As Riku walked back into Castle Oblivion, sensing a familiar light as soon as he opened his eyes.
"Phew! Sure glad I made it in time!"
Riku turned to see his friend, gasping in surprise.
"Sorry I couldn't come here sooner, Riku." The King apologized. "Hm, what is it?" He questioned as Riku hesitated.
Riku stared at him for a few more moments." Your Majesty, is it you?"
Mickey nodded with a smile on his face, "Uh-huh! Sure is!" He said as Riku knelt down touching his friend's face to confirm that he was actually here. "That tickles!" The King giggled as Riku sighed in relief.
"You're not an illusion this time. I'm so glad that you could make it here in one piece."
"Well I made a promise to you that I would find a way, didn't I? Oh!" The king said but then grew concerned as Riku fell over, sitting down as his friend had a concerned expression.
"Ahh..I'm okay. Don't worry. I guess I'm just relieved. I've-I've been alone for so long that having someone else around is...is a little...overwhelming. But...uh, how did you make it here? I thought it was too far."
"I found a card to help me," Mickey explained handing Riku a card with a town under the setting sun. "I needed a way outta the realm of darkness, and then suddenly this light appeared before me. It helped guide me to this card. When I picked it up, I could see your heart beyond the darkness. That's what let me find you. I guess the card thought its place was to be with you."
Riku scanned the card once over then towards the door. "Maybe you're right." He said turning towards the next door. With the King by his side Riku held up the card, and just like all the other doors, he was met with a blinding light.
As Riku entered the town he gasped in awe as he looked in awe at the colors that painted the sky above him. Then he looked around in concern as he realized, "Your Majesty?" He called out in the empty town.
Walking through the dense forest, Riku spotted a large building in the distance. A mansion that was locked behind a rather large gate. "What is this place?" Riku questioned for a moment as he turned around, feeling a familiar darkness.
Riku was shaken as his replica walked towards him, limping and damaged. As he lifted his face he could see that half of his face was completely black, stained with darkness. As he spoke, his voice was distorted, similar to his once was as Ansem spoke through him.
"Hmph. You've changed. Your own darkness-it doesn't frighten you anymore."
"How can you tell?" Riku asked, wary of this being standing before him.
The replica's eyes grew dark as he flashed him a toothy grin. "Because I'm you, the part of you that existed before you ever even left the Destiny Islands."
"What?"
"It's funny, isn't it? I was created within your shadow, but from where I stand, I've already surpassed you."
Riku narrowed his eyes, "Whatever I experienced in this castle, it's made me stronger. Stronger than I was before." Riku argued, summoning his weapon at the replica's growing dark aura.
"Do you know what this world is?"
Riku didn't respond.
" It's the other side of his heart." The replica explained simply as Riku had a look of confusion on his face.
" Who's heart?" Riku asked, clawing his heart reflexively.
"If you ask that then maybe you're weaker than I thought. It looks like I'll have to knock some sense back into you." The replica remarked as he then dashed towards his mirror image, crying out as Riku did the same.
….
…..
Riku delivered the final blow, leaving the replica is lying on the ground, fading away into darkness.
The replica eyes grew lidded. "Must be nice being real. The way I look, the way I feel, everything I remember from the islands..." The replica then looked up towards the sky, as though he were looking for something, clawing his heart. " I thought by finding some new strength, I could finally be someone-someone who is not at all you. Everything about me is borrowed. Even what I found, what I kept in my heart all of it was taken away,"
"What are you feeling?" Riku asked, standing over the fading body.
The replica smirked. "Hmph. Death doesn't frighten me. Even if my heart was never real. I'm sure even what I'm feeling now is." He lifted his fading arm towards the sky, trying to grasp something that was out of reach. " If a replica fades, what will happen to my heart?"
"It'll go somewhere. Maybe to the same place as mine." Riku remarked, feeling a pang of sadness watching a person with the same face as his fade away. Almost as though a part of himself were disappearing along with him.
The replica scoffed at the notion. " A faithful replica until the very end. " He reached towards the fake sky, eyes wistful for a moment, "I at least wanted to see them, one more time..."
As he walked towards what appeared to be a shopping area he reflexively summoned his weapon as an aura of darkness appeared before him, revealing Ansem standing before him arms crossed. Riku grew angered at the sight of the man but then dropped his guard as his weapon disappeared.
Ansem smirked in amusement, "What's this? Are you giving up? Finally ready to surrender to your fate?"
Riku simply walked past him with ease, knowing that this fake couldn't stop him. "You're not the true Ansem."
"Whoever you are, your scent is different. The Ansem in my heart smells darker. The odor is more foul. But your scent just isn't that. It's not darkness. It's something else. I finally understand. You're the one who guided me when it started. You came to me pretending to be Ansem. You gave me the card- To make me face the darkness."
The fake Ansem gave off a bright yellow aura, and his voice melded into that of another man as a complete stranger now stood before him. The man wore a red and black outfit with a red sash that covered almost all of his face save for his right eye and mouth.
"That is correct. I am known as DiZ."
Riku narrowed his eyes in distrust as he turned his back to the older man. "Really. Who are you? And what do you want from me?"
"For you to choose," DiZ remarked.
"Choose?" Riku asked in confusion.
"You are a special entity. You exist between light and dark. You stand in the twilight. You are to meet Naminé, then choose."
"Naminé? Who's that?"
"You will know soon enough," DiZ informed as then he transformed into a ball of light and then flew away past the realm the card led him to.
Riku stood there alone once more, wondering what that man truly wanted as he wandered around the town more. Wondering why he was truly led to this place.
Escaping to the basement meeting room. Zexion materialized, holding his side in pain as he leaned on the wall for leverage. "What IS he?! No one's EVER worn the darkness the way that he does! It's impossible!" He flinched as he lifted his head sensing something powerful approach.
From a dark void appeared number eleven alongside Namine and a boy who looked all too familiar.
"To think...you were still lingering around here, Marluxia." Zexion gasped.
Marluxia smiled for a moment, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Wouldn't you like to see him again?"
The boy didn't respond immediately but lifted his head as Marluxia clutched his shoulder, revealing glossed over blue eyes.
Zexion narrowed his eyes as Marluxia took a step back, "What are you-" Zexion suddenly gasped as he was impaled by Marluxia's experiment. The child was covered in darkness as he attacked, his eyes shining yellow, depleting what little life Zexion retained.
"What...are…" He tried to search for an explanation, a justification for how he could have been destroyed so easily. But he never came to a conclusion as Marluxia stood above him.
"My apologies, Zexion, but you outlived your usefulness long ago." The Nobody remarked with a smile, watching as his former comrade faded before his eyes.
Notes:
- Riku's nearing the end of his guided tour of the castle, and he has a friend with him, ain't that nice? :D
-Marxy's going to get more screen time next chapter (even though he's a jerk)
- Replica's sad, he was just trying his best because he wanted to remember his friends (Also Replica represented Riku's bond to Sora)
-Pls send a comment if you like my work.