Fan Fiction ❯ Father of the Heartless ❯ Nekopolis ( Chapter 4 )

I played around with the word "Necropolis" (meaning "City of the Dead) for the original name of the world.

I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I own most of the rest of this story. Please do not take without written permission.

Chapter 4: Nekopolis

The stream trickled down the center of the moss-covered stones. As it passed over the rough stone, it gave up a soothing twinkle of music, glittering in a pale glow that seemed to have no source. Riku slowed down. They approached the bend, which ten minutes ago had been nothing but a speck on the horizon. The opening was as tall as the old tunnel, but it dropped a few feet, obscuring whatever else might be down there.

In Criss' arms, Cleo sniffed at the air.

Riku held out his arm, pausing. If there was something down there, he wanted to have the advantage. Dropping to all fours, he approached the edge. He crept, watching every molecule of space he saw with each knee forward.

At last, he reached the edge.

Nothing.

"It's okay," Riku said. "All clear." He jumped down and offered his hand to Criss. She ignored it and jumped beside him.

"Where do you think we are?"

Riku sighed. "I'm not from this world, how would I know?" He passed his gaze toward either end of this tunnel. Toward the left, the tunnel faded into darkness. To the right, however, it grew brighter. The bend was much closer now, maybe only ten yards or so off. Without asking, he headed for the light.

"Where is this light coming from?" Criss gazed at it. "It's too bright and seamless to be firelight."

"My sentiments exactly," Riku nodded. "Someone is down here."

For a moment, Criss didn't answer. "Who would be down here?"

"I can think of two possibilities. One is the rebellion. The other...I don't want to think about."

This time, the trio approached the edge together, hunched over but still standing. Riku caught a glimpse of an enormous light fixture high above, in the center of the domed ceiling. The glimpse was all he caught. A strong hand reached from above, darkened by the light of the room behind it. Riku hit the floor. It was like being hit by Sora again when they played fight back on Destiny Islands.

Criss screamed.

Cleo yowled in fury.

Their attackers began to laugh.

Riku opened his eyes, confused. Why were they laughing? His attacker let go of his throat. The light from the room beyond left him still in the shadows. He offered Riku his hand, which Riku warily took.

"S-Sorry, mate," said the attacker, still laughing between words. "We thought you were the Defense Force!"

"We're not," Criss snapped, grabbing Cleo before the cat decided to scratch up the other attacker's face. This one was sprawled on the ground, red in the face, still laughing.

"We realize that now," grinned Riku's attacker sheepishly. "I'm Bar. This hyena over here is Mars. We're on sentry duty today, and, frankly, you two are the first new ones in a while."

"New ones?" Criss repeated. "Where are we?"

"Ah, well," Mars stood importantly, squaring his shoulders and screwing up his face in an odd sort of mock-military stare. "Welcome to the Nekopolis! The City of Cats!" Riku felt his stomach fall to his feet and his heart rise in his throat. He managed to squeak: "The City...of...Cats?"

Bar gestured to the city below the light Riku had seen. Thousands of tents surrounded one large stone building. People of all ages walked about, but at every one of their heels was a cat. And there were more cats besides.

"For some reason, the cats get attached to one person once they arrive, unless the person is already in possession of a cat," Mars eyed Cleo. "I'm guessing this little one escaped the tunnels and came to you?"

"No, I found her in the tunnels," Criss said. "Just below my fire grate. I didn't even know this place was here..."

"No Upper World people know about this place until they come here," Bar shrugged. A cat jumped up, mewling at him. "Ah, here's my little one. This is Prince, he's my cat."

"King is probably at my tent," Mars said. "Don't worry much, you. You'll get a cat, soon, too. Say, who are you guys, anyway?"

The two introduced themselves and the little Cleo.

Have you ever noticed that people remember things at the oddest times? It's the subconscious mind at work. Sometimes, if something nags at you for a while, you'll forget about it in your consciousness. However, the subconscious still works until it cracks the code.

Criss' mind is no different.

"Riku, your clothes! We left your clothes in my house!"

"What? It's all right, they didn't matter much to-"

"No, that's not it," Criss grabbed a fistful of the cloak she'd given him. "If YaYa and the commander find your clothes, they'll know that I helped you. You're in danger as long as you're with me."

"Then we're both on the run," Riku shrugged.

"No, you don't understand. You've got to get away from me. If they find you with me, you'll be bled for sure!"

That unconscious stuff is actually true. One of my good friends did an experiment with it in high school.