Forgotten Hearts

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did it wouldn't be the same story.

Warnings: This is yaoi, and I take full responsibility for all the dirty little fantasies in your head. If you don't like boys doing naughty things to one another, find something else to read.

Pairings: Axel:x:Sora/Roxas, Riku:x:Sora, slight Roxas:x:Sora

Plot: Kingdom Hearts isn't a reality; it is a figment of imagination, created in the comatose mind of a boy named Sora. Years later, after Sora recovers from his coma, the things from his alter world start coming to a reality on Earth, but things are much different than in his memories…

((Searching through some old files on my computer, I stumbled across Forgotten Hearts. This was the first Kingdom Hearts fanfic I'd ever written, the dates on the original files date back to 2007 (I was sixteen). I have decided to re-post. The writing style isn't nearly as eloquent as my more current fics. Hope you enjoy anyway. *winks* Happy Reading! :x:Myou:x: ))


Chapter Two: A Dark mirror

Sora blinked at Riku a few times, letting his statement sink in before he replied, "That can't be right. When you all talked to me, you didn't call me Roxas, you called me Sora, only recently has everyone started calling me by that other name and I-"

Riku held out his hand, stopping Sora. "Wait, who's everyone? Someone besides me calls you Roxas?"

Sora nodded, looking out of the window at the darkened sky. "Someone, a boy of fire, in my dreams…he calls me Roxas." He looked over at Riku. "I think they must have known one another well, he seems sad when he talks to me."

"Axel." Riku replied. "His name's Axel. Long pointy red hair, green eyes, teardrop tattoos?" At Sora's nod Riku looked away slightly, discomfort across his face.

"Axel and Roxas were lovers, but Axel was working for Organization XIII, the leaders of the Nobody." Riku stood up, walking towards the balcony. "Roxas was too at the beginning, and turned away from it, realizing how bad it was. When Roxas did that Axel and he became enemies because of the sides they were on, but Axel never stopped loving Roxas." Riku shifted uneasily. "I don't know if Roxas ever stopped loving Axel either."

Remembering the night he had woken up crying, Sora felt the weight of what Riku had just told him, then something struck him as odd. "Hey, Riku?" The older boy turned to look at him. "I remember Organization XIII, and the Nobodies, but I don't remember Roxas or Axel. I remember that the girl we were friends with as kids, she had a Nobody…but I can't remember her or her Nobody's name." He searched his friend's eyes, wishing he could better explain himself. "I have pieces of my memory missing, parts that don't fit. I remember you, though, and I remember certain places, like Radiant Garden. That was our headquarters, our friends were there…I can see their faces and hear their voices but I cannot remember their names."

Riku thought about this a moment, then replied, "Names are power. If you know someone's name you can control them, use them, empower them, or if you are strong enough kill them just by knowing their name." The night breeze was coming in again, ruffling Riku's cloak and hair, platinum locks passing over his bright green eyes. "At least, that's what old superstitions say. Maybe if you cannot remember people's names it's because someone's done so on purpose, and because you cannot remember their names means parts of you are missing."

Sora looked up at Riku, "But who would that be? The night we returned to Destiny Islands all the Keyholes were locked and the Doors closed. The Heartless and Nobody were defeated, there was no one who could do that to me, or to all of you to make you think Roxas is me!"
Riku tried to think of something to say in reply but ended up just sighing and rubbing his head instead. "Listen, it's late. I need to go back to the park and try to keep the darkness at bay as long as I can. Reinforcements are supposed to arrive soon, for both sides of this fight." He looked Sora over then walked out onto the balcony, saying over his shoulder, "Maybe when some of the others arrive we can figure out how to get Roxas out of you, and find out why whoever was responsible for doing this chose you as a vessel for Roxas."

"Wait!" Sora called, halting Riku on the edge of the small iron fence, "How will I find you?"

Riku looked back, irises shining into Sora's, making his heartbeat quicken. "You'll feel me, and I'll hear your call." A moment later he was gone, midnight engulfing the platinum-haired boy as he leapt off of the balcony and into the night. Sora, bewildered but tired, decided to think about what had just happened in the daylight, and glanced at his clock. It was just a bit past eleven. Yawning, the brunette turned over, fluffed his pillow a few times then closed his eyes, giving into his dreams.

-x-x-x-

Warmth trailed down Sora's neck, slight weight pressed down on top of him, hand caressing his tanned chest. Heat wrapped around him, though not as intense as last time, as if the fire had realized he frightened the boy. Sora's mind was filled with jumbled sensations; lips tracing soft, wet patterns on his neck and ear, heart beating faster than normal, lips parted and breathing coming hard, eyes fluttering madly behind closed eyelids. The red-headed boy above him sighed against the boy's neck, making the brunette shudder and look up at him in his dream, cat-green eyes filled with a fire of their own. "Roxas…I want you." He whispered, nuzzling Sora's neck lovingly.

"W-wait," Sora whispered back, talking to the other boy without moving his mouth, mind connecting to his, "Axel, wait, I'm not…"

The warmth twisted around him, a gasp escaping his lips as the older kissed his jaw-line, hands exploring his chest and shoulder. Axel seemed pleased that Sora knew his name, shifting his body closer to the younger boy's and moving to kiss his cheek and ear. "I missed you, Roxas. I've waited for you…I had almost lost hope."

Sora felt a knot tie itself in his throat, thinking about how Axel must have looked for Roxas for the past year and a half and never found him, while all the time he had been with Sora… "Axel…I…I'm not Roxas, I'm Sora." He looked up into those cat-green eyes as the older boy backed away and looked at him.

"You are Roxas; you two are the same."

Sora was caught off-guard by this, and Axel took the opportunity to lean into the younger boy and press his lips to the other's, passion igniting between them. Sora's eyes widened as Axel's lips moved against his, coaxing the blue-eyed boy to take action. Sora, having never kissed a guy, didn't really know how to react, but after a moment began to close his eyes and enjoy it. Axel, taking this as initiative, kissed Sora deeper, brushing his tongue gently over the boy's bottom lip. Sora opened his mouth wish a gasp, a blush crossing his face. In his sleep he tossed and turned, his cheeks getting hot, audible moan escaping his lips and Axel flicked his tongue against Sora's. In his mind Sora began kissing Axel back, allowing the older boy to reach beneath his tank top and brush his gloved hands over Sora's abdomen.

"Axel…" Sora panted as they briefly broke away from one another. "I don't…I don't think I understand."

Axel smiled, replying, "Roxas is your Nobody."

Sora, completely confused, replied, "I knew he was in Organization XIII at a time, but how could a Nobody be a Keyblade Master?"

It was Axel's turn to look confused. "Sora, you're the Keyblade Master. Roxas is a part of you so I guess he could be considered a Keyblade Master because he's your Nobody, but you sound like you mean the Keyblade Master, and that's you." He cocked a fiery red eyebrow at the brunette, cat-green eyes sparkling. "Did you hit your head or something?"

"If only that were a joke." Sora sighed, "Look, all I know is I remember nothing about you or Roxas at all, or about Roxas being my Nobody. I mean, how could I have a Nobody? When have I ever lost my heart?"

Axel shrugged, nuzzling Sora's neck again, warmth starting to absorb into Sora from the reignited emotions between them. "I don't know about that, all I know is Roxas is your Nobody, and you are the Keyblade Master. Whoever told you that you weren't has a few screws loose if you catch my drift."

Sora nodded, thinking back on what Riku had said about maybe someone had done all of this on purpose. Maybe someone, or something, out there was a new evil that they didn't know about yet, and it was trying to keep Sora from being the Keyblade Master. His thoughts wandered off of that subject as Axel kissed his neck again, tracing lazy circles with his fingers around Sora's bellybutton. It felt so good, so right. Something inside of Sora was melting in pleasure, willing him to return the ministrations. He trembled physically in and out of his dream, which made Sora think of something. "Axel, why have you been only in my dreams, and not in reality like Riku?"

Axel nibbled Sora's earlobe gently, teasing the younger boy. "I'm not here yet, I haven't crossed fully into your world. Something's blocking my way in, making it slower for me to materialize." He blew on Sora's neck then kissed it again. "It feels like one of your allies, do you know who it is?"

"Riku, I think." Sora replied, gasping slightly and leaning his head back, exposing more of his throat. Axel complied eagerly, sucking on the junction between neck and collar bone until Sora started panting. "Axel…"

The fiery boy stopped, a wolfish grin crossing his features, "I'll stop; I can't stay like this much longer anyway, it drains my strength." He leaned in and quickly captured Sora's lips in a short kiss then touched the boy's chest. Soft vibrations of heat emitted from each of Axel's fingertips, seeming to reach something inside of Sora and caress it a moment before withdrawing and backing away. "When I fully enter this world I will find you, and help you. It sounds like something's going on you'll need my assistance with."

A smile formed on Sora's lips and he nodded, watching as the Axel in his mind faded into darkness, cat-green eyes shining long after the rest of his body had disappeared into shadow. Sora opened his eyes groggily, half awake, and looked around his room. No one was there, but he hadn't really expected there to be. Thinking about what Axel had said about Riku's information bothered him. But if someone had messed up his, Riku's, and everyone else's memories, why weren't Axel's memories in disarray? Deciding he wasn't going to figure out anything more on the matter at this hour, Sora resigned himself to sleep. After all, he never knew when the next person would show up in his dreams, telling him more revelations. As Sora was lost to his dreams the darkness of the night was growing more and more deep, the moon shifting its shape even more drastically. The light of the sun didn't seem to be reaching the moon, more like an inner light illuminated the curving orb. The darkness was growing closer, the moon beginning to take on the shape of a heart.

-x-x-x-

Sora woke up to meet daylight, stretching and untangling himself from his sheets, and sleepily made his way down the hall and to his bathroom to take a shower. He stripped of his tank top, ruffling his messy hair, and looked at himself in the mirror. His reflection was rather dark, but Sora supposed it was because he had just woken up, and turned on the tap to heat up the water in the shower. Stripping all the way he stepped under the lukewarm stream of water and closed his eyes, letting the heat melt away his drowsiness. He scrubbed, washed his hair, and then stood under the jet for a while longer, thinking about what had happened last night. Riku truly seemed to think Sora was completely unrelated to what was going on other than Roxas happened to be inside him. Axel said Roxas was Sora's Nobody, a part of him. The boys' azure irises shimmered slightly, stress passing over his features. How was he supposed to know what was real or not with his memories in shattered pieces? He knew what was real to him but Riku, his best friend, still didn't fully understand Sora. "Maybe he thinks because Roxas is inside me I know all of those things…but those are my memories, not Roxas'."

Rinsing one last time Sora reached back and turned off the water, pulling aside the shower curtain and stepping in front of the mirror. He rubbed his temple for a moment before looking up at his reflection, which was staring back at him with bright golden orbs, body encased in black shadow. Sora recoiled back, water droplets flying from his body to the mirror, falling down the creature's face and bare chest. The surface of the mirror rippled as his reflection moved, reaching up a dark arm and pressing against the glass, fingertips stretching through and towards Sora. He narrowed his eyes; he knew this form. This was his anti-form, the creature he became when the evil he was fighting drew too close and darkness began to reach his heart. His name was Aros, and he had all the powers of darkness. Aros continued to reach through towards Sora, beckoning the boy by curving his long fingers into the glass once more, then offering his hand.

Memories began crashing into Sora's head; images of the magenta-haired girl lying on the floor of a castle, a gate to darkness opened behind her. Riku was standing before him engulfed in darkness, Ansem using the boy for his own gain to fight against Sora. A shard passed through his mind and he saw himself picking up Riku's dark blade, looking over at his comrades as he smiled, knowing what he had to do to save everyone. Pain assaulted his mind, darkness, voices; a girl calling his name as he fell. Waking up as Aros and then returning to the light, to see her smiling face. She was a princess, one of the Princesses of Heart. He could almost hear her name, almost touch her face…

Aros reached out and grabbed Sora's hand, forcing him back to reality. /You're loosing yourself again,/ Aros hissed at him. /What a pity, after coming so far and doing so much for the light, you're losing yourself yet again./ A wicked, fanged smile crossed over the anti-form's face, golden eyes burning into Sora's as the boy wrenched his hand away. /You still don't know who's behind all of this? Pathetic…/

"Wait," Sora said, "you know what's messed up my memories, and Riku and the other's too?"

Aros pulled his hand back into the mirror, smiling yet again. /Evil always knows the presence of other evils. If you would accept the darkness maybe you would know that too./ A moment later his eyes faded back to azure, his skin turning tan, and was gone. Sora stared blankly at his reflection, trying to figure out the meaning behind what Aros had said. The creature knew what he was talking about, being entwined in the darkness as he was, but Sora wasn't planning on letting him take over again any time soon. He rarely used his anti-form, and for good reason. Once Aros started, Sora could barely make him stop. He needed to find Riku and tell him what Aros had said. Maybe there was a way for them to reach into the darkness without being eaten alive. Grabbing a towel he walking back to his bedroom and dressed, then returned to the streets.

As he walked blindly through the throngs of people busying themselves in the city Sora's mind turned to Aros again. Aros was his anti-form…not Roxas' anti-form. Did that mean something? Could that be proof that he was indeed the Keyblade Master? Only someone of great power in the light could ever have a shadow as powerful as Aros. Then again, it might harbor more distrust in Riku if the older boy didn't understand Aros. He might think Sora was a Heartless or Nobody if he knew about Aros. Reaching up and rubbing the back of his head, Sora crossed the intersection, took the twist and turns of the back alleys, and made his way towards Central Park. The darkness around said place had increased dramatically, stretching out towards the sun and into the ground, like a black fog. Sora stopped across the street from the edge of the park, looking into the darkness, skin on the back of his neck prickling. Something was there.

Images of people he'd defeated in the past crossed his mind as he wondered who was trying to invade Earth. Maleficent and the Heartless? Organization XIII? He pushed away those answers. He had defeated them, he was sure of it. Something or someone else was behind this; and they were summoning back the Heartless and Nobodies and trying to conqueror new, unprotected worlds. Suddenly, out of the darkness, two golden orbs appeared, a small Shadow Heartless morphing out of the ground. Tensing, Sora took his fighting stance, bending knees and holding his hands out to grasp his Keyblade. Warmth came to his hands, shimmering light forming the outline of his Kingdom Key. The weapon didn't fully appear, but Sora could feel it reverberating in his palms as he grasped it, beginning towards the park. The Shadow looked up as Sora neared, two others molding out of the ground beside it. He raised his weapon, swung back over his shoulder, then let out a cry and side swiped all three creatures. The Heartless went flying, disappearing into nothingness after a flash of stardust and glitter. Sora continued down the path, watching the golden eyes in hiding following his movements. These were only small Heartless, in no way a threat, but where the babies roam their parents soon follow. He quickened his pace, following his memory to the center of the park, looking around as he neared the small lake.

"Riku!" he called, dissipating another Shadow. "Riku where are you!"

Sensing someone at his back Sora jumped sideways, bringing his partially transparent Keyblade down hard on whatever was behind him. The sound of metal against metal cracked the silence that had been hanging in the air, Sora meeting eyes with unemotional, slate blue. Spiked blonde hair fell around those grayish irises, deep-red tattered mantle wrapping around his neck a few times to hide his mouth to his upper chest before falling down his back. A huge sword partially wrapped in bandages was parried against Sora's Keyblade, the sound of metal on metal still screeching as the other boy pressed at Sora's blade.

"What do you want?" the blonde asked, withdrawing a bit but not enough that their swords stopped touching. Looking down at the glowing outline of the weapon Sora was holding, then back up into his eyes, he added, "…and how can you have the power to fight with a blade that is not fully formed from the other side?"

Sora took his Keyblade from the blonde's sword then looked him over, trying to figure out if he knew this person too. The bored, apprehensive voice seemed familiar, as did his sword. "I need to talk to Riku, that's why I came here." He chose to ignore the other question, drawing back his arm and resting the Kingdom Key on his shoulder out of habit.

Seeing Sora was not going to add to his statement, the blonde backed away and turned his shoulder slightly, motioning towards the lake. Sora looked out over the waters and realized how still everything was, then watched as Heartless began morphing out of the lake, retreated into the park to hide. Despite the creature's movements the lake retained its glassy surface, bringing a recent memory to Sora of how Amos had reached out to him from a mirror. The lake was the gate between this world and Kingdom Hearts. Looking closer, Sora realized Riku was engulfed in darkness and standing in the middle of the lake, arms out as if holding back two imaginary walls from crushing him. The lake he was standing on shimmered with a wave of light and the Heartless coming out of the gate screeched and vanished, but as soon as Riku's power had faded they began morphing into the park again. The blonde, watching Sora silently, said, "I think he's a bit busy at the moment."

Sora shot the other boy a look then said, "I realize that, but it's about who might be behind all of this. It might be helpful; I wanted to talk to him about it." Killing a nearby Shadow with a flick of the wrist he added, "Besides, I might be able to help them from coming."

"You're the boy who has Roxas inside of him aren't you." the blonde summarized, not really asking a question but stating a realization. "Riku told me about you." He looked over at the lake, watching his comrade hold back another wave of Heartless with a surge of light. "The Heartless are coming in pulses of hundreds, with a few Nobody thrown in the mix. Nothing strong's coming out yet because nothing strong's close, but once the real monsters begin to enter this world hell will break loose." He looked to Sora, standing his sword in the ground before him, resting one of his hands on the hilt. "You could help off the end of this wave if you'd like. I'm doing in alone. Riku and I are the only ones who have met up so far, so I'm pretty sure no one else has come through the gate. We're going to need everyone's help to stop this thing from happening." He averted his eyes. "Then, if we can't stop it, at least we'll have plenty of allies to fight alongside."

Sora complied, helping the blonde to destroy the Heartless that managed to escape Riku's attacks, until an hour or so later they just stopped coming. It was the end of the "pulse" as the blonde warrior had called it, and soon the darkness had ebbed away significantly and the lake had retained its regular surface. Ripples followed Riku's footsteps as he walked from the middle of the small lake to Sora and the other boy, nodding in acknowledgement. "I heard you calling earlier, I'm sorry I couldn't reply." Emerald met azure and Sora's heart halted a beat, then the brunette shook his head.

"No, it's fine," he replied, "I just wanted to talk to you about some things that might help in the struggle of power against the darkness." He started by telling Riku what Axel had said about their memories being messed with, and a greater evil than the Heartless and Nobodies being responsible.

"If that were true don't you think we would have heard about them a long time ago, back when we were all vulnerable and weak?" Riku asked after contemplating Sora's questions. "If we thought fighting the Heartless and Nobody was hard I couldn't imagine an entity so evil it could easily control both forces in swarms." He looked over at the blonde, "What do you think, Cloud?"

Sora's eyes lit up at the name, registering it in his mind. He didn't notice it, but as his heart remembered the name his Keyblade materialized a bit more, shining brighter. Cloud paused and replied, "I wouldn't doubt it. Sometimes for the strongest fighter to hide his strength until the most opportune moment is a wise tactical decision." He looked to Riku, then Sora. "We may have not heard of this other power simply because it didn't want us to know about it."

Sora added his own memories of being Keyblade Master instead of Roxas into the conversation for Cloud, and then also added what Axel had said about Roxas being a part of Sora, and being a Nobody. Riku thought about it for a moment, then sighed and furrowed his brow.

"I can't even think about it." He replied, rubbing his forehead in a soothing manner. "All I've ever known was Roxas as the Keyblade Master. I know he was a part of Organization XIII at a time but for the Keyblade Master to be a Nobody?"

Cloud remained silent, arms crossed over his chest, silently thinking to himself.

"I don't understand it either, I don't remember anything at all about Roxas, but he is there." He reached up his left hand and touched his chest, eyes softening. "Maybe we all forgot the truth for a reason. Maybe Roxas is asleep inside of me for something other than evil…"

Riku sighed, worry crossing his pale features. "I don't know; I can't even let myself imagine that. I don't know, like I really can't see anyone there but Roxas." He walked a little ways off, white hair shining in the darkness. "Let's not think about it right now. The next pulse is hours away, should we go somewhere else and talk of brighter things? We'll have many of the upcoming days to worry about evil and darkness without thinking about it during the times we don't have to."

Stomach growling as if on cue, Sora opted for lunch with a, "We could go grab some pizza?"

Cloud and Riku, seeming to be just as hungry if not more so than Sora, agreed. The three boys made their way through the park, offing a couple of remnant Shadows on their way into the daylight. Aros watched Sora from the shadows, a wicked smile across his shifting features. He disappeared back into the shadows of the park, laughing to himself as he followed Sora, planning out just how to show his true-form what those light-filled eyes couldn't see hidden in the darkness. Someone close to Sora was doing all of this; betraying him, hating him. Someone so close to him he even dreamt of their reunion; he saw that person in his most precious memories. For now, Amos kept this name to himself, wondering how long it would take his other to piece together the shards of the broken mirror so he could finally see the truth. The creature crept into Sora's shadow, retreating into a semi-conscious state. He would wait a while longer to see what Sora did before be told the boy this information himself. It was more fun to watch him struggle against the truth anyway, he decided, and let his mind go black.


More to come! Thanks for the reviews! :x:Myou:x: