(A/N): I liiive! Oh wow, it's been a while, yes? I'm really sorry about that, guys. If FFnet didn't discourage personal posts, I would've put up a notice that I would be gone for a while - I had several personal issues hit the fan around the new year, and it took me a while to work through them. But I'm back, and it feels wonderful to be writing again. Hopefully this update will be followed by the next BB chapter within the next two weeks. ALSO: Not only has this fandom been immensely helpful to me as a writer, I have also met countless people I consider friends. And I'll soon consider one a roomie. kurosora1984 and I have plans to move in together sometime at the end of the summer, and I'm not sure the universe will support the epicness, but we're damn well gonna try. So if the universe spontaneously implodes, that was our bad. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter, as always.
Disclaimer: I tried to sue for the rights to the KH franchise, but they laughed me out of the courtroom.
ruoF
Sora drifted in a state somewhere between waking and true sleep, little pinpricks of light from his conscious mind occasionally managing to pierce the gloom of his subconscious depths. He was…floating, suspended in cool air that carried the faintest whiff of medicine. …But that couldn't be right. People couldn't just float. The sensation sank into oblivion before his mind could finish analyzing it, and was forgotten. Somewhere, on the very farthest edge of perception, he was aware that every organ housed between his ribs felt battered and bruised, one heartbeat away from flying apart into so many splintered shards, but the knowledge remained peripheral, unable to stir him into higher consciousness. He had the vague impression he was supposed to be horribly afraid, but couldn't remember why.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been caught in this suspended state, couldn't remember how it had come to pass, but the effort needed to trace those questions back to their roots was more than he was willing to expend. His mind slid away from the questions; he allowed it to, continuing to drift in the emptiness behind his eyelids.
From somewhere far away, a barely audible hissing filled his surroundings, and the air around him began to change, the vaguely medicinal scent filtered out, supplanted with air that was curiously flat, without scent or taste – completely lacking stimuli of any kind.
He found it unsettling.
His feet, which he hadn't realized were bare until that moment, touched down on a smooth, cool surface, and he wondered idly if that meant he truly had been floating.
"Sora."
Sora's eyes flickered rapidly, once, beneath his lids, as his heart began pumping adrenaline throughout his body. He didn't want to acknowledge that voice – it was tied to things he didn't want to remember, he was sure of that – but something deep down where he hadn't even known he still held a sense of self forced his eyes slowly open.
Brilliant blue eyes, identical to Sora's except for their icy cast, stared back at him from a face that brought everything crashing back into him with the force of a physical blow; gasping, Sora reeled back a step, back colliding with a slightly concave surface he immediately attempted to meld with. "You." Those eyes blinked – at least he actually had eyes this time, Sora reflected with a slight edge of hysteria – but the boy made no other acknowledgment of Sora's statement.
"Well, it seems he remembers you." Sora jerked his head to the right, his pulse hammering in his throat. His gaze swept past unadorned white walls and a highly polished floor before coming to rest on the black-coated figure standing among a snarl of wires and flickering computer screens. Cold, appraising green eyes held his own for a moment before flicking toward a screen with bright white lines tracing their way across it. "Vital signs are holding steady."
Sora tore his gaze back to the mirror-boy's face, mind whirling. "I – wha –" He paused, his mouth snapping closed as he swallowed convulsively. The room reeled, and for a moment he thought he could taste darkness on his tongue. "Where's the beach?" he whispered.
Something flickered in the blond boy's eyes. "You saw the beach?" Sora didn't answer – mind soft with shock, he slid down the surface of the wall at his back and curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his knees and hiding his face.
"What did you do to him, XIII?" Sora heard the tall man with the cold green eyes step away from the tangle of machinery and cross the short distance to the mirror-boy's side.
"Nothing." The mirror-boy's tone was entirely neutral, yet still managed to project an air of disdain. The man scoffed, but offered no other comment.
"It's not there," Sora muttered as he thumped his head gently against his knees. "It's not there, it's not, it's not…" He glanced up to take a peek at his surroundings and found the blond man standing over him, reaching one gloved hand toward Sora's face. Sora recoiled with a small cry, knocking his head against the wall of the structure he'd woken in.
The man frowned. "Stop that," he said crossly, and darkness flashed behind his eyes. Sora froze, eyes wide and unblinking. "Good." Withdrawing what looked like a penlight from an interior pocket, he took hold of Sora's jaw. "Don't move." He shone a thin beam of light into each of Sora's eyes, flicking it abruptly away and then bringing it back, studying the rate at which his pupils dilated and contracted. A small humming sound leaked through the man's thin lips before he set the light aside and placed his free hand on Sora's jaw, forcing his head back, pulling it forward, pivoting it in all directions. The mirror-boy watched impassively.
Sora's throat worked, but the words of protest died before they could reach his lips. His body was humming with unspent adrenaline, heart beating a staccato rhythm against his bruised ribcage and every instinct he possessed screaming at him to get out of there, to just run, but… Despite the growing panic drumming just beneath his skin and the instinctual aversion he felt whenever those gloved hands brushed his exposed flesh, they weren't hurting him – instead, they seemed to be subjecting him to a bizarre, slightly disturbing checkup, akin to one he'd received when Riku had accidentally smashed his Struggle bat across the back of Sora's head when they were young. Uncertain, unhappy, he endured the man's poking and prodding, fighting back the impulse to bite down when leather-clad fingers were thrust into his mouth, staring over the man's shoulder at the blond boy with the icy eyes.
"Well?" the other boy asked as the man finally took a step back.
"He seems stable – the danger to his heart should be behind us."
The set of the mirror-boy's shoulders relaxed slightly before he gave a curt nod and lifted a gloved hand. Sora pressed himself against the wall at his back as the air behind the other boy seemed to distort and bend, bulging outward in a roughly spherical shape. There was a rushing sound, and Sora's eardrums popped as a pale humanoid shape stepped out of nothing and stood behind the boy. Its clothing consisted mostly of shades of white and grey, and a mask with three parallel slits obscured its face. Two swords were slung low across its back.
Sora scrambled backward until he was half-standing again, fingers curled into stiff claws; the mirror-boy didn't even glance at the strange apparition. "Let the Superior know the Keybearer's awake," he instructed. The specter bowed its head, then turned away and was gone. "Sora." Sora started and tore his gaze from the empty air where the creature had been standing only seconds before. The black-coated boy had crossed his arms over his chest and was regarding him with poorly concealed impatience. "You can climb down from there now."
It took a moment for Sora to process the statement, but as his neurons finally began firing at full speed once more he didn't move to obey; instead, his lips twisted into a fierce scowl and he leveled an accusatory finger at the blond. "You. This is all your fault." The other boy blinked at him, but Sora barreled on. "The bathroom, and the mirror, and those things, and – and you stole my eyes," he finished, voice edging towards shrill as a black splinter of hysteria wedged itself in his chest.
A frown wrinkled the mirror-boy's forehead as Sora continued to glare at him. "I told you the shadows weren't my doing," he said, tone clipped.
"You dragged me through a mirror!" Sora shouted, throwing his arms up over his head. "You just – agh!"
The other boy glanced sideways at his companion. "I thought you said he was stable, Vexen."
Vexen shrugged, narrowing his eyes as he regarded the computer screens flanking the strange apparatus Sora was still standing in. "If he saw the beach, he almost wound up in true Darkness – it may have fractured his memories as well as his heart. Perhaps a few more tests…"
"The Keybearer's not one of your toys, Vexen."
Sora jumped at the sound of the new voice, outburst forgotten as a dark hole tore itself into existence next to the mirror-boy. Looking into it made Sora feel queasy – it brought to mind the nothing that existed between stars and made his heart jump and hammer against his ribs. The darkness coalesced into a man with a mane of wild red spikes and vivid green eyes. He was dressed in the same manner as the other two – a long black overcoat with a strange white symbol stitched into the material above his heart – and his cheeks were marred by dark marks that resembled tattoos.
The hint of irritation in the blond boy's expression grew markedly more noticeable. "What do you want, Axel?"
"What, no bright, cheerful hello? I'm hurt, Rox." The redhead grinned at the boy's expression before he shrugged. "The Superior sent me."
"He could've sent a servant," the mirror-boy pointed out with a scowl.
"All the Sorcerers have been dispatched to the city," Axel said, waving a hand vaguely in the air. "All of Twilight felt him wake up – the shadows are massing for an attack."
This…was not happening Sora decided as the strength went out of his legs and he sank back to the floor of his strange pod. It just wasn't. This was just another one of his strange dreams, and when he finally woke up he was going to come clean about them to Riku and Kairi, maybe even his mom, and if they decided maybe he needed to talk to someone he wouldn't even argue because this was so very definitely not normal… When this was all over, he thought with a slight edge of hysteria, offering it up as a sort of incoherent prayer, he was never going near another mirror again. Ever.
Sora's head snapped up and he glanced around the room's bare walls. Maybe… His mind seized on the idea with an almost manic intensity. Maybe, maybe, maybe… Trying not to draw attention to himself, he inched toward the edge of the pod.
"…so you're supposed to stick him somewhere safe and report to Lexaeus," Axel finished, eyes darting to the side as motion in his peripheral vision caught his attention. The other two turned their heads to follow his gaze, and Sora froze at the three sets of eyes on him, one leg hanging over the edge of the egg-shaped chamber and the other still folded against his chest. The redhead smiled, and Sora's stomach sank. "Hey, kid," Axel said amiably. "Going somewhere?"
Sora broke. Surging forward, he launched himself off the edge of the chamber and to the floor, bare feet scrambling for purchase on the polished surface. He almost fell, barely regained his balance by wind milling his arms wildly, and ran for the door set in the far wall.
The boy from the mirror set himself solidly in Sora's path, face once again an emotionless blank. Body humming with adrenaline, Sora flung himself straight at the blond, wrapping his arms around the black-clad waist and slamming the both of them to the ground with a shout. The other boy didn't make a sound, only smashed the heel of his hand up under Sora's chin, snapping his head back with an audible crack. Dazed, Sora loosened his grip on the blond, and a pair of strong hands seized him from behind, pulling him off of the other boy.
"Now, now," Axel chided, fingers digging painfully into Sora's arms. "Is that any way to start the introductions?"
"Axel."
Both Axel and Sora looked over at the boy, already back on his feet. Sora felt a dull sort of resentment that he didn't appear winded at all; his own jaw was throbbing. The other boy sighed and pulled his bangs out of his face with a frown. "Let him go."
Axel's grip tightened for an instant before he released Sora so suddenly the boy stumbled forward a step. Bringing one of his abused arms to his chest, Sora tried to rub the circulation back into it as he regarded the trio warily. Vexen was studying him like a specimen under a microscope, rubbing his chin and muttering something about things not going according to plan. Axel took a step back to stand next to the boy from the mirror, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's your reflection," he said, shrugging.
Sora fidgeted uncomfortably. His eyes felt dry and grainy in their sockets and his mind felt as if it had been scoured with steel wool, and he wanted to be anywhere but where he was, trapped in this bizarre hallucination. He drew a deep, shaky breath, straightening slightly and pushing his hair out of his face. "I –"
There was a distant explosion, and Axel's lips twisted in a grimace. "Here they come," he muttered. His expression morphed to one of puzzlement as Sora clapped his hands over his ears and fell to his knees with a small cry of pain.
"What's wrong?" the mirror-boy asked, but Sora only huddled a little more deeply into himself, until his nose was hovering scant inches from the floor. Hundreds of sibilant whispers were ricocheting around his already aching skull, their echoes growing steadily in volume, scraping harshly against the bone. "Vexen…"
Vexen shrugged, expression skewed in frustration. "I have no idea. Perhaps the Darkness –"
"But he's inside the seal!"
"Mm, but with the strain his heart went through – I should've foreseen something like this," Vexen muttered.
"That would've helped," Axel said dryly.
"We don't have time for this," the blond boy barked. Tearing a gloved hand through his hair, he glared at Sora's stooped form. "I'll take him to the throne room. The Queen's seal is strongest there."
"I'd hurry," Axel said. He flicked one hand at the air behind him, and another dark hole tore itself into existence. "They're coming fast." Smirking at the poisonous look the mirror-boy shot him, the redhead melted into the oily blackness.
"He's right – you should hurry," Vexen said as he turned away from them.
"What about you?"
Vexen seated himself among the multitude of computer monitors and began sifting through different screens. "My Inquisitors are already in the city," he said. "Someone has to secure the latest data." He sent a pointed glance at Sora's huddled form. "I'll join Zexion on the wall shortly."
The younger blond opened his mouth, apparently thought better of it, and shook his head. "Fine." He glanced back down to where Sora was huddling against the floor. "Sora." Sora ignored him, trying to tuck his shoulders up around his ears in a futile attempt to quiet the din in his head. "Sora." Grudgingly, Sora raised his face far enough off the floor to peer up at the other boy. "Do you still have the keychain?" When Sora only gazed up at him blankly, the other boy sighed. "The keychain," he repeated, as if speaking to a particularly slow child. "We slipped it through the mirror weeks ago."
Something sparked in Sora's onslaught-numbed mind, and he slipped his hand into his pocket. The sudden silence in his head when his fingers first brushed the cool metal shocked him so badly he jerked his hand back with a small cry. As the cacophony came rushing back in, he plunged his hand back into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the small object with the desperation of a drowning man grasping a piece of driftwood. Panting shallowly, he drew the hand holding the keychain out of his pocket, clutching it to his chest.
"Good," the blond boy said. "Stand up."
Sora's body began moving before his mind had finished processing the order; as his brain caught up with the rest of him he froze halfway up from the floor, the muscles in his legs quivering unsteadily. "You," he said, voice catching roughly in his throat. He cleared it and tried again. "What –" His fingers curled a little tighter around the keychain in frustration before he shoved himself the rest of the way up, stumbling as he lunged forward and wrapped his hands around the loose folds of the other boy's dark clothing. "What is going on? Where's Riku? Where's Kairi? What did you do to me?"
"I'm sorry the transition was hard for you," the blond boy said. "But we were given an oath." He raised his hands and laid them over Sora's, prying the brown-haired boy's fingers from his jacket and thrusting them back. "And you didn't give us any other choice." He turned his back on Sora, striding toward the door.
Sora hesitated, gaze swiveling between Vexen and the mirror-boy's rapidly retreating back. "Go," Vexen said without looking up. "He's not known for his patience." Sora stared at him for another moment, mind reeling and throat crowded with questions, before he turned and hurried after the smaller blond.
He trailed the other boy through a succession of large rooms that resembled a cross between the science labs at Trinity High and a mad scientist's lair – notebooks and sheaves of unbound pages covered with strange letters and symbols were scattered among neatly racked test tubes and vials filled with viscous liquids of every conceivable color. Shelves rose haphazardly along the high walls, far above the height a person could easily reach, overflowing with specimen jars filled with objects Sora had never laid eyes on before and wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly what they were. The lighting was harsh, clinical, and Sora's skull soon began to throb anew.
The mirror-boy never glanced back to check that Sora was still following, only marched inexorably onward, emerging from the harshly lit rooms into a long hallway awash in shadows, casting the white walls into pale shades of grey. Sora hesitated at the threshold of the dimly lit corridor, glancing between the black-clad back rapidly disappearing down the long stretch of white and the empty passageway extending in the opposite direction. Chewing at his bottom lip, he shifted from one foot to the other, wondering what would happen if he just started running. Although he wouldn't call the attentions he'd received since waking into this madness in any way reassuring, no one had attempted to actually harm him; on the other hand, he had no idea where he was, and the walls stretching away from him on either side were completely bare – there wasn't a single reflective surface anywhere. His shoulders slumped slightly before he turned and, feet slipping against the floor, broke into a jog.
He slowed when he reached the other boy, regarding the blond warily from the corner of his eye as he shoved his hands into his pockets, one fist still wrapped around the keychain. "Where are we going?" he asked cautiously.
The other boy spared him a brief glance, and Sora tried to pretend the world didn't spin around him just a little at the sight of his own eyes staring out at him from a stranger's face. The blond turned his face forward again. "The Queen's throne room."
Sora's steps faltered. "The Queen?" The miniature teeth of the keychain prickled against his fingers. "The White Queen?"
The blond's eyes narrowed, but he gave no other indication he'd heard the question. Sora suppressed a sigh and lifted his free hand to massage his temple, trying to rub away the pressure gradually building there. The hallway twisted and turned, giving way to a rising stair, and the other boy's steps quickened when they passed beneath an elaborate archway and climbed the steps into the open air. The sky unfolded above them, the weak twinkle of the stars pinpricks of light against the bruised clouds.
Wincing, still rubbing at his temples, Sora glanced down. And froze.
The stairway rose on air, bounded by thin rails that were all that stood between Sora and a fathomless plunge into yawning darkness. The outer walls and walkways of the immense lower floors curved in and out of view below them, the thin fringe of crumbling soil still clinging to the base of the castle the only thing to suggest the structure had once rested upon earth rather than air.
A strangled gasp worked its way out of Sora's throat, and the mirror-boy threw an irritated glance over his shoulder as Sora froze, hands shooting out to either side and squeezing the railings until it felt like the muscles in his forearms would tear themselves right off the bone. "We have to keep moving," the other boy said. Sora shook his head, eyes wide. The keychain was still in his pocket and the voices had swept back into his head with a roar, circling restlessly around his skull, his temples pounding with every heartbeat. The other boy paused, frowning, and Sora's gaze slipped past him, to the crumbling city sprawled in the castle's shadow. Lights burned in every window, a delicate web of radiance spreading toward the horizon – until it was snuffed out by an encroaching wall of darkness. Looking into that absolute blackness made his throat go dry, filled with the metallic taste of fear, and he hurriedly turned his eyes away from it.
In the part of the city not yet swallowed by the darkness, gouts of flame erupted down a wide avenue, turning the street into a blazing inferno, the flickering tongues of flame momentarily reflected in each empty window before the earth heaved and buckled, roiling like something alive. As the buildings groaned and fell, Sora thought he caught a glimpse of humanoid shapes darting through the flames, slashing at one another with crude weapons or their bare hands.
"Sora!"
The mirror-boy interposed himself between Sora and his view of the city, reaching out and wrenching one of the brown-haired boy's hands away from the rails. "We're almost there," he said. "Move." Sora's breath shuddered past his lips, but he nodded and grabbed the keychain once more, the clamor in his head receding to a dull pounding as the blond boy turned away and hurried up the steps.
The stairway twisted back on itself, and Sora followed swiftly on the other boy's heels as they passed beneath another archway and back into the castle proper. As they wound their way further and further from the fighting, the pressure in Sora's head eased, until it was a barely-existent hum in the back of his mind.
Finally, the mirror-boy paused before a set of massive elaborately carved doors. "This is it," he said. He wrapped gloved fingers around the two large handles and shoved, and the doors groaned inward before him.
Sora followed him into a room so white it was almost blinding, dominated by a massive throne set against the far wall. The back of it stretched almost to the gabled ceiling, and the whole thing shone like mother-of-pearl. A pale girl rested crumpled against one of the armrests; she wore a flowing white dress that trailed to the ground, and a delicate silver circlet shone against her fair hair. The mirror-boy went down on one knee before her, inclining his head, but she didn't acknowledge him. She didn't even seem to see him. Sora shifted uncomfortably as the other boy straightened again, trying to figure out what it was in the line of her limbs that struck him as so wrong before it hit him – it looked as if someone had propped her up on the throne, like a life-sized doll, with no thought as to how her arms should lie naturally, leaving them to rest where they fell. Wide blue eyes stared sightlessly into Sora's, and he felt a shiver creep up his spine.
Sliding his gaze away from her empty eyes, his attention was taken by the wall behind the throne – it was plastered with drawings, a riot of color in the otherwise stark room, and Sora found his gaze inexorably drawn to them, his uneasiness forgotten. They were crude, the gaudy scribblings of a child, but they held a queer sort of fascination – though the pounding in his head intensified the longer he looked at them, he seemed unable to tear his gaze away, taking an unconscious step forward –
"I wouldn't look at those for too long," a voice said from behind him. "Her powers tend to have unpredictable effects on those with hearts."
It was as if someone had doused his mind with ice water – Sora gasped, a huge, sucking breath, and tore his eyes from the illustrations, spinning around to face the doors they'd come through. A man was standing just inside the threshold, his arms crossed over his chest and his dark fall of hair obscuring the right side of his face. His visible eye scrutinized Sora's face for a moment before he spoke again. "You should be more careful."
The mirror-boy stepped up beside Sora and inclined his head in a curt nod. "Zexion. I thought you were on the wall."
"I came to check on the Queen's seal," Zexion said. "And a good thing, too – your reflection could've lost himself in the witch's pictures. I thought you would've taken more care with the Keybearer, XIII."
"Keybearer?" a new voice piped up. Zexion frowned in irritation as his clothing began to rustle. Sora could only stare as a tiny figure crawled out of the hood of the slate-haired man's coat and perched on his shoulder. "The Keybearer?"
"Why'd you bring the bug, Zexion?" the blond boy asked.
Zexion shrugged, raising a hand to flick the insect off of his shoulder. "I must have picked him up in the archives."
The tiny figure easily evaded the man's fingers, jumping from his shoulder and opening a tiny red umbrella, swaying as he drifted safely to the ground. "You brought the Keybearer here? The Balance –"
"The Balance is already broken," the blond boy cut in.
"You didn't even offer him a fresh change of clothing," the insect worried, closing the umbrella and tucking it underneath his arm as he strode toward Sora, who had to suppress an incredulous smile as he got a closer look at the thing – it was a cricket, dressed in tailcoat, wainscot, and top hat, his tiny spats squeaking against the floor.
"We have more pressing concerns at the moment," Zexion said blandly as another explosion sounded in the distance.
The cricket ignored him, coming to a halt in front of Sora and sweeping his hat off as he made a deep bow. "Jiminy Cricket, at your service."
Sora blinked, shook his head, then crouched down to peer even more closely at the tiny figure. "What…?"
"Ignore him," the blond boy advised. "He's just a memory too stubborn to fade."
"Really," Jiminy said, sounding put out. He motioned for Sora to lower a hand, hopping onto the boy's upturned palm. "I am His Majesty's record-keeper."
"And he forgot you, too," the mirror-boy muttered. "We don't have time for this – stay if you want. Sora." Sora glanced up at the sound of his name, and the blond boy sighed. "Just stay here, all right? Don't leave the throne room until I come back for you – no matter what you hear."
Zexion nodded and summoned a dark portal. "If you have things under control here I'll return to the wall. Keep an eye on him, bug." He stepped into the darkness and was gone.
The mirror-boy glanced back at the throne before he turned away and strode out through the doors. He grasped one of the handles and, with a grunt, pulled it closed, the hollow reverberation it made as it scraped over the jamb echoing against the room's bare walls. Panic formed a vise around Sora's chest as the second door began to swing closed, and he shot to his feet, the cricket stumbling back and forth in his palm, raising one tiny hand to keep a hold of his top hat. "Wait!" The other boy paused, and Sora floundered for something to say. "I – you…What's your name?"
The blond stared at him for a moment before he resumed pulling the door closed. "Roxas."
The massive door slammed shut, and he was gone.
Sora sighed, tangling his free hand in his hair and tugging lightly. He glanced over his shoulder at the girl slumped on the throne, but turned away hurriedly when he felt his eyes being drawn back to the pictures on the wall behind her.
"You can sit if you'd like," Jiminy said from his palm, straightening the sleeves of his coat. "We may be in here for a while."
Sora blinked down at him before he sat gingerly on the throne's raised dais, careful to make sure he couldn't glimpse the pictures behind him from the corner of his eye. "What's going on out there?" he asked, tilting his palm so the cricket could jump down onto his knee.
"Why, a war, of course," Jiminy replied. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm actually surprised they waited as long as they did to break the Balance and bring you over – Maleficent's far stronger than anyone expected." When Sora only stared at him blankly, the cricket's brow wrinkled. "You know, Maleficent. The Queen of Darkness? Surely you…" He trailed off, shaking his head at Sora's expression. "You really don't know. What are they teaching you these days?"
"Lots of things," Sora muttered dispiritedly, propping his chin in his hand.
"Well – if you say so," Jiminy said, sounding doubtful.
"Look, can we just…sit? And not talk," Sora said, closing his eyes as he massaged his temples.
"If you like," Jiminy said, settling his umbrella across his legs as he sat.
There was a long silence, occasionally punctuated by the distant sounds of battle. Sora sat with his eyes closed, one hand working rhythmically against his forehead as he tried to digest all that had happened since he'd woken. "They're not going to let me go home, are they?" he asked at last, opening his eyes.
Jiminy shook his head. "Well...no, I wouldn't think so. They may have done this thing poorly, but they were given an oath by the King. They'll hold you to it."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the Keybearer," the cricket said.
"What does that even mean?" Sora groaned, cradling his head in his hand again.
"It means you have to fight," Axel said, black wisps flowing around him as he stepped out of the darkness.
"What do you want?" Sora asked, edging away from him. Axel only reached down and wrapped a hand around Sora's arm, dragging the boy to his feet. Jiminy jumped to the ground, one hand clapped to his hat. "Roxas told me to stay here," Sora said, tugging against the redhead's grip as Axel pulled him away from the throne.
"And I can't leave the castle," Jiminy interjected, hurrying after them.
Axel glanced back over his shoulder as the oily blackness opened before him. "Well thank Darkness for small favors." Sora only had time to take a breath to scream before Axel shoved him into the darkness.