[031.] From Twilight to the Dawn
Title: From Twilight to the Dawn
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [031.] Art
Word Count: 4,336
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Riku has a lot of choices to make. Most people never knew what it was like to watch yourself die.
Disclaimer: *snort* I wish, okay? If only for the money . . .
Author’s Note: I was very excited to write this as I want to get Riku out of Castle Oblivion before I drag Chain of Memories on longer than it needs to be. I really like this part. Yeah, I do. That and it was so much fun to write the end. I mean, honestly . . . oh, I won’t spoil it here. Just read on.
Riku left the fake Destiny Islands card-world through the door into the white hallway. Somehow, the light didn’t seem as blinding. Still card-less, he braced himself for an encounter, a man in a black coat, the man with the silvery-blue hair, anything . . . He walked across the hallway, and when he wasn’t intercepted, he walked up the stairs.
“Riku . . . Riku . . .”
Right on cue, a voice cut through the empty hallway on the next floor.
“Who’s there?” said Riku. His eyelids fell closed; he could have slapped himself. He should have expected Ansem. “Of course, that voice!”
“I know you can feel it, Riku-the grip I have on your heart. You’ve let the darkness in. And all-consuming darkness is what your heart shall become!”
“I’m not like that anymore!”
“I think you are.”
Riku’s breath hitched when he floated into the air. His feet didn’t touch the ground . . . he couldn’t turn his head . . . Panic seeped into his heart.
“I . . . I can’t move.”
Hope pushed away the panic when he discovered he could, at least, still speak.
“The deeper the darkness runs in you, the stronger I become. Controlling your body is an effortless task.”
Just as Ansem got rolling on another one of his dark tirades, the bright orb of light appeared. The hope in Riku’s heart swelled.
“Gah . . .” said Ansem. “You, interfering again!”
“Golly, I’m glad I made it in time! That should keep Ansem tied up for a while.”
Riku felt his feet hit the floor, and he lifted his arm. He could move again. The sound of shuffling feet caught his attention, and Riku looked up to see King Mickey approach.
“Sorry I couldn’t come sooner, Riku,” said King Mickey.
“Your Majesty, it’s you!”
“You betcha.”
Riku frowned, cocked his head, and almost laughed. The king obviously didn’t get what he meant. A cocky grin spread across Riku’s face. He reached out and poked King Mickey in the side.
“Huh . . . Hey! Cut it out, that tickles!”
Riku laughed.
“This time you’re real. No illusions. I’m so glad you came.”
“I promised, didn’t I?”
Riku nodded and collapsed on the floor. He leaned back and drew in a deep breath. King Mickey’s eyes grew wide, and he rushed to Riku’s side.
“Don’t worry,” said Riku. “I’m okay. Just really relieved, that’s all. I’ve been alone so long that having someone else around is a little . . . overwhelming. But how did you get here, Your Majesty?”
“This card showed me the way,” said King Mickey. He held out another world card. “I was lookin’ for a way out of the realm of darkness, and then this card came along. As soon as I picked it up, it showed me your heart, way out beyond the darkness. And that’s how I tracked you down. I guess the card thought it belonged with you.”
As Riku was card-less, and here was King Mickey holding out a card, he shrugged. Riku took the card and stood.
“Maybe you’re right.”
He looked at King Mickey, nodded, and walked up the stairs to the next door. The town on the card was one he didn’t recognize. This couldn’t be made from his memories, but it was a card, so Riku held it out and entered.
“Where am I?” said Riku, looking around the foreign town. “I don’t remember this place. Your Majesty, do you know where we are?” There was no answer; Riku looked down. King Mickey was gone. “Your Majesty?”
“His Majesty is not here,” said Ansem as he appeared before Riku. “You must battle me and the darkness alone!”
Riku frowned, narrowed his eyes, and drew the Soul Eater. Ansem made no effort to attack, and Riku allowed his weapon to lower. Something was off.
“Giving up already? Then accept your fate and accept Ansem as your master!”
“You’re not Ansem. Your scent-it’s different. The Ansem in my heart smells darker, more foul. But not you. It’s not darkness I smell, it’s . . . something else.”
The figure posing as Ansem did not move or speak, but stood there, watching Riku, as if waiting for him to finish his thoughts. Was this a test? Riku stared and cocked his head. The smell was so familiar . . .
“I know. You’re the one who guided me when this all started. You pretended to be Ansem and gave me the card, to make me face the darkness.”
“Correct,” said Ansem. The illusion faded and a man stood in his place, red bandages wrapped entirely around his head and face except for his lips and eyes. “Call me DiZ-it’s as good a name as any. I’ve been watching you all along.”
“Who are you really? What do you want from me?”
“I want you to choose.”
“Choose?”
“You are special. You exist between light and dark. You stand in the twilight. I want you to meet Naminé, then choose.”
“Naminé? Who’s that?”
“You’ll just have to meet her and find out.”
One of the golden cards he had grown to associate with battle and unpleasant confrontations appeared in his hand. When he looked up, DiZ was gone.
“Hey, wait a sec!”
No one answered, and Riku groaned. He pulled the Soul Eater out and headed through the next door. It was just as he suspected. DiZ, Naminé, King Mickey . . . no one was to be found except for a slew of Heartless, and Riku imagined he wouldn’t meet up with anyone again until the golden card in his pocket opened a door emblazoned with a key.
~*~
The golden card door led to a clearing. Iron-wrought gates loomed ahead, bound by a large, heavy lock. Beyond these gates and into the distance stood an old mansion with two large windows on the second floor. Riku approached the gates and stared through the bars.
“Maybe Naminé is in here.”
“Hold it, Real Thing.”
Riku looked over his shoulder and smiled as the replica walked over to him and stood by the gates.
“Well, well. You’ve changed. Last time we met you were afraid of the darkness, but not anymore.”
Riku felt a thank you probably wasn’t what the replica was going for, but he smiled anyway.
“How can you tell?”
“Because I’m you.”
“No, I’m me.”
He was joking, of course. Yes, it was true that he and the replica were different people, but it was meant to be friendly banter. Apparently, Vexen didn’t give the clone a sense of humor. He glared and huffed.
“‘I’m me,’ he says. It must be nice, being real. A fake like me could never get away with saying that.”
Riku’s eyes widened. He was still sore about that? An apology was on his tongue, but the clone continued, and Riku closed his mouth.
“That’s right, I’m a phony! The way I look, the way I feel, everything!” The clone glowed in a familiar light, and Riku’s eyes grew wider. The darkness . . . “I thought by finding some new strength I could be someone, someone who’s not you! But nothing changes . . . I’m still just empty!”
Riku took a step back. Vexen did better with the clone than Riku thought. It would have been funny in another time if it wasn’t real, but here was another version of him, and Riku thought it was only on the outside. He wasn’t just a carefully constructed reproduction forced to live in darkness; he was Riku himself, stuck in these twisted circumstances. Riku’s father once told him that each human being was an original work of art, like snowflakes. No two were alike, and that all the things Riku loved and hated about himself were what made him special and unique-someone that could never be reproduced.
If Riku ever saw his father again, he’d have to tell him how wrong he was. Even Riku’s replica needed to be needed, needed to be something special. He succumbed to the power of darkness to gain strength. Riku took another step back and drew his Soul Eater just as the replica did. If this other boy was really him, Riku had a feeling what was coming . . .
“Everything about me is borrowed,” said the replica. “As long as you’re around, I’ll never be anything better than a shadow.”
Riku had hoped he wouldn’t say that.
The replica’s strength had grown, but he remained predictable. They shared all the same attacks, and the same knowledge on how to stop them. Riku’s back and shoulders ached, but he swung the Soul Eater at the clone. He didn’t want to kill him, but the clone wasn’t backing down, and Riku’s fight instinct overpowered his flight instinct. That instinctual balance held true for the replica as well. Riku liked the clone-held sympathy for him because it was so unfair to give all his insecurities and problems to another human being-but Riku didn’t like him enough to lay down and die so the little fucker could steal his identity.
The replica screamed as Riku’s weapon made contact with his side. He fell over, grasping at it. The Soul Eater dropped to the grass, and Riku ran over to his side. There was blood everywhere. Riku’s stomach felt as if it dropped and jumped to his throat. Most people never know what it’s like to watch yourself die.
“So . . . this is the end,” said the replica. “Figures. But I’m not afraid. Good riddance to an artificial life. I never had a real heart. Even what I’m feeling now is probably fake.”
Riku hung his head. He felt wetness on his cheeks.
“What are you feeling?”
“What happens when someone who’s not real dies? Where will my heart go? That is, if it doesn’t disappear completely . . .”
Riku kneeled next to the replica and looked into his eyes. The aquamarine shade darkened to a teal.
“It’ll go somewhere. Probably the same place my heart will go.”
The replica laughed. Riku tried to smile.
“How original. Oh, well.”
The replica disappeared, and with him, the blood. No evidence remained that the replica was ever there at all. A gold card appeared in Riku’s hand. He pocketed in and dropped his head to his knees.
No, Riku didn’t think most people ever knew what it was like to watch yourself die.
~*~
The second gold card opened the door to a simple, white room with a flower-like pod in the center. A petit blond girl in a simple white dress stood before the pod. This girl . . . her scent . . .
“You’re Naminé?”
She turned to look at him and smiled.
“Yes.”
“So . . . that was you.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, never mind.”
“Please . . . come this way.”
She took his arm and Riku followed her over to the pod. As he approached, the figure of a body floating inside caught his attention, and as he stood beside it, his eyes grew.
“Hey! It’s Sora! What did you do to him?”
“Nothing, he’s just sleeping. He has to, to get his memories back.”
“Tell me what happened.”
Naminé hung her head and then she relayed the story. She was a witch who never lived an entire life. She was created, and had the power to affect Sora’s memories and the memories of those aligned with him. She didn’t know why she had it, but it was there all the same. Marluxia-the keeper of the castle-found her, and brought her here. He was a member of Organization XIII, the same Organization that Lexaeus spoke of, and all the men in the black hooded coats belonged. Marluxia intended to overthrow the Organization’s Superior, take the group over, and he wanted to use Sora to achieve his goal. Naminé altered his memories, made him forget all about Kairi, made him forget everything, and planted false memories of herself in their place. Sora was supposed to try and save her, and then she would hand him over to Marluxia.
She didn’t want to deceive him, didn’t think it was right, but Marluxia was going to keep her prisoner in this castle-Castle Oblivion-if she didn’t comply. She said she was lonely. Told him that Sora forgave her when she revealed her deception, and that a member of the Organization named Axel gave her the chance to set things right and restore Sora’s memory, but it meant that he’d have to go to sleep for a long time. When he did awaken, he’d have no memories of this castle or what happened within it.
“So that’s what happened,” said Naminé.
“I see . . . Sora chose to forget about this castle and get back his old memories.”
“You have a decision to make, too.”
“Why? No one’s been messing with my memories.”
“It’s not about your memories. It’s about your darkness. In your heart is darkness, and in that darkness is Ansem. Right now, he’s at bay . . . but eventually he’ll awaken and he’ll conquer you when he does. Before that happens, let me lock your heart tight. I can make it so Ansem never escapes.”
“And what happens to me if I let you do that? Will I forget everything, like Sora?” Riku searched her face, but she averted her eyes. “I will, won’t I?”
“The darkness in your heart will be sealed along with you memory. You’ll stop remembering the darkness. You can go back to the way you used to be. It’s you choice, Riku. So . . . choose.”
“Sora looks like he hasn’t got a care in the world. Will I sleep that well?”
“Yes.”
Forget the darkness? Just when he accepted it, and knew he could make the light and dark live in harmony? Not finish off Ansem? And forget everything that happened? Cloud . . . the replica . . . the strength within himself that Riku never knew was there . . .
“Sora always did as he pleased. It didn’t matter what we were doing-he’d still go off and leave me with all the work. Take the raft we were gonna use to leave the islands. That was all me. I’ve made up my mind. When this slacker wakes up, I’m gonna tell him off good. I told him to take care of Kairi and here he is taking a nap! But I can’t chew him out if I’ve been sleeping, too. Keep your lock. I’d rather just finish Ansem off once and for all.”
“But if the darkness he wields gets the better of you . . .”
“I’ll make that darkness show me the way.”
“That’s true.”
“Why do I get the feeling you knew I’d say that?”
“I didn’t know. I hoped. I want you to face the darkness, because you’re the one who can.”
“So that’s why you came to me in the light. As Kairi.”
“You knew?”
“I knew as soon as I met you. Somehow you . . . smell the same.” Riku turned to leave. “Look after Sora.”
~*~
Riku walked into the hallway from Twilight Town (as Naminé called it). King Mickey stood there and smiled.
“So, you decided not to go to sleep, huh?”
“How’d you know that?”
“DiZ told me,” said King Mickey. He motioned behind him to the center of the hall, and Riku followed the gesture to see DiZ.
“You know him?”
“I’m not really sure. I can’t help feeling that I met him somewhere before.”
Riku looked from King Mickey to DiZ.
“Hey, Voice. DiZ. Who are you?”
“Nobody . . . or anybody. It all depends whether you choose to believe in me or not.”
“Boy, you really like pushing decisions on other people.”
“And you pushed away slumber and chose to face Ansem.”
“What, wrong answer?”
“It was your answer. I’m just here to watch.”
“‘Watch’ as in support me, or ‘watch me get toasted’?”
“You choose. Then you need only believe in your choice.” DiZ threw Riku another card. “That card will draw the darkness inside you out into this world. Finish your business with Ansem.”
Riku frowned at DiZ and turned to King Mickey.
“Let’s go, Your Majesty.”
King Mickey nodded, and they walked past DiZ to the staircase. On the next floor Riku looked at the door ahead, and then glanced to the card in his hand.
“So this card will draw Ansem out.”
“Don’t you worry! Together, we can defeat him!”
“I’m glad you said that . . . but I have to face Ansem alone.”
King Mickey’s eyes widened again and he took a step back.
“But . . . but why?”
“There’s no point in doing this is if I can’t do it on my own. But I have a favor to ask. If Ansem wins, he’s going to enslave me. If that happens, I want you to destr-”
“Sure, I’ll save you, pal!”
Riku shook his head and swallowed.
“You’re not listening. I want you destroy Ansem and me with-”
“No can do! I already made my choice. No matter what happens, I’m going to be there to help you. I’m not backing down. Unless you don’t believe I’ll come through for you.”
Riku smiled. If each person was like a work of art-completely unique like snowflakes-then King Mickey was a masterpiece.
“It’s my choice to believe or not. I know you’d never let me down, Your Majesty.”
“Same here. You won’t lose-not in a million years.”
Riku laughed.
“Not in a billion years!”
King Mickey nodded and pointed toward the doors. Riku patted the card against his palm, turned, and walked to the door. He entered another white room like so many of the white hallways that came before it. This must be what the castle actually looked like without the card-worlds. He steadied himself and drew the Soul Eater.
“Show yourself, Ansem!”
Ansem’s laughter rang though the room. He was nowhere to be seen, but Riku had learned long ago in Castle Oblivion that just because he couldn’t see someone didn’t mean they weren’t there, or that they wouldn’t voice their opinions (and loudly, at that).
“What’s the rush?” said Ansem. “I’ll be here . . . At the heart of darkness . . . I’ll be watching as you plunge into the very darkness you wield.”
A gold card appeared in his hands.
~*~
The door emblazoned with the key came sooner than Riku expected. Pulling the gold card from his pocket, Riku stepped forward and held it out. The door clicked and swung open. There was no one there, but the stench was overwhelming, foul, and Riku smirked.
“Come on out, Ansem,” said Riku, walking into the room. “I can smell you.”
Ansem appeared before him. He never could resist a good taunting.
“Oh, I know what you can do. Your skill with the darkness has matured. But I do not understand. Why accept darkness and still refuse me? You and I are similar. We both follow where the darkness leads. We exist in the same space-so why deny me? Perhaps some part of your heart still fears the dark?”
Similar? Riku almost laughed. He and Cloud were similar. Riku and Ansem were only similar because Riku had a tendency to make foolish mistakes.
“Wrong. The truth is . . .” Riku drew the Soul Eater and smirked. He hoped it looked cocky. “You just really stink.”
“ . . . You’re a fool to choose a fight with me. You’ve been conquered by me once before. You should know what sort of power you face.”
“Oh, I do. I used all the power you had to give and still lost to Sora. I’m not impressed.”
“Very well. Then sink into the dark abyss!”
It was the hardest fight of Riku’s life. Ansem’s guardian got in the way a lot, and his body felt bruised, beaten, and weak. Riku didn’t relent. He thought of the clone, and how he wouldn’t give up the chance at a life. Riku clung to the example, because though the replica gave in to the darkness, he didn’t give up that easily, and in some ways, he really did embody what Riku should be.
Ansem grew weak; his attacks less powerful.
“Insolent brat,” Ansem said, and a shockwave of dark energy spread throughout the room.
“Ansem! You’re finished.”
Riku ran his Soul Eater through Ansem’s body, but he didn’t relent. The room shook and the energy shockwaves pulsated through the air.
“Hardly . . . finished . . . I gave you . . . the dark . . . my shadow . . . lingers . . . I will return!”
Everything grew black, and Ansem faded the darker it grew. No . . . this couldn’t be . . . the realm of darkness . . .
A bright orb of light appeared and King Mickey’s voice broke through the black.
“I know you wanted to do this alone, but you don’t mind a little help, right?”
The light returned and Riku found himself back in the room. Ansem was gone; King Mickey stood in his place. He was really a masterpiece of a being.
“Let’s go, Riku,” said the King. “One more floor and we’ll be at the main entrance.”
They walked up the stairs and Riku looked at King Mickey.
“Main entrance?”
“You appeared here in the lowest basement. DiZ told me. That why you went undetected by the Organization for so long . . . There are the doors.”
Riku walked over to the large doors leading out of the castle.
“So, Riku . . . what’s next? Are you going home?”
“I don’t know if I can. It’s still there. His scent . . . it’s faint, but not gone. I can’t go home until it is. His darkness may still have a hold on me . . .”
“Your darkness belongs to you. Just like your light. Until now, I thought darkness was nothing but bad. But my time with you made me change my mind. You’ve chosen a road I never thought of. Light and dark, back to back. With you, they mingle in a way no one’s ever seen before. I want to see where that road leads.” King Mickey held out his hand and Riku felt his heart swell. “And if it’s okay, I want to walk the road with you.”
Riku smiled and shook his hand.
“Wow, Your Majesty, I don’t know what to say . . . Thanks.”
“Oh, you don’t have to call me that.”
King Mickey laughed, and Riku laughed with him.
“Fair enough, Mickey.”
“Let’s get out of here. But first, it’s going to be cold out there.”
Mickey passed Riku a long, black-hooded coat. He put a small one on himself and smiled.
“Joining Organization XIII?” said Riku, laughing. “I heard some positions recently opened up.”
Mickey laughed.
“Nope, but we’ve got to stay warm, and there’s a lot of these coats in this castle.”
Riku laughed and pulled on his coat. They walked out the door together. The sky was dark, but stars pricked through the black. Fresh air filled his lungs. How long had it really been since Riku last stood outside?
“So where to?” said Mickey.
“Can we still travel across the worlds?”
“You betcha.”
“Well, I supposed that Organization will have to be taken care of eventually, but Sora should be awake for that first. We’re going to need the Keyblade master. Until then, there’s someone I have to go see.”
“Who?”
Riku smiled.
“Did I ever tell you I have a boyfriend?” Mickey looked up at him in surprise. “I’m gay, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with love no matter what shape it takes.” Riku laughed. “I can’t believe I just came out to a mouse.”
Mickey laughed.
“I think that was well-put, Riku. If you have someone waiting for you, you should go see him.”
“I hope he’s waiting for me.”
“If he loves you, he will be. Do you know where he’ll be?”
“I have a few ideas, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Then let’s go find him.”
“How will we travel?”
“We’ll find a way.”
Riku smiled and nodded. They followed a long path across a barren field. The giant shadow of Castle Oblivion faded behind them until it was no longer visible, and only a distant memory. Mickey and Riku talked, laughed, and Riku told Mickey about Cloud as they walked until a figure appeared in the distance. Riku’s smile fell. DiZ grew larger as they approached.
“He makes me nervous,” said Riku.
“I wish I could remember where I’ve met him before,” said Mickey.
Riku and Mickey stopped, standing before DiZ. He stood in the middle of a crossroads, and Riku shook his head.
“What are you making me choose now?”
“Will you take the road to light-” DiZ motioned to his left first, and as he started speaking again, he motioned to the right. “-or the road to darkness?”
Riku raised his head. Mickey looked up at him.
“Neither. I’m taking the middle road.”
He stepped forward and walked past DiZ to continue down the path. Mickey followed. DiZ hung his head.
“You mean the twilit road to nightfall?”
Riku once thought that the merger of light and dark was like the sunset. He once thought that like a sun sets to leave nothing but the dark, empty night, the light faded in his heart, leaving nothing but a dark, empty shell. Though the darkness remained, and his light and dark mingled, his darkness made someone like Mickey think that the darkness wasn’t all bad. Riku shook his head.
“No.” Riku turned back to look at DiZ. “The road to dawn.”
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 031/100 Completed.
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [031.] Art
Word Count: 4,336
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Riku has a lot of choices to make. Most people never knew what it was like to watch yourself die.
Disclaimer: *snort* I wish, okay? If only for the money . . .
Author’s Note: I was very excited to write this as I want to get Riku out of Castle Oblivion before I drag Chain of Memories on longer than it needs to be. I really like this part. Yeah, I do. That and it was so much fun to write the end. I mean, honestly . . . oh, I won’t spoil it here. Just read on.
Riku left the fake Destiny Islands card-world through the door into the white hallway. Somehow, the light didn’t seem as blinding. Still card-less, he braced himself for an encounter, a man in a black coat, the man with the silvery-blue hair, anything . . . He walked across the hallway, and when he wasn’t intercepted, he walked up the stairs.
“Riku . . . Riku . . .”
Right on cue, a voice cut through the empty hallway on the next floor.
“Who’s there?” said Riku. His eyelids fell closed; he could have slapped himself. He should have expected Ansem. “Of course, that voice!”
“I know you can feel it, Riku-the grip I have on your heart. You’ve let the darkness in. And all-consuming darkness is what your heart shall become!”
“I’m not like that anymore!”
“I think you are.”
Riku’s breath hitched when he floated into the air. His feet didn’t touch the ground . . . he couldn’t turn his head . . . Panic seeped into his heart.
“I . . . I can’t move.”
Hope pushed away the panic when he discovered he could, at least, still speak.
“The deeper the darkness runs in you, the stronger I become. Controlling your body is an effortless task.”
Just as Ansem got rolling on another one of his dark tirades, the bright orb of light appeared. The hope in Riku’s heart swelled.
“Gah . . .” said Ansem. “You, interfering again!”
“Golly, I’m glad I made it in time! That should keep Ansem tied up for a while.”
Riku felt his feet hit the floor, and he lifted his arm. He could move again. The sound of shuffling feet caught his attention, and Riku looked up to see King Mickey approach.
“Sorry I couldn’t come sooner, Riku,” said King Mickey.
“Your Majesty, it’s you!”
“You betcha.”
Riku frowned, cocked his head, and almost laughed. The king obviously didn’t get what he meant. A cocky grin spread across Riku’s face. He reached out and poked King Mickey in the side.
“Huh . . . Hey! Cut it out, that tickles!”
Riku laughed.
“This time you’re real. No illusions. I’m so glad you came.”
“I promised, didn’t I?”
Riku nodded and collapsed on the floor. He leaned back and drew in a deep breath. King Mickey’s eyes grew wide, and he rushed to Riku’s side.
“Don’t worry,” said Riku. “I’m okay. Just really relieved, that’s all. I’ve been alone so long that having someone else around is a little . . . overwhelming. But how did you get here, Your Majesty?”
“This card showed me the way,” said King Mickey. He held out another world card. “I was lookin’ for a way out of the realm of darkness, and then this card came along. As soon as I picked it up, it showed me your heart, way out beyond the darkness. And that’s how I tracked you down. I guess the card thought it belonged with you.”
As Riku was card-less, and here was King Mickey holding out a card, he shrugged. Riku took the card and stood.
“Maybe you’re right.”
He looked at King Mickey, nodded, and walked up the stairs to the next door. The town on the card was one he didn’t recognize. This couldn’t be made from his memories, but it was a card, so Riku held it out and entered.
“Where am I?” said Riku, looking around the foreign town. “I don’t remember this place. Your Majesty, do you know where we are?” There was no answer; Riku looked down. King Mickey was gone. “Your Majesty?”
“His Majesty is not here,” said Ansem as he appeared before Riku. “You must battle me and the darkness alone!”
Riku frowned, narrowed his eyes, and drew the Soul Eater. Ansem made no effort to attack, and Riku allowed his weapon to lower. Something was off.
“Giving up already? Then accept your fate and accept Ansem as your master!”
“You’re not Ansem. Your scent-it’s different. The Ansem in my heart smells darker, more foul. But not you. It’s not darkness I smell, it’s . . . something else.”
The figure posing as Ansem did not move or speak, but stood there, watching Riku, as if waiting for him to finish his thoughts. Was this a test? Riku stared and cocked his head. The smell was so familiar . . .
“I know. You’re the one who guided me when this all started. You pretended to be Ansem and gave me the card, to make me face the darkness.”
“Correct,” said Ansem. The illusion faded and a man stood in his place, red bandages wrapped entirely around his head and face except for his lips and eyes. “Call me DiZ-it’s as good a name as any. I’ve been watching you all along.”
“Who are you really? What do you want from me?”
“I want you to choose.”
“Choose?”
“You are special. You exist between light and dark. You stand in the twilight. I want you to meet Naminé, then choose.”
“Naminé? Who’s that?”
“You’ll just have to meet her and find out.”
One of the golden cards he had grown to associate with battle and unpleasant confrontations appeared in his hand. When he looked up, DiZ was gone.
“Hey, wait a sec!”
No one answered, and Riku groaned. He pulled the Soul Eater out and headed through the next door. It was just as he suspected. DiZ, Naminé, King Mickey . . . no one was to be found except for a slew of Heartless, and Riku imagined he wouldn’t meet up with anyone again until the golden card in his pocket opened a door emblazoned with a key.
~*~
The golden card door led to a clearing. Iron-wrought gates loomed ahead, bound by a large, heavy lock. Beyond these gates and into the distance stood an old mansion with two large windows on the second floor. Riku approached the gates and stared through the bars.
“Maybe Naminé is in here.”
“Hold it, Real Thing.”
Riku looked over his shoulder and smiled as the replica walked over to him and stood by the gates.
“Well, well. You’ve changed. Last time we met you were afraid of the darkness, but not anymore.”
Riku felt a thank you probably wasn’t what the replica was going for, but he smiled anyway.
“How can you tell?”
“Because I’m you.”
“No, I’m me.”
He was joking, of course. Yes, it was true that he and the replica were different people, but it was meant to be friendly banter. Apparently, Vexen didn’t give the clone a sense of humor. He glared and huffed.
“‘I’m me,’ he says. It must be nice, being real. A fake like me could never get away with saying that.”
Riku’s eyes widened. He was still sore about that? An apology was on his tongue, but the clone continued, and Riku closed his mouth.
“That’s right, I’m a phony! The way I look, the way I feel, everything!” The clone glowed in a familiar light, and Riku’s eyes grew wider. The darkness . . . “I thought by finding some new strength I could be someone, someone who’s not you! But nothing changes . . . I’m still just empty!”
Riku took a step back. Vexen did better with the clone than Riku thought. It would have been funny in another time if it wasn’t real, but here was another version of him, and Riku thought it was only on the outside. He wasn’t just a carefully constructed reproduction forced to live in darkness; he was Riku himself, stuck in these twisted circumstances. Riku’s father once told him that each human being was an original work of art, like snowflakes. No two were alike, and that all the things Riku loved and hated about himself were what made him special and unique-someone that could never be reproduced.
If Riku ever saw his father again, he’d have to tell him how wrong he was. Even Riku’s replica needed to be needed, needed to be something special. He succumbed to the power of darkness to gain strength. Riku took another step back and drew his Soul Eater just as the replica did. If this other boy was really him, Riku had a feeling what was coming . . .
“Everything about me is borrowed,” said the replica. “As long as you’re around, I’ll never be anything better than a shadow.”
Riku had hoped he wouldn’t say that.
The replica’s strength had grown, but he remained predictable. They shared all the same attacks, and the same knowledge on how to stop them. Riku’s back and shoulders ached, but he swung the Soul Eater at the clone. He didn’t want to kill him, but the clone wasn’t backing down, and Riku’s fight instinct overpowered his flight instinct. That instinctual balance held true for the replica as well. Riku liked the clone-held sympathy for him because it was so unfair to give all his insecurities and problems to another human being-but Riku didn’t like him enough to lay down and die so the little fucker could steal his identity.
The replica screamed as Riku’s weapon made contact with his side. He fell over, grasping at it. The Soul Eater dropped to the grass, and Riku ran over to his side. There was blood everywhere. Riku’s stomach felt as if it dropped and jumped to his throat. Most people never know what it’s like to watch yourself die.
“So . . . this is the end,” said the replica. “Figures. But I’m not afraid. Good riddance to an artificial life. I never had a real heart. Even what I’m feeling now is probably fake.”
Riku hung his head. He felt wetness on his cheeks.
“What are you feeling?”
“What happens when someone who’s not real dies? Where will my heart go? That is, if it doesn’t disappear completely . . .”
Riku kneeled next to the replica and looked into his eyes. The aquamarine shade darkened to a teal.
“It’ll go somewhere. Probably the same place my heart will go.”
The replica laughed. Riku tried to smile.
“How original. Oh, well.”
The replica disappeared, and with him, the blood. No evidence remained that the replica was ever there at all. A gold card appeared in Riku’s hand. He pocketed in and dropped his head to his knees.
No, Riku didn’t think most people ever knew what it was like to watch yourself die.
~*~
The second gold card opened the door to a simple, white room with a flower-like pod in the center. A petit blond girl in a simple white dress stood before the pod. This girl . . . her scent . . .
“You’re Naminé?”
She turned to look at him and smiled.
“Yes.”
“So . . . that was you.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, never mind.”
“Please . . . come this way.”
She took his arm and Riku followed her over to the pod. As he approached, the figure of a body floating inside caught his attention, and as he stood beside it, his eyes grew.
“Hey! It’s Sora! What did you do to him?”
“Nothing, he’s just sleeping. He has to, to get his memories back.”
“Tell me what happened.”
Naminé hung her head and then she relayed the story. She was a witch who never lived an entire life. She was created, and had the power to affect Sora’s memories and the memories of those aligned with him. She didn’t know why she had it, but it was there all the same. Marluxia-the keeper of the castle-found her, and brought her here. He was a member of Organization XIII, the same Organization that Lexaeus spoke of, and all the men in the black hooded coats belonged. Marluxia intended to overthrow the Organization’s Superior, take the group over, and he wanted to use Sora to achieve his goal. Naminé altered his memories, made him forget all about Kairi, made him forget everything, and planted false memories of herself in their place. Sora was supposed to try and save her, and then she would hand him over to Marluxia.
She didn’t want to deceive him, didn’t think it was right, but Marluxia was going to keep her prisoner in this castle-Castle Oblivion-if she didn’t comply. She said she was lonely. Told him that Sora forgave her when she revealed her deception, and that a member of the Organization named Axel gave her the chance to set things right and restore Sora’s memory, but it meant that he’d have to go to sleep for a long time. When he did awaken, he’d have no memories of this castle or what happened within it.
“So that’s what happened,” said Naminé.
“I see . . . Sora chose to forget about this castle and get back his old memories.”
“You have a decision to make, too.”
“Why? No one’s been messing with my memories.”
“It’s not about your memories. It’s about your darkness. In your heart is darkness, and in that darkness is Ansem. Right now, he’s at bay . . . but eventually he’ll awaken and he’ll conquer you when he does. Before that happens, let me lock your heart tight. I can make it so Ansem never escapes.”
“And what happens to me if I let you do that? Will I forget everything, like Sora?” Riku searched her face, but she averted her eyes. “I will, won’t I?”
“The darkness in your heart will be sealed along with you memory. You’ll stop remembering the darkness. You can go back to the way you used to be. It’s you choice, Riku. So . . . choose.”
“Sora looks like he hasn’t got a care in the world. Will I sleep that well?”
“Yes.”
Forget the darkness? Just when he accepted it, and knew he could make the light and dark live in harmony? Not finish off Ansem? And forget everything that happened? Cloud . . . the replica . . . the strength within himself that Riku never knew was there . . .
“Sora always did as he pleased. It didn’t matter what we were doing-he’d still go off and leave me with all the work. Take the raft we were gonna use to leave the islands. That was all me. I’ve made up my mind. When this slacker wakes up, I’m gonna tell him off good. I told him to take care of Kairi and here he is taking a nap! But I can’t chew him out if I’ve been sleeping, too. Keep your lock. I’d rather just finish Ansem off once and for all.”
“But if the darkness he wields gets the better of you . . .”
“I’ll make that darkness show me the way.”
“That’s true.”
“Why do I get the feeling you knew I’d say that?”
“I didn’t know. I hoped. I want you to face the darkness, because you’re the one who can.”
“So that’s why you came to me in the light. As Kairi.”
“You knew?”
“I knew as soon as I met you. Somehow you . . . smell the same.” Riku turned to leave. “Look after Sora.”
~*~
Riku walked into the hallway from Twilight Town (as Naminé called it). King Mickey stood there and smiled.
“So, you decided not to go to sleep, huh?”
“How’d you know that?”
“DiZ told me,” said King Mickey. He motioned behind him to the center of the hall, and Riku followed the gesture to see DiZ.
“You know him?”
“I’m not really sure. I can’t help feeling that I met him somewhere before.”
Riku looked from King Mickey to DiZ.
“Hey, Voice. DiZ. Who are you?”
“Nobody . . . or anybody. It all depends whether you choose to believe in me or not.”
“Boy, you really like pushing decisions on other people.”
“And you pushed away slumber and chose to face Ansem.”
“What, wrong answer?”
“It was your answer. I’m just here to watch.”
“‘Watch’ as in support me, or ‘watch me get toasted’?”
“You choose. Then you need only believe in your choice.” DiZ threw Riku another card. “That card will draw the darkness inside you out into this world. Finish your business with Ansem.”
Riku frowned at DiZ and turned to King Mickey.
“Let’s go, Your Majesty.”
King Mickey nodded, and they walked past DiZ to the staircase. On the next floor Riku looked at the door ahead, and then glanced to the card in his hand.
“So this card will draw Ansem out.”
“Don’t you worry! Together, we can defeat him!”
“I’m glad you said that . . . but I have to face Ansem alone.”
King Mickey’s eyes widened again and he took a step back.
“But . . . but why?”
“There’s no point in doing this is if I can’t do it on my own. But I have a favor to ask. If Ansem wins, he’s going to enslave me. If that happens, I want you to destr-”
“Sure, I’ll save you, pal!”
Riku shook his head and swallowed.
“You’re not listening. I want you destroy Ansem and me with-”
“No can do! I already made my choice. No matter what happens, I’m going to be there to help you. I’m not backing down. Unless you don’t believe I’ll come through for you.”
Riku smiled. If each person was like a work of art-completely unique like snowflakes-then King Mickey was a masterpiece.
“It’s my choice to believe or not. I know you’d never let me down, Your Majesty.”
“Same here. You won’t lose-not in a million years.”
Riku laughed.
“Not in a billion years!”
King Mickey nodded and pointed toward the doors. Riku patted the card against his palm, turned, and walked to the door. He entered another white room like so many of the white hallways that came before it. This must be what the castle actually looked like without the card-worlds. He steadied himself and drew the Soul Eater.
“Show yourself, Ansem!”
Ansem’s laughter rang though the room. He was nowhere to be seen, but Riku had learned long ago in Castle Oblivion that just because he couldn’t see someone didn’t mean they weren’t there, or that they wouldn’t voice their opinions (and loudly, at that).
“What’s the rush?” said Ansem. “I’ll be here . . . At the heart of darkness . . . I’ll be watching as you plunge into the very darkness you wield.”
A gold card appeared in his hands.
~*~
The door emblazoned with the key came sooner than Riku expected. Pulling the gold card from his pocket, Riku stepped forward and held it out. The door clicked and swung open. There was no one there, but the stench was overwhelming, foul, and Riku smirked.
“Come on out, Ansem,” said Riku, walking into the room. “I can smell you.”
Ansem appeared before him. He never could resist a good taunting.
“Oh, I know what you can do. Your skill with the darkness has matured. But I do not understand. Why accept darkness and still refuse me? You and I are similar. We both follow where the darkness leads. We exist in the same space-so why deny me? Perhaps some part of your heart still fears the dark?”
Similar? Riku almost laughed. He and Cloud were similar. Riku and Ansem were only similar because Riku had a tendency to make foolish mistakes.
“Wrong. The truth is . . .” Riku drew the Soul Eater and smirked. He hoped it looked cocky. “You just really stink.”
“ . . . You’re a fool to choose a fight with me. You’ve been conquered by me once before. You should know what sort of power you face.”
“Oh, I do. I used all the power you had to give and still lost to Sora. I’m not impressed.”
“Very well. Then sink into the dark abyss!”
It was the hardest fight of Riku’s life. Ansem’s guardian got in the way a lot, and his body felt bruised, beaten, and weak. Riku didn’t relent. He thought of the clone, and how he wouldn’t give up the chance at a life. Riku clung to the example, because though the replica gave in to the darkness, he didn’t give up that easily, and in some ways, he really did embody what Riku should be.
Ansem grew weak; his attacks less powerful.
“Insolent brat,” Ansem said, and a shockwave of dark energy spread throughout the room.
“Ansem! You’re finished.”
Riku ran his Soul Eater through Ansem’s body, but he didn’t relent. The room shook and the energy shockwaves pulsated through the air.
“Hardly . . . finished . . . I gave you . . . the dark . . . my shadow . . . lingers . . . I will return!”
Everything grew black, and Ansem faded the darker it grew. No . . . this couldn’t be . . . the realm of darkness . . .
A bright orb of light appeared and King Mickey’s voice broke through the black.
“I know you wanted to do this alone, but you don’t mind a little help, right?”
The light returned and Riku found himself back in the room. Ansem was gone; King Mickey stood in his place. He was really a masterpiece of a being.
“Let’s go, Riku,” said the King. “One more floor and we’ll be at the main entrance.”
They walked up the stairs and Riku looked at King Mickey.
“Main entrance?”
“You appeared here in the lowest basement. DiZ told me. That why you went undetected by the Organization for so long . . . There are the doors.”
Riku walked over to the large doors leading out of the castle.
“So, Riku . . . what’s next? Are you going home?”
“I don’t know if I can. It’s still there. His scent . . . it’s faint, but not gone. I can’t go home until it is. His darkness may still have a hold on me . . .”
“Your darkness belongs to you. Just like your light. Until now, I thought darkness was nothing but bad. But my time with you made me change my mind. You’ve chosen a road I never thought of. Light and dark, back to back. With you, they mingle in a way no one’s ever seen before. I want to see where that road leads.” King Mickey held out his hand and Riku felt his heart swell. “And if it’s okay, I want to walk the road with you.”
Riku smiled and shook his hand.
“Wow, Your Majesty, I don’t know what to say . . . Thanks.”
“Oh, you don’t have to call me that.”
King Mickey laughed, and Riku laughed with him.
“Fair enough, Mickey.”
“Let’s get out of here. But first, it’s going to be cold out there.”
Mickey passed Riku a long, black-hooded coat. He put a small one on himself and smiled.
“Joining Organization XIII?” said Riku, laughing. “I heard some positions recently opened up.”
Mickey laughed.
“Nope, but we’ve got to stay warm, and there’s a lot of these coats in this castle.”
Riku laughed and pulled on his coat. They walked out the door together. The sky was dark, but stars pricked through the black. Fresh air filled his lungs. How long had it really been since Riku last stood outside?
“So where to?” said Mickey.
“Can we still travel across the worlds?”
“You betcha.”
“Well, I supposed that Organization will have to be taken care of eventually, but Sora should be awake for that first. We’re going to need the Keyblade master. Until then, there’s someone I have to go see.”
“Who?”
Riku smiled.
“Did I ever tell you I have a boyfriend?” Mickey looked up at him in surprise. “I’m gay, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with love no matter what shape it takes.” Riku laughed. “I can’t believe I just came out to a mouse.”
Mickey laughed.
“I think that was well-put, Riku. If you have someone waiting for you, you should go see him.”
“I hope he’s waiting for me.”
“If he loves you, he will be. Do you know where he’ll be?”
“I have a few ideas, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Then let’s go find him.”
“How will we travel?”
“We’ll find a way.”
Riku smiled and nodded. They followed a long path across a barren field. The giant shadow of Castle Oblivion faded behind them until it was no longer visible, and only a distant memory. Mickey and Riku talked, laughed, and Riku told Mickey about Cloud as they walked until a figure appeared in the distance. Riku’s smile fell. DiZ grew larger as they approached.
“He makes me nervous,” said Riku.
“I wish I could remember where I’ve met him before,” said Mickey.
Riku and Mickey stopped, standing before DiZ. He stood in the middle of a crossroads, and Riku shook his head.
“What are you making me choose now?”
“Will you take the road to light-” DiZ motioned to his left first, and as he started speaking again, he motioned to the right. “-or the road to darkness?”
Riku raised his head. Mickey looked up at him.
“Neither. I’m taking the middle road.”
He stepped forward and walked past DiZ to continue down the path. Mickey followed. DiZ hung his head.
“You mean the twilit road to nightfall?”
Riku once thought that the merger of light and dark was like the sunset. He once thought that like a sun sets to leave nothing but the dark, empty night, the light faded in his heart, leaving nothing but a dark, empty shell. Though the darkness remained, and his light and dark mingled, his darkness made someone like Mickey think that the darkness wasn’t all bad. Riku shook his head.
“No.” Riku turned back to look at DiZ. “The road to dawn.”
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 031/100 Completed.