In the Day of Sora's Reign
By: Nin Tendo
~ Disclaimer ~ God bless the true owners of Kingdom Hearts and Slayers. I am not worthy ;_; and I will certainly not be angry if they take my ideas into consideration for KH2 ;)
Note #1: This is a Kingdom Hearts/Slayers crossover. But don't worry too much if you're not familiar with one (or even both) of these story lines. Only one character from Slayers appears (if you know me at all, you'll know who it is :p) and his personality and other important information is described early on in the story. You'll probably need more background information about Kingdom Hearts, however, for you to fully appreciate the story, but that's not to say you won't enjoy it anyway. n_n
Note #2: In the KH timeline, this story occurs after the game, and before what I believe is the preview to KH2. You'll probably be confused at first- -it will seem that it actually happens _before_ the game, but you will understand at the end--I promise. In the Slayers universe, this story begins near the end of the Slayers: Next series, during the fight scene with Gaav, where Hellmaster finally reveals himself.
Well, forgive my ramblings and prepare to be amazed! (Or completely disgusted with me. O_o)
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Beastmaster Xellos couldn't quite recall what had occurred after teleporting back to the astral plane, other than the unidentified summons in which he had been much too weak to resist. It was embarrassing, and rightly so--were he at full strength, he would have barely noticed the faint whispers in the back of his mind. But, still, power to him. Not many monsters would have survived being nearly split in two by Chaos Dragon Gaav. Perhaps it was even better this way. If Xellos, the trickster priest himself, hadn't been out in the open, Gaav would have never appeared to destroy him, the highest ranking lesser demon, which, in turn, left _him_ out in the open, never suspecting an attack from Hellmaster himself. Yes, Xellos could feel the death of the Demon Dragon King even here, wherever here was.
Yes, it was better this way. He was missing an arm and much of his torso, but he would not be forced to fight against Lina and the others--the group he supposed he could call his friends, although they would, quite vehemently, protest against it, except, perhaps, for Gourry, who really was too trusting for his own good.
But, enough. His surroundings were suspiciously silent, and his astral- sight, unexpectedly unreliable, so he had little choice other than to open his violet, cat-like eyes.
And immediately shut them again. His preferred eyes were suited better for darkness, not for this damned all-encompassing sunlight. He mentally shuddered at the thought that it would be one of _those_ places, where not a shred of darkness entered one's thoughts, but then reminded himself that if it was, he would already be quite dead, felled by the sheer intensity of positive emotions (it really was an annoying weak spot). Even at full strength, he would be lucky to escape with his life.
So, Xellos laid in the sand (oh, so it was sand, he realized, but why couldn't he hear the crashing waves?), in the safety of the self-inflicted darkness eyelids offered, concentrating solely on preventing any more dark energy from escaping his form.
When he was more confidant in his ability to hold himself together, he willed his irises to dilate, the result allowing him to appear more human- like, and summoned his staff to aid his movement. He currently did not have the strength to counter-act gravity, although he really would have preferred levitation as transportation.
Xellos sat up, his one arm crushed tightly against his torn torso, staff shaking in his white-knuckled grip, and carefully assessed his surroundings. He was sitting on the beach of what appeared to be an ocean, and the shoreline curved within his sight, implying a small island or peninsula. He noticed a small island to his left, and decided that it was, indeed a small cluster of islands. Turning, he saw an exotic, tropical landscape, and primitive, yet strangely complex wooden structures. He turned again to the ocean, and soon realized why, exactly, why everything seemed so silent.
The island, everything, it seemed, excluding himself, was frozen in time. The wind was absent in his shoulder-length purple hair, the small waves were perpetually kept from crashing down, and, to his right, three children in the midst of a race, were interrupted, hanging in place.
Xellos may have been gravely injured, but he could still feel the lines of power if he concentrated hard enough, and those lines of power originated from those three.
Moaning in discomfort, Xellos laboriously rose to his feet, leaning a little too much for his liking on his staff, and dragged his beaten body across the beach. When he finally came within a few meters of the trio, he dropped to his knees, body heaving in exertion. He attempted to clear his cloudy thoughts, the endeavor not completely successful, then spoke, as loud as he was able, "Guardian of this world, why do you conceal yourself from me? As you can undoubtedly see, I am in no position to threaten you or this world."
While the being of power was apparently pondering his words (he wondered if they even spoke the same tongue), Xellos observed the human trio. Two males and a female. The males seemed to take the race seriously enough, judging by the determination in their eyes, although the rest of their faces told the tale of smiling, irrepressible youth. They were rivals, but also, friends, and the outcome of the race would change nothing but the record of wins, losses, and ties. The girl, however, was far behind and did not seem to mind. She had no interest in besting the two. In fact, her smiling face and laughing blue eyes were more likely directed into cheering one (or even both) of them on. Oh, the information he could uncover by merely observing this one, frozen moment in time.
The lines of power emanated from the area surrounding the two males. It was impossible to tell with his current level of strength, however, which one it ultimately lead to. Though, if he were to guess (if, in fact, the supreme being was actually one of the two, and not hiding within them) it would be the light-haired, green-eyed youngster in the lead. Beings of power were known for their ego--they rarely allowed their followers to better them, though some did let a few come close, as this one was doing now. The brown-haired, blue-eyed underdog was merely a half-step behind.
Thus, Xellos was quite surprised when the underdog's extended right leg left its midair perch to join its partner in the sand, the arms in mid-pump returned to his sides, and he turned to face the trickster priest, sprouting an incredibly cheesy grin.
"Cheesy?" the god pouted, but in truth, it did nothing to darken his mood. Not waiting for confirmation, he went on to say, "Well, who are you, and what do you want? You remind me of certain...creatures I've encountered before." He scowled, a sentiment that reached his mind this time. "But, you seem...different. Know this: if you lie to me, and I'll know if you do, I'll assume that your intentions are hostile, and I'll purge you from this place, one way or the other." He crossed his scrawny arms over his chest in a no-nonsense stance that would have been laughable to anyone who did not recognize his sheer power.
Xellos blinked, overcoming his surprise quickly, and came to realize the situation. This god could read minds at will, and did not hesitate to use the ability. This fact effectively nullified many a millennia's worth of secrets known only to him, not to mention his own strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears! Xellos nearly fell flat on his face in depression. He had many enemies among his race, and they would be able to find this place as easily as he had (well, by accident...), and they would have immediate access to his strengths and weaknesses by the simple act of asking--
"Beastmaster Xellos," the child-king interrupted, "if it is any consolation, I have no intention of passing along your memories without permission. My only purpose in scanning your thoughts is to halt any threats to my island. Otherwise, I will respect your privacy. Please answer my inquires."
The voice of the god was not an almighty booming sound, but that of a child- -another surprise, for one of his power. Xellos sighed. He understood why the young god demanded the answers he already knew: it provided visitors to re-think any ill-intentions toward the island (his own, being afterthoughts on how to destroy the damned sun). He'd much rather use his favorite fury- inducing line of his: 'That is a secret!' or simply say nothing at all, but in this situation, he had little choice but to answer respectively. "In my world, I am known as Beastmaster Xellos, the trickster priest. I am the most powerful lesser demon, the High Priest of Greater Beast, Zelas Metallium, one of the four remaining Dark Lords of the monster race. While the ultimate goal of any monster is to return the world to the chaos that birthed it, our plans do not include this place whatsoever. I have arrived here, quite accidently, in an attempt to heal myself of the damage I've acquired during my most recent battle."
The boy-king nodded in greeting. "I welcome you to the Destiny Islands, Beastmaster Xellos. I am called Sora."
"'Sora'?" Xellos repeated, surprised once again by the odd behavior of the god. "Just Sora? Not Lord Sora, or Master Sora? Not even King Sora? Just...Sora?"
"It is the name my parents gave me," Sora answered, simply.
His reply was curious. "Am I to assume that you were not always as you are now? Just how old are you, anyway?"
"Your assumptions are not completely unfounded, Beastmaster," the entity known as Sora replied, "and, in definition of your world's time, I am approximately fifteen years old."
Xellos raised an eyebrow. "Well, would you look at that. I've seen my share of beings disguising themselves as children, but this is the first time I've met an honest-to-goodness teenage god."
Sora grinned at him again, but didn't abandon his aura of seriousness. "There are some rules you should know and follow during your stay. One: any conversations with my current self are to remain a secret--even to my mortal self. Two: you are not from another world, but a faraway island. Feel free to use your imagination. Three: do not inspire any unnecessary grief in this island's inhabitants. And four:" Here, he looked pointedly at the empty air where Xellos' arm and torso should have been. "You are not to walk around looking like that."
"But of course," Xellos replied, easily. "However, I would appreciate it if you would answer a few of my own concerns."
Sora nodded in consent.
"First of all--you say your current and mortal self are completely different entities--if I ever felt the need, how will I be able to hold a conversation with you as you are now?"
"You will only be able to speak with me if I am in the mood for conversation. If that is the case, I will stop time, as I have done now, in order to speak with you without interruption or complications. Is there anything else?"
"Yes, just one last thing," Xellos replied, a smirk raising the tips of his lips. "What are those 'creatures' that I remind you so much of?"
Sora scowled, and Xellos' grin widened as the god's fury granted him greater strength. "The Heartless. They seek out the darkness in people's hearts, feeding it until the darkness overcomes the heart altogether, causing the person to become a Heartless themselves. They also seek out the hearts of worlds in an attempt to destroy it completely."
"Very interesting," Xellos replied, "although I can confirm that I am not one of their race. There are many similarities between us: people may become monsters if they so wish, we can sense and seek out the darkness in people's hearts, and according to some, our ultimate goal is the complete destruction of the world (although that is not necessarily true). But there is one key difference: the heartless strengthen the darkness within one's heart, while I would merely draw power from it to meet my own needs." Xellos laid down in the sand, ready to disguise himself, but paused long enough to add a single afterthought. "Those Heartless certainly sound delicious."
And with that, Xellos transformed himself into a purple-tinted, four-armed starfish--a creature naturally able to regenerate its missing parts, should the children ever notice their new companion, though highly unlikely.
Sora was left, chuckling at Xellos' comment, almost wishing for an encore Heartless attack. He would not even need the keyblade, as Xellos' hunger would finish them off without any problems. He would even put those foul things to good use--the reconstruction of his own body.
When the mirth faded, he turned, and savored a moment of gazing at his friends, frozen in the sunlight--a sight that brought an unwanted sorrow along with the happiness in a package deal--and reclaimed his position in the race. If Xellos had paid attention, he would have noticed the infinite wisdom slowly evaporating from the youngster's gaze, leaving nothing but the soul of a destiny-ridden, not-so-average teenage underdog who had no knowledge of his alternate self, because after the initiation into god- hood, there were no more hopes and dreams, only what you could and could not do.
Time began once more. None of the three recognized the interruption.
Riku won.
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Had Xellos a voice in this form, he would have made brooding sounds. Something was...just not...right about this island. Sure, it held inhabitants. It had a, if not well-known, god. But...something...something important was just...missing.
The decision to investigate was immediate, but Xellos allowed himself to procrastinate just this once. After all, how would he learn anything valuable from the locals while looking as though he'd been caught on the wrong end of a Dark Lord's astral attack? That's what he thought.
So, Xellos settled himself in the sand, playing the role of the unknown observer. As far as he knew, there were no more...'interruptions' during his recovery, but who was to say that Sora hadn't frozen him along with the rest of the island? It certainly was within his power.
But as time went by, Xellos noticed the little things that kept the three children bound together. Sora had this cute, undeniable crush on the girl with short red hair--Kairi was her name--, a sentiment that seemed mutual, judging by the way she opened up to him. And Riku, that poor boy, was confused and even a little hurt about the waning attention he was receiving from Sora, his best friend, ever since Kairi's arrival on the island. Nowadays it seemed, to Riku, that the only way to get a genuine reaction out of Sora was to tease him about Kairi. And tease him he did, fueling the fire of their non-chalant rivalry.
Other than that, the only thing binding the three was their sense of adventure. They had built a raft and regularly used it to explore the surrounding ocean, never actually finding anything in the endless blue--it was the fear of losing their way that bound them to remain in sight of the Destiny Islands, a childish, but understandable fear that proved to be the only obstacle between them and their dreams of seeing great sights. A fault so undeniably human that Xellos had to remind himself that starfish do not smirk.
Although, his attention on the three was not intended to imply that they were all alone on the island. No, most definitely not. Three other children regularly played on the shoreline, and Xellos had heard the shouts of parents over the waves, calling their sons and daughters to supper. Others were here, but there personalities were suspiciously two- dimensional...there was absolutely no depth to them. Yes, the parents acted as parents, and the children as children, but without the presence of Sora or one of the other two, neither the parents or children did anything worthwhile, simply fading into the background of this monotony island, as if their entire existence was merely an afterthought.
So Xellos mimicked them, silent beneath the waves, until the day he was whole again.
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It was many days later that Xellos felt he had recovered enough to reveal himself to the humans without frightening them or inspiring their concern. But, just in case, he transformed back into his preferred form some time before their usual waking hour.
He was pleased to see that, while he still had yet to recover completely, his body was anatomically correct and complete. Xellos also noticed that he was now strong enough to see without altering his irises.
Briefly, he wondered if he should change his appearance, even just the shade of his eyes and hair, but decided against it. A decent explanation wouldn't be that hard to conjure up, while maintaining a disguise wasn't one of his favorite things in the world. He'd much continue to use the form he'd used for the millennia since his creation.
So, instead, he sat in the sand and perfected an alibi. He was from a faraway island, a very dangerous place inhabiting dragons and monsters and all the terrible things you'd think you'd only find in nightmares. How did he get here? Well, he flew (it wouldn't be that hard to convince them that magic existed). Why was he here? Well, he needed a nice, tranquil island to recover at after burning himself out during his last battle. And who was he? Xellos, the trickster priest (it had worked so well in the past that there was no sense in altering his personal introduction).
With that taken care of, Xellos gently probed the island with his mind in an attempt to pinpoint his location in the universe. He only came up with conflicting information. This place had properties of both a physical world and that of the astral plane. But that was impossible--only beings capable of thought had an astral form, not whole islands!
But, enough pondering for now. Already, he could hear the excited whispers behind him. Ah, so they were awake, and they had found him.
This would be interesting.
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"So, you're from another island?!" Sora exclaimed, in innocent, adolescent glee. It was disturbing, really, just how different this one was from his other form.
As he had guessed, the children had quickly accepted all explanations unconditionally, as children usually do. Besides, they were a lot more interested in where he'd come from, the lust for adventure pumping thought their veins.
"Is it a large island?" Riku asked intently, far more serious than his friend. "Can you take us there when you've recovered?"
That was his cue to burn down the poor boy's dreams. Waving his arms erratically, he exclaimed, "Oh, my! Most definitely not! What do you think damaged me so much that I had to retreat here? It is far too dangerous there for a handful of youngsters armed only with wooden swords! Why, you would have a hard time convincing me to take you there even if you were master swordsmen!" He stared at them with wide eyes. "Even if you managed to survive the dragons, trolls, golems, and other beasts, you would have no defense against those terrible monsters who exist on the plane of thought-- you can't hurt them, but they can certainly hurt you!"
All three children stared back at him, wide-eyed. Kairi was the only one still able to speak. "But if they're so powerful, how come they haven't already come here?"
Xellos closed one eye and waggled a gloved index finger at them. "Ah. Fortunately for you, they only have plans for their own island--they recognize and respect the sovereignty of this place. If you do not make a move against them, they will not make a move against you!"
The three breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, they won't be mad if they find out you're staying here?" Kairi asked, still slightly concerned.
"Well, they'd have to find out I'm here first," Xellos answered with a smirk, "but if they do, it's highly unlikely that they'd initiate an attack- -well, unless they had a reason to believe that I was here to secure allies, but you don't have to worry about that. I'm not here on military terms anyway."
"Mr. Xellos," Riku asked, as politely as he was able, "we sometimes explore the ocean with our raft. If we find an island, how would we know it was yours and that we should stay away?"
"Very good question, Riku!" Xellos exclaimed, then fell into momentary silence. "To tell you the truth," he continued, not losing his cheerful tone, "I really have no idea!"
The three children fell face first into the sand.
"XELLOS!" Sora spluttered after he'd recovered.
The monster just smiled and went on to say, "Well, I can give you a clue. There is usually a dragon in the skies at one time or another. If you see one...flee. Immediately. They are terrible, violent, closed-minded, hypocritical, 'kill first, don't bother asking questions' creatures that attack on sight. Why, they're so paranoid they barely trust their own kin, which throws themselves into civil war every millennia of so. Not pleasant creatures. Weak compared to me, of course, but...unpleasant."
"Dragons?" Kairi mused. "Those things that breath fire?"
"Well, more like lasers, but I guess they could breath fire if they wanted to," Xellos pondered.
Satisfied with the conversation and unwilling to sit through the boring details, Sora abruptly stood up, restless. "Come on, guys, we can talk about this stuff over lunch or something! Don't you want to explore the island, Xel?"
Xellos blinked, unused to the nickname, but he supposed he'd have to put up with it--the boy was the ruler of the island after all, even if he didn't know it himself. "Why, of course, Sora. Thank you so much for offering--I really was growing tired of this unpleasant conversation."
The main island was small, but also, very interesting. The children led him around, introducing him to the others, showing him their possessions and favorite places. But by far, the most curious thing of all was the 'secret place' or so they called it. Therein lay a door he could not open-- a mysterious door that had a strange energy to it. Not a particularly powerful energy, but something that just overflowed with...importance. Xellos noticed that the energy affected Sora strangely, causing uncharacteristically saddened eyes when he looked upon the thing.
Xellos was curious, so, when the other two were out of earshot, busy looking and laughing at the childish drawings on the walls, he asked, "What is the matter, Sora?"
Sora snapped out of his trance-like state and looked at Xellos like he hadn't realized that he'd been there all along. "Huh? Oh. Well, it's just that , well...when I see that door, I just feel so lost and confused. I look at that door and wonder why I can't open it. Why am I stuck on this side? Why am I kept from what's on the _other_ side? It's like I'm trapped, Xel! Like I'm in a prison or something."
"I...can't say that I know how you feel," Xellos replied in a non-chalant tone, but in his mind, he pondered this information with every shred of intelligence he was privy to, which was quite a lot, considering he was currently in the top ten most powerful beings in the monster race, creatures of thought rather than flesh and blood.
The thing about absolute beings was that, in all cases, their kingdoms were based upon the inner workings of their minds. Most of it was created by conscious thought--if they wanted something to happen, it would--but there were often areas that the supreme being itself did not realize were there. Understandable, really, as they had been created by the subconscious mind.
Xellos knew this, because his own mistress, Lord Beastmaster, had once been surprised by something she had found within her own creation, Wolf Pack Island. Xellos himself had never actually seen the thing that had startled her. Zelas had removed it and placed it in her chambers before he'd gotten a good look (and he wasn't allowed in there), but he had seen Zelas smile before whispering, "Ah, I see."
Just as humans discover things about themselves during their lifetime, so did gods and monsters. It was that sort of discovery, Xellos believed, that truly defined the living from the dead. It was the day that you stopped learning about yourself that you actually died--the living years after were simply when you began to decay.
Of course, as it was the subconscious that created these things, the message was buried beneath a sea of metaphor, usually only understandable to the being that had unknowingly created it. Sometimes making the connection was easy--if the being had unknowingly fallen in love with one of its worshippers, flowers and candy would mysteriously appear on that person's doorstep. Others, however, were much harder to figure out. For example, if the being had suffered a terrible loss, and was unknowingly ready to move on with its life, roses would sprout from a grave.
The more Xellos thought about it, the more he was convinced that the door was one of those unconscious messages. Had the Sora in power already realized its significance, he wondered, or had he deliberately pushed it to the deepest, darkest corner of his mind, unable to cope with the truth?
Xellos mentally called out to him, but Sora refused to respond.
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The Destiny Islands were not one singular place, really, but a cluster of many small islands, hence the plurality. The island the children played on most often was the largest one, where the 'secret place' was located beneath a great tree. As it was the main island, it was usually called, quite simply, Destiny Island. But there was another place that Xellos was interested in--and island connected by bridge to Destiny Island, a place they sometimes called Paopu Island, where the strange, star-shaped paopu fruit grew. The three of them had taken him there once, where Riku had teased the other two in a manner he did not understand, and Sora, blushing in humiliation, had chased Riku back to the mainland before even attempting to explain. Not even Kairi had offered to enlighten him to the inside joke, as she quickly lost her own blush in favor of chasing after them.
So, Xellos waited until dusk, after the islands fell to sleep, before travelling to Paopu Island on his own. There, in the dark, he sat on the oddly shaped tree and examined the strange fruit, feeling an odd power akin to that which he'd felt in the secret place.
Frowning when he reached no conclusion, Xellos wondered how long it would be before Sora decided to speak with him again. Xellos had many questions to ask, but at this point in time, he would certainly settle for only two answers.
He felt, rather than saw, the leaves suddenly cease their rustling in the light breeze. And, accustomed to the constant crashing of waves, he was suddenly disturbed by the absence of ambient sound. Nevertheless, he was happy to see the deity sitting next to him, staring down at his lazily swaying legs.
"Paopu fruit," Sora mused. "My parents once told me of a legend. It went something like, 'If two people share a paopu, their destinies will become intertwined'. Funny. Before, I've always thought of it in romantic terms-- it's Selphie's fault, really--but now I realize that is just one possibility of many.
"There are millions of other scenarios, Xellos. Being a part of another person's life--there are so many ways to achieve that. Best friend, lover, good-natured rival, comrade...nemesis..." He trailed off.
"Have you shared it with someone, then?" Xellos inquired.
"No," Sora replied, "but then, it was never true--just another old-wives- tale. A myth. Nothing more, nothing less. I knew this before, but we all preferred the mystery, I think. The unanswered question. What if it was for real? I was a child, and, as a child, my imagination ran away with me."
"But, you are a child, still," Xellos pointed out.
Sora seemed surprised for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, I am. There are times when I forget."
The forthcoming silence was all Xellos needed to continue his investigation. "Sora, what is the meaning of the door in the secret place?"
But Sora barely seemed to hear him. "You know, Xellos? Kairi, Riku, and I never needed to eat the paopu fruit at all. Our destinies were already intertwined. Sora, the sky, and its unlimited potential. Riku, the earth, with its definite strength. And Kairi, the horizon, the benign separation."
"Sora--" Xellos tried again.
But the rustling of leaves and the crashing of waves interrupted him.
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Xellos almost lost track of time on the island. All that concerned him was his slowly recovering state and the mystery of the island. For the nth time, he wondered why Zelas had granted him such an irrepressible curiosity, but then reminded himself that the well-informed servant was the best one there was.
It was the day of his full recovery that he finally uncovered the answers.
Sora, Riku, and Kairi, of course, were saddened by the news of his impending departure, but the good-byes had been surprisingly easy. After a promise that he'd come visit sometime and maybe teach them some magic, they waved after him as he neutralized the force of gravity, soaring off into the distance.
Of course, he didn't actually leave at that moment (embarrassingly, he hadn't actually figured out how to return to his own world yet). Instead, after what he supposed had been a good half-hour, he made himself invisible to mortal eyes and returned to the island, hoping for one last conversation with Sora. Perhaps he would know the route. He wasn't much surprised to see that the island was already in its frozen state.
But he _was_ surprised to see Sora slowly leaning forward in an attempt to claim Kairi's virgin lips.
"All right," Xellos announced, materializing beside the child-king, "that is wrong on so many levels that I cannot even begin to lecture you."
Sora was so startled by his sudden arrival that he tripped over his own feet and fell on his butt in the sand.
"Oh," Xellos went on, in sarcasm, "I snuck up on a god. Mother will be so proud."
"XELLOS!" Sora roared. "What would you know of right and wrong?!"
"Plenty," Xellos answered easily. "While I have my share of stolen kisses, I have never, ever, taken advantage of a young woman in that manner without giving her abundant time to refuse it. In this case, even if the girl will not remember the act itself, you do not even _remotely_ give her the option of consent. I may be a monster, I may occasionally play cruel tricks on my friends, and I may have killed an uncountable number of living things, but," he looked squarely at the young boy, "I still have my morals, Sora."
From his position in the sand, Sora bowed his head so his hair fell forward, shadowing his face. "How did you get here, Xellos?"
Still a tad angry at the boy, but willing to answer in the event that the question had a point, Xellos replied, "Oh, how should I know, Sora? I was nearly damaged beyond repair. It took all my reserves of strength to taunt Gaav for a while before escaping to safety. I don't even know where in the astral plane I ended up, so how would I know where the summons originated?"
Sora breathed heavily on the ground for a while before he slowly rose to his feet and tilted his head up again to stare at him with deep, soulful eyes. "You are the first person I've met since that day. The first true being that I've conversed with since the day I was locked away from everything. Isolated from everything I've ever cared about. Where am I, Xellos? Why can't I go back? I can't wield the keyblade anymore, and here, whatever I think becomes reality. But not real. A...a fake reality. It's not real, Xellos, so why are either of us even here?"
Why hadn't he realized it sooner? Xellos turned to stare deeply into Kairi's eyes. They were blue, and expressive, but they lacked the most important thing. The same thing that Riku's eyes lacked, and the children, and the parents. Sora was the only one here with the tell-tale sparkle of a human soul. Sora was the only one who actually existed here!
"How did you get here, Xellos?!" Sora demanded. "How do I get out?! If you can't answer, go away! JUST GO AWAY!"
It was violent, and very uncomfortable, really, being banished from a reality, however fake it was. It was the essence of pain, and after it was over, Xellos felt as violated as he'd ever been.
But when he regained his senses, he was happy to be back in the astral plane. In one of the deepest, darkest corners, where no sane monster would wander off to alone, but he could pinpoint his location easily and immediately travel toward more familiar areas.
But first.
Xellos looked down upon the young, unconscious boy floating beneath him, reaching out to probe his energies. Just as he thought. The boy was trapped within his own mind. There was really nothing Xellos could do for him. Why, it was so serious that the boy completely lacked a physical presence in this world. There was nothing that could be done, apart from transporting him to a safer place where the rest of his race, who would think of him as easy prey, would never find him.
"You poor, unfortunate thing."
THE END
Author's Notes:
1. Okay, I've done my best to make this fanfic easy to understand. Hopefully, all underlying meanings were unveiled by everyone with the ending, or perhaps, and second reading (actually, a second reading would be a great idea--there are some other meanings and even a few jokes that even I didn't realize were there. O_o I'm serious--isn't that pathetic? ^o^). However, if you are still confused by one or more areas, feel free to e- mail me at nin_tendo15@hotmail.com or just leave your questions and e-mail address in a review, and I will reply ASAP.
2. Some people look at me sideways for saying this, but....CRITICIZE ME! I revel in harsh comments! What are you waiting for? LAY IT ON ME! I CAN TAKE IT! FAH-LAME ME!
3. This 'fic is rather open-ended, I admit. So I have to ask, who's up for a round robin? Let us unite and create KH2-the ANIME version! ^o^ (I call Slayers! :p) Right now, the only restriction is that you must agree with the S/K/R relationships as presented here. Contact me if you are in any way interested! (Even if you simply want to lend your ideas!)
By: Nin Tendo
~ Disclaimer ~ God bless the true owners of Kingdom Hearts and Slayers. I am not worthy ;_; and I will certainly not be angry if they take my ideas into consideration for KH2 ;)
Note #1: This is a Kingdom Hearts/Slayers crossover. But don't worry too much if you're not familiar with one (or even both) of these story lines. Only one character from Slayers appears (if you know me at all, you'll know who it is :p) and his personality and other important information is described early on in the story. You'll probably need more background information about Kingdom Hearts, however, for you to fully appreciate the story, but that's not to say you won't enjoy it anyway. n_n
Note #2: In the KH timeline, this story occurs after the game, and before what I believe is the preview to KH2. You'll probably be confused at first- -it will seem that it actually happens _before_ the game, but you will understand at the end--I promise. In the Slayers universe, this story begins near the end of the Slayers: Next series, during the fight scene with Gaav, where Hellmaster finally reveals himself.
Well, forgive my ramblings and prepare to be amazed! (Or completely disgusted with me. O_o)
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Beastmaster Xellos couldn't quite recall what had occurred after teleporting back to the astral plane, other than the unidentified summons in which he had been much too weak to resist. It was embarrassing, and rightly so--were he at full strength, he would have barely noticed the faint whispers in the back of his mind. But, still, power to him. Not many monsters would have survived being nearly split in two by Chaos Dragon Gaav. Perhaps it was even better this way. If Xellos, the trickster priest himself, hadn't been out in the open, Gaav would have never appeared to destroy him, the highest ranking lesser demon, which, in turn, left _him_ out in the open, never suspecting an attack from Hellmaster himself. Yes, Xellos could feel the death of the Demon Dragon King even here, wherever here was.
Yes, it was better this way. He was missing an arm and much of his torso, but he would not be forced to fight against Lina and the others--the group he supposed he could call his friends, although they would, quite vehemently, protest against it, except, perhaps, for Gourry, who really was too trusting for his own good.
But, enough. His surroundings were suspiciously silent, and his astral- sight, unexpectedly unreliable, so he had little choice other than to open his violet, cat-like eyes.
And immediately shut them again. His preferred eyes were suited better for darkness, not for this damned all-encompassing sunlight. He mentally shuddered at the thought that it would be one of _those_ places, where not a shred of darkness entered one's thoughts, but then reminded himself that if it was, he would already be quite dead, felled by the sheer intensity of positive emotions (it really was an annoying weak spot). Even at full strength, he would be lucky to escape with his life.
So, Xellos laid in the sand (oh, so it was sand, he realized, but why couldn't he hear the crashing waves?), in the safety of the self-inflicted darkness eyelids offered, concentrating solely on preventing any more dark energy from escaping his form.
When he was more confidant in his ability to hold himself together, he willed his irises to dilate, the result allowing him to appear more human- like, and summoned his staff to aid his movement. He currently did not have the strength to counter-act gravity, although he really would have preferred levitation as transportation.
Xellos sat up, his one arm crushed tightly against his torn torso, staff shaking in his white-knuckled grip, and carefully assessed his surroundings. He was sitting on the beach of what appeared to be an ocean, and the shoreline curved within his sight, implying a small island or peninsula. He noticed a small island to his left, and decided that it was, indeed a small cluster of islands. Turning, he saw an exotic, tropical landscape, and primitive, yet strangely complex wooden structures. He turned again to the ocean, and soon realized why, exactly, why everything seemed so silent.
The island, everything, it seemed, excluding himself, was frozen in time. The wind was absent in his shoulder-length purple hair, the small waves were perpetually kept from crashing down, and, to his right, three children in the midst of a race, were interrupted, hanging in place.
Xellos may have been gravely injured, but he could still feel the lines of power if he concentrated hard enough, and those lines of power originated from those three.
Moaning in discomfort, Xellos laboriously rose to his feet, leaning a little too much for his liking on his staff, and dragged his beaten body across the beach. When he finally came within a few meters of the trio, he dropped to his knees, body heaving in exertion. He attempted to clear his cloudy thoughts, the endeavor not completely successful, then spoke, as loud as he was able, "Guardian of this world, why do you conceal yourself from me? As you can undoubtedly see, I am in no position to threaten you or this world."
While the being of power was apparently pondering his words (he wondered if they even spoke the same tongue), Xellos observed the human trio. Two males and a female. The males seemed to take the race seriously enough, judging by the determination in their eyes, although the rest of their faces told the tale of smiling, irrepressible youth. They were rivals, but also, friends, and the outcome of the race would change nothing but the record of wins, losses, and ties. The girl, however, was far behind and did not seem to mind. She had no interest in besting the two. In fact, her smiling face and laughing blue eyes were more likely directed into cheering one (or even both) of them on. Oh, the information he could uncover by merely observing this one, frozen moment in time.
The lines of power emanated from the area surrounding the two males. It was impossible to tell with his current level of strength, however, which one it ultimately lead to. Though, if he were to guess (if, in fact, the supreme being was actually one of the two, and not hiding within them) it would be the light-haired, green-eyed youngster in the lead. Beings of power were known for their ego--they rarely allowed their followers to better them, though some did let a few come close, as this one was doing now. The brown-haired, blue-eyed underdog was merely a half-step behind.
Thus, Xellos was quite surprised when the underdog's extended right leg left its midair perch to join its partner in the sand, the arms in mid-pump returned to his sides, and he turned to face the trickster priest, sprouting an incredibly cheesy grin.
"Cheesy?" the god pouted, but in truth, it did nothing to darken his mood. Not waiting for confirmation, he went on to say, "Well, who are you, and what do you want? You remind me of certain...creatures I've encountered before." He scowled, a sentiment that reached his mind this time. "But, you seem...different. Know this: if you lie to me, and I'll know if you do, I'll assume that your intentions are hostile, and I'll purge you from this place, one way or the other." He crossed his scrawny arms over his chest in a no-nonsense stance that would have been laughable to anyone who did not recognize his sheer power.
Xellos blinked, overcoming his surprise quickly, and came to realize the situation. This god could read minds at will, and did not hesitate to use the ability. This fact effectively nullified many a millennia's worth of secrets known only to him, not to mention his own strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears! Xellos nearly fell flat on his face in depression. He had many enemies among his race, and they would be able to find this place as easily as he had (well, by accident...), and they would have immediate access to his strengths and weaknesses by the simple act of asking--
"Beastmaster Xellos," the child-king interrupted, "if it is any consolation, I have no intention of passing along your memories without permission. My only purpose in scanning your thoughts is to halt any threats to my island. Otherwise, I will respect your privacy. Please answer my inquires."
The voice of the god was not an almighty booming sound, but that of a child- -another surprise, for one of his power. Xellos sighed. He understood why the young god demanded the answers he already knew: it provided visitors to re-think any ill-intentions toward the island (his own, being afterthoughts on how to destroy the damned sun). He'd much rather use his favorite fury- inducing line of his: 'That is a secret!' or simply say nothing at all, but in this situation, he had little choice but to answer respectively. "In my world, I am known as Beastmaster Xellos, the trickster priest. I am the most powerful lesser demon, the High Priest of Greater Beast, Zelas Metallium, one of the four remaining Dark Lords of the monster race. While the ultimate goal of any monster is to return the world to the chaos that birthed it, our plans do not include this place whatsoever. I have arrived here, quite accidently, in an attempt to heal myself of the damage I've acquired during my most recent battle."
The boy-king nodded in greeting. "I welcome you to the Destiny Islands, Beastmaster Xellos. I am called Sora."
"'Sora'?" Xellos repeated, surprised once again by the odd behavior of the god. "Just Sora? Not Lord Sora, or Master Sora? Not even King Sora? Just...Sora?"
"It is the name my parents gave me," Sora answered, simply.
His reply was curious. "Am I to assume that you were not always as you are now? Just how old are you, anyway?"
"Your assumptions are not completely unfounded, Beastmaster," the entity known as Sora replied, "and, in definition of your world's time, I am approximately fifteen years old."
Xellos raised an eyebrow. "Well, would you look at that. I've seen my share of beings disguising themselves as children, but this is the first time I've met an honest-to-goodness teenage god."
Sora grinned at him again, but didn't abandon his aura of seriousness. "There are some rules you should know and follow during your stay. One: any conversations with my current self are to remain a secret--even to my mortal self. Two: you are not from another world, but a faraway island. Feel free to use your imagination. Three: do not inspire any unnecessary grief in this island's inhabitants. And four:" Here, he looked pointedly at the empty air where Xellos' arm and torso should have been. "You are not to walk around looking like that."
"But of course," Xellos replied, easily. "However, I would appreciate it if you would answer a few of my own concerns."
Sora nodded in consent.
"First of all--you say your current and mortal self are completely different entities--if I ever felt the need, how will I be able to hold a conversation with you as you are now?"
"You will only be able to speak with me if I am in the mood for conversation. If that is the case, I will stop time, as I have done now, in order to speak with you without interruption or complications. Is there anything else?"
"Yes, just one last thing," Xellos replied, a smirk raising the tips of his lips. "What are those 'creatures' that I remind you so much of?"
Sora scowled, and Xellos' grin widened as the god's fury granted him greater strength. "The Heartless. They seek out the darkness in people's hearts, feeding it until the darkness overcomes the heart altogether, causing the person to become a Heartless themselves. They also seek out the hearts of worlds in an attempt to destroy it completely."
"Very interesting," Xellos replied, "although I can confirm that I am not one of their race. There are many similarities between us: people may become monsters if they so wish, we can sense and seek out the darkness in people's hearts, and according to some, our ultimate goal is the complete destruction of the world (although that is not necessarily true). But there is one key difference: the heartless strengthen the darkness within one's heart, while I would merely draw power from it to meet my own needs." Xellos laid down in the sand, ready to disguise himself, but paused long enough to add a single afterthought. "Those Heartless certainly sound delicious."
And with that, Xellos transformed himself into a purple-tinted, four-armed starfish--a creature naturally able to regenerate its missing parts, should the children ever notice their new companion, though highly unlikely.
Sora was left, chuckling at Xellos' comment, almost wishing for an encore Heartless attack. He would not even need the keyblade, as Xellos' hunger would finish them off without any problems. He would even put those foul things to good use--the reconstruction of his own body.
When the mirth faded, he turned, and savored a moment of gazing at his friends, frozen in the sunlight--a sight that brought an unwanted sorrow along with the happiness in a package deal--and reclaimed his position in the race. If Xellos had paid attention, he would have noticed the infinite wisdom slowly evaporating from the youngster's gaze, leaving nothing but the soul of a destiny-ridden, not-so-average teenage underdog who had no knowledge of his alternate self, because after the initiation into god- hood, there were no more hopes and dreams, only what you could and could not do.
Time began once more. None of the three recognized the interruption.
Riku won.
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Had Xellos a voice in this form, he would have made brooding sounds. Something was...just not...right about this island. Sure, it held inhabitants. It had a, if not well-known, god. But...something...something important was just...missing.
The decision to investigate was immediate, but Xellos allowed himself to procrastinate just this once. After all, how would he learn anything valuable from the locals while looking as though he'd been caught on the wrong end of a Dark Lord's astral attack? That's what he thought.
So, Xellos settled himself in the sand, playing the role of the unknown observer. As far as he knew, there were no more...'interruptions' during his recovery, but who was to say that Sora hadn't frozen him along with the rest of the island? It certainly was within his power.
But as time went by, Xellos noticed the little things that kept the three children bound together. Sora had this cute, undeniable crush on the girl with short red hair--Kairi was her name--, a sentiment that seemed mutual, judging by the way she opened up to him. And Riku, that poor boy, was confused and even a little hurt about the waning attention he was receiving from Sora, his best friend, ever since Kairi's arrival on the island. Nowadays it seemed, to Riku, that the only way to get a genuine reaction out of Sora was to tease him about Kairi. And tease him he did, fueling the fire of their non-chalant rivalry.
Other than that, the only thing binding the three was their sense of adventure. They had built a raft and regularly used it to explore the surrounding ocean, never actually finding anything in the endless blue--it was the fear of losing their way that bound them to remain in sight of the Destiny Islands, a childish, but understandable fear that proved to be the only obstacle between them and their dreams of seeing great sights. A fault so undeniably human that Xellos had to remind himself that starfish do not smirk.
Although, his attention on the three was not intended to imply that they were all alone on the island. No, most definitely not. Three other children regularly played on the shoreline, and Xellos had heard the shouts of parents over the waves, calling their sons and daughters to supper. Others were here, but there personalities were suspiciously two- dimensional...there was absolutely no depth to them. Yes, the parents acted as parents, and the children as children, but without the presence of Sora or one of the other two, neither the parents or children did anything worthwhile, simply fading into the background of this monotony island, as if their entire existence was merely an afterthought.
So Xellos mimicked them, silent beneath the waves, until the day he was whole again.
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It was many days later that Xellos felt he had recovered enough to reveal himself to the humans without frightening them or inspiring their concern. But, just in case, he transformed back into his preferred form some time before their usual waking hour.
He was pleased to see that, while he still had yet to recover completely, his body was anatomically correct and complete. Xellos also noticed that he was now strong enough to see without altering his irises.
Briefly, he wondered if he should change his appearance, even just the shade of his eyes and hair, but decided against it. A decent explanation wouldn't be that hard to conjure up, while maintaining a disguise wasn't one of his favorite things in the world. He'd much continue to use the form he'd used for the millennia since his creation.
So, instead, he sat in the sand and perfected an alibi. He was from a faraway island, a very dangerous place inhabiting dragons and monsters and all the terrible things you'd think you'd only find in nightmares. How did he get here? Well, he flew (it wouldn't be that hard to convince them that magic existed). Why was he here? Well, he needed a nice, tranquil island to recover at after burning himself out during his last battle. And who was he? Xellos, the trickster priest (it had worked so well in the past that there was no sense in altering his personal introduction).
With that taken care of, Xellos gently probed the island with his mind in an attempt to pinpoint his location in the universe. He only came up with conflicting information. This place had properties of both a physical world and that of the astral plane. But that was impossible--only beings capable of thought had an astral form, not whole islands!
But, enough pondering for now. Already, he could hear the excited whispers behind him. Ah, so they were awake, and they had found him.
This would be interesting.
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"So, you're from another island?!" Sora exclaimed, in innocent, adolescent glee. It was disturbing, really, just how different this one was from his other form.
As he had guessed, the children had quickly accepted all explanations unconditionally, as children usually do. Besides, they were a lot more interested in where he'd come from, the lust for adventure pumping thought their veins.
"Is it a large island?" Riku asked intently, far more serious than his friend. "Can you take us there when you've recovered?"
That was his cue to burn down the poor boy's dreams. Waving his arms erratically, he exclaimed, "Oh, my! Most definitely not! What do you think damaged me so much that I had to retreat here? It is far too dangerous there for a handful of youngsters armed only with wooden swords! Why, you would have a hard time convincing me to take you there even if you were master swordsmen!" He stared at them with wide eyes. "Even if you managed to survive the dragons, trolls, golems, and other beasts, you would have no defense against those terrible monsters who exist on the plane of thought-- you can't hurt them, but they can certainly hurt you!"
All three children stared back at him, wide-eyed. Kairi was the only one still able to speak. "But if they're so powerful, how come they haven't already come here?"
Xellos closed one eye and waggled a gloved index finger at them. "Ah. Fortunately for you, they only have plans for their own island--they recognize and respect the sovereignty of this place. If you do not make a move against them, they will not make a move against you!"
The three breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, they won't be mad if they find out you're staying here?" Kairi asked, still slightly concerned.
"Well, they'd have to find out I'm here first," Xellos answered with a smirk, "but if they do, it's highly unlikely that they'd initiate an attack- -well, unless they had a reason to believe that I was here to secure allies, but you don't have to worry about that. I'm not here on military terms anyway."
"Mr. Xellos," Riku asked, as politely as he was able, "we sometimes explore the ocean with our raft. If we find an island, how would we know it was yours and that we should stay away?"
"Very good question, Riku!" Xellos exclaimed, then fell into momentary silence. "To tell you the truth," he continued, not losing his cheerful tone, "I really have no idea!"
The three children fell face first into the sand.
"XELLOS!" Sora spluttered after he'd recovered.
The monster just smiled and went on to say, "Well, I can give you a clue. There is usually a dragon in the skies at one time or another. If you see one...flee. Immediately. They are terrible, violent, closed-minded, hypocritical, 'kill first, don't bother asking questions' creatures that attack on sight. Why, they're so paranoid they barely trust their own kin, which throws themselves into civil war every millennia of so. Not pleasant creatures. Weak compared to me, of course, but...unpleasant."
"Dragons?" Kairi mused. "Those things that breath fire?"
"Well, more like lasers, but I guess they could breath fire if they wanted to," Xellos pondered.
Satisfied with the conversation and unwilling to sit through the boring details, Sora abruptly stood up, restless. "Come on, guys, we can talk about this stuff over lunch or something! Don't you want to explore the island, Xel?"
Xellos blinked, unused to the nickname, but he supposed he'd have to put up with it--the boy was the ruler of the island after all, even if he didn't know it himself. "Why, of course, Sora. Thank you so much for offering--I really was growing tired of this unpleasant conversation."
The main island was small, but also, very interesting. The children led him around, introducing him to the others, showing him their possessions and favorite places. But by far, the most curious thing of all was the 'secret place' or so they called it. Therein lay a door he could not open-- a mysterious door that had a strange energy to it. Not a particularly powerful energy, but something that just overflowed with...importance. Xellos noticed that the energy affected Sora strangely, causing uncharacteristically saddened eyes when he looked upon the thing.
Xellos was curious, so, when the other two were out of earshot, busy looking and laughing at the childish drawings on the walls, he asked, "What is the matter, Sora?"
Sora snapped out of his trance-like state and looked at Xellos like he hadn't realized that he'd been there all along. "Huh? Oh. Well, it's just that , well...when I see that door, I just feel so lost and confused. I look at that door and wonder why I can't open it. Why am I stuck on this side? Why am I kept from what's on the _other_ side? It's like I'm trapped, Xel! Like I'm in a prison or something."
"I...can't say that I know how you feel," Xellos replied in a non-chalant tone, but in his mind, he pondered this information with every shred of intelligence he was privy to, which was quite a lot, considering he was currently in the top ten most powerful beings in the monster race, creatures of thought rather than flesh and blood.
The thing about absolute beings was that, in all cases, their kingdoms were based upon the inner workings of their minds. Most of it was created by conscious thought--if they wanted something to happen, it would--but there were often areas that the supreme being itself did not realize were there. Understandable, really, as they had been created by the subconscious mind.
Xellos knew this, because his own mistress, Lord Beastmaster, had once been surprised by something she had found within her own creation, Wolf Pack Island. Xellos himself had never actually seen the thing that had startled her. Zelas had removed it and placed it in her chambers before he'd gotten a good look (and he wasn't allowed in there), but he had seen Zelas smile before whispering, "Ah, I see."
Just as humans discover things about themselves during their lifetime, so did gods and monsters. It was that sort of discovery, Xellos believed, that truly defined the living from the dead. It was the day that you stopped learning about yourself that you actually died--the living years after were simply when you began to decay.
Of course, as it was the subconscious that created these things, the message was buried beneath a sea of metaphor, usually only understandable to the being that had unknowingly created it. Sometimes making the connection was easy--if the being had unknowingly fallen in love with one of its worshippers, flowers and candy would mysteriously appear on that person's doorstep. Others, however, were much harder to figure out. For example, if the being had suffered a terrible loss, and was unknowingly ready to move on with its life, roses would sprout from a grave.
The more Xellos thought about it, the more he was convinced that the door was one of those unconscious messages. Had the Sora in power already realized its significance, he wondered, or had he deliberately pushed it to the deepest, darkest corner of his mind, unable to cope with the truth?
Xellos mentally called out to him, but Sora refused to respond.
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The Destiny Islands were not one singular place, really, but a cluster of many small islands, hence the plurality. The island the children played on most often was the largest one, where the 'secret place' was located beneath a great tree. As it was the main island, it was usually called, quite simply, Destiny Island. But there was another place that Xellos was interested in--and island connected by bridge to Destiny Island, a place they sometimes called Paopu Island, where the strange, star-shaped paopu fruit grew. The three of them had taken him there once, where Riku had teased the other two in a manner he did not understand, and Sora, blushing in humiliation, had chased Riku back to the mainland before even attempting to explain. Not even Kairi had offered to enlighten him to the inside joke, as she quickly lost her own blush in favor of chasing after them.
So, Xellos waited until dusk, after the islands fell to sleep, before travelling to Paopu Island on his own. There, in the dark, he sat on the oddly shaped tree and examined the strange fruit, feeling an odd power akin to that which he'd felt in the secret place.
Frowning when he reached no conclusion, Xellos wondered how long it would be before Sora decided to speak with him again. Xellos had many questions to ask, but at this point in time, he would certainly settle for only two answers.
He felt, rather than saw, the leaves suddenly cease their rustling in the light breeze. And, accustomed to the constant crashing of waves, he was suddenly disturbed by the absence of ambient sound. Nevertheless, he was happy to see the deity sitting next to him, staring down at his lazily swaying legs.
"Paopu fruit," Sora mused. "My parents once told me of a legend. It went something like, 'If two people share a paopu, their destinies will become intertwined'. Funny. Before, I've always thought of it in romantic terms-- it's Selphie's fault, really--but now I realize that is just one possibility of many.
"There are millions of other scenarios, Xellos. Being a part of another person's life--there are so many ways to achieve that. Best friend, lover, good-natured rival, comrade...nemesis..." He trailed off.
"Have you shared it with someone, then?" Xellos inquired.
"No," Sora replied, "but then, it was never true--just another old-wives- tale. A myth. Nothing more, nothing less. I knew this before, but we all preferred the mystery, I think. The unanswered question. What if it was for real? I was a child, and, as a child, my imagination ran away with me."
"But, you are a child, still," Xellos pointed out.
Sora seemed surprised for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, I am. There are times when I forget."
The forthcoming silence was all Xellos needed to continue his investigation. "Sora, what is the meaning of the door in the secret place?"
But Sora barely seemed to hear him. "You know, Xellos? Kairi, Riku, and I never needed to eat the paopu fruit at all. Our destinies were already intertwined. Sora, the sky, and its unlimited potential. Riku, the earth, with its definite strength. And Kairi, the horizon, the benign separation."
"Sora--" Xellos tried again.
But the rustling of leaves and the crashing of waves interrupted him.
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Xellos almost lost track of time on the island. All that concerned him was his slowly recovering state and the mystery of the island. For the nth time, he wondered why Zelas had granted him such an irrepressible curiosity, but then reminded himself that the well-informed servant was the best one there was.
It was the day of his full recovery that he finally uncovered the answers.
Sora, Riku, and Kairi, of course, were saddened by the news of his impending departure, but the good-byes had been surprisingly easy. After a promise that he'd come visit sometime and maybe teach them some magic, they waved after him as he neutralized the force of gravity, soaring off into the distance.
Of course, he didn't actually leave at that moment (embarrassingly, he hadn't actually figured out how to return to his own world yet). Instead, after what he supposed had been a good half-hour, he made himself invisible to mortal eyes and returned to the island, hoping for one last conversation with Sora. Perhaps he would know the route. He wasn't much surprised to see that the island was already in its frozen state.
But he _was_ surprised to see Sora slowly leaning forward in an attempt to claim Kairi's virgin lips.
"All right," Xellos announced, materializing beside the child-king, "that is wrong on so many levels that I cannot even begin to lecture you."
Sora was so startled by his sudden arrival that he tripped over his own feet and fell on his butt in the sand.
"Oh," Xellos went on, in sarcasm, "I snuck up on a god. Mother will be so proud."
"XELLOS!" Sora roared. "What would you know of right and wrong?!"
"Plenty," Xellos answered easily. "While I have my share of stolen kisses, I have never, ever, taken advantage of a young woman in that manner without giving her abundant time to refuse it. In this case, even if the girl will not remember the act itself, you do not even _remotely_ give her the option of consent. I may be a monster, I may occasionally play cruel tricks on my friends, and I may have killed an uncountable number of living things, but," he looked squarely at the young boy, "I still have my morals, Sora."
From his position in the sand, Sora bowed his head so his hair fell forward, shadowing his face. "How did you get here, Xellos?"
Still a tad angry at the boy, but willing to answer in the event that the question had a point, Xellos replied, "Oh, how should I know, Sora? I was nearly damaged beyond repair. It took all my reserves of strength to taunt Gaav for a while before escaping to safety. I don't even know where in the astral plane I ended up, so how would I know where the summons originated?"
Sora breathed heavily on the ground for a while before he slowly rose to his feet and tilted his head up again to stare at him with deep, soulful eyes. "You are the first person I've met since that day. The first true being that I've conversed with since the day I was locked away from everything. Isolated from everything I've ever cared about. Where am I, Xellos? Why can't I go back? I can't wield the keyblade anymore, and here, whatever I think becomes reality. But not real. A...a fake reality. It's not real, Xellos, so why are either of us even here?"
Why hadn't he realized it sooner? Xellos turned to stare deeply into Kairi's eyes. They were blue, and expressive, but they lacked the most important thing. The same thing that Riku's eyes lacked, and the children, and the parents. Sora was the only one here with the tell-tale sparkle of a human soul. Sora was the only one who actually existed here!
"How did you get here, Xellos?!" Sora demanded. "How do I get out?! If you can't answer, go away! JUST GO AWAY!"
It was violent, and very uncomfortable, really, being banished from a reality, however fake it was. It was the essence of pain, and after it was over, Xellos felt as violated as he'd ever been.
But when he regained his senses, he was happy to be back in the astral plane. In one of the deepest, darkest corners, where no sane monster would wander off to alone, but he could pinpoint his location easily and immediately travel toward more familiar areas.
But first.
Xellos looked down upon the young, unconscious boy floating beneath him, reaching out to probe his energies. Just as he thought. The boy was trapped within his own mind. There was really nothing Xellos could do for him. Why, it was so serious that the boy completely lacked a physical presence in this world. There was nothing that could be done, apart from transporting him to a safer place where the rest of his race, who would think of him as easy prey, would never find him.
"You poor, unfortunate thing."
THE END
Author's Notes:
1. Okay, I've done my best to make this fanfic easy to understand. Hopefully, all underlying meanings were unveiled by everyone with the ending, or perhaps, and second reading (actually, a second reading would be a great idea--there are some other meanings and even a few jokes that even I didn't realize were there. O_o I'm serious--isn't that pathetic? ^o^). However, if you are still confused by one or more areas, feel free to e- mail me at nin_tendo15@hotmail.com or just leave your questions and e-mail address in a review, and I will reply ASAP.
2. Some people look at me sideways for saying this, but....CRITICIZE ME! I revel in harsh comments! What are you waiting for? LAY IT ON ME! I CAN TAKE IT! FAH-LAME ME!
3. This 'fic is rather open-ended, I admit. So I have to ask, who's up for a round robin? Let us unite and create KH2-the ANIME version! ^o^ (I call Slayers! :p) Right now, the only restriction is that you must agree with the S/K/R relationships as presented here. Contact me if you are in any way interested! (Even if you simply want to lend your ideas!)