Dementia

Chapter 10: Manic Cure

"I'm sorry, we're fresh out of hot dogs."

"WHAT?" Zell stomped his foot in frustration. "That's the third time this week! My god, lady!"

"Next time, show up early," the patient cafeteria lady said. Zell scowled as Sora stared at the ceiling. The brunette was doing his regular counting of the tiles, waiting for Zell to get their food. As it was, Sora was getting better with food. He could now eat without the need of his blindfold. If he concentrated hard enough, the visions would stay away. Then again, maybe it was the drugs that the hospital kept him on.

Zell's eyes scanned the desserts. "Well what about that, then?" he asked, pointing at a cake slice.

"Strawberry shortcake," explained the café lady.

"I'll take it." Zell took the slice from the woman's offering hand and smiled a thanks as he turned to go sit at his regular table with the rest. Lulu turned her nose up at the offending cake. "What, not a fan, are we?"

"I hate cheesecake," she sniffed.

"Well, personally, I've never tried it." Zell took a seat as Sora poked at his own apple pie.

"Cheddar layer," he grumbled. It was the first thing he thought of when he heard the word 'cheesecake'.

"That's right, boy!" Zell said excitedly, the way a man spoke to his dog. "Do Sowa want a tweet? Do ickle wittle Sowa-kins want a ickle wittle tweet?" Sora playfully batted away the blonde boy's hands. Lulu rolled her eyes at their interaction, although deep down, she found it rather amusing to watch.

"What do you have against cheesecake anyway?" Vincent asked Lulu quietly. She blushed, shrugging.

"My mother tried to get me to try it once…" she said in a low voice. Vincent studied her expression over the top of his book. "I just found the combination of fruit and cheese to be unnatural." He chuckled.

"Same." He set his book aside and leaned forward until he was a few inches from her ear. "But sometimes, a strange combination can lead to something interesting." For some reason, his deep voice set shivers down her spine. Zell and Sora pretended not to notice their interaction.

"So how's therapy going?" Zell asked Sora casually as he slipped a fork of cake into his mouth.

"More or less, less or more," Sora answered. He opened his mouth to continue, but noticed Zell pause. The blonde was chewing slowly, his eyes frozen on the slice of cake on his plate. Within seconds, his face flushed red. "Zell…?" He was unnaturally still, considering the endless amount of energy he normally had. Even Lulu and Vincent looked concerned at his lack of movement and his reddening face. He slowly reached for his throat, as if he were about to clear it. Just as Sora was about to give him a good shake, Zell suddenly pushed away from the table, holding his neck in a vice grip. He was opening his mouth, as if trying to take a deep breath but was unable to, and he collapsed onto the floor. Lulu and Sora dropped to the floor next to him, holding him up as he trashed about, desperately trying to breathe, while Vincent put aside his book and rushed off to find a doctor.

"Somebody help!" Lulu cried. A few nurses came rushing into the room; among them was Garnet and Quistis, who Vincent had found.

"What's going on?" Garnet asked quickly. Lulu shot a glare at the cheesecake.

"He was eating, and then he turned red," she did her best to explain. "He said he never tried it before. It must be an allergic reaction!" She looked back at Zell, whose face was now a deep shade of red, bordering on purple. He had one hand wrapped around his neck while the other was clinging to Sora's shirt. A small crowd of people formed a circle around them. Garnet immediately began performing CPR while some of the higher rank nurses barked orders at each other. It was complete and total pandemonium.

Sora couldn't speak. This scene felt all too familiar. Dully in the background he could here the voices of the nurses float past his ears.

"He's going into anaphylactic shock!"

"Go get a shot of epinephrine from the medical wing!"

"It's too late!"

"Steady his breathing!"

"He's not breathing!"

The hand clinging to Sora's shirt was cold. Its icy touch snapped Sora out of his stupor long enough to regain control of the situation.

"Everyone, back up!" he ordered. The nurses were shocked at his request. Quistis was intrigued slightly. They were about to protest when Lulu shoved a few of them back and nodded at Sora. He placed his hands on Zell's still chest. "Heal!" Soft green light flooded from his hands as another bright golden light encompassed both Sora and Zell. A few of the nurses gasped in surprise. The audience witnessing the event were in shock.

When the light died down, Zell's hand dropped from Sora's shirt. The brunette sat back, waiting for some sign of life. Zell's eyes were closed and his chest was motionless. Quistis put a hand to her mouth in grief as Garnet let out a tiny whimper. All hope died inside Sora.

He had failed again.

With hands shaking, Lulu reached forward to put her fingers on Zell's neck to check for a pulse. Just as Sora was about to give up in defeat, Zell sat up, coughing violently, causing many of the people in the assembled group to jump with surprise. Garnet squealed in delight and hugged the nearest person to her, who happened to be a none-too-happy-to-be-hugged Vincent, while Quistis let out a sigh of relief and Lulu's shoulders sagged as the tension in the room faded.

Once Zell's coughing subsided, he lay back down on the floor, taking deep breaths, looking around at all the faces surrounding him.

"What just happened?" he asked in a shuddering voice. Everyone was very quiet, as if they were trying to figure out for themselves what they had just witnessed. Sora didn't hear the question. He felt like someone has just stuffed cotton in his ears. Quistis leaned forward to brush loose hairs out of Zell's face.

"You just had an allergic reaction," she explained. "Probably to the strawberries on that cheesecake. It's likely you didn't remember you were allergic to them because of your amnesia." She quickly glanced at Sora, who was still in shock over what just happened. "Sora saved your life." Many eyes turned to Sora, include Zell's.

"It was miracle," Garnet whispered. Zell grinned weakly, attempting to sit up to thank Sora properly.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," he joked, clearing his throat slightly. Sora didn't respond. "I don't know how I can ever thank you." Zell blinked a few times and looked at Quistis. "You know how some folks say their life flashes before their eyes when they're about to die?" The blonde doctor nodded. "I think mine just did, 'cept…" Zell looked at his hands, searching for the right word. "They were new memories. Ones I've never seen before." Quistis' eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "I remember being chased by these black shadow things. Someone was yelling at me to run." Zell had a faraway look on his face as he recounted what he saw. "There was a man protecting me. He had brown hair and a scar across his face. He was shooting at the shadow with this great gun thing with a blade attached, but the bullets weren't working." Sora's head snapped up. He knew instantly whom Zell was talking about.

Squall.

"The ground started breaking up and…" Zell looked up. "I blacked out and woke up here." Sora was about to speak up when a few of the nurses helped Zell to his feet and carried him away to the medical wing. He moved to follow, but Quistis stepped in his path.

"A word, please?" she asked, point to the hall that lead to her office. Sora numbly followed her. Once they were out of earshot of anyone else, she turned to Sora with a look of understanding and newfound knowledge. "So it was true. Everything you told Galuf about the princesses and the darkness. It was all true." She looked like she wanted to kick herself. Sora simply nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you, but you have to understand…"

"I'm crazy," Sora interrupted. "I know."

"No, Sora, you're not. If everything you've told Galuf and I about the Heartless and Nobodies is true, then that means we're on a whole different playing field here. This means that the cause of your delusions and anxiety might be the result of something supernatural." She paused as she paced the room with her hands covering the lower half of her face. There was so much swimming through her head at the moment that she couldn't get her thoughts straight. "If only I had a better understanding of the nature of these Heartless and Nobodies, I might be able to determine the source and solution to this." Sora thought about that for a moment.

"Ansem reports," he blurted out. Quistis stopped her pacing.

"What?" She went to her desk to retrieve her notes on Sora and flipped through the pages. "Ansem… Are we talking about Ansem the Wise or the Heartless?"

"Yes." Quistis pursed her lips.

"Both?"

"Yes."

"What are the reports about? The Heartless and Nobodies?"

"Yes."

"And these reports, where can I find them?"

"Y-" Sora stopped himself, realizing she wasn't asking a yes or no question. "My place." He struggled hard to remember exactly where he put the documents. He had found quite a lot of things while on his adventures. About two thirds of his munny, he had donated to the Restoration Committee at Radiant Garden, his synthesis items he had given to the Moogles, and half his items he gave to various worlds who needed it. But the important stuff, such as his Keyblade chains and the Ansem Reports, he kept stored somewhere. "In my… desk! Desk, second drawer down." Quistis was already on the phone.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver. "Is this Riku? Hello, my name is Dr. Quistis Trepe of the Destiny Psychiatric Hospital… No, everything's fine! Sora's fine! Actually, we've made a slight discovery and we need some documents from your home that could help me understand some things about his past…." Sora shifted from foot to foot. "Yes, I'm looking for some files called the Ansem Reports. Sora says it's in his desk, second drawer down… You found them? Great! Would you be able to bring them at the earliest convenience?" Quistis made humming noise. "No, I understand… I know what happened, and it's fine… About the accident… Yes, I realize it was an accident… Of course not. I figured what good would the police do? …Exactly." She sighed as if remembering something grand. "He saved the life of another patient here. Used a healing spell or something… I see." She smiled. Sora got bored and took a seat. "Alright, see you then. Goodbye." She hung up the phone.

"Sheep cub is coming?" Sora asked tiredly. Quistis nodded. Sora pulled his knees to his chest.

"Is everything alright?" she asked him, noticing his withdrawn appearance.

"No." He felt his heart aching. "Divine intervention, they say, yet I have bloodied hands." Sora couldn't understand something. Today he had just saved the life of someone who was at the brink of death. He used the same spell that had failed to revive Kairi. He couldn't understand why it worked on Zell and yet failed miserably on Kairi. He didn't know what he should be feeling. He was in such a cloud of confusion. "Zell lived, but Kairi didn't." He tightened his grip on his knees.

"Perhaps it was fate," Quistis said quietly. Sora looked at her with an expression that said 'Explain.' She thought up her words before she said them so as not to offend or hurt Sora's feelings. "I'm not saying it was a good thing to lose your friend, but if you didn't come here, no one would have been able to save Zell's life. He was going to eat that cheesecake sooner or later, but you were there to save him." Sora frowned.

"What kind of a god would favor one life over another?" he demanded. He pushed out of his chair and left the room in a huff. Quistis sighed sadly. She hadn't meant it like that.

OOOoooOOO

Riku looked around curiously as he walked through the doorway of the mental clinic. Somehow, he expected to see Sora waiting for him, but no one was in sight, save the one nurse who always seemed to be working the front counter. He approached her with a friendly smile.

"Hello, um, Dr. Trepe asked me to drop these off," he explained, holding up the bundle of papers and journal entries bound together with paper clips and a loosely tied leather strap. He had taken the liberty of bringing along all the journals that Jiminy Cricket had documented throughout Sora's adventures in case it helped any. "Do you know… Is Sora around?" The nurse's cheerful smile faltered.

"Sora doesn't wish to be disturbed at the moment," she explained. Riku felt like scoffing.

"Did you tell him I was coming?" The nurse's smile disappeared completely, replaced with a look of pity.

"He says he especially doesn't want to see you." She took the offered bundle of papers from the shocked Riku's hands. "I'm sorry."

"Did he say why?" he asked desperately. The nurse shook her head sadly.

"He murmured something about feeling shameful about something, but he wouldn't explain why." Riku could scarcely believe the words he was hearing.

"I'd like to see him anyway, if it's all the same to you. Which room is he in?" The nurse pursed her lips reluctantly.

"I'm not at liberty to tell you that information. I'm sorry."

"Don't give me that," Riku said with a sigh. "C'mon, clearly something's wrong and he needs a friend right now."

"I'm sorry," the nurse repeated. "I could lose my job if I don't adhere to a patient's wishes." Riku huffed impatiently and looked around.

"Is there someone else I can talk to?" The nurse nodded and got on the intercom, paging Quistis. Within a few minutes, Quistis arrived, looking back and forth between a nervous Nurse Garnet and a rather irritated Riku.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I'd like to visit Sora," Riku explained in a calm yet strained voice.

"He's not taking visitors right now." Riku crossed his arms, preparing to get nasty if need be.

"I'm his best friend. Christ, I'm practically his brother! Why won't he see me?" Quistis quickly glanced at Garnet and led Riku out of the lobby into front drive way.

"He's having a psychological break down because the incident with Zell," she explained in a hushed voice. "Apparently the healing spell he used on Zell was the same one he used on Kairi. His mind doesn't know how to take it, so he's become withdrawn." Riku stared with his mouth slightly open.

"So you think… he's feeling more guilty that he saved someone's life, but couldn't save Kairi's?" he asked, trying to wrap his head around the situation.

"It's possible. Perhaps he's feeling he let her down even more. Perhaps he thinks he didn't put enough effort into the healing spell the first time." Quistis held the bridge of her nose. "He won't talk to me or anyone else, so I can't clearly tell what's wrong or what he's thinking. I think his mind just needs time to overcome this and it's in a very vulnerable state at the moment, so it's probably best if you let him be." Riku took a deep breath and nodded in understanding.

"Could you give me a call as soon as his condition improves?"

"You'll be the first to know." It hurt like hell to just turn his back and walk away, but that's what he had to do for Sora's sake. Riku didn't look back for fear of running back into the building and demanding to see Sora anyway. Time, he told himself, was what Sora needed right now.

OOOoooOOO

For two days, Sora didn't say a word. Zell was staying in the medical wing for observation, so Sora had time to gather his thoughts and accept the newest turn of events. Meanwhile, Quistis went over the notes that Riku had dropped off. After going through them all, she had a better understanding of the nature of the Heartless and Nobodies. She also had a better understanding of what Roxas had gone through and she recognized that he was a separate entity living in Sora's mind, rather than a multiple personality. She decided to revamp her hypnosis technique to include the new information she had absorbed. It was quite a lot for her to take in, accepting that magic existed and there really were other worlds out there, and if she hadn't witnessed Sora perform the healing spell on Zell with her own eyes, she would have never believed it. But she knew she couldn't deny it. The facts added up now that she knew everything.

On the third day after the incident with the cheesecake, Sora emerged from his room ready to face the world again. In the end, he came to the conclusion that shit happens, and maybe he just got lucky. It was an odd perspective on the situation, but it was just to keep his mind together. He had an appointment with Quistis and he actually wanted to attend it. So at 10 o'clock sharp, Quistis was rather surprised that she received a knock at her office door. She hadn't expected Sora to come to his appointment at all.

"Come in," she said. Sora shyly poked his head into the room, scratching the back of his head.

"Bad time?" he asked. Quistis smiled broadly, happy to see he was out and about.

"Not at all," she replied, gesturing to the empty chairs before her desk. Sora managed a weak smile and took a seat. Quistis eyed him over the rim of her glasses with a bemused sort of smile. She sensed he wanted to talk first, so she sat back and allowed him a moment to collect his thoughts. Sora was wringing his fingers together in a nervous fashion while absentmindedly chewing on his bottom lip. Finally he looked up.

"What did you learn?" he asked, curious to hear Quistis' opinion on his adventures. She was rather taken aback by the question. She hadn't really expected that of all things to play a concern on Sora's mind.

"I learned that you're a very brave young man," she began, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her desk. "And that if the world every knew the deeds you did while you were away, you'd be glorified. Why'd you keep quiet about everything? Even some of your closest friends don't know about what you did while you, Kairi, and Riku were gone. You're heroes!"

"Exactly," Sora muttered. "Can't deal with stress, where angels fear to tread. Alone, yet awake, surrounded, and confronted. Too much."

"You think there'd be pressure from others? That you'd get celebrity treatment and constantly hounded?" Sora nodded. "I see. That's understandable." Quistis removed her glasses and pulled a napkin from her pocket to clean the lens. "You want to know what else I learned?" Sora tilted his head to the side curiously. "Your mind is far stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"How so?"

"A boy in your position with a weak mind would have cracked under the pressure of being the Keyblade Master a long time ago, and yet it took the accidental death of your closest friend for you to break. You are not weak, Sora." Sora wasn't sure how he should respond to that, but he did know he felt the tiniest bit encouraged by her words and that was something. Quistis replaced her glasses on her nose and pulled out Sora's file, which was getting thicker by the day. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Up to par," Sora mumbled.

"I think we should focus on bringing up memories of Kairi. I'd like to understand what kind of person she was so it'll be easier to figure out what she might've said before she died." She went through the steps of getting Sora into a semi-sleep state and began guiding him through his memories. "I want you to bring up the incident when you revived Kairi after she went into a coma."

"Missing heart," Sora corrected quietly. His eyes moved beneath his lids and images appeared in his mind. He was standing in Hollow Bastion just before the doorway to Kingdom Hearts was complete. He felt his limbs move with a will of their own as he reenacted the memory. "I remember figuring out how to wake her up. I had to unlock my heart to release hers."

"And how did her heart end up within you in the first place?" Quistis asked, still trying to wrap her head around the concept that one could lose their heart and still be alive.

"I can't remember exactly, but the night the island disappeared, she…" Sora's mind flashed briefly to the incident in question. "She passed right through me." It wasn't much of an explanation, but it was all Sora could do. Back in Hollow Bastion, he felt his legs walk towards the fake Keyblade that Riku had been given and he picked it up. He positioned it where his heart was, ignoring the cries of Donald and Goofy. "I unlocked my heart by…" He felt a pain in his chest, both from recalling the memory as the Keyblade pierced his heart, and from remembering Kairi's death. "I killed myself." His vision blurred.

"You died?" He saw several sparkles of light retreat from his falling body. He could feel his form disappearing as his own heart vanished from his sight. And then, nothing. He saw absolutely nothing.

"Um… not quite. I fell into darkness." Suddenly, Sora felt torn. He was being pulled into two different directions. One was the darkness that led to the inevitable Heartless transformation he went through, and the other direction was towards a gray light. He explained his feelings to Quistis. She became intrigued.

"Try going down the path less traveled. Take the path that seems least familiar." Sora followed her instructions and went towards the grayish light. He felt his form returning and he opened his eyes. His surroundings were both new and familiar. It certainly wasn't Hallow Bastion; he knew that for sure. "Where are you, Sora?"

"I dunno… This isn't my memory." But at the same time, he knew it was his. It wouldn't be in his head if it weren't his memory. He looked around. And it came rushing to him where he was. He was in the City that Never Was. And as quickly as that revelation came, he was flooded full of emotions that didn't belong to him. He was terrified, confused, angry, happy, surprised, everything possibly fathomable, and he couldn't understand why. Then, they were gone. All the emotions just vanished into thin air and he was left feeling somewhat hallow and empty, devoid of anything that made him feel human. Curiosity got the best of him, so he paused the memory and assumed an observer point of view to see whose body he was just controlling.

Lying on the pavement was Roxas.

Sora nearly jumped back before he remembered the memory was paused. He realized that the path he chose to go down was Roxas' and that the moment he felt torn earlier was the moment Roxas was created. He was starting to understand what was happening.

"Sora?" Quistis called, worried because he hadn't spoken in a few minutes. "Sora, what's going on?"

"It was Roxas' memory," Sora explained. "The path I chose was Roxas'." He did his best to explain the rush of emotions he felt. "I think I get it. When a Nobody is created, they retain their emotions for a split second, and then it all disappears." Quistis quickly scribbled down these latest findings.

"So you think that's how Nobodies are able to fake their emotions? Because they have a brief recollection of what feelings were like?"

"Possibly. You tell me." Quistis sensed a challenge in his voice. She would have gladly accepted it, but her knowledge concerning Nobodies was still limited.

"I think in order to better understand your problem, we should now focus on Roxas' memories. I get the feelings he's the one behind everything. I just can't figure out how or why."

After the session was done, Sora met up with his friends in the common area. Zell broke into a wide grin, happy to see his "eccentric little friend" after days of being monitored in the hospital wing.

"Sora, buddy! How's it going?" he greeted, patting Sora over the back as the brunette took a seat.

"It's not leaving," he replied. "Where?"

"It what?"

"Going."

"Ah."

Lulu let out a frustrated huff. "I'm lost!" she cried in defeat. She wasn't very good at Sora-Mad-Gabs. The two young men smiled apologetically at her. "Anyway, I was just offering to let Zell go through my photo album, since he's convinced I was an angry child when I was little. You wanna come with us, Sora?" Sora had never seen the inside of Lulu's room, but he somehow pictured it as a dark vampire-like cellar with lots of velvet, chains, and assorted black netting covering the walls and bed. She didn't have a roommate, so she could have potentially decorated the room however she liked. So, naturally, out of curiosity, he accepted Lulu's offer.

For the record, her room was about as normal as they come. Sora almost felt disappointed.

Lulu reached under her bed and pulled out a dusty box. From within, she took out a black cover photo album and opened to the first page. On the first page were three photos of a newborn baby girl with thin dark hair.

"That's me, by the way," Lulu pointed out. "Just in case you couldn't figure out for yourselves." Zell made a long cooing noise, to which Lulu cringed at.

"You're sooo cute!" he said in a babyish voice.

"You're sooo annoying!" Lulu replied in an equally babyish voice. She flipped to the next page, which had a few photos of her when she was a toddler. Sora cracked a smile at one photo where a young Lulu had paint all over her hands. She flipped through a few more pages, each photo showing her at a slightly older stage. She definitely used to smile a lot more when she was younger. As the photos entered her teen years, there were deliberate gaps between photos, obvious gaps. Lulu made no comment about them.

Finally, Zell spoke up about the gaps, "You know, it looks like some photos are missing here…" Lulu froze and it appeared as though she might've frowned, but she suddenly brightened considerably and smiled.

"I'm not sure…" she said sweetly. "I guess I lost them a while ago, I didn't even notice." Zell made a questioning face, but didn't press any further. As she continued to go through the album with Zell, Sora's eyes wandered around the seemingly plain room until his eyes landed on an old dusty snow globe.

"You like that?" Sora's gaze was drawn back to Lulu. He shrugged, giving the snow globe a close look. It featured a little Santa Clause standing in his sleigh while his reindeer were happily frozen in mid gallop. He gave it a good shake and watched the tiny snowflakes drift around the water. "You can have it, if you want."

"Really?" Sora was rather surprised by Lulu's sudden charity.

"Sure, take it!" There was something eerie about her kindness. Sora noticed that in the past few days, maybe even a week or so, Lulu had been acting rather odd, and by odd, he meant she wasn't acting like herself. She was actually acting… happy. Overly cheerful, in fact. When Sora first met Lulu, she would have never invited anyone into her room, let alone share photos with them or offer them her possessions. He was unsure if he should accept the snow globe. It looked like it might've been a gift from someone. But he thought if he declined, he might offend her, so he placed the globe on his lap to show he'd take it when he left.

After they were done going through a couple photo albums and joking around, Lulu politely ushered them out, claiming to have "important things to do". Zell said his goodbyes and was gone rather quickly, but Sora lingered a moment more. He stared at the snow globe in his hands.

"Something wrong?" Lulu asked, shifting uncomfortably. She seemed like she was eager to have Sora leave, but was being patient about it. Sora opened his mouth to speak, then stopped and shook his head, turning to go. Just before Lulu managed to get the door closed, he stopped it with his foot.

"Who gave you this?" he asked quickly, holding up the globe. "Memorabilia of heart?" Lulu seemed stunned for a moment, but recovered quickly and gave a false smile.

"I don't remember."

"Charade you are. You're lying." Her façade was wearing thin.

"C'mon, Sora. I got things to do." Sora decided to let it go. It probably wasn't that important… right? "I'll be fine. I just gotta clear my head." He nodded and left the room, letting her close the door behind him.

Several steps later, Sora checked the underside of the snow globe, curious to see what he'd find. There was a hastily scribbled note that said "To my love, Lulu, from Chappu." An eyebrow rose. Why would Lulu give Sora something her fiancée gave her? Then again, why was she showing photos of herself to people? Why was she acting so happy suddenly? Why was she…?

"Lulu!" Sora cried, suddenly realizing something that made his heart stop. It all added up. She was going attempt another suicide! He raced back down the hall to Lulu's room and began banging on the door. "Lulu! Lulu, open up!" He tried to doorknob, but it didn't budge. Looking back and forth to check if anyone was around, he summoned his Keyblade and used it to unlock the door. Opening it, he ran in just in time to see the raven-hair woman with a steak knife to her throat.

"Sora?" she gasped, surprised he got in.

"Put it down," he said as calmly as he could. Now he knew how Riku felt when the older boy thought Sora was about to commit suicide. He was terrified. His mind was on autopilot. He really didn't know what to do to talk her out of it.

"Get out, Sora," Lulu whispered. "I don't want you to be here when I do this."

"Please, you don't wanna do it."

"What are you going to say? That I have so much to live for? That I don't have to do this?" She turned her blade on Sora. "I don't have anything to live for! Chappu is dead! Why should I go on?" His mind scrambled for answers.

You have so many friends.

We care about you.

You would be greatly missed.

"Vincent loves you!" Sora blurted out before thinking it through. Lulu's eyes widened in shock.

"What?" Sora took another step forward in her distracted moment. Where am I going with this thought?

"I said Vincent loves you. And if you died now… it would break his heart." Her eyes hardened.

"You're lying!" She pointed her blade at Sora again, causing him to jump back. "Why would he love me?"

"Because you're a charming…caring…" He was having trouble getting his thoughts straight. No, not now! Please let me be coherent! "I wouldn't know what he loves about you; you'll just have to ask him yourself. But if you kill yourself, how are you supposed to do that?" She looked like she might've given in and put the knife down.

"But… Chappu is my only love." Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm going to the Farplane to be with him."

"But what about the rest of us?" He took another step towards her, knowing full well she could harm him at any given moment. "You have friends here."

"Sora, I've made up my mind-"

"Just listen to me! Don't do this!" Another step. "We're more than friends. We're family! You're like the sister I never had. And I can't just let you do this." Lulu looked away, her tears finally spilling over.

"You're just saying that. No one will miss me when I'm gone."

"I will…" Sora trailed off, suddenly getting a strange nostalgic feeling, like déjà vu. He knew someone had told him that before, but he couldn't remember whom.

"You're sweet, Sora…" Lulu said, pulling Sora out of his memories. "But you just don't know how this feels."

"I do, more than you'll ever know. I lost the girl I loved in a terrible accident that I caused. And as much as I'd love to see her again, I could never bring myself to commit suicide. There are people here that still care about me, just like how there are people who care about you. Are you really willing to leave us all behind for a lost one? Especially when there's another who loves you just as dearly?" Lulu's arms began shaking, so Sora stepped forward and took her hand. "Let him go. The pain will ease." Slowly, her fingers lost their strength and she dropped the knife on the floor. Sora guided her to her bed and let her collapse; the adrenaline rush in both of them was gone. Lulu took a few gasping breaths before she flung her arms around Sora's shoulders and wept, while Sora did his best to comfort her.

When her shaking and sobbing had subsided, she sat up and rubbed her tired eyes. "Thank you…" she whispered, her voice raw from crying. "God, I can't believe I almost…"

"Shh, it's okay."

"You know…" She paused and smiled weakly. "You actually made a lot of sense. I mean… You spoke without riddles." Sora's brow rose in surprise. I did? And looking back a few minutes, he found she was right. All his sentences made perfect sense. So he smiled.

"I guess it's because you helped my brain sort things out. So maybe I should be the one thanking you." He gave her a big, reassuring hug. After a few more moments of silence, Lulu cleared her throat.

"Um… do you think we could…not tell the doctors about this?" Sora understood and nodded. "Thanks. Last thing I need is intensive therapy after this." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I think I'm okay now." Sora shot her a stern look. "No, I mean it this time. I think I got that all out of my system." She fidgeted with her fingers for a moment. "Did you really mean it? The part about Vincent?" He blushed, looking away.

"Zell noticed it first. He likes watching interaction between people. After he pointed it out to me, it became more obvious." Lulu began giggling, partly because she was relieved and partly because it was a release of tension, and shortly afterwards, Sora joined in. Neither knew exactly what they were laughing at, but it just felt too damn good to stop. Sora couldn't remember expressing amusement like this in nearly 2 months. His cheeks and sides hurt from the strain, but he just kept going. And when the mirth subsided, they both felt immensely better.

"I guess laughter really is the best medicine," Lulu said with a tired smile.

OOOoooOOO

A/N: Whew! This chapter took so freakin' long to write because I was only halfway done when school started up again. And then I had a writer's block at the part where Sora begins therapy again. I finally managed to plow through it, though! Writing the near-suicide scene was both challenging and fun to write because I had to come up with rather convincing dialogue for Sora to say that would talk Lulu out it. Let me know if I was successful or not. Thank you all for reading this far and waiting so long!