Um, hi. This is my first, real fanfic so uh...if it sucks, don't flame me too harshly, k? I actually got the idea like...5 seconds before I fell asleep last night, so I'm amazed that I was able to remember it. I was too tired to get up and write it down, so I just assumed I would either remember it or uh...loose it forever ^_^;;;... Anyway, R&R please, cuz I worked really hard on it and it'd be kinda nice to get some feedback on my first fanfic attempt. I wasn't exactly sure at what time Riku got the power to control the Heartless (or who gave it to him for that matter...), so if I'm way off with my facts, then please tell me. I don't feel like going all the way through the game again just to find out... Here's Chapter 1!!! Enjoy!

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Still coughing and gasping for breath, Riku sat back on his knees, his arms hanging limply by his sides and his eyes shut tight. His whole body shook with the ragged breaths that he was taking; making him occasionally double over in an attempt to regain a normal breathing pattern and his skin glistened with a light sweat in the soft torchlight of the room. He felt overwhelmed by a feeling of fatigue, yet he could also sense an indescribable power coursing through his entire being with the ferocity like that of a rushing river. A power like none other. It almost seemed to him like more than his body alone could contain or handle. He was, after all, merely a human. But a human who now had the responsibility of controlling an out-of- this-world force of minions. A breed of creatures spawned from the pure darkness in mortal hearts: the Heartless.

Riku reopened his pale turquoise eyes, his gaze meeting the cold, stone floor that he was currently hunched over. This feeling was like nothing he had ever experienced before. Such a massive wealth of strength, of potential, of unimaginable power... He slid one leg out from under himself, carefully standing back up and drawing himself up to full height, assuming his normal, confident stance. Just the kind of power he needed to get revenge on his back-stabber of a friend and claim the weapon he wielded that was rightfully his: the Keyblade. He wouldn't allow himself to be so easily replaced by others, and this was surely the most effective way to make a lasting impression on his old ally. He refused to be disrespected like that, and what Sora had done almost made him feel like some sort of insignificant, worn out toy that a child had set aside and forgotten after finding a better one. He'd force him and his new "friends" to go head to head against the ultimate power of the Heartless. If he couldn't have him as a friend, then Riku would just have to make his lasting mark on Sora with other methods. By eliminating him for good. Then he would target his "friends" as well...

The room around Riku was simply a small, side chamber. One of many within the expansive grounds of Hollow Bastion. Maleficent had hastily lead him in and right away insisted that she allow him control over the Heartless. Riku had to admit, he hadn't trusted her from the very start, despite her attempts to coax him into doing so. He had been hesitant of the idea of receiving the ability he now had as well, especially since it seemed that all of the schemes that she had created for him to carry out had backfired, one after the other. Who was to say that this little endeavor wouldn't explode in their faces as well? Not only that, but Riku was just plain sick of taking Maleficent's orders anyway. She was ruled more by her desire for complete supremacy, rather than his well being, as she sometimes pretended she was so concerned about, to really know how to go through with a plan like this the right way. Frankly, he was tired of playing the role of a measly subordinate, but now that he possessed such an undefeatable omnipotence of a weapon, there was no denying the fact that he would get done what he set out to do. He would restore Kairi's heart and take care of Sora, but he would do it on his own. As of now, he was no longer Maleficent's pawn, and would no longer be putting her lacking strategies into action, but his. (Wow, a little headstrong there?! Sorry...Authors note...)

Riku flexed his fists powerfully and took in a deep, steady breath as he indulged in the wave of dark energy that continued to flow through him. He had plans for Sora and his little companions, all right. But before anything else, he would need to break in his new skill just a bit. Riku outstretched his arm at about eye level, letting his palm relax and face outward. He concentrated a small pulse of the dark energy forward, following his instincts concerning what to do rather than holding back. Slowly, he raised his palm, momentarily lining it up with the rest of his arm, until his fingers created a sharp, upward slant towards the ceiling, and as he did so, about four or five Shadow Heartless began to materialize and rise up from the floor, the beady, yellow orbs of light that were their eyes standing out against the blackness of the room eerily as they swayed back and forth. As puny as they may have seemed, they were magnificent in his eyes. Just the beginning of the endless amount of control he now had at his disposal. With more confidence, he gently thrust his forearm up higher, causing a group of Soldiers to appear at his left in six short bursts of dark flame and clank to the ground in their awkward, battle- ready position. Sure enough, he was beginning to get the hang of it. And now that he had experienced a small dose of what he was capable of, there was no stopping him.

Already greatly in tune with his new gift, Riku swept his left arm to the side, dismissing his summoned minions and watching only for a moment as they disappeared in a flare of blackish-purple energy and sunk back into the floor, but then swinging out both arms assuredly from in front of him to both sides in a graceful arc. He used a much greater amount of power for this round, and it showed as an army of the Wyvern Heartless burst into view before him in a half-circle identical to the one he had just made. They called out in their high, shrill shrieks as they beat their huge wings to stay in the air, their dark eyes gleaming maliciously and revealing their constant lust to attack and kill. They hung in the air for an instant, before they took flight, soaring up into the rafters of the room and swooping around in concentrated alignments like a fleet of high powered jets. Riku smirked, pleased with his success as he quickly sent away that round and began summoning more potent combinations of the demonic beasts. The air in the room around him seemed to become constantly filled with eruptions of dark energy as he summoned and dismissed waves and miniature armadas of Heartless, his head practically swimming in the drowning amount of power running through him as he exercised his ability. There was no limit to what he could do now. This type of power felt like it had virtually no limit, and it would remain in a never-ending supply. It was perfect.

Riku sent away his most recent group of the Heartless with the mere wave of a hand, pausing for a moment to relax. A smirk formed at the corners of his mouth, and he let out a low, mischievous laugh, despite the fact that he felt very worn out. The power to manipulate the Heartless was better than he had even begun to imagine it would be. It gave him such a strong feeling of control to know that whatever he conjured up would be bending to his very will and be doing exactly what he said. His sly smirk deepened a bit as a fresh idea popped into his head. It would be nice to have an escort back to his room.

As an afterthought and with a small "hn" of satisfaction, Riku flicked his wrist to the right in order to summon two more Soldiers. One appeared instantly in it's little blast of darkness and clunked to the ground. But the second did not appear so quickly. In it's place, there was what appeared to be a small, swirling patch, almost a vortex of violet-black, similar to that of when the other Heartless made their entrances. Riku stared at it for a moment, intrigued, as it began to grow larger and expand to about the width and height of a human form, resembling the cloud of a sandstorm sweeping over the vast, barren land of a desert that was really the looming darkness of the room. What was going on? Had he done something wrong to make this happen? Suddenly, something began to emerge from the floating pool of Heartless energy. Something that looked slightly like a human face. It almost looked like whatever it was, was passing through a wall. The rest of the face, which Riku soon identified it as, pulled out of the shadowy portal, soon followed by a neck, shoulders, hips, and legs until before him, the figure of a young woman hovered in place of the purplish haze, which had hastily disappeared. Riku, who had been incredibly surprised, had not even managed to take a step back. He just stood, staring in wonder at the humanoid creature floating a few feet in front of him. Not only did it surprise him, but it sparked interest in him as well. It had the features and form of a human, but it's skin was the color of the rest of the Heartless: pure ebony. It remained completely still in an almost angelic pose with it's legs pressed together and it's arms held open as if to embrace someone at it's sides, but it's long, black hair trailed out gently behind it in a way that made it appear as if the wind was ruffling it. It did, however, bare the clothing that would be expected of a Heartless: a sleeveless blackish-blue shirt that appeared connected to a fairly short black skirt that fell to her lower thighs. A pair of knee-length socks, the same shade as her complexion, were also part of her outfit, covering most of the flesh of her slender, girlish legs. Her shoes were also black and very basic looking despite their slight elevation, like something that one would just slip on quickly. Overall, she was a very out-of-the- ordinary sight, but the most noticeable thing about her was the crimson, heart-shaped symbol of the heartless on her forehead. It made her look almost like a celestial goddess of some sort.

Without even thinking about it, Riku reached a hand out to the creature and gently touched the palm of one of its outstretched hands, as if to confirm to rather it was real or if he was hallucinating. Almost as if he had shattered whatever was supporting her, the Heartless girl suddenly fell gently out of the air and pitched forward like an unconscious being would. Acting on instincts, Riku jerked forward and caught her in his arms as she floated down and reached his height. He hardly even had to try to keep her firmly in his grip, being as she was as light as a feather. He looked down at her, one hand supporting her back and the other under her legs, in utter shocked. Her eyes were closed, almost as if she was sleeping, and the expression on her face remained blank and emotionless. She was actually fairly pretty. Soft, dark skin covering a thin set face and slightly high, but attractive cheek bones was the basic make- up of her face, along with what appeared to be large, but currently lidded eyes and a set of small, but full lips. She was very pretty to Riku. But at the same time, incredibly confusing. What had created this half-Heartless half-human hybrid? And how was he supposed to know what to do about it?

Without even casting a glance at the Soldier, he waved it away with one hand quickly from beneath the Heartless girl's back and headed towards the door with her still held close in his arms. He felt oddly like a prince carrying away the princess he had just managed to rescue from an evil, fire-breathing dragon, or something fairy-taleish like that. The feeling set on even heavier due to the fact that they were inside this huge, old castle, but Riku shook it away and set his mind on more important matters. He had to get her somewhere where they wouldn't be discovered. Riku wasn't exactly sure just how Maleficent would react to something like this, but he had the uneasy feeling that it would defiantly not be positive.

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Well there ya go! End of Chapter 1! Oh yeah, and I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters...Now don't arrest me...I'm just a rabid, bored fangirl...