AN: LOL sorry this is the last big Riku chapter for a while...juuust had to set some important stuff up...hence the title of the chapter! :) Plus it helps me flex my DISNEY MEDIA CONTENT muscles again, since I really haven't done that in a while and I was kinda unconfident about writing Disney stuff honestly... :( But I think I can do it again now! I'm all limber lol. Honestly my anxiety was kinda getting bad about it...I think I beat it back a little though... :)

I think, in the wise words of my AU Namine...I just gotta TRY. If it's kinda bad, it's kinda bad, but at least I can say I TRIED and went for it!

End of AN!

Riku stepped out of the dark portal, into a place he hoped was the right one.

A familiar one.

He listened, he took in the air, he extended his senses outward...

He was definitely in the middle of some village. But was it the right one? There were so many worlds, so many places, and he'd just been drifting through them lately and-

"I think I deserve a name."

Riku was pulled from his thoughts. "What?" he said, on reflex more than anything.

Then he realized: it was talking to him again.

"And a gender identity," the voice came again. "Calling someone an 'it' is considered very hurtful and dehumanizing, you know. You could at least say 'they.'"

Riku paused, a pang going through his Heart. A sense of acute shame creeping up his neck. "Uh...right - sorry..." he muttered out.

"An earnest apology - excellent." A pause. "You should help me come up with a name."

"What? Me? Why?"

"Obviously because you created me."

"Hey, I didn't do anything, you just- you said you just sort of popped up, or whatever. I didn't even know you were there until you...showed up and got rid of Ansem." Riku hesitated, frowning. "What did you do to him, anyways?"

"I only locked him away, deep inside your Heart," the Darkness answered. "But he isn't gone from you. In time, he may even break free again, and try to take your body for himself."

"Of course," Riku scoffed. "Guess it was too much to hope I'd be rid of him for good..."

Silence.

Riku began to walk around the village, down its dirt streets, trying to attune his senses again.

"I think that I'd like to be a girl."

He stopped again. "What?"

"My gender identity - I think I'd favor being known and seen as a girl by others."

"Um...sure. Okay?" Riku said, awkward. This really wasn't his thing - feelings, girls, whatever...

"You hold many girls in high esteem - Kairi, Aqua, your mother-"

"I think I hold just as many guys in high esteem," Riku countered, flushed. "Terra, Sora, Ventus..."

"True. But I think being a girl holds more appeal for me."

"Well - great...good for you?"

"Thank you. And for my name...I'll need to think on it some more."

"You do that." Riku said, annoyed. He started moving again, took a winding turn. He couldn't sense any monsters around...but he did sense the Hearts. Dozens of them, all around him still. They were...asleep, then, huh? Trapped in sleep...?

Suddenly, its- their- her? voice came back to him. And it was a girl's voice, this time. But it wasn't Erin's, or Kairi's, or anyone else's. It was...its own voice?

"Cognis."

"Huh?" Riku stopped. Again. Sighing loudly. He hadn't missed this part of having someone else in his Heart...

"That's the name I've chosen for myself: Cognis," came it- her voice again. It was a quiet, subdued, lofty, and raspy sort of voice. A lower pitched voice, as far as girls went, Riku thought. It was just as slow and...almost pondering as her voice had been previously, when it hadn't even had a pitch or inflection to it. It was a voice that said that she wasn't really...in a hurry to get anywhere; like she had all the time in the world. To sit and think, to talk, to act.

"Right. Good," Riku said shortly.

"It comes from the word 'cognizant'. It means 'alive' or 'conscious.' To cognize is to perceive, to know, or to become aware of something. In my case, what I'm cognizant of is awareness and consciousness themselves."

"Neat..."

"I pulled the word from your own memories, you know. A history lesson, I believe. Several years ago. You were-"

"I was probably...not...paying attention," Riku murmured, his face heating up.

Silence.

"It was dumb school stuff!" Riku defended. "None of it even matters now, does it? It's not exactly going to help me here..."

"It helped me to discover a name for myself," Cognis stated factually.

"Yeah, well, that's you - not me."

"I suppose..." came her response - with a dash of humor.

He could have believed she was smiling, if she was able to...

Why was he imagining a formless dark entity smiling like some- some actual, real girl?

"I'd say it's because...you're beginning to believe me," came Cognis's voice, a raspy whisper in his ear.

A pleasant...whisper.

What happened to not reading my mind?

"I said I would try - and that it would probably be a losing battle, I believe."

That's convenient.

"If you really thought so, you should have said something earlier," her voice came, irritated and- offended, almost. Definitely plain exasperated.

Like it- she had reason to be, with him. He was the one with some dark being hitching a ride in his Heart!

Riku growled, clenching his fist. "Just stop talking, alright? I need to focus here."

"Yes, look at all the nothing there is to focus on here," she responded. "You go on and do that..."

Really? Even the one supposedly on his side was going to mock him too? "Ugh. Look, I don't need this from you! I already have Ansem, apparently, so you can just-!" Riku began to shout, angry.

An echoing roar drowned out his own shouting voice. Loud, heavy footfalls pounded up the street...and then stopped, with a skidding noise and a spray of dirt and dust that made Riku cough.

"What in the-"

"Grrrhhh...I knew someone had been through here recently," a deep, growling, monstrous man's voice came. It sounded more like a beast than a human's, to Riku's ears. "But...just a boy." The voice quieted, tinged with frustration and regret.

"I'm Riku - who are you?" Riku called out, tensed still. That voice was powerful, and his senses told him a lot about the Heart in front of him; mainly, that the man's Heart was swirling with angry, furious darkness. A bubbling volcano, waiting to explode...

"Gah. That's none of your business," the voice snarled. "Get lost, child!"

"Hey, I was here first. You came to me-"

"Agh! Don't talk back to me, or I'll-" The man's furious voice suddenly stopped. There was a silence, then, swift footfalls. Left. Right. Forward. "You...can't see me, can you?" he spoke on, subdued and awkward now.

Riku let his fist go at his side, shifting his stance warily. "...No. I can't. Look, I didn't come here for a fight or anything. I came to- to try to help the people here. What's your name?"

"...You can call me Beast."

People on other worlds really did have weird names, didn't they?

A part of Riku was excited, however. The part of him that had longed to see them, to be out here like this. To adventure and meet people. He was finally doing it, after a fashion. And not with Terra, or Sora, or Kairi hanging over his shoulder, either. He was doing it on his own...truly and freely, like he'd dreamed of.

He could do this...couldn't he? He really...

"Alright. Beast," Riku said. "Nice to-"

"What do you think you can do to help these people, boy?" came the man's deep voice again, gruff and short. Derisive.

"Uh...well...it's not exactly me, it's- a, uh- friend..."

"What friend?" Beast demanded. "Tell me!"

Darkness materialized beside Riku - taking that shape and form again. It- "He means me."

"I mean- her," Riku agreed, giving a nod. "You can call her-"

"Foul creature!" Beast bellowed, and that Heart burst with dark energy as it moved forward. A dark aura cloaked the man - revealing a vague sense of a shape to Riku. Revealing that this "Beast" was more like his name than Riku could have thought! A hulking, powerful...beast-man of some kind!

Claws of dark flames swiped at Cognis, as the beast-man ignored Riku completely; a massive shoulder still checked him, knocking him aside with an oof of pain.

"H-hey, she's okay, she's here to help too!" Riku said quickly, backpedaling and recovering.

Beast swiped at Cognis again, roaring - then again, and again, and again, his arms passing right through her with no effect at all. "RUUAAAARGGGHHHH! WHY WON'T YOU FALL, MONSTER?!"

"Please stop him before this gets embarrassing," Cognis's voice came, mild and annoyed.

"HEY!" Riku shouted, stepping forward. "She can wake these people up! She's done it before! So just calm down, alright?!"

Beast stopped abruptly, mid swing. He slowly lowered his arm, turning toward Riku. "She...can? Can she? And who is she - what is she? She smells and looks like the creatures infesting my castle - and this town! The ones that put Belle into a sleep which I can't wake her from! And all of my servants!"

Riku held his ground as that voice rang in his very bones. "Does it matter? All that matters is she can help. She can do it. I promise you that. So this - Belle..." He paused, trailing off. Hadn't one of the other Princesses been a woman named Belle...? It was probably a coincidence. There were a lot of Belles on a lot of worlds, right?

"What about Belle?" Beast growled, with definite warning now.

"If you'd give me the chance, I can help her," Cognis spoke for herself, quiet and yet certain. Firm.

"Grrr...if you say you can help Belle, you'd better be telling the truth," Beast rumbled out. "Come with me - both of you!"

"We came here to help this whole town," Riku said firmly.

"Belle first!" Beast snapped, almost- petulant. Like a kid.

"Fine - alright!" Riku agreed swiftly, raising his hands. "I guess it doesn't matter what order we do this in."

"Good. Now come!"

A swishing of cloth and heavy feet in the dirt, and that Heart began to retreat from Riku.

Cognis vanished from "sight" again. Returning to his Heart...

Riku heard her voice in his head, echoing.

Well, he seems like a very calm and composed sort of person.

You think? Riku thought, sarcastic as she was. So...you better really, actually be able to help him here. I'm pretty sure he'll rip ME to shreds if you mess it all up...and you go with me if that happens, right?

Right. Don't worry: I have a record that speaks for itself.

Let's see if you can go two-for-two, then.

Oh, the outcome is patently obvious.

Riku followed Beast out of the village - up a winding forest path, then, along a sheer cliffside road. Finally, they came to a...castle?

A huge, sprawling castle.

Riku could "see it", in his mind's eye: it was lit up with magic. It was bathed in it. Shrouded by it...

There was a massive, long stone bridge leading up to the front doors.

Riku followed Beast across the bridge, and the man pushed those giant doors open easily. Riku slipped through, and found himself in a wide open courtyard, with statues lining it. They continued on, finally reaching the actual castle entrance, apparently.

Entering the castle properly, Riku found it to be a...huge, wide open space again. Footsteps echoed, magnified, traveling far distances. There was a dusty, musty smell to the place.

Does one man honestly need all of this space? How gratuitous, Cognis remarked.

Okay, are you just going to be the peanut gallery now, or what?

Do you want me to be more than a peanut gallery, then?

Yes!

Alright...there are pillars a few dozen feet to your left and right. Doors lining the hall. Plenty of statues, too. On the far side of this room, there's a staircase that splits in either direction - east and west. There's a large door ahead, on the landing. Would you like me to go and see what's on the other side?

Riku walked on without really thinking or sensing anything now, stunned. Feeling...strange. Embarrassed, humiliated, nervous- and... He hadn't even- realized that- You can see! Everything. You...

Hmph. Of course I can, came Cognis's smug voice.

Riku continued on in silence, trailing after Beast, thinking. Feeling. He recalled Terra's words, from months ago now...and his own worries and protests...

"Just because you can't see the worlds doesn't mean you can't still figure them out in other ways. You have six other senses," Terra had been saying to him...

"Wait, six...don't you mean five? Or, for me now, technically...like - four, maybe?" Riku had murmured. He'd just felt embarrassed, then...

"No - you have six: touch, taste, hearing, and smell. And then there's your Heart and your magic. You can sense the light and the dark, and magic itself. It's all around us, like the air itself. Currents, concentrations, and what's in people's bodies and Hearts. And a skilled mage, and someone in tune with their Heart, can learn to sense all of that. To see it, to hear it, and even some people have said they can smell it. How a person's body and Heart interpret all that input...it's different for everyone."

"That still won't help me figure out what color something is, or..." Riku began, after a moment of hope that was then dashed. Fallen back into the dark...

"Then ask."

"Huh?"

"Ask for help," Terra said simply. "Just ask someone what color something is if you want to know."

"Just...ask? Come on, isn't that a little stupid?" Riku muttered, his face growing hot again. Very heated.

"Not if it's necessary," Terra said gently. "And I think you're going to have to learn that, too, Riku. There's absolutely zero shame in asking for help when you need it. From anyone, for anything."

In the here and now, Riku thought about those words of wisdom from the man. Thought about them, deeply and truly. He knew he had a problem with- pride, ego. Yeah, he knew it damn well. But...

He swallowed, hard.

Hey...uh...Cognis...?

Yes?

This- this Beast guy...do you think you could...try to describe him to me?

I suppose I can try. Let's see...he's tall. Broad-shouldered. Muscular. Brown fur. A tail. These little curved horns. Blue eyes. He has fangs and claws. And he wears a long, purple cape.

Riku took in the information eagerly, painting the picture in his mind's eye, applying it all to the vague outline he had from his senses, and the sounds of footsteps and that voice. Mixing it all together. For a few moments, he was quiet. He was... Thank you, he whispered, sincere and hoarse.

Hm...you're very welcome.

Riku followed Beast up the stairs Cognis had mentioned - they turned right (Riku's hand found the railing). They went up into another area, navigating a few corridors, until they'd reached the end of the hall. Beast swung open a wooden door, and Riku walked inside. He sensed the Heart immediately (Cognis helpfully informed him a woman in a yellow dress was laying on a bed, in a deep sleep).

And that information was...genuinely helpful, actually.

It solidified it even more for Riku that this...was the same Belle.

The Princess of Heart...

Except - she wasn't one anymore, was she?

With that darkness around her Heart that he could so plainly "see"...

"Please..." came the voice of Beast. Softer, quieter, than it ever had been before. "If there's anything you can do to help her...that's all that m-matters to me now..."

Riku breathed, raising a hand to his heart. Hey - you're up. Don't screw it up. And don't prove me wrong, remember...?

Are you actually hoping I won't, now? Interesting.

The Darkness formed in the room - into that vague person - and walked toward the dark-shrouded Heart of a Princess. Former Princess? It- she raised an arm...and then became wispy tendrils on the air that flowed into that Heart, disappearing into the rest of the darkness around it. Inside it...

Riku stood, waiting, tensed. Hiding his shaking hands as best he could. Trying not to sweat. If he was wrong, if this went bad...if Cognis...if it was all a lie, a trick, if he was really just insane for even considering trusting- but he couldn't be wrong about her, he couldn't be wrong about this...because if he couldn't trust her, if he was wrong about her, then Sora, and Kairi, and Terra, and everyone else were wrong about-

Light suddenly burst from the trapped Heart, blasting away the darkness! A formless cloud of dark energy drifted up above it, and then came floating back to stop before Riku. It twisted and condensed, becoming that "familiar shape" again. Cognis, as she wanted to call herself...

"That was more difficult than I'd thought, but it's done," Cognis spoke loftily.

Thudding footfalls, and Beast had moved forward. To the woman's side. "Belle...? Belle! Wake up...please... There's so much I need to tell you - to apologize for...and..."

A high voice drew a gasp of air. The Heart pulsed with light, and the woman - Belle - was moving. "Beast...? What's going on? I've been having horrible dreams, and I couldn't wake up..."

"It's alright now - you're safe. I..." Beast paused. "They saved you from this wretched curse."

"Who are..." Belle's voice went quiet. Then- "You - you're Riku, aren't you? Kairi's friend."

Riku startled. He flushed, turning his head away. "Uh...y-yeah...um..."

"First you helped save me from Maleficent at Radiant Garden, and now this," Belle spoke on, in firm, grateful tones. She moved forward, off the bed. Stepping on light, quick feet. "I don't know how to thank you."

"You- don't have to. I-" Riku began. She'd really just left out the fact that he was part of the reason she'd been there in the first place?

"He didn't do anything, really: it was me," spoke Cognis.

Belle drew in a sharp breath. "A-and who are you...?" she trembled, still trying to be firm. Brave. Were all Princesses like that? Riku had thought it was just a Kairi thing...but here was this ordinary woman, trying to sound like that to some formless dark entity.

"My name is Cognis - it's nice to meet you, Ms. Belle."

Now the Darkness has manners, huh...? Where was all that with ME?

Politeness meets politeness - and rudeness meets with rudeness.

"Did you really- save me?" Belle spoke again.

"Yes," Cognis said simply.

"Well then...thank you - Cognis. I'm very grateful," Belle said earnestly.

Riku coughed. "We're not finished yet. There's a whole town full of people stuck like this."

"Belle's home town," Beast spoke softly.

"You can really help everyone? Oh, that's wonderful!" Belle exclaimed.

Riku gave a small smile. "Yeah. I think...we can."

You believe me now, then.

Yeah...I think I do.