Riku stumbled from the darkness, struggling to regain his balance. He looked up, feeling a cold darkness. Seeping through his clothes, his skin. But he ignored the chill, looking for the boy he had followed.
My Nobody.
Riku shook his head, fighting off the thought. Was it really his Nobody…? It looked so much like him…. He had to find out.
Leaping forwards he tore down the long, narrow path. The darkness was so thick that it made it hard to see, so he had to stare hard at the path to keep from walking off. Over the side of the path was nothing but air, and that lead down into darkness. Who knew how long it went for. The thought made him focus even more onto the path he walked.
His footsteps were silent on the ground even though he wasn't trying to make them that way. It was as if the path were darkness itself, absorbing all sound, movement, light, and turning it into nothingness.
After a long while of running he stepped onto a large platform, still made of darkness. He looked up, eyes searching around him. The dark shadows had lifted, but only slightly. He could see a little into the fog, but there was nothing in front of him. The black ground stretched out before him, disappearing into the shadows.
"Geez…" Riku murmured. "Optimistic place…."
He walked forwards, still searching before him for the boy. He couldn't have just disappeared. Even though it was easy to disappear into this darkness…next thing you know you could be taking a step and vanish into-
As soon as the thought entered his mind he cursed himself. As his foot touched the ground before him, in the middle of his thought, he felt the floor disappear beneath his shoe. He swore and struggled to step back, but too late.
Riku fell forwards, toppling through the darkness. The black enveloped him, eating away at him until it completely took over his vision. And as hard as he struggled there was nothing to catch his fall…there wasn't even ground beneath him. Just endless black, endless darkness that consumes you until you are nothing but a falling corpse.
---
Roxas opened his eyes. Looking around him, he saw Namine looking at him with slight concern on her face.
"Roxas…you're back."
Roxas pulled himself to his feet. He was on a rooftop…. How had he gotten here? He remembered fighting against Sora to escape, but it was too hard while he was still awake. But then he had ended up here…had he managed to overcome Sora?
"Sora said he needed your help," Namine said, as if reading Roxas' mind. "Riku…he disappeared into darkness. We don't know where he went…."
"Riku?"
Namine looked away. Roxas sighed.
"You brought him with us?"
"I couldn't leave him there, he just wanted to come with his friends!"
Roxas shrugged, turning his head away. "…I know. But he'll try to stop me."
"…That's why Sora let you take over again."
Roxas looked up at her.
"He needs your help to find Riku. He'll talk to him. And once you do…he promises he'll help you find Axel."
Roxas blinked. "Really?"
Namine smiled and nodded.
Thanks, Sora, Roxas thought, hoping the boy could hear him.
"Now where do we go?" Roxas asked, turning his attention back to Namine.
Namine shrugged. "That's why Sora needed your help. He has no idea where Riku went…."
Roxas laughed to himself. "Leaving me with the hard part, huh?" He shrugged again. "Well…how did he get a portal? That's the first thing we need to know."
Namine looked at the ground, thoughtful. "We don't know…we didn't see anyone with him, but by then anyone could have disappeared into the darkness. It looked like a Nobody's portal, thought. Like one someone from the Organization could make."
Roxas blinked. "What? But all of them are dead, right?"
Namine shook her head. "That's what I thought, too. But nobody else could make a portal like this…not that I know of, anyways."
Roxas groaned. "Why did Riku have to do that? Why did he just run into the portal like that?"
The two were silent for a moment while Roxas mumbled to himself, thinking and complaining at the same time. Finally he straightened, not looking at Namine.
"There is one place…that I think would help us."
Namine waited, silent. Roxas waited a moment before speaking.
"Before I was brought into the Organization…there was somewhere I used to live. And if this Nobody is not from Organization XIII, then he might be there, too…." He grimaced. "But…it's not a very welcome place."
---
He was still falling…there was no wind hissing past, no vision to tell him how fast he was moving, barely even the feeling of gravity pulling him down. But he still felt it. He was falling…and he was never going to stop.
Riku didn't know how long he had been here. It could have been days, minutes, hours, weeks, it didn't matter. Time had disappeared, along with the last of the light before him. All there was was dark….
He felt a nudge. A hand grip his collar. Riku didn't even acknowledge the person's touch. He was half a corpse, almost an empty shell that was drained of spirit, heart, life. He barely realized someone was there. He barely cared. All hope had disappeared, all happiness had left. He was almost dead anyways…how long would he last?
But the grip didn't falter. With strong determination the hand pulled him upwards, out of the darkness that consumed him. Riku's gaze flickered upwards and he saw a flash of silvery gold. It was him…. That boy…. That Nobody….
Riku felt solid ground against his back. Already…? How far had he fallen? And how could the boy reach him? He had fallen so far….
Weak, barely managing to hold onto his desperate grasp to consciousness, Riku focused on breathing as he felt the boy pull him farther from the edge and to safety. Questions rang through his mind, but were faint. It was hard to think, much less question what was going on around him. Don't question it…just accept it… …just focus on staying awake.
He felt a hand shaking his shoulder. Gingerly. Hesitantly.
"… …Hey…are you okay?"
His voice. Almost exactly like his voice. It made Riku's stomach flip.
"I'm here…still conscious," Riku tried to say, but it was muddled and was hard to make out. The boy laughed. Quiet, amazed.
"You must be pretty durable to survive that…" he muttered.
"How…how did you…catch me?" Riku murmured, struggling to open his eyes. "I had fallen so far…."
"Not as far as you thought," the boy said. "It's complicated to explain…but you barely moved at all. What was effected the most was your heart…the darkness was trying to consume it…your heart was falling farther than you can imagine."
The words made Riku think. He spoke almost before he realized what he was saying, his brain was moving too slow and was having troubles keeping up.
"So…that's why you aren't effected by the darkness," Riku said.
The boy started. "Wh…What do you…" he started. A weak protest.
Riku turned his head up so he could see the boy's face. Amazement, shock, dismay, countless emotions were on it. He gave a weak grin.
"So…you really are one of them. I had just been bluffing…but I had guessed it all along."
"I still don't know what…."
"Don't…I've seen enough Nobodies to recognize one. You aren't affected by the darkness because it can't consume your heart…you don't have one."
The boy stared at Riku hard. For a moment he thought he would hit him. Push him back over the edge. But he didn't.
"But I still don't now why you saved me," Riku murmured, studying the boy's face.
The boy had a sour look on his face. "Just because I'm a Nobody doesn't mean I want you to die," he said bitterly. Then he looked away, face hidden by his long hair. "And… …besides," he murmured. "I wouldn't want my real self to fade away… …."
Riku's heart leapt into his throat. So he had been right…. This boy was his Nobody. But…when had he gotten a Nobody?
He looked at Riku, seeing the look on his face. There was something in his eyes…it made Riku study them for a moment. But only a moment, no longer. The shock was almost overwhelming. He is my Nobody….
He watched Riku for another moment before a faint grin twitched on his face. "… …You didn't know," he murmured, "that you had been divided."
Riku struggled up to his elbows. It took some effort. He stared hard at his feet to give him something to do. "It…must have been when I was lost in the darkness. When I had opened my heart up to the darkness. But then…wouldn't I have a Heartless, too?"
The Nobody sighed, sitting back and leaning on his hands that were behind him. He stared up into the abyss above them. "Again…it's complicated. But you were the Heartless. When the darkness consumed you, you became your Heartless and trapped your real self inside. But me…I was cast away to this place," he said, still looking bitterly to the sky. "I can escape sometimes, but this is where I belong, I guess…. In the darkness…."
"But why didn't you join the Organization?"
He shrugged calmly. Uncaring. "I didn't like the idea of working in that group. Not all Nobodies that long for hearts are part of the Organization, you know."
The thought hadn't occurred to him before, but after Riku thought about it he knew it bust be true. But then how many others were there? How many other Nobodies were there out there, roaming the countless worlds, longing for hearts?
And now did he know this Nobody could be trusted?
He eyed the boy for a moment. That same unreadable was still on his face, the boy's eyes still fixed upon him from behind the fine hair. It made him wonder. It made him uneasy. The boy must have read his gaze. He sighed again.
"I told you already. Just because I'm a Nobody, that doesn't mean I'm going to kill you. I'm not like those mindless Dusks. Besides, if I had wanted you dead I would have just left you in the darkness, your heart waiting to be consumed, right?"
Riku shrugged, turning back to his feet. Of what he had learned about Nobodies, they have their own way of doing things. A unique way you couldn't understand. They even have their own ways of killing you, especially to their benefit.
The boy looked at hard for a moment, studying his face. Thinking. Then finally he spoke. "…I could help you find your friends."
Riku started, looking up at him. "How…how did you…?"
"I saw you telling them you'd be back before you walked into my portal," he said, an amused look on his face as he saw Riku's expression. "Besides," he added, "I should know them. I'm you, remember?"
Riku studied his face for a moment before asking, "…What's your name? Who are you?"
"Yuri," he said as he pulled Riku to his feet. "Are you fit to walk?"
Riku faltered for a moment, but caught himself. "I'm fine," he said calmly, as if nothing had been wrong with him in the first place. Then he glanced at Yuri. "Why the hell did you chose 'Yuri' as a name?"
Yuri ignored him. "Am I coming with you or not?"
Riku didn't answer, just stared at Yuri for a moment. "…What are you helping me for? What's in it for you?"
The Nobody shrugged. "I just want something to do. Do you know how long I've been waiting in this hole for something to happen?"
Riku didn't move. He just stared. Yuri sighed.
"I was…hoping you'd help me get a heart."
"I knew it."
"I don't know how," he continued, ignoring Riku again, "but anything is better than just sitting here. Even if you can't find a way…at least I tried. Right?"
Riku looked at him hard for another moment. Then he finally relaxed. He was truthful at least. He wanted to find a heart, and had asked for help. He wasn't hiding anything. Maybe.
"So where do we go?" Yuri asked, still looking at him.
Riku glanced at him from underneath his bangs. "Hey, you said you'd help me. I have no clue where to go…they probably left Hallow Bastion already, and who knows to where."
"Well then if there's anywhere you can think of tell me," Yuri said, stretching his arms. "Anywhere they would head off to?"
Riku still watched him. It was odd that he had helped him so suddenly…. But he had said that he didn't want to kill him or harm him. He had said that not all Nobodies are like that. But could Riku trust him?
There wasn't any way to tell. Not yet. He just wouldn't let down his guard until he was sure. He had been in darkness long enough to know that it twisted people, made them reckless. Selfish. Desperate. And Yuri had been in darkness for as long as he had. Probably longer.
He sighed. "He does have his Nobody friends with him…. They might head for the Organization's fortress."
Yuri shrugged. "As good a place to start as any."
Holding out a hand, the Nobody created a portal before him. "C'mon," he said, stepping forwards.
Riku hesitated. Getting help from this Nobody…. Was this a good idea? Would he be turned back towards the darkness? But no, not all Nobodies were evil. Roxas…Riku wasn't sure about Roxas yet, but Namine had tried to help him. There were Nobodies out there who were good. Maybe if he gave Yuri a chance….
Without a second thought, not allowing himself to turn back, Riku stepped forwards into the portal. Once he found Sora, he would figure everything out.
