Chapter 2: The Soulless
It had been nearly a week since Riku had fallen off the skyscraper. He had made a deal with his former enemy Zexion, to kill his old friend Sora. Riku didn't know what intentions Zexion had for wanting Sora eliminated but Riku had his own. In exchange for promising to eliminate Sora, Zexion had brought him to him home and was nursing him back to health. As much as Riku despised Zexion it was either help him or die, and he kinda liked living.
Riku had been falling in and out of comatose like sleep while his wounds were healing. While awake Zexion would tell him some of what was happening. Riku, to dazed to really process it though didn't get much of it. Zexion eventually gave up and decided to wait till he was fully healed before he tried to tell him much. Zexion watched Riku, how pitiful he looked. Fast asleep, healing from a fatal drop. He wondered how Riku had survived.
He had seen him fall, seen him hit the ground, watched as the ground cracked and shifted as if a meteor had hit the ground. He had smelled him, Sora, the once key barer, and he had smelled Riku too. He would have known if Riku were dead, he would have smelt his scent dissipate. But it didn't, he was indeed alive. No one besides him seemed to have noticed anything at all had happened. Zexion had stealthily taken Riku's body as far as he could drag it before the key barer found them.
Two weeks passed and Riku seemed to be nearly finished. He remained awake more and seemed to be more focused, though he still had slight problems moving. "Rest" Zexion snapped, seeing Riku sit up. "Even if you are completely healed, which you're not, you should still remain for a while to make sure you're at a hundred percent. We're in no hurry; the key isn't going anywhere. You have to be in top fighting form to take him Riku. If your not he'll easily dispose of you again, and more than likely I wont be around to help."
"Why is that? To cowardly to fight on your own? That's right you are. I remember you wouldn't fight straight with me, you just tried to fuck up my head, only you know that wont work on Sora since his mind is already fucked" Riku said harshly.
"Don't mistake tactics as cowardice Riku. You are stronger than me in body so it would be stupid to fight you that way when you have an obvious advantage. You were much weaker in the mind back then though, it was easy to mess with your head. I would have gotten away from it if it weren't for that meddling nobody though. The years seem to have been good to you though Riku, your much sharper, much stronger than you were then. You'll need to be even more so though if you want to take on the Lost Souls."
Riku looked at him, confusion splattered all over his face. " Lost souls?"
Zexion chuckled darkly and nodded. "Riku, what happens when darkness takes over a heart?"
"It becomes a heartless" He answered, unsure of where this was going, if it was going anywhere at all. He knew Zexion, not like he would know a friend, not like say...Sora. Riku knew him fairly well though, the way two rivals know each other. He knew Zexion was not always straight forward.
Zexion nodded in approval and said " yes. And what happens to the body Riku?"
"The body becomes a nobody. You know this all already though Zexion, what are you getting at?" Riku frowned, a cold prickle running down his spine.
"Your wrong Riku. At least to a certain degree, allow me to elaborate. A person is made of three parts, as you and I both know, the heart, the body and the soul. A heartless is a heart tainted by darkness. A nobody is the body and soul that is left after one's heart is removed. Without the soul the body is naught but a lifeless corpse. What happens after you destroy the vessel that holds a soul? Dose it just float away? No, they become something else, more sinister and twisted than any Heartless or Nobody. There existence is still unknown to everyone outside this house Riku. You and I are the only ones that know about them, giving that you trust me. They are gathering viciously in numbers, and they are ready to mount an attack on all living things. They want their bodies back, and they'll stop at nothing to get their bodies." Zexion stared hopelessly out the window, wondering what Riku would be able to do about it. He had been counting on the key barer to help him…that is before he found out what had happened. Would Riku be strong enough?
"How do you know about all this" Riku said harshly, obviously he didn't believe him.
"Riku, as much as I don't like you and you don't like me I need your trust. What the hell do you think I've been doing for twelve years? Sitting on my ass and twiddling my thumbs waiting for you to plummet down from the sky? No, I havn't. I've been making myself useful by…"
"…Studying the heartless and nobodies right? The knowledge that turned you into a Nobody, that no one ever needs to mess with. That's what you've been up to isn't it?" Riku aloud no emotion to seep into his voice.
Zexion smiled darkly and said, " Yes, that's exactly what I've been doing. I'm already a Nobody…I've got nothing left to lose. I'd be damn happy if I were you that I have been though. So far these 'Lost Souls' are only appearing in this world though. If we can stop them here, they wont spread to other worlds. Think about it Riku, you can save the universe, doesn't that make you happy? All you have to do is destroy the one controlling them."
"..,and that would be?"
"your dear friend, Sora…"
((Authors note: yay another chapter complete! So now you know about the new mysterious evil known as the 'Lost Souls'. It still leaves many questions unanswered though. What has happened in the twelve years of supposed peace? What is this odd world that Riku and Zexion are in? How are they going to stop this new evil? The answers to all those questions and more in Chapter 3: Memories Inked on Photos Faded))