I love summer break. There's so much time to write! I've finally decided on where to go with this story, which is weight off of my shoulders. I had many different ideas and had to narrow them down. Hope you like what I went with!

Disclaimer: As much as I love Kingdom Hearts, it does not belong to me. All rights go to Disney and Square Enix.

This was shaping up to be a really bad day. Honestly, things couldn't possibly get worse than this. Riku found himself, once again, within his own heart, feeling a mixture of anger, annoyance, frustration, and fear. He didn't want to have to deal with his own personal darkness, especially the man that kept it burning strong in the crevices of his heart.

It was so much worse than it had been before. Everything around him was covered in a black haziness, blocking out any traces of light even being there at all. It pained him to think about all the time and effort put into returning his heart to a lighter hue, only to see it as it was now: sinister, evil, foul. Powerful.

The sudden appearance of the tall man behind him was not a surprise, but he still jumped anyway. He could feel his annoyance grow at the twisted smirk that decorated Ansem's face as he observed the young boy trapped in his own heart. However, even his annoyance couldn't hide the trace of fear worming its way to the forefront. It wasn't directed at the Seeker of Darkness: he had dealt with that feeling long ago, back when things seemed simpler and his main goal had been finding Sora while fighting his way through Castle Oblivion. No, this was fear of the situation. He had no knowledge of how to deal with anything like this, and that planted seeds of doubt and worry in his usually calm and collected demeanor.

Ansem, on the other hand, gave off the cool impression of being in control of the situation and enjoying every minute of it. Riku's discomfort and uncertainty only made things more enjoyable for him. Even if the man was evil and spent his whole life practically worshiping darkness, he didn't have to be such a dick. It made Riku's life much more complicated than it had to be.

Tired of being so confused about all of this, Riku rounded on Ansem, hoping to get some answers. "What do you want?"

Ansem's soft laughter echoed ominously around them, but Riku refused to back down. He needed this to be over. However, Ansem seemed to want to drag out their confrontation and avoided the question. "You've grown stronger, Riku."

"So?" He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in agitation. "What does that have to do with anything?"

The smirk grew to a twisted grin, making Riku's uneasiness grow. Something wasn't right. "You've rejected your fear of the darkness, and have even become accustomed to using it in battle. You rely on it time and time again to lead you to victory. Tell me, Riku, do you enjoy it?"

"What do you mean?"

Ansem was suddenly practically on top of him, causing Riku to back up in alarm. The Seeker of Darkness gave him to chance to recover and continued to advance on him. "Do you enjoy the strength darkness gives you, the power you possess? Do you now see the possibilities that darkness presents over the weakness of the light?"

Ceasing to give ground, Riku glared angrily at the man before him. "I use darkness because I have plenty to spare. I don't use it because it makes me stronger. In fact, it reminds me of the time I was weak and let you in. There's nothing powerful about that."

"Then why would Yen Sid decide to make you a Keyblade Master?" While his voice sounded truly puzzled, Ansem's eyes betrayed his amusement as he preyed on Riku's insecurities. "Surely one with such a weakness would never be given such a title. Unless, of course, there is some ulterior motive behind it. You do make a habit of being used, don't you, Riku?"

"Stop it!" The darkness surrounding them shifted and swirled in agitation, but Riku didn't notice. He was completely focused on Ansem. His remarks had hit too close to home. "I'm not being used! My friends would never do that to me. They're nothing like you!"

Ansem laughed again, a chilling sound that did nothing to help Riku's denial. "Perhaps. They may simply see you as a fellow warrior in their fight for justice. However, your affinity to darkness would ordinarily make them uneasy. If that is the case, why would they grant you a position of power unless they are afraid you would be tempted by offers to join Xehanort? Then they would lose a great asset in the coming war. After all, what is better to fight darkness than darkness itself?"

"I'm not just a tool to them. They're better than that." Riku held his ground and attempted to ignore the doubts swelling up within him. "Is this all you pulled me in here for? To talk about how my friends are treating me? While I'm flattered that you care so much, it seems like a stupid reason to go through so much trouble."

The twisted grin was back, making Riku practically squirm in uneasiness. What was really going on here? What was he missing? "Don't worry," Ansem almost purred, reaching towards Riku. "It was not a wasted visit. You will begin to understand soon enough." Alarmed, Riku tried to back away quickly but found himself unable to move. "Now go rejoin your friends. They seem very worried about you."

The darkness around them rushed inward, and Riku's world faded to black.

"Riku! Riku!"

"Give him room, kid. That's not going to help."

"How do you know!? Come on, Riku, wake up!"

"Seriously, Sora, we need to go get help."

"Fine, you can go get someone, but you can't make me leave him!"

"That's touching. I'm flattered." Riku groaned and sat up, startling his friends and eliciting a happy shriek from Sora. The noise was painfully loud and accented the pounding in his head.

Sora nearly tackled him in a hug, too relieved to notice his discomfort at the moment. "Riku! You're okay! I was so-"

"Sora, get back."

Riku and Sora both looked at Kairi, surprised at the seriousness in her voice. What was wrong with her? Stubborn as he was, Sora shook his head and turned back to Riku, apparently determined to continue his happy tirade. However, when his eyes met Riku's, understanding and fear flashed across his face as he jumped back and summoned his Keyblade. Lea and Kairi had their Keyblades out as well, looking fully prepared for a fight to the death. Riku stared around him in shock. What was going on?

Feeling really slow on the uptake, he began to back away from his friends. "What are you doing?"

Sora raised his Keyblade threateningly with such a desperate look that Riku thought he might cry. Instead, it morphed into a look of sheer determination. "Give Riku back and we won't be forced to hurt you."

Riku blinked in surprise and stared. "What?"

Now he was met with confusion on his friends faces, which wasn't any more reassuring. If anything, it made him even more anxious. Kairi put away her Keyblade first and knelt down next to him. There was still a wary and guarded look in her eyes. "Riku, are you okay?"

"I thought we were already past this part. Why were you going to attack me?"

Lea came forward with a nervous Sora right behind, both clearly worried. "Your eyes kind of freaked us out."

"My eyes? What?" Riku still felt like he was missing something. Something very important and horribly wrong.

Sora knelt down next to Kairi and stared at him with one of the most serious expressions he had ever worn. "When you opened your eyes, they were golden. Just like Xehanort's."