Within Monstro Riku slashed the caged heartless, jumping back, for a moment he saw the image of Kairi holding the keyblade glaring at him furiously. He didn't bother to move as she jumped towards him, slashing at what would've been the caged heartless. He turned back to see her, panting from exhaustion, then lifting her head to look for him.

He could only watch as she silently yelled out for him desperately, her other friends- Donald and Goody- ran over, all three of them talking for a few moments as he saw the keyblade disappear from Kairi's hand. She slouched over in disappointment as a familiar cricket then jumped on her shoulder from under Goofy's hat.

Jiminy Cricket, He remembered Malificent saying; scribe of King Mickey.

Riku looked towards his best friend, a smile cracking on her face as she seemingly thanked the cricket, all of their moods lightening up within the presence of each other. He turned his head away, trying to avoid a familiar nostalgic pain, as the next card caught his eye. It simply floated there before him from where the heartless was destroyed. Without much thought, he took it, headed towards the door. Not wanting to turn back and see that his friend, even if she was an illusion, was already gone.

Walking into the next hall of the castle, Riku lifted his head to see a portal to darkness forming before the next door. "Huh?" He scowled at the man wearing a black coat, having long hair and a smile that made him uneasy.

"Good to meet you, Riku. My name is Vexen, a scholar of sorts." The man bowed his head slightly in greeting.

"Are you with Ansem?" He asked crossing his arms, glaring at this, Vexen.

"You are half correct. Let us say that he is not the Ansem with which you are familiar. He is Ansem and he is not Ansem. Perhaps a "Nobody" best conveys the idea." Vexen explained, but at the same time didn't.

"Riddles were never my thing. Try again." He said, though he wondered if Kairi would've gotten it, she was more of the practical thinker between the three of them.

"Perhaps you know of him, a being that belongs to neither the light nor the dark but walks the twilight between."

Riku gasped slightly, realizing

"Catching on now?" He remarked looking upward. "Oh yes, you both now stand in between the light and the darkness alongside beings of null. But the question is, which path will be the one that guides you; The misguided past, or the uncertain future?"

"Maybe..." Riku wavered for a moment, but then grew angered. "Like you said, there really is darkness left inside of me. But so what? Darkness is my enemy!"Riku narrowed his eyes, summoning his weapons. "And so are you for reeking of that awful smell!" Riku jumped at the man, but his attack couldn't make contact, as his enemy summoned a pointed shield. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he caught a familiar smell, one that almost overwhelmed him, dropping his guard slightly.

This smell, I know it-

"Hmmm," Vexen mused, noticing that Riku had been shaken. "If it's a fight you want, my apologies-" He shoved Riku back, separating the two within a wall of ice.

"I find, coursing through you, there is a darkness of formidable power growing! Well worth the trouble of aggravating you. All this excitement has provided me with invaluable data. Come now," Vexen provoked, holding in his hand a slightly illuminated crystal, from it radiated another all to familiar scent. Something that made Riku want to rip apart Vexen to get his hands on it. "There are many secrets this castle holds, perhaps you are our key to uncovering what this place desires to shroud within its enigmatic endless chambers."

Riku slashed away the ice, calling out toward Vexen. "Wait! That scent, it's not darkness, tell me-" He gripped his weapon tighter, "Where did it come from?!"

Vexen merely smiled, ignoring the boy. "Many thanks, Riku!" He said gratefully, bowing once more as the darkness took him.

"I hope your actions came with purpose Vexen." Zexion remarked as Vexen has returned to the laboratory with a satisfied expression on his face. "I thought that we were in agreement if Riku were to hasten his pace-"

"Honestly Zexion, it concerns me that you've neglected to utilize Nobodies greatest weakness; the ability to recall human emotions," Vexen said, catching his junior off guard as he unlocked a chamber to reveal a high-quality replica just waiting to be utilized. "Remember, the boy Riku is no longer the full threat he once was. After all, the boy was so desperate to find his friend, he was merely satisfied holding anything that resembled him, even a puppet. Let him stumble within the shadows, the further he steps the more it will blind him to the true dangers lurking within the dark. After all, you should know better than others Zexion, the powers that the illusions of darkness are capable of."

Vexen had said, looked back at his comrade, who evaded his gaze, now leaving Vexen to his work.

Notes:

Oh wowza, updates.

- We have a lot to unpack here, but we're just going to point out, there were two different, but very familiar scents that are effectively triggering Riku.

- I miss Kairi, I really do. I can't wait to write about her again, but that'll be a ways to go.

- Sora was going to have a place within this chapter, but idk. Guess I forgot about him. :3

- Riku, buddy, you're gonna be in for a long ride. And a lotta stairs.

-(comments help ya'll I cannot stress this enough)