Riku's entire body ran cold with shivers as he downed the darkness that Maleficent had given to him. It exploded within him, reaching from inside to out of his body and enveloping him in darkness. It suited him quite literally, changing his clothes into something sinister—a black and blue suit ribbed his body, tracing the muscles down his own arms and back with darkness. The emblem of a heart formed on his chest and he brought his fist there. With this new strength he felt coursing through his veins he knew that protecting what mattered would be guaranteed to him. He felt powerful and free. Little did he know he was now more trapped than ever.

His mouth dripped with excess darkness, drops of the black matter landing on Sora's face. It pooled on him until it began to spread, covering his face and body like it had done to Riku's. It dressed him in an outfit like his, Sora's red and black with constructed veins reaching out from the center of his chest instead of a heart.

Curious however was his hair. As the darkness receded to reveal his own suit, it seemed to stay in his hair, turning it from a light brown to a pitch black. Sora groaned then, and his eyes fluttered open, bright yellow and contrasting against his new appearance.

"Sora, you're awake!" Riku dropped back to Sora's side but the boy sneared and shoved him away.

"Who're you?" He growled.

"Sora, what are you talking about? It's me, Riku."

"I don't know any Riku."

"What's wrong with you? Did you suddenly lose your memories, Sora?"

"That's not my name. It's Vanitas."

"Vanitas…?"

Maleficent's voice interrupted the confusion.

"As I said previously, my boy, what lay there was by no means your friend, but the darkness that was in your friend's heart. He is not the friend you knew, no, but more like an insect that had been trapped inside, much like a spider in a ceiling light. The boy's heart is scattered. You must find all the pieces if you want see him again as he once was."

"You said you'll help me." Riku growled. He felt the darkness swirling around in his stomach.

"I've given a large piece of your friend's heart already. Now, you must return the favor and help me find parts of mine."

"You're missing pieces of your heart?"

"Not precisely, but there are hearts I wish to acquire—all pieces of one larger puzzle. Out there in the many worlds are seven pure hearts. Help me gather these seven and I will do in my power what I can to bring you back your friend you call Sora."

"And Kairi too."

"Yes," Maleficent mused, "and your little princess too."

Riku and Vanitas stood side by side listening to Maleficent's request and the story that went along with it. She explained that there were seven Princesses of Heart, young girls with hearts devoid of darkness that, when gathered together, would open a 'door.' Though she didn't explain more beyond that. She only said it was important that the door be open, this she repeated quite a lot.

The princesses were scattered throughout several worlds and Riku would need to bring them back to this castle. Vanitas stood by his side, his resolve steady to take on the task as well.

"I'm looking forward to this," smiled Vanitas. It was a dark and twisted smile, devoid of joy and light.

"Are you really all that interested in what this woman has to say?" asked Riku, darkness teetering on the edge of his own words.

"Oh, I couldn't care less about these so-called princesses. What I'm more interested in is having the other pieces of my heart back. I may have failed last time, but this time…this time for sure." He said the last part under his breath.

"What do you mean your heart?"

Vanitas ignored Riku, and instead turned toward Maleficent.

"When do we start?" Vanitas asked.

"Preferably immediately."

"Maleficent," called Riku. "Just how do you expect us to get to other worlds?"

"Why, the same way you arrived at this one. Both of you have the power of darkness inside of you and can call upon it at will. You may summon corridors of darkness and use them to traverse between worlds."

"Yeah, and where do you suppose we start? There are hundreds of worlds out there. You don't really expect us to check each and every one for one of these 'Princesses of Heart' now do you?"

"Trust that the darkness will lead you to the correct worlds." Maleficent looked over the boys and began to move forward beyond them, to the glass chambers that had welcomed Riku when he'd first entered.

The two watched her slowly glide across the room, the light click of heels sounding off against the stone floor.

"This task should be relatively easy for the two of you. You see, I've been trying the last ten years to gather the seven hearts, but as luck would have it I am too suspicious of a character, and a princess is a princess. I often find it difficult to approach any sort of kingdom without causing a stir. In the past, I employed help similar to you now, but it's been many years since I've been alone."

Maleficent placed a hand on the glass of the chamber closes to her. It was frosted over, its contents not visible.

"You only have to gather four, did I tell you? Three of the seven princesses already sleep before us here; Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White."

"So, I suppose after every two princesses we bring you then you'll give me the next part of my friend?"

"That remains to be seen." Maleficent turned swiftly from the chamber in front of her, wasting no time in moving them on from here. "Now, the first princess I need you to fetch is Princess Jasmine. She lives in the world that homes the City of Agrabah. Do tread carefully though, one of my own friends there is quite fond of her and might not let you leave with the princess so easily."

"We're on it." Riku and Vanitas said in unison.

The two turned back to the open area, Vanitas throwing his hand out before him to begin to summon the previously mentioned 'corridor of darkness'. He did so with ease, as though he was more familiar with the power than Riku had considered. Riku narrowed his eyes and followed suit, putting his hand out and concentrating on darkness. Together, they produced a perfect corridor of darkness.

Riku stepped through with what confidence he could muster, remembering the first time he'd relented to a portal of crushing darkness. But instantly he was blinded by white, lost in a blank space, symbols of nothing swirling around him.

"Again," Vanitas said sternly. He looked over to Riku with an unreadable face. "Focus this time."

Riku clenched his jaw, imaging the name of the world written in his mind until it sharpened clear. Together again, they opened another corridor. A harsh wind blew out from the darkness as they entered and it took some bit of strength to press through. As they did, the two of them stepped into a bright world; the sky devoid of clouds, the sun shining hard, and a sparkling city standing tall in front of them.

Vanitas wasted no time and marched straight down through the city, people in the streets turning their heads to the out-of-place looking stranger.

"Where are you going?" asked Riku.

"The palace." Vanitas retorted. "Where else are we going to find a princess?"

"Maybe you're right, but don't you think we could do things a little less…y'know, conspicuous?"

"You act like you're used to kidnapping people." Vanitas turned around with a smirk. It struck Riku through the heart how similar he looked to Sora, how cruel, that gloating smile that used his friends face had no intention of letting him forget why he was on this mission.

"What are you—we're not kidnapping someone."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Riku." It wasn't just his face; Vanitas's voice was eerily similar to Sora's as well. However, it was darker, dripped in something sinister Riku couldn't put his finger on. Was Vanitas really just the remnants of darkness within Sora's heart personified? Because smiles aside, Vanitas behaved with an agency that made Riku believe he was entirely his own person.

Vanitas jumped onto a crate on the side of a random market stall causing the shop owner to yell out, but he just waved him away and continued climbing his way to the top of the building. He didn't so much as look back at Riku as he continued upward and onward without him. Riku followed him with his brow furrowed in annoyance.

It was quite a way to the palace, but they took a straight and narrow path there with seldom any detours—one of the perks of traveling by roof. The buildings were close enough together that they only had to jump from rooftop to rooftop, the power of darkness giving them the strength to make far leaps and impressive bounds.

When they finally reached the wall surrounding the palace, Vanitas didn't hesitate to leap from the building directly onto the walls edge. He stuck his arms out on either side of him, balancing on the brick as he made his way along the top of the narrow wall. Riku watched in wonder, beginning to follow suit, the darkness gurgling within him.

Sora could have never done this—he wouldn't. He was too much of a ditz, a coward, often relying on Riku. But Vanitas almost looked like he was having fun—putting one foot in front of the other, he acted like he was walking the tightrope in a circus's display. In that playful regard, he sort of was like Sora. The darkness in Riku calmed as he pictured his friend in Vanitas's place, their two images blurring together.

Vanitas felt Riku's eyes on him and he smirked, deciding to show off by performing a flip on narrowness of the wall. He turned back and boasted a cocky smile at Riku who's upper lip twitched in an irritated response.

That's right, Vanitas was annoying in a way that Sora wasn't. He couldn't tell if that made him more or less enjoyable to be around. As Riku thought about it, he noticed an ached in his back from a tension he didn't realize he was holding. His skin felt tight with darkness. He pressed not to let the pain show on his face.

The two boys crossed the wall around to the back of the palace where a garden flourished.

Riku and Vanitas crouched down, perching on the wall like gargoyles. They overlooked the luscious garden, the only one of its kind in this entire desert. Trickling water sounded from below where a beautiful girl with round black hair, studded with gems, sat on the edge of a large fountain. She was petting a tiger, docile under her touch and hummed a sweet song as she ran her fingers through the tiger's fur.

"That must be Princess Jasmine," said Vanitas. "Let's get her."

"Hold on." Riku bit his lower lip as reservations rose up within him. "Look at her, Vanitas. She's not much older than I am… Don't you think there should be a better way to do this? Even at Maleficent's request, a kidnapping is out of my hands."

"Riku, look at me."

Riku turned toward Vanitas who promptly spat in his face. Riku doubled backwards in shock and disgust, almost falling off the wall. He wiped the spit off his face but halted when he saw that what was on the back of his hand was not saliva, but pure darkness instead.

"What the—"

"Don't wipe it off Riku, or else I'll be forced to kiss you." Vanitas said matter-of-factly.

"What are you, joking!?"

"You wear the darkness no different than someone wearing a scarf when it's cold. Right now, you don't understand what it means to truly possess and command the power of darkness. You may have downed the darkness that Maleficent gave you, but you act as if you're on the verge of coughing it back up."

"Oh yeah?" Riku beckoned, "and what does that have to do with spitting in my face?"

"Haven't you noticed? I wrought from pure darkness—a hollow shell with nothing inside but. For everything you know, I am darkness."

Vanitas's child Riku, leaving him sick. He was right, at any moment he felt as if he'd cough up what darkness had been given to him just like he had in the Realm of Darkness. He wanted the power it promised, but his body rejected it. There had to be another way.

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Because you can't stand to see my face. You have no choice."

His words, loaded and absolute struck familiarity Riku's mind. He didn't want to trust either Maleficent or Vanitas, but Maleficent was trying to help him… and in the end, Vanitas was part of Sora. In the end, Vanitas too was trying to help him now. Riku was getting real sick of relying on others.

Vanitas was staring, his eyes like an owl's, patiently waiting for Riku to finish his thoughts. Finally, Riku nodded and Vanitas huffed into his own hand, breathing out a thick puff of darkness, the mass swirling in his palm. He crammed it into Riku's chest in an almost aggressive manner, right through the image of a heart at the front of his suit and through to Riku's real one.

It burned with a coldness Riku hadn't felt before. Then, from Riku's chest a visible darkness began to crawl up his toward his face and neck, choking him. He coughed, straining until he found a moment where he could suck in a desperate breath.

When he did, the darkness entered him along with a calm that centered him.

"How do you feel, Riku?" asked Vanitas, playing at some sort of expression.

"Better than ever, Vanitas."

Riku and Vanitas exchanged dark smiles and threw a single nod at each other before they jumped down into the garden, the two of them in sync.

Princess Jasmine looked up as they approached her, her tiger immediately on guard. It bared its teeth, growling, waiting on the princess's command.

"Rajah, get them!" Jasmine commanded with confidence, siccing the fully grown animal on the boys.

The tiger charged, but Riku only smirked at the display and waved his hand, a pit of darkness opening before the animal and reaching up to ensnare and trap it in its dark arms. It enveloped the tiger in an instant, eliciting a huff from both Rajah and Princess Jasmine. Vanitas turned toward Riku with an approving nod.

"Nicely done," he commended. Riku didn't take his eyes off the princess, who seemed more frightened now that her guard dog had been taken down in an instant.

"Who are you?" Princess Jasmine asked sternly. Despite the capture of her pet, the princess's demeanor remained unwavering. Her hands were light at her sides as though she had no intention on her behalf to fight or flee. There was no distrust in her heart, no dark fear or hatred. It was true what Maleficent had said—this girl's heart was devoid of all darkness.

"Why, haven't you heard?" started Vanitas, his voice was carrying. "We're your new body guards here to protect you. I'm sure you've heard of the monsters, haven't you?"

"Monsters?"

"Yes, the monsters—ugly little things. Just like the ones... right behind you!"

Dark orbs swarmed in the air, dropping low to the ground and twitching into the form of what Vanitas had described earlier—monsters. They were jagged in shape and shared the black, red, and blue color scheme that made up both Riku's and Vanitas's suits. The monster's eyes were a piercing red that locked on to Princess Jasmine.

The princess shrieked and jumped away from the monsters, running toward the two, and grabbed onto Vanitas's arm. Riku nodded at him with an approving glance, mimicking his words from earlier.

"Nicely done." he said.

The trip back to the castle was quick, corridors of darkness and Vanitas's sharp plan making fast work of it all. The mission went too smoothly. Riku and Sora always did make a good team. Even in darkness. Said darkness swirled around in Riku's mind and heart, having him confuse Vanitas for Sora once again.

"Where... where are we?" Asked Jasmine, slightly dazed from the quick travel.

"Quiet." barked Vanitas. Jasmine shot him with an expression of both annoyance and astonishment, but when she saw Maleficent appear on the balcony, she relented to holding her tongue.

"My, my, my… that was rather fast. You must not have run into any trouble like I predicted. Though I did suppose I could rely on you two. Now, my dear Princess Jasmine, if you would please step forward—down the steps if you would."

"Where am I? Am I safe from the monsters?" Princess Jasmine stepped forward with her hands floating beside her.

"Monsters?" Maleficent grinned wider than Riku had seen her do before. "Would these be the monsters you're referring to?"

Shadows erupted from the ground in front of Princess Jasmine. They weren't like the ones from before—no, they were rounder, completely devoid of dimension, and solely shadow except for their eyes. Their eyes were a glowing yellow—not red. These were different. These were same monsters that took Sora away.

"N-no!" cried Jasmine. The monsters tackled her and carried her down the stairs Maleficent had pointed out. The princess fought with what might she had but Riku knew himself how strong darkness could be.

They shuffled her to gathering of glass capsules and had her placed inside a glass case closing on her and frosting over. Her voice disappeared behind the clear wall. She banged her fists against the case but to no avail. A hissing mist seethed out from the seams in the glass and she soon fell into a calming sleep.

Riku stepped forward and studied the princess who now slept away peacefully in her new prison. He could just barely make her out beyond the front on the glass. Riku looked around, there were three capsules on each side, and not including Jasmine's, three others were already filled. He studied the princesses in each one.

The first girl was small with lips red as a blood, hair black as ebony, and skin as white as snow. Even though she was asleep, a smile still lifted her delicate face. The next girl was refined, but her dress was even more so enchanting. It almost seemed as if it were made of pure magic.

The third girl was one of the most beautiful girls Riku had ever seen—gold of sunshine in her hair with lips that shame the red rose, and in ageless sleep, she finds repose. He recalled this being the chamber that Maleficent contemplated earlier.

"You said there were seven princesses." Started Riku as he settled back to Vanitas's side to talk up at Maleficent, still overlooking the room from the balcony.

"That is correct."

"Then why do I only see six chambers?"

"There is another place for the final princess to lie."

"And those monsters you summoned—those were the heartless, weren't they?" Riku seethed out the words with more bitterness than he meant to.

"That's correct. They are manifested around lost hearts and behave entirely devoid of emotion. They are creatures of pure darkness that seek to gather and devour the hearts of others, but do not fret, my dear boys. The two of you are safe, for you are on my side and I am on theirs."

"Vanitas," Riku said, shifting his attention, "those monsters you summoned—those weren't heartless, were they?"

"They're called unversed," Vanitas shrugged as he relented to tell him. "—the opposite of human life. They grow from within me."

Vanitas stuck out a hand, a monster like the ones from before emerging from a puddle beneath his reach. It twitched back and forth, as if it were being pulled in multiple directions.

"I can create them…" Vanitas closed his hand and the unversed vanished. "…and I can crush them. They are an extension of myself—my emotions."

"They'll come quite in handy." Riku mused.

"Just call it a gift."

"You know? I think I'm starting to like you, Vanitas."

"You confessing, Riku?" Vanitas teased.

"That's rich coming from you. What was that about a kiss earlier?"

Vanitas turned and gave Riku a mocking smile. The banter was so familiar it had Riku's mind blurring together what was and what is. He just needed to gather another heart before he would be rewarded another piece of the puzzle, another piece of what was. It was something he swore he would return to. It was something he swore he would protect.

Riku turned back to Maleficent steadfast.

"Where to next?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Are you really friends if it's not at least a little homoerotic? I'll be honest I dialed back and changed some choice words and description for this one quite a bit from its original draft. Teasing ship service is fun and all but I don't want to turn anyone off from the actual story here. Thank you for continuing to read this far, the engagement I've received lately is a big encouragement to continue writing. 3