Chapter 21: World of the Forgotten
The inky black void of the Realm of Darkness stretched on forever, without even the tiniest speck of light for miles around. The only color in this foreboding world was from the silver zippers and chains hanging off of a leather coat that otherwise blended perfectly into the darkness. Boots matching the coat stepped out into the shadows, marching one after another on a black floor that was impossible to distinct from the abyss surrounding it. Right, left, right, left, step, step, step—one foot after another. The hooded man's footfalls didn't leave even the tiniest of sounds.
Well, Riku thought, here I am again.
After his near-death experience in that desert wasteland, Riku had lingered in the Realm of Darkness for hours. He had lied in the depths as the darkness worked its foul magic on him, healing his wounds and mending his scars. Physical scars, anyway. Every time his body was strengthened, Riku felt his heart inch a little bit further into Ansem's shadow; never by a lot, but enough.
Are you thinking about me, Riku?
Shut up, you damn ghost.
That's all he was at the moment. A ghost. And if Riku stayed strong, that's all he ever would be. After he had returned to full health, Riku had once again set off on journeys across worlds to find anyone who could help him deal with the darkness in his heart. His first stop had been one he overheard talk of while sitting in the corner of a seedy tavern at Traverse Town; some refugees had been speaking of an old witch living in a forest in a distant world. Riku had set off immediately, leaving a pile of munny he had scavenged up next to his barely-eaten plate of grilled fish. It wasn't very good anyway.
He found the world easy enough; eternal fields of grass surrounded by dense woods and with ruined castles along hillsides. His journey through the forest was interrupted only by the occasional roaring bear or ghostly blue orb seen out of the corner of his eye, but was otherwise uneventful. This was a world untouched by the Heartless-Nobody conflict, likely because of its low population; it was mostly an untamed wilderness.
Unfortunately for Riku, the uneventfulness of his journey extended into his visit to the witch. When he came across her humble abode, a small house dug into the side of a hill, he found himself greeted by nothing but an empty wood carver's hut. Bear sculptures and effigies decorated nearly every empty space in the little room, and as Riku turned to leave he saw a message carved into a plank of wood on a small table:
"Fate be changed, look inside, mend the bond torn by pride."
Confused by its meaning, if it was even meant for him, Riku returned to Traverse Town. There his next chance at aid came to him, instead of him going to it. A charismatic man introducing himself a David Xanatos had approached Riku in the shadowed alley behind the Second District hotel. He seemed to have confused Riku for a Nobody – understandable, due to the coat – and asked for a member of 'the famous Organization XIII' to hive him a hand with some sort of problem. Apparently, this Xanatos fellow had overheard Riku's questioning of civilians and promised to let him look through an old spellbook he owned.
Riku would have played along with the Organization XIII lie to get a look at that spellbook, but when Xanatos started asking about his combat skills and any magic he had, Riku quickly came to realize the 'problem' was one that involved fighting. And after Maleficent, Riku knew better than to fight someone else's battles for them. He had turned down Xanatos's offer, but that of course left him without any leads. So he had opened a corridor and left the night streets of Traverse Town behind, hoping to come across a world at random which could be of help.
Do you not realize how vast the universe is? Ansem taunted in the back of Riku's mind. The odds of you stepping into a useful world at random are astronomically against you.
Then I'll just keep going until I find that one-in-a-million chance.
You're a fool.
If we're the same, like you always like to say, then aren't you a fool as well? Riku couldn't hide his smug grin when Ansem grew silent.
Right, left, right, left. One, two, one, two. Riku's footfalls were hollow as he continued on his journey through the Realm of Darkness. There wasn't really much to say about it that hadn't been said already. Endless black, no visible floor, nothing but emptiness all around—come to think of it, Riku wasn't actually sure if the corridors really took him through the Realm of Darkness. When he had gone to it after Ansem stole his body there had been floating pathways and glowing stones. There was none of that here. Maybe it was just a different region.
Step, step, step…step…
Riku paused. Was it his imagination, or was he seeing something in the darkness? It was a tiny pinpoint of light; while he imagined anywhere else it would be rather dim, the light was blinding in this place. Something about it was familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he knew the circle of yellow light from. A scratching sound like something skittering across a polished floor made Riku call forth Soul Eater, smoke and darkness swirling around his outstretched hand as his sword took shape. The circle of light before him shifted to the right, revealing a twin to the left of it. Riku gripped Soul Eater tighter. The lights were eyes.
Heartless.
The next thing Riku knew he was surrounded on all sides by a swarming circle of Neoshadows and Darkballs—both Pureblood breeds. That only made sense; the Realm of Darkness was where Pureblood Heartless originated. Riku was on their turf…and he had the feeling they had the home field advantage. He moved into his combat stance and ignited his free hand with Dark Firaga, illuminating the immediate area with a blue glow.
The first Heartless to attack was a Neoshadow, which lunged at Riku with its razor-sharp claws ready to dig into his chest. Even a heart as clouded by darkness as his was a brilliant beacon inside the Realm of Darkness. Riku ducked under the Neoshadow's blow, standing up as it flew over him to slam a fist into its chest. The Neoshadow was tossed aside by the attack, slamming into a Darkball and a trio of its fellow Neoshadows to Riku's left.
Those three Neoshadows quickly recovered and ran at Riku as one, to which Riku replied by sending a flurry of Dark Firaga balls out at them and the swarm behind them. A Darkball charged at Riku with its maw wide open, and he jumped up to avoid it. At that moment the balls of Dark Firaga made contact with their targets and the explosion briefly illuminated the area much more than his lit hand did. The Heartless surrounded Riku as far as the eye could see. There were so many of them.
Riku dropped back down to the ground and landed atop a Neoshadow. Before it melted into the floor he stabbed his sword into its body, digging through its black flesh and allowing dark smoke to escape. He kicked the wounded Heartless aside and turned toward a Darkball that was barreling toward him, which he countered with a quick barrier spell. The dazed Darkball moved backwards a few feet with its body wavering, leaving itself wide open for Soul Eater.
Two halves of what had once been a Darkball fell into the pitch black sea and vanished under the waves of marching Heartless. Neoshadows leaped over the corpse of their fallen comrade and came at Riku with claws primed. As Riku moved to dodge them, a Shadow – not a Neoshadow, but a common Shadow – rose out of the ground and tripped him over. Soul Eater flew from Riku's grip and clattered onto the floor some distance away, where he immediately lost track of it under the surging Heartless.
Neoshadows and Shadows were on Riku immediately, clawing at his chest as he fought them off with his bare hands. He ignited his right hand with Dark Firaga like his left already was, not for light this time but rather to aid in defense against the Heartless. But even despite his struggles they still got dangerously close to tearing open Riku's chest on more than one occasion. Riku held up an arm to block a Shadow's lunge, which resulted in his sleeve getting torn off. He proceeded to kick the little Heartless away, only for it to be replaced by two more Shadows and a Darkball.
Riku grit his teeth and clenched his fists, releasing the Dark Firaga spells that surrounded his arms. A pillar of blue flame raised high into the air and then expanded, destroying every Heartless in a five yard radius. But still more closed in on him to take their place. Acting quick, Riku jumped up and sent another wave of Dark Firaga out in the direction he thought Soul Eater had fallen. Although the space he cleared was quickly filled by more Heartless, Riku did spot a glimmer of purple and red lying forgotten.
"Come, Guardian!" Riku shouted.
Xehanort's Guardian rose from his shadow and moved into action immediately, doing as Riku commanded. The black creature barreled through the Heartless while surrounded by a glowing shield. Shadows, Neoshadows, and Darkballs were tossed aside like simply ragdolls. The Heartless' unified attention turned to the Guardian as it wrapped its muscular arms around a Darkball and tossed it high into the black sky, giving Riku the chance he needed to pick Soul Eater up.
Almost immediately after the weapon was in his hand a Darkball lunged at him from behind. Smoke and darkness enveloped Riku's sword and extended outwards, transforming Soul Eater into its dual-bladed lance form. The back blade pierced the Darkball between its eyes and Riku spun around, swinging it like a makeshift mace. The Darkball flew off of the weapon and crashed atop a pile of Shadows.
"Guardian!" Riku shouted, sending a flare of blue fire up into the sky. The Guardian turned toward Riku and nodded in acknowledgment of its master's command. Covering itself in the shield once again, it charged through the Heartless and returned to Riku's side.
Riku pulled down his hood, Ansem's golden eyes glowing brightly in the darkness and Ansem's silver hair falling down his back. He floated up into the air as the Guardian rose behind him, arms stretched out to its sides. Once Riku was at a height where only the Darkballs were a threat to him he came to a stop and held the lance out. The Guardian's hands came to life with orbs of bright blue, which it tossed down on the swarm of Heartless in a rain of energy. At the same time, Riku waved his lance through the air and called on purple orbs that began firing thin blue beams down upon the Heartless to pick up any stragglers the Guardian's onslaught left behind.
And still more crept up from the shadows.
You'll never win against them here. Oh good, Ansem was back. Riku shook his head to chase away the voice, but as much as he hated to admit it Ansem was right. The Heartless were darkness incarnate, and every inch of the Realm of Darkness was theirs. He could fight for eternity and their numbers would never lessen. There was only one choice to make.
The Guardian sensed Riku's mental command and vanished, fading away into its master's shadow. Riku sent a rain of Dark Firaga down below him, clearing a section of the Heartless tide at least for a moment. Then he opened a corridor of darkness on the ground and cut off his levitation, dropping like a stone into the portal. Claws and teeth caught his coat during the descent, but gravity proved stronger.
Riku fled.
Darkness gave way to light and Riku fell onto a hard paved road. He climbed to his feet as the corridor floating in midair above him collapsed, locking the Heartless away within the Realm of Darkness. Riku grimaced as he investigated the damage to his coat—mostly tears on the sleeves and the part hanging around his legs. At least the hood was unharmed. Grabbing Ansem's long hair, Riku pulled it tight and then moved the leather hood over his face. He had no idea what world he had arrived in, and it was time to scout out the locals.
While relatively bright compared to the Realm of Darkness, it was still dark compared to anywhere else. Riku at first wasn't sure if that was the natural state of the world or an invasion of the Heartless, but a chance glance at a clock through a nearby window put Riku's fears to rest. It wasn't a world on the brink of destruction, it was just night time.
Judging by the lack of people and buildings, Riku figured he must have been on a back street. He walked by dark houses as he moved through the neighborhood, glancing inside at small fireplaces or up at the interesting architecture decisions that the natives made; half the buildings looked like they could collapse at any moment, what with their odd angles and curves. As Riku rounded a corner, though, he heard cheers and saw bright light coming from the distance. A party? That would explain why the back streets were so empty. However, as soon as Riku stepped out onto the main street, a choked gasp escaped his throat and quickly backpedaled into the shadows, pulling his hood further over his face.
"This can't be—Disney Town?!"
The large street stretched on quite a ways to Riku's left and right. While the street itself was empty, all along its sidewalks were shops, kiosks, and hundreds of anthropomorphic animals chatting excitedly to themselves. Lamp posts on the edge of the street were lit and trees and bushes had strings of lights hanging from them. As for the buildings, Riku hadn't noticed in the darkness, but here on this lit street he could see that they were painted with bright colors just like the ones he had seen during his brief visits to Disney Castle during the year Sora was asleep. This was bad; very, very bad.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!" Riku glanced up as the crowd grew hushed. A synthesized voice rang out from the numerous speakers hanging from trees and lamp posts. "Wasteland proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination. In thousands of sparkling lights, and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds: the Mean Street Electrical Parade!"
The crowd burst into cheers, but Riku frowned from his hiding spot in the shadows. Mean Street? Wasteland? Was he not in Disney Town at all? It sure looked a lot like it.
Riku's thoughts would have to wait, though, because suddenly cheery digital music began playing on the speakers all up and down Mean Street, accompanied by a new round of applause and cheering by the people of this Wasteland place. From the direction of the castle – yes, a castle; was he sure this wasn't Disney Town? – came a parade float decorated with bright lights over almost every inch. Standing atop the float and waving to the people was a rabbit who at first glance Riku could swear was King Mickey. The resemblance was uncanny, putting aside his white face and long ears. As the rabbit's float moved past the spot Riku was standing, Riku worked up the courage to step out of his hiding spot and work his way into the crowd. Coming up behind the first float was a long line of more, as well as dancers and singers, and absolutely everything was decorated in those bright lights.
Despite the seriousness of his situation, Riku couldn't help but actually let the energetic music and cheers of Wasteland's people get to him. It had been a very long time since he had any form of release, and maybe here in a world that seemed safe he could let himself relax. Just for a short time.
"What's with that getup, friend?" Riku turned to his left. A horse holding a large offering of snacks and drinks was smiling at him.
"O-Oh," Riku said softly, surprised at being approached by someone without any ulterior motive. "Just wary for rain."
"Ha! I suppose it's always better to be safe than sorry, isn't it?" The horse's smile widened, revealing white teeth. "Anyway, can I interest you in some snacks? Maybe a pretzel? A churro? Everything is only fifty munny!"
"Why not?" Riku smiled under his hood, though the horse probably couldn't tell. He dug into his pockets and pulled out his near-empty wallet. "I'll take a… What's this?" Riku pointed at a treat shaped like rabbit ears.
"Why that's a cake pop! Sweet icing and chocolate on the outside, moist cake on the inside!"
"I'll take one of those, then," Riku said, handing over the munny. The horse gave Riku his snack before moving on to the group of kids that were starting to crowd around his feet.
"Thanks much, friend. Enjoy the party!"
Riku waved goodbye to the horse and wormed his way through the crowds. The float going by right now was an animatronic dragon lit up with purple and green lights. Riku flinched away from it for a moment before telling himself he was being ridiculous. Dragons just hadn't been his favorite things since Maleficent.
As he made his way up to a plaza at the north end of the street, nearer to the castle, a polished metal statue of a man and a rabbit - the same rabbit from the parade, he assumed - caught his eye. Intrigued, Riku moved from the crowds and over to the statue. There was an inscription on the dais:
You helped me find the heart and the nerve.
A second chance is what we all deserve.
Riku's eyes narrowed. Underneath the inscription was the indentation of a keyhole. Immediately his mind went to the Keyholes that led to the hearts of worlds, but he shook his head.
"It's just a symbol. Not the Keyhole."
Behind you!
Riku jumped up at Ansem's warning and began calling on Soul Eater, but before he could properly turn around a stream of liquid slammed into his back and forced him to the ground. Riku tried pushing himself up to his feet, but the blue liquid hardened and formed shackles that bound him to the earth by his ankles and wrists. What in the world?
"Don't move," a voice hissed, and Riku felt something press down on his back. "Struggle and I can't promise your safety."
"Who are you?" Riku asked. He stopped fighting his bonds and turned his head as far as his neck would allow, trying to catch a glimpse of his attacker. His eyes widened. Standing next to him with one foot on his back was the rabbit, the rabbit on the float and in the statue. He was glaring at Riku with barely restrained anger.
"Why did you come back here?" the rabbit asked. "Was the Mad Doctor not good enough for you? Wasteland is finally bright again, and you're not taking that from us!"
"What are you talking about?" Riku asked. He began his struggle again and the rabbit pressed his foot down harder. He didn't weigh a lot so it didn't really do much, but it wasn't like he could just turn around and knock him away with these shackles. "I've never even been here before!"
"Stop lying." The rabbit searched through his pockets before pulling out what appeared to be a remote control and holding it against Riku's side. A surge of electricity suddenly traveled along his body and Riku bit down on his tongue to keep from screaming in pain. In the background the music seemed to change from cheerful to disturbing, simply by the situation Riku now found himself in.
"Are you here to sic those Heartless on my friends again?" the rabbit continued as he put his strange remote control away.
"Heartless?" Riku gasped out, turning to look back at the rabbit again. His eyes widened in realization—the coat! The rabbit thought he was a part of Organization XIII! One of them had to have been here before. "Look, you have the completely wrong idea about who I am. I'm not-"
A sudden scream down the street pulled the attention of both Riku and the rabbit away from the interrogation. The parade had come to a halt though the music kept playing on the speakers and the lights were as bright as ever. After a few seconds of silence the crowd burst into horrified screams and broke apart into a chaotic wave running off in every direction for safety.
"What are those things?!"
"Blotlings? Has the Mad Doctor returned?!"
"They look like those black creatures from before!"
The rabbit broke off into a run, fighting against the tide of fleeing citizens and toward whatever it was that was terrifying him. For some reason, as he ran away the shackles binding Riku to the earth melted, changing into puddles of blue liquid. Riku climbed up to follow the rabbit, but curiosity got the better of him and he dipped two fingers into one of the puddles and then brought the coated fingers up to his eyes.
"Paint?" The rabbit was able to make solid objects out of paint. Who was he?
Explosions rocked the area, forcing Riku to shake the paint off his fingers. Smoke billowed up around his arm and then coalesced into a bat wing shape in his hand, forming Soul Eater. One of the floats was on fire and Riku could see the silhouette of that rabbit He had a feeling the Heartless had arrived. He tugged his hood further over his face just to be safe and then broke into a sprint, moving at top speed through the crowds.
Riku was not expecting what he saw next.
They weren't Heartless or even Nobodies, but three varieties of blue-skinned creatures unlike anything Riku had ever seen. The smallest reminded Riku of a Shadow but with a more angular body. It moved with frantic, jittering motions as its thin red eyes glowed faintly in the night. The second type was about the size of a Soldier and jumped around acrobatically and swiped at the rabbit with its razor-sharp silver claws. The third was large and swung its mighty fists in punches or bounced around and created shockwaves. Strange emblems that were also unfamiliar to Riku decorated the creatures' chests.
But even if they weren't Heartless or Nobodies, they were still clearly a threat. Riku watched as the rabbit fired a new green liquid from his outstretched palm which slammed against one of the smaller ones as it darted around the area. It did nothing to the creature except make it twitch angrily, but the green drops that landed on the ground caused the area they touched to vanish. If the blue liquid was paint, then was the green one paint thinner?
One of the Soldier-sized creatures jumped at the rabbit from his blind spot, so Riku took the initiative and dashed toward the creature first, piercing Soul Eater through its chest before it could tear the rabbit to pieces with its claws.
The rabbit whirled around to face Riku with wide eyes. "What game are you playing?"
"We can talk later!" Riku cast Dark Firaga at one of the large creatures and then sliced one of the Shadow-like ones in two. "Just trust me for now!"
Riku jumped into the battle after saying that, leaving the rabbit to deal with what he could; obviously if he jumped into the fight willingly he could handle himself. One of the clawed creatures swung at Riku and tore at his cloak, but it got a sword between its eyes for its troubles. Something heavy and powerful slammed into Riku from behind, however, as one of the large monsters struck him with a might punch that sent him flying into the colorful wall of a nearby bakery. Climbing up from the sidewalk, Riku watched as an orb of paint from the rabbit shifted into an anvil shape before solidifying in midair and falling on top of a trio of the monsters.
Rather cartoony for his tastes, but whatever worked.
The anvil dissolved into paint again and the rabbit moved jumped up on top of a nearby building with thinner swirling around his hand. He launched a glob of the green liquid at a lamp post, dissolving it at the base and causing it to topple over atop more of the monsters. The lights exploded from the impact, sending glass and electricity out over them for added damage.
"Why don't you just make a cage for them?" Riku asked while jumping away from a squad of the little ones. He slashed Soul Eater through the air and sent out a shockwave of darkness that cut through them and others behind them. "Round them up so we can take them all out at once?"
"It isn't that simple," the rabbit replied as he used paint to make another anvil and drop it on the head of one of the large monsters. "Since the Blot's defeat I can't keep objects made of paint around for very long."
"The 'Blot'?" What was that, some kind of monster?
"Don't play dumb with me," he snapped back at Riku. Riku grimaced; he still thought he was part of Organization XIII.
"Fine then." Riku raised his sword in front of his face and watched as it became aglow with a blue aura. Rising into the air, he charged at the nearest blue monster with his blade pointing forward. Soul Eater cut through the monster and Riku continued to fly forward unhindered, vanishing into darkness and reemerging in another spot to attack from a different angle. Again and again he repeated this process, cutting and slicing numbers of the not-Heartless. Finally he jumped up into the air and pierced Soul Eater into the earth, causing fire and stone to erupt out of the ground and finish off the stragglers.
Paint soared over Riku's head, solidifying to form a wide stone arch. Splashes of thinner hit the arch at its bases and it came crumbling down with just enough time for Riku to escape before more of the monsters were crushed by stone. One of the little ones survived and leaped at Riku, but a spear of paint pierced it through the side and transformed into a spear of metal while within its body. The creature was consumed by a dark flame and faded away inches from Riku's face.
Riku felt something press into his back and looked over his shoulder to see the rabbit holding his electricity-generating remote. "Start talking. Why did you guys come back here? The Mad Doctor is dead and no one else will listen to you, and the Keyhole is locked anyway."
"Keyhole?" Riku asked. So it wasn't just a carving after all…
"Yes, so sorry about that."
Riku sighed. "Look, I'm not here to attack you. You're mixing me up with someone else; an easy mistake, I know. I know I'm wearing their uniform. That's because I'm hiding and it's the best option I have." He turned around and squatted down to eye level with the rabbit, though kept his hood up. "My name is Riku. And I swear to you, I'm not behind the Heartless or whatever those blue creatures were. I'm just passing through your world on the search for…" He frowned, thinking of the best way to put it without giving himself away.
"A second chance is what we all deserve."
"…I'm looking for a second chance."
The rabbit's face relaxed slightly, though his finger never moved from the button that would send electricity through Riku's body. "Can you at least show me your face, just to be sure?"
Riku paused. It wasn't unreasonable at all, but… "I-I'd rather not." He knew that wouldn't exactly put him in the rabbit's good graces, but he really didn't like looking at his own reflection. The rabbit watched Riku carefully, staring him down for several long moments before sighing and putting his remote away.
"Fine. Okay. I can't turn down someone looking for that." He shrugged. "You said you were new to this world, right? You probably don't have any idea where you are, do you?"
"No idea. It looks like a world I've been to before, but…"
The rabbit tilted his head and then shrugged again, evidently deciding against asking further. "This place is called Wasteland. It's an artificial world, made by me and my brother. It's broken and fractured, but…it's still good. It's still my home." He kicked at the dirt. "The people living here are those who aren't welcome at home for whatever reason—forgotten, or cast out, or whatever. Though," he smiled, "some of us at least are lucky enough to still have friends outside."
Riku was silent. A world of forgottens and cast-asides… Maybe he belonged here.
"Oh." The rabbit stretched a hand out. "I never introduced myself. The name's Oswald."
Riku stared at Oswald in silence. There was a lot more than just a passing resemblance to Disney Town in this place. Seeing this reminded Riku way too much of Mickey's handshake at Castle Oblivion. This couldn't be a coincidence. Oswald was beginning to frown, and Riku realized he was staring for too long. Smiling, he took Oswald's hand in his own.
"I'm…Riku." He stood up and looked around at the damage the blue creatures had caused. "So what were those things? They weren't Heartless…"
Oswald's shoulders drooped. "We don't know. They've suddenly shown up in the last week or so, causing all sorts of trouble. Not even the Blotlings were this vicious."
Riku sighed and rubbed the side of his hooded head. Now that he had befriended Oswald – or at least made his acquaintance – he couldn't really just up and leave for another world.
I've seen those strange creatures somewhere before…
Ansem?
The silence in reply to Riku's call was deafening. Riku realized that Ansem hadn't intended for him to hear that thought.
Leave me alone, boy. Fine, have it your way.
"You know," Riku began slowly, "I…might be able to help you with them. I mean, I can't claim to get rid of them for good, but maybe clear some away?"
Oswald tilted his head. "Well, you're certainly powerful." He crossed his arms and tapped his foot, looking down at the ground in thought. "Fine. But I'm coming with you. You still aren't clear of suspicion!"
Riku smiled. "Your world, your rules. So where to start?"
"Follow me."
As Oswald led Riku down the street, though, Riku's thoughts were elsewhere. Ansem sounded almost disturbed when he had spoken up. Riku knew he had mental problems—as he had learned before, Xehanort's Heartless genuinely seemed to think he was the real Ansem the Wise. So maybe whatever these things were they were something Xehanort had seen? In which case they were definitely bad news.
Something moved on the rooftop and Riku paused. With the only light source the lamps and halted parade floats, there was nothing illuminating the roof to give him a clear picture. But through the darkness, he definitely saw a figure up there; a human figure, not an animal.
"Hey! You coming?" Oswald called from ahead of him.
"Sorry," Riku replied. "Just thinking. Lead the way, Oswald." He gave one last look to the roof. Nothing was there.