Something Dark
A Story from Beyond the Realm of Shadows
I
The darkness was stirring, and Riku could feel it. Its power would wax and wane, and it was more often than not connected to the presence of the Organization. One of their members was here, that was undeniable. However, their exact purpose was unknowable. Naturally, that was why Riku was observing them in the first place. Mickey had told him to keep an eye on their activities, and he wasn't prone to foolish or reckless actions. Unlike his counterpart and friend, Sora.
It wasn't often that Riku's travels brought him to the Dwarf Woodlands. Thus he was thoroughly enjoying the change of scenery, the scent of the forest realm, it was a new world to him and one that had only recently been restored after Sora had defeated Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.
As his thoughts turned toward that being, Riku touched the inner reaches of his heart, where the very same Ansem resided. He was patiently waiting to regain control of his host. Despite Riku's victory over him at Castle Oblivion, he hadn't been able to purge him completely. He could still feel that dark, brooding presence. It was just waiting for him to lose control, or better yet, give in willingly.
That temptation was always there, gnawing away at Riku. Yet despite those thoughts, he turned his attention back to the forest around him just in time to catch sight of an individual in a black coat as they made their way through the gloom.
Man, these forests are for the birds, Demyx thought as he trudged awkwardly through the dense foliage. With all of these shadows around, how am I supposed to know which ones are heartless? They all look like their moving.
Of course his associates, like that stick-up-his-ass Saïx, would tell him to hit the ones that were jumping at him. Like that advice would make things any easier. In any event, he was sent here for no other purpose than to recon a new world, gauge the number of heartless and see if it was fit for sending someone like Roxas in to do a little heart collecting.
Demyx thought about Roxas and that other girl that could use the keyblade, Xion…right? Well, what's it matter anyway? They both carry big keys that look the exact same. No real depth to people like that. Not that we're people to begin with. Man, this stupid forest bites.
He traipsed onward, swatting away the tiny bugs that were buzzing away around his hood. He had half a mind to call up some water and blast them away, but that would only serve to make the ground soggy, and that was a big no-no in a place like this.
From what he'd seen so far, Riku was able to infer that his quarry was the ever-amusing Demyx. He'd been able to tell by the lazy way in which the nobody walked, and the slouched look that just screamed 'I don't want to be here'. Riku followed him discreetly, keeping to the shadows, as was his way.
Demyx was glancing at the shadows every once in a while, his hooded head turning left, then right, then left again, trying to see if he could spot any heartless no doubt. He would be disappointed, as the shadows were in short supply around these parts.
Yet even as Riku thought about it, something else shifted around them. The shadows lengthened and the gloom expanded, making the forest much darker than before. Demyx stopped in his tracks, and so did Riku. They both looked around to see what had changed, and as they did the shadows grew into a form larger than what Riku could have ever expected.
The heartless looked humanoid, but it had four arms and three legs, seemed to be able to float, and even had wings. The fingers of its hands weren't really fingers, but whip-like appendages with blades like axes at the ends. Its eyes were glowing red and fixated on Demyx, who stood directly in front of it. At least for a moment. He jumped out of the way at the last minute as it slammed its foot where he had been standing just a moment ago.
Demyx whipped out his sitar and launched a torrent of water in the shape of blue-white tendrils at the heartless's legs, trying to take it off balance. There was no immediate effect except to rattle the thing's frame. One of its whips knocked the nobody far into the woods, yelling as he was blasted off his feet.
His odds weren't good anyway, thought Riku. He readied his keyblade, Way to Dawn, and jumped from the shadows, lashing out at the tendrils, a few of which happened to be hanging near where Riku was. The hit connected, and there was a roar in reply, indicating that the heartless had felt the blow.
Riku jumped again, taking a shot at the legs. Though this hit connected as well, there was a moment where he was exposed to a blow from one of the heartless's free hands. The heartless took the chance and knocked Riku away, even as it dropped to the ground from the force of the blow that had taken it in the middle leg.
It's powerful, thought Riku. Where did it come from? More importantly, why is it here? There was no time to dwell on those questions, as right now the heartless's existence was the highest priority. It needed to be finished off, now.
Riku stood and prepared to charge in again, but the heartless was just vanishing as he did so. It simply ebbed away as heartless do, without a trace and without leaving any evidence that it had been there. Glancing around the clearing, Riku saw no sign of Demyx, indicating that he must either still be unconscious and lying in a pile of leaves somewhere, or he was already gone.
Whatever the case, Riku had something else to think about. Why have the heartless suddenly turned their attention to this world? Are they still seeking keyholes? I need answers.
With that thought, he opened his portal and stepped through, hoping he could find something elsewhere, and maybe with a bit of extra help these things would become clearer.