Chapter IV: Rejection
"You know, I've been thinking…"
Riku was sitting in his usual spot on the bent tree, with Sora and Kairi next to him. They were watching the sunset, just as they had years ago before the Heartless were even a thought in their minds.
"What's up?" Sora asked. A statement from Riku like that out of nowhere sounded troubling.
"Well, since we came back home, we've been talking about all the adventures we've had. So many worlds, so many people… and there are so many more that we haven't seen. I know we just got back, but…"
"You wanna go out there again, right" Kairi asked.
Riku laughed. "Yeah, I do. I want to see the other worlds… just travel along, drifting through time, ya know?"
Sora smiled and leapt off the tree.
"Well then, we aren't gonna leave just by standing around, are we?"
Riku smiled.
"We should start by contacting King Mickey. Maybe he could lend us the Gummi ship or something. Kairi, you can write the letter. Sora, you and I can start on preparations for the voyage. We'll start tomorrow, bright and early!"
The three friends started to walk back toward their rafts, excited for the future.
Sora looked into the sky at the sunset.
It was calm.
Everyone was frozen in place. Kairi, emotionless, had tears streaming down her face. Donald and Goofy had dropped their weapons and sank. King Mickey held Sora in his arms tightly, slowly taking him away from Riku's body.
The grim view of Riku was unexplainable in how shocking it was to his friends. Although his body showed no signs of damage, his neck was broken to one side, creating an unnatural look to him. The King realized that he needed to get everyone away, lest the Heartless pray on their current state of heart.
He was able to shepherd Kairi in the ship easily; she didn't resist, and showed no emotion. Sora was a different story. Rage had begun to build inside of him, and his thrashing and screaming didn't help King Mickey's situation at all.
Eventually, everyone was in the Gummi ship, and Mickey set its course for Disney Castle. He looked back at Sora, and sensed his anger growing, along with his desire for revenge.
"Sora."
He looked up at the King, solemnly.
"Rage won't help you, it only fuels the darkness in your heart."
Sora looked away, with bitterness in his eyes.
The King looked back at the controls.
"Don't become was Xemnas wanted in himself…"
Back at Disney Castle, Riku's body lay silent next to the Cornerstone of Light. Around him stood Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and Queen Minnie. Although the latter five were mourning and crying, Sora was exhibiting a different expression; rage.
Riku's death was so sudden, so quick, that Sora hadn't begun to mourn. His thoughts were only focused on the man who killed him. After the ceremony, Sora approached the King in his study.
"Who was that?" he asked, trying to conceal his anger.
"Sora, you have to take time and accep-"
"WHO?!" Sora's tone was jarring, almost inhuman.
The King looked astonished, then dropped his head and sighed.
"When the Heartless were first created, they were only Shadows. The other Heartless, the ones with the insignia, were… manufactured, in a sense. Xehanort had created these in order to lead his army…
"Anyway, the Shadows before this time had no purpose, they only existed. In order to create someone who could lead them, the Heartless forged a being that was strong enough to do so. This being was that man, Kyurg. He lead the Heartless into glorious battle and was an intimidating fighter; the only person I knew who could defeat him was Xemnas. I assume this is why he decided to appear now…"
Sora's anguish only grew as the King spoke of this man, becoming even more hellbent on destroying him.
"The reason Kyurg wanted Riku was because of Ansem's Heartless. Although Maleficent believed that she controlled the Heartless, it was Kyurg all along; he watched from the shadows and allowed her to control them for his own means. However, when Riku and Ansem's Heartless became one, the Heartless followed Riku instead, and Kyurg was stripped of his kingdom. He went into hiding, waiting for the day he could exact revenge."
Sora fell to his knees and pounded the ground with his fists, yelling in fury. Then, he layed on the ground and cried.
His best friend was gone, forever.
Sora stood and looked at the King.
"Is there… is there any way to save him?" he said weakly.
King Mickey shook his head. "The only way to revive Riku would be to use Kyurg's dark power, and the only way to harness that would be to defeat him."
The King turned and looked for a book to describe the situation. "The only thing I know is that he's in Hollow Bastion; that's the only place that can hold that much dark energy. Now let me see here, where is that book…"
Mickey felt a sense of dread and looked back at Sora.
He wasn't there.
"Sora, Donald n' I understand, but it's too dangerous for you tuh go after him!"
Donald and Goofy stood in the Courtyard with Sora, who was trying to convince them to go after Kyurg.
"You don't understand! Riku was my best friend, and Kyurg took him away from me. I need to beat him to bring Riku back, and I can't do it without you guys…" Sora fell on his knees and put his hands together.
"You guys are my only hope… Please…"
Tears streamed from his face, hitting the grass as they fell. After a while, Sora looked up to find Goofy and Donald gone.
"It looks like I'm on my own…"
"Chip! Dale! We need a Gummi ship!" Donald yelled.
He and Goofy were in the Gummi Garage now; they were going to surprise Sora with the ship in order to face Kyurg.
Both Dale and Chip slid, jumped, and hopped their way to Donald and stood at attention. "Of course!" Chip exclaimed. "We have one waiting in the bay!" Dale said.
"Great! Now let's go get Sora an' help him." Goofy was starting to walk toward the bay when an alarm sounded.
"What's the big idea?!" Donald watched as the two chipmunks climbed up to their post and checked the monitors. At the same time, they both exclaimed:
"The Gummi ship just left!"
Although an inexperienced flyer, Sora still knew how to navigate the ship. He set the course for Radiant Garden and flew.
His determination was set, and he was ready to not only save his best friend, but avenge him.
One way or another, Kyurg was going to pay.
As he sat in the Dark Depths, gaining strength from the Heartless' power returning to him, Kyurg felt a shift in the air. He was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed; you could almost mistake him for sleeping. The longer he sat there, the more he seemed to radiate pure darkness.
He opened his eyes.
Hmmmm… he comes to avenge his comrade. Very well little one…
Kyurg stood and turned toward the entrance to his sanctuary, intimidating as ever.
Come face your maker.
End ch. IV