Chapter 9- Choices to make

After leaving the Destiny Islands behind, Riku continued on in his journey, until a familiar voice spoke to him, calling his name in an almost gleeful manner. "Riku... Riku..." "Who's there?" Riku exclaimed, as the voice responded cockily. "I know you can feel it... The grip that I have on your heart" At these words, Riku placed a hand over his chest as Ansem's cocky voice continued "You have let in the darkness, Riku. That means, very soon, your heart will be an all-consuming darkness" "I'm not like that now!" Riku retaliated, but this did not deter the nefarious entity in the slightest. "Yes, you are" Suddenly, a brief flash of darkness engulfed Riku, and he was frozen in place with outstretched arms, as if he were bound by invisible shackles. "Can't move!" he said, struggling to even move, as darkness emanated from his petrified form. "The deeper the darkness runs inside you, the stronger I become. Controlling you is effortless" Ansem's mocking voice stated.

Then, a golden light appeared and entered Riku's being, seemingly causing Ansem pain, as the blinding light consumed their surroundings. "Urrghhh... Must you interfere again?!" Ansem said before he fell silent once more. Unbeknownst to Riku, a corridor of darkness appeared behind him, and a familiar figure stood in the light as it faded. Then, to Riku's surprise, a familiar voice spoke cheerily "Phew! Sure glad I made it in time! That oughta keep Ansem busy for a while" As Riku recovered, he turned to follow the voice, and was greeted by two people he was glad to see: the first was King Mickey, but unlike the previous instances where he was a projection, this time he stood in a physical form. Behind him stood Sairu, whose empty gaze didn't seem to register his two friends; he simply stood, his vacant stare focused seemingly on the floor.

Although Riku was overjoyed to see them both safe, he was nonetheless concerned for Sairu's well-being, his statue-like stature unnerving him. King Mickey seemed to understand Riku's unnerved aura, and turned to face Sairu, concerned for his well-being as well. As they slowly approached him, Sairu turned his face towards them, his vacant expression unchanging. "Sairu... Did something happen?" Riku asked, attempting to sound cautious for fear of worsening his friend's devastated state of mind. Thankfully, Sairu responded, his voice filled with melancholy "He's gone..." he said. "You mean... Zexion?" Riku said. At the name, Sairu's posture shook violently, his face contorted with a mixture of sadness and defeat. "I... I swore to protect him... I failed... he sacrificed himself... to save me... After I promised to return... with him at my side... for Kairi's sake" he clenched his fists so tightly they almost instantly turned white.

At this, King Mickey summoned his Keyblade, and a white light shone at its tip, which he aimed at Sairu, who was engulfed in the same aura and fell forwards. "Sairu?! Are you alright? Sairu!" Riku said as he attempted to awaken his friend, but the King placed a hand on his shoulder, saying "It's okay, Riku. Sairu's just asleep. That spell I placed on him is something like anaesthesia, he'll be out for a little while. If he had been left in that state, it would have only gotten worse, so I had to do something to help him" King Mickey explained. At this, Riku turned to face the King with an understanding look, which soon turned into joy as he reached for the King's face "Whoa" King Mickey exclaimed surprised "That tickles!" "This time, you're not an illusion. I'm so glad you could make it here" Riku said in overwhelming surprise. "I made a promise to you that I would find a way, didn't I?" Mickey rebutted jovially, and was surprised to see Riku suddenly collapse to the ground, sitting on the floor.

"Ahh... I'm okay. Don't worry. I'm just relieved. Apart from Sairu, I've- I've been alone so long that having another friendly face around is a little... overwhelming" he said as he sat on the ground, looking rather sheepish. Then, he asked King Mickey "But... uh, how did you make it here? I thought it was too far" "I found a card to help me" the King answered, showing a card to Riku, with its image depicting an unfamiliar world which was seemingly depicted during the sunset. "I needed a way out of the realm of darkness, and then suddenly, this card appeared right in front of me. When I picked it up, I could see your heart beyond the darkness. That's what let me find you. I guess the card thought its place was to be with you" the King explained as he handed the card to Riku who took it in his own hand and looked upon it thoughtfully "Maybe you're right..." he said, before he rose to his feet and pocketed the card, as he approached the unconscious Sairu who laid face first behind him.

"Can we do anything for him, Your Majesty?" Riku asked as he looked upon the sleeping Sairu. The King turned to face him and said "Sorry, Riku. There isn't anything to be done now. Sairu needs to regain the will to continue again on his own. We may be his friends, but we have to let him recover himself" "But, it doesn't feel right to leave him in this state. He lost his best friend. That would destroy anyone from the inside" Riku argued, wishing he could help him. The King sadly shook his head, and reiterated "That's true, but Sairu's strong. He can't get stronger if he doesn't learn to face this pain alone. After that, he'll be alright, I know it" in a determined voice. "Maybe... Your Majesty, do you think you can take care of him?" Riku asked hopefully. Thankfully, the King nodded enthusiastically, and went to prop the unconscious Sairu on his shoulder. "I'll take him to the next floor to let him recover. Once that's done, I'll lend you my strength again when you need it" "Alright. Thank you, Your Majesty" Riku sincerely thanked. With a nod of the head, the King and Sairu disappeared in a flash of light. After that, Riku approached the door and used the card the King gave him, the card to Twilight Town.

Once Riku emerged in this unfamiliar world, he took a look around, wondering where he was. "Where am I? What is this place?" he asked aloud, until to his horror, a corridor of darkness appeared before him, revealing a confident Ansem before him. "You must battle me all alone. Against my dark powers!" he exclaimed triumphantly, and the two looked ready to settle their grudge match, but, then, Riku relaxed his posture, looking at Ansem in an interrogative manner. "What's this? Are you giving up? Finally ready to surrender to your fate?" Ansem asked inquisitively. "You're not the true Ansem" Riku said flatly, which the entity before him by surprise, as he too relaxed his posture.

"Your scent is different. The Ansem in my heart smells darker. The odour is more foul. But your scent just isn't that. It's not darkness. It's something else. I finally understand. You're the one who guided me when it started. You came to me pretending to be Ansem. You gave me the card- To make me face the darkness" Riku explained, leaving Ansem to scoff, sounding impressed as he then spoke in a different voice entirely. "That is correct" as Ansem's form also changed, being engulfed by light, to be replaced by an enigmatic-looking man, whose face was obscured by red bandages, revealing a smooth, tanned chin and mouth, and a single golden right eye, the other obscured by two black belts adorning the bandaged head, and otherwise dressed in unusual attire. "DiZ, or so I am known. You- I've watched you all along" the figure introduced himself to the unsurprised Riku. "Really. Who are you? And what do you want from me?" Riku asked, suspicious of the individual before him. "For you to choose" DiZ simply responded. "Choose?" Riku asked, prompting DiZ to explain "You are a special entity. You exist between the light and dark. You stand in the twilight, as does your unconscious friend" Riku's suspicion grew at that last remark, but wasn't surprised that this figure knew about Sairu, considering he was his companion the whole time in the castle. "You are to meet Naminé, then choose" DiZ added, leaving Riku curious, as well as suspicious. "Naminé? Who's that?" Riku asked. "You will know soon" DiZ answered before disappearing into the light. At this, Riku concluded he had no choice but to explore the town, and began his search for Naminé.

Meanwhile, in the next room of the castle, the King stood over the still unconscious Sairu, concerned for the young man. But he knew he could do very little for him. It was all down to him, and him alone. With that, he turned his attention to the door where Riku would emerge from in due time. As he stood looking at it, the King closed his eyes in concentration, sending a portion of his energy into the card world to aid Riku when he would need it. As he did so, he was unaware of what was occurring in Sairu's inner world.

In a world shrouded in darkness, the only source of light within that darkness was a single pillar, depicting a sleeping Sairu adorned in a stained-glass platform, floating in dreamless sleep, clutching his trademark sword in his right hand. In the background, two conflicting scenes were depicted: on the left side where Sairu floated was a beautiful looking garden; on the right, a depiction of Traverse Town existed as well. Above the rendition of Traverse Town, were images of seven individuals: a goofy-faced Sora featured at the top of the hexagonal arrangement, a confident Riku featured to his right, Donald and Goofy featured on Sora's left, a smiling King Mickey underneath them, a bashful-looking girl with long, curly black hair featured underneath Riku, Kairi at the bottom most of the arrangement. Yet, in the centre, which would have depicted another individual, was cracked and obscured by the darkness formed from the despair Sairu felt. In the very centre of the platform stood a solitary Sairu, frozen and coated in a dark aura, with gritted teeth. As time pressed on, the dark aura became deeper and more sinister. "It was that Replica's fault" Sairu said through his gritted teeth, rage building inside him, reaching a dangerous point. "That Replica stole his power, and his life. It stole all that was left of my best friend. He... will pay... HE WILL PAY!" he bellowed as the dark aura erupted with equal ferocity as the rage that was released from him. "Wait..." a calm voice declared, and as Sairu turned, his anger and darkness dimmed as he noticed the girl that stood there: she was rather pretty in his eyes, with blond hair draped over her right shoulder, and cobalt blue eyes that reminded Sairu of a good friend. She was only wearing a simple white dress that reached her knees and light blue sandals with a rather petite figure. "Who are you?" Sairu asked, struggling to contain his anger.

"My name is Naminé. It is nice to meet you, Sairu" Naminé said with a smile, which took him by surprise: she was being so sweet in front of him, and he was filled with anger and hatred towards the one responsible for Ienzo's demise. "Naminé? What are you doing in this place?" Sairu asked, attempting to sound calm and composed, but it seemed she knew that and did not hesitate in the slightest. "I'm here to give you a choice" she said calmly. "What would that be?" Sairu asked, sounding impatient. "You need to realize that what you're feeling is natural, but you can't let it rule your actions" Naminé explained. "And why shouldn't I?" Sairu angrily asked in retaliation. "Because you're hurt and for those who have been in your position, seeking revenge is the easier option than attempting to just simply forgive the people who caused this pain. But, what is more important is that you forgive yourself. If you can forgive yourself, then you can escape your suffering and your hatred of the Replica will fade."

Sairu gave her an incredulous look, then a look that said she was mad. Sensing this, Naminé then walked over to the images that depicted Sairu's closest friends, and she said "Sairu, it is not in your nature to be an avenger. The images of your friends on this platform are proof of this. An avenger cares for nothing but their objective, stopping at nothing to obtain it. But you care for your friends above everything else; if you didn't any longer, then these images would be rendered blank. The only one missing is Ienzo, because of your despair of losing him. The right thing to do is to stand up after falling down, because that's who you are" Naminé finished with a sincere smile adorning her gentle features. At hearing this, the dark aura surrounding Sairu vanished, and the angered expression soothed and relaxed into a calm one..

"Believe me, Sairu. Ienzo may be gone, physically, but he exists forever, inside your heart. That's where he will stay, now and forever" Naminé added serenely, which evoked a sense of realization in Sairu, understanding now the path he will walk. Sairu then lifted his gaze to Naminé's face and gave a warm smile. "I see. Thank you... Naminé" At hearing this, Naminé was taken aback, but she regained her composure and smiled in return. "You're welcome. Now I'd better go. I have to tend to Sora" "Sora? Has something happened?" Sairu asked. Naminé gave Sairu a sad smile and answered "You'll know soon enough. And Sairu... does this mean we're friends?" she asked, a look of hopefulness in her piercing blue eyes. Seeing this, Sairu's heart began beating rapidly and his cheeks tinted pink, but said, in a surprisingly controlled voice "Of course. I mean, who wouldn't think of you as a friend after what you did for me?"

Now it was Naminé's turn to blush slightly, and she happily nodded in return. "Do you think I'll see you again, Naminé?" Sairu asked. Naminé gave him a sad look, yet she smiled and said "I don't know for sure, but I'd be happy to see you again" she said, and her form disappeared before his eyes. After that, Sairu turned to face the images of his friends which had changed: Ienzo's image was depicted at the centre of the now heptagonal arrangement, and now featuring Naminé at the bottom alongside Kairi. Seeing this, Sairu smiled and looked to the darkness above, as he disappeared from the platform. The next time he opened his eyes, he would be back in Castle Oblivion, his choice having been made.