Be prepared for the longest chapter of the story!
I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix does
Darkness Over Truth, Truth Over Darkness -6-
He did not expect this. Riku certaintly did not expect to see Arianna in front of him like this. Not just because he had just regained his normal form after the Kingdom Hearts was destroyed when he was reunited with Sora and Kairi on top of the Castle World That Never Was, but because Arianna is in an attire that was entirely different than what he had seen in her memories, or at least, something that Riku found very suspicious, considering that there are the symbols of a nobody and a heartless on her chest. Her eyes now as dark as a heartless, her smile not as radiant as before, in fact, it was more suitable to say that her smile is cold to the bone.
"Sis!" Sora yelled out in happiness and he was about to rush to her, not before Riku pulled him back by the shoulder when Arianna suddenly took out a 'dark' keyblade of her own from her hand.
"That's not Anna!" Namine exclaimed in worry as Kairi and Sora turned towards her.
"What do you mean? I'm sure that's Arianna…" Kairi said, clearly confused of why Namine looked so scared right now.
"No, that's not Anna… that's…"
"That's Arianna who had completely lost her heart…" the King said, making his appearance in front of the others after the machine his dear friend had invented exploded, shattering the Kingdom Hearts.
"… Completely lost her heart…?" Riku absent-mindedly said, too shocked to say anything else after what Mickey said sinks into his mind.
"I knew this would happen sooner or later… Master Yen Sid warned me so." King Mickey said as he deflected Arianna's attacks when the girl ran to charge at him using her 'dark' keyblade.
"Run! We're can't defeat her here!" King Mickey shouted as he shot Arianna with his keyblade. When Arianna was flung back by the impact and was immobilized when she hit the wall, everyone quickly followed the King's order and ran. They then ran and ran and stopped when they think that they had gotten far enough for Arianna before Sora then rushed towards the King, asking what had just happened and as to why Arianna acted so strangely.
"Arianna was sick because she was born with half a heart… and I think, after the Kingdom Hearts shattered, she might have been unstable and lost her heart in the process… I didn't even know that she was here…" Mickey admitted, feeling sad at the loss of Arianna's heart.
"What do you mean, Your Majesty? She couldn't just… loss her heart like that, could she?"
"I'm afraid I still don't understand completely about Arianna's rather different condition, Riku… Master Yen Sin only warned me about the possibility of this happening after Arianna and I had conversed with him…"
"But how? Big sis was supposed to be waiting home… wait… something felt wrong…" Sora then turned to Namine who decided to stare unto the marble floors of the castle interior.
"Anna, she actually asked me to put your memories of her to the deepest part of you mind. She doesn't want you to look for her when you wake up and went on your journey. And then, when you were sleeping, she came to know your nobody… Roxas, she got close to him before she also disappeared on him. And after that, I never met her again…" Namine guiltily admitted as Kairi gasped while Sora clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in remorse when Namine told them the truth.
"But then… how are we going to get her back? Would it be bad for her to stay like this?" Goofy asked when no one had talked for a long time. Mickey seemed to snap out from his sadness and let out a sound of shocked and quickly turned to Sora and Riku.
"We have to save her and bring her back! If Arianna continues to be without her heart… she'd..."
"… Become a heartless…?" Riku said, his voice shook as Mickey hesitantly nodded.
"But how? We don't even know where her heart went… and with Xemnas…" Mickey then turned towards Riku who seemed to have understood what the King meant and took out Arianna's pendant from her pocket.
"Sora, I think you and Kairi should go… me and the King will catch up with you guys later." Sora was horrified of the idea of leaving Riku and the King behind before both Riku and Mickey give Sora a hard stare that the boy nodded and took Kairi and Namine's hands as they ran, leaving the King and Riku behind. Riku then turned towards the King, questions evident in his eyes.
"You're the only one who could save her, Riku."
"… Is it true, that half of her heart resides in me…?" Mickey was surprised when Riku knew that, but when he saw the boy holding tightly to the feather-shaped pendant, he came to understood.
"It was a theory, a possibility, but now… I think it is. You care for her, and she cares for you, I'm sure it was destiny that half of her heart is within your own. Arianna only have half of her heart when she met Minnie and I, and she had hoped that her other half is safe somewhere. Half of her heart is safe, now I'm sure of it, since it's within your own, and you've protected it from everything."
"But my heart has the darkness… what if I had corrupted her heart when I…"
"Darkness and Light cannot go without each other, I realize that after meeting you, Riku. Darkness and Light resides within every person… but I'm sure you unknowingly protected her heart. After all, you care for her, don't you? And you don't belong in the darkness anymore."
"Your Majesty… I…" When they had heart footsteps coming closer to them, the King quickly summoned his keyblade, getting ready to face Arianna who is now standing in front of them with her 'dark' keyblade and now half of her body is turning black.
"Your Majesty… Anna's…"
"We don't have much time, Riku! I'll distract her, you go and try putting that pendant around her neck, it might do the trick, since it held some of her memories!" That breathtaking smile was still on Arianna's face, but with half of her face turning black, the smile now seemed as if it could freeze anyone who saw it if their heart cannot shield themselves from the cold feeling that is seeping out from her smile.
"Arianna!" Mickey tried to call the girl as she turned towards the royal mouse and charged towards him instead. Riku observed the girl for a while before he joined Mickey while trying to see an opening where he could slip her necklace back around her neck, where it belongs.
"Arianna! Please, get a hold of yourself! You can't fall into the darkness!" Mickey yelled, trying his best to try and distract the girl as Riku tried to slip the necklace.
'Where am I…? How did I get here?'
"Anna! Can you hear me? It's me, Riku!" Riku yelled when Arianna suddenly turned her body around and almost thrusts him with her blade if Riku hadn't move on time.
'… Riku…?'
"You told me not to fall into the darkness, and I promised you! I'm sorry I broke the promise… but you can't fall into the darkness too, Sora needs you! I need you!"
'Broke our promise… Riku,… Sora… falling…'
When the King had successfully paralyzed Arianna who had almost completely turned into the embodiment of darkness itself, Riku quickly hug the pendant around her neck.
"Please, Anna! Come back to me!" Riku yelled as the pendant glowed brightly, bringing Arianna to scream in pain, clawing unto her neck as if something is burning it. Riku, who couldn't bear to hear the sounds of screaming murder coming out from Arianna, quickly wrapped his arms around her, trying to stop her from clawing unto her neck as the King watches with worry. Arianna kept on struggling, and she even scratched Riku's arms, in effort to try and remove the boy's arm from her. Riku hissed in pain, but made no sign of moving himself away from her as he held unto her tightly before Arianna ceased to struggle and seemed to have gone unconscious as she fell limp in his arms. Riku had quickly placed Arianna on the floor as the King stood beside him, inspecting Arianna's condition. When the black color of darkness seemed to slowly disappear from Arianna's body, Riku sighs in relief, and his hopes grew when the King nodded at him with a smile, a smile that says that everything is alright, Arianna's going to be okay.
"Ngh…" When a groan came out from Arianna's lips, Riku quickly turned his attention to the girl who started to flutter her eyes open.
"Anna!" Riku then helped the girl to sat upward as Arianna slowly scanned her surrounding before looking towards the King and Riku.
"Riku… Your Majesty? What had happened? Where am I? I remember I was… in the darkness…" Arianna seemed to gasp when she had realized what had happened and turned to see the scratches on Riku's exposed arm.
"I… I…" Mickey then placed a hand on the girl, stopping her from hyperventilating.
"You didn't do anything, Arianna. You're okay now." Mickey said as Arianna shook her head, dread creeping unto her face.
"I… My chest hurts at the time the Kingdom Hearts shatter, and when I opened my eyes, everything was black… and then I heard Riku calling me… I… I did something wrong, very wrong, didn't I…?"
"You were not yourself, Anna… but you're alright now." Riku said, wiping Yumi's trickling tears away with his thumb as the girl then started to sob in his arms, feeling guilty of what she had just done moments before. A glow then appeared from Riku's chest, before moments later a similar one came from Arianna's. The King was surprised at the light, but then smiled when he understood what happened. Arianna's tears then stopped as she looked towards the light that had came out from her chest before looking up to see Riku now also staring at her after marveling on his own light.
"So it is true! Arianna's half of heart is within Riku all this time!" The King exclaimed in joy as Arianna moved her hands upwards towards her mouth as tears of joy spilled out from her eyes. Riku then moved to embrace Arianna, as the light then surrounded both of them and then settled unto Arianna as the girl then fell back unconscious as the light dimmed. Riku then supported Yuki in his arms as Mickey once again checked on the girl.
"Your Majesty… is she…"
"Arianna is going to be fine, you gave her the half of her missing heart…"
"Does that mean…"
"Yes, she won't be sick anymore when you return!" Riku couldn't feel but have this stupid grin on his face, too happy to think anything but the fact that Arianna won't have to be confined to her bed anymore. When the castle suddenly shook, Riku looked up towards the top, knowing that Xemnas is up there, and perhaps Sora too. He was about to move, but then he remembered about Sora's sister, still in his arms before Mickey's hand then patted Riku's arm.
"Leave her to me, you go up there and help Sora!" Riku was hesitant on leaving Arianna alone, but he nodded and placed Arianna gently on the floor before dashing towards the top, ready to help Sora to face Xemnas, the one behind everything that had happened. Mickey then casted a spell on Arianna as her body then glowed and disappeared from the Castle That Never Was. After Mickey was sure then there was nothing around him and that Arianna had been safely moved from the World That Never Was, he took his keyblade out and ran to help the others.
"Minnie will know what to do."
Review please!
I'm a bit late in watching the trailers for 3D, yes, I know
But I can't help but be excited when I saw TWEWY there...
And aren't those Soul Eaters just adorable? Yes, even the big ones!