Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, then lots of stuff would happen, then it would no longer be rated E…don't sue me please!

Kingdom to Come

Chapter Five: Overcome

An odd noise pricked Riku's ears.

Leon unsheathed his gun-blade, and fell into an attacking stance. His senses sharpened at the sound of the scraping of steel against the sheath, and the Keyblade summoned itself to his hands. The shadowed puddles on the floor convulsed and rose, creating the heartless' bodies.

"Thunder!" Aerith cried, and the battle began.

In a flurry of eerie green orbs and particles, Riku swung his weapon against the nearest enemy. The blade came in contact with the synthetic flesh, obliterating it almost instantly. He twisted the weapon in his hand skillfully, taking out the next opponent who dared to stop him. The sounds of battle urged him on in his dance, possessed him almost, as his fluid movements dealt fatal blows to his opponents.

Donald cleared out the last of the shadows using fire, and everyone slowly relaxed. Riku hadn't even sported a cut on himself, much to everyone's wonder. Then again, they weren't the hardest to beat.

"This way," Leon commanded, leading them through the thick underbrush of the jungle. The humid atmosphere and the tropical plants made Riku nostalgic for his island

…Almost.

He hacked down the hindrances with the Keyblade as was Leon, to clear a path for the others. The brushed seemed never-ending; at least the plants at home didn't attack when people passed through-although Yuffie had no problem moving through the dense foliage at all.

"Hey, I spot the tree house ahead!" Yuffie cried from atop a tree, practically giving the birds a heart attack. Riku secretly pitied the poor animals.

"No time for that," Leon remarked. He pulled out his weapon and the familiar sounds of the darkness reached Riku's ears. The keyblade summoned to his hand immediately, and he violently pushed all thoughts of home away.

And just as he had done that, those thoughts crashed back into his mind with a force that made him stagger back a step.

And it was because Sora's kidnapper decided to pay him a visit.

The failers guarded him on each side, and another type of monster-ones with an ape-like appearance and disposition- surrounded the group. Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie fell into attacking stances, but the kidnapper paid no attention to the others it seemed, and only had eyes on him.

Which suited Riku just fine.

The blond boy stepped forward and glared at him with the most serious expression he could muster. The jungle fell silent right then, which rang the loudest in Riku's ears. He held out a hand and summoned an intricate black weapon that seemed to shimmer even in the dull light that flooded the forest floor. Something about the black crown that dangled from the hilt made his heart pang slightly.

"I've come to rid of you," The boy bared his teeth, much like an animal, "You will no longer plague Sora."

He scoffed and raised his own weapon.

"I think you're mistaken. You're the one plaguing Sora."

At that time, Sora wasn't thinking about plagues in the form of people. Instead, the brunette dreamed of something not quite reachable...

Flowers, all around him. He could feel the soft whispers of the petals against his skin. The gentle fragrance danced around him in a teasing manner.

It was warm; he could feel the sun. It greeted his body like an old friend, wrapping him in a hug.

He couldn't move, let alone see. He knew he was laying down at least, since the small plants cushioned him like a bed. So soft...

A familiar touch. Someone held his face gently, as if he himself was a flower. The hand was so warm and tender. Was it an angel?

A voice. A smooth, silky, gentle and warm sound. The melody plucked at his heart and pulled all other senses to it like an illustrious siren.

"Sora, wake up."

He did so, with a jolt.

No, he still remained captive in the dark, cold place. The open doors stood dejectedly behind him, ever watchful and in cursed mourning. He cursed the splitting headache that pounded at his head. If he was lucky, maybe there would be painkillers somewhere.

As his vision slowly focused, he noticed that the island grew even more. Now it was covering a good part of the gray, moldy-looking path ahead. That proved to be one good factor. Unless the vegetation had deadly poisons or other harmful materials, he was glad that it covered the dreary area.

A stray thought popped into his mind as his eyes traveled along the snake-like pathway. Where was Koro? Did he have a chance to run away? Was there enough time?

But the headache disagreed with Sora and caused him to groan in pain. It wasn't a smart thing to do when you have no relevant information of your surroundings and you felt like a rag doll. At least he was most likely safe here….

Which certainly not the case with Riku.

He barely had enough time to block the blow that the kidnapper dealt. The Keyblade hummed in protest against the mysterious blade, and the sound made Riku flinch.

"Where did you get this!" The blond screeched at him. In surprise, Riku pushed him off and resumed his stance.

"What do you mean?" He yelled back in frustration.

The boy's look darkened as he glowered at Riku with the utmost hatred a human could muster. He motioned to the Keyblade with his own. Along with their ragged breathing, the sounds of fighting filled the short pause.

"You stole it from him! That's why he doesn't remember!"

Steal? Remember?

Riku parried another lightening fast attack with mild success but lost his footing in the process. Just as his attacker moved forward, he flipped into him, effectively pushing the other onto the ground. He straddled Koro down and held the Keyblade to his throat.

"Tell me where Sora is." Riku demanded. The uneasy tingling he felt since he left the islands grew stronger, almost whispering him to slit the boy's throat. He held the weapon firmly, yet his body shivered.

Koro gave him a look that said everything. Fierce determination burned within, along with loathing and anger. That expression rivaled even his own, and he faltered for the slightest moment-

"No."

Riku was violently thrown off when another pearly white blade appeared in the blonde's hand. It glowed with both defiance and harmony alongside the Oblivion.

Riku had a hard time trying to understand how he fathomed that name.

"You don't remember anything either, do you?" He made it sound like a threat as he made his way towards the fallen boy. Riku only groaned in response. His head felt like it collapsed within itself. The only thing that registered was the dangerous blade that waited above him, ready to take his life.

"Fire!"

A large ball of flames collided with the dark blade, making the attacker to stumble back. He vaguely registered Donald's screechy voice.

"Koro!" The duck chastised as Goofy finished off the last heartless. The boy froze to the call and turned to stare at the two.

"What are you guys doing here!"

As much as he hated to admit it, Koro acted just a bit like Sora when they were little. If he wasn't trying to kill him, he might have been a bit nicer.

"Koro! Stop doing this and tell us what you did with our liege!"

He only sneered and pointed the Oath Keeper at him.

"You have no more power over me, Royal Magician. Our Kingdom's fallen, and Sora is the only one who can regain it. Just what are you trying to accomplish, bringing the destroyer with you!"

For a fraction of a second, everything froze.

"How dare you! I would never go against my liege's orders, or his Majesty!(1)" Donald raged and started forward, only to be held back by Goofy.

"Koro, why are you doing this?" The dog pleaded. Koro's expression softened for a moment.

"Goofy, you've seen him fight! You should know what he's capable of. You should know!"

"It wasn't his fault."

"YES IT WAS!" He cried out desperately, and the keyblade flashed to life. Tendrils of light twisted around the pale metal and formed a sphere around the tip. Donald readied his staff and started his spell while Goofy stood in front and presented his large shield.

"ARS ARC-" Something zoomed past and swiped Koro's arm, dispelling the ability. The spear buried itself in front of Riku's feet.

The keyblades disappeared from Koro's hands as everyone's attention turned to a man sporting nothing but a loin cloth. Yuffie, who had been fighting in the trees, landed next to him.

The man grunted a series of noises, while overlooking the floor.

"&! Not friend." He said, peering at the pale boy. Koro almost growled as he pressed his hand against the wound. The headache Riku had seemed to disappear with the keyblades, but the small voice still put strange thoughts into his head.

Riku took his own keyblade and held it against Koro's back.

"If I were you, I wouldn't try anything."

Now circled by the group and injured, Koro gritted his teeth and curled up his fists.

"You won't catch me." With that, he twirled around and knocked the Keyblade away. Koro had faded out of the jungle.

As Aerith and Donald healed everyone's wounds, the primitive man and Yuffie landed back onto the ground. The ninja stopped in front of Riku as she rose an eyebrow at him.

"You know, if it hadn't been for Tarzan, who knows what that kid would've done to you. He had the right idea, except for the whole kidnapping Sora part. Sheesh, you can't even put up a good fight!"

"Like you were a big help. We could have been closer to finding the place where he's keeping Sora." Riku retorted. No, Yuffie was NOT on his good side, nor did she want to be.

Yuffie growled.

"For all I know," She glared down at him while pulling on the spear, "Your dear friend Koro was right. You are the destroyer."

He had to grit his teeth at that moment, for right now, killing Yuffie didn't sound like a bad idea. Fine, if she wanted to play this game, he wouldn't lose.

"'For all I know'… That isn't much, is it?" He coldly replied and smirked.

Yuffie lunged at him, but Aerith came in time to hold her back.

"That bastard! Lemme go Aerith!" Yuffie struggled against the older one, but Aerith was unaffected.

"Yuffie, calm down." She commanded sternly, but patiently. It was a wonder how Aerith could remain so calm, and even more so since Yuffie listened. The ninja stopped struggling, and Aerith let her go.

Yuffie glared at him, and made no sign of moving from her spot. Riku stood and crossed his arms.

"Friends. No fight."

Yuffie jumped at the sudden voice and the heavy hand that clasped her shoulder. She breathed a sigh in exaggeration as realization popped into her head.

"Okay. Only for you, Tarzan." And she stalked off to Leon. Tarzan pulled his weapon from the ground and looked at Riku.

"Me Tarzan." He placed his hand over his own chest. "You?"

"I'm Riku…" He replied, a bit uneasy. It wasn't that Tarzan was threatening; Riku didn't know how to act. Not many foreigners came to the island, and this felt even more awkward.

Tarzan nodded. He turned to the group and motioned them to follow.

"This way."

Kairi found it hard to sleep.

She tossed around on her bed again, desperately searching for a solution to her current problem. It wasn't doing her any good to sit and mope around, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. So many things could go wrong. She didn't think Koro would have taken Sora, and she certainly didn't expect he would do it so straightforward. Goofy had taught him so much better than that…

But no matter what the situation was, the current issue still remained. They didn't know where Sora was, they had no clue if Riku would be all right on his own, and Koro had been apparently overtaken by darkness. Things were not looking good.

On a more easier-to-tolerate level, she felt guiltier to wake everyone up. She prayed it didn't have to come to this. It was the whole reason she offered to remember the memories that should have been lost. They would live with it; she knew. Their allegiance with Sora made sure of that. But that couldn't stop them from getting that one sense of longing from time to time. Once returned, memories could never be erased. At least, not in this life.

She prayed that the next life would be more peaceful. She prayed, prayed, prayed….

And finally, she fell asleep.

And Sora awoke.

He was back on the throne again, curled into a small ball. The darkness kept him warm, as odd as it was. The darkness didn't feel as threatening as before, and everything he once found creepy had become almost tame, including the long, dark tendrils against the sickly path-which still continued to cover itself up with the foliage. The headache ceased since he had returned to the plushy chair, though it had taken a while.

He jumped as Koro appeared right in front of him.

At first, he didn't know what to do. No matter how comfortable he had became with this place, the fact that Koro practically kidnapped him made it a bit awkward. How was one supposed to address a friendly kidnapper? A friendly, obsessive, mentally unstable kidnapper, at that?

But as he caught sight of the blood dripping down the younger one's arm, a wave of concern washed over him. He never liked it when people were hurt, but he shouldn't have cared about someone who took him away from his friends and family. It caught him by surprise, but sure enough, the concern wasn't going away.

"Hey, are you okay?" A stupid question, he realized soon afterwards, but it got the point across. Koro turned to him, mildly surprised.

"…I will be. Don't worry about it." He smiled lightly, but grimaced from the pain as he moved it. The blood on his fingers crusted already, and it probably wouldn't feel nice to take it off the wound.

Koro closed his eyes and a white aura passed down his arm. He took his hand off, revealing the pink skin from where the gash once was.

"How did you do that?" Sora wondered aloud. Koro opened his eyes grinned. The blond almost reminded him of himself.

"You can do it too, you know. I just have to get your keyblade back from him. Then you'll remember everything."

"I can?" He mused, secretly cheering that Riku was indeed still alive. He didn't know how Koro fought, and although Riku fought pretty well, instincts told him that Koro wasn't exactly easy.

And if he could perform magic, that meant that Donald at the very least was real.

"Yeah, you can." Koro's smile didn't waver, and he acted almost normal again.

"Kairi taught us!"

A/N: Yes, you all have rights to slap me. So much stuff, including the nearing finals, relationship stuff, and partial writer's block are to blame this time.

(1)Both Donald and Goofy call Sora "my liege", but "his Majesty" is someone else entirely! And only Donald and Goofy makes this distinction, no one else.