Chapter 12: Ends of the Earth

Riku didn't know where he was, what world this was. He didn't particularly care, either. Not really.

Four months. Four months he had been wandering from world to world, trying to find an answer. Four months and he was almost out of time. Riku's very existence was at risk—at risk of becoming supplanted by Ansem's. The darkness sat inside his heart and ate away at him, as it had since that day when he had finally given in to Ansem's call and turned to the shadows against Axel. Riku regretted that decision every day, even if it had given him the power he needed to save his friends from Xemnas and Saïx. But sooner or later Ansem would take over; Riku would become a vessel, a puppet, as he had before. And if he had any choice in the matter, that day would come on an empty world far from anyone who Ansem could hurt.

That or he found a way to save himself. His first stop on that venture had been Traverse Town, hoping that its status as a refugee world would mean its wide variety of people could help him find an answer. His first encounter was with an impossibly old woman who could only be described as 'scary beyond all reason.' She was selling potions that could supposedly change him back, but she didn't exactly look trustable.

Leaving Traverse Town, Riku ended up visiting a blind old woman living in a boat in a tree in a bayou. She apparently had a proven track record with shape-shifting magic, but instead of casting any spell she had instead spoken about 'what you want' versus 'what you need' and told him to 'dig a little deeper' while accompanied by dancing flamingoes. He had left that world mostly confused and with a bruise on his head courtesy of a piece of wood she had used to chastise him.

After several other false leads, Riku was starting to lose hope. And he knew better than to visit that Merlin fellow in Hollow Bastion for help, since Sora's friends were all there. So he had resigned himself to a life wandering worlds until he came across one that was empty and safe.

Riku was walking alone, at least for now. Ansem had let him be for the time being, but he didn't imagine it would last for much longer. The steps of his black boots didn't echo as he moved across the thin strip of dusty brown earth that led forward but Riku almost wished they did, because no other noise was out here besides the howling of the wind. Riku walked with his eyes beneath his hood cast forward, his gaze always locked on the sunset horizon. He had no goal here; he had arrived purely by chance while wandering the corridors. But maybe if he wandered long enough his body would collapse from hunger and fatigue, and Ansem would have nothing to take over.

Well, that would be an option, if the darkness didn't sustain him.

Riku was for, all intents and purposes, a Heartless; not literally, of course, but he was as close as a person could get before turning. Darkness sustained him, it cured his wounds, it answered to his call as easily as it would to any Heartless out there. It was only fitting; after all, he was in the form of Xehanort's Heartless beneath this black coat.

Xehanort… DiZ had told Riku the story of Xehanort and Ansem during the year Sora was asleep. Even aware of the identity theft and everything, though, Riku still had trouble calling his constant unwanted companion anything but 'Ansem'. The name had been scarred into his heart during the time he was possessed by the man, just like the memory.

"That's not my name. I'm not…Xehanort. My name…is Ansem."

Riku had heard that line echoing in his heart since the day he had first met Ansem in Hollow Bastion, though at the time he had been unaware of the implications. Even now, having nearly become Ansem himself, he still only heard the voice—there wasn't an image to go alongside it. Maybe that memory of Xehanort's was the real reason that Riku had trouble calling 'Ansem' by his real name. The man seemed to genuinely think he was Ansem the Wise. He was insane…not that Riku hadn't figured that part out long ago.

Gritting his teeth, Riku continued on his path. The land bridge he had been walking down led to a veritable maze of a canyon. A plateau stood in the middle of the path before him, forcing Riku to either climb up it or walk the long way around. He chose the path of least resistance; what was a few more minutes of walking compared to four months? It's not like he had to get anywhere fast, anyway.

The winds were beginning to pick up as he travelled down. With the canyon walls above him there wasn't as much sand being picked up and flying around, but the wind was more than making up for it by causing howls as it flew through the ravines. On more than one occasion Riku had stopped to listen carefully, not sure if he was hearing the wind or some sort of wolf that was about to ambush him. It always turned out to be the former. He was just jumping at shadows—talk about ironic.

Maybe he should have stopped at the Rising Falls instead; the flowing water there always managed to calm him, so that's where he went when he wanted to think. Almost as soon as the thought crossed Riku's mind, however, he dismissed it with a grimace. The Falls were too close to a town. It was best for everyone if he stayed away from people.

The wind had picked up to a speed fast enough to knock his hood back and cause his coat to flap around his legs, and that's when it happened. Through strands of silver hair blowing in his face, Riku saw the shadows at the base of the cliffs grow and undulate. Purple and black orbs of darkness manifested in the air. Heartless were arriving to greet him. Holding a gloved hand out, Riku called on his weapon. A purple cloud formed in his hand and black energy danced at his fingertips. The cloud coalesced into a bat-wing shape before solidifying as the darkness surged through it. Riku crouched into a battle stance, Soul Eater at the ready.

The Heartless were strong, but nothing he couldn't handle. Windstorms circled in the sky above him despite the heavy winds, Wizards hovered just above the ground, and there was even a pair of Invisibles standing between Riku and the path to continue further down the canyon.

Riku stood perfectly still besides subtly digging his heels into the dirt. He was waiting for one of the Heartless to make the first move, and they didn't disappoint. One of the Windstorms swooped down from above, screeching loudly as wind magic surrounded its body. Riku backflipped away and the draconian Heartless slammed hard into a barrier he put up at the last moment. While the Windstorm backed away and shook its head, a disembodied sword and a flurry of Fire spells from flew at Riku.

Riku parried the Invisible's strike with Soul Eater and then ducked low so that the Wizards' spells flew right over his head and into the second Invisible which was sneaking up behind him. A ring of fire from the first Invisible surrounded Riku, as was to be expected. Riku jumped up high just before the ring exploded and while in midair held his sword out in front of him and began to glow with a blue aura.

Dark Aura was unleashed on the Heartless, at least those on the ground. Teleporting through the shadows, Riku appeared and reappeared all across the battlefield and shot at his opponents with his weapon held before him. One Invisible and the Windstorm from earlier exploded into shards of darkness, as well as a number of Wizards. But the other Invisible remained and the other Windstorms continued to circle around in the sky just out of reach. Dark Aura came to a premature end when Riku collided with a Wizard as it cast Thunder, electricity running through his body in painful spasms and the magician Heartless no worse for wear. On his knees, Riku rolled out of the way of the Wizard's next cast and right into the Invisible's sword.

The muscular Heartless swung in an uppercut almost as if his sword were a golf club, knocking Riku from the ground up into the air. One of the Windstorms flew down and snatched Riku in its claws. The Windstorm proceeded to toss Riku toward the cliff walls, a burst of air from its mouth giving him an extra push into the hard rock. Riku fell to the ground and brushed hair and dirt off of his face, watching it blow away in the strong winds. Blue fire flared to life around his hand and he thrust it forward, sending a volley of Dark Firaga at the remaining Invisible and Wizard. While the Invisible was destroyed, the Wizard, as it turned out, was immune to magic. Gritting his teeth, Riku charged forward, leaped into the air, and pierced his blade through the magician's torso.

Only Windstorms remained, flying just out of reach.

But Dark Firaga was more than enough to counter aerial opponents—or so he thought. Riku's next fireball was blown away by a combination of the gale-force winds and the Windstorm's own wind breath attack, scattering the blue embers across the battlefield. Fine then. Riku jumped up as high as he could and charged Soul Eater, forming a blue blade of magic around it. The Windstorm that was his target climbed higher up but Riku swung his sword out in front of him, extending the magical blade further and slicing the Heartless cleanly through the chest. The two halves of the creature vanished inches from the ground.

One down, one to go.

The last remaining Windstorm screeched loudly and dived toward Riku while coating itself in more wind magic. Riku rolled out of the way, though its hook-like tail raked across his coat and tore off shreds of black leather. Stretching his hand out, Riku launched another round of Dark Firaga. The Windstorm swerved out of the way of the incoming fireball and all that his spell accomplished was causing a small avalanche when it crashed into the cliff. Riku groaned, but it did give him an idea.

Riku stood beneath one of the spires of stone that thrust up from the dusty earth; one shaped like a half-arch, with an overhang. The Windstorm, silhouetted against the sun, turned around and dove toward him again. With an ear-piercing screech it launched another burst of air from its mouth, which Riku blocked with a barrier spell. Undeterred, the Windstorm stretched its razor sharp claws out before it, ready to impale Riku. Riku tensed up, ready to move at a moment's notice, but not quite yet.

Almost… Almost…

Now!

Riku jumped high up into the air at the last possible second, avoiding the Windstorm's talons. While in midair he held his hand up and engulfed it in Dark Firaga. The spell was named not at the Heartless, but at the stone. The explosion upon collision with the pillar caused it to crumble and collapse, crushing the Windstorm alive. When Riku landed on the ground, wisps of dark smoke were rising up from beneath the rocks.

Mission accomplished, as it were. But despite the immediate threat being gone, he was still far from safe. The wind had picked up to a point where Riku could barely stand straight anymore, and the howling as it flowed through the canyon was deafening. A barrier at his back protected him from the worst of it, but still his long strands of hair were flying all over in a veritable whirlwind.

A horrible roar further down the canyon, just around a corner, caught Riku's attention and the sky seemed to darken. Riku glanced up, his eyes catching sight of what at first glance he thought was just a low-hanging cloud, but it was moving—fast. Dust, sand, and even small- to middle-sized stones were lifting from the ground and sucked up into it.

A tornado was travelling down the canyon.

This was bad. Riku could fight Heartless and Nobodies and all kinds of physical opponents, but forces of nature were another matter.

"I need to find shelter," he breathed, with just a hint of panic in his voice.

The irony of this situation was not lost on him. That pillar he had destroyed to kill the Windstorm had an overhang, and if it weren't a pile of rubble right now he could have hidden under that. But with that option expended, Riku's eyes quickly scanned the cliff walls for something, anything. A cave, a new overhang, a hole… But no luck.

With the pull of the tornado getting stronger and no safe haven in sight, Riku made his decision. His shadow lifted up off the ground and wrapped around his body, pulling him down into the ground. One instant he stood under the dusty, sunset sky with a tornado moving toward him, and the next he was hovering in pitch black darkness. He had only used this technique once before, in the battle against Saïx. He didn't enjoy using it.

Riku…

And that was why. What do you want now?

Is that any way to talk to an old friend? There was laughter behind Ansem's voice—a cold, dark chuckle. Riku hated it.

He knew it was exactly the reaction Ansem wanted, but Riku still couldn't hide the disgust on his face at the mere thought of referring to Ansem as a 'friend.' His enemy's mocking laughter grew darker.

Leave me alone.

Now why would I do that, Riku?

Why, indeed? Riku groaned inwardly. Things had been going so well without Ansem speaking to him. He had no one to blame but himself; diving into the darkness like this may have been the only way to avoid the pull of the whirlwind, but it just brought him closer and closer to Ansem's shadow. And speaking of Ansem, he hadn't spoken up again. Riku bit the inside of his cheek. He knew he wasn't gone.

Where are you, Ansem?

I'm always right beside you.

Riku resisted the urge to vomit. It was painful to admit, but Ansem was right. They were constant companions throughout it all. The truth was Ansem had risen up from Riku's heart almost immediately after Castle Oblivion, and for a short time he had regretted his decision to reject Naminé's offer of sleep. It was one day, while wandering the canyons of Hollow Bastion with Mickey, that he had fallen to his knees clutching at his heart and heard the man speak up from within. 'Good morning, Riku,' he had said. Riku could just picture the smirk on his lips then.

You could have used my power to end that battle in short order or to counter the tornado.

Ansem's comment brought Riku out of his memories. The hell of it was he knew Ansem was right. His powers could easily destroy anything that got in his way, and he had almost considered using them. But…

No.

And why is that? Riku imagined that Ansem would be raising an inquisitive, sarcastic eyebrow were he physically here.

Why, indeed? A million possible reasons ran through Riku's head, but all of them could be summed up in four simple words: Because I'm not you.

Ansem chuckled again, slowly, methodically. It reminded Riku of Xemnas, or what little of Organization XIII's late Superior he had seen anyway. You are correct. We're not the same. However… There was a jab of pain in Riku's heart and a gloved hand flew up to his chest. We are remarkably similar, you and I.

Riku bristled. That's a lie! I'm nothing like you!

Oh, but you are. And deep in your heart of hearts, you know that you are. And now darkness within darkness awaits you. Riku felt his chest tighten, as if some invisible hand was reaching inside and squeezing his heart. You lost the moment you dived this far in.

Riku was panting and felt sweat begin to gather at his brow. Strands of his hair – still messy from the wind - hung in front of his face, mocking him with the way they were completely identical to the man he hated so much.

Can you feel it, boy? Closing in all around you?

The tight feeling in Riku's chest expanded outwards, making his entire body go numb. He gasped for air and flinched away from the darkness, seeing them as an oppressive force. He knew better, but for a moment he could almost imagine black tendrils reaching up and squeezing the life out of him.

Ansem's voice rose as he spoke. He was bordering on shouting now. That's right, Riku. Your body, your soul, your whole existence…they're all going to disappear!

NO! Riku shouted, straining his muscles against the pressure of the darkness. I am…NOTHING like you! He fought and thrashed, screaming silent screams, his shouts of fury swallowed by the darkness. I'M NOT YOU! Riku's hand reached upwards, grasping desperately at some hope that wasn't there. But what use was it? He had nothing to hold on to, nothing to expect. He had dug his own grave diving into the darkness like he had. He had to come to terms with that.

His fingers fell limp…but then he gripped them into a fist and reached higher up. What the hell am I doing? How am I ever going to face Sora and Kairi…if I fall away like this? His muscles were stretched to their limit, his arm felt like it was going to explode…and then it happened. A spark of light emerged above him. Riku reached for it, gripping it firmly, and pulled himself up.

When he emerged from the shadows, Riku collapsed onto the desert ground and rolled onto his back, arms stretched out at his side. As he panted and paused to catch his breath, a soft voice spoke up in the back of his mind.

My dark shadow lingers…

Riku grimaced at Ansem's comment and stood up. He wasn't in the canyon anymore. He was in a fissure, with a narrow opening in the rock wall in front of him that led to an empty field. "Well…" He swallowed, wetting his dry mouth. "Nowhere to go but forward."

The sandstorm he had encountered when eh first arrived in this world returned now that there were no cliff walls to block it. The field to his left and right were completely empty, nothing but a dusty brown plane extending for miles in every direction. Except…Except for right in front of him.

In front of Riku stood a massive plateau that stretched high into the sky, with several smaller plateaus reaching up to various points among its height. In fact, it was so big if he hadn't seen it in the distance before Riku would have imagined that it was a mountain or even a solid rock wall. Whatever it was, it wasn't natural. Even Riku, with no training as a geologist of any sort, could see that.

Normally he would have walked around the plateau, as he had with the one in the canyon. But natural curiosity got the better of Riku and he walked up to the sheer face, gripping tightly on a stone jutting out from the wall and finding footholds in the cracks along the side. Slowly but surely he began climbing it, a speck of black ascending a mountain of brown.

On more than one occasion a voice in the back of his mind told him to use the darkness to speed his climb, but Riku ignored and suppressed Ansem's pushes. Halfway up the plateau Riku accidentally looked right into the oncoming wind and got sand in his eyes for his troubles. After a near-death fall and several well-timed barrier spells, he stood on one of the lower plateaus, pulled up his hood for protection, and continued his ascent.

After what felt to Riku like hours of climbing, he finally reached the top of the highest plateau. Looking out over the edge, he imagined the view would be quite incredible if the air wasn't currently dense with sand and dirt and dust. So…what now? Riku smiled a grim smile, chastising himself for wasting his time—then he chastised himself again, for all he had done in this world in the first place was wander. Riku shook his head and began walking across the plateau. At the very least he'd get a beautiful view once the storm died down.

Aqua… Ven…

Riku froze. That wasn't Ansem's voice speaking to him. It wasn't even a 'voice' really, more like…like a thought. A sentiment. Some lingering will that had been left behind by whoever had once visited this empty, dead world. Riku turned, noticing something beyond the veil of sand. A strange-shaped boulder or a person? Riku couldn't be sure. Suddenly, the wind stopped completely—without warning. All of the little particles it had been carrying fell and settled on the earth and Riku's coat. He could see now. It wasn't a boulder.

A figure in red and gold armor was kneeling in front of Riku. The helmet of its armor was almost dog-shaped, with 'ears' sticking up from the sides. The color looked like once it would have been vibrant and sparkling, but now it was rusted, scratched, and chipped by years of unfavorable weather. A cape blew softly in the breeze that the sandstorm had left behind, and in the kneeling knight's hands was-

"In your hand,"
A sword appeared in his grip in a flash of light, brown and brass and blue. He kneeled before Riku, smiling at eye level as his brown hair blew softly in the salty sea breeze.
"take this Key…"

Riku backed away in pure shock at the long-forgotten memory emerging. He pulled off his hood, wide eyes transfixed on the sword – the Keyblade, for it could be nothing else – in front of him. "What's going on?" His voice was an awed whisper.

"And you will find me, friend."

Who are you? Riku started in surprise and looked away from the Keyblade, turning instead to its owner. Once again it wasn't Ansem speaking to him; it was the thought, the sentiment, the will—the knight. I can feel it…we have met before. But when… The knight paused. No… It isn't you… It isn't you that I have chosen. There was an edge in the knight's 'voice' now, an edge that Riku recognized: suspicion. Why isn't it him? With a calm exterior though inside his heart was beating rapidly, Riku summoned Soul Eater and got into a battle position.

Xehanort. Riku's eyes widened further. Xehanort? Xehanort, the knight knew Xehanort! And if it knew Xehanort, then- Is that you? …Then it would think Riku was Xehanort; after all, he looked just like Xehanort's Heartless. Who wouldn't make that assumption? Xehanort…Xehanort!

The knight slowly began climbing to its feet, years of accumulated dirt and stone falling off of its armor. Rusted metal creaked after who knew how many years of sitting still in that position. One gauntleted hand wrapped around the hilt of the familiar Keyblade and pulled it from the ground. The wind slowly began to pick up again, blowing the knight's cape as it held the Keyblade to its side.

XEHANOOOORT!

With that hate-filled battle cry the knight charged forward, its rage awakened. It brought its heavy Keyblade down in a powerful two-handed swing, which Riku was just barely able to block in time before his head was cleaved in two. Soul Eater struggled against the much larger weapon, and so Riku empowered his other hand with Dark Firaga and thrust it at the knight's chest. The blast blew the knight backwards several feet, but it seemed no worse for wear and was immediately on the offensive once again.

Riku charged forward and met the knight halfway. Soul Eater clanged helplessly against the Keyblade, and the flat of the giant sword knocked Riku to the ground. Riku rolled out of the way as the Keyblade was brought down on him, its brown blade piercing the stone. Climbing back up to his feet, Riku called on Dark Firaga again and launched the fireball toward his opponent.

That was a mistake.

The knight would have roared if it had an actual voice. It ran at full speed toward Riku and kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Then the knight began swinging rapidly, unguided—its anger was guiding its blows, not any plan or training. A spinning strike knocked Riku to the floor again, followed by three jumping attacks, the last of which caused the earth beneath to explode upwards and knock Riku into the air.

The knight wasn't finished yet. Before Riku's startled eyes, its Keyblade transformed. The blade flew away from the hilt with a cord attaching the two of them, and the knight swung around its new whip with unbridled fury. Riku was lashed several times in the air; painful, horrible lashes. He crashed into the ground again only to get blindsided by a massive broadsword that was yet another transformation the knight's Keyblade had taken.

Riku struggled up to his feet, calling on a barrier to prevent the knight's next few swings. Transforming weapons? "Two can play at that game," he growled under his breath. A cloud of darkness shifted around Soul Eater and extended, forming and solidifying into a dual-bladed javelin. And just in time, too; the barrier shattered and the knight dashed through the air, striking Riku once and flying past at unbelievable speed. It spun around in midair and flew at him again, in some imitation of Sora's Sonic Blade. On the third go around Riku blocked the attack with the length of his javelin and repelled the knight. With his opponent momentarily stunned, Riku unleashed a combo attack on the knight, chipping away at its armor and digging the javelin into gaps in the armor.

The knight recovered. It swung its Keyblade at Riku and knocked him away, and then jumped back and held its Keyblade to the side with both hands. It stood there silently for a few long moments, causing Riku to wonder if maybe something had happened to it… There! The knight took a single step forward and then vanished, disappearing from Riku's sight completely. Suddenly a sharp pain ran through his body and a clean slice left a gash through his black coat and the clothes beneath, exposing a red line of blood on his side. The knight reappeared behind Riku and twirled its Keyblade in its hand before turning to face him again.

Riku growled and pulled mentally on his shadow. "Come, Guardian!" The shadow bubbled and rose, forming Xehanort's shadowy other, the black and blue creature with a heart-shaped hole in its torso. The Guardian roared behind Riku and flew forward at the knight as Riku himself crossed his arms and levitated up into the air. He had to take a new approach to the fight, as the direct method simply wasn't working.

The knight took up its new opponent with gusto, once again extending its Keyblade into a whip and swinging it here and there to strike at the Guardian. The Guardian's tough, leathery skin repelled the blows, allowing it to get close to the knight and trap it in its powerful grip. The Guardian ascended quickly into the air with its prisoner, flipped around, and brought it down hard onto the ground.

The knight climbed up from the small crater that had formed, bits of its armor chipping away, and swung at the Guardian again. The Guardian floated backwards and dark energy formed around its hands. It swung them forward one at a time, firing discs of black magic at the knight. The knight responded by changing its Keyblade into the broadsword shape once again and swinging wildly to deflect the blows.

Up above, Riku was charging magic of his own. Three purple orbs appeared around his body in a triangular formation and Riku swung his javelin downward, toward the knight. Each orb fired a blue beam downward, piercing the knight. The Guardian brought a powerful fist forward, aiming for the knight's helmet, but the knight recovered from the beams and spun out of the way of the Guardian's punch. The orbs began firing their beams once again and so the knight took off running, the beams and Guardian in pursuit.

But Riku couldn't keep the orbs up forever. When they faded back into darkness and their assault halted, the knight spun around on its heel and faced the Guardian with its Keyblade glowing with a fiery red aura. After knocking the Guardian away with a powerful swing, the knight jumped high up into the air and held the Keyblade above its head. The fiery aura grew brighter and hotter, and then the knight brought its Keyblade down with a resounding CRASH onto the Guardian. Earth flared up beneath the shockwave and shot stones into the sky, which then ignited as the Keyblade had and fell back down onto the Guardian as miniature meteors.

The Guardian floated there, twitching in pain as shadow smoke lifted from its body. The knight performed another series of jumping and spinning attacks and sent it flying into a nearby pillar of stone, before glancing up at the levitating Riku. It spread its legs apart and held the Keyblade out to its side, then tossed the Keyblade high into the sky in a wide arc. At the apex of its arc the Keyblade flashed, and what came back down was no sword at all. The knight jumped onto the new…craft? Motorcycle? Whatever it was, the knight jumped aboard it and lifted into the sky.

He could FLY?!

Riku watched carefully as the knight circled the plateau at incredible speeds. His hands were slick with sweat beneath his gloves, and he was thankful for the leather or else his javelin would no doubt slip from his grasp. After the knight's third circle around with its mysterious Keyblade glider, it turned on a dime and flew straight toward Riku. It jumped off and crashed into Riku as the glider sailed off into the horizon. Riku struggled against the strong armored arms even as the two of them fell from the air. One painful collision with the earth below later and Riku was lying on the ground with a sharp brown Keyblade pressed against his neck, the knight having called it back into its hand.

"Come, Guardian!" The shadowy protector answered Riku's urgent plea, flying from the stone it had previously been knocked into and tackling the knight to the side. Riku picked up the nearby Soul Eater javelin and climbed to his feet, panting as he held a hand over a new gash in his skin that had been formed by the crash. The knight knocked the Guardian away with little effort, flinging it around with its whip attack, before marching toward Riku with its cape billowing in the wind.

The Guardian shot out of Riku's shadow once more, wrapped its hands around the knight, spun around rapidly, and then tossed it far away from its master. The knight, undaunted, tossed its Keyblade above it. Unlike before it did not go sailing into the sky, instead flipping in the air just above his head and growing to immense size. A gigantic cannon was now in the knight's grip and began charging, a sphere of light forming in its mouth. Riku took a careful step backwards and the Guardian crossed its arms over its chest, moving protectively in front of him.

The cannon fired, the force of its power knocking the knight back several feet. The massive orb of light hit the Guardian and for an instant it appeared to do nothing, but then the Guardian let out a blood-curdling cry – Riku had never heard it make a sound before! – and disintegrated into tiny black particles that were consumed by the light. At the last possible moment Riku through up a barrier in front of him, only for it to crack and shatter under the power of the cannon's blast. The projectile and subsequent explosion sent Riku flying toward the edge of the plateau, and Riku dug his javelin into the earth to keep from falling off. It didn't stop his momentum, though it did slow him just enough so that he was teetering on the brink rather than falling to his death. In the process the javelin snapped in two, leaving Riku with just Soul Eater the sword once again.

The knight ran at Riku, not content to end the fight there. Riku launched a volley of Dark Firaga, but the knight leaped through the blue explosion that the spell left behind and brought its Keyblade down. Riku parried the blow although his strength was waning, so he shot his foot out and tripped the knight up. The armored figure toppled forward and Riku slammed its elbow into the back of its head then spun around and dug his blade into its neck. The knight fell off the edge of the plateau only to reappear a moment later flying into the sky on its glider. It jumped off and fell back to Riku with its Keyblade primed. Riku dodged the attack and held Soul Eater out in front of him, ready to perform Dark Aura…but the knight wouldn't allow him to do that.

Its entire body glowed gold and it held its Keyblade forward. Chains made of pure light flew from the tip and wrapped themselves around Riku. "What?!" Grunting and straining, he fought against the solid light digging into him and burning his skin. His feet, floating a few feet off the ground, kicked desperately as he groaned against the ever-tightening chains.

The knight, still glowing, floated high into the air and held its Keyblade out once more. A sphere of light surrounded it to compliment its aura and more chains flew out of its weapon. Their razor sharp tips dug into the earth before Riku in a circular pattern and the plateau rumbled. Riku stopped struggling and watched in awe and terror as the chains tore a giant piece of earth out of the ground and lifted it into the air. The knight swung its Keyblade downward and the chains released, dropping the earth down toward Riku as it ignited with holy fire. Riku again resumed his fight against the chains binding him, but it was too late. Pure, overwhelming, unparalleled pain shot through Riku's body as a brilliant flash of gold and white took over his vision.

Everything went black.

Riku couldn't feel his limbs save for one arm propped up against his chest. Half of his body was crushed by stone and earth, and he now lay under a pile of rubble. Tiny shafts of sunset light came in through the cracks.

Riku…

Ugh, not now. "What…do you…want?" Riku asked through heavy pants. It hurt to speak. It hurt to breathe.

Is that how you thank me for saving your life? Ansem chuckled. My darkness coursing through your veins keeps you alive. You would have died if not for me.

"I don't…need you…"Riku groaned and attempted to sit up. His body wouldn't listen.

Oh, but you do. Take in my power. Open your heart to darkness once again.

"No… I…" Riku shook his head weakly. "I can't… I'm…not you…"

Stubborn boy…

Ansem's presence faded away, at least for now. A moment later there was another horrible explosion and the rocks surrounding Riku's broken body flew away, exposing him to the light once more. The knight took slow steps forward, its heavy, rusted boots clinking against the stone.

Xehanort…

Riku pressed his good hand against the earth, spreading his fingers onto the sandy stone.

Xehanort!

The Keyblade came down and Riku rolled out of the way, biting his tongue to keep from crying out in pain as his body screamed in protest. The Keyblade pierced the stone instead of him, but the knight pulled it out and held it above its head, ready to strike again. Riku wouldn't be able to avoid it this time, he knew. His pressed his hand against the earth once more and called on the darkness with the very last of his strength. A corridor opened up beneath him and Riku fell inside, letting the shadows work their magic and heal his wounds as they took his body to who-knows-where.

Anywhere but here.

The knight didn't follow him. The last thing Riku saw before the corridor closed, before his consciousness slipped away, was the knight piercing its Keyblade into the ground and kneel down in absolute silence, exactly as it had been when he had found it. As he fell into sleep, Riku heard the knight speak one last time.

One day I will set this right.