Disclaimer: Don't own them. They belong to the people at Square, Disney and the big corporate sponsors that have more money than they need in twenty lifetimes.

Warning: Blatant bias against Kairi. I don't like her, and I'm not going to pretend I do. She's not going to spontaneously combust, but she's not going to have an easy time in my story either. Also, brief (okay, maybe not really brief, per say) OOC by Sora because we all need a little mope once in a while, right?

Finally, this contains spoilers for the game and all that jazz. Read at your own risk. Since Tarzan-talk seems to be the language most people understand: no.float.boat...no.read. Okay? Okay.

Knowledge of the canonstoryline is recommended but not required, I don't think. The events that have already happened is pretty much the same as the canon storyline until Hollow Bastion, where the story changes sharply from the original.

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Chapter 1: Reflection part 1

A scattered dream that's like a far off memory.

A far off memory that's like a scattered dream.

I want to pick up the pieces...

...yours and mine. -KH2

The sky didn't seem as bright as it once did. Ever since the arrival of the heartless, stars had gone out one by one and night grew darker as time passed. So many stars had gone out that one could almost count the number of stars in the sky. Even the remaining stars seemed dimmer from the strain of the heartless' presence. It wasn't surprising; only a select few all the worlds could even touch the heartless, much less fight them. Every day, every hour, every minute that passes, the heartless grow stronger. Although keyholes had been sealed and battles won, the darkness was slowly but surely taking over.

The Keyblade Master.

The one hope, the only hope, that should have pierced the darkness of the heartless wasn't even supposed to be. Riku had been the intended keyblade master. Riku, the one who tried to take Pinocchio's heart, the one who had stood by Maleficent's side, and the one who betrayed the promise he made to Sora.

'Don't worry...'

Even so, it doesn't change the fact that Sora had just been a convenient vessel, the nearest strong heart that the keyblade could bind to. A temporary substitute.

Sora, Donald and Goofy had just returned to the sanctuary of Traverse Town from the emotional rollercoaster at Hollow Bastion. Hallow Bastion. Riku was still there with God knows who doing God knows what.

"Riku..." the faint whisper escaped Sora's lips and quickly dissipated into the air, not that there was anyone to listen in the first place. Sora had quietly left his hotel room, leaving his companions to their sleep. The two needed their rest.

Sora sat at the edge of the bank in the dank waterway underneath Merlin's house. With his arms wrapped tightly around his knees, he stared at the mural of the sun at the other end of the cavern. Sora could now see why Leon always came down to the waterway to train. The place eluded an air of solitude; it was what Sora needed to calm his thoughts.

A cool breeze rolled through the darkness and Sora shivered from the sudden chill.

'...I haven't forgotten.'

It had been only hours since they arrived at Traverse Town. It felt so much longer. Time did not flow smoothly after leaving Hollow Bastion. Minutes passed by like hours and hours passed like minutes. Sora had tried to fall asleep at the hotel. It seemed like an eternity that he was staring up at the darkened ceiling of his temporary room while an endless stream of thoughts swam around in his head. A glance at the clock showed that less than three minutes had passed but he felt like it had taken hours to sort out a few simple words.

'A promise is a promise.'

But then again, time was a figment of the imagination.

It took time seal the keyholes, it took time to travel in a gummi ship, and it took time to fight to the entrance of the castle. However, once those doors were breached, time stopped. Riku stood at the center of the room with his back towards the trio. Silver strands swayed slightly at the breeze caused by the opened doors. The entrance to the castle faded away. Hollow Bastion dissolved. All Sora could see was Riku's back, the clear blue sky, and the aqua green ocean horizon.

-----

"Riku, what've you done with Kairi?" Sora demanded.

This certainly wasn't the first confrontation the two friends had since their island's disapearance, but somehow, this meeting was going to be special. Sora felt a tugging sensation within his heart; it was pulling him towards the center of the room, towards Riku. Sora fought to stand his ground while he stared at the back of Riku's head. The silver haired teen, for his part, continued to stand motionless, facing away from the trio.

"You haven't changed at all, Sora."

Riku's voice hadn't changed. It was a deep tenor, it still held a somewhat higher pitch than an adults; no doubt his voice would only deepen as he got older.

Riku slowly turned his head towards the side, then slid his frame, turning around to face the party. Aqua eyes, the same color that reflected off of the clear waters in the ocean back at home, ensnared Sora's gaze and pinned him in place by the doors.

"Changed?" Sora was thoroughly confused. Why would he have changed?

The silver haired teen stayed silent and continued to stare at Sora intently, never once sparing a glance at Donald or Goofy.

"Sora?" Donald observed Sora with concern in his eyes. The duck was clearly agitated, ready for a fight, but made no move to attack and waited for the keyblade master to make the first move. Sora, confused, shifted his weight to his defensive stance and summoned the keyblade to his hand. Thoughts crashed into each other in the maelstrom of his mind. He had so many questions for Riku. What was Riku planning? Where had he taken Kairi? Why is he doing this?

Riku finally broke eye contact and his eyes slowly trailed down Sora's figure. A small smirk spread on his lips. Sora suddenly felt nervous; he had never felt nervous when Riku looked at him before.

"What's going on, Riku?" Sora asked as he tightened his grip on the keyblade. The smirk was still present on Riku's lips as he smoothly lifted his right hand towards the trio's direction. He stretched his arm in front of himself, offering his hand to Sora.

Sora's eyes widened at the enormous tidal wave behind Riku, rearing up for its descent.

"You still don't understand, do you?"

As Riku spoke,tendrils of black slithered across the pale flesh of his arm. Sora was reminded of the darkness that initially took Riku away, but this darkness was different. This darkness wasn't from an outside source; this darkness was emitted from Riku himself.

"Riku!"

Despite his utter confusion, Sora charged at his best friend. Donald and Goofy followed right behind.

The darkness clinging to Riku's hand sagged with it's own weight and started to drip onto the floor at Riku's feet. Puddles of darkness began to form and, as if they had minds of their own, moved across the floor to form a circle around the trinity. Alarmed, Sora halted mid-charge. As the puddles of darkness moved they expanded, twisted and writhed, forming a disturbingly familiar shadow. Sora nearly gaped at the shadow that took on the form before him; it was an exact replica of Sora.

"That keyblade is mine."

Sora felt it break. He felt something in his chest snap, sending an intense wave of pain into his heart. The keyblade suddenly grew heavy. The pain in his chest almost masked the feeling of the keyblade's handle slipping from his fingers. Almost. With a cry of pain, Sora fell to his knees.

The shadow-Soras swarmed, quickly flowing to surround each party individually, easily separating the group.

"Sora!" Goofy cried as he smashed his shield against one of the shadows, trying to reach the real Sora. Donald squawked in anger, summoning lighting left and right to keep the attacking heartless at bay. However, despite their desperate efforts, the wizard and knight were soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of the shadow-Sora.

Sora could only kneel, doubled over on the floor, with one hand barely supporting himself as he clutched his burning chest. Each breath he took only intensified the pain, spreading it through the rest of his body and into his limbs. Every nerve in his body screamed in agony from the overload. A small whimper escaped passed his lips.

Although the pain nearly incapacitated him, Sora noticed the heartless were not attacking him. Clenching his teeth in determination, Sora lifted his head to look around at the dark, swirling figures surrounding him.

The shadow-Sora had formed a wall of darkness, slithering amongst themselves. At the center stood Riku. Sora could see Riku's face and body, clear and bright, starkly contrasted in the mesh of darkness that surrounded them both. Riku's appearance was the same as his voice, just as Sora remembered it. Silken silver strands framing a elegant, cream colored face; full peach lips, pulled into a slight smirk; intense aqua eyes with a light that rivaled the sun; the yellow sleeveless that molded to his muscled torso; black gloves fit perfectly on slightly curled fingers; every wrinkle down to his ridiculously puffy pants and dust specks on his purple shoes had stayed in the exact spot he remembered.

"What did you do to me?" Sora asked, voice laced with pain. One hand still clutching his chest, the boy tried to pushed his weight onto his legs. His legs didn't seem to agree with mind as they could not hold the weight he tried to put on it. They immediately gave way under him. Sora's vision blurred as he braced himself for impact on the hard, marble floor.

The impact never came. Fabric so familiar to his senses pressed against his cheek. Two strong arms held him, one around his encircled waist while the other held his left forearm.

When had Riku moved?

The thought faded from his mind when Riku drew Sora into a tight embrace. In Riku's arms, Sora felt the pain in his heart dissipate. The body encircling his was so warm and safe. It was like the time years ago when he had fallen asleep in Riku's arms because they had stayed out way past midnight. On Destiny Islands, a place that probably didn't exist anymore. Sora snapped out of his revere; he all but shoved himself out of Riku's embrace. His head didn't like the sudden movement and his body tipped over to the side.

An instant later, Sora found himself in Riku's arms once again.

"Try and be a little more careful next time, okay?" Riku laughed as if nothing was wrong, as if they were not standing in the middle of a heartless horde at the entrance of a dark castle whose keyhole has yet to be sealed. Sora would've laughed hysterically if it were not for the fact that he could see anywhere from two to five Riku's standing side by side, merging together and splitting apart.

Sora fisted one of the belts that criss-crossed on Riku's shirt and closed his eyes, trying to focus. He knew that there was only one Riku, not two to five then three back to five. He felt the breath flow over his face. Riku was so close.

"No.", Sora pushed himself away from the other teen again. This time, Riku was ready for the motion and held fast. Riku had always been stronger than Sora so the younger teen only managed to push himself to about an arms length away. Refusing to give up, the brunette gritted his teeth and continued to struggle. "Let me go!", he demanded.

"No." Riku firmly replied, "I won't." Riku's expression suddenly held a torrent of sorrow. His voice was low so Sora almost didn't hear the whispered words, "I'll never give you up."

Sora immediately ceased his struggles. It didn't matter whose side Riku was on anymore. Sora couldn't stand to see his friend in pain.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked.

Riku, as he schooled his features into a blank expression, replied "Now's not a good time to-"

"Now's a good time as any!" Sora interrupted, he let out a loud breath and continued, "What are you doing here?" he looked around him, unconsciously tightened his grip on Riku's arm, asked, "What are these-?"

"They're heartless.", Riku answered easily slipping on a smirk, "I thought you would've known that by now."

"You know what I mean! Don't avoid the question!"

"Anti-Sora."

"Huh?"

"They're called Anti-Sora.", Riku explained before he moved his hand to cover Sora's eyes.

Sora didn't have time to protest; he already sank into the dark oblivion of unconsciousness.

Riku had managed to dodge the question.

-----

Sora picked up a small, flat rock near the bank's edge and threw it across the water's surface. The rock skipped about two times before breaking the surface with a ker-plop! and slowly sinking to the bottom. Riku could make it skip over a dozen times. He used to try and explain to Sora how, but Sora never seemed to be able to pull it off right.

The rocks had always flopped around a few times before they decended below the surface.

'We'll go together...'

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tbc

multiple part first chapter. Whoohoo!

Random side note: Riku's so hot in KH2 droools. Sora remained his cute little self (and I wouldn't change him for the world) while Riku grew into such a flaming hot (and tall)stud. I never knew how bangs over your eyes could be so sexy. mmm...Rikuuu's bangs...his deep, sexy voice...his EXPOSED NAVEL. MOOOO!

If something is pissing you off or confusing you, please don't hesitate to tell me. I don't like it when someone else misses a plot hole so I'll try to avoid it myself. Unless it's intentional cliffhangers (in which I will just laugh at you, diabolically) I will fix things as best I can. Also, I suck at grammer in general so don't hesitate to point those out to me. I appreciate every bit of constructive criticism you can dish out. Type 'til you're blue and I'll love every minute of it. Dish away. :) btw, does anyone want to beta this fic? Drop me a line if you are willing. It's not going to be hard with the snail pace I crank things out in.