Disclaimer: The doctor's mine! Yeessshh! But I hate him, anyway...I wish Sora were mine...he's so classic.
l-Moribund-
Death Awaits the Living
The doctor patiently tapped his pen on the pad, waiting for me to respond. I only vaguely wondered what he had been talking about, being too busy considering things. From what I understood, I had screamed at some point, and then blacked out. I couldn't remember that any more than I could remember what had happened over the past few hours. I had a vague sense that many people had stopped by to visit me—mainly nurses. How nice of them. According to the doctor, they were afraid I might commit suicide or something equally insipid. That would be all too easy, all too forgiving.
It had dawned on me that everything was my fault. If I had grabbed Riku's hand so long ago, maybe this wouldn't be happening. If I had gotten him to come with me in Traverse Town, maybe he wouldn't have gone over to Ansem. Maybe he would still be alive if I had struck that mysterious man dead where he stood in the Secret Place. And if I hadn't been born, none of this would've happened, and Riku would be alive and well on the island. We would never be together, I know, but that would be better than this.
I wanted to give up. I felt like there wasn't a reason for me to live anymore. But still, I had a job to do. I had to seal the Keyholes, I had to save the world, I had to give up everything I loved for everything that existed.
Wow. I feel so good that I get to be a hero.
I closed my eyes against the harsh hospital lights. It wasn't fair. Riku was either dead, or would be dead shortly, and I would be left systematically sealing Keyholes. I wondered whether I would change at all. Would I become something of a mechanical being, living only to serve—a mere shell of the original? Or would I get over Riku and move on? The latter I considered as ludicrous. Riku and I had been friends since we were infants, as our mothers had been close friends. His death would be like sawing my heart in two and letting one half die. Nothing would be the same if I lost him...
Then I would find him. Dead or alive, I would find him, and make sure his killer paid dearly for his thrills. Malicious thoughts of tortured family members crept across my mind as I threw off the sheets and slid out of the hospital bed. "Where are my things?" I asked the doctor, going to the drawer nearby.
"I'm sorry, but we can't just let you walk out of here—"
"But I guess you can let a boy with a broken ankle do that, can't you?" I asked scathingly, turning a glare on him. My librarian conscience would reprimand me later for it, but right now I was mad at everything that lived, only because I had to give up so much to keep it that way. I seized my clothing and stalked past the doctor, almost hoping he would give chase. He didn't, though, and it became clear to me how easy it had been for Riku to get out of here. I wondered vaguely whether it was an HMO.
The sight that greeted me when I walked out of the infirmary was not the one I would've expected. Crasher, the lousy old tub, had been carefully put back together. I hesitated, wondering if this were a dream. With Crasher back in order, I'd be out of here in no time. Then I could set to work finding Riku.
But who had done this for me? I paused to wonder, and then realized that there was only one person who knew about me and Riku. I grinned, taking the identifying note from its place near the door.
Sora:
Hope this finds you well. I had a feeling your ship could use a little making over, now that you're probably going to leave to find Riku. Oh, and by the way, I found one of the circuits bent wrong—apparently pixie dust throws it off-kilter, and that's what made it crash here.
I hope I'll see you again sometime. Wendy's getting onto me for not studying, so it might be longer than I expect.
Pete
I smiled, noting the bag of pixie dust hanging beside the note. So there was no curse; it was just a technicality. Riku would be pleased to hear that. Some part of me automatically assumed I would see Peter again, but I had to admit that there was a good chance I might be killed.
But I wasn't looking for a reason to lower my morale. I slipped the pixie dust away with my other possessions, and considered where to go next. Traverse Town seemed to be the most logical place to go, it being somewhere that could yield information about this attacker. But then I realized that I had no idea what this guy looked like, and I knew there were places besides Traverse Town where someone like that could lurk. I might spend years looking for them, and even then find them only after Riku was—
Don't think about that, I thought to myself quickly. Riku's fine and well. The kidnapper won't kill him, because they want to kill me. That was slightly more comforting. I forced myself to believe this as I turned around and headed for the warphole to Traverse Town.
l-
I got off Crasher and almost ran into the very person I had considered asking. Her blue eyes were narrowed, her arms crossed over her pink shirt, and her red hair rested in bangs over one half of her face. She shot me a dark look. "Why didn't you tell me?"
I frowned in confusion. Kairi seemed mad for some reason.
She seized me by the vest, drawing me away from the double doors at the front of Traverse Town. "We'd better not talk about it here—but I wish you'd drop me a line once in a while! I worry when you leave me in the dark!"
I would've reminded her that up until now, I was convinced she had been at the islands, but I figured I might not want to risk my life at this point.
She stopped inside Cid's shop and unceremoniously plunked me down onto the black couch in the back. "But I guess you're wondering what I know."
I don't know how she possibly could have guessed.
"I received this shortly after Peter Pan contacted us to tell us you were all right," Kairi told me, holding out an envelope. I recognized the Heartless symbol on the front, and seized it, ripping it open as though it held my lifeblood inside.
Kairi gave me a funny look. "I already opened it for you."
A slightly embarrassing moment, yes. But still I yanked out the letter and read through it quickly. To summarize, it seemed as though some boastful person had taken Riku to the End of the World, and I was expected to meet them there. Most of the letter was made up of jeering or bragging, which, I supposed, one could only expect from someone under the control of the darkness.
"Great," I muttered, resting my face in one hand. There were several other words I wanted to say, but the librarian was too fed up with me right now.
It took me a moment to realize Kairi was glaring darkly at me. "I still have a few questions for you. This letter mentions a lot about the 'boy you love,'" she told me accusingly. "First of all, I had no idea you were—"
"It's Riku," I told her before she could finish, watching the shock spill over her face. "Whoever it is has Riku." I stood up. I couldn't stay here. "I'll go there and I'll bring him back, Kairi," I said to her as she watched me, her jaw moving but with no sound coming out. For a moment she reminded me of a string puppet being tested before the show. "This time, he'll stay here. I don't intend to let any of them get him again. I'm sure if I'm with him all the time, we'll stand a better chance at not—"
"Wait," Kairi said suddenly, standing. "You're just going to walk out of this room, conceivably out of my life—AGAIN—and I don't get a chance to say goodbye?"
I smiled faintly, drawing her into my embrace. Her cheek rested gently against mine, her strawberry scent washing over me. I could recognize the traits that had previously attracted me to her, but it didn't have quite the same effect this time around. "Goodbye, Kairi," I told her softly.
"Goodbye."
l-
As I came through the warphole and ended up beside Hollow Bastion again, I had the strangest feeling that I was part of a game of ping-pong. I could imagine the players—faceless men in black cloaks with glimmering silver trappings, each one grudgingly slamming me in some random direction with only the intention of waylaying me long enough for them to kill Riku. It seemed as though each time I was hit, Riku drifted further away.
I pulled Crasher to a stop in the cave-like opening, recalling distantly how I'd been here before not so long ago. Who would be facing me this time? I hoped it wasn't Ansem—I'd barely managed to defeat him to begin with—but I couldn't think of anyone else that made sense. If Riku really did love me, Ansem would know that by now, having taken over Riku's body earlier. And then there was the scene at Hollow Bastion; he couldn't have missed that.
Something jerked violently in my stomach as I saw the area around me shift abruptly. What had been a blood-colored sky had faded to a drab stone ceiling, with a pear-sized hole at the top. I could hear a soft moaning as the wind blew across the hole, and recognized the sound I had considered as a monster for most of my childhood. A habitual fight-or-flight response sharpened my senses, but I didn't feel I needed to leave this place. I turned my eyes on the door before me, still shining pristine through the chalk-covered rocks. It was here that I figured my opponent would make his entrance.
There was a step from behind me. I turned quickly and caught the image of a very familiar silver-haired boy, whose face was pale and eyes were haunted. "You have to get out of here," he whispered.
"Riku," I started, taking a step toward him. The door blew open from behind me, and in the doorway leading to the world's heart stood Axel. His scarlet hair flowed brilliantly in the wind spewing from the door, his dark eyes glinting maliciously.
"We meet again," he said simply, moving a rock to prop the door open.
I strained against the wind that was trying to blow me back, and realized suddenly that Riku was in no condition to do so. "Riku!" I shouted, even as I spun to see him blown down the natural hallway. I feared that I'd never see him again, that he'd smash to pieces like a beautiful china figurine against the rocks.
But this soon melted into battle. I had to move quickly to keep Axel's twin blades from severing any vital limbs, rolling hard against the stone wall. My shoulder throbbed with the impact, but I ignored it in favor of pulling myself to my feet and dodging the next blow. Axel shot me a dark look and threw his next attack at me with all speed. I had just enough time to deflect it with the Ultima, and then the blades were back, skidding along my bare skin where I couldn't quite dodge. We struck blow for blow, each barely marking one another. I personally considered the area to be too close-quartered for this kind of thing. The rocks often got in the way, and more than once I felt one of them protruding harshly into my back, alerting me that I'd have to maneuver in some other way to dodge or defend from the impending blow. And the wind made jumping or moving too quickly almost impossible—once I had to leap up onto a rock to slip out of death's clutches, and just managed to catch hold of a projecting stone before I was swept down the hallway to join Riku.
But that may not have been quite so bad, I realized as we continued. More and more serious injuries were beginning to form on my shoulders and chest, and I was certain that pretty soon Axel would stick me like a pig. For a moment I considered it really unfair that Axel had two weapons and I only had one, but then there was a sound like a distant trumpet. I stepped back, alarmed, and I could tell from the look on his face that Axel was just as confused. A sparkle began at my fingertips and traveled up to my elbow, and quite suddenly I was holding both the Kingdom Key and the Ultima. This confused me—originally I was convinced that the Ultima was no more than the Kingdom Key with a fancier Keychain, as it was with the others. But then, there had been that boy in the Lighthouse.
'Will you stop complaining now?' came the voice in my mind that I knew was Riku's. I smiled in response, somehow knowing that he would see it, and attacked Axel again with both Keyblades. I had the advantage of catching him off guard—apparently he was still trying to figure out the trick with the Kingdom Key—and was soon forcing him back toward the door. Axel halted suddenly, backing away, and I realized that the wind had stopped blowing out of the door. I looked up to see Riku standing in the doorway, clutching a small box. "Don't you hurt him, Axel," he said dangerously, holding the box over the oblivion that lay through the door.
Axel took a step toward him, frowning. "Is that...?"
"That's right. It'sher heart."
Dark eyes widened in surprise, and Axel took another step forward. "No—don't—I'm begging you...!"
"Then we're leaving," Riku said evenly, retracting the box somewhat. "Sora and I will get out of here. I'll leave this box by the door, and you'd better not move until we're gone."
"Give it to me," Axel told him, "and I'll give you my word that I won't hurt you or your little lover boy."
Riku's eyes steeled over. "Get real, Axel. I have no reason to trust you. Now move away from the door."
Axel looked as though he would explode with anger. I saw him turn—or, at least, I think I did, but then a biting pain spread like fire across my side. One of his blades, the edge red with blood, clanged against the stone behind me. The other zoomed uselessly over Riku's head and into oblivion. I wavered on my feet, dazed by the unexpected attack, and realized then just how much blood was spilling onto the floor next to me. With a soft groan, I backed up to lean against the stones, feeling sick as I saw a waterfall of dark red cascading down them.
"You SCUM!" Riku shouted explosively from the doorway. With a hateful glare at Axel, he drew his arm back and pitched Maleficent's heart deep into the grasp of oblivion. Axel shouted with rage and physically attacked Riku head on. My mind slowed in the attempt to contemplate the enormity of the event as Riku wavered, fumbled, and then toppled straight into oblivion. The moment he was gone, wind spiraled out from the door again.
I couldn't believe what I had just seen. "R...Riku...!" I managed. Without hesitation, I seized the bag of pixie dust from my supplies, and tore it open, staining the paper with blood. I used the last of my dissipating strength to throw it out the door, my blurring vision just barely picking up the sprinkles of gold that fell into the vortex below. My heart beat painfully in my throat as I watched for Riku to fly up in a spectacular display and defeat Axel, as I hadn't been able to. Maybe it was only my imagination, but it seemed like my heartbeat was slowing. Terror gripped me as I realized Axel must have hit something critical—I couldn't be sure whether I was dying or not.
Axel, meanwhile, was pushing on the door, trying to close it against the fierce winds. "C'mon, you…dammit…!" he was muttering, along with several other words. I could faintly hear a distant pounding, not unlike that of a heartbeat. Axel heard it as it grew louder, his face elongating with horror. Rocks from above him began to crash against the floor, several of them nearly smashing him. With a scream, he turned to run from the cave, only to have one of the rocks pin down his arm. More of them thundered down in a miniature avalanche, burying more and more of him, and several of them crushing his arm. Blood began to well up under those. "My arm!" he screamed above the throes. "MY ARM!"
"Serves you right..." I muttered darkly, trying to straighten from my crouched position against the rocks. I felt myself shaking with pain and grief, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. If Riku was dead, then at least I'd be with him soon. My strength failed, and I collapsed in the pool of my own blood, the iron smell reaching my nostrils and making me want to vomit. I closed my eyes slowly as I felt my heart slow even more...and then I think it stopped...
l-
A/N: Yayyers! I love this chapter—I think I'm improving. Oh—and at the beginning, Sora was supposed to be undergoing a tad of self-blame. Sorry if the reasons for his guilt didn't work out that well. Axel, I know, I have his agenda all wrong, most likely. But I know nothing, so I can understand nothing. And does anyone know what BHK's real name is? I've heard a rumor that it's "Lycole" or "Tyke," so I'll randomly use one of those if there's no other current information. I'm still trying to figure out who Axel's girlfriend is...that's plot for you, yeah.
Kairi: Sora, I lurv you so much! (huggle)
Sora: RIKU!
Riku: GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM. NOW. (growls)
Kairi: ; Uh...
Review replies (ch. 2 hehehe...;):
Ranma Higurashi: The manly scar BETTER return! LOL! UPDATE SOON!
Dai: Yah. I keep forgetting about that, but I like it. It'll come into play again later. I think.
Samantha: You have to go on Please pret prettey please with a sugar on top...
That thing with Sora's Shoe on Milifecents head? You should relly put it on fanart central that would be hilarous also that thin with the heartlees grabing its attena (i think i spelled it right) you should relly draw that too ANY WAY! THAT WAS GREAT PLEASE DO MORE.
Dai: Thank you! Yeah, I tried to draw both...only it didn't work cuz I'm a terrible artist...ah, well. I might post it anyway. My fanart sn is "Chronos." Glad you liked it!
Ch. 3:
Ranma Higurashi: WAH! UPDATE SOON!
Dai: (blink) You reviewed twice? (has attention deficit) I would've updated earlier, only I didn't realize this was for chapter three...hehe. Thanks!
Reina-183: Don't kill Riku! That's too cruel! I love this fic so much, please update soon!
Dai: Riku? Oh, well, if I were you, I'd be more worried about Sora. But now I've said too much...XD