musefic | Kingdom Hearts fic: Cleanup

A shortish one today, as I try to maybe give myself some room to catch back up!
Not there yet, so this is the fill for Day 9: Cleaning Crew AU

The world in question had fallen months before, the corruption at its heart at work for some time longer than that. Some worlds fell fast, the darkness overtaking them as a swarm, devouring everything in an unstoppable progression until there was nothing left. Most fell slow, the darkness sinking into the heart of the world and spreading like rot, decaying things just below the surface until it was too late to save.

Sora paged through the report they’d been given. Riku and Kairi looked over his shoulders as they all read the info.

This world had been one of the latter. Initial reports had shown nothing of great concern. The only evident darkness had been well within the normal parameters for such things. No world could be completely free of darkness, of course. Those little, normal hints of darkness were what let greater darkness sink its claws in.

Sora frowned. The early reports hadn’t been concerning, but the later ones definitely had been.

There’d been more and more hints of something going wrong. Unexplained deaths. Unexplained attacks of all kinds. People who assaulted their friends or neighbors or perfect strangers, later claiming to have no idea why they’d done it. Other people claimed the culprits behind the attacks had been monsters, or shadows, or even completely invisible.

He tapped the page that described what had happened. “Why didn’t they investigate at the time?”

Kairi frowned, the space between her eyebrows creasing. “What if the world falling could have been prevented?”

Riku held out his hand and Sora handed the packet over. He flipped to an earlier page, one describing the world as it had been pre-fall.

Then he read aloud: “The world has been declared to be of minimal importance. It provides no strategic benefit in terms of location, and few valuable exports. What exports it does provide are better sourced elsewhere in terms of both quantity and quality.”

Sora winced. “I guess that explains it.”

Other worlds, ones that did offer some sort of strategic or supply importance would have been considered a higher priority when it came to protection or preventive action.

“At least we’re on the way now,” Kairi said.

Not much of a comfort to the inhabitants who were already lost, but better than nothing. Any survivors might be able to return before long, if they were successful.

The ship landed in an open area, one where darkness was unlikely to make a successful ambush. There was nothing around to cast a shadow. Except the ship, of course, which was why it wouldn’t wait for them. It would take off, and return for them at a prearranged time.

Time to go hunting.

The three did a final check over of their protective armor, and readied the necessary lights for their protection. Then all three summoned their keyblades to hand.

The best place to look was anywhere naturally dark. Cave systems were especially good, as were tunnel systems underneath towns. Large buildings, particularly those with basements also made good targets.

It didn’t take long to find the first Shadows. After utterly destroying this world, three new hearts appearing had to be irresistible.

As his keyblade cut effortlessly through one of the Shadows, dissolving it into wisps of nothingness, Sora again felt a bit bitter that they were only here now, after the damage had been done.

A world full of people, almost completely destroyed…

Riku swung his blade in a wide arc, destroying a whole group of Shadows, and Kairi flung her keyblade out in a complicated, ricochetting strike that took out close to ten more.

Sora gritted his teeth, and kept his focus on the Shadows ahead of them.

It was too late for the people who’d been here before.

The three of them were just the cleaning crew.