Chapter Text
This world has been connected - tied to the darkness.
Despite the moonlight casting a silver glow across the dark room, the occupant seems plagued by poor dreams. Beneath a mound of blankets and among a mountain of pillows, she still tosses and turns as if lying on a bed of sand.
“Her world is disconnected, and yet she dreams of us. Sora has never met her, and yet she has memories of him,” says a sweet voice - airy, uncertain.
“Hm. An oddity, to be certain. But perhaps she can be of use.” Another voice speaks - this one is flowery, almost sultry.
The first voice says nothing.
The sleeping girl grimaces in her sleep as she wakes. Through half-closed eyes, she peers out the window at the high moon, glowing bright. “Another sleepless night?” Her voice betrays her exhaustion, even with her attempt at a light-hearted tone. Letting out a tired-sounding sigh, she pulls herself to sit up, leaning against the wall. She pulls her knees up to her chest and watches the clouds pass over the moon. Minutes pass and her eyes flutter closed, but she remains awake, simply thinking.
“And another weird dream?” her brow furrows. “It felt familiar… but it’s already gone.” She buries her face in her knees, rapidly shaking her head. She rolls herself off the bed, leaving the blankets askew as she abandons her attempt at sleep for wandering her apartment.
It’s a relatively small place- a two-bedroom setup with one bathroom. A small kitchen was separated from the living room by a smaller breakfast bar, scattered with papers and keys and cookbooks. Their pages are well-worn, despite the fact that she herself had never opened the book for more than assisting her roommate with a recipe. The thought made her crack a small grin despite herself.
She wanders toward the kitchen, scanning the countertop. On the notepad they use for grocery lists and notes, a familiar scrawl addresses her.
Working the graveyard shift tonight (lol) (blegh). Leftovers from what I made for dinner are in the fridge. Moose has already had food - don’t believe her if she screams. ♡
She laughs, and her heart feels lighter. She casts her gaze around, looking for the accused creature. The aforementioned “Moose” is their cat, currently snoozing on the butterfly chair in the corner, nestled against a bookshelf. In the dark it’s hard to tell, but she can just barely see the white spots on each side of her head that they named her for. A brown cat with white spots… the name made sense to them, and it always gets a laugh when they introduce her.
She peeks in the fridge and grabs the rice pudding and a spoon, content to snack on something sweet and light. Of course, on hearing the door open, the first mreow of her waking night sounds. Biting down her grin, she shakes her head. “Hi Moomoo. Not for you.”
“Mrow.”
The cat pads into the kitchen and leaps onto the countertop beside her, headbutting her forearm. She clutches the spoon in her teeth to pet Moose without forfeiting the bowl. “Nah fer yew,” she mutters around the spoon. Moose, seeming to gather her intent, gives the petting hand a nip before abandoning the attempts for food and instead leaping to the top of the fridge. Seemingly content with the warmth and the hum generated by the fridge, she watches the human girl as she moves toward the couch.
Bowl and spoon in hand, she drops herself to the couch. Her body is cast longways across the couch, and she balances the bowl on her chest to reach for the TV remote. Her fingers brush a familiar game controller and she pauses for a moment, considering. Her thoughts itch with a fondness that almost propels her to play, but the intention is to wind back down and fall asleep. She settles for the remote instead and navigates to her favorites and hits shuffle. She watches with the passive interest familiarity grants - no real focus, but able to zone back in intermittently as she snacks.
Moose abandons her spot on the fridge to instead leap on the girl and settle as a weight on her chest and throat. She slides the emptied tupperware onto the coffee table and drops her head back on the pillow, scooting down smoothly enough that the snoozing cat doesn’t bother moving. Episodes blend dialogue and music as she falls asleep, far more restfully than it had been the first time.
But restfulness does not mean she escapes the dreams.
“If she dreams of this world, of these events, then there is a pathway, yes?”
“...Yes. The chains of her memories… could act as one,” the sweet voice from her first dream says. “But… it could damage her. Her memories may not come cleanly, and -”
“Well, such things are well worth the risk. Imagine - having someone who could help, who could know what happened without ever laying eyes on the world…” The voice is sickly-sweet, elated at the prospect. “Do what you must, Nam-”
A single paw digs into the soft of the dreamer’s stomach, waking her abruptly. “Ugh… Moose… Moomoo… Baby. Why would you do this to me?” she mutters, waving a hand about to try to reach the cat. Moose, however, leaps to the floor and pads to the front door. Focusing, the girl can hear the jingle of keys just outside the door. She rises unsteadily to her feet and wobbles to the doorway, unlocking the front door and opening it.
Her roommate stands in front of her, balancing a bag, their change of clothes, keys, and water jug. “Oh Elei! You’re up!” They swing their short, black hair out of their face and grin.
“Mm, barely,” Elei answers, stepping out of the way. Moose tangles herself between their feet, much to their amusement. “Moose woke me up. Think she was excited you’re home.”
“Aw, little demon baby thinks she’s getting attention since I’m back?” They dip down to rub a thumb under Moose’s chin, answered by the croakiest mrow of the night.
Elei laughs, quiet. “What time is it?”
“Mm, maybe six? I only got off a half-hour ago.”
“Gross. Wanna get coffee?”
“Always!” they cheer. “But you -” they emphasize, throwing their clothes and jug onto the couch, “are not driving. You look like you’d fall asleep in the middle of the road.”
“Probably. Warm concrete,” she agrees.
“Ugh. Weirdo. Alright, c’mon. I just got paaaaaid so we’re going for my favorite.”
Elei smiles and slips on her sandals at the doorway. “Then let’s go, slowpoke.”
Her roommate’s face distorts with a retort, before they release a dramatic sigh. “Whatever,” they concede, though barely able to hide their smile.
The two make their way to and through the apartment parking lot, the sky a deep, pre-sun violet. Elei makes a pleased noise in the back of her throat as she takes in the warm dawn air. “Thanks, Adair. This is really nice.”
Her roommate seems surprised to be addressed. “For what? Dragging you out of the house before the sun has even risen?” They crack a grin. “I can do it more often if you like.”
“Mm… we’ll see. Not too often.” Elei offers them a sleepy smile as they approach Adair’s car.
As the pair start the car and Adair cruises just over the speed limit toward the aforementioned coffee shop, there’s almost nobody else on the road. Elei leans against the window, the glass cool on her shoulder. Her eyes flick over the passing scenery - shops and stores, still closed in the early morning, the occasional gym or coffee shop lights casting a gold glow in the dim morning.
“It’s pretty out here so early,” she observes. “Far less… chaotic.” She settles on the word after a second of thought.
“Late-stage capitalism is a bummer,” Adair nods. “If we could rely more on a barter system, we’d be able to allow each person to compete fairly, and people to decide what something is worth paying for.”
Elei blinks at Adair a moment, mind reeling. “That’s… a bit of a jump.”
They shrug. “It’s true, and it’s what this is. Instead of being able to cater their services when they feel it’s appropriate, we’re forced to conform to a standard eight to five with little variation; anyone who needs something done has to cut into their own hours, and that means that we don’t get to see things in a natural state.”
“Hm.” She observes them for a moment - Adair always seems focused, intent on something. Even here, with their eyes on the road, she can almost see the impact each observation makes. “It makes sense - just not where I was expecting the conversation to go.”
“Oh - hah, yeah, I got a bit carried away, huh?” they turn to give her a brief, sheepish grin.
She shrugs, just quickly enough for them to catch it before their eyes are back on the road. “I don’t mind.”
She catches just the sliver of their relieved grin before their expression contorts, brows furrowed. They lean forward, shoulders close to the steering wheel. “The hell is that?” they ask, eyes on something off the side of the road.
Elei leans forward to peer out the driver side window, catching just a sliver of beady yellow eyes disappearing into the shadow of a tree. “Raccoon?” she suggests, though the pit of dread in her chest knows she’s wrong.
“That’s not like any raccoon I’ve seen before.” Adair hesitates, but shakes their head and forces themself to relax and turn their attention to the road.
It’s less than a minute later when the same beady eyes stare at them - this time, from the middle of the road. “Holy SHIT!” Adair hits the brakes, but doesn’t turn the wheel. Elei grabs the handle above her and presses her back flat to the seat.
They hit nothing. The car stops in the middle of the street, the two occupants sitting wide-eyed. Adair hits the hazards button, pulls up the emergency brake, and unbuckles. They swing the door open and slide out while Elei is still going for her own buckle. She rushes out a second behind, only to stop so suddenly that she almost falls.
“Adair…” her voice is soft but unwavering. “Adair back up.” Her mind is running now, any drowsiness forgotten in the danger of the current events.
In front of them is a puddle of shadow - six glowing eyes staring up at them, wriggling their way toward them.
“What the fuck are they?”
“I. I don’t think you’d believe me,” Elei admits as she takes a step back, watching Adair back up toward the car.
“Okay, Elei, now is not the time to be -”
“Heartless. I think they’re Heartless. This is -” she lets out a strained laugh as she slides herself into the passenger seat, buckling as Adair slams on the gas pedal.
“‘Heartless’? Aren’t those that -?”
“Yeah. From that game I’ve played since I was five? Yeah.” Her hands are shaking, but the buckle clicks into place.
Adair puts a hand behind her seat as they twist to look behind them. The puddle of shadow seems to be losing distance, but as Elei looks about, she realizes that the eyes are all about them. In crevices of buildings, beneath trees, under decks. “Fuck. What the fuck,” she breathes. Despite the frenzy her body feels, her mind is calm. “They can be fended off temporarily with weapons. I don’t know - I think the game implies they’re usually magical weapons of some kind, but - regular ones won’t do anything.
“There’s no-” Adair takes a breath and huffs it out rapidly. “We don’t know how to do magic.” Adair huffs. “So we run. We outrun them until they get tired.”
“Adair…” Elei takes a sharp breath. “Their name is literal. They don’t have hearts. I don’t think they can get tired.”
“So then we just run far enough and fast enough.”
Realizing she doesn’t have a better idea, Elei nods. “Okay.”
Adair keeps driving.
The Heartless keep appearing.
Shortly, the darkness behind them seems so vast that Elei can’t see the street they’ve left behind. From the pool of shadow rises an arm that swings down at the car. It crashes into the car, crushing the top of the car inward. The dark fingers, sharp like knives, curl into the windows which crack under the pressure.
It picks up the car and the shift in gravity pushes Elei and Adair flat into their seats.
Elei is nearly hyperventilating at this point. The calm in her mind disappears the moment she realizes there’s not a safe way out. If they jump - assuming her seatbelt will even come undone - they’re easily twenty feet off the ground over concrete. Neither of them have jump or crisis training. Legs are brolken if they jump. If it drops the car on its tires, they might be okay. She doesn’t know the physics well enough, but there are car rallies where they do crazy stunts and the car doesn’t even dent, right?
“Adair - stay in the car. We can’t - I don’t think we can make that jump.”
“No, definitely not.” Adair turns their head to look at her. “Do you have a plan?”
Elei opens her mouth to answer, but the car jolts and her stomach rises to her throat, eliciting a pathetic sound from her. The car is slammed onto the ground, wheels down. The top is still crushed over them, but they’re on the ground again. Elei fights her seatbelt. “Out! Get out before it grabs us again!”
Adair obeys, escaping the seat belt. They hesitate only a moment, looking to help Elei but realizing the futility. They can barely see across the middle, much less reach. They climb out the broken window while Elei struggles for seconds longer before finally escaping. She crawls out the window, the remaining pieces digging and catching at skin and fabric.
Adair pulls her the rest of the way just seconds before the hand comes down on them again - but the hand passes through the ground, a shockwave knocking them both down. Elei’s chest aches with the force of the fall, but she pushes herself up to her elbows. Adair is slower to rise, holding a hand to the back of their head.
“Are you okay?” Elei frets, her gaze flicking between the threat and her friend.
“Think so.” Adair pulls their hand away. Elei gawks at the red on their hand. “Hm. Maybe not. Don’t think I blacked out though.”
“Kay, great, only a little concussed then,” Elei stresses. She tries to pull them up. It’s a struggle considering how much taller they are than she is, and their unsteadiness does nothing helpful to contribute, but the two eventually manage.
That’s as far as she gets before she realizes she has no plan.
Still, getting away from the floating falling orbs that look like little black holes is probably a good idea.
She gracelessly leads Adair away from the largest of the Heartless - the Darkside, she remembers belatedly - and its spawn that it summons close to it. The distance isn’t much, but it makes her feel better until Adair staggers to a knee.
“Just a bit more,” she pleads. “Off the road and I’ll let you down.”
Adair huffs, offering no answer, but Elei gives them no leave and instead hauls more of their weight onto her own shoulders. Their feet drag and stumble as she continues forward off the road. As they reach the grass, Adair slips their arm off Elei’s shoulder and falls to the grass. “Don’t - don’t worry about me. Figure out what we need to do to get out of here.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but finds herself biting her comment. It’s hopeless, her thoughts chide. Still, she finds herself looking about. The street signs won’t be of any help except to hide from the salvos the Darkside will be launching any minute now. The Shadows swarm the streets, perpetually spawning. She hopes that these are from some other world - made, not born - and not those who have already lost their hearts here.
They need a weapon or a way out, and she’s no Keyblade wielder.
Still… there’s an inkling in her memory that tells her to hope. She closes her eyes and brings her hands close to her chest, tucking her head. Don’t look, she tells herself as she takes herself back. The memories are blurry but warm - playing Kingdom Hearts with the neighbor’s kids, making sticks into ‘Keyblades’ - looking up at the stars and hoping what Mickey said about the worlds was true, wishing herself there. Think of Sora and Riku and wish that they could appear and take her on some adventure away from the travesties of the real world -
And the warmth is there , suddenly. It’s real. Her eyes flutter open and ahead of her is -
The name escapes her a moment.
A corridor.
Her breath catches in her throat as the bidden thought provides the answer. “Adair!” she calls, whirling on her feet toward her friend. They look up at her, a little bleary but alarmed at her call. “Adair, this way!”
“Elei!” they call back, voice sharp - a warning.
She turns a second too slow. Dark claws rake across her shoulder and down her back, drawing a scream from her. She trips over herself as she twists, bringing her eye-level with the shadows that had jumped her. In her moment of solace, they had moved in - and so had the Darkside. For a few precious seconds, all she can do is stare. Breathe. Breathe.
She cuts her palms pushing herself to her feet as fast as she can blink. Her back is toward the enemies, to the portal, her eyes on Adair. “Come on!””
They meet her halfway, stumbling but still certain. She takes their arm around her shoulder, biting down a whimper as the cuts on her back jostle with each step. “To the portal - we just -”
But that means cutting through the horde of Heartless. The two hardly falter in their approach even so. The Heartless leap and swarm, but the two push and pull each other, each second bringing them slowly closer.
The shadow of a great hand descends, and Adair is the first to respond. They pull Elei toward them and throw themself toward the portal. The shockwave hits them, throwing them both into the corridor as the pain overwhelms the pair.
✰✰✰
Upon waking, Elei’s entire body aches. Her shoulders burn with cuts and her neck aches, but the cold floor soothes some of the worst of it as her head lolls. She groans as she brings her limbs close to her body from their sprawl. After a moment of bemoaning her aches and confusion, she opens her eyes to white walls, white floors - and a single figure dressed in black. It seems their hood is up and their back to her - though her noise seems to have alerted them.
“You’ve awoken?” they ask. Their voice is flowery, perfectly sultry - though their face is still covered, leaving Elei uneasy. As if noting that fact, their hands bring the hood down, revealing luscious pink hair and an angular, almost feminine face. Their eyes are a stunning cornflower blue, piercing through her.
“I - huh?” Elei responds intelligently.
They crouch near Elei and extend their hand. She blinks blearily for a moment, only belatedly processing the offer to help her up. She accepts their hand and sits up, biting back a groan of pain. “It seems your endeavors to arrive here caused more harm to you than it initially seemed.”
She gasps, a stuttering sound as she trips over the sudden influx of thoughts. “Adair - where’s -?”
The stranger answers softly. “You are the only one we have noticed in the Castle.”
Elei blinks at them, mind shifting pieces into place. “Castle - Oblivion?”
Their grin widens. “Indeed - it seems you are familiar.” The sultry tone borders on predatory now - a fox who knows the rabbit is exactly where they want it. “I am Marluxia -”
“Marluxia…” Elei murmurs. “Castle Oblivion.” She leans forward suddenly, almost far enough to press her head to her knees. “Oh god.” The world swims and she goes limp, hand still held in Marluxia’s. He swoops forward to grab her before she can hit her head on the tile floor, and lifts her. His cloak flutters about his ankles as he turns to walk through a dark portal, closing behind him to an empty floor