Chapter 14: Snarl of Memories

Finally, after making it to the right world, he found her in almost no time flat.

"Kairi," he whispered, running over to her. She sat up against some random wall, barely conscious. He knelt down next to her, gently placing a hand underneath her head. He sat there contemplating on whether or not he should wake her.

"Kairi," he said. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Sora?" she asked, sounding both relieved and surprised at the same time. "You're okay!"

He smiled. "I'm just glad you're okay! Took me forever to find you."

xxx

They stepped out of the Dark Corridor, Namine leaning against Riku for support, due to the headache returning. Flashes of those odd memories would come and go, rather quickly. She was looking forward to taking a nap, so the memories would just be dreams and hurt less. Riku paused though.

"Hang on…" he said, looking around. "This isn't Traverse Town…"

"Where are we?" Namine asked, voice tired.

"Twilight Town" Riku replied, reading a nearby sign.

"New world, huh?"

"I feel like I've been here before…" he said. "The memory's too faint though."

"Memory…" Namine whispered. In response to that, fuzzy images of the same town flickered at the back of her mind. The memories were quick and angry. She grimaced. The images she could handle. The pain that accompanied them… not so much.

Riku glanced over at Namine. "Come on," he said. "Let's get you back to Traverse Town."

"I'm fine," she mumbled, even though she didn't quite feel fine. "If this is a new world, we should look around, right?"

"I can come back," Riku told her. "You really need the rest."

Namine looked up, and then sighed. "Riku, it's going to have to wait."

"Hmm?" Riku asked, following her gaze. "Oh," he muttered, noticing what she had noticed. Or rather, who she had noticed. Yeah, sure, they were looking for Sora, but that didn't mean Riku was all too happy about running into him. Especially considering what had happened the past few times they had run into each other.

"Not happy to see me?" Sora asked. "Let me know if I'm getting in the way – you know, of something more important." He glanced over at Namine as he said the last part, a glare forming in his eyes.

Riku scowled. "Well, maybe it would be nice talking to you if you stopped yelling at me," he replied curtly. His voice was calm as he said this, but the anger inside of him was bubbling. "Do you think you can stand?" he asked Namine quietly. She nodded, and he let go of her. She stumbled for a second, but managed to stay standing. How, exactly, she wasn't sure, as the memories were getting quicker now.

"Is she alright?" Sora asked, the anger in his voice dropping a notch. He actually sounded worried.

"Just a headache," Namine replied before Riku could say anything. The memories flared up faster though, responding to Sora's change in tone. She squeezed her eyes shut, so she was only seeing the memories. It put less pain on her, as the memories and the real world stopped colliding together.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Riku asked, reaching out and squeezing her hand.

She nodded, though she instantly regretted it. She wouldn't be able to hold up much longer.

"Riku!" someone called. "Namine!"

Riku looked up, not believing his ears for a second. Namine dared to open her eyes, as the memories had started dying down.

"Kairi!" they both said at once. Kairi laughed, running up to them.

"It's good to see you guys!" she said. "I didn't know if you were okay or not!"

"Really?" Riku asked, turning to look at Sora. "You didn't tell her?"

"It slipped my mind…" Sora muttered lamely.

"You didn't even mention you had found her!" Riku said, voice rising slightly with anger. "Did you even stop to think about what would happen when you didn't say? We just would have started fighting again. And Kairi would have been worried sick!"

"Riku, really, it's-" Kairi started to say.

"You don't even sound happy that I found her," Sora said.

"I just don't get what your problem is," Riku said. "You storm out of the world we last met in, insisting that you would find Kairi on your own. Well, you found her. Now what? Can't we all go home?"

"Our home was destroyed!" Sora shouted.

"Yeah, thanks to you."

Namine, who had been taking small steps away from the group while Sora and Riku were arguing, slowly sat down. The more Sora and Riku fought, the more frantic the memories would get. She rubbed her head. The memories she were seeing were of Sora and Riku fighting, and they were quite confusing.

"You okay?" Kairi asked, sitting down next to her.

"Just a headache," Namine replied again.

"How long have they been fighting like this?" Kairi asked, lowering her voice.

"Awhile," Namine said. "Sora's got it in his head that Riku doesn't care about anyone but me."

"That's ridiculous!" Kairi laughed. "I mean, I know Riku cares about you more, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care at all."

"Try telling Sora that…" Namine whispered. The memories were a bit less frantic now, but she was definitely more tired.

"Sora!" Kairi gasped suddenly. Sora had drawn his Keyblade on Riku.

"You'd rather fight me?" Riku shouted. "What good's that gonna do for you?" He glared at Sora, though his eyes darted to the Keyblade for a second. The cracks in it had gotten worse. Instead of just one, there were about three, all in different sections of the blade. "I thought we were friends!"

"Please, Riku, when have you ever cared about me?"

The memories flared up inside Namine as Sora said that. Flashes of battle, and Sora and Riku arguing. They were quicker. And now voices accompanied the memories. They were hard to make out, but soon they were a deafening roar in her ears. She gasped, clutching her head in pain. "Stop…" she muttered, but who she was talking to was unclear.

"Riku!" Kairi shouted.

Riku turned, as did Sora. Sora's Keyblade vanished from his hand, as Riku rushed over to Namine.

"You are not alright," he muttered, picking her up. "We're going back to Traverse Town. Now."

"No," Namine whispered. "I'm fine…"

Kairi turned to Sora. "Are you coming?" she asked. He didn't respond.

"Wait!" Namine cried, as Riku opened a Dark Corridor. She turned and looked at Kairi, frantic. "Kairi, you need to stay with Sora. Please! And I'm sorry-"

Riku had stepped through the Dark Corridor by this point, and it closed behind them.

"I wasn't… done…" Namine whispered, now sounding more tired than ever.

"You need to rest," Riku told her, setting her down on her bed in the room Leon had provided her.