Greetings! If you made it this far, I must give you a cookie. -chucks a cookie- Chapter 2 is where things get interesting. Roxas has found himself in Hollow Bastion after using the portal, but what will Leon and the gang think of him? Oooh! Suspense. Oh, by the way, what happened to Riku is finally revealed in this chapter… and it’s nowhere near as strange as it was in the actual KH2, but I wanted to do something… different. So, enjoy… mmkay?

Disclaimer: If only it were mine. Then chaos would break loose. -shot-

Chapter 2: Strange Dreams and Inner Darkness

Hollow Bastion

“So, this is the kid you found in the streets, Yuffie?”

“Yep! He almost was heartless bait, but luckily, I, the great ninja Yuffie was there. Still, I wonder where he came from…”

“You know, he looks a lot like Sora… Hmph, maybe when he wakes up we should ask him who he is, where he came from, and how he got here.”

“Just leave that to me!”

POKE! In the middle of a strange room, stood a hyperactive young woman with short black hair and a ninja-like wardrobe. Her name was Yuffie, and she was a member of the Hollow Bastion restoration committee. Other members included Squall Leonheart, AKA Leon, a young man with dark brown hair who wore a black jacket, and matching pants, and had a scar across his face. Then there was Cid Highwind, a former pilot who spoke with a somewhat southern accent, had short blonde hair, and always had a toothpick in his mouth. Third in the committee was Aeris Gainsborough, a beautiful woman with long, braided brown hair and sea green eyes, who dressed in a simple pink dress and brown boots. Lastly was the magician known was Merlin. His outfit consisted of a blue robe and a matching hat, and on his was face a long, white beard.

POKEY POKE! Yuffie once again poked this boy who she had brought in, who was actually none other than Roxas. Anyway, this sudden onslaught of poking had finally caused the nobody to come to his senses, and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the face of some crazy girl who seemed to enjoy poking him in the face. His reaction was that of a startled one, since Yuffie’s face was so close, and immediately, Roxas jumped backwards while screaming and, without thinking, summoned the keyblade.

Instantly, Leon, Yuffie, and the others began to stare at Roxas in a curious manner. After all, the only person they knew who could summon the keyblade was Sora. It was only when he received these awkward glares that the blonde haired nobody realized that he had just done something incredibly stupid. The worst part was, since he had been caught with the blade, it would be very difficult to come up with any excuses for having it.

“…Where did you get that!” demanded Leon, crossing his arms.

Obviously, Roxas was a bit nervous. He had to come up with something, and fast. Blurting out that he was the nobody of Sora would only confuse them, while saying nothing would simply cause Leon and the gang to become even MORE suspicious.

“Uh…” Roxas muttered, a sweat drop dripping down his cheek, “I… found it?”

“I highly doubt that,” Leon growled. “The keyblade chooses its wielder; it can’t just be ‘found’. Now, tell us the REAL reason why you have it.”

Who was Roxas kidding? This was LEON he was dealing with, not some typical idiot. Though he only knew of Leon from the memories of Sora, Roxas felt incredibly stupid about this whole deal. Then again, saying that he was a nobody of Sora would probably lead to even more ridicule and/or confusion. So, without any other ideas, the Keybearing nobody came up with the best excuse he could think of.

“Alright… you got me,” Roxas sighed, quickly preparing to give his little lie. “I’m actually an acquaintance of Sora’s and… well, I’m also… another Keybearer?”

At first Roxas got no response from Squall and the rest of the Restoration Committee. Instead, they all passed quiet glances and whispers for a minute. But even though things were incredibly nerve wracking, it seemed that this little last-minute excuse may have actually proved buyable. The answer was just about to be revealed, though, as Leon faced Roxas once again.

“Hmm, so you’re one of Sora’s friends,” grumbled Leon. “Well, I suppose that makes sense, since he does travel all over the worlds. I STILL find it odd that you’re another Keybearer, though.”

A quiet snicker could be heard coming from Yuffie, who always seemed to be in bright spirit’s. Leon’s attitude simply amused her, since the two were polar opposites. Momentarily, she looked Roxas over one more time before ambling over the overly serious member of the committee.

“Oh, come on, Squall!” exclaimed the crazy ninja. “Maybe he can help us!”

“Hmm,” Leon pondered, “you’re right. What do you say, Keybearer? Are you up for it?”

Great, Roxas thought, somewhat annoyed. Now I am volunteered to help. Maybe it comes with being Sora’s nobody… but I might as well get this over with.

It seemed that, because he too could wield a Keyblade, Roxas would most likely get dragged into hero business. Oh well. At least it was better than being trapped inside some virtual world or fusing with someone. Plus, he DID have the same potential as Sora, right? Maybe being a hero wouldn’t be so hard for Roxas, and it would be a good start to his new life outside Twilight Town. So, with a shrug, he prepared to take on… well, what ever was necessary.

“Alright,” said Roxas with a slight smirk. “So, what do I need to do?”

“Follow me,” replied the over-serious 17 year old, trekking towards the door.

Roxas POV

What did I get myself into? From the moment I decided to take on this hero business, I just felt uneasy. Still, helping was better than just sitting inside while everyone became suspicious of me, especially since Leon didn’t seem all to trusting of me yet. But who could blame him? I pretty much had appeared out of nowhere, and the whole Keybearer deal didn’t help either. Either way, though, I had already decided to assist Leon in whatever was necessary, so I followed him out the door.

Outside Merlin’s house was definitely a total wreck. Many houses were damaged with cracked bricks, claw marks, and the works. I really could see why Leon and the others were trying so hard to restore this place to its former glory. Leon himself remained rather quiet, not even looking back. Maybe it was because he didn’t trust me, or it could have been just the way he is. It was hard to say. Anyway, as I followed him through the borough, all the damage seemed to get even worse. This wasn’t the Hollow Bastion I—or rather, Sora—remembered. Where was the castle? And, how come everything was such a mess?

“Hey, Leon…” I said, not even realizing what I was about to get myself into, “what happened to the castle? You know, the one where Maleficent, Ansem, and the heartless…”

How could I have been so stupid? Having a keyblade was already enough to make me seem fishy, but now I just had to go and mention the castle, which I only knew about from Sora’s memories. I could just feel that Leon was going to become even more suspicious now. Great…

I tried to continue walking forward, but I was met by a cold gaze from Leon, who had definitely heard my stupid question. He crossed his arms and stepped forward a bit, seemingly angry. Something told me that things weren’t going to be very pleasant now that I had almost spilled my secret. If only I had a decent excuse…

“How do you know my name, Keybearer?” demanded the seventeen year old, glaring at me with his piercing brown eyes. “And, for that matter, you weren’t even here when the castle was still around, OR when the whole Ansem incident happened. Explain. Now.”

Now I HAD to find an excuse… but what? There was always the whole ‘Sora told me about you’ thing, but was Leon really that gullible? I doubted it. Even after I told him my first little lie, he didn’t fully believe me. If anything, he’d probably end up asking Sora about me next time he came around here, and then I’d REALLY be in trouble. At that moment, the voices in my head were saying ‘Tell him the TRUTH’, but I just couldn’t… right?

“Uh…” I began to mutter without thinking, “maybe there’s more to me than just being an acquaintance of Sora’s… but… you wouldn’t understand.”

“Hm, you never know,” sighed Leon in response. “Just try me. And, maybe you should tell me your name.”

Nervously, I opened my mouth slightly. Was I really going to reveal that I was Sora’s nobody? How would Leon react? I mean, he might not have even heard of nobodies. It’s just… he was beginning to lose what little trust he had in me. Sweat drops were dripping down my face as I stood there, trying to get the words to materialize in my mouth. But… that gaze of his was just so paralyzing.

“M-my name is Roxas…” I began to mutter, wiping the sweat off of my face. “And, the real reason I know all about you guys, Hollow Bastion, and Ansem, as well as the reason I have a Keyblade is because…”

Just as I prepared to reveal everything, I was interrupted. From behind Leon, I could hear something rushing forward. As the two of us turned around, we saw a pulsating mass of blackness advancing in our direction. A heartless swarm had ambushed us. Great… a battle was JUST what I needed… not. I felt a slight push from Leon, who was already holding his gunblade at the ready. With a sigh, I summoned Oblivion and Oathkeeper. Afterwards, the two of us charged right towards the army of dark creatures.

Heartless… the only thing I knew of them was from the memories of Sora. Even then, I seemed to instinctively know exactly what to do. Right when I jumped into the fray, I was surrounded by about ten shadows. Each one tried to cling onto me, but I managed to jump out of their way and slash them with my two keyblades. Meanwhile, Leon was using the gunblade to obliterate any heartless in his way. I had to admit that he was a pretty good fighter.

Out of nowhere, five more heartless jumped forth, ready to strike. Unfortunately for them, they were messing with the Keybearer… er… I mean his nobody. Anyway, for this small group of shadows, I simply jumped in the middle of their group and did a spinning action, chopping them into little bits. So far, I was on a role. I had taken care of fifteen shadows, while Leon had done about twenty, which meant only half of the heartless remained.

I was about to charge towards another small circle of shadows when I felt something pull me backwards, towards the ground. THUD! Within an instant, I had fallen back onto the hard cement, and a shadow quickly jumped onto my chest. It began trying to dig into me with its claws, probably trying to capture a new heart. I could hear Leon rushing towards me, but my eyes were stuck staring into the shadow’s glowing yellow eyes. I could sense the darkness trying to pull me in, but it wasn’t succeeding because… I had no heart to steal. Still, the little creature clawed right where my heart would be until it met the sharp end of the gunblade.

The next thing I saw was Leon’s gaze again, though not near as threatening as it had been earlier. He quickly reached for my arm and pulled me upward. It was now time to finish this fight. Another ten heartless had been eliminated now, leaving only fifteen. What had once been a swarm of fifty was now just a group of harmless shadows. Oddly enough, Leon gave me a smirk before charging at the shadowy beings. I didn’t take the time to question him, but instead, I followed behind, and together we began cutting through the heart-stealing beasts.

Of course, the last heartless were no match for us, due to their smaller ranks. Whenever they tried slashing us, they were met by our weapons. Each time the heartless circled around, they were fought back by painful blows. Soon, only one heartless remained. BANG! All it took was a simple blow from my Oblivion keyblade to eliminate the last heart-hungry creature. Now the alley was calm once again.

For a moment, I sad down on the concrete to take a breather, since taking on those heartless had worn me out. Who knew being a hero could be so rough? After all, I may have had Sora’s memories, but I didn’t exactly remember how it FELT to fight heartless. Plus, at that moment when the heartless tried to steal the one thing I didn’t have, I felt as though it was eating away at my strength, which didn’t improve anything.

Still exhausted, I took a look at Leon, who once again had his arms crossed, but he seemed a lot less snide and suspicious. That was quite the relief, since I had almost admitted my true existence earlier. Maybe now I wouldn’t have to worry about answering too many questions.

“You know,” muttered Leon in a calm tone, “you’re probably the strangest person I’ve met, Roxas. First you have a keyblade, then you mention stuff that only Sora and his friends would remember, and then, when the heartless attacked you, nothing happened. But… I have to say that you’re a pretty decent fighter.”

“Thanks,” I replied, taking a deep breath. “You’re not half bad either. I’m sure you could handle Seif—er… Anyway, about how strange I am…”

“It’s not important, for now. I’m sure that when Sora gets here, he can just fill me in, since he’s an acquaintance of yours…”

Sora… here? No, I couldn’t be around when that happened. What if he wanted the rest of his power back? Or worse… what if Sora wanted to destroy me? DiZ might have even been around to tell him about how ‘terrible’ nobodies are. If that happened, I’d be in grave danger. If Sora was going to come here, I couldn’t stay. At least… not until I knew for sure if he was a friend or foe.

“Umm… Leon?” I suddenly whispered. “I’m glad to have helped you with your apparent heartless problem, but I really have to go.”

The brown haired, seventeen year old, gave a quiet sigh. He didn’t appear incredibly surprised or upset, but at the same time, I could tell he wasn’t exactly very happy.

“Well, if you have to leave, go ahead,” he said in a monotonous tone. “Next time you come here, though, I’d like you to explain some things, if Sora hasn’t already.”

With that, I said nothing more and began to leave the alley. But, hey, what else was I supposed to do? If Leon caught me opening a dark portal, it’d probably weird him out again. After a few seconds of walking, I was a fair enough distance to open the portal, so I reached out an arm and concentrated on the dark energy around me. Luckily, I was successful, as the blackish purple vortex stood before. Now that it was ready, I silently stepped on through and was surrounded by blackness again.

End Roxas POV

The Ghost Train

Sora? SORA!

Gawrsh, Donald… I wonder what happened.

When Sora regained consciousness, he found himself lying on the floor with a certain duck and god staring at him with worried expressions. At first, he jumped back slightly, but once his vision cleared, he was a bit calmer. His mind was now filled with confusing thoughts. The image of a blonde haired boy around his age dressed in black and white, mostly, with two keyblades was in Hollow Bastion. And… his name was Roxas? Sora just had to tell Donald and Goofy!

“GUYS!” he shouted, incredibly eager to explain his dreams. “I had a REALLY weird dream. It was in Hollow Bastion and there was this guy who looked a lot like me, only with blonde hair and black and white clothes… and his name was Roxas. But, he could wield two keyblades, and—“

“GAAAAH!”

WHACK! For the second time that day, Sora’s head met the end of Donald’s staff. It was obvious that the talking poultry was somewhat annoyed by Sora’s chatter. But, hey, he was talking at a rapid, not to mention being noisy. Goofy, on the other hand was giving the oversized duck a somewhat nervous look.

“Gawrsh, Donald…” Goofy mumbled, “Shouldn’t we just listen to Sora?”

Obviously, the short tempered bird wasn’t too pleased at the moment. Both of his webbed feet were stomping against the ground, and his two feathery arms lay crossed against his chest. This was pretty typical for Donald, though, since he had a temper even worse than Hayner’s.

“Fine,” Donald squawked, sounding quite pestered. “But he better slow down.”

A quiet snicker could be heard coming from Sora and Goofy. This was typical for whenever Donald got into one of his bad moods. It was just routine for the trio after being together for so long. Donald himself wasn’t exactly amused by this, but decided to remain as calm as an easily angered fowl could be. After all, Sora WAS his friend. Thankfully for the duck, though, Sora had stopped goofing off and prepared to explain his dream with a bit more clarity.

“Alright,” began the Keybearer, “what I was trying to say was that I had this really weird dream. It started over in Hollow Bastion, in a strange house. Yuffie, Leon, and the others were all there along with this strange kid with blonde hair who looked a lot like… well, me. The funny thing is, he could wield a keyblade too… well, actually, he had dual keyblades, and his name was Roxas... or something. He also claimed to know me… but, we’ve never even met. Whoever he was, though, he sure knew a lot about Hollow Bastion and Ansem…”

Both Donald and Goofy exchanged puzzled glances. From the way Sora had described this dream, it almost seemed like this Roxas fellow was a clone! After all, he DID apparently share similar looks with the spiky haired Keybearer. Even his name had a familiar ring. But, the problem was, during the whole Ansem fiasco, nobody who fit Roxas’ description was ever around. Heck, the only people to have any form of keyblade were Riku and Sora. So, from the sound of this dream, it almost seemed nonsensical.

“Hmm,” Donald sighed. “I don’t know what to tell ya, Sora. Maybe it was just a dream.”

‘Just a dream.’ Those three words seemed to be the easiest answer… but, everything was so vivid. Each and every building, Leon and the gang, and even the heartless were… PERFECT. Since when were dreams THAT realistic, anyway? It just made no sense. Deep down, Sora just KNEW there was more to his dream and that this Roxas was real. One could call it instinct or maybe just sheer determination, but he just HAD to get to the bottom of this dream.

Even in Sora’s eyes, a determined glow could be seen. It was very obvious that he wouldn’t just let hi strange vision slide as a simple figment of his young mind. Because of this, both Donald and Goofy gave their friend looks of concern. They were just, well, worried about the teenager. Upon seeing these looks, though, the chocolate haired Keybearer just shrugged and turned towards the window of the train.

“It couldn’t have been a dream,” he said under his breath. “Why would I suddenly doze off when I just woke up about an hour ago? There just has to be more to this… I just know it!”

Overhearing Sora’s whispers, the oversized canine and duck slowly walked towards their pal. At the moment, the two just wanted to comfort Sora. He was just so… attached to this little dream, and it was now plain to see that the kid wouldn’t give up. So, being the friends they were, Donald and Goofy would just have to stick with their close comrade.

“Well, Sora,” Goofy chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, “if that’s what ya think then we’re behind you all the way”

“Yup!” added the poultry mage. “That’s what friends are for!”

Just hearing his friends say such simple things brought that bright grin RIGHT back to Sora’s face. It was just great for him to hear that his buds would stand by him, even when he was all wrapped up in a miniscule vision. However, this bright moment was cut short, as the ghost train finally came to a sudden halt. The doors slid open in an ominous way, adding more mystery to the already unusual vehicle. It was less than an instant before the chill in the air began to journey through the train, while wrapping around the three passengers.

Without saying another word, the trio left the all-but-empty train and took a look at their new surroundings. Where they stood now was quite strange. The ground was coated in green grass with a small castle in the distance, but what really made the place stick out was that the terrain was virtually a floating platform surrounded by a black sky. As far as light went, only the stars were there to brighten the mood.

For a moment, the train sat in place, but after a while, it chugged off into the distance. This left Sora, Donald, and Goofy alone in an eerie place they had never even visited. A quiet breeze was the only noise, and as it blew, it carried on that chill that had greeted the trio on the train. Still standing in the distance, the lone castle taunted them, luring them towards it.

“Hey…” Sora whispered to his buddies, “do you think we should check out that castle?”

Even though Donald and Goofy were terribly nervous, they couldn’t help but nod. No matter how strange it was, the castle was the only place to go in this area. Maybe whoever was inside could even answer the countless questions the trio of heroes had. There were so many possibilities, really, but standing still sure wouldn’t answer anything. Because of this, Sora, Donald, and Goofy headed for the large building in the distance.

Somewhere

The sky was pitch black and filled with murky grey clouds. Rain drops were rapidly falling like bullets in a machine gun, and the sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. To sum things up, a heavy rainstorm was occurring in a small, dark town. Due to the weather, the streets were incredibly bare spare an assortment of puddles and runoff. Yet, in the middle of this watery mess, a single cloaked figure could be seen, walking all alone. Riku really didn’t seem to mind the rain, even if his cloak was now weighing down upon him. Right now, the boy was caught in his own thoughts.

One of the major things on Riku’s mind was what Namine had said to him days earlier. She had told the silver haired teenager how he had changed. And, the thing is, deep down, he knew she was right. Ever since he had let the darkness invade him just one year ago, Riku never had been the same. To him this was a sacrifice worth making to help his best friend, and at least he was able to avoid becoming a full heartless. But, there was no way Riku would let his heart fill up completely with darkness.

Now, as Riku walked these barren streets, his mind just continued to wander. He did, however, come to a halt for a moment. His arm then reached for the hood of his cloak, and within mere seconds, the friend of Sora had taken the hood off completely. At first glance, the sixteen year old hadn’t changed one bit. He still had that same silver hair and all, but if one took a closer look, they would find that his once turquoise eyes were now a bright tinge of yellow. True, they still retained their normal shape, rather than being the sphere-shaped eyes seen on heartless, but the change in color was their. Along with a change in eye color, Riku’s skin was now pitch black as well, making his being appear to be much like a living shadow with his hair being the only feature standing out. Even the black cloak made the boy’s appearance seem like an embodiment of darkness.

Standing in the rain, Riku couldn’t help but wear an expression of sorrow as he stared down at a puddle below. His reflection showed what had become of the one who had at one time said he would walk the road to dawn and leave the darkness behind him. How ironic it was that Riku had only ended up in darkness once again.

“Maybe…” whispered the sorrowful teen to himself, “I just… belong in darkness…”

It was only then that Riku heard an all too familiar voice in his mind

“Namine…”

Flashback

In the white room of the Twilight Town mansion, the only sound that could be heard was sobbing. It was only two days ago that Namine had been locked in to prevent her from guiding Roxas any longer. That wasn’t what had caused the poor girl’s tears, though. More than anything else, the reason for Namine’s sorrow was simply because of DiZ, and recently, Riku. She already knew about DiZ’s bias when it came to nobodies like her, but the words and behavior used by the man still hurt. Then Riku had to come in and use hurtful words.

As the nobody sat on her bed, tears rolling down her cheeks, she heard a creak in the door. Upon turning around, Namine found herself facing Riku. Great… had he come to continue ranting about how she and Roxas were JUST nobodies? If so, he could just go on and leave.

“What do you want?” sniffed the young lady, turning the opposite way of Riku.

Unlike the last time Riku had shown his face in the room, his hood was down and he wore a less angered look on his visage. Instead, the sixteen year old wore more of a concerned frown. Something was clearly going on if the boy was actually showing himself instead of hiding in the pod room.

“Namine…” Riku sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “About earlier… I’m sorry. You said the darkness has taken over… and, you’re right. Maybe it’s because, I’m just meant for the darkness.”

“So you’re just going to give up? If you let the darkness win, how will you ever face Sora?”

End Flashback

You’re right, Namine, Riku thought to himself. I can’t let the darkness win, but until I’ve won this battle with myself, I can’t show myself to Sora. Who knows what he’d think of me

So, with that thought in mind, the silver haired teenager walked onward, not looking back once. He would still avoid Sora, but now a new goal was in mind: defeating his inner darkness. But, for now, there were other matters for him to deal with.

End of Chapter

AN: Sorry if Riku-kun seems a little too angsty. XD He’s just not in a good mood due to the whole darkness thing. And, as you can see, things are starting to get different. And now, a preview of the next chapter!

-announcer voice- When Sora, Donald, and Goofy find themselves in the presence of a sorcerer, what sorts of strange things will occur? Dancing brooms, weird music, and halls that lack walls are only a few of the wonders that await. For, you see, when Sora faces the master of the castle, he learns that part of his memories have been lost in a sort of restoration process along with the fact that he will have to go through quite a struggle to find his friend. But, when he asks of his dreams, the only thing he gets is a simple “You will have to uncover that on your own.” Meanwhile, Riku finds himself face-to-face with an obnoxious cat who happens to ride an oversized stuffed moogle. Nothing is as it seems.

Anyway, reviews are welcome and appreciated, as usual!