Okay, so, I know what you guys are thinking: "What are you DOING?! You have other stories you need to update!" But... this story is like a remake of The Dark Powers Within Him. I couldn't wait to post it, okay?! TT_TT Here's what happened: I was looking over TDPWH and I was thinking, "I need to rewrite over this story." And when I started, I thought about it some more, and decided to rewrite the whole thing as something different. That's how this story came to be, and trust me, I think it'll go much better than the original. I'll probably leave the original up, just because. So, there we go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts - Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix do.

Prologue

"I smell you Ansem. Show yourself!" I yelled, walking into one of the many white rooms in Castle Oblivion. A dark portal formed in front of me, and when it disappeared, Ansem was standing there.

His stance seemed relaxed. "I have watched you fight." He said calmly. "I know your strength. Your skill with darkness has grown. It has become more... mature." He closed his eyes. "And yet, why..." His eyes shot open and he looked at me, a malevolent form of sadness buried deep into his amber orbs. "Why do you accept the darkness- but still refuse me? You know you and I are similar. We both follow where the darkness leads. Indeed, we are the same, so why?" He asked, holding his hand out to me. "Does some part of your heart still have a fear of the dark?"

I shook my head, my silver hair swaying across my forehead. "That's not it. The truth is..." I summoned my Keyblade, a column of darkness forming around my hand. "I just can't stand your foul stench." I hissed, gritting my teeth.

"You are a fool. You should know my powers well by now." Ansem said, his hand dropping.

"Yeah, I know." I replied simply. "Or did you forget? I used all the power you had to give- and Sora still beat me. I'm not at all impressed with your powers!" I finished.

Ansem closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Very well. In that case-" He stopped and curled into himself, a dark aura surrounding him and blowing his hair around. "You shall sink into the abyss!" He yelled, straightening. Darkness surged out from him, enveloping the white floors and walls of Castle Oblivion in black.

I tried to shield myself as the force of the dark waves pushed me back slightly. I could only watch as I was consumed by this darkness- Ansem's darkness.

When I no longer felt the surges of dark power coursing around me, I dropped my arms and twisted around, trying to figure out where I was. I looked forward just in time to avoid an attack from Ansem's Guardian. I jumped back, gripping my Keyblade tightly in my hand.

I looked up and glared at Ansem. He simply crossed his arms and smirked, his dark Guardian letting out a hollow roar, as if the sound was being sucked into a vortex.

This is it... My final battle with Ansem. After this, if I win, I should be free from his influence, but...

Ansem made the first move. Or rather, his Guardian did. Ansem surged towards me as the dark form above him swung low and powerfully, its fist glowing as it tried to knock me off my feet and send me flying. I jumped out of the way of the attack just in time.

My turn. I ran towards Ansem and jumped up, letting out a yell and slashing down with my Keyblade. The attack almost made contact before Ansem swiftly moved to the side. My weapon came crashing into the ground. I grunted and stood, watching Ansem carefully.

Ansem took a step towards me. Determined to keep my distance for the moment, I took a step back. He smirked triumphantly. His dark Guardian surged past him, its white eyes flashing, then disappeared.

I ran towards Ansem, my Keyblade raised, but when I attacked him, my weapon simply bounced off a barrier. Ansem raised a hand and flicked his wrist. The barrier seemingly exploded, sending me flying. I landed with a harsh thud, skidding across the floor. When I finally stopped, I groaned and stood shakily. I tensed and moved back into my original position, my Keyblade held near my ear and my left hand held out in front of me. I kept my eyes on Ansem, not daring to look away for even a moment.

"Riku," Ansem said, taking another step towards me. I stayed where I was, not intimidated by him. "You must understand, one day the light will fail you, and you will have nowhere to turn, nowhere to run. Afraid of the darkness, yet denied by the light; where will you go?"

"I'll make my own path." I said bitterly, my eyes narrowing. "Who ever said it was one or the other?"

"Foolish boy." Ansem tsked, shaking his head. Suddenly, I felt something wrap itself around me, preventing me from moving. I looked down and saw the giant hands of Ansem's Guardian wrapped around my torso, pinning my arms and lifting me off the ground slightly. Great, I thought dejectedly, Just great.

When I looked back up, Ansem was there, looking down on me as if he was superior. I turned away, not wanting to look at him. There was a grunt from above me and then a vice grip on my chin, forcing me to look back up at him- Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, my tormentor.

"Riku," Ansem said again. I hated the way he said my name, like he had absolute control over me. "Succumb to the darkness. Become my slave again, and gain great power. You know you are nothing without me."

I set him with a glare, gritting my teeth and saying nothing.

Ansem continued. "You won't be able to run for very long. The darkness will consume you-"

I shook my head, wrenching my chin from his grip and cutting him off. "That's not true. I'll always win over the darkness, and I'll always beat you!" My gaze darted to the side and I yelled, "Now, Your Majesty!"

Ansem turned his head, going to defend himself, and I took this moment of distraction to free myself. I resummoned my Keyblade so I held it backhand. In a sudden burst of strength, I jerked my arm free of the grip holding me and slashed out at it. The dark Guardian let out a vacant howl of pain, releasing me.

I quickly cartwheeled out of range, breathing heavily as Ansem turned a rage-filled look on me. "You insolent brat! Your petty diversions won't work on me."

I smirked, raising my Keyblade. "That one did."

Ansem crossed his arms as his Guardian rose up behind him again. "No others will." He scowled at me.

I only gripped my Keyblade tighter in my hand. He won't win this. Make sure he doesn't. I mentally promised myself before charging at him again with a yell.

Ansem simply moved out of the way, his shadowy other preparing an attack. I jumped back and dodged when a row of lightning bolts headed my way. I was able to dodge the next two, but the third one came directly after the last and caught me off guard.

I bit down hard on my lip to prevent the pained yell from coming out as I went flying. I could taste blood as I landed harshly on the ground. I grunted and stood, my stance shaking slightly. I can't continue on like this... If I do, Ansem will win. I shivered at the thought, then closed my eyes. I need my dark power if I want to win this.

I opened my eyes and glared at Ansem, who was watching me carefully. "This darkness..." I said, looking down at myself. A dark aura was surrounding me as I continued. "This darkness that you granted to me... will now be your downfall." I felt the darkness surge around me, lifting me into the air, enveloping me and improving my abilities.

I gracefully landed on the ground, my grip on my Keyblade tightening. I calmly went back into a battle stance, my gaze set on Ansem. He won't win this. He won't win this. He won't win this. I told myself in a mantra. I dashed towards him, my Keyblade raised.

Ansem didn't have time to dodge as I finally landed a hit on him. We continued like this, matching each other blow for blow. I could tell his strength was starting to dwindle - unfortunately, so was mine.

It was now or never- Ansem and I were both charging up our ultimate attacks, both of us intent of ending this battle once and for all. I felt my power building up within me, and as soon I felt it reach its brink, I let out a yell, surging towards Ansem with everything I had. I performed a swift upward strike, my Keyblade energized with my dark power, knocking Ansem back. I then did a backflip in midair, throwing my Keyblade at the Seeker of Darkness and watching as several other copies flew after it, each weapon hitting home. There was a flash as I summoned my Keyblade back into my hand, dropping to the ground.

I felt my dark powers whoosh out of me, returning me to my former state. I let out a shuddering sigh, gripping my Keyblade tighter. I tried not to grimace as pain washed over me- Ansem's hit may pack a punch, but it's nothing I can't handle. We were both breathing heavily as the battle finally started drawing to a close.

"Insolent brat!" Ansem yelled, darkness forming around his hand. Probably as some sort of ditch attempt to win, he hurled the giant ball at me. Purple lightning bolts shot around as the ball came hurtling towards me.

I raised my Keyblade and grunted as the ball came crashing into it. I struggled with it for a moment before I forced my Keyblade down, dispelling the ball of darkness. "Ansem!" I called out, dark particles from the ball drifting around me. I ran as fast as I could towards him, not giving him any time to react before I surged forward.

His gasp was accompanied by the sound of metal scraping. Breathing heavily, I withheld my stance. "This is... the end." I said, my teeth clenching.

"This... is hardly... the end..." Ansem choked out. "Your darkness- I gave it... all to you... My dark shadow... lingers... Someday..." He said, his voice slowly getting louder. "Someday... I will return!" He yelled, throwing his arms into the air.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking as all of the shadows in the room gathered around Ansem's form. The shadows merged into a tight ball, purple bolts of light and red and blue flames erupting around him. The ball was seemingly absorbed into a vortex before it exploded, blanketing everything in darkness- including me.

I could only gasp as the darkness held me in its vice grip. Darkness flooded my senses. I just barely managed to get out, "Sora... Kairi..."

Just then, I saw a light. There's always a light, even in the deepest darkness. Mickey's words came back to me as I watched the bright speck.

"Gosh, Riku, I know you wanted to do this alone... But ya don't mind gettin' a little help, do ya?" The light flashed, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I felt myself being dragged out of the darkness, and into the light again.

The warmth of the light... The light within the darkness.

And that's that, the first step of what I hope will be an amazing story. I think the new prologue is more relative to the plot - yay! :D

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Review!