Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the lyrics to the song "Bet On It" as sung by Troy in HSM2, doesn't mean that I don't like either though, lol.

A/N: WHOOPIE! I got my 40th review, that's a big deal, this is my second most reviewed fic I've written so far, next to Even Against the Darkness, which has a 210 review tally (it's an older, longer fic, so don't worry readers, lol, it has an advantage, lol). Anyway, this is a Riku centric drabble about his quest for redemption and played to the words "Bet On It" from Highschool Musical 2, please do enjoy and don't forget to review:

"Bet On It"

(Centric: Riku)

Riku's POV:

I have a dark past, I'll admit it, but I hear that accepting the fact that your past was bad is the first step to recovery. It was all my fault, I gave in to the darkness, it was just so…alluring to me. I knew that if I dove into the darkness, I would be able to go wherever I wanted and no longer be restrained to my sad little island, which was my heart's desire. Heh, darkness has a funny way of appealing to your heart. After I allowed myself to be taken, I was greeted by perhaps one of the darkest people I had ever met, Maleficent. Her words twisted my mind, she was slowly turning me against my friends and everything I cared for, especially Sora. Till the day I die, I'll never forgive her for that.

Everybody's always talking at me, everybody's trying to get in my head. I wanna listen to my own heart talking, I need to count on myself instead.

I have made many terrible mistakes, but there is one that I have a hard time with, I gave up my heart to an evil man named Ansem, who was far worse than Maleficent and all of her lackeys combined. When he found me, I was angry and confused, I had lost to Sora. I was shocked, because when we sparred on the island, I could take him on any time I wanted…why was it different now? I didn't understand…he should be helping me, Kairi was in trouble, her heart had been taken, and I was trying to save her, wasn't I? I didn't know anymore, I was lost and alone now. He gave me the offer of opening my heart to darkness on the empty promise that if I did, I would be able to defeat Sora. Foolishly, I did, he then consumed me, he…became me, and at the time I didn't care. I craved the power of darkness, and he sure gave it to me, but I almost had to pay the ultimate price. Once I realized how far I had gone down hill, I knew this wasn't what I wanted, but it was too late.

Don't you ever lose yourself to get what you want, don't you ever get on a ride then wanna get off, don't you ever push away the ones you should have held close. Did you ever let go? Did you ever not know?

Well, after that, things seemed to go a little better. Sora had defeated Ansem, and I was freed as a result, the thing was, I was in the realm of darkness. When I woke up, I saw that the darkness was poised to flow through the door of Kingdom Hearts. I saw Sora and his friends struggling to shut the door from the outside, I knew that there wasn't time for me to jump outside and help them, so I grabbed the door from the inside and helped close it. Sure, I knew that there was a big chance I would be forever stuck in the dark, but I didn't care, as long as Sora and Kairi were safe. I owed them that much, besides, I deserved that fate…I had spent so long in the darkness. King Mickey gave some comforting words to Sora, who was trying to coax me to the outside, that he didn't need to worry, because there is always a door to the light. I guess I hoped that was the case too, being as we both gave each other a look of understanding as we shut the door. Before we did though, I made Sora promise to take care of Kairi.

The next thing I remember was being woken up in the shadows by a voice. It was kind of creepy, he seemed to know almost every little thing about me. He later introduced himself as DiZ and led me to a castle where he said I had to face my past. I was hesitant at first, could I face it…I could still feel Ansem inside me, in the darkest corner of my heart, which meant I would we would have to meet again.

How will I know if there's a path worth taking? Should I question every move I make? With all I've lost my heart is breaking, I don't wanna make the same mistake.

After thinking it through, I realized that it was the only way I could make amends for myself, like I said before, the first step to recovering from a dark past is to accept it. I proceeded through the castle. I had to relive some of the darkest moments in my life…my time in the castle, my fights with Sora. Heh, like I figured, I got to see Ansem's ugly face again. What was funny was that, although he knew me, he didn't know me. He knew that my powers of darkness had grown, but he didn't know that I had turned that weakness into my greatest strength, with the help of his Majesty, Mickey Mouse, of course, who became a very close friend of mine during those dark trials. That lack of knowledge (which ironically enough, he prided himself in knowing everything), lead to his defeat, now the slaver became the enslaved, if you will. Now that I had my dark heart under control, I had hoped never to use it again, but that didn't last.

Don't you ever doubt your dream will ever come true, don't you ever blame the world and never blame you. I would never try to live and lie again, I don't wanna win this game if I can't play it my way.

When I realized that Sora, had also gone through that same castle, but wound up with his memories twisted and contorted by a young lady named Naminé, who was kind enough to restore Sora's memories, however there was one problem…Sora wasn't complete. His Nobody, Roxas was needed in order to complete the restoration process. I fought the blonde, but, true to who he really was, bested me in our first duel. This caused me to think long and hard about the very thing I had hoped would never have to cross my mind again…using the darkness within me, allowing it to consume me yet again.

Oh, hold up….give me room to think…bring it on down. Gotta work on my swing, gotta do my own thing. Oh hold up, stop!

I realized that there was no other choice…in order to capture him, I needed to "cheat" a little bit, so I called upon my darkness, but this time in order to use it to the extent I needed it, I needed to become darkness itself…I became Ansem, only this time I was in control. When I beat Roxas and brought him to DiZ…I'll never forget how I felt when I first saw my reflection in the mirror. Here I was, looking like the man I hated most, but it was for a just cause, it was the only way I could make up for my sins…even if I couldn't change back, it was worth it.

It's no good at all, to see yourself and not recognize your face. Out on my own, it's such a scary place. Oooh, the answers are all inside of me…all I gotta do is believe.

I talked things through with DiZ, he solemnly apologized for lettings go so far and that it was highly likely that I would never become my original self again. I told him that it was a necessary sacrifice, and that I had no regrets, so long as Sora could be restored and everything for him and Kairi went back to normal. It was then that I noticed that I wasn't the same anymore…my mentality had changed. I no longer cared for myself, my goals had changed. Those I cared for where in trouble, and all I thought about was making it up to them by helping them out. Yes, I had a chance to make amends for my sins, even if not for them, then so I could finally forgive myself for what I had done.

I'm not gonna stop, not gonna stop till I get my shot. That's who I am, that is my plan, will it end up on top again?

Bet on it, bet on it, bet on it, bet on it you can bet on you can

Bet on it, bet on it, bet on it, bet on it, bet on ME.

I'm gonna make it right, that is the way to turn my life around, today is the day. Am I the type of guy who means what I say?

Bet on it, bet on it, bet on it, bet on it,

You can bet on ME!

A/N: Well, did you like it, hate it, something in between? Let me know by reviewing, okay?