:: The Guilt to Be Liquid ::

Kingdom Hearts II

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, or any of the Disney and/or Final Fantasy representations within. This story is for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made of this.

Rating: K

Planned Pairings: all variations of Sora/Riku/Kairi, Axel/Roxas

Warnings: SPOILERS for the games

Notes: I haven't written much in a while, much less fanfiction, and it's going to take me a bit to get these voices down. But I'll do my best.

Think of this as a sort of sequel to the game. There will be adventures, traveling to other Disney worlds, etc. I have no idea how long it will be.

Please enjoy. Critique is always welcome.

Chapter One

The Dream: Sora

The reflective surface rippled before him. Fascinated, the young man tapped the mirror a second time. And again, the glass wobbled beneath the touch. A solid turned liquid right before his eyes, yet miraculously held its rectangular shape and remained upright.

He was so enamored by the bizarre effects that Sora almost forgot about his reflection. Until he placed his hands in front of him, palms flat and fingers spread, he realized the boy on the other side wasn't mimicking his movements. The mirror continued to ripple, lapping over his fingers as the ocean would his feet. The sensation was . . . unique.

His reflection wasn't even facing him. Rather, it stood off to the side, arms folded over its chest. Its nose wrinkled in an expression of mild disgust, even as its lips curved into an amused, perhaps even fond smile.

Sora returned the smile sheepishly. His reflection's smile grew; not on its mouth, but in its eyes.

Their eyes were the only identical feature between them.

Finally, Sora let his hands fall to his sides. Remnants of the liquid mirror trickled down his fingers, sending a metallic shiver up his arms, across the muscles of his back, and up the length of his spine until it reached a cold peak at the nape of his neck.

"It's been a while," he greeted cheerfully.

"Huh?" His reflection appeared perplexed. "We're together every day."

Sora fixed his eyes on his reflection, searching its face for any hint of comprehension. Sometimes he had to wonder if this particular person enjoyed yanking his chain; most of the others in its group once had. "You know what I mean," he insisted.

"You make a good Other."

Sora wiped his hands on his pants. Just like water—albeit water with a hint of silver—the liquid was absorbed into the material. It left an interesting trace of metallic reflection where his hands had been.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I." Sora's tone made it a statement at the last moment, rather than the question he had intended. "I mean, I haven't had to fight a Heartless or anything for a while, so I can't be one now."

"Right," agreed his reflection.

Sora frowned and scratched the back of his head. "But uh . . . no offense, then why am I dreaming of you?"

The other boy's smile faded, the lines of his face drawing into something more serious. "I've been needing to talk to you. It's hard, you know, reaching my Other when I'm always inside him."

Awkwardly, Sora shifted from foot to foot. He wasn't entirely sure what to say to that, other than, "Sorry, man. Don't know what it's like." When his reflection shot him an annoyed look, he rushed to change the subject. "Talk about what, Roxas?"

Roxas seemed to decide a fight wasn't worth it—which was good, because Sora had the feeling he had a tendency to hold on to some issues a bit longer than absolutely necessary.

"I think you're going to have trouble with the Heartless again, actually."

That made Sora blink. "But . . . no." He shook his head, frowning. "No way. How could you know but not me?"

"I'm a Nobody," said Roxas, as though that explained everything.

Sora wasn't buying it. "That doesn't—"

"I can't explain now," said Roxas impatiently. "Just trust me. We're supposed to be the same person, okay? So just believe me when I say this."

"Okay, okay. . . ."

Roxas began to pace within the confines of the mirror. The surface no longer rippled, even when he turned and seemed to place his own hand on it. Sora wondered if it was solid on his end.

"There's a new gateway," said Roxas. His voice was urgent, and he began to speak rapidly, as though put on a sudden time limit. "They're finding ways to get hearts without the Keyblade. And they're finding ways to wield the Keyblade."

That set off alarms. "But we're the only ones—"

"Whoever has the strongest heart can wield it, remember?" Roxas interrupted. "Riku did when your heart was failing." Sora opened his mouth to reply, but his reflection cut him off a second time. "I've never contacted you through a dream before. It was something I sort of had to learn on my own."

Roxas paused and looked away. He did not meet Sora's eyes again.

- - -

He awoke to bits of sunlight glimmering through the blinds.

Sora rubbed sleep from his eyes, glancing at the clock at his bedside. He almost jumped out from under the sheets, alarmed that he had slept in so late, before remembering it was Sunday.

He also remembered the dream. He had no idea what to make of it, if he should christen it a nightmare or something real. A new gateway, dealing with the Heartless again . . . he had just settled into seven months of peace. So had Kairi, and Riku.

Kairi and Riku. That was it, he decided. He would talk to them, and they'd know what to do. Sora didn't want to involve them unnecessarily, but if it turned out the dream had been a true warning, he couldn't take any chances. He wouldn't lose them again.

Sora hesitated in pulling his shirt over his head, staring at the mirror. The only person looking back was his own self, brown hair messy as usual, eyes curious and almost worried. He really had grown since the first journey had begun, and continued to grow after the second had ended. (Though, thankfully, he was over the worst of his Awkward Phase. He hoped.)

He pulled his shirt down completely then reached out and tapped the glass, half-expecting it to ripple.

Nothing.

"Moron," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. Perhaps he was putting too much credit into this dream. People using dreams as a gateway seemed farfetched, even after all he had seen.

Yet Roxas' last words was what made him unsure.

"But Sora . . . I'm not the only one."