Shadow Puppet
By DClick, fangirl AND annoyer of Riku-kun ^^
Authoress's NotesHeh… I've had this idea for a while, actually. But only now (with four other fics in progress- yep, I've started writing a certain sequel- and writer's block on three of them) did I actually decide to write it, because while half-asleep trying to get rid of a headache I found the perfect way to start the fic. ^^ I think I'm finally making some progress getting rid of the evil writer's block demon…
Hmm. I haven't written anything in first-person POV for ages (and I've never written a fic that way). This should be interesting.
Disclaimer (Evil Lawyers, meet Darkside. Darkside, meet Evil Lawyers. Have fun!): I don't own Kingdom Hearts (damn. That means I don't own Shadows. *huggles one… they're cute and cuddly! ^^* Or Riku-kun. *glompeth* *gets hit with the Dark Keyblade* owwie…). I don't own anything else either, except my insane mind and the writer's block demon currently tied to the fan. lol
I don't know about Sora, but right about now I have to doubt whether Kingdom Hearts is light.
OK, that was lame. But seriously, it doesn't look like it… I hate it here. This is the heart of all worlds? It's nothing but cold gray rock broken up by huge cracks, and you can't see the sky (I'm not sure how this place is lit up, however dimly. The only things around here that glow are the Heartless's eyes, and there's no sunlight.)- it's like living in a huge cave. If you look down into the gaps between the chunks of rock, the Heartless's glowing yellow eyes stare up at you- don't get me wrong, they don't scare me, but it's a creepy effect.
Oh yeah, and did I mention there's no food or water? It's a good thing we don't seem to need it here. ("We" being me, and King Mickey.)
Stuck in a gloomy old cave with only Heartless and a mouse for company. If I'd known things were going to turn out this way…
If I'd known things were going to turn out this way…
If I'd known things were going to turn out this way, I'd still have done what I did. It was all for Kairi. And Sora, but mostly Kairi. At least they're safe, somewhere, and probably a lot happier than I am.
I kicked a pebble over the cliff. I didn't hear it hit the bottom, but there was an annoyed squeak from the bottom- probably hit a Heartless. Like I cared. I walked along the edge of the cliff, looking down into the shallow canyon between chunks of rock. As usual, it was scattered with dots of yellow light- the Heartless's eyes, the only part of them you could see in the darkness. The chasms that broke up the smooth gray terrain of Kingdom Hearts couldn't be that deep, now that I thought about it… the eyes didn't look too far away. Maybe sometime I would climb down there, just to see what was at the bottom besides Heartless… and if they didn't like it, so what? Heartless didn't scare me before, and they sure as hell didn't now.
A Darkside shook its gigantic fist at me as I walked by. I recognized it- it had a scar on its face from a while back, when it was stupid enough to attack me. I may have lost the Dark Keyblade, but I did still have the short sword which hung at my side now, the gem on the blade resembling a dragon's eye, the blade itself red, blue, and silver with a wicked jagged edge.
I stuck my tongue out at the Darkside, then laughed quietly, surprised at myself for being so childish. The Darkside responded by holding up a certain finger.
"Bite me," I muttered, walking on.
I would have killed all the Heartless here given half a chance, but it was no use- they always seemed to come back. Even King Mickey wasn't sure why, and surprisingly, he actually knew a lot about the Heartless and darkness and all that crap. Though, he could never know the darkness as I had, slowly consumed by it without realizing what was happening to me in my effort to save Kairi, almost lost completely to it.
You don't use the darkness. It uses you. I know this all too well now.
But, I'm still not afraid of it. Angry, yes, hate it, very much so, but I'm not afraid of the darkness. There was never a lot that I truly feared… perhaps even less now, after going through so much. That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
I wondered once again how Sora and Kairi were doing. They were probably back on the islands now, enjoying the sunshine, trying to have a normal life again even though there was no way they could forget all that had happened any more than I could (though I probably got the worst part of the deal).
We can never forget.
Take care of her. Those were my last words to Sora, and I don't doubt he will. Me and Sora both liked Kairi- a lot- but over time it became obvious who her heart belonged to. I was jealous, and I have to admit perhaps part of the reason I wanted so badly to save Kairi was to impress her, but… she and Sora should be happy together, right? There's probably a girl for me somewhere, if not on the islands then somewhere else. (One thing's for sure, Selphie is not that girl. She was so annoying!) God knows enough of them like me. heh heh…
… I wasn't sure why I chose now to think about girls. I might not even ever get out of here! No, Riku, don't think that way. You're cool, you're smart, you'll think of something… right? I tried to reassure myself. Where there's a will, there's a way, right?
I didn't have any escape plans yet, though. More than once I'd tried to just force my way through the door, but no matter what I did it wouldn't budge. I tried to get Mickey to unlock it- he has a Keyblade, after all- but he wouldn't. Even if he would, it probably wouldn't have worked anyway, the way my luck's been going. I mean, it did take him and Sora (and me… why the hell didn't I get out from behind the door before I helped shut it?! I'd asked myself that many times by now.) to lock it in the first place.
All I could do about this situation was nothing, and it was driving me nuts.
I looked down into the chasm again, almost as if expecting one of the Heartless blinking up at me to suddenly gain the ability to speak, to tell me exactly what to do. (Like they would, even if they could talk!)
With a resigned sigh, I sat down at the edge of the gap. Maybe I'd have a plan tomorrow. I reflected again on how I ended up in this Heartless-infested hellhole in the first place…I am Riku, best friend for always of Sora and Kairi, unsuspecting puppet of the darkness.
This is my story.
A/N: Yes, Riku does swear fairly often in my fics, particularly when ticked off (as he is in this chapter ^^). I'm the same way. o.O Hmm.
That's chapter 1… the narrative of the game's storyline itself starts next chapter, this is just a prologue. Reviews, please! ^^ (Flames will be fed to this Red Nocturne that's been following me around. o.O Red Nocturne: ^^)