Ahh, it feels good to be back. Even if it might be for a brief moment.

I don't want to waste any time before getting back into this. I'm glad to be back to writing Kingdom Hearts content, and I hope you'll stay with me up until the end.


Chapter IX - Lost Memories


Kirux glanced back and saw Riku standing there, looking angry.

"Okay, what to do. What to do...Relax, just try and talk your way out of this."

With that, Kirux turned slowly back towards him, who still looked like he was going to smash the table separating them in half.

"Oh, uh...hey. I was just um, wandering around, and I..."

"You were trying to escape..."

Kirux faked surprise, "What? No! I was just, uh...testing the uh, sturdiness of your front door."

He gave the door a couple more shoves, and then looked back and said, "It's all good. Although, I noticed that this lock is pretty finicky. You mind if I-,"

Before Kirux could finish, Riku brought his fist up and slammed it through the table in the center of the room, shattering it in half.

Kirux very quickly turned back towards him and stayed up against the door, "Whoa whoa! Okay, I know you're mad. How about I just...go back to my room. Does that sound good to you?"

Riku didn't answer Kirux's question, only stepping over the shattered remains of the table he had smashed.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pummel you into the ground right now." He said with a snarl.

"Uhh...because I'm offering to go back without a fight?" Was the only response that Kirux could come up with.

Riku began slowly approaching Kirux, who continued to panic.

"How about this? I go back to my cell, you don't beat me to a pulp, and we all forget that this ever happened. Sound good?"

His words fell on deaf ears, as Riku continued to approach.

Kirux's desperation kicked into gear, and he continued to pound himself against the door, still to no avail.

As he slammed himself into the door once again, he was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted off of the ground.

Before Kirux could do anything, Riku slammed him forward into the door. Even with that last slam, the door still didn't budge.

"Did you think that escaping would be that easy?" Riku said quietly, the rage in his voice pretty poorly hidden.

"No, but...you're not making it any easier..."

"I'm trying to stop DiZ from making me kill you, y'know."

"Appreciate that, but is slamming me into the door doin' me any good?"

Riku pressed him harder against the wall, "I wouldn't push me if I were you."

Kirux gritted his teeth, pushing out a "Noted" weakly as the pain in his rib cage was flaring.

Kirux was then spun around to face Riku, who was very pissed (even with the blindfold).

"Ever since I brought you here, you've been nothing but a pain in the ass. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here right now. You would've disappeared, back into whatever dark hole you crawled out of!"

Kirux ground his teeth through the pain in his ribs to say, "Guess you shoulda left me alone in the forest, huh?"

That earned him a punch to the stomach, causing him to cough a few times.

"Are you so stubborn that you don't realize I'm trying to help you?"

""Help" me? You kidnapped me off the streets!"

"I've seen the things that are happening to you! The dark powers, the memories? Where do you think it all came from?!"

...

As Riku kept talking, a small aura of darkness started forming in his hand, down and away from Riku's gaze. It continued to grow and gain power as Riku yelled at Kirux.

Kirux caught a glance of it in the corner of his eyes and waited for the right moment.

The girl in white, who stood on the stairway, saw it and yelled down, "Riku, look out!"

Riku looked down, and saw what was in Kirux's hand, but wasn't able to react.

Before he could have, Kirux reached up and punched Riku hard in the chest, the dark energy blasting him back. Kirux fell to the ground, barely landing on his own feet.

Riku skidded across the floor, through the scraps of the table he had shattered. The girl started running down the stairs towards him, but he put a hand up before she could reach him.

Kirux looked at his hand, seeing the remnants of the dark magic still flowing around his hand.

He then looked back to Riku, who was starting to stand back up, "How'd you like that?!"

Riku got back onto his feet, hands on his knees, "You can control it now...?"

"I can do a lot more than that!"

"Can you now...?"

...

Riku stood up straight, speaking lightly, "Alright then. If it's a fight you want..."

He summoned Soul Eater, the weapon they shared, into his right hand, "Show me what you've got, clone."

Ignoring the insult, Kirux ground his teeth, "You asked for it."

He summoned the same sword into his hand and readied himself to fight.


Play: The Force in You - Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories


Kirux immediately ran straight for Riku, who only stood in the same position. He swung hard from his right, straight at Riku.

Only for his strike to be blocked. Not by Riku, but by an invisible barrier.

As he stumbled backward, a small explosion appeared around Riku and sent Kirux back towards the door. He slammed into it hard, his injuries flaring back up.

"Okay, now I'm convinced this door is secretly made of metal."

Riku shook his head, saying, "You shouldn't just run straight at your enemy. Gotta think before you act."

"Don't mock me."

Kirux got back up and went towards Riku again, but he tried something else. He fired a blast of fire at Riku, who deflected it.

However, the fireball went into the air and exploded right above him. A smokescreen enveloped the area, taking away whatever vision Riku may have had.

Kirux then moved towards Riku's side, concealing himself in the smoke. He moved fast and dashed at Riku, going to strike him again.

Without missing a beat, Riku brought his weapon up and caught Kirux's before he could make contact. Their blades collided and held in contact.

Kirux tried to hold his surprise and push at him, but Riku was surprisingly strong, even with only one arm.

"Smart, but not gonna be enough."

Riku threw his arm forward, knocking Kirux off his balance. He then used his sword to blast him with an Aero spell, sending Kirux back to the door and dispersing the smokescreen.

...

By this time, Kirux's injuries were starting to catch up with him. His ribcage was flaring up even more, causing him to keep his arm on his side.

Riku noticed it (seriously, how could he see with the blindfold), and spoke, "You're lookin' a little rough. Want to give up?"

Kirux just glared at him and said, through gritted teeth, "Not on your life..."

He went to stand but struggled. He barely managed to get to his feet.

At that time, Riku had lowered his sword for a moment, "I don't want to hurt you if I don't have to, Kirux. Trust me, just stand down."

Kirux, unfortunately, did not listen to him.

The dark aura returned to his hand, charging and growing. Riku stood there, unmoved.

Finally, the aura stopped growing, and Kirux launched a massive blast of dark energy toward Riku.

...

Riku blocked the attack with his sword and seemingly struggled to hold it back.

But eventually, he held his stance, set his feet, and started to push back.

Then, he "looked" towards Kirux, who was standing there, stunned.

And with that, Riku pushed back again.

Only this time, the dark energy flew back.

Straight towards Kirux.

...

It was flying too fast for him to react, and it hit Kirux right in the chest.

He flew back into the door (which still didn't open), bounced off, and landed on his face on the floor. His sword dispersed from his hand, and he barely stayed conscious.


Stop: The Force in You - Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories


Riku, despite winning the fight, didn't look amused or impressed. The girl in white stayed on the stairway, having watched the whole thing.

After a few seconds, Riku just sighed as Kirux struggled to raise himself from the floor.

"Naminé, get the pod ready," Riku said without diverting his gaze, "I think I've got an idea to..."convince" him."

Naminé, who Kirux could only assume was the girl in white he had run into earlier, said quietly, "Are you sure about that? DiZ has strictly said to not touch the pod under any circumstances."

"Just do it. If it'll get this guy," he motioned towards Kirux, who had moved to one knee, "to cooperate, he'll buy in."

Riku then turned back to Kirux and started walking over. Once he reached him, he grabbed his hood and lifted him to his feet.

"Walk." That was all he said before he poked the tip of his sword into his back.

And while Kirux would've said something snarky back at him, he didn't this time.

Instead, he complied. He walked forward, following after where that "Naminé" had gone.

...

...

...

The door to the basement opened. DiZ sat at his computer, thoroughly scanning each screen. He had ignored Naminé, who had just run past and towards the pod room.

However, when he heard the door open behind him once again, he didn't ignore it this time.

He turned in his chair back, noticing their "guest" with Riku following closely behind him, weapon in hand.

DiZ immediately shot out of his chair, "What do you think you're doing? He can't be down here!"

Despite DiZ's tone, Riku was calm, "Relax. He's not gonna try anything. Isn't that right, Kirux?"

Kirux said nothing. His gaze was on the ground, and DiZ could notice how battered he looked.

Oh. So that's what all that racket was upstairs.

"What do you plan on doing?" DiZ asked Riku.

"You'll see..."

He poked at Kirux again, "That way. Through that door."

Kirux, once again, complied without resistance.

He and Riku passed through the doorway toward the pod room.

DiZ didn't follow. He simply stayed in his chair.

Riku had handled him already. He could handle him for a bit longer.

...

Kirux and Riku entered a white room. The floors, the walls, the lights, all white. There was a large pod(?) in the center of the room with a console on the side, where Naminé was standing.

"Stop." Riku said, and Kirux did so.

And for the first time in the last few minutes, he spoke, "You gonna tell me why we're in here?"

"You're about to see why."

Riku looked towards Naminé, "Do it."

She hesitated again but did do as he asked.

The pod erupted to life. The doors began to shift and started to open.


Play: Riku's Theme - Kingdom Hearts II


When the doors on the pod parted, Kirux saw someone. A boy with really spiky brown hair, a red jumpsuit with a black and white jacket, and large yellow boots. He was floating in the pod, sleeping.

Kirux asked quietly, "Who is that?"

Riku let his sword disperse, and walked in front of Kirux, "This...is Sora. Sora is my best friend, and...he's a Keyblade wielder, the chosen Keyblade wielder."

"A few months back, Sora's memories became...disjointed. A few members of Organization XIII, the group you've been working for, used Naminé to break his memory to turn Sora into their little pet. Thankfully he put a stop to that, and now, we're trying to piece his memories back together."

"That's great and all, but what does this have to do with me?"

"I'm getting there. While Naminé has been doing a good job, we've hit a bit of a snag. Some of his memories are...missing."

"Missing?"

Riku turned back to Kirux, "Yes. And we think we know where to find them. We think they might be hidden away, inside his Nobody, and...well, you get the idea."

...

"So, why does this involve me?"

"Well...I hate to say it, but..."

Riku stopped, "Never mind. It's not important right now. All I can say...is that we think your "friends" might be involved in all of this, whether they like it or not."

When Kirux didn't respond, Riku continued, "If we're gonna get those memories back, we're gonna need someone on the inside. Someone...in the Organization..."

...

...

...

"So you want me to be your spy?"

Riku shook his head, "I'm not asking you to, at least not now."

"So why even bother showing me this? You just beat the crap out of me, and now you want me to help you?"

Kirux sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, "I can't believe I'm even slightly related to you..."

"It's like I kept telling you. A lot is going on that you don't know about. You may not see it now, but that group you're with is not what it seems."

Riku then took a small step towards him, "You have a lot to learn, Kirux. Now-,"

A dark corridor appeared in the ground behind Kirux as Riku continued to walk towards him, "-think about it, and don't tell anyone what you saw here."

He put his hand up and hit Kirux with a sleep spell. Kirux began to stumble back and forth and eventually fell into the dark corridor.

Once it closed, Riku sighed.

He turned back to Naminé, "Go ahead and close up, Naminé. We're done here."

"What are we gonna do if he refuses?" She asked Riku as she closed the door to Sora's pod.

"He won't. I know it..."


Stop: Riku's Theme - Kingdom Hearts II


His eyes were heavy. His body ached, but the surface beneath him was soft.

When he finally was able to open his eyes, he was hit by the lights in the ceiling above him.

Kirux put a hand up to his eyes, but immediately lowered it when the pain flared up again.

Then, a female voice to his left, "Whoa whoa, don't move."

He looked over and saw Xion there, standing at the bedside.

In his head, he thought, "Wait...where'd she come from...?"

"Xion...? Wait...where..."

Xion put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, you're safe."

Kirux was able to sit up and examine his surroundings, "Am I...back at the castle?"

"Yeah. Axel found you in some back alley in town. Your injuries were really bad. Luxord did his best to treat you, but..."

She trailed off, and Kirux asked, "What was the damage?"

Xion looked up at him, "Three bruised ribs, a bruised shoulder, and a concussion."

Kirux's head fell back against his bed frame, "Wow..."

"What did you do? Did you get into a fight?"

...

Kirux remembered what Riku said right before he passed out.

"-that group you're with is not what it seems."

"What did he mean by that?" He thought.

"Uhh...Kirux?"

"Huh?"

Xion was still there, now even more concerned, "You...didn't answer my question."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Uhh..."

Now, he had a decision to make.

Tell Xion the truth...or lie.

Kirux chose...

...

...

...

...to lie.

"I...ran into this big Heartless on my last mission. Looks like it roughed me up pretty well, huh?"

Xion giggled, "Yeah, I guess so."

The two of them laughed together.

"Well," Xion said once they stopped, "Saïx says with your injuries that you'll be off duty for a while. He put me in charge of taking care of you while you're healing."

"I can't come to the clock tower with you guys?"

She grinned, "Sorry, but doctor's orders. No leaving the castle for three weeks, at least."

Kirux sighed, "Fiiiiiiine. But you'd better bring me ice cream. I'm not goin' without that."

Xion laughed again, "Deal."


This...felt refreshing to write.

It feels nice to be back to this. I hope you'll continue with me and stay throughout the rest of this story.

Thank you, and I'll see you soon.

-Broncozfan623