The Grey Ancient

by Ancient2

This is the Kingdom Hearts storyline through Riku's point of view. It's a take on who he is, where did he come from, and 'what' he is. Neither of the Light, nor the Darkness. So then where does he belong?

5. Chapter 5

Nothing is Like Before

*** Traverse Town ***

Aeris was patrolling the town for Heartless. Walking along the store-sides and alleyways, meeting faces familiar and unfamiliar alike. She greeted them all as they greeted her with a friendly smile and wave, but... her heart wasn't really in it. Her son was missing and his light fading away into a flicker in the darkness, no longer traceable to Cetra senses, of course she would not be in the mood for anything. Aeris was once able to sense a trace of her son as he would call out to her in their dreams, but now the calls had just stopped. She was overloaded with worry, but most of all... she felt sick. Ready to vomit at the thought that she might have lost her son to the darkness, just like her other sons, just like the rest of her family. The idea itself made her want to hurl right on the alleyway street she was patrolling through. To think that her last speck of light in the universe would be snuffed out just like the others...

"Heard your light call out in the darkness."

"!" Aeris's heart froze, along with her breath as her eyes widen at the sound of the voice she had not heard in years. The voice that belonged to someone she held dear, someone... that she had been avoiding for years. He was leaning against the alleyway wall under the cover of darkness, waiting for her. The shadows protecting him from the street lights.

"You have been rather quiet for the past few years."

"(Gasp)!" She tried to turn to him, covering the exposure of her back as she caught him in her peripheral vision. The last time she had exposed her back to him had caused excruciating pain, the scar would still sting at the memory of the wound. She moved swiftly, getting rid of any advantages for him. But he moved faster. Before she knew it, he had moved out of the shadows and pushed her back onto the opposite alleyway wall, closing off her escape with his arm as he leaned in close. His hand resting close to the side of her face, on the wall, as they both stood under one of the alleyway lights. He hadn't changed much since the last time she saw him, just his clothes. His black leather coat which he was known for now had red-violet lining and more tattered. His chest was exposed, showing his grey straps around his abdomen with two black belts over it and two straps that intersected over his chest. The black pants, boots, leather gloves, and silver pauldron over each of his shoulders was still there; but he now had a black and red fin-like growth accessory on his right forearm. Stray onyx feathers from his one wing scattered around them as they stared each other down. His beautiful wings were now reduced to one. A lonely number, just like how he most likely was...

She backed as far away from him as she could, her body practically molding with the wall. There was a time when such actions from him would get her heart fluttering; but as he was now, this only made her tense.

"Good to see you," he said, leaning in closer to decrease the gap between them. A smirk coming over his face as a wicked gleam came into his eyes. "Aeris."

"!" There was truth to his words, but they did not hold the sweet sincerity that she longed for. No, they held some form of twisted sentiment. Her eyes strayed from his as she noticed his free right hand reaching up to caress her closest side bang in between his fingers; he brought it closer to him.

"Your light is still shining brightly as ever." He commented as he gave her a quick look over, making her feel exposed and naked even as his eyes skimmed her over for only a moment. It sent a shiver down her spine that she couldn't tell whether she hated or enjoyed it. However, his analysis on her state of being seemed to disappoint him in his aloof. "That's too bad."

"Sephiroth," she called out to him, even his name still had power over her. The mere roll of it on her tongue sent a pleasurable electricity coursing through her body. But she had to ignore this feeling, holding the shiver back, she kept herself stern and held her ground. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see how the last remnant of the Ancient race was fairing." He cut the gap between them in half again as the hand holding her bang worked its way up and off her bang onto her cheek. Caressing it as it slid its way down, passed her neck to her collarbone. "The last time I saw you, I was too busy blinded by my ambitions that I almost snuffed your existence out. I wanted my darkness to consume your light with every being that you are. Choking it... corroding you..."

"!" Her breath came out shaking as his fingers made their way down to her heart. His words were poison, but they felt like the finest silk to her ears as his lips and hand worked their spell on her. His hand had pressed down once it reached her left chest, giving the breast a squeeze to make her gasp out in pleasure. A blush coming over her face in embarrassment that she had allowed him to do that, let alone grant him a reaction from it. A smirk had returned to his face as he saw the silent pout she gave him when his hand quickly returned along its path. Sliding its way over and around her back to press her closer to him and away from the wall.

"Devouring you fully, until there was nothing left but darkness." He continued on, pulling her up closer to him so their lips barely touched. His lips lightly brushed along hers as he sighed out his sinful desire. "Then when all your light has faded away you would feel the pleasure my darkness can bring you."

"..." She gasped, turning her head away from his tempting lips and his seductive eyes. She could not think straight with him so close to her like this, it made her blush glow brighter. The man always knew how to get her excited, even when he wasn't really trying. Or, perhaps... he was trying... "Stop it..."

"I've missed you, Aeris." He sighed into her now exposed ear that she turned to him. Making her shiver as his breath tickled the sensitive flesh. His nose caress her hair and skin for a moment before he brought the hand that was resting on the wall up to cup her chin and turn her face to face him again. "Why would you hide away from me for so long...?"

"..." She said nothing, looking him in the eyes as the hand cupping her chin refuse to release its gentle hold. There was a mock sadness in his voice. But deep down... she knew his words to have a ring of truth behind them.

"Does my darkness truly frighten you this much?"

"I do not fear the darkness." She replied with unwavering determination as she looked him dead-on in the eyes. "And I am most certainly not afraid of yours."

"Oh? Such strong conviction." He smiled at her with his silent laughter expression as if he found her words humorous. "I can assure you, my darkness is not to be taken lightly."

"Your darkness could never fully destroy my light. Neither could it yours."

"You are mistaken, my dear lady." Sephiroth said as the hand cupping her chin brought her face closer to his. "I have no light."

"Yes you do." Aeris insisted, pleaded for the man he once was that she knew was still inside him would hear her words. "You may have shrouded your heart in darkness, that it's pitch black. You may have buried your light under deep darkness, but it's still there."

"..." Sephiroth couldn't help but silently stare into the passion burning in her eyes, letting her speak as her eyes silently demanded for him to listen.

"You covered your light under so many layers of darkness that you no longer even think that it's there. You don't even believe that anyone can even break through your darkness to be able to reach. Well guess what. I know it's there. I know I can reach it." She slowly reached her hand up, going to cup his cheek. "I can bring it into the light again, I can bring you back to me. If only you'd allow me..."

"..." He had allowed himself to enjoy the sensation of her touch, gently relaxing into her hand. Until he realized how dangerous her presence was. Her words nearly consumed him completely, she had already gotten him to let his guard down. He had thought that he was the one with the control over her, but it turns out that she was the one with the control over him. She was dangerous and she didn't even seem to notice. He should dispose of her existence right here and now. But... the thought of ending her did not sit well with him. He was even torn up inside a little at the first time he had thought he had killed her once he cooled off. Her existence was dangerous to him, and yet he couldn't find it in himself to image the worlds without her. Steeling himself up again, he swiftly grasped her wrist into his hand, pulling her hand away from him. "Such lovely words for a meaningless cause. You're wasting your breath on a memory."

"You're not a memory, Sephiroth. You're real."

"Am I? Or am I the darkness of a lost man, wondering from battle to battle, trying to run away from himself?"

"No. Seph-"

"Face it, Flowergirl of Radiant Garden, I am only the darkness Cloud Strife longs to escape from. And yet he continues to pursue me, like a dog hopelessly chasing its tail. Soon to catch it, soon to take a bite into the temptation of the darkness. Cloud will fall into darkness, and I will be there to watch it consume the last drops of light left in his weak body. Soon he shall taste the true power of the darkness."

"Cloud would never give in to the darkness."

"O' but he already has." Sephiroth corrected her with a knowing-grin. "He's already made a deal with Hades just to find me, little Ancient."

"!"

"What a pity too, turns out he was getting tired of trying to find me on his own. I didn't expect him to give in to short-cuts so easily."

"(Gasp) Cloud..." She turned her head away, towards where the light of Olympus Coliseum was to see if his words were true. And they were. She could sense Clouds dimming light so close to Hades pitch black darkness, the ruler of that world's Underworld had no light in his heart. He was mean as he was manipulative, and that was the truth. He was one of the members in Maleficent's Dark Council, and she was certain that his goal was to shake the worlds up. So why would Cloud side with such a man, was his vengeance truly worth it? And why was he so close to Sora's light?

Unless... (Gasp)! Cloud had made a deal with Hades to take Sora out in the arenas to get to Sephiroth!

But Cloud couldn't possibly go through with it! Sora was only a boy! However... from the looks of things, Cloud was most likely fighting Sora in the arena right now.

"..." Sephiroth did not like the worried look in her watering eyes; did not like the concern she felt for another man. It brought out a possessiveness that he thought he could only feel for the darkness, it brought out a jealously. Gripping her chin again, he brought her face back to him as he sandwiched her between the wall and him. "What do you see in that broken boy anyway? He is but a weak fool that hides from himself."

"Cloud is strong. Stronger than you think." He had startled her with his sudden action, and something had entered his eyes that made a chill run up her spine, she could not say whether she liked it or not.

"I know that he's weak. Far better than you think. I mean, after all, (chuckle)..." He leaned in closer, their lips barely away from touching. "Whom better to know him than his darker half?"

"!" She pulled back, away from his face. She was starting to get frustration at his lack of self-recognition. "For the last time, Sephiroth: you are you, and Cloud is Cloud. There is nothing that could get rid of the both of your own individualities."

"The wishful thinking of a dreamy-eyed Cetra."

"It's not a wish, Sephiroth. It is reality." She insisted to him, pulling out of his grip on her chin to meet his gaze on her own grounds. "Don't run from me, Seph. Come on, you have to remember who you were, what you've been... what we've had..."

"..."

"Please..." She pleaded with him, placing a hand over her heart. "I know deep down inside your heart you remember me..."

"..." He looked into her eyes, and in that moment she thought that she had seen a gleam of recognition in his lifestream eyes. But just like that it was gone, replaced by a clouded look in his eyes that she had recognized through years by his side. The grip he had around her backside had tightened as he pulled her in closer. "The only memory I have of you is the insatiable lust Cloud has towards you. A lust that he kept so far into his darkness that it is part of the core of my being."

"For the Light's sake, own up to your own emotions!" She huffed at him, pushing him away at his chest with her hands with a hint of her strength. She could not handle his touch when he got like this; it made the gesture lose its intimacy.

"(Chuckle) What? Disgusted that Cloud could have such dirty thoughts about you to see you in such a way?"

"No, I'm disgusted that you won't man up to own up to your own thoughts like this." She said, appalled as the words left her mouth. Making her blush a little at the own unintentional admittance from her husband about his feelings for her, no matter how twisted the darkness had made them. They were still there, and that's all that ever matter to her. "These are your feelings, Sephiroth. And they're okay, you are my husband after all. Why won't you accept them?"

"The better question is," he said, pulling her back close to him. "Why haven't I given in to them?"

"!" Her blush grew brighter. Even like this, the man could still make her weak at the knees with that voice and touch of his alone.

"The last Cetra, here in my arms. What a tempting notion that is." And it truly was, something about being tied to this Ancient young woman did sound appealing to him.

"I'm not... the last one..." She was barely able to get out her retort as she was consumed by his touch. It had been years, and she had been longing for this.

"No. You're right, you're not..." She had almost given in, if his next words hadn't jolted her awake. "That reminds me, where is the child you had in your arms?"

"!"

"I wonder what happened to that cute little boy you tried so hard to keep away from me?" He looked into her eyes to see if they would give him the answer, sensing around if he could feel the child's light that he could remember from that day. "I don't sense him anywhere nearby. Perhaps his light has faded away."

"Tch," that one struck a nerve with Aeris, making her scrunch her brow.

"He must have grown by now. I wonder if I can add him to the addition of my forces." The wicked look in his eyes grew brighter at the anger that had come over her through his words. "Yes, he would make a lovely addition to my Remnants."

"You stay away from our boy, Sephiroth! I mean it!"

"Oh?" A small smile grew on his face as he found her anger utterly charming, ignoring the fact she had used the word 'our boy' to describe the child. He tilted her chin up with his finger to get a better view of her steamed face. "What a protective mother you are. Too bad there was nothing you could do to keep him away from the temptation of the darkness."

"!"

"I'm sure the boy would be quite useful with the darkness, along with the other remnants of me I have at my disposal."

"..." The mere mention of the others left a dark twist inside her stomach. "What have you done...?"

"Hm?"

"What have you done to our other boys?!"

"Our other boys?" He could barely contain his chuckle at the notion. "You make it sound like you're their mother."

"I am their mother, Sephiroth! That's what I am! Now what has your foolishness done to our sons?!"

"Our sons...?" He had to admit, the idea of making a child with this Cetra woman did have an appealing sound to him. The mere though of it excited his blood. A deep chuckle came over him as he pulled her in closer for a more intimate contact. "What does it matter to you? If what you say is true, we can always make more..."

"!" His words disgusted her, almost as much as it broke her heart. His touch no longer felt good anymore, it was poison. Pushing him away as hard as she could like his touch burned her, she broke free of his grip and put some distance between them. "Let go of me, you heartless monster!"

"I take it you're not too fond of the idea. -!" He mocked at her, a grin came over his face as he silently hinted how 'willing' she was but a moment ago. He was about to remove the distance between them again to pull her in when he felt the darkness control over Cloud's heart disappear. Aeris turned to look in that direction as well, it would appear that Sora's light was able to pull Cloud back out of the darkness. She knew Sora wasn't strong enough at the moment to beat Cloud, but it would seem that Cloud was holding back and wasn't going to take the final blow even after he defeated Sora in the arena. His light was too strong to give in to the darkness, she knew Cloud would pull himself through. "It would seem that the darkness was too much for Cloud to handle. Perhaps he needs more time in the arenas until he's ready."

"..."

"I'll leave you be for now." Sephiroth said to her, looking back at her with his eyes. Their stare making her freeze in place. "Try not to wonder away while I'm gone."

"Mph," she stared back at him with defiance, willing herself to stand her ground as she held herself down with her grip on the wall behind her.

"In the mean time, I'll see about that boy you tried so hard to keep hidden for all these years." He announced as he turned his back to her to walk away into the darkness of the alleyway. "In the end, all make their way to the fighting arena."

"You stay away from that boy. Sephiroth." She ordered to him, only to get his laughter in return as he continued to walk away into the darkness, back to the world from whence he came. "Sephiroth!"

*** Later at Hollow Bastion ***

Maleficent kept coming in and out of Hollow Bastion during Riku's training, saying that she had important business to attend to that needed her urgent attention. For the most part she had showed him the basic and left him alone to his own devices. Until that nightfall when she spoke to him for more than just a minute.

"Riku, how do you feel about going on a mission to another world?" Maleficent questioned to him as she made her way into the training hall. "I believe you're ready for the task."

"?" The idea did seem tempting, to finally get out of this place to see what the other worlds had out there. He could practically jump for the chance; but... there was always a catch. "What do you need?"

"That fool, Jafar, has been tampering too far with the darkness, taking its power too lightly." She says, brushing her fingertips along the sphere of her staff. "I fear he will not be able to complete even the simplest task I have given him."

"Which is?"

"Capture the Princess of Heart lying inside his world of Agrabah. We need her in order to complete our goal." She explained to him. "With that boy wielding the Keyblade getting in the way, Jafar will most likely consume himself in trying to defeat him."

"..."

"What do you say, Riku? Are you up for the task?"

"Grabbing a princess and bringing her back here?" He remarked with smirk. "Heh, that sounds easy enough."

"Hm, then I will leave it to you then." She gestured with her arm towards the open space area in the room. "Go on, open a portal so you can walk through the darkness of the worlds."

"..." Concentrating on what Maleficent had taught him, he used his will over the heart to command the darkness to open a path for him. It worked, with a minor strain, the portal had opened for him. Without hesitation he had walked on through the dark portal, taken to a place full of sand and exotic walls decorated in treasure.

He had come in just in time to see Jafar make the foolish wish to be an all-powerful genie. The floor had collapse under his transformation, taking Sora and his companions with it. The Genie that had granted his wish had accompanied them down below as well, to see how they would fair in the fight as he was forced powerless as his ties with the lamp made him unable to disobey his master. Jafar was more powerful than ever, but he had one massive flaw. A flaw that Sora had seen through instantly. Ignoring the brute magical force of the recently genie-made Jafar, Sora went straight for the flying bird holding Jafar's lamp and ordered him back into his lamp. In a comical joke, Jafar had pulled in his bird with him as well. Taking the safe route, the Genie had buried the lamp just to make sure that no one would ever use it and unleash the evil genie dwelling inside it.

The destructive power that Jafar had unleashed had compromised the structure integrity of the cave. Pretty soon the place was going to cave in at any moment. Somewhere along the fight the princess in blue had woken up from her unconsciousness. Crawling over, she made her way over to the edge to observe what was happening below, never nothing Riku's presence behind her. She wore matching pants and bra-like top, tying her long raven hair back in a braid. She had an innocence and purity about her, just like Alice, just like Kairi. But alas, he had a job to do. If this is what it would take to help him find Kairi, then he would do what he would have to do. Startling her with his sudden movement, he walked over to her, the sounds of shoes causing her to turn around. Snatching her up before she could scream out, he placed a hand over her mouth dragging her back into the portal he instantly opened up behind them and took her with him back to Hollow Bastion.

"I'm sorry, but... I'm gonna need to borrow your power for a while." He said, trying to calm the fear that had come over her eyes. It had worked, however only but a little. The poor thing was still shaking, the darkness of this place truly frightened her, not really surprising coming from one of the Princesses of Heart. If Riku took the time to know her, he bet she would be a sweet and kind person.

"Well done, Riku."

"(Yelp)!"

"!" She let out a startling cry as the darkness from the floor sprouted up and consumed her, taking her away just like Alice. He had on instinct reached out to try and pull her out at the sound of her cry, only to recoil his hand back as he realized what he was doing. Maleficent had come into the room to greet his return and contain the princess. He had felt a little bad at what he was doing, but he knew that no real or permanent harm was being done to the princesses. Once this was all over, they could return to their normal lives on their own worlds. Easing his conscious with this, he turned to fully face Maleficent.

"I am pleased at how quick you work."

"It was just a quick grab, anybody could do it."

"Yes well, unfortunately that's not such a simple task for simpletons." She huffed out through her breath, looking away in her own irritants as she felt that her council were nothing but fools that she surrounded herself with, unable to do the most simplest of task. "But enough of that, get some rest. I have a reward for you in the Council Room later, after you've recovered your strength from its use of the darkness."

"..." Riku took heed to her advice, leaving the training area to head back to his room. Not lying to himself to say that he wasn't curious about the reward she was talking about, he felt that he hadn't really done much to really call for one. But whatever, he didn't really get what those guys were up to. But he would play along as long as it led him to Kairi. They had already led him to Sora, although it wasn't really much of a pleasant reunion, he was most likely going to get more of chance of finding Kairi with them than anywhere else.

He had returned to his room, but not really to get any restful sleep. He had received a sleepless nap, dreaming of nothing but the darkness, a darkness far deeper than the light-less room he surrounded himself in. His dreams were now empty, but what did he expect. She hasn't shown up in his dreams for days, she wasn't likely going to show up now. She had left him with nothing but the emptiness, and the minor ringing of humming that was barely hear-able in the darkness. The noise irritated him, like a voice he couldn't hear or decipher the words, it was just something that gave him headaches. And yet, he kept trying to construe the noise each time, as if something inside him urge him to do so.

But in the end, there was nothing. He slept in the darkness, he dreamed in the darkness, and he woke up to the darkness. It was like a cold lullaby. Nothing like the warm glow of hers that he use to know...

But she was gone now. This was his realm now. The darkness that she tried so hard to keep him away from. Now, he thrived in it.

He had instantly woken up from his nap along the lounge seat at the sound of Maleficent opening the door. She had let herself in with barely a moment after her soft knock. Her crow resting on her shoulder as her staff clicked along the floor as she walked in.

"How are you feeling?"

"..."

"It's pitch black in there..." She said over at the border of the doorway, looking into the room. "Why don't you turn on the light?"

"I feel more comfortable in the dark." His words seemed to please her as a small grin came over her aloof face.

"Do as you please. It's your room, after all." She replied before turning around to head back into the hallway. "But enough of that. It's time for you to meet up with some of our other members in the Council Room."

Riku had silently followed behind her into the darkness of the Council Room, the only light shinning in the room was the sickly green glow coming from the meeting table-top, which wasn't glowing right now. Apparently the only other member present was Hades.

"(Sigh) That smarmy vizier could've had 'em-" Hades complained, looking over a Riku, "if someone had stuck around to give him a hand."

"Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?" Riku said, defending himself.

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred." Maleficent said, agreeing with Riku's decision to stay out of the fight. "One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up." Hades insisted, feeling like he was being ganged up on with how many nay sayers he had against him. "I'm as cool as they come, okay? By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

"Huh?" Riku turned to Maleficent in the hopes that she knew what he was talking about.

"We had a deal, yes?" Maleficent reminded him. "You help us, and we grant you your wish..."

The glow of the table had turned on to reveal a hologram of Kairi, sleeping and motionless.

"Kairi!" Riku reached out to her, only to remember that it was only a small hologram of her.

"Go to her." Maleficent insisted. "Your vessel is waiting."

He turned around as he sensed the approach of another dark presence, but this one was lighter and more innocent compared to the others that he had felt wandering through the halls of Hollow Bastion. It was the man dressed up like one of those old time pirate captains, with a large hat and a hook for one of his hands.

"Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise." The captain warned him in advance. "It won't be a pleasant voyage."

"..." He couldn't believe it was all working out for him so fast, this was almost too good to be true. With that in mind, he turned back to Maleficent. "Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?"

"Catch? What's the catch?" She said innocently as if she had no idea what he meant, but he knew she was faking it, he knew with her type everything had a price. She turned around back to him, approaching him. "Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy."

Her words were like poison to him, along with her touch as she gently touched his cheek with her sharp nails barely grazing him. He had already had a mother, he didn't have room for another. And he was most certainly not looking for a replacement. Not after the last heartache the other one had caused with her abandonment of him to face his fate out in the worlds. He smacked her hand away and jumped back to put the distance between them again.

"I seriously doubt that." He said with venom in his tongue, but she payed it no mind as she straightened herself.

"Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain."

"..." He stared at her, letting her words sink in before heading off with the Captain to meet up with Kairi.

Through his time there, he had already got a feel for the people in Hollow Bastion. This Captain was easily manipulable, he felt like he would have no problems with him. But Hades was conniving and scheming, and he was open about it, not to mention that he had hidden power about him that Riku did not want to deal with. Riku would have to avoid him, if at all possible. But Maleficent... he could never really get a feel for Maleficent. He had no idea what was going through her head or what she was planning, that alone made him uneasy around her. But even so, she was his only best bet to power. And as long as she kept her end of their arrangement, he would continue to ignore the feeling in his gut and followed where she goes.

The trip wasn't a long one, he had taken Riku to a world covered in Moon and star light that felt like it was created from the wonder and happiness of children. They had boarded his ship, where the captain had led Riku to the Captain's Quarters. There, Kairi rested, motionless along the couch.

"Kairi!" He called to her as he rushed to her side.

"..." But she remained unresponsive. Her eyes were open, but they had a lifeless dull to them. She was breathing, but her body remained motionless as if she was in a unconscious-daze.

"What's wrong with you?" He called down to her in concern, only to get no response back. Angered and looking for answers, he turned back to the captain for blame. "What did you do to her?"

"We didn't do anything to her, boy. We found her like this." The Captain replied in answered, not fully effected by Riku's angry stare. "She's been in this doll-like state since the moment we brought her on the ship, who knows for how much longer than that. It's almost as if something inside her is missing..."

"Her heart..." Riku concluded on his own, once he finally truly gave her a look over. The light that he had known her for had vanish along with it, to wherever her heart had wandered off to. But where could it be; and, how could it leave her body behind? Was it taken from her by chance? "... I'll find a way. I'll find a way to make you better, Kairi."

"What?" The Captain said to the boy in confusion, his promise was wasted, there was no hope for the girl in this state. But Riku didn't give him enough time to correct his words, opening a portal he began his search through the worlds for a cure. "Lad!"

The Captain called out to him to try and halt his pointless actions, but it was too late. Riku was already gone, moving through the darkness. He had skimmed through many worlds, not fully able to enjoy as he kept himself busy trying to find a cure. But it was useless, all the worlds that he visited had nothing that could help him. He began to grow tired, and was starting to lose hope. Taking a much needed break, he decided to see how Sora was doing. Stretching out his senses through the space, he sensed Sora's light, flying close by in possibly his Gummi ship, along with his other new companions' lights. Their presence irritated him and filled him with a minor jealousy, only for all of them to suddenly disappear under a larger, more dimmer light.

It was so strange, it was almost like they were swallowed up. Following their light through the darkness, he found that his thoughts rang truer than he first took them for. Because he had found himself to be in the stomach of what appeared to be a giant floating whale. There was a ferocity and aggression in the beast's heart that Riku could sense consuming the air. Such strong emotions of the heart where most likely the only thing allowing the giant whale to survive in the vacuum of space; however, it drew other presences to it from such darkness of the heart. That was what was most likely drawing the Heartless to this place. Among other things...

He could sense Sora and his other two companions inside the whale, that much was given. But, he could also sense the presence of two other hearts inside this place. Through years of experience with his Cetra power, he was able decipher the wielder of hearts based on their light. An ability that seemed more like a burden growing up was becoming more useful out in the worlds. From his sense he deciphered the dulling and yet still hopeful light of one of the hearts was most likely the heart of an old man, dulled from the many experiences and trails through life that still had that youthful gleam of hope to it that most tended to lose with age. And the other was small and yet shined brightly and full of innocence, that one most likely belonged to that of a young boy. Most likely, the old man was his father. The old man's heart had seemed normal, but... there was something strange about the boy's heart, almost unnatural.

Not giving it enough time to ponder among himself, he decided to investigate this great conundrum with his own eyes. He had followed the presence of the two strangers' hearts, only to find the surprise of his life that one of the hearts didn't belong to a young boy after all, but to a puppet. It was carrying a large Gummi block back to an old man on a boat. That would explain why his heart seemed so strange to Riku, how was this even possible? This was no short of a miracle.

"What have you got there, Pinocchio?" The old man asked as Riku watched under cover from a safe distance.

"With this, we can get out of here, Father?"

"!" Riku's eyes widen in surprise for a moment as the puppet named Pinocchio actually spoke. 'So he can talk too. Why am I so surprised? That thing somehow has a heart of its own. Maybe this is just the answer I need to help Kairi.'

"Really? With this big block? You think so?" The old man questioned, looking down at the block.

"It's true." That's when Sora made his appearance, along with his band of misfits. And that's when Riku made his distance even further. The boy was interesting, he would have to grab him when no one else was around. "So, how did you end up here, Pinocchio?"

But it looks like Riku would get his chance. The boy had spotted him while his supposed father was busy introducing themselves to Sora and his gang. So Riku ran off further into the whale, in the hopes that the young puppet would follow.

"Excuse me, sir, but what are you doing?" Ask the puppet, walking up to Riku without any presence of guard around strangers. Strange how the puppet had the same mimic of the actual innocence of a child, he was pretty good. Even so, still a puppet nonetheless. If the thing wanted to be like a real little boy, then he would play along... by his own game.

"I'm just playing tag with those other three guys." Riku instantly went along. "Wanna play too?"

"Oh yes please! I love playing games!" Pinocchio ecstatically said, more than happy to go along with Riku's little game.

"Well, Sora and the others are 'it' now and they're gonna try and tag us. But you can't let them tag you or else the games over and you're 'it'. You got that, kid?"

"Hm mph, got it. This sounds fun!" Pinocchio says, pumping a fist up in cheer. His wooden feet clicking as he jumped up.

"Heh, don't let them catch you then, Pinocch." Riku said, running off. "I'm going up ahead to find a good hiding place."

Riku saw the puppet as an easy catch, there was no need to rush with this. Why not have a little bit of fun with this while he could. He was about to run off when Sora and his companions showed up.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked over to Pinocchio. "Come on, let's go back."

"You know, Geppetto's awfully worried about you." Goofy tried to tell Pinocchio, but he had just thought that Goofy was trying to play a trick to make him lose the game. So he wasn't going to fall for that, so he didn't budge.

Having enough of his child stubbornness, Sora scolded the puppet.

"Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!" Sora said, turning around to head back, refusing to play Pinocchio's little game. Sora was bringing up a good point that they were all stranded inside the belly of a whale and should be spending their time trying to find away to escape instead of fooling around inside the creature's large organs. But at the moment, Riku didn't see it that way, he thought Sora was just showing off because he was somehow more stronger now and apparently no longer had time for 'little games' that he use to love to play so much.

"But, Sora, I thought you like games." Riku called out, causing Sora to halt in his steps and turn around. "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

"Riku! Wh- What are you doing here?" Sora asked surprised and concern that Riku was inside the belly of the whale too.

"Just playing with Pinocchio." Riku shrugged off.

"You know what I mean!" Sora huffed out in irritation at Riku's nonchalance about the situation. "What about Kairi? Did you find her?"

"Maybe. Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know."

"Come on." Sora shot back, finding Riku's notion completely ridiculous. But Riku wasn't going to have it any other way, grabbing Pinocchio's hand and running off. Leaving Sora with a bunch of heartless along the way.

They were just minor Heartless like the ones Riku had to train with everyday since he left the islands, he was sure Sora could handle them. What with that Keyblade he had and all. He had Sora chase after them through a couple of Chambers inside the Whale's belly, always keeping one step ahead of them.

"Hey, mister, we're gonna lose them if we keep going this much." Pinocchio pointed out in concern as he felt that they were getting too far ahead of them.

"Giving up already, Pinocchio, aren't you having fun?" Riku pointed out to him as he kept on running confusing Sora and the others as they continued to keeping running through the different Chambers, just missing the gang as they barely almost passed each other like a British comedy. "It's the thrill of the chase that makes the game all that exciting."

"Well, yeah, this is rather fun." Pinocchio admitted, giving in to Riku's reasoning.

"Come on, Pinocch, we're having fun, they're having fun. Why let the game end so soon?"

"You're right! I'm gonna give this game my best!"

"You're gonna have to jump for this one."

"Wha? Whoa!" Pinocchio pondered out loud to Riku before Riku had them jumping down from the uplift in Chamber 5, it was a minor jump down but still something big for someone Pinocchio's size and it had caught him off guard. "Ha haha, that was fun!"

"Let's split so it'll make it harder for them to catch us." Riku suggested, pointing towards the lower Chamber openings each in opposite directions. "You go that way and I'll go this way."

"Okay!" Pinocchio instantly obeyed, running off to do what he was told. He was a good boy, but too trusting. It made him easily gullible, and a bad judge of character. Riku felt a little bad taking advantage of such innocence, but he was doing what he had to do to save Kairi and that's all that mattered. And he was just taking a little break from all his hard work, if Sora was spending all his time playing around, why couldn't he get a moment to play around too?

Figuring that he had put enough distance between them all, Riku slowed down into a walk along the Chambers.

"Why do you still care about that boy?" Came the voice of Maleficent behind him, catching Riku off guard that she had followed him here. She had left him alone to his own devices so far, he didn't think that she would interfere now. "He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all."

"!" She had openly reminded him of his own pain and jealously caused by Sora, but he didn't want her to know how much that struck a nerve with him. Turning around fully to face her, he put on his poker face of aloofness. "I don't care about him. I was just messing with him a little."

"Oh, really? Of course you were." She said skeptically to him as if she knew better, before lecturing him like she has been for the past few days of his training as she passed to leave him once again to his business. She had saw this whole endeavor as a great opportunity to bring Riku further into the dark side. Sora's influence would only draw out Riku's hatred and jealous more at this time, why not fuel the dark fires of his heart. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it."

"Mind your own business." Riku shot back to her in retort as she left once again into her own dark portal. Her words only made him angrier. Turns out in the heat of their own conversation, Sora and the others were able to catch up to them as they had already caught up to Pinocchio, causing the boy to run off passed him as he tried to get away from them in the next Chamber. Riku had just watched Pinocchio pass by as he confronted Sora and his companions on his own.

"Riku!" Sora was shocked and frustrated that Riku had just let Pinocchio pass him by. There were Heartless wandering around the area, he could get hurt on his own. "What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora." Riku countered back to him, ready to lay into him. He had just got lectured by Maleficent, he was not in the mood to let Sora lecture him as well, especially with how mad he was at Sora at the moment. Not holding back, he told Sora what was on his mind. "You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?"

"I do." Sora said, deflating a little. But that's when Pinocchio screamed out, making the both of them turn around in concern towards the Chamber Pinocchio had run off into.

They both ran in, only to see that Pinocchio had been captured by a large Heartless, most likely drawn to Pinocchio's strange heart. But Riku wasn't going to let that dumb Heartless have Pinocchio, he still had to find out how Pinocchio's heart worked.

"You up for this?" Riku asked over to Sora, who was already crouched down, ready for action.

"No problem. Let's do it!"

"Hm," For a moment it felt like hold times as they both fought together to save Pinocchio. Once upon a time they had dreams and imagined that one day they would defeat a great monster together, who knew that they would be living that dream today. Sora's technique was rather brawler-slugger style and lacked form, Sora could get the job done but he was messy and was pron to get scratches along the way. Which he had proven as he got too bold and didn't back away in time as the large Heartless smacked him away with its long arms. Concerned as Sora was knocked back by the force, Riku tried to encourage him to keep on fighting while tossing Sora the spare healing items that he had on him when Sora needed them. "Stick with it."

"Get me out of here!" Pinocchio kept pleading with them as the Heartless kept smacking them around.

"Don't give up." Riku insisted as the both of them joined together to finish off the Heartless. Eventually the Heartless did let Pinocchio go, releasing him into the Bowel's hole of the whale. Without hesitation, Riku jumped after Pinocchio, Sora and the others soon to follow.

It would seem that the hole had lead them right to the very beginning again, leaving Riku to believe that they did not teach him this anatomy in biology. Grabbing ahold of Pinocchio and jumping off onto higher grounds, Riku check to see if he was okay. But he was unconscious and not responding. Did the Heartless get his heart after all? Was he to late? Even so, this could still be a great opportunity for Riku for observational purposes.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" Geppetto called, Riku had forgot about the old man. He had walked over to the edge of his boat in worry as he saw Pinocchio drop down only to be scooped up like a football by a boy he had not meet yet whom was about to run off with Pinocchio in hand. "Please! Give me back my son!"

"Sorry, old man. I have some unfinished business with this puppet."

"He's no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!" The old man insisted as Sora and his companions finally caught up with them. Riku found it strange how much of a bond the old man had with this puppet, let alone to call it his son. It almost reminded him of... his...

"He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts." Riku said, changing the subject that was starting to build up in his mind. He had left that world behind, there was no point thinking about it now, or the few people he left behind on it. "I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs."

"Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi?" Sora added in, starting to get fully concern as the conversation had his utmost attention.

So now Sora was starting to get serious instead of playing around with his Keyblade.

"What do you care about her?" Riku shot back to him in annoyance, simply walking away with Pinocchio. He could have easily opened a portal to head back to Hollow Bastion with Pinocchio, but he had needed some time to cool down and walk off his frustration with Sora. He was so busy playing around with his new friends that he had forgotten about his old friends and the adventures that 'they' were suppose to have together. He had gotten stronger and no longer had a need for them anymore, and it was all because of that Keyblade. He had to work hard to get where he was now, and Sora had did it all like it was nothing, skipping the steps because his Keyblade allowed him the luxury.

He continued climbing up the throat of the whale; the small workout was doing wonders on his frustrations, but didn't seem to get rid of them fast enough. It only got his blood pumping faster, and Sora still following on his tail was not helping the situation any better. The Heartless were slowing him down, but not enough time to give Riku a chance to cool down. Strangely enough, he found himself inside the stomach of the whale, taking a little break he put Pinocchio down. Pinocchio was standing so still, just like Kairi. But, unlike Kairi... Pinocchio was already a doll the whole time.

"Hey, let Pinocchio go Riku." Sora called out, startled Riku that he had actually caught up to him so fast. He wasn't this fast when they were racing as kids.

"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless..." Riku pondered aloud for all of them to hear. "Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi."

"..." Sora silently listen along to Riku's ramble, letting him finish and sparking that small hope still inside Riku's heart that they still could work together, that they were still friends.

"How about it, Sora? Let's join forces to save her." Riku suggested, silently pleading to himself that Sora would say yes as he walked over to Sora. "We can do it together."

But Sora had gotten into a fighting stance the moment he had approached, halting him in his steps and tearing his heart apart a little.

"What?" He was hurt that Sora would raise his blade against him over this. Weren't they friends? "You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?"

"Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience." Sora countered back at him.

"Conscience?" What did that have to do with anything?

"You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!"

"..." So Sora was starting to listen and following the voice inside his head now. Riku had tried that for years, but the voice inside his head had abandoned him... "Then you leave me no choice."

While Sora was talking, the cricket that was with him and wandered over to Pinocchio. He was such a small thing, Riku had saw no harm at letting him proceed.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" The cricket called out to Pinocchio in concern. What Riku wasn't expecting was for Pinocchio to respond back.

"Jiminy... I'm not gonna make it." So it would seem that the Heartless had not taken his heart... and apparently his nose grew when he lied. "Oh! I guess I'm okay!"

Riku couldn't believe it, Pinocchio's heart was still thriving and his suppose to be motionless body was still moving, so why couldn't Kairi... What made her so different than a suppose to be lifeless puppet...?

"Huh?" Riku looked up in alarm as the large Heartless made its appearance again. Taking advantage of the sudden commotion, he made his way out of there. Opening up a dark portal to Captain Hook's Jolly Roger ship while the others were distracted with the Heartless. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he walked over to where Kairi was resting. Disappointed that he had went through all the trouble, trying to find a cure for her, only to come back empty handed. Only with a simple clue of what 'might' have taken her heart. He would have said she was like a puppet, but current events have proven that statement to be incorrect. "So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?"

"Precisely." Maleficent answered his rhetoric question, making her sudden appearance behind him at his predicament. He was too tired and broken down to feel anything about her sudden appearance in his business. If she could provide him answers and help than he would welcome her untimely appearances.

"And her heart was..."

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt." Maleficent answered, finally proving his worries.

"Tell me, what can I do!" He jolted around, pleading with Maleficent for an answer. At this moment if anyone could find the answer, she could. She had a knack for the Heartless and the Darkness.

"There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the princesses of heart." Maleficent simply explained to him, giving him the answer he was seeking. "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 he was given an answer and a direction on how to proceed with saving Kairi. He just had to work on how to go about it now.

"Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift." Maleficent said down encouragingly to him, before the room had suddenly been covered in darkness as she spread her arms out as if to engulf the place in her dark robes. "The power to control the Heartless."

He had felt the power sink in to him, and had seen the sickly green glow of the darkness' power sink into him as the lights seemed to light up again. With this new power and his goal set, his spirits had raised up again. Turning around, he made a promise down to his motionless friend.

"Soon, Kairi. Soon."

*** The next day at Traverse Town ***

"This will be your new home, now that you're in Traverse Town." Leon explained, showing the new refugees to one of the vacant buildings in the town for them to set up shop and settle in.

"It's the best we could do on short notice." Aeris replied to them as they gave their new home a look around, a little dusty from its lack of use and years of being locked up. "I'm sorry if it's not to your liking."

"No, no, it's quite perfect. It's nothing a little dusting couldn't fix." Geppetto insist with a smile as Pinocchio went over to sit on the dusty couch, building up a cloud of dust in the process. "Thank you for all your kindness, the two of you."

"Hm, it's our job to help." Leon replied, saying that what they had done was no big deal.

"Even so, it's not usual for someone to give such generous accommodations to strangers with little to their name, even if they are refugees." Geppetto persisted. "Such kindness should not be taking lightly. We are eternally grateful for your care. Aren't we, Pinocchio?"

"Yes." Pinocchio said, getting the note that his father wanted him to also thank Leon and Aeris for their help to them in this new world. Giving them a polite bow, Pinocchio thanked them as well. "Thank you for all your help, Mr. Leon and Ms. Aeris."

"(Giggle) Well, aren't you a well mannered little boy." Aeris happily bent down and rested on hand on her knee, patting Pinocchio on the head with the other in return. "I'm sure you'll get along just fine with the other children in town."

"Oh, yes. Once we set up our Toy Store, I hope that Pinocchio would be able to go to school and have many other boys and girls to play with." Geppetto sincerely hope that his wish would come true for his little boy.

"And then we can play tag together, just like Riku and Sora taught me!" Pinocchio said excitedly, jumping in the air at the thought.

"!" The mere mention of Riku, let alone Sora's name had sparked a gasp of surprise from Aeris, Leon mostly at the latter name. Aeris's eyes widened for a moment. "You've seen Riku and Sora before?"

"Why yes. Sora was the nice young boy that helped rescued us from Monstro." Geppetto answered her question.

"And Riku was the boy who taught me how to play tag." Pinocchio added in before he saddened a little at a sudden thought about Riku. "But... he seemed sad while he was playing with us. He looked like he was lonely..."

"..."

"I hope we get to play again. He was really fun!"

"Hmm, yes. I hope the two of you will play together again as well." Aeris said, leaning back up straight again.

"We'll leave you be for now." Leon said, cutting their conversation short as the two of them made their way out the door. "Good luck with your business."

"Thank you, come by anytime." "Goodbye." Geppetto and Pinocchio said, waving the two of them off.

"..." Aeris stayed quiet for a moment as Leon shut the door behind them.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked her in concern once the door was close.

"I think I need some tea at the moment." Was all Aeris said as she parted ways with Leon and headed over to the Cafe to calm herself.

"..." Leon said nothing as he let her be. She needed a moment, and he would give it to her. She was a mother with an AWAL son, any news about him would have a great affect on her, especially the bad ones. Aeris was like the mother, or the big sister of the group, it had always hurt them to see her in pain. If she needed her space to be alone with her thoughts for contemplation in order to help make herself feel better, then they would leave her be. Out of all of them, she was the most sound of mind, he knew she could pull herself together.

Aeris had made it to her favorite spot at the Cafe, the waiter already knowing her order the moment he saw her sit down. Leaving her be with her cup of tea as she left her mummy on the table along with the tip. The tea was good, just like it had always been. But... somehow she couldn't find it in herself to enjoy it.

"Hey, Aeris! There's a tournament going on at Olympus Coliseum, the Phil's Tournament!" Yuffie said over to Aeris as she ran up to her at her table in the town's Cafe. She always got excited about a good fight, what only could get her more excited was... "They say, there's going to be a really big prize for the winner! We're taking the Gummi Ship out there for it. Wanna come?"

That.

"..." It always brought Aeris joy to see Yuffie get excited like this. And she would love to help keep that happy look on Yuffie's face; and, the sound of letting lose in an arena did sound appealing with all that she was going through right now. But... she could never set foot on the world of Olympus Coliseum. Not on her life, not while he was still there... "No."

"What?!" Yuffie deflated at Aeris flat-out rejection. Aeris had never said no to her about anything before. What made this time so different? "Come on, Aeris, don't leave me hanging like this. Leon is joining in as well, and you're super strong with that magic of yours. With your help, we're sure to win!"

"No, Yuffie." Aeris said, putting her foot down on the matter. "I will not set a foot on Olympus Coliseum."

"But-" Yuffie flinched up as Aeris gave her that stern look. She never used such a look on anyone, for Aeris to finally use it on her was a frightening experience. She stiffened up as she dropped the subject. "Y- Okay. Then me and Leon will be gone for a while. Will you and Cid be okay looking over the town?"

"We'll be fine, Yuffie." Aeris insisted, encouraging Yuffie to go on out there with Leon and have fun. Light knows the two deserve it with all their hard work. She had lifted back up her cup of tea and took a sip. "Besides... Merlin is here."

"..." She had released a sweat-drop at that. "Of course, how could I forget? We've got two magical wizs on our side."

"Three if you include the Fairy Godmother." Aeris corrected, taking another sip of her cup of tea.

"Right..." Yuffie nervously said as the sudden silence of the conversation was starting to get awkward for her. "Well... I'm off then. Take care!"

"You too, Sweetie." Aeris gently waved back at her, in response to Yuffie's more energetic wave as she ran off to the town's exit gates. "Be safe out there."

With Yuffie gone, she was able to return to her worries.

Yuffie would be fine, she had Leon with her. And Sephiroth was most likely going to participate in a more higher leveled tournament, there was no way they would bump into each other, in the arena or out of it. Cloud on the other hand was practically destined to run into Sephiroth at this point. And there was a minor chance that Sora would bump into him at some point too, if he continued to grow stronger at this pace. But Riku... she truly prayed that he never set foot on Olympus Coliseum, let alone find the opportune moment to meet his father in battle. Such a thought was too cruel to her.

But enough with the morbid talk... Sora was starting to bring in the lost, torn pages of Ansem's Report. It was time for her to get back to work decoding them...

*** Days later ***

Days of searching and still Riku could find no signs of the last Princess of Hearts. If she was anything like the other princesses of hearts, there was no way she could escape his senses. It was like she had just disappeared off of the face of the worlds. The only heart that he could sense that came close to the princesses of hearts was Sora, and he was certain that Sora was no 'princess'.

If anything, the light he could sense was Sora's heart had only frustrated him more. Because while he was looking through the worlds, even with the recruited help of the Heartless, he would always sense Sora in the back of his mind. And it infuriated him more than anything at how Sora seemed to be goofing off. He had gone to a world to participate in some kind of tournament, then went back to the world of Traverse Town where it appeared he had been working on his magic. Only for him to play around and around at others worlds, collecting torn pages and junk.

He had gone to a world with a big ocean as a merman-shark, defeating one of Maleficent Council members while he was at it, if he remembered correctly Maleficent had said that her name was Ursula. Now that he thought about it, it appeared that he was taking down another member of Maleficent Dark Council with each new world visit, slowly wiping her larger forces off the board. He had even gone to a world where it was constantly Halloween and defeated that Oogie Boogie guy. Okay, that world seemed like fun, he wouldn't hold that one against Sora for it.

But while Sora was goofing off, playing the hero, Riku was the one moving out there to actually help find a way to save Kairi. It frustrated him how much Sora would slack off, he was always like this. But now that one of his friends was actually in trouble, Riku had thought Sora would be better about it, but perhaps he was wrong. Maleficent had once said that Sora didn't have what it takes to save Kairi's heart even with the Keyblade, nor did he have the potential to master the Keyblade with such power, and Riku was starting to believe that she was right. He had returned to the Jolly Roger because Captain Hook had believed that he had caught the last princess of heart and wanted Riku to check it out to see if he was right. Apparently he had captured some Wendy girl and was holding her prisoner on his ship. He said that he had a run in with some trouble by the name of 'that blasted Peter Pan', but he had the situation taken care of. Either way, it would be good for Riku to take a quick rest and visit Kairi while he was at it to remind himself why he was going through all this for. Kairi was still counting on him and he couldn't afford to let her down. But the more he thought about how Sora had gotten so full of himself with the presence of the Keyblade, the more Riku became enraged.

Was the Keyblade so precious that it would make Sora forget about his friends? Did it really make him that strong that he felt like he didn't need them anymore? Riku had felt like he had been abandoned again, by someone precious to him that he had tried so hard to protect. He had tried so hard, did his efforts mean nothing to them? Did he even mean anything to them...?

"We've got a vessel ahead of us at the Starboard Bow." Captain Hook announced as he noticed the small ship coming their way through space. Pulling out his telescope, he gave the approaching ship a better look.

"What?" Riku looked over the Stern Deck to see what Captain Hook was talking about, only to see a Gummi ship he could recognize but didn't want to see right now.

"Blasted, it's that wretched boy with the Keyblade and his band of friends!"

"Sora..."

"If they catch us they'll try to take me out, I just know it. They've been picking off members of the Council, I'm next on the list for sure." Captain Hook bellowed out in his concerns before a conniving look came over his face. "Unless... we can capture them and bring them back to Maleficent. We've got the element of surprise on our side, sneaking behind them, they would be un-gunned and unguarded. The reward for ringing in the Keyblade wielder must be magnificent. This whole thing might work to me advantage."

"You can't capture them if you're facing the wrong way." Riku pointed out as the captain past the Gummi ship at the Starboard Quarter.

"Quite right, Riku me lad!" Captain instantly chirped out to Riku in excitement at these turn of events before shouting out his orders to his second in command, Smee, who in turn repeated the orders back to their Heartless pirate crew. "Smee, hoist the sails and raise the colors! We're turning this ship around!"

"?!" Riku steadied himself in alarm as Captain Hook swiftly turn the ship back around at the stirring wheel, not stopping as he faced Sora's Gummi ship head on. "You're going to ram them?"

"Correct, lad." Captain Hook answered with a purring excitement. "We'll ram their little dingy out of the skies at the Bow. What? Afraid that I might hurt your little friend, lad?"

"..." Riku looked over as he saw their ship coming right at Sora's Gummi ship. The thought of hitting them somehow made Riku feel better a little. "No... Can the ship go any faster?"

"That it can, Laddy!" Captain Hook hackled at Riku vindictive streak, getting excited as their ships drew closer. It was like facing off in an unfair and unclassed match of chicken, oh what a lovely life a pirate's life was for him. "That it can."

Before anyone on the Gummi ship knew it, they had crashed onto the Deck of the Jolly Roger. The large ship not even suffering any damage from the impact while the members on-board the Gummi ship had been rendered unconscious and their Gummi ship reverted back to its smaller size.

"Heh ha HA! We did it!" Captain Hook cheered, before pointing out his orders to the crew. "Seize the prisoners, Heartless. Lock them up below Deck."

"No." Riku injected, causing the Heartless to stop in their actions just at the sound of his voice, proving that his power over the Heartless was growing stronger. "Leave Sora. I'll deal with him when he wakes up."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Lock up the other prisoners!" Captain Hook barked out his orders, trying to reinstate his command over the crew. Still heeding to Riku's command nonetheless. "And bring their Gummi ship into my Cabin. We can't have them trying to escape."

The Heartless moved about, trying to quickly complete their orders. Not before long, the Deck had been clear to nothing but Sora still lying unconscious on the hardwood floor.

"Set a course back to Neverland!" Captain Hook gave out his next command. "We'll contact Maleficent once we reach Port."

"..." Riku had barely moved from his spot as he waited for Sora to wake up. Only moving to go retrieve Kairi and still Sora wouldn't wake up. He was truly a slacker, always lazing about and sleeping away when there was work to be done, he never changed. And Riku was getting tired of the sentiment. Sora didn't really wake up until they touched down on the waters of Neverland. Even then, he looked around the Bow of the ship to get an idea where he was. It had taken him so long to come this far, and still he was goofing off with his exploring. "I didn't think you would come, Sora."

"(Gasp)!" Sora turned around at the sound of Riku's voice as Riku drew his attention again.

"Good to see you again."

"Where are Donald and Goofy?"

"Tch," that struck a nerve to Riku, him and Kairi were right there and still he worried more about his new friends. "Are they that important to you? More important than old friends? Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking... about her."

Riku stepped out of the way, revealing Kairi to Sora.

"Kairi!"

"That's right. While you were off goofing around, I finally found her."

Sora tried to run over to them, whether to deck him for his remark or to see how Kairi was doing Riku didn't know. Either way, Captain Hook had come in to block his path.

"Not so fast. No shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy." Captain Hook commanded, surrounding Sora along with his Heartless crew to keep Sora in check.

"Riku, why are you siding with the Heartless?" Sora called up to Riku.

"The Heartless obey me now, Sora. Now I have nothing to fear."

"You're stupid. Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart."

"Not a chance. My heart's too strong."

"Riku."

"I've picked up a few other tricks as well." Riku bragged, ready to showoff how much power he had gotten compared to Sora and his wretched Keyblade. He grew tired of the light that shined in Sora's heart, what once had warmed him with its presence now only sickened him. He was tired of Sora's high and mighty attitude in the light. Sora thought he was so bright and right with the light, he would show him how dark Sora's heart truly was. "Like this for instance."

"Ah?!" Sora was startled back as Riku had created an Anti-Sora Heartless in his exact image as it stared back at him with its dead, beady yellow eyes. The whole thing was like looking at his darkness reflected in the mirror, it was truly frightening.

"You can go see your friends now." Having seen enough, Riku had open the trap door under Sora to lead him down into the Prisoner's Hold. The taken-aback look on Sora's face had really did him some good. "Let's get under way, already. And keep Sora away from Kairi until we're ready to land."

Giving his commands to Captain Hook, he left Kairi for Captain Hook to put her back to a safe place on the ship as he rested a bit. He needed the rest, he'd been using the power over the darkness for a while now and he needed the break to bring back his strength.

But he didn't get to sleep for long, as Captain Hook had came into his resting quarters to wake him up. He had been sleeping along the long couch in the Captain's Office. It was the comfiest furniture than any of the beds on the ship. And it was one of the quietest rooms, that is until the Captain shows up.

"Lad, we still need you to check whether or not Wendy is one of the Princesses of Heart or not. This is no time to rest me boy."

"Can't this wait until we reach shore?" Riku sighed out in annoyance as he wiped away the tiredness from his eyes and the rim of his nose between his fingers as he sat up. He was not in the mood to deal with this right now.

"We had best do this now before we get our hopes up." Captain Hook insisted. "This is what you were called back here for. So get up and do your work."

"(Sigh)," Riku reluctantly got up off the couch in annoyance.

Stretching out his sense so he could feel the hearts in the ship. Of course it made his job easier that most of the crew members were Heartless. Leaving him, the Captain in front of him, Smee walking on Deck, the three idiots moving about below deck with another light, most likely that 'blasted Peter Pan'. His light had a shine to it, but also had a mischievous playful spark to it, if Riku were to describe it he would say that it was 'innocently cruel'. But there was also a tiny light that still glowed bright, if anything with how small the light still was, Riku would say that whom ever it belong to would most likely be only able to experience one emotion at a time. And when they could, it would be fierce. But this was not the heart they were looking for, so he kept on searching through the ship.

Now that he spotted the only other light remaining on the ship, most likely Wendy since it was coming from one of the Holding Rooms. It was bright, and had the spark of innocence and childhood but it was not the pure heart they were looking for. It was still pretty pure, but not the purest.

"It's not her." Riku said, shaking his head as he answered Hook's question.

"What?" Captain Hook couldn't believe it. "So Wendy's not one of the chosen ones?"

"There are seven, supposedly, and Maleficent says she's not one of them." Riku explained as he got a second opinion from her through the darkness. So this whole endeavor was a waste of his time. Well, not too much of waste, since he finally got to hold Sora down in one place. Turning around, he turned his back to Captain Hook as he was about to return to his nap on the couch. "Hoist anchor as soon as possible. Leave all the dead weight behind, including her."

They didn't need to take the girl to Hollow Bastion anyway, just leave her in Neverland and be done with it.

"After the trouble of capturing her?" Captain Hook shouted in complaint. "And why those seven? What is Maleficent planning, anyway?"

"Who knows." Riku shrugged off. "As long as it means getting Kairi's heart back, I couldn't care less."

"Pfft. 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."

"..."

A silence had come over them until Smee had interrupted them on the speaker.

"Uh, Captain..."

"What." Captain Hook responded in annoyance at the little interruption, coming over to the speaker to hear what Smee had to report.

"The prisoners have escaped. What's more, Peter Pan is with them."

"Rrr, Blast that Peter Pan!" Captain Hook growled out at the news. "All right, then! Bring the hostages to me Cabin, Smee! Hop to it!"

"Hostages?" Riku pondered at Hook's choice of words, Wendy was their only hostage, unless- "You placed Kairi in one of the Holding Rooms?!"

"You said to keep her away from Sora. It's not like she can feel any of the inconvenience."

"..." Riku fumed inside, going out to retrieve Kairi before he did something he would regret to Hook. That was one thing bad about Kairi's predicament, with her lack of a heart he couldn't even sense her presence anymore. He would have to keep a close eye on her or else he would never be able to find her again. Meeting up with the Heartless, he snatched up Kairi from their grasp and left Wendy to them. Gently carrying Kairi princess style back to the comforts of the Captain's Cabin before Sora had suddenly showed up. How did he even escape from his prison? The crew on this ship must truly be incompetent.

"Riku, wait!" Sora called out to him. But Riku payed no heed to his plea, backing away into his darkness portal as he left Sora with his Anti-Sora Heartless.

'Leave Sora to battle with his darker-self. That aught to hold him off for a little.' Riku thought to himself, taking a break at the closest spot he could warp the two of them through. He had been tired and did not get enough rest when Hook and interrupted his sleep. So he needed to take a break, leaving them to still be seemingly on the world of Captain Hook, but no longer in Neverland. If his memory served correctly, this was more of the real world with actual flowing time, called London. He was standing right on the Big Ben Clock Tower right now, looking off at the Moon over London city.

"..." The scenery was so beautiful and now that he took the time to sit still, he finally got the chance to appreciate it. He had spent so long jumping from world to world, he never really got the chance to appreciate what made the worlds what they were, what made them so amazing. Maybe he was taking this whole thing the wrong way.

After all, what was happening to his friendship? It was falling apart before his very eyes. This is not what he wished for. He never asked for this, he just wanted to see the worlds with his friends. He just wanted to meet his mother for once at last. But now look what it got him; more alone than he ever had been before. More alone than he had ever felt before.

Nothing was like before.

He would give anything to have those days back.

"..." But his time was up. It looks like he spent too long staring at the scenery. Somebody was approaching from Neverland. Most likely Peter Pan with Wendy judging by the two hearts. And pretty soon Sora would be coming too, it wouldn't be long until he defeated Hook anyway. Hook's heart lacked any real power in the darkness anyway, there was still a light to him, more so than any of the other Dark Council members ever had.

Leaping into the darkness again, he had opened a portal back to Hollow Bastion. Taking Kairi along with him.