Sassy's Note: I found this one even more fun than the last. Someone stop me…

Through This Intricate Dance

Four Seasons

Riku fixed Cloud with a penetrating star, but the blond kept his back to the younger man. The teen had managed to hold in his burning questions the whole walk home, and he was bursting to ask him now.

Cloud cast a glance at him over his shoulder as he made tea. Riku narrowed his eyes when their gazes caught, and Cloud immediately turned away. The teenager sulkily crossed his arms and sunk lower in his seat. Cloud returned to his the table and set a hot mug in front of Riku and took the seat across from him, blowing gently on his own tea to cool it. He sipped nervously, pointedly avoiding the teen's gaze.

They carried on like this for about five minutes. Riku didn't touch his cooling tea; Cloud drained most of his. When Cloud didn't meet his eyes at all during this time, Riku decided he had had enough.

"Alright, that's enough," he huffed angrily. "Cloud, what's going on?"

Cloud trained his eyes on the table, fidgeting slightly.

"Fine. I'll start. Who's Sora and what is so important about him? What connection does he have to Roxas?"

Cloud took a deep breath, clutched his mug tightly between his hands for some form of reassurance, and looked up into Riku's cyan eyes. "I could answer all of your questions with no problem, Riku. I could, and then you would know, but I can't do that."

"What are you talking about?"

Cloud's eyes flickered. "You have to remember on your own, Riku. I can't tell you. I can only help you remember."

"Remember what!?"

Despite the teen's frustration, Cloud forced himself to remain calm. Panicking wouldn't help; he knew what he had to do. So, with a pounding heart, he reached into his back pocket slowly and withdrew a slightly tattered old photograph. Riku's angry eyes gained a curious expression when he spotted the photo in Cloud's hands. The blond laid it face-up on the table and slowly pushed it toward Riku.

"Here."

Without hesitance, Riku reached for the photo. It was… who were these people? Was that him? No… his hair wasn't that long… and what the hell was he wearing? Was that… a Keyblade in his hand? He'd never seen one like that before, though. That couldn't possibly be him! And that boy… the one standing beside him. Spiky brown hair, bright blue eyes… he was oddly familiar, and he was holding Riku's Keyblade. Maybe…

A splitting pain tore through his skull.

But it wasn't just pain that flashed across his mind… unbidden images and pictures and feeling formed like ripples in water, spreading to every part of his consciousness. When the voices started screaming in his head, he felt himself teeter on his seat as his hands flew to cover his eyes, and he was suddenly falling.

"I'm not afraid of the Darkness!"

"Riku? What are you doing here?"

"You should be worrying… about her."

"I don't understand! It was mine!"

"Take care of her."

"What will happen to Roxas?"

"It's honor, Ansem."

"It's Riku… Riku's here…"

"I looked for you. I looked everywhere for you!"

A cry tore its way past Riku's lips as the last words faded, taking the blurred images and feelings with it, and as the pain dulled slightly, he became aware that he was being held tightly by a warm body.

"You okay?" Cloud asked gruffly.

Riku's response was more garble than words. The emotions and memories had come flooding back to him. He wasn't… himself.

"Th-that picture," he gasped. "Who…?"

"That was you, Riku. One year ago."

"A year…"

Pain burst behind his eyelids again, and he cried out again, withdrawing into himself as if to hide from the pain, but this bout passed more quickly than the previous. When it was over, he slumped back against Cloud, gasping for breath, eyes swimming in tears of both pain and…

"A-a year? It's been a year since… Sora…"

"Yeah. It's been a year."

The teen in his arms went rigid, and Cloud reflexively tightened his hold and pulled the boy tighter to his chest protectively. The memories that were no doubt returning were painful in more ways than one, and even thought Cloud couldn't stand the thought of Riku in pain, he wouldn't abandon him now.

"How…" Riku started slowly, eyes still brimming with hot tears he refused to let fall, "How could I… why?" He stared at the floor, face completely blank. Then, quietly, "Who am I?"

That one hurt Cloud deeply. The desolation in the teens voice, compounded by the fact that Cloud knew exactly how he felt

"You're still Riku; you always have been. You just have to sort through the memories that are yours and the ones that are his."

"Sora's memories," Riku muttered. He let his forehead rest against Cloud's shoulder. "He… Sora's…"

"Sora died a year ago."

"A year? I've lived this… false life for a year?" The teen sounded disgusted, more angry than upset. He looked up, noticed the pained expression on Cloud's face, and asked softly, "Why?"

The total calm in the younger male's voice calmed Cloud as well, and the blond man sighed. His hand rubbed along Riku's back slowly. Still, it took a moment for the blond to open his mouth and answer. "Because… that's what happened to me long ago."

"It… happened to you?" Riku's eyes narrowed critically, and Cloud was left with the impression that Riku may have already caught onto this fact, even subconsciously. There was a time when they both had marveled over how fast they took to each, given their personalities, and the silvered teen was smart. He must have picked up on the unnatural nature of their relationship.

"Yes," the older man answered slowly. "The life and persona I took on… his name was… Zack."

"Zack?"

"Yeah. He was the SOLDIER 1st Class, not me…" A short, deep breath for reassurance. "The way Sora died… it was almost the exact same way Zack died, and – like me – you've taken on Sora's life and personality."

Riku took only a moment to process this. "Why?"

"I honestly don't know, Riku," Cloud sighed, tightening his arms around the teen for a brief moment. This was killing him.

"Where… where did Sora die?"

"Destiny Islands."

Riku's eyes grew distant and his head tilted downward. "I… want to go there."

"Okay."

Cloud had expected such a request. Nudging the teen softly, he rose to his feet, pulling the boy with him. His expression never changed; his bleary gaze was directed at the floor, bangs shadowing his eyes.

"And I'd like to go to where Zack… too."

Cloud nodded understandingly, hand tightening on Riku's shoulder. "We can leave right away."

--

Cloud watched Riku's face closely as the teen scanned his eyes over his home world. The blond didn't miss the way his face softened when it fell over the little cluster of houses; he assumed that was where Riku grew up. He also didn't miss the way those cyan eyes lingered on the small island in the distance.

"Cloud," he said softly. "That's where Sora died, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Can we still get there by boat?"

"Possibly. The submerged wreckage might make it hard, but there's little debris left in the water." Cloud paused and trained his eyes on the teen. "Do you remember what happened?"

Riku shook his head. "No… I remember that island… as the island I used to play on when I was younger, not… that."

It was true. The island was a charred reminder of the tragedy that struck Destiny Islands barely a year ago. Luckily, it didn't reach the mainland, and Sora was able to save the day… but at the cost of his own life.

"Come on."

The pair made their way across the sandy beach to the dock. Yes, there was a single boat tied there, bobbing with the gentle waves. Riku paused and stared at it for only a moment before expertly climbing in and taking his seat. Cloud, hesitant, clambered in less gracefully.

There proved to be little difficulty getting to the island, hardly any bumps along the way, and only a few minutes after climbing into the boat, the pair was traipsing across the sand. While the island certainly wasn't what it used to be, the wreckage wasn't as cumbersome as Cloud imagined. It wasn't long before they had reached the spot.

On a tiny outcropping of land, accessible only by the wreckage of a broken bridge and a downward-elongated paopu tree, was a small patch of grass in an otherwise sandy stretch of ground. At the top of the patch was a small twig of a growing paopu tree with a single oversized leaf hanging off the top. It was a simple grave with a simple marker. Just the way Sora would have found appropriate.

Riku stared at the small tree, eyes hardening, no doubt being hit with more of his lost memories. Slowly, he extended his hand, and the Kingdom Key appeared there instantly.

"This… this isn't my Keyblade." He held it up and examined it. "It's Sora's…"

"That's right," said Cloud lowly.

The silvered teen stared at the Keyblade for another full minute before suddenly unclipping the keychain at the end of the weapon. Then, Riku hurled the Keyblade as hard as he could out toward the ocean. Cloud watched, very much surprised, as it splashed into the water and vanished from view. The blond slowly looked back to the teen, not exactly knowing what to expect. Riku was clutching the keychain tightly in his fist.

"I'll find my memories," he muttered, then knelt down next to the small paopu sapling and secured the trinket around it. When he again stood, his eyes remained fixed on the patch of grass that marked Sora's grave.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go see Zack now?"

With a nod, Cloud rested a gloved hand on Riku's shoulder and turned him away. After a brief incident with a crab that Cloud would later deny, the two were off and flying through gummi space again.

--

Landing in Midgar was harder than Cloud expected it to be. He hadn't been here in years. He'd moved on fairly well and found himself a new life, but the past year with Riku had brought back some memories Cloud preferred not to think about. Facing Zack's grave meant facing the past all over again, just with himself as a co-star – which, when he really thought about it, might just be more painful than the first time through. He cared about Riku and never wanted to see the boy go through something like this…

"Cloud, what's that?"

"Huh?" The blond man looked around.

"That." Riku pointed to their right, and Cloud's gaze fell that way.

It was like a tunnel of light, swirling tendrils of dark purple and soft green light. Cloud immediately understood. That was one of the energy channels King Mickey had told him about. That's right! There was one on Destiny Islands as well. It had completely slipped his mind… but it obviously wasn't causing any trouble. Neither was this one. It was rather serenely sliding back and forth and blurring before become sharp again, almost as if it was fading in and out of reality.

"That's an energy channel, one of the five that we know about."

"Okay." Riku arched a silver eyebrow. "What's it do?"

"We don't know yet. The energy channel in the mansion in Twilight Town was a gateway for Heartless, as you saw." Riku snorted and folded his arms behind his head, brow furrowed. "But this channel isn't letting anything pass through."

"So it really has no reason to be here?"

"… Maybe be not. Only, the five energy channels are placed… in a sort of… pattern of clues."

That caught Riku's attention; his cyan eyes locked on Cloud and widened. "Pattern? Where are they?"

"The pod room in the mansion, where Sora slept for a year. The World That Never Was, in the Proof of Existence." Cloud counted them off on his fingers. "The main gates of the Coliseum. This one here, near where Zack died. And there was supposed to be one on Destiny Islands, but I didn't notice one."

"So…" Riku started slowly, pausing a moment. "You guys think that these energy channels may be the key to figuring out why this is all happening?"

"Yes. That's what King Mickey believe, anyway."

"Okay… makes sense…"

"Hey. You okay?" Cloud didn't miss the way Riku's shoulders slumped.

"I'm fine… now what is that?"

"What?" Again, Cloud had to look the direction Riku was pointing. When he did, his mouth went dry. They had found Zack's grave.

"It… looks like an old rusted sword," said the teenager as they came closer.

"It is," said Cloud, not letting his voice betray him. "That's Zack's Buster Sword. He left it to me, just as Sora left the Kingdom Key to you." Cloud paused a moment, then reached out and gingerly touched the rusted hilt.

"So," Riku started after a moment, "if I'm just like you… Sora's just like Zack? That's his role?"

Cloud's hand tightened briefly on the worn handle. "That's right."

"But… why?"

"No one knows, Riku, but I wish we did."

--

The ride back to Radiant Garden was quiet and uncomfortable. Neither of them really knew what to say, and since leaving Zack's grave, barely five words had passed between the two of them. The warp speed did not prolong the drive, however, and not too long after leaving Midgar, the gummi ship was touching down in Radiant Garden again. Riku was the first to speak.

"Thanks, Cloud. I… yeah."

"No problem." The blond touched the teen's back gently for a moment as they both exited. Cyan eyes locked with Cloud's blues, and they both paused.

As it was, at that moment, that a frustrated and annoyed blond teenager and an equally annoyed brunet man came stomping over to the gummi garage, demanding all attention on the pair of them. Cloud and Riku just blinked at them.

"We have a situation," said Leon without preamble. After a brief pause, he said, "Someone has shown up."

Riku's eyebrows rose. "Who?"

"A jackass," Roxas growled, crossing his arms. What an interesting statement, especially coming from Roxas.

With a slight nod of agreement, Leon continued. "Cloud, he says he knows you."

"What?" Cloud's eyebrows rose this time.

"Says his name's Reno."

"Reno… yeah, I know him. He worked as a Turk for ShinRa." What the hell was Reno doing here?

"Well, he's demanded to see to the two of you." Leon brushed a lock of hair from his eyes as his jaw tightened visibly. "And he spent a good hour staring at Roxas all the while."

Roxas growled again, toeing a rock on the street.

"Okay… I'll go meet him," said Cloud.

"I don't like him," Roxas muttered savagely under his breath.

"He's annoying, but basically harmless." Cloud touched Riku's back again. "Let's go."

Leon led the way to the center of town where most of the new arrivals ended up. Cloud kept his eyes open for any patch of red in the sea of people, but amazingly noticed nothing. Not until…

"Hey there, Strife." All four heads swiveled. There stood Reno in all his Turk glory, from his unusually red hair to his ruffled suit down to his scuffed and dirty shoes.

"Turk," Cloud said after a beat, inclining his head semi-politely. Riku was staring openly at Reno, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. When no one spoke, Riku cleared his throat.

"So… you're…?"

"Name's Reno," the redhead said lowly. He casually pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and held it to his lips, but instead of pulling out a lighter, he raised a finger to the end. A small flame erupted and lit the cigarette, and as Reno took his first drag, he glared at Riku.

"Got it memorized?"

To be continued…

Sassy: Oh dang! What now!? What now!?

shrugs I dunno. Maybe you should leave a review and I might figure it out.