Riku: Wow. It's official. You have now left the worst cliffhanger you've ever made after three consecutive cliffhangers.

Sora: Your readers are gonna kill you.

Me: You people are just lucky this is AU.

All???

Me: By the time you people are reading this, Harry Potter 6 has come out. It will take all the will power I have not only to concentrate on Kingdom Hearts, let alone Heartless guidelines. Flickering Light will be seeing some major trouble. But this fic, along with Catching Fire, shouldn't be too hard as long as I keep up my schedule of one hour of writing per day.

Readers: KEEP IT UP!

Me: Yeah, yeah .O. Also, my new friend has agreed to check this! So thank you to DieChan for beta-ing SM for a bit! ( DieChan: Hi:wave: )

Riku: You're stalling again.

Sora: Yup she is.

Me:.. HISSS! (runs)

All: (drag her back) TYPE!

Me: (mumbles) Fine you damn slave drivers. Once again, chapter goes well equals comments to the reviewers! YAY!

Spinning

He was sucked into it in the blink of an eye, the torn patch of air sucking him in faster than a speeding bullet. The metal fastenings dug into his skin at the high speed he was going in, leaving deep welts in his pale skin.

His eyes began to water from the wind billowing into them, making him want to close his eyes. But he couldn't. He was too entranced by the blur of colors that raced in an arch like an abstract painting, going by too fast for him to get a proper grip on what was really there.

Was their even a bottom to it? Riku wasn't sure. For all he knew, he was standing on something solid. But he was moving too fast to be able to figure it out. Things flowed through his veins, never lingering long enough for him to figure out whether or not it tickled or caused massive amounts of pain.

The darkness swelled and throbbed against every inch of his body and he felt as if he were being sucked through a tube too small for him to squeeze through. He was just wondering how long it would take before his bones broke when an immense pressure built up below him and shot him forward like a bullet from a gun.

Riku grunted in pain as he slammed into a hard, very much solid, floor. Groaning, he felt his face to see if anything was bleeding or broken. Nose intact, along with his skull, and face blood-free, Riku decided it was safe to stand up.

His limbs shrieking in protest, Riku managed to get to his knees, then his legs, panting. He didn't have a clue where he was; all he knew was that he never, ever wanted to do that again.

Shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness that had swept over him, his eyes scanned his surroundings. He appeared to be in a rather large room that could have fit two or three, maybe even four, of the houses on Destiny Islands in it. Grand stone pillars twined themselves from four corners of the room along sturdy looking stone walls. Red velvet drapes hung from the walls, covering the light gray with its vibrant color. On the drapes there appeared to be what looked like the basic shape of a mouse head imprinted in black; a large circle with two small ones connected to the top.

The floor he had landed on was stone marble and he thought wistfully of landing on the rather plush red carpet that spread itself from one grand door to the next, yellow tassels hanging from the ends and a giant black insignia, like the ones on the drape, right in the middle of it. It looked quite soft and Riku pondered why he couldn't have landed a foot or two to the left so the landing may not have been quite as rough.

He looked to his left. Towering windows with an elegant white pane was splattered with rain water. Lightning illuminating the sky for a brief moment, the downpour sparkling eerily in the light. Something… didn't seem quite right. But Riku couldn't put his finger on it.

Shrugging it off, Riku went to the door on the right. If he was going to go anywhere, it would be inside and away from the rain. Maybe he would see somebody who knew where he was. Or, more importantly, if they knew where Sora was.

Pushing open the pearly white door, he walked into another large room, this one being much smaller than the other, however. But it was very long, if not very tall. A long red carpet ran along the white stone, but this one had no yellow tassels or mouse insignia. It led past an open nook that was made of glass, water splattering down on it in torrents. Some doors were placed out here and there, but a large spiral staircase was what caught his eye.

It looked to be made of mahogany, the dark, rich coloring shining in perfection. A small slither of carpet ran up the middle of the stair. Riku stepped towards it, whistling. The design was simple, but still breathtaking. Looking up, he saw it run past several landings, all on different floors, but kept on going up. It seemed to spiral on forever.

Since no one seemed to be on this floor, Riku decided to go up a few. The wood gave no creak of protest as so many stairways did. All he could hear as he climbed was the sound of his thudding feet, which was muffled by the carpet.

He climbed onwards for several more floors, getting slightly dizzy again. The different places the stairs led to seemed to be deserted. One just led to a single door. When tried, it wouldn't budge. One led to a floor identical to the first and equally as empty so Riku carried on.

Just as he passed the fifth floor, another empty one, it finally occurred to him what had been bothering him.

The place was empty. Completely and utterly empty. All he could hear was the rain and thunder. Lights were on, but nobody in sight. In a place as huge and grand as this, there had to be tons of people, and probably servants, as well. But there was no one else besides him. Perhaps it was night time? And they were all asleep? It hadn't been night on Destiny Islands, but perhaps the time zone was different here? Or maybe he was in that portal longer then he thought. He could have been in there for hours, maybe even days. It sure seemed like the time had stretched on forever.

But there had to be someone wandering this place, even at night. There was bound to be someone.

Anyone.

Anyone would do.

Then came the scream.

Riku's heart skipped a beat. No, not a scream, several screams.

Heart pounding in his chest, Riku raced up the steps towards the sound. He rushed past another floor where, he noticed for a brief moment, someone rushed by. He couldn't get a good glimpse of the person, but he didn't care much now. He came to another floor and he bounded off the stairs.

In front of him was a wide set of doors, thrown open. Rain soaked the carpet where the wind has carried it into. Outside Riku saw people. Well, 'people' wasn't the correct term. Half of them appeared to be people, but the others weren't. There was weird shapes standing there, but all had something in common. They were calling something, but Riku couldn't figure out what.

He stepped outside towards them, rain water soaking through his clothes. There was several humans standing there, but five others. Four were very short, two with large circular ears. One was tall and lanky, drooping ears hanging from below an oddly shaped hat.

They were standing on a large balcony with a short stone barrier circling it, stone vines curling along it. They had their hands cupped over their mouths and were shouting something up at a tower over to the right.

Thoroughly confused, Riku asked, "What's going on?"

Amidst the lack of light, they couldn't properly see the man standing behind them. Turning in spite of that, they saw a man, teenager by his voice, standing there. Oram had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach at the sight of this person, but he kept it to himself and went back to staring at the figure on the tower.

Following the man's gaze, ignoring the feeling that everyone else was glaring at him, Riku looked up. It was the largest tower he had ever seen. The only tower he had ever seen, actually. Rain streaked down the sides and a thick spout of rain came down from where it poured from the roof.

Waiting a brief moment, lightning lit the sky with its deadly light. And now… Riku could see someone was standing up. A short one, by the looks of it, but not much shorter than himself. The person must be crazy, Riku figured. With the wind and the rain, they could easily get knocked over.

And fall to their death.

The others seemed to realized this. He heard another scream coming from one of them, making the air colder already with its frozen fear. And someone else shouted out what they had been yelling before. But Riku could understand it now.

"SORA!"

Time froze for the silver-haired teen. Sora… there could be others named Sora… but Riku knew. He knew. It was Sora.

His Sora.

Teeth clenched tightly together, Riku spun around on the spot and darted back inside, making a sharp left. He darted down the hallway, eyes darting for a doorway. He had to save him. Sora could… he could… no, he wouldn't even think about it.

He came to a halt at the spot he knew there should be an entranceway. The door should be right here! But he didn't stop because of that. He stopped because his leg had hit something.

Cursing loudly and ignoring the pain, Riku looked down. A large crate was there, laying on a thread bare carpet. But now that the box had moved, the carpet sunk down a bit.

Heart racing, Riku shoved the box away, the rug being dragged with it. There was a hole in the floor. Eyes narrowing at his lack of other options, Riku hopped reluctantly into the hole.

It was a deep, dank hallway he landed in. The tiniest flicker of a burning-out torch showed him a slimy staircase was a few yards in front of him. Blinking, Riku didn't waste another moment. He raced to the staircase, thundering up it as fast as possible, not caring about slipping in the grime.

He knew where it led. There was no other option. It was steep, the steps one foot each. But Riku didn't care. He bound up them with inhuman strength and speed. Nothing could stop him. Nothing could. He wouldn't let it.

Riku heard more screaming and came to a halt in front of an open wedge in the stone. It was an arch of marble, a glassless window. He paused to look out. The people below were screaming even louder now.

A sinking feeling dropped into his stomach. He jutted his head out of the stone. Icy cold droplets of rain shattered his face. The darkness clouded his sight. But he could see. He could see his friend now. He looked limp and Riku watched in horror as his knees buckled.

Time stood still. The screams slowed to a musical siren. The droplets of rain drifted down slowly like diamonds caught in weightless air. And the body falling down was slow, like he was descending from the heavens on invisible strings, pulled from his cloud home by the harsh rules of gravity. A falling angel, wings long gone.

Clenching his teeth, Riku broke through time. Everything sped up with impossible speed. The rain fell harder, the screams louder, the falling.

Falling.

Falling.

And Riku threw his arm out just in time. His hand managed to clasp the brunette's. And he would never, ever let go.

Sora

And then a hand grabbed onto his.

No, Sora thought. The ground below him tilted and twirled beneath him, mocking him. Stopping the waking he so desperately desired.

He was still stuck. He had to wake up!

Is any of this for real…

…or not?

Sora's legs flailed out below him, kicking at invisible enemies that only existed in his mind.

There was nothing around him. He was incased in a cocoon of darkness and rain, nothing staying the same for more then a second. Everything below him blurred, shouts echoed in his ears. It was hard to get a grip on reality when you no longer knew the meaning of it.

Or if you knew whether you wanted reality, or the never-ending dream?

Sora didn't know, but he wanted to find out. And the only thing stopping him was that unfamiliar hand clasped onto his.

But, even as he dangled in-between Heaven and Hell, he felt completely safe.

"Don't let go!"

That voice.

"Please, Sora, hang on!"

It was so familiar…

"Sora!"

Blinking rain water from his eyes, Sora looked up at his captor. He couldn't see a thing in the rain, it was so dark. But he could make out the shape of someone hanging from a window. He had never seen this person before. But… it was so familiar… so safe… the grip on his hand felt like it had happened so many times before.

Lightning stroke again, the light rebounding off of bright green eyes. Sora groaned, slowly awaking to the here-and-now. Those eyes… he knew those eyes…

"…Riku…?"

"That's right," Riku said, tightening his grip. "It's okay, Sora, I've got you."

Sora blinked, eyes stinging.

"You're safe."

Sora felt hot, slick tears roll down his cheeks.

"I won't ever let you go."

Sora's other hand flung up, groping blindly for something. Anything. His hand was met with another.

Shaking, Sora could feel himself being pulled up. Someone was waking him up. They were saving him. And he was showing Sora the way.

Balcony

They watched in awe as someone grabbed onto the falling boy from a window in the tower. It was a long way down and someone… someone had made it just in time.

"Oh my God…" Ninna whispered as they watched Sora get pulled into safety.

"No one knows how to get into that tower," King Mickey whispered, amazed. "No one… so how did…?"

His question went unfinished, but no one needed to hear the rest to know what he was talking about. Someone figured out how to get in there. And just in time, too.

"Oram?" Aerith whispered, looking at the man who had turned his back on the rest and was now stalking back into the castle.

He ignored her and took a left, walking towards the balcony's direction.

Balcony

The rain stopped falling on him as he was drawn into a warm place. Well, warm compared to the outside. He felt strong arms loop around his shoulders to prevent him from collapsing as if he knew Sora was so weak now.

Well, it wasn't really a big shock. He had just fallen off a roof.

Sora shivered, the water feeling like a glaze of ice was covering his skin. He was shaking all over, back hunched over and face drooped down.

"It's okay," Riku whispered, his voice cracking. "You're safe."

Sora knew, he could feel, those words were spoken to him a hundred times over before. And every time they were spoken, it was true. It was true. He felt so safe… warm… he had never felt this familiar rush before…

Shaking from head to toe, Sora slowly looked up. He knew that face. It looked so much older now, but he knew it. That pale skin, silver hair, glowing green eyes...

He was here.

He was really here.

Riku had kept his promise.

He had come back.

Tears flowing freely, Sora threw his arms around his friend, and there was no force on Earth or in Hell that would make him let go.

End

Me: I'm very proud of this. But I have a head ache, so no review responses.

All: Awwww.

Riku: Get over it.

Me: I hope you liked it! Ten reviews and a new chapter!

Sora: So get reviewing!

Me: Yup. Bye-bye!

(24 hours later)

Me: Oh hell, I'll give you your responses.

DieChan

Thank you so much for checking this! You saved me from the wrath of the grammar nazis! (bows to you and gives you medal) And yes. The EMOTIONS! There are plenty of them in here, hopefully.

soccergirl13

I like soccer o.o. But I was number 11. And least that's what it said on the back of my shirt... (ahem). I did, in fact, update soon. PLUSHIE! SQUEE! GIMMIE! (gives you chocolate)

Mecha-Metal Sonic

Thank you! I'm so happy you enjoyed reading that chapter! I enjoyed writing it. It was a lot of fun, which is shocking 'cause it usually feels more like work then having fun. (stares in awe and gives you Sonic the Hedgehog Keyblade)

Shocker2110

(munches on cookies) Thank you for the no-roses! You 'luv' the chapter? Don't I feel so luved! (happy dances and gives you triple-fudge cookies)

thekeybladegirl

Umm... I updated. Yes. Here. (gives you... um... an edible calculator that tastes like strawberry pocky)

ellenh92

It was RIku, not Oram. RIKU, YOU ROCK MY SOCKS! (clears throat). There is now more of the story. Now there is more reading for you to do! WOOP! (hands you Riku statue made of chocolate)

nanirain92

I am happy the cliffies are driving you crazy, but not so sure that you 'luv' it in an addictive/obsessive/unhealthy way. That's slightly scary. You were right about Riku, though I am honored I throw unexpected things everywhere (feels so special). I hope Fire comes back soon, too! (gives you a card to a psychiatrist that can help you with your addictive/obsessive/unhealthy ways).

Hispanic Tenshi

Yup. Review me every chapter and I shall stay away from One Piece! (grins) But I am touched you would be willing to go to those lengths. (gives you tickets to any theme park of your choice)

RaieChibiKid

So many emotions you feel fromt his! o.o HELL YEAH! I don't think it's the most amazing KH fanfic ever. None of my stories are like that. But try reading Revenge of the Darkness and its sequel, Flickering Light. ROD is a bit rocky at first, though. I think you'll like those even better. (smiles and hands you Mickey Mouse's crown)

Me: Done!

King Mickey: HEY! You gave away my crown!

Me: Eh heh heh heh?

King Mickey: (fires up Keyblade)

Me: o.o (gulp) AHHHHH! (runs like hell)