Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

I just quickly want to note that as of the last chapter, I broke the 50k word count milestone... in 7 chapters (including the prologue) and, as of this chapter, according to my computer, I broke 100 pages. So if you have made it this far, you rock! I just wanted to thank everyone for their reviews and messages and constant support for this project. You're all amazing!

Oh, and, uh this chapter has a lot of talking. Like a lot. Sorry about that. Also, if anyone is senative to swearing, I'm very sorry, but it didn't feel right censoring Cid. most chapters will be fairly (clean), but let's just say that this one may possibly earn the T rating, if the story hasn't already.

7

Chained to the Past

Hollow Bastion

Rep was convinced that he was becoming far too accustomed to waking up in strange places with only the vaguest of recollections to explain how he got there. Though, he had to admit, in comparison with finding himself bound helplessly to Vexen's operating table and later unconscious multiple times against the hard floors of Castle Oblivion, awakening to a warm bed was much nicer.

The first thing that Rep noticed even before he opened his eyes were the odours surrounding him; it was a curious combination of fresh flowers and smoke that made his nose itch. The floral scent seemed to be emanating from the pale pink comforter that was enveloping him completely, making it impossible to see anything beyond it. The source of the smoke, however, was slightly more discomforting as Rep could tell without looking that his lightweight yellow shirt had been removed at some point and was replaced by an oversized, scratchy sweater.

Despite all of his confusion, Rep felt better than he could ever remember. The pain from his wounds had receded to little more than a dull throb and his nap, however long it had been, left him feeling refreshed. Rep would have been perfectly content to simply snuggle back down into the bed's warmth and fall asleep once again had it not been for the presence of four unfamiliar scents apprehensively surrounding him.

As he grew increasingly alert, Rep found that his relief was rapidly being replaced by a cold dread. "They probably aren't going to kill me – they wouldn't have gone through all this trouble if they were. They must not know I'm a replica then, either." He drew the blankets even more tightly around him and sighed as quietly as he could manage. "If they did, I'd probably be in a cell or something."

Rep flinched as he heard the creak of a chair scrapping across the floor. He tensed and held his breath as footsteps approached him, releasing it only once they passed. His plan was to pretend to be asleep for as long as possible to give himself time to become more aware of his surroundings.

"I remember opening up the portal and going through, but nothing after that. I think I remember being in pain. A lot of pain. But that's not so weird, not for me at least. And it wouldn't be the first time I suddenly I passed out like that. And I remember another memory. Marluxia this time. When he took me to Castle Oblivion with him. But that sound… it broke at the end. Just like last time. It happened again."

Suddenly Rep was no longer warm and safe in the bed, but on Castle Oblivion's floor. Axel was standing above him, watching as he fought against the pain that was shredding his body apart moments before darkness ripped him away into another broken memory. Rep shuddered at the recollection. For a moment Rep wondered if Vanitas had anything to do with it, though he knew it was impossible. He felt Vanitas burn and die. Rep knew Vanitas could never have survived it. Even so, he pondered, Vanitas' voice felt disturbingly fresh in his mind.

However, there was another voice ringing in his ears that was also far too familiar.

Rustling the blankets as little as possible, Rep moved his hand to trace along the scar Riku had given him. Unlike the others, which had been healed at some point, this one had persisted. He knew it had not been Riku's fault – nothing could have chased the memory of his possessor's voice – but he felt absolutely disgusted that Riku's hand had been the one to permanently mutilate him.

"At least I'm not dead," he consoled himself to little effect. The man who had saved him, the one who had controlled Riku's body in that moment, had only done so because he claimed to need him for something. "A spare, he called me." With his hold over Riku revealed, Rep did not have to guess at what he was supposed to be a proxy for. With nothing else to look at, he glared fiercely at the pillow.

Eventually his glare softened and fell with a sigh. Rep's thoughts were all jumbled and confused, and he was finding it impossible to focus. However, there was a single memory that continuously crept to the forefront of his mind despite his best attempts to ignore it.

"This bed, this warmth, everything. This feels just like that time… after I almost drowned. Except when I open my eyes, I know she won't be there." Rep squeezed his eyes shut, hating himself for being like this. "But I swear… I swear I heard her voice again after I went through the portal. She chased the pain away."

Abruptly Rep caught one of the scents drawing closer. He braced himself as the mattress dipped and a hand was laid comfortingly on his shoulder. Another hand was placed on top of the blanket in such a way that it was placing pressure on his wrists and was pinning them to the mattress. Rep felt his breath hitch and his heart race at the action; he had failed to notice it before, but his wrists felt strangely stiff. He tried to yank himself free, but the grip only tightened.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you," a woman's voice told him kindly. She adjusted the blankets around his head so that Rep could see her face. She was older than he was, perhaps in her twenties, and had long, auburn hair that flowed in a wave to her mid-back. Most strikingly, however, were her gentle green eyes that were surveying his with interest. As he stared up at her smiling face, Rep felt his own lips curve to match. There was something about her that reminded him of Naminé. "I'm just glad that you've finally decided to wake up. You've been asleep for almost eight hours."

"Sorry," was the first response that came to mind.

"You don't have to apologise! You went through a lot."

"I did?"

Feeling more confused than ever, Rep felt as though there were a thousand questions racing through his mind, but knew he had to start at the beginning, lest they all burst out at once. "Do you… do you know where I am?"

He was answered with a soft laugh. "Why don't you take a look around and see for yourself."

Rep propped himself up as best as he could, despite the girl holding down his hands, and examined his surroundings. He was in a large, circular, stone hut that was absolutely covered, nearly floor to wall, in blueprints and building plans. Upon closer examination, he saw that they were designing a town. Nothing looked at all familiar to him, making Rep even more curious about the world he had landed in. There was a table with chairs in the room's centre that had several dirty dishes on it and some old clothes and trunks stacked in the corner. The room was messy, yet had a sense of order to it. However, the thing that excited Rep the most were the piles of books around his bed and along the walls. Rep wondered if he was in a sort of makeshift library and suddenly felt a very strong urge to pick up one of the books and begin leafing through it.

"This is the headquarters of the Restoration Committee. I'm one of the founding members, along with my friends here," she explained with a wide grin. "My name is Aerith. It's a pleasure to finally be properly introduced."

Rep beamed with the realization that he was about to share his name for the first time. "My name's R-"

"We know who you are," he was cut off coldly.

Rep twisted his head to see a brown haired man with a brutal looking scar that stretched across the bridge of his nose observing him with tight eyes. He was seated on a chair in a position that indicated that he was trying to appear relaxed and nonthreatening, but Rep could clearly see how all of his weight was shifted forward, like he was preparing to pounce. Rep's eyes trailed downwards to where his hand was clenched tightly around the handle of a sword.

Reflexively Rep sank back under the blanket until his mouth and nose were covered and only his eyes were visible. "How does he know who I am? Did I say something while I was asleep like I did with Axel? Did I tell them I'm a replica?"

He surveyed the man carefully, noting how he was no longer even sitting on the chair, having balanced his weight forward so much that he was hovering off of it in a slight crouch. Rep tucked his chin out from under the blanket to return the iron glare he was receiving.

"And what's his problem? Even if he knows I'm a replica, I'm still half-asleep in a pink bed that smells like daisies… I think it's obvious who looks more threatening here."

Rep heard a sigh to the man's left as a lean girl with short, dark hair stepped into view. "Leon, just calm down alright. Hi," she said, giving Rep a friendly wave. Placing her hands firmly on her lips and flashing him a wide grin, she proclaimed, "Sorry about him – he can be a huge jerk sometimes. Anyway, my name is Yuffie, but you can call me 'The Great Ninja Yuffie', if you really want."

"Yuffie…" murmured Aerith under her breath, though Rep could make out a small smile working its way across her face.

"That's Leon," Yuffie continued, pointing at the scowling man with the scar. "And over there is Cid."

Rep followed her finger towards a man with close-cropped blond hair in a white t-shirt. He was seated in front of what appeared to be a large electronic screen. There were a lot of numbers and algorithms running across a gridded pattern and Rep wondered what it meant. There was a swish of a match as Cid lit a cigarette and stuck it between his teeth. Smoke curled towards the ceiling, matching the smell that reeked Rep's new shirt.

Groaning, Aerith said, "Cid, we have a guest. If you must have something in your mouth then use a toothpick, or something, but otherwise take it outside."

Cid merely sucked in a long puff and held out the case of cigarettes in Rep's direction. He almost laughed at the look on Aerith's face as she swatted it away. He suspected that this was a common occurrence.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Cid said proudly with a gesture towards the machine. "Built it myself. It's the best computer we have, though I'm always making upgrades when I can."

"It's big," commented Rep, somewhat in awe. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Cid might let him try it. Rep had no idea what it did, but was drawn in by the ease at which Cid was making the machine calculate and flash.

Grunting, Cid replied, "That it is. It was a bitch to lug all the way here, let me tell ya. But I think that bigger is always the way to go."

"So what are you doing on it?"

Cid pressed a button as an image of a Heartless being disintegrated came up on the screen. "It's called 'Claymore'. It's a defense mechanism for the town. Still in the early stages, but it should be operational within a few months. It's pretty fuckin' amazing."

Yuffie smirked and concealed a laugh. "So back to the introductions before Cid tries to explain how it works. Now you know me, Leon, and Cid. You already met Aerith." She turned back to Rep and concluded with a wide grin, "and you're Riku!"

"What!" he argued without thinking. "No, wait I'm…"

"They don't know I'm a replica, so that's good. I'm safe for now. But they think I'm Riku." Rep considered carefully what that could mean for him. "I'd rather not be Riku. Especially not after I've seen what he's really like. But at least this way they'll never find out what I really am and I'll have a better chance of staying alive until I can figure out what's going on."

"Yeah, I'm Riku," Rep said, sounding more crushed than he would have liked as his head slumped back onto the pillows. He was grateful that, at least in his memories, he had been using Riku's name for long enough that it would be an easy thing to remember.

However instead of relaxing, Rep felt the tension in the room rise even higher as if they were desperately hoping he would say something else. After a very long and incredibly uncomfortable silence, Rep asked the second most important question on his mind. "So how exactly did I get here?"

"I dragged your unconscious ass back here," Cid told him with an air of complete nonchalance.

"Uh, thanks?"

Another long and uncomfortable silence, Aerith finally broke it by asking if Rep needed anything.

"Some water would be great," he quickly replied, his throat feeling parched and rough just thinking about it.

"Be right back," said Aerith. She rose from the bed, releasing his wrists in the process, and headed towards the door.

As he glanced around, Rep suddenly realized that there was no sink in the hut. Not wanting to cause any trouble, he threw the blanket off and tried to stand, offering, "Just tell me where it is any I'll get it myself."

"Don't!" Leon shouted, though Rep hardly heard as something silver flashed in front of his eyes and he was yanked back towards the bed. At first he furiously thought Leon must have grabbed him and had been about to fight back when he noticed Leon standing with the others, each sharing the same startled expression. However, they weren't even meeting his eyes.

They were looking at his hands.

The stiffness in his wrists and the reason Aerith had been trying to conceal them was instantly explained as Rep stared in shock at the silver manacles that had been tightly clamped around his wrists. They were light, thin, and not particularly uncomfortable, not unlike wristbands, but they felt cold and foreign. A chain protruded from a loop on each cuff, each meeting the other seemed to be suspended in midair just above his bed. He gave it a testing yank, but the chain was immovable. Wordlessly Rep stood and closed his hand around the spot where the chain was hovering. Again it was impossible to move. The slack it created was not enough for him to get very far and he felt a panic bubbling inside of him as he caught the reflection of his eyes glinting off the nearly white, smooth metal.

"What's this?" His voice nearly came out as a scream.

Leon answered quickly. "In short, they're anti-magic manacles."

"Wonderful."

Rep tugged on the slack as far as it would go. To his horror, he was only able to take one full step away from the bed. Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie backed away. Even Cid halted whatever he was doing to watch as Rep began to jerk his hands back to see if he could pull out of them. They seemed to be constricting him even tighter.

"Don't try to summon your weapon," Leon advised him sternly.

Rep rolled his eyes and resumed struggling to loosen them. He had been thinking of calling on Soul Eater and cutting the chain in half. "Why? What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing," he answered, though Rep caught the slight hesitation. "Those manacles were made to restrict all forms of magic and were modified to contain something much more powerful than you."

Cid coughed and tapped the ashes of his cigarette into a white mug on the desk. "Basically what he's trying to say is that it will probably burn your hands off before the sword even has a chance to materialize."

Rep stopped dead as his arms unconsciously slackened. "Seriously?"

"You're welcome to try find out," said Cid.

"Stop it – both of you! You're scaring him," Aerith ordered.

Rep almost laughed. He felt completely out of control. They had to be joking. They were going to take them off at any moment. This could not be happening again so soon. In a strained voice, he turned to Aerith and demanded, "I won't actually burn my hands off if I try to summon my sword, right?"

With absolutely no humour in her eyes she answered, "You probably will."

"Oh."

His chest tightened, like he had forgotten how to breathe. Rep glanced around the room and shook the chain. "So, can I take them off now?"

There was an air of awkward apprehension hanging in the air like a fog until Yuffie hesitantly replied. "No. The wearer can't remove them."

In the calmest voice he could manage, Rep articulated, "Can one of you take them off, then?" Slowly they shook their heads in unison, almost like it was rehearsed. With a dangerous edge to his voice, Rep asked, "Are you going to tell me why not?"

"We don't have to answer to you," Leon said with a hard edge. "For now, this is what you deserve."

"I des-?"

That was all that he needed to hear. With a scream of frustration he began to vigorously pull back on the chain, causing the metal to scrape against his skin and draw blood. Even Vanitas had allowed his heart to pull against him, but these people – people that he had just met – had utterly taken away his ability to fight back. "Sorry – I didn't realize that just dropping into your world was a crime!"

"Riku, please calm down," Aerith pleaded to deaf ears. "We're not trying to hurt you!"

"I don't even know where I am or how I got here – I wasn't even trying to come here! I just wanted to get away!" His voice rose to a hysterical pitch. His vision turned hazy, he had completely shut out all sounds other than the clinking of his chain, and could think of nothing beyond escaping alive.

Leon approached him and Rep could see the glint of his sword's edge out of the corner of his eye. "Stop fighting it – you're going to hurt yourself. This is the best thing for you."

"No!" Rep screamed hoarsely as he viciously strained against his bindings. "I won't be a slave again!"

For only a second his wrath sparked a dark flare in his fist. That single second was enough to send violent waves of burning torturous pain spasming throughout his body, sending him to his knees. He pitched forward and collapsed against the bedframe. Bringing his hands close to his body, Rep could make out thin red lines along the edges of where the cuffs met his skin. He could tell by the pain and the smell that the damage was much worse underneath.

"I was so close." Rep brought his entrapped hands to the soft quilt and pressed his forehead against them. The metal felt icy cold against his skin. "I was so close to being free. But even when I'm Riku I can't escape what I am."

"We're not trying to enslave you, Riku," said Leon, sounding exhausted. "Why would you ever think something like that?"

In response Rep shook the chain so that they swished through the air.

"I'm sorry we had to do this to you." Aerith crouched down beside him and tentatively placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. If he had the energy, he would have thrown her off. "I knew you wouldn't be happy about having them put on while you were sleeping. This is my fault. I was supposed to explain, but you just seemed so comfortable with us that I forgot we had even put them on."

"So why did you?"

"We're just trying to protect you and everyone else in our world."

"From what?" growled Rep. "Protect everyone from me? I haven't even done anything wrong!"

"You're joking, right?"

Rep was confident that Leon would have another nasty facial scar if the slack had allowed him to reach just a little further. "Do I look like I'm in the mood for this?! Just tell me what's going on!"

"You seriously don't remember how you arrived in this world?"

Rep gave a hollow laugh. It was true that he could not recall anything after stepping into the portal, but he could scarcely imagine he had done any damage while unconscious. "Enlighten me. Like I said, I have no idea where I am, so let's start with that."

"Hollow Bastion," said Yuffie cheerfully, though in a tone that was higher than usual. "You know big castle, lotsa Heartless… Maleficent? That ringing any bells? And did you forget Ans -"

"Yuffie!" Aerith hissed while shaking her head quickly. She rose from the ground and went back to stand with the others. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught them all sharing loaded glances with each other in a heated, wordless argument. Unable to watch any longer, Rep turned away.

"Right. Riku and Maleficent." Rep recalled in his memories how Riku had come to trust the sorceress as she slowly poisoned his heart against Sora. In the time he had been under her influence, Riku had kidnapped several princesses, unleashed the Heartless on many worlds, and nearly saw to the destruction of Hollow Bastion after trying to kill Sora with his own Keyblade. Rep understood very quickly why there would be a lingering animosity towards anyone who bore Riku's face.

"But he didn't succeed… Riku lost to Sora when he called his Keyblade back. Then he ran deeper into the castle. And that's where Marluxia found him and took him to Castle Oblivion because Naminé…"

Slowly Rep sat up straight as the significance of those words weighed down on him. "No he didn't. That doesn't make any sense – Naminé was never in Riku's past, so there is no reason why he'd go after her when he still had a grudge against Sora. He'd stay there and fight. But the next thing I remember is waking up on Vexen's table with her there beside me. Something is missing. The Organization didn't just make stuff up – they took it out too… Some of my memories are missing."

Rep turned around to see four pairs of eyes intently trained on his, waiting for a response. "And I think it has to do with this." Rep closed his eyes. "Riku… what exactly did you do?"

Cid cleared his throat. "You really don't remember? You have no idea what happened earlier today?"

Rep shook his head, now desperately wishing that he did. At least he would have some answers then. "I just remember going into a portal and then waking up here." Rep sat down on the bed and let his chained wrists fall heavily across his lap. Aware of how intently he was being watched, Rep knew he might never get a chance to make his appeal like this again. "Look, I'm not trying to cause any trouble. I'm sorry I came to your world – it was an accident. It was my first time trying to use a portal. I was just trying to escape someone."

"Who were you trying to get away from?" questioned Yuffie. Rep could tell from the others' expressions that they were thinking along the same lines.

Rubbing his hands over the manacles absently, Rep caught himself and sighed. There was no way to explain that without giving himself away. The only choice he had was to redirect it. "That's what I'm trying to get at. I know I did something wrong and I'm sorry for that, but you have to let me go. There are… there are a lot of people who want me gone. I'm completely defenseless like this. When they come for me, I won't stand a chance against them…"

Aerith returned to his side and, before Rep could argue, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tucked his head against her shoulder. "Riku, I know you're scared and I wish – I wish with all my heart - I could explain, but this is the best thing for you right now." Rep started to shake his head and pull back, but Aerith tightened her hold on him. "If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll have to go through me first." Without even looking at Leon and the others to see their reactions, she added, "They'll have to go through all of us. I promise, Riku, I promise you, that you will be safe here."

"I'm trying to do what you want," he protested with a tight throat. Rep felt a hundred years older in the last ten minutes. The happiness he had experienced at the crossroads just hours ago felt like a hazy dream as he was being jolted awake into reality. "You'll never have to see me again. I'm trying to fix this."

"I know it's hard," she said. "But I need you to trust me."

"You chained me up so I won't escape, you made sure I can't fight back, and you won't even tell me what's going on. How am I supposed to trust you?" Aerith had seemed so kind when he first awoke and he desperately wanted to believe her, but he felt certain that staying here was no different than surrendering himself to Axel or Riku.

"Riku, do you remember ever being in Hollow Bastion before?" inquired Aerith cautiously. "Do you remember anything about that?"

Rep thought carefully about his answer. "I know I've been here before with Maleficent, but I don't remember much after that. My memories are breaking down," he declared to stunned faces and wide eyes. "They're a mess and I never really know if I'm remembering what really happened or something just made up. I know I did something wrong, but I really have no idea what's going on. If you would just tell me, then maybe I could help."

"Like amnesia?" Yuffie wanted to know.

"Yeah. Amnesia," declared Rep, running a hand through his hair. The chain clinked and rubbed along his cheek. He knew she was wrong, but it was simplest to agree. "I don't know how to make it stop."

"Riku, I'm very sorry," said Aerith with a grave and intense voice, though Rep believed she was trying to sound comforting. "But I can't tell you everything. I know you must have a lot of questions, but you have to understand that we're only trying to do what's best for you."

"But why?" Rep urged.

Aerith's gaze passed over him as her eyes met with Leon's. Their silent conversation was silenced with a nod. "Riku, this morning you appeared in the centre of our main square from a dark portal. You…" she sighed heavily and ran a hand through her thick, auburn hair. "Something went wrong. You were badly injured in the process of coming through to the other side. You were scared and hurt, and you weren't able to control your own darkness…"

Rep felt his heart stop. He remembered. Darkness. Screaming. Pain. So much pain. Someone holding him down. Unable to escape as the darkness tried to drown him.

His blood ran cold as he stared at each member of the Restoration Committee in turn, hoping that one of them would disprove her claim, offering anything to the contrary. They all avoided his gaze. Dreading what he might here, Rep shuttered shakily, "I didn't… I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"No – no, everyone is fine," Aerith quickly admitted. Rep hung his head and sighed heavily, feeling his breathing start again. "A number of Heartless were summoned to protect you, but you managed to get them under control. You were very brave."

Stepping forward, Cid explained, "That's why we put the manacles on you – to prevent you from using that darkness again. You can't control it, so we're stopping you from destroy the town in a wave of Heartless while ensuring that you don't self-combust."

Rep buried his face in his hands. He was comforted to know that his weakness had not caused any lasting repercussions, but understood the severity of what he had nearly done. "Riku was right, then – a fake heart wasn't enough." Rep corrected himself darkly, "Will never be enough. Nothing has changed."

"You really don't remember anything?" he was asked again. Rep's thoughts were too penetrated by his own concerns to be sure who it was.

"Nothing. I wish I did. More than almost anything I wish that this wasn't happening, but I don't know how to stop it."

"Because it means that I'm breaking along with them."

Slowly their shock turned to pity. To his surprise, he saw Leon nod in Aerith's direction. She released Rep and gave him a tentative smile. "Riku, I would be honoured if you would let me show you around town."

Stunned by the sudden offer, Rep found himself unable to react in either direction before Yuffie flung herself at Rep's other side, causing the mattress to bounce. "That sounds fun! Come on, Riku! What if I come along too? Just you, me, and Aerith on an once-in-a-lifetime guided tour of everything that's changed since we kicked your old boss out."

"Yuffie…" Leon said in a low, warning voice.

Waving him off with a chuckle, Yuffie glanced out the window and smiled. "You all need to lighten up. If you actually want him to feel welcome, you're going to have to act like it. And speaking of lightening up, or darkening up, I guess, it'll be sundown in a few hours. So we should get moving if we want Riku to have a decent tour." When Rep failed to respond, Yuffie groaned and nudged him teasingly with her elbow. "Come on, Riku, it'll be like a party! You've got to at least be a little curious."

Rep's eyes were straying towards the blueprints and he even caught himself glancing out the window, prompting a wide grin from Yuffie and a relieved sigh from Aerith. But Rep could not bring himself to be led blindly through the streets with them clutching his shackles. His gaze tore from the window and settled on the chain, as if he could make burn away it merely by staring.

A moment later he heard Aerith whisper, "Oh I see."

Rep watched in amazement as she reached up and plucked the floating end of the chain out of the air. He prepared himself to suddenly be thrust onto his feet and led out against his will, but instead froze as Aerith crouched down to his level and held the chain out in front of him. The chain swiftly ignited and vanished in a flash of light.

Calmly she asked, "Does that help?"

Running his hands along the space on the manacles where the chain had been connected, Rep had to admit that it did. He had full motion in his arms once again and would be able to walk freely without the humiliation of being leashed. "Thanks," he told her stiffly.

A look of relief passed over Aerith's face, though it abruptly fell as she caught the redness on his skin around the cuffs. "Oh, I didn't realize it was that bad. Hold on."

She dove under the bed and began rummaging around, forcing both Yuffie and Rep to awkwardly kick their legs to the side to permit her space. He could hear the clink of bottles and books shuffling. Finally she remerged with a bottle containing a green liquid and a dusty rag. Warily Rep eyed the bottle as she uncorked it and tipped it upside-down, placing the rag flush against the opening. Once Aerith had decided that enough of the liquid had soaked into it, she righted the bottle and set it on the floor.

"Here. Give them to me," she told him cheerily while holding out the rag. When Rep tensed and pulled back at the command, Aerith gave him a small smile and changed her approach. "Riku, may I please see your hands?"

Reluctantly he held them out to her as she began to dab that the wounds. For a moment his skin began to burn and Rep had to grit his teeth to keep from giving a reaction, but just as quickly it turned pleasantly cool. In a rapid flash of green light, his wounds very instantly healed. Rep was grateful that the pain was gone though was, as Yuffie has put it, far from feeling welcome. Nonetheless, he thanked Aerith again, perhaps with slightly less hostility.

"Aerith, I'm not sure about this," cautioned Leon with a gesture towards where the chain used to be. "You don't know how the others will react."

Groaning again, Yuffie reached down over the manacles and hauled Rep onto his feet. "You see – that right there – that's why Leon's not invited to the party. He's a party-pooper of the highest order." Before anyone else could interject, she clapped her hands together and exclaimed, "Alright, we're leaving now so if anyone else has a problem with this, they can just keep it to themselves because we're losing daylight here!"

Faster than Rep could blink, Yuffie vanished. Suddenly he felt two hands on his back giving him a hard, teasing push. "Ninja powers?" he caught himself asking sarcastically.

She laughed and gave him another shove towards the door. "You know it!"

Cid rose off his chair and clapped Rep on the shoulder as he passed, whispering, "Get me a pack of smokes without Aerith seeing and I'll see if I can talk to Leon about those coming off later."

"Just be careful." Even with his back turned, Rep could feel Leon's eyes on him. "The usual infestation seems especially aggressive today. Try to keep out of sight if you can."

Rep rolled his eyes, glad that Leon couldn't see him. "Try to keep me out of sight, you mean."

Nearly at the door, Aerith joined them and held it open. Rep tried to pull away from Yuffie, but she seemed to be enjoying herself and adjusted her speed to match. "Quit worrying! This is going to be easy: get Riku some ice cream, show him some old rocks, show him some new rocks, and don't let him bring Maleficent or anything else nasty into town. Yeah, yeah, I got this!"

With a teasing wave at Leon and Cid, Yuffie gave Rep a final shove and slammed the door behind them.

"He really couldn't have picked a worse time to show up, could he?" Cid announced with a shake of his head. "Not when we need to be focusing all of our attention on the Traverse Town preparations."

Without answering, Leon fixed himself by the window with his hands resting on the sill, watching Aerith and Yuffie lead Riku along the city road. With baited breath, he half expected Riku to run. Though with no way to defend himself, apart from some rocks or building material he might find along the path, and every citizen in town knowing his face, Leon knew it would be easy enough to retrieve him. Their silhouettes, illuminated only by the setting sun, disappeared around a corner. With any luck they would have missed the crowd of workers returning home and would be able to bring Riku back under the cover of darkness.

"They'll be fine," Cid assured him. "They're smart and won't take unnecessary risks. Aerith has wanted to do this since we got him here and we all agreed that it would be alright."

"We agreed it would be alright as long as he seemed stable," Leon corrected sternly. "But he's not. You saw how he reacted."

His concerns were met with a low chuckle. "In that case, I would be happy to knock you out, chain you up, tell you that you can't do anything about it, and then, best of all, take away any and all recollections of this conversation so you don't remember who we are and what you did to deserve it."

"It's different," he argued with a barely concealed sigh. "You weren't there this morning when he came through the portal. Cid, he nearly allowed Ansem to reawaken right in the center of town."

Cid lit himself another cigarette and took a long drag. "The way I heard it, Riku was fighting the bastard the whole time. And since I'm looking around and the population hasn't decreased by a hundred percent, I'd say he won."

"But he doesn't remember him." Before Cid could provide a counter, Leon reasoned, "It's far worse now than if he did."

Raising his eyebrows, Cid crossed his arms and tapped his ashes onto the floor. "You're going to need to clear up that one."

Bracing himself for a lengthy explanation, Leon began. "He gave enough hints to piece together what must have happened to him. It sounds like Riku escaped Ansem at some point – Aerith mentioned that he claimed he had fought him off once before just as he fell unconscious – and used a portal to get here. Trauma or an accident caused his memory of Ansem and everything that happened today to be erased, meaning that Ansem has a blank slate to work with. Riku remembers enough to know that Ansem will come after him, but not enough to know who. Did you see how he avoided Yuffie's question? He knows he's being hunted but doesn't remember who wants him, and that scares him more than he cares to admit."

Cid ground his cigarette against the table and then stamped it onto the floor under his boot. Leon gave a small smirk when he pictured what Aerith's reaction would be. Turning back to Leon, Cid explained, "But here's what I don't get – if Ansem is the one coming after him, why did Riku mention that there were others?"

Leon frowned. It was a problem that had perplexed him as well. "Either his memory is still confusing him or…"

"Or what?"

Leon trusted Cid with many things. It was not a privilege many could claim. And yet he somehow felt as though he was betraying some sort of dark secret as he lay his suspicions on the table. "Aerith told me that there was someone else trying to possess Riku at the same time as Ansem."

Cid sucked his breath in through his teeth and closed his eyes. "Shit. So there're two of them now. Fan-fucking-tastic. Any prizes for guessing who?"

"I have a theory," Leon stated as he paced over to the table to sit opposite from Cid. "When Aerith sensed the other personality become strongest, it retaliated by summoning a host of creatures from the dark pool he was lying in – not Heartless," he clarified before Cid could interject, "something different. Something I remember seeing before."

"What?"

"The red-eyes. Those creatures that appeared a year before Hollow Bastion fell."

In the deepest recesses of his memories, Leon could still picture the terror that had gripped the town in that time. And from the look on Cid's face, he did as well. Unlike the uprising that had destroyed them, which had been sudden, vicious, and devastating, these creatures had gripped the town for weeks. Many became confined to their homes. Shops closed. Food became scarce. People tried to carry on with their lives as if nothing had changed, but the fear had made it impossible. It was during that time that Leon honed his abilities at fighting so that he could defend the town as best he could.

But then, as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished. They let their guard down in the aftermath, grew content with the peace, and never saw Ansem's onslaught coming.

"I wasn't the only one who recognized them. The kids – they had no idea what they were, but the adults recognized them as quickly as I did. It can't be a coincidence that they're appearing again now, just when Ansem has decided to make another appearance. There's some sort of connection that we're missing."

"Actually I have a theory too. Not about the 'not-Heartless' thing – though I guess it ties into it. I'm still hung up on what Riku meant by others. See, I don't think he's just confused and, to be honest, I don't know what this other bastard has to do with anything. But I think I might know who the others are."

"Who?"

"Ansem's apprentices. The six other guys who went down with him."

Staring down at a knot in the table's wood, Leon scowled. Xehanort, one of Ansem's most beloved apprentices had appeared in the square the same day that the red-eyes disappeared. Regarding it as more than a coincidence, everyone connected his name to their defeat and hailed him as a saviour. His loss had hit among the hardest. "I thought they died with everyone else in the castle."

"Did they though? We have no proof of that – but we do know that a few others made it out." Cid spread his arms and sighed. "Ansem survived, so who's to say they weren't a bigger part of his agenda?"

"A part of his agenda… just like Riku is now. Innocent victim or not, he's a part of this."

Leon rose from the table and walked over the blueprints. He had composed several of them himself. Silently he examined them, absorbing every last detail. There were plans for a market, schools, homes, and a library. Everything Leon could recall from Hollow Bastion before the fall was there except for a castle. There was no need to honour that particular memory.

With a look of confidence etched on his face, Cid reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette as punctuation. Leon patiently waited for him to finish, not tearing his eyes away from them. After a long drag, Cid continued, "Here's what I'm thinking: remember how Riku freaked out when he woke up? Specifically how he thought we were trying to enslave him? Again. He's been locked up before. You can tell just by the way he talks and acts and just holds himself that he's not used to being around people. So what if they were holding him for Ansem and they're who he escaped from."

"That's a pretty big stretch. There's no evidence and I'm not denying that it's possible, but…" Leon sighed deeply as his eyes narrowed. "I know you want answers. I do too. But it could have meant anything. Riku did a lot of things under Maleficent and Ansem's orders, and we know there are a lot of people who want him put to justice. That's how I understood it."

"We need to be prepared," Cid cautioned darkly. "We've already got Ansem and 'Mystery-Bastard' to contend with."

"We are prepared. You and Aerith and Yuffie and I, we've prepared to defend this town against anything. If they show up, we'll deal with them the way that we would with any other enemy who threatens our home. That's not the problem. The problem is that we never considered was him coming back like this."

"Who, Riku?"

Leon took his time in answering. He traced his hand along the outline of a house. Of all the places he had drawn, this one felt the most familiar. "Do you remember why I changed my name?"

Cid gave an odd laugh. "It's been so long, I'm not sure I even remember what you used to go by. But I don't get what that has to do with anything."

"Squall Leonhart ." With a glare, Leon turned to face him. "I took abandoned my name because I failed to protect this world. I was unable to protect the people I cared for, and it was the only way I could atone and have a new start. I gave up everything because I deserved to lose everything."

Coughing, Cid wiped his mouth and began stacking the dirty dishes. Leon knew it was only so that he wouldn't have to look him in the eye. "And you know that everyone thinks that was stupid, right. Especially your friends. You were fifteen – no one expected you to raze the Heartless down by yourself."

Leon reached down and took his gunblade off the floor. It was comforting to have back in his hands. He felt strong. "I did what I had to. I will always do what I have to. Riku is fifteen now too and look at what he's done."

"You can't make that comparison."

Shaking his head, Leon explained, "But Riku is not like me. He didn't give up his past on purpose and so, unlike me, he doesn't have to live with his failures." His eyes strayed towards the window, where the sun had nearly set as darkness overtook the sky. He could never forget the day that Hollow Bastion fell: the screaming voices crying out for help and silenced as their hearts were ripped away, the stench of darkness and blood, the dust from the falling buildings stinging his eyes, and the confusion and guilt as he awoke in Traverse Town, wondering why he was given a second chance when so many had been failed. "But we do. And I won't let this world fall to Ansem a second time."

Cid leaned back against the chair, throwing back his head against the back of the chair. Leon knew he understood. "So what are you going to do? Are you going to tell him the truth about Ansem to see what he does?"

"No. Riku's not in control, regardless of what he thinks. Ansem is too smart to be caught off-guard and we have to assume that he will have a plan. Riku is a Keyblade wielder and Ansem will never let him go."

Cid nodded gravely. "So we if we leave him as is, we run the risk of him blindly being corrupted all over again."

"But if we tell the truth, he might remember who he was and submit willingly," Leon finished for him.

"So we're screwed either way. He's like a bomb and that timer is always ticking down and the longer we wait to diffuse it, the worse the fallout will be."

Grimly Leon nodded. "Exactly."

"But take all that away - remove everything he's ever done and any plans Ansem might have for him - and just look at what what dropped on our doorstep today, and you get a fifteen year-old kid who's just desperately looking for answers and a place to feel safe."

"Exactly."

"So what are you going to do?"

Running a hand through his hair, Leon slung his sword over his shoulder and headed towards the door. "I'm going to see Merlin. There's a chance he might know more about those creatures that appeared and what caused them. Anything to help us know what we're up against."

He was at the door with his hand resting on the knob when Cid, in a voice he had never used before, said quietly, "I meant long-term."

Wrenching the door open, Leon kept his gaze straight ahead so that Cid could not see the shadow that had passed over his face. "I don't know. But whatever the cost, I won't fail this world again."

Leon left without another word. There was nothing more to be said.

Notes for Rep's section:

Poor Rep's having a lousy day! I just really quickly want to take the time to explain his reaction to the manacles a little better.

The entire story so far (from finding out he's a replica to now) has taken place over approximately two days, so it's been a lot for him to take in. However, several events have had a very powerful psychological effect leading up to this moment. First, he remembers Marluxia grabbing him with the vines, followed by being pinned to Vexen's operating table. Then Rep's heart is constrained by Vanitas. Next Axel grabs him in the hallway. Then Riku holds him down and nearly (I can say as the author, however, that he wasn't going to) kills him until Ansem steps in and makes it worse. Finally, in the back of his mind, he remembers Ansem and Vanitas holding him down while they each tried to take control. In each of these scenarios, someone physically restrained him, which in turn led to him being hurt and/or used. By the time he gets the manacles put on, being phyisically restrained in any way has essentially become a panic trigger because Rep believes it will always lead to him being abused. The line "I des-?" Is essentially when the fear takes over and he basically stops thinking. This is seen, to a lesser extent, earlier when Axel grabs him. He shuts down, is momentarily unable to speak, and finally breaks down crying. The other sort of irrational fear that he has is drowning, since that memory was made to be so powerful. I say irrational because Rep has never really been near a big body of water and its completely implanted.

Okay, that was longer than 'a little quickly'.

Notes for Leon's section:

First, I want to apologise if this part seems a little too wordy or rushed. I was watching TV (apparently my sister thinks I have too many shows clogging up her PVR... oops) while writing it and REALLY just wanted to finish this chapter. I seriously hesitated even including it, but I think it's important to understand Leon's motivations.

Also I wanted to clarify that I love Leon/Squall! I love everyone, actually, and you can consider this entire story to be a love letter to the entire Square/Disney franchise.

(Although... 100+ pages in 8 chapters? I'm not sure if I should celebrate or feel embarassed. I had no idea it was that long until I checked!)