AN: Ok, sorry again that it took so long to get this up! X_x Yea, I'll try to type a lot more this week, but it might not be as fast as before because my brother now uses the computer o.O thanks for you're patience! (to the fans who are still here)
Disclaimers: I no owny Kingdom Hearts, Square Soft or Disney! (but I plan to steal them and take over the world!!! *Silence, except for the chirping crickets* um... cough... *jks*)
Choices of Destiny
Mariha didn't know what else to do but to sit at Riku's side. She had lugged him over to the platform bed and tried to make him as comfortable as she could. She wished she had something to help him more, but when he awoke, seeing her face was all he really needed.
"You're ok!" he said and started to get up from off his stomach. He couldn't remember anything from before they were separated and he assumed that Ansem might have tried to hurt her. But as he got up, Mariha shoved him back down.
"Don't get up," she said, not meeting his gaze, "You've lost a lot of blood. You're lucky to be alive you know."
Riku frowned sorrowfully. It was all coming back to him. That dark room, and the horrible burning sting of the leather whip cutting into his back. He didn't know how bad he really looked when the Fire bandit brought him back to Mariha, but he realized that she must of thought him dead. It wasn't his fault of course but Mariha was obviously upset about it. Or was it something else?
"I, um, didn't know..." he trailed off, at a loss for words.
Mariha didn't reply. Instead, she silently took her dampened handkerchief and dabbed it on his still blood stained back. The cloth was cool against his throbbing back and he couldn't help but sigh in relief when it touched him. As she worked, her eyes were hidden from Riku in the shadows and he couldn't see the expression on her face.
"Mariha," he said as sternly as he could but still in a soothing, reassuring tone of voice, "Please don't be angry... this just isn't you." He looked at her closely, looking for a sign of something from her, anything, but she kept quiet.
"I didn't mean to upset you, you know that right?" he said closing his eyes. He needed to snap her out of it. Mariha was never like this. What had gotten into her? He didn't know how much time passed by while he waited for a reply. He wouldn't say anything else until she did reply. But suddenly, he didn't feel the cooling cloth on his back.
"I know," said Mariha. Riku opened his eyes and slowly leaned up to sit on the platform. Mariha didn't push him down again this time but sat there looking at the ground fighting back sobs, "But he was so close, so close to killing you. What if he does tries again? He's gotten us for good Riku. Ansem has us right where he wants us."
"That's not true!" said Riku stubbornly. He'd NEVER admit defeat to Ansem, EVER!
"It is," replied Mariha looking up at him. There were no tears but he could tell she was holding them back as hard as she could, "It's too late Riku. Ansem has already won."
"Since when did you start giving up!" said Riku probably louder than he should have. She just stared into his eyes, as if everything he said didn't matter, like her mind was made up and could not be altered. But Riku wasn't giving up on her or to Ansem, "This isn't the Mariha I know! Wake up!"
"Riku," said Mariha, ignoring his last comment, "You don't understand! Ansem said -" she faltered, as if she couldn't bring herself to continue. She grimaced and Riku thought for a moment that she wouldn't tell him, but she finally brought herself to say it.
"Ansem said," she continued, "That... he-he loved me and he was going to marry me and kill you!" she rushed past the word love that it took a second for Riku to realize what she had said.
He was dumfounded. He so badly wanted to forget about hearing that. Forget that his worst enemy was in love with his currently only friend. Somehow, he didn't know how, he was able to force out a reply. "Do you really believe him?"
Mariha nodded in shame. "I didn't really at first though, thought it was all some sort of joke, a trick. But the way he looked at me..." Mariha shuddered, "Then I saw you and you looked like you were dead and it also just hit me. He could have easily gotten whatever he wanted out of you by me but he hasn't laid a finger one me."
Riku gave her a questioning look. Mariha realized what he meant and quickly corrected herself. "Well, practically not a finger." She brought her hand to her cut cheek and tear began to pour them selves down her face. She gave in and buried her face in Riku's chest. He would've blushed and felt uneasy again, if it hadn't been for her hiccupping sobs. He soothed her as best he could, but he really had never done something like this before so he didn't really know what to do.
"Don't worry," he said for the lack of anything else to say, "It's alright."
"No it's now!" said Mariha crying harder. "Riku," she said in a whisper, "You have to leave me."
"What! Why?" he said startled. He pried Mariha off of him so he could looker her in the face, "Why?" he said again.
"Because if you don't Ansem will kill you!" cried Mariha.
"Oh no he won't," said Riku, "He can't, he needs me to tell him where the light is."
"He can and he will!" argued Mariha, "He almost did yesterday!"
"Yesterday?" said Riku puzzled, "Did all that really happen yesterday?"
Mariha nodded. "And I heard him myself. He came down here while you were sleeping, he thought I was sleeping too but I heard him."
Mariha had to stop as more tears flooded from her eyes. "He said that he'd just find the light on his own. That he -he'd... kill you today and marry me after!"
Mariha stuck to Riku again to hug him. He was frozen in shock. She had never acted like this before. She was always so happy! And she never let him see her cry, if she could. This was so unlike her. What was happening here? But her whimpers reminded him of what she had just told him. She was right. There was no way to escape from Ansem. Not this time.
So this is it, he thought, This is the end?
~*~
Sora had lost count of how many heartless attacked them there in that hallway. It took them forever to finally get through and got down the steep stairs. And the heartless they fought were harder to beat as well. They weren't the little shadow heartless that took one hit and were defeated. They almost looked like shadows though, same jet black body that could melt into the ground and same glowing yellow eyes, but they were taller and their antenna were longer. They had a more humanly shape as well. They were called Neos, and they were much stronger than the shadows, or any other heartless Sora had fought before for that matter.
"I still think that the heartless should have all disappeared after I sealed the door to Kingdom Hearts," said Sora, "So why are they still appearing here?"
There was a long silence as everyone thought about Sora's question. Finally, Donald spoke up.
"I know!" he said, "You sealed the Door to darkness, but you haven't opened the Door to the light! You need to do both for the heartless to disappear."
"O, I get it!" said Sora. Then he made a confused little frown, "But, the door to the light I'm opening for Riku is the door to Kingdom Hearts, the one I just sealed..."
Donald blinked, speechless.
"So, you sealed the door to Kingdom Hearts only to open it again?" asked Woody, puzzled as well as the others.
"Um... I guess," said Sora thought it made no sense to him, "O well, I guess we'll just do whatever as we go along, wing it you know!"
Sora grinned but Donald kept looking at him, unsure about the whole thought of undoing what they worked so hard to do.
"Ok, well, we better keep going before more heartless show up," said Woody and then followed him toward the Study.
"We've got three days to go home, so lets do this!" said Sora as more heartless appeared and prepared to attack.
~*~
Riku couldn't believe it. All this time, they searched for a way out of Kingdom Hearts, only to be captured by Ansem. But Mariha was right, there was no escape, Ansem had finally gotten them, Ansem had won. He was in total and complete control of their lives, their futures.
"How," said Riku, "How couldn't this happen?"
"Riku..." said Mariha quietly. "There is one other way, but you have to choose." She shook all over as she fought off the sobs.
"Mariha? What are you talking about?" asked Riku. He couldn't see how any choice of his could save them.
"When you spoke to Sora," she began, "Did he ask you to go home with him? Back to your island?"
"Well yea," said Riku, still not seeing how it related with their current situation, "But I couldn't go, I couldn't just leave you after I promised to show you my island."
"You have to go," Mariha replied.
"What? No way! I can't -"
"You must," cut in Mariha, "Riku listen, you have to try and connect with Sora again, but this time, you have to leave with him."
"Are you crazy! I can't leave you hear with -with... him," argued Riku, "Besides, how do you know this will work or why did you only think of this now?"
"I had a dream, a vision, it told me this was going to happen," explained Mariha desperately, "It told me if you connected with Sora again you could leave with him. It has something to do with the stars like that... I don't really get it but it said you could if you chose to. And it will only work within... a few minutes after I tell you, which is now."
"Now your just confusing me," said Riku, "You can't expect me to just -"
"Don't you understand!" yelled Mariha and pushed him away from her so she could stand and look down at him, "If you don't leave, Ansem will kill you and he will win. You're the only one who can save Kingdom Hearts and destroy Ansem for good! I know Sora is the Key bearer, but it's you're destiny to finished off what Sora has started! If you're dead, then fate will change, for the worse no doubt. Please!"
"No," said Riku, emotionless expression on his face. He stood up and grabbed Mariha's shoulders and made sure she looked right into his eyes that drew closer, "I can't go, I promised that I wouldn't leave you on your own remember? And I have no intention of breaking that promise."
Mariha shook her head, "I'd rather be alone and know you're alive then have you stay for a few moments longer and be killed by Ansem."
"A promise is a promise," Riku replied firmly.
"Please!" begged Mariha, "Go! I know you promised all those things, but I don't need to see them, to see you're island! I have nothing to expect, nothing to look forward to. You've been to the outside worlds, I haven't; you have a home, I don't; you have friends waiting for you, and I'm alone."
Riku felt like he wanted to cry as well as he stared into Mariha's pleading eyes. But he couldn't give in, he wouldn't. More tears burst from them but she kept her voice steady.
"You don't belong here, you belong on you're island, just as I don't belong there, I belong here."
Suddenly, there was a thud, the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards them. Ansem no doubt to finish off Riku, or so he said.
"Hurry, they're coming!" cried Mariha. She hugged Riku tightly and couldn't help but cry, "Hurry, if he touches you it won't work!"
"A promise is a promise," Riku said quietly. They were almost at the cell door.
"Please Riku!"
They were opening the lock.
"No, I choose to stay!" said Riku loudly, but the ones who started opening the door didn't seem to hear him at all, "That's my choice, you said I have to choose, so I just did. I can't go; I won't."
Ansem and his heartless slaves walked right into the jail cell. A Largebody and a Fire Bandit pulled Riku away from Mariha, one holding to each of his arms, as Ansem himself grabbed Mariha and held one of her wrists tightly. Mariha and Riku, they both struggled but could not break the grasp of their captors. Just before they were separated completely from each other, Riku leaned to whisper in Mariha's ear: "I'll be ok, don't worry. I'm coming back to get you."
"It's quite a shame you'll be missing my wedding," Ansem said to Riku who just glared at him.
"Is it now?" replied Riku in a mocking tone.
Ansem grinned slyly then brought Mariha to face him. Mariha squealed as he bent down and kissed her mouth. Riku growled in anger and tried to rush at Ansem but the large heartless' held him firmly. When Ansem released Mariha from his kiss, she spat on the floor in disgust.
"Take him away," ordered Ansem casually. The two guards holding him obeyed and dragged Riku down out the jail cell and down the corridor. "I'll be back for you darling," Ansem said to Mariha. He let go of her and followed the heartless and their prisoner out of the dungeon, slamming the cell door behind him. Mariha ran to the bars and held on to them, watching them disappear into the dark hallway. Her tears had stopped coming, but they were still wetting her face.
"Riku!"
Her voice echoed off the walls of the deserted, dark dungeon.
~*~
When Sora, Woody, Donald and Goofy finally got into the study, they looked up at the cliffs of bookshelves crammed full of huge, think books. There was a giant chair and desk in the middle of the room. Up on the desk, Sora could see a toy that looked like some sore of space explorer sitting by the towering desk lamp.
"There's Buzz!" said Woody pointing to the space man toy.
Suddenly, the massive door to the study slammed shut, causing everyone to jump. A huge heartless that looked like a giant black book worm appeared out of nowhere. It was covered in short metal spikes, perfect for chopping through wood, or pages, and it reared up to show just how powerful it was. But Sora wasn't phased. He didn't falter when the bookworm heartless roared loud, showing rows of jagged and spiked metal teeth either.
"Come on guys!" Sora called to the others, getting into his fighting stance, "Time to show the heartless who is boss!"
"Right!" all three replied and then charged.
~*~
"Damn you Riku!" Mariha yelled, "Why didn't you go!" She was angry with herself for this. It was all her fault. Sobs were gone, but she kept crying. She couldn't stop. She couldn't help herself.
"How could I let this happen?" she said to herself. "You said everything would be fine! That he'd make the right choice! But how could this be the right choice..."
She was now referring to the voice in her dreams, the same one that she had first heard when she met Alee. "This can't be destiny! It just can't be..."
Her voice became as quiet as a whisper, as if she were trying to speak to something deep inside of her. She remembered the dreams so clearly. The first still haunted her, when she had watched Riku die in her arms. The second, almost the same but instead of watching in horror as Riku fell, Alee met with her. And the third and final dream, the one she didn't have in the Dead Forest like the other two, but here in this cell. She closed her eyes to recall the third dream in her mind.
She was in that room of ever surrounding light. She heard that voice, the one she could recognize but couldn't remember exactly where she had heard it before.
"Watch and listen," it said, "There will come a time where you must bring it upon yourself to tell him what must be done. He must choose. His answer cannot be altered. Once he has chosen, it is unchangeable."
When Mariha had first heard that, she didn't understand, and now that she did, she didn't want to. The room turned black. She could see a small shred of light from the crack of a door. She saw a figure chained with their arms over their head. From where she was now, she couldn't see whom that person was she could only see their shadowy outline. But then, she heard a piercing crack of a whip. Silence. Another thundering crack sounded, then a shout of pain. Mariha knew instantly who's voice it was. Riku. She could see him clearly now. Ansem stepped out of the darkness. Mariha gasped and almost screamed out loud when he looked right at her and grinned evilly.
Everything blacked out with another crack of the whip. She could now see herself hunched over something. She could only catch a glimpse at its arm. It was Riku's. She wanted to call out to him, to herself even, but no words left her mouth, no sound. Then a voice.
"He'll never tell me what I need to know," said Ansem in a strange language, yet Mariha couldn't somehow understood him, "Kill him tomorrow, and prepare something for the girl to wear for out wedding. I'll find that light without that good for nothing boy!"
"No Riku..." Mariha said, thought she made no sound, she heard nothing of her own voice. But she was sure she had said it.
The room was turned into light once more. She no longer saw herself, leaning over Riku's limp body, Ansem plotting against them from so close by. She felt a single tear down her cheek. Then that voice spoke once again.
"It will all happen exactly like that," it said, "Then, Riku must choose."
"But what is he choosing?" asked Mariha, suddenly finding her voice.
"He must choose between life without you, or death by trying to stay with you."
Mariha gulped. For most people that choice would have been easy, to live, but she knew how stubborn Riku was. There was a better chance of him choosing to live without her than there was of him becoming a buddy of Ansems.
"How would he be able to live, if he chose that," said Mariha carefully, "How would he escape?"
"He could've left that day when he met Sora in that parallel universe, so he can again. He doesn't know this though so you must tell him. But, you will not be able to escape Kingdom Hearts, ever. Not if he chooses to live."
"Please tell me, what's going to happen to him?" Mariha pleaded, "What will he choose?"
"It is unpredictable," said the voice, "But whatever that choice may be, it is fate, it is his destiny. He cannot choose wrong."
"But what if he does? What if he chooses to stay? What kind of destiny does he have if he's dead? There must be another way!" insisted Mariha.
"Whatever he chooses, it will be the right choice. Everything will be fine young girl. After all, his destiny, is also a part of yours..." the voice faded away but Mariha didn't want to end the conversation now.
"No wait! I still don't understand!"
But then Mariha had awoken. She remembered that when she had, Riku was still asleep. But when he did wake, she was too lost in confusion to notice much. She was totally lost within herself. Shocked at what she had just seen and heard. What was she to believe? Was she supposed to do all it had said? Or was it all just a dream, a trick sent by Ansem? No, it had to be real, that voice had given her Alee, and Ansem couldn't have sent it, it was pure light. But should she tell Riku about it now? Or should she wait. She had no idea how accurate her dream was. Better see it as it comes and decide then.
Now, as she cried, alone in a dungeon with no escape, she wished she had told him sooner. She shouldn't have doubted her own urge to tell him. She shouldn't have blocked Riku out.
Time seemed irrelevant as she seemed to drown, dive deeper and deeper in self-pity. All the "if I hadn't" and "if I didn't" thought clouded her mine until she was almost too deep within herself to ever come back out.
"Since when did you start giving up?"
"Riku?" Mariha said suddenly as she swore she had just heard his voice. It broke her dive, broke her trance.
"This isn't the Mariha I used to know." It was his voice! It was inside of her. She could her it ringing through her head. She looked around but didn't see him. But she heard him, she felt him. "Come on now! No point in fussing over the past. What's happened happened. No one can change that."
"I remember!" said Mariha with a new hope, "Riku, I won't let you down again. You're right, what's happened, happened. I can't change the past, but I can change the future!"
There must be a way to change destiny, there must be!
With that thought, a bright light shone from Mariha's necklace. The yellowish circle backing to it disappeared into the light and the light formed a figure. Mariha couldn't tell what it was a first, but as the light faded, she caught a glimpse of a white and pink cluster of feathers on a long body with two wings. Alee had come!
"A-Alee?" she said blinking in surprise. The little flying angel thing flew to hover in her face and stared her down for a moment, as if it were trying to read her thoughts. Then, it brought its tail forward to wipe the tears from Mariha's face.
Mariha smiled and tickled Alee under its feather-covered chin. It chirped happily and flew joyful little circles around her, weaving between her arms and body. It stopped over her left shoulder and nuzzled her cheek with its soft nose. Mariha squirmed a little from the tickle of the feathers on her face and brought her hands under Alee to bring it in front of her.
She gazed in wonder at the angel like creature from her dream that now was defiantly real as it sat in her cupped hands. It blinked its innocent soft pinky eyes, waiting for a reply from its holder. Mariha brought Alee closer to her face and looked at it seriously.
"Alee, can you help me find Riku?" she asked. Alee squeaked and sang with glee as if flew out of Mariha's hands. It went over to the dungeon bars.
"Huh? What are you -"
But a blinding light cut Mariha off mid-sentence. She had to shield her eyes from the bright beams with her arms but she managed to catch the silhouette of Alee almost touching the low ceiling, wings outstretched and head held high. Alee was creating the light. But suddenly it vanished, the light disappeared, and the dungeon returned to it's normal brightness; dark.
Mariha looked in front of her. She almost gagged in surprise. Alee hand taken the bars away with the light! They weren't there anymore! Gone, vanished into thin air, or in this case, light. Mariha could see Alee squeaking happily in the corridor, waiting for her to join it.
"Whoa! What else can you do?" asked Mariha, still stunned by amazement. Alee only replied with an excited chirp and twirled around her as she joined it.
"Ok then, lead the way to Riku!" said Mariha. She followed as Alee darted down the corridor of the dungeon filled with empty jail cells.
AN: Finally! This took me FOREVER to write cuz my dumb brother kept hogging the computer *mumbles* o well, more FFX beating time for me!! *cheesy grin* *fans: get on with it! And hurry up next time!* YOU'RE STILL HERE!!!! ^-^ *hugs fans* *Fans: o.O leave* X_x
Disclaimers: I no owny Kingdom Hearts, Square Soft or Disney! (but I plan to steal them and take over the world!!! *Silence, except for the chirping crickets* um... cough... *jks*)
Choices of Destiny
Mariha didn't know what else to do but to sit at Riku's side. She had lugged him over to the platform bed and tried to make him as comfortable as she could. She wished she had something to help him more, but when he awoke, seeing her face was all he really needed.
"You're ok!" he said and started to get up from off his stomach. He couldn't remember anything from before they were separated and he assumed that Ansem might have tried to hurt her. But as he got up, Mariha shoved him back down.
"Don't get up," she said, not meeting his gaze, "You've lost a lot of blood. You're lucky to be alive you know."
Riku frowned sorrowfully. It was all coming back to him. That dark room, and the horrible burning sting of the leather whip cutting into his back. He didn't know how bad he really looked when the Fire bandit brought him back to Mariha, but he realized that she must of thought him dead. It wasn't his fault of course but Mariha was obviously upset about it. Or was it something else?
"I, um, didn't know..." he trailed off, at a loss for words.
Mariha didn't reply. Instead, she silently took her dampened handkerchief and dabbed it on his still blood stained back. The cloth was cool against his throbbing back and he couldn't help but sigh in relief when it touched him. As she worked, her eyes were hidden from Riku in the shadows and he couldn't see the expression on her face.
"Mariha," he said as sternly as he could but still in a soothing, reassuring tone of voice, "Please don't be angry... this just isn't you." He looked at her closely, looking for a sign of something from her, anything, but she kept quiet.
"I didn't mean to upset you, you know that right?" he said closing his eyes. He needed to snap her out of it. Mariha was never like this. What had gotten into her? He didn't know how much time passed by while he waited for a reply. He wouldn't say anything else until she did reply. But suddenly, he didn't feel the cooling cloth on his back.
"I know," said Mariha. Riku opened his eyes and slowly leaned up to sit on the platform. Mariha didn't push him down again this time but sat there looking at the ground fighting back sobs, "But he was so close, so close to killing you. What if he does tries again? He's gotten us for good Riku. Ansem has us right where he wants us."
"That's not true!" said Riku stubbornly. He'd NEVER admit defeat to Ansem, EVER!
"It is," replied Mariha looking up at him. There were no tears but he could tell she was holding them back as hard as she could, "It's too late Riku. Ansem has already won."
"Since when did you start giving up!" said Riku probably louder than he should have. She just stared into his eyes, as if everything he said didn't matter, like her mind was made up and could not be altered. But Riku wasn't giving up on her or to Ansem, "This isn't the Mariha I know! Wake up!"
"Riku," said Mariha, ignoring his last comment, "You don't understand! Ansem said -" she faltered, as if she couldn't bring herself to continue. She grimaced and Riku thought for a moment that she wouldn't tell him, but she finally brought herself to say it.
"Ansem said," she continued, "That... he-he loved me and he was going to marry me and kill you!" she rushed past the word love that it took a second for Riku to realize what she had said.
He was dumfounded. He so badly wanted to forget about hearing that. Forget that his worst enemy was in love with his currently only friend. Somehow, he didn't know how, he was able to force out a reply. "Do you really believe him?"
Mariha nodded in shame. "I didn't really at first though, thought it was all some sort of joke, a trick. But the way he looked at me..." Mariha shuddered, "Then I saw you and you looked like you were dead and it also just hit me. He could have easily gotten whatever he wanted out of you by me but he hasn't laid a finger one me."
Riku gave her a questioning look. Mariha realized what he meant and quickly corrected herself. "Well, practically not a finger." She brought her hand to her cut cheek and tear began to pour them selves down her face. She gave in and buried her face in Riku's chest. He would've blushed and felt uneasy again, if it hadn't been for her hiccupping sobs. He soothed her as best he could, but he really had never done something like this before so he didn't really know what to do.
"Don't worry," he said for the lack of anything else to say, "It's alright."
"No it's now!" said Mariha crying harder. "Riku," she said in a whisper, "You have to leave me."
"What! Why?" he said startled. He pried Mariha off of him so he could looker her in the face, "Why?" he said again.
"Because if you don't Ansem will kill you!" cried Mariha.
"Oh no he won't," said Riku, "He can't, he needs me to tell him where the light is."
"He can and he will!" argued Mariha, "He almost did yesterday!"
"Yesterday?" said Riku puzzled, "Did all that really happen yesterday?"
Mariha nodded. "And I heard him myself. He came down here while you were sleeping, he thought I was sleeping too but I heard him."
Mariha had to stop as more tears flooded from her eyes. "He said that he'd just find the light on his own. That he -he'd... kill you today and marry me after!"
Mariha stuck to Riku again to hug him. He was frozen in shock. She had never acted like this before. She was always so happy! And she never let him see her cry, if she could. This was so unlike her. What was happening here? But her whimpers reminded him of what she had just told him. She was right. There was no way to escape from Ansem. Not this time.
So this is it, he thought, This is the end?
~*~
Sora had lost count of how many heartless attacked them there in that hallway. It took them forever to finally get through and got down the steep stairs. And the heartless they fought were harder to beat as well. They weren't the little shadow heartless that took one hit and were defeated. They almost looked like shadows though, same jet black body that could melt into the ground and same glowing yellow eyes, but they were taller and their antenna were longer. They had a more humanly shape as well. They were called Neos, and they were much stronger than the shadows, or any other heartless Sora had fought before for that matter.
"I still think that the heartless should have all disappeared after I sealed the door to Kingdom Hearts," said Sora, "So why are they still appearing here?"
There was a long silence as everyone thought about Sora's question. Finally, Donald spoke up.
"I know!" he said, "You sealed the Door to darkness, but you haven't opened the Door to the light! You need to do both for the heartless to disappear."
"O, I get it!" said Sora. Then he made a confused little frown, "But, the door to the light I'm opening for Riku is the door to Kingdom Hearts, the one I just sealed..."
Donald blinked, speechless.
"So, you sealed the door to Kingdom Hearts only to open it again?" asked Woody, puzzled as well as the others.
"Um... I guess," said Sora thought it made no sense to him, "O well, I guess we'll just do whatever as we go along, wing it you know!"
Sora grinned but Donald kept looking at him, unsure about the whole thought of undoing what they worked so hard to do.
"Ok, well, we better keep going before more heartless show up," said Woody and then followed him toward the Study.
"We've got three days to go home, so lets do this!" said Sora as more heartless appeared and prepared to attack.
~*~
Riku couldn't believe it. All this time, they searched for a way out of Kingdom Hearts, only to be captured by Ansem. But Mariha was right, there was no escape, Ansem had finally gotten them, Ansem had won. He was in total and complete control of their lives, their futures.
"How," said Riku, "How couldn't this happen?"
"Riku..." said Mariha quietly. "There is one other way, but you have to choose." She shook all over as she fought off the sobs.
"Mariha? What are you talking about?" asked Riku. He couldn't see how any choice of his could save them.
"When you spoke to Sora," she began, "Did he ask you to go home with him? Back to your island?"
"Well yea," said Riku, still not seeing how it related with their current situation, "But I couldn't go, I couldn't just leave you after I promised to show you my island."
"You have to go," Mariha replied.
"What? No way! I can't -"
"You must," cut in Mariha, "Riku listen, you have to try and connect with Sora again, but this time, you have to leave with him."
"Are you crazy! I can't leave you hear with -with... him," argued Riku, "Besides, how do you know this will work or why did you only think of this now?"
"I had a dream, a vision, it told me this was going to happen," explained Mariha desperately, "It told me if you connected with Sora again you could leave with him. It has something to do with the stars like that... I don't really get it but it said you could if you chose to. And it will only work within... a few minutes after I tell you, which is now."
"Now your just confusing me," said Riku, "You can't expect me to just -"
"Don't you understand!" yelled Mariha and pushed him away from her so she could stand and look down at him, "If you don't leave, Ansem will kill you and he will win. You're the only one who can save Kingdom Hearts and destroy Ansem for good! I know Sora is the Key bearer, but it's you're destiny to finished off what Sora has started! If you're dead, then fate will change, for the worse no doubt. Please!"
"No," said Riku, emotionless expression on his face. He stood up and grabbed Mariha's shoulders and made sure she looked right into his eyes that drew closer, "I can't go, I promised that I wouldn't leave you on your own remember? And I have no intention of breaking that promise."
Mariha shook her head, "I'd rather be alone and know you're alive then have you stay for a few moments longer and be killed by Ansem."
"A promise is a promise," Riku replied firmly.
"Please!" begged Mariha, "Go! I know you promised all those things, but I don't need to see them, to see you're island! I have nothing to expect, nothing to look forward to. You've been to the outside worlds, I haven't; you have a home, I don't; you have friends waiting for you, and I'm alone."
Riku felt like he wanted to cry as well as he stared into Mariha's pleading eyes. But he couldn't give in, he wouldn't. More tears burst from them but she kept her voice steady.
"You don't belong here, you belong on you're island, just as I don't belong there, I belong here."
Suddenly, there was a thud, the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards them. Ansem no doubt to finish off Riku, or so he said.
"Hurry, they're coming!" cried Mariha. She hugged Riku tightly and couldn't help but cry, "Hurry, if he touches you it won't work!"
"A promise is a promise," Riku said quietly. They were almost at the cell door.
"Please Riku!"
They were opening the lock.
"No, I choose to stay!" said Riku loudly, but the ones who started opening the door didn't seem to hear him at all, "That's my choice, you said I have to choose, so I just did. I can't go; I won't."
Ansem and his heartless slaves walked right into the jail cell. A Largebody and a Fire Bandit pulled Riku away from Mariha, one holding to each of his arms, as Ansem himself grabbed Mariha and held one of her wrists tightly. Mariha and Riku, they both struggled but could not break the grasp of their captors. Just before they were separated completely from each other, Riku leaned to whisper in Mariha's ear: "I'll be ok, don't worry. I'm coming back to get you."
"It's quite a shame you'll be missing my wedding," Ansem said to Riku who just glared at him.
"Is it now?" replied Riku in a mocking tone.
Ansem grinned slyly then brought Mariha to face him. Mariha squealed as he bent down and kissed her mouth. Riku growled in anger and tried to rush at Ansem but the large heartless' held him firmly. When Ansem released Mariha from his kiss, she spat on the floor in disgust.
"Take him away," ordered Ansem casually. The two guards holding him obeyed and dragged Riku down out the jail cell and down the corridor. "I'll be back for you darling," Ansem said to Mariha. He let go of her and followed the heartless and their prisoner out of the dungeon, slamming the cell door behind him. Mariha ran to the bars and held on to them, watching them disappear into the dark hallway. Her tears had stopped coming, but they were still wetting her face.
"Riku!"
Her voice echoed off the walls of the deserted, dark dungeon.
~*~
When Sora, Woody, Donald and Goofy finally got into the study, they looked up at the cliffs of bookshelves crammed full of huge, think books. There was a giant chair and desk in the middle of the room. Up on the desk, Sora could see a toy that looked like some sore of space explorer sitting by the towering desk lamp.
"There's Buzz!" said Woody pointing to the space man toy.
Suddenly, the massive door to the study slammed shut, causing everyone to jump. A huge heartless that looked like a giant black book worm appeared out of nowhere. It was covered in short metal spikes, perfect for chopping through wood, or pages, and it reared up to show just how powerful it was. But Sora wasn't phased. He didn't falter when the bookworm heartless roared loud, showing rows of jagged and spiked metal teeth either.
"Come on guys!" Sora called to the others, getting into his fighting stance, "Time to show the heartless who is boss!"
"Right!" all three replied and then charged.
~*~
"Damn you Riku!" Mariha yelled, "Why didn't you go!" She was angry with herself for this. It was all her fault. Sobs were gone, but she kept crying. She couldn't stop. She couldn't help herself.
"How could I let this happen?" she said to herself. "You said everything would be fine! That he'd make the right choice! But how could this be the right choice..."
She was now referring to the voice in her dreams, the same one that she had first heard when she met Alee. "This can't be destiny! It just can't be..."
Her voice became as quiet as a whisper, as if she were trying to speak to something deep inside of her. She remembered the dreams so clearly. The first still haunted her, when she had watched Riku die in her arms. The second, almost the same but instead of watching in horror as Riku fell, Alee met with her. And the third and final dream, the one she didn't have in the Dead Forest like the other two, but here in this cell. She closed her eyes to recall the third dream in her mind.
She was in that room of ever surrounding light. She heard that voice, the one she could recognize but couldn't remember exactly where she had heard it before.
"Watch and listen," it said, "There will come a time where you must bring it upon yourself to tell him what must be done. He must choose. His answer cannot be altered. Once he has chosen, it is unchangeable."
When Mariha had first heard that, she didn't understand, and now that she did, she didn't want to. The room turned black. She could see a small shred of light from the crack of a door. She saw a figure chained with their arms over their head. From where she was now, she couldn't see whom that person was she could only see their shadowy outline. But then, she heard a piercing crack of a whip. Silence. Another thundering crack sounded, then a shout of pain. Mariha knew instantly who's voice it was. Riku. She could see him clearly now. Ansem stepped out of the darkness. Mariha gasped and almost screamed out loud when he looked right at her and grinned evilly.
Everything blacked out with another crack of the whip. She could now see herself hunched over something. She could only catch a glimpse at its arm. It was Riku's. She wanted to call out to him, to herself even, but no words left her mouth, no sound. Then a voice.
"He'll never tell me what I need to know," said Ansem in a strange language, yet Mariha couldn't somehow understood him, "Kill him tomorrow, and prepare something for the girl to wear for out wedding. I'll find that light without that good for nothing boy!"
"No Riku..." Mariha said, thought she made no sound, she heard nothing of her own voice. But she was sure she had said it.
The room was turned into light once more. She no longer saw herself, leaning over Riku's limp body, Ansem plotting against them from so close by. She felt a single tear down her cheek. Then that voice spoke once again.
"It will all happen exactly like that," it said, "Then, Riku must choose."
"But what is he choosing?" asked Mariha, suddenly finding her voice.
"He must choose between life without you, or death by trying to stay with you."
Mariha gulped. For most people that choice would have been easy, to live, but she knew how stubborn Riku was. There was a better chance of him choosing to live without her than there was of him becoming a buddy of Ansems.
"How would he be able to live, if he chose that," said Mariha carefully, "How would he escape?"
"He could've left that day when he met Sora in that parallel universe, so he can again. He doesn't know this though so you must tell him. But, you will not be able to escape Kingdom Hearts, ever. Not if he chooses to live."
"Please tell me, what's going to happen to him?" Mariha pleaded, "What will he choose?"
"It is unpredictable," said the voice, "But whatever that choice may be, it is fate, it is his destiny. He cannot choose wrong."
"But what if he does? What if he chooses to stay? What kind of destiny does he have if he's dead? There must be another way!" insisted Mariha.
"Whatever he chooses, it will be the right choice. Everything will be fine young girl. After all, his destiny, is also a part of yours..." the voice faded away but Mariha didn't want to end the conversation now.
"No wait! I still don't understand!"
But then Mariha had awoken. She remembered that when she had, Riku was still asleep. But when he did wake, she was too lost in confusion to notice much. She was totally lost within herself. Shocked at what she had just seen and heard. What was she to believe? Was she supposed to do all it had said? Or was it all just a dream, a trick sent by Ansem? No, it had to be real, that voice had given her Alee, and Ansem couldn't have sent it, it was pure light. But should she tell Riku about it now? Or should she wait. She had no idea how accurate her dream was. Better see it as it comes and decide then.
Now, as she cried, alone in a dungeon with no escape, she wished she had told him sooner. She shouldn't have doubted her own urge to tell him. She shouldn't have blocked Riku out.
Time seemed irrelevant as she seemed to drown, dive deeper and deeper in self-pity. All the "if I hadn't" and "if I didn't" thought clouded her mine until she was almost too deep within herself to ever come back out.
"Since when did you start giving up?"
"Riku?" Mariha said suddenly as she swore she had just heard his voice. It broke her dive, broke her trance.
"This isn't the Mariha I used to know." It was his voice! It was inside of her. She could her it ringing through her head. She looked around but didn't see him. But she heard him, she felt him. "Come on now! No point in fussing over the past. What's happened happened. No one can change that."
"I remember!" said Mariha with a new hope, "Riku, I won't let you down again. You're right, what's happened, happened. I can't change the past, but I can change the future!"
There must be a way to change destiny, there must be!
With that thought, a bright light shone from Mariha's necklace. The yellowish circle backing to it disappeared into the light and the light formed a figure. Mariha couldn't tell what it was a first, but as the light faded, she caught a glimpse of a white and pink cluster of feathers on a long body with two wings. Alee had come!
"A-Alee?" she said blinking in surprise. The little flying angel thing flew to hover in her face and stared her down for a moment, as if it were trying to read her thoughts. Then, it brought its tail forward to wipe the tears from Mariha's face.
Mariha smiled and tickled Alee under its feather-covered chin. It chirped happily and flew joyful little circles around her, weaving between her arms and body. It stopped over her left shoulder and nuzzled her cheek with its soft nose. Mariha squirmed a little from the tickle of the feathers on her face and brought her hands under Alee to bring it in front of her.
She gazed in wonder at the angel like creature from her dream that now was defiantly real as it sat in her cupped hands. It blinked its innocent soft pinky eyes, waiting for a reply from its holder. Mariha brought Alee closer to her face and looked at it seriously.
"Alee, can you help me find Riku?" she asked. Alee squeaked and sang with glee as if flew out of Mariha's hands. It went over to the dungeon bars.
"Huh? What are you -"
But a blinding light cut Mariha off mid-sentence. She had to shield her eyes from the bright beams with her arms but she managed to catch the silhouette of Alee almost touching the low ceiling, wings outstretched and head held high. Alee was creating the light. But suddenly it vanished, the light disappeared, and the dungeon returned to it's normal brightness; dark.
Mariha looked in front of her. She almost gagged in surprise. Alee hand taken the bars away with the light! They weren't there anymore! Gone, vanished into thin air, or in this case, light. Mariha could see Alee squeaking happily in the corridor, waiting for her to join it.
"Whoa! What else can you do?" asked Mariha, still stunned by amazement. Alee only replied with an excited chirp and twirled around her as she joined it.
"Ok then, lead the way to Riku!" said Mariha. She followed as Alee darted down the corridor of the dungeon filled with empty jail cells.
AN: Finally! This took me FOREVER to write cuz my dumb brother kept hogging the computer *mumbles* o well, more FFX beating time for me!! *cheesy grin* *fans: get on with it! And hurry up next time!* YOU'RE STILL HERE!!!! ^-^ *hugs fans* *Fans: o.O leave* X_x