I'm back dances With chapter 2! The main idea of the plot is sortof explained in this one. Hope you enjoy!
After this chapter the views aren't just going to be Sora and Riku, I'll be bringing some other characters views in as well
Please R&R
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"It's dark…Why is it so dark! Riku?" Sora was feeling around in front of him, arms out straight, fingers splayed. "Riku?" he hit something hard and pulled back quickly, stumbling slightly in his haste.
"Ouch! Sora what are you doing?" Riku felt around a moment before his hand closed on his friend's wrist. "Come on," he tugged Sora along behind him, keeping his path as straight as possible in the pitch black. His free arm was stretched out in front preventing them both from running into something.
"Riku? Did something go wrong with the portal? This can't be the Castle…"
Riku shook his head before realizing Sora couldn't see the gesture. "I think we're just in another part of the castle, one that isn't used." His hand hit something hard and smooth, running his palm over the object revealed it to be spherical…possibly egg-shaped.
Sora realized they had stopped, "what is it Riku? Did you find something? Like a light switch maybe?"
Riku rolled his eyes, "yes Sora, I found a light switch, that's why it's still pitch black in here."
Sora moved forward and pressed his hand to the object. The room was suddenly illuminated as a blinding light filled the sphere, small lights were spiraling around the core of it, making the room seem to flicker and move.
Riku rubbed his eyes vigorously, the sudden return of light had been unexpected and, though not unwelcome, it had been quite a shock after being in the pitch dark.
"Guess that solves our problem," Sora turned, beaming.
"What did you do?" Riku asked, blinking rapidly to disperse the spots that danced in front of his vision.
Sora turned back to the sphere, "I don't know…just touched it," he looked at his hands quizzically. The light had dimmed slightly now so he could look at it without hurting his eyes. "Must have just been luck," he grinned scuffing his foot on the marble floor.
Riku scowled, "ya, maybe." His expression softened, "it looks like I was right about us being in the basement," he looked around. The room was circular, the walls a fair distance from where they were standing, in the center of the room. The ceiling stretched high above them, reaching out of the light's range and vanishing into darkness. The only way out seemed to be a door on the wall to their left. The door and the sphere were the only things that occupied the space; the room was void of anything else.
"Well now that we can see," Sora moved forward, trying to forget the momentary lapse in Riku's expression. He headed toward the door, "let's not waste anymore time." Riku nodded and followed.
The door opened easily enough, it was rather large, and much heavier than it looked, but the two friends together had no trouble working it open. There was a narrow stairway beyond that looked much more inviting than the room they were currently in. Probably helped by the fact there was a light coming from the top, faint though it was.
Sora led the way up, the passage was too narrow for them to walk shoulder to shoulder so they simply fell into line as they ascended.
"Wow…we were…pretty far down there," Sora panted when they came out into a brightly-lit hallway. Sunlight shone through the windows that were evenly spaced along the wall, making the white stone gleam majestically.
Riku stretched his arms above his head, not in the least bit winded by the climb. "I thought you said the last few months hadn't affected you," Riku grinned.
Sora straightened up immediately, his expression stubbornly set. "Let's go, we have to find Mickey and find out what's wrong. The sooner we find out the sooner we can fix the problem and go home." Sora started off in the direction which he hoped led to the throne room. He had barely taken his first step when a familiar voice stopped him.
"Sora!"
He turned around only to be engulfed in a hug. "D-Donald?"
"We were waiting for you! Thank goodness you came!" Donald quacked excitedly.
"Of course we did," Sora pulled out of the hug, laughing happily at being reunited with his friend. "So what's wrong?"
Donald looked from Sora to Riku then back. "The King wants to tell you himself. This way," Donald started off in the direction opposite the one Sora had been going.
Riku raised a brow at his friend, smirking with satisfaction. Sora only rolled his eyes and followed Donald down the hall.
Several twists and turns later they arrived at a small room. There was no door blocking the contents which consisted only of several chairs and side tables. There was a large window taking up the complete far wall, making the room seem bright and welcoming.
Mickey stood at the window, looking out at the greenery of the castle garden, but quickly turned when he heard them enter. He smiled when he saw who it was, "Sora, Riku! I'm so glad you came. I hope getting here wasn't too much trouble?"
"No way, Sora and me have a knack for getting around. Right Sora?"
Sora nodded, grinning happily, "you bet!"
Mickey's expression turned a bit more somber, "however, I bet you'd like to know why I asked you to come in the first place…"
The two friends leaned forward expectantly as Donald silently left the room.
"We want to help in anyway we can," Riku added in, "it's the least we can do after you helped us." He was; of course, referring to the time he had spent battling the darkness within himself. Mickey had been his support in that time, a firm hold on the light and he hadn't forgotten his friendship with the mouse.
Mickey nodded, "you both remember the events that took place seven months ago. Organization XIII and its leader, Xemnas were defeated thanks to you two. Xemnas was destroyed before he could open Kingdom Hearts…at least…that's what I had believed."
A shadow seemed to fall over the room and Riku and Sora sat down in two vacant chairs sending confused looks at each other, then at Mickey.
"Xemnas has returned," he continued, "I don't know how. I'm assuming it had something to do with him being so close to Kingdom Hearts when he faded. It's a strange thing…and not even I can explain it's potential."
"He's what?!" the initial shock had subsided and Sora had found his voice. "But, me…and Riku," he looked toward his friend who was sitting silently, brow furrowed. "We saw him fade…we caused him to fade!"
"Relax Sora, let him finish," Riku mumbled, looking back to Mickey. "What's he going to do without the Organization behind him. Just one Nobody can't be that much of a concern…"
Mickey looked sullen, his ears drooping slightly. "Xemnas himself is only a fraction of our worries. He's gathered a new Organization, the Alter Organization, comprised of Incompletes, people who have only a partial heart. As far as I know he has only managed to get six, including himself."
"Well then it can't be that bad," Sora started in, " if these, 'Incompletes' have partial hearts…then won't they be less dangerous than the Nobodies were? Not to mention their numbers are a lot lower than the last Organization."
"On the contrary Sora, having a partial heart only serves to strengthen them. They can feel, something the Nobodies couldn't do, but it's not as strong as someone with a complete heart could manage. They can yearn for their goal, want it with passion, whereas the Nobodies were simply going off of instinct and memories of the feelings they once had."
"So you're saying these enemies are more dangerous, because they can strive for their goal? What is it they want?"
Mickey's gaze drifted to the window, "I'm not sure exactly. Xemnas I believe wants to open Kingdom Hearts and revive Organization XIII. The Alter Organization wants to complete their hearts and become whole."
"So basically," Sora's gaze fell, "history is repeating itself…"
"Just how dangerous are these Incompletes," Riku cut in, "are they different from the Nobodies?"
Mickey shook his head, "not as much as you would think. They can control things much like the Nobodies could, and some have abilities in place of that. They can travel through doors of darkness and can make them at will. Xemnas seems to have recycled the castle in the World that Never Was and has made that their base."
"Well that's good," Riku leaned back in his chair, "that means we'll know the territory."
Mickey nodded, "yes, I've been informed that they're also moving through the other worlds, although just what they're doing is unclear. There has been an increase in heartless, but collecting hearts seems to be the last thing on their minds. They simply seem to have released the heartless to cause havoc."
"So the other worlds are in trouble too?" Sora felt his shoulders fall.
Mickey sighed and stood up, walking over to a small cube on one of the tables. He picked it up and held it in front of him. Instantly, there was a life-size projection of an organization member, hood up, standing before them. "This was the uniform of the previous Organization," Mickey stated, "and this," another projection appeared beside the first, "is what the Alter Organization's uniform looks like."
All in all the two were very close in appearance. However, on closer glance the detailed differences could be seen. Whereas the first coat was simply black and rather plain, the second had an intricate ribbed design around the waist area. The sleeves had a spiked lime green design around the cuff, repeating around the hem of the hood. The beaded chain around the neck had been removed, leaving only the silver pull strings for accent.
"This is just one of the member's design," Mickey replaced the cube as the projections faded. "The appearance will differ depending on the member, different colors or stitching. This is, however, an effective way to tell them apart."
Riku ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. It was a lot to take in over the course of a few minutes. "Have you battled any of them yet?" he finally asked.
"One, although I couldn't see his face, his hood was up throughout the battle. That's how I knew his coat design," Mickey motioned to the cube. "I failed to defeat him and he fled before I could get any further information."
"Well…we should get going then!" Sora stood up, a determined look on his face. "The sooner we start, the sooner we're done right?" He turned to Riku who stood up a bit more slowly.
"I'm sorry for calling you here," Mickey said, "I didn't know where else to turn."
"We'll take care of it," Riku replied turning to Sora, "we should start in the World that Never Was. If that's their base, there's bound to be at least a few members there."
"Right," they headed out the door, Mickey close behind.
"You can make a portal in the throne room," Mickey stated, moving to walk beside the friends.
Riku nodded and the three moved down the hall toward the large double doors. Mickey pushed through first followed by Sora with Riku coming last.
Sora was the first to notice the figure on the throne. Feet thrown casually over one arm, elbow leaning on the opposite one, they looked completely at ease.
"Axel?" Sora took a step forward; Riku and the King looked at him skeptically.
The figure shifted, eyes opening as he looked up and grinned when he saw who stood in the doorway. "Axel? Can't say I know him," he swung his legs over the arm of the throne so he was sitting properly. He leaned back casually, his gaze never leaving the three in the doorway. "But you I do know," he stood up and took a step forward, the lime green designs on his sleeves coming into sight, "Sora."
Riku held out his hand and summoned Way to the Dawn, moving forward a few steps. Sora followed the example, summoning his own Keyblade and getting into a defensive stance.
The stranger raised a brow. "So that's how it's gunna be? Fine…but if you didn't want me here," he held out his hands and two curved blades appeared in them. A green liquid dripped from them and sizzled when it hit the floor, "you should have watched your portal a little better." He started down the throne steps, stopping when he reached the floor. He raised one of the blades and held it at arms length, leveled at Sora.
"I'm Rael, and this is the hour of your death."
