A/N: Hey all, back with another chapter. Yep, still hoping to be faster with these things but also trying to get adjusted to my new job and find the time as well at the moment. But sorry for keeping you waiting, let's jump right in with the continuation of the Middleton arc.
Chapter 2
Man In The Mirror
"Ha-HA! Well done, son, well done! I can only imagine that our 'guest' is having the time of his life at the moment." An especially enthusiastic Senor Senior, Sr. poured himself a glass of whiskey sour. The concoction of whiskey, lemon and sugar was a bit of a beginner's drink, but in his old age, he wasn't too fussy anymore about the choice.
"Father, what are you doing?" Junior asked, not unable to look on with anything but embarrassment as his father bounced up and down along with what Junior would classify as 'boomer' upbeat jazz coming from the vinyl player in the room, even with it only being the two of them there. When his son had come to inform him of their success, Junior had already found him in quite a jovial mood.
"What? Do you kids not do this these days? Is it not hip enough?" Senior replied, giving a little shake of his hips as he made his way back to the couch.
"Coming from you? No," Junior said, dryly, although he soon joined his father in the living room after pouring himself a glass of apple juice.
"And Kim Possible says we don't care about the environment. Look at us taking out the trash like good citizens," Senior said with a chuckle. "Best investment I've made in years I'd say. Well, other than your education, of course… actually, no, definitely more than your education."
"Father!"
"What? It was a joke! Can't a man make a joke anymore or are those too sensitive for you kids nowadays," Senior said with a laugh as he gave his glass a swirl, watching as the ice moved around and occasionally made contact in the glass.
"Are you really proud that a man was just roasted alive under your house?" Junior asked, although his attention was not on his father. He had since pulled out his cell phone and was focusing on that.
"What? No! You want proud, go find the Proud family." Senior again laughed, until seeing his son's blank stare to which he groaned and waved him off dismissively. "It's a… forget it. But seriously, no I am not thinking of that charred man's corpse at this very moment, wait do you take me for? Some kind of Saturday cartoon villain? I am just amazed at how well it turned out. You did good, Junior."
"Well, thank you, father," Junior said. Though buried deep in his screen, Senior could see the corner of his son's mouth curling up slightly at the gratitude extended towards him.
"Not good enough."
Both Senior and Junior frowned, looking at one another.
"Father, did you say that?"
"Don't be ridiculous-" But then who had? A look of terror slowly began to dawn on their faces and they twisted their necks to look around followed by the rest of their bodies. Behind them stood a tall silver haired terror who looked none too pleased with them. Forgetting the whiskey glass in his hand, Senior moved so quickly that a good amount of its contents flew out and splashed on the carpet in front of him.
"What? How did you-"
Riku raised his arm and summoned his Keyblade into his hand for a few seconds before letting it disappear.
"Another one?" Senior asked in disbelief. "For supposed keepers of the peace, you sure do love pointing those things around at just about anyone."
"'Keepers of the peace'? And who told you that?" Riku asked. As he took a few steps forward, Senior stepped further back. Not that he was thankful for it, but he was starting to wonder if the eye patch was more a blessing than a curse.
"What is it exactly that you want...?"
"Riku."
"Ah, Riku. He told me you might come," Senior said, seeming slightly more relaxed than before. Riku found the transition to be slightly disconcerting.
"So what am I then, the guest of honor?" Riku asked. Senior laughed, although Riku hadn't intended for it to be a joke. He hastily continued, "Was a man named Janus the one who told you that?"
"Heh-heh, perhaps. I struggle to remember the name. It's my old age, you see," Senior said with some level of coyness in his mannerisms. He seemed to be taking some amusement in the situation. Like father, like son, Riku supposed.
"Look…" Riku started with a tinge of annoyance. "The sooner you tell me what I want to know, the sooner I can be on my merry way and you can go about your day like normal. Why did he come here? What did he want to talk about?"
"Hmm… well, I've already got what I wanted. I see no reason to hide or indeed prolong anything, thus I will be honest with you. The man you call Janus came to me about a month ago asking for my assistance. He needed help acquiring a certain… product that had been financed by yours truly. He did not specify the exact reason for his needs nor do I personally want to know. In exchange, he offered me a single item that I believe to be the most valuable item in the world."
"The most valuable item in the world? What could be so valuable that…?" Riku asked.
"Why tell when I can show?" Senior was about to move when Riku stopped him in his tracks.
"Wait, first thing's first, what was the 'product' you offered him anyway?"
"An experimental drug by the name of Kronos-β."
If Riku had not been fully alert before, hearing that name had certainly made him so. He would never have thought that he would have heard that name here of all places. He, Sora, Kairi and the others had fought fiercely against their machinations over the past year. Their leader, David Xanatos, was still out there. Could it have been a coincidence?
"KRONOS? Are you affiliated with KRONOS?" Riku asked.
"Define affiliated," Senior chose his words carefully as he felt Riku's glare bore down on him. "I- I don't know anything about what happens at the meetings, I was never a part of that. A man I know by the name of Drakken came to me on behalf of the organization and asked me to help them with funding. As part of the deal, I got to see every now and then what they were up to. Previously in its alpha stage of testing, Kronos-β is the latest in humanity's quest for shedding its limits. The perfect human. That's the promise, according to KRONOS. I had the money to spare and I was curious to see if they could succeed. Of course, they gave me a couple of samples to keep. I figured one day I may have use for them, either via financial means or other, but it seems the highest bidder won out in the end."
"There's nothing perfect about it! That drug is being used in experiments on innocent people and turning them into monsters!" Riku lashed out. So they finally had a name for it then, the so-called Kronos-β that had been known to them previously as the Chimera drug. It had fallen out of its creator's—Abraxas'— hands, into Xanatos' and now…
He remembered back to what Kairi had told him according to Elsa. KRONOS' main objective had been to weaken anything that could get in the way of their plan. To that end, they pitted Sora, he and the others against Moira's Crescent in hopes that they would eliminate one another. On where Moira's Crescent stood at the moment in his eyes, Riku wasn't exactly sure, but it would be wrong to say they were allies.
What had Kairi called it? Project Rebirth. Right, that was what Elsa had said. A project to rebuild the world and create paradise. So then was Kronos-β a part of this plan? And how did Janus even come to know about such a drug? Was he working with Xanatos? Riku soon dismissed the thought. If he were, then he could simply get the drug from Xanatos.
"Was that everything he asked for?" Riku eventually asked after a while.
"The drug was the only thing he asked for," Senior confirmed, placing a hand on his chest.
Riku sighed. KRONOS was bad enough. He dreaded to think of what such a drug in that man- no, monster's hands was capable of.
"Tell me everything you know about Kronos-β," Riku proceeded to ask.
"Only that it's not in its final stages just yet. From my understanding, it's had quite a low success rate. Only 36 per cent. I know that of the successful cases, things such as missing limbs have regrown. Another had their eyesight improved. Who knows, maybe you won't have to wear that eyepatch anymore. The sky is the limit. Are these causes not worth fighting for?"
"They wouldn't be if they couldn't be exploited," Riku muttered. "Alright. So what did Janus offer you in return?"
"Ah, come, come! Over here! It's quite magnificent really." Senior motioned for Riku to follow him. The two and Junior crossed the floor to the other side of the penthouse, with Riku ever mindful of the space in between him and the two Seniors. He gripped his Keyblade tightly. The old man he wasn't too worried about but the younger family member behind him could try anything at any moment.
They soon reached an object draped and concealed in red cloth. Without a moment's hesitation, Senior pulled at the cloth, a gasp of disbelief escaping from Riku's mouth upon the reveal.
"This is…"
He couldn't believe it. He was looking back at his own reflection, courtesy of a mirror, and not just any mirror either. He recognised the intricate design and crown at its top. So not only was Janus aware of the Chimera drug, he was also aware of the magic mirror that had until now resided in the bedchambers of the castle in Snow White's world.
"Why is this here?" was all Riku could say. Of course, he already knew the answer but even so, it continued to baffle him.
"Enchanting, isn't it? I have never quite seen anything like it. A mirror that seems to know everything. Doesn't it just draw you in?" Senior almost whispered, watching as Riku walked past him. A man, pale with slightly sunken eyes stared back at him with the light that had once filled them now nowhere to be found. What's more, his once well-kept hair was now a silver mess. He hardly recognised himself. Worst of all he couldn't find it in himself to care. There was no surprise, no regrets, nothing.
As he made to draw his eyes away to ask where the mirror's face was, he noticed something in the corner of his eye. A strange movement coming from none other than his own reflection. He peered back with curiosity. Could he have just been imagining it?
That's when it happened. His eyes widened as he found his own hands gripping the fabrics of his shirt close to his chest. With a quick yelp, suddenly he was dragged forwards. When he fought he was going to hit the mirror he closed his eyes, but his body never hit any surface. When he opened them again, he found himself in a strange area, dark but surrounded by strange fractals of different shapes and sizes like the inside of a kaleidoscope that floated about the room. He could even see his reflection in some of them.
He remembered something about this. Stories from both Terra and Aqua. If that was the case, then he could reasonably conclude that he had been sucked into some sort of mirror dimension.
"Aren't you tired of taking Ls yet?"
Riku spun around at the voice and came across probably the last thing he wanted to see right now. "What?"
"You heard me," the other Riku said with a grin. He had his Keyblade, translucent, almost to the point where it seemed invisible, resting against his shoulder. "Things aren't quite going your way at the moment, are they? And you think you can beat Janus in that pitiful state? I wouldn't even bother if I were you. Oh wait, I am."
Riku sucked in the air in between his teeth and looked away. "Being lectured by my own reflection. Now I've seen it all."
After a quick shake of his head, he summoned his own Keyblade and raised it above his head. "I don't have time for your mind games. Let's get this over with."
Before he knew it, they were already physically at each other's throats. The mirror Riku was agile and quick as he forcefully slammed his body and with it his Keyblade into the real Riku again and again. Riku could only block each attack as it came, holding the Way to the Dawn with both hands to steady his balance against the incoming attacks.
"What's wrong, me? Lost your thirst for vengeance?" The mirror copy yelled as he put full force into his swings. "Janus made you brittle once before. With this performance, he'll completely destroy you!"
Riku let out an animalistic roar and swung back with as much force as he could manage, countering the mirror copy's blow. The mirror version jumped back, putting as much distance between him and Riku as possible.
"You almost had me there. But then I remembered—you're nothing but smoke and mirrors," Riku said. He was sure of it. This was of Janus' design. A trap—no, not just that, but a reminder and a warning.
"No," Riku corrected himself. He wouldn't continue to define these things by his rules. This was a reminder to keep his sights set on his goal, no matter what was thrown his way.
His mirrored self leaned backwards slightly before thrusting his palm forward, sending a blast of energy his way. Riku cut through it with his Keyblade and shot forward. Aura projectile after projectile, he dodged and weaved in between them as though they were oncoming traffic. As he neared in, he leapt in the air, twisting his body before rocketing forward like a spinning top. The odd angle strike of his blade broke through the phony Riku's guard, throwing him off balance. Landing on the ground, he slashed diagonally upwards, cutting from the fake's stomach to the right side of his chest.
The mirror Riku stumbled backwards, let out a gasp, and fell on his knees. Slowly, he looked up into the eyes of Riku who knelt down to meet him eye to eye.
"You thought you could stop me? I'm not afraid of you. I'll find you… and you'll pay for what you did to me and Xion."
The fake chuckled. It was an annoying chuckle that grated on Riku's nerves, and then he laughed.
"What's so funny?" Riku asked.
"What's funny? I'm sorry, you seem to be under the wrong impression. Janus did lay the trap, true, but he can't put thoughts in your head. I don't come from Janus. I come from you. So you see, I know you more than anyone," replied the fake, struggling to keep his eyes open as he spoke.
"Okay. So what?" Riku asked, unimpressed. "You saw just then that I won't let anything deter me."
"What I saw was a frightened boy pretending to be a man. All that strife with Maleficent and Ansem, all that growing and this is where you end up? Back at the beginning, like a flat circle. You think your revenge will give you peace of mind—set you free. But there is no freedom waiting for you. Only more chains. You've built a castle out of sand, and it would be a strong castle, if you had not built it right next to the sea."
"If you think I'll let the darkness consume me again-"
"Oh, but you fear it already has. You certainly have enough rage to fill an ocean. Face it, from this point onwards, you can only destroy. You don't belong with your friends anymore. Take that anger and make Janus pay. Destroy him, just like you did Xion's-"
"AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"
Riku let out an animalistic roar and plunged his Keyblade into his mirror self, shattering it into pieces. He took a few deep breaths, or tried to, for they ended up coming out as rattled and quick instead. It was only after a few more seconds of staring at the fragments that horror finally struck him. They were as clear as the shards of an actual mirror, certainly clear enough to see that same unrecognizable face, only it was now in many pieces and one other thing—a sickening twisted grin that came along with it. Suddenly he felt something rising up his chest, he leaned forward and expelled the sick that was coming from his mouth. Food from the last day or so, of which there was little, had found its way back up his esophagus, leaving a horrible taste in his mouth.
He then slowly, but surely, found his footing and stared off into the distance for a while, his thoughts elsewhere. It took a while for him to notice that he was clenching his fists tightly, his knuckles pale as though all the blood had been drained out of them. He forced himself to open his hand, watching them shake as he did so. He had to get out of here.
Back on the other side of the mirror, Senior Sr. raised a glass to his son who raised one, non-alcoholic of course, in return.
"Well that was admittedly a rather rough start but I told you, Junior, I had everything under control," he said.
"Did you, father? Because from where I was standing it looked like your old age was about to kick in," Junior replied.
"Bah, you have no confidence in your old man. That said, if I have to go through more disruptions like this then I'm done with it all. It's too much stress and I already have enough on my plate as it is with Kim Possible. No need to add more. What say you we build another sun lamp, Junior? The biggest one yet."
"Hurray! By the way, father, I was wondering… is it true what Riku said, about that drug turning people into monsters? He seemed rather worried about it."
Senior shook his head. "Ah, it's nothing but nonsense, I'm sure. I mean turning people into monsters? Sounds like something out of horror story. Nonsense. All nonsense…"
"Um, father?"
"Yes, junior, what is it?" Senior asked feebly. His son really could ask too many questions sometimes.
But his son never asked any question. Instead, he gestured with his index finger behind Senior. A bead of sweat suddenly ran down his temple. Taking a rather large gulp, he turned around to see Riku glaring down at him. This time, rather than just the contents of the glass itself, the entire glass fell from his hands, smashing into pieces.
"Er… w-well, th-that sure was something, haha…" Senior stammered with some nervous laughter.
"I need to ask the mirror a question," Riku said, nodding his head in the direction of the mirror.
For a moment, Senior looked at him as if he had grown two heads. Eventually, the gravitas of the question seemed to bear down on him and he finally responded, "Oh! Oh yes, of course. Err, magic mirror, reveal thyself."
Not too long after the request was made, a familiar face appeared in the mirror—not a reflection like before, but a face that took on the appearance of a theatrical mask. "What is thy bidding, my master?"
"Where can I find Janus?" Riku asked. The mirror however, remained silent, his brow raised as though he were expecting something else.
"Rhyme," Senior mumbled. Riku looked his way in confusion. "You have to rhyme the- Magic Mirror, if you may confide, tell us where the man known as Janus doth reside?"
Satisfied with this, the magic mirror opened its mouth to speak, "To a small town's Falls I see him go, surrounded by tall trees whose mysteries ever grow."
"The small town's falls? I don't suppose you could elaborate? Er, please… confabulate?" Riku wanted to smack himself with a frying pan like in one of those old cartoons he used to watch.
The mirror seemed annoyed at this, the lines on its face hardening. It was clear he wouldn't be getting much else.
"I wonder if he means Gravity Falls?" The unexpected bone thrown his way came from none other than Junior who seemed to be having a conversation with himself rather than actually addressing Riku. "Father, didn't you try to get the deed to some of the land in that place to build a country resort there a few months ago?"
"Junior, about the sun lamp?" Senior ended with running his finger across his throat, sending the younger Senior into a pout.
"Okay then. Take me there," Riku said, choosing to ignore this.
"M-me?" Junior asked.
"Consider your debt repaid for throwing me in that chute earlier, and the mirror," Riku said. He wasn't exactly thrilled about being stuck in that claustrophobic box again with the excitable chatterer, but it was the quickest way there, not to mention the only one he knew. It wasn't like he had a Gummi Ship of his own either.
Junior, perhaps because he did not want to make a bigger mess out of things than he and his father already had, promptly agreed with a nod of his head. Riku gave one quick glance at Senior and turned to leave when he heard a chuckle behind him. He looked back at Senior again.
"What's so funny?"
"Not him."
Riku spun around and took a few steps forward until he was face to face with the magic mirror. "I ask again. What's so funny?"
"I grow tired of this charade. I have lived as a slave of the magic mirror for many a year, imprisoned by my former master, but the person you seek has set me free from my shackles for ever after. And now I am free to roam this scorched earth. Free at last!"
It happened too quickly for Riku to react. The mirror's face suddenly broke from its physical embodiment and flew through Riku. A sudden and powerful gust of wind burst forth and knocked Riku off his feet. The silver haired youth flew through the air and crashed into the glass table on the other side of the room, shattering it into pieces. Riku was just able to look up in time to see the mask fly over his head and through the wall.
There was silence in the room. Senior's mouth hung open, utterly flabbergasted. Meanwhile, Junior was blinking a mile a minute, seemingly still processing what had just happened. Riku couldn't fault either of them. They were fully expressing what he was thinking.
A/N: So I was watching Snow White again recently, partly for research, partly for funsies, and I couldn't help thinking to myself, it would be kind of cool if the Magic Mirror, the thing that apparently knows everything about everything, was used more, or better yet, make it much harder to be used by just anyone. As for it's true nature, I'd like to imagine something quite similar to its backstory from Once Upon A Time, to give you an idea of what I'll be going for here.
As for a main theme song of this story, so Somewhere Only We Know by Keane and Just Give Me A Reason by P!nk were playing in my head as the themes for Dual Destinies, What About Now by Doherty and Beautiful World by Utada for Cracks of the Past, and Queen of Peace by Florence for Paved With Gold. For this one, I wanted something more somber like being trapped in a pit and gradually working to climb out of it. That led me to Way in the Dark by Donna Burke and I think it's pretty fitting for Riku's story so I'd definitely give it a listen to. Anyway, join me soon for the next chapter which will see our lad journey to Gravity Falls and also... a flashback!