Disclaimer: not mine

Last chapter dealing with COM. Won't be much from Days showing up considering the lack of Roxas.

Chapter 10

"Not Riku? A fake?!" Sora scented the air, with her hood down he could detect her scent and he couldn't pick up a lie, calming some. If this wasn't Riku then Riku might be okay.

"Fake in every possible way. It was only finished recently. How could it remember anything?" She picked him up and Sora tensed, unsure. "You get it? Its memories with Naminé were just planted, not real." She threw him at the wall and Sora watched his body tumble bonelessly, as if dead. "Yup. That means, all this time, it's been picking fights with you over memories that were counterfeit, trumped up, and completely bogus. Isn't that the truth, Naminé?"

She walked over to the girl who glanced at Sora, obviously scared. "Oh, so cute...but behind this little face, you do awful things."

Naminé looked away and Sora frowned.

"Naminé..." was it really not Riku? She glanced at him again and nodded slightly.

"You're so stupid. Don't you get it now? That's what Naminé's powers are about! She can enter, rearrange, and even create new memories of anything, even things that never happened. The girl you've been trying to protect all this time is really a manipulative witch who shackles people's hearts!"

Sora looked at the blond and laughed in her face. "Then I guess her powers aren't all that great. Other than what Riku, or not Riku said, I've never heard of Naminé. My best friends are Riku and Kairi, always have been. Sorry but whatever game you're playing, I'm not interested. Where's the real Riku?"

Larxene stared at him in shock. "What?"

"My memories haven't been altered. The others know what's been happening, you can't watch us in the memory rooms, I've just been following their lead and playing along."

"No, no, no! Binding you in the chains of your own memory was central to our trap. So close to it… we were almost there. This was our only chance to turn the Keyblade master into our puppet, but…That jerk Axel…he used Naminé to betray us!" she ranted, summoning her knives, and Sora glared, pushing slowly to his feet. "So now, I'm left with no choice but to eliminate you!"

"You'll pay..." he growled, summoning the Keyblade and thrusting his hand into his pocket, swiftly attaching the winged pumpkin keychain, grinning as the blade changed. He'd been using the basic Kingdom Keyblade to keep up appearances, but he didn't have to anymore.

Larxene stepped forward and Naminé rushed in between them, spreading her arms out to protect him, surprising Sora. "Don't!"

"Huh? It's a little late for the witch to grow a conscience. Last time I checked YOU'RE the one who fooled around with the memories of everyone around him, creating this mess. You were meant to change his too but failed!"

"I know, but…"

"I should tell you that I'm in an EXTREMELY foul mood. Thanks to you, all our plans are ruined!" Larxene knocked her away.

"Naminé!" he called, seeing her land by Riku. He may not know her, but he could tell she was trying to do the right thing now.

"What's this? Are you upset?" she giggled. "And you don't even actually know her!"

"Maybe not. But she's trying to do the right thing now, and that's good enough for me."

"What?" she stared at him in confusion.

Sora took a deep breath, slipping into a fighting stance despite the lingering pain from the flames. That was one vampire weakness he really wished was a myth. It wouldn't kill him, but dead flesh burned even better than living.

"Maybe she did mess with everyone's memory, but she still came to me to warn me, she stopped this Riku from killing me. For that, I'll protect her, especially from you!"

"Hmph. You're such an idiot. Must you insist on playing the hero? Whatever. If that's the way you want it... You're going down alone!"

Goofy's shield appeared and flew past Larxene, distracting her as Goofy ran in front of Sora, protecting him. Donald cast Curaga on Sora, thankfully ending the pain, and joined Goofy as a living shield.

"Not if we can stop you!" Donald told her.

"Donald! Goofy! You found me!" he grinned tiredly.

"Of course we did. We were worried about you!" Goofy glanced back, grinning at him.

"And we promised! We promised that we would protect you!"

Sora smiled as they nodded at him. To have them there and defending him, despite how much they'd forgotten and for them having just learnt what he was…it made his dead heart soar.

"You won't ever be alone. It's always been the three of us and we stick together..."

"And that is how it's going to stay!" Donald finished.

"Okay... Have it your way. More pain for you means more fun for me!" She sneered.

The three of them moved, fighting as easily together as they ever had, and she didn't stand a chance against them.

Larxene staggered away, panting. "No... No! I refuse to lose to such a bunch of losers!" she denied but she was already fading away. "I think I'm...I'm fading?! No, this isn't...the way I... I won't... ALLOW..." They watched as Larxene faded away into Darkness.

Sora turned away and walked over to Naminé, looking down at her and the seemingly dead Riku. "It really isn't him?" he asked shakily, and she shook her head.

"He's here, in the basement levels. I'm so sorry Sora, his memory…it's fading fast now. You have to find him soon, before it's too late."

Sora nodded, he would find Riku and they'd find a way to fix his memory. "What about him?" he pointed at the...Replica?

"I don't know," she admitted.

"We need to finish this, stay here Naminé. We can work things out once this is over." He knew those ahead wouldn't just let him backtrack to find Riku before facing them which meant he had to get through whatever was coming next fast.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Riku slid down the wall, breathing heavily, he was so tired… maybe he could close his eyes for a few minutes. He had to be getting close, right? He would find Naminé and save her, then they'd go home see…their friend…what was his name? He knew it, he did…So…ra?

,,,,,,,,,

"You have some nerve to show your treasonous face around here...some nerve indeed…" Marluxia glared at him but it didn't look all that threatening. Honestly, the whole long pink hair thing did not help either.

"Treasonous? I don't know what you could possibly be talking about," Axel shrugged.

"Why let Naminé go? If it weren't for your needless meddling we could have turned the Keyblade master to come and serve us."

"Ohh, right, your big plan. You use Naminé to rewrite Sora's memory piece by little piece and he turns into her total puppet. Then, using Naminé and Sora together, you and Larxene overthrow the Organization. Am I right? I would say that YOU are the traitor, Marluxia. Besides, I didn't need to ruin your plan, it never worked! Dear Sora was faking the memory loss, just playing along to work things out. You'd have more luck with Riku, real or Replica, at least it worked on them," Axel smirked.

"Since when were you suspicious of us?"

"Do either one of us have the heart to believe anyone?" he pressed a hand to his chest mockingly.

"So you only eliminated Vexen to obtain proof of our plan?" Marluxia demanded.

"That, I didn't want to do, but it was your order." He summoned his chakrams.

"Oh..."

"Remember the order: "You must eliminate the traitor." I always follow orders, Marluxia. Larxene paid the price for disloyalty when she disappeared... You must do the same!"

Axel slashed at Marluxia with his chakrams, but he dodged the attack. Axel then threw his chakrams at Marluxia, who blocked them with his scythe. They flew back and Axel caught them. "The Organization's betrayed. In that name, I will annihilate you."

"That line's not you."

"Well, had to try it once, you know," he offered, before rushing and trying to slash Marluxia who evaded.

Marluxia tried to slash Axel, but he jumped out of the way. He proceeded to slash an energy wave out of his scythe and fire it at Axel, who struggled to block it with his chakrams, making Marluxia laugh. He waved his hand to materialize something, which made Axel snicker; Naminé was held in front of Marluxia, frozen in fear.

"Is that your shield? Won't do you any good, I'm afraid."

"I wonder," Marluxia smirked slightly, looking passed Axel. "Are you listening, Sora?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy appeared from the door behind Axel.

"Oh?" he glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, he was sure it hadn't worked on the boy, so who would he side with?

"Axel says he's willing to harm Naminé to get me. You won't let that happen, will you?"

In response the trio readied their weapons and Sora looked at Axel, studying him.

"Oh, come now. You're Marluxia's puppet already?" Axel groaned, and blue eyes blinked.

"We need her alive to fix their memories," the teen said, clearing things up for Axel.

"I'd really rather not fight you... But I can't dishonour the Organization, now, can I?" Axel told him, and Sora stepped back slightly.

"We could fight him together, without hurting Naminé," he offered, and Axel laughed, he thought if he could feel, he'd like Sora. Kid certainly had guts to suggest that.

He had no orders concerning the Keyblade Master should Naminé fail to alter his memories so technically working together wasn't against orders. "Well, why not?"

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Riku walked into another empty hallway, where was everyone? He hadn't seen anyone since the guy who had pretended to be…So…his friend? He…he couldn't remember his name. Naminé, he remembered Naminé, he had to save her, even if he didn't remember what he needed to save her from anymore.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sora looked at Axel, wondering what he'd do now. Green eyes met his and the man smirked.

"You are one interesting kid, Sora. Maybe you were worth saving."

"What?" Worth saving? Did he mean in the fight, or something else?

"See ya around," he offered a sarcastic salute and vanished.

"Axel!" He yelled but the man was gone. They left the room and Sora locked it with his Keyblade, just to be safe. "You okay, Riku?" he asked when he saw the Replica, guarding Naminé.

"Not Riku. I'm a fake. I can't remember why I was created or where or when... All that's inside of me…is time with you and Naminé. But I know those memories are not real," he answered stiffly, and Sora took a step towards him, but he backed away.

"Gee, Naminé, can't you use your magic to put his memory back to normal?" Goofy suggested.

"Well, I…"

"It's all right. I'll deal," he looked them over and then turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Sora called, and he paused. "Who cares if someone created you? You are you and nobody else. You have your own heart inside you. Those feelings and memories are yours and yours alone. They're special!"

He turned enough to look at Sora. "Sora, you're a good guy. I don't have to be real to see how real your feelings are. That's good enough," a small smile touched his lips and then he was gone.

"Riku! Riku..." Sora called, but he didn't respond or come back, and Sora sighed, wishing he could do more to help him. He took a deep breath, right, now they needed to fix the guys memories, and the original Riku's too.

"Can you put our memories back?" Obviously Donald had the same thought.

"Yes. Not remembering something doesn't really mean that it's gone," she told them with a small, nervous, smile. Her scent was pleasant, and it reminded him…of Kairi. She looked a lot like her too which was strange.

"What d'ya mean?" Goofy's question brought him back to the conversation.

"When you remember one thing, that leads to remembering another and then another and then another. Our memories are connected. Many pieces are linked together like they're in a chain that makes up each of us. I don't actually erase any memories…just take apart the links and rearrange them. You still have all your memories."

Well, that was a relief. The idea of being the only one who truly remembered scared Sora.

Jiminy popped out, startling him. "So you can put 'em back together?"

"Yes, but first, I have to undo the chains of the memories I made on my own. After I've done that, I have to gather up the memories scattered across each of your hearts and then reconnect them. It might take some time. But I think it might work. No…it will work. I'm sure."

"All right. What about Riku? You said before he's in the basement levels and that we have to find him before it's too late, too late for what?" Sora asked, but then Donald spoke up.

"Oh... Wait a second! You said you had to undo the links of the memories you made. But that means…"

"Yes. You won't be able to remember anything about what happened here," Naminé told him.

"But my memories weren't effected so I should still remember, right?" Sora asked, and she nodded.

"You have a choice; you can lose your memories of this castle and reclaim your old ones...or keep your memories here and give up the memories that you've lost."

"Do we have to...to choose?" Goofy asked.

"Yes," she nodded. Naminé lead them to a room containing a giant pod.

"To remember again, we have to sleep in that?" Donald stared at it suspiciously.

"Yes. It's going to take a little time, but I'll take care of you," she promised.

"And I'll be here too," Sora promised. "I won't leave you."

"Gawrsh, when we wake up, we won't remember who you are anymore..."

"But how are we gonna thank you?"

"Don't worry about that! I'll just make a big note in my journal. And it will say, 'Thank Naminé'."

"And I'll tell you why," Sora agreed. The thought of being alone while they slept to regain their memories scared him, but there was no other way.

"Oh, good. That makes me feel better," Donald admitted, turning to hug Sora, who hugged him back tightly.

"Well, good night then, Sora, Naminé," Goofy waved and headed for one of the pods.

Sora watched as they went inside and fell asleep. "Do you know exactly where Riku is?" he asked, and she shook her head. "It's okay, I'll find him."

He left the room and leant against the wall, hands trembling. He closed his eyes, reaching out with his heart, and then he headed down.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Riku ran through the empty halls, he hadn't seen anyone since…since when? The whole place was silent...empty…creepy. Riku couldn't remember the last time he'd seen anyone else. He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared, he didn't even know where he was. He needed to find them! But…who were they? Why couldn't he remember?

He was finally out of the basement when he heard movement, readying for a fight.

"Riku!" a voice called, and he turned to stare, he was…familiar? He knew him, he was…So…ra? He studied the running figure hard, looking for anything that would give away if he was an illusion, though he didn't know why that might be. Sora slowed to a stop just out of reach, breathing hard. "Riku?" he asked, and Riku licked his lips nervously.

"Sora? Is…is it really you?" he asked, and Sora broke into a grin that felt so familiar.

"Riku!" he reached for him, and Riku blinked but didn't move. Sora wrapped around him tightly, clinging to him, and he heard a sob. He wrapped his own arms around Sora in return, his heart pounding. "I looked everywhere for you," Sora whispered.

Riku pressed his face into brown spikes, inhaling Sora' scent. He smelt like…home? "You're real." He couldn't remember anything about the boy hugging him but obviously he was important, or he wouldn't have managed to remember his name, right?

"I'm real, I'm here," Sora promised. He pulled back enough to look up at Riku. "Are you okay?"

Riku hesitated. "I…I can't remember. Where are we?" he asked, and Sora's eyes went wide.

"Oh," he whispered. "You remember me though."

"Not really," he admitted, seeing his face fall. "You're Sora…I just can't…"

"You're my best friend Riku. We got separated and there's something in this place that can mess with memories. There's a way to fix it but you need to come with me, okay?"

"Sora?"

"It'll be okay Riku, I promise. Let's go see Naminé, okay?" he held his hand out and Riku stared at him but then took it. He wanted so much to believe this was Sora, but he didn't know how much he could trust his own senses wherever they were. Sora led him higher and higher until they entered a room with a strange white flower pod thing and…

"Naminé!" he called in relief at recognising someone, and she smiled sadly at him. They both looked sad… "What's going on? What's wrong?" he asked, backing away, was this a trap? Was it not really them? But why would someone want to trap him? He was nobody important.

Sora held his hands up, eyes pleading, and Riku froze. "Riku please, just listen. You're safe, it's me, I promise. I'd never hurt you or let someone hurt you," Sora told him, reaching for his hand. "This is real."

"Sora is right Riku, this is real. But I am sorry because…in a way it is also a lie."

"I don't understand," he stared at her in confusion.

"I'm sorry Riku, for everything. It's my fault, after all. I took the people and memories that were inside Sora's heart...and little by little, I tried to replace them with false memories. It worked, on everyone except Sora, he is immune. Donald, Goofy, Jiminy… you...the Replica…you all had your memories altered or erased. Marluxia…he threatened… but I still shouldn't have done it. They had me focus on you when it started becoming obvious it wasn't working as planned with Sora."

"I don't understand." Riku stared at her, he didn't know any of those names, did he? "I can't remember… who are you?"

"Naminé?" the boy…Sora? He sounded really worried.

"It's still happening!" the girl in white said. "Once the memory loss reaches a certain stage…it doesn't need prompting to continue. His memories are unravelling all on their own now. We need to get him into the pod quickly."

"Why? What happens if he looses everything?" the boy demanded and Riku looked down to find they were holding hands.

"If his memories are erased…then his heart will be destroyed."

"Destroyed?" the boy sounded terrified for some reason. Why?

"If Riku's heart is destroyed, then he'll be nothing but an empty shell. His heart will no longer be able to feel or to care," she explained.

He didn't understand, but that didn't sound good, did it?

She looked at Riku then. "I can fix your memories, but it will take time. You'll need to sleep, like the others already are," she pointed and Riku saw the two occupied pods.

"I…" he looked at them both, could he trust them? A hand pressed gently to his chest and he met sad blue eyes, gasping as he felt a warmth…in his heart.

"I'll keep you all safe, promise. I'll be right here when you wake up and then we'll go home, like I promised Kairi. I know you're scared and confused Riku, but you can trust me. You're my best friend.

He was so confused…but for some reason he trusted the boy and he seemed to trust her so maybe he could trust them both to…what were they doing? Gentle arms wrapped around him and he found himself leaning into the hold.

"There's something else I can do for you too while you sleep," she said, and Riku looked at her again.

"What?"

"It's your Darkness. In your heart there is Darkness, and in that Darkness is Ansem. He may be at bay for now…but eventually he'll wake, and he will take over you just like he did before. But I have powers you can use. With my powers, I can put a tight lock on your heart. That way, Ansem could never come out from inside you," she explained, but he didn't understand. Who was Ansem? Darkness?

"Riku?" the boy asked, and he blinked, Riku? Who was Riku? "Naminé!"

"We're out of time," she said, motioning to the big white thing. "Riku, you need to go inside. It won't hurt, you'll just go to sleep and when you wake up you'll remember."

"Remember?" he stared in confusion, it…it was hard to think. A hand wrapped around his and began guiding him forward.

"Don't sleep too long, 'kay? You'll turn into me," the boy said but the words made no sense to him anymore, just noises.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Kairi walked down the street on her way home, school bag over one shoulder. She'd left Selphie a block back since her house was down that street. She missed walking the rest of the way with Sora and really hoped he'd be home soon, his parents were getting very worried. Search parties had been sent out but had found nothing. She slowed as she passed a house, looking at it, there was something…she almost felt like there should be someone else walking with her…but there were no kids who lived in that house. Just a married couple who had lived there for as long as she'd been on the Islands. So why did something tell her she should be waving goodbye to a friend?

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sora steadied Riku as he stumbled, Riku didn't stumble! He looked at his face, seeing the confusion there, and he gave up helping him to the pod, scooping him up in his arms and leaping up into it easily. He carefully set Riku down, his best friend not moving, just staring blankly at him, no recognition of anything in his eyes.

"Goodnight Riku," he whispered, and then pressed his lips to Riku's for a second before leaving him there.

The pod slowly closed around Riku, his body lifting off the floor to float limply within. Sora watched as Riku fell asleep, trying not to cry. He reached out and pressed his hand to the cold material it was made from. "Sweet dreams," he choked out before glancing at her. "This will work, right?"

"Yes," a hesitant hand rested on his shoulder. "His heart is intact," she promised, "we got him in there just in time. It will take longer now, but nothing can harm him inside there. I don't understand though… how you can remember him still. The memory unchaining will have removed the memories of Riku from everyone. Then again, it didn't work on you at all…because of what you are?"

What he was? Before he could ask her to explain what she meant he heard something. Sora spun at the sound of footsteps, Keyblade drawn, putting himself between Naminé, the pod, and danger, but then blinked. "King Mickey?"

"Sora!" The King called in relief, smiling at him, and Sora smiled back.

His gaze moved to the stranger with the King, studying him, taking in his scent. Darkness lingered around him but not like the people from the Castle.

"Oh, Sora, this is DiZ, he helped us…me escape from the Realm of Darkness," he looked over at the pod and frowned, moving closer. "Who is that? Are they okay?"

"You…don't recognise him?" Sora asked and then remembered what Naminé had said, everyone would have forgotten Riku. "It's Riku, Your Majesty. He was with you when we closed the Door. He helped by pulling it shut while Donald, Goofy, and I pushed from the outside. You don't remember him at all?" Sora pushed and the King frowned, moving closer.

"Well…there is…something. What happened?"

Sora glanced at Naminé and they began explaining everything that had happened in the Castle, Naminé explaining more about the people they'd been fighting; Organisation XIII? That did not sound good at all.

"This Castle is too useful to the Organisation. We should move this operation to my base," DiZ told them.

Once, Sora would have happily accepted that, but he was learning that not everyone who appeared helpful was. "Why?" he asked, all senses focused on the man, looking for any lies.

"To stop the Organisation from succeeding will need more than just your skills. If this Riku can fight too and the Organisation has already shown interest in him, he will be an asset."

Well, that was cold, but the truth as far as he could sense. He eyed the man as he went to look at the pods and how they worked, keeping his senses on him even as he turned to the King. "Do you know him?"

"Well, I'm not sure. Gotta feelin' that I've met him...somewhere..."

Well, that was comforting. "Hey. Who are you?" Sora called, and DiZ glanced at him.

"I could be nobody or anybody. It is up to you whether you choose to believe in me or not."

"Could you be anymore cryptic?" Sora grumbled; arms crossed.

"Sora, you will need to continue your work in dealing with the Heartless and learning more of the Organisations plans. You will need this," DiZ tossed something and Sora caught it easily.

He let the black fabric slip through his fingers, staring at the coat even as Mickey caught one as well. "One of their coats?"

"The Organization will pursue you. Like a pack of hunting dogs, they will sneak up on you if they sense your presence. However…this cloak that is worn by Nobodies will render their eyes and noses useless. The ears, not so... They wear this to give themselves protection from being devoured by darkness. Is it clear? Even the Organization cannot rule the darkness," the man explained.

"Okay…but why would we need them?"

"You have no ship; how did you plan on leaving this place?"

"Uhm…guess I hadn't considered that. I promised them I'd stay and keep them safe."

"They will be safest if you are travelling the Worlds. Naminé can open Corridors of Darkness for you to travel through and the coat will protect you."

Sora glanced at her and she watched DiZ nervously but nodded at Sora. The idea of travelling alone was not something he liked but if they would be safer with him out there leading the Organisation on a wild goose chase, then he'd do it. He'd need to figure out where Merlin had ended up when the Worlds were restored, see if he could get a new ship off Cid maybe. "Okay."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The entire team sent to Castle Oblivion had been destroyed, all but Axel. The whole experiment apparently ruined by the whole team turning traitor. They had at least collected more data to add to 'Xion', making it more useful and surprisingly, she had begun to take on the appearance of a person rather than the unformed puppet. Surprisingly, she did not look at all like Sora or even Riku, not even a female version of one of them. No…her appearance seemed more similar to the Princess.

The extra data from Riku had sharpened her fighting skills but didn't seem to have influenced her otherwise. They were hoping the mixture of information would allow her to manifest a Keyblade. Axel had admitted the plan had failed, Naminé not strong enough to effect Sora's memory, which meant that he would be suspicious of anything any of their members said, making him harder to manipulate. Then again…he was a rather simple child, so perhaps it wouldn't be all that hard.

They needed more recruits but what would be the best method?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DiZ watched the boy as they continued working to get everything set up in the basement of the old mansion on the outskirts of Twilight Town. The pods had been safely installed and Naminé had begun working to restore their memories. He had no time for any Nobody, but for the moment she was necessary and…he did not think the Keyblade wielder would allow him to end her 'existence'.

The boy was not what he had expected from the intelligence he had found on him. Then again, his travelling companions and best friend were all asleep and from the sound of it, the boy Riku had almost had his heart destroyed before they could get him into his pod. That would likely dampen anyone's spirits.

Once everything was set up fully, both he and the King would be leaving although they would likely return to check on their progress. Restoring the boy's memory would be especially difficult and time consuming considering he had lost everything but Naminé remained sure she could do it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sora stared at the pod where Riku slept, the room empty. He was wearing the coat with the hood down, ready to leave, but he couldn't without checking on the three of them. He'd saved Riku for last since his pod was in a separate room. He looked so peaceful just floating there.

"I have to leave for a while Riku, but I'll come back and check on you. Not that you'll notice I'm gone. I wish…I could still sleep, it'd make the time pass faster anyway. I'm going to try and find a ship so I can travel better, either that or see if there's a way I can make those corridor things, vampires are 'Dark' creatures after all. Or maybe Merlin knows another way. I have so much to tell you when you wake up, you and Kairi both. I just hope…"

"They won't turn their backs on you," a soft voice spoke, and he spun around, eyes wide.

"Naminé…I…"

"I know Sora," she smiled at him. "I couldn't change your memories but…I could see many of them. I know what happened to you and I think you're right, you might be able to open a corridor yourself with practice."

"You're not…scared of me?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"I'm a Nobody, are you scared of me?" she countered, and he laughed.

"Right, good point. Though you don't drink blood."

"True. Sora, I'm Kairi's Nobody, so when I say they won't turn their backs on you, I have a little more insight then most, even if I don't have her memories."

Sora stared at her in shock, she was Kairi's… but Kairi had never been a Heartless! No…but she had lost her heart, it had hidden in him, and then he'd used that Keyblade to free it, had that been what had created Naminé? "You look a lot like her," he admitted, it explained why they smelt alike too.

"Sora…what I offered Riku, he never got the chance to answer. Can you answer for him? Should I lock his Darkness and Ansem away?"

"What would that do to him?" He asked warily because there had to be a catch.

"He'd be as he was before," she answered, and he frowned in confusion before his eyes widened.

"You mean, he'd forget?"

She nodded, staring at the pod.

Sora placed his hand against it, closing his eyes, wishing there was some way for Riku to tell him how to answer. "I..I don't think he would. Riku's never run from trouble, he faces it. He'll face this too and beat it."

"Alright," she nodded, smiling at him, and Sora smiled back.

"Guess this is goodbye for a while."

"Be careful."

"I will," he promised as they left the room, glancing back once more before joining Mickey and DiZ. He didn't like the man and he could tell he wasn't being totally honest about everything, but they needed him at the moment.

"Ready Sora?" the King asked, and he nodded.

Naminé held her hand out, opening a Corridor, and Sora pulled his hood up, took a deep breath and stepped through, focusing on Hollow Bastion since that was the last place he'd seen Leon's group, it had been their home so hopefully they'd all been returned there, including Merlin.

TBC…

I got the whole lose all his memories and his heart being destroyed from the argument between Sora, Naminé, and Marluxia over her finishing wiping Sora's memories. For poor Riku, it was seconds away from reaching that point.

So Xion is made more of a combo of info gathered from both Sora and Riku at this point, rather than just Sora.