Here's the next chapter. Enjoy
There will always be Light chapter twelve: Dusk And Dawn.
Riku knew Vanitas was right. He had tried protecting his friends from danger and failed. 'I am a failure! Vanitas is right. I was born a failure and I will die a failure. I can't even protect Kairi from a weakened foe. How will I possibly help Sora defeat Dante? How? How? How!' Riku closed his eyes and felt tears running down his face. He heard a voice calling him. He ignored it and drew himself deep into his heart. A heart blackened with failure. 'Riku.' Riku ignored the voice and drew himself even deeper into his heart. He suddenly saw a blinding light shine before him and he saw himself in the Station of Awakening. Before him stood a young girl. "Hello Riku. It's good to finally meet you. My name is Dawn. I am your inner strength." Riku looked at the small girl in front of him ant thought that she looked at the most twelve years old. She had deep black hair and her eyes were the same colour as his. She had very fair skin and had the kind of innocence on her face that made Riku feel protective of her.
"Hello Dawn. It's good to meet you. What did you say? That you are my inner strength. Well that's great. My inner strength has the body of a twelve year old." Dawn looked at his strangely. "You don't like this form? Very well." She suddenly grew taller and she matured drastically. Before Riku could blink the little girl disappeared and before him stood a full grown woman around eighteen. Riku's jaw dropped. He blushed and stuttered. He was saved from humiliation when Dawn spoke again. "Riku. You're not a failure. If anyone has failed it is Vanitas." Her voice had matured as well. Her voice was smooth and gentle. Riku heard a weird lilt in her voice as well. She continued. "The reason Vanitas has failed is because he fails to see the strength within you. He was wrong when he said you did not completely submerge in the Darkness. You completely did. And what's more, you did it willingly. The reason you kept your sense of self is because you acted not for yourself, but for your friends. That friendship and sacrifice was pure and strong. Darkness cannot taint something that is pure and innocent." Riku looked at Dawn and she smiled suddenly at him. "It is thanks to that pure will you expressed that I exist. It is the reason you can wield the keyblade. The moment you submerged yourself in the Darkness is the moment your heart was strongest."
"The reason I am here is to console you. I am the only one of my kind." Riku looked at dawn with confusion on his face. "What do you mean Dawn? What do you mean you're here to console me? And how can you be the only one of your kind?" Dawn smiled sadly and summoned Riku's Way to the Dawn. "I'm your keyblade Riku. The reason I am here is to protect you. And that includes protecting you from yourself. I am your keyblade, the only keyblade of Light that willingly obeys one who uses Darkness. I am of the Light, yes. But the keychain attached to me is a weapon made from Darkness. You changed Soul Eater into a key chain with good intentions. That changed Soul Eater and gave you great power. But the time has come." Dawn stepped towards Riku with keyblade raised. Riku instinctively summoned Way to the Dawn to his hand and it appeared. "Dawn wait. I don't want to fight. You are my strength. If I hurt you, I hurt myself." Dawn stepped back and nodded. "Yes that is true. If you hurt me you hurt yourself, but this is one occasion I will have to betray you Riku." Dawn jumped forward and slashed at Riku. He dodged but Dawn's blade tore through his shoulder. He rushed forward and stabbed at Dawn. She dodged and cut him again. Riku jumped back and tried healing his wounds. "That won't work. I am your source of power remember. And I won't let you heal yourself." Dawn rushed forward and Riku dodged. He drew in close to Dawn and rammed Way to the Dawn through her chest. Dawn tightened her grip on her blade and did the same to Riku. Riku gasped in pain and found he was having difficulty breathing. Dawn pressed on the blade in Riku's chest and he did the same.
They stood like that for a few seconds before Dawn started crying. "and all I wanted to do was give you one kiss before I faded away. I guess it was my destiny to fail." Riku grabbed her shoulders and drew her to him. He pressed his lips to hers and felt her sigh in content. "Guess not. Thank you. You pass the test." Dawn faded away along with her blade. Riku grabbed at his chest and found that his wound had healed.
Riku heard laughter around him and he whirled around. He saw nothing and whirled again. He saw Dawn in front of him. She stood with her feet together and her hands held out in front of her. "Dawn? I thought you were dead." Riku rushed forward and hugged her. Dawn had no reaction. "I did Riku. I am reborn." Dawn stepped away from Riku and summoned her blade. It appeared in a shower of black lightning and golden sparks. Riku looked at her blade and saw that it had changed. It had grown in length. The purple and red blade had widened and instead of purple, deep black. Instead of red, gold. There were still shades of red scattered throughout the golden colour. The gold and red melded together with no interruption. The pure white wing that stood in for the teeth of the blade had stayed the same. The guard had changed slightly. The eye had disappeared and instead of a demon wing both wings were those of an angel. The keychain had vanished.
As Riku stood staring at the blade Dawn had waited patiently. She walked forward and took Riku's right hand. She turned it so that it so that the palm was facing her. She placed the blade in Riku's hand and he felt strength enter him. The words 'Dawn's Rebirth' floated through his mind and he knew it fit perfectly. He dismissed the blade and hugged Dawn tightly to his chest. "I'm glad your back. Can I go destroy Vanitas now?" Riku was already looking around with anger in his eyes. Dawn touched his face and he looked at her. The rage left his eyes and he felt her open his left hand. Riku felt a weight and he looked down. In his left hand was clutched a keyblade. He held it up to the light and saw the light bounce of its surface. The blade was one narrow shaft. The teeth was one solid golden sunburst. The sunburst was coated with ebony. The blade was black with crimson splayed along the edge. The hilt was dark red and the guard was black tainted with crimson. It had no keychain.
The words 'Dusk Rising' drifted through Riku's mind. Riku stepped away from Dawn and summoned Dawn's Rebirth to his right hand. The two keyblades balanced each other out. "Thank you Dawn. Now I can protect my friends." Riku swung his keyblades and they sliced through the air. "Not yet Riku. First I must show you how to use the power of Dawn properly. The way you've been using it is ugly." Dawn walked away from Riku and focused a small orb of Dawn into her hand. "The power of Dawn is unlike anything else. It's incredibly powerful as you've obviously noticed. While it doesn't like being commanded what to do it can do almost anything willingly. Unlike Light or Darkness, Dawn doesn't have to be an overwhelming force. You can use the smallest amount and it will do four times the damage of the same size orb of Darkness or Light. You just need to will it so. Like this." Dawn threw the small orb of Dawn at Riku and it exploded five feet away from him. The explosion was enormous. At least it was compared to the amount of Dawn used.
For the next hour Dawn showed Riku exactly how to use his power. When she was satisfied with Riku's results she approached him and he felt a great amount of strength enter him. Dawn kissed his cheek and Riku was gone.
Riku woke up on the floor where Vanitas had thrown him. As Riku sat up Vanitas continued his ravings. Riku stood up and summoned his two new keyblades. "Dawn's Rebirth, Dusk Rising." Riku began pulsing with his newfound strength. "Oh what have we here? New toys? Nice try. No matter how hard you try you will always fail." Riku vanished from Vanitas's view and he looked around frantically. Vanitas felt a blade against his throat and he slowly turned around. He saw Riku in front of him. He was holding his keyblades against his throat. "Let her go." Riku spoke with a will that Vanitas could not disobey. For the second time in his existence Vanitas felt afraid. He lowered Kairi to the ground and she ran over to Sora.
As Kairi was running towards Sora Vanitas jumped back and threw a concentrated bolt of Darkness at her. Riku stepped in front of the bolt and blocked it with his keyblade. He concentrated a small orb of Dawn on the tip of each keyblade and prepared to launch them towards Vanitas. Vanitas laughed at the small size of the orbs. Riku launched one at Vanitas and it hit him in the chest. Vanitas fell onto his knees and clutched at his chest. As the wound healed he concentrated on a small orb he held in his one hand. When Vanitas got to his feet again he opened his hand and the orb of Darkness grew. He held it above his head and threw it towards Riku. Riku responded by forming one large orb of Dawn. He launched it at the Darkness and the two orbs exploded. Riku rushed towards Vanitas and slashed him as fast as he could. Vanitas endured the assault and stood his ground. His wounds healed and he attacked.
Riku and Vanitas attacked each other for a good hour before both fell to the floor in exhaustion. As Vanitas was drawn back into Sora he looked at Riku with respect. Riku looked him in the eyes and he saw rage. 'At least he's stronger. It looks like he finally got over his self-doubt. Good. Sora will need all the help he can get to defeat Dante.'
When Sora finally regained consciousness he was leaning against the couch in his and Kairi's room. 'About time you woke up. You missed a lot.' Sora growled at Vanitas. 'Yeah well. It wasn't my fault. Now go away.' Sora forced Vanitas out of his mind and contacted Roxas. 'What happened Roxas?' Sora could feel the confusion within Roxas and knew that Roxas was in the dark as well.
Sora stood up and went to find Riku. He went to the training room but found no one. He went back to his room and checked if Kairi was there. No such luck. 'Well, I didn't expect her to be here.' Sora went to Riku's room and knocked. The door opened and Xavier opened it. "Good, your awake. Riku needs your help." Xavier stepped away from the door and let Sora into the room. What he saw he didn't expect. He saw Riku on the floor bleeding from several slashes to his chest, arms, legs and hands. Kairi was next to him, speaking in his ear and sending healing waves into his body. Riku moved his hands and Sora saw that he clutched two keyblades. 'Must be what the voice was talking about. When he said Riku had power sleeping deep within him.' Sora walked towards Riku and cast the strongest healing spell he knew on his friend. "Curaga." Green light flowed into Riku and some of his wounds closed. Sora tried again with similar results. "What's wrong with him?" He looked at Xavier and saw the Nobody shake his head. "Kairi? What happened to Riku?" Kairi ignored him and Sora grabbed her shoulders. She blasted him with a fireball and returned to Riku's side. Sora waited for his wounds to heal and tried again. "Kairi, what happened to Riku?" Sora gripped her shoulders and she blasted him with another fireball. Sora kept his grip and lifted Kairi to her feet. "Kairi. Now! Tell me what happened to my friend!" Sora picked her up and she lashed out at him. Sora threw her up into the air and waited until she came down to ask her again. She lashed out at him again and he jumped into the air with Kairi. He slammed her into the ceiling and she gasped for breath. "Tell me." Kairi looked at him weakly and gasped. Her eyes opened wide and Sora saw himself reflected in their depts. His eyes were a bright blazing red. "Vanitas. Vanitas did that to him." Kairi whispered and Sora froze. He froze up so rapidly that he dropped Kairi. He heard Xavier catch her and he followed suit. Sora hit the ground beside Riku and he saw his friends bleeding wounds. He looked at the wounds and saw the battle within his mind. He screamed in pain and rage. He screamed so loud that his power surged forth. His rage was so great that he forced all the hearts within him to surge outward. He saw all the people who dwelled within him straighten up and look at him. Vanitas was the last to meet his eyes.
When Vanitas looked into Sora's eyes he saw his own death. He looked into Sora's eyes and didn't see the boy he saw normally. He didn't see the love or the strength nor the kindness. He saw pure rage and hate. He readied himself for a fight but he was too late. Sora rushed forward and grabbed him by the throat. Vanitas grabbed at Sora's hand but that only seemed to enrage Sora even more. Sora threw him at the wall and he could feel the stone crumble at the force. Before he could begin to stand up Sora had rushed forward again and started tearing him apart. Vanitas could feel his flesh tearing. He thrashed in Sora's arms and managed to get his right arm free. He drew his keyblade and slashed at Sora's shoulder. His blade made sparks when it contacted Sora's skin but he didn't hurt him in the slightest. He drew upon his Darkness and slashed at Sora again with the same results. He drew upon his Darkness more and more but he didn't harm Sora. He looked into Sora's eyes and saw blood red. Sora was crying. Not water but blood. Blood ran down his face and his grip on Vanitas softened. Vanitas fell to the floor and he crawled away. Sora stood standing where he was.
Sora turned around and forced himself to calm down. He looked at Riku and felt more rage enter his heart. He closed his eyes and walked towards Riku. As he walked he talked to Roxas and Ventus. He told them to send him their strength. They obeyed and Sora felt his strength increase. He focused all his strength towards one word. "Heal." Green light flooded the room and Sora watched as Riku's wounds started to heal. He watched as his cuts closed and heal without a scar. As Sora watched Riku began to glow. Every scar on Riku's body blazed with golden light and vanished. Sora looked towards Riku's wrist. Roxas had wounded it during their fight. As Sora watched the thick scar tracing Riku's wrist vanished. He felt his strength leaving him and looked towards his friends. They nodded one by one and vanished back into his body. Vanitas remained and Sora looked at him with a gaze full of hate. "You will apologise to Riku tomorrow. Whether you want to or not." Vanitas nodded weakly and limped towards Sora. Vanitas knew that it would take several days before his body was fully healed. He vanished into Sora and went into a deep sleep.
Kairi slowly regained consciousness. She slowly stood up and saw Sora fighting Vanitas. As she watched Sora dropped Vanitas onto the floor and walk over to Riku. She heard him whisper 'heal' and saw a great green light shine on Riku. Kairi watched as his wounds healed and watched in amazement as his scars faded away.
Sora fell to his knees beside his friend and cried. The pain he felt was as much emotional as physical. He saw Vanitas hurting Riku and it felt as if he was Vanitas. He felt Riku slash at him and heard his own wicked laughter. He laughed as Riku fell to the floor and struggle to get back up. Sora felt the contempt Vanitas felt towards Riku and Kairi. As Riku fell to the floor in front of him he felt his own knees give way beneath him. 'Impossible. To be even minutely weakened by this whelp. Impossible.' Sora could feel rage and hate enter the dark heart of Vanitas and he cringed back when his inner Darkness responded to the hatred.
As Vanitas lost consciousness he could feel his inner nature roil and rise up. 'Destroy. Destroy them all.' Sora could feel memories surge within Vanitas. Sora drew closer and saw Vanitas crying in a desolate field surrounded by keyblades. Sora could feel the emotions rise from Vanitas and could feel sadness, despair and loneliness. Sora saw Vanitas turn toward his right and he looked toward a shadow on the ground. As he watched the shadow deepened and rose out of the ground. A Unversed appeared and Vanitas drew his keyblade. He rushed at the Unversed and destroyed it. As the Unversed crumbled away into ash more appeared. Vanitas rushed towards them and destroyed them all. Vanitas turned and more Unversed appeared. And so it went. For each Unversed that was destroyed more showed up to take its place. Vanitas lashed out left and right, destroying Unversed as he went but more and more appeared. Vanitas started laughing and he moved faster, smoother and with much more strength. As Sora watched Vanitas began moving faster than Sora had ever seen him move. Each time he moved an Unversed was destroyed. When the flood of Unversed finally stopped coming Vanitas stood in the centre of his lone battlefield. Sora watched as Vanitas started falling apart. He cried and shook and more Unversed appeared. He paid them no heed. He just stood there and cried. Sora wondered what was happening.
Sora wondered why the Unversed appeared when Vanitas was showing emotion. He looked towards the flood of Unversed and saw them bow. 'They are his servants. Unconditional love. No matter how many he destroys more show up to console him. And he destroys them. They stand and let themselves be destroyed because they think it might make him feel better. Pitiful.' Sora watched with sadness in his eyes as Vanitas struck out at the Unversed again. Sora could see the Unversed tremble when Vanitas destroyed one of their numbers. Sora knew that Vanitas felt each passing as if a part of him was dying. But still he destroyed them.
Sora opened his eyes and saw that he was still kneeling at Riku's side. He looked at Riku's face and saw that Riku was looking at him with concern. Sora wiped his face and stood up. He walked toward the door and turned back to look at the people in the room. He saw Kairi looking at him with concern and sympathy. He looked at Xavier and the Nobody nodded towards him. Sora walked out the room and ran. He ran towards the first winding corridor he could find. He ran and ran. Sora could feel his breathing deepen and his muscles stretch. He pushed himself and he shot forward faster than he knew he could. As Sora ran he thought about his reasons for fighting. He thought back on his first journey. He saw Donald and Goofy beside him, fighting with him. He felt their commitment to complete their mission but could feel their growing friendship become stronger with each battle fought. He thought about when he knew Riku had turned to the Darkness. He felt his friendship for Riku interfere with his commitment to save Kairi. He remembered when he lost hope. He had lost his keyblade to his friend turned enemy and he had no one to turn to. He had seen the strength of Beast's will and had decided to help Beast get Belle back.
He thought back to his second journey. His resolve to save Riku and return to the Islands. When he realised Riku had been protecting and helping him instead he had felt jealousy. He looked back and knew that he had been an idiot. Riku had been trying to help him save Kairi and all he had seen was the strength Riku had shown when he had saved Kairi. He realised now that Riku had become strong to save his friends. Not for the power or for himself. For his friends.
Sora thought what his resolve had been. To save his friends? Yes. To go on an adventure? Yes. But what was his reason to become strong on this journey? To protect his friends? To protect his family? To protect all the worlds? Or to protect himself? 'I don't know.' Maybe that was the reason he was so confused. Was it because he didn't know his own reasons for becoming strong?
When Sora had left the room Kairi had tried following him but Riku had stopped her. "Kairi, no." Kairi looked at Riku and saw colour returning to his face. Riku shook his head slightly and started to sit up. "Why shouldn't I? Riku why?" When Riku was sitting up he tried getting up. His knees gave way beneath him and he gasped in pain. He sat down again and shrugged his shoulders. "Sora just needs to be alone, I guess. Come here. Help me up." Riku extended his hand and Kairi took it. She gripped his hand tightly and helped him to his feet. "Why does he do this to himself? I saw the look on his face before he left and I know you did too." Riku clenched his teeth together and shook his head. "No I didn't. I don't know what you're talking about." Riku's voice was too even. Too nonchalant when he spoke to Kairi. She knew he was lying. "Stop lying. You saw that look. And you know it means trouble." Xavier walked towards them and asked them what they were talking about."Well when we were little Sora had a competitive streak. Well if he lost he would get a look. No one else would look twice but we learned to recognise it. When he got that look he would just disappear." Kairi looked at Riku briefly and he got a grim look on his face. "He would get depressed for a few days and be the same when he was done contemplating his reasons for becoming strong. I worry what he would do when he can't find a reason good enough." Xavier looked cautiously at the door and stood up. "I think it's time Sora and I have a little chat." Xavier left the room and went to find Sora.
Well I hope you liked chapter twelve of There will always be Light. I hope you continue reading my story. Next chapter: Resolve
And remember to review my story. Please?
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