Welcome to Gaia! ::

Riku blinked himself awake dizzily. He couldn't hardly remember anything that happened. He remembered Sora. Sora..? Had that been Sora? He groaned, sitting up some and rubbing his head. It was numb. He stopped. Something felt oddly light in him. He paused, wondering what that factor was. He didn't know but he did feel oddly warm and light. He lay back down, covering his face with an arm. God, what had happened?

((Not sure where or what he's doing right now). And Thalassa can you just auto something to make an entrance for Ruxik? Please?))

Aros sighed heavily when he really didn’t get a response from anyone in his little group. He rolled his eyes and stared at Riku’s Shadow for a moment, contemplating what to do with it. He had plenty energy now to finish the job and make his wish a reality; in fact, he had more than enough. So if the goonies wouldn’t move, he would. Simple enough. Besides, there were too many things down below the cliffs that would distract him, including that annoying, pulsating light coming from one of the houses. No doubt the handiwork of the Keyblade Master and his friends. So he opened a Corridor of Darkness over the shadow and followed it inside, giving a dismissive wave to the others as he disappeared into the dark portal.

Aros reappeared on the shore opposite the island, where he’d been meaning to go previously. The lapping of the waves onto the shore calmed something inside of him, and as much as he would hate to admit it, he knew why. No matter what, he would constantly be reminded that he was part of Sora. From Sora’s memories of the islands, the ravenette found the ocean “soothing”, if that was such an emotion he could feel. However, he viewed the islands more as a prison surrounded by water, an idea that had been fed to his Other by Xehanort two years ago. Ever since then, that idea had never died away. Shoving away his fond and unpleasant thoughts about the Destiny Islands, Aros focused on Riku’s Shadow. It had more form now, almost a humanoid body. He opened his right hand and aimed his palm at the mass of darkness in front of him.
”You should be thanking me, you know,” he told the as-of-now lifeless form. ”I saved you from that waste of a shell. He was only holding you back. I’m going to bring you life, help you realize your full potential. Rise, Ruxik!” He shouted the last part as a command, and fired dark energy from himself into the shadow. With his own touch, Riku’s darkness would be more under his control, so he wouldn’t have to worry about betrayal, not only from his puppet, but from the other dark-bearers as well. So he was confident his plan would work, and he stepped back to watch it take life.

((Hope this works!))

Aros allowed a smirk to play across his face as the shadow took form. At first, he could have sworn he was staring at Riku, but the differences were quite obvious. First of all, Ruxik had glowing yellow eyes like a Heartless’s, and his hair was a deep purple. More than that, however, was that his expression was completely devoid in emotion, as he would expect a being without a heart to be. But Riku’s usual expression was one of slight regret, or relief that he was able to live almost normally. No such emotion was on Ruxik’s face, and it was this that caused the ravenette to smirk. When the first words escaped Ruxik’s mouth, they were just as flat as he’d expected them to be, and he actually laughed at the simplicity.
”Hn, you’re welcome, I guess,” he replied, snickering still. ”But enough of this polite stuff. There’s no need for that.”

It was then Aros realized how much dark energy must be radiating from both him and Riku’s darkness. No doubt that if the light-bearers were within 20 miles of them, they’d be able to sense it. That wouldn’t do if their plans for tonight were to be successful. Not to mention he had tons of work to do with Ruxik now that he was complete. So he shuffled through the memories so graciously given to him by his Other and found a suitable, yet nearby place for them to go. Opening his hand away from Ruxik, another Corridor of Darkness appeared.
”I don’t know why I didn’t take you here in the first place,” he muttered to himself mostly, but it was loud enough for the other to hear. ”Go on, step inside.” He didn’t wait very long before going into the corridor himself, but he left it open for Ruxik to follow. When he stepped out of the darkness again, he was on the little island that Sora, Riku, and Kairi had spent their childhood. This was a place he deemed appropriate for preparing Ruxik.

Naminé had managed a faint smile to the couple as they both assured her that it was no problem, and that Riku was their friend as well. And then the two went outside to the front of her house, no doubt to put up the shield that would keep all dark beings out, save for their friends like Axel and Xion. The petite blonde ran over to the window in time to see beams of light shooting from both Kairi and Sora's Keyblades. She felt it rather than saw it. A sheild of light formed around her house, she could feel a small change in the air, almost like a faint trace of warmth. Waving at the couple from the window, she watched them dissapear and soon heard Kairi's voice in her mind, saying that they were leaving to find Roxas and if anything happened, Naminé should let her know. 'Of course. Thank you Kairi. And please... make sure Roxas is okay.' The petite blonde said, her voice quiet in Kairi's mind. She didn't know what she would do if something happened to Roxas as well as Riku.

Turning away from the window, Naminé glanced back at Riku but he was still laying unmoving on the bed. Her eyes held a concerned, fond look, and she walked over and grasped one of his hands in both of hers. "You'll be okay," she whispered. "It's my turn to protect you." Releasing his hand, she went downstairs and to the kitchen, making herself a cup of mint tea to calm her nerves and filling a large glass of water up to the top in case Riku needed it when he woke up. Holding her tea in one hand and the water in the other, she climbed back up the stairs and walked down the hallway, turning into the doorway that led into her room.

And she saw that Riku had moved. Running over, she placed her drink and the water down on the bedside table and was instantly by Riku's side, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Riku?" Naminé said, her voice coming out as a question. "Riku, are you alright? Please tell me you're okay..." She said, her voice growing faint by the end. What if he was hurt? "Riku... answer me. Please..."

However, before Riku could answer, she felt a strong surge of Darkness wash over the Island. The petite blonde gasped, eyes widening and her thoughts instantly opened to Kairi. 'Kairi, are you alright?!' She asked, more worried about her Somebody than the fact that Darkness was on the Islands.

((Hehe. No worries, Raspberry. Riku's at Naminé's house. There's a shield of light around her house so no dark creatures can get in except their friends.))

Hikari turned her head when she suddenly felt something on her shoulder, only to see that it was the serene face of Alexander. She had been thinking a lot about him during her classes too, as well as what was probably the first normal girl thought she ever had: what was she going to wear to the dance? The thought of wearing a dress was too foreign to her, but hopefully with the coaxing of Kairi, Lakayna and the others, she would be able to get used to the idea. As usual, she kept her face and expression neutral to Alexander's suggestion to change the fact that she never smiles. She only nodded in agreement. "Okay," she said quietly as they reached their seats in the biology classroom.

When that class finally ended, lunch started, releasing the students into the quad. With Alexander, Hikari gathered her lunch and sat down at the table where everyone usually sat at, which strangely enough, Axel was the only one there. She couldn't help but wonder what happened to everyone else? "Hey, Axel," she greeted as she sat across from him, looking up at Alexander to sit next to her. "Where is everyone?"

Things were strangely quiet during gym class and then onto lunch. Axel could definitely sense something going on with the school, or at least a few students, but he knew better than to instinctively act on them and get into some sort of trouble. He'd have to find someone to talk about it. At first he looked for Roxas a bit, but when his search came up unsuccessful, he decided to look for the guy later. He was probably still in shock over something and wanted some time alone. It's not like he was going to go anywhere, right?

The pyro looked up from his plate of mystery meat spaghetti and saw Hikari and Alexander and smiled. "Hey," he answered as they sat down. He noticed that no one else was around either. "Not sure. Have you guys been sensing anything weird?" he asked. Hikari shook her head, saying that she couldn't sense anything even if she wanted to ever since she lost her dark powers. "How 'bout you, Alexander?" he asked, looking at him.

Roxas had returned to the school, but for only a short time. He wanted to talk to Xion, and eventually find Namine, but he couldn't find one and had a hard time wanting to face the other. Instead, he left the school and went to the other island, finding himself sitting on a branch of the Paupu fruit tree and looking out into the ocean. He still hadn't brought back up his connection to Sora, and for some reason, he didn't really want to. He was sure that his Other was going to be mad at him for it, but he didn't seem to care. He just wanted to know why Namine chose Riku over him. What did he do to lose her? Why was Riku so special? He sighed and looked down at his feet. "How am I supposed to get her back?" he said, turning when he heard a voice behind him.

((Ah ha! My glorious return! I'll post as my mystery character in the morning. I'm about ready to pass out, lol))

The figure waved off Rikia nonchalantly. "His power is impressive. I think he could be quite useful in our plans for tonight," she mused, waiting for the other kids to go back to their classes. "Go find this Aros person and I'll find you again. There are some other things I have to attend to," she said, turning and walking away and turned a corner, walking into a dark portal and disappeared.

As third period came and went and on to lunch, the woman in the black cloak found herself with Roxas on the small island where the Paupu fruit tree stood. She could feel his mock lament over his conflicting thoughts. "Still lamenting over Namine?" she asked, making him turn around. She smiled. "Did you ask the puppet to the dance and speak with Namine?" she asked. Roxas shook his head and explained that he couldn't find either of them. The figure scoffed. "Hardly an excuse. How is Namine supposed to love you if you don't even try?" she asked. Roxas became angry and jumped up from his perch and approached her, but she grabbed his face. "Look into my eyes," she said, putting him in a trance once more. "You will go to the house shrouded in Light. Find Namine and ask for forgiveness for your actions. Then find Xion and ask her to the dance before school ends," she said in a hypnotic tone. Roxas slowly repeated her instructions. "Good, now wake up," she said, seeing Roxas snap out of his trance and rub his head. He then looked behind the girl to see a few more ominous figures appear, making the woman turn around and smiled, seeing Aros. "Well, well, well. Just the person I've been wanting to see."

For an instant the silvernette actually believed he was dreaming, had fallen back asleep and was hearing naminé's sweet voice. But the voice continued worriedly. He decided to open his eyes. When he moved his arms he saw that beautiful blonde. He smiled at her softly. She was still here, thank God. She was still with him. He sat up and opened his mouth to speak when she gasped. Something was wrong! A second later he felt it to, the surge of darkness on the island.

Something was odd. It felt familiar oddly so. He could figure it as just being Darkness, being a part of it made all darkness familiar in one or the other but this was different. Riku decided to investigate it later. He touched the blonde's arm. "Naminé, are you okay?" he whispered to her gently. Before the Nobody could answer, the couple was interupted. He looked up at the dragon girl with a sigh. "What for?" he asked her.

Riku was not one that enjoyed reliving his memories. They were painful; on countless occasion he'd tried to kill his best friend, kidnapped princesses which included Kairi, used people and he just didn't like looking backwards at what he'd been. No was no exception. He looked towards his girlfriend for help.