Riku and the Broken Cage
"… but part of one that's much bigger."
Sora's words had struck a chord in Riku and quickly reminded him of something he was gradually forgetting. The horizon at the edge of the sea wasn't the terminus of the universe but rather a promise that there was much more out there and this little island – all of the little islands around it too – was just the piece of it that they were a part of. Pieces within pieces of things that joined with other pieces made up of pieces and became bigger and bigger until they were unfathomably large.
There were things out there that were bigger than them but all of it made of smaller pieces and anything built can be broken. He tried to stay calm as he walked with Kairi up the hill and said goodbye to her at the intersection where a streetlamp of blown glass stood vigilantly, beginning to glow in the fading light. Then, when she was far away enough that she wouldn't notice, he took off down the branching path leading to the jungle.
He was supposed to go back to Sora's place. He was supposed to stay with his mother, staying safe and keeping her safe. But now that he'd seen something he couldn't back down yet and better sooner than later; there was something he could fix. He could do it right now.
Riku charged through the narrow path in the foliage, so forceful in his excitement that the leaves rustled beside him. He burst out onto the lawn. His steps faltered and slowed, the determined grin fell from his face as he took in what lay before him.
The cage was broken. In the low light the shadows made the mangled iron appear to be jagged claws reaching out from within an amorphous beast. The house was dark and all of a sudden the lawn seemed eerily quiet as if the world was holding its breath. Then from the shadows inside there was a stirring of movement. It stalked towards him, leaving the twisted confines and walking onto the veranda. Against all logic, the shadows followed the encroaching footsteps, pooling and swirling around them like a dense fog. The figure stood on the edge of the veranda and Riku's eyes widened.
"Well, well, Riku," Aram chuckled, lifting the object he held in his left hand. It was shades of grey and double-shafted, adorned in more than one place with a demonic eye and at the end a wicked hook curled over, completing the unmistakable shape. "You decided to come back after all. And with such good timing too."
"Dad, what have you done?" Riku whispered, staring in horror as the shadows gathered under his father and grew up behind him like a rapidly sprouting plant, morphing into long limbs and that dreaded and familiar horned head. Even if he hadn't recognised that yellow-eyed, grim, grinning creature, the heart-shaped hollow in its chest was all that was needed to see it for the monster it was… and the monster the man whose shadow it clung to had become.
"That look in your eyes…" Aram noted, smirking. "Does this look familiar to you? This thing of legend—the Keyblade? And of course, the Heartless." He gestured to the guardian behind him.
"There's nothing like that in our legends," Riku hissed, seething from somewhere deep, deep inside.
"No, there isn't really, is there? You've got a lot to answer for then, don't you? This Keyblade – that occasionally slipped your lips as a childish fantasy of yours – really is real. It's my reward for finally being able to make contact." He grinned with an unfocussed look in his eyes like a man gone mad. "I've heard the voice of the men beyond the sky and they gave me a glimpse of what lies there for those who are unafraid. They gave me the key to take me there."
Riku almost flinched as fear curled inside him like horrific fingers ready to squeeze. The nightmare before him now had haunted him before but in his dreams he saw himself standing at the podium with the darkness at his feet. In many ways, this was actually much worse. His eyes darted from side to side, trying to see inside the house but he couldn't make anything out in the darkness.
"What happened to the others?" he asked, voice trembling with restraint. "Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj?"
His father gave a cursory glance over his shoulder. "They will be perfectly fine."
No words had sounded less reassuring to Riku.
"You've kept this from me all this time, haven't you," his father said, walking down the steps, followed ominously by the guardian. "The possibilities aren't all they showed me; I've seen visions from the past you witnessed… you and Sora."
"Then you've seen the consequences!" Riku shouted at him, fingers itching to summon the Keyblade. "That path didn't lead me anywhere worthwhile. I promise it won't for you either."
His father shook his head, chuckling through his lips condescendingly. The grass shrivelled and blackened like it was burned when his boots touched the ground. "I saw your weakness, Riku. I saw you floundering like the blind, unable to grasp opportunity or recognise potential. I only blame myself for not taking more direct responsibility for your education-"
"Direct responsibility!?" Riku exploded. "As if you took any responsibility for anything! You haven't even asked… This isn't about me, this is about you. Stop trying to make me a part of it!"
"You have been a part of it the moment you took your first breath in this world," his father retorted, lifting the Keyblade aggressively. "You are part of my story as much as I am part of yours but you were the one who took the opportunity I sought when all of the corridors opened in the storm. You squandered it! You've returned here where everything is the same and you have nothing to show for it."
"I have so much to show for it, you wouldn't believe," Riku muttered. "You would have only lost yourself and then what? The things I have exist in more places than those that are right in front of me and in more ways than simple gain. If you've gained nothing then it's only because of your own selfishness. You haven't even asked…"
"Whatever I would want to ask from you, I don't need to know."
He lunged forward with the Keyblade. Riku's appeared with a flash. He flung Aram's weapon out of the way with ease, being much more practised with the sword than his father. Without thinking he went to strike for the heart, as he would for any other creature of darkness. However, the tip of his Keyblade struck the rock-hard abs of the guardian, appeared to protect his father. Riku leaped back before it could strike him down with clawed hands. Aram readjusted his grip on the Keyblade but before he could make any more moves a large portal of darkness appeared behind him. The guardian grabbed him by the shoulders, dragging him back into the swirling portal, even as his eyes widened and he struggled.
"No!" Riku cried out, rushing forward but the portal was already closing in. By the time he reached it, the last of it dissipated under his hand.
The world went still, seeming to hold its breath in shock. Riku breathed hard as he stared at his fist, still closed over empty air even after his Keyblade had left him. His heart pounded in his ears like it was screaming and his insides swallowed themselves with the guilty feeling that he'd failed. In trying to settle down and put things behind him he'd opened the path for something dangerous to travel freely. He had been so wrong…
"Riku?"
Riku blinked and whirled around, staring at the woman who'd just appeared on the edge of the lawn with wide eyes. She only looked at him briefly but when she caught sight of the house her gaze stuck there in disbelief.
"Oh my gosh," she gasped. "Riku, what happened here? Is everyone okay? Where are your brothers?"
"D-Dawn?" Riku whispered and then immediately looked away, ashamed of how his voice had shrunk. "I don't know where they are. It was like this when I got here."
"Well, we have to look for them!" Sora's mother asserted, running to the house and grabbing Riku's arm on her way. "What about Aram?"
"Dad… he…"
"Oh, honey," she cooed, stroking his hair she way she normally did to Sora's to make it lie flat, even though Riku's couldn't lie flatter even if it was ironed down. "Something terrible happened, didn't it?"
She didn't know the half of it. Rather than answer, Riku just looked away, a part of him still reluctant to speak about anything to do with his time away from the Islands, especially the darkness. Dawn sighed and patted him on the arm, leading him up the steps and into the mangled cage.
"It's alright," she said softly. "We'll look for your brothers first, then I'm taking you home."
"Home," Riku thought miserably. He'd rather be swallowed up by the earth than go anywhere called 'home'.
It was so dark by the time they made it back to Sora's house that they had to tread carefully despite the streetlights illuminating the way. Dawn held his hand the entire way, keeping a firm grip while he trembled in silent grief and rage. Sora must have been watching for them through the window because he flung the door open before they'd even gotten up the front step.
"You're back!" he exclaimed. "Riku, I need to—Riku?"
Sora glanced at his mother, who shook her head sadly and wordlessly gestured for him to move out of the doorway. Once they were inside she let go of Riku's hand and quickly crossed the floor to the dining table. Faja had paused in stacking dinner dishes and watched Dawn with a frightened expression on her face as if predicting that Sora's mother bore news she didn't want to hear. Sunni also stared at her mother curiously, pausing with the cutlery she'd collected still in her hands.
"Thanks honey," Dawn said, taking the cutlery out of Sunni's hands and just dumping it into the now empty pot on the table. "There's something I've got to tell Riku's mom, okay?"
Sunni seemed to understand that she was being shooed away and gave her mother a dark looking, casting it at Riku for a moment before defiantly sliding the pot off the table and carrying it to the kitchen. Sora turned his gaze from them to Riku, noting the way he held his head down, making it harder to see his eyes through his curtain of hair than it already was.
"Riku, what happened?" he asked in a whisper, leaning closer while keeping an eye on their mothers. "Weren't you just at home?"
Riku swallowed thickly. "Yeah, but…"
They both jumped at the sound of Riku's mother walking away so quickly that her feet thudded on the wooden floors. They'd both been watching, even as discretely as they were. It was a testament to how tense they both were—Riku hadn't even realised it. With her head down they didn't see Faja's face before she turned her back on them to go up the stairs. Dawn followed after her at a quieter pace. Riku and Sora stood in silence, questions whirling in the space between them chaotically.
"Hey," Sunni cut in, startling them both. They looked at her coming to stand closer to them. She gave Riku a critical look, head tipped to the side slightly. "What's the matter with your mom and my mom?"
Riku's body tensed so tightly his whole body seemed to contract and lock up. Sora glanced at him and then gave Sunni a bright smile. "Uh, I think it's complicated?" he tried, scratching his cheek with a finger. "But if we make sense of it, I'll tell you. Promise."
Sunni gave him a sceptical side-eye. "I don't think you will," she muttered under her breath. Sora pulled back indignantly and was about to retort but before he could she said, this time a little louder: "Anyway, I was talking to Riku."
If Riku laughed he was certain he would cry at the same time. Instead he pressed his lips together tightly like a dam for his emotions. Sunni sounded so much like Kadaj in that snarky statement. The fragile way her shoulders rolled forwards indicated sensitivity but her face was smoothed down to a façade with acute perception peeking through her eyes.
"Well, if you're so sure we won't tell you later, then we're definitely not telling you to your face," Sora retorted.
Sunni harrumphed and turned on her heel, marching up the stairs. The boys watched her appear on the balcony and enter her bedroom, slamming the door shut. Riku looked at Sora.
"That was kinda mean."
Sora turned to him, flinching at the accusation. "Yeah, well, like… she's…" he stammered, flailing for an excuse. He'd felt so vindicated in his actions in the moment but the more he tried to look back on his interactions with Sunni the less he understood why. She'd been scarce in the past couple of weeks he'd been back and most of the things before then were fragmented and disjointed, sliding past each other like a mosaic of broken glass, looking for the correct places to fall. "Okay, never mind. I think you're right."
Sora rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. He glanced over at the dishes, left half-tided. "Maybe we should take care of things down here, huh?" he suggested, looking up at Riku again. "And since everybody else left…"
Even though he'd left it hanging, Riku nodded. He put a hand on Sora's shoulder and squeezed desperately like he was clinging onto a support that he was lucky to have there at all. Sora put a hand over Riku's, gently and reassuringly, then started to move towards the kitchen, Riku closely in tow.
Everyone... hey, everyone... do you have any idea how much realer the end of this story is getting for me? I have finally figured out exactly how many chapters are left to go and then this story will be finished. You have no idea how excited I am. The countdown begins...