Notes: Another time jump and you can probably see where I'm starting to go with this story since this chapter is kind of like the breaking point. So, I also figured I'd do some review replies.
Kimitala: Aww don't say that, you're wonderful and your reviews have really inspired me. Thank you so much, only now I feel guilty for what I'm going to put Kairi through and with this chapter things start getting so much worse and they just kind of keep going down hill from there but I still hope you'll like it.
Aniuwolfe: Thanks so much for reviewing its always so nice to hear from new readers and I want to write Riku again so badly and Sora too even though I haven't even written him yet and he's the main character in this. There are still a few more things I have to get through but I'm really going to try to bring them in as soon as I can.
Knux 33: Thanks so much for all your reviews. Final Fantasy X was one of few Final Fantasy games I think I've played all the way through so I actually know the background on it and I thought it would be fun to work a little bit of it into the story.
Chapter 9: Fall Apart
Roxas had it all figured out, all he had to do was grind down the rail, flip off the edge and hang two posters on the wall directly across, skate over to the building on his right, hang another five, which would take him to a ledge and another rail, then he'd be in the more open part of the Twilight Town plaza, where three buildings were grouped together along with a billboard, allowing him to hang the remaining posters, all under thirty seconds and without having to get off his skateboard.
After four more months, school was finally out for the summer, he, Pence, Hayner, and Olette would be able to spend a lot more time together and to celebrate they were at last all going down to the beach and after buying train tickets they'd even managed to have enough munny left over to buy one of those overly expensive watermelons. Pence was bringing his camera to take pictures and they were all meeting at the Usual Spot.
Less then a year ago Roxas would have never envisioned himself doing something like this, much less looking forward to it but the beach was all he'd been thinking about for the last few weeks. He wanted to spend all the time he could with his friends, to make up for what he never had before and Roxas found himself planning all the things the four of them would be able to do together with school out of the way but there was only one problem, Roxas was running late, being the reason why he was currently trying to complete the rest of his poster route in thirty seconds.
Looking down at the rail and giving it a determined glare, Roxas flipped his skateboard with his foot before jumping onto it, wheels instantly catching on the metal pole and Roxas laughed slightly at the thrill the sensation gave him, like falling, with the wind whipping through his hair but a split second later he felt suddenly off like somehow his body had just grown heavier, and he began to falter, a sharp pain running through his head, black spots forming at the edge of his vision.
He was underwater but it was like breathing air. The duck and the dog were with him as always, but in the forms of an octopus and turtle and where his own legs were supposed to be was nothing but a gray fish tail. Structures of blue-gray rock enclosed him in a cavern, forming shelves, filled with various items all well cared for but once looked to have been thrown away. A merman was before him with a stern face and thoughtful eyes, a golden crown tucked into his long white hair. "As the key bearer, you must already know one must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds."
He watched as a mermaid swam up through the same cavern, her arms outstretched, cheery red hair fanning out around her, amethyst eyes sparkling in wonder. "So many places I want to see... I know I'll get there someday."
He was in a small tan room made from stone bricks and lit by fire burning in decorative bowls. A man with bulging muscles, curly orange hair, wearing leather and a cape of royal blue stood leaning against a wall, arms crossed, facing him, looking on in interest. Beside the man was a faun, half human and half goat, not any taller then his knee, two curving black horns growing from his head, standing on a pillar, and reading from a piece of paper "Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes."
The duck waved his arms in front of himself. "Hey! What do you mean junior heroes?"
The faun placed a hand on his hip. "You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero."
He was in a house or more of a small room high up off the ground, crudely built with mismatched wooden boards, and many gaping holes where he could see the bright blue of the sky and a white palace in the distance. A young man was half kneeled on the floor with an olive skin tone and hair of wavy ebony, talking to a blue genie drifting in front of him. "I...I wish...for your freedom, Genie."
The genie opened his mouth in surprise. "Al!"
He watched in awe along with the dog and the duck as the genie was surrounded in a whirlpool of pink and purple light, being granted legs.
He was in some kind of dark research lab, numerous instruments and liquids he couldn't even begin to identify churned and bubbled against the walls, a skeleton with long limbs and a pin-striped suit stood at the entrance, regretfully slumping his shoulders. "Sally, why didn't I listen to you?"
What looked like a living doll walked up to him, her grayish skin unevenly sewn together, wearing a dress made from scraps of fabric, long hair the color of amber, taking the skeleton's hands in both of her's. "Don't feel bad, Jack. We'll come up with another plan for Halloween. Next time, we'll do it together."
He spun the keyblade over his head before touching it to the ground, creating a burst of pink light. "Power!"
A small red dragon suddenly appeared, coming to perch on top of his head. "I am Mushu."
He was in some type of chamber, or at least that's what it seemed to be but there was an acidic smell in the air and the floor and walls were made up of dark purple, pink, and blue flesh, moving and breathing around him.
The silver haired teen was in front of him a few feet away, tilting his head mockingly. "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"
He gasped in surprise. "Riku! What are you doing here?"
An image of the redheaded girl flashed in front of his eyes. "Did you find her?"
He was on the rusty auburn deck of a ship, elaborately structured but with boxes and boards scattered everywhere. A boy wearing all green with unruly ginger hair, stood beside the duck and the dog, all three focused on him.
He looked up half longing and half eager. "I still can't believe it. I really flew. Wait 'til I tell Kai--." The image of the redhead flashed before his eyes again. "I wonder if she'll believe me. Probably not."
He was outside standing underneath the balcony of a clock tower, framed by stone gray pillars, the sky was dark and the boy wearing all green was still there along with a girl, her hair the same ginger shade, tide up in a blue ribbon, and with a long blue nightgown that reached her ankles. A small fairy left the boy's side to fly over to him, twirling in front of his face in a trail of golden sparkles, giving him both an innocent and cunning smile.
He was outside a coliseum, light tan stone walls and steps branched out around him. A young man walked in front of him, blonde hair sticking up in all directions, wearing black and silver with a dark red cloak trailing behind him.
He watched from the corner of his eyes but quickly turned his head. "I'm searching, too."
The blonde spared him a glance before passing. "For your light? Don't lose sight of it."
He was in an open field, the sky lit by softly glowing stars, the grass a deep emerald green, large trees with full leaves and several branches surrounded him and several animals were scattered around, watching as he walked away.
A small pig called to him in a curious voice. "Sora, where are you going?"
He stopped and turned around. "I'm gonna go look for my friends. They're waiting for me."
The animals gathered close to each other in silent understanding, a brown bear smiled at him, waving goodbye.
He was back on the deck of the ship and the silver haired teen was there, but on a different level, standing behind brown railing.
He looked up at him. "Where are Donald and Goofy?"
The silver haired teen's eyes flickered coldly. "Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking about her." He took a step to the side to show he was shielding the redheaded girl but she didn't move, her body slumped forward like a puppet without strings, her eyes staring and unblinking without seeing.
He's was back at the clock tower but flying, drifting in front of it, the clock glowing bright yellow and shining like a beacon in the black of the night. A keyhole appeared in the side and the familiar swirl of power ran through the keyblade, sealing the keyhole.
Everything faded to white, faces running through his mind, of friends he grew up with, of friends on distant worlds that he only half recognized, then there was the silver haired teen, a smug look on his face, his arms crossed, but with everyone else he quickly faded away until he could only the redheaded girl, a barely there smile on her face, and eyes that looked as if they could see right through him.
When everything came back to Roxas he realized he was still grinding down the rail but he was shaky and dazed, too late to make an effort to steady himself. The skateboard left his feet, crashing somewhere off to the side, posters he was holding scattering everywhere, his ankle catching awkwardly on the pole, ribs hitting metal before he bounced off, falling back first onto the concrete ramp.
Roxas didn't move, staring up at the sky, trying to catch his breath, winded but otherwise unhurt.
"Roxas!" He heard his boss shout, heavy footsteps running toward him from not far off, the man kneeling beside him and Roxas could hardly make out his face through the large stomach. "Are you okay?" He gasped.
Roxas nodded and the man clutched his shoulder with grubby fingers, helping him to sit up. "You're sure?"
Roxas placed a hand to the back of his head, wincing slightly. "I'm fine."
His boss let go, frowning but looking more concerned that the rest of the poster job was in danger of not getting done then about the blonde. "I don't know what it is with you kids trying to do all these crazy stunts. Can't you just ever listen for once? That was how the last guy broke his leg…"
Roxas wasn't paying attention. The string of memories had to mean something, the first coming right after he saw Sora, the second before he talked with Naminé, so he didn't think the third would just come randomly, not after four months and he tried to think of an explanation before Hayner's, Pence's, and Olette's names entered his mind, still waiting for him at the Usual Spot, alone. Roxas felt his throat go dry, his blood run cold, and he knew something had happened, something was deadly wrong.
A long shadow came to cover the ground and Roxas looked up to the sky, rapidly growing dark with a black split forming in the center, branching out and curling like smoke through shattered glass. A sound came, a crack, half like thunder and half like a low howl, and for a moment Roxas couldn't feel anything, not even the wind, everything was still and dying.
It was his boss's voice that brought him back, the man's eyes focused grimly on the sky. There were never storms in Twilight Town. "Wow, I've never seen rain come up this fast before. Why don't you say we call it a day?"
"It's not rain."
"Huh? You don't think so? Wonder what it could be then."
Roxas stood up, a bit unsteady, feeling a slight twinge of pain run through his chest but ignored it.
"Do you need any help?" His boss asked with a hint of worry, standing up as well.
Roxas looked over to his skateboard, lying a few feet away, flipped over, the back wheel missing. "No."
The man tugged at a black sideburn. "Hey, didn't you say you were planning on going to the beach today? Sorry, but it looks like you may have to cancel your plans. It's probably best if you get home, stay indoors. Regardless if it rains or not, I've been hearing these strange reports of people being found with their chests torn opened kind of scary when you think about it. I tell you some sick people in this world…"
Roxas didn't hear him, breaking out into a run without a glance back, stumbling slightly but quickly regaining his balance, forcing himself to run faster until he could feel the burn in his lungs. It was as if he could hear something screaming inside his mind find Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Distantly he had to wonder if this is what fear was like, if this is what panic was like.
"Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Roxas shouted as soon as the Usual Spot came into view, stopping short, breathing hard through his suddenly tight throat but there was no answer and he looked up, seeing nothing out of place, everything still. For a moment he felt silly, hoped he'd only been overreacting but the sky was still split and then Roxas noticed the strong smell, the coppery taste of blood in the air, could feel the frigid darkness around him like tiny pin pricks dancing along his skin. He felt sick, repressed the urge to gag.
"Roxas!" There was a mad scrambling from inside the Usual Spot and then Olette was before him, standing at the entrance, leaning against the chain link fence to support herself, her right forearm drenched in red fluid, soaking into her shirt, running from her fingers, her eyes glazed over, opened wide in horror, trembling so badly she could barely stand. She opened her mouth, trying to form words but nothing came except for something between a gasp and a dry scream.
Roxas ran to her but quickly adverted his eyes when he caught sight of Pence. The brunet's body was pushed aside, lying in the middle of their Usual Spot surrounded in blood, his shirt shredded and skin severed from just below his neck to under his ribcage by deep red claw marks, revealing chunks of torn muscle, his eyes shut tightly, skin pale, red streaming from the corners of his mouth, and Roxas could hear the liquid in his throat as he struggled vainly to draw air into his lungs.
Roxas was acting before he had a chance to understand what was going on, collapsing at Pence's side, removing his jacket and holding it against ravaged strips of skin, reaching out a hand to grip his friend's shoulder, shaking him. "Pence!"
Pence didn't respond except for another wet strangled gasp and Roxas automatically found his hand trailing up the brunet's neck to find a pulse, feeling a dull throb, barely there. Roxas let his hand slip away, looking to his jacket, seeing it quickly being soaked through with blood, coating his palm and realized he didn't know what to do.
Roxas had fixed himself up countless time, set his own bones, suffered through and bounded numerous lacerations, but none of it had ever been life threatening, without a heart there was no danger in bleeding to death but Pence looked so frail, so mortal beside him and Roxas was reminded painfully of how different he was from his friends. He knew something like this would eventually happen, shouldn't have been surprised, knew what Hayner's, Pence's, and Olette's fate would be as long as he continued to exist but at the same time it had felt so impossible, so distant, like some scattered dream but it had happened and Pence was really bleeding to death in front of his eyes, and there was so much blood and he wasn't stopping it.
Roxas felt his entire arm shake, even as he pressed down harder against his ruined jacket. The sensation he believed to be fear and panic come back but stronger, running through his every nerve, leaving him both hot and cold, the world around him fading until there was only him and Pence, Roxas swallowed, breathing hard, trying to refocus himself, needing to stay in control.
There was sobbing from behind him and he looked to see Olette, practically forgotten about her. She was on her knees, a hand pressed to the ground, her damaged arm hanging limply at her side, head turned away, tears falling from her tightly shut eyes, splashing onto a thin covering of dirt, screaming more then she was crying.
"Olette!" Roxas called, not recognizing the sound of his own voice, something had hitched, broken, but whatever it was, Olette instantly looked up. "You need to get help!"
Olette shut her eyes again, shaking her head, fighting to find her voice. "Hayner went to-to call…an ambulance. He-he told me to s-stay here."
Roxas nodded numbly. "Olette….please…"
He wasn't sure what he was asking her for but she stood anyway, staggering over to him, kneeling on the other side of Pence, by his head as far away as she was able from the blood, hunching forward, clutching her shoulder.
Roxas used her face to focus, to keep himself anchored in the present, to concentrate on anything else besides Pence's jerking body, ragged breathing, and the growing pool of blood. "Then you need to help me."
Olette clutched her shoulder tighter, gritting her teeth. "I-I can't."
Without thinking Roxas grabbed her bloodied arm, his fingers wrapping tightly around her wrist, pulling her forward and she cried out but out of reflex Roxas didn't let go, held tighter, turning her arm, seeing her skin sliced from her wrist to her elbow in three neat but deep and jagged lines
Blood was trailing down her skin in thin rivulets, smeared across her palm, and Roxas realized how unfocused her eyes were, how her skin had whitened, how badly she was shaking, and he froze, had seen the signs of blood loss before from missions even though he'd never gone through them himself. Olette was slack in his grip, not making any attempt to pull away, and Roxas looked down to his hand, where his fingers were pressed against a gash, faintly tearing into her skin, his grip immediately lessened and Olette took her arm back.
Roxas could feel anger beginning to surface. "Olette what-"
"It won't work." She gasped quickly, demonstrating by trying to flex her fingers but only managing to make them twitch. "It feels so numb."
"What did this to you?!" Roxas bit out already knowing the answer but asking anyway, his eyes hardening, free hand forming into a fist, nails cutting into his palm.
"I don't know!" Olette choked. "I-I saw it and Pence was screaming and I couldn't help him until it was too late. He-he kept screaming and it wouldn't stop…it wouldn't stop…it wouldn't stop." Olette curled more into herself, sobbing but she wasn't crying anymore, it looked as if she was choking, struggling to breathe.
Roxas tried not to show any emotion, tried to calm himself, had to keep level headed at least for the moment, reaching forward he placed his hand on Olette's shoulder. "Olette, stop it. You're getting hysterical and it's not helping anything. I'm here with you alright? Focus on me."
Olette lifted her head, eyes looking to blur through the tears but she locked them with his. "I feel so strange, lighter."
Roxas tightened his hold on her shoulder. "Don't think about that. You have to calm down so you can help me with Pence. Breathe with me okay?"
Olette nodded jerkily and Roxas breathed in deeply, waiting for Olette to follow him, until they were breathing together, until she was breathing normally by herself, and her trembling had lessened, her tears had ceased
Roxas let his hand fall away, fingers briefly trailing down her arm, trying to reassure her but not knowing how. "You back with me now?"
"I'm alright," Olette answered, her voice strained. "Tell me what to do."
Roxas refocused his attention back to Pence, back to his hand still on the jacket. "Help me hold this down."
Olette swallowed hard, biting her lip, hesitantly moving her hand across Pence's chest by Roxas's, grimacing when she touched warm liquid but not withdrawing, helping Roxas to put pressure on the wound. "Like this?"
"Yeah, that's good. Press down as hard as you can."
Olette tightened her hold, causing more blood to gush forth and Pence to grunt underneath of them. She jerked her head away, closing her eyes. "Roxas I don't think this is working!"
"It's normal." Roxas replied hastily, sensing Olette was going to panic again. "Keep pressing down. Remember what I said? Don't look at him. Focus on me."
Olette once again locked her eye's with his, searching his face. "But what if this isn't helping him. There has to be something more we can do and he's not getting any better he's…Do you think he's in pain?"
"He isn't even awake." Roxas rationalized. "He can't feel any of this and we're doing everything we can just hang on with me."
"I'm trying" Olette said tightly, her words slurring. "But I can't…not on my own."
Roxas stared blankly back at her, not understanding what she meant. "I'm right here."
"Then don't leave me!" Olette nearly shouted, sounding terrified, desperate.
"Leave you? Why would you think that?"
Olette twisted her fingers in the sticky and red splattered fabric of Roxas's jacket. "I don't know but sometimes I can see something in your eyes, and you…you get this look and I never know what's going to happen."
Roxas unconsciously leaned further over Pence, his hand lightly brushing against Olette's. "I will never leave you alone." He stated definitely. "But I can't always be with you."
Olette swallowed back a sob, blinking away tears, the corners of her mouth twitching, her eyes oddly pensive. "What are you going to do Roxas?" She asked evenly.
Roxas shook his head ignoring the question. "It doesn't matter. Olette listen you have to tell me what happened."
Olette didn't seem to hear him, her eyes growing distant, glancing upward. "There's something wrong with the sky."
"I know. I see it."
"I'm afraid Roxas." She whispered. "I'm so afraid."
"Olette" Roxas breathed. "I need to know. Please, it's important."
The brunet nodded, answering slowly. "Pence and I- we got here first but there was th-this thing that looked like some kind of insect with these weird yellow eyes and Pence…he wanted to see what it was…but there was something wrong with it and I told him to stay back but he didn't listen to me, tried to touch it and it leapt on his chest, started clawing at him." Olette paused, shuddering, gasping for breath, forcing herself to continue. "He couldn't pull it off and he started screaming and there was so much blood and I just watched, I-I froze. I don't know what was wrong with me! He kept screaming I couldn't do anything!"
"What happened after that? The heart- the thing you saw, it wouldn't have stopped there. It would have…there had to have been something else."
Olette tore her eyes from his and Roxas wasn't sure if she noticed the slip or not but she didn't comment on it. "I saw this stick" She continued absently. "And I hit it with it. Then it got off Pence and scratched me. That's when Hayner came and the thing it just…ran past Hayner, ran off. If I would have moved sooner, acted sooner, I could have stopped it!"
Roxas shook his head. "No, you did fine, none of this was your fault. It didn't take Pence's heart that's the important thing."
"Why would it want Pence's heart? Roxas what are you talking about?!"
Roxas fell silent not attempting an answer but Olette was watching him, suspicion forming on her face, waiting for something. Roxas breathed in deeply, eyes shinning grimly. "I'm going to kill it."
Olette gasped as if she'd just been struck, her every feature coming alive in sheer terror. "No! You can't. You can't. It will hurt you too."
"It won't hurt me." Roxas replied stonily. "It couldn't even if it tried."
"But look what it did to Pence!"
"And Hayner's still out there."
Olette's shoulders shook, her arm tensing over Pence, lowering her head. "But he said he was just going to call an ambulance. He said he'd be right back but what if the thing what if it-"
"I'm sure he's fine," Roxas cut her off heatedly. "But I'm going to make sure it will never hurt any one of us again."
Olette shifted her hand by Roxas's, loosely curling the tips of her fingers around his as if wanting to hold him down. "Roxas don't. Please don't."
"I know what I'm doing," Roxas said with as much conviction as he could. "Olette trust me."
Olette didn't have a chance to respond before Hayner came crashing through the gate, a hand fisted at his chest, panting hard, nearly doubled over, swaying unsteady on his feet. "It's alright I called-I called, their on their way, they'll be here in a few minutes."
Hayner stumbled forward, falling to his knees in front of Olette, forming a strange half circle between the three of them and Roxas felt cold relief wash over him at seeing his friend was alright, only physically drained.
"Hayner…" Olette mouthed, letting herself lean slightly toward him
Hayner expressionlessly stared down at Pence, automatically moving to help Olette and Roxas stop the bleeding, free hand curling against the ground. "They'll be here soon. They have to be, hang on Pence."
Roxas quickly pulled his fingers away from Olette's, standing up, making his way to the entrance. "Both of you stay here."
Hayner's eyes flickered to him and then Olette, clouded with doubt and confusion. "Roxas what?"
"He thinks he can kill that thing!." Olette burst out.
"But it's gone." Hayner said blankly. "We saw it run off."
"It wouldn't have gone far and I know how to track it."
"Roxas…you can't kill it." Hayner frowned, looking as if he was about ready to stand up and intervene. "Don't go anywhere."
"Even if you could," Olette struggled to say, voice wavering. "Why does it even matter anymore? And we need…we need to stay together."
Roxas turned his head until he was looking fully at them. "I'll be right back."
Roxas didn't wait for a response he just ran, only stopping shortly to snap off a loose and jagged piece of metal from the fence, faintly hearing Hayner and Olette shouting his name.
The heartless was easy to track and Roxas found it almost instantly, a short distance away, shadowed and half hidden in a corner from a deserted brick building, blood dripping from its claws. It scratched at the ground as if wanting to remove it, looking up when Roxas approached, running glowing yellow eyes over his chest, chirping and tilting its head curiously when it didn't find what it was looking for, resembling a deformed puppy, before disregarding Roxas completely that he didn't have the keyblade, and going back to pawing at the ground.
Roxas wanted to torture it, to hear it scream. It was nothing more then a Neoshadow that he could kill in less then a blink of an eye but in a few seconds it had torn his life apart, turned his world upside down, had hurt his friends, endangered Pence's life, and Roxas knew it wasn't the shadow's fault, not really as the only thing it could comprehend was its undying thirst for a heart but now Twilight Town would soon be swarmed with them, would fall, and there would be casualties. It still didn't feel quite real yet but as long as he stayed separate from Sora he was putting everyone in danger, he was the reason why the sky was starting to crack, why Pence was currently drenched in his own blood, and there was only one way to stop it.
"No!" Roxas shouted grabbing the Neoshadow by its antenna, lifting it up off the ground, dangling it in front of him. At first the heartless was lax in his grip but then slowly began to struggle, squealing, and attempting to claw at his wrist. Roxas waved the piece of metal in front of its eyes but the heartless didn't register what it was for, didn't so much as glance at it, to caught up in trying to free itself, but Roxas hardly cared, trailing the metal across it's bulging head, and pressing slowly in. The shadow's squealing turned into ear splitting screams before only seconds later it dissolved into a mist of darkness, over all too soon, and leaving Roxas feeling unsatisfied, but he didn't give himself the chance to think about it, running back to the Usual Spot.
Hayner and Olette were in the same positions as when he left but Olette was hunched over again sobbing, muttering something to Pence that Roxas couldn't make out and Hayner had gone still, ridged, looking out in front of him, watching for the ambulance or so Roxas guessed, but Hayner's face was void, eyes glazed over from shock, as if pretending he was somewhere else, as if this was some nightmare he was waiting to wake up from, his hand so close by Olette's that no matter how he moved they'd be touching but he was too far gone, too distant to help her.
"Roxas!" Olette called to him as soon as he entered. "He's not breathing like he was it's different."
Roxas could hear it, the gasping more strangled, heavier, slower, less often, and it occurred to him then that Pence was probably only minutes away from dying, Roxas felt his mask begin to slip, something inside of him begin to give way, begin to crash, and distantly he wondered what was taking the ambulance so long.
Roxas did the only thing he could think of running back toward Olette, wrapping one arm around her shoulders but reflectively she flinched violently away from him. "It's alright." Roxas whispered his voice hitching. "It's me it's me it's just me."
He felt her instantly relax and pulled her closer, resting his forehead against her's. "I killed it." He continued to chant by her ear. "It's gone. It's never coming back. I killed it I killed it."
How?" Hayner asked dryly.
Roxas wordlessly handed him the piece of metal still clutched tightly in his hand and coated with a few wispy strands of darkness. Hayner held it loosely, eyeing it suspiciously as if it would attack him at any moment. "You got this from the fence?"
"I tore it off. It was loose."
Hayner didn't look as if he quite believed it, eyes vaguely narrowed, guarded. "Why is it so cold? The thing, what did you do to it?"
"It's not important."
Hayner reluctantly nodded, choosing not to say anything, letting the metal fall from his fingers.
"I'll protect you." Roxas said, looking straight at Hayner before turning back to Olette. "I'll protect both of you. As long as you're with me you'll be safe. I won't let them hurt you."
Hayner shifted forward, placing his hand on Olette's back, the three of them all protectively curled over Pence until only seconds later when he stopped breathing altogether and that was when Roxas could finally hear the sirens.
There wasn't any time to react before paramedics, strangers, came rushing into the Usual Spot, and someone was soon demanding for them to move and Roxas found they were all being pushed away as the area was cleared around Pence, paramedics crouched beside him, shouting orders to each other, trying to get him to breathe again.
Roxas wasn't paying attention to any of it, standing with Olette, his hand around her upper arm, trying to find anyone that wasn't close to Pence, rushing over toward a man handling equipment. "Hey!"
"Kid, listen you need to-"
"No! You don't understand my friend's hurt!"
Roxas quickly showed him Olette's arm and she did nothing to try to resist, but Roxas wasn't sure if she could have even if she'd wanted too, she'd gone almost completely placid, was still losing blood.
"Okay" The man nodded, reaching for Olette.
"You'll be alright." Roxas told her quickly.
Roxas could see the fear shinning through her eyes at being separated, her fingers brushing against his in a last effort for contact.
Roxas absently reached for her hand. "Hayner and I will be right behind you."
"Roxas…" It was all Olette was able to say before she was taken away from him, gone from his line of sight.
Roxas searched for Hayner, seeing him standing stoically against the fence, out of the way, and made his way over to him, leaning beside him, hand curling around the metal of the fence, needing something to grip onto, but Hayner didn't even seem to notice him, his head tilted upward, eyes focused warily on the sky.
Roxas gripped the fence tighter, trying to think of something, anything he could do for Pence but he didn't have healing magic or any access to potions and even if he did it wouldn't have mattered, this kind of damage, damage to the heart was irreversible. There was nothing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hayner move, lowering his head to stare at something on the ground and Roxas soon realized it was a tote bag jammed with Pence's beach things. A blue towel and yellow swim trunks with dancing banana print had fallen out and then there was Pence's camera, the camera Pence always carried around with him, the camera they were going to take pictures with at the beach to laugh about later, lay crushed and broken. Hayner bent down, picking up the glinting pieces, holding them in his hands, turning them over and over.
Roxas remotely lifted a hand in front of his face to see Pence's dried blood but hearing another ambulance he refocused his attention back on the paramedics as they lifted Pence onto a stretcher, forced a breathing tube down his throat, and in that moment for the first time in his life, Roxas realized he was completely, utterly helpless.