Tale as Old as Time [ Chapter Two: Castle Oblivion ]
Title: Tale as Old as Time [ Chapter Two: Castle Oblivion ]
Pairing: in this chapter there are hints of Riku/Roxas, Riku/Namine if you squint, and the beginnings of Marluxia/Namine, which I've finally decided will indeed be the main pairing.
Type: everything
Rating: PG-13
Summary: once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle...
"What?!" Namine looked up from her book, suddenly quite alarmed. "You're both going?"
The brothers nodded as one. Sora sighed, looking rather upset. "Roxas said - "
Roxas elbowed his brother sharply in the side.
"Ow!" Sora glared back at him. "Well, the machine is a lot bigger than last year's, and it takes two people to set it up proper, and Roxas - Ow! - thinks it'll be good for you to stay home." Sora rubbed the side of his ribcage, but he kept talking despite the abuse. "You don't even have to leave the house if you don't want to, there's plenty of food. Think you'll be okay?"
Roxas sighed. "Come on, Sora, she'll survive. We're only going to be gone for two days."
Namine fiddled with her bookmark. "I... I guess..." She bit her lip. "Roxas, what if Axel comes back?"
Roxas shrugged and ruffled her hair. "Dump him in the river. He's not as strong as he looks, and you have the element of surprise. I'm sure you'll be fine." He moved back and nodded to Sora. "Come on... it's going to get late if we don't get a move on."
"Right." Sora nodded, then waved to Namine. "Bye sis! We'll see you in two days!"
"Bye!" Namine waved back, then returned to her book. Two days... well, she'd manage somehow.
~ * ~
"Huh... I think... we're lost."
Roxas stopped in his tracks and stared at his brother. "You're shitting me."
"Nope, we're definitely lost." Sora looked left and right, they were surrounded by black trees and silence. "Hm... Crap."
"You're lost?! You got us LOST?!" Roxas threw up his hands. "You go there every year, Sora!!"
Sora frowned. "It's really weird, these woods seem sort of different..."
"How could you get LOST?!! I should never have trusted you with something as simple as..."
"And it's quieter than usual... No birds or anything."
"...telling me that you're goddamn lost, well I don't know about you, but I thought coming into this forest was a bad idea to..."
"Roxas. Shut up."
He shut up. Sora had a strangely serious tone in his voice. "...Sora?"
"Yeah?"
"...Is there anything... dangerous, in this forest?"
Sora reached for the silver-and-gold keyblade clipped to his belt. "I think we're about to find out!"
Before either of them could react, a silvery blur shot out of nowhere and crashed on top of Sora. Roxas yelled, then grabbed for his own keyblade - just in time, for another silver shape flew out of the trees, headed right for Roxas.
He pressed forward, slashing with his kingdom key, against the mysterious enemy. It moved too fast for him to really see it properly, but it definitely moved like an animal, but almost impossibly graceful.
Suddenly he was caught in a lock, as the animal's claws dug into the flat of the keyblade... and he could see that it was an impossibly large silver wolf. Oh dear god...
"ROXAS! RUN!"
He didn't need to be told twice. With a burst of strength, he flung the wolf off of the kingdom key, and took off towards Sora's voice. He didn't care that they were leaving the horse and cart behind, all he knew is that they needed to get AWAY.
As he ran after Sora, he suddenly realized that there were blurry silver shapes flitting through the trees around them... and to his sudden horror, he thought he saw a face, a human face, grinning at them.
So not a good sign.
"Little ones who smell of the Hunter..."
The voice was teasing, sarcastic, almost like Axel's in it sharpness, but as cold as his was hot.
Roxas gulped. "Sora! Run faster!"
"Trying!"
Laughter echoed in the trees, and Roxas realized his heart was pounding in fear. "Little ones... you cannot escape us."
"Little ones who know not who they are..."
"Little ones running..."
Another chilly laugh cut through the air, and Roxas gripped the keyblade tighter... and suddenly, he dug in his heels and stopped running.
Sora came to a halt a few feet later. "Roxas!!"
Roxas scowled. "Whoever you are... if it's a fight you want..." He crouched down into a ready position. "We'll give it to you!"
He met Sora's eye, and they lined up, back to back. "Come on out!"
...Forms melted into their vision out of the trees.
They were men... men or boys, or somewhere in between, with flowing silvery hair and green eyes. Five of them, the middle one the tallest, with the longest hair. He smirked at them. "So, you think you can take us?"
Roxas looked nervously from one to the other. "You're... the wolves?"
"Yes."
Roxas's eyes snapped over to the speaker, on the far right. He looked subtly different from the others, though he had the same silvery hair and green eyes. Perhaps it was the total lack of expression on his face... unlike the obviously evil looks on the other faces. He glared at him... as if the expressionlessness was worse than being openly evil. "We can take you!"
"Yeah, bring it on!" Sora lifted his chin in defiance.
The middle one, probably their leader, smiled generously. "Very well, then." His eyes snapped open, and there was an ethereal quality to them, as if they were somehow a part of the woods themselves. "Loz. Yazoo. Kadaj."
As if their names had power, three of the five figured melted and flowed into the form of a wolf, and launched themselves at Roxas and Sora. Only the leader was left, and the expressionless one.
Roxas swiftly brought his keyblade up to block the attack, wondering what made that last one so special... it was two against three, and they were holding their own somehow, blocking and slashing in a flurry of blades and teeth and fur. Roxas found himself taking the bulk of the fighting, and he was pressing outwards, away from Sora - if they got separated, it would NOT be good...
"...Riku."
Shit. Shit. This was bad. Very bad.
Now Roxas knew why the last one, though the youngest, had been given special treatment.
Simply put, he was the best.
And he made a beeline for Roxas, attacking so fast that Roxas could barely even see him go, and he was totally on defensive now, and claws were ripping into his skin...
He heard a strangled cry from behind him. "Roxas!!"
The leader laughed, a low, throaty laugh of the victor who knew it was already over.
Roxas hissed in pain as Riku's claws bit into his shoulders, as he pounced him to the ground. The wolf leaned close for the kill, but all Roxas could see was his human face, impassive and uncaring...
Suddenly, there was the loud sound of an engine revving, and surprisingly - the wolves broke away, and scattered.
Roxas leapt off the ground, just in time to see a motorcycle come crashing through the underbrush, with a man on it. He was wearing goggles, but he had spiky blond hair and carried a big sword. The motorcycle skidded to a halt (against some trees, actually), and the man turned the motor off.
He somehow gave them a piercing look, even with goggles on. "Don't antagonize them," he said in a low, even tone.
"What?" Sora tilted his head, still clueless, even as he was bleeding from several gashes in his arm.
"The wolves." He slid the sword into a rack that popped out of his motorcycle, then gunned the engine again. "I won't always be around to save your life." Then he took off in the direction that the wolves had gone.
Roxas stared. They were both bleeding quite profusely, and Sora's left arm hung at a strange angle from his shoulder. "...What a dick," he muttered numbly, in reference to their impromptu rescuer.
"Yeah... well, he DID save our lives." Sora shrugged, then winced as pain shot up his arm. "Ugh, ow... I think it's broken."
Roxas took off his jacket and tied it into a sling, shaking his head. "He could have pointed the way out to us."
"But at least we're not dead." Sora settled his arm in the sling, then smiled cheerfully. "I consider that a very good thing."
Roxas sighed; Sora was unfailingly optimistic. "Well, let's just start walking. We're bound to get somewhere, and it's better than waiting for the wolves to come back."
"Wolf... men..." Sora waved his other arm about vaguely, trying to make sense of it all - and almost chopping Roxas's head off.
"Hey, watch where you swing that thing!" The younger brother sighed. "All right... let's go... that way." He picked out a direction at random. "And we start walking."
"...Roxas?"
"What?"
"I'm hungry..."
"Shut up!"
~ * ~
Namine was sitting outside with her sketchbook, a pile of crayons beside her. The sunset was just so beautiful... she couldn't resist. At least their cottage was tucked away beyond the town, so no one would be coming by to bother her for no reason.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and rubbed in some orange along the horizon. The problem with coloring the sunset, is that it changed so quickly...
Suddenly she heard a loud whinny from the road, and her head shot up. "Phillipe?!" Quickly, she put aside the sketchbook and ran towards the sound.
The frightened horse, still attached to the cart, calmed slowly under Namine's gentle hand. She's always loved animals, she got along with them better than most people. "Shh, shh," she murmured. "It's all right."
Once Phillipe was relatively quiet, she led him to the stable and unhooked the cart. This could only mean one thing... Roxas and Sora were in trouble. And they needed her help.
Calmly she put away her crayons and - on second thought, she hung onto her sketchbook, tucking it away in a cloak pocket. Then she pulled her sky-blue travel cloak over her shoulders and headed back outside, saddled up Phillipe, and set off towards the woods.
~ * ~
Five wolves crashed into the den from different sides, jumping all over and under each other until each was comfortable, then morphing back to human form.
"Riku!!" Kadaj slammed his hand on the wall. "You had him by the throat, why didn't you finish him off?"
Riku, sitting against the far wall apart from the others, shrugged. "I didn't see the need for unnecessary killing."
"But they smelled of the hunter!" Yazoo was of the same mindset as Kadaj, if slightly less fanatical about it. "He was using them as bait. The least we could do was to kill them and be merciful."
"And what would that have accomplished?" Riku sneered. "You just wish you were the one on top of him."
Kadaj snarled and was about to launch himself at Riku, but suddenly their leader spoke.
"...Riku is right. Killing Roxas would have given the enemy an unfortunate advantage."
Kadaj slunk back, scowling.
Loz spoke up. "But sir, I don't believe that that's the reason Riku didn't kill him..."
The edge of Riku's lip curled. "Hold your tongue," he hissed.
"Children, please." Sephiroth smirked at them all. "There's no need to fight amongst ourselves. Whatever the reasoning, he did the right thing." Their leader turned his piercing gaze on Riku, who met it with a blank, level glare. The two stared off for a minute, then Sephiroth placidly turned away. "Cloud has gone home for the evening. We should all be out, keeping watch at the perimeter."
Kadaj looked as if he wanted to say something, but finally he closed his mouth and launched out of the den. Loz and Yazoo quickly followed suit, and the three split up to prowl the territory.
Riku remained where he was, quiet against the wall. Finally, Sephiroth spoke. "I do not believe they are a threat, but what Loz said does raise some interesting questions."
"Questions that I'd rather not answer, thank you," Riku replied smoothly.
"Of course." There was another long silence, once again broken by Sephiroth. "We will continue this discussion later. However, Riku..."
Riku paused, frozen in place by the master of his name.
"...If the brothers are still in our territory... there are no second chances."
Riku nodded, stiffly, then shifted forms and fled the den. There was no way he could disobey, now.
~ * ~
Namine shivered; even with the cloak, it was cold and damp in the woods...
Suddenly, she heard a rustle behind her, and froze. Phillipe stopped as well, and she could feel the tension in his shoulder muscles. "W-who's there?"
Then there were footsteps behind her, and she turned to find -
A young man, in somber black and white, with layered silvery hair and green eyes. "Shh," he said, holding a finger to his lips. "I'm not here to harm you."
He came up to the side of her horse and stood on tiptoe, talking under his breath. "You're looking for your brothers, aren't you?"
She nodded; she didn't trust her voice not to squeak.
"They went towards Castle Oblivion. But you'll have to hurry." He moved away from her, and she felt suddenly cold again. "You're lucky I was the one who caught you. Not all of us are forgiving."
"Who are you - " But before she could really finish asking the question, the young man melted away into the shadows and disappeared.
Namine gathered up the reins again, and took a deep breath. "...Castle Oblivion. Right." She frowned. "...Where's that?"
Riku materialized again. "That way." He pointed. "The harder it gets to press on, the closer you're getting. Oh - and watch out for the thorns."
"What thorns?!" Namine whipped around... but he was gone again. She sighed heavily. "I suppose I'll see when I get there..."
In a way, the strange man was right. It should have been harder and harder to get in, the foliage was much thicker here... but it was as if the land itself was drawing her in, pulling her inexorably towards the Castle.
Suddenly, she was at the gates, and Castle Oblivion loomed above her like a menacing beast. All Namine could think of, however, was how beautiful it was - in a grotesque way, but still - and how glad she was to have her sketchbook...
But now was not the time. Her brothers were in this castle... and it was up to her to see if they were still in danger.
She pushed open the front doors - they weren't as heavy as they looked at first. "...Hello?" Looked left, and right. "Is anybody there?"
The castle was silent and dark. She pulled her cloak a little tighter around her; although it wasn't cold - but she was only just now beginning to get frightened. "...Anybody?"
There was a silver candelabra, with three candles, burning brightly on a shelf along the left hallway. Curious, she picked it up... had that been burning when he came in?
Namine looked down the hallway. Well, this place was as good as any. She walked along, shivering slightly - with fear or chills, she didn't know. But even then... she looked around her, and her artist's eyes noted that the castle was indeed very beautiful, with curling patterns along the dark stone walls.
She felt a tug in her hand - so slightly that it was possible she'd imagined it, but it was like the candlestick was leading her...? That was impossible, but... she turned to her left, and saw a doorway leading to a downward staircase.
Well... I might as well follow it, she thought. No better place to go.
Her footsteps echoed around her, there were several recent footprints in the thick dust... someone had been here, recently. The walls got slowly damper and darker, and Namine wondered where on earth this staircase led... some kind of dungeon? Oooh...
It was. But the cells were filthy and disused, covered in strange growths of god-knows-what from being damp. She winced and turned to go back upstairs - there was nothing else down here - when a sudden voice made her stop.
"...Namine?"
She ran towards the voice, slamming up against the prison bars further down the hallway. "Roxas?!"
"Shh!" Roxas held up a finger to his lips. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.
"Going to find you! Phillipe came home without you, so I knew something was wrong." She reached through the bars to brush her fingers against his hand. "What happened?"
"You came all the way here?" That voice was Sora's, but for some reason he was slumped against the wall. "You weren't attacked by wolves or anything, were you?"
Namine frowned. "No, of course not. Sora..." And then suddenly, she noticed. "Oh my gosh. You're bleeding. You both are! What happened?!"
Roxas sighed heavily. "I'm all right - Sora's the one you need to worry about, he broke his arm."
"WHAT?!"
"Namine..." Roxas squeezed her hand. "It's all right. We got lost, and then we were attacked by wolves and had to run for it. We ended up finding this place, and..."
The brothers exchanged a look, then Sora spoke up. "...And weeell... the master of this castle..."
"Castle Oblivion?"
The brothers flinched. "How do you know that?" Roxas asked.
Namine changed the subject. "Look, we've got to get you out of here! Sora's hurt!"
Roxas shook his head. "No, Namine... you need to leave. You really, really need to leave. Like now."
"No!" Namine slammed her fist against the bars, though it didn't do much besides make a bit of noise. "I'm NOT leaving you here!"
"Namine..." Both brothers were a little taken aback by her vehemence. I mean, obviously, if their positions were reversed they'd never leave, but... this was Namine they were talking about. She was fragile and shy and shouldn't have to be in this position at all.
She suddenly paused, then turned around slowly. "Who's there?" she called out into the darkness. Hands shaking slightly, she pulled away from the bars and took a step forward. "I know someone's there."
The shadows moved, and Namine knew it wasn't from the candlelight. "Who are you," she whispered, her voice steadying as she felt Roxas move behind her.
"...The master of this castle."
His voice was low and dark, tinged with a roughness that Namine had never heard before. "Then you're the one who's responsible for this," she muttered, feeling suddenly frightened again. Terrified. But... her brothers needed her. "Let them go."
The voice snorted. "Hardly likely, little girl. This is ridiculous. Luxord, get her out of my sight."
"Wait!" Namine didn't know who this 'Luxord' was, but she wasn't going to leave until Roxas and Sora were free! "Please, Sora's hurt, he needs to see a doctor!"
"Then... he should not have trespassed here." Swish. Namine's eyes followed the movement as the darkness shifted.
"Please, let them go!" She bit her lip, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "I'll do anything!"
"Namine, no!" Roxas shook the bars of the prison. "Just get out and go home!"
There was a soft pause. "...There's nothing you can do."
"Master - "
"Please!!" Namine threw herself forward, collapsing to the ground, begging. "Take me instead!"
"Don't be ridiculous." Then there was a longer pause, filled with nothing but small sniffs as Namine tried to cry quietly. "You... would do that?"
"I'd do anything for my brothers. Please let them go." She pressed her palms flat against the grimy floor, candelabra tossed aside and forgotten.
"...One goes."
She looked up, blue eyes wide and shiny with tears.
"You stay in the place of one. And you must promise... that you will stay here... forever."
"Namine!" Roxas called out. "Don't be stupid! We'll be fine, just get yourself out of here!"
"F-forever...?" She stood up, slowly, thinking about this. "That's... not fair."
"Life is not fair."
Namine looked towards the voice, and she could almost see eyes in the darkness. "...Come into the light."
"No."
But contrary to his words, she could feel him moving closer to the circle of light cast by the lonely candelabra.
She gasped.
It was like something out of a horror story or a bad dream. Dark, thick fur in layered spikes covering a body that could not be called human, with sharp talons and long teeth... but his eyes were a startling shade of blue. Did she think they would be soulless and animalistic, like the rest of him? And he was wearing a cloak...
Those eyes narrowed. "Make your choice."
Namine paused, still somewhat entraced by this living nightmare. "Please let Sora go, so his arm can heal." She bowed her head, eyes sliding closed. "I will stay here... I give you my word."
"Namine, no!"
"Done!" the beast snarled. He pushed past her and unlocked the gate. He grabbed Roxas, as if the blond would bolt given the slightest chance, and beckoned to Sora. "You're free to go."
"I'm not going!"
The beast shoved Roxas away, took hold of Sora, and literally tossed him down the hallway was if he nothing more than a sack of grain. "Take him away!"
To Namine and Roxas's horror, they heard the sounds of clanking metal, as if a machine had come to life...
"Master, if these guests are here to stay for their entire lives..."
"Sora!!" Namine made to run down the hall after him; what if he was hurt more? But the beast grabbed her arm. "Ow!"
"...perhaps we should offer them a more comfortable room, eh?"
She couldn't see where the voice was coming from, but she could clearly see the scowl on the twisted face above her. "You... didn't let me say goodbye."
"What?" he snapped.
Roxas folded him arms and glared up at their new master. "We're not going to see our brother ever again. Maybe you don't undestand the concept, but we're rather fond of him! And you didn't even let us say goodbye." His voice was heavy with snark and cynicsm. "What a douchebag."
There was an odd silence after that. Finally, the beast sighed. "I'll... show you to your rooms."
"What?" Namine looked up, startled.
He raised an eyebrow. "Unless you'd prefer to stay in the dungeon?"
"No..."
"Then follow me." He stooped to pick up the candelabra, then headed back up the stairs, his cloak making swirls in the dust. "This is your home now. You're free to go anywhere you like... except the West Wing." They were back in the foyer now, heading up a magnificent double staircase.
"What's in the West Wing?" Roxas asked.
"It's forbidden." The beast's lip curled in a sneer. "You will never set foot there, do you understand?"
"Of course we do," Namine answered, mostly to stop her brother from saying something foolish. "Right, Roxas?"
He merely scowled, and looked away.
The beast took them to separate bedrooms, though they were connected to each other by a door. Roxas took his without comment, leaving Namine to follow him to the other room.
"...if you don't mind me asking..." Namine paused at the doorway. "What's your name?"
He looked as if he didn't want to answer for a long minute, then finally replied. "Marluxia." He scowled, as if the name was distasteful to him. "This is your room. If you need anything, my servants will attend to you. And you will join me for dinner tonight."
"And what if she doesn't want to?" Roxas was leaning on the doorframe of the connecting door.
Marluxia snarled. "It is an order, not a request!" And with a terrific slam of the door, he was gone.
Roxas immediately rounded on Namine. "What the hell?! What were you thinking?!! We would have been just fine, we would have found some way to free ourselves, but you went and... and...!!" Roxas threw up his hands and fell onto the bed. "Auugh. Namine..."
She chuckled. "It's not that bad, Roxas..." She sat next to him and ran her fingers through his hair. "The bed is really soft. Marluxia, though..."
"Creepy stalker much?" He rolled his eyes. "Don't go to dinner with him."
"Of course not." She smiled. "I'm not really hungry, anyway. It's... been a long day."
Roxas yawned. "Tell me about it... I'm exhausted..."
Namine laughed and tapped him on the forehead. "Well, don't fall asleep in my bed!"
He grinned and cracked one eye open. "We share a bed at home, silly." He reached up and hugged Namine, ignoring her surprised little 'oof'. "You sure you're not going to be lonely?"
"I'm not tired and I wouldn't want to keep you up." She snuggled into her brother's chest. "If I get lonely, I'll join you."
"All right." He stood up and headed back for his room. "Sweet dreams when you get there, Namine."
She smiled and watched him go, and only then did she allow herself to cry.
Pairing: in this chapter there are hints of Riku/Roxas, Riku/Namine if you squint, and the beginnings of Marluxia/Namine, which I've finally decided will indeed be the main pairing.
Type: everything
Rating: PG-13
Summary: once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle...
"What?!" Namine looked up from her book, suddenly quite alarmed. "You're both going?"
The brothers nodded as one. Sora sighed, looking rather upset. "Roxas said - "
Roxas elbowed his brother sharply in the side.
"Ow!" Sora glared back at him. "Well, the machine is a lot bigger than last year's, and it takes two people to set it up proper, and Roxas - Ow! - thinks it'll be good for you to stay home." Sora rubbed the side of his ribcage, but he kept talking despite the abuse. "You don't even have to leave the house if you don't want to, there's plenty of food. Think you'll be okay?"
Roxas sighed. "Come on, Sora, she'll survive. We're only going to be gone for two days."
Namine fiddled with her bookmark. "I... I guess..." She bit her lip. "Roxas, what if Axel comes back?"
Roxas shrugged and ruffled her hair. "Dump him in the river. He's not as strong as he looks, and you have the element of surprise. I'm sure you'll be fine." He moved back and nodded to Sora. "Come on... it's going to get late if we don't get a move on."
"Right." Sora nodded, then waved to Namine. "Bye sis! We'll see you in two days!"
"Bye!" Namine waved back, then returned to her book. Two days... well, she'd manage somehow.
~ * ~
"Huh... I think... we're lost."
Roxas stopped in his tracks and stared at his brother. "You're shitting me."
"Nope, we're definitely lost." Sora looked left and right, they were surrounded by black trees and silence. "Hm... Crap."
"You're lost?! You got us LOST?!" Roxas threw up his hands. "You go there every year, Sora!!"
Sora frowned. "It's really weird, these woods seem sort of different..."
"How could you get LOST?!! I should never have trusted you with something as simple as..."
"And it's quieter than usual... No birds or anything."
"...telling me that you're goddamn lost, well I don't know about you, but I thought coming into this forest was a bad idea to..."
"Roxas. Shut up."
He shut up. Sora had a strangely serious tone in his voice. "...Sora?"
"Yeah?"
"...Is there anything... dangerous, in this forest?"
Sora reached for the silver-and-gold keyblade clipped to his belt. "I think we're about to find out!"
Before either of them could react, a silvery blur shot out of nowhere and crashed on top of Sora. Roxas yelled, then grabbed for his own keyblade - just in time, for another silver shape flew out of the trees, headed right for Roxas.
He pressed forward, slashing with his kingdom key, against the mysterious enemy. It moved too fast for him to really see it properly, but it definitely moved like an animal, but almost impossibly graceful.
Suddenly he was caught in a lock, as the animal's claws dug into the flat of the keyblade... and he could see that it was an impossibly large silver wolf. Oh dear god...
"ROXAS! RUN!"
He didn't need to be told twice. With a burst of strength, he flung the wolf off of the kingdom key, and took off towards Sora's voice. He didn't care that they were leaving the horse and cart behind, all he knew is that they needed to get AWAY.
As he ran after Sora, he suddenly realized that there were blurry silver shapes flitting through the trees around them... and to his sudden horror, he thought he saw a face, a human face, grinning at them.
So not a good sign.
"Little ones who smell of the Hunter..."
The voice was teasing, sarcastic, almost like Axel's in it sharpness, but as cold as his was hot.
Roxas gulped. "Sora! Run faster!"
"Trying!"
Laughter echoed in the trees, and Roxas realized his heart was pounding in fear. "Little ones... you cannot escape us."
"Little ones who know not who they are..."
"Little ones running..."
Another chilly laugh cut through the air, and Roxas gripped the keyblade tighter... and suddenly, he dug in his heels and stopped running.
Sora came to a halt a few feet later. "Roxas!!"
Roxas scowled. "Whoever you are... if it's a fight you want..." He crouched down into a ready position. "We'll give it to you!"
He met Sora's eye, and they lined up, back to back. "Come on out!"
...Forms melted into their vision out of the trees.
They were men... men or boys, or somewhere in between, with flowing silvery hair and green eyes. Five of them, the middle one the tallest, with the longest hair. He smirked at them. "So, you think you can take us?"
Roxas looked nervously from one to the other. "You're... the wolves?"
"Yes."
Roxas's eyes snapped over to the speaker, on the far right. He looked subtly different from the others, though he had the same silvery hair and green eyes. Perhaps it was the total lack of expression on his face... unlike the obviously evil looks on the other faces. He glared at him... as if the expressionlessness was worse than being openly evil. "We can take you!"
"Yeah, bring it on!" Sora lifted his chin in defiance.
The middle one, probably their leader, smiled generously. "Very well, then." His eyes snapped open, and there was an ethereal quality to them, as if they were somehow a part of the woods themselves. "Loz. Yazoo. Kadaj."
As if their names had power, three of the five figured melted and flowed into the form of a wolf, and launched themselves at Roxas and Sora. Only the leader was left, and the expressionless one.
Roxas swiftly brought his keyblade up to block the attack, wondering what made that last one so special... it was two against three, and they were holding their own somehow, blocking and slashing in a flurry of blades and teeth and fur. Roxas found himself taking the bulk of the fighting, and he was pressing outwards, away from Sora - if they got separated, it would NOT be good...
"...Riku."
Shit. Shit. This was bad. Very bad.
Now Roxas knew why the last one, though the youngest, had been given special treatment.
Simply put, he was the best.
And he made a beeline for Roxas, attacking so fast that Roxas could barely even see him go, and he was totally on defensive now, and claws were ripping into his skin...
He heard a strangled cry from behind him. "Roxas!!"
The leader laughed, a low, throaty laugh of the victor who knew it was already over.
Roxas hissed in pain as Riku's claws bit into his shoulders, as he pounced him to the ground. The wolf leaned close for the kill, but all Roxas could see was his human face, impassive and uncaring...
Suddenly, there was the loud sound of an engine revving, and surprisingly - the wolves broke away, and scattered.
Roxas leapt off the ground, just in time to see a motorcycle come crashing through the underbrush, with a man on it. He was wearing goggles, but he had spiky blond hair and carried a big sword. The motorcycle skidded to a halt (against some trees, actually), and the man turned the motor off.
He somehow gave them a piercing look, even with goggles on. "Don't antagonize them," he said in a low, even tone.
"What?" Sora tilted his head, still clueless, even as he was bleeding from several gashes in his arm.
"The wolves." He slid the sword into a rack that popped out of his motorcycle, then gunned the engine again. "I won't always be around to save your life." Then he took off in the direction that the wolves had gone.
Roxas stared. They were both bleeding quite profusely, and Sora's left arm hung at a strange angle from his shoulder. "...What a dick," he muttered numbly, in reference to their impromptu rescuer.
"Yeah... well, he DID save our lives." Sora shrugged, then winced as pain shot up his arm. "Ugh, ow... I think it's broken."
Roxas took off his jacket and tied it into a sling, shaking his head. "He could have pointed the way out to us."
"But at least we're not dead." Sora settled his arm in the sling, then smiled cheerfully. "I consider that a very good thing."
Roxas sighed; Sora was unfailingly optimistic. "Well, let's just start walking. We're bound to get somewhere, and it's better than waiting for the wolves to come back."
"Wolf... men..." Sora waved his other arm about vaguely, trying to make sense of it all - and almost chopping Roxas's head off.
"Hey, watch where you swing that thing!" The younger brother sighed. "All right... let's go... that way." He picked out a direction at random. "And we start walking."
"...Roxas?"
"What?"
"I'm hungry..."
"Shut up!"
~ * ~
Namine was sitting outside with her sketchbook, a pile of crayons beside her. The sunset was just so beautiful... she couldn't resist. At least their cottage was tucked away beyond the town, so no one would be coming by to bother her for no reason.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and rubbed in some orange along the horizon. The problem with coloring the sunset, is that it changed so quickly...
Suddenly she heard a loud whinny from the road, and her head shot up. "Phillipe?!" Quickly, she put aside the sketchbook and ran towards the sound.
The frightened horse, still attached to the cart, calmed slowly under Namine's gentle hand. She's always loved animals, she got along with them better than most people. "Shh, shh," she murmured. "It's all right."
Once Phillipe was relatively quiet, she led him to the stable and unhooked the cart. This could only mean one thing... Roxas and Sora were in trouble. And they needed her help.
Calmly she put away her crayons and - on second thought, she hung onto her sketchbook, tucking it away in a cloak pocket. Then she pulled her sky-blue travel cloak over her shoulders and headed back outside, saddled up Phillipe, and set off towards the woods.
~ * ~
Five wolves crashed into the den from different sides, jumping all over and under each other until each was comfortable, then morphing back to human form.
"Riku!!" Kadaj slammed his hand on the wall. "You had him by the throat, why didn't you finish him off?"
Riku, sitting against the far wall apart from the others, shrugged. "I didn't see the need for unnecessary killing."
"But they smelled of the hunter!" Yazoo was of the same mindset as Kadaj, if slightly less fanatical about it. "He was using them as bait. The least we could do was to kill them and be merciful."
"And what would that have accomplished?" Riku sneered. "You just wish you were the one on top of him."
Kadaj snarled and was about to launch himself at Riku, but suddenly their leader spoke.
"...Riku is right. Killing Roxas would have given the enemy an unfortunate advantage."
Kadaj slunk back, scowling.
Loz spoke up. "But sir, I don't believe that that's the reason Riku didn't kill him..."
The edge of Riku's lip curled. "Hold your tongue," he hissed.
"Children, please." Sephiroth smirked at them all. "There's no need to fight amongst ourselves. Whatever the reasoning, he did the right thing." Their leader turned his piercing gaze on Riku, who met it with a blank, level glare. The two stared off for a minute, then Sephiroth placidly turned away. "Cloud has gone home for the evening. We should all be out, keeping watch at the perimeter."
Kadaj looked as if he wanted to say something, but finally he closed his mouth and launched out of the den. Loz and Yazoo quickly followed suit, and the three split up to prowl the territory.
Riku remained where he was, quiet against the wall. Finally, Sephiroth spoke. "I do not believe they are a threat, but what Loz said does raise some interesting questions."
"Questions that I'd rather not answer, thank you," Riku replied smoothly.
"Of course." There was another long silence, once again broken by Sephiroth. "We will continue this discussion later. However, Riku..."
Riku paused, frozen in place by the master of his name.
"...If the brothers are still in our territory... there are no second chances."
Riku nodded, stiffly, then shifted forms and fled the den. There was no way he could disobey, now.
~ * ~
Namine shivered; even with the cloak, it was cold and damp in the woods...
Suddenly, she heard a rustle behind her, and froze. Phillipe stopped as well, and she could feel the tension in his shoulder muscles. "W-who's there?"
Then there were footsteps behind her, and she turned to find -
A young man, in somber black and white, with layered silvery hair and green eyes. "Shh," he said, holding a finger to his lips. "I'm not here to harm you."
He came up to the side of her horse and stood on tiptoe, talking under his breath. "You're looking for your brothers, aren't you?"
She nodded; she didn't trust her voice not to squeak.
"They went towards Castle Oblivion. But you'll have to hurry." He moved away from her, and she felt suddenly cold again. "You're lucky I was the one who caught you. Not all of us are forgiving."
"Who are you - " But before she could really finish asking the question, the young man melted away into the shadows and disappeared.
Namine gathered up the reins again, and took a deep breath. "...Castle Oblivion. Right." She frowned. "...Where's that?"
Riku materialized again. "That way." He pointed. "The harder it gets to press on, the closer you're getting. Oh - and watch out for the thorns."
"What thorns?!" Namine whipped around... but he was gone again. She sighed heavily. "I suppose I'll see when I get there..."
In a way, the strange man was right. It should have been harder and harder to get in, the foliage was much thicker here... but it was as if the land itself was drawing her in, pulling her inexorably towards the Castle.
Suddenly, she was at the gates, and Castle Oblivion loomed above her like a menacing beast. All Namine could think of, however, was how beautiful it was - in a grotesque way, but still - and how glad she was to have her sketchbook...
But now was not the time. Her brothers were in this castle... and it was up to her to see if they were still in danger.
She pushed open the front doors - they weren't as heavy as they looked at first. "...Hello?" Looked left, and right. "Is anybody there?"
The castle was silent and dark. She pulled her cloak a little tighter around her; although it wasn't cold - but she was only just now beginning to get frightened. "...Anybody?"
There was a silver candelabra, with three candles, burning brightly on a shelf along the left hallway. Curious, she picked it up... had that been burning when he came in?
Namine looked down the hallway. Well, this place was as good as any. She walked along, shivering slightly - with fear or chills, she didn't know. But even then... she looked around her, and her artist's eyes noted that the castle was indeed very beautiful, with curling patterns along the dark stone walls.
She felt a tug in her hand - so slightly that it was possible she'd imagined it, but it was like the candlestick was leading her...? That was impossible, but... she turned to her left, and saw a doorway leading to a downward staircase.
Well... I might as well follow it, she thought. No better place to go.
Her footsteps echoed around her, there were several recent footprints in the thick dust... someone had been here, recently. The walls got slowly damper and darker, and Namine wondered where on earth this staircase led... some kind of dungeon? Oooh...
It was. But the cells were filthy and disused, covered in strange growths of god-knows-what from being damp. She winced and turned to go back upstairs - there was nothing else down here - when a sudden voice made her stop.
"...Namine?"
She ran towards the voice, slamming up against the prison bars further down the hallway. "Roxas?!"
"Shh!" Roxas held up a finger to his lips. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.
"Going to find you! Phillipe came home without you, so I knew something was wrong." She reached through the bars to brush her fingers against his hand. "What happened?"
"You came all the way here?" That voice was Sora's, but for some reason he was slumped against the wall. "You weren't attacked by wolves or anything, were you?"
Namine frowned. "No, of course not. Sora..." And then suddenly, she noticed. "Oh my gosh. You're bleeding. You both are! What happened?!"
Roxas sighed heavily. "I'm all right - Sora's the one you need to worry about, he broke his arm."
"WHAT?!"
"Namine..." Roxas squeezed her hand. "It's all right. We got lost, and then we were attacked by wolves and had to run for it. We ended up finding this place, and..."
The brothers exchanged a look, then Sora spoke up. "...And weeell... the master of this castle..."
"Castle Oblivion?"
The brothers flinched. "How do you know that?" Roxas asked.
Namine changed the subject. "Look, we've got to get you out of here! Sora's hurt!"
Roxas shook his head. "No, Namine... you need to leave. You really, really need to leave. Like now."
"No!" Namine slammed her fist against the bars, though it didn't do much besides make a bit of noise. "I'm NOT leaving you here!"
"Namine..." Both brothers were a little taken aback by her vehemence. I mean, obviously, if their positions were reversed they'd never leave, but... this was Namine they were talking about. She was fragile and shy and shouldn't have to be in this position at all.
She suddenly paused, then turned around slowly. "Who's there?" she called out into the darkness. Hands shaking slightly, she pulled away from the bars and took a step forward. "I know someone's there."
The shadows moved, and Namine knew it wasn't from the candlelight. "Who are you," she whispered, her voice steadying as she felt Roxas move behind her.
"...The master of this castle."
His voice was low and dark, tinged with a roughness that Namine had never heard before. "Then you're the one who's responsible for this," she muttered, feeling suddenly frightened again. Terrified. But... her brothers needed her. "Let them go."
The voice snorted. "Hardly likely, little girl. This is ridiculous. Luxord, get her out of my sight."
"Wait!" Namine didn't know who this 'Luxord' was, but she wasn't going to leave until Roxas and Sora were free! "Please, Sora's hurt, he needs to see a doctor!"
"Then... he should not have trespassed here." Swish. Namine's eyes followed the movement as the darkness shifted.
"Please, let them go!" She bit her lip, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "I'll do anything!"
"Namine, no!" Roxas shook the bars of the prison. "Just get out and go home!"
There was a soft pause. "...There's nothing you can do."
"Master - "
"Please!!" Namine threw herself forward, collapsing to the ground, begging. "Take me instead!"
"Don't be ridiculous." Then there was a longer pause, filled with nothing but small sniffs as Namine tried to cry quietly. "You... would do that?"
"I'd do anything for my brothers. Please let them go." She pressed her palms flat against the grimy floor, candelabra tossed aside and forgotten.
"...One goes."
She looked up, blue eyes wide and shiny with tears.
"You stay in the place of one. And you must promise... that you will stay here... forever."
"Namine!" Roxas called out. "Don't be stupid! We'll be fine, just get yourself out of here!"
"F-forever...?" She stood up, slowly, thinking about this. "That's... not fair."
"Life is not fair."
Namine looked towards the voice, and she could almost see eyes in the darkness. "...Come into the light."
"No."
But contrary to his words, she could feel him moving closer to the circle of light cast by the lonely candelabra.
She gasped.
It was like something out of a horror story or a bad dream. Dark, thick fur in layered spikes covering a body that could not be called human, with sharp talons and long teeth... but his eyes were a startling shade of blue. Did she think they would be soulless and animalistic, like the rest of him? And he was wearing a cloak...
Those eyes narrowed. "Make your choice."
Namine paused, still somewhat entraced by this living nightmare. "Please let Sora go, so his arm can heal." She bowed her head, eyes sliding closed. "I will stay here... I give you my word."
"Namine, no!"
"Done!" the beast snarled. He pushed past her and unlocked the gate. He grabbed Roxas, as if the blond would bolt given the slightest chance, and beckoned to Sora. "You're free to go."
"I'm not going!"
The beast shoved Roxas away, took hold of Sora, and literally tossed him down the hallway was if he nothing more than a sack of grain. "Take him away!"
To Namine and Roxas's horror, they heard the sounds of clanking metal, as if a machine had come to life...
"Master, if these guests are here to stay for their entire lives..."
"Sora!!" Namine made to run down the hall after him; what if he was hurt more? But the beast grabbed her arm. "Ow!"
"...perhaps we should offer them a more comfortable room, eh?"
She couldn't see where the voice was coming from, but she could clearly see the scowl on the twisted face above her. "You... didn't let me say goodbye."
"What?" he snapped.
Roxas folded him arms and glared up at their new master. "We're not going to see our brother ever again. Maybe you don't undestand the concept, but we're rather fond of him! And you didn't even let us say goodbye." His voice was heavy with snark and cynicsm. "What a douchebag."
There was an odd silence after that. Finally, the beast sighed. "I'll... show you to your rooms."
"What?" Namine looked up, startled.
He raised an eyebrow. "Unless you'd prefer to stay in the dungeon?"
"No..."
"Then follow me." He stooped to pick up the candelabra, then headed back up the stairs, his cloak making swirls in the dust. "This is your home now. You're free to go anywhere you like... except the West Wing." They were back in the foyer now, heading up a magnificent double staircase.
"What's in the West Wing?" Roxas asked.
"It's forbidden." The beast's lip curled in a sneer. "You will never set foot there, do you understand?"
"Of course we do," Namine answered, mostly to stop her brother from saying something foolish. "Right, Roxas?"
He merely scowled, and looked away.
The beast took them to separate bedrooms, though they were connected to each other by a door. Roxas took his without comment, leaving Namine to follow him to the other room.
"...if you don't mind me asking..." Namine paused at the doorway. "What's your name?"
He looked as if he didn't want to answer for a long minute, then finally replied. "Marluxia." He scowled, as if the name was distasteful to him. "This is your room. If you need anything, my servants will attend to you. And you will join me for dinner tonight."
"And what if she doesn't want to?" Roxas was leaning on the doorframe of the connecting door.
Marluxia snarled. "It is an order, not a request!" And with a terrific slam of the door, he was gone.
Roxas immediately rounded on Namine. "What the hell?! What were you thinking?!! We would have been just fine, we would have found some way to free ourselves, but you went and... and...!!" Roxas threw up his hands and fell onto the bed. "Auugh. Namine..."
She chuckled. "It's not that bad, Roxas..." She sat next to him and ran her fingers through his hair. "The bed is really soft. Marluxia, though..."
"Creepy stalker much?" He rolled his eyes. "Don't go to dinner with him."
"Of course not." She smiled. "I'm not really hungry, anyway. It's... been a long day."
Roxas yawned. "Tell me about it... I'm exhausted..."
Namine laughed and tapped him on the forehead. "Well, don't fall asleep in my bed!"
He grinned and cracked one eye open. "We share a bed at home, silly." He reached up and hugged Namine, ignoring her surprised little 'oof'. "You sure you're not going to be lonely?"
"I'm not tired and I wouldn't want to keep you up." She snuggled into her brother's chest. "If I get lonely, I'll join you."
"All right." He stood up and headed back for his room. "Sweet dreams when you get there, Namine."
She smiled and watched him go, and only then did she allow herself to cry.