A/N: I have to write this, GB, CF, three OP one-shots that won't get out of my head, three chapters for an original story, a gift fic for DieChan, and start the first chapter of DS for an original work. All before Saturday, when I have vacation. And I work two of those six days.

Four days for all of this.

May the force be with me.

Disney Islands

"What now, ya?"

"We wait for Sora to come back, duh!"

"But that could take hours!"

Riku sighed, already annoyed of Wakka, Tidus and Selphie's bickering. He ran his pale fingers through his silver hair distractively and said, "Would you guys give it a break?"

Tidus frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

Selphie just rolled her eyes, leaning back against the tree trunk she was sitting in front of. "He's always like that, isn't he?"

The five friends were sitting on the play island together, although they seldom played the games they used to play in their early youth. The Spectra Ship had blipped out of sight over an hour ago and now they were here, just waiting.

Selphie, Wakka and Tidus were care-free, certain that their brunette friend would be back soon. After all, he had said only a couple of hours and they trusted him. Then again, they weren't ever there when things started to go horrible wrong.

But Kairi and Riku were there, and it was all they could think about. Something wasn't right about this. All Riku could think about was what had happened to the radar. It hadn't picked up anything at all except for empty space. What if Sora was riding straight into a trap? What if he was killed?

And since when did he start to sound like Sora's mother?

Pausing to wonder briefly on this annoying predicament, something else popped up in the silver-haired mans mind. Sora hadn't let Riku come with.

Now call him crazy, but something about that was a bit off. Sure, Sora was stubborn. But when Riku was persistent, as he had been, Sora would usually pout and eventually let Riku have his way. Sure, Sora had grown up, been living in a new place for three important years in his life, but some things couldn't change. And Riku had a terrible feeling that Sora knew something he didn't, something that meant he had to keep Riku away at all costs.

Sora had changed. He had grown. And he was protecting Riku from something, he could feel it in his bones. Sora knew it was dangerous, and he hadn't let his best friend come with. He may not know what it was...

...but he had done it anyway.

"Riku?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Riku looked up. His friends were eyeing him worriedly, frowns on their faces.

"You okay?" Kairi asked.

Riku shrugged. "Fine," he muttered. "Just thinking."

"Well don't think too much," Tidus quipped. He slid off of his sat on the branch of the same tree Selphie was leaning against and brushed off the back of his pants. Looking up, he grinned brightly. "Too much thinking can be painful."

"You should know," Wakka snorted.

"Hey!" Tidus scowled as his friends laughed.

Riku forced a chuckle out of himself to avoid more awkward questions. But Kairi didn't look completely convinced; she was shooting him questioning looks which he tried his best to avoid.

Tidus and Wakka continued their little squabble, which ended, unfortunately for Tidus, with the blonde in a head lock. And people worry about how they settle things on Destiny Islands, ha!

"Would you two cut it out?" Kairi giggled, smiling. Her bare feet dangled off of the dock, toes dipping in the water and sending small ripples spreading across the calm oceans' surface, fish dipping upwards to catch an occasional nat that skimmed across the water.

Selphie sighed, leaning back with her arms propped behind her to keep from falling. "At least they found something to do." She shifted her weight to the left and used her right hand to shade her eyes as a cloud crept away, the sun bearing its full light and heat down on the tiny island.

Kairi sighed, closing her eyes. The sun glowed through her eyelids, sending shifts of marble light dancing before her eyes. So surreal... nothing like it. And nothing like this. And she didn't like it when she didn't know what was going to happen.

Sora...

She heard the sounds of footsteps walking over the creaky planks and the rustle of cloth as someone sat down next to her. Peaking one eye open, she saw a flash of silver. Riku.

She shut her eyes again.

"What's wrong?" he asked, ruffling her hair.

She opened her eyes fully this time, which turned out to be a mistake as the sun glared down in a blinding light. Narrowing her eyes to take some of the hurt away, she muttered "You know what's wrong."

"No, actually I don't," Riku said. "And that's what's wrong."

Kairi said nothing. He was right, no matter how confusing the statement was wrong.

Her older friend sat in silence, staring out over the ocean and at that thin line. The line that separated the ocean and the sky. There really was no measure between it. There was all the distance in the world, and yet it was so thin. So tiny compared to land and sky.

It was how she felt. That tiny, thin line that separated the two completely different areas that both depended on each other to make a whole. Was that difference, that space, really important? Was it needed?

Could she help her two friends be whole again?

Or was she just that space, that rift that kept them apart?

Did she have a choice?

She shut her eyes tightly, trying to block it out.

Are you really needed?

Are you standing in the way of their happiness?

Would they be better off without you?

Are you the one stopping them from healing?

She jolted upright as she felt a hand firmly shake her by the shoulder.

"Kairi?" Riku said, alarmed at the sight of small tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Kairi, what's wrong?"

She shook her head, auburn locks spraying out over her face as she wiped at the tears furiously.

This was beginning to piss him off. "Look, Kairi," he said through gritted teeth. "You damn well better tell me what's going on inside that head of yours and I mean now. Sora is only God knows where doing no one knows what and your in a little angst mode! This isn't time for a pity-me spree! Now tell me what the fuck is wrong!"

Kairi was in shock. Riku rarely lost his temper like this, especially to his friends. Wakka, Tidus and Selphie had stopped what they were doing and eyed the two warily, slowly inching away before walking off in a fast walk. Whatever they were arguing about, they didn't want to hear it. Or worse, get dragged in to offer an opinion.

It was safer to see what Yuffie was up to.

Kairi blinked, watching Riku seethe with anger. His green eyes were ablaze and she wouldn't be surprised if the gaze punched holes in her skin.

She gulped and looked down at her hands, which were folded tightly on her lap. "I... I was just thinking about something..."

Riku snorted. "No shit," he snapped. Sighing, he stood up and stared down at her. His face was blank, lips in a straight line. His eyes were dark, not glaring or roaring with anger as they had been moments before. If anything, he looked... disappointed.

Fear...

"I expected more from you, Kairi," he whispered, not letting their eye contact break. "Something isn't right, we both know it. And something isn't right with you, either. I'm going to find out what it is whether you like it or not."

Kairi stood up as well, which did nothing to help her since Riku was still a head taller to her. "Something's wrong with you, too," she hissed, glaring up at him. "Maybe it's you with the problem."

"I'm not the one worrying about my own damn problems when my best friend is out there, maybe even in danger!" Riku snapped.

"And I'm not the one picking fights and biting other people's heads off!" Kairi retorted.

"I'm not picking fights!" Riku snarled.

"Yes you are!" she said in a high-pitched voice. "And I do too worry about Sora!"

"You have a funny way of showing it!" Riku said bitterly.

"What about you? Mister I-Wanna-Be-In-Sora's-Place-Oh-Woe-Is-Me?" Kairi said, eyes flashing. She laughed as Riku winced. "Yeah, that's right. You've been doing the same thing and you didn't even notice it!"

"At least I admitted to it!" Riku snapped. "You won't stop hiding behind your pathetic excuses!"

"I'm not hiding anything!" she said shrilly.

"Yes you are!" Riku said. "Something is totally different about you and you won't dare admit it! Come on, princess, what are you hiding?"

"Nothing!" she said. "I'm hiding nothing! You're the one who's been hiding things, Riku!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"And as much as we'd hate to break up this little wangst-fest..."

Two figures hurled at them in a rush of feathers and the two teens found themselves being shoved to the sandy beach.

Riku grunted as he hit the sand at full force, a heavy weight on his chest as someone pinned him down. Growling, his reflexes took over and his hands flew up. Pushing with all his might, he heaved the person off of him and rolled them both over. He placed his knees on either side of the intruder and placed one hand on the shoulder. Another hand had summoned his Soul Eater (author has learned the correct name) and he placed the tip at the person's throat. the cold tip touching pale skin.

"Riku, get the hell off of me you bastard!"

Riku blinked. In his haste to free himself, he hadn't even noticed who he had just pinned down, and rather painfully, too.

Crys was glaring up at him, blonde hair sprawled out over the sand and wings beating uselessly in a feeble attempt of escape. Blue eyes glaring up at him, she hissed, "Now if you don't mind, I kinda can't breathe."

"Sorry," he said gruffly. He swung his leg to the other side and relinquished his hold on her shoulder. He let his weapon disappear in a swift cloud of black sparks and held out his hand, which she took, and heaved the messenger to her feet.

Riku ignored her mutterings and looked over her shoulder to see Fire helping Kairi to her feet. The red-haired girl didn't look furious anymore, rather confused. She and Riku stared at each other for a moment, then quickly looked away.

Fire sighed, staring between the two of them. "Sorry about that," she said softly. "Didn't know how else to get your attention."

Kairi blinked. "What's got you so down?" she asked, confused. Normally Fire would've glomped Riku by now. What was wrong with her?

Fire was refusing to show her face and Crys looked like there was some sort of explosion going on in her head; her eyes were wide and her mouth twitched slightly.

"What happened?" Riku asked urgently. He looked between the two messengers and repeated himself.

"Something happened," Fire whispered, her chin tucked down, brown hair swaying down and spilling over her shoulders.

"We've kind of figured that out already," Riku snorted. "What is it?" Something exploded in the pit of his stomach, filling his with an icy cold feeling that gripped his insides. His lips felt numb as he said, "It's Sora, isn't it?"

"...Riku... Kairi... we have a message for you..."

Nary

Nary stumbled over the rocky ground as she made a beeline for the place where she had last seen Sora. But she was careful to be as quiet as she could, hiding behind the large rocks and Gummi ships often for a few brief moments, incase he looked back, before setting off again.

The air was getting colder. Very cold. She could see misty clouds rise up in front of her and she wondered why. It was coming from her mouth... was she sick? She had never been this cold before. It was always nice and warm back home. She was starting to wish she had stayed at home.

But no, she had to make sure Sora didn't leave her! He couldn't go away, not again. Mommy and Daddy were so sad without Sora. If he came back, they'd all be happy again.

The air was getting darker. The cloudless sky seemed to be getting lower and lower, but that wasn't right. Was the sky falling? Oh no, what if it crushed Sora?

Speaking of him, where was Sora. She looked around, but he was nowhere in sight! She had lost him! What if he was hurt?

Forgetting about being sneaky, she darted out from behind the large boulder she had been hiding behind and darted forward. Her scandals flip-flopped loudly on the dirt, gravel sparking up and grazing her ankles. She winced but didn't stop. If anything, she sped up.

She had to get to Sora!

The sky, that had started very dark, was beginning to lighten. A small cloud drifted lazily high above her head. It was like she was running into a sunrise; a pale blue was swirling above her head and taking over the dark exterior of her previous surroundings. There were now a few cloud dappled here and there and a sun was now visible over a hill.

Wait... since when was there a hill?

She noticed gravel had stopped tearing at her skin. The ground beneath her was springy now and, looking down, her eyes met bright green grass that sparkled with early morning dew, the sun reflecting off of it and blowing slightly as a cool breeze drifted past. It was warmer now, the coldness long forgotten. A long, winding brown road wove harmlessly through the grass and set off towards the sun.

She trotted up the hill, standing at the peak. Looking down, she smiled; spread in front of her was the long road, twisting like a snake. The grass swayed, almost waving at her, it seemed. The sun shone high above her hand, admitting a glorious warmth that swelled from the pit of her stomach to the tips of her fingers.

Wherever she was, she liked it a lot better then where she used to be. Maybe Sora was all right after all! He was probably taking a nap on the ice cool grass.

As a matter of fact, that seemed like a nice thing to do.

Her knees bent on their own accord and she sat down, then lay back. The springy grass was softer and more comfortable then her own bed and the warm sunlight engulfed her with the warmth and comfort of a soft, cashmere blanket.

Her eyes shut lightly, a smile gracing her lips. She liked it here.

Sora...

She could find him later. She didn't feel it, but her brain was telling her she was tired. She decided to listen to her brain. It was suck a nice place to take a nap, too!

Her thoughts drifted away from her and her mind became blank. Her breaths evened to small little puffs as she fell into slumber, small chest rising and falling in the calm rhythm that could only be used in the state of sleep. It was so nice...

...and so wrong.

The black haired woman smiled down at the little girl, cold finger tips grazing over her cheek.

This was going to be fun.

Sora

Following his guide was far less eventful then he had predicted. The surroundings hadn't changed a bit, except for the fact that, you know, they were in complete and total darkness.

The blue, glowing cracks had dwindled away and the only light was the one being held by the woman. This meant that he frequently tripped over a rock, which got the reward of a teasing laugh from his guide.

Sometimes his life really sucked.

"So where are we going?" he asked for the umpteenth time, to which he got the same reply: "You'll see."

Sora sighed, annoyed. The air was still extremely stuffy and it constricted his breathing, making him gasp instead of inhale and exhale. He'd ask about it later; he was trying to keep his talking to a minimum. He barely had enough air to live off of, let alone start up a full-blown conversation.

The glowing orb in her hand crackled as it's light spilled over the walls and floor, illuminating the way. But Sora didn't see any point of it. So far, they hadn't made one single turn. They just kept on going straight. Sora had lost track of how long they had been walking.

A half an hour?

An hour?

A day?

Sora's frown deepened. Would the others be worrying about him soon? And what about Nary? Who knew what was out there? And what if she decided to go exploring and got herself hurt? Or worse, killed?

Damn it, why did she have to follow him out here?

Fate obviously wasn't on his side today.

And as he blinked, everything changed. He gasped and was surprised to find he could breath again. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out hurriedly to take in another. The air was frosty and seemed dirty, tainted, but he didn't care. All he cared about at the moment was not suffocating.

Another thing he noticed was his surroundings, or lack of. They were somewhere that seemed a bit familiar, but he couldn't decide where. The light had disappeared, but he could still feeling the haunting of the woman's presence. And in the dark, he could still tell she was smirking at his shock.

"Now, now," she chided. "This is no time to delay. Remember. Your sister could be in danger at this very moment."

Sora glared in the direction he heard her voice come from and didn't say a word, which caused her to laugh again.

Sucking in a deep breath, he stalled for a moment. So many questions, so little time. But for all he knew, he had all the time in the world.

"I'm sorry about the lack of light," she said, but she didn't sound sorry at all. "It's just that They don't like it."

"They?" Sora repeated. "Who are 'They'?"

"That would be us."

End

A/N: I hope you all liked it. Took me several hours to finish, which took up a lot of time. Now I have to go and type up Catching Fire. I have a schedule all worked out; after CF, I'm gonna write the next sequel to Hero (it's One Piece). So please review! I'd like eight of them before I update, thanks!