"Maybe we should split up."
The words echoed hollowly in the large corridor. Riku and Amber were walking slowly, their footsteps pounding against the smooth marble. Amber's green eyes were filled with terror, but her voice didn't let on to any of it. Riku was silent by her side. He hadn't spoken since they had entered. His neck was rigid, but his gaze scarcely stayed on one place. The Keyblade hung limply in his grip, but Amber knew that if threatened, it would become
a lethal weapon. Nothing stood in Riku's way when he needed to get
somewhere.
Finally, he answered her, speaking for the first time in hours.
"No."
Amber's shoulders slumped. He could be a little more social.
"Why?" she asked, knowing it would probably annoy him.
"Because," he replied coldly, not even sparing her a glance.
Amber sighed, her stare coming to rest on the floor. He was mad at her, and
that meant he probably wouldn't speak for another couple hours.
"Riku?" she inquired, once again.
After a few moments of silence, his distant voice spoke up.
"What?"
"Nothing," she responded, knowing he was irritated by her stupid questions.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Never mind," she said, shrugging, "it's not important."
Amber suddenly realized he had stopped walking and was staring at her.
"Wha-"
"Shhh!" Riku put a finger to his lips. She stopped talking instantly.
There was a sound like rushing water. Why would there be any in a
building, and where would it be held?
Amber saw her friend's eyes widen, as he mouthed the word, 'run.'
Before she knew what was happening, Riku had grabbed her wrist and they were speeding down the passageway. She didn't question his judgment, but
couldn't help wondering what the were running from. All her questions were answered shortly, for rising slowly behind them was
a wall of water.
"Omigod!" she gasped.
She didn't have her powers and Riku certainly couldn't fly, so it looked
bad.
"Are we gonna die?" she called to him above the noise.
"No!" he called back, "just.keep.running"
He was panting, running short of breath. They couldn't go on like this for
much longer. Even though they would probably die, it eased the pain in Amber's side to think of other things.like the way Riku's hair blew in the wind, or the way he could say so much without speaking a word, or the way
his eyes seemed to be able to reach into your soul.
"Eeeeeeeeek!" she let out a scream as rocks began to fall beside them,
bringing her back to reality.
"Shit!" Riku grit his teeth as a one of the smaller stones grazed his arm.
There was a clink of metal, and Amber realized that the impact of the rock had caused Riku to drop the Keyblade. Dropping her hand, he turned back for
it.
"Keep running!" he instructed, urging her to save herself.
"But, Riku-"
"Go!"
His voice was no longer optimistic about the situation, but filled with
terror. He was afraid, and didn't want her to get hurt. She obeyed his wishes and continued to run, but in the end, it really didn't matter, for a few seconds later, they were both swept away in a turbulent sea of water
and marine heartless.
It took a few moments for everything to register in Amber's mind. She was being pulled along by the current. Desperate for breath, she made her way to the surface. Salty water sprayed her face steadily, stinging her eyes and nose. She coughed and choked on it, squinting through splashes of the
rigorous waters.
"Riku!" she managed to choke out, gasping for air, "Riku! Help!" Once again she was pulled under and resurfaced. There was no way she could stay like this for any amount of time. Her long, auburn hair tangled in the
violent flow, getting in her mouth and gagging her. From what little she saw, all around her, groups of heartless were forming, preparing themselves to charge. If the all came in there would be nothing
she could do. Her vision was fading in and out. She could hear voices calling her name. They were saying things that made no sense, but seemed to
give her courage and strength.
"A creation born of ignorance." "Where's
Sora?"
"Who is the nobody, you ask? They are the nonexistent ones."
"We must find him." "Behind the darkness. Door to the
light."
"This time.I'll fight."
The voices were everywhere, now, calling loud and clear. Their might
rumbled the whole structure, making Amber feel as though she was just a
tiny pawn in some greater plan.
Then, from somewhere in the distance, came a bright light. It nearly
blinded her, seeming to come from every corner of the hall. Nothing was
untouched by the aura. She threw back her head as if staring up into
Heaven. Above her, a figure hung suspended in the air.
"An angel." she breathed, overcome by the breathtaking sight.
He had green eyes that seemed to swim in the seas all around her, with one large, black wing, protruding from his left shoulder. Though nothing else
was visible, she felt her heart skip a beat. The figure raised an arm to the sky. Gripped in his hand was an abnormally
large key.
"I've got to tell Riku!" she exclaimed, "it's the other keybearer!"
She coughed and swallowed a large mouthful of water. Choking and
sputtering, she went under. Just beyond the surface, the heartless were slowly disappearing, one by one. Amber could see the forms as though they were being shown in a blurry picture. There were shapes and colors, but no
sound to follow them. There was an empty silence in the frosty waters.
"Help!" she mouthed, but only choked on more of the freezing liquid.
Suddenly, as if being traced by an invisible hand, the heartless symbol appeared upon the surface of the water around her. It's Torrid light burned into the dark shapes that were the heartless. For a few moments, her eyes stared blankly up, into the sea of swirling colors. Then, her world went
black.
Amber's eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing a dark space in which the
only source of light was a lantern. The small candle was slowly burning
out, though. All around her, shadows danced along the walls, that were carefully decorated in a similar manner to those of the hall she had been
down earlier. She could tell it was the same building, only a different
area.
"Riku.?" Her voice cut the silence like a knife through butter. It echoed for a few seconds, and then died away, leaving her alone in the dark space. Slowly,
she sat, pressing her knees tightly against her chest. She sat there a moment before actually speaking again, trying to think of what to say. There was a deep urge within her to speak to Mesako, but it quickly came back to her. She had no powers and all of the other pieces of
her soul were gone, taken by Maleficent. The floor was caked with dust, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling. It seemed as though the corridor had not been passed through in a long time. Softly, Amber spoke into the stillness of the empty place. Her voice rang out in
one note of a song.
"Oh my hero."
It took a minute for her to find the courage to confront the quiet and
speak again, but gradually, she found the words.
"So far away now, will I ever see your smile?.oh love goes away, like night
into day.it's just a fading dream."
She continued to sing, mentally begging her nameless rescuer to return, but the only reply after the song had ended, was the buzz of the unrelenting silence. Amber tilted back her head and stared up at the ceiling, as the
candle flickered out. Looming darkness filled the halls once more.
When Amber awoke, it was impossible for her to know the time, but she found herself to be alone. She didn't even remember falling asleep, but minutes
were like hours in a place so large. The fear of eternal captivity was
slowly creeping through her mind. Trying to push nagging pessimistic thoughts away, she got to her feet. The joints throughout her body were stiff and ached. long hair that had once flowed gracefully over Amber's shoulders, was matted and hung limply with
two bangs enveloping her face.
"Riku.?"
She spoke delicately, for the first time in hours. The tone, though barely audible, echoed in the still hallway. She felt a tear slip down her cheek
and shivered lightly.
"I wanna go home." she whispered into the emptiness.
"I thought I'd never find you!"
Amber's eyes shot up to meet the gaze of, none other than, Riku. His silvery hair was tangled and looked a bit damp, but his passionate emerald eyes still reserved a comforting aura. His lean body was covered in gashes
and bruises, and there were splatters of blood on his ripped clothing.
"Riku!" Amber exclaimed hoarsely.
The silver haired boy nodded and replied with a question, "How did you get
here?"
Amber blinked and said, "Where, exactly IS here?"
"You're in the upper levels of the structure, but how did you-"
Memories came flooding in, drowning out Riku's voice: The one-winged angel. The other Keyblade. The voices. The destruction of the attacking heartless.
Amber found her voice and interrupted quickly, "There was an angel with a Keyblade and he destroyed the heartless and there were voices and the angel
had one wing and he-"
"Alright!" Riku said loudly, putting an end to her giddy chatter, "You say
there was a Keyblade?"
Amber nodded solemnly, "Yes. It was an angel with one, black wing sticking out of his shoulder. He was carrying a Keyblade and had very distinct eyes. They were bright green," as if struck by a sudden idea she cried out, "I
think the light was coming from his eyes!"
"Slow down!" Riku commanded, "What style of Keyblade did he have?"
Amber pictured Riku's Keyblade, and recalled the one that the angel had
been holding. There was a strange likeness between the two.
"It was just like yours!"
"The oblivion?!"
She thought about it for a minute, then began to wonder.
"Riku.?"
"Hm?"
There was a long pause, and she finally asked her question, "How did you
get here?" Her friend looked slightly bemused. She waited for the explanation, but it
didn't come. Instead, the reply was one the startled her.
"I don't know.I never questioned what happened to me, because I was so
focused on finding you."
Amber's eyes fell on his wounds, "How did you get those, then?"
Riku shook his head, slowly, from side to side, "I don't know.I never
fought any heartless."
A strange look came into his eyes, and his gaze dropped to the floor.
"Nevermind," Amber said hastily, realizing that the conversation was making
her friend uncomfortable.
They stood in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Amber couldn't take the lonely beckon of the darkness. She reached out and threw her arms around Riku, completely unaware of the steady fall of tears. He responded by gently holding her, waiting for her to finish.
However awkward the conversation had made him feel, it was nothing in
comparison to the position he was in now.
The words echoed hollowly in the large corridor. Riku and Amber were walking slowly, their footsteps pounding against the smooth marble. Amber's green eyes were filled with terror, but her voice didn't let on to any of it. Riku was silent by her side. He hadn't spoken since they had entered. His neck was rigid, but his gaze scarcely stayed on one place. The Keyblade hung limply in his grip, but Amber knew that if threatened, it would become
a lethal weapon. Nothing stood in Riku's way when he needed to get
somewhere.
Finally, he answered her, speaking for the first time in hours.
"No."
Amber's shoulders slumped. He could be a little more social.
"Why?" she asked, knowing it would probably annoy him.
"Because," he replied coldly, not even sparing her a glance.
Amber sighed, her stare coming to rest on the floor. He was mad at her, and
that meant he probably wouldn't speak for another couple hours.
"Riku?" she inquired, once again.
After a few moments of silence, his distant voice spoke up.
"What?"
"Nothing," she responded, knowing he was irritated by her stupid questions.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Never mind," she said, shrugging, "it's not important."
Amber suddenly realized he had stopped walking and was staring at her.
"Wha-"
"Shhh!" Riku put a finger to his lips. She stopped talking instantly.
There was a sound like rushing water. Why would there be any in a
building, and where would it be held?
Amber saw her friend's eyes widen, as he mouthed the word, 'run.'
Before she knew what was happening, Riku had grabbed her wrist and they were speeding down the passageway. She didn't question his judgment, but
couldn't help wondering what the were running from. All her questions were answered shortly, for rising slowly behind them was
a wall of water.
"Omigod!" she gasped.
She didn't have her powers and Riku certainly couldn't fly, so it looked
bad.
"Are we gonna die?" she called to him above the noise.
"No!" he called back, "just.keep.running"
He was panting, running short of breath. They couldn't go on like this for
much longer. Even though they would probably die, it eased the pain in Amber's side to think of other things.like the way Riku's hair blew in the wind, or the way he could say so much without speaking a word, or the way
his eyes seemed to be able to reach into your soul.
"Eeeeeeeeek!" she let out a scream as rocks began to fall beside them,
bringing her back to reality.
"Shit!" Riku grit his teeth as a one of the smaller stones grazed his arm.
There was a clink of metal, and Amber realized that the impact of the rock had caused Riku to drop the Keyblade. Dropping her hand, he turned back for
it.
"Keep running!" he instructed, urging her to save herself.
"But, Riku-"
"Go!"
His voice was no longer optimistic about the situation, but filled with
terror. He was afraid, and didn't want her to get hurt. She obeyed his wishes and continued to run, but in the end, it really didn't matter, for a few seconds later, they were both swept away in a turbulent sea of water
and marine heartless.
It took a few moments for everything to register in Amber's mind. She was being pulled along by the current. Desperate for breath, she made her way to the surface. Salty water sprayed her face steadily, stinging her eyes and nose. She coughed and choked on it, squinting through splashes of the
rigorous waters.
"Riku!" she managed to choke out, gasping for air, "Riku! Help!" Once again she was pulled under and resurfaced. There was no way she could stay like this for any amount of time. Her long, auburn hair tangled in the
violent flow, getting in her mouth and gagging her. From what little she saw, all around her, groups of heartless were forming, preparing themselves to charge. If the all came in there would be nothing
she could do. Her vision was fading in and out. She could hear voices calling her name. They were saying things that made no sense, but seemed to
give her courage and strength.
"A creation born of ignorance." "Where's
Sora?"
"Who is the nobody, you ask? They are the nonexistent ones."
"We must find him." "Behind the darkness. Door to the
light."
"This time.I'll fight."
The voices were everywhere, now, calling loud and clear. Their might
rumbled the whole structure, making Amber feel as though she was just a
tiny pawn in some greater plan.
Then, from somewhere in the distance, came a bright light. It nearly
blinded her, seeming to come from every corner of the hall. Nothing was
untouched by the aura. She threw back her head as if staring up into
Heaven. Above her, a figure hung suspended in the air.
"An angel." she breathed, overcome by the breathtaking sight.
He had green eyes that seemed to swim in the seas all around her, with one large, black wing, protruding from his left shoulder. Though nothing else
was visible, she felt her heart skip a beat. The figure raised an arm to the sky. Gripped in his hand was an abnormally
large key.
"I've got to tell Riku!" she exclaimed, "it's the other keybearer!"
She coughed and swallowed a large mouthful of water. Choking and
sputtering, she went under. Just beyond the surface, the heartless were slowly disappearing, one by one. Amber could see the forms as though they were being shown in a blurry picture. There were shapes and colors, but no
sound to follow them. There was an empty silence in the frosty waters.
"Help!" she mouthed, but only choked on more of the freezing liquid.
Suddenly, as if being traced by an invisible hand, the heartless symbol appeared upon the surface of the water around her. It's Torrid light burned into the dark shapes that were the heartless. For a few moments, her eyes stared blankly up, into the sea of swirling colors. Then, her world went
black.
Amber's eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing a dark space in which the
only source of light was a lantern. The small candle was slowly burning
out, though. All around her, shadows danced along the walls, that were carefully decorated in a similar manner to those of the hall she had been
down earlier. She could tell it was the same building, only a different
area.
"Riku.?" Her voice cut the silence like a knife through butter. It echoed for a few seconds, and then died away, leaving her alone in the dark space. Slowly,
she sat, pressing her knees tightly against her chest. She sat there a moment before actually speaking again, trying to think of what to say. There was a deep urge within her to speak to Mesako, but it quickly came back to her. She had no powers and all of the other pieces of
her soul were gone, taken by Maleficent. The floor was caked with dust, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling. It seemed as though the corridor had not been passed through in a long time. Softly, Amber spoke into the stillness of the empty place. Her voice rang out in
one note of a song.
"Oh my hero."
It took a minute for her to find the courage to confront the quiet and
speak again, but gradually, she found the words.
"So far away now, will I ever see your smile?.oh love goes away, like night
into day.it's just a fading dream."
She continued to sing, mentally begging her nameless rescuer to return, but the only reply after the song had ended, was the buzz of the unrelenting silence. Amber tilted back her head and stared up at the ceiling, as the
candle flickered out. Looming darkness filled the halls once more.
When Amber awoke, it was impossible for her to know the time, but she found herself to be alone. She didn't even remember falling asleep, but minutes
were like hours in a place so large. The fear of eternal captivity was
slowly creeping through her mind. Trying to push nagging pessimistic thoughts away, she got to her feet. The joints throughout her body were stiff and ached. long hair that had once flowed gracefully over Amber's shoulders, was matted and hung limply with
two bangs enveloping her face.
"Riku.?"
She spoke delicately, for the first time in hours. The tone, though barely audible, echoed in the still hallway. She felt a tear slip down her cheek
and shivered lightly.
"I wanna go home." she whispered into the emptiness.
"I thought I'd never find you!"
Amber's eyes shot up to meet the gaze of, none other than, Riku. His silvery hair was tangled and looked a bit damp, but his passionate emerald eyes still reserved a comforting aura. His lean body was covered in gashes
and bruises, and there were splatters of blood on his ripped clothing.
"Riku!" Amber exclaimed hoarsely.
The silver haired boy nodded and replied with a question, "How did you get
here?"
Amber blinked and said, "Where, exactly IS here?"
"You're in the upper levels of the structure, but how did you-"
Memories came flooding in, drowning out Riku's voice: The one-winged angel. The other Keyblade. The voices. The destruction of the attacking heartless.
Amber found her voice and interrupted quickly, "There was an angel with a Keyblade and he destroyed the heartless and there were voices and the angel
had one wing and he-"
"Alright!" Riku said loudly, putting an end to her giddy chatter, "You say
there was a Keyblade?"
Amber nodded solemnly, "Yes. It was an angel with one, black wing sticking out of his shoulder. He was carrying a Keyblade and had very distinct eyes. They were bright green," as if struck by a sudden idea she cried out, "I
think the light was coming from his eyes!"
"Slow down!" Riku commanded, "What style of Keyblade did he have?"
Amber pictured Riku's Keyblade, and recalled the one that the angel had
been holding. There was a strange likeness between the two.
"It was just like yours!"
"The oblivion?!"
She thought about it for a minute, then began to wonder.
"Riku.?"
"Hm?"
There was a long pause, and she finally asked her question, "How did you
get here?" Her friend looked slightly bemused. She waited for the explanation, but it
didn't come. Instead, the reply was one the startled her.
"I don't know.I never questioned what happened to me, because I was so
focused on finding you."
Amber's eyes fell on his wounds, "How did you get those, then?"
Riku shook his head, slowly, from side to side, "I don't know.I never
fought any heartless."
A strange look came into his eyes, and his gaze dropped to the floor.
"Nevermind," Amber said hastily, realizing that the conversation was making
her friend uncomfortable.
They stood in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Amber couldn't take the lonely beckon of the darkness. She reached out and threw her arms around Riku, completely unaware of the steady fall of tears. He responded by gently holding her, waiting for her to finish.
However awkward the conversation had made him feel, it was nothing in
comparison to the position he was in now.