In the void of nothingness, Sora and his best friend Riku fought side-by-side against the leader of Organization XIII, Xemnas. They fought ferociously, hacking away at the silver-haired nobody. He seemed to be beaten…until he brought his hands together, darkening the void and creating a dome of lasers that surrounded them. They turned to each other and nodded, working in perfect unison, reflecting each of the lasers faster than seemed humanly possible. They moved faster and faster as the lasers did the same. Just when they thought the lasers were exhausted, Sora was struck by Xemnas's blade, rendering him unconscious. "Sora!"
"Wake up...c'mon, Sora, wake up. Everything's okay…"
Sora groaned, opening his eyes slowly. He used the nearby bed to help pull himself up off the floor. "W-Wha..."
"There you go-you're out of it now. You fell out of the bed."
Sora's eyes widened as he looked around the room he was in. The very small room was cell-like, but more comfortable. In one corner was the bed, the pillows and blankets scattered about. Next to the bed was a small desk, a book entitled "The Darkness." lying on it. In the other corner was a table, lying on it was an open trunk full of personal belongings. In another corner was a dresser, a tv hooked into the wall above it. None of these things bothered Sora...it was the things that were on the paint-chipped walls that bothered him.
Scattered across the walls were tick-marks, drawings, quotes...things that he recognized from his journeys. He saw drawings of Heartless and Keyblades, dragons and genies. Itched across the walls in ink...were his memories. 'Darkness is the heart's true essence.', 'Riku?', 'I'm so sorry, Kairi...', and 'What is Kingdom Hearts?' were all written on the walls.
Sora's eyes widened in shock, "What...this..."
"You had a rough night, Sora. You been skipping out on your meds again, bud?"
Sora ignored the question and stumbled over to the sink next to the trunk, looking into the mirror. He gasped as he saw what was staring back. His head was completely shaved and his normal clothes had been replaced by a pair of red striped pajamas.
"Uh-uh...we've been through this, Sora. No answer means 'No, I didn't take my medicine.' You're gonna get me in trouble with doctor Xavier again."
Sora turned towards the voice and his eyes widened yet again. There, standing in the doorway, was Leon. His formerly long hair had been trimmed down to ear-length and his usual attire had been replaced by a green nurse's uniform. "...L-Leon...? What is t-this? W-W-Where...where am I?"
Leon sighed, "Oh, boy...you really have been skipping your meds." He placed his hands on his hips. "Jeez...doctor Xavier's gonna have my head."
Sora frowned, "This...this is some kind of trick...isn't it? Is this the organization's doing?"
Leon shook his head, "C'mon, Sora don't start talking about that stuff again, okay? The organization isn't real. It's just in your mind."
Sora stared at Leon, "...What?"
Leon sighed, "I'm sorry, bud. I know you get confused by all this. These bad dreams are a part of being sick. You've gotta help us get you well again, so you've gotta take your medicine. I tell you what...you go by the dispensary before breakfast and I'll tell the Doc you had a good night."
Leon moved aside, motioning for Sora to head out.
Sora hesitated for a moment before moving past Leon into the hallway. The right side of the hallway had doors lining the wall, presumably leading to bedrooms. Along the wall on the left side was a window, showing a courtyard.
Sora followed the signs towards the dispensary, "What...is happening to me?" He asked himself.
He made his way through the halls, finally making it to the common room. He looked around, noticing a few familiar faces around the room. In the corner, looking up at the cartoons flashing across the tv, were Sora's twin brothers Roxas and Ventus. Sitting in a wheelchair by himself, was Cloud. He was wearing an outfit similar to Sora's and was mumbling to himself. Over by the windows, siting across from each other, were Axel and Saix.
Sora shook his head, "No...this isn't...r-real..." He made his way over to the dispensary, waving at a nurse through the window.
The nurse walked up to the window, "Oh, it's Sora, right? Hold on, I've got your prescription right here..." The nurse reached into a drawer and pulled out a bottle of pills, "Here we go. Now stick your hand through the slot."
Sora reluctantly complied. The nurse took two little blue pills out of the bottle and placed them in Sora's hand, "There you go. Now make sure you take those with food, okay?"
Sora nodded slowly, "Okay..."
Another nurse walked over to Sora and tapped him on the shoulder, "Sora? Doctor Sid wants to see you. Follow me."
Sora nodded and followed the nurse through the facility, trying not to think of any of this as reality. The nurse finally stopped at a door and opened it, leading to an office.
"Ah, Sora...come in, come in. Take a seat."
Sora's eyes widened once again, seeing that the man in the doctor's coat...was Yen Sid. "M-Master Yen S-S-Sid?!"
Doctor Sid sighed, leaning against his desk. "Sora...I've heard from your nurse that you're getting worried about your medication again. Do you know why you take the medication?"
Sora shook his head, "I'm...I'm not crazy... This is just an illusion."
Doctor Sid shook his head, "If you know it's an illusion...why can't you make it go away? But we've had this discussion before. You can't make it go away because it's not an illusion."
Sora placed his head in his hands, "Master...d-don't you see what's happening here? The organization...they're inside our heads."
Doctor Sid nodded, "Right...the organization. You mean the secret society that is out to get you? Sora, does that seem reasonable to you? Look, I'm not going to skirt around the issue any longer. Doctor Xavier and I am concerned that you're making up new rules as you go along. World jumping and monster slaying is fine for television and comic books, but not for real life. You're not the wielder of some magical blade, Sora. You're a patient in this institution and we're trying to get you well." Doctor Sid explained.
Sora shook his head, "No...there's something wrong with this place! You are not keeping me here!" Sora exclaimed.
The nurse took a step forward, his arms extended. "Okay, Sora. Let's just stay calm...doctor Sid is trying to help you."
Sora looked between the nurse and the doctor, "I'm not crazy."
Doctor Sid nodded, "Of course not, Sora. Now I know you're upset, but you must calm down." He said in a pleading voice.
"Okay...then let me out of here."
Doctor Sid nodded, "Of course, nobody's stopping you." He turned to the nurse, "Take him to see nurse Riku."
Sora stopped, "...Riku...?"
The nurse nodded, "Sure, doc. C'mon, Sora."
"Just try to stay calm, Sora." Doctor Sid said in a calming voice.
Sora nodded, "Yeah...sure...whatever you say, 'doc.'"
The nurse led him through the hall until he came to an open door. Inside, the room was split in half. One half looked like an examination room for patients, the other half was used as an office. Standing over by the window, looking out at the courtyard, was a tall young man with long silver hair.
"...R-Riku...?" Sora asked, a slight tremble in his voice.
The man turned around, revealing the face of Sora's best friend. "Sora! I heard you're back on your med cycle...that's a good sign." He moved behind his desk and took a seat, motioning for Sora to do the same. "Doctor Xavier's been asking me about your progress. He's very concerned about you. We all are." Riku said with a smile.
Sora leaned forward in his chair, "Riku...I don't know what this place is, but I'm gonna get us out of here." He reached for Riku's hand.
Riku pushed himself out of Sora's reach, "Why would I want to get out of here, Sora? I work here. I'm here to help you."
Sora slumped back in his seat, "No...no, not you too...not you too..."
"Just stay calm, Sora. Everything will be alright." Riku said comfortingly. "Now...last time we talked, you were telling me about the delusions you've been having." He grabbed a clipboard from his desk, "You said you were...fighting the leader of the evil organization...and that...he was trying to open Kingdom Hearts..."
Sora leaned forward in his chair and pointed at Riku, "That wasn't a delusion! That just happened...I know it did."
Riku sighed, "I know it feels real, Sora, but it's-"
Sora shook his head, "Riku...you gotta listen to me. I think this is a trick...but I'm gonna get us out of here."
Riku leaned forward on his desk, "I can see why it would seem like a trick to you sometimes, but it's just a hospital. I want you to trust me, everyone here is trying to help you."
Sora shook his head, "I don't know why this is happening, Riku. You were there...I saw you."
Riku nodded, "We talked about this, remember? When you don't take your medicine, you have a hard time separating fiction from reality. You get a lot of bad dreams when your serotonin's out of whack. It makes you think you're remembering things that never happened."
"But...my family...my friends...the keyblade..."
Riku shook his head, "Sora, none of that is real." He leaned back in his chair, "I'll work out a schedule with doctor Xavier. Play your cards right and we can see a lot of each other, okay?"
Sora stared, "A...schedule? No, Riku... You don't understand, you're in real danger. We both are!" Sora stood. "We're getting out of here, now!"
He reached forward to grab Riku, but was stopped by the other nurse. "Whoa, big guy. Code white!"
Sora struggled in the man's grip, "Argh, let go of me!"
The nurse dragged him towards the door, "Easy, Sora! Calm down!"
Riku sighed, "Oh God, you were doing so good..."
The nurse dragged him out of the office, holding him steady as Leon approached. "Easy, easy... Calm down, Sora, we're not going to hurt you." He held a syringe up, readying to inject Sora. "Hold him still." He ordered the other nurse.
Sora struggled, but couldn't break the grasp of the larger man. "Let me g-go!"
Leon brought the syringe down into Sora's arm and injected the serum, "There ya go, bud. Now just relax."
Sora shook his head as the tranquilizer took effect, "Wha...what did you..." He collapsed in the nurse's arms.
The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness was Leon ordering the nurse to take him back to his room.