Red
By: Angelsoft
Setting: Sora's got a secret admirer and she's messing up his life. She's left notes written in her own blood, items he hasn't seen for years, and disturbing photographs of his friends. And with each day he refuses to be with her, one of his friends die.
Disclaimers: I do not and will not ever own cute lil' Sora or his buds. Disney and Square Enix do. I do own some characters in this ficcy, though.
A/n: Thanks for the reviews and Doomboy2000, I've definitely got to read Battle Royale. If Emi is like someone in that book, it'll definitely push me off the boredom couch. Oh, and if any of you remember that certain dream Sora had, you'd better prepare yourself for a shock. Should Riku die? Personally, I admire him (mainly his voice and hair), but sometimes a story needs a little push, especially since this is the official ending to the story. Yep, this story is finish unless I think of an alternate ending... I keep crossing over on Riku's eyes and Sora's as well... I'll just keep them sapphire and turquoise... OH, and be sure to read. (Sighs) Enjoy!
"Sora, run!"
"I-I can't! Riku!"
"Don't give up… Never give up!"
Sapphire irises flickered as haunting vibrations clustered up in to a painful knot in his heart. Sora swallowed hard and never took his eyes off Riku, never taking his eyes off beautiful silver hair, his rich, tan skin, and his handsome face. Turquoise eyes bore in to Sora's eyes as Riku grabbed Sora's arm and led him down another path. Where did they all come from repeated in his mind, flashes of Mercedes laughing entering his mind. Insomniac smells of the sewer water stung their nostrils and Sora paled, figment memories playing back and forth in his head.
"Be strong, Sora!" Said a fifteen-year-old boy. "You have to… for Kairi and Tidus and Wakka!"
"Riku…"
As they began to see speckles of light, a sharp cry echoed throughout the tunnels. The fifteen-year-old boy collapsed and gripped his left arm, a rush of blood appearing in his silky white shirt. His fourteen-year-old buddy cried as his bangs covered his sapphire eyes. They burned with fear, with sorrow, and with …compassion.
"Riku!"
"Sora, go! Leave me!"
Sora frowned and glanced at Riku as they stopped for a break. Riku's stare was only focused on the background, a confident look upon his face. Confidence. That was what Riku was definitely known for by all of their friends. Friends that died because of a silly little schoolgirl crush. Friends that would never share or hold on to new experiences. Friends that now were in the paradise of paradises, the heaven of healing, and the sanctuary of light. Sora forced his tears not to come up and he looked at Riku to catch him staring at him.
"It'll be okay, Sora." Riku's voice sounded calmer than usual. "You'll live."
"Ofcourse, I'll live!" Sora gritted his teeth and balled his fists up. "It's you I'm worried about..."
Riku's eyes soften and playful smirk was placed upon those handsome lips.
"Relax, Sora," he sighed and crossed his arms. "You won't have to worry much longer..."
Sora's sapphire eyes glistened and he stared at Riku, a small pout appearing on his face.
"The dream..."
"What?" Riku's confused look didn't snap Sora out of his thought.
"The dream..." Sora repeated. "The dream about ... us running..."
Was it a dream...or a premonition?
Sora took this time to gape at their surroundings. Insomniac-smelling sewer waters, tunnels, and cracks of light spreading out from one particular. Something hit Sora harder than anything physical as he began to add it all up. The dream with Kairi replayed in his mind, her particular quotes fussing up in his head just like Mercedes notes.
"Sora, it wasn't your fault that I died, but now, you hold the cards to this game. Sora, someone's going to die soon… We've been able to sense it."
Who is 'We'?
"Riku… Sora, you can't let her kill Riku! You just can't let Riku die! Not after the entire heck you two went through. You have to kill her."
"What? Kill Emi?"
"No, have to kill her..."
Sora fumed as he kicked the water. Riku made his way to Sora.
"Sora, what's wrong now?"
"What the hell was Kairi talking about?" Sora blinked at Riku's sheepish grin. "What? What!"
Riku shook his head and pointed toward where the light was.
"Let's go that way... It looks like that's the way out..."
"No, wait Riku!" Sora urged and began to think once again. His eyes widen.
Wait a minute! The way we went was dark and then we saw light... That was the right way out, but if I'm correct, Mercedes was chasing us... So that means we're going to encounter her again... But, what if we took a different way...? Would we both be alive that way?
Sora looked at the tunnels before them. One produced light, one had total darkness, and the other was strange. It had sewer water coming out the wrong way...
Okay, now I'm confused... The tunnel in the dream had water in it, but also darkness... So, is the tunnel that has darkness in it have sewer water at the end or is the one with the sewer water coming out of it the one from the dream? Man, I hate thinking!
Sora blinked and crossed his arms in exasperation.
"Riku, which one do you think we should go through?"
Riku shrugged nonchalantly.
"I don't know... The one with the light seems the best option though."
But what if that's the one from the dream? Riku will die if we go through it...unless, I can prevent it. Maybe I should choose a tunnel.
Sora glanced at the three, closed his eyes, and randomly pointed out.
"Which one did I get?"
"The one that's completely dark."
Sora frowned. I was afraid of that.
Riku began to walk towards it, but felt Sora's hand being placed roughly on his shoulder.
"What is it now?" Riku sounded beyond annoyed.
"Riku, let's go through the one you wanted to go through."
"Why?" Riku glanced at Sora. "Sora, why would you waste time trying to pick out a tunnel that you wouldn't go through?"
"I have this bad feeling in my heart," Sora said softly. "Riku, something bad is going to happen to you if we step through any of those tunnels. I just know it!"
"Sora..."
La la le la... La la le la...
The two boys paled and looked toward the way the came from. Black aura began to seep towards them slowly and the singing wouldn't end.
"Mercedes!" The two shouted in perfect unison.
La la le la... La la le la... Sora... Riku... Wait for me!
Sora gasped as Riku dragged in toward the tunnel with water coming out of it. Sora repeatedly screamed "No!" as Riku forced him in to the tunnel and the two sprinted down it.
"Sora, run!"
"I-I can't! Riku!"
"Don't give up… Never give up!"
The insomniac smells of the sewer-smelling waters rusted beneath them as they ran, splashing the nasty water against the smoke gray stones. The footsteps wouldn't stop, the soft whispers wouldn't leave them, and the hideous crackling of death wouldn't let them go. Sora stopped instantly causing Riku to holler at him more and more.
"What the hell are you thinking?" He cried out with a frown. "Sora, you're going to die if you stay right there."
"It's just like the dream..."
"Sora? Sora, snap out of it!"
Sora shook his head, turned around, and then held his hands out.
"I should've done this a long time ago," he whispered as Riku slowly began to step back.
"Sora, what are you doing?"
"Summoning up the Keyblade."
"What?"
"I'm going to do what Kairi told me to do..." The Oathkeeper appeared in his hand. "I'm going to kill Mercedes!"
The chanting slowly cease and as a lump of darkness began to build up, long, dark flowing hair pushed aside to reveal a ghastly Mercedes. She began to walk forward, but stop at the sight of the Oathkeeper and its heavenly light. She raised a hand to block out the light and glanced at a tear-eyed Sora, who got in to stance.
"Sora, what are you doing...?" Mercedes smiled softly. "It's just me... Mercedes. I'm your friend."
Sora shook his head.
"No," he whispered with a frown. "You're a sick, twisted bitch with a split personality! Kairi... Wakka... Tidus... Hell, even Jenna and Emi ... No one can play God and no one can take away Death... You, Mercedes, you're going to join Jenna and Emi in eternal Hell!!!"
"I wanted to be with you!!!" Mercedes shouted as her eyes turned blood red and she began to go for the attack.
A small teardrop fell from Sora's sapphire eyes and he grimaced at the pain in his heart.
"No one can always get what they want..."
With that, Sora rolled out of the way of Mercedes attack, flipped on to her shoulders, and thrust the keyblade in to Mercedes chest. Rolling off her, he sat there and let the tears fall. Mercedes dropped to her knees, choking slightly and stared at Sora. She too was actually doing something Sora never saw her do since he met her: crying. Riku came to Sora's side and helped the boy up, but Sora never took his eyes off her as she reached out for him.
"No one can be Fate," Riku said hoarsely. "Not me, not Sora, and not you, Mercedes..."
"Fate?" Her enigmatic voice slowly began to lose life. "Fate is what I thought...we were, Sora... I guess I was wrong..."
Sora's wiped away his tears as the girl collasped to ground and closed her eyes. Dropping the keyblade, he placed an arm around Riku and faked a smile.
"Riku," he smirked. "Let's get out of here..."
Riku nodded, not saying another word.
The church began to slowly draw up its doors with all of the islanders heading out. Sora and Riku sat on its steps, eyes lowered as their parents waved to them that it was going to be okay. Selphie came out, slightly not herself, but still happy, and glanced at the two with her emerald green eyes.
"Hey guys," she grinned. "Where are those two coconut-headed monkeys? I thought I told them to come and find you?"
Sora looked away as Riku nodded.
"We'll tell you tomorrow, Selph. We... we need some time alone."
"Oh, I see. Well, see ya!"
With that, the yellow-clad chic quickly dashed off the join her parents.
"Riku," Sora began softly and emotionally, "what are we going to tell Wakka's and Tidus's parents? And Jenna's, Emi's, and... M-mer--"
"You don't have to say her name," Riku said coolly. "I'll think of something. It's going to be hard though. To get around here with most of our friends gone."
"Kairi..."
Riku stood up and turned to face Sora.
"But atleast there won't be anymore deaths. You'd probably go insane if someone died again."
"Riku!!"
"I'm serious," Riku smirked. "But there's something that's bothered me."
"Please," Sora stood up abruptly and brushed passes his friend. "I don't want to hear it, Riku."
"Aw, come on, Mr. Sensitivity," Riku mocked with a taunt-like grin. "It's just something that's been itching in my head."
"Go head and say it. It's not like I'm listening." Sora placed his hands behind his head and continued walking.
Riku followed.
"Okay, here's what I mean. Mercedes was shot when we were talking near that hole... Emi shot her, right? So, how the hell did she come back? I mean she got shot in the head, Sora. She did the same thing to Jenna and Emi..."
Sora stopped instantly and looked at Riku.
"Riku... did Mercedes ever stop moving after I stabbed her? You know, when she closed her eyes?"
"I don't know..."
It dung on them instantly.
"Oh shit!"
Sora and Riku dashed off towards the church and a loud scream was emitted from Sora. Riku stood there, baffled and stung at the same time. The church was on fire! The islanders were all gathered around something that was crimson. Sora pushed through the crown, blocking out Riku's shouts of "Don't!" When everyone was out of his way, Sora cringed in pain. His mother and father lay on the ground; multiple gunshot wounds and stabs were all over their body.
"No." Sora smiled in a lost of himself and sanity. "No, she--she didn't... She's dead. I killed her... No."
"Sora!" Riku came from the crowd and gasped the bloody mess that was once his best friend's parents. "Dammit, no!"
"Fate has you, Riku..."
Riku turned toward the church to see Mercedes stand in the flames, Emi's shotgun in her hands, and with one aim, she blasted a hole in to Riku's heart, sending the older boy hurdling toward the crowd. Sora turned towards Riku and cursed as he hurried to his fallen friend. Riku manage to look Sora in the eyes and smiled slightly.
"It's okay, Sora…" Riku sighed and closed his eyes. "It's going to be okay..."
Sora shook his head.
"Nooo!! You were supposed to die in the tunnel, not here, Riku!" Sora cried. "No, don't leave me!"
Riku cringed in pain and coughed softly.
"Sora, don't let her win..." His expression softens. "For both me and Kairi, live for us..."
"Riku..."
Riku smirked and stopped breathing.
"Riku!!"
Sora placed his friend on to the ground and turned towards Mercedes. Mercedes looked like a death goddess, the flames of red slowly turning a hellish black as the heated wind brushed her bare shoulders. She reached out to Sora from the steps, a gorgeous smile brings forth a new beginning to a darker end.
"It's okay, Sora..." She smiled as she noticed his smile back. "We'll all be Hell's bitches..."
"Yeah," Sora nodded in agreement as he cried. "We'll all go to Hell... together..."
Sora didn't even scream or holler as he walked up the flaming stairs, Mercedes smile widening, as he grew closer. He stumbled, feeling his skin peel off, and feeling bloody tears run down his pale cheeks. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and smiled, the flames setting his hair on fire. Mercedes kissed him deeply and he brushed his lips across her neck as the people stared, wide-eyed and freaked out.
"Daijoubu...Sora..." Mercedes whispered softly. "Aishiteru..."
A/n: That's the real ending for "Red". Yeah, I know... I killed Riku... and Sora's going to Hell… (Cries and sighs) But I did say I might write a different ending... Maybe I should write a story called Black and make it be about Sora, who's going to Hell, fighting versus Riku, who's in heaven with Kairi. Maybe make it be like Riku's trying to save Sora from the Devil and Mercedes… Oh, and for those who didn't know what Mercedes said at the end, here it is:
"Daijoubu...Sora..." - "It's all right... Sora..."
"Aishiteru..." - "I love you..."