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 Sixteen: Defluo (to flow away, disappear, be lost, to flow down, waste, disappear.)

"Look into my eyes; now you're getting sleepy. Are you hypnotized by secrets that you're keeping? I know what you're keeping, I know what you're keeping. Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save. Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave. If I show you then I know you won't tell..." - The Pierces, 'Secret'

Maybe it was the start of some fucked up tradition, I supposed as I opened the door to once again find something ominous waiting for me.

Well, alright, it hadn't been waiting for me, per se. It had appeared almost as soon as I pulled the door open, though: this creepy portal thing. Black and swirling, with purple and blue streaks here and there. And a man straining to step out of it, but anchored by some invisible hold on one of his arms. He looked like some sort of wannabe pirate or something—he had an eye patch and a scar and his black and gray-streaked hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. But he obviously had a wardrobe problem, since he was wearing a friggin' black trench coat.

"Seifer?" He questioned, looking at me.

But I didn't have time to answer and Sora shoved his way past me, followed by Donald, Goofy, and Riku, all of them pointing their weapons at the man.

"Xigbar! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead!" Sora growled with more malice than I would have given the normally cheerful boy credit for.

"I don't have time for you, shorty!" The man, Xigbar, said, looking past Sora at me. "You're Seifer, right?"

I glared at him, unsure as to whether or not I should answer a man who Sora, of all people, had a problem with.

"I came to warn you." He said, struggling harder against whatever was holding his arm. "You have to stay with the prince! The Queen has to have all of him! She won't settle for just—" He was cut off suddenly by a sharp jerk on his arm. "Shit, she was supposed to be gone longer!" He cursed before looking back at me, his uncovered eye wide and wild. "Just stay with him! You can't leave him alone or she'll—"

"Xigbar, she's coming! Luxord can't give you any more time!" Another man's face, which I very vaguely recognized, appeared in the portal. His green eyes peered out at us from beneath spiky red hair, sweeping over us and lingering on Sora for a little longer than they did anyone else before a hand—the man's hand, I assumed—grabbed the back of Xigbar's coat and yanked him back. A moment later, both of them had been swallowed by the darkness, and the portal disappeared.

"A…Axel…" Sora said, an odd gleam in his eyes as he stared at where the portal had been.

"Well, gawrsh…I thought we got rid of those guys." Goofy said uncertainly.

"What guys?" I asked.

"The Organization." Donald said. "Organization XIII."

"No. The Organization is gone." Riku said, firmly. "At least one of us saw all of them fade away!"

"Axel's…alive?" Sora whispered. But it wasn't Sora's voice, it was…

"Roxas, back off. Let Sora go." Kairi said, putting a hand on Sora's arm.

Sora jumped a little, blinking a few times as his eyes and demeanor returned to normal. "Huh?"

"The Organization is back, Sora. I don't know how, but they're back." Riku said.

Sora didn't answer, his eyes taking on a far-off quality. "I don't think they were dying when they faded away." He said rather dreamily, with the voice that wasn't quite his. "You guys weakened them, and then…before they could die…the Queen used a spell to capture them."

"Sora, snap out of it." Kairi said, shaking him a little.

He did, blinking furiously like he had the first time. "I think Roxas is right." He said, looking at me. "Seifer, that means she does have the first twelve souls. You were right."

"But why would they come to…to warn us? Why not escape?" Hayner asked. "If that guy can make a portal to another world…"

"There was something holding him back." Aerith said. "Like…a chain, maybe? And it sounded like the Queen must be keeping a close eye on them. That…Luxord fellow distracted the Queen, and Xigbar was able to create the portal and…warn Seifer."

As one, they all turned to look at me.

"Who's the prince?" Hayner asked, an odd edge in his voice as his eyes narrowed.

I shrugged. "I don't know any…oh." My jaw clenched together as I realized what…or rather, who Xigbar had been talking about. Hayner was the son of a queen, after all…the Queen.

"Oh?" He pushed, crossing his arms over his chest. "What 'oh'?"

"Hayner," I said sternly.

"Tell me." He said.

"You're the son of the Queen, remember, lamer?" I asked.

Whatever strange emotion had been his eyes was replaced by surprise, and then understanding.

"Oh." He said softly. "So…I'm the prince."

"Apparently." I drawled.

He was quiet for a moment. "Well, I did tell you I had to go with you." He said triumphantly.

I just snorted instead of retorting like I normally would have—my mind was beginning to buzz over Xigbar's frantic words.

"He's thinking again." Kairi giggled.

"Someone stop him before he overheats." Leon murmured with a little smirk.

I shot him a glare, but couldn't hold it as the events of the past few minutes once again came to the forefront of my mind. My eyes slid past him, and I put a hand over my mouth thoughtfully.

"Seifer?"

I had gotten drawn so deeply into my thoughts that I wasn't sure who had spoken. Instead, I ran a hand through my hair.

"Jesus, she's still after him." I muttered, scratching my head as I began pacing. "I don't get why she's still after him when she already has what she needs." I sighed heavily, putting my hands on either side of my head. "Think, think, think, Seifer!" I stopped pacing suddenly and dropped into a crouch, drawing a sketchy outline of the diagram for the ritual. "Alright, so…let's assume that she doesn't have everything she needs from him."

"Seifer, you're creeping me out." Someone said. "What're you mumbling about?"

"Twelve souls here." I said. "And the thirteenth soul here…the fourteenth with the Queen…what else does she need? Fourteen souls, the body she's in, a cauldron for the potion…a cup? But she doesn't need a specific cup, does she? Shit, what the hell am I talking about? Hayner doesn't even have any fucking cups, don't be stupid. And Xigbar said she needs all of him, so there's obviously something else. Something I'm not thinking of, Goddammit!"

"Seifer!" I jumped as a hand touched my back, and looked up at Hayner. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." I snapped. I couldn't tell him. Persephone had said not to, and if I did tell him…if ignorance is bliss for Hayner, enlightenment was death. "I just…need to figure something out."

"What? Seifer, let us help. This involves all of us, you know." Hayner said firmly, crouching beside me so closely that our legs and shoulders touched. The ring glowed as he motioned at the diagram. "What's all of this about?"

"Don't ask me to tell you." I said. "I can't, Hayner. If I do, you'll…well, I can't tell you what you'll do, but it'll be bad."

"I'm your leader, right? The prince, and all?" He asked. "So I'm ordering you to tell me what's going on in that big head of yours." He rapped his knuckles against my forehead gently. "Now."

"No. I swore to keep you safe, Hayner." I said. "I don't break promises."

"Seifer…just fucking tell me!" He said.

"No." I said, poking his forehead hard enough that he lost his balance and fell over. I stood, crossing my arms. "I'm not telling you, so you might as well just give up."

"It's his soul, isn't it?"

I looked at René, giving him the fiercest glare I'd ever given anyone. And I once glared at Rai so fiercely he pissed himself, so I know it's a potent look.

"Shut up." I said.

"I'm right, aren't I?" René asked. "The Queen already has Hayner's soul. And for whatever reason, she needs the rest of him, too. That's what that pirate-guy said."

"I said shut up!" I spat, balling my hands into fists.

"I don't…have a soul?" Hayner asked quietly, staring up at me with a look that sent a shiver up my spine.

"No…no, Hayner, please." I said. "I told you I'd take care of everything, didn't I? You said you trusted me!"

"So it's true?" He asked.

"I'll take care of it." I said. "I said I would, and I will. The ring Persephone gave me will lead me to it and you'll be fine."

His mouth opened and closed for a moment, like he was trying to say something but couldn't, and then his eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he passed out.

I turned on René, grabbing his collar and lifting up off the ground. "I told you to fucking shut up, you son of a goddamn bitch!" I shook him. "You couldn't just keep your damn mouth shut, could you, you stupid shit?"

"You mean…he's right?" Aerith said, kneeling beside Hayner's prone form and putting a hand on his forehead. "The Queen already has Hayner's soul?"

"She's always had his soul." I said, dropping René angrily. "Since before she sent him to Twilight Town. He was a heartless before, remember?" I looked at René again, snarling, "And he wasn't supposed to find the fuck out."

"S-sorry." René sputtered.

"Why wasn't he supposed to find out, my boy?" Merlin asked.

"Because now he's going fade away." I said, falling to my knees beside Hayner. "Persephone said that the only thing keeping him safe was not knowing he doesn't have a soul…she said if he ever found out, he would fade away."

"I didn't mean to, Seifer, you have to believe me." René said. And he really did sound sorry.

"How do we know?" Riku asked, jabbing René in the chest. "For all we know, you've been working for her the whole time! I knew we couldn't trust you!"

"I'm not working for the Queen!" René said. "I'm not. I swear I'm not."

"We have no way of knowing that!" Riku said.

"Riku, stop it." Kairi said. "We don't have time for this. We have to figure out how to stop Hayner from disappearing."

"That's easy." Cid said, hefting his spear over his shoulder. "We gotta go get his damn soul back!"

"But we don't know where it is." Sora said.

"Sure we do." I said. "Or, at least, the ring that Persephone gave me does. That's why it only works when Hayner touches me."

"Okay, good. So who's going?" Cid asked. "Someone has to stay here with Hayner…"

"Hayner stays with me." I said obstinately. "And I'm going."

"Can't we all go? The Highwind is big enough for all of us, isn't it, Cid?" Aerith asked.

"We can take the Highwind, but it can't handle all of us right now." Cid said.

"Well, I certainly can't go." Merlin said. "I'm far too old."

"Squall and Aerith should stay here, too." I said.

"Why?" Squall asked, frowning at me.

"You're in charge of rebuilding this place, right?" I asked. "You're needed here."

"You idiots might—" He began.

"If we need you, I can Summon you, remember?" I asked, flashing Griever at him. "And Aerith should stay so that when we come back, she'll be ready to patch us up."

"Kairi should stay, too." Sora said.

"No! I'm so sick of getting left behind!" Kairi said, stomping a foot.

"Look, girlie," Cid said. "If we were just traveling around the worlds like Sora did when he first started, I'd let you come along. But we aren't. We're going straight up to the fucking boss of all these things, and you aren't near strong enough to be of any use. You'll only get in the way."

"You don't have to be so harsh, Cid." Aerith said, putting an arm around a tearful Kairi.

Cid snorted.

"I'll stay, too." Cloud said. "Sora can Summon me if I'm needed."

"Alright, then." Cid said gruffly. "Let's go."

"Should we try to wake Hayner up?" Goofy asked.

"Let him sleep." I said, scooping the boy in question up into my arms. I tried to ignore the way Hayner sighed contentedly and clutched onto my shirt, and mostly just succeeded in making myself blush a bit. "Maybe he'll wake up and think it was a dream."

"I hope so." René said. "I really didn't mean to…"

"Yeah, right. We aren't stupid, Replica." Riku sneered.

"Both of you shut the fuck up, and let's go." I said, sick of their arguing.

"You mean he's…? He can't come with us!" Riku said.

"He can, and he is." I snapped. "And if you're gonna fucking argue with him the whole way, then you can fucking stay here, got me?"

Riku shut his mouth with an audible snap, though he gave me a disgruntled look and René a suspicious one.

I rolled my eyes, shifted Hayner in my arms a bit, and headed toward the ship.

Somberly, the rest of the 'crew' followed.

End Chapter Sixteen

A/N: Is it sad that every time Seifer mentioned his promise and stuff, I flashed back to 'Horton Hears a Who'? I can see him now: 'I meant what I said and I said what I meant! A Seifer is faithful, one hundred percent!'

……:gigglesnort:

:brick'd: