Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square-Enix.
I'm pretty eager to finish this story, especially with school starting up again soon. I've been pretty busy lately, though, so we'll see how quickly this can be done.
"Sora! Have you seen Riku?" Kairi ran up to the brunet as he entered the library, looking groggy.
"What? No, I haven't seen him in a while. Why? Is he missing or something?" he asked, rubbing his face and nearly tripping over his untied shoelace.
"Um, yea. Nobody's seen him since dinner the other night. He's been missing for almost two days! Geez, you guys are best friends, how could you not notice?" She slapped him playfully on top of his head and walked away, though she couldn't help but feel a bit worried. It was really unlike Riku to just vanish, especially after acting so weird.
She sat beside Arashi, who was resting her head on the top of one of the tables. She gazed up at Kairi hopefully, but the younger girl just shook her head. "Something is definitely wrong, he wouldn't do something like this without telling me." She said sadly.
"Yea," Kairi agreed, not quite sure what to say. "It's so unlike him…"
"Why don't you two try to get some work done." Squall said sharply, slamming a book down on the table in front of the girls. "We need to know where Sephiroth is most likely hiding, so start checking some of these charts."
Kairi glared up at him but opened the book. She knew he was just being an ass because he was worried about Riku. Everyone was. She flipped through the book absently, not really registering what was on the pages. She felt lightheaded for a moment, so she set her head down on the table with Arashi, closing her eyes and wondering what was wrong with her.
"Ugh, I feel so sick. This is horrible." She grumbled to the other girl.
"Really? Still? That's not good, I know you're stressed out, but really. Has this ever happened before?" Arashi asked, flipping a small lock of her thick black hair against the table in boredom.
"No, I'm usually so good about stuff like this. I must have some kind of flu or something. Or maybe the keyblade is taking too much out of me." She opened her eyes and watched Arashi flick the hair back and forth.
"Maybe.." She mumbled softly, looking deep in thought.
"I'm hungry, let's go find some breakfast." Kairi groaned, standing quickly despite her new nausea.
Arashi shrugged, "Ok, this is really boring anyway."
They snuck quietly out of the library, leaving their friends to finish the search.
They were laughing quietly to each other when Kairi noticed the darkly hooded figure emerge into the hall. They were across the walkway from him, and he blocked the stairs ahead of them. Arashi gripped her arm in alarm when she noticed him standing there. The figure slowly looked over at them, drawing a dark, intricate keyblade as he did so.
Kairi's heart skipped a beat. "Riku..?" She stared at him in confusion. He charged.
"Riku! No!" Ansem dashed between Riku and Kairi, spear materializing and spinning dangerously as he performed a counter-attack. The keyblade was knocked to the side and Riku dodged Ansem's spear as it came down beside him.
"Riku!" Arashi screamed, darting forward past Ansem.
Kairi ran forward, too, calling Arashi back. Ansem made a wild grab for the girl but she managed to dodge him and run to Riku. He leapt back, readying for another attack. When he saw her, he seemed to hesitate, but barely long enough for Kairi and Ansem to deflect the blow he aimed for her. He leapt over them and dashed for the doors, kicking them open carelessly and disappearing.
Arashi sank to the floor, tears streaming down her face. "Riku.. No." She collapsed against the floor. Ansem stood staring after Riku. He glanced down at Kairi quickly when she touched his arm.
"I.. felt it, just before you found him. The Heartless have him." He said quietly.
Sora's head rested in his hands and he stared at the dark tabletop before him. No matter how hard he thought about it, he just couldn't believe it. Riku returned to the Heartless? It wasn't possible, he wouldn't let that happen. Not after what Ansem did to him. The frightened, nervous voices of his friends echoed around him, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. He knew everyone was scared, first the King, the Yuffie, and now Riku. Some of their strongest friends, taken by the Heartless like it was nothing. He wondered for a moment how Ansem felt about it, was he afraid, too? Was he worried about the Heartless, or was he behind it? Kairi seemed to trust him totally, so he tried to push his suspicions out of his mind. She had never been wrong about anyone before, he would try to stop finding reasons to hate Ansem. That was something he could do to make her happy, after all. A strange, minty scent wafted up to him and he tried to focus on what it was. Looking forward, he realized that Kairi had set a cup of tea in front of him, and she was leaning next to him with a worried look on her face.
"Are you okay? You seem really shaken.." She said softly, resting a hand on his back as he leaned up and took the cup in his hands.
"Yea, I'll be fine. I just.. can't believe Riku would let this happen. He used to get really upset when I talked about the Heartless, he really hated them for what they'd done to him. I know he accepted them the first time, but I never imagined he would do it again. He must really think.. That we're going to fail or something." The various conversations around the room slowly stopped as everyone turned to look at him.
When Sora realized that everyone was listening to him, he felt rather guilty for being such a put-down. These were his friends, and they were depending on him. He stood up and slammed his fist on the table.
"Well, I know Riku won't let things end this way! Finally, the Heartless are making their move. I'm willing to bet that things are really going to heat up now, if they needed Riku they must be worried! I'm not afraid of them. Sephiroth could never beat us, as long as one keyblade stands against him!" His gaze softened as he looked down at Kairi. "And we still have two, that's twice the chance."
The room was silent for a moment until Squall's snort broke through it, "Sora, you're so.." He trailed off as Cid kicked open the room and stomped inside.
"Well kids, looks like we're stranded for now. That damn punk took the gummi ship." He pulled his cigarette out of his mouth and shook his head. "Looks to me like he didn't want us following him yet. But he disabled the tracking system I installed, so I'm a little lost as to what he thinks he's doin."
"Hmm, I should go back to the dark depths.. Maybe I could hear him from there." Ansem stated hastily, turning quickly toward the door.
"Wait!" Sora called, running forward several steps. "How do we know you're not behind any of this? It's pretty suspicious, don't you think? You were the King of Heartless, but they took Riku instead! How do we know you're not just going to give him your next orders?"
Ansem turned to face him, anger rising up inside him until he saw Sora's face. His expression was blank, he wasn't challenging him, he was merely making an observation. A fairly clever one, in his opinion. He allowed a small smile to come across his face and laughed quietly. Sora was sure he was going to start another fight with him, and his body tensed involuntarily.
"Would you like to come with me?" He asked sincerely, motioning toward the doors.
Everyone started between Sora and Ansem in surprise. They had been expecting another fight, not teamwork. Kairi herself was even more surprised when Sora nodded and walked forward purposefully. He had spent the last few weeks avoiding Ansem, and now he was willing to go into the dark depths with him alone? She hoped they could at least avoid fighting until they got back.
The bright lights of the city stretched far below him as Riku lowered the gummi ship down through the atmosphere. The Heartless spoke to him, guiding him down onto the empty streets. He chose a suitable out of the way spot and landed. A slightly chilly breeze slapped him in the face as he stepped from the ship. It smelled somewhat like Destiny Islands to him, but he took no notice and walked straight down the street. He glanced up at the tall buildings around him as he went. They were mostly round, and aesthetically pleasing, with a certain style echoing throughout each design. Spires seemed very popular in this place, as most of the buildings sported one. It was a truly beautiful city.
He couldn't remember having ever seen anything like this place, though it reminded him of Traverse Town to an extent. It was brightly lit, though utterly deserted. The Heartless had definitely taken over this place, and as he walked he could see the tops of crumbling buildings ahead of him. Some lay in ruin while others stood untouched. Sephiroth must have held a certain liking for this place to leave it so intact.
He stopped walking. A shadow Heartless had appeared before him, unmoving. He glanced around, Sephiroth must be nearby. As if on cue, darkness surrounded Riku, and he felt himself falling through the cement. He couldn't feel a wind, so he knew Sephiroth was taking him into the darkness, he didn't trust him enough yet to show him the exact whereabouts of his hideout.
'Wake up, Riku.'
He opened his eyes. Pure darkness, as far as he could see. Where was Sephiroth? Did his master abandon him? Did he find out about Ansem's plan and think that Riku was actually going along with it?
'Get up, Master is waiting.'
He heard the heavy thud of footfalls nearby, but they seemed too heavy to be human. A huge, lumbering Heartless drifted into view, crouching near Riku and growling deeply. Riku coughed, rolling over onto his stomach and pushing himself off the ground and into a sitting position. The Heartless moved an arm forward, reaching for him. He took its large clawed hand and drew himself up to his feet, swaying slightly and looking around.
He noticed a dark grey path beneath him, leading off into the darkness in either direction. The Heartless's ears perked up, and soon Riku heard it too, footsteps. Someone was approaching. He expected Sephiroth, but to his surprise, a rather short dark haired girl appeared before him out of the darkness, her bright orange eyes glowing dangerously at him. 'Yuffie?' he thought to himself in surprise, but he knew better than to assume she was still the energetic ninja he knew.
"Sephiroth. That's what you wanted her for." He stated absently. She smiled wickedly at him, and the gesture made his blood turn cold.
"Yes, Riku. But after your own experience, I was sure you would expect nothing less." She waved her hand absently through the air, and Riku found it chilling how she still looked and sounded exactly the same. "But let's get right to business. You have returned to the darkness. "
"Yes, it was Ansem's plan for me to infiltrate your defenses, though I knew it would not be possible. I played along so he wouldn't suspect anything, but the closer I let myself sink toward the darkness, the more I longed to become a part of it again. Sora will never be able to stop it, the fall of the worlds is inevitable." he grinned evilly, kneeling before Sephiroth's new form.
Yuffie's hand hovered inches above his chest, making his heartless emblem burn. "Mmm, your heart has indeed been filled with darkness once again. Perhaps if you had never been infect, it would have been easier for you to deny it." She whispered, taking his face in her hands.
"I did not wish to deny it." Riku grinned, well aware of the dull shade of orange his eyes were becoming.
Yuffie's high-pitched laugh echoed throughout the darkness. "Perhaps you can convince your new partner, then."
A room came into focus around them, a vast grey hall with regal carpets covering most of the stone floor. A small amount of light filtered in through the high windows, barely lighting up the glass. The room had a chilling feeling to it.
Yuffie fell back, landing roughly against the carpet with her blank eyes staring at the wall. She blinked after a moment, then sat up, holding a hand to her head and sighing. She nearly screamed when she noticed Riku standing there watching her.
"Riku! Oh my god, what are you doing here?" She quickly stood up and faced him. "Ugh, my head." She swayed and nearly fell, still holding a hand to her head. "Geez, did you see Sephiroth? He didn't capture you too, did he?" She seem slightly panicked.
"No, he didn't capture me. I came here all by myself." He flashed his newly orange eyes at her and she froze.
"Oh.. Shit.. Not you, Riku.." She stepped back, but knew it was pointless. He moved forward faster than she could anticipate, grabbing her thin jaw in his hand.
"Shall I show you what it means to be Heartless? It's much easier once you just give in." he breathed heavily against her cheek, causing her to shudder in fear.
"Don't touch me!" She slapped him across the face, but he only tightened his grip and caught her hand before she hand time to pull away. He pressed a gentle kiss against her lips, barely avoiding a vicious bite.
"That's no way to treat your partner." he purred, receiving a groan of hatred.
"You sick bastard, there's no way I'll help you." She growled defiantly.
"Ah, but you will help me, and it seems like you don't have much choice. Someone like you with such a weak heart, it's a pity. I'm sure Squall really needs you right now." He laughed as she tried desperately to kick him.
"You mean you can tune in one the Heartless' thoughts when you're in there?" Sora asked in wonder, pointing suspiciously into the swirling black and purple dark depths.
"Yes, that's certainly one way to put it." Ansem replied, almost smiling down at the brunet. He couldn't believe they had actually gotten along so far. "Actually, there's a good chance you might be able to hear them, too. You do have a keyblade." He stepped into the depths as Sora stood below contemplating what he had just told him.
He felt the boy follow several seconds later, stumbling into the darkness and nearly running into Ansem. He followed the older man through the darkness, looking around in interest. It had been a while since he had last been in here, he had forgotten how eerily vacant it seemed.
"There, Sora, can you hear it?" he whispered back to him, focusing on the soft whispers he heard in the darkness.
He listened intently, trying to hear whatever it was Ansem seemed to hear. After several minutes scattered whispers seemed to float to him, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. It almost sounded like another language, were they speaking Heartless or something?
"Ansem, do the Heartless speak in another language or something? I hear whispers, but I can't understand it." he couldn't believe he was doing this.
"Hmm, interesting. I understand them perfectly. I wonder if they take precautions so the keyblade bearers cannot understand them.." Once again he seemed lost in thought, but held up his hand when Sora tried to reply.
"Wait, I can hear Riku."
Sora focused harder, trying desperately to hear his best friends voice. Certain images starting floating to him now, along with several catches of Riku's soft voice. One image caught his attention instantly.
"Yuffie! He's with Yuffie!" he said hurriedly, looking up at Ansem.
"How do you know that?" Ansem seemed surprised, apparently he had not seen the images.
"I saw it, he's looking at her now. He showed me a city, a bright, huge city. That's where they are, I think he's trying to tell me the name." he continued focusing on Riku as more images and thoughts seemed to float toward him.
"Of course, he wants you to challenge him, so he's telling you were to find him. It's always about rivalry between you two, isn't it. A city? Wait.." he remembered seeing pictures of a vast city somewhere in the library, one of the residents of Hollow Bastion claimed to have been there. What was that man's name? He couldn't remember it now..
"I think he's talking to Yuffie. What? Zanarkand? Does that sound familiar to you?" Sora looked up at Ansem's shocked face.
"Zanarkand.. Of course, why didn't I think of that? I remember it now. Sora, we need to go back to the library. I know where to look.."
A/n: If you haven't played Final Fantasy 10, there's no spoilers ahead, so don't worry. I'm surprised I got this chapter done so fast, maybe I'll write another one tonight. This story is almost done, there's like, two chapters left or something. Maybe I'll add a teaser for the sequel if I get it done faster than expected.