Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

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
- 5
- 6
- 7
Six - The Paths of Darkness, Between Worlds

How long they walked together, hand in hand, neither of them knew. Nothing changed much in the way of scenery. The path they were on was the only solid color in the pitch black, but even still, there was the tiniest hint of light around them. It was never quite ahead of them, never quite behind them, but it always seemed to be there. Kaoru held Guardian in his right hand, keeping the weapon low but always at the ready. There was no telling what might be lurking out there, waiting for them to lower their guard. They didn’t speak a word to one another, afraid that their voices might echo in the emptiness and draw unwanted attention.
The path snaked along ahead of them without much deviation save to curl forward and back in a strange wave-like motion. It disappeared into the distance, leaving no discernible end to it. Kaoru tilted his head up to look above them, but as with everywhere else, there was only pitch darkness, illuminated by a far away light. There was no other way for them to go except forward, so they kept walking, even when their legs began to feel as if they were made of lead.
Kaoru didn’t want to stop, but he knew he had to, at least for a little while. They hadn’t prepared well for this journey. They had no supplies, no food or water, nothing that would make their rest a little more comfortable. He didn’t say anything, and he was grateful that Rin didn’t say anything either. They sat together on the path, eyes traveling everywhere except each other’s faces. Finally they started walking again, but the path never seemed to end.
“How much farther?” Rinally finally asked, keeping her voice to a mere whisper. Even still, it seemed unnaturally loud to Kaoru’s ears.
“I don’t know.” he replied just as quietly. “But we have to keep moving. It’s the only way we’ll find a way out.”
“Do you think this place connects the worlds to each other?”
“It has to.”
“I wonder what world we’ll end up on now.”
“Well, if it’s anything like the story you told me, probably a world that needs us the most.”
Rin laughed softly, but there wasn’t much humor in the sound. “Ever get the feeling you’re being used by something you can’t even begin to understand?”
“If you’d asked me that before, I would’ve laughed at you.” Kaoru looked down at Guardian, tightening his fingers around the hilt of the Keyblade. “Now, though, yeah, I totally get that feeling.”
They kept walking, hand in hand, next to each other now instead of a half-step behind or ahead. Their conversation once more lapsed into silence, but this time their steps seemed a little more confident than before. If they were being used by something unfathomable, then they weren’t the only ones. Everyone who wielded a Keyblade or was associated with a Keyblade owner was someone who was entangled in the most incredible mystery of all. All they had to do was find the original players of the game, and they would get some of their questions answered, maybe even gain the knowledge of who - or what - was manipulating them so.
Kaoru stopped short on the path, pulling Rin to a halt. She looked at him questioningly, but then her eyes steadily widened. Kaoru released her hand so she could summon her staff and prepare her spells. He gripped Guardian tighter and raised the Keyblade up some, but beyond preparing himself for the defensive, there was nothing he could do. They were on the only path in the darkness, illumined by their personal light and the light that seemed to suffuse the darkness around them. They were easy to see, easy to hunt. Until now they had moved without being bothered; the minor Shadows that coalesced in the distant dark hadn’t paid much attention to the two teenagers as they headed to their unknown destination. Kaoru hadn’t heard or sensed anything bigger that might actually prove a danger to them. Hadn’t, until now.
Rinally inhaled sharply as the path seemed to shake with the thunderous footsteps of their approaching enemy. Her hands tightened around her staff and her eyes darted around wildly, looking for any sign of the approaching monster. There was no telling where it was actually coming from; sound seemed to echo from all points, converging on them from all around. Kaoru fell into his stance, making sure he would be able to move quickly when he needed to. The path trembled again, and behind them, Kaoru thought he saw the path beginning to crumble.
The Heartless that relentlessly marched toward them was huge, akin to the Behemoth Kaoru had seen when he had been little. It was wider, though, broader, and it had six legs instead of four. A massive trunk spilled down from a broad, angular face, and two tusks pushed out from its upper jaw. Four long tails whipped around its girth, almost comically thin when compared to the rest of its body. Kaoru could see that each of the tails had a triangular shape at the end of it, and when that shape crashed into the ground, it cut a deep rut into the path, causing it to begin to break.
Rinally squeaked before she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound. “There’s no way in hell we’re going to be able to fight that!” she whispered harshly.
She was right, Kaoru knew. He looked at the path, at the hairline fractures that were starting to grow closer to them, then up at the Heartless coming toward them. “Run.” he whispered back.
“What?”
“Run. The path is breaking apart and there’s no telling where we’ll end up if we fall off.”
Rin stared at Kaoru for a long moment before returning her gaze to the Heartless. Its huge, butter yellow eyes focused on them and its steps began to increase in tempo. It lifted back its massive head and roared, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
Kaoru grabbed Rin’s hand and spun around, pelting down the path as fast as he could. Rinally ran right behind him, not wasting any breath with words. Behind them, Kaoru heard the Heartless let out another bellow and then he could only hear the thunder of its footsteps as it chased after them. Kaoru didn’t dare look back; he didn’t want to see the Heartless gaining on them and he didn’t want to see the path disappearing behind them. He focused ahead of them, making sure he kept a firm hold on Rinally’s hand. Not that he had to worry about losing her; her hand was firmly wrapped around his in a grip that hurt. Their own sounds were drowned out by the sounds from the Heartless behind them, but their lungs were starting to burn and their legs were starting to become filled with lead.
Finally Kaoru looked back over his shoulder and saw that the Heartless was gaining on them. The hairline fractures that had been forming in the path were now widening to fissures, breaking even more. The path closest to the Heartless had nearly completely disintegrated, leaving no way back for them to take. Gritting his teeth, Kaoru pushed forward, pulling Rinally along with him.
Come on! Kaoru thought frantically. Come on! There has to be a way out of here! Think, Kaoru, think! They were slowing down. They were exhausted. They had nothing left in reserve for energy, and they had had nothing to eat or drink since before finding their way into this place. They hadn’t considered how long it would be before they got out - if they got out.
The Heartless bellowed behind them and Rinally shook off Kaoru’s hand, causing him to nearly stumble and fall. She spun to face the Heartless, her staff raising to take aim at it. Fire coalesced around the rod’s tip, growing bigger and brighter until a fireball roared to life. Rinally took a deep breath, then shouted, “Firaga!” The fireball took off as if it were fired from a cannon, speeding over the ground until it crashed into the Heartless’s trunk. The fireball exploded in a wave of heat and light, spreading up the Heartless’s face until it completely surrounded its head.
Kaoru sucked in a deep breath as the Heartless started to thrash, its massive feet slamming down hard on the path as it fought to get free of Rinally’s spell. The entire path shook with the force of those blows and more pieces broke off, simply disappearing into the darkness below. The cracks ran up under their feet, slowly widening with each booming crash.
“We need to go!” Kaoru cried, reaching for Rinally. She grabbed his hand only a second before the floor beneath her feet gave way. Kaoru yelped at the sudden strain on his arm and went down to his knees. Guardian spun out of his hand, skidding across the path. Rinally screamed as she suddenly found herself weightless, dangling above a yawning maw of utter darkness.
“Don’t let me fall!” Rin screamed, her hand tight around Kaoru’s.
“I won’t! Just hold on!” Kaoru pulled as hard as he could on her hand, managing to somehow throw his own weight back and haul her up enough that she could grab onto what was left of the path with her free hand. Kaoru kept pulling until Rin had enough leverage to pull herself up the rest of the way.
They had barely gained their feet before they were thrown to the ground again, the Heartless bellowing in frustration and hatred as the flames finally cleared. It looked right at them, right at Rinally, and its eyes narrowed. It took a menacing step forward, then another, and another, until it was all but charging right at them. Kaoru summoned Guardian to his hand and quickly flung it forward. It spun hilt over blade and crashed right between the Heartless’s eyes, sending it reeling backwards. Guardian was back in Kaoru’s hands a second later, and he scrambled to his feet, pushing Rin ahead of him.
They ran, fear driving them to go faster, even as the Heartless lumbered after them. The path was crumbling faster than they could run, the cracks becoming fissures and the fissures sloughing off to reveal nothing but darkness below. They leaped over the wider parts, continuing to run even though their lungs burned hot enough that their chests hurt. The path continued to stretch ahead of them, an infinite thing. Kaoru wanted to cry out for help, but there was no one here that would help them. He dismissed Guardian, reaching forward with his right hand. He didn’t know how he’d made the first portal, but he hoped the fluke or whatever it had been repeated itself now. He had no choice. The last desperate move they had was to jump completely off the path and give themselves over to the darkness below, praying that they weren’t separated somehow.
Ahead the trail seemed to darken before it blotted itself out entirely. Rin skidded to a halt at the edge of the remaining piece of the path, panting harshly. Kaoru slid to a stop beside her, watching with wide eyes as the darkness began to coalesce before them, akin to the first portal. This one formed faster than the first, but was slower in opening itself to the other side.
The Heartless behind them roared, and Kaoru jerked his foot away from the crumbling path, having nearly lost his balance and fallen. The Heartless’s six thick legs began to pound faster, as if it knew its prey was about to escape it. Its four whiplike tails thrashed ahead of it and around it, digging into the ground and tearing away great chunks. Kaoru could hear the whistling of its tails even though it was still so far away from them. Not that it would stay away for long.
The portal was barely open, its reflective surface barely recognized before Rinally grabbed Kaoru’s hand and started forward. She broke through first and vanished from sight, pulling Kaoru through with her. He gasped reflexively as he passed through the portal, feeling as though a thousand glass shards were cutting into his skin, trying to hold him back. He closed his eyes tightly, clenched his fingers around Rin’s, and hoped that wherever they ended up, it would be somewhere safe.
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn