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. Pairings: 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.
Twenty-Two
"All right, let me get this straight." Zell waved his hand in front of himself theatrically, although most of the gesture's effectiveness was ruined by the half-eaten hotdog in his hand. "You three work for a mouse?"
"Well," Sora tried to clarify, "not 'work for' exactly. He doesn't pay us or anything."
"But a mouse," Zell insisted. "Cheese, 'squeak squeak', women jumping on tables and screaming. A mouse."
Yuko ducked her head to hide her laughter from the others. How typical of Zell to fixate on something like this. He had easily accepted the story of her escape from the machine, the news regarding Vincent, and the announcement that two of the apprentices were already dead. But this one little detail had tied his brain up in knots.
Feeling very wicked, she leaned over to him and whispered, "His Queen is a mouse, too."
His eyes goggled. "Queen? He's married?" He turned to Sora and demanded, "Do they have little talking mice kids, too?"
"Um …" Sora faltered. His desperate eyes darted about to the others at the table, but no one seemed willing to help him.
Next to her, Riku said in Yuko's ear, "That was positively evil of you."
"I know," she answered with a wide grin. While Sora continued to flounder under Zell's interrogation, she looked about the cabin at the handful of people inside. Most of them were children. In fact, none of them appeared to be older than Reno and Cera, who were currently alternating between washing dishes and stealing kisses when they thought Zell wasn't looking. Yuko tore her eyes away from the affectionate couple and counted the bodies in the room. Did they really constitute the entirety of Balamb's surviving population?
"Zell," she said, interrupting his current barrage of questions and drawing his attention away from a deeply-relieved Sora, "when we met Cera, she said you thought you had found all the survivors. Is this …" She waved her hand vaguely to indicate the entire room. "Is this it? Are they all that's left?"
Zell smiled. "Nah, they're just the latest." He leaned back in his chair and explained. "Reno, Cera, the twins, and I hang out here and look for survivors and supplies." He shrugged. "We call ourselves a 'Liberation Front', but really so far all we've been is a search and rescue squad that also scrounges. When we find people or stuff, we ship 'em out to our refugee-camp-type things. They're much farther back from the fortress, back where it's safer. It's always been our hope that once we got around to saving everyone, someone from one of the other worlds would come save us." He grinned broadly at her. "And that would be you, Yukes."
She smiled half-heartedly at his attempt to rile her and asked, "Why you five? Why not someone older or more experienced?"
"Well," he replied, scratching the back of his head, "there aren't very many older than us. Almost everyone over the age of twenty-five is now a Heartless. A lot of them went protecting their children, you know. But the funny thing is, the apprentices aren't that interested in little kids. We've got a ton of them at the camps."
"Little children have purer hearts," Kairi interjected from her place beside Sora. "They have less darkness inside them and would therefore be harder to turn into Heartless."
Zell nodded. "Makes sense. And as for why us, well, we're willing to, and that's a lot more than most people. We can take care of ourselves, too. My buddy Reno is a pretty good shot, even if he is a spoiled, swollen-headed city-boy."
"Half-witted hick!" Reno called from the kitchen.
Laughing, Zell continued, "And so is Cera though she doesn't like to fire at stuff unless it's necessary. And Kain and Kel, well …" He turned his head to look at the two brunettes who had perched themselves on an old radiator. "I keep trying to send them to the camps, but they keep coming back."
"We wanna stay here!" one of them piped up.
"Yeah," the other added, "Zell's cool! We wanna be like him!"
Ignoring Reno's loud snort of disgust, the blond continued, "I keep telling them they'll get hurt if they stick around, but they don't listen to me."
"We won't get hurt. We can run faster than anyone else on Balamb."
"Yeah, and if we get in a jam, Zell will get us out. He can beat up Heartless with his bare hands!"
"Yeah!" One of the boys turned on his perch and proceeded to play-punch his brother. "Pow! Bam! Boom!"
"Hey! Cut it out!" The other fought back until they both tumbled off the radiator to the floor.
"Take it outside!" Zell ordered. They complied immediately, running out of the cabin at top speed and slamming the door behind themselves. "Brats," he muttered with an underlying tone of affection.
"Can you really defeat Heartless with your bare hands?" Kairi asked him.
He shrugged. "Yeah, but it takes a while, and I can only handle one at a time. If there's more than one, I usually make like the twins and high-tail it outta there."
Cera wandered into the main room, drying her hands on a towel. "Don't sell yourself short, Zell," she chastised him. "You're the only one of us who's ever killed a Heartless. Even Reno and I can only slow them down enough to allow us to escape." As she spoke, Reno came up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist. She easily leaned back into his embrace.
"Yeah, I guess," Zell replied. "But still I --"
A sudden scream from outside cut him off. Everyone at the table jumped to their feet as the door flew open and one of the twins ran inside. Eyes wide, he yelled, "Zell! It's Ienzo!"
"What?" Zell bellowed. He ran to the door, the others on his heels.
Outside, they quickly fanned out on the porch and gazed out into the clearing where a young man loomed over the remaining brunette who held a stick in trembling hands in an attempt to defend himself. Yuko's heart sank as she recognized Ienzo. He looked so harmless in his white lab coat, opened to reveal a deep blue turtleneck and light tan slacks. His long silver bangs covered half of his handsome face -- like Riku's, she thought, horrified by the comparison. But she had seen personally the terrible things this young apprentice could do; only Even matched him in sheer cruelty.
"Kain! Get back!" Zell yelled. The boy squeaked in response and, dropping the stick, fled to the safety of the cabin.
Ienzo watched him go with little interest. Instead, the deep-blue eye not hidden by his hair moved slowly over their gathered group until it came to rest on Yuko. His lips formed a smile -- small, simple, and terribly cold.
"You've done well," he said to her. His voice was calm and quiet, but Yuko felt as if he had somehow targeted it directly into her brain. "To lead me here where there are so many others."
Yuko choked. The children inside. Zell, Reno, Cera, and the twins. She had put them all in danger. Just by being there, she had exposed them to their enemy.
Ienzo's smile widened as he seemingly fed off of her shock and despair. "As a thank-you, I've brought an old friend to see you." He lifted a hand and motioned to the forested area behind him. At his gesture, something moved within the shadows.
When the second form stepped into the light, Yuko's body instinctively snapped into a salute. Then she remembered that the tall, muscled figure in front of her was no longer a man. Outwardly, he was exactly the same -- black hair cropped close to his head, sharp brown eyes, spotless uniform that practically gleamed -- but Yuko knew that this creature was not her captain, only the embodiment of darkness that had swallowed his heart.
He looked at her with that familiar glower, reserved for soldiers who had disgraced themselves somehow. "Priii--vate," he barked, and Yuko again had to fight the urge to snap to attention. "Do you know the penalty for going AWOL during a mission?"
"Never mind that now," Ienzo cut in smoothly. "She will be punished at the appropriate time. For now, just bring her in for questioning. The others you may dispose of as you wish."
"Yessir." He took several steps closer to them as Ienzo faded back into the forest. For a long breathless moment, he just stood there, staring. And then, to Yuko's utter horror, he changed. He rapidly grew to three or four times his original height, and all the color in his body darkened into blackness. His arms and legs transformed to resemble the crooked limbs of a Shadow-type Heartless, and his eyes became balls of yellow flame. He stared down at them hungrily.
"Sora, what is it?" Kairi cried.
"Some kind of Darkside," the boy answered, and Yuko could hardly believe the lack of concern in his voice. She was ready to faint from the sight of the monster in front of her, but he almost sounded bored. "Shouldn't be too hard," he continued, confirming her thoughts. He turned to them all and began issuing orders. "Riku, it'll most likely call up some Shadows, so you take care of those and then come help me with its hands. Don't bother with the feet. Doesn't hurt it."
"Got it."
"Let me help!" Zell called, loosening up his shoulders and pounding one fist into the other.
"Okay," Sora agreed. "You help Riku with the little ones then." Both boys ran out into the clearing to engage the small Heartless that had already begun to rise from the ground. "Kairi, Yuko, use your long-range stuff against its head."
"All right," Kairi answered, and Yuko nodded. To her surprise, Cera appeared at her elbow and hefted her rifle up into her arms.
"The head, right?" the dark-haired young woman asked. She raised the muzzle of the gun and fired it. "Reno, get inside and make sure the kids are okay."
"What? You've gotta be kidding me!"
"Do it, Reno!" Zell yelled as he smashed his foot into a Shadow.
"Fine," the red-head grumbled, and he retreated into the cabin, muttering about the gun they had left behind in the fields. Cera continued to discharge her rifle with surprising calm. Not willing to be outdone, Kairi quickly unslung her bow and starting shooting off arrows.
"All right!" Sora said, turning back to the Darkside. "This should be a piece of cake." He ran into the clearing and jumped up at one of the creature's hands, starting an aerial combo with his Keyblade.
Yuko reached into her belt and pulled out a couple of knives. Quickly, she scanned the battle in front of her to locate each of the three boys on the grass. She didn't want her blades to hit one of them accidentally from a miss or ricochet. Once she was satisfied she could throw without risk to any of them, she raised her eyes to the great creature's head in order to take aim …
… and gasped as the entire world spiraled away. Clearing, cabin, friends -- all vanished as darkness claimed her vision and created a long tunnel that led directly to her former captain's glowing yellow eyes. They stared at her, piercing her with their heat and their evil intent.
What's happened?
Foolish.
What?
Pathetic fool of a girl. Did you think you could escape yourself? Did you think your friends would save you? You are a child of darkness now. My comrade. No, my sister.
Yuko stared up at the two burning orbs in mind-numbing shock. Its voice had penetrated her all the way through to her bones. The sound of fear, pain, and eternal darkness.
Stop your futile resistance. You are beyond salvation. The light has forsaken you. There is no returning to the light once the darkness has branded you as its own.
No! Riku returned to the light! He had lost himself in darkness, had lost everything, and now he wields the light alongside Sora!
If pure flame could show emotion, the creature's eyes flared with amusement.
I see. So he can save you, can he? Then why doesn't he?
Far off, as if through miles of ocean, familiar voices drifted to Yuko's ears.
(… Sora, something's wrong with Yuko! …)
Why hasn't he saved you, daughter of darkness?
( … What's wrong with her, Sora? …)
Because … because …
Because he doesn't know how to. It was a fluke, child. Impossible to repeat. An event that will not occur again for a million years.
(… I don't know! …)
I don't know … I don't know … I don't know …
He can't save me. He doesn't know how.
Shall I show you the true nature of the company you keep? Look, sister. See the friends in whom you have placed so much hope.
The rest of the world returned, but with a grey, hazy film covering it as if she saw everything through scratched sunglasses. She quickly sought out her friends, but when her eyes found them, she pulled away with a cry of pain. Each of them had a bright ball of light emanating from the center of their bodies, and the sight of it drove thousands of tiny daggers into her skin. Sora's and Riku's lights were particularly bright and covered their entire bodies, and Kairi … The small girl was encased by an enormous pillar of sparkling light that rose to the very sky. Yuko could barely control the screams that threatened to rip her throat into pieces.
How can they save you when you cannot even stand to look at them? See how they will destroy you? They live in the light, while you can only walk in darkness.
No … Stop … Please …
(… She's in pain! Do something! …)
(… What, Kairi? Tell me what to do, and I'll do it! …)
And now, daughter of darkness, see yourself for what you truly are.
Yuko tried to cover her eyes with her hands, but they were no longer hands. She stared, horrified, at the long black tendrils that had once been fingers, at the crooked black limbs that had once been arms, at the rising, swirling blackness that rose from her body and began to consume her. Her self-control dissolved, and she opened her mouth and screamed.
(… Sora! It has to be Ienzo! He's in her mind! …)
(… Kairi! …)
The world shattered. Yuko staggered and fell. When she finally dared to open her eyes again, she saw the clearing as it had been before, the Darkside still hovering over them although moving slowly as if hurt, and Ienzo in the forest, clutching an arrow that had lodged itself in his shoulder.
"Meddlesome brats," he hissed. A portal opened behind him, and he stepped back into it, still grimacing in pain. Seconds later, Sora and Riku finished off the Darkside.
"Yuko!" Kairi called, running to her. "Are you all right?" Yuko managed to sit up and nod, but when Kairi tackled her in a hug, she shrieked from the stabbing pains that shot through her body. "I'm sorry!" the younger girl cried, pulling back immediately. "I forgot. I'm so sorry."
"It's … okay," Yuko replied slowly. She tried to smile even though her mind refused to let go of the image of that tower that reached to the heavens. No wonder it hurt when Kairi touched her. The girl was pure light, and Yuko was pure darkness. Darkness, and only darkness.
She raised her eyes to find Riku crouching down in front of her with anxious eyes. He took her hand in one of his and with the other brushed her bangs from her face. "It's all right," he assured her. "It's over now. What … what did he … ?"
"Don't want to talk about it," she mumbled, cutting off the question.
Riku nodded in understanding. He looked like he very much wanted to take her into his arms, but she pulled back a bit, signaling that she did not want him to. At that moment, she just wanted them all to go away and leave her to herself. Alone.
Convinced that Yuko was all right, Zell turned to Cera. "This hideout's been compromised. We need to get everyone out of here. Fast."
"Right," she answered. "I'll get everyone working on packing." She turned and disappeared into the cabin.
"Zell," Yuko said weakly. When he looked down at her, she apologized, "This is all my fault. They followed me here. I'm sorry."
He smiled encouragingly at her. "It's okay, Yukes. They were bound to find us sometime. I'm just glad they found us when you guys were here. Everyone's still safe, and they got sent home with a bunch of wounds to lick." He laughed, "I should be thanking you, not getting mad. Just feel better, okay? We need to get moving."
"We can help pack, right Kairi?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded in agreement. Zell clapped each of them on the shoulder as thanks and steered them inside, following in after them.
Left alone with Riku, Yuko gazed off into the forest with unfocused eyes. She could feel that he wanted to comfort her, hold her, soothe her, but she wanted none of that now. It all hurt too much. Her nightmares had found her, and she knew they would not let her go this time.
Because for the first time, as Riku held her hand in his own, his touch brought a dull ache of pain that throbbed against the darkness underneath her skin.
A/N: Hm, what's that? You think it was insanely evil of me to lull you all into a false sense of security with the fluff and romance only to pull something like this? Um ... well ... you're right. I'm insanely evil. Mwahahahahahaha! (I blame the bunnies.)