Chapter 10

Hey dudes! I apologize up front for this being a little late, but it's been a busy week and this chapter took some considering. In particular, I had to think of what sort of minions Maleficent would have. I wanted it to be different than 'Haunted', so instead of heartless-things, I took my cues from the original "Sleeping Beauty" movie. Just so you know. Otherwise it might seem a little random. So ya…Anyway, thanks to my awesome reviewers, who I'm overjoyed to say, stepped up and gave 28 reviews for that last chapter! Way to go, dudes! So thanks to: ramen-is-my-goddess, Ivy J., Cassie-san, Poet Bucky, Aly-Cooper, A-chan, NightmareFairy, ooXloveXoo582, BlueFox of the Moon, Takara Zizumea, Kawaii-Gaara-Chan, Kireilovesherkitty, Yours For all Eternity, Tinker16, yumie-darkness123, Hound Keeper, Scootkadoot, Mare Dragon, Bella, xBlackxAngelsx, DemonicxTears, -IvyBlonde-, sasukesgirl89, -xLeon-Ada-x-, Aindel S. Druida, Keira-93, SarahXxUnlovedxX, chibi heishi, Lady Stars. Thanks!

PS: I'm going to be going on a trip, so I'll be off-line for a little over two weeks. Going to South Dakota actually, fun times, but no internet access since I'm not bringing my computer. Sorry, dudes! T-T

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It was late in the morning when Sora finally woke up, stirring as the autumn sunlight filtering through the curtains hit his closed eyes. Murmuring incoherently, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. The room was completely lit up golden by the morning sun, which caused Sora to look at the clock with confusion. 10:30? But he never slept in so late, Riku usually woke him up if he slept past 9:00. Sora rolled over and his eyebrows furrowed with more bewilderment. Riku wasn't in the bed or in the room. But the clothes he had laid out for today were still sitting untouched on the window seat.

Sora let out a hum of bemusement as he slipped out of bed, the wood floor and air cold despite its golden wash. He gave himself moment to adjust before padding out into the hallway. He was half expecting to hear Riku making breakfast or something, ready with some explanation as to why he had let Sora sleep in as late as he did, but there were no sounds coming from downstairs. Maybe Riku had gone outside for some reason?

Sora quickly made his way down the stairs and peered outside through a window. No sign of Riku, but the newspaper was still lying out on the driveway. So Riku wasn't cooking, wasn't dressed, and wasn't reading the newspaper? Sora frowned as he crossed his arms, rubbing the bare skin to try to fight against the cold air. His boyfriend was usually so predictable, sometimes even painfully so when it came to mornings.

Flustered but trying to keep the feeling buried, Sora walked back upstairs and knocked on Roxas's door. "Roxas?" His voice almost seemed to echo in the empty house, and Sora rapped on the door again, a little more insistently. "Roxas, are you in there? Do you know where Riku is or maybe-" at the last knock, the door swung open on its own; it hadn't even been closed all the way. Peeking in, Sora saw that the room was empty "- or maybe not." Blowing out a sigh of exasperation to mask his concern, Sora walked into the room. The room was tidy as usual, but a few things were slightly out of place. The pair of scissors Roxas usually kept on his desk was lying out in the middle of the floor and his bed was unmade. And the window was open.

Putting his hands on his hips, Sora shook his head. "Okay guys, funny. You hid on the roof to freak me out as punishment for sleeping in late. Hilarious." He walked over to the window and stuck his head out. "I would expect this from Roxas but not you, Ri-ku...? Where are you guys?"

No one was out on the roof. Biting his lip, Sora pulled himself back into the room. Had they left a note anywhere saying they would be doing something? A quick run around the house crushed that theory; there was no note, no messages on any of the phones, and there were no cars missing from the driveway except the car Leon drove to work, and of course Cloud's motorcycle. Pouting, Sora finally dropped down onto the couch in the parlor and wrapped his arms around himself. "Where did everyone go?!"

His mind trailed back to the open window in Roxas's room then to the night before. Were there any clues why they would leave the house? No, they weren't supposed to leave because Leon said that there had been a prison break. Suddenly Sora gasped. What if someone had broken into his brother's room last night?! Riku would have woken up, and then the criminals might have taken him too! What if something bad had happened to them? Could they have been fighting for their lives and just a room down he had just slept through it all?!

Scrambling for the phone, Sora dialed the first number he could think of; Leon's cell phone. He could feel his concern bridging into panic as the phone rang, mental images of what could have happened to Roxas and Riku racing through his head. By the time Leon picked up, he could barely pull himself together enough to speak properly.

"Leon here." There was an audible exhaustion to his voice, undoubtedly he had only gotten a little sleep in the police station, probably quick naps at his desk.

"D-Dad!"

"Sora?" Leon's voice sharpened with worry at his son's tone. "Sora, what's wrong?"

"I, I just woke up and no one else is in the house and I think something might have happened to them because Roxas's window was open and I don't know where they are!"

"What?!" Leon was wide awake at this point. "They're gone?"

"Y-Yes. I think, I think something happened last night. Riku hadn't even gotten dressed but he's not in the house and neither is Roxas!"

"Okay. Stay calm, Sora. I'm coming over as quickly as I can but the streets are pretty clogged up with all the police blockades." There was a pause then Leon spoke up again. "Call Axel, he's on the right side of the city. Get him to drive you somewhere else, don't wait for me to come and don't drive anywhere yourself, I don't want you in this traffic and I don't want you near that house alone, do you understand?"

Sora swallowed then nodded. "Okay. I'll call him."

"While you're waiting for him, go into the master bedroom. There should be a .22 caliber handgun in the side table on my side of the bed. Keep it with you until Axel gets there, alright?"

Paling, Sora glanced up to the stairs. He hated picking up Leon's guns. But at least his dad had taught him how to handle them. "A-Alright."

"Good. Now go upstairs."

"Right. Bye, Leon."

Sora hung up, but kept the phone with him as he walked upstairs, thankful it was cordless. He opened the door to Cloud and Leon's room cautiously, even though he knew no one was inside. They didn't exactly forbid the boys from coming in, but it still seemed to be a little off limits in Sora's mind. The room itself was simple, nearly as immaculate as Roxas's but much more plain. Despite the white walls, Sora still maneuvered around the bed to Leon's side, obvious because of the book on the other side table. Cloud and Riku were the only ones in the family who actually read books for the sake of reading literature. Leon read the newspaper and whatever Cloud forced on him, but that was about it.

Taking a breath, still worried but having been calmed somewhat from talking to Leon, Sora dialed Axel's number as he opened the drawer, nestling the phone between his shoulder and cheek so that he could use both hands.

"Land of the living dead, Axel speaking."

"Axel, its Sora."

"Sora? What are you calling me so early for? Is Roxas suddenly declaring his unending desire for me over breakfast or something?"

"No, that's just it. Roxas and Riku are gone!"

"…Wait, what?"

Sighing worriedly, Sora shook his head as he pulled out Leon's gun. "Riku and Roxas aren't in the house! I can't find them anywhere but Roxas's window was open! I called Leon and he said I should call you. I was, I was hoping you could come pick me up maybe? It's just, I'm really confused and kind of scared and have no idea what happened!" As he said this, Sora realized that it was a fairly large favor to ask. And not at all pertaining to anything supernatural. More of a close-family-friend favor.

"I'll be there in less than ten minutes."

"Really? Thanks, Axel." Sora hung up then set the phone down on the side table before holding up the gun. He checked to make sure it was loaded with a single shot before grabbing a few more rounds and heading downstairs. He hated touching the gun, even now his hand was shaking a little at the thought of maybe having to fire it. But at least he had already inadvertently screened the house for any intruders when he had been looking for Riku or Roxas. Letting out a trembling little sigh, Sora went back to the couch in the parlor, curling up around a pillow. He wanted to know where his little brother was, if he was okay, if he was hurt or not. And he wanted them both back in the house, he wanted to be in Riku's arms right now, planning what to do for the day. Not sitting there wondering if some escaped prisoner had gotten to them.

The time passed quickly and sooner than he expected, Sora was startled by the sound of the doorbell. Biting his lip, he stood up, peeking out the window before he relaxed. Axel was waiting out on the porch. Sora quickly opened the door to let the tall red-head inside. "Axel!"

Axel frowned at the younger's visibly distressed state, still dressed in his pajamas, his hair mussed from sleep and his blue eyes wide. "Sora, what happened?"

"I…I don't know. Come on, I'll show you, maybe you can figure it out." He grabbed Axel's wrist and tugged him up the stairs. Axel followed obediently down the hall to Roxas's room. Sora stopped at the door, looking back at Axel. "What, what will happen if they were kidnapped or something?"

Axel tried to smile, placing a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be okay. They're smart kids, and you've got us and your dads, and you know they won't rest until we find them. I bet they'll be back home before you know it."

Sora bit his lip, but followed Axel as the red-head tentatively pushed open the door to Roxas's room. It was just as Sora had last seen it. Axel moved inside cautiously, walking around the room and looking at everything, as though trying to search for some hidden detail.

Sora walked in a few feet, glancing around. "Nothing is really out of place except for the scissors. That and Roxas always makes his bed, and its still messy, just like Riku's clothes were still on the window seat in our room. But don't you think it would be messier if Riku did walk in though? Wouldn't he have fought back?"

"Of course he would fight back. They would both have fought back. And damn well too. Maybe one of them grabbed the scissors for defense." Axel frowned, holding his hand up before he glanced around the room. "Do you know if you have a compass in the house?"

"Y-Ya, I have one in my room, from camping." Sora left the room for a second before coming back with it in hand. He gave it to Axel who thanked him quickly before crouching down over the pair of scissors, holding the compass over it. Curious, Sora crept over, leaning down over him as Axel frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Compasses are affected by magnetic fields. Not as well as EMF meters of course, but they're not bad. Magnetic fields can of course form around supernatural residue. See, the compass isn't pointing to true north anymore, something's interfering with its readings."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that Riku must have been using his connection with the house to try and fight with the scissors. Which means that someone was here." He stood up suddenly, walking over to the window, his red spikes ruffling a little as the autumnal wind swept in the open window as he tested the frame with the compass. "The needle's going crazy around the window too."

"Riku…opened the window?"

"Maybe. But the needle's moving a lot more over here. If I didn't know better, I'd have to say that Riku didn't do this. I'm not sure if he still has the supernatural energy to create such a strong magnetic field. And then there's this, look." Leaning down, Axel pointed to the window sill, frowning. "There are scratches all around it, as if something had climbed in, maybe more than just one thing crawled in. Whoa!" He raised his arm up as a particularly strong gust of wind cut through the room, leaves scattering in. There was a bang as the wind slammed the door shut behind them, something that tended to happen in the house when the windows were open like it was now. Axel frowned, "I'd really like to close the window, but I probably shouldn't touch anything. Leon's coming over, right?" Sora nodded. "Well why don't you get dressed then I'll drive you wherever you need to go."

Sora agreed with another nod, turning around only to gasp sharply and grab onto the red-head's sleeve. "A-Axel! The, the door!"

Axel spun around, his green eyes widening. The raven symbol, the same one that had been in the asylum, had been struck onto the back of the door, singed into the wood as if it had been branded. Letting out a hiss between clenched teeth, Axel grabbed Sora's shoulder. "Come on, we're getting you out of here. Then Demyx, Zexion and I are going on a witch hunt."

Sora could only allow himself to be pulled out of the house, his mind having frozen at the sight of the symbol. What was Maleficent going to do with Roxas?! And what about Riku? Sora didn't know if he could handle it if either one of them got hurt, but both having been taken together was just too much. It would have been better if it had been a criminal, at least then Roxas and Riku would have been able to defend themselves easier!

"Sora." Sora jumped, eyes and attention snapping up to Axel. "Where am I taking you?"

Sora swallowed and tried to collect his fractured thoughts. "Um, take me to…take me to Kairi's house. To Kairi. Please."

Axel's expression softened a little and he tightened his grip on Sora's shoulder as his voice lost its sharp edge. "Don't worry, kid. We're gong to do all we can to get Roxas and Riku back, you've got to believe me." When he got Sora to nod, he smiled. "Besides, this might not be such bad news. After all, we know pretty much exactly where to look for Mal-that woman." He caught himself, shaking his head as if to brush the mistake aside before continuing. "If it was some criminal, we would have no idea where to start searching. Now, you're going to have to help me with directions to Kairi's house, so I'm going to need you focused and with me on the trip, alright?"

Sora nodded again, glancing back once at the empty house before following the taller man out to his car.

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The first sensation Riku was aware of as he regained consciousness was the dull feeling of disconnect from the house. So they weren't on the Strife property anymore, but they hadn't been gone for too long if he wasn't feeling the effect of it too much yet. If he had to guess, he would say half a day at most. The next sensation was the overwhelming smell of damp concrete and rusting metal followed by the knowledge that he was most certainly in an uncomfortable position.

Forcing his eyes open, Riku warily scanned the area. He seemed to be in some sort of cage, the rest of the room dark so that he couldn't see far beyond the metal bars. He was indeed sitting on a cold metal floor, his arms twisted awkwardly behind his back, apparently tied together. Rubbing his wrists together experimentally, he found that although he was tied, the knots had been poorly tied, the rope becoming looser as he continued to move his wrists around.

After a few minutes he was able to slip one wrist out of its bonds and freed his arms. Rubbing the now raw skin around his hands, Riku crept forward to the edge of the cage, feeling more animal than human as he peered out into the dark. His head was throbbing from whatever magic had knocked him out in the first place, whatever had been in that crystal. His eyes widened as his memories caught up with him at the thought of the crystal; that's right, he had been in Roxas's room when he had met up with that raven. But where was Roxas?!

Riku looked around his cage, it was small, and he was definitely alone in it. But there were other cages around him, he could see the dull shine of them through the blackness. Pursing his lips, he called out tentatively. "Roxas? Roxas, can you hear me?"

There was silence for a second followed by a quiet noise, almost like a sniffle before a broken voice answered back. "N-No, he can't, he can't hear you…"

"Roxas?" Riku frowned, that had certainly sounded like Roxas, well, almost like the younger boy anyway. Closing his eyes as sudden understanding dawned over him, Riku tried again. "Rose, you can hear me, can't you?"

"Y-Yes."

"Are you okay? Is Roxas's body alright, has it been hurt?"

There was a sound like a muffled sob before Rose answered him. "Its, its fine. But the bird lady got us! She got us and she's going to eat us!"

"Don't say that, Rose. We are going to be fine. As long as we can keep our wits about us, we should be able to find a way out of this mess." Sitting up as best he could manage, Riku tucked a strand of silver hair behind his ear. "Can you come closer to my voice? It would make me feel better if I could see for myself that you were well."

There was a rustle of clothes against metal and a moment later Roxas crawled into view. He was a sad sight in Riku's eyes, his blond spikes drooping, blue eyes wide and innocent from his possessed state and tear tracks staining down his cheeks. Obviously Rose had realized their situation already as well as its severity. Hoping that he could pull the young ghost back from the brink of panic, Riku gave her a soft smile. "I don't suppose you have any ideas of how we got in here, or possibly even how to get out?"

Roxas sniffed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand to clear away the tears before pointing shakily out toward the darkness. "Those things brought us here. This body wouldn't move. I tried to move as they took us out of the bed! I really did! And you weren't any help either."

Riku ignored the insult, brushing it off as he tried to make out any shapes in the dark where Roxas was pointing. "What things are you talking about, Rose?"

"Those things! The bird lady's monsters! Can't you hear them?"

Riku paused, trying to listen. Beyond their cages, he could here small scratching like those mice and rats would make when scuttling across the floor. He frowned, moving closer to the bars as he realized that the sound was actually the muffled sound of metal scraping against metal, his eyes narrowing a second later when a door off to the side of his vision burst open, light flooding one side of the room as something came inside. It was definitely the sound of something metal, almost like how armor sounded when on a body. But beside that metallic noise was also almost a grunting, like an animal. Wondering what could possibly be making those combination of sounds, Riku tried to crane his neck to see what had come into the room, but there were boxes blocking his vision, and try as he might, he couldn't see past them. The boxes weren't incredibly tall though, so either the thing was relatively short, or else it might also be invisible; anything was a possibility when dealing with unknown supernatural beings.

Frowning, Riku drew his courage together. Perhaps if this thing was intelligent enough to understand words, they could convince it to release them. "You there! Show yourself!"

There was a grunt followed by muttering and suddenly something that looked almost like a pike banged noisily against his cage, the thing holding the pike making Riku retreat faster than the weapon itself. Rose had been right. It certainly was some sort of monster, though demon might be a better description. In the dim light, it almost looked like some sort of pig, short and squat and dressed up in armor. "Silence." Its voice was low for its size, and it growled as it prodded into Riku's cage. "Noisy human. Don't know why we can't just kill you now."

Having been thoroughly silenced, Riku could only watch with wide eyes as the thing moved off again, disappearing past the row of boxes again. A moment later the shaft of light that had been provided from the open door was cut off with a loud slam, sending the room back into perpetual darkness.

It took a few moments but Riku was slowly able to properly order his thoughts again. Once he had gotten over the shock he looked again over to Roxas, or rather Rose. "And that was the thing that stole us from Roxas's room?"

"One of them."

Riku nodded blankly, eyes falling down to the metal floor. So they were in a slightly worse predicament than what he had first anticipated. It wasn't just one woman and her pet bird anymore; it was also a possible small army of hellish creatures. He let out a shaky sigh and rested his head in his hands. He was already getting a headache from his separation from the house. Undoubtedly his condition was only going to start to worsen exponentially which meant that he had to find a way out of this place as soon as he could. If not, he wouldn't be any help at all, quite the opposite really.

Time passed slowly in the cages. Riku wasn't sure how long it had been since they had been visited by that creature. It could have been two or even as much as six hours. Riku tried to keep his mind busy by thinking of how the others were reacting to their missing presence. Sora, he had just left Sora sleeping in their room. He didn't even know if his boyfriend was safe; heaven forbid he had been attacked after Riku had fallen unconscious. Riku shook his head at the thought. No, he would know if something had happened to his Sora. And thinking positively, if Sora had woken up to find the house empty, he probably would have panicked and called either Cloud or Leon, most likely Leon as he always had his cell phone with him while Cloud was rather isolated in the hospital. Once Sora called out, the others would know what to do. Hopefully they would have started to search for him and Roxas as soon as possible.

But how long would it take for them to be found? Riku looked at the old bars of his cage and moved over to one of its sides. He could at least try to escape. Grabbing the bars, he shook them experimentally. They rattled a little, but remained strong.

"Well, quite the escape attempt. I'm surprised you aren't halfway home already."

Riku's head snapped up at the mocking voice, his eyes widening a fraction when they fell on a figure that certainly had not been there a moment before and immediately Riku knew that this must be Maleficent. She was wearing the same black cloak that had been on the floor of Roxas's room, the high collar and her horned headdress making her look like a true black witch, like something Riku would have seen depicted in story books from his old time. Her skin seemed to almost be a pale green, though Riku couldn't tell if that was due to the light coming from her staff. Either way, this woman emanated with evil, just as Xemnas had, the intensity of it making Riku want to instinctively shrink back. But he held his ground, if not for dignity than for keeping a calm front for Rose's sake.

"I must say I was surprised to sense the two of you. I really felt quite amused to learn that the one little girl who had escaped my grasp would have led me to such an interesting find." She moved forward, her cloak scratching across the concrete floor as she approached Riku's cage. "Imagine, a boy who had returned to life from a death over a hundred years in the making. Simply extraordinary."

Riku could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the woman looked down at him with her green eyes but attempted to match her gaze. She only laughed at the sight. "And one so spirited as well. The two of us are quite similar. Both of us live off of borrowed time, though I seem to be the only one willing to go to all lengths to achieve my immortality."

Riku's eyes narrowed and he spit out. "And for that I am thankful. No life is worth the price of the unwilling sacrifice of another's, especially not a repulsive sham of a life such as your own. I would rather live one life with those I love than live for eternity as a monster."

"What a well-mannered speech for a well-meaning hypocrite." She saw Riku's eyes narrow with confusion and laughed again. "But could it be that you truly don't know your own faults? Simply wonderful. I will perhaps tell you one day, when I feel the need." She suddenly straightened up, "Oh, but I musn't get ahead of myself, there are more pressing matters at hand."

She turned to Roxas's cage, the hand resting around her staff tightening its grip as Roxas looked up at her with child-like terror. "Now, for some unfinished business. It cost me quite a bit of energy to find you. But will be worth it to be replenished by your energy." She turned her head slightly to Riku, as if addressing him. "Children, you see, contain the greatest energy among the living, but a ghost child is better still. Their souls have connected with the supernatural world and they can absorb that power with boundless energy." Reaching into the cage, she took Roxas's chin into her hand, her long nails scratching his face. "This little girl is a perfect example of such a child."

"Leave them alone!"

"Such gallantry. But alas, it will be for naught." Maleficent struck her staff against the concrete floor, the sound echoing through the room as Riku watched the staff begin to glow again. He frowned, hands wrapped around the bars as he could only watch Roxas squirm against the glow as Maleficent lowered her staff down to touch the boy's forehead. "I can only hope this will not damage the boy," she said lightly, her voice still holding that infuriating mockery. "He might be of use later on." Riku growled but she continued regardless. "Condemned child, relinquish your soul so that I may live unassailable and whole."

Riku had to cover his ears, his eyes watering as Roxas let out an anguished scream, the sound turning into a child's shriek as a light was ripped out of the boy's chest. The glow was sucked into Maleficent's staff and Roxas's hand flew to his chest, his voice hoarse as he screamed again. Pressing against his own bars, Riku addressed him quickly, pausing only to send Maleficent a hateful glare as she walked off. "Roxas, Roxas, listen to me! I know it hurts, but just breathe, concentrate on breathing."

Sucking in a shuddering breath, Roxas pounded his fist against the metal floor of his cage to distract himself. It felt as though his chest had been torn open, though the pain was nothing to what he had felt just a second ago it was still unbearable. He could only try to obey Riku's insistent commands, his head spinning as he struggled to handle the fire ripping through his body.

"That's good, good. Keep breathing. The pain will lessen, I promise. Breathe."

Sucking air in through clenched teeth, Roxas looked up at Riku through his blond spikes. "What, what the hell…happened?"

"That witch forcibly removed Rose from your body. Since the girl was undoubtedly holding tightly onto you, it was bound to be violent, for both you and her. I can only imagine what it would be like."

"It hurts." Roxas inhaled a shaky gasp, "It hurts so bad."

"I know. You're doing so well though."

Looking up again, Roxas finally got a good look at their surroundings. "Where, where are we?"

"We are in that woman's clutches. I don't know where we are, but it is far from home." Shifting, Riku frowned sympathetically. "Get some rest if you can, Roxas, and try to recover from your pain. I will try to protect you, but I have a feeling this will not be the end of it."

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