Raid #57 [Plot]

He was getting sick of reliving the past.

The roar of the Rising Falls served to mute everything else. If any sort of life form had snuck up on him, Riku would only notice once they were within an arm’s reach. He was sitting on the edge of one of the platforms dotting the air around him, legs hanging off the edge. His back was turned to the castle itself, his eyes instead on the constant stream of water. Back then, he would have been curious of how the water ran up, defying gravity and charting its own course. He certainly would’ve not been doing more than just staring morosely at the rushing water, much like what he was doing now.

But too much had happened. Even here, this rocky, insignificant landscape dwarfed by the dread fortress it lead up to. Riku could feel the fresh, light spray of water against his skin. His swaggering grin tugging on his lips, mocking the first visitors this castle would welcome in a long time. The feeling of finally holding on to the legendary Keyblade was the most gratifying experience he had in this place. Finally, at that moment in time, he had real, undeniable proof that he was superior to Sora in a way that would justify all his actions before. All their childish rivalry had been culminating up to that one particular moment. That oen moment of triumph.

Hmph. So much for any of that glory.

Riku was tired. Tired of running into nothing but bad memories and endless guilt. Tired of not being able to run away from the past when everywhere he go, there’s always one imprint, one patch that won’t let him get away. The darkness he harbors now in his heart was nothing compared to the guilt and anger that the past held for him. He could go through a lifetime of trying to atone and still feel that he had not moved on one inch. No amount of self-introspection or sunny smiles from Sora could hope to erase his actions from history.

So why bother?

All Riku had to offer was the powers he wielded. What else could he do? There was nothing to be gained moping in the dark, living in the past. What use was he to his friends if all he did was remind himself of his mistakes and errors, if all he did was wallow in a past that was unchangeable? He already had enough nightmares to last millennia. He did not intend to find out what would happen if he just stood aside and did nothing. If he could not help his friends directly, then combating those who would use the darkness for their own selfish desires. The darkness had once used him and his own selfish goals for their purposes and look how much chaos had that wrought. If nothing else, this was what he can offer.

Riku felt the tendrils of darkness ever so acutely in this accursed place. The scent was unmistakable. No matter how hard the good people at the Restoration Committee would try, they could never fully erase the taint of the darkness from the castle itself. Radiant Garden may someday be purified and once again stand for all that is good and pure in the world but Hollow Bastion would forever remain associated with the dark that had conquered it. All they could do was to drive it away from the place and keep it at bay.

Riku stood up and faced the fortress. In his hand, Way to the Dawn flashed into existence within his grasp. A cold look settled on his face.

“Come what may, I’ll be ready,”

It might have been years ago but Riku still felt its presence.

Before, he had tried to deny its existence. He had tried to run away from its influence, tried to blot the memories from his mind. In his shame, shame that he very much doubted he could fully scrub away, he had given in to weakness and allowed that cursed power within him. Sora might see differently, already willing to move on but Riku wasn’t quite there yet. He can’t escape the past so easily. It might take days, months, years, eons of time could slip by and Riku could very well be unsure if he had forgiven himself for making those mistakes. Because of him, the worlds nearly slipped into oblivion, along with the two dearest people to his heart. Such a crime would not be so easily forgiven, even by someone as lighthearted as Sora.

Darkness, it seems, never truly goes away.

Not that he could get away. Like it or not, darkness was forever burned into his heart. Even if the lingering influence of Xehanort’s Heartless was gone, the taint of darkness it had created would remain there forever. Riku no longer defined himself with what connotations using the darkness would bring. Darkness, like Light, was a tool used to achieve the means. It did not matter if the darkness leeched within your soul draining it of light and love. Darkness itself was not the evil that destroyed his world, not the evil that corrupts the lives of others and forces them down unimaginable paths. It was only human nature and Riku could blame the darkness for forcing him to act all he wanted. Nothing was going to change the consequences of his actions.

All he could do was live with them and move on.

Hollow Bastion had been peaceful for quite some time now. The Light was slowly reclaiming the rest of the abandoned wasteland of Radiant garden. With tireless dedication, the people of this world has once again managed to regain their lost homes and rebuild their lives just as it might have been before the Heartless leached this world of its beauty. But while Radiant Garden stood fast from the tendrils of darkness, the same could not be said for the gigantic castle dwarfing the world it stood upon. Who knows what sort of infernal creature would find the castle an appropriate haunting ground or base? Already, the darkness that had always pervaded the castle had grown stronger. Riku needed to see for himself if the past had come back to reclaim its rightful dominion.

Just as Riku made his way towards the waystation that would bring him to the entrance, someone tugged against his pants. Quickly, he turned around, Way to the Dawn held aloft only to find a little girl clad in white. He raised an eyebrow, taking in the girl’s appearance, from her pale blond hair to her plain yet glowing apparel. What was a little girl doing here of all places? Most of the locals shun the more desolate parts of this world. Heartless still wandered the ruins of Hollow Bastion and it would be a poor effort from Riku if he let this young one’s heart be taken by the Heartless. He bent down on one knee and opened his mouth, about to question the girl.

Her own query stopped him on his tracks.

Riku stood up again, staring at the mysterious girl. A cold sneer was forming upon his face as he turned around, walking towards the way station. Memories swarmed in view of the mind’s eye like a cold slap, each of them jostling for attention. Riku could feel a headache emerging from his temples but he ignored it. He had a job to do and wallowing in self-pity was not going to help him achieve it. “Sorry to disappoint your Mother,” he said offhandedly to the girl, “But she won’t find any puppets here,” Riku stopped and turned to look at her once more. “You’d best be off now,”

It was getting all too wearisome.

Riku only raised an eyebrow as the girl rose and began to contort, began to change shape and reveal its true form. Really, what else did he suspect? A little girl somehow finding her way in a rather treacherous rock precipice, not to mention a rocky precipice on the edge of one of the most infested places out in the worlds virtually unscathed, without attracting the attentions of the Heartless? Credit him with some intelligence at least. He didn’t need to smell the darkness within her to notice something fishy going on. Admittedly, he did not expect for the creature to lose interest on its gambit so quickly but subtlety seemed to be lost amongst those who are spawned from the darkness.

This creature floating above him, whatever it was, it held quite a good bit of power but Riku won’t allow himself to be scared by cheap theatrics. He kept his guard high as the monster continued to transform, finally revealing all its hideous glory. Riku only frowned as it continued to talk and taunt him, as if it was privy to the Keyblade wielder’s private thoughts. Did this creature, something that he had never encountered before, really think it understood Riku? Did it think that he was just another naïve soul playing with the darkness, ripe for any master of the dark to take control? It was an unfailingly naïve way to treat anyone. No wonder the practitioners of darkness were often mocked for their lack of imagination.

Any fear that Riku might’ve had for this creature was long gone, replaced by steely determination. He gritted his teeth and watched as his assailant began summoning ice daggers around its wings in a rather leisurely pace. This allowed him time to formulate a plan of attack. It sure was taking its time to summon whatever magic it could do. Riku didn’t feel the need to run or hide. He was not going to just let this creature have its way at him. He was no longer a disposable pawn for the darkness to control and have him perform their every whim. He had learned his lesson about giving in to his own weaknesses. Riku learned that from bitter experience.

If there were any threads left, then he’d just have to cut them loose.

Finally the creature was done. It pointed at Riku and launched the deadly daggers at him before landing and vomiting out balls of fire. If only it had not spent quite a large amount of time telegraphing its own attacks. While impressive, they were all centered on one target. Riku only smirked to himself and raised his right hand. In a flash of magic, Dark Shield materialized in a beehive of protective light. The ice and fire smashed and exploded against the shield, leaving Riku unscathed. Soon, the barrage ended and Riku was left staring at the ring of fire now surrounding him as soon as the smoke cleared. The creature was gone but Riku could still smell the foul stench emanating from below the platform he was on.

“I don’t think you quite understand,” Riku called out to his latest aggravation. “There is nothing stopping me from using the darkness. Maybe you’ve mistaken me for a different person. Someone who’s afraid of the darkness of using the darkness, someone who’ll try to run away from it,” As he spoke, Way to the Dawn returned to his hand and a dark blue aura surrounded him. He could feel his powers of darkness inside him uncoiling, ready to be used once more. “Like I said, there aren’t any puppets here. Not anymore,”

“I’ve been through the darkest depths and still managed to find the light. What makes you so special?”

With those words, Riku jumped over the ring of fire, running towards the edge of the platform. He jumped off and, as he was falling, twisted, bringing the hideous monster to his line of sight. He wouldn’t let it have any second to itself. Who knows what kind of power it can unleash? Swinging his Keyblade forward, Riku unleashed Dark Aura, sending a hail of dark blue fireballs at the entity. If what he guessed was correct, then this creature would aim to do more than just erase him. Well, let it try its worst.