"Take care of her…"

Riku watched, holding his smile, trying to sear those blue eyes into his mind as the doors to Kingdom Hearts shut behind him.

Then, there was only darkness.

He found Mickey, somehow, and the two fought against the never-ending waves of Heartless. Too soon his arms tired. Too soon Riku gasped for breath, but he didn't stop. It was only the beginning of the ceaseless vigil he had committed himself to, and if he gave up so early on, there really wouldn't be any hope.


Mickey was gone.

They'd fought as close to the doors as they could, for as long as they could, it being the only thing that still stood stark against the endless void. But the King's presence had dwindled until he was only a voice in the shadows, urging Riku to keep going. It had been the only tangible thing left that had kept him going.

And now, he was denied even that much.

Was there even a point any more, staying close to the no-way-out of Kingdom Hearts? There wasn't any opening of those doors, not from either side. But it felt like the only connection he still had to his life, and his friends. Hopeless as his situation was, Riku couldn't abandon it.


Time passed without rhyme or reason. Sometimes, it felt like weeks had passed. Others, barely minutes. Enveloped in such complete darkness, it wasn't surprising that Riku lost more battles than he won. But he took the hits from the waves of Heartless and kept going, pushing his luck.

Sometimes it made Riku laugh, that this was the world he'd chosen. He'd given up everything; his home, his parents, his friends, for this. He'd wanted something…different. The Darkness came, and it was his chance, at something away from such regularity.

But he'd courted a fickle lady with Fate, trying to screw with his, trying to change it. And now he was stuck.


The door was gone, and a strange, lost feeling had settled in its place.

With nothing to ground him, it was hard to tell where he was, which way was up, and what he was fighting, if anything, any more. The eyes of the Heartless were gone, leaving only shifting shadows for him to slash futilely at. What difference was he making?

But that feeling hadn't come alone. It had brought hallucinations along with it.

More than once, Riku had thought he'd seen Sora, back pressed against his and smiling like the sun as he helped with the enemies that weren't quite there. The silverette would be happy, until he remembered that sight had no place in such darkness, and the image would fade, leaving him alone and far more desolate than before.

But Riku grit his teeth and bore it every single time, simply turning back to the whisper of death and striking it in the face, trying to remember what Destiny Islands looked like; the sun on his face, the whisper of the waves…the calls of his friends.


Exhaustion came and went with the same frequency as the shadows that blurred everywhere. What he was fighting any more, he didn't know, but there was a purpose to it. Something. Something that had to do with his last few remaining memories.

On the worst days, the ones where he just couldn't, the ones where he felt like he was more a figment than a person, Riku wondered if Sora had forgotten about him. Deep in his heart, he knew that his friend hadn't, but he couldn't help it. Was the boy better off without him? Happier? Did he even remember his friend who had stepped through those doors, left Kairi to him, and had smiled through the worst pain he'd ever experienced, because he knew he couldn't go back? Did he remember?

Riku was scared that it might not've been true.


Waves. Waves of shadow. Pain. Exhaustion. This was his life. He didn't know why, or what for, but he'd been doing it for as far back as the scattered wisps of his memory could gather. It seemed like this was what it had always been. Just….nothing.

Twin pools…filled with something he could no longer name. Something that made him feel…different. Better. Like maybe everything wasn't pointless…like he was weightless and untired. They came, and he was always thankful when they did. Just glimpsing their vastness had something within him fluttering, and it made him stand and fight when he couldn't. Something. Something about them was important. There was never anything that came with those two depths, but he felt like nothing else was needed.

So he pushed, for faith. Faith in that…warmth.

That's it. They were warm…

Right?


Pinpricks of light. Millions of them.

What was happening? A vision? Hallucination?

Warmth. The only thing left. Warmth from those lights. Why?

Twin pools. Warmth from them too. A lighter feeling. Breathless.

Why?

Wait.

NO.

Why.

Why was it leaving?

Why was the warmth seeping away?

Why had those pools frozen over?

Come back.

Don't look like that…

Please…

..don't leave…

...don't leave me…

.why….


Eyes snapped open, gasping.

Alone.

No…not alone.

A light?

Warm…

His…hand?

He could….see?

Riku plummeted back into himself, heart pounding. But the light hadn't disappeared.

Frowning at it, the boy pushed himself up, forcing himself closer to it.

Memories flooded back. The island. Tidus. Wakka. Selphie. King Mickey…Maleficient…the other worlds.

Sora.

Riku laughed through his tears as the light engulfed him.

Maybe now…

Maybe now he could go back.

-Sable