Riku here! Posting the chapter this time cause this chapter was all done by me. *glares at Hikari who is making a cosplay*

Either way, hope guys enjoy!


Chapter 8

"Do you think this means that everyone has been reincarnated?" Aced asked, jumping right into the conversation.

"I don't know… it seems odd though," Ira started to say. "Both you and I look different from our past selves yet do have some resembles. Sora and Ephemer look nothing alike, though both do have the same cheery optimism which makes a whole lot of sense now. What about… what was the name… Lauriam? I may not have seen Marluxia, but from what Namine said it seems they look the same."

"Perhaps it is just a consequence then that he looks the same in both lifetimes? It does seem puzzling for sure. But now we must take into account that others we know may also be here as well. But whether they look similar or not to their old lives is what will be up for debate."

Ira nodded, though it was not without another thought to follow. "Though we may never know if their memories are never unlocked. And we surely cannot have Namine go and check everyone's memories."

"I suppose it will be that way. But I have a feeling we may run into others down the road. After all we were brought together again, so why not others. Or at least the other foretellers."

"You're right. I guess only time will tell at this point. And when Sora wakes up I'll need to find a time to try and talk to him about it… whenever that will be…" Riku said as he let out a sigh. He slumped his shoulders and stared off into the distance.

"You're still unsure about that, aren't you?" Terra asked as he walked a bit closer to Riku.

"Yeah… I just don't know how I am going to face him again. Not after what I did."

"But Riku, you've done so much more than that, you've been helping him ever since then. You actually are able to atone for your mistakes. Something I wish I could do right now," Terra replied.

"I know that, but it is still hard to come to grips with it. I gave into darkness…"

"So did I."

"I turned against my best friend and fought him," Riku stated.

"And I did that as well under similar circumstances," Terra replied. "Don't forget in this lifetime we have both gone through similar things. You are not alone on this."

Riku shook his head. He understood what Terra was saying and he was glad he had someone to talk about it, but it was still hard. Not just because of what he had done, but also because his mind of Ira kept fixating on it more than he would have liked it. But that was not really something he wanted to mention. He didn't want to seem so at war with himself. That was not the focus that needed to happen, but instead waiting for the next opportune moment to do something to help Sora.


Riku walked along the forest outside of the old mansion. More and more days had gone by and no progress had been made. It had been just over fifty days now since Sora's memory restoration had come to a halt. And after all of that waiting and still more to come, what Riku ended up needed was a walk and there was no better place to do that then the forested area. It was quiet and tranquil. A nice simple walk to try and clear his mind was what he wanted, but there were always harder thoughts that were less welcome.

Riku soon came to a halt and breathed out slowly. He reached up to his blindfold. His fingers grasped it, but he stayed there and did nothing further. He eventually lowered his hand and let out a long side.

'Why do you hesitate?' Terra's voice said, though Riku was unsure if it was Terra speaking to him or more of Aced.

"I don't know…" Riku muttered aloud, seeing that it wasn't a problem since no one was around.

'You need to work on fighting it. Xehanort's Heartless… or Ansem's darkness is strong, I will admit that. But you need to be the stronger one and fight against it.'

"I know that!" Riku snapped slightly. "But… I can still feel it everywhere. It keeps trying to break through and overpower me no matter how hard I try to keep it concealed. I know if it does overpower me… it may be permanent."

'We won't let that happen. Though until we can find a solution, it may end up coming in handy,' Terra replied.

"And I don't want to use the darkness!" Ira hissed. "I'm not about to let my heart stoop any further into it."

'Ira,' Terra said, using his much more, deeper serious tone of voice. It was now Aced speaking. 'Trying to avoid it or ignore it won't solve it to make it go away. You will have to eventually come and face it.'

"And do you have any idea how it feels to have the darkness of someone else overcome you? When ever I take off this blindfold his powers surge forward and try to take over, transforming me back into that man. I try to hold it back, but it just comes to be too strong."

'I may not know how that feels, but I do know what it is like to have darkness and to have to learn how to deal with it. I did it as Aced first and then now as Terra.'

"And look where that lead you. Both times it lead you down a terrible path with heavy consequences."

Terra remained quiet after that, leaving a regretful gut feeling in Riku.

He shook his head, trying to clear out the thoughts from Ira so he could better focus on being Riku at the moment. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean for it to come off that harshly. But as Ira I still am not keen on the darkness still."

'I may have used the darkness and yes it did have consequences, but that darkness was never the sole issue. As Aced I was blinded and twisted by the events that had happened to think that my way was the only way to be right. And this time around I was foolish and careless. I was manipulated and deceived by so many aside from Xehanort. I may have used the darkness… but it was never the main reason but instead other things that influenced it.'

"I know… but I'm still sorry for what I said," Riku muttered.

'It's all right Riku. The situation isn't an easy one. I don't have all the answers right now, but I am going to keep helping. I know we will find a way to get through this together.'

"Thanks Terra," Riku replied. He breathed in deeply and let it out slowly, feeling thankfully he did have someone to talk to. Someone who could closely understand his situation in more ways than one.

"I feel I should tell someone else though… in case something happens to me. You know… someone on the outside?" Riku said, chuckling slightly.

Terra laughed in return. 'I guess that would be helpful. But who? I assume Mickey?'

"Yeah, probably him. He has been helping me a lot since Castle Oblivion anyways," Riku replied. "I just hope it won't have to come to that…"

'As long as you keep holding on, I know you will find a way. Just keep listening to your heart. Remember the old saying… 'May your heart be your guiding key',' Aced said.

If Ira was able to see him at the moment, he knew that Aced would be smiling. The saying though was not something he had thought about at all since reawakening his old memories. He found the corner of his lips curling up into a smile.

"Thank you Aced, you've become rather insightful over all of this time."

'Well I have had a lot of time to reflect, but thank you for the compliment. Though do you think you should also inform Mickey about my presence here? Though I never directly met him years ago, I did at least see him once in passing. So he may know of me as well,' Terra said.

"I am not sure, it's a lot to have him take in," Riku said. "With everything else that is going on, there is so much already to worry about. But you do make a good point, if he would happen to know something or figure it out, it would be helpful. Though the part on our past lives can probably be left out. "

'Agreed. Then let's go and find him,' Terra said as Riku began to walk further around the forest.


Eventually Riku did find Mickey, who had also been walking around the forest. The first thing Mickey did upon seeing him was to give a friendly smile. "Gosh Riku, I haven't seen you in a while, I've been pretty worried. Where've you been all this time?"

"A lot of wandering and searching," Riku answered quietly. "As I we wait for Sora to awaken, I've been trying to find a way to deal with the darkness within me. That and just a lot of other complicated thoughts."

"And how's that been going for ya?" Mickey asked.

Riku sighed as he placed a hand over his blindfold. "I don't know… mixed I guess. I'm still trying though, I am not going to give up yet."

"That's great to hear. But, you said that Sora hasn't woken up yet… Did something go wrong?"

Riku nodded and began to explain the situation that was at hand with Sora and his memories. Mickey listened quietly and nodded along until Riku was finished. After Riku was finished explained about what memories the Organization was holding from Sora, Mickey spoke up again.

"Well, then you have to let me help! Maybe I could find a way to get the memories back!"

Riku shook his head. "No that's all right, I've already got that covered. But Mickey, there may be something else you could help with… a favor I mean."

"Sure. Just tell me what you need."

"There are a couple things, but the first one is that I will have to face an Organization member soon. I can sense that it isn't going to be an easy fight to survive… and…" Riku sighed deeply, trying to gather his thoughts.

What he was about to say was hard for him, not just cause of the matter at hand, but also the Ira side of him never wanted it to come to this. He was struggling to fight against himself to say his next series of words. The darkness still had a deep negative opinion on Ira, even if what Riku was trying to use to for a good purpose. And because of that, it was a struggle within his own mind to speak on the subject of darkness. But Riku kept trying, knowing that this had to be done.

"I may only survive the fight if I give… into the darkness. If that happens… you're the only one who will be there for Sora, Donald and Goofy… the only one who can guide them when they awaken."

Mickey look astonished by Riku's words, no surprise there. It would be obvious by what Riku said to make Mickey worry for him. "Don't say that Riku…"

Mickey started to say more, but Riku cut him off. He had to finish what he wanted quickly before his Ira side decided to make him change his mind. "Please… promise me, Mickey. You have to be there for our friends."

Mickey quieted down and looked solemn for a moment. He thought it over before looking to Riku and gave a nod. "Of course, Riku. I promise."

"Thank you," Riku said, relieved that Mickey agreed. "And now for the other thing… does the name Terra mean anything to you?"

Mickey raised an eyebrow. "Terra? How do you know that name?"

"So you know him?"

"Not directly," Mickey said, shaking his head. "But I knew his friends. What do you know about him?"

Riku chuckled slightly, wanting to be able to tell Mickey the entire story, but there was no time for that. "Well… due to some circumstances Terra's heart is currently resting within my own."

"What? How can that be?" Mickey asked, clear shock on his face.

"It's a lot to explain…" Riku said. He took in a deep breath, preparing himself for the explanation that was needed for his friend.

After the explanation was done, Mickey nodded as he tried to think over it. Riku had only explained as much as he knew was needed, which was just how Terra got to be in his own heart. That was the topic on hand and all that Mickey needed to know, for now at least. Riku figured there would probably be a time later to explain the rest, but it would be when everything was much more calm.

"So Xemnas is really the Nobody of Xehanort when he had been possessing Terra…" Mickey mumbled as he mulled over the thoughts.

"That's right, though he does seem to act as someone entirely different than Xehanort and Terra," Riku added.

"So what are we going to do about it? We need to find a way to get Terra back to his own body, but I don't know how we can do that… and I don't think Xemnas is an option since we do need to take him down along with the rest of the Organization…" Mickey trailed off before letting out a sigh. He lowered his head and he continued to think, but less than a minute later he shot back up again. "I'll go let Master Yen Si know of the situation, maybe he can shed some light on it and find a way."

"That sounds like a plan then, but Mickey, you can't tell anyone else about this other than Master Yen Sid. Got it."

Mickey nodded. "I got it. Don't worry Riku, I'm here for ya."

"Thanks Mickey," Riku replied. "Now it's just a matter of time before I have to go off. I know DiZ will want me to soon enough…" Riku trailed off, though he let the rest of these thoughts finish in his mind. "and I know that battle will be tough. I only hope I can make it through it."

'I know you will. Remember not to give up so easily,' Terra said, trying to sound encouraging as he could.

"Thanks. Though it is going to take a lot more than just being supportive and hoping not to give up to win this battle."


Riku: Okay, so that ends that chapter. Building up to the end of 358, some fun things will happen. And hopefully Hikari helps out next time... *looks and sees that Hikari is no longer in her spot. In the distance Saruhiko is running away with Hikari slung over his shoulder.*

Riku: Oh... well looks like next week we will be back to posting Shadows of the Night. See you all then! I gotta go save Hikari now from Saruhiko I suppose.