Ch. 2: Deception
The characters that are brand new belong to me, of course, and the ones from the game belong to Disney and SquareSoft
Night had fallen around him. He lay silent on the dirt ground. The wind blew over his body and created goose bumps on his skin. The rustling of leaves sounded all around him. Yet that wasn't the reason he finally opened his eyes.
For the first time in three months, Riku's eyes fluttered and opened. He breathed in fresh air and felt the wind on his face as he sat up. His hands ran over the soft grass and moist dirt. A wave of confusion and freedom flowed over him.
"Where am I?" he asked, even though he knew no one was there. "How am I here? Where ever here is. This can't be right. I'm supposed to be in... unless he's screwing with my head. Or... I could be dead. Hey, I rhymed. What am I talking about!? How can I be thinking about rhyming when I'm... I'm... free." Riku's voiced softened.
The sixteen year old boy stood up and looked about him.
"Okay, don't panic. You're no longer there. But how? Why?"
Quickly, Riku placed his hand on his chest. "No... fucking... way."
He felt a beat. Not just any beat, but a heart beat.
"I really am out. I'm free." Riku became overwhelmed in excitement and bewilderment. "Sora. Sora!"
Riku began to run on what seemed to be a small, dirt path. Suddenly, he stopped. There in front of him was Sora, Donald, and Goofy.
"That was way too easy." he said, even more confused than he was before. He blinked his eyes and shook his head a bit to see if he was only hallucinating. But he wasn't. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were lying on the grass next to the dirt path fast asleep.
"Sora!"
"I'm up." Sora slurred half asleep as he jumped up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, not bothering to look for what had called his name out.
Riku ran up to his friend and knelt down next to him.
"You were way too easy to find."
"Riku! You're alive! And you're here. Wait... how are you here? I left you back in Kingdom Hearts." Sora stood up, both excited and confused at the sight of Riku.
"I have no idea. All I know is that I'm out. And I got my heart." Riku smiled, grabbing Sora's forearm and shaking it.
Over in a bush some distance away from the boys, sat an anxious sixteen year old girl, awaiting her instructions.
A small Shadow appeared next to her.
"It's about time." the girl said taking the note from the Shadow. "Tell me, how's the other girl?"
"Aden ana feya." the Shadow whispered in its own language.
"Oh." she sighed. Her eyes became covered in tears. "Away with you." she said, whipping the tears away.
Once the Shadow had disappeared, the girl opened the note and began to read.
'Now, my child, you may show yourself to Sora and his idiotic friends. Oh, by the way, Riku will be there as well. You are not to kill him, understand? What I want you to do is let them find you. Join up with them. Become their friend. Don't mention anything about me or what you really are. Make sure you bring up the fact that Kairi is... well... dead. Tell Sora you can lead him to the door to the light. When I have regained my full strength, I will take matters into my own hands. Then and only then will you able to come back here and gain the power you deserve. One more thing: Do not use any of your presents to assist them and do not fall in love with either of those boys. Be careful my child. Don't disappoint me.'
"Yes sir, mister all-mighty." the girl said, mockingly. She stuffed the note in her pocket.
The sun was rising over the hills.
"Do you hear something?" Sora said, looking around.
"I didn't hear nothing." Goofy answered.
"Wait..."
The sound of something moving in the bushes came to Sora's ears again.
"I heard it that time. Something's out there." Riku whispered.
"It's coming from over there." Donald pointed to a patch of bushes about twenty feet from them.
Sora took out his Keyblade and he and Riku stepped closer to the bushes. They could now hear the sound of something breathing. Riku stepped right up to the bushes while Sora raised his Keyblade. At once, Riku reached into the bushes and grabbed on to the arm of whatever was in there. He pulled it out and restrained both its arms.
"No! Let go! I didn't do nothing!"
Sora and Riku stared at the girl for a moment. She had dark maroon eyes that looked like crystals and three different colors in her hair: red, black, and blonde.
"Who are you?" Sora demanded, holding his Keyblade to the girl's throat.
"Z... Zi... Ziddy. My name's Ziddy." the girl stuttered.
"Ziddy? What are you doing here?" Riku asked.
"Let me go and I'll tell you." Ziddy answered.
"And if we don't?" Sora said in a threatening matter.
"Well then, I'll have to do this."
Ziddy threw her head back and hit Riku dead on, making him release her arms. She then kicked her leg up, hitting Sora right between the legs. The boy fell to the ground and dropped the Keyblade. Riku lay on the ground, his hands over his face, making muffled noises that suggested pain.
"So there." Ziddy smoothed out her cloak and began to walk away.
"Not so fast missy." Goofy said, stepping in front of the girl, his shield out and ready.
"You're not going anywhere." Donald joined his side, his staff clenched in his hand.
Ziddy stared at the two for a moment. She scratched her head and sighed.
"You two don't wanna mess with me. Take my word on this, you wanna move out of my way."
"Fire!" Donald yelled, pointing his staff at Ziddy.
A ball of red fire came shooting out of the staff and zoomed toward the girl. Ziddy leaped into the air and the ball of fire passed right under her legs, hitting Sora in the back.
"Ow!!!" Sora screamed as he ran around in circles, trying to extinguish his burning back.
"Now that wasn't very nice." Ziddy said to Donald, still suspended in midair and pointing her finger at the duck.
"Sora, don't move." Riku threw Sora on the ground on his back and the fire was no more.
When Sora was finally de-flamed, everyone noticed something strange about Ziddy. She was still in midair, floating above the ground.
"How are you doing that?" Riku asked.
Ziddy bent over and looked through her legs at Riku. "Doing what?"
"How are you..."
"Flying. You're flying. How are you doing that?" Sora questioned, still rubbing his back.
"I don't know. I've always been able to, I guess. I think I was born with it." Ziddy answered. She picked her head up and placed herself back on the ground.
"Which side are you on?" Sora demanded.
"Side? Oh, you mean light or dark. I guess I'm on what you would call the gray side. A little bit of light and a little bit of dark." Ziddy smiled deviously at the two boys who became stunned once again by her answer. "I'm kidding. You boys need to lighten up. I'm on the good side." Ziddy shook her head.
"Are you saying that because you really are on the side of the light or just because you're scared of what we'll do to you if you don't say you're working for the light?" Sora posed, holding tight onto his Keyblade once again.
"Scared? Scared of what? Of you two? Ha! I must have hit you a bit too hard there. I'm not scared of anything. Oh, and by the way, I'd have to say yes to the first part of your question." the girl said slyly, beginning to get annoyed by the boys' distrust. "So, do you guys trust me yet or not?"
Sora and Riku glanced at each other for a moment then ran full blast at Ziddy, knocking her down and restraining her again.
"To answer your question, no." Sora held the Keyblade to Ziddy's throat. "Now, you tell us why you're really here and I won't have to give you another hole to breathe through." he pressed the Keyblade harder against the girl's neck, causing her to bleed slightly.
"You boys are gonna regret this."
"Oh are we. How?" Riku asked.
Suddenly, a light came from Ziddy's body. Sora and Riku went flying through the air and came crashing down to earth, hard. Ziddy stood up and took off her cloak. She threw it on the ground. As the boys turned their heads back to her, Ziddy unsheathed her black Keyblades.
"What the..." Sora said.
Ziddy walked right up to the young Keyblade master and placed one of her Keyblades to his throat.
"Now, you are going to listen to me or," Ziddy whipped some blood off her throat and crouched down, "I'll repay for that new breathing hole you gave me by giving you one as well." she said as she dragged her bloodstained fingers across Sora's neck. "Do we understand?"
Sora nodded as he felt Ziddy's blood run down his neck and onto his shirt.
"Good." she stood up and sheathed her blades again. "You can stand up now."
Sora and Riku did as they were told and stood up. Sora picked up the Keyblade and stared at the black ones on the girl's belt.
"Yes, they are real Keyblades. Now..."
"Where'd you get them from?" Sora asked, still starring at the black Keyblades.
"I'll tell you when I know you better."
"How do you know you'll be around long enough to actually get to know us better?" Riku asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
"To get straight to the point, you two need me. When I'm finished telling you what I know, you'll want me more than anything."
"You're not that pretty." Riku said, mockingly.
"That was disgusting."
"If I say it again will it make you go away?"
"You, I officially don't like."
"Ah, well tough shit." Riku grabbed the Keyblade from Sora's hand and went to strike Ziddy.
Ziddy lifted up one of her Keyblades and blocked Riku's attack.
"It's not yours." she mused.
The Keyblade disappeared from Riku's hand and reappeared in Sora's.
"If anyone is gonna fight me with it, it'll be him."
"All right then." Sora said, doing the same as Riku.
Ziddy, of course, also did the same and blocked it again.
"I know how to find what you're looking for." she whispered.
"And what am I looking for, Ziddy?" Sora said, grinding his teeth out of frustration of Ziddy's persistence.
"The door to the light."
Silence fell.
"How'd you know 'bout that?" Goofy asked, covering his mouth with his hands.
"No ones supposed to know about that except us and the king." Donald added in.
Sora stared at Ziddy and she stared at him right back. Ziddy gave a small smile and nod. She took her blade down and slid in into its sheath again.
"You're eyes give it away you know. I can tell you believe me. I can show you how to get there. How to get passed the protectors of the door. Even how to open it." Ziddy laughed.
Sora paused. "You get us there, and you can live. And I'm warning you now, this better not be some sort of con. I will kill you Ziddy, understand?"
Ziddy smiled again and bowed.
Sora walked away a bit but was stopped by Riku.
"You're not really gonna trust this girl. Are you?"
"I don't have any other choice."
--
Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy walked along the dirt path. Ziddy floated along side them, six feet above the ground, lying down as though there was a plank of wood under her.
"Ziddy can I ask you something?" Sora said quickly.
"Sure."
"Are you a real Keyblade master?" he asked, even though he really didn't want to know the answer.
Ziddy paused for a moment. "In a way. Yeah, I guess I am."
Sora took a deep breath. "Why do your Keyblades look like that?"
"Like what?" she asked, confused.
"You know," Sora turned his head to her with somewhat of an embarrassed look on his face, "all black and scary."
"Oh, I don't really know. They turned this way while I was in that room. Kingdom Hearts must've just done something to them. Haven't been able to figure out how to change them back quite yet."
"Kingdom Hearts?" Riku asked, shivering at the very mention of the place.
"Yeah, I... uh... was trapped in Kingdom Hearts for a while." Her head turned in shame and she took a deep breath.
"You were in Kingdom Hearts?" Donald asked.
"Yeah. I was stuck in this room." Ziddy said, turning her head back to the boys. "My heart was stolen from me about a year ago and I wound up in this room inside Kingdom Hearts. This room is supposed to drain the life from your very body. You slowly slip away into the darkness. Nasty place."
"How'd you survive?" Goofy questioned.
Ziddy gave a small smile. "There was this other girl there. Basically, we kept each other alive. I would have never made it out of there if it hadn't been for her."
"How did you get out?" Riku asked, turning his head to Ziddy.
"Well... I found my light. And I used it to get out." Ziddy answered.
"Your light? What do you mean your light?" Riku persisted.
"My light." Ziddy paused. "My dad. I thought he had died. But, in the room, I found out that he was still alive. That gave me something to believe in and the next thing I knew, I was out."
"And what about the other girl?" Sora asked, intrigued by Ziddy's story.
Ziddy paused again. This time, the pause was one of sadness.
"I found out that… the room took her. She's dead."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sora apologized.
"Ah, 'tis life. It's how the worlds work. I'll never forget her though. She and I would be the only living things that spoke in that room. We'd sit on the ground and I'd hold her in my arms." her eyes closed as she remembered her time in the room. "She'd tell me stories about a light at the end of the tunnel and these two boys she used to live with."
Sora and Riku looked at each other, thinking the same thing.
"What was her name?" Sora asked, fearful of the answer.
Ziddy opened her eyes and landed on the ground.
"Kairi."
Sora and Riku stood dead in their tracks. Their minds went blank and pulse sped up. Ziddy noticed this and began to worry.
"What's the…" Then it hit her. "Oh my god. You're the boys. You're the two boys that used to live with Kairi." Ziddy panicked. "Sora, I didn't know. I swear, if I had known, I wouldn't have told you. I'm so sorry."
"No, no, no. I'm glad you told us Ziddy. Thank you." Sora stumbled over his words in his mind.
"Yeah." Was all that Riku could utter.
"You guys want me to leave you alone for a while?" Ziddy murmured.
"No... just..." Sora couldn't find the words to complete his sentence. His knees gave way and he sat on the ground. 'Kairi's dead.' he thought. 'She's dead.' Sora's body was shaking and he felt sick. His stomach was churning and his head was spinning. The fact that Kairi was dead set a flame off somewhere inside him that began to slowly burn away his emotions and feelings. He had lost all control over his own body. So, Sora just sat there. Looking helpless and confused.
Riku kneeled down on the ground. He placed his arms behind his head and started breathing hard. Millions of emotions surged through his body with every heart beat. Lose; confusion; anger; anxiety; empty; afraid; alone; helpless; hopeless. 'Why?' he asked himself. 'Why her? Why did she have to be the one to die after all this?'
Goofy and Donald stood off to the side, crying over the loss of their good friend.
And Ziddy, not knowing what she was feeling, sat down on the dirt path. She wrapped her arms around her legs and placed her chin on her knees.
'Now what do I do?'
'You gain their trust my child.' Ansem's voice rang inside Ziddy's head.
'Gain their trust? I just told them that their best friend is dead. How can I gain their trust after that?'
Ansem's voice did not return to Ziddy's thoughts. So, she sat there in silence.
'Why am I doing this?' Ziddy asked herself. 'Why ain't I crying too? I knew her. I was her friend. She's the reason I got out of Kingdom Hearts. Why ain't I crying!?' She thought for a moment. 'Oh right, that's why. I'm nothing but an emotionless son of a bitch that's helping the destruction of every world there ever was. That's why I'm not crying. That's why I can't feel anything anymore. That's why I'm doing this.'
Ziddy stood up and walked over to Sora. "Stand up." she whispered.
Sora looked up at her, tears rolling down his cheeks and a look of utter confusion upon his face. "What?" he whimpered.
"Stand up."
Still not able to feel his knees, Sora placed his hands on the ground and stood himself up as best he could.
"Do you really think that this is what Kairi would have wanted you to do?" Ziddy asked, trying to seem annoyed and angered.
"No, but..."
"She's dead Sora. Nothing can change that. She's not coming back." Ziddy uttered. She pointed to the sky and continued. "She's there and you're here. Get over it and finish what you started Keyblade Master."
"Don't you have a heart!?" Riku yelled, furious at the girl's reaction to Kairi's death.
"No, I don't." Ziddy answered quickly, turning her head to Riku. "It was lost when my father was taken from me. And trust me Sora," she looked back at the boy, "if you want to keep yours, I suggest moving on and doing it quickly. Hearts are easily lost in times of sorrow and pain."
"You really are emotionless." Riku whispered.
Ziddy turned toward him again, staring at the boy with such envy and hatred.
"You'd better get used to it because we have a long journey ahead of us."
With that, Ziddy collected her things from the ground and started down the path. And with so much pain still bottled up inside them, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy followed her, hoping she would lead them to the door to the light.
AN: Okay, hope you guys like it so far. And just to clear things up, when Ziddy said she didn't have a heart she meant an emotional heart. She is not a Heartless! Okay, that's all I have to say. See ya next chapter!