Based on: Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Record Keeper, or any of the characters within it.
Note: This story is heavily based on RP done with friends on Facebook. There is a lot of established history between the characters, canon and OC alike, not present in the canon game. All of Hikari's adventures will all be collected here. This chapter takes place between Chapter 20 and 21 of SuzuriHeinze's Records of Keeper Canti. Please refer to her story for the current events occurring right now.
Warnings: CanonxOC, Polyamory, Pan/bisexuality, angst, self-degradation, swearing
The Darkest Part of You is Me
Hikari sat as still and rigid as ice, not even feeling the tight shackles on her wrists or the cold floor she sat upon as she stared off into space. Seeing Locke like that… He was in a deep sleep, but he looked so… lifeless. Her fellow Keepers were doing no better upon seeing their lovers, including Canti's dear Minwu and dashing Balthier, encased in the crystal cocoons. Merlin shook erratically with a demented, but empty, smile to her face as she scratched at her arms. She mumbled about how it was all too good to be true… Katerra wailed audibly, barely able to breathe. Einar attempted to comfort each of them, but upon realizing they were trapped in their own mental prisons, gave up and curled up on the bench and quietly cried himself to sleep.
Locke had been punished because he loved her. He would have been better off if Hikari had just stayed away. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered the day she saved the treasure hunter. She and the party she'd assembled on special request had just defeated the Red Dragon of Phoenix Cave. She was beaten purple and black, her clothes singed from the Draogn's Fire abilities, and Cosmos, was she tired. She limped over to the crystal sarcophagus that contained the hero she had only read about in her textbooks and dreamt about at night. She opened it, and Locke's eyes slowly fluttered open.
He stared up at Hikari for a moment. "... Rachel?" he asked, disoriented. He felt like he was drowning in those big ocean eyes that were staring at him. He blinked a few times, and Hikari's tan face framed by soft pink locks came into focus. "No… You're not Rachel. Who are you?"
Hikari's face flushed as Locke called her by the name of his deceased love. "Ahh, I… my name is Hikari, and I'm here to rescue you!" Despite how embarrassed she felt at not only her appearance but also being mistaken for another woman, she decided to fake confidence and held out her hand. Locke stared at her for a moment, unsure of how to react and then took her hand. Something shot through his body, hot like fire, but as jolting as electricity. This sensation settled on his ears as a blush. Hikari's face heated up, reveling in the sudden onset but lingering warmth. The treasure hunter realized that Hikari had been pretending to be confident in order to not alarm or worry him. In that moment, he promised himself he'd protect this brave girl who had risked all to save him.
Over the next few weeks, Hikari and Locke slowly admitted to themselves their feelings, soliciting a "Finally!" from everyone who knew them. Hikari then steadily became the women she was always meant to be because Locke gave her the courage to be herself.
And now… Locke would sleep until the Ardent was either destroyed or it consumed everything. If it was destroyed, all the heros would be returned to their realms and the timeline sealed. And if the Ardent won… Well, let's just say Hikari wasn't seeing much of a difference at this point. Hikari merely begged Cosmos that Tidus and Yuna wouldn't return from their scouting mission. They would at least have each other. And what would happen of poor Vivi?
Stupid… All I do is put the people I love in danger… Locke… Tidus and Yuna… Vivi… Big sis Lulu…
She had done the math in her head, too. Kazuo had left right after their mission and fight. After she had told him if he wanted to die to go do it somewhere else. He was dead because of her.
And Canti? If Hikari had only been stronger, she would have been able to defeat Clari. For all she knew, Clari could be slaying her own twin right this second.
Just be honest… Everything I touch turns to darkness and is consumed…
That's not right… Hikari thought to herself.
You know it is. You're annoying, stupid, loud, and everyone only pities you.
No!
Yes, you're such a piece of shit that even your father threw himself into the ocean to get away from you.
No… it was the return of Sin that killed him…
Your own mother couldn't stand to look at the cause of her husband's death so she threw you to the first wanderer that entered the village to have his way with you.
. . .
That filthy vagrant was so disgusted by you that he tossed you into another dimension just so he could be free of you.
That's… that's not… Auron wouldn't…
Of course he did it to be free of you. Why else would he have brought you here? He's never told you the reason why, in fact he's never even spoke to you since another Keeper rescued him. You're nothing special.
You're right… I can't even figure out the connection between the portals and the flow of time… I'm so stupid and worthless...
Yes….
Hikari sobbed, ending in a high pitch squeal that caused her to black out completely. When she came to, she was in the white space. However, something was off. The booming voice wasn't there, and the room was this… gray off-white color. Her chest seized in pain, causing her to drop to her knees and grasp at her chest. It felt like something was being forcibly removed. She dropped both hands, palms against the ground, and huffed out a strained breath.
Slowly, wispy black smoke slithered out of her left breast, as if it were a thread in a rug and someone was tugging it loose. After several excruciating minutes, the darkness was extracted and billowed out in front of her, taking the form of a silhouette.
Hikari raised up her head wearily, and was met with the sight of Locke in his leather ensemble. He kicked her in the stomach, causing her to cough up blood.
"Locke… my love, why?" she sputtered.
The treasure hunter's face slipped into a smile. He dropped down one knee, and ran a gloved hand through her pink hair. Hikari sighed in relief. Locke was here. He was going to save her… She yelped in pain as he gripped and pulled a tuft of her hair, much harder than he ever had when they would make love. His stormy eyes shifted to jet black. "Don't you dare call me that, you ugly girl." He lifted her up a bit from her hair, but in reaction to her cries of pain threw her back down roughly. "Disgusting pink hair…" He kicked her again. "Nasty tanned skin…" He grabbed her chin roughly. "The only thing you even have going for you are these eyes. Her eyes." He slapped her sharply, causing her to fall to backward and bump her head on the ground as well. "You stole Rachel's eyes!" He straddled her and started to choke her.
Hikari cried, silently begging Locke to stop. Trying to somehow convey submission through her eyes. She coughed. He stopped, and for a moment, fear flashed across his eyes.
"Hikari, I.. I-I…" He winced in pain as his form changed to that of Yuna the summoner. She closed her eyes and flicked out her hair with a deep breath. Opening her eyes again, Hikari dreaded what was coming as she saw the menace swimming in Yuna's heterochromia eyes with a shading of black to them.
"You can't imagine how happy I was to be free of you when we were kids. And then, unlucky me, who should save me from Seymour, but you…" she growled as she stood up.
"Who could ever love you?" Yuna sneered as Tidus materialized and embraced the priestess. Yuna kissed Tidus's neck roughly as he laughed at the pathetic Keeper sprawled on the floor.
"I can't believe I ever thought you had what it takes to keep up with me. Your speed, your energy…" His eyes flashed black. "It's pathetic!" He turned from her and nibbled at the nape of Yuna's neck, eliciting a velvety moan from the brunette.
Yuna smirked at her. "You weren't even good enough for a fuck."
Hikari fought the tears in her eyes and forced herself to stop watching their exhibition.
If they never liked her, why didn't they just say something…?
"Because you're too stupid to take a hint," a familiar voice sounded right above her.
Shocked, Hikari looked up to find herself face to face… with Herself. Everything was the same. The same long pink hair, spilling over her shoulders as she bent over to stare herself in the eye, the tight cerulean blue jumpsuit she and Aerith had created together, the honey skin… Except the eyes. Where the calm blue of the Spira sea should have met her gaze, was instead the blackest of black lifeless, empty pits staring back at her.
"Everyone would be better off if you'd never been born!" Shadow Hikari snarled. "Why do you think you're so special? You add nothing. This isn't your story. Stupid slut, you can't even decide who you want to be with."
The true Hikari whimpered. "That's not true. I grew up with Yuna. She's my best friend. I love her, but that doesn't detract from the love I feel for Tidus. I love him because he encourages me to push myself physically. To get faster… But Locke… I would die for him…" Something happened. Hikari felt her heart soar. "He is my partner in everything, he is my life… And he wouldn't let me feel sorry for myself now! He would tell me to stand up," Hikari looked her Shadow dopleganger dead on while she shakily rose to her feet, "and fight you!"
Hikari…
"Even if he's asleep in that damned crystal coffin, he's never truly gone. Because he's always here!" She slapped her chest, right above her heart. "He will always be a part of me!"
Hikari!
A bright blinding light shone, causing Shadow Hikari to retract several steps back and the room to pulse a strong white. Hikari herself had to shield her eyes.
"Hikari, my love…"
She blinked her eyes open, and to her amazement, Locke was standing before her.
"But how…?" the Keeper mused. Locke chuckled.
"You said it yourself. I am a part of you now. The centers of our very being have melded and combined to create something wholly new and different."
Hikari tackled him, crying. "Locke.. I thought… I thought I would never see you again… I thought you had been put under…" A serious look from Locke.
"I am. I'm still encased in crystal in the real world. But here… I can do my duty as your partner and help you defeat the shadow of your heart," he told her, a serious tone to his voice as he grasped her hands.
Cracked laughter interrupted their reunion. They turned back to the fake Hikari.
"You think you've won? Foolish girl, you've no idea what you're dealing with," the thing's voice was a distortion of Hikari's. Tar began to spill out of its eyes and cover up its face.
"The Ardent," Hikari gulped. Locke looked at her in surprise, wondering how she knew.
"Remember that special assignment Dr. Mog gave me? He paired me up with that archivist in training, so as to prepare me for the day I'd come face to face with the Ardent. Well, we encountered Ultros and… At first he was like how you described him, but after we'd beaten him up enough, he… changed." Hikari shivered when she remembered how cold and ruthless the octopus became.
"You remember me.. I'm flattered," the Ardent croaked as the tarry darkness covered the chest, moving onto the legs. "You see, despite Kazuo taking that blow for you, my seed managed to worm its way into your heart. And there it stayed. Waiting. Incubating." The fake Hikari was now completely consumed by darkness. A crack split its face in half and smoke billowed out.
Hikari and Locke felt an increasing and alarming sense of dread as more smoke billowed out and began to take shape. They felt positively sick to their stomachs. What lay before them was one of the most terrifying things either of them had ever witnessed.
-The real battle starts, next time!-
