Ansem pressed his face into his hands as he sat against the wall in the special place, the cave he and Sora had used to meet. The place where everything had begun to go wrong.
He was really Riku, of course. Taking the name Ansem was to fool himself as much as anyone else… a way to insulate himself from all the poor choices he had made. It didn't really help most of the time, but it also seemed fitting, given the way his body worked. And DiZ was dead and gone, so no one cared in any case. Besides… it was a good punishment for his mistakes. His crimes.
"Why? Why why why?" He muttered to himself in the low, deep voice that wasn't his own and never would be again. "Why did he have to be here, why did he have to come to me? Why?" If only he'd never seen Sora that way… the way he should have been, bright and light and belonging in the sun. Not cursed with the darkness.
A hand patted his shoulder urgently, and Ansem lifted his head to look into golden eyes. Pupilless, Heartless eyes that nonetheless managed to convey concern. He managed to tilt the corners of his lips up in a shaky smile for that concern.
"I'm okay." He assured his best friend. Sora didn't look at all convinced, but sat down beside him, wrapping his arms around him. Ansem shivered at the touch… it was light and airy as well as cold, as if Sora could vanish at any moment. But he leaned into it and felt Sora's more solid core supporting him. He wasn't worthy of this touch. He wasn't worthy of anything.
Ansem could still remember that horrible mistake. The moment that had cost Sora his life… all his fault. Kairi's scream, the pain of failure, grief and a raw, anguished rage that had denied the truth. Denied it with such force that he had ripped up the darkness, summoning the power Maleficent had given him to control the Heartless and caught Sora's essence into a body of shadow and dark echoes. He looked like a Heartless and in many ways he was a Heartless… but he had a heart and soul. Trapped in a body formed of nothing but darkness. Sometimes, Ansem thought he should just release the boy, let his heart and soul fly free… but whenever he suggested it his friend slapped him and shook a finger in front of his face. But that didn't help, because the worst part was that he couldn't trust Sora.
Ansem shuddered faintly as he remembered the first few weeks with his new Sora. He'd had to use every bit of power in himself to maintain and control Sora as the boy learned to cope with his new body… and maybe went a bit mad in the process. There was no way to communicate with him, not really, so Ansem couldn't be sure. Sora couldn't use pencils or pens… they broke in his hands… and keyboards were hard for him too. They communicated mostly through body language now, but that meant Ansem had no idea what Sora's mental state really was. He seemed to be coping well now, but how could he tell? Sora didn't need to sleep the way he did. Those first few weeks, Sora had kept trying to devour hearts. If he did that now, how would Ansem know?
Reminding himself firmly that his suspicions were completely unfounded, Ansem closed his eyes and sniffed.
"Sora, I'm so sorry." He whispered to the darkling boy holding him, and the grip on him tightened for a moment before a soft, cold hand stroked his hair. "So sorry."
No matter how many times he said that, it would never be enough.
Finally taking a deep breath, he pulled away, wiping his eyes with one hand. He couldn't cry here forever. If nothing else, he would look like a fool. Smiling slightly at the thought, Ansem pulled himself to his feet. It was a moonless night tonight and this deep in the cavern he was almost blind, but it didn't matter. With his connection to darkness and his knowledge of the cave he should be fine. He set out at a brisk walk-
And gasped harshly as one foot suddenly hit nothing. Scrambling desperately, he tried to save himself but only managed to grab a fistful of dirt before he fell into the hole. His descent ended in a horrible, snapping sound that made him scream.
"Sh-shit!" Grunting, he tried to cast cure and found that he couldn't. Cure was a spell of the light, and the things he'd needed to do to keep Sora with him had dragged him too far into the darkness. Not to mention… Ansem pushed that memory away hastily. There was no time to think of that. There was a sliding sound and Sora was beside him, fluttering around him anxiously. Sora's dark body was just too weak to carry him, and they both knew it. "That hole, where…" Ansem stopped, mentally cursing himself. It had been years since he'd been in this cave. If a sink-hole had developed, how would he have known? "My leg is broken." It was trapped under him and sweat beaded on his forehead at the pain of it. Ansem considered his options, and groaned. He couldn't see well enough to figure out a way out of this hole… and there was every chance he wouldn't be able to manage it in any case. "Sora…" He stopped as he realized his dark friend was gone. Gone to get help? But who could he get help from? Even in the Twisted World, they had no friends. Ansem wasn't a friendly person, and Sora… the Twisted World might tolerate his bizarre nature, but that didn't mean anyone wanted to be close to him. Ya Tashra's spells kept any normal Heartless out, but Sora was just different enough to be allowed in. But the Destiny Islands wasn't the Twisted World… who was going to help a Heartless?
Either way, though, it didn't matter. He'd be able to evaluate the situation better in daylight. The cave was fairly deep but light still reached this far… if he had to climb out of the pit with a broken leg, he'd find a way. Even if he had to step through the darkness to do it.
Comforted by that thought, he closed his eyes and tried to meditate to lessen the pain. He had learned to meditate very well, over the years.
It helped control the darkness.
Riku was sleeping deeply when the tapping on his window started. At first, he was oblivious to it… but when the catch to his window popped free and the window slid up, battle hardened instincts snapped him into awareness.
"HEY!" He jerked up, suddenly wide-awake and seeing a dark form squirming through his window. He jumped forward and slammed the window down in what had to be a painful blow before flipping on his light switch. "…" A dark version of Sora looked up at him pathetically, caught half in and half out of the window. Big golden tears slid down his cheeks. "What are you doing here?" Riku's eyes narrowed as he called up the Way to Dawn, but the little Heartless only squirmed and shook his head. Then, in a display of frustration, the dark Sora gripped his hair spikes and tugged on them. Riku blinked, tilting his head as he understood. "Oh… you can't talk?" The anti-Sora nodded, a few more golden tears slipping down his cheeks. Riku hesitated a moment, considering what to do… and finally lifted the window. "I'm letting you in, but if you try anything…" He gestured threateningly with the Way to Dawn, and dark Sora nodded, slipping into the room and fidgeting, glancing around. "Now what do you… hey!" Riku said sharply as the Heartless darted out the door.
He followed dark Sora to the bathroom, and watched, baffled, as the creature slammed the door shut and the water started to run. When the door popped open a while later, a mist of hot air blew out and Sora gripped his hand, dragging him in. Riku glanced around, baffled… then his gaze stopped abruptly on the bathroom mirror.
HELP RIKU FOLLOW ME. The letters were shaky but recognizable, and Riku's gaze shot back to the Heartless, who was looking at him soulfully.
"Your Riku is in trouble?" The anti-Sora nodded, hard. "…Okay. We'll get Sora and- ow!" Riku rubbed himself with a frown where the anti had pinched him. "No Sora? Why not?" The dark Sora looked back at the mirror and tried to add a few words on the bottom. Riku watched, fascinated… its touch seemed almost insubstantial. No wonder it had so much trouble communicating.
MAKE RIKU SAD. Riku blinked, but remembered how his double, who looked like Ansem, had reacted when he saw Sora. That did make sense.
"Alright. I'll follow you… behind you, and if you try anything…" Riku didn't finish the threat, and the anti-Sora just nodded impatiently, darting out of the bathroom. Riku gripped the Way to Dawn tightly as he followed the Heartless.
It might look like Sora, but that meant nothing at all. He wasn't going to trust it just yet.
Sora led him directly to the cavern, the special place, and Riku frowned as he heard something. A voice? As they went into the cavern, it became clearer, and he blinked. Someone was singing? It didn't sound at all like him… but it did sound like Ansem. And the song wasn't one he had ever heard before.
Victory was not mine to have,
It came to other men.
No daring feats in foreign streets,
No history making pen.
The ship I sailed was lost in fog,
Some distance from the coast.
Of all the things I've lost this year,
I miss my heart the most.
Riku's eyes widened a bit at the sad song. This person had to be him… the song was so perfect for his time in the darkness. He swallowed hard as he and Sora used the sound to pinpoint the location of the singer.
I broke my back on bottom's rack,
Like this my time was sold.
Like every moment was the last,
I spent my Fool's Gold.
Wasted now the passing years,
Of little I can boast.
Of all the things I've lost this year,
I miss my heart the most.
Riku found the edge of the sink hole and wasn't really surprised. The hole had formed only a year ago… if his other self hadn't been here recently, he wouldn't have known about it. It was easy to stumble into in the dark. Riku hesitated, and called up a bit of fire magic to light his way. It showed him the sink hole and the man lying on the bottom, his leg twisted under him at an unnatural angle.
When spring was young I had a thirst,
For standing proud and tall.
I drank the summers full of wine,
And fell right into fall.
Winter's chill with vengeance came,
And proved a cruel host.
Of all the things I've lost this year,
I miss my heart the most.
The song stopped abruptly as the anti-Sora slid down and bopped the singer on the head with a closed fist. He jerked up, then groaned softly, blinking yellow eyes at the sudden light.
"Sora. What have you…" He looked up and paled as he met Riku's eyes. "Ah. You're here to help me?" Riku tilted his head at the man's tone. He sounded… wary.
"I am. Is there a problem with that?" Riku said abruptly, and Ansem hesitated, then smiled tiredly.
"No. But I've learned not to trust help." Riku winced, but nodded. He could empathize with that feeling. He'd felt that way when he'd finally realized how much Maleficent was using him for her own purposes. But…
"It's not like you have much choice at the moment." Riku slid down the sink-hole, and began casting cure. The man groaned in pain as the spell took effect, and Riku glanced up, startled. Cure usually didn't hurt… not like that. "Are you okay?"
"The light… burns." He said through gritted teeth, and Riku's eyes widened. The light had never burned him, even when he had been in Ansem's form. How far gone to the darkness was this version of himself? Then Riku frowned as he looked at the leg. Cure wasn't working very well, either. The bone was set but he didn't think it was very strong.
"Sora, can you grip his arm as I pull him up?" Riku asked the Heartless, which hesitated, then nodded. Ansem lifted his head with a frown.
"He's not very strong, Riku." He cautioned the silver hair, but Riku only shrugged.
"He won't have to be." With a bit of careful work, they managed to get Ansem out of the pit… but that left another problem. "Can you walk?" Ansem hesitated, testing his leg… then winced.
"Yes, but…" He hesitated a moment, then sighed and called in his keyblade. Riku stared at the blade. It was like Soul Eater, but… worse. There was no hint of red or white to the blade, only lightless darkness, and they eye in the hilt was gold. Ansem used the blade as a crutch, trying to put no weight at all on his injured leg. "I'll be fine. Let's go." Riku was silent for a time as they walked, but… he had to ask.
"What happened to the two of you?" Sora looked back at him, and Riku could see an unbearable sadness in the Heartless' face. Ansem paused, his head down, grey hair shielding his face.
"My failure and foolish pride." Then he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters but the consequences." Riku wanted to ask more questions, but couldn't. Not while Sora was looking at him so pleadingly.
"Come to my house for the night. You're in no condition to go back through the portal." Ansem paused for a moment, thinking about it, then nodded his acceptance. The home with the portal would be closed for the night anyway, and he was certainly not capable of breaking and entering at the moment. And… the Twisted World wasn't necessarily a safe place when you were obviously hurt. Especially not on the first level, where he and Sora lived.
It would be much safer to stay here for a time, no matter how painful it was.
Elsewhere…
"Fuck!" Riku grunted, trying to wiggle out of her bonds. It wasn't going well. How had things gone so badly wrong?
The whole splitting up to get more samples had not been a good idea. But the native guilds had sworn the area was relatively safe from other demons. Wildlife, they were giving no guarantees with. Clearly, some of the other demons had vehemently disagreed. Riku's group, the smaller of the two, had been ambushed and a bunch of them kidnapped. Riku could only hope Sora was alright. He hadn't been feeling well, some kind of stomach flu, so he'd been with the larger group.
The demons had dragged them to a makeshift encampment with a large firepit and an idol in the centre. To add insult to injury, they'd separated the men and the women… and Riku was with the men. Not that she wanted to be raped. From the sounds of what was happening over there, that was exactly what was occurring. But apparently these particular demons weren't into gay sex, because even the pretty boys were being left untouched. Riku could only hope no one would-
Her thoughts slithered to a halt as one of the male demons was yanked away from them by his ropes. He was a Blade, and accepted the indignity calmly, but Riku could see the fury, hate and fear in his eyes as their captors began disrobing him. They did it the simplest and most effective way… by cutting away his clothes, leaving the ropes intact. The Blade suddenly lashed out as they dragged him towards the idol, catching one of his captors in the crotch with both feet. But he was hobbled and couldn't run, and they soon had him lying across a makeshift altar. Riku's eyes widened as she saw the obsidian knife one of them was holding. This was like something out of a bad dream, a nightmare, a horror movie… surely they couldn't mean to…
The scream was sickening, and Riku felt like vomiting as she saw the blood go spurting. And then something was tossed into the fire and she did throw up as the heart sizzled in the flames. She wasn't alone in that, and she glanced over at Marty. He was further down the line, and was looking absolutely ill. But there was nothing he could do. The demons had realized what he was and had taken special precautions, gagging and tying him more tightly than any of the others.
They came for her next, and Riku flailed helplessly as she was dragged out. But when they disrobed her, the demon holding the knife paused, surprised, and barked something to the others who laughed. She couldn't understand the language they were using. The Dark Land had a common tongue with the Land of Light, so these demons must have specifically created their own language so outsiders couldn't understand them. A battle tongue?
Whatever they were saying, they had clearly finally noticed she was a girl. Riku shivered violently as the demon holding her fondled her tiny breasts, then patted her thoughtfully on the bottom. The demon with the knife said something else, and her captors began dragging her over to the other women. Riku had never imagined she could feel so shiveringly grateful at the prospect of imminent rape. But anything was better than having her heart torn out and thrown into a fire.
She was flung down roughly on the barren earth, a demon looming over her. If the situation hadn't been what it was, he would have been handsome. Pale skin, hair as red as Axel's but longer and braided in places. Dark violet eyes scrutinized her thoughtfully, and then he grinned, kneeling down and shoving her legs apart. Riku grunted, anger rekindling… she wasn't going to go down without a fight… and tried to knee him in the crotch. But he evaded the strike easily and pinned her down, fondling her breasts for a moment. She could feel his erection pressed tightly against her belly and wanted to throw up again. Yes, she didn't want her heart torn out but she really didn't want to be raped either…
Then there was a sound of weapons on weapons, and a shout. The demon on her abruptly let go and pulled away, grabbing a weapon and dashing out. Riku could only watch as a bloody melee began as Desdemona led a charge, screaming a violent war cry. How had they found them so fast? The demons had covered their tracks fairly well… but Riku wasn't about to question her good fortune.
As she watched the battle, she caught a few glimpses of Axel, and thought she understood. Axel and Roxas had been with their smaller group, and Roxas had been taken while Axel had been one of the few who had escaped capture. She knew about the blood bond and how it could be used to sense location… Axel had gone to the main group and led them directly back. Now if only someone would-
"Riku!" Riku looked up with a brilliant smile as Sora slashed through her bonds, paying no attention to her nakedness. "C'mon, we're getting you out of here!"
"Thank you so much Sora!" She called in her keyblade and began helping him free the others. Soon all the women were moving, ignoring their injuries and grabbing anything that would serve as a weapon to exact revenge. Riku grinned to herself. If the demon women caught any of their rapists alive, it would be a long, protracted revenge.
But there was no time for that, and as soon as the captives were free the group was moving out. There were far too many of these strange demons, more than there should have been. As they ran through the jungle, they heard a song starting behind them.
"Sirens!" Marty cursed. Siren song was a potent weapon when there were many sirens to contribute, and they could hear the lower counterpoint of banshees as well. It was building up to something, they could all feel it. But…
"Fuck that!" Riku said with a snarl, and held out a hand. "Sora, give me your keyblade!" Startled, Sora handed it over. "Everyone, if you have anything to put in your ears do it NOW!" Started but willing to take her word for it, Desdemona bellowed the same thing so all the demons could hear. Riku had nothing for herself, and resigned herself to at least a week of deafness. Then she began casting a spell.
It was something she'd come up with herself, back when she was in the darkness and feeling particularly nasty. She'd demonstrated it once on her Sora during that time… it was the only time he'd actually called her a bitch. The two keyblades began to vibrate like tuning forks, and when the vibrations were actually painful, she suddenly clashed them together.
WHUMWHUMWHUMWHUMWHUM Riku's head felt like it might explode as the sound erupted. Demons shrieked and gripped their head in pain, and Marty actually fainted. When she pulled the blades apart, the siren song behind them had fallen into a stunned silence. It tried to start again, but with a ragged note, and she brought the keyblades together again. WHUM
There was no pursuit after that.