Disclaimer: not mine
Chapter 9
"Where am I? What is this place?" Riku looked around in confusion, he didn't recognise his surroundings at all which was strange since every other card had shown him somewhere he'd been.
The streets were paved, buildings rising one to three stories above him, a clock tower rising even higher, and…was that a train passing by? It seemed to be evening, twilight, the sun beginning to set in the distance, but everything was eerily empty and silent, except for the sound of the train.
"You must battle me, against my dark powers!" A voice called and then Ansem appeared in front of him.
Riku glared angrily and summoned his weapon, but then he paused, noticing something, and dropped his guard.
"What's this? Are you giving up? Finally ready to surrender to your fate?" Ansem taunted, and Riku stared at him.
"You're not the true Ansem," he stared confidently, and Ansem shifted into a more neutral position. "Your scent is different. The Ansem in my heart smells darker, the odour is more foul. But your scent just isn't that; it's not Darkness, it's something else. I finally understand, you're the one who guided me when it started. You came to me pretending to be Ansem. You gave me the card…to make me face the darkness."
Ansem glowed with a bright yellow aura, and his voice melded with that of another man. "Hm. That is correct." He nodded and then his appearance changed as well, into someone else wearing red and black, his face covered. "DiZ, or so I am known. You…I've watched you all along."
"Really. Who are you? And what do you want from me?" Riku asked warily, while he was grateful for the help out of that place, the man obviously wanted something from him.
"For you to choose."
"Choose?"
"You are a special entity. You exist between light and dark. You stand in the twilight. You will meet with someone you think you know, and then you will choose."
"Choose what?" he demanded, even as he wondered who DiZ meant.
"You will know soon," was the annoying answer even as the man turned into a ball of light and flew away.
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"It's not working, is it Naminé?" Axel asked and she stiffened, gripping her sketchbook tightly to her chest, proving him right by her reaction. "Sora doesn't know who you are. He's good, but I caught the flicker when the Replica said your name. He didn't know what it was talking about. Now why is that?"
"I…I don't know. It should be working. Everyone else is being effect, the Replica and the original Riku…Sora's companions…just not Sora," she admitted softly.
"Well….isn't that just interesting. Alright, stop trying with the boy then and focus on Riku. If we can't use Sora, we can use him and his Replica." He squeezed her shoulder and she nodded obediently.
"No matter how much I change his memory, Riku will never forget Kairi. Memories of me… more false memories of me will just make his feelings for Kairi even stronger than before. Because... I'm the shadow of Kairi," she warned, and Axel shrugged, moving away.
"What's your problem with that? That should be your incentive not to screw anything up. Just do a good job rewriting Riku's heart. Then you can actually be somebody, and no longer just Kairi's shadow. You'll be real in Riku's heart," Axel told her as he left.
He wasn't interested in that boy, no, Sora was far more interesting. And if he took out more of the others then that would be very helpful. Saïx had said to kill the traitors, he hadn't specified who, but Axel knew that everyone in the Castle was a threat to their own plan, although… he wasn't so sure anymore if that was what his old friend was still working towards. Were they even friends now? They were Nobodies after all. Either way, he'd do it, but he'd let Sora and co go when it was done, there'd be no one left to argue his report and he was of more use out there killing Heartless then under the Superior's thumb, likely controlled via threats to his friends.
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Stupid Sora, what right did he have always trying to get between him and Naminé? Well not this time, he would protect Naminé from anyone and everything. Next time they fought, he would beat him, he would.
He went to Naminé's room, ignoring the others to make sure she was okay, not seeing the pleased looks that the memories had taken so well in the Replica. The only question was, would they take as well in the real Riku?
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Despite not needing sleep, he was exhausted. He sucked down a blood pack, knowing they were about to leave Atlantica. It was weird to appear to be under water but not be in the forms they'd had in that world. Walking through water was a bit off putting. Then again, since he didn't need to breath anymore, would the magic still change him since he could survive as he was under the water?
He heard Donald squawk and looked at him as he drank. He removed his fangs and cocked his head to the side. "What?"
"What are you doing?" the duck demanded.
"Feeding?" What did he think he was doing?
"Feeding? Sora…is that…blood?" Jiminy asked as he hopped onto his shoulder.
Sora swallowed, heart sinking…they'd forgotten. "You don't remember?" he asked quietly, and Goofy moved closer.
"Remember what?" he asked, even as Jiminy jumped to Goofy's shoulder which kind of hurt.
"What happened to me…when She attacked me?" he didn't know his Sire's name, didn't want to, though apparently Jack had known it so Donald and Goofy did…had as well. He wanted nothing to do with her at all.
"Who attacked you?" Goofy asked, alarmed.
"A vampire," Sora answered, unable to look at them. "She turned me…but you got me away from her, took me to safety. You stayed with me, even when I didn't recognise you, couldn't speak, anything. You…you don't remember any of it? We stayed with Merlin, he used time magic to speed things up, he taught us magic…" Sora trailed off, hugging himself.
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Goofy watched Sora hug himself, unable to look at them anymore. He'd thought the things they were forgetting weren't important…but then how could they forget that? Sora looked younger, ashamed, and scared, and Goofy reached out to him. He'd been a vampire all the time they'd been in the Castle and he hadn't hurt anyone except the bad guys. Did what he was matter more than who? They'd known before and hadn't left him so why should it matter now?
"Come here Sora," Goofy told him firmly but gently, and Sora fell into his arms, clinging to him. "It's okay, we may not remember it, but we didn't notice anything different which means ya haven't changed. You're still Sora," he explained.
"I've never bitten anyone or anything. Merlin gave me blood packs to drink from. Donald has some of the emergency ones for if I get really hurt, they have an additive that helps me heal quicker. Healing magic'll seal wounds but not replace lost blood," Sora explained shakily, and Donald dug through his supplies, sure enough he had some of the packs.
Goofy just held on, everyone ignoring the exit for now. He glanced down and started, Sora's appearance had changed, black wings emerging from his back. He reached out and carefully touched one, Sora whining softly, leaning more heavily against him. Okay, so Sora had wings and somehow they were normally hidden.
"Is that an illusion?" Donald asked and Sora nodded.
"Merlin did it for me. Only people who know can see what I look like now. Oh, and people like Herc with godly blood and stuff." He moved back, away from Goofy, head bowed, but then he lifted it, letting them look at him.
"Oh Sora…" Donald whispered.
He looked so different…but the way he bit his lip, despite the fangs, how he shifted nervously, that was all Sora, right? How much about him had they forgotten? And if they'd forgotten important things about Sora, what else had they lost?
"Wait!" Jiminy suddenly called and they all looked at him. "Sora, are you saying you remember?"
"Everything. Vampire's don't forget, whatever's happening isn't effecting me. I'm sorry for playing along but they watch us except when we're in these rooms. You're just forgetting but Riku….I've never heard of someone called Naminé before but Riku seems to think she's our friend. Someone is changing his memory."
"Are you sure it was really…um…Riku?" Goofy asked. If the Castle was messing with memories, and these rooms were showing memories, then maybe it hadn't really been him? Cause Riku was…Goofy frowned…Riku was…important to Sora!
"I thought maybe it wasn't, but his weapon was Riku's even if his scent is different."
"Well if Riku is here, maybe they took it off him," Donald offered.
Sora's looked hopeful at that. "Maybe…"
Of course they just had to run into a silver haired boy who looked mostly familiar who Sora called Riku again when they left the room, bringing Sora's hope back down.
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Riku left the latest room, frustrated. It was taking way too long! He had to find the way out and go home, to make sure his friends were okay. He tensed as he spotted someone waiting for him, biting back a sigh, it was becoming way to predictable.
"That scent... You're another one of those 'nobodies'," Riku told the redhead holding a large weapon.
"You've done well thus far. But to possess your powers, and yet fear Darkness... What a waste."
"I do not fear it!" Riku denied.
"I sense that you do. You're also capable of controlling the Darkness. Cast away your useless fear. Open your heart. Embrace the Darkness," the stranger told him and Riku called Soul Eater.
"And if I say no?"
"Then you lose both Light and Darkness…and disappear!" he was surrounded by a red and black aura, Riku struggling against the pressure released from it. "I, Lexaeus, will not yield to the frail heart of an infantile coward! Now, stop resisting and let the Darkness in!" he demanded, attacking.
Riku was tired, he didn't know how long he'd been in the Castle, he had napped a little but hadn't actually slept or anything. The battle was the hardest yet and in the end they were both exhausted, barely on their feet. Riku gathered his energy for one last attack. "You're finished!" he dashed in to attack.
"Don't mock me!" Lexaeus swiped Riku with his weapon, knocking him to the ceiling. He then fell back to the ground. "You were too much trouble." Lexaeus walked to Riku, but Riku became enveloped in Darkness, Lexaeus gasping.
Riku picked up Soul Eater and seemed to vanish. Lexaeus froze and dropped his weapon; Riku had slashed right through him. "Too slow," Riku spoke in a double tone.
"You are the Superior's…" he never finished, starting to fade away. "Forgive me, Zexion. This was a fight I should not have started," he whispered before fulling fading.
"Heh..." Riku scoffed, taking a step, before collapsing.
"I see you now...clearly."
Riku opened his eyes, he was floating in Darkness. "Huh?" he looked around. "Lexaeus?!" was this a new attack?
"Riku... I can see your heart..." the voice was too familiar, and Riku fought not to panic.
"No...it's not. Darkness this foul could only...only be…"
"That's it, remember me... Let me drift into your heart..."
"Ansem!" he screamed in denial and fear, even as Ansem laughed.
"You called out my name. You have been thinking about me... You're afraid of the Darkness I command. Good... The more you think of me, the closer my return draws. And when I have awoken, I will take hold..." Ansem appeared before him in the Darkness. "Your heart will be mine!"
Ansem held out his hand and tried to grab Riku. Riku struggled to avoid him, movements sluggish, as if something was holding him. There was a flash of light, and Mickey's sphere appeared, giving Riku hope.
"Riku, fight! Don't let him win!" the King called and then the sphere disappeared.
"Your Majesty!" he cried out desperately, and then he saw Mickey, his form transparent, and he guarded Riku with his arms.
"You meddlesome king!" Ansem snarled at Mickey.
With that the black faded and Riku appeared back in the castle. He gasped awake, looking around wildly, but he was alone. "The king... He protected me... Your Majesty, where are you? Please answer!" he called as he got shakily to his feet but there was no response and Riku clutched at his heart. "You're with me, aren't you..." he managed a smile.
Yes, the King and his friends were with him, they always would be. Naminé and Sora would never abandon him, even after everything he'd done. He'd done it all for her after all and Sora would do the same.
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Kairi ran her fingers over the drawings on the walls, tracing Sora's face. She missed him so much, him and…and…she frowned. There was someone else…another boy, wasn't there? The drawing had a been vandalised? Or had there always been that blurry part? But who would damage their drawing? She could make out an arm, holding a Paopu fruit like they were and there… a face, but it was blurred out. What was going on? She touched the image, she knew him, she did…Ri…ku? What was happening to her? Riku…she knew Riku…she did…didn't she?
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Naminé quickly moved towards where Sora should be, terrified she would be too late. Who knew what Larxene would do once she realised Sora hadn't forgotten anything and didn't know Naminé. She couldn't let him be killed, then again, from what she'd seen, that wouldn't be as easy as they thought. Through Sora, she had seen places and people she could never have imagines…and she'd seen some horrible things too…including what had happened to him. She knew the truth, but she would never say a word.
She had to tell him though, even if he hated her for it. She had never expected it to happen, didn't know how it had but it could permanently take nearly everyone he loved from him. Maybe it was something to do with where they were? Or was it that she didn't fully understand her own powers? How memory worked? It didn't matter, all that mattered was they had to find the real Riku and reverse what she had done before it was too late.
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Sora was still puzzling over the weird trip back to the Islands, well the memory Play Island anyway. Everyone in it had only said Her, he had assume they meant Kairi but then he'd seen the girl in white and he'd known, she was the girl Riku had been speaking of, Naminé. It had been a very weird meeting considering she acted like they knew each other while he had no clue.
He looked around but there was no sign of Donald, Goofy, or Jiminy. He shouldn't have rushed ahead when he thought he'd spotted Riku, he hadn't realised he was moving that fast! He saw someone up ahead and slowed…the girl in white.
"You're Naminé, aren't you? The girl Riku was talking about, but how could he know you?" He asked her, keeping what should be a safe distance, but he felt no threat from her.
"Because I went into his memories and…"
"Let ME explain this," Riku demanded, moving between them. "Plain and simple. Your memory is a train wreck. You're not the one who's meant to protect Naminé. It's supposed to be me! But you and your messed-up memories are always in the way, Sora!" he attacked, forcing Sora to defend himself.
Sora knocked Riku down and then rushed to his side, unable to stand by when he was hurt, ashamed to have been the one to hurt him. "Riku!"
"Want some more?" Riku snarled, firing a blast at Sora, knocking him to the ground.
"Aah!" he rolled, hissing in pain from the flames, thankful for the accessories he was wearing otherwise he'd be healing for a while.
"Sora!" Naminé called out in alarm which made no sense to him, they didn't know each other! Why would she be worried about him?
Riku had a smile on his face as he walked to Sora…and it wasn't a nice smile.
"Riku..." he lifted the arm that hadn't been hit towards him, eyes pleading for Riku to snap out of it.
"Looks like I win," he gloated, and Sora stared up at him, unable to believe that Riku would actually do it, even when possessed Riku had wrestled enough control to stop the blow.
"Riku, stop!" Naminé yelled at him, moving closer.
"You're through!" Riku drew Soul Eater back, ready to strike, and Sora tried to get up, but he hurt from the flames, could feel the hunger growing. He didn't think it'd be a permanently killing blow but it'd probably keep him down for a while and he couldn't afford that!
"I said STOP!" She screamed.
Sora could only watch as Riku gasped, tensing, before collapsing. "Riku...? Riku! RIKU!" he looked for injuries but couldn't find any, Riku staring vacantly straight ahead…no…he couldn't be dead, he couldn't. Sora forced his aching body to move, to reach out and check for a pulse. He looked at Naminé. "What did you do? What did you do to him?" he snarled, fighting the urge to go for her throat.
Larxene chose that moment to appear, giving him a new target. "Broke his heart," she laughed. "I'd say more like she smashed it, really," she gloated.
"Smashed...his heart?! Then...what's gonna... What's gonna happen to Riku?" He shakily touched Riku's cheek but there was no response.
Larxene laughed, not seeing Sora's eyes flicker red, the illusion threatening to fail as his rage grew. "Oh, you're so much fun to watch. If it's Riku you're worried about, then don't. Because Riku was never really here."
"What do you mean?" he demanded, holding Riku to his chest, he felt light to Sora, despite being the taller of them.
"Do you really think I'm just gonna say it? That's too easy! Oh, what to do?"
"Quit the games!" he carefully set Riku (maybe not Riku?) down and stood. "Tell me or I'll kill you," he snarled, seeing the shock on her face at his threat. She didn't answer so he lunged, not bothering with the Keyblade, fist slamming into her stomach at beyond human strength, knocking her to the ground.
"All right," she coughed, staggering up and away from him, eyes wide in shock, "have it your way, then. I know it'll kill you to hear this, but I think I can live with that. That thing lying there is just a puppet that Vexen made as an experiment. No more than a toy. It's laughable, really. It called you a fake, but IT was a fabrication all along."
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A new stranger appeared before Riku and he tensed, most of his face hidden by his hair. "The Keyblade master is making his way through our ranks rather swiftly."
"Keyblade... You mean Sora! Sora is here?!" he demanded. How had they captured both Sora and Naminé? Although Sora seemed to be doing a good job of rescuing himself.
"Yes. Want to see him? But...can you face him?"
"What's that mean?" he demanded.
"The world of Darkness, and Ansem's shadow, still nest within your heart. Do you plan to face Sora like that? Are you not ashamed?"
Riku looked away, even though he knew it proved him right; he was ashamed.
"Sora's fate is to battle the Darkness. He must oppose anyone who hosts the Dark…in other words, it's you. If you don't believe the words I say..." he tossed a card and Riku caught it, "then you had best see the truth with your own eyes."
"This card! This is our…" he stared at the image, it was their what?
"Yes, it is your home." With that the man vanished.
Riku looked at the card, he took a deep breath, hesitated, but then held it up to the door. He stepped onto warm sand and it felt vaguely familiar, moving automatically to sit on a bent tree, though he wasn't sure why, and looked out to sea. "Is this my home? It feels… familiar." Startled, he touched his cheek to find a tear there.
Riku got off the tree and looked around, three teens in the distance. They looked familiar, he knew them, didn't he? "Hey!" he called but they didn't react. He ran across the bridge and then down towards the dock. "What's with you guys? I don't think I've ever seen the three of you so quiet," the words just popped into his head when he saw them. They looked at him but didn't respond and he just knew that was wrong, even if he couldn't quite recall who they were. "What, is there something on my face? Guys?!"
The three vanished and he stumbled back in shock. What was going on? Wait…where were Naminé and Sora? Riku ran back to the weird tree but then he noticed Naminé behind him on the bridge.
"Naminé... Hey, Naminé. Are you…" he reached out as she vanished. "Ah... No!" he cried out in denial.
"Surely you knew this would happen."
Riku spun to face the man, glaring.
"You've been to a number of worlds in your memory before this one. And in those worlds, you met only Dark beings. That's all that's left in your heart: Dark memories. Your memories of home are gone…each and every one."
"That's a lie! I remember everyone from home! Naminé and Sora, and…and the others too! They're my...my..." he paused for a moment and looked down, "my closest friends..." Even if he couldn't remember their names at the moment or what their home was called.
"And who threw away those friends? Maybe it's your own actions that you've forgotten. You destroyed your home!"
There was a flash of Darkness, and the islands were suddenly reduced to a single landmass. Riku gasped and observed his surroundings. "This is...that night!" he remembered that night, how could he ever forget it! He just…didn't remember the Islands themselves before it.
"All of the islands you grew up on were sundered, scattered. Many hearts were forever lost to the Darkness. Because of what YOU did!" He pointed over to a projection of Riku at the edge of the island. "You hated being an islander, so you opened the door to Darkness and destroyed the islands. It was YOU! You were pulled into the Darkness then, and now you belong to the Darkness."
Riku clutched his heart and looked ahead in horror. No…it couldn't be…he didn't belong in Darkness anymore, he didn't!
"You should look…look at what you truly are!" The projection of Riku transformed into a Darkside Heartless.
"This...this can't be who I really am!" Riku denied, stumbling back but the stranger was gone. He called Soul Eater to hand and readied himself to fight, eventually destroying the Darkside.
He panted and looked around the island. He noticed someone looking out to the dark sea on the edge of the island and felt a surge of relief as recognition came, Sora, it was Sora. "Sora?! Sora!" Riku walked over to Sora. "Sora, it's me…"
Sora turned around and attacked Riku with his Keyblade, forcing him to jump backward and dodge.
"What?!"
Sora jumped at Riku and tried to strike him, but Riku blocked the attack, their blades clashing.
"Stop it, Sora! Don't you recognize me?" he pleaded, what was wrong with him?
"Yeah, I recognize you," Sora answered softly, before his expression hardened. "I can see exactly what you've become!" he yelled. Sora jumped back and fired an attack of light, knocking Riku onto his back.
He gasped in pain, a hand shakily rising to press to his chest. It hurt…why did the Light hurt?
"How can the Light hurt you?" Sora sounded heartbroken as he asked, and Riku forced his eyes open, lifting his head to look at him. "Riku... Have you really become a creature of the Dark?" he asked and then shook his head even as Riku reached out with his other hand.
"Sora…please," he choked out.
"You're not Riku anymore... You're just a pawn of the Darkness. So be it. It's time for you to face the Light!" Sora raised his Keyblade and created a sphere, engulfing everything in light.
"Sora!" he cried out for help as the sphere swallowed him.
Everything faded away until Riku was floating in a white void. "I'm...fading... Fading away...into the light."
"You won't fade," a soft voice called, and then Naminé appeared in front of him as he forced his eyes open. "You can't fade. There's no power that can defeat you, not the light, not the Dark. So don't run from the light…and don't fear the Darkness. Because both will make you stronger."
"Make me stronger? Darkness too?" He asked, confused and still so tired. Sora…Sora had tried to kill him, had given up on him…
"Yes. Strength that's yours. The Darkness inside your heart, it's vast and it's deep...but if you can truly stare into it and never try to look away, you won't be afraid of anything again," she explained gently.
"All this time I've tried to push the Darkness away…"
"You've just got to remember to be brave. Know that the Darkness is there and don't give in. If you do that, you will gain strength, the kind that's unlike any other. You'll be able to escape the deepest Darkness…" she trailed off and he finished for her.
"and I'll be able to see through the brightest light…"
"Follow the Darkness. It'll show you the way to your friends."
"Can I face them?"
"You don't want to?" She asked curiously.
"You know I do. Of course. Naminé…I'm sorry, for everything," he had to tell her, even if he wasn't sure she was real. His words seemed to make her sad, but she nodded and then disappeared. "And I will! With my strength…My Dark strength!" Darkness swallowed him. "Darkness!" he called, feeling his clothing change even as he summoned Soul Eater. He slashed the air and was released from the void.
Back on the island, Riku slashed through Sora.
"Impossible!" Sora staggered, his voice changing to the strangers even as he fell to the ground. "How is it that you found me when you were there in the light?"
"You reek of Darkness. Even the light can't block the smell," Riku answered as the other gasped. "I guess I followed the Darkness right to you."
"This is absurd... Then I shall make you see... That your hopes are nothing…nothing but a mere illusion!" he attacked but it was a relatively easy fight between his new acceptance of his powers and the fact the man was already injured. "After all your protests, you're still like us, on the side of Darkness."
"I know who I am," Riku stated firmly.
"Do you really?" he chuckled weakly, as if he knew something Riku didn't. "When did that happen? You were always terrified of the Dark before…"
"Not anymore!" Riku slashed through him, watching him fade away.
Riku turned away as the island faded as well. Sora hadn't attacked him; it had been nothing more than an illusion. There was still the chance that Sora would accept him. He just had to find him. Sora would understand…wouldn't he? He was…Riku frowned, Sora was…his best…friend? Or was that Naminé?
TBC…
