Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This storyline is mine. Over 100 reviews?! (explodes) Whee! Thanx reviewers! I like this chapter, even if it is a little weird. I feel like the end is a bit rushed, so please forgive. Reviews are love!
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Chapter Fifteen: Parasite
When the lock clicked, Sora and I both froze. The darkness released Sora and he dropped to his feet, crossing over to me and pulling me to my feet.
"What's happening?" I asked breathlessly, though it was pretty obvious what was happening.
Xehanort smiled unpleasantly, arm still extended towards the door. Sora had never really told me what had happened when he fought Xehanort the first time, when he'd locked Riku and King Mickey inside Kingdom Hearts. This had to have a ring of deja vue about it.
Sora knelt down, taking up a fist sized rock from the ground and standing slowly. Xehanort had his back to us, watching intently as the door resisted opening any farther.
I grabbed Sora's arm, "Don't." I hissed.
Sora looked at me painfully, "I can't let him destroy the islands again."
I pleaded silently, "There has to be another way. If you knock him out, he'll just wake up and start at it again. We have to stop this now."
Xehanort rolled his neck, dropping his arm, keeping his back to us, "N-No."
The stammer in his voice made Sora and me look up.
"Riku?" I asked taking a step forward.
"Not a-again. Not th-this time." He was muttering, shaking overtaking his form.
"Riku." I crossed the rest of the cave to him and grasped his arm.
He immediately turned, grabbing my arm and forcing me to my knees.
"Kairi!" Sora yelled.
"Sora, don't!" I warned, wincing as the pressure from Riku's grip nearly crushed my arm. I looked up at Riku. His eyes were flickering from orange to blue. "Riku, I know you're in there."
His lips were pursed to a thin line, barely moving, "I'm not…I'm not crazy, Kairi." He said it in a low voice, barely above a whisper, full of desperation and pleading.
"I know. We both know that, Riku. You have to know that." I said, involuntary tears flooding my eyes as his fingers closed more tightly around my arm.
Sora dropped his rock, sweeping around behind Riku, out of my line of vision. I kept my eyes on Riku's, which suddenly flashed orange.
"Don't speak of things you don't understand." The low voice slipped from Riku's lips and just as abruptly, so did Riku's voice, "I'm sorry. I don't—I don't want to hurt you."
"Then don't. You're in control, Riku. Xehanort can't do anything unless you let him." I said with as much conviction as I could.
Riku sank to his knees in front of me, his grip loosening, if only minimally. "You can't make me do this." He was talking to Xehanort, then Xehanort was replying. "I already have."
"No, no he hasn't! He's nothing without you, Riku! He needs you! Not the other way around!" Tears streamed freely down my cheeks.
"Is this all a Princess of Heart is capable of? Soft words and tears?" Xehanort smiled. The smile immediately faded to gritted teeth, "You have to get away from me." Riku pleaded with me.
Fingers slackened around my wrist and I jerked backwards, but didn't stand up. "No, Riku. We're staying here. Let us help you."
Riku grimaced and lifted a hand to his head. When he looked up, Xehanort was in control once more, "This world has been connected. You're a fool, Princess."
Sora flew in out of nowhere, a short, thick stalk of wood in hand. He jumped on Xehanort's back, throwing the stalk around his neck and pulling backwards. Both of them fell backwards, Xehanort landing on top of Sora.
"Don't hurt him!" I yelled to Sora.
"No promises!" Xehanort snarled, twisting around and trying to dislodge Sora.
Sora pulled to the side, successfully pushing Xehanort off of him so that their positions reversed. Sora was on his knees, straddling Xehanort's stomach, pressing the wood against his neck. Xehanort choked, grabbing at the wood.
"Sora, stop! It's me, it's Riku! I can't breathe!" He yelled.
"Shut up!" Sora hissed. "I can tell my best friend from a maniac like you!"
"Can you?" Xehanort laughed, lifting his leg and kicking Sora in the back.
Sora was flung head over heels, though clinging to the wood. Xehanort released him and Sora rolled across the floor, bumping to a stop against a boulder. Xehanort rounded on me.
"I find it ironic that you say you believe your friend, that he isn't crazy, that you can tell him apart from a maniac like me." He tilted his head, "When in reality, you left him in a ward and attacked him with a stick." He laughed, glancing back at Sora. "Just how much exactly do you know about your friend Riku?"
Sora got to his feet, lifted his stalk of wood, and swung like a baseball bat, aimed at the small of Xehanort's back. I cried out as Xehanort turned, catching the wood in his bare hand and jerking it out of Sora's.
"Riku, please! We're your friends, please stop!" I cried out.
Xehanort spun quickly, wood in hand. Before I knew what happened, I was sprawled out across the floor, my shoulder searing. Xehanort had hit me hard with the wood, slamming it down on my shoulder so hard it shattered into splinters. Pain riddled up my arm when I tried to move it; it felt dislocated from my shoulder.
Smack! Xehanort staggered sideways as Sora's fist crashed into his jaw.
"Riku, wake up! You have to beat this guy, damn it! You just attacked Kairi!"
Xehanort looked at me, mouth bleeding from a busted lip, eyes clear blue and full of horror. "Kairi—" He lifted a hand towards me.
I didn't mean to, but instinctively, I cringed, shrinking away from him. Riku's eyes widened in hurt and he fell to his knees, bending low and holding his face in his hands. Sora skirted around him, blocking me from his reach.
"Come on, Riku, you're not weak like this. We can't beat him for you!" He barked, then more gently, "We're here, Riku, we'll always be here to help, but you have to do the fighting."
A low, gurgling noise drew my attention back to the door. It had paused, having opened only a few inches, smoky wisps of darkness dancing out of the crack.
"You can't…help me." Riku's voice was soft, strained. "He'll never be gone. I'm sorry."
"No, no you're not!" Sora shook his shoulders, "You don't get to apologize. Stop sounding so defeated. You're Riku, come on!"
Riku's hands shot out, finding Sora's throat and tightening their hold, effectively cutting him off midsentence. "It is futile. Submit!"
Sora gasped and I saw little rivulets of blood trickle from his neck where Xehanort's fingers dug into him. I dragged myself up off the floor and limped over to the door, pushing against it with my good shoulder. I had seen the land beyond this door; I didn't want to see it again!
"Stop it. Stop it! Stop." Riku was mumbling, as if ordering his hands to relinquish their vice-like grip on Sora's windpipe.
Sora's face was turning red, but he wasn't saying anything. Instead, he just stared into Riku's eyes as his oxygen supply depleted.
The door was pushing against me now, and it was winning the battle for ground. I looked over as both boys broke apart, Sora staggering and gasping for breath, Riku struggling to remain standing, but he was back to Riku.
"He's—he's still—" Riku bent over, hands on his knees, and coughed. He released one long groan that seemed to tear itself from every fiber in his body.
The door shuddered violently against me and I stumbled aside. The door flung itself open. A wave of cold shadow burst forth, dimming all the spare light we had. The shadow rolled across the ground and fell on Riku, throwing him flat on his back.
I started towards him, but Sora stopped me. There was a strange look in his eyes that held me from questioning. So we both just turned and looked at Riku.
The darkness was furling around him, fingers of oily black licking at his skin, but recoiling just as quickly as if stung or burnt. Riku arched his back, mouth stretched wide, but not screaming, not making a sound actually.
Then something changed. It was like the darkness was being pulled away, like an elastic band pulled tight enough to snap. Strands of it that had attached to Riku's skin, mostly around his chest, were wrenched away, dragged back into the depths of the door. Likewise it pulled Riku back to his feet.
Just as suddenly as it started, the darkness seemed to pulse, turning tail and retreating into the door. Tendrils of it ripped themselves from Riku's mouth, ears, nose, eyes, and chest, curling in on themselves and doubling back past the wooden frame.
Light returned to the cave through the cracks overhead. Riku teetered on his feet, stumbling over to the door, which was waiting innocently. As he approached, the door slowly swung closed with a gentle thud of finality. The keyhole shone brazenly across the surface of the wood. Riku reached out with one hand and rested his palm across the keyhole.
A short burst of wind gushed down through the hole and the leading entrance tunnel, reminding us of just how cold it was outside. A loud, echoing click greeted our ears and Riku dropped his hand, turning to look at us slowly.
All of the color in his face had fled, leaving him looking bloodless and chalk white, a trait offset by the crystal blue clarity of his eyes. I managed back to my feet, and Sora moved forward.
"Riku?" He asked trepidly.
Riku looked at him, swaying and confused. "Sora? Kairi?"
"Riku!" Sora shamelessly threw his arms around Riku, "I knew it! I knew that creep didn't stand a chance!"
I smiled through a wince, "What was that?" I looked from Riku to the door and back to Riku.
For a moment, he looked relieved, like a massive burden had been lifted from his shoulders. His eyes closed soon after and his knees gave out and he slumped against Sora, who grabbed him and lowered him to the floor.
"Is he all right?" I asked, limping over faster, fresh tears dripping from my jaw.
Sora nodded, not bothering to wipe away the tears welling in his own eyes, "Now he is." He shook his head, looking over at the door, "I don't know what that was."
I knelt down on Riku's other side, suddenly exhausted, "We should get some help."
Sora nodded, but made no move to get up, "Maybe we could wait…just a minute."
Just then, Chris's voice yelled from outside, "Sora? Kairi? Are you in there?"
I smiled, looking up from Riku to Sora, "Minute over."
Chris stumbled in moments later, followed by my mom and three Indigo officials.
"What's the matter with you, taking off like that?!" He bellowed.
Sora faced his father, "You're a little late to the party."
My mom swept me up in her arms, "Oh, there's time to argue later. Let's get them out of here."
Sora lifted a hand, "Not the Indigo Center. Tomas and Kora's house is closer."