OMFG! I'M ALIVE!!! Hehe...

This chapter was a freakin' bitch…::grumbles::…Once I had about four pages written, I got an idea to change something within the first two pages, which led to me having to change pretty much everything that was on the other two pages…::sighs::…Oh, well. It was fun, even though I have a feeling that I'm straying a bit to far away from my original plans for this part of the fic…::shrugs::

Anyway…Thank you to everyone for you support and understanding over the past couple of months. It really meant a lot to me to know that you all were okay with the fact that I needed to take some time to center myself. You're all truly amazing people and I love you…

Welp, I guess I should get on with the story, huh? Hehe. Enjoy!!…

WARNINGS: language…

Disclaimer: the characters and worlds of Kingdom Hearts belong to Square Enix and Disney…

"…The curse of his powers tormented his life
Obeying the crown was a sinister crime
His soul was tortured by love and by pain
He surely would flee but the oath made him stay

He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life
He prayed for both but was denied

So many dreams are broken and so much we sacrifice
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?
So many years have past toward a noble land of lies
Will all our sins be justified?…"

—"Hand of Sorrow" Within Temptation…

((Another Side, Another Story))
Hand of Sorrow…

If I had been anyone else, I would have been unsettled by the cruel smirk that was stretched across my father's face. As it was, I had seen that smile so often in the past that it didn't have the effect on me that he had been expecting, and it showed. At my indifference to his "cockiness," my father let the smirk falter and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk with his hands clasped.

"Why are you being so difficult, Riku? Why do you insist on turning against your kingdom?"

I snorted and rolled my eyes, trying to look as unconcerned as a person bound to a chair against their will could possibly look. "Because I know what you're planning and I want no part of it. Not only are you going to kill thousands of people, but they're going to be Sora's people. I can't let you do that."

Xemnas laughed and shook his head, running a hand back through his hair. "Why have you let him do this to you again, my son? Why subject yourself to this?"

"Sora hasn't done anything but love me," I muttered.

"Can't you see?" he shouted, pounding his desk so hard with his fists that it made me jump. "He's made you sick like him, polluted your mind with talk of love."

"Sick?" I laughed incredulously. "You think he's made me sick? Love isn't a disease, Father. It's a gift, or did you forget that when you practically killed Mom?"

The man laughed coldly and narrowed his eyes. "She betrayed the kingdom. If she didn't want things to end that way, then she should have thought of her actions beforehand."

"She was your wife!" I shouted. "How can you say something like that?"

"Your mother got what she deserved for betraying us!"

"She did it out of love!"

"Out of love or not, it was still treason and the correct punishment had to be enforced."

I scowled and glared at my father, following his movements as he moved from behind his desk with my eyes. It was all for naught. Because of my lack of blood intake, my reaction time was slower than it usually would have been. I blinked and he was before me, his face inches from my own and my face gripped tightly in his hands.

"You can't forget where you were born, Riku. Like it or not, you are royalty and one day this kingdom could be yours. You need to learn to put your people before yourself or your family members. It's just the way it is."

"My people?" I laughed. "Since when have they been my people? They've always just been your people or Sephiroth's people. What's with the sudden generosity?"

He smirked and pulled away from me, patting my cheeks gently before he took a step away. "They've always been yours, Son. Ever since the day you were born."

I scoffed and narrowed my eyes. "Don't tell me you're trying to bribe me or something now…"

"No, I wouldn't call it bribing, per say." He turned and smirked at me. "More like…making you understand just what is at stake here and that you need to start taking responsibility for your actions."

I snorted. "I have taken full responsibility of my actions and you know it."

He cocked his head to the side. "Have you?"

"Oh, are you serious?" My arms itched with the strong urge to throw them into the air. Damned restraints. "Of course I have. I have never once denied my love for Sora or tried to come up with some bullshit reason for being unable to kill him in the past. I know what I feel and I take full responsibility for those feelings, no matter what you or anyone else thinks."

Xemnas sighed and slowly made his way back to his desk, sliding gracefully into his chair before turning his attention onto me once again. "If you leave his kingdom and do anything to aid your boyfriend and Roxas, it will be treason and you will be punished without mercy. You should only pray that your mind is stronger than your mothers."

With a snap of his hands, the bindings around my ankles and wrists disappeared and I was free. I rubbed the flesh of my wrists gingerly, but was unable to tear my eyes away from my father's face. For the first time in years, it looked like he was feeling true sadness.

"Have you been to see her?" I whispered.

He sighed and shook his head, running a hand back through his hair. "No. I can't bring myself to do it. I never believed that what I had done in a past life would have carried with her into the future."

I snorted. "You should have thought of that beforehand."

He lifted his head to glare at me, but it fell far from its mark. Instead, he sighed heavily and ran a hand back through his hair.

"We really need your help, Riku."

"I don't care wh…" I blinked and furrowed my brow, letting my voice fade out when what he had said finally set in. "Excuse me?"

He sighed again and the look of desperation on his face brought a frown to my lips. "We need your help. Our people have lost faith in us."

"They've lost faith in you, you mean?"

"Either way, we need you. They need a face to represent them, someone to give them strength. They can't seem to find that in us anymore."

I laughed coldly. "I'm not going to support this country as long as you insist on continuing the war with Akari. I will become the face of this nation when there is peace."

"Ansem is the one who insisted on continuing this war," my father spat. "Not that I tried all that I could to prevent it from happening, but he is the one who led the first attack. We are only in this to defend ourselves. You should know that dammit!" He pounded his fists on his desk. "You were here when it happened. I don't understand why you persist on blaming me for everything that has happened."

"I have every right to blame you, Father," I spat. "Not only did you treat me cruelly in the past, but you continue to do so now. You beat me and then locked me in the dungeons upon my return to Kurai, so tell me why I shouldn't blame you for anything?"

"Dammit, Riku." He shoved himself up from his chair and stomped across the room. I flinched when he reached for me, but was surprised when he only grasped my face gently in his hands. Even though I didn't want to look at him, I couldn't bring myself to tear my gaze from his own. "Son. This has nothing to do with the qualms you have with me. Our people need you. Of all the people in Kurai, you are the only one to have let light into your heart and become you. They need someone who doesn't have biased judgment. They need someone who knows what needs to be done, not someone who only thinks they know. They need you, Son."

I furrowed my brow and opened my mouth to speak. Nothing came out. I tried again, only to reach the same frustrating feat.

"Defend your honor, Riku. Defend your kingdom. Prove to all the people of Kurai that they have someone they can rely on, someone to be their strength. They need that now more than ever."

I frowned and bit my lip. There was a catch. There had to be a catch. My father was never kind to me unless there was something in it for him to gain. I never got the chance to ask, though. As I was opening my mouth, he snapped his fingers and the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the room.

"Yes, Superior."

"Take Riku to his room. Make sure he is bathed and fed, but if I hear that anyone supplied him with blood they will be killed."

"Yes, Sir." I could picture Axel bowing behind me and the thought made me cringe.

My father turned to me and narrowed his eyes. "We will continue our talk later. I expect you to pay your mother a visit once you have washed."

I frowned, but nodded and quickly stood from the chair. Axel was waiting for me beside the door. He made sure to keep his face in perfect composure until the door closed behind us in my bed chamber.

"I swear…I was expecting that I was gonna have to carry your beaten and bloody body down to the dungeons." He sighed and ran a hand back through his hair.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"Well Jesus, Riku. You saw the look on his face when you went in there. I figured he was gonna torture you or something." He sighed again. "I mean, I'm glad that he didn't, but—"

"Axel…," I interrupted and turned to glare at him. "Just shut up, please."

He nodded, his eyes wide, and fell down onto my bed. With the silence echoing around the room, I took a moment to look around, unsurprised to find that the room was in the same shape I had left in. It was tidy with ebony furniture. The sheets on my bed were still silver, the comforter and sheer curtains over my windows still the same pale green. It was kind of eerie. More than a thousand years had passed and everything still looked the same.

Sighing heavily, I went to Axel's side and collapsed onto my feather mattress, my thoughts reeling. What was I going to do? My honor or Sora? I would choose Sora when it came down to it, of course, but… I rubbed my temples gently and a small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Maybe I could help if I agreed with what my father was suggesting. Maybe I could so something to end the pointless war.

It came as no surprise to me when sleep began to tug at the corners of my mind after a couple of minutes lying on my bed. And who was I to deny it? A power nap sounded good anyway.

o-o-o-o-o

Axel shook me awake a little while later, greeting me with a bright smile when I opened my bleary eyes.

"'Morning, Sunshine!" he chirruped, poking me playfully on the cheek before bouncing off the bed.

I grumbled something even I couldn't understand under my breath and buried my head beneath the covers I had somehow managed to end up under while sleeping. Axel sighed and I had just enough time to prepare myself before he dove onto the bed and yanked the covers back from my head, simultaneously attacking my sides with his fingers while he did.

"I know you're sleepy but you gotta get up!" he muttered five minutes later, nursing a bloody cheek from where I'd managed to punch him three times.

"But my bed's so comfortable," I groaned.

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well if you don't get outta bed and bathe yourself soon your father's gonna come stormin' in here wonderin' why you haven't been to see your mom yet. That being said, I suggest you get outta bed before you get your ass kicked."

When I refused to move, Axel grabbed onto my arm and managed to pull me into an upright position. "Seriously, Riku. You gotta get up."

I sighed and shook my arm out of his grip, swinging my legs over the side of my bed once I was free. It wasn't long before Axel whisked me away to my bathroom and shoved me into an already prepared bath, and it was the most amazing thing I had felt in a while. The heated water cleansed the blood and dirt and only the gods knew what else from my skin and the soaps smelled wonderful. When I was finished, I felt as close to refreshed as it was possible for me to get in such a situation.

Axel was waiting for me on my bed when I finally left the bathroom dressed in clean clothes and with brushed hair for the first time in what felt like years. I couldn't help but smile when he whistled at me and insisted that I spin in a circle.

"Lookin' good, 'Ku." He laughed at the glare I aimed at him. "Seriously, your mom's gonna love it."

The mention of my mother made me freeze almost instantly, and a surge of sadness went straight to my heart. Axel seemed to notice my sudden change of mood. He frowned and quickly pulled me to him in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry," he muttered into my hair. "Really, really sorry. I shouldn't have said anything about her."

I shook my head. "No, no. I guess it's better to talk about her before I actually go in and see her. It's been a couple of years since the last time. I dunno…" I choked as I attempted to hold back a sob. "I dunno if she'll even recognize me."

Axel smiled sadly and ran a hand back through my hair. "Even if she doesn't, she'll still be proud. She's got the best damn son I've ever been graced to have as a best friend. Something in her will know that, no matter what. You can never really forget your children."

I sighed and tried my hardest to smile when Axel pulled me back to arms length. He smiled as well—a brief twitching of his lips before they went back to being straight again—and patted me playfully on the cheek.

"Come on. Let's do this thing. When we're done we can come back here and discuss our next plan of action…or whatever you wanna call it."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "You sure you wanna be so peachy with me right now? I mean, Father probably has eyes on me everywhere. I'm surprised that he's given me any shreds of peace in my bedroom."

"Of course I do. Besides, I can always say that I tricked you into believing that he had given me my memories back and that I was trying to weed information out of you. He's sick enough to believe it."

I shrugged. "We could try it, but…" I sighed. "Is it really worth the risk?"

Axel snorted. "It's too late to start worrying about taking risks, Riku."

"Yeah, I know. I just…" I sighed and let my shoulders hunch.

Axel frowned and cocked his head to the side, lifting my chin with a hand so he could look into my eyes. "What's up? You've been acting strange ever since you talked with Xemnas."

I opened my mouth to tell him, but closed it almost immediately afterwards. I needed to take some time to sort out my own stupid thoughts before I could tell Axel anything. Hell, I didn't even know what to say. "Yeah, well, he thinks I should become the face of the people of Kurai. You know…give 'em support and shit." Even if I didn't use those exact words to tell him, it would still come out ridiculous. I doubt he'd even believe me if I were to tell him anyway.

"It's nothing," I muttered after a few minutes of silence, turning my face so it fell out of Axel's gentle grip before I headed towards my door. "Let's go see my mom, okay? Before I chicken out."

He smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around my shoulders so he could squeeze me to him briefly. "Yeah, let's do it."

The moment my door was pulled open, Axel took on his stoic façade. He never strayed more than a foot away from my side and even reached out and grabbed onto my arm so he could yank me viciously when we happened to pass by Larxene in the hallway. The blonde woman smirked darkly at me and patted Axel on the shoulder in praise.

"Protecting our favorite little traitor, I see." She smirked at me again. "Seems like the Superior really trusts your judgment. Strange."

Axel smiled and nodded curtly. "I am honored that he has given me the chance to redeem myself."

Larxene smiled coldly. "We'll have more time to talk at the next meeting I'm sure," she said, walking away as she spoke, "but right now there is somewhere more important that I need to be."

"Yeah. We'll talk later."

The blonde threw her hand out in front of her as she walked and a portal of swirling black, blue, and purple formed out of thin air. A deep cold filled the corridor and chilled me to my very core. It took everything I had to keep myself from hugging my arms around myself for warmth. It would have been for nothing anyway. As she walked into the darkness, ever once hesitating, I couldn't help but to hold my breath until it closed behind her.

"So everyone is still as lazy as they were in the past." Axel snorted. "If it weren't for training Larxene would have an ass as big as Texas. Now that would be funny."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah."

Without missing a beat, Axel slipped his mask back over his face and we started to walk again. The silence was tense. I was itching to start a conversation with him, but I knew that anything of the sort would make my father suspicious and that just wouldn't do. I had a feeling that life was going to be difficult enough without him throwing me back in the dungeons again. At least Axel would probably be with me then. That might make it a bit easier.

A few minutes later we stopped outside of a room that I recognized immediately. I peered in through the propped door and saw one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She was sitting under the blankets of her bed with a book held loosely in her hand. Her eyes roamed back and forth across the pages, and her hand moved every so often to tuck a lose lock of blonde hair that had fallen from the bun at the back of her head behind an ear.

I hated to interrupt her, but I knocked lightly on the door. She started slightly and the book fell from her hands to land safely on the bed. She seemed to size Axel and me up slowly with her eyes before she sighed and beckoned us in with the flick of a wrist.

"Come in, come in." She patted an empty place on her bed. "So many visitors today. I wonder what the occasion is."

I smiled sadly and took a seat beside her. "Maybe you're just popular today."

She laughed airily and shook her head, shaking her long gold hair free from its loose bun. The locks tumbled freely over her shoulders and lit up her aquamarine eyes.

"Popularity is overrated," she sighed. "It would be nice to have some peace."

Axel laughed as he settled down into the chair beside the bed. "Aw, but peace is so boring, Mitsuko."

"Ah, yes, yes. You would know wouldn't you? You're always stirring up such a fuss around here."

The redhead shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "Not as much as Demyx, though."

She laughed. "Of course not. That boy makes enough noise for the entire kingdom."

The three of us erupted into laughter for a couple of seconds and then silence filled the room. It was awkward and strained. It was obvious that none of us knew what to say next. My mother watched me curiously with her head cocked to the side, and I refused to look away from wall across from me. I could feel Axel's eyes burning into the side of my face as he stared at me. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, my mother opened her mouth and spoke quietly.

"How are you, Son?"

I let out a breath I hadn't even known I'd been holding and embraced her gently. She remembered me. Gods, I had been so scared that she would forget.

My mother laughed and cupped my face gently in her hand when I pulled away. Our green eyes locked and we stared at each other, reading the other's mind. Only when she kissed me on the forehead did I blink and turn away.

"He wants me to step forward."

The collective gasps from Axel and my mother made me wince. Axel leaned forward in his chair and put a hand on my thigh.

"Why didn't you say anything? What are you going to do?"

I sighed and ran a hand back through my hair. "I don't know. I know that I should do it because the people need me, but I feel like I'll be betraying Sora in some way if I do."

"I knew that he would do something like that to you," my mother muttered and reached out to hold my hands. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't want to get you guys involved. Axel's not even supposed to be acting worried right now."

She furrowed her brow and looked back and forth between me and Axel. "He's your best friend. He's supposed to be worried."

Axel laughed nervously. "Yeah. He…uh…sucked out my memories and made me a vegetable, and then Zexion implanted 'false' memories so I would hate Riku." My mother gasped, but he spoke before up before she could open her mouth. "But obviously things didn't go the way he planned. But he doesn't know that, so…" He put a finger to his mouth and made a "sh"ing noise.

"Gods… How could he do that to you? You're his son for the gods sakes."

I snorted. "Well, you saw how he treated me in the past. Why should things be any different now?"

"He had me believing that he'd changed," she growled.

"That's what he does," Axel muttered. "He manipulates people for fun. He's just a sick bastard like that."

"Well, you need to run. Get out of here somehow. Both of you."

I shook my head. "We can't. He'll kill us if we do."

"So you're going to stay here and live a lie?" my mother argued. "It doesn't make any sense."

"I'm not going to live a lie!" I whispered heatedly. "I'm going to step forward and become the strength of the people of Kurai so I can try to bring peace. It'll probably be all for naught, but at least I'll know that I tried everything in my power to keep the war at bay."

My mother sighed and ran a hand back through my hair soothingly. I closed my eyes and leaned into her caresses, letting each of her strokes brush away my confusion, if only for the moment.

"You are strong," she whispered after a few minutes of silence.

I opened my eyes and she cupped the side of my face in her hand. "I agree with your plan, but I want you to know that you need to be careful. Don't fall for any of your father's games and…" She erupted into a fit of violent coughs, covering her mouth with the red stained handkerchief that lay on her bedside table. More red covered the white cloth when she returned it to the table.

"Oh, Mom. You're not getting any better. Aren't they even doing anything?"

She laughed, the sound bringing up a few more weak coughs. "There's nothing they can do to make me better. They say that it's a drug resistant form of the disease. It's rare, but it happens, even in the normal 'human' world."

I furrowed my brow and was about to ask why they didn't try healing, but thought better of it. No one in Kurai had the gift of healing. We were too tainted by the darkness to be granted something as light as that. It was sad.

"So there's nothing they can do?"

She shook her head and smiled sadly. "No. All that's left is for me to live out the rest of my life as normally as possible."

"They're not going to put you on anymore medicine are they? They've always got you doped up and it makes you forget who we are. It scares me."

"They said that they'll only put me on the medicine when it becomes too painful for me to bear. If things go well, it will be a while before I have to deal with anything like that."

"We can only hope," I sighed and ran a hand back through my hair, closing my eyes as I did. "I wonder if Sora and Roxas are doing alright."

Axel snorted and rolled his eyes. "Knowing the two of them, they're busy worrying their little brains out over our well being when they should be focusing on themselves and what they're going to do."

I snorted. "That sounds about right."

"I'd like to meet Sora."

I frowned and turned my attention back onto my mother, putting a hand on top of one of hers when I saw the distant look in her eyes.

"You'll meet him sometime, Mom. I promise."

She smiled sadly. "I feel like I've missed out on so much of your life. Last time I was so ill that they quarantined me and now I'm stuck in bed with yet another life threatening disease." She laughed. "I just can't win for losing, I guess."

"Don't talk like that, Mom. You'll get over this, I know you will. There has to be something they can do. If things don't go they way we've planned and Sora and Roxas end up here, maybe Sora can try to heal you." Axel sighed and opened his mouth, but I glared at him before he could speak. "It's worth a shot, and it'll be better to try and fail than to not try and have it turn out that he would have been able to fix her."

I closed my eyes and let the silence that followed my argument fill my mind. What was I going to do next? How was I going to pull off stepping forward and bringing peace with my father breathing down my neck? How was I going to make sure Sora and Roxas were kept safe? Each question and more bombarded my thoughts and soon had me opening my eyes with a heavy sigh.

"I don't know what I'm doing," I whispered desolately.

"None of us do. Know what we're doing, I mean."

I sighed and looked at Axel, who smiled sadly but didn't say anything more. I turned my gaze onto my mother and she cupped my face in her hands.

"No matter what your decisions, I'm sure everything will be alright."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

She smiled brightly and patted the side of my face playfully. "Maybe, but I'm sure that I'm right. The only thing we have to do is keep your father in check."

"He seemed regretful of the war when he was talking to me earlier."

"Yeah, and he's a lying sack of shit. What else is new?"

I frowned and glared at Axel. "What if he really means it this time?"

He snorted. "Xemnas will be regretful of a war when he's dead. Until then, there's nothing he can do or say to make me change my mind about him. Besides, I can't believe you're so easily swayed."

"I'm not 'easily swayed,' I'm just trying to be optimistic for once in my damned life."

"Yeah, and for someone so optimistic you're awfully pessimistic, Mr. I Don't Know What I'm Doing."

"Fuck you."

"I thought you were over that."

"Stop fighting, boys!" my mother shouted. The stress on her vocal chords made her break down into another fit of coughing.

"Gods, Mom," I whispered once the coughs had calmed and I made her lie back in her bed. "This scares me."

She smiled in a self-depreciating sort of way. "It's nice to know that someone really cares. You know that neither your father nor brother have been to see me?"

"I know."

She sighed and snuggled down into her blankets. "I think I'm going to sleep for now, okay? Everything will be fine, I promise. Just don't forget to stop by and visit your dear old mother every once in a while."

"I would never forget," I whispered and leaned forward so I could kiss her gently on the cheek.

She laughed quietly. "That's nice to know. Now go. I'll be alright."

I frowned and kissed her one last time before pushing myself up from the bed. Axel followed me out the door, and I allowed myself one last glance into the room before I pulled the door closed. My mother was already asleep, her chest rising and falling in the way it only does in slumber.

I started to walk away without saying a word to Axel. I was still irked at the way he had thrown my own words back at me in such a sarcastic tone of voice. I can't deny that I didn't know he was sarcastic beforehand, but there hadn't been a reason for him to be so pissy with me.

"You're ignoring me."

I laughed quietly and shrugged. Axel sighed and I saw him shove his hands deep into his pockets out of the corner of my eye.

"Look… I'm sorry, okay? I dunno where it came from, but I didn't mean any of it. I guess I just got a little caught up in the unease of everything. I never knew how to handle anxiety very well."

I snorted. "Things usually get burned when you're anxious. Guess I was lucky."

"Yeah, I guess," he muttered.

I stopped short in the hallway and turned so I could face him. I knew that it was dangerous for the two of us to be talking so casually with one another in the hallway, but I couldn't let him keep going in such a bad mood. He was Axel. His name and gloominess didn't tend to blend together well in a sentence.

"I'm over it, Ax. Don't worry, okay?"

He shrugged and I sighed. Before he could protest, I grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him down the hallway. When we arrived in my room, I shoved him down onto my bed, returning to the door to close and lock it so we wouldn't be disturbed.

"What's going on with you?"

He shook his head and I jumped on him, pinning him to the bed. He grumbled and tried to get away, but I moved so I was straddling his waist and held each of his wrists at either side of his head.

"Don't lie to me," I growled.

"You're really going to step forward and be that bastard's puppet, aren't you?"

"That's what you're worried about?" I laughed and brushed a lock of hair away from his face. "You honestly think that I would let my father control me?"

"He's forbidden anyone from giving you blood, Riku. You're not going to be able to…stay the way you are for much longer without it."

"I know. We'll worry about that when it happens."

"No!" His shout brought my eyes to his own and I was surprised to see the ferocity swimming in their depths. "We can't worry about it when it happens because then you won't even be sensible enough to worry about such a thing. Hell, Riku. The next time you see a drop of blood could drive you over the edge. What are you gonna do then? You'll make a fine face for Kurai when you've transformed into the demon you really are inside."

He was right. Though I would have normally argued with him in such a situation, I couldn't bring myself to do it then. He was right and I knew that he was. There was nothing more to it. The blood lust had already started to tear at my sanity once, and I had only been able to hold it back because Sora managed to make contact with me. I didn't know how I would handle it if it happened again.

Sighing, I released Axel's arms and rolled to the side so I was lying next to him. We laid together and stared at the ceiling in silence for what felt like forever until he rolled onto his side and brushed my hair out of my face with a deft finger.

"When are you going to do it?"

I shrugged. "Not until I hear news from Sora saying that they got the letter. I'll take the time to get my bearings ready and hopefully I'll be strong enough to do something worthwhile once I hear from him."

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"A weak one, but yeah… It's a plan."

"Gah. We're such a wreck." His laugh tapered off into a long yawn, which in turn caused me to yawn. "Jesus Christ. We just woke up an hour ago."

I laughed. "Yeah, well it's not like we have anything else to do, right?"

He shrugged and I managed to pull the blankets over both of us before curling into a ball. Just before I managed to drift off, Axel's voice filled my head.

"Everything will be fine, Riku. I promise."

First my mother, and now Axel… I laughed weakly. I really wished they would stop making promises they wouldn't be able to keep.

o-o-o-o-o

The following week or so went by as normal as possible. I chose to stay closed away in my room as much as I could. The only times I left were when my father needed to speak with me or when I decided to take some time and visit my mother. Either way, it was depressing. My father continued pressuring me into stepping forward and my mother seemed to be getting sicker by the day. Her coughing was vicious and her breathing was hard in her chest. Her skin seemed to be paler than usual too.

Axel spent quite a bit of time with me when I decided to lock myself away in my room. It seemed that my father had believed his story about him pretending that they returned his memories so he could weasel information out of me. It was quite funny, though it scared me at the same time. If Xemnas would fall for something that was so obviously a lie, then I didn't understand how he could run a kingdom. I couldn't help but wonder if he had seen through Axel's lie and was just letting us play our game. Life could get pretty difficult if that was how things were going.

The second I woke up on February twenty-ninth, I began to hold my breath. We had all estimated that Sora and Roxas would get the letter on their birthday. Now we would know whether we were right or wrong.

I refused to leave my room at all the entire day, only climbing out of bed once to let Axel in when he knocked. Together we curled up in my bed and muttered consoling words to each other under our breaths. As the day progressed, we began to grow worried, but then our worry dissipated and turned to relief. Maybe we had been wrong. Maybe the letter wasn't going to arrive on their birthday. But then when would they get it?

Finally, when I could have sworn my sanity was at its last thread, Sora's voice filled my head and surrounded me with an instant sense of calm.

'Riku…'

'We got the letter. Roxas thinks that Ansem knows that we're going to try and run because he doesn't want us back until the end of March. And he wants us to go to New York instead of London. Oh, Riku. I don't understand what's going on. Why do they want us in New York when you all went to London? Ansem even sent Kairi and Naminé to London so he could open the gate for them. I just don't understand.

'And now we have to go into the Grey because that's the only way we'll be sure to escape their radar for at least a little bit. Roxas says that more and more people are moving into the Grey despite the cruel lifestyle so they can escape the war, and he refuses to help them when we go there. They'll die if we don't help them, and I tried telling him that but he just shoved it aside. I just don't know what to do. I wish you were here. I wish you could tell me what I should do, or at least help me come to a decision.'

The tears that marred his voice broke my heart and I longed to reach out and console him. I sent him the next best thing and brushed my mind against his gently. I could only hope that it helped.

'I love you.'

He lessened the link before I could answer. I tried to poke at it myself, but found that I didn't have enough power to open it enough to send a coherent message. I needed blood. Bad.

Instead of concentrating on my need for nourishment, I rubbed Axel's arm to rouse him from his doze. He sputtered quietly and opened bleary eyes, but sobered up immediately when he looked at my face.

"You heard something?"

I nodded. "They got the letter. Something's up 'cause Ansem doesn't want them back until the end of March, and now they're debating on running into the Grey."

"Shit." The word came out hissed. "There are scouts everywhere throughout the Grey."

"They're less likely to be found there than anywhere else, though."

He sighed. "Yeah, but… It's just… It's the Grey, Riku. They could wander out there forever before we have the chance to find them. What are we supposed to do then?"

"They'll be fine. They're strong, I know they are. They'll be able to take care of themselves."

"I hope you're right."

"I know." I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stretched my arms toward the ceiling, cringing when my back popped in several places.

"Where are you going?"

I looked at Axel over my shoulder and smiled sadly. "It's time for me to start acting like a prince."

His eyes widened slightly and his mouth opened and closed like a fish. It would have been comical had the moment not been so serious.

"You're really gonna do it?"

I nodded. "I have to do something to help my people. If I don't do this then there's no chance that the war will end. I have to try."

Axel reached out and cupped the side of my face in his hand, running a thumb gently over my cheek. "You're not going into this alone."

I nuzzled into his palm and closed my eyes. "I know. Thank you."

He pulled his hand away and I let my eyes slide open. He smiled at me as he stood and held his hand out to me once he was straightened out.

"Well then… Let's get this over with."

I nodded and took his offered hand. I made sure to keep close to Axel as we made our way down the hall. I tried not to look like I was worried—like I was getting ready to sign my life away to Satan—but I don't think I managed to cover it well. Vexen and Larxene smirked viciously at us when we walked past, and Demyx's face swam with sadness and worry.

I couldn't help but gulp when we stopped outside the foreboding, oversized oak door.

Axel rapped sharply against the wood and we waited anxiously for my father's answer. Instead of his voice beckoning us in, the door opened itself and his smiling face welcomed us.

"Riku. Axel. What's the occasion?"

I dropped my eyes from my father's face and stared at the floor. Suddenly it was hard for me to breathe and a sweat had broken out across my brow. Wonderful. Things were going downhill and I hadn't even opened my mouth yet.

"Riku has something he would like to speak with you about, Sir," Axel said in response to my father's questioning gaze. He shoved me forward with a gentle hand in the middle of my back, and I finally had to look up.

"Is everything alright, Son?" Xemnas furrowed his brow and leaned back against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked me over. "You don't look well."

I shook my head and tried my hardest to smile. "No, everything is alright."

He smiled. "That's nice to hear. Now what do you need to speak with me about? I have a stack of papers that are begging for my signature on the corner of my desk."

"I…" My voice faltered and I forced myself to calm down by taking a breath and closing my eyes.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…

I opened my eyes and looked deep into my father's eyes and was happy to see that no malice shined in them. Only curiosity…and a bit of worry. I nodded and straightened up, my courage returning to me bit by bit.

"Son…?"

I smiled and crossed my arms over my chest. "Father, I'm ready. It's time for me to accept that I am a prince, tied to this kingdom. I need to care for my people."

Of all the reactions he could have given, the last I expected was a hug. He laughed and ruffled my hair, happiness shining brightly in his amber eyes. The unexpected lapse into…well…my father as I remembered him a millennia ago as a child was almost enough to make me forget about the backstabbing, lying son of a bitch he was in the present.

Almost.

TBC…
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A/N: OMFG! Two and a half freakin' months!!! ::dies:: I about went insane while writing this chapter, but it's done… It's done and I can now rest in peace. ::sighs:: It's about time, though, because I was getting to the point where I was getting ideas for the next chapter (which will be a Sora chapter) while I was working on this one, so yeah…

Sooo…I think it's safe to say that I just killed most of my previous plans for later in the story with his chapter. LoL. Okay…well maybe I didn't kill them, but I'm seriously going to have to do some rethinking and stuff. Oh, well. I guess it's a good thing because I really do need to think more about his SOB and plan it out some more…

Thank you for the millionth time to everyone who hung in with me during my…whatever you wanna call it. Lapse into depression/not being able to bear typing on my computer because the screen was (and still is) broken, I guess. You all are amazing and I don't deserve any of your wonderfulness…::hugs::…You all seriously kick my ass (and that's a good thing)…

I really hope you all were able to get some enjoyment out of this chapter. I know that the last segment is kind of quick, but I had to speed things up or else this was going to be twenty pages instead of eleven. I'm sorry if you feel that it wasn't worth the wait…::crawls under a rock::

And now I must say adieu until next chapter…::glomps::