Chapter 4

It was sometime in the afternoon when a white monster appeared in front of the duo. Riku drew his Soul Eater and grinned.

"Riku be careful!" Naminé warned. "This isn't a heartless. It's a Dragoon, a type of nobody!"

The teen faltered. His blade dipped slightly.

"No...body?"

"They're like heatless, but only appear when a strong person loses their heart. They're far more powerful than heartless." Riku looked back at her, his eyes questioning and curious.

"But how do you know about-"

His questioning had to be saved for another time as he saw a spear flying towards his head from the corner of his eye. He ducked and sprang from a crouching position at the Dragoon. His sword drove into the body. It let out a distorted, mangled yell. Riku jumped back, confused.

"Naminé," he inquired. "Is this thing even human?"

There was a long silence. He started to wonder had she even heard him. He opened his mouth again to ask when she answered.

"No. I, I guess not." There was something in her voice that made Riku regret his question, but he hadn't the time to worry about it. The spear had re-appeared in the monster's hand and was advancing on the teen. Riku raised his blade, matching each blow masterfully, searching for a weakness, a pattern, a flaw; anything that would turn the tide of the battle. None came.

The monster brought his spear down in a crushing blow. Riku sidestepped quickly and pulled his blade up in a high arc. It was blocked easily and he was hurled into the air like he was made of paper. He fell hard on the ground, winded.

Riku's skin tingled as a bell rang above him. All bruises instantly vanished. He looked up into Naminé's eyes, filled with concern.

"You alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he answered.

"That's good."

"Thanks," he added reluctantly.

"No problem. Do you need any help?"

"When I tell you to, hit him with thunder, okay?" She nodded.

Riku leapt into the air, attacked him twice and repeated. He did the action several times. The monster, adapting to this new pattern, advanced on his fourth turn as Riku jumped away.

"Now!" he yelled. Naminé let the spell loose. Thunder rolled, and lightning shot down from the temporary squall, damaging the Dragoon considerably. It roared; any attack it was thinking to make was forgotten. Riku took advantage of its stunned state and plunged his sword deep into its chest, breaking through the monster's glass-like shell. Knowing it was defeated, he swung the Soul Eater back out. The glass splintered, and a multitude of shards shot outwards like deadly daggers. There was so many of them there was every chance that at least one of them would hit either Riku or Naminé. It so happened that three pierced Riku's flesh.

He was far beyond being able to scream. His lips parted slightly, expressing soundless cries of anguish. It was the only thing his body was capable of doing. The Soul Eater fell from his nerveless fingers as he too landed on the ground. To him, it felt like it had taken him an eternity to fall; as if everything had slowed down so he could take it all in. His mind was blank, he could feel the numbness starting to crawl through his body. Was this even happening? No, the pain was real enough for him to know it wasn't an illusion, or a dream. He was dying. He stared up at the abyss of darkness above him. How fitting, no, how ironic it was that he was going to die in this place. A place of darkness.

Naminé's panicked face appeared above him

"Riku!" she exclaimed. "Riku, stay awake, okay? I'm going to pull these daggers out."

"Naminé," he choked. His voice was lower than he thought, and it hurt to say even that much. He had to though. "Will you...tell Sora?"

"You can tell him yourself," she replied firmly. Her eyes were fixed on the three wounds he had; one in his stomach, another in his shoulder and the last one was embedded in his chest. She prayed it hadn't hit his heart. Gingerly, she put one hand flat on his chest and grabbed the white splinter with the other. Naminé counted to three, took a deep breath and pulled it straight out. Riku's body arched and he let out an involuntary scream. The sound ripped through her ears. She knew it must be painful, but if she didn't do this he was going to die.

"Just two more," she assured. "You're doing great, Riku, just hold on and try to keep still for me please." Riku blinked. He couldn't nod his head or answer. Everything was so surreal. All the strength he had had before seemed to be slipping away. He tried to fight it from happening, but how could he fight something he couldn't control?

Naminé repeated the process for the last two. The second dagger managed to create a similar reaction to the first but extracting the last from his chest only heralded a faint whimper. By now, blood was spattered all over her clothing. She didn't stop to thing about it. Now that his wounds had nothing to block the blood flow it was being lost at a more alarming rate, and she had less time than ever. Her hands fumbled around her rucksack and she took out her notebook and pen. She opened it and started to draw.

The picture she drew was of him lying exactly where he was now, only that all his wounds had healed, and he was asleep. She had to be exact; it wouldn't work if she didn't notice something and missed drawing it. She needed everything; every zip, buckle and button, every bloodstain, even his sword beside him. She was finished in less than three minutes, but she feared that even that was a bit too late. She placed her hand on the picture and closed her eyes.

Light lit up the sketchbook. The picture disappeared off the page and reappeared in front of Riku's body. There was a flash as if someone had taken a picture. Then it just seemed as if the pictures swapped. Naminé smiled.

"Thank goodness," she breathed, relieved. Her body was completely enervated; all her energy was needed for it to succeed. It was okay though. She had done it. She hadn't been too late. Her head swam in dizziness and she collapsed on the ground.

Riku's eyes fluttered open. His head was throbbing and his vision was slightly blurry from sleep, but otherwise he felt fine.

Fine... The image sparked in his mind's eye. The explosion, the daggers, the pain...

Riku bolted upright and patted his body all over. It was alright. He was fine, his wounds were gone.

Why was he alive? Those daggers should have killed him. How? Why? His head turned to Naminé lying beside him. She was asleep, with her hand on her sketchbook. There was dried blood all over her; smeared on her face, her hair, and spattered all over her white dress. Looking at himself once again he realised that he too was covered in his own blood.

Being careful not to wake her, Riku gently took the sketchbook out of her hand. It was already opened to a picture of him. Well, it was hardly a picture, it looked more like a photograph. He stared at it in horror, completely taken aback by his mutilated condition. His face was screwed up in agony, and there was blood everywhere. That was how he thought he should look now.

Riku's gaze fell on Naminé once more. Was this her power? Slowly, he turned the pages of the sketchbook. The last few were pictures of them walking along the road, and one with him fighting heartless the day before, but the more he travelled back, the more varied the pictures became. There was a picture of her giving a charm to Sora, pictures of Sora asleep, forgotten abilities...these were all things that had affected his friend. Blocking the worrying thoughts of his companion's safety from his mind he passed through them quickly. Other pictures appeared of different things; two men, one blonde, one red-haired, both dressed in black cloaks walking together, a village, smiling people, children playing in a garden. This world was tranquil, unaffected by the darkness that had encompassed his own world, his home.

Memories of peaceful days flooded back to him. He wondered if Kairi got back safely, or was she wandering around like he was. No, Sora would have made sure she was okay. It was strange, but Naminé reminded him of Kairi a lot. The day before, when she threw the bottle at him, Kairi would have been the only one brave enough to try something like that and know she'd get away with it. Or, when they argued, she had the exact same 'stubborn as a mule' attitude. Maybe the reason he was letting his guard down so much was that they were so alike. He couldn't do that anymore, not until he was sure she was on his side.

But she had just saved his life. How much more proof did he need? How would she be able to show it? And even if she did, would he actually be able to trust her then?

Shaking those thoughts off for another day, he made to turn to the next drawing when a hand closed the sketchbook shut.

"Please don't touch that," Naminé told him. One hand was clutching her head, the other took the book away. Her voice wasn't mad, just tired. Riku didn't protest.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively. She looked at the state of her clothes and sighed. "I'll never be able to get this out. You might as well throw yours out too, Riku, once we get to Twilight Town."

"Yeah. I've nothing to change into now, so I'm going to have to deal with it till then."

"Me too. Is my face dirty?"

He hesitated for a few moments. She gave him a crooked smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not that vain."

"Yeah, it is." he admitted. He took some water out of his bag and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks and started wiping her face. When she finished she looked at him.

"Is it all gone?"

"Yeah, you got it all."

"You might want to clean your own," she advised.

"That bad?" he asked.

"That bad."

Riku took off his gloves and Naminé poured some of the water into his cupped hands, which he splashed on his face. Afterwards he returned the bottle to his bag. They only had two left after that one. Somehow he didn't expect there to be a well or a stream on this road.

"I can't wait to have a shower," he muttered.

"Well, the sooner we get up and go, the sooner that dream will be realised." She stood shakily to her feet, took a few steps forward and wobbled dangerously. Riku caught her before she fell.

"Hey, you sure you're okay? Maybe you need-"

"Don't worry. I'm just a little tired, but I'm fine, really."

"Naminé." Riku looked at her intently, advising her to sit down.

"Please," she pleaded. "Let's get going."

It wasn't right, she had virtually no strength left and she wanted to keep moving. For her own health he was reluctant to let her go but he knew she'd only nag at him otherwise. Why was she being so stupid?

That was easy. Maybe she didn't want to make a big deal out of whatever she just did. Maybe she just wanted to forget about it, and the easiest way to do that was to keep going forward. He sighed. Well, if that was what she wanted to do, perhaps he could deal with that.

Naminé watched as Riku eventually stood up and extended his hand to her. The slightest red tinge came to his cheeks. She smiled, took his hand gratefully and pulled herself up. Riku held onto it as they started walking down the path. Her steps were slow but he didn't mind; he was tired as well. If they could both just make their way down the road they'd be alright.

"Hey Naminé," he asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm supposed to be dead, aren't I?"

The question caught her by surprise. She stumbled, and fell against Riku. He caught her arms and held her close to him so she wouldn't fall. Naminé sank into him, grateful for the support.

"You're not dead," her muffled voice sounded.

"But I should be."

"No-"

"You don't have to lie, I'm glad to be alive. It's just...I know the wounds I got. No one should have survived that. I only exist because you reversed the laws of nature." He looked unseeing into the distance.

"I'm..." He shook his head, searching for the right words. "I'm an accident now, aren't I? I shouldn't exist."

"Don't ever say that!" she exclaimed.

"But it's true, isn't it?" he said softly.

She looked up at him, her blue eyes remarkably angry. Riku thought he saw a flicker of sadness cross them before her eyelids shut delicately, preventing any further examination from him. She lay her ear against his chest.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked. He felt very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"I can hear you heart," she replied. "It goes, 'ba-dum.'"

Riku laughed a little at her great use of vocabulary.

"As long as you have a beating heart it's not true," she told him. Her voice was barely above a murmer. "You exist, okay? You were meant to be in this world."

Riku breathed in, and out. They stayed there for a long time like that, Riku trying to come to terms with still being alive. It was so strange, he thought if his life had been just saved he would be...happier, than he was now. He had been so sure he was going to die, so sure. Now that he wasn't... It wasn't an anticlimax, but something was different. He felt out of place. Like this wasn't where he was supposed to be.

He guessed that was a pretty good assumption.

Although, the woman had a point. He worked, everything was healed. In a way, it was no different than being sewn up or cured by a spell. But something felt wrong, it wasn't just a normal cure spell. This was much, much bigger than that.

"What did you do?" he asked. "How-" The words wouldn't come.

"How are you alive," she finished for him. He nodded.

"Life has many worlds, Riku. There are also parallel worlds. When I drew you healed, I just swapped one outcome from another parallel world with this one. That's my power."

"Isn't that dangerous?" he questioned.

"What do you mean?" she retorted, somewhat over-defensively.

"Well, you're playing with fate, aren't you? You're challenging the world's order."

"The worlds will be fine," she stated. "The notebook can just never be destroyed, or all the situations will be reversed."

Riku swallowed. "Reversed?"

"Yeah. For example, if your picture was to be destroyed, your wounds would be re-opened and you would die."

"Oh," was all he could say. He was unnerved by that, knowing that his life was hanging by such a thin thread.

"You can't bring someone back to life or kill someone though. And if someone died in an accident you drew, their lives cannot be restored. If you ripped the picture up, only the accident would be reversed, and the person would have just died another way. It's complicated, but that should be it."

"Wait a minute," he said. "If we just ripped up Sora's picture, his memories would come back, right?"

"It's not that simple. When Sora lost his heart, a nobody was created."

"What has that got to do with his memories?"

"You see, Sora and his nobody are the same. By right, if Sora is still alive, his nobody should be a part of him. Sora won't regain his memories until his nobody becomes one with him again."

"Is it because his nobody retains some of his memories?"

"Subconsciously, yes. Not all nobodies are like the one you fought. Some don't even know what they actually are."

"So we're going to have to find Sora's nobody, who might not actually know what the hell he is?"

"Yup."

"Great."

"It'll be a bit troublesome I suppose, but Roxas is a member of Organisation XIII."

"Roxas?"

"Sora's nobody."

"Hold on a second, we were in Castle Oblivion all that time and we never stayed to find him? What the hell were you thinking!?"

"His friend...Axel, he talked to me about him all the time when I was being held there. I would have known if he'd have come."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Trust me, Riku."

His face darkened at her request.

"Don't ask me that," he said, pulling her away from his chest. "Don't ever ask me that."

Naminé bowed her head and nodded.

"I'm sorry," she replied quietly. Riku turned his back on her. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"No-" he started. "That's not what-" He paused, then sighed again.

"Forget it. Can you walk?"

"...yeah."

They set off once more.

Author's Note:

Hi everyone. And so chapter four is up! I just wanna say thanks to everyone who reviewed, and electronic cookies and milk to the people who are sticking with this fanfic and reviewing every chapter! You guys rawk!!! Hope you got your replies!

As for the Dragoon, I don't think he has a glass chest in the game. But I do defend my case by saying that Sora never plunged his keyblade into it to find out either, lol.

There you have it. The next two months are going to be crazy busy for me, so an update might be slow coming. That and the fact that I wrote the start of the next chapter about six times, and I'm not happy with any one of them. I apologise in advance. Thanks for reading, reviews appreciated!

LastCetra.