A/N: Hi, it's me again. Sorry about the delay, I don't really have a good excuse. I haven't been sick or anything, and my computer hasn't died or crashed, so I don't have any reason not to have updated sooner except for the extreme sucky-ness of this chapter and the fact that I've been going to Lord knows how many parties lately. Fortunately, I've managed to avoid getting alcohol-drunk. Drunk on any other substance is always a debatable topic, because I've been known to get drunk on air. Besides, I'm too young to drink. Pity me. Two birthday parties, attempting to plan a For-The-Hell-Of-It party that we had to cancel because the semi-agreed upon date kept changing and getting closer to my graduation party date, a Fourth of July party, and then most of my internet time (remember, I'm only allowed an hour due to the severe lack of decent internet connections, a.k.a. we have dial-up, and one phone line because my parents don't get paid worth shit and I desperately need a job) was devoted to copy-pasting webcomics for a friend that KEEP UPDATING REGULARLY. Yes, if you want something that updates when the fXXXing thing's supposed to update, go read webcomics as opposed to my crap. And lastly, severe and total writer's block. Seriously, I was beginning to wonder if I'd need surgery to get rid of the damn thing. I keep asking peope if there are pills for it, but the only definite answer I've gotten on that was "have you tried crack?" No, but I tried sniffing coke once and the icecubes got stuck up my nose. Ha ha, bad joke, I know. And that right there was an example of how completely sucky my fic-writing skills have gotten lately. I DETEST THIS FIC AND DESPERATELY WANT TO MOVE ON TO KH:CoM OR KH2 FICS! But no, I have to be organized and write my fics in order because I'm just a prick like that. Dammit. Anyway, enough of my lame excuses, here's the fic straight from the script I downloaded from the internet and added my own twists to. OMG, I just spilled my secret... Not like you guys couldn't figure it out anyway. Because you just totally rock like that.
"So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" Riku asked, looking down at the girl, his heart aching for her.
"Precicely," Maleficent replied, though no pity or sorrow was evident in her voice.
"And her heart was..."
"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt."
"Tell me!" Riku exclaimed, rounding on Maleficent with his fists clenched. "What can I do?"
"There are seven maidens with the purest heart," Maleficent explained carefully. "We call them the princesses of heart. Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart. Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift. The power to control the Heartless."
The witch gestured with her hand, and Riku closed his eyes as his new power flooded through him, heightening and refining the darkness in his heart. When the sensation ebbed, leaving Riku feeling stronger than he had before, he turned towards the bed Kairi was laying on, and made her a promise that he knew she couldn't hear.
"Soon, Kairi. Soon."
"I didn't think you'd come, Sora," said a familiar voice. Sora looked up with a gasp, staring at his best friend in complete surprise, and just a touch of apprehension.
"Good to see you again," Riku continued with a false smile.
"Where are Donald and Goofy?" Sora demanded immediately. Riku had been acting really strange lately, and Sora had no idea what he would do now. He didn't want anything bad to happen to one of his new friends, especially not if Riku was the one hurting them.
"Are they that important to you?" Riku sneered. "More important than old friends? Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking..." Riku stepped to the side and indicated an unconcious figure behind him, one Sora immediately recognized, "about her."
"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed.
"That's right," Riku drawled in obvious contempt. "While you were off goofing around, I finally found her."
Sora started to run to Kairi, but an arm blocked his way. Sora looked at the arm in surprise, only to see not a hand, but a hook, and he followed the arm up to the torso and head of Captain Hook, then looked around at the small man and horde of Heartless surrounding him.
"Not so fast," Hook snapped. "No shenanigans on my vessel, boy."
"Riku," Sora asked, trying hard to keep his anger and hurt out of his voice, "why are you siding with the Heartless?"
"The Heartless obey me now, Sora," Riku answered, still with that superior smirk on his face. "Now I have nothing to fear."
"You're stupid," Sora spat. "Sooner or later, they'll swallow your heart."
"Not a chance," Riku scoffed. "My heart's too strong."
"Riku," Sora protested, knowing Riku wouldn't listen to him.
"I've picked up a few other tricks as well," Riku bragged. "Like this, for instance." He snapped his fingers, and Sora watched as his shadow appeared before him, wondering what could have happened to so drastically change his best friend.
"You can go see your friends now," Riku said contemptuously. A trap door opened up below Sora's feet, and he hung in the air for a split second that seemed almost like a minute to the boy before gravity kicked in and he plummeted into the ship's hold.
"Ouch!"
"Ow!"
"Oomph!"
"Hey, watch who you're landing on!" Donald yelled in protest at having Sora dropped on his head.
"Sorry," Sora apologized, though his voice was subdued.
"What happened?" Goofy asked.
"I was talking to Riku," Sora explained, "and a trapdoor opened up right under me."
"Riku?" Donald asked, a slight note of surprise in his voice.
"Yeah."
"Well, what did he say?" Goofy asked. "Is he okay?"
"I don't know," Sora said.
"You were just talking to him!" Donald pointed out angrily.
"Yeah, I know," Sora snapped, then hung his head in slight depression again. "I don't know if he's okay, though. He's sided with the Heartless. And Kairi was with him."
"You don't say?" Goofy asked.
"Yeah, it was definitely Kairi," Sora affirmed, a note of excitement back in his voice. "I've finally found her..."
"All right! Let's go up and talk to her," Goofy suggested.
"Yeah!" Sora agreed, now sounding more like his old self.
"Sounds great," Donald agreed, though he wasn't quite as excited as the rest. "Okay, but first... how about getting off!"
"Oh, sorry," Sora said, rolling off of his two friends and getting to his feet.
"What?" Hook demanded. "So Wendy's not one of the chosen ones?"
"There are seven, supposedly," Riku said, "and Maleficent says she's not one of them. Hoist anchor as soon as possible. Leave all the dead weight behind, including her."
"After the trouble of capturing her?" Hook protested. "And why those seven? What is Maleficent planning, anyway?"
"Who knows?" Riku countered, his impatience plain in his voice. "As long as it means getting Kairi's heart back, I couldn't care less."
"Hmph!" Hook snorted. "You're wasting your time. The Heartless have devoured that girl's heart. I'll stake me other hand it's lost forever."
"I will find it no matter what," Riku snapped.
"Uh, Captain," said a nervous voice over a set of pipes used for communication throughout the ship.
"What?" Hook spat into this end of the tube.
"The prisoners have escaped," Smee said, now sounding even more nervous. "What's more, Peter Pan is with them."
"Blast that Peter Pan!" Hook snarled. "All right, then! Bring the hostage to me cabin, Smee. Hop to it!"
Riku scowled at the captain as they waited for "the hostage" to arrive. Neither said a thing to the other the entire time, but exchanged glares that could have set stone on fire. When Kairi arrived in the arms of several Heartless, Riku scooped her up into his own arms, and Hook left to do whatever it was he did, probably cowering somewhere. Right before Riku stepped through the portal of darkness, though, Sora arrived, nearly ripping the door off it's hinges in his haste.
"Riku, wait!" Sora yelled desperately as soon as he took in the scene in the cabin. Riku merely glared and stepped through the portal, leaving behind a little present for Sora in the form of Antisora.
"It was reckless to bring her here without using a vessel," Maleficent said after Riku had stepped through to her side. He was bent over panting, totally exhausted from his use of the dark powers without preparation. "Remember, relying too heavily on the dark powers could cost you your heart."
Riku lifted his head to glare daggers at the witch, then heard something from somewhere in the castle. It sounded like the roar of some kind of huge, monstrous beast. He subconciously looked over his shoulder, even though he was well aware that there was nothing but solid wall back there.
"A castaway," Maleficent explained, catching Riku's slightly concerned expression. "Though his world perished, his heart did not. When we took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will. But fear not. No harm will come to you. He is no match for your power."
"My power?" Riku asked, intrigued in spite of himself.
"Yes," Maleficent drawled, "the untapped power that lies within you. Now, child, it is time you awakened that power and realised your full potential."
She gestured with her hand, and a greenish glow surrounded Riku. He once again felt the darkness within his heart growing stronger, and let that strength flow through him. He sighed, not even realising he did it, and wondered just how much more darkness his heart could take.