How long had it been since he had seen daylight? How long had this realm of darkness plagued him? Riku stirred slowly, awakening from the world of dreams, back into spiteful reality. He was neither glad, nor upset; for his dreams were just as horrid as the darkness he was locked in. Yet, one must survive, and that, he insisted upon himself so strongly, he lived. When he was first here, he tried to hold onto it all. He kept up with the date, the days he was locked within this shadowy prison. He allowed himself to fall into memories of better times….but that was when he didn't know better. Now he knew, that falling into such times, holding onto such ideals brought nothing but weakness and death.

The king.…Riku hadn't seen him in days…or what he assumed to be days. Time seemed to pass so slowly here.…or was it abnormally quick?  The disappearance of the royal one never concerned him though, what mattered was eating, sleeping, defending yourself, and searching. Searching for a way out. But, where was he? He knew the answer, at least, the one he was presented with. Kingdom Hearts. The place all hearts came from. But, could hearts possibly come from such a vile, horrid place? He cursed himself internally for falling too deep into thought, and fell into his daily routine. Routine…the cycle that held his sanity fast. Shuffling to his feet, his eyes darted back and forth, flickering for a sign of…'them'. But, thank God, they were nowhere to be seen. Turning around, Riku turned his attention to the ground below him. And, as there was nearly everyday, what might be called food lay before him. Where did it come from? He had stopped asking that a long time ago. Ravenously, he lunged down at it and devoured it quickly. His mind was programmed that way…if he wasn't fast enough, 'they' would get to the food before he could. Suddenly, his mind reeled, and his hand desperately went to his side. The keyblade? It was still there.… He couldn't keep his mind off it anymore; his entire existence now relied on the very thing, which had once poisoned his life. He used to hold to the weapon, out of jealousy. It was proof that he, Riku, was equal to, no, superior to Sora. Sora….his old friend and rival. Riku accepted it now; the darkness had blinded him. He wasn't superior to Sora, not in any way.

Tears were forming around his eyes at the thought of those that he had lost, but Riku brushed them away. Then the expected happened. The air grew thick with shadows, an evil presence. Riku instantly drew the keyblade, and began to back away. 'They' were back again….the Heartless. Running from them, destroying them, that is what consumed every day of his life here. They tore his memories away from him, tried to take him down.…down their dark, damp path. Yet, Riku knew, he could be weak no more. He would get out of here….if it was the last thing he did. He would do it….for Sora. The shadows fell to the ground, darting right and left within the ground. Gripping his keyblade, he turned and ran, ran as if his life depended on it. For, it did. If this wasn't Kingdom Hearts, if this wasn't the realm where these creatures reined supreme, Riku wouldn't have even considered turning around. He would've stood fast and slaughtered every last one of the nasty creatures. But, this was Kingdom Hearts.…and the Heartless had the home field advantage. Sweat dripped down his face, running down his neck, plopping into his mouth, the salty, bitter taste making his stomach churn. The sound of his feet pounding against the ground was soon unison with the pounding of his head, the painful drumming of the world around him taking its fury out on his body. Anxiously, he turned to look behind him. The Heartless still pursued him, their numbers having doubled, as far as Riku could tell. He had to destroy them now, or their numbers would simply continued increasing. He drew his keyblade and pointed it in their direction. If someone could see him, he would be the picture of confidence. But, on the inside, he felt as if he were about to vomit what was left in his stomach.

One of the Heartless lunged at him, a small shadow-like one. Simple enough, Riku brought his blade down on it with an expert's timing, slashing it until all was left of it was a specter-like mist. That, however, was only the first blow of many. Riku dodged to the side, as he was nearly bombarded with magic, the heat of the Fire attacks singing his skin, the lightning of the Thunder attacks seeping through his veins. At least the Heartless that used magic had weak enough defense…after sidestepping the onslaught of magic, Riku charged forward with his keyblade, slashing through the bright red and yellow Heartless…unnerved by their shrieks as they fell defeated by him. Now, the challenge began. Angel Stars took over the role of their weaker brothers, casting Holy spells one after the other upon Riku. He only had a brief second to wonder: How could the Heartless wield spells considered holy? Practice had taught him what to do next. Casting Aeroaga on himself, still unsure if it ever helped or not, he dodge-rolled to the left, and then climbed up onto a higher surface. Pointing his keyblade towards the nearest Angel Star, he unleashed a barrage of Firaga attacks. It died after a few hits; then it was time to move onto the next one. Seeing as the remaining three Angel Stars were grouped close together, he cast Stop on the ground, glad to see them all freeze. He could run now, run and escape. However, the fury deep within him had erupted, and Riku was determined to destroy these pursuers. He unleashed a torrent of critical blows to the magic wielders, grinning when Stop wore off…and the Angel Stars shattered away. Behind the Angel Stars, around twelve Invisible Heartless appeared, swinging their swords of catastrophic pain. Riku grimaced slightly, but charged forward into what quickly became a whirlwind of flying blades, darkness, and the occasional Curaga spell. Nothing was distinguishable within this spiraling mass of shadows, until the Invisible began dying off, one by one. Now, Riku's overpowering blows became more and more extravagant, and his confidence was growing by the moment. A few moments more, and only one Heartless remained. Riku raised his keyblade to the sky, an intense look on his face. There was a flash of darkness, and the Heartless was split in two.…destroyed along with the rest of his allies.

Riku kneeled down, knees hitting the ground. His breathing was rough and labored, blood trickling down his forehead, joining with the sweat, which still fell. Yet, he felt good. Yes, he had won.

"You see that! You can't stop me! You can't beat me! I'll win.…one day or another.…" he proclaimed, voice echoing through the emptiness of his prison.

He looked down at his keyblade, and managed a weak smile. He could handle this…one day, he'd be out of here. As for the moment through, Riku felt himself weakened beyond belief. He curled up on the cold ground, one hand still latched onto the keyblade, and let himself fall to the world of sleep. Nightmares or no nightmares, he had to recover his strength. As Riku fell asleep, a figure watched him from above, locked on him with it's silver eyes. It knelt down and watched, waiting for the child to awaken once again.