"Riku! Kairi!"
The two friends currently perched on their usual tree, turned their heads around to find a boy with a blonde head running up to them. They waited, curious, as the blonde boy, Tidus, ran the rest of the way and greeted the two.
"Hey," He began after catching his breath. "Have you two seen Sora?"
"No," answered Kairi with a shake of her head. "He hasn't come back yet."
"Oh, well if you see him, let him know that I put his wooden sword I borrowed back at his house. Okay?"
"We'll tell him." Kairi said merrily, as she and Tidus waved goodbye. Though, something in that short conversation irked Riku just a bit.
Sora hasn't come back.
Just hours before hand, Riku remembers Sora announcing that he was going to head over to Yen Sid's tower with Donald and Goofy for a visit of some kind. He said he was sure to return at least an hour before sunset. Riku couldn't help but feel just slightly concerned as he now realized that the sun was almost completely gone.
"Riku," Called Kairi, the tone in her voice implying that the realization must of dawned on her too. "Shouldn't Sora be back by now?"
"He should," Riku nodded, refusing to shift his tone of voice into that of concern. He was concerned, but it wouldn't help if he made Kairi grow worried too. Riku knows that she's had enough of worrying when he and Sora were gone for years before returning to Destiny Islands. The three have finally reunited, he's not going to let the fear of losing Sora swallow him up again, and not Kairi either.
"Maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions." Said Kairi hopefully, as if she had read his mind. "Maybe the Gummi Ship is having some technical difficulties? I'm sure Sora must have a good reason for not arriving yet."
"I hope so." Riku sighed, as he ran his fingers through his long silver hair. But Kairi was right. They knew that Sora wouldn't spend too much time being away from them for a long period of time, heck, Riku and Kairi can't walk into a room without hearing Sora call for them, demanding to know where they were. A funny yet adorable trait he has, though, Riku and Kairi have fallen victim to that too. Its become more prominent ever since the whole Ansem and Xemnas incident when they were all separated.
As a matter of fact, the three have been separated for far too long, why shouldn't they be slightly concerned over Sora's disappearance?
For the time being, Riku and Kairi attempted to brush off the rising fear they had over their friend and tried to relax again. Even as the two spent more time bantering, neither wanted to admit that they were still on edge.
Some time later, the sun was completely engulfed underneath the dark ocean, and the moon slowly started to peak through. Riku and Kairi's full blow of panic quickly extinguished in relief as the Gummi Ship made it's appearance in the sky and flew closer to the Island.
"Sora!" the two cried excitedly before jumping off the low paopu tree they were on, and quickly made their way to the empty beach. To someone else, it would seem as if they treated this like a long term reunion, they must of looked silly being ecstatic over a friend they haven't seen in the span of four hours, maybe the three did become clingy. But of course, did they care?
As the two sped closer and closer, ready to tackle Sora into a bone crushing hug, they watched the ship's opening slowly descend like an opened mouth. Donald and Goofy hurried through the exit and, to Riku and Kairi's surprise, King Mickey himself. All three had a solemn and anxious look on their faces. At that moment, Riku and Kairi's hearts sunk at the realization. Moments before, they did feel in their hearts that something was wrong, something with Sora. And watching the four exit the ship only proved the superstition.
Because Sora wasn't with them.
"Where's Sora?" Demanded Kairi, with an urgency in her voice that surprised Riku.
"Get in," ordered the King, with an unusual edge in his voice. "We'll explain on the way."
Without question, the two hurriedly followed the other three inside the Gummi Ship. As soon as the large door closed behind them, the Ship immediately jolted to life as it slowly began to rise from the beach and into the air, right before zooming into the night sky.
Inside, Kairi stumbled and nearly lost her balance from the ship's jagged movements before Riku shot his arms out and caught her, balancing her upright. In fact, Riku was also having trouble keeping steady in the rumbling ship, that he had to latch on to Kairi, in a poor attempt to support them both from falling.
"Sorry." said King Mickey, watching the scene play out from where he stood. "But we're in a hurry. Please, have a seat."
Not letting go of each other, Riku and Kairi cautiously made their way to the control room, which wasn't as spacious. The room consisted of only three seats. Two of them were currently occupied with Donald and Goofy maneuvering the ship, which only left the lone seat that was adjacent to the two pilots at the front.
A small debate regarding who of the two deserved to take the seat, ultimately resulted in Riku finally sitting down before offering Kairi to sit on his lap, which she did so without complaint. After being settled, it was Riku's turn to finally speak up after a long silence.
"You're Majesty," he began, masking an impatient tone infront of his royal friend. "Where's Sora? What's going on?"
"If you were going ask next, Riku, the answer is no, we don't know if he's okay." Mickey said ashamed, as he crossed his arms and looked at the two.
King or no, Kairi was not ashamed to express her limited patience.
"Please," She begged. "Where is Sora?"
Mickey leaned against a control panel and finally gave them the rundown of the situation.
"Hours after arriving at Yen Sid's tower," He began, tersely. "A bunch of heartless and nobodies suddenly appeared outside. We worked to get rid of them of course, when suddenly, Maleficent shows up out of nowhere and takes Sora with her." Mickey pauses for a few seconds, letting all of the information sink in until he continued again.
"We don't know exactly where she's keeping Sora, nor why." He said, melancholy. "But Maleficent's castle is our best bet. Even if we don't find Sora there, we can still ask around. It might take us closer to his whereabouts."
"Then," Began Kairi, finding her voice again. "What did you bring us for?" she asked curiously.
"Maleficent might be expecting us there," Mickey answered. "No doubt about it, we should be expecting a swarm of heartless and nobodies, we're going to need all the help we can get."
"And besides, A-hyuck." piped up Goofy from where he sat, as Riku and Kairi turned their heads to look at the friendly hound. "I know you two wouldn't have passed this up if it meant saving Sora. And imagine how happy he'll be when he sees you coming to his rescue."
The two gave Goofy a gracious smile and nodded. Riku would prefer it this way. Sora has gone out of his way to save him and Kairi, now it is their turn to return the favor.
About a few more minutes of anxiously waiting, the Gummi Ship reached it's destination and made it's landing infront of the castle. Nobody wasted any time running out of ship. True to the King's words, they were greeted with an army of heartless and nobodies roaming about the courtyard. Summoning Way to the Dawn and Destiny's Embrace in hand, Riku and Kairi prepared for a fight.
o0o
Everybody's breath's came out in quick pants as they ran further up the flight of stairs to the tower. Like they'd hoped, the battle against the heartless and nobodies went effortlessly, nothing major. Now they just had to find Sora. After the short battle, Mickey suggested that they should all immediately start searching every floor of the castle. All of them came up empty, neither Sora nor Maleficent were found. But the group refused to give up hope as they scaled up the tower, to the final floor.
Riku and Kairi eagerly led the way up the stairs, in hopes of finding Sora, when another swarm of heartless manifested from a dark portal, blocking their way.
Riku and Kairi were ready to lash out their impatience again to the monster's, when suddenly, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey, jumped infront of the two, weapons ready.
"You two go look for Sora." The King ordered, slashing through a heartless before turning to them. "We got this."
Riku and Kairi couldn't have been more thankful as they nodded and quickly made their way further up the tower.
Riku and Kairi's final burst of adrenaline shined through as they ran even faster when they spotted the door at the very top of the steps. Because of his body's advantage, Riku ran a few steps further than Kairi, but he wasted no time in grabbing her hand, and pulled her to his pace the rest of the way. Both hearts racing, anticipating the moment when they can finally reunite with their third heart.
They reached the room and took in the surroundings. It was a large circular interior that looked similar to that of a dungeon cell. The murky brick walls gave the room a sickly green tint in the room, which wasn't appealing to look at. The room was practically empty, no frames, no furniture. Nothing but a sight that made Riku and Kairi's heart leap in sudden fear when their eyes land on the missing heart of the trio laying unconscious on the floor, his back facing the perturbed teens.
"Sora!"
Kairi reached him first, Riku followed immediately after, quickly surveying the room for any threat before going to Sora's other side and dropped to his knees. Kairi turned him over and clumsily gathered him into her arms, limbs and head lolled limply.
"Sora!" She called to him when he was nestled against her chest. "Sora, can you hear me?" She shook him slightly, which prompted no reaction but his head to tip back.
Kairi continued to desperately call out to their friend, while Riku busied himself with looking him over. Sora didn't appear to be injured anywhere, nothing broken, nothing damaged. He seemed untouched. As a matter of fact, judging by the peaceful look on his face and chest rising and falling in deep breaths, it almost looked as if he were asleep.
Riku reached down and gently brushed brown hair out of his face before hopelessly calling out to his friend too.
"Sora, wake up." He said, trying to keep his voice from panicking. "Come on. We gotta go."
"I was wondering when you two would arrive."
Kairi gave a startled gasp and instinctively brought Sora even closer in her embrace, while Riku bolted up with his keyblade in hand, standing protectively infront of his friends as he faced the culprit.
Maleficent.
"What did you do to him?" Kairi berated, taking the words right of Riku's mouth.
"I didn't do anything." She began, feigning innocence. "Your friend here just simply pricked his finger on that there cursed spindle-" She points her staff behind them. "-and went right to sleep."
"He's asleep?" Asked Riku, baffled. So he was right. Sora was actually asleep.
"Then why isn't he waking up?" Demanded Kairi, cradling Sora's head against her chest.
"My Dear," Maleficent began, giving Kairi a sneer, which prompted Riku to growl lowly. "It's a cursed spindle. He's under a spell. Sora isn't going to ever wake up."
Riku finally snapped into action as he gave a battle cry and charged at Maleficent. However, Maleficent only cackled before vanishing in a dark corrider. Riku growled in frustration when he only sliced the empty air. She had gotten away.
He stood there seething, staring at the spot where she once stood. The keyblade in his hand was shaking from his tight grip. It's bad enough I let her manipulate me," He thought, blood boiling. "But now she has the nerve to go after Sora?" The next time Maleficent decided to touch his friends again will definitely be her last.
"Riku," He heard Kairi say, sounding despondent. "What are we going to do?"
Riku's body slacked in exhaustion as he slowly made his way back over to his friends. He crouched back down, staring into Sora's sleeping face.
"Sleeping like nothing's wrong." He thought to himself, as he couldn't help but give a tiny smile.
"We'll take him back to Master Yen Sid's tower," He finally said, looking at Kairi. "He'll know what to do."
Riku knew that Maleficent's secret weapon was manipulation, If she said that Sora will never wake up, Riku knew that she was lying. There has to be a way to break this spell.
Riku reached over and slowly pried Sora away from Kairi's arms and into his. He then proceeded to gently place an arm under his legs, then behind his back before lifting himself off the floor with Sora secure in his arms. Riku couldn't help but huff at the boy's weight. Sora wasn't that heavy, but he was growing boy. Despite the access weight, Riku began to walk with ease.
"Let's go."
o0o
"What happened?" asked Master Yen Sid in alarm, upon seeing Riku and Kairi walk in with an unconscious Sora, the others trailing behind them.
"Garsh, we've been told he was put under some kind of sleeping spell." Said Goofy, closing the door behind him. As soon as they entered, everyone hurried over to remove the items on the large table to make room. Riku gently placed Sora down on it as substitute bed.
"A sleeping spell you say?" He mused, stroking his gray beard as he stared down at the sleeping teen. "Who casted this spell, and how?"
"Maleficent." Riku answered lividly, standing next to Kairi and Sora. "She said he pricked his finger on a spindle." At that last part, Master Yen Sid raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"A spindle." He echoed, staring at the two teens before dipping his head low in an understanding nod. "There is only one way to solve...This..."
Master Yen Sid let the words die on his lips and a look of realization crossed his face as he darted his dark eyes over to Sora, and to the two teens impatiently waiting for him to finish.
"Well-" He stuttered, for once speechless, which scared Riku.
"Well what?" He asked. "Whatever it is we'll do it, tell us."
"Please." Kairi pleaded, running a small hand through Sora's hair.
Riku held his breath, waiting for Master Yen Sid to finish. "Why does he keep looking at us like that?" he wandered. The task to wake Sora wasn't going to be a difficult one was it? And even if it was, Riku won't hesitate to accomplish it, he was sure Kairi won't either. They have all been separated for far too long, they'll bring him back. He would slap Sora awake if he had to.
"True Love's Kiss."
Riku blinked. Kairi was the one that spoke for him.
"What?"
"This has happened to one of the Princesses of heart," Master Yen Sid explained. "and if it worked for her, then it should work for Sora as well. Sora must be awoken by True Love's Kiss."
"Sora does love you both." Piped up Donald. "Maybe one of you can break the spell."
"Kairi," Riku blurted without thinking, as he turned to face her. "Try it."
"But," She hesitated, "Are you sure I'm his true love?"
"Who else could it be?"
"Sora loves you."
"He loves you too." Riku said sincerely, giving her a rare smile only reserved for his two friends. Then he faced Master Yen Sid and asked, "Does it have to be on the lips, Master?"
"It would appear so," He answered. "That's how the prince revived the Princess anyway."
"See?" Riku said, turning back to Kairi. "And I'm sure Sora would rather be kissed by you, don't you think?" He joked, with honesty along the lines. Riku has always known about the little crush these two had. They've never told him, but it was obvious to Riku that they had a little connection that spiraled a little more than friendship. Riku loved his best friend like a brother, so why wouldn't Kairi be his true love?
"Okay," She answered with a small nod. "I'll try."
Riku took a step back from his sleeping friend while Kairi got closer. Everyone watched silently as Kairi slowly bent down. Her face hovered over Sora's for a brief moment, before finally resting her lips over his parted ones. As if Sora got into the kiss, Kairi grabbed his face delicately and deepened the kiss, soft lips lovingly massaging Sora's still ones, at a hope to revive him. Kairi must of ran out of breath as she finally released him and took a cautious step back. Riku took one step forward, watching for a reaction.
Everyone held their breath. Anticipating the moment when he woke up.
But he didn't.
"I don't understand." Spoke up King Mickey, frowning. "The kiss didn't work."
Riku couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as he looked to Kairi. He saw a flicker of hurt flash in her eyes before quickly disappearing at the shake of her head, as if she were shaking off something in her hair. As a matter of fact, Riku was hurt as well. Not only does Sora remain asleep, but the Kairi's kiss didn't work. He was so sure she was Sora's true love.
"If it's not Kairi," he thought, troubled. "Then who else could it be?"
"Riku."
Riku blinked as Kairi's soft voice cut through his mind, bringing him back to reality. He looked at Kairi, and noticed that the little hurt in her eyes were replaced with a burning determination, as if she was so sure of what she was thinking.
"You need to kiss him."
He stared at her.
"What?"
"Riku," She spoke softly, boaring her violet blue eyes into his turquoise ones. "True love isn't always romantic. Maybe it'll work."
"A-hyuck, You're right Kairi!" Said Goofy. "True love can be anything. The love of a parent, a friend, a sibling. Give it a try!"
"Kairi..." Riku spoke softly, his voice bordering between concern and heartbreak as he looked at Kairi, his other bestfriend that Riku loves dearly along with Sora. She has been with them for as long as he can remember, the three grew up together. He knew Sora, he would go at any great lengths to protect them both, as would Riku because he loves them.
Because the three love each other.
Kairi timidly put her head down, hiding her face from him. Riku swallowed. "Kairi," He said again more sternly this time. "Look at me."
When she didn't, Riku gently placed his fingers under her chin and lifted it up. Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes but didn't let them fall.
"Do not think for a second," He scolded softly, looking into her eyes. "That Sora loves you any less. Because thats not true, and you know it."
"I know, but..." She hesitated, and lost her train of thought as she avoided his gaze and looked at Sora. "What if it does work?" She whispered. "Then we can all be together again. You have to try, Riku."
His eyes darted between hers, looking at both irises. He saw nothing but clear certainty. Her eyes were telling him that it was okay, and he had to do it now. "She loves him so much," he thought, heartbroken. "She doesn't care if Sora loves her less. just as long as he's happy he'll be okay." But Riku was hesitant. There was absolutely no way that Sora loved Riku more than Kairi, or vice versa. This kiss wasn't going to work.
But he was going to try.
Riku reluctantly excepted, and gave Kairi a comforting squeeze of her hand before moving towards Sora. Riku placed his hand on his cheek and moved Sora's head to face him. Riku took a deep breath in, and exhaled. He reached down and kissed him.
Sora's lips were warm against his own as he danced around his mouth. Though Riku couldn't help but explore the kiss for a bit, (believing that the action would give Sora a higher chance at awakening) Riku managed to make it look like swift kiss and stood up again. He looked intently into Sora's face, waiting for something to happen. He looked for a twitch, a stutter in his breathing, anything. Everyone else in the room watched Sora closely.
Sora did not stir.
Riku released a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and his shoulders sagged in relief. Sora did not wake, but Riku was glad that his former theory on himself and Kairi being loved more or less by Sora's standards were way off. But that also meant one thing.
"If neither Riku or Kairi are his true love, than who is?!" Cried Donald, throwing a tiny tantrum like the ruffled up duck that he was.
"Master," Said Kairi facing him, her voice wavering. "Why didn't it work?"
"I..." For once, Master Yen Sid seemed unsure. He looked just as lost as the rest of them. If Master Yen Sid hesitated in his words then they knew the situation was grim. "I don't know."
Kairi made some sort of small whimper as she turned to Riku. "Do we know if Sora loves anybody else?"
Afraid to speak and have his voice fail him from the deep dread coming from his heart, Riku simply shook his head.
"What if we tried to kiss him?" reproached Goofy hopefully.
"No," Donald shook his head sadly. "You know Sora loves Riku and Kairi far more than us. If neither of their kisses worked, who's to say that ours will do the trick?"
"But there has to be a way,"
"What if Sora never wakes up?"
"No Kairi, don't talk like that..."
"Then what else are we supposed to do, Riku?"
The two teens and Sora's companions began to talk over each other, asking and mentioning things about Sora's condition that would work. Eventually, Master Yen Sid intervened and offeredto keep Sora here with him. Riku and Kairi immediately declined and began to argue agian over Sora's fate. King Mickey; however, was slowly pacing around the room, lost in his own thoughts. His own opinions and ideas were flying around in his mind. Though, the one question popped in his head far more frequently than his own helpful ideas: Why didn't either of the kisses work?
Mickey has been around the three kids long enough to understand how much they would do for each other. During the time he had spent with Riku, the boy would tell countless tales of Sora and Kairi when they were on the Islands. He realized now, that Sora and Kairi would do the same when he was alone with them as well. And Mickey was dead sure that Sora loves his two bestfriends to the ends of the earths. So why did Sora's subconscious reject their love? He loved them both, so why didn't either kiss work?
...
"Because he loves them both."
Mickey's dark eyes widened in shock at his own discovery and hurried over to the group. Of course. That had to be why it didn't work.
"Sora loves the two of you!" He blurted excitedly, catching everyone's attention.
"But you're Majesty," Exclaimed Donald. "Both of their kisses didn't work-"
"I know! I know!" The King shook his head, as if he were blocking out Donald's words and looked up at the solemn teens. "Like you said, Riku, there is no way that Sora loves you two more or less than the other. And even if that were the case, that's not why the kiss was rejected."
"Of course!" Master Yen Sid cut in, understanding what the King meant. "The two kisses were refused because they were not done by the person he truly loved."
At that, Riku and Kairi had the same confused look with furrowed eyebrows, when the King clarified,
"Sora doesn't love you two anymore or any less, his love for you counts as one. Therefore he had to be kissed by you both, at the same time."
Riku and Kairi stared at the King, opened mouth. Was that really it?
"Riku and Kairi are Sora's true love that can break the spell!" Goofy cried, his face beaming. "Well what are ya waiting for? Give it it try!"
"Is this really it?" Asked Riku in disbelief. "We just have to kiss him at the same time?"
"That would make sense." Said Kairi after finding her voice. "Let's do it."
Riku nodded.
The two moved so that they would stand at Sora's either sides. Riku and Kairi looked at each other in a silent confirmation. This is going to work. It has to. Then, the two tucked their long hair out of the way and bent down at the same time. Kairi placed a delicate kiss on Sora's cheek while Riku moved to give him a silent kiss on his head. In that exact second, a warm tingly feeling enveloped their chests, the two felt their hearts shift. Riku and Kairi didn't realize how lonely their hearts felt until an invisible force squeezed its way in between them.
The third heart has reunited with the other two.
Riku and Kairi stood up staright again, and for the last time, watched Sora for a reaction. This time, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Master Yen Sid stood a little closer to the trio, watching intently. Sora didn't move.
Then, like a resting infant disturbed in sleep, Sora's even breaths hitched.
Everyone let out a sharp gasp. They watched Sora's deep breaths deviate off it's regular pattern as his eyes slowly fluttered opened, to reveal those gorgeously deep cerulean eyes that Riku and Kairi missed so much. The shock was still settling in that nobody moved. They watched Sora blink drowsily, his eyes lazily darting between Riku, to Kairi, then to everyone else in the room. He slowly shifted his eyes back towards his two friends again. Sora gave them a sleepy smile.
"Good morning." he mumbled groggily.
"Sora!"
This time, Riku beat Kairi to him first as he picked up Sora's upper body in a sitting position and squeezed him. Kairi sat on the table and scooted closer before wrapping her own arms around Sora in a tight hug. With this, Riku wrapped one arm around Kairi and enveloped her into the embrace too, and squeezed his two friends in his arms. Sora, probably not fully awake enough to move his limbs, only leaned his head against Riku's chest and accepted his two friend's warm embrace.
The trio were finally together again.
Suddenly, Riku and Kairi felt two more pair of arms envelop them.
"A-Hyuck," Goofy. "We needed a turn too, ya know."
"Yeah," exclaimed Donald, by Kairi's hip. "Don't hog Sora all to yourself!"
Riku and Kairi laughed in delight. Sora was back, he was back and everything was going to be okay again. Eventually, Donald and Goofy removed themselves from the hug, leaving Riku and Kairi to hold him just about a minute longer. Kairi reluctantly released Sora first and moved back to look at him, only to blink in surprise when she saw his face. Perplexed, Riku furrowed his eyebrows together at Kairi's expression and shifted his head to look down at Sora.
Only to find him fast asleep again.
Riku only chuckled and gave Sora a slight shake. No way was he going to let him fall asleep on them again.
Kairi began to rub Sora's back in soothing circles. "Sora?" She asked gently. "You okay?"
"Yeah." he mumbled, attempting to open his eyes again only to result in raising his eyebrows with a tiny smile on his face, indicating as a reassurance to show that he was fine. Eventually, Sora's little smile slowly faded and his face relaxed as he fell back asleep again.
"Well," Master Yen Sid chuckled at the sight. "Its seems like the sleeping spell hasn't completely worn off yet."
"But don't worry," Mickey assured them. "Sora is okay now. The spell is broken, he just needs a little more rest."
"We'll get the Gummi Ship ready for you guys." Offered Donald. "It'll be ready to take you home."
Riku and Kairi exchanged their appreciation to Donald and Goofy as they walked out of the room, leaving them alone with Master Yen Sid and Mickey.
"Master, Your Highness," Kairi acknowledged, facing the two as she rested her hand on Sora's cheek. "Thank you so much for your help."
"We didn't do anything." Mickey clarified happily. "It was you two that broke the spell."
"But if you hadn't told us how." reiterated Riku. "Then we never would've woken up Sora."
"It was wise of you to bring Sora here." mused Master Yen Sid as he stroked his beard. "The next time you find yourselves in trouble, my door is always opened."
The two teens only smile and nodded in appreciation. In all honesty, how would it have turned out if they hadn't brought Sora here? Riku was just glad that didn't make a mistake in his choice this time, considering the said mistakes that he has made giving into the darkness and all. For once, he did something right.
For the last time today, Riku gently lifted Sora up in his arms and made sure to position him comfortably. He felt Sora's warm breaths hit his neck as he began to walk with Kairi out the door.
"Let's go home."