ANSEM!

This is...the end!

This...is hardly...the end...

Your Darkness...i gave it, all to you...

My Dark shadow, lingers...someday...

SOMEDAY!

I-WILL-RETURN!

That's it. When this slacker wakes up, I'll tell him off.

...Sora...Kairi...

I don't need my Heart locked. I'm ready-I'm gonna fight Ansem.

No...It's the Road to Dawn.

The secret story of Riku's time during spent wandering the Realm of Darkness...discover, how he fights the Darkness and continues on his quest for redemption, as he aids Sora in recovering his Memories and helping to awake him from his year long sleep, discover...the period of Riku's absence.

https://youtu.be/HTUq3Ik1GHM">https://youtu.be/HTUq3Ik1GHM

Verse I: Dawn Treading.

...What are you making me choose now? ...

Between the Road to Light-and the Road to Darkness...

...Neither suits me...

I'm taking the middle road...

...Do you mean the Twilight Road to Nightfall?

No...It's the Road to Dawn.

These were the young man Riku's parting words to the both strange and mysterious Darkness in Zero (DiZ), as the young man set out with his travelling companion, the small Mouse King Mickey, in search...of a way to help Riku's friend Sora awake from slumbering Darkness after having lost the Chain of Memories that binds his Heart together and now, with the aid of the girl named Namine helping Riku along his journey of where he must head first, Riku begins his journey...his 1st step into the way that leads towards the dawn...

After leaving DiZ behind and continuing onward with King Mickey, dusk started to turn into daylight and, as Riku felt the daylight upon his skin, he felt almost, as though he was being boiled by the rays of the sun, he then recalled the last words that the Seeker of Darkness, Ansem, had mentioned to Riku at the climax of their final battle, he said that he bestowed upon Riku his Dark powers and that, as long, as Riku had them, he would never truly be free of the Dark, nor the Seeker for that matter, in an attempt to first find a way to get rid of Ansem's influence over Riku's Heart to better help Sora, Namine telepathically instructs Riku that he should go with Mickey to the World that lays in the center of the Realm Between, the World of Twilight Town, it is here that both Light and Darkness meet and mix with one another and if by going to Twilight Town and bathing in the mixture of Light and Darkness, the Twilight would better help Riku, at the very least solve one step towards his problems then so be it, he and Mickey journeyed to Twilight Town.

It was here in the World of Twilight that Riku and Mickey had both got a glimpse of the enemy that they would be confronting in the not too far away future, they were known, as the Nobodies and they namely appeared in the forms of Dusks, empty shells of Human beings' bodies that no longer resemble their respective Human counterparts' physical forms, Riku and Mickey saw the Nobodies engaging in a conflict with the Heartless, the Twilight beings' more Dark sided counterparts, the ones that Riku felt a strong affinity with, the Heartless acted like beasts, only using raw instinct to guide them in battle against their enemies and towards the Hearts that they ever so seek to capture, however, Nobodies that do not possess the ability to claim Hearts yet can think and plan for themselves show that they have a much better advantage against the mindless Heartless, although the Heartless were more in quantity, the Nobodies were vice versa, showing that they had more quality that made them shine within the Twilight Light of the town, after disposing of Shadows belonging to the Heartless, the Dusks had turned their attention towards both Riku and the king, decided to make them their next prey.

Riku and Mickey however prepared themselves against these new foes of theirs, summoning their respective weapons, for Riku it was the sword Soul Eater and for Mickey it was the Keyblade Star Seeker, Riku and Mickey fought side by side against the Dusks and had eventually managed to win the battle, however, at the very end of the fight, Riku could sense the Dark figure lurking within his Heart's presence and had realized both then and there that Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, was not so easily vanquished, Mickey worried for Riku's safety but Riku assured Mickey that he was fine and that the Mouse King shouldn't trouble himself over Riku, however, Mickey rebukes that, saying that it is because that he cares about Riku that he worries for him, Riku is shocked and then recalls a slight Memory within his Heart of how he once fought Sora at Hollow Bastion and of how he was saved by Mickey's friends both Donald and Goofy who in their own rights and Sora's vice versa all became with one another's friends...after recalling Goofy protecting Sora from a Darkness based attack of Riku's when he was corrupted by the Darkness beforehand, he now realizes upon seeing Mickey and sensing his concern for Riku that the two are slowly but very surely building a bond similar to that of Sora, Donald and Goofy's.

Riku was...glad, glad to know that someone was still looking out for him, even after all that has happened currently up to this point, however, now was not the time to digress and both he and the king had to push on forwards, in order to seek answers that would help them both defeat Ansem finally once and for all and help Sora regain his proper Chain of Memories within his Heart after losing the links that make up the chain thanks to the machinations of an evil organization that had plotted to use both Sora and Riku for their own diabolical benefits, to learn and know more about the Nobodies and the organization that had tried to manipulate Riku, Mickey decides that it was time for Riku to meet one wiser then Mickey himself and that was his master Yen Sid, the mysterious sorcerer, it turns out that the sorcerer's mysterious tower and this town of Twilight were somehow interlinked with one another and that in order to find out more about what this certain interlink was, Riku and Mickey both split up, as Riku made his way towards the train station of Twilight Town, it was here that he was attacked by more Nobodies, only for them to be suddenly dispatched by a both strange and mysterious individual that Riku does not recognize, his name is Jet and that he has come to help Riku but what sort of help does he intend to offer? Riku at this point was questioning himself but was determined to continue pushing forward despite his internal struggles, not just with the Darkness and its Seeker but also...with himself, as well, Riku's journey...had only just begun.

Verse II: Jet and Pitch Black.

Well, well, WELL...it looks like, you still got some fight left in you.

said Jet towards Riku, as he replied:

Who are you? where did you come from? what are you-HUH!?!?

just then, Riku took a good closer look at Jet and very shockingly, he resembled a younger Ansem, Riku with Soul Eater in hand proceeded to confront Jet, asking him:

ARE YOU...ANSEM!?!?

said Riku, shouting out towards Jet, Jet merely picked out dandruff from his ear whilst listening to Riku before then replying with the words:
...Maaan, you are SO annoying! honestly, i don't even understand WHY i was handed to you!

said Jet, Riku was then perplexed by Jet's words, asking him again:

Huh? handed? what are you-geh!?

said Riku, as he then noticed what looked like a doorway to the innermost Darkness open up in front of him and appearing from it was another young Ansem look a like, although he was a bit older then Jet and he proceeded to say to him:

...Jet, let's go, too many of those husks are crawling about.

said the other Ansem look a like, as Jet then identified the slightly older look a like, as Pitch, saying to him in reply:

I believe the term your looking for Pitch is actually Dusks, not Husks...tch, sigh...whatever, fine...

said Jet, as he rubbed the back of his head whilst Pitch merely crossed his arms, Riku didn't understand anything of what was going on at all and before he could stop both Jet and Pitch from leaving, the former raised his hand upwards to Riku, catching him off guard and saying towards him:
Hey, Riku was it? grow stronger for us, we'll need you at full capacity and strength, that is...if you want to master the true Darkness within you.

said Jet before he and Pitch then left without Riku being able to stop them in time, as he said to himself the words:

Ah, wait! ...the true...Darkness? what does he mean? i already...fought and defeated Ansem...i know however, that...i can still feel his presence within my Heart, still...

said Riku, wondering if the question of the true Darkness and Ansem were both one in the very same.

Sunset started to fall and Mickey reunited with Riku at the station, it was here that the two went over what they had learned from being separated, as Mickey reveals he didn't see too much of anything in particular detail, only that the white creatures were roaming the town like uncontrollable flies and when it had met their fancy, they would pounce and strike on the Hearts of those that are merely just innocent people involved in no way whatsoever to what was really going on within the shadows, Mickey had used his original Keyblade from the Realm of Light, the Star Seeker to strike them down and then straight afterwards disappear from people's eye-view, however...he couldn't still feel help but be bothered by the white creatures and was hoping that once upon finding master Yen Sid would all of both his and Riku's questions be answered, Riku, although bothered by everything had then seen a ice cream vendor not too far away from the train station just about ready to close up shop, acting on instinct, he went to the vendor and bought himself and Mickey Twilight Town's local delicacy of ice cream, Sea Salt flavoured ice cream, Riku then pointed towards Twilight Town's train station clock tower and it was there that both he and Mickey had decided to eat ice cream whilst watching the moon within the distance of Twilight Town starting to arise, as the sun started to fell into the great beyond below.

Mickey and Riku both had made their equal comments about the Sea Salt Ice Cream, as Mickey upon eating it felt it was salty but sweet but when Riku tasted it, he though that it was outright disgusting, wondering who would even want to eat, better yet, come up with a flavour for a ice cream such, as this? Mickey laughed at Riku trying to crack a joke but realized he was only pretending to joke, in order to cover up his true concerns of what is truly bothering Riku, one point being especially, who were the two that resembled younger versions of the Seeker of Darkness that Riku had encountered and what did they want with him? Mickey tried to ease the slight tension a little by commenting about the moon not too far away from the view of the clock tower, he said to Riku that Twilight Town rarely ever turns to moonlight, even when it is nighttime, because of being a World that is more close to the Light then the Darkness, Twilight Town rarely ever has nightfall, even when it is time for people to sleep and thus, according to history, they built the clock tower to remind them when it was time to go to sleep and when to wake up, Riku then says to Mickey after pausing for a moment, replying to him by saying:

...Do you think, do you think the moon's presence is signified...by MY presence? ...

said Riku, looking at everything despondently, Mickey was saddened that he had failed to cheer Riku up, instead apparently having only made things worse, it was then that Riku began to recall visual images of Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness inside of his mind whilst also recalling the physical appearances of both Jet and Pitch resembling Ansem, finally, a third unknown visual image popped into his mind, it was of a person in a Black Coat the very same, as the Organization's and both Riku and Mickey's, this person very shockingly resembled yet another Ansem look a like, however, unlike both Jet and Pitch, this look a like had more fairer tanned skin then both them and the original Ansem, also, his hair was more spiked out, giving him his own appearance compared to that of the others.

Riku lastly saw a Memory play inside his head, it was of two people in Black Coats by a Dark seaside talking to each other, one was younger then the other and he was trying to ask the taller person in the Black Coat what his name was, the taller person merely then got up from upon the rock he was sitting on and had then whispered something to the younger person that Riku had heard that he couldn't ever possibly forget and that was:

SORA.

Riku called out Sora's name, as he then nearly fell from sitting atop the clock tower, only to be saved by Mickey who managed to pull him back just in time, Mickey had asked Riku what was wrong and why did he especially call out Sora's name, Riku merely shrugged it off, saying that it was nothing and that both he and Mickey should now try to find places to sleep for the night because come first dawn tomorrow, the two will set out to finally meet Mickey's master Yen Sid, Mickey, although greatly concerned nevertheless complied and thus it was, nightfall had come to Twilight Town and the Dusk remnants of Dawn would follow not too far behind both Riku and the king, as they still continued journeying forth, ever seeking to find more answers.

Light and Dark, back to back, Riku had wondered whilst sleeping inside of his dreams if this possibility was really true or not, could he really live alongside the Light with his Darkness in tune with it? Riku had awoken from where both he and Mickey were sleeping in a forest on the outskirts of Twilight Town and upon awaking, Mickey pointed towards Riku the location of a both strange and mysterious old mansion not too far away from them just nearby, Mickey laments that they weren't able to spot it before and if they did, they would have had a place to stay for the night previously, however...Riku corrects Mickey, revealing to him that it wasn't just pure coincidence that they couldn't find the mansion but rather, Darkness of some kind had been blocking their eyesight and their views went beyond that of the mansion, thus unable to see for what was truly there right in front of them...

Riku and Mickey had decided to check the old mansion out and inside, the two met with Namine all of a sudden appearing before them within an all white room, it was here that she was communicating with them through an illusion of Light and that she wasn't there physically, instead, she had created a Memory recording of herself here in the mansion to await both Riku and Mickey's arrival to inform them of something whilst the real Namine and DiZ were currently working together to restore Sora's Chain of Memories.

The Namine projection revealed to Riku that by now he must of received a vision, a vision of him seeing a man that looked identical to the one that lurks within Riku's Heart, Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, Namine reveals that man that resembles Ansem to be known, as Xemnas and that he was the one responsible for everything that happened at Castle Oblivion...the place where Sora had lost all of his Memories.

Namine also reveals to Riku that when his body was taken over by Ansem to be used to seek out the Door to Darkness that would lead him to the Heart of all Worlds, Kingdom Hearts, it was during this time that Sora had met Xemnas at the castle of Hollow Bastion where the evil fairy witch Maleficent had met her end, Sora confronted Xemnas in battle after being provoked and at first thinking that he had won against Xemnas, Xemnas however proved that he was only playacting with Sora in order to test his strength, the reason for this being is currently unknown, however...Namine suspects just one thing about Xemnas and that is just like Ansem haunts Riku, Xemnas will most likely try to haunt Sora within the not too far away future once Sora's Memories have been fully restored and even if Sora has grown stronger by then, it is most likely that he will still need the help of Riku and the others to confront and stop Xemnas.

Xemnas had ordered his minions of the Organization to lure Sora to Castle Oblivion in the hopes of controlling him, to use his Keyblade for whatever sinister plots that the Organization have in mind, Namine knows naught about Xemnas' plans, only that there were rebels within the Organization that were plotting to use Xemnas' original plan to turn Sora against him and those loyal to Xemnas, Namine was to control Sora and let him loose like a hound on Xemnas by the Organization's traitors, however, it was thanks to the help of one of the supposed traitors that Sora broke free from both Namine and especially the traitors' control, allowing Sora to take down the traitorous leader and begin the restoration process of sleeping to restore the Chain of Memories inside his Heart, Namine lastly reveals that the process will take about a year long exactly at best for the Memories to fully return and during that time, Xemnas may try to find Sora and use him once more or maybe even worse, it is up to Riku and the king to stop that from happening, Riku, now having heard everything from Namine's projection agrees and that along with king Mickey, the two decide to leave the mansion in search of master Yen Sid, who could help better their attempts at helping Sora awaken from the sleep of exactly one whole year.

Riku and Mickey journey towards the train station once more and it is this time around that they are attacked by another kind of Nobody altogether known, as a Twilight Thorn, the Twilight Thorn tries to destroy both Riku and Mickey but using the sheer brilliance of power, teamwork and friendship combined, Riku combining his Darkness with Mickey's Light were able to end the Twilight being, allowing them to continue forth onward...however, it was then that both strangely and mysteriously from out of nowhere, Jet had reappeared towards Riku, Mickey could not see him and Jet had begun speaking to Riku, saying to him the words:

"...Such a shame, Twilight falls into nightfall...i mean really, what-a-shame..."

said Jet, mocking the deceased Twilight Thorn, as Riku replied:

"...Look, if your here to play mind games with me, i've had just about enough, Maleficent, Ansem, the Organization...you all say the exact same things to me about Darkness, well guess what? i...walk the road, to dawn...Darkness is neither my friend, nor is it my foe, only those lurking within the Darkness and creeping around inside of it are my true enemy, if you are one of those creeping around, save me the trouble...and let's fight here and now."

said Riku, Jet merely clapped his hands, impressed by Riku's response, saying towards him the words:

"Excellent! i expected nothing less from the hero of Darkness, still...you have a long way to go if you want to fight both Ansem and Xemnas, if you truly want to save Sora, unlock the untapped potential within and then...you can save your friend."

said Jet, this cause Riku by surprised, wondering what exactly did Jet mean by that, suddenly, Jet had vanished into thin air, leaving naught a trace of him, it seems, as though he was encouraging Riku to fight both Ansem and Xemnas, even though Jet himself remarkably resembled the former, as Mickey asks what just happened with Riku all of a sudden, Riku reveals that he was merely...having a talk with the Darkness inside of him and that it was about time for both him and the king to continue pressing onward, who knows when more Heartless and those white creatures would start attacking once again, the king, although hesitant, complied with Riku's quest and so, the two had entered the train station, planning to depart to locations outside the town unknown within the Realm Between.

At the train station, Riku and Mickey find the train that they are looking for by its unusual characteristics and just, as they are about to continue onward, Riku accidentally bumps into a young girl accompanied by two other boys, they introduce themselves to Riku whilst Mickey went on ahead of him, thereby the three not noticing the king's presence, having only just passed him and due to his short size, it is easy for a person to just miss him almost completely and entirely, digressing, the three youths friendly introduce themselves to Riku, their names are Olette, Pence and Hayner, although saying that all three of the youths friendly introduce themselves to Riku is a lie, Hayner appears to have a bit of an attitude around Riku, especially since he accidentally knocked down Olette, Riku apologizes for knocking down Olette and helps her up which causes her to blush in return before she and Pence friendly reveal their names to Riku whilst Hayner begrudgingly reveals his name in his own manner, upon seeing the three, Riku is instantly reminded of himself through Hayner, Sora through Pence and Kairi through Olette, he laughed at this a little which Hayner throught Riku was looking down on the three and thus, immediately picks a fight with him, which both Pence and Olette try to avoid, trying to talk Hayner out of it but to no avail, instead, Riku encourages and accepts Hayner's challenge, wanting to take him on and see for Riku himself what it's like to see "himself" through his own eyes...

The two agree to have a fight outside the station with Riku asking how would the conditions of the duel be met? Hayner was confused by what Riku meant at first before deciding to toss him a bat of some kind, Pence revealed to Riku that what he was holding was called a Struggle bat and that everyone here in Twilight Town celebrate the sport that is known, as Struggle, the rules are simple, combatants must both wear Struggle suits with orbs attached to them, over 200 small orbs precisely and whoever uses their Struggle bat to knock off their opponent's orbs and claim either most of them before time runs out or all of them exactly will the winner be declared the victor of the Struggle, Pence however tells Riku that its best to give up now, since Hayner is considered the 2nd best Struggler in all of Twilight Town but Olette encourages Riku not to give in to Pence's words and upon holding both of his hands does Olette say that she will lend Riku her strength during this fight, Riku blushes slightly upon Olette holding his hands, immediately causing him to turn his hands away from Olette's, blushing slightly but strongly, as well which causes Olette to giggle, Hayner asks the two are they done having their lovers' moment and if both Riku and he are ready to Struggle?

Comically, just before the fight starts...Riku has one question, just-one-question...why does he have to wear a ridiculous monkey suit with all of these orbs on him? even on-top of his head? he looks like an electric man gone to a dress up party just to get mocked at for, Hayner is confused by Riku's reaction, asking him if he has never seen Struggle before? Riku replies of course he hasn't! he's never been off the islands before-just then, Riku stopped talking before he could finish his sentence, remembering that the World balance must be kept in order and the Worlds must not know about one another's existence...Hayner overheard Riku say islands? what islands? there are no islands on the outskirts of here in Twilight Town, you must have been blinded by the sunset of the town too many times to remember, what kind of person are you? someone who loves the Light? just then, Riku went dead silent upon hearing Hayner's words, causing Olette to worry, as she has developed a sort of instant infatuation with Riku upon meeting him and socializing with him, Pence had then decided to declare the Struggle to begin and without warning, Hayner struck the first blow without Riku noticing, having been caught up in a daze by Hayner's comment a moment earlier, some of Riku's orbs were stolen from him, causing him to rethink and get his head back into the game and proceed to fight Hayner, as watching from above Twilight Town's clock tower right down below at the Struggle going on were both Jet and Pitch, the former eating Sea Salt Ice Cream whilst watching and commenting on the ice cream's taste, saying how disgustingly it tasted, the same comment Riku had made about the ice cream previously.

Riku and Hayner fought on equal terms, as though Riku was clearly more powerful and superior in strength then Hayner was, he wanted a sort of fair fight with Hayner without unleashing Riku's true strength that could very well possibly hurt Hayner in the process, however, the latter had noticed this and had called out to Riku, saying the words:

"Come on! is that all you got!? i thought you were stronger then THIS!"

said Hayner, as he knocked back Riku and, as he tried to regain his balance after being shaken a bit by Hayner's attack, it was just then that Riku recalled something within his head, the words that Hayner just spoke to Riku...they were almost exactly the same, as Riku's that he used to say to Sora whenever they would spar with wooden swords on the Destiny Islands, Riku in his head in slow motion thought about this for a second, did this mean that Namine's restoration of Sora's Memories had finally begun? if so...Riku had no time to dawdle, despite wanting to see "himself" through Hayner, Riku realized that he must now press on, for Sora's sake and thus, he unleashed a bit of his true strength within and with one single horizontal strike aimed at Hayner did Riku proceed to knock him out and take all of his orbs that were laying around Hayner, as he laid knocked out cold on the ground for a few seconds, Pence and Olette looked on so shocked that the former's jaw dropped at seeing Hayner having been defeated just like that within a single instance, Olette saw Hayner laying on the ground before looking towards Riku, she could sense something in the air that was emitting all around Riku's body but couldn't quite tell what it was, nevertheless, despite all this, Pence after pausing for a moment had declared Riku the victor of the Struggle, Hayner woke up and Riku immediately apologized towards him, saying that he only used enough strength to win the Struggle against Hayner without having to completely knock him unconscious, Hayner upon hearing this was greatly and deeply annoyed with Riku, he tried to pick a physical fight with Riku, saying to him, wanting to know why did Riku hold back during the Struggle if Riku was THAT good!? Hayner declared that Riku was even better then Hayner's rival in Twilight Town named Seifer, the number one Struggler in all of the town, if Riku was that good, why did he hold back at all to begin with!? Hayner couldn't just understand whatsoever, as he was flabbergasted by Riku's decision to hold back his true strength at all, he grabbed Riku by his Black Coat's collar and had tried to punch Riku, feeling, as though, the white haired youth was looking down upon him, Pence managed to hold Hayner back however before he could slug Riku right in the face, Pence said to Hayner that Riku must of had his reasons for holding back but that Hayner didn't care about any excuses for he believes that when a Struggler enters the ring must they always use their 100% percent strength from the get go! no-exceptions! to Hayner, it would be seen, as a disgrace to the both fellow and respective Struggler that each other is facing within the Struggle itself and then what would be the point? what would be the point to Struggle at all!? after hearing Hayner's words and the both determination and conviction within them did Riku say to Pence that it was alright, to let Hayner go and let Riku himself be punched, after all, it was what Riku believes that he deserves for holding back against a respective opponent such, as Hayner himself, after hearing this, Hayner broke free of Pence's grip and proceeded to try and punch Riku straight within his face, only to stopped short however, as shocking Riku greatly, appearing in-between both him and Hayner was Olette! standing up for Riku, Hayner stopped short upon seeing that Olette was standing up for Riku, the question was why he asked her, Olette replied:

"Hayner, i'm sure you must have felt frustrated in the past when Seifer purposely held back against you and you found out afterwards, especially when it came to last year's Struggle tournament but still...i think, that Riku is different! if he truly wanted to hold back against you, don't you think he would have done so throughout all of the match? right at the very end, Riku showed a bit of his true strength against you and to me, that proves that Riku wasn't looking down on you, rather, he had his reasons and that he was looking out for you! i know that you normally don't like that when people do those kind of things for you but nevertheless, i believe...i believe, in Riku!"

said Olette, Riku quietly said her name and after hearing her words, Hayner pondered for a moment before deciding to come a begrudging judgement, he told Riku the words:

"...Fine, listen up! Riku or whatever your name is, i...i truthfully and honestly don't like the stunt you pulled with me during the Struggle but...Olette is speaking up for you and if she is speaking up for you then fine, i'll relent, just this once, however, i expect to see you next time, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, heck, maybe not even in the next Struggle tournament but next time! next time we'll see each other in the ring and whoever loses has to buy ice cream for the winner, deal!?"

said Hayner, making a sworn promise with Riku, upon hearing this, Riku after remaining silent for a few seconds proceeded to nod his head and shake Hayner's hand, also promising that they will one day meet each other within the real Struggle ring and when they do, neither will hold back their true strength, Riku agrees to this, pleasing both Pence and Olette, especially the latter.

A few minutes later, Riku declares that he must leave now, as his train will be departing, as Riku is just about to leave, Olette goes up towards him, asking him when will he be back? Riku says that he honestly doesn't know, only that he knows that he will go where the Road to Dawn shall take him, Olette ponders about what Riku means when he says the Road to Dawn but nevertheless, she suddenly takes his hand and makes a pinky swear with him, saying to Riku:

"...Okay, then once you have finished walking Dawn, you'll come back, to Twilight i mean?"

said Olette, Riku was surprised by Olette's words, although he meant something else entirely when he was talking about the Road to Dawn, Olette mentioned that he would one day return to Twilight Town and when he heard her say return to Twilight, Riku then pondered about the bigger question concerning that word and the word Dawn, Riku had decided to return Olette's pinky swear and lastly say to her the words:

"...Yeah, i'll return, i'll return...to the Light of Twilight."

said Riku, as he and Olette traded their sworn pinky swear promise, the latter merely smiled, as Riku bashfully looked away from Olette's smile, causing her to giggle at his bashfulness, Olette then slowly let her pinky finger go of Riku's and, as Riku felt Olette's pinky leaving his, he suddenly recalled Memories of Kairi within his head, he saw Olette for a moment before she turned into Kairi and back into Olette again, she left to reunite with both Hayner and Pence and for a moment, just a single moment within time itself, Riku tried to reach out his hand towards Olette, as though he didn't want her to leave, however, by then, it was too late, she had left and Riku looked back at the palm of his hand, thinking to himself about how he was trying to reach out for the Light Olette was emitting from within her Heart, he formed a grip within his hand before deciding to put his Black Coat's hood on.

Mickey was waiting for Riku inside the train station and had asked him where did he go all of a sudden before then shockingly noticing that Riku was streaming down a tear from his face underneath his hood, he proceeded to get on the train with Mickey worried about Riku, as the latter throughout the train ride kept his hood up, saying to himself how Olette reminded him of Kairi, of how they even look similar more or less and that most probably, he may...never see Olette again, Riku gritted his teeth whilst slightly crying, lastly saying to himself the words:

"...Everything fades...into black..."

said Riku, the train continued its course until eventually arriving at Yen Sid's mysterious tower.

Verse III: Nobodies, at all...

(To be continued.).

Edited February 25, 20187 yr by Iamkingdomhearts1000

Flashback:

 

-Hollow Bastion, 9 years ago-

 

The town buildings were set on fire and everywhere was plagued by black liquid ooze like substances from which Pureblood Heartless had spawned from, Leon, 18 years old back then known, as Squall was the last remaining task guard member still standing trying to survive the onslaught of Heartless, as he battled one after another countless numbers of them, he was struggling to remain standing with everything going on both in front and around him, just then, appearing in front of his very eyes was the sorceress, the sorceress known, as Maleficent, the evil fairy, Squall tried to confront the evil fairy before she could begin her complete hostile takeover of the entire World but unfortunately, Squall was no match for her evil magic and just when it seemed like he was about to fall in battle, just then, a certain familiar Mouse had appeared wielding the Star Seeker Keyblade, using his Keyblade, he saved Squall and teleported him elsewhere to safety, the small Mouse then proceeded to confront Maleficent alone of whom was then seen lastly cackling very evilly to herself.

 

Back in the present, Riku helps awake Leon from his sudden flashback:

 

"...On...hey! Leon!"

 

said Riku, Leon awoke from gazing into the sky, as he replied:

 

"!? Huh, what!? oh, sorry about that, Riku..."

 

"...Its okay, if anything, i understand, you lost, a lot, didn't you? you and everyone else..."

 

"...Yeah, we did, we lost our homes and, we lost our friends, we ended up in Traverse Town after the World fell into Darkness and we didn't know what to do at all being in a new setting like we were, we were all panicking, especially Yuffie who was the youngest of us at the time, however, just when we thought that we were doomed with no help whatsoever, we then found ourselves lucky, for we had, a certain, friend..."

 

"Huh?"

 

"Well anyways Riku, i'm hoping that this little story of mine was insightful, perhaps?"

 

said Leon, wondering if he has help encouraged Riku in any way whatsoever at all, Riku replied with the words after coming up with his answer:

 

"...To be honest, i'm still having trouble adjusting to other people, outside of both my friends and family, all my life, i thought of new ways of how me and my friends could leave our home islands and go wherever it is we wanted to, we dreamed of exploring new Worlds, although, the end result that we got in the end wasn't quite what we had exactly pictured and now, i'm on a journey, a journey to reunite with my friends and return with them back to our home, for no matter how small it is, no matter how plain it may look, home...is where the Heart is, after all, right?"

 

said Riku, Leon was happy with Riku's answer, saying:

 

"...Good answer, it looks to me, as long, as you keep Light burning strong within your Heart, anything is possible, take a look at us, we're a good example if you don't mind me saying that and i hope, Riku that if you are ever in trouble, both wherever and whenever, just remember one thing: you have friends and allies everywhere you go, i'll gladly lend you my Gunblade if you so ever wish to take up arms with it."

 

Riku was surprised but happy by Leon's comment, replying:

 

"!? ...Heh, thanks, but no thanks, i've...got my own style."

 

said Riku, making a joke with Leon before then saying:

 

"...I've made up my mind, let's work together, Leon."

 

"You sure? i thought you weren't keen on it before."

 

"True, i wasn't but still, like you said, i have friends and getting help now and then isn't so bad...isn't, so bad, huh..."

 

said Riku, as he then looked at his hand and had recalled his previous argument with Mickey before further remembering what Mickey said to Riku after helping him when he finally defeated Ansem back at Castle Oblivion, Riku clutched a fist with his hand and thought to himself the words:

 

"...Mickey...i'm..."

 

suddenly, just then however, Leon interrupts Riku's thought process, saying to the latter:

 

"!?!? Riku! watch out!!"

 

"...Huh? !? WHOA!"

 

Riku dodges an attack meant for him by a giant Guard Armour Emblem Heartless, it had tried to rocket punch Riku only to fail, Riku summons his Soul Eater sword whilst Leon draws his Gunblade Revolver Griever against the Heartless, as Leon says to Riku:

 

"...You ready?"

 

"A mere Heartless like this? won't even be much, of putting up a fight."

 

said Riku to Leon who just smiles, afterwards the two proceed to fight the Guard Armour within the highly packed in bailey, during the fight, Leon notices that they won't be able to properly fight the Guard Armour unless taking the fight elsewhere, Riku agrees and so the white haired youth decides to shoot a Dark Firaga up into the corridor passage of the bailey's roof to provide more room, that way both he and Leon could fight the Guard Armour above the bailey instead of inside it, outside above they had more room and it was here that Leon had unleashed his special technique against the Guard Armour, the Renzokuken, Leon multiply slashes the Guard Armour one after the other until leaving Riku to deal the finishing blow by shooting a Dark Firaga aimed directly at the Guard Armour's head, the head is then knocked off the Guard Armour's body, forcing the rest of the body to retreat whilst leaving its head behind, its head comically tries to run away after its body by turning invisible to avoid being detected both Riku and Leon, either way it didn't matter, the battle was won although it came at the expense of the slight destruction of the bailey, Riku says to Leon:

 

"Sorry about ruining your rooftop."

 

"Its okay, knowing we were fighting Heartless, it couldn't be helped-"

 

"Yes it could have."

 

"!?"

 

"...Huh? !? AH!"

 

just then, Cloud appeared, having watched the whole fight, he scolds Leon for being so reckless in the destruction of the bailey's property, saying to him:

 

"...And you say you want to restore Hollow Bastion? gimme a break, as long, as people continue to act recklessly, they endanger the lives of others."

 

"...Cloud, i..."

 

"...Is this what Rinoa would have wanted?"

 

"!?!?"

 

"Rinoa?"

 

thought Riku to himself, Cloud then decided to take his leave but not before lastly saying to Riku:

 

"...Hey, kid, i want you to know something, you may have Leon's support and everyone else's support but that doesn't mean that you have mine, as long, as you continue to wield the powers of Darkness, someone will get hurt and i will never, EVER accept you for that, just think about what i have to say, as for me, i'm going to look for that Heartless, knowing that type of Heartless, it shouldn't have wandered off too far, probably to the central plaza, when you both are ready, come find me there, that's all."

 

said Cloud with words that appeared to be advice of wisdom before taking his leave, holding the handle of his Buster Sword tightly upon his back, Riku, although a bit annoyed with Cloud and his words knew that there was truth and that Riku himself should have thought more about the surrounding properties, wondering what could have happened if someone not related to everything could have possibly wandered in by mistake at those critical moments, it was then that Riku suddenly recalled what Pitch had said to him previously, about how Riku would be the cause of someone innocent getting hurt because of Riku, Riku upon thinking about this suddenly looks down in gloom towards the ground until Leon says to Riku:

 

"...Don't let it all get to you."

 

"Huh?"

 

"...Dilly-dally shilly-shally..."

 

"...Wha?"

 

"...Dilly-dally shilly-shally, that's...what Cloud's friend Tifa always used to say to him whenever he was down in the dumps and when he felt like that he couldn't move forward, in a sense, Cloud was saying that, to the both of us."

 

"But why? also, why is he using the power of Darkness? doesn't he know-"

 

"He knows, he knows that it could possibly corrupt him, still, Cloud...he sees it, as no other way of fighting, if you want to know more, you should ask Cloud himself, only he can give you his answers."

 

said Leon, moving on ahead, as Riku stood, lastly thinking to himself:

 

"...Yeah but, Leon, what about? ...no, forget it, i'll ask him when it's the right time, right now that Heartless needs to be stopped, i won't let it run free and destroy Hollow Bastion, this World...it doesn't belong to the Heartless, anymore!"

 

said Riku, he chased after Leon who in turn went on ahead after Cloud, trying to hunt down the Guard Armour Emblem Heartless that supposedly fled towards the central plaza of Hollow Bastion.

 

(To be continued.).

Edited March 16, 20187 yr by Iamkingdomhearts1000

Excellent work! I like how you created a bond between Riku and Squall, and some common ground they could relate with! I also loved how you officially gave a flashback to back when Leon and the others were almost doomed to fall with their world! Also loved the Easter Eggs such as Rinoa's name drop and her last name, not to mention SeeD! That's just awesome, man! I gotta say, you know how to handle these characters very well!

 

And you're giving Cloud more dialogue than he ever had in the KH series at this point, so good job!

Sephiroth will make a cameo in the story.

 

As Cloud walks towards where the central plaza is located, passing the local water fountains nearby, he thinks to himself about both Riku and the Darkness that he emits:

 

"That kid...he has a strong Darkness, almost, like..."

 

just then, Cloud had a vision of a certain man who resembled Riku exactly more or less but upon instantly recalling the evil smile on this certain man's face, Cloud thought to himself again:

 

"!? NO! i mustn't! i mustn't...think..."

 

said Cloud, trying to get the image of the certain man out of his head before then suddenly hearing a voice:

 

"...Why do you deny the Dark?"

 

"!?!? YOU!"

 

"...Yes, Cloud, me, the one you only think about, the one, you only truly care about."

 

"SHUT UP! get out, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

 

"And why should i? face it, Cloud, this is just, as much, as my head, as it is yours, we share the same mind, we share the same body and we also, share the same Heart, that's why you use the Darkness, you depend on it, you crave it, you can't stand living without it, without...me...accept it Cloud, i am the one who guides you, now, and forever."

 

"SHUT UP!!!!"

 

shouted out Cloud before suddenly falling to the ground, as he grips his arm, thinking about the certain man who he identifies, as in the following:

 

"...Sephiroth...damn you!"

 

said Cloud before proceeding to get back up off his feet and continue onward to the central plaza.

 

not too far behind were both Riku and Leon, as they tried to catch up with Cloud, they had to fight with Pureblood Heartless standing in their way, Riku says to Leon, as they fight:

 

"Leon! are we almost there!?"

 

"Yeah! we should be! Cloud should be just up ahead but be careful! there should be more Heartless stronger then these weaklings!"

 

"Yeah, no kidding!"

 

said Riku, acknowledging Leon's words, at the central plaza, Cloud was standing in the exact center, waiting for the Guard Armour to make its appearance of which it did, both it and Cloud proceeded to battle one another with Cloud slicing off its head with a clean clear cut, thinking he had won the battle, Cloud wipes off the Darkness stains on his Buster Sword before realizing that ooze was spilling out from the Guard Armour's remains, it was just then that the Armour of the Heartless had exploded and had revealed a completely new and entirely different Heartless altogether, one that catches Cloud by surprise, this Heartless was called a "Dark Slime" and it was purely made of nothing but liquid substance formed completely from Darkness, using its complete water composed like body, the Dark Slime had knocked Cloud straight back into a wall and had proceeded to strangle him, by knocking him into the wall, he dropped his Buster Sword and is now unable to defend himself, Cloud was being slowly strangled, as Sephiroth's voice pops into his head again:

 

"...Why won't you use the Darkness? is it because, your afraid that i will take over? ...your being foolish Cloud, you know that you need me, you need my help, you need my Darkness to help end all your struggles once more, without my Dark, you'll be left with no strength to fight with, nothing to keep you going, only...emptiness."

 

said Sephiroth, Cloud openly declared his opposition to Sephiroth:

 

"...I won't, i won't give into you, no matter how many times you try to sway me, no matter how much you try to wrest control of my body, you'll NEVER have it! NEVER! one more thing, Sephiroth...your Darkness, i don't need it, i'll rely on my own strengths, my own powers, my own...Darkness and if that is not even enough...then so be it, let it be my fate...to end here, at the very least, you'll end here with me and that, brings me joy more then anything..."

 

said Cloud with seemingly no one around, the Dark Slime used one of its tentacles to pick up Cloud's Buster Sword and had prepared to slit his throat with it, Sephiroth lastly says before disappearing from Cloud's mind the words:

 

"...Hmph, nothing, but a puppet..."

 

Cloud merely smiles at Sephiroth's dismay before calmly closing his eyes and having a vision of someone, someone very close to his Heart, it was a young woman around Cloud's age who spoke to Cloud:

 

"...Sigh, dilly-dally, shilly-shally, honestly Cloud...why won't, you wake up?"

 

"...Tifa?"

 

As Cloud partially opened his eyes to see the Dark Slime about to strike him with his own sword, it was then suddenly, in a bright flash that Riku appeared! saving Cloud but in the process shattering his Buster Sword, Riku says to Cloud:

 

"Hey, you giving up? after all that talk about me and the Darkness, your going to let THIS thing get the better of you, no way, not going to happen, not until i show you...the Road, to Dawn."

 

said Riku lastly, catching Cloud greatly by both shock and surprise, especially by Riku's mention of the Road to Dawn.

 

(To be continued.).

Ooh, what awesomeness! I loved how you weaved Sephiroth into the story like that! It was a good representation of the struggle within Cloud and the darkness he wields, and the fact that Sephiroth is a part of him! Great work, man!

Yeah, i'm just about to confront Sephiroth in the final boss battle of FFVII on the PS4.

Yeah, i'm just about to confront Sephiroth in the final boss battle of FFVII on the PS4.

 

Sweet! Good luck with that!

Sweet! Good luck with that!

 

I've defeated JENOVA Synthesis and Bizarro Sephiroth, now i'm just stuck on Safer.

I've defeated JENOVA Synthesis and Bizarro Sephiroth, now i'm just stuck on Safer.

 

Good luck on the final stage, man! Make sure not to spoil me, though, since I'm playing through the game for the first time! X3

Good luck on the final stage, man! Make sure not to spoil me, though, since I'm playing through the game for the first time! X3

 

Seriously? you've never played FFVII? well your in for a well deserved treat if anything, trust me, that game will not disappoint :].

Seriously? you've never played FFVII? well your in for a well deserved treat if anything, trust me, that game will not disappoint :].

 

Yep, dead serious, this is the first time that I'm playing the game! I've heard and read and seen stuff regarding the game forever, and I've played Crisis Core and seen Advent Children, but now is when I'm really getting into the original FFVII, ya know? So I'm excited!  I am very much liking what the game has offered so far in my 15 hours of gameplay!

Yep, dead serious, this is the first time that I'm playing the game! I've heard and read and seen stuff regarding the game forever, and I've played Crisis Core and seen Advent Children, but now is when I'm really getting into the original FFVII, ya know? So I'm excited!  I am very much liking what the game has offered so far in my 15 hours of gameplay!

 

Whereabouts are you on the game need any help?

Whereabouts are you on the game need any help?

 

Where last I was, I believe that it was in Corel Prison. I was just wandering around and about there, talking to the NPC's. And it's alright, I shall trudge through on my own, and journey to become stronger!

Where last I was, I believe that it was in Corel Prison. I was just wandering around and about there, talking to the NPC's. And it's alright, I shall trudge through on my own, and journey to become stronger!

 

Okay but just a heads up, things will get tougher obviously from after that point.

Okay but just a heads up, things will get tougher obviously from after that point.

 

Sweet, I'm looking forward to the challenge! I already have my party up to almost their mid twenties! I think I could have them nearing their 30's before switching to Disc 2, ya know?

Sweet, I'm looking forward to the challenge! I already have my party up to almost their mid twenties! I think I could have them nearing their 30's before switching to Disc 2, ya know?

 

Disc 2 won't be until after the Forgotten City, i won't say any spoilers but its just that's the last level of Disc 1, that's not a major spoiler is it?

Disc 2 won't be until after the Forgotten City, i won't say any spoilers but its just that's the last level of Disc 1, that's not a major spoiler is it?

 

No, no, it's all good. You just mentioned the place, but you didn't mention any story related things regarding it or what goes down there, so you're good, no need to worry! You managed to inform me of this without spoiling any story content, so thank you!

No, no, it's all good. You just mentioned the place, but you didn't mention any story related things regarding it or what goes down there, so you're good, no need to worry! You managed to inform me of this without spoiling any story content, so thank you!

 

You sure? i mean i only wanted to give you a heads up was all.

You sure? i mean i only wanted to give you a heads up was all.

 

Yeah, don't sweat it, it's all good! Now I know where Disc 1 ends! I'll just level grind a bit more, probably to get my characters into their 30's before starting Disc 2, ya know?

Yeah, level grind to at least 35 i think.

Yeah, level grind to at least 35 i think.

 

Alright then, will do! Also, when will you update this story?

Oh, you want me to continue it? well, last time we left off, Riku saved Cloud but at the process of his Buster Sword being smashed into pieces.

 

I've been writing the Dissidia Manga/Anime story for the meantime, i've already completed both the prologue and 4 chapters so far.

Oh, you want me to continue it? well, last time we left off, Riku saved Cloud but at the process of his Buster Sword being smashed into pieces.

 

I've been writing the Dissidia Manga/Anime story for the meantime, i've already completed both the prologue and 4 chapters so far.

 

Yes, I want you to continue! I've been waiting on the continuation of this story, alongside X/XIII, the XV crossover and Darkness Of The XIII! And I've still yet to read the X and MCU parts of the anthology!

 

Oh right, you said you were making a Dissidia story! I have a lot to catch up on!

Yes, I want you to continue! I've been waiting on the continuation of this story, alongside X/XIII, the XV crossover and Darkness Of The XIII! And I've still yet to read the X and MCU parts of the anthology!

 

Oh right, you said you were making a Dissidia story! I have a lot to catch up on!

 

Maybe i should slow down on the stories, a quick question though, which story would you like to see continued first?

Maybe i should slow down on the stories, a quick question though, which story would you like to see continued first?

 

Well, I'd say in the chronological order that you wrote them! So that'd mean from X/XIII to where you're currently at. So you can finish the other stories and then keep writing your current ones, ya know?

Well, I'd say in the chronological order that you wrote them! So that'd mean from X/XIII to where you're currently at. So you can finish the other stories and then keep writing your current ones, ya know?

 

Yeah, okay then, though i'm currently on writer's block for Ansem's speech at his trial in X/XIII, i know that exactly sounds like an excuse but truthfully and honestly, i'm having trouble thinking up the speech of how it will reflect Radiant Garden's beginning, as a whole.

 

Okay, i'll do that for the KH stories but i'm currently fascinated by my Dissidia story and so i was hoping that i could write both at the same time.