A Second Chance

Riku

THE COMPLIMENTS I'M GETTING FROM Y'ALL IS SO AMAZING

Seriously, I can't put into words just how blown away I am with the reception of this series.

Thank you so much.

I love you all <333

[THE WORLD THAT NEVER WAS]

Riku's thought about that afternoon on the island many times throughout his life, that infamous day where a strange girl appeared on the shore without a warning or a reason. She was young and pretty – like that Aqua girl that appeared soon after – but also strong, like Terra... their first visitor. Riku wanted so bad to run after them, to take the opportunity to escape his boring life and find adventures beyond his wildest dreams. Sora talked about them all the time, too, and they both became obsessed with the idea of following after them and exploring the worlds.

Riku never saw those three again, but in varying ways, he could feel them during the years. Terra kept him strong, Aqua kept him grounded, and [Name] kept him kind. Riku lost sight of them and their lessons, when he met Ansem... But he was determined to make them proud, and prove that he wasn't a horrible person seeped in darkness.

And then, like an angel from above, here she was, lying on the ground before him as she slept soundly. There was no mistaking who she was, despite her looking a little different. Her hair was longer, she was a little taller, and she looked maybe a little older than the last time he saw her. But he knew who she was immediately.

"[Name]?" Riku whispers under his breath, his voice not his own.

He quickly retracts his hand from your face, not wanting to touch you while he looks like this.

"I can't believe it's you... Guess you forgot about that postcard, huh?" Riku muses, recalling Sora's request of you so many years ago with a faint chuckle. "Told you I'd travel to other worlds... But maybe I shouldn't have."

"Riku, we need to leave. Now," DiZ calls out from behind Riku's hunched over position.

Riku jumps in surprise, having forgotten that he wasn't alone and that he was in the middle of a mission. With a sigh, he scoops the girl up in his arms and carries her as gently as he can, turning to face the man who's done the same to a still-unconscious Roxas.

"Who's... that."

DiZ's confident tone falters, and he trails off as his lone revealed eye widens the second he notices the girl – especially her face.

"Where'd you find her?" he asks in a breathy tone as Riku walks towards the older man.

"By the alley. I... met her a long time ago," Riku admits as he peers down at your sleeping face. "She can't stay here. She's a Keybearer."

When Riku first met you, your weapons seemed so fantastical and foreign. But he knows now what they were, and what you are. You're special, like him, and even in his current state he needed to help you and get you to a safe place.

"I knew her, too," DiZ mutters, a flash of regret taking over his face and his tone as he tears his gaze away from you. "Well, her parents."

Riku frowns, glancing down at you for a second before he peers warily at DiZ.

"You said knew. What happened to them?" Riku asks as DiZ summons a portal.

"I am not at liberty to divulge that information," DiZ stonily responds, clearly not wanting to reflect on the past. "Take her to Master Yen Sid, and then return to the old mansion so we can handle the Nobody."