Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom of Hearts: Noble Nobody ❯ Heart of Darkness (Part 3) ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6 Heart of Darkness (Part 3)

 

Leo and Riku just stared at each other across the expanse; Riku stood up from his throne and strode forward. “What, no hug for your twin brother?” asked the green eyed boy with an almost sarcastic laugh. “My…brother?” asked Leo in confusion. “Ah I see that you don't remember,” Said Riku with a small smile, “I guess then I should just refresh your memory.”

 

He held out his hand and suddenly Leo gripped his head and screamed as flashes of memory careened through his head.

 

The past

 

Leo was stretched out in a hammock on the beach reading a book. Riku suddenly came up to him bright-eyed and honest; both look to be ten in age. Riku walks up to his brother with a bright smile on his face.

 

“Hey Leo, guess what?” said Riku with a laugh, “I made some friends today their names are Sora and Kairi.” Leo just looked down from the high hammock in the trees, “friends?” sneered the brown-eyed kid. “Friends just get in the way of your goals they don't really care about you.” Riku looked up at Leo and then screamed angrily, “you're wrong Leo! They are really nice you should meet them!”

 

“Nice?” said Leo with a smirk, “why don't you just go and play with your little friends? I have better things to do.” With that Leo turned back to his book and began to read the contents, as he did so Riku ran off. Leo watched him leave and then turned to look at the cave which leads to a strange door he had seen earlier that day…

 

The memory fades and restarts sometime later when the two are older. Riku is lying on the ground holding a wooden stick and breathing heavily. Leo is standing over him with his stick in his hand pointing down at the defeated Riku.

 

“Give it up little brother you can't beat me,” said Leo with a smile as he looked down at his younger twin. “I'm only a few minutes younger than you!” said Riku as he struggled to his feet, “and I can win!” With that he charged Leo who side stepped the attack and brought his wooden stick down striking Riku in the back and knocking him down to the sand. Riku pushed himself up coughing from inhaling the sand.

 

“You are pathetic Riku,” said Leo with a cold laugh, “all you can think about is going on an adventure with your little friends. You have no ambition you are just a weakling who leans on those around him because he is too weak to seek power.” Riku picked himself up shakily and fixed Leo with an angry stare. “One day brother I will defeat you!” declared the green-eyed twin as he stared up at Leo. Leo just laughed and slung the wooden stick over his right shoulder and walked off still laughing as Riku stared back at him.

 

It is daytime Leo is seen in his bedroom pouring over another strange book with strange writing within it. After reading it he suddenly jumps up and out of the bed and puts on a cloak to run off to the doorway. He arrives at the scene and begins to mutter strange words watching as the door began to unlock. He is stopped when he hears an approaching figure. He quickly hides until he sees a young man come and draw on the wall. Leo thought for a minute about the text he had read and the need for a strong heart, he could use the boy...

 

Leo was wide awake when the events on Destiny Island began to happen. The young man laughed as he dashed out and saw the collecting darkness as it slowly engulfed the island. He ran up to the collecting orb of darkness on the mini-island with the bent palm tree. As he approached the island he spotted a familiar face approaching him. Turning just as he reached the pinnacle of darkness Leo saw Riku. He saw that his little brother was clutching an image he had seen in his books, “the keyblade,” said Leo with a smile.

 

“Leo!” cried Riku as he held out his hand, “it's not safe!” Leo just tilted his head back and laughed, “Brother!” called the brown eyed teen. “I can see that you have quite the power in your hand there,” said Leo with a smile as he pointed at the blade in Riku's hand. “But you cannot beat me! If you want to come after me gain more power and beat me!” “I don't care about that!” cried Riku.

 

“But you want an adventure right! Well,” said Leo holding up his hand gesturing to the portal, “consider this me granting your wish.” “You did this!” cried out Riku anger in his eyes, Leo just laughed and threw himself full into the dark portal just when Riku reached out to try to save him. Leo just laughed as the darkness swallowed up his body his eyes wild with madness.

 

Leo fell through the darkness; he floated peacefully as a voice spoke to him. This one's heart is too dark; he has not the strength or the power to wield. He is with the darkness and so he shall be swallowed by it.

 

Leo cried out in pain as his body was bent backwards. An orb began to form around his chest as it condensed dark shadows came up and surrounded the orb. The orb slowly tore itself from Leo's body causing the young gray-headed teen to scream even harder in pain. Soon the orb had completely separated itself from his body. Leo was wrenched with agonizing pain as he stared up his vision swimming he could have sworn that the darkness around the orb had taken on a form. The shadowy form seemed to stare down at him and then smiled. Leo was soon swallowed by the darkness just as he reached up as if to ask for help from the shadow…

 

Leo awoke later; he was floating in water the sun shining brightly down upon him. As he gazed up at the cloudless sky a face suddenly appeared over him. It was a girl with light blonde hair. Leo blinked and looked up as the face slowly came in and out of focus, “Hey,” said the girl as she looked down at him. “Hey!” she cried even louder shaking him, Leo just sat up and sighed gripping his head. “Oh you're up,” said the girl with a smile. “My name is Namine, what's yours?” Leo just looked up at the young girl with a confused look, “I…I d-don't know…” said Leo. “Where am I?” asked Leo a little clearer, “you are here,” said Namine with a giggle.

 

“Thanks that clears up a lot,” said Leo with sarcasm causing the girl to giggle once again. “Hey!” she said with a sudden start causing Leo to look at her again, “you don't have a heart do you?” “A…heart?” asked Leo as he gazed at her like she was speaking a foreign language. Namine sighed, “I guess I'm going to have to restart some of your memories then, man that is such a pain!”

 

Leo just shook his head, he was in the middle of god knows where without a clue as to who he was or why he was here and to top everything off he gets stuck with a loon as well. Namine stood up and held out her hand, Leo looked up at her and grabbed the hand being offered to him and was helped to his feet. “I can help you remember your name,” said Namine so matter-of-factly that Leo believed her almost instantly. “How?” asked the new nobody as he gazed upon the still smiling girl. “Simple,” said the girl as she took out a notepad of sorts and began drawing on it, “like this.” With that statement Leo felt himself lose consciousness once again and he began to drift…

 

The present

 

Riku walked over to Leo was now on the ground hunched over on all fours breathing hard. “Painful isn't it?” asked Riku with a small smile as he strode slowly over to his twin. “You have made my life a living hell; you've beaten me down and used me and my friends for your own gain. And never once did you ever show that you loved anything or anyone other than yourself. Your evil even tainted me, turning me against my friends. Now I have lost my honor and have tasted of the darkness like you have. But I have become much stronger brother.”

 

“And now,” said Riku as a strange keyblade which looked to be divided into sections appeared in his hand, “you will pay for your sins. With your life!” With that declaration Riku charged the gray-headed Nobody whose face was cast in shadows. Riku brought the blade down in a hard swing…Crash! Went the blade as it struck…another blade. Riku grunted in effort and in rage, the keyblade's metal screeched against the metal of the blade in the Nobody's hand. The two blades began to rub together causing sparks to fly from the friction of the two blades. Leo pushed forward causing Riku to stumble backwards. “What?” questioned Riku as Leo stood up his face still in shadows as he held out his other hand another blade forming in it. The blades seemed to lengthen as thorns grew out of the hilts.

 

“You are not Riku,” muttered Leo as he looked up and met Riku's eyes with fire in his own. “Not Riku?” muttered the green-eyed twin, “how would you know you never even bothered to learn who your brother was!?” With that Riku charged Leo the two started striking and parrying the blows of their swords in flashes of light and ferocity. “I know who my brother is!” yelled Leo as the two met in a clash, Riku's keyblade wedged between Leo's blades locking it in the center of the X the two blades formed. “He is a man who forgives others!” with that Leo drew his blades together causing major friction and making Riku leap over him. “He is a man who always stands up for his friends and love ones!” Cried out the gray-headed nobody and he struck up as Riku passed over him causing him to block the blades' strikes in mid-air.

 

Riku landed off balance from the mid-air defense and Leo pressed his advantage causing Riku to go on the defensive. “And he would never seek revenge for any reason!” cried Leo as he thrust both blades straight at Riku. The green-eyed twin leapt to the side and brought his blade to the side as to slash Leo from the side. Suddenly the thorn on the hilt of Leo's blade lashed forward on the end of a vine. It struck the side of Riku's face cutting his cheek, Riku rolled away from the attack and stood up. Leo turned to face the man, the cut was bleeding a strange black substance which fell to the floor and hissed as it made contact with the white marble.

 

`Riku' reached up to the scratch and rubbed it looking at the black substance and then laughed. “I guess I returned to many memories to you, but I am glad that you are using that good brain of ours.” Leo watched as the figure of Riku dissolved and in its place a clone of Leo stood before him except this one had a keyblade in his right hand. “You,” said Leo the Nobody as he stared across at the other Leo before him. “Yes,” said the Leo with the keyblade as he twirled it around in his hand, “I am your heart. Your rather dark heart I might add.”

 

“You are my heart?” said Leo in question as he gazed at the other him who was now dragging the keyblade across the floor as he walked up to Leo. “Why did you show me all of that? Why do you want to kill me? What are you after? Why did we hurt our brother?”

 

“My, aren't we filled with questions? It is a sad sight when you don't even know who you really are. But I suppose I should answer your questions. First of all I showed you all of that so that you would be distracted and I could kill you while you were locked up in your own head. I wanted to kill you because with you dead I can fulfill my plans.”

 

“What are your plans?” asked Leo interrupting his heart's speech. Chuckling darkly Leo's heart spoke up, “I was getting to that, me and my partner are after the ultimate source of power…we are after the Key of Hearts. A blade that allows us to control the hearts of all the worlds at the same time. As for why we hurt our brother…I just felt like torturing that fool.” Dark Leo spoke this with a laugh that chilled the Nobody's blood. “You are insane, what makes you think that you can get the blade?” questioned the Nobody of his dark heart. “This,” said the heart holding up the keyblade. “Any wielder of a keyblade has the capacity of wielding the Key of Hearts and thanks to the research I have conducted with that fool Xemnas and several texts on Destiny Island that we found I am so close to it I can taste its power.”

 

“I won't let you,” said Leo as he brought his blades up and gripped the hilts hard. “Hence why I am trying to kill you,” said the Dark Leo as he threw his hand in the air. “Though I am curious as to why a nobody such as yourself would give a damn about anything,” said Dark Leo as he stared across at his nobody. “It's because…I have friends now,” said Leo as he gripped his blades even tighter.

 

Dark Leo looked at him and started laughing and continued laughing his voice echoing in the empty space around the two of them. “What's so funny?” snarled Leo at his heart, “You sound just like our fool brother,” said Dark Leo as he went to wipe some of the tears of mirth that had accumulated over his extended laugh. “Well then I guess I'll just have to teach you the meaning of true power.” Dark Leo held out his keyblade which was rather big and seemed to be divided in sections, “the keyblades of those with dark hearts reflect their true power. This blade is called the Chaos Keyblade and it is one of the most powerful, and now you shall taste true power!”

 

With that the sections of the Chaos keyblade fell apart and started flying straight at Leo in a line. Leo parried the strike with his blades he could then see that the sections of each of the keyblade were connected together with steel fibers. As the strike continued friction built up as the keyblade continued to extend grating past Leo's two blades. “You will have to do better than that!” cried Dark Leo, suddenly the end of the keyblade changed directions and came back around. Leo leapt backwards from the initial strike but the blade collided with Leo's shoulder embedding itself in the flesh. Leo just stood there his eyes wide with shock from the intense pain.

 

Dark Leo laughed and flicked the blade's hilt, the blade retracted ripping itself from Leo's shoulder causing blood to pour from the wound. Leo gripped his shoulder in pain as Dark Leo laughed as he brought the blood soaked keyblade up to his face covering everything but his eyes. “This blade can extend and move according to my will,” explained the dark heart, “it is unblockable and unstoppable killing machine that obeys my command. You have no chance,” explained Dark Leo with a laugh.

 

“I don't care!” screamed Leo through his pain as he stood up huffing and panting, he gripped his swords even tighter and rushed his Dark Heart the blood from his wound leaving a trail of blood behind him. “Pathetic,” muttered Dark Leo as he flicked his keyblade's hilt causing the blade to extend and rush toward Leo like a snake.

 

Leo's thorn hilts however had other plans, the thorns erupted out of the side of the blade attached to long and think vines, the vines tangled themselves around the keyblade stopping its progression. Leo smiled at the tangled up keyblade, “you can't make your attacks now that your blade is caught in the vines, you are now defenseless” “You think so?” questioned his dark heart calmly, “What?” said Leo.

 

Suddenly the Chaos Keyblade glowed and then suddenly the vines shattered, Leo stared in shock as the Keyblade continued on its progression. Leo threw up his blades to try and block the oncoming attack. He managed to prevent the end of the blade to strike his body. He struggled with the edge of the keyblade, Dark Leo flicked the hilt again at his safe distance and the end of the blade flew off into the sky causing Leo's swords to fly up leaving his body bare. The rest of the keyblade came further in and the blades struck Leo's chest, it continued its progress blade after blade ripping further into Leo's chest. Leo stumbled backwards as the keyblade's end came back to the ground. Leo managed to roll out of the way just as it collided with the marble kicking up dust and splitting the surface.

 

Leo came to a stop from his roll, the two swords in his hands hung loosely in his grip. His shoulder and chest were bleeding profusely. Dark Leo laughed as the sword returned to him, Leo got up to his feet still panting but the blood loss was making it hard for him to grip his swords properly making them hang limply in his hands.

 

Dark Leo scowled at the scene, “Why don't you just stay down? It's pathetic staring at such a weakling making a fool of himself.” Leo just laughed causing Dark Leo's scowl to deepen, “What's so funny?” demanded the Dark Heart. “From my point of view,” said Leo with a smile as he panted through the pain, “You are the one who is weak.” Dark Leo's eyes flashed in dark anger, suddenly the keyblade in his hand lashed out, Leo brought his sword down but the end of the blade knocked his sword out of his grasp and then the blade twisted around his leg as the edges of the blade dug into his leg. Leo gagged in pain, Dark Leo twisted the hilt and the Chaos Keyblade retracted ripping the young nobody's leg to shreds.

 

The gray-headed nobody screamed in pain his cry echoed throughout the dimension, Dark Leo just retracted the blade back to its original form. He was angered to see that the Nobody was still standing on the horribly torn leg. He walked up to the panting and sweating nobody. Dark Leo stood before the broken and beaten Leo he brought his Chaos Keyblade back as he gripped Leo's shoulder. “This is it,” said the Dark Heart as he stared into his nobody's eyes.

 

Leo stared at himself his vision swimming as he gazed upon certain death, “I…don't want it…to end like this,” thought Leo as his eyes opened and closed watching as the Dark Leo brought the blade back to thrust it into him. “I'm sorry Yuffie,” thought Leo just as the Keyblade came forward. Suddenly Leo heard a sound, “Ba-bump!” His chest started to pulse as he felt something strange run through his body.

 

Dark Leo was about to plunge the blade into Leo's chest when suddenly he felt the pulse as well. “What is this?” he said as he hesitated, “…it can't be!” Suddenly Leo's chest began to glow as an orb of gold light began to collect around his chest. “How…how did he get another heart!” cried Dark Leo, the dark heart then reared back and thrust his Chaos Keyblade this time full strength at Leo's chest. The blade came in contact with the golden orb, the two clashed for only a moment when the blade suddenly began to dissolve eventually making its way back to Dark Leo's hand.

 

The blade faded away to nothingness Dark Leo stared in rage and shock at the pulsating Heart and its power emanating from Leo's chest. Leo continued to hang in space as the power of the new Heart continued to grow as it did so Leo went into unconsciousness. “I maybe defeated,” said Dark Leo as he began breaking apart just as the Chaos Keyblade did, fading away as the power of the new heart continued to grow. “But my partner will finish where I have left off,” with that statement Dark Leo's body finally fell away exposing the dark core of Leo's old heart.

 

The dark orb came slowly up to the golden orb and the two began to mix and combine. The two finally fused causing a massive explosion. The dimension fell away as it collapsed upon itself, the fragments of the dimension came away exposing a strange object which fell into the cracks and disappeared. Leo fell through the darkness once again.

 

Yuffie and Cid were in the Gummi Ship, they watched as the castle below them started shaking and falling apart. “We have to go down there!” screamed Yuffie, “we can't!” replied Cid, “there is no way we can find him in a place that huge!” Suddenly inside the uppermost room of the castle a dark portal opened and out stepped Leo.

 

Leo walked calmly toward the open entrance as pieces of marble and stone crashed around him. The young teen made it out to the entrance of the castle and leaned on the stone edifice of the building, as the castle crumbled away to nothingness. The edifice finally gave way and Leo started to fall…

 

Yuffie was scanning the falling castle trying as hard as she could to find the young man when suddenly she saw something falling from the castle. It was the figure with gray-hair…

 

“Cid!” cried Yuffie pointing out the falling teen. “I see him!” cried Cid as he hit the thrusters, “We won't make it!” cried Yuffie, “Yes we will!” replied Cid as he hit a button, suddenly a beam of light came out from underneath the ship. It hit the falling Leo and began pulling him toward the ship. “Tractor beam?” questioned Yuffie, “yea I had a feeling that it might come in handy,” said Cid. Yuffie leaned down and hugged Cid, “you are a genius you know that!” “Hey, save that for the kid huh?” said Cid with a smile. Yuffie let go and nodded, “how do we get him in?” “No problem,” said Cid he hit a button and the tractor beam suddenly changed trajectory and deposited Leo in the storage bay of the ship.

 

“You probably need to go check on him,” said Cid turning to Yuffie, “he didn't look too good even from here.” Yuffie nodded and ran off the bridge of the ship to go and check on the gray-headed teen. Cid turned back around and decided that it was about time they left. Changing the controls so that leaving atmosphere wouldn't be so bumpy the pilot took the ship to space and pointed to Hollow Bastion.

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Author's Note: (Thanks for the review kngdmhrts15 I would also like to for a few more review as well. Lol.)