AN: Alright, guys. Here's chapter two, where things start taking a turn for the serious. Things are only going to get darker and more bloody from here. I doubt this is too much for anyone reading this, because I've barely scratched the surface of the "blood/violence factor" of the Konami games, but if you are extremely queasy and this chapter alone made you sick to your stomach, turn back now. It only gets worse from here on out.

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

--

Chapter Two

A male dark-cloaked figured dashed through a pitch black forest, with only the moon providing a ray of light. The tails of the black cloak whipped behind him as he dashed through the trees, not stopping or faltering in his step at all.

Suddenly, the figure broke through the thick gathering of trees and the soles of his black boots dug into the ground. He glanced up at the building in front of him: a large medieval-style castle guarded by a seemingly bottomless fissure. The only way of entrance to the castle was a drawbridge, which was currently up. However, as if by itself, the drawbridge lowered itself for the visitor, creaking eerily as it did.

The figure watched as the drawbridge waited open, almost taunting him to come inside. He then tilted his head back and glanced at the highest tower of the castle from under his hood. He clenched his gloved fist and stared straight ahead into the main hall of the castle. He then ran in, his boots thumping on the wood drawbridge hollowly.

--

"Riku! ...Riku, wake up!"

Riku stifled a groan as his eyelids fluttered open. The immense headache that he had experienced had settled to a dull throbbing. It didn't hurt as much, but was enough to make him wish he had few aspirin on hand.

He turned his head toward the voice that had awakened him. Kairi's worried face slowly came to focus in his line of vision. That was another thing. Everything was blurry and hard to make out.

"Kairi…wh-what happened? Who…who was that…th-that voice?" Riku muttered, his throat dry. Kairi shook her head.

"I don't know, but Sora's gone!" she shouted. That sentence alone was enough to trigger the adrenaline in Riku's body. He sat up straight, ignoring the throbbing of his head, eyes widened.

"What?!" he rasped. Not waiting for an answer from Kairi, he peered into the darkness. It was then that he noticed something. Their current position was not inside the gummi ship's cock pit. They had somehow wound up in a dungeon that was reminiscent of the Middle Ages, right down to the cold, damp stone and the metal shackles hanging off the walls.

"Where…?" Riku stopped, clearing his throat to stop the cracking of his voice. "Where are we…?"

Without waiting for an answer from Kairi, he stood and pushed off of the wall he had been leaning against. Taking a few steps forward, he laid his hand on the cold, metal bars in front of him. He glanced around, letting his eyes get used to the lack of light. From the looks of it, the bars blocked the only exit out of the small room that he and Kairi were in. And the door to the cell was locked tight.

"…Riku…?" Kairi asked him, snapping him out of his surveillance of the area.

"…We're locked in." Riku concluded, lowering his hand from the bars of their cell. He turned his head to Kairi.

"It doesn't matter though. Whoever put us here obviously doesn't know about our Keyblades. We'll be out of here in no time." the silver haired teenager informed her. He outstretched his arm in front of him with his hand opened wide and tried calling forth Way to Dawn. But after a moment…nothing happened. No blade appeared in his hand like magic, no sword materialized out of thin air, nothing. Riku stared at his palm in shock.

"What…?!" he muttered to himself in slight worry.

"Riku, what's wrong?" she asked. She knew something was not right when Riku's Keyblade hadn't appeared in a flash, and she knew Riku well enough to know that he would not hesitate in a situation like this.

"I…I can't call my Keyblade…" he muttered in shock, still not able to process the thought in his head. He turned to Kairi urgently.

"Try calling yours! There might be some kind of anti-magic field surrounding us!" Riku told her. She nodded firmly and held her arm out in front of her like Riku had just done. However, her Keyblade, Blossoming Radiance appeared in her hand in a bright flash of light. Riku's blue-green eyes widened.

"N-no…It's just me…" he muttered, now starting to feel worried about the situation. He was on an unknown world with no weapon and no way to fight. Kairi would have to defend the both of them, which would serve as a challenge for her, seeing she had less experience with a Keyblade than him.

"Riku! It's okay! We'll…we'll find an answer! But first we need to get out of here!" Kairi told him. Riku glanced at her and nodded. She was right. Getting out of the cell was their first priority. His weapon could wait until later.

"Right. Now, unlock the door so we can get out of here." he told her.

"Okay." Kairi said and held her Keyblade out at arm's length, pointing it at the lock of their cell. The Keyblade reacted, a beam of light shooting out of its tip towards the lock. The old lock glowed white for a moment until the sound of it unlocking echoed down the halls and it fell to the ground in a clatter.

"Now let's get out of here. Sora, Donald, and Goofy might be in a different cell." Riku said. He might not have had a weapon, but that didn't mean he couldn't take charge of the situation. Kairi seemed to have no problem with him taking leadership because she nodded and followed him whole-heartedly.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" Riku hissed into the darkness urgently. As he did so, Kairi peered into each individual cell for any sign of Sora or his two friends.

"Sor-" Riku paused as heard footsteps behind him. He and Kairi whipped around at the sound, both on their guard. Kairi had her Keyblade drawn while Riku had his fists clenched, ready to use his bare hands as his only available weapon.

"…Sora? Is that you…?" Kairi whispered tentatively. The footsteps were accompanied by a low growling, followed by a deep, ghostly moan. Riku's eyes narrowed, glaring into the darkness.

"…Something tells me that's not Sora…" he muttered, eyes flicking back and forth, waiting for a sign of movement. Kairi's grip on Blossoming Radiance tightened.

"Kairi…see if you can make a light for us." Riku whispered to her. She muttered a silent agreement back to him before casting a white magic spell, creating a small ball of light in her palm. A dull glow illuminated the area of the hallway around them and the two teens noticed the danger surrounding them.

Standing tall in front of them was a mutated bipedal wolf with blood red eyes. It had to be at least a foot and a half taller than Riku. Its dark grey fur bristled as an animalistic snarl rumbled in it throat. It got down on all fours, parted its jaws, and roared angrily. Riku and Kairi stood frozen in their tracks.

"Kairi…on my count…we run." Riku muttered to her slowly, making sure to make no sudden movement.

"Right." Kairi whispered back, breathing slowly.

"Okay…one…two…thr-" Riku was cut off by another deep moan. Riku and Kairi both glanced back over their shoulders to see five animated rotting corpses stalking towards them. Their deep black eyes were unfeeling and soulless.

"…So much for that plan…" Riku growled under his breath. Kairi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"What do we do now?" she whispered. Even though she held her voice steady, Riku could tell that she was scared. He could see it in her eyes.

"…I…" Riku paused. He wasn't sure. They were surrounded and Kairi was the only one with a weapon. He didn't doubt her ability with her Keyblade and magic, but there was no way she could take on all six enemies by herself. Riku's eyes darted between the enemies closing in on them as his mind whirred, desperately trying to think up a plan.

"Riku?" Kairi asked urgently with a slight tone of panic. Riku ground his teeth together. There had to be some way, any way out of this! His heart pounded and sweat rolled down his brow as the large wolf stalked towards them. Finally, it reared back on its back legs and pounced, claws outstretched and jaws opened wide, ready to tear into their flesh and rip them apart. Riku's eyes squeezed shut as he prepared for impact and pain.

However, it never came.

Riku opened his eyes to see a person in a black cloak—obviously a male—standing in front of them. He held a blade in his hands: a straight double-edged sword. The sword was currently lodged in the wolf's chest, piercing the creature straight through. The beast opened its mouth, but instead of a roar or snarl erupting from its throat, a deep gurgling noise came forth as blood poured out of its mouth, splattering on the stone floor and staining its ivory white fangs red.

The figure then quickly pulled its sword from the monster's now dead body and swiftly moved on to the zombies. He attacked the one closest to him, slicing its head and right arm off in one swift motion. The undead corpse stumbled back, and before it could have a chance to retaliate, the figure kicked it to the ground. As it writhed on the ground helplessly (splattering more blood on the ground in the process), he flipped his sword upside down and brought the tip of the blade into the zombie's chest. It stopped moving immediately; a sure sign that it was dead for good. The man turned to Riku and Kairi as he removed the sword from the corpse.

"Get back!" he commanded, reaching into his cloak. Riku wasn't sure who this man was, but he was trying to help them, which was good enough for him. He grabbed Kairi's hand and yanked her back, away from the man. The warrior pulled out a small corked glass bottle of light blue water with a single purple sphere floating in it. He threw the small vial on the ground like one would a smoke bomb.

However, instead of there being a splash of water as the glass shattered, four walls of blue flames shot out from the purple orb. The fire spread out in four straight lines in the shape of a cross. Riku pulled Kairi up against the wall by the wrist, just barely avoiding the aqua flames himself. The undead, however, weren't able to avoid the attack and they gave unholy shrieks as the flames licked their bodies before they turned into piles of smoldering ash.

Riku and Kairi's heavy breathing and pounding hearts slowly returned to normal once the fire died down. The man who had saved them kneeled down on one knee and collected his small purple crystal. Then, pulling out another vial of water (only this water was clear), he pulled off the cork with his teeth and gently splashed the water on his blade, washing away the blood. Once his sword was clean, he tossed the empty glass vial to the side and stood. He turned his head to Riku and Kairi, who immediately put their guard up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice oddly soft for a warrior with his skills. Riku glanced at him warily.

"…Fine. Who are you?" the teen asked cautiously. The man removed his hood, revealing his blue-black hair, red-gold eyes, and pale skin.

"My name is Shadow. And you?" the warrior asked. Riku slowly loosened up. He seemed trustable enough, and he did just save their lives…

"…Riku. And this is Kairi." he said after a moment's pause. Shadow gave a light nod.

"I see. Riku, I noticed you are unarmed. Here." he said, holding out his blade. Riku stared at it.

"…But won't you be unarmed?" Kairi asked as Riku contemplated the offer. Shadow shook his head.

"You need not worry about me. I have many ways to fight, though it seemed you were dependant on a weapon in that battle." he replied. Riku hesitantly reached out and took the sword by its hilt. It had an easy grip and seemed light enough for him to wield. Riku glanced at Shadow.

"…Thank you." the young male said.

"You are welcome. Now come. We must leave." Shadow said as he turned to walk away.

"But wait! We still haven't found our friends! We think they may be here too! We-" Kairi was cut off.

"Your friends are not here. Now follow me. You need to get out of here." Shadow spoke calmly, though Riku could tell that he wasn't to be tested. However, Riku still wasn't sure of Shadow's trustworthiness.

"And how do you know that?" Riku asked warily.

"Please, you must trust me on this! There is no time to explain and you two are in danger here!" Shadow said urgently. Riku's grip on his new blade tightened.

"Not until-" Riku was cut off as Kairi laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Riku, maybe we should listen to him." she said, softly trying to reason with the older boy.

"But, Kairi…" Riku trailed off, hoping that she would just agree with him.

"Riku, this man just saved our lives. He gave you his sword. He wants to help us." Kairi said. Riku paused before sighing. Kairi was right. This man was going out of his way just to help them. Besides, if they didn't agree, they would be lost on an unknown world with no knowledge of what awaited them.

"…Fine. I trust you." Riku muttered, glancing at Shadow. The man nodded.

"Thank you. Now follow me. We must leave immediately." he said as he turned to leave. Riku and Kairi followed, making sure to stay close to him in case any other monsters appeared.

--

Meanwhile, watching the exchange from a magnificently designed throne room via a magic hologram was an extremely pale man with snow white hair and blood red eyes. He sat in the expertly crafted throne located at the very back of the room. In his hand was a wine glass filled to the brim with a thick crimson liquid. His lip curled up in disgust, revealing his unnaturally sharp canines.

"So…the shadow wants to play hero…" he muttered before taking a sip from his glass. He set it down on the arm of his throne.

"No matter." he said, and with a swift snap of his fingers, the hologram was gone and in its place, a large cloud of purplish red smoke. From the cloud arose a skeletal figure with a scythe held in its bony grip. It bowed before the man respectfully.

"Yes, master?" it asked, its voice chilling and ghostly.

"I want you to take care of that annoying shadow for me…permanently." the man hissed, his red eyes narrowing. The skeletal figure raised its head and it seemed to smirk evilly.

"With pleasure, master."

--

Shadow had led Riku and Kairi out of the dungeon and through hallways, finally stopping in what seemed to be a grand hall of some sort. At the end of the hall was an open drawbridge, leading outside into a thick forest. Shadow turned to the two teens.

"There. You must get out of here. Leave the forest. Get very far away from Eternal Night." he said.

"Eternal Night?" Kairi questioned.

"That is the name of the forest. Now go!" Shadow said.

"…Not so fast…" a ghost-like voice said, barely above a whisper. Riku held his blade out in front of him, his eyes scanning for an enemy. Kairi had also summoned her Keyblade.

"Who's there?!" he called out, adrenaline already starting to seep into his blood. Shadow's eyes narrowed, clenching his fists.

"You two. Go. Now." he muttered to them lowly. Riku and Kairi both turned to him. Riku was about to question why when a figure appeared before them, floating feet above their heads. It appeared to be a skeleton wearing a dark cloak, wielding a scythe.

"Hello…Shadow." The skeleton said, saying the name with an undertone of malice as it slowly floated to the ground.

"Riku…Kairi…go." Shadow whispered again.

"But…what about you?" Kairi asked.

"Do not worry about me. I will be fine. Just go!" he said, not taking his eyes off of the figure in front of them. Riku glanced between Shadow and the skeleton before nodding. He grabbed Kairi's wrist.

"Come on. This isn't our fight." he said. Kairi bit her lip uncertainly. Finally, she gave a hesitant nod.

"…Alright. Let's go." she said. The two teens ran past the skeleton, which made no attempt to stop them. They made their way out into the forest, leaving the other two behind.

"You will die here." the skeleton said, as if it were fact that had been set in stone.

"We will see about that." Shadow responded. He waved his hand in front of him and made a motion as if cracking a whip. As if by magic, a glowing orange whip appeared in his hand, pulsating oddly. The skeleton made a noise, as if scoffing.

"…Nothing but an imperfect copy. As are you." it said, readying its scythe for attack. Shadow's orange-red eyes flashed dangerously for a brief second as he sucked in a quick breath through gritted teeth. However, as quick as the signs of rage had come, they were gone.

"Say what you like. I've heard it all before from your master." he said before running forward, whip at the ready. The skeleton prepared to slash down on its opponent to swift end the battle, but just as Shadow was in range of its attack, he sidestepped out of the way. Taking advantage of the short moment he had to attack, Shadow managed to get a few hits in. The skeleton swiped across in an attempt to slice Shadow in half, but Shadow back-flipped out of the way. The skeleton made a sound of annoyance.

"Die!" it hissed as it twirled its scythe. As it did, six blue dots of light appeared in a circle in front of him. A beam of light shot out from each of them, aiming directly from Shadow. His eyes widened and he barely managed to dive out of the way, tumbling forward as he did.

He looked up, measuring how far he was from the open drawbridge. It wasn't that far, but the skeleton still stood between him and the outside. Shadow clenched his fist as he got into a crouching position. He allowed his rage to grow for a moment before pouncing straight at the skeleton, fire licking his body as it did. He hit his opponent head on, and the robed skeleton fell as Shadow landed only a mere foot from the outside. He stood up, the flames that had once covered his body fizzling out harmlessly.

"I'm afraid we will have to continue this battle another time, for now, I must be off." he said before running across the open drawbridge, disappearing into the thick forest. The skeleton rose and almost gave chase to the man, but he was stopped by a calm voice from behind him.

"Let him go." The skeleton turned and quickly bowed his head in shame.

"Master…I failed." it spoke pathetically as it awaited punishment. However, his master showed no signs of anger.

"Let the shadow run and hide in darkness for now. He will be back. I am sure of it." the man said, a sinister smirk on his face.

--

Shadow slowly came to a stop in front of a small wooden cottage once he was sure that the skeleton had not followed. Sitting in front of the cottage was a young man with long silver hair. His golden eyes watched Shadow carefully as he approached. Finally, he spoke.

"Well?" he asked. Shadow didn't even glance at him as he walked into the wooden cottage.

"They have been released. I told them to get far away from here. They should be safe for now." he said to the other man. The silver haired man rose and followed Shadow inside.

"And the boy?" he asked.

"He is unaware of what is happening." Shadow replied. The hinges of the door squeaked as it opened, causing Shadow and the silver haired man to turn their attention to the newcomer.

"And for protection?" a man with white-blond hair asked as he entered. His silver-white eyes were blank, a black cloth mask covering his face from the nose down.

"I have given him your blade. He has been armed, and he has enough fighting experience to hold his own against the monsters in Eternal Night until he and the girl are out of here." Shadow answered.

"I see. And you think that will be enough?" the blond asked. Shadow slowly shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. Given the situation, the creatures of this forest are not the only danger to him. Joachim…watch over him for me." he said, directing the last sentence to the silver haired man.

"And what about you, Shadow?" he asked. Shadow paused

"…I am going back. I need to stop Mathias." he said hesitantly. The blond raised an eyebrow.

"You're leaving now?" he asked. Shadow shook his head.

"No. Not right away. I need time…before I return to that castle." the dark haired man replied slowly. He turned toward the window and glanced at the large stone castle that loomed over the forest. His eyes narrowed on the tallest tower of the castle that blocked part of the full moon.

Mathias…

--

AN: So there you have it. This chapter's pretty long compared to the next one, but there's good reason for it. Anyway, if there's anyone out there who has played "Castlevania: Lament of Innocence" and yet has no idea who Shadow is, lemme tell you this: He is not an OC. Just think about it a little harder, or maybe give it a few more chapters and it'll become obvious soon enough. However, if you do know who Shadow is, please don't spoil it for other readers in your review. It's just not fair. With that said…

R&R!!!