This chapter was brought to you by excessive caffeine, procrastination of coursework and replaying of the second track of the Rasmus album ('In The Shadows'). Heh, big thanks to Revenge and Silvermoon for betaing yet again, and to Silvermoon and DemonSurfer for reviewing. And now on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: Look, if it was mine, Riku would be in a cage in my basement. Nope, he ain't there. Damn.
Chapter Two- Threefold.
'It had been a long time since the door had shut...'
Two years...
Two years is a long time.
The boy groaned where he lay on the inn bed, rubbing gloved hands over tired eyes. He'd been there for hours, just staring endlessly at the ceiling and trying to stop his mind from wandering.
Because, every time it did, it rewound back two years.
Two years ago, he'd damned one of his best friends by locking him away in the heart of all worlds, and lost the other when the numerous existences began to split apart again and their walls began to reform.
And so, here he was. Searching for Riku, searching for King Mickey, searching for...Kairi...
But time's running out.
It was true- no matter how much he wanted to deny it, it was true. When the door of Kingdom Hearts had been sealed and the worlds had been restored, the furthest ones had started to rebuild their walls immediately. This meant that travelling between planets in the Gummi Ship had still been possible, depending on where they wanted to go.
But as time went on, where they went became more and more dependant on where they could get to- only last week, they'd suddenly found themselves unable to enter Agrabah, finding it suddenly inaccessible after their last visit a few months before- and now he was having to face the horrible possibility that he might end up getting trapped in some strange world without even realising until he couldn't leave, and then not being able to see Kairi or Riku or Destiny Islands ever again...
"Sora!"
Sixteen-year-old Sora, the Keyblade Master, sat up abruptly as the familiar call was punctuated by a loud thump at his door.
"Uhh...yeah?" he answered, scrubbing his fingers through his brunette spikes in an attempt to make them stand normally after having been flattened for so long. There was another, louder thump at the door, and Sora winced, remembering that he'd locked it the night before. "Hey, hang on-"
Before he could continue or move to open the door, there was an almighty crash as wood splintered, ripping the deadbolt from the frame and allowing two figures to tumble through as it flew open. Sora watched with a wide, startled gaze as they came to a halt in the middle of the room, then slapped his forehead in realisation.
"Goofy, you big palooka!" Donald squawked, muffled by the rug on the floor. "Get off of me!"
"Oh, sorry Donald." Goofy got up from where he had landed sitting on top of the duck and turned to help him to his feet. The Mage leapt up by himself, ruffling his feathers and brandishing his staff menacingly, causing the Knight to turn his attention back to Sora with a grin and a cheery wave. "G'mornin' Sora. Did ya sleep well?"
"Yeah, fine." He didn't really feel like explaining the truth- it wasn't like there was anything his friends could do- and there was a slightly more pending problem than that of his pensiveness. He sighed heavily.
...I wonder how much the innkeeper's gonna charge us for property damage...
"Are you getting out of bed?" Donald exclaimed angrily. "We're going to Traverse Town this morning, remember?"
"Uh, yeah. Yeah. Sure. Whatever." Sora replied absently, which made the duck quack again irritably at being ignored, before he followed Sora's gaze to the ruined door and gave a slightly nervous laugh. Goofy blinked a few times in wonderment at the pair, the realised the problem and wandered over to heave up the fallen wood.
"Gawrsh, whadda we do now?" he asked, letting it drop again and scratching his head. "How're we gunna fix this?"
"Goofy, stand back!" Donald proclaimed, waddling forward and waving his staff. "I'll handle this!"
The dog shrugged, strolling back over towards Sora and leaving Donald to it as he said, "Y'know, you should probably get up soon. Donald was saying he'd cast magic on ya if ya didn't-"
"And I will!" the duck interrupted from where he was attempting, with little success, to lift the door back upright. "As soon as I get this done-"
"Yeah, OK." Sora swung his legs over to sit on the edge of the bed, knowing that he probably seemed very quiet, and yet feeling too disconnected to do anything about it. he was still wearing his clothes from the day before, but couldn't be bothered to get changed- especially not in the current lack of privacy.
As he pulled on his shoes, a strange, low buzzing filled his ears. Sora frowned and shook his head slightly- as suddenly as it had come on, it had left again.
Weird... he thought. Maybe I'm just tired... Noticing Goofy's slightly concerned expression, he grinned widely and reached out for the Keyblade lying across the bedside cabinet and heaved himself up.
Sora stood, his fingers curling around cold metal, opened his mouth to say something, and then collapsed into darkness.
* * * * *
She wandered through the caves almost like a lost spirit, seeking some shade from the fierce midday heat of the island. Her friends had all headed towards one of the tumbledown beach shacks, but she had opted to be alone for a while.
As always...
A small, sad smile tugged at her lips briefly before dropping again. with a sigh, she shook her head and carried on, ducking slightly to avoid hitting her head on the low ceiling of the entrance tunnel and feeling her way along in the slight dimness until she eventually stepped out into the cave itself.
Violet eyes blinked to adjust to the bright sunlight pouring through random cracks and crevasses in the ceiling, illuminating the green vines and chalk drawings decorating the walls without destroying the tranquil coolness in the stone room. After a slight pause, she padded over the sand towards the back of the cave, determinedly avoiding looking at the large wooden door, sealed shut opposite the entrance.
Familiarity meant that it took her almost no time at all to find what she was looking for, and she knelt slowly in front of it. Her fingers traced lightly over the rough picture of herself and a certain friend, feeding each other the legendary Paopu fruit, and a wave of overwhelming pain crashed over her. It was the same every day, had been for the past two years- she'd come here alone when it got too hot outside and sit in this exact same space and remember. Remember her friends- especially him- remember all their laughter and chatter and adventures...
Remember how they'd been driven apart.
Swallowing hard against the lump that had formed in her throat, the girl allowed her eyes to slide shut, succumbing to the memories. She was fourteen again, shocked and terrified as the ground split scant inches from her toes, dragging her away from her friend, her hand slipping from his grasp...but he'd tried to smile. Spoken those words...
"I'm always with you too!"
...wait...
"I'll get back to you!"
Her eyes flew open in horror.
Although she could remember the words, she couldn't remember the voice, his voice- it was gone now, lost, leaving simple, emotionless phrases behind in her memory.
His voice...it's left me...
She clamped her hands over her mouth, staring at the carving of the boy even as her vision wavered and blurred with tears.
Sora...I'm sorry...
Kairi wept.
* * * * *
The rain fell at a steady, rhythmetic pace, forming pools and puddles that splashed under continual, confident steps. The air was filled with the sound of it, gently pouring down and occasionally emphasised by the erratic buzzing of the frequent neon signs, bright flashing contrasts to the dense gloom of the night.
Thunder rumbles somewhere up overhead, a crackle of lightning forking the sky, and the figure paused, head slightly cocked as it listened. The noises echoed and reverberated, painting it a clear picture of the crowded skyscrapers and monoliths that created an intricate labyrinth of dark side streets and twisted alleyways.
And I didn't even need to use my sword...
A smirk graced the person's lips as they stretched out their arms and tilted their face to the sky. The hood of the long coat fell back, revealing pale skin and light silver hair that became steadily soaked by the downpour. For a moment, he just remained there, a feeling almost like relief sweeping over him briefly.
...is this what it meant? It's gotta be here...
Riku straightened and turned his face to scan the streets in front of him, concentration split between figuring out a route to take and resurfacing memories. Another crash of thunder, another slight hesitation, and he started off again, quickly regaining his previous pace and thinking intently.
He flinched inwardly at the sound of a door locking shut, knowing it was just imagination. It had been a long time since the door had been shut- maybe a year, maybe two- but he could still recall it as though it had occurred mere hours before- telling Sora to look after Kairi, helping him to drag the door shut; the uncertainty, the guilt...
The pain...
He'd blacked out and found himself at the start of a long, winding path, leading into...nothing. At the time, he hadn't realised it was a dream, and had begun to trudge along it in a dejected manner. Suddenly, he'd fallen, feeling almost as though he was about to disappear, every atom of him about to wrench apart and dissipate against his will.
Then he had heard it.
The Voice.
It wasn't so much hearing as sensing the words being 'spoken' to him that drove him up, pushed him on, filling the numb void of regret within him with a kind of hope, a sort of determination...
He'd opened his eyes to see darkness.
Adaptation had taken a while, but he'd learnt. His skills were sharper now, he was stronger than before, and he knew what he had to do. When he was ready, he and King Mickey had set off to find the path from Riku's vision, determined to discover who- or what- the Voice belonged to.
What they hadn't fully counted on was an attack.
It had been a hard fight- all the more challenging under the circumstances, not least being hopelessly outnumbered- but eventually the Heartless- weirder and even more twisted versions of those found outside the epicentre of all worlds- were defeated...but Riku was alone. King Mickey was nowhere to be found, although the boy knew, somehow, that he hadn't been killed.
So he'd come here alone. Found his way here by himself, searching for those he needed to meet.
That Voice, of course. Riku mused. And the King. I need to find out what's happened, what it is I'm supposed to do, and where the hell I am. And then...Sora and Kairi...I gotta see them to tell them I'm...sorry.
He almost wavered then, but drew himself together and smirked again.
So, first off, Mr. Big Ominous Voice. Let's see what you've gotta say when you see me personally.
A light wind whipped through the buildings, raking through long, pale hair and the trailing ends of a thick black blindfold that fastened around a pallid face. The storm continued regardless as Riku strode further into the metropolis, unaware of green eyes.
Green eyes, set into a thin face, that followed his every move and had done since his arrival. Their owner grinned ferally before vanishing in a blaze of flame the same bright red as their hair.
Well, I didn't have much trouble getting this chapter up relatively quickly, but the next one is looking to be quite in depth (read: long!), and due to excessive coursework overloads, and the revision I SHOULD be doing...well, let's juss say it might be longer than a week. Still, please leave a review and lemme know what you think. Thanks very much!