Title: 100 Steps To Somewhere

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Claim: Cloud/Riku

Theme: 025. Choices

Word Count: 1,915

Rating: M

Summary: This was where his choices and poor judgment led him—worlds deserted of nothing but Heartless and Maleficent's allies. Riku was alone, save for those like him—those who walked the line between light and dark.

Disclaimer: Nope. Still not mine. All this stuff is copyrighted to Disney, Buena Vista Games, Square Enix, and other places, I'm sure, but none of it is copyrighted to me. No infringement intended. I make no money off this figment of my imagination.

Author's Note: I enjoyed writing this part a lot. Sending Riku through the first four worlds of Castle Oblivion (besides Hollow Bastion that is). So Riku is off to Basement Seven when we return to his storyline. I also enjoyed writing Vexen in here. Unfortunately I couldn't write his name out in the chapter because he never tells Riku who he is. So . . . yeah. The Organization guy Riku meets here is Vexen for those who do not know.

Step Twenty-Five: Shame

Riku walked up the flight of stairs to the next floor, which, he was unsurprised to see, looked like the hallway before. He walked toward the doors to the next card world, Agrabah on top. Riku didn't know what to expect behind those doors except for more Heartless; the only time he visited this world was to kidnap Princess Jasmine for Maleficent.

"Something tastes kind of funny . . ." said Riku. "What is it? It's so familiar . . ." Riku had no time to marvel at the realization that he was talking to himself when the answer came to him. "Darkness. The taste of darkness."

Riku hung his head.

"What's happened to me . . . ? The darkness even seeps into my senses."

"Don't you worry, Riku."

The orb of light descended again, blinding the already bright room with light. King Mickey appeared before him, flickering, as if he were on a badly tuned television screen.

"Your Majesty! What's happened to you? You're all . . . fuzzy."

"I can only send a little bit of my power here. But I have a request."

"A request? From Your Majesty?"

By this point, Riku was past the point to revel at the king's species.

"Riku, don't let go of yourself just because darkness has a hold on you. Fight the darkness inside you! It won't be easy . . . but don't forget! Even in the darkest darkness, there's always a little light."

Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Light . . . within darkness?"

"You and I have seen it! The far-off light, welcoming light inside the door to darkness. The light of Kingdom Hearts, Riku—it'll show you the way. Please don't give up. Believe in the light. That's all I ask."

Riku smiled. There really was light in darkness, wasn't there? All Riku had to do was make the conscious effort to follow it.

"Okay . . . I'll try my best."

"And I'll try to find a way to reach you. I'll come, I promise."

King Mickey held out his hand. Warmth filled Riku's heart. He didn't know what he did to deserve this king's undying allegiance or encouragement. He wasn't even sure why King Mickey looked out for him at all, or tried to speak to him when Riku was so lost in the darkness that he couldn't even hear him. None of that mattered. It was overwhelming to have someone on his side other than Cloud—someone who had no ties to the darkness. Riku extended his hand to shake King Mickey's, but his hand passed through the image. He jerked back his hand.

"You're . . . an illusion? My hand passes right through you."

"But we shook hands in our hearts. We're connected, you and me."

Riku smiled. King Mickey was right. How could they not be when they were locked behind the door to darkness together?

"Yeah . . . I guess so."

King Mickey disappeared. Riku took a deep breath, turned, and ran up to the doors, holding out the card to enter Agrabah.

----------0----------

Nothing significant lay behind the doors to Agrabah. There was a battle against Jafar, but—like Ansem and Maleficent explained—he only saw the dark beings he first met in Hollow Bastion. He didn't see Sora, that urchin Aladdin, or even the Princess he kidnapped. When he ran up to the next floor, he looked at the card before holding it to the doors. He fought the lump in his throat and swallowed, hoping it would go away. Riku entered Monstro.

Depression sunk into his body as he wandered the whale's interior.

"These are just your memories," said Riku.

Even though he only met Parasite Cage and a slew of Heartless, the entire ordeal repeated in his thoughts. One room was where he met Pinocchio. In another room, he envisioned Sora. Here was where he refused to give Pinocchio to his father. This room was where he called Cloud.

"I'm sorry, Sora. I guess you were right all along. I had a conscience; I just chose not to listen to it."

Riku took so many wrong turns, made so many bad decisions in the past few months. Traverse Town was where it started, but here in Monstro, Riku solidified their sides. He tried to pin Sora as the bad guy, but it was Riku, not Sora, that made things the way they were now.

Even as he fought, he tried to cling to the light. His head spun as he fought the darkness that Ansem tempered within his heart. Twice during battle he lost control, and that horrible outfit was back again, his abilities heightened, but this time it was stronger and more powerful. He meant to only attack, but whatever Ansem did to his body when he took control lingered in his heart. Riku zipped across the room, jumped higher, and left everything that came in contact with the Soul Eater without a fighting chance.

Riku knew that in the long run, it wouldn't help him any to fight darkness with darkness. It was something he couldn't think about right now with his heart already aching. Hollow Bastion hurt to see. Agrabah reminded him of how he threw caution aside to kidnap princesses for his own selfish reasons. Monstro . . . Monstro reminded him that it was he, not Sora, who pushed their friendship away.

Relief washed over him as he rushed into the blinding, white hallway that Riku came to associate with this place. He moved to cross the hallway and head to the next flight of stairs (how many floors had he traveled now?), but his path was blocked; a man with long, blond hair appeared between Riku and the stairs.

"Riku, I presume?"

Riku took a step back and drew the Soul Eater.

"Who are you? Are you with Ansem?"

The man paused, but his stoic expression did not falter.

"You are half-correct. Let us say that it's not the Ansem you know. He is Ansem and he is not—which is to say he is nobody."

"Nobody, huh? Sorry, riddles aren't my thing. Try making some sense."

"He belongs to neither the light nor the dark, but walks the twilight between. As do I. And for that matter—"

The man looked at Riku. The twilight between, thought Riku, in that time when the sun sets, where light and dark meet. Riku's eyes widened and he let his poised arm holding the Soul Eater fall. The man laughed.

"That's right. We have much in common."

Riku dropped his head and frowned.

"Maybe we do . . ." said Riku. He raised the Soul Eater again and glared at the man. "But so what? Is that an invitation to join your club? Yeah, there's darkness inside me, just like you said. But darkness is my enemy! And you are, too, for making everything here reek of it."

The man actually dared to look amused.

"Oh ho, so it's a fight you want. Very well—a fight you shall get."

He pulled a large, blue shield from nowhere, and once again, Riku found himself engaged in battle. He didn't know how Sora did this all the time. First the Heartless, Maleficent, Jafar, Parasite Cage, and now this blond man in the black cloak. Riku understood why, maybe, Sora's heart was the stronger one—why in the end, the Keyblade chose him instead.

The ice attacks were tricky, and Riku was thankful when he felt himself transform. This man blocked all frontal attacks, and Riku found it hard to get behind him. Once in his dark form, the battle became easier.

The man stepped back, laughing. Riku continued to hold the Soul Eater, facing him. He wasn't giving up, was he? If he did, it was all for the better. Riku didn't really want to battle to the death, and he waited to see what this man would do.

"This battle has made it clear," the man said. "The darkness coursing through you is a tremendous power. All you needed was the right provocation."

Riku gritted his teeth. How could he have felt thankful when his dark powers took over?

"Great. So this was a trick?"

"Precisely. Your fiery reaction provided just the data I needed. You have my thanks, Riku."

The man disappeared and Riku stared at the empty hallway.

He'd been tricked by a blond man in a black, hooded coat. He'd felt thankful—real relief—when the darkness coursed through his body. Riku hung his head and walked up the stairs to the next floor.

----------0----------

It was a place he never cared to see again. When he looked at the card before entering the world, Riku frowned, and his face turned red. First Ansem, then the trick, and now a card to Neverland? What kind of place was this, and what kind of options did Riku have when he felt most comfortable using the darkness? Ansem's words returned to him and Riku steadied himself. He wouldn't allow Ansem to win this time. Whether he wielded the darkness well or not, he would not give in to it.

King Mickey said the light would never give up on him. Riku hoped King Mickey knew what he was talking about.

Riku advanced through Captain Hook's ship—a place as familiar as Hollow Bastion and Destiny Islands. When he came to face Captain Hook, Riku took his frustration out on the clone, and put all his efforts into defeating him. It felt good to watch Captain Hook fall. That man drove him insane.

On the next floor of the building, Riku held out the last card and entered Traverse Town. He knew he wouldn't find them, but he looked for Sora, Cloud, and Cloud's friends, anyway. Riku's heart ached.

Back in Monstro (the fake one), Riku could think of four worlds other than Hollow Bastion and Monstro that would torture him to visit. Two of them were Neverland and Traverse Town. The most twisted part of this place was that he didn't even meet his worst memories. His empty heart wouldn't allow it. Instead, he filled in the people he'd hurt and lost with his mind. It was worse than if he could actually see them.

Riku knew he wouldn't find anyone he wanted to see in Traverse Town, but when he saw the light of the white hallway and only encountered Guard Armor and even more Heartless, this knowledge didn't stop the pain in his heart. Riku hung his head. This was where his choices and poor judgment led him—worlds deserted of nothing but Heartless and Maleficent's allies. Riku was alone, save for those like him—those who walked the line between light and dark.

He paused before stepping into the hallway. Someone would be out there. Riku didn't have any cards left, and someone would have to give him more unless Ansem was already waiting to destroy him. Riku doubted that. Ansem wasn't kind enough to try and play puppet master again without torturing Riku more first.

Riku took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway. Standing there was a person, but no one Riku could have ever guessed. It wasn't Ansem. It wasn't even the blond man in the black, hooded coat.

"What the . . ." said Riku. "What are you supposed to be?"

"Surprised? I guess you would be. I bet it's not every day you meet your twin."

Double post. Read on.