By: Naela
Summary: A being tied to Sora is awakening and now more than ever the Keyblade Master is needed. Only, no one seems to know where he is. How are Riku and Kairi tied into all of this and who are the Non-Existent Ones?
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. They're all property of Squaresoft and Disney.
Chapter Fifteen: Make A Deal...
The trio arrived at the bottom of the stone staircase and shuddered as a cold mist hovered over them, forming translucent hands that tried to snatch at their souls. Kairi let out a small gasp as one hand plunged into her chest and brushed against her heart. She felt sick and brought her hands to her mouth. Enigma came up to her and swiped at the unsteady hand, and the mist rolled by with a ghostly sigh.
Kairi trembled and held onto Enigma's arm. Her knees were buckling, and she was ready to collapse. He glanced back at her once, concern on his face, but made no comment or any sort of attempt to force her to let go. Kairi regretted ever volunteering to go along and wished she could be back at Destiny Islands where she didn't have to worry about rivers filled with souls and fogs that tried to snatch at unwary mortals.
Enigma leaned forward until his lips were right beside her hair, and his breath caused Kairi to shiver. "I can open a portal and send you back if you want."
She pulled away to stare at him and felt her heart flutter at his offer. Kairi was ready to cave into her fear and just say yes. Her lips felt dry, and when she looked into his eyes, she saw Sora. She remembered that the entire reason she was on this journey was so that she wouldn't be left behind just like before.
This time… I'll fight.
Five years ago, when she'd watched as Sora, Donald and Goofy had left to save the worlds, she hadn't been able to help but feel so feeble. She had waited like a frail damsel for his return and, when things had seemed bleak, she had nearly lost hope in him. Kairi had been reunited with him only to be separated and forced to wait again, all because she hadn't known how to fight.
So she had had to wait half a decade, and now, with Enigma here, it seemed as if Sora's return was close. She had learned how to fight from Tidus, begged him to teach her how to use a sword since no one else had been available. Riku, the once acclaimed best swordsman of their island, had been gone too. She'd lost both of her best friends.
Tidus had never liked the idea of her using a sword and had opted for teaching her only on the condition that she'd use something less violent. She'd agreed and chosen a staff. It hadn't mattered to her what sort of weapon she used, just that it was one that would enable her to fight side by side with her friends.
Shaking her head, Kairi looked Enigma in the eye. "I'm fine." She was surprised at how quiet her tone was, as if she were afraid to speak any louder and risk catching any unwanted attention. Straightening her shoulders in an act of bravado, she gave him a nod. "I want to stay here with you guys."
Enigma nodded, though her reassurances did nothing to lift the concern in his expression, but he trudged forward across the stone and stopped when he was a few feet ahead of them. Kairi noticed him staring at her and smiled meekly. She hurried to catch up when she felt a hand on her forearm. She turned to see Riku, wearing a grim expression. She knew something was on his mind.
"What is it?"
Riku slowly pulled his arm away, and his eyes darted towards Enigma, who had continued walking. When he was certain that Enigma wasn't watching them, Riku leaned forward. "Before we go on, I want you to have this." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a brown paper bag. It was wrinkled from being handled too often.
Kairi took the bag. She tightened her grip around it, and her hand came across a familiar shape. Her eyes widened as she realized what Riku had given her, and she quickly threw open the top of the bag. There glinting at her in the darkness of the cavern was the silver blade of a small dagger. She reached in and pulled it out, examining the tiny weapon, turning it by the handle to see its every feature. It had a curved blade that was pointed at the tip and a dull backside. She could tell that the weapon had been created to be held with ease since its black hilt had grooves to fit her fingers.
"A knife?" she questioned.
"Well… I don't know what kind of weapon you do use, and since you were going to come with us, I thought it'd be better if you were armed with at least something that could do a bit of damage," Riku explained. He frowned and took the bag from her. "There should at least be some sort of sheath. I bought one to go with it."
Riku searched inside the bag and found the small sheath, a plain black one, and handed it to her, looking back once again at Enigma who was even farther ahead. Kairi took the sheath and forced the dagger inside. She searched for a pocket that was big enough to hold the weapon, but settled for tucking it underneath her belt and pulling her top over it.
"Thank you… Riku," she said softly. It was the thought that counted, even if the gift itself was unusual and Kairi couldn't see herself ever needing the dagger when she had her staff.
"No problem." Riku stared at her with a slight frown. "Where is your weapon, by the way?"
"Somewhere… I really don't know about it, but Enigma taught me how to transform weapons and items into energy so it'd be easier to summon and dismiss them." She thought of Enigma's brief explanation of how summoning and dismissing weapons worked and remembered the many attempts she'd made before she was finally able to master the concept and was able to summon and dismiss her staff with ease.
Riku nodded and glanced over at Enigma. "I think we'd better go and catch up with him."
"Oh!" Kairi gasped when she saw the distance between them and Enigma. She shot off, running as fast as she could, and in a matter of seconds, she was right behind Enigma. Holding out a hand, Kairi grabbed onto his shirt, using him as a rest while at the same time stopping him from walking any farther. She took in a few deep breaths, and when her heart finally stopped pounding against her chest, she released her hold on Enigma.
"Why didn't you wait for us?" Her voice was half accusing and half playful.
"Wait for you? I didn't realize the two of you would take this long to talk." Enigma looked too amused for Kairi's liking.
Kairi scrunched her face at him but said nothing else, knowing that he had a point. They were on a mission, not at a social gathering, and in a place like this, the worst thing they could do would be to just stand around and talk, making it easier for whatever lurked in the shadows to leap at them. Enigma smiled slightly, and they continued on.
It only took them a few minutes of walking before they came reached the river that cut across the cavern. It was abnormal, illuminating a pale green from the light the damned souls gave off. When Kairi stared into the waters, she could see them float by, their sunken eyes staring straight at her before they'd pass and she'd see the lower half of their bodies like wispy tendrils of smoke. These people were shades of their former selves, cursed to float in this river for a reason she couldn't understand.
"How awful," she murmured, trying not to imagine spending an eternity here.
"The river?" Enigma asked. He nodded and took out his Kingdom Key. Leaning forward, he held out the keyblade above the green water and watched as hands shot up to grab the weapon. Enigma made a single swipe with the keyblade and freed it from the ghostly hands.
Enigma tilted his weapon towards him and examined it. Satisfied that there was no damage done to it, he dismissed the Kingdom Key and looked over towards Kairi and Riku. "We're going to need to find a safer passage across this river, maybe a bridge of some sort."
Riku shook his head. "There aren't any bridges around here. It would make it too easy for people to go in and out, and that's the last thing they want down here… The only way I know of is that ferryman, except last time I saw him… he was kinda going out for a swim."
Enigma frowned. "I suppose I'll have to resort to a quick teleportation then."
Kairi was opening her mouth to ask Enigma what he meant when the ground beneath her disappeared and she was swallowed into a bottomless shaft pulsating with purple veins. She screamed at the top of her lungs and floundered, trying to catch hold of something, but all she swiped at was air, and suddenly she hit the ground, her bare knees scraping against the stone. She bit down on her lip and held back an urge to whimper as the pain from her skinned legs flared.
"Kairi."
She looked up to see Enigma standing before her, his hand held out. Taking it, she allowed herself to be hoisted into a standing position. She looked around and saw that they were still in the cavern, but they were no longer where they'd been moments ago.
"What just happened?"
"I opened a portal beneath us and transported us to over here, the other side of the river," Enigma explained. "It's a quick teleportation technique… but a waste of energy."
Kairi nodded and absently smoothed her dress, looking around at her surroundings. Every square inch of this place was depressing. Riku, she noticed, was standing only a few feet away from them, his back turned as he too was studying the area. Kairi took a step forward and winced as the skin over her knees stretched the open wounds.
"Here," Enigma said, offering her a vial of potion. Kairi accepted it and downed the cool liquid. Immediately she could feel the magical effects of the potion beginning to work, and when she glanced down at her knees, the wounds were already gone.
"Thank you," she said, smiling at Enigma, who acknowledged her gratitude with a nod.
"Riku," Enigma called out to their silver haired companion. The boy in question turned and looked back at them.
"What?"
"You've been here before, so you should know where we need to go."
Riku's gaze drifted to scan the cavern. "Not really. I had people guiding me before."
"I see." Enigma looked frustrated. For a moment, Kairi thought he'd make a slight jab at Riku for his lack of help, but he simply turned away from the silver haired boy and began walking towards the green river, watching as the souls passed.
An idea came to him then. "Which way did the river flow when you were at Hades' place?"
Riku looked quizzical for a moment before he understood what Enigma was getting at. "Southwards," he replied and refrained from adding what came after in his mind. 'I think.'
"Then we head northwards," Enigma promptly said and began hiking in the opposite direction of the river's flow.
Both Kairi and Riku followed Enigma's lead, having complete faith in his sense of direction. As they continued, Riku found that certain landmarks were becoming familiar and commented on a few of them. He related the tales Persephone had told him to Kairi, who listened intently. She found most of the stories he told saddening, mainly because she couldn't pretend that they were just simple stories and because she knew that the people in these stories had once been real people and that they were somewhere around here in this gloomy world.
Ahead of them, Enigma halted.
Riku, who was in the middle of another story, trailed off, and the two stopped. Kairi noticed the alertness of Enigma's eyes and became concerned. "Enigma? What is it?"
"There's… someone behind us."
Slowly, Enigma turned, and both keyblades materialized. A hardened look came over his eyes as he slid into a defensive stance. Riku turned on his heel with his keyblades in hand, looking ready to leap forward and attack rather than to defend.
Kairi let her staff form in her hands and whirled around, ready to bring her weapon down on any enemy behind her. She let out a gasp as her gaze settled on the grotesque visage of an aged woman. The air seemed heavy with a foul stench that Kairi knew was emanating from the hag. The bent woman was wrapped in the rough fabric of a hooded cloak that did little to hide the cracked lines of her skin, which was green from decay and dotted with large mounds of moles and warts. The hag's nose was long and crooked, and only one eye peaked at Kairi from underneath her black hood--the other was an empty socket. Beside the woman were two others who were undoubtedly the hag's sisters. Both these two were similar in appearance, though both were eyeless and one of the three was shorter and chubbier than the other two.
Bile rose from Kairi's stomach, and she could taste the bitter liquid in her mouth. She forced herself to swallow and steadied her shaking limbs. The witches seemed to smell her fear, and their green lips stretched in toothless smiles. The one with the single eye held Kairi's gaze and laughed.
Enigma stepped in front of Kairi and held up a keyblade protectively. He didn't look at her, but Kairi caught the fierce determination that was on his face. "What do you want?"
"Such a rude little boy, not even asking for our names!" the one-eyed hag screeched. She held her hand to her chest, trying to look wounded. The woman laughed at her own attempt at humour, and the others joined in until the tallest one cleared her throat and quiet settled upon the trio of nightmares.
The tall one stepped forward and pointed a bony finger at Enigma. "We know what you seek, and we know that you'll not find it… it'll find you."
"We know who you are," the shortest said. "And because of what you stand for, the sisters and I decided to grant you safe passage through the underworld."
Enigma's eyes narrowed. "And what do we owe you for such a gift?"
The one-eyed hag's smile grew wider. "Nothing, only that you succeed in your quest. We know everything, and we know that our futures will depend on you three."
"Wait!" Riku's eyes were wide with recognition. He pointed at the shortest hag and grew angry. "You're the one who-!"
"Have fun and remember to tell Hades that we sent you!" the short one quickly said, cutting Riku off. She snapped her fingers, and the three sisters disappeared.
Kairi lurched forward, feeling nauseated. The sound of glass shattering made her jump, and she whirled about in the direction of the noise. Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings and saw that they had changed. She was no longer in the gloomy depths of the underworld, but was inside a black hall. It was a throne room melded with a cavern. Black stalactites formed on the ceiling, and some had grown long enough to touch the black and white checker-pattern floor. Black pillars of granite held the ceiling up, and skeletons dressed in rusted armour were lined up against the grey walls. The room was lit by candles that peppered the hall, and their flames gave off a green illumination. At the far end was a pair of large double doors, and opposite of the doors was the throne.
Kairi's eyes landed on the broken wine glass on the floor, which was surrounded by a puddle of red liquid. Her gaze travelled farther up, taking in the wispy hem of a black robe worn by a grey-skinned being that was human in form. Kairi knew immediately that she was in the presence of Hades, the lord of the dead. His hand was clenched in an angry first as he glowered at them from his twisted ebony throne, high up on a dais. The blue flame on his head turned red. He looked ready to pounce at them, but was visibly restraining himself. The god took in one deep breath, and his flame turned blue.
"Riku, Riku, Riku," the god said as he stood. "I see you came back for round two… and you brought your pals with you."
Riku stepped in front of Kairi, hiding her from the dark lord. "I didn't come here to play games, Hades."
The god cupped his chin with one long hand as he walked forward and slowly began circling them. "Lemme guess… you came here for another 'deal'. You wanna release another soul?"
Riku smirked as he held up the Oblivion. "Yeah, a deal. You give us the answers we want, and we might not hurt you."
The god stopped beside a pillar and leaned against it with one hand. "Answers,
huh? What makes you think that I even have any… in fact… what makes you think
I'll tell you anything?"
The god pushed away from the pillar. "Hey, I just realized something. You kiddies are in my domain now, and what I say here is law. Soooooo…I say eternal damnation sounds like a good sentence."
Kairi looked at Enigma and Riku, and though their faces were unreadable, she knew from past experience that on the forefront of their minds was action. She also knew that a violent act wouldn't go over too well with the god of the dead. She had to do something quickly before the boys did, and her mind raced to find a way to stop the impending battle.
"Wait!" she blurted and caught the attention of not only the god, but also the two boys. She felt her cheeks warming, but she pushed aside her embarrassment and stepped past the protection of Riku and Enigma.
The lord of the dead quirked an eyebrow. He was obviously not expecting a challenge from someone like Kairi. "Yeah? Wait what?"
Riku sidled up to her with his weapons still raised. "What are you up to?" he hissed.
"Gimme a moment," she whispered and then brought her attention to the god. "Um… we were sent here--by these three women, they told us to tell you this."
Hades folded his arms and gave her a blank look. When he had been silent for more than a few moments, Kairi realized that her strategy wasn't going to work, and her gaze shifted from side to side to the two boys beside her, knowing that she would have to depend on them if things started to spiral out of hand. A frustrated sigh brought Kairi's attention to the god, who threw his hands into the air and walked straight back to his throne. He plopped into his seat and began tapping the armrest with his forefinger, giving Kairi an irritated stare.
The god abruptly stopped his tapping and leaned forward, bringing his hands together with only the fingertips touching. He held Kairi's gaze. "So lemme get this straight, these three ladies-did they happen to be old and decrepit and all around nasty looking?"
She nodded dumbly, not knowing how else to describe the three women. The god's black lips pursed into thin lines as he leaned back. "Right right, okay, this… is just… GREAT!" He shot up from his seat, and the blue flame above his head flared, turning red and spreading about his shoulders. His face took on a red tinge that matched the flame about his body. His long hands were clenched as he opened his mouth and screamed. Kairi jumped when a pillar of fire erupted around the god's body and shot through the air. A blast blew out most of the candles, and when the fires dissipated, the god stood before them, appearing calm and wearing a forced smile.
"All right, so the Fates sent you three, and obviously they took a liking to you twerps, so just ask your damned questions and get outta my face." The smile on Hades' face disappeared, and he sat back down on his throne. His lips twisted into a sneer as he stared down at the three.
Kairi, not knowing how stiff and tense she'd been, realized how much her muscles were aching from standing in the same position for too long and shifted her weight from one foot to another. She waited for either Enigma or Riku to take the spotlight, and when only silence answered Hades, she raised her eyebrows and looked to both boys and saw that they were looking back at her expectantly. Her face flushed. "Oh um… me?" she stuttered.
Riku smirked, and while he was clearly amused, Enigma's blank expression could have meant just about anything, though Kairi could tell that he was expecting her to take the reigns as well. She felt nervousness flutter in her stomach and for a moment forgot why exactly they'd descended into Hades' domain, but the reason came back to her almost immediately as it left.
"It's about Sephiroth!" Kairi exclaimed. She winced at the volume of her voice.
With one eyebrow raised, Hades nodded. "Mmmhmmm… and what about the one-winged freak?"
Kairi took a moment to organize her thoughts before she spoke. "He's alive… but he was dead before, and people don't just spring up from the dead without your express consent… right?"
The god inclined his head in agreement. "Right."
"But uh, well, we want to know why you'd just let him live again…" Kairi didn't bother to raise her voice, knowing that the god had already caught onto her question immediately after she'd blurted out the name 'Sephiroth'. He was simply enjoying her squirming, and this angered her. She tensed and gave the god a scowl but saw that Hades seemed amused at her anger. His amusement just made her angrier.
"You know…you kinda remind me of my wife," the god observed and caught the shock in Kairi's eyes. She was obviously surprised at the fact that someone like him could be married. "You'd probably like her if you met her, but yeah, anyway, ol' Sephy, huh?"
Kairi tried not to let the god to see her agitation as she nodded stiffly. "Yes, Sephiroth, like I said before."
"Yeah, I let him go, though he came in here about five years ago, so I bet the body was a rotting mess. Guess that didn't matter to the guy who wanted him free."
"So there was someone else?" Enigma questioned.
The god looked irritated at Enigma's intrusion on what he seemed to think was a private conversation and rolled his eyes. "Well duh. I don't know what you think of me, but I am not the type to just let my souls free on a regular basis and especially not Sephiroth. I mean, that guy's a real keeper."
Kairi saw the mild flicker of impatience in Enigma's eyes and knew that he was getting tired of the god's babbling. "Just who approached you?" he demanded, cutting the god off before he could speak any further.
Hades shrugged. "How should I know? One day I was planning to overthrow Olympus, and suddenly some weird voice popped up inside my head asking for Sephiroth's soul."
Riku looked sceptical. "And you just let him go?"
Hades knew what Riku was implying and snorted as he leaned against his armrest with one elbow propped against the chair and his cheek resting against his fist. "I'm not an idiot, kiddo. I've been around the block more than a few millennia, and I know Mr. Mysterious-Voice-Inside-My-Head is big time. And from the way the dude was going on about 'The Gathering', I figured he was part of the NEO."
Enigma's eyes widened, and without another word he whirled around and hastened his way across the room. With one hand he shoved the large double doors open, and he disappeared behind them. Silence hung in the hall, and Kairi looked at Riku, as if expecting an answer from him. The boy merely shrugged, appearing as bewildered as she.
Riku stepped closer to her, grabbed her arm and began walking in the direction Enigma had gone. "Come on, we can't lose sight of him." His pace quickened, and Kairi nearly slipped as her legs worked to keep up with Riku.
Hades watched the two leave. "Did I say something wrong?" he called out after them Their reply was the sound of the double doors slamming shut. A cigar formed in the open palm of Hades' hand, and he stuffed the end of it into his mouth, biting down on it and relishing the taste of a sinful object that was known to take years off a mortal man's life. "Make a deal with the devil, and you'll get burned."
***
It was low tide, and the black waters of the ocean had receded, but this ocean was a dead one that was bereft of any sea life. There were no seastars or elaborate shells decorating the unveiled shoreline. However, the sandy beach was not empty of ocean deluge. Clear bottles were scattered about--some contained seawater and the soggy remnants of messages, and others were simply empty.
Sephiroth strolled forward and kicked at a bottle that was at his feet. Ahead he could see his target, and his gloved hand drifted towards his Masamune. It stopped short of resting on his blade and fell back to his side. Another bottle obstructed his path, and he stepped over it.
He stood on the shoreline, the muddy sand clinging to his boots, but he seemed oblivious to Sephiroth's presence. This being was cloaked in a hooded jacket that reached his ankles and seemed to be enjoying the ocean breeze. Sephiroth stood behind him, waiting for acknowledgement. Movement caught the one-winged angel's attention, and he watched as the glass bottles floated into the air and were hurled towards the sea. He knew it was the doing of the one before him, but he could not fathom the reason why.
Sephiroth's gaze travelled to the horizon. It was a clear night, and a bright moon hung in the sky, but there was no indication of stars, and he knew that this world was not natural. He wondered how he had gotten here and wondered where here was.
You are in the Forgotten World where all that is lost will eventually make its way.
Sephiroth knew the origin of the voice and knew that he was not really hearing it. His gaze drifted over to the one before him, and he saw that the being had not moved an inch since he had arrived.
I have a task for you.
"What is it?"
It involves a man known as Ansem…
Wow... an actual update! Apologies for the four month hiatus. I was just going through a tough time... well not really, but I was really depressed with this fic for quite a while, but thanks to a certain special reviewer, I kinda realized that I do like writing this fic and that I do want to continue it. You guys all have Yutaan to thank for this update. ^_^
I do have to admit that this chapter was rather fun to write, I dunno... I guess it's just Hades, he's a fun character, though I'm pretty certain that I haven't really quite captured his personality correctly, but this is the best I can do. Interesting turn of events hmm? Ponder away at will!
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Aramer, Yutaan, Dagas, Elfgoddess, Draven, Victorious Light, sore-wa-himitsu-desu, Megumi, Meiko and Ari for reviewing!!
And of course, thank you to Megs for beta reading. ^_^
Ah yes, and because I have no shame, I wanna advertise my new KH message board: Hearts of Paradise, you can find the link in my profile. JOIN NOW!!
Tune in next time to read more on the whacky adventures of our favourite trio!