemnas happily obliged in giving out the information to his scheme, his eyes glinting with fulfillment, "I simply revived her was all, assimilating her body with the corrupted hearts Roxas was able to collect. What you see now, is just an empty shell of death, reversed from that of light!" He recompensed blithely, widening his hands out, "She isn't the Namine you once knew anymore, and you can thank Roxas for that; as he has given us the retribution of a new age! Soon, the worlds shall fall beneath the crust of the realm of darkness; and with them, Kingdom Hearts shall be forever ours!"
"You're insane!" Kairi rebutted crossly, glaring at the Nobody as she refused to show weakness, despite the flow of tears on her cheeks.
The ruthless Nobody could only hum with amusement, "My dear princess, I am only fulfilling the unfairness we Nobodies have been tarnished to take. Could you really say you despise such beings who don't even have a heart?"
"No, Xemnas! It's you who is taking this TOO far!" Sora severely announced, swapping his arms to clarify his point of disparagement.
Just then, Central Station was fractured out of the solid concrete soil behind Roxas, chucking pebbles from the ground as they launched across the area. The tall clock tower began to drift slowly into the toxic air, a large foreboding ball appearing over the world as it began to swallow the city. The center of the destructive globe pulsed with fire from within its core, decaying the structure of the urban district before disintegrating the shattered pieces. Namine gazed up at the churning sphere as she admired it with pleasant curiosity, tilting her head and integrating herself with it, taking its influence of devastation to be a part of her.
"Yes, my dear. Become one with the darkness even further, you'll soon drown this world into your cavern of abyss, just a little more." Xemnas ushered with sightless encouragement, changing the direction of his eyes over at the frail group below, "Namine…" Somehow, she seemed to recognize the title to her identity; after all, it was the name Xemnas had assigned to her when she was born, "Kill them…"
Although she was completely in his jurisdiction of command, Namine seemed to be confounded, faltering her expression. The leader to the Nobodies took great care in noticing this, striking his hand forward as he beckoned the tainted hearts within her to cooperate, "You shall listen to me…now kill them…" He sternly repeated with a threatening tone, causing her to nod instantly with a bleak nod.
She brought her hand out, trembling slightly as her powers began to manifest dangerously, alighting whips of energy to spring out like thorns. Riku admittedly shouted over the others, "RUN!" Without any seconds to spare, Namine initiated tendrils of darkness to leech forward.
They all tried to deflect the tentacles, using magic as a long-range attack to reflect the limbs. It substantiated to be futile though as they kept coming towards them, lashing forward with no constant objective on whom to hit. But just as the chords could reach them though, a stream of lighting showered forth through the stems, perishing them in an instant, seeing as they couldn't handle the thunderous collision of matter. Everyone gasped in shock from the sudden damage that was inflicted, startling even the remote Roxas who caught resonance of the undulating combustion of voltage.
The Key of Destiny unwearyingly brought his head up to spot their savior, becoming alarmed in seeing the Savage Nymph herself. She had a pair of smooth and protective sunglasses on, but they brimmed over her eyes so you could still see her roguish green jewels. She still had on her Organization coat, but it had long been tarnished, displaying cavernous and rupturing holes, drifting over the tattered edges of the old jacket. She wore a green tank top underneath with a tight corset going over her torso as it amplified her slender figure. She even sported a short jean-skirt, containing high black three-inch heels that reached her slim knees; with such high cleavage, it was a wonder where her knifes were kept hidden.
She pointed arrogantly at her old boss, "You could never shut up!" She then glared over at the pitiful group behind her, who she mercifully saved, "A THANK YOU would be NICE!" She shouted heatedly, grumbling over their lack of gratitude, 'Humph, and they are the good guys?'
"Larxene!" Sora found his voice after the shocking entrance of the female Nobody, "Just what the hell are you doing here!?"
She pouted her lips to the side, scrunching her eyebrows with deep meditation as she whipped her darts out from between her fingers, "Isn't it obvious, hero? I'm trying to save your ass!" She whizzed through the air, evading the wave of ringlets that sprouted out from Namine's hands.
She cleverly discarded shadows of herself, allowing them to be decoys as she slithered her way like a predator waiting to strike from her exigent hunt, "Do me the favor and vanish!" She prowled over a tendril, which she was luckily able to dodge, going over the bottom of its stomach as she lifted her hand to strike.
She signaled the destructive force of her element to the tip of her daggers, battering the sky to eliminate her foes as rain of thunder came down. Namine backed away slightly from the storm, her eyes gleaming hazardously as she dimmed Larxene's terror of magic to a mere spark. The woman was left aghast from the girl's new inherited powers, charging forward as she lanced her arm out to strike, containing one kunai in her hand as it flowed rowdily with streaks of yellow and white coils of atmospheric lightning. The catalyst for Kingdom Hearts though was able to dispel the approaching thunderstorm, unfolding a tempest of darkness as it dwindled Larxene's assail. The vixen grunted as she made an impact upon the earth, hissing in pain as she tried to pick herself back up.
She growled with annoyance, yelling her voice over at the aloof blonde beside her, "Roxas! Do something! Draw your DAMN keyblades!"
She halted her breath when he replied chillingly though, gazing down at his hands with bewilderment, "I…I can't…"
It was then that Pence called out, "Guys! Watch out!" He had noticed Namine's retrieval for her savage stems, taking motive in striking the defenseless blondes across the ravine between them.
As the thrashing vines made way over to the two, dark navy streams of atom bounced off, splashing against the ground as it gradually began to mutate. Creatures with midnight blue bodies and ruby feral eyes generated out of the moldy ground. The heroes never saw such fiends before, claiming them to be some type of new form of Heartless. They had their hands full, becoming distracted in saving their friends, as the poisonous thread kept getting closer to the two Nobodies. It soon shaped itself to be some sort of keyblade, mimicking the magical weapon's features as the point of the edge took attention towards Roxas.
"Roxas!!" Everyone shouted in alarm, as he remained stationary.
But just as the shadow-keyblade could make a direct hit on him, it stopped abruptly, containing a short distance to his congested chest, 'Roxas…?' Namine felt sudden pain in her head, wincing as it consumed her empty thoughts to overflow with a tremendous disorder of emotions.
"Hmmm…" Xemnas observed the reaction, 'It seems like she still hasn't fully recovered, her memories are still in affect…no matter…the darkness within her will soon change that…soon, the boy will be nothing more than a forgetful dream…' It was then that Namine fainted, losing control of her powers as they became untamed, falling over into the leader's arms as he caught the maiden with ease, "There…there…" He softy murmured in a reassuring voice, "You will soon forget such awful memories and be your true self soon enough…" She moaned in her sleep, her forehead creasing from the disturbing images that tried to stupor her mind.
Dark whirlpools formed across the cracked surface of Twilight Town, demonstrating the downfall the world was about to take, "I think it's about time we left this world…" Xemnas opened a corridor for him and the others to escape through, finding the dense multitude of darkness to be critical.
Sora tried his best to protect his friends from the pack of unusual monsters, "You're not getting away! Give Namine back, you coward!"
"I don't think something like this will kill you all, so I'm sure we'll all meet again in the future…farewell…" Xemnas fazed through the surreal doorway, allowing the others to follow as they vanished in a wisp of smoke, making a quick getaway with their new Kingdom Hearts.
"Xemnas!" Riku declared urgently, blocking a swipe of claws, "Gah, Dammit!"
"What are we going to do?" Olette asked fearfully, standing behind Hayner, Pence, and Kairi.
"This place is going to be swallowed up soon! We have to get to the Gummi Ship!" Sora somberly explained, but Kairi was quick to interject, "But, Sora! The Gummi Ship won't be able to hold everyone to survive!" He realized this predicament, frowning from the quandary they were in.
"Hey!"
They all turned over to Larxene who was trying to snap a shocked and unresponsive Roxas, "We can escape if I make an opening from the realm…!" They all spontaneously nodded from this, grasping her claim to be true; but when she had tried to do so, nothing would appear.
She was confounded from the result, gazing down at her right hand with puzzlement, "What the hell?"
"This world is too unstable! It seems like Namine's powers blocked any passages for us to escape through!" Riku gravely insinuated, forcing the imp like creatures to fall back with a blast of his Dark Flare.
"What the hell are we going to do then!?" Sora cried out in consternation, finding no other options as he continued to bash away the monsters with his keyblade.
They could see the Gummi Ship across the fractured and desolate path, as caustic fissures dissembled the area with no clemency. The vessel malfunctioned from the tremors, short-circuiting the controls as its invisible cape was torn off. It too was devoured by the calamity of darkness that shuffled around them, seizing any transportation to escape, not like they could use it in the first place though for everyone. Everything was falling apart, and it seemed like the group was at the brink of entering the deserted labyrinth known as the realm of darkness.
As the vapors of dusk closed in, shrouding the world to be nothing more than an obscure figment of existence, Roxas bowed his head in desolation. His eyes became hollow as they twinkled dimly from the unpolished gloss. He swore he could hear Larxene shouting his name, but he didn't take consideration to listen. All of a sudden, all he could see was black, resting his body forward with no consolation in what was happening around him. He didn't know if he had closed his eyes, all he knew was that someone had shouted 'Hang on'; the voice sounding familiar, holding a chime as it rumbled valiantly.
There was a blinding flare of light, drizzling shimmers of stardust around the forsaken group as they all were transported to some unknown location where they believed to be safe. Roxas fell unconscious though, overlooking the radiant glow of sallow, feeling his body begin to materialize to another world, 'Namine…'
In the end,all he could hope for now was to seek redemption in getting her back; and it all started, by sleep.
End Chapter
Kiome-Yasha: "Okay, I sort of like this chapter and I didn't. I mean, I guess it's the length that bothers me because I was really hoping for it to be long; but, if I did that, it would all have been meaningless information when I should just cut down to the battle, characters, and plot. But, since I failed in this chapter, I will give you guys some ideas about the next one: One, there will be probably TWO flashbacks, one from recent events and one from like four years prior from The Way You Remember; two, the next chapter will be featuring a world who someone has been desperately requesting for, so, I found a way to collaborate the world into the next chapter (I hope you'll be happy, Thunder! ;D); three, the next chapter will defiantly be LONG; oh, and fourth, Demyx comes back in the next chapter. On the final note by yours truly, I won't be updating for a while after the next two or three updates; the reason being, I want to play Birth By Sleep before continuing on, so that way, it can fill ALL the gaps I need for this story to make sense. Damn, long author's note, but I'm glad you guys read it :D. Oh, and yes, GREAT thanks to the readers who reviewed! They made me very happy, and I hope you were all patient for this chapter! Now, Ventus shall take care of the rest! :3"
Ventus: "Kiome-Yasha will like to give special thanks to: Sara Crewe (Truly, thanks for the review!), storycreator (Thanks for the long reviews!), Naminesweet (You're too sweet, I love ya!), Monkeygirlxoxo (You're amazing, thanks for the reviews!), AonAllstars (OMG, IT'S AON! *CLAPS LOUDLY*), Dragonflies87 (You're an older Namixas fan than me! I just have to say, you're badass!), laughing4ever (You enjoy my fight scenes, which makes me smile!), Idiotique (You're an awesome writer! Always an honor to receive a review from you), SaphireRose15 (You read most of my fics and review them, you're in my cool people list!), xLycheeRAiN (You always make time to review for me, which is something I greatly appreciate), NinjaSheik (Dude! You've been here since the beginning! I can't believe you still find my stories good! But thank you for the long support!), jenyflo5483 (Your reviews are always honest, and I enjoy that very much, keep supporting if you can!), DamnBlackHeart (You're the coolest best friend EVAR!), reachesforstars (It's nice to have a friend from another site who actually took time in coming here and enjoy reading this story, honestly, you're the best!), Mauve Eterna (I'm working on that Tequa lemon for you, don't worry! Thanks for the reviews!), Thunder-Angelist. Rawr (I've made a promise, I know how you've been wanting to include that world; so, as a thanks for always reviewing, I'm going to give it to you.), TehAverageWrites (Yay for the newcomer to this story! WOOT!), Silentmusic16 (You already know you're awesome! Keep being awesome!) Divine Wolfe (You're literally one of my most favorite people in the world, that Terra/Aqua fic you made for me and one another was awesome; and for those who haven't read it, I demand you go to her page and leave a review NOW lol! It's called Make Believe! :D) Kiome-Yasha will once in awhile make special little comments like this after every several updates she'll do; because she truly loves you guys, and we hope you love her as well! By the way, the title to the next chapter is: "Memories Beneath" Stay tune!"
Kiome-Yasha: "Also! If you guys can, there's a new poll on my profile that is very important for fanfiction decisions! When you have time, do drop by and make a vote on your favored choice! Thank you!"