I promise, it's not an April Fools' Day joke. (Mostly because I really suck at jokes on April Fools' Day. I don't work well under pressure.)
We stood in the entrance hall of the castle, hiding in the dark corner behind a decorative pillar, waiting on Sora, Donald and Goofy (Riku informed me of the giant dog's name – and no, it never stopped feeling awkward that Sora was hanging out with mutant animals). They had yet to step into the castle, which seemed to be bustling with life – a clock, candelabra, and teapot had just crossed paths, switching sides of the house, muttering to each other about a ball.
"If only we'd gotten you a tux," I said to Riku mock-wistfully.
He snorted softly. "I think I'll survive without it."
"But crashing a party in an outfit as frumpy as that? Tsk, tsk." I shook my head.
"I'm not a party-crasher."
"That's what I'm here to change."
He nudged me with his elbow and nodded towards the entrance doors, where an Organization member stood, eyeing the place scrutinizingly. He had sideburns that hooked up to his cheeks, and black dreads were pulled back into a huge ponytail, a few bangs hovering over his forehead.
"Blindfold," Riku muttered, his voice barely audible.
I was thankful for the sudden absence of animate objects as I yanked the blindfold out of my pocket and reached around his head, tying it tight around his eyes. My hands lowered and I grabbed Riku's sleeve, waiting for him to transport us to a safer place. This guy didn't look like someone who wouldn't notice two stalkers in the corner. I waited for Riku to transport, but he didn't. We stood there, watching the man step forward, take a deep breath, and smile. I tugged gently on Riku's sleeve, tension rising. I was sure of it now – he was a mere twenty feet from us – he had to see us.
It seemed like an eternity ago, but Riku's words spilled into my head as clear as ever.
"You know how much difficulty you have fighting off sergeants? The things we're dealing with are at least twenty times harder to beat."
I did not like the idea of fighting this man that amounted to twenty sergeants. Then again, many things in my fighting style had changed – for instance, if I got freaked out enough, I could just summon a dark corridor and drag Riku through it.
How comforting, I thought sarcastically.
"Are you going to keep me waiting, boy?" said the man, who now turned to face us. "I've waited quite a while to face the impostor for myself."
Riku's posture stiffened, and I shoved my hands into my pockets, watching him carefully to see what he wanted me to do. He took one step towards the man, blocking me from his view.
"Well?" the man said. "Are you mute, as well as blind?"
"No."
There was a tense pause, and the hairs on the back of my neck raised as I heard the man snicker. "Alright, then. Answer me this: What are you after?" There was another pause. "What are you smirking at?"
"The Organization knows less than I thought," Riku said, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.
"Do we, now?" There was the hissing of an unnatural breeze, stronger than the kind I heard when Riku would transport. "Allow me to demonstrate how little I know!"
Riku turned to his left, grabbing my left shoulder with his hand and stepping backwards, pushing me to my right. A huge spear struck the wall behind me, but instead of falling to the ground, it swung itself around – if I hadn't leaned back, it'd have cut my head clean off. It flew through the air, back to its owner's hand.
"What've you got there? A local whore, no doubt."
I stood upright, glaring at him. I'm going to set you on fire, you pompous—
"The perfect subject to test our newfound abilities on," whispered an icy voice. I froze in place. Oh no. No. Not now.
"Now isn't the time for fighting," Riku said. Damn straight! "You don't want any of the locals to see you, and the servants will be hopping down here any second."
The man's eyes switched from glaring at Riku, to glaring at me. "She's a local." I heard a breeze and for a moment, assumed I was going to be assaulted with a spear again – but I felt a hand seize my shoulder from behind. The man had teleported to stand behind me.
I immediately turned to slam my index and middle finger into his throat, but there was another breeze, and I stood in the middle of the entrance hall, once more behind Riku. Even that only lasted a moment, because he now teleported himself to stand inches from the man.
My attention was diverted by the freezing hand that gripped my right wrist – I looked over to see Xehanort standing there with a wicked grin on his face. "Let me teach you." He turned my hand palm-up – I struggled to get free of his grasp, but it was like he was made of lead. He looked down at my palm and I slammed my left fist into the top of his head. He didn't acknowledge it in any way.
His hands were freezing, one of them clutching my wrist, the other's middle finger stroking my palm in a straight line. I watched as a black liquid bubbled up through my pores, turning quickly into a black gas, hovering over my palm, dancing beneath Xehanort's finger as he pulled it away. "Now, try it on your enemy."
"I won't!" I snapped, yanking my arm back until Xehanort finally let me go. I stumbled backwards a little and he grinned at me cruelly.
"No… Try it on your lover."
He was suddenly behind me, his arms pressing against the back of mine, legs pressing against the back of mine. He hooked his head over my shoulder, hissing in my ear. "There's a good girl."
My appendages had no choice but to move with his, and I shut my eyes, searching for the strength to bring this idiocy to a halt.
Something, I have to know something that'll stop this. I have to. D-Dad told me… He told me to do the brave thing, to stand up against fear. So what am I afraid of? I'm afraid of—
My hand made contact with the back of Riku's neck and my eyes flew open to see the darkness in my palm disappear beneath his hair as I stood behind him.
—Riku dying because of me. But how do I take that on?
His head turned to me in shock and the man threw another lance at us. I shoved Riku out of the way with my right hand and gripped the blade of the weapon flying towards me with my left – the impact was cushioned by a thick layer of darkness.
I was so angry – at this stranger, at Xehanort, at myself – I thought I would explode. My skin crawled, rage boiling beneath it, and I turned the spear in my hands, pointing it at the cocky idiot.
"This 'whore' is going to kill you," I muttered.
Five lances, identical to the one in my hands, were poised at me, and this man had them ready to move without holding even one of them. He crossed his arms and stared at me with mild, disdainful interest. "Can't be a local," he mused.
I flew at him, ready to slam the spear into his throat – my arm got hooked on something and I was suddenly standing somewhere else, heart pounding in my ears, the weapon shattering in my hands. My chest heaved up and down, each breath holding a different cuss word. I didn't pay attention to our new locale, because I was still trying to figure out how I could feel so cold, but so heated with anger. I had never experienced this kind of raw fury, not even from what hormones had to offer.
"You tried to cover me in darkness," Riku said quietly.
"He knows you tried to kill him," whispered Xehanort in my ear. The pressure he'd been putting on my arms and legs had dissipated, and I couldn't tell if he'd gone away, or just sunk into me.
I leaned forward, clutching my head in my hands, the screams spilling out of me uncontrollably. "Auugh! Fuck!" A hand rested on my shoulder and I instinctively slapped it away, sinking to my knees, clutching my head again.
I… I tried to kill him… I tried to kill everyone… I don't want to do that… I don't…
"Yes, you do," whispered Xehanort.
"No, I don't!" I shouted, slamming my fist against the concrete beneath me. Now my hand throbbed, too. "Screw you, Xehanort, screw you! I'll kill myself before I kill him!"
"You won't be able to control yourself," he snickered.
"I'll find a way."
"Big talk for such a little puppet."
"Just watch me," I spat, glaring at the floor in front of me. It'd be really nice to have DiZ here to tell me what's going on in my heart. I swallowed and wiped my face with both hands, the anger slipping away and being replaced with determination. I realized I'd been crying when my hands were drenched in tears, and quickly wiped my face with my sleeve, standing up and turning to the silent Riku. "I'm sorry," I said, my voice cracking. "It's not going to happen again."
He moved his head and I figured he was rolling his eyes dramatically. "We both know you can't guarantee that."
"I'm going to figure something out," I said, trying to convince myself more than him.
"Miyuki, I've been there. Hell, I am there. There's nothing to do except…" He sighed, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Except what?"
He shook his head slowly, staring steadily at the floor and shrugging. "Accept it."
"Accept it? Accept the fact that Xehanort could murder you, using me, and there's nothing I could do about it?"
"Give me some credit," he said, looking up at me through the blindfold. "Those abs that impaired your judgement aren't just for looks."
I shook my head, unamused by the remark that would usually lighten my mood. "I don't… know what to do." I looked down and crossed my arms. "I am his puppet. He yammers on and on and I talk the talk but I don't walk at all." I shivered with cold and anxiety as a pause hung in the air.
"We're alive," he said.
I stared at him blankly. "Uh…"
"We're fucked up, but we're alive, right?"
I had to laugh at that – it was a short, light laugh, but it was a laugh nonetheless. "He even manages to make me smile while sounding pessimistic," I mumbled to myself.
His head snapped to his left and I looked to my right – a huge glass door looked into a large ballroom, wherein Beast and Belle were dancing. She wore a bright yellow dress, and he was dressed to the nines in a blue suit. My eyebrows flew up.
"Fancy," I mumbled.
"…Something's not right," Riku muttered, walking towards the door and peering in.
I stared at him a long moment. "You look like such a creep right now."
He smirked. "You really are rubbing off on me."
I was about to spit back a snide response when he caught my wrist and we stood on the balcony lining the walls of the ballroom. "I see what you did, there. You did that just to avoid my reaction to your smartass remark. I see."
"Pay attention," he hissed, staring down at the ballroom beneath us.
I looked down to see Sora, Donald and Goofy going at it with some heartless I didn't recognize – Riku pointed to the man from before, who was sneaking out the door.
"Are we going to follow?"
"No. We're here to back up Sora, not baby-sit the Organization."
"But what if that guy's breaking out more heartless?"
"Then Sora will be really strong by the time he's out of here."
I stared at the fight the trio was having down there, then turned around and leaned against the railing of the balcony, resting my elbows on it, my hands dangling on the edge beside me. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
"The last time I hid from your Mom, I didn't get the chance to tell her it was only because I was embarrassed."
I can't hide anything from Riku. He's my lifeline. If someone else was my best friend… someone who didn't know what being used by darkness is like… I don't know if I could keep my head on straight. I hate being used, but he's right. We're alive. We're going to help Sora. We're not alone. Aside from the heart-devouring, body-manipulating demons infesting us, we're pretty well off.
"Demon?" scoffed that icy voice. "I'm no mere demon. I am a deity of darkness, little Kiki – a god."
I cracked one eye open and looked over to see… nothing. I stood upright and looked around – Riku was gone.
"Ri—?"
A finger tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to see a figure sporting the Organization jacket that was thinner and slightly shorter than the figure I was hoping to see. I swallowed and quickly assessed which spell would be just subtle enough not to draw attention to myself, but powerful enough to make time to launch myself over the railing and somehow run out of the ballroom without anyone paying any mind.
"Looks like he's not as sharp as you thought," said the masculine figure, which now pushed the hood back. Shaggy black hair and bright green eyes smiled at me.
"Nemo?" I muttered.
The smile turned into a frown. "It's Orlando!"
I blinked hard and shook my head. "Oh, I— Wait, where's Riku?"
He shrugged and crossed his arms. "He's being detained. Hey, the Organization let me become a member!" He gestured to his coat with a bright smile, nodding.
I shook my head. "Where is Riku?"
"I made a deal with Xaldin, you won't get in any trouble. Actually, they're letting me hang out with you for a while. I don't have to RTC for like, three days!"
I stepped forward and gripped the front of Orlando's jacket, swinging him around and slamming him against the wall, the words out of my mouth before I could think. "Tell me the location of the Keyblade wielder before I rip your heart out."
He stared at me a long moment, looking hurt. "I don't know, they said they wouldn't kill him or anything, I just—"
I dropped his jacket and punched the wall beside his head. "They're using you!" I shouted.
"What? No way—"
"Yes way! Listen, they want to kill Riku because he's an impostor and he's a threat and I will bet my life on it that they want me gone, too."
"W-What if we ran away?"
He may as well have asked me to give him a lap dance. "Did they totally remove your brain, or what?" I hissed.
"I never got a chance!" he said, grabbing my hand. "I never got a chance to tell you that I don't want to lose you!"
My eyes widened with horror. "You only like me because I'm the only girl you know!"
"So? The 'why' doesn't matter as long as it's true! I feel it, Miyuki, right here!" He pointed to his chest.
"In your man-boobs?" I squeaked, ripping my hand from his.
"What? No! Miyuki, run away with me. We'll get out of this whole mess – we don't need to be involved!"
"Orlando, I am involved."
"With one guy that doesn't even matter!"
My eyes narrowed at him. "He matters to me! Even if I wasn't involved with him, darkness has taken over my heart!"
"What? No! You were fighting it! You were going to fix me!" My glare turned into a blank stare. "I mean—no! Not that you'd fix me, just that, uhh…"
"What do you think I can do for you, Orlando?" I snapped.
He wiped his face with one hand. "No… no… This isn't how it's supposed to go."
"I don't have time for this. Riku's with Xaldin? Who's Xaldin?"
Orlando shook his head, staring at the floor. "It wasn't supposed to be this way…"
I was losing my temper again and shouted, "Tell me who the fuck Xaldin is!"
He jumped and looked up at me with a sort of horrified expression. "H-He's the member who's been assigned to the castle! He's like, obsessed with the rose!"
"With the dreadlocks?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Damn it!" I launched myelf over the railing of the balcony and landed on the ballroom floor, ignoring the pain in my knees and ankles and booking it out the door. I wavered at the landing of both staircases, and when I heard a thud on my right, I ran up to the hall there to see Riku and Xaldin – Xaldin, whose six lances were at Riku's neck, pinning him to the wall.
Xaldin's eyes snapped to me and he removed one of the spears from Riku's throat to launch it at me. There was no catching it, but the idea of pain didn't register. I felt it brush against the skin of my torso, but there was no sting, no throb. It fell to the floor and Xaldin now flung all the lances at me – it was like an out-of-body experience when I slipped between them effortlessly.
My hand reached Riku's face and yanked the blindfold up off of his head as Xaldin and his weapons vanished.
"I couldn't pry the damn thing off, with Xaldin at my throat," Riku growled.
"Xehanort was talking when they grabbed you," I growled back. "By the way, Orlando's been inducted. He's a member of the club," I said with a bitter smile.
"What? What's his new name?"
"What? He's just Orlando."
He shook his head slowly, staring at me, the wheels in his head turning. "They're definitely messing with his head."
"But he's with Axel. I thought Axel would protect him!"
"Not if they make him think he wants to be their puppet."
I am so sick of manipulation, I thought. "What the hell are we gonna do now? We missed our chance to beat Xaldin, and now Orlando—"
"Miyuki, do you even realize what just happened to you?"
I stared at him blankly. "I guess I don't…?"
"You are…" He snorted, looking me over. "…drenched in darkness."
I looked down at myself – nothing looked different. "How can you tell?" I asked.
"You just look like this black flaming figure…"
I swallowed. "Please tell me you've experienced this before."
"No two hearts are the same, so I guess no two dark powers are the same…" He arched an eyebrow, looking me over again.
"—Okay, as much as I appreciate the ego-boost involved in you checking me out, I'd appreciate it if we got back to the 'what now' part!"
He looked back up at my eyes. "We can't do anything for Orlando. If he's convinced that he's on their side, so much that not even Axel could change his mind—"
"Do you even know if Axel would try?"
He stuck his tongue in his cheek, shaking his head.
"I don't know if I want to help the little bugger. He tried to get me to run away with him. I don't run away from things!"
Riku's head froze in place. "Run away with him?"
"He said it's bad that my heart is filled with darkness because now I can't 'fix' him! Now I'm pissed again." I looked back towards the staircase, considering hunting him down and kicking him in the nuts. "I'll 'fix' him, alright," I growled.
"No. Our first priority is helping Sora," Riku said, grabbing my shoulder with one hand and pointing to the room at the end of the hall with the other. He slid his hand down to my elbow and tugged me with him towards the door, pressing one finger to his lips to keep me quiet. We stood outside the door and listened – Beast was telling Belle, in his scratchy, low voice, to leave, because he was too terrible.
This conversation sounded far too familiar. I was the product of darkness that Riku had tied into my heart. I'd gladly take it, to be with him, but the realisation of how different things could've been became painfully clear as Riku teleported us to the dark, shadowy corner of the hall, Belle walking out of the door we once stood so near by. If I had walked away from Riku, how much more sane would I feel? And how much more miserable and emtpy would I have felt?
I slid my fingers into Riku's. Being a flaming ball of darkness was worth it – even if I was beginning to feel the icey burn of the flames I had so easily ignored moments ago.
Thank you so much for all your reviews on the last one. It makes my day! X3 I hope you guys have an amazing weekend. ^-^
