Chapter Two: a chapter of irony. A chapter of little action. A chapter of revelations and realisations, as well as a chapter of coming to grips with the facts of life. And how they are not always what they seem.
No, this isn't Star Wars. In Final Mix, you fight an unknown with a lightsaber. --;
And as a note, I am getting very irritated by ff.n, who refuses to let you type their name. I need either stars, tildes, or brackets. Your choice. Leave one or the other. Currently, you are giving your patrons no way to express a scene change. This is blatant idiocy. Thank you.
Kingdom Hearts is not owned by me. In fact, my game is possessed by another at this moment.
Suggested Music: Hymn of the Fayth from Final Fantasy X. During the flashback scene, Otherworld from Final Fantasy X, then Eyes on Me from Final Fantasy VIII or Always on My Mind from Kingdom Hearts, preferably the latter. Trust me when I say you'll know when to switch songs.
Contact me if you want the songs to be sent to you.

2 — .x.y.s.t.u.s. — 2

Aqua eyes opened slowly, accompanied by a groan of pain that quickly changed to a gasp of surprise. A hand brushed against his forehead, then slid down over his eyes in disbelief. Seconds passed as he tried to comprehend what he'd just seen, wondering if it was real or just a hallucination.

Finally, the hand moved upwards again, allowing Riku to see the green treetops overhead. This time, it was his arm that draped over his eyes, fingers plucking idly at the blades of grass under him as he tried to calm his racing thoughts. Why could he see trees? He'd been in the city, in that abandoned city, fighting off anything that had tried to attack him, until—

Riku drew in a quick breath as his mind completed the thought: until they attacked.

He shook his head ruefully; the first one had been no match for him. Dodging and flipping away, using skills honed by—what was it; years?—of fighting Heartless. But then the thing had summoned more, surrounding him, each glaring from beneath their hoods.

They had drawn their weapons, beams of burning red light, swinging them overhead as they'd rushed toward him. He'd driven forward as well, raising his sword to block the first glowing blade.

He'd never thought it would fail to block the beam.

The red light had cone straight through the Wingblade and continued toward him. Riku had managed to move, but as it flashed past, he'd felt the heat from the light . . .

.f.l.a.s.h.

He landed hard on the ground and rolled immediately, the mandatory sabre smashing into the ground and showering him with chips of stone as he came out of the roll, one knee on the ground. He pushed off immediately, summoning enough energy to jump over them, arching his body away from red blades while stabbing downwards with his own. He thought he'd connected, but upon landing, he saw five dark hoods staring his way, none seeming to be harmed.

Reasonably unnerved, Riku ran, ducking into one of the many abandoned buildings the city was home to. He leapt over decaying beast carcasses, past the closet he'd hidden out in to sleep, and into a large open room, littered with pillars. He scaled one to a particularly shady corner and hid himself, trying to quell the need for gasping breaths. When they entered, however, the need vanished. Riku found himself holding his breath. As the creatures prowled the room, scouring each corner for him. As they searched, Riku ignored the small voice asking why they were searching specifically for him—surely if they were just looking for something to kill, they wouldn't have bothered to follow him. It was at this particular moment that Riku realised there was something breathing down the back of his neck.

The boy whirled, finding himself looking into a pair of red eyes. He cursed mentally, smashing the hilt of the Wingblade into the beast's head, catching it as it fell so that it wouldn't alert the creatures to where he was hiding. However, as Riku observed all the creatures turning to face him, he sighed, noticing that the darkness he'd been hiding in was rapidly dissipating. Must have been a defence of the monster he'd just hit.

Riku heaved the monster bird's body over the rafter, smiling grimly as it hit its target: one of the hooded creatures. He followed the creature down, running and sliding on his knees under the blades of the other creatures, pausing only for the ironic thought that he was the prey, this time.

He navigated the city with ease, having had quite a while to explore, but the creatures seemed to be right behind him, no matter where he went. However, Riku had one last trick up his sleeve that he was sure the creatures wouldn't expect.

Finally he saw it, skidding and nearly hitting his shoulder as he turned into the narrow alley. He vaulted onto it, a loud clang sounding as his sneakers hit met rusted metal. Slipping into it, he brushed his fingers over the faded letters once (although he still couldn't read into the word—Ondero—'s actual meaning.) before wrapping his fingers around the steering handle, pushing up several levers and tapping buttons. He felt the power building up beneath his hands, and when the grinding whirring sound was as shrill as he could handle he shoved the controls forward, expecting to feel the tired old machine jerk into action.

However, as the machine jumped forward, it quit working, jerking back and forth so suddenly that Riku hit his head on the back of the seat. Raising a hand to his head, Riku looked back and saw the power cords lying on the ground, one giving one last spark of energy as it died. He swore, slipping out of the cab of the machine and looking around. The creatures were there, surrounding the machine. He looked up to see one crouched on top of the machine and leapt aside, calling the Wingblade to his hand as he went. He touched the back of his head again upon landing, wincing as he did so, then readied his blade again. He knew he couldn't outrun them, but he wasn't going to go down.

He couldn't.

And so began another battle, Riku dodging every blow aimed his way, while attacking every time he got a chance. He was doing all right, he supposed, slashing one of the creatures' sides, though it would be best if he could have lost them. After all, he had to make it back. For—

Riku cried out in pain as something connected with the back of his head. He fell to his knees, vision spinning, diving away when he heard the telltale whoosh of a sword cutting through the air. As he jumped into the air, his vision finally cleared, revealing a creature standing directly in front of him, arms crossed in what seemed to be impatience, watching the Wingblade about to cleave him in half.

Unfortunately, Riku's attack was cut short as blinding pain enveloped his senses, stemming from the small of his back. The Wingblade clattered to the ground harmlessly as he landed in a crouch, a hand going to where the light sword had pieced his back. He felt the creatures vanish from the area, but he was rather preoccupied, eyes wide in shock, breathing becoming shallow. They've finished what they came for, he thought bitterly.

He was going to die. Riku was sure of it; the things would not have left if he would survive the wound. However, he wanted to see her face one last time. He knew he wasn't far away from where he could, so he pulled himself to his feet, fingernails scrabbling to find a groove in the bricks to hold him up.

At the same time, though, he didn't want her to see him like this. He paused as he reached the edge of the city, listening to the waves touching the beach beyond. He didn't want her to suffer. He didn't want her to see him die.

He laid himself down on the ground carefully, squeezing his eyes shut in pain as he did so. He looked into the dismal grey sky and sighed. He didn't want to think it was over. Not yet.

His fingers twitched once, the Wingblade appearing in them from where he'd dropped it, only to disappear into a flurry of sparkles as he dismissed it—going back to wherever it was that the Wingblade went.

He grit his teeth as another spasm of pain wracked his body, gasping when the pain finally subsided. His hand, which had been clenched, dropped back to his side, into a growing pool of blood. Grimacing, Riku closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them once more. He would face death with his eyes open.

He blinked once more, a solitary tear trickling down his face.

I'm sorry I never got to tell you, Kairi . . .

I . . .

Darkness overcame him, the words dying on his lips.

.f.l.a.s.h.

He jerked suddenly as something touched his shoulder, but as he looked for the thing behind him, he saw nothing there.

He climbed to his feet slowly, holding his arms before him to examine them. His skin was as pale as ever, but the long, half-healed gash that travelled the inside of his left arm was gone. All of his injuries were gone, he realised, lightly tracing where the scar would have formed. He'd been healed completely. Even his old clothes fit him perfectly, and they bore none of the various rips and stains that had once littered them. He felt better than he ever had since the beginning of the entire Kingdom Hearts fiasco.

Riku paused, letting all of the happiness at this discovery ebb away before looking down the road. Trees lined it on both sides, and it seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see. He turned to look the other direction, wondering if it went on as far the opposite direction, to see only a solid sheet of reddish rock greeting him. He turned back to the road, eyeing it warily He didn't know what was down that path, and he didn't know if he wanted to know. However, staying there wouldn't change a thing.

Riku sighed reluctantly, glancing at the rock behind him once more before setting off down the road.

It wasn't an unpleasant walk. The sun was shining gently; the trees caused the road to be mostly in shadow, patches of light spattering in odd patterns across the road at uneven intervals. A strange smell drifted on the breeze that reminded Riku almost of paopus . . . He laced his fingers behind his head as he continued, tipping his head back slowly to stare at the sky. The trees he was walking under were laden with fruit, some red, some green, and some yellow, all of different sizes. After a couple hours, he passed a few trees filled with orange-y red fruits seeming to be covered in a sort of fuzz, and then more of the trees from before.

The tinkling sounds of wind chimes reached his ears as a bird fluttered out of the trees, and Riku found himself smiling. It was so peaceful here. He would have loved to bring Kairi here. It was too bad he'd . . .

Riku raised an eyebrow as a tree appeared, far on the road ahead. He couldn't tell from where he was at currently, but it seemed almost as though it was in the middle of the road. Riku paused, turning to look back, finding that the rock face he'd started at had disappeared, lost on the endless road. He was perhaps halfway there?

Well, then. He could pause a few minutes. Riku headed to the side of the road, content with this idea. He didn't really need to, perhaps, but the prospect of having the time to just sit there was nice after endless hours of fighting. As he settled down in the grass, leaning back against a tree and closing his eyes, there was a voice. 'You're almost there. Don't give up.'

Riku opened his eyes lazily. 'I'm not giving—'

His argument died in his throat as he looked at the next tree. The wood was shaped into a face, frozen in a scream of agony. The head led to a body, arms crossed over the person's chest. The lower body was not there, but rather the torso led into the tree

It was as though the person had been absorbed into the tree.

He probably had.

Riku pushed away from the tree, making for the safety of the road again. He managed to set one foot on it before his feet were pulled from beneath him and he went down hard. In another moment he was dangling upside down, face-to-face with the tree. Riku cursed vehemently as he pulled himself up, trying to break the grasp the tree's branches—arms?—had on his ankles. When he couldn't free himself this way, his arm shot out, red sparkles solidifying into the Wingblade. Three slashes did away with the branches restraining his feet and other arm, allowing him to drop to the ground. Allowing the Wingblade to disappear, Riku picked up one of the tree's severed hands, bending the 'fingers' slowly.

The hand leapt at him, aiming for his throat, only to be sliced in two by the Wingblade, each part falling innocuously to the ground below.

Riku dismissed the Wingblade again with a sigh; he'd been expecting that to happen. He took one last look at the tree, collecting its scattered pieces and rejoining them to its branches, and set off down the road again, trying to keep himself from looking behind him for anything. As he walked, he realised that the road didn't seem as peaceful as it once had. He'd let down his guard for a moment, and had nearly been killed . . . again.

As Riku continued, he began to see more faces in the trees: some peaceful and relaxed, some scared and anxious. There was even a bearded old man, pipe sticking out of his mouth and fishing hat perched on his head. He was leaning against the tree, hands behind his head, one foot crossing over his bended knee. His eyes were closed peacefully, and Riku shuddered at the sight. The man hadn't had a chance.

His thoughts strayed from the trees as he continued down the road, pace quickening, straying to the voice he'd heard when he'd sat by the tree. It hadn't sounded like anyone he knew, yet the person had sounded genuinely concerned for him. But if he'd died, why would someone try to help him? He certainly wasn't deserving of it . . . if it had been him, he probably would have let himself be pulled into the tree.

Riku stopped short as the tree loomed up ahead of him, staring in awe at it. Bigger than he'd first imagined, the tree was holding all sorts of names. Riku read over some of the names, watching as one dropped to the ground. Seconds later, an old, wrinkled man stumbled off another road, picking up the name. Then, with a grin aimed toward Riku, the man ambled to the tree, walking over a hole in the ground and settling himself on a swing. He looked upward, then waved to Riku as the swing began to move back and forth. Higher and higher the man swung, until finally a bright light enveloped him on the frontward swing, so bright Riku had to shield his eyes, and he was gone.

So if he'd made it here, his name would be on the ground somewhere, would it not? Riku began looking, first finding his family's section of the tree before finding his name near the swing. Riku picked it up, looking at it askance as a message appeared on it: See tender for assistance.

Riku raised an eyebrow at the message as it faded back to his name, then looked around, finally spotting a desk hidden in the foliage, the words 'The Tree Tender' written in elegant script across the front of it. He couldn't see anyone there, but as he grew nearer, he could see a figure slumped over the desk. He made his way to the desk slowly, all the while waiting for the person to speak, but as he reached the desk, he could finally see what was going on.

The figure was a girl, fast asleep. Her head was pillowed on a stack of paperwork, a stamp and inkpad lying next to her. Riku cleared his throat a couple times, then tapped the girl on the shoulder.

'Huh?' The girl sat up slightly, green eyes struggling to focus on Riku. 'Oh. It's you. I just got inspected last month, come back in another millennium.' Then her head tipped back down to the paper and she was out again.

Riku raised an eyebrow yet again, looking disdainfully at the girl. When she'd looked up, she'd revealed a smudged stamp on the paper, the red ink stamped onto her left cheek. He reached over and tapped her on the shoulder again; waiting wasn't his strong suit.

The girl raised her head again, glaring at him. 'Look, I already told you; I just got—oh.' For the first time, she noticed who he was. 'Oh. You're . . . um, you're not him, are you?' she asked weakly, leaning back into her chair. 'Who're you?' She rubbed her eyes and looked down at her hands, eyes widening slightly at the sight of the ink. She rubbed her cheek furiously, attempting to rid it of the ink, but it only spread. 'Um . . . one second, please.' She stood, walking into the forest behind her, but soon enough Riku heard twigs snapping quickly, telling him that the girl was running.

Within a few minutes the girl had returned, minus the ink, but face and hair dripping with water. She settled herself behind the desk and shuffled a few papers, but Riku could see that she was only trying to make herself look impressive.

'Um, okay. So . . . name?'

'Riku Renegadu.'

She looked up suspiciously. 'Uh, come again?'

'Riku Renegadu,' repeated Riku, mentally sighing in irritation.

The girl scratched her head and yawned before scanning down a list. 'Er, I don't see you on this list . . .—ooh, wait!' She reached into a drawer, pulling out a list, considerably shorter than the first one. She ran a finger down it, pausing at one name and biting her lip as she read the one under it. 'Ooooh, you've been Intervigiliumanced.'

'. . . Intervigiliumanced?"

The girl nodded once, and Riku could have sworn for a moment she looked evil. 'Intervigiliumanced,' she declared with a smirk.

'What's . . . Intervigiliumance?' asked Riku suspiciously.

The girl pushed a button on the desk's top, said desk top splitting and sliding apart. She yowled as her papers nearly slid into the widening split, but shoved them back onto the surface as a small screen flipped up and the desk slid back together. The girl tapped it once. 'Intervigiliumance.'

.
Intervigiliumance

A set of events set after
the death of one or more of
the most prominent persons in the
battle against the light and/or
against the dark.
.

The girl glared at it. 'Continue . . .' she said, tapping it again.

.
Continue

To go on with a
particular action or in
a particular manner;
persist.
.

'Hmph,' scowled the girl, throwing herself back into the chair. 'Fool thing's got a mind of its own. Thinks it's clever.' Booted feet hit the desk with a clump, sending papers scattering as she ran a hand through her messy brown ponytail. 'Anyways, I guess I can't really tell you any more, but it's not very fun. Walk over the pit, past the swing, and through the trunk of the tree. You'll be sent back here when you're done and I can tell you more then. That said, good night; I have a few hundred years of sleep to catch up on.' She closed her eyes, leaning the chair back further, but Riku could feel her eyes on him as he stood, slightly irritated, and rubbed his temples. The girl had already given him a headache.

So, over the pit, past the swing, and through the tree's trunk? Riku looked upwards as he turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose. He doubted the girl's directions—how could someone walk through a tree?—but in death, anything was possible, and not following directions could end in trouble for him.

He looked over the edge of the pit as he reached it. The pit was, like most things here, bigger than he had first expected, about twenty metres in diameter. The swing dangled directly over the pit, and experienced eyes could see the latch holding the bottom of the seat together. The idea was obvious. You sat on the swing, and if you were deemed worthy of going on to the next life, you were swung up to it. If not, the bottom of the swing would drop out, dropping the person into the pit with no possible way of escaping. Riku looked over the edge, but as far as he could see the tunnel stretched downward, fading into black. The darkness was momentarily disturbed by a flurry of sparks showering through, lighting up a face underneath. Riku shivered and pulled back from the pit. He didn't want to fall.

Riku hesitated, taking a step away and observing the pit. It looked harmless enough, the swing swaying gently in the breeze, but he already knew looks were deceiving.

So how to cross the pit, then? He settled himself on the ground (making sure to keep far away from the trees and well out of the swing's path) and watched, trying to figure out how he could cross the pit. However, his thoughts could never concentrate on the pit, instead straying back to the city. He wondered if his friends would ever find out he'd died. A sudden idea came to him as he thought of this: What if he just . . . waited? What if he didn't cross over, but waited out the years for his friends to come?

Bad idea, he realised, watching an old woman wander off the path. That was the problem—it would be years, with nothing but his thoughts to ponder.

The woman hugged her name to her chest as she walked toward the swing, seating herself on it and tucking her legs beneath her. Riku stood, looking to see how the woman had crossed. She'd just walked over it as though there had been nothing there . . .

Riku paused at the edge of the pit again after the woman had gone, pausing only a moment before taking a breath and stepping over the edge.

Standing on nothing was strange, he thought, looking down at his shoes, past them to the ominous darkness of the pit below. Whatever was covering the pit gave slightly as he moved, but he felt sure that it wouldn't give, and he continued toward the centre without thought. When he reached the middle, a hand reached out to touch the swing, tempting Riku to sit on it and end everything. He refrained, though, reluctantly letting go of the swing as he persisted toward the tree. Upon reaching the tree, he reached out a hand to touch the tree, confident that it would go through. After all, everything else here didn't function normally; it was pretty safe to say that this wouldn't, either.

Sure enough, his hand went straight through. Hardly surprising after soul-stealing trees, solid air, and a literal family tree. Riku stepped forward, leaving the gentle peace of the road behind him as darkness enveloped him. Wondering where he would find himself when he reached the exit, Riku moved further into the tree, a hand trailing along the insides of the giant tree.

.f.a.l.l.

'He has passed,' said the crone, hands at her temples. 'The time is now.'

'Yay!' cheered the little one. 'Time, time, time! Uuuuuuaaaaaaaahhhhhhh . . . oop!' with her little shout, a dagger sliced through the boy's silver hair, tearing with a rather unpleasant sound. When she spoke again, the pout was evident in her voice: 'Awww, the dagger's not sharp enough, you! It's not sharp and it doesn't cut cleanly and how'm I supposed to use this? See, it doesn't even—hey, where's she at? I can't poke her to prove my point if she's not here! And then I can't make her mad and she won't scream and I won't get to hear the lovelylov—'

'The time is now.'

'Yay! Time! Time for blood, time for dolls, time for dance and dusk and droll! It's time, Shari!'

.f.l.o.a.t.

Kairi wandered the halls of the castle, not quite paying any attention to those who greeted her. Lost in her thoughts, she meandered into the garden, meaning to sit in the castle-shaped bush for a bit to collect her thoughts.

What seemed like it had happened years ago (though in reality, it had only been a few days) was still haunting her. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw them: Sora's look of shock as the other thing's spell made him disappear. The sight of Riku disappearing in a pool of his own blood. Both of her friends had been taken from her. She was . . . alone.

But she wouldn't be for long. She wouldn't let her friends remain wherever they were right now. Even if she had to do it alone.

She would save them.

Just as soon as she got her hair untangled from the bush. Kairi winced, leaning forward and reaching back to loosen the clinging branch's grip on her hair, scooting forward once it was freed.

Now, how could she find them? It was entirely possible that Mickey had a means of tracing the two—it was how they'd found Riku, after all—but she was fairly sure that if he'd been able to trace the two boys already, he would have told her, right? More than likely. Kairi sighed. It looked as though she'd have to find them herself.

Kairi scooted forward, meaning to leave to start searching, but before she could reach the 'door' of the bush, she paused. Footsteps were echoing into the courtyard. Someone was coming. She slid back into the bush, hiding herself in the shadows and watching the entrance to the yard through the branches. After several moments, a figure appeared in the entranceway, looking around the yard slowly, but Kairi couldn't figure out who it was, thanks to the bright sunlight reflecting off the armour the figure was wearing. She peered closer, trying to see past the light that was making her eyes hurt, but then the person spoke, and she sat back. 'Kairi?' the figure repeated, and she scrambled out of the bush, making her way around the castle so that he could see her.

'Yes?' she asked Goofy, pushing her hair out of her face again.

'Glad I found you!' he grinned, waving. 'The king's been lookin' for you everywhere! He thinks he—' Goofy clapped his hands over his mouth suddenly, looking around again. 'I almost forgot. We ain't supposed ta tell nobody! But you should go see him.'

'Thanks,' smiled Kairi. 'I think I'll do that . . .'

Mickey was hunched over something when Kairi strode into the room, stopping behind him. 'Goofy said . . . Goofy said you had something to show me?' she questioned.

Mickey turned to face her. 'Y'know, you look awful, Kairi. You been gettin' any sleep?'

Of course she hadn't. Every time she tried to, she relived that day. How could she possibly be expected to sleep? Kairi shook her head. 'That doesn't matter right now. What did you find out?'

The mouse king seemed to hesitate. 'I don't know if I should show you.'

'Show me,' Kairi insisted.

Mickey was definitely looking uncomfortable now. 'I don't know . . .'

'Show me,' Kairi repeated.

Mickey sighed, turning to a glass globe resting on the table. 'All right, I'll show you . . .'

.f.a.l.l.

The crone was alone now, alone with the silver haired body. Clouded eyes flitted sideways, somehow seeing the body in the darkness, and sighed. There was one issue yet to be resolved by their party.

Settling herself carefully on the ground, the crone pulled a long strip of black cloth from the folds of her cloak, lifting the boys head to wind it tightly around his eyes, securing the knot within the silver hair.

She stood again, looking sightlessly upon her work, and allowed herself a manic cackle. The damage had already been done . . .

.i.n.t.e.r.v.i.g.i.l.i.u.m.a.n.c.e.

Riku saw the glow long before he reached it; a dark blue pulsing that seemed to penetrate the darkness. As he emerged from the giant tree's trunk (which had been much longer than the outside had made the trek seem), he looked around in awe. Who would have thought the tunnel would lead to this?

He stood in the middle of space, standing on another invisible surface. Ten doors circled him. Ten plain, dark wooden doors in the middle of space, rounded tops and squared-off bottoms, each with a silver, tarnished knob at one side. Behind the doors, meteors floated past, somehow missing the planets he saw nearby (although he couldn't make out specific details of the planets; they only appeared to be solid-coloured balls of light). Before him, slightly below and to the right of his line of vision was a galaxy, rotating slowly, swirling as a hurricane would. Everything was lethargic, as though moving in slow motion when compared to the harried movements of the city he'd left behind. It was so peaceful.

It was nearly enough to make him go mad.

When the girl had spoken of Intervigiliumance, he'd seen the spark of anger in her eyes. This 'Intervigiliumance' wasn't a good thing. That he was into the challenge already and everything was so peaceful was putting him on edge, ready to attack at the slightest movement.

A light caught his eye, and Riku's head jerked toward it reflexively. Words were forming on one of the doors in a neat script, hissing as they formed. As he approached, the light began to dim in the same manner: starting from the beginning of the word and working its way to the end. However, as it finished, smoke drifted from where the light had been, revealing that the words had actually been burnt into the wood.

.
Choose the door that suits you best
Each door contains a certain test
Pass the test with light or dark
Each result will leave a mark
Finish the tests, return to
Life, to either light or
Dark, in dark of
Night . . .
Begin
.

Riku raised an eyebrow—it seemed he'd been doing that a lot, lately—and walked away. So, he had to choose any door, and through that door, he'd find a test. But which to choose first?

He'd start from the end and make his way to the beginning. Riku went to the door directly in the middle, with the knob on the left of the door, and pulled it open. He strode into the door without pausing, trying not to think about what he'd find inside . . .

2 — .t.r.e.e.-.l.i.n.e.d. .r.o.a.d. — 2