Darkness and silence. It's the only thing Riku can focus on. His mind seems to float in a suspension of conscious and unconscious. The physical pain is absent but the ache in his heart from the utter betrayal is something far realer than any wound. It drives him close to madness to think about it. All the while a voice in the back of his mind tugs at him; telling him to give up, fade into the darkness, can't save anyone anyway.

But when the thought tries to come any closer to the forefront it's pushed back with the memory of Sora and Kairi. He lost Sora, lost him so quickly. Kairi is still out there and she's waiting for him – worrying about him. He can imagine Sora mocking him before slipping into a serious yet soft chime of a voice.

Riku's eyes snap open only to regret doing so. The light temporarily blinds him, making stars spot his vision as he tries to regain control of his sight. A groan breaks free from his lips while he tries to sit up. At least until a hand lands on his shoulder, pushing him back down onto the bed. A sweet voice calls out to him, "You shouldn't be getting up. I've just gotten you patched together."

He lifts a hand to his face, rubbing at his eyes, before laying the back of his hand on his forehead. Tilting his head to the side, he spots a friendly smile and bright green eyes. Spirals of brown hair fall to the sides of her face while the rest is tugged back with the help of a pink ribbon. Her dress matches the ribbon while her brown boots are laced tightly to her feet. He takes a breath, still not used to not having to do so. "Patched together?"

She nods, "Mhm. Leon found you in the ravine with a wound. Thankfully it missed anything vital." She slips on a comforting smile. "Whoever fired it must have been a poor shot."

Riku scoffs, letting his eyes drift closed once more. "He knew exactly where to shoot."

The woman drops the subject and instead carries onto a different one. She pulls her hand from Riku's shoulder and sits down on the small stool beside the plainly dressed bed. "You know Sora?" Riku glances over to her and she can't help but giggle, "You mentioned him while you were asleep."

Riku prepares to retort, surely she's met him from the tone. But the sudden opening of a door followed by heavy footfalls stops that. A tall man enters the room with nothing but confidence welded into his very posture. Steel blue eyes fall onto Riku before turning to the woman. "Aerith, how is he?"

He can't help but look at the man. From the scar between his eyes to the belts that hang off the hips of his black pants. A furred collar along his jacket brushes against the sides of his tanned features. It's only then that Riku's eyes dip down to the sword clutched in his hand; an elegant silver blade.

Aerith smiles over her shoulder, "He should be fine. Why don't you put that down and go tell our guest that he's awake." The man goes to turn away only for Aerith to call out to him. "Oh and Leon, send Yuffie for more potions."

Nodding, the man leaves the room while Aerith returns her gaze to Riku. She gestures to his chest. "I healed it the best I could with what magic and medicine we have. But you will have to be careful."

"Riku?"

Lolling his head to the side, Riku slips his hand back down to the bed. His eyes lock onto the petite frame of a dear friend. The comfort in seeing him is worth more than any amount of Munny. The short mouse wears his usual world-traveling attire; red pants and vest adorned in zippers with bright yellow shoes. As he comes toward the bed Aerith stands and makes her way to the door.

"Hey, Mickey."

Those large eyes seem sad and worried, but the small King merely sits on the stool and looks up at his friend. "I almost couldn't believe it when Leon sent word about you."

Riku lets their eyes connect and he finds it sweet that Mickey doesn't point out his crimson eyes. He slowly turns his gaze up to the ceiling, finding it hard to look Mickey in the eye. "I was afraid and agreed to wipe my memory, become a vampire. There's a creature, Chaos."

Mickey nods, "Yen Sid told me about him before I came to see you."

"He-" It's hard to say, harder than Riku had ever expected. "-killed Sora. The vampire than turned me went with him. I tried to follow them. But you can see how that worked."

Mickey's brow furrows as he pinches his eyes shut. He loved Sora, wanted nothing more than to keep the boy safe. Perhaps that's why Riku keeps his eyes away – not wanting to see the sight of a friend filled with grief. Grief he alone helped cause. "So, we gotta kill them before they get to far into their plan."

Riku can't help himself, it's almost as if it's a flinch. But he sits straight up only for a dull pain to shoot through his chest. Not having drank any blood has surely slowed down his ability to regenerate. Nonetheless, he casts it to the side to finally lock eyes with Mickey. "No. Chaos is the one behind this, he's who we need to take out. But right now I need you to go and get Kairi before he does."

"I'm not just gonna leave ya here. You don't even have a Gummi Ship and I know you won't be stayin' here waitin' on me."

A smirk crosses Riku's features for the shortest of seconds. "Well then I guess I'll just go with you."

Mickey shakes his head but the smile is still there. An adventure without a friend is lonely after all. Especially when facing the blackest of darkness in the midst of it all. He nods toward Riku as he hops up off the stool. "I'll go let Leon know the situation then we'll head off! You'd better get dressed."

Pink tinges Riku's cheeks for just a short moment before he shoves the embarrassment away. He looks down as Mickey leaves the room only to notice he's covered in bandages. It's hard not to chuckle, even harder to muffle it by drawing his lips into a taut line.

"What's so funny?"

He hadn't even heard the patter of footsteps. Riku glances over to the door to see Aerith striding back in. A smile decorates her lovely features. Pushing the sheet back and swinging his legs over the lip of the bed, Riku prepares to stand up. "It's nothing."

Aerith rushes over to him, ready to support him should he need it. But Riku waves her off and begins taking the bandages off. The slight hint of pain still stings his body – surely because he needs nourishment and rushes to get any at the moment. That first time flashes back into his mind as he lets Aerith assist in removing the bandages only slightly tinged with red.

He doesn't want to hurt anyone and he'll be damned if he takes any blood from a friend. No, he can handle this. It's exactly why he averts his gaze as Aerith passes by and her hair falls away from her neck. The sweet smell that reaches for Riku is tempting – far too much. The second she has them off she gasps and it's enough to distract him. "What is it?"

"You're… healed?" She places her hand over where the wound had been only to find smooth skin – not even a scar. "How?"

Riku blatantly ignores the question; not daring to answer it for fear of what she might say or how she may react. He merely redirects by striding over to a chair in the corner that has what appears to be his clothes, save for his pants. Beginning to shrug into his vest and jacket, Aerith merely giggles. "It has to do with your eyes doesn't it?"

He spins around only to see her bring a finger up to her lips.

"Your secret is safe with me."

Unable to help but wonder how much she either overheard or assumes, Riku hurries to put on his boots. "Thank you for your help," he says as he straightens back up and makes a move for the door. Well, a move that he tries to keep as human as possible.

"It's no problem at all. A friend of Sora's is a friend of ours."

Riku tries to mentally shoulder past that statement, past the thought of Sora, as he leaves the room and enters a much larger one. There stands Mickey and the man from before, who glances toward Riku as he enters. Leon raises an eyebrow, "You're cleared to leave?"

His eyes bored into Riku and the latter isn't sure why he seems to take him in so thoroughly. Then again, he's not sure what Mickey has told him just yet. Riku moves his gaze, not wanting to look at much of anything with his eyes as red as blood. "Yeah. Are we ready to go?"

Mickey nods, "You bet'cha!" He nods and thanks Leon before heading to the door. Riku falls in line behind him as they make their way out of the house and through the twisting way of the residential district. It's not long before they're striding into an open square. Mickey clicks something that Riku can't see and suddenly a large Gummi Ship is before them. The multicolored ship opens for them.

"I take it you're driving?"

Laughing, Mickey enters the Gummi Ship first. "Yup!"

(_)(_)(_)

The trip is far shorter than Riku remembers it ever being. But with his mind preoccupied he's as least happy that he didn't have to talk all the way there. Micky did most of that. Nothing serious, just friendly chatter of how everything is. Everyone from Minnie to Master Aqua, Mickey keeps the pleasantries coming. At least until Mickey cloaks the Gummi Ship upon their landing and they're striding away from it.

It's only then that Mickey halts for a moment. Riku turns partially, raising an eyebrow as a gust of warm breeze rushes past them. "Something wrong Mickey?"

"Riku… What are those creatures like?"

He thinks for a moment, trying to come up with an explanation. But he honestly doesn't know much aside from what he's been told about himself. In truth, it's frustrating. "They're not like Heartless or they don't appear to be. I don't think our Keyblades will be doing much damage to them aside from how hard you hit them."

Mickey seems almost a little unsure, something Riku understands all too well. He gives a brief smile before leaving Mickey to look up at his back. "I'll go get Kairi then we'll meet you back at the Land of Departure. Go let Yen Sid know and start forming a plan."

"But Riku!"

A light shake of the head, "It's fine. I have enough energy to get us there. Besides, I can handle this."

Reluctantly, Mickey turns and rushes back toward his ship. Riku doesn't dare look back, he can only move forward. His boots dig into the sand as he begins to walk. Yet his eyes sweep out over the water as it ripples up onto the shore. The water is as deep as the sky that hangs over it. No stars or moon dare to shine tonight. It's all hidden by heavy, dark clouds.

"Ahhh! Help me, please! Someone!"

The shrill scream reaches his ears and he's afraid for a moment. It hits him in the chest like a ton of bricks to where he can't even pinpoint how far away the sound is. He only knows one thing as he starts running, sending sand flying up behind him.

He has to get to Kairi.

Riku doesn't even have to blink, he just runs until he can lock onto the young woman that stumbles down the shoreline. Those creatures chase after her. They're made of pure darkness from what it looks like. The only difference from the Shadows and NeoShadows are the fangs and human appearance.

Coming to a complete stop, he summons Way to Dawn just as he skids to a halt. Her bare feet bury into the sand as she clutches onto him. Her fingers curl into his jacket as she looks up at him. The tears in her wide, cyan eyes break his heart. He's always too late it seems.

"R- Riku!"

The white nightgown is absent of any color and Riku feels better – slightly. As long as she's unharmed then that's all that matters to him. His free hand reaches up and he brushes it over her face, wiping at her tears. "It's alright, they won't hurt you." The glare he sends those stalled creatures signifies that.

But still she draws her face down, pressing her forehead to his chest. "I… I didn't know what to do. There were so many and I'm out of magic already."

His hand falls onto the top of her head as he watches the moonlight break through the clouds. Those sad creatures before him remind him of what can happen. To let the darkness drown the body and the desire for blood overtake the eyes. He can imagine his own are crimson now as well. One thought he refuses to focus on.

Vampire or not, he has enough power to keep her safe.

The dozen creatures seem to split like a wave as the leader appears before them. And he looks the same as the last time Riku saw him.

"Vincent."

He gives a small wave of his hand, quieting the growling of the lowly vampires. "Give her over Riku."

Riku smirks, "You think it'll be that easy?" His hand slides down to wrap around her waist. "I won't let you touch her."

"I will shoot you again and this time I won't miss." he says as his finger curls around the trigger of his gun as he raises it to level with Riku's head.

Kairi's fingers tighten into his clothing as she looks up at him. "A- Again? Riku?"

He can hear the chamber moving before it can even fire. Riku dismisses Way to Dawn temporarily to summon up a Dark Shield just in time. The blue, transparent barrier glimmers as the trio of bullets bounce off of it. Only for him to realize that it was just a distraction and he can't call a Corridor of Darkness fast enough.

Yanked out his grasp, Kairi falls onto the sand. Vincent's gun presses up under Riku's chin. One arm wraps around the Keyblade Wielder's waist while the other keeps his right arm bent behind his back in an iron grip. Under different circumstances he may had relaxed into the hold, but with the barrel cool against his skin Riku can only bide his time.

Yet even so Riku can feel Vincent press his cheek to the side of his head. Those lips hover above his ear, sending a chill down the nape of Riku's neck. "Run and hide Riku."

That's all there is before Vincent lets him go and shoves him forward, down onto his knees. As Riku sits back on his legs, ready for a fight, he realizes that they're all gone. Vanished and he can't help but want to scream. Always connected to the darkness, never able to run away completely. He scoffs. This is all ridiculous.

"Run and hide Riku."

Like he'll ever do that again. He's learned that's far from the way to do things. Glancing over to Kairi he sees her comforting smile. Even through it all she's still here and reaching out with that same kindness as before. "Riku… it's okay."

There's not an ounce of hate in her, not that he can see. He muses that it's probably because she's a Princess but not even that can undone the heart he's done. At least helped in. She rises with him, holding onto him as if afraid he'll vanish if she doesn't. "What do we do Riku?"

"We're going back to see Master Aqua. We need a plan before this gets out of hand." Riku lifts a hand, summoning a Corridor of Darkness. He glances down at Kairi, "Stay close to me."

She nods and walks with him into the darkness. The moonlight beach at their backs, there's only the possibility of destruction ahead of them.

So uh... I'm caught up on rewriting. lol This was the last chapter. I scrapped everything else and reoutlined. It should only go a few more but I won't be updating next week on time that's for sure. LOL Got lots to do after all. But it will be out soon!