Warned
"Riku."
Riku picked up his radio off the end table, beside the bed he was sitting on. "Roxas." He answered it, wondering why Roxas was radioing him, especially since it was in the middle of the night in Hyrule.
"Sora was going to contact you, but I don't think he's up for it… Riku, the Organization's back. They destroyed the islands."
"What about Kairi?!" Riku asked, his heart beating a few hundred miles an hour.
"She's fine, her and Namine both are here with us." Roxas answered. "Some of the Organization is on our side. Axel, Marluxia and Larxene all tried to save the island."
Riku calmed down a bit. "Are you guys still on your way here?"
"Yeah. We'll be there soon, Riku."
"I'll see you then."
Roxas put the radio away, and glanced over at Sora and Kairi. Sora had fallen asleep, and Kairi was lying beside him, watching his face to make sure he was going to sleep okay. He hadn't really slept well for a couple years. Tara had fallen asleep shortly after Sora and Kairi showed up. Link was tending to Namine's wounds, pouring some red liquid on them, and using a cloth to prevent it from escaping. He had offered to help Kairi, but she turned him down to stay by Sora.
Roxas walked over to where Tara was sleeping, and grabbed her backpack and began going through it until he found the three thin, almost picnic-like blankets she had packed, rolled up at the bottom of the back. He pulled one out and covered the sleeping brunette. He grabbed another and, tucking it under his arm, walked over to Sora and Kairi.
"How're you feeling?" He asked the Princess of Heart.
"Shocked." She answered quietly. "I didn't think that the islands would be destroyed again…" Roxas gave her an apologetic smile, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. He unrolled the blanket and used it to cover her and Sora.
"Get some rest. We're on our way to join Riku in the Twilight Realm."
Kairi looked up at him. "Riku's here?"
"Yeah, he's waiting for us. Now, get some sleep." Roxas told her, standing and walking away.
"You want the last blanket?" He asked Link, who shook his head.
"No, I'll be fine." He answered. Roxas nodded.
It wasn't much later that Link finished treating Namine's wounds. The Memory Witch thanked him, then walked over to Roxas, who was lying down, staring at the stars. She sat down beside him, gently placing a hand on his forehead.
"How're you feeling?"
"Angry, sad and simply stressed out." Roxas answered.
"You can feel Sora and Riku's emotions."
"And someone else's."
"Really?"
Roxas sat up. "Every day. Every day since I was 'born', there has always been someone else's emotions hidden deep inside of my heart. It's especially strong right now. There's… never ending anger. No amount of happiness, sadness, fear or otherwise can stop it…" He looked at Namine. "You know why that is, don't you?"
"It's better if you figure it out on your own." Namine answered. Roxas nodded. If Namine was saying that, then it was probably true. He lay back down. Namine got up, but returned a few moments later, curled up beside him and pulled the last blanket over the two of them. Roxas looked down at her, surprised, but didn't object to the extra warmth.
Sora shifted slightly, and slowly opened his eyes. He noticed the blanket and the girl curled up against him, fast asleep. He moved his hand to brush the hair from her face gently. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes.
"Morning." Sora smiled at her, sitting up and allowing the blanket to fall.
"Morning." Kairi yawned.
"Good morning, you two."
They both glanced up at the pointed-eared hero.
"Hey, Link." Sora nodded.
"Hello." Kairi smiled, now sitting up.
"How're your injuries?" Link asked her.
"They'll heal."
"Show me your arm." Link crouched down in front of her and extended a hand. She placed her forearm in his hand. With his other hand, Link gently pressed the skin surrounding the wound, resulting in a hiss from the burgundy haired teen, and his hand being yanked back by a spiky haired brunette.
"You know that's going to get infected, right?" Link questioned. Sora nodded, and then muttered a Cura spell. Kairi's wounds healed over until the largest of them were half-healed. Link blinked, and then shook his head, getting up.
Sora and Link woke the other three in their group, and they scattered the remains of their fire before packing up the blankets and everything else.
"Hey, is this one of yours?"
Everyone looked up at the teasing voice that was all too familiar to everyone… except Link.
"Axel!" Roxas exclaimed. The red head smirked at his old friend.
"Yo, Roxas!" He would've given a mock salute, had he not been carrying an unconscious girl with dirty-blond hair, who was covered in dirt, bruises, scratches, the lot.
"That's Sarah…" Tara commented.
"Larx grabbed her and got out just before the island vanished." Axel explained. "Lexaeus knocked her out." He added, motioning to Sarah. Roxas flinched in memory, earning a laugh from the red head.
"Don't ask Lexaeus stupid questions." Roxas muttered.
"That's right, you nearly got knocked out by him that one time…"
"Don't remind me… not to mention he turned around and made me fight Heartless right away afterwards… while he stood off to the side and watched."
Axel laughed, shaking his head.
"What about Sam, and my dad?"
"As far as I know they got out." Axel answered. "Not much else I can tell you."
Sora nodded. "Oh, Axel?"
"What's up?"
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it, Spike."
"Spike?" Sora crossed his arms.
"Guys, the sun is moving and we are not!" Link snapped. "We're a good half day from Lake Hylia, and once we get to the desert there's another good hour or two until the Coliseum."
"If you can handle a bit of Darkness we can cut the trip to the desert down to about… five seconds?"
Link crossed his arms, giving Axel that dull expression that seemed to read 'honestly, did you just say that?'
"I take that as a 'go for it'." The Flurry of Dancing Flames chuckled, and a portal opened behind him. "Hey, could someone else take Sleeping Beauty here? My arms are getting tired after lugging her all the way here and trying to find what goddamn world you lot were in."
"I'll take her, I guess." Sora shrugged, and found himself carrying the girl. She was awfully light for how high her daily sugar intake was. Axel stretched his sore arms, before darting through the portal. Roxas was close behind. Sora followed him, then Kairi, Namine, Tara and finally Link, who wasn't sure what to think of the portal. Sure, he had used the Twili's portals, but this wasn't one of them.
As soon as she stepped into the hot desert, Tara sulked. "I hate the heat." She muttered. Sora rolled his eyes.
"I'm wearing black."
"I'm wearing…" Tara looked down at her clothing – a pair of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt that read 'I'm probably not listening to you'. "Grey and blue…" Sora rolled his eyes. Tara glanced around. "I know this place… it's from Ocarina of Time… sure it's in ruins now but…" They were in a small desert village, that was, needless to say, abandoned and falling apart. She darted up the hill, and the others followed her.
Tara looked around. What seemed to have, once upon a time, been wooden archery targets were lying, broken in the sand. Tara glanced around, then turned and darted back down, running through the run down town.
"Where are we, exactly?" Link questioned, watching Tara climb up onto a still-intact building.
"The Gerudo Village." She answered. "Home of the Spirit Sage, and Ganondorf's hometown. Probably why it's in ruins, because the Hylians, and Sages, feared another Ganondorf would be born here." She commented, jumping down off the building. "Hylian, Kokiri, Goron, Zora, Sheikha and Gerudo… those six races made up the Six Sages…" She wandered down the path to a collapsing gate. "I don't know how we could get to the Temple from here… I mean, there's a desert between us and it… and, if I remember correctly, only the Poe could show the way…" She frowned.
"What's she on about?" Axel asked Roxas, who shrugged.
"I don't know and she lives with us."
"I'm not going to bother trying to decode it, then."
"The translator's unconscious, too…"
Axel laughed.
"I got it! It's a bit of a long shot, but…" Tara put her bag down on the ground and began looking through it until she found what she was looking for – her ocarina. She shoved it into Namine's hands, and looked the Memory Witch in the eyes. After a moment, Namine nodded.
"I hope you're coordinated." Tara muttered. Namine hesitantly raised the instrument to her lips and, using Tara's memories as a guide, she began to play a song the girl knew as the Requiem of Spirit. After that, if the song did what it was supposed to, Namine would be warped outside the temple they were trying to get to.
When the song finished, an orange colored sparkle of light swept by and circled Namine. She vanished and the light flew off towards the desert.
"And now we wait." Tara said, the look on her face showing that she was shocked that it actually worked. She zipped her bag up and slung it onto her shoulders.
A couple moments later a portal opened. Tara was the first to dart through it, wanting her Ocarina back. Roxas, Sora, Axel and Link followed.
They stepped out of the portal in front of a stand that seemed to have been made to hold a very large, round piece of metal or glass or something. There was a block behind it as well. Tara looked around.
"That worked better than I thought it would." She commented as Namine gave her the Ocarina back. Tara put it away.
"See? There's no way in." Link commented with a sigh.
"We'll find one." Kairi commented, having had everything explained to her back in the ruined Gerudo Village.
They weren't exactly sure how long they searched for, but, between the time they spent packing up, wandering around the Gerudo Village, and searching for the entrance to the Twilight Realm, it was starting to darken.
"Roxas?" Sora, who had sat Sarah down on the stairs leading up to the stand, waved a hand in front of his Nobody's face. Roxas was just staring at the block behind the round stand. Suddenly, he flicked his hand up and a portal formed against the block. Tara jumped through the portal head-first, and returned a moment later.
"It's the Twilight Palace on the other side!" She looked at Roxas. "How the hell did you do that?"
"I… don't know…"
Tara looked up. "Anyone else feel that?" There was a heavy feeling of sorrow in the air. "Dusk. It must've affected Roxas."
"The only time our world connects with the Twilight Realm." Link commented. "Let's go." He said, stepping through the portal Roxas had opened. Tara followed, then Namine and Kairi, and then Roxas and Axel. Sora grabbed Sarah and darted in behind them.
It took Sora's eyes a moment to adjust to the lack of light in the area, but he soon was able to see perfectly. They seemed to be in front of the doors to a large, black palace. Roxas had a hold of Tara's arm, the girl trying to pull away to run around and look at different things. Link rolled his eyes.
"Come on, let's go find Midna." He sighed. "She'd know where your brother is." If he's still human. Sora nodded, and began to follow Link, but suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his heart and he clutched his chest. Link looked back at him, just in time to see the Keyblade Master collapse to his hands and knees. Tara caught Sarah and pulled her out of the way.
"Sora, are you okay?" Roxas asked, kneeling in front of Sora. Sora's eyes clenched shut and he screamed, his heart feeling like it was being stabbed over and over again.
Riku opened an eye, hearing the screams below. He was lying on the bed in the room he had been allowed, the window looking out towards the courtyard. He peered out the window, and his eyes widened.
"Sora!" He shot out of the bed and out the window, landing easily on the ground. He darted towards Sora and dropped, sliding the last five yards on his knees. He scooped Sora up in his arms, and the Keyblade Master clung onto his brother's vest.
"Ri…ku." He barely managed to get out, trying to keep himself from screaming.
"I'm sorry, Sora. I'm here." Riku apologized. Sora shook his head.
"Don't… be sorry." Sora closed his eyes, biting down harshly on his bottom lip. Suddenly, he jerked. Riku, Roxas and Kairi all flinched as they felt a connection in their heart being severed. Sora's breath hitched. When he recovered, Riku's hand shot to the side of Sora's neck to check for a pulse. Nothing.
"Sora!" He shook the Keyblade Master. "Sora!" A bit harder. Kairi had to look away. Riku clutched his brother's lifeless body, glaring at the ground. Suddenly, he dropped Sora and ran off. "I HATE YOU DEATH!"
"Do you, now, Riku?"
Riku spun around, and called Soul Eater to his hand.
Death only appeared to be about twelve years old, with messy, blood red hair, the ends reaching the base of his skull. His eyes were a deep scarlet color. His clothing consisted of black leather pants, mud-caked army boots and a zip shirt which seemed to have had the bottom diagonally torn off – stopping at his waist on the right, his hip on the left – with frayed ends. He was also wearing a leather jacket, as well as a spiked dog collar as a choker and matching spiked wristbands on either wrist.
"Now, now, that's just not right. After all, I haven't made your mark spread at all since I created it."
"Give me back my brother!" Riku growled.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, my sister Fate was getting annoying with her control, so this will throw a wrench in her system. Hannah will die, Leera and Leran won't be bastards and no one will go back in time, thus changing everything." Death commented in a smug tone. This only caused Riku to become even more pissed off. He lunged at Death, but the deity vanished, and Riku tripped. He didn't bother getting up right away.
"Damn it…" he muttered, resisting the urge to cry. "Damn it."
