AN: Thank you very much for the reviews! Much appreciated!! I'm sorry for not updating the right day/week last time, and I hope that I'm back on schedule. Of course, this doesn't mean that I update exactly at the right time, but at least I'm kinda close, right? Well, whatever. Obviously I don't own anything and am eager to get this thing going. Having heard that there will be a KH sequel, I'll have you know that my plans have absolutely nothing to do with the plot (whatever it happens to be) or surprising storyline they have in store for us. ...Has anyone seen the trailer for it? I'd like to see it sometime...

Please stay and read, okie? I appreciate this a whole lot! Thanks a million my wonderful, wonderful readers and reviewers! Especially Vix who caught me by great, wonderful surprise! As it goes in ff.net: R&R! Now let's get started!!

Oh, and watch out for those surprises, eh? Just to warn ya a bit. wink

Tides of Fire

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Chapter Seven

"Zidane!"

"Dagger!! Watch out!"

"Aaaiii!!"

"Brother, you are a moron to go back! Do not risk your life!"

"Shut up! You don't understand! I would never leave Dagger! ...Maybe you'll understand someday what it means to want to protect someone."

"Zidane! You idiot! Come ba~ck!!"

With a sigh and a shake of silver locks, he woke. He owed it all to Zidane for giving him a second chance; a second chance he didn't deserve. From the shadows he watched his brother live a happy life with the Queen of Alexandria and all their friends. When they had barely gotten use to him did all the trouble start up again. Shadows unlike ones humans, rats and mages cast. No, these shadows moved on their own with no need of a master to cast them. The most unusual thing of all was the fact that they could come out of the ground like pictures in a pop-up book. Where did they come from? He didn't know. All he knew was that his brother and all his pathetic friends were gone, along with Gaea. He didn't know how, but he had a feeling that the entire world disappeared somehow. The next thing he knew, he woke up to see the face of someone with tri-colored hair. Odd... When he first saw him, he immediately felt hidden power within. He looked young, but behind that mask was centuries worth of knowledge and power, all bottled and kept secret within. In time, he had learned the name of this kind and powerful human. His name was Yami. Strange thing was, he was from a planet called Earth— very different from Gaea. According to the Yami, he originally came from the Black Lands, a place called Egypt future of his time. (??) Of course, this didn't make sense, but when he listened, he did not make interruptions. In time, Yami had come to live in Japan, awakening from what must've been a long slumber when he was trapped in a pyramid puzzle. Yami had been wearing an upside-down puzzle around his neck with an eye engraved in the center. How Yami could've been strapped in such a thing, he didn't know. Eventually, though, after a bit of explaining and much time together, they created a bond. Though Yami was very kind and open toward him, he couldn't bring himself to do the same. Yami respected that, and never pestered him into saying something he didn't want to. For that, he was grateful. He was rather happy spending time with the Pharaoh (so Yami claimed). ...If only he could have been just as happy when around his brother and the populace back on Gaea.

"Kuja?"

Kuja sat up, turning his head to see the Egyptian peek his head into his room, a small smile on his face. "Yes, Yami?"

Yami slipped into the room and flipped the light switch, closing the door behind him. "Good morning. We have a busy day ahead of us. A few more survivors have arrived. ...I believe one could pass as a younger you."

At that statement, silver brows knitted, half in concern and half in surprise. "Another me?"

The Pharaoh nodded. "I believe so. Perhaps you would like to come and look?"

Kuja nodded, swinging his legs out of bed as the other exited the room to give him privacy. Really, he had no need to really change or get ready. With a flip of his head, his hair seemed to fall perfectly into place. Nothing was out of the ordinary with his outfit. Still he hid his tail, and still he wore clothes that exposed much of his skin. Nope, nothing out of the ordinary here.

Quickly, he followed outside his room and down a small hall to the front of the inn, seeing that indeed, there were several new faces, one that caught Kuja by surprise. Amongst the new arrivals of survivors, one looked like a younger version of him. Who...?

Yami sensed his comrade's shock and laid a hand on his shoulder before moving forward to the crowd. "Are they still conscious?"

A pink dog with two tails and large floppy ears turned to the Pharaoh, tongue dangling out of its mouth. With a lisp, it responded, "Yeth, Yami. Buth one stheems to be unconthius."

Yami had slowly gotten used to the dog's incoherent language, making out that all but one was fine. "Which one, Poshul?"

A large pink paw pointed toward a silver-haired teen sprawled on the floor, seeming asleep. "Thath one."

The Egyptian nodded, approaching the teen. He checked the teen's head for any injuries and found him unharmed. "He seems fine. In fact, he seems more asleep than unconscious. I wonder how he could survive an attack unscathed." Leaving questions unasked, he gestured to Kuja who had stayed back to stare. "Kuja, help me bring him to a bed. Since he is fine, he will need less tending to than the others."

Kuja approached, but shook his head, his eyes unmoving from the teen. "No, I don't think we will need to do even that."

Yami frowned. "What do you— ?"

He was interrupted when a soft groan was heard. Turning his attention to the ground, Yami saw that the teen was wakening.

The last thing he remembered was that mysterious, ethereal voice that talked to him in that white space. Now... Now, a pair of maroon eyes were staring right back at him. At first, he thought it might be Kairi looking down at him in concern after finding him on the floor of the cave, but as his eyes focused, he realized that the cave back home wasn't white (aside from the chalk-like scratches on the stones), and didn't look like an inn, and Kairi wasn't a guy with tri-colored hair. Blinking several times, he slowly sat up, looking about him to see several people being treated for whatever wounds they received somehow, and two particular males. One was the maroon-eyed one before him with gravity-defying hair. The other made his breath catch in his throat. The other one looked... looked exactly like him! Sephiroth? No, Sehpiroth wouldn't dress in so little clothing. But then— who is he? Why did he look like him?

"Are you okay?"

Riku snapped to face the maroon-eyed male, shock still frozen on his face.

"Are you okay?" the male repeated.

Numbly, Riku nodded. He blinked several times more, looking around as he avoided staring at the other male. Okay, he was in an inn... on the floor... surrounded by strange people...

"Ith he alrithe, Yami?"

...and a speaking pink dog?!

Riku turned to see a large pink dog stare at him with a comical expression of concern, long pink tongue hanging out of its mouth as it panted slightly. Its ears twitched and flopped on the side of its head every now and then, acted like a pair of wings against its head. "Where am I...?"

The other male gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "You're on Gaea. More specifically, in Termina. How do you feel?"

Riku stood up and brushed himself off. Almost immediately, his cool mask was put on as he looked around cautiously. "I'm fine."

The other male stood up as well, smiling kindly, as if not to alarm the silver-haired teen. "I am Yami. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or my friend." He gestured to the silver-haired man who kept his eyes locked on the teen. "If you'll excuse me, I need to check on the other survivors."

Survivors? Riku turned to the injured people who were currently being tended to. Sure, they were injured, but what did they survive from? As if reading his mind, the silver-haired man spoke up. "What Yami means by 'survivors' is that an assortment of people have been coming here because their worlds have disappeared. Why this place was chosen as a kind of hotel, no one knows. The inhabitants here just suddenly found injured people and animals washing up on their shore, in their villages, in their house, all in a similar state."

"Where you like them?"

The man blinked. "Yes. ...Yes, I was. At one point, my world was destroyed and I came here, a place that is similar to that of my home in some ways, and different in many others."

"Anybody else escape from your world besides you?"

The words stung, but the man shook his head in response. "I do not know. When the world was being ripped apart, I was separated from my brother and his friends. I do not know if they survived or not."

"Brother?" Riku repeated. When the man nodded, Riku turned to watch Yami treat his patients again. Was it possible Sephiroth was related to this man? Shaking his head mentally, Riku had a feeling that wasn't so. No, Sephiroth couldn't possibly be related to this girly-man. It would be more convincing if he, Riku, was mistaken as Sephiroth's son or something. But, no, that would just be bizarre. "What about Yami?"

The man shrugged. "Ask him yourself."

Riku nodded, planning on doing so. The sound of people loosing their worlds— it was much too like the heartless incident. He didn't have to ask how he got here; he had a feeling of that already. The real question was why and what to do next. He got the heads-up on worlds suddenly being destroyed, but not why. Was he supposed to help out? But what about Sora? Sora was never found on the Island. Could he hope that Kairi found Sora at home, sleeping while he was here, kicking some evil's butt? He hoped not. But whatever reason he was here for, he wanted to help; he wanted to make up for what he had done. Once again, he wanted to be that hero that everyone adored and looked up to and helped. A childish dream, of course, but it gave him a second reason to help out.

So, starting on this new mission bestowed upon him, he approached Yami and kneeled on the other side of an injured man across from him. "Yami?"

The Egyptian looked up, brows slightly raised. "Yes?"

Riku looked down at the injured man to see a strange light pouring out of his chest. Startled, he asked, "W-What's this?"

Yami smiled sadly. "This light is very precious to a being. Though we have not given it a name yet, we figured that it is vital to a being's very existence. With whatever power we can, myself, Kuja," he gestured to the silver-haired man, "and several others try to keep survivors alive."

Riku looked down at the pulsing light covering the man's chest. "And how do you do that, exactly?"

The silver-haired man, Kuja, stepped forward, kneeling beside Riku, extending a hand. "Watch." He muttered something under his breath and he hand glowed softly, a soft light wrapping the man, sparkles surrounding the light. It was beautiful, the light green light acting like waves as they hovered around the man's body. Then, almost as soon as it had come, the light faded away, the sparkles dying like someone killed the switch. Altogether, the light disappeared and whatever poured out of the man seemed to stop flowing, resting back inside his body like blood.

"What is this?" Riku asked as he lightly touched the light that didn't seem to suck back into the cavity in the man's chest. When he touched it, it felt like watered-down hair gel, running over his fingers. It was cold in a way that someone accidentally put it in a refrigerator, not in a way that it was evil cold. How odd...

Though the question was rhetorical, Kuja replied, "As Yami said, it is something vital to a living-being's very structure, like how air and blood is important to humans and animals. It seems that if one looses this light from within them, they die."

Riku looked up to make eye contact. "I assume that someone's died that way before?"

Yami nodded. "Yes. In fact, before Kuja came, nearly all the survivors died when they came. Very few were lucky enough to survive the battle here and wherever they came from."

Riku stood up. "How many people have come so far?"

Yami shook his head. "We don't know. ...But why would you want to know? I would think that you would be more concerned about yourself and what home you lost." He stood up and frowned. "In fact, I'm curious as to why you are unharmed when all the other survivors are like this man, if not worse." He gestured to the man on the floor of the inn who started to breath normally after being treated by whatever spell Kuja used.

Riku shook his head, unable to answer the Egyptian's inquires. Quickly, he turned away, heading out of the inn without a word, leaving the two males to stare after him in wonder and suspicion. As he stepped onto the welcome mate outside the building, he met a busy street, numerous people walking around, doing his or her own business. Most of them, thankfully, looked as if they were inhabitants of the world. There were few, though, who were obviously strangers, trying to blend in with the world. If there wasn't the fact that some of these people on the street went through a hard time, it would seem like a large city with tourists enjoying their stay. But no, there definitely was some tension in the air. Whether from the survivors or the inhabitants, it was enough to send Riku on edge as well. All this trouble— did this mean that he was called for help as well as a second chance? But then, why not ask Sora if the reason was to help more worlds and people? None of this made sense.

Sighing inwardly, Riku stretched and explored the city, half hoping to find some answers. As he crossed a weapons shop, he heard soft music drift in the air coming from a mansion far from everything else. Curious, Riku headed toward it, the music becoming louder as he neared it. When he was at the foot of the mansion, he spotted a boy through a large window playing a grand piano, round glasses on the bridge of his nose. He seemed drowned in the melody he was playing, eyes closed as his fingers flew across the keys. Riku continued to stare until the front door to the mansion opened, swinging inward slowly. Surprised, Riku looked back up at the boy at the piano only to find him still playing. Still, the silver-haired teen entered the house, walking up the stairs that led to the second floor, to the room where the boy with the piano was. As he drew closer to the door, the music grew louder, just as it had when he approached the house. When he stood right in front of the door, his hand froze in the air. Would he knock? Or just walk in? The door opened for him, as if the boy was inviting him inside, but would that mean he could just walk through like he owned the place?

Riku's questions were answered when the door to the room slowly opened, admitting him through. Riku looked in to see the boy still playing the piano, light pouring in from the large window facing the street and through the opened doors leading to his balcony. Beyond the balcony, Riku could see the sea, a wave of nostalgia hitting home in his heart as he heard the faint sounds of waves behind the melody of the piano. Speaking of which, Riku turned his attention back to the boy at the piano. Silently, his feet carried him to the side of the piano; his eyes were riveted on the piano keys as slender fingers touched them.

The music didn't even stop when the boy at the piano finally opened his eyes and turned to Riku. "Nice day to see you here."

Riku looked up sharply, surprised. "Er... yeah." After a pause, he added, "Nice song. What are you playing?"

The boy cocked his head to the side, smiling as if amused at Riku's question. "You don't know this tune? I would think you did."

Riku frowned. How could he remember something he— He stopped short when he stopped to listen to the tune. He remembered hearing this melody! Somewhere... But where?

Before Riku could say anything, the boy closed his eyes, smiling still. "Listen deep within you. Perhaps then you'll know."

The frown on Riku's lips deepened, trying to comprehend what the boy said. But unable to find a reason why he shouldn't listen to this unusual boy, Riku closed his eyes as well and listened to music that filled the air, reaching inside him to find a tune similar to the one the boy was playing. At first, luck didn't find him, as he couldn't find any melody within him whatsoever. When he started to give up, a low hum rang in his ears, seemingly in his head. Riku reached for that humming, the hum turning into a replica of the boy's piano music, only with chimes. It was familiar...too familiar... But where did it come from? Riku knew this music, but couldn't put his finger on what it was, exactly. He listened to the music longer, raking his brain for an answer. With a sigh, he mentally shook his head. Then, like someone threw a brick at his head, he realized where the music came from. And just he did, the music pounded in his ears, louder than ever. He snapped his eyes open to see himself surrounded by a familiar glowing light, an odd weight in his right hand. Looking down, Riku saw (to his surprise) a keyblade.

"What...?" he whispered, lifting the keyblade to eye level. It looked strangely like the Oblivion, sleek and slender in all its black glory. "But the Oblivion is his..."

The boy at the piano opened his eyes once more, the smile never leaving his face. Breaking the silver-haired teen's trance, he said, "My, where would you put such a thing?"

Riku looked up from the key to stare at the boy with his continuous melody. "I..." He stopped to turn the keyblade over in his hand. "In my heart. At least, that's where he always stored his. I only assume it works the same way for me."

"Why wouldn't it?"

The teen looked up and met the eyes of the boy. "What?"

"Why wouldn't it?" the boy repeated, tilting his head to the side. "You and he must be the same if you obtained a similar weapon as him. Why wouldn't it work for you as well?"

"I don't know. ...I'm not like him, really."

The boy closed his eyes and turned his head away. "Sit down. How are you not like this other keybearer?"

Riku sank on the fine, polished black bench. "He is the light in darkness. Me? I merely was a tool to the darkness, helping it grow."

"With such power, you used it for the wrong side."

Riku bent his head. "I'm sorry for what I've done, but how can I possibly make it up?"

"The troubles from before are not over yet. Perhaps you can start with this current problem?"

"Yes, but what can I do? I have no clue what I'm to do, or what the problem is, and everything is in such a jumble I'll probably start walking backwards!"

The boy chuckled lightly. "But wasn't he in a similar situation?"

Riku snorted. "He had friends to help him. He was given instructions and a pair of friends that guided him through his journey."

The boy opened his eyes again, peering up at the silver-haired teen over his glasses. "Really? And you don't have friends yourself?"

The teen shook his head. "No. Sora and Kairi and those on the island are my only friends. But after what I've done, I don't think they would still consider me as such. Apart from those few five, I have no one else."

The boy chuckled again. "Maybe you should look harder. Just as you listened harder with your heart and soul to obtain this key, you can look harder to see that you have more friends than you think. Perhaps you don't see it now, but once things get going, you'll see you have more than just the number of fingers on one hand."

Riku turned his head to see the boy beside him stare out the window with an ever-present smile on his face. Riku let his own smile grace his lips. "Thank you. What's your name, by the way?"

The boy looked at the teen out of the corner of his left eye. "Depends who you speak to. At one point, people called me Clow Reed. In another, I was named Eriol Hiiragizawa. And yet again, someone called me 'Otousan'. I have many names."

Riku blinked. "Er... 'Otousan'? What does that mean?"

The boy chuckled, shaking his head. "In a place I lived and visited, 'Otousan' meant 'Father'."

Silver brows rose. "You were a father?"

This time, the chuckle turned to a rich laugh, slender fingers still never missing a beat as they played. "Yes. But perhaps my history is something to leave for later. You have enough to worry about, right? Save that question for later when things settle down."

Settle down? Did that mean that things were about to stir up? Oh hell, Riku thought, this was going to be one heck of a ride for him, then. To the boy, he said, "Eriol?"

Eriol looked up. "Yes?"

Riku smiled. "Thanks. I mean it."

Eriol chuckled and nodded, smiling back as always. "No problem, Riku."

Riku lifted his brows in a moment of surprise. But then he realized that for this boy to know his name was far from the fact that he knew in his own way about Riku's past and his feelings in everything. The boy was perceptive. There was no doubt on that. So nodding, Riku let his shock dissolve.

After a moment, Eriol spoke up. "I'd like to give you something."

Riku stood up. "Really?"

The boy nodded. "You'll find it on the balcony."

Riku nodded and walked outside, immediately seeing on the railing an object sitting their, undisturbed by the slight wind that had picked up during his time speaking with Eriol. It was weird, really, since it looked like a folded up piece of paper, but when Riku lifted it, he realized it wrapped around something. He carefully unfolded the paper to reveal... a circle? No. No, this was different. Riku picked up the object inside the paper folds to find it connected to a thing, silver chain. As he examined the 'circle', he found it to really be two gems cut like to the shape of a disk as it was fixed in a ring of sterling silver, a disk covering the back to keep the gems from falling out. The funny thing about the gems was that half of it was sapphire while the other half was a garnet. Riku smiled as he saw the significance behind the gems; actually, he nearly laughed aloud. 

Under his breath, he whispered to himself, "Kairi... Sora..." With great care, he put the necklace on, slipping the disk under his shirt. It was a good way to keep him from forgetting while he was away. Not that he would.

Smiling, Riku stuffed the paper wrapping the necklace in his pocket and walked back to Eriol who looked up to smile back at him. "Find anything useful?"

Riku shrugged. "Useful? No, I'd say it was just a good keepsake."

Eriol's smile turned a little bit secretive as he nodded. "Then I hope you have a good day, Riku. There are many adventures out there, as they say."

Riku nodded and paused by the door to say, "I'll come back here. I have too many questions to ask you." before jogging out, down the stairs and back down the street to the main street again.

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AN: HOBEY-HO! (as Spader says in Pendragon) Another chapter down! One more to come and two more after that, and two more after that, and a million more to come!! Yay! Thank you, my reviewer (VixettaremIx) who was the first to review since my two-week-update installment. Your review caught me by surprise, but still lovely. Thanks a billion! Now! Where are my other reviewers!! More reviews please! Where did all my previous reviewers and readers go???