Dark Persuasions

"Bob, what's wrong with you?" Riku asked, studying the diminutive figure curiously. Its eyes had dimmed several watts, and its form did not drift precariously from side to side as much.

"Huh? Nothing… stop distracting us!" Bob responded with aggravation, its eyes brightening suddenly. "Stupid Keyblade…"

"You see the Keyblade? Where?" He looked around hastily at the deserted courtyard. Not even a disreputable rat could be seen scurrying across the suspiciously spotless ground. "I don't see anything."

"Not here, you numbskull." The figure paused and proceeded to shake violently. "Ow! Okay, that's it! Riku, we can't waste my attention on you right now. That stupid kid's asking for it! We'll see you back at the castle!"

Without another word, Bob disappeared into the shadows with a muffled pop.

"So… I guess that would be Sora… so he is here somewhere! Sora!" Riku yelled, bursting into a run down the street. "Sora! Can you hear me?"

He ran through alleys and up stairs, searching for the unexpectedly elusive boy. Still no sight or sound of Sora. The echo of Riku's shoes on the cobblestones was the only sound greeting his ears.

Riku only halted when he spied that disturbing café drifting into view, the creepy woman cleaning up a table out front. He skirted the establishment, opting for sneaking along the walls of nearby buildings. People that happened by him openly stared, their eyes shining with their confusion and obviously low opinion of the apparent weirdo. Riku responded to their nonverbal attacks with a dirty look of his own, one that would send even the most confident of them scampering off to nurse his wounded pride.

Once out of direct view of the woman, Riku pushed open the doors to another district. As if in reward for his prior humiliating efforts, Sora's ever jovial voice lingered on the wind. Riku could not decipher any words but the tone was easily recognizable. Sora seemed happy about something… But what could Sora have to be happy about here? Far away from his beloved islands without Riku or Kairi by his side? Kairi? That's right! Riku nearly slapped his forehead, hardly believing his poor memory. If Sora was here, Kairi had probably left the islands as well. So now Riku had to keep an eye open for her as well…

"Sora?" Riku murmured uncertainly. He walked through the doorway and made a visual sweep of the immediate area. Still no sign of that brunette anywhere.

Then, Riku caught the sound of Sora's familiar chuckle. He intensified his search and soon discovered a small house, verging on the point of becoming a shack. Through the window, Riku could see his friend surrounded by other strangers. Was that a duck? And a… what appeared to be an abnormally tall dog? A number of other, normal-looking strangers accompanied them. Sora stood somewhat in the center, laughing cheerfully. Kind of like he used to back on the Islands…

"Sora?" His throat nearly choked up on the boy's name. Foreign feelings wafted through Riku's heart. Disappointment. Resentment. Sorrow. Well, resentment wasn't all that foreign, but it had never before crashed upon him like this. His oceanic eyes fought to wrench their gaze from the delightfully bitter picture within, but, despite his will, they couldn't be separated.

"A friend of yours?" a dark, female voice called from behind him.

"He was," Riku whispered softly, still focused on the sight.

"The master of the Keyblade." The figure stopped alongside him. The end of a cane was visible in the periphery of Riku's vision. "He seems to have gained some new friends. But such is the way of things."

"What do you mean?" He finally severed the bond between his eyes and the house's window to glance up at his strange companion.

She seemed to have a taste for the bizarre. Her complete attire was purple or black, or some combination thereof. Perhaps to break the monotony, she wielded a large staff with a glowing, green orb on the top. A particularly ridiculous-looking hat topped her head, its horns sticking out as if unsure whether to imitate a dragon's horns or a bat's ears. Either she had an accident with some kind of sewer or her face was naturally a sickly shade of green. Riku opted for the latter. In some attempt at vanity, she had done up her face with dark, arching brows, complementing purple eye shadow, and ruby red lipstick. Her yellow eyes reminded him vaguely of Bob's, though watts dimmer. As if seeing her in person wasn't enough of a tip, her outfit was complete with evil's typical touch: a large collar. Oh yes, the evil radiated off of this piece of work in oozing rolls.

"Well, he no longer needs you. You aren't with him, so any memory of you has left his mind. He has decided to replace you." Her voice vibrated with an easy tone of persuasion. "As you can see, he already has new friends."

"That's a lie. Sora and I are friends. He wouldn't do something like that." He looked back to the window as if seeking reinforcement for his statement.

"Then why is he in there instead of out here, looking for you?"

"Well, Sora was never really the-"

"If your friendship were so important to him, then how could it have left his head so easily?"

"He's-"

"Well," she continued, making a rather pointless sweeping gesture, "there he is. Your friend. What's stopping you from going in there?"

"I-"

"Oh, perhaps you've forgotten your other friend." Riku glanced up at this. "Your friend Kairi, I believe her name was…"

"Yes?" Riku pursued impatiently. "Have you seen her?"

"I may have… In fact, I might have information available that could help you find her… if you're interested, that is…"

"Of course, I'm interested!"

"But what about Sora?" She gestured to the shack.

"He has new friends now… like you said. They can help him."

"But aren't you two friends?"

"He doesn't need me anymore…" Riku mumbled dejectedly, looking downcast. White hair fell across his face, hiding his somber expression. He lifted his face slowly. "But Kairi still does. What do you know about her?"

"I have reason to believe that she has lost her heart."

"Lost her heart? How is that possible?"

"Oh, many things are possible in this reality. It may have become separated when your world disappeared. Or someone may have stolen it. The possibilities are endless."

"How can I recover her heart?"

"This is where our goals are the same. In order to recover her heart, you must find all the Princesses of Heart and open the door to darkness. There you will find what you seek."

"What is it that you want?" Riku asked, eying her suspiciously.

"Only power. By opening the door to darkness, I can gain access to a sort of power before impossible to reach. Our mission is the same: open the door to darkness. You can accomplish this and rescue your friend's heart, unlike Sora. As quickly as his friendship with you disappeared from his thoughts, so has his friendship with Kairi disappeared. He can't save her, but you can. Will you help me?"

Riku gave one last, forlorn look at Sora talking merrily with his new friends. Eyes slightly downcast, he turned back to the mysterious woman. "Alright. I'll come with you."

"Excellent. I believe we'll have a most prosperous partnership for both of us. My name is Maleficent."

"Mine's Riku."

"Very well, then, Riku. This way," she said, drifting away in one direction, her long cape dragging after her.

"Goodbye, Sora," Riku whispered, turning his back on the boy who was once his best friend. He followed Maleficent, only fractionally aware of much of anything.