Light was the first thing that met Roxas's eyes as they flickered open. The second was the unfamiliar setting that surrounded him. He blinked a few times, checking his vision. Upon realizing that yes, he really was in a bedroom, he tried to sit upright. Pain suddenly seared along his torso and arms. Groaning, he fell back upon the bed that he'd been laid on. Where am I? And how'd I get here? He vaguely remembered crashing down somewhere, shards of metal spiraling around him and smoke swirling up from the broken instruments. He thought he remembered someone pulling him out of the wreckage, but he wasn't entirely sure.
Thinking about the crash, though, reminded him of Time Castle. Gritting his teeth, he tried once again to push himself into a sitting position. The burning pain returned, but he forced himself to endure it. Finally, he was able to push himself into an upright position, the covers falling away from his chest and arms. He noticed bandages wrapped around a large portion of his chest and his left arm. His right arm only had bandages around his wrist. He cocked an eyebrow. Why bandage me? he wondered. Nobodies don't bleed. The thought of bandages, though, did beg the question who had bandaged him? Exhaling slowly through his nostrils, he steeled himself for the pain of forcing himself onto his feet.
It was a good thing he had, else he would have cried out in pain as he maneuvered his legs out from under the covers and his feet touched the floor. As it was, he couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips. He looked down, examining the damage to his legs. The top half of his pants was still on him, but from there down to his ankles was the white of bandages. He winced as he looked at them. That bad, huh? Still, he was determined to keep going. Slowly, he edged himself off the bed and onto his feet…
And promptly fell face first on the floor.
After this little incident, he really didn't feel very inclined to keep going. However, remembering that Sora, Riku, and Kairi were still trapped in Time Castle, he knew he had to keep going. He had to get help, for them. Lifting his head, he glanced around, searching for support.
He found it in the form of a long, withered-looking stick resting by the door near the bed. Slowly, he turned his body, reaching out a hand as he did towards the stick. His fist closed around the bottom. Slowly, he reached up with is left hand, grabbing it tentatively and using it to begin to pull himself upward. In this manner, he finally made it into a standing position.
Roxas took a few moments to rest, hoping the pain would soon subside from his body. When it looked as if that wouldn't happen, he resigned himself to the fact and continued to try and move onward. He stretched the stick forward, using the bottom to help maneuver himself out the door and down the hallway.
It wasn't long before he heard voices. "Where do you think they're from?" asked a male voice.
Roxas paused, knowing the conversation must be about him. And Angel! his mind exclaimed as he remembered the strange boy. Though still suspicious of him, he hoped he was Ok.
"Probably a world not too far from here," a new voice replied, this one that of a younger male. "Hell, I'm surprised they even got off the ground with that wreck."
"I bet I could make it, Yuruo," a third voice chimed in, this that of a teenage girl. Something about the voice seemed familiar to Roxas, though he couldn't figure out what it was.
"I doubt it," the voice of Yuruo replied. "That thing was such a mess that I doubt I'll ever be able to fix it. Whoever was taking care of that thing was doing a pretty poor job."
Roxas felt his hopes fall at his words. How would he get help now? "I hope they'll be alright," came the worried voice of an older woman.
"I think they'll both recover," Yuruo told her.
"The blond one's a Nobody," the older male added bluntly. "You ever seen wounds like that that don't bleed? I haven't. And everyone knows that Nobodies are the only ones who can't shed blood."
Roxas winced. Their knowledge of his Nobody status didn't help his situation. He decided that, even though he couldn't leave the world, he'd have to find somewhere else to stay. There was too much danger for him from people who disliked Nobodies. Slowly, hesitantly, he began to move onward, his stick sliding across the wooden floor. He held his breath as he neared the door from which the voices had been coming from, wondering how he would get past unseen.
His attention to this, however, would be his undoing.
He slid the stick forward, eyes focused on the door instead of the floor before him. Suddenly, the stick caught in a knot in the wood. He started, caught off guard, causing the stick to jerk. Roxas let out a cry of surprise as the stick fell out from under him and he tumbled to the ground. As he landed, he heard the voice of the younger girl from within the room. "What was that?"
Not a moment later, the head of a brown-haired girl appeared around the corner from the room. "Shadow? Who is it?" the voice of Yuruo called from inside the room.
"The Nobody!" she replied. She stepped out of the room, a big grin on her face and curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "So, you don't like staying in bed, huh?"
"Oh, my!" exclaimed the voice of the older woman. The lady bustled out of the room, bending down to check on Roxas. "What were you thinking, wondering around with injuries like that?"
Two more people emerged from the room. One was an older man, scars lancing up and down his face and arms. The other was a teenage boy a few years older than he. The boy, which he figured had to be Yuruo, said, "Shit, did he hear that whole thing?"
"Yeah," Roxas replied quietly, seeing little reason to lie about it. He met each gaze with one of his own. "If you already knew I was a Nobody, why'd you bandage me?"
"Even if you don't bleed you can get infected," the older woman informed him.
"Not what I meant," Roxas replied dryly.
"What, you thought we'd just let you die?" the girl replied. "Oh, come on! I didn't get all torn up getting you and that other boy out just to let you die."
So that's why the voice sounded familiar, his mind informed him, his mind replaying the dim event. "Oh," was all he could say in reply.
"I'm Shadow!" the girl added enthusiastically. "So, what's your name?"
"Roxas," he replied, managing a small smile.
"Where are you from, Roxas?" Shadow asked curiously.
"Don't bother the boy with your questions right now," the older woman scolded her. "Right now, he needs to get back to bed and rest. Yuruo, come help me with him!"
"Ok," the older boy sighed, walked forward. He gripped Roxas's shoulders, pulling him upright. Slowly, he began to help Roxas back to his room. He helped him crawl back into the bed, pulling the covers up over his body once more.
Shadow was in not moments later. "Now can I ask questions?" she queried.
The older woman gave a sigh from down the hallway. "Fine, so long as you don't tax his strength."
Shadow grinned enthusiastically. Yuruo sighed, turning to walk out of the room. "So, you're really a Nobody?"
"Yeah," Roxas replied, adding silently, Didn't we already establish that?
"Cool! I've never met a Nobody before." She narrowed her eyes. "Nobodies are the body and soul left behind when a Heartless is created, right?" When Roxas consented, she asked, "So, what's it like, being a Nobody?"
"Shadow!" the voice of the older woman exclaimed, appalled, from down the hall.
"I'm just curious," Shadow called back.
"I don't really know how to answer that," Roxas informed her with a small shrug. The movement made a few sharp pains race through his shoulders, but he tried his best to ignore them. "Now, can I ask you a question? How do you know about Heartless and Nobodies?"
"Heartless started attacking our world," Shadow replied. "My mom knew a few Keybladers once, so she knew all about them and the Nobodies."
"She knew others?" Roxas cried in surprise.
Shadow nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Her brother was one." She disappeared from the room for a few minutes, coming back with a picture held in her hands. She looked from Roxas to the picture and back again. "You know, it's weird. You kind of look like him." Roxas cocked an eyebrow as she handed him the picture. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw a boy that could have been his twin standing near a girl who appeared to be several years older than him. "She said she didn't learn about the Heartless and Nobodies, though, until after Uncle Ven disappeared."
He handed the picture back to her, still wondering at the boy in the picture. "So, what is this world?"
"Cyrom."
"Shadow! Come help me in here!" the voice of the older woman called.
Shadow gave a sigh. "Guess I'd better go help with your friend." With that, she left, leaving Roxas to his thoughts.
~*~
After a few days, Roxas found himself growing increasingly annoyed with being confined to his bed. He learned that Angel was making a steady recovery, though he, too, was still confined to his bed. Shadow and her two brothers, Yuruo and Torin, stopped in often, whether to try and help him while he was still prevented from standing or just to ply him with questions. However, as the days passed by, he felt the pressing urgency of the fact that Sora and the others were still trapped at Time Castle.
Finally, one day he asked Yuruo, "When will I be able to go?"
"What? We haven't done good enough?" Shadow asked.
"No, it's not that," Roxas amended quickly.
"She's just joking," Yuruo informed him with a roll of his eyes. Shadow flashed them a cheeky grin from where she was perched on a dresser. "So, why do you want to know?"
Roxas hesitated. "Well…"
"I bet it's to find his Somebody!" Shadow chimed in, cutting Roxas off.
"What?"
"Don't Nobodies always want to find their Somebodies and become complete?"
"Usually," Roxas told her, "and, yeah, my Somebody is someone I'm looking for. The difference being, I know where mine is."
The brother and sister in the room gave him curious looks. Shadow opened her mouth, but Yuruo cut her off before she could say anything. "Well, I hope you weren't planning to leave Cyrom with that wreck you came here with."
Roxas grimaced. "I'll find a way."
Yuruo nodded to him. As he began to head out of the room, he grabbed Shadow by the arm and pulled her after him, saying as he did, "Don't try to ask someone those personal things. Everyone has their secrets." Shadow protested, trying to escape her older brother's grip, but was ignored. Exhaling slowly through his nostrils, Roxas resigned himself to spending a little more time in bed.
It would not be long, however, before his assistance would be needed.
It was a few days later when the trouble started. Shadow's mother had propped him up, and was slowly taking off his bandages to examine the wounds. Frowning, she told him, "It may take a little more time, but soon, you'll be good to go."
"Thank you," he told her, relief washing over him at the thought of finally being able to find a way to help his trapped friends.
"Now, then, how about some proper clothes, hmm?" she said. She left, returning momentarily with his clothes. "They took a beating, but I was able to stitch them up again." Before he had a chance to respond, she was re-bandaging him and forcing his clothes onto his body.
As the black shirt slipped over his head, the emblem dangling from the top, Torin came rushing into the room. "Mommy!" he wailed, rushing up and clinging to his mother.
"What is it?" she asked, putting a soothing hand on his head.
"Heartless," he whimpered.
"What?" exclaimed Roxas, jumping to his feet. He winced, but was relieved to find that they could once again support his weight on their own.
Torin nodded. "Shadow and Yuruo are fighting them."
The boy had barely finished speaking before Roxas had rushed out of the room, the Kingdom Key appearing in his hand with a burst of light.
That's the end of Chapter Four. Reviews are great, if your willing to give them.