HI people! Thanx for the reviews! I'm so happy! This is the last Chappie! Now I can focus on Mirror Image! I want to thank everybody for everything, especially for sticking with me! Love you all!
Ink2: Gracias, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
DR.Von Doom: Thanx for the review! It's okay that you haven't been able to keep up!
Itsbeca: Yeah, stupid Sora! Hurting poor Riku! Hope you like this Chapter!
JS:JM: Thanx! Loved the new chapter of your story, but for some reason, stupid hasn't allowed me to send any reviews for your story!
Shiri Matakami: Thank you for the cookie! Runs around on cookie high I love Wakka too! His accent is so cool!
DancingMistress: Gracias! I hope you like this chapter!
Animefreak14: Your never on AIM! Thanx for the review, and I hope we can talk too!
Kuramasgirl13: I didn't put that particular twist in, cause I wasn't trying to make Ansem a pedophile (for once). You know the sad ending you wanted… Well, this ending might or might not be sad, depending on your definition…
Caged by Hate
Riku
"So, what do we do with him now?" Marluxia's voice rings out. It's soft, far away, like he's miles from me even though in reality, only a few feet separate us. The pain is still there, like thousands of knives have been stabbed into me, and my arms and legs are numb and cold from the loss of circulation. The coldness is the worse. It goes right through me, shivering me to the bone. I hate him with every fiber in my being. I don't think it's even possible for me to hate anybody more than I hate him.
"Right now he's feeding off my energy to keep himself alive, but he'll be too weak to do that for long. Your guess was wrong Marluxia. He'll be gone in less than a day, at best." Wait, I stand corrected. I hate that man even more. I wish I could rip his throat out right now. I'd be all too happy to do so, if only I could move from this spot.
"You think the boy will come?" Marluxia asks. Boy? Sora! NO, that would be too painful, too cruel. Ansem laughs, a heartless, demeaning sound.
"It would be so much fun if he does decide to. Riku would hurt so much. I can almost feel his delicious pain right now." Sick bastard. Does he have the audacity to kiss his mother with that mouth?
"My mother was a bitch. She didn't deserve to be kissed." Of course not, if she managed to raise a bastard like you.
"Shut the fuck up," Ansem says, coming over, most likely to beat the shit out of me. Marluxia grabs his arm.
"Now, now Ansem. We need him to at least last until Sora gets here. Where would the fun go if you beat him to death first?" Ansem glares at me before he lowers his fist. Poor little boy can't even beat up his bound hostage anymore. He's probably scared that if he let me go I'd beat the shit out of him with over half the bones in my body broken. That little pansy ass bastard-
"You know, after we kill Sora you'll be of no use and then I'll make you scream. You'll feel pain like you've never felt before." Oh, I'm sooo scared! Man, I wish I could talk right now. The sarcastic sound just doesn't sound right in my head.
Ansem glares at me. I laugh, on the inside of course. Ansem looks around, and seeing that Marluxia's gone, he walks over to me and kicks me in the ribs. Damn, that hurts like hell! I cough up even more blood, adding to the impossibly large pile collecting on the floor, and Ansem walks away.
I wait until he's gone, and then I allow myself to pass out again.
Sora
I have to find him. I race through the forest, defying time as I struggle to get there before sunset. The first of my three days are almost up, but I have to get to him. Blood loss, that means my dream was right. They've probably hurt him so badly, hurt my Riku.
I love him so much. I can't believe it took me so long to realize that I care for him. I hurt him, tried to kill him, and now they're hurting him even more. Trees flow by me, a solid mass of green, with a few yellow or orange leaves the exception, precluding to the coming of fall. Will Riku be alive to see it? Will Kairi be alive? I remember last fall, how Kairi used to run out into the trees, playing in the leaves as they fell around her. I think fall was a magical time to her, and I would always be right there beside her, playing, smiling, and laughing.
I can practically picture a fall with him. He'd insist it was autumn and tell us we'd have to clean up whatever mess we made in the leaves and the mud, but his eyes, those beautiful aquamarine orbs, would smile at us, and by the end of the week, he'd be in our little leaf dances too, pretending to hate it but secretly wishing for the next fall to come.
And in the middle of it, his hand would find mine, and we'd know that we'd always have each other, because somehow it was just meant to be that way.
I wonder if he cried when they hurt him. Riku doesn't seem like the crying type though. I wonder if he cried when I broke his heart, smashing it into tiny pieces that probably would never fit back together just right. I wonder if he still loves me.
But most of all, I wonder if he'll live long enough for me to be able to find out the answers to my questions.
The sun has set by now, the stars coming out to light the night. I remember when Riku told me that stars are all just different worlds, and I believe him. Then again, I would probably believe anything that comes out of his mouth.
Tears. In my eyes. I'm crying once again, but now's not the time for crying. Right now I have to do something. I have two lives depending on me. Two people I care about, and two people I must save.
The castle come into view. It's a gigantic, sprawling building with pillars and twisted gargoyles at the tops, glaring down at you, stony bodies tense with pretend anger.
The doors stand before me, large, black, and menacing. There's a lock and a keyhole, but I don't have a key. Then the giant overgrown key blade from before appears in my hand.
Hmmm… Large overgrown key… Giant keyhole… Let's put two and two together people.
I lit the key blade towards the lock on the door, and a giant ray of light shines from it's tip, heading straight for the keyhole. What the-
With a light click, the door opens, hinges swinging towards me, the giant doors almost crushing me as I back up.
The foyer is large and cold. The dampness is evident, and I step in a puddle. This place hasn't been cleaned in years. It's almost completely dark, and I can barely see my hand in front of my face. I walk forward, ignoring the putrid smell, my arms stretched in front of me so that I don't impale myself on anything.
"Riku!" I scream, calling out for him. "Riku!" I try again, yelling even louder to reach him. NO response, as to be expected.
I walk forward, almost tripping over the stair case leading into the dungeons. The only light is from the crack in the door, but as I look at it, it closes with a resounding bang!
"Hello Sora," his voice calls out. Light blue eyes are illuminated in the darkness for a second before the light's flicker on. I blink and squint, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the sudden change in lighting, before I see him. He's holding a small bottle with the antidote for Kairi inside.
"Give that back!" I demand, voice desperate. Marluxia laughs.
"I'll give this back to you, if you can pry it from my cold, dead fingers!" A large scythe appears in his hands, the huge blade a strange pinkish color. The entire thing smells of rotting flowers.
Killing him will be all to fun… In no time at all I'll have the potion for Kairi back, and I'll save Riku. Then maybe I can apologize. Then maybe everything will become better.
Heaven
"Riku is not going to live through this, is he?" An anxious Yuffie asks, tears in her eyes. For a moment there's silence. The gods have spent 200 years watching Riku grow and mature, and finally become human again. It hurt that he might die.
"No, I don't think he will…" Leon allows himself to trail off, not wanting to continue. Everybody seems to be waiting for Sephiroth to say something, but even the usually confident silver-haired warrior is silent.
"So, what do you think will happen next?" Yuffie asks, eyes darting around the room. Sephiroth shifts in his seat.
"You know something the rest of us don't Sephiroth," Cloud says. His voice is slightly curious, and he is almost begging for Sephiroth to say something. But the oldest of them refuses to speak, holding his head up and watching the fight raging on bellow.
"So, you finally have something useful to say, and you decide to keep your mouth shut." Leon rolls his eyes, and Sephiroth ignores him, focusing on the fight. Sora is winning, blocking all of Marluxia's hits and delivering devastating blows. Marluxia's blows might look fancy, but they don't deal out much damage, while Sora's attacks are true.
Sephiroth focuses on the fight, already knowing what the end result to be. Knowledge isn't always a beautiful thing. Sometimes it's better not to know at all.
So all of them sit in suspenseful silence, watching a fight that will determine the very future of heaven itself.
Riku
Ughhh… I feel worse than before. Gray splotches have permanently destroyed half my vision, and my head pounds. It's ten times worse than a migraine, and the rest of my body isn't doing so well either. At least the rest of my body is feeling slightly better. The pain has gone away, replaced by numbness and cold. Tiny needles prick at every part of me, but it's better than the pain, anything's better than the pain.
I can smell the demons of death coming to grab me, to pull me down into their endless abyss. I need a nap, a nice long nap. Not the regular kind of sleep, but rather, a rest for my soul. I've been awake for far too long.
I wonder what death is like. It's ironic, I've killed so many, yet I don't even know the answer to that one question.
Is it cold?
Is it really a fiery abyss?
Is there even an afterlife?
I wonder, if reincarnation does exist, what will I come back as? A slug or worm? I haven't lived the best life possible, and I think I'm finally ready to deal with the consequences.
Nothing's holding me to this life, and I think I'm ready to let go…
Sora, I forgive you, and I still love you.
Sora
I point my key blade down at Marluxia, holding it steady at his throat. "Give it to me!" I demand, and he tosses me the potion. The bottle forms in arch in the air, and I barely manage to catch it, not caring that Marluxia just used my distraction as an opportunity to get away. I pocket the small bottle, heading for the stairs.
"Riku!" I scream, praying he'll hear me. "Riku!" His voice echoes ahead of me, repeating itself over and over. Soon I can't tell if his name is echoing through the halls or only in my head.
Sora, I forgive you, and I still love you.
Riku, gods no, don't die. I run faster, almost positive that Riku's at the bottom of these stairs, waiting for me. "Riku!"
I finally come to the end of the stairs, and I'm immediately immersed in a deep darkness. My eyes quickly adjust to the darkness, and I scurry through the dungeon area, searching for him. Finally, I come to a door. He's behind it, I know he is. I can feel it in my heart.
Quickly, I shove the door open, and enter the room. It's small and even darker than the rest of the dungeons. The only light is a beam piercing into the room from the door. He's huddled up in the back of the room, a tiny ball surrounded by a pool of his own blood.
"Riku!" I gasp, running towards his broken figure, practically in tears. I lift into my arms, he's far too light. I can feel his blood seeping into my clothing, and I'm glad I can't fully see him. It would hurt too much to see what that bastard did to him. I sut the chains off of him, noticing how limp and fragile he is.
"Sora," his voice is weak, and it cracks a bit. He's shaking slightly, and he's freezing. It's like he's already dead.
"I'm here Riku," I tell him, grabbing is limp hand in my own. I'll find someone to heal him. He'll survive, he has to!
"I love you…" He whispers. It sounds like each word is a struggle, a horrible pain. I nod, then gently untie the blindfold from around his eyes. Bright aquamarine eyes stare up at me, unguarded completely. His eyes are full of sadness and love and relief.
"I know Riku, and I love you too. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He opens his mouth to say something, but I shush him.
"Don't speak Riku, save your strength." Tears gather in my eyes, as I lift Riku up, struggling to carry him up with me. We have to get out of here.
"I'm going to… die Sora," he says. His voice sounds relieved. No! Riku, you can't die. Not when I just found you.
"No…" I whisper, tears dripping down my face, though I know what he's saying is true. Even if I get him back in time, they might not be able to heal him.
"I forgive you, Sora." His eyes close after that, in eternal peace. No! He's not dead yet. His pulse is still there, weak, but still there. He's so cold, like an ice cube. I stumble towards the stairs when a cold voice stops me.
"It's a good thing Riku's dying. That whelp was never good for anything. He's a worthless excuse of a human who can't even die right." My shoulders tense in anger, and I turn to glare at the man behind me. He has long silver hair and amber eyes that glow in the dark. From the way Riku shivers when he comes closer, I can tell. He's the one that did this to my Riku.
I gently lay Riku on the cold ground and turn to face him. The key blade comes to my hand, and I charge at him. With a laugh, he doesn't even bother to try and dodge. A large shadow appears in front of him, deflecting my hit.
"You're wrong! Riku was never worthless! He's worth more than you'll ever know." Ansem laughs and looks at me.
"You don't understand anything, do you? Do you even know who I, Lord Ansem, am?" He mocks me, and I glare at him before charging. I roll past his shadow guard and stab him with my keyblade, whacking away at him, letting out all of my pain, trying to destroy him.
He summons a large orb of Darkness and it pushes me away, cutting me in the process. I land about a yard and a half from Riku, his eyes half-lidded as he looks up at me. Slowly, his eyes open and he glares at Ansem.
"Rot in Hell," he says, softly, but loud enough so that both Ansem and I can hear him. The keyblade from before appears again, not the black one, but the silver one.
Ansem laughs and sends his shadow after him, but Riku just looks confident and ready. "Riku!" I scream, reaching out to him. Light gathers around him, and suddenly, everything around us is a field of white. I close my eyes, shielding them from the brightness, and suddenly, the shadows gone. Riku drops to the ground like a rag doll, and at that moment I know he's gone. Ansem stumbles backwards, collapsing into the wall. His breathing is heavy, and I can tell he was hit hard by that attack.
I walk over to him, keyblade in hand. "It's time to die!" I scream, and I thrust the key blade into his heart. Ansem's eyes widen for a second before they close, never to open again.
"Riku," I whisper, pulling the keyblade from his chest and running over to him.
"Riku," I shake him, but there's no response.
"Riku!" I check for a pulse, but it's not there.
"RIKU!" I try to convince myself that he's alive, but deep down, I know he's dead.
500 years later in Heaven
"Yuffie," Sephiroth calls out, "it's time." Yuffie turns, dragging Cloud and Leon along with her.
"Oooh! This is so happy! They finally get to be together!" Over the last 500 years, Yuffie's matured into a beautiful woman, hair longer and grown out, and I beautiful figure that lures many of the male gods from all over to watch her. However, her personality is still optimistic, and her tomboyish personality was left untouched by the passing of time.
Cloud and Leon look exactly the same, and they act the same. Not even being stuck with two eccentric people like Yuffie and Sephiroth could change that. Sephiroth's the same also, except for his hair, which is even longer. He refuses to get it cut.
All four of the gods can remember what happened so long ago, after Riku had died. Everything had been a whirlwind, with Sora curing Kairi and returning with Riku's body to his castle. Burying it in a peaceful grave that now lay forgotten.
The worst problem was in heaven though. With both Riku and Ansem dead, there was no one to take control over some much needed duties. The gods waited five hundred years, and it had finally paid off.
Riku had been reincarnated fifteen years ago, and Sora fourteen years ago. They've been best friends for about ten years. Today's the day when they'll finally admit they love each other, and their love will blossom into a beautiful bond that will secure them two very good leaders when Riku and Sora's mortal bodies expire.
While the gods gathered around in heaven, things were very different for Sora and Riku down on Earth. Riku was nervously clutching a Paopu fruit in his hands, it's soft peach like fuzz nuzzling his gloved fingers. He was wearing his regular outfit, a tight yellow and black tank top with weird straps and blue waders over his black jeans.
Today was the day. Today was the day he'd tell Sora he loves him. Ever since he'd met Sora, it felt as if he's found the other half of his soul in the other boy, and they'd been inseparable. He's known he loved Sora since he was twelve, and his feelings haven't faded. If anything, they've only gotten stronger.
Sora hopped up to Riku, bouncing along the path with a happy smile. "Hi Riku!" He greeted cheerfully. They spent a while talking, about anything, their friends, Kairi, Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, and Namine, or school and everything else under the sun. Finally the sun began to set, and Riku finally has the moment he's been waiting for.
"Sora, I want to tell you something…" Riku trails off, nerves getting the better of him. Sora curiously tilts his head to the side.
"What is it Riku?" He asks, curious. Riku gulps, well, it's now or never.
"Sora, I love you. Will you share this with me?" He pulls out the paopu and waits for Sora's response, almost shaking from nerves. What if Sora rejected him? What if he never wanted to see him again?
Sora looks shocked, which doesn't help Riku at all. "Look, I'm sorry. Can we just pretend this never-" before he finishes, Sora crushes their lips together, wrapping his arms around the older boy.
"I love you too, Riku." He states, a smile on his face and tears of happiness streaming down his face. Riku smiles and kisses the tears away, tearing the paopu fruit in half.
"Here," he simply says, handing the sacred fruit out to his best friend, his lover, and his rival all in one.
And so together, two boys share a paopu under the fading sun, resolving an issue that's been going on for 500 hundred years, and up in heaven, four people smile.
"So is this the end?" Yuffie asks, a smile on her face. Cloud shakes his head.
"No," those to still have a lot ahead of them. They have room for love, friendship, and a destiny that will take them several lifetimes to accomplish." Sephiroth smirks.
"And through it all, they'll always have each other."
The End
