YAY! My first Kingdom Hearts story! I finished Kingdom Hearts RE: CODED several days ago and BOOM! I was hit with inspiration! Let's all just pretend that Data-Riku DIDN'T loose his memory of everything, for this story's sake, kay? Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any characters from Disney. Sloan is, however, mine.

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It's mid-day, the sun is shining and your golden hair catches the light in the most flattering of ways. You're walking along the beach, the crisp, sea wind cooling you off and the smell of the ocean filling your nostrils. As you walk barefoot, the sand squishes between your toes and you feel like you're in a total state of pure bliss. You close your bright green eyes and inhale the salty sea air.

You've always loved the ocean; ever since you were a child, you would come out to play in the sand and enjoy the view from the beach. The ocean is a symbol of peace and serenity, you believe: the waves lapping against the shore, the wind ruffling your hair, and above all else, the gentle coo the ocean makes on a quiet day. Not even the gulls can sour your mood.

You pick up a rock, admiring its smoothness, before tossing it with all your might at the sea. You'd tried skipping rocks before, but it usually ended with one splash and not leaping once. This time, however, it skipped twice, thrice, four times and excitement bubbled up in your chest. You let loose a laugh and couldn't help but begin to run across the beach.

By the time you stopped to catch your breath, your hair was a mess, your eyes were twinkling, and your face was flushed a light pink.

The day was young, the ocean was beautiful, and the sun was glinting off of a metal piece in the sand.

Wait…

You approached the shiny item cautiously, not sure what to expect. Was it someone's keys? A watch? An earring? No, it was a computer ship. Curiously, you bent down and lifted it out of the sand. It was in pretty good shape for lying in the sun and sand for who knows how long. Gently, you flipped it over in your palm, curiosity being your driving force.

It looked like it could be plugged into a computer of some sort.

You ran home as fast as possible; what would the small silicon piece of material do when accessed? You were pretty good with computers, so you weren't worried too much about how to access whatever data was inside.

You threw open the door to the beach house you lived in and came to a jolting stop before the computer. Your eyes were shining with excitement as you plugged it in and waited patiently for the computer to upload the data.

The screen turned bright blue and a picture of a mouse, a dog, a duck, and a boy in a black coat came up on the screen. The picture morphed into a video and you watched in wonder as the four characters interacted.

"Do you think someone will find it?" the duck spoke in a slightly nasal and scratchy voice. The mouse nodded.

"Definitely. It may take years, but someone will eventually happen upon it." The mouse explained. The duck nodded, not entirely convinced.

"Gowsh, that's a long time isn't it, Donald?" the dog asked, his voice sweet and slightly… goofy. The duck, Donald you presume, nodded crossing his wings over his chest.

"I don't like it; we may never find someone to come in time."

"Patience." The boy spoke for the first time, his silver hair and teal blue eyes catching your eye. You watched in wonder as he stepped up to the computer and typed in a few commands. "A hero will come and you will get out; there's no need to worry."

The mouse nodded and then looked straight up at the camera. "Excuse me, but we need your help. If you've found this chip, then we're sure you can help us. In about twelve seconds, you will be transported here. Don't be alarmed; your presence here will not be permanent and will have a timer which will expire after forty-eight hours." He gave a huge and friendly smile before continuing. "I'm Mickey; it'll be nice to meet you quite soon."

Confusion spread out over your features as you watched the clip end. What were they talking about? Transported… where…?

As the mouse had said, twelve seconds later you found yourself enveloped in a bright light. When the light cleared away, you were in a white room next to a very large and elaborate computer. You looked around in awe as you found yourself wondering where you were. Surely you weren't inside the computer! That chip couldn't have transported you into a digital world, could it?

As you searched the room for a way out, the door burst open and in strode the same silver haired boy you'd seen on the video moments before. He looked shocked and stopped in his tracks.

"Who are you?" he demanded, quite harshly. You gulped and tried to answer.

"Sloan, a-and I don't understand how I got here." You answered timidly. "One moment I was at home accessing the data saved on a computer chip I found on the beach, and then next, I find myself here. Where is here exactly?" you questioned. His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized you. You suddenly felt self conscious for only being clad in baggy beige shorts and a yellow camisole and subconsciously tugged your shirt down a bit more to hide your midriff.

"… I see." He turned away from you, pulling up the hood of his long black coat. "Come with me."

You don't know what possesses you, but you follow him. He leads you down several corridors that remind you of the interior of a castle; when you break out of your musings about the corridors, you see that the mysterious boy has gotten further than you expected. You run to catch up with him, calling a faint "Wait up!". He stops and waits patiently for you to catch up and rest your breath for a moment.

"… Keep up." he muttered. You nodded, gasping in another short breath.

At the end of the corridor, he opened a large door and light flooded into your vision. You shielded your eyes from the onslaught of light invading the peaceful darkness and continued following the mysterious black-clad boy.

"Who are you?" you finally found the nerve to ask. He turned his head to the side ever so slightly, not looking at you directly.

"Riku. This is the datascape." He answered cryptically. You nodded again, not sure what else to say. You both walked a while more before you realized you were on a beach. Excitement bubbled up in your chest as you walked through the sand and felt the water brush against your toes. Riku watched in amusement. You turned to give him a dazzling smile and pulled him up by his hand.

"Play with me?" you begged. He shook his head no, but you wouldn't accept that. In one fluid motion, you unzipped the jacket and watched as it fell onto the rock he was leaning on moments ago. Underneath he wore black boots, dark jeans, and a dark maroon t-shirt. Motioning towards his feet, you ran back into the water. Riku rolled his eyes but unlaced his boots anyway. As you waded through the shallow water, you were surprised to be splashed by water. Jumping slightly, you turned your attention to Riku.

He had rolled up his jeans so the were over his knees and he was watching you with a satisfied smirk. Your heart made an uncomfortable flip in your chest before you playfully splashed him back. For hours, you assumed, the both of you splashed each other and played in the ocean's waves.

"Take that, you vile being!" you roared, tackling him into the water. He laughed at you and you laughed along with him; it was actually fun being here with him. You stood up and offered him a hand (which he took to pull you back into the water). After much struggling, you both managed to get out of the water and onto the warm sand.

Side by side you lay there, enjoying the serene comfort with being beside the silver-haired boy. You turned to look at him, your green gaze locking with his teal eyes. You smiled first and he followed suit which eventually led to an all out laugh from both of you. You couldn't stop; he was a very affable person, despite not speaking many words to you. He was silent, but you didn't mind; just being beside him was enough comfort, you realized.

When the sun had dried your clothes, you stood and waited patiently for Riku to do the same. He slipped on the black jacket and nodded to you.

"Ready to go?"

You nodded back. Riku then proceeded to show you the rest of the island explaining things you didn't understand (such as what a papou fruit was) and showing you the beautiful scenery. There were many caves that looked fun to explore, so with much persuading, you managed to get Riku to take you inside of one.

"I don't know what's in here, so we both need to be careful." He warned. You flashed a bright smile towards him.

"I've never been here either; we're on level ground now, huh?" you couldn't help but say. He rolled his eyes but you couldn't mistake the smile grazing his lips.

The cave was… dark, like most caves generally were. You walked in silence beside Riku as you explored the winding paths of the seemingly small cave. Your arm unconsciously found its way around Riku's own arm and you were happy to feel him squeeze you comfortingly.

You'd just met him, yet you were falling for him, hard, already.

Without warning, a small, black, humanoid creature jumped out of the shadows, reaching for you. Riku spun in its path, a sword materializing in his grip, and he slashed the being in half. His teal eyes met yours and you knew that the adventure was over. That… thing, whatever it was, was dangerous, you presumed, and Riku didn't want anything to happen to you.

"We're leaving." He ordered firmly. "That thing could kill you; I won't risk it."

Emerging from the cave, the setting sun once again blinded your vision momentarily. You cracked your aching neck (for you had to bend down most of the time, for the ceiling was to low) and waited for Riku to emerge as well. When he did, you found forgotten questions bubble up in your throat.

"Where is this place? How did I get here? Who were those people on the recording? What was that thing that attacked us? What exactly is going on?"

Riku sighed, rubbing his neck. "I'll tell you in the morning; night will be here soon." The moment the words left his mouth, the temperature cooled and the sun began to disappear behind the horizon. You shivered involuntarily and Riku made a face that seemed to say "I-told-you-so". You followed him as he led you to a beach house not too far away.

The house was cozy and you obeyed almost instantly when he told you to sleep. You were tired and it had been a long day; besides, you thought as you drifted to sleep, Riku promised to tell you everything he could in the morning.

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The sun streaming through the small glass window woke you from your dreams. The dream was fuzzy, at best and you found yourself remembering only snippets which made no sense to you at all.

A key used as a sword… a boy in black fighting strange shadow creatures… a heart rising into the sky… a small journal being carried by a cricket… the three she had seen before on the monitor disappearing in a flash of light beside the computer… An older Riku reading a scroll beside a boy with unruly brown hair and a very pretty girl with red hair…

You shook your head to clear it. No use pondering these things now. Riku was sitting in a chair beside the bed you were sleeping in, his teal eyes closed from the exhausting day before. You couldn't help but smile at him; he looked so peaceful. How could you feel so strongly for a boy you had only just met? He was quite handsome and showed that he cared for you; along with that, a small tingly feeling inside you seemed to erupt every time he smiled at you or even glanced in your direction. You shook your head once again in an attempt to clear it. Riku would tell you everything today.

You walk outside and begin a short trek along the beach. The sun had just risen, so the sand was cool and soft along your feet. The ocean lapping against the shore was soothing and as you inhaled the salty sea air, peace settled upon you. But, something seemed off about this place. The waves seemed almost mechanical and the scent was tainted with something so strange that you couldn't place your finger on it. As you mused silently, you didn't notice that Riku had woken and made his way over to you.

"You feeling alright, Sloan?" he asked, startling you slightly. You nodded, a smile forming on your lips followed by a faint blush to your cheeks at your stupidity. You'd been standing with your feet in the water probably looking constipated, and then freaked out when he spoke to you. You shook your head; 'real smooth, Sloan,' you told yourself.

"Oh, Riku, you promised you'd explain things to me today." You reminded. Riku nodded jerkily, looking like he didn't really want to tell you.

"I'll tell you a few things today and finish my explanation up tomorrow." He said after a few moments of silence. He held his hand up when you tried to protest. "The thing that attacked us in the cave was called a "Heartless". They steal the hearts of humans which in turn creates more Heartless from the body left behind. As I said before, you're in the datascape and were transported here to help the people on that recording get out, but they've already escaped, so it's not necessary for you to be here." He explained.

"But, what about—"

"I'll tell you the rest tomorrow before you leave, I promise."

You followed him around for a while and ate a nice picnic of strange fruits and berries during lunch. You both spoke about your world and of his for hours before Riku grabbed your wrist and took you to see a beautiful freshwater spring where the water for the island came from. Flowers bloomed around it and the cascading water glistened off of their soft petals. Light refracted around the scenery and you stood there in awe.

"It's beautiful…" you murmured, enthralled, and Riku smiled at you.

"Yes it is."

You couldn't help the blush that painted your cheeks when you realized he spoke that while staring at you.

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"You promise you'll tell me in the morning?" you asked warily as you settled down for sleep once again. Riku nodded his head and smiled at you reassuringly.

"I promised, didn't I?" he questioned good-naturedly. You nodded curtly before rolling over and falling into a light, dreamless sleep.

You were woken the next morning by a loud band and a muffled curse. You opened your eyes and giggled at the sight of Riku lying on the floor with the chair he had been asleep in on top of him. The small giggles soon turned into full laughter when he struggled to get up only to slip on his black coat to fall down once more. He looked up and over at you, mock anger in his eyes.

"Are you gonna help me or what?"

You stood, stretched your sleepy body, and offered the boy a hand. He took it and you pulled him up to stand beside you. You smile at him.

"Are you going to tell me now?"

Riku sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, but let's go outside and eat while I tell you."

When you got outside, you noticed that it was much later in the day than you expected. The sun was high, signaling mid-morning, and that also meant it was almost time for your departure. Your heart clenched at the thought of leaving Riku, but maybe you'd be able to stay. You had no family at home anyway, and Riku was a really great guy.

Riku had laid out a small blanket and set several plates with fruits on them out as well. You recognized one as a papou fruit, and you wondered if Riku would ask you to share it with him. He smiled and waved you over to which you complied. The two of you sat and ate, chatting lightly. He did promise to tell you; why wasn't he then?

"Sloan, those people you saw on the screen were King Mickey and his two advisors: Donald and Goofy. They were transported here by me to help repair this world. They got out when my friend Sora opened the link there. Where you are is a place called the datascape; it is a digital world identical to the one you live in created from the journal Jiminy Cricket wrote of a great hero's quest." He explained. I stared at him in confusion. "Everything here is fake, Sloan, everything, including me."

"I-I don't understand." You said unsurely. Riku sighed and stood up, running a hand through his silver hair.

"Then there's not much more I can do. Goodbye, Sloan." He said and began to walk away. You stood up as well, alarmed.

"Wait, that's it?" you questioned. "You're just going to turn and leave me here to go home alone? What if I don't want that?" you demand. Riku turns to look at you, his eyes devoid of emotion.

"Sloan, I—"

"No, Riku, I don't want to hear it! I know you're just going to tell me that it can't be helped and to go home and forget about you." You said, cutting him off completely. "But, I don't want to hear it!"

"Calm down, Sloan—"

"No, Riku! I can't calm down! You know why? Because I think I'm in love with you!" you shout, grasping his wrist and pulling yourself to his warm body. He shakes his head and pulls away.

"Look, Sloan, you can't fall in love with me." He argues. When you open your mouth to protest, he covers it with his own. It's a brief, chaste kiss, and it leaves you aching for more. You stare at him in wonder as he sighs and then summons his blade, the same blade he used to kill the heartless two days before. He lifts up his wrist and slashes it before you can realize what he's doing and stop him. A shout of worry and surprise rises, but you beat it down when you see he doesn't bleed from the obviously deep wound. The wrist he cut reveals an assortment of computerized numbers moving about in a fixed pattern to repair the damage. You watch in horror and curiosity as in minutes his wrist is fully healed.

"What—" you're at a loss for words as he gives you a sad smile.

"You see, Sloan, I'm not a real person. I'm just a bunch of data from that chip, Jiminy's journal, taken form." He explains. "I can't love you, not because I don't, but because I physically cannot process human emotions."

Your entire body feels numb as he speaks and you begin to feel sick to your stomach. Riku, the boy you had become friends with for the past two days and fallen in love with, wasn't real. He was just a bunch of compiled data, and you had fallen for a computer program.

You ran to a small group of bushes (computerized bushes, you remind yourself) as bile rises in your throat. You can't stop yourself from puking the contents of your stomach out. Riku walks over to you and gently rubs your back as you cry with your knees pressed into the warm sand.

You wanted him to be real.

"Any minute now you'll be returned to your own world." Data-Riku told you. You nodded slowly, tears still falling from your puffy, red eyes, and leaned into his touch. The next few minutes you spent with him in silence until a blue light enveloped you once again. Data-Riku stood and pulled you up with him.

"Goodbye, Sloan."

You did your best to smile at him. "Goodbye, Riku." You don't know what possessed you to do it, but you leaned up on the tip of your toes and kissed him once more. His arms wrapped around you and you tangled your fingers in his silver hair. It was surprisingly soft to the touch and you closed your eyes as a few more tears slid through.

It didn't matter that Data-Riku wasn't real; you loved him anyway. He angled his mouth to get closer and you couldn't help the moan that escaped from your joined lips. Data-Riku's body slowly began to dissolve out of your grasp and when you opened your eyes, you were no longer on the beach with him. Instead, you were standing in front of your computer at home with your arms suspending in empty air. On the screen of your computer, you could still see the digital world and Data-Riku. He wiped his mouth, pulled up his hood, and walked away from the beach. Your heart sank when the screen flickered to black and then turned back on to the usual desktop.

It was over. You were home and Data-Riku was gone. You wiped another warm tear away and headed outside, outside to the beach, like usual.

The mid-day sun was warm on your fair skin and the breeze ruffled your hair affectionately. The ocean sang softly and the taste of salt flitted through the air. However, for the first time in your life, you weren't admiring the sea; the sea no longer felt like comfort, peace, or serenity. No, it made you feel heartbroken and lost because by the sea, you fell in love. By the sea, you discovered he wasn't a real person. By the sea, you received your first kiss. By the sea, you were ripped from his grasp while he simply watched indifferently.

You walked slowly down the beach; the sand was warm on your bare feet. As you contemplated your time inside the datascape and falling in love with Data-Riku, you realized with horror that you had fallen in love with someone who didn't exist. And maybe, just maybe, he had never truly existed at all.

"Come on, Riku! Kairi's waiting for us at the far end of the beach!"

"Gosh, Sora, can you be anymore impatient?"

You heard his name, even heard his voice, but it didn't register: only wishful thinking, and you failed to see the silver haired boy with teal eyes run by, very real and very alive.

fine

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