Hello there. I wanted to put an author commentary like this on my first chapter, but never got around to it, so here it is now, in all of its commentary glory.

I know you probably don't care at this point, (me only having two chapters up) but this story was basically an opportunity for me to spill out all of my inferences and crack-pot-theories on Kingdom Hearts, and more specifically, its themes of darkness. At first I never really understood how exactly darkness was incorporated in the making of the heartless and devouring worlds and so on, but as I played the game thoroughly and over and over again, I found myself in a position to actually ponder these types of things. And since, as far as I am concerned, the English version of the game didn't give a good sense of what the darkness was and how it worked (or when it did it was in fragments and scattered throughout the game) I started looking it up on different KH sites and found what I believe is a deeper design to the darkness than what we first experience in the game… either that or I'm looking way into a whole bunch of nothing and I'm another obsessive game-freak with no life. (I hope that isn't the case)

Another reason that I really wanted to write this fanfiction is because one thing that really bothered me about the game is that we never really found out how Riku found Maleficent or visa versa; and that one scene after Sora first kicks Riku's butt at Hollow Bastion where Riku talks to hooded-Ansem. Riku clearly was not speaking to him for the first time, and obviously viewed Ansem as a power source of some kind. Because I zone out a lot, in my little mind world I was able to string together sets of ideas for a story of what happened to Riku, and this is that product.

Now, I'll stop blabbing… here's the chapter.

Chapter 2

The Most Jealous of Them All

By, Greykey

The third princess of heart is to be found. How pleasing.

You know about these princesses?

Yes.

What's so special about them?

Out of all the maidens in the world, these seven show signs to be the purest of heart. The light in their hearts shines much more brightly than those of other hearts… almost to the point where they have no darkness in their hearts at all.

But, that doesn't make sense. Maleficent seems to rely and embrace the darkness... why would she ever want princesses filled with light?

…

Well…?

…

O.O

Riku stepped inside of the ship and itched the back of his head. How was he supposed to work this thing? He looked at a panel with several buttons on it. The bright green one looked promising… He pressed it and was forced backward by the sudden motion. He fell down and quickly grabbed onto the nearest sturdy object he could find.

It was about five seconds before the moving stopped. He felt a little nauseous to tell the truth, but didn't pay attention to it. He looked out of the front of the vessel and found himself on the edge of a menacing wood. He could a see the spires and smoke from a castle near by. He remembered Maleficent's words about a queen who would help him.

He got out of the ship and walked to the castle. He found himself yet again looking up at two gigantic double doors. He didn't bother knocking and went inside.

The interior of the castle did not match the outside. Every corner had a cobweb, every surface was run over with dust, and every beauty that this palace might have possessed was dulled or dirtied.

Riku sneered at the inferior beauty in comparison from the other world and began exploring. No room he saw was any better than the entrance hall. All was dirty and unkempt.

He found himself looking down a hallway when someone finally penetrated the silence, "Who dares enter my palace?" The voice was demanding but had a fluid beauty to it.

Riku turned around to see a crowned woman in dark robes. She had a beautiful face, but her scowl was less than attractive. Two cobwebbed candelabra on both sides of her hosted seats to two rather large vultures. "My name's Riku," he replied, "Maleficent sent me for a Snow White."

The queen regained her composure quickly and nodded, "I see. Send my regards to Maleficent, but I will not need your assistance. I can get the girl myself."

"Too bad," Riku scoffed. He wasn't going to be able to keep the ship unless he had a princess with him, "I need Snow White."

The queen frowned, "Watch your tongue, boy. Fine, you may stay, but stay out of the way." The queen turned around and left him.

He ran to catch up to her, "Hey, where's this princess?"

"She's deep in the forest living with seven dwarves. They know of me and my intentions to kill her," the queen replied simply.

"Excuse me? Kill her? No. Maleficent needs her back alive," he said.

"Inform her that I will allow no such thing. She gets her back dead or not at all," she hissed at him.

Riku stopped walking, "Sorry, lady. It doesn't work that way." He turned around to leave. Snow White was no use to him if she was dead.

"Where are you going?" the queen snapped.

"To get Snow White. Your plans don't really fit in with mine," Riku shrugged at her, "Oh yeah; get a new hobby."

"How dare you!" she snapped.

"Look, I'm going to kidnap this girl, and bring her to Maleficent as soon as possible…. Alive. If you don't like the plan, bring it up with Maleficent," Riku said.

"Just try to get to her before I do!" the queen scowled.

"Whatever lady."

"Don't you dare defy me!"

Riku stopped and saw two things come out from under the ground. They were round and had three almost vine-like appendages come from their dark bodies. They were covered in what looked like little purple veins and had two distinct glowing yellow eyes.

Without a moment's thought Riku drew his blade, ready for anything these things might try. However, they looked like they were going to attack one second, but then just stopped, and looked at him blankly, and then they disappeared.

"What? Why didn't they do…?" he could hear the queen's surprised voice from where he was.

He gave a backwards glance at the queen, then a quick scowl. Something was telling him to leave her be. He retreated out of the castle.

O.O

Riku stood at the edge of the forest. It looked less than inviting and all the trees seemed to be gnarled in such a way that they resembled frowning and frightening faces. He chuckled. A little girl's worst nightmare.

He stepped strait into the woods, unafraid. He was surprised when only within a matter of seconds all light was blocked. He frankly wasn't even sure where he had entered the woods by then. Spontaneously, a wind picked up in the forest and swept among the trees and logs. Leaves flew up into Riku's face. He winced and covered his eyes with his arm.

Something wooden and sharp jabbed ferociously at his leg. He jumped back and hissed in pain. It didn't cut him or even rip his pants, but the sheer force of the blow hurt enough. He glanced down to see the perpetrator. A log that looked very much like a crocodile glared up at him. For a moment or two Riku could have sworn it was a crocodile, but it remained motionless after that. He growled spitefully and kicked the log.

Riku returned to walking. Just how did the log do that? There was a wind, but nothing that strong…. Something shifted behind him. He twirled around his sword ready. He didn't see anything at eye level, he glanced back down at the log. There was something there that wasn't there before.

One of the black things he saw at the palace was looking up at him curiously, like a dog that saw a steak on the table. However, this one was different from the one the queen summoned up. It looked like a stuffed animal ant almost. Riku lowered his sword. The thing tilted his head curiously and scurried in a certain direction. Riku expected it was going to just keep running, but it stopped about five yards away from him. It looked back at him and motioned its head.

Riku's eyes widened at this creature's personified nature. Did it want him to follow it? He stepped forward and got closer to it. It waddled away a few more feet and looked back at Riku again, waiting patiently. It did want him to follow it.

He followed the creature deeper into the forest. So deep, that Riku was afraid that this thing was more his enemy than his friend. Right around the time Riku had just decided to ditch the creature, it stopped and sat down. Riku approached the creature carefully, ready for anything…

Well, almost anything.

The ground under him gave way and he plunged into a deep hole. He landed into ice cold swamp water. Not surprisingly, more of those logs that resembled alligators were floating in the muck. His eyes darted quickly around the area. One of the first things he spotted was at the edge of the bog. Two more of the dark things were waiting for him, just as the first had.

They motioned their heads in unison. Riku sighed, exasperated, but figured they had to be leading him somewhere. He waded through the muck and toward the little monsters. When he exited the muddy waters, he sneered down at his pants, drenched with mud and who knows what else. He glanced at the creatures that waited patiently for him.

He walked forward to follow them wherever they might take him, but to his surprise, they didn't move. Riku, unwilling to fall deeper into this hell of a forest, walked towards them even more cautiously than the first; feeling out the ground in front of him before firmly putting his foot down. After what was decidedly much too long, he reached the two sitting things. They looked up at him, and then to a random direction. Riku followed their wandering eyes. When he saw what he was looking at, he was taken aback. A soft pink light beamed down through two trees.

He squinted through the foliage and saw the outline of a small cottage in the distance. Could that be… where Snow White was? He took a step toward the light, but stopped suddenly to check on the black things, but when he turned around, they had vanished.

Riku gazed at the spot where they used to be and wondered if he should look for them, but he dismissed the idea quickly. This forest and world was a weird place. It was probably best just to get the princess and go.

He walked strait into the light, but when his eyes got into direct contact with the outside, they felt like they were burning and he gained a small head ache. He grumbled. Just how long had he been in that forest anyway?

His eyes became better adjusted right when the cottage door opened. Riku crouched down to the ground, afraid of being seen. He watched people exit the cottage and he couldn't help but crack a grin when he saw a young woman with pale skin and black hair come out.

Seven other short people came out of the cottage as well; who were what Riku figured must be the seven dwarves that the Queen mentioned. Snow White bid them all farewell and retreated back into the cottage.

Now.

Now was the perfect time.

Afraid that the girl might see him through one of the windows, he crept closer and closer to the cottage, while staying low to the ground. It was slow, but better to be safe than sorry. Those dwarves weren't too far off and a scream would be sure to attract their attention.

He reached the house and he leaned up against the exterior. How exactly should he go about doing this? He didn't want to harm her, so hitting her over the head with a blunt object until she passes out wasn't an option. If he just grabbed her she would scream and somebody would undoubtedly hear her. Maybe he should gag her with something? That wouldn't technically hurt her…

Riku sighed. This was so messed up.

He could hear her singing a little tune inside the house.

If he was going to get her, it was best to do it now, before someone sees him.

He prepared himself, but then heard a shirking coming from around the corner of the cottage. Riku dashed around the other corner. Did one of the dwarfs see him?

An old crone dressed in a black cloak hobbled around the corner holding a basket full of apples. Quite quietly she approached the open window he hid under. She almost threw her entire body inside. A gasp of surprise could be heard from the young princess.

"All alone my pet?" the crone inquired after a sinister chuckle.

"Why- why, yes I am but-" Snow White stuttered, still recovering from the scare the old woman had given her. The hag cut her sentence short, "The little men are not here?"

Riku's eyes narrowed. This lady seemed suspiciously familiar… Snow White continued to stammer out, "No, their not but-" A large sniffing sound from the crones obscenely large nose interrupted her, "Mm," she said, "Makin' pie?"

Snow White seemed to cheer up almost immediately, "Yes. Gooseberry pie."

"It's apple pie that makes the men-folks mouths water," the crone stated confidently. Riku paused in his thoughts to consider if he ever liked apple pie and what the hell this lady was talking about, but he snapped back into concentration when the crone continued, "Apple pie made from apples…" she reached into her basket and pulled out a particularly red apple, "…like these!"

Riku could see Snow White's pale hand reach out to inspect the apple as she crooned, "Oh, they do look delicious!" "Yes," the hag agreed with a chuckle, "But wait 'til you taste one dearie…"

A new movement caught his eye in a nearby tree. Two vultures sat gazing down at the old hag and Snow White with almost… smirks planted on their faces. Riku's eyes widened as he recognized the vultures from the castle. His eyes switched madly to the hag.

"Go on. Go on, have a bite!" the hag was practically shoving the apple in her face. Riku made connections quickly. He dashed out of his hiding place and tackled the queen in disguise down to the ground. Riku reached for the apple in the princess' hands and threw it across the field, far away from her.

Snow White did nothing but gasp in shock. The hag looked up at him and spat, "YOU."

"Nice to see you again," he drew his sword and pointed at the queen, "What, did you forget to take your beauty nap this afternoon?"

Not amused, the queen looked like she was going to snap back with something, but a sudden change in lighting sucked the voice out of her. It grew very dark, very quickly.

Riku looked up. Great, big, grey clouds covered the entire sky, the only hint of light being the scattered lightning bolts hopping from one cloud to the next. Riku lowered his sword and cursed. Of all the times…

Snow White looked terrified and confused. Her eyes darted across the entire sky and she suddenly let out a shriek. Both Riku and the queen looked up to see what Snow White was screaming at. A swirling black and purple vortex lit up the sky. The queen stared in horror. Riku glared with irritation.

This world's door has opened.

Snow White fainted on the sill. Riku glanced down at her, shrugged, and threw her over his shoulder. That was easier than expected. He made his way back to the forest.

"Wait!" the queen yelled. He stopped to listen. "Where are you going?"

"To my ship," he answered simply as he continued walking.

"Take me with you!" the queen hobbled over to catch up. Riku spotted a dark creature, sitting patiently, waiting for him. He didn't reply to the queen as he followed the black thing, but she continued to limp after him, pleading. Within almost no time at all, he had reached his ship and the black thing disappeared. He sneered, he must have been walking around in circles in that wood….

"Your ship! Please, let me go on!" the hag pleaded as Riku placed Snow White into the vessel. Riku glanced down at the sniveling frightened old lady, and for a split second, found a hint of pity. The sympathy disappeared as quickly as it came as he recalled how he was treated and why she was like this in the first place. So he merely smiled, "Sorry, this is a ship for two." He climbed in fully and took off, leaving the queen behind to be engulfed along with her world.

O.o

Heheheh…

Yes?

How unbelievably cruel of you Riku… leaving a poor old woman to die, and with a smile on your face no less.

One: she isn't really an old woman, and two: this is really only a ship for two people… which brings up the question of how you're speaking to me…

That still doesn't explain the smile.

She had it coming. She used her power out of petty jealousy… toward her daughter too! If you ask me, you can't get any lower than that. She was the cruel one, not me.

Whatever you say Riku…

Say, what were those things that helped me in the forest?

What makes you think I know?

I know you know. And I bet you're the reason they didn't attack me like the queen ordered to also.

Don't discredit yourself.

Yeah, yeah. What are they?

They are called heartless. They are the product of when a heart is separated from the body and soul. The heart is either devoured by another heartless or is consumed by its own darkness, either way the light within the heart ceases to be and all that is left is pure darkness. This creates a heartless. They gained the name heartless because although being created out of the darkness of heart, a true heart has at least a little light in it; however in their case, they possess no light, and the darkness itself is used only to create a form of them, so they truly don't even possess a pure dark-heart either. There by being those with out hearts, heartless.

I didn't catch half of what you said, you know… but wait… did you say heartless are people?

Were people. You see, heartless hunt human beings… rather, the hearts of human beings. They devour the light in the heart and the darkness that is left over becomes a heartless. It's how they reproduce.

That's horrible.

It's beautiful. But they don't just devour the hearts of man, but the hearts of worlds.

The hearts of worlds… I don't understand… worlds have hearts? And would that make the world that has had its heart devoured… a heartless?

Close enough for now, you still have so very much to learn…

O.o

Okay, this chapter is concluded. It took me forever to find my old Snow White tape and get the dialogue from it. I wanted to keep most of what has really been said as pure as possible.

RANDOM MOSTLY UNRELATED FACT: I learned on my last trip to Disneyland (which was last Saturday for my birthday). The dark ride "Snow White's Scary Adventures" used to be only called "Snow White's Adventures" but because of the incredibly bleak and scary setting throughout most of the ride, most children and parents were caught off guard and usually yelled at Disney for not putting up a warning of sorts. (I believe one of the complaints was "You didn't say there was a witch in there!"). So they ended up temporarily closing down the dark ride for restoration and added the 'touch the golden apple and hear the witch cackle' bit and the scene with the dungeon and the cawing shadow of a crow in the waiting line and added the word 'scary' in the ride's title. They figured that if the kids weren't scared off by the dungeon scene, they'd survive the rest of the ride.

Please review, or at least read the chapter (so I can count my hits!)