Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Evanescence Of Fantasies ❯ Always: Traverse Town ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
ALWAYS: TRAVERSE TOWN
"I hear... a voice say "Don't be so blind"... it's telling me all these things... that you would probably hide... am I... your one and only desire... am I the reason you breathe... or am I the reason you cry... Always... always... always... always... always... always...I just can't live without you..."
-Always, Saliva
---
"It's all so different." Lenne said; her voice held a touch of happiness as she glanced around at the people. Last time she visited this world, she felt so much emotion from the people. All sadness, sorrow, and confusion. They were lost souls; their worlds destroyed and family and friends gone. But now they were cheerful. Everyone was friendly with smiling faces; children ran around in playful glee; everything was right once again.
"You've been here before?" Riku asked curiously. He didn't think she got out much due to the whole 'Samara's prisoner' thing.
She nodded sadly, "As Samara. She needed my body to do negotiations here with some man...Merlin or something. He was nice too; refused to give up any information on Sora."
"I bet Samara didn't like that." Riku replied. He really didn't know much about the woman; having never met her except that once in Hallow Bastion. So she was actually the one behind it all? I thought Maleficent was pulling the strings. Won't Sora be in for a surprise.
"Not happy at all." Lenne responded softly; her eyes glazing as she remembered what Samara did to get revenge. "Merlin is a good friend of a fairy godmother from another world. Samara went to that world and caused havoc...the princess there...I think her name was Cinderella...was devastated. Then we captured her since she was one of the seven."
Riku nodded, remembering the seven princesses of heart. Kairi...He felt his thoughts coming back to his friends on the island. Were they ok? Was Sora with Kairi? But most important: were they safe?
Lenne sensed his worry. It was a power that would always stick with her even in Samara's absence. She could sense darkness and any kind of emotion from anyone or anything. "She's fine, Riku. I'm sure she's returned to the island safely. And Sora...he can handle himself remember?"
"How did you...?"
"I can sense your worry. Don't worry it's just alittle power of mines."
"Power?" He asked incredulously. "I didn't know you had powers. What can you do?"
"With or without Samara in me?" She asked jokingly. He obviously didn't understand the joke because he frowned at her. "I was kidding, Riku! Lighten up."
"That's not funny. How can you joke about having some evil b-"
Lenne gasped, covering his mouth as she looked around the town cautiously. "Don't ever speak ill towards her. She'll hear it and get revenge in some way."
Riku's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Ishent shwe awlready ded?" He asked while Lenne's hand was still on his mouth.
Lenne removed her hand; smirking alittle, "No...she was just blasted back to her dark depths because of all that light. She has few weaknesses: light and love."
"Love?"
"She can't stand the emotion. Can't even stand the word. I can't remember how many people she killed just because they said it."
"What's her deal anyways?" Riku asked angrily, "Why's she so pissed at the worlds?"
For the first time, Lenne didn't have an answer. Why was Samara the way she was? Why was she full of hate...especially towards men and love in general?
Riku could tell she didn't know. He glanced around and saw a hotel sign. He decided they should get some sleep before they tried to figure anything else out. She had to be exhausted, he knew he was. Being possessed and full of darkness was tiring.
"Let's...let's get a room, ok?" He said, placing a comforting hand on her back. She flinched, snapping out of her thoughts before nodding.
"Make sure it's a light room...nothing dark...and we have to stay away from shadows, ok?"
Riku nodded before leading her towards the building.
---
Pete groaned and rolled around in his bed; clutching his cell phone tightly in his hand. He was trying to get some sleep before he received his phone call from Maleficent. Only problem was she wasn't calling! What was taking her so long?
Sitting up; he glanced around his hotel room. What's taking this woman so long? He sighed and stared at the phone once more. She said she'd call soon once everything with Kingdom Hearts was situated...why isn't she calling? It shouldn't take that long! He began to become worried. Has something happened to the sorceress? She didn't...die...did she?
RING! RING!
All doubts left his mind as he perked up. He looked at the number on the caller i.d. only to be disappointed. Who in the worlds is Samara? He thought angrily. He knew no Samara! And how did this person have his number. He tossed the phone onto the other side of the bed in dismay. Maybe she decided to cut me out of the deal! He began to pout as the phone rang once more. Out of curiosity; he grabbed it. What the-?
"'Answer the damn phone or the heartless will kill you in your sleep'?" He asked as he read the caller i.d. aloud. "What kinda sick joke is..." He paused as he noticed pairs of yellow eyes stare at him. "Wh-wh-what? Where did you guys come from? I'm on your side remember?" He stammered before answering the phone hastily. "H-Hello? M-Maleficent?"
"...Try again, Petey." The voice on the other end replied. Pete's ears twitched as he squinted his eyes in confusion. He could barely hear the voice but he knew he had never heard it before. One thing for sure, it was not Maleficent!
"Uh..."
"Never mind, don't think too hard. You'll hurt yourself." The voice replied in irritation, "I'm gonna need your help. I know you've been helping out Maleficent. It's time you were promoted..."
"Um...where is Maleficent?" Pete asked curiously; staring cautiously at the yellow eyes infront of him.
"She's...around." The line went staticy for awhile as screams were heard in the background. Pete listened intently as he swore he heard a whip extend onto flesh. "Keep it down! I'm on the fucking phone!" The voice yelled angrily before returning to the conversation, "Sorry about that. Some tortured souls are just so rude! But what can you do?"
"Uh...right..." Pete replied. He tried to figure out who this woman was and why she was calling him. "Is there...is there something I can help you with?"
The voice seemed to lighten up in happiness, "As a matter of fact there is! You see...there's a war coming. Knowing me, I'm all prepared but I seem to have misplaced something..."
"Your...weapon?" Pete asked. He wondered what this woman was talking about. A war? Maybe she was talking about the war between light and dark...but wasn't dark already winning?
"MY BODY, YOU IDIOTIC ASS!" She screamed. Pete watched in fear as his room began to shake violently. "And some asshole named Xehanort thinks he can take her away from me! SHE'S MINE! If he gets to her before I do then your soul is on the line! GOT IT?"
Pete gulped, "Y-Yes, ma'am."
The voice went back to a calm, soft voice, "Good! Hey, you look nice! Did you lose weight?"
Pete looked down at his bulging belly. He was going to respond until he really took in her words. You look nice? He thought fearfully. She could see him? Turning around; he saw a shadow sitting in the darkest corner. The cell fell from his hand as it stood up; a pale face smiling at him as it's eyes shined a dark purple.
She moved closer; allowing Pete to get a better view of her body. She had long black hair; various tattoos and piercings. The clothes she was wearing-if you can call them clothes-were covered in blood and dirt as the dress hung loosely off her shoulders; exposing indecent parts of her body.
"Ugh..."
She smirked; bringing her hand up to caress his cheek gently before running it down towards his neck. He gasped as she got a death grip on his throat; choking him.
"Welcome to the dark side, Pete. Let me introduce myself. The name's Samara...but you can call me Princess due to the fact that I own every fucking thing dark and evil in these worlds!" Pete nodded hastily as he tried to gasp for air. "Welcome to the team!" She smiled before burning away into a purple fire; the heartless disappearing too.
Pete held his neck in pain; allowing the wondrous feeling of air to enter his wind pipes. "What have I gotten myself in to?"
---
A loud whistle caught Lenne's attention as she turned her head to see a crowd of guys standing by a local bar. From the looks in her eyes and the way they used the front wall of the building to hold themselves up; she could tell they were already drunk. She grimaced. The worlds are safe again and what do these men do? Go straight to a pub to get drunk. You'd think they'd be at home with their families! She turned and ignored their oncoming drunken comments.
Riku, on the other hand, wouldn't ignore the group of men. His aquamarine eyes glared daggers at them as they continued to yell cat calls at Lenne. He knew it was completely natural for him to feel disgusted at the men's actions...but was the jealousy he felt necessary? What did he feel jealous for anyways? It wasn't like him and Lenne were a couple or anything. He just met the girl! But he couldn't fight the feeling that he was more then her guardian.
Lenne noticed Riku's glare at the men. Crap! "Riku? Riku, just ignore them they're drunk." She said. She tried to get him to look at her but his eyes were locked on them. "Riku! Look at me! Snap out of it! Your emotion in you is too strong! You're allowing the darkness within you to take over! Riku, please!"
He didn't hear a word she was saying. His hand balled up into a fist as his eyes began glowing yellow.
"Hey beautiful! Why don't you lose the loser and get with some winners?"
"We can show you a real good time, baby!"
"Um...sir? Your next." The clerk said as he noticed Riku wasn't moving up to the counter, "Sir...?"
"Riku! Your eyes!" Lenne gasped. This was not good. He was letting the darkness take over him. She glanced around helplessly. Curious people began to gather around to watch in amazement as a dark mist formed around his hand. "STEP BACK!" Lenne screamed; noticing the people get dangerously closer to him.
The darkness within him and the emotions began to mix as Riku felt like his brain was being torn apart.
"I wish I could stay with you forever, Riku."
"Ugh!" He held his head in pain as heard those voices again. Lenne made a move to grab him, comfort him, do something! But she stopped herself. What could she do? It wasn't like she was Kairi or anything; she wasn't filled with light. She had darkness within her too. Plus she promised to keep an emotional distance from him this time. She wasn't going to allow herself to love him like she did before. Samara always used that against her.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Is he mad?"
"Maybe we should call an ambulance!"
The crowd began muttering as Riku fell to his knees; screaming in agony and pain as he heard Ansem's voice.
Kill them! Kill them, Riku! Destroy those men! They're nothing!
"I...I have to go..."
"Don't leave, Lenne!"
The voices were becoming unbearable. He seethed in anger as his rage was directed at the men once more. They're nothing...
"RIKU!" Lenne cried out; watching in horror as he ran towards the men. "STOP!" Riku leapt in the air; his oblivion blade forming in his hand as he began attacking the men. So much for him being unarmed. Lenne thought as she closed her eyes; trying to block out the image of Riku ripping the men apart. She heard the people around her scream in horror.
"Dear god! Someone help them!"
"He's killing them!"
"Call the cops!"
Lenne covered her ears as she tried to block out the sounds and feelings of fear. She felt helpless. There was nothing she could do to stop Riku or help those men. The guy that was suppose to be protecting her; her light, her guardian, was also consumed by darkness. The worst part was neither of them knew how to control it.
Riku snapped out of his berserkers mode to find various men on the ground; unconscious. He dropped his blade as he realized what he did. No...no...no! He quickly ran to one of the men to check his pulse. There was a light pulse which meant there was still hope.
"Someone call an ambulance!" He yelled. The people stared at him in shock and horror; none of them moving. "I SAID CALL AN AMBULANCE!" He shouted. They dispersed immediately; not wanting to get him angry again. Riku sighed; running a hand through his hair as he heard a sob. Crap! He turned to find Lenne on her knees; head in her hands, crying.
"Lenne..." He moved towards her but stopped when she backed away in fear.
"No...don't touch me!" She cried, shaking her head, "Just...give me a minute."
He nodded; not wanting to cause her anymore pain.
---
"What is this?" He asked as he grabbed the paper from the older man.
The man shrugged, "Memo from the superior. He says it's important. Got it from Xehanort, his human side!" He crumbled up the paper and tossed it aside, "I don't see why Xemnas keeps associating with him. He should be mad that he hasn't succeeded in getting our hearts yet!"
The young blonde began reading the paper; his hard blue eyes taking in every word carefully, "Says here that the superiors heartless half was defeated by the keyblade master."
Green eyes widened, "Serious? That's cool."
The blonde shook his head. "No...it's not because he's not fully gone. Says that right before Ansem was 'defeated' he possessed a boy."
"Meaning?" The other man asked.
"Meaning Ansem's heartless still resides in the boy." The blonde finished.
The man snorted; allowing his hood to fall off to reveal spikey red hair, "There goes Xemnas' heart. What a waste."
"Yeah..." The blonde responded softly, turning to walk away.
Was it something I said? The redhead thought as he watched his friend walk away. Footsteps behind him caught his attention as he turned to smile at the other member, "Hey, Demyx! Did you get the memo?"
The blonde halted, "What memo?"
---
Riku sighed as he realized Lenne was still avoiding any kind of contact with him. He knew she wasn't mad at him per se; she was just really frightened. He still managed to get them a room in the hotel but Lenne kept her distance. Was he really that much of a monster?
Lenne kept her arms crossed as she watched the couple next to them. An older man and woman shouting about god-knows-what. You'd think they'd take it into their room, but no. They were out in the hall for everyone to hear and see their quarrel.
She watched intently, mostly to ignore Riku, as the man grabbed the woman roughly. He pushed her against the wall before striking her hard against the face. Lenne stifled back a gasp as she felt a familiar emotion build within her: anger. Calm down! I can't allow my emotion to take over like Riku did.
"Get in the room, woman!" The man shouted, pushing the female into the room before slamming the door shut.
"Lenne?" She turned her head to see Riku give her a questioning look. "You...you ok?"
She nodded, noticing he had their hotel room door open already. "I have to use the bathroom." She replied before making her way past him, but he stopped her.
"I think...I think we need to talk." He said, "About earlier...I know I scared you."
"Terrified me." She corrected. "Look, I know it's not your fault...I don't blame you. It's...it's me, ok? I want to help you, Riku, but I can't. I have no light in me to give you."
"What do you mean you don't have light in you?" He asked incredulously, "Lenne, you have more light in you then all of Kingdom Hearts!"
That received a smile, "You're just saying that. You barely know me...how would you know?"
He was silent for so long that she thought he wasn't going to answer. The next question caught her off guard, "Were we involved?" He finally asked, a serious expression on his face, "I mean...romantically?"
Where did that come from? Is he...is he getting his memories of us back? "What makes you say that?" She asked instead.
"When I was being overpowered by Ansem again I heard your voice...but you weren't talking to me at the time. It was like some type of memory or something."
Her eyes widened, "No. We were not involved romantically." She replied before she tried to make her way to the bathroom, but he still had a hold of her arm.
He didn't want to call her a liar but he knew she was keeping something from him. "Lenne, I'm here for you...just thought you should know that. If I'm your guardian then I promise to protect you...no matter what. I'll always be there."
"Always?" She asked softly, her voice full of hope.
"Always." He promised.
She smiled and gave him a brief hug, "Tomorrow we'll try to find the book. Maybe there's something in there that can help us better understand our situation."
He nodded as he released her arm; allowing her to make her way to the bathroom. Always...
---
Riku opened his eyes as he heard a loud thump. Looking at the clock he saw the time: 11:00 p.m. Lenne's been in the bathroom for more then 6 hours. He must of dozed off waiting for her to get out.
"Lenne?" He sat up to see if the bathroom door was still closed. It wasn't. It was wide open and the sound of familiar sobs were coming out of it. "Lenne!" He quickly grabbed his oblivion blade and made his way into the room.
Looking around cautiously; he found her on the ground, sobbing. "Crap...Lenne...?" He made his way to her, examining her shaking body as she huddled up into the corner. "Lenne...what's wrong?"
Lenne removed her hands from her face as he got a better view of her clothes. They were covered in blood.
"Lenne!" He kneeled next to her and began to look for cuts; anything that could've caused her to bleed so much. "What happened? Who did this to you?"
"It...it's not...it's not my blood!" She sobbed.
He stopped examining her body to peer at her in confusion, "What?"
"I don't know what happened! I passed out and woke up like this!" She cried, "I think...I think I did something bad!"
It was at that moment when Riku realized 'always' meant forever. This was going to be a tough job for both of them.