One Change - A KH "What If?" (DISCONTINUED/MOVED)

358(17)

Day 313

Ikrux leapt down from a hill, tripping over a gravestone as he did.

Luckily, Roxas caught him.

He took a moment to steady himself.

"Halloween Town is amazing." Ikrux said dreamily.

"Yeah, plus, to me, at least, it's even better when experiencing it with a friend." Roxas said.

"Yeah. Everything is better with a friend."

Ikrux followed Roxas back into town, enjoying the crunch of leaves beneath his boots.

Today's mission had seemed so easy, he thought.

"So, straight to the Castle to report, or get ice cream before?" Roxas asked.

"I think we have some time. Ice cream first sounds good." Ikrux said.

When they reached town, Roxas almost ran into Lock, Shock and Barrel.

"Hey, would you quit it?" Roxas looked pretty angry.

"But pranking people is fun!" Lock said.

"It isn't fun when it's happening to you, is it?"

"He has a point, guys." Barrel explained.

"Whatever!"

They bounced away quickly, and Roxas seemed to calm down.

"Shall we?" He asked.

Ikrux nodded, and watched as a Corridor of Darkness took them from the world.

As they reached the other side, Ikrux looked around furiously.

This wasn't Twilight Town.

Wherever they were reminded Ikrux all too much of the nightmare he had a while ago.

There was a loud thumping noise in his ears that wouldn't stop.

Roxas obviously noticed how much Ikrux was panicking. "What's wrong?"

"M-my nightmare had something like this." Ikrux stammered.

"Okay. Calm down. I'll get us out of here."

Just as Roxas finished his sentence, the ground rumbled.

Soon enough, in front of them, a huge heartless manifested.

"Not this thing again." Roxas mumbled.

"You know what it is?" Ikrux asked in a hushed tone.

"I've ran across it before in my old life. No big deal." Roxas said. "It's called a Darkside."

As Ikrux was about to respond, the Darkside grabbed him in its hand.

"Ikrux!" Roxas shouted.

"I-I'm fine-" Ikrux's sentence ended with a scream as he felt his body being compressed.

"Stay calm, I'll get you down."

Ikrux hardly heard what Roxas said. His ears were ringing, and his vision started clouding.

"Ikrux!" Came the faint voice of Roxas.

What's happening...? Ikrux felt his eyes start closing.

And from what little he could see, Roxas was attacking the Darkside.

And then everything became white.

Ikrux felt his body start floating down, and realized he was able to breathe.

He landed on his feet and wobbled. He was able to focus enough to see Roxas nearby.

"Thank you, Roxas-"

Roxas ended up collapsing before Ikrux finished his sentence.

Ikrux ran and slid across the floor in time to catch Roxas on his lap.

Roxas had a potion on him, Ikrux knew that.

But should he give it to himself, or Roxas?

Ikrux searched the pockets on Roxas's coat, and eventually found the oval shaped bottle.

He threw it up in the air and let it splash over the two of them.

And then waited.

Eventually, Roxas's chest started rising and falling as he breathed.

Ikrux sighed in relief.

"Now, how to get you back home..." Ikrux mumbled.

He picked up Roxas and managed to summon a Corridor whilst his friend was in his arms.

Ikrux waited for them to appear on the other side.

Going between worlds had never seemed so long.

Ikrux didn't really care where he was going, so long as it had help for Roxas.

When he reached the other side, Ikrux realized he was in Marluxia and Larxene's office.

"Marluxia, Larxene." He said quickly. "We were on a mission, and came over a Darkside."

"Whoa, slow down." Larxene said. "What happened to him?"

"He used all his power to save me."

"Take him to his room to rest." Said Marluxia.

Ikrux quickly nodded, and vanished in a Corridor, since he couldn't open doors.

He didn't wait until the room fully appeared to start moving, and set Roxas down on his bed.

Ikrux sat down by his friend, watching as he slept peacefully.

"I hope you're okay." He said quietly.

As he watched Roxas's chest rise and fall, he noticed that the latter's hand was moving in the slightest.

It kept moving and moving, which made Ikrux shift his position, so he didn't disrupt Roxas's dream.

However, Roxas's arm started shaking, and he even started making small noises.

Ikrux felt pained at just the sight, and rested his hand on top of his friends', hoping it would work.

Luckily, it did.

Roxas's arm stopped shaking, and his noises dulled, but didn't stop.

Ikrux leaned closer to his friend, and whispered, "you're safe. Nothings gonna get you."

But as he backed away, Roxas tugged at the sleeve of his coat, and yanked him back.

Ikrux stiffened as he felt Roxas's arms snake around his chest and meet at the front.

Sure, his friend probably wanted reassurance, but the way that he was clinging to Ikrux made him panic for a moment.

He tried removing Roxas's arms, but they seemed glued in place. Plus, he didn't want his friend to be lonely.

Might as well get comfortable. Ikrux thought.

But he hardly needed to do that. Just being in Roxas's presence made him comfortable enough that his body and muscles relaxed.

Ikrux snuggled deeper into his friends' arms, and found himself falling asleep.