This story now updates on Archive of Our Own only.

My username and the story title are the same over there. The story is NOT locked to users only so can be viewed without needing an AO3 account. There are more chapters posted there already as well.

Sorry to anyone who is disappointed by this :( but posting here has become quite draining (variety of reasons) and I hope that if you have been enjoying this story you'll check it out over there!

There he was again.

Ghostly and flickering in and out of existence. He was sitting on a rock in a small sandy garden area at the side of a huge intersection of wide roads. His knees were drawn up in front of him, arms crossed and chin resting on top of them, staring out into space. He was still as a statue, demeanour so different from his old self.

"Hey Sora."

Riku had stopped hoping for a reply.

If he was honest with himself, he didn't know why he was still doing this, searching day and night just to find this translucent reflection of his friend, seemingly trapped on another side of this world. He'd stay here for a few days, return to the Gummi ship in the graveyard to rest, replenish his supplies, and report back to Mickey. Then he'd come back to look for Sora again. He'd been repeating the process for weeks.

He'd tried everything to contact him. He had yelled and screamed, caused explosions with his magic, sat with him for hours trying to talk to him, would reach out to touch him, only to have his hand pass clean through.

He'd hoped he could somehow manipulate this world to communicate with him, but while he could walk through it and touch it, he couldn't seem to interact with it. When he tried to open doors the handles wouldn't budge or respond to his Keyblade. Glass wouldn't break when he tried to smash it. His body cast no shadow, showed no reflection in the windows. He'd tried to carve messages into the ground but nothing he did seemed to alter the surface. Sometimes he would see Sora entering buildings, but hadn't yet been quick enough to follow him in before the doors closed. It seemed risky to try anyway, in case he missed Sora leaving and found himself trapped inside.

Whenever he found him Sora would just wink in and out of existence. He would appear for a moment or two, disappear for a few seconds, and then appear again. After a while, he might disappear entirely, before turning up again a few hours later. Some nights Riku would never find him.

At the end of each night, Sora would disappear inside a random building or just fade away completely. He never saw him, or the Unversed, during the day.

He'd run into the Unversed on his second trip and had seen them most nights since. Their numbers seemed to be slowly increasing, and they always seemed to congregate close to Sora. At least it made finding him easier, just follow the evil little things and they would eventually lead you to him.

He assumed they were on Sora's side as well as he frequently saw him fighting. He couldn't see what he was trying to strike but, judging from his movements, it was big. When he wasn't fighting Sora would just sit and watch, presumably keeping an eye out for the next attack. Every time Riku saw him he looked more run down, more listless, less full of life. It was torture to watch.

He hadn't seen Sora interacting with other people but considering Riku only saw him at night, and monsters were stalking the streets on his side as well, he assumed the people in this city didn't venture out after dark.

He tried, without expecting any success, to make a mark in the sand, but it was as hard as the pavement that surrounded the small garden. He'd already dealt with the Unversed in the area, so sat down on the ground in front of Sora, racking his brain for an idea he hadn't tried yet.

He watched Sora's unmoving form fade in and out of sight for at least an hour, which was strange. At this point in the night, he was usually frequently on the move, spending almost all of his time fighting. Was it possible this time it wasn't actually him? He wondered if this ghost was some kind of copy, frozen here to trick him somehow. Or maybe the nights he didn't see Sora were actually like this, Unversed free and he wouldn't have to do any fighting. He had wondered this before and hoped it was the case tonight. It would make sense too. No one could keep up fighting like this every night without some rest and respite, not even Sora.

But suddenly Sora jerked his head up as if he had heard something. Riku leapt to his feet, ready to follow him if he started moving, while Sora stood up and summoned his Keyblade. Riku turned in the direction he was looking, even though he could never see the enemies Sora fought, and there was nothing there.

When he looked back he found Sora frowning, a puzzled look on his face, watching something that was presumably approaching him. His expression turned briefly to shock, and then laser focus as he leapt forward off the rock, and began sprinting towards the centre of the crossing, Riku at his heel.

Then he watched in horror as the image of Sora leapt into the air and then flew suddenly in a different direction, arms pinned to his sides, as though held in a giant's grasp.

"Sora!"

All he could do was watch, helpless, as Sora struggled, yelling silently, his Keyblade disappearing and reappearing at odd angles as he tried to get free. As he fought against whatever was holding him Riku watched his eyes grow wide with fear. He was moving slowly through the air, as though being dragged towards something floating high above him. Riku had no idea what to do, no idea how, or if, he could help him. He saw Sora close his eyes, a look of pure misery on his face.

And then suddenly, somehow, he broke free. His arms flew out, no longer pinned to his sides and he hovered in the air for a moment, his back arching and head flung back, face towards the sky. Then he hunched forwards and brandished his weapon, before diving forwards to attack something. He watched Sora sweep his blade through the air and then land safely. He was crouched low to the ground in a stance Riku hadn't seen him use before, but he looked unhurt. It had all happened so fast.

Riku whooped with relief, but it was short-lived. As Sora once again flickered out of existence, something else appeared instead. A loud crackling and red flashing light caused him to look up and, in the exact spot where Sora had broken free, was an expanding ball of darkness. It was surrounded by bright blue and purple lightning that snaked across its surface and, as it grew, he saw something writhing inside.

He watched as the sphere began morphing, uncurling arms and legs and lifting an awful head. Wings were emerging from the thing's back, sharp and spiked, tipped with purple and bright blue. He leapt backwards as it dropped from the sky and slammed into the ground on all fours. As it stood slowly he thought for a moment it was a Darkside, the first Heartless he would have seen in this place. But then it turned to him.

There was no heart-shaped hole in its chest and no glowing yellow eyes. It was thinner, more streamlined than a Darkside, and its fingers tapered to needle-like points. The twisted tentacles that would have usually covered the face were absent and in their place was a sharply pointed chin, a mouth full of serrated teeth, and a collar of spikes surrounding its neck. Its eyes were red slits, and on its chest, it bore the mark of the Unversed.

It let out an unearthly screech and swiped at him, its arm stretching and lengthening as it did so. He rolled out of the way just in time and whirled around to strike it before it could pull its hand back. He missed by inches. It was incredibly fast. Based on its resemblance to a Darkside he targeted the hands and head, teleporting out of the way as it jabbed at him, bringing his blade down on its tapered fingers and trying to leap up and climb its arms.

Unlike his Keyblade, its claws were able to affect this world; they gouged long cuts into the road. If it hadn't clearly been so strong he would have tried to use this to his advantage, somehow getting this thing to carve some kind of sign in the ground for Sora, but it was too much of a threat for him to focus on anything except killing it.

They began a dance of sorts, the Unversed lashing out, Riku dodging and leaping for its arms, desperate to catch its fingers beneath his blade and clear himself a pathway towards its head. He tried dashing through its legs and leaping for its back, but every time it spun too quickly, shifting from underneath him and swiping again. It caught him with its claws several times, sending him slamming to the ground, with deep scratches across his arms.

He was glad this was only his first night back from the ship, as he had his supply of elixirs and potions. They were almost gone within 5 minutes though. He knew he would suffer later from using so many in quick succession, but that didn't matter right now. The cuts and pain disappeared each time he drank one, and the fight would continue.

Climbing its arms wasn't getting him anywhere so he changed tactics, and sprinted away from the crossing, dodging its jabs until he reached the closest building. He ran up its wall and the massive TV screen set atop it. He turned, now eye level with the Unversed. It reared back before letting out another ear-splitting shriek that made the building below Riku shake, and the screen he was standing on to rock backwards and forwards.

As he steadied himself he looked down at the bright screen and the flashing pictures of strange faces and writing it showed. He had an idea. He dropped down and held onto the edge of the screen, hanging in front of it and waiting. "Come on... come get me..."

The monster leant forward again and bared its teeth at him. He watched as it pulled its arm back, preparing to strike. He'd only have one shot at this.

The Unversed lashed out, and Riku pushed off the screen, throwing himself up and forward into the air. The claws shot under his feet, missing him by millimetres, and plunged into the screen. Sparks flew out from the spot it hit and the screen shattered. The Unversed screamed again but this time it was a scream of pain, as electricity shot through its arm and burned its claws. Before it could withdraw its hand Riku landed on its arm and sprinted along it towards the face. It opened its jaw, serrated teeth ready to strike, but again Riku was too fast.

"FIRE!"

He sent a blast of Dark Firaga straight into its mouth and watched as it burst out the other side of the creature's head. He flipped backwards, propelled by his spell, and dropped all the way to the ground, landing hard but unhurt. The Unversed stood still for a moment, frozen in shock, before it started to stumble and teeter back and forth. As it lost its balance and fell back it began dissolving, fading away into the air. It was gone before it could hit the ground.

Riku dropped to his knees, trying to catch his breath. He pulled out his last potion and downed it in one, feeling some of his strength return. He'd never seen an Unversed like that before. He hoped he never would again either. Was that what Sora had encountered on the other side as well? He smiled briefly. If Sora had fought the same thing, he'd taken it down a hell of a lot easier than Riku had. He had a feeling if they ever had a match in the future he wouldn't stand much of a chance anymore. He didn't know when Sora had managed to surpass his skills, but thank goodness he had.

Before he could recover fully though, he heard a horribly familiar sound, the sound of tiny creatures darting back and forth. He jumped back to his feet and watched as Floods emerged from the ground in front of and around him, hundreds of them, maybe thousands. The road was suddenly barely visible through the layer of twitchy Unversed.

The big one may be gone, but so were his elixirs and potions, and most of his magic, and these Floods were surely about to swarm him. He hadn't seen this many since he fought alongside the other guardians of light in the Badlands. It was still a long way back to the portal, if he tried to fight and got injured he wouldn't have the strength to make it back. He had to get out of here. Now.

He turned to flee and they tore after him, flitting up the sides of buildings and diving down at him. He dodged and weaved, too fast for them as he dissolved into sparks to dash through the air. They couldn't match the speed of his dodges, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming.

As he skidded and rounded a corner he felt a burning pain in his back as one caught him and sliced through his jacket. He stumbled and more slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. His head cracked against the pavement. They clawed at his chest, legs, and arms. He threw them off and got to his feet just in time to avoid the next barrage, as they swiped at his ankles.

He kept running, covered in cuts. He managed to keep them off him for several blocks, ignoring the searing pain in his back. He soon glimpsed the enormous u-shaped building in the distance, the red lights in its two towers pulsing. He had gained a decent amount of ground on the Unversed, but a group had broken off from the main pack without him noticing. He was sure he was home free until a wall of them slammed into his side as they emerged from a side street. He rolled, feeling their razer sharp claws catching on his clothes and skin.

He summoned the last of his magic and sent a barrage of Dark Firaga in all directions, blasting them away from him. Gasping and covered in warm, sticky blood, he staggered to his feet and looked around him. He was surrounded. He'd cleared away the ones pinning him down, but there were still hundreds left. He was getting dizzy, exhausted and losing too much blood from his many cuts. He couldn't do this alone, he needed help. But there was no one else here. He was alone.

"Sora..."

He called out his name mournfully, not knowing if he was asking him for help, or saying goodbye.

He thought of the last time he had called out for him at the moment he thought he was about to die. It had been when he fought Aqua in the Dark Realm, on the same beach he and Sora had once sat on together, accepting their fate that they wouldn't be making it home. They'd accepted it because they knew as long as the other was there with them, they would be OK.

When the door back to the light appeared Sora had reached out a hand to him, so they could go home together, and he took it.

The Unversed advanced in unison, leaping into the air and bearing down on him. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.

But it never came. No claws dug into him. No pointed limbs forced him to the ground. He couldn't even hear them anymore. Had death really been so quick? But if he was dead, why did he still hurt so much?

He opened his eyes to an empty, silent street. They were gone.

Sora? Was that you?

As he stumbled back through the portal to the Keyblade Graveyard he pulled his phone out. When Mickey picked up he was grinning excitedly.

"Riku! You're back early! Did you... Riku, what's wrong?!"

"Mickey..." He was panting, dragging his feet towards the Gummi ship. "Got hurt... don't think... I can fly the ship right now... need help."

"Are you in the Graveyard?"

"Yes."

"Just hold on Riku, help is on the way! We'll be there soon!"

As Riku reached the ship and clambered inside he nodded, then collapsed to the floor, vision fading as Mickey tried to keep him awake.