"Well, there is one advantage to being me, something you can never imitate." Riku said with a playful cockiness.

"Really, what's that?" Sora asked.

"Having you for a friend."

"...Then I guess, I'm okay the way I am. I've got something you can never imitate too." Sora said giving Riku a sly grin in return.

They sat in comfortable silence along the shores within the Realm of Darkness, enjoying each other's presence as the sound of rustling waves filled their ears. A moment of peace after overcoming their greatest trial yet. Albeit a short lived one.

A twinge of guilt hurled it's way through Riku. After what seemed like an eternity he was finally able to reconcile with his friend and lay beside him on the shore just like the days of old. It was a dream he so vividly sought for 2 years and he was finally living it! But on the inside, he felt empty. Something was missing. No...Someone was missing.

"Mickey."

He whispered his name, his voice masked by the gentle tide. His thoughts drifted to his King.

"Where was he now?"

"Did he manage to escape safely? "

"Is he worried about me and Sora?"

….

"Will I ever see him again?"

An icy chill coursed through Riku's body. The thought scared him, more than anything that he'd ever encountered; The heartless, the nobodies, the organization, Ansem, nothing could compare. He inwardly chuckled at his predicament. Perhaps this was the ultimate price he had to pay for all of his transgressions. A fitting end for a fool that recklessly pursued his destiny by seeking it in darkness knowing full well that he was being manipulated like a marionette. Even now he could feel the puppeteer's strings attached. The Seeker of Darkness's voice constantly whispered sweet temptations into his ear, beckoning him to plunge his Keyblade through Sora's heart and end his own accursed existence.

"If only the King were here." He thought to himself.

Riku smiled at the mere thought. He wondered about what could've been if that mouse wasn't there to stand by him through the tumultuousness of it all. When he'd resigned himself to death upon closing the door to Kingdom Hearts, that mouse was there telling him to not give up. When he was terrified of confronting the darkness within himself, that mouse was there holding his hand and willingly bearing the burden alongside him. When he was at his lowest and contemplated ending it all so no one else would have to suffer, that mouse was there ever so lovingly wiping his tears away and cupping his face, reassuring him that he was fine the way he was and that everything was going to be alright. That mouse, his one and only special mouse!

Drops of water began to pitter and patter around the duo as Riku yearned to hear his king call for him once more. That yearning engulfed him to the point that he could think of nothing but the king. Faint traces of rain started to lightly graze his body with nary a smidget of acknowledgement.

"Mickey…" Riku uttered longingly, being more audible than the last. Sora turned to face his friend to signal that they should seek shelter from the rain.

"Riku, we should find some co-" But he stopped in his breath.

Time came to a screeching halt as Sora bore witness and fell prey to a most unusual sight. The onset of rain and it's accompanying winds wafted through Riku's hair, making his beautiful silver locks flow and shine. Wearing an expression of melancholy, his soft pink lips parted as the drops of water danced around his pale skin. And his eyes twinkled and glistened passionately like a beautiful aquamarine, peering towards the horizon. It was picturesque. A beauty so grand that not even a princess of heart could compare. Sora was entranced, it kept every bit of self restraint he could muster to keep his lips from sealing Riku's in that very moment.

With much effort, he managed to stifle the primal urge that welled up inside of him. But the will of his lust lingered. He'd never felt anything like this before. Was his best friend really always this attractive? The mere thought made Sora's face flush pink in embarrassment. These were not thoughts he should be having in such a predicament. He peered at Riku from the corner of his eye. What was Riku thinking about so deeply? He couldn't hazard a guess as to what plagued his friend's mind.

They continued to sit in unbridled silence, deep in their thoughts. The perennial passage of time became lost on them as they continued to stare at the same unchanging scene of the horizon. So absent-minded were they in their thoughts that they failed to recognize the approaching object that had made its way on to shore, tapping Riku's leg and snapping him out of his trance.

Riku inspected the object closely to find that it was a glass bottle, how odd. What was even stranger was that there appeared to be a folded letter inside of it. His curiosity was piqued, why in the world was such a thing here? Were there other humans here besides themselves? A potentially thriving civilization within the Realm of Darkness? If they could find them not only would they have sustenance but they might be able to find a way out of here! With that in mind Riku excitedly picked up the bottle and removed the cap. He took the folded letter out, opened it up and began to read.

"Thinking of you, wherever you are. We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend. Now I will step forward to realize this wish. And who knows: Starting a new journey may not be so hard, or maybe it has already begun. There are many worlds, but they share the same sky - one sky, one destiny."

Kairi

"One sky, one destiny" Riku chanted to himself.

It was not what he'd anticipated but its presence changed everything. This letter was undoubtedly for Sora and it was sent by Kairi no less. Why has such a letter made its way here? Riku began to think. The most logical possibility was that there was a bridge between this world and theirs. It's not by mere happenstance a letter like this would just happen to drift through worlds directly to where they were located, with such a convenient timing no less! There had to be something behind it, something had to have created a path for the bottle to make it here but what?

Riku broke it down from the top. This letter that Kairi made for Sora was able to transcend the boundary between worlds and make its way directly to him. What could possib-

"Hope that our hearts will blend."

He thought back to the words contained in her letter and his eyes widened as the epiphany hit. Sora and Kairi's hearts were linked. Their bond was so strong that not even the division of worlds could keep the two apart, the reason the letter was able to find its way to them now was because Kairi and Sora now more than ever yearned to see each other. If that was the case...was it possible that Riku could do it too?

"I think this is for you." Riku said as he passed the letter to a quizzical Sora.

Riku closed his eyes and concentrated as Sora began to read out loud. Kairi's words echoed within the chasms of his heart as he dove within. He had an idea that maybe, somewhere deep inside laid a link between his and King Mickey's heart. If he could find it he just might be able to create a link between the two worlds in which they reside that would allow both him and Sora to crossover.

As Riku ventured through the depths of his ethereal heart, his anxiety shot up and his corporeal heart began to race in turn. He was gambling on the chance that his heart would "blend" with King Mickey's to create a miracle. His plan hinged entirely on whether the King's feelings were analogous to his. The possibility that the King wasn't there scared him. He didn't have to do this, he could have asked Sora to create the bridge instead since his connection was guaranteed but Riku wanted to know how the King felt about him. He had to have an answer, even if meant diving through the den of the Seeker of Darknesss!

And like a moth to a flame he was engulfed in the darkness that had laid its roots at the base of his heart. Its shape contorted and formed a colossal version of Ansem's Guardian that moved to intercept him from below. As it extended its arm to grab him Ansem's voice rang out.

"Open yourself to darkness! Let your heart, your being, become darkness itself!"

But that wouldn't stop Riku, his eyes narrowed as he summoned his keyblade The Way to Dawn and plunged straight through the center of the insidious symbiote's chest tearing open another hole in its body. And beyond the vestiges of the darkness laid a glimmer of light. He'd found his way to dawn! His special little mouse! He was really there waiting for him!

"Your majesty!" Riku happily exclaimed!

"Gosh Riku, I was looking all over for you!" Mickey smiled cheerily.

"Your majesty, I was so scared I didn't think you'd be here!"

But before Riku could continue Mickey placed his finger on Riku's lips.

"Shh, I told you to call me Mickey and I promised didn't I? I told you I'd walk the road with ya until you can make it home! So no matter what…"

Riku's eyes began to well.

"Even if my body is torn apart, even if the darkness overcomes you again or even if the world is out to get ya, I will always be there right by your side! So come on home!" That was all Riku needed to hear, he was elated beyond words. And as much as he wanted to stay and enjoy the moment he knew what he needed to do. With the link successfully established Riku came back to physical world and proceeded to make his way towards the shallow waters of the shore.

"Riku?" Sora asked quizzically, looking up from the letter as Riku turned towards him. A blinding golden light manifested itself from the horizon behind Riku.

"The door has opened Sora. Now we can go home! This time we'll go for them like they came for us." He stretched his right hand out to Sora just as he did that fateful day that started it all 2 years ago.

"Let's go." He said with a smile on his face.

Sora smirked. It was a cheeky gesture given what happened back then but he knew that this time, he would not hesitate to grab that hand. As Sora reached out in return the golden light grew, engulfing them both in a cascade of warm emotions.

Before they knew it like a dream they dropped through the distance and into the deep of Destiny Island's waters. Sora was the first to emerge out of the water and breathe the warm nostalgic air of his home, the golden light was gone and what stood before him was a vast sky filled with the beautiful hues of dusk. It elicited a big smile on his face. He was home, he was finally home!

"Sora!" The smile on Sora's face widened as he knew all too well who that voice belonged to, he turned to see Kairi waving at him from the shore. Frantically he began to swim his way towards her, she was really there right in front of him! Not some illusion or some Nobody, it was Kairi in the flesh! He stammered onto to shore, and prepped his arms to embrace her with his all his love but once again time came to a halt. His thoughts were erratic given the circumstances but three things suddenly stood out.

Donald and Goofy just appeared behind Kairi and were now leaping at him.

A figure just zoomed past him at the speed of light.

Riku had yet to emerge.

Sora planted his foot deep into the ground and attempted to pivot 180 degrees to rush back into the water but was intercepted in his effort to check on his friend by the warm tackle that came from behind. He may have failed to go himself but he knew Riku would be just fine if the King himself diving in that fast was any indication.

By some odd quirk of faith Riku couldn't move, forcing open the door to Destiny Island had drained him of more energy than he thought.

"Just desserts." He thought. "At least, despite it all... at the very end I really was able to hear his voice one last time…"

Mickey may not have realized it but he'd fulfilled his promise to Riku long ago. The moment he'd offered his hand to Riku at Castle Oblivion and promised to walk the lonely road with him, he'd become what Riku was searching for his whole life. That small gesture done out of the virtuousness of his heart saved Riku's life. The chain of memories of which their bond was forged upon was something Riku would gladly die for.

So preoccupied was Riku in readily accepting that he was going to die that he failed to realize the figure grabbing him from below and casting a spell with their keyblade.

"AEROGA!"

And within that moment the sea parted by virtue of an explosive large gust of wind. Upon realizing that he wasn't dead Riku's eyes snapped open only to find himself high up in the air. He was gently floating towards the shore like his path was being guided by the wind where he could see everyone waving to him.

"Hoho, that was a scary one wasn't it?"

It slowly dawned on Riku whose hands were currently wrapped around him as if they were carrying a bride, tears began to trickle down his eyes. He looked up slowly and there mere inches away from his face was the King's own glorious visage.

"You….You're majesty….I…...I…" Riku began to choke on his words as he tried to catch his bearings only to be hushed once again by the carnal finger of his King. The King always did hate it when Riku regressed back into calling him his "majesty". Riku bit down on all of the things he passionately wanted to say and chose to say the one thing he knew he needed to.

"M..Mickey…I'm back." He choked.

Mickey smiled warmly, nuzzling his face against Riku's own with his eyes closed and gently planted a kiss upon Riku's forehead.

And with all the love he could muster he softly whispered into Riku's ear what he ever so longed to hear.

"You're home."