Chapter VIII - Path of Fate
Play: Scent of Silence - Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
For a while, you could hear a pin drop.
The two just sat there, in silence. Riku just focused on the weapon that was back in his hand. Kirux was just staring down at the ground.
The silence was deafening, and after a while, Kirux couldn't stand it anymore.
"Okay, answer me this."
Riku didn't bother to look at Kirux, just waving his hand while lightly saying, "Talk."
"I'm you, or is it that you're me? Whatever. But that doesn't tell me why you attacked me and brought me to...wherever the hell we're at right now."
Not getting a response, Kirux continued, "So, what is it that you even want me for?"
…
Before Riku could give Kirux an answer, a door opened. The light blinded Kirux's eyes, but he did see the new figure entering the room. The door shut behind them.
Riku nudged his head toward the new figure, "That's what I brought you here for."
Kirux looked up at the new figure. With hardly any light in the room, he couldn't make out what they looked like at all.
He could, however, tell by the voice that they were male, when they spoke loudly, "So you are the one that they call..."Kirux.""
Kirux shrugged, "That's what people have been calling me. So yeah, you could say I'm Kirux."
The figure looked over at Riku, who just gave him his own shrug.
"My apologies for having him bring you here by force. Judging your first encounter, we felt a simple request would've been denied."
"Noooooo way. Ya think so? If you had just sent an invitation, I would've considered it."
Neither Riku nor the figure replied to him after he said that, just continuing with their spiel, "Believe it or not, Kirux, we brought you here for a reason."
"Well, seeing as how I'm handcuffed to this wall, then I guess I can accommodate your time. Please. Ask anything you'd like."
Judging by the no-reaction a second time, he assumed that they were getting angry with his antics.
…
The new figure started, "Where did you come from?"
"Dunno. One day, I just woke up in an alley, and boom. That was it."
"You do not remember anything beforehand?"
"Not a thing. Although, I hear your memory gets hazy after you have too much to drink. Or was it eating too much? Not sure-,"
"Enough of your jokes, boy!" The new figure yelled, quite loudly, "Do I need to remind you of the situation you're in?"
Kirux just grinned as he continued, "I will not be made a fool of and joked at by a worthless Nobody."
When he finished, Kirux chuckled, "Well, guess what, shadow man. I don't give a damn about whether you think I'm "worthless" or not. Cuz once I get out of this," he said as he shook the handcuffs, "I'm gonna bust outta here, beat the crap out of anyone who tries to stop me, and then call up my pals in the Organization."
"So go ahead. Ask your questions. Who you are and what you're doing doesn't mean a thing to me."
Kirux reclined back against the wall, knowing he had pissed the new guy off.
He didn't say anything, just turning back and leaving the room. Riku followed right after him, locking the door behind him.
"Insolent creature..." DiZ grumbled, walking back towards his computer.
"We're just gonna have to keep trying," Riku said as he entered behind, "He's not invincible. He'll crack eventually."
"I should've just had you destroy him."
"And lose our only way of getting inside the Organization? No chance I'm doin' that."
"This plan is nothing but a joke! We have no means of guaranteeing he won't get caught!"
"He's our only shot of getting the rest of Sora's memories back! I've been watching him as much as you have. He's already befriended the two targets."
DiZ just sat in his chair with his hand on his head. Riku stood there, quietly crossing his arms.
…
…
…
After a long silence, Riku spoke again, "Remember DiZ. That moment he unleashed the darkness."
"If he's able to use the darkness like that, then it could only be one thing..."
DiZ looked over at Riku, "You're saying..."
"Yeah. Ansem."
DiZ sighed heavily, looking down at the ground and holding his head.
"What are we going to do?"
Stop: Scent of Silence - Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
Kirux was just relaxing in the room Riku and the other guy had left him in before. He tried whistling to himself, but very quickly realized that he didn't know how to.
So, he was just humming to himself quietly, when he heard...something.
It wasn't anything like a footstep or a voice. Just...the ambiance changed.
Almost as if someone was in the room with him.
"Uh...hello?" He said out, quietly.
He didn't get a response, but there was a presence moving closer to him.
…
Then, out of nowhere, the handcuffs on his wrist lightened. Whoever was in the room with him had somehow uncuffed him from the wall.
Then a voice, "There is little time...we must go..."
"Who's there? Who are you?"
"No time to answer...please...step forward..."
Kirux stood up and heard a clicking sound from the door.
Was it...just unlocked?
…
The voice returned, "please...step forward...the door is open..."
Kirux, although slightly uneasy, did so. He turned the nob on the door and pushed it open before being blinded by a bright light.
Play: Destati - Third Inception - Kingdom Hearts III
When his eyesight returned, he was standing in the middle of an empty void. Every direction was just darkness. He at least could see himself.
"Okay...weird." He thought, right before he heard the voice again.
"I have seen the path you are destined for..." they said, "I can see the darkness inside of you..."
Right as it finished that last sentence, a "pathway" of sorts opened up in front of Kirux.
"Walk forward...and you shall see the path set out for you..."
Not seeing anywhere else to go, Kirux did as the voice said. He started walking.
…
…
…
"So, who are you mystery voice?"
"I'm nobody...just a watcher...a guide..."
"A guide? A guide for what?"
"I am a guide...of fate..."
"A guide of fate?"
"It is my duty...to be sure you stick...to the path..."
"Care to explain what that path is?"
The voice didn't respond.
"Hey, I'm talking to you."
No response again.
Kirux just scoffed, "Fine. Don't talk, oh-so-mysterious-voice."
…
After walking for a good while, Kirux looked up and to his side. He could see...strange boxes floating around. The boxes had images in them, memories.
His memories.
The time he got his name. When he officially met Axel, then Roxas, and finally Xion. The moment when he first encountered Riku in Hollow Bastion. His mission with Axel was when he unleashed those strange dark powers.
"What's with the slideshow?" He said out loud, hoping to hear the voice respond. They didn't.
So, Kirux continued to walk until the path stopped.
"Okay. The path is stopped. You got anything else you wanna show me?"
…
The area opened again, but this time it was different. There was a split.
"I see two paths in your future..." the voice started, "one of light...one of dark..."
"The path of light will lead you to a long, fulfilling life. However, on your path of life...you will lose everything you hold dear, and you'll have to travel it alone..."
"What? How?"
Suddenly, his mind flashed. Kirux grabbed his head in pain, as more "memories" began to flood his head.
He saw...horrible things. Horrible things happening to Axel, Roxas, and Xion. Things that he could never imagine happening.
When the pain had mostly subsided and he got to one knee, he spoke through gritted teeth, "How is that...the path of light?"
"Because the path of the dark will lead to your destruction, at the hands of someone you hold dear."
And just like that, the pain returned. This time, new memories appeared.
One, in particular, stood out. Kirux was fighting someone, but he couldn't tell who. When he went in for an attack, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.
When he looked down, he had been stabbed right through the abdomen...
...by a Keyblade.
…
Kirux yelled out in pain, "Stop! Enough! I've seen enough..."
"So...what path will you choose...? The path of light...and the path of dark...?"
"Why in the world would I wanna pick either?"
"These are the paths the universe has chosen for you...you may only choose one..."
He shook his head, "I don't want to go down either path..."
"It is impossible...fate cannot be changed..."
"No! I don't believe it!"
"What...?"
Kirux started slowly rising back to his feet, "I don't know who you are or whatever your "fate" decided, but I-,"
He pulled his sword out, "I'm not gonna let it decide what my future is like."
"No, wait..!"
…
Kirux slashed his sword through the two memory "screens" he had seen, the two disappearing into the void. The two paths closed soon after.
For a while, he just stood there in silence.
Then, the voice came back.
Actually...no. It was different this time.
…
"Very good."
Kirux looked around in shock, "Who's there? You're not the same voice from before."
"No. I am not the voice you heard before. But worry not. It was only a figment of your imagination."
"A figment of my imagination?" He said that before rubbing his head, "Did I trip and hit my head or something?"
"Relax. What you're seeing is only a dream."
Right after the mystery voice said that a figure appeared in the pathway ahead of Kirux. They were hooded in a brown robe. No other details were noticeable.
"Follow this pathway. It will lead you out of here."
While he was confused, Kirux didn't see any other way to go. So, he started to walk forward, the hooded figure disappearing as he approached.
…
"So what, am I...sleeping? Did I enter some sort of portal when I entered that portal?"
"The answer is yes and no."
"Uhh...how?"
"This isn't a dream, as you're not asleep. This is just...a vision, you could say. A view into your mind."
Kirux looked around again, "Not much to see for a vision..."
"You are still young...there is not much to see because there is much you have yet to experience."
"You've got a point there, but...if this is my mind, then how in the world are you here?"
…
"Well, Kirux...you and I share a closer bond than you might know."
"What kinda bond is that? I've never met you before, have I?" Kirux said as he came to a stop.
"No, and it shall stay that way for a while. But for now, the secret will have to stay that way. It's still too early to determine your fate and too early to reveal who I am."
The hooded figure appeared once again, and the voice returned, "It is time for you to awaken. After all, your window to escape is closing fast."
"Wait, what-," Kirux was cut off when the hooded figure put his hand up and hit him with a strange blast of energy. Before Kirux could even react, he was out and hitting the floor.
Stop: Destati - Third Inception - Kingdom Hearts III
Kirux woke back up right where he was before. Sitting in his dark room, all alone.
He lifted his arms to stretch, pulling his right behind his head before realizing it.
The handcuffs were off.
Wait...so had it not been a dream?
He immediately got up and walked to the door. He grabbed the handle and tried twisting it slowly.
Unlocked.
He sighed quietly, "This doesn't make any sense..."
Play: Castle Oblivion - KH Re: Chain of Memories
Kirux pushed open the door, peering out into the hallway outside. It was nearly pitched darkness, but he had been used to that with being stuck in his "cell".
"Alright, exit," he said quietly to himself, "Need to find an exit."
"In this dark and creepy building," he continued as he snuck out of the room and down the hall, "No biggie. No biggie at all."
…
It became very clear, very quickly, that Kirux had no idea where he was going.
He would turn a corner from a hallway only to find more hallways. He found himself constantly going in circles. Every area looked the same.
Kirux was just about to say "screw it, I'll just jump out of a window or something" before he heard footsteps coming in his direction.
"OH crap." He whispered before very quickly opening and door and hiding inside. He didn't shut the door entirely, but the low light in the hallway wouldn't give him away.
He saw Riku walk into the hall and past the door, down towards Kirux's "cell".
"Not good..." He thought, "Gotta hurry it up and get out of here."
Quickly but quietly, he re-opened the door and scuffled his way down the hall.
…
Meanwhile, Riku was just reproaching his clone's door. DiZ insisted on doing some sort of research on Sora while he went back to check on their new guest.
Unfortunately, Riku noticed it right as he got there.
The door was not only unlocked, but it was also open.
Riku immediately pushed the door open, slamming it into the wall hard.
The handcuffs lay empty on the floor. His clone had escaped.
Riku felt his fists clenching, and he immediately turned and punched a massive hole into the wall.
"DAMMNIT!" He yelled. Everyone in the mansion had heard it, including his clone.
He calmed down quickly though. After all, the mansion only had one exit.
…
Kirux heard Riku's scream from what he thought the front of the mansion was.
He grinned and whispered "That's whatcha get." as he continued down the hall until he heard footsteps again.
Although they were lighter, he still hid while they passed by.
Just as he was going back out into the hall, he bumped into someone. They fell to the ground, making a loud thump sound.
Kirux snapped over to see who it was he had run into. To his surprise, it was a girl.
She was small and thin, the white dress and blonde hair very noticeable in the dark.
She looked up at Kirux, and he thought he saw a familiar face...
Was that...Xion? No, it couldn't be. But...she looked so similar to Xion...
"Who the hell are you?" He asked a bit too loudly.
...
Before the girl could answer, loud footsteps were approaching from behind.
Riku turned and saw the two of them.
Kirux's eyes widened and he let out an "Oh crap" before pushing past the girl and running down the hall.
Riku, not even bothered by the girl, ran after him.
The girl just stood up and followed quickly after them. After all, if Riku got his hands on Kirux for too long...
Stop: Castle Oblivion - KH Re: Chain of Memories
Kirux finally found the exit, and immediately sprinted for the door. He grabbed the handle...
...and it was locked.
"Aww come on, not now!" He said as he heard Riku very quickly gaining on him.
He tried busting it down with his shoulder and even kicked the door a few times. Nothing worked.
...
Before he could try to find another way, he heard Riku call out behind him.
"Where do you think you're going?"