The Road to Dawn
By Ariana Aislinn
Chapter 31: A Restless Vigil

Thank you to my tireless beta-reader, Megumi! This chapter was a little tricky at first, but it really came through. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Standard disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix and Disney, not me.

Riku stumbled through the portal into blessed coolness. There was solid stone under his feet, and everything was wonderfully dark. He staggered to a stop, straightening and taking a deep breath. He was still drenched from Demyx's water spell, but at least he could see once more without wincing in pain.

The portal rippled, and DiZ walked through, gesturing quickly to dispel the portal. He looked around in the darkness, sighing. "Well," he said slowly, "it seems we have succeeded - to a degree."

"Yeah," Riku muttered. "The islands are safe…but Demyx knows something."

"Perhaps, yes," said DiZ, "but with luck he will be unable to use it. We cannot be sure how much he overheard, and even what little we know is not enough to cause damage on its own. Be grateful for small blessings, Riku. Your friends and family are safe now, too, and that is no small blessing at all."

Riku just nodded, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. "…Yeah. They're safe. That's all that matters…for now."

DiZ was, thankfully, silent for a moment, walking past Riku and up some nearby steps.

"Hey, where are we?" Riku asked as soon as he had gotten control over his voice.

"We should be in the wine cellar at Disney Castle," DiZ told him. Riku could hear the slight smile in his voice. "I thought it might be best, since you had lost your blindfold."

"Yeah, thanks," Riku said wryly. He rummaged in the pocket of his coat, pulling out a spare blindfold. It was somewhat damp, but it would do. He tied it tightly around his temples. "Well, let's go report in."

"Yes." DiZ nodded. "King Mickey will want to know if we were successful. I would also like to consult with him; it concerns me that Darkside did not appear to be on the islands."

"Darkside?"

"Yes, the leader of Organization Thirteen. He was there when I investigated the other night, but he was not one of the three men we saw. Perhaps Mickey will have some insight. Then, after we speak with the king, I shall return to Twilight Town to see to the others. I must know if the memory restoration succeeded as planned."

Riku frowned. DiZ had explained about the girls' memories - in a way. All Riku really understood was that Naminé and Kairi had both lost their memories when they were very small, and Roxas was somehow the key to restoring them. DiZ sounded very casual about it all, but Riku couldn't help but feel uneasy about the whole idea. Even if it worked exactly as planned, it would change a great deal for both of them. He knew he wouldn't want to be in their positions.

The wine cellar opened into the kitchens, which were alive with the morning's activity. A flour-covered cook, after recovering from her initial shock, directed the two of them up the stairs and down the appropriate hallway to find the wing where the guest rooms were located.

"I shall report to King Mickey," DiZ told Riku. "You should go and change clothes; I'm sure he will not mind waiting. We will see you when you are refreshed."

"Okay." Riku nodded gratefully; he needed a few moments to himself anyway, and he had to admit that sopping wet leather was not a pleasant thing to be wearing. "I'll see you in a little bit, then." The two went their separate ways, and Riku headed off down the hallway to his own room. Closing the door and locking it behind him, he flung his wet things in a corner and rummaged through the closet for something clean and dry.

Riku had barely had time to pull on a fresh, sleeveless black shirt and dusky blue pants when there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" he called, trying to hide his exasperation.

"It's DiZ," came the reply, and Riku froze. It was very unlike DiZ to sound so…unsettled. He hurriedly crossed the room and unlocked the door, opening it to look up at the man's bandaged face. DiZ dropped his eyes to the floor - that was especially strange. He seldom had difficulty meeting another person's gaze.

"What's the matter?" Riku asked, worry rising within him. "What happened?"

"Kairi and Naminé have returned already," he said. "Roxas…is not with them. No one is entirely sure what happened, but they were found sprawled in the middle of the hallway last night. They have not woken since."

Riku stiffened, a pit opening up in his stomach. "Where are they?" he demanded, but DiZ was already leading the way. Riku followed, not even bothering to close his door behind him.

A room had not yet been prepared for Kairi, so the castle servants had made up a cot for her in Naminé's room. His heart pounding, Riku pushed open the door. Naminé lay in her bed, the covers drawn up tightly around her, but Kairi was sprawled on the cot and tangled in her blankets, shivering in her sleep. Riku sank to his knees on the floor between the two of them, reaching out a hand on either side to feel their foreheads. There seemed to be no fever, but something was definitely wrong. "What's happened to them?" he demanded, almost frantically.

DiZ moved into the room, closing the door behind him. Leaning down, he touched a hand to Kairi's cheek. "Hmm," he mused, his voice unreadable. "It seems that they were in a hurry when they returned here. Roxas must have made a portal for them - I did not realize he knew how to do so on his own yet. It takes a great deal of practice and study. Still, he would have known better than to send them without a duskcloak. Naminé is somewhat less susceptible to the ill effects of passing through twilight, as she is from the Twilight World, but Kairi…" DiZ shook his head.

Riku rounded on him, his voice seething. "How can you stand there and be so calm about this? What's going to happen to them? Come on, tell me!"

DiZ held up a hand, his brow furrowing beneath the bandages. "Relax, my friend. They are in no serious danger. It may take some time for them to recover, but I have some knowledge that can help them heal faster. The powers of twilight are not to be taken lightly, and they must have been in a great hurry indeed to take such a risk - or for Roxas to allow them to take it." He frowned deeply. "I am more worried about Roxas and his whereabouts, I must admit."

Riku scowled. Truth be told, he couldn't care less about Roxas. As far as he was concerned, it was that kid's fault that this had happened to the girls, whatever it was. Riku sighed heavily, sinking back to his knees, his head hanging. "So…there's no way to know what happened to them?"

DiZ shook his head. "Not until they awake, no." He stopped, watching Riku for a moment. "I have not yet made my report to King Mickey; I was intercepted by a guard before I could reach the library. There is no need for you to go, however. I shall send someone with food and blankets, if you would like to stay here."

Riku looked up at the man and nodded, forgiving much in that instant. They exchanged a glance, and understanding passed between them. DiZ knew that Riku could not leave this room until he was sure that both Kairi and Naminé would be all right.

The other man left, closing the door firmly behind him, and Riku allowed his head to drop. Tears stung his eyes, and, uncharacteristically, he allowed them to fall. "All my fault," he muttered. "If I'd just gone with them…or convinced them not to go at all…" He punched the carpet with his fist. "Damn! I knew it was a mistake!"

It was not long before a servant brought the blankets. A humanoid feline, she seemed about to ask if Riku needed anything else, but the look on his face must have been fierce, for she practically fled from the room. Heaving a sigh, Riku made up a pallet for himself on the floor between the two girls, then leaned over to check on each of them in turn. Naminé seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but Kairi whimpered softly. Riku gently disentangled her limbs from the blankets, tucking the covers carefully around her, but she soon shook them off again, thrashing in her sleep. Riku sighed, sinking down to sit on his pallet with his back against Naminé's bed, his knees drawn up to his chest.

Riku had been pleasantly surprised at his ability to take on so many Nobodies at once, but the fact of the matter was that he was still recovering, and he had stayed up all night preparing for the attack. He dozed off in a fitful rest, plagued by unsettling dreams that dragged him back from slumber, then vanished in an instant when he came awake for a moment, unable to remember what had made him so uneasy. The cycle of dreaming and waking halfway continued for some time.

Though none of it could truly be called restful, Riku must have slept for a long time. It had been midmorning when he and DiZ had returned from Destiny Islands, but when Riku finally awoke completely, it was full night. The lamp on the desk was lit, casting its soft, golden glow over the room. By the door sat a plate with a sandwich on it; there was also an apple and a pitcher of water.

Riku ignored the food for the moment, going to check on the girls. Both were still, though Kairi moaned softly when he touched her forehead. He stood back, staring helplessly, wishing he knew what else to do.

Suddenly Naminé cried out softly in her sleep, throwing back the covers. "No," she murmured, her voice almost childlike in its fear, "I won't! I won't take her memory!"

Riku touched her hand, and Naminé grasped his tightly in return. He winced slightly as her nails dug into his skin. "What made you do it, Naminé? Why would you use your powers like that?" His expression softened. "Who would make you do it?"

He knew who, though. It was the Organization - those damned manipulators who had put him through so much during his visit to Castle Oblivion. Granted, a good deal of that had been DiZ, but it wasn't what had happened to Riku that bothered him so much as what the Organization had done to Naminé, and to Sora, for that matter. No matter which way he turned, he could see Organization Thirteen's hand in everything. What were they really after…and was there a way to stop them?

Naminé's painful grip on his hand slackened, and her breathing steadied. Riku carefully extricated his hand from her grasp and settled back with a sigh. What was going on, anyway? It upset him to see his two friends in this state, and although DiZ seemed sure they'd be all right, that wasn't enough for Riku.

He half-heartedly ate part of the sandwich and a few bites of apple before dozing off again, but he couldn't really say that he slept. It seemed that every flicker of the lamp brought him awake again, and he found himself mostly drowsing, listening to the sound of the two girls breathing softly.

After a while, Kairi let out a moan and curled in on herself, huddling in a shivering ball on the cot and whimpering softly. Immediately roused from what little sleep he'd managed to get, Riku shook himself awake and knelt next to the cot, leaning over his friend.

Kairi was shaking rather violently now, which worried Riku. Should he fetch DiZ? He grasped Kairi's shoulder, shaking her gently. He jerked back, however, when her eyes flew open, and she lifted her head to look wildly around the room.

"Kairi? Kairi, calm down, it's okay! You're safe. Just relax, all right?"

She propped herself up awkwardly on one elbow, her teeth chattering and her eyes wide. "Where…where am I?" she gasped. She stared at Riku, but she didn't really seem to see him. He wondered just how awake she really was.

"You're back at the castle. You're sick, kind of, so just take it easy, okay?"

"Castle…?" Kairi squeezed her eyes shut, shivering. "It's…buzzing. In my head…won't stop."

"DiZ said it was the twilight. You went through a portal unprotected."

Scrambling to his feet, Riku grabbed the pitcher of water and poured a glass for Kairi, holding it to her lips. She drank unsteadily, coughing a bit before collapsing back onto the cot. "…Hurts," she murmured softly. "Won't stop humming. Is this…what Sora felt?"

Riku frowned. "Sora? What do you mean?"

"Went through twilight…no cloak. He…had to fight that way, and…" She whimpered again, squeezing her eyes tightly shut so that tears trickled from them.

"Wait - you saw Sora?" Riku's eyes widened. "What happened? Where is he now?"

Whatever hold Kairi had on consciousness seemed to be drifting away. Her eyes remained closed as she spoke. "Gone," she said, her voice shaking. "Here." She pressed a hand to her chest, shuddering. Her breath caught, then steadied. As Riku watched, the tension in her body seemed to lessen, and her breathing slowed. Sleep seemed to have claimed her once more - and for the moment, at least, it appeared to be restful.

Sighing in worry and frustration, Riku set the half-empty glass back on the table. Returning to his seated position on his pallet, he watched Kairi carefully. Minutes passed, and there was no sound or movement aside from her steady breathing. After a while, Riku found his own breath slowing to match, and before long he'd drifted off as well.

There you go! Hope you enjoyed it! More coming up soon...just as soon as I can get chapter 32 beta read. Can't say how long that will be, but please be patient! It'll be worth it!