Riku vs. Frog: Heart of Darkness
by Daredevil3181

Riku had been playing in the sun with Sora and Kairi all day long and now he was thoroughly exhausted. Plopping down on the sand, the white-haired boy gazed at the setting sun, as if in a trance. The cool ocean breeze played lightly across his exposed chest as he reflected on the promise the three had made, that they would always be there for each other, no matter what.

"Riku, you look a bit dazed," Kairi laughed, her airy voice flying on the wind. "What's on your mind?"

"Oh," Riku replied in a dreamlike state, "nothing really. Just thinking how great it is to relax here with you two."

"But don't relax too much!" Sora exclaimed. "We're going on that rafting trip tomorrow and I don't want you to be late!"

"Yeah, I know, Sora," Riku told his lifelong friend. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Suddenly a tumult of images hammered into Riku's head. Groaning a little, he brought his hands up to his temples and clutched at them in pain.

"You really want to leave this world," a familiar voice inside Riku's head told him. "But not so that you can go 'exploring' like a mere child. No…you wish to conquer other worlds!"

"Sora…?" Riku mumbled. "Did you…did you say something?"

"Nope," the brown-haired boy denied. "Why?"

"Yeah, are you alright, Riku? You look a little pale." There was now a look of concern of Kairi's face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, it's just a head…aaaaagggghhhh!" Riku screamed out in agony as his head was on fire once more.

"DON'T IGNORE ME, RIKU!" the voice spoke forcefully. "I am a part of you now, and I will always be."

"Get…away…" Riku panted. "I don't want you any more…"

"What do you mean Riku?" Kairi wondered. "We're you're friends!"

"Oh, but you don't need friends," the voice continued. "Not when you have me!"

"Sora, take Kairi and get out of here," Riku wheezed. "There's something evil inside of me and I'm not sure I can control it!"

"No, we're not going anywhere, Riku!" Sora said, determination in his voice. "Whatever's troubling you, I'm sure we can get through this together!"

"Sora, do what I say!" Riku glared at the boy. "Do it before I lose control and…" Suddenly Riku's body morphed and grew. His hair lengthened down to the middle of his back and his eyes took on a golden hue.

"…become ME!" the figure completed the sentence. No longer was this Riku. Sora knew the danger he now faced and unsheathed his keyblade.

"Ansem!" Sora shouted. "Leave my friend alone!"

"Then come and get me," Ansem sneered. Sora jumped at the leader of the Heartless but his attack was thwarted. In one smooth motion, Ansem brought his hand down into the back of Sora's head, splintering it into many pieces.

"And now with him out of the way, I can fully unleash my darkness," Ansem cackled. He raised his hands into the air and the waves upon waves of blackness flowed out of him and all over the island. They soon covered the entire world, as there was nothing to stop them, Like a malicious virus, the darkness refused to stop, as it quickly branched out and spread to the rest of existence.

'No, this can't be happening!' Riku cried out, unable to stop the evil that had wrested control away from him. The words never left his mouth, though, as the former Lord of Hollow Bastion merely laughed.

"Riku…how…how could you?" Kairi wept.

'Kairi, I didn't mean to,' Riku apologized as the girl faded from view, followed shortly by Sora's lifeless body. 'Kairi…Sora…don't go! I'm so alone here! Please, I need you guys!'

"You're not alone, Riku," Ansem said, calmly. "Never alone. Did you forget? You always have ME!"

'NNNOOOOOOO…!' screamed Riku, as the darkness swallowed him whole.

------

"…OOOOOOOOOO!" Riku continued, as his scream jerked his body awake. He was gripping his pillow tightly, his body drenched in sweat. He quickly looked to the door connecting his room with the adjacent one and saw a figure standing there. For a second his heart raced, thinking it was Ansem, but he was later relieved when a much less menacing person moved closer to him.

"Another bad dream?" asked Sora, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Yeah, it was Ansem again," Riku sighed, feeling no shame about confiding in his friend. "He…he killed you. And then he went to on destroy so many other worlds too."

"You never seemed to have this many problems before we came here," Sora commented. "Why the sudden change?"

"I…I really don't know," Riku sighed. "I think all this blood and fighting has appealed to the darker side in me. I'm afraid I might lose it once again."

"You're so weak," Sora said, locking his gaze with Riku's and refusing to let go.

"What…what did you say?" A scowl worked its way on to Riku's face.

"You heard what I said. You're a little weakling. A true warrior wouldn't let his evil side take over. He'd be in control of himself at all times."

"It's a never ending battle, Sora," Riku said, staring at the floor. "You wouldn't understand, as your heart is your own. Mine is inhabited by a force that only seeks the black void of existence."

"So!" Sora yelled. "That's not an excuse! You say you have to keep on fighting? So what! Ever since I picked up this keyblade, Heartless have been hungering for my blood every time I set foot into a new world. And you know what? I fight them. I keep on fighting them. And I win."

Riku didn't say a word. He knew what Sora said was true, yet every time he took a breath, he could feel that other side of him hungering for life as well. 'He's quite a long way from the happy-go-lucky person I knew before,' Riku thought. 'Castle Oblivion must have changed him, even if he can't remember it, just as that place changed me.'

"It's only when good stops fighting that evil has truly won," Sora said. "You might not be as pure of ideals and heart as me, but I do know one thing: So long as you never give up, evil will never come out on top. Ever."

Riku slowly brought his eyes up to meet his friend's. "You're right. Thanks for all the support."

"Don't mention it," Sora said, a smile finding its way on to his face once more. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What's that?" Riku wondered.

"When you scream in your sleep, you sound like a little girl." Sora had to jump back into his room quickly to avoid being beamed in the head, as a rampaging telephone rebounded off the doorjamb with a loud ring.

------

"Yeah, I think you're ready, Glenn," Crono told the amphibious warrior. The two had been training almost every day since they arrived. Crono had even created a few new programs on his own so that the two could practice in together.

"Dost thou really think'th so?" asked Frog. He quickened his pace, tired from the long day. The two had stopped off at the weapons shop after the training session and from there had gone to a little café. Now all Frog wanted was to feel the soft sheets of his awaiting bed.

"Oh yeah, you'll be fine," Crono reassured him. "Besides, you had me training you. There's no way you could lose!"

"Too true, Sir Crono!" Frog croaked in laughter. He was suddenly knocked out of his good cheer however, when a cloaked figure slammed into his side, causing Frog to fall to the ground.

"You could at least say 'excuse me' when you do that," Crono chastised the man, as he helped Frog to his feet.

"I don't have to say anything actually," the man corrected the swordsman. As if the blue hair wasn't a giveaway, the pointed ears and pale skin proved beyond a shadow of a doubt the person they were now dealing with.

"Magus!" Frog bellowed, anger in his voice. "I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to Cyrus."

"Good," Magus said. "I wouldn't have it any other way. But remember, in order to ever get your shot at me, you must first defeat your opponent tomorrow."

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Crono. "We've been training so much. Frog should easily be able to take down Riku."

"Don't be so sure," Magus warned them. "Riku commands the powers of darkness, and while he has refused to allow them to fully corrupt his mind, they have left their mark upon his twisted heart. No longer is he afraid to use those powers to their full potential."

"I have fought against dark beings and won before, wizard!" Frog snapped. "And I will do it again!"

"You're angry…good…" Magus sneered. "You better hold on to that emotion, because that will be the only way for you to defeat him. Use your thirst for revenge that you so hunger to unleash on me and cut it loose. Spare your opponents no mercy. Only then may we come face-to-face." Magus left before Frog or Crono could react to this statement, his red cape billowing in the cool night breeze.

"Dost thou think'th he is right, Sir Crono?" wondered Frog.

"Who cares?" replied Crono. "Like I said before, you'll beat him just fine. All you have to do is use those new sword techniques we practiced and the match'll be over before you know it. Besides, you also have that badge I gave you. It's your secret weapon."

"I do hope thou ist correct," sighed Frog. "Verily much so."

------

"Riku's gonna show this guy who's boss," said Sora, squirming in the stands. "Back on our island, sometimes he would even beat me, so you know he has to be good."

"Relax, kiddo," Squall said, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. He looked around once or twice to make sure no one had seen Sora's outburst. "The match hasn't even started yet, so you can save your cheering for a little later."

"But I'm just so excited that it's hard to contain myself," Sora smiled, half-apologizing.

"Whatever," Squall sighed. 'Of all the places I chose to sit today…'

The announcer made his introductions and the two combatants rushed out onto the floor. Neither one really cared for the fans as they made their way over to judges' area to report in. Sephiroth glanced at the two of them with a rather lazy look in his eyes.

"You know the drill," Sephiroth said, his voice resoundingly hollow. "The amphibian gets to pick the arena's terrain and the one who reminds me so much of a younger version of myself can pick where he wants to start." He then brought his hand up and flicked the back of it at the two of them, as if trying to shoo the match along faster.

"I wouldst like to now choose thine terrain," Frog proclaimed. "A colossal mountainside that slopes into a thick forest it shall be, if thou pleases."

"Ummmm…that's a bit big. Do you think you could maybe ask for something small…" Cloud started. He was soon interrupted by the stadium's technical operator.

"Sir, although the size would be bigger than anything we've ever done before, our system is indicating that it could still handle this."

"Oh, nevermind then," Cloud said, slumping back into his chair. "False alarm."

This next sight was truly a spectacle as the stadium rumbled along with the vastly changing terrain. A giant mass of rock grew out of the ground. Higher and higher it rose until it halted just below the halfway point of the stands. Trees and other dense foliage sprouted around the base of the mountain, completing obscuring the crowd's view of the floor below.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, it appears that we will have to rely on the cameras that transmit to the Jumobtron in order to see the vast majority of this match. That colossal mountain is going to block out half of the action for some of you and those trees will probably get in the way for the other half. On second thought, why in the world did that silly amphibian pick this environment anyway?"

"It takes advantage of his smaller stature and jumping ability," theorized Riku. "Not like it matters much. I'll take the high ground, Froggy. Come and get me." Riku then scrambled up the rock face to perch comfortably on a little outcropping about halfway up the edifice.

"Thou shouldst be the one to get ready," said Frog, as he moved underneath the trees, already looking for a quick path up to his opponent. He crouched down, tensing his leg muscles in anticipation of the match's start. The amphibian didn't have to wait long, though, as the announcer suddenly gave the two contestants the go-ahead with a loud bang.

'Now where is he?' wondered Riku, clutching his blade, the Soul Eater, close to his body. 'I do have the advantage in that he has to come to me, but I'm not one to sit around here waiting.'

Riku was brought back to reality, though, when an impossibly long tongue shot out at him. It moved so fast that he barely had any time at all to dodge. The tongue wrapped around a few rocks and then retracted almost as fast as it unfurled. Riku heard a spitting sound and then saw the red thing fire at him once again. He was ready this time, though, as he stepped to the side and brought the hilt of the Soul Eater down on the appendage with all his might.

"Ouch!" he heard a voice yell from down below, as Frog had finally revealed his position.

"Come join me up here!" Riku called out. "The view is great!"

"Hold thine tongue!" Frog yelled back.

"No, that's what you should be doing," Riku teased. "I have no idea where that thing's been."

Flustered at the callous tone of the young man, Frog spurned himself into action. Using his rippling leg muscles, he began rebounding off the tree trunks until he was on top of the foliage. Riku began chucking a few rocks at the knight, but these were easily parried with his sword. Tired of this waiting game, Frog propelled himself into the air, landing about three arm lengths away from his opponent.

"Time to get this fight started," Riku said. "No more tricks." He then rushed at Frog with his unique keyblade.

Frog blocked every one of Riku's wild slashes with ease. He then began pressing his own attack, hopping and slashing about with controlled movements. Riku tried his best to fend off the blows, but he was severely outclassed. It wasn't long before he took a hit to the head from the flat of Frog's sword.

"Ugh…" he groaned, falling down.

'That was too easy,' thought Frog, creeping up on Riku ever so slowly. He made sure not to let his guard down, though. This caution went well-rewarded as Riku's arm muscles suddenly tensed. He fired his body like a missile at his opponent, feet first. Frog moved to the side just in time as Riku's feet missed his midsection by mere centimeters. Congratulating himself for his evasive action, Frog was slammed from the side by the Soul Eater.

"What?" Frog cried, as he began tumbling a little ways down the mountain. He grabbed on to the rocks quickly and halted his fall.

"My feet were a distraction," Riku explained. "That way I could smash you with my keyblade. Seems it worked, as I won first blood."

Frog licked the top of his head and was surprised to find a trickle of red liquid coming out from a lone cut up there. He just glared at Riku, angry at having been taken advantage of by such a simple ploy. Raising his arms out, he began to gather magical power from within his body.

"Taking a swan dive?" Riku asked. The amphibian said nothing, though, as energy focused within his mouth. Taking a big breath, he exhaled, and out erupted five shots of concentrated water.

Riku rolled to the right, as two water bolts smashed into the rock face where he had been moments earlier. Sensing that there was more coming, he quickly sidestepped back toward the left, avoiding another two Unfortunately he couldn't evade all of his opponent's attacks, as the final stream pounded into his chest, knocking him against the mountain's side.

"Magic," Riku observed through clenched teeth. "I thought you were just a swordsman…"

"There is more to me than meets the eye," Frog explained. He then raised his hands up again, gathering energy for another spell.

"Forget this," Riku spat. "Time for me to tap into my darker powers." Riku jumped into the air and suddenly transformed, purposefully willing his tainted heart to the surface. He touched down to the ground with a more menacing look in his eyes, as dark aura now surrounding his body.

Frog paid this new look no mind as he simply fired another barrage of water jets. Rather than try to dodge them this time, Riku merely lifted up his Soul Eater. With a blur of motion, he deflected the projectiles away, except for the last one. Not even worried, he flicked his wrist at it, halting the water's progress.

The water stream seemed to float motionless in the air for a second or two before moving once again. This time, however, it was flying toward Frog instead of at its previous target. The amphibian quickly leapt into the air, shocked that his own move had been turned against him.

'He freely control'th the dark,' Frog thought, 'and with it, all its powers and tricks. I must stay on the defensive lest an attack be the end of me.'

Riku said nothing, though, as his held his hand out in front of him once again. He let dark energy gather in his palm until it was the size of a toy globe. Satisfied that it had built up to a sufficient amount, he released his power in the form of three dark fireballs. Although none of them had been aimed at Frog, the trio quickly homed in on the knight's location, warping the air around them as they flew to their destination.

'I can destroy'th simple fire,' Frog laughed to himself. He summoned his own magic once again and fired mighty jets of water at the dark fireballs. Instead of putting the fire out, the water simply evaporated as it came into contact with the flames. Apparently this fire was stronger than the amphibian had originally thought.

The first fireball slammed into Frog's shoulder, causing it to go numb with pain. Rather than burn into him, however, it simply felt as if an invisible force was hitting Frog with a gigantic bat. The second one knocked his legs out from under him, leaving him lying completely vulnerable on his back. The final projectile barreled into his midsection, thrusting him against the mountain with such force that the whole rock began to shake.

"What the…?" Riku began, as little rocks began to slowly slide down the mountainside. The stones began to pick up in intensity, rolling faster and faster. It was beginning to become very hard to stand as Riku's footing began shifting around uncontrollably. And then it dawned on him. "Avalanche!"

Riku tried to run from the wave of rocks, but it was no use. The sedimentaceous materials were pelting against his body with increasing force and he could barely stand. There was no way to fight this cascade and get to safety.

'Can't move against it," Riku resigned himself to this conclusion. 'But then again…maybe I can move WITH it.'

He desperately searched the avalanche for a vantage point. As if some higher authority had suddenly answered his prayers, Riku immediately spied a large rock tumbling down the mountain. He launched himself into the air toward it but his jump fell just a little short. Calling upon the darkness even more, the crowd was astonished to see Riku calmly jump once again in mid-air, to successfully land on top of the boulder and out of the main flow of the avalanche's rocks.

"Time to bring'th you down!" shouted Frog, as he too leaped into the air. Whereas Riku had covered a lot of distance horizontally with his jump. Frog traveled almost totally vertically. His momentum slowing as he reached his jump's zenith, Frog stalled in the air for a moment before pointing his sword down and aiming himself directly at his opponent.

Riku backflipped off his rock just in time to see Frog's sword cleave the huge boulder in two. Improvising, he planted his feet down on two smaller rocks, still moving along with the avalanche's momentum. Crouching down to change his center of gravity to a more favorable one, Riku increased his slide and glided right over to Frog, Soul Eater leading the way.

Frog simply fanned his arms out, never letting his adversary leave his sight. Just when Riku was about to connect, Frog brought up his own sword to block the powerful strike. As his body glowed with mystical energy Frog placed his feet on Riku's chest and pushed off, propelling himself back down to the trees below.

"What the…?" Riku wondered, but his unfinished question was soon answered as he felt a few trickles of water brush against the back of his neck. He looked behind him only to find that Frog had called upon a wave of water to mix with the already falling rocks, causing a cascade of mud to form. Riku could only brace himself for the impact as the mud wall slammed into the youth, hurtling him down to the ground below.

"No…no…he can't be gone!" Sora yelled to anyone around who was willing to listen. He refused to believe that his friend could be beaten this easily.

Frog had grabbed on to a tree branch and was searching the ground for any signs of movement. After a minute or two of scanning, he could find no life below. Satisfied that the match was indeed over, Frog jumped down, only to be hit in his already sore abdomen from a dark keyblade.

"Yeah, Riku! Keep it up! I knew that Frog guy couldn't beat you like that!" Sora cheered.

"Hey, Auron, do you hear that?" a bubbly blonde girl asked the swordsman she was sitting next to. "It seems that I already have some fans here!"

Auron was about to open his mouth to tell the young girl that the voice did not support her, but he quickly thought better of it. 'Let her think what she wants. But if she tries to run down there and fight because "her match is up" I'll definitely stop her.'

Beaming at the crowd, Rikku began jumping around like a fool, hoping people would shower her with even more unexpected praise.

Riku was bruised, battered, and covered in mud, yet, as a testament to his strength, still standing. His breathing now came to him in labored gasps, but he refused to give in to his fatigue or battle injuries. In addition to the pain the mud avalanche had brought him, he also had relied too much upon the power of darkness and it was beginning to take its toll on his mind and body. Already he could feel Ansem banging from within his heart, begging to be released.

'If it wasn't for my powers, I'd be a goner. Still, I need to end this fast or else I could unleash something a lot uglier than originally intended.' Summoning all the power he had left, Riku jumped into the air and poured everything he had into the dark aura surrounding him. It began to grow and warp until it had covered the entire battlefield.

Frog didn't know what to think of this new development. It was a blanket of darkness, and yet, he could still see within it just fine. He stared at his opponent, waiting for him to make his next move. Riku merely floated in the air with a serene look on his face. And then he vanished.

'Where…?' Frog thought, but that question was immediately answered for him as Riku materialized right next to him and slammed his keyblade into the knight's sternum. Frog slashed out in retaliation but was unable to sink his sword into anything solid. Riku had teleported behind Frog and thrust the Soul Eater at the amphibian once again. Frog could do nothing but let this onslaught finish as Riku hit him four more times. Finally, the white-haired boy plunged his keyblade into Frog's chest, piercing his heart with waves of darkness.

Clutching his chest in alarm, Frog tried to stem the flow of blood that he knew would be pouring out in buckets as he formed a healing spell in his mind. To his astonishment, there were no visible wounds on his chest. And yet, his heart ached and throbbed, causing Frog to scream in agony.

Still not finished, Riku flipped backwards and planted his keyblade into the ground. Spinning around in a clockwise rotation, dark pillars began to form underneath Frog's feet. With no chance to escape to safety, Frog just looked away as the dark energy was unleashed, erupting upon him like a thousand suns.

"There…it's…it's over," Riku breathed, his final attack complete. He was totally drained. He could tap into the darkness once more, but do so would almost ensure that Ansem would be released from the prison that now contained him, as he was too exhausted to keep the man at bay any longer.

Riku slumped down on the ground next to the amphibian as he felt a blinding flash of pain in his sword arm. He looked over to the find the source. It was then that he saw that Frog's sword had been thrust through his bicep.

"I'm sorry, Sir Riku," Frog apologized, feeling the revitalizing power of his cure spell washing over his body. "Thou hast fought bravely, but I must end this fight." Riku, no longer willing to risk tapping into his dark power, clumsily slashed at the knight with his non-dominant hand.

Frog didn't even try to block the blow or move to the side. Instead, he rubbed the badge that Crono had given him, proudly displayed over his breast. Calling upon the magical energy that had been stored inside of there, he directed the powerful electric surge into his sword, which was still stuck within Riku's arm.

"AAAAGGGHHHH!" Riku cried out, as his hair stood on end, pain erupting through every fiber of his being. The lightning being too much for his already weakened form to handle, Riku dropped to the ground and closed his eyes. Bending over his worthy adversary, Frog pulled out his sword, barely suppressing an evil grin.

'Why shouldst I be feeling so happy about this?' wondered Frog. 'Almost as if I take pleasure in the suffering of others. How very peculiar…'

Frog was unable to comment on this anymore, though, as his thoughts were drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Cloud had been about to come out on the field and congratulate him, but he suddenly stopped, displaying a confused look on his face.

"I will never understand'th that man," Frog shook his head, as he made his own way over to the stadium's locker room.