Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters – they belong to Square and Disney.
Stare Into The Abyss – Chapter Eighteen
The area was coated with the same intense light, as it spread out across the floor beneath their feet. The blue aura circled, growing brighter as it seemed to gather speed, before swallowing them. For the second time, Axel found himself nearly blinded by the intense glow.
Whatever Riku was doing, it was the same as before, only on a lesser scale. It didn't seem as powerful, or to cover as large an area. Axel was starting to realize that what he'd suspect earlier might be right. Just how Riku was able to do this…
As the light faded, it revealed that same place he'd found himself before. The orb was still sat in the middle of the circular "room", but now it was rotating madly, black and dark purple wisps gathering near it. The whole area wasn't throbbing with such brightness anymore, the radiant hue having faded, tinged by dull grey.
What happened here?
Axel's gaze drifted back to the "floor" beneath him. The path from earlier was wavering making it even more disorientating than before. Alongside him, Sora moved to take a step forward, and the ground shifted, the path seeming to plunge downwards at an impossibly steep angle. Sora yelped and stumbled backwards.
"Now you've taken a look, can we leave?" Axel asked.
Before Sora could respond, Riku walked past them both, the floor bending and warping under him. He didn't appear fazed by it, still continuing to walk normally as it sloped and curled away from his feet.
"Show off." Axel muttered.
"I think… it's ok if you don't look at it." Sora lifted his eyes from the floor and focused on Riku's back instead, as he followed him.
Axel stayed where he was. He had no intention of wandering around this place anymore than he had to. Let them do the looking.
But he wasn't alone. While Sora slowly disappeared around the opposite side of the orb, Riku stood still, just ahead of Axel. He turned around to face him, that arrogant smirk that Axel was starting to hate, spreading across his face. "Having fun, Axel?"
"So, just how did you bring us here Riku?" He didn't give him a chance to reply. "Or maybe I already know. You did it through him, didn't you?" Riku's smirk dropped, replaced by an irritated scowl. "That's how you know about who I was too, right?"
The boy's hand curled at his side, twitching. "You should learn to keep quiet, Axel." While his voice was flat, there was an unmistakable dangerous edge to it.
From his reaction, Axel knew that he was right. While the Ansem "inside" of Riku was growing stronger, it was opening up an entirely new connection to the other one, his former Superior. A link, that was possibly similar to that Sora shared with his NEO. "What? Don't like the fact I know how you're pulling off all your new tricks?" He taunted, a small grin appearing. He was enjoying wiping the smug look off Riku's face…
…Maybe a little too much.
He didn't see the flash of the blade in Riku's hand as he sprang forward. The Soul Eater swung towards him, giving him barely enough time to step to the side and avoid it. Axel took hold of his own weapons, ready to defend himself.
"Maybe you'd like to see just what new tricks I have learned Axel."
He isn't very happy… But at least this gives you a chance to get rid of him, right?
Riku leaped forward again, swinging the blade with incredible force. Axel blocked the blows as he began backing up. The room around them began swimming, tilting and rippling with the movement. Taking Sora's earlier advice, Axel fixed his eyes on Riku, trying to ignore everything around them.
Summoning up some flames for an attack of his own, Axel was surprised when they too became distorted in the air. The place was growing even more un-stable than it already was.
Axel tried to strike at Riku, but the boy was fast, dodging out of the way. He stepped away, and it was only as his appearance began to change, Axel noticed what he was doing. Riku's "Dark Mode" – He'd observed him use it plenty back at Castle Oblivion. He didn't feel like being on the receiving end of that right now.
Riku drew the Soul Eater back, ready to lunge forward with it. Axel built up a wall of fire, hoping it would serve as a barrier to at least absorb some of Riku's attack. The entire thing was hazy as the air bent and shifted around it.
Riku seemed to pass straight through it as he surged forward. Axel held up both weapons ready to try and block…
"Stop it!"
The boy froze at the sound of the voice. Sora was standing behind him, keyblade held tightly. "…Riku?"
Riku's grin returned as he met Axel's stare. He brought the Soul Eater up in front of him, turning around slowly. "Have you come to join in, Sora?"
Axel took the chance to attack him from behind while he was distracted, he vaguely heard Sora yelling at him not to, as Riku spread his arms to the side as though gathering something around him. A wave of deep purple exploded around him, throwing Axel and Sora back.
Axel picked himself quickly, but relaxed slightly as he spotted Riku, now reverted back out of his "Dark" phase, crouched on the floor, panting.
Sora climbed carefully to his feet and approached him. Axel wandered over to join him, still keeping hold of his weapons. Riku lifted his head and smiled at them both coldly.
"Did you find anything interesting?" Axel wondered, turning slightly to Sora.
"What?" Sora frowned, but then shook his head slowly. "…No. The darkness is infecting this place too, but I can't do anything. The keyblade didn't work…I think it's already too late to do anything."
"Then can we leave now?"
Sora hesitated a moment before nodding. "Riku?"
The boy glared at Axel. "Going off your little theory Axel, how do you expect me to take you back now?"
"What's he talking about?" Sora demanded.
"It drains you both, doesn't it?" Axel asked, addressing Riku.
"Guess you're stuck here."
Axel reached out, grabbing Riku around the throat. "I don't care what it does to you or him. Take us back."
"Axel!" Sora cried. "If you kill him, we can't go back! Please…"
"I don't have to kill him." Axel placed the edge of one of his weapons beneath Riku's eye. "Do I, Riku?"
"Axel, no!"
Axel ignored him. "Take us back, Riku."
Riku glowered at him, but by the gathering light around them, Axel figured Riku wasn't willing to see if he would follow up on his threat. As the glow faded from around them, they were surrounded by the familiar interior of the Clock Tower. Riku slipped from Axel's hand, his eyes closed.
"Riku!" Sora kneeled beside his friend as Kaze ran over.
"What happened? Is he… dead?"
"No." Sora looked up at Axel, angrily. "But you could have killed him!"
"Shame I didn't." Axel turned to leave the building.
"Where are you going now?"
"For Ansem. The other one. If Riku's like that, he must be at least a bit weaker right now. This is the perfect chance to kill him."
"We can't yet! I can't just leave Riku here…" Sora protested.
"I'll stay and take care of him." Namine offered.
Kaze nodded and looked towards Sora. "Well?"
Reluctantly, Sora left his friend's side. "Thank you Namine. Will you be alright?"
She smiled warmly. "I don't think he'll be up to trying anything. We'll be fine."
Sora's eyes lingered on his friend for a little longer before he and Kaze followed Axel outside. "What did you mean, if Riku's like that, the other should be weaker?" Kaze inquired.
"They're linked. Sort of like you two are. If we can hurry up and find him, this might be easier."
"So, any idea where to start looking?"
Axel sighed. "Not really."
"Wonderful." Kaze snapped. "So by the time we find him, it might not make a difference. We don't even know if he's in this world!"
True. And it's not like we can ask Riku if he knows where he is either…Axel scanned the shadows around the edge of the building, searching for any sign of the one person he thought would be lingering close. But there was nothing. No Number Two waiting. Maybe he'd already found Ansem…
… Maybe he was already dead.
In which case, he isn't going to prove very helpful either.
"…Axel? Just pick a direction. We might as well start looking around the town."
If I was a maniac with a split personality inside someone else… Where would I go?"Back to where it all started..." He glanced around, to get his bearings in the town before setting off, leaving Sora and Kaze to hurry after him.
"Isn't the train station this way?" Kaze pondered. "…Ah! You're going back there?"
"Right." Axel grinned, pleased. Where else would he be? "He'll be there."
That same train again. How many times had he used it recently? Sora watched as the blurred world outside the window passed by them. Would killing this Ansem really solve his problems? It might give them a chance to do something about fixing this world, but what if it really was too late? Axel had said that Ansem had referred to that weird place with the orb as the world's "heart". If the darkness had already spread to there, this world was as good as lost. Just like it's "other side"… And he'd done it.
What about Riku? Would doing this help him?
"Sora?"
He glanced up to see Kaze standing alongside him. He smiled sadly but didn't say anything.
"Don't worry about Riku, Sora. He'll be fine."
"What about this world? Your home?"
"We'll find a way to make everything right again." The confident tone in his voice sounded forced to Sora, but he nodded anyway. "What about Axel?" Kaze asked, his gaze wandering over to the other NEO.
Sora glanced over. Axel was leaning against the wall further down the carriage, arms folded and eyes closed, oddly quiet, for a change. "What about him?"
"You still planning on trying to help him?"
"I don't know. I don't think I can." Sora looked away. "Right now, I don't really care either. I just want to fix this mess, help Riku and get back to my other friends."
Kaze gave a small grin. "I wouldn't let him hear you say that."
The sound of the train grinding to a halt interrupted them both. They exchanged a worried glance before both joining Axel alongside the doors of the train as they slid open. The three of them stepped outside.
Two figures stood outside the building. Ansem and the cloaked Number Two before him, both holding their weapons. If they had been fighting before they arrived, they'd stopped now.
Sora felt Oathkeeper in his hand. Curling his fingers around it, he headed towards them both.
He hoped Axel was right and that Ansem was weaker, drained from his connection to his other half within Riku.
If Axel was wrong, if there was no major difference…
… They were all in a lot of trouble.
Axel was somewhat relieved to see Number Two still alive. He wasn't so pleased to see Ansem still standing in front of him. He made no move to stop him as he walked over, Sora and Kaze following.
"Riku is dead?" Number Two questioned Axel as he arrived, both energy blades held at his sides.
"Nice to see you too. No, not quite…"
"Axel…"
"Don't blame me! You haven't exactly got rid of him either."
"I just arrived."
"Excuses…"
The sight of Ansem's own Soul Eater cutting through the air as he sprang forward silenced them. Axel brought one Wheel up to knock the attack aside and ducked away.
Despite the sudden attack, Axel realized this was a good sign. If he wanted to, Ansem could of probably killed them all on the spot. But he didn't. Which meant he was, somewhat weaker than before. Judging from how quickly he was moving and how powerful the relentless attacks he was piling on Sora were though…not by much.
But they still had a chance. Four of them against him? Surely that was enough.
While Sora was getting driven backwards from the force of the attacks, Number Two was approaching from the side. Kaze had managed to circle around behind him, both keyblades posed, ready to strike as he lunged forward. Axel moved closer, aiming to slash with his own weapons, but he found himself thrown backwards…
… Again. I'm getting tired of people doing that.
The others were scattered as well, picking themselves up from the ground as Ansem observed them all. His gaze settled on Axel. "Do you really want to die before you find out who you were?"
"I won't."
"Far too cocky. You always have been. How about I make you an offer? Just you fight me. Just you, and if you win, I'll tell you exactly how to achieve what you want."
What kind of an offer was that?
One that comes from someone who knows they don't stand a chance when they're this outnumbered…
Axel knew he should turn him down. With the other three, they could win. Alone? No, he'd be stupid to even try…
… But it was tempting.
"What if I don't win?"
"I'll tell you who you were before you die."
Very tempting…He hesitated.
"What's there to consider Axel? You'll die!" Kaze yelled.
Ignoring him, Axel nodded towards Ansem. "Alright."
"Axel, you idiot!"
Turning towards the other, he built a ring of flames around them to keep them out the way. "Sorry."
"Axel!" Sora called out. "Don't do this."
He ignored them, focusing on Ansem again. "No tricks this time."
"No tricks."
Still, even if he meant that, Axel didn't think this was going to be a very fair fight…
Author's Note: I'm so naughty, I've had this chapter more or less ready for a while, but I wanted to go over it and edit it a little before submitting it. Then Advent Children sucked me away! I can't stop watching it! And it makes me want to go play FF7 again...But at least this chapter is finally here now!
Crisis Haylo: At least we finally have a date set for the Japanese release! Sorry to keep you waiting for this chapter! You all have permission to smack my wrists. XD
Ginger Ninja: A tied up Riku? That gave me some interesting mental images! Ooh, did you see the tiny little (poor quality) clip of playable BHK? Yay, at last! Now we just need a name!
sorastalker08: Haha, oops. I didn't confuse you did I? And yup, It's slowly coming to an end.
AloneInDespair: Thank you! Whatever I have in mind for his past will probably be waaay off! I can't wait to see all his scenes in KH2 though!