Riku was fine.
So he'd been awake for a few days, big deal. That didn't mean he needed sleep. It had only been a few hours since they'd left Castle Oblivion, but his chest hurt and his eyes felt heavy.
Mickey kept glancing up with growing concern.
I'm fine. I have to be.
His foot caught on a rock and Riku staggered forward, righting himself before he fell flat on his face. Mickey grabbed his elbow, forcing him to a halt.
Ugh, that just wasn't fair. The king was barely two feet tall; where did his strength come from?
"You know, Riku, if we need to stop and rest, that's okay. Castle Oblivion was rough on ya.'"
He shrugged Mickey's hand off his arm without a word. The king let him, but frowned as he struggled to keep pace with Riku.
Diz, at the head of their small party, glanced back over his shoulder. How someone could convey their distaste with only one eye showing and nothing else was beyond Riku, but the masked man somehow managed.
"It's not much farther, little king. The mansion is just up ahead, through the forest."
Riku nearly groaned aloud, but he suppressed it, determined.
Just up ahead. Not much farther.
Distantly, he noticed the others had stopped, but his feet were on auto pilot. This time it was Diz's arm that shot out to halt his stride.
Even still, his leg slid forward, smashing against a brick wall Riku was positive hadn't been there before. Great, even the masonry was making him look bad.
Diz, lips turned upward in a smirk, placed a palm on top of Riku's head, and slowly turned it toward an opening in the wall, which also hadn't been there before.
Honestly, the way his surroundings conspired against him was complete bullshit.
"Unless you've some newly developed ability to phase through solid brick, you'll need to duck through that hole."
Riku shrugged Diz off, kneeling down in front of the opening. Sure. Right. Of course. He could definitely, totally get back up from this position. No problem.
Riku blinked. Something must be wrong with his eyes. Logically, he knew there weren't three different holes here, but his vision was blurring badly. He couldn't see straight. Rather than asking the others for help, Riku felt the way blindly with his fingertips, slowly mapping out where the real opening ended, and his double vision began.
Double vision. Sure, fine. Also no big deal.
Okay. The jagged rock on the left was definitely an edge. Progress. Now to find one on the other side.
A black gloved hand – Mickey's, he guessed – reached out and placed Riku's other hand on the right side of the opening. Now all he had to do was crawl through. He'd close his eyes. That way, Riku's brain wouldn't think he was about to smash into the fake, double vision holes.
"Riku...please stop. Let us help you."
Mickey seemed alarmed. Riku couldn't imagine why.
Riku patted his hand. "Don't worry. I've got this." Just to prove a point, he squeezed his eyes shut and levered himself through the opening. He nodded tenaciously, though it made his head spin. Now he had to open his eyes.
Riku frowned, reaching up to where he thought his face was. He wasn't sure, since he'd stopped feeling it ages ago. There was a curious, numbing sensation overtaking every expression; sort of like whenever his leg fell asleep, and he couldn't tell where it was anymore.
He slapped at his flesh, concerned. Yup, face was still there. So were his eyes, though they seemed heavier than before. Riku scrubbed at them with both hands, finally managing to pry them open.
Instant regret. His double vision was now quadruple vision.
Oh, come on. Really?
Riku rose to one knee, though he was shaking so badly, it didn't last long. He fell forward with a gasp. Blessedly, however, his face made contact with something warm and soft instead of the ground he'd been expecting.
A deep voice chuckled.
"Diz, this isn't funny!" Mickey admonished from somewhere above Riku. A hand landed in his hair, massaging his temple slowly.
That felt good.
Riku wasn't tired though. He absolutely couldn't be.
"You worry needlessly. The boy has overextended himself, nothing more."
"It doesn't matter, he can't go on like this. Riku, when's the last time you had any rest?"
Riku groaned, mumbling into the front of Mickey's cloak. "Doesn't matter, I can do this." He pushed off the ground with every bit of strength he could muster and rose again. Somehow, he managed to remain standing, though he was unsteady on his feet.
I can do this.
He lifted a foot, starting forward on what he thought must be a path, but when he did, his other leg crumpled, unable to support his weight by itself. This time, Riku fell into someone's shoulder before he hit the ground. An arm snaked around his waist, swinging him into a bridle-style grip as if he weighed nothing.
Diz.
"Enough, child. Know your limits."
Riku's head swam. He felt dizzy. The long days of sleeplessness fed his exhaustion, crashing over him in waves. He had to fight hard not to drift off as they walked, but Riku couldn't sleep now.
He wouldn't. Not when Ansem was finally quieter than he'd ever been. If his strength faltered, even for a moment...
No. No.
How the hell was Riku going to keep this up? Oh God. What was he going to do?
"You don't understand. I can't sleep," he pleaded, desperate. "Ansem..."
Horrified, he noticed his cheeks were wet. Damn it, he was crying. His flesh was failing him, and who could blame it? He'd never been so exhausted in his life. With a detached sort of horror, Riku realized he couldn't possibly stay awake forever, but damn it, he would die trying.
"Will still be imprisoned when you wake."
Riku's laughter was shrill, hysterical. "How do you know?" He shook his head rapidly, sure that if he stopped moving for a second, he was going to lose this fight and sink like a stone into the realm of dreams.
Suddenly, there was a warm hand on his ankle. More than likely, it was the only appendage Mickey could reach.
"Let me worry about that, Riku. You've done enough." There was a savage note in the king's voice Riku had never heard before. He wasn't sure why, but it made him feel safe.
"Nothing's going to hurt you."
Mickey's words were comforting, but hollow. All the same, they seemed to steal whatever strength he had left.
When was the last time anyone made him feel safe?
Riku wanted to believe him. So badly, it actually hurt. Instead, he shook his head again, biting his lip until he tasted blood. The pain might ground him, if only for a moment.
"No. You can't promise that."
"They'd have to go through me. That's a promise."
Riku was losing. He knew it. Mickey knew it. Surely Diz knew it, the way the boy in his arms had stilled rapidly, reduced to clutching the edges of his cloak.
Someone moved the bangs from his eyes, someone who had to be Diz.
Warmth from Diz, of all people, didn't make sense in any way, shape or form, but Riku was too tired to even contemplate it. He'd save that puzzle for a rainy day.
"You've nothing to fear. The Seeker of Darkness can do little where he is."
His vision was darkening around the edges. "Mickey. I can't..."
The king gave his ankle a little pat. "It's all right, Riku."
Riku's hands fell slack around Diz's cloak. This time when his eyes slid shut, they outright refused to open again.
Diz deposited Riku carefully upon the bed, Mickey trailing close behind with a bowl of cold water. The boy was running a slight fever. Nothing that a little rest wouldn't fix.
Mickey busied himself hopping up on the edge of Riku's bed, moping his brow with an expression that could only be called tender.
"Do you think he really fell asleep, or did he just pass out?"
Diz sighed. "Does it matter?"
Mickey chuckled. "I guess not." He rung out the rag he'd been holding and pressed it to Riku's forehead, looking oddly paternal.
The masked man studied the king for a long time until finally, Mickey met his eyes, questioning.
"You dote on the boy, little king."
Mickey rubbed the back of his head, sheepish. "Gosh, it's the least I can do. Riku has been through so much. He really needs somebody right now, you know? And he's too ashamed to go back to the islands."
The masked man shook his head. How anyone could say these things with a straight face was beyond him.
"Have you no shame?"
The king cocked his head, puzzled. "Compassion is nothing to be ashamed of, Diz. Haven't you ever cared about someone?"
Diz remembered the forest mere minutes before. He remembered touching a child's hair and gazing into his face. Something stirred within him, then – emotion he'd been careful to eradicate, and it frightened him. So much, he shoved it back down, hopefully where it would never see the light of day again.
No. Riku wasn't a child. He was a means to an end. A remnant of darkness, nothing more.
"Perhaps not."
He knew he was running, but from what? Everything. Nothing. The compassion Mickey brandished, unafraid.
The king sighed. Still, he'd yet to move from Riku's bedside. "Well, that's a sad way to live."
Diz ignored him. He squared his shoulders, opening a drawer in the bedside table and plucking a bottle from its contents.
Mickey took it without another word.
"For the fever. Make sure he swallows them. Shove them down his throat if you have to." Without another word, he straightened his back and swept from the room, slamming the door behind him.
Compassion was irrelevant. Diz needed the boy in top form. They had work to do.
Truly, they'd barely begun.