Eyes
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, otherwise we'd see lots of RikuxSora goodness!
When it comes to destroying mindless armies of monsters waves at a time, you tend to gain strength, agility, and stamina. You would need to learn how to dodge and defend, finding advantages in your surroundings and how to use them at a moments notice.
And while Mickey hoped that Sora picked up that knowledge, he didn't feel too good at the moment while searching for them. At least he knew Donald and Goofy were safe.
Searching the perimeter, Mickey leaped from the small ledge and onto the floor below. Why did Hollow Bastion have to have so many floors?
Finally, after reaching the gate, Mickey peered out over the sky. He could see Sora and the others quickly making their way.
I can finally see how much the Keyblade Master can handle. Maybe I should wait a bit?
Where to fight? That was the question.
With that in mind, Mickey shifted into the shadows.
---
Sora swiped at the oncoming heartless, set on reaching the eerie castle to save his friend. Donald and Goofy trailed behind him, occasionally looking for any differences between their last visit. Hopping from platform to platform, they reached a small island, covered by a small roof held by four pillars.
"That's strange, I don't remember this here before." The key-bearer mumbled. The pain in his head suddenly pounded.
"What? This has always been here!" He faintly heard Donald reply over the buzzing. Digging into his spiky locks, he gripped the side of his head.
"Stop!"
"So you finally made it. It's about time. I've been waiting for you."
Voices in his head?! The buzzing increased, and he was no longer able to hear his friends. His vision went hazy for a bit as the voices continued talking.
"Maleficent was right! You don't have what it takes to save Kiari."
Kiari? What was so familiar about that name? Didn't he have the Keyblade just now?
"It's up to me. Only the true Keyblade Master can open the secret door...and change the world.
"But that's impossible! I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!"
"You were just the delivery boy. Sorry, but your part is over now."
"Sora?"
He jerked up, panicking to the sudden touch he felt on his shoulders. The buzzing stopped as fast as it came and Goofy's concerned face materialized in an instant.
"Are you okay?" Sora backed up, stilled a little dazed, and nervously grinned.
"Sorry! I...uh, had a bug in my eye! Yeah, just a bug." He laughed, scratching his head.
Donald glared at him before walking off.
"All right, wise guy. Let's get this over with."
They reached the gate and stopped.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Asked Goofy as he eyed the split passageways.
"Why don't we split up? Axel has to be here somewhere." Sora suggested. Before either had the chance to protest, key-bearer ran off to the left.
"Yeesh! That boy is gonna be in a lot of trouble!" Donald gritted as they took the path to the right. Mumbling obscenities under his breath, he didn't notice that Goofy stopped until he ran into the large knight.
"What's the big idea?" He cried, leaning to the side to get a better view.
"So it's a dead end! All we gotta...do..." He paused, mouth dropping at the figure in front of them.
"King Mickey! We knew we'd find you!" Goofy cheered, walking up to the mouse. Mickey turned around, Keyblade in hand.
"Goofy? Donald? Where's-" He didn't get a chance to finish as his friends crushed him into a hug.
"Heh heh, aw shucks, guys!" He chuckled once they let him down.
"Where have you been?!" Donald fussed, reminding him of a scolding mother.
Yep, that's Donald all right.
"Where's Sora?" He managed to ask, stopping his friends bone-crushing hug. They hesitated, Goofy looked guilty as Donald started fidgeting. Mickey sighed.
"This is not good."
---
Leaning heavily against the door, Sora panted from the tremendous pain in his mind. Gripping the Keyblade tighter, he clamped his ears shut in a futile attempt to keep the loud noise away.
"The darkness will destroy you."
That's not true! The darkness can't destroy me! Sora cried in his heart. And the other voice agreed.
"You're wrong! The darkness may destroy my body, but it will never touch my heart! My heart will always stay with my friends! It'll never die!"
"How ironic," A new voice interrupted his delusions. "The key-bearer can defeat the darkness with ease, but he can barely stand a headache."
Pushing himself off the door in surprise, he moved into a defensive stance. A cloaked figure stood on the fountain in the middle of the room, smirking.
"Axel?" Sora called, narrowing his eyes. "Where's Koro?"
He pulled his hood down, revealing two lavender eyes and shaggy dark blue hair.
"Axel? Koro? Axel is upstairs, and we have someone similar to a Koro." He responded, leaping off the fountain edge. The clanking of his boots sounded throughout the room.
"My name is Mizu. I'll be your Non-existent one for the day. Or maybe your life, if I do this right."
Mizu didn't spare any time in attacking Sora. The key-bearer twisted to the side, dodging the Unknown's new weapon, a large set of claw-equipped gloves. Ripping the blades out from the door, Mizu swiped with his free hand. One blade caught Sora's clothes, pulling him up in one sweep.
"Isn't this nice?" The attacker grinned maliciously as Sora blocked his other hand with the Ultima Weapon. The brunette kicked Mizu back, flipping to get back onto the floor. Mizu charged again, leaning forward to catch the crouching boy. As soon as he hit reaching distance, his target rolled to the side and smacked the Keyblade under his feet. Mizu tripped from the force and recoiled with his own flip.
The two peered at each other.
"You're weird." Sora confirmed.
"That's okay. I get that a lot." Mizu grinned. He reached his hands out as to cup something...
And the blades flew from his gloves, pinning Sora to the wall.
"I win!" He gave feral cheer, something that sounded foreign to Sora's ears, and walked up to him. Out of defense, Sora raised the Keyblade, and swung.
Which conveniently whacked Mizu on the head. Hard.
"Ow..." He muttered, taking a few steps back. He hit the ground and faded away without a trace.
Sora managed to release himself free from the wall and silently thanked the Keyblade for being so long. That was odd...until the voices came back.
"Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?"
"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone! It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the new friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart, just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then...if they don't forget me...then our hearts will be one. I don't need a weapon to fight!"
Stumbling up the stairs, he seriously hoped the painful disembodied voices weren't everywhere.
---
Pacing around from the discomfort the dreadful palace gave him, Riku eyed the large Heartless symbol that served as the locked door to the darkness. He hated it.
He hated everything about this castle.
He hated the deceased owners. He hated the heartless that was unlocked here. He hated how he was manipulated and used against Sora. Most of all, he hated himself for allowing them.
The rotten aura that suffocated the area carried enough spite and malice to remind him of the past. It was enough to make him puke. The worst part about it was that this particular room held a memory he'd much rather forget. Fate liked being generously bitchy to him, didn't it?
Riku growled and shook his head. Now was not the time to think.
---
It was strange...the castle was usually swarmed with heartless. He expected large waves just waiting to rip him apart, but not even a simple shadow greeted him after they entered the gates. And to be honest, he was starting to get a little freaked out from the silence.
Moving onto the large platform, Sora sighed and closed his eyes. What he would give for sleep right about now
"I finally get to meet the Keyblade Master, and I find that he's lost already. Pathetic."
The previously mentioned shot up-and realized his Keyblade was in Axel's hands.
A million thoughts raced through his mind at once, almost making him borderline hysterical. Since when did he show up? How could he not have noticed?
Why did it feel like this had happened before?
"And here I was planning on fighting you." He said as he swung the magnificent weapon. It disappeared from his hands in a startling flash and once again returning to its owner.
"Never mind. It looks like I'm going to have my fun anyways." He smirked.
Sora shot at him so fast, he didn't have the time to summon his own weapon. He back-stepped, missing the Keyblade by inches. He called upon his own weapon just as Sora was recovering. Blocking the Key with one hand, he outstretched his free hand and shot out a ball of flames. The boy flew back and hit the boundaries of the platform. The key-bearer slumped over.
"Come on!" Axel challenged, "This can't be everything!"
A low, guttural growl formed in the Keyblade-master's throat as he brandished the Ultima Weapon again.
"Where is Koro?"
"It doesn't matter; you won't last long enough to find him anyway."
Sora rolled to the side quick enough to dodge the blades on Axel's weapons. Backing up, noticed the Unknown held the discus-like objects differently. The redhead lashed his weapons towards Sora. They bounded off the barriers and crisscrossed, leaving Sora trapped in a wall of flames.
Axel sighed in disappointment. Over already?
"Blizzaga!"
In an instant, the whole arena froze over as ice shards rained down upon him.
"Damn!" He chattered, hugging himself from the extreme temperature drop. Deciding that anywhere was better than here, Axel withdrew from the fight.
And luckily for Sora, the platform stopped. He jumped off, feeling the urge to run.
Something's wrong here...
"Sora!"
He recognized the voice and turned.
"Donald! Goofy! Over here!" He waved, mentally preparing for the nagging he was going to get from his duck friend.
"Sora! Guess what? We found our king!" The duck cheered, scaring Sora half out of his wits. Donald was never this happy before. It was more of Goofy's job to say the good news. They parted sides, revealing a mouse-
In a raincoat like the last two who fought him.
"You!" He cried, readying his Keyblade. Out of instinct, Donald and Goofy took their stances.
"Sora?" Goofy questioned uneasily. Sora gritted his teeth. If his friends were going to fight against him, it would be much harder.
"Sora...why?
"That can't be your king! These people with the same coat as him attacked me on my way here! Tell me," He exclaimed, "Who are you?"
"Who is Nobody, you ask? Why, they are the non-existent ones." The mouse darkly chuckled. His companions gaped.
"Your highness! But why?"
The mouse looked away, his ears drooping the slightest as he replied.
"I won't fight you, Sora, but you must be careful." He warned as he faded from view. Donald went into a small frenzy, looking everywhere for the King.
"We were so close," Donald mumbled, looking down.
A small silence ruled yet again, allowing the two guardians to wallow in their disappointment.
"Go look for him." Sora finally decided. They looked at him expectantly.
"He can't be too far away, can he? Go on, look for him."
"But-
"No buts, Donald! Now go!" He pushed them onto a nearby elevator and hit the crystal. He waved as Donald sputtered indignantly.
His friends helped him out at times, but this wasn't one of them. He felt that he should be alone for the rest of the way, for some reason. He'd apologize later. But for now,
Sora ran through the lift stop and up to the balcony, where the large heartless symbol adorned the tower. Following his instincts, he rushed to the chapel.
As suspected, another Non-existent one stood at the far end.
"I..."
His voice sounded like it belonged to a kid around his age. Peering to get a better look, Sora edged closer.
"I don't want to fight you." He muttered in a low voice. For some reason, Sora knew him. He just couldn't place it.
"What?" The Key-bearer cried incredulously.
"Please, hand over the Keyblade, and you can leave. That's all we want." The Unknown demanded.
"Why? What do you want with it?"
A heavy sigh emitted from him and he clenched his fists. Two Keyblades, a pearly white blade with angel wings and a little Thalassa shell charm, and an ebony black Keyblade, complete with a chain running through the middle of the blade. And through the shock of seeing two other Keyblades, he recognized them from somewhere.
He threw the black Keyblade towards Sora in a familiar move that Sora instantly recognized as Strike Raid. He blocked with the Ultima Weapon, and the sound of ringing reached his ears.
"Who are you?" Sora gasped as he tried to regain his senses from the ringing.
"No one of importance." Was all he got, before he launched another attack.
He fights just like I do!
He parried from the blow, twisting his Keyblade to launch a few attacks of his own. His doppelganger twisted to the side and blocked the Ultima Weapon with the black Keyblade. Using the edge of the other, he grabbed Sora's arm roughly and pulled him up against the tips of Oblivion and Ultima.
"Please, Sora. Just give me the Keyblade."
"This? I'm making a necklace out of thalassa shells. In the old days, sailors always wore thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage.
The splitting pain returned at the worst possible moment. It blinded him, making the already dark room pitch black. He was barely aware of the Unknown backing off before he disappeared completely.
"Kiari, even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore, right?"
"Can't I help?"
"You'd kind of be in my way."
"Okay...you win.
Shapes were moving around in his vision; He recognized they were human.
"Take this. It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me, okay?
"Stop!" He screamed, clutching his head. The pain drilled into him like fire and ice at the same time.
"Don't worry, I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Sora felt numb as he regained sight, not entirely sure if it was gone of not. He wasn't sure if he wanted to move either. He eyed the passageway, weariness now shown in his eyes. That pain was so unbearable...
"After this, no more." He silently decided, pushing himself through the corridor. He reached the large room and practically crawled up the stairwell.
Funny, he realized the silver hair first instead of the coat.
"Let me guess. You want the Keyblade too?" he asked, weariness showing in his voice. He really didn't need this right now. Especially when the ache was slowly coming back.
Silence.
"So you really don't remember me?" It was more of a statement than a question. The dark room hid the mysterious boy's face. It was odd; Sora didn't feel any immediate danger like the others.
"Who are you?" He demanded uneasily. Something was wrong with whoever this was. Why was he getting such a familiar feeling? The gap in his mind throbbed and he bent over and stumbled over from the pain. The figure stepped forward, kneeling down to eye-level.
Apparently it didn't matter if he could see Sora's face or not.
He shouldn't be blind. The voice in his head told him. Completely ignoring what common sense that wasn't chased off by the pain, Sora gently pulled his blindfold off and held the cloth loosely in his hands. The Unknown did nothing but smile the slightest, not even harshly.
"I know you." He whispered, gazing into his supposed enemy's dead eyes. The throbbing intensified quickly, and Sora lost sight. He collapsed into the familiar stranger though his mind ran a million miles a minute.
"Hey, Sora!"
"Hmm?"
"When we grow up, lets get off this island. We can have real adventures, not this kid stuff!"
"Come on, I know you want to try it."
"Huh? What are you-"
"What? You'd rather fight me over a puppet with no heart?"
"Heart or no heart, at least he has a conscience!"
"Wait...You! You're not-"
And it came clear to him. He gripped the boy in a tight hug, dizzy from pain and relief.
"Riku!"
Upon hearing his name, Riku smiled, returning the hug. His hot breath whispered against Sora's ear.
"Welcome back, Sora."
---
Next Chapter preview!
It was clear that Raos meant it. The anti-key, as Sora dubbed it, pulsed strongly since the Key-bearer appeared, and the golden-eyed Unknown had taken a turn for the worse.
"You still don't have all of your memories. You're practically screaming it out. Now, how about we cut the crap and get to the slaughtering?"
And Raos would've made it, if it hadn't been for the sword blocking his path.
Riku stood in front of Sora, poised to make a strike at any moment.
"There will be no slaughtering today, Raos."
---
A/N: I'm not quite sure about this chapter, because battle scenes aren't really my forte. I hope it came out right! Thanks Yu Mutou, Arisu-sama, and Diamondprincess2006! Reviewers, yay!