Mystery in the Woods
Gravity Falls woods weren't so bad when you had someone to guide you. Riku followed the two twins deeper and deeper. Getting a good look for it, it was actually quite lovely. The leaves were a darkening brown, some of them falling onto the ground indicating that fall was coming closer and closer around the corner. There was a nice sense of calm though, it helped Riku ease his mind and get away from all the voices going on in his head. Even Mabel's constant ideas for a catphrase weren't that annoying.
Dipper seemed to be a bit grumpy ever since their encounter with Gideon a few days ago. Riku noticed that he just kept his arms folded and had a sulking expression His eyes kept looking down on the ground, only responding whenever Mabel came up with another catchphrase for the two of them.
"Mystery Twins ahoy!" Mabel said with her usual cheerful demeanor that could turn any sour heart sweet.
"No," Dipper groaned, trudging along the pathway.
They had walked for several miles now. Riku could feel his knees starting to twinge a little. The constant lack of exercise was not starting to affect him. Normally, he'd be able to go miles without even breaking a sweat. He started to worry if he was getting soft.
Taking a deep breath Riku paused for a moment to stretch while the twins just bickered back and forth to one another. It was nice in the woods for a moment, just peace and quiet. No worry, no heartless, no darkness. Part of him though was waiting for the other shoe to drop and something bad to happen. Something always did, at least as far as he was concerned.
Mabel frowned as she kept on thinking, keeping a few feet in between Dipper and Riku "What about….Go, Go Dipper and Mabel!" She sang.
"No! That's copyrighted anyway."
"Darn it," Mabel snapped her fingers in disappointment.
They kept on moving forward, Dipper deep in his book as he looked for any clue at the sign of this strange marking tree. He would check every branch, every root, and each time he wasn't able to find the proper one. He put his hand on the bark and felt the thickness of the wood against his skin.
"Wendy's been teaching me a few things about the trees," Dipper said as he continued to feel the bark, "She's also been teaching me how each tree is a bit different. That way we won't get lost the deeper we go into the woods."
"Yeah, THAT's why you're still hanging out with her". Mabel snickered.
Dipper rolled his eyes, "Laugh it up Mabel, laugh it up."
"Okay, Mr. Tree expert, how far are we then from the Shack?"
"We are, um...Um…." Dipper paused as his face became stuff and worrisome, "Okay, well, you see ...We saw that tree, and that tree has a bit of a scratch on it and…."
"We're lost, aren't we?" Mabel sighed.
"No! I just need a moment to remember, that's all," Dipper laughed nervously. "Okay, we took a hundred steps north and maybe a few feet west ...Then we turned right, then another right then…."
Riku sat down near the bark of the tree, knowing this was going to take a while. Dipper kept stepping back and forth as he tried to retrace his steps. Mabel just rolled her eyes and started chuckling, before she took a moment to look upon the rest of the trees. He too looked up to take a moment to enjoy nature. The leaves were definitely quite lovely and the sky was calm looking.
He closed his eyes and leaned back, just letting the quiet settle in. The combination of nature and the soft sounds allowed him to feel at ease for the first time in a while. It felt good to be outdoors. He had always liked the outside, even when he was younger. Being trapped in for too long would always start to nag on him.
"Nice huh," Riku looked up to see Mabel standing by him, Dipper continuing to retrace his steps.
"Yeah." Riku sighed looking up at the sky, seeing the clouds beginning to form. A small smile starting to form on his face
"Is it like this back at your home?" Mable asked, sounding curious.
"No, most of the time it's green, don't see the leaves turn this color." Riku said looking at a tiny leaf that had fallen towards his feet.
"Really? So it's like an eternal summer then?"
Riku seemed confused, "What's summer?"
"Don't you guys have seasons?"
"Um…" Riku took a moment to think, he heard about the seasons but never really experienced them, "No, no, I don't think I can say I have… Most of the time it's tropical weather, only time I say something that wasn't tropical was when I left the island and went to Hollow Bastion."
"Oh, that place is cold," Mabel shivers, "I remember when me and Bro-Bro headed there, it was so windy and cold ...Brrr."
"Yeah," Riku looked down at the ground, his face becoming more sullen and sad, "I remember that I hated it."
Mabel sat down next to him, "Me too."
Riku sighed again and closed his eyes, "If Sora had snow though, I can only imagine he'd have the time of his life, granted he can have the time of his life when it was pouring rain".
She sighed as she kept looking around, finally her eyes twinkled a bit as she pointed up, a look of excitement starting to form on her lips. "Hey, Riku! Riku look...Dipper look, squirrels."
"That's great Mabel," Dipper mumbled as he kept counting.
Riku looked up lazily. He saw a few of the little things running around the trees. Scuttling about as a few of them went inside one of the holes of trees bark, probably looking for nuts. A few of them came out but dropped the nuts on the ground by his feet. They were cute looking, he couldn't help but give a brief smile.
Immediately Mabel's eyes widened, "Oh Riku! Riku, take out the nut and hold your hand quickly!"
"Why?"
"Just do it," Mabel hissed
Not wanting to argue, Riku held out his hand with the nut just as instructed. Gently, Mabel began to lower his arm so that his palm was touching the ground. Slowly the squirrels started to walk up to them, looking scared but intrigued at the same time.
"Oooh," Mabel squealed, "They are so cute, aren't they Riku?"
"I guess..." Riku grumbled.
"You guess? Oh no, there will be no guessing they are cute! Yep, cute, cute, cute."
Riku groaned, startling the squirrels, "What's the point of this?"
"It's to show that you weren't that way before."
"What?"
Mabel shook her head in exasperation, "Looks like I'll need to sing a song."
"Oh no." Riku groaned.
"Don't fight it," Dipper muttered as he kept trying to regain his position, "Just let her sing."
Mabel sat up and took a deep breath as she began to spout the lyrics. Riku had to wonder right now if music was playing in her head. Because that would make this situation far less awkwards to him then it was to her right now.
Mabel
You see those squirrels
Those nuts don't lie
To them it's kinda like eating
Um…..
Apple Pie.
By feeding them
They'll know for sure
You weren't the way you used to be just like before.
"Clever," Dipper said sarcastically, "Not sure if the stanzas all work perfectly but clever"
Mabel
You weren't the way you used to be just like before
Riku paused, "Mabel, I don't think that's actually-"
"Shh…" She put her finger over his lips and pointed to his hand, "Just watch okay"
Looking down Riku saw the tiny squirrels starting to munch on the nuts. Their fury hairls prickles against his skin causing him to chuckle as it tickles. He couldn't help but give a quick smile as they nibbled at the nuts in his hand. They were incredibly fluffy. Sora would have loved them if they were here.
They both looked at Riku with an intrigued look. Turning to each other, looking for some sort of classification.
Riku could feel his heart sink, perhaps being around darkness made him impure to the animals.
"I don't think this was a good idea Mabel," Riku said nervously.
Mabel held his arm and smiled, "Hang on."
After a brief pause they went back to eating the nuts again chewing them at peace. The sound of a few birds fluttering overhead.
"See, they like it," Mabel said as she leaned close by, "I once tried to get two squirrels to fall in love once ...Then they attacked me, so I smashed them with Mr. Rino."
Riku looked up nervously.
"It's a stuffed toy," Dipper assured as he kept looking around.
Riku sighed in relief.
Finally the squirrels scuttled away once the nuts were gone leaving Riku and Mabel sitting on the ground again. It was almost peaceful to know that at least animals still liked him. He was afraid that perhaps embracing the darkness might have tainted him for life.
"See Riku, the squirrels liked you," Mabel said, "No need to hide from nature".
"I'm not hiding," Riku grumbled, folding his arms.
Mabel shook her head, "Oh, I think you are. Considering you never really go outside, or talk to anyone. You always look down when you clean, never look at anyone directly in the eye, see like right now, you aren't looking in my eye right now."
"Yes, I am," Riku looked up before quickly looking down.
Of course it was a lie, he quickly looked down and folded himself leaning back against the tree. Mabel just sighed and sat down next to him. The tension between the both of them grew in the awkward silence. Riku hated this feeling, but he didn't feel comfortable around them, not in the same way he did with Sora. At least with Sora he was able to be somewhat open, even snarky and playful. But ever since his time in the darkness he had completely shut down socially.
Even when he was younger, Riku wasn't a social kid preferring to be alone. Now it seemed that everything had come full circle.
"Well, I hope you can open up even a little, it's not fun being lonely. Plus right now you are showing your gentle side...Mr dark moody Riku can deep down be a solfy"
Riku just rolled his eyes as the squirrels skittered off leaving him sitting on the log again
Mable got up and rejoined her brother who kept musing from his journal, "Any luck?"
Dipper sighed, "No," he closed the book and put it back, "Great, we're stuck here. At least, it can't get any worse?"
Spoke to soon.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! RUN AWAY!"
Riku got up instantly as he saw something running towards them in a panic. He seemed skinny, but also not human as well. A big nose, droopy ears, in fact the more Riku looked at him the more it was starting to come together maybe who he was.
"G-Goofy?"
"Run away!" He screamed, no it wasn't Goofy, the voice was to high pitched.
The young Goofy trips as he approaches them tumbling a few feet away before landing on a rock right in front of them, face flat. Mable quickly goes to check on them, Dipper and Riku slowly appraoching unsure just what to do.
"Hey," Mable gently taps her cheek, "Are you okay"
The kid looked up seeming confused.
"Goofy?" Riku said.
"Goofy?" He said blinking, "N-No? I'm Max?"
"Max?"
"Yeah, Goofy's my father"
"Goofy, Goofy...Why does that name ring a bell?" Dipper muttered to himself, "Ouch!"
Mable flicked his forehead, "Dipper! That's one of Sora's friends ...Oh my gosh...This is his son!"
"Yeah, uh…." Max looked around, "And I'm being chased here"
"Chased, by who?"
"By us!"
Riku summoned his sword and stepped back ready to attack if need be. He could smell the darkness around them. Yet also something else, another sent, almost empty, hollow, though he could not discern what it was. It didn't matter though, he could tell right away that these folks meant danger. He was ready for a fight.
"Those are the guys!" Max pointed to them, "i saw them in Hollow Bastion"
Dipper eyes widened, "You were in Hollow Bastion?
"Who are you?" Riku said, smelling something around him, something familiar, "Are you, are you with Xehanort?!"
"Smell like what now?" Dipper asked.
"Vexen is my name and you are half correct," He smirked, "Let's just say he is not the Xehanort you are familiar with. He is Xehanort, and he is not Xehanort. Perhaps a "Nobody" best conveys the idea?"
Riku rolled his eyes and glared back at him, "Riddles were never my thing, try again!"
Vexen laughs as he unleashes a wave of ice towards Riku who managed to dodge it without very much difficulty rolling on the crass and crashing into a nearby tree. "Catching on now? I can sense it boy, you too stand in between the light and the darkness. That's why you fascinate me."
Riku eyes narrowed.
"The rage, the anger...yet also the extreme guilt about your past actions, so many mixed emotions all rolled into one. Far more interesting than your friend Sora, whose only real emotions tend to be either annoying chipper or depressed".
"Don't talk about Sora like that!"
"Yeah," Mabel said standing next to Riku, "You just seem like a big bully"
"Oh I'm horrified," Vexen said with false concern, "Should be looking next to you my dear, the bully is right next to you"
Riku paused frowning knowing who he was talking about.
"Hey, Riku's been improving, I've been monitoring his progress" Mable protested pulling out a chart only to have it blasted away by some ice magic! "Hey!"
In anger, Riku got up and struck Vexen hard, blocking him with his shield. He pushed hard to try to deflect and strike at this hooded figure. The two of them struck each back and forth as they went around the forest. Riku leaping into the air to dodge the ice attacks while Vexen managed to block with ease. He hadn't fought an enemy quite like this before, clearly he was a master of the darkness. That didn't mean though that Riku wasn't trained to fend off an attack from a creep like him. Lunging forward, he managed to get a few strikes in, knocking the man back and into one of the bark of the tree. The man was swift and deadly, his shield managed to block off most of the attacks.
Dipper Mabel and Max just watched unsure on how to interfere.
Mabel looked like she wanted to fight but her brother kept holding her back
"I don't think you wanna do that" Max said sounding nervous, "They seem pretty tough"
Riku smirked and went at it again. Finally, he had the offensive managing to strike hit after hit after hit. It felt exhilarating to have an opponent to whale on again. He felt his confidence take a much needed boost, and getting out some of this much pent up frustration.
"Angry one, aren't you?" Vexen snickered, now he unleashed another ice attack knocking Riku onto the ground getting his shield back for defense, "From the records a lot of it is resentment, although I'm sure there is some self loathing in there too for good measure"
"Shut up!" Riku yelled.
"Oh and fear, fear tends to lead to anger in this regard when it comes to you, again I read the files" Vexen flung Riku back again and laughed.
Riku continued to fling at him trying to wear him down but Vexen was to quick and costing with ease.
"Well, that should be enough," Vexen said smirking, Riku looked exhausted "All this excitement has provided me with invaluable data."
RIku looked at him confused, "Data? Data for what?"
Vexen laughed as a dark portal opened up, "You'll see soon enough."
"Hey!" Riku chased after him but it was to late, he was gone, he breathed heavily wondering what had happened, "
Dipper and Mabel ran up to him.
"Who was that guy?" Mabel asked, checking to make sure Riku wasn't badly hurt.
"I don't know," Riku said sitting on his knees, he looked at the kids and tried to smile, "Are you guys okay"
Mable nodded.
"Good"
Dipper however didn't seem so sure, "Well, whatever it was, he needed you...I think something bigger is going on. Maybe Sora didn't win as well as we thought"
"Maybe…" Riku took a deep breath as the thought entered his mind, "Maybe your right".
He didn't want to admit it, but if there were beings of darkness out there interested in Riku, then that might mean they were after Sora. Perhaps the darkness wasn't defeated as well as he hoped. Right now though, he hoped his friend was okay, wherever he was.
Riku sighed, "I knew the other shoe would drop. It always does.
