What was lost.
Summary: (multiple pairings) What would have happened if Kairi hadn't recognized Sora as a heartless? Would Riku have been able to break free from Ansem's grasp in time to save Sora's heart from being completely destroyed by The Darkness? Let's find out, shall we?
Disclaimer: man…haven't written one of these in a looooong time…. But yeah, as much as I love Kingdom Hearts and all the charries involved in the game, Alas, it's not mine. I wish I had enough money to change that though.
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I saw you last night and got that old feeling
When you came in sight I got that old feeling
The moment that you danced by I felt a thrill
And when you caught my eye
My heart stood still
Once again I seemed to feel that old yearning
And I knew the spark of love was still burning
There'll be no new romance for me
It's foolish to start
For that old, old feeling is still in my heart
Once again I seemed to feel that old yearning
And I knew the spark of love was still burning
There'll be no new romance for me
It's foolish to start
For that old, old feeling is still in my heart
Still in my heart
Still in my heart
-Rod Stewart, "That old Feeling"
The light over head was beginning to wane the further it led him into the core of Darkness. He tried to hurry his pace so he could get to wherever the light was taking him before it was gone. Yellow eyes leered at him from all sides, knowing he wasn't one of them because he had a heart…
Traitor…
Unwanted…
Get out of here…
Imposter…Liar…
He clamped his claw-like hands on either side of his head to try to drown out the harsh hisses, but it was to no avail. Their words seemed to pierce his small body and make him want to die…
But he couldn't give up! Not just yet! Not without finding Riku! He pushed on faster, his strength renewed by his fear and determination. If only he had his voice! If only he could call out! Maybe then Riku could recognize it and find him! He heard himself hiss again
Riku…
Find me…
Riku…
What if the boy didn't hear? What if he was consumed by the same darkness that was threatening to consume him as well? What if he couldn't discern his voice from the rest of the Heartless'?
Riku!
Please Riku
You must find me!
I'm so lost
Riku!
The light above flickered and then faded back into nothingness, leaving Sora alone in the dark. The other heartless noticed that there was nothing left to protect the heart the imposter had from them.
And so, they attacked.
"Where's Sora?" Leon asked accusingly as Donald and Goofy brought Kairi into their home. "Where's the Keyblade master?" He insisted again upon receiving no answer.
Donald turned on his heel, brandishing his staff like a club. "We don't know where he is so shaddup before I conk you over the head!" He shouted a bunch of incoherent words as he was picked up and put behind his companion.
"Uh... Sorry Leon, Donald just isn't so good with dealing with too much stress… " The large dog took his hat off and scratched the top of his head before returning it. "Truth is…we don't know where Sora is either." He said guiltily, offering up a shrug. "He didn't come back out of the castle after that Riku unlocked Miss Kairi's heart…"
Leon put his hand to his forehead. "So let me get this straight…you lost the Keyblade master!?"
"Seems that way.." Goofy said, looking down at his feet. "we're real sorry…"
"It's alright, knowing Sora, he'll be okay." Aerith said reassuringly, walking over and patting Goofy on the shoulder. "So, you're the Kairi Sora has been searching so frantically for?" She said smiling as she looked over at the girl who had remained silent since arriving.
The redheaded girl nodded and then looked away, blushing a little. Did Sora really care about her that much? Maybe there was still hope that he'd come out of the castle alive… Maybe Goofy was wrong…
"Well…I think we should uh be getting back to Hollow Bastion to look for Sora some more, you don't mind watching Miss Kairi here, d'ya Miss Aerith?"
"No problem Goofy." She took Kairi's hand. "Come on, you must be hungry, huh?" But she didn't wait for an answer as she pulled her into the makeshift kitchen.
Leon still looked more than mildly pissed, which wasn't really anything new for him anyway. "I'm coming with you..."
"Aw shucks Leon, we can do it on our own! You don't hafta come with us."
"I said I'm coming with you. You guys lost him, how do you expect to find him? Now let's get going." He turned and walked brusquely out the door into the Third District, not bothering to wait for the other two.
"Well…guess we better follow 'im, uh right Donald?"
After a long stream of curses in what seemed to be a different language and a few seconds of the duck hyperventilating, Goofy was grabbed by the sleeve and dragged out of the room.
"Uh…I guess that's a yes..."
Riku could've sworn he saw a light shining down through the Darkness a ways off, but his mind dismissed that as impossible because no light could exist in the pure shadow in that place. Still, his heart fluttered with hope and told him that that's where Sora would be, in whatever light he could find.
A large group of heartless rushed past him, leaving his skin burning with the icy chill of having touched something soulless. He frowned, Heartless never swarmed like that unless… "Sora!" Now, he knew without doubt, the Sora was in that direction.
He gave chase, running so hard that his lungs nearly busted and yet he still seemed to be getting nowhere! More heartless swarmed by, eyes aflame with the promise of regaining the hearts they lost a long time ago.
That many would kill Sora! He had little time to lose! He pushed himself harder, ignoring the protest of his body. He didn't matter, not when it came to Sora!
Riku stopped because the thick gathering of heartless was preventing him from moving any further. There had to be at least 20 feet of heartless separating him from the core of it, from where Sora would be… How could he possibly get through that many?! Maybe he still had some ability to control them. He stood panting, trying to get enough breath to shout loud enough for them all to hear.
"STOP IT!" He shouted hoarsely, but to no avail. They just wouldn't listen to his frantic cries when the promise of a heart was involved. So, maybe he could call to Sora instead. "SORA! FIGHT BACK!"
Whose voice was that?
"FIGHT THEM SORA!"
Who wanted him to be saved?"PLEASE! YOU MUST LISTEN TO ME!"
Could it be that boy?"SORA!"
Riku…The heart the shadows were after glowed bright with renewed fire. The Heartless backed away, doubting their ability to take a heart so strong.
Riku pushed through the retreating Heartless before they could change their mind and swarm on his Light in more numbers. He wouldn't let them snuff Sora out…not after finding him again. Steadily, he made his way toward the center, only to find a Heartless cringing in pain even though it's jagged grin still remained in lace. Where was his friend? Where was Sora?!
Riku…It's yellow eyes set on his and it rose to its feet, reaching out for the silver-haired boy.
Riku…"Sora?! Is that you in there!?" It was hard to tell if the Heartless was nodding once it started up it's dance, but who else could it be? Who else could make his heart beat so fast? "Oh no... Sora!" He grabbed the Heartless and pulled it close. "What's happened to you!?"
He felt so warm in that embrace. He had found someone who knew him for who he was! And that name he kept repeating…That was his own name!
Sora…
That's me…
That's my name!
I'm Sora..
Riku!
"Yes… You're Sora…my poor Sora." It burned to hold the body his friend was trapped in because it hurt so badly. "Oh what a mess you've gotten yourself into! Let me see if I can at least help a little.." He pulled back and placed both of his hands on the little Heartless' tiny shoulders and willed with all his might for it's form to change to that of an anti-Sora.
His body shifted and contorted as he grew taller. His claws became fingers and his jagged teeth returned to normal, no longer did it look like he was seeing things through a magnifying glass. "Is this what I looked like?" He was still made of shadow but, now he didn't seem so helpless.
Riku opened his eyes upon hearing Sora's question. "It worked!" He threw his arms around the boy's shoulders. How good it felt to be holding that familiar shape! And yet, how much it burned…
"Is this the real me?" Sora asked again, not sure how to react to the other boy's touch. Exactly how close were he and Riku back in that place so full of light? He didn't remember…What if they were enemies? No…his heart told him that they weren't.
"No…" Riku said, pulling away. "This is just a form that will help you fight better against the rest of the Heartless."
"Heartless? Am I…. a Heartless? I look like them…Am I one of them?"
"No! Oh god no! You're different from them!" He reached out and put a hand on Sora's chest, over where his heart was. "This is what makes you different from everyone here."
"Even you? Are you a heartless?" The anti-Sora tilted his head slightly, frowning while trying to understand. He had forgotten so much since arriving here… He barely knew or understood anything anymore. Well, except that his heart, the thing that made him different, responded to that boy…Riku must have been special to him…
Riku winced and didn't know what to say. He still had his emotions and he felt love…so he couldn't have lost his heart… But he had done things that were so unforgivable. "I don't know…" He answered softly.
Sora reached out and touched Riku's face. "You don't look like me…or any of them." He looked around at the yellow eyes peering at them, waiting for the chance to strike again. "So you must not be a Heartless… You're too good to be a Heartless…You saved me."
The tears welled up in his eyes. "No Sora…I'm not a Heartless like them…I'm much worse because I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I did it anyway… They don't know any better…I'm such a terrible person!" He reached up and pulled Sora's hand from his face.
The anti-Sora frowned deeper and put his hands on Riku's shoulders. "What bad things have you done?"
"I betrayed you! Over and over again! I turned my back on you even though I knew it would hurt you!"
"But you saved me…that wasn't bad, was it?"
"No…You don't understand! I'm so sorry…"
He didn't know what compelled him to do so, but soon Sora found him holding Riku close. "My heart says you aren't bad at all… so stop trying to say that you are. My heart says you wouldn't ever hurt me…and I trust it…and you…"
His words managed to shatter the frail wall that held back his tears. That was the Sora he knew…The boy that would always comfort him regardless of what he had done. He had found him; he had found his Light.
Ansem approached the door that would open to reveal and let loose The End of the World. He put his hands on the door and pushed with all his might, but it wouldn't give way! Growling in his frustration, Ansem took a step back and glared at the keyhole. "I need that boy's Keyblade.
He tried to summon it, but it didn't work…which meant that the boy was still alive and that he had really made a huge mistake turning Riku loose. He swore under his breath and turned around, staring at the Darkness that loomed behind him. "Find them!" He barked. "And bring them to me…" Thousands of yellow eyes opened and then disappeared as the swarms of Heartless turned and ran in their grotesque way towards the two boys. "I will open the door that leads to Kingdom Hearts and nothing will stop me..."
TBC
A/N: WOO! I GOT KINGDOM HEARTS CHAIN OF MEMORIES!!!!!!! (dances uber crazy) The graphics are surprisingly awesome for the game boy and the card style battling isn't as bad as I thought it would be! You can still mash the A button and get the same effect as mashing the X button so it's all good. : ) (Im a button masher so yeah…) Sorry it took me a while to update. I just wasn't feeling too horribly inspired but the game changed that! Woo! This chapter doesn't seem as good as the others and it's kinda sappy but whatever…
R/R TIME!:
Salena-Jagonashi: Thanks for reviewing! It means a lot to me : )
Will's Girl: yeah…poor buddy (pets riku) He's gone through so much and it isn't anywhere near over yet.
Ravena Night: Hope you liked this chappie!
diamondprincess2006: There ya go! More for you! Yay!
SilentRemorse: KH Chain of memories is already taking away what little life I have left…I'll be like gone forever when KH2 comes out! Lmao Thanks for reading and reviewing!
DieChan: I love you too? (sweatdrop) Glad you like it so far!
That's everybody who reviewed on the last chapter!
Will Ansem catch the two boys? Or will they find away out? What about my promise of Ansem x Sora?!
Stay tuned!
Until next time…
DB
