"Yes, it is I...ANSEM! THE SEEKER OF DAR-"
"-What are you doing here Ansem."
"...Well that was rude."
"I'm not known for my manners. Now shut up and tell me why you're here."
"You tell me to shut up while you ask me questions, demanding an answer. Do you understand nothing about how interrogations work?"
Riku, who had had enough of Ansem's crap, summoned his Soul Eater and got into his battle pose.
"Oh yeah? Well you won't understand your FACE once I'm done with it!" he cried.
Ansem merely chuckled, not threatened at all by his words.
"I have no body. I am just a heart."
Wait...Ansem was just a heart? This raised a lot of questions that Riku's mind was too limited to answer. Where was his body? Why did he look like a walking potato sack? Did Riku have a walking potato sack inside his chest?
"Well that's...umm…"
"I had a body once. One much like yours…" Ansem reminisced, remembering his glory days. ...Sadly the amnesia made it hard to actually remember stuff. "Oh you should have seen me back in the day Riku. A well toned and muscular body, a gorgeous tan, long silver hair that flew in the wind...I was truly magnificent."
"Well you look pretty pathetic now. What happened?"
"I sacrificed it so I could BECOME ONE WITH DARKNESS!"
"And how's that working out for you?"
Ansem placed his sleeve on his chin, trying to remember what his life was like before he became a walking potato sack.
"Well...I lost my body, my loyal subjects, my home, and my reports. But they no longer matter because now I have something much greater."
"Let me guess...darkness?"
"NO! IT IS IN FACT...wait, yes, it is darkness."
"What's even so great about darkness anyway?" Riku asked skeptically, not convinced by Ansem's delusional ramblings.
Ansem began to cackle madly in his deep, sexy voice. Riku of course wasn't intimidated, he's been dealing with Kairi doing the same thing for so long that he's used to maniacal laugher.
"I am so glad you asked, boy! Darkness is the essence of all worlds and all things! It is the source of unlimited power! It is the meaning of life itself! Screw love and money, it is DARKNESS! that makes the universe go round! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA DARKNESS, DARKNESS, DAAAAAARKNEEEEEEEESS!"
"Do you have any proof to support that theory?"
"HAHAHAHAHAAAA! Foolish cretin! I have studied the science of darkology for years! I have made several scientific breakthroughts that have changed the way that society views our universe! I am ALL KNOWING, ALL SEEING, ALL POWERFUL! If anyone in our universe was to understand the true essence of darkness, it would be me! ANSEM! THE SEEKER OF DAR-"
"Ok then, what really is darkness? Since I'm obviously such an idiot, could you please explain it to me in a way I could understand?"
"I KNOW, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THAT DARKNESS IS...umm...darkness is…"
Riku finally started to pay attention once he heard Ansem stammering.
"Darkness...is…"
A smug smile started to appear on Riku's face as he watched the poor potato sack struggle.
"...umm...the source of all power?"
"-That doesn't answer my question."
"...It...umm...darkness...is dark?"
"I guess you just haven't been enlightened yet. What a shame," Riku mocked.
"...SHUT UP I KNOW THIS! It's...umm...purple stuff?"
"...Years of studying the darkness and that's all you got. Purple stuff. That's the smartest thing that's come out of your mouth since we first met."
"YOU FOOL! YOU SIMPLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT DARKNESS TRULY ENCOMPASSES. And I shouldn't have to tell you, it's too advanced for your feeble mind."
"Well ok, what does it actually do?"
Ansem was once again clueless.
"It...um...it...it does...umm…"
"Yes?"
"It destroys stuff!"
"Wow, I definitely couldn't have figured that out."
"It is also used to possess people and strip them of their free will."
"...Well I have to admit, that is actually pretty intriguing," Riku said, mostly to himself. And as soon as he did he tried to get the temptation of taking Sora's body out of his head.
Ansem was also thinking to himself. What if...he was the one who understood nothing? What if he was in fact the one who was ignorant? What if he ended up being betrayed by his own knowledge and ambition? ...Nah that would never happen.
"Hmm...prehaps we should see darkness as a metaphor for evil."
"Wait, I thought you were supposed to be a scientist who worked in one of those long white lab coats and all that. Not a philosopher," said Riku, who was questioning Ansem's credibility even more.
"Darkness cannot be explained by something as inferior and meaningless as SCIENCE or PHILOSOPHY! Darkness can only be explained with DARKNESS!"
"...So you're not a scientist?"
"I AM ANSEM! THE SEEKER OF DAR-"
"So no."
"STOP INTERRUPTING ME!"
Changing the subject and trying to hold back his anger, Ansem pointed at him with his handless sleeves.
"You also have the potential to become a Seeker of Darkness, you know. After all, you are quite the villainous character."
"Ok ok, so I killed my parents. But in my defense, they were trying to kill me first!"
"That's not what I meant. I have been watching you interact with that cute little league of villains. You seemed to fit right in."
"Hey, I am not evil. I'm basically a rival or stereotypical antihero. Like that kid who goes "smell ya later!" that Sora always talks about, probably one of his imaginary friends."
"Oh really? Well I think there's one other important detail that you're missing out on."
"What would that be?"
"...You are the one who destroyed your own home."
…
Several episodes ago…
Riku was pissed. Riku was beyond pissed. How could Sora not want to give him that fruit? He was sitting in the secret place, hiding from Kairi and her tyranny. As he looked at the carving made by Sora of him and Kairi on the wall, he almost gagged. What does Sora even see in her? She's literally the devil on earth. Wait, no, even the devil would be scared of her.
Not to mention that she's insanely powerful, no one has ever been able to mach up to her. She ruled over all the islands, with everyone has her slaves collecting items like mushrooms and logs and fish and such.
And she had the poor delusional Sora wrapped around her little finger. He punched the carving as hard as he could, but all that did was hurt his hand.
Tears started to swell up in his eyes, both from pain and sadness.
Dammit...dammit!
"What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to get rid of Kairi?" he asked himself, expecting no answer.
"Riku…" a deep and ominous yet sexy voice called out from behind.
"How am I supposed to have Sora all to myself?" he asked once again desperately.
"Riiiiikuuuu…"
"Oh if only there was someone to help me do what I couldn't!" he cried out.
"RIKU! Behind you!"
A startled Riku turned around and saw the mysterious hooded figure.
"W-Who are you?"
"You may not know me Riku. But I know very well. I have been watching you. Waiting for you…"
"You know that's not a very good way to introduce yourself," said Riku snarkily.
"In that case, let me introduce myself properly! My name is ANSEM! THE SEEKER OF DARKNESS! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"...Yeah. You seem like a very trustworthy fellow. I'm feeling generous today, so I'll let you tell me what you want before I refuse your offer and beat you up."
"This is not a matter of what I want...it is a matter of what you want. You wish for freedom?"
"Well...yes," said Riku. Prehaps he shouldn't be so quick to kill him just yet…
"You wish to end Kairi's life?"
"I thought you already knew that."
"Very well, I'll make this short. I can help you achieve all of that."
"What do I need to do then?"
Ansem let out a quiet evil chuckle, one which totally wasn't suspicious at all.
"You must submit to the darkness."
There was a moment of silence. One which was broken by Riku's laughter, which cerainly wasn't amusing for poor old Ansem.
"You sound exactly like Sora! He always said nonsence like that too! Except when he does it it's cute and endearing."
Ansem frowned. Well...he would have done, if he actually had a face, and he wasn't just a heart covered in a potato sack.
"The darkness is no laughing matter, Riku. It is a source of great power that is capable of wondourous things. To unlock it, you must OPEN YOUR HEART, SUBMIT, SUCCUMB TO IT, LET IT CONSUME YOU!"
Riku was still trying to hold back his laughter, what kind of comedian was this? Ah well, he might as well humour this kid who was obviously just messing with him. After all, you don't get muchfun and games in a life of slave labour.
"Yeah, sure, how do I open my heart or whatever?"
Ansem then slowly started to waddle towards Riku, excited to finally show his secondary obsession the way of the darkness.
"Allow me to do the honours, boy~"
He placed his hand on Riku's heart, which at first gave Riku the urge to stab Ansem repeatedly, but then he managed to calm down. It was like...all his fears and worries were completely melting away. Almost like...like his mind and self were opening the doors to something else, something that would take him over completely.
It felt so exhilerating. As soon as he felt the darkness flow through him, he felt a rush that he really couldn't describe. He hadn't felt such a high state of being since he killed his parents in cold blood.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" Ansem whispered seductively.
"Y-Yes...it feels so good…" Riku moaned back, unable to control himself anymore as the indescrible nirvana continued to overtake him.
A dark aura began to envelop Riku, giving him a tingly feeling all over, and he adored it.
But then it stopped, and the darkness within Riku began to leave his body, or maybe it just went back into his heart, I don't know. I mean come on, how am I supposed to know how darkness works?
"W-Why did you stop?" Riku asked, desperate for more of Ansem's cold yet desirable touch.
"Your initiation is complete."
After that ther was a moment of silence. While embracing the darkness was certainly inticing...nothing has really happened bcause of it so far.
"So...what happens now?"
"Wait a moment…"
And then suddenly, the mysterious door with no handle opened, an earthquake devastated the island, and menacing choirs started to play in the background.
"There we go."
As both of them casually walked out to see the sights of destruction, they gazed up at the dark vortex above them. Riku cerainly found the scene to be fun to watch, as all the residents of the island were either being sucked into the void or mutilated by dark, menacing creatures.
"The door has opened. Now, you can be free."
"But what about Sora?"
In response, Ansem merely scoffed at Riku's ignorance.
"You don't need him. He does not understand THE MAGNIFICENCE THAT IS DARKNESS! IT'S BEAUTY CANNOT BE COMPREHENDED BY THAT TINY BRAIN OF HIS!" he yelled, starting another one of his monologues.
"I'm not leaving without Sora!"
"Nonsense! Forget about him. You have me now."
"Oh yeah? Well I don't need you! Me and Sora will defeat Kairi on our own!"
"MWAHAHAHAHA! YOU FOOLISH HANDSOME ADOLESCENT! WITH ME AT YOUR SIDE, ALL OF YOUR WISHES WILL COME TRUE! ALL OF YOUR DESIRES WILL BECOME A REALITY! I, ANSEM, WILL ASSURE YOU OF THAT!"
It was at that moment that Riku realized something. He didn't need unlimited power, or to stab people, or his collection of Sora's old clothes so that he could still experience the pleasures of Sora's scent.
What he needed was Sora, because his love for Sora was what drove him, it's what made him want to kill people, it's what made him stay alive each and every day.
That, and his intense hatred towards Kairi.
He wasn't sure which was stronger: his love for Sora, or his hatred for Kairi, but he knew that they were both pretty damn strong.
"Well I don't need you for that. Thanks for helping me destroy this dump anyway, I guess. Now I just need to find and kill Kairi, then live out the rest of my life with Sora as my beautiful princess like in those Disney movies he loves so much. Hopefully he won't be mad once he found I used the darkness to destroy this place, but eh, I'm sure he'll understand."
"IF YOU LEAVE ME, I WILL INTRODUCE TO A WORLD OF PAIN! A WORLD WHERE NO ONE WILL HEAR YOU SCREAM BECAUSE EVERYONE WILL BE CONSUMED BY DARKNESS! I WILL-"
Riku was already gone. He was standing like a statue at the small island where the paopu fruit grew, staring ominously gazing at the dark void above, hoping that Sora would eventually reach him and come with him to go knows where in the outside world.
Even Riku himself had to admit, he wasn't very good at planning.
Ansem was not happy. As he watched Sora run away from the Shadows in fear he cursed vengance onto him from behind the bushes, swearing that he would get rid of him so that he could have Riku all to himself.
...Yeah Ansem wasn't exactly good at planning either, but he wouldn't admit that.
"SOMEDAY, SORA!" Ansem yelled as loudly as he could while still hiding away, as he tried to make sure Sora wouldn't notice him. "SOMEDAY, I WILL END YOU! I WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO THE DARKEST OF DARKNESS, AND THEN YOU WILL FADE INTO OBSCURITY FOREVER! ...See what I did there? Yeah I really liked that pun, that was a good one. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Of course, Sora didn't notice Ansem's loud cries of anger and evil laughter which could be heard all over the islands, because the author hadn't thought of this scene yet when he wrote that episode long ago.
The end. Roll credits!
…
And now, for the thrilling conclusion...
"You left me…" Ansem muttered, his voice full of bitterness and resentment. "I had given you everything you ever wanted, and THIS is how you repay me?!"
Riku just shrugged, not really caring about any of this.
"Huh. I guess I am evil."
"...So you admit that you're a villain? Interesting…"
If Ansem actually had a face, he'd be smirking so much right now. Now it was his turn to get under Riku's skin.
"Tell me, how would Sora react knowing that you're a villain at heart? How will he react when he realizes how dark your heart really is?"
It worked. Riku completely lost his cool demeanour, and from the looks of it he was deep in worry. He kept stammering, unable to get the words.
"W-Well...h-he...he'll understand…"
"You don't sound so sure."
"SHUT UP! H-He...umm…"
Ansem couldn't hold himself back anymore, he enjoyed tormenting Riku like this far too much.
"Do you really think your cute little adolescent romance can last forever? This is not a Disney movie where a true loves kiss can reverse the damage that's been done. The sins you have committed are yours to bear. This was your own doing."
"IT WAS FOR THE GREATER GOOD!" he screamed as loudly as he could, which made even Ansem jump a little. "I...I did it...for a good cause…"
"Yet you have achieved nothing. You have killed innocent people, Kairi is still out there, and Sora is now even more mentally damaged. All these mistakes, are ones that you have made because you have refused me."
As Ansem was telling him of all the blunders he had caused, Riku couldn't help but wonder...what if Ansem was right? What if Riku was making a mistake by following his heart? Would Ansem really be able to help his dilemma? He needed the darkness to be strong enough to end Kairi's life. And yet, if Sora found out that he used the darkness for whatever reason, Sora would hate him forever, maybe even try to kill him…
But what could Ansem even do? He hardly seemed like a trustworthy..umm...heart, especially with his unhealthy obsession towards darkness. But Riku couldn't deny that Ansem did keep his word that Riku would be able to free, even if his wish had negative reprecussions later.
Ansem could tell that Riku was in doubt, so he knew that this was perfect time to finally ask that all important question that was crucial to his evil darkness-related plans.
"So then Riku...will you join me?" he asked, extending his sleeve to him.
Riku sighed, he honestly had no energy to give him a witty comeback.
"...I'll think about it. Goodbye."
And with that, Riku walked away, going back to the hotel where he was sleeping. He kept reminding himself to lock the doors and windows so that Ansem wouldn't break in at night and watch him sleep.
"Wait...Riku...come back…" Ansem whispered to no one, even though Riku was pretty much long gone at this point. "I love you...but not nearly as much as I love DARKNESS! BECAUSE DARKNESS IS...umm...it's...PURPLE! YES, THAT'S IT! PURPLE AND DANGEROUS! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!"
Clearly Ansem's one year study of darkology has taught him so much.
A/N: Because love triangles make everything better.