Chapter Text
Hunger. Hunger swelled inside it. It made up its being. It wanted to eat. But the shadows were still. It waited, in its hunger. There was a twitch of movement. The twitch spread to the rest of the shadows, everything in the dark tinged with excitement. The shadows warped as an inky head rose from the surface, long and crooked antenna trailing behind it. A pitch-black hand emerged to pull the rest of its muscular build from the pool of darkness. Glowing yellow orbs stared with a mindless hunger.
Other living shadows emerged, yellow eyes flashing as their heads twitching excitedly. Two smaller black hands grabbed the edge of the black pool as well. An inky face with more crooked antennas and a child-like body, pulled itself out onto its stocky feet. Its own antennas curled a little, after looking ahead. Dark iron skyscrapers pierced the black sky of the World That Never Was. Burning neon signs reflected off rain that had been spilled across the narrow streets. Slender, silvery grey figures twisted through the air and somersaulted, stretching their rubbery forms towards the inky creatures.
The masculine forms of the Neoshadows charged towards the oncoming Dusks, while the smaller Shadows skittered after their stronger comrades. The silvery Nobodies slithered sporadically, jerking out of the reach of lashing claws or slipping around the Heartless to stab pointed feet into their backs. At the same time, many Dusks found themselves caught by a Shadow’s scratching fingers, followed by a dozen more swarming their writhing, grey bodies. The street flooded with shadowy torsos and rubbery limbs.
A grey streak twisted through the air and slipped into a crooked alley, with a small Heartless breaking from the cluster to scuttle after it. The Shadow bent back its antenna and leapt at the empty husk of a creature. The Dusk twisted its head around before it darted away at the last second. The Shadow messily slammed into the ground, and its chin connected to the concrete. The Dusk stuck its limbs to its sides, forming a slithering shape, and it bolted towards the Heartless, its zipper-mouth yawning open.
The Shadow let out a pained chirp. The Dusk suddenly snapped back, dripping onto its sliding feet. It cocked its head to the side, as if listening. Its eyeless gaze followed the Heartless as it jittered to its feet, rubbing at its chin with the back of its hands. The Dusk paused and murmured noiselessly, You exhibit pain…
The Shadow’s yellow gaze snapped up to the Dusk. A hiss tore from its featureless face, causing the Dusk to tense. A moment passed where nothing happened, and the Nobody’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
The Dusk then zipped its mouth shut and bent down at eye level. The Shadow hissed again and lashed out. The Dusk retracted, though the Heartless’ claws were well out of reach. The Shadow was hunched readily, twitching furiously. The Dusk twisted its head to the side and stooped down again, commenting emptily, You’re only a little snippet of darkness.
It was now the Shadow’s turn to tick its head to the side. There was the sound of shivering air escaping from its lipless head, Sn-snip-pet…
The Dusk’s head lurched back in surprise. It leaned forward, causing the air before it to waver with uttered disbelief, You should not think or speak. You are not capable.
Y-you are…came a shuddering echo. An unsteady inquiry left the Shadow, You are…who?
The Nobody straightened. After a long pause, an answer slowly formed, I am just a vapid Dusk.
Vah- The Heartless seemed to push the word from its body, Va…pid.
You must have come from an above-average heart, the Dusk observed coldly.
The Shadow twitched excitedly, yellow orbs swerving searchingly as it croaked, H-he-art! Hea-art!
The Dusk tensed and whipped its head towards the battle. A Neoshadow turned its head curiously, glowing gaze shifting towards them. However, a pair of Dusks tackled the large Heartless and constricted its body with their own. The Dusk directed an urgent hush towards the Shadow, Yes, you were born from it falling to darkness.
Dar…darkness. S-snippet, the Shadow repeated, calming slightly.
The Dusk pulled its bound fingers to its chest, explanation filtering from it, I was too. I am the empty shell left behind.
The Shadow seemed to consider this for a moment. It then seemed to start to hiss until the Dusk realized it was struggling with a word, S-ss…ssib…si…
After a moment, the Dusk offered, Siblings?
S-sib-ling-s, the Shadow shakily agreed, while also acting as if it didn’t fully understand the word.
The Dusk responded with distance, We are both born from the same source. But we are not the same. You are part of a natural process. I was not meant to be.
Not…dark-ness? The Shadow inquired.
Nothingness, was the grim response.
The Shadow’s antenna twitched, and it turned its head towards the battle nearby. There was an explosion of water as a Neoshadow tackled a Dusk into a puddle. Another inquiry wavered from the Shadow, Why…steal the h-ha-ar…
Though the Heartless had trouble finishing the sentence without devolving into hungry croaks, the Dusk nodded. It then replied purposefully, We are the husks left behind from a fallen heart. We exist with memories of our past and wish to restore our hearts from the darkness.
Re-re…store? The Heartless repeated, hungry and confused. It turned its twitching head and wrestled with its questions, Hah-hear-rts? Wu-why? H-he-arts…are s-so…luh-light…
The Dusk turned its head to answer but paused. Its fluid body sagged, and it shook its head, exerting a dismissive reply, You will not understand. All you know is to consume. It does not matter what I tell you, whether you will remember or not, as your instinct will override it all.
The Heartless’ head continued to twitch, and its antenna flicked unsurely. Any speech-like noises were drowned out by confused chirps and murmurs, Con-sume…re-re-member…dark. D-dark-ness. S-snip-pet…rest-ore…hah-hea-eart?
Again, the Nobody shook its head. Breaking glass rung in the distance. The Dusk saw another Dusk get yanked from the window by the Neoshadow that tackled it in the first place. All the while, a trio of Shadows were drowned in a writhing mass of Dusks’ cutting limbs. The Nobody on the sidelines turned its pointed head back towards the trembling Heartless beside it.
A hollow statement rung from the Dusk like empty metal, You will not contribute to the ultimate goal. In fact, a Heartless that exhibits free will would be a hindrance. An obstacle.
The Shadow lifted its glowing gaze. It tilted its head, clicking back and forth, as if trying to listen better. The Dusk flexed its bound fingers, with tips as thin as blades. It released a cold and empty sound, It would be best if you were destroyed.
The Heartless chirped, recognizing the last word. It shuffled its weight before proudly purring in understanding, Consume. Dar-dark. Destroys.
The Dusk relaxed its hand.
The grey creature turned its head to the battle, but its wavering statement went towards the Shadow, I suppose it would be a non-issue if you simply stayed out of the way. The Heartless cocked its head to the side, and the Dusk clearly re-stated, Do not challenge the Nobodies and you will live. The Shadow twitched curiously, but it still did not seem to understand. The Dusk pushed forward its hand in a blocking motion, stating clearly, Leave and don’t come back.
I w-wuh…the Heartless finally stuttered a response. To the Dusk’s surprise, its chilly and clawed hands clasped over its own hand. The Shadow finished, Want to stay. W-with y-you.
Now the Dusk tilted its head, uttering perplexed noises, W-why? You have no reason to. It would be even more dangerous for you.
The Heartless didn’t seem to have an answer for this. Instead, the Shadow stared up at the Dusk and a surprisingly warm noise left its inky body, Vah-pid.
The Nobody paused.
A piercing, airy essence of Light steadily filled the air. The Dusk’s head snapped around, panic breaking from it, Master!
All the while, the Shadow’s antenna perked, and its body grew agitated. A hungry hiss tore from its featureless head, K-key-Keyblade! The Dusk whipped back towards the Heartless, who twitched towards the battle and seethed mindlessly, The k-key…consume…des-stroy…
The Dusk twisted around in the air and shoved the Shadow deeper into the alley. In response, the Heartless hissed and writhed, but the Nobody bound its crooked arms with its own rubbery limbs. The Dusk pierced the Shadow with a noise of sharp urgency, Do not engage him! He will destroy you!
Dess-sstroy…k-keyblade…the Heartless hissed insistently. Its stocky feet scrambled against the cold ground. However, the Dusk lifted the Heartless and rattled it, as if trying to jolt it awake.
No! You will disappear! The Nobody’s urgency heightened. In the background, Heartless quaked in an enraged pitch. The Dusks within their clusters were practically shoved aside as the Heartless rushed towards the figure at the back of the crowd.
The Shadow’s convulsions lessened, and its head rolled around. It shuddered dizzily, D-dis-appear? To…darkness?
The Dusk tensely calmed. It gave an unyielding answer, No. You will never rise again. Destroyed by light.
The Heartless now only trembled in the Nobody’s arms. Its beady eyes wavered and antenna shifted without a direction. All the while, the air waved with Heartless roars, and several shuddering hisses cut short with each flash of blinding light in the street. The Dusk set the Shadow back down and stated resolutely, You must leave.
The Heartless tiled its head away, antenna twitching considerably. The Dusk tensed, its eyeless gaze searching for an explanation. Finally, the Shadow looked back up, ringing softly, W-want to…see you ag-gain.
The Nobody was struck by this, going silent and still. It turned its head to the side before responding slowly, If you get destroyed…you won’t get that chance.
The Heartless’ antenna shuddered, and it lowered its head. Finally, it jerkily nodded. The Shadow turned, and purplish-blackness gathered under its feet. It paused and looked back at the Nobody, a pair of syllables ringing out from it, Va…pid.
The Dusk eyelessly blinked before responding, Snippet.
The Shadow’s antenna twitched receptively. A moment later, it sunk into the oozing portal, glowing eyes sticking to the Nobody until the last second.
The Nobody found itself staring at the now-empty space for a moment, but it quickly returned its attention to the battle nearby. The Heartless continued to swarm towards the end, while the Nobodies flanked them. The single Dusk lingered uncertainly.
The shadows shifted behind it, and the Nobody turned, only to see a Neoshadow lunging for it.
The Dusk hopped away, slithering from the inky claws, only to end up in a mass of entangled and lashing Heartless and Nobody limbs alike. It felt a biting pain in its leg, where a Shadow violently latched on. The Dusk pulled itself out and shifted away from the Heartless, only to get caught in the throttling arms of a Neoshadow.
The Heartless suddenly tensed with pain, having been slashed in the back. It fell apart into inky wisps, revealing a blond boy in a black coat, wielding a silver-and-gold, key-shaped sword.
Thank you, Master, the Dusk offered formal gratitude. The boy caught this and nodded, unsure of how else to respond. He then turned and cut through a lunging Neoshadow. The boy then sidestepped a Shadow scurrying towards him and brought his Keyblade down on it.
The Heartless started to dwindle, and the remaining dredges were driven back by the Dusks. The boy took a moment to catch his breath, glanced to the darkened sky. Roxas murmured to himself, “Maybe I can have ice cream once I’m done…”
The Dusk let its feet settle on the street, the fighting having died down. It then glanced over to the now-empty alley before taking to the air and swimming twitchingly after the rest of the Nobodies.