RIKU

All these worlds that exist, all their hope rests within this girl.

"So… what will happen to me in the end?" Mel asked.

Donald looked down as Goofy turned to him.

"Our goal…. Is to seal Kingdom Hearts forever. The Heartless goal is to control it. Either way…….."

"I lose my heart….." She said quietly.

No one said anything for the longest time. I just quietly walked away and leaned in my spot against the Paupou Tree.

At least when I lost myself to darkness….I didn't actually lose my heart.

I felt bad for her. I wished that if there was a way, I could change her fate.

"Well…. I did say my destiny was to help other worlds, didn't I?" She said cheerfully.

Inside her voice, I could hear it quiver. She was scared, and she had a right to be. No one wants to lose his or her heart. I felt some what protective over her now. It wasn't a 'have to do' thing now. I actually wanted to. She meant something to me, now. She was a friend. A new friend. I don't get one of those all the time and obviously she's never had any before. The sun began to set and still the silence remained. No one wanted to talk about losing hearts; it's not a nice thing to experience or witness. I witnessed it many times, with out being able to turn away. When I was in control of myself, when Ansem had taken over me, I had to almost witness Sora's heart being taken by my own hands. That scene has never left my mind. In fact when I try to sleep, that is one of the many things that replay over and over in my mind. I heard the sound of thunder and turned around. A big storm was coming from the southwest.

SORA

I didn't know what to say.

How can she be so cheerful about her Fate?

I glanced down at Kairi beside me. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. She was scared for Mel, just as I was. I felt Kairi's hand slip into mine. I carefully watched Mel. Her eyes met mine. She was smiling, but her eyes were filled with fear.

"So….how long are you two going to stay here?" I asked Donald and Goofy.

"I don't know…. a day or two… then the five of us have to leave for a few worlds in need." Goofy replied.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, don't worry about us. We'll sleep in the gummy ship." Donald replied.

I turned to look at Mel, but she was not there. Instead she was leaning against the palm tree next to Riku. They were both watching the sunset. Axel was over there comforting her and Riku was watching them.

RIKU

Her icy colored eyes glowed in the sunset. She had her arms wrapped around her and her head was against the trunk of the tree. Axel was trying to comfort her, but her eyes seemed to glaze over. She wasn't paying attention.

MEL

Look where all this wishing and believing has got me. It has sealed my fate with Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all the worlds. My Destiny is now inevitable.

I could hear the thunder drawing nearer but I didn't move. I could hear Axel's voice but I could not comprehend what he was saying.

This is no longer a dream come true. This is a nightmare.

KAIRI

I was scared for Mel. If I had a fate where I lose my heart and I don't get it back…. I don't know what I would do. I would try to run away with Sora if I had to. I wouldn't be able to live without him.

I wonder if she has someone that she can't live without? Probably not since everyone she knew in her world disappeared.

SORA

"So what did you mean by the five of us?" I asked.

"Well… I mean you, Melody, Riku, Goofy, and me."

Axel was suddenly right next to me.

"What about me? I'm her…."

"Organization Thirteen!!" Goofy cried.

"No, it's okay. He's not with them anymore. Besides he's not wearing the cloak. He's Mel's guardian." I explained.

"Oh… well we have a much bigger gummi ship now…I think we can fit one more person into it." Donald said.

Donald is more lenient when it comes to the gummi ship and his missions. Thunder rumbled and we looked up to the southeast. A huge storm was brewing and coming our way.

"Maybe we should hurry and go back to the village and take cover. It looks like it is going to last awhile." I suggested.

Kairi nodded and Axel walked over to Riku.

RIKU

"Hey man, we're going because that storm is about to hit." Axel said.

I silently nodded; my eyes never left Mel. She continued to stand there, staring out towards the sunset. Axel walked to her and whispered in her ear. She shook her head.

"Mel, the storm is coming. We need to get off this island." He said a little louder.

Her eyes never changed; she just slightly shook her head 'no'. She didn't want to move. She didn't want to leave. She was too petrified. The wind began to pick up, but Axel could not get her to move.

"Just go ahead, I'll get her!" I yelled over the wind.

Axel nodded and ran off with Sora and Kairi. Donald and Goofy had already left to the gummi ship. Rain began to sprinkle down on us.

"Mel! Come on! We've got to go!" I said.

She turned and looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"Everything that I've ever believed in…. it has only led me to my Fate!" She said.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my chest.

I hate doing this….

MEL

I buried my face in his chest and cried. Wind blew my hair everywhere and Riku's did too. My tears turned to mud as sand and dirt was blown everywhere. Riku wiped away my tears.

"Are you done now?" He asked impatiently.

I hated crying in front of people….but there has been so much that I had to take in. I smiled and nodded.

"Okay… try to keep up." Then he held on to my wrist and dragged me away.

He dragged me all the way to the dock and then basically threw me into his boat. He untied it and then we sped off to the village. We met everyone at Kairi's house and decided to all bunk there. It was, after all, a hurricane and we didn't want to get separated. Kairi and I shared her king size bed and all the guys slept on the floor.

All night I tossed and I turned. I had nightmares of dark creatures taking my heart away and unlocking Kingdom Hearts. Then I had a dream of my friends taking my heart and sealing Kingdom Hearts. I would wake up every thirty minutes or so.

Finally, I woke up and could not go back to sleep. I sat up in bed and looked around the room. Everyone else was asleep.

Lucky dogs…

The wind and rain still pounded against the window. I heard a sudden snore and saw Sora's feet twitching. I quietly giggled. Axel was curled around his pillow and Riku slept alone in a corner of the room. His head was resting against the wall, his eyes closed. Through my mind, different thoughts rummaged around, all of them screaming at me. I massaged my temples because a headache began to brew.

"Hey."

I turned my head and scanned across the room but Kairi, Sora, and Axel were out of it. My eyes turned to Riku who sat in the corner in front of me. Riku was watching me in the dark; his eyes seemed to glow.

"Hey." I answered back.

"Can't you get to sleep?" He asked quietly.

I shook my head.

"What about you?" I whispered.

He made a slight smile and scoffed.

"I don't sleep…"

"Why not?"

"Because…. I don't… I don't want to fall again."

"Darkness…"

"Yes. I can never forgive myself for what I did to Sora…"

"But a lot of that wasn't you fault."

"Sure it was. I gave my heart up to darkness. All of it was my fault."

I gently crawled off the bed and sat in front of Riku.

"I think you need to ask Sora for forgiveness." I said softly.

"That's not your place to decide."

"I'm sorry…. I, as a friend, was just giving you some advice…"

"I didn't ask for advice….nor a friend." He said sternly.

I looked down at the wooden floor. Tears built up in my eyes. I wasn't trying to control his life, I just wanted him to be happier.

"Okay… why do you chase away the people that care for you? Sora, Kairi?"

Riku just looked down.

"That's just my nature…." He whispered.

His face was hidden behind his silver hair.

"No…. It's not your nature. Your heart may still have a lot of darkness left, but there is still a light. I see it; Sora sees it; Kairi sees it; even Axel sees it. You just need to find it for yourself."

Riku looked down at the floor.

RIKU

My reasoning for what I do is because I don't want to hurt my friends anymore. I was close to Sora and I turned against him. I basically betrayed him. I never want to have that guilty feeling in my heart again. I want to keep my friends, but I don't want to hurt them as much as I have in the past.

"Well Peaches," I finally said, "Obviously you don't know me as well as you thought."

"Riku…."

I turned away from her and rested my forehead on the wall. I hated this. I hated all of this. She's a really cool person. I like her a lot. She reminds me so much of Sora, but at the same time she's her own interesting person…. But this…. This darkness inside of me….. inside my heart. I don't think I can contain it much longer. It's going to come out and I'm not going to be able to control it…. I did hear my conscience speaking to me though or perhaps it was the light in my heart.

Just tell her the truth. You need her.

"Riku…. The more the light shines through you, you pretend to close your eyes. The more the dark consumes you, you pretend you're burning bright. The light in your heart can never burn out."

"Peaches…."

I looked up at her and made myself smile.

MEL

He looked at me and forced a smile, though I smiled right back.

"….What? Is that my new nickname now?" I asked.

He actually smiled and put his hand to the back of his head.

"Yeah, I guess. But…. Thanks. I… I just haven't been myself since…. You know…"

"Yes. I understand." I whispered softly.
"I just don't want to hurt anyone anymore."

"So…. You think by pushing away the people that care about you is not hurting them anyway?"

He lowered his eyes, but I crawled closer and lifted his chin so I could see into his eyes.

"Riku…. You need your friends. You may not consider me a friend and I'm not asking you to. Sora and Kairi are your friends and they need you just as much as you need them. They may not say it, but their hearts do. If it weren't for you Riku, Sora would not have made it defeating Xemnas alone. Also you were the reason why Sora went up against the Ansem look-alike. Sure, he wanted to keep Kairi safe, but she was back in Traverse Town. He came back for you. Other people told him to defeat Ansem because all the worlds would go back to normal, but he did it because he wanted you back as a friend."

Riku's eyes left mine and fell on Sora, who was still lightly snoring.

"He…..did all that…. For me?"

"Yes. Even after all that you did to him, he still cared about you. You're his best friend."

Riku blinked his eyes a few times.

"He's my best friend, too."

RIKU

I knew that I was Sora's best friend and he knows he's mine, but I never knew he did all those things for me. I didn't realize… even when he cried at my feet. All I said was 'Come on, Sora. Knock it off.'. He was talking about how he had looked everywhere for me. He didn't cry when he had finally found Kairi, the girl he loves. In fact, he didn't even hug her until she hugged him first. But he cried for me. How could I have been so….so heartless?

It's the darkness within you.

I felt my eyes whelp up again but I was not going to cry, especially not in front of Mel. I blinked a few more times and focused on her eyes. They were glowing a bright icy blue. She smiled kindly at me. I smiled back.

"Thanks, Peaches…. For everything….. again…"

"Your welcome. Don't ever forget the light in your heart, again…."

I began to laugh.

"No, mean it…." she said with a giggle, " Well… goodnight Riku. At least try to rest your eyes or something…."

"Why? Do they look that bad?"

"Well…. No… but I'm sure you're still tired from staying up all the time…"

"Nah. I'm sort of used to it now."

She shrugged and crawled onto the bed then laid down. The rain continued to patter against the window.

"Peaches…" I began but I had no reply, "Mel?"

Still, nothing but silence and the sound of the rain and thunder.

"Melody!" I hissed, but she was out cold.

I laughed and carefully stood up. Mel was curled into a tiny ball with her back to Kairi. A small smile was on her face.

Helping other people obviously helps her too.

I could hear her voice still running through my head.

"There's a light that never goes out. You just have to find it for yourself."

Well…. Thanks to her…. I think I've found it.