Genre: AU, fantasy
Pairings: ?
Warnings: Memory loss, peril, action violence
Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words
Maybe it wasn't the best decision Cloud had ever made. When it came to two people he tended to lose the ability to think rationally. His little brother was one of those two. Still, sword in hand and Aerith by his side, Cloud was far from regretting it.
The Queen of Darkness resided in what humans had long called Hell. It was a fitting name, for it was the plane of nonexistence where the Heartless could be found. Dark, cold, and filled with hate and pain, most Angels feared to go there. Most Angels could not and survive. But Cloud and Aerith were not Angels. Arch Angels had significantly less to fear, even in Hell.
"I can't sense any Heartless," Aerith murmured.
Cloud didn't know whether to be relieved or not. He couldn't sense them either. A long time ago the Key of Heaven had fought the Heartless and won, banishing them from this plane entirely. The Queen of Darkness had been defeated, but she could not be destroyed. So long as Darkness existed, so too would she.
As they descended deeper into Hell, the Darkness grew more tangible. Almost as one he and Aerith extended their wings, gleaming bright light surging forth from them both. Aerith's slender, warm hand sought his and he squeezed gently to reassure her.
And just like that, there she was. The Queen of Darkness materialized before them in a burst of eerie green flame, her black robes darker than the inky Dark around them. Her strange, colorless eyes took them in with little expression, her lips curved in the faintest hint of a sneer.
"Well, well," she said in that echoing voice of hers.
To Cloud, it always sounded like the actual words were lost, and he only heard the echo. It was somewhat unsettling. "Maleficent," he said quietly.
o0o
"It's unlucky."
Confused, he lifts his bright eyes to meet the gaze of the Key. "What's unlucky?"
Pale, long fingers reach out and lightly grip the silver key pendant around his neck. "That God chose you. In decades to come you'll wish he had not."
"Do you wish he hadn't chosen you?" Sora asks, head canting to the side.
"Yes. He calls himself the God of Light. He should call himself the God of Blindness."
Sora is surprised. "Why do you say that?"
The Key rises from his position. "I had a brother once, Sora. My father fell in love with a human, and together they had a child. The Queen of Darkness descended on my half-brother, hoping to use his human half against him. But the Heartless killed him, and our so-called god did nothing."
Sora can't help the rush of sadness that wells up inside him. "Sephiroth . . ." he whispers, not sure what to say.
Long silver hair gleams faintly in the light of Heaven as the Key looks down at him with an unreadable expression. "Don't look at me like that, Sora," he said quietly. "You have no reason to feel compassion toward me. From now on, I am your enemy."
Blink. Sora doesn't have any idea what he's talking about. He's too innocent even to feel afraid. "What—" he begins, but that is as far as he gets.
In Sephiroth's hands appears his long, brilliant sword. In a flash Sora is pressed hard against the wall, the sharp blade to his throat, biting into his skin. Sora stares in horror at Sephiroth-his wings, once glittering white, are dull black. He would speak, but the blade is cutting deep and he no longer has a voice. He knows if he was human, he would be dead.
"I despise Heaven," Sephiroth hisses, pressing even harder on his sword. "I despise the Angels that so blindly follow God. I despise the Queen of Darkness that stole my brother. I'm going to destroy it all, Sora. Everything. I want Cloud to know I have forsaken all my vows. You and he mean nothing to me anymore."
The pain in his throat is unbearable. Gasping, barely able to breathe, Sora coughs blood. Sephiroth smiles coldly, his free hand coming up to softly caress Sora's cheek. His skin is burning hot.
"Unless he decides to stand at my side," he whispered, letting the young Angel fall.
Sora feels his life seep away as Sephiroth slowly disappears.
It literally felt like he had to drag himself out of sleep, this time. As though it were an entity reluctant to let him go awareness was slow in returning. When he finally levered sticky eyelids open, he found himself lying with his head in Kairi's lap. She sat on the bed reading a book, and outside it was broad daylight.
The moment he shifted, Kairi dropped the book and helped him sit up. There was worry in her pretty, red-brown eyes.
"I'm so glad you're awake," she murmured, kissing his forehead. "I don't know if you remember, but when Riku had you concentrate on the pain you felt, you passed out. That was . . . I don't know. Six hours ago?"
Sora blinked. "Really? Geez, I feel like I've been hit by a . . . really big car." He grinned weakly.
Kairi laughed softly. "You seem all right. Riku went out to do a little grocery shopping."
For a moment Sora let himself relax. Presently, however, he realized Kairi was not relaxed. She didn't look any different, but there was something . . . her posture was a little too stiff. He could feel it in her leg where his head rested. It made him anxious. Sitting up he looked her in the eye.
"What? Is something wrong?"
Guilt and . . . worry . . . flashed through her eyes so quickly he nearly missed it. "No, not . . . wrong," she said at length. "It's just . . . umm, I don't really know how to tell you this . . ."
Anxiety rapidly turning into fear, Sora shook his head. "So just tell me."
She sucked in a deep breath. "Okay. Well, when you were . . . sleeping, something happened. From your scars, you . . . well, there were . . . geez, this sounds so weird . . ."
"Kairi, please," Sora begged. "You're scaring me."
She sighed. "Wings, Sora. Bright white wings came out of your back."
o0o
Tifa shook her black hair, landing lightly on the roof of the house. Her wings immediately disappeared, the dim halo of light surrounding her vanishing. Beside her, Vincent shifted, making his blood-red cloak ripple in the bright light of day. He looked odd in the sun. Almost . . . unreal.
"You didn't have to come," she said. Again.
Vincent. In Heaven he was called the Avenger. The darkest Arch Angel in God's army. Powerful, dangerous, and silent, Vincent was the only Arch Angel still in Heaven to have black wings. Only the very tips faded to pure white, as if proclaiming there was still some part of him in the light.
Vincent gave a miniscule shrug, only his cloak hinting at movement. "Sora must be safe."
Hard to argue with that. Tifa settled into a half-crouch, watching as a black car pulled into the driveway and a boy with silver hair stepped out. She frowned. He looked familiar, somehow.
"He reminds me of Sephiroth," Vincent said as though reading her mind.
She blinked. Now that she thought about it, he did. Sort of. "This must be the one named Riku," she mused.
Vincent just stood, silent and impassive, his red eyes scanning everything around the house. If Heartless came to try and take Sora, they would be ready.
o0o
Riku dropped the bags on the kitchen counter and hurried upstairs. Upon entering the bedroom he found Kairi and Sora in exactly the same position. Only Kairi wasn't reading anymore, and Sora was no longer asleep. In fact, Sora had a blank look in his eyes, their normally bright surfaces dull.
Kairi looked up when he entered, and she looked very worried. "I told him," she said, her fingers stroking Sora's hair. "I told him what we saw. He hasn't said anything."
Riku grimaced. Climbing onto the bed, he sat on Sora's other side and stroked his back. "Sora?"
Their new friend jerked. "What am I?" he said in a flat, dead voice. "I'm a freak."
Frowning, Riku grabbed his arms and made him face him. "No, you're not. You're something special, Sora. I know it."
Wrenching himself away, Sora stumbled to his feet and bolted across the room, staring at them with wide eyes. "I'm a freak! What kind of person has wings? I . . . I . . . Riku, I . . ."
In a flash Riku was up, wrapping Sora in his arms. "You're an angel, that's all," he whispered, smiling into Sora's hair. "Yeah. You're an angel. Kairi and I always thought so, you know."
He heard Sora give a weak little laugh.
Abruptly, he straightened. He didn't know how he knew it, but something was wrong. Nothing changed, really. He didn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary. But he just knew something was wrong.
o0o
Vincent straightened just a split second before Tifa felt it. "Heartless," she hissed, rising from her crouch.
Ornate guns appeared in Vincent's hands just as the black, twisted Heartless spilled out of the woods surrounding the house. There were a lot of them. As one Tifa and Vincent extending their wings, leaping to the ground and rushing the enemy. They ignored their attackers, pressing toward the house with mindless determination that let her know exactly who they were here for.
That did not bode well.
"Guard the house," Vincent's deep voice rolled over her ear even as the Avenger leaped back to defend its walls.
Aborting her attack, Tifa flew to the opposite side of the house, driving the Heartless back. She would descend into the darkness herself before allowing it to take Sora!
o0o
"Imagine Heaven's most powerful Arch Angels coming to visit me," the Queen of Darkness all but purred. "I'm flattered beyond belief. Did you bring flowers?"
Cloud's wings rose aggressively as he his sword appeared. Holding it ready, his blue eyes bored into hers. "We didn't come for games, Maleficent," he warned.
"Straight to the point, as always," she sighed. "If your plan was to distract me into battling you, taking my eyes off Earth, you are too late. I know the Key of Heaven fell from Heaven. I know where he is, and my Heartless are already there to take him into the Dark."
