Si'Lea and Aqua had taken a moment to stop on an asteroid in the Lanes Between and rest. They couldn't remove their armor due to the lack of an atmosphere not to mention the darkness of the void itself but were still kicking back a moment to think out their next move. Si'Lea was busy clearing her phone's inbox of the numerous texts and voicemails she'd received after the Second Sister's very public demise.

"Good grief, that's number forty two. Forty two messages total!" Si'Lea said as Aqua chuckled.

"I'm glad Sora was able to take one of them out. He's not a named Keyblade Master for nothing." Aqua said as Si'Lea gave a nod of agreement.

"A testament to your teaching ability Aqua. If only I was good enough to train Nixe that well." Si'Lea said, still messing with her phone.

"I wouldn't go comparing Me and Sora to you and Nixe. Sora had already saved the worlds twice in the span of a year before I came along. He was also carrying Ven's heart as part of his own for roughly eleven years by then too so Ven's experience kinda rubbed off on him. All I did was help to fill in some of the blanks. He was a very fast learner. Personally, I think you've done a great job with Nixe." Aqua said as Si'Lea sighed.

"Thanks but I won't be satisfied until she becomes a true Keyblade Master and can look out for herself." Si'Lea said as Aqua looked up towards the stars around them.

"Well, maybe her little disappearing act will help with that. Who knows, when she comes back, she might be ready for the Mark of Mastery Exam." Aqua said, Si'Lea shrugging nebulously.

"Maybe, but I'm still mad she left. She doesn't know the danger she's in. Sora's killing one of the Sisters may easily trigger a reprisal from the Sisterhood, to avenge their fallen sibling. First may specifically be targeting Nixe. I've ordered the Reaper's Game and the Guardians to be extra attentive for any sign of Sisterhood activity. Although…I am kinda surprised by some of the information I've been getting from them since the Second Sister died." Si'Lea said as Aqua leaned in to look at the phone.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Well for starters, your former Apprentice has been busy. He defeated two of the Sisterhood's cronies before he killed the sister. It also appears that Nixe's helped fend off two Sisterhood attacks, first by the Third Sister in Lantern Kingdom and again by the Seventh Sister and Prishe in a world called Nomanisan." Si'Lea explained.

"Seventh Sister? You mean Namine." Aqua said.

"Yeah well I'm not exactly going to give her my full trust right away. I've been burned by her kind once too often. This whole thing could easily be some kind of elaborate trick to make us think she's on our side only to turn on us at the eleventh hour. I won't be fooled again." Si'Lea said with determination.

"I'm sure Namine's not gone over to their side. If anything she's proving helpful. She did warn us about the attempt on my life." Aqua said as Si'Lea looked towards her.

"The method of which arouses my suspicions. You said the caller's name was Riku, that you recognized his voice, and that he should be in the other worlds right now." Si'Lea said as Aqua looked away, her expression unreadable due to the helmet.

"He is. He's supposed to be there. Master Yen Sid said that he and the other apprentices were not allowed to make the journey here due to tradition. By rights he should still be there. So how did he get here?" Aqua asked as Si'Lea stood up.

"Perhaps you should ask him that yourself." She said as she plucked Aqua's lucky charm from Aqua's pocket, handing it to her. Aqua took the charm with a nod.

"Want to join me? You might get to see Terra again." Aqua said as Si'Lea looked away slightly.

"I think I'll wait until I can see him again for real. Just something impersonal about reunions over D-Link." Si'Lea commented as Aqua giggled in amusement but understood her reasoning.

"Okay-okay." She replied before activating the D-Link.

…

Back in Twilight Town, Riku and Xenix were in the grassy lot outside of the Old Mansion gates, the two sparring with one another. The others were back in town, so it was just the two of them, alone. Riku dodged one particularly fast strike and came around to attack but was blocked, causing him to smirk.

"You're pretty good at this!" he commented as he and Xenix leapt back away from each other.

"I have a good teacher!" she replied.

"More like you remember more than you realize. Whoever you were before was obviously a skilled Keyblade Wielder. Your body still remembers what to do, and in all fairness, the Keyblade itself is an excellent teacher." Riku explained as Xenix arched a curious eyebrow with a smile.

"How so?" she asked as Riku looked at his own Keyblade, Way to Dawn.

"When we first start learning to wield the Keyblade, we feel it move in our hands, directing us and guiding us into how to fight and how to use it properly. Overtime, we learn to predict its movements and the Keyblade itself gradually stops guiding us. That's why, whenever we pick up a different weapon, like a struggle bat, a wooden sword, or even a stick, we already know how to use them. Granted we can't use them to the same extent as a true Keyblade, there are some things we just can't do without them, but our swordsmanship gets stronger and stronger the more we use a Keyblade." Riku said as Xenix looked at her Keyblade curiously.

"I never thought about it that way. But then again, I did a lot of sword fighting when I was younger." She said as Riku looked at her curiously.

"You remember something from your past?" he asked as she thought for a moment then shrugged.

"I don't remember really. I kinda said it out of instinct." Xenix replied as Riku scratched the back of his head for a moment.

"Maybe your memories are trying to force their way to the surface, slipping out when you least suspect them to." Riku commented before jumping as if startled.

"Whoa! Aqua!" he yelped.

"Something wrong?" Xenix asked as Riku reached in his pocket.

"Nah, just a friend of mine calling from…from far away. Excuse me I need to take this." Riku replied before raising his lucky charm and closing his eyes.

"Aqua?" Riku asked as he found himself within the infinite white of the D-Link, looking around before spotting Aqua's grainy visage.

"Riku! Where are you right now?" Aqua asked as Riku arched a curious eyebrow.

"Twilight Town? Where else? How are things going fine on your end?" Riku asked.

"Well things just took a turn for the better. Sora just defeated one of the major bad guys." Aqua said as Riku smirked and chuckled with a roll of the eyes.

"Show off. What else is new?" he asked.

"Well apparently, you warned me about an attempt on my life by the Sisterhood a while ago." Aqua explained as Riku blinked.

"What? This is the first time we've spoken since you and Sora contacted us the other day. I would've remembered contacting you." Riku said as Aqua looked at him skeptically.

"Riku I'd know your voice anywhere. You can't be in two places at once…unless of course the Neo-Being version of you is back somehow." Aqua said but Riku shook his head.

"Nah he's dead. Data-Sora saw to that. Master Yen Sid's got that passageway to the Forgotten Worlds on a tight watch anyway. There's no way I could've crossed over and come back. Everyone here can vouch for me." Riku said as Aqua shrugged.

"Well how do you explain your voice contacting me and warning me? Like I said, you can't be in two places at once." Aqua said as Riku nodded.

"Yeah. Unless there's a clone of me running aro-…!" Riku stammered before freezing, a look of realization on his face, eyes wide open.

"Riku?" Aqua asked, unsure of what was happening. Riku motioned to wait a moment.

"Aqua, I need to check something! Don't go anywhere, I'll be back!" Riku said before abruptly dropping out of D-Link. Back in reality, Xenix was reclined on the grass, staring up at the sky when Riku emerged from the link.

"Xenix, come on!" Riku said as he tore off towards the doors to the Mansion, Xenix quickly leaping to her feet and following him.

"Where are we going?!" she asked.

"Down!" he replied as he led her into the library where he proceeded to open the secret passage.

"You seem to know this place pretty well." She said as they ran down the stairs.

"I spent the better part of a year here! I know this place like the back of my hand." Riku said as Xenix smirked, the two running past Ansem's computer.

"So you'd know where the bodies are buried huh?" she asked, being cheeky as they ran into the Basement Hall.

"More like body, singular." Riku muttered, earning an alarmed expression from Xenix as they entered the basement corridor.

"Whoa, for real?!" she asked as they reached the doors to the pod room. Riku said nothing as he pried the doors to the pod room open, revealing the darkened pod room itself. The room's power was still on but something had done quite a number on it recently as the lights illuminating the room were dim or flickering, the pod itself damaged and knocked off its pedestal, sparks coming from the exposed wires beneath where it sat. The biggest damage was in the ceiling and the wall. The ceiling had a hole that had been sealed by debris from overhead but the hole in the wall had what looked like a metal coffin lying at the foot of it. The coffin's lid had been destroyed from the inside. Xenix put a hand over her face at the carnage while Riku glared at the empty coffin with a dark glare.

"Riku, what is this place?" Xenix asked fearfully.

"Originally it was where we kept Sora for a year. His memories had been fragmented and it took us that long to get them put back together. We also kept something else here. We thought it was dead but obviously, he had other plans." Riku said as Xenix looked at him worriedly.

"H-He?" she asked as Riku passed her on his way back out the door. He said nothing as he stopped and raised his lucky charm. After a moment, Aqua answered.

"Aqua, you're wrong, apparently I can be in two places at once." Riku said as Aqua looked at him confused.

"Huh? What do you mean?" she asked as Riku sighed in frustration.

"Sora wouldn't remember this, but Axel and I would…and so would Namine. In fact, it would actually make sense given my past experience with him. I wouldn't be surprised at all if she had a hand in his resurrection." Riku said as Aqua furrowed her brow, looking confused.

"Riku, what's happening? Who are you talking about? You're not making any sense." She replied as Riku looked at her.

"Let me start from the beginning. Get comfortable, it's going to take a while. It all started a year ago when I found myself in the basement of the Land of Departure, only back then, it was known as Castle Oblivion…" Riku said as he started to tell her a long story.

Meanwhile in the Palace of Eternity…

Namine had returned to her room, quietly proud that not only were her sabotage efforts working, but that Sora in his relentless search for her, had even slain one of the Sisters. Cinderella's Nobody, Second, the Lady of Indolence. The damage upon the Palace of Eternity was superficial but still disconcerting. First's rage was so powerful that she had made the entire Palace shake.

Namine's room had several large cracks in the walls and ceiling and some small pieces had fallen to the ground. The largest bit of damage was the large stained glass window of the number seven. Some of the glass panels had shattered and part of the 7's stem had shattered as well but this didn't really concern Namine. First had ordered the other Sisters to remain in the Palace for the time being while she considered their next move. This gave Namine some time to think herself.

Namine headed straight for the table in her room, sweeping some of the debris from her chair with her hand before pulling and shaking the debris off her drawing pad. She sat down and was about to put crayon to paper when she paused, looking contemplative. She silently put the crayon down before flipping back to the front page of the book, the first coloring showing her just within the doors to her room after first learning of First's interest in Nixe.

…

She had just returned to her room, quietly thinking of a way to protect the young Keyblade Apprentice. As she shut the door, she became alerted to the fact that something was different in the room. There was a strange black smear on the floor with a strange black vapor of some kind coming up from it. As she approached it, she heard labored breathing coming from somewhere and quickly summoned her Keyblade.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" She ordered, her hands shaking in fear of whatever might be waiting for her.

"It's me…Namine." A familiar voice grunted as if in pain. She then saw a gloved hand emerge from under her bed, followed by a white haired figure in a dark bodysuit that Namine immediately recognized. The figure was wounded, jagged black cuts and bruises covering its body, black vapors rising from its wounds as it struggled to stand up, using a broken sword shaped like a dragon wing to prop itself up. Namine's eyes widened in disbelief and pity.

"Riku! W-What?! H-How did you get here?! How did you find me?!" she asked softly but urgently as she dismissed her Keyblade, quickly helping him to his feet and onto the bed.

"I heard you…I heard your cry for help…I swore I would protect you, I promised I would." Riku replied, struggling to breathe at times as Namine looked away in thought.

"You promised that you would-…oh Riku, I can't believe you're still alive. I thought you were-…Ansem had buried your remains back in-…how are you alive?!" she asked as he laid back against the bed.

"I already…told you. I promised I would protect you." Riku replied as Namine picked up her drawing pad.

"Your injuries are severe but I think I can fix you. I'm no Vexen, but I know what to do. Just relax yourself." Namine said as Riku smiled at her.

"How's…how's the real me?" he asked weakly as Namine smiled lightly, drawing on her pad as his injuries started to heal, the vapors stopping immediately. Even the black smear on the floor started to dissolve away until it was absolutely nothing.

"He's doing well. Don't think about him right now. Rest yourself." She said as he looked towards the ceiling.

"I've been away for a whole year. I want to know about the worlds, about Sora. I remember…I remember he was looking for someone. It was you, wasn't it?" he asked, looking at Namine who looked up from her drawing pad with a look of sadness and pity but said nothing. Riku then looked back at the ceiling.

"No…no it wasn't. It was someone else…but he didn't even remember he was looking for her. Who was it, Namine?" Riku asked as Namine, still staring at him, opened her mouth to speak but couldn't say anything. Riku deduced her silence as her answer.

"I see…what about the other girl? The one he can't remember? Did he ever see her again?" Riku asked as Namine's eyes widened.

"The one he can't remember?" she asked, looking away in thought as she remembered something.

"What was her name? N-something. Nis? No. Nick? Nim? Nyah?" Riku asked as Namine's eyes widened.

"Nixe." She replied.

"That was it. What happened to her?" he asked as Namine looked towards him, a look of determination forming in her face.

"She's still alive, for now but…she's in danger…and you need to help her." Namine said as Riku looked towards her, a look of worry on his face.

"Danger? What kind of danger?" he asked as Namine looked down at her drawing pad to see an image of Riku in his black coat drawn upon it.

"It's too early to tell, but there are people trying to harm her. I can't help her, but you can. The things you are remembering now will help you to protect her. Protect her with everything you have, and if she should fall despite your efforts, find the real Riku. He will know what to do." She said before looking up from her drawing pad to see Riku's form had changed. He now had his black coat on. His injuries had healed and his sword had been fully repaired all thanks to Namine's power. Riku proceeded to sit up and climb out of the bed, looking at her with a sad smile.

"I remember now. It wasn't you I promised to protect at all." He said as Namine shook her head with a saddened smile of her own.

"No. It wasn't. It never was." she replied as Riku dismissed his sword.

"I will do everything in my power to protect her. I may only be a Replica of the real thing, but I will still fight to my very last to protect her." The Riku Replica said before pulling his hood up over his head and walking towards the bathroom.

"Be careful." She said as the Riku Replica smiled at her from over his shoulder.

"You too." He replied before disappearing in a Corridor of Darkness. Namine smiled at this, knowing that he would be a stalwart defender, remembering the times he tried to protect her in Castle Oblivion over a year ago. She then started to draw something else on a different page, drawing a white coat for herself. Pouring in as many of the memories of her friends into the garment as she could, not even having to look as the coat magically formed itself on her bed. When it was finished, she put aside her pad and picked up the coat, looking at the black inside before throwing it on, white-side-out, and zipping it up. She was just getting a feel for it when her doors flew open, causing Namine to jump with a yelp of…

"Yah!" out of surprise as First entered the room.

"Seven, it has come to my attention that your skill with your supplied weapon needs some improvement. However we cannot-…" First had said before pausing mid-sentence and there the memory faded away and in the present, Namine was smiling at the image she had drawn of a hooded Riku riding behind Nixe on the back of her Keyblade Glider as they rode through the stars.

…

At that exact moment, Riku and Nixe were doing exactly what Namine had illustrated. As they passed a world, Nixe watched as it passed.

"Huh, I wonder what that world is like. Maybe it's some sprawling metropolis or some kind of wild jungle world." Nixe commented as Riku chuckled.

"Either way, I'll help protect you. I made a promise to protect you, and I intend to keep it." He said as Nixe glanced at him slightly over her shoulder.

"Really? I don't remember you making that promise. When was it?" she asked as he chuckled again.

"The fact I made that promise is all that matters. So don't worry. I'll protect you. I always will. Count on it." He said as Nixe looked forward again.

"Good enough for me." She replied as they flew through the stars.

End Chapter 48

That's right the Riku traveling with Nixe is actually the Riku Replica from Chain of Memories, raised from the dead. He's a good guy now so no worries.

I also forgot to mention back in chapter 44 that we were done with Jungle Book now too.

I should probably inform you all that there's gonna be some definite delays for all of my stories in the immediate future. I've recently started a new job (as of 2/25/2016) and, naturally, this means significantly less time to write, whether I have the desire to write at a given time or not. Keep an eye on my DeviantArt profile for the latest news from yours truly. As usual, I will try and update there first before updating here.

I thank you for your patience and understanding…

Keep R&Ring…

STT