Post KHII. "If two halves desire to be separate unto themselves, they must become one." A riddle posed to Roxas by a mysterious cloaked figure could prove the key to unlocking his heart, or could leave him stranded in darkness. Roxas x Namine. A/N: Okay... this was a story I wrote all the way back in January. It's been posted on fanfiction.net for a while, so I thought I'd bring it over here and see what the response is. Darkness Rising by Jade Rhade "You are the Key." The man stood in the swirling maelstrom of darkness, hooded and cloaked in black. "The Key of Destiny." "Who are you?" The boy was forced to shout as he could feel tendrils of darkness that were beginning to hold him fast in a suffocating embrace and drag him slowly, inexorably away from that which he sought. The man ignored his query, ignored the boy's frantic struggle against the darkness. He simply turned away and began to disappear. "Wait!" the boy yelled desperately, redoubling his efforts to free himself. "Who are you?" The man stopped and glanced back over his shoulder; one glowing golden eye shone from beneath his hood. And then he was gone, though his voice remained. "If two halves desire to be separate unto themselves, they must become one." "What?" The boy ripped his hand out from the tender grasp of the darkness, only to be pulled back by twenty more strands. He flailed in vain until he was finally smothered beneath the crushing weight of the darkness. -xXx- Chapter I Roxas jolted awake with a startled gasp, blinking quickly in an effort to focus his azure-blue eyes. His gaze darted about the room, seeking anything out of the ordinary. Seeing nothing obviously out of place, he sighed and glanced down. The silvery light of the unclouded moon shone through his semi-transparent hands to illuminate Sora's body. The other boy was still peacefully asleep, blissfully unaware of his Nobody's conundrum; even as Roxas watched, the young Keyblade Master rolled over and stuck his thumb in his mouth, hugging his stuffed turtle in close. "If two halves desire to be separate unto themselves, they must become one," he murmured, staring out the window but not really seeing anything. "What's that supposed to mean?" He scratched his head and groaned, shoulders slumping. This wasn't the first time that he had had this very dream; it was how he discovered that he could separate from Sora when the Keyblade Master was asleep, though he had never yet gone far. The dream was always the same; there was the man, cloaked like a member of Organization XIII, and he always said the same thing. "If two halves desire to be separate unto themselves, they must become one." Roxas held up his hand, tilting his head a bit to regard the way the white moonlight shone through his palm and white ring he wore on one finger. The black ring he wore on the finger beside it cast a slight shadow across his face as the moon's rays passed through it. "What does it mean?" he repeated softly. A chill breeze blew through the open window, and he shivered. The wind ruffled the boy's light blond spikes, carrying with it the faint smell of salt water and seaweed and... darkness. The Nobody's hand fell, his gaze sharpening as his bright blue orbs scanned the beach no more than a mile away outside Sora's window. His eyes locked on to a figure standing by the water, seemingly heedless of the waves gently washing his boots. Roxas's breath caught in his throat, and he involuntarily clenched his fists. The moon and stars reflecting off the water provided more than enough illumination to throw the dark cloak the man was wearing into sharp relief. Though his back was turned, his garb was unmistakable. The cloak of Organization XIII. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the windowpane. He cast a glance toward the peacefully sleeping Keyblade Master. "Sorry, Sora; but if I wake you up, I'm won’t be the one in control." Without another word, Roxas vaulted out the window to land in an easy crouch on the sand. He held out both empty hands away from each other and concentrated. Only Oblivion answered his call; he hadn't been able to summon Oathkeeper since his battle against Axel in the fake Twilight Town. Quick to adapt, he pulled his Keyblade in close with a firm, two-handed grip and sprinted for the beach. The sickly sweet scent of darkness clung to the man in visible threads rising up from his robes to infect the warm night air. He turned as Roxas charged toward him, blue eyes glinting with barely suppressed battle rage. He was no more than a meter away, Oblivion raised to strike, when the figure raised his head to affix him with one glowing golden eye. Roxas froze in mid-strike and was thrown back onto the sand. He cried out in pain and shock, feeling as though his heart had turned to a block of ice in his chest. Knocked free from his grasp, Oblivion disintegrated upon hitting the ground. On all fours, the boy clutched at his chest, free hand scrabbling in the sand. The glowing-eyed man loomed over the Keyblade wielder and tsked. "Is that any way to greet a comrade, Key of Destiny?" "You're no friend of mine," Roxas managed through pained gasps. "What does the Organization want with me?" "Who said anything about the Organization?" The man sounded almost amused by his suffering. He shot the man a fierce glare. "Then who in the hell are you? Why are you in my dreams?" "I would have thought after all you went through in the fake Twilight Town that you'd have realized the thin line between dream and reality is really just that; no tangible thing." He shook his hooded head with that faint trace of amusement still lacing his voice. "Really, you're not what I expected." "Sorry to disappoint you," Roxas hissed, struggling to his feet and drawing Oblivion. The man ignored him and glanced up at the moon. "Oh dear," he said disinterestedly. "It's time." He looked back to Roxas and inclined his head in a gesture of mocking respect. "A word of advice, Key of Destiny; think of who or what is most important to you. Covet it. Protect it. Or should I say... her?" The figure offered an elaborate bow, clapping both hands together and stepping back. The resulting explosion of darkness forced Roxas to shield his face. "If two halves desire to be separate unto themselves, they must become one!" came the almost taunting call on the wind; then it blew away with the stench of the darkness, dissipating into the air as if it had never been. Roxas growled with dark fury, clenching his free hand until he felt his fingernails bite into the skin of his palm. "Stop messing with me!" he shouted toward the unforgiving sky, trembling with anger. "Haven't I already been through enough?" He barely noticed as an icy wind began to blow off the ocean, sending his blond hair whipping away from his face. Gradually, the light began to fade. Roxas looked up to see dark clouds moving in quickly to cover the sky, and there was the faint blast of thunder in the distance. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. He could sense something approaching; he tightened his grip on his Keyblade and turned in a small circle, trying to get a fix on the enemy he felt closing in on him. With an unearthly shriek, it burst from the sand directly in front of him. Roxas let out of yell of surprise and struck out reflexively at the thing. It collapsed to the ground, flopping like a limp balloon. He prodded the dying thing with his sneaker. It almost looked to be a Nobody- a Dusk, in fact- but its skin was the shade of purest ebony, and it bore no markings. The symbol of Organization XIII had not burned into its forehead. He was given no time to contemplate the appearance of the Black Dusk however, as more erupted from the sand all around him. He let out a fierce battle cry and lashed out. Swiftly, the air became filled with tendrils of darkness from dying Black Dusks. Individually, they didn't stand a chance, but more were coming; like the old saying, sheer numbers can overwhelm even the strongest. He paused in his attack to take a breath, and the man's voice rang in his ears. "Covet it. Protect it. Or should I say... her?" He looked around to see the majority of the Black Dusks breaking away from their assault on him to slink their way into town, and his eyes widened with sudden understanding. "Naminé!" He punched out with his free hand as a Black Dusk tried to take advantage of his moment of distraction. He impaled the thing with Oblivion while it lay helpless on the ground, then gave no heed to the others; he dashed ahead to break through their ranks and enter the town. Roxas's breath came in short gasps as his sneakers pounded the dirt street beneath his feet, fully dependant on Sora's memories to find Kairi's home; adrenaline lent him speed. "Naminé!" What other 'her' could the man have meant? He stumbled and rolled back to his feet, ignoring the dirt plastered in streaks to the sweat running down his face. Finally he found it; he very nearly ripped the back door off its hinges as he yanked it open. "Naminé!" he shouted frantically, running into the pristine house. Even if he had been visible to others, he still wouldn't have lowered his voice. He had to admit being non-existent had its advantages at times. "Naminé!" He skidded around a corner and lunged up the stairs, then slowed. He didn't want to wake Kairi. He gingerly opened the door to the right of the stairs, and nearly cried in relief. Naminé lay there, fast asleep. Roxas walked softly to her bedside, hoping that there weren't any creaky floorboards. "Naminé?" he whispered, running his free hand gently down the side of her face. "Naminé, you have to wake up." He cast an anxious glance out the window to see the Black Dusks drawing steadily nearer, drawn to this house like Shadows to a heart. He looked back at her and flushed beneath the dirt; her skirt had ridden up during the night, leaving most of her pale thigh exposed. She groaned softly and opened her eyes, blinking several times to focus. "Roxas? What are you doing here?" She quickly pulled down the hem of her dress and sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "How is this... possible?" Naminé matched his earlier action, stroking his cheek then paused, catching sight of Oblivion clutched in his trembling, sweaty grip. Its blade was dripping darkness. Roxas took her hand and turned her head toward the window. "We have to go," he said shortly. She froze, seeing the Black Dusks. "What are those things?" "I don't know, but they're coming for you." Naminé reached down for her sandals and strapped them on swiftly. "Why?" She used his grip on her hand to drag him to her eye level. "Roxas, tell me what's going on." He didn't meet her gaze. "Later," he promised. "I'll explain everything later. Right now we have to go." She stood and looked back. "What about Kairi?" The Princess of Heart was still asleep. Roxas looked to her and back at Naminé. "They're not here for her. They're here for you." "But shouldn't we at least-" Naminé reached down to wake Kairi, but Roxas shook his head warningly. "If you do that, you won't be able to walk about on your own," he stated. "We can only be separate from them while they're asleep." Roxas squeezed her hand reassuringly. "She'll be fine. Let's go." He tugged harder; she cast one last, reluctant glance back at the sleeping, defenseless princess and followed. "How are we supposed to fight so many?" she asked, running behind him. "We're not going to fight," he answered, looking back at her over his shoulder. Roxas still grasped Oblivion in his right hand, but he kept his grip on Naminé's hand with the other. "We're not?" Naminé blinked in surprise. This didn't sound like the Roxas she knew. "There's too many, even for me. Luxord called it 'knowing when to fold'." Naminé looked behind her to see the Black Dusks still in pursuit behind them. She stumbled on a rock and fell. Roxas helped her back to her feet, ignoring the mud now smeared all over her white dress. "Where are we going?" "To the only other person who can help us." His lip curled unhappily. "Riku." A/N: So... yeah. I'll continue posting the rest of this here if it's well received. Feel free to comment! Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV
O.o Holy cow. That was amazing. This is what I really don't like about FFnet. The good stories are lost underneath Mary-Sues and tasteless slash (Not saying there isn't tasteful- oh never mind). This is a beautiful peice of work and I love the pretense with Sora and Roxas staying seperate at Night.... and the fact Sora still sleeps with a Turtle. xD I love this idea and your style of writing is loverly as well. I am really looking forward to Chapter Two and what will happen to two of our favorit nobodies.
Thank you. :D I love FFnet, but... like you said, sometimes it's difficult to sort through all the crap. That's why I'm going to start moving all my stuff over here. Again, thanks!
Same here. There are some good stuff on FF.Net but nothing worth mentioning at the moment, sadly. Please continue.
DANG!! I LOVE this story,just from the 1st chapter!!! I like the way you write. It's detailed, but has a nice flow. I'm going to continue to read this!!
