Darkness danced around the fallen Nocturn. He was 'dead', according to logical sense; not that he every really thought about anything logically before. Being destroyed by the Keyblade Weilder, and thrust into eternal darkness for all eternity, really made one change his chain of thought. All he really wanted was his heart back, thus was his only reason for joining the Organization, but unfortunatly that plan bombed. Not that he really cared about that any more. Now all he wanted was a second chance.

Is that really what you want, Demyx?

"Yah," he said, thinking that he was talking to himself again. Darkness made you do things like that.

Then wake up! Open your eyes and live again!

"Your crazy Demyx..." There was no reply, and Demyx thought that maybe his mind didn't fell like talking to him right now. But it came back.

Wake up before you drown!

"Before I dro-" He never finnished his sentence. Suddenly, he couldn't breath and water filled his lungs. Desperatly, Demyx began swimming in the direction he'd hoped was up. Light glimmered from above.

"What is this?" He thought, still swimming.

I've given you a second chance. Soon, you will remember nothing. Everything as you once knew...it will no longer exsist.

He kept on reaching for the light. Air was becomming limmited and he felt like his lungs were going to collapse. The pain was too much to bare as Demyx felt himself sinking. The air left his lungs and he was on the brink of unconsiousness.

"So much for...my second chance..."

The last thing he saw was a large splash and a person, disconfigured by the water, seemed to be reaching for him. Then everything went black...

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Riku and Sora had just gotten back to the islands and back to their old routines. The message from King Mickey had said something about "new trouble brewin" and to wait on the islands. And they did so, returning to school, hanging out with old friends, and whatnot. Being back at the islands was a little weird though. Espacially for Riku. Everyone acted as if they'd never left. When they talked, thay talked like he had always been a most trusted friend who'd never left; not someone who'd almost destroyed all the worlds, almost killed his two best friends, or the one who'd given into the darkness.

He found it amazing how nieve they were. No one had any clue that anything other than the islands existed. One would think that all of this knowledge, would make him feel important somehow. But it didn't. It made him feel secluded if anything. Even when Riku was around Sora and Kairi, who shared the same knowledge, he felt no different. Maybe there was something wrong with him...

"You ok?" Sora asked.

Riku snapped back into reality. Shaking his head and smiling, he replyed, "Yah, just thinking."

"Right..." Sora said, hesitantly.

"You guys want to go to the island today?" Kairi asked comming up behind them. She held three ice cream bars, handing one to Sora and offering one to Riku.

"Sure, let's go!" Sora took off towards the boats. Riku accepted the ice cream and followed behind the two. Sora and Kairi began chatting about their day at school. Riku kept quiet and just listened because he had nothing to share. He found it almost depressing. Ever since they returned, he found himself drifting farther away from his friends. Most times, he felt alone, even around others. Just alone.

Once on the boats, they began rowing to the island. A gentle breeze lightly pushed the boats towards their destination. The sun, in all its splender, reflected off the indigo waves. Kairi and Sora, who were both ahead of him, splashed each other playfully with the end of their oars. Everything was so peaceful and calm. It seemed like there was nothing in the world could break this tanquility. But something did...

Riku suddenly found himself in great pain. It felt like his heart was being ripped in half. He grabbed his chest and yelled out in agony. A voice entered his thoughts.

Half of your heart will be taken for another.

"Wh...what?" Riku asked quietly through clamped teeth.

I'm taking half of your heart for the life of another.

"Why...?" He questioned, thinking how much it hurt and wondering if he should be frightened of this voice.

You need to fear not. The pain will leave soon. Promise. As for "why"...you will learn soon enough.

As promised, the pain soon ceased. Then did Riku notice two boats on both sides of his and the concerned faces of his friends. He assured them that he was ok by showing a brief smile.

"What was that?" Kairi asked with relief written on her face.

"Yah, you really scared us," Sora added.

"I…I don't know," Riku said, wondering himself what had just happened. The voice said that it was taking half of his heart but it didn't feel like anything was missing, "Let's keep going."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should head back," Sora said.

"On a day like this? Get real," Riku replied, splashing him with the cool water. They continued onward.

Kairi mentioned something about how they first met on the island. Sora laughed and began talking about how they found the secret hide out shortly after. The two began talking on and on about childhood memories. Riku excluded himself from the conversation. For some reason, he couldn't remember any of those things. He started searching his memories for the farthest thing he DID remember, only coming up with leaving Castle Oblivion, which wasn't that long ago. Riku felt a cold sensation in his heart and the voice returned.

Do you hear that?

A soft sound began beating in his ears, at first like that of a normal heartbeat; then gradually it started slowing. 'Da-dum…da-dum...da-dum…'

It's dying…save it. For only you can. Follow your heart…

Riku stopped rowing and looked out over the expansion of blue water. He couldn't understand what exactly he was supposed to do, or even why he should listen to the voice. The island wasn't far ahead, and his friends were already there, waiting for him. He could just ignore everything and go to them, acting like nothing had happened.

'Da-dum...da-dum……da-dum……'

But he didn't. Instead, Riku allowed his heart to lead him, away from his friends and the island, and farther into the ocean. The water was visibly getting deeper. Something (and not the mysterious voice) was calling to him. The beating in his ears was getting louder and louder with each passing second but also slower and slower. Soon, it was almost too loud to bear. A second voice, much unlike the first, entered.

"So much…for my second chance…"

Not really knowing what he was doing, Riku dove into the water. Little could be seen as he let himself sink. A faint shape took form in the water as a realization hit him: It was a person! The body wasn't moving, just falling limply, and the heartbeat (as Riku finally decided it was) had almost stopped. Frantically, he swam deeper. He reached out for the body; afraid that maybe he was too late…

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This is my first fanfic...EVER! So please don't bash...Comments of any kind are welcome!