Note: Thanks everyone, for the few reviews I got, I finally managed to come up with an idea for the next chapter. Forewarning, this one is kind of...sad. Depressing, maybe. And...well, I'll let you decide on the rest as you read. Please, review! I need to know if I should bother continuing!

            Twisting, spinning, spiraling downward into darkness. Riku could barely withhold his screams, as he felt himself fusing, and then splitting from the darkness. Darkness...everywhere...everyone..darkness.. What was going on? His mind reeled on different images...Sora, the islands, Sarain...Kingdom Hearts. No. He wasn't going to think of that accursed place. No longer would his mind be imprisoned there. And suddenly...all stopped, and he felt his feet hit solid ground. The jet-blackness of the surrounding slowly lightened, only a shade. But...it was enough for Riku to fall to his knees in disbelief. What mockery. Kingdom Hearts...yet again.

            On the brink of stinging, stabbing, burning tears, Riku slammed his hands against the ground, incapable to feel any physical pain. After all he had done...to end up back here? No...no, no, it couldn't happen. But...it had. Finally, they came, the tears. And, he didn't fight them. Streaming down his face, the salty drops of water seemed to confirm the reality of this all. As horrible as it was...here it truly was before him. Half-heartedly, he decided the best thing to do would be to go back to Sarain. Surely, the guardian could help him, if anyone. There might be another way... As he walked, he noticed a growing army of Heartless coming in his direction. He drew up both keyblades, ready to fight...when he suddenly stopped, and lowered both weapons. Why would it be worth it anymore? Why fight...? Shutting his eyes and clinching his fists, he dropped both keyblades on the ground and looked up at the Heartless. The stream of enemies was still coming at him...more, and more.

"I'm sorry...Sora, Sarain. I'm just...not strong enough for this..."

He held his head high, though, holding his arms out to either side, as if to embrace the herd of Heartless. If this were to be his end...he would make it memorable. Ten feet away the first line of Heartless was... eight feet...three feet... Riku flinched involuntarily, taking what was sure to be his last breath. There was a paused moment, then a rush of cold. He looked up in alarm to see the army of Heartless passing...straight through him. He suddenly felt sick, and staggered out of the way. The creatures hadn't even noticed him there...they hadn't seen him at all. As if they were nothing but specters...ghosts. Or perhaps...perhaps it was he who was the... Dismissing such thoughts, Riku swallowed the sick feeling, which had rushed to his mouth, and walked forward. As a small Shadow Heartless rushed past, he reached out to touch it, to try and confirm his theory. As he thought, his hand swept right through it, leaving him with no more than a cold aftertaste on his skin.

            Still contemplating what had happened to him, walking back over beside his keyblades and reaching down to grab hold of them, his thoughts were interrupted by a brilliant blast of light from his left. He turned to see a shining ray of silver light engulfing nearly the whole sky in that direction. Following the outburst of light came a scream...but not just any scream. The scream sounded strangely like...

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed, stumbling over his feet to rush forward. "Soooorrraaa!"

He ran faster than he thought he had ever run before, so set on his destination, so set on finding the one who had emitted the cry, that he was unable to see the growing crowds of Heartless around him. He was not the only one racing to the light. Riku scrambled forward, both hands clenched on the keyblades with such intensity, his hands began to turn white and lose the feeling in them. But...none of that mattered. What mattered was finding Sora. Sora...he couldn't be here. No, this place was too horrid for him. The darkness, the very shadows of Kingdom Hearts...they would engulf...destroy that pure, innocent, loving heart he possessed. Riku could not let that happen. He would get to Sora...he had to. His speed increased, his body seemingly no longer held back by the ties of human limitations. He left all else behind, his spirit, mind, and soul becoming his driving force. And, as if this determination were all the power he needed, Riku suddenly skid to a stop, finding Sora only a few feet in front of him. But...it wasn't a sight he wanted to see.

            Sora, no longer holding the young face of fourteen he once did, stood, swinging his keyblade right and left to fend off the armies of Heartless surrounding him. His gentle blue eyes seemed to be out of place with the powerful blows and attack he delivered. Shadow Heartless, like a black plague, or more perhaps like a river of ebony water, flung themselves upon him, drowning him in their dark grasp. Then, the Invisible came in, charging with their dark blades...cutting...slicing... Unable to take anymore, Riku charged in, keyblades drawn, ready to destroy all of the Heartless who would dare harm Sora. But...as before, his blows made no contact...instead, they fell straight through the Heartless, slamming him down hard on the ground. He was in a daze after striking the ground so hard, and he felt consciousness try to escape him. He allowed himself to lie flat against the ground, for he didn't want to see the pain of the battle...if he didn't look, his mind would allow him to believe that Sora was winning. After a few moments, he felt a rush of cold through him...and he knew they were gone again. He struggled to look up, watching the last Soldier Heartless scamper off with Sora's keyblade. And...to see Sora lying, bleeding and broken, on the ground.

            Riku rushed to his friend's side, in such a state of anxiety, he found it close to impossible to think.

"Sora...oh, Sora...why did this happen...?" he asked, directing the question to no one in particular.

Without thinking, he reached down to grab Sora's open palm, only to feel his warm hand touch Sora's cold one. It startled him...he had thought he could touch nothing here. Sora's eyes cracked open, and his friend greeted him with a weary smile. Everything that had happened...Sora's eyes said it all. And...it suddenly seemed as if the world had crashed down upon them.

"Riku..." Sora said, afterwards falling into a fit of coughing. "You...you're here..."

Riku reached down to wipe the crimson liquid leaking from Sora's mouth away, his other hand holding Sora's tightly.

"Yes...yes, I'm here." was all Riku could reply.

Sora laughed gently, causing more blood to spill from his lips. Riku gently lifted the boy onto his lap, trying to comfort him. His light-brown hair spilled onto Riku's lap limply, as it was drenched with sweat and blood. Sweat, blood, and tears, that was what they seemed to be made of at that moment. Sora convulsed once...then twice, taking and releasing small breaths. For a few moments, all was silent. Everything around them seemed to freeze, it was almost as if time itself had frozen. Riku felt the warmth slowly begin to leave Sora's body, so he held him closer, rubbing his hand comfortingly.

"Sora?" he asked, trying to be sure his friend was still with him.

Sora replied in an outburst, an outburst of pain and extreme intensity, saying, "We chose the wrong door, Riku! After all we went through...we chose the wrong door!"

Not knowing what he spoke of, all Riku could do was hush him and hold him tighter. As if those very words were what tied him to life, Riku felt Sora's body go limp...and grow cold. Afraid, Riku peered over into the face of his friend. Glossy, lifeless eyes peered back at him, eyes that saw nothing... Suddenly, Riku turned to the side, and vomited. He gently let Sora down to the ground and staggered away, vomiting once again. His body shook and he felt sick. Tears streaming down his face, he knelt down, shaking. He felt so weak...so horrible, weak, and sick. Sobbing and shaking, he crawled over beside Sora's lifeless body and curled up beside him, grasping his hand for comfort. The world turned into a swirl of park purple and black, and Riku surrendered to unconsciousness.

The voice of Sora, saying, "We chose the wrong door, Riku!", rang through his mind...followed by something else.

A deeper voice...more like a thought... Whenever he concentrated on it...it disappeared. But, as he gave himself up to sleep...it rang clearly.

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We all dream of what could come

Of what is yet to be

Succeed in your tasks, remain true to your heart

Or this future you could see...

We cross over worlds, we cross over time

But, is there something more?

We search for the light, yet we find substitutes

And all the time, we've always kept score... 

Worlds apart, no dimensions apart

Are the chosen three.

Whether you're doomed to fail, or destined to succeed

This we are yet to see...

This...we are yet to see...

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