Chapter 16

"You really shouldn't move around so quickly, or do you want that wound to open again?" Maleficent said with an air of arrogance, thinly veiled by tenderness. Her demeanor was exactly like Riku remembered.

"A wound you probably inflicted..." Riku answered venomously. Maleficent raised her hand, as though to strike him, but instead stroked his cheek in an almost maternal manner. Riku felt his stomach churn at the touch.

"No, child. The Heartless don't ally themselves with me anymore. They were acting on instinct, I saved you from them."

"Hmph!" Riku snorted in disbelief, crossing his arms over his chest. That sickening pet name, Child. He knew Maleficent wasn't the type to give mercy for nothing. There must be a catch.

"I'm not as gullible as I was when we first crossed paths, and I suspected something back then as well... what's the catch?"

"There is none... we just know you're more valuable alive than dead."

"We? There is someone else allied with you?"

"Yes, boy. And I must say, you're proving to be more feeble than you were when you had Darkness on your side. How can you expect to protect your comrades when you keep your strongest abilities sealed away?" Ansem stepped into the room, his expression a cold one that invaded his thoughts. Riku's eyes widened at the sight, and he nearly fell out of the bed in his effort to get away from him.

"Am I ever going to be free of you?" he exclaimed, remembering none-too-fondly how he had been pinned down by the Heartless during their last encounter. He had never been gentle to Riku, even when he was a willing protege. He was more than certain that he had some kind of dark scheme planned out for him this time as well.

"Highly doubtful..." Ansem said, crossing his arms over his chest, an action Riku had come to understand meant he would not stand for arguments. Riku had stopped obeying him long ago however, and had recovered a great deal of fight as well as health since he had been brought to... wherever he was.

"What? None of your long winded speeches about letting out my inner Darkness? No picking fights with me in an attempt to prove me wrong? Have you finally accepted that while you may never leave my life, you'll never hold sway over my Heart ever again! Let me go!" Maleficent had to hold him back as he struggled to get close enough to strike the man he had hated with every fiber of his being for nearly three years, yet the stabbing pain in his lower body soon stopped him, making him double over with a sharp groan.

"Don't think I've given up on you brat!" Ansem spat in distaste. "You're just in no shape to try anything with yet, but mark my words, the moment you recover, I will find a way to win you back to the Darkness. You're far too valuable to give up on..." He added as he walked out of the room, a dirty smirk forming on his face.

"You really shouldn't anger him so..." Maleficent said, taking a seat at the foot of the bed, the safest possible distance from Riku's fists- he was still really angry. "You know what will happen if you cross him too many times, and I really don't like seeing you hurt."

"Say what you will, but you know I don't buy that..." Riku answered coldly. He knew Ansem was the type to inflict pain to put an unruly disciple in their place- he had been subjected to it plenty of times when he was allied with him during that first adventure.

What he didn't buy was the other thing Maleficent said. If she hated seeing someone in pain, she had a strange way of showing it. She always stood there, cold and impassive, whenever he endured one of Ansem's punishments or whenever he was injured after a blunder or miscalculation.

"Oh, and one more thing. This entire hall is for your personal use- you're free to go wherever and do whatever you want as long as you stay within it's bounds, yet you are not to leave this room until you're fully recovered. I'm going to have to lock you in to make absolutely sure you don't try anything." She stood up and left the room, giving a short nod of parting as she closed the door behind her, locking it. The last sound made was the shattering of glass as an enraged Riku threw the empty water glass sitting on the nightstand across the room at the closed door.

XXXXXXXX

"But what could it mean?" Aqua asked. She had returned with the remainder of the group sent to Castle Oblivion, and was now engaged in a serious meeting with Yen Sid and the others, trying to piece together the strange happenings of that mission- The revival of Roxas, the explosions, the disappearance of Riku, and the broken Wayfinder found among the blood and wreckage.

Sora had been a wreck throughout the return journey, becoming violently ill, having nightmares, and frequently breaking down into sobbing fits. He was convinced Riku was dead, claiming nobody could survive after losing as much blood as was splattered among the wreckage, and that he could not reach him through their connection.

"I'm sure he's still alive, Sora..." Yen Sid repeated to him for the fifth or sixth time that day. "Remember, there was no body found at the site. What use does our enemy have with a corpse? Xehanort is after live vessels."

"Well, if he is alive, he's probably severely injured somewhere out there. We need to get to him, and soon!" Roxas interjected. Yen Sid held up a hand, silencing him.

"If they want him alive, they've probably tended to his injuries. I don't think time is that badly against us. Yes, we do need to find and rescue him, but, unlike the when Organization XIII tried to use him as bait to lure Sora to them, we have nothing to go on but the clues left at the site, and unfortunately, they don't reveal a lot..." Yen Sid said.

"It's obvious it was a Heartless attack..." Roxas added. "No Dusk I've ever encountered left markings on the ground like what we found. If I were to guess what it was, I'd wager it was a Wide Body, they tend to leave destruction in their wake."

"But what reason do Heartless have to kidnap someone?" Kairi asked. "They're usually content to steal a victim's Heart and move on..."

"I'd guess they were under orders..." Ventus interrupted. "Are there any individuals out there who have or had sway over them?"

Every face in the room darkened. Yen Sid looked genuinely worried. There were only four they knew of who could control Heartless- one of them had given up the ability long ago, one was not all that dangerous, but there were two others:

"Maleficent, and Ansem!" several voices exclaimed in unison.

"What business do those two have with him?" Mickey said angrily.

"I have several theories behind the matter, but all of them are rather grim." Yen Sid said. "It could be that they want him for the same reason so many forces of Darkness do- not many can wield Darkness without consequence the way Riku does, and they want to control that power. In the wrong hands, it could bring about devastating consequences."

"But Riku would never use his powers against us, he'd never betray us!" Sora yelled.

"I know he wouldn't, but there are ways for them to get him to use his abilities, against his will. Sora, listen to me. Riku has endured unspeakable traumas in the recent past. We all want to think he is strong enough to withstand whatever they have planned for him, but none of us have been through what he has. Even the strongest will can break under enough pressure."

End of Chapter 16.