Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, then lots of stuff would happen, then it would no longer be rated E…don't sue me please!

Kingdom to Come

Chapter Four: Missing Memories

…He never meant for any of this.

He didn't remember everything…in fact, he only remembered a small bit of "the end". Was he supposed to call it the end? It would make sense, but then again, he was here, so it wasn't a real ending.

He felt the darkness. He heard them cry out and painfully received their talons scraping on the barriers of his mind. They wanted to be heard, seen, felt. They desired the very essence of his living soul. The Keyblade helped him; they silenced their cries with a calm, absolute power. The Keyblade understood them, but at the same time salvaged him from their grasp.

It was like the Keyblade was their creator and destroyer. Their God.

How on Earth could he be so stupid?

He should've known Riku would follow him! And if that wasn't enough, Riku was hurt! How could he forget something so simple and easy to remember?

But at the same time, he needed to go into the darkness…or something bad would've happened. He just didn't know what would happen.

"Nonono…" His clamped eyes held back his tears. "There's no reason to feel this bad. It's all a dream. Now wake up and see what Koro is doing." But as much as he tried, he couldn't will away the immense sorrow for some unknown reason. It felt like he let everyone down.

Who was "everyone"?

He forced his eyes open, fearing for a split second that he was in that nightmare, but the small island of meadow, which had grown a bit, reassured him. Still, the darkness was the same. Koro stood a few yards away on the edge of the small cove, muttering things.

"Koro?" His dry voiced cracked. Gods, he felt drugged. His clothes rustled from the contact with the throne as he sat up and prayed his vision would clear.

Koro twirled around and grinned. He almost looked normal for a second…

"Big brother! You're awake!" But the boy opened his icy eyes and that look was back again.

"What are you doing?" Sora tried to keep the suspicion out of his voice the best he could. Luckily Koro didn't notice.

"Ah, they're telling me the demon's come looking for you." He replied, and his gaze turned fierce. But the gaze landed on the huge doors, not him. Somehow, his icy eyes appeared even more frightening than before.

"Don't worry. I won't let him get far."

Demon…did he mean Riku? Was Riku looking for him?

"Who is the demon? What do you mean?"

For once, the little one hesitated to speak. He bore a look of seriousness and muttered something under his breath.

"You shouldn't be near him." Koro warned. Sora felt a chill run down his spine.

"It's his fault the Kingdom fell. He should've never been here."

That arose two very important facts in Sora's head.

One: He now knew who "everyone" was. Kingdom, the crown that adorned his head, the throne. Although he didn't know what the door's purpose was, it would explain the odd behavior towards Riku in the secret place. How many people

But that would mean he'd have to be the King. And that was crazy-talk.

Two: He still didn't know for sure who Koro was talking about. For whatever the reason, the younger boy avoided Riku's name like the plague. He also avoided anything else important, for that matter. And it was getting annoying-fast.

Still, he had no clue how to escape. This wasn't his usual sneaking out of the house at night. This place couldn't even be considered a place. They were just…in the middle of nowhere.

Koro turned his back and continued muttering to the darkness while Sora hoped for a miracle.

And apparently, Sora wasn't the only one. Kairi hoped that she'd either pass out so she could sleep or escape from the plotting teens to get some shut-eye. But no…if it wasn't for everything at stake, she wouldn't have been planning to find her friends. It was sundown now, and the tides started their rebellion on the shore. They crashed onto the beach with a gentle caress and the sky kindled a fire with a brush of reds, pinks, and blues. The foursome sat on the beach, heatedly discussing their course of action.

"We should go after them!" Selphie firmly declared. Her defiant eyes bore into their minds, but they paid no heed.

"But we can't do that, Selphie!" Tidus crossed hotly. He stood over her as his glare challenged hers.

"Why not!"

"Because the people here will notice! Besides, we don't know what lies in the surrounding areas around the Kingdom anymore!"

"We need backup, ya?" Wakka piped in, trying to avoid any further screaming. "If we don't know what's in the other countries, we should check."

"We can't do that if we don't check! We have to go sometime!" The angry brunette cried, as her death glare shifted from Tidus to him.

"Ugh, enough!" Kairi finally called and all three stares shifted to her. She stood in front of the disgruntled teens and crossed her arms. She was tired. She was hungry. She was worried, above all. And they weren't going to start an argument.

"Listen-" She started roughly, but she sighed and lowered her voice. "I know it's frustrating, but if we want to find Sora or Riku, we'll have to wait. We don't have the energy to open the door-at least I don't- and we can't leave our parents without any knowledge of where we are or anything. It's not wise to walk out saying 'Oh, I'm going on a walk, be back a few days' either. So for now, we are going to plan out what our route is and gather supplies we need for the journey. Is that clear?"

They stared at her for a moment before Selphie gave her an apologetic frown.

"We're sorry, princess."

And they simultaneously bowed to her. She rolled her eyes and headed off toward her boat.

"I told you guys to stop bowing to me, or call me princess. I'm not a princess anymore!" Kairi ranted as she walked. What she didn't see was Selphie's impish grin.

"Whatever you say, princess!"

Meanwhile, Riku had problems of his own. He couldn't bring himself to completely disregard Aerith's offer.

"Let us come with you." She said while he stood at the doorway. Yuffie let out an indignant cry, muttering about having another show-off in the party while Leon simply waited for him to reply.

"We know the way there, and we have a few contacts in the other regions." Aerith continued. He looked back at his comrades for opinions.

"Do you know the way there?" The silver haired boy asked the duck. Donald glared back at him and tapped his webbed foot.

"Of course I do!"

It took him a few seconds to ponder it over, but he turned back to others inside the room.

"Let me think about it."

So there he was, sitting alone outside the hotel, silently debating whether tagging along with Aerith, the coldhearted stoic man, and the annoying ninja girl would be a decent option. As if handling Donald and Goofy wasn't enough.

If he went on his own-with Donald and Goofy, of course- he'd have the advantage of a small group. He didn't know if that Koro kid was a one-time deal or not, but he didn't want to find out. It would be easier to pass by unnoticed, especially when they closed in on the area he held Sora. What was the saying again? Two's company, but three's a crowd. And he already had one extra.

But if he did let them tag along, and if what they said was true, then he'd have the advantage of resources. They've known the area longer than him, obviously. And contacts…they could come in handy. But was tagging along with that irritable ninja girl and Leon worth it? Aerith didn't get on his nerves that much, but even she couldn't make up for the other two. Though they would be helpful in combat…

He didn't have enough time to wonder about who traveled with him! Goodness knows what Koro's done to Sora. He didn't want to even think about it.

But he couldn't stop himself, because he really missed Sora right now.

Riku and Sora. Sora and Riku. On the islands, you wouldn't see one without the other. Sora wasn't the smartest kid on the block, nor was he the strongest. But Sora was-IS-Sora, and there was no other way to describe it. Sora's heart could fit the whole world inside and still have room. And somehow, Sora managed to slip through every single defense he had and settled himself a place in Riku's soul.

But now, Riku felt almost empty. He missed Sora's laugh, or his pouts when Riku refused to rematch him for the fifth time. He missed Sora's stupid grin and the messy chocolate spikes he called hair. He missed Sora's stubbornness, of all things. He missed how the sunlight reflected off of him when the boy lazily sketched the ocean on the island. He missed how Sora cheered him up.

Most of all, he missed that all Sora had to do was stare straight into his soul and gently smile at him.

"Hey, Riku! Are you awake, buddy?"

Goofy shook his shoulder and realized he closed his eyes during his thoughts. Quickly masking his surprise, Riku shook his head to clear any lingering memories and stood up.

"Come on, Goofy, let's get back to Aerith and the others. I have my answer."

Because it was what Sora would have done.

To be continued…

A/N: Yeah, I know this is a bit short, but at least I updated faster! It seemed like a good idea to stop at this point, and I'm figuring out a few quirks along the storyline. Woot, I'm getting slowly back on track!