Chapter Four- So Not (Firefly)

((F i r e f l y, have you l o s t your l i g h t ?))

Sora stared in shock at the woman- the dead woman, let's not forget that- who had just oh-so-casually told him that he, too, was dead.

"I... I don't believe you! I can't be dead, I'm only sixteen! There must be some kind of mistake!"

Kaya shook her head, looking at him with only the slightest trace of sympathy. "Nope, sorry. It says so right here." Shrugging, she handed him the clipboard so he could see for himself. For a moment, he was silent.

"I still don't believe it," he said finally. Kaya sighed wearily.

"Give me your hand."

"... Why?"

"You'll see."

Hesitantly, Sora reached out; Kaya took his hand and placed it on his chest.

"Okay, what do you feel there, Sora?"

"... Nothing..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "My heart... isn't beating..." His terrified gaze swept Kaya's face. She stared back, resolutely expressionless. Sora glanced back down at his hand. "But... I don't understand... I'm still breathing!"

"Only to speak." Kaya's tone was suddenly dull. She'd seen this plenty of times before. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"I still feel pain..." He touched the bump on his forehead, wincing.

Kaya gave a short, mirthless laugh. "You thought, maybe, that just because you're dead, you have the luxury of being numb? Guess again."

Sora fell silent again, staring at his arms- his pulseless wrists. His chest- containing a heart that no longer beat. He realized with a sudden, horrible jolt that the Keyblade was no longer coming to him because the pure heart that was supposed to call it was no longer alive to command it. Finally, he managed to find his voice again.

"What happened to me, Kaya? Why did I die?"

Kaya hesitated, not wanting to upset him further. When he looked up at her, though, she was startled to see impatient fury gleaming in his eyes, as though he knew what she was thinking.

"What. Happened. To. Me?"

"... You drowned, Sora. A wave knocked you under, and before you could get back to the surface, the undertow dragged you down. I'm sorry."

Anger gave way to despair. "... Riku told me not to swim..."

Kaya reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, your friends tried to bring you back. They saw you go under. They tried their best, Sora. They just couldn't move quickly enough."

Sora said nothing. Kaya had almost given up on communicating any further with him when he at last spoke up again. "Are they okay?"

Kaya blinked. "Hm?"

"My friends, Riku and Kairi. Are they okay? They didn't drown trying to get to me, did they?" There was a wretched sort of hopefulness in his tone; he didn't want them to be dead, but at the same time, he didn't want to be alone in this place. Kaya obligingly checked the list, ignoring the pained expression on Sora's face as he realized what he was hoping for.

"Nope, no new entries by those names." She paused, watching quietly as Sora turned away. "Sora... would you like to meet Death? Normally I wouldn't let anyone, but... you seem really desperate. More desperate than most. I don't think you can be brought back to life again, but he can at least try to calm you down, maybe find a way for you to get a message across to the other plane. Plus, I can't help but feel as though there's something about you... something special. Something, well... different."

Sora smiled then. It was faint, and it was rueful, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Different? If only you knew." Carefully, he climbed to his feet, swaying a little unsteadily. "So... wherever you're taking me, there's someone who can help me, right? In that case, lead on."

-x-

Meanwhile, in a hazy room overlooking the main chamber of the Land of the Dead, a long, pale finger lazily pressed an intercom button on the desk before it.

"Send in the first one," a harsh voice rasped. There was a soft, staticky crackle that could have been interpreted as "Yes, sir" in reply, and then the intercom light blinked off.

The lean figure in the high-backed chair- the type, he mused, that the living would use in movies to make people of power seem that much more imposing- spun it about so he could stare thoughtfully out the window. The name on his list had not been a lie; it had indeed read "Sora." The person in the chair chuckled to himself as he rested his feet on the low window ledge, absentmindedly watching a half-skeletal flock of seagulls flutter past. "Well, well, well," he murmured, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. "I've finally netted myself a Keybearer."

Behind him, the heavy double doors of his office opened with a quiet creak. Footsteps started toward his desk, then hesitated and stopped in the middle of the room.

"You sent for me." The monotonal voice behind him made it seem more like a statement than a question. The figure in the chair spun slowly about to face the newcomer.

"Indeed I did. An 'old friend' of yours is on the way up to my office as of this moment. I thought you might like to meet him again."

"And who might that be?" The speaker was actually curious for a change. The man in the chair smiled gratifyingly and leaned back, crossing his arms. "All in good time. He'll be here soon enough. Don't forget- patience is a virtue, even when you're dead, Xemnas."

((Now I h a t e your ways, 'cause they're j u s t like m i n e))

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Author's Note: Muhaha. R&R, guys.