disclaimer : Kingdom Hearts no mine. Or will it ever be... ;__;
Darkness Within by rin_lockheart
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'Cloud... Help me, please............' a weak voice mumbled. Cloud searched frantically for the owner of the meek voice, but he was no where in sight.
"Sora?" Cloud called out to the darkness. "Where are you?!"
'He's not coming for you, you know,' another voice spoke. The blonde recognized it as Riku's and resisted the erge to spit in anger.
His anger faded as he heard a whimper. 'That's not true.... He is... coming for me...... They all are... You'll see...' Another whimper was heard as Cloud heard what sounded like a hand slapping someone's face. 'No,' Riku's voice came, harsher. 'They're NOT coming for you. I've seen them in Maleficent's crystal ball; they're just lounging around Traverse Town, waiting for the universe to be destroyed.'
'No... they'd never forget about me.... or the universe...'
The swordsman heard a snarl and then a hoarse scream. His eyes widened. What was that platinum-haired bastard doing to him? If only he could see what was happening and if only he could get his hands around Riku's throat...
Riku's voice drew Cloud out of his thoughts. 'Never say that! I'm the only one who will ever care about you,' his said, voice harsh and cruel. 'Never forget that.'
Another scream came from the darkness and everything in the swordsman's' view went white.
!~!~!~!~!~!
Cloud's eyes shot open and his head snapped up. He was still leaning against the far wall of the Gummi Ship, Aerith sitting to his left, looking worriedly over at him.
"Cloud, are you alright?" she asked. "You look like you've had a nightmare."
Cloud sighed and closed his eyes. "That's because I did," he said solemnly. "I was surrounded by darkness, and all the while I heard Sora and that bastard Riku having a very menacing conversation."
"Don't worry, Cloud," Aerith said, trying to comfort the blonde. "We'll rescue Sora and take care of Riku. He will pay for he's done." She stood up and smiled at him. "I know you'll make sure of that." With that, she walked off to go look for Yuffie.
'Aerith's right,' Cloud thought to himself. 'I shouldn't worry. But... I just can't help thinking that there's more to that dream than she or I thinks...'
!~!~!~!~!~!
Maleficent stood waiting for the impatient youth to arrive in the chamber. He needed her help on dealing with a particular blonde swordsman. She was only too happy to oblige.
Riku burst open the large stone doors and strode up to the witch. "I need your help with something," he stated calmly.
"I already know what it is you are going to ask," she said, smirking.
Riku raised his eyebrows. "Then how, may I ask, will I deal with the swordsman?"
Maleficent chuckled. "Kill him." The youth rolled his eyes. He already knew he had to do that! The witch seemed to read his thoughts. "Yes, but do you know the way in which you will end his life?"
Riku thought for a moment. If he was to kill Cloud, he needed a foolproof plan to do it. All of a sudden an idea formed in his mind. "I will duel him," he said. "And the second he lets his guard down, his head shall be a trophy upon my wall." He grinned maliciously as he thought of what Sora would do if he saw his savior's head nailed to a wall.
!~!~!~!~!~!
Yuffie was suddenly woke by a hand gently shaking her by the shoulder. She had fallen asleep when she got tired of bugging Leon, who was in the same position as he was before she fell asleep. The ninja looked up to see Aerith looking down on her, smiling.
"What are you so happy about?" Yuffie questioned. Aerith only continued to smile.
"We're almost there, Yuffie," she said, twisting a stray strand of hair on her finger. "I thought that maybe you'd like to be woken up, since you don't like to be left out of the action."
Yuffie grinned. "Anything that involves killing or beating something up, I love it."
Aerith giggled and shook her head. "You'll never change, oh little ninja."
The short haired brunette stood up and put her hands on her hips, frowning. "And what's that supposed to-"
She was cut off when the ship gave a violent jolt to one side, causing both women to fall ungracefully to the floor with loud thumps. Leon looked up and looked to the control room. Chip and Dale were trying as hard as they could to avoid the large chunks of space rock that came between them and their destination. Unfortunately, they couldn't get out of the way fast enough and got hit by a rather big piece. It hit on the left side, causing a huge indent. Cloud had run, clumsily, to the front of the ship, crashing into Donald and Goofy, who had slept the entire trip and were only now waking up.
"What happened?!?!" Cloud exclaimed.
"It seems we hit a large chunk of space rock," Chip explained in his high voice. "And I think we have to make a crash landing in Hollow Bastion."
Leon walked up behind Cloud. "We have to go there anyway," he said. "We might as well."
Cloud nodded. "Everybody better hold onto something then."
The ship gave another violent shudder and headed abnormally fast down to the world ahead of them. It went faster and faster the closer it got. Everyone on the Gummi Ship braced themselves for the impact.
The ship landed with a loud scrapping sound as it slid on the ground of the new world, slowing down bit by bit. It eventually stopped and everyone inside let go of whatever (or whoever in Yuffie's case, because she had grabbed onto Leon) and relaxed.
"I think we landed," Goofy said, abet quietly.
"Alright," Cloud said, taking his rightful leadership role. "Donald, Goofy, you stay here and help Chip and Dale fix the ship. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, we're going to look for Sora." Everyone nodded. Cloud turned to the duck, dog, and two chipmunks. "You guys, we need the ship fixed by the time we get back. Cuz we'll need to get out of here as fast as possible. We're going to have an extra person."
The four saluted him as he, Leon, Yuffie and Aerith walked off the ship. They were so... cartoony.
The four humans stepped down off the small walking platform and on what appeared to be snow covered ground. Ahead of them was what looked to be a lake with a few rocks sticking out of the surface. Beyond that was a circle of large, tall rocks which surrounded a huge sphere of white light.
"We might as well go forward," Aerith said.
Yuffie nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! I'll lead the way!!" She ran forward towards the lake and just as she was about to step in the water, she banged into something and went stumbling backwards. She then fell of her backside. Cloud, Aerith and Leon walked up behind her. Leon stepped forward to where Yuffie hit something.
He put his hands forward and they hit something hard. His hands moved around a little bit until he confirmed it. "A wall," he said. "An invisible wall. I guess they don't expect company much."
"I guess not," Yuffie said. She walked up to the "wall" a few feet left of Leon and tried to lean on it. She simply fell through. "Owwwww!!!!" she stated. "What gives?!!?"
Aerith walked up to Yuffie and helped her up She put her hands out to where Yuffie had fallen. She felt nothing.
"I think there's a doorway here," she said softly. She walked forward slowly, expecting to hit something, but didn't. She walked through without hitting a thing. "There must be a hidden path." She put her hand on a "wall" to the right of her. "Just put your hand on the right and follow what you feel beneath your hand. I think we'll be able to make it across that way."
The group of four proceeded to do so. The path went in a zigzag from rock to rock until finally, they got to the sphere of light.
"Finally," Cloud said, walking up to it. He suddenly disappeared.
"Cloud!" Aerith called out. She looked back at Yuffie and Leon, whose mouths were wide open. "Do you think we should follow him..?"
The two nodded and walked forward, standing in line with Aerith. The three of them walked forward together.
!~!~!~!~!~!
"Damn it!!" Riku exclaimed as he watched the four humans through Maleficient's crystal ball. One of them, the stubborn Cloud, had stepped forwards into the sphere of light and got transported further into the Heartless' base. The three others soon followed.
The platinum haired youth had sent that meteor, or as they had called it, "large space rock", to destroy their ship. But, as he could see, it didn't work. He would have to handle this himself.
Now in a rage, Riku stomped out of the main chamber.
!~!~!~!~!~!
Cloud opened his eyes to feel an excruciating pain in his head. He was flat of his back on the floor of a tall, dark hallway of sorts. He must have hit his head on the floor when he landed. He sat up and looked behind him; a sphere of light, like the one he had just walked into, floated there, about two feet off the ground. He stood up and found that his legs were a bit wobbly at first.
A moment later, he heard a cry from behind him. Cloud turned around just in time to see Yuffie flying at him, coming from the sphere. His eyes widened before she knocked him over and lied on top of him. He then felt an extra weight on top of Yuffie and then another weight on top of that.
"Leon!!" Yuffie cried. "Get OFFA me, would ya?!?"
"I would," he replied. "If Aerith was not on top of me."
"Oh, sorry!" Aerith broke in. She got off of the stoic brunette, who then got off of Yuffie.
The ninja proceeded to get up off the "floor" and dust herself off. Yuffie, who was oblivious to the fact that she had landed on Cloud, idly looked around. "Where the hell's Cloud?? He should be here by now!!"
Cloud grunted as he picked himself off of the floor. Yuffie turned around and squeaked.
"Cloud!!" she exclaimed. "I am sooo sorry! If I'da known that I'd landed on you, I would have got up quicker! ...or something."
The corner of the swordsman's' mouth twitched up in what looked to be a grin. "I'm sure you would have." His tone turned more serious as he looked down the dark hallway. "Now, let's move forward."
!~!~!~!~!~!
~fin of ch.10~
A/N : what did you think? It took me a while to write this chappy up cuz I didn't have ANY clue as what to write in for the adventurous-type stuff. And I'm sorry if at the end little thing you found that it was a bit on the comical side; I was in a good mood when I wrote it. I had just got back from a hockey game and the whole time I was there, I was kickin' the crap out of the mascot that was running around! I know it sounds immature, (I could have gotten kicked out for it too!) but my boyfriend had bought me this chocolate-covered, sugar-filled ice cream sunday (which I ate before the game) and I had WAY too much energy so I took it out on the mascot! My boyfriend just laughed at me cuz he thinks I'm adorable when I'm hyper. Oh! If you say that I'm just immature for doing that - fuck off.... Just kidding! I wuv you all! And I'll wuv even more if you review! *hint hint* Come on, I'm a 19 year old angst yaoi addict who needs reviews!! *sob* *sniffle*
Darkness Within by rin_lockheart
!~!~!~!~!~!
'Cloud... Help me, please............' a weak voice mumbled. Cloud searched frantically for the owner of the meek voice, but he was no where in sight.
"Sora?" Cloud called out to the darkness. "Where are you?!"
'He's not coming for you, you know,' another voice spoke. The blonde recognized it as Riku's and resisted the erge to spit in anger.
His anger faded as he heard a whimper. 'That's not true.... He is... coming for me...... They all are... You'll see...' Another whimper was heard as Cloud heard what sounded like a hand slapping someone's face. 'No,' Riku's voice came, harsher. 'They're NOT coming for you. I've seen them in Maleficent's crystal ball; they're just lounging around Traverse Town, waiting for the universe to be destroyed.'
'No... they'd never forget about me.... or the universe...'
The swordsman heard a snarl and then a hoarse scream. His eyes widened. What was that platinum-haired bastard doing to him? If only he could see what was happening and if only he could get his hands around Riku's throat...
Riku's voice drew Cloud out of his thoughts. 'Never say that! I'm the only one who will ever care about you,' his said, voice harsh and cruel. 'Never forget that.'
Another scream came from the darkness and everything in the swordsman's' view went white.
!~!~!~!~!~!
Cloud's eyes shot open and his head snapped up. He was still leaning against the far wall of the Gummi Ship, Aerith sitting to his left, looking worriedly over at him.
"Cloud, are you alright?" she asked. "You look like you've had a nightmare."
Cloud sighed and closed his eyes. "That's because I did," he said solemnly. "I was surrounded by darkness, and all the while I heard Sora and that bastard Riku having a very menacing conversation."
"Don't worry, Cloud," Aerith said, trying to comfort the blonde. "We'll rescue Sora and take care of Riku. He will pay for he's done." She stood up and smiled at him. "I know you'll make sure of that." With that, she walked off to go look for Yuffie.
'Aerith's right,' Cloud thought to himself. 'I shouldn't worry. But... I just can't help thinking that there's more to that dream than she or I thinks...'
!~!~!~!~!~!
Maleficent stood waiting for the impatient youth to arrive in the chamber. He needed her help on dealing with a particular blonde swordsman. She was only too happy to oblige.
Riku burst open the large stone doors and strode up to the witch. "I need your help with something," he stated calmly.
"I already know what it is you are going to ask," she said, smirking.
Riku raised his eyebrows. "Then how, may I ask, will I deal with the swordsman?"
Maleficent chuckled. "Kill him." The youth rolled his eyes. He already knew he had to do that! The witch seemed to read his thoughts. "Yes, but do you know the way in which you will end his life?"
Riku thought for a moment. If he was to kill Cloud, he needed a foolproof plan to do it. All of a sudden an idea formed in his mind. "I will duel him," he said. "And the second he lets his guard down, his head shall be a trophy upon my wall." He grinned maliciously as he thought of what Sora would do if he saw his savior's head nailed to a wall.
!~!~!~!~!~!
Yuffie was suddenly woke by a hand gently shaking her by the shoulder. She had fallen asleep when she got tired of bugging Leon, who was in the same position as he was before she fell asleep. The ninja looked up to see Aerith looking down on her, smiling.
"What are you so happy about?" Yuffie questioned. Aerith only continued to smile.
"We're almost there, Yuffie," she said, twisting a stray strand of hair on her finger. "I thought that maybe you'd like to be woken up, since you don't like to be left out of the action."
Yuffie grinned. "Anything that involves killing or beating something up, I love it."
Aerith giggled and shook her head. "You'll never change, oh little ninja."
The short haired brunette stood up and put her hands on her hips, frowning. "And what's that supposed to-"
She was cut off when the ship gave a violent jolt to one side, causing both women to fall ungracefully to the floor with loud thumps. Leon looked up and looked to the control room. Chip and Dale were trying as hard as they could to avoid the large chunks of space rock that came between them and their destination. Unfortunately, they couldn't get out of the way fast enough and got hit by a rather big piece. It hit on the left side, causing a huge indent. Cloud had run, clumsily, to the front of the ship, crashing into Donald and Goofy, who had slept the entire trip and were only now waking up.
"What happened?!?!" Cloud exclaimed.
"It seems we hit a large chunk of space rock," Chip explained in his high voice. "And I think we have to make a crash landing in Hollow Bastion."
Leon walked up behind Cloud. "We have to go there anyway," he said. "We might as well."
Cloud nodded. "Everybody better hold onto something then."
The ship gave another violent shudder and headed abnormally fast down to the world ahead of them. It went faster and faster the closer it got. Everyone on the Gummi Ship braced themselves for the impact.
The ship landed with a loud scrapping sound as it slid on the ground of the new world, slowing down bit by bit. It eventually stopped and everyone inside let go of whatever (or whoever in Yuffie's case, because she had grabbed onto Leon) and relaxed.
"I think we landed," Goofy said, abet quietly.
"Alright," Cloud said, taking his rightful leadership role. "Donald, Goofy, you stay here and help Chip and Dale fix the ship. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, we're going to look for Sora." Everyone nodded. Cloud turned to the duck, dog, and two chipmunks. "You guys, we need the ship fixed by the time we get back. Cuz we'll need to get out of here as fast as possible. We're going to have an extra person."
The four saluted him as he, Leon, Yuffie and Aerith walked off the ship. They were so... cartoony.
The four humans stepped down off the small walking platform and on what appeared to be snow covered ground. Ahead of them was what looked to be a lake with a few rocks sticking out of the surface. Beyond that was a circle of large, tall rocks which surrounded a huge sphere of white light.
"We might as well go forward," Aerith said.
Yuffie nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! I'll lead the way!!" She ran forward towards the lake and just as she was about to step in the water, she banged into something and went stumbling backwards. She then fell of her backside. Cloud, Aerith and Leon walked up behind her. Leon stepped forward to where Yuffie hit something.
He put his hands forward and they hit something hard. His hands moved around a little bit until he confirmed it. "A wall," he said. "An invisible wall. I guess they don't expect company much."
"I guess not," Yuffie said. She walked up to the "wall" a few feet left of Leon and tried to lean on it. She simply fell through. "Owwwww!!!!" she stated. "What gives?!!?"
Aerith walked up to Yuffie and helped her up She put her hands out to where Yuffie had fallen. She felt nothing.
"I think there's a doorway here," she said softly. She walked forward slowly, expecting to hit something, but didn't. She walked through without hitting a thing. "There must be a hidden path." She put her hand on a "wall" to the right of her. "Just put your hand on the right and follow what you feel beneath your hand. I think we'll be able to make it across that way."
The group of four proceeded to do so. The path went in a zigzag from rock to rock until finally, they got to the sphere of light.
"Finally," Cloud said, walking up to it. He suddenly disappeared.
"Cloud!" Aerith called out. She looked back at Yuffie and Leon, whose mouths were wide open. "Do you think we should follow him..?"
The two nodded and walked forward, standing in line with Aerith. The three of them walked forward together.
!~!~!~!~!~!
"Damn it!!" Riku exclaimed as he watched the four humans through Maleficient's crystal ball. One of them, the stubborn Cloud, had stepped forwards into the sphere of light and got transported further into the Heartless' base. The three others soon followed.
The platinum haired youth had sent that meteor, or as they had called it, "large space rock", to destroy their ship. But, as he could see, it didn't work. He would have to handle this himself.
Now in a rage, Riku stomped out of the main chamber.
!~!~!~!~!~!
Cloud opened his eyes to feel an excruciating pain in his head. He was flat of his back on the floor of a tall, dark hallway of sorts. He must have hit his head on the floor when he landed. He sat up and looked behind him; a sphere of light, like the one he had just walked into, floated there, about two feet off the ground. He stood up and found that his legs were a bit wobbly at first.
A moment later, he heard a cry from behind him. Cloud turned around just in time to see Yuffie flying at him, coming from the sphere. His eyes widened before she knocked him over and lied on top of him. He then felt an extra weight on top of Yuffie and then another weight on top of that.
"Leon!!" Yuffie cried. "Get OFFA me, would ya?!?"
"I would," he replied. "If Aerith was not on top of me."
"Oh, sorry!" Aerith broke in. She got off of the stoic brunette, who then got off of Yuffie.
The ninja proceeded to get up off the "floor" and dust herself off. Yuffie, who was oblivious to the fact that she had landed on Cloud, idly looked around. "Where the hell's Cloud?? He should be here by now!!"
Cloud grunted as he picked himself off of the floor. Yuffie turned around and squeaked.
"Cloud!!" she exclaimed. "I am sooo sorry! If I'da known that I'd landed on you, I would have got up quicker! ...or something."
The corner of the swordsman's' mouth twitched up in what looked to be a grin. "I'm sure you would have." His tone turned more serious as he looked down the dark hallway. "Now, let's move forward."
!~!~!~!~!~!
~fin of ch.10~
A/N : what did you think? It took me a while to write this chappy up cuz I didn't have ANY clue as what to write in for the adventurous-type stuff. And I'm sorry if at the end little thing you found that it was a bit on the comical side; I was in a good mood when I wrote it. I had just got back from a hockey game and the whole time I was there, I was kickin' the crap out of the mascot that was running around! I know it sounds immature, (I could have gotten kicked out for it too!) but my boyfriend had bought me this chocolate-covered, sugar-filled ice cream sunday (which I ate before the game) and I had WAY too much energy so I took it out on the mascot! My boyfriend just laughed at me cuz he thinks I'm adorable when I'm hyper. Oh! If you say that I'm just immature for doing that - fuck off.... Just kidding! I wuv you all! And I'll wuv even more if you review! *hint hint* Come on, I'm a 19 year old angst yaoi addict who needs reviews!! *sob* *sniffle*