Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is in no way mine. I don't own the universe, the characters or the storyline. This story is written for entertainment purposes only (and to appease my muse who has taken the evil form of my demanding best friends) and I am making no money in the writing.

Author's Note: This is dedicated to Hex, who sees the same things I do when I play the game and always wants a story to keep her entertained, Regi who supports me in everything I do, and Hood, who is my inspiration since I like seeing him turn red.

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To say that Roxas was ready to get started locating not only Axel but Demyx and Zexion as well would be an understatement. The blond Nobody paced through the graveyard like a caged tiger, his blue eyes restlessly skimming over everything. Sora ran a hand through his hair. "Rox…I want to talk to you about something before we go in."

Roxas gave him a look that might have been dislike, and on a normal day Sora would have been hurt by it. He knew better today though…Roxas was worried sick about Axel, was restless and the only thing that would help him was action. Sora wanting to delay that action was driving Roxas crazy. "Go for it." He replied unhappily.

Sora paused. "Don't do anything stupid out there." He said quietly. "Keep your fighting light and don't take unnecessary risks."

Roxas looked at him incredulously. "Unnecessary risks?!" He demanded. "What would you deem an unnecessary risk, Sora?"

Sora frowned at him. "Anything that makes you turn into a dusk and disappear, that's what." He replied coldly. "We won't be able to find him without you and Demyx both, which means you can't afford to do something stupid."

Roxas opened his mouth to fire back a reply, but stopped as he saw the look on Sora's face. Sora's eyes flickered to Riku, who was very pale as he regarded the tombstone. Sora's heart ached for Riku. This would be the third time Riku would be forced to step into Kingdom Hearts, and he could tell that Riku was not looking forward to it. "Be prepared for anything." Riku advised. "Let's go."

Sora checked (not for the first time) that he had a good stock of potions, hi-potions and ethers before nodding. "Let's do it."

Sora led the way, Riku right behind him. Roxas walked between the two dusks, Cloud and Leon bringing up the rear. The empty abyss that loomed before them made Sora's heart ache. There was no source of light, no difference in the landscape. Wordlessly, Sora glanced behind him to the door and tombstone, taking comfort out of seeing the portal had not suddenly snapped shut on them. Roxas bumped into him. "Sora, keep moving." He urged, intensity in his voice

"Sora, stay close." Riku had stopped as well, and as Sora neared, he felt Riku's hand slide over his arm to grasp his. Their fingers intertwined. "It's easy to get lost in here…be careful."

Riku's hand was warm in Sora's, reassuring in its strength. Sora didn't need Riku's strength, but it was nice to feel the support just the same. He could feel the tension in Riku's arm and knew it traveled up to his shoulder, but the silver haired teen still stroked the inside of Sora's wrist lightly with his thumb.

Sora's heart began to hammer against his ribcage as the gentle touch sent shivers up and down his spine. Riku's thumb settled over Sora's pulse, their hearts beating together. "Sora!"

Sora whirled. Yellow eyes now broke through the darkness, looming toward them. A sea of shadows, a vast ocean of eyes, all focused with single minded intensity on them.

Not for the first time, Sora desperately wished that the Heartless were evil. As terrifying as evil could be, as bad as it had been facing Saix, Xemnas, Xehanort…it was somehow so much worse when he faced the Heartless. They had no emotion, not even the MEMORY of emotion the way that the Nobodies had. They had nothing, were like insects…and Sora had always been afraid of insects as a child. In the back of his mind he could remember Riku laughing at him as he freaked out (not for the first time) about the spider on the window.

He was yanked out of his fanciful thoughts as Riku dropped his hand as if he had been burned. "Riku?" He asked uncertainly.

"Your heart, Sora. They can feel your heart!" Riku sounded extremely tense, and there was a flash of bright light as he summoned his Keyblade.

Sora followed suit, summoning Oathkeeper, and after a moment's thought, Ultima Weapon as well. Mirroring him, Roxas summoned Oblivion and Bond of Flames…as Sora had known he would. "We have to keep moving." Riku shouted, sending a wave of air slashing out with the swing of his keyblade. "They won't stop, and there are so many…if we don't keep moving they'll take us, so GO!"

The heartless came in waves, a never ending sea of shadows all swarming toward them. Roxas let out a cry, and Sora turned, but Roxas was running, Cloud covering his back, sword over his shoulder, face tight. Leon shoved him. "Sora, keep moving!"

Sora obeyed, following the flashes of light coming from Way To Dawn tightly clutched in Riku's hand. "Where are we going?!" He yelled. The landscape hadn't changed, it remained dark and unreadable and utterly endless.

"Anywhere but here!" Riku called back. "This is where Heartless are born, Sora! This is where embracing the darkness is one of the only ways to survive!"

A cold shot of fear shot through Sora's heart. Putting on a burst of speed, he glided to Riku's side and glanced anxiously at his friend. "Don't even THINK it." He snarled. "I barely got you back. Don't even THINK about it!"

Sora was too upset at the thought of Riku changing back to the Xehanort look-alike to take any notice of what he had said…but Riku noticed. His expression softened ever so slightly…and the wave hit.

Sora had been in bad places before with massive amounts of Heartless. He had been forced to fight Riku on numerous occasions, had faced down massive Heartless and bad guys of almost every world. Nothing compared to what he was facing now. The shadows were never ending, wave after wave of yellow eyes, all focused on them. Sora was moving without thought, swinging his keyblades as he kept moving forward.

Cloud yelled slightly behind him, but the blast of a gunblade sounded just after, and Sora knew that Leon had taken care of whatever had happened. He didn't dare stop moving, knowing they would all be in trouble if they stopped…and the Heartless overcame them. "Sora!"

Sora glanced sharply to his left, and Roxas lunged at him. They locked keyblades and a wave of fire shot out around their little group as Sora fueled it with his best wind spell. Neither Keyblade wielder spoke, both already seeming to know what the other was thinking as they fueled the attack and shield. "This isn't going to stop…" Leon was out of breath, his gunblade glowing lightly in his hand.

Riku's gaze swung to Roxas. "YOU can open a portal…"

Roxas looked pissed at the idea. "Axel…"

"Axel isn't here!" Riku shouted in reply, his face ashen. "I don't see any dusks and I sure as HELL don't see any hearts!"

"Riku, stop." Sora felt sick and exhausted. There had been no set goal to run to, only endless blackness as waves of Heartless struggled to overtake them. He fueled the fire, keeping the wind and flame shield up around them. He had no idea how long he had been running, how long they had been fighting…but he knew they couldn't keep going. "We have to find the light to find the hearts."

"How do you KNOW?!" Roxas demanded.

"I just DO!" Sora snapped back.

"Enough." There was a nasty gash on Cloud's arm, and he grimaced as he accepted a potion from Leon and tipped it back.

"Even if I open a portal…where would I open it TO?" Roxas demanded. "Castle Oblivion? Twilight Beach? End of Worlds? Do you have any IDEA how many dark landscapes there are?!"

Sora's eyes widened, and he could tell that the same thought entered Riku's mind. "As many worlds as there are in the light?"

"What?" Roxas looked startled.

Sora made a decision. "Twilight Beach, Roxas. Get us to the beach!"

Roxas' eyes were wide, but he obediently whipped around. The dark portal opened as he raised his hand, and Sora lunged through. "Come on!"

The landscape was achingly familiar to Sora. The world was barely lit by a slight glow in the distance, and the ocean lapped lazily on the beach. Sora fell to his knees and didn't argue when Leon shoved a potion into his hand. "Are you all right?"

Sora nodded. "Just tired." He admitted, smiling at Leon. "I'm invincible."

Leon didn't smile back. "No you're not, Sora…and that's what bothers me."

Sora watched Leon kneel beside Cloud, saying something to the blond that made Cloud's stony gaze soften ever so slightly. "This place holds a lot of memories."

Sora turned and glanced at Riku. "Yeah." Wordlessly he pulled his shoes off, walking down toward the water. His gaze became distant as he looked out over the haunting world, and he sat down in the sand and dipped his toes into the water. It lapped against his feet, and he sighed softly as he cracked open the potion orb and drank it.

"That was really bad." He wasn't surprised when Riku sat down beside him.

"Yeah." Sora agreed. "Riku…" He glanced sideways at his best friend. "…don't give into the darkness this time. Even if you think it will help."

Riku paused. "Do you know why I did it before?" He asked quietly, his face draining of color. Wordlessly, Sora shook his head. Riku stared out over the water, as if determined not to look at Sora. "Lexaeus and Zexion told me that I would have to give into the darkness eventually…but I didn't…not until I saw you asleep. DiZ…Ansem I mean…monitored your pod while Namine put your memories back together again, but you didn't wake up. You just kept sleeping."

Riku looked vaguely sick, and his body shuddered. Sora's heart began to hammer against his ribcage. "And then he asked me to get Roxas…he said it would help you wake up. That you needed Roxas to wake up. The first time I faced him…I lost. As myself I wasn't strong enough to save you. To save you…I had to walk into the darkness without fear."

Sora stared wordlessly at his friend for a long minute. "You've never been afraid of the dark." He whispered.

Riku turned to look at him, and Sora's eyes widened as he saw the haunted look in Riku's eyes. "I never knew what real darkness was before, Sora." Riku closed his eyes as if in pain. "…the darkest place in my heart is the memory of you hurt. I remember fighting you again and again, I remember you not waking up, asleep for an entire year, I remember you changing into a heartless." Riku shuddered again. "…we go together, remember?" He asked, his voice shaking. "That means you can't just disappear and leave me alone without you."

Sora leaned over and slid his arms around Riku's shoulders, pulling his friend close. "I'm not going to leave you." He soothed quietly. "I promise. You're Riku…I searched for you and searched for you and never stopped. If we got separated again, I would search forever until I found you."

Sora didn't know where the wave of emotion was coming from, but his heart hammered in his chest as he heard the amount of emphatic emotion in his voice. Riku leaned into his embrace, and Sora dared to raise one hand, stroking the silky silver hair.

"Sora…" They both looked up as Cloud approached. The blond looked apologetic, but his blue eyes were fierce. "…where are we?"

Sora looked around. "A dark world." He replied quietly.

"It's a bridge." Roxas joined them. "Caught on twilight, it looks to the worlds of light and to the dark worlds. If you continue on the beach that way you'll hit a rise that leads to Castle Oblivion eventually. If you keep going THAT way you end up in Twilight Town."

Sora flushed slightly as he recalled Roxas' memories of Twilight Town. Leon looked frustrated. "What's Twilight Town doing in Kingdom Hearts?"

"Kingdom Hearts is the heart of ALL worlds." Roxas snarled in reply.

"The Keyholes." Cloud shook his head. "That's how they got into our worlds."

Leon's eyes widened slightly. "So each keyhole…leads HERE?"

Riku frowned slightly. "Roxas…is there a dark world for every light?"

Roxas shook his head. "I don't know." He replied honestly. "I don't even know where to start LOOKING even if I did. Nobody knows where Demyx, Zexion and Axel came from."

"Wait…" Sora shook his head. "There is darkness and light in every world. If there's a dark world here, in Kingdom Hearts there will be one made of light too."

"…and if we can find the heart in the light…" Leon started.

Sora felt his heart skip a beat. "…we know where to start!"

Roxas' frown deepened as he thought about it for a long while. "Zexion's the only one we might have a lead on." He admitted, looking miserable and sick. "He was one of the original who fell to the heartless."

Cloud and Leon exchanged looks. "That means he's originally from Radiant Garden…that's where Ansem and Xehanort were from." Leon murmured.

Roxas nodded. "That's as good a place as any to start." He glanced at the dusks behind him and his eyes filled with an unidentifiable emotion as he walked along the beach to join them.

Sora frowned, getting up. He put his hand on Riku's shoulder lightly before following his Nobody. "Rox? What's wrong?"

Roxas looked frustrated. "Nothing, Sora. Nothing's wrong because I don't have emotions, remember?" Sora flinched at the bitterness in Roxas' voice and didn't speak, only stared down into his Nobody's eyes.

Roxas flushed slightly. "I hate it when you look at me that way." He complained, staring out over the water. "…I thought we would find him." He whispered. "At least his Dusk. So I could know that he was all right. That he was still alive."

Sora felt his heart clench painfully. "Roxas, I'm sorry." He whispered.

Roxas shook his head. "I don't even know where to start LOOKING for him." He laughed, almost hysterically. "I didn't even know his real name. Zexion told me once that he chose his name himself. Nobody knows if his name was an anagram of his original name or if he just liked Axel." Roxas stared down. "I don't even know where to START searching for him."

Sora knelt beside Roxas. "We'll find him." He promised quietly. "We'll look until we find him even if it takes a long time. Don't give up hope."

Roxas nodded and rubbed his head lightly. "I don't know where to look for Demyx either."

Sora smiled at his Nobody. "Zexion will know where to look for him…and we'll find Zexion's heart."

Roxas managed a shaky smile in return.

0 0 0

Leon had gone with Cid the first and only time they had tried to take back Hollow Bastion from Maleficent. It had nearly torn him apart to see his childhood home that dark, unrecognizable. It was nothing compared to the dark horror he felt now.

The castle stretched into the sky, made of a black, gleaming rock that Leon avoided touching as they walked toward the front door. The town below was demolished, and they could all see the Heartless wandering the ruins. This was home caught on the edge of a nightmare. Leon shuddered.

Cloud's face was impassive as he walked, but Leon could see the strain in his jaw as he looked around. Sora paused. "The keyhole was up in the top tower just beyond the chapel." He gazed up at the castle. "If there's a way to find the light in the heart of it…it will be there."

Riku looked pale as well, his lips tight as he followed Sora up to the castle. "Why IS the heart of the world there?"

Leon sighed. "Back a while ago, that was where our kings sat. Kairi would have ruled from there if she had ever returned."

Sora shot him a quick look, and Leon sighed softly. There was no hiding from the Keyblade Master. "Are you upset Kairi never came back?" Sora asked quietly.

Leon watched Cloud and Riku walk in the front, Roxas with his dusks beside him, and wished one of them would say something, ANYTHING to help him avoid this conversation. No such luck. He closed his eyes. "Yes." He admitted. "This is home, Sora. She lived here, her family was here. I remember her grandmother you know. She always had stories to tell…and our princess never returned."

It was actually something of a sore spot for Leon. He had hoped…when Kairi had stood beside them, knowing them, learning about them again…that she would WANT to stay. Her presence could balance their world and Leon knew it. She had no desire at all to come back. It hurt.

Sora paused. "Seifer is from your world too isn't he?" He asked as they entered the castle. A roar ahead told him that soon they would be facing heartless on the way to the top.

Leon frowned. "What of it?"

Sora tilted his head. "So…do you want HIM to come back?"

The frown deepened. "Why?"

Sora shrugged. "Because I remember Roxas' memories. Seifer was a bully and sometimes a pain…but he was still well liked in Twilight Town. That's his home. It's the world of his heart. You don't want him back any more than he wants to come back. Kairi's heart belongs to another world too. Take Roxas as another example. He came from Destiny Islands. His heart is in Twilight Town."

Leon paused. "Do you think that Radiant Garden will ever be what it used to be?"

Sora smiled at him. "No." He replied gently. "I think it will be better."

0 0 0

It took hours to reach the chapel. Heartless swarmed out of nowhere, the castle was slowly falling apart and both obstacles made going tough. Roxas was tense as they rested, Sora leaning on Riku's shoulders. "We're nearly there." The status of the darkness of his world was not lost on Leon, and Roxas could see that it pained him to see it with every step they took. Wordlessly, he nodded.

Sora led them forward, and Roxas watched Riku's face drain of what little color he had left as they entered a chamber. A carpet led them up toward a set of stairs and up onto a platform. A single, dim light shone from the platform above them and Sora led the way as he mounted the stairs. "It's right through here."

They all stopped dead as they saw the keyhole. Roxas had heard of keyholes, open portals to the heart of all things. He had never seen one, though he knew instinctively that this keyhole was one that HAD to be there. It bound both light and dark together. "Riku?" Sora asked worriedly.

Riku's lips were tight. "I'm all right." He assured his friend. "Let's just keep moving before we attract heartless."

Sora bit his lip lightly before nodding. He slipped his hand into Riku's, his own eyes darker than usual. Roxas studied his "other" intently. It wasn't often that he saw shadows in Sora's face. Sora went out of his way to joke and smile and tease reactions out of all of them. The look on Sora's face as he stared at the keyhole was not one that made Roxas comfortable. It reminded him painfully that Sora was normal…and that there was darkness in his heart that had nothing to do with Roxas.

Roxas closed his eyes as he approached the light, stepping through as he followed the others into the keyhole. Leon's sharp gasp made him cautiously look at the world around him. This world was caught at high noon, the world around them gleaming, clean, pure and bright. Sora laughed, and the sound rang through the room.

As if his laughter was a beacon, the hearts began to appear. They shone pink and dazzling and hurt Roxas' eyes. Something inside of him gave a lurch as he felt the hearts…and knew that he couldn't touch any of them.

Sora laughed again, his eyes bright with delight, and Roxas felt the pang again. Sora WAS all heart. No wonder hearts, both willing and guarded always responded to him. "Look!"

Cloud pointed as one heart slowly lowered toward the dusk on his right side. Roxas whirled, and felt his stomach rise into his throat and knot there. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, all he could do was stare as the Nobody reached up toward the heart. It was a painful sight to see, the dusk yearning for the heart floating just above it, desperately trying to reach it.

The heart settled over the dusk and a pink glow filled the room followed by burst of pure light. Roxas saw the others close their eyes against it, even Sora, and the burning in his retinas forced him to do the same.

Someone gasped from his right side…someone who had not been there before. Roxas' eyes flew open and he fell to his knees in front of the youth with a shock of violet hair and calm eyes. "Roxas?" That voice. That voice that brought back so many memories.

Roxas bowed his head as he knelt at the teen's feet. "Zexion."