Author's Note: The fact that it's taken over a year to update a chapter shames me. I could give you excuses, but that would be lame.
"Olette!" The name echoed through the warm, silent islands like a ghost and disappeared somewhere between the sky and endless ocean. Riku threw himself down on a set of broken planks at the water's edge and clutched his head between his hands. He was close to the tiny island of paopu fruit, just beneath the obstacle course he and Sora used to run through. It was the only time he was ever good at anything- that damned course made him better than his best friend just once in his life.
His bare foot kicked up a load of wet sand and hurled it at the sky. A moment later it hit the water with a soft 'plop' somewhere in the distance. The clouds had rolled in and were too thick and heavy to let in any light from the heavens. He ran a rough hand through his long hair and gripped at his scalp as if it would make him feel better. He could hear the waves grating along the shore, and the wind rustling the leaves of the palms, and the creaking of wood. And, for a moment, he thought he could hear someone calling out for him.
"Riku?" A voice murmured tentatively in the darkness. "Riku, is that you?" The voice, rich and feminine, sounded tired. "Hello? It's too dark for me to see."
"Olette?" The silver-haired boy scrambled up from his wooden seat and jogged up to the main beach. "Olette!" His bright eyes, far too accustomed to the darkness, saw her shuffle about awkwardly through the sand. She stubbed her foot on a decently sized rock and doubled over in surprise at the painful contact. Riku grabbed her arm and spun her about to face him.
"Oh! Riku, it is you!" She exclaimed, grasping his thick, sinewy bicep with her two hands for support.
"I thought you couldn't see." He sounded irritated, but there was no mistaking the sigh of relief he breathed a second later. One of his calloused hands settled on her shoulder blade and Riku could feel the chill of her skin sink through. The fabric of his white button-down shirt, which she was wearing, was too thin to keep her warm.
"I can't. Can you?"
"Yeah. How'd you know it was me?"
"Aside from the fact that you're the only person who knows me here? I don't know. I just…could tell you were close." It was an odd thing to say, but Riku shrugged it off. He used his hand to guide her up the beach and back towards his house. Olette, however, pulled his arm in a different direction.
"Hang on, Riku. You've got to see this, it's amazing." Still clinging to him, the brunette beauty led him farther up the beach onto a seashell-gravel pathway. Nearby was a waterfall that flowed into a small pool and a large, sheer face of rock.
"There's nothing back here. C'mon, let's go back to the house. My ass is tired from chasing you around all night."
Olette kneeled to the ground and tugged on his arm, as if to suggest he should follow. And then she disappeared through a small, vine-covered hole in the rock's face. It was truly the last place Riku ever wanted to go again.
"Get out of there," he commanded. Olette didn't answer, and he shifted his weight nervously once or twice. After a couple of minutes of silence, Riku let out a groan and followed.
The small cavern was lit by shining crystals and phosphorous mushrooms, making it glow with an almost violet-tinted light. Riku's iced blue eyes avoided the crude, childish drawings marking the walls. He knew exactly where that stupid image of Kairi and Sora sharing the paopu fruit was, and he ignored his traditional urge to destroy it.
"Olette, this is a dangerous place and we really shouldn't be here. Let's go." His voice held an almost unmistakable threat. He could see her outline at the very back of the cave, and she seemed to be staring at something. Riku knew what it was before he could even see it.
"Why is there a door here? Isn't that strange, a door hidden in a cave? Where does it lead, Riku?"
"To Hell. But it disappeared a long time ago- shouldn't even be here anymore. You'd best leave it be." He said it like he wasn't really surprised that it was there. Girls falling from skies, Sora disappearing in a time of need, stars having orgies in the heavens…it was just one of those days where anything could happen.
"I know you know the King of the Universe, the master of the Keyblade, the boogey man, and God knows who else, and I know you've been to other worlds and have done things I can't begin to imagine. But you cannot have a door leading to Hell on your island, I'm not that naïve. So where does it really lead?"
"The darkness, but that's worse than Hell."
"Why?" Olette asked distractedly, touching the enormous wooden door with the tips of her fingers.
"Because at least you're dead when you enter Hell. The darkness takes you alive." She pulled her fingers back as if she'd been burned and held them close to her chest. Olette shivered slightly, and Riku wished he had a jacket or something to cover her with.
"Satisfied? Let's get out of here."
"There's something you're not telling me. This door and the planets and stars are all connected, right? You said you got rid of the door, but it's back now. And you said the stars disappeared before, and now they're falling. A girl fell from the sky years ago, and now I'm here. What's the connection?"
"You don't need to know-"
"Why not!? Why won't you tell me the full story? You're giving me pieces of vague information, trying to hide things from me, and I don't know why. Why won't you tell me what's going on, Riku? Have I done anything to deserve your distrust?"
"You haven't done anything wrong, so chill out." The low, rough tone of his voice made Olette take a couple of steps back. "You don't need to know, that's all. It's a secret that nobody is supposed to know about anymore."
"That's part of it, but there's something else you're not saying. I know you're lying."
I don't want to tell you how I destroyed the universe, or how I gave in to the darkness, or all the awful things I did to win Kairi's love. Things Sora doesn't even know. You're the only person who doesn't fear me, or hate me, or know what I've done… And I don't want to ruin that.
"Olette, drop the subject and come with me back to the house. I don't want to talk about this anymore." She stepped back towards the door defiantly and grabbed the handle with both her hands. Riku shook his head and smiled wryly.
"You can't open it. Only the Keyblade Master can open or close the doors."
"Doors? As in 'more than one'. As in, these doors lead to more places than just the darkness. As in…other worlds, maybe?" The smile dropped and Riku grabbed her arms roughly to pull her away from it. The moment his hands touched her arms, however, the door began to glow with a blinding light. He could feel the surge of magical energy pouring from the door, trying to escape. The darkness inside his heart exploded with fear, anxiety, and desire.
"No, Olette. Please," he whispered desperately. "Let go."
Magic and power filled every available space and polluted the air with its suffocating presence. The hair on Riku's arms stood on end and his brain pounded with a sudden migraine. Make it stop, he thought desperately, ignoring his own dark desire to open the door himself. To have that power again, that freedom to wander the stars and once more be known, wanted, feared, revered… No.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. It was such a tiny sound that it almost seemed like he was hearing a thought. Olette pulled on the handle of the enormous wooden door and watched as it swung open widely for her. Light surged through the doorway like a living thing and consumed the darkness of the cave, making it hard to see. A tiny hand gently touched Riku's arm and he let go of her.
With one step, she was gone.
The silver-haired boy fell to his knees, clutching at his burning heart as if to soothe the pain. Shaking fingers reached for the pack of poorly made cigarettes in his shirt pocket, pulling one out and lighting it. The smoke felt good and helped give just a little more control over the darkness and fear welling up inside. But, like everything else, it only helped a little. It wasn't the cigarettes or the drinks or being in his own bed at night or knowing the universe was safe or the short, bitter conversations he had with the people he used to know that got him through the day. It was the thought that maybe one person, at least, could stand to look at him and talk to him and not think I'm a monster.
Riku managed to push himself up off the ground and dusted the sand and dirt off his damp, black slacks. As he walked slowly towards the cave's hidden entrance, he couldn't help but feel a slight disappointment at coming home to an empty house again. The baked chicken he'd had for dinner still warmed his stomach, and it sure as hell had tasted better than a can of beans or a bowl of cereal. You know, for a cooked meal and a little conversation... I could face the darkness again.
So he stopped, took a long and burning drag of his cigarette, and walked right back to the door that had led him to his nightmares.
Author's Note: I know it's another really short chapter, but I've got to set things up right before we get into the adventure. Next up- 'Curiousity Killed It'.