Day 48

Sora stayed up late for a change, sleep not being all that attractive an idea. It didn't even call to him like it usually did, as if he'd just outgrown the need for it.
It was far later than anyone else usually stayed up, and much quieter.
He'd gone up to the Alter of Naught, sitting on the low wall just like he did the one at Twilight Town's clock tower, staring into Kingdom Hearts. Or at least, the false image of it. But knowing it mimicked the real thing perfectly was just as good for now.
Xigbar had stopped by earlier. Riku had agreed to the meeting at lunchtime tomorrow. Make that today. He was fairly certain it was past midnight now. He'd tell Maleficent later.
Something flickered across his mind. Something about Dark City, but it faded again. He hadn't had anything like this since Xion had joined Roxas.
It flickered again, then his view changed. He was in a memory now, he was certain. But who's memory was it?
He was walking through the streets of Dark City. He recognised the coat he wore. It was definitely his own.
Nobodies appeared behind him, and he found himself destroying them without being able to stop himself. It was just a memory, he told himself. This wasn't real, wasn't happening.
The Nobodies petered off, allowing him to continue through the streets unhindered. He passed Axel leaning in a small alcove, but paid no attention.
"Your mind's made up?" Axel's voice said to him, making him stop.
"Why did the keyblade choose me?" he said in Roxas' voice, not turning around. "I have to know."
"You can't turn on the Organization!" Axel shouted. "You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"
"No one would miss me," he threw back over his shoulder, then continued on.
"That's not true!" Axel's voice came, but fainter. "I would..."
The memory faded out again, restoring his original view again.
That had been Roxas' voice he'd spoken in. Unmistakable.
But Roxas had never been a part of the Organization. He'd never have anything to do with them.
The memory played again, but different. This time he was leaning against a building, and Roxas walked past him, wearing a coat matching his own. The conversation went the exactly the same way.
What was happening... why were these memories coming to him? He shouldn't be getting them at all anymore.
Another memory surfaced. He was stood on a massive circle platform with designs on it depicting Roxas and his friends – Donald, Goofy, Riku and Kairi. He stood on one side of it, hood raised up. He held a keyblade in each hand. Oathkeeper and Oblivion – Roxas' keyblades.
Roxas stood opposite him, wielding a single keyblade in the original key form.
The view changed again. Now it was him with the single key, wearing Roxas' outfit, standing opposite someone wearing his coat, holding the same two keyblades. The platform showed him with Roxas' friends instead.
"Who are you?" he asked the figure now wearing his coat.
"Someone from the dark," it answered, the voice familiar... but it couldn't be, could it?
"You can't be... Riku...?"
"Riku? I defeated a Riku once," it told him.
"What?" It came out as if he was startled.
"Tell me – tell me why he picked you!"
It charged at him, dragging the keyblades over the platform, sending sparks flying. They battled, fighting almost fiercely. He was hit into the air by Oblivion, and the figure jumped up following him, continuing his attack in the air. Sora continued to block attacks, trying to strike back where he could.
It seemed to notice the platform below.
"I see," it said. "That's why."
As they landed, his opponent battered away on his keyblade until it was knocked from his hand. As he reached for it, it was pinned to the ground by Oathkeeper.
Sora glanced up at Oblivion pointed to him, then summoned it back to him, surprising his opponent.
"What?" it exclaimed, leaving itself open long enough for Sora to deliver a finishing blow. The keyblades clattered to the ground, vanishing in twinned flashes, then the hood of the coat fell back to reveal Roxas.
Roxas looked satisfied for the moment before he turned and took a few unsteady steps away from him, then said, "You make a good other."
Sora's view returned once more.
"A good... other?" he echoed. "Me?" It didn't sound like the sort of thing Roxas would say about him. If anything, he'd never just stop like that and walk away. He'd keep on fighting until one of them couldn't go on.
Yet another change, but not such a significant one. He was still up on the Alter of Naught, but now he was stood up, away from the edge, and the Kingdom Hearts he was looking at looked different – the inside was missing, a black and purple core that looked like it had been torn out of it.
This too faded.
What did that last one mean? Was someone going to do something to his Kingdom Hearts? But no, it couldn't be. His one was kept safely away from the image hanging ahead of him, and that one was the one that had seemed damaged.
Someone took a seat beside him. There was a strong sense something was very wrong as they did so, and a stronger sense when he saw that the someone was himself, dressed the same way Roxas was.
"I wonder how long it's been," he said, looking up at the same Kingdom Hearts.
"How long what's been?" Sora felt he had to ask.
"Since I came in here."
"Into... this world?"
"No," he laughed. "A bit more than that, Sora."
"Who are you?"
"I'm what you left behind. Everything you don't remember."
"You're me?"
"Pretty much. The question is, who are you?"
"Aren't I me too?" Even as he said it, he knew it sounded stupid.
"Of course you are. But you're the Nobody me. The one who exists in all this," he gestured around. "This is your life, born when Roxas stabbed himself with the Keyblade of People's Hearts."
"And you're not."
"Already told you that, Sora. You're starting to pick up bits of my memories. Remembering things that happened to me."
"The things I just saw. But some of them..."
"Yeah, they were from Roxas. My Roxas that is, not the one you know."
"There's two of him too?"
"You know, I'm pretty sure I never asked that many obvious questions."
"So they really happened. Roxas really was a part of the Organization."
"Yeah. Number thirteen, the Key of Destiny."
"But that's..."
"Your title, I know. Like I said, that's my Roxas, not yours." This other him looked down at him at last, looking at him with the same blue eyes he used to have. His face seemed somehow kinder than his own, gentler. "You'll have a choice before long, Sora. Keep what you've gained here, or give it up to get back what you left behind. Think on it carefully, because there's no going back once you make that choice."
"If I keep what I've got..."
"Then your Roxas will try to stop you. But reclaim what you left behind... reclaim me, and the rest will make sense."
"I thought things did make sense," he answered. "Until you and your memories came along."
The other Sora looked back to the image of Kingdom Hearts above.
"I guess it depends on your point of view. Are you really set on this?"
"On what?"
"What you're doing. I can't say I approve of it... but then I remember stopping Xemnas from taking Kingdom Hearts for himself. Riku and I had to face him alone... that was one battle I'd hate to have to fight again."
Now Sora too turned back to Kingdom Hearts.
"Don't you know why I'm doing it?"
"No. Those are your memories. I'm just all you've forgotten. All I see is a member of the Organization, obsessing over Kingdom Hearts almost more than Xemnas did."
There was a long silence before Sora finally answered, "It's what... feels right to me. I'm not going to be the tool of the Organization forever. They're going to be my tool to reaching Kingdom Hearts. I've worked so hard for it, put so much work into it, so many Hearts... it belongs to me in it's totality. I will have it."
When there was no answer, he glanced back beside him, but the other Sora had gone. He turned quickly, looking behind him, but there was no one there.
Had that even actually happened?
What if that other Sora had been right? Another him, another Roxas – another side of each, and another story to each.
Those were memories from that other story he'd experienced. This other Roxas... that Roxas had led his life here, and the Sora...
Or was it the other way round, was he the one matching Roxas' life?
He shook his head, putting the thoughts from his mind. Either someone was playing games, or there was something strange going on. Either way, he wasn't going to let it stand in his way. He knew who he was, and who he'd be.
The Key of Destiny, and the one who'd command the power of Kingdom Hearts. Even if this other Sora had been right – that was his goal, and he'd stop at nothing to reach it. The sacred moon he'd worked so hard toward... it belonged to him.
The Key would unlock his Destiny, and that was to become one with Kingdom Hearts. He wouldn't ask it for a Heart. It would be his Heart.

The tower room of Hollow Bastion formed around Sora as he exited the corridor. He showed no evidence of his experiences in the early hours of that morning, instead showing the same harsh expression he kept to so often now.
A strange silver door stood on one side of the room, and just around from it stairs leading down. That appeared to be all that was in this tower.
"Maleficent!" he called out. "Show yourself!"
"Ah, Sora," her voice almost purred. "What a pleasant surprise." Sora remained silent, waiting. Eventually, she came up the stairs, sweeping into view.
"Your meeting is at lunchtime," he told her. "Sunset Hill, Twilight Town."
"I'm surprised you managed to persuade him so quickly."
"I didn't. I got one of the others to do it for me. I had other things to see to."
"Will you be present?"
Sora thought for a moment. If he kept his face hidden, perhaps Riku might shrug off anything he recognised as coincidence. Was it worth the risk? Would that other Sora...
He pushed that thought from his mind. That... visitation was going to have no effect on his plans in the slightest.
"I'll be there. But you keep my identity out of it. He's not to receive even the slightest hint of who I am."
"Something between you and him?"
"Something like that. He... has a promise over him that would mean if he knew who I was, a fight would follow. I'd rather avoid that if possible. Riku might unleash something better kept to himself."
"You've aroused my suspicions, Sora."
"So long as that's all I've aroused," he muttered under his breath, then louder, "I'll meet you there, but more than likely after you get there because of Riku. Now, about my information...?"
Maleficent merely gestured toward the silver door beside her.
"Pete is already there seeing to it. Very shortly, I'll be able to penetrate into the Disney Castle, and if I can do that..."
"Then so can I. Keep your Heartless, Maleficent. Leave this one to me and my Heartless."