Experimental

Beginnings: Part Five

Kodoku

A warm scent, of cleansing rain and delicate flowers, soothes Neko's nerves, as does a quiet almost-presence hovering at the base of her skull, the firm grasp of Takeo's thin hand, and the brilliant glow of lightning crackling calmly around his other hand.

They pause at a twist of the passage, and Neko sniffs the air, sorting through smells until she finds the iron-engulfed thread of Oni.

"We fought up there," she whispers, tensing. "The shield is still up-- I'll pull it down when we get there." Takeo nods, eyes sorrowful, but blank with thought.

A minute later, they reach the opalescent shield, and Neko regards it with a critical eye-- finds every flaw she can within it, preoccupies her thoughts with the cracks and fractures that lend it the rainbow glint in the bright glow of Takeo's magic.

After a minute, she forms a spear of ice around her arm and thrusts at just the right point to send the entire thing crumbling.

With a flex of her fingers, the spear melts away, and they continue, following Neko's nose down.

The voice hates himself.

"There's nothing else that would have worked-- nothing."

'Not anymore. But I should have been able to change what came before...'

Down.

Darkness.

Only one pinpoint of light, and it grows fainter as they descend. Takeo's eyes slowly overflow, the pain of everything enveloping his soul, even as Neko's eyes become hard and blank as she focuses on the ice and the scent of metal.

"He's just up ahead."

Takeo's hand tightens slightly at the words. This is deep below the castle, farther down than the Waterway, below even the bottom of Rising Falls, and it feels like the entire world totters above them.

'Not just the world-- the universe,' a sad thought whispers.

And they turn a corner, and they face Oni. Faces pale as light; eyes cold, crying, black from edge to edge but glowing gold nonetheless.

"Ohayo, Imouto, Ototo-chan." Oni's smile is mixed bitter-cruel and sorrowful, voice sad while thrusting darkness into their souls, as if two people are speaking from his body. "Anzu-chan isn't here, is she?"

Neko's ice shatters and she snarls, a feral glaze in her eyes as her fingers tense and nails slide out into claws.

"You really want to hurt me?" The dual tone is clear this time, mocking and tearful as Oni's expression slips between smug and clouded. But his movement is fluid as he slides away from Neko's lunge.

And the battle begins.

Dark sky that stretches out limitlessly

The sound of distant, cracking thunder

Oni's wings unfold, stretching out from where they had remained crumpled against his back. The charcoal-colored skin that spreads over them swirls with pinpoints of light, faint as sable energy starts to clump around his thin body.

Whenever I stand, my steps sway

Takeo sobs suddenly, dropping to his knees and bowing his head. :: I can't watch this, can't watch this, can't watch, can't watch can't can't... ::

Neko's second strike draws blood and a gasp.

Brilliant blue eyes flash out of Oni's darkness, and he asks softly, "Does pain make it better?"

Borrowing the words of a warm person

Borrowing the form of nostalgic days

Neko falters, pain flooding her face as she realizes that Oni sounds like Anzu. But then his eyes darken to pure black and the illusion fades away.

"I hate you." The growl is vicious, enraged, and Neko leaps forward again, daggers of ice forming over her hands.

Bad dreams step ever closer

"Aisheteru, Imouto-chan." Oni laughs unpleasantly.

"Sh-SHI'NE!"

Tears start to flood her eyes, and Neko misses.

Nightmare!

A hand darts out and grasps her arm, nails biting into half-moon cuts. A dagger arcs out, Neko jerks, the silvery blade traces a deep cut down her arm-- the line wells up red, splashing and splattering as she twists from Oni's grasp. A quick jab catches the webbing of a wing, Oni screaming shrilly with pain. And his eyes reflect back that pain, welling up bronze and tears.

Takeo whimpers, hands clenching.

The battle carries on, Oni's voice echoing in that queer duality as he taunts and jibes Neko. The girl no longer sees her brother, but an enemy, a danger-- a thing to be killed. Takeo sobs, drawing the amusedly terrified glance of Oni.

And a voice cries out, letting it happen, wishing it didn't have to.

Neko and Oni fall away from each other, both tattered and drooping.

Oni smirks. "So, Imouto. Ready to join Anzu-chan?" The voice is not the voice of a nine-year-old, or any human being. "I'm sure she's very lonely, dying into the darkness."

Neko's breath becomes harsh, and she glares through her bangs at him, eyes deadly and thoughtless.

"But then, maybe she won't want you there..." The smirk widens, and the last vestiges of her brother disappears, leaving only the darkness, "... since why would anyone want the person who failed to protect them?"

A strange voice, a cold hand...

Neko doesn't scream or shriek, like she had before. She simply raises one small hand, round and soft, and squeezes her eyes tightly closed.

The hallway floods ice.

Oni is caught in the midst of the cascade, not a sound escaping his throat as the ice pierces wings, flesh, life. Then all anyone can see is a solid wall of merged crystals.

From out of the darkness, they call me

Neko wavers, a few drops of blood falling around her. But then something steadies her, and the voice whispers in her ear.

'Call out. Pull in. It is your burden now.'

Once again, salt tinges his scent.

She starts to shiver, but obeys to her best, eyes sliding closed as she calls with her mind.

Takeo whimpers again. His green eyes are brilliant and scared, shocked and teary. Wisps of light and dark rustle past him, out of the walls, out of the ice, flowing towards a shaking scrap of a girl and gathering around her.

A ringing tone strikes the air, and a keyblade appears in each of her hands.

One is blacker than the Heartless, so dark that every shred of light that touches it vanishes, as if into a black hole. The prongs are curved outwards, slender and deadly, one swept back into a hook. Faint lines of blood red trace the edges, and a slash of the same red circles halfway up the Keyblade. Two prongs curve around a swirling black leather handle, sweeping from a huge garnet set in tarnished silver. The keychain is an obsidian heart, crimson cracks running over the surface, threads of the same hue weaving through the unpolished chain.

The other keyblade is brilliant and bright, short and cream-colored. The prongs are long, stiff feathers, a beautiful shade of pinkish-orange, fluffing into down at their bases. Another bunch of feathers, shaped into a wing, arc over Neko's hand, sprouting from a giant heart-shaped moonstone. Pale gold links suspend a flaming feather-- one painfully familiar to both children.

Neko stares in shock at the lighter keyblade, tears welling up. "Anzu..."

Shadows start to bubble around her.

The voice cries out, wordless for once, and something insubstantial tugs at Neko.

'Don't cry now! The shadows are still alive! You need-- Seal--' The voice breaks off into another cry.

Again and again, they call me

Takeo breaks out of his stasis, launching forward and tackling his sister away from the pool of darkness. Then he scrambles upright, Neko half-standing in his arms, the keyblades crushed between them and blood seeping onto Takeo's clothes.

'Seal the Keyhole! Do you want every person in the universe to die?!'

Neko's breath hitches, and she actually looks at the darkness curling over the ice, the darkness creeping towards their legs. Shakily, she leans away from Takeo and raises both keyblades.

The surface of the ice smooths and a silver outline appears. The brighter keyblade shivers in Neko's hand, and a brilliant white light shoots between the tip and the center of the Keyhole. It clicks closed, and a deep chime rings.

A sigh of relief echoes around them. 'Rest now, kitten.'

Her eyes drift closed and she falls back into Takeo's arms. The keyblades fade out with her consciousness, and Takeo gingerly lifts her into his arms. A gentle probe of magic strengthens the sleep, and he begins to work his way back up towards the Bastion.

"See? It didn't turn out too badly."

'... You may not see it yet, but it did.'

"Huh?"

Miru's right. You should pay more attention, your Majesty. The kitten came out far worse than her brother.

'I wouldn't say that either.' The voice stays silent for a long time, then continues, 'She is stronger than I thought. But not strong enough to escape unscathed, not upon the next Release.'

"Next... When is the next?"

'Too soon. Far, far too soon.'

(( Beginnings : End ))

Ohayo: Good morning

Imouto: Little sister (informal)

Ototo: Little brother (informal)

-chan: Informal diminuitive

Aishiteru: I love you (This makes more sense if you figure that Oni's trying to apologize, but it comes out... misenterprited.)

Shi'ne: Die (Apostrophe for clarity-- otherwise, it's shine. ;;)