Chapter 3- Night Of Lost Hearts
"The way out is through the door. Why is it that no one will use this exit?"
-Confucius
This world has been connected…
The golden sun shined brilliantly upon the innocently peaceful island, the carefree laughter of children abundant and full of life. Their blissful ignorance the cause of their happiness...
However, in that specific secret cave where only the slightest of sunlight could pour through the crack on the ceiling, the mysterious oval-like wooden door continued to fortify itself against the rock wall.
…Tied to the darkness…
Unimaginable darkness lurked ominously behind the sealed entrance.
Shadow-like creatures scraped their claws desperately against the surface of the wooden door, wishing and yearning to reach the heart of this world and claim it as their own.
Soon to be completely eclipsed.
Laughter began to recede, the mesmerizing blue sky darkening to a morbid black, the once indigo ocean now a tainted violet...
My home was no longer what it once was; only torn asunder and overtaken by darkness. Something or… someone was the cause of this destruction.
You do not yet know what lies beyond the door.
I floated amidst my subconscious, eyeing the door curiously, wanting to know greatly what resided on the other side.
There is so very much to learn.
The door held significance, acting as the closed link between Destiny Islands and its darkness.
You understand so little.
"Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"
Huh? Sora?
A meaningless effort.
I began to fade away.
In sheer panic, I tried to grasp onto something that would keep me solid by frantically throwing my limbs around, but it was too late. My soul had already separated from my body and my efforts were all in vain.
The feeling of knowing I would vanish into the nonexistence frightened me.
One who knows nothing can understand nothing.
"Ugh..." Sluggishly, I blinked and rubbed my sweaty forehead.
Stupid dreams... they never stopped.
"You're finally awake." I heard movement to my left and felt Koi touch my shoulder. "It's time for you to get ready."
I moaned in protest. Who in their right mind would look forward to another grueling day of manual labor? Nope, not me.
I huddled underneath my blanket, closing my drowsy eyes, refusing the will to get up.
"Riku, stop acting childish," she scolded. I said nothing and lied still, smirking when I thought she gave up.
I was wrong. Dead wrong.
The curtains were forcibly drawn apart to reveal the balcony and light mercilessly poured into my room, blinding me.
"The light..." I groaned in complaint, pulling the blanket over my head as a shield. "...it burns..."
Suddenly, my blanket was ripped away from my clutches and the morning cold immediately swept around me, causing me to shiver.
"Christ!" I gasped and stumbled off the bed, painfully landing on the carpet. "Koi! What the hell! It's cold." I sat up and rubbed the fresh new bump on my head morosely. I missed the warmth of my cozy bed already...
She ignored my outburst, like all the other times and opted to spread the blanket neatly across my bed, folding the hem firmly underneath the mattress.
"There's no use in wasting the whole morning away. Go and do something. Spend time with your friends."
"Yes, mother..." I grumbled sarcastically, leaving her to make my bed as I retreated into the bathroom to freshen up. When I was done, I came out and headed to my closet, rummaging for my usual outfit.
While I was in the process of slipping on my black and yellow sleeveless shirt, I noticed Koi standing outside and leaning on the stone railing, gazing off distantly at the island.
I rolled my eyes. "Why don't you ever go to the island? I bet they won't mind you joining the group."
"I feel uncomfortable going outside during the daytime."
"Oh, right. I forgot. You're a vampire." I joked, pulling on my baggy pants, "I don't want you to start melting in broad daylight."
Now where's my shoes... Oh yeah– under my bed–
"They're not my friends, Riku. They're yours, and you should spend as much time as you can with them before you set out on that raft you're building."
After slipping my sneakers on, I searched for my leather gloves and found them lying upon my desk. "...hey, you don't usually come by in the morning. What's up?" Glancing at her, I pulled my black gloves on over my hands and waited until Koi stole her attention away from the island to regard me with an emotionless stare.
"...I sensed you were having another nightmare."
"Oh..." I smiled faintly. "Thanks for checking up on me." Then, I suddenly remembered the schedule I had to fulfill for today. "Hey, I'll tell you all about it when I get back tonight. See ya."
I waved to her in farewell and exited my room, greeting my mom downstairs and eating the breakfast she prepared before heading off to sail to the island.
Finally arriving at the island, I leapt off my boat to land on the mini port. Did anyone come here before me?
Looking around, I glanced to my left to find Wakka and Selphie conversing on the docks. Then scanning the islands, I didn't know how to place the feeling when seeing nothing about the island had changed.
No darkness...
I vigorously shook my head. Now's not the time to get paranoid. Dreams and nightmares weren't real. I should just... forget about it.
...yet why did my home feel different than before?
"Riku!" Without warning, something heavy latched onto me and shoved me into the ground. I grumbled in displeasure, berating myself for being an idiot and letting my guard down. Apparently, the sand tasted the same, too, much to my chagrin. "Ohmigosh, this is like the first time I was able to jump you! Maybe the Great Riku is starting to get rusty."
At least this would always stay the same also. Tidus gloating about his supposed superiority over me in combat.
I scowled, my eyebrow twitching from pure annoyance. Obnoxious little brat.
Tidus yelped in surprise when I suddenly jumped back onto my feet, forcing him to fall off my back where he previously just sat on.
"Feh. The only reason you were able to get me this one time was because I was distracted," I retorted while patting the sand off my clothes. "You, Wakka, and Selphie combined wouldn't be able to beat me even if I wasn't serious." I faced him, smirking arrogantly before placing a hand on my hip.
He pouted at me, the dimples on his tanned face popping out to decorate his baby fat cheeks.
"Is that a challenge?"
"You bet it is."
"You hear that guys?" Tidus crossed his arms and turned to face Wakka and Selphie approaching us, whom probably overheard our spout. "Riku says he can beat us all at the same time."
"I think our Riku here is mighty overconfident, ya?" Wakka remarked, bending his arms to hold the ball right behind his neck.
"It's only natural for the strongest fighter on our islands," Selphie chirped, smiling flirtatiously at me. "But still, I think Riku can't hold out his own against the three of us." She giggled, her oddly shaped curls bouncing on her shoulders.
"With our combined forces, Riku, you are going down!" Tidus pointed his red wooden rod at me, commencing the challenge.
"You're on." Jumping back a safe distance away, I unsheathed my wooden sword from my belt and took my defensive stance, awaiting their first move.
As I predicted, Tidus shot forward and swiftly charged at me head on, loosely waving his weapon in one hand with anticipation. Selphie was right behind him, guarding his back while twirling her lethal jump rope in order to follow up his first attack. And I could see Wakka at a distance, just about getting ready to throw his beach ball at me.
"Think fast!" I blocked Tidus' attack by holding my sword up before snatching one end of Selphie's rope the moment she threw it at me with my free hand to stretch it out under Tidus' feet, which successfully tripped him.
"W-woah!" The spiky blonde stumbled face-flat into the grainy sand, and I immediately ducked to evade Wakka's incoming ball. Selphie tugged on her tope, demanding me to let go of it, but I ignored her. Now running around her in circles, I wrapped the rope around her limbs until she couldn't move.
"You cheater!" she hollered tearfully, inevitably falling on her buttocks. I merely scoffed.
This was, of course, coming from the girl who could barely fight with a play toy at her disposal.
I nearly stumbled from surprise at the blow I received from Wakka's powerhouse punch, since I had failed to notice him retrieve his ball. Taking advantage of my momentary daze, Tidus somersaulted to hit me with a vertical thrust and I dropped on one knee, shaking my head to rid of the wooziness.
Secretly, my hand lowered to bury its fingers in a handful of sand, before I flicked the dust into Wakka's eyes and he gasped, rubbing his blind eyes.
Turning around in time to shield another assault from Tidus with my arm this time, I shoved him away and jerked toward Wakka to release a series of combos on him.
After he fell back onto the sand from miserable defeat, Wakka rubbed his head and frowned in embarrassment. "Ah man, today's just not my day..." With Wakka incapacitated, it was only me and Tidus now.
Irritated of my stamina, he hastily charged forward again and I smirked, taking advantage of his momentum by side-stepping him and putting my foot out to trip him onto his knees. Then, trapping him in a deadlock before he had a chance to get back up again, I violently scraped my knuckles against his head.
"Argh!! I give! I give!" he exclaimed, trying to shove my arms off, but I remained ever stubborn while completely enjoying his torment.
"Not so strong, are ya?" After five more grueling, long minutes of torturing him with my infamous noogie attack, I released the poor boy and let the defeated trio be. "Overconfident, am I?" I called back to them smugly.
"Okay okay... but wait till next time." Tidus remarked, his cobalt eyes glinting with enthusiasm. "Maybe you won't be so lucky."
"Maybe," I mocked, rolling my eyes, "I'll be looking forward to it."
"Heh." He grinned huge, rubbing his nose and I smirked, giving a two finger salute of farewell before leaving them behind.
Soon walking through a door that led to another area of the island where the raft could be found in its near completion, I stood off to the side and gazed at the ocean in deep contemplation.
Ah... today's the last day. Our raft should be fully prepared to set sail by tomorrow and we would finally get to leave this boring place.
So many places to explore, so many people to meet, and so many things to discover...
I wondered how long we'll be away from this place... not that I like it here or anything.
It was just a passing thought.
My attention from the sea didn't go interrupted until I heard the door open from behind me. Turning around, I saw Sora close it and he stepped forward, loitering around before he finally came to spot me.
"Hey, Sora," I replied, beckoning him to come over and he did so, "Our raft needs a name. Let's see…" What would be a good name...?
The winds of Fate forever blow toward its awaiting destination...
"How about Highwind? What would you call it?"
"Me?" Sora inquired, placing a hand on his chin in thought. "Well… hmm… Excalibur!" Since we might be fighting over the name of our raft…
"Hey, how bout…"
"The usual?" Sora smiled slyly, which earned me to smirk knowingly in return.
"Let's do it!" Then, Kairi left her post from the raft after hearing all of the commotion.
"You guys at it again?" She inquired. Then, she shook her head due to her haplessness of tolerating our rivalry. "All right, I'll be the judge." As soon as Kairi took her spot beside the door near us, she began to explain our challenge. "The usual rules apply: take any route you want… First one to tag that tree and make it back here wins."
The two of us stood beside each other at the starting line, until I noticed the glance Sora regarded me with.
"If I win, I'm captain!" Sora remarked, "And if you win…" Before he could think of a prize for my benefit, I decided on something that could make things much more interesting.
"I get to share a paopu with Kairi." I said it so casually that Sora practically did a double-take.
"Huh?"
"Deal?" I asked, smirking. "The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."
"What… wait a minute…" He shifted his eyes awkwardly, his mouth hung open in utter bewilderment.
"Okay." Kairi, who stood beside the door in amusement from our proposal, raised her arm to start the count. "On my count."
I kneeled down, waiting attentively for the second Kairi shouted the number three.
"1… 2… 3!"
We both immediately shot forward and sprinted across the wooden bridge, being careful to jump over the gaps. We were practically neck to neck until Sora beat me to the watchtower and I was forced to sprint down on land.
Fortunately on my part, Sora lost grip of the handle halfway down the barb wire and he dropped down to the ground. He quickly picked himself up after his blunder and continued on with the race, but had deadpanned when noticing I was way far ahead of him. Jumping over the platforms that were attached to the rock wall, I soon tagged the star-shaped tree with Sora following suit, but not before flashing him a cocky smirk.
I leapt across the top of the palm trees with an agileness even Sora couldn't match up to and he sprinted the long way back.
To his dismay, I had already beaten him to the finish line. Sora stopped and knelt down to place his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
I smirked in victory while panting slightly, wiping the sweat off my forehead.
"All right, we're naming the raft Highwind," I proclaimed. Sora glared at me and I shot a confused glance back.
"What?" The second the word escaped my lips, I laughed. "Oh, the paopu thing? It was just a joke." Remembering his reaction brought a smile to my lips. Sora really thought I was serious, which to me was the funny part. "You should have seen your face."
Bringing the main fun back at hand... "How about another lap around the course?"
Sora's glare disappeared as he thought quietly, but then shook his head in decline. "Are you upset or something?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow. "It was only a joke." Sometimes, Sora tended to take things too seriously when it concerned Kairi. I closed my eyes and sighed, shaking my head as Sora stalked off to collect the provisions Kairi instructed him to get.
Since I was left by myself again, I decided to refocus my attention back at the ocean.
Tomorrow, we'll finally set sail on our completed raft to venture into the outside world. It took awhile for us to adjust to the idea of what we would be leaving behind.
Our parents, our friends, our home...
I cared about my parents, but not enough for me to stay here. And Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka... they're our friends, too but they could move on without us.
As long as I had my dearest friends, Sora and Kairi, I didn't care about anything else.
The sun began to set.
I roamed the island, taking all the time I needed to reach the secret cave so the others wouldn't be suspicious of my destination. Once I entered the hidden crevice on the wall, I navigated through the narrow tunnel and reached at its end, stepping onto a clearing. The mysterious door could be found straight ahead.
I passed by the drawings that were marked on the wall with little interest, intent on studying the door instead. Stopping in front of it, I fixed my eyes to gaze upon its mysteriousness.
I sometimes wondered what would happen if somebody decided to open it...
"You…" From the sound of this familiar deep voice, I jerked around to face a cloaked stranger looming beside the wall, who's face was hidden behind the darkness of its hood.
How did he get there? It's like he just appeared out of nowhere from the shadows...
"The Keyblade Master."
"Huh?" My face twisted in confusion. Keyblade what?
"A hero of light born to save other worlds. A threat to all existing darklings." What was this guy talking about? "The key, which can either grant miracles or wrought destruction."
"Look, I know nothing about a–." I paused abruptly, thoughts whirling in my head. Wait a sec'...
A key...
Keyblade...
In other words, a weapon...
"Who are you?" I demanded, "Where did you come from? How do you know all this?"
"Your heart... is strong. Worthy of wielding the keyblade." Annoyed that he was answering none of my questions, I glared at him suspiciously and inched closer to the wall away from where he currently stood.
"What you seek... freedom from imprisonment and a purpose within your fleeting existence."
What he said... his words tied together with my recurring exotic dreams and revealed what I desired most. Not even Sora and Kairi knew this. Only Koi...
Awkwardly speechless, I glanced at the door and raised my gloved hand to brush my fingers across the rough surface, contemplating his ambiguous words.
"If you want… I can help you." I quickly brought my eyes back to him the moment he spoke again. "I promise to open this door… and let free the darkness."
My eyebrow quirked. "...The darkness?" I inquired, crossing my arms skeptically. "How will the darkness help me get off this rock?"
"Yes. All you have to do…"
Closing the door shut behind me, I scanned my room. No one was here, which would explain the quietness. Sighing inwardly, I walked out into my balcony and folded my arms on top of the railing, watching the horizon darken to signal nightfall's approach.
Ever so slightly, I felt the breeze tickle my face, its coldness sapping the warmth out of my cheeks.
"..."
All I had to do... was accept the darkness?
I stood silent, contemplating the question until it clicked into my mind.
"I want… to experience other worlds…" My voice was as airy as a whisper. "I'm sick and tired… of living on this island."
I couldn't deceive myself forever. That small wooden raft wouldn't even last a week, I bet. Maybe the problem relied on not action, but rather transportation. We might need a force that's beyond our control to help us.
Ducking my head and sighing again, I exited my balcony and re-entered my room, literally throwing myself onto my bed. Muffling my face into the softness of my pillow, I closed my eyelids and let the darkness soothe me into ever relaxing sleep.
Why... why were my dreams being haunted by all this sorrow and depression stuff? And who exactly was that stranger? A guy who came from another world, probably.
He sounded so familiar...
The matter was left unsolved when slumber finally overtook me.
...
It is time.
Your journey will begin... now.
...
A harsh intake of breath and I bolted up in bed, gasping for air.
My heart's racing...
Clenching a hand over my anxious heart, I glanced out my window.
It's already late evening...
My eyebrow quirked when I noticed something odd. The ominous flashes of lightning, the dangerous cracks of thunder and the terrible howls of wind...
And it all seemed to be coming from our– Wait! A storm?!
Abandoning my common sense to stay away from the danger, I leapt down from my balcony and dashed to where I had my boat docked.
Quickly boarding it, I reached the island at last, but what greeted me wasn't anywhere near pleasant. The wind blew fiercely throughout the whole island, creating a maelstrom of torn trees and wood while the ocean tidal waves crashed harshly against the shore. And the dark creatures from my nightmares seemed to be attacking a girl who was trying to run away from their razor-sharp claws.
Wait... a flicker of red hair... Kairi? Oh no!
"Kairi!" My voice failed to reach her in this chaotic mess and I chased after her, watching as she quickly dashed into the hole with the shadows following in close pursuit. I sprinted toward the cave and was about to duck inside when I slammed right into a door that completely came out of nowhere, thus blocking the entrance.
Gritting my teeth, I tried to pry the door open, but it was locked shut. Frustrated, I slammed my fists against the door. Damn it... I couldn't reach her...
What should I do now...?
I almost gasped when I felt my heart being anchored by this powerful, magnetic force. This sensation... the heaviness... I felt it before...
Swerving around, I looked up in horror to find an enormous sphere of darkness floating above the island. It appeared to grow bigger and bigger with each passing second, the malignant energy greedily swallowing the world into oblivion.
Suddenly feeling weary, I slumped against the door and gradually dropped down to the ground, gazing at nothing.
Was this the end...?
My breath caught.
Wait... This storm happened right after I talked to that shady character. He offered to help me get out of this place by opening the door, but in exchange...
I had to accept the darkness. He wanted me to.
I shook my head and slapped both of my cheeks to rid of the shock. What the heck was I doing? To let the anxiety affect me like this was truly pathetic. Fearing the darkness would do no good at all.
Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I stood up and started to make my way toward the source that was destroying my world. As if understanding my choice, the spawns of the darkness eyed me curiously with their creepy golden eyes, making no move to stop me.
Soon, I reached below it, feeling the gravitational pull most potent in this general area; my favorite spot where I had always gazed out into the horizon before the day's end.
Suddenly, the sound of sprinting footsteps entered my ears, pounding on the wooden bridge behind me before it suddenly stopped.
"Where's Kairi?" I recognized Sora's frantic voice, "I thought she was with you!" Unfazed by his urgency, my mind… and perhaps my sanity was somewhere else at the moment.
"The door has opened…"
"What?" Sora had no idea what I was talking about. How could Riku stay so calm when there was a monstrous storm attacking the islands with Kairi missing!?– was what he was probably thinking. I jerked around to face him, snapping out of my dazed trance.
"The door has opened, Sora!" I exclaimed. "Now we can go to the outside world!" Sora shook his head in disbelief.
"What are you talking about? We've got to find Kairi!"
"Kairi's coming with us!" Sora flinched from my tone of voice. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back." Hints of possessed longing flickered in my eyes as my lips curved into an odd smile. Then, I focused my gaze up at the black sky, where it housed the wondrous sphere of darkness now beholding an even larger, more dangerous size. "But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"
If I decided to accept the darkness... it could guide me out of this prison of isolation and into divine freedom. I would finally get to leave this all behind... and I'd be with Sora, Kairi, and Koi so I had nothing to worry about.
My resolve hardened now.
All logical thought was wiped clean from my mind and I raised my hand out to Sora, expecting him to take it.
"Riku…" Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing. My words made no sense to him. His eyes then traveled down to the ground, shocked to find the darkness beginning to enshroud my feet, the tendrils of darkness now constricting my legs before it climbed up to wrap around my waist.
I waited patiently as Sora darted forward, but he suddenly halted when the same darkness entrapped his legs also. Next, his eyes shot up to express bewilderment before he noticed I was only an arm's reach away. Sora outstretched his arm desperately to try and grasp onto my gloved hand. However, the constricting darkness continued to anchor us even further, as if wishing to sever the irrevocable bond we shared between us. Anxious sky blue eyes caught my composed aqua ones, our fingers almost able to touch.
Suddenly, Sora faltered when the darkness successfully enveloped us. It was in this precise moment when we found ourselves separated from each other.
I yearned to reach out to Sora again, to believe we could still be connected by faith.
And that's when I felt it - the cold sensation of falling... falling... falling... amidst the sea of black despair... the abyss of lonely echoes... the never-ending void of darkness.
(A/N):
No more Destiny Islands fun. We're now going to delve into the Kingdom Hearts plot with Riku meeting Maleficient and going to several worlds to find Sora and Kairi. Of course, it's been implied he has done that, so I'll be covering a couple chapters on his adventure.
Don't worry, Koi will stick with him after this. And she'll explain why she wasn't there to support him and... other stuff.
Chapter 4 will cover his first confrontation with the Evil Witch (Maleficent), and how he acquires the Soul Eater weapon.
Chapter 5 & 6 will consist of him visiting the worlds via the Disney villians' help (the ones we haven't seen him go to) and cutscenes of what Sora is doing at the meantime. And Chapter 7? Well... you can guess, can't you?