Disclaimer: not mine.

Chapter 14

Riku watched as Sora lay down on the same bed he'd occupied before. If he didn't know Sora as well as he did, he wouldn't be able to pick up on his nervousness. The Captain had insisted that they do this under medical supervision and he had no reason to argue. He stepped up to the bed and took Sora's hand. "Hey," he murmured. "It'll be okay, you won't feel a thing," he promised. "Last time you had some hazy memories of my fighting the Nightmare that had you trapped but you weren't fully aware. You're just going to take a nap for a few hours."

Sora nodded, squeezing his hand. "What if this does not work?" he asked.

"Then I contact the other Masters and we look for other ways. Maybe meeting the others would help jog things too." Between the libraries of Disney Castle, the Land of Departure, Merlin and Master Yen Sid surely there would be something on memory loss. He glanced up as the doors opened to admit Commander Tuvok who then joined them.

"May I observe?"

"There's not much to see," Riku warned, and he nodded, so Riku looked to Sora. "Your choice Sora."

"He can stay," Sora agreed, not that Riku thought he'd say no if he regularly gave the man access to his mind.

The Doctor approached with one of their strange injection devices. "Whenever you are ready. As asked, this dosage will keep you under for several hours," he told them, and Riku nodded, that was good, it would be better for him to sleep and let things sort themselves out.

"I don't know if he actually needs to be asleep for this but better safe than sorry. And it'll keep him from subconsciously trying to fight me." He squeezed Sora's hand. "Say when," he smiled at him.

"Ready," Sora said after a moment, and the device was pressed to his throat, his eyes closing almost immediately.

Riku watched the Doctor activate the bed, seeing various displays light up.

"All readings are normal, you may proceed when ready," the Doctor told him.

Riku placed Sora's lax hand on the bed and stepped back. He raised his hand, Braveheart appearing immediately, and then he levelled the Keyblade at Sora's sedated form, closing his eyes as he reached out with his Heart.

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Tuvok tensed as the strange blade appeared in the humans hands. Studying him, there was nothing aggressive in his stance or expression, more…searching? It began to glow, a beam of light heading for Sora and then a pink object formed, floating above him.

"I don't know how long this will take out here," Riku told them before touching the blade to the shape, vanishing in a flash of light.

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Riku landed easily on the platform, only to stare at it in horror. Once it was vibrantly coloured, with clear images of Sora, himself, and their friends. Now it was mostly clear with some black lines here and there, some very light red on Sora's image…only his own image was as it should be, which he supposed made sense if Sora remembered him. There were even a few cracks in the glass and was that some missing from one edge? He felt sick as he took in the damage. "Oh Sora," he whispered.

He knelt down, placing his bare hands on the glass, searching. He glanced up as something flickered at the corner of his eye. It was a small ball of dim light and he held his hands up in offering. "It's alright Sora, I'm here," he whispered, knowing immediately what the light was. Sora had always been so bright, to see him reduced to that hurt.

The ball of light jittered about, shy and unsure, scared of being hurt further. Riku stayed where he was, he couldn't force Sora to come to him. "I won't hurt you Sora, please," he begged and the light shifted away slightly before hesitantly moving towards him. He cupped his hands around it, smiling softly. "I'm sorry it took me so long to find you," he whispered.

Riku closed his eyes as the light pulsed, feeling confusion, longing, hope, and a little fear wash over him. "Oh Sora…" he fought back the tears gathering in his eyes. "I'm going to help you," he swore, reluctantly letting the representation of his oldest friend, the boy he had loved for years, go. He was glad Kairi wasn't there to see him like that as well, she blamed herself enough for his disappearance. He moved to the middle of the platform and summoned his Keyblade. "Please let this work," he prayed to any who could hear him. He knew Sora had helped save Hercules' godly family, if they could then surely they would help.

To his relief, his Keyblade reacted and then a keyhole appeared, different to the ones he usually saw because this one was locked pretty tight. He had to unlock it and he knew that Sora would have made it so that he could; him, Kairi, probably Ven and Roxas too, maybe even Mickey and Axel. The beam of light hit the hole and he watched it expand, unlocking, light flooding around him, sinking into the glass under his feet. The ball of light puled and then exploded, expanding, and Riku smiled. He'd done it. He looked down, seeing the black lines spreading over the glass, pools of colour following.

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Tom fought the urge to tap nervously on the side of his console. He wanted to be there, he was the nurse after all! He wanted to be there for Sora cause the kid was his friend…the kid brother he'd never had and had always wanted. There was just something about Sora that made him want to protect him, had ever since he'd seen a groggy Borg drone sitting in the wreckage, utterly placid.

A glance back at Ops showed Harry wasn't much better. Why did they have to do the procedure when they were both on duty? Then again, Tuvok had just left the bridge, hopefully he was headed for Sickbay. He knew he had to stay at the conn, there was always the chance the Hirogen would find them and then he'd be needed. They weren't in fighting shape yet.

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The Doctor moved as suddenly Riku appeared, slumped on the floor. A quick scan with a tricorder had him relaxing. "He's asleep."

He had been right about there being nothing to see, other than an occasionally spike in various parts of Sora's brain. With the sedative, Sora should remain asleep for several hours, if it had worked then it would give his mind time to integrate the memories.

Riku began to stir, eyes opening before he sat up, looking immediately to the biobed.

"He's still asleep," he assured him, and Riku nodded before standing.

"Were you successful?" Commander Tuvok asked.

"I believe so. I was right, he'd locked his memories away and I undid the lock. All we can do now is wait for him to wake up, unless he starts having nightmares, then I'll deal with them."

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A warm hand was holding his, something soft but firm under him. His head felt heavy, full…what had happened? The hand squeezed his and he recognised the grip, the callouses, even the small scar on the thumb rubbing his knuckles. Riku. Riku was there so they were safe or he'd be getting him to wake up quicker. He struggled to open his eyes, feeling strangely sluggish…drugged? That brought a spurt of panic but then a hand was on his shoulder.

"Easy Sora, you're safe," Riku murmured, sounding calm…hopeful? "Take your time, the sedative's still wearing off. You're in Sickbay."

Sickbay? What…finally he managed to open his eyes, seeing the blurry figure leaning over him, blinking until his vision cleared.

"Hey," Riku smiled but it was his unsure smile. "With me?"

"Rrriku?" he slurred, mouth feeling full of cotton.

His smile become more normal at that even as he moved, helping to lift his head, a glass of water pressed to his lips which he happily drank. "Anything hurt?" Riku asked.

"Head." He felt the sudden rush of a healing spell and relaxed as the pain eased. He blinked and then frowned, sitting up to look around in confusion. "Riku? Where are we?"

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Tuvok glanced at the Doctor as they heard Sora's question, it seemed they had done the right thing in leaving the them alone. Had restoring his old memories done something to the ones he had made since losing them? What would happen if that was the case. Then they heard his gasp of pain and the Doctor was moving, Tuvok following.

They found Sora hunched over, Riku supporting him, rubbing his back. "Easy, breath," the young man was telling him.

The Doctor grabbed his tricorder, scanning Sora even as he panted. He lifted his head, staring at them with no recognition and then his eyes went wide and he whimpered in pain, hands pressed to his temples. He twisted into Riku who held him as he wheezed, the Doctor quickly injecting something into his neck. Slowly, Sora calmed, leaning into Riku who whispered too softly for even Tuvok to hear.

Sora straightened up, blinking, and then he looked over at them. "Tuvok," he said, and Tuvok nodded. "I…"

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Seven was relieved that Commander Tuvok had contacted her to say it was done and that Sora seemed to be remembering. She should have been there with him but there was still so much work to do and the shields were not yet back to full capacity, should they run into an enemy it would not take much to bring them down. Sora was safe in Sickbay with the Commander, Doctor, and his friend; her duty was to ensure he remained safe by doing her job, she would see him later.

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The pain was receding and now he knew where they were, Voyager's Sickbay…he was Sora…Thirteen of Fourteen… some god out there somewhere was having a good laugh at that designation, probably Hades.

"Sora?" Riku called his name, and Sora looked away, feeling sick. He winced in pain as the building emotions were ruthlessly suppressed, for once glad for the implants. Riku reached for his hand again but Sora remained still.

He was dangerous…the things he'd done…so many dead or assimilated.

"Sora, breath with me," Tuvok's voice broke through his thoughts, and he found himself following the pattern without even thinking about it thanks to all of the time he had spent helping him.

"Sora, do you remember?" the Doctor asked even as he ran his tricorder over him.

Sora nodded, gripping the edge of the bed tight. He barely kept from flinching as a familiar hand moved to gently cup his cheek, urging his head up but he didn't let him.

"Sora…" Riku whispered. "Don't do this, please. None of it is your fault."

He didn't know, didn't understand.

"Riku is correct. It is natural to feel guilt and shame over what happened but none of it was your fault. You were assimilated Sora, you had no control over your actions. And sealing your memory away would not have altered anything, except denying the Collective access to your knowledge. What you did, spared your people the risk of the Collective finding them," Tuvok spoke as calmly as ever.

Sora heard him but he did not want to, didn't want to believe him. It was always his fault when he failed, Master Yen Sid had made that clear. He should have been able to get free, to fight, something. He'd been a coward and locked himself away instead. He wasn't worthy to bear a Keyblade.

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Riku kept his hand against Sora's face, listening to the Commander's words. He knew that guilt too well, he'd never wanted it for Sora. He glanced up at the two men, needing to speak with Sora alone. Tuvok nodded and they left. He shifted to stand right in front of Sora, nudging his legs apart where they hung over the edge of the bed, pressing close, hearing Sora's breathing hitch.

"Shh," he soothed, lifting his other hand to Sora's face as well. "I'm here, I see you Sora," he whispered.

Finally, Sora looked up at him, and he hated those Borg for putting those emotions in his eyes, emotions he had done everything he could to spare him. He stroked his cheek with his thumb, feeling Sora tremble slightly.

"Sora what they did to you….it was worse than possession by Xehanort. At least Terra and I could fight back, he was one man no matter how strong. How many of these Borg make up the…what was it, Collective? I'm guessing it's a pretty large number from what they told me. You couldn't fight that, but you still protected us by locking yourself away. You're so strong Sora." He leant down slightly and pressed his lips to his forehead briefly.

Sora gasped and then he was wrapped around him, and Riku just held on in return. He knew from personal experience and watching Terra, even Isa and some of the other ex-apprentices, that this one talk wasn't going to magically fix things.

There was so much he wanted to say but he couldn't, not now, not when Sora was so obviously struggling. He'd literally just gotten his memory back and was now having to mesh who he had become with who he had been, that wasn't an easy thing to do. He just hugged Sora close, not caring about what he could feel through his clothes.

"I will always be here for you Sora, no matter what, no matter who tries to separate us. I will come for you," he swore.

"Riku….you….you don't know what I've done."

He lifted a hand to run back through Sora's hair, trying to sooth him. He'd always relaxed when someone played with his hair. "You did to other what was done to you, didn't you? You killed?" he wished Sora could say no but he could see the guilt there. Which was worse, killing someone or turning them into a Borg? They'd said the Borg were some of the most powerful and feared enemies around so he could make some educated guesses. "You had no choice, you didn't even really exist anymore Sora. It was just your body," he assured him.

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The Doctor glanced through the wall of his office to see the two pressed close, very close. He found himself wondering as to the exact nature of their relationship and then began mentally compiling literature to help them both deal with the changes Sora had undergone. Relationships had never come up for other freed drones, at least it had not been recorded. Captain Picard did not count as there was almost nothing of the Borg left within his body. Would Sora be capable of maintaining a relationship beyond friendship with the implants? And physically? In none of his scans had he taken that possibility into account, he would need to look over the data again and perhaps run more tests to ensure it would be safe. Of course, he could be reading more into a merely comforting hug than was there.

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Sora clung to Riku, feeling himself relax at the familiar hand in his hair. He wanted to believe him, he did. He remembered it all now, Riku calling his name in alarm, reaching for him….falling forever and then slamming into what had to have been the ground. there'd been no pain from the initial injection of nanoprobes because of the severe damage to his body, it had only been once they had flooded his bloodstream that he'd been able to feel that pain over the impact injuries.

And then…the Collective had been in his head, millions of voices…nothing like anything he'd ever experienced. He'd been so scared….more scared than when he'd been falling asleep in the dream, when he'd heard vague snippets of Xehanort saying he was to be the Thirteenth….and technically he had ended up as Thirteen, just for the Borg instead.

His head hurt and he struggled to get his emotions under control himself before his implants did it for him again, falling into the meditative breathing patterns Tuvok had taught him. It was a little harder with Riku pressed right against him, feeling the warmth of his body soaking through his own bodysuit, warming his skin a bit. He knew that he and Seven both had lower than human normal body temperatures because of their remaining implants, but it had never been so noticeable to him.

He could feel something else, something….his eyes widened slightly. Magic….he could feel the magic literally woven into the cloth of Riku's clothing. They hadn't had the chance to use a holodeck yet, he remembered telling Riku about that, but if he could feel the magic….could he still cast it?

Sora rested his head against Riku's chest, able to hear his heart beating away steadily, fearless. He felt Riku rest his own head on top of his, and closed his eyes, remembering all the times Riku had hugged him when they were little, his arms one of the safest places Sora had ever known because Riku had always been so strong.

Riku promised to always be there…but he couldn't keep it and Sora knew that. Sooner or later he would have to go back, he was a Keyblade Master after all and he had to have responsibilities.

"When are you going back?" he asked, not wanting to move and see his expression.

"What?"

"Back home," he clarified.

"Whenever you're ready to go."

That was…..wait…what? He pulled back and stared at Riku in confusion. "I cannot go back, World Order, my implants."

"Can probably be hidden at least temporarily via magic or something. I know you can't go back to Destiny Island to live for good, but there are other Worlds Sora, Radiant Garden for starters. All of Ansem's apprentices re-completed after the last battle. I'm sure they could work out how to power whatever you need or…make a Replica for you."

Sora froze in shock, a Replica? He had not considered that. Was it possible…he could look human again?

"Roxas and the others are still going strong, there's been no issues or anything."

"Others?" he asked.

"Naminé and Xion."

They'd freed Naminé? He was glad, she deserved to get to live her own life. But…something told him a Replica wouldn't work for him, not the way Riku hoped. He'd been the way he was for several years now, long enough for his heart to identify as Borg which meant the Replica could end up looking like he did now, or worse.

He glanced at the Doctor's office, he wanted to leave Sickbay. He did not want to think about whether or not he could ever return home.

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She put her coffee aside as the door chimed. "Enter."

Tuvok walked in and stood before her desk. "The procedure was successful, Sora has regained his memory," he reported, and she slumped back in her chair.

"How is he?"

"Riku is with him, he appears to have a good idea on how to help him deal with the influx of memories. Sora appears to be struggling even more with guilt but hopefully that will settle as his memories do since at first he did not appear to recognise where he was. I theorise that the rush of old memories overwhelmed those made after his memory was sealed away. However, he did recognise me after a few minutes. I did notice a further shift in his language use, likely due to his memories returning."

She nodded, relieved that it had gone as well as it could have. She didn't envy Sora at all for the emotional turmoil he would he suffering. There were times she wished the ships counsellor had been on board for the mission, then again they may not have survived this long anyway. Vulcan methods would only go so far on a human, especially when they weren't looking to try and suppress their emotions like a Vulcan.

Riku had admitted to being previously possessed and while it wasn't the same, it may at least help him help Sora deal with what he was going through. She had the feeling she would be keeping Sora off the duty roster for a while unless his skills were desperately needed.

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They entered Riku's rooms and Sora let himself be led over to the bed, lying down on his side, Riku fumbling with his boots to get them off, and then Riku was curled at his back, a human shield should anyone breach the doors. Sora found himself relaxing at the move, despite the fact that no one should be doing that since they'd evaded the Hirogen.

He felt almost dizzy, memories swimming in and out of focus and he supposed it would take time for everything to fully settle. "Riku?" he asked, feeling an arm wrap around his waist, warm fingers tangling with his.

"Yeah?"

"Kairi…she's okay?"

"You saved her Sora, you brought her home," Riku answered immediately. "You'll be so proud of her, she's a Master now too. She travelled with me for ages looking for you but once I got too far away and had to Dive a lot she joined Aqua and the others in the Land of Departure. She misses you so much. She's going to kill me for not calling since I came on board."

"Oh," he whispered. Kairi was a Keyblade Master? That was amazing, he always knew she was strong. He…he missed her…but how could he ever face her like he was now?

"Sora? You're shaking," Riku shifted, alarmed, pulling him even closer if that was possible, reaching around and then there was a blanket over them. "It's okay, you're going to be okay," he whispered. "Try and sleep, you need to let everything settle into place."

"I can't sleep, I Regenerate," he answered.

"You slept fine when sedated."

"Because I was drugged unconscious."

"I can use magic to put you to sleep. I'll even dive to help out in your dreams and keep the Nightmares away. Okay?"

He hesitated but it was Riku…Riku would never hurt him, even when he'd threatened him he hadn't tried to defend himself or get away, he'd trusted Sora not to hurt him. He gave as small nod and then he felt magic wash through him, everything going hazy.

"Sleep Sora, I'll keep you safe," Riku's voice was the last thing he was aware of.

TBC…

Doctor's getting a bit ahead of things with considering that research. Figured that he's such a student of humanity and all that he would know enough to realise that they were being very physical, of course it could be a cultural difference.

Hope you liked him getting his memory back.