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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn	By : RotSeele Category: Kingdom Hearts > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3168 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
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Thirty-Four - Halloween Town

The world they entered was dressed in deep blacks and purples and whites and oranges, and there was a feeling of festivity despite the creepy overtones. Kaoru looked around at the field where the portal had deposited them, looking up at the curling hillside and the giant, bright face of the moon beyond. The bottom of the hill was dotted with headstones, and the entire place was surrounded by a stone wall topped with a wrought-iron fencing. Kaoru watched his breath steam in the air for a minute, shivering as the cold crept into his skin.
“Ah! My clothes!”
Kaoru turned at Rinally’s cry, his eyes going wide at the girl’s change in appearance. Instead of wearing her usual outfit of a purple skirt and white tank top, she was wearing a lacy black dress with a wide poofy skirt that came to her mid-thigh. There was about four or five inches of bare skin before the lacy black stockings began, trailing down her legs before disappearing into black heeled boots. The top of the black dress was sleeveless but wound around her neck. Her arms were covered by long black gloves and atop her head was a tiny tophat that had half a spider-web veil draping down over the left side of her head. Rinally gripped the corners of her skirt and spread them out as she twisted left and right, staring with wide eyes at her new outfit.
Then she looked at Kaoru with an expression of utter disbelief. “Your clothes changed too!” Rin cried.
“I think all our clothes have changed.” Kai said. He spread his arms slightly, allowing to them to see his new outfit. Like Rin, he was dressed in all black. It looked like Kai had been dressed to go to a wedding, or a funeral. He wore black suit pants and a short suit jacket that flickered violet in the right light. His shirt was also pitch black, tucked into his waistband so neatly Kaoru wondered if Kai could even move comfortably. Kai’s red hair had been partially pulled back into a tail, and his eyes had become black and gold, just as they did when they were on the Paths or when he was wielding Darkness in some way.
Kaoru looked down at himself. He still wore his cargo pants, which had been black to begin with, but they now sported rips and tears as if he had crawled through a forest of scissors. His sneakers had become boots, which were missing the laces and instead were held in place by enterprising spiderwebs. His hooded jacket had morphed into a twin-tailed coat that was laced up the front and left open just under his clavicle. The sleeves of the jacket had been slashed to wispy tatters that floated as if they were smoke rather than cloth, and his hands were covered by fingerless gloves that tied with blood red ribbon at his wrists. And, like Rin, he sported a tophat upon his hair, only it was skewed to one side and was tied with another blood red ribbon. His headphones were still around his neck, along with Tae’s necklace.
“Why?” Rin asked. “What was wrong with our normal clothes? Who changed our clothes?”
“I don’t know.” Kaoru answered honestly. “Maybe it’s a power of the world. You know, so we fit in?”
“But it didn’t do that on Belle’s world.”
“Maybe it didn’t need to.” Kaoru answered. “I mean, we ended up in the middle of the woods then. There was nobody around to see us.”
“There’s nobody around to see us now.” Kai pointed out. Kaoru nodded, agreeing.
“I mean,” Rin started, “the outfits are cute. I just feel like a doll. Just look at this dress! At least you two look like you’re somewhat normal.”
Kai snorted. “I’m wearing a suit.”
“You look like a vampire.”
Kai looked at Kaoru sharply, his eyes narrowing as if he wasn’t sure if Kaoru was trying to compliment him or not. Kaoru smiled, feeling his cheeks heat a little bit. He pointed a finger at Kai’s mouth. “You have fangs. You look like a vampire.”
Kai scowled even more. “It beats looking like a gothic Lolita I guess. Or whatever you’re supposed to be.”
Rin made a noise of disappointment, but Kaoru just smiled.
Kai shook his head. “Let’s find out where we are. We were brought here for a reason. If this is the world the Paths led us after I opened the way with Tae’s necklace, then she’s got to be here.”
Kaoru tried to keep from beaming, knowing that the ember of hope he kept burning in his heart would only be crushed if he let himself get too eager. “Right.” he said. “Let’s see if we can find a town.”
They explored the little graveyard and the hill area until they managed to find a mausoleum that led into another area. It was a straight path from there to another headstone that led into a walled and gated path that finally deposited them into the main square of a town that looked perpetually trapped on the cusp of Halloween. Kaoru stared at the pumpkin-headed lampposts, at the ghosts that flitted from here and there, and the twisting wrought-iron decorations that dotted fences, walls, and houses. But like all the other towns they had entered before, there weren’t any people around. The only noise came from the well that sat in the middle of the square, the laughter of invisible ghosts, or the occasional howling cry that came from somewhere far away.
As Rinally went forward into the square to examine a Jack o’ Lantern that sat on a lonely step, Kaoru moved closer to Kai and whispered, “You really do look good, you know. A lot more sophisticated than me.”
Kai’s shoulders tensed slightly, but when he turned to look at Kaoru, there was a warmth and pleasure in his eyes that Kaoru rarely saw. “You look cute.” Kai replied, his deep voice a mere night whisper. “It suits you, for some reason. The black brings out your eyes. I never really noticed how bright they were before.”
Kaoru blushed and looked away from Kai. Since the redhead didn’t pursue his comment with another, Kaoru figured Kai had said all he was going to say. But when he looked back at his friend, Kai was still studying him with those gold and black eyes, his expression completely blank. “Kai, I-” Kaoru started.
“Guys!” Rin called. “Guys, I found something!”
Kaoru swallowed the words he’d been about to say and hurried over to where Rinally knelt behind the Jack o’ Lantern. Kai was right behind him. Rinally’s hands hovered over a bundle of gossamer white cloth that undulated with invisible wind. The soft green glow of healing magic emanated from her palms, sending the energy into the little white thing. Kaoru crouched beside her and stared down at the little thing, trying to figure out what it was. Kai stood over them with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips turned down into a slight frown. Then the white thing shivered and shook, as if it was waking up, and Rin let out a yelp as the creature surged up suddenly.
Kaoru stared in shock at the... “Is it a dog?” he asked no one in particular. The little white creature opened its doggy mouth and let its tongue loll out in an apparently pleased smile.
“It can’t be a dog.” Kai said. “It doesn’t have any feet.”
“Maybe it’s a ghost dog?” Rin asked.
Kaoru canted his head to one side, studying the ghost dog. It looked as if it was nothing more than a white handkerchief given substance by an invisible breeze. A collar wound around its neck, and it had big, deep, empty eye-sockets and long floppy ears. Its snout was tipped by a red bulb of a nose that almost seemed to glow. It certainly seemed happy to see them, floating round and round in little circles. “Well, if it’s a ghost dog, it certainly explains a few things.” he said at last.
The dog gave a little yip and began to circle Rinally’s head. It paused over her shoulder and nuzzled close to her cheek. Rinally shivered but laughed, lifting her hands to cuddle the ghost dog against her. “He’s so cute! I wonder who his owner is.”
“He’s a ghost. He can’t have an owner.” Kai said blandly. Kaoru suppressed a smile. Apparently, Kai didn’t share the same feelings Rin did about the ghost dog.
Rinally snorted. “Of course he has an owner. He’s a dog.”
“He’s a ghost.”
“He’s still a dog.”
Kai looked at Kaoru with a helpless expression. Kaoru shrugged. “If he has an owner, maybe he can take us to them.”
The little ghost dog wriggled out of Rinally’s hands and floated toward Kaoru, twirling in circles around Kaoru’s head with a big tongue-lolling grin on its snout.
“Is he saying he can do that?” Rin asked. In response to her question, the little dog twirled around Kaoru’s head again before pointing his nose in the direction of the other end of town.
Kaoru grinned. “Looks that way. Lead the way then!”
The ghost dog made a soft sound that could be taken for an affirmative bark before darting off in the direction he’d pointed in. Behind him, Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally gave chase, trying to keep the little ghost dog in sight as they hurried through the town. The ghost led them to an old house that stood slightly apart from the other buildings in the town. It was old and decrepit, and it looked like it was starting to fall apart in some places. The ghost sped up the stairs that led into the house and passed right through the door. Kaoru came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, panting. Behind him, Rinally and Kai stopped as well, trying to catch their breaths.
“So,” Kai asked, “do we follow?”
“We did ask him to take us to his owner.” Kaoru replied. He started up the stairs, mounting one and then the other, until he was standing before the door. He raised his fist to knock.
The door was yanked open suddenly and the ghost dog flew into Kaoru’s face, making him flinch backwards. His arms pinwheeled for a minute as his balance became upset. He could feel himself tilting backwards, farther and farther until he started to fall. He was caught by a long-fingered hand by the laces on the front of his coat and held tightly at an awkward angle. Kaoru stared at the hand’s owner in shock. The man - Kaoru guessed it was a man - looked like the furthest thing from a normal human being. Not a scrap of flesh was visible, instead all of his limbs being pure white bone covered only by pin-striped cloth. Even his head was a macabre, white interpretation of a Jack o’ Lantern’s wide grin. Giant black holes were where eyeballs should have been, but Kaoru didn’t doubt for a second that the man could see him. There was an expression of pure surprise on that skeleton face, and his bony lips had formed a small ‘o’ that clearly animated his shock at finding guests upon his doorstep.
Then Kai was at Kaoru’s back, all but tearing him from the stranger’s grasp and pulling Kaoru down behind him. Kai’s hand curled tightly around Kaoru’s upper arm, not quite a painful grip, but hard enough that Kaoru wasn’t going anywhere without fighting the redhead first. Sanctuary was pointed at the skeleton man’s throat, the dark Keyblade gleaming in the faint light.
“Oh!” exclaimed the skeleton man. “A Keyblade?”
Kai’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “You recognize that?”
The skeleton man blinked and focused on Kai. “Of course I do. Although, it doesn’t look like Sora’s, now does it?”
“You know Sora?” Kaoru blurted, drawing the skeleton man’s eyes to him.
Those fleshless lips split into a wide grin. “Do I know Sora? Of course I know Sora! He’s helped me out of a bind on occasion. He’s saved Halloween Town plenty of times, too. Of course, he hasn’t come around lately. Has he, Zero?” The little ghost dog, Zero, apparently, floated around the man’s head in evident joy. He did a few little backflips, then quickly sped toward Rinally and slipped over her shoulder, through her hair, and then came back up to rest atop her tophat. The skeleton man laughed brightly. “Looks like Zero likes you!”
Kaoru looked back at Rin and smiled. She looked bright and happy as Zero rested atop her head, her magenta eyes sparkling as she looked up at the wispy white cloth that made up Zero’s body. Then Kaoru looked up at the skeleton man. “This is Halloween Town?”
The skeleton nodded. “That it is. So, did Sora send you here? I hadn’t thought he was taking on apprentices.” He looked at Kai from head to toe and back up again. “Or maybe you’re Riku’s apprentice? You certainly have that same seriousness in your face.”
Kai scowled. “No one sent us here. If anything I brought us here.”
“You?”
“Yeah, me.”
“He opened up a path from the world we were on to here.” Kaoru explained. “You see, we’re looking for someone, and she might be here, on this world. Have you seen a girl about my height, with brown hair, dressed in white?”
The skeleton man shook his head. “No, haven’t seen anyone like that. Not a girl, anyway.” He focused on Kai again. “You opened up a path, huh? You must be pretty powerful. Riku can do it, or so Sora told me; I’ve never seen it myself.”
Kaoru made a soft, frustrated sound. “Mister, have you seen someone like us? If not a girl, then a boy? He’d be taller than me, maybe as tall as Kai, and big-boned.”
“My name is Jack. Jack Skellington, not ‘mister’. You shouldn’t go around calling strangers ‘mister’. Get to know them. Learn their names. Give them yours.” Jack admonished.
“Sorry.” Kaoru took a deep breath to try and calm his frustration. “My name is Kaoru. This is Kai, and she’s Rinally. Please, if there’s anything you know, could you please tell us? It’s really important that we find these people.”
Jack put a bony finger to his chin and considered Kaoru’s words for some time. “Well, I don’t know if he’s the one you’re looking for, but there was a boy that came here oh, about a few days ago. I don’t know if he was taller than you; he was skulking around town at the time, and had this scowl on his face that scared the kids. It was marvelous. I approached him because I wanted to get a few tips on skulking and scowling from him, since he seemed to a professional. He snapped at me, and told me to mind my own business, that he was here on an important mission and he didn’t have the time to deal with the local wildlife. That got me angry, of course, because it was entirely impolite. After I told him that, he scoffed and headed toward Oogie Boogie’s abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town. I warned him that he shouldn’t go there. It’s dangerous, after all, what with all the Heartless infesting it, but he just ignored me.”
Kaoru looked at Kai, and the redhead narrowed his eyes and gave a slight nod. Kaoru looked up at Jack. “Thanks, Jack. We’ll check it out.”
Jack caught Kaoru’s arm, halting him from bouncing down the stairs. Kai, who had already descended, paused and turned back, a threatening glare in his eyes. Jack’s empty eye sockets bored Kaoru’s, and the skeleton man leaned close to the blond-haired boy. “There was something wrong with that boy, you know. I’ve been around the block a time or two with Heartless and Darkness and Light, and I know the feeling of someone who’s been tainted with Darkness. Be careful, Kaoru.”
Kaoru eased his arm out of Jack’s grip. “I will.”
Jack nodded, then he looked toward Rin. “I think Zero’s going to go with you. He’ll keep an eye out for you.”
Rinally smiled. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have someone who can run and get help if we’re in a pinch, huh?”
Zero made a yipping noise that sounded eerily like the wind. Jack grinned, with the dark pits of his eyes slightly closing in his mirth. “Keep a good eye on them, Zero!”
As they walked away from Jack’s house with Zero, the ghost dog lifted himself from Rinally’s tophat and began to float in front of them, keeping close but clearly leading the way out of Halloween Town and into the field beyond where the three of them had first arrived. The moon still glowed full and bright behind the curling hill, throwing everything into ghostly shadow. The headstones scattered about the field looked ominous in the pale light, and every once in a while, Kaoru caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Except whenever he turned his head to look, the something would be gone. He wasn’t sure if he was going crazy or if something was actually there, and just teasing him with flashing glimpses.
As they neared another part of that central area, Zero darted through a headstone, reappearing on the other side before zooming up the curling hill. He reached the top and danced around a bit, drifting back and forth as if he were riding a breeze. Then he returned a scant second later, dancing around Rinally, then Kaoru, and lastly Kai, before returning to that hill and flying all the way to the top. He continued to dance around, floating in circles and giving little ghost barks as if to encourage the three to follow him. Taking a deep breath, Kaoru summoned Guardian and headed after the ghost dog with Kai and Rin at his back. As he stepped foot on the top of the curling hill, the hill began to shift and move, stretching out beyond the fence that encircled the area. Zero darted forward, tongue lolling out of his mouth, and Kaoru followed, trying not to be afraid of what might be on the other side.
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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn