Composed by: Becca and Silverleaf
Written by: Silverleaf
Disclaimer: The Kingdom Hearts characters in this story are in no way, shape, or fashion property of Becca or Silverleaf. The generous people at Square Enix and Kingdom Hearts own 'em, we can only drool and hug them into eternity. This story was created by fans who were so enamored and inspired by the game that they chose to compose their own unique ideas and themes while still using the basis of the Kingdom Hearts video game. While characters from Kingdom Hearts are used, all other written material is solely the property of Becca and Silverleaf. If you don't understand any of this, know this one thing: We didn't come up with the game. We most certainly don't own it and all other original characters are ours. All original characters in this story are fictitious. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. If you do though happen to be a live person who resembles any of the bishies, please contact the authors ASAP with your email address, phone number, aim screen name, and be ready to hand yourself over to the complete custody of the authors so we can hug you to death.
Part I: Wanderer in the Darkness"Take care of her."
He was painfully alone. Lost in a world he couldn't remember why he ever entered, Riku stumbled and slid throughout the vast terrain of the world of darkness. He had lost everything. His heart, his mind, his body, his friends… they had all been succumbed to the darkness, overwhelmed by his lust for power and his greediness to find and take the one girl he use to love. In the end, it had cost him all he had. There was no one now, just a hush of winds spiraling endless around him, making it impossible to know which direction he could be taking. It didn't matter anyway. There was no escaping the land of the dead.
"Sora… Kairi… I'm sorry…"
Two names that were still so familiar. Two names he never could, never would forget. The anguish he felt from knowing this was his fault. If only he hadn't been so eager that night to plunge himself into the darkness. If only he had been content back on Destiny Islands instead of wanting more. Maybe just maybe this wouldn't have happened. Maybe he would still be whole inside. He hated himself for being so selfish.
"Is this… the world of death?"
Could death feel this way? So lonely. So isolated. Wandering forever, never knowing what you're looking for, because you just have to keep walking or otherwise you'll go insane from the lack of air that will fulfill you enough to keep you from this eternal torment. Everything was chillingly cold. His skin prickled at the lightest touches of ghost breath breezes. His eyes watered from staring so hard and never seeing anything. His joints were rubbed raw from stumbling and falling so many times he gave up crying aloud every time he felt pain. Just another to add to the dull ache in his heart.
So this was loneliness. Loneliness. Complete, desolate loneliness.
It's the one thing that laid Riku bare, that drove him to do anything and everything he had ever done in his life. His fear of being alone. He wanted Sora and Kairi to leave the world with him. He wanted Sora to be by his side as he commanded the Heartless and strove to find a way to save Kairi's lost heart. He never did want to fight his friend, but his need and desire to bring them all back together again was greater even at the cost of a friendship. He knew friendships could be rebuilt over time. Kairi's stolen heart wouldn't last that long in the darkness that long.
Darkness. It swelled around him, trying to cast his heart into despair and devour him. It could decipher one heart from another, and this one was a diamond among the rocks. So strong. Working hard to fight and continue fighting even if he didn't know what it was for. As long as his purpose was set before him, he would fight, anyone, everyone, with the same determination. He wouldn't give up until his final breath was stolen away by time and cast once again back into the darkness from where it came.
Light illuminated his body with a florescent glow. The darkness peeled away from him, scared that the Light would choose such a boy. A traitor. A warrior. A friend. A rogue.
"I can't disappear yet. Not until I've met Sora and Kairi one last time…"
A vow. His vow. The only thing that would keep him alive and not let him curl up and give his heart up to the darkness. The Light had protected him for this long. Just a little longer…
"Riku, can you hear me? I'll be there soon."
Hold on.
"Who's there!" Riku cried, whirling around although he had no idea from where the voice was coming. Perhaps it was instinct to always have your back covered. He realized how pathetically weak he was, unable to see, weaponless in a world he knew nothing about. Somehow though he thought he had heard this voice before. Somewhere… Somehow… In a time when sunlight actually touched his face. When there wasn't this pain and cold and dark. That's right. There was a time he wasn't alone.
"Another keyblade… I've gotten the keyblade for this side."
For a second hope flickered and he hoped it was Sora saying he had come back. But the voice was too calm, almost surreal. Maybe even… protecting?
"I've been talking to you all along. But my words were hidden by the darkness covering your heart."
The darkness. It hindered everything. His ability to see, to hear, to speak, to be.
"I don't know who you are, but…What's happen to me?"
Why do I not want to die?
"You heart has overcome the darkness. But you couldn't take back your body. So only your heart was left behind in this dark side where stolen hearts are gathered."
"What should I do?"
He had asked this question once before, when he gave himself to the darkness. Now, in the core of darkness, in the deepest, hidden cavern of darkness he would give his life back to the Light. He would do whatever it took now to find Sora and Kairi. He would fight now for something that had to be forth fighting for. He had lost so much… He was unwilling to change. His was still selfish. He still was doing it for him. So that he could see his friends again. But maybe, this time, things would turn out right. Maybe he wouldn't be left behind.
"The door to darkness that is soon going to appear…That door, through which we cannot pass. In order to close it, two keys and two hearts are needed. Perhaps you too, like me, come here for that purpose. Maybe it was fate."
Riku sniffed at the remark. He didn't believe in fate. You make your own destiny. You make your dreams into a reality.
"Fate… You know everything, don't you? If that's so, I want you to tell me one more thing… Are Sora and Kairi safe?"
"You yourself should be able to feel their hearts. How you perceive your friends… Is dependant on your own heart."
Closing his eyes, Riku knew these words were true. He could see Sora again, running towards him, always with that goofy smile on his face, the one he always had one whenever they competed. Always smiling, even when there was nothing to smile about. Riku could feel life radiating from Sora, filling and stretching far beyond the power of the darkness. His eyes alone were filled with joy and laughter, spilling over and flowing around him, creating a miasma.
Riku missed that laughter.
Looking up gave him the courage and determination to go on. While his heart was still connected to those he loved he would wander these plains forever, until they met up and all would go back to normal again. If, of course, there was a normal. But it was nice to believe that somehow it could happen. That the wounds he had received could heal. He and Sora could laugh and tease each other until they grew exhausted and exasperated of it, always with Kairi laughing behind them.
Always with his friends by his side.
"Thank you."