Skittering Void[Worm/Kingdom Hearts] - Chapter 1

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He sought.

He looked.

For a place to rest.

A place to be safe.

He didn't want to die.

He didn't want to be ended.

He wanted to live.

All while he cursed the person who did this to him. A person who could be called his brother.

He continued to seek a place of rest, as he floated in The Sea of Skies.

He could feel his being splinter but, never fall as his sheer will to live, and negative emotions continued to sustain his being, as he sought out for one who could take him in.

As he floated through The Lanes. He began to feel something pull on his being.

Having no better option, he followed the pull to its source. He didn't know how long it took to get to his destination. For he had long since lost his sense of time.

But, then, he felt it, the familiar sensation of passing through the barriers that separated the Worlds from each other. But, there was something-

PAIN.

He felt pain. Pain like he never felt before.

As he passed through the barrier pieces of his being torn apart. Memories were disappearing.

NOnono. He thought he would not die now.

And like that, the pain was gone, and he felt himself fall gently down onto the world, to his destination.

And there he saw it, a Heart of Light shining ever brightly.

And so he asked the Heart if he could seek refuge inside of it, for him to heal.

He didn't expect the heart to say yes, for would except being of complete Darkness like he was. But, to his surprise, the Heart answered yes.

He felt the pull once more, and he felt himself be let in and land in the hands of a small child.

And soon after, he felt sleep take hold of him.

Xxx

A small yawn rang throughout a bedroom, and the green eyes of a young girl opened up. The girl sat up on her bed as she wiped the dust out of her eyes. She looked at her Hero Clock and saw that it was only four in the morning. But, her throat was parched, so she decided to go get some water.

She left her bed and her room and walked down the stairs to the kitchen with her Mouse Protector plushy in her hand.

She walked through the door to the kitchen and turned on the lights, she went and dragged a chair over to the sink. She stood on it and reached into the lowing hanging cupboard that contained her plastic cups.

She turned on the tap, and water streamed out and soon turning cold. As she filled her cup with water, she heard steps to her right. The girl turned off the stream of water and turned to face the person that had entered the kitchen.

"Taylor dear, what are you doing up so early?" Her mother asked her.

"I had a dream, and I was thirsty," Taylor told her mother.

Annette just smiled at her daughter as she walked over to her, while Taylor drank her fill and then she was done her mother picked her up.

"Can you tell mom about the dream sweetie," Annette asked her daughter. The little girl nodded, and she began telling her mother what she dreamt about.

And then she was done Annette couldn't help but, feel worried over what her daughter had told her about her dream. She couldn't discern a reason why she felt that way, but, she did anyway. But, she continued to mull it over in her head as she carried her daughter up to her bedroom. Really. She thought. A boy coming to her asking her for help to heal by resting inside her heart. Under any other circumstances, Anette would have dismissed the dream. As a product of her daughter's mind but, in the world of Parahumans and the existence of The Butcher. A more sinister side of a rather innocent dream became apparent. For who was to say a there wasn't a power that let them take over people but, only if they let them.

She dismissed those thoughts they were getting too paranoid for her liking.

Annette smiled as she placed her now asleep daughter on her bed and pulled the covers over her and put her plush next to her. Afterward, she went back downstairs and joined her husband back in bed. But, as she laid her head, one her pillow, a stray thought shot through her mind. That the only reason, she dismissed them was because she didn't want to think of the possibility that she was right.

It was all just stupid paranoia.

Sleep took Annette once more.

Xxx

Tears streamed down Taylor's face as she cried her heart out for her now, deceased mother. Chokes and sniffs echoed throughout her bedroom. Like she had done every night that week.

But, unknowingly to Taylor as she cried her began flickering from her normal green ones to piercing yellow ones. They continued to flash, back and forth between green and yellow until her tear ducts ran dry, and she fell asleep.

Xxx

Taylor thrashed around the tight space she had just been trapped within, she managed to turn her body around, so her face wasn't in the filth that was with her in the locker.

Taylor's hands banged against the metal door of the locker, all while yelling, hoping anybody would help her.

"Help, please, anybody, help me!" Taylor yelled. Her hands continued to bang against the door, in a desperate attempt to escape. But, now her hands were beginning to hurt badly, and scratches began to accumulate on them.

So, she stopped banging on the door and just continued to scream for help.

Taylor didn't know how long she had been yelling for but, now her throat was dry and sore. She felt almost all of her energy was gone and starting to get sleepy.

But, her hope rose within her as she heard steps outside her locker and finding strength once more she called out again.

"Anybody, out there, please help me get out here the code is 785923." She called out to the person, who was now much closer to her.

"You still in there, Taylor?"

No.

"I would have expected somebody to let you out about."

Nononono.

"You've been in there for an hour and a half now."

Nononononono.

"You're even more pathetic and weak than I thought you were. See you later, Taytay."

"Emma," Taylor called out. "Emma, please. Let me out, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did, I'm sorry." She pleaded with her former friend. She heard the steps, stop and for moment hope surged within her but, was crushed when she heard Emma continue to walk away.

Taylor couldn't even cry as the sounds of Emma's shoes disappeared. Only small croaks came out of her mouth as she felt something shatter inside of her, and Darkness overtook her vision.

[Data]

Xxx

Taylor awoke with a shock and rose to her feet in less than a second. She was confused, then Taylor realized she wasn't in her locker, Taylor became even more confused as she took in her new surroundings.

The place she was in was complete and utter black with not a single source of light in sight. But, she could still see perfectly. Though that probably had something to do with the platform of stained glass she was standing on.

Taylor took at the platform and saw that the glass was filled with cracks, destroying that image used to be on it, and as she looked at the edge of the platform, she could see pieces fall off it.

"Where am I?" Taylor questioned as she stared at the abyss in front of her.

"Your Heart." A male voice said, from behind her.

Taylor turned around quickly and came face to face with the person who snuck up behind her.

The person before Taylor was a boy around the same age she was. He had spiky black hair that seemed to defy gravity, along with inhuman yellow eyes. But, what stood out most was his clothing. He wore what appeared to be a skin-tight, red, and black suit. That looked almost organic, along with a skirt.

"Who are you? And what do you mean by 'my Heart.'" Taylor questioned the boy, a bit of fear could be heard in her voice.

"It means exactly what I said, this place-" he gestured to the platform and their surroundings. "- Is your Heart. And for who I am? Well, my name is Vanitas, and I'm just a guest here." The boy named Vanitas answered.

"Wait, what do you mean guest." Questioned Taylor, while taking a step back from the intimidating boy.

"I'm saddened you don't remember me, Taylor, but, to be fair, it has been ten years since we last talked to each other, hasn't it, and that was then you let me rest and heal in your Heart," Vanitas answered.

And with that, a lightbulb went up in Taylor's head, and recognition dawned.

"You-you're one who I." Taylor stuttered out.

"Oh, so you do remember me." Vanitas mockingly responded.

Taylor was about to retort but, was stopped as she felt a stab of pain in her chest. She fell to her knees, clutching her chest. With an utterly confused look on her face as to why, she just felt pain.

Vanitas looked at the kneeling girl and could only sigh. She hadn't been able to see what had happened, but, he had. Just behind Taylor, Vanitas had seen a large chunk of the Station break apart just before Taylor fell to her knees. Now he knew he had to act fast.

"Taylor," The girl turned her face to meet his. "I'm sorry to say this but, your dying." Taylor's face devolved into shock. "Your Heart is breaking apart, and soon you will die." Her face was being flooded with tears. "But, that isn't going to happen. You saved my life, and now I'm going to save yours. But, I don't have the time to do it the way you saved mine. So, I'm going to give you my Heart to heal your own." Taylor's eyes widened even more. "Before you ask why I would do this. Well, if you were to die, I would too since I'm inside your Heart." Vanitas said.

Taylor couldn't believe what she was hearing. To think someone would give their life up to save hers? Such a thought was almost unthinkable in her mind. For who would do anything for, weak and pathetic Hebert. Taylor's decrepit mind thought.

"And doing it this way will still allow me to exist in some form." Vanitas continued.

What does he by that. Thought Taylor.

There was a flash, and a weird looking weapon appeared in Vanitas' hand. Before Taylor could say anything, Vanitas slammed it into his own chest and twisted it. The odd weapon disappeared, and floating in front of Vanitas was a ball of pure Darkness.

"Now Taylor let us become one," Vanitas shouted, and thrust his arm forward and sending the ball towards Taylor. Before she could react, the ball hit her chest, and her vision was once again consumed by Darkness.

[Agreement]

Xxx

She hummed quietly as she stared out of the window of her hospital room.

It had been five days since she had been pulled out of her locker. She had been unconscious for four days before she had woken up earlier that morning. Thankfully Dad had been there when she had woken up.

He had called for the nurses, and they gave her a once over and decided that she should stay one more night in the hospital to fully recover from her infections.

The police had also shown up to question her about what had happened, and so she decided for once in her life, to be honest with herself, and say something. The two cops wrote everything down that she could remember that happened to her. After good twenty of telling everything, the policemen told her and Dad that they would contact them in two days' time. After they left, Dad asked her if it really was true. She told him that yes, it was all true. He had just nodded in acknowledgment before telling her that he had to leave now.

And now she was alone in her hospital room and having nothing better to do, she decided to think, think about who she was. Cause she wasn't sure if she was Taylor Herbert or Vanitas. She had the memories of both those people. So maybe she was both of them now, the complete remnant of two broken people. But, she had the body and face of Taylor Herbert, so she would mostly be her. But, she also.

She held out her hand, and in a flash of Darkness, Vanitas' Keyblade Void Gear appeared in it. Though it wasn't Vanitas' anymore but, hers.

She had all of his powers and skills but, her body wasn't quite up to snuff yet so, she would have to begin training it soon. After that, she didn't know what to do. Taylor had- no, she had always wanted to be a hero when she was younger, going out and saving people like Alexandria. But, the part of her that was Vanitas was disgusted with such selfishness and wanted something more self-indulgent. So, after thinking about it for a few minutes, she came up with a plan that satisfied both of her halves. But she needed to train a bit first before doing any cape business. And since she had nothing better to do, Taylor laid down on her bed and took a nap.

Xxx

Anger rolled off one Danny Hebert as he drove through Brockton Bay on his way to his destination. The home of one Alan Barnes, for one single purpose. To see if his maybe, soon to be ex-friend knew anything about what Emma had done to Taylor. But, he would know soon enough. He had difficulty believing what had happened, what Emma had done to his girl. But, that wasn't even the worst. The worst was the sheer lack of emotion he had seen on Taylor's face when she recounted all that had happened to her, to the cops. Acting like all of it didn't matter to her, that it was trivial like walking down the street. It disturbed him a little.

He hit the breaks, and his truck ground to a halt right outside Alan's front door. Danny exited the car, walked up to the door, rang the bell, and waited for it to open. It only took half a minute for the door to open, with Alan standing in the doorway.

"Danny?" Alan asked in surprise.

"Alan, we need to talk," Danny said, his devoid of the usual mirth.

Alan winced at Danny's tone, his friend was pissed at him, and he didn't know why. "Well, come on in. It has been a while since we've talked, hasn't it." Alan tried to small talk.

"Yes, it has Alan, and we have much to talk about." Danny went inside the house, Alan followed after him, and he was extremely nervous, for it was rare to see Danny Hebert angry.

Both of them entered the living room. Danny sat himself down on the couch, and Alan picked one of the chairs.

"So, Danny, what did you want to talk about?" Alan asked his friend, trying to break the tension he was feeling.

"Do you know that Emma is bullying Taylor?"

The question came so out of left field that Alan had no response for it. "Wha," was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

"Do you know that Emma is Bullying Taylor?" Danny repeated, this time putting more edge into his voice.

After hearing it a second time, Alan quickly regained his composure. "Danny, what do you mean by my daughter has been bullying Taylor?"

Danny took a breath before he answered. "Alan, I think I need to start at the beginning, for this one."

Danny began telling Alan all that. He had heard Taylor tell the cops. At the end of it, Alan was sipping from a whiskey glass. Having at the five-minute mark decided he was a bit to sober for this.

"And that's all of it." Danny finished.

"Fuck." Was all that Alan had to say about it, as he put the glass back on the table.

"That's a proper response to this clusterfuck isn't it," Danny muttered sarcastically.

"Danny, what do I do?"

"What do you think you have to do?."

"And that Danny is what I don't know," Alan took another sip of the alcohol before continuing talking. "Danny, I might only be a divorce lawyer, but, I know the law and the crimes Emma have committed could easily land her fifteen years in jail if she was tried as an adult. And dammit Danny, she's still my little girl, and I don't want to see her jail. So what do I fucking do Danny." Alan cried out, tears running down his face.

Danny could only look at his friend in sympathy, suddenly an idea crossed his mind. "Do you think we can convince Emma to turn herself in and maybe only get juvie and a therapist." Danny stopped talking as he heard Alan snort. "What?"

"I'm sorry. It's just, that Emma has been to a therapist, and he declared her mentally fit, guess I should have paid for a better one." Alan said bitterly.

"Alan, what happened?" Danny asked, his voice filled with concern.

"It happened about a year and a half ago. Then Taylor was at summer camp. Emma and I were on our way home when we got pulled over by some ABB. They pulled Emma out of the car and locked me in. I heard saying various things they were gonna do to her. Luckily they didn't manage to do anything to her before Shadow Stalker showed up and stopped them. We went home and tried to forget it had ever happened but, she started to have nightmares about it, so I sent her to a therapist to help deal with it, and after three months of going, he had her declared mentally fit. It was little after the incident that Emma became friends with Sophia." Alan explained.

"The other bully." Stated Danny.

"Yes, her, and thinking about it, it was probably her that caused the divide between Emma and Taylor, in the first place. The timing is too perfect. I've never completely trusted the girl something about her rubbed me the wrong way but, she was my daughter's friend, and it looked like she was helping her, so Ignored my feelings. I should have been more questioning. When Taylor stopped coming over but, I just thought they had a falling out. You know how most teenagers are they get in fight stop talking to each other for almost a year. But, when they do, and they forget that period ever happened. I just didn't mention it to you, Danny, was because I fought you knew already." Alan took another swig of the whiskey. "I've messed up badly, Danny."

"Both of us have messed up Alan, and now we have to correct those mistakes." Danny's voice was solemn as he talked.

"That we do Danny, that we do. Also, I forgot to ask, how is Taylor doing after what happened." Alan asked.

"That I don't know, Alan. She just woke up this morning from her little coma and her, and she." Tears began to roll uncontrollably from Danny's eyes.

Alan rushed over to his friend and began comforting him. "Danny, it's okay; whatever happened is going to be fine."

Danny sniffed and continued to talk. "She looked so dead, Alan. Like everything around her didn't matter like she was disconnected from reality. Even when she told the cops what had happened, there were no emotions."

After thinking about a response, Alan spoke again. "Danny, I think that's just the trauma. Emma was kinda like after the ally but, if she still acts like that after a week, when you should call the therapist."

Danny let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, your probably right." He took a breath and continued. "But, I've also got another problem. The school tried to make me sign a settlement."

"Of course they would, they wouldn't want to make a scandal out it. Don't worry about the bills Danny, I'm going be to paying for those."

Danny looked at his friend in surprise. "Alan, you don't," but, his speech was called off, as Alan raised his hand.

"Danny, this is the least I can do to repay for the damage my daughter did. And I want to take Winslow down a notch. For they have failed as an Institution and place of learning." Alan said, in his lawyer tone.

Danny just smiled. "Thanks, Alan, you're a good friend."

"It's my pleasure, Danny." Alan returned the smile with his own.

Danny was about to talk again but, was interrupted by Emma entering the living room.

"Hey, dad, I'm hoomee!" Emma dragged out the sentence as she saw who her dad was talking to.

Alan turned his head towards his daughter and gave her a look, which just said 'disappointment.' "Emma, we have some things to talk about and give me your phone." Alan's voice was cold as steel.

Xxx

Dragon was in the middle of checking over the Birdcages systems when she was interrupted by one of her data probes that picked up something of interest.

The AI finished up the checks and shifted her attention to the probe. It seemed that her probe had picked up a Ward's civilian name in a police report. Dragon's digital mind quickly read through it but, as she read the report, her metaphorical eyes widened.

This is beyond bad, Thought Dragon. As she initiated various programs and send a message. And a moment later, a digital rendition of a woman's face appeared on the computer screens of one Director Piggot of The PRT ENE.

"Yes, Dragon, what is it you wanted to talk about." Came the gruff voice of the Director.

"Director, I wish to inform you of a situation involving your Ward Shadow Stalker AKA. Sophia Hess."

Xxx

A/N: If you like this or any other of my stories, you can donate to my P A Treon. com (slash) StreamingViking and read commissioned stories. And chapters before they are released here. And Forum to let people know myforums/StreamingViking/5698335/