Falling [Riku]

This was a bad idea. This was so not thought through. Sora hadn't really considered his actions before he took them, as usual. He needed to find his friends, much as his blond counterpart was looking for his. However, he trusted his own a great deal more than the members of the Organization that was supposed to remain defeated. He let out a small sigh to himself as he wandered through the dimly lit Underworld.

He was alone, searching for his nearest and dearest again and was still undeterred. How was it that they kept getting separated like this? His bright yellow shoes scuffed across the ground and kicked a small rock. The noise was nearly deafening in the silent cave. It wasn't silent for long. Yellow eyes blinked to life around him, roused by his intrusion. His own bright blue eyes widened in realization that as good as he was getting with his weapon, he still wasn't a true master. He really wasn't all that great without a little backup.

Sorry for waking you, you can go back to sleep. I'll see myself out, He said, a note of nervousness in his voice. The creatures of darkness around him didn't seem to care and slowly crawled out of the shadows. The brunet held out his hand, light forming in his palm until his Kingdom Key materialized in his hand. Really, you still have a chance to back off, He warned, taking a half step back. He hissed in pain as a clawed hand swiped at his leg. The Keyblade wielder slowly turned in a circle to see his competition. Oh, this was not good. So, it wasn't as bad as being surrounded by a thousand Heartless, but this was still pretty bad, especially on his own.

Sora took a deep breath, a look of determination on his face as he settled into his usual fighting stance. Being that he didn't have his friends with him this was going to get tough. He would still need to do his best so he could continue his search for his friends.

strength, to protect what matters

The intruding wake up call was neither wanted nor expected. Seafoam eyes had drifted open to look upward at nothing but a gray abyss, one that he felt was never ending, but upon closer inspection, he realized that it was.. a surface. A ceiling? Although his head was pounding, the teenage boy pushed himself up, bringing one of his hands to the side of his face and wiping his skin. He was awake, that was for certain, but... How did he get here? And better yet -

He looked at his own hand, finding that his skin color was back to the pale complexion that he usually called his own, not what he had developed when he had let Ansem into his heart to defeat Roxas. As far as he knew, he hadn't had the chance to change back yet, and was following the orders of a man named DiZ in order to get his best friend to wake back up.

Riku was perceptive, so it didn't take him long to notice that the place he was in was oddly familiar; the Underworld. He hadn't been here in the longest of times, so why was it that he had seemingly reformed here? Pushing his body up onto his feet, though a bit wobbly, he was able to get a better view of where he was. The darkness was omnipresent here, a fitting place for his desolate, treacherous person. Running his hand through his silver hair, Riku heaved a heavy sigh, walking aimlessly, trying to locate the exit to the place so he could maybe find some of the nice inhabitants on the surface to help him find a way of transportation. The first stage of getting the hell out of Olympus Coliseum would be that.

As he walked for a few minutes, he felt the presence of something familiarly sinister, and it was followed by beady, yellow eyes staring him down. He was used to their disinterested stare, but this time, they looked just as hungry as ever - right. He wasn't Ansem anymore. He didn't have the power of Darkness on his side anymore, as much as he had become accustomed to it being on his side. Or rather, him being on it's side. He held out his hand, summoning his keyblade to his hand, striking at the little creature as soon as it leaped for him. It was followed by more, causing Riku to become winded rather quickly. He was fatigued, displaced, and bewildered by what was going on; he wound up... Running. To God only knows where.

Running, however, proved to not do much good. He had to fight his way through, as much as he loathed doing so. He swung his blade back and forth, clearing the pathway of the verminous beings, hearing someone behind him having to do the same. So.. Someone had gotten stranded down here, too, huh? Maybe he would be able to get some sort of imformtion. The Heartless numbers died down soon enough, and he was able to turn-

...

His eyes widened to at least twice their size, his heart jumped from his chest and his stomach dropped into the lowest cavity of his body. That was... That face... Those eyes-

He tried to open his mouth to say something, but nothing came to him. He was completely frozen in some sort of figurative superglue. Sora .. How had he aged so much? He looked wiser in a way, though it was still most certainly the little ball of sunshine that he had gotten so used to, that he had.. Left behind and tried to destroy on multiple occasions because he was convinced it was the only way for him to obtain independence and to surpass this greatness. He would never be able to do that, he was aware now.. He didn't care about such idiotic things anymore. He had been working so hard to get this bundle of joy back, but now that he was face to face with it, he was no more than a statue.

Classy as always.

aeron at thq

Sora

TAGGED: @riku | WORDS: 396 | NOTES: ...

Sora's blade slashed back at the Shadow that had dared to get so close. It was the first of the many that would fall prey to his wild swinging just to keep their distance from him. He pointed his Keyblade forward, scowling at a small group gathering together to his right. Fire! He yelled, sending off a burst of flame toward the little pests. It gave others the chance to mimic their fellows to the other side of him. He couldn't fight like this. There were too many of them and not enough of him. He really started to appreciate his friends once more.

He spun around as another brave Heartless ran at him with its claws out. This one burst into darkness and faded that masked a second attack the brunet hadn't seen coming. He fell backwards, trying to ward off the claws. He barely got his Keyblade up in time to save himself from serious scratches across his face and chest. He scrambled back to his feet before more could pile on top of him but he stopped, frozen in place, at the sight that met him as he got to his feet.

Riku.

His best friend, the person he spent majority of his time looking for was right in front of him. Well, that was quick and quite lucky for the younger of the two. He grinned, his expression bright and more than happy that he found his silver haired companion. Just in time! He said, azure eyes glittering in excitement to be able to fight beside Riku again. They really did make a great pair if he thought about it. Donald and Goofy were great, absolutely, and they complimented him in the ways he lacked, but Riku was best. He had grown up competing against the other boy so they knew each other like the backs of their hands, even through all the hardships they had gone through.

Sora forgot the danger he was in and the claws dug into his legs and back once more to remind him. He gave a shout, whipping around to fend off the Shadows that he could and hurry backwards until he was beside his friend. Come on, Master, let's get 'em! He gave Riku a small nudge and aimed his Keyblade back at the Heartless, all the more confident now that Riku was beside him.

credit goes to Lunar of GS & THQ

strength, to protect what matters

Okay, so it seemed that the brunet was much less surprised about this whole ordeal, and was acting as though.. Nothing had happened. The Riku that had been transported here was obviously not from the same time or place that the Sora here was, but he knew.. That he was definitely, really here. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as those blue eyes sparkled up at him with anticipation and happiness of seeing their most important friend. It caused a diversion strong enough to keep Sora out of battle for just a little too long, leading to him getting scratched and sounding out in pain.

Something in Riku flipped at that noise, a heavy scowl coming onto his face; whisking in front of the smaller of the two, he slashed his blade through the disgusting little creatures, watching as they dispersed into the nothingness from whence they came. Riku hated Heartless. Even when Maleficent had given him control over them and he was able to use them to his disposal however he pleased, he always secretly loathed the little vermin. They were driven by nothing but instinct, and that could lead to awful betrayal and significant loss - and Riku knew all about those two aspects. Driven by instinct only to be lead to demise... Damn, he really was no better, was he?

"..Master?" He suddenly let the word process, and he repeated it in a confused manner, not understanding what his best friend meant by the statement. He shook his head a few times, his silver hair following not long after. Something was.. Messed up, here. It was definitely Sora, no doubt about it, and the azure-eyed savior saw this sad excuse of a person as Riku, but there was a gap that the displaced male could sense. And heavily sense, too.

After that swarm of Heartless had been destroyed, they seemed to be holding back for now, and Riku couldn't hae been happier about it. He sighed heavily, allowing his blade to disperse within his hand, forming back into darkness, which was probably something that Sora wasn't quite used to anymore, unbeknownst to the user. He held out his hand, thinking that a dark portal would appear before them, but.. Nothing happened.

"What?" He hissed out the word, frantically looking from side to side before grabbing Sora's wrist and sipmly taking off. They ran through some corridors and took some sharp turns, but somehow, by the grace of all that was good in existence, they were able to find their way to the main entrance of the Underworld. In the distance, the brightness of the world above could be seen, and they were able to rest. Riku let go of the boy's arm and allowed him a chance to catch his breath.

"Sora-" He said the boy's name in a breathy voice, standing back up to his full height after composing himself. "How are you here? How did you wake up? Namine hadn't.. Restored you yet." Riku narrowed his vision. Could it be that Sora had.. Woken up prematurely? That would mean that he would be missing key memories, and he didn't think it was downright possible in the first place.

"Are you okay?" In the end, that was truly all Riku cared about.

aeron at thq

Sora

TAGGED: @riku | WORDS: 444 | NOTES: ...

The brunet was had been surprised to see Riku and was glad of it. Not only did he need his help, but this made it the easiest find ever. It felt as if they were always chasing each other, or rather Sora was chasing him. This last time had been different seeing as Riku had to come and save him. Now they were back together and fighting off the darkness as they were meant to. He gave a small smile as Riku jumped in to fight off the Heartless after Sora had been hurt.

He wouldn't leave his friend to fend for himself though. He jumped right back in, Keyblade cutting through the air at the shadowy creatures until they were gone. They were given a small reprieve in which Riku finally questioned his choice of words. Did you forget already? Hey, what's up with you--- Sora squawked as his silver haired friend grabbed his wrist and they were off. He didn't get to ask his question as to why the Keyblade disappeared into darkness again, or why his hair was so long. Was this not the Riku he knew now? Roxas had said that they were displaced, that the time line was wrong. Was this a Riku from long ago in his eyes?

He tripped over his own feet in trying to keep up with the other boy, stumbling along until they saw the light from outside the Underworld. He let himself fall to his knees, huffing from shortness of breath. He could run for a while, but that was just too short notice. He hadn't even been able to keep himself up right. He took one long, deep breath and let his azure gaze drift up to meet the vibrant teal of Riku's eyes. Well, his question was quickly answered about that time thingy. Namine had been someone he knew so long ago now, or so it felt. His expression went soft, gentle, and a little sad.

I'm fine, 'Ku. Roxas helped wake me up, He offered as explanation as to his first time coming out of such a deep sleep. He sighed, realizing that his blond half was right and that he was going to have a lot on his plate helping his best friend. He was far from the Riku Sora knew now but this was just one more time that he could help the other male. He was better prepared as well, having been through it before. You woke me up once, too. You saved my life, He said quietly, knowing that he would have to give him the vague answer he had gotten himself not too long ago.

credit goes to Lunar of GS & THQ

strength, to protect what matters

And now he was being asked if he had already forgotten. Already forgotten what? Things were out of place, disorganized, and put in place so that Riku couldn't read them to save his life, and anyone else's. He narrowed his sea-foam eyes and furrowed his brows, taking in a deep breath and allowing it to flow out of his nose in the form of a deep sigh. He was attempting with all of his being to put the pieces together and make a solid, legible picture of what had happened, but...

Roxas helped wake me up.

Well, at least that was similar to what he wanted to accomplished back when his task was relevant. Sora continued to speak, making everything that much more confusing. What was he going on about...? He blinked a few times, the expression upon his facial features becoming obviously perturbed and a bit disturbed. The teen brought one his hands to his face covering half of it in a way that showed just how distraught he truly was about all of this. It was an overload on him, honestly. Riku had been through so much as a young adolescent, that this was just the icing on the cake to top everything off. He wasn't complaining though - he had Sora right in front of him again. He could reach out and touch the ball of sunshine; how could he be complaining in this situation...?

"Sora.. What are you talking about?" He aksed quietly, letting his hand fall back to his side. "I've.. I've never saved you. I couldn't even get everything together to wake you up." He averted his gaze as though he were ashamed - shame was a common factor in the boy's emotions. "That can't be right."

aeron at thq

Sora

TAGGED: @riku | WORDS: 473 | NOTES: ...

Sora sighed at the look on Riku's face. He had been through enough. The silver haired boy didn't need more pressure, or issues to deal with. He needed to rest right now at the very least. If he was still talking about Namine as if he saw her yesterday, Sora either had to figure out where in their timeline they got dropped in, or catch Riku up to where they were in the brunet's memories. He'd really rather the latter as that would mean his friend was fully embracing his Light and would become a Keyblade Master. Maybe this time around they could get their Marks together and pass.

He settled down on the ground, still trying to catch his breath a little. Okay, so, this is gonna be really confusing, He started, wiggling his fingers for Riku to come closer and sit with him. This was going to be a lot to take in and neither of them were going to be any less confused. So, I ran into Roxas. Yeah, I know, weird 'cause I kinda need him to live. But, he said there's something wrong with time. Like, we're from different points in our timelines and we're in .... some point. I haven't figured out when yet though. There, that wasn't so bad. Right? Well, it was all the information he had and he was pretty sure he got all his thoughts out on the matter. It was the only information he had anyway since he hadn't found his way to anyone that could answer his questions any better.

So, here was the really confusing part. So, in your future, you save me! Sora smiled brightly at his friend as if this was something that Riku really had to look forward to. Or, maybe not since it already happened. Kind of. The smile started to fade as the smaller Keybearer tried to work through the mechanics of it. Well, I mean ... You kind of did already. And got your Mark of Mastery which hasn't happened in a long time. Though, you have to do it again, I guess, since you haven't done it yet...

Sora's brow pinched in confusion and he dropped his gaze to stare at the ground. This made no sense. He frowned, the gears in his head very clearly working overtime as he attempted to figure out not only the events that have and yet haven't occurred but how to phrase it so it made sense. An ache started behind his eye and he raised a hand to his head. I don't like this time stuff. It hurts. I'd rather deal with the Realm of Sleep instead and I hate the Nightmares, He groused, pouting at his friend. He gave a small whine of discontent and looked to his best friend for some kind of support or comfort.

credit goes to Lunar of GS & THQ

strength, to protect what matters

Sora thought this was confusing? Riku had sat down next to his best friend and was trying his damndest to follow along, but his attempts were winding up futile as he got lost several times. As soon as he had figured he had it all together, something else would come out of the brunet's mouth that would ensure Riku that he truly had no clue what was going on around him. In the end, was anything really that different to what he was used to? Riku had grown up his entire life having that security of knowing what he was getting himself into, and he would be the rock for his friends to lean on.

Recently, though, that had been all but the case. Not once was he a steady surface to fall on whenever someone else was down, and he was finding himself to be more perturbed than sure of anything. How messed up was that? His brows furrowed when he was told that in the future, Sora would be saved by his very own hands. Sea foam eyes glanced down at the palms of his hand before he lifted one up one of his legs to give his arm a place to rest atop his bent knee, hand hanging loosely from his wrist. He was in a deep state of thought, or at least he was until Sora uttered something that turned the entirety of the dark-hearted boy's world.

"I.. I what?" He said softly, just loud enough for Sora to hear. The Mark of Mastery.. He had heard that phrase a few times before, and he was aware of what it meant, but.. He was able to accomplish that in his future? Was Sora off of his rocker, or was all of this really true? Honestly, he couldn't be sure of anything right now, as much as he was willing to put his faith and trust into his childhood friend.

In the distance, he was able to see a large building that resembled that of an arena, one that probably accompanied the one above ground. It was encircled with pitch black waves that rippled ever-so-gently, and he couldn't help himself from being reminded of the islands back home. Whenever a body of water came into his vision, he could simply picture the way that the shoreline of his home world looked like, and it would give him a sense of comfort that he would never be able to explain. Home was such a diverse topic, but he was beginning to realize that it was much more simple than he had previously envisioned.

He felt Home at this very moment, simply because of the person he was next to.

"I guess none of it really matters that much." He sighed out the words, his troubled look fading suddenly. Perhaps he could.. Relax. He smiled gently. "If what you're saying is true, then I guess I don't have much to worry about. Only bad part is.."

Riku leaned over, nudging his shoulder against the other male, that smile of his turning a bit more sinister. "I gotta deal with saving your sorry ass again. I'll try to get it right this time."

aeron at thq

Sora

TAGGED: @riku | WORDS: 475 | NOTES: ...

Everything that he was saying wasn't really as helpful as he would have hoped. Sora could see the confusion taking over his friend and it just made him feel a little worse. He had meant to be informative so Riku could function better in this weird "world" they were in now. His Riku, the one that he had gone through so much with in his own timeline, was gone it seemed. Not that he wasn't happy to find Riku from what felt like forever ago. This silver haired boy was just waking up to people and things happening that had moved on without him.

There was one thing he could count on though. Riku wouldn't have to go through all of this alone. It would just take a little work on Sora's part to remember that he wasn't talking to the Master he was now used to. You're the first one to get the mark in years. I'll help you get there again, He said, the nudge encouraging him to be less sad and confused. Not matter when they were from, this was still his best friend. No matter what they went through, they had always been there trying to help each other. This was just one more time that they would depend on each other to get past a rough patch. The younger Keybearer didn't think this would be all that hard, but he was ready no matter what.

The pout faded and the brunet's grin returned. At least you won't be bored, Sora chirped, leaning on his friend and resting his head on Riku's shoulder. He let himself get comfortable. He let himself forget that this was not the Riku he knew back in his own timeline, the one that had been through so much more with him. This Riku had not defeated Xemnas with him, had not fallen into the Realm of Sleep. Yet, this was still his best friend and one of the few people he had given his life for. He would always give up everything he was for Riku and Kairi.

Azure eyes stared out at their surroundings, knowing that more Heartless lingered in the shadows than they were probably aware of. There was always something lurking just out of sight, even in the brightest of worlds, but he really didn't want to encourage that train of thought. He didn't even want to encourage the Shadows to get courageous and come after them again. Hey, Riku? He asked quietly, rolling his bright blue eyes up to look at his friend. Can we head out of here now? I'd really like us to get somewhere safer. He could think of several places better than this. Additionally, with his growing abilities, he could keep Riku safer until he had learned more himself. He was destined to be a Master after all.

credit goes to Lunar of GS & THQ