Genre: AU, fantasy

Pairings: ?

Warnings: Memory loss, peril, action violence

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words

"Sora?"

Blinking, feeling as though he were moving in slow motion, Sora turned away from the wide window that had no glass. It was never cold, wet, or harsh in Heaven, so shelter was not required. Walls were only built for the pleasure of the viewing eye, and to have some privacy against other Angels. Here in the second highest level of Heaven, where only Arch Angels resided, privacy was hardly needed.

Moving still hurt. Especially trying to move his left arm. It was wrapped in white, a soft sling holding it immobile against his chest.

Kairi and Riku stood just across the threshold, both of them looking worried and tired. He was surprised Cloud had agreed to bring them to Heaven, but part of him was glad, too.

"Come in," he said softly, moving away from the window. He remembered leaping from the high ledge to take to Heaven's endless skies, soaring or just drifting with his brother. It took all his will power not to cry; he would never fly again.

The two humans walked into his room. Kairi, her lovely eyes filled with sorrow, stepped forward and gently embraced him, her arms careful of his back. Sora allowed her, though he still felt a bit awkward around them. Feeling her compassion made it harder not to break down, but he managed.

When she released him, he sniffed a little. "Sorry about all this," he said, shifting his feet. "It's . . . um, gotta be weird for you."

Kairi shook her head, but it was Riku who replied. "Even if it is," he said, "we both feel like it's right, being with you. That's why we're here. We don't care if your memories don't come back. We'll make new ones."

Sora turned away, a twisted smile breaking over his face. "I can't fly," he said somewhat bitterly.

Riku moved, stepping right in front of Sora. "Neither can we."

Blink. Well, that certainly was true. That twisted smile changed into something more real. "I could show you around, if you want," he offered.

Both of them smiled. Kairi took his free hand in both of hers, squeezing a little. Sora couldn't help but notice how warm her skin was, how soft, and how right it felt to have her hold his hand.

o0o

The Queen of Darkness sighed, absently drumming her fingers against her staff. Behind her stretched the vast, unending Darkness. Before her stood the twelve Dark Angels who had left Heaven to pledge themselves to her cause. Xemnas, the tall Angel with silvery-blue hair and eyes that seemed always faintly sad, gave her a slight bow.

"You sent for us?"

"Yes," Maleficent said, trying to sort everything out in her mind. "First, Axel?"

The wiry, slim figure stepped out of the crowd, his flame-spiked hair always drawing the eye immediately. "Yes, Dark Queen."

"Have you done as I asked concerning the human boy?"

"Yes," Axel said, the upside-down triangle marks under his eyes drawing Maleficent's attention. "He left the university with his friend Kairi and the Key of Heaven, Sora, but as far as I can see he doesn't know who he is."

Riku. He was an interesting way to occupy time. A half-Angel, half-human hybrid in a world where Angels and humans no longer lived side-by-side. Maleficent remembered a time when Earth and Heaven were close, relying on each other for everything, humans loving Angels and 'God' alike. That had been a fine time to be alive, but then everything had changed. Aravis, her older brother, had changed.

Maleficent nodded absently. It was about time to change that. "Where are they now?"

"Heaven," Axel replied. "The Arch Angels took them to Heaven."

Well. That was surprising. Aravis had forbidden that long ago. Claimed mortals weren't ready for the truth. What a crock. "How interesting. Then they defied their god. Axel, thank you for your attention to the matter. Xemnas, I want you and Saix to find Sephiroth and tell him his brother is still alive. Perhaps he will be more inclined to join my cause if he finds out I have protected Riku all this time."

Both of them looked a little skeptical; she could hardly blame them. Sephiroth was perhaps the most powerful being Heaven had ever spawned, Sora notwithstanding. He was the child of the former Queen of Heaven. Maleficent's older sister. Someone to whom she had once been very close.

"We will do what we can," Xemnas said, inclining his head.

Her Dark Angels left her, and she turned to the Darkness. "Hear me, wretched Heartless," she said in echoing tones. "The day of your redemption is near. Fight for me just a little longer, and you will find salvation."

The Darkness twisted and churned in reply. Smiling, an expression that no longer reached her eyes, Maleficent turned away from the pitiful, living proof of "God's" lies. She hated the Heartless. Or, rather, she hated what they meant. Hated that they existed at all.

The Darkness seethed in response to her hatred. Unlike the light, Darkness actually understood her.

o0o

Sephiroth felt them long before he saw them. Dark Angels. Making sure his scorn was readily visible, he turned seconds before they materialized. Not surprisingly, Xemnas and Saix stood there. Alone, neither of them could challenge him. Together, they still couldn't. He snorted.

"You might as well save your breath. Whatever your queen wants, I am not interested."

Xemnas, with his strange eyes always faintly sad folded his hands inside the sleeves of his black robes. "You might be interested this time," he said. "She actually wants nothing other than to impart a little knowledge."

Only distantly curious, Sephiroth merely raised an eyebrow to let them know he was listening.

"I know you believe your half-brother was killed by Heartless," Saix began. "Actually, Riku is still alive."

Well. Imagine that. They'd managed to surprise him. It didn't show on his face. "Oh?" That sounded flat uninterested.

"You don't care?" Xemnas inquired.

Sephiroth half turned away. "No," he said at length. Hearing that didn't change his plans at all.

"Then maybe you'll care about this," the Dark Angel said. "Riku belongs in an unusual circle. Most souls only link with one individual—their soul mate. Riku's soul is linked with two other souls."

Sephiroth turned away a little more to show them they were in danger of losing him.

"One of them is Sora," Saix concluded.

Oh. Oh. That was interesting. Things like that weren't supposed to happen in God's idyllic little power-mongering world. Linked souls had more power together than one soul—Cloud and Aerith were a prime example. Those two could not be defeated when together because they were simply too strong.

But if Sora was linked to two souls, his power as both Key of Heaven and the son of the Queen of Heaven would, in effect, triple. Meaning he could certainly defeat Sephiroth, and he could challenge and defeat Aravis. In fact, Sora could very probably challenge the entire Darkness and win.

"Indeed," he said. Still not letting his interest show. Abruptly he turned his back to them. "This does not change my plans."

"The Queen of Darkness saved him," Xemnas said quietly. It wasn't a plea for Sephiroth's attention, nor was there any desperation in it. Simply a quiet request to take that into consideration. "Though his memories are blocked, he is safe."

A decade ago, that would have mattered a great deal to Sephiroth, that his brother was safe and alive. Now, though, he could summon nothing more than a vague sense of closure. It didn't change what he wanted to do in the slightest. He showed his appreciation by not attacking the two messengers, simply walking away.

"So you're still alive, Riku?" Sephiroth mused. "That's too bad. Now I have to kill you."

There was only one person he wanted to save. And that person was probably someone who would flat refused to be saved. Sephiroth found himself grinning faintly. There, at the end of all things, only he and Cloud would be left. As for which of them would win, well, only time would tell.

o0o 0o0 o0o

"Heaven sure is beautiful," Kairi murmured, basking in the feel of Sora's warm hand captured in her own. He had not once tried to shake free of her; indeed, he seemed just as happy about it. It just felt so right. As though they'd been doing this all their lives and longer.

"How old are you?" Riku asked from Sora's other side.

Sora, long still and quiet between them, lifted his head to look at the taller human youth. "I've been alive for eighty-two years. I know that must seem old to humans, but my brother, Cloud, is almost five-thousand years old. Aerith is even older."

"Really?" Riku said as though he found that weird.

Sora offered a tiny little grin, nodding. "She's actually one of the oldest Arch Angels in Heaven."

"She's pretty," Kairi said a little dreamily, thinking of both her and Tifa. She loved how the two Angels looked with their white wings spilling down their backs. That inevitably made her think of Sora's injury. His wings, though she'd only glimpsed them, had been breathtaking, too. Raising her hand she lightly caressed his back. "How are you doing, anyway?"

She felt him lean subtly into her touch. "Better, actually," he replied softly. "You two make me feel . . . better."

Riku gave him a stern look. "That's because we don't let you feel sorry for yourself."

Kairi giggled. Then sobered. "When you were with us on Earth, we showed you a movie. You cried because the people killed each other."

Sora looked away. "I don't like seeing people suffer. I didn't even know what war was until about twelve years ago. I've been sheltered all my life. Cloud told me it's because no one wanted to see my innocence tainted."

Certainly Kairi could understand that. Thinking about the Sora she'd known only a week ago, the one without any memories, his painful innocence had been the first thing to draw her in. She'd wanted to shelter him, too. She still did.

Riku idly traced patterns on the grass. "Sometimes, though, that only makes all the terrible stuff seem that much more . . . terrible," he said slowly. "Everyone's gotta meet up with reality sometime. Putting off the inevitable only makes it harder."

It was as if Sora lost his strength all at once. One moment he was sitting up, next he was crumpling into Kairi, face turned into her lap. She could hear the harsh, quiet sounds of his weeping, and it tore at her heart. Looking up at Riku with tears in her eyes she refused to shed, she carefully wrapped her arms around Sora and held him, whispering in his ear.

Riku rose from his lazy position. "I'll go get Cloud."

She nodded and he left. Kairi managed to pull Sora against her chest, tucking his head beneath her chin and rocking him, humming softly. "It's all right, Sora," she whispered. "The pain won't last forever. Shh, it's okay. Don't cry." She hummed an old Earth lullaby, stroking his soft auburn hair.

Eventually he pulled himself together. Kairi absently wondered what was taking Riku so long as Sora finally stilled against her, the tears glittering on his cheeks. Leaning down she pressed gentle kisses to his eyelids, making him open them to look at her. Their eyes met, and for the first time in her life Kairi felt something deep, deep inside her stirring. A kind of longing mixed with anticipation, a sort of needing mingling with excitement. And a sense of absolute rightness.

There was no hesitation or uncertainty as she slowly lowered her head to feather the lightest of kisses over his slightly-moist lips. He was the one who leaned up for a second one, this time more than a mere touch. It was so soft, so tender. She deepened it after a moment of gentle contact, slowly encouraging his response. His lips parted for her, allowing her loving invasion.

Never in her life had she been so sure of anything. She belonged with Sora. He was hers, as surely as she was his. There was no doubt, no wondering, no guessing. It was a sublime knowing, one as steady and constant as the sun.

Sora's free hand tangled with hers, their fingers intertwining and locking. Kairi broke away first, pressing tender kisses to his forehead, cheeks, and across the bridge of his nose. Sora closed his eyes and sighed faintly, the pain and tension gone from his face. He looked peaceful again, his fingers tightening around hers.

Then she just held him, running her thumb over the back of his hand. There was no need for words, so neither of them spoke. When Riku finally returned with Cloud, she wondered if he'd delayed on purpose to give her some time alone with Sora.

If so, she deeply appreciated it. Because now she knew for certain. She loved Sora with all her heart.