Author's notes: Okay, everyone, I'm not going to lie to you, it's gonna get intense. I knew when I started this if I'd cross-over KH and Silent Hill, the only way to do it is go big or go home. I'll do my best not to make it too graphic or too detailed and rest assured it's a KH fic at heart. But I'm throwing our beloved characters into the deep end of Toluca Lake and seeing if they can swim. Enjoy.
Riku and Kairi burst into Merlin's house in Radiant Garden. Merlin, Aqua, Ven, Terra, Axel, Xion, and Roxas were all crowded around the round table, enjoying tea, while Cid plugged away at his elaborate computer. The two new arrivals came to a halt and panted for breath.
"Ah! There you both are!" Merlin said jovially as he stood. "Oh by all means, have a seat and join us for tea." Neither Kairi nor Riku had time to reply before Merlin turned and spun his wand over the table, making it seamlessly widen and enlarge. In a flash two more saucers and cups appeared, as did two more chairs. All of while Riku caught his breath enough to notice the mystically animated sugar cup continuing to shovel scoop after scoop of sugar into Merlin's tea cup. A sigh escaped Riku's lips, this was not the first time Merlin allowed himself to be distracted and forgot to tell the magical sugar cup 'when', nor did he think it would be the last.
"Um, Merlin?" Kairi ventured, Riku correctly guessed she had noticed it too. He was, after all, her teacher.
"Oh yes, yes, my dear," Merlin waved dismissively. "Come along the both of you and help yourselves, you must be quite winded after that," a chorus of soft laughs and giggles cut the wizard off. He turned in confusion to see the other keyblade wielders pointing to his own tea cup between chuckles. To which Merlin's eye widened at a growing mound of sugar climbing from his cup with every shovel from the sugar cup's spoon.
"No, when! When! Blast it all – WHEN!" Merlin hissed with fury. The sugar cup fearfully lunged away and hopped away to hide behind the teapot. "Confound it!" Merlin seethed as he took up his cup and saucer and furiously wiped all the excess sugar off the table with his beard. A snap of magic and the cup of ruined tea vanished, another snap and a fresh cup and saucer appeared in his hand. The keyblade wielder's laughter was beginning to die down. The elderly wizard sighed in defeat at his own clumsiness and calmly re-invited Riku and Kairi to take their seats.
They did so gladly. Soon they had their tea and after a few minutes of polite catching up with the other keyblade wielders, Riku turned to Merlin. "You sent for us, you said you had a lead on Sora?"
"Indeed, I do," Merlin replied with a smile and instantly all eyes were on him.
"Ah-ah!" and intruding voice burst from the small wooden birdhouse mounted on the wall above the stove. "YOU have a lead, Merlin?" Archimedes asked with an edge of sarcasm. Merlin eyed his old owl friend with a sneer.
"Well, not ME!" Merlin corrected himself. "It WAS Cid who discovered it, and I was just GETTING to that!" he spat the last at Archimedes, who so loved to one-up Merlin when he could. The owl rolled his eyes and others tried not to laugh. "In any case, Cid has discovered a world shrouded in the most unique darkness we have ever seen! Indeed it is not so much, consumed by the darkness, nor is it sleeping. More…tainted. As if eternally suspended somewhere between light and dark, but also more tilted towards darkness. I suppose the word for it would be a kind of…grey zone."
The Keyblade wielders sat in wide-eyed amazement. What Merlin was saying, shocked them as much as it confused them. "A world between dark and light?" Riku said thoughtfully, self-aware of its significance to himself, who accepted his darkness but insisted on living in the light.
"You think it might have been one of Xehenort's or Xemnas' tricks?" Terra ventured. He himself had been trapped under the influence of darkness for so long. The thought of a place stuck between light and dark unnerved him.
"Well, it's much too soon to say, lad," Merlin answered. "But only recently have we discovered this phenomenon. And quite by accident, I might add. Cid was scanning for signs of darkness and came upon what he thought was a glitch but turned out to be a rift in the very fabric of the multi-verse!"
"More like a rip!" Cid huffed from his computer. "Like someone cut it with a knife! It may have been a rift once before. But someone with a lot of power busted it wide open."
"Xehenort?" Kairi asked.
"Who else could it be?" Axel shrugged in his usual posturing of disinterest.
"Cid and I doubt that," Merlin replied.
"If anything, the power residue the rupture left behind is more in-line with Riku's old buddy Ansem. No, not the wise one, I mean the dark one." Cid corrected before a word could be said.
Riku gasped but quickly composed himself. He hadn't seen his dark, shadow form since the final battle. Could this be a sign? "You think Sora might have gone there? Or been taken there when he vanished?"
"Possibly," Merlin replied. "But whatever it is, someone…or something wanted it to be found." All eyes blinked in confusion in Merlin's direction. "I already consulted with Master Yen Sid, he and I have come to the same conclusion. The presence in this world expresses a deep longing. A hunger, almost desperate in its outreach."
"Sora!" Kairi sighed, clasping her hands over her heart. "Is it really you?" she asked the vacant air above her. A gruff sigh came from the computer chair.
"Could also be a trap," Cid huffed glumly. Merlin shot a soft look of apprehension towards Cid but said nothing. All eyes were on Kairi, who seemed on the verge of tears. She shut her eyes and shook her head.
"It's not. It can't be," Kairi paused to bow her head, as if in prayer. Her hands pressed over her heart. "It's Sora. It has to be," she finished firmly. Slowly her head raised and her eyes opened. Her eyes locked with Riku's and they both nodded in unison.
"We have to go there," Riku stood to say. "If Sora is there, we'll find him."
"Count me in!" Roxas said as he stood up.
"Make that us," Axel said, he and Xion stood to place hands on Roxas' shoulders.
"We're with you too," Ventus said, Terra and Aqua stood with him. The Keyblade wielders all stood united, determined to find their lost comrade. Merlin couldn't help a warm smile. These young people never ceased to amaze him.
"It's settled then," Merlin said.
…
Merlin had a bad feeling about this. Even as all the wielders waited eagerly in front of the large portal. Cid typed away at the control console, working with Tron to calibrate the system. The world they were going to was so far away it would take much longer via gummi ships, or even armor suits, which only Ven, Terra, and Aqua had. But with Cid's calibrations to the system, they would be able to jump through the vortex and make their way into the rupture the same way Sora and Riku did to the sleeping worlds.
The feeling of dread and unease Merlin was struggling with began as he realized they'd need a way to return. All eight of them were now wearing specially prepared metallic bracelets. Cid called them, Gummi-straps. To press the large red button on each one would be to teleport them back Radiant Garden (in theory). The Gummi-straps also came with built-in radios so they could keep in contact locally, plus a gummi-phone to contact them back at Radiant Garden anytime.
The young heroes were well-equipped and ready to find their lost comrade. If there was a fight or trap waiting for them, they had already proven capable of holding their own. Riku was showed little more than a confident smirk as Cid put the finishing touches on his program. Kairi was beaming with hopefulness in anticipation of reuniting with her love. The others confidently bantered as they waited. They had already faced far worse than any of them ever would have believed they could handle and emerged victorious.
Yet still a nagging doubt stabbed at the back of Merlin's mind. Somehow it all felt wrong. Could he have missed something? Maybe it was that dark, hollow look in Master Yen Sid's eyes when he informed him of the phenomenon days ago. If the ancient wizard had noticed anything truly amiss he would have said so, but there seemed to be hesitation in his eyes. Merlin shrugged as Cid announced he was finished. It was probably nothing. And with so many keyblade wielders going at once, any threat should be minimal.
"Bringing the portal online now," Cid huffed. With the push of a button the portal activated. An oval of gray light appeared. Similar to the dark portals used by the Organization. The young heroes seemed to tremble. Either a wave of nervousness or sheer anticipation. Riku and Kairi exchanged glances, both nodded. Two hearts committed to the same purpose.
"Good luck, Riku! Kairi!" Namine softly cheered at Merlin's side. They both thanked her with a quiet nod.
"Alright, enough of this!" Axel sighed. "Last one in's a rotten egg!" he teased.
"You're a rotten egg!" Roxas taunted as he rushed past him into the vortex. Axel was hot on his heels in an instant. Xion loped in after with a giggle.
"Let's see if you two can catch up to me this time!" Terra laughed as he darted ahead of Ventus and Aqua. Ven rushed after. Aqua laughed and called for them to wait up. Riku and Kairi rushed in together just as the booming voice of Yen Sid burst into the room.
"NO! STOP THEM!" Merlin jumped as his fellow spell-caster's magically empowered voice shook the building to its foundations. Mickey Mouse rushed in after.
"Merlin! Don't let them go!" the rodent King cried in his high-pitched voice. Though his tone betrayed desperation.
"It's too late! They've all gone through!" Merlin gasped, his words breaking as he spoke. "Confound it, Yen Sid! For the love of heaven, what's the matter?" Yen Sid's eyes blazed with sheer horror contained only by determination.
"Cid, can you summon them back yourself using those Gummi-straps you told me about?" Yen Sid snapped.
"Sure thing!" the mechanic grunted before quickly striking buttons on his console. He growled and hit the same buttons again. "It's not working! Something's interfering with the signal!" A low curse came from Yen Sid's clenched teeth. Mickey's eyes fell in despair.
"This force you sensed, Merlin," Yen Sid began. "You were right, there WAS something familiar about it. I am sorry I did not recognize it sooner!" He drew a note-pad from his cloak. "Yesterday I reached out with my power to examine this force and a wave of darkness overwhelmed me. I fell for hours through a seemingly bottomless chasm of blackness until Mickey awoke me. I was in a kind of trance all through the night. When Mickey found me I was subconsciously scribbling in this note-pad. See for yourself," he finished, holding the pad out to Merlin, who tried not to shake as he accepted it. Never in all his years had Merlin ever seen Yen Sid this shaken.
Gingerly he opened the pad and nearly dropped it in horror. The pages were strewn with bizarre runes and monstrous sigils that denoted the darkest of evils. One in particular made his hands tremble. A red circle with three smaller circles inside, forming a triangle!
"Is it a trap?" Namine asked pleadingly. Merlin blinked and snapped the book shut before turning to the worried girl. "Is it another of Xehenort's tricks?"
"No, my dear, it is not Xehenort," his voice trailed off in horror, knowing exactly who was behind this mischief. "But it is, undoubtedly, a trap," he gazed in despair into the grey light of the portal, knowing the young keyblade wielders were now in way over their heads. Merlin was about to curse himself for not seeing it sooner. But his train of thought was derailed as the lovely blonde in white gasped.
"Kairi! Riku!" She wailed before darting towards the portal.
"WAIT, NAMINE!" Yen Sid roared in desperation. "IT'S TOO DANGEROUS! Cid! Turn it off!" But it was too late, Namine vanished into the vortex before it could dissipate with the press of a button.
…
Kairi awoke to a deafening ringing in her ears. Like static crackling on a radio left turned up too high. A light shone over her head into air thick with fog. She sat up painfully, blinking several times. How long had she been asleep? Where was she?
Climbing to her feet she saw that she was standing in front of a crashed jeep. Its headlights were still on, beaming into the thick grey clouds hugging the earth. The crackling static was coming from inside the vehicle's radio. Kairi blinked in surprise upon inspection of the jeep. The keys were in the ignition but the engine was turned off. She turned the keys, nothing happened. She turned the nobs on the radio, nothing changed. The radio was probably busted, and the starter was likely bad; she dismissed these oddities with the most possible explanation. Partially to calm her shaken nerves. Where was she?
Kairi's eyes widened as her memory returned. The anomaly! The portal! Her and the others had all rushed in! Sora could be here! He HAD to be here! But where was Riku and the others? They had all gone through just seconds apart. They must have been separated. They couldn't be far though. Could they?
"RIKU!" Kairi cried. Her voice echoed out into the fog. No reply came. "AXEL! ROXAS! XION! AQUA! VEN! TERRA! Anyone?" Her shouts had faded to a desperate gasp at the last word. Only her own echoes came back. Kairi's whole body trembled with fear, her breaths were shaky gasps. In a bid for confidence she stretched out her arm and called to her keybalde. A new overwhelming wave of terror enveloped her as her weapon never appeared. She tried again, and again! No use. Her keyblade would not come. Tears began to flow from her eyes when the soft sound of footsteps clopped ahead of her on the nearby paved road.
"Riku?" she softly cried. No answer, only soft steps on the asphalt. It was someone in tennis shoes, probably a boy. She could just barely make out a shape in the fog. Without thinking, she leapt after the figure in the fog. "Riku! Is that you? Didn't you hear my call?" No reply came from the walking, shadowy figure. "Riku? Roxas? Axel, is that you? This isn't funny! Please wait up! I can't summon my keyblade! Can you?" Still no answer, Kairi's strides shrunk to mere steps. Was it one of her friends? Was it an enemy? Could it be one Xehenort's allies? Or…could Xehenort be back. The footsteps came to an abrupt stop and Kairi froze.
She scanned her surroundings to find herself in a residential area. Part of some small town, most likely. Looking back, she could make out what she thought to be shops down the road back the way she came. Maybe her fears were for nothing. Maybe she had been following a child who happened to live nearby and knew better than to speak to strangers. A sigh escaped her lips. "Whoever you are, don't be afraid," she aloud. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm lost. I can't find my friends," still no reply came.
A street sign caught her eye, it read "Finney St." Her heart froze at the sight of the figure standing next to it. A boy, about her age, in a black shirt and pants. His hair was brown and while she couldn't quite make out his face through the fog, his eyes were a familiar blue. Again Kairi was trembling, breath caught in her throat. Forcing herself to breathe she managed to gasp, "Sora?"
A wicked smirk seemed to curve the boy's face before he darted down the fogy street. "SORA, WAIT!" Kairi cried as she took off after him, shaking tears from her eyes as she ran. "SORA! It's me Kairi! I came to find you! COME BACK!" But on the boy ran. Soon she was sprinting after him. The boy rushed out into the middle of the street then made a b-line into an alleyway, past a sign that read "Virginia's Bodas".
Kairi rushed into the alley after him. Her heaving lungs and panting breaths almost drowned out a new noise. The blare of a siren shook the very ground beneath her feet. It sounded like an alarm for a hurricane or some terrible storm back in Destiny Isles. She paused to catch her breath and look up in the sky. The fog was so thick but the siren sounded so near. Then suddenly, darkness fell.
The siren vanished as quickly as the sunlight. The alley was plunged into darkness. Kairi couldn't see. She could no longer hear footsteps or even see what was in front of her. She stepped forward hesitantly with her hands held out in front. A blind girl, groping in desperation. Kairi gasped as her hands struck something hard, metal; a chain-link fence. She blinked in the darkness. Could have sworn the fences in the alley were all wooden a moment ago.
Keeping one hand on the metal fence she carefully stepped forward. "Sora?" she tried to shout but only a timid gasp came out. "Please!" she whimpered. "Sora, if it is you, please answer me! I'm scared!" she said between sniffles as she sobbed in the darkness. Then a light flickered ahead of her. A lamp-post or some such. She let go of the fence and stumbled towards the light. The closer she came, the more she noticed the large glass tube lying beneath the light.
As she came within a foot of the tube she recognized it from Ansem's laboratory at Hollow Bastion. One of the tubes the Princesses of Hearts were sealed in. How did it get here? Kairi's eyes widened as she saw her name etched into a metal plate on the tube. A sudden motion caught her eye and a white figure rushed into the beam of the light. Kairi screamed in horror at the ghostly figure, whose face contorted in fear and let out her own horrified scream!
Both girls toppled over in fright, panting for breath. Both voices familiar to the other. After a moment of cautious silence, both girls gingerly climbed to their feet and slowly inched back into the light. Both girls; eyes welled with tears of recognition. A redhead in pink embraced a blonde in white.
"Namine! Where did you come from? How did you get here?" Kairi forced herself free of her best friend's embrace.
"I came in after you and Riku!" Namine whimpered. "Where is he, and the others?"
"I don't know! I woke up alone on the edge of town. I followed someone here, I thought for sure it was Sora!"
"What?" Namine gasped. "I thought I saw Riku in the fog! He led me here!"
"Oh, Namine! I can't summon my keyblade!" Kairi whimpered. "I have no idea where the others are! I don't know what to do!"
"What about your Gummi-strap?" Namine gasped. Kairi's eyes widened at the memory. She had forgotten all about it! She turned down to her right wrist, flipped the switch to activate the radio and pressed the communication button on the Gummi-strap.
"Riku! Roxas! Axel! Anybody!" She let go only to hear the crackle of static. "It's Kairi! Where is everyone?" no reply but static. It began to crackle louder, almost taking on a rhythm. Kairi was about to press the button and plead for her friends to respond again when a voice emitted from the speaker. A low, grumbling, humming voice. A gargling chant, like one would expect to hear from monks of some ancient religion. Both girls gasped and exchanged confused glances. Neither could make sense of it.
The girls cried out as they realized the sound was not only coming from the radio but all around them. They turned to find themselves surrounded. At least a dozen hooded figures encircled them, just beyond the ring of light below the lamppost. Their robes and hoods were ashy grey, their faces hidden behind bizarre masks of featureless faces. Their arms folded, as if in prayer. Their grabbled chant went on, indifferent to the terrified girls' whimpers and pleads.
"Who are?" Kairi demanded, though her voice was trembling. "What do you want with us?" No answers came, only the horrible murmured prayers. The two girls grasped each other tightly.
Suddenly, a burst of movement swiped overhead. The girls gasped up into blackness. Certain something big had just passed over. The hooded figures went on chanting as though nothing had happened. An otherworldly screech rang out above and a horrific figure came down to perch atop the lamppost. Kairi and Namine fell to the ground together and cried out in horror. A beast with the figure of a man but wings like a bat, a face like a lizard, and horns like a goat loomed over them! Its flesh seemed charred and scarred but its movement suggested no pain. The creature's hollow eyes gazed down upon the trembling figures, put up its wings stepped from its perch to came down upon the girls.
Kairi and Namine lowered their heads and screamed. Suddenly another figure burst into the light. The strong arms of a tall, masculine figure, embraced them, and shouted something up to the winged beast in defiance. The girls looked up to see creature hiss and beat its wings frantically until it disappeared into the shadowy sky. Again the mysterious siren sounded. The hooded figures vanished. The lamppost began to fade. Before the darkness enveloped them they caught a glimpse of their rescuer. A tall man with brown hair and a gentle face. His arms held them protectively.
"Don't worry, Sweeties," he told them. "Everything is going to be fine." Then all went black.