Chapter 11: New Beginnings
"The portal is not going to hurt you!"
"It's made of pure darkness!"
Roxas rolled his eyes at Sora.
"It's not pure darkness. Come on," he said.
"I say we should use the Gummi ship. I mean, I can't just leave it here anyway." Sora said. Roxas visibly paled at the suggestion.
"No way, I-if I have to go into pure light, y-you have to go into pure dark. It's only fair," Roxas said, his voice coming out shaky. Sora blinked at him before realization hit.
"Thought it wasn't pure dark?" he said with a smug grin, "and you volunteered to do this. You're scared aren't you? Awww, you're afraid!"
"Am not!" Roxas shouted, pushing Sora's hands that were poking at his ribs away.
"It's okay, Roxas. I doubt that the ship can fall," the brunette said, patting his shoulder. "Besides, do you even know were this world is?"
Roxas flushed then drooped in defeat.
"Where's your stupid ship?"
"Hey, Zex," Axel said as the two wandered aimlessly outside. It felt like they had been walking for an eternity, "where are we gonna sleep?"
Zexion stopped walking, inspecting a nearby bench before sitting on it and sighing deeply.
"I do not know, but I am spent for the day. World travel is tiring." he said. Axel settled down next to him.
"Yeah, so is destroying a book store in the pursuit of love." he said. Zexion took the time to shoot Axel a look of disdain before crossing his arms. "Hey, what's that look? At least I attempted, bro."
"That is beside the point at the moment. We do not know where they are right now and I refuse to live in the wild." Zexion said.
"…Didn't you get left in the wild? So like, you would have experience…"
Zexion stood up and walked away.
"Dude! It wasn't supposed to be an insult! Come back here!" Axel called. He got up and started after the shorter boy. "Where are you even going?"
"Away from you." was his short response.
"Zexion, I went too far. I'm-" Axel stopped and looked at the sky. "Can you summon your Lexicon?"
Zexion stopped and lifted his hands. His body went completely rigid.
"No," he said tensely.
"Then, is this normal for Earth?" Axel responded pointing upwards. People around the area began screaming as a giant, purple, swirling vortex opened up in the sky.
"I.. do not know…" Zexion said, staring at the sky in awe. "I swear it is not me. I cannot even conjure up a simple illusion."
"Maybe… hey Zex, calm down." Axel said.
"I am calm!" Zexion said heatedly. Axel shook his head.
"Take deep breaths, seriously."
The wind around them picked up, throwing twigs, leaves, and dirt everywhere. People were running in the streets, screaming, dashing into nearby buildings, jumping into cars, gripping onto telephone poles. Zexion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A tree was uprooted.
Axel was anxious, hoping his theory was right. He wanted to rush Zexion to calm down, but that wouldn't help anything.
"Hey! You two! Get in the car!"
Axel spun around to see a blonde woman gesturing to them from a pink machine on the curb. He glanced back at the sky, seeing the vortex shrink little by little.
"It's right over you! Can you hear me?" she shouted, getting out of the wheel object. Axel sighed at this woman trying to be the hero. He didn't want her to disturb Zexion, but he had to pretend to be afraid to blend into this new world.
"Stay calm. Zex. Keep breathing. Thinking happy thoughts. It's working. Just breath and relax." he said, grabbing Zexion's hand and leading him towards the woman.
"Sorry that my car is so small, you're really tall." she said as Axel situated Zexion into the seat.
'A car… okay?' Axel thought distractedly as he kept whispering calming words to Zexion.
"I don't know what that thing is. That was horrifying. It seems to be going away now though. So sca- what's wrong with him? Is he okay?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah. Just… a…. panic attack." Axel said, watching the purple mess fade from the sky as Zexion breathed evenly, suddenly falling asleep and leaning onto him.
"Oh, okay. Anything I can do?" she asked with concern. Axel shook his head.
"He's fine now."
"…Well, I can drop you guys off? Where do you live?" she asked. "Oh, I'm Samantha by the way."
"Axel," the redhead responded with a small smile, "and about that… we don't really have anywhere to go."
The woman gasped and stopped the car.
What? What happened?" she asked, a tad overdramatically.
"It's truly a long story." Axel said.
"I'm so sorry…" the woman said. After a long pause she added, "you guys can stay with me for a while. I really wouldn't mind."
Axel looked over at Zexion's sleeping form. They really had nowhere else to go and she seemed harmless.
"Thanks. We really appreciate it."
It was so dark.
Everything ached.
He didn't even know where he was or what was going on. There was a light, so far from him. He would never reach it.
He opened his mouth to call out, but no sound came out. His tongue was dried out to the point were his attempts to scream only caused it to split. Even the bitter, coppery liquid was a relief to his parched throat.
He was too weak to move. Too weak to even fully open his eyes. He would never reach that light.
Why wasn't he dead already?
You are at the end of your journey here.
He struggled to open his eyes again and look around for the source of the voice.
Rest. Do not move. Listen carefully. Give in.
Just as the words were spoken, the temperature of the room dropped to below freezing. The shivering it cause made his pain even worse.
Give in.
It seemed darker. The air became more sinister. He opened his eyes and watched dark clouds swirl across what little light he could see.
So much more is in store for you. You will be more powerful. Just give in. Come on, don't fight it.
It felt as though something was being ripped from his chest. A scream was forced from his throat, the voice he thought would be lost forever.
Let go.
The pain was too much. What was going on?
He writhed on the ground. His head banged against the floor, making him dizzy. Why couldn't he just die and end it all? No one would ever find him. He wanted it to end.
Stop fighting it and your pain will stop.
"I don't. know. how!"he screamed.
Suddenly, everything stopped.
No pain.
No convulsing.
Just a sense of emptiness.
Good job. You gave in. Welcome to your new life…
Riku.