Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 4

Riku sat in the pilots chair, practically flying with his eyes closed because no matter how tired, he wasn't suicidal enough to let Kairi fly. The nightmares had stopped, whatever had been happening was over, and Sora was alive, he could still sense that much. Every night he went to sleep reaching, calling Sora's name, but there was never any response. He had attempted to Dive so many times, but nothing ever happened. Where they still too far apart?

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Thirteen sat on an empty cargo container, staring out at space, unable to help cataloguing star systems. He had spoken with the Doctor about his strange reaction to events when the astrometrics lab was opened and had been scanned but nothing was wrong. Still, he could not help the feeling that something had happened, something to do with time. He knew time travel was possible, the Borg had used it to try and assimilate Earth before they could make contact with the Vulcans, they had failed. So had someone attempted to change time? He felt like he had lost something but he did not know what, so it was irrelevant, was it not?

He was going over and over his options, unable to come to a decision, something he was unused to. Everything had been so definite in the Collective, no indecision, much easier in. a way. In the end, he had to know. His Regeneration cycles had been disturbed and he did not like it. He kept hearing a voice calling out one word, Sora. It hurt…like he should know the voice, know what the word meant. It had been several Earth standard months since he had woken in Sickbay, surely if he was going to remember without help then something would have returned, but he was as blank as ever.

He got up and went to the computer console that would accept his use, in a limited manner. He was still very restricted but he understood and even agreed with that. He had enjoyed helping finish set up astrometrics but other than discussing theoretical ideas with Harry, there had been no more work. He had received access to educational files, information on Starfleet regulations as well as the Academy curriculum. Seven said it was a good sign, that he was being prepared to take a place among the crew that would suite his talents.

He hesitated but then touched the appropriate control. "Computer please contact Commander Tuvok if he is available."

"Tuvok here," the answer came after a few moments. "Thirteen?"

"Yes Commander. Is the offer you made still available?" he asked nervously.

"Indeed. I shall contact the Doctor to arrange the necessary monitoring for the attempt. I recommend that you be fully rested as well. I will be off duty ship day tomorrow, will that suit?"

"Yes sir, thank you."

"Very well, I shall meet you in Sickbay at 0930."

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Tuvok sat in the chair that the Doctor had provided, an empty one before him. He had arrived before the allotted time in order to prepare himself for what was to come. He had spent the night resting and meditating to ensure he was ready. He had never mind melded with someone who had been part of the Collective, he was not sure if any Vulcan had which left a lot of unknowns. Logically, aiding Thirteen in regaining his former self made sense, however the unknown factors made it riskier than many of his people would accept.

The doors opened and Thirteen stepped inside, looking around, seeing him sitting and waiting. "Thank you Sir," the teenager said as he walked over.

"There is no guarantee of success," he warned.

"I know, but you are willing to try, so thank you." He sat down, unlike most humans he didn't fidget or shift, like Seven.

"Are you both sure about this gentlemen?" the Doctor asked.

"Indeed," Tuvok agreed, glancing at Thirteen who nodded.

"Very well, I shall be monitoring you throughout the session, if things become too dangerous I will terminate it," he warned, attaching the sensors to them. He then moved to his console and activated it. "When you are ready."

"Try and relax Thirteen. If at any point you wish to stop, think of it and we will stop," Tuvok told him, the human nodding. Tuvok carefully places both hands on his face, wanting as secure a connection as possible. "My mind to your mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts. Our minds are merging, our minds are becoming one," he began the process, reaching for Thirteen's mind.

He felt their minds joining, felt the memories of the Borg, of the Collective, pushing passed them, further back. It was illogical to dwell on those when seeing them was not the purpose of the exercise. He found the scattered memories of Thirteen's Assimilation easily enough but beyond that…was nothing. That should not be possible, his mind was physically intact, even with those suffering amnesia there was something there. He had to go deeper.

"Thirteen please try to calm yourself, your adrenaline levels are rising," the Doctor's voice was distant, and Tuvok was aware of Thirteen's distress.

Very carefully, he shared some of his own memories; of meditation and learning emotional control. He had to be careful to impart only knowledge of the skills, he did not wish to influence his slowly emerging personality.

Tuvok moved deeper into the emptiness, searching for something…and found himself blinking in bright sunlight. He appeared to be standing on a sandy shoreline, a tropical island in fact. A memory. He turned, hearing laughter, to see three young children racing across the sand. His gaze fell on the smaller of the two boys, facial features and eye colour were a match, it was Thirteen as a young child.

"You shouldn't be here," a male voice called, and Tuvok turned to see the same boy but older, perhaps sixteen earth years, staring at him warily. He did not appear to be fully solid either, almost insubstantial.

From the various estimations he would assume that the memory was from around the time he was assimilated, which was logical if it was acting as a defence of his memories. How that was possible, he did not know, he had never heard of anyone able to do such a thing when faced with the Collective. Not even species who were telepathic or had incredible mental abilities were unable to resist the Collective gaining access to all they knew.

"You need to leave, it isn't safe." The boy moved his hand, and a strange weapon appeared. He had never seen anything like it but it appeared to be some kind of blade.

"Thirteen," he called the only name they had for the ex-drone, and his stance shifted from wary to combative, he definitely knew how to use the weapon.

"Who are you? Are you with the Organisation?"

"I am Lieutenant Commander Tuvok of Starfleet, Chief of Security aboard the USS Voyager. We are physically within the Sickbay of said vessel. You agreed to the mind meld to try and retrieve your lost memories," he reminded him.

"What?" The boy backed away, and Tuvok understood, this version did not recognise him.

"Is this your home? It is quite peaceful," he offered, trying to calm things down before the Doctor decided to stop the session. He had never experienced a mind meld like it and he did wonder if Thirteen had latent mental gifts of some sort. It was rare in humans but not impossible.

"The Destiny Islands," the boy answered, looking to the three racing obliviously across the sand. He looked back to Tuvok. "You're not human?"

"Correct, I am a Vulcan, we are a species gifted with certain telepathic abilities which is how we are conversing in your mind. Our bodies are seated in chairs opposite each other in Sickbay, under the supervision of the Doctor. You contacted me last night and agreed to the offer I made you some time ago to help you remember who you are."

"I forgot?" he frowned, the weapon vanishing. "Tell me I didn't fall asleep for another year," he muttered, which made no sense to Tuvok.

"You were…injured, by another species. They altered your body and attempted to do so with your mind. We do not know if your memory loss occurred before or during this." Too much detail too quickly may distress him and cause the Doctor to end the session prematurely.

"Pain…" he whispered. "Voices…" he shook his head. "Out there, I don't remember?" he asked, and Tuvok nodded. "Anything?"

"Indeed. You have been using the designation they gave you until either you remember or chose another."

"Sora…my name is Sora," he whispered, smiling sadly.

Tuvok suddenly found himself back in the chair, Thirteen…Sora gasping, falling from the chair, the Doctor moving to his side with a hypo.

"Thirteen, I need you to breath otherwise I will have to sedate you," the Doctor stated firmly but as gently as he could, kneeling beside the trembling form, and Tuvok stood, kneeling as well.

"Sora," Tuvok said, and the EMH glanced at him. "His name is Sora," he explained.

The Doctor nodded and gripped Sora's shoulder. "I need you to breath with me Sora, you need to calm down," he urged.

"Focus on your breathing," Tuvok began coaching him in the beginning meditation lessons that he had imparted, and as he had expected, Sora began to instinctively match his breathing.

"Sora….my name is Sora," he whispered staring up at Tuvok, and he nodded. "Thank you."

"Congratulations Sora," the Doctor offered, running a tricorder over him and then Tuvok. "Do you remember anything else?"

Sora frowned, staring up at the ceiling, but then he slowly shook his head. "No, there is nothing."

"What happened, both of your brains were incredibly active," the Doctor looked between them.

"I have never experienced a meld like it," Tuvok admitted. He explained what he had experienced, Sora listening intently even as he was helped up and onto a biobed to rest.

"A beach?" he tipped his head to the side slightly, not seeming to know what that was. "Oh, I see."

"Sora?" the Doctor asked.

"Common geological knowledge of many species and planet types is stored within the Collective."

"Perhaps Commander, some time on the Holodeck could be arranged, supervised if necessary. A Borg index is not how he should recognise a beach," the Doctor suggested, and Tuvok nodded.

"I shall program it myself to as close to your memory as possible, perhaps that shall help prompt you to consciously remember. I will endeavour to create an accurate image of the children as well."

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"Good evening Thirteen," Seven nodded to him as he entered the cargo bay. "Are you well?" she asked when she saw him.

"My name is Sora," he told her tiredly, looking drained, and she moved to his side, guiding him to his alcove.

"You remembered?" she asked as she initiated the Regeneration cycle in his alcove for him.

"Commander Tuvok did a mind meld but…when I Regenerate I hear a voice saying Sora, yelling it, he sounds scared. Why is he scared?" Thir…Sora asked before his eyes shut as the cycle began.

She ran her hand gently over the incredibly short hair before she realised what she was doing. She checked the readouts to ensure he was properly in Regeneration and then moved to her own alcove. She was pleased that he now knew his own name, although if he did not recognise the voice calling his name then it seemed all of his memories had not returned.

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Scattered black lines were slowly forming over clear glass which darkened slightly in sections, no longer see-through.

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Riku was sparing with Terra when he suddenly dropped, Keyblade falling from his hand. They had only arrived back the day before, needing to rest and re-charge, and to let the others know they were alright.

Terra barely managed to pull his blow, turning aside so as not to trip over the falling body. "Riku!" he called in alarm, sliding on his knees to grab the younger man before his head could slam into the ground. "AQUA!" he yelled as he supported Riku's limp form.

Aqua ran from the nearby training field, Kairi and Roxas on her heels. Ventus, Naminé, Lea, and Xion soon rushed from the other side of the training grounds, hearing the urgency of his call.

"Riku!" Kairi yelled as she saw him lying limp.

"What happened?" Roxas asked, visually scanning over Riku.

"I don't know, he just suddenly went down, I didn't land a blow," Terra explained.

Kairi gasping got their attention, her hand pressed to her chest as she stared up at the sky. "Sora?" she whispered.

They all froze and stared at her.

"Kairi?" Roxas demanded urgently. The loss of his other had hit the young ex-Nobody harder than he had expected.

"I…for a second I could swear I felt Sora," she whispered, tears on her cheeks. Naminé and Xion were soon wrapped around her, offering comfort.

Riku groaned, beginning to stir, Terra still supporting him. His eyes flickered open and for a second they were not the normal cyan but closer to purple but Terra assumed he imagined it as Riku sat up. He stared around at them, trembling slightly. "Sora," he whispered and then Kairi was in his arms, the two clinging to each other.

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Sora followed Tuvok towards the Holodeck, he knew what they were, understood the technology and how it worked but he had no memory of ever using one. He thought he was excited but also scared, what if seeing the place the memory him had called home did not bring anything back?

"Tuvok," a voice greeted, and Sora looked up to see the Captain walking towards them. He had not seen her since they had opened the lab so it was a surprise.

Sora found himself suddenly concerned that she would deny him access to the holodeck, even with the Chief of Security escorting him.

"And congratulations, Sora," she smiled at him, offering a nod which he returned. "I've had the ships records updated with your name and you won't need an escort to run the basic Holoprograms for recreation."

"Thank you Captain." So fast? That was surprising, and yet it almost felt like he had had that freedom before, even though he knew it had not.

"You are a member of this crew now Sora, Voyager is your home. When the Doctor clears you and you feel ready, we'll see about finding you something you would like to do to help, such as the help you gave with the new lab. Are you enjoying the lessons?"

"Yes Captain, they are very informative. They explain much more than simply having data in my head. And of course I will do anything I can to help." He did not wish for them to regret helping him or to become a drain on their resources.

"No Sora, you aren't paying us for freeing you. You need to find something that you like to do and that may take some time. Now, enjoy your day at the beach," she patted his shoulder and then walked away, Sora watching her.

"The Captain is correct, Sora. We have a long voyage before us to reach Federation space. While all of the crew help as needed in emergencies, we prefer that the duties assigned are ones that they are not only well suited for but find fulfilling."

"Oh," that was very different to the Borg but of course it was. The crew were not part of a Collective, they were individuals, with different abilities and likes. The only skills he had were ones given to him by the Collective, he did not know what he did before then.

"Are you ready?" the Commander asked as he used the control panel outside of the holodeck.

"Yes sir."

The doors opened and he hesitated before stepping through, blinking in the bright light, his implant handling the light for that eye, the other struggling to adapt after the artificial lighting of the ship. He stared at the island he was standing on, looking around in wonder. He heard laughter and turned, seeing three children running across the sand. He stared hard at them, trying to remember something, anything…

"Come on Sora!" the silver haired boy called, and he sank to his knees. That voice! It took an instant to mentally age it, the voice that screamed his name. Who was he?

"Are you well Sora?" Tuvok asked, and Sora looked up at him in confusion before touching his face, feeling the wetness there…tears, they were tears, he was crying.

"I hear him screaming my name when I Regenerate, older, but it is him."

"Can you detect anything from the scream? Is there anger, desperation, fear perhaps?"

"Fear, he is afraid. Did I…hurt him?" No, he had been the only human on the planet where the Borg took him, he had not harmed the other while mid-assimilation, he could not have.

"It may be fear for you, not of you," Tuvok offered. "Were others assimilated at the same time as you?"

"Yes, but they were all of species 116. The Borg found me in an impact crater as they were collecting others for assimilation. They nearly left me for dead." It was strange that they had not asked him for more information on his life as a drone.

"I am pleased they did not as we would have never met you then, although you should not have had to suffer as you have," Tuvok told him. "And that means it is possible your friend is alive," he paused in thought, and Sora waited. "That is a species native to the Delta Quadrant, but humans are native to the Alpha Quadrant, seventy lightyears away."

"And somehow I ended up here," Sora whispered, running holographic sand through his fingers, ignoring the data from his optical implant, to let himself believe it was real. "I obviously was raised with other humans. Is this enough to try and match the world from the database?" he did not recognise it from any world he could call up from the Collective.

"Unfortunately not," Tuvok answered, although Sora had expected it. One small island was not much information to go on.

Sora stood and began to walk across the beach to the small waterfall, seeing the simple wooden constructs. He looked up, staring… "There should be a cave or tunnel there…a door…" he whispered, and then he pressed his hands to his head, gasping.

"Breath Sora, centre yourself," Tuvok coached him through it, and Sora let the meditation lessons come to the front of his mind.

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A section of glass darkened further, the colour shifting until it was a light red in colour, several lines becoming thicker, more obvious.

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Riku landed the ship and exited, walking towards the castle, smiling when Ventus waved at him, jogging over. "Hi Ven, do you know why Aqua called me?"

Ventus just grinned, hands behind his head, and for the millionth time Riku wondered who had that move first, Ventus or Sora? "It's a surprise. Come on."

Riku followed Ventus through the Castle that was so different to the one he had once had to fight through. They went to a part he hadn't seen before, workrooms of various types. Ven knocked on a door and then opened it, pushing Riku in ahead of him.

"You made good time," Terra smiled at him.

"Cid upgraded the ship," he answered, looking between the three of them. "What is it?"

"If you're going after Sora then you may need to go places a gummi ship can't," Aqua told him, and Riku nodded, he wasn't sure what he'd do then. She smiled and stepped back, pulling down a cloth, and Riku's eyes went utterly wide in shock.

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Harry grinned as Sora looked around the old fashioned building curiously, even if it was only a Holoprogram. It was good to see him expressing more emotion than he had at first.

"Welcome to Sandríne's, Sora," Tom called.

"Is he even old enough to drink?" Crewman Porter called out but it wasn't malicious, it was teasing.

"Not like Synthehol's real alcohol," someone else called out.

"You don't need to drink," Harry told him, placing a hand on his shoulder to guide him through the crowds and holographic smoke.

It was good for him to spend time with the rest of the crew and they all hoped being around people would help jog more of his memory. He would be with them for a long time and he couldn't spend the next seventy odd years isolating himself.

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Naomi smiled and sat down beside Sora, putting down the PADDs with her schoolwork. He watched her work before actually looking at it. Soon they were talking about the lesson, helping him understand information he technically had 'memorised' but knowing it by rote did not mean true understanding, he was coming to well…understand that. He brushed some spikes away from his eyes and she grinned. Thanks to the Doctor's help his hair was the same length as it had been before his assimilation, the same as the memory Commander Tuvok had seen. It was wild and spikey, and Seven had asked him if it was a separate lifeform due to how uncontrollable it was, but it felt good, it felt right.

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Riku called out for Sora and for the first time, he felt a reaction in the link. Hesitance, curiosity, almost…fear? He reached back, trying to offer comfort, but Sora pulled away. Why?

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Sora stepped down from his alcove, blinking, before looking over at Seven. "Riku, his name is Riku," he told her shakily, and she nodded, smiling slightly.

Two weeks later he remembered another name, Kairi, the girl on the beach.

TBC…