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Thanks so much Mystics Apprentice :)

Chapter Eleven: Trust Me

I stumbled out of a pearly white portal once again. The ground swam in front of my eyes, which prevented me from being able to focus.

Those time portals were the most annoying things I had ever stepped foot in. I literally couldn't keep my balance after being inside one of them! So, I found myself again on my knees, waiting for my dizziness to pass. At the moment I honestly thought that if I had to go through one more of them I was likely going to pull my hair out…

Well, not literally.

But, despite how much I hated the portals, we had to leave that time period. There was no point in staying in the future time era where Xehanort was, and all the scientists that had lived in the future had been quite eager to leave as well. So here we all were, in Radiant Garden, in who knew what time period. It couldn't be far in the future, though, if all the worlds really were being destroyed. Everything around us was in nice shape. Maybe we were in some point in the past? That would probably make the most sense. In my own time, Leon and his friends were still rebuilding it. So it wasn't in the best of shapes yet.

Grumbling under my breath, I stood up, and stared around the square we were in. Radiant Garden looked pretty nice when it was fully restored. Kairi would've loved it.

I glanced back over my shoulder as Riku came through the portal behind me. It was his turn to stumble onto the stone-paved walk! I quickly jumped back out of the way, remembering what had happened the last time I had stood still after going through one of those portals. I had been knocked flat! And that had hurt! Somehow or another, though, Riku remained on his feet. I'm not sure how he did it, I kept trying to every time we went through a portal, and so far hadn't managed.

Scowling, I turned back around, waiting for everyone else to join us. I still couldn't believe that we had lost Kairi again. I was really beginning to wonder if helping Xehanort would be the only way to get her back. Which obviously wasn't an option. There had to be another way. Probably if everyone had jumped on Xehanort at the same time we could've won against him.

I turned back around to face my companions as the last of them came through. The time portals seemed to affect some people worse than others, and those that faired better just didn't make any sense. I mean, Even, Ienzo, Riku, Aqua and myself were affected the worst, whereas Peter and his fellow scientists were hardly put down at all. I shook my head, puzzled.

"So! What are we doing now?" Even inquired crossly, eyeing Ienzo, as though he expected the teen to come up with a magic idea.

The steel-haired Clocked Schemer stood with his arms crossed, gazing out at the street. He seemed to be thinking hard. I had no good suggestion myself, besides hunting down Xehanort, stopping him from destroying the worlds, and getting Kairi back. But at the moment I didn't think that any of those suggestions would help, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Hey, Isa?" Lea began, pacing forward a few steps, and addressing his blue-haired friend. "Isn't this our home world?"

Isa frowned. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is."

"Goody! Then let's go get some ice cream!" Lea exclaimed, grinning at the rest of us. "Everyone here like sea-salt ice cream?"

"Sure, let's—" I paused, frowning thoughtfully. I then shook my head to clear it. I'd never had any ice cream that was called that before…had I?

"That's great! Just great!" Even cried, throwing his arms up in frustration. "Let us all just go flouncing off! Eating ice cream! Yes, that'll solve all of our problems!"

"Well then, what do you suggest we do, Even?" Ienzo asked the scientist; the slight edge to his tone suggested he was becoming impatient with the platinum-blond.

The scientist frowned, glaring at the street. "Well… I'm going home."

"Oh, come on, Even," his brother pleaded. "Don't be such a party pooper."

"I just…oh, alright." Letting out a faint sigh, the scientist turned around to face all of us again.

So, with that settled, we all followed Lea and Isa down the streets. The only people who weren't coming with us were Peter and his fellow scientists, except for David. I didn't know what the other scientists' names were, so I was just referring to them as 'the other scientists,' since it was the easiest to remember. They had all wanted to locate their homes.

We ended up in front of a small stand where a familiar short figure stood selling sea-salt ice cream. I grinned upon recognizing him.

"Hiya, Scrooge McDuck," I said bending down so that he and I were about eye level with each other.

"Why hello there, wouldja like some ice cream?" the duck asked me, smiling.

Ugh, I thought, feeling my shoulders sag. He didn't remember me. But we couldn't be too far from my time if Scrooge was around.

…

At the moment we were all walking down a random street eating ice cream. A few people hadn't gotten any, though, such as Xaldin and Marluxia. Even had grumbled a ton, but in the end he too had gotten a stick of the ice cream that was between sweet and salty.

It was really good. But it tasted familiar, though I never remembered having any before. Had Roxas had it? That would be the only thing that could make sense.

Once everyone had finished their ice creams, we all paused in our meaningless walking. As Even and Ienzo began discussing things, I went over and sat down on a bench beside the Organization's number IX. He had pulled out his sitar and was strumming on it absentmindedly while he stared into space.

"Hi, Sora," he said, grinning at me as I sat down as well.

"Hi," I replied, returning the smile with a bit less enthusiasm.

While Demyx continued strumming away at his sitar, most of the others discussed what time period we were in. I sat watching the other side of the street. Many people kept coming and going on it. While a woman bustled three children into a large building, I noticed another man begin working his way along the street. At first I didn't think anything of it, but when I gave him a second glance my eyes widened in surprise. Was that…Merlin?

I stood up quickly and walked across the street, to see if it truly was him.

It was.

"Merlin!" I exclaimed, running over the elderly wizard. "What are you doing here? Do you remember me?"

The man turned his gaze onto me and frowned. "No, I can't say that I do. What is your name?"

"Sora," I muttered grumpily. Darn, if he had known who I was, he could've been a huge help.

"It is nice to meet you, Sora, but now I need to be going." Merlin turned back around and began walking away. I watched him round the corner, before I then ran to catch up with him. He didn't know who I was, but that didn't mean he couldn't help us.

"Wait! Merlin?" I yelled running up behind him.

"What is it now?" the wizard asked grumpily. He sure seemed to be in a hurry, wherever he was headed.

"I just—" I began, but was cut off by Riku yelling my name from somewhere behind me.

"There you are," Riku said, walking up. Upon noticing Merlin, he stopped and smiled. "Hey, aren't you Merlin?"

Merlin turned his gaze on my silver-haired friend and scowled. "What is it with you two? How do you both know my name?"

"Well," Riku began. His turquoise eyes met mine, as I'm pretty sure we were both wondering the same thing: was it safe to tell Merlin the truth? After a moment I shrugged. So Riku explained.

And guess what? The wizard actually believed us!

"Interesting," Merlin said, briefly rubbing his chin. Then his eyes lit up. "Would you happen to know two teenagers named Xion and Vanitas?"

I frowned, before shaking my head. I had never met anyone under either of those names. But then I glanced at Riku in surprise, as he slowly jerked his head in assent.

"Huh? Riku?" I asked, my eyes wide. He knew them?

"Do you know where they went, Merlin?" Riku asked cautiously, his gaze unreadable. "I—I need to find them."

"No, sorry, young man," Merlin said apologetically.

I frowned at Riku. What did he need to tell them? Would they help us?

"Why, Riku? Do you think they'd help us?" I asked, putting my thoughts into words.

Riku looked down, a funny expression on his face. "I just… There's something I need to tell Xion."

"…Oh." Hmm, what was he up to? I guess I would just have to wait and see.

Suddenly the expression on Riku's face cleared as his eyes lit up. "I think I know where I can find them!"

"Uh… Cool?" I asked uncertainly, tilting my head to the side. "I guess?"

With that, Riku turned around and strode quickly down the street. I guess he was going back to join the rest of the group. I watched him go until he was out of sight. After a moment I ran after him, only to stop at the corner and grin at Merlin.

"Bye, Merlin. I, uh—guess I'll see you later," I yelled back to him, before running around the corner to find Riku and the rest of my traveling companions.

As I walked up I saw Riku speaking to Ienzo. The steel-haired teen frowned and nodded before extending a palm and opening a portal. It was a regular one. Frowning, I ran up.

"Hey, Riku!" I yelled as I drew closer. "Wait!"

Riku turned to face me, his foot an inch from the portal.

"I'll come, too." I went over to stand right beside him. However, as I made a motion to go inside it, Riku placed a hand on my shoulder, halting me mid-step. I looked up at him, surprised.

"Thanks, Sora," Riku said, offering me a bitter smile. "But I need to do this on my own."

"Oh… You sure?" I asked. Riku nodded. "Well, alright. Uh, I'll see you later!"

Riku nodded and left through the portal. I watched him until it closed, and my best friend disappeared from view.

…

Xion had always liked Twilight Town. More often times than not I'd find her there—sitting up on the clock tower, watching the sunset.

I stepped out of the portal, and into the twilit town. I glanced around briefly before heading towards the area of the clock tower.

I'd been here often while working for DiZ, so it didn't take me long to find the right place. Just as I was about to round the corner I heard a pair of voices coming in my direction. I paused and quickly slid behind a building and out of sight. I didn't know anything about this 'Vanitas' person who was supposed to be traveling with her, so I had decided to play it safe. I…just got the feeling that he had something to do with Xehanort.

I watched as someone with jet-black hair passed by me. I couldn't help but grin amusedly; he really did look just like Sora, only with yellow eyes and black hair. It gave him an evil appearance. Hmm, an evil Sora…now that would be freaky.

As Xion began to pass by right in front of me, I tapped her arm before stepping back once again.

Xion jumped and looked around confusedly. Once she had spotted me, her eyes widened in surprise. I motioned for her to come, who only frowned in response. She then turned to face the dark-haired Sora named Vanitas.

"Umm, Vanitas?" she began, catching the attention of her companion. "You go on without me. I—I'll be there in a sec."

"Alright," her companion said, appearing quite befuddled, before walking on.

I waited until he was out of sight, before walking over to her.

"Hi," I greeted, smiling. "It's been awhile."

Xion returned the smile. "Hi, Riku. What are you doing here? How's Sora?"

"Sora's fine." I frowned, seriousness replacing my friendly air. "I came to talk to you."

"About what?" Xion asked curiously, tilting her head to the side, her ebony locks brushing against her neck.

"You're helping Xehanort…right?" I asked. Her eyes widened before she looked away. She was helping him, as I had thought.

"Yes," she told me after a moment.

"Xehanort is Xemnas's Somebody," I said, watching her expression. She nodded. "They both want the same thing. I'm not sure what he's told you, but I am sure that it was a lie. He has a good friend of mine locked up…Kairi."

Xion looked down, uncertainty clouding her gaze. Did she believe me?

"Are you sure that Xehanort isn't wanting something different?" Xion asked after a moment, without glancing my way.

"Yes," I answered. "Xehanort is up to no good. Trust me."

Xion finally glanced up, eyes widened to the size of sand-dollars. For one tense moment our eyes locked, before the small girl nodded in assent. "I trust you, Riku."

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I couldn't figure out why, but it slightly disturbed me to think of Xion as our written enemy. "Good," I said. "Xion, if you'd want to help us, you'd be welcomed on our side."

Xion looked surprised. "Really?"

I nodded, before stealing a look around, surveying the way the town used to look. It actually was pretty much the same.

"I—I know where Kairi is."

I looked at Xion. It was my turn to be surprised. "You do?"

"Yes." Xion nodded, she was beginning to look more certain of herself. "I saw Xehanort about an hour ago, and he told me what time period he had moved to."

"Where is she?" I asked. "I need to find her."

"How about we go rescue her tomorrow?" she suggested.

I hesitated. "Couldn't we today?"

Xion shook her head. "No… I'm sorry. But I need to speak to Vanitas first… Is that okay?"

I nodded, a hesitant smile curving the edges of my mouth. "Alright, we'll go tomorrow. I'll wait in a hotel, let's meet here after breakfast."

Xion nodded. "Okay."

I turned around and began walking off to go find a hotel.

"Bye, Riku!" Xion called after me. "See you tomorrow."

I waved and continued on my way. There was one hotel nearby that was nice. I had stayed there once while Sora had been taking his long nap to regain his memories.

Hopefully Xion and I would manage to rescue Kairi without running into Xehanort. I paused outside of the hotel and glanced at the setting sun. This quest of ours was pretty complicated. I just hoped that Xion wouldn't change her mind before the next day arrived.