Chapter Six
Empty Revalation
"I swear it", Riku said.
Those were the last words Sora heard as he slipped towards unconsciousness. He felt his knees buckle, and he felt Riku catch him as he fell back into the older boy's arms. The sensation of being held by his long-time friend was becoming familiar by now. He welcomed the sweet relief of sleep along with Riku's comforting embrace.
"I swear it" he had said. It was the second time Riku had made a promise to Sora. The second time he had sworn an oath to him. He felt Sora lose his footing, and caught the boy before he fell.
Sora was unconscious Riku could tell. Riku pulled him a little closer so he wouldn't lose his grip... ... And then a little closer. He won't mind--he won't even have to know, he thought. Why not then? ... More importantly, why... Sora might have been oblivious to everything between them, but Riku had known for some time.
He was in love with Sora.
Still, they couldn't be together. After everything that had happened, and now there may even be a chance the darkness still had some hold over him as well. He looked down at the younger boy; even asleep he was cute. He actually looked at ease, something he had not been lately... Sora was so innocent, Riku could never hurt him. And that's why he could never be with him.
And then there was Kairi. Now that was a difficult one. Riku had always seen himself as Kairi's "knight in shining armor", though only as a sort of older brother. He wasn't sure how Sora felt, but after what happened just now he was sure. Sora must like her, after all it makes sense.
"So then, does this mean I'm gay?" he said, thinking aloud. The thought had crossed his mind many times. Though he knew he had some kind of feelings for Sora, he avoided thinking about what that meant about himself for some time. The thought scared him. Courageous as he was most of the time, some things would shake even his strong heart. Some things would shake any heart.
"It would make sense", he went on. "All those years on the island and I never felt anything for Kairi. You would have to be queer not to like her..." he said with a chuckle. Trying to shrug this all off. But then the truth hit him like a ton of bricks. It wasn't just a simple matter of saying 'oh I'm gay, the end' for him, this meant something. This meant he wasn't the person he had known for the last sixteen years. This meant he was different. He couldn't just smile and pretend to be happy, not now. He grimaced and shut his eyes. "I don't want to be this way. This... This isn't right! Why me... Of all people... It's just... Not right... ... ... They're all going to hate me, all my friends... Everyone... But, I guess I don't need to tell them. If I can't be with Sora, there isn't anyone for me... ... So it doesn't matter..."
That's how he had been raised after all, how everyone he knew had been raised. It was just wrong, and there wasn't any other way around it. Boys were not supposed to like each other. It was disgusting, and terrible. His friends would all shun him if they knew...
He suddenly felt alone, and cold. So horribly alone... So helpless. No one would understand, no one would be okay with this. He despised himself then, if not forever but for those few minutes. He hated himself.
He was shaking now, he couldn't stop. He set Sora down with the last ounce of control he had over himself before he broke down. He had kept all this inside for so long, he had let it all build up to this point. So he cried. The tears came so easily. They flowed so freely. And he sobbed, he didn't care who heard him anymore. He didn't care about anything, nothing mattered anymore. Everything was so frivolous and insignificant compared to this. He wasn't the same person anyone knew all those years, he wasn't even the same person he knew. He was this horrible monstrosity.
He looked down at Sora. He wanted so much to just hold the boy closer to him. Despite how wrong he knew his feelings were, more than anything he wanted to feel Sora's body against his. That's why it took all his will to pull himself together and just carry Sora back to the ship.
He rested Sora's shoulders on his right arm and picked up his legs. Sora was a little heavier than he looked; he needed to tone it down on the mega potions... As he walked back to the gummy ship, Sora shifted closer to him. It would have been so easy, no one would ever have to know... Maybe it would be enough, just once... It couldn't hurt... ... ... But he couldn't, he knew he would only feel more strongly if he did.
As he left the Third District, a lone figure stood watch high up on the buildings. Out of sight of the two boys. The cloaked figure turned to see Leon walking towards him.
"I'm assuming you saw too", Leon said as he came to a stop in front of him.
"I already knew", King Mickey said as he pulled down his hood.
"So then, have you talked to either of them? You know this could ruin everything if it's not dealt with properly" Leon said.
"I know the circumstances, I of all people know exactly what could happen. But I don't think talking to either of them will help. Let them do this on their own, interfering could be disastrous" The King replied.
"But doing nothing could bring the same result" Leon said. "If you won't do anything then I will, we can't afford to lose either or both of them at this point."
"Let it alone Leon, please" The King said glancing down where the boys were. "We may have nothing to worry about if we are lucky."
"Nothing to worry about?" Leon asked musingly. "You saw what happened when he locked this world. That's not supposed to happen; The Keyblade isn't supposed to be able to interact with outside powers like that."
"I know", King Mickey said.
Leon's expression shifted a little, but he kept his cool. "Really? Well it's because there was no outside force. That Keyblade is cobbled together--"
"I said I know", The King said. "But it doesn't mean that we need to worry."
"Hmp, always the optimist your majesty?" Leon asked.
"Yes, always. And please Leon, don't worry about them. And don't say anything to anyone", The King said. He could have meant it as a command, but somehow his words seemed more forceful when formed together as if asking for a favor.
Leon sighed. "Fine" he said. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"I hope so too", The King replied.
The ex-SeeD paused a minute. "So what about the girl?" he asked.
"We will save her. That's all", King Mickey said.
"... Alright", Leon replied.
Riku rested Sora down on the bed inside the Gummy ship. The boy was still fast asleep; seeing Sora sleep so soundly made Riku yawn. He realized he hadn't slept too much lately himself. With everything that had been going on he was too tense to. He was barely awake after what had just happened though, but just as the thought of lying down to take a nap came to him he suddenly snapped to attention.
He smelled darkness. Riku looked around the room for the source, but saw nothing immediately.
"Come out", he said. "I know you're here!"
"Very good", came a voice from the air. "I expected nothing less from the Dark One."
A small portal appeared suddenly in front of the door. A cloaked Unknown walked through it and the portal faded to nothing. He looked much the same as all the other Unknown Riku had seen, he kept his face cloaked in darkness from his drawn hood. Only Riku noticed this Unknown bore a very strange weapon; his eyes widened as he caught sight of it.
Noticing Riku's surprise, the Unknown raised his weapon forward and said, "Impressed? You should be. You have no idea to what lengths I went to obtain this. I must say though, these Keyblades are well worth the trouble they are to get."
It was true. In the Unknown's hand was a Keyblade. Though it looked nothing like his own or Sora's, it was definitely a Keyblade. It was a contorted vile object. A twisted version of Sora and Mickey's Keyblade, made of dark hues of red and black. And it came to a deadly sharp point at the end.
"I suppose I should thank the two of you", the Unknown said. "If not for you I might not have this. And it would be such a pity if I couldn't destroy all those worlds your friend already locked."
Riku took this time to summon his Keyblade. In a flash the weapon was sitting in his hands and he was ready to do battle.
"I don't know what you're talking about", Riku said as he assumed his battle stance. "Whatever you're up to, I'm taking you down now."
"Now now, that wouldn't be any fun. Besides, I have a lot of plans for you. However, if you insist on meeting your demise so soon I might be able to arrange it for you" the Unknown said.
Then the Unknown disappeared. He simply was there one second, and the next he wasn't. "Too fast for you?" he asked.
Riku spun around and ducked just in time to evade the Unknown's blow. The Unknown swung his Keyblade again and again expertly. Riku only just managed to move out of the way every time. Finally he met the Unknown's blow with his own.
"You expect to hurt me with that toy?" the Unknown said. He pushed Riku back suddenly as if the effort was nothing to him, and then he stepped back a few paces.
Riku didn't notice at first, but the Unknown was moving closer to Sora. The second he realized what the Unknown was doing he leapt forward and swung his weapon madly. "Keep away from him!" he screamed.
The Unknown moved out of the way of Riku's attack effortlessly, and was now right next to the unconscious Sora. Riku began to move forward to continue his attack, but stopped when the Unknown drew his Keyblade close to Sora's neck. "That's what I thought", the Unknown said. "Wouldn't want me to damage your love now would you?"
"W-what did you say?" Riku asked, shocked.
"Hmp, amusing", said the Unknown. He looked to Sora and moved his Keyblade ever so slightly closer to him.
"Stop it!" Riku yelled, though he could do nothing without endangering Sora now.
The Unknown looked back to Riku. Though his face was not visible, Riku could tell he was enjoying this. "Now, just what would you do to ensure your friend's safety?" the Unknown asked. Riku glared, but said nothing. "Now, I do believe I just asked you a question." He said, and then lowered his Keyblade a hair towards Sora. A thin streak of blood trickled down from his cheek onto the bed. "Oops, clumsy me... Too bad for your friend I guess, wounds inflicted with this weapon will never heal."
Realization suddenly dawned on Riku. "You're the one that hurt Kairi then!" he shouted.
"That is correct" the Unknown said. "I'm afraid she was just a bit too slow, and I can't allow myself to be that sloppy." Seeing Riku's furious expression the Unknown laughed lightly. "I suppose you aren't happy with me now are you?"
"I think you have enjoyed yourself enough", came a voice from nowhere.
"It was just getting interesting though", the Unknown protested.
"Wrap things up fast, you have company", the voice replied.
"Very well", the Unknown said as he raised his weapon above Sora.
"NO!" Riku yelled. He sprang forward at an inhuman speed and threw the Unknown back.
"Ngh! Fine, you want to play? Then let me just see how you like this", the Unknown said. He got to his feet and ran towards Riku. The boy tried to meet his blow, but at the last second the Unknown changed his attack.
At that instant the entire wall the door was attached to shattered. It seemed to just rip itself to pieces, but in a flash a figure stepped through the rubble. Cloud raised his buster sword high and hit the Unknown hard with the broad side of his blade, throwing him outside the ship all the way across the First District. Cloud was about to continue his assault when he noticed Sora and Riku, he turned his attention to them to ensure their safety.
The Unknown staggered to his feet in time to see Leon jump off the building above him and strike him sharply with his Gunblade. The Unknown retained his footing this time, but skidded across the lobby again. Leon fired off a round of bullets on the Unknown as he ran towards him, never missing a shot. Once in range, he swiped his blade at the Unknown relentlessly. The Unknown seemed in control again as he dodged Leon's assault, but he was taken by surprise when the ex-SeeD changed tactics and spun around kicking him in the gut hard. The Unknown flew through the air and smashed into a wall.
The Unknown rose up once again and brushed the dust off his jacket. He looked up to see The King in front of him, backed up by Leon and Cloud on either side of him. "I want answers", The King said, holding his ground.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I must be going for now", the Unknown said. He stepped back a pace as a portal began to form behind him. "Perhaps next time we can have a proper battle, your majesty." And then he and the portal vanished.
As The King turned around and made his way to the now wrecked Gummy ship, Cloud said, "I'm sorry your majesty, I wasn't able to stop him."
"It's fine Cloud", King Mickey replied. "We have wounded to attend to now though." As they entered the ruined Gummy ship, The King asked, "Riku, are you two alright?" He looked at the two, Sora's cheek seemed to be bleeding, and he was unconscious. Riku seemed no worse for the wear though.
"He caught me off guard, that's all", Riku said. "I'm fine, but... He cut Sora, and he says it won't heal--he's the one who hurt Kairi!"
"I know", The King said as he walked over to Sora. He looked down at the sleeping boy and said, "He did more to Sora than just cut him, he cast some spell on him. Sleep it looks like. But I should be able to take care of this." With that, The King reached his hand towards Sora, and light formed around him. "DISSPELL!" he shouted.
Sora slowly opened his eyes. He could feel a faint stinging on his left cheek, but his thoughts weren't on his pain now. "W-where am I?" he asked. His cheek stung sharply at the use of his jaw. He looked around sluggishly as his vision adjusted.
"You feinted back in the Third District..." Riku said, trying not to lose his cool in front of Sora. "I-- ... I brought you back here, but we were attacked... By some Unknown with a Keyblade. He's the one that attacked Kairi."
"Where is he?" Sora exclaimed as he got up. Again, his cheek hurt sharply.
"Relax Sora" King Mickey said. "Despite our efforts, he got away. But you have to calm down; he injured you. It might not look like much, but if that wound won't heal then you could be in a lot of trouble."
Sora looked down at himself, he could see he had already bled all over himself and one side of the bed. Even though it wasn't a very bad cut, The King was right. The blood refused to quit flowing, and it was beginning to affect him. He reached up to wipe some of the blood off his face, but he felt so lightheaded he couldn't even tell his hand was already smeared with blood. He slumped against the back of the bed; Sora looked very pale all the sudden.
"Stay with us Sora", The King said. He drew his Keyblade now and pointed it towards Sora. "CURAGA!" He shouted.
Some color returned to Sora's paling skin. He seemed to jump a little as if he had been awoken suddenly. "T-thanks", he said as he got up. His wound still bled though. He cupped his hand against it to try to stop the flow, but to no avail.
"You'll have to take it easy until I can find a permanent solution", King Mickey said. "Don't move around too much... Although you could probably stand moving to a clean bed at least." He turned to the other boy and continued, "Riku. Would you keep an eye on him for me? If anything happens I want you to come get me immediately."
"Right, you can count on me..." Riku said dolefully.
The King turned to everyone else. "I have to investigate into this business as soon as possible, but I should be able to come up with an answer on my own. Everyone else continue gathering information on the Heartless, we must not forget what we came here for. The Unknown probably intends us all to fretter away our time over Sora, and while his life takes a high priority so do all the worlds." He began to exit the ship, but then turned to Riku and said, "don't worry, keep him safe and I will find a way to cure him. I promise."
Riku nodded in response, he hardly felt capable of speaking anymore.
Without saying a word, The King, Leon and Cloud all left. It was important to wrap things up in this world quickly if something was going on, and this was the most activity they had seen so far. Sora would be fine with Riku there though, or they hoped so.
Riku helped Sora move to another bed, the one he was on was covered in blood by now. Sora kept asking Riku about what had happened while he was asleep, and Riku managed to tell him. Mostly... After Sora was done asking questions, Riku insisted he be quiet and rest. It was probably better for Sora's health, and anyway Riku didn't think he could manage conversation with Sora right now.
The two tried to bandage Sora's wound several times. It was difficult because the blood wouldn't stop long enough for Riku to get a bandage over it. They gave up after a while once Sora started to feel a little woozy again.
"Should I go get King Mickey?" Riku asked. While he was confident in his own ability to reinforce his abilities with his Keyblade, his knowledge of curative magic was next to nothing. And while he had plenty of Potions and items of the like, they were all most likely far too weak to have an affect on Sora now.
"... ... I dunno... ..." Sora replied wearily. He was beginning to look very pale again.
"Sora?" Riku said.
Sora moaned lightly as he fell back onto the bed. He was barely conscious now, and while his face was clean of blood it was only because Riku had been tending to his wound the whole time.
"Damn, I need to find The King", Riku said.
"Riku..." Sora said meekly as he saw Riku get up. "Don't... Leave..."
Riku looked to Sora. He wanted more than anything to stay and protect him, but there wasn't anything he could do. Even if he found The King it wouldn't mean he had done anything for Sora. It wouldn't mean he had saved him, and he had made a promise... That was more important than anything to him. More important than The King's orders. More important than common sense. More important than himself and his stupid feelings even.
His mind told him to forget this and move. His mind told him if he wanted to help Sora he would go get The King. But his legs wouldn't move... He couldn't... He may as well have been chained to the other boy. He just couldn't bring himself to leave.
Riku saw Sora begin to close his eyes. "Wait Sora! You've gotta hang on!" he said. But his words couldn't reach Sora now, he had feinted from the loss of blood.
Riku looked on at the boy, still unable to move. Unable to run away screaming as he so wanted to. As much as it hurt him, to sit there. As much as it hurt him, to just breathe.
It absolutely killed him to be unable to do anything. He couldn't save Sora. He couldn't even begin to think of loving him. He couldn't do anything but sit there and feel sorry for himself. He could only hurt for the pain he had, and for the pain Sora had.
Riku stood there, terrified. He didn't know what to do now, this was all too much of an overload for him. So he just collapsed to his knees in front of Sora. All Riku knew was he loved Sora. All he could do was act on that.
"Sora..." he spoke wearily. "Please... ... Don't leave me again... Don't leave me alone..." His words were barely a whisper.
He moved closer to Sora. "Please, Just... ... ... Live..." Closer...
And before he realized it, he had kissed Sora's cheek softly.
He pulled back, a small patch of blood dripped from his mouth. However, the sensation of kissing Sora remained. And odd feeling he couldn't describe. A warm, good feeling.
The tears came again, without his noticing. He just looked down at Sora. Unable to do anything for him, and then he gaped in surprise. His expression didn't change really, he just sort of stared as it happened.
Sora's wound began to heal itself. A trickle of orange light teemed from it, and in an instant the wound was gone altogether. His face, though still pale, was unharmed. There was not even the hint of a scar where he had been cut before.
Riku's mind should have been going a million miles a second now. His mind should have been asking a hundred questions. But it was like his world was moving in slow motion now. He just tried to let everything go. Riku needed time to himself. As he got up he wiped away the blood he had gotten on his mouth...
His own blood...
I hope some people can understand after this, what this kind of pain means. And if you don't, keep reading. You will.
Special thanks to Emily, this chapter wouldn't have happened without you.