Kingdom Hearts
Chapter Eight: Black and White
It was the oddest sensation Sora had ever felt. At best he decided it could be associated with extreme nausea.
He recognized vaguely that he was lying on something cold and hard, but everything else seemed hazy. He couldn't recall anything past his name, and certainly didn't understand why he was on his back, with his eyes clenched.
He flinched slightly as cool hands framed his face. They were smooth and delicate, and somewhat comforting. Even more they forced him to focus, and relieve the past few minutes.
He remembered very distinctly they had been at Hallow Bastion. He and Leon had been on a rescue attempt. They had braved the heartless, tracked down the angel and were prepared to fight their way out when--when suddenly there was a blank. More precisely there had been a blinding light, a wave heat, and then the horrible feeling of nausea. Of course now he remembered the violent tug that sent him sprawling downward where he promptly smashed into the hard surface he was now currently flung upon.
"Hmm," He hummed lightly, feeling the hands shift into his hair. Firm fingernails stroked his hair and massaged his scalp. He mumbled again and finally attempted to open his eyes.
"Riku?" He tensed recognizing the cerulean haired boy right away. Sora knew who held his heart and part of his soul crumbled when he peered into Riku's clouded eyes. "What's going on?" His voice was little more than a whisper.
"No, no," Riku urged when the younger attempted to sit up. "I'm sure you're still dizzy. Take a second and let your body recover."
He did just that. He recalled when he was little his mother would have him take deep breaths. Struck with this memory he allowed himself to relax in Riku's presence, albeit his common sense telling him otherwise. A few minutes later the off-balance feeling had passed and he was able to attempting sitting up again.
"I'm calm now, are you happen? Now tell me what happened."
Riku, who was crouched down next to him began, "Best I can figure, the Keyblade saved our lives." Riku knew little more than Sora, but he shared what he did know. "We're both Keyblade masters, Sora, and in that fate we have a certain amount of protection. By default or destiny the Keyblade is aware of us, and able to protect us to some degree. Whatever hit back there was destructive, and without the Keyblade we might have been killed."
Sora's eyebrows furrowed. "So what did it do? How did we get here?" Sora let his eyes wanted and noticed for the first time the very large and open space he and Riku were in. He recognized the architecture as belonging to an old French Cathedral. He had seen pictures in the old books in the library on Destiny Island, but had never actually realized the size of said Cathedral. It was truly amazing and Sora wished he had more time to take in the unique beauty.
"Apparently the Keyblade is an ingenious enigma. It might have always had, or recently acquired the ability to transport us, because we most certainly are not in Hallow Bastion anymore."
"It saved our lives," Sora marveled.
Riku nodded in agreement and offered a hand down to Sora. "Up you go." He hoisted Sora up, relishing in the skin contact he had missed.
"The Keyblade!" Riku saw the panic in Sora's eyes immediately and felt a twinge of regret. At this moment Sora was realizing the Keyblade was missing, and now ignoring his calls. Riku had rightfully reclaimed his property, and in doing such ripped a part of Sora away. "Give it back! You've taken it from me!" There was anger in the brunette that peeked an interest in Riku.
"I am the Keyblade's rightful master. You were a fine replacement for the time, but that has now passed."
Sora gripped his torso and fought off a dark chill. It felt worse than the heartless, and darker than Maleficent. When the Keyblade had accepted him as a master it had become a part of him. It had bonded to his heart and soul, and was as important to him as anything else. The Keyblade was a friend, and protector and so much more. He and the Keyblade worked together, with a flow and harmony, that now was missing. Part of him was missing.
"You don't understand, Riku! You can't have the Keyblade in your current state. You aren't thinking properly and you're corrupting the Keyblade." Or was it the other way around? Did the master influence the blade? Or did the blade suit the master's current purpose? Nevertheless, Riku did not need any added power as he currently was. "I need the Keyblade, Riku, and you need to see that."
Of course Riku was beyond reason. "Sora, you don't need the blade anymore. I'm going to take the Keyblade, and kill Maleficent. In doing such I need you by my side, Sora. I need your support."
Conflicting emotions were devastating, and Sora realized this.
"I can't willingly let you have the Keyblade, Riku. I can't stand by your side and pretend that I agree with what you're doing. You have to recognize right now that using the heartless will never have a good result. They're dark Riku, and so are you. You can't honestly expect me to believe that you're going to fight Maleficent."
"There will be no fight," Riku assured Sora. "She will not have a chance now that I've taken back the Keyblade."
"Noy so high and mighty without it?" The acid in Sora's normally sweet voice caused an odd reaction to occur in Riku. He bit down on his lip and placed his hands on Sora's shoulders.
"Want me to be honest?" He asked. "I can't beat Maleficent without the Keyblade. She's been in the darkness and with the heartless for too long. She would be too hard to overtake on my own, and I can't depend on anyone else. But with the Keyblade and I can destroy her."
Sora shrugged back, giving Riku a perplexing look. "Just who's side are you on?"
Riku folded his hands behind his him and turned his back to Sora. With this sign of trust he continued on, eyes shifting wildly over the beautiful artwork adorning the cathedral. "Must we draw sides, Sora? When sides are taken the lines between right and wrong blur. People become obsessed with staying true to those on 'their side' and often lose track of their objectives. What side am I on? I'm on my own side. I'm on the side that is going to win."
"What makes you so sure you'll win? How can you be so confident that you can beat Maleficent and me?" Sora offered him a quirky look. "And you know if you pursue this you and I will face off sooner rather than later."
"I'll be ready for you, Sora."
Sora waved his hand. "Your confidence?"
"Ah," He flashed his white smile. "because unlike Maleficent, I have found a way to use the heartless. I know how to command them without allowing them into my heart. It might have been through trial and error, but there is a perfect balance in which the heartless can enter my body and I can feed from their power, while still retaining control. My heart is still mine, and still pure. Maleficent is very close to being taken over. She ought to watch herself." Riku chuckled and Sora felt as if he were missing something.
"You can't still have your heart," He said in disbelief. "If the heartless are in you--"
"I told you," Riku interrupted. "I found a way--I found the perfect balance."
Sora waited anxiously. "Which is..." He prompted, and suddenly found himself in an embrace. Riku was hugging him and it felt wonderful.
"My heart is intact because I love you. My love balances the heartless and fights them off."
There was such conviction in those words that Sora believed him. He could feel it in his own heart and melted into Riku's embrace. His own arms came around Riku's back and he pressed his face into his love's neck. "I love you, too." He told Riku.
He loved Riku more than sunrises and sunsets. He loved Riku more than sleeping in on Saturday mornings and eating cotton candy at the fair. More than his favorite TV show, his favorite movie and his favorite band combined. His love was never ending. Pure and innocent in every way love ought to be. And fierce and demanding like fire. His love for Riku was ... indescribable past words. It was a feeling Sora felt was best described without words.
"I love you so much." Riku captured Sora's lips in a passionate and needful kiss. Then something snapped in Sora. "But I don't love you that much!" And with a rough shove Sora sent Riku sprawling down and away from him. "Before all this mess I could have easily said I love you more than anything else in all the worlds. But your actions and my actions have obviously proven otherwise. You've got your objectives and I've got my duties. As much as I love you, and please believe I love you, I have to worry about other people. There are millions of lives depending on me, and thousands of worlds. I have to put their lives above our love. I have an obligation to see this through to the end, and love is merely a distraction."
"Is that so?" Riku pushed himself up to his elbows.
"It is so, Riku. This is the reality of life. You love me and I love you, but we until we're on the same side that love can't be allowed."
Riku's frustration grew, this was evident to Sora. "Then be on my side!" He was off the ground and in front of Sora in a second. "If you fight Maleficent you'll fail. But if I fight her I can give us a chance at life. I'm doing this for us, you must see that. If we can't save ourselves, then what? I can beat Maleficent, but you must support me."
"Just because you can manipulate the heartless doesn't mean you can beat Maleficent."
Riku's eyebrows rose and Sora knew that devious look all too well. "Of course not, Sora. That's merely the finishing blow. But I'll shows you what will guarantee my victory."
Sapphire eyes widened as Riku cupped his hands and a white orb appeared. It glowed faintly and pulsed with life. "What is that?" Sora breathed.
"Maleficent is using the Princess's hearts to open a portal of sorts. Their hearts are insanely powerful, more than you can imagine, and she can harness this power to open a door." Sora was frightened to know what was behind it. "There is a man--if he can be called a man, that resides behind this door. This man, called Ansem, has the potential to destroy all the worlds. If Maleficent brings him into our reality none of us will stand a chance. That's why I want to kill her before she can summon him."
Sora's hand came out slowly towards the orb. He peered oddly at it, and his fingers stroked the surprisingly malleable surface of the orb.
"This," Riku gestured to the orb. "This stops Ansem from being allowed into our world."
"He needs it?" Sora guessed, earning a large grin from Riku.
"Exactly. It has been many, many years since he was last in our world. His body won't form here, and because of that he needs a new one. A suitable candidate was chosen, one in a million I've heard Maleficent remark, but there was a small problem." Riku broke suddenly. "Do you understand me so far?"
The orb moved into Sora's hands and he replied, "Maleficent is using the princess's hearts to open the door to Ansem. Ansem doesn't have a body though, but Maleficent found one. But there's a problem."
"Right." Riku gave the teen credit. "In order to inhabit a body Ansem needs to devour the soul and over take the heart. Finding a candidate was immensely difficult because the heart needed to be exposed to the heartless, and remain intact. It had to fend off the creatures of its own will. The soul as well had specific requirements. This certain soul had to be pure--as in divinely pure." Riku's look left no room for questions. "Difficult qualifications if you ask me. But nonetheless someone was found."
"Is this that person's soul?"
Riku felt he honestly did not give enough respect to the intellectual side of Sora. Or maybe the teen just needed to use common sense more often. "Indeed it is. I visited a few fairies and had his soul removed in return for their freedom. They were so concerned with returning to their princess they failed to recognize the repercussions of their actions." A costly mistake, Riku knew. "Ansem may have his heart and body, but it is all worthless without his soul."
"You can't hide a soul forever." Sora cradled it to his body. There was something about the soul that he felt a connection to. He felt something he could not describe other than a rather protective feeling. He wanted to keep this orb safe from Maleficent and from Riku.
"I don't have to hide it forever. There is a time limit--an expatriation date if you will," Riku explained. "This is the only opportunity Ansem will have for a very long time, and all know this. He must make his move very soon or the opportunity will be lost to him. I merely have to wait for this time period to expire, or wait until the soul dies."
This side of Riku made Sora stand strong in his own beliefs. Words like those confirmed to Sora he did indeed fight on the right side, even if that meant going against Riku. "You cannot tell me you will let that soul die. You'll let that person die?"
"Sora!" Riku was gripping his shoulders again. "Don't you understand?" He shook Sora through his words. "This is bigger than one life! Ansem cannot be allowed a new body or it's all over. We all be killed if he gain's Cloud's soul!"
Sora's blood ran cold. His eyes almost betrayed him to Riku, yet he managed his composure and amended, "You shall take the Keyblade and in return I wish to be the keeper of this soul." He understood Riku could never know the importance of Cloud to his heart.
Riku sought to challenge Sora's words. "I don't think that is wise, Sora."
"You are to keep me safe, are you not?" Sora hugged Cloud's soul tightly. "And in such I will keep it safe."
"Clever as ever," Riku admitted. "You've always schemed to get your way, Sora, but this time I can't allow it. Surely you would seek to evade me at the first opportunity, and you'd take this soul right back to Cloud's body."
"I would," Sora willfully admitted.
"You would risk all my hard work, and risk bring Ansem down upon us."
"I would," Again, Sora did not deny his actions.
Riku's shoulders slumped. "Then you have to understand why I can't allow you to leave."
"And you understand why I'm willing to fight you to get away."
"Don't make me do this," Riku almost pleaded, calling forth the Keyblade.
Sora stood calmly. "I have no weapon, Riku, but if you feel you must strike against me, please do so. I cannot in good conscious give his soul to you, and I believe you cannot purposely hurt me."
Riku smirked and damned Sora for knowing him so well. "You are very right." The Keyblade disappeared from view and Riku wrapped Sora up in his arms. The orb pulsed in-between them, giving off a warm and soothing sensation. "I could not strike you," He tucked Sora's head underneath his chin. "But I will keep you by my side, and through force if necessary. I won't let you go back to anyone else who might twist your mind and use you against me."
"So I'm to be your slave?" Sora frowned, pressed against Riku's strong chest. "Will you let to Heartless invade my body as they do yours?"
"Never," Riku hissed. "You will never be allowed near the heartless. You have to remain pure, even from the Keyblade. I will never let the Heartless into your body or near your heart." Sora sniffed silently and Riku glared at their surroundings. "We can't stay here. There are too many heartless." He released Sora from his hold and took the boy's free hand. "Hold onto that soul for now," He allowed and pulled Sora towards the entrance of the Cathedral.
Instantly Sora recognized the queasy feeling that passed over him and forced him to collapse. Riku made it a few more steps in front of him before going down as well, engulfed in similar pain. The both were aware of the suffocating feeling the overwhelming heartless evoked in a person, and blindly Riku reached for Sora.
He met with air.
His eyes opened and he frowned deeply, lines creasing in his forehead. Sora was gone from his side, along with the Keyblade and Cloud's soul.
Riku cursed loudly.