empatheias | ( closed ) embrace the darkness that's within me

Entry tags:

( closed ) embrace the darkness that's within me

Who: Riku and Vanitas ( Riku and Arden later )
Where: The slums
When: Middle of the month
Format: [ like this ]
closed
Summary: Just Riku and Vanitas having a nice little chat with each other. Yep.

[ Riku doesn't like this and for more than one reason.

Despite his earlier regret with the situation of Vanitas stealing Naminé's amulet and how he had been asked to stay back and be with her while Sora and Ventus retrieved it, he had done what Sora had asked of him ~~even if he had "hung up" on him~~ and stayed out of it. Much to his frustration.

But for Vanitas to reach out to him... well, this was clearly a recipe for disaster, wasn't it?

Truth be told, it had been Riku's intention to ignore the little punk when he contacted him over the amulets with his beef. But when an unversed had tapped at the window of his room at the "KH Clubhouse" with one of Ven's wrist bands in its mouth, Riku had left his bed and decided to take this bait from Vanitas.

He hadn't said a word to anyone with his departure and followed the unversed to the slums, a part of the city that Riku couldn't exactly say he had ever been to before... and was another reason why he didn't like any of this.

It's somewhere a little ways off from the more populated area of the slums and more near the industrial part of it that the unversed seems to stop and Riku takes it as this being "the meeting place" for them. Even with hands in his pockets, he's on high alert, glancing around through his blindfold without even moving as he stands there just outside the abandoned warehouse.

He doesn't even bother calling out to Vanitas, he knows he's here, can smell him. ]

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[ This was the illusion that had frightened Naminé. He knew it was imposing. He wanted it to be. The illusion is several stories tall and is the manifestation of his dunamis and Zexion's magic as he used his Scent to try and track down Vanitas, to make sure he wasn't hiding in some shadow just a few feet away, waiting to strike the finishing blow.

He shouldn't have been able to continue unsupervised throughout the city the first time he attacked Naminé. The second time he shouldn't have been able to walk. And if Sora and Ven had let him off this easy... that he was able to do this--!!

His roar came again. ]

RUN, COWARD! AND DON'T EVER LET ME FIND YOU!

Edited 2018-06-23 02:03 (UTC)

[ Well. If there was ever anything to wake a person up, this would sure be it.

Riku finds himself suddenly jolting awake at the roar and, still lazily, he comes to roll his head to the side to see... ]

Arden?

[ Arden's here? Then that means... his attempt at reaching out to him, the few seconds it had been... it had worked? Arden came? ]

[ The illusion bursts into thin bits of pale color... that only afterwards Arden realizes are snowflakes. It's when he hears his name. Arden thought Riku was out cold from pain and something else. He finally walks over and takes a knee beside Riku. Sometime later he'll reflect again on the fact that Riku used his name, but he was far from sentimental right now. ]

Yes, it's me. Will you let me use a Cure spell on you?

[ Or like... Cura. At minimum. But the word that came out was 'Cure' because it was spur of the moment. He'd never even tried the stronger spells before. There hadn't been a need. The last time someone was in this bad a shape... Arden had found Soya when it was too late. ]

[ Even though he still wears the blindfold (because Kingdom Hearts magic or something), Riku feels... lighter. So much lighter and he can't help but smile a little despite how exhausted he looks. ]

You came...

[ He says that softly, as if sincerely grateful and lays there with eyes falling shut behind the blindfold. ]

I wasn't sure if you'd get that or not...

[ His attempt to call out to him, to warn him, to try and connect with him in a way that could maybe even surpass the amulets. However it worked, it doesn't necessarily matter since Arden is here. ]

[ He grabs one of Riku's hands and puts it over his heart, not sure that it's going to help but feeling like if he can make Riku focus on surviving this, then he'll likewise be confident enough to cast the darn spell. He realizes he has to... rev it up, basically. He's not skilled enough at this that it's going to take several smaller Cure spells before he can jog that memory of how Curaga works. ]

If you mean the Darkness disappearing off your arm as you nearly died, yes I felt that. ... All of it.

[ Only now is he piecing things together. ]

I... knew something was wrong before your images came. I felt it somehow.

[ When Arden takes his hand, Riku allows him, far too drained to even bother fighting anymore. Not that he would with Arden but... he's just so tired. But light. So very light... as if a weight he's been carrying has suddenly left him entirely and he can finally breathe again for the first time in... so long. ]

You felt it...

[ Riku mumbles the words, wanting to stay awake, to try and figure out what Arden felt, but. ]

Arden...

[ He says his name softly and comes to pause for a long moment. ]

Ansem...

[ Instinct drawn by fake memories make him seize at the word and he shakes his head. ]

... Just don't talk right now.

[ He remembers those two different kinds of conversations he had with Riku just a few months ago and... before. About why the blindfold is there. If Riku had somehow felt Ansem again while fighting Vanitas then it wouldn't surprise him. That nagging voice had been described to him before even if he personally had never heard it. He doesn't know if Vanitas drew it out or Riku did, or maybe he's just talking nonsense right now. Arden wants to focus on the spell, that's the thing he SHOULD be focusing on. ]

Cure... Cure... That's two...

[ He breathes out, slightly relieved that he didn't miss the Sleight sequence. ]

[ Under any other circumstances, Riku might have refused the Cures offered by Arden. Typically out of pride but also because he doesn't wish for Arden to overexert himself with casting the spells. But in this very moment, he's simply too exhausted to even give a disapproving tch under his breath.

So, instead, he allows the warmth from the Cures to gently envelope his body, ridding him of whatever harm he may have endured from his little scuffle with Vanitas. ]

Ventus... he's ok, right?

[ Because of the connection that he has to Vanitas... but Vanitas was fine... right? ]

[ The green glow at his hands expands, much to Arden's surprise. It lifts up above both of them, forming into three bulbous pieces. The pieces turn into yellow flowers and drop more glowing light around the both of them, sealing up the rest of Riku's wounds in the process.

At least, his physical wounds. He wants to be excited - thrilled even - that he - HIM!! - he was able to complete such a powerful Light spell. But he knows they're not out of the woods yet.

Arden knew well what exhaustion from a tough fight - a loss could do the psyche of someone so closely aligned to the Darkness as they. He was afraid, most of all, of Riku suffering his fate, but he was also afraid that Riku's "Ansem" was a signal that his weakened condition was going to amplify Riku's existing problems with that awful lingering memory. It took all of his concentration not to squeeze Riku's hand that he was holding tight in rage that Vanitas brought this on. Not that he expected a warning, not from Vanitas. Just that it had happened. Where Vanitas was concerned, he made problems worse. Arden was sure of that.

... And yet. He use his free hand to search for Riku's arm, where he expected the dark mark to be. It had been lighter and smaller in scope due to their last efforts at letting Arden help him, but... it wasn't at all the way he remembered it. He was so focused on thinking back to that time that Riku asking about Ventus shook him out of it and he dropped Riku's hand. ]

Ventus? Why? Was he here too?

[ ... Wait. Crap. Ventus had mentioned a connection, but he looks down to Riku for an explanation. Suddenly he does want to hear from Riku. Maybe it will keep him from going unconscious and having those Ansem problems. ]

No...

[ Thankfully, though Vanitas had certainly baited him into possibly thinking so with the wrist band that the unversed had in its mouth that belonged to Ventus. He knew it was bait, an attempt to lure him here, and while he figured he could handle whatever Vanitas threw at him - and had to an extent - it had still been an ordeal and Vanitas was nothing more than a jealous and possessive little punk as far as Riku was concerned. ]

But he used him as a means to get me here.

[ Swallowing thickly, Riku allows his head to loll to the side, eyes still shut behind the blindfold as he comes to press his cheek against the dirt. ]

They're connected. I just... didn't want to hurt Ventus by hurting Vanitas...

[ That makes Arden freeze again. Not that Vanitas would 'use' an innocent party to lure someone into a trap, because that sounded all too like Vanitas. It's the other part, and it becomes thoughts he'd rather have kept to himself being given voice. ]

Is that what Ven told you? Or Vanitas? That 'being connected' means that when one of them hurts, the other feels it?

[ There's that prickle at his shoulderblade again. He swallows hard. That's... nerve-wracking if true. If his hunch is right.

He does want an answer, but the way his head lolls like that encourages Arden to reach out and grab Riku's arms in an all-too-familiar fashion. He's going to have to lift him and carry him back to the house. He's sure of it. ]

Ventus.

[ The blond had been the one to tell him as much, Riku initially being confused with what that could mean should death happen to either of them. It's why when Vanitas had baited him here, when he had come at him with a fury and with the intent to very well kill him for his closeness to Ventus... he had held back, considerably so, having to be more defensive than offensive... which can be a little tricky when someone is relentlessly coming at you wanting your blood. ]

Vanitas... wanted me dead because of Ventus.

[ Taking a moment to swallow, Riku sighs, trying his best to fight the urge to sleep, but it's so strong, his eyes are so heavy and while he doesn't feel in pain, he still feels... drained. ]

[ Well that makes exactly no sense, but then this was the logic of the guy who picked on Naminé because he wanted her to erase Ventus's memory. Arden didn't know his motivations but he was starting to realize they were just as convoluted as the ones that had led him astray. Clearly murder solved all of his problems. Not like Zexion and his powers still haunted Arden to this day. Nooope.

So instead Arden just decides to put one of Riku's arms around his shoulder and pulls the other down along his side. ]

Well, he's going to have to go through me if he tries again today.

[ No gloating that he'd fended off Vanitas once before. That was a monumental change and he wouldn't acknowledge it until much later, if someone else brought it up first. He'd made bonds with individuals that were stronger than a broad hatred for the world, and it was allowing the other side of his alignment to come more naturally these days. Envy had come easy in those first weeks and months of his existence, filling his amulet with that mint green color. Now it was solid mint green, but he doesn't know it's for a very different reason. ]

Come on... I'll get you back.

[ Again. And warn Sora he's dragging Sora's best friend back through the front door in case he's home. ]

[ Riku's not about to protest should Arden wish to carry him... again. Yeah, they gotta stop hanging out like this. Clearly. ]

Arden...

[ He mumbles the other's name as he's moved about however Arden feels is the easiest to carry him. ]

Ansem... I let him... I let him possess me. I needed... his power.

[ It's not just that Arden has to carry him. It's that he has to carry him without using a Dark Corridor to make the trip any shorter. It's the long way home that he almost never takes anymore.

He's focusing on all of that when Riku says his name again. That time it catches his attention. How long had it been since they'd avoided using each other's names in conversation? ]

I'm sorry, Riku. I won't tell Sora.

[ Since he assumes that's part of why Riku is telling him. They'd discussed this when they'd... connected has all kinds of terrifying connotations for him now, but when that had happened and he'd gotten the Darkness mark due to sharing in Riku's struggles. The memories neither one had wanted to face. The parts they were ashamed of. The parts that Sora couldn't help Riku with because of how closely it was all tied to the Darkness, in ways that Sora had never had to deal with and was unlikely to ever have to deal with either. ]

Edited 2018-06-23 03:45 (UTC)

[ It... was probably better that way, Riku being the one to tell Sora and not having him hear it from someone else. Though, the fact that Riku shares it with Arden is of importance and there is more that he wants to tell him but... he's just so. very. tired. ]

I wasn't sure... I wasn't sure if I would make it. If I could... control the Darkness like that. So I...

[ So he had attempted to call out to Arden, the only other one who could possibly understand that loss of control and even bring him back from it. No, Arden hadn't exactly done so before, but he was the safest bet for navigating the Darkness should he need someone, should he feel like he was slipping into it again. ]

[ ... But he had. Obviously, right? He'd made it in some form or another. The blindfold was still there after all. That shouldn't have been something that concerned Arden. It was the kind of thing that Riku had trouble facing, the kind of thing they'd talked about before - both Riku now and Riku back then. The problem is in Riku's tone of voice, Arden decides; because of how exhausted Riku is, he can't really tell whether Riku succeded or failed at that control. Or if he feels like he needs to admit a failure to someone other than Sora before it slips out later. ]

You pulled out all the stops.

[ Just like he'd feared. If Riku's this exhausted, then he really is susceptible to despair swallowing him whole the way it had Arden... before he was 'Arden.' ]

Don't worry about that right now. Just don't fall asleep yet. Please.

[ Well, that's easier said than done when saying that to someone whose eyes literally feeling like they're being dragged down by invisible weights.

Still, Riku finds himself leaning against Arden the best he can despite whatever maneuvers may be made to him by the other to make this easier on him. ]

Everyone... Sora... they didn't want me to go near Vanitas, worried I couldn't handle him because of my Darkness.

[ Somehow, he gets the feeling that maybe Arden can understand that frustration of being told that, let alone with yourself for being "weak" for it. ]

But I couldn't... I couldn't lose control, not this time.

... Not everyone.

[ The tone is bitter, but not at Riku. The same "everyone" hadn't wanted him near Vanitas either. But he focuses on readjusting Riku while he keeps walking, but he's starting to slow down now that they've gone a block. Arden's strong, but his endurance is terrible. He could blame Vexen but he hasn't exactly made an effort either, and he uses Dark Corridors to get everywhere. Maybe Noctis had had a point. ]

You're not the type to back down.

[ There's a small smirk on Arden's face. Because neither is he. And he knows why. But it's one of the aspects he's proud of - one of the things that Minnie called out when she knighted him. ]

For our own good, right?

[ And there might be, strained and soft as it is, a bit of a chuckle in the back of his throat at that. Because, yeah, he definitely gets the feeling Arden knows exactly how that feels. ]

But I wouldn't... I wouldn't let him dictate my heart anymore. Try and tell me that I'm weak, that I'm useless, that I failed protecting Naminé, that no one needed me here with Sora around.

[ His words fall softer and softer as he speaks, tired from everything but at the same time, feeling as though he needs to say this. ]

I needed to show that I'm the one in control and that the Darkness doesn't control me anymore.

[ Arden nods with an empathetic grimace. For their own good indeed. And then Riku is repeating himself. At least, that's what Arden thinks. He doesn't know why Riku could have failed to protect Naminé, but the rest of it he gets, in the sense of things that would goad Riku. He imagines it in Larxene's voice, but the impact is comparable.

Realization is creeping into Arden's face. He stops there in the street, craning his neck to see Riku's expression. ]

... The mark on my arm disappeared. I thought you were dead. It felt like you were dying.

[ Or maybe it wasn't Riku. Not all of him. ]

Riku... Did you show him?

[ To think that it felt like he was dead... that it felt like he was dying... had that something to do solely with the fact that Arden had absorbed some of his Darkness by accident that one time? Or was there more to it? Was there something else at play there? Was there beginning to be more of a connection between them after all? ]

Sorry... wasn't trying to die.

[ He wants to chuckle a bit at that but, still... so tired. The question, however, regarding whether or not he had shown Ansem, has Riku hum for a moment.

But before he can even properly answer Arden, his head drops against the other's shoulder... and it stays there, Riku falling and pressing against Arden with the bulk of his weight.

Having passed out on him. ]

[ Arden groans in frustration, knowing full well that Riku was on the cusp of going unconscious this whole time, but... after he breathes for a minute... and realizes that the darkness isn't coming to envelop him. He gets to walking again.

And calls Sora to warn him. ]

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( closed ) embrace the darkness that's within me

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