The Night Within My Eyes
Description: A sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. When a Gummi Ship crashes into Disney Castle, King Mickey calls on Sora and Riku to help a previously unknown world rid itself of some very familiar Heartless. Eventual pairing: RikuxOC, plus some SoraxKairi because they're cute. Rated T because I can't see myself ever writing K.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix. But you knew that already.
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Moonshine's Guide. Thank you dear for helping me figure Even out. And now, I strongly suggest everyone else back away and give the fangirl some room. :)
Twelve
Nothing had ever frightened Riku more than seeing Dilan sneak up behind Yuko and grab her. Not the Realm of Darkness. Not staring down Maleficent's dragon in Castle Oblivion. Not feeling Lexaeus' dark power engulf him. Nothing.
He had so enjoyed spying on her and Sora as they talked below him. He couldn't hear what they said from his place on the seventh story balcony, but he could see them laugh and smile. He had crossed his arms on the parapet and rested his head on them, watching with a wonderful feeling of contentment in his chest.
A few years ago, if it had been Sora and Kairi below him, he would have burned in jealousy. But Kairi, he had realized, had been just a possession to him, a prize to be won. Whenever Sora made her smile or laugh, he had viewed it as a point to the younger boy in their competition, and his horrible need to be in first place had caused him to resent it.
But with Yuko, it didn't matter who put the smile on her face. It still felt wonderful. That must be the difference between obsession and love. Her happiness comes first. Riku had laughed quietly at himself. I must look like some heart-sick fool. Sora would tease me to death if he knew.
When Dilan and his Heartless had appeared, Riku had watched attentively, Way to the Dawn ready, but he had not felt the need to join in. Sora had the stronger enemies completely under control, and Yuko had done well with the smaller ones. But then Dilan had appeared behind Yuko and grabbed her, and Riku had felt his insides freeze in horror.
What if I lose her? I've only just found her. She doesn't know how I feel yet. She's not ready to know. I can't lose her. I can't!
And he had climbed onto the parapet and jumped.
"Riku, are you still mad at me?"
"No," he lied. Next to him, Yuko laughed gently. They were threading their way through the streets of Midgar on their way to the center and the Garden. Occasionally Heartless would pop up and impede their progress, but Riku would dispose of them quickly, using them as an excuse to work out his negative feelings. He still had not been able to rid himself of the horrible image of Dilan with his hand around Yuko's mouth and the overwhelming fear of a life without her in it.
Sora pouted slightly. "Okay, well, tell me when you're done being not mad at me. I'd like to know when it's safe for me to come within fifteen feet of you again."
That sent Yuko into a stronger round of laughter, and Sora couldn't help a snigger behind the wounded face he had put on. Riku ground his teeth in annoyance. "How much farther is this place?" he asked gruffly.
"Not far," Yuko answered. "We just have to pass through that park up ahead, and then we should be able to see it."
"Good."
"Hey, something's been bothering me."
Riku rolled his eyes. "And what would that be, Sora?"
"How did Dilan know where we were?"
Riku stopped walking. Stunned, he stared at Sora who had also stopped. "I …" He had been too distracted before, buzzing from adrenaline and anger and fear, but now that Sora had posed the question, he realized how important it was. Although you could travel just about anywhere using the Realm of Darkness, the portals took you to places, not people. Heartless, Nobody, or whatever, you still had to find people the old-fashioned way.
"We were traveling along the outskirts so they wouldn't notice us," Sora continued. "So they'd keep pushing the front until we could come up behind or at least flank them. How did they find us so quickly?"
"Easy," a gentle voice answered from the shadows of a streetcorner. "The girl led us right to you."
The three friends turned to the sound of the voice to see an older man calmly standing on the sidewalk. He had his hands deep within the pockets of his lab coat, and he watched them carefully with clear blue eyes as if examining an interesting specimen.
Yuko drew back, and Riku could hear the fear in her voice. "Even…" He instinctively stepped closer to her.
Sora looked the newcomer up and down. "So you're the one who started all this." He blinked as the meaning of the man's response sank in. He demanded, "Whaddya mean Yuko led you to us?"
Even smiled faintly, a sight that sent chills up Riku's spine. He responded in his quiet voice, "She reeks of darkness. Even I can sense it, and Ienzo with his sensitivity can pinpoint her location without leaving the lab." He rested eyes of ice upon the girl standing half-behind Riku. "So you see, child, no matter how you try, you cannot hide from us."
Riku heard Yuko's small intake of breath and stepped even closer to her, trying to prove the apprentice wrong by shielding her with his body. He called to him, "You have a lot of guts coming here after what we did to Dilan."
Even lifted his shoulders in a lazy shrug. "I am not here to fight you, boy."
"Then why are you here?" Sora asked angrily. "What is it that you want?"
"What do I want?" Even echoed. "Knowledge." His smile deepened at Sora's confused expression. "Were you expecting me to say 'Kingdom Hearts' in some overly dramatic fashion?" He laughed lightly and raised a hand to flip soft brown hair out of his eyes. "That was Xehanort's passion. He wanted the power that Kingdom Hearts represented. The power to control light and darkness itself. A power comparable to one over life and death." Even sighed and shook his head gently. He seemed bored by the suggestion. "How uninteresting."
"I, on the other hand," he continued, lifting his arm and rotating his wrist gently, "would rather discover everything there is to know about light and darkness. Then, rather than control it, I could predict it. Trying to control nature is such a brutish practice, a desire born from fear, suitable for animals like Xehanort. Ienzo and I are dedicated to the preservation of the innate flow nature; we simply wish to study and understand it. With the total acquisition of knowledge, we can transcend fear and eliminate all undesirable impulses." He lowered his arm and found Yuko with his eyes again. "I could learn so much from you, child, if you would only come back with me."
"Never!" Yuko cried with surprising strength. "I've seen what you do in your 'pursuit of knowledge'. You have no regard for the people you murder, for the lives you destroy."
Even sighed sadly at her. "Ah, morality. Such a tedious thing. It so gets in the way of the experimentation process." He turned his attention to Sora and Riku. "What say you, Keyblade wielders? I must admit I found your encounter with Dilan fascinating. I would love to study both of your hearts in more depth."
Sora and Riku immediately summoned their blades in response, not even needing to look at each other for confirmation. The echo of Even's words rang in Riku's head. He had watched the fight with Dilan -- just watched it? He had not come to his ally's aid but instead let him die? What kind of person had so little regard for the lives of others?
The apprentice shook his head at their reaction and tsked. "Oh dear. I suppose I'll have to continue gathering data the hard way then." Riku braced himself, expecting the man to attack, but instead his lips curled up evilly and he spoke again, his voice a throaty purr, "I must admit, I expected this outcome, and so I came prepared." Raising a hand high in the air, he called out in a ringing tone, "Come, Chaos!"
In response, the streets vibrated with the sound of a beast roaring. Riku fought the urge to clamp his hands over his ears at the terrible sound. Up and down the street, glass windowpanes shattered and doors rattled on their hinges. A shadow passed overhead, and he looked up to try to catch a glimpse of this new threat.
Flying in the sky was a man. Or at least it was man-shaped, with arms, legs, and head in proper location and proportion. But it flew on giant bat-like wings with black veins and tattered red skin, and great red tendrils branched from the top of its head like a crown. Most of its body was encased in black leather with the occasional shine of metallic armor, and what skin he could see was a sickly light-blue. As it passed, circling them like a vulture, it shifted its head to peer at them, and Riku was greeted with the sight of one shining yellow eye that blazed out like a small sun.
"What is it?" Sora cried. "A Heartless?"
"I don't know," he answered. "I don't think so."
It stopped circling and hovered in the sky above them. After a moment, it threw back its head and roared again, a sound full of pain, anger, and fathomless despair. Suddenly it swooped, its claws extended, and the three friends scattered. It screamed down the road, swiping at them as it passed, and then rose back into the air, turning gracefully to face them again.
"Got any ideas on how to fight it?" Sora asked, picking himself up off the ground.
"You mean other than what we usually do?" Riku asked back. He shook dust and glass shards from his hair. "No, I don't. Do you think you could block that diving move?"
"Maybe. You gonna back me up if I fail?"
"Naturally."
"Wait!" Yuko cried. She rose from her knees and stared at the monster. It gazed back at her, wings flapping gently, claws flexing menacingly. "No," she whispered to herself. "It can't be …"
"Yuko," Riku called, concerned by her hypnotized state. "What's wrong?"
She did not answer but continued to watch the creature. Then, suddenly, she bolted toward it at top speed. Both boys cried out for her to stop, but she ignored them. It watched her hungrily as if fully expecting her to give herself to it. As she approached, it rose a little higher and positioned its body for another descent.
Riku watched in utter horror as Yuko ran to the spot directly underneath the beast and lifted her head to it. Just as it began the dive that would shred her to pieces, she threw up her arms and screamed out in a voice of hope, suffering, and desperation:
"Vincent!"
A/N: Sorry. I had to. Please don't kill me. The resolution to the cliffhanger will be up tomorrow.