Chapter 26: Pulling Me Down
He was running. Where to? He didn't know. What from? Everything.
"What am I supposed to do?" he wondered aloud, continuing to run. "I can't- I can't fix this, I can't-"
"A weak heart can't accomplish anything…"
Sora stopped, quickly turning around. A mysterious figure stood behind him. A hood covered the figure's face, and under the hood seemed to be nothing but darkness. Sora couldn't help but think he had seen this person before. However, he had other things on his mind.
"My heart isn't weak!" he snapped.
The mysterious figure scoffed. "A strong heart would have been able to make a decision quickly, and you wouldn't be in this mess now."
Sora turned away.
"A heart out of balance could never do anything…"
"What?" Sora asked. "What do you mean 'out of balance'?"
"You are constantly resisting the darkness, which makes you weak. Accept the darkness, and you will become even stronger."
Sora suddenly became skeptical. The darkness had gotten him into this mess, hadn't it? Or had it really just been his weak heart?
"What should I do?" he asked.
"It is really quite simple," the mysterious figure replied. "Open yourself to the darkness. Let your heart, your being, become darkness itself."
Sora hesitated. Was this really going to work? Would he really be able to fix this if he became stronger? And was the darkness the strength he needed?
Nearly every fiber of him was screaming no. But he wasn't listening. He thought that maybe, just maybe, if he did this, he could fix things. And he wanted so badly to be able to set things right, and if this would do it-
He gave in, opening himself up. He flashed into dark mode, an aura of darkness surrounding him. Power, sweet power rushed through him. It pulsed through him quickly, muddling his thoughts.
"Strength…" he whispered, but his voice wasn't entirely his own. Another voice stood behind his, evenly going with what he said, but its tone was different. More cocky, more confident, more… amused.
He smirked, and then summoned his Keyblade. It was different, the thorns now snaked around the entire blade, and the cracks were so bad that part of the hilt was missing. He looked at it, curious, and slightly worried. But the person behind him laughed.
"Who's there?" Sora (or rather, his light) asked. Something felt different about his heart. Like something else was there…
A cold laughter filled the air, and he shuddered. He turned, finding the shadow that was now lingering in his heart. He gasped, stumbling back. He swallowed, glaring at the shadow.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness!" the shadow laughed.
"How did-" Sora began, and then gulped. "How did you get in here?"
"You let me in, silly boy,"
"I… I did?" Sora asked. His memory was fragmented. It felt as if he had been asleep for a while, just floating here in the darkness. But now that someone else was here, he had something to keep him busy, so he wouldn't doze off again. "Why did I do that?"
"Because I can help you,"
"You can!" Sora asked, excitement in his voice. "You mean I can fix things?"
"Of course," Ansem said.
Sora smiled and then sat down, quite content. He just wanted to set things right again.
xxx
Riku woke up in a slight panic. His dream hadn't been a very nice one. However, he had expected something like this after collapsing in Twilight Town. He turned to Namine, who sat quietly, drawing. "How long have I been out?" he asked.
"Only a couple of hours," she replied.
He groaned, rubbing his head.
"How's your head?" Namine asked, laughing slightly.
He laughed at that. "Fine," he said. "I wasn't groaning about that. I was groaning about the fact we can't get into Hollow Bastion!" His voice rose slightly with anger at this.
"We could always ask Leon," Namine suggested.
Riku frowned. "You couldn't have, you know, thought of that five hours ago, before we went to Twilight Town?"
"Sorry," Namine muttered.
"It's fine," Riku laughed, standing up. "I'll go ask him then," he said, starting to head off.
"Can I come too?" Namine asked.
He turned to look at her, and sighed. "I don't think it would be safe. And I really wouldn't want you to get hurt."
Namine sighed. "Yeah, I get it," she muttered.
He reached out and grabbed her hand. "Hey," he said, smiling at her. "I'll be okay. Maybe I'll be able to knock some sense into Sora, and then I'll bring him and Kairi back. Okay?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
"Cool," he said, letting go of her hand and starting off.
"Be careful, Riku," she called. "You're still hurt, you know. Don't… overdo anything."
"I won't," he replied, leaving.