The Gathering

Prologue: Utter Silence

Darkness.

"Sora… Kairi... I'm sorry…"

It was complete and total, encompassing and engulfing his entire being. His limbs felt weightless and detached, the sensation of free floating churning his innards uncomfortably and spinning his head through a dizzying vortex. Everything was going numb, and if not for the void of black he was sure his skin would appear blue from cold.

He vaguely entertained the thought that maybe he was in fact dead. Somehow it wouldn't surprise him that his own version of purgatory would be to become pitched into the lonely, silent darkness. To be swallowed whole by the one thing that he thought could lift him… only for it to cause his complete downfall in the end.

"Is this the world of death?"

The black began to shift and swirl, a vague grey fizzing in front of him. His body felt heavy again, dragging him slowly downward as the void before him began to materialize into a recognizable form. A white path winded endlessly into the darkness for as far as his eyes could reach, and with a faint clicking, his feet came into contact with solidity.

He looked down to his hands, clenching and unclenching them in an effort to regain feeling over the lingering affects of the cold emptiness he had previously been subject to. He felt warm again, though not quite full of life.

Something was missing. He felt… incomplete.

The view before him began to flicker, his hands seemingly transparent. A soft blue light slowly radiated around him, and a crushing force twisted from within himself. He felt as if he was being eaten from the inside out, a torturing, sizzling pain slicing down to his fingertips. He wrapped his arms about his chest, willing whatever was trying to break free to relinquish its hold.

"I can't disappear yet."

The pain slowly subsided along with the faint, blue glowing. The transparency of his body faded back into a sold form.

"Not until I've met Sora and Kairi one more time."

Eyes squinted in determination he took a strong, steadying breath, dropping his arms to his sides. He would brave this. He would.

Riku, can you hear me? I'll be there soon.

Warily, his head darted about, eyes frantically searching for the source of the voice. "Who's there?"

I've been talking to you all along, but my words were hindered by the darkness covering your heart.

There was nothing there. Nothing but darkness and the path set out before him.

There's another keyblade… I've gotten the keyblade for this side.

"I don't know who you are, but… what's happened to me?"

Your heart has overcome the darkness, but you couldn't take back your body.

As the voice spoke, Riku tentatively laid his palm against his chest, his fingers splaying wide. It would explain the incompleteness he felt.

Only your heart was left behind in this dark side where all the stolen hearts are gathered.

He looked out along the path, taking a shaky step forward.

The door of darkness will soon appear, the door through which we cannot pass. In order to close it two keys and two hearts are needed. Perhaps you, too, came here for that purpose. Maybe it was fate.

"Fate…" he said, the hand over his chest clenching unconsciously at the word that sounded so bitter in his head. "You know everything don't you? If that's so, I want you to tell me one more thing. Are Sora and Kairi safe?"

You yourself should be able to feel their hearts.

Riku shut his eyes tightly, a sad smile spreading across his face. In the distance he could see Sora bolting from the darkness towards him. Sora's face was open and honest, his cheerful smile a welcome sight as he ran to Riku.

How you perceive your friends is dependent upon your own heart.

Riku's eyes snapped open, the recollection of Sora seemingly calming his fears.

"Thank you," he said smiling.

Slowly, everything began to fade to white.[1]

"Sora!" Riku bolted upwards, clutching the sheets tightly to his chest. His breath heaved within a strained chest.

"Still dreaming about the past, Riku?"

Riku's head turned towards the source of the voice, his breath still pooling out in short gasps. He had been asleep. Only a dream… or more like a memory. The room was dark, full of shadows and biomorphic shapes.

"It will be morning soon. You should really try to get a decent rest for once." The figure in the doorway informed him.

Riku swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his face with his palms. "I'm awake now."

The figure sighed in sympathy. He turned to leave the darkened room, adding over his shoulder, "It's been seven years, Riku. Don't you think he's forgiven you by now?"

Riku's hand stilled, the fingers shakily pulling away from his face. He opened his eyes, a piercing yellow light emitting from them to stream into the darkness.

"His voice… it's left me.[2] You told me I would always be able to feel his heart." Riku closed his eyes tightly, the yellow light dissolving. He heard a slight creaking of boards as the figure walked closely. The bed shifted with a new weight.

"He's still out there, Riku, both of them are. I know it."

Riku looked down towards his friend, the figure's face becoming awashed with the glow from Riku's eyes. He smiled sadly at the person that had guided him so long ago when he was trapped behind the door. The voice within his dream.

"You're optimism is always so sickening."

The figure gave a funny, rather high-pitched laugh, patting Riku heartily on the back. "It's my nature," he said, rising from the bed.

Riku turned away, watching the rising sun glint through the boarded-up window. He reached towards a small stool resting beside the bed, fingers wrapping around a soft piece of black material.

"Riku…" He turned towards the figure about to exit the room. "I meant what I said. He's out there, and we will find him." Saying nothing more, the short figure reached up towards the doorknob, shutting the creaky wooden door behind him.

Riku brought the material up to his face, wrapping it tightly over his eyes, shutting out the haunting yellow glow.

"I know we will, Mickey," he agreed to an empty room, tying the blindfold off with a secure knot.[3]

Not so far away, a cloaked figure walked into an unknown city. He looked morbidly about the place, searching for a sunrise that wasn't there, blocked out by unearthly means. His boots clomped noisily against the pavement, signaling all the morning goers of his arrival.

People in the street stopped to stare, some whispering, and some looking upon him with curious eyes. No doubt his demeanor and attire was strange, not to mention the glint of polished metal that seethed through openings in his cloak as he strolled. The man pulled the hood tighter about his face, hoping to shut out the awkward stares he was receiving.

The city was coming alive despite the fact that there was no morning sunrise. Noises were seeping through the streets and neon lights were buzzing alight on buildings all around. He briefly wondered how the inhabitants knew that the night had come and gone, and the day starting anew.

The cloaked interloper passed by a shop of some sorts, where a pudgy man with a rosy face was happily whistling a bouncy tune as he swept his broom to and fro across the steps in front of the building. The newcomer stopped, turning towards the happy man.

"You there," he pointed towards the man whose head instantly shot up.

"Me?"

The mysterious man nodded once.

The shopkeeper stepped away from the entrance, clutching his broom in defensively in front of him as he walked a little closer to the visitor dressed in all black. His eyes briefly flicked to the shine of a blade winking out from the opening in the cape. The darkly dressed man noticed it, nervously pulling his cloak tighter about his form.

"Can I help you with something, stranger?" The man said warily, wiping a sweaty hand on his apron.

"What's the name of this city?"

The shopkeeper's manner instantly changed, his face becoming alight. "Why, this here is Midgar," he said with pride lacing his boisterous voice.[4]

"Midgar…" the stranger repeated lightly, absent mindedly pulling on a strand of silvery hair peeking out from under the hood. "Thank you."[5]

The shopkeeper tipped his head politely, turning back to the chore at hand. The swish of his broom began to fade into the background as the stranger contemplated his surroundings. He let his eyes trace the line of the tall, neon painted buildings of the city.

"If only you knew what was in store for you, Midgar."

-----------------------------------TBC-----------------------------------

[1] This conversation is only available in Japan's Final Mix version. It occurs a little before the ending. We can only assume that the voice talking to Riku is King Mickey because both Mickey and Riku show up at the last minute with a second Kingdom Key to help Sora shut the door of darkness, as the voice told Riku he would do.

[2] This is a quote from Deep Dive that most relate to Kairi saying it, since at the end of Kingdom Hearts Sora tells her they will always be together in her heart. I do agree that Kairi probably is the one that the quite derived from, but for the purposes of my story I'm making it so that Riku said it, since the voice (whom I already said is probably Mickey) tells Riku he will always be able to see Sora and Kairi in his heart.

[3] Dun dun dun! Now you know who I believe to be Riku in the Deep Dive clip. But perhaps you're wondering why he has to wear the blindfold, or why his eyes glow yellow like a heartless. Hmmmm…… don't worry you'll find out. And no, he isn't the unknown guy on the beach with a glowing eye in Deep Dive.

[4] I always believed that the city in Deep Dive looked like Midgar or maybe a neo Traverse Town. Only, if it were the under plate of Midgar, it couldn't rain like in the Deep Dive clip, correct? Don't worry, I'm going to deal with that part. But for the sake of my story, it shall be Midgar. Oooh, do you think we'll get to see Cloud along the way? *winks*

[5] Hmm, could this be the Dual Wielder in the Deep Dive clip? And if so, who is he?