Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Death is not the End ❯ One-Shot
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
At the banks of a wide river, a sliver-haired man sat; unmoving. One might think he were dead.
Well, they'd be right.
This wasn't just any river, but the River Styx; the border of the living world and the Underworld. And he was on the wrong side. The side of the dead.
He often thought of the horrible crimes he had committed against the few people he could have almost called his family. There wasn't much else to do in the punishment he received upon entering the afterlife.
A ferryman of Hades had taken him to the three judges of hell, and they had sentenced him to an eternity of solitude, with nothing but his horrible memories to accompany him. A terrible fate indeed.
Now, those of you familiar with the denizens of hell would wonder; why did I say a ferryman, instead of the Ferryman? Simple.
Do honestly think one immortal can deal with the thousands of people that die each year? Hell no. Charon, the Ferryman of the Underworld, has almost a hundred ferrymen underlings to take care of that. You only hear about him because he is the personal Ferryman of Hades himself. You could always tell him apart from the other ferrymen, in their sleek ebony boats and black cloaks.
Charon's boat was made of black thorns woven around bleach-white bones. At the bow was the skull of some ancient animal that has long since passed into myth and legend. He stood at the stern, next to a lantern glowing with soft blue flames, with a long white pole in hand, which he used to propel the boat along the black river. He wore a black and blood red cloak, with the hood pulled low over his face. You could often see him silently propelling his boat along the river, sometimes with the lord of the dead seated in front of him. But he was most often alone.
The silver haired man watched silently as Charon came by again, but was sorely surprised when he turned and docked his boat at the shore next to him. The pole, which he could now see was made of a long spinal chord, disappeared from his hands, and a black rope tied to a bone peg appeared, fastening the boat in place. Charon stepped lightly off his vessel, and silently approached the man.
“Are you Xemnas?” He asked. Surprised he was being spoken to, he could only shakily respond…
“Y-Yes.” His voice sounded rusty and unused. But then, he had no way of knowing how long he had been here.
Charon nodded. “Very well, Xemnas. I am Charon, Ferryman of Hades.” The way he said it made it seem like he knew Xemnas knew. “I can offer you an escape from the hell you brought upon yourself, for a small fee.” At Xemnas's lost look, he seemed to suddenly realize what he had just said. He slapped a hand over his eyes.
“Sorry, force of habit. I'm bringing you back anyway, if you choose to come.” He offered a gloved hand. “I didn't create the human-form Nobodies for them to rot away in hell without regaining their hearts.” Xemnas's eyebrows shot to his hairline.
“You created the Nobodies?!” He said, astonished. “How?” He couldn't see it, but he could hear the smile in Charon's voice.
“Only the human form, but I can't tell you how unless you come with me.” He gestured towards his boat. “Will you come?”
Xemnas thought to himself for a moment. `Do I really deserve a second chance? After what I did to them…' Charon, apparently, can read minds.
“It was not entirely your fault, what you did. I should have foreseen that the first would be slightly unstable. However, all mistakes, no matter how grave, deserve a chance to be forgiven. Come, I haven't all eternity.”
After a moment's hesitation, Xemnas took his hand.
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The ride was silent. You could barely hear the soft lapping of waves against the sides of the small craft. Xemnas remained silent for as long as he could.
“You said that you created the nobodies. What did you mean?” Charon remained silent for a while.
“I know all the souls that cross the River. I can feel the weight of their hearts. Every day, more and more frequently, I feel those who have had their hearts stolen by the Heartless. They feel weightless. However, over the course of a few years, I felt some who had heavy souls. I cannot explain what the difference between the weight of a heart and the weight of a soul feels like, but it is there. There were 13 of them, a highly unlucky number. One by one, I stopped their boats as they crossed over into the afterlife, sending them back without their memories, without their hearts. I gave each dominion over an element, as well as power of darkness.” He shook his wrist and unclasped a small charm bracelet. He dropped it into Xemnas's lap with a small jingle.
On it were thirteen disks of silver, each engraved with a small symbol, such as an hourglass, or a quill. Nine of them were glowing with a soft, pale light. Two were dull, with no inner light. The final two others were tarnished, like they had been left in the open for many years. The symbols carved into them were the Nobody's symbol and a full moon. Before his eyes, the disk with the hourglass flickered, and began to glow.
“Each of those represents one of the nobodies. The glowing ones are the ones that have regained their hearts. As you can see, now only one remains. I believe you call him Vexen?” And indeed, the last disk had a snowflake etched into the metal. “However, the tarnished ones are those who have died before regaining their hearts. Which is you, and the one you call Saix.” He took back the bracelet and steered the craft ashore. “This is why I have not yet taken you back. I must retrieve Saix from his prison.”
“What Prison could hold him?” Xemnas questioned.
“One Deep in the pits of Hell, where he cannot taste the Moonlight.” He said as he disembarked. “You may come with me if you wish, but take care to stay by my side. Many of the prisoners would love to drag you under to share their torment.”
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The walk was as silent as the boat ride, and Charon's feet made no sound as they slowly made their way to the deepest pit of oblivion, the gates of Black Prison. With a small muttered phrase in Latin, the prison doors opened, and the screams of the tortured poured out of the dark. They then quickly made there way, Charon's lantern guiding them. They soon came to a dark cell.
“He is here.” Charon said quietly, opening the door.
At the very back corner of the cell, huddled into himself, sat Saix. His eyes were wide and dilated, and he was shaking. His gaze was to a far off place that only he could see, and they were glazed as one would find a dead man's eye.
“Saix…” Xemnas said softly, reaching out. Charon stopped him.
“He has trapped himself in his own personal terror. He will not be able to hear you.” He pulled a small bottle of some glowing substance, and made his way to Saix's side. “Drink, and taste the moon once again.” He got him to drink without much fuss, and in a few moments, his eyes lost their glazed look, and he uncurled himself from the wall. He looked up, seeing Xemnas standing in the doorway.
He coughed weakly. “Xemnas?” He asked softly. His voice was dry, almost dead sounding. Xemnas gave a small smile and helped him to stand.
“Are you able to walk?” Saix slowly tested his legs.
“Yes, but not far.” Charon nodded and went to one side. Helping him to walk, they slowly made their way out of the Black Prison.
******************************
By the time they had reached Charon's boat, Saix was out cold. It seems so long without tasting the moon had drawn too much on the berserker's strength. They rested him on the bottom of the boat and Charon pushed them off. He maneuvered them to the center of the River and slowly pushed them along, never seeming to tire. A thought suddenly struck Xemnas as the slowly went along.
“Charon, you told me how you created the Nobodies, but you never told me why.” Charon chuckled.
“You never asked. But I suppose I could tell you.” He sighed. “I suppose you had noticed that all of you had some sort of terrible past?” at Xemnas's nod, he continued. “The kind of sorrow born from your pasts is the kind that not only weighs on the Heart, but on the Soul as well. I stopped all of your passages into the underworld, and wiped your memories. I decided to give you all a second chance at life. A chance to live a happier life.”
“But I thought that Hades horded souls? How did you manage to get us out? Let alone stop thirteen souls from getting in.” Charon's voice took on the smiling tone.
“You're pretty sharp. You know how all the legends say that the boatman of the River Styx will take you across the river for a small fee?” Xemnas nodded. “Well, all that loose change builds up after awhile, and we'll leave it at that.”
******************************
Charon gently docked his boat on the Opposite bank of the River Styx. The living side. By this time Saix had woken, and was feeling strong enough to walk again. He helped them disembark his boat for what they hoped to be the last time. Charon held up his bracelet and, before there eyes, the two tarnished disks became sterling silver once again. And somewhere in their travels, that last disk had begun to glow.
“You are now the one's who must find your hearts. Do not worry about the others. They respect you for the man you once were, not the monster you had become.” He pushed off from the bank. “I wish you luck on your path.” And he disappeared as one would into mist. “I am always watching over you. Remember this.” His voice drifted back.
“We never did thank him properly.” Saix said softly.
“I suppose we never will.” He tried to open a portal, and was surprised when one came into existence before him. “Let's go.”
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Axel stood in the world that they had once called their home. They had begun their plan to contain all the heartless. He remembered all the good times they had had in the castle, as well as the bad. He remembered the first time he had found Demyx, haunting the hall of Empty Melodies. He remembered hiding in Larxene's room from the two boys that they now considered friends and allies. He remembered when Saix had brought his own blade against his throat.
Great, he depressed himself into hallucinating. He could swear he could see Saix being defended by Xemnas over there.
Wait a second…
They really were over there!
He rushed over, chakrams in hand. The heartless had begun pouring out of the portals, and he could tell netheir of them could last for long.
“Wait! He needs help!” It was true. Saix looked dead on his feet. Axel took this into consideration. He met Xemnas's eyes and made his decision.
“C'mon, lets' get you out of here.” `I am so getting my ass chewed out for this.'
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Axel, as predicted, was getting his ass chewed. Badly. By Marluxia.
“WHYTHEHELLDIDYOUBRINGHIMBACKWEJUSTGOTRIDOFHIMANDVEXENJUSTG OTHISHEARTWE'REFINALLYFREEANDYOUBRINGHIMHOMEWHATTHEFUCKISWRONGWITHYOU!!!!!! !!!” He paused, giving Axel a chance to explain.
“You all gave Xigbar a chance to change, you forgave Sora and Riku when they apparently killed out friends. What's the harm in giving him one more chance?”
“I'LLTELLYOUWHATTHEHARMISYOUSAWWHATHEDIDTODEMYXANDXIGBARAND YOUSAWTHE…” he didn't get a chance to finish as an unusual sound filled the room.
“ENOUGH!” When 300 pounds of pure muscle yells at you to shut up, you do. Lexeaus looked at the others. “Give Axel a chance to explain himself.” He said in his normal, soft voice. It was clear he was not happy with the situation either, but he was a stickler for a fair chance.
“Thank you, Lexeaus.” Axel said. “Now, have any of you ever met his eyes?” A round of shaking heads. “I never trust a person until I do. The eyes are the window to the soul. And DON'T,” He turned to Marluxia, who had just opened his mouth, “Say he doesn't have one. Everyone does, even nobodies. I watched His soul disappear from his eyes when he lost it. But I can see it again. I can see the regret and guilt in his eyes. As long as you can see his soul, we have nothing to worry about. Except maybe suicide attempts…” he drifted off.
“Well…” Vexen Started. “We could use the collar. While I trust Axel, I can't be sure about Xemnas. He was a good man, but we cannot be too sure.”
Everyone agreed.
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Xemnas had accepted the collar, understanding that paranoia had its place among them. He was just happy that they had removed the spikes from the inside. He had free range inside the Manor and gardens, as well as some of the beach. While he knew that they could never forgive him for the past, they must all look to the future. As a wise man once said, one who lives in the past will miss many a golden opportunity.
One such opportunity came when he realized he could properly thank Charon for getting him out of the underworld.
He was walking through the gardens when he saw a flash of silver on Axel's wrist. He thought back to Charon's silver Charm bracelet when a thought hit him like one of Larxene's lightning bolts.
There were thirteen charms on the bracelet.
There were fourteen nobodies.
He remembered all thirteen symbols. The nobody symbol, a star, a tornado, a snowflake, a mountain, a book, a full moon, a drop of water, an hourglass, a rose, a thunderbolt, a key, and a quill.
The shock on his face slowly settled into a smile.
“Always watching indeed.”