The Coming Storm
... Day 153 ...
Riku had taken a day to rest and cool down at his home in Radiant Garden, only to take up his mother's advice the next day. Deciding to try and find answers outside of the worlds he had grown accustomed to, Riku opened a Dark Corridor to someplace new. Taking it easy this time, he traveled to a world that wasn't too far from Radiant Garden that it exhausted him but still a good distance up.
The world was dark and cloudy, only a pale-yellow moon lit up the sky. Riku had walked into a town made mostly of bricks and stones and pointy iron barred fences. Lanterns and Jack-o-Lanterns lit up all around the town; gelatins and gargoyle statues were scattered all around the town square like they were decoration. And beyond its brick wall border were nothing but dead trees, giving the place a haunted look. Not too far out in the distance Riku could hear a wolf howling into the night.
"..." Riku looked around the town square with curiosity and growing excitement. He remembered this place from his time in Castle Oblivion. "Is this... Halloween Town?"
Halloween Town
"Well, this is a nice surprise. I didn't think I'd get the chance to come here- what the?" Riku was looking around when he noticed his hands. He looked down to see that the rest of his look had changed. His blindfold was gone and his coat was in tatters on the trims and only went down all the way on the backside, opening up in the front to reveal his now iron talon boots and leather pants along with two thick belts at his torso. The coat hugged his body yet was still unbuttoned and open to show the black vest he had under the coat. His left shoulder was sporting a curved yet sharply spiked armor plate, while his right gloved hand had an additional iron talon gauntlet. He looked into a shattered window close by at his reflection to see that his hood had more of a sharp tip to it that only shadowed away the upper half of his face. Leaving his lips and the edge of his nose exposed and revealing to him that he now had sharpened teeth as one fang had decided to peek out from his upper lip. But that was the least eerie thing out of it. His eyes now glowed like neon that pierced through the darkness of his hood and revealed that his pupils now slit like a cat's. And on his back was one left wing. It was dark, but it was grey... Like a one-winged edged angel. One that trod one foot on the edge of the darkness while the other in the light. "What is this? Is that... me?"
"My, that's a frightening look you got there."
"?!" Riku turned around at the sound of the stranger, only to hold back a startle as he discovered that it was a skeleton in a suit. Tall and slim with a curious look in his hollowed out eye socket as he resting a pondering hand over his mouth as he looked Riku over.
"A little on the Dark side, but still refreshingly different."
"Uh...thanks," Riku replied, not really knowing how to respond to such a comment. "Who are you?"
"Me?" The skeleton gasped in startle with a hand over where his heart should be as if he couldn't believe Riku's question. "Why I'm Jack, the Pumpkin King. You must be new around here."
"More or less."
"Well then, stranger, welcome. This is Halloween." Jack Skeleton welcomed Riku with open arms gesturing to the town. "In this town, we call home, everyone hails to the Pumpkin song."
"Sounds like a fun place."
"Oh, it is," Jack nodded in excited agreement. "We of Halloween Town dedicate ourselves to making each Halloween scarier than the last. In this town, don't we love it now? Everyone is waiting for the next surprise."
"That sounds..." mean? Scary? Cruel? To dedicate yourself to filling others with fear...
"Tender lumplings of the worlds everywhere. Life's no fun without a good scare." Jack said tenderly in understanding as he saw the concerned sad look on Riku. The poor kid had a big heart to care about the well being of others to have it affect him to this extent. "That's our job but we're not mean."
"Huh?"
"Aren't you scared? Well, that's just fine." Jack laughed with a wide grin. "It's fun to be scared sometimes."
"!" Riku's eyes widened as Jack's words started to click for him. This world was Dark but not one given in to the power of Darkness. These people have fully acknowledged fear as part of the heart. A piece that one must not discard because it is deemed too unpleasant and associated with the dark. It is a necessity. A part of a being that helps form them to who they are. A piece of struggle and adversity that helps the heart grow once pushed through. The people of this world put all of their efforts every year into one day to let others remember...
Riku was starting to find that he would find no greater way of learning about himself than by interacting with those in the worlds around him without any predetermined judgment. He would have to learn this by heart soon, or else the guilt of judging people wrong before he gets to know them will keep eating him.
"You have a rather fantastically frightening look yourself." Jack complimented in his own way, looking Riku over thoughtfully with a bony finger on his chin. "We could use someone like you for next Halloween's surprise. Uh... I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name yet."
"Riku."
"Riku. It's a pleasure to meet you, Riku." Jack greeted, shaking his hand with a firm grip. Riku found it a little eerie at first to be shaking hands with a living skeleton; but, Jack seemed nice enough. And he felt more lively than most people around the worlds he's met so far with meat on their bones. "I must say, I haven't seen such an inspiring, spooky black coat look like that since the phantom."
"Phantom?"
"Why yes. He had made his appearance here just a few days ago, wearing a black coat similar to yours. And just as instantly disappeared in a sinister dark mist."
"..." This didn't sound good. It looks like members of Organization XIII were wandering around this world too. But maybe he could turn this bad news into a good thing. "Did you happen to see what they looked like?"
"Afraid not, they were gone in an instant and I only got a view of their back and spiky hair," Jack admitted with disappointment at the missed opportunity.
"Do you think they'll be back?"
"Oh I do hope so," Jack said with excitement. "I got so many wonderful ideas for next Halloween from them in just one glance. I can't imagine what other horrible wonderful ideas I can cook up from seeing them again."
"Hmm, that's good for you, Jack. But that's no guarantee if or when this phantom will show up again." Riku commented, placing a hand over his chin in thought.
"If you're looking for things about the phantom, why not take a look around town," Jack suggested. "I'm sure he left some clues lying around town from his last visit."
"Hmm, thanks, Jack. I think I just might do that." Riku nodded to Jack in gratitude.
"Sounds like an adventure. I'd love to help with this treasure hunt and give you a tour of Halloween Town. But, I have things to do, plans to make with the Dr. Frinklestein and the Mayor." Jack sighed out disappointment at not being able to go with him to discover clues about the phantom. "My apologies, Riku."
"Don't worry about it, Jack. You just make sure to make next Halloween a blast."
"Oh! That reminds me!" Jack suddenly remember something at Riku's words, calling to him as Riku started to walk off. "Watch out for the balloons I put up around town! They contain a terrifying trick if you touch them you're in for quite a shock!"
"They explode?!" Riku asked in alarm, turning back to face Jack.
"No, just some bugs and spooky mist."
"..." Oh...
"But someone has been putting Heartless inside the balloons," Jack warned. "It's best to be careful."
"Someone has been putting Heartless inside balloons? Why? And how are they doing that?"
"I have no idea." Jack waved off, frustrated that he didn't even have his own answers for that. The spooky balloons were his idea and someone was tampering with them. "Also, the balloons don't explode, they pop. The small Jack-o-Lanterns explode, like a small time bomb. It's best you be careful what you swack around here."
"...Thanks for the heads up." Riku said with a sweat drop.
"No problem. Good luck, friend." Jack waved him off as Riku took the path to the graveyard.
Riku looked around, seeing Jack's balloons and the mini Jack-o-Lanterns he was talking about as the Moonlight shined on the tombstones as they made way to the sides of the stone wall to clear a path. The Heartless were practically hopping in their trapped confinement at the presence of Riku, nearly ripping out of their balloons. But Riku didn't need to see their movement to know that they were there. They wreaked of darkness. Or maybe that was the mist Jack used making that smell. Either way, they popped out of their balloons like bats from the underworld. Dark green mist and bugs bursting out with them to give someone who was not expecting it a start. Riku had to admit, it was a good idea for scaring someone out of their pants. But playing with Heartless was a dangerous thing, no matter how innocent the trick was intended.
Riku disbursed the Heartless as quickly as they came at him, using some of the bomb Jack-o-Lanterns on a few of them for the fun of it. Luckily the Heartless had no idea what they were and didn't have the smarts to back away from them in time since the mini-bombs had a long 5 seconds fuse. The Hover Ghost Heartless of this world reminded Riku of the ones in Monstro but they were more ghost-like and had an odd spooky fun to them, adapting to the world they inhabited.
Once all the Heartless were gone, Riku began to fully look around the graveyard. Noticing the remains of the balloons that the Heartless had just popped out of; but, there was also more balloon pieces scattered around than there should have been. Meaning that more balloons had previously been popped before he got here. Could that member of Organization XIII have been trying to destroy the Heartless? But that was up for debate. Jack could have easily been the one taking care of the Heartless since it was his Halloween project they were tampering with. It could have been how he noticed the Heartless were inside his balloons. That could be a possibility, but that theory could easily be remedied by asking Jack himself about it later. However... if it was an Organization XIII member taking out the Heartless the question would be...why?
What value could it possibly be to them to battle the Heartless around this world or the other worlds for that matter? It was a useless effort without the use of a Keyblade. And Organization XIII didn't seem like the type to care about the well-being of the worlds so far. So why bother?
These things only lead to more questions for him. And he was only scratching the surface of this whole thing. What in the worlds were they up to? Riku decided to keep looking for clues.
He noticed how the pathway led up to a lone stone coffin in the middle of the end wall. Riku walked up to it, examining it closely to see why it was singled out in the open from the other graves. But he was startled at the coffin's lid opening just at his slight touch. Alarmed at what he might see inside, he was given a relieving surprise that it was just an opening to a secret stairwell pathway. Slightly hesitant at where it might lead, Riku jumped into the coffin and took his chance.
The stairway led to weird opening stone building structure in the shape of a cat. Most likely meant to be a black cat. But the destination was not as troubling as he thought it might be. All it lead him to was the other side of the stone wall where more graves filled up, surrounding an oddly curling tipped hill. Looking around, trying to find more clues. There were a few Heartless that popped up, just a few Mega-Shadows and some Heartless trapped in a snowy crystal, but there were no signs of Jack's Phantom ever being here. It looks like his trail had run cold.
"Hey, kid! Catch!"
"!" Riku turned around at the sound of someone's call, only to dodge in alarm as a Jack-o-Lantern bomb came flying at him.
"Aw man." A kid in a devil costume pouted in frustration as his friends in a skeleton and witch costume beside him did the same.
"You missed!" Said the boy in a skeleton costume.
"How could you miss from that close, you idiot!" Said the girl in the witch costume as she pushed the devil, which led to a slappy-hand fight between the three of them.
"Hey! Knock it off!" Riku huffed out a frustrated sigh and pinched his nose at their behavior before barking out his order. The sound of his voice demanded their attention, and it worked, but they refused to take orders from anyone.
"Don't tell us what to do." Huffed the witch.
"What you guys did was dangerous. You could have seriously hurt someone." Riku told them sternly.
"Ahhh ha ha ha ha! Like we care about that!" Laughed the devil, the other two joining in with him.
"Playing pranks on suckers is fun!" Added in the skeleton.
"Not when someone gets hurt! You guys are in serious trouble."
"Run away!" Said the witch as she turned to run for it, the other two following her soon after.
"Where to?" Asked the skeleton.
"Hurry, to our secret hiding spot!" Ordered the devil.
"Hey, get back here!" Riku barked the command, pulling out Soul Eater. Riku Rushed at them, easily catching up to them with his height advantage over them. But they were quick for kids with short legs, they began scattering around the hillside trying to keep away from Riku. But Riku caught up to them one at a time, whacking their tail ends with the side of Soul Eater so as not to hurt them but give them a spanking. Eventually, they gave up and tired up. Sitting down on their sore bottoms beside each other in front of Riku with their heads down, ready for the lecture or possible disciplinary measure Riku might throw at them.
"All right, we give up." The devil admitted defeat in exhaustion, breathing out heavily along with the others.
"Geez, man, what's your problem?" Huffed out the skeleton in a heavy breath.
"What's my problem?" Riku quirked an eyebrow up that they couldn't see, surprised that they had the gall to even ask him that. "What's 'your' problem? Why would you mess with someone like that?"
"Because it's fun." Said the witch as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Fun?" They must have an odd sense of fun.
"Yeah!" The devil agreed along with his friend in excitement.
"Tricks are the best!" Added in the skeleton.
"I think you guys have a misinterpretation of the meaning of fun."
"Bah, you just don't understand the art of tricks and pranks." Huffed the witch.
"Yeah!" "Yeah!" Both the devil and the skeleton agreed at the same time.
"You just don't appreciate the hard work that's put into making tricks. It was hard catching all those Heartless and stuffing them into balloons." Commented the witch. "Luring Heartless into a cage was one thing, but stuffing them into a balloon was a whole nother level."
"!" Well, that answered some questions. "You guys were the ones putting the Heartless in Jack's balloons."
"Pretty clever, right?" The witch said with pride.
"I bet it scared a whole lot of people." The devil commented with proud excitement.
"Ahhh ha ha, they probably wet their pants." Chuckled the skeleton.
"It was way better than Jack's idea." Chuckled the witch along with the others.
"I'm sure Jack would love to hear that."
"(Gasp)!" "!" "!" All three of their eyes widened as they leaned away in alarm at Riku's silent threat.
"Please don't tell Jack!" Pleaded the devil.
"We'll never prank again!" Promised the skeleton.
"That's a lie and you know it," Riku said, calling out their fib as he crossed his arms. "Stop crossing your fingers behind your back. There's no point in that."
"!" "!" "!" They startled in surprise at being caught.
"Look, I'm not asking you to stop playing tricks. I'm just asking that you'd be less dangerous with your tricks before you get yourselves hurt."
"Geez, you're just as bad tricking as that other kid in a black coat." Whined the witch. But she had just given Riku more information than he would expect from the cold trail.
"!" Riku's eyes widened at the sudden info. "You mean you guys ran into another guy in a similar black coat?"
"Yeah," answered the devil. "Pulled the same trick on him as we tried to pull on you."
"Although his reaction to the trick was kinda strange." Commented the skeleton.
"What do you mean?"
"He just took it without getting angry or giving chase!" Explain the witch, getting slightly frustrated that their trick didn't get any reactions from their victim at all. It was a silent defeat in their eyes, no matter how many times they got him with it. "We pulled the same trick on him three times and still he did nothing."
"It's not like there were crayons missing from his coloring box. It was just that he was missing 'something'..." The skeleton tried to explain but was having a hard time finding the words.
"..."
"He kinda took the fun out of the whole thing." Commented the devil to his friends as Riku silently processed what they've told him.
"I believe this guy might be Jack's phantom." Riku finally spoke again, drawing their attention back to him. "Can you tell me what he looked like?"
"Not much to tell." Shrugged the skeleton. "He was a kid just around your age, maybe younger."
"He was kinda skinny with sky blue eyes." Added in the witch.
"And he had really spiky light brown hair," said the devil, finishing up their description.
"Hm, thanks... that actually helps a lot." Riku thanked them before an idea popped into his head. "Think you guys might be interested in helping me catch this guy?"
"Catching Jack's mysterious phantom? That actually sounds like fun!"
"You can count us in!" Agreed the skeleton with excitement.
"But we've gotta get something in return for our work!" Demanded the witch, reeling in her excitement as she had gone into negotiation mode. "No treats, no tricks!"
"?" That seemed reasonable, but Riku wasn't expecting such a request from kids. "What do you want?"
"Candy!" Demanded the skeleton before the devil pushed him to the side to add in his two cents.
"And lots of it!"
"..." Judging by these kids' energy the last thing they needed was more candy. Riku was pretty sure their teeth would say the same thing. But negotiations were negotiations, and kids would be kids. "Done."
"Great!"
"A pleasure doing business with you..." The witch said before trailing off when she didn't have a name.
"Riku," Riku answered, informally introducing himself. "If we're going to work together we should at least get to know each other's names first."
"Lock," introduced the boy in the devil costume before being pushed to the side by the girl in the witch costume as she moved in front of him.
"Shock," she introduced herself before the boy in the skeleton costume slid in front of her.
"Barrel."
"Nice to meet you, Riku!" They all said at the same time before breaking into a hackle and chuckle. Hunting for a reaction-less phantom and getting free candy out of it. It was like they hit the jackpot.
... Day 167 ...
Riku had spent two weeks in Halloween Town, trying to catch the phantom Organization XIII member that had been spotted on this world. He staked out the area patiently, waiting for the mysterious member to make his appearance again. But in the end, he never came. For the most part, Riku had spent his days helping out Jack with the number of Heartless in town. While also helping Lock, Shock, and Barrel set up tricks- which were more like traps- to catch the phantom. But the plans were never set-a-go since the target never showed up. But Riku got the chance to get to know the inhabitants of this world. From the Doctor and his quirks; to the Mayor with his dual personality; to Sally with kind nature and love for Jack that she would show but never truly say; down to meeting Jack's ghost dog, Zero. It was strange for Riku to pet a ghost, but it would seem that Zero could make his form physical and transparent as he pleased. And the dog was friendly enough, quickly taking a liking to Riku as he would play fetch with Zero with random bones that he did not want to know where they came from.
Even the three trick-or-treaters were starting to take a liking to Riku, letting him into their secret hiding spot. Which turns out they had to get there by taking a ride in a walking tub, which was a trip for Riku. The hiding spot used to be Oogie Boogie's Castle from what Riku could smell from his lingering darkness. He was still there, but in a very weak state... recovering. There was nothing that could be done about him now, they would just have to wait until Oogie Boogie took his form again. Which probably wouldn't be for a long time. Sora and the others must have done a real number on him. But judging from the darkness that lingered around this place he probably deserved it.
Putting Oogie Boogie to the side, the kids had still kept their word and did their best even if the phantom didn't show up. Riku made sure to reward them. Buying them candy from the stores of Halloween Town from the munny he had scavenged from the Heartless he defeated. And sometimes he would sneak off to other worlds while they weren't looking to get them other variety of treats. And they enjoyed that but not as much as spending time with him. He was like a big brother to them, even though they would never admit it. But sadly, their time together couldn't last forever.
"Are you sure you have to go so soon?" Jack asked in the hopes for Riku to reconsider as he prepared to depart and his friends in town gathered around to see him off.
"Yeah. I've been here for a while now and I need to keep looking on other worlds for clues."
"But you'll come back to visit us, won't you, Riku?" Asked Lock with the hint of a silent plea for Riku to return to them so that they could play again.
"Definitely. There's still a chance that the phantom might pop up here again." Riku answered before looking at the three trick-or-treaters that were still sad about seeing him go. "You guys will keep a look out for me, right? I'll definitely bring you guys back some candy from the other worlds I visit if you do."
"Sure, we can do that!"
"Definitely!" Barrel added in before Shock added her say on the matter too.
"Easy peasy."
"Right, I'm counting on you guys."
"Take care Riku," Sally wished to him in farewell.
"I will," Riku nodded to her before waving to the others. "I'll see you guys later."
They all waved him goodbye as he took the path out of the town's gate, wondering where to go next as he walked along. Perhaps someplace he hasn't been to in a while but different from the others. With an idea in mind, he opened up a Dark Corridor and headed for his destination that was some ways off from Radiant Garden but still within a reasonable range from Halloween Town.
... Traverse Town …
It seemed to be early into the night at Traverse Town as he stepped out of his Dark Corridor into the town square. The lights were lit and the streets were bustling with business. The cafe was serving coffee and teas to their patrons; Moggles were moving about their products from their workshop upstairs in the building next to the cafe; people were wandering the streets visiting from shop to shop. This place was not quiet but all the same not noisy either. The people of this world were kind of soothing in their action, not so loud, just like their world tended to be.
For the first time since the last time Riku had visited this place, he had taken this world in. The sights he could see, the smells he could sniff. They just blended in so well with the present while having a residue of the past in them. Riku could practically feel the hearts that had passed through this world's roads. Some passing strangers, others close to the heart.
Riku followed the lingering scent of his mother and the Heartless Resistance to the building which acted as one of their base of operation. It was a store along the shopping district, currently empty with a 'For Sale' sign on the window. But it seemed to be an open house, and the Moogle's Workshop still operated upstairs, so Riku could easily walk in without trouble. He looked around at the empty shelves, wondering the things they must have built, the products they could have made, all to help support their cause to push back the Heartless. His mother must have been working there too, he could smell the light scent of her heart still lingering in this place. But not as strong as Cid's ringed out, his mother must have spent most of her time in other places.
He wandered around through the back streets to get to the downtown district. He soon began to learn that his mother's scent stretched out equally throughout various areas, meaning that she must have been constantly on the move. Only one house seemed to have a strong scent of all of the Heartless Resistance members together and that was most likely because that was their living area. But as he wandered around near the town bell, towards the back alleyway where the door to Merlin's house was, he began to reminisce. The actions he took, the misunderstandings he made, all because Sora had made a few new friends out in the vast big worlds. How embarrassing and immature to overreact to one thing that Sora always did best: make friends with everyone he meets. Even Riku had made many friends out there in the worlds after getting over self-guilt and giving the worlds a chance. It was a natural and amazing thing that helped him grow as a person and in the heart. And he had retaliated against Sora over the very same thing. It made him wonder if he had taken a moment to calm down and had just left with Sora and Donald and Goofy would things have turned different? Would it have been for the better?
He wouldn't have sunken so deep into the darkness if he hadn't run from them that day. It's possible that the light inside of him could have still smothered out his growing darkness if he had left Maleficent back then.
But... what's done is done. That was then and this is now. There was no point lingering on the 'what ifs'.
But he still did. That's what led him to the window where his first feelings of betrayal about Sora festered. He looked into the dark empty home through the window in the same spot as he remembered looking in with Maleficent at Sora and the others. Too blinded by jealousy and the feeling of betrayal to even notice that presence of his mother was in the same room. If he had calmed down and hadn't let Maleficent's words get to him, he could have been reunited with his mother sooner...
"..."
"Wandering down memory lane?"
"?!" Riku had turned instantly in surprise at the sudden presence that out of nowhere appeared from the darkness. The stench of darkness on them was great but it wasn't really foul.
"Careful, wandering down that road too deep could kill you." Said the presence on the other side of the road, leaning between an alleyway on a house. One of his feet resting on the building with his arms crossed. His eyes were closed as his face was turned to the building across from him. But his long mane of platinum was enough of a trademark for Riku to know exactly who this man was. "It'll make you blind to the present."
"!" Riku's eyes widened in shock and his body stiffened up defensively at the one and only one winged angel, Sephiroth, his father.
Riku's heart began to pound as adrenaline poured through his veins. While Sephiroth was calm, smooth and relaxed as if he wasn't going to move from his comfortable spot anytime soon. But Riku knew this was only a front. This man was a trained warrior with many years under his belt; he could be calm then ready to strike in an instance. His presence alone was intimidating.
"Heard you did a number on your brothers," Sephiroth commented, slowly turning his head to face Riku as he opened his eyes. "Thought I'd see you for myself."
"!" Riku grew alarmed as Sephiroth was suddenly in front of him. He didn't even see Sephiroth move to use Rush.
"You have your mother's eyes," Sephiroth said with a gentle voice that could be deceiving before Riku had jumped back onto the roof of the building he was looking at to get the distance between them again. But Sephiroth seemed to ignore Riku's drastic action as a small grin began to grow on his face. "That's nice..."
'She always wanted that.'
"!" Sephiroth had surprised himself with that wild thought. The memories Aeris had shown him must have still been getting to him. Shaking the thought out of his head, he swiftly leaped up to join Riku on the rooftop, somehow still moving with the grace of a landing bird. Riku had jumped back some more, getting into a defensive stance as Sephiroth had come up to join him. "You seem to fear me."
"No, just weary," Riku responded, not relaxing his stance. "I've heard things about you."
"I see..." Sephiroth said, grinning a little as he already knew 'who' was giving Riku ideas about him. "And what has your mother been telling you about me?"
"She said to avoid you at all possibilities at the current state you're in now." Riku honestly answered.
"Is that right?" Sephiroth huffed nonchalantly, brushing some feathers off his shoulder. Noticing how with the way Riku was tensed he could either fight or flight at any moment. "Are you going to listen to her advice?"
"Those were her words a long time ago and she hasn't revised them to the current time. So I'm going on my judgment." Riku said the last part with a smirk.
"Heh, how very brave of you. However... I wonder how long your bravado will last once facing darkness the likes of mine?"
"!" Riku instantly pulled out Soul Eater, ready for a fight, at Sephiroth's words. Sephiroth, on the other hand, took his time unsheathing Masamune and getting into a fighting stance similar to Riku's but with both hands on the hilt. They both held their place for a long second, sizing each other up. The tension between them was building up so tight that it felt like a storm was brewing. Until finally, both of them tensed up to pounce at each other at the same time.
"Come!" "Come!" They both coincidentally barked at each other before their blades clashed together.
Riku had striked for the weak points he thought he would find in Sephiroth, with that long katana and all, but Sephiroth seemed to parry him each time.
"You're skill is good." Sephiroth complimented before pushing Riku back with one Slash-All empowered with darkness to release a shock wave of it. "But let's see what you really are made of, Riku."
"Tst," Riku clicked his tongue on his teeth in frustration as he Dashed to the side to try and get Sephiroth from behind.
"Not good enough." Sephiroth huffed, raising his hand with Masamune in the air to cast a wall of Dark Fira around him the forced Riku to jump back. But soon after Riku had to instant Block with Soul Eater as Sephiroth suddenly charged at him through the fire with Masamune.
Riku soon countered at him with a Combo of four strikes but Sephiroth had teleported back with a small Dark Corridor- leaving behind a few black feathers from his wing- to Rush at Riku with a Slash strong enough to be a Deathblow. Riku was able to Block some of it but still took damage from the blow.
Sephiroth then leaped back and began to circle around Riku.
"Darkness!" Riku shouted out, seeing how Sephiroth would like a taste of his own medicine, shooting out some Dark Thundagas at Sephiroth that followed his line of path as he ran to dodge them.
"You're holding back," Sephiroth stated as he noticed how Riku was purposely aiming for where Sephiroth 'was' instead of where he was 'going'. "Why do you hesitate?"
"?!" It wasn't like Riku had wanted to hurt Sephiroth. No mattered how immersed in the darkness he was, this man was still his father. Riku had always wanted the chance to get to know him. And this was certainly not how he wanted their first meeting to turn out. But sadly, in the state he was currently in with his memories tampered by the darkness, Riku's feelings may not be able to reach Sephiroth's heart. It would be a pointless effort that would hurt his heart more than help the situation. "I'm not about to tell you!"
"You underestimate me, boy."
"I'm not!" Riku shouted as he leaped at Sephiroth, using the last of his Dark Thundaga to lead Sephiroth to his line of projection. Striking at him from above, getting in some good hits.
"Very good." Sephiroth complimented before unfurling his wing as he lifted off the ground a bit to let out a burst of darkness from his body that knocked Riku back. "Show me your true strength."
"Ah!" Riku grunted in pain as the knocked back rolled him along the roof before he came to a stop, slightly shaking as he got up on his feet again, one knee at a time.
"Your mother failed to teach you any Healing Magic?" Sephiroth pondered as he watched Riku get up on his feet again, sub-consciously staying back to give Riku a moment to collect himself. "I find that very surprising."
"No, it's just not my strong point." Riku gritted out, defending his mother in a small way.
"So it would seem," Sephiroth replied with a grin. "You seem to excel in other ways."
"!" Riku could understand the subtle meaning of his words, ignoring the pride he could Sense his father was feeling for him right now at the notion. The idea that he excelled in the darkness just like his father only made him angry. "Shut up, I'm nothing like you!"
"Oh but you're more like me than I first expected." Sephiroth acknowledged although the information did have him a bit disturbed inside. Initially, he had intended to lead Riku into the darkness as his new little brother. But... with the ways things have turned out so far, Riku could possibly be... He didn't want to think about it at the moment. "You should join me. I can help your powers grow, nurturing it."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Riku replied back, getting back into a fighting stance. "I've already got my powers under control and plenty more teachers than I could count."
"Hm, that's too bad," Sephiroth said in a pity that Riku did not take him up on his offer. It would seem that some force will be necessary.
"!" Riku's eyes widened in alarm as Sephiroth's free hand lifted into the sky and he felt Magic power building up to the point of his palm. He felt that Sephiroth was building up enough power to cast Comet. But that would be insane. Releasing such a destructive Magic like Comet in a town would cause massive destruction to the people occupying it. There's no way he would do something so careless. But it turns out that he did. Riku grew alarmed as he was forced to summon his own Comet to cancel out Sephiroth's. "Arahh!"
They collided in the sky, crashing into one another and bursting like fireworks which the people in the shopping district found to be pretty, not truly realizing how much danger they could have been in.
"..."
"Are you insane?!"
"So she taught you everything," Sephiroth said, his excitement barely showing in his voice as it came out through his eyes. "I'm so pleased to see that."
"Tch," Riku was growing frustrated, forced to use an Exilir from his items as he didn't trust his Cure to do the job. He needed to put an end to this now before they blew up the town. His mother had warned him about the dangers of a full-on Magic fight, especially with the powers of Ancients, he just didn't think that they would be on this scale.
"Time to end this," Sephiroth said, coming at Riku with Masamune.
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Riku taunted back at Sephiroth as he met him halfway with Soul Eater. They began clashing at each other with a dance of blades where one false move could make them wind up with a nasty cut. "Come on!"
"Come power!" Sephiroth shouted, casting darkness to coat his blade as he began slashing at Riku with more force. Riku countered this move by going into Dark Mode.
"Darkness!" Which was a good move on his part. His Dark Mode would absorb most of the blows as they were dark based and enforce the power in his blade with the hint of darkness so he could Counter back at Sephiroth with his own medicine.
"Excellent!" Sephiroth said with a small smile in excitement as Riku and he continued to clash. "Can't you see?! We are the Chosen Ones! I can lead you to the Promised Land!"
"No thanks!" Riku said, Rushing Sephiroth as he left himself wide open while he was casting Asteroid, halting him before he could complete it. "I'm happy where I am!"
"You limit yourself," Sephiroth said with a sneer as he clutched the wound Riku left on him for a second before closing it with Dark Fire. Soon after coating himself with a chaotic darkness that violently moved around him and released from him in a burst of spheres that continued in motion until they hit a target. Sephiroth walked towards Riku, practically stomping, with an anger on his face. "Just like Aeris."
"!" Alarmed at the sudden change of tone, Riku backed away from him. Keeping the distance as he could Sense that the darkness around Sephiroth was dangerous and it would be really dangerous if one of those bubbles popped on him.
"Give in to the dark."
But that turned out to be hard to do since Sephiroth kept Teleporting at him with Dark Corridors at random, slashing at him with his still Dark coated Masamune.
"Come," Sephiroth beckoned to him with a hand before surrounding Riku with his spheres of dark energy that enclosed around him.
"Ah!" Riku grunted in pain as the spheres blew up all around him even as he Blocked, weakening his Dark Mode. He couldn't hold on to it much longer.
"Prepare yourself!" Sephiroth called out in warning as he Rushed at Riku again. This time it was all or nothing for Riku. He was going to put everything he had left in this move to end this or go down trying.
"This is it!" Riku shouted as he Rushed at Sephiroth too. Both of them crossing paths as they both sliced at each other. Riku hit the ground and rolled back onto his knee with a twirl to face back at Sephiroth out of breath as they crossed. While Sephiroth only bent a knee as he held his stance. The air paused with them in this tense moment, silently waiting for a victor to be decided.
But Sephiroth slowly rose back to a full stand as he calmly brushed off some feathers from his shoulder without a hint of being out of breath.
"What true power..." Sephiroth commented as he slowly turned back to face Riku. "You're very skilled. But apparently, you still have some ways to go. You're still growing."
"Tst," Riku was annoyed that Sephiroth was so collect while he was still catching his breath.
"Hmph," Sephiroth couldn't help but smirk at Riku's pout. It was like a defeated child's. Or, like the ones Riku use to make as a baby... "I'll leave you be for now."
"?" Riku slightly tilted his head at Sephiroth in confusion as he turned around from Riku and summoned a Dark Corridor.
"Give your mother my dearest regards," Sephiroth ordered over to Riku without even turning his head to look back at him. "Tell her that I'm still waiting."
"?!" Riku's eyes widened in confusion at his words, gasping as Sephiroth walked into the Dark Corridor. A blinding light shinning out before being snuffed out by the darkness as the Dark Corridor closed. His presence disappearing from this world. Most likely returning to Radiant Garden. Riku had tried to call out to him as his hand reached out to Sephiroth but words couldn't seem to leave his mouth. His father had walked away from his grasp just as quickly as he appeared. "..."
Why did this always seem to happen to Riku? He would find answers to some questions only to be plagued with a dozen more. He needed answers. Answers that could help him fix things that were broken around him. But it would seem that everything that is precious to him always seems to be broken or breaks. The people that he cared for always end up getting hurt and there was no way for him to stop it. Sora, his mother, Kairi, even his father, and brothers...
"Why must everything good get broken to pieces...?"
"Riku?"
"Merlin?" Riku answered in surprise, seeing someone from Radiant Garden so far from home. "What are you doing here?"
"Checking in on my house here. Needed some dusting but all in all fine. I was doing just that when I felt enormous amounts of Magic being used. What in the worlds happened here?"
"Nothing, really, I just had a reunion with my dad."
"!" Merlin's eyes widened in alarm for a moment before visibly softening as he grew concerned for Riku. He cast a Cura on Riku for good measures and approached him to place a comforting hand on his shoulder as he kneeled down to Riku's level. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, but... it's sad." Riku honestly admitted to Merlin, casting his head down where his hood covered more of his face. The one time he decided to go without his blindfold and he was already starting to regret it.
"What's sad?"
"That... I couldn't pull him out of the darkness." Riku confessed. "I couldn't even save my brothers. They had fallen into my hands and that was my chance. I could have brought them home. But... I couldn't reach them at all. I couldn't save them... And now they're still wandering in the darkness."
Riku was gripping his coat in his lap as his eyes burned with traitor tears that he held back.
"It's not your fault that they gave in to the darkness. And it's not an easy task to pull them out of it." Merlin assured to him in comfort. "It's rare for someone to be taken out of the darkness by another, usually they have to find their own pathway out. The best we can do for them is be the light and shining voice to help guide their way out of it."
"But... They've been waiting in the darkness for so long. I just want to help them." Riku said, looking up at Merlin before turning away to look down again as he began to lose faith in his own power. "If mom were in my place she would have saved them..."
"..." Merlin couldn't have Riku belittling himself. Not when he's come so far. "Come with me, Riku. I have to show you something."
"?" Curious about what Merlin wanted him to see, he followed Merlin off the roof and down to the alley pathway that led to the Magically Sealed door that hid away Merlin's house from the rest of the town.
Merlin floated over the moat to his house while Riku jumped from stone to stone to reach the other side, going in with Merlin only take the stone stairs into the basement. It led to an underground cavern which acted as a basement to the town, the waterways seemed to meet up here. But that was not what was eye-drawing about this place. What really caught Riku's attention was how strongly the other's light seemed to linger here, especially his mother's.
"Your mother use to come here, along with the others, to train," Merlin explained to Riku. "She use to practice here every day to hone her skills. Working herself to the bone; Healing the others when they would come along to train; crying here when she was all alone and when she felt like everything was falling down around her."
"!"
"She use to feel so hopeless when she couldn't reach your father or your brothers with her strength. Feeling powerless as she lost you along with them. But, she didn't give up... She kept trying and pushing herself, hoping for her light to reach you all no matter how long it took. Eventually, she reached you, after some time she finally reached you. The point that I'm trying to say is that she never gave up no matter how useless and pointless it seemed. You have to do the same thing. You might not be able to reach a hand down to them and pull them out of their darkness, but you can still call out to them, helping them guide themselves back from the darkness."
"..."
"And you're not alone. Your mother is there to help you call to them in the darkness as well, so there's more hope for them yet." Merlin added in before turning back to the stairs to start heading up. "I think we could use some tea. Why don't I head up and brew us a kettle. Come back up when you're ready."
And so Riku was left alone with his thoughts, admiring the painting on the cavern wall on the other side.
"..." Riku had thought and thought to himself, contemplating to himself about how he always seemed to belittle his own abilities. He has already done so many things, for good ends and bad. Even so, they were his actions and he had made them happen through his own powers. If he would just take the time to focus his energy on the things he wanted to protect then there was no telling what he could do. The precious people in his heart that needed him to be strong for them, and for the precious people that didn't know that they were precious to him that needed him to be there for them. So he had to keep his head held high. "...The shadows of these worlds will try to steal you away into their arms. But you belong in mine..."
Suddenly a light had appeared from the painting in the cavern, shining brightly. It alarmed Riku at first but he could feel the innocence radiating from it. From that bright light emerged a page. A page from the Hundred Acre Wood's book, floating gently at Riku on an invisible wind, drawn to his heart.
"Another lost page... Mom and the others will be pleased." Riku said aloud with subtle happiness as one broken thing that had grown to be precious to him was finally coming back together thanks to him. "Only one more to go now."
... Day 172 ...
Riku had stayed on Traverse Town for a few days more before finally leaving to visit another world that he hadn't been to for so long. A part of him stayed a few days in Twilight Town because he wanted to get some pointers from Merlin and take some time to find out answers about himself. Another part of him was hoping to bump into his father again. But it would seem that it was not meant to be. He would have to find his father again on Radiant Garden if he wanted to see him again. Maybe he'd have more of a chance bumping into his brothers on other worlds as he had before. Either way, he would be ready for them.
But for now, he would check up on another old world to him just to see if it needed his help.
Neverland
Riku had opened up a Dark Corridor directly on Captain Hook's ship, looking around the deck to see if he could spot him or Mr. Smee for that matter. But no one seemed to be around. Which means they were likely below deck. Hook was probably in his Captain's Quarters.
But as Riku made his way below deck he had come to see that there was no crew down here either. They were probably left at the harbor like last time when Hook used Heartless as his crew. But that was a consideration for the safety of his crew, however, since the Heartless were gone he had no reason to leave them behind. Something was up with Hook, he could smell it in the air. Literally, since Hook's almost innocent darkness had taken up more of a stench that Riku could practically smell it outside of Hook's door.
Being polite, Riku gave a knock on the door to let Hook know he was there.
"Blast, who is it?!" Captain Hook hollered out from the other side of the door. Riku saw this as a sign that he could let himself in.
"Hey," Riku looked around as he came in, noticing how Mr. Smee was over exhausted and resting-while-sitting-up on the Captain's couch with a shovel in his arm. While Hook was at his desk drowning in scrolls as he was looking over one with obsessed eyes. He only looked up for a second to acknowledge Riku. Not able to see his face through the hood of his black coat but able to recognize his voice.
"Oh, it's you." Hook said with lackluster. "Didn't expect to see you again. What do you want, Lad?"
"Nothing, I just came to check in and see if everything's all right."
"Everything's fine. Now be on your way." Hook shooed him off with a hand, ready for Riku to get out of his hair so he could get back to his previous engagement.
"?" Riku was getting curious about what had Hook's attention so much, walking over to his desk and leaning in to see. "What are you looking at?"
"It's none of your concern!" Hook huffed, getting defensive as he snatched the scroll away from Riku's it sight. His grip crumbling the scroll as he held it close to him. But Riku had seen enough to get an idea of what it was.
"Is that a treasure map?" Well Hook was a pirate, and pirates love treasure, so that made sense. Riku didn't understand why Hook was getting so upset about it.
"Keep your grubby hands off! It's mine! They're all mine!" Hook practically growled at Riku, staring at him with bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep. He reached his arms along his desk to block Riku off from all the scrolls on it while never breaking eye contact.
"All..." Riku began to look around the desk and began to piece Captain Hook's odd behavior together. "Are these all treasure map?!"
"What's it to you?! It's mine I say! I'm not letting you have a single doubloon of my treasure!"
"I don't want your treasure." Riku huffed at Hook, trying to calm him down. "Can't you see that it's impossible for all these treasure maps to be real?"
"Of course I know that, you idiot. I've ciphering through them one by one to find the real treasure. It's sure to be filtered in with the duds, they must be the maps' maker trying to throw us off. But I'll find it! I'll find it even if I have to dig up every mark on these maps!"
"You can't be serious?" With the amount of treasure maps Hook had he would have to dig up the whole island. "Where did you even get these maps anyway?"
"They just were just dropped on my desk out of nowhere, what does it matter to you?!"
"Hook, can't you see that this is all fishy? You need to open your eyes." Multiple treasure maps miraculously landing in Hook's laps sending him on maddening goose chases. It almost seemed like this was intentional like someone wanted this to happen. Like someone was trying to fester up the darkness inside Hook...
"The only thing I see is fishy is you! And your interest in my treasure!"
"For the last time, I don't want your treasure!"
"Lies!" Hook banged his fist on the desk, knocking some of the treasure maps off. "You're just trying to trick me so I let my guard down. You're after my treasure, just like the others are! Well they can't have it, and neither can you, it's mine!"
"!" Riku grew alarmed as he could see the darkness inside Hook seeping out around him beyond his notice. "Something's wrong. Hook, you have to calm down. The darkness inside you is feeding off your greed. It's going to get you in trouble."
"I am calm!" Hooked huffed before breaking out into giggling chuckle as he rubbed his 'hands' together. "And I'll be overly ecstatic when the treasure is finally mine."
"Hook..." Riku sighed out to him in concern, tired of his antics but still worried about his well-being.
"We're thru here, get out of my ship!" Hook barked at Riku, pointing him to the door.
"..." Oh but they were far from thru. 'Someone' was trying to fester up Hook's barely threatening darkness. For what reasons were still unknown to Riku. But he had to find out soon before darkness drawn out from Hook's greed starts to lure in the Heartless. But for now, it could wait. Hook's darkness was still at a manageable level that wasn't dangerous to him. Even so, Riku wanted to help Hook soon, for old times sake. He didn't really have any hard feelings for Hook like he did the other Council of Darkness members, and his time spent with Hook during his phase in the darkness wasn't so bad. In some ways, he did consider Hook a friend. "I'll come back for you."
"Bah, don't trouble yourself!"
"..." With that said, Riku opened up a Dark Corridor that led him off the ship and onto one of the little straggling islands of Neverland. There were holes all around and signs that they were dug up half-hazard by a shovel. Hook must have had Smee very busy lately. But as he examined two of the holes he noticed the residue stench of a Heartless, proof that the darkness from Hook's greed was luring them. But they didn't seem to smell like something on a threatening level, just something easy enough for Hook and Smee to run away from. But that would mean that there was still wandering Heartless in the area. But that leads the question why Riku couldn't Sense them. "...?"
"I finally found you again, Faker."
"?!" Riku turned his head to look up over his shoulder at the sudden new appearance. He was surprised to see that it was the girl from before that looked so much like Kairi. The girl that Naminé had said was a Replica...
Her voice was soft but Riku could still hear the excited aggression in it towards him.
"At last I can get back at you from before and redeem myself."
"I see that you're still hanging around with the same crowd." Riku statement in disappointment. "I told you those guys were bad news."
"What do you know about the Organization? You're just a sham wandering around in our coat." Xion huffed, her fist tightening at her side as she clenched in frustration. "I got yelled at because of you. Because of you, Saïx... I have to defeat you, or else my reputation will never change!"
"(Gasp)?!" Riku was startled as she suddenly charged at him with her fake Keyblade, swinging at him like a wild slugger. Riku kept dodging backward to avoid her swings, he didn't want to fight her. "You don't have to do this."
"But I do! My standing in the Organization is on the line!"
"And why does that matter?"
"(Gasp)!" Xion's eyes widened in fearful shock as Riku parry with his suddenly summoned Soul Eater, getting his blade along her Keyblade's weak-point and knocking it out of her hands. Her Keyblade hitting the ground far off to the left of her.
"Why is the opinion of an organization that doesn't even acknowledge you so important to you?"
"Because that's all that I have!"
"!"
"Fire!" She may not have had her Keyblade in hand but she still had her Magic. Taking advantage of his moment of distraction, she shot out a Fire at him from her hand.
"Ggh," Riku had to admit that she did get the drop on him. As if on instinct he had shot out a Blizzard from his hand to counter it. "Deep Freeze!"
"Ah!" I was a perfect hit, right on her chest. She was knocked down to the floor but didn't seem to be getting back up.
"!" She wasn't moving. Could he have put too much force into his attack? "Hey!"
"That's quite enough." Riku was startled as yet another appearance had made their way in through a Dark Corridor. He was wearing the black coat of Organization with his hood down, revealing his long blue hair and the crossed scars on his nose. His yellow eyes looked so indifferent and yet so cold. "You shouldn't be breaking other people's toys."
"Toy?" Riku was shocked that a member of the Organization would talk about one of their own like that.
"Yes, but it's more of Mistake than a Toy. Unable to complete even this simple task, it's useless." Saïx said, looking down at Xion without even the slightest sympathy or care for the unconscious girl. "And now with Sora's memories returning to her, she can't even handle that without breaking. Worthless..."
"Hey!" Riku growled, unable to focus on the news of Sora's memories seeping into the girl as he couldn't tolerate hearing someone talk about another person like that. Especially when the other person was already beaten down as it is. "Don't talk about her like that!"
"I can talk about it however I please." Saïx looked back at Riku nonchalantly with defiance. "I am simply stating the fact of what it is. A Broken Mistake."
"Tst, is that how you treat one of your own?! One that had worked so hard to please your Organization!"
"Xion was never one of us," Saïx stated the truth so cold. To add more to injury, he picked her up without any care and handled her like a sack under his arm. "She wasn't given a number."
"!" He knew Nobodies didn't have a Heart, but... this was unusually cruel. How could he be so cold?
"We will leave you be, for now, Impostor," Saïx said. He had turned back around with Xion, his side facing Riku as he only looked at Riku with his eyes as he opened another Dark Corridor. Xion's head and limbs pathetically dangling down close to the ground uncomfortably, Saïx didn't even lift her up further from the ground so she didn't bump into something. "But know this, the Organization will come for you. And when that time comes, your time of playing pretend will come to an end sooner than you think."
"!" Was that a threat? Big words coming from a guy walking away through a worlds-traveling portal. Speaking of which, where was he going? And where was he taking her? "Hey, wait!"
But he was gone. And with no Heart for Riku to Sense, he couldn't track them down. If what that guy was saying was true then he needed to get his hands on that girl, Xion. If the pieces of Sora's memories were really going into Xion then he needed her to get them back. But with them slipping out of his grasp, his lead just went cold.
"Tsk, damn."
... Day 173 ...
Beast's Castle
With the disappointment from what happened in Neverland still washed on him, Riku felt like he desperately needed a win. With the thrill of visiting new worlds and worlds barely gazed out of his system, he decided to check in on the other worlds to see how they were doing. Starting with Beast's world.
Riku had opened a Dark Corridor to the Castle's Courtyard. What he had come back to was a different air entirely. When he had left the Heartless were at a manageable level at the time, but now the castle was a peaceful quiet. As if the Heartless had suddenly vanished from the castle. It was a nice change of pace but still a little disconcerting.
The castle was oddly quieter than usual. As he made his way into the castle looking through the now empty Main Hall he wondered where the residents of the castle were? With the Heartless now gone, surely, there should have been more traffic. He looked and looked until he spotted Lumiere and Cogsworth standing outside of the door to the Sitting Room with Mrs. Potts and Chip peeking in.
"There you are. What are you guys doing out here-"
"Shhh!" They all hushed at him at the same time.
"?!"
"Quiet. The Master and Mademoiselle Belle are having a moment." Cogsworth whispered to Riku, gesturing with his handle arms to keep it down.
"?" A moment? Riku quietly came up beside them to look in as well, trying to see what the commotion was about. He looked in to see Belle sitting on the floor beside Beast in his chair by the fire as she treated his wounds. He was covered in cuts and bruises as she removed his dirty wrappings to replace and re-clean the wounds before wrapping them up again. "(Gasp)! What happened to Beast?"
"A giant Infernal Engine Heartless attack the castle gate the other night, trying to break through the door. But the Master fought him off." Lumiere explained.
"He was so brave. Charging in at the Heartless to protect us all even as he kept being knocked down." Mrs. Potts said, her voice saddened with worry for Beast. The Heartless had really done a number on him and all they could do was help fix him up after it was all done.
"I'm sorry... If I had gotten here sooner, Beast wouldn't be hurt like this." Riku apologized in guilt that while he was out discovering new worlds the worlds that had reached back to his outstretch for forgiveness with an accepting hand he had left to fend for themselves.
"Don't beat yourself up about this, Love." Mrs. Potts said up to him soothingly. "The Master's stubbornness to take things on himself alone was bound to get him hurt, even if you were here to help."
"..."
"But this is still good. Because Belle has been taking care of the Master since yesterday!" Chip said with excitement, jumping up and down.
"Really? That's very kind of her." Riku responded with a small smile, happy to hear Belle and Beast getting along and spending time together again. But he was also happy for Chip, the little teacup's joy was pleasantly contagious. "This is good news."
"It's splendid news." Cogsworth agreed with Riku. "The Master and Mademoiselle Belle are finally spending quality time together after so long. Regardless of the means..."
Cogsworth trailed off on the last part in awkward crossed emotions about the situation. Sure he was happy to see Beast and Belle getting along again, but all the same, he would rather not be because of Beast getting hurt like this.
ROARRR!
"!" Beast's roar could be heard ringing out the door, causing the others outside to look back in to make sure everything was alright.
But it would seem that was whining about the wet cloth Belle was using to clean his wounds stinging.
"That hurts!" Beast complained down to her.
"If you'd just hold still it wouldn't hurt as much." Belle shot back at him, pausing in her duty as she places the cloth and her hands back on her lap as she looked up at him.
"If that infernal Heartless didn't show up this wouldn't have happened." Beast pouted.
"If you didn't fight that thing on your own you wouldn't have ended up like this!" Belle countered back at him, upset that he would throw himself into danger like this when he knew he could get seriously hurt.
"!" Beast was caught off guard that Belle would get on his case like this, his ears flopping down in submission for a second before he got his growl back. "Well, 'you' shouldn't have been out there and had just let me handle things!"
"Well, 'you' should learn to take help from others!" Belle easily had a snap to shoot back at him, silencing him into a pout as he knew he lost this battle of words. He had rested his head on his fist as his arm rested in his armchair while Belle tucked a stray lock behind her ear, getting ready to go back to cleaning his wounds. "Now hold still. This might sting a little."
"(Grrr)," Beast tensed as he ready for the sting to come back. But he was taken back Belle's gentle touch with the cloth and her soft voice.
"By the way, thank you, for keeping us safe."
"!" Her genuine words caught him off guard, breaking down his walls as he could only respond to her kindness with two words. "You're welcome."
... Day 174 ...
Radiant Garden
Riku had returned to Radiant Garden after being away for so long. He had so much to catch up on and to tell the others. But first, he wanted to visit his mom.
"Here, Mom, I found another page from the Hundred Acre Wood. Among other things..." Riku greeted his mother, handing her the page. He mumbled off the last part unable to look her in the eye.
"?" She noticed his antics easily but decided to come back to that later as she took the page from him. "Thank you, Riku. Looks like Pooh and his friends' memories are finally coming together again. "Where did you find it?"
"Around Twilight Town."
"Twilight Town, that's a long ways from here. Did you bump into Merlin while you were there? He had left for a bit to go check up on his house there recently."
"Yeah, we bumped into each other. He had helped me with my Magic there for a few days, and told me some insightful stuff."
"(Gentle Laughter) That's Merlin for you. He didn't get the title of Wise Wizard for nothing."
"I'm really glad he was there, 'cause I bumped into other things."
"What other things?"
"Dad."
"!" She had nearly tackled him as she rushed over to check him over. "Are you okay?!"
"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. He just played a little rough that's all."
"What happened?" Aeris asked in a commanding voice, silently demanding for every detail.
"We talked, we fought. He wanted me to join them, but more than that, I think he just came to look me over. I Sensed a little conflict in his heart at times."
"..."
"We fought once and then he left for Radiant Garden and didn't come back. I had stayed a few more days there just in case."
"(Sigh)... I'm just glad you're okay." Aeris sighed in relief, placing a hand over her heart as she tried to calm its flustered hammering. "Your father, he...he can sometimes forget to control his strength."
"I'll say," Riku groaned in agreement, remembering the fight. "But, it did kinda feel like he was holding back. I think maybe he might have recognized me."
"Hm, it's a high possibility, with the ways things are turning now," Aeris commented with hopefulness. "I think he might be turning to the light again. I sure hope so..."
"..."
"By the way, don't think I've forgotten, young man," Aeris said, getting into lecture mode. "You haven't checked-in in weeks and your homework pile is adding up. Which is bad for you because you have exams coming up very soon. So I'm dropping a pop quiz right now to make sure you get up to speed."
"Wha?! You've gotta be kidding, Mom."
"Oh don't give me that. You've had this coming since you haven't had any tests in a while. And besides, (Sigh) looks like you're not the only one in the same boat. Another one of you has been ditching their homework, and she doesn't have the excuse of being worlds apart to back out on."
"?!" Yuffie was playing hooky too? Although more intentional than him.
BAM!
Well speak of the devil, here she comes barging to take the quiz as well, although at a higher grade level than Riku.
"Yo, Aeris! I'm here to take your Quiz! Bring it on!" Yuffie said with spunk, getting pumped as she marched into the Living Room to notice that Riku was there too. "Hey, Riku! You've finally decided to pop in. How've you been, Kiddo?!"
"Good, I guess. Not psyched about this Pop Quiz though."
"Tell me about it," Yuffie rolled her eyes in agreement.
"..." Riku took a second to look Yuffie over, noticing the few changes. She had swiped her entire outfit for something new. She switched her forehead guard for a regular black headband with white lining. She was now sporting an unzipped, dark grey combat vest with a black strap dangling from the right pocket over top a navy blue tank top with white floral designs. A white wristband graced her right wrist and a grey, fingerless glove graced her left arm. Her shorts were slightly darker than before and have another black strap dangling from the left side. Her white, over-the-knee socks were now replaced with black ones with white stripes at the top underneath dark tan sneaker boots that were knee-high in length. All in all, it looked like her style had matured a little. "Nice outfit."
"Thanks!" Yuffie smiled with a big grin at the compliment, bumping a fist over her heart. "Designed it myself."
"All right, you two, you can talk later." Aeris gently lectured, placing their quizzes on top of the Coffee Table for them to sit down and take. "Now, you have a Pop Quiz to do and Makeup Homework to do later."
"Ugh!" "Aw man." Both Yuffie and Riku groaned out, strapping in for a long ride. Well, at least Aeris was there to help them with their homework when they would need it. But the quiz was still going to suck.
*** Author's Notes ***
Timeline for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 and this story... continued: During this time is mostly filler. Roxas goes back to Halloween Town where Jack is putting terrifying tricks in balloons all over his World, inspired by Roxas's last visit. Someone had put a Heartless in one of his balloons and it gives him a new idea. Day 153 Roxas goes back to Olympus Coliseum and gets cleared to enter the Rookie Cup games. The next day Roxas goes to Wonderland for the first time. But he mostly just chases White Rabbit; talks to Doorknob; and, collects Heartless. Day 155 and 156 are just filler where Roxas just collects Heartless in Agrabah and Beast's Castle. And then there's a time jump from Day 157-171 where Roxas faces off with a massive Heartless that was trying to break through Beast's Castle Gate and storm the Castle. That's when he finds out that Beast is fighting so hard to protect Belle and everyone in the Castle. Roxas learns the power of love through this and that's when the story really starts to pick back up again. On Day 172 Roxas finds out that Xion had bungled her last mission (fighting Riku again) and has been in a deep sleep. Roxas goes to visit her first, leaving her a seashell- and another seashell after his mission/or maybe it was Axel. Roxas goes with Luxord to Wonderland that day. The next day, Roxas goes back to Halloween Town during which Jack Skeleton makes plans to make a grand entrance with lanterns made by the Doctor for Halloween. And on Day 174 Roxas goes to Neverland for the first time. Bumping into Hook and Smee looking for treasure with a Treasure Map, apparently one of many. Hooks greed for treasure is making him flow with darkness and it attracts the Heartless. Tinker Bell feels something familiar about Roxas, possibly recognizing him as Sora, and tries to get him to follow her to Hook's Ship to help her stop Hook from digging up the entire island. She even gives him Pixie Dust to fly. But Roxas decides not to go, taking care of his mission was more important to him. However, he did feel bad for not helping her. And that is where this chapter has ended. The rest of the story will continue onto the next chapter.