Complete and utter darkness...

...What does it take to truly exist?

"This is it, last stop." Riku declared, without an ounce of emotion. Riku wasn't himself, nor had he'd been himself ever since he and his friends entered the realm of darkness.

It brought back memories, for sure.

Kairi and Sora halted right behind him. The three were wearing coats; black coats to shield thier identities. Sora bent over to hold his hands on his knees. He was panting like a dog. He opened his eyes to stare down at the keyblade in his hand, and then stood straight to look at the destination. It was a door. A...surprisingly friendly-looking door in a place so dark.

Whatever. Sora sighed.

"So where does it lead to exactly?"

Riku turned to face his friends. Kairi, bright as always, she winked back at Riku, and Sora was waiting for an answer to his question, but never got a response.

"Only two of us can proceed."

Both Kairi and Sora frowned. "Why can't-"

Riku glanced right past Sora to face Kairi and put out his hand towards her. "Kairi, I guess we should be preparing to go now." She looked down at this gesture and sighed.

"Okay,"

"Huh? Riku?" Sora accostomed Riku's new form, but never changing attitude. The way his 'best friend' was acting now, his coldness resembled Ansem himself. Sora was taken aback. Here his friends were, just about to leave him here. This was a joke; It had to be. "Why can't we just all go?"

Riku explained as he escorted Kairi to his side. "Sora, I can't let you pass these doors...Beyond them is darkness, PURE, OPEN darkness. You wield the keyblade. The darkness will come after you, consume you..."

Nonsense.

"It's not like-"

"Riku's right."

KAIRI? Taking Riku's side? Riku smirked with satisfaction, whilst Sora's jaw dropped to the floor. These were his friends, right? Right?

"...And Kairi could be put in extreme danger."

"As if I dont know! What are you saying? I could-"

Riku's eyes remained dark orange and cold. "Trust me, I've been through this before-"

"And I haven't?"

"You know..."

"I'm coming with you." Sora began to walk to join Riku and Kairi's side.

"Sora, Riku says the darkness will consume you," Kairi looked at Sora with concern. "Look what's happened. I think Riku knows this realm better than we do." Kairi cared, she really did.

"Kairi, I'll be fine, and you know I would never let anything happen to you... Come on, dont you trust me?"

"Sora, I'm...We're sorry."

How could she commit such a heinious crime of betrayaing her true friend... "But... Kairi,"

"I think she's said enough. We should be going now."

Sora's head hung low. Suddenly, Riku calls the shots, and Sora is treated like a child. No one would listen to him trying to reason. This was sick.

Might as well go along, maybe Kairi was right. "And what will I do?"

Riku was ready to leap for joy. With the smirk still painted on his face, he said, "You can... stay here, make sure nobody's followed us or something."

Impossible. "..."

"Come on Kairi," Riku escorted Kairi first through the door, and after she was in completely, looked behind himself to meet up with Sora's glare.

And, not with his own, but with the deep voice of the Ansem that was defeated long ago, he snickered mockingly.

"IMPOSTER!" Before Sora could leap after him with the keyblade, Riku, Kairi, and the door, vanished.

Sora felt defeated, kneeling on the ground. He stared into space, literally. His friends; the real Riku, were out here somewhere, in this never ending nightmare.

Walking This Road, Without You...

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Dark and sad aren't like me. It's kinda like Kingdom hearts, and in other ways it's not, but that's what makes it all the more great. Please leave a review; I'll appreciate whatever you gotta say.