Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Ansem, Riku, or anyone or place mentioned in this chapter of Before the Dawn. I am making no profit from this so please don't sue! Amen!
The sky was placid, the sea tranquil. It was calm, it was restful, it was...boring. A silver haired young man sat atop a bent-over tree on a sandbar island where childrens laughter filled the air. The young man regarded the horizon with caution, knowing full well what lay beyond. just beyond that horizon lay adventures, enemies, and tales still untold. Riku wished he could have followed Sora and his friends on their quest, but he had duties to take care of here.
"I wonder what you're up to...Sora." Riku pondered out loud, and no sooner had the words left his mouth than he received his reply. a cold, chocolaty laugh that resounded through the calm salty air and met Riku's ears with familiarity.
"I thought you'd forgotten about me...Riku..." The voice boomed. Riku lept from his perch and drew his keyblade, Way to the Dawn, with a flourish.
"Show yourself, Ansem!" Riku shouted, looking around for the source of the voice. The tall, strongly built man appeared out of thin air, his grey hair in stark contrast with his much tanned skin.
"Of course. I have nothing to hide, but what about you?" Ansem drawled, smirking.
"What are you talking about?" Riku demanded.
"You thought you were rid of me, but I warn you, as long as a single drop of darkness remains in your heart, I will never be gone. In other words..." Ansem annonced as his sinister guardian appeared over his shoulder, "Your darkness will call me back each and every time!" Ansem announced, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking his most confident smile.
"You think I'm afraid of you? I've beaten you before, and I'll do it again." Riku scoffed, sharging at the taller man, an apparition of his past.
The guardian acted quickly, and snatched him out of midair raising him up high and rendering him powerless. Riku felt a surge of energy fill his body, unfocused at first, then being slowly absorbed into his very veins. as the power traveled through his body, Riku could feel it pulsing, throbbing, growing. it was painful, and Riku let out a grunt of pain.
Then, as soon as it had started, it was over. He was on the ground, facefirst. Way to the Dawn was within his grasp, and the young man stood up shakily. "Wh-what did you do?" Riku gasped, recovering his weapon. Ansem just stood there, smirking for a moment before explaining.
"Do you remember the darkness I tempered in your heart a year ago? I found it and I used it as a beacon to get in and embed a splinter of my soul." Ansem laughed arrogantly, levitating into the air so that he could look down on Riku.
Riku spit on the sand in a show of disgust. He stood up and sunk back into his battle stance.
"So now you're a parasite? Why am I not impressed? You're the same old Ansem, you're just using fancier words." Riku didn't make the same mistake of charging a second time, he waited for his adversary to make the first move.
"Parasite? Could a parasite do this?" Ansem asked bemusedly as his feet once again met ground. Riku felt a strange tingling. he recognized this feeling. Ansem was attempting to take control again.
"Give in, Riku. You know you crave this power. The power that only I can give you. The power of Darkness." Ansem's voice became louder and louder, resounding inside Riku's head and heart, forcing it's way in.
Riku let out a cry of pain, and collapsed facefirst into the sand again. He felt as though each and every part of his body was filled with lead, immobile and drenched in the energy radiating outward from Ansem.
"Riku, my dear boy...you never stood a chance against me. I no longer need you to open your heart to Darkness...you already have! And now...my puppet...Submit!"
Riku could feel the darkness invading his senses, clouding his thoughts with anger, fear, and hate. It felt heavy, saturating, suffocating.
Suddenly, he fell. He fell out of his own mind, out of his own consciousness, and out of his own life. He fell for ages, lifetimes, in and out of recognizance of himself. He fell out of the desire to recognised by himself, until, finally, he hit the ground. He hit hard.
Soupy visions of green, red, and tan swam before his eyes, as alien and as painful as the air he breathed. He gasped, a raspy sharp sound wheezed into his lungs.
"What in the..." Riku groaned before the visions before him merged together and became clear. The sight that met his eyes was not was he'd expected.
To be Continued...