Woohoo! New chapter :D

Not a ton to say here except that I'm sorry for the wait, I hope you enjoy it, loving all the reviews and favs, and I think I earned my T rating in this one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Disney. All are the properties of their respective owners.

9

The Voice and the King

Hollow Bastion

Even before his eyes detected their movement Rep had sensed the Heartless lunge, almost as if they were a part of him. It was more than mere scent as he, for only a moment, became both hunter and prey. He could sense every muscle in Aerith's body tighten, heard a breathless gasp, and felt her heart beat so intensely that it might have been his own.

It was if the world itself had slowed, allowing Rep to watch as Aerith cracked her staff across one's skull, as Yuffie caught another in midair with a shuriken, and as Marlene covered her head with her arms and tried to make herself as small as possible. There was a flash of light from Aerith's staff and Rep caught the sight of the terror in Marlene's face as she stared at him.

Rep had only a second to make his choice.

Their claws swiped across his face and arms as he violently grabbed Marlene and thrust her towards Denzel. Frantically he slammed them both to the ground and flung himself overtop of them, wrapping them tightly in his arms. The Heartless were upon him in seconds, their thick claws raking across his back, tearing through the sweater instantly, and slicing deeply into his skin. His screams were muffled by the mud as his head was forced onto the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the murky puddles below him begin to flow red. The Heartless never ceased in their assault for even a moment as they clawed deeper into his flesh. The pain was excruciating. Rep screamed his throat raw and his tears mixed with the mud below. Every second felt like an eternity and all he wanted was for it to end. The only thing that kept him awake was focusing on the two small bodies beneath him, knowing that every moment he was alive, they were too.

The Heartless had drowned Aerith and Yuffie's scents with their own. All that Rep could see was a swirling mess of blackness with the occasional yellow flash of their horrible eyes. Once or twice and Rep thought he caught a shout from Yuffie or a spark of light from Aerith's staff, but there was no way of knowing if what he saw was the truth or a fleeting hope that they had survived.

Suddenly sharp claws reached around his back and dug into his shoulders. "No!" Rep screamed as he was ripped off of Denzel and Marlene, making a frantic grab for them as they were torn away. Rep was flipped onto his back as his ravaged skin burned against the cold, wet ground and pieces of debris buried deeply into the wounds. He fought to rise and reach them as their scents faded away, their voices as they called for him burning against his ears until they were silenced entirely. Icy, human-like hands pinned him down, clutching at his limbs and along his head and neck to hold him in place. His breathing became instantly shallow and rapid while his aching chest heaved for air. His struggling all but ceased as their hold tightened and the scent surrounding him became suffocatingly powerful. He felt helpless and weak as the Heartless' claws at his shoulder became Axel's in Castle Oblivion and the pain in his back was from a chakram, and the hands clamped on his wrists were the manacles on the chain. Rep begged himself to get up, to fight back and overcome the pure, abject hysteria that was overtaking him.

He took as deep a breath as he could manage and clenched his fists. The manacles began to burn as dark energy filled his heart. Rep's arms trembled uncontrollably with the effort and he could smell his skin searing as the counter-spell began to devour him in retaliation. Vanitas' laugh began to surround him as the dark alley slowly became the elegant, white throne room. Rep refused to surrender to the memory and closed his eyes, knowing that he only had one chance to regain control.

"Stop attacking," he ordered silently, his throat too weak and coarse to have formed words, "I command you to stop!"

Even before he opened his eyes, Rep knew that he had failed. The manacles had done their duty to perfection and restricted his powers enough that his order had been little more than a whisper. The pain was so intense that he shut down and only felt numbness, like his body no longer belonged to him.

A single Heartless, even larger than the others, crawled overtop of him, trailing its claw down his neck and resting it over his heart. Rep stared into its vast yellow eyes and refused to look away. Despite not having hearts of their own, Rep knew that the Heartless were savouring his fear, as if it would make his heart more tender to consume.

"They're going to die... Aerith, Yuffie, Denzel, and Marlene. Even Leon and Cid. Everyone in this world. Because of me. All because of me. And I can't... I'm just not strong enough."

There was a tearing of cloth as the last tatters of his shirt were opened. A cold hand was laid over his heart. Rep turned towards the sky. He had not even realized that the rain had stopped as the clouds drifted away. The sky was alight with beautiful, twinkling stars. Rep knew it would be the first and last time he would ever see them. He hated that his last sight would be something so beautiful while the others were only granted a final glimpse into the Heartless cold, golden eyes.

"I'm sorry. I never should have come here - I should have just let Riku kill me in Castle Oblivion. That would have been better... this is my darkness, not his. I should never have been created." The stars flickered silently above and Rep suddenly recalled a memory of Riku's as Maleficent explained that each star represented the heart of another world. As if pleading that their light would reach and hear him, Rep begged, "But... please... please don't let them die because of me. I'll give anything to save them."

The last thing Rep expected was a response.

'You are weak, and so you have failed. Your existence thus far has been wrought with failure and suffering. Alone you are worthless, and you welcome the truth of that now, but I can offer you strength. I will give you the power you desire.'

The voice that answered was deep and powerful, but it was only a faint whisper that was so quiet that Rep almost struggled to hear it. However, it was familiar. That was good, Rep thought. Familiar was safe.

"I brought them here," Rep admitted shakily, hoping that whoever had responded could hear him. His head felt heavy and clouded, and he could not even bring himself to lift it and look around for the speaker. It was if he was being held in place. "I don't even know how I..."

'It doesn't matter,' the voice cut him off harshly. 'Your heart will become strong enough to contain them, if you surrender to me.'

"What will you do?" he muttered as his eyes stared to droop. The yellow eyes encircling him began to blur. He could hardly feel his body anymore as the pain began to rescind. Rep felt calm, peaceful, even content. It was like he was falling asleep.

'I will help you conquer the darkness that you brought to this world, free you from it's clutches, and erase you from your suffering.'

"And..." Rep's thoughts were becoming more hazy with each passing second and it took him a moment to remember what he even wanted, "and you'll save them? Keep them safe?"

The voice paused. Rep was certain that he heard a chuckle. 'I will ensure that tonight they will remain unharmed.'

"And me... I... what do you want me to do?"

'Surrender yourself to me.' The voice was sounding stronger with every word, becoming more than a mere whisper until it might have been coming from right in front of him. The voice wrapped itself seductively around that final word. 'Surrender yourself, and I will bestow within you the crux of my power and, with that, the ability to serve your higher purpose.'

"I - I..." as the other voice grew, Rep found that his had weakened. He just wanted to sleep, to let someone else handle things for a while, knowing that when he awoke the others would be safe. "I will."

'Then you will submit.'

A chill began to spread through his body, igniting him in what felt like a cold fire. Rep felt nothing beyond that and was oddly comforted by the numbness. The voice was so soothing, like deep, calming music. He could finally rest and let the voice worry in his place. The voice knew what was best for him. Let the voice have him. He was so tired.

The world before him began to blur, though Rep could feel that his eyes were still wide open. It felt so soothing to finally be able to rest in safety, though he wished he could close out the and not have to gaze into those horrible yellow lights any longer.

Rep felt his heart thump.

They weren't lights - they were eyes. Heartless eyes. Eyes that were still trained on his as its claws lay hovering over his heart, waiting.

Why was the Heartless waiting?

They had done that once before - right before they lunged - as they waited for the manacles to be removed and his darkness released.

Rep's eyes snapped open as the realization seized him. Like Vanitas before it, the voice was coming from inside of than that, he knew who it was.

Riku was on top of him, holding him down with Soul Eater hovering above his face. Trapped. Rep could feel Riku's weight pressing into him and keeping him in place as Riku's eyes closed and calmness reigned over his troubled face.

"I'm afraid, replica, that the peace of death will have to evade you for a while longer."

The blade was pressed against his neck now. Golden eyes were locked with his.

"He was wrong - your heart is stronger than even you know."

An x-shaped scar marking him. Darkness settling in his heart.

"And I have now realized that you could be of use to me. We could always use a spare."

A breaking memory as Marluxia's footsteps approached, the collapse of his dreams punctuated by a shattering screech.

"Open yourself to the darkness. That is all. Let your heart, your being, become darkness itself."

He was on the ground. There were people surrounding him, angry, shouting, crying for him to be killed. There was a sword pointed at his chest and a grim, scarred face above. The voices. So many voices. They were inside of his head, where he could never escape him. Telling him to submit, to surrender, or the pain would continue. Or many would die. There was blood everywhere. He knew it was his fault but could do nothing to stop it. They wouldn't stop. They wouldn't leave him alone. They wanted him to break. He was so confused and scared. But no one understood - no one could hear them. No one would listen. It hurt so much.

"You will submit to me no matter how long it takes to break you."

Suddenly new voices joined the others. It was Naminé - no, not Naminé - Marlene and Aerith as they urged him to fight back and gave him the support he needed. His card was in his hands as a light, a warmth, embraced him and pushed the voice away until silence finally reigned.

Rep forced his eyes open and was met with an unwelcome shock. He was floating in mid-air with his arms suspended out by his sides, the rest of his body locked in place as the Heartless looked on with a solemn reverence. The remains of his torn shirt fluttered away in the wind, exposing his gashes on his back to the cold air. Rep felt blood running down his skin, though the one in control took little notice. Deep within his chest, Rep could feel another heart beating in time with his. It was pounding with increased urgency. He had never felt such raw, uninhibited power before.

Suddenly Rep felt his mouth open against his will as the man began to address the Heartless in a cacophonous fervor. "Creatures of the fallen, searching masterless for your uniting voice, join in the darkness that wrought you."

The Heartless began to dissolve, melting into wisps of black smoke rising towards Rep's outstretched hands. The darkness within him swelled and Rep felt his control slip even further. As more Heartless began to disintegrate, he caught a glimpse of lifeless four bodies piled together. Rep's heart leapt.

"They're still here, which means their hearts are intact. They might still be alive."

His hope was wrenched away felt a terrible cold began to spread from his heart throughout his body. It spread along his arms and legs, creeping along his neck, and reaching his eyes. As the scar on his cheek began to burn, Rep recognized it as the same sensation that had overtaken him in the moment that it had been cut. And in that moment, as the image of Riku's contorted, twisted face and yellowed eyes began to take form, Rep knew exactly what he was to become.

A spare for Riku.

"NO!" Rep shouted, surprising even himself with the ferocity that clamoured in his voice as he fought for control. Riku's possessor, who had now become his, was unaware that Rep had awoken from the forced trance and was unprepared. He plummeted to the ground, neither one able to take control long enough to steady his body as it crashed into the stones below. Rep screamed as his arm nearly dislocated from its socket. He could only hope that his possessor felt that.

"I won't..." Rep hissed through gritted teeth. His limbs gave out as he tried to stand, though felt a renewed determination to fight back. "I won't let you do this."

"You cannot deny me."

"I DON'T CARE!" he shouted, fighting again to rise. "I don't care what you say! I don't care what you do to me - I won't be your spare. I will never be Riku."

'Your emotions are of little consequence, I assure you. There is nothing that will restrain me as I have become a part of you, through your own admission. You made the choice to allow me into your heart - I merely turned the key.'

"Then kill me!" Rep snarled. "Kill me, because I will never submit to you!"

'The burden of choice is no longer yours. Your heart, your body, and everything you are.'

Rep was instantly seized by the same sensation as before, though this time the cold penetrated far deeper. The man had changed his tactic - no longer was he slowly assuming control, but instead focusing his energy on a single, brutal strike to his core. It happened too quickly and Rep was powerless to halt his progress as he lay paralyzed on the ground. Suddenly Rep felt a warmth stirring in the base of his neck. Before he could react, a raging fire ignited within his heart that rushed to meet the darkness and was able to push it back before it had a chance to settle in his core.

But the fire did not appear without consequence.

Rep buried his face in his hands and screamed until his lungs could take no more. His eye. His left eye was on fire, like it had been gouged out and replaced by burning coal. Rep pressed his palm to it, able to feel the heat against his skin. Rep could not explain the fire, what it was or where it came from, but knew that even though it was able to push the darkness back it was something evil and wrong.

Corrupted light.

"Why? Why is this happening to me?"

The voice spoke as the fire finally began to subside, for the first time sounding ragged and tired as it seemed to shudder with every word. 'Impossible. You were sealed away when you became to weak to go on. You should have no power over him.' Suddenly the tone grew louder until it was nearly pounding against skull. The deep, cruel voice from before had returned as the man addressed him, 'I had endeavoured to avoid this, but see now that I cannot prolong your existence any longer. I sought to offer you peace in oblivion... but such deliverance is beyond your fate - Come, Guardian!'

The hands came quickly, far too quickly for Rep to have seen them. But he sensed the darkness just moments before they erupted from a pool of darkness that appeared just as suddenly. Rep spun his head just in time to see a pair of yellow eyes like slits and a great, gaping maw of a mouth, emerge from the blackness. Strong arms hooked around his back as claws punctured into the skin between his ribs. They seemed to be trying to split his rib cage and lay open his chest. In him in half. He began to sink, not into the ground, but into the darkness. He was held in place by the hands and was entirely unable to struggle.

"Someone. Help me. Please. I can't fight him off any longer..."

"Look out!"

The voice, high pitched and strangely familiar, chimed like a bell through the silent night. There was a flash of light as something small, black, and nimble sailed overhead. The figure halted several feet in front of him. Rep gasped when he saw the familiar hood strings and chains of the Organization's cloak. Before he could react to that, he heard a growl in his ear. Reflexively, Rep glanced behind him to see that the Heartless had been impaled through the head with a golden sword shaped like a key. It took Rep a moment to realize what he was seeing - a Keyblade.

"Sora?"

The Heartless roared in agony, releasing Rep and throwing its arms over the wound. The Keyblade vanished and returned to its wielder's hands. "Leave him," he commanded as a series of stars fabricated out of light danced around the blade's tip. The stars showevered over both Rep and the Heartless. It began to writhe beneath him before vanishing altogether. The light bathed over him as the coldness in his heart was washed away and the voice fell finally silent.

Silent, but not banished.

Rep curled into a tight ball. It was all he could do to protect himself. He recognized the voice and scent now, and knew that it had not been Sora who had come to save him. It was Riku's friend from Castle Oblivion - the one he had attacked. And now that Riku's worst fear, the fear that his possessor had been passed on to his replica, had been realized, his friend had come to claim him.

Rep raised his head in alarm as the scent began to draw closer. For just a second he was able to make out the image of a small person, no larger than Denzel, before his left eye suddenly began to burn once again at the sight. Rep hissed, unable to scream though this instincts demanded it, and covered it with his hand. With only one free hand as the other shielded his eye, Rep forced his torn body to move, to do anything to put as much distance between them as he could manage. It was a distance that was instantly closed as Riku's friend suddenly stood over him. Rep could see the glint of the Keyblade resting in his hand.

"Don't," Rep begged, too overcome with everything that was happening to speak properly. "No. Riku. Please. No."

"I'm sorry," was the reply. "I don't understand." Riku's friend knelt by his side and Rep winced as he placed a gloved hand over his back. "You're badly hurt," he said. Rep thought he caught a hint of tenderness in his tone. "Hold still."

Out of the corner of his eye, Rep caught the light of a familiar green glow and lurched away before he could be touched. The movement caused incredible pain and through his ragged, shallow breaths, Rep managed, "No. Can't magic. Hurt." Weakly he gestured towards where the others were lying, suddenly recalling what was far more important. "Them first. Please. First."

Giving him a puzzled glance, Riku's friend's eyes strayed beyond where Rep was lying and caught sight of the others lying there. With a quick nod, he sped over to them. His heart pounding, Rep watched as he crouched over Yuffie, who was the worst injured, though not nearly as bad as he was, and began to cast healing spells. The light from the spell swirled and pulsed around the areas where they lay.

With a sigh of relief, Rep let his head fall against the ground. They were alive. They had to be. Riku's friend would not be trying to heal them if they were not. They were going to be alright.

But still, he had to know.

Gingerly he removed his hand from his eye and placed it on the ground as a brace. Slowly and painfully, Rep pushed himself up onto a crouch. His legs trembled from exhaustion and he pitched forward into the mud. The motion stretched the cuts even wider and he hissed. Rep held his breath as Riku's friend spun around at the sound, but quickly returned to his work when he saw that Rep had scarcely moved. Again he tried to rise from the ground and failed.

Rep knew that all of his options had been removed. He stood no chance against Riku's friend now. All he wanted was to say goodbye.

His arm gave out and Rep fell onto his side. He tried to push himself up, but it was futile. He simply could not carry himself any further. Rep laughed, not knowing what else to do. He should have realized that he never would have made it to see them one last time. He had become far too weak to go any further.

Suddenly a very bright scent was before him. "You are very badly hurt," the voice reprimanded him as the pain in Rep's eye jolted again at the sound and he was forced again to cover it. "You need to stay where you are to avoid injuring yourself further."

Rep struggled to articulate the words the wanted to say. "A-are... are they... okay?"

"They're going to be just fine," he was reassured, to extreme relief. Riku's friend glanced over at where they were still lying. "Don't you worry about them. They're just unconscious right now, like they're asleep. The darkness overwhelmed them like they were being suffocated. They weren't supposed to be killed."

"So... they're going to wake up?"

Riku's friend nodded and Rep noticed for the first time that there were two round balls on top of the hood of his coat. They waggled as he did so. "Pretty soon, I think. I cast Curaga on them, but let it simmer so that they wouldn't go into shock as the darkness leaves them." Suddenly his cheerful demeanour fell as his tone fell and became somber. "And also so that we could talk."

"You're taking me to Riku, aren't you." It was not a question.

"Let me heal you before I say any more."

Rep shook his head. "You can't. I have..." he held up his wrists to display the manacles, "these. I can't use magic with them on - they'll hurt me if I try. And Aerith used a potion on me earlier. I-I'm not sure if it's just me who can't use it, or if no one can."

"She was probably just trying to play it safe with the potion," he reasoned. "I used magic on you a moment ago to pull that Heartless away, and you seemed to be okay with that. But I would be more than happy to use a potion if it would put you at ease."

Rep had no idea what to say. "I... okay."

Riku's friend reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle with a shimmering blue liquid inside of it. "This is an elixir," he explained when he caught sight of Rep's curious expression. "It will fully heal you and make you feel stronger, too. They're pretty rare, but nifty if you can get your hands on one!"

Without another word, Riku's friend poured the elixir on his black, gloved hands and began spreading it over Rep's back where the damage was worst. He worked in silence, massaging the gashes as they knit together and ensuring that each wound was cleaned and cared for. However, through it all a knot was forming in the pit of Rep's stomach as he fought against the desire to raise the question that was haunting him.

"Why are you helping me?" he muttered, finally.

Riku's friend did not answer right away; he could have been thinking of an answer or simply focusing on applying the potion. "What do you mean?"

"I attacked you back in Castle Oblivion to get to Riku. I know he wants me dead - especially now that I'm..." Rep found that his voice was regaining its strength as the elixir did its work, though it wasted away with the words that followed. "Now that he's made me even more like him. I'm a replica. I shouldn't exist anyway, but now I'm just..." He shook his head and pulled away from the gentle hands. Rolling over onto his side, Rep faced the black hood and addressed it, "So why, then? Why are you helping me when you know what's going to happen to me next?"

Slowly two gloved hands made their way up to the hood and lowered it to his neck, exposing his face for the first time. Rep's eyes widened as he tried to comprehend the sight. He was a mouse. The balls that had been protruding from the top of his hood had not been balls at all, but rather large, black, furry ears. The fur around his eyes, nose, and mouth was a creamy tan, but the rest of him was a rich black that looked extremely soft to the touch. He had the deepest, darkest, and kindest eyes that Rep had ever seen. However, as those eyes met his one good one, the pain behind his closed eyelid intensified and Rep pressed his palm against it to provide any sort of relief.

The little mouse sighed heavily. "Because I believe in chances and choices. In my lifetime, I have seen people I looked up to and admired act in unspeakably horrible ways. But I have also seen those who walked away from the light return to it in the darkest hours. I do not believe that anyone is born - or created - either good or evil. You can be led astray, but in the end it is the choices that you, and you alone make, that determine who you are." He beamed down at Rep, adding, "And I don't see any reason why you can't be included in that. I'm not Riku, and I don't speak for him. I speak only for myself. And you, I think, deserve the same chance to speak only for you. So tell me, then, who are you?"

Notes:

I bet you thought Vanitas was going to be the main villain of this story, didn't you? To be fair, so did Vanitas. But then Ansem came right out of nowhere and was all:

"Haha! Not today, bitches! This is a Riku related thing and I am ALWAYS the final boss in Riku things. Vanitas can just GTFO."

This was another one that I had to split for length reasons. The next chapter is, therefore, about 2/3rd written and should be done by Saturday (I hope).

Maybe one day I'll have an actual schedule!

Hahahaha probably not!

And, as always, please leave a review if you like the story!