nekokoban | [FIC][Kingdom Hearts 2] Born in Fire

FORESHADOWING: HELLO BOYS AND GIRLS.
FORESHADOWING: LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO MY FIST.

... this is not as happy as I meant it to be. Haha. I may have to write porn (or something??) to make this up to myself.
~~alternately someone else write porn and let me read it I mean haha what~~

In the same universe as the Happy Ending, only, uh. This is. Not. (I need a better universe title, this thing is developing serious plot.)

Born in Fire
1906 words
Kingdom Hearts 2 -- end of games spoilers/speculation; Axel/Roxas, SoRiKai OT3 [guest appearence by anti!Sora]
Alex regains fire.

+++++

Sora is terribly popular among the younger kids on Destiny Island; someone in the elementary class saw him sparring with Riku and their Keyblades and then suddenly, every Saturday afternoon, there's a crowd of wide-eyed hopeful faces peering at their back doorstep, and well. Sora hates to disappoint anyone.

Besides, it's a good chance to practice and a lot more fun than the drills Roxas makes them undergo otherwise. So he waves goodbye to his housemates and trot out with the kids, down to the stretch of beach where he used to play when he was younger, and sometimes there will be "enemies" set up for him, made from beached logs and old sand buckets and long pieces of dried seaweed. They sit in a wide half-circle and Sora obliges by spinning Oathkeeper and Oblivion in the showiest way he's learned, doing high jumps and spins and leaps and bouncing off tree trunks with a firefly trail of red or blue or yellow or silver behind him.

He eventually develops a routine: he cycles through the Drive forms in the order he acquired them, switching indeterminately between them (but always, always careful to hit Final form every now at then, just for safety's sake). Wisdom is popular -- blue is a favorite color of most of his audience -- and usually he rounds up his routine by taking each kid on a brief Glide across the stretch of beach, skimming just high enough above sea and surf to be truly weightless for a few minutes.

The kids love it. After a while a few parents start coming -- most of them watch doubtfully and clap politely when he finishes, but a few are genuinely impressed (Kairi's dad is among them, much to Sora's relief). Sometimes Riku and Kairi will drift down to watch, and -- twice -- Sora has noticed Alex lounging almost out of sight among the trees, watching without a word.

Today, as he shifts from Valour back to his regular self for a brief break, he sees all three of his housemates approach; Kairi is smiling and holding a water bottle, which she tosses to him over the crowd. He catches it easily, taking a quick drink; it's a hot afternoon, and he's grateful for the relief. He throws the water bottle back and he stretches, then crosses Oathkeeper and Oblivion, grinning at his rapt audience.

"Okay," he says. "What next?"

"The blue one!" a little girl chirps, wide-eyed and worshipful, and a few others agree. Kairi is laughing and Riku is smiling a little and Alex has that sort of half-smirk on his face that promises that Sora's going to get ragged for having prepubescent girlfriends later, but he's behaving himself for the moment. Sora resists the urge to make a face and he tosses first Oblivion and then Oathkeeper up, catching them with a neat spin and he reaches for the Drive form and he

oh

oh no

he

In his head Roxas is yelling and Sora has enough time to choke a warning before the world goes black.

+++

Riku is moving before Sora finishes changing; he leaps over the crowd and snaps out Way to Dawn, and Kairi has Heart's Flower as well, using it to help her gently usher the kids back and away as inky blackness rises from Sora's body like steam, and darkness wraps around him like a second skin.

"Sora," Riku says warningly, holding himself tense. "Sora, come on, it's me ..."

And the anti-Sora opens its round moon eyes and sways in place, hunching forward into a low crouch. Riku tenses -- he's heard about this more than he's seen it, but this isn't a place for children and he slowly starts backing away from the crowd, hoping to draw the anti-Sora's attention away from the staring kids.

Instead, the anti-Sora turns its head, looking at the kids and dismissing them -- and then it looks past them, at Alex, who has gone white as a sheet, but has summoned his chakrams, meeting that flat yellow stare evenly.

"Sora," Riku tries again, because he's seen this thing go through walls of Heartless without being phased, and the light only knew what it could do to a bunch of kids, and there were too many for him and Kairi to keep track of; if he can draw its attention, he knows she can get them away safely. "Sora!"

The anti-Sora shakes its head roughly, then curls on itself and springs --

-- over the heads of the children --

-- and like a giant pouncing cat it strikes Alex, sends them both flying backwards and tumbling in a riot of black and flashing silver. Riku starts forward and is blocked by the wall of kids. "Sora!" he yells. "Sora! Stop, come on, that's --"

He sees Alex block one clawed hand with the edge of the chakram, and Alex is yelling too: "Roxas, hey, Roxas, snap out of it, it's me--"

Kairi grabs Riku's arm and tugs. "The kids," she hisses. "We have to get them out of here."

Riku hesitates. "But Sora --"

"Right now, Alex is the one who's more in trouble," Kairi says grimly. "But the kids are most in danger, so let's get them out --"

He doesn't want to, not when Sora needs them and he can see that same torn look in Kairi's eyes, but the children are beginning to babble and if the anti-Sora notices them ... if he notices ...

Alex would be strong enough to hold him off for at least ten minutes, and that would be enough time. Riku hopes.

He nods, and then he and Kairi are moving, arms open as they start herding the kids off -- they trip and stumble and babble in confusion -- thankfully only a few of them are actually upset; the rest seem to think that it's another really cool show, and they protest having to leave, they're missing the show -- but Riku and Kairi ignore it, and keep shooing them forward.

Riku glances back once as they go; Alex has gained his feet again, in a wary standoff against the anti-Sora, and he hopes that the scene won't be worse when they get back.

+++

Alex's ribs hurt; Sora's not heavy, but he's got a lot of concentrated muscle, and this weird, almost Heartless-like form has sharp claws and they hurt. He's not sure how badly he's bleeding, but each breath stings in his lungs.

"Roxas," he says. "C'mon, Roxas, it's me. You can hear me in there, right? I don't mind pain and all, but this might be a little too kinky for me --"

The anti-Sora hisses, and Alex cuts himself off; he's never actually heard any Heartless make sounds before, beyond the dry restless rustling of their movements. He backs up slowly, chakrams at ready and more than ever he acutely misses his fire magic; the bastard moves fast, and Alex's not too keen on fighting him close-range.

"Roxas," he says again. "Roxas--"

The anti-Sora opens its mouth, darkness that swallows darkness, and as that gapes open it hisses, "Traitor."

Alex freezes. "Excuse me?"

"You cannot hide forever," the thing hisses, in a voice that is neither Roxas nor Sora -- it isn't any sort of voice Alex has ever heard before, grinding and harsh and cold, cold, cold. "Your flame has already been doused once."

Alex narrows his eyes. "We'll see about that," he says.

The creature -- he can't think of it as either Roxas or his other now, not like this, makes a sound that might be a laugh, though it's hard to be certain. Its round yellow eyes glitter brightly, as it says, "You cannot escape, you will not escape, you and this one both."

Something inside him goes ice-cold. "What's that supposed to mean."

"Dreams end," it hisses. "For all things that don't exist." It totters a little, as though unsure on its feet. "That which should not be will be erased properly."

It's funny, how through this bitterly cold calm fire unfurls; he feels it like a missing piece clicking into place, and in his hands the chakrams burst into flames.

"Over my dead body," he says. He can see the lines of the spell now, tracing outlines where pillars of fire can erupt if he just wills it so, and he--

This time, it's definitely a laugh, though it's grinding and ugly, and Alex has heard a lot of crazy people laugh in his time, but is possibly worse, because it's very, very sane.

"You have no body," it says mockingly. "So it doesn't matter."

Alex grits his teeth and he lifts one chakram to key the spell when the creature shudders again, this time stumbling backwards, its head falling back, and darkness is bleeding away from its body, leaving patches of solid bright color underneath and as Alex watches, it fades away and leaves Sora behind, held in uneasy balance --

--and then Sora buckles and falls to the hot sand. Oathkeeper and Oblivion suddenly strike the ground by his hands, quivering before they vanish.

"SORA!"

And Kairi and Riku and running back at top speed, Keyblades ready -- though those vanish quickly enough when they see Sora lying sprawled on the ground, and they crowd around him, Riku lifting him and Kairi calling his name and patting his face.

Alex stares at them, and despite the heat of the sun and the fire that curls readily in his fingertips and snaps along the spokes of his chakram, he feels deathly cold.

+++

Roxas asks later what happened, as he helps tape up the scratches along Alex's ribs. The kids have been placated -- even the ones who were upset have been convinced that it was just another act, big brother Sora put on with the newcomer to the Island and now (Kairi reports, with tired amusement), there seems to be a small branch that has split off, declaring themselves fans of big brother Alex and hope that he'll play with big brother Sora again soon.

Alex looks at him thoughtfully. "You don't know?"

Roxas shakes his head. "Whenever -- that happens," Roxas says, "it's like being smothered. I get trapped somewhere small and dark, and I can't get out until Sora's changed back."

"Oh," says Alex. He shrugs. "We fought," he says. "I didn't lose."

Roxas just looks at him thoughtfully, taping the last bandage into place. "Okay ..."

"But I learned a new trick," Alex says, and he holds out his hand. A tiny fireball flares to life, cradled in his palm, then ribbons outwards, twining through his fingers, hot without burning. "A few more times, and I'll have it memorized."

Hands cover his, and Alex looks up, letting the fire wink out. Roxas' eyes are oddly intent.

"Alex," he says. "Tell me what happened."

And Alex looks at him, compact and lean and strong, balanced as the blades his Samurai used to carry -- but in this moment looking so normal, in Sora's T-shirt and frayed shorts, so much like a normal boy and his throat won't cooperate.

"... Nothing," he says. "Just a brief fight."

For a moment Roxas' hands tighten on his -- and these are the hands of a swordsman, they are strong and callused and the fingers are long enough to wrap completely around Alex's wrist, but.

But Roxas just looks at him, with something not quite betrayal, and he nods.

"Fine," is all he says.

--end--

Current Mood: nervous

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Date: 2006-08-02 07:47 am (UTC)

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