Disclaimer: KH is not mine. Riku, no matter how many times I beg and plead the Powers That Be, is not mine either.

^ - ^

Yes, I know, after months of nothing, you'd think I'd have something a lot longer to show for it. Blerk. I was dead. Now I live! Haha! Anyways, lets see what I have to say about this chapter.

1: Keep in mind, all this is in Hollow Bastion. Not much exploring, more of a backdrop, yeah?

2: Reccurring themes. Oooo…

3: Can Sasha use the Masamune? Why is it with her? Where is Sephiroth? At least one question will be answered…

4: You will all be going: What the hell is up with Riku and why is it going on?! Do not worry, it will all be explained, although I do believe you are all smart little puppies and kittens and will figure it out on your own.

5: I really like numbering this stuff…

6: Enjoy. ^ - ^

7: Wheee…

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Chapter 11

            Riku stood in the hallway, staring into space thoughtfully. Over the past few days he'd had a lot of time for that. When Sasha and him appeared in Hallow Bastion, it was in a dark and seemingly unoccupied castle that they found themselves. A small heartless had timidly approached Riku, handing him a small envelope. Its contents revealed that Maleficent had gone off to attend to pressing matters, with no mention of when she would return. This was all for the best, Riku thought. The sorceress hadn't taken kindly to Sasha's rejection of her offer, and news that the girl was in her castle wouldn't go over well with her.

            As for Sasha; Riku sighed and looked back down the hallway. Although she'd thanked him for getting her out of the quickly disintegrating coliseum, she'd taken to disappearing periodically. Every now and then he'd run into her in one of the hallways, or maybe in the library, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that she was avoiding him. He turned away thoughts of going out to search her, although he desperately wanted to. The castle was strangely silent, even the heartless were subdued, and with all the silence came waves of loneliness. He didn't like the feeling, didn't like the way it crept up on him and made him shiver as he looked over his shoulder. The loneliness made him more aware of things that he didn't want to be aware of, the silence made him hear things he didn't want to hear.

            His eyes narrowed, and his jaw set defiantly. No, he wouldn't stand there and let it reach him again, he wouldn't. He set off in a direction, he didn't know which, or where it led, as long as it led away from where he was. For a moment he felt like creating a portal to somewhere else, somewhere far from this place, but the knowledge of what Maleficent would do if she found out was enough to dissuade him from that track.

            Besides, leaving Sasha alone in the castle, with heartless everywhere and Maleficent sure to return, was as good as murdering her. And he wasn't going to let anyone get hurt just because he decided he wanted to run away.

            And letting your friends get lost while you traveled through the worlds isn't as bad?

            Riku stopped, turned around quickly. His eyes grew shadowed as he started down the hallway again.

            "No, no. I didn't let them get lost… I tried to find them…" Riku muttered as he walked on, hoping, praying to whatever god there was that it wouldn't reply, wouldn't return.

            Right, right…all your searching, and what do you have to show for it? You left them, lost them…

            "I didn't.            " Riku gritted his teeth. His fists clenched as he slowed, stopped.

            Yes, you're right, you know… They're the ones who left you…

            "Yeah… yeah… it's their fault…" Riku started walking again. "Their fault."

            Do you really believe that? Do you, honestly? If I recall correctly, it was you who chose the dark road that led you away from them…

            "Only because…" Riku paused, reaching the end of the hallway, his voice growing soft. "Only because they would've eventually left me…"

            Yes, they would have. And even when you were gone, are they looking for you?

            "No."

            No. You must be the one who travels the worlds. You must be the one who travels the dark roads, all to find them…

            And how do you know that they aren't out there looking for you?

            "They're not." Riku said firmly. "Even Sora, after I left, he didn't come looking for me."

            But he was happy to see you, happy…

            Happy that he wasn't alone. As soon as he'd find Kairi he'd leave again…

            A noise from his left interrupted the arguing voices, and he turned to see the door from the lifts opening. Sasha stepped out from behind it, looking a little tired. She noticed him and that wary look flashed through her eyes, though she tried to hide it.

            "Hi…" She managed as the door swung shut, her wings giving a tiny, uncertain flutter.

            "Hi." Riku said, feeling them retreat somewhere, glowering out at her from the back of his mind. He wondered, did she feel them? Was that why she kept away so much? "Where're you headed?"

            "Library." She answered quickly, a little too quickly actually. Her eyes flickered again, but it wasn't nervousness that bothered her now. There was something on her mind.

            "Oh." Riku would have asked if he could go with her, help her with something, anything, just as long as the silence didn't come, just as long as the loneliness stayed far away.

            Sasha was looking at him thoughtfully, biting her lower lip as her thoughts whirred through her mind. He stood there, uncomfortable, not knowing just what she thought, desperately wanting to say something, anything, but not knowing what.

            "Maybe… you can help me," She said, slowly, carefully.

            "Sure." He replied, trying to hide the sudden happiness that rushed through him. Anything, even sitting in the dusty library, looking through the yellowed pages, as long as he was with someone, as long as he wasn't alone, as long as he could, but for a moment, chase away the cold that was threatening to swallow him.

            They started down the hallway to the library, walking a few feet apart and looking at nothing specific. The silence grew, and although there was the sharp twinge of uncertainty in it, it wasn't as bad as the silence that came when the hallways were empty and the only sound the rush of blood in veins and the pounding of a heart in a chest.

            Sasha watched the floor as she walked. There wasn't anything spectacular about it, but it was better than looking up and risking looking into his eyes and seeing what she didn't want to see, even if it wasn't really there. She couldn't shake the feeling, the sense that she had first gotten in the picture hole. Ever since then it had only been growing, and all she could feel was this urgency, this extreme fight-or-flight effect. She had tried to tell herself it was just the stress of the situation, but it wasn't working.

Adding to it was the fact that she couldn't get to sleep most nights, but sat in her bed, staring at the covered blade that leaned in the far corner of the room. She'd tried pulling the Masamune out, just once, just to see if it would work. No matter how she tried, or what she did, the blade wouldn't budge. It was strange, too, the way it got lighter each day it was by her, even if she hadn't touched it at all. Each time she lifted it the weight grew less and less. It was strange, and it disturbed her for some reason. This wasn't right, she knew. The Masamune didn't belong to her, and no matter whether it was for safekeeping or not, the sword was beginning to scare her.

            Of course, ever since the Coliseum, everything was scaring her.

            "What are you going to look up?" Riku asked suddenly, just as they were nearing the library doors.

            "Hm…?" Sasha looked up, brought out of her thoughts. "Oh, I just wanted to see if there was anything about talismans in there…"

            "What for?" Riku said, pushing the door open and letting her go first.

            Sasha stayed silent for a moment, looking around the bookshelves critically. Riku walked up next to her, looking around, then back at her.

            "The pieces that The Three in Wonderland had… they formed a talisman." Sasha said, walking forward and looking at the books. "Sephiroth had reformed it, but it wouldn't work… or at least that's what he told me."

            "Where is it now?" Riku asked, moving to the table that stood underneath the staircase. There were some papers on it, scattered about.

            "I don't know, Limbo, probably, or with Sephiroth, wherever he is…" Sasha's eyes grew shadowed. "I don't know. I just… I need to know…I need to…"

            She didn't finish her sentence. She was reading the titles of the books feverishly now. She just needed to do something, anything. Anything to keep her mind from falling into the black pit she saw so often in her dreams. The black pit and the darker mirror, looking more like a portal into eternal pain than framed glass. She didn't know why but the figure in the mirror was haunting her thoughts now, the yellow, almond shaped orbs glowing so brightly in her mind that she thought she could see them in the shadows of her room.      

            Lighting all the candles in the room before she went to sleep didn't help much.

            She pulled a book off the shelf, leafed through it rapidly before setting it back and picking another one. Riku looked at her once, then turned back to the papers on the table. They were scrawled on with ink, words he couldn't quite make sense of. They were ragged letters, more scratched into the paper than onto it. He wanted to turn away, finding no sense in looking at them anymore, but he found he couldn't move. There was a sudden pressure building in the back of his mind, a sudden force pushing forward in his senses. He stared, unable to close his eyes, as the letters on the paper shuddered, as the lines began to bend, rearrange. As the words began to make sense…

            There was a crash, a metallic clang that ripped him away from the papers. Blinking, he looked warily at them, but they looked as they had before; scratched, scrawled, nonsensical. He turned to find Sasha sitting on top of one bookcase, her wings half opened, looking straggled. She looked morosely down at a book that she had no doubt flown up there to get and dropped.

            "What…" Riku started, still wondering where the metal sound had come from, then noticed the book.

            It was quite large, three feet long and two feet wide, and made entirely of a dark gray, metallic material, archaic runes punched into its front. There was a large lock on its side, a lock like he'd never seen before. Instead of one keyhole it had many, thirteen, he counted. It was decorated with a series of spikes that flattened out into feathers, glistening sharply in the lamplight.

            He turned to look at her again, startled to see a single tear drip silently down her cheek.

            "Arithrian." She pushed herself off the top of the bookshelf and landed next to the book. "Its Arithrian. So it wasn't all destroyed…"

            "Is… is that from your world?" Riku asked haltingly. Sasha nodded, and kneeled down next to the book. He walked over and crouched down, looking at the book closely. "How do you open it?"

            Sasha answered him with a wry grin, then reached out and started pulling feathers out of her wings. Riku, shocked by what she was doing, watched as she counted out the feathers, some of them stained with blood at the ends. She took them and fitted them into the holes in the lock, then gathered them in her hand and twisted.

            The lock gave an aggravated screech, but moved. As it turned, threads of blue magic began stretching themselves out of the holes that the feathers were in and surged up them. The magic threads consumed the feathers, and once they faded away the threads spread out over the cover. Each rune they touched began to glow, until the cover shone brightly. There was an almost inaudible hiss, and the lock parted into sharp angles and released its hold. The parts that had made up the lock fell back into skillfully hidden recesses, and the bright blue light faded until only the runes themselves shone softly.

            "That was interesting." Riku said breathlessly. He'd seen much magic performed in Hollow Bastion, more than he had ever wanted, but none had been so delicate, so soft, so nice.

            "Yeah, well, if someone used anything other than an Arithrian's wing feathers to open it, the threads would have formed into a dragon and eaten them." Sasha said, pulling the book closer to her and lifting the cover slowly. "Standard for a book like this."

            "And what kind of book is this?" Riku asked, eyeing it warily now that he'd learned that it hadn't been as nice as he'd thought.

            "A magic book." Sasha said. She peered at the page in front of her for a moment, then let out an groan. "And it's written in archaic Algin."

            "Is… that a problem?" Riku asked, looking over at the page. It was covered with columns of twisting shapes, drawn in deep blue ink.

            "Not really… we all learn to read archaic Algin in the schools, but it was never my best subject…" Sasha said, adding under her breath. "Nothing really was…"

            "Hm… But you can read it, right?" Riku looked at her as she closed the cover.

            "Yes. But it'll take a while." Sasha picked up the book and stood up wearily. "I'm going to go to my room, I need to get some sleep."

            "Oh… okay…" Riku said, standing up.

            "You should go get some sleep too, you look like you need it." Sasha said, giving him a scrutinizing look.

            "Thanks." He said with a half-grin. She smiled tiredly and they walked out

            Sasha sat on her bed, hunched over the book. The bedside candle flickered, casting quickly shuddering light over the pages. There were more candles on the floor surrounding the bed and on the windowsill. She had her axe and the Masamune strapped to her back, not really knowing if it was because all those candles took up too much room or because the crazy thoughts in her mind were telling her that the mirror-shadow would use them against her.

            The runes on the pages were hard to decipher, for the most part. Tiredness and dim lighting made her eyes blur them, but she couldn't stop. She was getting to the point where she actually understood them, understood the message they were presenting.

            "Calling the truth. Calling… the wind. Calling the… the… gods. Calling… calling home." She frowned, the words running through her head. "Calling the truth. Calling the wind. Calling the gods. Calling home."

            The runes on the page began to shine. The light from the candles dimmed, disappeared as they grew brighter and brighter…

            Riku walked forlornly down the hallway. He'd tried to sleep but he couldn't relax. Each time he closed his eyes they were there. They were waiting. He hadn't been able to get past them, and now he'd given up trying to sleep.

            There was a light ahead of him, glowing brighter and brighter, and he quickened his pace. He didn't know what made the shine, but it looked somewhat familiar.

            A sudden blast dropped him to the ground, and a sound like a thousand winds roared past him. It was a long moment before he was able to stand up again, and even then the floor still shuddered. He hurried down the hallway, at a jog first, then a run. As he grew closer to the origin of the blast he began finding fragments on the floor. Stooping down to check them, he realized they were wax, un-melted, shattered wax.

            He stood up and took off again, and reached Sasha's door out of breath. He picked his way among a few fallen stones and the broken door and made his way into the room.

            Darkness was around him, then something flickered.

            The candle on the bedside table had survived the assault, and it flickered bravely to life, shedding light on what remained of the room.

            See…

            He didn't want to see. He didn't want to see the empty room, empty floor, empty bed, empty everything.

            You left her for just a moment…

            He hadn't wanted to. He hadn't wanted to.

            And now…

            He heard them merge, as if they were something more than disembodied voices.

            And now… you're alone.

            The voice was stronger now, two-toned and dangerous.

            All alone… with me.

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First off, thanks to:

Ari Powwel

Slinkster Sunshine

Magic Blue Fire Kitsune (Boy, your name got long. ^ - ^)

Sorry for no written out thankses… just know that I really really appreciate you guys and your reviews. It's always great to have reviewers that honestly review a story and come back to read more. Your inputs are always appreciated. You guys are awesome; if I could I'd send you all cookies. Really. And maybe some ice cream too.

Hope all the readers enjoyed this. I will be trying to put up chapters every other week now. Hope. Keep your fingers crossed that I do it. Flame me if I go over fourteen days without a new chap, it should help! *grins*

Sora is coming in the next chapter. Yes, and he will not be an idiot. Because Sora is adorable, and in that one picture, yes he looks like a pretty boy very very much. (aw, pretty Sora!) Erhm, yeah, so Sora is coming.

I will post, at the very very end, a detailed description of any and all symbolism and tricky stuff in the fic. Just cause.

I might as well tell you now; there are three in-between sequels in my plans, as well as the 'true' sequel. The three will be an in-between for this fic and the 'true' sequel, and they will focus on Sora, Riku, and Sasha. And, I'd have one with Kairi, but I really and truly do not know what to write and, I'm sorry, but she isn't featured much in my fics. I don't hate her, honestly, I just don't write her. Anyways, they will happen, and the answers to some hanging questions will be in them. *nudge* One will have to do with that album Sephy was looking at… ^ - ^

I'm off for now, then. Hope you had a good time and I'll be back with another chap soon.
Hopefully.