Roxas absconded with hurried breath, his hands pumping furiously at his sides, the black coat he was currently clad in whipped behind him. The hood of the coat covered his forehead and eyes completely, providing safety from any sort of dark magic, yet the heavy leather and tall boots proved running in the clothing was extremely difficult, almost losing his footing several times. Which, he could not afford at any expense.
The sharp hissing, noises that were then distinct, now echoed loudly in his ear drums, along with his rapid heartbeat. Shadows clawed and swiped at his feet viciously, but he managed to fend them off, shaking them off in mild annoyance, more than anything.
Long tanned fingers reached blindly in the chilling darkness, grabbing onto the back of his hood with vengeance, jerking him backwards. He was pulled to the dark mist, the hissing noises now as loud as ever, the claws and swipes now with perfect aims, scratching his figure without mercy.
Yellow glowing eyes provided a glow in the midst of the dark, casting an eerie sort of lightning. Roxas struggled against the shadows, fighting blindly with his bare hands. A loud sinister chuckle was given amongst the chaos, and just as Roxas fell defeated, a shining light shone through the blackness in the distance. Its intensity so strong, he squinted his blue eyes, lifting his head in attempt to glance at the source, to no avail as the monsters clung to his figure in a clenched grip on each of his limbs.
He let out a frustrated scream, closing his eyes, fighting back against the creatures with fierce strength, the pendant around his neck began to glow brightly, and as he continued to fight against them, the necklace glowed brighter. His sheer curiosity driving him, he needed to see where the light was coming from!
The light became more powerful than he could have imagined, as it reached its final stage, Roxas clenched his eyes shut as it shone with the intensity of the sun, it's light providing a warmth to spread across his sun kissed skin. The shadows instantly vanished from his body, no longer did he feel trapped, as oxygen returned to his lungs, and he eagerly took the air in with hurried breath. The necklace returned to its normal state, once again becoming a simple silver X, Roxas reached up, touching the pendant with fascination at its act.
But his attention soon drew back to the ball of that shone in light, the reason he made it out of the shadows alive. He walked towards it in mild caution, taking slow steps with an out reached hand. His hand barely grazing the light, it illuminated his curious features in the darkness.
He managed to gather the courage to grasp it firmly, and it instantly disappeared. Roxas's eyes widened briefly, his mouth gaping slightly as he stared at his hand which previously held the small ball of light.
A small chuckle was heard, and the room full of blackness dissolved, transforming into a room full of pure light. Roxas looked around with furrowed eyebrows, baffled at the change of appearance. "Don't be scared." The male voice reassured gently.
His eyes continued to gaze around the room, not finding the person whom the voice belonged to. "W-who are you?" He wondered aloud, feeling a sense of peace envelope him entirely.
"Who am I?" The voice echoed his spoken words calmly, pausing briefly before continuing; "that's not important at the moment, Roxas. However, what is important, is what you have got yourself involved with." The voice sounded upset, angry almost. Roxas frowned, apparent confusion circling within his azure orbs.
"Huh?" Came his incoherent response, his brow furrowing slightly. Involved with what exactly? It would have been good if someone actually took the time to explain things properly without speaking in overly complicated riddles.
The voice sighed impatiently, "the forest, Roxas. You crossed the border." He explained simply, trailing off in thought.
Roxas' confused expression melted away slowly, replacing it was a slight understanding of what the voice was saying. "You mean, last night? When I entered the forest, I crossed a border? A border to what, another town?" He frowned as he waited for the voice to answer his questions impatiently.
"It's not my place to tell you, I'm sorry." The voice apologized with a light tone, his cool demeanor changing immediately.
Roxas sighed in annoyance, balling his hands into fists. "That's it? After all of this, you can't tell me? What was the point then?" He questioned in apparent anger.
"The point, Roxas, was to urge you to go back to the forest. Now that you've gotten yourself involved, you have to finish what you've started." As the calm words were spoken, the room slowly began to diminish. The white mist that surrounded him previously melted into a dark, eerie area.
He lifted a hand in front of his face, barely making out the outlines as he walked with caution forward. Go back to the forest, huh? He shook his head to make the thoughts vanish, he couldn't go back. The man warned him, he threatened him, he seemed fit on killing him the first time. Who was he to go against his demands the second time? He wasn't even completely sure of what the man had pulled the day before. He was still a bit tired, and his wrist was finally gaining back feeling.
He wouldn't. He couldn't. Could he? Was he being ridiculous, and over-reacting? His mother told him he did that a lot. Yet, he couldn't quite bring himself to completely scratch out the words that were now echoing in his eardrums. 'Finish what you started.' What did he start? What border did he cross? He was confused, and, yet he was almost positive he was asleep, so there was no reason to be so baffled.
But everything felt so realistic, the shadows, their claws, the scratches on his body were still there. He heaved a sigh, dropping to his knees, and sitting. His frantic mind not slowing down one bit, even as he closed his eyes and relaxed.
The silence was supposed to calm him, but in reality, it only made him tense. It was too quiet, oddly.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a loud crash was heard. His eyes snapped open, wide with alarm, as he looked to the left of him, but was met with darkness, confusion flooded his features as he looked to the right, yet again he was met with nothing.
The sound of low growling was heard behind him, he stiffened in fear, turning his head towards the sound. Large yellow eyes were the only visible feature the creature had, he could tell it was getting closer because the eyes kept on becoming larger. He stood still, hoping the monster wouldn't see him in the dark, he knew it was a long shot, but it was worthy try.
The creature swiftly flung its hand up, revealing white sharp claws, and brought it down with great strength, as the floors shook from its aftermath. Roxas kept his balance, luckily, managing to dodge the second hand that was swinging down at him with great speed.
The creature roared loudly, and Roxas held his hands over his ears, trying desperately to block out the sound. The creature noticed this distraction, and swung his hand yet again, this time, catching Roxas off guard, and throwing him several feet away,
He stood up shakily, dusting the black sand that coated his blue loose jeans, he took notice that the black coat he was previously clad in was gone, which was strange. Roxas ignored his thoughts, and the sharp pain in his ribs as he foolishly charged for the large shadow, determined to eliminate it.
He raised a fist and swung with aim to the monsters left leg, the hit didn't do much damage as the monster looked down, and kicked him with ease, sending him flying. He landed hardly on his back, the air knocked out of his lungs as he struggled to get back up.
The shadow had made his way towards Roxas, leaning over him with a curious look, raising his fist as he prepared to lower it. Roxas shut his eyelids tightly together, waiting with dread for the punch that could potentially end him.
But it never came, as soft voice coaxed him out of slumber, he opened his azure eyes as light brown hair came into view, once his vision cleared, he recognized his mother peering over him, a concerned expression across her features.
Roxas, still dazed from sleep, looked at her confused, "what?" He managed as he yawned, stretching his limbs out while doing so.
"Nothing, you were just mumbling in your sleep, and your drenched in sweat. Nightmares again?" She queried with furrowed brows, looking him over.
He nodded slowly, knowing full well he couldn't keep anything from her, she always found out. Always. "Yep, nothing serious." He brushed off her concerns, looking around his surroundings. He was surprised to find that he was still nestled comfortably on the couch, but unlike when he fell asleep, a blue, cotton blanket covered his body, and he was also still in the clothes he had thrown on after he returned home from school. A simple black t-shirt, and beige colored short pants that went just above his knees. His checkered wristband still firmly around his wrist, and he hadn't even taken off his black converse. He must have been exhausted not to even take off his shoes.
She frowned, searching for the right words to say, she hesitantly fidgeted "Roxas, those nightmares have haunted you since you were little," Aerith trailed off, watching as her son's expression became irritated.
"Mom, it's nothing, just normal nightmares. Everyone gets them, right?" He moved to stand up, grimacing at the ache in his back. Maybe sleeping on the couch wasn't the brightest idea, he admitted inwardly.
She sighed, but was in no mood to argue with her thick-headed son, she watched him trudge tiredly to the kitchen, opening the pantry in what she assumed was to find something to eat. "Want anything special?" She asked, moving into the kitchen just as Roxas pulled out a box of cereal.
He shook his head, opening the refrigerator door, and retrieving the carton of milk. She reached inside the cabinets and placed a glass bowl in front of him, watching him yawn tiredly as he poured the colorful surgery flakes into the bowl. "I don't understand why you're so tired, you slept the entire day yesterday."
Roxas looked up, and shrugged, he was confused about it himself. "I don't know, I stood up late the other night to finish homework, maybe that's why." It wasn't a complete lie, he did do his homework pretty late because he had to finish it before he left.
"Maybe," she responded, becoming silent.
Roxas chewed silently, lost in his thoughts. Was she suspicious? Did she know about him leaving the other night? Knowing his mother, most likely. His shoulders slumped at the thought, great, just what he needed.
He lifted the bowl up, placing it in the sink slowly, turning around, he jumped slightly upon spotting his mother with her arms crossed across her chest. "I know what you did, yesterday. How could I not, you were so loud in the middle of the night, did you think I wouldn't hear you?! I'm so disappointed in you Roxas, sneaking out to god knows where, way past midnight. You're grounded for three weeks, meaning no video games and using the computer unless it's for homework purposes." She scolded sternly, and Roxas took the punishment in stride, sighing inwardly.
"Fine." He replied, moving past her and making his way up the carpeted stairs, he wouldn't argue with her, he knew later she would cut the punishment in half, meaning he was only grounded for a week and a half, tops. She always felt guilty afterwards.
He stepped into his room slowly, gazing at the blue walls with little interest, sitting down on his computer desk, spinning himself around in it out of boredom. The pendant that was sitting on is chest caught his attention, he studied it, in the dream, this was the thing that saved him, "why, of all things, did this save me?" he whispered to himself, staring at it with narrowed eyes.
He turned his gaze towards his window, "finish what you started." He repeated the male voice' words that were spoken in his dream, he felt conflicted. On one hand, he was tempted to go back to the forest, and on the other hand, he was terrified of what could happen if he did go, death, kidnap, maybe even worse. That man seemed capable of all three, with whatever he did back at the forest, and it seemed as if that was nothing to him. Merely child's play compared to what he usually did.
He stood up, pressing his palm flatly against the window, his hand flicked the latch, opening the window without meaning to do so, as if his hands were working on their own. He looked down, sticking his head out of the window, searching for the ladder, his gaze spotted it, and he hesitated, his lips forming a thin line. His eyes darted quickly to his bedroom door, before he stuck his leg out of the window carefully.
His mother wouldn't notice, after all, he was grounded, so he would most likely be in his room the entire day right? He lamely excused, convincing himself nothing would go wrong, he would be home before his mother noticed his absence. Yes, exactly, no more doubts, he thought as he carefully climbed down the ladder, this time around not nearly falling to his death.
He jumped off halfway through, landing on his feet with ease. He stood still, taking a long look at his house, before sprinting towards the direction of the wall.
He didn't slow down for a breath as he pushed himself forward, he needed to make this as fast as he could, the last thing he needed was to waste time by slowing down his pace.
He slowed down upon seeing the white brick, walking calmly to the entrance, and just like the night before, he slouched down, and walked into the forest. This time around, seeing as it was about eleven something, the light shone into the forest, no longer was it an eerie area, it was filled with sunlight and the forest trees were surrounded by flowers of every color, and several types of birds were perched on tree branches.
"This place is a lot less intimidating when it's not one in the morning." He though out loud, looking around, venturing deeper into woods in fascination.
Suddenly, the earth seemed to vibrate violently as Roxas was knocked off of his feet, his face coming in contact with the healthy looking grass. It tasted healthy too, apparently, he thought in annoyance as he spit out the dirt for the second time that week.
He used his hands to help him push himself off of the ground, standing up in confusion, what was that all about? Was that an earthquake, did they even have earth quakes here?
He brushed his jeans off with his hands, and upon looking around, gasped in alarm and stepped backwards, tripping clumsily over a tree root, his blue eyes as wide as saucers.
There, in front of him, was the strangest thing he had ever laid eyes on! It was a small girl, she looked to be around his age, with pale blonde hair that went just below her shoulder, but the strange thing was that she had wings sprouting from her back! Wings sprouting from her back! He breathed heavily, finding himself to be hallucinating.
She was lying on the forest ground, her hands tucked on the left side of her head, supporting her as she slept soundly. He stood up, and cautiously walked towards the pale figure. She was either sleeping or dead, from the way her skin-tone was, he wouldn't doubt the latter.
Crouching down in front of her, her gently laid a palm on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. Concern circling in his blue orbs, as she didn't awaken. "Hey," he urged softly, "hey, wake up." He coaxed her slowly out of her deep slumber, he watched with furrowed brows as she twitched once, turning over to avoid the nuisance that was keeping her from her slumber.
She mumbled incoherently, as he attempted once again to awaken her, brushing off his hands with weak attempts. He sighed impatiently, sitting down on his bottom, his elbows on his knees, as his chin rested in his palms, studying the blonde with a curious expression. "You know, I don't think it's the best idea for you to sleep on the dirty ground with a white dress on, especially with those costume wings you have on." He advised softly, watching in amusement as her eyes fluttered open. Long sweeping eyelashes lifted, revealing tired light blue eyes.
"Costume?" She questioned in bafflement, placing a hand over her mouth as she yawned.
He nodded slowly, becoming confused as well. Why did she seem so oblivious? "Yeah, your wings, right?" He responded, nodded towards the feathers that sprouted from her back.
Her eyebrows shot up, and her eyes widened slightly, as she tilted her head to the left, "those aren't a costume, you act as if you've never seen one of my kind before." She let out a small amused giggle, sitting up.
"Your kind?"
She nodded slowly, "yes, my kind. I'm an Angel, and from your appearance you seem like a wizard, maybe?" She queried softly, her eyes scanning him, making him uncomfortable.
"An angel? Are you some sort of escaped mental asylum patient, or...?" He trailed off, looking at her unsure.
"I'm an angel, and no, I'm not crazy." She pouted, her eyes darting to the sky for a swift moment, before meeting his eyes
There was a silent pause for a moment, Roxas tried to keep his breakfast in his stomach, while the pale blonde just sat there in bewilderment at his peculiar reaction. "A-are you alright?" She asked hesitantly.
He nodded swiftly, "oh sure, sure, I'm perfectly fine. Just hallucinating, you're not really here, nope, must have been that creepy stuff that guy pulled yesterday. Yep, that's it, o-or maybe I'm dreaming."
She looked on blankly, blinking, "maybe you should introduce yourself?" She smiled encouragingly at him.
He stopped his rambling, "I-I'm Roxas Fair. You?"
"Naminé." She smiled softly.
"Naminé." He repeated, finding her name to be unique, as it escaped his lips.
"Now, how did you get here Roxas?" She asked slowly, as if asking him a question would cause him to revert back into the wreck he had been just a few minutes earlier.
His gaze drifted, "uh, well, I entered the forest, the ground shook, and then I found you. That's pretty much it." He shrugged, frowning at the lack of details he'd provided. He sounded like a lunatic.
Her mouth gaped slightly, putting the pieces together, her mind working quickly, could it be true? Had he come from the human world? "Y-you come from the human world?"
He blinked several times, "yes?" He answered slowly, unsure of what she meant.
She stood to her feet quickly, her hands covering her mouth, "how could this be? I've heard of one of us entering your world, but never the other way around."
"Your world?" He stood up, and grabbed her shoulder gently, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Listen, Naminé, I'm really confused. Could you just tell me where the heck I am?" He begged.
Her eyes softened at his expression, as she looked at his hand on her shoulder uncomfortably, her eyes darting back to his, hoping he would get her hint to stop touching her. He did, luckily, as he quickly removed his palm, smiling at her sheepishly. "Well, Roxas, it seems that you've somehow entered our world."
He raised an eyebrow, "your world? Care to elaborate?"
She sighed lightly, her right hand moved to her left upper arm, grasping it as she thought of a way to explain the complicated situation. "Well," she started uncertainly, "there's a border that separates us, two completely different universes. Your world contains normal human beings, while mines, well, contains all kinds of creatures. I'm assuming you've heard of mythical creatures, right?" She queried, looking up at him.
He nodded in reply, not sure where she was going with it.
"Well, that's basically it. Somehow you've managed to cross the border that separates us, you're in our world, Roxas." She finished, examining his expression carefully as her words were spoken.
Roxas stared wide-eyed at the pale blonde, before a small smile spread across his face as he stared at her incredulously, "...you're kidding, right?"
She tilted her head at him, her eyes showing frustration, "it's true."
"Oh really, prove it." He challenged, a smirk replacing his smile.
She looked around, her brow furrowed thoughtfully as she tried to think of a way to make him believe her. She turned swiftly, and fluttered her wings, smiling in triumph as she began to lift herself off of the ground, performing circles and twirls in midair.
His eyes followed her movements in disbelieve, his mouth gaping slightly as she performed a back-flip, she was clearly showing off. "Okay! Okay fine! Come down now." He shouted loudly, waving his arms frantically to catch her attention.
She obliged with a small gleeful giggle, landing on her feet gracefully. "Do you believe me now? Because you look a bit feint." She playfully teased, clasping her hands behind her back.
He chuckled weakly, "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"
"No, I don't think you are."
"Well, you're an angel then? What kind of other creatures live here?" He asked in curiosity.
She looked thoughtful, "well, there are dragons, fairies, mermaids, centaurs." she was cut off as Roxas interrupted her.
"Centaurs? As in half man, half horse?" He wrinkled his nose in disgust.
She looked offended, "hey, I'll have you know most of them are complete sweethearts!"
He shook his head, "sure." He paused thoughtfully, "hey, what were you doing napping on the floor when I found you?"
She looked sheepish, "I can't just tell that to strangers."
"Strangers? I thought we were friends?" He pouted playfully, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Surprised at how quickly he had warmed up to the supposed angel, normally he would be far more quiet, and observant.
She huffed in annoyance, ignoring his teasing, "how do you suppose you're going to get home?"
He stopped, "I-I'm actually not sure. Shouldn't you know how to get out of here?"
She shook her head, smiling apologetically, "no, I'm afraid not."
He looked panicked at her words, "my mom is gonna freak out once she finds out I'm gone!" He thought of how much longer he would be grounded once she found out he left his room, once again sneaking out.
There was an uneasy silence that had settled between the two, Naminé unsure of what to sure to assure him, and Roxas reeling over the large obstacle in his well thought out 'plan'.
"How about I show you around here, and maybe we'll come across the border?" She suggested shyly, her wings fluttering slightly.
He looked at her suspiciously, about to question her bizarre motives, but was interrupted as she suddenly leaned closer to him, her eyes glinting in clear mischief as she took flight, her wings moving in swift motions, they were barely visible. "Hey, I thought you said we could look for the way out of here." He huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Who said we weren't?" She responded hastily, her lips forming an impatient pout as she floated midair.
"Oh? And, what am I supposed to do? Just stand here casually while you look around? " He asked wryly, shifting his weight to his left foot, sighing.
She shook her head, ignoring his tone as she tapped her chin thoughtfully, her shoulders slumping in defeat as she came up with nothing. "Alright, fine, I guess you're right." She admitted sourly, beginning to descend back towards the ground at a slow pace.
"I'm assuming you know your way around well?" He queried, looking at her in a way that made her look down shyly, turning her gaze downward at her blue sandals.
He saw a small movement of her head, which he took as a yes, he sighed in relieve, maybe he would get out of here after all.
She began to walk, gesturing for him to follow her, leading him to a pathway that led to who knows where. She pushed a few vines and branches at out of the way, and there in plain view was quite the sight.
In front of him was an endless valley, a glimmering river streamed to the right, calm waves pushed spare twigs and sticks along its course, the river was wider than most, about thirty feet. Roxas grumbled to himself, how the heck were they, -well, actually, he since Naminé could fly- supposed to get across that?
Aside from the river, there were several large boulders randomly strewn across the fresh grass, and from what Roxas could tell, the other side of the forest appeared dark, and eerie. Much more scarier than the one in a Twilight Town, which was saying something.
She smiled at him reassuringly, as if reading his mind. She slowly sat down on the rough textured rock, as if waiting patiently for something. He followed her example, and sat down also, although he was baffled, he wasn't about to protest resting his feet. It had been a long day, you know, with finding out he entered a mythical realm of some sort.
He closed his azure orbs, his lashes creating shadows across his face as he bathed in the sunlight, becoming relaxed as the waves calmed him down. Namine was quiet, though, which felt unsettling, and he had only just met the girl.
He opened one eye, sneaking a glance at the pale blonde, his gaze turning concerned as he examined her expression. She looked sad, lost in thought, he debated whether he should talk to her, but inwardly shook his head, deciding that he didn't know her well enough to question her troubled features.
A large splash startled him, as he almost lost his balance on the rock he was currently perched on, his eyes widened in alarm, looking frantically for the cause of the sound.
"Hi, Demyx!" She cheerfully greeted, all previous signs of sadness wiped away, taking its place was a bright smile.
"Hello, Nami!" A male voice responded back with the same amount of enthusiasm. Roxas looked around, still finding no signs of the source of the voice.
"Roxas," she started in amusement, "look down." She advised him.
His gaze turned downward, almost jumping out of skin as he spotted a mo-hawked blond haired man, who seemed unfazed by his surprised reaction. "W-why are you swimming in there?!"
He looked amused by the question, looking to Naminé who was trying hard to conceal her entertained smile. "What's up with him?" He asked, the man now known as Demyx scanned him warily.
"He's a human, to be put shortly. He somehow ended up here, and we're trying to find the way out so he could return to where he came from." She easily explained.
Demyx' eyes widened in disbelieve, swimming backwards, his hands lazily folded behind his head, appearing calm. "So, you're a human, huh?"
Roxas nodded, stupefied as Demyx lifted his feet, only to reveal a blue scaled tail in place. His jaw dropped a bit, okay, this was it, he had officially gone insane. A mermaid?! A mermaid?! Really, the seemingly normal man had to be a mermaid of all things?
"I don't think I've introduced myself, I'm Demyx, and I'm sure you've taken noticed of the tail." His eyes drifted towards the blue scaled tail, looking back up at Roxas and shooting him a grin.
"I-I, you're a mermaid." Was his blank reply, and Demyx seemed annoyed by his choice of words.
"I'm a merman!" He huffed, swimming towards the Naminé, "rude friend you got there." He stated in joking way, Roxas blinked, wasn't he upset just ten seconds ago?
"I know," she agreed, playing along, letting a small giggle escape her lips before turning serious, "Dem, you don't know how to cross the border, do you?" She asked hopeful.
Demyx shook his head, shooting Roxas an apologetic gaze, "sorry guys, I've never heard anything about it, to be honest."
Naminé sighed, but nodded, "thanks anyway, Demyx."
"No prob, Nams." He grinned, turning to Roxas, "nice meetin' you Roxas." Were his last words as he dived under the water, disappearing from sight.
"Well, guess we're going to have to consult her." Naminé informed, slowly turning her gaze on the unruly haired boy.
"Her?" He questioned curiously, trying to prevent himself from losing hope of going home.
"Her." She confirmed hastily, a smile playing on her lips.
This chapter took me long enough, blah.
Maybe if the Internet wasn't so distracting I would have put this up several days ago. -Glares at Tumblr-
Um, anyway, if you spot any grammar, or spelling mistakes, tell me? I edited this in ten minutes, so there's bound to be some mistakes.
Naminé makes an appearance, and so does Demyx, I think their roles fit them.. Demyx whose element is water, and, well, Naminé is dressed in white, so she's an angel. Boom. ;)
Please leave a review! They make me verrry happy! :)