Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Kingdom Hearts—that honor belongs to Squaresoft and Disney. I'm just playing in the sandbox.
Formatting: "Spoken words are in quotes." Internal character thoughts are in italics.
Kairi had been unusually determined in her concern over Sora's final preparations.
"You're sure you've got everything you need?"
"C'mon, Kairi, don't you trust me at all?"
She paused, then nodded solemnly, the gesture lightened by the small smile playing across her face. "Remember, you have to bring my keychain back to me, okay?"
Sora nodded confidently, his hand tightening briefly around Oathkeeper, the weight of it both heavy and precious. "It's a promise."
"Good." Kairi's smile widened back at him, and there was something absolutely infectious in it. "I'm going to make a huge picnic lunch for the three of us, and we'll have it at that spot underneath the paopu tree, as soon as we get back!"
Sora hardly needed any more incentives to win quickly, but any thought of the future was welcome, if it included Kairi and Riku by his side—especially back home together. Those reminders were doubly welcome, because Sora was starting to have trouble recalling the little details. Oh, he was sure they were there, somewhere. Namine was in a sense Kairi, after all, and so he was sure all his memories had been put back right.
The sad truth was, he'd started forgetting even before Castle Oblivion. Just inconsequential things, like the fine, gritty texture of the sand between his curled toes, as the three of them raced down the beach, or the exact shade of the sea they used to watch at sunset. He'd lost the precise pitch of the sharp, storm call the gulls had, the strange jerking rhythm of the sand crabs—even though Riku had worked so hard to see Sora's memories returned, no one could stop time from stealing some of the subtle points away. Trapped in a seemingly endless castle of not-quite-existence, everything about the peaceful island life they'd once shared felt so very far off...
But I will get back there, Sora promised himself determinedly, setting out to fight before Kairi could start fussing over his equipment again, as she had once fussed over their picnic supplies.
The castle was literally crawling with Nobodies, and Sora was very grateful that he had solid backup to help him, since every time he dashed forward to make some headway, he found himself surrounded, enemies materializing on all sides. Eventually, he arrived at the base of some steps where Nobodies were coming at them particularly thick and fast, and before Sora had a chance to really think about it, he called on the power of his two companions, knowing a fusion form would help finish things before exhaustion set in. Of course, he didn't give his friends any warning of that, as he tended to be a bit impulsive in battle, but he was used to counting on Donald and Goofy to adjust to his sudden shifts in strategy. The thing was, Donald wasn't with him, at the moment.
Riku was.
The instant that occurred to him, Sora tried to take the call back, but it was too late, and he found himself stretching anxiously out along the line of power that formed his connection with his old friend. If this failed, then Sora knew the Darkness of The World That Never Was would rush into the void to meet him, that a skulking anti-form awaited. The Heart in front of him wasn't open like Goofy's was, though, and maybe Sora really had asked for too much, this time, maybe Riku wouldn't even let him in...
But at the last possible instant before the Darkness could grasp hold and draw him into its dangerous dance, Riku's Heart slammed open against it, their fusion connection suddenly alive with the Light of a thousand red-gold sunrises, power warm as the tropical seas swiftly flooding through him. Sora knew that Goofy must still be connected to him, somewhere, because the pitch black, yellow eyed anti-form hadn't arisen, and yet he almost couldn't feel his other companion for the strength of Riku's Heart suddenly beating alongside his own.
Let me show you, his long time friend's voice whispered through him, and the set of Sora's ankle became a race down to the beach; the tilt of his knee, a playful dolphin kick in the ocean; the flex of his elbows, a swing up to the branch of the paopu tree, and in his hand was Riku's—no. It was Sora's Keyblade, still, but he could feel the pulse of Way to the Dawn layered alongside it, bright white Light leading the way out of Darkness.
The Nobodies were dispatched in under a minute, but it was hard for Sora to end the fusion form then, because he still needed it, his eyes drawn to a far off, half-forgotten horizon, sun rising above the waves, as the warm familiarity that was Riku reminded him of the way home and all that lay waiting for him, there.
The three of us, we're going to have a picnic, beneath that paopu tree...
Sora tried desperately to burn that memory deeper into his Heart, to hold onto the solid rhythm of the ocean that had once been as familiar as his own heartbeat, even as the fusion connection eventually, inevitably faded away, dulling his memories once more, as he was forced to recall the Islands though just one set of eyes.
"Gawsh, Sora, I was ready t' help ya, but it seems like you an' Riku didn' need much helpin'!"
It was only at the incongruous sound of that recently familiar voice that Sora realized exactly how distracted he had become, and one of his hands reached automatically up to rub at that spot on the back of his neck in mild embarrassment, as it finally occurred to Sora that it might have been impolite to lean so heavily on Riku's power that he was effectively spurning his other teammate. "Sorry, Goofy," Sora apologized; he certainly hadn't meant any offense. "It's just...I was..." He looked over at Riku, met eyes the color of a warm tropical sea, and felt a sharp pang of nostalgia shoot through him, the phantom lap of waves rising against his ankles.
"Aw, shawks, it's awlright, Sora," Goofy responded, with the good natured understanding that everyone around him had come to rely on. "Meetin' old friends is like comin' home again, and I reckon it's been a long journey for ya. With any luck, though, we'll awl be goin' home, soon."
"Yeah," Sora breathed, shaking himself off enough to continue up the staircase, into the next room, before Riku could scold him again for making Kairi wait so long.
His friend slouched along closely after him, his posture far more defensive than Sora remembered, that lanky body folded in on itself, as if Riku were still not sure that it was really his own. It reminded Sora painfully of exactly how much things had changed, and there was no denying that there was now a subtle sadness in Riku's familiar expression, a little slice of Twilight that lingered. But in the end, Riku was so much more than that, so much stronger than the Darkness alone, and Sora had seen for himself the place in his friend's Heart that held both a hope and a promise.
Let me show you, Sora—the Way to the Dawn!
It wasn't going to be easy, though. No sooner had they made it inside the next room than more Nobodies began materializing around them, seemingly out of thin air. Together, Keyblades drawn, they fought through the shadows that barred their progress forward, and even as wisps of Darkness slithered, questing, curling against his skin like Ursula's ink when he cut through them, Sora could still feel the warm, clean ocean tide of the fusion connection humming just under the surface, ready to support him if he needed it. He was grateful to Goofy, as well, of course, but it was Riku who lent him the knowledge, deep down in his Heart:
This time, this time, we will really be going home!
