((Welcome to the 4th entry in my Kingdom Hearts Reversed series! As before, this is the story of Kingdom Hearts in an alternate timeline, and what might have happened if Riku had received the Keyblade instead of Sora when their island was destroyed, as well as everything that would have changed. If you've never heard of "Kingdom Hearts Reversed" before, I'd strongly recommend reading the others in the series: Kingdom Hearts: Reversed (which parallels Kingdom Hearts 1), Kingdom Hearts: Reversed Memories (which parallels Chain of Memories), and Kingdom Hearts Reversed: 358/3 Days (which parallels KH: 358/2 Days). If you don't, you might end up being somewhat confused, since the events in those three stories are what bring us here, to what is essentially a parallel version of Kingdom Hearts 2. You can find all three stories on my page; just search for me, the author "Brooser".
If you HAVE been following along from the start, welcome back! As I said, Kingdom Hearts Reversed 2 is basically in the same place in the series as KH2: it starts off directly where Kingdom Hearts Reversed: 358/3 Days left off. I'm really excited about this one; with Reversed Memories and Days, I was constrained to somewhat restrictive "13 Floors" and "Xurik goes on different missions every day" formats. But if you've ever played KH2, you know that it goes batshit crazy - so you can expect this story to be equally chaotic and cool as the differing events begin to pile up. I apologize for the delay; I've been busy with school and stuff.
So, without further ado, I present... Kingdom Hearts Reversed 2. ))
Waves quietly lapped at the dark shore. Clouds blotted a dark sky - the only light came from a silvery moon, sitting far along the horizon. There was no vegitation on this shore, only dark stone.
A hooded figure stepped forth from the shadows. He moved forward slowly across the sand, approaching a second figure sitting on one of the rocks. After a moment, the second figure spoke.
"I've been to see him. He looks a lot like you."
He just felt confused and empty. "Who are you?"
The sitting figure gazed off into the ocean solemnly. "I'm what's left. Or... maybe I'm all there ever was."
"I meant your name."
"My name is of no importance. What about you? Do you remember your true name?"
The boy paused. What was the answer? Why was his mind blank?
"My true name is..."
"Riku..."
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A silver haired boy walking down a beach, a log over his arm. Who is he?
"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" the boy says, grinning. "So I guess I'm the only one working on the raft..."
He turns to a girl with red hair. "And you're just as lazy as he is-"
More static, obscuring her face. Who was she?
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Another boy, wearing red... the silver-haired boy racing him down a beach.
"Giving up already?"
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"If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"
The three children are sitting on an island, resting on a tree-trunk...
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"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?"
The silver-haired boy smiles at the girl. "If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kai-"
Static, obscuring her face once more. They all seemed so familiar, if he could just remember why...
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A sudden storm, ravaging the island. The girl huddles close to the silver-haired boy.
"What are we going to do?" she cries out in fear.
"G...go to the Secret Place! I think you'll be safe there. I'm going to try to figure out what's up with this storm!"
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"The way is opened. This world has been connected... tied to the darkness."
A figure hidden by a brown cloak. The boy gasps, mesmerized, despite the raging storm overhead.
"So... we can go to other worlds now?"
"If you embrace the darkness... it will be so."
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"The door has opened, Sora!" the boy said in excitement. "Now we can go to the outside world!"
"What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kai-"
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"We can't let fear stop us!" The boy clenched his fist. "I'm not afraid of the darkness!"
The brown-haired boy looks at him fearfully.
"Riku..."
The 1st Day
Xurik sat up in bed. The warm light from the setting sun filtered in through his window, filling his bedroom. He winced, clutching his head.
"I dreamt about him again..." Why did images of that silver-haired boy keep popping up while he was sleeping? It was so strange. Whoever heard of someone dreaming about the same person every single night? He had no idea who the boy was supposed to be.
Distantly, the bells on the Station Plaza clock tower began to chime, shaking him from his thoughts. He peered out of the window at the setting sun, never moving. He grinned; time for another day of summer break. His friends were bound to be waiting for him by the Sandlot.
He got dressed as quickly as possible, then made his way out of the house and into the quiet streets of Twilight Town, setting off into a running pace. There was no real rush - aside from the beginning of the school year slowly creeping toward them. He just couldn't wait to hang out with his friends. The best thing about summer vacation was the endless possibility. They could take a train ride, or practice for the Struggle match, or get sea-salt ice cream, or...
"Maybe... today we'll finally hit the beach!" he blurted out excitedly. The idea had been on his mind for a while now... maybe soon they would get the chance to actually go. They needed to hurry up; time was slowly running out.
Only seven days to go, and then my summer vacation's over.
Xurik stared at the dusty ground, deep in thought as he sat slumped over the bench. The burst of energy and enthusiasm that he had felt upon waking had fizzled out - as much as he tried to focus on the conversation at hand, he couldn't stop thinking about the dreams he had been having. This was his last week of summer break, right? So why couldn't he enjoy himself?
"Xurik, what do you think?"
"Huh?" the steel-haired boy said, glancing up in surprise. Seifer was looking down at him expectantly. "Uh... I mean... you're probably right," he said, taking a stab in the dark. What were they talking about again?
"Yeah! It's gotta be Hayner's gang, y'know?" Rai said, scowling. "Who else could it be?"
"Bizarre," Fuu said quietly. The blue-haired girl wasn't one for words, but Rai nodded enthusiastically all the same.
"But why would they do it?" Vivi asked, staring up at them.
The blonde boy smirked, then nodded. He resumed his pacing across the sandlot. "Yeah, I mean, it's kind of a weird thing to steal. Hayner's group does have a score to settle with us, though... they're the only ones who would have a motive. Just look at what they stole from us. And framing Xurik... that's just low."
"What do you mean, framing me?" Xurik asked, alert now.
"You mean you haven't noticed?" Seifer stopped and looked at Xurik. "People all over town have been reporting it to us. I don't know why Hayner's gang would do it... maybe they're still sore that you kicked their asses the other day, and maybe now they want to destroy the proof while getting revenge. Either way, all over town, people keep losing their - of..." He froze midsentence, covering his mouth.
"What?" Xurik said, narrowing his eyes. It was bizarre, but he understood exactly what Seifer had said, even if there had been no sound. "Are you talking about our -?" He grabbed his neck in shock; it was as if the words were being stolen from his throat.
"You mean we can't say -?" Rai said, frowning. "But I still get what you're saying, y'know?"
"-," Fuu said, opening her mouth tentatively, but no sound came out. She shook her head. "Stolen."
"You can't steal a word," Seifer said, scowling. He shook his head. "This is getting really weird. As Twilight Disciplinary Committee, we've got to get to the bottom of this."
"Well, we're not going to get anything done just sitting around here," Xurik said, standing. He had been apathetic before, but this impossible word theft had piqued his interests. "We should go question them."
"Hang on, here they come!" Vivi squeaked excitedly, pointing a floppy glove at one of the side streets. Indeed, running towards the sandlot were Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Seifer folded his arms as they approached; Hayner glared at them.
"Theives," Fuu said bluntly, and Rai nodded.
"That was low, y'know!"
Pence and Olette looked shocked, but Hayner scowled. "Oh yeah?"
Seifer rolled his eyes, walking closer. "Nice comeback there, blondie."
Hayner turned red. "What'd you say?"
"You can give us back the - now."
"Yeah!" Rai said, folding his arms. "You're the only ones who would take it, y'know?"
Seifer nodded. He smirked. "That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers. So what'd you do? Burn it? Not that we need some - to prove that you're losers."
"Replay!" Fuu said, folding her arms.
Seifer laughed, grinning widely. He crouched down in a battle stance. "Now you're talking!"
Hayner looked surprised for a moment, then clenched his fists. "Fine!"
"Hayner, don't be stupid," Pence said with a sigh. The brown-haired boy usually didn't get involved in Hayner's squabbles. "There are five of them, and only one of you."
"You should listen to tubby," Seifer said, smirking. "I guess if you get on your knees and beg, maybe I'll let it slide."
"Knock it off, Seifer," Ollete said quietly.
"Screw you!" Hayner said hotly. He grabbed one of the blue clubs laying on the ground nearby - there were plenty available for practice matches for the Struggle Tournament - and charged at Seifer, crying out.
Xurik grabbed a club lying nearby to help out, but Seifer's reflexes were too quick; he sidestepped Hayner's attack, then swung his own blue club, striking Hayner in the back with a powerful blow. The blond boy yelped in pain, collapsing to the ground.
"Too easy," Seifer muttered. "The Tournament's going to be a cakewalk if you're our only competition."
Hayner said nothing, clenching his fist in the dust. Xurik looked down at him with pity, then sighed and offered his hand to help the boy up.
"Come on."
"Go stuff yourself," Hayner muttered, ignoring Xurik's hand and pushing himself to a sitting position. He brushed the dust off of his camo pants and smirked. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Seifer."
"You're one to talk about chickens, Chicken Wuss," Seifer grinned, kicking Hayner over with his foot. "Three of us made the semifinals - that's three more chances for us to win the Four Crystal Trophy, to your one."
"We've got it in the bag, y'know?"
Fuu pulled out her camera and snapped a picture of Seifer's foot resting on Hayner's back before the younger boy could get back on his feet. The snapshot began to slide out of the camera's slot - but before Fuu could inspect the new proof of their victory over Hayner's gang, there was a whirl of white and the camera was gone.
"What was that?" Seifer said, eyes wide - they barely got a glimpse of what looked like a person in a white jumpsuit vanishing around the corner.
"Theif!" Fuu said, clenching her fists.
Xurik wasted no time, running as fast as he could after the mysterious figure, his friends disappearing behind. If that thing was what was stealing all of the - of him, then catching it was the only way to clear his name. As he made his way to the Tram Common, he spotted it in the distance, twisting and writhing its way between buildings. He frowned; what on earth was it? He had never seen anyone move in such a bizarrely fluid way. That explained why there were no witnesses for any of the thefts, at any rate. It was so fast.
It vanished through a hole in the city wall, and Xurik grinned; he knew it would reach a dead end if it went through the forest and wound up at the Old Mansion. Ignoring the shouts of his friends fading behind him, he picked up the pace, determined not to lose sight of the figure.
The forest was filled with dark shadows, but Xurik managed to keep track of it. As he saw the golden light of the sunset in the distance, he knew that he had reached the edge of the forest; sure enough, he soon found himself facing a tall iron gate, barred by a thick lock.
The figure was facing him, and Xurik's eyes narrowed. He had been expecting to find a person, but... there was no way this thing was human. It was long and lithe, its spindly fingers bound with strips of metal. Blue lights ran up and down its sides; on its forehead was a strange silver emblem like an upside-down tattered heart. It had no facial features other than a long zipper stretching across where the mouth should be. Xurik grimaced in horror; was this some kind of monster? He had never seen anything like this in Twilight Town before.
Well, this was no time to get distracted. If this thing was really the thief, he had to stop it and get back Fuu's camera. He took a step forward, clenching his Struggle club tightly, preparing to strike.
We have come for you, my liege.
Xurik stopped and clenched his head in shock. The words had appeared in his mind, unbidden. As he stared at the creature, the zipper on its mouth slowly began to unzip, revealing a dark grinning mouth within.
The monster suddenly swooped forward, and Xurik blocked the attack; but when he tried to counter-attack, he found that the club simply grazed over the creature's surface, doing absolutely no damage. He dodged another attack and tried again, but it was no use; nothing seemed to phase the monster.
"It's not working," Xurik muttered desperately; what was he supposed to do?
Without warning, there was suddenly a brilliant flash of light; warmth spread from Xurik's heart to his hand, and flashing lights and numbers began to swirl around his club, like something out of a computer game. Before his eyes, the blue Struggle club vanished in the shining digital glow and was replaced by what looked like a gigantic metal key.
"What the hell is this thing?" It felt slightly warm in his hand. Without warning the weapon suddenly tugged his arm forward, pointing straight at the creature. Xurik frowned, then shook his head; he had no idea what was going on, but maybe this key would do a better job of hurting the monster. "Fine, you asked for it!"
He ran forward, and this time his blows made the creature recoil; he smirked triumphantly as he began to do some damage, blocking the monster's blows whenever it tried to attack. Using the key was strangely satisfying; it was much lighter than he might have thought, and felt like an extension of his arm. It felt so natural, as if he had already been using it for months. With a final cry, he jabbed the key forward, and the monster vanished in a shower of silver light. There was a flurry of movement, and dozens of photographs began to flutter to the ground; Fuu's camera landed with a thunk in the grass.
There was another swirl of numbers and light, and the key vanished from his hand, leaving nothing behind... not even the Struggle club. He flexed his fingers; what was that all about? So much today made no sense.
Xurik leaned down and picked up one of the square pictures; it had an image of him, Seifer, Fuu, Rai, and Vivi standing over a defeated Hayner. He picked up another one; it was of him near the Accessory Shop when it had opened a few weeks prior. As he looked through more and more of the pictures, he realized with a sinking feeling that the photos were all of him. Had the mysterious thief been seeking out pictures of Xurik intentionally?
What the hell is going on?
Back at the Sandlot, Seifer flipped through the photographs that Xurik had recovered. He frowned.
"That's so weird. What kind of thief just goes around stealing pics? Who was it, in the end?"
Xurik hesitated. He decided it would be too strange of a story... the strange white creature, the gigantic key. Who would believe him? Finally he gave a nervous chuckle. "No clue. The pictures were just lying on the ground when I reached the Old Mansion."
"Too weird, y'know?" Rai said, shaking his head. "I guess it wasn't Hayner's gang after all, y'know? They were with us the whole time."
"Xurik," Fuu said quietly, pointing out all of the pictures. Seifer nodded.
"Yeah... it's like I said before. No wonder everyone was getting suspicious of you, Xurik. You're the main topic in every photo, and-"
"You said 'photo'!" Vivi said excitedly, pointing at Seifer, who grinned.
"Hey, look at that. Guess the word 'photo' is back too."
"I wonder why..." Rai muttered, then grinned. "Maybe the thief was trying to steal the real Xurik, y'know?"
"Please. Who would mistake a picture for a human being?" Seifer smirked. "Maybe you've just got a secret admirer. A really creepy, stalkerish secret admirer."
"Give me a break," Xurik said, laughing, although his laughter was strained. The thief clearly wasn't a secret admirer; he didn't even know if it was human. Why, then, was it so fixated on him? What did it mean by 'my liege'?
The five friends hung out for a couple more hours, then began to depart as the train station clock tower began to chime out later and later hours. Xurik was among the last to leave; he waved goodbye to Rai and Fuu, then began to walk home, towards the eternally setting sun.
The glare from the sunset hit his eyes unpleasantly; he held up a hand, wincing. His head suddenly began to feel light, as his vision was obscured by darkness; his mind felt fuzzy as he felt himself slipping out of consciousness. His knees gave out as he collapsed to the ground.
"Where... am I?" a voice suddenly rang out within his mind, groggy yet clear. He didn't recognize it, but it felt bizarrely familiar.
Who's that? he thought as he began to slip into unconsciousness.
"Me? Who are you?"
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RESTORATION AT 12%.
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A man in a red cloak was sitting at a computer terminal; glowing screens expanded around him, as endless data scrolled across each monitor. Red bandages covered a tanned face; all that was visible of his personal appearance was a single golden eye.
He heard footsteps approaching behind him, but he didn't turn to look. A boy with spiky brown hair leaned forward, watching the computer screens with interest; he was wearing a hooded black cloak, though the hood was down.
"Organization miscreants... they've found us," the man muttered.
The boy frowned, then shook his head. "I don't get it though... why would the Nobodies steal a bunch of photos? Aren't they trying to get back Xurik?"
"Both are nothing but data to them. The fools could never tell the difference," the man said scornfully. He sighed. "We are running out of time. Naminé must make haste."
"She's doing all she can, DiZ."
DiZ glanced back at the boy with a smirk. "Your youth and naivety betray you, Sora. You're too kind to that Nobody. You have to know that she has to heart with which to feel gratitude."
Sora rolled his eyes. They had had this conversation plenty of times before. Regardless of what DiZ said... Naminé did have feelings. Sora saw it and felt it whenever he talked to her.
"Either way," he said finally, putting his arms behind his head, "She's making a ton of progress now. I can try to keep an eye on Xurik and make sure that Organization XIV doesn't interfere. After all, it's only a matter of time before Xurik remembers everything."
And then I'll finally have my best friend back.