Renovamen

"Lumen!"

"Sorry."

Lumen lowered his head. He was worried about Advocatus, and couldn't focus on his job as one of the king's slaves. Ienzo glared at him through his one visible eye.

It had been a week since Aerith had found Advocatus, and he still had a bad fever, not to mention that he couldn't even stand, let alone walk, so he was in his room. The king had taken him off Aerith the day after Lumen and Mase had gone to bring him home.

"Ienzo, let poor Lumen have a break." Lumen could hear Namine pleading behind him, but he didn't answer. "You know what's going on. Besides, Mase has been complaining of headaches. The two could collapse at any moment, and if Lumen was to land on a knife or a plate he dropped or something like that…"

"Fine." Ienzo sighed. "Lumen, you're dismissed." Lumen nodded and darted quickly out of the room before Ienzo changed his mind.

From the West Wing Kitchen, he took the path he had memorized to his and Advocatus's room.

"Advocatus?" Lumen called as he entered.

"Lumen?" Advocatus groaned, shifting positions to try and sit up slightly. Lumen smiled. Advocatus hadn't talked since Lumen saw him in Aerith's house, so he was obviously recovering.

"How're you feeling?"

"Like shit."

Lumen put a hand on Advocatus's forehead gently. He still had a bit of a fever, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before.

"Namine will be up later." Lumen told the silverette, who nodded weakly.

"Well, seems like you're actually awake now, I take it?"

Lumen and Advocatus both looked over at the closet. Leaning on the door was the silver haired spirit from Aerith's house.

"I blame you for this." Advocatus glared at him. The spirit laughed.

"Well, Advocatus Diaboli, which, seems fitting enough, seeing as Xehanort's Heartless can easily be compared to the devil, and if I'm correct, your king is Xemnas and Xehanort's Heartless rejoined, makes him comparable with the devil, which is fitting as well."

"You make absolutely no sense."

"Stuff from before I was… well…" Riku frowned, looking down at himself, before he looked back at Advocatus, "transparent, ghost-like, and, the most basic word to describe this, dead." He looked up at the ceiling. "It's only a matter of time now… once you remember everything, we'll be the same person, just like all the others… the sooner the better." He sighed.

"What are you talking about?"

"A friend of mine, and of yours, is in danger. The sooner you remember her, the better."

"Riku."

Everyone looked to the other side of the room. Advocatus looked at Lumen, then at the new spirit. It looked like a twenty year old version of the castle slave.

"Sora." Riku nodded. "Has Roxas talked to Mase yet?"

"Not that I know of." The newcomer, Sora, answered. "Have you seen Kairi?"

"Not since you appeared."

"Damn." Sora leaned against the wall, or at least, it seemed like he was.

"I am officially lost beyond saving." Lumen commented, scratching his head.

"You'll catch up later."

"Sora, any thing new on the island?" Riku questioned.

"Nothing. Just the Blitzball team's usual training."

"And the cave?"

"Untouched."

"Good."

Advocatus's hand shot to his forehead as a sudden stabbing pain shot through his head. Another one resonated from his chest. Riku shot forwards and placed his hand on Advocatus's forehead. The pain subsided slightly, but instead, Advocatus found himself swimming in memories. No, not memories, one specific event, and it seemed that Riku was seeing it as well, and didn't like reliving the event…

"Riku!"

Riku stopped and looked over his shoulder. A young woman with burgundy hair ran towards him, stopping a couple meters away.

"Kairi." Riku turned to face her. "Are you okay? You look worried…"

"Sora's not back yet."

Riku looked up at the sky, lit only by the stars and the pale moon. The waves crashed gently on the sand, the silence only broken by the hissing of the cicadas. The soft, midnight breeze brushed against his skin. Everything seemed so peaceful, but for them, real peace hadn't existed for years.

"I know."

"You're the only one who knows where he went, Riku! Go find him, please!" Kairi pleaded. It was obvious in her expression that she was worried. "He said he'd be back after a week. It's been a month, Riku!"

"Sora will be fine."

"Riku…" Kairi lowered her head. "Please, Riku, I know you're worried about him, too. He's alone out there… he was never alone when he found Xehanort's Heartless, or when he found the Organization. He even had some help when Radiant Garden was attacked by those thousands of Heartless…"

"Kairi…" Riku turned away with a sigh. Kairi darted forwards and grabbed his arm.

"Just find him and bring him home. It's all I'm asking of you, Riku."

"No."

"Why do you run from your problems? Sora needs you… I know he does… and you need him, Riku."

Riku glanced over at her.

"Xehanort's attacking your heart again – I don't need Namine telling me to realize that. You nearly drowned because of it."

Riku looked away. "Don't remind me."

"Please, Riku!"

The silver haired man didn't even look at her.

"Riku!"

"You're not giving me a choice, are you?" He asked in a monotone that made Kairi shudder.

"No, I'm not."

"I guess I'll have to go, then. I'll leave in an hour." He pulled his arm from her grip and walked away.

"Intruder!"

"Get him!"

"Ah shit!" Riku cursed as he turned and ran, abandoning his blood-red blade with the wing at the end. Gunshots sounded behind him. He had been hoping to do this without getting caught, but luck just wasn't on his side. He ran around the corner and jumped, spreading his hands and feet on either wall to keep himself suspended in the air. He shifted so that he was flat against the ceiling. The two men who had been chasing him glanced around, and Riku held his breath.

"He's disappeared."

"Oh well. Someone will find him eventually. Send a transmission through to the other guards."

"Yes sir."

The two walked back in the direction they came. Once they were out of earshot, Riku dropped down and glanced around. That was the first patrol he'd seen, and probably not the last.

A scream broke the silence, and Riku froze, before taking off down the darkly-lit hallway.

He found himself in a small chamber, a spiky-haired brunette hanging from the wall, thick, metal bracers secured around his upper arms and attached to the black wall. Lights pulsed through the wall and into the bracers. With every pulse the young man's head jerked up, before dropping again, only to jerk upright again. He was covered in blood, and he had burns on his arms, neck and face. He had a decent amount of gashes, showing through torn clothing.

"Oh god… Sora…"

Riku flicked his wrist, and his red blade appeared in his hand. He gripped it in both hands and struck one of the bracers as hard as he could. A resounding 'ting' rang out, but nothing else happened. Sora's head jerked again. Riku glanced around, spotting a key pad secured on the wall. He walked over to it and began punching in numbers to see what would happen. At first, with a hiss of hydraulics, a door slid out of the wall and sealed off the chamber. Then the lights stopped pulsing, and then the bracers slid into the wall, causing Sora to fall to the ground. Riku darted forwards and caught him, before gently setting him against the wall.

"Sora, say something." Riku shook Sora's shoulder slightly. Sora's head lolled. "Oh god…" Riku glanced around. "I need to get you out of here." He abandoned his blade again, lifting Sora's limp form into his arms. He walked over to the key pad and punched random digits into it, until the door opened again. He looked out into the hallway, and then quickly hit the key pad again. The door closed and a loud 'thunk' echoed throughout the room as two people smacked into the black metal door.

"Well, won't be leaving through that exit any time soon…" Riku muttered, leaning against the wall and slumping to the floor. He checked Sora's pulse. It was too weak. "Hang in there, Sora, Kairi's waiting for us back home."

"Ri…ku…" Sora's speech was barely audible, and scratchy at that.

"I'm here." Riku answered. "What have they done to you?" He muttered. Riku then realized something. That door was sealed so that no air could get through. There had to be an air vent in the room. Riku looked up at the ceiling. He sat Sora down against the wall and jumped up, his arms extended above his head. The panel moved, so he tried again, this time grabbing a hold of another section of the ceiling and throwing the panel down to the floor. Riku jumped down and picked Sora up again, before using one hand to pull the two of them up to the next floor.

This floor was empty, the only things in the room were windows, which were open. Riku could see the orange Gummiship circling around outside. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small, orange device with a series of buttons on it. He pressed a blue button on it, and the ship turned, heading towards them. It stopped outside the window, and the ramp lowered. Riku jumped out through the window and into the ship. He pressed a red button on the device and the ramp closed.

Riku sat Sora down in one of the chairs and walked over to the controls, and began to steer the Gummiship out of the world. He set the autopilot to 'Destiny Islands'.

Riku opened an eye, the islands were in sight, so he sat up, having been sitting sideways in the seat when he had fallen asleep, and moved over to the controls, navigating to land on the beach of the island. A familiar burgundy haired young woman was sitting on the sand, watching the ship as it approached. As soon as the ramp opened, Riku picked Sora up and jumped off.

"Riku!" Kairi exclaimed, getting to her feet. Riku nodded to her. Then she saw Sora and gasped in shock. Riku laid Sora out on the sand, and Kairi crouched down at his side.

"Ri…ku…" Sora barely managed to speak. "Kai…ri…"

"Get him some water." Riku ordered. Kairi jumped up and darted over to a tree, her water bottle hanging from the branch. She returned to Sora's side and slowly poured some water into his mouth.

"Riku… thank… you…" Sora's eyes began to flutter closed.

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed. "Sora, no! Stay with us!"

"Sora!" Kairi gripped onto the brunette's jacket. "Don't go!"

"Sorry… Kai…ri…" Sora's eyes closed completely, and his breath left him. Riku put a hand on the side of Sora's neck to check his pulse. Riku sighed and lowered his head. Nothing. Kairi lowered her head, tears running own her face.

"I'm sorry, Kairi, I tried to save him." Riku apologized. Kairi shook her head.

"You did all you could."

Riku sighed, hesitating as he went to knock on the door of Sora's parents' house. He didn't want to do this, to be the bearer of bad news, but he couldn't expect Kairi to do this. Sora's body, wrapped in a white blanket, was held securely in his other arm.

Riku hadn't bothered to clean himself up after returning, only Sora. His parents didn't deserve to see their son in the condition he had been when Riku brought him back.

Finally, Riku brought himself to knock on the door.

The woman who knocked on the door was no less than shocked at Riku's appearance and the solemn look on his face. Riku never showed any emotions, it seemed, but he looked genuinely upset right now.

"Riku, come in, what's happened? Is Sora okay?"

A lump formed in Riku's throat as he stepped into the house's main room. "Sora… Sora is less than okay…" He finally managed to choke out. "You might want to get your husband, so I don't have to explain this twice…"

Riku felt a bit out of place, standing in the main room in Sora's parents' house, but he couldn't leave them ignorant.

"Sora left for awhile, claiming that he was going on a vacation… only, he was on the exact opposite of vacation. About five, six years ago, he was recruited by a king to protect a group of… countries, you could call them… that extended throughout his kingdom. Sora went to neutralize a threat to the kingdom and he was outmatched, and…" Riku lowered his head, indicating Sora's wrapped body. Sora's mother stared at the white blanket. It was his father who moved to unwrap the blanket around Sora's head. Sora's mother choked back tears, unsuccessfully, his father wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm sorry." Riku apologized. "I tried to save him."

"Don't apologize, boy," Sora's father shook his head, "you did your best."

A funeral march. Everyone was dressed nicely in black, Riku and Kairi walking side by side. Everyone important to Sora was there. Sora's parents had told Riku to invite anyone in the 'kingdom' who Sora was close to, although they hadn't expected so many people. After the funeral, Kairi's sisters-in-rank, the other six princesses called Princesses of Heart hung around her to try and comfort her. Riku went off to the side to be alone, but was soon approached by a humanoid mouse.

"Riku."

"King Mickey." Riku nodded.

"I'm sorry about Sora, whelp."

"It's not your fault." Riku answered. "Sora jumped at the chance to go save the worlds again, but he was out of practice. Things seemed so peaceful… but…"

"Peace doesn't exist for those who've seen war."

"No, it doesn't." Riku shook his head. "Mickey, speaking to you as a friend, I want to know what I should do now. The worlds don't have their Keyblade Master to protect them anymore. I know I should take up the Keyblade in Sora's place, but…" he held a hand over his chest.

"Xehanort's not letting up, is he?"

"I'm only getting weaker as the years pass by…"

Kairi clutched Riku's hand, listening to the steady beat of the heart monitor. King Mickey was there, and so were Riku's parents. It had only been a couple months since Sora had died. Riku's heart couldn't take any more. One last stabbing pain shot through his chest as his heart collapsed, its foundations eroded by the darkness, and the heart monitor gave one long 'beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep'.