My Dark Heart: Ryan's tale (a Destinies Intertwined, Riku x Oc sequel)

Chapter thirty-one: Ryan's Change For The Better

"Ryan?"

It was just the two of them now-- Rachel and her brother. But he seemed different somehow.

She leapt back in an instant as Ryan surged forward, Keyblade in hand.

"Hey! Ryan, what's the matter with you?"

Okay, Rachel. Time to put everything you learned from the worlds you visited to the test.

Her eyes shifted, until locking onto a distant tree.

She summoned her Keyblade, aiming it steadily.

"Ready... and..."

She closed her eyes and threw as hard as she could.

When Rachel opened her eyes again, she found herself high off the ground, gripping Silver Hero. She'd done it!

Now Ryan was heading towards her at a terrifying speed. She called her weapon into her other hand, and leapt towards him. 

When the two blades clashed, the impact seemed to push the Heartless-- or whatever had control of Rachel's brother-- out of him.

"Rachel? Wh-what did I--"

"Forget about that for now! Rye, we're gonna fall!"

The blonde pulled his sister protectively against his chest. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut as the two of them fell, time seeming to stand still in what felt like her last moments. But... as she waited for the crash, to come, nothing happened. His heart continued to beat steadily in her ears.

"Hey, it's alright. You can open your eyes now, everything's fine, kiddo."

She did as told, and found herself near the ground, but this time safely inside Ryan's glider.

He chuckled, "You can let go of me. I told you, we're safe."

Rachel hadn't even realized she'd been clinging to him out of fear. Embarrassed, she released him as they stepped out onto the grass.

"What happened, Rachel? Did I do something to upset you? I... can't remember the last hour or so." Ryan's mind was a haze, and he felt tired. Something significant must have happened to make him feel this way, but what?

"I don't know what that was. One minute, I see the two of you. The next, I wake up on the ground with only you here and-- well... You, um... Something took control of you."

"What!? I..." he put a hand to Rachel's cheek. "I didn't do anything to you, did I?"

She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes for a moment. "No. I'm not hurt. I missed you, Ryan."

"Let's go home, alright? Everyone's really worried about you."

"I..." To her surprise, she found herself hesitating. Rachel wanted to go home, but she still hadn't done what she'd been trying to do all this time.

"I can't go yet. I'm sorry, but there's something I have to do before I can go back with you guys. Speaking of... Where is Riku? Did he already make it back?"

At the question, Ryan's eyes went wide and his face paled. "Oh no..." he muttered. "I messed up. We have to find him now. C'mon, which way did I come from? What did that thing do to me, I can't remember!"

"What happened? Ryan, what's going on?"

"He's hurt... I-- I got mad after you lost your heart, and something he said made me angry, so we fought. I won, and then... The way I left him lying there... Argh, what was I thinking?"

It took a moment for the words to set in. "...You two got in a fight!? Ohh, this is bad. And you can't remember which way you-- Clear skies... Clear skies... We can figure this out."

"What was that about?" Ryan asked as Rachel headed off.

"I learned it from this family I met. C'mon, I can sense him this way!"

Hours later...

Terra looked around. It was dark out, and silent as his eyes landed on the young Keyblade master, still resting from what had probably been a brutal fight.

Gathering Riku up in his arms, he prepared to set out.

"Riku!" the brother and sister bolted over to Terra. He hadn't expected to see them, considering what he'd heard.

"Riku..." Rachel put a hand to his forehead. "It's okay, honey, I'm here now. You're safe, it's alright."

"He told me he tried to fight Maleficent because you lost your heart," said Terra, "but... apparently she's gotten a lot stronger and--"

"Wait," said Ryan, "That's-- that's not what happened. Rachel did lose her heart because of Maleficent, but... Riku wasn't the one who got mad. I screwed up. I started using darkness and ended up fighting him. But why..."

Ryan sighed and shook his head, "I'm really sorry. Don't know what came over me. I, ugh... I'm so stupid!!!"

Riku stirred a bit in Terra's arms, but didn't wake.

Rachel gave her brother a stern glare, but then her face fell and she turned back. "Let's get him someplace safe. Terra, do you know if there's anywhere nearby where we could stay?"

"Actually, it's pretty late," said Ryan. "It wouldn't be safe to travel in the dark like this. Plus... that Heartless really took a toll on me. I need to lie down for a while."

"Oh... okay. I have some camping supplies in my bag. We can stay here for the night. You are looking a little pale."

So they set up camp for the night. Rachel stayed by Riku's side to make sure nothing happened.

Despite being exhausted, Ryan couldn't sleep. Guilt twisted his stomach into knots and filled his mind with a flow of thoughts that he couldn't block out.

"Why... Why did I abandon him like that... I'm sorry..."

A tear ran down his cheek, and someone peeked into his tent. 

"Ryan? Are you alright?" Rachel asked.

"Oh... I'm fine. Having a hard time falling asleep, is all."

"I thought that thing wore you out. Is it about Riku?"

Ryan nodded. "I still feel really terrible about leaving him behind. I could've handled it so much better, but..."

"It doesn't matter anymore. He's going to be fine. I already took care of his wounds, and he seems to be breathing alright. We just need to find a place to stay in the morning. Get some sleep, okay?"

It had only been a few short words, but somehow... he felt better. Riku would probably wake up the next morning. Ryan would apologize and the four of them could return home.

"Thank you. Goodnight, Rachel."

"Goodnight, Rye."

With that, Ryan slept.