The Key

Ice-Puppet

Warnings: Yaoi, shounen ai, boy love, call it what you will. Curse words. Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts. AU. Crossover. All that good stuff.

Pairings: Mello x Near, Matt x Demyx, AkuDemy (if you squint)

Author's note: Yeah... this has been a WIP for some time.

Chapter 1 - In you and I

You are the one who will open the door.

But first you need the key.

--

Green-blue eyes slowly opened to stare up at the ceiling before him. The same old ceiling, the same old thing, day after day- wake up, take a shower, go to work, come home, go to sleep.

When would anything interesting happen?

“Mel, get up!” Came a call from the next room as his front door opened, the jingle of keys being tossed onto his coffee table following footsteps as they headed toward his room. “You’re going to be late!”

“I’m never late,” Mello answered, sitting up. He was out of his sleeping bottoms and into the shower before Matt was even in his bedroom.

“I know, I know,” Matt answered, walking into the bathroom without a care in the world. “I brought you a bagel.”

“Onion?” Mello asked, the water muffling his voice.

“Of course not, what kind of friend do you think I am?” Matt asked in horror. “It’s chocolate chip, just like you like.”

“I always knew I could count on you,” Mello commented as he washed the shampoo from his hair, before turning off the water and stepping out.

“Nice,” Matt whistled.

Mello laughed. “You said you’d never hit that again, remember?”

“Was I drunk? I don’t remember,” Matt hummed as Mello grabbed a towel and stole the bagel from his grasp.

“Hey!” Matt cried, following him out of the bathroom. “That was mine!”

“Finders keepers,” Mello replied, taking a bite as he pulled on his pants.

They went about their morning routine and pretty soon Mello found himself locking up his apartment as they exited.

“Isn’t that your hot neighbor who you’re totally crushing over?” Matt asked, pointing down the hallway, toward the elevator. Mello followed his finger and held his breath.

There he was. The creepy neighbor kid. A god damn real albino with white hair and colorless eyes- pale skin (which was probably why he lived in a place where it was always cloudy and never sunny) and a tiny little body that looked like it could break in half if Mello poked him. His name was Near and he was Mello’s next door neighbor- he was nice enough for someone who barely ever talked (and had a speach impairment), polite and respectful. And Matt was totally right about Mello crushing on him.

“I’m not crushing on him!” Mello hissed in protest. “I think he’s creepy!”

“I didn’t know you liked the creepy type, Mello,” Matt laughed as Near approached, carrying a bag of groceries in his arms. “Hey- Near! Right? Do you need some help with that? Mello here would love to help you!” He smacked Mello on the back, pushing him forward.

Mello stumbled forward and almost smacked right into Near, who stared up at him with those creepy colorless eyes.

“No thanks,” Near answered. “I’ve got it.” He brushed past Mello in an almost run and went to his apartment, fumbling with his keys before slipping inside and slamming the door behind himself.

“Good job, Matt!” Mello snapped. “You totally blew it!”

“So you DO want him!” Matt laughed.

Mello’s face went red. “NO!”

“You admitted it!” the redhead sing-songed as he headed toward the elevator, shaking his bum seductively. “Mello wants Near, Mello wants Near~!”

“Matt!” Mello screeched, trailing after him. “Shut up before the neighbors hear you!”

--

Pulling his car into the parking lot, Mello turned it off and stepped out, hitting the button twice to lock it.

He walked over to the elevator, only to pause when he heard a noise behind him. Turning, he grabbed for the mace in his pocket only to point it directly into Near’s face.

Near jumped back in surprise and looked at Mello in confusion. “Did I startle Mello?”

“Yeah, you did,” Mello answered, putting the mace away. He stepped out of the way and motioned for Near to get into the elevator. After the albino had stepped in, Mello followed and pressed the button for their floor.

“So,” Mello said after a few moments of silence. “How was work?”

“Alright,” Near answered.

“Where do you work again?” Mello questioned.

“Cold Stone Creamery,” Near told him with a small smile.

Mello laughed. “Do you really have to sing when they tip you?”

“I do,” Near confirmed. “How was Mello’s work?” He then asked.

“Boring as usual,” Mello answered.

The elevator doors opened and just as Mello was about to say something more, something small and black lunged forward and tackled Near. Near let out a startled scream and Mello stared in shock for a few moments before pulling the thing off and throwing it out into the hall… only a huge pile of clones of it.

“What is that thing?” Near squeaked in shock, putting his hand over his chest where the creature had scratched through his shirt.

“I don’t know,” Mello answered, helping Near to stand. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Near told him. He screamed again when one of the creatures jerked forward and attempted to attack him- Mello grabbed hold of his shoulders and pulled him out of the way, grabbing hold of his hand tightly.

“Lets get to the stairs!” Mello cried, dragging Near behind him as he made for the steps. Throwing open the door, Mello began to run down the stairs, Near stumbling behind him. The creatures followed after, bursting in through all of the floors doorways. “They’re after you!” Mello told Near. “They’re all after you!”

“Why?” Near questioned. “I’ve never seen these things before.”

“I don’t know, but we have to get you out of here,” Mello said, throwing open the door to the first floor only to have one of those creatures tackle him and throw him to the ground.

“Mello!” Near cried in surprise, trying to grab for the creature only to be snatched from behind and dragged out into the hallway.

“Near!” Mello yelled after him as the creature dug at his chest with sharp claws. His breath caught in his throat and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Like his heart was being ripped from his chest-

“Mello!”

Snapping out of it, Mello shoved the creature off of himself and rushed into the pile that currently had Near pinned down, fighting over who got to kill him first. He grabbed hold of the Albino’s hand only to feel the boy’s fingers slip out of his grip as Near completely disappeared into thin air.

“Mello…”

Mello stared in shock before gasping as the creatures all turned on him.

“Shit,” he mumbled, pulling out his can of mace. For some reason it seemed to fit into his hand like a weapon- like a bat or something- and as the creatures jumped at him he found himself swinging it.

A long glowing light gathered in his hands and smacked into the little black thing. It disappeared in a puff of smoke- as did the one after it and every single one of their little group. I was only then that Mello had the sense to look at the thing in his hand and, gasping, he nearly dropped it.

I was a giant key with sharp edges like a blade.

Keyblade.

Something inside him told him to call it a keyblade.

“The shit is going on?” Mello muttered.

“Mel!”

He glanced up to see Matt rush by the building, some of those black things chasing him. Forgetting about the keyblade for another moment, Mello rushed after, bursting through the front door of his apartment building. The things following Matt were destroyed as he threw the keyblade at them. It spun around like a boomerang and flew right back into his hand.

“The shit were those?” Matt asked, before eyeing Mello. “And the shit is that?!”

“It’s a keyblade,” Mello informed.

“Well obviously,” Matt deadpanned. “But why do you have it and how did it destroy those things? I hit them with like, a table and chairs and they weren’t fazed!”

“I’m not sure,” Mello answered honestly, looking at the blade in confusion. He then gasped in realization and looked toward Matt. “Those things- they got Near!”

“They what!?” Matt cried.

“He was under them and I grabbed his hand but he disappeared!” Mello informed.

“Shit, now you two will never get married!” Matt cried.

Mello smacked him with the dull end of the keyblade. “This is no time for jokes! We have to figure out what those things were and how we can get him back!”

“So this is the keyblader.”

Both Mello and Matt turned toward the voice that had spoken.

A tall, thin man with spiked red hair and sea green eyes stood before them. He held large, circular weapons on the ends of his finger tips, dangling them around like they were a toy to be played with. He had a smirk on his face and he was dressed in a black leather coat that matched the man beside him’s. The second man was shorter and not quite as thin as his companion. He had dirty blonde hair, styled up in a mow hawk, and blue eyes. Instead of a smirk he wore a worried look, disguised under a forced smile. He was carrying a large Sitar beside him, cradling it gently, as if it were a child.

“What are you supposed to be, a clown?” Mello asked, taking a defensive position in case these guys wanted to start something.

“I’m Axel,” the redhead informed. “And this is Demyx.” The blonde smiled and waved until Axel smacked him over the back of the head. “We’re here to take you out, keyblader.”

“He’s a taken man,” Matt informed.

“Demyx, get rid of the side kick,” Axel told the blonde, who stared at him in surprise. “Hello? I know you’re not deaf! Do it!”

“Right,” Demyx confirmed with a curt nod before jumping high into the air, carrying his Sitar with him. Mello watched in awe as the limber teen landed behind him and grabbed hold of Matt.

“Don’t get so distracted!” Axel yelled as he rushed forward, swimming his weapon at Mello, who blocked with the keyblade and thanked his parents for signing him up for Karate when he was younger. Flames danced around Axel in a fury and Mello took a step back. Was this guy… summoning fire?

This was getting too weird.

Axel lunged forward again and Mello blocked before spinning around and slamming his elbow into Axel’s stomach. While the redhead doubled over in pain Mello used the keyblade, slashing him across the chest. He left a heavy wound there but, to his surprise- there was no blood there.

“We don’t bleed,” Axel told him, stumbling back with a smirk, his hands over his chest as the flames died down. “Because we don’t have hearts.”

“Don’t have… hearts?” Mello asked.

“Those creatures are called heartless,” Axel explained. “But don’t mistake me for them. I am a nobody- a person that doesn’t exist.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Mello told him.

“I don’t expect it to, yet,” Axel laughed. “Have fun, keyblader. You wont get very far if you’re trapped on your own world!” Then, in a show of shadows and darkness, he was gone.

Mello turned to see if the other guy had retreated as well, only to find him laying on the ground, unconscious, with Matt standing on his back.

“What a pussy,” Matt commented.

--

When Demyx came to he was in a strange bedroom in a strange place. He could hear cars honking and people screaming and there was a blonde standing over him, looking furious.

“He’s awake,” the blonde said.

Demyx squeaked as he was lifted off the bed and dragged into the living room by the blonde. He was thrown forward and a redhead stood over him, arms crossed.

“Who are you?” The blonde demanded, pulling out the keyblade and pointing it at Demyx.

Demyx didn’t answer- he kept his mouth shut, even as the keyblade was trust into his face, the end nearly cutting his cheek.

“I don’t think he’s going to talk, Mello,” the redhead said.

“Che, whatever, we’ll keep him until he does,” Mello replied, pulling out a pair of hand cuffs and hooking one to Demyx’s wrist, the other to the leg of a chair.

“You’re going to hold some random guy hostage in your apartment?” Matt asked.

“Until we figure out what to do, yes,” Mello informed.

Demyx shifted, attempting to get comfortable. An idea hit him and he attempted to summon his sitar, only to realize he didn’t have the strength. Flopping onto the floor, he closed his eyes. He was tired and weak- and he really needed some water. Axel had a theory that he had to be a merman in his past life because Demyx couldn’t live without submerging himself in water at least once every twenty-four hours. And the hadn’t gotten to do it today because the superior had sent him and Axel on a mission.

How long had he been out? Long enough that he was feeling weak and sick.

“This guy doesn’t look so good, Mel,” Matt said suddenly, leaning over Demyx and peering at him from behind yellow lenses. “He looks like he’s going to pass out.”

“What, is he sick?” Mello asked, his voice showing that he was frustrated. Matt didn’t blame him, nor did Demyx- Matt, because he knew Mello had just lost hold of someone he had the hots for, and Demyx, because he knew how hard it was to suddenly learn you were someone other then the person you thought you were.

Demyx was tempted to ask for some water, but he quickly pushed the thought away. He knew if he spoke, even to ask for something as simple as a drink, Axel would have his head.

Matt, however, seemed to read minds. He disappeared for a few moments before returning with a glass of water, offering it to Demyx.

The blue-eyed boy nodded his thank you and took the glass with the hand not handcuffed, swallowing it in one gulp. Matt whistled, as if amazed, before he turned to Mello. “What are we going to do, Mel?”

“Fucking find Near, that’s what we’re going to do,” Mello informed. He then approached Demyx. “I know you have answers and I don’t care if I have to beat them out of you, I will get them.”

Demyx swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Maleficent has him,” he said so suddenly that he threw a hand over his mouth. Mello and Matt both looked surprised at Demyx’s sudden outburst, just as surprised as he seemed to be. “Crud!” Demyx cried, muffled by his hand. “Axel is going to kill me!”

“Who is Maleficent?” Mello asked.

“I can’t tell you!” Demyx protested, before his head swooned. The room spun around him and he was suddenly falling backward, hitting the floor with a hard thud.

“Woah there,” Matt called, sounding like he was miles away as he crouched down beside Demyx. “Why are you so sick, huh? You have the flu or something?”

“Water,” Demyx informed, his own voice sounding as if it were submerged. An almost comforting thought.

“You just had a glass?” Mello reminded.

“No,” Demyx informed. “Water,” he plead once more.

“I think I get it,” Matt informed, disappearing from the room once more. Mello watched him curiously as he came back, unhooking the handcuffs (Demyx wasn’t aware enough to realize they were those cheep handcuffs that had the latch on the side to unhook them) and wrapping the tall man’s arm around his shoulders. He dragged him into the bathroom and threw him into the bathtub, turning it on.

“The fuck?” Mello asked.

“Call it a hunch,” Matt answered.

Demyx disappeared beneath the water as it filled, managing to somehow sink instead of float. After a few moments he opened up his eyes and mouth, looking as if he were sucking in a breath of air before he finally sat up, pulling himself from the water.

“…Thanks,” Demyx mumbled.

“Explain,” Mello demanded.

Matt motioned to Demyx’s neck. Mello peered closer, noticing what looked like gills there. The blonde made a face and Matt said, “Some sort of merman.”

“Don’t Mermaids have tails?” Mello asked.

“Apparently not,” Matt speculated.

“Whatever.” Shaking his head, Mello turned to Demyx, his eyes narrowing. “Now, tell me. Who is Maleficent?”

“She’s this crazy lady,” Demyx began. “And the leader of the heartless.”

“Heartless?” Matt repeated. “That’s what that clown-guy said those creatures were called. So she leads those creatures?”

“Why did they go after Near?” Mello demanded.

“I don’t know,” Demyx admitted. “In all honesty, they should have gone after you, being the keyblade master and all.”

Mello held out his hand and the keyblade appeared in it. He stared down at the thing as if it were a curse, before giving a frustrated sigh. “This thing will help me get to Near, right?”

Frowning, Demyx offered a somewhat air-headed, “I suppose so?” When Mello glared at him, he cringed. “Look- I’m not the best guy to ask! No one really tells me anything! I may be number nine, but honestly, I rank the lowest!”

“I can see why,” Mello muttered.

A rumbling made Matt and Mello stumble and Demyx cringe. It shook the entire apartment. The trio watched in horror as a large, dark claw-like hand tore through Mello’s apartment wall and reached in, sweeping most of their living room out. It removed itself, replaced by a giant face with glowing yellow eyes.

“Heartless!” Demyx squeaked.

The keyblade appeared in Mello’s hand and he looked at it in horror. “What, I have to fight this thing!?”

The ground shook again and the creature swiped its claws in once more. Demyx yelped and jumped out of the bathtub, landing on both Mello and Matt, forcing them both to duck out of the way just in the nick of time.

“Thanks,” Matt told Demyx as the creature pulled its hand back out.

Looking toward Mello with desperate eyes, Demyx cried, “Run away!”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Matt agreed.

They made for the stairs, rushing down them as quickly as they could. Just as they made their way out of the building, it fell to ruin as the creature attacked it.

“Shit!” Matt cried. When Mello looked at him in question he pointed toward the sky nearby, where a black ball of energy looked like it was sucking in the world.

“The hell!?” Mello asked.

“The heartless are consuming this word,” Demyx explained. “We need to get out of here, or we’ll be consumed with it.”

“How do you presume we do that!?” Mello snapped.

Demyx looked around, as if he were afraid of being caught doing something bad. Then, nervously, he held out a hand in front of himself. A black mesh of energy appeared and he quickly grabbed Mello and Matt, shoving them into it. As he stepped through himself, it closed up.

“Ouch!” Mello protested, rubbing the arm he had landed on awkwardly. He then realized the world was no longer falling apart, the monster was gone, and they were sitting in the middle of a town during the night. “What the fuck…?”

A wall of water suddenly appeared to block the giant throwing star that flew their way. Matt let out a horrified yelp and Mello instantly summoned his keyblade, looking toward the girl who had thrown it.

She paused, giving him a curious look. Then her eyes went wide. “The keyblade!”

“What’s it to you?” Mello asked, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Leon!” She cried, ignoring him. “This boy has the keyblade!”

A tall man with longish dark brown hair approached, a mix between a gun and a sword slung over his shoulder. He eyed Mello and Matt cautiously before giving Demyx a dangerous glare and pointing his gun at him. “Get away from them, Nobody!”

“Hey!” Matt snapped, standing in front of Demyx. “He saved our lives, so back off, asshole!”

“Saved your lives?” The girl asked, surprised. “A nobody…?”

“It’s not very nice to call somebody a Nobody,” Matt snapped at her.

“That’s what he is, though?” She offered.

Shaking his head, Matt crossed his arms over his chest and looked toward Mello. “What do you want with this weird ass ‘keyblade’ anyway?”

“We’ve been looking for the keyblade master,” the man explains. “My name is Leon and this is Yuffie. Come with us.”

“Not even going to ask nicely?” Mello sneered.

“Please?” Yuffie offered.

“I don’t have time for asking nicely,” Leon informed. “The darkness is taking over and you need to stop it.”

“Darkness?” Matt asked.

“Someone’s afraid of the dark,” Mello muttered.

Leon’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Not that kind of darkness. I mean the heartless.”

“Those icky little creatures that kidnapped Near?” Matt asked.

“I don’t know who ‘Near’ is,” Yuffie began, trying to reason with them. “But some of them are icky little creatures. Others… well, others aren’t so little. Those are heartless- they destroy worlds and consume people’s hearts.”

“Disgusting,” Mello commented idly.

“Yes,” Leon agreed. “It is disgusting. And if you don’t stop it, they’ll completely destroy every last world out there.”

Matt looked toward Demyx, who nodded. “What they’re saying is true,” the dirty blonde told Matt, his voice sad.

“What about Nobodies?” Matt asked. “You said they’re people that don’t exist. But you didn’t say what that meant.”

“A nobody is created when a heart is stolen,” Demyx explained. “Its usually just an empty shell, but if it’s a particularly strong heart, it’s a particularly strong nobody.”

“I see…” Matt shook his head, before grinning at Mello. “Can I wake up now?”

“Only if you take me with you,” Mello replied with a sigh.

“We don’t have time for this,” Leon informed. “You need to come with us, now.”

“Fine, but on one condition,” Mello informed. Leon glared at him. “You leave this guy,” he motioned to Demyx. “Alone. He might be a nobody but he’s my prisoner, so you don’t touch him, got it?”

“Whatever,” Leon replied. “Lets go.”

--

“So this is the keyblade master…” Aries said, looking Mello over. “Was your world destroyed?”

“Yeah,” Matt answered, as if she were talking to him. “And his boyfriend was kidnapped, as well.”

“Kidnapped?” Aries asked in surprise. “The heartless didn’t just take his heart?”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Mello snapped at Matt.

“Yeah,” Matt confirmed, ignoring Mello completely. “They ran off with him, so Mels tells me.”

“That’s strange news…” Aries hummed before looking toward Demyx. “Can you tell me what your leader’s plan is, Demyx?” He shifted uncomfortably and she gave him a gentle smile. “That’s alright, if it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to.”

“Thanks,” he replied with a small frown.

“I do have a request for you, however,” Aries hummed. “Since you are in Mello’s captive care, would you mind escorting Mello to the different worlds in order to lock them? He could, of course, travel by gummi ship, but that will take four times as long, if not longer.”

Demyx shifted uncomfortably once more. Helping the enemy would not make the superior happy- and Axel would kill him. But then again, if he had been captured, he was as good as dead anyway. So, with a gentle sigh, he nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you, Demyx. You’re a gem,” Aries told him with another warm smile. She then turned to Mello and explained, “The heartless are destroying different worlds. You need to use your keyblade to lock those words, to protect them from the heartless.”

“What?” He snapped. “I don’t care about all that! I just want to get Near back!”

“I thought the keyblade master was supposed to have a good heart,” Leon muttered.

“It’s your job as the keyblade master to protect these worlds from the heartless,” Aries told him.

“Yeah!” Yuffie agreed. “And besides- who knows? Maybe you’ll find your friend on the way.”

“I don’t want an ‘on the way’!” Mello snapped. “I want to find Near and then just destroy these things! I don’t have time to go around ‘locking up’ worlds, damnit! Who knows what they’re doing to him!?”

“Calm down, Mel!” Matt cried, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder before shaking him gently. “I think we should do what they say! They obviously know more about this shit then we do. We’ll find Near, okay? Just be patient. I know you’re bad at it but you’ve got to at least try.”

Groaning, Mello dropped his head into his hands. “This is a load of shit,” he muttered, before holding out his hand and summoning the keyblade. “None of this can be real… I’m going to wake up and this is going to be a really fucking wonky nightmare.”

“News flash,” Leon commented. “You’re wide awake and this is happening.”

“Please, help the worlds,” Aries begged, giving him a wide-eyed, doe-in-the-headlights look.

Shaking his head miserably, Mello sighed. “Alright, fine. Fine. But only because it will get me closer to finding Near then just sitting here will do!”

“Thank you,” she replied with a smile.

--

Author's note: Not sure how long this will take me to update, but, eh.