6H:Chapter 70! Yes!

Anaretsu:I don't know how your story became such a sucess.

6H:Because I am talented. Can't wait for everyone to see the end. It will shock and surprise you. It really sets everything up for KH2, rather than CoM, but who cares! Time for the story in this edtion!


Kingdom Hearts-Shattered Fragments

Fragment 70-Memory Trip I-Cedeile


"C...Cedeile?" She smiled and nodded at him.

"Yup." Ryu couldn't believe what he saw in front of her. The black haired girl sat before him, looking perfectly normal like nothing had ever happened before. Though, now that he noticed it, she wasn't really solid looking and it seemed like there was a faint glow around her.

"Is it really you, and not some fake?" he asked warily, remember his encounter at Hallow Bastion.

"Yeah, it's me Ryu." she replied. He still wasn't sure.

"Prove it."

"Okay. Um...let's see...In Traverse Town, after I had to fight Nabuki, you told me that you didn't cry anymore." she said. He frowned. He was hopeing she hadn't remembered that one. And it was too easy...

"What did I say exactly?" he asked. She thought about it hard for a moment and then sighed.

"I forget exactly...but I remember after that you asked me if I knew how many fragments we had. I said that we had sixteen, and you said that was right." Ryu processed the information given to him. It was too accurate for this to be some kind of trick of Ansem's.

"It...really is you..."he whispered. She smiled brightly.

"I'm glad you've dropped the interogation."

"I just don't want to go through what I had to at Hallow Bastion is all!"

"I know Ryu...Ansem made me watch the whole thing." she replied sadly. "I was yelling at you from the other side. I could only think why didn't you run away or fight like you usually do. Then it came to me-you didn't want to hurt that fake-you couldn't-because she looked like me."

"I...I miss you. It's not the same when you're not around. It's like a huge chunk of me is missing, and I...I just can't stand it anymore!" She looked like she could've cried for him. He grabbed onto one of her hands. "So just tell me right now-is this the real you? Are you really standing here in front of me? Or is it my mind messing around with me?" She squeezed his hand firmly.

"This image is just a projection of my heart." she replied after a long silence. "I'm not a fake, but I'm not really here in front of you."

"How are you here then?"

"This valley has the power to grant wishes." she said, looking up. Ryu followed her gaze. He hadn't noticed the flying blue lightswhen he was climbing down the walls. They fluttered about, like they were living creatures. "You wished that you could find me, and the magic within this place granted it. This is the true power of darkness, not the evil corruptness that it has become." He slipped his hand out of hers and with both grabbed her shoulders. She turned to face him.

"So, if I wished that you were back to normal and you were here and okay, it would come true?" Her face fell.

"These powers only exist here. This form could not hold outside of this place. I'm sorry, Ryu..." He sighed, bowing his head down. However, he felt something force his head back up. Cedeile's hands gently held the sides of his face, her thumbs running across his skin. He sighed contently, closing his eyes.

"Cedeile..."

"Your eyes are such an unusal color." She said softly, her thumbs resting near the corners of his eyes. "I'd never seen such a dark color. Then again, on the islands, everyone's eyes were light colored...except mine. Mine were always dark. Not even my family had the same dark green eyes as me." She smiled. "But still, I'd never seen eyes like yours-a deep navy color, like the night sky, or the bottom of the ocean." Ryu sighed, quite content, and feeling complete again. Still, he wished so hard that Cedeile was really here with him. But he decided he could live with this for right now. The touch was almost the same, and the voice still had the same effect on him. He felt like he could've fallen asleep right there and could have been in a half-alseep daze forever as long as she was here.

"I'm glad I decided to go off on my own now." he murmered. "Because I want to tell you something. I wanted to say something to you..." While he spoke, his hands gradually moved from her shouldrs to her neck and then to her face. His dark navy eyes looked straight into her dark emerald ones. "I wanted to say that-" She put two fingers to his lips to silence him, and for some strange reason he felt his face flame up.

"Wait. Don't tell me now, Ryu. Wait until we really meet face to face again." Reluctantly, he nodded-he couldn't disagree with that sad lok in her eyes. She gently dropped her fingers and moved them back to the side of his face. He leaned into the feeling, never wanting it to disappear.

"Where are you? I'll go to you."

"I'm not sure...it's so dark and lonely...like the darkness goes on forever. And there's so much evil there. It's cold, and depressing. But, I don't let it get to me. I just have to keep up my light inside and I know I'll be okay." she said. Her fingers found their way into his hair and brushed through it. Ryu closed his eyes, content with this feeling.

"I'll go get you now."

"You're still very far away. It's a long way to go."

"I don't care. I'll go on my own if I have to."

"Don't do that, Ryu! It's too dangerous!" She cried. He sighed, pulling himself up, looked into her eyes for a moment, and then put his arms around her, holding her close. Her body had no feeling to it-it wasn't warm or cold, it didn't even feel like it was really there.

"I want to find you."

"But Ansem is down here with me. You can't face him alone."

"I don't care."

"Ryu! You, Aru, Donald, Goofy and-"

"-Sora. Only Sora can fight him. This really pisses me off that I can't do a single thing on my own!"

"Shut up Ryu! Sora is my friend too, just like you! You need him, and he needs you! You all need to work together, right? Think what would've happened if the three of us didn't pull together. We would've fallen apart before we got this far!"

"It feels like we've already fallen apart. You're gone, and I can't help Aru through whatever she's going through. It's only me now."

"No it isn't! I've always been right there beside you!" She said fiercly, looking directly into his eyes. "And I'll be damned if that's ever going to change!" Ryu looked at her wide eyed for a moment. "I never really left your side. I'm always there for you, so all you have to do is call out for me, and I'll try my best to help!"

"Really?" he asked after awhile. "You've always been here with me?"

"Yeah. The bond between our hearts connects us. Don't you remember all that stuff we talked about before? No one is ever really apart-that bond will always remain. So no one can ever really forget someone or ever really be gone. You understand, Ryu?"

"Yeah."He anwsered firmly. "I guess I have to leave you now."

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"But it's not your fault either, okay? So stop blaming yourself. And tell Sora the same thing." Ryu smiled.

"I will." He suddenly felt very tired and rested his head on her shoulder. "But I think I just lay here for awhile." It became silent for a few mintues. "Cedeile?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I know this might sound strange but...could you call me by my real name? The way you say it...it sounds nice..."Cedeile smiled gently as she buried her fingers into his oak colored hair once again.

"Alright...Ryosuke..."


"Ryu, wake up!" someone yelled at him. The fragment hunter groaned in annoyence and forced his eyes open. He found himself laying on his side on the ground with everyone around him. Pushing himself up right, looked around at all their worried eyes.

"What?"

"We didn't know what happened to you." Sora said. Ryu looked over to Aru and saw she was normal...for the time being.

"Aru...are you alright for now?" She looked surprised at being adressed.

"Yes." she answered. "I'm going to go for as far as I can."

"That's good." Ryu responded.

"So what happened to you?" Sora asked. Ryu looked back to him.

"I got a visit from an angel." He replied.


6H: Ha! How did you like that? I loved writting this chapter. Gettin' close to the end.

Anaretsu:YAY! End of fic!

6H: Not for a few more chapters. And then there's Adventures at Castle Chocobo! (dances)

Anaretsu: Crap! I thought I'd be finished with this nightmare!