A/N: Sorry about the long wait. I've been sick and lazy for the last two week.

Hourglass

Chapter 7: Lost and Found

Even after a couple months of transiting back and forth to Disney Castle, it still amazed Sora each time to see their steadily growing army. It amazed him even more now that the command center and training facilities were up and running. All the fighters, soldiers, and armies they had recruited thus far were receiving basic training at Disney Castle before they would return for a brief break on their home worlds.

Sora walked into the command center to report for another mission. The room was fairly large, the walls lined with computer equipment installed by Cid and the genius child Lewis Robinson from Tomorrowland, and there was a long oval table in the center with a dozen black chairs surrounding it. Currently the room was occupied by King Mickey, who looking over a list of worlds they had made contact with so far, and Sky, listing off the worlds they had yet to see.

"So that's Wonderland, Port Royal, Halloween Town," Mickey said, reading off his sheet. "Crystal Citadel, Tomorrowland, The Land of Dragons, Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, and Fantasia."

"Don't forget Agrabah and Neverland," Sky reminded. "We still need to hit Atlantis, Treasure Planet, and Camelot, among others." Sora cleared his throat awkwardly, reluctant to break up their discussion.

"Your Majesty, you asked to see me?" he said, giving a short bow. Mickey waved him over to see a computer monitor.

"Yes, I was just finishing up ratifying this mission report. You and Sky are going on a mission to Atlantis next." Sora stole a quick glance at the older version of himself and looked back at Mickey.

"Sire, we're not getting back-up?" It wasn't that Sky made Sora uncomfortable, it was just that being around Sky tended to be rather… morbid.

"Sky tells me the people of Atlantis are wary of outsiders. The less people we send in, the better. I'm sending Sky because he's met the people before in his time period, so he's already got some familiarity with their culture. And I'm sending you, Sora, because you're a people-person. You have a way of making even the most paranoid of people trust you." Sora found himself staring at Sky, his expression somewhat blank. Sky stared back a little moodily. Sora didn't bother protesting the issue. It was only one mission without his friends. One mission alone with his anti-social depressing war-traumatized older self. No problem.

oOoOo

Sora and Sky arrived on the other side of the Light realm, stepping foot on Atlantis soil. Sora gaped a little at what he saw. They were standing on a cliff looking out across a lake with an island city floating in the center. But what made him gasp was the fact that everything he was looking at was in a cave deep underground. The lost city of Atlantis had indeed submerged below the ocean, but it never came back up.

"Are you sure anyone's still alive down here?" he asked, still taking in the view. "Look at that city! It's falling apart and covered over with moss!"

"I'm positive someone lives here," Sky grunted.

"But how could a society survive without the sun? Or food, for that matter?"

"They're sustained by an energy source deep within the catacombs of their city. I've never seen it myself, but I heard it was beau-" Sky was cut off when he felt something sharp prod him in the back. Sora looked over at his companion and saw a humanoid figure with a large mask wielding a spear and pointing it at Sky's back.

"Hey!" Sora shouted, summoning his Oblivion Keyblade. But before he could react, a dozen more spear-wielding figures appeared, brandishing their weapons in a threatening manner.

"Put the Keyblade down," Sky said calmly, holding his hands above his head.

"No way!" Sora protested. "They'll cut us up!"

"Just do it, Sora. They're going to attack you if you don't surrender. Put the Keyblade down and show them you're not their enemy." Sora hesitated a moment but relinquished his Keyblade, laying it on the grass beside his feet and putting his hands up. The figures began shouting at Sky and Sora in a strangely familiar language.

"Terra-habito!" one yelled, jabbing his spear dangerously close to Sora's face. "Terra-habito! Periculosus!"

"That sounds… Latin…" Sora murmured.

"Non hostilis," Sky called to the figures around him. "Nos es non hostes hostium."

"You can speak to them?" Sora said incredulously. "What are they saying to us?"

"They think we're land-dwellers," Sky explained in a hushed voice. "I told them we're not the enemy."

"Quidnam es vos?" said a strong and distinctly female voice. The leader of the mask-wearing people stepped forward, taking her mask off and revealing a pretty tan woman with white hair. "Vos es non terra-habito? Qua es vos ex?"

"Nos es non ex is terra," Sky said. "Nos es viator ex a distans terra. Meus nomen est Sora. Ille est Sora quoque." In a quiet voice, he said to Sora, "She asked us who we are and where we're from. I told them we're from a distant land."

"Vos loqui nostri lingua," the woman said.

"Oui," Sky said, switching from Latin to French. "Je parle plusieurs de langues."

"La langue des anciens!" the woman gasped. "Notre ancêtre. Tu les connaîs?" [1]

"I knew them," Sky answered. "They were my ancestors as well." There were several amused and surprised sounds among the crowd. The woman looked impressed and indicated the warriors to lower their weapons.

"My apologies for the rude welcoming," she said. "My name is Kida. Welcome to the city of Atlantis."

"You speak English?" Sora couldn't help but squeak. "All this time? Why'd you attack us for?"

"We've been under siege by land-dwellers for the last couple of days," Kida explained, waving them towards a pathway leading to a bridge to the island city. "We can't be too careful when strangers show up unannounced. We assume all outsiders to be enemies."

"So how do you know we can be trusted?"

"Only a friend of the Atlanteans would be able to speak our language perfectly." Sora nodded as everything started making sense again.

"So you're under attack? Who are these land-dwellers you speak of?"

"They call themselves 'Americans'. They bring weapons and destruction in their wake, looking for anything of worth from our city." The group crossed over the bridge. "We've been defending against their attacks, but I fear their weaponry is far too advanced. We won't stand much longer." As they entered the great city through a gateway, Sky noted the inscription written on the archway.

"Atlantis, civitas ille deus invidia," Sky read aloud. "'The city that the gods envied.'"

"Is that what it says?" Kida asked, somewhat surprised that Sky could read the inscription.

"You can't read it?" Sky cocked an eyebrow. Kida huffed and walked ahead.

"Some say that it was our pride and hubris that doomed our great city," she explained. "Others say that the gods grew jealous of our city and sunk it to the bottom of the ocean to be forgotten forever. Either way, our knowledge of ancient writings and technology has long since left us. We now scavenge on the edges of our city for food and fresh water, struggling to survive without our old splendour."

"Why don't you and your people leave the city?" Sora asked. "Go back to the surface." A sad look overcame Kida's face.

"Because our king won't let us. He says it's too dangerous on the surface." The sadness was gone and Kida continued leading her guests through the city to a great palace. "I'm taking you to meet my father, the great king." They walked into a throne room where an elderly man was lying in bed, clearly dying of old age. "Patris, ego ducere hospes."

"Dimitter ille alienus," the aging king ordered. "Non alienus permittere!" He broke into a fit of coughing.

"Patris, illes posse auxilio esse nos," Kida insisted.

"Her father is telling her to send us away," Sky explained to Sora, who had an obviously confused look on his face. "She's trying to convince him otherwise."

"Nostri populus es emori!" Kida said. "Illes posse auxilio esse nos! Ille legere antiquus lingua!"

"She says that her people are dying and that I can help because I can read their language."

"Id est periculosus!" Kida's father roared. "Dimitter ille alienus! Extemplo!" Kida was taken aback and went silent.

"Come," she said quietly to Sky and Sora. "You must leave immediately." She ushered them out of the throne room.

"What was that all about?" Sora asked once they were clear of the palace.

"As I said, we're cautious of outsiders," Kida explained. "My father wishes to keep our people untainted by outside influences."

"This is a lost cause," Sora whispered discreetly to Sky. "The king will never allow his army to be used by outsiders."

"Give it time," Sky said quietly.

"Procer Kida," an Atlantean soldier called, running up to the group with a small number of warriors trailing behind him. "Nos capio alius alienus!"

"Alius?" Kida said, surprised.

"They found another stranger," Sky said to Sora. The warriors shoved forward a scrawny young man with large glasses, pushing him to the ground beneath Kida's feet. Kida rushed forward, placing a concealed dagger against his throat.

"Mora!" he cried out, shaking slightly with fear, fumbling with his poor pronunciation of the language. "Desino! Desinere! Desistere! Just stop, please!" [2]

"He speaks our language as well as yours," Kida said, observing him with a fair amount of skepticism. "Do you know him, Sora?"

"I'm afraid not," Sky said before Sora could pipe in. Kida gave the bespectacled man a look of distain.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Milo Thatch!" the young man replied, still shaking. "I'm-I'm from the surface."

"That much is clear from your attire and your speech. Why are you here?" Milo precariously retrieved something from his vest pocket, causing the Atlantean soldiers to draw their weapons. Kida raised her arm sharply to call them off and snatched the item that Milo had pulled out. It was a leather-covered notebook filled with notes about Atlantis.

"I came here to study your city," Milo admitted quietly. "The people who sponsored me, those soldiers… I had no idea they would attack you. I'm so sorry." Kida looked at the inscriptions carefully, noting that some of the language written in the book was the same written on her city's walls.

"You can read this?" she said, tossing the book back at Milo.

"Of course, it's rudimentary Latin. I majored in Latin in university!" He went quiet when he figured the word 'university' had no meaning to Kida.

"Then you will be useful." She dismissed the guards and dragged Milo to his feet.

"Uh… what did you have in mind?" Before she could explain herself, an explosion shook the whole city.

"Terra-habito!" shouted several guards, rushing off towards the source of the explosion.

"The land-dwellers are attacking!" Kida hissed. "There is no time. Follow me!" She motioned to Sora and Sky to follow as she dragged Milo by his wrist. She led them to an underground ruined temple. The floor was uneven and slanted, half submerged underwater. "There is an inscription written on a wall beyond this chamber," she explained. "I'm almost positive it has something to do with an ancient technology that could help us. I want you to read it to me."

"What, in the water?" Milo squeaked.

"I hope you can hold your breath, land-dweller." Kida began walking across the room to the submerged portion. Milo gulped and removed his shoes and shirt before following the Atlantean princess. Sora and Sky followed suit removing their shirts and shoes. One of the first things Sora noticed was that Sky's chest and back were badly scarred.

"What happened?" he found himself asking before thinking. Sky looked up as if noticing for the first time that he had scars at all.

"The war happened," he replied simply. "Believe it or not, most of these scars-" He pointed to the burns and scars on his chest close to his heart. "Were inflicted by the 'good guys'." He made a sharp noise resembling a laugh. "Those 'Righteous Hearts', as they called themselves."

"The ones from Radiant Garden? Why would they do that to you?" Sora's voice shook a little. He couldn't help but shudder, but he reminded himself internally that this was not his body that was damaged, this was someone else's. Sky seemed unwilling to say anything and was saved the trouble of explaining his scars when another rumble reminded them they were under attack.

"Let's go. We're falling behind." He brushed by Sora and waded into the water until it was deep enough to swim in. Sora blinked and followed after him without a word.

Under the water, there was a hallway leading to another chamber further ahead. The four visitors swam into the chamber and examined the far wall where some writing was scrawled across the wall. There were drawings and diagrams in a circular design. In the center of the circle was indentation. Milo and Sky examined the writing carefully before indicating to the others to swim to the surface. There was a pocket of air in the corner of the ceiling that they surfaced in.

"The markings detail the use of some kind of energy source," Milo said. He spotted a glowing crystal attached to Kida's necklace and pointed to it. "Something like that!"

"All my people have these," Kida said, holding it up. "We use them to heal wounds, heat water, light dark passages, that sort of thing."

"Sounds like an energy source to me," Sky huffed. "The inscription mentioned that all your crystals draw their power from an even greater power source located somewhere in the heart of the city."

"If such a thing exists, why have I never seen it before?" Kida said with a sniff. "I know my city inside and out." Sky thought about it for a moment and then an idea struck him.

"Follow me." He dove beneath the water with the others following close. Back at the wall, he pointed to the indentation he had saw earlier and then pointed to Kida's necklace. Her face seemed to light up and she placed the crystal in the indentation. The wall lit up neon as the writings on it started to glow and a rectangle shape appeared. The section of wall in the rectangle disappeared, revealing a hidden passage beyond. The four swam eagerly down the hallway to an even bigger room. They broke the surface and stared in wonder at what was inside.

The room was actually a large cavern. In the center of the room was a softly glowing set of stones as large as fully-grown humans, floating in midair. They were revolving slowly around a larger crystal that wasn't shining at all.

"I take it that's their energy source," said Sora. They crawled onto one of the many small islands floating in the water.

"It looks… dead…" Milo noted, observing the appearance of the center crystal.

"If this is indeed my people's life force," Kida whispered. "Then that would explain why my people are falling ill and our crystal necklaces are failing."

"It needs to be recharged," Sky said. He stepped forward until he was standing beneath the giant crystal. Before he could do anything, his attention was drawn away by a low, impressed whistle. Standing near the front of the cave's entrance was a broad-chest older man with a military buzz cut hairstyle, observing his surroundings carefully.

"That's a mighty fine-lookin' battery you got there," he said. Milo seemed to shrink at the sight of him. "It'll make a lovely addition to the artifacts we've been confiscating already. So if you'll just step aside…"

"That's Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke…" Milo whispered to Kida.

"Ah Milo!" Rourke called, plastering a fake smile on his face. "I was wondering where you got off to! Defected to the enemy's side, have we?" Milo took a step back.

"He's the one who's been leading those troops into your city." Kida frowned deeply and brandished her dagger.

"Then he is the one who must die," she hissed. She leapt from her spot with the intent of plunging the dagger into Rourke's heart, but Rouke easily grabbed her by the wrist and threw her back. Before she could attack again, he pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the group.

"I wouldn't try that again, if I were you," he warned, cocking the hammer of the pistol. "You four, step aside and don't move a muscle or I'll send you to meet your maker." He pulled a hand radio from his pocket. "This is Commander Rourke, come in Sinclair. Do you copy?" There was a brief moment of static.

"I copy, sir. Orders?" The voice was a strong feminine one. Rourke opened his mouth to reply but became dissatisfied with the way Sky was approaching him.

"You, I said stay where you are," he demanded. Sky ignored his request. Instead, he summoned his Way To Dawn Keyblade. Rourke jumped back a little. Sky took another step forward.

"You're not part of the plan…" he whispered menacingly at the commander. Rourke's mouth seemed to open and close like a fish, trying to summon forth some words. Finally getting over the shock of seeing a sword materialize out of nowhere, he frowned.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring a knife to a gun fight?" he sneered.

Sora wanted to tell Sky to back down. Keyblades were useless against projectile weaponry like guns. The bullets moved too fast to be stopped by even the most powerful of Aero spells. And there was no way to get within striking range quick enough before the enemy pulled the trigger. But the confident look on Sky's face told Sora that perhaps not all was what it seemed.

Rourke grew tired of Sky's disobedience and without any warning, he fired his pistol at the young man.

"Protega!" A blue magic barrier erupted around Sky and his companions. The bullet of the pistol dissolved upon impact. Rourke starred wide-eyed at the shield. Even Sora was amazed at the strength of this new kind of barrier.

"Fancy trick…" Rourke muttered.

"Thanks," Sky said with a smirk. "Want to see another? Bind!" A green streak shot forth from the Keyblade at Rourke, enveloping his entire body. He cried out in shock and fell over, rigid as a board.

"What did you do?" Sora exclaimed, rushing forward.

"I cast a binding spell on him. He's temporarily paralysed from the neck down." Sky retrieved Rourke's hand radio and placed it next to the commander's face. "Call your troops off, sir." Rourke growled and struggled to move, but didn't budge an inch.

"Go to hell!" he spat. Sky sighed, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, as quick as lightning, he placed the sharpened edge of Way to Dawn against Rourke's throat, stopping within mere millimetres of Rourke's skin.

"Call them off or I'll kill you." It was a very simple threat, not laced with sarcasm or amusement. There was no room for misinterpretation or signs of a bluff. Sora could only gape as he watched a mirror image of himself threaten to end the life of a human being without a hint of remorse or morality. And clearly Rourke saw it as well. He reluctantly nodded. Sky flipped on the switch to the radio.

"Stand down," Rourke said in a disgruntled voice. "We're done here."

"Sir?" came the confused response.

"Sinclair, I said stand down!" Sky slowly removed the Keyblade from Rourke's general area and straightened up.

"Good." He began walking away. "Kida, Sora, take him to the surface. See that he and his troops leave peacefully. I'll be up in a minute." He was approaching the dead crystal formation as Kida and Sora heaved Rourke's heavy body up and towards the cavern entrance while Milo timidly followed.

Once they were gone, Sky set about restoring the energy source. He let out a deep breath and his body began to glow. A golden light surrounded him and began leaving him for the crystal. The crystal suddenly seemed to come alive, shimmering brightly. The stones revolving around it sped up until they were a radiant blur of motion around the crystal. The whole set levitated higher and higher, breaking through the ceiling of rock to the outside.

Meanwhile, Kida, Milo, Sora and Rourke made it back to solid ground in the city streets. They felt a tremendous tremor in the ground as the crystal formation arose from the underground catacombs to the air high above the city, shining light on all sides. A few seconds later, Sky was jogging towards them.

"We've got a few minutes to get rid of those outsiders before the defense barrier comes online!" he said. Kida didn't understand most of it, but she was more than happy to send the enemy packing.

On the outskirts of the city, Rourke's troops were assembled and waiting for their commander. Sinclair, a tall blonde woman, looked very displeased with this turn of events. She knew something was up. And she didn't want to leave without a fight. Approaching them from the city gates was Sky and Kida carrying an angry Rouke, while Milo and Sora tagged along. Sinclair's eyes widened.

"Sir?" she called. Sky and Kida ungracefully dropped Rourke at Sinclair's feet.

"Take him and go," Sky ordered. There was no room for dispute. A few soldiers came forward to pick up their commanding officer, placing him in the nearest jeep.

"Not so fast!" Sinclair shouted. "Just what the hell happened in there?"

"Just do as he says, Sinclair!" Rourke called from the jeep. "That's an order!" Sinclair looked torn between getting some answers and following orders. At last, her military side took hold and she walked away towards the jeep. The rest of the platoon clambered on the remaining jeeps, starting their engines.

"This is your last chance to go with them," Sky said to Milo. Milo chuckled nervously.

"I somehow doubt I'd be very welcome with that bunch," he replied. "Besides, this is the opportunity of a lifetime! Studying an ancient people in the heart of a lost city! What could be greater? On the surface, no one ever took me seriously. But down here, I can help these people relearn everything they've forgotten." Sky nodded. The four jeeps revved their engines and they drove away across the bridge at top speeds.

As they drove through the maze of tunnels that got them there, the binding spell on Rourke wore off. He sat up, looking out the back end of the jeep, glaring at the failure that was Atlantis.

"Sir?" Sinclair said from the driver's seat. "Sir, just what happened in there?"

"That man…" Rourke clenched his teeth. "That demon…" He composed himself. "Sinclair, remember those gas pockets we passed by on the way here?" He was formulating a revenge plan in his head.

"Yes sir, the ones that were too dangerous to drill through. Something about molten rock…" Rourke grinned maniacally.

"Fire a rocket back at them when we reach the rendezvous site."

"With pleasure, sir." Rourke could almost hear the smirk in Sinclair's voice.

oOoOo

Back in the city, Sky and the others were making their way back to the palace. The crystal formation was floating above the palace, seemingly charging up for some great task.

"What have you done to the energy source?" Kida asked curiously. "How did it regaining its strength?"

"I gave it a part of my own life force," Sky explained. "It just needed a little kick start." Kida was in awe at Sky's selflessness. She bowed her head politely.

"I thank you, Sora, for your help. This may well restore my people to our former glamour. And my father will be pleased with the enemy's retreat. Perhaps he will realize that not all outsiders are bad." Before she could continue, a low rumbling met her sharp ear. There was something approaching. The air seemed to get warmer as hot air was blown from the cave entrance by the city bridge. All heads turned towards the source.

The tunnel that the land-dwellers had used to get there was glowing red. Suddenly, lava was pouring out, burning the city bridge within seconds. Sky looked up at the crystal formation. It still wasn't done charging up the defense barrier.

"Sora, you're with me!" Sky shouted, running towards the lava flow. Sora only hesitated a moment before running after Sky. "We have to hold off the lava until the shield comes online." They reached the edge of the city where the land met water. A few metres away, the lava was pouring into the water and cooling, but the parts that were becoming hard rock were providing the rest of the lava with a bridge that would eventually reach Atlantis soil and torch everything in sight.

"Deep freeze!" Sky and Sora chanted at once, firing a powerful cold blast at the approaching molten rock. The lava froze instantly, but just as quick, the flows behind it melted the icy shield. The pressure of the gases caused the frozen parts to shatter like glass. Sky and Sora shielded their eyes from the minor explosion.

"We probably shouldn't try that again," Sora said. The heat of the lava was proving to be too much. He took a few steps back, covering his mouth and nose to prevent from inhaling the ash and smoke.

"We have to! It's the only way to hold it back!" Sky aimed his Keyblade once more at the lava flow. "Drive into your Final Form." There was a flash of light as Sky transformed into his Final Form. Sora nodded and did the same. The heat of the lava no longer bothered him as he floated above the ground, his Keyblades Oblivion and Oathkeeper levitating next to him.

"Deep freeze!" They cast another icy attack even more powerful than the first and maintained it longer. Sora was breathing heavily. It was harder to drive into his Final Form when Donald and Goofy weren't accompanying him. He feared the form wouldn't last long.

The wall of frozen rock began fizzing as the heat and pressure of the lava behind it pushed out. Sora winced, knowing that within a few seconds, the ice wall would shatter, shooting shrapnel and debris at them, and it wasn't going to be fun.

"Protega!" Sky shouted. A blue shield appeared around the fissure in the rock wall, containing the explosive material. Lava erupted from the cracks, obliterating the frozen wall but staying within the shield. The shield flickered under the pressure. "I'd say we have about five seconds to live." Sora gasped.

"No, we could-" He was cut off when the last of his drive energy left him, dropping him back on the solid and extremely hot ground. "Shit!" It was first time he had ever sworn. And at this rate, he thought to himself, probably the last time as well.

The Protega shield failed, releasing the bubble of lava outwards. Sky and Sora jumped back to avoid getting struck, but they were still too close. Sora could see the fibers of clothes and shoes melting under the heat. His skin darkened and began to burn and peel wherever it was too close to the fires. He took a few more steps back from the advancing lava, collapsing backwards, wiping the sweat from his brow. Just when it seemed they were out of luck, there was a high-pitch noise from the city. The crystal formation was done charging and was emitting a bright piercing light.

"Get inside!" Sky yelled, dragging Sora to his feet. "Hurry or we'll get trapped outside the city!" The crystal gave off beams that struck several statues lined around the city at specific points. The statues came to life and stood tall and proud. They clapped their hands once and released an energy barrier that surrounded the whole city, incasing it in a protective shield on all sides. Sky and Sora collapsed on the cool grass within the shield, thankful to be away from the blistering heat of the lava flows. Sora watched in amazement as the lava continued pouring out from the cave entrance, burying the whole city and covering over the unwavering shield. The molten rock hardened under the cooling air, creating a sort of dome above the heads of the Atlanteans. A few minutes later, the hardened rock crumbled and fell away, sliding off the dome barrier and into the water surrounding the island. The threat had passed.

"Sora!" called a voice. Both Sky and Sora looked up to see Kida jogging towards them. "That was amazing! You did it…" She appeared to be in a state of shock and excitement. "Is there anyway we can repay you?" Sky smirked.

"I could think of one way…"

oOoOo

Sometime later, after Kida had gotten her father to agree to assist in the war efforts, as Sora and Sky were making their way back to Disney Castle, Sora still couldn't shake the image of how merciless Sky had acted towards Rourke. Had the future really changed Sora that much?

"About what happened back there…" he murmured. "With Commander Rourke… Would you have really killed him?" It was scary to image he may have turned into a cold murdered. Sky was silent.

"No, I suppose not…" he replied finally. "How would we have gotten him to agree to leave with his troops if he were dead?" That still didn't satisfy Sora.

"It's just that… the way you threatened him. It's like you had no problem ending his life." He hesitated a moment before asking what was on his mind. "Have you killed before? I mean, another human being?" A few quiet seconds stretched out longer than Sora was comfortable with.

"Yes." Sora's heartbeat increased.

"Who?"

"I don't know who!" Sky snapped as he abruptly stopped walking. "It's a war, Sora! You don't exactly get to learn the names of every person you slaughter!" Sora shrank back. Never before had he felt like he had nothing in common with this look-a-like. They had the same name and same appearance, but they were nothing alike. Sky sighed, calming down. "I'm not exactly happy about it. But we didn't have a choice. It was kill or be killed." He scratched the back of his neck carefully. "A couple years into the war, Maleficent developed some kind of mind-control power. She used our own people against us. It took months to figure out a way to break her spell, but meanwhile, we had to fight and kill. That's when the Bind spell was created. We could bind the humans that were being used as puppets and keep them locked up until a cure was found." Another tidbit of just how bad the future was.

"What happened to the old fashion 'tie-them-up' routine?" Sora muttered. Sky huffed and resumed walking.

"Easier said than done. They were vicious under that mind control."

Then Sora remembered the scars that Sky had. "And those scars? Where'd those come from?" Sky didn't reply. "Come on, if you can't even confide in yourself, then who can you?" Sky stopped walking suddenly again, causing the younger brunet to bump into him.

"I thought I'd spare you the gruesome details," he said as he tapped his hip. Sora frowned.

"Oh come on! You're exaggerating! I should know! You're doing that nervous twitch thing I do when I'm lying. See?" He pointed to Sky's tapping fingers. Sky glanced at his hands and folded his arms. He sighed and began walking again.

"It's just a little difficult to talk about, okay?" He went quiet again as he tried to compose his thoughts. "It happened about a year and a half ago by my perspective. Disney Castle was holding a crummy little Christmas festival to boost the spirits of the soldiers. During the activities, someone jumped me and knocked me out. No one noticed because the festival was still going on. I woke up in some dank cell somewhere." Sky paused to swallow the forming lump in his throat. "Some scientists led by Dr. Finklestein explained they kidnapped me as part of the Righteous Hearts' plans to better understand the human heart and use the research they came up with to defeat the Heartless. They said I was special because I'm the only person to ever have been a Heartless and returned to human form. They… experimented on me for weeks, trying to find out all they could." Sky pointed slowly to his chest over his heart. "They removed my heart and did tests on it, just to see how it ticked." Sora shuddered to imagine what that was like. He remembered all too well his experience as a Heartless and it was not one he wanted to relive ever again. "The only thing that kept me sane was Roxas. Somehow during the tests and experiments, they were able to draw him out, but in an ethereal sort of form." Sky squinted slightly. "It's all a bit of a blur now. But I remember clearly Roxas telling me not to give up, that help was on the way. And sure enough, eventually Kairi and a platoon of troops busted in and rescued me." He sighed. "It took me months to recover more mentally than physically." That explained a few things, Sora thought.

"So what happened to Roxas then?"

"Don't know. I haven't been quite whole since that whole incident. Kairi suspected he was separated from me permanently after the experiments. Or maybe he used the last of his strength to sustain me the whole time. I'll never know…"

"And what about Riku? Surely he would have noticed you were missing immediately." Sky gave Sora a sharp look, but said nothing on the topic.

"We're here." He opened a portal back to Disney Castle.

oOoOo

King Mickey was waiting for the two Soras in his study when they returned. Sora and Sky made a their polite greetings.

"So how'd it go?" Mickey asked. He observed their worn appearances with worry. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine," Sky said, trying to get to the real point faster. "Atlantis has agreed to assist us." King Mickey nodded in approval and turned to a large monitor where he inputted the new data for Atlantis. "An ambassador will be with us in a few days time. I've agreed to be the liaison between our worlds because of my extensive knowledge on their culture."

"Good. But first, I have a new assignment I'd like to brief you on regarding special training." He passed a manila envelop to Sky. "I want you to pass along any techniques and abilities you've learned over the years to Sora, Riku, and Kairi so they're on par with you."

"Special training with Sky?" Sora said slowly, not liking the idea of spending an extended amount of time with his future self. "Great…"

oOoOo

A/N: I hope the conclusion in Atlantis wasn't too abrupt. And I hope my Latin wasn't too atrocious. Most of it stems from online dictionaries. At least the French shouldn't be too bad. I had a friend proofread that. Some translation notes:

[1]Vos loqui nostri lingua. – You speak our language.

Oui. Je parle plusieurs de langues. – Yes. I speak many languages.

La langue des anciens!Notre ancêtre. Tu les connaîs? – The language of the ancients! Our ancestors. You knew them?

[2] Also, when Milo says "Desino! Desinere! Desistere!", those are all Latin forms of the word 'Stop'. I figured it would make more sense for Milo to struggle with the different tenses of Latin verbs since he only has a bare minimum understanding of the language of the Atlanteans.