DyingofFeels: Ha yeah, I guess it does kinda have a DLC feel to it, now that you point it out! I may end up finding a way to fit it into the next book before it's over with, we'll see.

Coolmegan123: Thank you! After writing it I wish even more that it could be in the next book, so don't be too surprised if you see it again ha. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Nevquariel: Thanks! I'm glad it lived up to your expectations! I had been looking forward to it, too.

Okay, so yes, I know I know, I skipped an extra week before I updated without warning you guys. I'm sorry. I had a really busy week last week and just didn't have time to write anything. Also, I only have 2 more requests to write after today, and still have a ways to go before I finish even the first draft of the book, so...it may happen again. Unless I get an influx of new requests, I may end up just updating the oneshots here and there, not necessarily on a strict every other week schedule. I like keeping a consistent schedule for you guys, but I'd rather be able to keep working on the main book if I happen to be on a roll with it and not have to worry about stopping for oneshots. Having said that, don't let it keep you from submitting new requests if you have them. I have a feeling we have plenty of time to kill in between now and the next book being ready. If nothing else, I can write oneshots after I finish the first draft, since I always take a break before starting on the second draft.

So, onto today's update. Now that I've finished the oneshots I had already planned, we are hopping all the way back to Sorrow's Promise for a request by OmegaRetcon. They wanted to see Riku's reaction to Meli going missing...him searching for her all over the place was also mentioned, but I didn't end up including much of that because of...reasons. Hope you enjoy!

Sorrow's Promise Chapter 40 ReMix

(Runs parallel to chapter 40)

Riku's perspective

I was, admittedly, not in the best of moods after I left Meli in the mountains. I had tried everything I knew of, even admitting that my feelings for her had grown to the point that I couldn't deny it was love, but she still wasn't willing to forgive me yet. Despite all that, though, I had more pressing things to worry about, like the dragon Heartless that was headed toward the Imperial City, probably much faster than Sora and company would be able to travel without the dark corridors that I used.

Or so I thought. Just as I had finished warning the Emperor about the threat, I heard the unmistakable sound of a battle out in the hallway, complete with squawks from Donald and the occasional yell from Sora. After informing the Emperor that the problem would soon be taken care of, I moved out to the courtyard to watch the fight from the shadows. Sora was a big boy, I knew that. He had been handling himself just fine all this time without me. Didn't mean I was quite ready to give up my role as his protector just yet, not when there were giant Heartless about and I had been doing it since we were four and five years old.

The question was, why wasn't Meli with them? Even if she had wanted a few minutes alone after I had left, she still could have corridored her way down by then. It didn't seem like her to leave the boys to a fight like this on their own. Maybe she had decided to walk, though. Maybe she had actually listened to me for once and taken my advice about being careful with the darkness. I told myself there was nothing to worry about just yet, and focused on the wild battle happening in front of me, restraining myself more than once from jumping in without good cause. Meli had been right, it was reckless of me to get that close to Sora and let him figure out who I was, but I had been desperate to talk to her again. Ever since Port Royal she had been sticking much closer to her team, not giving me any chances to catch her alone.

Except for right now. Where was she? The battle was drawing to a close, and she still hadn't showed. Sora was noticing, too, resting his Keyblade on the ground and looking around as he panted for breath.

"I wonder what happened to Mel? Shouldn't she be here by now?"

Donald shrugged. "Who knows? She didn't even say why she was staying. I don't understand why she always has to be so mysterious about everything."

Sora's eyebrows pulled down as his mouth scrunched up, creasing his face into a look of concern that I had never liked seeing on him. "I hope nothing bad happened to her. Maybe we should head back up and see if we can find her."

I didn't wait to hear Donald's protests and groans about having to hike back up the mountain. They were starting at the bottom, so I was going to start at the top and work my way down. It only took an instant for me to arrive, and only slightly longer than that for my thoughts to start running away with all of the terrible things that could have happened. What if there was another avalanche and she got buried? What if she slipped on ice and fell off a cliff? What if she stopped moving for too long and got hypothermia? What if the Organization found her and...? I didn't even know how to finish that thought, or if I wanted to. As far as I knew, the Organization had no reason for wanting her dead or anywhere but with Sora fighting Heartless, but it seemed like they were always one step ahead with their plans.

The point was, I never should have left her alone on that mountain. It was far too dangerous, and I was an idiot to not make sure she got to the city safely before leaving her.

It didn't take long for me to pass the spot where she and I had talked. My head whipped back and forth as I traveled, trying to take in every single snowflake and rock face, and I paid little attention to my footing, slipping and sliding more than I actually walked. Several minutes past that area, I finally skidded to a stop when I almost fell into a large divot in the snow. A large, perfectly round divot. For a moment I just stared at it, trying to get it to make some kind of sense. It obviously wasn't made by anything natural. Glancing around, I spotted more just like it scattered about, always in sets of two. Like footprints. But what would have made footprints that big...except a Heartless or a Nobody.

My heart leapt into my throat. I had left her alone, and there were monsters roaming around that we hadn't accounted for. Why hadn't we accounted for them? They had just finished battling a whole hoard of small Heartless, and were chasing after a giant one, so why hadn't it crossed my mind that there could have been more lying in wait? And now Meli had...had...

I grabbed double fistfuls of my hair and pulled hard enough to smart. Breathe, Riku, breathe. She's not dead. She can't be. Why? a cynical voice inside my head asked. My eyes darted around the disturbed snow, trying to find the answer. Because...because there's no blood. It was a weak excuse, and I knew it. After two years of war, I had seen plenty of deaths that didn't involve blood. There was powerful enough magic out there that could disintegrate someone in the blink of an eye and leave no trace.

But she couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. If Meli was dead, I would...I would know. Somehow. At least that's what I was going to cling to, whether it made sense or not.

The question then remained...where was she? Already I could hear Sora and company's voices in the distance, calling out Meli's name over and over as they neared my position. Which meant that she wasn't anywhere on the main path, and it made no sense for her to have gone elsewhere on the mountain. But it made no sense for her to have simply left the world, either, leaving her team behind.

Where would she even have gone, if she had just taken off? Without fully realizing it I was already compiling a list of the first places I would check. Could I dare to hope that she had changed her mind about me, and had gone back to the mansion? Probably not, but I'd head there first, anyway. Destiny Islands, she always liked it there. Maybe she needed a breather.

First, though, there were more places in this world to check. I teleported back to the top of the mountain and started over again on the opposite side, ignoring my weary, aching body. If she wasn't anywhere to be found on the mountain, then I'd tear apart the Imperial City looking for her. I wasn't leaving this world until I was absolutely positive she was gone. I wasn't giving up until I made sure she was safe.

Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!