Chapter 6
Between the Seams
Riku found the stairs to the temple on the opposite side of where he had been planted. Climbing its steps, Riku pushed open the stone temple doors. As light crept in through the ever-widening cracks, torches sprang to life, lighting up the drab corridor ahead. He hurried down the corridor, making note of its crooked angles and multiple paths.
"The air is stuffy in here," Riku noted after a while. He wondered if that really was the case or if there was some trickery going on that made his brain perceive it as such. He looked up at one of the torches as he passed by, watching as its flames flickered, wildly or consistently, he was not sure. He wondered if he reached out, whether he would be able to feel heat. Would it burn him?
He tested this theory, reaching out with his fingertips stretched out to the flames. Even an inch or two away from the flame he could feel nothing. Touching it however, was a different story. Riku whipped his hand away and jumped back. It was less like heat and more like an electric shock had zapped his fingers.
"Not doing that again…" Riku said, flicking his wrist several times as if to throw off something that had clung to him.
He set down the hallway again, however it did not take long for him to come across his next predicament.
"Everything looks the same. Am I even going anywhere?" he pondered aloud, deciding to quicken in his footsteps. He advanced a few more steps when he felt something underneath his foot. Looking down, he found that the brick underneath his foot had depressed. He had only seconds to react when an arrow shot forth from the wall adjacent. He leaned his body to the side as the arrow narrowly zoomed past his arm and hit the opposite wall.
"I am going to kill that guy when I get out of here," Riku muttered. He took off into a run once more. Any traps he ended up triggering, he lithely and skilfully jumped and dodged out of the way. He came to the conclusion that there wasn't really a pattern with which he could discern which bricks triggered the traps. If there was, he had no patience to find one. And besides, he justified it in his head as the perfect warmup to the main event.
As he rounded another corner, he triggered another trap, sending a swinging pendulum his way. He quickly managed to dive out of the way, hitting the floor as the pendulum swung just over his ankles. An elongated trill escaped from his enclosed lips. He could just picture Lysander's smug grin right now. As he lifted his chin, something glowing in the distance caught his eye.
Pulling himself together again, Riku stood on his feet once more and jogged towards this light, albeit more cautiously than before. As he neared it, the object's form gradually came into clearer view until he was within touching distance of it.
"He wasn't kidding about knowing it when I see it. It's just about the only thing that stands out in this place," Riku said, staring at the small replica of the same temple he was in. So according to Lysander, he was supposed to bring this to the top and the game would be over. Riku slowly reached out, apprehensive at first. There was no point being concerned with whether this was a trap or not. This was Lysander's game– he doubted there was anything that wasn't a trap.
The tension in his arm faded away, and he quickly and firmly grasped the ziggurat in his right hand. Then, almost as if his body had moved on its own accord, he thrust his arm upward in line with victorious music reverberating in the air.
"The heck!" Riku whipped his arm back down and glanced sideways in confusion. "For some reason I just felt compelled to pose like an idiot. Huh…"
Before he could fully contemplate what had made him act in such a way however, a shrill sound forced him to turn around, coming face to face with himself. There was a visible tinge of surprise on Riku's features for a brief moment until he remembered what Lysander had told him. So his opponent had finally revealed himself, or itself, at last. Riku wondered if it was only set to trigger once he had touched the temple.
"Replicas… not the first one I've faced. What's one more?" Riku summoned his Keyblade, or at least attempted to. His brows furrowed, and he attempted to summon it again. Again, nothing. "What?"
"Restrictions." The familiar robotic female voice sprang to life in the air once again. "No use of weapons or offensive magic allowed."
Riku cursed. Suddenly, the clone broke off into a full on sprint, heading right towards him. Riku turned on his heel and darted down the hallway. As he came to a split in the path ahead, he looked behind him to see his replica hot on his tail. He had to admit there was something creepy about seeing his own face chasing him that he didn't think he would ever get used to.
Riku waited until just before reaching the wall before shooting for the left path. He turned around in time to see the replica slam into the wall shoulder-first before continuing on its onslaught.
"An aggressive one, aren't you!" Riku huffed. Suddenly, another pendulum came swinging in from his side, a quick whoosh being his only warning. Instinctively, Riku raised his arms, in an effort to summon his Keyblade, but quickly remembering that he was unable to, he quickly shifted his body to the side, only narrowly dodging the blade. Unfortunately, this threw off his momentum. It was all the replica needed. With the force of a bulldozer, the replica threw himself into Riku, tackling him to the ground and knocking the miniature temple out of Riku's hand.
Riku reached out to grab it, only to freeze upon seeing his own shoes appearing next to his hand. This was not the replica that currently had him pinned down, but another.
"No way…" Riku said, resignation dripping in his voice. The second clone picked up the flag and started its run down the hallway. Riku pushed the first clone off him and picked himself back up, wasting no time in chasing after the other clone. He had no doubt that the other clone was already in tow behind him but he had no time to care. Now that he had been pushed to being on the offensive, his focus had narrowed. He could feel his heart racing, his chest felt like it was on fire, possibly about to burst open at any moment. Still, he had to keep pushing himself, no matter how much he wanted to call it a day.
He chased after the clone, narrowly avoiding the traps he had sprung along the way. There was no time to be careful. He could only rely on his reflexes to get him out of the situation. He soon emerged outside of the building's interior, now higher above the trees than before. He rounded the perimeter of the ziggurat and stopped short upon seeing stairs leading up to the top of the structure. What's more, his heart immediately sank seeing his replica already halfway up them.
"No…" Riku could barely muster before he felt a hand press against his back. A quick flash of light saw another replica emerge next to the copy that had touched him. Riku tried to pull away quickly and follow the version of him ascending the stairs, but the other replica moved in and grabbed his wrist, creating yet another replica.
"Hey, let go!" Riku growled with some effort. He managed to pull away but he knew, deep down, that there was very little chance of him catching up now. Still, he ran for it, even though he knew it was hopeless, and as the replica reached the top and disappeared beyond his sight, the world dissolved around Riku and a bright light filled his vision, forcing him to shut his eyes.
When he opened them again, he found himself in the exact same spot he started this twisted game in– on the ground level, closer to the canopy and staring up at the large ziggurat in front of him.
Riku bit into his lower lip, his eyes looking up bemused. For Lysander's sake, he truly hoped he had already long since left Gravity Falls.
Dipper's eyes fluttered open from a pleasant and peaceful dream. He could only recall one time before this where he had dreamt of Wendy. On this occasion, he had dreamt of proudly showing off his newly obtained motorcycle license to the dealer and hopping onto a matte black metallic bike. For some reason he even automatically knew the cubic capacity of the bike to be 755.
The next thing he knew, he was at a stunt show, an adoring crowd filled with people all with the same long red hair, green flannel shirt and lumberjack hat lining the stands. Placing his helmet on his head, he revved his bike and took off down the course. One dangerous obstacle after another, he breezed through them with the confidence of someone who had done this many times before. After various loop de loops and flips, he arrived at the end of the course to a huge round of applause. As he stood on the podium, Wendy came to greet him with trophy in hand. He accepted and threw a flirtatious smile at the red head, who leaned in with her lips puckered…
And that was when he woke up upon the feeling of something very heavy weighing on his chest. His eyes widened as he took in the breathing pink terror on top of him and he let out a quick yelp, rolling off the bed and hitting the floor. Said pink terror let out a squeal which in turn caused Mabel to also stir in her slumber.
"No Waddles, it's too early for bacon. Just a few more hours…" she murmured as she rolled onto her side.
Dipper sat up from the floor and looked over at her bed. "Mabel, wake up!"
"But Fabian, I don't want to go to school…"
"Who- forget it, Mabel, we need to go." He walked over and shook her. This turned out to be a big mistake, as something feral seemed to kick into Mabel who shot up and delivered a hook to Dipper's jaw.
"Oh, Dipper! I'm so sorry!" Mabel rushed to apologize.
Dipper groaned and rubbed his jaw. "Agh, what was that about? You almost knocked my jaw off!"
"Well maybe you shouldn't try to wake a girl when she's having her beauty sleep," Mabel defended. "I was having a nice tea party with Fabian."
"Fabian can wait. Riku's gone. He left without us," Dipper said. He looked over to the window. "I thought if we took a brief nap it would be fine. Looks like Morpheus had us under his wings longer than we'd hoped."
"Morpheus? You mean the guy from The-"
"No. Get your stuff, we need to hurry," Dipper said as he picked up his own backpack.
As Riku reached his arms out for the replica, the world around him dissolved and reformed to become the ground level of the temple once more. His hands pressed against the temple wall, he lowered his head and slammed his palm into the building. He felt the pain from the feedback immediately. He guessed no matter how much of a fake world he was in, that did not necessarily mean he couldn't feel real sensations such as the collision between an object and his own skin.
"No use getting angry at a building. Let's think about this…" Riku heaved a massive sigh and looked off at the expansive jungle that lay before him. His current approach wasn't working, or it was and he was just playing very badly at it. The main problem right now it seemed was that he had stamina, albeit stamina that was draining very quickly from these constant chases. The more attempts he made, the worse he seemed to get, although his last attempt had probably been one of his closest.
In contrast, his clones seemed to not suffer from the same limitations. Apparently they could run for hours on end and not break a sweat. So chasing seemed pointless. What could he do then? For one, there were the traps he could use to his advantage but each time he failed there seemed to be slight variations in the temple layout. Even if he were willing to memorize specific floor tiles where the traps were set, it was unlikely that they would be in the same place in the next run. He had managed to catch a couple of the replicas in traps on his previous attempts but it seemed more like luck and making the right moves than anything that could be repeated consistently.
"Come on, think, Riku. This is a game. It must be winnable." But just how tight did that win have to be? No, he was thinking about it the wrong way. Because it was a game, that meant it was subject to its own rules, its own restrictions and boundaries. If he could find a way of breaking the game then he wouldn't have to play by Lysander's rules.
It wasn't too long before an epiphany struck him like a bolt of lightning. Or perhaps curiosity was more apt. Just how much could the game handle anyway? If his guess was correct, then Lysander would have created a flaw with his own rules, something Riku could easily exploit. Better yet, he didn't have to worry about what would happen if his little plan failed. There was little consequence other than starting back here after all.
"Well, it's worth a shot. Let's see whether you thought ahead or not," he said, venturing into the temple once more. He took his time reaching the miniature ziggurat, being mindful of the various traps that lay throughout and u-turning on dead ends he came across.
Soon he reached the room where the ziggurat was held. It seemed like any landmarks such as this room always looked the same, it was only the path taken to get here that changed. He walked over, reached out and grabbed the object with a sort of languid disdain. As soon as he did, the replica spawned behind him. Rather than running however, Riku simply turned around and looked at the object in his palm and then back at the replica.
"Want this? Come and get it."
The clone wasted no time in rushing him, knocking Riku down with a tackle. A second replica emerged from the first, who grabbed the miniature temple from Riku's hand and sprinted off down the corridor. Riku made no attempt to chase after him. In fact, he made no attempt to get off the ground at all. Instead his eyes were focused on the second replica. His would-be chaser.
"Alright, let's make this quick, shall we?" Riku slowly got up from the ground and then rammed head first into the replica. As the replica grabbed hold of him, another clone spawned next to him. Riku drew away and targeted this new replica, throwing a punch his way. The replica caught it and multiplied yet again.
Again and again, Riku repeated his charge at the increasing amount of clones that were slowly filling the room. At some point, the amount of hands and faces became as though he were swimming among a lake of himself. That lake became a sea. His sight was obscured by the clawing of hands as he tried to make his way through the chaos of his own making. Somehow– he couldn't quite believe it himself– he managed to emerge on the other side, finally free from the hurricane and broke off into a run, or tried to.
The sensation of lagging was probably one Riku would remember for the rest of his life. It was as though he was disconnected from the rest of his body. He could feel himself making decisions, putting his right foot forward before his right foot actually moved forward for instance. He could feel… the world… b …
Riku almost fell forward as he felt a strangeness as though coming into his own body. His movements started to feel in sync once more. When he looked around him, he could feel the cool night air hitting his skin. There was no doubt about that in his mind. There was something to this that a virtual world could never recreate. He was back in the same spot he had been in when Lysander had thrown him into his game.
"I'm back. Well that was a trip," he murmured. He turned his attention to the abandoned church up ahead. "Right… where were we."
Riku proceeded across the small patch of cleared land with the utmost caution and entered the church. As he walked down the aisle, he took notice of the broken and scattered pews on either side of him, as though some brawl had taken place. Ahead of him were broken stained-glass windows with the pale moonlight pouring through, its reach only partially obstructed by badly boarded up windows that were barely hanging from their supports.
As he reached the lectern at the back of the room, his eyes fell upon one more noticeable thing. He was not alone after all. Lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious, was a boy. Riku knelt down beside him and reached for the object next to him, picking it up to examine it– a Keyblade…
"Guess this is Lysander's work," Riku said, releasing his grasp on the weapon and allowing it to hit the floor with a thud. His attention turned to the square hole in the floor a few inches away from the lectern. There were marks leading away from the hole and leading straight to the lectern. He could make a decent guess that Lysander had moved the lectern away from its original position, which was previously covering the trapdoor.
Riku thought back to what Soos had said about a cult operating in the church a long time ago. It certainly seemed like the kind of thing a secret cult would implement. He peered down the hatch to see a ladder descending deep and disappearing into the darkness. He glanced toward the church entrance and, after a quick scan to make sure no one else was coming in, began his descent into the bowels of the church.
He must have been climbing for what felt like half a minute when he finally hit solid ground. Had Janus done this every single time he had come here? For some reason, Riku found that hard to imagine.
He looked around him to find that he was in a long winding tunnel, rocks on all sides of him.
"LOOK OUT BELOW!"
Frowning, Riku looked back and up to where he had come from, barely seeing the falling duo of Dipper and Mabel coming at him. The next thing he knew, he was seeing stars. His face pressing into the ground, he rolled on to his side, throwing the siblings off him in the process.
"Ugh, you guys alright?" Riku asked.
"Surprisingly alive! Thanks for the save!" Mabel exclaimed.
"Shh, and you're welcome… I guess. Why are you guys even here?" Riku asked.
"We could ask you the same thing. I thought we were going together," Dipper said, standing up and brushing himself off before helping Mabel up.
Whatever retort Riku had in mind was interrupted by a noise echoing down the hallway. Riku stood back up and peered down the hallway before looking at the siblings. "You guys need to go. Get out of here."
"And miss out on this? No way!"
"I am not going to be your babysitter-"
"And you don't have to be. We've been in dangerous situations like this the whole summer. We can take care of ourselves," Dipper said, thumping his chest proudly.
Riku looked past them to the ladder, but soon admitted defeat. It wasn't as though he could force them to go back up. "Okay… just stay behind me and do as I say, okay?"
"You got it, boss!" Mabel yelled enthusiastically, only to cover her mouth with a warning glare from both Dipper and Riku. She then added in a whisper, "You won't even notice us."
Well I definitely hope I notice you, Riku thought. He turned back to the winding path and started down it.
Soon, they reached a more expansive room, branching off into several tunnels. Riku wondered if these ran across the entire town. He was very much reminded of the mining shaft underneath Radiant Garden.
"Which way do we go?" Dipper asked.
"That's the million munny question…" Riku said, checking over each one briefly. His eyes finally settled on the tunnel entrance left of the middle. For some reason that he couldn't explain, he was particularly drawn to that one. Riku began walking without so much as alerting Dipper and Mabel, forcing them to hurry behind him. With each step he took, his breathing became labored, his heart heavier by the second.
"AAAAAHHH!" He could hear her shrill cries of terror coming from the far end of the hallway. Above him the lights flickered on and off. His steps were undeliberate and unstable, uneven as he trudged down the gray hall. He looked down at his feet. It was like he was fighting through mud.
"Xion…"
Another cry, as if in response. Riku quickened his pacing somewhat, within the restraints of the invisible quagmire hindering his movements.
"Xion... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," his voice broke into a croak, tears fusing into what was already heavy sweat on his face. "I'm almost there. Almost… there…"
"Hey? Are you okay, man?!"
Riku snapped out of his daze. He didn't even realize it until now but he had been clutching his chest, like a tight vice had clamped down on him.
"Y-yeah…" Riku replied, slowly. He wasn't sure that was convincing anyway, let alone himself, but he pushed on anyway. The last thing he needed was to be seen as showing weakness, especially when he was nearby.
He hadn't even realized how far they had walked, but they were already at the end of the path, this time taking them to an even more expansive room than before. On the walls, he could see crystalline minerals buried in the rock, some different colors than others. Giant stalagmite structures rose from the ground, some attached to tree saps of various shapes and sizes and within some of these saps were beastly creatures, some with wings while others looked more like overgrown lizards.
"Are these… dinosaurs?" Mabel asked.
"Dinosaurs in tree sap… living right under Gravity Falls. These things have probably been here for 65 million years," Dipper said. "We're looking at the past right now. That's insane!"
"Well let's just hope they stay in the past," Riku said. As he moved through the room, he couldn't help but wonder what Janus or any other Keyblade wielder even wanted with this place.
"Hey, there's someone over there!"
Riku looked towards Mabel then followed her finger to one of the stalagmites where a person lay with their back against the wall. Even from a distance, Riku recognised that scraggly mop of blond hair.
"Lysander!" Riku took off and was by the boy's side in seconds. He was in a less than decent condition it seemed, a trickle of blood down the side of his mouth.
"My hero… managed to get out, I see." A pained grimace befell Lysander's features even as he mustered the energy to force a smile.
"No thanks to you. I'd punch the living daylights out of you but you know what they say, never kick someone while they're down. What happened?" Riku asked, kneeling down to meet him face-to-face.
"I found the big bad boss. Guess I should have overleveled," Lysander said, letting out a series of coughs.
Riku looked off to the side for a moment before replying. "We need to get you out of here. Come on."
There was a look of surprise on Lysander's face before he let out a harsh laugh. "You're truly one of a kind. What's with the sudden generosity?"
"As I said, don't want to kick someone while they're down, even if, as in your case, they seriously deserve it," Riku said. He positioned himself to the side of Lysander and placed his arm over his shoulder. Hoisting him up, he started towards the tunnel they had come from when suddenly he felt a chilling presence that caused him to freeze in place.
What is this? It was almost like he was afraid to turn around. That a sudden wrong move could spell the end of him. It was like a fog of malaise hung in the air, the very same that had had a hold on his heart back in the tunnel.
Turn around, Riku. Turn around.
Slowly, he managed to muster the courage to turn and look into the eyes of the person in front of him. "Who are you?"
Man or beast… Riku was not sure. He was shaped in the form of a human, that was true, but his face was so white and ghostly that it seemed anything but. His eyes pitch black seemed like they could stare into his very soul.
"Oh, I forget. We never had the chance to meet while you were in my master's gracious hospitality," he spoke in a cold hollow voice. It was very much as though he were dead inside.
"Master? Janus?" Riku asked.
"Why ask what you already know?" he answered. He looked towards the glaring Lysander, that cold stare unrelenting. "And in response to your previous question. My name is Damos, the Defiant."
"Damos… Where is he?" Riku growled.
"Why do you wish to know? What good could knowing possibly do you?" the creature asked, his eyes flicking back to Riku.
"If you tell me, you'll find out."
Damos took a few steps forward, only to stop when Riku summoned his Keyblade. "I wonder… it might be worth it just to see you lose yourself. Tell me– why this obsession?"
"It's not an obsession."
"Is it not?"
"No," Riku answered, dropping Lysander much to the blond's annoyance. He assumed his fighting stance. "Myself, I can live with. But I won't let him get away with what he did to Xion."
"Or perhaps you're just using that as an excuse to satisfy your bloodlust. In any case, I'm afraid you've missed him. 'Too busy dealing with the things that actually matter.' His words, not mine. I'm afraid he doesn't think much of you as you think of him. A pity for the noble hero who needs his villain."
Riku snorted and looked down at his Keyblade. "Yeah, it never mattered. It never mattered how much I begged him to stop, that I basically prostrated myself at his feet. It never mattered when he broke Xion… asked her to break me. Nothing. Mattered. He might look upon his crimes from an ivory tower, but to me and her? It matters. And so I won't rest until he knows it matters."
There was a momentary pause before Damos's response. "I see. Then Janus has already won."
Seeing Riku's frown, he shook his head. "Though you are blind in only one eye, you choose also to be blind in the other. You are the epitome of our goal, that which we have sworn to eliminate. Its greed, its selfishness. Free will is lost on you. If this is truly the path you wish to tread, then lie to me all you wish but do not lie to yourself. There is a demon that hungers within you. Your existence has become a thing of hatred."
"You act like you know me," Riku muttered.
"It is not hard to know what I have seen time and time again. But do not worry. We shall squeeze you empty, and fill onto you ourselves. All you need do… is continue as you are."
Riku could only glare at him in response. He then closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. It was all he could do to prevent himself from losing it in a fit of rage and lashing out. If he couldn't find Janus here, then this was surely the next best thing to him, but as much as he wanted to, getting Dipper and Mabel to safety was his first priority. He could not risk them being in harm's way.
"Hey, I don't know what this is about but you're not messing with this town. Not while we're here!" Mabel yelled out, stepping in front of Riku to his surprise.
"And certainly not after," Dipper added, also moving to the front.
When Damos looked down on them, a thoughtful contemplation at that, Riku worried about what exactly those thoughts might be, so much so he put his arm out in front of them.
"Interesting. As a Keyblade wielder, should your immediate concerns have been more in line with theirs than Janus's whereabouts? Perhaps your hatred is getting to you more than you realized."
"Shut up," Riku muttered.
The creature let out a hefty sigh. "A retort befitting of a child. Regardless, it will please you to know our business here has concluded. We've retrieved what we came for, in spades. Oh, but I would be remiss if I did not celebrate our first meeting with a parting gift."
Damos began walking, Riku keeping his Keyblade trained on him as he did so, but rather than moving towards Riku, he seemed far more fascinated with examining the room. Eventually he stopped near one of the tree saps, his eyes inspecting it up and down.
"Poor trapped things, living off the sustenance of the earth for so long. Never to know the light of day again. In that sense, the Keyblade knights of yore can relate. Shall we say hello? I'm sure he's dying to stretch his wings after being caged for so long. Oh, how joyous it is to be free." Damos placed his hand against the hardened tree sap. Riku flung a fire projectile his way, but Damos's free hand reached out and the projectile fizzled away into nothing.
Riku could only take a step forward when the tree sap began to crack. Damos backed himself up until he was against the sap, his body dissolving into the substance itself.
"Damos!" Riku yelled. His cries fell flat as Damos fully dissolved into the casing, disappearing entirely while the tree sap continued to crack.
"Well, that's definitely not good," Dipper said.
"Dipper… take Mabel and go," Riku said.
"But-"
"Not a good idea." It was Lysander who interjected. "Someone should make sure they're safe. You know curative magic right? Heal me and I'll make sure they get back safely."
"No way," Riku was quick to respond.
Lysander heaved a sigh. "Enough with the stubbornness. You need to think about what's more important right now, your damned pride or the safety of these children. Are you seriously willing to take that thing on handicapped?"
"I can certainly try," Riku said, watching as one of the wings broke out from the encased trappings. Riku's eyes began to waver away from the chipping hardened sap and to his side where Dipper and Mabel stood. What was he even thinking? That he had even thought there was any other choice…
The sound of tingling accompanied by green bells over Lysander's head saw the boy get back on his feet, unsteadily at first. He looked at Riku and nodded his head. "Thanks. I'll keep them safe."
Riku gave a brief nod but kept his eyes trained on the emerging pterodactyl. After its thin wings were exposed, its equally thin and long head was next. Soon its entire body had emerged from its 65 million year casing. The pterodactyl let out a piercing shriek and looked at Riku, wild yellow eyes meeting calm ocean.
"Please tell me you're a Herbivore," Riku said. The pterodactyl began flapping its wings, feet lifting off the ground. "I'm guessing that's a no then."
The pterodactyl dived towards Riku who leapt to the side before flinging his Keyblade at the flying reptile. The Keyblade struck several times in a repeating circle before heading back to its owner, knocking the pterodactyl out of the air and onto the ground. It was quick to recover, turning around and lunging once more at the Keyblade wielder. It was quick and relentless, forcing Riku to keep up his footing. In what seemed to be an opening, he moved on the offensive and swung only for the pterodactyl to catch his Keyblade in its mouth.
After failing to wrestle it back out of its clutches, Riku backed away and called the Keyblade back into his hands before following up with a strike to a caught off guard pterodactyl. As it backed away, Riku kept up the attack, closing in the distance and delivering several strikes. He jumped backwards and held his Keyblade with both hands, shooting out a barrage of dark projectiles that slammed into the pterodactyl.
The creature stumbled about for a second before finally collapsing on the ground. Riku took a cautious few steps towards the pterodactyl, only to relax when it was clear there was no sign of life visible.
"May you know peace everlasting. It wasn't your fault," Riku spoke softly. He let his Keyblade disappear in his hand, took one last look of pity at the pterodactyl before leaving. If he had looked back as he was leaving, he would have seen Damos emerging up from the puddle of sap on the ground. He watched as Riku disappeared deep within the tunnel before directing his attention towards the lifeless creature on the ground.
"Unfortunately, a man who knows no peace cannot grant peace to others." Kneeling down, Damos placed his hand against the pterodactyl and closed his eyes. Seconds later, of which only stillness and quiet controlled the room, almost as if in unison, as Damos's eyes shot open so too did the pterodactyl, its irises red and its body and head plated in iron armor.
Riku emerged from the church to find Dipper, Mabel and Lysander standing just outside of the church, gazing up at the sky. Looking up, a heart-shaped entity could be seen hanging in the dead of night, somewhat transparent and flickering.
"Kingdom Hearts…" Riku whispered, arriving by Lysander's side.
Lysander sighed and looked down at his feet. "You know that feeling when terrible things keep happening one after the other, and you can't help but feel they're connected? What's on the horizon isn't a storm, it's a hurricane. I can feel it in the air. And I know you can too.
"David Xanatos played us against each other. He's brought that hurricane and he is still out there. What's done is done. We can't change the past, so all we can do now is fight for our world. For people like these two." He nodded towards Dipper and Mabel. "So they can go on living their everyday lives without fear."
"Unfortunately, I don't quite trust you yet, especially after what you did," Riku said.
"Oh come on, you got out, didn't you? Never would have thought you'd figure it out though."
Riku looked at him quizzically. "What's that mean? I had to break your little game to get out."
"And who gave you the ability to do that? You don't think I'd program in the ability to duplicate you over and over again without knowing it could be exploited? But here's the thing– you got over your pride of winning and saw the bigger picture. And they say games don't teach life lessons."
Riku shook his head. "It's alright. You can admit it completely slipped your mind."
"Uh-huh. If it helps you sleep better at night," Lysander replied with a wink. "So what will you do now?"
Riku opened his mouth to answer, only to find that no answer came. He didn't know. It had been his fear of something like this happening that had kept him moving all this time. As long as he moved, he didn't have to think. And now Damos's words had brought on that pause. He knew Damos was just trying to shake him up. He knew and yet… why couldn't he kill this doubt in his mind?
"We shall squeeze you empty, and fill onto you ourselves."
Riku shook his head and looked back up at the sky to see the fading Kingdom Hearts had disappeared revealing stars in its place that had somehow never seemed so clear.
Gnomes pride themselves on being a hardworking species. Certainly when it came to their home, the Gnominal Abode, it was the only home they had so working to maintain and protect it was something instilled in each gnome from birth. The gnomes would occasionally venture from their home on excursions. They would sometimes peer into the hume world and see just how different they were. Apparently rather than working as a tight-knit community for the greater good and serving a common purpose, humes tended to act first for their own survival and happiness before prioritizing others. This individualistic behavior was not something a humble and collectivist folk as the Gnomes could so easily understand. For them, there was only the greater society and the queen whom they served.
With that said, as big as they were on work, they put equally as much effort on playing hard too. Dancing and singing were a custom among the Gnominal Abode. Every Gnome's "Urf" day, for example, saw the gathering of musical instruments culminating in live music and jigs. As there were many "Urf" days, there were many jigs. Another important moment in which this jovial ambience took place was in celebration of the Gnome Queen, as was the case now. After their previous queen had passed away, Jeff and some of his fellow gnomes had taken it upon themselves to search for a new one. A Gnominal Abode without its queen was one without purpose, a breeding ground for anarchy. The search had been difficult, but at last one had finally presented themselves. She was not exactly a gnome like the previous queen, but she would have to do. She was just about short enough anyway. Speaking of, she was currently nowhere in sight.
After looking around, he called over Craig. If there was anyone who kept check of the tiny details, it was Craig from accounting.
"She um- went to use the- um… facilities," Craig from accounting answered when quizzed as to where she had gone. He seemed somewhat flustered as he spoke.
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Goodness, no need to be so PC. Queens pee too, you know."
"W-w-well I-I-" Craig from accounting stuttered over his words.
Jeff heaved a sigh. "If you have time to stand there mumbling, then you have time to help with bringing out the milk."
"Uh, yes, Jeff!" The suddenly alert Craig from accounting made a dash in the direction of the shed that stored the bottles of milk, only for him to run face first into the legs of a tall man with white hair and a red overcoat.
The dancing and singing around them came to an abrupt stop, Craig and other gnomes backing away, though the man stood still on the spot. He commanded the entire attention of the village.
"Why stop? I was enjoying it," he said, looking around with a confusion that didn't seem completely honest. "No, no, I insist, please keep dancing. Really. I'll even help out. Come on."
Almost too jovially for the moment, he began whistling the tune of Steamboat Bill. As he looked beyond his wire-rimmed tinted glasses, the gnomes he had been staring at began dancing again, albeit awkwardly.
Seemingly satisfied, the man stopped whistling and looked back over to Jeff. "See? They get it."
"What exactly is your business with us, human?" Jeff asked.
"I have reason to believe… that there is someone among you who is of value to us. A seer. Someone that can see into the future," the man said. He began walking around slowly, looking at each of the gnomes as he passed them. "And if she's here, and she knows what's best for her, she will come on out! Isn't that right?"
He came to a stop and pivoted on his heels to face Jeff. The gnome leader's tiny fists clenched into a ball. "Whoever it is you're looking for, they aren't here. Now if you'd be so kind as to leave, we have a party to get back to."
"Hmm, I wonder…" the man reached out with his hand, his palm spread upwards on which a small flame sprung to life. The closer he stepped towards Jeff and the gnomes close by, the larger the flame became. The gnomes backed away, seemingly looking like they were prepared to flee their own skin. All of them anyway, except for Shmebulock who absently looked on as the man approached. Jeff tried to call him over but if he had heard, the gnome made no attempt to move.
Instead, he turned to Carson who was next to him and whispered, "On my word, we transform into Norman."
"But what about Shmebulock?" Carson asked.
"It's just a flesh wound. We gnomes are invincible, even with only one leg!" Jeff snapped.
"That's enough!"
A girl's voice drew the gnomes away from a decision that would result in their certain doom. The fire dissipated in the man's hands, his smirk growing as he looked upon the girl in white who had suddenly emerged from behind the trees.
"That's enough," Namine repeated, in a low tone. "I'm here. The last seer."
"Queen…" Jeff made to move but a glance from Namine stopped him in his tracks.
The man looked back and forth between them before laughing and bowing in Namine's direction. "Ohoh, queen? Your majesty, it is an honor to meet you."
"I know who you are, Janus Harvey. I know what you're capable of, and I will do everything in my power to stop you," she said.
"In other words, you've seen the future. And tell me, what's it look like? Is it beautiful?" Janus asked.
"It won't matter to you. If there is a future, it's one you won't be a part of."
Janus laughed. "Well, now I'm really curious. But I have to agree, no one wants to read the last page of a book first. Regardless, you're still of use. In the last war, the seers were weapons the factions used to gain the advantage over other factions. And now we come to you. If everyone learns of your existence, they will be coming for you. The world will know fire as it has never seen before. So you see, you truly are the most important piece on the board. Come with me and I'll guarantee your safety and anonymity. And of course…" He quickly nodded his head towards the gnomes. "Your loyal denizens will be safe too."
"And how did you learn about me then?" Namine asked.
Janus smirked and held out his hand. "Come with me and you'll find out."
Namine looked down at his hand, her mouth quivering. Despite her strong words, she was hoping he couldn't see past the facade.
Come on, Namine. Just remember… WWKD?, she repeated in her head as she looked away and into Janus's concealed eyes. What would Kairi do?
She opened her mouth to speak. She had made up her mind. But just as she did so, a blue table cloth obscured her view and wrapped around her. She could feel herself being lifted off her feet. For a while, she felt like she was being pushed through a long tube that headed in different directions. It was only when her feet finally touched solid ground and the cloth unraveled and flew away from her that she could see she was in a completely different location. It was still Gravity Falls, of that she was sure, judging from the unique scenery, but she was far away from the village of the gnomes.
"Oh, got the right person. You really do only get one chance with these things, you know."
Upon hearing the newcomer's voice, she spun around to see the Fairy Godmother, ever a relieved smile on her face.
A/N: Have to sneak in the original Steamboat Willie whistle tune in there somewhere. But with Janus being the one to do it, it's a bit... warped. Anyway, as to where Riku is off to next? Well, he'll be needing a bit of introspection. We'll also be meeting a new cast of characters too so until then please leave a review!