Me: I have a serious problem with this fic.

Riku: Oh yeah? And what's that?

Me: The fact that this story has 25 reviews. My One Piece fic, What's With the Kissing, has 28. And it's a ONE-SHOT!

Sora: o.o That isn't right.

Me: No, it isn't! So unless you want me back in One Piece mode, I suggest you start reviewing. Honestly, is it really gonna take five chapters to out-rank a one-shot? (shakes head) You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Cast: (Are ashamed)

Me: Good. If this chapter goes well, I'll put up responses to reviews at the end. Oh, and Fire is gone for the next 12 days. So... this isn't beta'ed. If anyone out there would be kind enough to sub for her, please tell me! I could use the help!

Sora:... you're stalling the chapter, aren't you?

Me:...no...

Riku: (smirk) Yes you are.

Me: (eyes flame) Do you wanna be in this chapter or not?

Riku:...

Me: (smirk) Read on, my readers, read on.

Destiny Islands

Groaning, he creaked one eye open. He heard a loud, annoying pounding in his head and it was getting on his fucking nerves. A few eye blinks later, he realized the pounding wasn't in his head. Someone was pounding on his door.

Grumbling something about killing whoever had woken him up, Riku swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulling himself into a sitting position. Yawning loudly, he stretched out his arms and shook his head.

The pounding on the door only increased, but this time he could hear his name being called. Riku's eyes narrowed. Tidus. That was the fifth time this month. That kid was going to get his face punched in.

Taking the steps two at a time, Riku landed on the ground floor. Strolling over to the door, he yanked the door open...

...and Tidus knocked on his face.

"GAH!" Riku shouted, jumping back in surprise and rubbed the spot Tidus had hit furiously. "Tidus, you asshole, what was that for?"

"Oops, sorry," Tidus said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Tidus had also grown in the past decade. He had spiky blond hair on a head that was, as Riku often said, half empty. He had bright blue eyes, but not nearly as bright as Sora's, and he liked to stay fit which showed on his frame. he had blue jean shorts on, one leg hole cut off below the knee and the other cut above his knee. He just liked it that way. He wore a black jacket over a white t-shirt that was frayed at the edges.

"Is there a reason you're pounding on my door this early?" Riku growled. He and Tidus got along okay, but there were times like these that made him want to shove the blond into the ocean. "Then again, isn't there always?"

"First of all, it isn't morning," Tidus said, crossing his arms. "It's 12:30."

"P.M.?" Riku exclaimed.

"No, A.M.," Tidus said sarcastically. "Can't you see the moon out?"

Riku took a spare moment to quickly glance up at the cloudless, and moonless, sky before he returned to glaring at his friend. "It's still no reason to wake me up," he said.

"You've slept long enough," Tidus pointed out, oblivious to Riku's tone. His face turned more serious as he asked, "Did you see the meteor shower last night?"

Riku frowned. "Meteor shower...?" Riku murmured, wondering why Tidus had changed moods so quickly. He wasn't a girl on PMS... he hoped.

Then it hit him. The night before Sora disappeared, a day all the kids on the island remembered, there had been a meteor shower. Riku wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that whatever had brought Sora to that place was what brought Ninna and Oram here in the first place.

Just as Riku was contemplating whether or not that vortex would open again, Tidus somewhat voiced the silver-haired teens thoughts aloud. "Hey Riku, you don't think... you don't think that that meteor shower had anything to do with him disappearing, do you?"

Riku's head snapped up. "Meteor shower?" he asked, amazed. He was shocked Tidus would take time to notice something like that.

"I'm not stupid," Tidus said.

Riku snorted, but Tidus went on.

"I remember that night," Tidus said. "There was that meteor shower... just like last night. Maybe I'm crazy, but what if that meteor shower did something to Sora."

Riku raised an eyebrow, leaning against the door frame. "Like what?" he asked.

"Like make him disappear or something!" Tidus huffed. "And I was thinking that maybe if it made him disappear that time, it'll bring him back this time!"

Riku sighed. Tidus was grasping at straws here. Everyone on the island had gotten over Sora's disappearance, or at least that's what they showed on the outside. Riku avoided the subject. But he knew exactly where Sora was, but sometimes that w s worse then not knowing at all. It made him worry. What if those two people were worse then the brunettes parents. It happened such a long time ago that Riku wasn't sure of them anymore. He had trusted them ten years ago, but maybe he had been gullible! Maybe they had tricked little Riku.

Maybe... Sora was worse off then he had ever been on Destiny Islands.

Tidus hadn't given up either. But he wasn't afraid to show it. For years he went on impossible theories. It was just how Tidus was. Riku paid no attention to it and was called insensitive. It hurt when his friends said he no longer cared. But Riku did care. He knew more then any of them.

And that was why he kept quiet.

"Maybe," Riku said finally, shrugging. But the outlook didn't fool Tidus. The blond still thought Riku had just given up and that made him angry. But he didn't know what Riku knew, and it hid the truth. It was tearing Riku up from the inside out.

Tidus narrowed his eyes at the older boy. "You know what, Riku?" he said. "I don't think you even care anymore."

"What?" Riku hissed.

Tidus stepped back a bit, but was so less stubborn. "You heard me," he said. 'He was your best friend, Riku! And you forgot about him!" Tidus shook his head. "You didn't deserve to have a friend like Sora. The least you could have done was remember him."

Tidus took a few steps back and turned around. He trotted down the steps and walked briskly away across the sand, away from the house, leaving behind a very stunned Riku.

He could feel his breath quicken in anger and his eyes widened. He was caught between shock and anger. Shock that Tidus had spoken to him like that, and angry at what he said. How dare he accuse Riku of not caring anymore? He cared more then anybody on this whole damned island. He knew more then anyone about where his friend had gone.

He had to find Sora.

Riku put one step out of the door when he remembered he was half naked. Looking down he saw he was still in his pajama bottoms and he had no shirt on. He sincerely doubted any of the female population on Destiny Islands would mind. But he minded, especially when they were drooling over him.

Gah, stupid fangirls.

Stepping back into the safety of his house, Riku slammed the door shut and ran up the stairs three at a time to get dressed. Maybe Tidus was right. That meteor shadow did have something to do with Sora disappearing. If another portal opened, like the one after last decades meteor shower, it could possibly lead him to wherever Sora was. And if that did happen, if there was the slightest possibility...

...Riku would do anything possible to find that portal.

Disney Castle

"SORA!"

His ears perked at the sound of his name, but the brunette didn't answer. He was staring straight ahead, not seeing anything. Even if it weren't for the rain, he'd still be too lost in his own troubled thoughts to see anything. At all.

But it was raining. The cold was starting to leak through to his mind. Some part of his brain registered the fact that it had been raining for quite a while ago. Rain came down in torrents, battering the slanted roof top he sat on and streaming down like little rivers. He was soaked to she bone, water forever drenching him. His brown, spiky hair seemed to droop in t e rain, along with every other part of him.

Sora was sitting on the roof of a tower. His won special tower and Sora had been sure to lock away the entrance to it when he entered. He had found the place when he was eight and looking for a place to escape from people.

It had been one of those days where you just felt like shit when Sora stumbled upon this place. There was no really door to the tower and no one had ever found it. No one looked that hard, really. There was nothing, as far as they knew, of importance in the tower and they held some fear of what could be in it.

But one day, Sora fell through a rotted piece of wood and landed in a dank entranceway. Once climbing some stairs, he found this tower. And all he had to do was go up the attic on top of that room and it would lead him to this roof top. Dubbing it his "Secret Place," Sora hid the hole in the floor with an old ratty carpet and a heavy box. He could move the box at will and come up here any time he wanted. No one else knew of it, not even Oram.

Now Sora sat on top of it, letting the rain fall down. He was half hoping he would faint from the cold so he could wake up. Or maybe that this rain would wash it all away. It would get rid of the lies and make them real. Give him back the world he had believed in and lived a mere few hours ago.

But he knew that wasn't possible. This place, the people in it... they weren't real. They were fakes. Imposters. As far as he was concerned, they had kidnapped him from his home and brought him here, only to feed him lies. And Sora had forgotten everything else. He had dug his own grave.

It was... lonely. That feeling of emptiness impossible to describe. Like his parents were never really there, only figments of the imagination. All of his friends felt like a dream now. And he had woken up from that dream, only to wish he was asleep again.

To run into their arms and for everything to be all right. It was all he wanted. But not until he was asleep again. Not until he was back into that dream.

Thunder clapped through the night air, illuminating the night. Hell, maybe it wasn't night. It could be noon, for all he knew. The rain was sheltering the time of day. Hiding the truth. For now, Sora was content with this. The rain hid him, the darkness became his shelter. No one else could reach him.

And Sora never wanted them to.

Destiny Islands

Fully clothed, Riku left his house and let the wooden door shut behind him. His parents wouldn't be home for another few days since they had left on a trip to one of the islands for their honeymoon.

They left specific instructions not to burn down the house and to make himself dinner while they were out. Riku smiled a bit to himself. He was shocked his father managed to get her out of the house. She was one of the over-protective types and still believed her little Riku would get kidnapped by some strangers if she didn't check up on him every five minutes.

Riku walked down the steps and headed towards the docks. If that meteor shower really did open up the portal, then he felt that it would be in the same place it had been in last time.

There were two possible places. The small, deserted island was where Ninna and Oram had shown up. But he wasn't sure where exactly it was, since the two hadn't been together when the came here. Whatever got them here chucked them out at different spots.

The second place was by the ducks. But they knew exactly where it would open, so it must have been created by someone specifically for their return. He had no reason to believe they would randomly open up a portal in the exact same spot, so he chose the first option. It would mean he had to look around a bit, but he didn't care.

As far as he knew, it could open at midnight. It may have even already opened and disappeared. But the time he saw Oram was around 1 p.m. and that meant he had... he checked his watch... 15 more minutes.

"Damn it," Riku growled. He just noticed how little time he really had. He broke into a run for the docks. He knew he, too, was grasping at straws, but that didn't matter now. He had done nothing for the past ten years and it was time for some sort of action. He had a lead and he was taking it, no matter where it led him or what he would have to give or lose to follow.

Then Kairi came.

God fucking damn it all.

"Hi Riku!" she giggled, standing in his way, cutting off the route he needed to get to his boat.

Riku sighed. "Hi Kairi," he grumbled. Riku had gone out with her a few years before and dumped her when she got too clingy. It wasn't as bad as it sounded, really. Riku let her go as easily as possible, in a very nice way. Kairi was the one who made things ugly. She wouldn't let go. She. Never. Left. Him. ALONE!

"Where are you going?" she asked curiously, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear in a way that she obviously thought was cute.

"Somewhere," he growled, stepping to the left to walk around her. She moved to the left as well, blocking his way again.

"Where?" she asked suspiciously.

Riku was getting ticked off. He had no time to play games and he was close to pushing Kairi in the water. "Somewhere," he repeated. "Look, Kairi, I don't have time for this..."

"Then make time," she insisted, crossing her arms. She blinked as Riku smiled down at her sweetly and took a step closer to her.

She raised an eyebrow, a hopeful look in her eye as he stepped closer. "Riku...?"

He just smiled sweetly and put his hands on her shoulders, bending down slightly.

Oh my god, she thought happily. He was letting his eyes close. She could feel his breath on her face. Her eyes were closing gently when...

SPLASH!

Kairi was brought back to reality as he quickly drew back and pushed her off the dock and splashing into the water below.

"R-Riku!" she sputtered, coughing up water. She glared up at him but he merely smirked.

"Sorry, Kairi," he said, hopping into his boat and untying it from the dock. He didn't sound sorry at all. "I told you it was over between us! I can't believe you fell for that."

Growling, she watched as he picked up the oars and sped off. Wherever he was going, he obviously needed to get their fast. She never was a oat move so quickly! But still...

"Bastard," she muttered, frowning. But they would make up later. They always did. They had a crazy, dysfunctional friendship, but a friendship all the same.

Chuckling to himself, Riku continued his brick pace towards the tiny island. He took a quick glance at his watch; 12:45. Damn it, Kairi had wasted five minutes! And he didn't have many more.

He splashed up along the dock at the abandoned island two minutes later. He didn't bother tying his boat; he didn't even bothre pulling up at the dock. Once he was close enough so that his boat scraped along the sand below the water, he jumped out.

He could feel the cold water slosh through his jeans and soak his legs. But his shoes didn't let any water leak through. The shoes on Destiny Islands were made of a special kind of material and cloth that repelled the water. So he could wade over to the island and still keep from getting wet feet.

He ran through the shallow water and onto dry land. Not pausing to take a breath, he darted across the sand.

Memories ran through his mind in a frenzy and he struggled to sort them out. Where did he see Oram? Ninna had been walking for some time so he had no idea where she had landed. But he had seen where Oram came. Now he just had to remember.

I was waiting for Sora on the Paopou Tree, Riku reminded himself. He looked up at the cliff that held his favorite tree. Because Riku had sat on it every chance he could, the tree bent so it was almost like a bench.

Might as well start from there, Riku thought moodily.

He took the old wooden stairs up to the bluff. The wood creaked with the effort to hold him. He skipped the stairs he knew would collapse if he put his weight on it, Riku made it up to the cliff without fault.

He looked across the old wooden bridge and at his tree, the one he and Sora had planted. He was sitting there, and then...

"Shit," Riku murmured, going back to the stairs hidden inside the hut. Now he remembered. He had gotten off the cliff to go search for Sora. Damn it!

Stepping out of the hut, he realized something he had been in too much of a hurry to notice. The start of a path trailed from the trees several yards from his boat. The trail hadn't been used in years. He and the others hadn't used it since Sora went missing. The others thought it was cursed. Riku just stayed away from it because it held too many memories.

That was the last place I cried in, Riku realized as he swatted at the over grown plants that covered the trail. I haven't cried since Sora left. Ever.

Riku ignored this now-known fact for the moment, concentrating on battling his way through the brush. He wasn't even sure where the spot exactly was! And although this island was small, the rainforest was thick and big. You could get lost for a week in here and never know it was just a tiny island. That was why there was a path here, but it was barely noticeable now. Things were taking the worst possible turn at the worst possible time. Just Riku's luck.

Besides, Riku followed the sound of Oram's voice to find where he was. There was no one else here now. No one to guide him. He didn't know how far along the path he had to go. He just couldn't remember!

Growling in frustration, Riku slammed his fist into a tree. He felt warm blood drip from his knuckles where the rough bark and pierced through his flesh, rubbing the skin right off. He could also feel blood leaking through his pants and a sharp, stinging pain. Looking down, he noticed a long rip that ran down his legs, a gash running underneath it that was bleeding freely. He was moving so fast, the adrenaline pumping so quickly, he didn't even notice it.

Riku cursed. It must have been something in the underbrush. From the pain he was getting, he guessed it wasn't all that deep. He would live for the moment.

He looked down at his watch. 12:58. He had failed.

His one chance to find what was lost. His one chance to get Sora back. And it was gone. Riku closed his eyes shut. He felt a peculiar, uncomfortable sensation in his eyes, the pressure, unbearable. The sting was something he hadn't felt in such a long time. He hadn't even felt it when he broke his arm five years ago.

Riku was... crying.

He clenched his teeth firmly shut. He sank down to his knees. He could feel the plants press and close in around him, but he ignored it. His gloved hands wiped desperately at the tears. It was over. Who knew if he would ever see Sora again? Ever? He... wouldn't ever be able to keep his promise.

Even the wild life seemed to be mourning. There wasn't a single sound.

...wait...

Riku lifted his head up. He now noticed the silence. What used to be buzzing with life was stone-dead silent. Not a bug buzzed, or a bird chirped. No fish splashed in cricks and no tiny animals scurried through the underbrush. Something was wrong.

Riku peeked down at his watch. 1:02.

The silence was deafening. It was so quiet it was loud, making a roaring sound in his ears. No, wait... there was actually a roaring noise.

Riku stood up slowly. The leaves of the trees were being blown back by a strong wind. But the wind seemed to be coming from inside of the forest.

Is it...

Riku broke into a run, heading against the wind. It got more and more powerful, slowing him down some. But Riku kept on going.

Finally, he reached a familiar clearing. It was where he had seen Oram! And right in the middle...

It was like a whole in the air. It seemed impossible to exist, but it was still there. Like someone had reached down and yanked a part of the air away, leaving a giant hole. Riku could see darkness within it. Wind erupted from it like tornado, blowing everything back, including Riku. Now was his chance.

But what if this didn't lead him to Sora? It could lead him to some unknown world where he could be eaten alive. He could die as soon as he se foot in the portal by some kind of poison. He could be transported to the middle of space and be unable to breath. Or worse. He would go to where Sora was...

...and Sora could have forgotten him.

Riku gulped he feared all of these, but especially the last one. But this was his only chance. He may never come back here. He may never see his parents again.

But Sora was out there. Waiting for him.

Riku ran head first into the portal.

Not noticing the figure standing behind him.

Disney Castle

"Sora!"

Sora's gloomy face turned o see the group of people standing on a balcony some three floors down and across from him. They were all calling his name, hands cupped over their mouths to increase the volume.

Sora turned back to looking straight ahead, ignoring all of them. They could all jump off a bridge for all he cared right now. If they were this upset, they shouldn't have woken him up in the first place.

He wanted to dream again. He wanted his life back.

He shook his head at how stupid he was being. That's all his life had been, a dream. Now he was awake. And you could never have the same dream twice. It was time to live the real life. But... what was his real life? He was trapped between who he was here at the Castle and who he used to be. He couldn't leave here, but that dream was over and he no longer lived it. He was in a place where he didn't belong. Falling in an endless abyss.

He was awake, he knew it. Now there was only two choices. To find out who he really was. Or... to go back to sleep. And keep living in this insane world that no longer belonged to him.

Sora stood up, drawing gasps from below. It wasn't sacfe. The wind was strong, the roof slippery. He could fall at any time. But why did it matter? If fate wanted him dead, then nothing would stop it. Besides, maybe if he fell... maybe what was now was a dream. Maybe he would wake up!

One of these worlds wasn't real. He didn't know which. It couldn't all be real. It just couldn't be!

He wouldn't let it.

It was time to let a greater power decide for him.

Sora threw his head back and screamed. He screamed louder then he ever had in his entire life. Frustration, nervousness, fear, anger, hatred, love, dreams, nightmares, unknown, everything. It all came out. His arms were thrown out as he screamed, letting the wind and the rain carry him wherever they bid. it wsa their choice, not his. He didn't want it to be his choice. One of these worlds was a dream. He wanted to wake up, no matter what.

It was time to awaken.

He felt the strong gust of wind push into his back. His eyes shut lazily.

To wake up.

His knees buckled as he feel forward. He could hear screams from below.

From the never-ending dream.

Everything left him. Nothing kept him up anymore. All his supports were gone. They were never there. They had never existed.

From this ongoing nightmare.

And when he woke up... he'd be somewhere other then the middle. He'd be awake. Or he'd dream on. It was time to find out.

To wake up.

The force of this planet dragged him off the roof and downwards. He saw the ground. So far below him. His salvation. He'd be awake. He'd be awake. He'd be awake.

And then a hand grabbed onto his.

Done

Me: I am very proud of this! So very proud!

Riku: Good for you.

Sora: Now give the nice people the responses to their reviews.

Me: Okay!

Black Panther Wolf

No, it doesn't follow the KH story line. No Heartless, and I'm debating on whether or not to bring in the whole Keyblade mess. Thanks for the compliments!

nanirain

Stop writing One Piece? But I LIKE writing it. And I love cliffhangers. I do leave them on the end of every chapter. This chapter is no exception.

Shocker2110

(munches on cookies) Thanks! (sees roses) AHHHHHH! SHIT, HELP! Gah, I hate roses, man! Read my story Red Roses and you'll see why! But thank you for the review!

Hispanic Tenshi

The plot's moving on, so you'll see what's happening! Glad you like it. Here's the update, I hope you enjoyed it!

Fire

Yes, you did beta it, but thanks for reviewing anyway! XD You're drawing pictures of this story? I MUST SEE THEM WHEN YOU'RE DONE! And I hope you get back from camp soon!

yuffiegal23

No need for the puppy dog eyes, the update is here! I really hope you like it!

xcloudx

Yes, you have to have that bit of humor in a sad story. I'm so happy you think it was great! THANKS!

Mecha-Metal Sonic

Sorry the update is very soon. But thanks for the suggestion. Hmm... his KH2 outfit? I seriously did consider that. But first of all, at Sora's age, he doesn't have that one. Not that that matters since this is AU. But I don't really like the puffy pants. I'll describe his outfit next chapter. It's like KH2, but I 'improved' it XDD.

Master of the Dark Trio

Yeah, the summary isn't very good, ne? I was thinking of changing it. And I was a good writer and I wrote Flickering Light? Happy? Good. Be happy.

Done

Me: All finished! In order to redeem myself since I didn't update for so long, I made this chaoter uber-long! ANd...

Riku...?

Me: I MISS FIRE!

Sora: (pats)

Me: (sniffles) Until next week! Bye!