Child No Longer

Alrighties, I was watching my brother play KH2, and I saw the secret ending. Needless to say I started thinking about a lot of things in the games. Things like how Riku and Sora are supposed to go back to their lives after everything that's happened. Thanks to my brother hogging the game I haven't had a chance to play it yet, so forgive me now if I make mistakes.

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, Riku and Sora would never have gone back to the Islands.

Chapter Two: Meetings, Decisions and Dreams

Night had fallen over the little island, and still he stood outside, staring unblinkingly out over the darkened water. Dark circles lined weary sapphire orbs, as cinnamon locks waved slightly in the breeze coming off of the sea.

'Are you sure you want this, Sora?'

Sighing at the question, the slim boy turned slightly to see his other half sitting on the sand behind him. "What other choice do I have here, Roxas?" He replied quietly as he stepped closer to the beckoning water.

'You always have a choice, you just need to find it.' The blond boy retorted angrily. 'I'll go with you no matter where you decide to go, you know that. But I want to make sure that this is really what you want.'

Ignoring the icy seawater that was washing over his shoes, Sora looked up at the sky above with a peaceful expression crossing his face. "Before the darkness came, I always thought that I would leave this island with Riku and Kairi. We'd leave on our raft and go exploring like we always talked about."

Roxas remained silent as he watched the brunette stretch his arm out towards the sky, as though he was trying to touch the stars themselves. "Things came out so differently from the way that I'd always imagined. For one thing, we all ended up on our adventure alone." He said quietly before turning a brilliant smile towards the confused boy. "The funny thing about it all is that I wouldn't change any of it if I could. Everything that happened, happened for a reason."

Holding out a hand, two pairs of blue eyes watched as a keyblade materialized out of nothingness. "What doesn't kill you, can only make you stronger right?" Roxas mused softly, eyes gleaming in the darkness as he looked on as Sora went through the motions of fighting an imaginary foe. Smoothly pulling himself to his feet, he held out his hands, waiting for the familiar weight of the keyblades to fall into them as well.

Blocking Sora's thrust; he grinned at the other boy in challenge when he noticed the questioning light in the familiar eyes. Pushing away from each other, they eyed each other warily, waiting for the right moment to move. Seeing the slight shift in weight, Sora twisted out of the way of Roxas attack, as he spun around to counter hoping to catch the other off balance.

The sky was beginning to lighten when the two boys collapsed onto the fine sand, leaning against each as they gasped for breath through their laughter. "Are you sure that you won't regret this later?" Roxas asked, his face turning serious as he searched Sora's eyes for the answer. "I'll miss everyone left behind, but this is something that I have to do. I don't belong here anymore, and my heart says that it's for the best. Besides," Sora said with a soft smile teasing his lips. "As long as I have you and Riku with me, I won't be alone."

Somber, Roxas turned his face to look on the watery landscape in front of him, before asking, "This isn't just about not belonging here anymore is it?"

"Huh?" Sora replied in his oh-so-intelligent tone of voice.

Glancing up to meet piercing sapphire eyes, he blushed slightly when Roxas snorted as he turned away. "It's just like last time. You had dreams warning you about what was coming. And this is just like then, it's happening again and you know it."

Running a hand through spiky strands of hair, a low sigh could be heard over the sound of the gently lapping waves. "The simple truth is that I don't belong here anymore. I'm the master of the Keyblade and nothing can change that. The only thing I can do to save myself is to accept the King's offer." Sora replied after a moment's hesitation.

"And the dreams?" Roxas prompted.

"The dreams say that another darkness is coming, and that I'll be there to meet it again."

'—Ra'

"It's time for me to leave." Sora stated as he stood brushing the sand from his clothing.

'Sora.'

Nodding his head in agreement, Roxas stood as well before looking at the other boy questioningly.

"We'll talk again when it's time for our soul to be reborn. Until then sleep tight and sweet dreams." Sora murmured pulling the other boy into a brief hug.

"We'll talk again when it's time for our soul to be reborn. Until then sleep tight and sweet dreams." Roxas repeated almost absently as he watched Sora begin to fade, until finally he was once again left alone on the beach to wait for Sora to return.

"SORA!"

Wide sapphire eyes blinked sleepily at the blurred image of a person hovering above his bed. Yawning he stretched before pushing back the covers and crawling out of the warm cocoon he'd made of his bed during the night. Rubbing his eyes, he blinked away the final remnants of sleep as he stumbled to his dresser and began to change, ignoring the annoyed eyes following his movements.

"This is it, huh?"

Vivid turquoise eyes softened visibly at the look of sadness that entered the petite brunette's expressive eyes. "There's still time to change your mind you know. It isn't too late." Inhaling deeply Sora looked at Riku with a sorrowful smile before turning to pull something out of the dresser. "I can't change who I am now. Things will be better this way…for everyone." He replied softly as he carefully pocketed the object before leaving the room.

Following Sora to their 'secret' place, Riku couldn't help but think of how different he seemed now. Before it wouldn't take much for him to smile, but now it seemed as though he smiled simply because that's what was expected of him. If going through with this would bring back a genuine smile of happiness to his face and eyes, then it would all be worth it.

Entering the dark cave, Sora marveled at how different everything really was now that he'd come back. Before this place had always seemed so mysterious in it's own creepy way, and now it held no more mysteries for him to uncover. Noticing the drawing he'd made before the darkness came, he gingerly traced its faded lines. Biting his lip, he closed his eyes as a fierce wave of regret washed over him.

He'd never wanted to hurt anyone, it made him feel ill to even think of doing it purposely, but still the fact remained that he had done it. To give himself credit, he'd tried; he'd honestly tried to go back to living like a normal kid. The shadows in his eyes that had followed him home had only gotten worse as more time passed.

Opening his eyes he brushed his fingers over the drawing one last time as he let the tears free from their prison. "Sora?" Ignoring Riku he roughly wiped away the traces of tears from his face before spinning around as the older boy moved behind him. For the first time in six months while outside of the dream realm with Roxas, a true smile shone on his face and reflected in his eyes.

"I'm okay, I just needed to say goodbye I guess."

"To a drawing?" Riku queried skeptically.

"No. Goodbye to everything that it once represented. Our youth, our innocence, our old lives, and to the kids that we used to be." Sora retorted as he looked up at the silver haired teen that was standing with his arms crossed across his chest. "And you wonder why I call you a sap?" Riku muttered quietly as they stood silent waiting for the King to arrive.

"Riku?"

"Hmm?"

"I-I need to tell you something."

"What is it Sora?" Riku asked looking concerned at the uncertainty reflected in the smaller boy's eyes.

"The darkness." Sora said as he stared off towards the entrance of the cave. "The darkness will be waiting for us when we wake up again."

"If that's what happens." Riku said mildly. "Then we'll fight it again. Remember what I told you? You lead, and I'll follow."

Relief flooded Sora's body as Riku said that. He nodded gratefully just as something caught his attention at the mouth of the cave. Calling the keyblade into his hand, he crouched into a defensive position and waited. Gripping the handle of his keyblade tightly, he exchanged glances with Riku, as a figure soon became visible. His muscles were tightly coiled as he readied himself to attack when the figure stepped into the light.

"Your Majesty!" Came the twin shouts of surprise as they immediately recognized the rather small form.

Standing back, Sora watched as Riku and the king reunited for the first time since they'd all separated six months before. Reaching into his pocket Sora found what he was looking for and gave the object a comforting squeeze before returning his attention to the two that were still talking.

"So, have you two decided?"

Opening his mouth to respond, Sora caught Riku's almost imperceptible nod from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, we're sure. Just tell us what we need to, and we'll do it." Banishing the keyblade, he raised his arms and locked his fingers behind his head, as he waited for the king to explain how everything would work.

"No one knows how the keyblades came into being." The king stated slowly.

"What does this have to do with anything?" The older asked in a dismissive tone as he received a quelling glance from the brunette.

"I'm afraid it has a lot to do with things." Mickey answered easily. "We only know of the masters that came before you. A long time ago, one of them said that they were only 'replacements' for the 'true master of the keyblade'."

Calling the keyblade back into his hand, Sora examined it in curiosity as he asked quietly, "So, I'm not really the Keyblade's master?"

"No, you really are the Master of the Keyblade."

"What? But you just said—" Riku started; only to be cut off by the King's excited explanation. "I know what I said, Riku, but listen. Every other Master and their chosen Keybearers lost their keyblades once their task was accomplished."

"I'm confused." Sora said as he banished the keyblade. "Does that mean that we didn't end things?"

Shaking his head, the king hastened to explain further. "No, things are back to they way they were meant to be. I believe the reason that your keyblades have yet to leave you is because the true Master has at last been found."

"You mean Sora?"

"Hollow Bastion." Sora breathed as he turned eager eyes to look at Riku and the king. "At Hollow Bastion, it seemed like I was nothing more than the one meant to bring the Keyblade to Riku. Instead, when the keyblade was taken away from me, I refused to let it go and followed both it and Riku. I hadn't thought anything of it, but after that happened the keys were easier for me to call and use."

"That settles it then." The king sighed in relief. "It makes things a lot easier now."

"What do you mean easier?"

"Well, you see, the only way for this to work was to have the Keyblade's seal your souls. But that can only be done with the Master ordering it."

"You mean to tell me, you didn't even know if it would work or not!" Riku inhaled deeply as he prepared to yell some more, until a small hand tugged urgently on his arm. Looking down at the smaller boy, he huffed at the warning look the other's face showed.

"What do we need to do?" The brunette asked once Riku was calm again.

"Oh! You need to bring out your keyblades and ask them to seal your soul until it's time for you to be reborn again." Mickey answered, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"That's it?"

Glancing over at Riku's skeptical face, Sora chuckled lightly as he called the keyblade to him again. Smiling gratefully at King Mickey, Sora glanced down at his feet before saying, "Thanks for helping us do this, Your Majesty."

"We owe you more than this takes, Sora." Mickey answered as he watched Riku call his own keyblade. "Now, just tell the keyblade what it is that you want to do (oh, and don't worry about your words, they'll come to you.), and they'll take care of the rest. Once that's done we'll make sure you're guarded until its time again."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

His grip tightening convulsively on the innocent looking blade in his hands, Sora bowed his head slightly before beginning. "Seal our souls until the time has come. Darkness leads, stars fall. Light's champions shall be reborn."

Light flashed brilliantly in the small cave, hiding the forms of the two teenagers. When the spots that danced in his eyes had finally subsided all that was left in the cave were the two keyblades, laying crossed over each other on the rough ground. Gently picking them up, he cradled them in his arms as he spoke out loud into the empty silence.

"I hope this time things will be different…Sora…Riku."

TBC…

Chapter Three:

Friends and Foes…New and Old

Things might be confusing right now, but I promise they will make sense later on.

—Moonlight's Childe