Hey everybody, here's the third chapter. I don't really have much to say here, so on to teh disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except Steel. Wait, I own something? Yes! Anyway, on to the story!
Riku, save your energy. Don't fight the pain, it will only weaken you.
"Who's there?" Riku couldn't see a thing in the darkness.
You know me as the Riku Replica.
"Why do you keep helping me? I'm the one who killed you, right?" Riku still couldn't see a thing.
You have been chosen. I have been assigned to help you get there.
"Are you sure your not Diz? Or Ansem maybe?" Riku's mind was tired enough without having to decipher what this guy was saying.
Ansem is the reason that Sephiroth hurt you so much. Diz is the reason Sephiroth hurt you. I am the reason you survived.
"Ok, well can you answer some questions? Like why Sora's going to die in two weeks?"
If Namine goes for two weeks without beginning to fix his memories, they will try to fix themselves. To avoid the resulting confusion, Sora's brain will shut down. Without his brain, the rest of his body will shut down.
"Ok, how about why Sephiroth kidnapped her in the first place?"
We don't have time to finish this conversation. For now, you must wake up. Sephiroth has gone to wonderland, so that will be your next destination.
Riku woke up with a start. Once again he wasn't quite sure if it was just a dream or if he had really talked to the other Riku, but he decided that if it worked last time, it should work again.
He sat up, and looked around. He was still in the cave that he had found Namine in, but something seemed strange to him. He shook his head and tried to think about what had happened last. He remembered hearing Sephiroth's voice, then Namine's, and then Sephiroth had hit him in the back… and then it hit him. He was still alive. He had been expecting death, or at least being held captive by Sephiroth so that he wouldn't try and free Namine again. Yet here he was, alive, still free, not even hurting from the slash.
Guess I should go to wonderland now. Riku got to his feet and began walking to the exit. The water felt good as he jumped in, and it woke him up a little. He swam back to the third district and began to open the Twilight Road. But then he sensed something that made him stop. There was another portal for the road opening somewhere in the first district. Riku decided to check it out, since the only other person he knew that could get there was Diz.
Riku was just about to open the door to the first district when it began to open by itself. Riku immediately found some shadows and hid in them. As soon as the doors were open enough for someone to slip through, a boy that couldn't have been much older than Riku slid through the doors and pushed them closed. His clothes were completely black, giving him the appearance of an assassin. He wore a black cloak, ragged pants and a shirt that looked like the sleeves had been cut off by a dull knife. There was only one problem with his assassin look. He had blonde hair. Not dirty blonde, but completely blonde. He also had blue eyes, but they were cold, like the boy had killed more people than Sora had heartless, but that might have been exaggerating.
The blonde kid looked around before walking across the square to the door that led to Merlin's place. He stopped again, turned around and looked at the door that led to the first district. His gaze swept across the square again, landing on exactly where Riku was. Riku thought about revealing himself, but something held him back. Finding nothing, the boy walked through the door and into the chamber that held the under ground lake.
Riku waited for a few seconds before deciding that it was safe to come out. He opened the portal to the Twilight Road and stepped through.
Steel looked around the cavern he had just entered. He could tell that Namine had been here, but he also sensed that there were two powerful, dark beings that were with her. He stepped forward and dipped his hand in the water. When he pulled it out, he drew one of his daggers and let a drop fall on the blade. The blade glowed with dark energy, but then returned to normal.
"So one of her dark captors can swim. Let's find out where he went while he was in the water." Steel then stuck the blade into the dark water and waited. A few seconds later a path glowing with dark energy appeared, showing exactly where Riku had gone in the water.
Steel followed the path and came to the cave. His knife could tell that all three of them had been here at the same time, though it was a short period. The one that could swim was left behind while the more powerful captor left with Namine. After waiting for a few hours the other one had left, swimming back to the town. Steel followed this trail as well, watching the trail the creature had taken, almost the exact same as the first trail. He didn't mind the fact that he had just swam to the cave and back for apparently no reason. After all, now he knew a tactic they were likely to use in most of the other worlds they went to. While one would leave with the captive, the other would stay behind to take care of anybody who was following. It was a tactic Steel had seen many times before, and one that he could use to his advantage.
"Don't worry Namine, I won't let you down this time."
Wonderland. The insane world where everything is messed up even without the heartless. The world that is ruled by a self-centered, fat, lazy, and annoying tyrant. Riku hated this place. It was so distorted that only a fat cat with pink and purple fur could navigate it easily. Not to mention it smelled like his aunt's horrible perfume, which made Riku choke every time she wore it.
"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!" A white rabbit ran by as fast as he could, holding a pocket watch where everybody could see. Riku promptly tripped him and stuck him to a wall with a very slow darkness portal that would disappear before the rabbit even got close to getting through, but that wouldn't be for another hour at least.
"Ok, now that your calmed down, have you seen a man with a black cape taking a blonde girl somewhere?" Riku asked calmly, despite the rabbit yelling something incoherent.
The rabbit glared at him before answering. "Yes, and he did the same thing you did and made me late. If you're looking for him, then ask the Cheshire cat. He should know where that man went."
"Thank you, but I can't reverse that, so you might as well just sit still. If it doesn't think there is anything there, it'll let you go." Riku walked off and was extremely amused that the rabbit didn't take his advice.
He walked into the next room, the room with the doorknob. "Hey, doorknob, where's the bottles? I need to grow small." Riku knocked on the door to wake it up.
"Huh, wha? Oh, right, the bottles. They're right over there." The door yawned as he said this, and the table with the bottles grew out of the ground.
"Thanks." Riku drank one of the bottles and began to shrink. He stopped when he was about three inches tall, and walked over to the hole in the wall that led to the queen's castle. He hated this castle more than any other place in the whole world. Those annoying cards attacked him on sight. But this was the only way to get to the forest, so he had to endure it. At least he could sink into the shadows.
When he got to the courtyard, he was met by a welcoming sight. Sephiroth had burned the whole place to the ground! Riku made a mental note to thank him next time he saw him.
He quickly went into the forest, wondering where the Cheshire cat was and who would get blamed for the fire. With Riku's luck, it would probably be him. He looked around, trying to decide where to look first for the Cheshire cat.
"Who are you looking for? Do you know the answer?" Riku didn't even turn around, figuring that if he didn't look at the Cheshire cat he would stay long enough for his questions to be answered.
"A girl named Namine." Riku wasn't sure how long he could play the cat's game, but he would do it as long as he could.
"Then, why are you asking about a man named Sephiroth?"
"Because he kidnapped Namine." Riku was reminded of the mind games Diz forced him to play.
"Well, I know where both of them are, as well as your enemy."
"I don't need your help to find them. It won't take me long, I just have to look." Riku figured that if he didn't ask the cat, then he would tell without realizing it.
"You'll never find them. Your friend needed my help to find this spot, and he had two others helping him." Riku turned around and saw the cat's head turning circles around his shoulders.
"My friend is a dimwit that couldn't find a haystack if he threw the needle in it. Besides, I already know where Sephiroth and Namine are." One last trick to try before he killed the cat.
"And where is that? Behind you? Or maybe behind me? Still in the castle, perhaps?" Riku picked up a clue that he never would have even thought was there if Diz hadn't been training him to do this.
Riku whirled around and pulled out the Soul Eater just in time to stop Sephiroth from killing him.
"I see Diz has taught you how to play word games. Tell me, has he also taught you how to dodge attacks without moving? Or how to redirect magic? If not, then you are doomed." As he said this, Sephiroth disappeared from in front of Riku and reappeared behind him, trying to hit him again.
Riku, expecting this, turned around, guided Sephiroth's sword towards the ground and jumped over the blade. He then came in to attack only to find Sephiroth blocking his sword.
"Hm, impressive. How about you do that to this?" Sephiroth asked just before he teleported.
Riku turned around, expecting another blow, but instead saw him casting a spell. Riku ran towards him, but half way there all of his strength drained. He collapsed at Sephiroth's feet, waiting for the fatal blow to fall.
"It is set up, master." Axel dared not look up, afraid he might anger the person he was bowing to. "If Sephiroth does not do it, then the assassin certainly will. It won't fail this time."
"For your sake, it had better not."
Ooooh, who is axel serving? Well, I don't know yet, but I will next chapter!
Oh yeah, and thanks for the reviews Metal Chopsticks. That's one of the reasons, but there are more. And no, I'm not a big fan of that pairing. I just needed a reason for her to help him.
And for everybody else, R&R! If there is something you don't like about my story, I can't fix it unless you tell me about it! I will return tomorrow! Maybe.