Dedicated to my Hero.

A/N: Hello, everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to write so little. I had my wisdom teeth removed the day before my birthday so I've been out of the loop. Boy, have I ever. Those of you who haven't had the luxury of undergoing said operation need not worry. It's not as bad as they say. The 'Laughing Gas' was really quite an interesting experience. No, I didn't laugh. Hehe. But! I did have interesting dreams. Some of which are intertwined into this chapter.

Enjoy! I'll update soon. You guys are wonderful. I appreciate your reviews and your thanks more than you know. If only you could see the smile on my face! HA! Actually, I look like a chipmunk. Y'all would pee in your pants if you saw me.

Disclaimer: I own Nevaeh. That's cool enough to satisfy me.

ooo

Tony Sarmiento couldn't contain his excitement. He stared at his hand, a demonic gleam in his eye. "I..." he gasped. The darkness swallowed his words. Tony's echo was short-lived. "I haz dah powah." He succumbed to the building laughter in his chest. No wonder the villains always tittered away without rhyme or reason. It was...power. And it felt good.

Tarsus watched his subordinate carefully. "Fool," he hissed.

Sarmiento regained his composure. He wiped a speckle of drool from his chin. "Sorry, Mastah." He felt obligated to apologize. Especially since Tarsus could rend him into a thousand pieces in less than a second. But, in reality, Tony wasn't sorry. This gift Tarsus had just granted him was overwhelming. And it wasn't even at it's full potential. Its strength would grow over time.

As of now, Tony thought to himself, I canz manipulate thoughts spannin' backz to a couple o' dayz atz best. My hand feelz soz energized. Like I canz crush anything. Sarmiento flexed his fingers.

Imagine. The power to erase or create memories to the point where one might question ones birth. That was Tarsus' true power. The power himself, Nevaeh, and the rest of the Master's pawns suffered under. Its wrath was cruel. Unbreakable.

No longer unattainable.

Such a thought sent chills snaking up and down Tony's spine.

He couldn't wait to try it out.

"Stop toying with Riku," Tarsus snapped, jerking Tony from his reverie. "Gather his information and dispose of him if need be." He speared his bottom lip with his canine teeth. "However, I wouldn't mind if you brought the boy to me in pieces."

Tony's face fell.

"Don't overdo it." Tarsus' warning was heartless. He meant business. "Don't obliterate his every cell. Understand?"

Sarmiento sighed. He turned his back on his Master. "Yeah, yeah," he said nonchalantly. Though, his guard was anything but lax. His talk may have flaunted bravo, yes, but on the inside he was all coward. "I knowz. Why do ya want bodyguard's remains? Allz it takes is a'few more Chaserz to doz dah job."

When Tarsus didn't answer, Tony made to investigate. He never knew his superior was so fast. In a bat of an eyelash, Tarsus stole his way to Sarmiento's side, snatched him up by the neck, and pinned him to a wall of darkness. No wonder Nevaeh always said: Speed is power.

Tarsus showed zero emotion as Tony realized he had no air to breathe. "I've given you my authority over the human psyche and all you can do is snivel? Pathetic."

Tony's eyes watered.

"Go. Have your fun. Bring Riku to me dead. Nevaeh, alive." Tarsus took his sweet time explaining his orders. He relished in Tony's suffering. "I want to make sure I have every scrap of information." On the word 'every' his grip tightened. "If you manage to bring Riku in alive, I'll let you deal with the rest of him once I'm through. That boy," Tarsus bit. "He's giving Nevaeh new memories. We can't have that, can we?" Tarsus released Sarmiento. He watched Tony grovel at his feet, quaking in veneration in the aftermath of Tarsus clout. "Speaking of Nevaeh. You may choose her fate."

Sarmiento nodded. "Yes." He dared to lift his eyes. "As you wish."

ooo

So Sarmiento wants to know how I control the Chasers? Riku rehearsed to himself. It's because an embodiment of evil known as Xehonort's Heartless resides deep inside of me.

On that note, there was something amiss concerning that part of Riku's consciousness. Why in the Worlds would this untainted incarnation of pure wickedness resurface? Like now?

Stupid blindfold, Riku grumbled. It was the only way to keep the Xehonort inside of him at bay. Despite his best efforts, the Heartless' voice still resounded in his head. No matter what he did. And it was louder than ever.

Riku grunted. He wished 'Ansem' would just shut up. He's more annoying than Nevaeh. And that's really saying something.

"You know, sir," Nevaeh cooed in Riku's ear. "What with me and my poor memory and you with your concealed eyes, it's like the blind leading the blind." The arm she'd tucked around his stiffened a good deal. "Isn't that funny?"

"Not really."

Neveah didn't bother growing angry over his blunt answer. "Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll remember how to laugh next." She turned to him. Her chin nestled where his deltoid and his bicep met. It was scary how well she fit there. Very scary. "May I ask a favor of you?"

Riku wasn't sure what prompted this line of dialogue. Not until he felt hot tears sting his elbow. He didn't detect any attempts in wiping them away. More than likely, that was because Nevaeh had gotten tired of pin-pointing her mood swings. They, oddly enough, had nothing to do with her temper.

"Tell me a joke."

Riku hadn't been expecting something so painless. It was an effort to say: "Okay." He had to dig deep down. Farther than he would have liked. He hadn't heard or told a joke in ages. Perhaps years. "Why is the ocean cranky?"

Nevaeh bristled. Riku could sense the hairs on her forearm stand on end. "Don't play me for a fool, sir. Oceans can't feel anything."

Riku sighed. Nothing was easy. "Don't take it so literally. It's a joke. If you want something literal, you should have asked for a riddle."

"Finish your joke. Then give me a riddle."

Riku hid a smirk. "What's the magic word?"

"Now?"

"Please," he corrected.

"Alright, then. Please."

Riku stepped lightly. Because he was blindfolded, he had to tune into his rocky surroundings more so than usual. He couldn't help his dropped guard at a time like this. For one, Nevaeh had said please. Of her own free will. Without manipulation involved. Perhaps he was rubbing off on her after all. "Why is the ocean cranky? You'd be upset if you had crabs in your bed."

Nevaeh didn't respond.

Riku hesitated. "You know," he urged. "Bed. Ocean bed." Now he felt stupid. As a result, his footing suffered. He slid a little ways before regaining his balance, thoroughly embarrassed. The fault was so subtle, however, Nevaeh kept her peace. No picking or prying.

"I haven't a clue as to what you're talking about," she finally chimed in. "What a silly joke. On with the riddle."

Riku questioned Nevaeh's persistence. He assumed she was actually trying to learn how to laugh. It was both heart-warming and sad at the same time. This thought left him feeling numb, caught between emotions. "What falls, but never breaks? What breaks, but never falls?"

Before Nevaeh could even begin to berate him on his riddle choice, Riku felt his head clamp in a vice. It was like an invisible spike of steel had skewered his temples.

Riku's knees buckled. He collapsed to the ground, having done nothing but grasp handfuls of his silver hair.

Nevaeh knelt down beside him. She asked, time and time again, what was wrong. Or where it hurt. Her voice drifted in and out of Riku's awareness. He could hear her words, but couldn't understand them. Now matter how much he wanted to. It was as if she were speaking in a different language. Her voice was gentle, but Nevaeh's lilts split his ears into two.

Blood soaked the edges of Riku's blindfold and it gushed down his jaw.

Riku threw his head back. He let lose a spin-tingling scream. His spine arched to the point where he thought it would break. Several feelings collided in the very midst of his being. Himself, Xehonort, Nevaeh, and...

There was someone else. But, instead of a person, it took on the appearance of a hand.

This hand, whomever it belonged, commenced in stripping Riku of his thoughts. In layers, images of the past few days fell victim to his intruder. Everything. Riku no longer knew where he was. Why he was there. It was a mess of confusion that left his mind muddled. And bleeding. The rendered memories leaked out of every outlet they could find. Eyes, nose, and mouth alike.

Riku spewed the rest.

There was no possible way Nevaeh could've helped. Despite her best efforts, Riku exerted more power than she could withstand. The force in which his might exploded from his pores was enough to send the girl to her rear against the mountainside. And that's where Nevaeh stayed, both arms blocking the majority of her wide-eyed face. "Mr. Riku!" she cried. "RIKU!"

The ground beneath Riku's shins crumbled to dust. Chunks of earth disintegrated into the air. Amongst his wailing, he tore the blindfold from his face. One of his bloodshot eyes lit in a manifest of orange. His other remained a steely mint. The latter's pupil was so miniscule, green was all Nevaeh could see.

"Get out of my host's head!" Riku snarled. His voice was deep. Cold. Unfeeling. Older. It wasn't his. But, in spite of Riku's resilience, his radiant, orange eye dimmed to its natural color before conforming to the glazed, suppressed look the other sported.

Power gone, limp and helpless, Riku inhaled heavy breath after heavy breath. "Nevaeh?" he sounded normal.

"Mr. Riku?" Nevaeh blinked. When she saw that her partner was no longer incapacitated, her sixth sense forced her to duck. It was a good thing she did. Riku's blade sunk straight into the slab of rock she'd been pinned to. Up to the hilt, no less.

Riku caught Nevaeh's evade before she could formulate a plan of attack. She'd never seen him as fast as this. Riku, as hard as it was for her to admit, scared her. He snatched Nevaeh by her butchered hair and threw her back to her previous resting place. Wiplashed, all she could do was stare.

"Nevaeh," Riku hissed, eyes as cold and blank as ice. "Prepare...to...die."

Nevaeh gulped. "Yes, sir." She bowed her head and waited for his blow, but the lethal strike refused to land.

Riku's sword shook in his grip. He bared his teeth, trying with all his might to impale the fair-skinned girl in front of him. Something silenced his want, internally. Nevaeh could tell that this was the case. Because Riku clutched at his heart with his free hand.

"Heaven-" Riku coughed. He plunged his sword into the ground. Whilst he propped himself up on his Keyblade, he heaved under the weight of his liquid barks. "Run. Sarmiento's messing with my head."

Nevaeh scowled. "What do you mean?"

Riku squinted his mesmerized eyes. Crimson tears fell from his lashes and his pupils retook their original size. "He's in my head, rearranging memories. Taking them away." Riku winced. Out of breath, he pressed on: "He made me forget the good in you. Left the bad."

Nevaeh swallowed the lump in her throat. "Why?"

"He wants..." Riku shuddered. "He wants..." His eyelids inched their way closed against his will. When he managed to blink them open again, Riku's irises were void of life, pupils nonexistent. "Heaven." He timidly alighted his hand on Nevaeh's face. Riku didn't mind her awkward glance. Not one bit.

Her frowning lips didn't alleviate his want to kiss them, either.

Riku knew something was wrong. His heart screamed in his chest. Fear of rejection wasn't a main emotion. Nor was it nerves. He couldn't place it. What he'd been striving to explain melted away. It wasn't important anymore. Not that he remembered. The only thing on Riku's mind was Nevaeh.

His Nevaeh.

Riku explored her face with the tips of his fingers. She had such gorgeous features, after all. Unfortunately, Nevaeh didn't appreciate his abrupt, tender act. But she couldn't withdraw. To make up for her lack of a retreat, Nevaeh endeavored to punch Riku in his bloody jaw.

He blocked the assault. And he held her knuckles true when Nevaeh's failed attempt resulted in his busted palm. Riku guided Nevaeh's hand to his chest where she ultimately understood just how panicked he was. "Riku," she gasped. "Sarmiento. What about Sarmiento? What about the bad in me?"

Riku ignored her. The bad? There was no bad in Heaven. Only good. Riku leaned close and hovered his mouth over Nevaeh's philtrum. His upper lip caressed the tip of her nose. "Please let me kiss you."

Nevaeh was too startled to reply. A threat hushed its way to life, nevertheless. "If you do, I'll rip your tongue out." She closed her eyes and panted against Riku's chin. It was enough to jerk him from his daze. Albeit, painfully.

Riku stemmed a cough. Cognizant, he steadied himself. "Where am I?" He didn't dare move. Not when he didn't have an answer. His mind was much too fuzzy. As was his sense of balance. Riku mistakenly buried his face into the single object in front of him, being warm, soft, and oh-so comforting. He didn't know how he knew this. He just did.

Riku regained his breath and soon discovered that he'd initiated a kiss when what small amount he'd obtained slipped past his lips.

Riku gawked at Nevaeh. He pulled away, surprised beyond belief. Both of their eyes were as wide as saucers. They looked rather ridiculous, too.

Riku and Nevaeh weren't the only ones to think so. "I can seez why Mastah likes tah dapple in tha mindz of his pawns." Tony laughed. "I aint as good. The limitz to my power is a couple 'a day atz most. What little Mastah taught me was well worth seeinz the looks on youze twoz faces."

Riku gathered himself. He shakily stood to his feet. "You think that's funny, do you?" His shame went so deep, his heart stopped when he saw Nevaeh's expression. The sight of her ruined hair didn't improve Riku's attitude. "It ends here, Sarmiento. You want to know why I have the power to control the Chasers?" Half of Riku's visage fell into shadow. His natural eyes burst with an inner fire.

Tony's laughter died down.

"Here's why." Riku lunged, sword in hand.

Sarmiento parried. His smile was murder. "I'z been easy on yaz since dah beginning. Itz time I'z stepped up." He forced his weight against Riku's blade and punched him in his gut.

Riku coiled his abdomen enough to catch the strike. It didn't keep Tony's fist from dealing a devastating blow. Its force threw Riku off his feet. He barreled toward the mountainside, headfirst.

Riku had to give Sarmiento props. He was strong. Very strong. It surprised him how much he'd underestimated Tony. Riku fixed his spinning sights, rotated his body at the last second, and cushioned his landing against the outcropping of rock with his feet. He looked to where Sarmiento had initiated the first punch, but he wasn't there.

Riku looked overhead. Sarmiento's sword came plowing down in a blurry arch right into the back of Riku's neck. Before he could muster up a counter, what's more. Fortunately, a last-second shielding cast in the nick of time proved a worthy rival against Tony's Keyblade. Otherwise, Riku would have been headless.

The shockwave was massive.

Riku skidded toward the ground. He halted his descent with the heels of his palms and spun around.

Sarmiento laughed. "Don't think youz can get by fighting like that, bodyguard."

Riku smirked. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "Is that all you've got?"

Tony scowled. It was frightening. He didn't waste any time mincing words. He propelled himself downward, fully intent on spearing Riku with his sword. His speed was fantastic. The mountain quavered in response and an eruption of pillared dust followed in his wake.

Riku sprinted up to meet his adversary head on. The tips of his shoes embedded into the stone while he climbed, hands free. With one, he carried his Keyblade. With the other, he fashioned a sphere of darkness with disjointed fingers.

Like lightning, the two collided. The clashing of their weapons erupted like a peal of thunder.

Riku plunged his magic through Sarmiento's defense and hit him square in the chest. Spasms jerked their way across Tony's arms, giving Riku an adequate opening; he grabbed Sarmiento by his suspenders, twisted in mid-air, and threw the boy back to the ground.

Tony fell like a shooting star. Burnt by the pressure of the toss, he regained sufficient composure to shoot several black beams from the end of his sword before it was all said and done. Tony landed on his back. The aftermath of Riku's prowess resulted in a crater ten times the size of Sarmiento himself.

Riku tried to block Tony's projectiles. Regrettably, they fastened to his sword like shadows and sank underneath the steel. Their consequence wasn't clear until Riku alighted a few yards in front of his opponent.

Tony rose. He took a ragged breath or two. His arms jerked every now and again. "Bravo, bodyguard. But you're no match fo' me." Tony pursed his lips and whistled. The tune was piercing. Almost too high-pitched for Riku to hear.

Riku's attention was inevitably drawn to his Keyblade. The hooded magic Tony had sent his way illuminated in bright white. The sharps and flats swirled amongst themselves in an endless staff. A miniature sphere of light expanded from the hilt and commenced to devour Riku's weapon.

The Keyblade shattered.

Riku gawked.

"That's right," Tony chuckled. "I forgotz to tellz ya." He held up his hand. Music danced around his wrist. It was almost like he was a slave to the composition. "Dis is my powah. You'd be surprised at what soundz can do." He turned his head toward Nevaeh. She remained shell-shocked, right where Riku had left her. "Allowz me to demonstratez..."

"NO!" Riku snarled. "Your fight is with me! Leave Heaven out of this!"

Tony blew a raspberry. "Don' cha wonder why she's notz movin', bodyguard?"

Riku balked.

Sarmiento balanced a single treble clef on the end of his index. "Amazin' what the inner ear controlz," he said, all high and mighty. "Like she gotz a bad case of vertigo."

Riku examined Nevaeh's condition a bit closer. She wasn't stunned to the point where she couldn't move. She was too dizzy to get to her feet and help him out. Riku bared his teeth at the sight. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten. How could he have left Nevaeh in such a vulnerable position? What was he? New at this?

Tony formed a new song on the tip of his weapon. "Let's finish her off, shallz we, bodyguard?" He slashed two shadowed notes in Nevaeh's direction.

Riku's limbs moved of their own accord. He dove forward and caught Tony's sharps in his hands. It didn't stop the music from nearly eating through his skin. He hung on tight, nevertheless. Sarmiento's power had enough kick to drag Riku all the way to where Nevaeh sat. Even when he dug his heels into the earth. In all actuality, Riku had to will his arms a degree to the right and left so that he wouldn't run through Nevaeh's shoulders at the end.

Fists now buried in the mountain, Riku stood over Heaven, shielding her.

She looked at him with heavy eyes. "Why?" She tried to move, but she was too woozy to make any headway. "Why did you do that? I didn't ask you to."

Riku opened his mouth to answer. Sarmiento's melody erupted in his palms and broke every bone in both hands. His reply was more of a hushed grimace than anything. "Because," he moaned. The debris that issued from the holes on either side of Nevaeh's arms wafted in front of his face. "You're my friend. Friends don't have to ask."

Sarmiento stalked up behind him. "Heh," he snorted. "A bodyguard 'tilz the very end." He lifted his sword...

Riku tore his hand from the rock and grabbed hold of Tony's Keyblade before any damage was done.

"H-HOW?" Sarmiento demanded. "I destroyed your hands!"

Riku smirked past the pain. Past the fractures. Past the cut in his palm. He ignored the aches in his bones. The blood trickling down his forearm. The way his heart shuddered. All he did was hold on. "You..." he forced himself to say. "You haven't destroyed my..." Riku shoved Tony's Keyblade aside. "You haven't destroyed my spirit."

Riku swept Sarmiento off his feet and worked his elbow into Tony's neck. The lingering song dispersed into a choked cry.

Riku's Keybalde made a grand reappearance. Nevaeh immediately perked up. Though, she was still out of sorts. She struggled to stand, misjudged her lack of strength to do so, and fell into Riku's left arm. The one he'd dislodged solely to catch her.

"Don't push it," he grunted.

Nevaeh scrutinized him. "Don't push it, indeed. Look who's calling the kettle black, Mr. Riku. You've almost pushed yourself to death." Her words were unfeeling, but her voice said otherwise. She couldn't help but add, "Are you..." She faltered, unsure of what to say. Nevaeh didn't like this uncomfortable situation. "Are you alright?"

Riku blinked. He was caught by surprise. By how near she was. How worried she was. Was Sarmiento messing with his head again? "Yeah."

"You don't look alright."

A smile worked its way on Riku's face. He was powerless to resist. "Will it make you feel better if I admit that I'm anything but-" Sarmiento struck Riku in his side. While he spun through the air, he berated himself: How distracted could one girl make him, exactly?

Riku realized that he was in a bind. More so than his target. He wrestled for control as both himself and Tony careened down the mountainside, leaving gargantuan fissures in wake of their exertion.

Sarmiento didn't have the voice to crow his victory.

The mountain caved. Tony plummeted, pushing Riku's back against the face of vertical crag. His clothes tore to pieces, hence, and his shoulders took the beating of a lifetime.

"You're coming with me," Tony rasped. "IN PIECES!"

ooo

A/N: Ah. Ted Dekker endings are lovely, aren't they? Again, sorry it's so short. And sorry about the quality. I am under pain medication, you know! Okay, okay. Advil. But, really! I can't eat my favorite foods...sniff.

I'll update soon to make up for it. I hope you enjoyed the fluff and the action! More to come!

By the way, if I didn't make it clear: Sarmiento first made Riku think Nevaeh was bad. Then he switched it around so Riku would kiss her. Ouch. I said that there wasn't going to be anymore fluff between Riku and Nevaeh but...hehe...I lied.

Next Chapter Preview:

Nevaeh took Kairi's hand in hers and worked up a smile. "You know Sora's alive, don't you?"

Kairi nodded her head. Rivulets of water ran down her cheeks like the tears she should have been crying. "Yeah." Her grip on Nevaeh's hand tightened. So much so that the rain couldn't penetrate their intertwined fingers. "That doesn't keep me from being afraid." She closed her eyes. "Very afraid."

Nevaeh didn't know what to say to this. She felt a similar sensation crawl beneath her skin. She knew, without a doubt, that Riku wasn't dead. How? She had yet to figure this out. Maybe it was because the realization of his demise had yet to sink in. Who could say?

Even so, Nevaeh felt the need to stand by Kairi's side.

Besides. It was almost as if she'd done it before.

ooo

A/N: Leave a review and I'll get back to you. As always, remind me to read your stuffs. My mind is like a furnace. Any and every thing I wish to keep is always burnt up in the end. Sigh.