Note from forevermagik13: Erm, well, this would've been uploaded sooner if it wasn't for the fact that rarmaster didn't mention it was for Can't Escape as opposed to Dead Inside. So... whoops.
Note from rarmaster: Have I mentioned that I hate Sora's Shadow recently? cause, I do. Why? Because of THIS. That, and it was oddly fun to write... which makes it worse. sigh.
enjoy, i guess. try not to work up too much anger towards Sora's Shadow, though. it only makes him stronger, you realize
lol, jk XD
"Hey, whatcha drawing?" Riku asked.
Namine glanced up. "Hmm? Oh… you remember when 6 was freaking out earlier?"
Riku nodded, sitting down next to her. Namine scooted over slightly so there was room, moving a few of her pencils so he didn't sit on them.
"Well," she continued, setting one pencil aside and picking up the black. Again. She seemed to be using a lot of black for this picture. "He mentioned something about a 'dark Sora' and I thought I saw something for a split second, but when I turned back it was gone. However…" She moved her hand slightly so Riku could see the picture. "I've been itching to draw this since we got back."
Riku raised his eyebrows. The picture she had drawn was of someone who looked a lot like Sora. Almost identical. However, said person's hair was jet black, and he wore something similar to Sora's dark mode. His eyes were a sharp gold, and there was an absolutely nasty grin on his face. Riku wasn't sure what he was grinning at, but he was sure it wasn't good.
He shuddered slightly.
"I know," Namine whispered. "I have no idea who he is… but that smile gives me the creeps. Because I just… have this feeling… that someone's hurting, and he's laughing at them."
She swallowed.
"I thought it was just 6's insanity…" Riku muttered. "I didn't actually think that he was real…"
Namine shrugged. "I thought so too, but… this picture…"
"Well… we can try and talk to 6 about it…" Riku suggested. "If it's really bothering you. Or, if we see Sora again- but I'm not sure when that might be."
"Nah, I think I'm good," Namine muttered.
"Hey, why don't we go do something else?" Riku asked, rising to his feet. "Maybe we could convince Joseph to get us some ice cream."
"That won't work," Namine laughed, getting up herself and putting her sketchbook away. "He's almost out of WINNER sticks."
Riku turned to her in shock. "Joseph? Out of WINNER sticks?" he asked. "Never!"
Namine shrugged. "Ask him!" she replied, as they headed out of the room.
xx
Sora's Shadow let out a long groan. "Finally!" he shouted. "I thought they'd never leave! I've been sitting here for a good five minutes!" He walked over to the table and picked up Namine's sketchbook, flipping to the back of it and finding the picture that Namine had drawn of him. "Hey… this isn't too bad…" he mused. "Actually, it's pretty damn good!"
He slowly scowled.
"It's too damn good," he whispered, quickly tearing it out of the book and putting the book back where he had found it. "She shouldn't be able to draw me that well!"
In an angry flash of darkness, he was gone.
xx
"Can you explain this?" he asked angrily, showing the picture to 6. 6 glanced up from what he was doing, which wasn't anything interesting. Just something Sora's Shadow assumed that any Vexen Replica typically did to occupy their time. He wasn't sure though. He didn't care.
"Why that is a lovely picture of you, sir," 6 said, eyeing the picture. "Miss Namine did a good job."
"I know!" Sora's Shadow exclaimed, glancing over the picture again. "She got my smile down quite- wait! No! That's not why I'm here! I'm here because you decided to blab about me!"
"I-I'm sorry…" 6 muttered, sitting down on the floor. "I told you already, Miss Namine asked nicely. So I told her."
"And just why did you do that?" the Shadow asked, bending over so he could look 6 in the eye.
6 flinched away. "I already said. She asked me nicely," he explained simply. The Shadow's eyes narrowed, knowing that there had to be more to it than that. 6 swallowed. "Listen, I- I don't know, I-" he stuttered.
"No matter!" the Shadow laughed, cutting him off and straightening. "I'll just be more careful next time. You just need to keep your mouth shut about me, you hear?"
6 slowly nodded.
"Good, because I really do like the fact that no one knows I exist," the Shadow said. "I mean, sure, it's a bit lonely sometimes… but…" He shrugged. "Not like I care. Makes my life easier."
"I'll be good," 6 whispered.
The Shadow grinned. He began to tear the picture in half.
"NO! Wait!" 6 shouted. "Don't tear it!"
"And just why the hell not?" the Shadow asked, pausing before he tore it completely.
"Miss Namine will be so upset! And Master Riku will be-"
"Furious?" the Shadow finished, and then laughed. "What's he going to do to hurt me? He can't see me, can't hear me, doesn't even know I've been here. And I plan to keep it that way."
That said, he tore the picture to shreds, despite 6's consistent protests.
"Now if you excuse me," the Shadow laughed, watching the shreds fall to the ground. "I have somewhere better to be. Adios!"
And in a flash of darkness, he was gone again.
xx
It was about that time when Namine and Riku walked into the almost completely empty room.
"6?" Namine called tentatively. "I just wanted to ask you some questions. Do you think I could-"
She stopped suddenly, watching as 6 frantically tried to put the shreds of the picture back together. He was muttering to himself.
"Nononono… not good… this is not good… I have to fix it. I have to fix it. I-"
"6?" Namine called again, causing him to look up. She swallowed as 6 turned to her.
He was crying.
"I- I didn't do it!" he said frantically. "I swear, I tried to stop- I-" He paused suddenly, looking haunted now. "I didn't do it!" he repeated, resuming his frantic attempts to put the picture back together.
Namine quickly rushed over, kneeling down next to him. "Hey, 6," she told him gently, as she gathered up the shreds of paper. "It's alright. I didn't really like this picture anyways. I don't mind."
"But I didn't do it!" 6 said again.
Namine nodded. "Of course," she said. "But don't worry about it, alright?"
"O-Okay," 6 mumbled.
"So, 6," Riku said, walking over. "About those questions-"
He quickly stopped as Namine threw a glare over her shoulder at him.
"Not now!" she hissed. "The questions can wait." She turned back to 6. "Hey, why don't we go do something? Get your mind off of this, or something."
6 turned back to her, and then shook his head. "No," he said, rising to his feet. "I'm- I'm okay." He turned away then, and walked out of the room.
Riku raised his eyebrows. "Is it just me?" he asked, as Namine rose to her feet. "Or does he seem a bit more… I don't know… sane than usual?"
xx
"Hmm… maybe I shouldn't have gotten rid of the picture," he muttered. "It was good. I could have just held on to it." He summoned his chains, working them into the typical twirl. "Too late now though, I suppose."
He sidestepped a passing Vexen Replica, raising his eyebrows as he watched him go.
"Well then…" he whispered. "I didn't even bump into you and I'm hearing those thoughts… what's so important about this, then?"
The Vexen Replica stopped suddenly, and turned around. "Is someone there?" he called.
The Shadow sighed. "Oh great, not another one," he muttered. "How the hell is it that so many people can hear me?"
"Who are you?" the Vexen Replica demanded.
"You really can hear me then?" the Shadow asked. "This isn't just one of those random moments when I have enough power to project my voice?"
"I can hear you…" the Vexen Replica replied slowly, eyes narrowing.
"Right!" the Shadow laughed. "What number are you?" he asked, using a phrasing he had heard quite a few times. Not once had he heard a Vexen Replica not answer to it.
"23," the Vexen Replica responded. "And you are?"
"Well, as long as you promise not to tell about me…"
23 nodded.
"Sora's Shadow."
23's eyes widened. "I thought you were just a figment of 6's imagination!" he exclaimed.
The Shadow groaned. "Oh puh-lease! If I was a figment of anyone's imagination, it would be Sora's. And, obviously, I'm talking to you right now, so I have to be real, don't I?"
"I suppose…" 23 muttered.
Silence passed between the two of them for a moment. 23 was unsure of what to say. The Shadow was perfectly okay with that, and was currently probing 23's mind. A wicked grin slowly spread across his face.
"You're worried about something," he said after a moment, voice quiet.
"Worried about what?" 23 asked slowly.
"Ah! Sorry, not worried," the Shadow said, and then corrected himself: "Fed up."
"With what?"
"Everything," the Shadow replied simply. "Fed up with this blasted Rebellion. You never liked Riku, why should you be helping him? He destroyed your Master, after all."
"19 thought this was a good idea," 23 muttered.
The Shadow raised his eyebrows. "But you never agreed with 19 did you?" he asked. "Or, not really, anyways. You always thought he was stupid for trying to help you. So why should his opinion matter?"
"He's my brother," 23 sighed.
"But Riku's not," the Shadow pointed out. "And, if you don't like working for him that much, it shouldn't matter whether or not 19 cares."
"What are you getting at?" 23 asked.
The Shadow shrugged casually. "Nothing really, just suggesting that maybe you might want something more than this," he said. "Maybe something like… I don't know… revenge."
23 raised his eyebrows, as if considering the idea.
"I don't have time for this," he said after a moment, turning on his heel and walking away.
"Really now!" the Shadow called after him. "We were having a nice conversation here! Whatever, you're loss…" He shook his head and let out a long sigh. "Guess I need to go… do other things…"
In a flash of darkness, he was gone.