Note: The Uzumaki Fanfiction yahoo group has been created, so please join if you're a dedicated reader!
Author Notes:
Well, here's Happy 1-Year Anniversary to KH's release in the US! Thanks to KH, I've had the opportunity to develop my skills and meet wonderful people, and have my work read by awesome readers like you! XD Hehe, go on and read now. This whole chapter is Riku torture….
Chapter Sixteen: One Spiral Unwinds
-o-o-
Another dream.
He could tell.
Was he to be forever cursed with these foreboding, symbolic dreams that he could barely even discern the meaning of?
He was so tired. His limbs ached, his head throbbed, his heart felt too weighed with guilt.
Couldn't he just sleep? Rest without dreams would be a welcome change.
But of course destiny had other plans… It always did.
He recognized the setting immediately from the vision he had had in the coliseum, after he had been defeated. It was the chapel again, the sad and worn building of holiness that so ironically mirrored his own feelings, only this time the air was as still as death and feverishly cold, causing him to shudder mercilessly.
It did not take him long to discover his state of undress---he wore just a deep obsidian black bed sheet that hung precariously around his hips, one hand grasping its corners to keep it in place. Nor did it take long for him to realize that he was not alone.
Rather, Yami had been with him from the beginning this time, but unlike Riku he was dressed quite warmly and elegantly in a deep red dress shirt that buttoned tightly up his sleeves and in the front, which was cut off at his midriff, showing the intricately-woven belt around the curve of his usual pants.
He was not facing Riku. In fact, it was like he didn't know the other boy was even there, and this told Riku that maybe this dream was a little more important than his others. After all, he could see so much detail this time, every thing from a scuff on Yami's sandals to a tear in the velvet of the seat that Riku had been pinned to in his previous dream.
Sunlight was once again filtering in through the stained glass windows overhead, sheer curtains immobile in the dead air. The only thing really missing was the dark-winged Sora.
Riku didn't really miss him though. He wasn't his real Sora… but this Yami was so much like the real Yami that Riku could not ignore him.
"There is no real Yami," came a quiet, withdrawn voice, startling Riku out of his thoughts. It took him a second to realize that it was actually Yami who had spoken to him.
Such a strange tone, coming from such an imposing person.
His green eyes lowered from studying the windows to focus on Yami's back, who seemed to be inspecting something.
"What do you mean?" Riku asked, not bothering to wonder how Yami had read his mind.
The amber-eyed boy slowly reached forward to lovingly stroke something Riku could not see. When Riku took a step forward to get a better look, Yami suddenly turned to glance over his shoulder.
"What do I mean?" he echoed, his voice laden with innocent sincerity. "I wonder what I mean…"
Something was wrong.
Riku had felt it before, long before he had even fallen asleep, but now the feeling was almost tangent, like he could almost reach out and grasp it.
Something was wrong.
"Riku, I know you are confused," Yami said softly, raising a hand to caress his own cheek. "So I will explain a few things before we wake up."
"How…?" was all Riku could really think of to reply.
"Do not ask the How. Ask the What," Yami calmly said. "The reasons for my actions are not so simple, so I shall begin honestly."
Riku nodded and crossed the decaying wooden floor and rug to stand closer to Yami. "All right," he agreed, locking his eyes with the other boy's. He suppressed a violent shudder, bringing his free hand up to rub some warmth into his other arm, trying to fight back the cold of the dream.
Yami gave a sad smile in return. "I was wrong again, Riku," he said, and Riku realized that Yami was actually going to give him what he wanted. Answers. "I had two separate missions, you see. My first was to study Gemini, and since I knew that all key bearers are destined to be part of a Gemini pairing, I set out to study you. I wanted to see what happens when two Gemini of the same pairing become one… as in through the intimate act of intercourse."
Intercourse? Sex?
If what Yami was saying was true, then…
"Legend tells that something extraordinary will happen when a union such as that takes place, and I wanted to witness it for myself," Yami continued before Riku could form anymore thoughts.
Yami paused there, turning to glance in front of him before turning back to face Riku as he rose to his feet and turned away from what he had previously been inspecting. It was a long chain, a distorted form of a heart at the end, and for a moment Riku wondered about its significance. But then Yami gave Riku a pointed look as though asking permission to continue, so the silver-haired boy nodded to silently say that he was listening. So Yami continued.
"I knew you and Sora, your presumed Other Gemini, would eventually go through the union," Yami said. "So I did not concern myself with keeping your relationship stable…"
So then Yami wasn't really trying to separate Sora and Riku, or trying to keep them together. He was just doing his mission selfishly, without care of its consequences. But then why all the lies and deception?
Yami was already speaking again. "Now that you know my experiment---"
"No," Riku said, cutting in before he could continue. "I don't. I mean, why were you playing around with my love for Sora like that? Why all the secrets…? And why did you call…" Riku hesitated, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to find the right words. "When you… y'know…"
"When I seduced you," Yami finished for him.
Riku promptly glared. "Yes. That. You said that was an experiment too. Explain."
For once, Yami looked off-put. The amber-eyed boy sighed and gracefully ran a hand through his hair. "As I mentioned before, I was wrong. Twice. The first time was with you and Sora… You two 'became one' so to speak. You united. But nothing happened."
That's right. That meant the legend about two Gemini becoming one and causing something extraordinary was false. Or… Or he and Sora…
"So Sora and I aren't Gemini," Riku realized, his eyes slowly widening as the implications sank in. "Sora and I aren't destined to be on opposite sides… We're not enemies?!"
He was about to fall into uncontained laughter of relief when Yami's voice stopped him.
"Yes… And no."
Riku closed the distance between them and laughed nervously, raising his free hand as though to make a point. "But you just said---"
"You still, obviously, fight for the light, keyblade master. It is your destiny as long as your Other walks the path of darkness. Yes, you still have a Gemini somewhere, as does Sora, who is currently suffering from the effects of the darkness."
"So someone else out there is my fated enemy…" Riku said slowly, feeling another cold shudder run its course through his body. "And Sora has one too… But we're not each other's fated enemy… And we're still on opposite sides of the whole light-dark spectrum?"
"Precisely."
Riku's brow furrowed. "So why did you sleep… with me….." His words trailed off as the truth hit him. "You thought you were my Gemini so you seduced me?!"
"Yes," Yami said, managing a tiny smile. "But again, nothing happened."
"So you're part of a Gemini pairing thingy too, then, right?" Riku asked. "But you're not my Other."
"Correct."
"Then there are three of us looking for Others… Me, you, Sora…" Riku sighed, scratching at his head in frustration. "This is all so confusing." Then he hesitated, slowly raising his eyes to meet Yami's again. "Why did you finally decide to come clean to me? Because your experiments failed?"
"They did not fail," Yami said lightly with a calm smile. "Rather, they helped narrow my choices. To be honest with you, I am relieved that you and that boy, and that you and I are not Gemini… It helped another of my theories, the knowledge of which I cannot bestow upon you."
"You're so annoying when you do that…" Riku half-growled, pulling the sheet tighter around his waist. Then something occurred to him. "Hey, what makes you so sure that Sora and I aren't Gemini, just because something presumably happens during sex? That's so stupid."
"Because I have seen you two," Yami said, briefly letting his eyes lower. "There were many times when you were on the same side… This is impossible for two Gemini once they know of their destinies. It confused me to great lengths before, so I had to make sure the two of you united. To make sure I was wrong."
That made sense.. sorta…
"But then why did you go to such lengths to lie to Sora and try to separate us?"
"I admit, my second mission did hinder my progress on the first," Yami said quietly, seriously. "But it was a necessary risk."
"A second mission?" Riku asked, cautiously narrowing his eyes. He had a feeling he wouldn't like this new revelation.
"Yes… To corrupt Sora's strong soul so that it could no longer support its dark side within its pure, and had to tear into two."
"Wait, what…?!" Riku demanded, shaking his head as he tried to comprehend that last statement. He shivered again, but ignored his numbing limbs. "What the hell does that mean?"
"What it sounds like, Riku," Yami patiently stated.
Riku didn't understand… Dark and Pure sides? Tear into two? Did that mean something had happened to Sora's soul? "Why Sora?" he asked.
"I am afraid I cannot answer that without bringing in complications that would endanger myself," Yami answered quietly, lowering his eyes. "But I will say that I believe that if it had been an individual with a weaker soul undergoing such pressure, the soul would have caved into the dominant force and adapted to it. Sora was too strong to give into the darkness directly, his soul was too pure to be swayed so easily. So it tore and became two."
Riku was beginning to understand what he was saying. "You… On purpose…"
"Yes."
"But… Sora seems so stable… He was this morning," Riku insisted. "He's fine!"
Yami finally gave a full smile. "Such ignorance. If only you knew the likely current situation."
Riku regained his composure and managed to ask with a lowered voice, "What do you mean?"
That sudden feeling of something wrong filled Riku again and he quite suddenly did not want to know what Yami had to say next.
"You still do not know who I am, how I know what I know, and what my future plans are. In fact, you do not know my latest deductions and theories that I plan to experiment with," Yami said softly. "And you do not know Sora's current state."
Somewhere in his heart he already knew it. He could already feel it---that absence of Sora, that guilt weighing their love… Their paopu bond was mutual, but there seemed to be no Sora on the other end any longer.
Something was definitely wrong.
"What the hell did you do with Sora?!" Riku desperately demanded, stepping forward to grab Yami as he fought back his sudden fear.
Nothing could have happened yet.
Please let Sora be alright! If what Yami was saying was true, about Sora's soul…
Well, it made sense, with some of Sora's mood swings lately, but nothing had recently happened to trigger a full tearing of his soul, right? Just last night he and Riku had finally taken the final step in their physical relationship, surely that hadn't hurt Sora so much… And he had seemed so normal, so Sora-like just that morning, like his old innocent self from Destiny Islands. Sora had been Sora.
Nothing could have happened yet!
But that familiar amused smile crossed Yami's face, signaling that something had indeed happened. Quite suddenly Riku was terrified.
"For someone so dedicated to loving that pet of yours," Yami began, that smile nefariously spreading, "you seemed to be quite blind and deaf when he stumbled across our little union. You did not even notice him standing there, did you?"
Riku's heart literally stopped.
"You're joking…" he breathed, green eyes wide with growing alarm. "You've got to be joking…!"
But he knew he wasn't. It wasn't a joke.
He could feel it…
Riku's face suddenly twisted with unspeakable disgust and horror.
What had he done?!
He stepped away from Yami, pulling an arm across his chest to hold himself, his other hand clutching the sheet tighter around his hips. He barely even registered the cold of the room any longer.
There were no tears. Riku never cried… He had no reason to.
He didn't deserve to cry…
Especially when there was someone else who needed it more.
Like Sora.
He had to find Sora!
Just as the dream world around him began to fade away, Riku settled his green gaze upon Yami and hissed, "I don't care who the hell you are, or who the hell your Gemini is. After I rectify my mistakes, I'm going to kill you."
And with that, he woke up.
"Who are you?"
"Who am I?"
"Yes."
"I am you."
"Me?"
"Rather, I am a part of you."
"You are?"
"Yes. Your heart was too strong to corrupt, so your soul ripped into two. Me. And you."
"You're not telling me everything. Please tell me!"
"It isn't necessary to give you such knowledge. After you gain a better understanding of things, we'll speak again."
"You're not just half of my soul, are you? Who are you really?"
"…An unimportant figure in the history books. Very few knew I existed."
"I don't understand."
"Not yet, you won't. That's right. But the more important question is: Who are you?"
"…no one… No one loves me. I just want to sleep…"
"Then sleep, and I shall protect you from your enemies."
"..alright…"
Warmth…
Riku felt so warm…
It was so strange waking up to such comfortable warmth after such a disturbing dream. No, not a dream. Everything Yami had said had been true, hadn't it? And now Riku needed to get up, find Sora, leave somehow… He had to. It was so urgent.
The problem was actually getting up. He was so comfortable, so sleepy and tired of trying to fix all his problems. No child should have to go through this sort of confusing life. If only he could just exist here, where nothing was urgent, where he could just live in this world composed of only warm sheets caressing bare skin, and having another warm body to snuggle against.
…a body that wasn't Sora's…
Geh! What the hell was he doing?!
Suddenly he remembered that he was sleeping with the enemy, and that he had too many things to do to erase his guilt that left him no time to rest. Or complain.
He had brought the exhaustion and screaming muscles upon himself. It was his fault. Granted, Yami had helped considerably that afternoon by seducing him, but Riku couldn't place all the blame on him. Riku deserved whatever punishment was in store for him. He deserved this pain and overwhelming guilt. That afternoon he had done nothing to stop Yami. He had given in so easily… and had responded a little too eagerly to the other boy's touches.
There was no excuse for what he had done, other than the fact he had wanted Yami, truthfully. And he had liked it, no matter how shameful or sinful the act had been.
Yes, it was the payment that Yami had wanted. Yes, Riku had promised him. And yes, Riku hadn't had much of a choice. Even though Yami wasn't the type to force himself upon someone else, Yami had conveniently trapped Riku in his own guilt by bringing up his promise with Sora.
Shit…
Yami had taken him --- that was supposed to have been Sora's privilege…!
SHIT!
And he couldn't take it back now.
Bringing a hand up, Riku clutched at his hair and clenched his teeth, biting back a helpless scream.
All he could do was explain it to Sora, apologize… and leave their relationship's fate in Sora's hands. As soon as Riku found the boy, that is. And after the dream conversation he had just had with Yami, finding Sora was mandatory.
Riku would have to think about the rest of the conversation, and the dream itself, later. He still wasn't sure why Yami had approached him in his dreams, and not in reality… But he had gotten the important information across.
Promptly releasing his hold on Yami's body, Riku sat up, letting the black sheets drop and pile at his hips.
Agh…
He felt it. That pain…
It was evidence that he had royally screwed up that afternoon. So was the feeling of dirtiness, both literal and imagined. Not only did he have the mess that had adhered his skin to Yami's when it had dried as they slept, he also had the stains of guilt in his mind, in his heart. He had betrayed Sora. He had hurt Sora…
No.
Stop.
"Stop it Riku," he hissed to himself under his breath.
It couldn't be too late yet. It just couldn't…!
Dragging dirty fingers through his disheveled hair, Riku glanced over at the balcony and realized that it was still really early, only sunset. He was honestly surprised at how little he had rested after what had happened that afternoon.
He had still rested too much, though… Something kept whispering to him too late, too late, you're too late and the longer he stayed in this room, the more his sense of panic grew.
After assessing how much damage had been done to his body during intercourse (compared to sex with Sora, sex with Yami had been considerably more violent), Riku slowly turned and glanced down at Yami's inactive form.
He looked so innocent.
But this was Yami… Surely there was no way that this sleeping child-like being could be Yami. Yami wasn't supposed to be this fragile-looking, this cute… Was it possible for someone so dangerously beautiful to also look so cute? So human?
Everything about him spoke of beauty --- the elegant curve of his cheek bones, the way his soft white hair fell into his closed eyes, the sweep of long eyelashes that occasionally fluttered in his dream-state, the slightly puckering of his delicious lips… It was almost wrong to look so beautiful after all that he had done. And never had Riku seen him so carefree… innocent.
Cute.
Yami almost slept like Sora, only Yami didn't seem like the type who would. Maybe this was the real Yami --- the person behind the façade, without the mask of an amused smile and hidden intentions.
It was almost hard to be angry with Yami when he looked like this. Riku didn't have the heart to.
So, with a soft sigh Riku shook his head and leaned forward, gently running two fingertips over Yami's lips, feeling their soft warmth one last time. When Riku pulled his hand away, Yami's eyebrows twitched into a subtle frown and he wrinkled his nose a bit, giving him an even more Sora-like appearance.
Riku couldn't help the tiny smile that faded over his lips.
But Yami wasn't Sora… And this was wrong, comparing the two…
Glancing one last time at the other undressed boy, Riku quickly slipped out of the bed and got dressed, trying to stifle the winces caused by the pain in his lower body.
No time to regret, to feel pity for himself. No time to even cleanse himself of the dirtiness coating his heart and skin.
He did manage, however, to leave the room without looking back.
Sora was more important than Yami. He was. Sora was more important than Riku's love and need for anything. Sora's happiness meant more to him than his own, more than the lives of any and all worlds out there.
Because…
Because without Sora…
Riku wouldn't know how to live. Breathe. Love.
Sora was his life.
And now Riku didn't know how to repent for what he had willingly done, for what he felt with Yami, for what pain he had caused Sora.
But something kept telling him that he was already too late.
He couldn't be…
He'd never screwed up this badly before. Something like this…
"Shit…!" Riku growled, pulling his arms tightly around his chest to keep from hurting himself. He really wanted to. Hurt himself, that is… But he would only cause more pain, and it wouldn't alleviate his guilt.
Nothing would take back what he had done.
It must have been fate that Riku did not have to look far to find Sora. Just as he turned down the hall with Yami's room and stepped into a new passageway, he saw a familiar figure standing at the end of the dark corridor.
Sora.
However, before Riku could even let out a sigh of relief, the figure turned to regard him, a mischievous smile pulled across his lips, and then darted around the corner without a word.
……what the hell?
Was Sora playing with him?
Letting suspicion cast over his short-lived relief, Riku frowned and followed Sora, his footsteps quiet as he turned down the hall that his Sora had disappeared into.
There he was again, waiting there at the end of the corridor, a carefree smile on his face.
A smile that was eerily reminiscent of the dark-winged Sora in Riku's dreams.
"Sora?" he called, only loud enough so that his voice would carry. It created a soft echo that bounced along the high arches of the castle architecture.
The boy merely stared back at him, smiling. Silent. But then…
Echoes of an amused giggle floated back to him in the musty air, and Sora disappeared down a new hallway.
Shit. Riku was getting a really bad feeling about this.
That smile, that giggle… The only thing missing was a pair of wings.
No, but he wasn't dreaming this time. This wasn't that Sora… This was the real Sora, wasn't it?
Was it true? Had his vivid dreams really foreshadowed his imminent reality?
Well, it didn't matter anymore. He couldn't turn back now.
Suppressing a cold shudder and trying not to think of the worst case scenario that was most likely waiting for him, Riku followed Sora towards what he knew could be a trap.
How could it not be? Everything good in his life was beginning to crumble right before his very eyes.
He might as well stop hiding and face it, and try to prevent it. It was impossible to prepare though. How does one prepare for such an event?
Riku wasn't even sure what was going to happen when he arrived at the final destination that this vague representation of Sora was leading him to. He could only follow and hope…
So follow he did, keeping his gaze steadily in front of himself to watch as Sora turned down new corridors and paused to wait for him, sometimes lingering long enough for Riku draw near before he hurried ahead so that Riku never could fully catch up to him. They crossed dark halls that Riku had never known existed, and entered strange, empty atriums filled with archaic gothic architecture that did nothing to ease Riku's nerves. They passed under archways that, when Riku looked back a minute later, disappeared without a trace, leaving just blank wall from whence he had come.
As they gradually went deeper into the labyrinthine castle, Riku felt the icy fangs of darkness slowly sink into his sore limbs, urging him to hurry forward. The more they walked, the stronger the stench of shadows grew, so much that he practically felt the ebb of darkness pulsating around him like a heartbeat, like it was actually alive and waiting to swallow him. Capture his soul. Envelope his heart within its proverbial arms until he finally gave in.
It was that feeling that spurred him on and assured him that he was heading the right way. Surely this was a trap. Surely his fate lay at the end of this journey, where Sora was taking him.
Riku wasn't really afraid of what would happen to him. He would gladly follow Sora into the depths of darkness if that is where Sora was truly going. But no… Sora wasn't, really, if what Yami had said was true. Sora couldn't fall into the darkness. Not completely, at least. That's why his soul was, or had broken into two. His Sora still existed, but now there was another… Another Sora.
Dark Sora.
That was what Riku feared. That any part of Sora would hate him, or try to abuse Sora himself. Riku feared rejection. Riku feared his own weaknesses.
Weakness.
That one fatal weakness of his that Yami had mentioned… What was it? Riku couldn't think of a weakness that would ultimately lead to his downfall, a weakness that hindered the growth of Riku's strength.
It was probably that weakness that the darkness would try to exploit. But he had no time.
No time to fear, no time to plan, no time to escape. He did not even have time to regret.
Riku did not know how long Sora led him through the castle --- he hardly paid attention to his surroundings anymore --- but when the darkness became so thick in the air that Riku had problems concentrating, even breathing, and when the cold, empty numbness had fully taken hold of his limbs and the only thing he could feel was his own erratic heartbeat, Riku knew he had arrived at his destination.
A hollow sound was steadily humming around him, making him feel as though he were gradually going deaf, only he knew he wasn't, for he could still hear the sound of his shoes against the stone, and his own labored breathing.
Sora had stopped in front of a pair of doors, he noticed. The boy had simply stopped, and was now motionless, simply staring straight ahead like a mindless automaton. Like he had no soul.
This wasn't Sora.
When Riku took a cautious step towards the figure, the doors suddenly pulled open as though an invisible hand had reached out to do it, startling Riku into moving backwards again.
And, after flashing Riku a bright Sora-like grin that made the older boy's heart suddenly constrict in guilty pain, the figure passed through the open doors and disappeared, leaving Riku standing there with only his fleeting thoughts.
Riku honestly contemplated running.
All it would take to send him retreating was just a step back…
Just one foot.
But what would be the point?
He couldn't turn back now. He didn't even know where he was anymore, and he had no escape off this world…
Besides, something told him that he was destined to see what lay beyond those doors. Something told him Sora was there.
He couldn't leave Sora like that. He couldn't run away unless Sora was with him…
Or against him.
So, taking a long, shuddering breath in a feeble attempt to calm his heart, Riku crossed the final distance and stepped past the nonexistent threshold to face his fate.
He entered a long, wide hall with red carpet leading even deeper into the castle, but the shadows were too thick to see what lay beyond the end of this foyer. The lighting was oddly tinted blue, and with a quick glance around, Riku discovered why.
And his breath caught in his throat.
Young women were encased against the walls in what seemed to be dark crystal. They looked like they were sleeping, only their faces had no color… And they did not seem to be breathing. Not one flutter of an eyelid. It was like they were frozen in time, trapped forever young and beautiful, and cold. Lifeless.
Nearly dead.
Only somehow Riku knew they weren't just dead…
Somehow he could feel their purity, the light within them. Or, the light that used to be within them.
Suddenly Riku realized that these girls had no hearts. Someone had taken them. Was that what happened when a person's heart was taken?
But… didn't they become heartless? Why weren't these girls heartless if they did not have hearts?
It was so unnatural, how peaceful they looked in their sleep-like states, how eerily beautiful they were.
Perhaps, Riku surmised, not everyone became heartless when separated from their hearts. To be honest, he had no idea how the whole heartless thing worked, and he suspected that not many people actually knew.
Reaching his hands up to stroke furiously at his arms (he had goosebumps, he noticed), he tried to rub some feeling into his numb arms, but it was useless. So, casting one last glance at the frozen women around him, Riku moved on, only to come across more of them. He was going to ignore their pretty faces, but he felt obligated to look, like it was his fault that these women were trapped here in Maleficent's castle, like it was his fault that they were being shown off like trophies of some war that he was unwillingly a part of.
But then he saw her.
Long lashes curved against her cheek, a kind, sad smile frozen on her pale-as-snow face.
Snow White. The princess Riku had met in that dying forest…
He hadn't been able to save her world. He had watched as it had crumbled beneath his very feet as he had escaped using Sora's strange power.
She had disappeared from her meadow… But before that, she had been concerned about her 'executioner' or someone who was going to destroy her forest. Someone who controlled the creatures that had killed her friends… Creatures.
The heartless.
She was a princess.
And now she's here.
Yami and Maleficent had been discussing princesses earlier that day… She was upset that Yami had not delivered the last princess.
So Yami was the one who had kidnapped Snow White. That made sense. After all, it was on that world that Riku met him. Yami was collecting princesses, so that meant these other girls were princesses too.
Maleficent had said… Seven princesses to open the keyhole to the darkness…
There were six there, so that indeed meant that Yami still had to deliver that last princess, but then Yami had said that he did have the last princess, and that she was safe. Which meant that Yami could open this keyhole to the darkness.
That must be what was beyond this hallway.
What else could emit such corporeal darkness?
So, aside from finding Sora, Riku needed to make sure this keyhole was not opened, and that the princesses' hearts were returned to them. Maybe these women could help him and Sora, too.
The problem was, of course, sealing the keyhole and retrieving the hearts, wherever they were. And finding that last princess before Yami could deliver her to Maleficent.
Then again, why hadn't Yami delivered her? Was there a reason for Yami to keep her, and only her?
Six princesses here…
Riku couldn't fight back the guilt that filled him.
He didn't know the other princesses, he hadn't been to their worlds, and he hadn't been able to save them or their people. Some hero he was. Some savior of the worlds.
He couldn't even protect the person closest to him.
Sora.
That's right. He needed to move on, find Sora, save Sora, take Sora away from here.
Sora. Remember Sora. He's the most important person to save, he quietly noted to himself, once again trying to rub some feeling into his arms.
Useless.
That's what he was, actually. Nothing he did was right.
He only hoped that, despite whatever lay beyond this hallway, he could protect Sora and fix some of his mistakes.
Tearing his eyes away from Snow White's death-like face, Riku continued down the hallway, feeling the darkness biting into him, letting the now-visible tendrils snake around him and weakly cling to him as he moved forward. It was like these little wisps of shadow were welcoming him, waving to him and encouraging him to move forward. He was definitely expected here. For a split-second Riku contemplated waving back, or letting them curl around his body and let them have his way with him.
He felt like such a whore. First Sora, then Yami, now the darkness. He seemed to be willing to give into anything, really. Then again, when it came down to the basics, there didn't seem to be much difference between any of them…
When Riku stepped into the new room, almost immediately the darkness retracted from around him, retreating back to the hallway and abandoning Riku, leaving him standing vulnerable in this large, strange hall.
Strange was an understatement.
The first thing Riku noticed was a large doorway swirling with a beautiful array of colors and darkness, but it had no keyhole, leading Riku to believe that it wasn't complete yet, and Yami still hadn't surrendered the last princess yet.
Yami… was he still sleeping so peacefully, innocently back in his room? Blissfully unaware as to where Riku was? As to what Riku was about to do?
…could Riku seal a keyhole that hadn't even appeared yet?
No, it didn't seem likely.
He needed the last princess then, wherever Yami was keeping her.
The second thing Riku noticed was how to get to the large portal-like door. There was a large cylindrical dais in the center of the room with stairs curving around it to get to the top, where the door was stationed in the middle. Wicked-looking machinery filled the room, floor to corners to the ceiling, and it seemed like this door had been experimented on for quite a long time.
As he took a few more steps into the room, he openly stared at the spacious room, taking in its odd structure and strange technology. The last thing he actually noticed was Maleficent, who was standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for him with an obviously pleased smile on her sallow face.
Riku wasn't surprised to see her. He vaguely recalled that she had threatened him earlier today, and he didn't doubt that she would try to carry through with her threat now that she had him in her grasp, and they were alone. Without Yami here to protect him.
…and there was no sign of Sora…
Maleficent extended a hand, long painted fingernails glinting in the lighting of the room. When Riku took another step farther into the room, a sharp caw! rang in his ears as that woman's awful crow zipped past his head and flew up to her, gracefully landing on her outstretched hand before hopping up to her shoulder. Then it turned and leered at Riku, who decided to ignore it and close the distance between himself and the foot of the stairs.
Maleficent drew away from the landing, her long robe swirling around her as she practically glided towards the door of darkness, her staff making steady click noises against the hard floor. Climbing the stairs to be on equal footing as her, just in case, Riku followed the sorceress, finally speaking up.
"I assume you're not going to 'guarantee my safety' now that we have encountered again, Maleficent," Riku said in a pompous tone, purposely provoking her.
"I see that insufferable brat has finally released my name to you. How courteous of him," she drawled in mock amusement, her crow shuffling its feathers as it glared at him. "I trust that your righteous friends bestowed upon you the knowledge of my identity," she said, rather than asked.
"You invaded Hollow Bastion nine years ago using the heartless… That's all I really know," Riku admitted, once again stroking his arms, only this time the touch sparked the return of feeling in his skin, and his nerves lit up with tiny prickling sensations, telling him that he was indeed alive and awake. He ignored the annoying feeling, knowing it would fade away soon, and he focused his attention on Maleficent, who was now regarding him with curious satisfaction.
"You seem so unconcerned, dear keyblade master," she commented, elegantly changing her staff from one hand to the other. "I had the impression that you would barge in here asking questions and making ludicrous requests."
Riku decided not to reply to her statement, and instead said, "I saw your collection of princesses. I see Yami has been busy."
"He volunteered to his tasks. He simply entered the castle one day and explained to me why I could not open this doorway, and then he offered his services to my cause," she explained freely.
"I remember what you said." Riku lowered his eyes momentarily, recalling the conversation he had had with her on the balcony that one night. "You let him keep me as a pet."
"Yes," she droned, her smile growing. "I did. At least, until you still had use." Her crow tilted its head and opened its beak as thought it was going to speak as well, but it didn't, and she continued. "But you have done your duty, keyblade master."
"Have I?" Riku asked, no hint of interest in his voice. "I don't see how I've helped you any."
Her smile fell into a more malicious smirk. "Dear child, you helped your little beloved," she said softly, her voice practically dripping with ultimate, evil delight, and quite suddenly Riku had a feeling he knew what she was going to say. "You kept his mind sane long enough so that he could enhance his magical powers through my teachings," she explained coolly, reaching a hand up to pet her crow, keeping her face raised but eyes lowered to study Riku. "I see that Yami did well in keeping his part of the bargain."
Riku had to fight back a growl. "What bargain?"
"Silly boy," she sighed, lifting her hand away from her pet and gesturing lightly. "I let him keep you as a pet, keyblade master, because in exchange he said he would make sure your beloved would succumb to the darkness and become my dark slave."
This time Riku didn't even try to restrain himself. Tearing his green eyes away from her to stare at the ground, brow furrowed in disgusted anger, he bit, "So that's why you kept me alive…!"
He should have figured it out on his own, that he was only being treated as a guest in Hollow Bastion because he was being used. Why else would someone so blatantly evil keep their enemy at their stronghold? Of course they were using him…!
To hurt Sora, of all things…
"Precisely," she practically purred, incensing Riku's anger. "And how easy it was, too."
He should have seen it. Now he truly had no one to blame but himself.
He could try to blame Maleficent for so easily tricking him, or Sora for letting himself be manipulated… But, really, he could only blame himself, for being so stupid and lazy and …. And…
And if Riku had disobeyed Yami and Maleficent, if he had somehow learned all of this earlier, he could have prevented this. Or if he had somehow convinced Sora to get them out of there --- Sora had had the power after all… Maybe if Riku had just tried…
Or if he had just ignored Yami's kindness…!
Fuck!!
Clenching his hands into tight fists and managing to control his voice so that it was only a sarcastic drawl, Riku asked, "And just what do you want with Sora when you have all those heartless to play with?"
He didn't have to look up to know that she was still smirking. Bitch.
"Why use heartless when I can have a powerful re-embodiment of darkness to do my bidding?" she said, a pleased chuckle trailing off in her words.
Re-embodiment of darkness? Just who had Sora become?!
"What did you do to him?!" Riku harshly demanded, raising his eyes to glare acidly at her as he took a step forward.
"Do to him? What did I do to him?" she repeated, sounding vaguely surprised. "I simply encouraged the boy, told him to embrace his true side."
"True side?!" Riku heard his own voice break into a desperate shrill. "What the hell does that mean?! Sora is just Sora!" he cried, feeling despair rising within him. Not here…! He couldn't cry here, no matter how helpless the situation was. No matter how helpless he was. "Why can't you selfish bastards just leave us alone?!"
Riku was not expecting the next voice that spoke.
"Just who is selfish, Master of the Light?" came a hard, cold tone, causing Riku to whirl around to face the new speaker.
Darkness.
The violent shudder that ran up his spine was almost audible. He could almost feel the whispers of caution coming from the shadows, like he generally heard coming from the keyblade when he held it. But this time, he didn't need the keyblade to decipher their words.
They were saying it was too late.
He somehow knew that this newcomer was that "Master" the heartless followed, the man who had been playing the strings all along behind both Maleficent and Yami.
This was his real enemy.
That was who had just spoken. Somehow Riku knew.
Fighting back the sudden urge to summon Oblivion, Riku felt his eyes widen on their own accord and he heard himself gasp as the figure stepped out of the darkness.
Impossible…!
Same boyish features, same chocolate brown hair…
But cold yellow eyes narrowed at him, lips pulled back into an emotionless grin. Darkness clung to him like a second skin, and gone was that usual bright aura of his that could banish any of Riku's foul moods.
Now this dark being was all who remained.
Riku had moved forward before he even knew what he was doing, pained disbelief distorting his pretty face.
"Sora…?"
The figure tilted his head as though contemplating Riku's outburst, a long smirk drawing over his lips, those lips that Riku knew so well. As the figure spoke again, Riku took a slow, cautious step back, feeling his skin crawl with sick dread.
"Sora?" that voice laughed, sounding considerably calm as he continued to walk forward, scintilla of darkness curling after him. "I'm not your Sora." The figure cast a quick glance at Maleficent. "I can take care of this. Leave."
And like an obedient heartless slave, Maleficent swung her staff and disappeared, leaving Riku alone to face the newcomer.
It was hard to look at him because they were so similar, yet so different…
It was Sora's lips, his body… But those pale eyes, that sinister voice… He wasn't Sora.
This was Sora's dark half. The dark part of Sora's soul.
Dark Sora.
"What happened to Sora…?" Riku asked as he bowed his head in defeat, the anger fading from his voice and becoming quiet anguish.
It was too late. Sora was already…
He had failed.
The only thing left to do was fight until his Sora returned, but it seemed so useless now. He was only one person. And he was so tired, so hurt…
"Sora is asleep," the figure said, his audacity significantly subdued after hearing the fragmented hope in Riku's voice. "Asleep and suffering because once again the one he loved most has betrayed him."
Riku peeked up at Dark Sora through his bangs, only half-curious because he was so tired of asking questions. "Once again?"
"You're just like the last one. Selfish. Too caught up in your own wants that you overlook his," he sighed, reaching an arm around to hug himself as he lowered his eyes, as though he were recalling something that had happened in the past. But he was still smiling. When he looked up again, he met Riku's green eyes. "Tell me, do you have any clue as to what is transpiring?"
Riku simply glared.
"You don't, do you?" Dark Sora said, that smile turning smug. It was a face Yami would make. "I believe you will be infinitely more enjoyable than the previous keyblade master."
What?
Previous keyblade master?
Dark Sora must have seen the spark of awareness in Riku's eye, because he suddenly spoke again. "You didn't think you were alone, were you? You are not the only one destined to carry such a burden."
Riku frowned, not understanding. His frustration and anger was quickly returning. "What the hell are you implying?"
"Ah, well, all in due time," he sighed, nonchalantly waving a hand as though to dismiss Riku. "You will understand soon."
A low growl erupted from Riku's throat. "I don't care who the hell you are, just give Sora back!!"
Dark Sora suddenly became serious, those soft yellow eyes narrowing into a glare, his mouth pulled into a thin, angry line. "You will care. It is your destiny. And Sora's. Perhaps if you would slow down your assumptions and take the time to analyze what is happening to you, you wouldn't be so hasty to dismiss me so fruitlessly, Riku."
He took a step towards Riku, who finally took the initiative to summon Oblivion, quickly bringing the keyblade up in front of himself in a defensive gesture. Dark Sora wasn't fazed; rather, he kept walking, regarding the weapon with a casual look.
"What a pretty little thing," he commented. A slightly amused smile quirked the side of his mouth, and Riku suddenly had a very bad feeling. Before he could bite out a response, Dark Sora stopped in front of him, chin held high and that wide, satisfied smile in place. "Pretty, like you," Dark Sora asserted with a breathy sigh. "A shame, really. You have no idea how many people have their eye on you, do you?" He paused there, glancing down at the keyblade and raising an eyebrow before meeting Riku's green eyes again. "I look forward to our next meeting, Gemini."
"Wait!" Riku cried, and he was moving to quickly stop Dark Sora from leaving when he suddenly felt a sharp tug at his ankle. Shit! Not now!! he silently growled, thinking maybe a tendril of darkness had wrapped around him to keep him from taking pursuit.
But when he spun around to look, he was met with a pair of yellow eyes and the most disturbing thing Riku had ever seen.
A heartless that looked like him.
Shaped like him, down to the very details in his clothes, but in every shade of black imaginable. Skin, black. Hair, black. Clothes, black.
Eyes…
Yellow.
Heartless yellow.
"Sora named it Anti-Riku," came the other boy's voice, sounding remotely sympathetic. "Perhaps to mirror his own thoughts."
Riku didn't hide the disgusted look on his face as he openly stared wide-eyed at the abomination that resembled him so much.
Anti-Riku?
Riku felt the panic rise in him again and he suddenly kicked out, shaking the heartless' hand off his leg. When he was free he stumbled backwards away from it while it slowly crawled out of its dark hole in the ground.
But that wasn't what surprised Riku next.
Like spilt ink, the darkness slowly spread around Riku, forming more and more apertures until he was suddenly surrounded, watching with aghast horror as more of his dark clones began to claw their way out of the shadows, countless dozens of them, fingers stretched outward as they hoisted themselves out of the floor and straightened to stand before Riku, all staring at him with narrowed yellow eyes.
Riku swung around, taking in the sight of all of them --- even more were appearing! --- and he felt his muscles tense in what he knew would be a useless fight. There were simply too many of them…!
The Rikus swarmed around him, gradually drawing closer so that he had no room to run, to even move.
He was trapped.
And when he felt their hands on him, he cried out, a formless sound of both misery and terror, the sound of someone who knew he could do nothing but fight, even though it was futile. Desperate.
Hopeless.
But when he began swinging Oblivion in a sad attempt of fending them off, he felt their vice-like grips clamp down on his arms and tear his weapon from his grasp, leaving him completely vulnerable to their onslaught. He could do nothing but squirm away from their hands and cry out as they closed in around him, their cold bodies pressed to his, some of them restraining him, holding him in place while their brothers moved in for the kill.
Only, they didn't…
It seemed his fate was to be something much worse than death.
Dark fingers came from all directions and began pulling at his clothes, clumsily trying to remove them or tear them off, many times missing and clawing at his skin instead and drawing sweet red from him. He knew he was trembling so violently he could barely stand, but he didn't need to, for their hands were there to support him, keep him upright as they slid their fingertips over his bare flesh, as a few heads drew near to taste his warm skin and curiously kiss it, suck it, anything to send his mind into sensory overload.
Cold fingers splayed across his hard chest, testing his muscles. Cold fingers crawled seductively over the sensitive flesh of his stomach. Cold fingers slid beneath the waist of his pants, drawing him closer to screams. Cold fingers swept over his hips, up his ribs and around his sides to his back, tracing the contours of his body, hand by hand by hand by hand by hand…
They pulled his shirt up, brushed his hair aside to access his shoulder, collar bone, neck… His jaw… Cold lips ravaged his pale skin, all over, drawing out strangled groans from him, almost half-whimpers.
When they managed to shred his clothes enough so that they could slip fingers in to stroke his thighs and skim cold palms over the curve of his buttocks, his screams finally started. The more he twisted his body, the more they groped, squeezed, and sent his bodies into uncontainable shudders.
His mind began to drift on the surface of soft insanity, his own screams falling deaf on his ears as they gradually became so hoarse his voice tore and his cries continued on silently, unaware he had no more to give. He lost count of the teeth biting into him, the mouths stealing his own until his lips were bruised and bleeding.
All he saw was his own face… all around him, with eyes that saw him as nothing but a warm body.
In his mind he heard them whispering to him, calling him delicious, naming him a whore…
But there were no tears.
"Riku!!"
They wanted his soft curves, they wanted to ravage his already smitten heart…
They could have it, then, so long as he couldn't hear his own silent, dying screams, so long as he couldn't feel anymore. Something so graceful and pure, whether it be his body or this act of love… Something so beautiful should not be allowed to live.
He could taste the blood on his lips. There was vague wonder what the main course would be.
"Riku!"
Those somber-skinned angels with his face could feel no remorse, yet they had already squeezed the last and dying breath out of everything he had ever dreamed…
Death.
It was too good for him.
He was just giving permission to the shadows to take his heart, when he felt the darkness retract from his soul. The Anti-Rikus were being forced away from him, one by one, but Riku could not understand why.
He was so tired… so cold…
Why couldn't they just finish him off…?
But then he saw it, through the red haze of pain in front of him, through the horde of black faces and yellow eyes he saw it.
White.
A face with real eyes broke through the crowd, long white hair sweeping around his lithe body as he forced the Anti-Rikus back with a sword that was oddly shaped like a demon's wing.
"RIKU…!"
That brazen voice… Had it ever held that much emotion before?
It sounded so concerned, so broken and consumed with worry that he hardly recognized it.
Another heartless was torn away from him and Riku's savior was suddenly there in front of him, yellow eyes wide and fearful. Shocked.
Riku had never seen him look so overwhelmed.
Unaware that no sound would come out, Riku parted his lips and whispered his name, his empty green eyes filling with tears.
"Yami…?"
"Treacherous witch, I said his life was mine!!" Yami screamed, and far in the distance Riku could hear a woman's long, pleased chuckle.
But then Yami turned back to face Riku, a pitiful look crossing his pretty face as he took in Riku's appearance. With a quick swipe of his sword, the last heartless released Riku and he crumpled, unable to steady himself. Warm arms were there to catch him and he immediately immersed himself in their comfort, slipping his eyes closed and feeling the current world dissolve under his feet and his body being lifted into cold nothingness.
And when pressure returned beneath his feet, Riku knew he was free. Gone from that hell.
Warm rain began pelting his worn body, and Riku did not need to open his eyes to know where he was. Familiar voices were calling him, the sound of boots running through shallow puddles evident in the warm industrial air. His green eyes slid open to find the startled figures of Leon and Cid racing towards him.
As though that was the final sign, the last straw, Riku collapsed onto the wet cobblestone street away from Yami's arms, letting his emotions run as free as the rain that looked like melting time.
Warm tears spilled from under his quivering lashes, washing over his face and becoming one with the cold tears of the sky…
And he cried.
-o-o-
Ahh… There we have it. Riku's back in Traverse Town. Without Sora.
Wee. The next update will be November 4th, hopefully, Stygian Solace's One Year Birthday! Holy crap, I've been writing this fanfic that long?!