Remembering the Forgotten

By: Ellipsis the Great

DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts and everything affiliated with it belongs to SquareEnix and Disney. All I own is the plot…although the original idea came from orangediscord's one-shot 'Left Behind.'

Summary: Sometimes, I thought I was the only person who remembered him…eventual Seiner, other pairings unknown.

Rated: M.

Spoilers: Takes place after Kingdom Hearts II; I dunno how much of the plot will be included.

Warnings: Yaoi and some angst. More warnings later if needed.

Chapter Fifteen: Credo (to believe; trust, commit; trust in, rely on)

"If I say who I know it just goes to show: you need me less than I need you. Take it from me, we don't give sympathy—you can trust me…trust nobody." –Fray, 'Trust Me'

"So all we have to do is keep Sora and Hayner safe for the next week, right?" Riku broke the tense silence that had settled over us as we tried to grasp all of the new information being shoved on us. "Then we can go defeat the Queen, after the danger of the Blood Moon is over."

I thought about answering, but…I couldn't. He should have been right—he probably was right—but something about his 'theory' struck a false chord in my heart. They didn't know that Hayner's soul was already gone, but… that still shouldn't have mattered. Without Sora…and even then, something about the fact that she had Hayner's soul just…unnerved me. There was something wrong with all of this…something I hadn't though of yet…

"Hey, Merlin." I said quietly, hardly audible over the argument Sora and Riku had gotten into over whether or not Sora needed to be protected.

"Yes, my boy?" Merlin asked.

"How long can a body go without its soul?" I asked, in the same low tone voice that had made everyone go quiet and look at me.

"I'm not sure. Does it matter?" Merlin asked.

"It might. What would happen to a person if they don't have their soul?"

"Nothing." Sora said. "I didn't have Roxas for almost a year, and I'm fine!"

"Nothing? Are you sure?" I asked. "You didn't feel empty or something?"

Sora shook his head, shrugging. "Not that I can remember."

"Sora, you were asleep for nearly the whole time you didn't have Roxas." Riku said, then looked back at me. "What're you thinking?"

"Well…assuming that the Queen already has the first twelve souls…" I said, hoping that none of this would let on to them that she actually had thirteen souls. "What's happening to the people those souls belong to?"

"They're probably all heartless. Or dead already." Squall said.

"But what if they aren't? And what if there is some sort of…I dunno, expiration date to how long you can go without your soul? What if the person and the soul disappear or something once that date has passed?" I asked. "I mean, the Queen has to have the souls up until the Blood Moon, but after that…who would put it past her to time it so that they disappear the day after?"

Everyone got very quiet at that.

"So we're going on a rescue mission, now?" Donald asked.

"I don't like it." Cloud said.

"Yeah. If she gets Sora or Hayner…" Kairi began.

"No! No, don't you get it?" René broke in. "No offense, Sora, but you don't matter. The Queen doesn't need Roxas, she needs a pure soul. Sora's soul isn't the only pure soul in the universe."

"Who else is there?" Cid asked.

"The princesses." Sora gasped suddenly. "The seven princesses of heart! Kairi and Jasmine and the others…their souls are probably pure, too, aren't they?"

"Oh my God." Kairi squeaked, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.

"Don't worry. As long as she doesn't get my soul, we can get the rest back." Hayner said with a determined look on his face.

"The Queen always has a backup plan." René said. "That's how she got this far, isn't it? It was her original plan for the woodcutter to kill Snow White, and when that didn't work she tried to poison her. When that plan didn't work and she got pushed over the cliff, she moved her soul as she was falling. She doesn't need Sora's soul or your soul. She just wants them…though I don't know why."

"Because I'm her kid. She's been raising me for this very purpose the whole time; of course she would prefer my soul to anyone else's." Hayner said, looking a little green. "And Sora's the Keyblade Master, for Christ's sake. Of the pure souls she could go after, he's probably the only one who could actually stand in her way if she doesn't take his soul."

"I think René's wrong." Riku said suddenly, giving René a glare that rivaled me at my worst.

"I'm not wrong!" René said.

"How would you know? You're just some worthless imitation! Why should we listen to anything you say?" Riku demanded.

"I am not an imitation, you narcissistic jerk!"

"What're they talking about?" I asked Hayner as the two silver-haired teens went at it with minimal resistance from anyone else in the room. Actually, Aerith was the only one who tried to stop them; everyone else acted like it had happened before and they were sick of it and of trying to stop it.

"Apparently, one of those Organization XIII guys created a replica of Riku. They think René's him, even though Riku says he destroyed him." Hayner said. "They've been arguing like this at every opportunity." He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "They're worse than we were."

"Similarity breeds contempt." Merlin remarked with a soft chortle.

"And the only similarities between us are stubbornness and short tempers." Hayner said. "Those two are exactly alike."

"We aren't anything alike!" Riku and René yelled at him in unison, then growled at each other angrily, "Don't copy me!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Cid snapped, grabbing their collars and separating the two. "Both of you sit down and shut up!"

"He started—" They said.

"I don't care who started it, I'm finishing it!" Cid said, practically throwing them into the nearest two empty chairs. "Got it?"

"Got it." They mumbled.

"Now…" Cid turned to Hayner. "Since you're apparently the leader around here, what do you propose we do?"

Hayner gaped at him, kind of like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "Ah…" He glanced at me.

"What're you looking at me for? You're the leader, remember?" I said, smirking at him as I leaned back in my chair.

"I'm not a leader." He hissed. "An instigator, maybe, but not a leader. How in the hell am I supposed to know what to do?"

"She's your mother." I reminded him.

He blanched. "Seifer…"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine." I said. "I kind of have a plan anyhow: All of you guys stay here and keep Hayner, Kairi, and Sora safe. I go kick ass. End of plan."

"What?! You can't go after her by yourself!" Hayner screeched before anyone else had time to react. "She'll kill you!"

"I can take care of myself." I said.

"Unless she sends your father after you!" He retorted.

I punched him. "You leave my father out of this! Look, I've got this thing, right?" I held up the hand with the ring on it. "Persephone said that once I've found what I'm looking for, I'll know what to do."

"What you're looking for?" He asked. "I thought you were on a mission for her?"

"It's complicated." I said. "Just…trust me. Once this thing's led me to…to the item, all of this will be over. I think."

"That ring only works when you're touching me." He said. "So I have to go with you."

I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him out of his seat, ignoring the way the ring on my finger burned. "Listen up, lamer, because I'm not damn well gonna say this twice: You. Are. Staying. Here. I don't know why the Queen is still after you—"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

I snapped my mouth closed, inwardly cursing my slipup. "Shit, Hayner, just…just stay here. Stay safe. Okay?"

"No, not okay!" He said. "I'm the leader, remember? And I say I'm going, so I'm going!"

"Oh, but chickenwuss…you aren't a leader—you're an instigator! That's what you said earlier; you can't just change your mind now because you don't like my plan." I said. "And since you put me in charge, I say you're staying here. So guess what, lamer? You're staying the fuck here!"

"Fine! I'll stay here, you overbearing jackass! But you're not going by yourself if I have to smuggle Jiminy Cricket into your pocket!"

"No."

"Yes." He hissed, grabbing my wrists to keep me in place when I tried to pull away. "So pick someone before I send Leon after you."

Squall made a funny noise in the back of his throat that made me think he wouldn't be 'sent after me' of his own volition, but the look in Hayner's eyes left no room for argument.

"Alright." I said, glancing up for a split second. "René can come with me."

"Him?!" Riku asked. "For all we know, that stupid copy is working for the Queen!"

"All the more reason for him to come with me." I said before René could start. "Get him away from the two souls the Queen wants the most, right?"

Riku scowled and glared at me; I glared back.

"You'll need a pilot." Cid said, standing as he spoke with a smug smile on his face.

I made a face, but nodded. It was true, after all. Then I looked back at Hayner, just then realizing how close our faces had gotten. He seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as his face turned a bright red color. I'm pretty sure I saw his eyes flicker toward my mouth, too.

Pursing my lips, I leaned forward, pressing our foreheads together.

"No matter what happens…" I began hesitantly. "No matter what anyone says…just remember that I'm taking care of everything, alright?"

"What're you talking about?" He asked. He definitely looked at my mouth, that time.

"Just promise me you'll trust me." I said.

He frowned. "Okay. I trust you."

"Good." I released him, motioning at René and Cid and pretending not to notice how the beam of light from my ring immediately went away. "Let's go, you two."

René mumbled something that I don't think anyone caught, though Riku sneered at him for good measure.

I rolled my eyes, wondering vaguely if it was the souls I was saving from René, or everyone else's last nerve.

End Chapter Fifteen