Did I mention that Mickey is turning out to be a major jackass in this fic? It's really not on purpose, but it has to happen. Maybe it will all fall in place later on, who knows? There are many questions left behind. But hey, that's how I do stuff. The story will progress a lot in the next 2 chapters and some stuff will be explained. My little story here will have quite the ending, can't wait to get all chapters out and finish this!

For Akatosh's sake, review! (Ha! Game references!)

Enjoy ~

Chapter 6. Falling

Riku

Good lord, Sora grew a lot. He's so heavy! My ribs are hurting and carrying him on my back wasn't helping my already screwed up healing. My magic did it's job, fixing whatever it could, but I was no master in the healing arts, so I was still bleeding and pretty much in pain. Most of my physical burdens fell short of the questions racing through my mind. First, Sora was acting weird, distant and his sadness was almost unbearble from time to time. He never acted like this, unless there was a good reason. If I had to guess, it was because of Donald and Goofy. Both were acting weird, distancing themselves from Sora, which was something he couldn't understand seeing they were close friends not too long ago.

Then, out of nowhere, he agrees to spar with me going all out. During all our training sessions, both now and before everything happened and we left the island, he always said he would never fight a friend for real. He just couldn't do it. At first, I thought him agreeing with me was a good thing. He would be able to let out some of the pressure, relax a little. Now I'm beginning to understand why he did it. He wasn't just sad and depressed at the thought of losing a few of his closest friends for a reason he didn't even know, making him helpless. It also made him beyond angry. He was furious at... well, everyone. Mickey was being overly secretive about all this and it really wasn't helping. Queen Minnie did little to interfere, too. Kairi, of course, caught up faster than everyone else and she gave lots of attention to him. They were all in good spirit, but it didn't really help. The problem wasn't lack of attention or affection.

Sora felt like he was being left behind.

Now it all made sense. Him being sad and depressed. I can only imagine how it must have felt to be left behind in the first place. We were so young back then and I still blame myself for it. But Sora had it worse. He blamed himself, thinking he was weak. I'm sure that he faced all his challenges so far with the notion he needed to be stronger. Stronger for all of us, so he could walk beside us, as equals. Little did he know he was so far ahead, we were the ones struggling to keep up.

Now this, this... sickening new "power" of his. A second keyblade, twisted, dark and full of ill intentions. I have to hold back a shiver every time I think about it. To think how it's affecting Sora, how he became so violent and attacked me with no hesitation and how he acquired that in the first place. It had something to do with Mickey going on his little private journey, I just knew it. At this point, I wouldn't hesitate to beat the answers out of that little mouse. He didn't deserve my respect anymore, not after messing with our lifes like this.

As I approached the castle, walking slowly with an unconscious Sora on my back, the guards quickly spotted us and sounded some sort of trumpet, letting our presence know to the rest of the residents. Quickly, everyone gathered at the front gate to greet us. Kairi looked somehow optimistic, probably thinking we would have vented out our frustrations as we fought. Donald and Goofy stood there, still avoiding direct eye contact, hesitating to greet us. As we neared the entrance, everyone spotted Sora on my back, my wounds and my tattered clothes. The guards looked alarmed, quickly going out of the castle to scort us in while watching our surroundings for any signs of enemy activity. Not like they stood a chance against a pack of heartless. Kairi, on the other hand, looked absolutely horrified.

"Wha... What happened? Weren't you just training?" She looked worriedly from my wounds and the bruise marks forming to Sora. She began petting his head, trying to bring him some comfort of sorts. Goofy and Donald snapped out of their little guilt trip, hurrying to our side. They tried say something, worried about us, but the glare I gave them probably stopped any words from coming out of their mouths. Looking to Kairi, I tried explaining everything.

"Yes, we were. But something happened. I'll explain later, once Sora's awake. We both need a healer." That being said, I looked at Donald. "Do your job, court wizard." My tone was dripping with my anger towards him. Maybe it was misguided, but I couldn't help but resent him, Goofy and Mickey. They probably had something to do with this, along with their little secret.

Donald looked angry for a second, before giving in and casting a proper Curaga spell, washing our pains away. I could feel my body stitching itself together, a relaxing sensation rising from within me, thanks to the magic. The duck quietly mumbled "There, done." and walked away, with no further attempts to help or speak. Goofy on the other hand still stood there, eyes glazed on Sora, looking like he was about to cry. He was soft for such a strong fellow. I perked Sora up, fixing my grip on him, than proceeded to carry him to his room, Kairi following me. We walked silently, only speaking after she closed the bedroom's door behind us and Sora was properly placed on his bed.

"Explain. Now." She placed her hands on her hips and looked at the with a frown, her tone was demanding, but worrying. She was acting motherly again. I felt tired and I really needed a rest, explaining something I didn't even know wasn't the plan here. Sighing, I tried my best to comply to her wishes.

"Kairi, I would explain if I knew what happened. We were training, but something happened." I looked at Sora, searching his sleepy face for any signs of the anger he displayed before. "Sora snapped. I think all this pressure got to him." Kairi lost her composure and slumped down on a chair "We have to wait until he wakes up to know more." I glanced at Sora again, watching him sleep peacefully.

"I knew this would happen." Kairi was stressed out herself and the situation didn't make it any better. Perhaps I shouldn't have told her anything. "Well, let's wait until Sora wakes up. I don't know what else to do at this point, too." She said tiredly, massaging her temples.

"Oh, I know what I'll do until he wakes up." I was angry and I would demand answers, I don't care from who. Kairi perked up a little to watch me.

"You do?" She asked, curiosity written all over her face.

"I will bash a few faces in and get some answers. I'm done waiting." As I stormed out the room, Kairi quickly followed, saying I should be patient, that it wasn't really their fault. I didn't listen and I really didn't care. We weren't guests in this castle, we were prisoners. They weren't my friends anymore. I had no problem hurting an enemy when I needed some answers. As I stomped down the hallway, not really caring about bumping into any of the servants, I saw Donald and Goofy in the courtyard.

"Kairi, stay with Sora." I said emotionlessly. I didn't hesitate to jump out the window. We were on the third floor, but I didn't care, I would get my answers. Landing softly, producing almost no sound, I made my way towards them, leaving Kairi behind. As I was about to say something, I noticed they were speaking to King Mickey using some sort of device, a holographic image of the mouse standing there. I hid behind the bushes, listening in their conversation.

"My king, Sora has shown the signs!" A very worried goof said. In fact, he was so nervous he didn't even speak in his usual manner. His overly polite tone was something unnatural to hear in his voice. What signs are they talking about, anyway?

"Yes, he arrived unconscious not too long ago." The duck continued "He must've passed out from the sudden outburst of power." He placed his wing on his chin, pensative "He probably couldn't control it either." I was fuming with anger, they knew about it but didn't tell us anything! How dare they do this?!

"I'm almost there. In case he wakes up before I arrive, don't let him out of the castle. I found what I wanted and I'm bringing back results. I'll see you in a while." King Mickey answered, then the light from the device dimmed and dissapeared, leaving no trace of him. Goofy and Donald sighed, both feeling something akin to relief, I'll guess, now that their King is coming back to it's Kingdom. I would question him too, in time, but now I had two really secretive "friends" to "tenderly question" about the situation. Clenching my fist, I walked out of my hiding spot, glaring at the two. They were surprised and looked alarmed.

"So... somehow, all of you knew that this would happen." My tone showed no emotion, as cold as I could make it. Goofy had his mouth open but no sound came while Donald tried to say something but I cut him off "And the best part is... " I placed one hand on my hip while the other gestured in an easy manner, my expression calm and my eyes partially closed, my voice also gave nothing away "... you didn't tell us a thing." I opened my eyes fully and glared at them, studying their increasing uneasiness " Now you want to make us prisoners until your so called King returns and decides what to do with us." My hands were at my sides, formed into knuckles.

"No, you don't understand. It's nothing like that! King Mickey will – " Donald tried to say, but I cut him off again. I didn't care about their reasoning anymore. I gave them a chance months ago and they wasted it. I would have my answers one way or the other.

"Listen here, court wizard. You betrayed us. You too, knight. " I looked at Goofy, who couldn't even look at me. "Most importantly, you forfeit your friendship with Sora. You left him alone and it hurt him bad. I don't know what happened to him, but you do." I summoned Soul-Eater and pointed it's sharp end towards the two. They took a step back, surprised and afraid. "And you better start giving me answers." As I continued to glare, making my point clear, they raised their hands in defense, Goofy finally looking up to me, meeting my eyes. He took a step back, afraid of me, but started talking.

"Ahyuk... It's uhh... Complicated. It only happened once before. King Mickey will explain once he gets here –" Again with this blabbering about waiting. I was sick and tired of it and cut him off, not giving him a chance to continue.

"Let me make myself clear. You either tell me everything you know willingly, or I'll make you" As I said that, I gathered darkness at my blade and around me, feeling it's cold seeping through me, giving me strength. Finally, they realised I wouldn't back down and looking defeated, Donald sighed.

"I'm sorry Riku, but we just can't tell you anything right now" The duck clearly didn't understand my intentions. I conjured even more darkness and prepared to attack.

"So be it. You chose this." As I readied my weapon and was about to leap foward to strike him down or badly injure him so I could drag him off somewhere to ask my questions, Kairi appeared at the window on the third floor, shouting at us.

"Riku! Sora is awakening!" She looked rather reliefed, her lips forming a smile. It quickly left her as she noticed the darkness surrounding me and how I was pointing my weapon at the duo in front of me. "Leave them alone! Come stay by Sora's side!" She yelled again, now dissapearing inside the castle. I sighed and looked at the two again, still glaring.

"This is far from over, traitors." I let go of the darkness and Soul-Eater, letting them fall back into my heart where they belonged. They tried to argue, but again I gave them no time nor did I pay any mind to what they were saying, quickly running towards the nearest flight of stairs, ascending and heading towards my friends. I was still boiling in anger, feeling betrayed and deceived by the few I trusted other than Sora and Kairi. I can only imagine how Sora must have been feeling all this time.

~~##~~

Sora

I can't feel anything. Where am I? How did I get here? Why does it feel like I'm falling? When will I reach the end of this? My eyes are open but all I see is darkness. Looking down, I see my own body, also made of darkness but still it is somehow contrasting against the background, as if my dark was... special or different, clearly visible to me. But... where is this? And...

Who... Am I?

A misterious voice, resonating inside my head as if it was my own, yet so different, came to life to answer my questions.

"... you are the light..."

The light? So why am I so... black and devoid of meaning?

"... what you see now isn't you..."

Then what is this?

"...It's me..."

But... That doesn't make sense! I can't be someone else and me at the sime time! Who are you? Why is this happening? I can't even remember how I got here! Am I dead? I need to go back... I need to...

"... To do what? Go back to where? You belong nowhere... You're the one left behind... Sora"

Suddenly, all my memories magically fell back in place at the sound of my name. The very beginning of my life up until the present. The beach, the sun, the ocean, the breeze and all things I held dear to my heart came to life in my mind, shining and shoving away the darkness enveloping my body. I stopped falling and stepped on solid ground, a circular glass mosaic display of me with a sleepy expression, details revealing themselves slowly as the light emanating from me worked it's magic, until the panel was completely exposed. A shadowy being was circling me, a reminscent of my previous dark form, quickly passing by the ground, completing the artwork and giving it a more sober, dark look. It looked weird now that I wasn't the only figure on the ground. Rather, there was a shadow there, staring at my tired expression with something akin to some sort of twisted curiosity, almost as it was angry. I could feel the keyblade's presence there too, rumming impatiently around my heart ready to spring into action if I needed it, but there was no reason to call it. Still, it made it's will true by materializing itself on my hand regardless of my unwillingness to call it, producing some more light in this dark place. The little shadow stopped revealing the details of the ground and merged with it, rising again a few moments later with a body of it's own. I was completely taken back by it's form. It was as if it were a heartless, but it felt different. His body was much like Riku's, slender, tall and appeared to be strong. He was made of pure dark, yes, but his eyes... they were blue. They felt unnatural and didn't quite fit his figure. It felt like... my own eyes were copied and placed on him. Weird. Seeing the keyblade, he said.

"Oh, the keyblade is here already? I hoped I would have some alone time with you" His voice was the same that was talking before, but now it came from outside rather than inside my own head. He sounded friendly and easy going. I couldn't help but stare, hands tight over the keyblade's hilt, not knowing what to do or say. He chuckled, noticing how nervous I was.

"No need to look so tense, Sora. I'm not going to hurt you... " He shrugged and sighed in an easy manner, before looking at me with unspoken intentions behind his eyes "... too much." Merging with the ground again, he appeared behind me in an instant, giving me almost no time to react to whatever it is he was planning to do. He just poked my shoulder lightly and laughed, watching me dash foward trying to create some distance between us, failing to evade his strike. I only noticed what he did after he already did it. It was too fast for me to keep up.

"Oh you silly, I'm in no hurry. You see... "he gestured around, looking to the ground and mentioning me to look as well "I already made myself comfortable. And might I add, it feels good to be home." He smiled, placing his hands on his hips. As I looked down, I realized how much the mosaic had changed. It was like the creature belonged there, no longer being just another detail but rather a large part of it. It was unnerving me, I had no clue what it meant or why it was there. This was supossed to be a shining representation of my heart or... something like that. He didn't belong there. Gathering whatever courage I had and feeling the support of the keyblade's power, I managed to ask.

"Who are you?" Looking up to his eyes, I continued. "Why... are you here?" As he stared back into my eyes, he lost his relaxed composure in the process, his eyes looking... sad. The emotion was quickly discarted, as he merely laughed again and instantly appeared in front of me, poking my forehead, a bright smile on his face.

"It's a secret!" His finger left a tingling sensation on my forehead, making me feel numb again all of a sudden, as if I would start falling again, shrouded by darkness. The background was fading and so was the scenery, along with the dark thing standing in front of me. I tried to hang on to the keyblade and my consciousness, desperatly in need of answers, but it was to no avail. I fell to the ground silently and slowly, as if the air was so dense it could hold my fall, and he continued.

"Time to wake up, sleepy head!" His eyes had a tinge of playfulness, contrasting with the everlasting darkness he was. That was all I could see before everything faded again and a blinding light came to life.

So, I decided to cut this chapter here. There's a LOT of information to take in and I thought it would be better to leave you guys in another cliffhanger. Again, I'm not even sorry. But hey, it's on good intentions! Otherwise, this chapter would be too long and rather... tedious to read.

Next chapter: Fighting amongst friends, Sora and Mickey try to get it together and Kairi (finally) has her moment under the spotlight.

Foxys signing out.

P.S.: Reviewers tend to get my undying love in return for their services. Just sayin'