Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts ANYTHING. Hollow, the character belongs to me, and his story and such, but yeah. Other than that, it's not mine. If I owned Kingdom Hearts, KH: CoM, or KH2, Sora would've realized that his old clothes were too small WAY before some old guy told him. That's just wrong.
TO MAH REVIEWERS: Thank you. :D That's it. Oh, you wanna know what's cool? Finding out that you've been spelling "Xehanort" wrong. Noice, no? . ;
Enjoy chapter 2!
To be fair, Halloween Town wasn't a bad place to live. Even Hollow thought it was okay. But he would choose being Ansem's son over living in that place any day. He didn't hate it when he was young. Some of the citizens there didn't care for him, but the assistants had persuaded the villagers to keep Hollow there. They had seemed like good people, and the child would fit in. He adjusted well, and there wasn't a problem. Until he started asking about his parents.
He was three years old then. His hair seemed to be getting darker. Blacker than black. His gleaming yellow orbs pierced through the night sky, the light shining through faintly even when he closed his eyes. In the midnight sky, that was all you could see. The Vampires, still eating their meals in the dark, would see those glowing beacons of light and think, "Hollow's playing again. Doesn't he ever sleep?"
Hollow would bounce along the hills in the graveyard, laughing to himself. Always he would bob along until he came upon Jack and Sally. The rag doll and skeleton sat on the old hill in the graveyard with all the pumpkins, and together they'd watch the moon. Hollow thought this was boring.
When he found them, he always asked them questions. On that day, he asked them a new one. Usually, he asked about what stars were made of, who would wear red shorts when they're so ugly, and about Oogie Boogie. Today, he inquired about his parents.
"I have to have had some, Jack." The boy spoke with a knowledgeable tone. He nodded, as if confirming it. "Everyone has parents."
"You don't want to hear about your parents," Jack said nervously. Only his sweetheart could tell that he was nervous. He spoke with the same grand tone he used to talk about everything. "Your parents were kind of an enigma."
"I don't know what that means, but I do know that you're changing the bush."
"Beating around the bush and changing the subject?"
"Yes. Those two. Now, my parents."
Sally glanced apprehensively at Jack. He shrugged. She quickly spoke up. "Hollow, your parents are gone."
"Well, where'd they go? How come they didn't take me with?"
"They're dead, Hollow." Jack was sad for once. It scared Hollow, a little. His yellow orbs glowed with confusion?
"What's… Dead?" Hollow asked. He, like most small children, could not comprehend the word. Jack was dead. Jack still walked around and such. Why was this different? Jack and Sally looked nervous. Sally saved Jack at the last second.
"Hollow, your parents are dead in a different way. They can't come back, because they weren't magical." She thought that down-talking Hollow's parents would make him miss them less. Instead, she was surprised to see the boy glare at her.
"I don't believe in magic," the little boy said, glowering at Sally. "What were their names?"
"Light and Faith," Jack blurted out. "They're dead. Always will be."
Hollow considered this. "Light and Faith are dead and always will be. They can't come back. There is no Light. There is no Faith."
Sally looked nervously at Jack. Jack stared back at Sally, shrugging desperately. Hollow didn't notice. For once, the boy strolled off without laughing, without bouncing through the graveyard. He walked away and was… Different. He was never quite as happy then.
After that incident, Hollow could always be found muttering to himself, "Light is dead. No more Faith." Soon, it turned into "The light is gone. There is no more faith." He'd engraved it into his soul, mind, and heart. He wasn't pleasant anymore. He never smiled. Crying at night, he made Heartless in huge numbers.
But one day, he stopped crying. Hollow was full of smiles and grins again. The villagers noticed it. He was dancing through the hills again, strange creatures bobbing in the air behind him or crawling on the floor beside him. Maybe he wouldn't be so gosh darn depressing anymore. Honestly, the villagers all thought, being dead doesn't mean being boring. They hoped that Hollow had snapped out of it by now.
Jack and Sally went to the boy, holding hands, which he detested. Still, Hollow smiled. They found it curious and even a little disturbing. When asked what was going on, Hollow replied that it was his birthday.
"It is?" Sally asked doubtfully. Jack frowned down at Hollow. The boy stared up at them, anger in his eyes and a smile on his mouth.
"It is. I am four years old today, and something is going to happen."
"What is?" Sally asked, thinking that Hollow was making it up.
"I don't know. Something good. Maybe you'll leave me alone."
They didn't know how to respond, so they left. As soon as they did, Hollow turned to the figure they couldn't see. He made sure he couldn't hear their footsteps any longer, made sure he couldn't see their shadows.
"Ansem. You're back."
The man in the dark cloak removed his hood, revealing a long blonde mane. He smiled down at Hollow and hugged the small boy. There was happiness in his eyes. "You remember?"
Hollow frowned. "No."
Ansem stood back. "Are you sure? Who am I?"
Anger flashed across Hollow's face. He glared up at Ansem. He was about to tell him that he didn't know, but the word that came out of his mouth was "Father". He looked shocked at himself. Peering up at Ansem's face, he asked in awe, "Father?"
Ansem seemed pleased enough. "Hollow, you remember me. The six assistants. Xenahort. You do remember. Listen, Hollow." Ansem's tone changed. He was serious now. It almost scared Hollow. He took the small boy by the shoulders. "Hollow, they betrayed you. They took you from me; they brought out the darkness in your heart. We can fix it now, Hollow. You're four now, aren't you? You look it. You look four. We have to go back now, Hollow, do you understand?"
Hollow stared down into his hand, where he held the pointed heart charm given to him by someone he'd forgotten. It didn't matter much. She was gone. But she was a girl, so it didn't matter-
"I understand," he said. "We have to go… To make them pay." Hollow stared up at Ansem, who nodded. Then they were off.
