Chapter II:
Silence

That was five weeks ago. Five weeks since Riku stumbled out of smoke, beaten and bloody. Five weeks since he had carried Riku twelve miles over his shoulder, leading the remnants of Destiny Islands farther from the mainland. Since that day, nothing had been the same.

When the heartless attacked and their town had fallen, everyone had looked to Sora. Despite his age, he had almost single-handedly defended the town as they fled. On the run, he had kept them going, kept pushing them forward. When he wasn't rallying the crowd, he had stayed behind to stall the heartless, buying them time, little by little. They didn't know of his exploits outside of Destiny Islands. No one did, not even his parents. When they had returned, Riku, Kairi, and himself had decided it best to keep their adventures to themselves for the time being. Of course there had been questions, but after a time they died down. The townspeople seemed to sense they had been through more than they could imagine. Sora was still his bubbly, fun-loving self. Riku was still fiercely competitive, and Kairi was still as optimistic as ever. But there was a hard edge underneath it all; signs that something had changed. Confidence in the way they carried themselves few teenagers possessed, and every now again, a knowing glance between the three. That night had simply proven it.

After a week on the run, they ended up on a tiny island, barely three miles across. The island was a green jewel perched on a pedestal of barren rock. Jungle burst to the edges of the clifftops and eventually thinned to a black-sand beach on the seaward side. The island was largely unknown, with only an unofficial nickname given by the fisherman. On account of it being the farthest fishing ground from the town, the last place any fisherman would check before calling it a day, they had dubbed the island Last Hope.

The name seemed only too fitting now.

Sora crouched on the balls of his feet, studying the beach. When the heartless attack came, and it would, it would be from here. The beach was the only conceivable landing on the entire island. Not even the heartless were sturdy enough to withstand the riptides and merciless waves constantly pounding the unforgiving cliffs. As such, he, and the other survivors, had set up their defenses accordingly.

He absentmindedly picked up a handful of the black sand, letting it run through his fingers.

If you can really call them defenses, Sora thought bitterly.

They had used what they had. Which wasn't much. Several wooden barriers had been erected near the tree line, along with sharpened spikes planted haphazardly throughout the sand. A sorry excuse for a fortress, especially compared with the security systems and battlements of Radiant Garden he had fought along, so very long ago.

Sora ran a hand through his spiky hair. It would barely last five minutes. If they were lucky. Of course he couldn't tell the rest of their group that. They were barely holding it together as is. They had lost their homes, their possessions, their families. All they had left was their hope for a future. Their world had fallen before. It would rise again. Or so they believed.

What have I gotten us into?

Sora walked to edge of the water, and sat down wearily, wrapping his arms around his knees. He stared across the black ocean. Not a single wave washed ashore. It made him oddly uneasy. Like the flat water was glass waiting to be shattered; the calm before the storm. Sora sighed, deep in his chest, wondering how the hell he was going to get them home.

"Hey."

He continued to contemplate the silent ocean, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Kairi sitting down next to him.

"Hey."

She shifted, settling into the sand, "One of those nights huh?"

"…yeah," Sora kept staring into the distance, "How's Riku?"

"The doc says he'll be up on his feet in a couple days. You should go see him."

"Yeah."

In his head he thanked whatever luck watched over them. When he had found Riku on the edge of town, his friend had been bleeding out on the cobblestone, near death. For the week they were traveling, nothing about Riku's fate had been sure. He was comatose, and losing blood faster than they could find new bandages. But the four, blessedly uneventful weeks on the island had seen Riku heal. The wound in his side closed, leaving nothing but memories and a faint gray scar. The town's doctor had even managed a blood transfusion, replacing the blood Riku had lost. Kairi had been at his side every moment, and three days ago Riku had finally woke.

Sora hadn't found the time…or heart, to see him yet.

Kairi's face leaned into his field of vision, a slight, worried smile on her face.

"Hey," She said softly, "What's up? I've never seen you this quiet."

He turned away slightly, wishing he could run to the skyline. Just disappear into the night and forget.

But he couldn't. He couldn't abandon these people to their deaths. He couldn't leave Riku. Not again. Or Kairi, still waiting patiently for him to answer. She had never left and, well, Sora didn't think she ever would. He didn't know which was better. Just what was easier. The skyline beckoned, but he let one whisper, one painful thought free, anyway.

"What have I done Kairi?"

"What?" She asked, looking confused.

"What have I done?" He said, a little louder, "I'm responsible for these people, and what have I done? Their homes are gone, their world is crumbling around them, their families are…gone."

He finally turned towards her. He wanted her to hear what he was saying. To understand what he meant. To meet the demons hidden behind his eyes.

"I'm the keyblade wielder. I was supposed to beat the heartless so this didn't happen. I brought them here Kairi. All this," He waved his hand over the island, "Is because of me. And now, I don't know how we're gonna get out of it." He shivered, the still air sucking the heat from him. Sora dropped his head, then quickly brought it back up, "And Riku…"

He turned away again. He wished he could feel tears at the corners of his eyes. Almost longed to feel some sort of hurt, but he couldn't. His worry, fear, pain…it had all long ago faded to a dull numbness. An acceptance of his fate.

Then a comforting weight settled on his shoulders, pulling him back.

Kairi.

She nestled her head against his neck, warm, red hair falling away from her eyes. Her arms pulled him in closer, and she looked up at him with more comfort than he had known the world possessed.

"Sora," Tears gathered at the edges of her indigo eyes, "Oh Sora," She whispered, "What's happening here, what happened to Riku…none of that is your fault."

Kairi turned him back towards her, a gentle hand on his chin, "Help is coming. You sent out a distress call to Disney Castle. The King, Donald, Goofy…they're already on their way. They have to be. Not that any of that matters."

Sora's eyebrows lowered a bit and he blinked questioningly.

"It doesn't matter, because we have you," Kairi said, "Even if you don't believe in you I do. You've never given up before and you won't now. We'll get out of this…trust me."

She held him tighter. He closed his eyes. Why were they here? Why did life have to take more than it gave? He had wanted this moment for so long. After losing his home, losing his friends, even when he became the enemy he swore to destroy this was all that kept him going. The thought of her and him. Together. Now they were here…and nothing was as it should be.

Sora opened his eyes. He sighed and finally returned her embrace.

Okay.

If this was all they would ever have, he would take it.

Author's Note:

Not bad huh?

That's right. Not the story (although that too). Two updates in less than a week. You lucky ducks you.

Or unlucky, depending on how you view my writing. Either way! Drop me a review and I promise more quick updates will follow! Motivation people. It's a two way street. I motivate you with writing, you motivate me to write. I hope this finds you all much happier than these poor, downtrodden characters!

XIII, calling it a night.