(Well, now we know who brought Riku to Sonic's world; and now it looks as though Zexion has decided to take a role in this little story. As for what happened in the Roboticization Room; that'll teach Robotnik to try and make a robot out of something as unpredictable and powerful as a Heartless, eh? I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or Sonic and SatAM, but you know that already.)
CHAPTER 6
"Ugh, my head…" Riku groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and his hazy vision began to slowly clear. "What the hell happened? Last thing I remember was barging into Princess Sally's hut, then getting into a fight with that Sonic the Hedgehog, then that Bunnie Rabbot girl attacked me next and…" He immediately sat up. "And then I found out I'd been duped by Doctor Robotnik!" He growled and hung his head. "I'm always getting duped; first by Ansem, and now this Robotnik guy. I made friends and enemies with the wrong people on both sides; way to make a good impression Riku," he scolded himself. Putting his self disgust aside for the moment, he took a look at his surroundings, finding himself in what he assumed was one of the huts in Knothole Village; but instead of wood and straw, everything seemed reinforced with concrete. The entire hut appeared to be living quarters and a workshop all in one; Riku saw a computer, a workbench and many different tools lying about; he also found himself on top of a metallic surgeon's table. He jumped off almost immediately, feeling too much like he was in Dr Frankenstein's lab. 'There's no way I'm going to be anyone's experiment,' he thought to himself, 'I think I'd better get out of here and rethink my position.'
Riku hopped down from the table and made his way to the door; had he bothered to check one of the windows, he would've noticed Antoine Depardieu coming his way. He reached for the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door.
Antoine was heading straight for Rotor's workshop; totally unaware that the "alien" he had heard about was being kept in there. "I wondair if Monsieur Rotor eez at home. I need to zee him right away." He reached for the doorknob only to watch it turn on its own, and the door open.
Riku and Antoine stared at each other for what seemed like a few minutes; eventually, each of them realized WHO they were staring at…and screamed bloody murder.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Antoine shrieked in fear, "It eez ze alien!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!" Riku yelled at the top of his lungs, before knocking Antoine over and making a run for it. "I'm outta here!" He headed straight for where he had first come through, not even sure if he was even heading for the exit or just going back to the entrance. Before he could move any further, a blue blur streaked right in front of him.
"Hold it right there, slow mo," Sonic shouted cockily.
"Agh! Not you again!" Riku cried out, skidding to a halt.
"Don't forget about me, sugah!" Bunnie Rabbot popped up behind Riku in a battle stance.
'…Why me?' Riku thought with anxiety; his Keyblade appeared in his right hand once more out of thin air. "If you furries must know, I was just leaving!"
"Uh, the blue hedgehog just said hold it, buster!" The green dragon girl, from before, suddenly floated down in front of Riku.
"You…you're that Dragon Girl, I saw last night!" Riku pointed at her.
"The name's Dulcy," the dragon told him, "and I'm the one that knocked you out."
"What!? That was you!?" Riku held up Way to the Dawn threateningly. "You want to pick a fight with me, is that it!?"
"Who said anything about picking a fight with you?" Dulcy looked surprised. "I was just trying to bring you under control after your little break down last night."
Riku blushed at the remembrance of breaking down in front of complete strangers like that. "Well excuse me. I've had bad experiences with trusting the wrong kind of people," he said, remembering the time he ended up fighting on the side of the Heartless, along with Maleficent and Ansem, "so how do you THINK I'd feel when I realized I let myself get duped again? Especially when I'm in a world that I know ZERO information about? No friends; no enemies; what else was I supposed to do?"
"Huh…he's got a point there," Sonic reasoned, "If he didn't even know who Robotnik was, then…"
"Then it looks like Riku was an easy target for Robotnik to manipulate," Sally spoke up, appearing from behind Sonic.
"Hey, I'm right here you know," Riku scowled, "no need to remind me how I let myself be used."
"Sorry," Sally looked sympathetic, "I didn't mean to…"
"No, no, no, princess," Riku waved his hand, "its ok. Since you guys told me your story; the REAL story; then I think I should tell you mine." Riku cleared his throat, sat down, and began to tell his story; he started off with how he, Sora and Kairi would often spend their days on Destiny Islands, before getting to the Heartless invasion and how he allowed himself to succumb to the darkness. He went on about how he slowly let himself believe Maleficent's lies, and fighting against his own friend under the influence of the Heartless; finally succumbing to the will of Ansem and almost killing those he loved, before Sora managed to stop him and allowed Riku to hold Ansem back. Then there came the deciding battle, when Riku was finally free from Ansem's influence and helped to lock up Kingdom Hearts, even though he was stuck on the side of Darkness. But Riku didn't stop there; he then told the Freedom Fighters about his own brush with Organization XIII; particularly with numbers Four, Five, and Six; each of whom tried to bring out Riku's inner darkness and reawaken Ansem inside of him, until Riku finally confronted the remainder of the Heartless leader in Castle Oblivion. Finally, Riku told his listeners about his 2nd brush with the Organization, his meeting with the REAL Ansem, and his reunion with Sora; how he had used the form of Xehanort's Heartless/the false Ansem to work through the shadows, right up until Sora had reached the World that Never Was, where they were finally reunited and Riku could shed back to his true face. It was all downhill from there as the two Keybearers worked together to finish of Xemnas; the leader of the Organization and Xehanort's other half; before finally being able to return home. "And that," Riku finished, "is my story."
"Whoa, man," Sonic said, impression embedded in his voice, "Sounds like you've been through some mondo adventures there; good and bad; you actually even went on the bad guy's side and came back."
"I almost didn't go back, Sonic," Riku said, "thankfully I had friends; more importantly one very special friend who would stop at nothing to pull me out of the darkness and get me back home."
"Your friend, Sora," Sally interrupted briefly with a smile, "He really sounds like something special."
"He is…" Riku smiled back, "Both him and Kairi; I'm really lucky to have them as friends."
"Yeah, that's the way to think Riku," Sonic said slapping his back, "sometimes friends are all you got; and all ya need."
"Well, if you were in Sora's shoes or mine," Riku informed the blue hedgehog, "you'd need all the friends you could get when battling the Heartless or the Nobodies. I tell you; they're both stronger than any swatBOT or robot you'll ever meet. The Heartless act completely by instinct and can show up anywhere where there are plenty of strong hearts; yet they will follow one who possesses a greater darkness and will then they do. Quite a few worlds fell to the Heartless' power; not even standing a snowball's chance against their wrath until Sora came along. The Nobodies, on the other hand, can think for themselves, and plan their attacks. They can even use the Heartless to their bidding. Organization XIII, whom I mentioned earlier, happened to be a very powerful group of Nobodies, each with their own element and weapon. They sought to take Kingdom Hearts for their own; but all they wanted was to have their hearts back; they had a good intention, yet they were going about it in a dangerous and life threatening way. That's the thing about Nobodies and Heartless; they have no morality or conscience as to what they're doing."
"They sound just like Robotnik's forces…" Sally said in almost a hushed whisper.
"Oh they're much worse," Riku told the princess, "the Heartless and Nobodies have the power to invade other worlds, and corrupt them. The Heartless especially are dangerous, snatching the very hearts of each world; as I said before. All that's left are tiny barren fragments of land, left to float around in the abysmal darkness. As for the inhabitants; their hearts forever become Heartless, while their body and soul are doomed to become Nobodies, shunned by both light and darkness."
Sonic shuddered at the thought of such a fate. "Man; havin' your heart become part pf some evil force, while your body becomes some twisted ghost turned away by both sides has got to be the most mondo, mega-bummerific life ever."
"I don't even want to think of such a life," Sally shivered, "having to exist between light and darkness, not being able to feel emotion or feeling," she hugged herself, "that's…so terrible."
"Just ask Sora," Riku said grimly, "He experienced it first hand… Frankly, it was a miracle he was able to come back from the darkness and become whole again. It was thanks to Kairi; the light from her heart reached out to Sora when he was briefly a Heartless, and it pulled him out of the abyss and restored him back to the world of light. He was one of the lucky ones."
"It sure sounds like it," Bunnie agreed, "Sounds like both Sora and ya'll have gone through hell and back together and on yer own."
"We sure have," Riku admitted, "I tell you, we've fought against the most unbelievable enemies you could think of." He started to stand up. "Anyway, sorry about ambushing you guys like that. I WAS however having my doubts about Robotnik; his scent just seems to reek of darkness and destructive power."
"His…scent?" Sally looked confused.
"Yes, his scent," Riku confirmed, "After my brief exposure to the Heartless, I was able to gain one of their powers; the ability to detect the "scents" of hearts; that's how they're able to detect the hearts of living beings. These scents also tell me if a person's heart is good or evil; I'll show you." He looked at the Freedom Fighters and took a deep breath through his nose; he then started to smile at everyone. "It looks like you've all got good hearts, strong with light and purity," he turned to Sonic and Sally, "Especially the two of you; your hearts are definitely pure and benevolent."
"Aw shucks," Sonic said humbly, rubbing the back of his head.
Sally blushed prettily and giggled a bit at Riku's comment. "Charmer."
Riku sighed to himself as he looked around. "Well, I'd better get out of here, before Robotnik gets wise," he announced, "Don't want to attract any unwanted attention to your village or have SwatBOTS patrolling around the forest." He finally spotted the familiar pile of straw near the log slide and started to make his way over; or he would have if a gentle yet metallic hand hadn't had stopped him. He turned around, to see Bunnie holding onto his wrist.
"Nuh-uh, sugah," Bunnie shook her head, "There's no sense in lettin' you go back and suffer abuse from ole blubber bolts."
"That's Snively's job anyway," Sonic chuckled.
"But-" Riku tried to argue.
"No butts, Riku," Sally shook a finger at him, "your place isn't in Robotropolis. It should be here with us, until we can find a way to send you back home. You might even be able to help up in the fight against Robotnik."
Riku looked around at the warm smiling faces around him, noting how his current surroundings were a lot more comforting and welcoming than Robotropolis. If he was stuck in a world he knew nothing about, he might as well be spending his time with the right kind of people in the right kind of place. "Alright then; I guess I'll stay here."
"Mon Dieu… Ze alien eez going to stay weet us?" Antoine said fearfully.
"I'm no alien," Riku told him in an amused tone, "aliens would have green skin, big melon head, and LONG fingers. Since I have none of those, guess what? I'm not an alien; so there's no need to "King-Fu" me." He said, wiggling his index and middle fingers as he said "King-Fu."
"Do not insult ze King-Fu!" Antoine shouted and did a few false karate moves with exaggerated grunts and cries. "HIYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!" Antoine ended up doing a badly done flying kick, and landing on the ground; doing a REALLY painful version of the splits on the ground. "Ouchie… I have been doing ze splitting…" Antoine whimpered.
Both Riku and Sonic burst out laughing at Antoine's little exercise mishap.
"Looks like YOU insulted "King-Fu" for me," Riku laughed.
"Just be thankful you weren't wearin' pants, Ant; or you would've split them as well as your hamstrings," Sonic giggled.
Sally tried not to giggle, but found it difficult, given Antoine's uncomfortable looking position and face that just screamed "Sacre-bleu cheese!!!"
"As you'd most likely say," Sonic said to Antoine, "You 'ave become ze SPLIT-pea soup!'" He mocked Antoine's accent.
Sally burst out laughing at Sonic's remark. "Hahahaha! Oh Sonic, you're horrible," she laughed, "Funny, but horrible."
Antoine sighed angrily as Bunnie helped him up. "I zo hate being ze stock of laughing," he grumbled, "Everyone makes ze mockery of me!"
"It looks like you do a good job of making a mockery of yourself Antoine," Riku corrected with a chuckle. Suddenly, he mentally froze; as the foul scent of an evil essence offended his nose. 'Something's here…or someone. This scent…it's not of a Heartless. It has no heart…so it must be a Nobody!' Riku looked around, trying to remain inconspicuous, trying to find out where the supposed Nobody was. Suddenly the scent seemed to strengthen in the direction of the river; more directly, right on the bridge. At first there seemed to be no one there, but Riku's senses told him otherwise; he saw what looked like movement through the air, before a large feline bi-pedal outline suddenly materialized.
"Yo! Riku," Sonic waved a hand in front of Riku's face, "What's up? You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"What I just saw…is no ghost!" Riku shouted and took off for the bridge. "On the bridge; there's something there!"
Before Riku could react, however, the feline shadow suddenly pounced upon him, pinning the twilight Key bearer to the ground, and growling ominously at him. "You…" The shape suddenly spoke in a low oily voice, "You smell of the Keyblade…"
"No duh," Riku spat at the creature, struggling, "Sora isn't the only one who knows how to wield a Keyblade!"
"Sora," the voice purred evilly, "I was…defeated by a Sora once; or rather, my Heartless was defeated by him. Yes…and he had help from that foolish brat of a king, Simba…"
'Simba?' Riku thought, the name sounded familiar, 'Wasn't he that lion king, Sora told me about? Yeah, Sora had to help him reclaim his kingdom from someone… What was his name…?' Riku thought back to when Sora told him all about his adventures in the newer worlds, during their fight against Organization XIII. 'That other lion…he became a Heartless, thanks to Pete. Was he related to Simba? His father? His cousin? His uncle…yah, he was Simba's uncle. Scream…Scratch…Scar…Scar! That was his name!' "You…you're Scar! Simba's uncle! Sora told me about you!"
"Scar?" The shadow laughed. "Not quite…but close enough. I'm his Nobody!" Before Riku's eyes, an elderly looking Lion Nobody began to take the place of the faceless shape. Indeed, the Nobody resembled Scar, but with a few differences; Scar's usually raven black mane was tinted an aging grey; his now pale yellow eyes were devoid of their usual green pupils, giving him an almost soulless look; on both his sides and his legs, Scar's Nobody had the Nobody symbol tattooed on. "The scent of hearts drew me here," Scar's Nobody explained, "I wonder what would happen if I took the heart of a Key Bearer," he grinned maliciously and raised a clawed paw.
WHAM!
Dulcy had suddenly flown forward and collided with Scar's Nobody, sending both the dragon and lion nobody colliding into the river with a loud splash.
"Dulcy!" Riku cried out as he sat up, wondering if the dragon girl was ok. 'She doesn't know what kind of power a Nobody's capable of…even I don't know what THAT one was capable of! Damnit, if only Sora was here…well he's not, so it's my job now,' he thought as Sonic and Sally helped him to his feet. "Listen guys, we've got to-"
SPLASH!
Dulcy flew out of the river, slopping water onto the bank and bridge; her wings flapping about and scattering droplets all around. "Crud, I lost him," she griped as she landed.
"Lost him?" Sonic repeated. "Ya make it sound like he just vanished into thin air."
"Well," Dulcy looked sheepish, "He kinda did."
"WHAT!?" Sonic and Sally exclaimed in unison.
"When you live in my universe," Riku informed, "you get used to your enemies appearing and disappearing out of nowhere." 'Just great,' he thought bitterly, 'Not only Robotnik, but we've got a Nobody running about. What's next? Heartless? Ugh, or maybe Organization XIII will make a comeback…maybe not.' If only Riku knew how right his assumptions were.
Ixis Naugus watched Riku's interaction with the Freedom Fighters from within Sanctuary; what he called his particular area of the Void. "Excellent," he hissed, "Riku and the Freedom Fighters are now working together as one. Poor Robotnik, on the other hand, is totally unaware of Zexion's true intentions." Naugus opened up his hand, revealing two glowing energy symbols similar to that of Zexion's; one was of an oddly shaped shield with spiked points sticking out from the wider part; the other was of a large tomahawk with an almost telephone-like shaped blade. "Of course, who's to say Zexion should work alone? I bet he would be overjoyed (if he had emotions that is) to be reunited with his two comrades," the sorcerer cackled, "I wonder how the Twilight Key Bearer and Quickster shall rise to this challenge."
TO BE CONTINUED