The Fallen

The Portal opened, and Riku stepped out. He turned and spoke to the King and Prince, who were still inside.

"What should I do when I meet him?" Riku asked.

"You should try to remove him from the darkness. Whoever Xehanort's counterpart is in this world is already stealing his heart from him, filling it with darkness. We could end this conflict much faster if we were able to stop him from doing so." King Mickey replied.

"Gotcha," Riku replied. He waved goodbye to his old friend as the portal closed. After it had, he stepped around, and nearly fell down. He had lost his balance because he was on a boat. He was in the middle of a tossed sea, and apparently a ship graveyard. There were shredded boats everywhere. But the fresh blood on them seemed to indicate that they were newly destroyed. Riku started walking. There were fallen soldiers everywhere, most of whom were missing extremities. Some kind of monster was loose and killing these men.

"First things first, gotta find this Calub," Riku said to himself. He reached the end of one boat and jumped to another. After finding his balance (and also finding that he was getting a little sea sick) he heard a noise. Footsteps, loud and heavy, where coming his way. He wheeled around as fast as he could, keyblade drawn, and grabbed the man advancing on him and stuck the blade to his throat.

"Who are you?" Riku asked. But the man was so frightened that he acted like he couldn't see Riku.

"Run! Must run! The Hydra! THE HYDRA WILL KILL US ALL!" he screamed as he tore out of Riku's grip. He made it about ten feet before a tentacle of some giant sea beast burst through the planks on the deck of the ship, grabbed the poor man, and pulled him in. Riku ran to the hole, but saw nothing except the inside of the ship, and the dark water below. Suddenly, he heard the rustle of chains, and the sound of something coming through the air right towards him. He ducked and rolled to see a blade fly right where his head had been. It was a short, fat blade on a long chain, and the blade was on fire. Riku stood up and grabbed his keyblade and looked towards his assailant.

There stood a monstrous man. His skin was chalk white, with red tattoos on his face, chest, back and shoulder. The blade had a twin, and they were both chained to his arms. He had a scar on his right eye and was definitely the most muscular man Riku had ever seen. He looked very angry.

"What the HELL was that about?" Riku asked, bewildered.

"You are quick, but I will never be defeated by you," the man said, "Go back to your master Ares and tell him I no longer serve him!" and the man attacked again. Prepared for this, Riku jumped away from one blade and blocked the other with his keyblade. The force behind the blow knocked Riku off his feet, and he landed on the ground. The blade had already been pulled back, and the man was just about to end Riku's life.

"HOLD ON!" Riku yelled, annoyed that he'd been knocked down so easily. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't serve any Ares." The man looked at him for a moment, and then walked off like nothing had happened.

"Wait!" Riku called. He got up and chased the man down. Whether the man expected this or not, he had pulled his blades out again and faced Riku. Riku had his keyblade drawn and was ready for a fight. "I just need to ask you a few questions!"

"I do not have time to answer your questions boy. Get out of my way or I will remove you from it." The man replied.

"Have you seen another person like me, probably a little younger, dressed in strange clothing?" Riku asked.

"Stranger than yours?" The man asked. He did not smile.

"I suppose so," Riku said.

"He had gone ahead of me," the man said, putting his swords away, "he had a sword that was quite remarkable, it seemed able to cut through anything. Yours is unique as well, a giant key almost. Are you in league with him?"

"Not yet," Riku answered, putting his own blade away, "He's about to make a big mistake, and cast himself into the darkness of his heart. I have to stop him."

What affect these words had on the mysterious man, Riku didn't know, but he turned and said, "I will take you to him, then we will part ways. I do not need your help, so don't get in my way until we find him."

"I'm Riku," Riku said, extending his hand.

"Kratos," the man said, turning and running.

"Real friendly, Kratos," Riku said to himself as he sprinted to catch up.

OtO Holy Crap, I was dusting off my puter (looking through some old files) when I realized I hadn't updated this in over a year almost! Don't worry, though regular updates from now on, I promise.