The others could only gape from where they were pinned throughout the room. Luci began to laugh, his giggles strange and shrill compared to his speaking voice. Tears gushed from Hayley's eyes, fogged her glasses and dripped down her chin. Her brows drew together in sharp arches.
"Sing, Kady, sing," she ground out.
Luci's laughter stopped short as he whirled on her. "Really? You as well?"
"Sing, Kady, sing!" she repeated.
Luci began to move towards her.
"Sing, Kady, sing!" Basil joined.
Luci's head snapped about, eyes feral.
"Sing, Kady, sing!" Ratigan bellowed the chant.
Kady shut his eyes against the sight before him, willing their voices to fill his head. He breathed deeply through his nose, a muffled sound pushing through the hands against his mouth.
"No!" Luci screeched, and contorted his hand.
The Heartless around Kady melted into black goo which swirled and encased him. He flailed against the muck, it pressing against his nose, his sealed lips. The other three were still chanting for him, their voices deafened through the paste. He tried not to think on how many seconds he could go without breathing, how long before his lungs started to burn.
When he was a child, he used to sing all the time. So much that his throat and chest would ache. Chakira would sometimes get irritated at him, ordering him to be quiet. It wasn't until Hopper gave him a dressing down, explaining to him just how terrible his singing was, along with a few well-placed smacks that he learned to stop. Learned that his singing was terrible, according to Hopper.
Hopper wasn't here anymore. He had been wrong about everything.
Kady opened his mouth wide, black goo rushing in.
He pushed all the air in his lungs out in a single, sonorous note, and the black slime was pushed out with it. The paste encasing him retreated, hardened, cracked, flaked, light peeking through.
"No, NO!" Luci screamed.
Kady's lungs sucked in more air, hardly breaking the harmony as he vocalized more, finding a melody. He began to stand, knocking away the black shell. Luci was mere feet from Hayley, his hands stretched towards her, amber eyes rimmed with red as he turned to face Kady.
"Damn you!" he screamed, moving as if to charge at Kady, but his feet began to sink into the floor. The Heartless in the room clutched at their antennae before scattering, vanishing in the growing light. Hayley jumped to her feet, Basil landed safely from the wall, and Ratigan sprung upright as well. Luci continued to struggle towards Kady, flesh melting red and clawed fingers swiping for him.
Kady flinched back a little, but didn't stop singing. Down, down Luci sank into the floor, his shouts unintelligible, gnashing long teeth, until he disappeared into the tile. Kady allowed his song to drift to a natural resolution before he stopped.
All was silent in the castle, the room glowing softly.