AN: I know, I know. KH is set in AU, but I just had to throw in one tiny thing about Greek mythology ^-^; (A definition is at the bottom ^-^) Still haven't seen the hidden movie, that bitch Ursula is a pain in the ass... Heh ^-^
Disclaimer: A warning placed at the beginning of (most) fics to exempt the author(ess) from liability should anyone take offense. Example: Though Sora and Riku are fun to play with, they do not belong to me.
WARNINGS: MAJOR ending spoiler in this part heh ^-^ And... a little more... forceful? yaoi. I don't know, I think it's a little easier to see a relationship between them in this part, but it's all up to the reader, I promise!! ^-^ Not sure I like the ending, though... But please R&R and tell me what you think! I give pocky on occasion Which reminds me *gives pocky to Chibi-chan, The evil shour, and Estel for reviewing* And Estel, this part is mostly in Riku's POV ^-^ (I was gonna do that anyway though XD)
Into the Light
They say time slows down when everything is in the balance, hanging like the sword of Damocles. I suppose that's why I could always tell that I was imagining things. But knowing it was a dream, an illusion, didn't make it any easier... Always seeing the ones that I could never see again standing before me, looking at me with a somewhat sympathetic look or questioning glance... even knowing they were hallucinations, it sent a sharp pain to my heart.
Ha, what right do I have to complain about my heart? I gave it up willingly, did I not? But then... he managed to somehow survive his trial, even managed to complete his journey to that last World... and I could do nothing but watch from the eyes of Ansem as they fought; could do nothing until they opened the door.
And then... I was free, somehow... I was suddenly back in control of my own body, and I was standing inside the door. I decided that I would stay there, instead of trying to get through, so I told Sora and his friends to close the door... I can still remember the look on his face, though I'm sure I'm taking liberty in interpreting what the surprise meant. Whether it was to see me alive, or to see me normal... A part of me hopes for the latter; that he had thought of me enough as a friend to hate what I had become under the influence of Maleficent.
Hope... what a horrible word. That single syllable carries with it the weight of an eternity of anxious moments... and leaves only desperation in its wake. Desperation, anger, despair... A horrible word, but one of infinite power. The power to pull you forward, only to cut you down. A double edged sword. Yet still I continue to hope.
When that mouse appeared, with his own Keyblade, he gave me hope that there could be a way out, even after the door closed. And so I held on to that... otherwise I would have let the Heartless take me long ago, and I never want to go back to being like that. I would rather die with false hope than to die in the knowledge that I had given it up once again.
So, I will continue walking this dark path with no light to guide me. And if I never find my way back, then at least I will die content knowing that the others are safe, and that I at least had a part in that outcome in the end.
Sora sighed in frustration and sat down, mentally adding one more tally to his 'Most Stupid Things Ever Accomplished' list. Not only had he gone through the door in hopes of finding Riku, he wasn't even sure that there was a way out. So now, he was stuck in this dark World, which he was fairly certain no one else besides Donald and Goofy even knew about, with no way to get back and the disturbing sensation of being surrounded and watched by Heartless.
Jumping to his feet, he continued on, determinedly looking for any silver in the distance that would give away his friend or the gigantic doors of Kingdom Hearts.
He didn't know how long he had been walking, or how long it had been since he had slept, eaten, even sat down for a rest. Always wary of the Heartless he could feel watching him from a short distance away, he dared not even blink. He was growing tired though, and he knew he could not possibly hold out much longer. If he was attacked, he was certain he would fall, but knew, too, that he would at least take a fair amount of them with him.
He stopped as the atmosphere changed, subtly but noticeably. He heard a noise behind him and he stiffened slightly, ready for an ambush.
"Riku! Riku, is it really you?!"
The silver haired boy blinked and turned slowly to face whoever had recognised him. His eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sight of Sora, and then even more as the younger boy ran towards him and wrapped him in a tight embrace.
"It is you! I can't believe it!" he continued, pulling back and looking up at the taller boy with a wide grin, eyes shimmering slightly. The grin quickly faded and he stepped back. "Is this just another dream...?" he asked quietly.
"I could ask the same thing... I thought you went back to Destiny Islands, how did you get here?" asked Riku. Though he was fairly sure it was just a dream, it gave him something to do, so he decided to go along instead of fighting it.
Sora shook his head. "I couldn't. It wouldn't be the same without you. If you weren't there, who would be the resident 'I'm Badass and I Know It' island champion?"
Riku smirked. At least this Sora had his old sense of humour back. "I'm sure Tidus could have easily taken that spot."
Sora waved a hand in the air. "Selphie could take him no sweat." Riku raised a doubtful eyebrow and he shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyway. Come on, we have to find the door so we can go home!"
"Go home?" Riku laughed quietly and a shudder ran up Sora's spine at the depth of bitterness and hopelessness he heard in it. "This is my home... What that mouse said was a lie... there is no door, I'm stuck here."
"Well if you're stuck here, than I'm stuck here. And since I want to go home, I'm not going to believe that. King Mickey said there would always be a door to the light... and I'm the one who will open the door; all I have to do is find it! The Keyblade will lead us."
Riku's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm not in the mood for dream-games right now," he muttered, brushing past the slightly shorter boy.
Sora blinked in surprise and quickly turned to follow. "Come on, Riku, we don't have much time before the World's are disconnected!" He clenched his fists; this was too much like his dream...or maybe it had been a vision? A warning for him not to continue his search? But it was too late now.
"Riku! Stop!"
"I'm sick of dreaming of nothing but the past and lies," Riku replied, not stopping.
"But this isn't a lie!"
"No, but you're a dream."
"Well, then we're having one crazy dream!" he replied, sounding slightly hysteric from fear that Riku had finally lost it. "Come on, Riku, this isn't funny... Turn around and talk to me!" When the older boy showed now sign of slowing, he lunged forward and tackled him. They fell to the ground and he quickly pinned the silver haired boy under him, concentrating to keep him from being thrown off.
Riku struggled, managing to free a hand, and he reflexively brought it up in line with Sora's face, punching hard enough to throw the boy off him and send him rolling. He sat up and looked over to where Sora was lying, not moving except for the rise and fall of his chest to show he was still very much alive. He got to his feet and went over to him, somewhat convinced that he wasn't dreaming since he had landed a solid punch.
Sora lie on his back with his eyes closed, slowly bringing one hand up to his face to feel a bruise already forming. He knew then that one thing from his dream was true, if nothing else. Riku wasn't the same. The Riku who had been his friend and rival wouldn't have hit him hard enough to bruise, let alone to throw him a few feet away. He had changed from rival to enemy to something that was lost... a wild animal trapped in a smaller cage than the one it had grown up in.
He realised that actually, they had both changed. Ever since the Heartless arrived on Destiny Islands, their lives had taken a turn that couldn't have been foreseen. Since then, their paths had split, with few crosses between them. They had each found their own way, their own road to walk, and in the end it had lead them here. But whether it was for better or for worse...
"You're not the Riku I remember..." Sora said, sounding somewhat pained and feeling fearful that Riku would say he didn't want to look for a way out of that place.
"No, I'm not..." was the quiet reply.
He opened one eye to peer up at the boy standing beside him. "...Does that mean you want to stay here...?"
Riku laughed. "Stay here? Who would want to stay in a place where you can't even rest without fear of being attacked?" He shook his head. "No, I don't want to stay here... But I don't want to go back to the Islands either..."
Sora sat up. "Why not?"
"...Can you honestly tell me you would be happy there? Knowing there are other World's and being stuck on just one without any contact to the others...? Being the Keybearer with nothing to protect...?" Sora looked away. "Or are you going back to be with Kairi?"
"I told Kairi that I'm always with her... but I also promised that I would go back... But I also promised myself that I wouldn't go back without you..."
"You're going to have to break one of them then." Riku smirked. "You always were lousy at keeping promises anyway."
"Not as lousy as you at least," he quickly shot back. He blinked, having an idea. "Hey! Why don't we continue exploring Worlds? There's got to be more than just the ones we've traveled to... The three of us could go, just like we said we would!"
"Three?"
"We can go get Kairi."
"You think she'd want to go with us?"
"Why not?" He received a shrug in answer and sighed. "Yeah... I think deep down... she was never truly comfortable with leaving the Islands anyway... No matter how much she wanted to see her home World, she had come to call the Islands home." He got to his feet and turned to face Riku, holding out his hand. "So, just the two of us?"
"Out to explore new Worlds alone?" he questioned with a small grin. "Sure, why not?"
"Just promise not to punch me anymore..."
Riku smirked. "Only when you deserve it..."
"Riku..." Sora said threateningly.
"Fine, I promise," he said, putting his hand in Sora's to shake it. When he did, a bright flash of light came from a small distance away and in the fading light they could see the large doors of Kingdom Hearts standing beside them.
Sora turned and held up his Keyblade. The doors opened before it and they stepped through together, going wherever Destiny felt like taking them.
Damocles: Greek courtier to Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, who according to legend was forced to sit at a banquet table under a sword suspended by a single hair to demonstrate the precariousness of a king's fortunes.
AN: Ok, there's the end ^-^ I was actually debating on whether to make this a multiple chaptered fic or not, but I couldn't decide. The only problem is, what would happen? So, if anyone has any good ideas, I'd be happy to continue, if not, I'll end it here and be done with it, it's totally up to you readers! So please review! Ja!
