"Wha-...?"

I woke abruptly, holding a hand up to shield my face. The small cave had been filled suddenly with blinding white light. But where was it coming from? Could it be...

The Door?

Riku woke as well, rolling over to sit next to me. We squinted through the piercing brightness to see that the Door was, indeed, open.

"He's here." Riku said in complete monotone. The light died down a bit and I looked over to him, his face expressionless. "He's come for me." My mouth worked a few times as my mind struggled, trying to figure out what to do. After a moment, I stood.

"I won't let him take you." I advanced toward the open door, then turned back to him. "Stay here, I don't want you to get hurt."

"No." He stood as well, eyes boring into mine, burning with determination. "I have to go. It's my issue, Sora. Let me deal with it."

We locked eyes for a moment, and I eventually faltered. God, I wish I hadn't. "We'll go together." I held out my hand to him. He hesitated a moment, perhaps wondering if he should expose either himself or me to this danger, but grabbed my hand and we proceeded through the Doorway.

Once inside, our surroundings, and our clothing, had changed dramatically. We were standing in a small alleyway, the buildings on either side as black as the night sky above. Rain cascaded down in sheets, the wind blowing to make and occasional wall of pure, rippling white. The rain did not bother us, however, as we were both now clad in black raincoats, though I did notice that Riku was wearing a blindfold.

"Riku... Where are we?" I didn't know why, but I knew that he'd know what this place was.

"It's not important. We just need to find him. Find him and destroy him." His voice sounded cold and almost hurt. I wondered silently what he might have endured here. That blindfold didn't seem to bother him, and he made no attempts to remove it. It was like he was used to it... I shook my head to clear those thoughts from it, and was soon greeted by a sickening, slimy sound.

"Heartless!" I cried, holding my hand out. Oblivion materialized there, and a small smile twitched on the corners of my lips. That was the last Keyblade I had used before the worlds were restored. Riku unsheathed his blade that resembled the wing of a demon. I shuddered at that. It was the blade he'd used to fight me.

We leapt at our attackers, I blindly hacking at what ever came too close, he fighting with cat-like grace, almost floating above the ground as he sliced the shadows in half. In less than a minute, it appeared over. The sky was lit up for an instant, as several glowing hearts traveled skyward. I let out a breath and turned to face him. "They've gotten bigger."

He sheathed his blade and responded coolly, head tilted down. "No, they've always been that big here. Though I remember there being more." I eyed him curiously. So he /had/ been here before. Perhaps he wore the blindfold because he didn't want to see...

"You'll never last with that weak sword." I smiled at him. "It's a 7 at best. Take this." I slid Oblivion into his hand. His fingers tightened around the handle and he faced me.

"I can't take this." His lips made a sad line across his face. "You need it."

"No, I've got more. You need to be well protected. This is the best I can do at the moment." I slid a hand under the hood of his raincoat and let it rest on his cheek. "Please. It will make me feel better."

He smiled lightly and nodded, pressing a light kiss to my lips. "Alright, love. If it will put your mind at ease. I need you to be calm and not worry. They feed on negative emotions in this place. The last thing we need is for them to be drawn here by the millions." I smiled, though he couldn't see it (I had the strangest feeling that he could see with his senses now.) and we continued down the alley to a street.

Absolute nothingness spread as far as the eye could see. The "city" we were in was eerily deserted. Streetlights cast a feeble glow in various areas, illuminating the puddles of rainwater. A few windows were lit, but no being moved behind them.

Not a soul in this place.

He started down the street, moving seemingly by instinct; perhaps that bond he had with the darkness was leading him to its source. I followed, but suddenly, he stopped.

"What is it?" I questioned before seeing what had halted him.

"No." He breathed, almost silently. A puddle of pure blackness had formed at his feet, the dark tendrils slowly working their way up his body. "No!" He screamed, trying to free himself, but it was like quicksand, and struggling only pulled him in further. "Sora!" He stretched out his hands to me. "Please, help me! I won't let him take me! I WON'T!"

I reached for him desperately, grabbing both his hands in mine. "Riku..." I strained, pulling him with all my might. But it was no use. The darkness soon encased his whole body, wrenching his hands from mine. I clutched hopelessly at his body, but I could grab hold of nothing but shadows. "Riku!" I yelled, in a last-ditch effort, "I will find you! I promise you, love, I /will/ find you!"

"And I'll be waiting." He called back before the black tentacles wrapped around his face. Soon I was looking at nothing but a black figure, a shadow, almost. A flash of purple light filled the street, then nothing.

And he was gone.

"Riku..." I fell to my knees, staring at the spot of pavement where he had disappeared. I tried to hold it back, but I couldn't; a single tear slid down my cheek to melt with the rain that splattered my face. I regained my composure and managed to pull myself up off the ground.

As I turned, I was met by another horde of Heartless. I extended my hand, and this time, Divine Rose appeared there. It was one of my second strongest Keyblades, very effective, too. Its bright colors contrasted so starkly with the black and seemingly colorless world I was in. Then I thought back to when I received it. It had led the Beast to Belle.

Perhaps it would lead me to my love.

Filled with emotions I cannot even begin to describe, I walked toward my offenders and slashed them all in two quick motions. I shouldered the blade and continued in the direction Riku had been walking.

"I /will/ find you."

+

Riku was thrown rather violently from the glowing purple and black portal. He landed, however, quite gracefully on his feet, hands clenched at his sides. "So it's come to this?" He sneered at the large building in front of him. Though he was still blinded, his senses told him exactly where he was:

He stood in the middle of a large, empty street; a plaza of sorts, like Times Square. Numerous neon signs flickered in the rain, casting bizarre shadows on the skyscrapers they were fastened to. Ahead lay a rather strange structure. A building with television screens affixed to the top loomed down on him, an ominous structure indeed.

His senses drew him to the building. /He/ was in there. Anger coursed through his veins. How dare he call him back after everything he'd put him through one year ago? How dare he rip him away from the one person he truly loved? The one who owned his heart?

One cannot live with half a heart.

As Riku advanced toward the building, his ears were met by the sound of Shadows rising from the ground. He turned his head to regard them, then kneeled, extending his hands to call his Keyblade to him. Oblivion materialized in one hand, while something else came to his other. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small star dangling from the end of this new Keyblade. 'Kairi's good luck charm?' He pondered for a split second, then remembered what Sora had named this blade:

Oathkeeper

The smallest of smiles touched his lips as he stood, locking the two blades together in front of him. He took his stance, then leapt at the surrounding Shadows, fighting with such intensity that half the time he was in the air while fighting. After he mowed down about half of them, he heard a laugh come from above. But... That voice... It was... His own.

"Don't bother. You'll wear yourself out." The voice called down to him with a cocky air. It clicked inside his head that was, indeed, his own voice calling to him from atop the odd building. Then it clicked as to whom the owner was.

"You. It's you, isn't it, Ansem?" He said bitterly.

"Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" Riku's mirror stood, perched on the edge of the building, looking down at him. Well, not really "looking", per say, because his eyes were also covered with a black blindfold. His hood was down, and the rain caused his hair to stick to his face and neck, though some was blown about by the wind.

"What do you want from me, you son of a bitch?" Riku spat at the calm figure.

"My other half." He responded coolly. Riku started. His other half? Surely not his... Not his heart?

"You can't have my heart." He said through gritted teeth. "It belongs to someone else now."

"You mean the girl? The one whom I helped you find? You still owe me for that." The screens lit up to show Kairi, innocent and sweet, laughing. The figure regarded Riku with a smug look.

"No. It does not belong to her. You nearly killed her! Sora saved her, not you. I OWE YOU NOTHING!"

"YOU OWE ME EVERYTHING!" The Mirror Riku yelled to his counterpart. "You ungrateful bastard. I took you in, I cared for you. I helped you find your friends, and this is how you repay me?!"

"You lied to me! You deceived me! You made me believe that my friends betrayed me!" Riku nearly screamed. The old hatred he held for the man was returning full force. Oh, how he wanted to crush his very bones... "Where's Sora?" His face became passive once more. He didn't expect an answer.

"Hm." The other scoffed. "Is that what I mean to you? You mean so much more to me, Riku." The man tilted his head back, bringing up one hand to undo the knot in his blindfold. It slid off his face, and the rain cascaded over his still-closed eyes. He leaned forward again and smiled, opening his eyes to reveal hollow, yellow embers. "Because I /am/ you. And you, my child...

"You are the source of all Heartless."

Riku backed up in pure terror as a wall of blue flame surrounded him. His hands reflexively tightened on the handles of his Keyblades as he turned his face upward. "W-What..." He stammered out, "what d-do you want from me?" He asked a second time.

The man scoffed, pulling the hood of his raincoat up, almost hiding the penetrating evil of his eyes. He smirked and jumped off the roof of the building, but instead of falling, he floated down, arms outstretched, looking very much like some sort of fallen angel. He landed mere feet away from Riku with a soft tap.

"To finish what I started."

+++

I debated for a while whether I should split this into two parts or not. I decided I probably should. I was getting tired of writing and I like leaving you guys with cliffhangers anyway. ^^

So, oh! Suspense! What did Ansem start? Where did Sora go? Will he find his love? Will my nose ever stop running?

About Divine Rose: I couldn't remember exactly what Belle said. I /think/ she said it helped the Beast find her. If she did say that, then Yay! I have a decent memory! If she didn't, uh, pretend she did. Yup. ^^;;