Once again, Riku found himself waking up to strange circumstances. Blinding white tiles were passing across his eyes so fast that he closed them with a grimace. His knees hurt and his feet were stretched at an awkward angle. The movement stopped and Riku opened his eyes, once again staring at the floor, which was now purple.

/Ah...this seems familiar./

The strong hand gripping him by the scruff of his shirt tightened and Riku was about to look up to see who had captured him this time, when suddenly the floor was flung away from him.

Feeling his body slam into the ground and roll a few feet, he also came to the conclusion that it was himself, and not the scenery that had been thrown away so abruptly.

"Rotten brat. If you keep this up, the Superior is going to just kill you outright. Even if it means losing a keyblade master, you're not worth the trouble," Xigbar said, sitting himself in a chair that had been brought into the jail. With the scars across his face, Xigbar never stopped looking angry, and as Riku sat up he saw the man's one eye glaring more intently at him.

"You have to admit, at least I'm getting better," Riku said with a smile. As soon as he did so he regretted it, as the motion had opened up a cut on the corner of his mouth. He licked and wiped the blood away, at the same time trying to heal his wounds with a bit of magic.

"It doesn't matter how "good" you are," the gunner made quotation marks in the air, "There's no way you'll be able to get out of here."

For the rest of Xigbar's shift he remained silent, and Riku saw no reason to try and entice him into speaking. Of all the Organization members, he seemed most annoyed by his time on guard duty. He was restless and usually took to cleaning and upgrading his weapons. Which meant Riku had time to attempt escaping while the Nobody was occupied.

--How many times is that now, boy? Five or six?--

/Five. And shut up. I'm trying to concentrate./

Riku focused on using as little dark power as he could and managed to cast a small cure spell on himself. He immediately felt the weariness go away, but his injuries remained. That was fine with him though, he would heal naturally while he came up with another plan.

--I would suggest the air vents, but this building is severely lacking.--

/If you don't have anything helpful to add, shut up and let me be./

Riku curled up and pulled his coat over himself as a blanket, hoping to take a nice long nap to regain his strength. His short time asleep came with dreams of heartless and of Shadow. When he was woken up by the sounds of footsteps, he could taste bile in the back of his throat. He coughed a few times to try and get it to go away and sat up, pushing the too warm coat off his body.

"Thank God. Get me out of here man. I'm going stir crazy."

Xigbar left the cell quickly without looking back. He was obviously still sore about having to deal with another of Riku's escapes by himself. And this time he had to follow the keyblade master through the realm of darkness, instead of just though the World That Never Was. Xaldin gave him a curt nod and took up his spot on the chair, while a familiar blond stood outside the cell.

Roxas usually came to speak with Riku while Xaldin was there, because the stoic Nobody left the two of them alone. After their initial encounter, Riku had never tried to escape with Xaldin on duty, and in fact the two had come to a sort of truce. Both respected each other, and they usually spent their time together in an almost friendly silence.

Riku shifted himself over so that he was leaning in the corner of his cell where the wall met the bars. Roxas stood outside, just a foot or so away. The thought of taking Roxas as a hostage in order to escape went through Riku's mind, but he doubted he'd be able to control the other keyblade wielder long enough to escape. The boy was exceptionally strong, as he'd already proven.

"To what do I owe the pleasure today?" Riku said, trying to look as enticing as he could with a split lip and slightly bruised jaw. Despite his impairment Roxas seemed as interested as ever.

--I am very intrigued to see if you will ever settle for one incarnation of your supposed one true love. I rather like this one, he's even more vicious than Shadow.--

/Shut up! Don't talk about him. Its your fault he's dead./

Riku snarled in his mind before shutting off his connection to Ansem completely.

"Are you ever going to tell me who I was? Did you know me before I became a Nobody?" Roxas jumped right in today, no small talk. He'd heard about the Superior's frustration with their captive, and was worried that his one chance at learning these things could disappear any day.

"I did know you before you were a Nobody," following suit, Riku decided to give the boy a few scraps of the knowledge he was so desperate for. "I don't think you're ready to hear about who you were though."

Those sky blue eyes were filled with frustration and Roxas turned around, slamming his back against the bars and crossing his arms. His pout caused a flutter in Riku's stomach, and the older boy smiled at the similarity to Sora. With a quick glance to be sure that Xaldin wasn't watching, he leaned his face as far through the bars as he could and placed a soft kiss on Roxas's jaw beneath his ear.

The Nobody jumped and turned around, but didn't retreat from the bars. Now they were facing each other and Riku could see the pink blush on the bridge of the boy's nose.

"I could show you who you were, Roxas. But not from in here," Riku whispered quickly before stretching his arms out to hide the motion of pulling back from the bars. Xaldin's cold eyes were watching him, but again looked away, almost allowing Riku his small discrepancies.

"Are you saying I should break you out? The Organization would kill me."

Riku just shrugged to show the boy that there was no other way. Roxas huffed and hung his head, debating his options. Unable to resist, Riku stretched out and gently ran a hand through the blond fringe.

A hand came from beyond the bars and snatched Riku's wrist in a tight grip. Looking up, he was less than surprised to see Axel standing next to Roxas.

"Axel! Let him go."

Roxas was being completely ignored by his two testosterone driven men. Riku pulled Axel closer to the bars by his wrist, challenging him with just a smirk. Axel extended one hand, in which flames began to flicker.

"Stop it, Axel."

A spear was place between the two feuding boys, and they released each other. Xaldin withdrew his weapon, but kept his condescending eyes on Axel. The redhead snorted and said something to Roxas. The boy looked surprised, and shot a weird look to Riku before quickly leaving.

"What was that all about?" Riku yelled to Axel, but the pyrokinetic just smiled, making his tattoos curve along his cheeks and followed after the blond.

"Perhaps you shouldn't antagonize Axel as much as you do."

Riku looked up in surprise at Xaldin's seeming concern for him. He knew they were enemies, and shouldn't even be considering becoming friends with the older man.

"Why? In a fair fight I think I'd have a pretty good chance against him," Riku responded, sounding less confident and more like he was defending his hurt pride.

"Thats the thing. Axel would never get into a fair fight. He fights with trickery and mind games. Once he has you vulnerable, he'll take you down."

Now he was interested. Riku turned completely away from the bars and sat facing where Xaldin had sat back down. He spear had dissolved into wherever it was all mystical weapons seemed to reside when not in use.

"Why would you warn me about this? Axel is on your side. I'd think if he managed to kill me it would be a victory for you as well."

Xaldin was very quiet for a few minutes, his eyes unfocused as he seemed to be remembering something. When he blinked out of his reverie and looked at Riku, he looked torn as to what he should say.

"Axel has not always been the most trustworthy Nobody. When he was in Castle Oblivion, he was ordered by the Superior to ensure the deaths of numerous of our members. And he did it without a qualm. I wouldn't trust someone who betrays those they side with so easily."

Riku just sat, his jaw hanging open. Axel had kill Organization members. Had killed his own teammates. No wonder the others all seemed on edge around him.

--You really shouldn't underestimate your foes. I would have thought you'd learned that lesson...--

He didn't even bother responding to Ansem's baiting tone.

"Heya!" The cheerful voice of Demyx called through the bars. He stood with his usually smile and waved to Xaldin. The older man just quirked an eyebrow at the odd Nobody.

"It's not your shift yet. Where's Saix?"

"Superior's called an important meeting. He told me to come here and take Saix's shift while you go to the throne room," he walked into the cell and stood by the wall, nodding his simple greeting to Riku.

Xaldin didn't mind being relieved early and left the cell, closing it behind him and leaving Demyx to lock it. Riku just sat watching Demyx smile. It was kinda creepy. And he wasn't moving away from the wall to sit down. After Xaldin's footsteps left the hallway, Riku saw Demyx's head jerk forward and his eyes fall shut. His body followed the motion and collapsed onto the ground.

Behind him stood Mickey, his golden keyblade in hand.

"Come on! We don't have much time."

Riku didn't waste a minute and was up, his coat thrown about his shoulders and the soul eater in his hand. The two darted out of the cell where Mickey took the lead, running down the hall to the left. Riku followed, zipping his coat up so it would make less noise as they ran.

"How did you sneak in?" He said quietly as he could as they took more turns down the white hallways, diving behind statues to avoid being scene by the patrolling dusks.

"Very carefully. We can talk about it later. The Gummi ship is in the alley by the skyscraper."

"I'll just open a portal to it," Riku said, although with his most recent escape he wasn't sure he had the power to do it.

"No! Save your strength, we might need it," with the guards gone Mickey waved Riku forward and they ran down more hallways. The castle wasn't as labyrinthine as Hollow Bastion's pathways, but were equally confusing because everything looked the same.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Riku said as they came into a room that finally looked different. There were glowing gravestones, with weapons and names engraved on the stones below. Riku recognized the weapon of Lexaeus and felt guilt come over him at realizing that those he and Sora had killed had been mourned for.

"Of course I do...I think." Mickey darted through a door that was apparently a portal and Riku quickly followed. This led them to a balcony with no escape.

"Maybe not..."

Riku sighed at Mickey's joking and looked around the edge of the balcony. It was way too far down for them to jump and survive.

"Guess we try another way?" Riku said with a smile aimed down at the king. His optimism seemed to be infectious. The mouse nodded and they ran back through the portal, taking a different pathway that led them through more halls and balconies. Judging by the relaxed way the Nobodies were wandering and floating around the castle, no one had noticed Riku's absence yet.

After dodging some dragoons the two found themselves faced with a large open platform. They paused in the doorway, trying to see if anyone would be able to see them from above.

"No cover." Riku stated plainly. Mickey nodded and started counting. When he reached three the two bolted from where they were hiding and ran as fast as they could across the blue platform.

As they ran towards the exit, a dark portal formed in front of them and a man stepped out of it. Riku cursed and clenched his hand on the soul eater.

The newcomer took down his hood, and long white bangs fell in front of his orange eyes. Riku felt a shudder go through his body. This man. He looked exactly like...

--Me? Hm...this is very odd. I wonder who he could be?--

/The man has your face. What kind of trick is this/

--No trick of mine.--

"And where do you think you're going Riku," The man shifted his gaze to Mickey and seemed to recognize him. "Ah, you are friends with his majesty here."

Looking to Mickey, Riku saw that the king did indeed seem to know this man. Though it looked like he couldn't seem to place him.

"And who are you?" Riku shouted, although he was inching his way closer to the man and the exit, hoping he might be able to take the Nobody down quickly and secure their escape.

"My name is Xemnas. I am the leader of Organization XIII."

Riku stopped his earlier plan and quickly reconsidered it.

"Mickey..." He hissed down to his companion, although he got no response. If this man was the leader, no doubt he was strong. Hopefully not strong enough to take them both on though. They rushed him in tandem, but were stopped by an attack of his that left bolts of darkness wrapped around their bodies.

Mickey struggled and managed to cut his way out using his keyblade, but Riku was held tight. It felt like the darkness was sinking into his body, running through his veins like poison. He screamed and Mickey ran to him, cutting through the tendrils and catching the boy as his body fell to the ground.

"And now I've gone from having one keyblade master captured to two. What a good day."

Xemnas approached and summoned two red glowing blades into his hands. Mickey stood in front of Riku and prepared to launch an attack on him when suddenly Xemnas stopped. He looked down in surprised to see a pool of darkness at his feet. As he tried to step forward and reach Riku and Mickey, he sunk through the floor and the portal closed.

"Huh?" Mickey walked forward, examining the spot where Xemnas had been. "Where'd he go?"

"The void surrounded this castle. I think..." Riku panted out, standing up and feeling less exhausted than he would have thought.

--The attack he used on you. You absorbed some of the darkness. I can feel it in you. Its much more powerful than before.--

Riku noticed that Ansem's voice was much clearer now but ignored it. He wasn't going to risk Xemnas realizing what happened and returning for them.

"Hold on!"

Riku grabbed Mickey and wrapped him in a hug as he sunk into the realm of darkness. It slid around him easily, not suffocating as it usually did. In seconds he and the king found themselves falling out onto wet concrete. It smelled like a summer storm had just ended.

"Riku! What did you do?"

--/For having just saved us, you think he'd be more grateful./--

Riku stopped as he noticed that he had not spoken alone. He shook his head as if that would dislodge the malevolent voice even though he knew it would do no good. He stood up and the two of them jumped up into the Gummi ship. Mickey had a pensive look on his face, one that Riku had never seen. They took off, soaring away from the World That Never Was and into the pathways between worlds.

"What's wrong Mickey? We got out didn't we?"

The king remained silent before setting the ship to autopilot to take them back to the mansion in Twilight Town. He turned and looked sadly at Riku.

"Look at your reflection, Riku."

He did as he was told and found a shiny piece of the gummi ship that allowed him to see himself. His eyes were a fierce golden orange and the skin around his eyes was a dark tan that spread out like a stain across his face. The tips of his hair that fell across his eyes were white as well.

/What's going on? This has never happened before/

--I think its a good look for you.--

/Only saying this once. Shut the fuck up./

Riku tried not to panic and to force himself to relax. He concentrated on letting the darkness out of his body, as he did before using a cure spell. When he opened his eyes they were green again, and his skin was back to its natural color.

"Riku, you can't use the darkness anymore. Soon you won't be able to stop it."

They sat in silence as the ship descended into the courtyard of the mansion. Shoving open the cockpit Riku jumped out, tired and just wanting to return to some normalcy.

"Riku. Why didn't you wait?"

Mickey didn't say it angrily, or like a chastising parent. If he had, Riku knew he would have exploded at him and regretted it. Instead it was a sad question. In all the time he had been imprisoned, Riku knew the king would be worrying about him.

"I'm sorry Mickey. I thought I could convince Roxas to come with me without a fight. We were interrupted by Axel."

The mouse nodded and together they went into the mansion and predictably Riku headed straight for the room where the pods were. When he reached Sora's he sat down and just stared at the boy. Even asleep like this the resemblance between him and his Nobody was easy to see.

"I'm sure you must have learned a lot. We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?" Mickey said cheerfully, putting a hand on Riku's shoulder. He found the touch comforting and nodded to his friend.

He would go back to his room and rest in a little while. For now he just wanted to be with Sora for a while. He had missed seeing the boy every day and knowing that he was safe.

"Next time, Sora. I'll get him next time for sure."

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I wonder if maybe my writing has started sucking or something...lots of views on this fic. A ton in fact. But very few reviews. Ah well. I enjoy it...I can only hope you guys do too. Next chapter we have the final chapter that takes place before the game begins. Then its gonna REALLY pick up.

I swear...and yeah, the updates are taking a bit mostly because of my two jobs. They sure love makin me work...